NANAJI THE PATRIOT WHO INSPIRED JP IS NO MORE
and/or www.mantra.com/jai
Nanaji the patriot who inspired JP is no more
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Last week, a great Indian Social worker passed away -- his monumental
work in development is his living inspiration that will continue to
guide many youth in decades to come. I would highly recommend all of
you to read the glorious tribute paid by S.Gurumurthy in the below
article....You may consider to forward this to friends and families
also as you think appropriate...
The Deendayal Research Institute & the corresponding Chitrakoot
project were taken up by Nanaji Deshmukh. The goal of the project is
to develop an integrated and holistic model for the development of
rural India, based on the principles outlined in Pt. Deendayal
Upadhyaya's Integral Humanism. The concepts, applied to rural India
as a test case in this project, are general enough and present a
holistic world view.
Information about the institute and Chitrakoot project can be found
at:
http://www.chitrakoot.org/html/intorducyions.htm
http://www.chitrakoot.org/html/index.htm
President Abdul Kalam had visited and his comments and speeches are
very inspiring and can be read at the above websites.
Sincere shraddhanjali to these great karmayogi....
Regards
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?<http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Nanaji+%E2%80%94+as+I+knew+him&artid=mbMlthuWhbM=&SectionID=d16Fdk4iJhE=&MainSectionID=HuSUEmcGnyc=&SectionName=aVlZZy44Xq0bJKAA84nwcg==&SEO1
March 2010
Nanaji' as Nana Deshmukh was known in political and social circles,
which he dominated for almost six decades, is no more. Many who were
inspired by him in politics and outside saw and knew him as a
towering idealist; his admirers and friends experienced and rated him
as a great political strategist. Joining the RSS at a young age and
becoming its pracharak (whole-time volunteer), he was undoubtedly a
great organiser. He had intimate friends in high places everywhere.
He was equally at ease with both the noble Bhoodhan movement of
Vinobha Bhave and the gutter politics of Delhi. He had friends even
in the garrisons of his adversaries. When Jawaharlal Nehru had banned
the RSS in 1948, Nanaji Deshmukh began organising the underground
movement. From where? Believe it, from the house of Rafi Ahmed
Kidwai, a minister in Pandit Nehru's government. It was public
knowledge that Nehru had regarded RSS as his archenemy and had even
declared that he would not give an inch in India for the Bhagwa (the
flag of the RSS) to fly. Still Kidwai, a great friend of Nehru, had
no issues about keeping Nanaji in house and more -- allowing him to
organise underground activities. This indicates the magnetic
personality of Nanaji who must have been then in his twenties!
My association with Nanaji Deshmukh started with my friendship with
Ramnath Goenka. Ramnathji and Nanaji were not only great friends,
they both thought and felt about the country almost alike. The mutual
trust and admiration that they had was rooted wholly in their love of
the motherland, totally devoid of any kind of personal interest. The
Nanaji-Ramnathji combine felt that no goal other than what they
thought was the good of the nation. Ramnath Goenka had shaped the
Indian Express not as just a newspaper. It was an active partner with
all nationalist forces in the cause of the country, setting the
agenda for political and social discourse. Ramnathji never knew what
fear meant in life. So was Nanaji. And these two courageous persons
could effortlessly infect many others of high relevance, journalists
or others, with fearlessness. It was the Ramnathji-Nanaji duo that
persuaded Jayaprakash Narayan to agree to lead the Bihar movement in
1974, which changed the political picture of the country.
An incredible incident made Jayaprakash Narayan to agree to the plea
of Nanaji and Ramnathji to lead the movement against Indira Gandhi. I
came to know of this in the late 1980s when at a dinner in the
Express Towers in Bombay I asked Nanaji and Ramnathji how they
brought JP into the movement. Nanaji described the thrilling and
unbelievable episode. A historic meeting of Ramnathji, Nanaji, Achyut
Patwardhan, the hero of the 1942 underground movement and Ramdhari
Singh Dinkar, a great Hindi poet, took place sometime in 1973 in the
Indian Express Guest House in Bangalore. Ramnathji, Nanaji, Ramdhari
Singh Dinkar and Achyut Patwardhan, began insisting that JP should
lead the movement as Indira Gandhi had become highly autocratic and
had begun destroying the institutional framework of democracy
including the judiciary and bureaucracy. Incidentally, Dinkar was one
of the greatest friends of the Nehru family and particularly of
Indira Gandhi herself. But that did not detract him from doing what
he thought was his duty to the nation. JP was hesitant mainly because
of his health. He was a diabetic and had acute prostrate gland
issues. He said that he would not be able to live for long and his
health did not permit him to undertake such an arduous task.
Ramnathji assured him that he would have his prostrate operation done
in Vellore, which he eventually got done later. But JP could still
not make up his mind. At that point, Ramnathji suggested that all of
them should go to Tirupati, have darshan and prayers and from there,
go to Madras as it was known then, and continue the discussions. And
they all left for Tirupati.
During the darshan at Tirupati, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar openly prayed
to Lord Balaji, to the hearing of JP and the others, that whatever
remaining years of life Dinkar had the Lord should give them to JP to
help him serve the cause of the motherland. And they all returned to
Madras and to Ramnathji's house in the Express Estates in Mount Road.
Within hours Ramdhari Singh Dinkar fell on the lap of Ramnath Goenka
and died -- yes he died when JP, Nanaji and Achyut Patwardhan were
around. It was clear that Lord Balaji had answered Dinkar's prayers.
JP's decision to lead the movement came in no time. Despite my
several requests Nanaji had refused to write about it in the Indian
Express. When I asked him how will the people of India know about it,
he said that he had written in his diary and he would like it to be
known after his death. Now that he is no more I felt free to write
about it.
After the operation JP began to lead one of the biggest mass
movements against corruption in free India and that led to the
imposition of Emergency, arrest of all national opposition leaders
and a ban on the RSS. That was the best period in the life of Nanaji.
He was one of the initiators of the underground movement that finally
exploded as the Janata wave when in 1977 Indira Gandhi, with a view
to securing mandate for her autocracy declared elections to
Parliament, not knowing that, without her intelligence agencies
having a whiff of it, the underground movement had generated a
political tornado against her. Nanaji was the architect of the Janata
Party. He contested elections for the first time and won. He refused
to join the ministry when Morarji Desai insisted.
Later when the Janata Party split and the Bharatiya Janata Party was
formed in 1980, Nanaji announced that he would like to retire from
active politics as he was attaining the age of 65. A new role -- that
of a social worker -- to lift moral and spiritual values and to
promote economic and social well-being of the distanced people
awaited him. He started his work first in the most backward districts
of Gonda in UP and next in the equally drought-prone and poverty-
ridden Bead district in Maharashtr and finally settled to do a more
comprehensive work of socio-economic progress with moral values
covering some 500 villages in Chitrakoot district. The President of
India Abdul Kalam visited Nanaji's Chitrakoot project, praised and
blessed it as the most suitable one for India noting that almost 80
villages in the district had become litigation free. That was his
final karma bhoomi even though the whole country was his karm bhoomi.
He once told me that when he was a child many days he had had nothing
to eat. But that did not turn him into a naxalite. But his
introduction to the RSS at the right age, and association with the
right persons, had turned him into a great nationalist who lived for
his motherland's glory and nothing else.
End of forwarded message from S. Kalyanaraman
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
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bademiyansubhanallah
Jai Maharaj) wrote:
> Forwarded message from S. Kalyanaraman
>
> Nanaji the patriot who inspired JP is no more
>
> Tuesday, March 2, 2010
>
> Last week, a great Indian Social worker passed away -- his monumental
> work in development is his living inspiration that will continue to
> guide many youth in decades to come. I would highly recommend all of
> you to read the glorious tribute paid by S.Gurumurthy in the below
> article....You may consider to forward this to friends and families
> also as you think appropriate...
>
> The Deendayal Research Institute & the corresponding Chitrakoot
> project were taken up by Nanaji Deshmukh. The goal of the project is
> to develop an integrated and holistic model for the development of
> rural India, based on the principles outlined in Pt. Deendayal
> Upadhyaya's Integral Humanism. The concepts, applied to rural India
> as a test case in this project, are general enough and present a
> holistic world view.
>
> Information about the institute and Chitrakoot project can be found
> at:
>
>
> President Abdul Kalam had visited and his comments and speeches are
> very inspiring and can be read at the above websites.
>
> Sincere shraddhanjali to these great karmayogi....
>
> Regards
>
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/8a1efe054a3bf157#
...and I am Sid Harth
harmony
only in india such men go unnoticed by its govt. in usa he would have been
celebrated at the whitehouse which probably couldn't have found enough
honors to put in his hand and medals around his neck.
<use...@mantra.com and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)> wrote in
message news:20100302Zs7u4ici62EK1Eyu9MxRbYf@AIeJC...
bademiyansubhanallah
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An Indian says:
February 17,2010 at 05:34 PM IST
A heart rending article and very well reflects the feelings of the
average patriotic citizen of this country. But our national leadership
will never pay attention to these things. U have said rightly for them
country's honour has no significance.
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(Reply to An Indian)- shashidhar says:
February 19,2010 at 02:35 AM IST
its the reality now India that every incident is driven by commercial
value and the whole media/ politician etc are only worried about
bollywood IPL etc where there is commercial interest. There is
absolute no values moral responsibility.
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(Reply to An Indian)- manish says:
February 20,2010 at 09:24 PM IST
agree with the complete article.......congress doesn't have spine to
save my country from terrorism. gandhi ji non violence method won't
work with pakistan. pakistan also liberted along with us so in a way
when we say we gandhi country pakistan should also be but they have
always taken violent route even during partition and now also. it's
high time they need to be taught lesson that our government may be
impotent but we can kick ur a** we are just waiting to reach that
threshold.
jai hind
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Kiran says:
February 17,2010 at 05:40 PM IST
Hail Tarun!
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(Reply to Kiran)- Santunu says:
February 20,2010 at 02:51 PM IST
It is very clear that this prime minister of ours is a weak kneed man.
He is afraid of even mentioning Pakistan's name in the involved list.
On top of that the entire government of India is a corrupt bunch of
people. They can even sell the country for their own benefit. We are
just wasting our time and effort in waging daily protest against
Pakistan and terrorism. Whereas these parasites of the country (the
likes of Manmohan, Chidambaram) are havng a good time at the best of
places. They are now even inviting the enemies of the nation to treat
them and to show aht could they target in the future. Hope that the
kith and kin of these politicians gets attacked in the next terrorist
attack.
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Pankaj says:
February 17,2010 at 05:42 PM IST
Beautiful article!!
'ghutne tek kar hamein baat karne bulaya'...That is how our so called
leaders have stooped and that is how they will always be...
And what do we do next? Wait for the next bomb blast, and then for the
next and for the next...each one followed by 'no intelligence failure'
arrogance...
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Sunil Taneja says:
February 17,2010 at 05:54 PM IST
Dear Mr. Tarun,
Thanks for this very nice article.
This malaise runs very deep in our country and collectively all of us
too are to be blamed for arriving upto this stage.
However, the fact remains that it is the sons of the mothers and
daugthers too, whose blood is wasted. Their deaths will not account to
anything, while the opposing politicians of India and Pakistan shake
hands for their photo-shoots and the artistes / cricketers failingly
try their bits (if at all). The Media should also take responsibility
and try to avoid senstaionalising matters. They should also accord
proper justice and due recognition to news of national importance
instead of highlighting which actor is sneezing and which heroine is
moving around with whom.
However, it is everybody's fault. We just don't have the spines to
have a attitude and are no different or better than our politicians.
I just wish that there was some kind of a platform in our country
where we could revisit our history and form a group of strong willed
decision makers for our countries. In our elections too, we chose
between a blind and a half-blind, but then, actually how many out of
us actually vote...?
In course of our times, we might finish our journeys in our own small
ways, but look at what we will leave for the generations to come.
Will the greiving mothers ever forgive us?
Will our children ever forgive us?
Thanks
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(Reply to Sunil Taneja)- Deepak Sinha says:
February 18,2010 at 02:43 PM IST
your vision about the issue is 1000 fold mature than that of Mr. Tarun
Vijays
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(Reply to Sunil Taneja)- vivek singh says:
February 19,2010 at 12:12 PM IST
i just loved ur views taneja, lovely...
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Aam admi says:
February 17,2010 at 06:11 PM IST
Spot On.
What to say more that the fact 2 of our (female)colleagues named
Binita Gadani and P Sindhuri lost their lives in the terror attack in
Pune.They had gone to celebrate their first job after passing out from
an engineering college and hard competition.
Alas,the immoral and dishonest headline setting tribe of 24X7 hate
machines -who were arrogant enough to devote hours of their TV
channels inflaming issues like screening of a movie with the sole
objective to create disharmony-could not even spare a few minutes on
these and other victims.
The leadership(oh I forgot he is an accidental PM-so cant be bothered
about the responsibilities)-as usual roped in the clerks of the
party(also known as spokespersons)-to debate the incident and
entertain with the Tamasha on the TV.
Would we ever get out of this mess?not unless the leadership is stout/
firm/accountable and we get rid of confused/selfish/TRPdriven media
and strengthen nationalistic forces.
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Vivek Bhat says:
February 17,2010 at 06:15 PM IST
I really really loved this blog... there has been a visible disconnect
between the elite who sit in air-conditioned TV studios voicing poems
of peace when at least one soldier dies in different parts of India
protecting that "peace". I really can not find any reason of
men in uniform sacrificing their lives for us worthless Indians...
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Amit Purohit says:
February 17,2010 at 06:23 PM IST
In less than 10 years Congress party has started showing its
colours.One party bearer and former CM visits the homes of terroists
and goes scot free from all and media.He insists taht he did so after
informing his master and master's son.Who are they? This visual media
has gone low than a prostitute and only follows dictum of
vilification, there needs a revolt and fight against these Conggies to
teach them a lesson to be remembered by their grandmothers.
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Siddharth Sharma says:
February 17,2010 at 06:30 PM IST
Great article Tarun ji, You made a valid point by pointing out that no
soldier has ever been awarded The Bharat Ratna.
SRK is considered demi God in our country.His movie MNIK was promoted
enthusiastically by the media. Though what Thackreys were doing was
wrong, even then the Media made Villains out of them.
Sad to see, that movie stars are considered role models and icons in
our country.People who sacrifice there life for the nation are
forgotten so easily.May be this is the reason that people know more
about SRK then Vikram Batra,or Manoj Pandey, or any other decorated
soldier for that matter.
Sad, Pathetic!
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(Reply to Siddharth Sharma)- DANISH( HINDU) says:
February 18,2010 at 04:45 PM IST
you have problem with SRK as a actor or as a muslim? if AB is awarded
with bharat ratan then he is ajem of a nation and if any muslim is
awarded , then people ask why a terorist is awarded with bharat
ratan . I want to ask where was tarun Vijay when north indian are
assaulted by MNS and shiv sena , oh i forgot he may be attending RSS
shakha or what ever. if a Muslim says that he is a muslim first than
Indian than he is not a true indian and if any Maharastrian say that
he is a Maharastian first than an Indian ,no one has any prob.
In every tarun vijay articles, in the End muslims are going to be a
villian .
why he can not write an article which which bring peopole closer
rather than always blaming one sect. of a society for every thing.
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(Reply to DANISH( HINDU))- Thiagan says:
February 19,2010 at 01:59 PM IST
"why he can not write an article which which bring peopole closer
rather than always blaming one sect. of a society for every
thing"
Rubbish. Do the muslims want to come closer to the host majority?
Never.They want us to convert ande come under shariaa. Without a BJP/
RSS, the small EU countries have been ruined by uncontrolled muslim
immigration allowed by the secular fanatics. Read the site: the
religion of peace
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(Reply to DANISH( HINDU))- vivek singh says:
February 19,2010 at 12:26 PM IST
stop being so sentimental, danish(hindu) what do u want to prove by ur
name??? SRK and not AB (have no sympathy for him either) goes around
saying this and that when he should actually be concentrating on his
business and the fault is our media's who go behind cleaning every
goddamn actor and cricketer's ass and licking it clean to prove he has
a point, the whole of media is married to SRK and his tweets it seems,
no body talks of the real issues..
and i didnt see muslims being painted bad here, how did u see it
then...
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(Reply to DANISH( HINDU))- S Subramaniam says:
February 19,2010 at 12:47 PM IST
Danish,
How long will you keep evading from the truth.What is the use of
trying to bring two sects together when one sect does not want to be
part of the country at all. That sect has the religion before the
country. We have tried for 60 years and what have we got.MNS and SS
maybe goondas but they dont take lives. There is a clear difference
where terrorist kill harmless people. Why does it hit you hard when
Tarun says the truth, yes he says the biggest problem we have is the
Muslims. Incidentally he has also told about Naxalites and this seems
to have missed your attention. Enough my Dear countrymen of being
psuedo secularist. This has harmed us for all these years. When your
relative dies Mr Danish in a bomb blast planted by an Indian muslim
then you will know the pain. I hope it happens one day....
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(Reply to S Subramaniam)- danish says:
February 20,2010 at 01:33 PM IST
If this patriotic Muslim citizen were to point out that in the
aftermath of the Mecca Masjid blasts in Hyderabad, scores of young
Muslim boys were yanked out of their homes, then either to be released
after weeks of torture when there was no evidence to hold them or to
disappear without trace, some columnist or pundit would comment on the
defensiveness of the Muslim middle-class, or muse that educated
Muslims were in denial. A single' encounter' in Batla House, New
Delhi, located in a Muslim majority area is enough to put 'Muslim
society' on notice and a sophisticated modern central university, with
an unmatched nationalist lineage under a cloud. The alleged complicity
of a serving army officer in a terrorist plot didn't lead people to
conclude that the army or 'Hindu society' was violent or disaffected;
it would be useful if the same benefit of the doubt were extended to
those of this republic's citizens who happen to be Muslim.
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(Reply to S Subramaniam)- Danish( only muslim for you) says:
February 20,2010 at 10:07 AM IST
sorry bro . I lost my uncle and cousin in 92 roits in merrut and you
re asking me about pain????
I dont care wat you think about muslims but if you want to know what
is pain just ask a muslim whos sister was raped by armymen in
kashmir.... ,ask man whose pregnant wife was burt alive in post
godhara ..... A father carrying his son body in Plaeistein......Mass
grave in boasnia .......and you asking muslim what the pain is all
about...
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Ashok Gupta says:
February 17,2010 at 06:31 PM IST
Corrupts are normally cowards. Soldiers are brave people and
politicians are corrupt and cowards.
More over,this Government is more interested in Minority Vote Politics
rather than taking any appropriate action. They will like to reward
few families ( Present Vote Bank Sh.MSY) of Azamgarh(U.P), who were
killed in Batla House encounter rather than our brave soldiers.
Dawood of 'D-Company"in Karachi once said," We can blast in
any part of India, any time. The Choice will be ours/ the timing will
be ours." He is proving to be right.
In case of Pune blast, Our Government( Home Minister) says," Our
intelligence has not failed. Our Strategy has not failed.Our forces
have not failed. People of this country want to know " Then who
has failed?" Then ,why dialogue, what for.To be attacked again?
This is with respect to the Home Minister.
The moment we talked that we will start the peace process. The attack
has taken place.Is it under the Foreign Pressure that we agreed for a
dialogue.
I still recollect the comments of then British Prime Minister Tony
Blair, when our Parliament was attacked. There was a shock wave all
over the world. Our then Top Most Ministers raised the issue with the
world community that Pakistan be declared a terror state etc etc. Tony
Blair simply said," You being the grieved party should act first
then only the super powers will think of coming for help to you."
Then P.M at least sent the armed forces to Pakistan Borders. Though
under foreign pressure, we did not declare war with Pakistan.
Now the state of affairs are worse. No concrete action by our
Government.
This Government wants to make a peace on the coffins of innocent
killings.
Rest Later.
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Deepak Sinha says:
February 17,2010 at 06:33 PM IST
Mr Tarun Vijay, you will do really well in Pakistan. You have mastered
the art of saying wrong things with confidence. For you each
politician is a bad guy and each soldier is good (Perhaps you are not
aware of the scams and corruptions related to Army).
People from all walks of life, be it politics, military, civilian,
Film stars, Businessmen etc.. have shades of gray, no one is black or
no one is white. So stop spiting venom against any section as a whole.
Our politicians are reflection of ourselves, If we dont like them then
we need to change ourselves.
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(Reply to Deepak Sinha)- md says:
February 18,2010 at 04:47 PM IST
well said bro.
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(Reply to Deepak Sinha)- MONI LAKHOTIA says:
February 19,2010 at 10:35 AM IST
Mr Deepak Sinha
Either you are actually a Pakistani writing under a pseudonym or well
a Hindu baiter . I admire your nonchalance in running down the
soldiers just because there has been a report of corruption. Which
institution in our country is bereft of this malaise and incidentally
which politician is truly valorous and patriotic like our soldiers. Oh
come on man - if you cant do anything good for the country at least
dont run down people like Tarun Vijay - whose writings make our heart
swell with pride and shine a beacon of hope for this blighted country
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(Reply to Deepak Sinha)- vivek singh says:
February 19,2010 at 12:30 PM IST
nonsense!!! yeah they have scams but do they push u when it comes to
fight face-on and they fight with guts, have some sense, for god sake
dont compare the military with the government, tarun might not have
written a completely rounded article but he certainly has a point and
a valid one at that...
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(Reply to vivek singh)- The great Hindu of Bengal says:
February 20,2010 at 03:18 AM IST
Vivek....now you sounded like a Paki....go to pakistan rather than
making stories or trying to say that you you are the ooonnnlllyyyy
indian in the world....shut up.
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(Reply to Deepak Sinha)- ndtvsucks says:
February 20,2010 at 08:47 PM IST
@Deepak Sinha, My brother, every politician may not be bad, every
soldier may bot be good. But every victim who is butchered by the
Porkistan sponsored terrorists are waste lives. Eleven youngsters died
in Pune blast or more than 170 dead in Mumbai attack will always curse
themselves even after death that they lived in a country called India
when it was ruled by most insensitive and cruel political
dispensation. (means shameless congress president Sonia and her
cotorie comprising Antony, Chidambaram, Ahemad Patel and Pawar)
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Amit says:
February 17,2010 at 06:33 PM IST
Awesome article as always Mr. Tarun Vijay!
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Maneesh says:
February 17,2010 at 06:43 PM IST
I feel shame to be ruled by such ruler. Bharat is being killed by
India itself.
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Shekhar says:
February 17,2010 at 06:44 PM IST
A very thought provoking article. You have rightly touched two issues:
a) Indian government's inclination to hold talks with Pakistan 2) Lack
of apathy towards our own soldiers & citizen. A 7th grade student
asked me the other day why we are so desparate to talk to Pakistan
& why is MNIK getting so much media coverage? "Is MNIK the
remedy for all violence in the world?", he asked. Are we still,
even after 63 years of independence, living under the influences of
British ruled society? Do we still require to do idol worship(read
SRK) to call ourselves peace lovers? Are we still subconciously (or
even conciously sometimes) considering ourselves inferior to the
fairer skinned species? Why do we give more importance to a FOREIGNER
than our own COUNTRYMEN. Unka khoon khoon, apna khoon paani?
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Vivek Acharya says:
February 17,2010 at 06:49 PM IST
Tarun Ji, Great as ususal. Especially loved the last 3 paragraphs. But
i want to know, are the people who are supposed to listen to all this,
listening???? The consistency in their shamelessness is even better
than your ability to write great peices.
vivek
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Bharadwaj M N says:
February 17,2010 at 07:04 PM IST
Tarunji, the media will never learn and appreciate this. As long as
they are not desis and alienated from the Bharat (not India) and
focussed on commercial aspects/entertainers, our soldiers and farmers
will not get their due. Very sad.
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Vinay says:
February 17,2010 at 07:12 PM IST
A very well written article, Mr Tarun. I have tears in my eyes,
especially towards the end I burst into tears.
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Sharda Bhargav - The Confiscated Soul says:
February 17,2010 at 07:14 PM IST
A sour but frank and bold analysis of politicians' priorities.
Hope it is rightly understood by the concerned authorities to make
amends.
And at the earliest, to prevent likely terror attacks in the future.
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V. Ramachandra Reddy says:
February 17,2010 at 07:23 PM IST
The only column I feel like reading these days is Mr. Tarun Vijay's.
Thank god TOI is publishing his views. These blog posts reflect the
changing times and attitudes. The day is not far away when the pseudo
intellectual columnists would be buried and the opinions of the
intellectuals like Tarun Vijay gain more weightage.
The problems with Indians is our mindset. Every body values only his
own life and does not bother about what happens outside his village or
city. Illiteracy, functional illiteracy and narrow minded attitude are
breeding the evil forces. When we start valuing the lives of all
Indians we will be able to change the situation. Till then we can't do
more than cleaning the blood stains and listen to the same old
statements of politicians.
Manmohan Singh may be the best man to lead the nation, but he enslave
himself to the Italian lady and Americans. He does not have
independent policies.
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(Reply to V. Ramachandra Reddy)- Raj says:
February 18,2010 at 03:26 PM IST
Absolutely.I wish sometime soon articles by Tarun are published
regularly in print too.
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(Reply to Raj)- Pravin says:
February 19,2010 at 11:27 PM IST
Print media will never publish Tarunji's articles because it is being
controlled by the Congress leader very effectively.
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sam says:
February 17,2010 at 07:25 PM IST
Absolutely correct analysis Sir.
The Film and entertainment industry of this country is heir of
erstwhile Tamashawallahs and Jatrawallahs. That now this profession
has got money and new found respectibility and fan following of empty
minded people, those working in this industry got their mind heated.
Media's marriage with entertainment has provided new professionals to
attend to these Tamashawallahs. and real pity is that people are
looking for them as ray of hope!
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ishwar says:
February 17,2010 at 07:45 PM IST
Absolutely spot on Mr. Vijay. The news channel and the country's top
media houses have sold their souls. Why is this not reported with as
much vigour by the same journos when the foreign minister of the
invited country says -- "ghutne tek kar hamein baat karne
bulaya". As per them, the biggest patriot in this nation is SRK
and making sure that his movie gets maximum controversy, security and
publicity is their primary job. Sacrifices of soldiers - they don't
make commercial sense. Do they?
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Gautam Gulati says:
February 17,2010 at 08:14 PM IST
As usual-Brilliant. Brought tears to my eyes.
But is anybody listening ?
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ravi says:
February 17,2010 at 08:50 PM IST
Mr. Vijay, I share your anguish at the sorry state of affairs. I hope
you will suitably take up the issue of how our Govt can allow the
continuous stay of Pak artistes such as Adnan Sami in India. Are there
no rules governing employment/working conditions of Pakistanis? Would
Pak Govt allow an Indian artiste to continue living in Pakistan and
mint money the way Adnan Sami is doing here? Moreover, he refused to
show solidarity with Indians when Mumbaikars wore black badges to
protest 26/11 terror attacks. At least for the sake of expressing his
thanks for the hospitality he has received in Mumbai, he could have
worn a black badge to show that he loves Mumbai and India. But he
shamelessly refused. I hope you would suitably highlight this point in
your blog. Thanks and high regads,
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(Reply to ravi)- vivek says:
February 19,2010 at 01:15 PM IST
there is no money in pakistan for god sake so lets not talk that, who
needs to go to pakistan, this is crazy comparison, adnan isnt that
great, rahat fateh ali khan, atif aslam, ghulam ali and many others
are terrific though...
lets not bring them here too...
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Jitendra Desai says:
February 17,2010 at 09:21 PM IST
UPA II is trying to appease Indian Muslims by appearing to be
reasonable with Pakistanis.This is very silly of UPA II or
Congress.Indian Muslims have come a long way since their days of
bursting crackers, when Pakistani cricket team won against India.Most
of the young Muslims believe that their fate and destinies are tied to
India.Congress is fashioning its response based on the feedback they
get from their own Muslim leaders, who are as myopic as Congress
leaders.
Dr Manmohan Singh too is obsessed with the idea of going down in
history as a leader who brought peace to the sub continent.He can't
BUY such peace.He may not even get votes in next elections, if he
continues to humiliate the nation like this.
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Indian says:
February 17,2010 at 09:37 PM IST
Thanks Tarun for spelling out the best articles that we get to read in
TOI. The biggest problem i see with India today is anything
nationalist is termed as pro hindu and non secular. Safeguarding the
nation is left to politicians changing statements as it suits them. I
read another article which shows how US diplomacy works- The US has
started ignoring the elected government of Pakistan and talks directly
to the rulers in Rawalpindi. I feel India should do the same, History
has proved that the politicians are puppets in pakistan how much ever
Messers Qureshi, Gilani and Zardari jump, they have no value.
Just can hope to have a nationalist govenment in India which secures
our borders once and for all and implements strict laws in internal
insurgency.
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sufal says:
February 17,2010 at 10:03 PM IST
brilliantly written
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Bipul says:
February 17,2010 at 10:43 PM IST
Tarunji, you are right. absolutely everyone was engaged in defending
an actor in an episode which everyone knew to be a drama in which both
parties benefited. but nobody thinks even once about our people who
get killed in terrorist activist or soldiers who die serving the
nation. The media inculding toi seems more content talking about
flimsy issues like what Rahul gandhi ate or how mumbai
"defeated" dadagiri of shiv sena. Is there anyone who can
understand that India's conscience is getting farther and farther away
from things that really matter. God save my land and people
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ramesh says:
February 17,2010 at 11:04 PM IST
Well said Tarunji, you have put our feelings into words.A nation of
one billion plus have been humbled by this party. Shame on us for
electing them.
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Diva says:
February 17,2010 at 11:05 PM IST
Great Article,tarun...Need of the hour...
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Amit says:
February 17,2010 at 11:42 PM IST
Absolutly spot on article. 10 people dies and over 50 injured and our
prime minister did not utter a single word. Congress is happy as long
as they cling on to ruling the government at any cost. We dont have a
prime minister do we ? Whats the whole point of providing top notch
security to a movie cinema when a common man does not feel safe ? So
many newspapers and tv news dedicated hours and hours to show how
great shahrukh khan and his movie was , No one dared to hold the govt
accountable for the security and blasts in our cities. No wonder we
are so religous , our only hope is God.
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sam says:
February 17,2010 at 11:59 PM IST
very true Tarunji. We Indians have learnt to glorify everything
foreign and forget our own roots.
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Raj says:
February 18,2010 at 12:56 AM IST
Can you please show these spineless idiots that there
is a word in the dictionary called PRIDE. Either they
have sold their souls or taken a solemn oath to keep getting kicked
and stay silent. Unfortunately our junta and jawans have suffered, but
then why should they care. The Manmohans, Chidambarans, Tharoors might
be the educated lot but then when has education bought pride and self
respect. why is it that in the name of politics we have to keep
getting slapped and stay quiet. Is the pressure from the U.S.A. so
huge that we can't sustain the weight and have to crumble. Isn't it
pathetic to know that the biggest terrorist country in the world is
dictating terms and we are dancing to their tunes. Let's not be fooled
between 'Exploratory' and 'Composite Dialogue'. Are they going to
divulge the contents of the meeting to the public to let them know
what they discussed. It
almost seems our politicians have a love affair with Pakistan that
overrides the lives of our own people. What a SHAME.
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Vikram says:
February 18,2010 at 01:15 AM IST
The great democracy, India as we all call it, is buckling under the
pressure of capitalism [copied ditto from The West], communism
[impinged by the EAST] and fundamentalism [thrusted by our neighbors].
Aiding that is a messed up media network that is willing to cover the
pigeons at Taj after Mumbai disaster and the trivial details of R.
Mahajan's swayamwar. I am guessing its the audience (which is me, if
not us!) who is stupid and shameless to accept and watch it.
It's great that you have shown the 2 Indias that we live in...
"Daffodils in Face of Bullets" was a work which shows hope
and this one points out that hope alone is not enough.
Our soldiers are our first line of physical defense. Not for any other
motive but just for pure vested interest of self protection we must
take great care of these fellas. And then, if we are ashamed a little
bit, can we think of them as being humans or sons, brothers, sisters
of someone we owe but don't know!
I believe that this task should be taken up as a community service,
where by schools, colleges and universities interact with the defenses
to create awareness among the youth and at the same time let our boys
know that We Are With Them!
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sailaja says:
February 18,2010 at 04:16 AM IST
very well said and so true. Thank you Tarunji. Most Indian media is
promoting talks despite Pak supported terror. People should vote for
the party which acts tough against terrorists and their supporters.
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Devendra says:
February 18,2010 at 04:21 AM IST
Marvelous article Tarun ji; a tight slap on the face of so called
modern and secular actors, cricketers and politicians, who are well
versed in dramatization.
Jai Jawan Jai Kisan.
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Pavan says:
February 18,2010 at 05:32 AM IST
I still prefer talks as recent attacks with clear evidence of they
been made from Pak, Smell of some other countries hand ...who has
interests in having a war and selling us arms
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Kamalesh Sharda says:
February 18,2010 at 08:39 AM IST
Time after time Pakistan calls Indian Government's bluff and scores
diplomatic victories. From India's track record with respect to verbal
threats and not even standing behind the so called statements, gives
Pakistan the message that whether Pakistan does anything towards going
after the terrorist groups or not, India eventually will come to the
table. India needs to learn from history. Power comes from showing
strength and if necessary using it and not by just talking about it.
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R B Singh says:
February 18,2010 at 10:48 AM IST
It will be a great service to nation if our PM , Home minister,
Foreign minister and other CMs should find some time to read this
article and act. I find many such article from Tarun Vijay and others
in TOI and other papers. I just wonder whether it is going to make any
changes in the mindset of politicians and the television news
selecction criteria.
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Vikram says:
February 18,2010 at 10:48 AM IST
Soldiers ar given bravery awards like Param veer chakra and veer
chakra. It is ridiculous to argue that they should be given Bharath
Ratna as it falls into a different category.
Your heart is in he right place Mr Tarun Vijay, but you should not
think with it.
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PJS says:
February 18,2010 at 11:45 AM IST
I was a soldier once.I still feel like one after my retierment.It is
nice to know some one like you holds our services in high esteem.But
public in general only respect uniform at the time of war or incidents
like 26/11.Respect in the society is as per your financial
status.Patrotism is a feeling which is difficult to feel and
understand.
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sarthak says:
February 18,2010 at 11:53 AM IST
Hi Tarunji,
A wonderful article throwing light discepancies of media and ruling
government
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Prasad says:
February 18,2010 at 11:56 AM IST
HI Tarun, your blog is as always excellent. Hope our politicians are
also reading your blog. I feel very frustrated & ashamed when I
read your blog. I think thats the power of your writing. Hope it will
bring the change in our attitude 1 day.
Thanks,
Prasad
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Karthik says:
February 18,2010 at 11:58 AM IST
An excellent article, the point made here is no one questions the need
for peace, all we are questioning is the timing of this initiative, do
we think without dismantling the terror infrastructure in Pakistan,
the current process of peacemaking would be sustainable
The point is peace is sustainable only if both sides want it and
definitely the way Pakistan is behaving and continues to behave it
seems that they are happy in this Chaos and they certainly are
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Amreesh Sharma says:
February 18,2010 at 01:32 PM IST
Another hard hitting gem on the face of dirty politicians and dual
character peace lovers. our politicians dont have guts to even stick
to their words. i feel the politicians and so called peace makers are
as perperators as the bomb blasters of pune or elsewhere. We need to
think very seriously abt it. This govt is shame on our motherland and
impotent khadi vardiwaalas are the black spot on the sovereignty and
pride of the country. Soldiers are the real heroes and this govt has
lost its morality and playing the dirty politics at the cost of
anything.....
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Kumar says:
February 18,2010 at 01:40 PM IST
A very real analysis on today's statae of affairs. We feel ashamed by
the stand India has taken today which may be under pressure from US
because of some under table deal by our supreme leaders............
It's really shamefull
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Arindam Dutta says:
February 18,2010 at 02:13 PM IST
Tarun you have been a journalist for a long enough time to understand
that media is a business. It has to cover things in which people are
interested. Take yourself for an example, who will read your articles
if you don't always write against a particular community ? The trouble
is that most people don't pay much attention to politics; they aren't
very interested in it. Among the few who follow it closely, most treat
it like football: having picked a side, they give it completely one-
eyed support. Just like you Tarun.
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Vik says:
February 18,2010 at 02:25 PM IST
Pathetic...u guys are the ones who bring news out to us and yet you
are questioning the attitude of ur disgusting media friends just to
fill up ur article...u all are same...
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Jitender says:
February 18,2010 at 03:37 PM IST
What else can be expected from Congress? I feel pity for those who
vote for congress. we need a leader who can lead us in the war not in
the peace & Italian lady cant not understand this feeling.
nice stuff by Tarun Jee.
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(Reply to Jitender)- Venky says:
February 19,2010 at 06:10 AM IST
I do not understand what the Italian lady have something to do with
this? You can say Congress as a party but drag individuals. To me she
has conducted herself in much better way than many Indian born
politicians. As per the constitution she had every right to accept the
PM post, she did not. Tell me which Indian born politician would say
no, when the whole parlimentary party elect him/her to be next PM? I
do not like congress's Muslim appeasing policies, but this is not new
now, it started since independence.
Venkys
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raj k says:
February 18,2010 at 03:51 PM IST
dear tarun, dont waste your health and time cribbing maybe it is
destiny, i have come to the conclusion that majority of our people
lack courage and soul. we ourselves are our worst enemies. we want to
see pakistani cricketers we want their artists that is the general
view they are the best neighbours, we want srk, to hell with
everything else that should be important.
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Pranay says:
February 18,2010 at 04:19 PM IST
Indians are the softest target, bcz people of world believe that being
an Indians means being an impotent. Bcz hum sirf baatein hi kar shakte
hain, aur kuchh nahi.
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james says:
February 18,2010 at 04:53 PM IST
Tarun Ji
I am ahumble small man ,,, who is a HINDU and has nothing to fell
ashamed abt it and thinks that hindu values and ethos r under attack
in india. What BJP and other political parties are trying to so now id
to call in people and try to create asceular image,, people whoes
culture and values can never be indian... with christian conversions
and islamic fundamentalism on rise days r not far when hindus will be
a minority.. here is my suggestion to all who think abt hindus and
hindu values
1) creation of a state within a state (called bharat) where hindus can
form a israel kind of setup. Anybody who professes to be a hindu FREE
ENTRY
2)instilling pride and hinour in hindus who think theri heros for last
1000 yeasr are only gandhi and nehru forgetting rana pratap, shivaji
and many many others.
3)seperation of hindu media where atleast the plight of kashmiri
hindus, pakistani bangladeshi hindus can be talked abt and compared
that to luxury in which muslims live in india.
4)A fund gathering mechanism to counter christian propoganda.. we r
ourselves to blame here hindu organizations like rss and bjp shuld do
everything tey can to address this
5)After singling out Dalits, christians organizations with help of
people like KAncha Illiah(who calls himself buddhist) are now trying
to ween out OBCs from hindu fold. dalits r just 10% but obcs form 50%
of hindu population.. their target is clear.
Instill hinduness in youth who r so lost in CAT and IIMs and forget
that without a strong state which constitutes people who actually love
the nation( not whoes loyality lies with saudi arabia). The end
results are german bakery.
I hope congress makes german bakery as big an issue which it made of
best bakery
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pravin says:
February 18,2010 at 05:14 PM IST
Good work Tarun, i found somebody in TOI who atlesat matches with
general Indian youth sentiments. Indeed, very thought provoking
article. Far better than Barkha Dutt , Rajdeep Sardasi & Co.
Please give a copy of this article to SRK, Ashok Chavan & so
called hypocratic " secularist"people of India.I Wish God
bless our idiot politicians, actors with little patriot feeling before
they pass any ridiculous "PAKI welcome" statements. God
bless India.JAI HIND
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(Reply to pravin)- chinmay says:
February 20,2010 at 11:47 PM IST
well said buddy... unfortunately it is fashionable to speak against
hindus in india.. really wot constituency do these barkha dutts
represent,, instead of holding talk shows she should herself speak her
stupid mind for and hour.. she hardly lets anyone she doesnt agree
with speak..
majority of indians are hindus.. so hindutva should be equated to
patriotism ,, but muslim appeasement is patriotism here..
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Rajesh says:
February 18,2010 at 05:55 PM IST
A very thought provoking note! Thanks Tarun Ji.
Congies have sold their souls long back..their old leaders like
Digvijay Singh going to the convicted terrorits houses and stating
with doubt about the encounter. What else you can expect from these
spineless politicians? For what Inspector Mohan Sharma laid his life?
Was it a just drama of SRK the joker.
The only solution to this problem is to go and vote for a better
national party.
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JP says:
February 18,2010 at 07:32 PM IST
Hi Tarun, You have rightly mentioned the polar policies or congress
governemnt and baseless their comments. They are really making country
cowardice and this is reason pakistan behaves obstinate each time.
Either PM or home minister are just puppets of party where command of
decision is taken today also similar to anarchy by single person. Only
God can help this country to save from these people. Congress has only
Gandhi and people have given BJP an opportunity to tackle and show tit
for tat to Pakistan but unfortunately it could not reach to result due
to lack of experience. lets hope a party of difference "BJP"
under young leadership like Gadkari can do miracle and save our
country from such puppets. Thank you very much for keeping awake
spirit of Indian and i wish you have log life to go ahead this tru
mission of saving country and its values.
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RAMESH AGARWAL says:
February 18,2010 at 08:14 PM IST
TARUNJI, IT IS VERY NICE ARTICLE DIPICTING TRUE PICTURE OFOUR
COUNTRY,IT IS UNFORTUNATE THAT OUR LEADERS ARE MORE INTERESTED IN
GIVING PROMINENCE TO USELESS THINGS LIKE FILM ACTORS/CRICKET/DIRTY
POLITICS AND DYNASTY RULE HAS NEVER BEING CONDEMNED.OUR SOLDIERS WON 4
WARS AT THE COST OF GREATEST SACRIDICES BUT UNDONE BY THE POLITICIANS
ON NEGOTIATION TABLE. WE ARE VERY GOOD ON WAR FRONT BUT VERY POOR ON
DIPLOMACY THAT IS WHY PAKISTAN IS EXPORTING TERRORISM BUT GETTING ALL
WHATEVER SHE LIKES FROM USA/WEST BUT WE ARE ALWAYS PUSHED TO TALK TO
PAKISTAN.OUR LEADERS ARE GOOD IN MAKING SPEECES BUT NEVER CARE TO
IMPLEMENT.IN FIGHTING TERRORISM WE ALWAYS SEE MUSLIMS VOTE BANKS THAT
IS WHY CAN NOT ELIMINATE LOCAL SLEEPING CELLS HELPING IN TERRORISM.WE
ARE NOT WORRIED ABOUT OUR ARMY PERSOONEL WHO LOST LIVES FOR MOTHERLAND
BUT TO KHANS.HOW LONG IT WILL CONTINUE. FOR SMALL TROUBLE WITH MUSLIMS
OUR LEADERS PAY MORE ATTENTION BUT PLAY POLITICS ON MAIOSTS/
NAXALITES.SEE MAMTA BANERJEE IS SUPPORTER OF MAIOISTS BUT STILL A
MEMBER OF CABINET.OUR LEADERS ARE MORE WORRIED ABOUT POWER THAN
SECURITY OF NATIONS.WHENEVER TERRORISTS ARE CAUGHT OUR LEADERS ARE
FIRST TO REACH TO OFFER SYMPATHY AND HELP THAT IS WHY WE CAN NOT
CONTENT TERRORISM WHILE USA/UK/WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE SUCCEEDED BECAUSE
NO POLITICS ON IT.IN INDIA ALL EFFORTS OF PARTIES ARE TO PLEASE
MUSLIMS AND THAT IS WHY TERRORISM IS CONTINUED AND IT WILL NOT
STOPPED.FOR NEHRU!S MISTAKES WE ARE SUFFERED TILL NOW AND NOW SONIA/
MMS ARE DOING SAME. THIS TALK HAS INITIATED UBDER PRESSURE FROM USA
AND WE CAN NOT HAVE GUTTS TO EXPLAIN OUR POSITION AND REFUSE.ONLY GOD
WILL HELP US.WE HAVE NOT LEARN A LESSON FROM OUR PAST MISTAKES AND
MOST OF OUR MEDIA IS ALSO GUILITY FOR SUPPORTING GOVT AND CRITICISING
BJP/NATIONALISM.WITH THIS OFFER OF TALKS WE AS NATION HAS BEEN
HUMILIATED AND THIS COULD BE SEEN FROM THE STATEMENTS MADE BY
PAKISTANI LEADERS.
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Mahendra Patel says:
February 18,2010 at 09:51 PM IST
Tarun,
I read your articles once and while, great sense of Petriotism and
asking question, What is for INDIA ? in it. Yes every INDIAN should be
asking Probing Question 1)Are our Politicians acting for their Party's
Interest or of of Nation's interest. 2)Are we adequatelty training and
providing right equipments and salary for our POLICE, bsf AND
military??
3)Is our so called minority which is about 20% of population is
learning in school with right education,are their female gender dress
properly, are their religious congregation creating Noise polution
these are the issues to tackle on.
4) the real threat is not "Pakistan" or "JIhad"
both are Lots of Hot Air we human release once and while creating bad
atmosphere, real threats are the MAOIST- thta's where we need to focus
like LASER.
5) Pakistan is no threat to INDIA though there are growing field of
"JIHADIST" mushrooming like dandelion by that scale more of
them are less effective their voices become- These are annoyance but
not Mortal threat to INDIA.
6) There is nothing to talk with PAKISTAN-The name we gave "PEACE
TALK" should caled "Working Group" for water,
trade,Joint Border Issues and nothing more thus no need to be GIVEN
SPACE IN NEWS- These are non-issues for INDIA.
Chnadragupta said to Chanakya I understand now in and out of Whole
NATION, who is for and who is agaist nation,what are real issues and
what are not. Time has come to retake it to it's RIGHT FULL GLORY.
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BB says:
February 18,2010 at 10:12 PM IST
Excellent article. I would request tarun ji to raise the issue of the
politicians who gave shelter, money to batla/IM terrorists which is
going unnoticed by 'ever vigilant media'! We want police to act
against political pressure and arrest them and punish them as
criminals, we can already anticipate who were the politicians. It will
be very nice tarun ji, if you voice our concerns. Since we know
without political patronage terrorism would not have raised its head
inside our country.
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Nadeer says:
February 19,2010 at 07:07 AM IST
May be the talks do no good, but they don't harm either.I am an Indian
Muslim working in China, and I had met many Pakis here. What I can say
is "Indians hate Pakis(read muslims)and Pakis hate Indians(read
Hindus) ".But that doesn't mean all Pakis would fight against
India or vice versa.They too want to live normal lives,keeping the
hatred inside, just like Indians.Can India stop terrorist activity on
its own soil? Then how can we expect a weaker Pak govt to be able to
do the same?That the respective govts support terror is an allegation
from few quarters on both sides.If we were to resort violence, then
more pakis who keep hatred in their minds will unleash their hatred
and start striking back, killing more people on both sides. Just a war
which is not based on any ideological issues would never stop, and
would harm both sides.
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Rohit says:
February 19,2010 at 09:34 AM IST
Bharat Ratna is a civilian award. Can I also question then as to why
no non-soldier ever got a Param Vir Chakra ? (This is not meant to
demean any soldier; just presenting a rational argument without
getting too swayed by emotions)
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Soldier says:
February 19,2010 at 11:23 AM IST
Even though I know you are from the saffron brigade and therefore anti
muslim too but still I like your articles. And todays article is one
of the best. Wish you could become a bit secular and understand that a
soldier can even be a muslim too and we also love this country as much
as you do. FYI I am myself a soldier and a Muslim too
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SonV says:
February 19,2010 at 01:04 PM IST
Hi tarun, when I was 10, I read the story of prithviraj chauhan and
Mohammad ghori. Stories always portrayed Prithviraj as a “great-
brave” warrior . He might have been a brave warrior but I feel
that he least cared about his country and countrymen. He did not value
the die hard efforts and sacrifice of his soldiers and the amount of
loss that India might have had because of war. He simply released
Ghori and registered himself as a “great” leader in the
history books. I think more than greatness it was a really foolish
decision and a big mistake for which he paid later on.
When I read this story I never knew that I will have to see with my
own eyes such a thing happening. Yes the prithviraj – ghori saga
is repeating.. And we are doing the same mistake as chauhan did
centuries ago.
Coming to the modern saga.. the way we reacted after the terror
attacks in Mumbai was really appreciable. They looked firm and strong
in boycotting Pakistan at the international level. But with time once
again we have proved ourself as “spineless”. Yes, I think
we are spineless country, with no more dignity and self respect left.
Why had we done all this “anti- pak” drama during the last
one year. We could have welcomed Pakistan on 27th November 2008
itself. I really feel so helpless and humiliated when this peace
process is taking place on top of ongoing terror strikes..
What can be done in this situation tarun ji.. I really want all of us
to raise our voice and let this govt know that we are not ok with this
impotent behavior.. !! how can we show to the world that we too are a
dignified and strong race and we do care for our citizens and
soldiers.. What can be done..!!!!!
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Dr P R Chakraborty says:
February 19,2010 at 01:18 PM IST
No, please, we should go on talking to Pakistan. So what if they
regularly send terrorists into this country and kill our citizens, so
what if they train our home-grown traitors of our country for
terrorist activities here, so what if they are pathological liars, so
what if they have systematically decimated the Hindu population in
their country! If we do not talk with them , what will our gora
secular teachers say? How can we face the secular world ? And after
all, none of us or our close ones are ever killed in the attacks. We
all get security cover, even our jamairajas!! Again we have our pet
dogs, the kingpins of the Fourth Estate and the secular intellectuals
whom we regularly give the biscuit crumbs to keep them happy. Long
time back Swami Vivekananda had said that this age would be the age of
“sudras” - by which he had meant that persons of extremely
menial and slavish mental level. How true if you look at our leaders
now, right from the “very top”. We should have stopped all
exchanges with Pakistan, all here means all, and closed our borders
with that country and let them stew in their own juice. No , we are
entertaining them through “Aman Ki Asha” –
Pakistanis must be laughing in their insides. God above must also be
thinking and getting frustrated with people who are so self-
destructing. Amen!!
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Ravi Gidwani says:
February 19,2010 at 01:43 PM IST
Great Article.I fully agree with Tarun's views.
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SonV says:
February 19,2010 at 02:09 PM IST
Hi tarun, when I was 10, I read the story of prithviraj chauhan and
Mohammad ghori. Stories always portrayed Prithviraj as a “great-
brave” warrior . He might have been a brave warrior but I feel
that he least cared about his country and countrymen. He did not value
the die hard efforts and sacrifice of his soldiers and the amount of
loss that India might have had because of war. He simply released
Ghori and registered himself as a “great” leader in the
history books. I think more than greatness it was a really foolish
decision and a big mistake for which he paid later on.
When I read this story I never knew that I will have to see with my
own eyes such a thing happening. Yes the prithviraj – ghori saga
is repeating.. And we are doing the same mistake as chauhan did
centuries ago.
Coming to the modern saga.. the way we reacted after the terror
attacks in Mumbai was really appreciable. They looked firm and strong
in boycotting Pakistan at the international level. But with time once
again we have proved ourself as “spineless”. Yes, I think
we are spineless country, with no more dignity and self respect left.
Why had we done all this “anti- pak” drama during the last
one year. We could have welcomed Pakistan on 27th November 2008
itself. I really feel so helpless and humiliated when this peace
process is taking place on top of ongoing terror strikes..
What can be done in this situation tarun ji.. I really want all of us
to raise our voice and let this govt know that we are not ok with this
impotent behavior.. !! how can we show to the world that we too are a
dignified and strong race and we do care for our citizens and
soldiers.. What can be done..!!!!!
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SonV says:
February 19,2010 at 02:25 PM IST
Hi tarun, when I was 10, I read the story of prithviraj chauhan and
Mohammad ghori. Stories always portrayed Prithviraj as a “great-
brave” warrior . He might have been a brave warrior but I feel
that he least cared about his country and countrymen. He did not value
the die hard efforts and sacrifice of his soldiers and the amount of
loss that India might have had because of war. He simply released
Ghori and registered himself as a “great” leader in the
history books. I think more than greatness it was a really foolish
decision and a big mistake for which he paid later on.
When I read this story I never knew that I will have to see with my
own eyes such a thing happening. Yes the prithviraj – ghori saga
is repeating.. And we are doing the same mistake as chauhan did
centuries ago.
Coming to the modern saga.. the way we reacted after the terror
attacks in Mumbai was really appreciable. They looked firm and strong
in boycotting Pakistan at the international level. But with time once
again we have proved ourself as “spineless”. Yes, I think
we are spineless country, with no more dignity and self respect left.
Why had we done all this “anti- pak” drama during the last
one year. We could have welcomed Pakistan on 27th November 2008
itself. I really feel so helpless and humiliated when this peace
process is taking place on top of ongoing terror strikes..
What can be done in this situation tarun ji.. I really want all of us
to raise our voice and let this govt know that we are not ok with this
impotent behavior.. !! how can we show to the world that we too are a
dignified and strong race and we do care for our citizens and
soldiers.. What can be done..!!!!!
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SonV says:
February 19,2010 at 03:02 PM IST
Hi tarun, when I was 10, I read the story of prithviraj chauhan and
Mohammad ghori. Stories always portrayed Prithviraj as a “great-
brave” warrior . He might have been a brave warrior but I feel
that he least cared about his country and countrymen. He did not value
the die hard efforts and sacrifice of his soldiers and the amount of
loss that India might have had because of war. He simply released
Ghori and registered himself as a “great” leader in the
history books. I think more than greatness it was a really foolish
decision and a big mistake for which he paid later on.
When I read this story I never knew that I will have to see with my
own eyes such a thing happening. Yes the prithviraj – ghori saga
is repeating.. And we are doing the same mistake as chauhan did
centuries ago.
Coming to the modern saga.. the way we reacted after the terror
attacks in Mumbai was really appreciable. They looked firm and strong
in boycotting Pakistan at the international level. But with time once
again we have proved ourself as “spineless”. Yes, I think
we are spineless country, with no more dignity and self respect left.
Why had we done all this “anti- pak” drama during the last
one year. We could have welcomed Pakistan on 27th November 2008
itself. I really feel so helpless and humiliated when this peace
process is taking place on top of ongoing terror strikes..
What can be done in this situation tarun ji.. I really want all of us
to raise our voice and let this govt know that we are not ok with this
impotent behavior.. !! how can we show to the world that we too are a
dignified and strong race and we do care for our citizens and
soldiers.. What can be done..!!!!!
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SonV says:
February 19,2010 at 03:04 PM IST
Hi tarun, when I was 10, I read the story of prithviraj chauhan and
Mohammad ghori. Stories always portrayed Prithviraj as a “great-
brave” warrior . He might have been a brave warrior but I feel
that he least cared about his country and countrymen. He did not value
the die hard efforts and sacrifice of his soldiers and the amount of
loss that India might have had because of war. He simply released
Ghori and registered himself as a “great” leader in the
history books. I think more than greatness it was a really foolish
decision and a big mistake for which he paid later on.
When I read this story I never knew that I will have to see with my
own eyes such a thing happening. Yes the prithviraj – ghori saga
is repeating.. And we are doing the same mistake as chauhan did
centuries ago.
Coming to the modern saga.. the way we reacted after the terror
attacks in Mumbai was really appreciable. They looked firm and strong
in boycotting Pakistan at the international level. But with time once
again we have proved ourself as “spineless”. Yes, I think
we are spineless country, with no more dignity and self respect left.
Why had we done all this “anti- pak” drama during the last
one year. We could have welcomed Pakistan on 27th November 2008
itself. I really feel so helpless and humiliated when this peace
process is taking place on top of ongoing terror strikes..
What can be done in this situation tarun ji.. I really want all of us
to raise our voice and let this govt know that we are not ok with this
impotent behavior.. !! how can we show to the world that we too are a
dignified and strong race and we do care for our citizens and
soldiers.. What can be done..!!!!!
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SonV says:
February 19,2010 at 03:11 PM IST
Hi tarun, when I was 10, I read the story of prithviraj chauhan and
Mohammad ghori. Stories always portrayed Prithviraj as a “great-
brave” warrior . He might have been a brave warrior but I feel
that he least cared about his country and countrymen. He did not value
the die hard efforts and sacrifice of his soldiers and the amount of
loss that India might have had because of war. He simply released
Ghori and registered himself as a “great” leader in the
history books. I think more than greatness it was a really foolish
decision and a big mistake for which he paid later on.
When I read this story I never knew that I will have to see with my
own eyes such a thing happening. Yes the prithviraj – ghori saga
is repeating.. And we are doing the same mistake as chauhan did
centuries ago.
Coming to the modern saga.. the way we reacted after the terror
attacks in Mumbai was really appreciable. They looked firm and strong
in boycotting Pakistan at the international level. But with time once
again we have proved ourself as “spineless”. Yes, I think
we are spineless country, with no more dignity and self respect left.
Why had we done all this “anti- pak” drama during the last
one year. We could have welcomed Pakistan on 27th November 2008
itself. I really feel so helpless and humiliated when this peace
process is taking place on top of ongoing terror strikes..
What can be done in this situation tarun ji.. I really want all of us
to raise our voice and let this govt know that we are not ok with this
impotent behavior.. !! how can we show to the world that we too are a
dignified and strong race and we do care for our citizens and
soldiers.. What can be done..!!!!!
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Deepesh says:
February 19,2010 at 05:06 PM IST
UPA bows down from the pressure of Indian Muslims and US. ever i
wonder y to talk with the Pakis?? when we dont talk , there is no
Blasts, as soon as there are resumptions of talks there are Pune like
incidents.Pak's PM was mocking at us in a public rally, wat a shame
for our leaders.
Hail UPA and the people who voted for them!! Huh !!
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Ravinder says:
February 19,2010 at 05:58 PM IST
The comment "Ghutne tek kar bulaya..." exposes Pakistans
perfidity. It was Pakistan that was begging for composite dialogue
since Mumbai attack. True to its character, Pakistan started making
such comments after India proposed limited talks under US pressure.
Are all the politicians in Pakistan totally shameless?
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Kumar says:
February 19,2010 at 09:15 PM IST
Thanks Tarun Ji for writing this article. Shashi Tarror, Manmohan,
Krishna and Chidambaram definitely don't have any right to continue on
their posts. They have become spineless creatures and I don't know
what is making them to become a puppet. They have completely lost
their senses.
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Uday Deole says:
February 19,2010 at 09:34 PM IST
Very well written article.However there are very few takers for this
article though no. of comments in favour of you are more. Whenever the
question of Pakistani cricketrs and artists comes then suddenly all
people become lovers of arts and sports. All brave words are
forgotten. Whether similar treatment is meted out to Indian artists or
not is conveniently forgotten. Mr. Vijay you have questioned only
politicains. But what is the role of media in this?.
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(Reply to Uday Deole)- Beenal Tavri says:
February 20,2010 at 07:50 AM IST
The media has just one role: To make money by boosting its TRP, and
preferably run down the Hindus and feign secularism
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(Reply to Uday Deole)- anandvc says:
February 20,2010 at 10:35 AM IST
Ah.... pls do not talk about media .... it is supreme... doing the
best ... no ?
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Satbir Singh Bedi says:
February 20,2010 at 05:51 PM IST
An excellent article. However, we are all to be blamed for according
top priority to film personalities, politicians and cricketers. The
media is full of news about these people and has all its precious
space for wriiting about them. But media only cater to our needs. I
have seen youngesters eagrely reading what is gossip about film
personalities, politicians and cricketers. Media highlights who is in
love with which actresses or which cricketer because we like to read
about them. We never think about our soldiers except at the time of
war. It is only when there is full scale attack on the country like
that in 1962 or in 1965 or in 1971 or the Kargil war that we remember
our soldiers. It is in fact our lack of interest in our soldiers. We
do not want to send our sons and daughters to join Armed Forces but
like them to become Soft Ware Engineers, etc. or better to go to
Australia, Canada, UK or USA. We suffer humiliation but like to go to
Arab countries for money and remain subject to Shariah law. Our Prime
Minister himself took it upon himself to praise British Raj. He really
showered so much praise on the British rulers. But he is not alone to
be blamed. I have heard a youngester say that Bhagat Singh wasted his
life. He should have lived a decent life and not indulged in revolt
against the British raj. And again, it is we who vote politicians to
power. We are charmed by our politicians and give our vote to them
quite willingly. People have voted for the Congress willingly. So, let
them suffer willingly. And point has been raised about the soldier.
But what about the Aam Aadami. He goes on living a sub standard life
while leaders, cricketers and film personalities make merry. We would
only wake up when Pakistan attacks us fully otherwise we would go on
sleeping. God forbid if Pakistan occupies our country's part and
capture all the women living in that part and sells them in Lahore for
prostitution, only then we would remember our soldiers.
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iftekhar says:
February 20,2010 at 07:13 PM IST
Even to discuss terrorism india has to talk to pakistan, in this age
of globization Tarun you cant advocate no talk theory. frst i dont
understan why indian had bad rrealations with all neibhors, pak,
nepal, banglades, srilanka, china. is something wrong with india or
these countries.
nobody in our neibouring countirs have person like bal thackry who
issues dictats, for films for poets for painters.
old thackry will never raise the issue of nazal or maoist voilence
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Capt. Ajay Tripathi says:
February 21,2010 at 10:34 AM IST
Well said Tarun! You can put our thoughts to word and express our
feelings.
Where our politicians are taking us remains unclear after seeing the
state of Andhra Pradesh. It's true the opposition is most weak at
present and common man see no alternative, but does that mean the
government can do anything they consider is right?
bademiyansubhanallah
TNN, Mar 3, 2010, 06.19pm IST
Pravin Mahajan dies in hospitalMUMBAI: Pravin Mahajan, who was
sentenced to life imprisonment for killing brother & BJP leader Pramod
Mahajan, died in a Thane hospital on Wednesday evening, family sources
said.
Pravin, 50, who was serving his life imprisonment, is survived by his
wife and two children Kapil and Vaishali both of whom are college
students.
Pravin Mahajan had been admitted to the Jupiter hospital in December
2009 following a brain haemorrhage and had been in coma since then.
He had been put on life support system and was struggling for life but
failed to recover at the Hospital where he was admitted, a close aide
of the family said. However, hospital authorities did not issue any
official word on the developments and most family members also
declined to comment.
In a dramatic murder that shocked the country, Pravin Mahajan had
killed his elder brother Pramod Mahajan on April 22, 2006 in his
Mumbai home. The high-profile BJP leader succumbed to his wounds 12
days later on May 3.
Pravin Mahajan was sentenced to life by a sessions court for
fratricide on Dec 18, 2007. He was released on 14-day parole on
November 27, 2009 after three-and-a-half years in prison and was
supposed to return to prison when he suffered the stroke and was
hospitalized.
Following is the chronology of the Pramod Mahajan murder trial
April 22, 2006: Pravin Mahajan shoots Pramod Mahajan at his Worli
residence.
April 22, 2006: Pravin surrenders before the Worli Police.
April 23, 2006: Pravin sent to police custody by Bhoiwada court.
April 27, 2006: Cops record statement of Mahajan's family.
May 03, 2006: Pramod Mahajan succumbs to his injuries and dies at a
city hospital.
July 14, 2006: 650-page chargesheet filed before Bhoiwada court for
charges under IPC Section 302 (murder) and Section 449 (house
trespass).
July 24, 2006: Pravin files for bail application before Sewri sessions
court.
July 30, 2006: Pramod Mahajan's murder case committed to the sessions
court.
August 01, 2006: Sessions judge Abhay Thipsay rejects Pravin's bail
plea.
Sept 01, 2006: Harshad Ponda appointed as defence lawyer by Pravin.
Sept 08, 2006: Special prosecutor Srikant Bhatt withdraws from the
case.
Sept 25, 2006: Special prosecutors Ujjwal Nikam and Niteen Pradhan
appointed by the state.
Jan 23, 2007: Pravin pleads not guilty.
March 21, 2007: Trial commences at the sessions court.
March 23, 2007: Rekha tells the court that she saw Pravin firing
bullets at her husband.
April 10, 2007: Rekha tells the court that Pravin had threatened
Pramod and demanded Rs one crore.
April 11, 2007: Brother-in-law Gopinath Munde tells court that Pravin
had sent threatening SMS to Pramod.
April 18, 2007: Supplementary chargesheet filed in Mahajan trial.
May 11, 2007: Key eyewitness and Pramod's domestic help, Mahesh
Wankhede, deposes before the court.
Oct 15, 2007: Pramod's daughter Poonam Mahajan identifies Pravin
before the court and breaks down after cross-examination.
Oct 29, 2007: Pravin shocks the court by stating that he had not
killed his elder brother.
Oct 30, 2007: Pravin makes allegations about Pramod's character in the
court.
Nov 1, 2007: Defence witness B Harikrishnan tells the court that SMS
can be manipulated.
Nov 16, 2007: Harikrishnan manipulates an SMS in a demonstration
before the court.
Nov 22, 2007: Sarangi admits to having sent an SMS to Pramod, says SMS
was tampered.
Nov 30, 2007: Advocates start final arguments.
Dec 03, 2007: Prosecution says money is the motive for murder.
Dec 06, 2007: Judge S P Davare begins dictating the judgement as both
defence and prosecution conclude arguments.
Dec 17, 2007: Court holds Pravin guilty in the case.
Nov 27, 2009: Released on 14-day parole
Dec 11, 2009: Pravin Mahajan lapsed into coma following a suspected
brain hemorrhage.
March 3, 2010: Pravin Mahajan dies
Pravin Mahajan leaves behind unanswered questions
PTI, Mar 3, 2010, 07.11pm IST
MUMBAI: Pravin Mahajan, who lived with his wife and two children in a
modest apartment in Thane near here, was an unknown figure until the
morning of April 22, 2006 when he shot his brother and prominent BJP
leader Pramod.
On that day, Pravin drove to the Worli residence of elder brother
Pramod Mahajan. After a brief, tense conversation, Pravin (who was
carrying a licensed revolver) shot Pramod and then went to a police
station and surrendered.
From that day onwards, Pravin became a national enigma. Very little
was known about him, and about his motive for killing Pramod, who was
then one of the important and high-profile politicians at the national
level.
Pramod passed away 13 days later, on May 3. Pravin was convicted for
the murder by a Mumbai sessions court, and sentenced to life
imprisonment on December 18, 2007.
However, even during the trial the prosecution could not pinpoint the
actual motive. Pravin's lawyer took the stand that he did not shoot
his brother.
Even in his latest interview after he was released on furlough from
Nashik prison last month, Pravin maintained that "I did not kill
Pramod".
Born to a school teacher, Pravin (50) was the youngest of the five
siblings.
As an elder brother, it was Pramod who found for Pravin his bride
Sarangi. Pravin settled down in Thane, working as a consultant.
Apparently, in the last five-six years before Pramod's death, their
relations began to sour. Evidence submitted by prosecution during the
trial indicated that they had disputes over financial transactions.
His other brother, Prakash Mahajan, alleged after the publication of
'Maza Album' that Pravin and his family were living off Pramod's
money.
Though other members of Mahajan family severed ties with him after the
murder, Sarangi stood by him through the trial and afterwards.
He was released on furlough on November 27. Just when the 14-day leave
was about to expire, he complained of headache and blood pressure, and
was taken on December 11 night to Jupiter hospital in Thane.
He arrived in an unconscious state and was diagnosed with severe brain
haemorrhage. He went into coma from which he never recovered.
Apart from his wife, he is survived by two college-going children
Kapil and Vrushali.
Pravin Mahajan pens 'revealing' book on brother Pramod
IANS, Apr 12, 2009, 01.04pm IST
MUMBAI: Barely three weeks before the third death anniversary of the
late Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pramod Mahajan, his brother
Pravin -- undergoing a life-term for killing him -- has come out with
a tell-all book.
The book entitled My Album -- around 175 pages -- will be published in
Marathi and English soon.
In the book, which Pravin said was inspired within the confines of the
prison walls where he is currently lodged, he has dwelt upon several
aspects of his elder brother's personal, professional and political
life, his principles, his political associates, etc, many of them not
exactly laudatory.
In a statement, Pravin's wife Sarangi said: "This book should be
treated as an ordinary book. It doesn't include any of the court
statements which were in-camera."
However, Sarangi made it clear on Sunday morning that this book is not
an autobiography of her husband, merely an authentic account of
certain incidents in his life which he experienced.
"It is not directed against any individual, party or group and should
not be construed as such," she declared.
Recalling his association with his elder brother, Pravin said that
Pramod did everything his way by either "buying" everybody or
"scaring" them into submission to his will.
"He symbolized everything in politics, he was a fixer, dealer, double-
dealer, conspirator, etc, just like Amar Singh," he has written.
Once, Sharad Pawar had saved Pramod from a major problem. In 1998,
Pramod had committed a blunder while filling up his nomination form
for Rajya Sabha elections. He had shown his profession as "Advisor to
Prime Minister", which was an 'office of profit'.
This was brought to Pramod's notice by Pawar. Pramod immediately
rectified it by giving a back-dated resignation letter from his
advisory post. The reason, Pravin explained, was that there were seven
seats and eight contestants. If Pramod's papers had been rejected,
then Pawar's arch-rival Suresh Kalmadi would have been elected
unopposed.
Pravin said that in 1984 during the Lok Sabha elections, Pramod
declared that politics was his "mission" not "profession". "Then, when
did he slip?" the younger brother asks.
He said that between 1998 and 2004, Pramod handled several Lok Sabha
and assembly elections around the country. Election times were when a
lot of money flowed into the party coffers which he used for "personal
pleasure pursuits". He never revealed the sources of his funds to the
party and even told Pravin never to do so, the book extract says.
Discussing the family front, Pravin said that his entire family as
well as sister-in-law (Pramod's wife) Rekha and her children have
suffered a lot.
He cited several disturbing instances in this regard:
"Will my mother deny that Pramod once raised his hand to beat her and
isn't Gopinath Munde (sister's husband) aware of this?
"Did Rahul Mahajan (Pramod's son) once not complain to me about his
(prospective) wife Shweta's loose character?"
"Did Poonam Mahajan (Pramod's daughter) once not tell me how her
father went with some friend to Europe/US in 1992, bringing tears to
my eyes? What do Prakash Mahajan (another brother) and Pratima Mahajan
(his wife) have to say about this?"
He said that Pramod had become arrogant with his position in the party
and the knowledge that he was in the midst of all leaders, ranging
from Pawar to Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, Pravin said.
On April 22, 2006, Pravin had gone to Pramod's house in Worli and
pumped several bullets into his abdomen. After an unsuccessful battle
for survival, Pramod passed away on May 3 that year, leaving a void in
the BJP.
After a trial by the court, Pravin was sentenced to life imprisonment
and is currently in jail.
He has said in the introduction to the book that he could picture his
entire life like a "documentary film" compelling him to put it down on
paper.
Pramod Mahajan's killer, Pravin, released on 14-day parole
PTI, Nov 27, 2009, 02.10pm IST
MUMBAI/NASHIK (MAHARASHTRA): Pravin Mahajan, sentenced to life
imprisonment for killing his brother, the late Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) leader Pramod Mahajan, was on Friday released on parole for 14
days on medical grounds, a family member said.
"He has been released a short while ago on some purely personal
medical reasons," the family member said.
Pravin was pronounced guilty and awarded life sentence by a Mumbai
court in December 2007 for killing his elder brother Pramod at the
latter's flat in Worli. Pramod had succumbed to fatal bullet wounds in
a city hospital on May 3, 2006.
Injured ego made Pravin kill Pramod Mahajan
PTI, Jul 19, 2006, 03.04pm IST
MUMBAI: Greed for money and injured ego were the two main reasons that
prompted Pravin Mahajan to kill his elder brother and BJP General
Secretary Pramod Mahajan, according to the chargesheet filed by police
in a court last week.
The 650-page chargesheet contains the statements of Pravin and 58
witnesses, including Rekha Mahajan, wife of late Pramod Mahajan and
the domestic servant who allegedly saw Pravin firing shots at his
brother at the BJP leader's residence in Worli on April 22.
The chargesheet also reveals how Pravin had allegedly planned the
murder and executed it with a pre-meditated mind.
Pravin has told the police that he had differences with Mahajan for
the past 20 years and although the latter was helping him financially,
he (Pravin) felt it was not enough.
According to Pravin, his brother did not talk to him in public and
also he had no access to Mahajan and had to reach him through his
(Pramod's) secretary, which he could not tolerate and felt that his
brother was humiliating him.
As per Pravin's statement, on April 22 he had planned to kill his
brother if family issues were not settled and with that in mind he had
set out from his Thane house at 5:20 am in his car. It took him nearly
two hours from Thane to Worli and in between he stopped on the way to
ponder over the plan to kill Pramod.
Pravin said that on reaching his brother's house he had initiated
talks on family ties but Mahajan continued reading newspapers. Then
Mahajan reportedly switched on a sports channel on the TV and ignored
him, Pravin stated.
Pravin gets life term for killing Pramod Mahajan
INDIATIMES NEWS NETWORK, Dec 18, 2007, 03.46pm IST
MUMBAI: Pravin Mahajan was sentenced to life imprisonment on Tuesday
for killing his brother and BJP leader Pramod Mahajan.
The younger brother of the prominent BJP leader Pramod Mahajan was
convicted for murder and house trespass with intention to commit a
serious offence.
Special prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam had sought the maximum punishment of
death by hanging on Tuesday for the accused.
While convicting Pravin, Sessions Judge SP Davare had relied on the
statements of Pramod's wife Rekha, servant Mahesh and his own
statement to his brother-in-law and BJP leader Gopinath Munde while on
way to the hospital after being shot at on April 22, last year.
Pravin had fired three bullets at his elder brother at the latter's
residence. Mahajan died after battling for his life for 12 days in a
hospital here.
Davare said the prosecution's case had inspired "every confidence."
CPM goes soft on Mahajan in Shivani murder case
TNN, Aug 17, 2002, 01.38am IST
KOLKATA: Union parliamentary affairs minister Pramod Mahajan earned
respite from the unlikeliest of allies, the CPM, on Friday, while
facing allegations in the Shivani Bhatnagar murder case.
CPM state secretary and Politburo member Anil Biswas said in Kolkata
that the party would not demand Mahajan’s resignation unless he was
charge-sheeted and convicted. “This is our policy. We cannot seek his
resignation on the basis of allegations. The Centre should probe the
case and let people know the truth,” said Biswas. But why are the
Marxists clamouring for the resignation of petroleum minister Ram Naik
in the wake of the petrol pump scandal?
“Corruption charges are different. If he (Naik) steps down, it would
facilitate a fair investigation. It seems the BJP has surpassed the
Congress in corruption at high places,” argued Biswas.
CPM leader in the Lok Sabha and well-known lawyer Somnath Chatterjee
also felt that unless specific charges were made and evidence found
against Mahajan, the allegations would not be legally tenable. But he
accused the government of derailing the probe into the three-year-old
murder case.
Left Front partner and Forward Bloc veteran Ashok Ghosh, however,
wanted Mahajan to relinquish his job “on moral ground” if there was
“prima facie evidence” of his role in the murder.
Congress chief whip in the Lok Sabha Priya Ranjan Das Munshi said, “If
such charges were levelled at me, I would have resigned.”
VVIP visits to Mahajan cause concern
PTI, Apr 24, 2006, 05.18pm IST
MUMBAI: It has been a virtual procession of the nation's leaders,
Bollywood stars, top industrialists and sundry making a trip to the
Hinduja Hospital where high-profile BJP leader Pramod Mahajan is
battling for his life.
Known for his networking across the political spectrum, it is not
surprising that Mahajan enjoys tremendous goodwill and that there has
been a constant stream of visitors to meet his family and convey good
wishes for his recovery.
With television cameras beaming live pictures across the country, it
has become almost obligatory for visiting VVIPs to pose for a national
audience and some have even turned instant doctors updating the media
on Mahajan's health, even if that has been at variance with what the
doctors say.
Bollywood stars and the political biggies have attracted large crowds
causing near chaos in front of the hospital. Police have had a tough
time handling the crowds and clearing the way for the VIPs and hapless
visitors to other patients in the hospital.
Doctors have issued medical bulletins on the BJP General Secretary's
health but many a leader have chosen to do their own medical briefing.
BJP Spokesman Prakash Javadekar has parked himself at the hospital to
deal with the media and has sometimes conducted even the doctor's
briefing.
Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, LK
Advani, Rajnath Singh, Jaswant Singh, Arun Jaitley, Amar Singh, Bal
Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, Maharashtra Governor S M Krishna, Chief
Minister Vilas Rao Deshmukh, Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states and
others political bigwigs have been among the VVIP visitors.
Film and television stars including Amitabh Bachchan, Shabana Azmi and
her lyricist husband Javed Akhtar, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Smriti
Irani and industrialists Mukesh and Anil Ambani have all been there.
Mahajan, of course, is unable to receive the visitors who meet members
of the distraught family to convey their good wishes.
But medical experts take a dim view of VVIP parades in such
situations. Such visits are "uncalled for" as they put pressure on the
relatives and close friends who have to answer queries throughout the
day despite being physically and mentally tired, says Prof PK Dave,
former Director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
Straight Answers
Roshni Olivera, TNN, Aug 13, 2002, 05.29pm IST
Ram Naik, Petroleum Minister, on the recent petrol pump scandal
Isn’t the PM’s decision to cancel petrol-pump allotments a blow to
your ministry and to you?
The PM took this decision after a controversy erupted. The PM held a
meeting with LK Advani, Jaswant Singh, Pramod Mahajan, Sushma Swaraj
and myself, at which we discussed the pros and cons of the issue.
Taking into consideration public interest and the need to re-establish
probity in public life, the decision to cancel petrol-pump allotments
was taken. This is not a personal blow in any way — it is not a
reflection on my personality.
But the fact remains that a large number of petrol pumps and LPG
agencies were allotted to relatives and friends of BJP functionaries.
There is a prescribed procedure under which the 59 Dealer Selection
Boards (DSBs) all over India select applicants. The ministry or the
minister does not interfere in the selection process. Among the
applicants, some may have political affiliations with the BJP, some
with the Congress, some with other parties, and some may have no
political association at all.
To what extent were you involved in the allotment process?
In the past three years, I did not give a single petrol pump out of
turn or under the discretionary quota. Everything was decided by the
DSBs.
In such a situation, will there be an inquiry into the role of DSBs?
There has been no specific complaint by anybody for the government to
initiate an inquiry. Besides, the DSBs were headed by retired high
court and sessions court judges.
By levelling similar allegations against the Congress when it was in
power, is your government trying to justify its own actions?
Not at all. In fact, more than 110 MPs presented a memorandum to the
PM congratulating him on his bold decision. They have suggested that
since the DSBs have been in existence since 1983, allotments to people
since then —most of whom were Congress beneficiaries —should be
probed.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi-times/Straight-Answers/articleshow/18973132.cms
Vivek Moitra's last rites performed in Mumbai
PTI, Jun 4, 2006, 01.16pm IST
MUMBAI: The mortal remains of Vivek Moitra, the long-time secretary to
late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan who died under mysterious
circumstances, were cremated at the Turbhe crematorium in Navi Mumbai
on Sunday.
Mumbai BJP chief Prakash Mehta was among the party leaders who
attended the funeral.
Moitra's body was brought here from Delhi on Saturday night at 11 pm
and shifted to the Municipal Hospital at Vashi where it was kept for
the night.
On Sunday morning, the body was brought to the home of Moitra's
parents at Kharghar in Navi Mumbai and later taken to Turbhe
crematorium.
Moitra's body, kept in the mortuary of AIIMS in New Delhi after
autopsy, was handed over to his relatives and BJP MP Haribhau Rathore
on Saturday after the completion of official proceedings.
He was declared dead on arrival at the Apollo Hospital in Delhi in the
early hours of Friday after a party at late Mahajan's residence that
was attended by Mahajan's son Rahul and four others.
Rahul too was hospitalised in a critical condition and is still
undergoing treatment.
The post-mortem examination of Moitra's body revealed traces of
poison, hospital sources said.
Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of students
through the Right to Information Act?
Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Damodar (Damu) Naik sent an RTI query to
the education department seeking details of students' addresses, date
of birth and their phone numbers. The department forwarded the letter
to schools asking them to reply to the MLA directly. Some 95% schools
have responded, says Naik, though some parents have objected to the
MLA being given details of their children. Naik says the query was for
him to know whether the department had such details of students
available.
Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of students
through the Right to Information Act?
Resident Editor, The Times of India, Goa
P.S. You may also SMS or email your views. Mail us on
mytimes...@timesgroup.com with `RTI' mentioned in the subject
line. To SMS, type MTMV, leave a space, type ‘RTI’, leave a space,
type your comments and your name and sms to 58888. * Charges
applicable. Rs 3 per SMS.
Posted on Friday, February 19, 2010 10:53 PM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
That's great news... Maybe I should also raise an RTI query and take
out address details of all the girls in the neighbouring schools..
Posted by Shitij @ 3/3/2010 2:10 PM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
THANK YOU
Posted by SESLISOHBET @ 3/2/2010 7:24 PM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
THANK YOU
Posted by SESLISOHBET @ 3/2/2010 7:23 PM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
RTI doesnot mean taking out personal info of anyone.
Posted by affiliate @ 3/1/2010 3:26 PM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
Obviously the objective is to acquire database. Why is the question?
Posted by Ranjan @ 3/1/2010 10:23 AM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
~Any thing done by BJP is wrong.
This is a secular country. We cannot allow the fundamentalists to do
anything.
Am i right.? lol...
Posted by Vasu @ 2/28/2010 8:06 PM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
No RTI does not permit this as no purpose is served by this.Personal
information cannot be sought.
Posted by a.p.misra @ 2/28/2010 12:43 PM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
DANGEROUS FOR STUDENTS AND THEIR PARENTS!!!
Posted by GOAN @ 2/27/2010 4:22 PM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
No one has the right to know the personal details of others. The
schools should have refused to provide this information and I feel
those who have done it have committed a crime. Right to Information
act must be clearly defined if there is any ambiguity. There must be
some government department whose advice could be sought on such issues
Posted by S L Gera @ 2/27/2010 9:53 AM
# bvlgari watches
Interesting thing!
That's awesome! I can't wait to get into it.
This looks awesome! Thank you for your information!
Posted by bvlgari watches @ 2/27/2010 6:59 AM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
It's not acceptable to handover personal details of students to any
person. Schools shouldn't have given such information to MLA. It's an
incorrect decision by the department asking schools to respond to
MLA's inquiry.
Posted by Sudhakar Jonnalagadda @ 2/26/2010 2:07 PM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
what is wrong to what mla has done he must be doing some projects or
schemes for them first u should understand for what he got this let
him clarify this and then make issue out of it dont put nose just to
drag the issue
Posted by viresh @ 2/26/2010 1:26 PM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
Regardless of weather or not Damu Naik has a good intention to use
them, It is a pathetic state of affairs that such sensitive
information is available to anyone who can ask for it.
RTI was a great step towards bring around the much needed,
transparancy in India's administrative department.
Perhaps, we need a law to restrict RTI from encroching upon people's
personal information.
Posted by Amit @ 2/25/2010 9:01 PM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
Its not just wrong, its a shame. but in India, anything is possible!
His agenda may be to target to girl students and their parents by
blackmailing etc. Have we forgotten how a police officer Rathore
messed up with a teenage girl?
Political parties meddling with common man is very common to say the
least. But we cant expect any action taken, as no politician,
terrorist or politically supported goon gets any conviction in less
than 20 years, if at all.
Posted by AP @ 2/25/2010 6:19 PM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
Doesn't the resident editor have a modicum of journalistic
responsibility or an iota of sense to seek the reason from the MLA
himself and publishing it as part of the question? Did he rise to the
position of RE from his knees?
Posted by Alo @ 2/25/2010 5:52 PM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
The students are not public servant. The MLA is unjustified and
illegal to ask the personal information about the students. Any body
can ask about the MLA's details under RIA.
So, legal action should be inititated against this.
Posted by Tk Rai @ 2/25/2010 4:11 PM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
Thanks for providing a forum for some Muslims to vent their hatred of
BJP and VHP !
Posted by Ami @ 2/25/2010 6:16 AM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
One can never trust a party like BJP. They simply believe in hate
politics, divide and rule, caste division, division on basis of
religion. Everyone knows what they did in Gujarat under the
supervision of Modi. May India be always safe from BJP and its alikes.
JAI HIND
Posted by F.Hindu @ 2/24/2010 3:12 PM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
a case must immediately book against him and put him behind bars for
life long, so that in future no one should think about dirty politics.
school authorities must take strong action against him.
Posted by parent @ 2/24/2010 12:24 PM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
If heez asking it for the purpose of study of mobile usage by
students, heez correct. Mobiles are the biggest culprits divertions
students from studies & facilitating/encouraging/starting point of
love which is Full stop for studies.
Posted by Chandu @ 2/24/2010 11:14 AM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
What the hell he is doing with student list? What authority he has to
indulge in student activities? Only BJP, VHP etc. can do such
activities to make themselves big Lords. Schools shud not provide such
details & if they have done parents bodies shud sue the schools.
Posted by ramanna @ 2/24/2010 3:30 AM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
Like the VHP and Bajrang Dal, who during the Gujarat riots 2002 were
armed with the voters list so that they were able to selectively
target and pinpoint muslim houses even in Hindu areas and managed to
burn and destroy them. Maybe the MLA has somthing similar going in his
mind.
Posted by rty @ 2/23/2010 11:33 PM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
its disgusting to see that there is no support for clean and honest
mla...mla work is for legislation...inorder to bring a bill in
assembly to ban mobile in schools...there is need for a study...
damu naik wanted to know and survey how m
any school children use mobile and which area location students carry
mobile phones
so freinds this is real fact which i have told to u..i have met him
personally and spoke with him in this regard.
Posted by Durgadas kamat @ 2/23/2010 10:13 PM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
court should ask the MLA as why does he wants this details from teh
students. And anyways Students are not public servant so there is no
need to disclose , School unions should slap notice on these kind of
stupid MLA's who are jst to hog limelight
Posted by Nabeel @ 2/23/2010 4:13 PM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
NO, It doesn't make any sense. This shuould be investigated as why
Naik needs details of students. I doubt if passes it to Pak
terrorists.
Posted by Aly @ 2/23/2010 3:25 PM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
isn't there a privacy Act in India which prohibits release of personal
info to unauthorized parties?
for all we know, this MLA dude can be selling this info to Paki
terrorists who may enter and settle down in India and claim to be
Indian citizens and spread their mayhem.
even more disgusting are the schools that have serviley forwarded
details of their students to this Most Loutish Asshole.
Posted by pk @ 2/23/2010 8:39 AM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
Students are not public servants and should be beyond the perview of
the RTI Act. This means any terrorist can steal the identity of a
student by obtaining all the personal information of genuine students!
Posted by Suresh @ 2/22/2010 8:19 PM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
no, this is not correct. No excuse shoyuld be tolerated and schools
should not revert back to him as RTI doesnot mean taking out personal
info of anyone.
Posted by amy @ 2/22/2010 3:51 PM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
no, this is not correct. No excuse shoyuld be tolerated and schools
should not revert back to him as RTI doesnot mean taking out personal
info of anyone.
Posted by amy @ 2/22/2010 3:50 PM
# re: Is BJP MLA Damu Naik justified in seeking personal details of
students through the Right to Information Act?
Asking these deatils is useless as there are chances that these
details can be misused in future.
Posted by jiya @ 2/22/2010 3:48 PM
http://o3.indiatimes.com/mytimes/archive/2010/02/19/5001429.aspx
Swami Nithyananda’s Scandal Video with a Famous Tamil Actress Shown on
Sun News Live
March 2, 2010, By Ayako Smith in World
A video of Swamy Nithyananda’ having sex with a top tamil actress was
broadcasted on Sun news live and has shocked people across India.
In Nithyananda’s scandal video, he can be seen getting intimate with
an actress whose name happened to start with “R” leading to
speculation if it is Ragasudha or Ranjita.
The video was broadcasted on the famous tamil channel called SUN TV
and the Tamil actress’ face was masked in the video. People have now
called Nithyananda a fraud for making people believe that he is a
Swami.
Nithyananda is supposed to be a Swami (spiritual person) and this
shocking video of him in bed with an actress has only shown how some
people take the common person’s faith for granted.
It still has to be verified if this is the truth or a scam.
http://timesofindia.hotklix.com/Hotklix/link/News/India/Another-guru-in-a-sex-scandal
Woman linked to Pramod Mahajan denies reports
S Balakrishnan & Sandhya Nair, TNN, Nov 1, 2007, 01.38am IST
Alaknanda Pangal has vehemently denied that she and Mahajan shared a
special relationship (TOI Photo)
MUMBAI: The state BJP has been going through pangs of anxiety
following reports in the media of the late Pramod Mahajan's alleged
proximity to a woman from Borivli, one Alaknanda Pangal.
Mahajan, who was the BJP's general secretary and powerful front liner
in Maharashtra, was allegedly killed by his brother Pravin last year.
Alaknanda, who is in her late thirties, vehemently denied that she and
Mahajan had shared a special relationship.
"There was no question of my being close to Pramod," she told TOI on
Wednesday. "He was such a big leader whom I, a small-time worker of
the BJP, could not even access, leave alone get close to. Pramod, like
the Saibaba temple at Shirdi, was a shraddhasthan (object of worship)
for me and will continue to remain one even though he is no more."
The daughter of a BJP worker, Alaknanda, who lives in IC Colony in
Borivli, said she joined the party's mahila wing in 1997 to follow in
the footsteps of her mother, who was active in the Dhule district of
north Maharashtra.
Alaknanda herself is the mother of a 13-year-old daughter. She did not
want to speak about her husband.
"Yesterday, I had gone out of my home when my friends called me on my
cellphone to tell me about reports linking me with Pramod and that my
daughter too had been mentioned," she said. "I rushed home to watch
television and I was shocked to hear the lies being spoken about us.
Only a shikhandi (eunuch) could have made such cheap allegations. My
daughter is 13 years old. If anybody knew anything, then why did that
person wait for 13 years? The lives of public personalities are open
to constant scrutiny. It is not possible to conceal any liaisons."
Asked if she was considering legal action, she replied, "I am studying
the issue and consulting my friends. It will take a few days for me to
formulate my response." She added, "If I was guilty I would have
locked my flat and hidden somewhere to avoid the media. But I have not
done that. I am very much here in my flat. I have nothing to fear."
Given that a year has passed since Mahajan's death, the state BJP has
decided to gradually come out of his shadow. "In future, you will see
fewer posters with Mahajan on them," a senior BJP leader said.
and/or www.mantra.com/jai
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
In article <4b8e9efd$0$12418$bbae...@news.suddenlink.net>,
"harmony" <a...@hotmail.com> posted:
>
> most people don't have a good idea what a great man nana ji was.
> only in india such men go unnoticed by its govt. in usa he would have been
> celebrated at the whitehouse which probably couldn't have found enough
> honors to put in his hand and medals around his neck.
> Dr. Jai Maharaj posted:
Sid Harth
Jai Maharaj) wrote:
> Please expect to see statues honoring him in the U.S.
>
> Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
> Om Shanti
>
> > nID=d16Fdk4iJhE=&MainSectionID=HuSUEmcGnyc=&SectionName=aVlZZy44Xq0bJKAA84nwcg
>
> > > End of forwarded message from S. Kalyanaraman
>
> > > Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
> > > Om Shanti
>
> > > o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the
> > > educational
> > > purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may
> > > not
> > > have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
> > > poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
> > > fair use of copyrighted works.
>
> - Show quoted text -...
>
> read more »
http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/assam/terrorist_outfits/ULFA_tl.htm
Sid Harth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Subramanian Swamy
Member of Indian Parliament (Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha), Union Cabinet
Minister for Commerce & Law
In office
1973–1991
Prime Minister Chandrasekhar
Preceded by A. G. S. Ram Babu
Succeeded by P. Mohan
Born September 15, 1939
Nationality Indian
Political party Janata Party
Spouse(s) Roxna
Profession economist, Politician
Religion Hindu
Dr. Subramanian Swamy (b. 15 September 1939 at Chennai, sometimes
spelt as Subramaniam Swamy) is a politician from India. He is also a
trained economist.
Personal life
Subramanian Swamy has two daughters, Gitanjali Swamy and Suhasini
Haider. Suhasini is a journalist with Indian television channel CNN-
IBN. His wife Dr. Roxna Swamy is an Advocate in the Supreme Court of
India.
Association with Harvard
Following his time at the Indian Statistical Institute, he was awarded
a doctorate by Harvard University in 1964. Two of his advisors at the
time were Simon Kuznets and Paul A. Samuelson[1]. For a time, while
completing his dissertation in 1963, he worked in the UN Secretariat
at New York as Assistant Economics Affairs Officer. He subsequently
worked as a resident tutor at Lowell House, and as an assistant
professor for the Harvard Economics department where he later became
an Associate professor in 1969. Subsequently he has been a regularly
teaching at the rank of full Professor at the Harvard Summer School.
He is accounted by some to be an authority on the comparative study of
India and China[2] and is also well-versed in the Mandarin Chinese
(Hanyu) language[3].
Association with IITs
He was Professor of Economics at the Indian Institute of Technology
Delhi from 1969. He was removed from the position by its board of
Governors in the early 1970s but was legally reinstated in the late
1980s by the Supreme Court of India. He continued in the position till
1991 when he resigned to become a cabinet minister. He served on the
Board of Governors of the IIT, Delhi (1977-80), and on the Council of
IITs (1980-82).
Political career
He is regarded as a proponent of Hindutva as a political concept. He
first came into spotlight for protesting against the emergency imposed
in 1975. He was one of the founding members of the Janata Party and is
its president since 1990. He was elected member of parliament 5 times
between 1974 and 1999. He has twice represented the city of Mumbai
North East during 1977 and 1980, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in the
Parliament.
He is known for his efforts in normalizing relations with China and
Israel. In 1981, he persuaded Deng Xiaoping to open the Kailash
Mansarovar in Tibet to Hindu pilgrims from India[4]. In 1990-1991, he
was a minister in the Chandra Shekhar cabinet and was in charge of the
ministries of Commerce and Law and Justice.
He was also a member of the Planning Commission between 1990 and 1991.
Between 1994 and 1996, he held the position of Chairman of the
Commission on Labour Standards and International Trade (equivalent to
the rank of a cabinet minister) under the P. V. Narasimha Rao
government. Dr. Swamy has been subject to several defamation cases. He
is known to argue these cases himself without the agency of lawyers.
He has enjoyed a strange maverick relationship with J. Jayalalithaa.
He was perceived as instrumental in bringing the disproportionate
assets case of J. Jayalalithaa into public notice in the 1990s but by
1997, he had become her political adviser and was instrumental in
convincing her to withdraw support from the Vajpayee Government in
1999. The alliance with Jayalalithaa ended after she lost the General
Elections held in the same year.
In October 2004, he along with other members of the erstwhile Janata
Party established the Rashtriya Swabhiman Manch to oppose the policies
of the ruling UPA.
He has played an important role in fighting for the cause of
preventing the destruction of Rama Sethu bridge. He moved the Supreme
Court of India and successfully obtained a stay for the Sethusamudram
Shipping Canal Project at the final hours on August 31, 2007. The case
is under hearing before the Supreme Court.
Most recently Dr. Swamy has been crusading for proper electoral
governance in the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) in the
Indian Elections. Dr. Swamy has been one of the few petitioners, who
has successfully petitioned the Indian Courts to look in to serious
electoral mis-management potential in the use of Electronic Voting
Machines (EVM) during the Indian Elections from 2001 through 2009.
Following a preliminary hearing in the Delhi High Court in late 2009,
the Chief Justice of the High Court concurred with Dr. Swamy's
petition and admitted the matter for a full hearing in early 2010. Dr.
Swamy has argued that any electoral mechanism such as an EVM must
provide full audit-ability, account-ability and transparency and that
Indian Election Commission's current EVM has neither of the three.
Additionally the technology is in direct violation of the Indian
Information Technology Act. The matter is currently under
consideration in the Indian Courts.
He has been very effective in the Courts fighting for justice and has
used the Courts effectively on issues of public importance. It is
worth noting that he is an economist but has been very successful
arguing PILs in Court for the public good.
Stance against the LTTE
He is noted for his consistent stance against the LTTE which is
proscribed as a terrorist organization by 31 countries
(see list)
Commenting:
“ LTTE is a terrorist organization which moreover killed Rajiv Gandhi
and has spewed poison online about India[5] ”
“ LTTE is a part of the Sri Lankan problem, and can never be a part of
the solution[6] ”
His stance against the LTTE has had five successive Indian governments
place him in the Z category of Indian security, with security cover of
at least 22 personnel because of the high LTTE threat to his life.[7]
Subramanian Swamy was attacked by a group of pro-LTTE lawyers .[8]
Violent clashes between the Tamil Nadu police and practicing lawyers
occurred on the 19th of February 2009 on the Madras High Court
premises.
Books
Dr. Subramanian Swamy is the author of numerous books and writes
regularly in various journals and newspapers, some of his books are :-
Economic Growth in China and India, 1989
Hindus Under Siege. (2006)
Notes
^ Boumans 167
^ Prospects for India-U.S. relations better: Swamy The Hindu - January
23, 2008
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/01/23/stories/2008012360151400.htm
^ About Dr. Subramanian Swamy
http://www.kamakotidevotees.org/london/dr-swamy.html
^ Pilgrims' route The Tribune - September 26, 1998
http://www.tribuneindia.com/1998/98sep27/spotlite.htm
^ Subramanian Swamy on LTTE, Defence Agreement and the right to
station Indian Troops in non-Tamil areas in Sri Lanka Asian Tribune -
June 28, 2004
^ India will Never Support Eelam; Dr Subramanian Swamy Says Nidahasa
News - October 8, 2007 http://news.nidahasa.com/news.php?go=fullnews&newsid=348
^ Transcripts - Parliament of India http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/lsdeb/ls12/ses2/0405089808.htm
^ [1] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chennai/Lawyer_arrested_for_pelting_eggs_at_Swamy/articleshow/4152259.cms
References
Boumans, Marcel (2005). How Economists Model the World Into Numbers.
Routledge. ISBN 0415346215.
External links
Biography on Janta Party site http://www.janataparty.org/president.html
Subramaniam Swamy's views on the influence of Hinduism
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQhDXwZztSU
Subramaniam Swamy in Janata Party's website
An article by Dr. Subramanian Swamy on how to face defamation
litigation
http://www.hindu.com/2004/09/21/stories/2004092103551000.htm
Subramaniam Swamy fined Rs. 5 lakhs by the Delhi High Court for making
libellous allegations against Jayalalitha Jayaram
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060104/nation.htm#16
Basic Islam for Hindu Dhimmis - Subramanian Swamy
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=159&page=31
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subramanian_Swamy"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subramanian_Swamy
Swamy sees insecurity among minorities
By Our Staff Reporter
RAMANATHAPURAM, FEB 26. The people belonging to minority communities
will always live in fear if the Bharatiya Janata Party is voted to
power again in the coming Lok Sabha elections, the Janata Party
president, Subramanian Swamy, told presspersons at Pasumpon village on
Thursday.
Dr. Swamy said the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance had failed to
ensure the welfare of minorities and it was evident from the fact that
Muslims were put to untold hardships in Gujarat. "They feel a sense of
insecurity throughout the country."
The Government should take necessary steps to arrest the general
secretary of the MDMK, Vaiko, if he continued to support the LTTE or
praise its leader in public meetings.
No party would get simple majority in the coming Lok Sabha elections,
he said and predicted a hung Parliament.
Dr. Swamy wondered how the DMK president, M. Karunanidhi, could
tolerate the issue of the foreign origin of the Congress president,
Sonia Gandhi, as he had termed the former Chief Minister, M.G.
Ramachandran, a Malayalee when the AIADMK formed the Government in the
State.
Dr. Swamy urged the Government to give no objection certificate to the
Central Government to name the Madurai airport as Pasumpon
Muthuramalinga Thevar Airport. The State Government had twice rejected
the requisition of the Central Government.
The Janata Party would approach the court to issue a direction to the
State Government in this connection after the elections.
Earlier, speaking at a function organised by the family of
Muthuramalinga Thevar in recognition of his (Dr. Swamy's) efforts in
installing the Thevar statue in Parliament House, Dr. Swamy said the
Janata Party would take the necessary steps to set up a modern
university in the name of Thevar at Pasumpon.
He appealed to the Government to include the life history of Thevar as
one of the subjects in the college curriculum in order to facilitate
the younger generation to know about the heroic deeds of Thevar and
his dedication towards the betterment of society.
http://www.hindu.com/2004/02/27/stories/2004022706661100.htm
Need for ‘Hindu vote bank’: Swamy
Special Correspondent
TIRUPATI: Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy on Monday said the
only way to counter vote-bank policies blindly pursued by governments
and political parties was to develop a strong and formidable “Hindu
vote bank.” It was the only way to check the “continued neglect and
subjugation of Hindus and Hindu temples,” he said.
Dr. Swamy criticised the United Progressive Alliance government for
its attempt to “bend over backwards” to protect mosques and churches
while showing “utter indifference” to protect the Hindu shrines and
sentiments.
He was addressing a convention organised by the Andhra Pradesh Hindu
Temples Protection Committee.
Dr. Swamy said that though there were 42 mosques in Ayodhya where no
prayers were offered, Muslims were laying claim to the disputed Ram
Janmabhoomi alone.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/17/stories/2009021759811100.htm
GOVERNMENT
Pulls and pressures
The days leading up to the swearing-in of the BJP Government were
marked by hard bargaining by some of the party's allies.
V. VENKATESAN
in New Delhi
IMMEDIATELY after the Election Commission formally notified the
results of the Lok Sabha elections and informed President K.R.
Narayanan about it on March 10, the President began a consultative
process to constitute a new government. The Election Commission had
earlier announced that the new Lok Sabha would be constituted before
March 12, and the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party and its
allies, which had emerged as the largest combination of pre-election
allies but had fallen short of a majority in Parliament, were under
the impression that the numbers game would begin on or after March 12.
The initial public statements of leaders of the Congress(I) and the
United Front seemed to indicate that they would endeavour to prevent
the BJP from coming to power.
Thus, when the President invited BJP Parliamentary Party leader Atal
Behari Vajpayee for a discussion on government formation on March 10,
BJP leaders were taken by surprise. Vajpayee was holding talks with
the alliance partners when the President's invitation was received.
Vajpayee read out the contents of the letter to newspersons. In his
letter, Narayanan offered his felicitations to Vajpayee on his
election as the leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party. He gave
Vajpayee the first opportunity to let him know whether he would be
able and willing to form a stable government which could secure the
confidence of the Lok Sabha. The President noted that the BJP had
emerged as the single largest party in the Lok Sabha and the political
formation that it headed was the largest combination of pre-election
allies.
However, when Vajpayee gave a written undertaking to the President
that he was in a position to form a stable government that could
command the confidence of the House, the President asked for documents
to support the claim that the BJP and its allies had strength of 252
seats. The BJP had hardly expected the President to insist on
documentary proof of its parliamentary support.
Only a day earlier, the leaders of the BJP and its allies had met at
Vajpayee's residence in New Delhi to discuss the contents of the
National Agenda for Governance, a programme of action for a government
of the BJP and its allies. It did not occur to any of the BJP's
strategists that they should secure formal letters of support from the
leaders of the allies. The BJP took the support of its pre-election
allies for granted, when it publicised the letters of support given by
the post-election allies and some independents. With the assured
support of 12 more MPs - either independents or those belonging to
post-election allies - the saffron alliance was seemingly in a
position to secure 264 votes.
In the belief that the process of securing letters of support from the
alliance partners would be a mere formality, Vajpayee decided to get
back to the President on March 11 with the letters. But trouble arose
when four of the BJP's five allies in Tamil Nadu - the All India Anna
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), the Pattali Makkal Katchi, the
Janata Party and the Tamizhaga Rajiv Congress - did not send in their
letters. (The fifth ally, the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
(MDMK), had sent its letter of support by facsimile to the President
and a copy of it to Vajpayee.)
Unable to secure all the letters, Vajpayee postponed his meeting with
the President to March 12. Anxiety was writ large on the faces of BJP
leaders as AIADMK general secretary Jayalalitha, who was coordinating
the actions of the smaller parties in her alliance in Tamil Nadu,
continued to hold back although she had repeatedly made public
statements right up until March 9 to the effect that her party and its
allies would offer "unconditional support" to a Vajpayee-led
government. The BJP was also concerned that the perception of a
misunderstanding with a major alliance partner would not bode well for
its claim to form a stable government.
A senior leader in charge of party affairs in the southern States said
that the delay had been occasioned by the fact that Jayalalitha was
unwell on March 11. All of March 12, BJP leaders in Delhi desperately
tried to contact Jayalalitha in Chennai, but she was incommunicado.
More ominously for the BJP, she persuaded the MDMK to withdraw the
letter of support it had faxed to the President.
SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY
AIADMK general secretary Jayalalitha leaving Rashtrapati Bhavan after
the swearing-in ceremony.
The first indication of the reasons for the delay in the despatch of
the letters from Chennai came from Janata Party leader Subramanian
Swamy. Appearing on television, Subramanian Swamy said that
Jayalalitha had requested the BJP to appoint him Finance Minister and
TRC leader Vazhapadi K. Ramamurthy Home Minister. Subramanian Swamy
said that BJP leaders had refused to concede the request. Subramanian
Swamy's references to the demand for the dismissal of the Dravida
Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Government in Tamil Nadu in the light of the
February 14 Coimbatore blasts seemed to indicate that a commitment on
that was a "pre-condition" for the AIADMK's "unconditional" support
for a BJP-led government.
Although some sections in the BJP were in favour of conceding
Jayalalitha's "demands", Vajpayee and party president L.K. Advani were
unwilling to appease her beyond a point. The BJP refused to concede
Jayalalitha's request on ministerial appointments, and were not quite
so categorical on the demand for the dismissal of the DMK Government.
It was for this reason that the AIADMK and the PMK said that they
would not join a BJP-led ministry.
BJP leaders were nevertheless optimistic that the letters of support
would arrive in Delhi with a special messenger on the morning flight
from Chennai on March 12. What they did not know was that the letters
of support had already been despatched to Delhi: they were in the
custody of a senior AIADMK leader who was waiting for a nod from
"Amma" in Chennai so as to deliver the letters to the President.
After waiting for nearly two days, Vajpayee virtually gave up his
efforts: he met the President at 7.30 p.m. on March 12 and furnished a
list of 240 MPs from whom he had letters of support. The names of the
three MDMK MPs who had withdrawn their letters of support, however,
figured in this list. In effect, as on March 12, Vajpayee had the
support of only 237 members of the Lok Sabha, considerably short of a
majority. Vajpayee, therefore, did not stake his claim, but left it to
the discretion of the President to decide whether he could be invited
to form a government. The President then announced that he would begin
consultations with leaders of the other political formations without
dismissing the BJP's claim.
Meanwhile, Subramanian Swamy stepped up his efforts to widen the gulf
between Jayalalitha and the BJP. He accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh (RSS) of blocking his appointment as Finance Minister - for
which, he claimed, he was eminently qualified, given his teaching
experience in Harvard. Ramamurthy suggested that the BJP was paying
the price for taking its allies in Tamil Nadu for granted.
Subramanian Swamy refused to concede that the AIADMK-led grouping's
alliance with the BJP had broken down or that it would have to explore
other alternatives. He, however, said that he believed that the door
was open for talks with the Congress(I) and that he expected
Congress(I) leaders to open channels of communication with Jayalalitha
in the changed political context. Subramanian Swamy envisaged a grand
alliance, which would include the Congress(I), the AIADMK and its
allies, all the United Front constituents except the DMK, the Tamil
Maanila Congress and the Telugu Desam Party, a few other minor parties
and some independents. Senior Congress(I) leader Sharad Pawar was
reportedly in touch with Jayalalitha, seeking her support for a
Congress-led government.
In their meetings with the President, leaders of the Congress(I) and
the U.F. reportedly sought four days' time to hold consultations and
explore the possibility of forming an alternative government. This in
effect gave the BJP and the AIADMK an opportunity to patch up. But
even on March 13, Jayalalitha showed no signs of relenting. She denied
that she had insisted on the allotment of key portfolios for her
allies or the dismissal of the DMK government in Tamil Nadu as a pre-
condition for extending support.
However, she accused the BJP leadership of displaying a "negative
attitude" when she raised issues that were of importance to Tamil Nadu
at a meeting of the BJP and its allies in New Delhi on March 9 (see
separate story). BJP leaders, in turn, wondered why Jayalalitha had
not raised the issue when she addressed newspersons and expressed her
total and unconditional support to a BJP-led government after the
meeting. They said that while all her demands could be negotiated, the
manner in which she had raised them - on the eve of the President's
invitation to Vajpayee to form a government - was somewhat mystifying.
"We expected her to behave in a mature way," a senior BJP leader from
the South said.
Finally, on March 14, Jayalalitha announced her decision to forward
the letters of support to the President. Relieved, the BJP prepared to
send a senior emissary on behalf of Vajpayee to meet her on March 15
in Chennai. Senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh, who met her in Chennai on
March 15 and showed her a draft of the National Agenda, succeeded in
persuading her to drop her demand to give Subramanian Swamy a
ministerial post; he also got her to agree to the AIADMK, the PMK and
the TRC joining the Ministry.
The draft of the National Agenda incorporated, even if only in
somewhat vague terms, all her publicly stated demands.
WHAT explains the turnaround by Jayalalitha? AIADMK leaders in Delhi
explained that she was persuaded to fall in line and support the BJP
in view of the adverse criticism in the media holding her responsible
for blocking Vajpayee's assumption of office as Prime Minister.
Jayalalitha's decision that the AIADMK and some of its allies would
join the Ministry was prompted by the knowledge that the President was
unlikely to invite Vajpayee to form a government unless these allies,
which command a combined strength of 27 MPs in the Lok Sabha, were
ready to join the Government.
On March 15, after Jayalalitha announced in Chennai that the AIADMK,
the PMK and the TRC would join the Government, the President contacted
the AIADMK's Parliamentary Party leader, G. Swaminathan.
He indicated that only if all the constituents of a coalition
participated in the government would the coalition remain cohesive; he
further indicated that his decision on whether to invite Vajpayee to
form a government would hinge on this.
Shortly after receiving her confirmatory message, the President
appointed Vajpayee Prime Minister and set March 19 as the date of the
swearing-in of the government. He also asked Vajpayee to seek a
confidence vote in the Lok Sabha by March 29.
Significantly, the President did not consider it necessary to insist
on a commitment from the Trinamul Congress, a member of the BJP-led
alliance, that it would participate in the government. The Trinamul
Congress has only seven MPs in the Lok Sabha, whereas the AIADMK-led
combine has 27 members.
In a communique issued on the night of March 15, in which he detailed
the consultation process he had initiated since March 10, the
President referred to Congress(I) president Sonia Gandhi's reported
remarks to newspersons that the party did not have the numbers to form
a government.
He also took into consideration the Telugu Desam Party's stand -
ascertained in a telephonic discussion with its leader N. Chandrababu
Naidu - that the party would remain neutral during the vote of
confidence.
It was these two factors that finally convinced the President that a
Vajpayee-led Government would be able to secure the confidence of the
House.
India's National Magazine
From the publishers of THE HINDU
Vol. 15 :: No. 07 :: Apr. 4 - 17, 1998
http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1507/15071180.htm
India's National Magazine
From the publishers of THE HINDU
Vol. 15 :: No. 10 :: May 09 - 22, 1998
COVER STORY
Dealing with Jayalalitha
After the Jaswant Singh-Jayalalitha meeting, the AIADMK has fallen
silent; Subramanian Swamy, however, has stepped up his offensive
against the BJP.
T.S. SUBRAMANIAN
in Chennai
GOING by the current mood in BJP circles in Tamil Nadu, the party will
adopt a tough stand with respect to the All India Anna Dravida
Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). AIADMK general secretary Jayalalitha will
now have to choose between the BJP and Janata Party leader Subramanian
Swamy. The BJP is said to have indicated to her that she would have to
make her choice before the Budget session of the Lok Sabha begins on
May 27. BJP sources in Chennai told Frontline that the party would not
accept Subramanian Swamy's presence in the AIADMK-led front in Tamil
Nadu if he continued to say that he would topple the Vajpayee
Government.
BJP leader Jaswant Singh flew in from Delhi and met Jayalalitha at her
Payyanoor retreat, 60 km from Chennai, on April 25. Sources said that
Jaswant Singh did some "plain talking". He apparently told Jayalalitha
that the BJP would not accept her three major demands: dismissal of
the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Government in Tamil Nadu; the
removal of Ram Jethmalani and Ramakrishna Hegde from the Union
Cabinet; and action against a private television channel based in
Chennai. The sources added that Jaswant Singh ruled out a place for
Subramanian Swamy in the coordination committee. He also told her to
put an end to attacks by some AIADMK functionaries on Jethmalani and
Hegde.
Jaswant Singh met Jayalalitha against the background of a slanging
match between Jethmalani and Hegde on the one hand and AIADMK
Ministers at the Centre, M. Thambi Durai, R. Janarthanan and R.K.
Kumar, on the other. The row followed the April 8 resignation of Union
Surface Transport Minister Sedapatti R. Muthiah of the AIADMK after a
Chennai court framed charges against him in a case of acquisition of
assets disproportionate to his known source of income during his
tenure as the Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Assembly from July 1991 to
October 1994.
VINO JOHN
Jaswant Singh outside Jayalalitha's Payyanoor Bungalow retreat near
Mamallapuram.
The situation worsened a week later. After a meeting of the AIADMK
executive committee on April 15, Jayalalitha demanded that all Union
Ministers who were charge-sheeted in corruption cases resign or be
dismissed by the Prime Minister. The next day, Jethamalani and Hegde
strongly criticised her and predicted that these "pinpricks" would end
soon.
On April 18 Jayalalitha wrote to Vajpayee naming three Ministers -
Communications Minister Buta Singh, Urban Development Minister
Jethmalani and Commerce Minister Hegde - as being involved in cases of
corruption and demanding their removal or the re-induction of Muthiah.
On April 19 Jethmalani again launched a broadside against Jayalalitha.
He took on Subramanian Swamy too. "It is clearly Dr. Subramanian Swamy
who is pushing her into making all these wild demands," he said. Hegde
wanted Vajpayee to go in for fresh elections instead of giving in to
Jayalalitha's "blackmail". In reply, Thambi Durai, Kumar and
Janarthanan, in a statement on April 23, asked Vajpayee to "advise Mr.
Hegde to either shut up or get out."
It was at this stage that the BJP high command intervened and sent
Jaswant Singh to meet Jayalalitha. Jaswant Singh had earlier come in
March to placate her when she delayed giving the letters of support
that would enable Vajpayee to form the government. BJP sources said
that this time Jaswant Singh made it clear that junior Ministers of
the AIADMK should not speak out of turn. If the AIADMK leadership had
something to say, Jayalalitha should be the one to say that, he said.
He also advised her against rushing to the media. The BJP high command
was annoyed that her letter to Vajpayee had been released to the
media.
Jaswant Singh was reportedly categorical about the BJP's decision not
to invoke Article 356 to dismiss the DMK Government. A senior BJP
source said: "We are tightening the screws. The idea is that this war
of words cannot go on... You will find a change from now on."
There was no word from Jayalalitha about the meeting. Sources in
Chennai indicated that there was no meeting ground between Jayalalitha
and Jaswant Singh. Jaswant Singh, however, claimed that the "mission
was a success". On the welter of charges and counter-allegations made
by Union Ministers, he said that the Prime Minister "will take such
action as he deems fit and proper."
The same day K.L. Sharma said in New Delhi that Subramanian Swamy
would not be included in the coordination committee because he had
failed to vote for the Government in the vote of confidence.
WHETHER by accident or design, a DMK executive meeting presided over
by Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on April 25 condemned the demand for
the dismissal of the Government that emanated from an "enemy party"
and Union Ministers belonging to it as "blatant blackmail" and "devoid
of any merit at all". It added that the demand was made "to subserve
their vested interests, with palpable mala fides in order to avoid
accountability to the courts of law in the pending cases of
corruption."
The resolution also condemned the transfer of Union Special Secretary
for Home Ashok Kumar, one of two officials sent as part of the Central
team to study the law and order situation in Tamil Nadu, and said that
this was done because he told the "truth". The resolution said that
this approach amounted to "burying" federalism and marked a
"dictatorial trend in interfering in the State Government's affairs."
The resolution added: "In the event of any such proclamation (for
dismissal) being made in Delhi because of the blackmail of the vested
interests," it would be "resisted by constitutional, lawful and
peaceful methods in courts of law." The executive committee appealed
to all democratic forces "to support this resistance movement."
When a reporter asked Karunanidhi whether the resolution was driven by
the fear that his Government would be dismissed, he said: "This is
only a reply to the threats from some terrorists in Poes Garden."
The Chief Minister called the resolution "an advance notice to the
Centre that it should not give room to some people who have been
trying to paralyse the administration and disrupt law and order by
repeatedly claiming that the DMK Government will be dismissed."
AFTER the Jaswant Singh-Jayalalitha meeting, AIADMK leaders fell
silent. However, Subramanian Swamy stepped up the offensive once it
was known that he was not welcome to the coordination committee. He
alleged on April 26 that the BJP citing his not having voted for the
Government was an "excuse" to exclude him from the coordination
committee. According to him, the real reason for the crisis was the
"asymmetrical application of the criterion" on who should be a Union
Minister. He said that while Muthiah was asked to resign, "tainted"
Ministers such as Hegde and Advani were allowed to continue. Advani's
crime - he was charge-sheeted in the Babri Masjid demolition case -
was not a "political crime", he said, but "a crime against humanity
and the integrity of the nation..."
Swamy met Jayalalitha in Chennai on April 27 and said that he was
"free to explore the possibility of creating an alternative, secular,
patriotic front" at the Centre. He declared that henceforth "in
national politics, I am a free bird." He claimed that Jayalalitha had
told him that Jaswant Singh "never discussed the matter" of his
exclusion from the coordination committee. Although he would consider
breaking away from the BJP-led alliance, he asserted that he continued
to be part and parcel of the AIADMK-led front in Tamil Nadu.
Jayalalitha, BJP sources said, was faced with a difficult situation.
"If Swamy remains in the AIADMK front in Tamil Nadu, then there is
nothing wrong in the BJP getting close to somebody who is against her,
such as the DMK. She has to choose between the BJP and Swamy."
Meanwhile, Subramanian Swamy has been busy floating the idea of a
secular front to oust the BJP-led coalition Government at the Centre.
He met Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Samajwadi Party president
Mulayam Singh Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Laloo Prasad
Yadav. Meanwhile, Congress(I) leader Madhavrao Scindia met Jayalalitha
in Chennai, apparently in a bid to build bridges between his party and
the AIADMK.
Political analysts believed that Jayalalitha was left with "no
choice". She could not part company with the BJP because the stakes
involved were high - there were corruption cases pending against her
and her former Ministers, and breaking away from the BJP would weaken
her.
The response of the other constituents of the AIADMK-led front to
Swamy's challenge will have a bearing on Jayalalitha's future course
of action. Of the three of them - Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam (MDMK), the Pattali Makal Katchi (PMK) and the Tamizhaga
Rajiv Congress (TRC) - the PMK and the TRC are participants in the
Central Government. The PMK had indicated its position when its leader
S. Ramadoss hinted that his party would not play along with
Subramanian Swamy.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1510/15100120.htm
Swamy seeks Manmohan’s sanction to prosecute Raja
Special Correspondent
CHENNAI: Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy has sought the Prime
Minister’s sanction to prosecute Union Communications Minister A. Raja
in the wake of CBI raids on Sanchar Bhavan offices to investigate
alleged irregularities in spectrum allotment.
In a statement, Dr. Swamy said he filed a petition for sanction as
early as on November 29, 2008 with Dr. Singh, as required under the
Prevention of Corruption Act, to launch a criminal investigation
against Mr. Raja under Sections 11 and 13 of the Act.
The CBI raids made the granting of permission by Dr. Singh a “mere
formality,” Dr. Swamy said.
An independent case filed by him in the designated sessions court for
trying cases under the Act would be the best recourse for a fair trial
of the spectrum deals and the CBI investigation could supplement the
legal process, he said.
Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Oct 24, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version
http://www.thehindu.com/2009/10/24/stories/2009102461211000.htm
Sanatana Dharma Foundation Honors Dr Subramanian Swamy and Dr S.
Kalyanaraman for their Courageous Effort in Protecting the Historic
Rama Sethu Sanatana Dharma Foundation, Dallas, Texas organized its
first Hindu Unity Day, at the DFW Hindu Temple, in Dallas on the 19th
and 20th of July, 2008. Symbolizing Hindu Unity, Representatives of
Dallas Chapters of several organizations like the Art of living
Foundation, Ammachi Satsang, Hare Krishna ISCKON group, Gayatri
Parivar, Brahmakumaris, Carribbean Mandir, Chinmaya Mission, Hanuman
Temple, Sathya Sai groups, Datta Yoga Peetam and other prominent Hindu
personalities from the local Dallas-Fort Worth community in Texas,
were present at this unique event. Dr Subramanian Swamy's latest book
"Rama Sethu Symbol of National Unity" was released and distributed at
the Event, to key members of these organizations and other prominent
members of the community.
Rama Sethu Symbol of National Unity
Hindu Dharma Rakshaka Kshatriya Award
This award, a first of its kind, has been instituted to honor and
celebrate the 'Kshatriya Spirit', specifically the courage shown by
Hindus in taking risks and standing up to fight for the protection and
preservation of Dharma. The word Kshatriya is a Sanskrit word that
refers to the royal and noble class of Hindus who historically
defended their nation, and the Dharma of the land.
Rama Sethu Symbol of National Unity
Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) July 26, 2008 -- Dr Subramanian Swamy, PhD,
visiting professor of Economics, Harvard University and former Union
Law Minister of India, and Dr S. Kalyanaraman, Director, Saraswati
River Research Center, and President of Sri Rameshwaram Rama Sethu
Raksha Manch, received awards in Dallas, Texas for their courageous
effort in protecting the historic Rama Sethu, from being destroyed by
the Government of India in the name of a development project.
NASA Photograph of Rama Sethu
Rama Sethu is the original Sanskrit name given to a bridge built by
the legendary King Rama, who crossed over to Sri Lanka from India to
fight the King of Lanka, Ravana, recover his wife Sita, and restore
Dharma (Order) in the land of India. While it is difficult to
establish the exact historical age of these events, the bridge is
thought to be at least 5000 years old, if not much older, making it
the oldest causeway built across an ocean channel. The Rama Sethu is
referred to in numerous ancient Sanskrit texts and scriptures, as a
man made structure, and in recent times, it has been vividly
photographed by both NASA and Indian Satellites.
When India fell under Colonial rule, the British renamed this
construction as "Adam's Bridge". The Government of India, in recent
years, has been trying to establish a Shipping Channel between India
and Sri Lanka, by breaking and destroying the continuity of this
ancient structure. Hindus in India and around the world have been
protesting and fighting this decision of the Government of India, and
have demanded that the Rama Sethu be declared a monument of historic
importance and a world heritage site. On May 8th, 2008, the Supreme
Court of India directed the Government of India to go back to the
drawing board to see if it can create an alternate shipping route, and
at the same time, study the Rama Sethu as a monument of historic
importance. It is yet to be seen if the Government of India will
comply with the Court's direction, and thereby uphold due
constitutional process, or continue on its path of destroying the Rama
Sethu, dis-regarding the Supreme court's direction.
Sanatana Dharma Foundation, (www.sdfglobal.org) a Dallas based Non-
Profit organization inspired by the Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha,
(www.acharyasabha.org) the apex body of Hindus in India, presented the
"Hindu Dharma Rakshaka Kshatriya Award" to Dr Subramanian Swamy & Dr
S. Kalyanaraman on the occassion of the Hindu Unity Day organized at
the DFW Hindu Temple in Dallas, Texas on July 19, 2008. Speaking on
the occasion, the President of Sanatana Dharma Foundation, Kalyan
Viswanathan, said that "This award, a first of its kind, has been
instituted to honor and celebrate the 'Kshatriya Spirit', specifically
the courage shown by Hindus in taking risks and standing up to fight
for the protection and preservation of Dharma. The word Kshatriya is a
Sanskrit word that refers to the royal and noble class of Hindus who
historically defended their nation, and the Dharma of the land."
The Highlight of the Hindu Unity Day Event was the speech by Dr
Subramanian Swamy on his personal experiences during his defense of
Rama Sethu in the Supreme Court of India, which was greeted by a
spontaneous standing ovation. In presenting the "Hindu Dharma Rakshaka
Kshatriya" Award, his fearless defense in the Supreme Court of India,
getting a critical and timely stay order, the subsequent withdrawal of
the Government of India's petition, and the later Verdict of the
Supreme Court were all highlighted.
Dr S. Kalyanaraman made a scholarly presentation on the River
Saraswati, highlighting the recent research findings, the origins of
the Vedic civilization on the banks of River Saraswati and the fact
that it holds the central "Key" to the re-writing of the history of
India and re-establishing the real historicity of the Vedas. While
presenting the Award, his dedicated research in supporting the
struggle of the Rama Sethu, and his pioneering contributions in
researching and resurfacing the River Saraswati were lauded.
Symbolizing Hindu Unity, Representatives of Dallas Chapters of several
organizations like the Art of living Foundation, Ammachi Satsang, Hare
Krishna ISCKON group, Gayatri Parivar, Brahmakumaris, Carribbean
Mandir, Chinmaya Mission, Hanuman Temple, Sathya Sai groups and other
prominent Hindu personalities from the local Dallas-Fort Worth
community in Texas, were present at this unique event. Dr Subramanian
Swamy's latest book "Rama Sethu Symbol of National Unity" was released
and distributed at the Event, to key members of these organizations
and other prominent members of the community.
Smt. Ranna Jani, President, DFW Hindu Temple in Texas speaking on the
occassion on behalf of the Temple, thanked both Dr Subramaniam Swamy &
Dr S. Kalyanaraman for coming to Dallas and sharing their experiences
with the participants. On the second day, a workshop was organized,
where challenges facing Hinduism today, were discussed. Presentations
on the state of Hindu Temples in India, challenges posed by
Christianity and Islam were also discussed. The session was very
interactive, and educational, as per the feedback received.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/Sanatana/Dharma/prweb1146784.htm
CHENNAI, January 22, 2010 Swamy against Nalini’s release
Special Correspondent
Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy calling on Tamil Nadu
Governor Surjit Singh Barnala at the Raj Bhavan in Chennai on
Thursday. Photo: Special Arrangement
Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy on Thursday met Tamil Nadu
Governor Surjit Singh Barnala and urged him not to sign any
recommendation of the State government for freeing Nalini Sriharan, a
life convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
Dr. Swamy told the Governor that the issue pertaining to premature
release of Nalini was still pending before the Madras High Court, and
any decision on the issue would amount to contempt of court.
He also made a mention before the First Bench to expedite the hearing
of his writ appeal in the matter.
Later speaking to journalists, Dr. Swamy said that he came to know
from a section of the media that the review board had reportedly
decided to release Nalini.
He said that he had mentioned before the bench comprising Chief
Justice H.L. Gokhale and K.K. Sasidharan that any decision of the
board would render infructuous his appeal against the single judge
order to the State government to reconstitute the board to decide the
case of Nalini.
The Chief Justice had asked him to file an application to the High
Court Registry for speeding up his appeal, he said.
He said the constitution of the board itself was illegal. He planned
to move for restoration of death penalty for Nalini. He said the State
government had earlier said that it would oppose the premature
release, now it cannot go back on its stand.
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article87758.ece
Hindu's under SIEGE
aumprakash
January 14, 2007
it's fromt the talk given by Dr.subramanya swamy on the day of his
book relese "hindu's under siege- the way out" http://www.kksfusa.org/
it's fromt the talk given by Dr.subramanya swamy on the day of his
book relese "hindu's under siege- the way out"
http://www.kksfusa.org/
Hindu's under SIEGE
3:13
Added: 3 years ago
From: aumprakash
Views: 3,128
All Comments (30 total)
Loading...nazimquraishi (1
politicians since nehru and including him (the pundits alinged with
the raja of kashmir, who wanted kashmir to not be free like rest of
india)
found themselves out of power. so they figured out a formula to get
back in power in the democratic structure of india and it worked.
so wake the f up (my indians) my hindus. politicians are only about
themselves and their ideas. Not about you.
nazimquraishi (1 week ago) Hindu was a generic term used to refer to
anyone who lives south of hindukush mountains and south of Hindu River
(Indus per the brits).
Hindu = citizen of hindustan, indian = citizen of india & french =
citizen of france.
Prior to monotheism most countries were polytheists.Ancestors of
Indian Muslims were polytheists too.
The confusion between religion and nationality was caused and
encouraged by the british after they realized what a rebellion like in
1857 could do to them.
anirudhnandan (10 months ago) Comment removed by author
raghaa (3 weeks ago) thats what they learnt from birtish my friend.
What will a poor hindu will do if there is no basic fullfilment? he
will convert into christian. its happening right now ;)
winnerji (11 months ago) When his lips are pronouncing HINDUS...it's
all about only Brahmins....Will he do anything for Dalith
people....is he considering Dalith as Hindus.....?????? FRAUD....
NanakLove (1 year ago) stand up for dharma my brothers. the 9th Sikh
Guru even gave his life for kashmiri pundits.
ndshastri (1 year ago) Show S.Swamy orkut comm
search :::::: Sri Subramanian Swamy
Metaemipricus (1 year ago) Christian Evangelists, Islamic Jihadis and
leftist naxal terrorists - the three most violent sectarian cults have
come together to destroy India. Wake up Hindus.
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nmohan101 (1 year ago) this guy is a racist; Hinduism in not under
siege...
dd1857 (1 year ago) who say not.. Every where that is the case..
Christanity and Muslims...are book based.. attacking all
kafirpandit (1 year ago) Hindus are the bravest people on the earth.
All Muslims and Christian missionaries should be thrown out of
Bharatvarsh.
tonyshit80 (11 months ago) I saw Muruga last week, he motion less
pls help him my dear friends
TAPS711 (1 year ago) Leave the Hindus alone. They have a right to
believe what they want. They are peaceful people.
tonyshit80 (11 months ago) No, I will not allows the such things
happen....
Radian1991 (1 year ago) Hindu Society has been suffering a sustained
attack from Islam since the 7th century, from Christianity since the
15th century, and this century also from Marxism. The avowed objective
of each of these three world-conquering movements, with their massive
resources, is the replacement of Hinduism by their own ideology, or in
effect: the destruction of Hinduism.-Dr.Koenraad Elst
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arnotkaling (1 year ago) swamy bastard should be shot. He supports
sinhala terrosm in sri lanka. he fully supported indian terrost
invasion of sri lanka.
NanakLove (1 year ago) not just hindu's but sikhs too..we gotta stand
up together brothers
TAPS711 (1 year ago) You are right.
emperor0989 (1 year ago) sikhs are hindus only, and hindus are sikhs.
we are cousins, if not brothers.
haridham (1 year ago) Show Hide 0 Marked as spam Reply lol
haridham (1 year ago) Show Hide 0 Marked as spam Reply watch?
v=XcFA8iSXf2c
EXChristian0 (2 years ago) Excellent video clip! Thanks! DOWN WITH
ANTI-HINDU ELEMENTS (anti-hindu govt, pseudo-secular anti-hindu
media, Christlamist Communist thugs, deceitful and cunning missionary
pests). Come on Hindus, WAKE UP, UNITE AND FIGHT FOR DHARMA! Jai Hind!
EXChristian0 (2 years ago)
DOWN WITH ANTI-HINDU ELEMENTS (anti-hindu govt, pseudo-secular anti-
hindu media, Christlamist Communist thugs, deceitful and cunning
missionary pests, ISLAMIC jihadis etc). Come on Hindus, WAKE UP, UNITE
AND FIGHT FOR DHARMA! Jai Hind!
chocolayer (2 years ago)
Aumprakash a digital RSS propagandist. A muslim hater and non brahmin
hater. His lowly life is based on lies and he survived on lies.
humbleRaj (2 years ago)
Nice ideo Aumprakash Ji :)
badmashguy (2 years ago)
It might be true for Hinduism....but isn't it true for every other
religion too....
humbleRaj (2 years ago) Show Hide +3 Marked as spam Reply Nope,None
of American Politicians speak against christianity or None of The
leaders from Islamic Countries condemn Islam, but Indian politicians
abuse Hinduism in India.
Peenp (3 years ago)
I agree with you Aum.
http://www.youtube.com/comment_servlet?all_comments&v=IFU-iAP43M0&fromurl=/watch%3Fv%3DIFU-iAP43M0
Hinduism under siege, says Subramanian Swamy
Coventry, UK | December 07, 2005 8:11:13 PM IST
http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=184292&cat=India
Janata Party President and former Union Minister Dr. Subramanian Swamy
today told a large UK Hindu gathering at the Sri Krishna Temple here
that to combat the invisible and multi-dimensional siege against
Hinduism, all the Dharmacharyas of Hindu religion must come together
in a formal body with a permanent secretariat in New Delhi.
He said that Swami Dayananda Saraswati of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, near
Coimbatore had already convened a Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha in Mumbai
in mid-October last, and resolved to do so.
Dr. Swamy said that the siege has a religious dimension because of the
pernicious and subtle denigration of Hindu icons and Institutions such
as through filing bogus cases against the Kanchi Shankaracharya, a
psychological dimension by inculcating a confused mindset through a
one-sided secularism, a cultural dimension in propagating that Indians
are Caucasian invaders from beyond Afghanistan through the baseless
Aryan-Dravidian theory, and in the physical dimension by induced
conversions to Christianity and Islamic terrorism.
"Hindus are being driven out from their homelands in Kashmir,
Bangladesh and even Mau in UP, but the political leadership in India
lacks the virile mindset to challenge this denigration of Hindus in a
83 percent Hindu populated nation" he added.
Dr. Swamy further said that India is distinctive only because of it's
Hindu foundation and continuing civilisation. Hence India as Hindustan
means a nation of Hindus and those Muslims and Christians who accept
their ancestors are Hindus.
Parsis may have come from Persia but they accept Hindu culture as
their own. This is our Hindustani identity. Hence, those Christians
and Muslims who do not accept their ancestors as Hindus should go back
from where they came from or lose their voting rights.
Even Hindus who claim to be racially Aryans or Dravidians have no
place in Hindustan. In Rig Veda "Arya" only meant civilised, while
Dravida is a Sanskrit word coined by Adi Sankara to mean south India-
where three seas meet.
Dr. Swamy said that without demolishing the caste system a cogent
cohesive Hindu identity can not be forged. Hence the Acharya Sabha
should issue a nirdesh" (direction) that according to the Vedas and
Uttara Gita, varna and jati are not birth based but determined on
gunas (merits) and occupation.
"Varna is a choice not a compulsion," he added. (ANI)
http://www.nchtuk.org/content.php?id=288
December 21, 2008
Out of the box
By Subramanian Swamy
The India of today would not have been in existence had the attempts
to divide Hindus succeeded. In the 20th century, a sinister attempt to
divide the Hindu community on caste basis was made in 1932 when the
British imperialists offered the scheduled castes a separate
electorate.
What does the despicable terror and mayhem in Mumbai on November 26
signify for India? Shorn of the human tragedy, wanton destruction, and
obnoxious audacity of the terrorists, it signifies a challenge to the
identity of India from radical Islam. Cinema actor Shahrukh Khan may
wax eloquent about the ?true Islam? on TV, but it is clear that he and
other such Muslims have not read any authoritative translations of the
Koran, Sira and Hadith which three together constitute Islam as a
theology, and which is a complete menu of intolerance of peoples of
other faiths derisively labeled as kafirs. Hence, instead of talking
about the ?correct interpretation? of Islam they ought instead be
urging for a new Islamic theology consistent with democratic
principles.
In 2003, two years after the 9/11 murderous and perfidious Islamic
assault on USA, resulting in killing of more than 3000 persons within
two hours, and which was perpetrated by leveraging the democratic
freedoms in USA, the Saudi Arabian Embassy in the website of its
Islamic Affairs Department [www.iad.org] laid down what a ?good?
Muslim is expected to do. Dr. Steven Stalinsky of the Middle East
Media Research Institute[MEMRI] based in Washington DC accessed it and
published it in issue No.23, of the Institute newsletter, dated
November 26[what irony!] 2003. I have to thank a NRI in US, Dr.
Muthuswamy for this reference. In that site it is stated:
?The Muslims are required to raise the banner of Jihad in order to
make the Word of Allah supreme in this world, to remove all forms of
injustice and oppression, and to defend the Muslims. If Muslims do not
take up the sword, the evil tyrants of this earth will be able to
continue oppressing the weak and helpless?
Now who is more authoritative?Sharukh Khan or Saudi Arabia ? Obviously
the latter. The above quote is what in substance is being taught in
every madrassa in India, and can be traced back to the sayings of
Prophet Mohammed. I can quote a plethora of verses from a Saudi
Arabian translated Koran [e.g., verses 8:12, 8:60, and 33:26] which
verses justify brutal violence against non-believers. If I delved into
Sira and Hadith for more quotes, then I could risk generating much
hatred, so it will suffice to say that Islam is not only a theology,
but it spans a brutal political ideology which we have to combat
sooner or later in realm of ideas.
Some may quote back at me verses from Manusmriti about brutality to
women and scheduled castes. But as a Hindu I have the liberty to
disown these verses [since it is a Smriti] and even to seek to re-
write a new Smriti as many, for example, Yajnavalkya have done to
date. Reform and renaissance is thus inbuilt into Hinduism. But in
Islam, the word of the Prophet is final. Sharukh Khan and other gloss
artists cannot disown these verses, or say that they would re-write
the offensive verses of the Koran. If they do, then they would have to
run for their lives as Rushdie and Taslima have had to do. Leave alone
re-writing, if anyone draws a cartoon of Prophet Mohammed, there will
follow world-wide violent rioting. But if Hussein draws Durga in the
most pornographic posture, the Hindus will only groan but not
violently rampage.
We Hindus have a long recognised tradition of being religious liberals
by nature. We have already proved it enough by welcoming to our
country and nurturing Parsis, Jews, Syrian Christians, and Moplah
Muslim Arabs who were persecuted elsewhere, when we were 100 per cent
Hindu country.
Moreover, despite a 1000 years of most savage brutalisation of Hindus
by Islamic invaders and self-demeaning brain washing by the
Christians, even then, Hindus as a majority have adopted secularism as
a creed. We have not asked for an apology and compensation for these
atrocities. But the position of Hindus in this land of Bharatmata,
where Muslims and Christians locally are in majority, in pockets?such
as in Kashmir and Nagaland, or in small enclaves such as town
panchayats of Tamil Nadu, is terrible and despicable. Even in Kerala
where Hindus are 52 per cent of the population, they have only 25 per
cent of all the prime jobs in the state, and are silently suffering
their plight at the hands of 48 per cent who vote as a vote bank.
The 26/11 Mumbai slaughter therefore should teach us Hindus that the
time has come to wake up and stand up?it is now or never. If we do not
stand up now to Islamic terrorism, then India will end up like Beirut,
a permanent battlefield of international terrorists, buccaneers,
pirates and missionaries.
What does it mean in the 21st century for Hindus to stand up ? I mean
by that a mental clarity of the Hindus to defend themselves by
effective deterrent retaliation, and also an intelligent co-option of
other religious groups into the Hindu cultural continuum.
Mental clarity can only come if we are clear about the identity of the
nation. What is India? An ancient but continuing civilisation or is it
a geographical entity incorporated in 1947 by the Indian Independence
Act of the British Parliament ? What then does it mean to say ?I am an
Indian?? A mere passport holder of the Republic of India or a
descendent of the great seers and visionaries of more than 10,000
years ? Obviously our identity should be of a nation of an ancient and
continuing Hindu civilisation, legatees of great rishis and munis, and
a highly sophisticated sanatana philosophy.
If Hindu culture is our defining identity then how can we co-opt non-
Hindus, especially Muslims and Christians ? By persuading them by
saam, dhaam, bheda and dand that they acknowledge with pride the truth
that their ancestors are Hindus. If they do, it means that they accept
Hindu culture and enlightened mores. That is, change of religion does
not mean change of culture. Then we should treat such Muslims and
Christians as part of our Brihad Hindu family.
Noted author and editor M.J. Akbar calls this identity as of ?Blood
Brothers?. It is an undeniable fact that Muslims and Christians in
India are descendents of Hindus. In a recent article in the American
Journal of Physical Anthropology, an analysis of genetic samples [DNA]
show that Muslims in north India are overwhelmingly of the same DNA as
Hindus proving that Muslims here are descendents of Hindus who had
been converted to Islam, rather repositories of foreign DNA deposited
by waves of invaders.
Akbar thus asks rhetorically: ?When have the Muslims of India gone
wrong?? and answers: ?When they have forgotten their Indian roots?.
How apt ! Enlightened Muslims like Akbar therefore must rise to the
occasion and challenge the reactionary religious fundamentalists. That
is India is not Darul Harab to be trifled with. In a conciliatory
atmosphere the minorities would willingly accept this. It is also in
their interest to accept this reality. Hindus must persuade by the
time honoured methods Muslims and Christians to accept this and its
logical consequences.
This identity was not understood by us earlier because of the
distorted outlook of Jawaharlal Nehru who occupied the Prime Minister?
s chair for seventeen formative years after 1947 and for narrow
political ends, had fanned a separatist outlook in Muslims and
Christians.
The failure to date, to resolve this Nehru created crisis, has not
only confused the majority but confounded the minorities as well in
India. This confusion has deepened with winter migratory birds such as
Amartya Sen descending on the campus of the India International Centre
to preach inane taxonomies such as ?multiple identities?.
There has to be an over-riding identity called national identity, and
hence we should not be derailed by pedestrian concepts of multiple or
sub-identities.
?Without a resolution of the identity crisis today, which requires an
explicit clear answer to this question of who we are, the majority
will never understand how to relate to the legacy of the nation and in
turn to the minorities. Minorities would not understand how to adjust
with the majority if this identity crisis is not resolved. In other
words, the present dysfunctional perceptional mismatch in
understanding who we are as a people, is behind most of the communal
tension and inter-community distrust in the country.
?In India, the majority is the conglomerate or Brihad Hindu community
which represents about 81 per cent of the total Indian population,
while minorities are constituted by Muslims [13 per cent] and
Christians [3 per cent]. Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, and some other
microscopic religious groups, represent the remaining three per cent.
Though also considered minorities, but really are so close to the
majority community in culture that they are considered as a part of
Hindu society. Unlike Islam and Christianity, these minority religions
were founded as dissenting theologies of Hinduism. Even Zoroaster can
be traced to leader of Vahikas in Mahabharata who migrated to Persia.
Kaikeyi in Ramayana was from Persia when that country was hundred per
cent Hindu. Thus these religions share the core concepts with Hindus
such as re-incarnation, equality of all religions, and ability to meet
God in this life. That they feel increasingly alienated from Hindu
society nowadays is also the consequence of India?s identity crisis
caused by British historians and their Indian tutees in JNU.
The India of today would not have been in existence had the attempts
to divide Hindus succeeded. In the 20th century, a sinister attempt to
divide the Hindu community on caste basis was made in 1932 when the
British imperialists offered the scheduled castes a separate
electorate. But shrewdly understanding the conspiracy to divide India,
Mahatma Gandhi by his fast unto death and Dr. Ambedkar by his
visionary rejection of separate electorate, foiled the attempt by
signing the Poona Pact.
But the possibility that such attempts at dividing India socially may
be made again in the future, a possibility that cannot be ruled out.
Indian patriots will have to watch such attempts very carefully.
Segmentation, fragmentation, and finally balkanisation have been part
of the historical process in many countries to destroy national
identity and thereby cause the political division of the nation
itself. Yugoslavia is a recent example of this, which has now been
divided into four countries, largely due to Islamic separatism and
Serbian over-reaction.
Virat Hindutva can be achieved in the first stage by Hindu
consolidation, that is achieved by Hindus holding that they are Hindus
first and last, by disowning primacy to their caste and regional
loyalties. This would require a renaissance in thinking and outlook,
that can be fostered only by patient advocacy and intellectual
ferment.
For this we need a new History text, and a proper understanding of the
distinction between the four varnas [not birth based but by codes of
behavior for devolution of power in society] and jati [which is birth
based and mostly for marriages]. Just as Valmiki and Vyasa are
regarded as Maharshis despite being of different jati from Parasuram,
hence Dr. Ambedkar should be called a Maharishi for his sheer depth of
knowledge of Indian history. That he had become bitter because of
Nehru systematically sidelining him is no reason not to do so.
India thus needs a Hindu renaissance today that incorporates modern
principles, e.g., of the irrelevance of birth antecedents, fostering
gender equality, ensuring equality before law, and accountability for
all. It is also essential to integrate the entire Indian society on
those principles, irrespective of religion. Uniform Civil Code for
example, is something that the vast majority of Muslim women want, but
because this demand has been usurped by those who deny the equality of
nationality to the Muslims, hence comes the resistance to a eminently
reasonable value. The Muslims think that this is the first step in
several to subjugate them or wipe out their identity. But Muslims have
quietly accepted Uniform Criminal Code [the IPC] despite that it
contradicts the Sharia.
In other words, Hindutva has two components?one that Hindus can accept
[such as caste abolition, eradication of dowry etc.] without any other
religion?s interests to consider. The other is the embracing by
minorities of the core secular Indian values which have Hindu roots.
This would require, particularly Muslims and Christians, to
acknowledge that their ancestry is Hindu, and thus own the entire
Hindu past as their own legacy, and to thus tailor their outlook on
that basis. This would integrate Indian society and make the concept
of an inclusive[Brihad] Hindutva and rooted in India?s continuing
civilisation.
Thus, if India has to decide to have or not have good relations with
Israel, Pakistan, Iran or US, it cannot be on the basis how it will
impact on India?s Muslims and Christians, but on what India?s national
interests require. If India has to dispatch troops to Afghanistan,
Iraq, Sri Lanka or Nepal to combat terrorism, that policy too has to
be decided on what is good for India, and not what any religious or
linguistic group identifies as it?s interest.
Thus such an Hindutva is positive in outlook, while raw Hindu
xenophobia is negative and based on Hindu hegemony which will frighten
all. Such a Hindutva will resolve our current energy-sapping identity
crisis, which otherwise will completely emasculate India in the long
run. The choice for the patriotic Indian is thus clear: We need a
clear and positive view of our national identity based on our Hindu
past and a Hindu renaissance to unite the Hindus with constructive
mind-set as well as persuade the minorities to be co-opted culturally
with Hindu society.
Once being Indian means Virat Brihad Hindutva, we can tackle terrorism
by an effective strategy of defence. What are the components of that
strategy is the subject matter of my next column here.
(To be concluded)
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=268&page=10
December 28, 2008
Out of the Box
Isolate and confront the rogue state, war no option
By Subramanian Swamy
Hindus and such Muslims and Christians together constitute the
Hindustan nation. All others are either permanent residents or
foreigners, but therefore should have no voting rights. NRIs abroad
who also acknowledge to be of Hindustani descent can be permitted to
be voters in India.
Since the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has yet not condemned Pakistan
for allowing its territory to be used by ?non-state actors?, such a
Commission is all the more necessary. Pakistan cannot be allowed to
wash its hands off responsibility in this by silence of those who are
paid to speak in Parliament by the tax-payer on behalf of the Indian
nation.
Coming back to the question of retaliation for the Mumbai 26/11
attack, I advocate US-Israel-India coordinated aerial strikes at all
the prominent training bases of the LeT and JeM in PoK, which action,
since it is on a part of India, will not mean an act of war, whatever
Pakistan may think. This is the mirror-image of the argument that
Pakistan itself has used while invading India in 1999 in the Kargil
sector i.e., since they consider J&K not a part of India, hence
Pakistan can invade it!
Terrorist attacks such 26/11 Mumbai carnage can be deterred only by
effective retaliation which will serve as a deterrence against future
attacks. What is an effective retaliation for the 26/11 attacks ? In
my view, it is bombing of LeT camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-held
territories. That means war declared by Pakistan. War is however a
terrible event in human affairs. It is against the finer and civilised
instinct of the human being and a temporary triumph of the base
emotions. Wars are imposed either on evil intentions or by
miscalculations. Civilised societies to survive have to be prepared
for such wars. My quick answer thus to the question whether war with
Pakistan is then inevitable is: Yes!
My substantive answer is that the war will be imposed on us anyway
whether we retaliate or not, by the compulsions of Pakistan?s polity,
and we should prepare for a formal war with that country which could
come anytime within the next four years. The terror genie is now out
of the bottle in Pakistan, and an informal ad hoc proxy war is already
on between India and Pakistan through Pak-trained terrorists. It
cannot be ended without a decisive formal war. We cannot also go on
bleeding like we have during last 20 years, each occasion at the time
and place of choosing of the terrorists of Pakistan. To top it all, we
are being dished out Pakistan?s inane argument on the need providing ?
proof?, by a government which is a puppet of the trainers of these
terrorists.
Unlike the 1965, 1971, and 1999 wars with Pakistan, this time we
should first prepare instead react by reflecting on who are our real
allies in this coming war, and what the post-war situation of a
destructed and disarmed Pakistan should be. In 1971, USSR was claimed
to be our ally, but it would not let us smash the West Pakistan
military machine when the Pakistan army was on all fours on the
floor.
This time, because of nuclear weapons on both sides, the war has to be
decisive. Pakistan must be sanitized and/or further dismembered beyond
recognition. The new Pakistan or the former Pakistans must be led by
those who understand India?s retaliatory capacity.
One thousand years of the foreign invasions of this land have proved
that Hindus will not submit, no matter what the tribulation and
personal tragedy. Iran, Babylonia, Turkey, Egypt and others of the
Middle East had in contrast submitted and became majority Muslim
countries within a few decades. But Hindus as a whole, despite 1000
years of brutality and impoverishment, have stood defiantly. In Akhand
Hindustan, we are still 75 per cent of the total population despite
all the atrocities.
But now defiance is no more enough. Now we must decisively and finally
settle the issue and defeat our centuries? old tormentors and the
violent theology behind it.
In my last column I had stated that Islamic terrorism cannot be fought
unless we adopt a virat brihad Hindutva concept of identity for
Indians, which identity I defined as the mindset of Hindus, who are
proud of their Hinduness, and ready to co-opt Muslims and Christians
as blood brothers and sisters if they too proudly acknowledge the
truth that their ancestors are Hindus and that despite change of
religion their culture does not change [Culture is a secular concept
defined on the myriad of human relations and attitudes].
Hindus and such Muslims and Christians together constitute the
Hindustan nation. All others are either permanent residents or
foreigners, but therefore should have no voting rights. NRIs abroad
who also acknowledge to be of Hindustani descent can be permitted to
be voters in India.
This mindset in responding to terror must focus on retaliation as a
deterrent against terrorism, which is the real meaning of ?zero
tolerance? for terrorism. The retaliation cannot be confused with
vengeance but has to be defined as effective actions to nullify the
political objectives of the patrons of terrorists.
What is, for example, the retaliation for the 26/11 terrorist attack
on Mumbai? Or for that matter, the ?menu? of retaliation for all the
terrorist attacks since 1989 beginning with when 500,000 Hindus and
Sikhs were driven out by terrorists from the Kashmir valley?
The retaliation has to be tailored in each terrorist attack to nullify
the political objective of the patrons which objective motivates that
attack.
In the 26/11 attack, the political objective was to demonstrate to the
world that India is a wobbly, flabby, and corrupt country that cannot
defend itself, that anyone can bribe his way with Indians to achieve
his nefarious goal. Hence, they want to demonstrate that India is a
corroding civilisation, and unworthy being a reliable ally of any
country. That is why foreign tourists of friendly countries, such as
US and Israel, were chosen for murder.
The terror patrons of Pakistan have, in my opinion, achieved
substantially this objective by putting a question mark on our
integrity as a people. How could such an operation, foreigners now
ask, be put through without the intelligence having a clue? Is it
because India ignored timely US intelligence of September that made
the LeT postpone its dastardly project scheduled of September 27th to
26/11?
The truth is more bizarre: Intelligence Bureau and RAW did know, but
the information was not acted on by the Maharashtra government. Why?
It is rubbish to say that the information was not ?actionable?, i.e.,
not specific enough to take counter measures. I have had access to
some of the intelligence supplied to the Maharashtra government, some
of it are dated two years ago, which disproves this claim.
One such advisory actually states that LeT-trained terrorists
numbering about a dozen are likely to enter from the sea in the
Gateway area, and take control of high profile targets such as hotels!
Is this not actionable? Or was the Maharashtra Police prevented from
taking action by Ahmed Patel on behalf of Sonia Gandhi as alluded to
by former Chief Minister of the state, Mr. Narayan Rane?
I thought therefore the Opposition in Parliament would have demanded
at least a Commission of Inquiry headed by a sitting judge of the
Supreme Court to go into all the lapses. Instead they wallowed in
talking of national unity. This is not the time to talk of unity with
the government. We are not yet in a formal war to need to talk of
unity with the government. A horrible incident had taken place, and it
is over now. Hence, it is the duty of the Opposition to put the
government in the dock, and at least demand a Commission to go into
the lapses. When a formal war is launched we can at that stage unite
with the government in a show of unity.
But not now. Since the UPA chairperson Ms. Sonia Gandhi has yet not
condemned Pakistan for allowing its territory to be used by ?non-state
actors?, such a Commission is all the more necessary. Pakistan cannot
be allowed to wash its hands off responsibility in this by silence of
those who are paid to speak in Parliament by the tax-payer on behalf
of the Indian nation.
Considering that the first employer in London in 1965 of Ms. Sonia
Gandhi was a Pakistani called Salman Thassir, a dubious business
magnate with perhaps ISI connection, and that the guest of honour at
the select gathering of just 35 invitees to her daughter Priyanka?s
wedding, was Farida accompanied by her husband Munir Ataullah, both
known bag persons of prominent Pakistan politicians with ISI
connections, hence, it is a matter of concern that Ms. Sonia Gandhi
has not condemned Pakistan for the 26/11 attack, and in fact she has
not condemned even one terrorist attack starting Mumbai 1993.
Coming back to the question of retaliation for the Mumbai 26/11
attack, I advocate US-Israel-India coordinated aerial strikes at all
the prominent training bases of the LeT and JeM in PoK, which action,
since it is on a part of India, will not mean an act of war, whatever
Pakistan may think. This is the mirror-image of the argument that
Pakistan itself has used while invading India in 1999 in the Kargil
sector i.e., since they consider J&K not a part of India, hence
Pakistan can invade it!
The US and Israel will probably not agree at present to help in a
military strike since India has never come to the assistance of US or
Israel in their hour of grief. In fact when on the day Saddam Hussein
was toppled in 2003, a joint BJP-Congress resolution was passed by the
Lok Sabha condemning US ?imperialism? in Iraq! Nor have we ever
offered Israel help whenever a terrorist attack took place in that
country?
Hence, to get the US and Israel effectively on our side in this war on
terror, we too have to commit to help them in this war, not merely by
ministers paying a visit to Washington and waxing eloquent about
being ?natural allies?. For all their duplicity, Pakistan under
Musharraf in contrast had made a world of difference to the US in its
war on terror. Hence the soft corner for Pakistan in US and Europe.
For example, when New York Times reporter Daniel Pearl?s throat was
slit by LeT, the Pakistan government caught the mastermind Omar Sheikh
[whom we had released in the IC hijack matter at Kandahar] and sent
him to Guantanomo prison without making noises about ?proof?. More Al
Qaeda leaders have been captured or killed by the US with the
cooperation of Pakistan than by direct action of the US. Nor can the
US keep the Taliban out of Afghanistan without the active support of
Pakistan. Hence, it is understandable that the US is in a catch-22
situation on Pakistan and we in India, if we want US cooperation, have
to concretely provide a way out of that.
If we strike at the terrorists camps in PoK, the various governments
of Pakistan cannot sit quiet. There are four other governments of
Pakistan besides one headed by Zardari. In addition to his government,
there is the Army government operating through the seven corp
commanders, the ISI government working abroad through fake currency
and beautiful women, the Mullah government through Friday prayers in
mosques and by brainwashing in madrasas, and the de facto Taliban
government in the frontier areas. Anyone of these four governments can
declare a war against India on the war cry of jehad, and the other
four will have to follow. So war is the outcome of any retaliatory
action of India.
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=269&page=6
Opinion - Leader Page Articles
Defamation litigation: a survivor's kit
By Subramanian Swamy
The Supreme Court judgment in the Nakkeeran case is the main tool in
the survival kit for honest media and other critics of politicians
against libel litigation.
ON SEPTEMBER 17, the Tamil Nadu Government filed an affidavit in the
Supreme Court stating that it had ordered the withdrawal of 125
defamation cases filed against The Hindu and various other
publications. This is a tribute especially to The Hindu `parivar' for
showing guts and challenging the constitutionality of the cases filed
against its representatives. The Jayalalithaa Government chose
discretion over valour by not risking the Supreme Court striking down
the libel statute itself as unconstitutional. Rather than lose
permanently the weapon of state harassment of critics that defamation
law represents, the Government chose to back down.
This is the second time that the AIADMK State Government has directed
a carte blanche withdrawal of defamation cases. The first time was on
January 1, 1994 when the Tamil Nadu Government withdrew numerous
defamation cases filed against me in several Sessions Courts in the
State. The reason then was the same: the Supreme Court Bench of Chief
Justice M.N. Venkatachalaiah and Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy had heard
extensive arguments from me as petitioner in person and the Tamil Nadu
Government counsel on the defamation law, and then orally asked why
the law should not be struck down. The Government counsel then asked
for time, and came back a week later to say that all the cases against
me had been withdrawn. Hence, the cause of action for my petition
disappeared, and my petition became infructuous. I was personally
relieved but the law survived for use on another day.
But Justice Jeevan Reddy, who had listened to me with great care, went
on to write a landmark judgment in the Nakkeeran case [1994] that
incorporated the core of my arguments and citations from the United
States Supreme Court and the United Kingdom's House of Lords. That
judgment today c. The judgment however needs to be developed further
by more decided cases further clarified by continued challenge to
state-sponsored defamation litigation that has become far too frequent
in the country, so that freedom of speech and expression can become
more deep and extensive than at present.
Under the Indian Constitution, the fundamental right to free speech
(Article 19) is subject to "reasonable restrictions." What is
reasonable is subjective in a society; it can only be developed to
some objectivity by cases decided in courts [`case law'] and according
to the political culture of the times. At present, reasonableness is
codified in two laws — first, in exceptions to criminal culpability
incorporated in Sections 499 and 500 of the British colonial statute
known as the Indian Penal Code (1870), and second, the limits to civil
liability incorporated as tort law. In India, defamation proceedings
can be initiated under either or both, together or in sequence. Most
democratic countries have however done away with the criminal law,
which is archaic and draconian. But India has not yet done so.
What is one to do if one receives a court summons for alleged
defamation? For example, I once received a summons from a Delhi court
because I had called a BJP leader, V.K. Malhotra, "an ignoramus." The
remark was made by me during the Lok Sabha proceedings, but lifted by
a sub-editor and inserted in a column I wrote for the magazine.
Under the law, I had to prove that it was true — or face imprisonment.
Now, how does one prove that a person is an ignoramus in a court of
law? Add to that the harassment I would have to suffer of travelling
to court at least 10 times a year for at least five years to attend
the case or face a warrant for my production in court. Or I would have
to engage a lawyer who would charge me a hefty sum. All this for a
mild rebuke of a political leader? The editor of the magazine decided
he could not stomach it, so he apologised for printing the remark. I
was left holding the bag.
However, I fought the case and won. Mr. Malhotra was directed to pay
me Rs.8,000 as compensation for my petrol bills, which he paid with
some reluctance. Now how did I do it?
I pulled out of my survival kit the first tool of defence: in a
defamation case, the aggrieved person must prove "publication," which
means Mr. Malhotra would have to prove first that I had, in the
original text given to the magazine, written what was printed. The
onus was on him to produce the original. Now which magazine keeps the
original? He failed to produce it and I won.
In a 1997 press conference, I made some charges against Chief Minister
M. Karunanidhi. He used Section 199 of the Criminal Procedure Code to
get the Public Prosecutor to file a defamation case. This meant the
contest in court was between me and the state, and not between me and
the Chief Minister personally. Thus the Government would spend the
money out of the public exchequer and use Government counsel to
prosecute me, a totally unequal contest and wholly unfair (even if
legal).
If Section 199 had not been there, the Chief Minister would have
personally been the complainant and I would have had the right to
cross-examine him. Now which busy politician would like that? Hence, I
pulled out the second tool in my survival kit. I filed an application
before the judge making the point that the alleged defamation related
to the personal conduct of the Chief Minister and not to anything he
did in the course of public duty. I argued that Section 199 would not
apply. Thereafter, the State Public Prosecutor quickly lost interest
in the case. Had the judge rejected my prayer, I would have gone in
appeal to the Supreme Court and got Section 199 struck down. But alas,
I could not.
In 1988 another Chief Minister, Ramakrishna Hegde, filed a suit
against me under tort law for Rs.2 crore damages for my allegation
that he was tapping telephones and using his office to benefit a
relative in land deals. Although ultimately, the Kuldip Singh
Commission and a parliamentary committee studying the Telegraph Act
upheld my contentions, I would have had a problem had the court
decided the case before these inquiry reports came out.
So I pulled out the third tool in my survival kit, namely the U.S.
Supreme Court case laws, the most famous of which was The New York
Times case decided in 1964. Contrary to popular impression, U.S. case
laws on fundamental rights are applicable to India following a Supreme
Court judgment in an Indian Express case in 1959.
Furthermore, since 1994, these U.S. case laws have become
substantially a part of Indian law, thanks to Justice Jeevan Reddy's
judgment in the Nakkeeran case.
The principle in these case laws, restricted to public persons suing
for damages, is wonderfully protective of free speech: if a person in
public life, including one in government, feels aggrieved by a
defamatory statement, then that person must first prove in court that
the defamatory statement is not only false, but that the maker of the
statement knew it to be false. That is, it must be proved by the
defamed plaintiff to be a reckless disregard of the truth by the
defamer defendant. This principle thus reversed the traditional onus
on the defamer to prove his or her allegation, and placed the burden
of proof on the defamed.
This reversal of burden of proof is just, essentially because a public
person has the opportunity to go before the media and rebut the
defamation in a way aggrieved private persons cannot do. If criticism
and allegations against a public person have to be proved in a court
of law, what is likely to happen is that public spirited individuals
will be discouraged and thus dissuaded from making the criticism. This
is what the U.S. Supreme Court in the famous New York Times case
characterised as a "chilling effect" on public debate; it held this to
be bad for democracy.
Hence the need to balance the protection of reputation in law with the
democratic need for transparency and vibrant public debate. The U.S.
Supreme Court admirably set the balance for freedom and democracy.
Since Mr. Hegde was an intelligent man, he recognised what my survival
strategy meant. He would have come on the stand in court. He would
have been examined and cross-examined on why what I said was not true,
and how he knew that I had known all along that my charges were false
and yet I made them. He therefore sent me a message one day wanting to
know if I would call it quits. So his defamation case went from one
adjournment to another, until it lapsed upon his death. Before his
passing, Hegde and I met. Both of us agreed that it was unwise for
politicians who have so much access to the media to rebut charges to
file defamation cases and waste the time of already overburdened
courts. I got the impression that some sharp lawyer was behind his
temporary loss of judgment in filing the case.
Today, with developing case laws, defamation litigation has become a
toothless tiger for politicians to use against the media. There are
enough dental tools in my survival kit to ensure this. I am therefore
writing a full Manual on how to expose dishonest politicians and get
away without being harassed in court. I hope honest critics will no
more hesitate to speak their minds about what they know to be the
truth even if they cannot prove this in court beyond a reasonable
doubt.
I am happy therefore that The Hindu chose to fight it out rather than
capitulate. More should follow its lead for a better democracy and a
freer media.
(The author, an economist, is a former Union Law Minister. As a rule
he argues his own cases in court without the agency of lawyers.)
http://www.hindu.com/2004/09/21/stories/2004092103551000.htm
Swamy fined for charge against Jaya
New Delhi, January 3
The Delhi High Court today imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on Janata Party
President and former Union Minister Subramaniam Swamy for levelling
charges against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa that she
knew about the plan of the LTTE to assassinate former Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi at Sriperumbudur in May 1991.
Mr Justice Pradeep Nandrajog said Mr Swamy had failed to establish
that Jayalalithaa had received information and money from the banned
LTTE for the assassination of Gandhi.
“The defendant (Swamy) had exceeded the limits of qualified privilege
as his statement was quite unconnected with and irrelevant to the
situation and suffers from redundancy of the expression,’’ said the
order.
The M.C. Jain Commission of Inquiry was constituted on August 23, 1991
by the Centre to look into the circumstances leading to the
assassination of Gandhi.
Appearing before the commission, Mr Swamy had said Ms Jayalalithaa was
tipped by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) about the
assassination of Gandhi by its suicide bombers on April 17, 1991. —
UNI
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060104/nation.htm#16
December 03, 2006
Thinkpad
Basic Islam for Hindu Dhimmis
By Subramanian Swamy
Temples have been demolished in the Valley on a daily basis. The world
could not care less. An American had once told me: ?Why should we
care? Indian democracy is led by the majority who are Hindus and you
want us to talk about the human rights of the community of rulers??
We do not have much time, in fact about 45 years, as the X-graph of
statistical regressions estimated by J.S. Bajaj and colleagues shows. ?
X? represents the two trends?Hindu percentage declining and Muslim
percentage rising, and intersecting in the year 2061.
We Hindus must understand the true nature of Islam before we can
formulate a strategy to defeat those who threaten us.
Thanks to Shri Vedantamji of the VHP, I had visited Thondi and
Rasathipuram Municipalities of Ramanathapuram and Vellore districts
respectively, and was truly shocked by what I saw. Both these
municipalities are in Muslim-majority areas, and the local bodies
election had empowered the Muslims with their capture of the
municipalities.
The Muslim-ruled municipalities have thereafter converted these areas
into mini Dar-ul-Islams, in a Hindustan of 83 per cent Hindus! The
minority Hindu areas of the municipality were thus denied civic
amenities, funds for schools, garbage clearing etc., and sent notices
in Urdu. Hindus were bluntly told convert to Islam if they wanted
civic facilities.
I could not believe that in South India this was possible where Hindus
are actually above national average at 90 per cent of the population.
I know that in Kashmir Valley, Muslims who are in majority have
actively or passively connived in driving out half a million Hindus
out of their homes and made them refugees in their own country.
Temples have been demolished in the Valley on a daily basis. The world
could not care less. An American had once told me: ?Why should we
care? Indian democracy is led by the majority who are Hindus and you
want us to talk about the human rights of the community of rulers??
Such atrocities are happening not only in Kashmir, but in other parts
of India as well in pockets wherever Muslims are in majority, e.g.,
Mau and Meerut. In pocket boroughs of India, thus, Dar-ul-Islam has
today returned to India after two centuries. Considering that a
demographic re-structuring is slowly but surely taking place, with
Hindu majority shrinking everywhere, Dar-ul-Islam in pockets might
indeed, like amoeba, proliferate, coalesce, and jell into a
frightening national reality?unless we Hindus wake up and take
corrective action now, actions for which we shall of course not get a
Nobel Peace Prize.
Dar-ul-Islam is a Muslim religious concept of a land where Muslims
rule, and the non-believers in Islam are termed as Dhimmis. The term
Dhimmi was coined after the Jews were crushed in Medina [Khaybar to be
exact], and the defeated Jews accepted that if they did not convert to
Islam, then they would accept second-class status politically,
culturally, and religiously. This included zero civil rights including
the right to modesty of women, and the special tax jaziya.
There is thus no scope for Muslims and non-Muslims uniting as equals
in the political, cultural, or social system in a Dar-ul-Islam where
Muslims rule. Secular order in India thus is possible only when
Muslims are not in power. Thondi, Rasathipuram and other places prove
that the Muslim mind suffers from a dangerous duality?of seeking
secularism when out of power and imposing a brutal demeaning theocracy
for non-Muslims when in power.
It is this duality that patriotic Hindus must re-shape by modern
education and other means, as also retain its demographic overwhelming
majority in India. We do not have much time, in fact about 45 years,
as the X-graph of statistical regressions estimated by J.S. Bajaj and
colleagues shows. ?X? represents the two trends?Hindu percentage
declining and Muslim percentage rising, and intersecting in the year
2061.
The dhimmitude of Jews in Medina and later in Mecca represents the
beginning of religious apartheid inherent and basic to Islamic mores,
and practised long before what we saw in South Africa on the basis of
colour and race, and that which became prevalent during the Islamic
imperialist rule in parts of India. Hindus had been dhimmis for six
hundred years in those parts of India despite being a bigger majority
in the country than even today. Hence, a majority is not enough.
Hindus need also a Hindu mindset to be free.
In his presidential address to the Muslim League in Lahore in 1940,
Mohammed Ali Jinnah had articulated this concept of apartheid in his
own inimitable way:
?To visualise Hindus and Muslims in India uniting to create a common
nation is a mythical concept. It is only a fancy dream of some
unawakened Hindu leaders?. The truth is that Hindus and Muslims are
two different civilisations?. since their thought process grow on
different beliefs.?
Large sections of Muslims in India then had rejected Jinnah and his
concept of non-compatibility of Muslims with Hindus. But after
Independence and Partition, instead of building on this rejection by
many Muslims, the Nehru era saw increasing pandering precisely to the
religious element that believed in this apartheid. Indira Gandhi
vigorously continued this appeasement thereby nurturing the apartheid
mentality of Muslim orthodoxy.
But the final undermining of the enlightened Muslim came when the
government capitulated in the Shah Bano case. Thousands of Muslims had
demonstrated on the streets demanding that the government not bring
legislation that would nullify the Supreme Court?s judgment in the
Shah Bano case but in vain. Rajiv Gandhi, I learnt later, on counsel
from his Italian Catholic family, had surrendered to the hard line
clerics who protested that the Supreme Court had no right to interfere
and to de facto amend the Shariat, the Islamic law code. These
relatives on a directive from the Vatican thought that if secular law
would be applied to Muslims, it can be to the Christians too.
This was a nonsense argument of the Muslim clerics, since the Shariat
had already been amended, without protest, in the criminal law of
India. The Indian Penal Code represents the uniform criminal code that
equally applies to all religious communities. I therefore ask the
clerics: if a Muslim is caught stealing, can any court in India direct
that his hand at the wrist be cut off as the Shariat prescribes? If
Muslims can accept a uniform criminal code what is the logic in
rejecting the uniform civil code?
In India, Dhimmi status for Hindus during Islamic imperialist rule has
had other social implications. Defiant Brahmins and Kshatriyas, who
had refused to convert and chose to remain Hindus, were forced to
carry night-soil and suffer great indignities for their women folk. Or
it meant gross mental torture. Guru Tegh Bahadur, for example, had to
see his sons sawed in half, before the pious Guru?s own head was
severed and displayed in public.
The debasement of Hindu society then was such that those targeted
valiant Brahmins and Kshatriyas, who had refused to convert and thus
made to carry night-soil, were disowned by other Hindus and declared
to be asprashya or ?untouchable?. The ranks of the Scheduled Caste
community, which was not more than 1 per cent of the population before
the advent of Islam in India, swelled to 14 per cent by the time
Mughal rule collapsed.
Thus, today?s SC community, especially those who are still Hindus,
consists mostly of those valiant Brahmins and Kshatriyas who had
refused to become Muslims but preferred ostracization and ignominy in
order to remain Hindus. Hindu society today should offer koti koti
pranams to them for keeping the Bhagwa Dhwaj of Hindu religion flying
even at great personal cost and misery.
I have already written enough in these columns about Hindus being
under siege from Islamic fanatics and Christian proselytizers. I have
suggested that we can lift this siege only if we develop a Hindu
mindset, which is a four dimensional concept. But that mind must be
informed, and understand why others do what they do to Hindus before
we can defeat their nefarious designs. Here I suggest therefore that
we Hindus must understand the true nature of Islam before we can
formulate a strategy to defeat those who threaten us. In a later
column I will write about the true nature of Christianity and how to
combat the menace of religious conversions of Hindus.
At this juncture let me add even though I oppose conversion as
violence, as Swami Dayanand Sarasvati boldly wrote to the Vatican
Pope, nevertheless if an Indian Muslim or Christian changes his
religion to Hinduism today, I will not regard it as conversion because
it is a return to the Hindu fold of those whose ancestors had been
forcibly converted.
Unlike Hinduism, which says not a word against non-believers, in fact
says that other religions also lead to God, Islam is harsh on them,
and justifies violence against them as sacred. The choice to non-
believers in Islam is: convert or accept dhimmitude. Hence, the
explanation for Thondi, Rasathipuram, Mau etc., and the duality in
ethics practised by Muslims everywhere. A true Muslim is Dr. Jekyll
when in minority, and Mr. Hyde when in majority.
So what should we Hindus do? First, recognise that being a pious Hindu
is not enough. Hindus must unite and work to install a Hindu-minded
government. If 35 per cent of the 83 per cent Hindus unite to vote for
a party, absolute majority is attainable. If Hindu Dharma Acharya
Sabha, RSS, and VHP decide to mobilise the voter to support a party
that espouses an approved Hindu agenda, then the union government is
within reach through the ballot box. Second, search for those Muslims
who are ready to openly and with pride declare that their ancestors
were Hindus. My guess is that about 75 per cent of Muslims will be
ready to do so. These are the Muslims who can be co-opted by Hindus to
fight Islamic fundamentalism. If we do not do so, then the Muslim
clerics will have a free run of their fanaticism.
For this a required reading is Sri Sri Ravishankar?s Hinduism & Islam:
Dedicated to the People of Pakistan Who have Forgotten Their Own Roots
[www.artofliving.org]. In this Sri Sri Ravishankar has shown how ?
Muslims have completely forgotten that their forefathers were Hindus,
so they have every right to Vedic culture?. He in fact traces the pre-
Islam origins of the K?aaba. Third, invest heavily in primary
education to make it world class, ban the madrasas for any student
below 21 years, and make Sanskrit a compulsory language for all
students.
(The writer is a former Union Law Minister.)
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=159&page=31
chhotemianinshallah
US
Europe
Asia
Dow
10,566.20 +122.06 +1.17%
Nasdaq 2,326.35 +34.04 +1.48%
S&P 500 1,138.69 +15.72 +1.40%
10 Yr Bond(%) 3.6820% +0.7600
Oil 81.50 +1.58 +1.97%
Gold 1,134.80 +2.20 +0.19%
FTSE 100 5,599.76 +72.60 +1.31%
DAX 5,877.36 +82.04 +1.42%
CAC 40 0.00 0.00 0.00%
Nikkei 225 10,368.96 +223.24 +2.20%
Hang Seng 20,787.97 +212.19 +1.03%
Straits Times 0.00 0.00 0.00%
{"s" : "","k" : "a00,a50,b00,b60,c10,g00,h00,l10,p20,t10,v00","o" :
"CLJ10.NYM,GCH10.CMX,^DJI,^FCHI,^FTSE,^GDAXI,^GSPC,^HSI,^IXIC,^N225,^STI,^TNX","j" :
"c10,l10,p20,t10"}
Currency Pair Price Change
EUR/USD 1.3623 + 0.0043
USD/JPY 90.2250 + 1.1100
GBP/USD 1.5149 + 0.0121
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Dollar firms against rivals- CNNMoney.com
Determined based on increased frequency of appearance in news
CAT 59.23 +0.78 +1.33% Caterpillar, Inc. Common Stock
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AXP 40.20 +1.31 +3.37% American Express Company Common
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F 13.00 +0.21 +1.64% Ford Motor Company Common Stock
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C 3.50 +0.07 +2.04% Citigroup, Inc. Common Stock
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AAPL 218.95 +8.24 +3.91% Apple Inc.
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Unusual Trading Volume
{"s" : "aapl,axp,c,cat,f","k" :
"a00,a50,b00,b60,c10,g00,h00,l10,p20,t10,v00","o" : "SFD","j" :
"c10,l10,p20,t10"}
Bullish
InterMune Inc. (ITMN)
NeoMedia Technologies Inc. (NEOM.OB)
Nuance Communications, Inc. (NUAN)
Bearish
Healthways Inc. (HWAY)
Zanett Inc. (ZANE)
Capital One Financial Corp. (COF)
Powered by Collective Intellect, Inc.
Market Summary
10,566.20 +122.06 +1.17%
Nasdaq 2,326.35 +34.04 +1.48%
S&P 500 1,138.69 +15.72 +1.40%
10 Yr Bond(%) 3.6820% +0.7600
Oil 81.50 +1.58 +1.97%
Gold 1,134.80 +2.20 +0.19%
FTSE 100 5,599.76 +72.60 +1.31%
DAX 5,877.36 +82.04 +1.42%
CAC 40 0.00 0.00 0.00%
» View more indicesNikkei 225 10,368.96 +223.24 +2.20%
Hang Seng 20,787.97 +212.19 +1.03%
Straits Times 0.00 0.00 0.00%
{"s" : "","k" : "a00,a50,b00,b60,c10,g00,h00,l10,p20,t10,v00","o" :
"CLJ10.NYM,GCH10.CMX,^DJI,^FCHI,^FTSE,^GDAXI,^GSPC,^HSI,^IXIC,^N225,^STI,^TNX","j" :
"c10,l10,p20,t10"}
Currency Pair Price Change
EUR/USD 1.3623 + 0.0043
USD/JPY 90.2250 + 1.1100
GBP/USD 1.5149 + 0.0121
Market Summary
US
Europe
Asia
Dow
10,566.20 +122.06 +1.17%
Nasdaq 2,326.35 +34.04 +1.48%
S&P 500 1,138.69 +15.72 +1.40%
10 Yr Bond(%) 3.6820% +0.7600
Oil 81.50 +1.58 +1.97%
Gold 1,134.80 +2.20 +0.19%
FTSE 100 5,599.76 +72.60 +1.31%
DAX 5,877.36 +82.04 +1.42%
CAC 40 0.00 0.00 0.00%
Nikkei 225 10,368.96 +223.24 +2.20%
Hang Seng 20,787.97 +212.19 +1.03%
Straits Times 0.00 0.00 0.00%
{"s" : "","k" : "a00,a50,b00,b60,c10,g00,h00,l10,p20,t10,v00","o" :
"CLJ10.NYM,GCH10.CMX,^DJI,^FCHI,^FTSE,^GDAXI,^GSPC,^HSI,^IXIC,^N225,^STI,^TNX","j" :
"c10,l10,p20,t10"}
Fri 4:30pm ET- Briefing.com
A smaller-than-expected decline in February nonfarm payrolls provided
participants with a reason to bid stocks broadly higher, but
financials booked the best...
Brokers: TD AMERITRADEE*TRADE SCOTTRADE Currencies Investing
Currency Pair Price Change
EUR/USD 1.3623 + 0.0043
USD/JPY 90.2250 + 1.1100
GBP/USD 1.5149 + 0.0121
Investing Ideas
TradingMarkets 7 ETFs You Need to Know for Monday- TradingMarkets.com
TradingMarkets 7 Stocks You Need to Know for Monday-
TradingMarkets.com
Unemployment holds, 36,000 jobs lost in February jobs report-
CNNMoney.com
Dollar firms against rivals- CNNMoney.com
Market Summary
US
Europe
Asia
Dow
10,566.20 +122.06 +1.17%
Nasdaq 2,326.35 +34.04 +1.48%
S&P 500 1,138.69 +15.72 +1.40%
10 Yr Bond(%) 3.6820% +0.7600
Oil 81.50 +1.58 +1.97%
Gold 1,134.80 +2.20 +0.19%
FTSE 100 5,599.76 +72.60 +1.31%
DAX 5,877.36 +82.04 +1.42%
CAC 40 0.00 0.00 0.00%
Nikkei 225 10,368.96 +223.24 +2.20%
Hang Seng 20,787.97 +212.19 +1.03%
Straits Times 0.00 0.00 0.00%
{"s" : "","k" : "a00,a50,b00,b60,c10,g00,h00,l10,p20,t10,v00","o" :
"CLJ10.NYM,GCH10.CMX,^DJI,^FCHI,^FTSE,^GDAXI,^GSPC,^HSI,^IXIC,^N225,^STI,^TNX","j" :
"c10,l10,p20,t10"}
Fri 4:30pm ET- Briefing.com
A smaller-than-expected decline in February nonfarm payrolls provided
participants with a reason to bid stocks broadly higher, but
financials booked the best...
Brokers: TD AMERITRADEE*TRADE SCOTTRADE Currencies Investing
Currency Pair Price Change
EUR/USD 1.3623 + 0.0043
USD/JPY 90.2250 + 1.1100
GBP/USD 1.5149 + 0.0121
$1 U.S. Dollar (USD) = Japanese Yen 90.2250 ¥
Euro 0.7341 €
Investing Ideas
TradingMarkets 7 ETFs You Need to Know for Monday- TradingMarkets.com
TradingMarkets 7 Stocks You Need to Know for Monday-
TradingMarkets.com
Unemployment holds, 36,000 jobs lost in February jobs report-
CNNMoney.com
Dollar firms against rivals- CNNMoney.com
Determined based on increased frequency of appearance in news
CAT 59.23 +0.78 +1.33% Caterpillar, Inc. Common Stock
1d5d3m6m1y2y5ymaxNewsProfileKey StatsAdd to PortfoliosSet Alert
AXP 40.20 +1.31 +3.37% American Express Company Common
1d5d3m6m1y2y5ymaxNewsProfileKey StatsAdd to PortfoliosSet Alert
F 13.00 +0.21 +1.64% Ford Motor Company Common Stock
1d5d3m6m1y2y5ymaxNewsProfileKey StatsAdd to PortfoliosSet Alert
C 3.50 +0.07 +2.04% Citigroup, Inc. Common Stock
1d5d3m6m1y2y5ymaxNewsProfileKey StatsAdd to PortfoliosSet Alert
AAPL 218.95 +8.24 +3.91% Apple Inc.
1d5d3m6m1y2y5ymaxNewsProfileKey StatsAdd to PortfoliosSet Alert
Unusual Trading Volume
{"s" : "aapl,axp,c,cat,f","k" :
"a00,a50,b00,b60,c10,g00,h00,l10,p20,t10,v00","o" : "SFD","j" :
"c10,l10,p20,t10"}
Bullish
InterMune Inc. (ITMN)
NeoMedia Technologies Inc. (NEOM.OB)
Nuance Communications, Inc. (NUAN)
Bearish
Healthways Inc. (HWAY)
Zanett Inc. (ZANE)
Capital One Financial Corp. (COF)
Powered by Collective Intellect, Inc.
7 New Tax Laws to Know
by Kay Bell
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
provided by
Facing a struggling economy, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., turned to
the tax code to help get it, and us consumers, moving again. Most of
the tax changes were part of the stimulus package enacted last
February, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. There
are seven new tax laws you should know, and some old tax laws with new
amounts adjusted for inflation.
Tax breaks were created, or in some cases expanded, for autos and home
purchases, as well as for certain residential improvements. Uncle Sam
now pays more of some educational costs. Some workers get bigger tax
benefits to offset their commute to work. Folks who no longer have
jobs at least get some tax relief. Even how you pay your IRS bill
could turn into a deduction.
Here's a look at some popular tax laws that could come in handy as you
work on your 2009 tax return.
1. More Homebuyer Credits
In February 2009, the popular first-time homebuyer credit became a
true credit, meaning that it can directly reduce dollar-for-dollar any
tax you owe. Even better, the amount of the credit was increased; it's
now up to 10 percent of the cost of the house up to a maximum $8,000.
Best of all, it's a refundable credit so if your tax bill is zero, any
credit for which you qualify will be sent to you as a refund.
A few months later, Congress extended the credit for the rest of the
year (as well as into 2010). At that time, lawmakers added a new
credit for "long-time" homeowners who've owned and lived in their
residences for at least five consecutive years of the eight years
before they buy a new house. Those folks now might qualify for a
$6,500 credit.
While the first-time home purchase credit is generally a good thing
for taxpayers, it will require some care in claiming it. Because of
the various law changes, different income eligibility limits apply
depending on when you bought the house and which type of buyer, first-
time or move-up, you are.
The new law also requires stricter proof of purchase. This safeguard
against fraud requires you to send in a copy of settlement sheet, so
you won't be able to file your 2009 return electronically. And that
could slow down your refund.
2. New-Car Sales Tax Deductions
If you bought a new vehicle -- that includes a car, light truck,
motorcycle or even a motor home -- on or after Feb. 16, 2009, and by
Dec. 31, 2009, any sales or excise tax you paid could be a deduction.
This isn't a new option for taxpayers who itemize. But now even
taxpayers who claim the standard deduction can take advantage of the
tax break. Standard deduction filers will have to fill out a new form,
Schedule L, to claim the automotive sales tax. Itemizers still will
have the choice of claiming the deduction for the sales tax on
Schedule A.
Just don't count on writing off the sales taxes on a luxury vehicle.
The deduction is limited to the tax paid on up to $49,500 of a
vehicle's purchase price. You can, however, claim the tax deduction
for each new vehicle you bought last year.
And your deduction might be limited by your income. You'll get a
partial deduction if your income as a single taxpayer is between
$125,000 and $135,000; between $250,000 and $260,000 for joint filers.
If you make more than those top amounts for your filing status, you
can't claim any amount.
3. Expanded Education Credit
For 2009 (and 2010, too) the Hope Education credit is replaced by the
American Opportunity Credit. The new credit is worth $2,500 per
student, based on the first $4,000 of qualifying educational expenses.
The Hope Credit only allowed for an $1,800 tax break.
In addition to upping the credit amount, the American Opportunity
Credit can be claimed for expenses for the first four years of post-
secondary education, versus the first two years of expenses allowed
under the Hope Credit.
More expenses can be counted in calculating the new credit. Its income
limits are larger, meaning more folks making more money -- up to
$90,000, or twice that for joint filers -- can claim at least a
partial credit.
And if you claim the American Opportunity Credit but don't owe the
IRS, you still might still get a refund. Forty percent of the credit
if refundable, which means you could receive up to $1,000 even if you
owe no taxes.
4. Enhanced Home Energy Credits
Credit for homeowners who make their homes more energy efficient
reappeared in 2009 and in a much more generous incarnation.
Homeowners who make energy-efficient improvements to their existing
homes now can claim a credit of 30 percent of the cost of all
qualifying upgrades, up to a maximum credit of $1,500. This covers
such relatively simple things as adding insulation, energy-efficient
exterior windows and energy-efficient heating and air conditioning
systems.
If you really want to take the extra energy-efficiency step, more-
costly and complex upgrades, such as various solar, wind and
geothermal systems, offer a credit of 30 percent of the purchase price
with no maximum credit cap. In these cases, the cost of installation
also can be used in the credit calculation.
Improvements must meet Energy Star standards and must have been put
into service at your home during the tax year.
5. Jobless Benefits Less Taxing
Last year was a tough one for many workers. Layoffs hit record levels.
Unfortunately, unemployment compensation is considered taxable income.
Now, however, the first $2,400 of such benefits are excluded from
income.
6. Biking Tax Break
Last year bicycling commuters were included in the tax code section
that allows for employer reimbursement of workplace transportation
costs. Thanks to the Bicycle Commuter Act, cyclists now get some of
the same type of tax-free fringe benefits as do their motoring co-
workers. If a company provides the benefit, which is $20 per month, a
worker can put into a special tax-favored account, bicycle commuters
can use that money to help defray such costs as the purchase of a
bicycle, bike lock, helmet, bike parking fees, shower facilities and
general bike maintenance.
7. Deduction for Credit Card Fees
If you pay your income tax (including estimated tax payments) by
credit or debit card, you can deduct the convenience fee you are
charged for the transaction. You include the fee amount as a
miscellaneous itemized deduction on line 23 of Schedule A. This means
that the card fee, along with any other IRS approved miscellaneous
deductions, must exceed 2 percent of your adjusted gross income before
they count. That will limit the value of this break for many filers,
but if you do have substantial expenses to claim in this category and
charge any tax payments, be sure to add the card fee to the mix.
Copyrighted, Bankrate.com. All rights reserved
Tax Forms
Federal Tax Forms
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/102206/federal_tax_forms
State Tax Forms
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/102215/individual_tax_forms_by_state
Tax Resources
Tax How-to Guides
http://finance.yahoo.com/how-to-guide/index#taxes
Tax Calculators
http://finance.yahoo.com/calculator/index#taxes
1040 Central
http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=118506,00.html
IRS E-file
http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=118574,00.html
Where's My Refund?
http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96596,00.html
Filing
Who Has to File a Tax Return?
http://finance.yahoo.com/how-to-guide/taxes/137366
10 Must-Know Tax Terms
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/101896/must_know_tax_terms
2008 Tax Brackets
http://finance.yahoo.com/how-to-guide/taxes/137352
4 Credits That Can Help Boost Your Refund
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/106497/Tax-Credits-Worth-Pursuing-This-Year
10 Common Tax-Filing Mistakes to Avoid
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/104171/Ten-Common-Tax-Filing-Mistakes-to-Avoid
Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) - Part I
http://finance.yahoo.com/how-to-guide/taxes/136786
Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) - Part II
http://finance.yahoo.com/how-to-guide/taxes/136779
Second Chance at a Rebate
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/106481/Second-Chance-at-a-Rebate
Filing Tax Returns for the Recently Deceased
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/102500/Death_in_the_Family
How to File for an Extension
http://finance.yahoo.com/how-to-guide/taxes/136770
Advice and Strategy
Should You Do Your Own Taxes or Hire a Pro?
Ways to Pay Off a Big Tax Bill
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/104172/Ways-to-Pay-Off-a-Big-Tax-Bill
Working on Your Taxes? Get Organized
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/104173/Working-on-Your-Taxes-Get-Organized
How Major Life Changes Affect Your Taxes
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/104192/Life-and-Tax-Changes
Surviving an IRS Audit
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/104191/Surviving-an-IRS-Audit
Adjust the Tax Withheld From Your Paycheck
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/104181/Adjust-the-Tax-Withheld-From-Your-Paycheck
Don't Get Scammed at Tax Time
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/102834/How-to-Not-Get-Scammed-at-Tax-Time
Check Out Your Tax Preparer
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/101899/check_with_tax_preparer_so_your_return_checks_out_ok
Moving? Save Money on Taxes
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/101955/taking_it_with_you
Tax Benefits of Donating Stocks
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/101963/share_the_wealth
Lessening the Gift Tax Blow in a Down Market
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/106420/Estate-Planning-in-a-Down-Market
Keep Your Nest Egg Safe From Uncle Sam
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/106530/Keep-Your-Nest-Egg-Safe-From-Uncle-Sam
Finding a Tax-Friendly State to Retire
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/106285/Finding-a-Retirement-Friendly-State
Taxes
7 New Tax Laws You Should Know AboutHere's a look at some popular new
tax laws that could come in handy as you work on your 2009 tax
return... read more
Little-Known Tax Breaks for Your Return
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/108830/little-known-tax-breaks-for-your-2009-return?mod=taxes-advice_strategy
Wackiest Tax Deductions for 2010
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/108803/wackiest-tax-deductions-for-2010??mod=taxes-advice_strategy
10 Smart Tax Moves to Make in 2010
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/108547/10-astute-tax-moves-in-2010&mod=taxes
A Bizarre Year for the Estate Tax
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/108562/a-bizarre-year-for-the-estate-tax-will-require-extra-planning
IRS: Refunds in 10 Days for Online Filers
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/108601/irs-online-tax-filers-can-get-refunds-in-10-days?mod=taxes-filing
The Most-Overlooked Tax Deductions
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/108262/the-most-overlooked-tax-deductions
7 States With No Income Tax
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/108831/7-states-with-no-income-tax?mod=taxes-advice_strategy
How Falling Home Values Can Lower Your Taxes
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/107349/using-the-rout-in-housing-to-lower-taxes.html?mod=taxes-advice_strategy
10 Harsh Truths the IRS Will Never Tell You
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/106781/ten-things-the-internal-revenue-service-will-not-tell-you.html?mod=taxes-advice_strategy
Top 10 Tax-Friendly Cities
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/106691/top-ten-tax-friendly-cities.html?mod=taxes-filing
View Taxes basics
Commentary and Analysis
You Can Save the Smart Way
by Laura Rowley
Friday, March 5, 2010
The annual "America Saves Week," an event organized by more than a
hundred organizations to encourage consumers to sock money away,
wrapped up at the end of February. It's not having a huge effect, at
least according to the latest numbers -- the January personal savings
rate fell to 3.3 percent from 4.2 percent in December, the lowest rate
in 15 months, the Commerce Department reported this week.
If savings behavior isn't changing, consumer attitudes may be. A
recent Gallup poll found 62 percent of Americans say they enjoy saving
more than spending, while 35 percent reported the reverse. Back in
2006, respondents were split about 50-50 on the question. Moreover, 57
percent say they are spending less money in recent months than they
used to, up from 50 percent last July. Among the newly frugal, 38
percent say this spending pattern is the "new normal," while 19
percent say the budget cuts are temporary
The poll didn't examine how people are saving, but the latte-by-latte
route is being challenged by some. "If you look at the things you
spend the most money on, that's where you can save the most money,"
says Elisabeth Leamy, author of the new book "Save Big" and a "Good
Morning America" consumer correspondent.
Leamy offers a hundred ways to save thousands of dollars on five top
costs -- homes, cars, credit, food and health care. She argues that
it's easier to squeeze money out of the big stuff than to pinch
pennies. "I would rather focus ferociously on getting rid of junk
closing costs when I buy a house or do the research every few years
when I need to buy a car, than scrimping and struggling to save every
day," she says.
The book offers step-by-step instructions to minimize closing costs on
a house, negotiate the price of uncovered medical procedures and save
on auto insurance, among other tips. Some suggestions are
straightforward. You can save $9 a month by keeping your tires
properly inflated, or save tens of thousands by buying a used car and
paying cash rather than financing. (Been there, done that, it works;
the only exception was the Kia we bought during the Cash for Clunkers
program.)
Wiser Use
For consumers whose finances aren't particularly complicated, Leamy is
a big advocate of pre-paying your mortgage. For example, suppose you
take out a $200,000 mortgage for 30 years at 6.5 percent interest. The
monthly payment is $1,264.14. Let's say you can afford to round up
your monthly payment to $1,300, paying an extra $35.86 a month. You'll
save $23,900 over the life of the loan.
But for me, this is the trickiest part of personal finance. There are
multiple goals crying out for that extra $35.86 -- a fund for
emergencies, college, retirement and those little expenses that make
life worthwhile right now (like a vacation to Florida, especially if
you lived on the East Coast this winter).
If you carry credit card debt, the best use of that $35.86 is paying
down those cards as quickly as possible, because the high interest
rate is dismantling your road to riches brick by brick. Three simple
steps: 1) Take five minutes to call each card company and see if
they'll lower your interest rate. 2) Make all your minimum payments on
time and in full and shovel the extra $35.86 toward the highest
interest-rate card. 3) When it's paid off, shift that minimum payment
plus the extra $35.86 to the next card, and keep rolling until you are
free of credit card debt. (Watch out for debt pay-down scams that
charge you for that same advice.)
Next, I would allocate that $35.86 toward an emergency fund equal to
three month's living expenses in a savings account. Personally, I keep
my emergency fund in my checking account, because I get 3.5 percent
interest on deposits up to $30,000 if I use my debit card 10 times a
month. I know I can only spend the amount above my emergency fund
"base." This works remarkably well if you're disciplined. (Rule of
thumb: If you've had more than one overdraft charge this year, don't
try this, because you don't have enough control of your finances to
make it work.) First get a budget.
Now, let's assume you're free of revolving debt and have managed to
save three month's living expenses. The next place I'd put the $35.86
is in a retirement account. If it grows at 5 percent for 40 years,
you're looking at $32,864 (assuming a 2 percent rate of inflation).
Click here for a method to compare the value of an extra mortgage
payment to a 401(k) contribution.
Can We Have It All?
Frankly, I think you could make a good argument for splitting the
$35.86 between a retirement fund and a vacation fund, because the days
are long, life is short and all you take with you are memories.
Unless, of course, you have kids; then maybe you put one-third of the
$35.86 to retirement, one-third to vacations and one-third to college.
For instance, I used to make an extra mortgage payment but eventually
allocated the money to my kids' 529 college savings plans. Why?
Inflation on college tuition is running 7 percent. My returns over the
last three years averaged 3 percent. The only way to reach our goal is
to save more (and practice jump shots, on the outside chance the kids
could ride a sports scholarship through college like their dad.)
Old-fashioned American optimism (and clever advertising) suggests we
can have it all. Doing the math often demonstrates otherwise. At a
certain point it comes down to making choices about the big things we
want in life and setting goals to reach them, and then, as Leamy puts
it, "buckle down and do the work."
It would be wonderful if America Saves Week inspires someone to skip a
$3 latte and save the cash -- but even better if it gets people to
think about what they really value, and use their money accordingly.
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/108977/you-can-save-the-smart-way
Finding a better use for an extra $35.86 a month might do more for
your finances than you think.
.Bring Back the Robber Barons- Daniel Henninger, WSJ
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/108963/bring-back-the-robber-barons
Nuclear Options to Protect Yourself- Jim Lowell, MarketWatch
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/108944/nuclear-options
The Real Problem in Politics? It's Us- Charles Wheelan, Ph.D.
http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/economist/225007
Special Features
Beaten by Buffett
by Sam Mamudi
Monday, March 8, 2010
provided by
Mutual funds dramatically lag Berkshire stock during chairman's tenure
Many investors can only look on with envy when Warren Buffett says his
shareholders have seen 20% annualized gains over the past 45 years --
even the best mutual funds pale by comparison.
Only two funds are even on the horizon: Fidelity Magellan Fund
(FMAGX), which has returned 16.3% a year during Buffett's chairmanship
of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-A), and Templeton Growth Fund (TEPLX),
up 13.4% a year on average, according to investment researcher
Morningstar Inc.
Berkshire's Class-A shares have delivered returns of 22% a year since
1965, based on market price, though Buffett prefers to judge gains
according to book value, which stand at 20.3%.
More from MarketWatch.com:
• Some Fund Firms Shredded Investor Wealth
• Volatility Rots a Core Fund
• Fund 'Rip-Off' Book Full of Empty Words
Using Berkshire's market price gains for fairer comparison with mutual
funds, $10,000 invested with Buffett on Oct. 1 1964 -- equivalent to
about $60,000 in today's dollars -- would now be worth about $80
million.
The same amount in Fidelity's fund would have grown to about $9.1
million, while Templeton Growth investors would now have roughly $2.9
million.
The returns covered the 45 years through the end of 2009. During that
period the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 9.3% on an annualized
basis -- $10,000 would have grown to nearly $560,000. There were 145
mutual funds at the start of 1965.
The varying dollar amounts highlight the power of compound interest,
where seemingly small differences in percentage points over a number
of years can mean dramatic differences in what investors can earn.
Funds Under Pressure
Buffett has more structural freedom than mutual-fund mangers, so
comparing their performance isn't apples-to-apples. But the
differences also highlight the limits of mutual funds, particularly
the short-term pressures that most managers face.
"Throughout his tenure he's been a huge proponent of investors
thinking of themselves as owners of companies rather than investors
[which fits his] extremely long-term approach," said Jonathan Rahbar,
mutual fund analyst at Morningstar, about Buffett.
"Mutual-fund managers have incentive to do well on a year-in-year-out
basis; if things don't go well for a year or two, they'll see
outflows," he added.
Fund ratings firms such as Morningstar might be part of this problem,
Rahbar conceded, though he said his firm focuses more on long-term
performance. But according to one Buffett investor, the structure of
the fund industry makes it harder to invest as he does.
"Mutual funds have to sell to institutions who lump them into style
boxes and expect them to be fully invested," said Timothy Vick senior
portfolio manager at Sanibel Captiva Trust Co. "And those institutions
review a manager quarterly and they change some managers every year."
Short-term pressures lead many fund managers to trade frequently as
they seek to gain an edge -- the average fund turns over its portfolio
every year, according to Morningstar -- the antithesis of Buffett's
approach.
Vick, author of the book "How to Pick Stocks Like Warren Buffett,"
said his firm typically wants portfolio turnover of no more than 10%
to 15% -- holding a stock for between eight to 10 years. Of the fund
industry's 100% turnover average, he says, "it's like a gambling den."
Bend It Like Buffett
Templeton Growth Fund uses a value deep value strategy, buying stocks
when they're cheap, and keeps its portfolio turnover low, at just over
10%, according to Morningstar.
In fact the fund shares many similarities with Buffett, owing its good
performance mostly to consistent, if not overwhelming, gains in good
markets and holding up well in down markets, said Kevin McDevitt,
senior mutual fund analyst at Morningstar, who covers the fund.
But even here the demands of institutional investors takes a toll, he
added, as the fund feels pressure to stick with its investment
strategy and stay fully invested. In previous years the fund would
hold 10% to 20% of assets in cash, an approach that helped it weather
downturns: In 2000, 2001 and 2002, when the Standard & Poor's 500-
stock index fell 9.1%, 11.9% and 22.1%, respectively, Templeton
Growth's Class-A shares were up 1.7%, 0.5% and down 9.5%. But in 2008
the fund was fully invested and lost 43.5%.
A spokesman for Franklin Resources Inc. (BEN), which manages Templeton
Growth, said that staying fully invested likely helped the fund 2009,
when it gained 31%.
On a per-share book value basis, Berkshire was up 6.5% in 2000, down
6.2% in 2001 and up 10% in 2002. In 2008, the stock was down 9.6% and
was up 19.8% last year. In 2008 and 2009, the S&P 500 fell 37% and
gained 26.5%, respectively.
"Though we have lagged the S&P 500 in some years that were positive
for the market, we have consistently done better than the S&P in the
eleven years during which it delivered negative results," Buffett told
shareholders. "In other words, our defense has been better than our
offense."
But that approach requires patience, which is often in short supply in
the fund world.
"Fund industry pressures run counter to [that] philosophy," said
McDevitt. "Buffett has a lot more freedom."
At the end of 2007 Buffett had about $44 billion in cash, according to
Meyer Shields, analyst at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. That amounted to about
35% of his investment portfolio, said Shields, though while some of it
was a defensive posture he was also holding cash to fund an
acquisition.
But even today, with interest rates close to zero, Buffett is
comfortable with Berkshire holding a large cash position.
"The $20 billion-plus of cash equivalent assets that we customarily
hold is earning a pittance at present. But we sleep well," he wrote in
his latest shareholder letter, published Saturday.
Unlike the Templeton fund, Fidelity Magellan Fund is a growth-tilted
fund. But unlike the other fund, its performance has been unsteady;
most of its success came during the record-breaking run of manager
Peter Lynch from 1977 to 1990, during which the fund saw annualized
returns of 29%.
"Its very long-term returns are still living off Lynch's success,"
said Christopher Davis, fund analyst at Morningstar.
Lynch also had a low-turnover approach, and during his tenure
Magellan, which today has about $25 billion in assets, was much
smaller -- it's hard to get outsized results when managing huge sums,
as Buffett himself has acknowledged.
"Our performance advantage has shrunk dramatically as our size has
grown, an unpleasant trend that is certain to continue," he wrote in
his letter.
As of March 2, Magellan was losing 2% annualized over the prior
decade, hurt not only by its size, but also by a fact that highlights
another big difference between Buffett and mutual funds: Manager
turnover.
Since its launch in 1963, Magellan has had seven fund managers, each
with their own approach and distinct results. Meanwhile, Buffett has
continued to run Berkshire Hathaway his way.
Said Rahbar: "He's been there longer than any fund manager has held
their position."
Copyrighted, MarketWatch. All rights reserved. Republication or
redistribution of MarketWatch content is expressly prohibited without
the prior written consent of MarketWatch. MarketWatch shall not be
liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions
taken in reliance thereon.
.With Fistfuls of Cash, Firms on Hunt- WSJ
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/108972/with-fistfuls-of-cash-firms-on-hunt
Facebook Ads Strike Some as Off-Key- NYT
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/108962/ads-posted-on-facebook-strike-some-as-off-key
GM Offers Some Dealers a Second Chance- CNNMoney
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/GM-offers-661-scrapped-cnnm-3591776196.html?x=0
FCC Broadband Plan Could Spark Big Fight- IBD
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/FCC-Broadband-Plan-Could-ibd-1307202940.html?x=0
Will Europe's Financial Problems Spread?- ETFguide
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Will-Europes-Financial-etfguide-32712253.html?x=0
Finding the Right Trading Coach- Investopedia
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Finding-The-Right-Trading-investopedia-2275341732.html?x=0
Traders Seek Out the Next Greece- NYT
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/108964/traders-seek-out-the-next-greece-in-an-ailing-europe
New 'Uptick Rule' Lets Investors Down- MarketWatch
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/108965/coming-up-short
When the Job Search Grows Cold- U.S. News
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Job-Search-Grows-Cold-usnews-48554656.html?x=0
Sid Harth
Interviews for final Selection of awardees under the Scheme of
National Overseas Scholarship for SC etc. candidates for the Selection
Year 2008-09
http://socialjustice.nic.in/nosinter.php
Quotation for Creative Design of Half Page Color Advertisement on
Republic Day 2010
http://socialjustice.nic.in/republicday2010.php
Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme to promote Voluntary Action
for Persons with Disabilities (Revised DDRS Scheme)
http://socialjustice.nic.in/ddrs.php
List of persons / organizations given National Awards for the
Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities-2009 (54 KB) (PDF file that
opens in a new window)
http://socialjustice.nic.in/pdf/awardeelist09.pdf
Advertisement for the receipt of nominations for National Award for
outstanding field work in eradicating untouchability and combating
offences of atrocities against Schedued Castes for the year 2009 (141
KB) (PDF file that opens in a new window)
http://socialjustice.nic.in/pdf/advnaward09.pdf
Proposed Amendments in the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995-
Comments / Suggestions Invited (Notice for Proposed Amendments in the
Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995-Comments / Suggestions Invited (15
KB) (PDF file that opens in a new window) )
http://socialjustice.nic.in/draftpwdact.php
http://socialjustice.nic.in/pdf/noticepwd.pdf
http://socialjustice.nic.in/pdf/expnote.pdf
http://socialjustice.nic.in/pdf/dpwdact.pdf
NGO Partnership System (101 KB) (PDF file that opens in a new window)
http://socialjustice.nic.in/pdf/ngopartnership.pdf
Scheme for Incentives to employers providing Employment to the Persons
with Disabilities in the Private Sector (Hindi Version of Scheme for
Incentives to employers providing Employment to the Persons with
Disabilities in the Private Sector)
http://socialjustice.nic.in/incentdd.php
Advertisement for inviting applications under the Scheme of National
Overseas Scholarship for SCs etc. Candidates for the selection year
2009-10 (78 KB) (PDF file that opens in a new window)
http://socialjustice.nic.in/pdf/nos0910.pdf
Published on 14-04-2007 In National
Viewed 2935 times | Written by Cho Ramaswamy
Social injustice
Karnataka government's ignoring rulings of the courts' in the Cauvery
tangle is unjust. The Kerala regime's brazen contempt for judgements
in the Mullaperiyar issue is the worst example of chutzpah. But, the
Tamil Nadu has attempted to do something worse against the Supreme
Court by organising a general strike against its interim pronouncement
because it is supposed to be "social justice."
The Apex Court had spoken its mind in the matter of 27 percent
reservation for "Other Backward Castes" in higher education and
ordered an interim stay on the law in this respect. Though the TN
government opposed and decried the ruling as do most political parties
in the length and breadth of the nation, this is the only state that
dovetailed its allies' [and the entire opposition's] support for a
state sponsored "bandh."
Senior counsel Vijayan has pointed out a hitherto unnoticed aspect of
this issue.
"When the case came up for the first time, its plaintiffs – a certain
youths' association was in the process of organising a strike.
The Supreme Court's interim orders, at that point in time, were in
favour of the government which had opposed it. Forced to accept the
call of the courts, the body called off its mass action. Now, the
state government has acted in a manner so as to insult the voice of
the judiciary. Shouldn't the present regime exhibit the same sense of
responsibility shown earlier by a voluntary organisation," Vijayan
demands to know.
The Supreme Court expressed itself explicitly while ordering an
interim stay in the matter of reservation in education.
The court reiterated its earlier orders which had clearly stated that
the reservations cannot exceed 50 percent…This upper limit [aimed to
keep out] the creamy layer within the Backward Castes was an aspect of
the [collective] wisdom expressed in the articles enshrined in The
Constitution. If breached, this would defeat the very purpose of the
assurance of "equal opportunities" which are the bedrock of all our
laws, the court said. Ensuring that reservations do not go beyond the
prescribed 50 percent limit, that all those who have already been
benefited by the statute are kept beyond its purview and prevention of
their indefinite continuance are the duty of the government.
Backwardness cannot be a permanent feature and therefore ought not to
become endless, the court reflected in its interim order.
These above sentiments expressed by the courts have been stressed in
many articles published several times in Thuglak.
This time, the Supreme Court has pointed out that the census of 1931
cannot be the basis to determine OBCs. Further it said that such an
old yardstick cannot be accepted as the justification for 27 percent
reservation in [central] educational institutions.
Those who oppose these averments of the Apex Court naturally point to
the fact that it did not question reservations in government jobs. But
these sections have failed to comprehend a simple facet of the whole
issue. Different articles in the Constitution have dealt with
reservations in jobs and educational institutions separately and have
differentiated between the two.
While tackling the matter of reservations in jobs, the Constitution
clearly says they are applicable only "to those Backward Classes which
do not have adequate representation."
Shorn of legalese, this means that the founding fathers of our
Constitution had accepted the fact that certain sections of the
population weren't represented in government posts.
But the statute doesn't accept this premise while dealing with the
issue of reservations in educational institutions. The article that
deals with this matter clearly says that the special arrangement is
meant for the uplift of "socially and educationally backward sections"
of the population that encompasses "oppressed and scheduled castes
[and] tribes…"
Since this was based on the situation that prevailed in 1931 [when the
last census was conducted] questions are bound to be raised about its
present applicability.
If this distinction between jobs and education is understood, nobody
would say that the two are on an equal plane.
Between the creation of our Constitution and the present day,
different amendments were made to include several sections in the
populace purely to increase political parties' vote banks. This
resulted in those who depended on merit being totally outnumbered in
blatant violation of the tenets of equality stated clearly in the
Constitution.
Every time the courts opposed such moves, political parties assailed
the judiciary as a matter of habit. The present order of the Supreme
Court isn't a final denouement. Yet, several political outfits are
condemning it as such. The Tamil Nadu government simply went a step
further and organised a "bandh."
"On what basis can the ruling party in Tamil Nadu insist on our
obeying the Supreme Court in the Cauvery and Mullaperiyar issues," is
a poser bound to be raised by the ruling [coalitions] in Karnataka and
Kerala respectively.
Naturally the two "K" states can demand the right to be on an equal
footing with Tamil Nadu in ignoring the Supreme Court!
On several occasions, for different reasons, the powers that be in
many states as well as at the centre have accorded short shrifts to
judgements pronounced in courts. At times, they have rendered their
orders meaningless by amending the laws.
It may happen on this occasion as well.
The words of the judiciary have tasted bitter to governments
regardless of their being regional or national because the courts base
their orders on the Constitution while ruling political arrangements
treaded a different measure due to political conveniences.
The latest imbroglio is an attempt on the part of the political
parties to decimate the bulwarks of democracy enshrined in our laws –
equality and justice for all. If the political class succeeds in its
quest, it would be meaningless to call ourselves a democratic state.
The alibi for this – the cause of "social justice" – is its very
antithesis.
(Translated from Thuglak by TSV Hari)
http://indiainteracts.in/columnist/2007/04/14/Social-injustice-/
Social injustice
Social justice in India means many things to most people. It is a coin
that offers the solution on one side, and promises to retain its
premium value if the extent of social injustice is allowed to grow on
the other. The side that pays the most during election-time is not the
one that has the solution. To the authors of the Constitution ushering
in social justice was an honest commitment with an unrealistic time-
limit. It was this error in the original document that allowed the
political class to turn the policy of job reservation into an
opportunity for creating a captive vote-bank. The two-day national
convention of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and other backward
communities in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, organised by the Bharatiya Janata
Party is the latest example of the scale of confusion that politicians
are willing to create by making promises that fly in the face of law
and logic. Of course, since every political party is now playing the
Dalit card, why should the BJP not follow the policy? In the highly
competitive political game of appearing to be different from the other
in championing the Dalit cause, parties are constantly inventing new
agendas. The BJP convention in Mhow has promised to introduce job
reservation in the private sector.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh stole the Dalit thunder
last year by organising a conference of Dalit intellectuals that
adopted a charter of action called the Bhopal Declaration. With
assembly elections round the corner, the BJP has decided to offer
everything short of the moon to break the Congress’ grip over the
levers of power in Madhya Pradesh. Real issues becoming “victims” of
narrow and self-defeating politics have slowed down India’s march
towards economic progress. Population control is a real issue, that no
party wants to touch for the odium attached to it because of Sanjay
Gandhi. Social justice was a low-key issue until 1989. After Mr V. P.
Singh implemented the Mandal Commission report on job reservation, no
leader has shown the moral courage to question the rationale of a
policy that has increased the level of general tension without
offering social and economic emancipation to the country’s vast
underclass. Adopting a resolution is not going to make the private
sector offer jobs without applying the test of merit. Creation of
merit will help the Dalits join the expanding mainstream of
professional excellence without having to feel small in the eyes of
their colleagues. How about a policy that allows Dalits admission in
the best schools in the country? That is where the foundations of
academic excellence are laid. Thereafter, merit alone should be the
benchmark for admission to premium professional courses. Creating
social tension by expanding the size of job reservation will some day
cause an explosion that would make the post-Mandal riots in the
country look like a mild tantrum.
Satyameva jayate
The Union Cabinet’s nod to a proposal to make “truth a defence” in
contempt cases where aspersions have been cast against a judge is
laudable, in that it can remove a gross discrepancy. So far, the
contempt law has been an exception to the fundamental right to the
freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by the Constitution.
Actually, the Contempt of Court Act, 1971, is silent on whether truth
can be a defence. Perhaps the law was taciturn on this issue because
it was considered inconceivable that a judge could be fallible. But
this silence was interpreted in some cases to mean that even if an
aspersion was true, it still constituted a contempt of court because
it lowered the authority and dignity of the court. While attempting to
remove this grey area, the government has rather enhanced the
authority of the judiciary because the judges occupy such an exalted
place in society that fingers should not be pointed at them, not just
because the law says so, but because the people at large actually
consider them to be beyond reproach. If there is foolproof evidence
against any member of the fraternity that he erred, then the person
making the allegation should not be hauled over coals just because the
wrongdoer happened to be a judge. This immunity was liable to be
misused. One black sheep could have brought a bad name to the entire
community. Even if the unthinkable did not happen, there were chances
that people’s faith in the integrity of the judges would not be as
unflinching as it should be.
Many countries like Australia and New Zealand already have truth as
defence in contempt cases. The Cabinet’s decision that can make the
judiciary more accountable without compromising its autonomy is in
line with the proposals of the National Commission to Review the
Working of the Constitution (NCRWC). In fact, many legal luminaries
have been supporting the move strongly. Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer had
advocated in a signed article last year that “… truth and good faith
must be reinstated as sound defences, so that a judge who has
something to hide may be exposed to the … light of truth”. As he had
concluded in the Mulgaokar case dealing with “unsavoury” allegations
against a senior sitting judge, “a benign neglect, not judicial
intemperance, is the sensible therapy of contempt law”. If a political
consensus develops on the proposal, the contempt law can be changed
without amending the Constitution.
Welcome move on Kashmir
Why peace must be pursued
Praful Bidwai
Whatever one’s reservations about Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee’s political
style and his party’s ideology, one must heartily and unstintingly
welcome his decision to visit Kashmir and launch an initiative for
reconciliation and peace. His visit was undoubtedly a landmark: on
April 18, he became India’s first Prime Minister to address a public
meeting in the valley since the “azadi” militancy broke out in 1989.
This is itself commendable. It also speaks of a positive change in
ground reality. His visit, coming six months after the largely free
and fair Legislative Assembly elections, has kindled new hopes, If his
overture is followed up with wise and purposive moves, we could see
some real progress in resolving one of the most troubled, complex and
bloody disputes in the world.
In Srinagar, Mr Vajpayee attempted a “double whammy”. He held out the
“hand of friendship” to Pakistan, significantly, from Kashmiri soil.
And he offered a dialogue between the Centre and different currents of
opinion in Jammu and Kashmir. Both offers were soon hedged in with
conditions. And yet, they indicate a welcome softening of New Delhi’s
stance. The change of tone and tenor has outlasted the somewhat
dampering effect of the qualifying statements Mr Vajpayee himself made
the following day, reiterating that the talks leading to peace with
Pakistan would only take place once there is an end to cross-border
terrorism. Yet, the impact of the new tone and tenor is welcome.
Of the two initiatives, on Pakistan, and on domestic arrangements
pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir, the first is both more important and
likelier to succeed more quickly than the second — for three reasons.
First, Pakistan has responded remarkably positively to India’s offer
of a dialogue and said it is willing to hold it “any time, at any
place and any level.” It has added that it hopes to work out specific
dates for negotiations “within days”. Second, there is growing
recognition within both governments that they cannot indefinitely
sustain their mutual hostility. They are under increasing pressure
from the major powers to defuse rivalry and reach mutual
accommodation.
Only six months ago, India and Pakistan were all ready to go to war.
The reasons why they didn’t basically continue to hold today. The
global situation emerging after the Iraq war has discomfited both by
highlighting their own vulnerability on account of the Kashmir and
nuclear issues. Washington, in its most aggressively unilateralist and
expansionist phase today, has threatened to extend the Iraq conflict
and also turn its attention to South Asia. On March 31, Secretary of
State Colin Powell told The New York Times that “the whole of the
subcontinent’s problems” were part of the “broad agenda” that the US
plans to address soon. South Asian tensions have figured prominently
in the deliberations of Russia, France and Britain too, who have all
called for an India-Pakistan dialogue.
And third, a certain momentum favouring a short time-frame for an
India-Pakistan meeting has been generated, with the planned visit to
South Asia of US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage in early
May. Despite the latest suicide attacks by militants, it is likely
that both India and Pakistan will make some positive gestures just
ahead of that visit. Minister of State for External Affairs Digvijay
Singh says there is already some clarity on certain “modalities” for a
possible India-Pakistan summit and its agenda. More important, Mr
Armitage will probably mediate informally between the two governments
and “facilitate” a future summit — just as he brokered peace between
them twice last year.
This doesn’t argue that a Vajpayee-Musharraf meeting will certainly
happen or succeed. After all, even one terrorist act in India, whether
or not sponsored by Pakistan, can scuttle it altogether. Its success
will depend on how far the two governments are prepared to move away
from their stated “first positions” and explore a new detente or
agenda of peaceful coexistence.
This, in the first place, means they must accept that war is simply
not an option. Neither side can win it. Their nuclear capability has
been a “great leveller”. Nuclear wars cannot be won; they must never
be fought.
To make the summit successful, Islamabad will have to drop its
traditional emphasis on a plebiscite on Kashmir and 50-year-old UN
Security Council resolutions. More important, it will have to
verifiably give up supporting militant violence in Kashmir as an
instrument to coerce India to the negotiating table. It has to
recognise that its support to terrorist militants who kill innocent
civilians at will done nothing to advance the cause of the Kashmiri
people. New Delhi too must do something so that the issue is opened
up. The Kashmiri people must be involved in settling it.
India must take the Shimla Agreement of 1972 seriously. Under it, all
bilateral issues are to be resolved through peaceful discussion. So
far, New Delhi has cited the Shimla accord mainly to oppose a
multilateral dialogue — but never once discussed Kashmir bilaterally
with Pakistan. Changing all this won’t be easy, but if a robust
beginning is made on the basis of some mutually accepted principles,
the process of reconciliation could get rolling. At times like these,
process is everything.
The biggest obstacles here will be the hawks in the two countries who
have a stake in perpetuating a state of mutual hostility. In Pakistan,
they are jehadi Islamists both inside and outside the army. In India,
they are the BJP’s right-wingers who oppose reconciliation with
Pakistan.
This time around, the BJP has supported Mr Vajpayee’s peace gesture,
but somewhat reluctantly. Its first response on April 18 was to oppose
it. Earlier, it enthusiastically welcomed External Affairs Minister
Yashwant Sinha’s diatribe against Pakistan as a “fitter case” than
Iraq for pre-emptive war. Ideological antipathy to Pakistan apart,
this is an important election year for the BJP. In four major Assembly
elections it is pitted against the Congress. Rather than embark on a
new, uncertain, Kashmir and Pakistan policy, it might be tempted to
fall back upon a hawkish line which appeals to its urban elite
constituency.
Piloting a peace process in such a situation will need statesmanship.
Even more difficult will be the domestic Kashmir reconciliation
agenda. Here, the Centre has no clarity whatsoever, although people
like Mr Vajpayee sense that J&K today offers a great opportunity
because of its relatively credible election, and the installation of a
state government which generates hope with its “healing touch”.
However, the Centre is fumbling at the level of strategy. It said it
would talk to all those who abjure violence. Yet, it refused to invite
the All-Parties Hurriyat Conference, representing 23 different groups,
to talks. But it should know that there is little political sense in
talking only to “elected representatives”, for most of whom J&K’s
integration with India is unproblematic. It is the others that it must
win over. They include the APHC. The Hurriyat’s influence may have
declined. But it still represents a significant current of opinion in
Kashmir. The Hurriyat would, of course, like the government to apply
the “Nagaland formula” to Kashmir: talks at a high political level;
exclusively with one group; and a ceasefire. In reality, there are too
many differences between Kashmir and Nagaland, and the APHC and the
NSCN. But talking to the Hurriyat on a non-exclusive basis is surely
necessary.
A breakthrough on Kashmir will probably have to wait upon serious
progress in India-Pakistan relations. But the process of
reconciliation must start, both internally and externally. Far too
much is at stake — not least, the lives of millions who could turn
into radioactive dust should war break out. There is simply no
alternative to peace.
MIDDLE
Pathbreaking research!
S. Raghunath
A reader writing to the “letters” column of a national newspaper has
said that the principal reason for the continued brain drain from the
country is that peons in India are paid more and enjoy a better status
than scientists.
The All-India Confederation of Peons (AICP) has taken strong exception
to the tone and tenor of the letter calling it in poor taste and
lacking perspective and smacking of an anti-peon bias.
Talking to mediapersons, a spokespeon said: “We peons have been at the
receiving end of malicious and motivated attacks for far too long and
it’s about time we took a stand. In actual fact, peons are
spearheading pathbreaking research in some of the most esoteric fields
and their work promises to push back the frontiers of knowledge and
pure science. Let me briefly elaborate.”
“Visitors to government offices might have seen surly and ill-tempered
peons sitting motionless for hours on end on rickety wooden stools.
Actually, this is part of an ongoing and well-funded research in three-
dimensional structural analysis and dynamics of lattice bodies whose
object is the development of a one-legged wooden stool for use by
peons in government offices. Just imagine the savings in scarce wood
that will result from the development of one-legged stools!”
Continuing, the spokespeon said: “We peons are heavily involved in
research in greenfield areas of behavioral sciences and reaction of
human psyche under deliberate stress. We let visitors who call at
government offices to transact legitimate business wait for hours on
end, all the while smirking and giving maddeningly vague and evasive
answers to the query, ‘Will I have to wait much longer to see the
sahib?’ and under controlled clinical conditions, we study the stress
caused by our overbearing attitude. I ask you, have Carl Jung or
Sigmund Freud done any work in these fields of human psychology? We
peons are doing it and what do we get in return? Only brickbats and
not bouquets.”
“You’ll be interested to know that peons are also actively pursuing
research in fibre chemistry and textiles. We wear the same khaki
uniform for up to 11 months without washing them even once and we’re
studying the metabolism of sweat glands on khaki cloth. We hope to
soon achieve a breakthru’ in the development of sweat resistant
artificial fibres and textiles.
“No aspect of science and research has escaped our attention and we’re
heavily into medical research, too. Peons of our New Delhi chapter and
working in South Block and Shastri Bhavan are engaged in studying the
effect of caffeine in coffee and tea in cardiac functions of well-
heeled babus and they have observed marked clinical symptoms like
lethargy in disposing of important files and tying the red tape, but
alacrity in demanding higher dearness allowance to neutralise the
rising wholesale price index. They have submitted learned papers to
the Lancet and the British Medical Journal and they are being held
over for publication.”
The spokespeon concluded: “So you can see for yourself that we peons
are working away from the glare of publicity and contributing our
humble mite to the advancement of scientific research and
progress.”
Sanskrit faces uncertain future in Punjab
Jangveer Singh
A part of the Punjab Institute of Oriental and Indian Languages in
Patiala which has been declared unsafe. — Photo Subhash
Imagine a college with three windowless rooms measuring 12 by 12 feet,
having half-broken small wooden benches-cum tables, half of which have
been placed in the lone verandah of the institution. It is housed in a
building, part of which is unsafe and out of bounds for the students.
This is the Punjab Institute of Oriental and Indian languages in
Patiala. In 1963 the institute was named the Government Institute of
Oriental and Modern Indian Languages, Patiala. Before that, it was
known as the Sanskrit Vidyala. It is the oldest Sanskrit institution
in the state having been set up as early as 1860.
This institution, which was once the pride of the state, has been
ignored for decades. It now houses another institution - the
Government Sanskrit Mahavidyala of Nabha - which was transferred to
Patiala in October, 2002. This effectively means there are three small
rooms, a verandah which, on many occasions, is used as a classroom,
and a library hall for the staff of the Sanskrit institution, which
now goes by the high-flying name of Institute of Oriental and Indian
Languages.
“The government has changed the name to give the impression that it
was creating a new institution in which it was merging the Nabha
college”, says one of the teachers of the institution. He adds the
government has not given even a single paisa for the new institution,
that shows how concerned it is even about maintaining the lone
Sanskrit teaching institution of its kind. The institution does not
have even a single room which can be rightly called a classroom. There
are some rooms on the first floor which are used by the Government
Primary and Middle School. An order to vacate the rooms was passed by
a former Deputy Commissioner, Mr Jasbir Singh Bir.
The teacher says part of the college has been renovated through a Rs 1
lakh grant given by former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal during a
Sangat Darshan programme. The amount was used to strengthen the roof
of the library hall and its adjacent verandah, besides renovating two
rooms, now occupied by the office staff. “This has ensured that at
least the roof will not fall on our heads”, remarks the teacher,
adding that part of the building seems to be beyond repairs and has
been sealed off to ensure that no student steps inside.
But the four teachers at the Sanskrit Mahavidyala, Nabha, didn’t have
a safe roof above. Their college was closed and they were told to
report for duty at the Patiala institute in October last year. Three
of the teachers joined duty at Patiala, while the fourth is fighting
it out in court.
The Nabha institution was run by Acharya Sadhu Ram before it was taken
over by Maharaja Hira Singh of Nabha. Subsequently, it was taken over
by the Pepsu government and, finally, by the Punjab Government on the
Pepsu state’s merger. A teacher, Basant Lal, now posted at the Patiala
institution, says the institution was upgraded to a college in 1972
and was earlier housed in the Nabha fort from where it was shifted to
a government building. However, when the building was declared unsafe,
it was shifted to a rented building in 1983. In March, 2002 the
college management was asked not to make new admissions on the plea
that the building was unsafe and the students’ strength had also
declined. The college was subsequently merged with the Patiala
institution to form a new institution.
The institutions may have had a tragic history, but sadder still is
the fate of the Sanskrit language in the state. The student strength
in the new institute has come down to an all-time low of 29 against
last year’s 45. Teachers blame this on lack of any reservation for
students going in for the Shastri graduate course, which is taught
only in Sanskrit. They say the students have to compete for jobs with
students with Sanskrit at the graduation level in which it is taught
in the Hindi medium. “If this is the respect given by the government
to an advanced Sanskrit course, there is little hope for Sanskrit, its
teachers or Sanskrit institutions in the state”, add the teachers.
Panjab University’s low priority to top centre
Ravinder Sud
A view of the V.V.B. institute of Sanskrit at Hoshiarpur
The Vishveshvaranand Vishav Bandhu Institute of Sanskrit and
Indological Studies located at Sadhu Ashram, Hoshiarpur, is fast
losing the very purpose for which it was set up about 100 years ago on
account of the indifferent attitude of the authorities of Panjab
University, Chandigarh.
This world-renowned research institute, situated on the outskirts of
Hoshiarpur city on the Una road and run by Panjab University, offers
five-year postgraduation courses in Shastri and Acharya. There are 75
students, including 30 girls and five research scholars. They are
generally from Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Jammu and
Kashmir. Stipends are given to the students of oriental studies.
Dr Damodar Jha, a former Chairman of this institution, tells The
Tribune that there are only 14 teachers as against the sanctioned
posts of 32. Four of them are above 60 and four others are going to
retire shortly. None of the posts, which had fallen vacant on the
retirement of any teacher in the past, was filled.
Besides, the university authorities have shifted six posts from here
to Chandigarh. This has not only adversely affected the studies of
students, but also research work in Sanskrit and indological studies,
including Vedic interpretation.
There is no hostel facility for girl students and the hostel for boys
is run in the rented building of Vishveshvaranand Vedic Research
Institute, adds Dr Jha.
This institute has a big library having 73,408 books, 2,676 hand-
written manuscripts, 123 research journals and 3,093 photocopies of
rare books which are out of print now. But this institution has not
been developed further, he complains.
Tracing its genesis, Prof Inder Kumar Uniyal, Director, VVRI, says
that in 1903 Swami Vishveshvaranand and Nityanand started an office in
Shimla for preparing word indices of the four principal Vedic Samhitas
and a dictionary of the texts. The word indices were issued in four
volumes in 1908-10 and considerable basic material was collected for
the dictionary.
In 1924 the office was shifted to Lahore where it was put under the
charge of Acharya Vishva Bandhu. Under him, the scope of the institute
was widened so as to include the study of different branches of
indology. The institute also set up a teaching wing with classes for
MA, Vidyavachaspati and Shastri in Sanskrit and Prabhakar in Hindi.
Panjab University, Lahore, gave a grant of Rs 1,000 in 1936-37 and an
equal amount in 1937-38.
The university accorded recognition to the work done by the institute
by publishing “A Vedic Word Concordance” and a complete etymological
dictionary.
After partition, the institute got uprooted from Lahore. After much
suffering and loss, it was restarted on its present premises at Sadhu
Ashram, Hoshiarpur.
In 1957, at the instance of the institute, Panjab University opened
its Department of Devanagari Transcription of South Indian
Manuscripts.
Earlier in 1950, Panjab University had extended affiliation to the
institute for starting various courses of study in Hindi and Sanskrit
and the University Grants Commission began to give liberal financial
aid to the institute. The same year the institute extended its
academic activity to Chandigarh by setting up a research centre
there.
In the beginning of 1965, Panjab University made a proposal that the
institute, while continuing to function from Hoshiarpur and
maintaining its entity, should integrate itself with the university.
This proposal was accepted. Accordingly, a part of the institute was
taken over by the university under the new name Vishveshvaranand
Institute of Sanskrit and Indological Studies (VISIS).
At present 12 research projects, including the compilation of a
dictionary of Vedic interpretation, are being pursued. There is a long
list of 49 research works in various fields of indology published by
this institute.
The Manuscript and Text Editing Section has a collection of more than
10,000 ancient manuscripts, of which 8,360 were catalogued
descriptively in the volume and were published in 1959. A
supplementary catalogue dealing with the remaining manuscripts came to
light in 1975. However, with the transfer of the Lal Chand collection
of rare books and manuscripts to DAV College, Chandigarh, the
institute now has about 2,300 ancient manuscripts.
The VVRI has published 16 volumes of Vedic Concordance of more than
1,1000 pages. The compilation of the dictionary of Vedic
interpretation, which was started by the late Acharya Vishav Bandhu in
1965, is yet to be completed.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030429/edit.htm#5
Social Issues
What Are The Current Social Issues In India? We have already written
on the most common social issues in india and we keep adding more and
more articles regarding the contemporary social issues in india and
social problems faced by India. This is an effort to bring to the
social evils of India to the notice of as many people as possible. You
can contribute and share your views, ideas and articles on "Social
Issues" that ail India.
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http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/poverty-in-india.html
Public Health System in India 02nd-Apr-09
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/public-health-system-in-india.html
Gender Analysis 18th-Feb-09
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/gender-analysis.html
Problem of Child Abuse 17th-Feb-09
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/child-abuse.html
Adolescent Health Programme in India16th-Feb-09
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/adolescent-health-programme-in-india.html
Status of Education in Delhi27th-Jan-09
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/status-of-education-in-delhi.html
State of the World’s Children 2009- UNICEF Report21th-Jan-09
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/state_of_the_world.html
Honour Killings in India25th-Nov-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/honour_killings_in_india.html
Universalization of Education in India5th-Nov-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/universalization_of_education_in_india.html
Problems of working women 25th-Oct-08
Malnutrition Deaths in Madhya Pradesh24th-Sept-08
Educational Problems of Women in India27th-August-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/educational-problems-of-women-in-india.html
Female Foeticide in India05th-August-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/female_foeticide.html
World’s Sanitation Report21th-July-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/worlds-sanitation-report.html
Status of Sex Workers in Delhi21th-July-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/status-of-sex-workers-in-delhi.html
Alcoholism10th-July-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/alcoholism.html
Juvenile Delinquency10th-July-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/juveniledelinquency.html
Girls, Women and Poverty12th-June-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/girls-women-and-poverty.html
Untouchability in India12th-June-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/untouchability-in-india.html
Infant Mortality in India12th-May-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/infant-mortality-in-india.html
Water problem in India15th-Apr-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/water-problem-in-india.html
Child Malnutrition in India11th-Apr-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/child-malnutrition-in-india.html
The problem of old age in India11th-Apr-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/problem-of-old-age-in-india.html
Global Food Stocks Fall7th-Apr-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/global-food-stocks-fall.html
Millennium Goals India Position7th-Apr-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/millennium-goals-india-position.html
Population -The trends in India7th-Apr-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/population-the-trends-in-india.html
Tuberculosis in India7th-Apr-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/tuberculosis-in-india.html
Female Literacy in Kishanganj District18th-Mar-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/female-literacy-in-kishanganj-district.html
Polio in India -Latest Situation07th-Mar-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/polio-in-india-latest%20situation.html
Prostitution in India16th-Feb-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/prostitution-in-india.html
Beggary in India4th-Feb-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/flood-management-in-india.html
Flood Management in India18th-Jan-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/flood-management-in-india.html
Crime against women in India18th-Jan-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/crime-against-women-in-india.html
Decline in number of out of school children in India: A Pratham survey
report17th-Jan-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/decline-of-school-children.html
Polio in India8th-Jan-08
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/polio-in-india.html
Child Soldiers of India3rd-Dec-07
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/child-soldiers-of-india.html
Latest Figures on HIV/AIDS-20073rd-Dec-07
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/latest-figures-on-hiv-2007.html
HIV/AIDS situation in North-East India3rd-Dec-07
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/hiv-situation-in-north-east-india.html
Literacy Situation in India1st-Dec-07
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/literacy-situation-in-india.html
Hunger in India - Impact on Children27th-Nov-07
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/hunger-in-india.html
State of Rural Healthcare in India-NRHM Report23th-Nov-07
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/rural-healthcare-in-india.html
World HIV/AIDS Figures Low23th-Nov-07
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/world-hiv-aids-figures-low.html
Gender Gap in India15th-Nov-07
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/gender-gap-in-india.html
Birth Registration in India12th-Nov-07
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/birth-registration-in-india.html
Recent trends in employment in India10th-oct-07
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/recent-trends-in-employment-in-india.html
Elementary Education in India 2005-06 –A Report 10th-oct-07
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/elementary-education-in-india.html
Corruption in Education system in India – A UNESCO Report 10th-oct-07
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/education-system-in-india.html
Plight of HIV/AIDS affected children10th-oct-07
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/plight-of-HIV.html
Rural Sanitation in India10th-oct-07
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/rural-sanitation-in-india.html
Recent Trend of Divorce in India
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/divorce-in-india.html
Relevance of National Rural Health Mission
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/national-rural-health-mission.html
Reproductive Health Status of Women in India
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/reproductive-health-status-of-women-in-india.html
Female Infanticide in India
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/femaleinfanticideinindia.html
The Status Of Education And Vocational Training In India
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/thestatusofeducation.html
Plight of Indian Women: Victims of NRI marriages
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/plight-of-indian-women.html
Problem of Child Abuse
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/child-abuse.html
Sustainable Development
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/sustainable-development.html
Class Struggle
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/class-struggle.html
Women Employment in India
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/Women-Employment.html
Literacy Rate In India
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/literacy-in-india.html
Woman Empowerment In India
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/Women-Empowerment.html
Drug Abuse in India
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/Drug-Abuse-in-India.html
Dowry System in India
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/dowry-system-in-india.html
HIV/AIDS in India
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/aids-in-india.html
Poverty in India
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/poverty-in-india.html
Population of India
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/india-population.html
Child labour in India
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/child-labour-in-india.html
Rural Girls Education
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/girl-education.html
State of Maternal Health in India
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/Unemployment-in-India.html
Unemployment in India
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/Unemployment-in-India.html
The status of children in India - Findings of UNICEF 2005 report
HIV/AIDS and Women
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/children-of-India.html
Situation of HIV /AIDS in Bihar
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/AIDSinBihar.html
Girl and Women Trafficking in India
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/WomenTrafficking-in-India.html
Gender Inequality In India
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/GenderInequality.html
Domestic Violence Against Women
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/DomesticViolence.html
Development and Environment are not Contradictory Paradigms
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/Development-and-Environment.html
Urbanization Is A Blessing In Disguise
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/Urbanization-blessing-disguise.html
NACO covers less than 10% of HIV –infected in India
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/naco-covers.html
Deadly AIDS numbers rising across the world
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/deadly-aids.html
Status of children in India
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/status-of-children.html
Status of Dalits in India
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/status-of-dalits.html
Crime Against Children
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/crime-against-children.html
Migration In India
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/migration-in-india.html
http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/index.html
Key Texts on Social Justice in India
Published by Sage Publicatio...
Editors: Roohi, Sanam Samaddar, Ranabir
ISBN: 978 81 321 0064 5
Format: Hardback
Pages: 1116
List price(s): 150.00 GBP
Publication date: 30 May 2009
Short description
A compendium of key texts on social justice. It brings out the
relational nature of justice as well as the fragmented nature of its
existence. It explores how law fares in delivering justice, how
violence becomes an essential part of the popular notion of justice
and how the dynamics of justice is linked with the emergence of
marginal situations.
Full description
Volume I: Social Justice and Enlightenment: West Bengal is edited by
Pradip Kumar Bose, Professor of Sociology, Centre for Studies in
Social Sciences, Calcutta, Kolkata and Samir Kumar Das, Professor of
Political Science, Calcutta University, Kolkata. This first volume of
the series The State of Justice in India: Issues of Social Justice is
a collection of writings on the state of social justice in the present-
day West Bengal. It studies the strong disjunction between the notion
of enlightened politics, on which the constitutional Left in West
Bengal has thrived for several decades, and social justice. The
articles probe the question: is there a necessary connection between
the politics of communism and attainment of social justice? Social
Justice and Enlightenment: West Bengal is based on ethnographic
studies which suggest that while there is a general regime of justice
in West Bengal, the rule of law as the main mechanism of justice makes
little sense in the presence of specific local judicial practices. It
questions why the archaic rule of law still remains fundamental in the
state governance and concludes that the West Bengal experience
demonstrates that while democracy may widen through the mass entry of
workers, peasants and the rural and urban poor, and though this may
facilitate long-denied political justice for them, this does not
ensure social justice per se. Volume II: Justice and Law: The Limits
of the Deliverables of Law is edited by Ashok Agrwaal, Lawyer,
researcher and civil rights activist and Bharat Bhushan, Editor of the
Daily Mail Newspaper . This second volume of the series The State of
Justice in India: Issues of Social Justice brings together the tension
that brews between law and justice in India. It begins with how our
legislators had engaged in the discourse on justice at the time of the
making of the constitution. The articles highlight the way law has
created dichotomies in its attempt to be the guardian for justice. The
authors have coined the idea of 'justice gap', which unveils the gap
between the claims for justice and governmental regime of justice.
Justice and Law: The Limits of the Deliverables of Law also deals
extensively with the issue of reservation. It has one article
documenting the history of reservations in India, in the background of
political contentions, elections, and judicial activism. The other
article traces how the 'policy game' goes on in the language of courts
and law. Both the articles indicate how the issue of justice is
closely linked to the issue of expansion of democracy. Another article
measures the success of the legal system in providing justice to those
in the margins. This one-of-its-kind book will be an invaluable
resource for academics and researchers studying sociology, law, social
justice, political theory and Indian democracy. It will also be useful
for human rights activists, policy makers, policy analysts and NGOs.
Volume III: Marginalities and Justice is edited by Paula Banerjee,
Head of the Department of South and South East Asian Studies,
University of Calcutta, Kolkata and Mahanirban Calcutta Research
Group, Kolkata and Sanjay Chaturvedi, Professor of Political Science
at the Centre for the Study of Geopolitics and Honorary Director,
Centre for the Study of Mid-West and Central Asia, Panjab University,
Chandigarh. This third volume of the series The State of Justice in
India: Issues of Social Justice shows how marginalities in social
spaces marked by power raise the issue of justice. It deals with the
situation of people living in the margins of the society and their
relationship with communities that enjoy enough material well being to
secure their rights. It reveals how effective governance
unintentionally uses strategies of inclusion, exclusion, differential
exclusion, and, most importantly, techniques of turning spaces into
'marginal enclaves', giving rise to injustice, and thereby, the demand
for justice. Marginalities and Justice demonstrates that justice may
emanate from the dynamics of marginality. The same governmental
techniques that to some extent address issues of social justice, may
produce marginal positions too. Thus, this collection suggests the
existence of a remainder; it demonstrates what remains outside the
operations of governmentality and explores the arrangement of social
spaces. Volume IV: Key Texts on Social Justice in India is edited by
Sanam Roohi, Programme Associate, Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group,
Kolkata and Ranabir Samaddar, Director, Mahanirban Calcutta Research
Group, Kolkata. This fourth volume of the series The State of Justice
in India: Issues of Social Justice is a compendium of key texts on
social justice. It brings out the relational nature of justice as well
as the fragmented nature of its existence. Key Texts on Social Justice
in India explores how law fares in delivering justice, how violence
becomes an essential part of the popular notion of justice and how the
dynamics of justice is linked with the emergence of marginal
situations. Each article is, on one hand, an appeal for justice, and,
on the other, a manifesto that state actions fall short of ensuring
justice. This compilation is meant for the students and researchers
working in the fields of justice, sociology and law. It will serve as
supplementary text in law as well as a source book that gives a
comprehensive analysis of justice in the Indian scenario.
Table of contents
VOLUME I: SOCIAL JUSTICE AND ENLIGHTENMENT: WEST BENGAL - Pradip Kumar
Bose and Samir Kumar Das Series Acknowledgement - Ranabir Samaddar
Series Introduction - Ranabir Samaddar Introduction - Pradip Kumar
Bose and Samir Kumar Das Land Acquisition Act and Social Justice: A
Study on Development and Displacement - Ratan Khasnabis Two Leaves and
a Bud: Tea and Social Justice in Darjeeling - Roshan Rai and Subhas
Ranjan Chakrabarty Deprivation and Social Injustice in a Rural
Context: An Ethnographic Account - Kumar Rana with Amrit Paira and Ila
Paira On the Wrong Side of the Fence: Embankment, People and Social
Justice in the Sundarbans - Amites Mukhopadhyay Prescribed, Tolerated,
& Forbidden Forms of Claim Making - Ranabir Samaddar VOLUME II:
JUSTICE AND LAW: THE LIMITS OF THE DELIVERABLES OF LAW - Ashok Agrwaal
and Bharat Bhushan Series Acknowledgement - Ranabir Samaddar Series
Introduction - Ranabir Samaddar Introduction - Ashok Agrwaal and
Bharat Bhushan Justice in the Time of Transition: Select Indian
Experiences - Sabyasachi Basu and Ray Chaudhury The Founding Moment:
Social Justice in the Constitutional Mirror - Samir Kumar Das Indexing
Social Justice in India-A Story of Commissions, Reports and Popular
Responses - Bharat Bhushan Trivializing Justice: Reservation Under
Rule of Law - Ashok Agrawaal The Fallacy of Equality: 'Anti-Citizens',
Sexual Justice and the Law in India - Oishik Sircar VOLUME III:
MARGINALITIES AND JUSTICE - Paula Banerjee and Sanjay Chaturvedi
Series Acknowledgement - Ranabir Samaddar Series Introduction -
Ranabir Samaddar Introduction - Paula Banertjee and Sanjay Chaturvedi
Gulamiya Ab Hum Nahi Bajeibo: Peoples' Expressions for Justice in
Jehanabad - Manish K Jha Ethnography of Social Justice in Dalit Pattis
(Hamlets) of Rural UP - Badri Narayan Tiwari Rights and Social Justice
for Tribal Population in India - Amit Prakash AIDS, Marginality and
Women - Paula Banerjee Towards Environmental Justice Movement in
India? Spatiality, Hierarchies and Inequalities - Sanjay Chaturvedi
VOLUME IV: KEY TEXTS ON SOCIAL JUSTICE IN INDIA - Sanam Roohi and
Ranabir Samaddar Series Acknowledgement - Ranabir Samaddar Series
Introduction - Ranabir Samaddar PART I. DEVELOPMENT AND DISCONTENT:
THE QUESTION OF INJUSTICE Section Introduction Ethnic Politics and
Land Use: Genesis of Conflicts in India's North-East - Sanjay Barbora
Contexts and Constructions of Water Scarcity - Lyla Mehta Karnataka:
Kudremukh: Of Mining and Environment - Muzaffar Assadi Report of
Investigation into Nandigram Mass Killing - Sanhati Eroded Lives:
Riverbank Erosion and Displacement of Women in West Bengal - Krishna
Bandyopadhyay, Soma Ghosh and Nilanjan Dutta PART II. SOCIAL JUSTICE:
THE STATE AND ITS PERCEPTIONS Section introduction The Communal
Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) - Bill
The National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy,
Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999 The Right to
Information Act, 2005 The National Rehabilitation and Resettlement
Policy, 2007 The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005
PART III. JUSTICE: LAW AND BEYOND Section Introduction Illegality and
Exclusion: Law in the Lives of Slum Dwellers - Usha Ramanathan Illegal
Coal Mining in Eastern India: Rethinking Legitimacy and Limits of
Justice - Kuntala Lahiri Dutt Verdict on an HIV case, Supreme Court of
India Reproduced in Medhina - Laya, Dipika Jain and Colin Gonzalves An
Indian Charter for Minority Rights - Sabyasachi Basu and Ray Chaudhury
PART IV. WOMEN AND MARGINALITY: An Issue of Gender Justice Section
Introduction Gender: Women and HIV - Medhini, Laya, Dipika Jain and
Colin Gonzalves National Policy for the Empowerment of Women (2001)
Women, Trafficking and Statelessness in South Asia - Paula Banerjee
PART V. JUSTICE: Marginal Positions and Alternative Notions Section
Introduction Voices From Folk School of Dalit Bahujan & Marginalised
to Policy Makers - Peoples Vigilance Committee on Human Rights Social
Assessment of HIV/AIDS among Tribal People in India - NACP III
Planning Team Caste is Dead, Long Live Caste - G P Deshpande Tehelka
Debate: Beyond Caste - Puroshottam Agarwal Report from the Flaming
Fields of Bihar PART VI. FREEDOM AND EQUALITY, RIGHTS AND SOCIAL
SECURITY: BUILDING BLOCKS OF JUSTICE Section Introduction Jungle Book:
Tribal Forest Rights Recognised For First Time - Nandini Sundar
Informal Sector in India: Approaches for Social Security Arguments,
Protests, Strikes and Free Speech: The Career and Prospects of the
Right to Strike in India - Rajeev Dhavan Democracy and Right to Food -
Jean Dreze
http://www.newasiabooks.org/publication/key-texts-social-justice-india
Retro-modern India. Forging the Low-caste Self
Published by Routledge
Author: Ciotti, Manuela
ISBN: 978 0 415 56311 6
Format: Hardback
Pages: 312
List price(s): 55.00 GBP 95.00 USD
Publication date: 23 February 2010
Short description
Set in the socio-political milieu of the state of Uttar Pradesh in
north India, this book puts forward an original theoretical approach
to analyse subaltern configurations of modernity within the nation
state. It substantiates this approach by weaving the low-caste
Chamars’ core ethical concerns of humanism with ethnographic accounts
of resilient — as well as newly forged — socio-economic hierarchies,
internalised ideologies of betterment and reform, and the social race
for progress where contestants are very often same-nation citizens.
Full description
Firmly situated within the analytics of the political economy of a
north Indian province, this book explores self-fashioning in pursuit
of the modern amongst low-caste Chamars. Challenging existing accounts
of national modernity in the non-West, the book argues that subaltern
classes shape their own ideas about modernity by taking and rejecting
from models of other classes within the same national context. While
displacing the West — in its colonial and non-colonial manifestations
— as the immanent comparative focus, the book puts forward a unique
framework for the analysis of subaltern modernity. This builds on the
entanglements between two main trajectories, both of which are viewed
as the outcome of the generative impetus of modernisation in India:
the first consists of the Chamar appropriation of socio-cultural
distinctions forged by 19th-century Indian middle classes in their
encounter with colonial modernity; the second features the Chamar
subversion of high-caste ideals and practices as a result of low-caste
politics initiated during the 20th century. The author contends that
these conflicting trends give rise to a temporal antinomy within the
Chamar politics of self-making, caught up between compulsions of a
past modern and of a contemporary one. The eclectic outcome is termed
as ‘retro-modernity’. While the book signals a politics of becoming
whose dynamics had previously been overlooked by scholars, it
simultaneously opens up novel avenues for the understanding of non-
elite modern life-forms in postcolonial settings.
The book will interest scholars of anthropology, South Asian studies,
development studies, gender studies, political science and
postcolonial studies.
Table of contents
Orthography and Transliteration.
Glossary of Selected Terms. Foreword. Acknowledgements.
1. Chamar Modernity: Progressing into the Past
2. ‘Today We Can Touch Anything’: Reflections on the Crux of Identity
and Political Economy
3. Ethnohistories behind Local and Global Bazaars: Chronicle of a
Weaving Community and its Disappearance
4. ‘We Used to Live like Animals’: Education as a Self- and Community-
engineering Process
5. Nonrational Modernity? Religious Agency, Science and Spirits
6. Beyond the Vote: Politics as Sociality, Imagination and Identity
7. The Bourgeois Woman and the Half-naked One: Gendering Retro-
modernity
8. The Politics of Indian Modernity. Bibliography. About the Author.
Index.
Biography
Manuela Ciotti is a social anthropologist with a PhD from the London
School of Economics. She is currently Research Associate at the Centre
for South Asian Studies, University of Edinburgh. She has published
several articles in leading journals on topics ranging from education,
labour ethnohistory, gender and class transformation, and women’s
political activism.
Drawing on research she carried out during the tenure of a Nuffield
Foundation New Career Development Fellowship, Ciotti is completing her
second monograph entitled Political Agency and Gender in India
(forthcoming). An edited volume entitled Femininities and
Masculinities in Indian Politics (forthcoming) develops the different
aspects of the gender and politics nexus. Ciotti’s focus on South
Asian Studies is intertwined with her interests in anthropological
epistemologies and the politics of location and representation;
converging on these, a monograph provisionally entitled 'Producing
Knowledge in Late Modernity: Lessons from India' is under preparation.
Buy here: http://www.routledgepolitics.com/books/Retro-modern-India-isbn9780415563116
http://www.newasiabooks.org/publication/retro-modern-india-forging-low-caste-self
Jinnah and Tilak: Comrades in the Freedom Struggle
Published by Oxford Universi...
Author: Noorani
ISBN: 978 0 19 547829 7
Format: Hardback
Pages: 350
List price(s): 15.99 GBP
Publication date: 26 August 2010
Short description
The distinguished Indian lawyer and writer, A. G. Noorani, urges his
readers in this incisively argued book to look again at some of the
key events and personalities in the struggle against British colonial
rule in India.
Full description
The distinguished Indian lawyer and writer, A. G. Noorani, urges his
readers in this incisively argued book to look again at some of the
key events and personalities in the struggle against British colonial
rule in India. He begins with 'the forgotten comradeship' between
Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
Whatever their other differences, both felt passionately about the
cause of Indian freedom. Jinnah defended Tilak in his trial in 1916 on
sedition charges, and ultimately secured his acquittal. The full text
of the legal proceedings, including Jinnah's powerful speeches for the
defence, are included as an appendix. After Tilak's death in 1920,
Jinnah continued to work closely with political leaders of all
persuasions and was regarded by the British as one of their most
formidable opponents. Noorani argues that only in 1937, following the
conflict over the formation of the provincial ministry in the United
Provinces, did Jinnah abandon his hopes of working jointly with
Congress to achieve independence. Noorani is firmly of the view that
Jinnah wanted a loose confederation in which the rights of the Muslim
population were fully guaranteed rather than the separate state of
Pakistan as it eventually emerged in 1947. He discusses Jinnah's
tactics during the crucial months in 1946 when the Cabinet Mission
Plan was on the table, and argues that the Plan offered a viable
possibility of avoiding Partition. In his opinion, the blame for its
failure rests squarely with Congress and with Gandhi in particular,
although trust and imagination were in short supply on all sides. The
book includes three additional essays by the author, on respectively
why the Suhrawardy-Bose plan for a united Bengal failed, the failure
to provide effective safeguards for minorities in the partition
scheme, and the Haroon report of 1940, together with the text of some
key documents.
Table of contents
CONTENTS LIST;
PREFACE;
1. A Forgotten Comradeship;
2. After Tilak: Jinnah and Gandhi's Congress;
3. The Widening Divide;
4. Wrecking India's Unity;
5. The Gandhi-Cripps Pact;
6. Demise of the Cabinet Mission's Plan;
7. An Embittered Separation;
8. The United Bengal Episode;
9. Assessing Jinnah;
APPENDICES;
1. JINNAH'S DEFENCE OF TILAK: THE COURT PROCEEDINGS;
2. JINNAH'S BATTLES FOR PRESS FREEDOM;
3. THE LUCKNOW PACT, 1916;
4. JINNAH'S 14 POINTS, 1929;
5. JINNAH-RAJENDRA PRASAD PACT, 1934;
6. THE LAHORE RESOLUTION, 1940;
7. STAFFORD CRIPPS' OFFER 1942;
8. THE C.R. FORMULA 1944;
9. JINNAH'S OFFER OF 12 MAY 1946;
10. THE CONGRESS' OFFER OF 12 MAY 1946;
11. THE CABINET MISSION'S PLAN OF 16 MAY 1946;
12. THE MUSLIM LEAGUE WORKING COMMITTEE'S RESOLUTION ON 31 JANUARY
1947 AT KARACHI;
13. THE PARTITION PLAN OF 3 JUNE 1947;
14. JINNAH'S SPEECH TO PAKISTAN'S CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY ON 11 AUGUST
1947;
15. SIR CHIMANLAL SETALVAD'S ARTICLE ENTITLED 'INDIA DIVIDED: WHO IS
TO BLAME FOR PARTITION?' THE TIMES OF INDIA; 15 JUNE 1947;
16. MAULANA HASRAT MOHANI'S POEM ON TILAK; AND (A) URDU ORIGINAL (B)
ENGLISH TRANSLATION;
17. JINNAH AND THE MUSLIMS OF INDIA; 18. THE HAROON REPORT
http://www.newasiabooks.org/publication/jinnah-and-tilak-comrades-freedom-struggle
Key Texts on Social Justice in India
Published by Sage Publicatio...
IndiaSocial issuesLaw & society
Editors: Roohi, Sanam Samaddar, Ranabir
ISBN: 978 81 321 0064 5
Format: Hardback
Pages: 1116
List price(s): 150.00 GBP
Publication date: 30 May 2009
Short description
A compendium of key texts on social justice. It brings out the
relational nature of justice as well as the fragmented nature of its
existence. It explores how law fares in delivering justice, how
violence becomes an essential part of the popular notion of justice
and how the dynamics of justice is linked with the emergence of
marginal situations.
Full description
Volume I: Social Justice and Enlightenment: West Bengal is edited by
Pradip Kumar Bose, Professor of Sociology, Centre for Studies in
Social Sciences, Calcutta, Kolkata and Samir Kumar Das, Professor of
Political Science, Calcutta University, Kolkata. This first volume of
the series The State of Justice in India: Issues of Social Justice is
a collection of writings on the state of social justice in the present-
day West Bengal. It studies the strong disjunction between the notion
of enlightened politics, on which the constitutional Left in West
Bengal has thrived for several decades, and social justice. The
articles probe the question: is there a necessary connection between
the politics of communism and attainment of social justice? Social
Justice and Enlightenment: West Bengal is based on ethnographic
studies which suggest that while there is a general regime of justice
in West Bengal, the rule of law as the main mechanism of justice makes
little sense in the presence of specific local judicial practices. It
questions why the archaic rule of law still remains fundamental in the
state governance and concludes that the West Bengal experience
demonstrates that while democracy may widen through the mass entry of
workers, peasants and the rural and urban poor, and though this may
facilitate long-denied political justice for them, this does not
ensure social justice per se. Volume II: Justice and Law: The Limits
of the Deliverables of Law is edited by Ashok Agrwaal, Lawyer,
researcher and civil rights activist and Bharat Bhushan, Editor of the
Daily Mail Newspaper . This second volume of the series The State of
Justice in India: Issues of Social Justice brings together the tension
that brews between law and justice in India. It begins with how our
legislators had engaged in the discourse on justice at the time of the
making of the constitution. The articles highlight the way law has
created dichotomies in its attempt to be the guardian for justice. The
authors have coined the idea of 'justice gap', which unveils the gap
between the claims for justice and governmental regime of justice.
Justice and Law: The Limits of the Deliverables of Law also deals
extensively with the issue of reservation. It has one article
documenting the history of reservations in India, in the background of
political contentions, elections, and judicial activism. The other
article traces how the 'policy game' goes on in the language of courts
and law. Both the articles indicate how the issue of justice is
closely linked to the issue of expansion of democracy. Another article
measures the success of the legal system in providing justice to those
in the margins. This one-of-its-kind book will be an invaluable
resource for academics and researchers studying sociology, law, social
justice, political theory and Indian democracy. It will also be useful
for human rights activists, policy makers, policy analysts and NGOs.
Volume III: Marginalities and Justice is edited by Paula Banerjee,
Head of the Department of South and South East Asian Studies,
University of Calcutta, Kolkata and Mahanirban Calcutta Research
Group, Kolkata and Sanjay Chaturvedi, Professor of Political Science
at the Centre for the Study of Geopolitics and Honorary Director,
Centre for the Study of Mid-West and Central Asia, Panjab University,
Chandigarh. This third volume of the series The State of Justice in
India: Issues of Social Justice shows how marginalities in social
spaces marked by power raise the issue of justice. It deals with the
situation of people living in the margins of the society and their
relationship with communities that enjoy enough material well being to
secure their rights. It reveals how effective governance
unintentionally uses strategies of inclusion, exclusion, differential
exclusion, and, most importantly, techniques of turning spaces into
'marginal enclaves', giving rise to injustice, and thereby, the demand
for justice. Marginalities and Justice demonstrates that justice may
emanate from the dynamics of marginality. The same governmental
techniques that to some extent address issues of social justice, may
produce marginal positions too. Thus, this collection suggests the
existence of a remainder; it demonstrates what remains outside the
operations of governmentality and explores the arrangement of social
spaces. Volume IV: Key Texts on Social Justice in India is edited by
Sanam Roohi, Programme Associate, Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group,
Kolkata and Ranabir Samaddar, Director, Mahanirban Calcutta Research
Group, Kolkata. This fourth volume of the series The State of Justice
in India: Issues of Social Justice is a compendium of key texts on
social justice. It brings out the relational nature of justice as well
as the fragmented nature of its existence. Key Texts on Social Justice
in India explores how law fares in delivering justice, how violence
becomes an essential part of the popular notion of justice and how the
dynamics of justice is linked with the emergence of marginal
situations. Each article is, on one hand, an appeal for justice, and,
on the other, a manifesto that state actions fall short of ensuring
justice. This compilation is meant for the students and researchers
working in the fields of justice, sociology and law. It will serve as
supplementary text in law as well as a source book that gives a
comprehensive analysis of justice in the Indian scenario.
Table of contents
VOLUME I: SOCIAL JUSTICE AND ENLIGHTENMENT:
WEST BENGAL - Pradip Kumar Bose and Samir Kumar Das
Series Acknowledgement -
Ranabir Samaddar Series Introduction -
Ranabir Samaddar Introduction -
Pradip Kumar Bose and Samir Kumar Das Land Acquisition Act and Social
Justice: A Study on Development and Displacement -
Ratan Khasnabis Two Leaves and a Bud: Tea and Social Justice in
Darjeeling -
Roshan Rai and Subhas Ranjan Chakrabarty Deprivation and Social
Injustice in a Rural Context: An Ethnographic Account -
Kumar Rana with Amrit Paira and Ila Paira On the Wrong Side of the
Fence: Embankment, People and Social Justice in the Sundarbans -
Amites Mukhopadhyay Prescribed, Tolerated, & Forbidden Forms of Claim
Making -
Ranabir Samaddar
VOLUME II: JUSTICE AND LAW: THE LIMITS OF THE DELIVERABLES OF LAW -
Ashok Agrwaal and Bharat Bhushan Series Acknowledgement -
Ranabir Samaddar Series Introduction -
Ranabir Samaddar Introduction -
Ashok Agrwaal and Bharat Bhushan Justice in the Time of Transition:
Select Indian Experiences -
Sabyasachi Basu and Ray Chaudhury The Founding Moment: Social Justice
in the Constitutional Mirror -
Samir Kumar Das Indexing Social Justice in India-A Story of
Commissions, Reports and Popular Responses -
Bharat Bhushan Trivializing Justice: Reservation Under Rule of Law -
Ashok Agrawaal The Fallacy of Equality: 'Anti-Citizens', Sexual
Justice and the Law in India -
Oishik Sircar
VOLUME III: MARGINALITIES AND JUSTICE -
Paula Banerjee and Sanjay Chaturvedi Series Acknowledgement -
Ranabir Samaddar Series Introduction -
Ranabir Samaddar Introduction -
Paula Banertjee and Sanjay Chaturvedi Gulamiya Ab Hum Nahi Bajeibo:
Peoples' Expressions for Justice in Jehanabad -
Manish K Jha Ethnography of Social Justice in Dalit Pattis (Hamlets)
of Rural UP -
Badri Narayan Tiwari Rights and Social Justice for Tribal Population
in India -
Amit Prakash AIDS, Marginality and Women -
Paula Banerjee Towards Environmental Justice Movement in India?
Spatiality, Hierarchies and Inequalities -
Sanjay Chaturvedi
VOLUME IV: KEY TEXTS ON SOCIAL JUSTICE IN INDIA -
Sanam Roohi and Ranabir Samaddar Series Acknowledgement -
Ranabir Samaddar Series Introduction -
Ranabir Samaddar
PART I. DEVELOPMENT AND DISCONTENT: THE QUESTION OF INJUSTICE
Section Introduction Ethnic Politics and Land Use: Genesis of
Conflicts in India's North-East -
Sanjay Barbora Contexts and Constructions of Water Scarcity -
Lyla Mehta Karnataka: Kudremukh: Of Mining and Environment -
Muzaffar Assadi Report of Investigation into Nandigram Mass Killing -
Sanhati Eroded Lives: Riverbank Erosion and Displacement of Women in
West Bengal -
Krishna Bandyopadhyay, Soma Ghosh and Nilanjan Dutta
PART II. SOCIAL JUSTICE: THE STATE AND ITS PERCEPTIONS Section
introduction The Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and
Rehabilitation of Victims) -
Bill
The National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy,
Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999
The Right to Information Act, 2005
The National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy, 2007
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005
PART III. JUSTICE: LAW AND BEYOND
Section Introduction
Illegality and Exclusion: Law in the Lives of Slum Dwellers -
Usha Ramanathan Illegal Coal Mining in Eastern India: Rethinking
Legitimacy and Limits of Justice -
Kuntala Lahiri Dutt Verdict on an HIV case, Supreme Court of India
Reproduced in Medhina -
Laya, Dipika Jain and Colin Gonzalves An Indian Charter for Minority
Rights -
Sabyasachi Basu and Ray Chaudhury
PART IV. WOMEN AND MARGINALITY: An Issue of Gender Justice Section
Introduction Gender: Women and HIV -
Medhini, Laya, Dipika Jain and Colin Gonzalves National Policy for the
Empowerment of Women (2001)
Women, Trafficking and Statelessness in South Asia - Paula Banerjee
PART V. JUSTICE: Marginal Positions and Alternative Notions Section
Introduction Voices From Folk School of Dalit Bahujan & Marginalised
to Policy Makers -
Peoples Vigilance Committee on Human Rights Social Assessment of HIV/
AIDS among Tribal People in India - NACP III Planning Team Caste is
Dead, Long Live Caste -
G P Deshpande Tehelka Debate: Beyond Caste -
Puroshottam Agarwal Report from the Flaming Fields of Bihar
PART VI. FREEDOM AND EQUALITY, RIGHTS AND SOCIAL SECURITY: BUILDING
BLOCKS OF JUSTICE
Section Introduction Jungle Book: Tribal Forest Rights Recognised For
First Time -
Nandini Sundar Informal Sector in India: Approaches for Social
Security Arguments, Protests, Strikes and Free Speech: The Career and
Prospects of the Right to Strike in India -
Rajeev Dhavan Democracy and Right to Food -
Jean Dreze
http://www.newasiabooks.org/publication/key-texts-social-justice-india
Social Justice: Sunset or Dawn
Published by Eastern Book Co...
Author: Iyer, V.R.Krishna
ISBN: 978 81 7012 144 2
Format: Hardback
Pages: 176
List price(s): 12.00 GBP
Publication date: 23 July 2008
Short description
Contains lectures that make an impassioned plea for social justice for
India's poor millions who the author says have been denied social
justice by the three great wings of the government the Executive, the
Judiciary and the Parliament.
Full description
Justice Krishna Iyer is a great proponent of social justice. In these
lectures he makes an impassioned plea for social justice for India's
poor millions who he says have been denied social justice by the three
great wings of the government the Executive, the Judiciary and the
Parliament. A prolific writer, Justice Krishna Iyer is known for his
hard hitting but eloquent lectures and writings. First published under
the title, Some Half Hidden Aspects of Indian Social Justice , the
book was sold out within a very short period of time. It has now been
enlarged and two new chapters have been added. The Bhopal Gas Tragedy
case has been given wide treatment, as also other current issues.
http://www.newasiabooks.org/publication/social-justice-sunset-or-dawn
Politics of Social Exclusion in India, The
Published by Routledge
Editors: Bhattacharyya, Harihar Sarkar, Partha Kar,
Angshuman
ISBN: 978 0 415 55357 5
Format: Hardback
Pages: 208
List price(s): 80.00 GBP 130.00 USD
Publication date: 7 December 2009
Short description
Social exclusion and inclusion are issues of fundamental importance to
democracy. Using an interdisciplinary approach, this book examines at
the multidimensional problems of social exclusion and inclusion, and
the long-term issues facing contemporary Indian democracy.
Table of contents
Introduction - Harihar Bhattacharyya, Partha Sarkar, and Angshuman
Kar
1. Some Theoretical Issues Concerning Social Exclusion and Inclusion
in India - Sobhanlal Datta Gupta
2. Social Exclusion and the Strategy of Empowerment - T. K. Oommen
3. Identity Politics and Social Exclusion in India's North-East: The
Case for Redistributive Justice - N. K. Das
4. Inclusion in Nationhood: Bhudev Mukhopadhyay's Concept of
Jatiyabhav - Harihar Bhattacharyya
5. Rabindra Nath Tagore's Concept of Social Exclusion and Inclusion in
India: A Nation without Nationalism - Jyotirmay Bhattacharyya
6. Identity and Social Exclusion-Inclusion: A Muslim Perspective -
Asghar Ali Engineer
7. Inclusive and Exclusive Development in India in the Post-Reform Era
- Provat Kuri
8. Social Exclusion in India: Evidences from the Wage Labour Market -
Rajarshi Majumdar
9. Polavaram Dam Project: A Case Study of Displacement of Marginalized
People - Sudipti Banerjea
10. Purity as Exclusion, Caste as Division: The Ongoing Battle for
Equality - Jasbir Jain
11. Narrating Gender and Power: Literary and Cultural Texts and
Contexts - Sanjukta Das Gupta
12. The Fire and the Rain: A Study in Myths of Power - Anima Biswas
13. Conclusion: Democracy at the Crossroads - Harihar Bhattacharyya,
Partha Sarkar, and Angshuman Kar List of Contributors
Biography
University of Burdwan, India
http://www.newasiabooks.org/publication/politics-social-exclusion-india
Social Movements I: Issues of Identity
Published by Oxford Universi...
Editor: Oommen
ISBN: 978 0 19 806327 8
Format: Hardback
Pages: 272
List price(s): 24.99 GBP
Publication date: 31 January 2010
Short description
This volume brings together a selection of readings on movements
related to religion and caste, as well as regionalism, and linguistic
and tribal movements in India, examining them with respect to the
construction and perception of identity.
Full description
In the ongoing process of social transformation, new identities are
often constructed, while existing identities may mutate or transform,
and some might even be rendered obsolete. Social Movements I: Issues
of Identity, part of the Oxford in India Readings in Sociology and
Social Anthropology (OIRSSA) series, examines the phenomenon of social
movements in India with respect to the construction and perception of
identity. It brings together a selection of readings on movements
related to religion and caste, as well as regionalism, and linguistic
and tribal movements in India. It specifically addresses (a) the
abbreviation and even abrogation of identities versus elaboration of
identities; (b) the tensions between group identity and individual
equality believed to be pulling in opposite directions; (c) identity
as the basis of inclusion and exclusion of citizens in the
participatory processes in the polity and economy; and (d) perceiving
identity of minorities as a source of threat for the nation and the
state by the dominant majority, as against invoking identity as the
route to justice by the weak/dominated minorities. These issues are
relevant in situating identitarian movements in the wider context.
This reader will be useful for students and scholars of sociology,
anthropology, social history, Indian politics, and those studying
Indian society and social movements in particular.
Table of contents
PREFACE, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS;
GENERAL INTRODUCTION: ON THE ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS (T.K.
OOMMEN);
SECTION I - RELIGIOUS AND CASTE MOVEMENTS;
INTRODUCTION TO SECTION I;;
1. Socio-religious Movements of the Twentieth Century (Kenneth W.
Jones);;
2. Ethno-religious Mobilization and the Politics of Secularism
(Christophe Jaffrelot);;
3. Caste and Conversion Movements (Walter Fernandes);;
4. Different Shades of Dalit Mobilization (Vivek Kumar);;
5. The Tabhlighi Jama'at: The Making of a Transnational Religious
Movement (Shail Mayaram);;
SECTION II - REGIONAL, LINGUISTIC AND TRIBAL MOVEMENTS;
INTRODUCTION TO SECTION II;;
6. Foundations of the Dravidian Movement (Robert L. Hardgrave);;
7. The Shiv Sena Movement (Dipankar Gupta);;
8. The Assam Movement (Sanjib Baruah);;
9. Tribal Solidarity Movements in India (Surajit Sinha);;
10. Christian Conversion Movements in the North East (Frederick S.
Downs); Notes on Contributors
http://www.newasiabooks.org/publication/social-movements-i-issues-identity
Social Movements II: Concerns of Equity and Security
Published by Oxford Universi...
Editor: Oommen
ISBN: 978 0 19 806328 5
Format: Hardback
Pages: 376
List price(s): 26.99 GBP
Publication date: 31 January 2010
Short description
This reader brings together a selection of writings on peasant and
labour movements; women and students youth movements; and ecological
and environmental movements. It discusses contemporary social
movements in India from the perspective of equity and security.
Full description
Inequity manifests in different forms in different contexts - it could
based on income disparity, gender, and class, and impact different
aspects of society. Social Movements II: Concerns of Equity and
Security, part of the Oxford in India Readings in Sociology and Social
Anthropology (OIRSSA) series, examines the phenomenon of social
movements in India with respect to the concerns of equity and security
as two forces behind contemporary social movements. The issue of
equity is concerned not only with income and class but is also related
to ideas of development and distributive justice for peasantry and
labour. It is also the focus of groups such as women and the youth,
which occasion protests and mobilizations. Moreover, in the current
scenario, booming economies, soaring populations, and choices of
development strategies have a bearing on the rise of social movements
related to ecology and the environment. This reader brings together a
selection of essays that explore the various dimensions of equity, and
also covers issues of environmental and ecological security. These are
imperative in situating related social movements in the wider context.
This reader will be useful for students and scholars of sociology,
anthropology, social history, Indian politics, and those studying
Indian society and social movements in particular.
Table of contents
PREFACE; ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS; GENERAL INTRODUCTION: ON THE ANALYSIS OF
SOCIAL MOVEMENTS (T.K. OOMMEN);
SECTION I - PEASANT AND LABOUR MOVEMENTS;
INTRODUCTION TO SECTION I;;
1. Indian Peasant Uprisings (Kathleen Gough);;
2. Naxalbari Peasant Movement (Partha N. Mukherji);;
3. The Bhoodan Gramdaan Movement (T.K. Oommen);;
4. . The new Farmer's Movement in Maharashtra (D.N. Dhanagare);;
5, The Indian Labour Movement: Growth and Character (S.M. Pandey);;
6, Changing Industrial Relations: India, 1950-2000 (Debashish
Bhattacharjee);;
7. Labour Activism and Women in the Unorganised Sector (Supriya Roy
Chowdhury);;
SECTION II - WOMEN AND STUDENTS YOUTH MOVEMENTS;
INTRODUCTION TO SECTION II; ;
8. Changing Terms of Political Discourse: Women's Movement in India,
1970s-1990s (Indu Agnihotri and Vina Mazumdar);;
9. The Anti-dowry Movement in Delhi (Rajni Palriwala);;
10. The Self-Employed Women's Association (Martha A. Chen);;
11. The Transformation of the Indian Students' Movement (Philip G.
Altbach);;
12, Student Power: Mobilization and Protest (T.K. Oommen);
Section III - Ecological and Environmental Movements;
Introduction to Section III;;
13. Ecology Movements in India (Vandana Shiva);;
14. . Parks, People and Protest: The Mediating Role of Environmental
Action Groups (Ranjit Dwivedi);;
15. . Protest against Displacement by Development Projects (T.K.
Oommen);
Notes on Contributors;
Index
http://www.newasiabooks.org/publication/social-movements-ii-concerns-equity-and-security
Sovereignty and Social Reform in India: British Colonialism and the
Campaign Against Sati
Published by Routledge
Author: Major, Andrea
ISBN: 978 0 415 58050 2
Format: Hardback
Pages: 192
List price(s): 75.00 GBP 125.00 USD
Publication date: 30 June 2010
Short description
Offers an important reinterpretation of major themes of sovereignty,
authority and social reform in colonial South Asian history. Focusing
on the British prohibition of sati in 1829, this book shows how the
debates that preceded this legislation have been instrumental in
setting the terms of post-colonial debates about sati.
Full description
This book offers an important reinterpretation of major themes of
sovereignty, authority and social reform in colonial South Asian
history. Focusing on the British prohibition of sati in 1829, the
author shows how the debates that preceded this legislation have been
instrumental in setting the terms of post-colonial debates about sati,
as well as of defining the terms and parameters of British involvement
in Indian social and religious issues more generally.
Table of contents
1. Introduction 2. Princes, Politics and Pragmatism: British Policy on
Sati in the Indian States 1830-1860 3. Prohibition, Prevention and
Prosecution: The Practicalities of Suppressing Sati 4. Romance, Race
and Rule: Imagining Sati in Rajput Society 5. Victimhood and Volition:
British Encounters with the Satimata 6. Conclusion
Biography
Andrea Major is Lecturer in Wider World History at the University of
Leeds. Her research interests relate to the nature of the colonial
encounter between Britain and India, and in particular their
interaction on social and gender issues.
bademiyansubhanallah
By: John Malhotra
Friday, 5 March 2010, 17:30 (IST)
The spokesperson of the Catholic Church in Madhya Pradesh, Fr. Anand
Muttungal, has hit out at Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief
Mohan Bhagwat for his statement that "Indians were Hindus and if one
was not a Hindu he could not be an Indian."
"His logic is faulty and it is a blatant negation of Indian
Constitution and disrespect to the secular fabric of India," responded
Muttungal, who chided the RSS for "trying hard eighty-four years to
indoctrinate the secular conscience of this country to buy its concept
of Hindu Rashtra."
At a gathering of Hindus in Bhopal, Bhagat reportedly said, “Jesus
Christ was a revered figure and so was Prophet Mohammad, but India
could not be united in their names."
Responding to the statement, Muttungal in an article titled "Warning
Bell to RSS", said it was "an indirect call to incite communal
passion."
"He tells people that Lord Jesus and Prophet Mohmmad are revered
figure but in their name, India cannot be united because they are not
Indians. Any person with common sense would understand that it is a
silly logic. How could one believe this for the simple reason that
this organization continues to praise a western infamous figure Hitler
even today," wrote Muttungal.
"He also went on to say that western life style we should not embrace.
It is very interesting to see him standing in shorts and Shirt, a
purely western dress. This organization needs to abandon its western
identity," he added.
Says Muttungal, "negative publicity is more publicity" and it is a
general principle that works in the media.
"If we analyse the statements made by this organization about
Christians regarding religious conversion, it must be honestly told
that it has given wide publicity to Christianity and it's work in the
country," he noted.
"People are made to think seriously, what is it that makes Christians
to work hard with all these abuses. There is an eagerness created
among a good number people to know more about Christians. It is a
warning bell to the RSS that it can no more go ahead with it's
poisonous ideology against this nation and its constitution."
Copyright © 2010 Christian Today
http://in.christiantoday.com/articles/priest-rebukes-rss-chiefs-hindutva-view/5210.htm
Ganesh Sovani's Blog
Just another WordPress.com weblogMF Husain saga depicts the duplicity
of pseudo secularists !
Defiance unabated
Ever since the celebrated painter Mr.
Husain's nude Bharatmata
Makbool Fida Husain declared his intention to settle down at Doha,
Qatar and accept her citizenship, the media in India has virtually
gone crazy.
Series of articles, debates, public views, edits are being scribbled
down and published day after day in news papers by many, mostly
blaming the Government of India over its failure to ‘protect the world
renowned painter’. !
Electronic media too is also not far behind. In fact, there seem to be
a stiff competition between Pranab Roy’s NDTV 24 X 7 and Rajdeep
Sardesai’s CNN IBN (both known for their perennial left leanings) in
outsmarting each other in airing the special reports, programmes,
debates, surveys, opinion polls, talks, etc. in which the entire
emphasis is on the bashing up Hindu organizations like RSS, VHP,
Bajrang Dal, etc. for being primarily responsible for hounding the
painter hailing from Lord Viththal’s holy place of Pandharpur in the
Solapur in the Western Maharashtra State of India.
On the TV shows, the likes of Anjali Ela Menons (has she taken
Husain’s vakalatnama?) have been blatantly attacking Hindu
organizations for being solely responsible for Husain’s exist from
India.
Times Now which has undoubtedly maintained its credibility by not
aligning with any one on any issue, ever since it was launched three
years ago, has consistently maintained through its ebullient anchor
Arnab Goswami that MF Husain has gone record by saying that it were
the commercial considerations that have influenced him more in
accepting Qatari citizenship, as he is involved in a multi million
project kicked up by first lady of Kingdom of Qatar.
On his part, the RSS Chief Mr. Mohan Bhagwat has categorically gone on
record by saying that his organization was never and is not averse to
MF Husain in staying back India, as he is the citizen by birth and
there was no danger to his life from anyone in India.
However, other Hindu outfits like VHP and Bajrang Dal have
consistently maintained that bare footed painter must apologize to the
whole nation as he has denigrated Goddess Saraswati and Bharatmata by
depicting them in nude in the past and exhibiting in the public
gallery. It’s not a first instance of these Hindu outfits seeking an
apology from the controversial painter! These have been demanding it
ever since Husain ventured into these mischievous acts few years ago!
After the news of Husain securing Qatari nationality broke out in the
last week, Shiv Sena Chief Mr. Bal Thackeray, true to his own style
and character lambasted the painter in his typical ‘Thakri’ language
through an edit of Samana in its edition dated 2nd February and have
gone to the extent of accusing MF Husain as treacherous for having
ditched his own motherland which have given him name and fame. In fact
Samana in the same issue carried a front page interview of Husain’s
maternal brother Kutubuddin Bohri, who too has flayed his brother
painter for ditching India and fleeing to a foreign land.
It’s not a coincidence that until Bal Thackeray wrote on him, Husain
had not opened up his mouth on the whole affair. But barely within
twenty four hours after Samana carried an editorial on him, Husain
gave his maiden interview to Gulf edition of Malayalam Manorama and
tried to clear off the air. But sadly, his defence is totally
unconvincing and he still seems to be defiant in his attitude and has
not expressed any remorse or regret for hurting the sentiments of the
majority of the Indians with his over zealous caricatures.
While the BJP reacted on the same lines, as its parent body RSS did,
Congress, as is its wont has been taking some what an ambivalent stand
on this episode. Though home minister Mr. P. Chimdambaram attempted to
assure Husain that his government would do all it can to protect the
nonagenarian painter, should he returns to India. Apart from PC,
Congress is not coming out firmly on this issue. Can it be seen that
the Congress is bit cautious now, as the UP assembly elections are not
far away, as any attempt to stoutly defend Husain from Congress
platform might cause any dent on its Hindu votes from UP ?
The moot question that arises in this matter, is why the pseudo
secularists are not condemning Husain’s act of depicting the Hindu
characters, Saraswati and Bharatmata and , etc. in a denigrating
manner? Their entire lobby, both in the media and also in the society
is turning a Nelson’s eye to it under the garb of ‘freedom of
expression’ of the painter? Till this date, one has yet to see even an
isolated condemnation of Mr. Husain from any so called ‘liberal’!
Even when Husain was confronted with on numerous TV shows in the past,
before he fled to Europe in 2007, whether he will dare to depict any
female character of other religions (apart from Hindu) on the canvas,
he was virtually dumb founded and skipped the poser.
The secularist and those who are clamoring for Husain’s ‘freedom of
expression’ are conveniently forgetting that when a Danish cartoonist
had drawn a caricature of Prophet Mohammad, none of them had spoken of
freedom of expression of Copenhagen cartoonist ! In fact, none could
afford to say so, as Islam does not permit the depiction of Prophet
Mohammad by any manner and by any means and any attempt to draw his
picture or caricature is treated as a ‘blasphemy’!
If Islam prohibits the depiction of any caricature of Prophet
Mohammad, then the sentiments of Muslims on that score needs to be
respected all over the world. There can’t be any dispute or any debate
on that. One has to accept this reality, whether you like it or not.
In nutshell, if the sentiments of Muslim community can be hurt by a
Danish painter’s misadventure, then why not the Hindus have the same
right to vent their feelings or an outrage over MF Husain’s grossly
erroneous act?
One must appreciate that even after Husain’s mischievous act came to
the fore, Hindus did not vandalize any gallery or personal property of
Husain or there was not even a slightest thought (leave alone attempt)
to touch Husain’s person ! Also no one issued any award to those, who
can harm the painter. Therefore the tolerance level of Hindus needs to
be appreciated and all that which they did was to take a legal
recourse and knock the court doors and bring him to the book!
Why the pseudo secularist are having double standards in measuring an
outcry over the Danish cartoon and Hindu’s reaction over Husain’s
mischievous acts and deeds? It’s all hypocrisy!
The saddest truth is that Husain’s perversity while depicting the
Hindu goddess Saraswati and Bharatmata has indirectly got a universal
acclamation, under the garb of ‘freedom of expression’ and which is
blown up out of proportion by the section of the media, with scant
regard to the sentiments of Hindu community. Can the sentiments be the
monopoly of any single community?
Mr. Husain has been facing hundreds of criminal cases all over the
county under section 295 – A of Indian Penal Code (which is
cognizable, non bailable and having punishment of three years and it
is warrant triable before the Magistrate). It is pertinent to note
that practically all the magisterial courts in the country have ‘taken
cognizance’ of Husain’s ‘deliberate and malicious act’ of hurting the
sentiments of Hindu community.
Wherever the criminal cases were filed against him, neither any of
such Magisterial court has discharged him u/s. 239 of Criminal
Procedure Code. (no the sufficient evidence exists to proceed with the
trial) and no High Court in the country or even an Apex Court has
‘quashed’ the FIR filed against him or stayed any such trial faced by
Mr. Husain. This is sufficient to construe that there is a sufficient
material and a definite case to prosecute him.
The moot question now, is what would be fate of the criminal cases
which have been filed and pending against him all over the country?
Well, if one were to talk in legal parlance, should he remain absent
(which is bound to being away from India), first a bailable warrant,
then a non – bailable warrant and then a proclamation. This would be
sequence of things to happen in case of Mr. Husain who is barely five
years away from completing a century of his life.
Husain is so wise, that to save himself from prosecution back home in
India, he has taken a citizenship of such a country which is rather a
Kingdom in first place and where the ‘word’ democracy does not exist?
Also, India and Qatar have no extradition treaty! This is sufficient
to conclude that all the criminal cases pending against him would turn
out redundant in the matter of time and incumbent government would not
make any effort to bring him back to face the trials, even if they are
compounded and placed for the hearing in any single court.
All in all, the Husain saga has depicted the duplicity of pseudo
secularist in the country, who has different standards in measuring
the religious sentiment of the different communities at different
times.
Can there not be a single non – Hindu citizen in this gigantic country
called India having a population of 1.25 Bn, who can come forward and
strongly condemn Husain’s’ mischievous acts of denigrating Hindu
Goddess Saraswati and Bharatmata?
The truth is there is none. That’s the tragedy of Bhratmata!
Published in: Uncategorized on March 6, 2010 at 12:11 am
http://ganeshsovani.wordpress.com/2010/03/
India Can Make Progress if Run on Hinduism: Bhagwat
Bhopal | Feb 28, 2010 PRINT SHARE COMMENTS
Asserting that India would make progress only if run on the lines of
Hinduism, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said here today that those who were
Indians were Hindus and if one was not a Hindu he could not be an
Indian.
"For us the word Hindu did not mean any religion but a way of life,"
he said at the annual function of the local RSS and the Hindu Samagam
here.
He said that the Union Finance Minister had in his budget speech
quoted from Chanakaya but this was totally out of context.
Bhagwat said that what Chanakaya had said was valid for his times and
not the present-day India.
The RSS Chief hit out equally at America and China for trying to
undermine India in a number of ways.
Bhagwat said that while America dumped rejected and cheap drugs in
India, China was making attempts to make sure that it alone was the
most powerful power in South Asia.
He said that as part of this efforts, China was playing an active role
in Nepal while at the same trying to cow down India.
Before Bhagwat's speech, a large number of Swayamsevaks gave a
demonstration of various physical exercises.
The RSS Chief said that the partition of the country in 1947 did not
lead to any good for anyone in the sub-continent.
Bhagwat said that till today Pakistan had not prospered as a nation
although it continued to be a headache for India at many times.
He said that Pakistan always used the Kashmir issue to create problems
with India and that the problem can be resolved only with the merger
of POK with India.
We were so meek that we went for talks with Pakistan although it used
the time taken by talks to prepare for more terrorist attacks, he
said.
The RSS Chief said the same thing applies to the manner in which the
Centre was getting ready to hold talks with Naxalites.
Filed At: Feb 28, 2010 22:25 IST , Edited At: Feb 28, 2010 22:25 IST
FILED IN: RSS , Mohan Bhagwat
© Copyright PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution
of any PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is
expressly prohibited without their prior written consent.
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Comments
Mar 02, 2010 02:17 AM
5 "RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said here today that those who were Indians
were Hindus and if one was not a Hindu he could not be an Indian."
This is a stupid definition.
"The RSS Chief said that the partition of the country in 1947 did not
lead to any good for anyone in the sub-continent"
If partition had not happened, there would be far fewer hindus in this
country. The dude has got everything wrong.
Like his predecessor, this guy is an idiot and shows it everytime he
opens his mouth.
Ganesan, Nj
Mar 02, 2010 02:10 AM
4 Swami Vivekanand defined Hinduism for the modern age. Now Mohan
Bhagwat and the RSS are trying to undefine it!
Anwaar, Dallas
Mar 01, 2010 12:44 PM
3 > "RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said here today that those who were
Indians were Hindus and if one was not a Hindu he could not be an
Indian."
He also said that those who were Sanghis were delusuional and if one
was not delusional one could not be a Sanghi.
> "For us the word Hindu did not mean any religion but a way of life."
Is it very hard to call our way of life "the Indian way of life", and
leave the word "Hindu" for matters of faith, worship, festivals, rites
etc. Why is the RSS so much against Hinduism?
Anwaar, Dallas
Mar 01, 2010 09:44 AM
2 --"Bhagwat said that while America dumped rejected and cheap drugs
in India"
And THIS is his only gripe with America ?!!
dev raya, Bangalore
Mar 01, 2010 09:39 AM
1 --"Mohan Bhagwat said here today that those who were Indians were
Hindus and if one was not a Hindu he could not be an Indian."
What a supremely presumptuous little prick. Does he need to be
reminded that Hinduism itself is not Indian ? If he is not comfortable
with the Constitution he should find another country to emigrate to.
dev raya, Bangalore
http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?675519
Body in Nitin Gadkari's car: HC tells CID to investigate
Jaideep Hardikar / DNA
Saturday, March 6, 2010 0:37 IST
Mumbai: Dissatisfied with the police investigation into the death of
Yogita Thakare, the seven-year-old daughter of BJP president Nitin
Gadkari’s maid, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court on
Friday handed over the case to the state CID.
Vimal Thakare, the girl’s mother, had filed a petition more than three
months ago seeking a CBI investigation. A bench of justice AP Lavande
and justice Pradeep Varale, however, directed the state CID to
investigate the matter.
Yogita’s body was found in the boot of Gadkari’s car parked at his
Nagpur home in May 2009. Gadkari, who was the BJP’s state chief then,
was not in the city when the body was found. Jayant Patil, the then
home minister, gave a statement in the legislative assembly that
Gadkari had nothing to do with the death.
The girl’s family, however, suspected foul play. Her mother moved the
high court alleging loopholes in the police investigations. She wanted
a CBI inquiry into her daughter’s death.
A guard informed Vimal Thakare about the incident after a local
doctor, called by Gadkari’s office employees, pronounced her dead. The
vehicle was parked just four metres away from the main gate where a
guard was on duty the day the body was found. He is one of the crucial
witnesses in the case.
“The court rejected a CBI inquiry, but gave it to the CID,” Dr Anjan
De, complainant’s lawyer, said. “We are still to get a detailed copy
of the verdict.”
Prosecution lawyer Nitin Sambre said the court found discrepancies on
two counts — the car’s make and the different perceptions of the cause
of her death. While the post-mortem report said Yogita died because of
suffocation, Dr Saira Merchant, the head of Indira Gandhi
Medical College’s paediatric department, said in her report that
Yogita could not have died of suffocation.
The high court bench pulled up the Nagpur Police over
loopholes in the investigations — from the spot inquest to the
interrogations of Gadkari’s employees.
Yogita, it came up during one of the hearings, was undergoing
treatment for sickle cell anaemia and congenital heart disease. The
prosecution maintained during the hearing that the girl’s death was
natural and there was no foul play.
Bal Thackeray targets Maharashtra governor over `Mumbai for all'
remark
PTI
Saturday, March 6, 2010 11:16 IST
Mumbai: After batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar and industrialist
Mukesh Ambani, Maharashtra governor K Sankaranarayanan is the latest
to face the Shiv Sena ire for saying that Mumbai belongs to all.
"Saying that migrants will continue to come to Mumbai is akin to
betrayal of Maharashtra," Sena chief Bal Thackeray said in an
editorial in party newspaper Samana here today.
The governor had said yesterday that "anybody can live in Mumbai. Only
Mumbai can compete with itself. The rich, middle class and the poor co-
exist here".
In an informal interaction with media persons, his first since taking
over the gubernatorial post, he said though civic and infrastructure
facilities needed to be upgraded in the megapolis, migration from
other parts of the country cannot be curbed.
Terming governors who reside in the sprawling Raj Bhawan by the
Arabian Sea here as "Congress pensioners", Thackeray said, "Raj Bhawan
has lost touch with people's sentiments, thats why you say such
things."
"Had Sankaranarayanan been the governor of Karnataka, would he have
dared to say let hordes of migrants come to Bengaluru," Thackeray, who
has earlier targeted Tendulkar and Ambani over their `Mumbai belongs
to all' remarks, said.
"Mumbai has been made into a dharamshala. The only way to stop the
influx of migrants is to start a permit system to impose curbs on
those coming here," Thackeray said.
Why does Raj want Nitin Gadkari as CM?
Shubhangi Khapre / DNA
Thursday, May 7, 2009 2:39 IST
Mumbai: Less than a week after polling was held in the state for the
Lok Sabha elections, the process of churning in mainstream parties for
the state assembly polls in September has already begun.
Sensing that the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has managed to
strike a positive chord with Marathi voters, whispers within the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to consider MNS chief Raj Thackeray as a
possible poll partner for the state elections are growing louder.
Raj has embarked on a mission to ensure that estranged cousin Uddhav
Thackeray does not become chief minister of Maharashtra. Raj has
declared state BJP president Nitin Gadkari as the most suitable
candidate for chief ministership of the state.
Whether by sheer coincidence or design, Sena chief Bal Thackeray has
already suggested that son Uddhav not throw his hat into the ring for
the CM's post. In his Saamna editorial, Thackeray wrote, "The
kingmaker should refrain from power and position." Uddhav, too, has
never made his ambition public. But his party has been projecting him
as the next CM if the Sena-BJP is voted to power this September.
A senior BJP general secretary said, "We will have to explore all
possible options, including the MNS, for the assembly polls. We cannot
depend on the Shiv Sena alone."
A Sena leader said, "We have to ascertain how serious the BJP-MNS
nexus is. Is the BJP using the Raj factor to put the Sena on the back
foot, and extract a hard bargain in the assembly?"
Everybody is waiting to see if Raj can get 6% votes of the total of
41% to get the Election Commission reckoning for the party symbol. A
possible NCP-Shiv Sena nexus for the assembly polls is also being
debated. The Congress has already complained against the NCP's attempt
to sabotage their 10 seats in the Lok Sabha polls, and pressure is
mounting within the Congress to sever ties with the NCP for the
assembly election.
Saffron poll managers admit that there is mistrust among the top Sena-
BJP leadership. The growing BJP-MNS bond will further complicate this
partnership.
http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_why-does-raj-want-nitin-gadkari-as-cm_1253615
Raj Thackeray favours Nitin Gadkari's formula on Babri Masjid
Kiran Tare / DNA
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 1:29 IST
Mumbai: While Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray disagreed with BJP
president Nitin Gadkari’s idea of rebuilding the Babri Masjid on an
open plot near the Ram temple in Ayodhya, his nephew and MNS president
Raj Thackeray has welcomed it cautiously.
Babri Masjid“Why was the BJP not this wise earlier?” Raj commented to
reporters at Chopda in Jalgaon district on Monday. “Had they taken the
same stand in the past, there would not have been riots all over the
country and innocent people would not have lost their lives. [But]
there is no point discussing the old matter and recalling old
memories.”
Raj was in Chopda in connection with a court case regarding violence
by MNS workers over the issue of migrants last year. He was granted
bail on a personal bond of Rs7,000.
Last week, Gadkari had mooted the idea of rebuilding the mosque,
demolished by a frenzied crowd of extremist Hindus on December 6,
1992, at the BJP’s national conclave in Indore.
“I appeal to the Muslims to cooperate in building a Ram temple at the
[disputed] site in Ayodhya,” Gadkari said. “I assure [them that] we
will help them build a mosque at a nearby open space.”
Thackeray had dubbed Gadkari’s idea an insult to the memory of the
karsevaks who were killed in Ayodhya during the Ram Janmabhoomi
movement. “Only a Ram temple will be built in Ayodhya,” he had said.
“There is no need to seek the permission of Muslims for that.”
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Babri Masjid Action Committee have
also opposed Gadkari’s idea.
Gadkari shares a good rapport with Raj. “In my opinion, Nitin Gadkari
is the right person for the chief minister’s post in Maharashtra,” Raj
had said before the October 2009 assembly elections in the state.
Bal Thackeray slams Nitin Gadkari over Ayodhya
Surendra Gangan / DNA
Saturday, February 20, 2010 11:24 IST
Last updated: Sunday, February 21, 2010 0:31 IST
Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray has slammed ally Bhartiya Janata
Party and its chief Nitin Gadkari for the latter's appeal to the
Muslim community to co-operate in constructing the Ram Mandir and
agreeing to build a Masjid on the adjacent land at Ayodhya.
Bal Thackeray
Thackeray, in the edit in Shiv Sena mouthpiece, Saamana, has termed
the BJP proposal as an insult to the Kar Sevaks who 'fought' and lost
their lives for the Ram Mandir on the disputed land.
The edit says, "If the Muslims were to be persuaded to co-operate to
build the mandir by Hindus, why was the movement in Ayodhya launched
by the Hindus? If we had to surrender to the imam of the Jama Masjid
by falling on his feet for a piece of land for the mandir (instead of
fighting for it), we would have easily got the land for the mandir
then. The option was more convenient, but the Hindus chose to fight
for their right and hundreds had to sacrifice their lives.
The edit raised the question about the right of Babar over Ayodhya.
"Babar was invited by the Muslim emperor to support him in India. Ram
came to Ayodhya hundreds of years before Babar came here in 1528.Babar
was an aggressor and there is no reason why Muslims should fight for
the Masjid named after him against Hindus in their own country," it
stated further.
Thackeray also slammed prime minister Manmohan Singh for his statement
in the favour of Muslims. "The PM said that Muslims have the first
right over the resources of the country. 80 per cent Hindus tolerate
this meekly. Muslims have everything and Hindus don't even have their
Ram mandir. And now the BJP wants Hindus to plead to Muslims for the
temple," he said.
Political observers feel this as one more sign of increasing
differences between the parties. Thackeray criticized the BJP on
various issues including statehood to Vidarbha and alleged atrocities
on Marathi speaking people in BJP-lead Karnataka.
http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_bal-thackeray-slams-nitin-gadkari-over-ayodhya_1350218
LK Advani heaps praise on Nitin Gadkari's forthrightness
PTI
Monday, February 22, 2010 20:19 IST
New Delhi: Nitin Gadkari's forthrightness has been able to melt away
the despondency set in by two successive setbacks in the Lok Sabha
elections and turned the BJP upbeat at the just concluded Indore
conclave, senior leader LK Advani said today.
In his latest blog posting, Advani said that before the three-day
Indore conclave, the question bothering BJP delegates was whether
Gadkari will be able to inspire confidence in the party cadre,
"seemingly disheartened and disappointed by two successive setbacks in
the Lok Sabha elections of 2004 and 2009?"
Advani said he could see the "initial scepticism rapidly melting away"
and when the delegates left the venue, their doubts were replaced by
optimism and confidence.
As compared to previous such programmes attended by him (Advani),
"seldom before have I seen delegates so upbeat, and enthusiastic
participants in every single programme at the session as I have seen
this time," Advani, who was elected working chairman of NDA, said.
The BJP leader said the delegates had a strong feeling that the
"attributes of transparent frankness and forthrightness that they had
been able to discern in the new president were exactly what the party
needed at this point of time."
At the National Executive and Council, attended by nearly four
thousand delegates, Gadkari was able to interact with senior state BJP
representatives and BJP chief ministers at a single combined conclave
for the first time.
Ex-devotee seeks to expose 'Krishna Leela'
D Ram Raj / DNA
Sunday, March 7, 2010 0:51 IST
Chennai: The Chennai police on Saturday booked a fresh case against
spiritual guru Swami Paramahamsa Nithyananda on a complaint filed by
his former devotee Nithya Dharmananda alias K Lenin of Athur in Salem
district. The Chennai police also decided to transfer the case to
Karnataka, where Nithyananda (who has his spiritual headquarters at
Bidadi, about 30km from Bengaluru) reportedly “betrayed” the trust of
his devotees. Lenin accused Nithyananda of “misbehaving” with
“beautiful” women and “forcing” them into compromising positions with
him. Lenin also handed over a CD containing “raunchy bed room” scenes
of Nithayanda to the police commissioner of Chennai.
Lenin in his complaint stated that he was spiritually attracted
towards Nithyananda in 2004. In 2006 he shifted to the ashram in
Bangalore as a staunch devotee, he said. There he found Nithyananda
misbehaving with “innocent women” stating that he was incarnation of
Lord Krishna and beautiful women devotees were his gopis. He would try
to hug and molest them. Some disturbed women devotees stopped visiting
the ashram, while one woman also tried to commit suicide, Lenin
alleged. Lenin also claimed that he often found “actress Ranjitha” and
Nithyananda in compromising positions. Lenin claimed that he was very
upset as well as spiritually let down by his guru and hence decided to
secretly tape Nithyananda’s romp with Ranjitha in December 2009,
Chennai police commissioner T Rajendran told reporters on Saturday.
Lenin also alleged that Nithyananda had threatened to “kill” him on
February 18 and February 19 this year when he visited Salem for the
inauguration of his new ashram. Nithyananda suspected Lenin of
secretly taping his “bedroom scenes”, invited him into his van and
threatened to kill him. Lenin, however, escaped from the clutches of
Nithyananda by stating that he wanted to answer nature’s call. Lenin
asked the police to save the innocent “masses” from the clutches of
“Nithyananda”, who had blatantly betrayed their trust, according to
the complaint. “As all the incidents reportedly occurred in Karnataka,
we have decided to transfer the case to that state,” Rajendran stated.
“Tamil Nadu DG [director general Latika Saran] has already spoken to
her counter part in Karnataka and necessary action will be taken. We
are willing to fully co-operate with the Karnataka police during
investigations in the case,” he said. A case was also registered
against Nithyananda in Coimbatore. According to Coimbatore police
sources, they were trying to find out the exact whereabouts of
Ranjitha as they wanted to question her on her alleged “sexacapades”
with Nithyananda. Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports stated that
Nithyananda could also have harboured links with the LTTE. “He may
have sheltered some LTTE leaders in his Bangalore ashram, but it needs
to be confirmed,” sources said.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_ex-devotee-seeks-to-expose-krishna-leela_1356122
Communal ideologues forced MF Husain to leave India: Digvijay Singh
PTI
Saturday, March 6, 2010 15:54 IST
Indore: Terming as "very unfortunate" Qatar's conferring citizenship
on renowned Indian painter M F Husain, Congress leader Digvijay Singh
said here today that he (Husain) was forced to accept it due to
harassment from people having communal ideology.
MF Husain "Acceptance of Qatar's citizenship by famous artist like
Husain is very unfortunate. It is a big defeat of those people whose
ideology is liberal and who believe in communal harmony," Singh told
reporters here.
He said that due to constant attack from people with communal
ideology, Husain had to live a life of self-exile and finally he was
forced to accept Qatar's proposal to become its citizen.
However, the Congress general secretary refuted the charge that the
Indian government had failed to give adequate protection to Husain who
was facing attacks from saffron activists for making controversial
paintings of Hindu Gods and Goddesses.
"There was no problem to the government from Husain but when the heart
of an artist breaks up, it takes long time to heal it," Singh said.
Amidst opposition attacks on the hike of petrol and diesel prices, he
said that there had been many fold increase in fuel prices during the
NDA regime.
"After presenting a comparative study of it, we will put this fact
before the people," the Congress general secretary said.
I've not abandoned India: MF Husain
PTI
Thursday, March 4, 2010 20:34 IST
Thiruvananthapruam: Renowned painter MF Husain today said he has not
abandoned India and accepted Qatari citizenship because of "some
technical reasons and artistic conveniences".
Talking to Malayalam channel Manorama News from Dubai, he said "I have
not abandoned India. Though I consider myself a world citizen, I am
accepting Qatari citizenship because of some technical reasons and
artistic conveniences."
Husain, who could not come to Kerala to receive the state government's
Raja Ravi Varma Award conferred on him two years ago, said it was for
the state government to remove
legal obstacles in his way.
"If the Kerala government is serious about Raja Ravi Varma Award, it
should try to remove the legal obstacles," Husain said when asked
whether it was not time for him to come to Kerala to receive it.
Husain was chosen for Kerala's highest honour for artistic excellence,
instituted in memory of the renowned Indian painter Varma, in 2008.
But the government has not been able to present it to him since he has
been living abroad.
When the artist's comments on the award were brought to his notice,
Kerala culture minister MA Baby told PTI that the state government
would explore the possibility of presenting the award to him.
He, however, said efforts by the Kerala government alone was not
enough to remove the legal obstacles. The Centre should take steps to
clear legal hurdles before the artist to enable him come to India, he
said.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_i-ve-not-abandoned-india-mf-husain_1355285
It's all over, confirms MF Husain
ND Prashant / DNA
Tuesday, March 2, 2010 1:24 IST
Doha: The enormity of the loss may take some time to sink in, but it’s
now clear that MF Husain will no more remain Indian. “It’s all over.
I’ve just completed the final formalities,” said the artist to an
anguished Indian fan at the immigration department in Qatar’s capital,
Doha.
As the barefooted Husain sat with his paintbrush-shaped walking stick
among the crowd looking at the ticking counter numbers, the sense of
resignation in the 95-year-old was hard to miss.
“Could an apology have helped sort out things?” he was asked.
“How long can I wait? It’s been 12 years, and even the Supreme Court
has given the judgment,’’ he answered. But he clarified that the India
connection was too strong to be over. “My artwork is still based on
India and it flows through me and I shall still continue to work on
it,” he said.
Husain was forced into exile in 2006 after some fundamentalist outfits
launched a virulent attack on him for his portrayal of Hindu deities
in the nude. His paintings were vandalised and, worse, nearly 900
cases were filed against him. With no sincere help coming from the
government to protect him, he left for Dubai.
As his number approached, Husain, dragging his weary legs, moved from
the second row to the first. He then pulled out a small book from his
pocket and started reading it. It was the Quran. He was probably
praying for last-minute divine intervention.
An aide then walked up to him with some documents and once the maestro
signed them, it was all over.
As he dragged himself out of he office to a waiting car, the fan could
not help mutter, “Sir, we love you.”
“I know son, there are a lot of people out there who love me, but…,”
Husain said and moved into the car.
The fan sighed. The next artwork the painter does will not be from the
‘Picasso of India’.
http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_it-s-all-over-confirms-mf-husain_1354100
Will MF Husain's humiliation hurt our image internationally?
DNA
Wednesday, March 3, 2010 1:59 IST
Mumbai: Government should have stood by him
Till date the government has not taken a stand on this issue at all.
This shows that the government doesn’t bother about the great artist
or perhaps they are afraid of some reaction from fundamentalists. In
the future, if some organisation honours him, then we will be the
first to ‘reclaim’ him. The Indian government is surely responsible
for hounding away Husain.
Kunal Sejpal
Let him be at peace wherever he is
Many are of the opinion that we should make an exception and grant
Husain dual citizenship, but this will lead to more controversy. He
has taken a decision so we should let him stay peacefully wherever he
feels at ease. But this will encourage extremists to continue
targeting people and have their say. His paintings offended people and
he should have been more responsible.
Yesha B
Don’t let forces of intolerance prevail
It is sad that Husain, a prolific painter, chose to give up his Indian
nationality. Another writer Taslima Nasreen also couldn’t get Indian
citizenship following her struggle with a small group of hardliners.
Both are victims of fundamentalists. A celebrity of international fame
being denied Indian citizenship and another harassed at the time of
extending her visa, speaks volumes of the hollowness of the
government’s secularism.
Sayyad Naqvi
Not right to treat a great artist shabbily
What’s the point discussing it now, when MF Husain has already
accepted citizenship of Qatar and decided to move on? It’s a great
loss to India, but for how long can one expect a 95-year-old to wait
for decent treatment from his home country? I don’t think there is any
space for freedom of speech for artists or even filmmakers these
days.
Mitesh Bora
His choice of country is surprising
It’s sad that the Picasso of India has been meted such treatment.
However now that he has taken a decision his well wishers seem to have
been roused from their reverie. Such an incident will tarnish India’s
image and prove that we are intolerant. Also surprising is that Husain
has taken citizenship of a country like Qatar which doesn’t offer much
freedom of expression.
Amita Mehta
Sangh ideologue slams MF Husain
PTI
Wednesday, March 3, 2010 19:31 IST
Thiruvananthapruam: Painter MF Husain, who has accepted Qatari
nationality, has come under attack from a leading Hindutva ideologue
who accused him of "maligning" India's image before the world by
creating an impression that it is a nation of fundamentalists.
"He is deliberately trying to create an impression that Islamic
countries have more freedom than India," said P Parameswaran, director
of Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram here.
On Husain's claim that he enjoyed more freedom in Qatar, he sought to
know if he would be "bold enough" to exercise his artistic freedom and
paint Islamic symbols.
"What kind of artistic freedom is he talking about? Is painting Hindu
gods and goddesses and even Bharat mata in bad light the ultimate test
of artistic freedom? Has freedom no restriction or limit,"
Parameswaran told PTI.
"If Danish newspapers can apologise for carrying cartoon of Prophet
Muhammad, why can't Husain apologise for hurting the sentiments of
people of the country? Husain had actually got what 'he deserved and
probably what he desired'," he said.
On how he saw erotic murals and sculptures in Hindu temples, he said
great Indians like Swami Vivekananda had openly condemned and
described such paintings as "degenerate and grotesque caricatures" and
not true Indian art.
"Nobody now admires them. No artists reproduce such paintings except
Husain. Great Indian artist Raja Ravi Varma produced hundreds of
portraits of Hindu gods and goddesses and won worldwide acclaim," he
said.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_sangh-ideologue-slams-mf-husain_1354867
Security will be provided to MF Husain: Government
PTI
Thursday, February 25, 2010 19:55 IST
New Delhi: Describing self-exiled eminent artist MF Husain as the
"pride of India", the government today said it is willing to provide
security to him and that no case is pending against him in any of the
courts in the country.
Responding to questions from the media on Husain being conferred
honorary citizenship by Qatar, Union home secretary GK Pillai said,
"there is no case against MF Husain. Supreme Court has quashed all the
cases against him."
The home secretary went on to say that the Government was ready to
provide security to the 95-year-old artist, if he planned to return to
India.
"He (Husain) is the pride of India," foreign secretary Nirupama Rao
said adding, "I would like him to feel safe and secure in India".
Husain has been living abroad for nearly four years following a spate
of legal cases in the country over his controversial paintings of
Hindu goddesses and a hate campaign against him.
Several cases were filed against him by people protesting his
portrayal of Hindu goddesses in the nude. His house in India was
attacked and art works vandalised by fundamentalists.
The Union Government had approached the apex court for the expeditious
disposal of cases across the country over his controversial paintings
so that his early return could be ensured.
The Delhi high court in May 2009 had quashed criminal proceedings
against the painter, saying his paintings were an expression of
creativity.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_security-will-be-provided-to-mf-husain-government_1352590
MF Husain misses India, despite Qatari nationality: Gurudas Shenoy
Monica Jha
Wednesday, March 3, 2010 10:57 IST
Artist Gurudas Shenoy has known MF Husain for a long time. The two
have in fact watched Hum Aapke Hain Kaun 44 times in the city. He
tells DNA that Husain’s decision to accept Qatari nationality was not
a betrayal of India, and that the painter immensely loves the country,
its culture and traditions.
How have you and the city of Bangalore been associated with Husain?
I know him and understand him well. I stay with him when I go to Dubai
or London. He usually stays with us when he comes to Bangalore. He was
a great friend of my father, artist GS Shenoy. He used to say that
Ramakrishna Hegde and my father were the two people responsible for
his association with Karnataka. He is sponsoring and also writing for
a coffee table book about my father.
We, at our studio, had many of his works, which have been shifted to
various places after the studio closed down two years back. He loved
dosa, sambar, rasam and karela chips at our house. He also loved to
eat dosa at Airlines Hotel and follow it up with a Rajkumar film. He
loved walking around the city. We have together watched Hum Aapke Hain
Kaun 44 times in Bangalore.
Is Husain’s adoption of Qatari nationality a loss to India?
An artist lives in his works. Husain is wherever his works are. He
cannot be limited to one country. But, it (his decision) is sad for
the country. I wish people had realised what his presence meant. But,
he is Husain. He is unpredictable. He cannot stay at a place for more
than six days.
Many say Husain showed a lack of faith in India and betrayed India.
People go to the US for jobs and take up American nationality. Do we
call it betrayal? An Indian scientist goes to another country, wins a
Nobel Prize. We still call him an Indian.
How can one term Husain’s decision to adopt Qatari nationality a
betrayal?
Whatever was said about the efforts being made to bring him back
seemed just superficial talk. Was there any concrete effort made? No.
But he has nothing against anybody. He says all Indians are his
countrymen and that he loves them.
His heart is here. He is missing India, Indian cinema theatres and all
the action here. He loves India, its culture and traditions. Husain
is, in fact, currently working on a series of paintings based on
India.
Will Qatar be more tolerant to Husain’s ideas and works than India?
You must see what is happening in Qatar now. They are spending
millions of dollars to set up art museums.
What is Husain doing right now?
He is 95 and is working tirelessly. Husain is working on a series of
100 paintings on Arab civilisation since the time of the Babylonians.
BJP: No objection to Qatar citizenship for MF Husain
PTI
Thursday, February 25, 2010 20:56 IST
New Delhi: The BJP today said it had no issues with controversial
painter MF Husain being offered citizenship by Qatar, adding everybody
had a right to reside anywhere in the world but when it came to
creative pursuits one should not hurt sentiments of others.
"On this earth, every person has the right to live anywhere. So, we
don't want to blame Husain if he accepts this offer of citizenship
made by Qatar," deputy leader of BJP in Rajya Sabha S S Ahluwalia
said.
Husain has been living in Dubai and London for the past few years
since he had to flee from India when he faced opposition from some
sections for his controversial paintings depicting Hindu Goddesses in
the nude.
Ahluwalia said the main issue was why Husain could not live in India.
"Every painter, writer, journalist and those involved in other
creative pursuits should keep in mind that while they are engaged in
painting or writing... they should not do anything which hurts or
harms the sentiments of others," he said.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_bjp-no-objection-to-qatar-citizenship-for-mf-husain_1352618
CPI (M) MP pleads for bringing back MF Husain
PTI
Thursday, March 4, 2010 13:33 IST
New Delhi: A strong plea for bringing back renowned artist MF Husain,
who has become a citizen of Qatar after living in self-imposed exile,
was made by a CPI(M) member in the Lok Sabha today.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Ramachandra Dome said Husain has
been an artist of international repute and it was sad and "shameful
for the country" that at an old age, he had to stay abroad. He sought
to know the government's stand on the matter and whether it has taken
any decision to bring Husain back.
There was no response from the Government. Ninety-five-year-old Husain
has been living in self-imposed exile in Dubai for the last five years
following threats from some fundamentalists. Recently he was offered
citizenship of Qatar which he has accepted.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_cpi-m-mp-pleads-for-bringing-back-mf-husain_1355102
India is my soul, but it has rejected me: MF Husain
PTI
Wednesday, March 3, 2010 14:38 IST
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Renowned painter M F Husain, who has accepted
Qatar nationality, feels that the attack against him by right wing
outfits in India that forced him into exile for 12 years was targeted
at art and
self-expression rather than his Muslim identity.
"I have not intended to denigrate or hurt the beliefs of anyone
through my art. I only give expression to the instincts from my soul,"
the 95 year-old painter said in an interview to Malayalam daily
'Madhyamam' from Qatar capital Doha.
Husain said it was with "deep pain" in his heart that he was giving up
Indian citizenship. "India is my soul. But the country has rejected
me," he said.
"India is my motherland and I can never hate the country. But the
political leadership, artists and intellectuals kept silent when Sangh
Parivar forces attacked me. How can I live there in such a situation?"
he asked.
Husain said he knew that 90% of Indians loved him and a small
minority, including a handful of politicians were the only people who
were opposed to him.
"I am happy that there are people in all parts of the world who love
me," he said.
He said successive governments in India had failed to ensure
protection to him during repeated threats from right wing extremists.
"For politicians, only votes are important. No government had called
me back to India till now. They are inviting me when another country
offered me citizenship. How can I trust the political leadership now,"
Husain said.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_india-is-my-soul-i-still-love-the-country-mf-husain_1354695
SC gives relief to MF Husain
Rakesh Bhatnagar
Tuesday, July 25, 2006 23:24 IST
New Delhi: MF Hussain won't have to appear before a court in Bhopal
that has summoned him on July 27 to face criminal proceedings started
by a man whose religious sentiments were hurt by Hussain's painting
Bharat Mata.
The SC on Tuesday afternoon stayed the Bhopal court's order on a
complaint accusing the 90-year-old artist of having outraged religious
sentiments of the people with his controversial paintings. Judges also
restrained the trial court from conducting further proceedings.
The Bench also ordered that Hussain's petition for transfer of his
case from Bhopal to Delhi be clubbed with other such petitions filed
by him which were already pending before the apex court.
Meanwhile, a Meerut court on Tuesday directed the police to register a
case against the artist for allegedly making objectionable paintings
of Hindu Gods and Goddesses.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Ashok Pathak passed the order on
a complainant's grievance, which held that Hussain's painting on the
website had "hurt" his religious feelings.
On May 12, the apex court had stayed the execution of a bailable
warrant issued by a Pandharpur court in Maharashtra against Hussain.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_sc-gives-relief-to-mf-husain_1043779
Media Syndicate
Essential News for educative purposes - A program of 'Education
Informal'
Thursday, March 4, 2010
The convoluted logic of RSS exposed once again ....
In a recent press gathering, the chief of RSS, Mr. Mohan Bhagwat has
said:
1. “He who is an Indian is a Hindu and he who is not a Hindu is not an
Indian.”
2. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said that those who were Indians
were Hindus and if one was not a Hindu he could not be an Indian.
3. "For us the word Hindu did not mean any religion but a way of
life,"
We need to look at it a little closely to find out what MB must have
meant by this. Some of my friends tell me that this has always been
the stance of the RSS.
There are some very interesting consequences arising out of this.
Firstly, since MB(RSS) has not defined what a Hindu is, and what an
Indian is, this statement is like "Something that we do not know" is
same as "Something that we do not know". Fair enough. MB and RSS have
enough space for maneuver.
Therefore we have some interesting questions for the RSS. What is the
way of life that is called by the name Hinduism? And who is an Indian?
Let us try and analyze what these terms can not mean.
Let us call the present geopolitical entity India as India-GP.
Similarly let us call the so called geographical Akhand-Bharat of the
RSS India-AB. The passport holders of India-GP as Indian(s)-GP. Let us
call those who live south-east of the Hindukush valley and in the
peninsular region as Hindu-GP. If we add the Tibetan region to this
Hindu-GP, we term it as Hindu-AB. Let us call the yet to be defined
"way of life" WOL, and those who are Hindus by this way of life Hindu-
WOL.
There are two interesting observations to be made here. India-GP,
India-AB, Hindu-GP, Hindu-AB are geographic regions. Hindu-WOL is not
a geographic definition.
MB's statement consists of two parts besides mentioning that by the
term Hindu, MB meant Hindu-WOL.
a. Every Indian is a Hindu,
and
b. A person who is not a Hindu can not be an Indian.
We have following questions:
0. How do we determine who is a Hindu-WOL?
1. Are there Hindu-WOL residing outside India-GP? If yes, then in what
sense does MB mean that they are Indians? Does RSS advocate issuing
Indian-GP passport to them?
2. Are there people who are not Hindu-WOL within India-GP? If yes,
what does RSS recommend towards non-Hindu-WOL living in India-GP? For
example, are they to be thrown out of the India-GP?
3. What is the attitude of the RSS towards the government representing
the India-GP state?
There is one easy path that RSS can take. They can define that a Hindu-
WOL respects all religions. This leads to a funny situation that a
Hindu-WOL need not respect Hinduism-WOL, and yet can be a Hindu-WOL .
The compulsion to respect Hinduism-WOL is absent because Hinduism-WOL
is not a religion!
Another question is: Does a Hindu-WOL have to respect those religions
who are bloodthirsty against them, for example those who have vowed to
destroy Hindu-WOL?
Mr. MB, now the time is here to stand up and be counted. Your
convoluted language will not work. The least you can do to allay these
misgivings is to make your notions of Hindu and Indian very very
clear, preferably giving examples. Hiding behind the veil of secrecy
and ambiguity will be counterproductive.
Posted by samAlochaka
2 comments:
P Kalyan said...
This is a great article. On the day RSS defines "Hindu" clearly, it
will be dead!
March 4, 2010 9:01 AM
samAlochaka said...
PK, why do you say so? Is it not possible that RSS will get some new
supporters?
March 4, 2010 11:15 AM
http://medsyn.blogspot.com/2010/03/convoluted-logic-of-rss-exposed-once.html
Media Syndicate
Essential News for educative purposes - A program of 'Education
Informal'
Friday, March 5, 2010
At the very least, Muslims need to be educated by Mr. Anees Jillani
Mr. Anees Jillani, a regular contributor to Indian Express has
recently written an article.
Let Shahmira Oad’s body rest in peace:
The universe has existed for more than four billion years, and it may
last several more billion years. And maybe even for infinity. The
scale is beyond our comprehension, and the least we all can realise is
the fact that all religions are recent occurrences when placed on this
mammoth time scale of four billion years.
Discrimination on the basis of religion thus makes no sense, but it
seems that some who have appropriated the role of mediators between
ourselves and a higher truth are determined to prove that some people,
on the basis of their religious affiliation, are more equal than
others, even to the point of not allowing the dead to rest in peace.
Sheeraz Qureshi, a maulvi claiming to hold a master’s degree in
Physics, is leading a crusade in a village in Sindh, in Pakistan, to
remove the body of a Hindu girl from a Muslim graveyard. Seventeen-
year old Shahmira Oad, the daughter of Bachayo Oad, a resident of
Hala, died on April 28, 2009, and was buried at the Khudabad
graveyard, three kilometres southwest of New Hala town.
Shahmira Oad’s relatives buried her there only after receiving
permission from the locals, including the caretaker of the graveyard.
But Sheeraz Qureshi and other religious elements are quoting fatwas
pronounced by some traditional religious leaders that only Muslims are
allowed to bury their loved ones in Muslim graveyards.
All religions are supposed to be in conformity with the basic human
values. It is doubtful if any religion calls for exhuming the body of
a poor 17-year-old Hindu girl from a Muslim graveyard because her body
is ‘defiling’ the graveyard. If anything, the removal of the body is
likely to desecrate it and such an act would defile everybody buried
there.
Shahmira’s family and the Hindu community in the area, which is not
surprisingly poor, has been getting threats about her body. The local
notables, instead of telling off the cleric not to rake up such a
mindless issue, are pressuring the poor family to remove the body.
Shahmira’s grave is not even located anywhere close to the other
graves in the graveyard, not that it would have made any difference.
It is about five metres away from other graves. Despite this, in order
to save her body from defilement and avoid a clash in the community,
her family has expressed willingness to build a boundary wall around
her grave.
The issue is fast threatening to turn into communal imbroglio and a
suit has been filed in the court of a civil judge for removal of the
grave. The judge is under immense local pressure. The opponents are
saying that they “will not keep silent until the bones of the strange
girl are thrown out of the graveyard”.
There are some sane voices in the community opposing the exhumation of
the body on the grounds that several graveyards in the Sindh province
are common burial grounds for both Hindus and Muslims. For instance,
the graveyards alongside the famous shrines of great Sufi saints, like
Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, Sachchal Sarmast, Sufi Shah Inayat Shaheed,
and other spiritual leaders, are open for burial regardless of
religion.
It is said that Islam is the most tolerant religion. But if this is
how we behave then what would distinguish us from the upper caste
Hindus in Indian villages who refuse to permit people of lower castes
to use the same well to draw water? Ganga is a holy river for all the
Hindus; should the Hindus then forbid persons belonging to all other
denominations from using its water?
We all feel the pinch when something happens to a Muslim and an
Islamic symbol, like the mosque but we have no qualms about the
religious feelings of others. Almost every Muslim in the world was
saddened by the destruction of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in 1992. But we
don’t even think for a second about the conversion of innumerable
Hindu and Sikh temples in the whole of Pakistan to schools, police
stations, offices and sometimes even for keeping cattle. We cannot
imagine such a thing happening to a mosque but have no objection to
treating the religious places of others with utter contempt.
We all resent the recent ban on minarets in Switzerland; many of the
Swiss and Europeans themselves are saddened by this development. But
have we ever thought about the complete ban on construction of
churches and temples in the whole of Saudi Arabia and in most of the
Gulf countries? Non-Muslims are not even permitted to enter the cities
of Mecca and Medina and we consider it our human right to even get
elected to the parliaments of the so-called Christian countries, and
acquire as much property as we can.
When will we in Pakistan learn to remember the basic truth that
whatever we give to others, good or bad, it comes back, many times?
Shouldn’t then we give more and more of what we want for ourselves to
others so that the same will come back to us in greater quantities? We
need to overcome our historical inability to follow the ethic of
reciprocity, and to understand that it applies to all humans, and not
merely to Muslims. Only when this is accomplished will religiously-
related oppression, and mass murder cease. We all can make a beginning
in this respect by letting Shahmira Oad rest in peace at her last
resting place forever with Muslims as her neighbours.
(The author is a prominent Pakistan Supreme Court lawyer. E-mail:
a...@Jillani.org)
A relatively decent piece of writing, given that it is coming from
some muslim author in Pakistan. He has brought out certain very
disturbing facts to the fore and he must be commended for the same.
Some of these important facts about Pakistan, Islam and Muslims have
been laid bare:
Disdain for non-Islamic religions:
1. But we don’t even think for a second about the conversion of
innumerable Hindu and Sikh temples in the whole of Pakistan to
schools, police stations, offices and sometimes even for keeping
cattle. We cannot imagine such a thing happening to a mosque but have
no objection to treating the religious places of others with utter
contempt.
Further disdain for non-Muslims:
2. But have we ever thought about the complete ban on construction of
churches and temples in the whole of Saudi Arabia and in most of the
Gulf countries? Non-Muslims are not even permitted to enter the cities
of Mecca and Medina and we consider it our human right to even get
elected to the parliaments of the so-called Christian countries, and
acquire as much property as we can.
The game so far of Pakistan:
3. When will we in Pakistan learn to remember the basic truth that
whatever we give to others, good or bad, it comes back, many times?
Historical inabilities of Islam and Muslims:
4. We need to overcome our historical inability to follow the ethic of
reciprocity, and to understand that it applies to all humans, and not
merely to Muslims.
Of course there are certain truths which have been indicated
obliquely, here we state them forthrightly.
Mr Jillani wrote:
1. All religions are supposed to be in conformity with the basic human
values.
Yes, all or most religions, except Islam, which is erroneously thought
of as a religion. Towards a non-muslim or an apostate, Islam is in
conformity with the utmost inhuman values.
2. It is said that Islam is the most tolerant religion.
It is erroneously said so. It is the most intolerant of all
ideologies.
3. But if this is how we behave then what would distinguish us from
the upper caste Hindus in Indian villages who refuse to permit people
of lower castes to use the same well to draw water?
Upper caste Hindus refused only during some period. It is to be
remembered that the lower caste people, even then, had their own
wells. This is unlike Islam and Muslims, where non-Muslims can not
have their shrines.
It is important for those who are saner amongst the muslims to realize
many of the facts which have been pointed out here.
However, more importantly, we, as non-muslims, should not be lulled in
to benign optimism or complacence. We must always remember that Islam
can not be reformed.
Once those who are sane amongst the muslims, see these two facts in
conjunction, that Islam is evil, and that Islam can not be reformed,
they will realize that the only course left for the saner amongst
muslims is to leave Islam.
Posted by samAlochaka
http://medsyn.blogspot.com/2010/03/at-very-least-muslims-need-to-be.html
Media Syndicate
Essential News for educative purposes - A program of 'Education
Informal'
Thursday, March 4, 2010
The question of who an artist is .. revisited
Before her retirement from Stella Maris College, Dr.Hilda Raja used to
write columns regularly in The Hindu. It is conjectured that even
after retirement, she used to write once in a while. Though she has
sent the following letter to Ram in personal capacity, she sent copies
to some of her friends.
For those who may not know, Mr. N Ram is the chief editor of the
famous news paper The Hindu.
The following is the text of her letter.
Dear Ram,
I have taken time to write this to you Ram-for the simple reason that
we have known you for so many years- you and The Hindu bring back
happy memories Please take what I am putting down as those that come
from an agonized soul. You know that I do not mince words and what I
have to say I will-I call a spade a spade-now it is too late for me to
learn the tricks of being called a ‘secularist’ if that means a bias
for, one, and a bias against, another.
Hussain is now a citizen of Qatar-this has generated enough of heat
and less of light. Qatar you know better than me is not a country
which respects democracy or freedom of expression. Hussain says he has
complete freedom-I challenge him to paint a picture of Mohammed fully
clad.
There is no second opinion that artists have the Right of Freedom of
expression. Is such a right restricted only to Hussain? Will that
right not flow to Dan Brown-why was his film-Da Vinci Code not
screened? Why was Satanic Verses banned-does Salman Rushdie not have
that freedom of expression? Similarly why is Taslima hunted and
hounded and why fatwas have been issued on both these writers? Why has
Qatar not offered citizenship to Taslima? In the present rioting in
Shimoga in Karnataka against the article Taslima wrote against the
tradition of burqua which appeared in the Out Look in Jan 2007. No
body protested then either in Delhi or in any other part of the
country; now when it reappears in a Karnataka paper there is rioting.
Is there a political agenda to create a problem in Karnataka by the
intolerant goons? Why has the media not condemned this insensitivity
and intolerance of the Muslims against Taslima’s views? When it comes
to the Sangh Parivar it is quick to call them goons and intolerant
etc. Now who are the goons and where is this tolerance and
sensitivity?
Regarding Hussain’s artistic freedom it seems to run unfettered in an
expression of sexual perversion only when he envisages the Hindu Gods
and Goddesses. There is no quarrel had he painted a nude woman sitting
on the tail of a monkey. The point is he captioned it as Sita. Nobody
would have protested against the sexual perversion and his
orientatation to sexual signs and symbols. But would he dare to
caption it as ‘Fatima enjoying in Jannat with animals’?
Next example-is the painting of Saraswati copulating with a lion. Here
again his perversion is evident and so is his intent. Even that lets
concede cannot be faulted-each one’s sexual orientation is each one’s
business I suppose. But he captioned it as Saraswati. This is the
problem. It is Hussain’s business to enjoy in painting his sexual
perversion. But why use Saraswati and Sita for his perverted
expressions? Use Fatima and watch the consequence. Let the media
people come to his rescue then. Now that he is in a country that gives
him complete freedom let him go ahead and paint Fatima copulating with
a lion or any other animal of his choice. And then turn around and
prove to India-the Freedom of expression he enjoys in Qatar.
Talking about Freedom of Expression-this is the Hussain who supported
Emergency-painted Indira Gandhi as Durga slaying Jayaprakas Narayan.
He supported the jailing of artists and writers. Where did this
Freedom of Expression go? And you call him secularist? Would you
support the jailing of artists and writers Ram –would you support the
abeyance of the Constitution and all that we held sacred in democracy
and the excessiveness of Indira Gandhi to gag the media- writers-
political opponents? Tell me honesty why does Hussain expect this
Freedom when he himself did not support others with the same freedom
he wants? And the media has rushed to his rescue. Had it been a Ram
who painted such obnoxious, .degrading painting-the reactions of the
media and the elite ‘secularists’ would have been different; because
there is a different perception/and index of secularism when it comes
to Ram-and a different perception/and index of secularism when it
comes to Rahim/Hussain.
It brings back to my mind an episode that happened to The Hindu some
years ago.[1991]. You had a separate weekly page for children with
cartoons, quizzes, and with poems and articles of school children. In
one such weekly page The Hindu printed a venerable bearded man-fully
robed with head dress, mouthing some passages of the Koran-trying to
teach children .It was done not only in good faith but as a part of
inculcating values to children from the Koran. All hell broke loose.
Your office witnessed goons who rushed in-demanded an apology-held out
threats. In Ambur,Vaniambadi and Vellore the papers stands were burned-
the copies of The Hindu were consigned to the fire. A threat to raise
the issue in Parliament through a Private Members Bill was held out-
Hectic activities went on-I am not sure of the nature and the
machinations behind the scene. But The Hindu next day brought out a
public apology in its front page. Where were you Ram? How secular and
tolerant were the Muslims?
Well this is of the past-today it is worse because the communal
temperature in this country is at a all high-even a small friction can
ignite and demolition the country’s peace and harmony. It is against
this background that one should view Hussain who is bent on abusing
and insulting the Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Respect for religious
sentiments, need to maintain peace and harmony should also be part of
the agenda of an artist-if he is great. If it is absent then he cannot
say that he respects India and express his longing for India.
Let’s face it-he is a fugitive of law. Age and religion are
immaterial. What does the media want-that he be absolved by the
courts? Even for that he has to appear in the courts-he cannot run
away-After all this is the country where he lived and gave expression
to his pervert sadist, erotic artistic mind under Freedom of
Expression. I simply cannot jump into the bandwagon of the elite
‘secularist’ and uphold what he had done. With his brush he had
committed jihad-bloodletting.
The issue is just not nudity-Yes the temples-the frescos in Konarak
and Kajhuraho have nude figures-But does it say that they are Sita,
Sarswati or any goddesses? We have the Yoni and the Phallus as sacred
signs of Life-of Siva and Shakthi-take these icons to the streets,
paint them -give it a caption it become vulgar. Times have changed.
Even granted that our ancients sculptured and painted naked forms and
figures, with a pervert mind to demean religion is no license to
repeat that in today’s changed political and social scenario and is
not a sign of secularism and tolerance. I repeat there is no quarrel
with nudity-painters have time and again found in it the perfection of
God’s hand craft.
Let me wish Hussain peace in Qatar-the totalitarian regime with zero
tolerance May be he will convince the regime there to permit freedom
of expression in word, writing and painting. For this he could start
experimenting painting forms and figure of Mohamed the Prophet-and his
family And may I fervently wish that the media-especially The Hindu
does not discriminate goons-let it not substitute tolerance for
intolerance when it comes to Rahim and Antony and another index for
Ram.
I hope you will read this in the same spirit that I have written. All
the best to you Ram.
Dr Mrs Hilda Raja,
Vadodara
Let us congratulate Mrs. Raja for making a point so well. It is a lady
once again who has to come to the fore. It was Ms. Shobha De who had
exhibited great courage (I guess Ms. Simi Grewal too), though both of
them later chickened out, as they were being hounded out. It is a pity
that there was no man who supported them.
Coming back to this letter, it reads nice. However, being a very
cultured and a sensitive lady, Mrs. Raja has still minced words. She
has, in a very friendly note, merely pleaded with Mr. Ram to exhibit
reasonable fairness.
In my opinion, Mr. N. Ram, the chief editor of The Hindu is not just a
DF, he is a coward, national-cultural suicide inciting DF. Hypocrisy
is his art.
I also disagree with Mrs. Raja on her recommended constraint of
artistic freedom. I would rather request to articulate a principled
stand on the freedom of expression, which does not thwart truth.
Having been a contributor to the MSM (Main Stream Media), she must
surely be capable to doing this.
I also do not wish Hussain any peace in Qatar. May he be cut to
pieces! May not even these pieces not rest in peace!!
Posted by samAlochaka
1 comments:
Anonymous said...
It would be far better if people like Mrs. Raja would educate new and
budding writers about the prevailing hypocrisy in the media.
The Hindu has been secular for a far longer period, and it is strange
that Mrs. Raja is noticing it so late.
This is so typical of a hindu mindset. Being an activist upholding
idealism, making unlimited compromises, and then finally having seen
the dim light, exhibiting shock, amazement, and anger.
Every time there is a terror-attack, the political leaders shed
crocodile tears using the same technique.
What is far more important to decide what the future course of action
should be
It would be very kind of Mrs. Raja to express her forthright views on
this aspect.
March 5, 2010 4:17 AM
http://medsyn.blogspot.com/2010/03/question-of-who-artist-is-revisited.html
Media Syndicate
Essential News for educative purposes - A program of 'Education
Informal'
Friday, March 5, 2010
Bhyrappa echoes Mrs. Raja's thoughts in his comments on Hussein
Episode
Noted Kannada writer Mr. SL Bhyrappa has said that:
A section of the media had been commenting that the “banishment” of
the renowned artist M.F. Husain was a “national shame”. But how many
of Mr. Husain's paintings had reflected his views on the religion he
belonged to had remained to be clarified, he said.
Now this man is talking sense. Please recall that Mrs. Hilda Raja
expressed similar emotions when she wrote:
Nobody would have protested against the sexual perversion and his
orientatation to sexual signs and symbols. But would he dare to
caption it as ‘Fatima enjoying in Jannat with animals’?
and
Now that he is in a country that gives him complete freedom let him go
ahead and paint Fatima copulating with a lion or any other animal of
his choice. And then turn around and prove to India-the Freedom of
expression he enjoys in Qatar.
Now here is man who has echoed what a lady has said with due rational
consideration. Of course both of them arrived at their conclusions
independently.
Let us wish there are more and more of them saying more and more of
the same and sane things.
Posted by samAlochaka
http://medsyn.blogspot.com/2010/03/bhyrappa-echoes-mrs-rajas-thoughts-in.html
Media Syndicate
Essential News for educative purposes - A program of 'Education
Informal'
Monday, March 1, 2010
Who among these two are artists? MF Hussein or Tasleema Nasreen, or
both?
Ms. Taslima Nasreen is known to be an ardent critic of certain
practices in Islam. A Kannada translation of her article has sparked
violence leaving two persons dead and many injured. The news is here.
Now the question is, if MFH can paint whatever he wants to paint, why
can't Taslima write whatever she wants to write? And where is the Main
Stream Media, Ms. Sharmila Pataudi, The Artists of India, The
Government of India? Why aren't they expressing outrage and anger? All
of these are conspicuously absent, though their silence is eloquent.
Of course it was only yesterday that this happened. But I bet that the
whole of this bunch will remain silent.
I am anxiously waiting for the reaction of the BJP, and the RSS on
this. I surmise that the BJP and the RSS will advocate restraint in
artistic freedom lest it should hurt the sentiments of any section of
society. The MSM, The Government, The artists will term the publisher
of the translation and the translator as mischief monger and
antisocial elements. However, before they have opined, we can still
give them a small benefit of the doubt against all odds. However,
don't be disappointed if you are disappointed!
But don't forget to ask the question: Who among these two are artists?
MF Hussein or Tasleema Nasreen, or both?
Posted by samAlochaka
http://medsyn.blogspot.com/2010/03/who-among-these-two-are-artists-mf.html
The age of reason
Thursday , March 04, 2010 at 11 : 43
The Only Major Religion To Emerge in 20th Century. Watch Online
VideoAds by Google
What if freedom of speech is untouched and untainted by religion? Why
does freedom of speech and expression get challenged just at the
threshold where religion seems to rear its head? Why is Hindu or
Muslim way of life as distinct and separate from the bedrock that
constitutes way of life for the entire humanity?
Are we to assume Socrates did deserve a death he ordained for himself
for having spoken his mind. A mind that laid bare the arrogance and
sham of the powers-that-be. Was Plato wrong in disseminating his
guru's Republic? Was not Buddhism pushed out of this country for
having challenged the dominant religious thought process of the times
and having laid bare the chinks in its armour?
Should we leave Thackerays and Bhagwats of this world to interpret one
of the oldest religions for any one of us. If Husain is accused of
painting Hindu pantheon goddesses in nude, what degree and intensity
of religio-sexual freedom are we espousing lending ourselves to
worshipping the symbolic phallus grounded in a symbolic vagina in the
most detailed manner? Should not the practice be discontinued because
it rebels against our sense and sensibility? Faithfuls all over have
obviously devised better ways to appease their gods. But this one
takes the cake.
What harm would be brought upon a Muslim woman divorcee if the law of
the land grants her alumni as against a shariati adalat which imposes
primitive justice? Why should economically weaker sections of the
society, across religions, be denied benefits of reservation? Or are
they condemned to live a life coloured by caste and religious bias and
tainted by that ultimate bias - poverty? Did not those who claim to be
Aryans encroach on the rights of the native aboriginals when they
settled in India and claimed it to be their own land?
Did Shah Rukh deserve such an acrimony for what he said? Prove that he
is NOT a better Indian than you and me. Prove that Husain is not as
much an Indian as you and me. Prove that Indian Muslims deserve to
come under the right-wingers' swords because somebody planned and put
aflame innocent passengers on board a train or per chance a train
bogey caught fire. And because somebody's god of small things differs
in imagery than yours.
The onus to prove anything is on Raj Thackeray, Bal Thackeray, Modi,
bigoted religious preachers and on a government that takes pride in
tom-toming secularism but every so often is found weak-kneed in
tackling the slightest ho-hum by religious fundamentalists. The onus
to come out clean on our inconsiderate ways of interpreting 'us'
versus 'them,' on our own parochial ways of juxtaposing relationships
in the backdrop of our sustained ignorance lies very much on us as a
collective band that constitutes a society rather than on one Shah
Rukh Khan or a MF Husain. Because at the end of it all what we help
build is an impenetrable layer of fanaticism around us that does not
allow space for freedom of speech and expression.
For these are the same forces who will pin you down to a number game
because that is one domain they claim confidence of having an edge
over reason. If surveys could have delivered the country of all its
ills and controversies a grand Ram temple mounted with a gold-polished
Hindu-ite symbol jutting out of its structure would have been adorning
the Ayodhya sky right above the disputed site as the potent symbol of
militant Hinduism.
But for past two decades and more, society has precisely been hijacked
by the thought process of a political class defined by the RSS and its
'Hindutva' affiliates. For the Sangh Parivar, symbols of the Ramayana
as envisaged in Valmiki and Tulsi Ramayana are the unquestionable
symbols of faith which every 'Hindu worth his salt' must adhere and
propagate.
For the record though there are as many versions of Ramayana followed
across south and South-East Asian countries which put Ram and Ravana
in a different light than the characters described in Valmiki's
Ramayana. A Buddhist jataka (tale) of Ramayana projects Ram and Sita
as siblings. In a Thai version of the Ramayana, Hanuman is not a
celibate but far from it, he's quite a ladies man who loves to do a
peeping-Tom when in Lanka. Ravana, along with Ram is worshipped as a
great sage in Buddhist and Jain versions of the Ramayana. There are
certain versions of the Ramayana written from Sita's perspective who
claims victory over Ram. Jyotiba Phule, Periyar and Babasaheb Ambedkar
had a different take on Valmiki's Ramayana from a purely caste-based
angle. In their version Ram is more or less a symbol of upper caste
out to subjugate the original inhabitants of this great land.
The point in question is also not whether Husain could or should have
retained Indian citizenship. The issue is not about citizenship at all
and those harping on it, whether inadvertently or not, are playing in
the hands of those who espouse rabid sentiments. What if those brush
strokes were brought to fall on the canvas by a Hari Krishna than a
Husain. Would he still been forced into exile by our samaj and become
the object of abject hate. Or the same samaj would have treated him
differently because he belongs to majority faith. But again we already
have answered this double-speak years ago because we did not reserve
such sentiments for Husain's contemporary from the field of Hindustani
music going by the name of Pandit Ravi Shankar. No ho-hum was raised
when Ravi Shankar quietly settled in the US accusing the Indian
government of not recognising his achievements enough. But Panditji
was conferred the Bharat Ratna soon enough. He has been living in the
US past over two decades, and now only visits India along with his
daughter Anoushka, purportedly to establish her in a land that gave
him international fame and considered him as one of its 'Ratnas'. But
when Husain takes up Qatari citizenship his faith is questioned and
being brought in direct clash with civilisational pundits.
What kind of democratic liberalism and inclusiveness are we professing
that feeds on suspicion and gets threatened by a mere brush stroke.
Inclusive development is all about taking the path of reason. It is
about all-round sahishundta ( tolerance ) - a trait eroding,
unfortunately, at a speed faster than opening a software fired by
Windows 7. We will but only have ourselves to blame for its
extinction, much as the falling count of tigers in India.
Clarification from Anoushka Shankar pertaining to the above post:
1. My father has never taken citizenship anywhere outside of India
though he has been offered it his whole life!
2. He "visits" India every year despite the health risks posed to him
here to "establish" the music centre he has sweated blood to build on
his own private funding and which he chose to build in India and not
abroad. So while I'm totally against the fuss about Husainji and think
it's ridiculous, I don't think my father should be inaccurately
dragged into this.
Posted by Prabhat Shunglu
Total Comments: 1
Posted 2010-03-04 14:53:44 : By ibrahimrasool
Hello Prabhat,
Its true that some fanatics are going overboard in reacting to
critique or offbeat views on their religion. Its saddening that two
civilians have been killed in some orchestrated protests in Karnataka
in response to the publication of an article purportedly written by
Tasleema Nasreen. The fundamentalists behind these protests should be
vehemently condemned.
But at the same time, we should not fail to identify malafide attacks
on religious beliefs. We can not give a free chit to anyone who, in
the guise of creative thinking, spews slur on religion.
Anyone who wants to critictize religion should go the extra mile and
explain to the public the honest intentions behind their criticisms.
Today in this digital era, there is a variety of media for one to
express his views and substantially justify the same. They should not
dare to think that they can attack any faith indiscriminately and then
take refuge in the clout of progressive thinkers.
If they do so, then they can't expect any sympathy from public if they
are outsmarted by their fanatic counterparts.
Whatever be the intentions of MF Hussain, Rushdie or Tasleema Nasreen,
they failed to explain their good intentions to the public at large.
And we faithfuls hate to see someone abusing our religion.
Head-On
Prabhat Shunglu
Prabhat has been a journalist for the last 19 years. Began his career
as a cub reporter with The Statesman before moving on to The Pioneer
and The Times of India. Was a member of the core team of reporters
that helped launch 24-hour news channel Aaj Tak. Extensively reported
from war zones of Kargil, Afghanistan and Iraq. Covered national and
Assembly elections in J&K, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Punjab and
Madhya Pradesh. And disasters like Gujarat earthquake. Headed the
North India bureau of Star News. Currently, Editor-Special Assignments
with IBN7.
Previous Posts
+ The Sangh Parivar and the 'Ajit' factor
http://ibnlive.in.com/blogs/prabhatshunglu/2416/53573/the-sangh-parivar-and-the-ajit-factor.html
+ Kaun Banega Pradhanmantri: Cracking the political Sudoku
+ Reel nahi, apun ko real Gandhigiri maangta!
+ Advani out, Varun is the new star on BJP horizon
http://ibnlive.in.com/blogs/prabhatshunglu/2416/53285/advani-out-varun-is-the-new-star-on-bjp-horizon.html
http://ibnlive.in.com/blogs/prabhatshunglu/2416/61604/the-age-of-reason.html
Editorial
Political maturity
Thursday, March 4, 2010 23:23 IST
There is an ongoing case at the Bombay High Court which should serve
as an exemplar for political protests across the nation. In January
2009, a group apparently led by Shiv Sena MLA Sitaram Dalvi caused
some damage to a hotel in Mumbai after a labour dispute went wrong.
Dalvi was fined about Rs8 lakh. The police identified Dalvi because he
wrote a letter to the police asking permission to use a loudspeaker.
Dalvi is now contesting the fine, claiming that the courts should
approach his party leader Bal Thackeray to pay the fine as he has paid
Rs2 lakh and cannot pay any more.
The question of damage to property by political workers has now
started to bother the judiciary in India. For a long time, it was seen
as a legitimate form of protest and most parties just expected either
the government of the day or the private citizen to put up with the
damage. In some way, this was a legacy of our colonial past where
freedom fighters were ranged against a foreign alien power.
However, that argument has not been viable for the past 60 odd years.
The government belongs to all of us — so in some sense, political
vandals expect us to pay for their irresponsible behaviour. And
private citizens also have rights in a free and independent India.
Both these facts have dawned on us only in recent times and the courts
and the local administration have both refused to turn a blind eye to
damage caused by political protestors.
The Mumbai case once again underlines the need for political maturity
in India. We need to find ways to have disagreements which do not
descend into violence. The recent disturbances in Karnataka where some
members of the Muslim community objected to an alleged article by
exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen — which she has denied
writing — sadly led to deaths and to damage. The violent reaction
after allegations of sexual misconduct by godman Nithyananda Swami in
Tamil Nadu is another example of quickly things can get out of hand.
This court case against the Shiv Sena leader in Mumbai serves as a
salutary lesson to political parties accustomed to using destruction
and turmoil as bullying tactics. The people, the judiciary and the
administration have seen through their bluff. By hitting back where it
hurts people the most — in their pocket — the courts may well have
found the way to instil some discipline into the formally
irrepressible.
http://www.dnaindia.com/opinion/editorial_political-maturity_1355367
Bhosle on Mumbai: Uddhav lashes out at Raj
Padmanabha Venugopal
First Published : 04 Mar 2010 03:21:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 04 Mar 2010 02:15:38 PM IST
MUMBAI: The browbeating between the two estranged cousins espousing
the Marthi manoos cause continued to hit the headlines in Maharashtra
with their bitter succession battle being fought in the people’s
court.
On Wednesday, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray
criticised MNS chief Raj Thackeray and said that those present at the
Pune function should have reacted to singer Asha Bhosale’s remark that
Mumbai belonged to all Indians.
The MNS chief was among the guests at the cultural evening organised
by a Marathi television channel.
Raj, who spoke after Asha at the function, did not react to the views
expressed by the singer.
However, they were seen exchanging views after the function and it was
not clear what transpired between the two.
Shiv Sena and its head Bal Thackeray had met with widespread protests
for criticising cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and Reliance chairman
Mukesh Ambani similar comments.
Comments Ppl who comments on Raj Thackarey should first learn, write &
speak marathi ant then should give rest of explanations.............
By sudesh
3/5/2010 10:49:00 PM
Throw out all religion people from maharahtra who can't speak in
marathi.........................
By bhakti
3/5/2010 10:41:00 PM
Raj Thackarey will be the Emperor of Maharashtra in coming future
By rajesh
3/5/2010 10:37:00 PM
Raj Thackarey will be the Emperor of Maharashtra in coming future
By rajesh
3/5/2010 10:37:00 PM
Mumbai belongs only to maharahtra & MARATHI MANOOS
By swapnil
3/5/2010 10:31:00 PM
Personal views should always be welcomed, there no need to react so
violently to what one says, there's a right of expression for all the
people across India. If one side says something then the other side
cant be stopped to speak up on the same topic differently. It's called
code of conduct in humanity. All the time criticizing and raising up
voice against who so ever doesnt favour you is wrong.
By Sayoni
3/4/2010 9:52:00 AM
Dear Thakerays, Shun regional feelings. Let us make India great in the
eyes of world. You people should become national leaders and not mere
regional leaders. Do not restrict yourselves to only Mumbai. There is
huge world outside Mumbai. B. Raghunath Rao
By B. Raghunath Rao
3/4/2010 8:37:00 AM
bademiyansubhanallah
chhotemianinshallah
Islam, Rights, and the History of Kashmir
Mridu Rai
Paper | 2004 | $28.95
320 pp. | 5 x 8
Paper $20.00
Full Text of this book, thanks to the Google.
http://books.google.com/books/princeton?hl=en&q=Hindu+Rulers%2C+Muslim+Subjects%3A&vid=ISBN9780691116884&btnG.x=15&btnG.y=10#v=snippet&q=Hindu%20Rulers%2C%20Muslim%20Subjects%3A&f=false
Disputed between India and Pakistan, Kashmir contains a large majority
of Muslims subject to the laws of a predominantly Hindu and
increasingly "Hinduized" India. How did religion and politics become
so enmeshed in defining the protest of Kashmir's Muslims against Hindu
rule? This book reaches beyond standard accounts that look to the 1947
partition of India for an explanation. Examining the 100-year period
before that landmark event, during which Kashmir was ruled by Hindu
Dogra kings under the aegis of the British, Mridu Rai highlights the
collusion that shaped a decisively Hindu sovereignty over a subject
Muslim populace. Focusing on authority, sovereignty, legitimacy, and
community rights, she explains how Kashmir's modern Muslim identity
emerged.
Rai shows how the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir was formed as
the East India Company marched into India beginning in the late
eighteenth century. After the 1857 rebellion, outright annexation was
abandoned as the British Crown took over and princes were incorporated
into the imperial framework as junior partners. But, Rai argues,
scholarship on other regions of India has led to misconceptions about
colonialism, not least that a "hollowing of the crown" occurred
throughout as Brahman came to dominate over King. In Kashmir the Dogra
kings maintained firm control. They rode roughshod over the interests
of the vast majority of their Kashmiri Muslim subjects, planting the
seeds of a political movement that remains in thrall to a religiosity
thrust upon it for the past 150 years.
Review:
"Rai's contribution lies in the extremely thorough and painstaking
documentation that she provides when tracing the marginalization of
the native inhabitants of Kahmir, the chicanery of the British, and
the fecklessness of the Dogra rulers. Her account of the growth of
Muslim religio-political consciousness in the early part of the
twentieth century . . . unearths a wealth of detail. . . . Rai's book
is a useful one. Those interested in understanding the background of
the continuing tragedy in Kahmir will find much to consider in her
substantial account of the historical backdrop."--Sumit Ganguly,
Journal of Asian Studies
Endorsements:
"Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects is a brilliant work of historical
scholarship that will become indispensable reading for all those
interested in the modern history and politics of the subcontinent. It
a pioneering historical study of rights, religion, and regional
identity in Kashmir that could also inspire future studies on other
regions of the subcontinent."--Sugata Bose, Harvard University
"This is a major contribution to Kashmir studies and should set the
standard for the next generation of publications on Kashmir.
Challenging the existing literature, this work is heady and fresh--and
deserves attention."--Alexander Evans, King's College London and the
Royal Institute of International Affairs
"Mridu Rai's book reminds us powerfully of the crucial importance of
colonial history to the present. She is able to de-essentialize
religion and secularism in the Kashmir conflict, which is very useful
in light of India's secularist claims and the ways in which some
sociologists have theorized those claims. Carefully researched and
lucidly conceptualized and written, this book forwards an important
thesis on an important topic."--Peter van der Veer, University of
Amsterdam
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements x
Abbreviations xii
Introduction 1
CHAPTER 1: Territorializing Sovereignity: The Dilemmas of Control and
Collaboration 18
CHAPTER 2: The Consolidation of Dogra Legitimacy in Kashmir: Hindu
Rulers and a Hindu State 80
CHAPTER 3: The Obligations of Rulers and the Rights of Subjects 128
CHAPTER 4: Contested Sites: Religious Shrines and the Archaeological
Mapping of Kashmiri Muslim Protest 183
CHAPTER 5: Political Mobilization in Kashmir: Religious and Regional
Identities 224
Conclusion 288
Glossary 298
Bibliography 305
Index 319
Book Review
Mridu Rai. Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects: Islam, Rights, and the
History of Kashmir. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 2004. Pp.
xi, 335. Cloth $65.00, paper $22.50.
Chitralekha Zutshi. Languages of Belonging: Islam, Regional Identity,
and the Making of Kashmir. New York: Oxford University Press. 2004.
Pp. xvi, 359. $35.00.
Ever since the India-Pakistan near war of 2001–2002, we have been
subject to an incessant flow of words on the Kashmir conflict. Sadly,
this deluge has done little to enhance our knowledge of the subject.
Bar changing the odd adjectives, adding a little detail, or inserting
the views of the proverbial man on the street, little has been added
to Sumit Ganguly's Crisis in Kashmir: Portents of War, Prospects of
Peace (1997) or Victoria Schofield's Kashmir in Conflict: India,
Pakistan, and the Unending War (2000). Two new histories have been
widely applauded for constituting a happy break with this dismal
tradition. Little attention has been paid, however, to the
considerable theoretical and empirical problems presented by Mridu
Rai's and Chitralekha Zutshi's books. 1
Both Rai and Zutshi deal with a critical period in the history
of Jammu and Kashmir: the century of Dogra monarchical rule that
preceded the independence of India and Pakistan, and the division of
the state between the two powers in the course of the war of 1947. It
was in this period that the welter of territories that constitute
modern Kashmir were welded together under a single power, a
consequence of Britain's handing over of the region to Maharaja Gulab
Singh, a prince who sided with the empire's war of conquest against
the Sikh kingdom of Lahore. Like the other semi-independent states of
princely India, Kashmir witnessed a constant struggle for influence
between the monarchy and the imperial government. It was to become the
site of a number of other contestations: of monarch against democrat;
of empire against nationalist; of Hindu against Muslim; of peasant
against landlord. 2
Rai sees this century as one in which a "Hindu State" was
formed, the consequence of the Dogra monarchy's search for legitimacy.
Lacking any real basis for its sovereignty over the peoples whose
destinies it now controlled, it responded by inventing a history in
which the Dogra dynasty represented both the Hindu faith and Rajput
martial tradition. Rai maps this process by carefully documenting the
Dogra monarchy's growing control of Hindu religious practice in
Kashmir, notably through state-controlled trusts. Since the state was
Hindu in character, Rai concludes, "religion and politics became
inextricably intertwined in defining and expressing the protest of
Kashmiri Muslims against their rulers" (pp. 16–17). 3
Zutshi arrives at similar conclusions, but with considerably
more attention to nuance and detail. Her study of the workings of
Dogra rule suggests the need for a careful examination of what, if
any, meaning the notion of a "Hindu state" may have actually had to
contemporaries. There was, Zutshi's narrative suggests, no unilinear
project of Hinduization under the Dogras; rather, there were complex
and fluid processes of collaboration and conflict among various
categories of elites, both Hindu and Muslim. Kashmir's small Brahmin
community, the Pandits, whom Rai sees as key collaborators of the
Dogra project, emerge at least one point in Zutshi's book as its most
bitter opponents. Notions of a homogeneous Kashmiri Muslim identity,
Zutshi's analysis suggests, need to be tempered by an understanding of
the working of caste, class, and ideology.
Customer Review
The Challenging Natures of Kashmir, May 25, 2007
By T. Dodge
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
"Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects" covers the macro historical, social,
religious, and political highlights in Kashmir from about 1840 to
1950. It is a fascinating view into a world far distant but fearfully
close as two modern nuclear armed adversaries seek domination over the
mystical lands of Kashmir. This is a book of essential preliminary
understandings to the current situation in the region and of the
volumes I have encountered is the best. I hope the author contemplates
another book dealing with the post 1947 era. For those seeking recent
political happenings, I suggest "Kashmir" by Sumantra Bose.
http://www.amazon.com/review/R1TLIUMBUTBR1D
Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects: Islam, Rights, and the History of
Kashmir
by Mridu Rai
maryum's review
excellent book!!! really worthwhile reading and very meticulous
research on the impact of colonialism on kashmir. one of the few books
that looks at the kashmiri conflict from the perspective of the
kashmiris and not as a pawn in an india-pakistan chess match.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/370620
Paper $20.00
31% off regular price
Paper: $28.95 ISBN13: 978-0-691-11688-4
File created: 10/18/2009
Questions and comments to: webm...@press.princeton.edu
Princeton University Press
Mainstream Weekly
Mainstream, Vol XLV, No 38
Book Review: ’The Hindu-Muslim Divide : A Fresh Look by Amrik Singh’
Sunday 9 September 2007
[(BOOK REVIEW)]
The Hindu-Muslim Divide : A Fresh Look by Amrik Singh; Vitasta
Publishing Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi; 2007; pp. XIV+238; Rs 345.
It is ironic that around the time we are celebrating 60 years of
India’s independence, the subject under discussion here is the Hindu-
Muslim divide, instead of it being harmony between members of
different communities in our free country. But one has to face the
facts and hence this discourse.
The author of the book under review, Dr Amrik Singh, starts it with a
painful note: “As generally recognised, the Hindu-Muslim divide has
existed in India for about thousand years. The partition of India into
India and Pakistan in 1947 was the latest instalment in this
longstanding dispute.” (p. 3) But soon he sounds a note of optimism:
“But one thing is clear that, despite signals to the contrary, the two
warring communities are nearer an understanding with each other than
ever before.” No convincing reason is provided for the optimistic
note, and the author goes further and adds that the situation is
likely to change in about half a century or more (what a satisfying
thought!), even though it is stated: “In these matters, no one can be
precise.”
It is not very easy to agree with the author’s assertion about the
thousand year old Hindu-Muslim divide. For, India is known for its
composite culture, and quite a good part of the last thousand years
have been known to be marked by considerable harmony with some
aberrations. But aberrations are at times unavoidable and even the
intra-community conflicts and divisive trends have been there in the
concerned groups. When the Pakistani leader, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto,
during the more fanatic phase of his political life (something the
author makes a reference to) had talked about a thousand year war, his
bravado had the future in mind.
One would, in fact, like to go back to much older times, than the last
thousand years. It may be pointed out that composite culture had been
the feature of India even before the beginning of the first century
AD. The contributing influences all these years had been the teachings
of Gautam Buddha, the Vedic and Vedantic ideals of tolerance and
spiritual values, the disarming qualities of the Sufi value and the
noble sentiments of the Bhakti movement, and, more recently, the
thoughts of personalities like Swami Vivekananda, Maulana Azad, Altaf
Husain Hali and those believing in secular ideals among other factors.
While the commingling of Sufi and Bhakti ideals is an extremely
cherished heritage of the past, the state of confrontation, in recent
times, one has to admit, between the campaign of Tableegh and Shuddhi
(mentioned by the author while stating the effort of Hinduism for
‘semitisation’) (p. 132) is a tragic episode in our saga of composite
culture : like a bad dream one would perhaps like to forget.
EVEN without agreeing fully with the basic statement of the author
with regard to a thousand year old divide one would like to praise him
for covering the subject of Hindu-Muslim divide in a very
comprehensive manner particularly in the recent past. Dr Amrik Singh
has covered the entire ground by recounting how the spirit of mutual
understanding and conciliation gave way to conflict between the
Muslims and Hindus. Much discussion is available about the factors
responsible for this conflict leading to the partition of the country
along with its independence, the roles of leaders of the two
communities during those traumatic years and, indeed, the shape this
conflict has taken in today’s India.
The book is in the form of notes on different subjects relevant to its
theme, probably written at different points of time. But it contains a
wealth of information on the nature and cause of the divide—the
machinations of the British rulers, the folly of partition, the
practice of separate electorates, and even the complexities of adult
franchise and a joint electorate, the polarisation between the two
communities, the present concept of Hindutva and many other factors
that the author has painstakingly gone into. The author has laid great
emphasis on the need for pluralism and for a policy “in the direction
of reducing the Hindu-Muslim divide and work towards what has been
described as pluralism,” as he puts it.
Dr Amrik Singh has given some very perceptive opinions of acknowledged
experts on Hinduism and Islam, some approvingly while others with his
note of critique. Consider the quote from the eminent historian, Prof.
M. Habib (whom he describes as the “tallest historian of medieval
India”):
A Hindu feels it is his duty to dislike those whom he has been taught
to consider the enemies of his religion and his ancestors; the Muslim,
lured into the false belief that he was once a member of a ruling
race, feels insufferably wronged by being relegated to the status of a
minority community. Fools both! Even if the Muslims eight centuries
ago were as bad as they were painted, would there be any sense in
holding the present generation responsible for their deeds? It is but
an imaginative tie that joins the modern Hindu with Harshvardhana or
Asoka, or the modern Muslim with Shahabuddin or Mahmud.
“That these words were written several years after the partition makes
them even more relevant than they would have been otherwise,” says Dr
Amrik Singh and every rightly. (p. 200) Members of both the
communities can gain from introspecting in the light of the late
historians’ observation.
At another place, the author quotes Girilal Jain who, according to
him, “apart from being a leading journalist, was a keen student of
Hinduism”: Unlike the Muslims, the Hindus do not possess a vision of
the future, which is rooted in the past for a variety of reasons, one
of them being that, unlike the Muslims, they have not been able to
invent a golden age which can be located in any kind of history and
that they cannot invent one. While, they would, if challenged, vaguely
own up all Indian history up to the beginning of the Muslim invasions
of north India in the 11th century, they do not identify themselves
with any particular period. Indeed, they have little sense of history.
So how can they have a golden age and how can a people without such a
sense engage in revivalism? What can they seek to revive? Hinduism is
an arbitrary imposition on a highly variegated civilisation, which is
truly oceanic in its range. Such a civilisation cannot be enclosed in
a narrow doctrine. It cannot have a central doctrine because in its
majestic sweep it takes up all that comes its way and adapts it to its
over-widening purpose, rejecting finally what is wholly alien and
cannot be accommodated at all. Attempts have been made to build
embankments around this ocean-like reality to give it a shape and
definition. But these have not succeeded. The spirit of India has
refused to be contained. To put it differently, Hinduism has refused
to be organised. By the same token, it has refused to be communalised.
(p. 135)
Amrik Singh reacts to Jain’s stipulations: “While it is true that
Hinduism has refused to be organised and it has refused to be
communalised, how is it that today we witness what Nehru once
described as ‘non-Muslim aggression among Muslims’?” The author says
that this phrase of Nehru occurs in one of his letters addressed to
the Chief Ministers after the police action in Hyderabad.
IN the context of the Hindutva philosophy, it would be relevant to
consider the following quote from the late K.R. Malkani who became
known as the Editor of the RSS mouthpiece, Organiser, and an ideologue
of the Bharatiya Janata Party:
The Muslim Indian should realise that Hinduism is not a religion, but
a culture. That he is Muslim by religion but Hindu by culture. Let
Indonesia with its Muslim religion and native Hindu culture be the
model for the Muslim in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. (p. 138)
Malkani’s prescription is not possible, says Amrik Singh, either in
terms of physical or political considerations or in terms of their
historical evolution. “While Hinduism has a hoary tradition behind it,
the pre-Islamic traditions in Indonesia are not even clearly defined.”
Incidentally, at the time of writing this review a mammoth gathering
of Muslim men and women with hijab (about 100,000) including scholars
and religious leaders from different parts of the world, is
deliberating in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, in search of ways to
establish a single Muslim government in the Islamic world (on the
ideals of Khilafat-e-Islamia) largely at the initiative of a group of
Indonesian Muslims. But that is another story that needs to be
considered in its own context.
The author feels that the effort to remove the present divide has
largely to be on the part of the Congress party. The removal of the
divide is linked with economic and political development of the
country. He says, “The Congress—currently in power—owes it to the
Muslims to bring them at par with others and thereafter involve them
in the process of development, both economic and political. The
Congress also has the further obligation to help the Muslims to draw
abreast of others socially.” (p. 191)
The author says that in seeking to separate from India, they (the
Muslims) followed a path which culminated in the partition of India in
1947. In the ultimate analysis that was a mistake, which Jinnah and
those who followed him had made. “Since the kind of Islamic future
that the Muslims of the subcontinent had aspired for themselves is
running into problem, sooner or later the thinking of the Muslim world
will make them learn from experience and come to terms with the
changed reality. But when? It is difficult to answer this question,”
the author says.
The author is of the view that the solution to the Hindu-Muslim divide
is linked, to a great extent, with the normalisation of relations
between India and Pakistan. The problem in India cannot be isolated
from the problem in Pakistan. The triumph of fundamentalism will be
bad for Indian Muslims as well. An end to confrontation would help
remove the divide in India, he says.
What, according to the author, is the prospect of the Hindu-Muslim
divide disappearing?—one may ask. He talks very enthusiastically of an
Indian version of globalisation. This globalisation is the result of a
“new mix of policies”, that are going to help all Indians including
Muslims.
He states: What has made it easier for India to adjust to the changing
world relatively more easily is partly because Hinduism is more
adjustable to the logic of the contemporary idea of development. If
India succeeds in this experiment, as seems to be happening, the
Indian Muslims too can before long, become a part of this experiment.
Currently, they are somewhat estranged from the mainstream. (p. 225)
Dr Amrik Singh would want the Indian Government to push ahead
vigorously with the spread of education and the Indian Muslims to give
evidence of some “political initiative” and “political maturity”.
According to the author, the confrontation with the United States now
“...is partly coming in the way of the Islamic world breaking with her
past”. If the US were not so confrontationist, he says, things in the
Islamic world would to some extent start changing, “sooner than is
happening at the moment”. According to him, India’s role in this
context is “positive, if not also praiseworthy”. And, India’s version
of globalisation can prompt others, even those in the Islamic world,
to move in that direction.
Dr Amrik Singh feels that if what is stated above happens, the “Hindu-
Muslim divide in India will gradually weaken”. More than that, he
says, this would give rise to “a new era in world history in more than
one sense”. What happens in India, according to him, would be of
considerable historical significance. “Indeed, it can also prove to be
a development of a wider economic and cultural significance.” Amen!
The reviewer, a veteran journalist who worked for several years in
Mainstream, currently edits the periodical Alpjan.
http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article302.html
Mainstream Weekly
Mainstream, Vol XLVI No 28
Day One in Calcutta
Monday 30 June 2008, by From NC’s Writings
Ten years ago, in the afternoon of June 27, 1998, Nikhil Chakravartty
breathed his last. Remembering him after 10 years, we are reproducing
some of his finest reports, editorials and articles that appeared in
this journal and elsewhere over the last sixty years. We are also
reproducing the speech that our former President, K.R. Narayanan,
delivered while unveiling N.C.’s portrait at the Press Council of
India (New Delhi, February 28, 1999), and publishing several
reminiscences by those who knew him intimately.
The following report by Nikhil Chakravartty, the Calcutta
correspondent of People’s Age (published from Bombay), appeared in the
weekly’s August 24, 1947 issue (it was wired from Calcutta on August
17, 1947) under the following headlines : ‘End of a Nightmare and
Birth of New Dawn!’; ‘Calcutta Transformed by Spirit Of Independence’;
‘Hindus, Muslims Hug Each Other In Wild Joy—Tears Roll Down Where
Blood Once Soaked The Streets’.
Frenzy has overtaken Calcutta. It is a frenzy which no city in India
has ever felt through the long years of thraldom under the British.
When the clock struck midnight and Union Jacks were hauled down on
August 15, 1947, the city shook to her very foundations for a mad
frenzy overtook her 40 lakh citizens. Nothing like this has ever
happened before.
I have racked my brains for hours; I have looked up all despatches in
the Press; but still I find no adequate words to communicate the
unforgettable experience that has overwhelmed me in the last three
days. It is like a sudden bursting of a mighty dam: you hear a
deafening roar of water sweeping away everything in the flood. It
comes with a crushing suddenness and strikes with the strength of a
thousand giants.
That is how all of us in Calcutta have felt in the last few days—all
of us, old or young, man or woman, Hindu or Muslim, rich or poor. In
this mighty sweep of the flood none was spared. And the floods carried
off a lot of dirt and stigma of our slavery.
Calcutta is Reborn
ONE hundred and ninety years ago, it was from Calcutta that Clive set
out of conquer this land of ours and it was this city which was the
seat of all his vile intrigues that divided our ranks and brought
about our defeat. But today in the sweeping torrent of freedom all
that has been wiped away, and once again this beloved city of ours
stands out clean and full of radiance with the glow of lasting
brotherhood.
Everybody felt nervous about August 15. Weeks ahead authorities were
on tenterhooks; more police and military were being posted to ensure
peace. Ministers would not permit meetings in the open to celebrate
the transfer of power, afraid that the goondas might create trouble.
East Bengal Hindus were nervous that one little spark in Calcutta
might throw the entire province into the flames of a civil war;
Muslims were panicky that they might be finished off in Calcutta and
many had left the city.
Gandhiji had already moved his camp to one of the most affected areas—
Belliaghata—and cancelling his East Bengal trip, had decided to spend
a few days here with Suhrawardy. But even he was disturbed by rowdy
goondas, backed by communal groups, accusing him of being an enemy of
Hindus. News from the Punjab was bad. On the whole an uncanny fear
gripped everybody and the day of independence seemed like a deadline
for disturbances.
But how wrong were our calculations! With all our pretensions of
knowing our people, with all the prophecies and warnings, bans and
precautions, no one really knew how the people—common men and women
among both Hindus and Muslims—would come forward to celebrate August
15. It was this unknown factor, which in every turn of history is the
determining factor, that has made all the difference in our
calculations and the actual happenings on that day.
People’s preparations for the celebrations of the day went on briskly,
though imperceptibly. The demand for Tri-colours knew no bounds;
whatever be the material, whatever the make, every flag was literally
sold out. Even the poorest of the poor, coolie, scavenger or rickshaw-
puller, bought the Jhanda. In paras and mohallas boys and girls were
getting ready practising drills or formations, organising Prabhat
Pheris. Party differences, personal bickerings, etc. were forgotten.
Discordant voices there were, but they did not matter. Mahasabha first
raised the slogan of black flags, but then piped down and declared non-
participation. But all the prestige of Shyamaprosad could not make any
impression on the very people whom he had swayed during the Partition
campaign.
Forward Bloc and Tagorites also opposed the celebration on the ground
that real freedom was yet to be won. But despite the fact that
thousands of Bengali homes paid homage to Netaji that day hardly a
handful abstained from participation. Every school, factory, office,
every home—be it a mansion or a bustee—awaited the great day with
hearts full of jubilation.
As the zero hour approached, the city put on a changed appearance. On
the streets, people were busy putting up flags and decorating
frontage. Gates were set up at important crossings, bearing names of
our past titans like Ashoka or our martyrs in the freedom movement.
The atmosphere was tense; should there be a new round of stabbings or
shootings among brothers, or should there be return to peace and
normalcy?
All Barriers Broken
THE first spontaneous initiative for fraternisation came from Muslim
bustees and was immediately responded to by Hindu bustees. It was
Calcutta’s poor toilers, especially Muslims, who opened the floodgate,
and none could have dreamt of what actually took place.
Muslim boys clambered up at Chowringhee and shouted, “Hindu-Muslim ek
ho” and exhorted the driver to take them to Bhowanipore. But the
driver would not risk that and so they came up to the border only.
But then all of a sudden in the very storm-centres of most gruesome
rioting of the past year—Raja Bazar, Sealdah, Kalabagan, Colootolah,
Burra Bazar—Muslims and Hindus ran across the frontiers and hugged
each other in wild joy. Tears rolled down where once blood had soaked
the pavements. “Jai Hind”, “Vande Mataram”, “Allah-ho-Akbar” and above
all renting the sky “Hindu-Muslim ek ho”.
Curfews were ignored; men rushed out on the streets, danced, clasped
and lifted each other up. It was all like a sudden end of a nightmare,
the birth of a glorious dawn.
As midnight approached, crowds clustered round every radio set and
Jawaharlal’s ringing words sent a thrill round every audience,
“Appointed day has come —the day appointed by destiny..”
With the stroke of midnight, conch-shells blew in thousands, conch-
shells blown by our mothers and sisters from the innermost corners of
our homes—for the call of freedom has reached every nook and corner.
And with the conch-shells were heard the crack of rifles and bursting
of bombs and crackers. The very arms that were stored so long to kill
off brothers were being used to herald the coming of freedom.
A torchlight procession started in North Calcutta. Tram workers, in
all spontaneity, brought out a couple of trams crowded with Hindus to
the Nakhoda mosque and were feted by Muslims with food and drink. In
Burra Bazar, Muslims were treated the same way and all embraced one
another. Hardly anybody slept that night—the night choked with
passionate emotions welling up in so many ways.
As the morning came the city was already full of excitment and
pavements were thronged with people. Prabhat Pheris came out singing
songs of the national struggle. Boys and girls marched through the
streets with bands and bugles—bright and smart, free citizens of
tomorrow.
Flag salutations in every park, in every school and office. Buses
plied free, giving joy rides to thousands. Trams announced that all
their returns would be sent for relief. And they ran till late at
night along all mixed routes which were closed for the past year.
At the Government House, our own Government was to unfurl the
Tricolour, but invitees were confined to Burra Sahibs and officials,
the rich and elite, Ministers and Legislators. They came in big cars,
many with their wives dressed in all their fashionable clothes.
Government House—People’s Property
COMMON people, those that have made freedom possible, they too came in
thousands, but they were kept outside, beyond the huge iron gates. Why
must this be so? Why must this occasion be celebrated in the way the
White Sahibs have done so long?
I watched that crowd growing restless every minute and found among
them the very faces that you come across in the streets every day or
at the market or in your own home: babu, coolie, student, Professor,
young girl and shy wife—all jostling with each other, impatient at
being kept out. Sikh, Muslim, Bhayya and Bhadralok clamoured for the
gates to be opened and when that was not done, they themselves burst
into the spacious grounds and ran up towards the Governor’s stately
mansion.
The burst into the rooms much to the annoyance of the officials and
perhaps also of the marble busts of many of the White rulers that have
never been disturbed in their majesty.
For hours they thronged there, thousands over thousands of them,
shoving out many of the ICS bosses. But it would be a slander to say
that they were unruly. How little did they touch or damage? Had they
been unruly, as somebody had reported to Gandhiji, the whole place
would have been a wreck in no time.
They went there for they felt that it was one of their own leaders who
had been installed as their Governor. And when the annoyed officials
ran up to Rajaji to complain to him about the crowd swarming into the
rooms, C.R., it is reported, replied: “But what can I do? It is their
own property. How can I prevent them from seizing it?”
The sense of triumph, of pride that we have come to our own could be
seen in the faces that entered the portals of the Government House. It
is symptomatic of August 15 no doubt. For though there were
restrictions and curtailments to real freedom in the elaborate plans
the Dominion Status, the people—the common humanity that teems our land
—have taken this day to mean that that have won and no amount of
restrictions will bar the way, just as no policeman could stop the
surging crowd that broke into the Government House.
Outside, all over the city, houses seemed to have emptied out into the
streets, lorries came in hundreds, each packed precariously beyond
capacity; lorries packed with Hindus and Muslims, men and women.
Streets were blocked and the people themselves volunteered to control
traffic.
Rakhi Bandhan Again
LORRY-LOADS of Muslim National Guards crammed with Gandhi-capped young
Hindu boys shouted themselves hoarse “Jai Hind”, “Hindu-Muslim ek ho”.
Somebody in Bhowanipore waved a League flag under a Tri-colour. What a
sight and what a suspense. But the days of hate were over and all
shouted together, “Hindu-Muslim ek ho!”
A batch of Hindu ladies went to Park Circus to participate in the flag
hoisting. They tied rakhi (strings of brotherly solidarity made famous
during Swadeshi days) round the wrists of Muslim National Guards. And
the Muslim boys said, “May we be worthy brothers!”
Hindu families, quiet and timid Bhadralok families, came in hundreds
to visit Park Circus with their wives and children in tikka gharries
piled by Muslims. Muslims, well-to-do and poor, visited Burra Bazar,
and Ballygunge in endless streams. And this was going on all these
three days.
They are all going to paras or mohallas they had to leave or where
they had lost their near and dear ones. Today there is no area more
attractive and more crowded than the very spots where the worst
butcheries had taken place. As if to expiate for the sins of the last
one year, Hindus and Muslims of Calcutta vied with each other to
consecrate their city with a new creed of mighty brotherhood.
On the evening of August 16, one year back, I sent you a despatch
which could describe but inadequately the mad lust for fratricidal
blood that had overtaken Calcutta that day. To mark the anniversary of
that day I visited the crowded parts of Hindu Burra Bazar and the
Muslim Colootola where in this one year hardly anyone passed alive
when spotted by the opposite community. But this evening Muslims were
the guests of honour at Burra Bazar and Hindus, as they visited
Colootola, were drenched with rose-water and attar and greeted with
lusty cheers of “Jai Hind”.
On the very evening, at Park Circus, was held a huge meeting of Hindus
and Muslims. Suhrawardy, J.C. Gupta, MLA, and Bhowani Sen spoke. It
was here that Suhrawardy asked the Muslims to go and implore the
evicted Hindus to come back to Park Circus.
At Belliaghata, Gandhiji’s presence itself has brought back hundreds
of Muslim families who had to leave in terror of their lives only a
few weeks back. And Gandhiji’s prayer meetings are attended by an ever
increasing concourse of Hindus and Muslims—themselves living symbols
of Hindu-Muslim unity.
Reports from Bengal districts also prove that this remarkable upsurge
of solidarity was not confined to Calcutta alone. In Dacca, despite
panic, Hindus and Muslims jointly participated in the celebration of
Pakistan, and Muslim leaders themselves intervened in one case where
the Congress flag was lowered, and the flag was raised again.
Everywhere Hindus showed response by honouring the Pakistan flag.
Joint Hindu-Muslim demonstrations were the marked features of the
occasion.
Reports from Comilla, Kusthia, Dinajpore, Krishnanagore, Munshinganj,
Malda and Jessore, all show that August 15 had passed off in peace and
amity. Only local fracas were reported from Kanchrapara, but the great
and good tidings from Calcutta eased the situation there.
In this mighty flood of freedom and brotherhood there is yet the sense
of suspense, for it came with such an incredible suddenness and
magnitude that many think it is too good to last long. It is like
holding a precious glass dome in your hands while you are in suspense
that it might fall and break at any moment.
Spontaneous assertion of people’s will for freedom and brotherly
solidarity needs to be harnessed in lasting forms and that is where
our leaders will be tested in the coming weeks.
Whatever happens, August 15 will be cherished for Calcutta’s grand
celebration on the eve of the end of the dark night of slavery and the
dawn of freedom. Calcutta yesterday was the symbol of our servitude
and fratricidal hate. Calcutta today is the beacon-light for free
India, asserting that freedom once resurrected can never be curbed or
destroyed, for all our millions of Hindus and Muslims together are
ready to stand together as its proud sentinels.
(People’s Age, August 24, 1947)
http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article801.html
Mainstream Weekly
VOL XLV No 21
1857 In Our History
Monday 14 May 2007, by P C Joshi *
[(The one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Great Indian Revolt
of 1857 is being observed this month. Though the spark for the Revolt
was lit by Mangal Pandey at Barrackpore earlier the same year, the
Revolt actually began in May at Meerut: on May 6, 85 sepoys of the 3rd
Bengal Cavalry at Meerut refused to use the cartridge, the cause of
the rebellion—all of them were placed under arrest; on May 9 these
sepoys were brought to a general punishment parade at the Meerut
Parade Ground, sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment and stripped of
their uniforms. When the 11th and 12th Native Cavalry of the Bengal
Army assembled at the Parade Ground on May 10, they broke rank and
turned on the Commanding Officer Colonel Finnis who was shot dead—this
was the first incident of Revolt at Meerut; thereafter the sepoys
liberated the imprisoned sepoys, attacked the European Cantonment and
killed all the Europeans who could be found there. Then in conjunction
with the Roorkee sepoys, called to Meerut following the uprising, they
marched to Delhi where the first major incident took place on May 11
with the killing of Colonel Ripley.
We are carrying here excerpts from a seminal article “1857 In Our
History” by the former General Secretary of the Communist Party of
India, P.C. Joshi, whose birth centenary is being observed this year,
to mark the occasion. This article was presented at a symposium held
to observe the centenary of the 1857 Revolt in 1957; later it was
published alongwith other articles presented at the symposium in book
form (also edited by P.C. Joshi) by the People’s Publishing House, New
Delhi. —Editor)]
The few contemporary Indians who wrote on 1857 did so for the British.
The dominant British attitude is revealed in entitled, “The Bengali
Press, How to Deal with It”, published on August 9, 1896, in Pioneer,
a very influential British organ of the times:
We know how Englishmen within the memory of living men treated their
own newspaper writers… If a gentle and graceful writer forgot himself
so far as to call the Prince Regent ‘an Adonis of forty’ he got two
years’ ‘hard’. If a clergyman praised the French Revolution and
advocated Parliamentary reform and fair representation, he was
condemned to work in iron manacles, to wade in sludge among the vilest
criminals.
The writer advocated the infliction of the same punishment on an
Indian who dared to write on the Indian Mutiny of 1857.1
Indians thus had no say in this controversy but our rebel ancestors
with their heroic deeds and by shedding their warm blood had made
their contribution more eloquent than words....
It is inspiring to recall here what Marx thought of the 1857 national
uprising. As early as July 31, 1857, on the basis of Indian mail
carrying Delhi news up to June 17, he concluded his unsigned
newsletter to the New York Daily Tribune with these words:
By and by there will ooze out other facts able to convince even John
Bull himself that what he considers military mutiny is in truth a
national revolt.2
India’s historians may go on arguing and differing about the character
of the 1857 revolt but the mass of the Indian people have already
accepted it as the source-spring of our national movement. The hold of
the 1857 heritage on national thought is so great that even Dr R. C.
Majumdar concludes his study with the following words:
The outbreak of 1857 would surely go down in history as the first
great and direct challenge to the British rule in India, on an
extensive scale. As such it inspired the genuine national movement for
the freedom of India from British yoke which started half a century
later. The memory of 1857-58 sustained the later movement, infused
courage into the hearts of its fighters, furnished a historical basis
for the grim struggle, and gave it a moral stimulus, the value of
which it is impossible to exaggerate. The memory of the revolt of
1857, distorted but hallowed with sanctity, perhaps did more damage to
the cause of the British rule in India than the Revolt itself.3
The controversy whether the 1857-58 struggle was a sepoy revolt or a
national uprising can be resolved only by squarely posing and
truthfully analysing the character of the contestants on either side
and the nature of the issues—political, economic and ideological—
involved in this struggle. In short, a sound historical evaluation
demands that who was fighting whom and for what be correctly
stated....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE British conquest of India implied not only the imposition of alien
rule but, something worse still, a pitiless destruction of the
traditional Indian social order itself and disruption of its own
normal development towards a new order. Marx was the only thinker of
the period who studied this tragic phenomenon scientifically and
formulated the role of British imperialism in India in such a correct
manner that his conclusions were borne out by the subsequent
researches of Indian scholarship and they helped Indian patriots to
understand Indian reality better and give a progressive orientation to
Indian national thought.
As early as 1853 when the Indian situation was being debated in the
British Parliament on the occasion of the renewal of the East India
Company’s Charter, Marx stated in an article entitled “British Rule in
India”: All the civil wars, invasions, revolutions, conquests,
famines, strangely complex, rapid and destructive as the successive
action in Hindustan may appear, did not go deeper than its surface.
England has broken down the entire framework of Indian society,
without any symptoms of reconstitution yet appearing. This loss of his
old world, with no gain of a new one, imparts a particular kind of
melancholy to the present misery of the Hindu, and separates Hindustan
ruled by Britain, from all its ancient traditions, and from the whole
of its past history… It was the British intruder who broke up the
Indian handloom and destroyed the spinning wheel…British steam and
science uprooted over the whole surface of Hindustan, the union
between agriculture and manufacturing industry.4 ...
After the conquest of Bengal and eventually throughout India, the
method of enforced and unequal trade was used to loot India and this
led to its economic ruination. R. P. Dutt states how the situation
underwent a qualitative change after the British became the ruling
class in India, how methods of power could be increasingly used to
weight the balance of exchange and secure the maximum goods for the
minimum payment.5
By the end of 18th century and much more clearly by 1813-33, a shift
had come over British policy towards India. After a period of
primitive plunder and the systematic ruination of Indian trades and
crafts, the British bourgeoisie, with the completion of their
Industrial Revolution, began to use India as a dumping ground for its
industrial manufactures and, above all, textiles. Marx noted this
sharp shift, and, in one of his articles during 1853, wrote:
The whole character of trade was changed. Till 1813 India had been
chiefly an exporting country while it now became an importing one; and
in such quick progression, that already, in 1823, the rate of
exchange, which had generally been two-sixth per rupee sunk down to
two per rupee. India, the great workshop of cotton manufacture for the
world, since immemorial times, became now inundated with English
twists and cotton stuffs. After its own produce had been excluded from
England, or only accepted on the most cruel terms, British
manufactures were poured into it at a small or merely nominal duty, to
the ruin of native cotton fabric once so celebrated.6
The policy of the East India Company also annihilated the independent
merchant bourgeoisie as well as the artisans and craftsmen. Prof
Ramkrishna Mukherjee describes the process in the following words:
Along with thus turning the Indian artisans ‘out of this ‘temporal’
world’, as Marx remarked caustically, proceeded the liquidation of the
Indian merchant bourgeoisie. Monopolising Indian products for the
English meant that the Indian merchants could no longer survive. Only
those could maintain their profession who acquiesced in becoming
underlings of the Company or of its servants engaged in private inland
trade in India or of the private English merchants residing in India
for the same purpose. Otherwise, they had to find a new source of
livelihood. Not only were the Indian merchants prohibited from buying
commodities directly from the producers which were monopolised by the
English, but the agents of the Company and its servants forced such
goods on the Indian merchants at a price higher than the prevailing
one.7
By annihilating the independent merchant bourgeoisie, which to some
extent also fulfilled the role of the manufacturing bourgeoisie, the
monopolist East India Company destroyed that very important class in
Indian economy which could be their rival.
Another aspect of this phenomenon is noted and analysed by K. M.
Panikkar in the following words:
With the establishment of European trade centres in the main coastal
areas of India, there had developed a powerful Indian capitalist
class, closely associated with the foreign merchants, and deriving
great profits from trade with them… The Marwari millionaires of Bengal
have become the equivalent of the compradore classes of Shanghai of a
later period …The emergence of this powerful class, whose economic
interests were bound up with those of the foreign merchants and who
had an inherited hatred of Muslim rule, was a factor of fundamental
importance to the history of India and of Asia.8
These Indian agents of the Company and of the British merchants were
called gomasthas and bannias and played the role of sub-agents of
foreign capital and a pro-British role in the 1857 uprising.
How did intelligent Indians react to the above economic situation and
policies?
It is useful to quote Allamah Fazle Haq of Khayrabad, an eminent
Muslim scholar of the traditional school who took a leading part in
the 1857 revolt and was transported for life:
Having seized power they (the British) decided to bring under their
hold the various sections of the people by controlling eatables, by
taking possession of the ears of corn and grain and giving the
peasants and cultivators cash in lieu of their rights of farming.
Their object was not to allow the poor men and villagers a free hand
in buying and selling grains. By giving preference to their own
people, they wanted to control the cheapening or raising of the rates
so that the people of God might submit to their (Christian) policy of
monopoly, and their dependence on them (Christians) for their
requirements might force them to meet the purpose of the Christians
and their supporters, and their desire and ambitions which they had in
their hearts and the mischiefs and evils which they had concealed in
their minds.9
In the above background, the appeal of the manifesto issued by Bahadur
Shah on behalf of the insurgent centre at Delhi had its own
significance. The manifesto appealed in the following words to the
merchants: It is plain that the infidel and treacherous British
Government have monopolised the trade of all the fine and valuable
merchandise such as indigo, cloth and other articles of shipping,
leaving only the trade of trifles to the people and even in this they
are not allowed their shares of the profits, which they secure by
means of customs and stamp fees, etc., in money suits, so that the
people have merely a trade in name. Besides this, the profit of the
traders are taxed with postages, tolls, and subscriptions for schools,
etc. Notwithstanding all these concessions, the merchants are liable
to imprisonment and disgrace at the instance of complaint of a
worthless man. When the Badshahi Government is established all these
aforesaid fraudulent practices shall be dispensed with and the trade
of every article, without exception, both by land and water shall be
opened to the native merchants of India who will have the benefit of
the Government steam-vessels and steam carriages for the conveyance of
their merchandise gratis; and merchants having no capital of their own
shall be assisted from the public treasury. It is, therefore, the duty
of every merchant to take part in the war, and aid the Badshahi
Government with its men and money, either secretly or openly, as may
be consistent with its position or interest and forswear its
allegiance to the British Government.10...
The economic and political operation of the East India Company in
India led to a systematic squeezing of our national wealth which has
been described by India’s economic historians as the economic drain.
Let us examine this as it existed on the eve of the 1857 revolt.
There was the so-called Indian Debt, which was incurred by the Company
in order to consolidate its position in India and to spread its
influence further through expeditions and wars, and at the same time,
paying high dividends to share-holders in England, tributes to the
British Government since 1769 and bribes to the influential persons in
England.11
R. C. Dutt makes the following comments as regards the genesis and
mechanism of this Indian Debt:
A very popular error prevails in this country (England in 1903) that
the whole Indian Debt represents British capital sunk in the
development of India. It is shown in the body of this volume that this
is not the genesis of the Public Debt of India. When the East India
Company cessed to be the rulers of India in 1858, they had piled up an
Indian Debt of 70 millions. They had in the meantime drawn a tribute
from India, financially an unjust tribute, exceeding 150 million, not
calculating interest. They had also charged India with the cost of
Afghan wars, Chinese wars and other wars outside India. Equitably,
therefore, India owed nothing at the close of the Company’s rule; her
Public Debt was a myth; there was a considerable balance of over 108
millions in her favour out of the money that had been drawn from her.
12
Montgomery Martin, an Englishman with sympathy for the Indian people,
wrote as early as 1838:
This annual drain of £ 3,000,000 on British India amounted in 30 years
at 12 per cent (the usual Indian rate) compound interest to the
enormous sum of £ 723,997,917 sterling; or, at a low rate, as $
2,000,000 for 50 years, to £ 8,400,000,000 sterling! So constant and
accumulating a drain even on England would have soon impoverished her;
how severe then must be its effect on India, where the wages of a
labourer is from 2d. to 3d. a day?13....
Prof Ramkrishna Mukherjee goes even further and states:
A total picture of this tribute from India is seen to be even greater
than the figure mentioned by Martin in 1838. During the 24 years of
the last phase of the Company’s rule, from 1834-35 to 1857-58, even
though the years 1855, ’56 and ’57 showed a total import-surplus of £
6,436,345—(not because the foreign rulers had changed their policy,
but because some British capital flowed into India to build railway in
order to prepare her for exploitation by British industrial capital),—
the total tribute which was drained from India in the form of ‘home
charges’ and ‘excess of Indian exports’ amounted to the colossal
figure of £ 151,830,989. This works out at a yearly average of £
6,325,875, or roughly half the annual land revenue collections in this
period!14
The above was the grim reality, grimmer than any ever witnessed in the
whole course of India’s age-old historic development. As Marx stated,
there cannot, however, remain any doubt but the misery inflicted by
the British on Hindustan is of essentially different and infinitely
more intensive kind than Hindustan had to suffer before.15
The British, under the East India Company’s rule disrupted the whole
economic order of India, they turned the traditional land system topsy
turvy, they smashed the trades and manufactures of the land and
disrupted the relationship between these two sectors of the Indian
economy, systematically drained the wealth of our country to their
own, and destroyed the very springs of production of our economy.
Every class of Indian society suffered at this new spoliator’s hands.
The landlords were dispossessed and the peasants rendered paupers, the
merchant bourgeoisie of India liquidated as an independent class and
the artisans and craftsmen deprived of their productive professions.
Such unprecedented destruction of a whole economic order and of every
class within it could not but produce a great social upheaval and that
was the national uprising of 1857. The all-destructive British policy
produced a broad popular rebellion against its rule.
Within Indian society, however, those productive forces and classes
had not yet grown (in fact early British policy had itself destroyed
their first off-shoots) that could lead this revolution to victory.
The revolt of 1857 as also its failure were both historical
inevitabilities. But it also was a historical necessity, for after it
followed those modern developments..., from which emerged the modern
national liberation movement of the Indian people and those new social
forces which led it to victory.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE religious factor played a big part in the revolt in 1857. The
British statesmen and chroniclers exaggerated and deliberately
misinterpreted the role played by this factor to prove their thesis
that the 1857 uprising was reactionary, revivalist and directed
against the progressive reforms that they were introducing in Indian
society. The early generation of English-educated Indian intellectuals
swallowed this imperialist thesis uncritically because they themselves
had suffered under the old reactionary religious influences. A true
historical outlook demands that we do not forget the historical stage
which Indian society had reached on the eve of 1857, the ideological
values which would be normal to this society and the ideological forms
in which the Indian people could formulate their aspirations....
It is abundantly clear... that the British rulers purely for their
imperialist motives were out for some decades preceding 1857 to
culturally denationalise India by the method of mass conversion to
Christianity. This was seen as a menacing danger by the mass of
Indians, irrespective of their viewpoint whether it was Sir Syed Ahmad
Khan or Bahadur Shah, whether it was the enlightened Bengali
intellectual in Calcutta or the Nana Saheb at Bithoor, by the mass of
sepoys both Hindu and Muslim. Thus when the religious factor played a
big role as it did in the struggle of 1857, it was as a part of the
national factor. The mass of Indians took up arms to defend their own
religions and they were fighting not only in defence of their religion
but to defend their way of life and their nationhood. Of course, there
were several reactionary features within Indian society but then the
only healthy way to change them was through the struggle of the Indian
people themselves.
This is not all. Our rebel ancestors used religion to advance the
revolutionary struggle. They did not let religion stupefy them. But
they used religion to get the strength to fight the Firinghis.
A proclamation was issued at Delhi with royal permission urging upon
the Hindus and Muslims to unite in the struggle in the name of their
respective religions.
To all Hindus and Mussalmans, citizens and servants of Hindustan,
officers of the army now at Delhi and at Meerut send greetings:—it is
well known that in these days all the English have entertained these
evil designs—first, to destroy the religion of the whole Hindustani
army and then to make the people by compulsion Christians. Therefore,
we, solely on account of our religion, have combined with the people
and have not spared alive one infidel, and have re-established the
Delhi dynasty on these terms. Hundreds of guns and a large amount of
treasure have fallen into our hands; therefore, it is fitting that
whoever of the soldiers and people dislike turning Christians should
unite with one heart, and, acting courageously, not leave the seed of
these infidels remaining.16
When the struggle in Oudh after the fall of Lucknow was on the
downgrade, and insurgents were heroically fighting defensive and
mostly losing battles, the captured sepoys used to be asked by the
British why they had joined the revolt. Their answer used to be:
The slaughter of the English is required by our religion. The end will
be the destruction of the English and all the sepoys—and then, God
knows!17
The Rajah of the Gond tribes was living as a pensioner of the British
at Nagpur. He had turned a traditional Sanskrit sthotra recited in
worshipping the devi into an anti-British hymn. The London Times of
October 31, 1857 gives the translation of the prayer: Shut the mouth
of the slanderers and Eat up backbiters, trample down the sinners,
You, “Satrusamgharika” (name of Devi, ‘destroyer of enemy’) Kill the
British, exterminate them, Matchundee. Let not the enemy escape, not
the wives and children Of such oh! Samgharika Show favour to Shanker;
support your slaves; Listen to the cry of religion. “Mathalka” eat up
the unclean, Make no delay, Now devour them, And that quickly, Ghor-
Mathalka.
During the siege of Delhi, British agents repeatedly tried to
transform the joint Hindu- Muslim struggle into a fratricidal Hindu-
Muslim civil war. Even as early as May 1857, British agents began
inciting the Muslims against the Hindus in the name of jihad and the
matter was brought before Bahadur Shah.
The king answered that such a jihad was quite impossible, and that
such an idea an act of extreme folly, for the majority of the Purbeah
soldiers were Hindus. Moreover, such an act could create internecine
war, and the result would be deplorable. It was fitting that sympathy
should exist among all classes… A deputation of Hindu officers arrived
to complain of the war against Hindus being preached. The king
replied: ‘The holy war is against the English; I have forbidden it
against the Hindus.’18
Thus did our rebel ancestors use religion to organise and conduct a
united revolutionary struggle against foreign domination. In the
historic conditon of 1857, the ideological form of the struggle could
not but assume religious forms. To expect anything else would be
unrealistic and unscientific.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE British text books on Indian history contained only the story of
the “atrocities of the mutineers,”—dishonouring of women, killing of
children and so on. The reality, however, was the opposite. Again, the
early generation of educated Indians like Savarkar and others began
exposing from British sources themselves the story of unprecedented
British atrocities against the Indian people. During the non-
cooperation movement of the twenties, the British terror during 1857
was related to Jallianwallabagh to rouse the people to struggle more
valiantly and unitedly than our ancestors had done during 1857.
Thereafter came Edward Thompson’s The Other Side of the Medal which
tried to put across the thesis that there were atrocities on both
sides which are best forgotten.
The question of questions is: can the two sides be put on the same
plane? Can the crimes committed by the enslavers of the people be
equated with some mistakes and excesses committed by the fighters for
freedom? The two cases are different....
If tales of Indian “terror” are largely mythical, British brutality
got even Lord Canning worried. On December 24, 1857, the following
Minute appears in the proceedings of the Governor-General-in-Council:
…the indiscriminate hanging, not only of persons of all shades of
guilt, but of those whose guilt was at the least very doubtful, and
the general burning and plunder of villages, whereby the innocent as
well as the guilty, without regard to age or sex, were
indiscriminately punished, and in some cases, sacrificed, had deeply
exasperated large communities not otherwise hostile to the government;
that the cessation of agriculture and consequent famine were
impending; …And lastly, that the proceedings of the officers of the
Government had given colour to the rumour…that the Government
meditated a general bloody persecution of Mohammedans and Hindus.19...
In the History of the Siege of Delhi, written by an officer who served
on active service, it is graphically described what the British
officers did on the way from Ambala to Delhi.
Hundreds of Indians were condemned to be hanged before a court-martial
in a short time, and they were most brutally and inhumanly tortured,
while scaffolds were being erected for them. The hair on their heads
were pulled by bunches, their bodies were pierced by bayonets and then
they were made to do that to avoid which they would think nothing of
death or torture—cows’ flesh was forced by spears and bayonets into
the mouth of the poor and harmless Hindu villagers.20
How the sepoy and the civilian, the guilty and the innocent alike were
butchered by the British victors after the capture of Lucknow is
described below by one of them:
at the time of the capture of Lucknow—a season of indiscriminate
massacre—such distinction was not made and the unfortunate who fell
into the hands of our troops was made short work of—sepoy or Qudh
villager it mattered not—no questions were asked; his skin was black,
and did not that suffice? A piece of rope and the branch of a tree or
a rifle bullet through his brain soon terminated the poor devil’s
existence.21
What happened in the countryside, between Banaras, Allahabad and
Kanpur during General Neill’s march through the area is described by
Kaye and Malleson in the following words:
Volunteer hanging parties went out into the districts and amateur
executioners were not wanting to the occasion. One gentleman boasted
of the numbers he had finished off quite ‘in an artistic manner’, with
mango trees for gibbets and elephants as drops, the victims of this
wild justice being strung up, as though for past-time in ‘the form of
a figure of 8’.22...
Pandit Nehru has rightly stated the problem of race mania as it faced
our insurgent ancestors and faced us subsequently in the whole course
of our struggle for freedom.
We in India have known racialism in all its forms ever since the
commencement of British rule. The whole ideology of this rule was that
of the Herrenvolk and the master race, and the structure of Government
was based upon it; indeed the idea of a master race is inherent in
imperialism. There was no subterfuge about it; it was proclaimed in
unambiguous language by those in authority. More powerful than words
was the practice that accompanied them, and generation after
generation and year after year, India as a nation and Indians as
individuals were subjected to insult, humiliation, and contemptuous
treatment.23...
Our forefathers suffered and bled during 1857. Subsequent generations
kept up the struggle and went on making the needed sacrifice. If after
independence we forget our past experience and began to consider
British imperialism as our new friend instead of our traditional foe,
we will not be able to safeguard Indian independence nor discharge
India’s duty towards the struggling colonial peoples in Asia and
Africa...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IN the broad historical perspective of India’s struggle against
British domination what needs being stressed is not the limitation and
narrowness of the 1857 uprising but its sweep, breadth and depth. The
1857 uprising stands sharply demarcated from all the earlier anti-
British wars of resistance fought on Indian soil.
The first is the sheer vastness of the area covered by the 1857
uprising and the still wider sympathy and solidarity it commanded. It
is admitted by all historians and chronicles, British and Indian
alike, that the 1857 national insurrection was the biggest ever anti-
British combine that had so far been massed in armed struggle against
British authority in India.
The second is the qualitative difference between this and all other
anti-British wars. In the earlier wars people of a single kingdom,
which very often coincided with a specific nationality, fought single-
handed. For example, the Bengalis alone fought at Plassey. The same in
the Karnatak and the Mysore and the Maratha, the Sikh and the Sind
wars. Earlier attempts at broader combinations had failed. But during
1857 people of various castes, tribes, nationalities, religions, who
had lived under different kingdoms rose together to end the British
rule. It was an unprecedented unity of the Indian people. Marx, the
most far-sighted thinker of the age, duly noted this new phenomenon.
Before this there had been mutinies in the Indian army but the present
revolt is distinguished by characteristic and fatal features. It is
the first time that the sepoy regiments have murdered their European
officers; that Musalmans and Hindus, renouncing their mutual
antipathies, have combined against the common masters; that
‘disturbances, beginning with the Hindus, have actually ended in
placing on the throne of Delhi a Mohammedan Emperor’; that the mutiny
has not been confined to a few localities.24
As it is important to stress the above positive aspect of the 1857
national uprising, it is equally important to state its negative
aspect and state which decisive areas and sections of the Indian
people did not join the national uprising and how some were even led
to supporting the British side. There were several factors involved
but let us examine the main, the national factor. The Gurkhas and the
Sikhs played a decisive role on the side of the British. The Nepal war
had been fought by the British with the help of the Hindustani Army.
Rana Jung Bahadur, who was centralising Nepal under Ranashahi, was
promised by the British a permanent subsidy and large tracts in Terai
and he brought his Gurkha soldiers down, in the name of revenge, for
subduing Oudh.
The Sikhs had their own historic memories against the Moghuls and
after initial hesitation the British were able to recruit the
unemployed soldiers of the Khalsa Army and the retainers of the Sikh
princes and sardars.
From the Marathas the heir of the Peshwas had risen in revolt but the
Maratha princes had their own rivalries and historic feuds both with
the Nizam in the South and the Moghuls in the North.
The Rajputana princes had their own historic memories of earlier
Moghul and later Maratha domination, besides their being under British
grip now.
These historic memories from the past of our feudal disunity kept the
people of large parts of the country paralysed and moved by their
feudal self-interest the Indian princes helped the British usurpers.
Nehru has put the whole position in very succinct words:
The revolt strained British rule to the utmost and it was ultimately
suppressed with Indian help.25
As it is true that the 1857 revolution was the biggest national
uprising against British rule, so it is equally true that the British
were able to suppress it by using Indians against indians. Divide and
rule was the traditional British policy and they used it with
devastating effect during 1857....
The peasant was anti-British but his outlook was confined within his
village, his political knowledge did not go beyond the affairs of the
kingdom in which he lived under his traditional Raja.
The political-ideological leadership of the country was yet in the
hands of the feudal ruling classes. They shared the general anti-
British sentiment but they feared their feudal rivals more. They were
a decaying class and their historic memories were only of the feudal
past of disunity and civil wars and the vision of a united independent
India could not dawn upon them.
Love of the country in those days meant love of one’s own homeland
ruled by one’s traditional ruler. The conception of India as our
common country had not yet emerged. Not only did the feudal historic
memories come in the way but the material foundations for it, the
railways, telegraph, a uniform system of modern education, etc., had
not yet been laid but had only begun.
The conception of India as common motherland grew later and the great
experience of 1857 rising helped it to grow. The London Times duly
noted the rise of this new phenomenon.
One of the great results that have flowed from the rebellion of
1857-58 has been to make inhabitants of every part of India acquainted
with each other. We have seen the tide of war rolling from Nepal to
the borders of Gujarat, from the deserts of Rajputana to the frontiers
of the Nizam’s territories, the same men over-running the whole land
of India and giving to their resistance, as it were, a national
character. The paltry interests of isolated States, the ignorance
which men of one petty principality have laboured under in considering
the habits and customs of the other principality—all this has
disappeared to make way for a more uniform appreciation of public
events throughout India. We may assume that in the rebellion of 1857,
no national spirit was roused, but we cannot deny that our efforts to
put it down have sown the seeds of a new plant and thus laid the
foundation for more energetic attempts on the part of the people in
the course of future years.26
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHAT was the aim of the insurgents, what sort of a political and
social order did they seek to establish in India? A sound
characterisation of the 1857 struggle depends upon the correct answer
to the above problem. For it will help to decide whether it was
reactionary or progressive.
It is amazing that there is virtual agreement on this question between
not only British and some eminent Indian historians but also some
foremost Indian political leaders.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru has stated his opinion thus: Essentially it
was a feudal outburst, headed by feudal chiefs and their followers and
aided by the widespread anti-British sentiment… Not by fighting for a
lost cause, the feudal order, would freedom come.27
Dr Majumdar’s conclusion is: The miseries and bloodshed of 1857-58
were not the birthpangs of a freedom movement in India, but the dying
groans of an obsolete aristocracy and centrifugal feudalism of the
medieval age.28
Dr Sen, the official historian, improves upon and carries forward the
Prime Minister’s characterisation:
The English Government had imperceptibly effected a social revolution.
They had removed some of the disabilities of women, they had tried to
establish the equality of men in the eye of the law, they had
attempted to improve the lot of the peasant and the serf. The Mutiny
leaders would have set the clock back, they would have done away with
the new reforms, with the new order, and gone back to the good old
days when a commoner could not expect equal justice with the noble,
when the tenants were at the mercy of the talukdars, and when theft
was punished with mutilation. In short they wanted a counter-
revolution.29...
One can understand British statesmen and historians advancing the
thesis of the Old Man vs. the New, of their own role being progressive
and the insurgent cause reactionary, in sheer self-defence. But when
Indian leaders and historians repeat the same old British thesis the
least one can say is that they are mistaking the form for the
substance. It is true that the 1857 uprising was led by Indian feudals
(but not them alone!) and they were not the makers of events, nor sole
masters of India’s destiny. There were other social forces of the
common people in action during this struggle and they had brought new
factors and ideas into play. It is a pity Drs Majumdar and Sen and
Pandit Nehru have given no thought nor weight to them. If we study
them carefully and seriously, the conclusion is inescapable that
during the 1857 national uprising, the popular forces were active
enough, healthy in their aspirations and clear-headed enough in their
ideas to prevent a reactionary feudal restoration in India.
One of the great positive achievements of the 1857 uprising acclaimed
with justified pride by the Indian national movement has been the
noble attempt to forge, and sustained efforts to maintain, against
British machinations, Hindu-Muslim unity for the successful conduct of
the struggle.
Playing upon Hindu-Muslim differences had become so much a part of the
flesh and blood of the British representatives in India that Lord
Canning spontaneously began thinking, when the first signs of the
storm burst during May 1857, whether the Hindus or Muslims were behind
it? Kaye states the problem and the significance of the new situation
facing the British rulers: But, before the end of the month of April,
it must have been apparent to Lord Canning, that nothing was to be
hoped from that antagonism of Asiatic races which had even been
regarded as the main element of our strength and safety. Mohammedans
and Hindus were plainly united against us.30
The British officials, however, did not give up but persisted in the
policy of stirring Hindu- Muslim dissensions. “I shall watch for the
differences of feelings between the two communities,” wrote Sir Henry
Lawrence from Lucknow to Lord Canning in May 1857. The communal
antipathy, however, failed to develop; Aitchison ruefully admits:
In this instance, we could not play off the Mohammedaa against the
Hindu.31
The insurgent leaders were fully aware of this disruptive British
tactic. Allamah Fazle Haq, himself a Muslim revivalist, wrote: They
(the British) tried their utmost to break the revolutionary forces by
their tricks and deceptive devices, make ineffective the power of the
Mujahids and uproot them, and scatter and disrupt them…. No stone was
left unturned by them in this respect.32
The insurgent leaders consciously laid great stress on Hindu-Muslim
unity for the success of the struggle. Bahadur Shah, the sepoy
leaders, the learned Ulema and Shastris issued proclamations and
fatwas stressing that Hindu-Muslim unity was the call of the hour and
the duty of all. In all areas liberated from British rule the first
thing the insurgent leaders did was to ban cow-slaughter and enforce
it. In the highest political and military organ of insurgent
leadership Hindus and Muslims were represented in equal numbers.33
When Bahadur Shah found that he could not manage the affairs of state,
he wrote to the Hindu Rajas of Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Alwar that if
they would combine for the purpose (of annihilating the British) he
would willingly resign the Imperial power into their hands.34
An insurgent Sikh regiment in Delhi served under a Muslim commander.35
Such instances can be multiplied....
There is another very important aspect of this problem. Hindu-Muslim
unity was one of the important keys in deciding the fate of the issue.
The British side knew it and tried their hardest and best to disrupt
it. The Indian side also knew it and did their utmost to realise and
maintain it. But this by itself would be a static statement of the
problem. The better Hindu-Muslim unity was forged in the insurgent
camp, the longer the struggle could last; the longer the struggle
lasted, the more chances the popular forces got to come to the fore
and the more the ideological-political influence of feudal forces
became weakened; the more the feudal forces weakened the less chances
were left of a feudal restoration. Such is the dialectics of all
popular and national struggles. During the last phase of the struggle
in 1857-58, the feudal forces stood thoroughly exposed and weakened.
The popular forces were not yet powerful, conscious and organised
enough to overwhelm them and carry on the struggle to victory. What
actually took place was British victory and not feudal restoration.
When the modern national movement began in the next generation, the
glorious heritage of Hindu-Muslim unity was taken over from the 1857
struggle and the next two generations gave a more and more democratic
programme to the conception of Hindu-Muslim united front against
British domination.
The British side also learnt its lesson from this historic phenomenon.
Forrest in his Introduction to State Papers, 1857-58, states:
Among the many lessons the Indian Mutiny conveys to the historian,
none is of greater importance than the warning that it is possible to
have a revolution in which Brahmins and Sudras, Hindus and Mohammedans
could be united against us, and that it is not safe to suppose that
the peace and stability of our dominions, in any great measure,
depends on the continent being inhabited by different religious
systems…. The mutiny reminds us that our dominions rest on a thin
crust ever likely to be rent by titanic forces of social changes and
religious revolutions.36...
Inside the disintegrating feudal order that was India of those days,
new currents of democratic thought and practice were arising; they
were not yet powerful enough to break the old feudal ideological bonds
and overwhelm British authority; they were menacing enough to make the
real Indian feudals seek a new lease of life as a gift from the
British after beseeching due forgiveness for having joined the
insurgent cause.
The destruction of the ancient land system in India and the law on the
alienation of land stirred the whole countryside into action against
the government whose policies had made the old rural classes, from the
zamindars to the peasants, lose their lands to the new section of
merchants, moneylenders and the Company’s own officials, and which had
played havoc with the their life. The large-scale peasant
participation in the 1857 uprising gave it a solid mass basis and the
character of a popular revolt. The Indian peasants fulfilled their
patriotic duty during 1857.
Peasants joined as volunteers with the insurgent forces and, though
without military training, fought so heroically and well as to draw
tributes from the British themselves... At the battle of Miaganj,
between Lucknow and Kanpur, the British had to face an Indian
insurgent forces of 8000, of whom not more than a thousand were sepoys.
37 At Sultanpur, another battle was fought by the insurgents with
25,000 soldiers, 1,100 cavalry and 25 guns and of these only five
thousand were rebel sepoys!38 After the fall of Delhi, the British
concentrated upon Lucknow. As the British massed all their strength
against Lucknow so from the villagers of Oudh came armed, peasant
volunteers for the last ditch defence of their capital city. In the
words of Charles Ball, The whole country was swarming with armed
vagabonds hastening to Lucknow to meet their common doom and die in
the last grand struggle with the Firangis.39
After the fall of Bareilly and Lucknow, the insurgents fought on and
adopted guerilla tactics. Its pattern is contained in Khan Bahadur
Khan‘s General Order:
Do not attempt to meet the regular columns of the infidels because
they are superior to you in discipline, bandobast and have big guns
but watch their movements, guard all the ghats on the rivers,
intercept their communications, stop their supplies, cut their dak and
posts and keep constantly hanging about their camps, give them (the
Firinghis) no rest!40
Commenting on the above, Russell wrote in his Diary:
This general order bears marks of sagacity and points out the most
formidable war we would encounter.41
The heavy responsibility for carrying into practice the above line of
action and aiding the scattered insurgent forces to prolong the anti-
British war of resistance fell on the mass of the peasantry. All
contemporary British chronicles of the story of this war in
Rohilkhand, Bundelkhand, Oudh and Bihar contain numerous stories of
how the Indian peasantry loyally and devotedly carried out the behests
of the insurgent high command. Let us take only one example:
Even when the cause of the mutincers seemed to be failing, they
testified no good will, but withheld the information we wanted and
often misled us.42
In a national uprising that has failed, the role and contribution of
any class can best be estimated by the amount of sacrifice it makes.
Measured in these terms, the peasantry is at the top of the roll of
honour of the 1857 uprising. Holmes states:
The number of armed men, who succumbed in Oudh, was about 150,000, of
whom at least 35,000 were sepoys.43 ...
The rural population as a whole rose against the new land system
imposed over their heads by the British rulers. Secondly, that the
pattern of struggle was to eliminate the new landlords created under
the British regime, destroy their records, hound them out of villages
and seize their lands and attack all the symbols of British authority
especially the kutchery (law-court), the tehsil (revenue office) and
the thana (the police outpost). Thirdly, the base of the struggle was
the mass of the peasantry and the rural poor while the leadership was
in the hands of the landlords dispossessed under the British laws.
Fourthly, this pattern of struggle fitted into the general pattern of
the 1857 national uprising, the class struggle in the countryside was
directed not against the landlords as a whole but only against a
section of them, those who had been newly created by the British under
their laws and acted as their loyal political supporters, that is, it
was subordinated to the broad need of national unity against the
foreign usurper.
Talmiz Khaldun’s thesis that during this uprising “The Indian
peasantry was fighting desperately to free itself of foreign as well
as feudal bondage” and that “the mutiny ended as a peasant war against
indigenous landlordism and foreign imperialism” is thus an
exaggeration. There is no evidence whatsoever that the Indian
peasantry during this struggle decisively burst through the feudal
bonds either politically or economically to transform a broad-based
national uprising into a peasant war. On the other hand all the
evidence that is known is to the contrary....
The Indian peasants made a compromise with the traditional landlords
in the interests of the common struggle but the landlords became
terrified by this alliance when they saw it in the living form of a
revolutionary popular struggle. Gubbins, who had wide personal
experience of Oudh and other Eastern districts, states:
Much allowance should, no doubt, be made in considering the conduct of
the Indian gentry at this crisis, on account of their want of power to
resist the armed and organised enemy which had suddenly risen against
us. The enemy always treated with the utmost severity those among
their countrymen who were esteemed to be friends of the British cause.
Neither their lives nor their property were safe. Fear, therefore, no
doubt entered largely into the natives which induced many to desert us.
44
Narrow class interest and fear of the “armed and organised” masses,
whom the British rightly called “the enemy,” ultimately led the Indian
feudal gentry to desert the revolutionary struggle and seek terms with
the foreign rulers. The situation led to feudal treachery and
suppressoin of the national uprising, and not to the strengthening of
feudalism in the minds and the later movement of the Indian peasantry
and the people.
Dr R.C. Majumdar himself quotes the Supreme Government “Narrative of
Events” issued on September 12, 1857:
In consequence of the general nature of the rebellion and the
impossibility of identifying the majority of the rebels, the
Magistrate recommended the wholesale burning and destruction of all
villages proved to have sent men to take active part in the rebellion.
45
This is how the British understood the peasant contribution to the
1857 uprising. Could there be a restoration for the feudal order in
India on the shoulders of such a peasantry?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 1857 uprising is a historic landmark. It marks the end of a whole
historic phase and the beginning of a new one. On the British side it
finished the Company’s rule and led to direct government under the
British Crown. The period of rule of the merchant monopolists of the
East India Company ended and the dominance of the industrial
bourgeoisie of Britain in the affairs of India began. On the Indian
side, the revolt failed but the Indian people got that experience
which enabled them to build the modern Indian national movement on new
foundations and with new ideas, and the lessons of 1857 proved
inestimable. Both sides drew and applied their lessons from the 1857
experience in the subsequent period. The British were the victors,
they went into action soon; we were the vanquished, we took longer.
From their experience of the 1857 uprising the British rulers sharply
changed their policy towards the Indian feudal elements, and
discarding the old policy of attacking their interests, they adopted a
new policy of reconciling them as the main social base of their rule
in India. The Indian people from their experience of the Indian
feudals drew the lesson for the next phase of their movement that
their anti-British struggle to be successful must also be an anti-
feudal struggle. Those who were so far regarded by the Indian people
as their traditional leaders were now rightly considered as betrayers
of the 1857 uprising and the Indian puppets of the British power.
As regards the Indian princess, the policy of annexations was given
up. Queen Victoria in her Proclamation promised them:
We shall respect the rights, dignity and honour of native pricess as
our own. Very candidly Lord Canning in his Minute of April 30 noted:
The safety of our rule is increased and not diminished by the
maintenance of native chiefs well affected to us.
How the Indian national movement understood the post-1857 British
policy towards the princes is best reflected in Nehru’s Discovery of
India where he states that the retention of the native states was
designed to disrupt the unity of India,46 Indian princes playing the
role of Britain’s fifth column in India.47....
The Army was reorganised after the sepoy mutiny, which had set the
country aflame. The proportion of British troops was increased and
they were primarily used as an “army of occupation” to maintain
internal security while the Indian troops were organised and trained
for service abroad to subjugate Asian and African territories for
British imperialism. The artillery was taken away from the Indian
hands. All higher appointments were reserved for the British, an
Indian could not even get the King’s Commission nor get employment in
the Army headquarters except as a clerk in non-military work. The
Indian regiments were reorganised on the principle of divide and rule
and recruitment confined to the so-called martial races.
But in the long run nothing availed the British. The memory of the
sepoys’ role during 1857 never died not only in the memory of the
Indian people but also of the Indian armed forces. As the modern
national movement grew, it could not leave the Indian Army, however
“reorganised”, untouched. During the 1930 national struggle, the
Garhwali soldiers refused to fire at the Indian demonstrators at
Peshawar. During the post-war national upsurge after a series of
“mutinies” in the Indian Army and Air Force, the Royal Indian Navy
revolted on February 18, 1946 and the next day the British Prime
Minister announced the dispatch of the Cabinet Mission to India and
negotiations for the independence of India began.
The Indian administrative machine was reorganised as a colossal
bureaucratic machine with Indians employed only in subordinate
positions, all real power and responsibility resting in British hands.
The Queen’s Proclamation had promised that there would be no racial
discrimination against the Indians in employment in government
services. The reality, however, was different...
After 1857, politically, even Sir Syed Ahmad Khan had suggested that
Indians should be included in the Legislative Council to keep the
government in touch, with the people. In 1861 the Indian Councils Act
provided for the inclusion for legislative purposes of non-official
members. In 1862, three Indians were so nominated. These legislatures,
in which real power remained with the exclusive British Executive,
were used by patriotic Indian statesmen as tribunes of the Indian
people and to unmask British policies and thus aid the growth of the
national movement. The British tactic of divide and rule, however,
succeeded in another way. The institution of separate electorates for
the Muslims was the first expression of the poisonous two-nation
theory which ultimately resulted in the partition of the country at
the very time of gaining independence.
The British Government, which claimed credit for early social reform
measures like banning of sati, widow remarriage, etc., after the
experience of 1857 and its subsequent alliance with the Indian feudal
reaction became the opponent of all progressive social measures.
Hindu law was largely custom and as customs change, the law also was
applied in a different way. Indeed there was no provision of Hindu Law
which could not be changed by customs. The British replaced this
elastic customary law by judicial decisions based on the old texts and
these decisions became precedents which had to be rigidly followed…
Change could only come by positive legislation but the British
Government, which was the legislating authority, had no wish to
antagonise the conservative elements on whose support it counted. When
later some legislative powers were given to the partially elected
assemblies, every attempt to promote social reform legislation was
frowned upon by the authorities and sternly discouraged.48
The British Government thus became the defender of social reaction in
India, after 1857!
The British overlords had created an English educated Indian middle-
class to get cheap and efficient and denationalised Indian cadres for
the lower essential rungs of their administration.
Educated natives took no part in the sepoy mutiny: despite the charges
to the contrary, they heartily disapproved of the revolt and showed
themselves faithful and loyal to the British authorities throughout
the course of that crisis.49
The above is not wholly true. Dr Sen states: Even this small minority
(of modern educated Indians) were not unanimous in the support of the
Government. An educated Hindu of Bengal complained of ‘a hundred years
of unmitigated active tyranny unrelieved by any trait of generosity’.
“A century and more of intercourse between each other,” he adds, “has
not made the Hindus and the Englishman friends or even peaceful fellow
subjects.”50
Calcutta was the biggest centre of these modern educated Indians. They
were at the time themselves concentrating upon the struggle against
Hindu orthodoxy and the religious terms in which the cause of the
insurgents was clothed repelled them. Because of their historic origin
and the limitations of their political experience they wrongly
identified progress with British rule. They were not, however,
“faithful and loyal” in the sense Earl Granville imagined them to be,
servile to the British rulers. This was proved in the very next year
after the 1857-58 uprising was suppressed when the Bengali
intelligentsia stirred the whole of Bengal in solidarity with the
Indigo Revolt, with the peasants of Bengal and Bihar who were victims
of unimaginable oppression and exploitation of the British planters.
Again it was Surendranath Banerji who took the initiative to run an
all-India campaign against lowering the age for the ICS, which
patently went against the Indian candidates. Then came the campaigns
regarding the IIbert Bill and racial discrimination in courts and the
Vernacular Press Act and so on. As the new intelligentsia saw more and
more of India under the British Crown all their illusions about Queen
Victoria’s 1858 Proclamation being the Magna Carta of Indian liberties
gradually evaporated and they began to agitate for political reforms.
In 1882 the Grand Old Man of Indian nationalism, Dababhai Naoroji,
wrote: Hindus, Mohammedans and Parsees alike are asking whether the
British rule is to be a blessing or a curse...This is no longer a
secret, or a state of things not quite open to those of our rulers who
would see.51...
Even before 1857, From India a policy of imperial expansion was
planned and the British Government of India was set on the perilous
road of conquest and annexation in the East for the benefit of
Britain, but of course at the cost of the Indian tax-payer.52
Thus Malacca and Singapore were occupied, Burma conquered, Nepal and
Afghan wars conducted and the Persian war managed.
The age of the Empire, based on India, began after 1857. India now
became in fact no less than in name a British possession. The Indian
Empire was at this time a continental order, a political structure
based on India, and extending its authority from Aden to Hongkong.53
In this period, Afghanistan and Persia were made virtual British
protectorates, expeditions and missions were sent to Sinkiang and
Tibet in the North and the British position in South-East Asia and
China consolidated.
“The continental involved a subordinate participation of India”54 as
policemen, traders and usurers, and coolies in the plantations of
Britain’s growing colonies. Indian resources and manpower were thus
used not only to conquer but maintain and run Britain’s colonial
Empire.
This, however, was only one side of the picture. As part of winning
foreign support for the Indian uprising Azimullah Khan, Nana’s
representative, is reported to have built contacts with Russia and
Turkey. Rango Bapuji, the Satara representative, is also reported to
have worked with Azimullah. Bahadur Shah’s court claimed Persian
support. All this was in the old principle that Britain’s enemies are
our friends. But Britain was the colossus of that period, and the
feudal ruling circles of these countries could never be in any hurry
to come to the aid of the Indian revolt. They could at best exploit it
and await its outcome.
This was, however, not the attitude of democratic circles in these and
other countries... there was in all democratic circles of the
civilised world great sympathy for the Indian uprising. Great and
historic is the significance of the Chartist leaders’ solidarity with
the Indian national uprising. Modern British labour movement dates its
birth from the Chartists. Modern Indian national movement dates its
birth from the 1857 uprising. What a new fraternal vision emerges from
the memory that the British proletariat and the Indian people have
stood together ever since the beginning of their respective movements.
The Chinese date the birth of their modern anti-imperialist national
movement from the Taiping uprising as we date ours from the 1857
uprising. The Chinese paper (presented at the symposium on the
centenary of the 1857 Revolt) documents the hitherto unknown story
that the Chinese people responded sympathetically to the 1857 uprising
and the Indian sepoys deserted to the Taipings and fought shoulder to
shoulder with them against the common enemy. Marx noted the new
phenomenon that the revolt in the Anglo-Indian army has coincided with
a general disaffection exhibited against supremacy by the Great
Asiatic nations, the revolt of the Bengal Army being, beyond doubt,
intimately connected with the Persian and Chinese wars.55
Thus the great national uprising of 1857 laid the foundation for the
worldwide democratic solidarity with the Indian struggle in its next
phase and our new national movement built itself on healthy
internationalist traditions. For example, in the twenties, the Indian
national movement vigorously opposed the imperialist policies in the
Middle East and expressed solidarity with the Egyptian struggle under
Zaglul Pasha, in the thirties it expressed practical solidarity with
the Chinese people’s struggle against the Japanese invaders and the
worldwide anti-fascist movement and so on. It was thus no accident
that after the achievement of independence India emerged as a great
world power championing the cause of world peace and the liberation of
all subject nations....n
[*NOTES
1. Major B.D. Basn, Rise of The Christian Power in India, (1931), p.
953.
2. Marx, unsigned article, “The Indian Question”, New York Daily
Tribune, August 14, 1857.
3. Quoted by R.C. Majumdar, The Sepoy Mutiny and Revolt of 1857, p.
278.
4. Marx, “The British Rule in India”, New York Daily Tribune, June 25,
1853.
5. R.P. Dutt, India Today, p. 98.
6. Marx, “The East India Company—Its History and Results”, New York
Daily Tribune, July 11, 1853.
7. Ramkrishna Mukherjee, The Rise and Fall of the East India Company,
p. 174.
8. K.M. Panikkar, Asia and Western Dominance, p. 99.
9. Allamah Fazle Haq of Khayrabad, “The Story of the War of
Independence 1857-58”, Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society,
vol. V, pt. 1, January 1957, p. 29.
10. National Herald, May 10, 1957.
11. Mukherjee, op. cit., p. 223.
12. R.C. Dutt, The Economic History of India in the Victorian Age, p.
xv.
13. Montgomeny Martin, Eastern India, Introduction to vol. I.
14. Mukherjee, op. cit., pp. 224-25.
15. Marx, “The British Rule in India”, New York Daily Tribune, June
25, 1853.
16. Majumdar, op. cit., p. 229.
17. Charles Ball, Indian Mutiny, vol. II. p. 242.
18. Sir T. Metcalfe, Two Narratives of the Mutiny at Delhi, pp. 98-99.
19. Quoted by Edward Thompson, The Other Side of the Medal, pp. 73-74.
20. Quoted by Savarkar, Indian War of Independence, p. 134.
21. Majendie, Up Among the Pandies, pp. 195-96.
22. Kaye & Malleson, History of the Indian Mutiny, vol. II, p. 281.
23. Nehru, Discovery of India, p. 281.
24. Marx, unsigned article, New York Daily Tribune, July 15, 1857. 25.
Nehru, op. cit., p. 279.
26. Quoted by Savarkar, op. cit., pp. 534-35.
27. Nehru, op. cit., p. 279.
28. Majumdar, op. cit., p. 241.
29. S.N. Sen, Eighteen Fifty Seven, pp. 412-13.
30. John Williams Kaye, A History of the Sepoy War, vol. I, p. 565.
31. Quoted by Asoka Mehta, The Great Rebellion, p. 42.
32. Fazle Haq, op. cit., p. 33.
33. Vide Talmiz Khaldun’s paper “The Great Rebellion” presented at the
symposium held on the occasion of the centenary of the 1857 Revolt.
34. Metcalfe, op. cit., p. 220.
35. Ibid., Jeewanlal’s Diary, under date 26 August.
36. G.W. Forrest, op. cit., vol. II, p. 150.
37. On October 5, 1858. See Col. G.B. Malleson, Indian Mutiny of 1857,
Vol. III, p. 287.
38. On February 3, 1858. See Ibid., vol. II, p. 334.
39. Ball, op. cit., vol. II, p. 241.
40. Quoted by Asoka Mehta, op. cit., pp. 51-52. Also Savarkar, op.
cit., p. 444.
41. W.H. Russell, My Diary in India in the Year 1858-59, p. 276.
42. M.R. Gubbins, An Account of the Mutinies in Oudh, p. 53.
43. T.R. Holmes, History of the Seopy War, p. 506.
44. Gubbins, op. cit., p. 58.
45. Majumdar, op. cit., p. 217. 46. Nehru, op. cit., p. 284. 47.
Ibid., p. 268. 48. Nehru, op. cit., p. 285. 49. Earl Granville,
February 19, 1858, in the House of Lords in reply to the charges of
the President of the Board of Control, Lord Ellenborough.
Parliamentary Debates, 3rd series, CXL VIII, 1858, pp. 1728-29.
50. Quoted by Sen, op. cit., p. 29.
51. Dadabhai Naoroji, “The Condition of India”. Correspondence with
the Secretary of State for India, Journal of the East India Affairs,
XIV, 1882, pp. 171-172.
52. K. N. Panikkar, Asia and Western Dominance, p. 105.
53. Ibid., pp. 162-163.
54. Ibid., pp. 164-165.
55. Marx, unsigned article, New York Herald Tribune, July 15, 1857. *]
http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article107.html
Mainstream Weekly
Mainstream, Vol XLVI No 41
Dissecting Anew Hindu-Muslim Ties And Partition
Wednesday 1 October 2008, by Amarendra Nath Banerjee
[(BOOK REVIEW)]
HINDU-MUSLIM RELATIONS IN A NEW PERSPECTIVE BY PANCHANAN SAHA
(FOREWORD BY DR ASGHAR ALI ENGINEER); BISWABIKSHA, KOLKATA; PP.
FORWORD +392; RS 300.
Hindu-Muslim relations are very much complicated—the knottiest problem
in Indian history. Since the advent of Islam in the Indian
subcontinent more than millennium years ago, India faced a powerful
challenge from a militant and vigorous religion with an egalitarian
appeal. India failed to stem the tide of the rapid spread of Islam due
to internal squabbles and degeneration of society. In the caste-ridden
Brahminical society the lower castes were denied proper human rights.
They were not only socially degraded but also economically exploited.
It is no wonder, therefore, that millions of them welcomed Islam as a
religion of deliverance and to gain human dignity. The theory of
social liberation seems to be right for substantial reasons in
Islamisation in India. Swami Vivekananda had rightly said:
The Mohammedan conquest of India came as a salvation to the
downtrodden, to the poor. That is why one-fifth of our people have
become Mohammedan. It was not the sword that did it all. It would be
the height of madness to think that it was all the work of sword and
fire.
But it does not mean force was not at all applied in Islamisation.
However, the major role was played by the Sufi saints and Pirs in it.
Nevertheless, wholesale Islamisation did not take place in India like
Afghanistan, Persia and other countries perhaps due to the inherent
strength of the Hindu philosophy in spite of its many drawbacks.
The advent of Islam produced tremendous reactions in India. Hinduism
wanted to protect itself by going into its inner shells with stricter
caste rules and regulations. But this hardly helped in preventing the
egalitarian influence of Islam on Hindu society. The Bhakti movement
was its product.
But living hundreds of years side by side, eating the same grain from
the common fields, drinking the same water and inhaling the same air,
the Hindu and Muslim societies and religions underwent profound
changes. Islam of India today is not the same as what it was when it
arrived. Hinduism also could not remain the same. Both the religions
had influenced each other. There was some kind of assimilation between
the two in spite of frequent clashes and mutual hostility. But
unfortunately a composite Indian nation has failed to emerge
assimilating the two major religions in India due to various factors
which led ultimately to the partition of the country.
Dr Panchanan Saha’s new book, Hindu-Muslim Relations in a New
Perspective, is projected on a large canvas from the advent of Islam—
gradual Islamisation and its causes, conflict and assimilation,
sprouting of the seeds of separation by the conscious British policy
of divide-and-rule, Hindu-Muslim revivalism and the short-sighted
policy of the Indian political leaders which ultimately led to the
communal carnage and partition of India.
In the chapter, “Conflict and Assimilation”, Saha emphasises the role
played by the Sufi saints, Bhakti movement as well as attempts of the
Mughal Emperor, Akbar, and his great grandson, Dara Shiko, to help the
process of reconciliation between the Hindus and Muslims. But
unfortunately this process was not properly taken forward due to
various factors, particularly the emergence of Wahhabism and Hindu-
Muslim revivalism.
♦
IN his analysis Saha has been seldom swayed by emotion; rather he has
remained mostly faithful to rationalism. He holds that the causes of
spread of separatism among the Muslims of India are to be found in the
refusal of the already matured Hindu bourgeoisie in sharing power with
the newly emerging Muslim bourgeoisie. Muslim bourgeoisie developed
later due to their empathy to British rule and Western education.
Saha has sympathetically discussed the Fourteen Points of M.A. Jinnah
in this direction and the rejection of the Congress to share power
with the Muslim League in Uttar Pradesh after the elections of 1936
and to collaborate with Fazlul Haque in Bengal for forming a secular
Ministry. It seems class interest played a more decisivie role in
making this choice than the greater interest of the country.
There is a simplistic explanation of Hindu-Muslim cleavage by putting
the sole responsibility on the British policy of divide-and-rule. But
Saha appears to be correct when he cites Tagore—“The Satan cannot
enter unless there is a hole to get in.” Tagore believed that division
among Hindus and Muslims existed and the cunning British rulers
utilised it to prolong their rule.
In his last chapter, entitled “Was Partition Inescapable?”, Saha has
not traversed the beaten tracks of numerous scholars of partition. He
has used substantial Pakistani literature on partition to prove his
point.
There is an enigma why Gandhiji, in spite of opposing partition on the
basis of religion tooth and nail, ultimately accepted it as a fait
accompli. The Frontier Gandhi, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, lamented that
they were thrown to the wolves. What went on behind-the-scenes is a
mystery to this day.
It seems that the Hindu big bourgeoisie wanted an unchallenged market
even in partitioned India. They seemed to think that a truncated
Pakistan would not be viable. Whatever the reasons, it is evident that
had the Indian leaders shown true sagacity and leadership free of
class or emotional bias, there might have been a Confederation of
India based on the Cabinet Mission’s Plan which the Congress initially
accepted but subsequently refused to do so for reasons that are
unknown. Hence it is not inappropriate to quote The Times of India:
It is legitimate to enquire who is responsible for this debacle. ….
the parties concerned, the Congress, the British Government and the
Muslim League, are all more or less responsible, although on the facts
set forth, the Congress should get the first prize.
One could have expected that such a serious book should have remained
free from printing and editorial errors.
http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article957.html
Mainstream Weekly
Mainstream, Vol XLVI, No 50
Hindu Terrorism: The Shock of Recognition
Wednesday 3 December 2008, by Badri Raina
Epigraph
“Underlying these religions were a common set of beliefs about how you
treat other people and how you aspire to act, not just for yourself
but also for the greater good.”
(Obama in his interview about Religion given to Cathleen Falsani,
March 27, 2004; cf. to his mother’s teaching about the validity of
diverse faiths and the value of tolerance.)
I
So, now, India is home to “Hindu” terrorism. Departing from the more
usual banner-appelation, “Saffron Terror”, I wish the fact to be
registered that saffron is drawn from the stamin of a delicate and
indescribably pretty mauve flower grown exclusively in my home valley
of Kashmir, and exclusively by Muslims. My inherited memories of it
are thereby sweet and secular to the core. Also, saffron when used to
grace milk products, Biryani, or to brew the heavenly kehwa is a thing
of the gods truly.
It is only when it is coerced against the use of nature to colour
politics that it rages against the sin. Then, don’t we know, what
gruesome consequences begin?
I think it proper, therefore, to stick with the more direct and honest
description, “Hindu” terrorism, since, much against their grain, even
India’s premier TV channels are now bringing us news of “Hindu”
terrorism, so compelling the materials gathered by the investigating
agencies thus far. This despite the fact that in my view the term
“Hindu” trerrorism is as erroneous as the term “Muslim” terrorism.
Even though not a religious man myself, I am able to see that being
Hindu or Muslim by accident of birth has no necessary connect with how
one’s politics turns out to be in adult life. A plethora of specific
contexts and shaping histories are here provenly more to the point.
II
It was way back in 1923 that Savarkar, never a practising Hindu
(indeed a self-confessed atheist) had first understood that from this
benign term, “Hindu”, could be drawn the toxic racial concept
Hindutva, and made to serve a forthrightly fascist purpose. That
Brahminism had always been a socially toxic form of Hinduism was of
course an enabling prehistory to the new project.
He it was who established Abhinav Bharat in Pune (1904), that
theoretical hotbed of twice-born Brahminical casteism against which
low-caste social reformers such as Phule, Periyar, and Ambedkar were
to struggle their whole lives long.
Such casteism was made the instrument of communalist politics to serve
two major objectives: one, to overwhelm and negate the specific
cultural and material oppressions of the low-caste within the Hindu
Varna system , and two, to elevate the low-caste as a warrior of a
common “Hindutva” army against the chief common “enemy”, the Muslim.
Such an army has been seen to be needed to salvage the “real” nation
from this so-called common enemy who continues to be represented to
this day by the RSS and its hydra-headed “educational” front
organisations as an “invader” still bent on seeking to convert India
into an Islamic theocratic state.
Aided in these mythical fears and constructions by the British during
the crucial decades leading upto Independence, India’s majoritarian
fascists continue thus to keep at bay all consideration of secular
oppressions based entirely in the brutal social order of Capitalist
expropriation.
Savarkar thus counselled how a resurgent nation could result only if
“Hinduism was militarised, and the military Hinduised”.
Clearly enough, the serving Army Colonel, S.P. Purohit, and the other
retired Major, one Upadhyay, who the Mumbai ATS (Anti-Terrorist Squad)
tells us, are at the centre of the Malegaon terrorist blasts of
September 29, 2008, alongwith Sadhvi Pragya and the rogue-sadhu,
Amreetanand—and very possibly complicit in half-a dozen other blasts
as well—seem to have heeded Savarkar’s advice to the hilt.
Indeed, in his narco-test confessions, Colonel Purohit, sources have
told some TV channels (Times Now), admits to his guilt and justifies
his actions as retribution for what he thinks SIMI (Student’s Islamic
Movement of India) have been doing. He is understood to have further
indicated that the rogue sadhu, Amreetanand, nee Dayanand etc., has
been the kingpin and chief coordinator and devisor of several other
blasts carried out by this cell, including the blasts at the revered
Ajmer Dargah (Mausoleum of the 12th century Sufi saint, Chisti, which
to this day draws devotees across faiths the world-over), and at
Kanpur.
The ATS are now busy exploring the routes through which huge sums of
money have been brought into the country for such terrorist activity
as hawala transactions, and whether the RDX, suspected to be used in
the Malegaon blast, was procured by Colonel Purohit through Army
connections. It is to be noted that Purohit has been in Military
Intelligence, and serving in Jammu and Kashmir, where it is thought he
made contact with the rogue sadhu, Amreetanand.
(Indeed, as I write, news comes of the ATS claiming that Purohit
actually stole some 60 kilos of RDX which was in his custody while
doing duty at Deolali, and that in his narco-test confession he admits
to passing it on to one “Bhagwan” for use in the blast on the
Samjhauta Express train in February, 2007.)
Needless to say, that alongwith the courts, we will also require that
the ATS is actually able to obtain convictions rather than merely pile
on evidence which may not be admissible in law.
To return to the argument:
As I suggested in my last column, “Notions of the Nation” (Znet,
November 4), Hindutva militarism since the establishment of the Hindu
Mahasabha and the RSS has been inspired by the desire to emulate and
then better Muslim “aggressiveness” seen as a racial characteristic
that defined “Muslim” rule in India, and rendered Hindus “limp” and
“cowardly”.
Thus, if Savarkar established Abhinav Bharat, Dr Moonje, an avowed
Mussolini admirer who in turn inspired Dr Hedgewar to establish the
RSS on Vijay Dashmi of 1924 (victory day, denoting the liquidation of
the Dravidian Ravana by the Aryan Kshatriya warrior, Ram), established
the Bhondsala Military Academy at Indore (1937). It now transpires
that this academy has been playing host to the Bajrang Dal for
militarist training routines etc., and its Director, one Raikar, has
put in his papers. Unsurprisingly enough, both these institutions are
now under the scanner.
III
Over the last decade, terrorist blasts have occurred in India across a
wide variety of sites and in major cities and towns.
Many of these blasts have taken place outside mosques and known
Muslim- majority locations, as well outside cinema halls that were
thought to be showing movies inimical to Hindu glory.
Briefly, these sites are: cinemas in Thane and Vashi in Maharashtra,
Jalna, Purna, Parbhani, and Malegaon towns, again all in Maharashtra—
and all areas of high Muslim density, in Hyderabad outside a famous
old mosque, and in Ahmedabad and Surat in Gujarat.
Curiously, in the Surat episode, some sixteen odd bombs were found
placed along the main thoroughfare in tree branches, on house-tops, on
electric poles and so forth. Not one of them however exploded. This
was thought to be the result of defective switches. Curious
circumstance that; besides the wonder that Ahmedabad’s Muslims could
find such sprawling access to such strategic locations without Modi
knowing a thing.
Yet, regardless of where the blasts have taken place, almost without
exception the Pavlovian response of state agencies as well as, sad to
say, media channels has been invariably to point fingers of suspicion
and culpability towards one or the other “Islamic” outfit.
Often, young Muslims men have been rounded up in the scores and held
for days of brutal questioning without the least prima facie evidence.
Nearly in all such cases, however reluctantly, they have had to be let
off.
The most recent case is that of some fifteen young Muslims picked up
after the Hyderabad blasts. Tortured with electric shocks, they have
nevertheless been found to be innocent and let go.
Indeed, after the gruesome blasts in the Samjhauta Express—a train
service of reconciliation and confidence-building between India and
Pakistan—in which some 68 people were burnt to cinders, 45 of them
Pakistani citizens, fingers were immediately pointed towards the SIMI.
Yet, the ATS of Mumbai now suspects that this may also be the doing of
the “Hindu” terrorists in custody. These speculations have been raised
by the circumstance that the suitcases that held the bombs had Indore
labels on them.
Just as the ATS now suspects that more than half a dozen blasts (the
two at Malegaon, in 2006 and 2008, at the cinemas in Thane and Vashi,
at Jalna, at Purna, at Parbhani, provenly at Nanded and Kanpur) have
all been the handiwork of “Hindu” terror groups.
IV
For some years, reputed civil and human rights organisations, and
individual members of civil society that have included journalists,
judges, lawyers, writers, artists, teachers, students, and labour
organisations, besides organised Muslim fora and Left parties, have
been cautioning both state agencies and media conglomerates to:
• desist from the Pavlovian haste with which some one or other Muslim
group is immediately named and labelled literally within an hour of
the occurrence of a blast, thus contributing to the maligning of the
entire Muslim community;
• to consider the possibility that groups other than those involving
Muslims could be involved;
• to refrain from covering up prima facie evidence which points to
such possibilities; indeed, where such evidence seems conclusive, as
the complicity of the Bajrang Dal at Nanded and Kanpur;
• to ponder the question as to why Muslims should effect blasts within
their own localities or outside their mosques;
• to weigh the consequences for the Muslim psyche of the failure of
the state to prevent repeated pogroms against them, and to find or
punish the guilty; not to speak of active state connivance in those
pogroms (Moradabad, 198o; Nellie, 1983; Hashimpura, 1987; Bhagalpur,
1989; Mumbai, 1992-93; Gujarat, 2002, to cite just the more recent
ones);
• to permit transparency in the matter of police investigations with
due regard for the Constitutional rights of those held in custody—such
as visitation, access to legal defence, norms of the recording of
confession and other evidence etc.;
• to respect the obligatory presumption of innocence until anyone is
juridically found guilty;
Time and again these cautions and rightful prerogatives have been
trampled under foot.
Aided by the loud biases of the corporate media which have tended to
reflect the predilections both of free-market imperialism and
comprador urban middle class sentiments in India’s metropolitan towns,
India’s state agencies and that “all-knowing” species, the
Intellegence expert, who seems ever present to reinforce anti-Muslim
prejudice, have tended to feed massively into the politics of the
Hindu Right-wing.
For years on end, India’s chief malady has been sought to be seen to
reside in “Islamic” terrorism, and in the complicit refusal of the
secularists to allow draconian preventive laws to be brought back on
the books. Not in poverty, malnutrition, disease, absence of health
care or clean drinking water, or lack of steady work among the urban
poor, or the ousted tribals, disenfranchised farmers, chronic failure
of primary schooling and so forth among some 75 per cent of Indians.
And most of them belonging to the Muslim, Dalit, and Tribal
communities.
And to repeat for the nth time, this three-fourths of Indians able to
spend just or under Rupees Twenty a day, all according to the
governments’ own Arjun Sengupta Committee Report.
Not to speak of the venomous communalisation of the polity, the
alienation and ghettoisation of the minorities, and the state’s
failure or unwillingness to carry through schemes that could redress
these maladies.
As to new terror laws, the government of the day may protest that it
has all the laws it wants, and more; as well as the fact that the
worst terrorist attacks took place when laws like the dreaded POTA
(Prevention of Terrorism Act) was on the books during the tenure of
the NDA regime led by the ultra-”nationalist” BJP. Small dent is made
by any regime of empirically-founded facts, or fair-minded arguments
on the right-wing fascists and their fattened constituency.
V
Now, of course, a radically transformed milieu is unravelling.
Photos and videos are doing the rounds that show the “Hindu”
terrorists currently under investigation in close and intimate
proximity to top leaders of the RSS, the VHP, and the BJP as well.
Had POTA indeed been on the books today, such evidence would have
authorised the police to put them all behind bars on the charge of
associating with those under investigation for “terrorism”. And all
that without any recourse to bail either.
Predictably, nonetheless, after some days of dumbfounded
crestfallenness (remember that the main electoral plank of the BJP in
the elections now under way in several states and in the soon-to-be-
held parliamentary polls is the failure of the Congress to eradicate
“terrorism” because of its “minority appeasement” policies), the Right-
wing fascists are back to brazen form.
Even as the projected Prime Ministerial candidate, Advani (the high-
point of whose career remains the successful demolition of the Babri
mosque) seeks to strike a stance of caution, party hard-liners have
taken to peddling outrageous theories.
As a complement to the well-known Pavlovian hunch that “all terrorists
are Muslims”, we are now told by the likes of Rajnath Singh, the party
President, that “no Hindu can be a terrorist”, that is to say even
when he or she is found to be one.
This for the reason that what the ordinary man calls “terrorism” is in
fact “nationalism” where any Hindu be involved. Live and learn.
Other than that, it is both interesting and laughable that spokesmen
and women of the BJP are today reduced to gurgitating every single
argument that Muslims and civil rights organisations have to this day
voiced:
• presume innocence until found guilty;
• desist from the “political conspiracy” to malign a whole community;
• do not let enemies of the Hindu-right propagate fake evidence
against them, since all evidence against them must be fake in
principle;
• and most outlandishly, do not communalise terrorism; that from
India’s rank communalists who have done nothing but communalise
terrorism ever since we remember!
VI
Even as these new developments point to a potentially mortal combat
among “Hindu” and “Muslim” terror groups, I venture to think that the
situation also offers opportunities of far-reaching redressal for all
three axes that matter: the state and its agencies, the party-
political system, and the polity generally.
First off, if, as has been the case, the Congress’ secular credentials
have consistently been vitiated by, willy nilly, playing second-fiddle
to Hindu-communalist appeasement, the denuding of the Hindu-Right
offers it the opportunity of a lifetime to assert the supremacy of the
constitutional scheme of things, without fear or favour.
It is indeed a circumstance that can now help the Congress and other
secular parties to come down like a ton on communalism of all shades
that underpin the fatal subversion of the secular republic without the
need for apology.
In this endeavour, its greatest inspiration must come from two factors
on the Muslim side of the issue:
one, that over the last year every single major and influential Muslim
cultural and religious organisation has publicly, and repeatedly,
denounced through speech, act, and fatwa “terrorism” as un-Islamic and
a rightful candidate for punishment under law;
and, two, that without exception they have pleaded only and ever for
fair and just treatment at the hands of the authorised instruments of
state, both when victimised by pogroms and suspected as culprits; and
for credible pursuit of those that persecute them.
Not once has any Muslim organisation worth the name suggested that
Muslims have any claims that override the cosntitutional regime of
laws and procedures pertaining to all citizens of the Republic.
All that in stark contrast to the refusal, however camouflaged or
strategised, of the RSS and its affiliates to accept either the
secular Constitution or the notion of secular citizenship.
It is to be recalled that the RSS tactically acquiesced to
acknowledging the primacy of the national flag over its own saffron
one in 1949 as a quid pro quo to its release from the ban imposed on
it after Gandhi’s murder.
To this day it seeks to overthrow the Republic as constituted by law
and to replace it by a theocratic Hindu Rashtra wherein the
prerogatives of citizenship will be determined not by secular,
democratic equality but racial difference among Indians (all that
brutally codified in Golwalker’s two books, We, and Our Ntionhood
Defined; and, the later Bunch of Thoughts which explicitly designates
Muslims as the nations’s “Enemy Number One” in an exclusive chapter).
However Hindu cultural politics may have come to infect sections of
the fattened urbanites, the Congress must show the conviction that
none of these in this day and age would be willing to back what is
explicitly “terrorist” activity, indistinguishable from any other,
once the matter is proven.
This then is a fine moment to release a new energetic politics that
recharges the conviction and inspiration of the non-discriminatory
humanism that informed the leaders of the freedom movement, and thus
to disengage whatever popular base the Hindu-Right has built over the
years since the demolition of the Babri mosque from its fascist
leaderships and cadres.
Just as, in fact, many BJP supporters are busy thinking whether they
are indeed willing to carry their love of Muslim-haters quite to the
point where those other dreams of Indian super-powerdom are seriously
jeopardised by a war of competing terrorisms.
It is also a golden opportunity for the Congress-led UPA, should it
come back to power, to take a hard look at the communalist virus that
has infected law-enforcement agencies over the decades, and to make
bold to effect reforms of a far-reaching character, such as include
the recruitment of Muslims and other “minorities” in due proportion to
the forces, and not just among the lower ranks.
Speaking of the Army, some three per cent Muslims are today among its
ranks—some sixty years after Independence. And I won’t make a guess as
to how abysmal might in fact be its share among the officer core,
colonel and above. And wouldn’t I dearly like to take a peek into what
sort of Indian History is taught India’s future officers at Khada-
kvasla and Dehradun? Truly; and who does the teaching as well.
VII
As to the BJP: it has another opportunity as well, namely, to
reconstitute itself as a secular party on the Right, bearing full
allegiance to the Constitution in letter and spirit (remember now that
among other things on the street-level, the NDA regime led by the BJP
did constitute a Constitution Review Committee—an ominous enough move
that, thankfully, was duly aborted in course), and shunning once and
for all its enslavement to the RSS and its fascist vision of India,
its history, culture and state.
Failing to do so, the BJP may succeed in causing further mayhem; but
it is highly unlikely now to attain the sort of ascendance it seeks
through fair means and foul.
Most of all, the BJP must understand that the Muslims of India, and
Christians as well, have the inalienable right to live and work in the
country on the terms set by the Constitution, not by the RSS or the
Sangh Parivar.
And, conversely, that the BJP itself is as subject to those
constitutional stipulations as any another collective of Indians who
practice their beliefs and politics.
Let the BJP notice the epigraph chosen for this column; it comes from
the new President-elect of the one country that the BJP adores. Or
will it now, with a Black man at the helm?
A different voice floats from there.
Time for the BJP to change its langoti, and say “yes we can” also be
peaceable and law-abiding citizens of the Republic of India. And to
prize and protect its magnificent plurality like all sensible and
humane Indians.
http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article1067.html
Mainstream Weekly
Mainstream, Vol. XLVII, No 34, August 8, 2009
Will RSS see the Ground Reality and join to Salve India‘s Core Values?
Sunday 16 August 2009, by Sailendra Nath Ghosh
Of late, the RSS has been accusing the BJP of inconsistency and also
of failure to convey the real meaning of Hindutva. The BJP has
certainly been inconsistent. It has been in two minds because like the
Congress, it, too, is preoccupied, not with any principle or any
concern for correct ideation, but with the slogan that can help it
capture power. But on the question of the real meaning of Hindutva, is
the RSS itself clear and consistent? It has a very large and committed
cadre. Why does it depend on the BJP to “convey the real meaning”? To
what extent has the RSS itself succeeded in conveying the supposedly
real meaning?
The RSS has been saying that anybody who regards India as his/her
motherland and a holy land is a Hindu and that the Indian Muslims are
Mohammadi Hindus and the Indian Christians are Isahi Hindus and so on.
Now, there is a large body of people who plainly call themselves
Hindus. They are not the followers of any one Prophet or of any one
Book. They have a large body of sacred books – the Vedas, the
Upanishads, the Geeta and Puranas. They venerate many Rishis and adore
some maryada-purushes like Lord Rama and Lord Krishna. How should they
be described? They cannot be called Ramiah Hindus or Krishnaiah
Hindus. They would not like to be called Sakti-ite Hindus, or Shivaite
or Vaishnavaite Hindus. Saktism, shaivism, and vaishnavism have got so
merged in their thinking that they are partly sakta, partly shaiva and
partly vaishnava. They worship all these principles as different
manifestations of the one Supreme Reality in differing circumstances.
If they are to be called “Sanatan dharmis” or in brief, “Sanatanis”,
why did the RSS not launch a movement insisting that the members of
the community, now plainly called Hindus, add a prefix “Sanatani” to
bring consistency? Not to do that would mean they would continue to
describe themselves as Hindus by religion, and again, as Hindus by
nationality. This becomes ridiculous.
Hinduism is no particular religion. It is a philosophy of religions.
The great nationalist leader, late Bipin Chandra Pal, described
Hinduism as a “confederal principle of co-existence of all religions”.
In deference to this spirit, the RSS had composed a verse in which the
names of pious Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and Jains were included
as persons to be remembered and revered early every morning, before
beginning the day’s work.
Socio-Cultural Heritage got Degraded
IF this is Hinduism, how does Hindutva differ from it? The RSS’s
cryptic answer is, Hindutva is the concept of “geocultural
nationalism”. Implicitly, it says that long before India’s political
unification, India had achieved cultural unification from Jammu and
Kashmir to Kanyakumari, and from Arunachal and Meghalaya to Saurashtra
through the medium of two great epics, the Ramayana and the
Mahabharata, and the Geeta (which is truly a part of the Mahabharata).
These great works of the ancient Indians, then universally called
Hindus, had imparted values of parental love, filial duties, brotherly
love, unshakeable fidelity to the spouse, the monarch’s obedience to
the people’s wishes, the triumph of dharma over the mightiest wrong-
doer—that is, values to be cherished in perpetuity. Hence Hindutva is
value-orientation, the RSS claims. But can the RSS deny that during
the so-called Hindu period, caste hatred had taken firm roots as a
value? In ancient India, desertion of the wife for no fault of hers
also had become a tradition, as in the case of Sita. Murder of a
shudra for reading the Vedas was sanctioned by the social ethos.
Merit of Religio-Confederal Concept
THE RSS needs to accept that the ancient Hindus had, at a certain
stage, come to indulge in regressive social discrimination. The
obverse side of “geocultral nationalism” was socio-cultural dominance
of the higher castes and of the males among them. In the sphere of
philosophical concepts, however, the ancient Hindus were the most
liberal and the highest in cosmopolitanism (Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam).
Hence if the RSS does not want to nurture caste inequality and gender
inequality, it should give up its “geo-cultural nationalism” (read the
socio-cultural concept) of Hindutva. If it seeks to promote the
philosophy of co-existence of all faiths, which is the ideal of
Hinduism, it should opt for the religio-confederal concept of
Hindustaniyat. The Muslims of this country have no problem with this,
because they have been traditionally describing themselves as
Hindustanis. The word Hindustan itself came from the verbiage of the
Iranians.
Four Cardinal Considerations
THE RSS needs to recognise four things. First, the usage of a word in
a restricted sense over centuries changes the original acceptation of
the word. Secondly, the Koran not only teaches the oneness of the
Creator. Its esoteric message is the unity of all of creation. The
bigots fail to see this. Hence, for ages, the raging controversy
within Islam, in the words of the eminent historian, the late Prof
Mohammad Habib, has been “between Wahdat-ul-wujud (God is everything)
and Wahdat-ush-shuhud (everything comes from God)”. Those who believe
in the former become attuned to tolerance, amicable relations between
all religious and racial communities and (Emperor) Akbar’s doctrine of
sulh-I-kul (Universal Religious Peace). The doctrine of Wahdat-ush-
shuhud led to the worship of external shariat (shariat-i-zahiri) and
communal hatred. (Vide Prof Habib’s Foreword to Dr S.A.A.Rizvi’s book
“Muslim Revivalist Movements in Northern India in the Sixteenth and
Seventeenth Centuries”)
From the above, it follows that the pious people in other faiths
should help in resolving the worldwide intra-Islamic controversy in
favour of the former. Declaration of the principle of confederal
principle in religion in India would largely help resolve Islam’s
global problem and be a powerful blow against bigotry, for world
peace.
Thirdly, India’s religio-philosophy’s contribution to Sufism in Islam,
and Islam’s contribution to spurring religious reform movements in
India constitute a glorious chapter in the world’s history. Historians
agree that the growth of Sufism in early Islam was inspired as much by
its internal urges as by the influences of Buddhism, the Vedanta and
the Hellenistic religions. Islam’s strident call to equality was
wedded to the Arabian nomadic tribes’ aggressive traits. It needed an
Indian response. This provided the spark for the religious reform
movements led by Ramananda, Kabir, Namdev, Tukaram, Guru Nanak and Sri
Chaitanya. To talk of inequitous socio-cultural Hindutva as the motto
is to belittle the fruitful intermingling of the religio-philosophical
thoughts of early Islam and its contemporary Hinduism.
Sharing is a positive value within Islam. Sharing the means of
sustenance is also an ideal of Hinduism so much so that Swami
Vivekananda had proclaimed that the “Hindu ideal is socialistic”.
Hence there is considerable convergence between the pristine Islamic
and Hindu spirituality.
Fourthly, all the ideals of love and selfless service which the
Ramayana and the Mahabharata had taught are getting eclipsed under the
influence of the now globally dominant commercialism, selfism, and cut-
throat competitivism in the name of efficiency. To restore ancient
India’s sublime values, we need a joint fight of all people against
the West’s consumerist and acquisitive philosophy of life and its
accompanying paradigm of development. The Biblical value of universal
love, the Koranic value of Raham and the Upanishadic teaching “love
others as you do yourself” can join together to beat back the narrow
self-centric modes of thought. For this also, the fascination for the
word “Hindutva” needs to be given up to salve the basic values.
Hinduism’s ideal is synthesis, ever higher synthesis. It requires
reconciliation by dissolving the sources of conflict in every
unfolding situation. Its ideal is integration of the heart and the
head (that is, emotion and intellect) of every individual; integration
of individuals with the society; integration of the communities by
elevation to newer peaks of harmonious existence. Its form of address
must, therefore, be such as has a psychological appeal to all people.
The language of negativism, or a language that has the flavour of bias
against any group is alien to the spirit of Hinduism. We need
inclusivism in letter and spirit.
Inclusivism is not an apologia for overlooking anybody’s hateful,
divisive or separatist trends. But to successfully fight separatism,
we must have a robust faith in the ultimate victory of the cause for
universal good and the preparedness to make sacrifices for it. Success
is assured if the approach is positive. Mere criticism/condemnation of
any trend without a pointer to the workable alternative serves only to
widen the gulf. It defeats the national purpose.
True, the virulent anti-Hindu, anti-Shia mujaddid movement in the 16th
century, the bigoted ulama’s secretive conspiracies against Emperor
Akbar’s policy of religious tolerance in the 16th century, the wave of
Wahabi Jihadism from Arabia in the 18th century, the ani-Hindu tirade
of the later-day incarnate of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan in the late 19th
century and the mayhem for a separate homeland for the Muslims led by
the later-day incarnate of Mohammad Ali Jinnah were all abominations
and deserved condemnation. But the turning of the usually unruly
Pathans into the volunteers of non-violence led by the Frontier Gandhi
( Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan) was an index of the wonder that communal
harmony and national unity could achieve.
Indian Muslims had no Pathological Separatism
IT must not be imagined that the Indian Muslims had always been under
separatist influence. It is well known that in undivided Punjab,
undivided Bengal and in Sind and the NWFP, and Balochistan, that is,
in the Muslim-majority States which were to constitute Pakistan later,
the Muslim League’s influence was meagre. In the elections to the
provincial legislatures and the Central Assembly in 1937, just a
decade before the Partition, the Muslim League had cut a sorry figure.
In Punjab, it contested only seven out of 84 Muslim reserved seats and
won only two. In Bengal, out of 117 Muslim reserved seats, it had won
only 38. In Sind out of 133 Muslim reserved seats, it had secured only
38. In the NWFP, the League was trounced. The League did not get even
a single seat in the Central Assembly. This showed the Muslims could
be mobilised for national purposes if the national leadership could
act wisely and avoid falling into traps.
True, a decade later the results were reversed. The Muslim League won
all the 30 reserved seats for Muslims in the Central Assembly and 428
seats out of 492 reserved seats for Muslims in provincial
legislatures. That happened because the elections were held in an
atmosphere in which no civilised country would ever allow an election
to take place. The ambience was vitiated by the British rulers’
intrigues, the Imams’ fatwas and false propaganda blitz that in the
event of Muslim League’s defeat, the Muslims would not be allowed to
congregate to offer prayers or to bury their dead and that the
madrasas would all be closed. The Indian National Congress, which had
the necessary moral resources and international prestige, could have
asked for postponement of the elections unless there was a stoppage of
the false propaganda and a calming down of the tempers. Moreover, it
should never have agreed to the elections— a virtual referendum —
being held on the basis of restricted franchise in which only 10 per
cent of the population had the right to vote!
Deadly Poison Mix of Ruling Party’s Pseudo-Secularism and RSS’
Hindutva
IN post-independence India, the ruling Congress party, in the name of
secularism, has been following a policy of appeasing the bigoted
Muslim clerics. Thereby it encouraged “minority aggressivism” and
further fuelled the communal fire. But Hindutvavad was no answer to
this. Instead of mitigating the communal fire, it only served to
corroborate Sir Syed Ahmad Khan’s and later Jinnah’s thesis that the
Muslims and the Hindus were two separate nations. What was needed
instead was the pointer that concessions to the clerics were only a
cloak for neglect of the Muslim masses’ material, intellectual and
spiritual interests. Only Mahatma Gandhi’s kind of response could have
been effective. During his Noakhali tour, with his ever-present
declaration of Universal Love, he had challenged the communalist
leaders to show him where the Koran had enjoined the killing of people
of other faiths. Could the RSS challenge the communalists the way the
Mahatma did?
One only wishes that the Mahatma had shown the same grit by standing
steadfastly with Maulana Azad and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan in resisting
Partition.
Hinduism’s unique teaching is: “Hate the sin, not the sinner.”
Hinduism also teaches: “Love others as you do yourself.” “Love has the
power to heal.” The Biblical teaching, too, is Universal Love. The
Koran teaches Khuda’s Raham pervades the universe. Criticism by the
way of pointer to the error is essential. But criticism without
concern for the welfare of the wrong-doer is of no avail.
Half-hearted Compromise is no Solution
IN its latest meet, the BJP’s National Executive has tried to make a
compromise between the RSS’ clamour for Hindutva and many of the BJP
leaders’ belated realisation that the Hindutva slogan alienates not
only the Muslims, Christians and large sections of the Dalits, but
also the secular “caste-Hindus”. L.K. Advani’s middle-path declaration
that the party would not accept “any narrow, bigoted, anti-Muslim
interpretation of Hindutva” indicates it is unable to shed its
fascination for the word it has so long been pledged to. In fact, the
BJP would not be able to shed it until the the RSS realises how, by
sticking to this word, it is hampering national unity and also
defeating its own cherished values. This tightrope walking by the BJP
will not have the healing touch. This will not unify the people.
Clearly discarding Hindutva and accepting Hindustaniyat will not mean
any loss of face. This will rather show the courage to steer a change
propelled by the depth of patriotic fervour.
If the RSS and/or the BJP could drop Hindutva as its motto, it would
be able to challenge the Muslimist bigots more effectively. Like Dr
Rafiq Zakaria and in one voice with all truly secular people, it will
be able to tell the bigoted clerics:
During the British rule, you accepted the replacements of the Koranic
punishments by those which the then rulers had imposed in their civil
and criminal courts. At that time, you acquiesced in the banning of
the stoning of the adulterous to death, though this ban violated the
Koranic injunction. You paid interest on the loans taken from the
banks though it was prohibited by the Koran. Now, you raise a hue and
cry about carrying out some essential reforms in Muslim Personal Law
even though some Muslim countries have already enacted them. In
protest against the Supreme Court’s righteous verdict in the Shah Bano
case, you got enacted a law of maintenance which has thrown many
Muslim women divorcees to the streets. ‘Triple talaq at one go’ is
barbaric and against the spirit of the Koran; still you cling to it.
After it drops the outmoded Hindutva slogan, it would be able to mock
the shariat enthusiasts in the manner of Akbar Allahabadi: “The Shaikh
advised his followers, why do you travel by train when you could
travel on camel’s back?”
Writing on the Wall
MAYBE, all these pleas will fall flat in the RSS leadership’s ears. In
that case, the RSS should read the writing on the wall: the RSS will
break up or become moribund. Despite its claim of being a monolith
with no divergence of views among its members, the RSS will face a
grave existential crisis if it does not change its tune in keeping
with the times. There are already sufficient indications. In the1980s—
I forget the exact year—I was invited by Deendayal Research Institute,
headed by Nanaji Deshmukh, to give a series of lectures on my ideas of
environment and development. Lala Hansraj Gupta was in the chair. When
I came to say “Hinduism is no religion. It is a way of life”, I heard
an exclamation in endorsement: “Exactly. Those who talk of ‘Hindus,
Hindus’ but have no interest in the lives of Muslims are not genuine
Hindus.” The voice was Nanaji’s. I was pleasantly surprised because
Nanaji was a prominent RSS member and I did not expect this from an
RSS leader of his stature. Later I had many discussions with him, in
course of which I asked him: “Why don’t you tell your opinions to
Balasaheb Deoras?” He told me that he was writing down his viewpoints
but these would be published after his death. Presumably, he did not
want to annoy the RSS leadership for fear of their non-cooperation in
his other constructive activities at Gonda or Chitrakut.
I know some senior BJP leaders who would be happy if Hindutva is
dropped as the guiding principle. How long can the RSS keep such
people together under the banner of Hindutva? The slogan of Hindutva
does conjure up fear of “Hindu cultural domination” in the minds of
today’s non-Hindus, even if Hindu Rashtra is ruled out. Rationalising
has its limits.
If the RSS changes its archaic ideas and accepts Hindustaniyat as the
religio-confederal principle, it can play a much larger role on the
national horizon. During invasions by China and by Pakistan, its
volunteers played a very useful role in mobilising the people against
the invaders, and working as service providers to our military and
internal security forces. It also played a significant role in
regulating traffic and maintaining law and order even-handedly. In
recognition of this, the then Prime Minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri,
invited the RSS leadership to be a member of the National Security
Council. In times of violent attacks on the Sikhs following Indira
Gandhi’s assassination, it did laudable work in giving shelter and
succour to the Sikhs. Dr Hedgewar had links with Bengal’s legendary
revolutionary leader, Trailokya Nath Chakrabarty also known as
‘Maharaj’; and therefore, this nation’s hero, Subhas Chandra Bose, had
even thought of utilising the RSS’ organisational skill in raising a
nationalist volunteer force. During Jayaprakash Narayan’s anti-
corruption and anti-Emergency movements and Bihar flood relief, the
RSS had earned fulsome praise from JP.
Will the RSS let all this goodwill to be besmirched or lost by its
dogmatism and obsolete ideas? It needs to realise that its Hindutvavad
does stir up, among its unthinking followers—which is by far the
larger part—fanaticism, blind prejudices and hatred against all those
who now refuse to see themselves as “Hindus”. If the RSS did not
suffer from the Nelson’s eye syndrome, it would have seen that a large
section of the Dalits and even the Sikhs, who were once the vanguard
of saving the Hindus from forced conversion, do not now like to be
counted as Hindus.
The author is one of the country’s earliest environ-mentalists and a
social philosopher.
http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article1571.html
Mainstream Weekly
VOL XLV No 01
Sachar Committee Report : A Review
Tuesday 24 April 2007, by Anees Chishti
The report of the High-Level Committee appointed by the Prime Minister
under the chairmanship of Justice Rajindar Sachar, retired Chief
Justice of the Delhi High Court, to study the ‘Social, Economic and
Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India’, has been a
subject of wide discussion in the press, among parliamentarians and
other politicians as well as in other informed sections of the
society.
The seven-member Committee had as its members eminent personalities
like Sayid Hamid, former Vice-Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim
University and currently Chancellor, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, Prof
T.K. Oommen, former Professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University and a
sociologist of world renown, among others. Dr. Abusaleh Shariff, Chief
Economist, National Council of Applied Economic Research, who is noted
for his perceptive research on various issues of national concern, was
the Member-Secretary. There was no woman member: surprising, as the
condition of women is very important for any survey of the social
scenario among the Muslims. And, the Committee has tried to look at
the predicament of the Muslim women in as good a manner as it could.
The Committee had several consultants from different disciplines and
had commissioned specialists on various aspects of the subject under
coverage to write papers for its use in its study of the complex
issues.
The Committee collected data from the various Censuses, the National
Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), banks and, of course, from the
Central and State Governments.
The members of the Committee visited different parts of the country to
assess the grassroots situation and grasp the realities by experience
rather than merely with the help of statistics brought to their desks
by investigators. The Committee tried to sift the perception of
members of the Muslim community (as well as of non-Muslims) and
understand the nature and magnitude of the community’s grievances, to
be able to judge the veracity or otherwise of the expressions of
negligence and deprivation.
Most of the grievances of the community are common knowledge and those
who have access to the Urdu press in different parts of the country
are fully aware of the endless stories of ‘woes’ and ‘miseries’ of the
community. But a systematic study of these grievances had to be made
and the Sachar Committee ventured to do that. We shall deal with the
grievances briefly later but, first, a review of the findings of the
Sachar Committee in different areas of its concern.
II
It would be appropriate to begin a survey of the Sachar Committee’s
findings with the fundamental issue of education. The literacy rate
for Muslims in 2001 was, according to the Committee’s findings, far
below the national average. The difference between the two rates was
greater in urban areas than in rural areas. For women, too, the gap
was greater in the urban areas.
When compared to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes the growth
in literacy for Muslims was lower than for the former. The female
urban enrolment in literacy ratio for the SCs/STs was 40 per cent in
1965 that rose to 83 per cent in 2001. The equivalent rate for Muslims—
that was considerably higher in 1965 (52 per cent)—recorded a figure
of 80 per cent, lower than the figure for the SCs / STs.
According to the Sachar Committee’s findings, 25 per cent of Muslim
children in the 6-14 age-group either never went to school or else
dropped out at some stage.
The disparity in Graduate Attainment Rates between Muslims and other
categories has been widening since the 1970s in urban and rural areas.
According to the Sachar Committee, only one out of 25 undergraduate
students and one out of 50 post-graduate students in ‘premier
colleges’ are Muslims. The percentage of graduates in poor households
pursuing post-graduate studies is significantly lower for Muslims:
Hindus General (29 per cent); SCs/STs (28 per cent); OBCs (23 per
cent); Muslims (16 per cent). The unemployment rate among Muslim
graduates is the highest among all Socio-Religious Categories (SRCs),
poor as well as non-poor.
In the midst of the widespread discussion about the role of madrasas
in the life of Muslims, it is interesting to note that only three per
cent of Muslim children go to madrasas.
Some figures of the Committee are very revealing, when the situation
of OBCs is considered. In education upto matriculation, graduation and
employment in the formal sector all OBCs lag behind in terms of the
all-India average. Muslim OBCs (that have been defined here a little
later) fall below the Hindu OBCs in all categories. And, General
Muslims fare the worst being behind both Hindu and Muslim OBCs.
An important cause for the low level of attainment of Muslims in
education is the dearth of facilities for teaching Urdu and other
subjects through the medium of Urdu (mother tongue) in lower classes,
the Committee points out. It cites the better examples of Karnataka
and Maharashtra in this context. These two States are much better
equipped with Urdu medium schools at the elementary level. Karnataka
has the additional feature of concurrent facilities for English medium
as well in a good number of schools, the Committee points out.
In an indirect reference to the utility of reservation, the Committee
says that the SCs/STs have reaped advantages of targeted government
and private efforts thereby pinpointing the importance of ‘affirmative
action’.
Employment
According to the findings of the Sachar Committee, Muslims have a
considerably lower representation in jobs in the government including
those in the Public Sector Undertakings compared to other SRCs.
According to these findings, in no State of the country the level of
Muslim employment is proportionate to their percentage in the
population.
It is pointed out that the situation of government jobs is the best in
Andhra Pradesh where a “fairly close” representation (in proportion to
the population) has been achieved. Other States with a better picture
of representation are: Karnataka (8.5 per cent job share in a
population proportion of 12.2 per cent); Gujarat (5.4 per cent against
9.1 per cent); Tamil Nadu (3.2 per cent against 5.6 per cent).
According to an analysis, in all other States, the percentage of
Muslims in government employment is half of their population
proportion. The highest percentage figure of government employment for
Muslims is in Assam (11.2 per cent) even though it is far less than
the State’s Muslim population (30.9 per cent).
The most glaring cases of Muslims’ deprivation in government jobs are
found in the States of West Bengal and Kerala where, according to
common perception, egalitarianism has been the cherished norm in all
walks of life. In West Bengal where almost 25 per cent population
practises the Muslim faith, their share in government jobs is a paltry
4.2 per cent. In Kerala the Muslim representation in government jobs
is 10.4 per cent, a figure that is short of half of their population
percentage. In Bihar and UP the percentages of Muslims in government
jobs are found to be less than a third of their population
percentages. Those governing these States need to monitor their
actions to bring the situation in conformity with their professed
objectives and claims.
There are some factors that need to be considered in view of the low
employment figures for Muslims on an all-India basis. The Sachar
Committee observes that the low aggregate work participation ratios
for Muslims are ‘essentially’ due to the much lower participation in
economic activity by the women of the community. Also, a large number
of Muslim women who are engaged in work do so from their homes rather
than in offices or factories. Their figure in this regard is 70 per
cent compared to the general figure of 51 per cent
There is a high share of Muslim workers in self-employment activity,
especially in urban areas and in the case of women, the Committee
points out. Whether this trend is due to compulsion or their non-
expectation for jobs in the government or non-government formal
sector, or due to their inclination for certain types of work that are
done best under a self-employment scheme, would be an important
subject for study. The fact has to be considered that Muslims in
regular jobs in urban areas are much lower in numbers compared to even
the SCs/STs. And, surprisingly, the Muslim regular workers get lower
daily earnings (salary) in public and private jobs compared to other
socio-religious categories, as the Committee points out.
The point that needs special notice is that, according to the
Committee’s findings, Muslim participation in professional and
management cadres is quite low. Their participation in security-
related activities (for example, in the Police services) is
considerably lower than their population share (four per cent
overall).
In the context of employment of Muslims at the level of the Central
Government, the Committee’s findings are very revealing. In the Civil
Services, Muslims are only three per cent in IAS, 1.8 per cent in IFS
and four per cent in IPS. (While the figures are shockingly low
compared to the population percentage, the fact also needs to be
considered that there were only 4.7 per cent Muslims among the
candidates at the Civil Services examinations in 2003-04. The figure
would be almost identical for other years.)
In the Railways, 4.5 per cent are Muslims and, significantly, ‘almost
all’ (98.7 per cent) are in low level positions. Are you listening,
Laloo Prasad Yadav?
Figures for other Departments are: Education 6.5 per cent, Home 7.3
per cent, Police Constables (for which no special educational
qualifications are required) six per cent.
Also to be considered is the finding that in the recent recruitments
by State Public Service Commissions, the employment of Muslims has
been as low as 2.1 per cent.
Minorities other than Muslims are not placed as delicately as the
Muslims. According to the Committee’s findings, 11 per cent of Group A
jobs are with minorities other than Muslims. Deprivation of Muslims in
the State judical set-up seems to be among the most worrying aspects
of their overall backwardness.
The data collected by the Committee in this sector are about all
levels of the officers and employees: Advocate Generals, District and
Sessions Judges, Additional District and Sessions Judges, Chief
Judicial Magistrates, Principal Judges, Munsifs, Public Prosecutors,
and Group A, B, C and D employees. The overall Muslim presence of 7.8
per cent in the area of judiciary in 12 States with high concentration
of Muslim population is considered very low by experts.
To come back to an old theme, in West Bengal with a Muslim population
of over 25 per cent, the figure of Muslims in ‘key positions’ in the
judiciary is only five per cent. In Assam with a Muslim population of
30.9 per cent, this figure is 9.4 per cent. Surprisingly, in Jammu and
Kashmir (where the Muslim population is 66.97 per cent), the
community’s share in the State judiciary is only 48.3 per cent. Andhra
Pradesh once again scores over other States in terms of equitable and
even more than equitable sharing of jobs: Muslims have a share of 12.4
per cent in the State judiciary against a population share of 9.2 per
cent.
Experts feel that for an inclusive democracy, an equitable share for
all sections of the society in the judiciary is essential: it creates
greater public confidence in the judicial process. It would be useful
to survey the situation in this regard in some other developing and
developed countries to be able to arrive at some remedial measures for
this crucial sector of decision-making.
Health and Population
Along with education and employment, health and population welfare are
the other areas that have to be assessed for estimating attainments of
any society. The Sachar Committee has done this exercise in a
comprehensive manner.
First, the overall population picture: According to the 2001 Census,
the Muslim population of India was 138 million (13.4 per cent of the
total population). This figure is estimated to have crossed the 150
million mark in 2006. According to the estimate cited by the
Committee, the share of the Muslim population would rise ‘somewhat’
and stabilise at just below 19 per cent in the next four decades (320
million Muslims in a total population of 1.7 billion). There are many
areas where the Muslim population is 50 per cent or more; and in nine
out of 593 districts (Lakshadweep and eight districts of Jammu and
Kashmir) the Muslim population is over 75 per cent.
On the positive side, the period 1991-2001 showed a decline in the
growth rate of Muslims in most States. According to the Committee’s
findings, the Muslim population shows an increasingly better sex ratio
compared to other Socio-Religious Categories. Infant mortality among
Muslims is slightly lower than the average. (It is beyond the
Committee’s understanding how Muslims should have a child survival
advantage despite lower levels of female schooling and economic
status.) Life expectancy in the community is slightly higher (by one
year) than the average, and this should again surprise many.
The Committee’s finding is important that the Muslim child has a
significantly greater risk of being underweight or stunted than is the
case with other Socio-Religious Categories: the risk of malnutrition
is also ‘slightly higher’ for Muslim children than for ‘Other Hindu’
children. This again seems to be a contradiction vis-à-vis the
reported child survival rate.
Economy
Related to the existing economic condition of Muslims is the issue of
providing legitimate support by state and private agencies for the
members of the community to improve their position. One would like to
examine the situation with regard to trends in the support system of
existing instruments. Banks have been seen as an important source of
credit to support citizens’ economic and commercial ventures. The
picture regarding bank loans to members of the minority is not bright,
according to the findings of the Sachar Committee. It says that the
share of Muslims in ‘amounts outstanding’ is only 4.7 per cent. This
figure is 6.5 per cent in the case of other minorities. Further, on an
average the amount outstanding per account for Muslims is about half
that of the other minorities and one-third of ‘others’.
The pity is that, according to the report, many areas of Muslim
concentration have been marked by many banks as ‘negative’ or ‘red’
zones where giving loans is not advisable. Something would, indeed,
have to be done to put an end to such blanket bans, particularly in
view of the Committee’s finding that very large numbers of Muslims are
engaged in self-employment ventures.
The Reserve Bank of India’s efforts at banking and credit facilities
under the Prime Minister’s 15-Point Programme for the welfare of
minorities have, according to the Committee’s findings, mainly
benefited minorities other than Muslims, thus “marginalising Muslims”.
Apart from the formal banking sector there are two other institutions
that are meant to extend loans to the disadvantaged for economic
ventures: the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation
(NMDFC) and National Backward Classes Finance and Development
Corporation (NBCFDC). For loans from the NMDFC, one has to obtain a
guarantee from the concerned State Government. According to the
Committee, this is the biggest hurdle in the processing of loan
applications. And members of minority communities are very adversely
affected due to this factor.
Poverty Factor
The Committee has found that substantially large proportion of Muslim
households in urban areas are in the less than Rs 500 expenditure
bracket. According to calculations mentioned in the Committee’s
report, using the Head Count Ratio (HCR), overall 22.7 per cent of
India’s population was poor in 2004-05. In absolute numbers, this
amounts to over 251 million people spread across India. The SCs/STs
together are the most poor with an HCR of 35 per cent followed by
Muslims who record the second highest incidence of poverty with 31 per
cent people below the poverty line. The H(indu)-General is the least
poor category with an HCR of only 8.7 per cent and the OBCs hold the
intermediary level HCR of 21 per cent, which is also close to the all-
India average.
The Committee has observed that the inequality is higher in urban
areas compared to rural areas in most States. It says that poverty
among Muslims is the highest in urban areas with an HCR of 38.4 per
cent. Significantly, the fall in poverty for Muslims, according to the
data provided to the Committee, has been “only modest during the
decade 1993-94 to 2004-05 in urban areas, whereas the decline in rural
areas has been substantial”. Poverty leads to neglect, or the other
way round: the Committee found a “significant inverse association”
between the proportion of Muslim population and educational and other
infrastructure in small villages. Areas of Muslim concentration are,
somehow, not well served with pucca approach roads and local bus
stops.
An analysis by the Committee showed a fall in the availability of
medical facilities with the rise in the proportion of Muslims,
especially in larger villages. A similar but sharper pattern can be
seen with respect to post/telegraph offices.
Affirmative Action
Under the existing constitutional provisions, affirmative action in
the form of reservation cannot be possible for the entire Muslim
community even though, according to the findings of the Sachar
Committee, the entire community has been left behind in terms of
education, employment and economic status. A way can be found to lift
a significant segment of the community’s population if social
stratification is defined and officially accepted within the Muslim
community. It could be done in case of Hindus, and subsequently for
Mazhabi Sikhs and neo-Buddhists in terms of caste demarcation. But it
would not be easy to have official acceptance of the caste principle.
The resistance against acceptance of social stratification on caste
lines among Muslims would come largely from the clerics and other
orthodox sections of the Muslim community itself which would be
adamant in its insistence that caste does not exist within the
community. This, even though the fact is that, whether one likes it or
not, the Muslim community is divided with caste demarcations almost on
the lines of the Hindus. A via media has to be found for a clearly
defined backward class like the OBCs among the majority community.
The Sachar Committee has talked of the issue of social stratification
among Muslims. It points out that the 1901 Census had listed 133
social groups, “wholly or partially Muslim”, in India. This
classification thus recognised the fact of social stratification in
the community. The Committee has identified different groups of
Muslims based on studies by sociologists. The community, according to
these studies, as mentioned by the Committee, is placed into
two broad categories , namely, ashraf and ajlaf. The former, meaning
‘noble’ (emphasis added), includes all Muslims of foreign blood and
converts from higher castes. While ajlaf, meaning ‘degraded’ (emphasis
added) or ‘unholy’, embraces the ‘ritually clean’ occupational groups
and low ranking converts. In Bihar, UP, Bengal, Sayyads, Sheikhs,
Moghuls and Pathans constitute the ashrafs, The ajlafs are carpenters,
artisans, painters, graziers, tanners, milkmen, etc. According to the
Census of 1901, the ajlaf category includes “the various classes of
converts who are known as Nao Muslim in Bihar and Nasya in Bengal. It
also includes various functional groups such as that of Jolaha or
weaver, Dhunia or cotton carder, Kulu or oil presser, Kunjra or
vegetable seller, Hajjam or barber, Darzi or tailor, and the like.”
The 1901 Census also recorded the presence of a third category called
Arzal: “It consists of the very lowest castes, such as Halalkhor,
Lalbegi, Abdal and Bedia.” The Committee has taken note of the fact
that the Presidential Order (1950), officially known as Constitutional
(Scheduled Caste) Order, 1950, restricts the Scheduled Caste status
only to Hindu groups having “unclean” occupations. Their non-Hindu
equivalents have been bracketed with the “middle caste converts” and
declared OBCs.
The Committee has noted that at least 82 different social groups among
Muslims were declared OBCs by the Mandal Commission (1980). Owing to
this declaration many Muslim social groups got reservation in
different parts of the country under the Backward Classes category.
Only two States, Kerala and Karnataka, have provided reservation to
the State’s entire Muslim population (minus the creamy layer). The
roots of this policy have to be traced to the colonial days.
In Karnataka (the erstwhile princely state of Mysore), affirmative
action started in 1874 (with 80 per cent posts in the Police
Department having been reserved for non-Brahmins, Muslims and Indian
Christians). In Karnataka today, all Muslims with income of less than
Rs 2 lakhs per annum enjoy four per cent reservation in jobs and
admission to institutions in the category of ‘More Backwards’. In
Kerala Muslims enjoy 12 per cent reservation, with some other
communities and social groups too being provided reservation.
Tamil Nadu, which had a tradition of reservation to Muslims since
1872, withdrew such reservation following independence. Currently even
though there is no reservation in the State on the basis of religion,
nearly 95 per cent Muslims have been provided reservation as Backward
Classes, according to the data provided by the State Government to the
Sachar Committee. Significantly enough, reservations in Tamil Nadu
stand at 69 per cent, much above the limit of 50 per cent fixed by the
Supreme Court. Looking at the state of public employment for OBCs the
Committee found that unemployment rates were the highest among Muslim
OBCs when compared to Hindu OBCs and Muslims General. In the formal
sector (government/PSUs), the share of Muslim OBCs was much lower than
those of Hindu OBCs and Muslims General.
At the workers’ level, the Committee estimated that out of every
hundred workers about eleven were Hindu OBCs, three were Muslims
General and only one was a Muslim OBC.
The Committee had divided public employment into six ‘agencies’ of the
Central Government including PSUs and universities. It found that the
Hindu OBCs were under-represented. But their under-representation was
less than that of Muslim OBCs in five out of the six agencies, less
than that of Muslims General in three out of the six agencies. In the
State services the Committee found that Muslim OBCs had a better share
at the Group A level, but their presence was insignificant at other
levels.
In the context of Muslim OBCs, the Committee concluded that the
abysmally low representation of Muslim OBCs suggests that the benefits
of entitlements meant for the Backward Classes are yet to reach them.
The Committee also concluded that “the conditions of Muslims General
are also lower than the Hindu-OBCs who have the benefits of
reservations”.
III
While the Sachar Committee has done a laudable job of assembling a
huge body of data and presenting it in an easily digestible manner, it
has not been as meticulous in formulating its recommendations. Perhaps
it was due to the fatigue after an enormous amount of legwork on a
national scale and the subsequent analysis of the compiled information
that its members had to do in about 15 months of actual work, coupled
with the desire of submitting its report rather urgently and the fact
that much of the information about its findings had already been
accessed by a section of the press. In view of the mind-boggling
findings and the very sensitive nature of the ground it was traversing
a very comprehensive matrix of recommendations should have been
presented by an able and competent panel blending experience and fresh
thinking. Unfortunately this could not be achieved by the Committee.
The most important recommendations of the Committee can be summarised
as under:
• Creation of a National Data Bank (NDB) where relevant data about
different socio-religious communities could be stored to facilitate
any study and subsequent action.
• Setting up of an autonomous Assessment and Monitoring Authority
(AMA) for a regular audit of the benefits of different programmes of
the government reaching the concerned communities or groups.
• Establishing an Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) to examine and
analyse the grievances of deprived groups, the inspiration
understandably for it coming from the Race Relations Act, 1976 of the
United Kingdom that finds mention in the Committee’s recommendation.
• Exploring the idea of introducing some incentives to a ‘Diversity
Index’ in the realms of education, government, and private employment
and housing programmes. Special mention has been made of a possible
programme of incentives to colleges and institutions under the
University Grants Commission linked to diversity in the student
population.
• Evolving some sort of a ‘nomination’ procedure for enhancing the
levels of inclusiveness in governance.
• Certain measures like removal of anomalies in Reserved
Constituencies for General Elections against complaints of declaring
Muslim concentration areas as SC/ST reserved seats.
• Institutionalising evaluation procedures for textbooks, alternate
admission criteria in regular universities and autonomous colleges;
cost friendly reasonable hostel facilities for minority students as a
priority; making teacher training oriented to ideals of pluralism;
state-run Urdu medium schools for primary education in mother tongue;
ensuring appointment of experts from minority community on interview
panels and boards; linking madrasas with higher secondary schools
facilitating shift of students who might opt for a mainstream
education system after a few years; recognition of degrees from
madrasas for competitive examinations (a recommendation hard to find
acceptance in any section of concerned quarters); on the economic
front, provision of financial and other support to initiatives built
around occupations where Muslims are concentrated and that have growth
potential.
The above suggestions have given considerable food for thought with
regard to the panacea for deprivation of the Muslim community in
various spheres. But a more comprehensive and concrete programme
should have been suggested by the Committee.
This task could have been performed best by the able members of this
panel who had travelled far and wide and acquainted themselves with
the grassroots realities rather than leaving it for another possible
committee for a start from a scratch. This was essential to get action
initiated on the basis of its findings instead of letting this venture
too meet the fate of the earlier Gopal Singh Committee over two
decades ago that had similar findings (although it had a narrower
coverage than the Sachar Committee). Now it is for the Prime Minister
and his government to decide the future course of action to remedy the
situation regarding the travails of the Muslim community.
IV
Much of the Sachar Committee’s endeavour was in pursuance of the
perception among Muslims of utter neglect and apathy, and even
suspicion, towards the Muslim community on the part of governmental
agencies—right or wrong! An oft-repeated remark by many members of the
community was that Muslims carried a double burden of being labelled
as ‘anti-national’ and as being ‘appeased’ at the same time. Or,
whenever any act of violence or terror occurs Muslim boys are picked
up by the police. “Every bearded man is considered an ISI agent,” the
Committee has quoted someone as saying. It was also pointed out that
“social boycott of Muslims in certain parts of the country have forced
them to migrate from places where they lived for centuries.”
The Committee has also observed that identification of Urdu as a
Muslim language and its politicisation has complicated matters. A
worrying observation is that Muslims do not see education as
necessarily translating into formal employment. And, many a time
madrasas are the only educational option for Muslims.
On the economic front, the Committee observes that liberalisation of
the economy has resulted in displacement of Muslims from their
traditional occupations, thus depriving them of their livelihood.
The Committee has reported that there were many complaints of Muslims’
names missing from electoral rolls. It could not look into the
veracity or otherwise of this complaint. But what the Committee found
in case of complaints that a number of Muslim concentration Assembly
constituencies are declared as ‘reserved’ seats for the SCs
(deliberately?) should certainly worry those involved with the work of
delimitation of constituencies. Its analysis of reserved
constituencies for SCs in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal proved
that there was truth in the allegation of the members of the minority
community in this regard.
With the perception of Muslims not being quite favourable to official
agencies, the revelation of the findings of the Sachar Committee with
regard to over-representation of the community in the country’s
prisons, reported (before the submission of its report to the Prime
Minister) by The Indian Express, in its series of reports entitled
‘The Missing Muslim’, created a sensation. The Urdu press was on fire
and questions were asked why prisons were the only place where Muslims
were over-represented compared to all other communities and in some
cases their representation being much higher than their population
proportion.
In Maharashtra, the percentage of Muslim jail inmates in all
categories was found to be way above their share in the population
(share in population: 10.6 per cent; share in prison inmates: 17.5 per
cent). In Gujarat the position was: share in population: 9.06 per
cent; share in jail inmates: over 25 per cent). The situation was on
similar lines in other States too although the jail inmate share might
not be as bad in other States as in the States mentioned above.
Following the submission of the report to the Prime Minister, The
Indian Express reported that the data with regard to prisons were
edited out of the Sachar report, following the concern expressed on
these figures in different quarters. Some observers felt that the
prison figures should not have been omitted, as they would have given
a clear picture of some of the Muslim grievances with regard to the
more sensitive issues.
The remedy for the travails of the Muslim community can be found
largely by the community’s bolder initiatives in the field of
education that would empower them as nothing else would.
The government, on its part, seems to be ready for whatever remedial
measures can be adopted by its different agencies. The recent
initiative taken by the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, K. Rehman
Khan, to arrive at a consensus for action on an all-party basis,
through a conclave of Muslim MPs (including some from the Bharatiya
Janata Party, which has been very critical of the very appointment of
the Sachar Committee), seems to be a significant one. One only hopes
that such an initiative would have the support of the government and
some concrete steps would be taken without much delay.
http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article95.html
Sid Harth
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
Harappan Culture
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Vedic Aryans
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Kingdoms and Empires
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The Mauryan Empire
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The Deccan and the South
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Gupta and Harsha
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The Coming of Islam
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Southern Dynasties
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The Mughals
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The Marathas
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The Sikhs
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The Coming of the Europeans
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The British Empire in India
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Company Rule, 1757-1857
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The British Raj, 1858-1947
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Sepoy Rebellion, 1857-59
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After the Sepoy Rebellion
http://countrystudies.us/india/18.htm
The Independence Movement
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Mahatma Gandhi
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Political Impasse and Independence
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Independent India
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National Integration
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Jawaharlal Nehru
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Indira Gandhi
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Rajiv Gandhi
http://countrystudies.us/india/25.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
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Religion
The Vedas and Polytheism
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Karma and Liberation
Jainism
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Buddhism
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The Worship of Personal Gods
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Vishnu
Shiva
Brahma and the Hindu Trinity
The Goddess
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Local Deities
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The Ceremonies of Hinduism
Domestic Worship
Life-Cycle Rituals
Temples
Pilgrimage
Festivals
Islam
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Sikhism
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Tribal Religions
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Christianity
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Zoroastrianism
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Judaism
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Modern Changes in Religion
http://countrystudies.us/india/61.htm
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
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Jews and Parsis
http://countrystudies.us/india/71.htm
Portuguese
http://countrystudies.us/india/72.htm
Anglo-Indians
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Africans
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Regionalism
http://countrystudies.us/india/75.htm
Telangana Movement
Jharkhand Movement
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Uttarakhand
http://countrystudies.us/india/77.htm
Gorkhaland
http://countrystudies.us/india/78.htm
Ladakh
http://countrystudies.us/india/79.htm
The Northeast
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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
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Communist Parties
Regional Parties
Caste-Based Parties
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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
Pakistan
http://countrystudies.us/india/123.htm
Bangladesh
http://countrystudies.us/india/124.htm
Sri Lanka
http://countrystudies.us/india/125.htm
Nepal
http://countrystudies.us/india/126.htm
Bhutan
http://countrystudies.us/india/127.htm
Maldives
China
http://countrystudies.us/india/129.htm
Southeast Asia
Middle East
http://countrystudies.us/india/131.htm
Central Asia
Russia
http://countrystudies.us/india/133.htm
United States
http://countrystudies.us/india/134.htm
Britain, Australia, Canada, Western Europe, and Japan
United Nations
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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.
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
bademiyansubhanallah
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.
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?
Poll
Is BJP a sinking boat?
Yes (67.12%)
No (32.88%)
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
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.
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§name=News -
Nation§id=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/
Latest News
•Lok Sabha Adjourned for Fourth Time
http://www.vamban.com/lok-sabha-adjourned-for-fourth-time/
•BJP Condemns SP, RJD for Tearing Up Women’s Bill
http://www.vamban.com/bjp-condemns-sp-rjd-for-tearing-up-womens-bill/
•Women’s Bill Moved, Torn to Shreds in Rajya Sabha
http://www.vamban.com/womens-bill-moved-torn-to-shreds-in-rajya-sabha/
•JD-U Joins SP, RJD to Protest Women’s Bill
http://www.vamban.com/jd-u-joins-sp-rjd-to-protest-womens-bill/
•85 Million Women Missing in India, China: UNDP
http://www.vamban.com/85-million-women-missing-in-india-china-undp/
http://www.vamban.com/jdu-hints-at-softening-of-opposition-to-womens-bill/
BJP to oppose any proposal for autonomy to Kashmir
By IANS
January 19th, 2010
NEW DELHI - Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari
Tuesday said his party will oppose any proposal for granting autonomy
to Jammu and Kashmir.
Speaking at a function here to mark 20 years of exodus of Kashmiri
Pandits from the valley, he said a solution to the Kashmir problem
should be found within the parameters of the Indian Constitution.
“We will oppose autonomy with full force. If such a proposal comes to
Parliament, we will be against it,” he said.
Gadkari termed as “dangerous” the report of Justice Saghir Ahmad - who
headed the working group on Centre-State relations - recommending
giving autonomy to the state. The report was submitted to the Jammu
and Kashmir government last month.
The BJP chief blamed the Congress for the problems in Jammu and
Kashmir. “Congress has messed up things in the state,” he said, adding
that the “mistakes” should not be repeated.
The function was organised by the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Foundation.
Dhumal ordered tap on Virbhadra Singh’s phone, CD tells
By IANS
January 19th, 2010
SHIMLA - In another twist to the corruption cases against union Steel
Minister Virbhadra Singh and his wife Pratibha Singh, a new audio
compact disc (CD) from an unknown source was circulated here Tuesday
in which Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal is purportedly directing the
vigilance chief to tap the phones of the couple.
Two other CDs were also released here — one audio in which Dhumal was
heard talking about former union ministers Sukh Ram and Shanta Kumar
and the other video in which Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
parliamentarian Virender Kashyap was shown accepting some cash in
regard to granting permission to an educational institute in the
state.
In the alleged conversation recorded in the first CD, Director General
of Police (Vigilance) D.S. Manhas asked Dhumal regarding Singh and his
wife’s phone tapping. At this Dhumal replied: “Do it.”
Manhas then said: “Yes, we will do it, we will do it. If the CID
(Criminal Investigation Department) is doing it, its staff will leak
it.” Dhumal replied: “This is right.”
Dhumal and Manhas allegedly also talked about some Rs.25 crore (Rs.250
million).
However, a senior police official said there was no proof of the
authenticity of the CD. “It is released when the vigilance is almost
ready to start within a month the prosecution against Virbhadra Singh
and his wife,” he said.
The cases against Singh and his wife were registered Aug 3, 2009,
under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The complaint against Singh
alleges misuse of his official position and criminal misconduct when
he was the chief minister of the state in 1989.
Interestingly, they were booked on the basis of an audio CD released
by Singh’s political adversary Vijay Singh Mankotia in 2007.
Meanwhile, Dhumal refuted the allegations in the new CD. He told IANS
on phone from Delhi Tuesday: “Right now I am not in the state. I have
not seen the CD and not even heard about it. I am not in a position to
comment on it.”
“The government machinery is not involved in phone tapping of Singh
and his wife. It’s just a white lie,” he added.
The CD that showed BJP parliamentarian Virender Kashyap talking to
someone on the issue of granting permission to an educational
institute in the state was recorded April 17, 2009 when Kashyap was
only a party activist.
In the conversation, Kashyap was insisting and telling the person
sitting opposite to him to first complete the formalities and then
seek formal permission. The CD also showed Kashyap being offered some
cash, which he hesitantly accepted.
However, Kashyap was not available for comments.
Prosecution against Virbhadra likely within month: Police
By IANS
January 1st, 2010
SHIMLA - Police is likely to start within a month the prosecution
against union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh and his wife Pratibha
Singh in corruption cases registered against them, an official said
here Friday.
“We are still awaiting a few forensic reports from a Central Forensic
Science Laboratory (CFSL)… most likely the prosecution against
Virbhadra Singh and his wife would start within a month,” Director
General of Police (Vigilance) D.S. Manhas told reporters.
Regarding the questionnaires sent to the couple, Manhas said: “We got
the replies to the questionnaire. Both the questionnaires have about
25 questions.”
The cases against Singh and his wife were registered Aug 3, 2009, by
the state vigilance and anti-corruption bureau under the Prevention of
Corruption Act.
The complaint against Singh alleges misuse of his official position
and criminal misconduct when he was chief minister of the state in
1989.
According to police, they were booked on the basis of an audio CD
released by Singh’s political adversary Vijai Singh Mankotia in 2007.
In the CD, Singh was heard referring to some monetary transactions on
the phone with former Indian Administrative Officer (IAS) officer
Mahinder Lal, who is now dead. The CD also contained recordings of his
wife and some industrialists.
Manhas said that four of the nine people identified in the CD are
dead.
“Four are dead out of the nine accused. It is still to be decided that
who is the main accused,” the police official added.
Singh has already refuted the allegations, saying the state’s ruling
Bharatiya Janata Party was trying to malign him.
Revival of Friends of BJP
March 8th, 2010
I was part of a small team from Friends of BJP that was invited to
attend the BJP National Council meet in Indore in mid-Feb. It was
quite a gathering - over 5,000 people brought together from all over
the country.
Among the announcements made was that of the revival of Friends of
BJP.
Here is what Nitin Gadkari said in his Presidential Address: “We are
also planning to revive Friends of BJP, an associate organisation of
the non-member Well Wishers of the party. All patriotic citizens,
especially all young professionals who look forward to BJP as an
instrument of making India a resurgent republic are welcome to join
this forum.”
We will be back with more details soon. My hope is that we can help
bring about a change in India’s political and policy climate in the
coming years.
3 responses so far ↓
1 Santosh // Mar 8, 2010 at 10:29 am
Rajesh,
I was one of the individuals who wanted BJP voted back to power in
2004 because of what they achieved in their last term. And I firmly
believe that BJP was pro-reforms in their term.
But seeing what India has been able to achieve in last 6 odd years
shouldn’t be undermined. Ofcourse, Congress isn’t the reformist that
most urban Indians want and India has managed the growth because of
sheer efficiencies of private enterprise.
For what we have achieved in last 6 years, I don’t go all out against
them. Today, I don’t see any reason why BJP should be supported -
There is no great leader remaining whom we can trust to take our
country forward. They don’t play the role of constructive opposition
at all. They find baseless arguments in blocking/ criticizing every
Congress move.
I fail to understand what is it that you see so strongly in BJP to go
& support them. I don’t to vote for a government shouts from roof-top.
I want a clear plan of what they would do & who is the team that is at
work. Unfortunately, I don’t see either.
2 Alok Mittal // Mar 8, 2010 at 11:17 am
What is really needed is not revival of Friends of BJP, but revival of
BJP itself. I think Congress has won a lot of erstwhile BJP supporters
over the past 6 years; and BJP has lost a lot of supporters over the
past 2 years. There is a critical distinction between the two, and the
latter can only be addressed by the BJP leadership itself.
3 Adarsh Jain // Mar 8, 2010 at 1:54 pm
Alok and Santosh,
I think for the future of the country there should be a worthy
opposition. After Nitin Gadkari became party president, I believe BJP
is ready for transformation and play the role of constructive
opposition till next election
http://emergic.org/2010/03/08/revival-of-friends-of-bjp/
India's women quota bill triggers uproar in parliament
Foreign 2010-03-08 17:23
NEW DELHI, March 8 (AFP) - An attempt by India's government to pass
legislation reserving a third of all seats for women in parliament
provoked uproar on Monday as opposition politicians forced repeated
adjournments.
The government had been confident that the Women Reservation Bill,
which has been stalled for 14 years, would gather the required votes
to pass in the upper house on Monday after being presented on
International Women's Day.
The upper house was adjourned twice on Monday as politicians opposing
the bill shouted down speakers and refused to allow the introduction
of the proposed legislation and a scheduled debate.
The ruling Congress party, its allies and the main opposition
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have pledged their support in public, but
several socialist parties oppose it.
They argue that the law, which would reserve a third of seats for
women in the parliament and state assemblies, would lead to a monopoly
by upper-caste women at the expense of lower caste and religious
minority Muslims.
"We are not anti-women but we want reservations for women hailing from
minority and backward classes first," Mulayam Singh Yadav, a leader of
the pro-Muslim Samajwadi (Socialist) party said outside parliament.
Attempts to pass the bill have been blocked by various political
groups in the past who have demanded separate quotas for women from
Muslim and low-caste communities.
Yadav said the bill was an attempt by the Congress and the BJP to
appease the rich and the influential upper class.
The controversial proposal to reserve 33 percent of seats, first
introduced in parliament in 1996, would dramatically increase women's
membership in both houses of parliament where they now occupy about
one in 10 seats.
Because the bill involves a constitutional change, it needs the
approval of two-thirds of legislators in the upper house after which
it will go before the lower house where it also requires a two-thirds
majority.
Women currently occupy 59 seats out of 545 in the lower house. There
are just 21 women in the 248-seat upper house.
"Our government is committed towards women empowerment. We are moving
towards one-third reservation for women in parliament and state
legislatures," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told a women's leadership
summit on Saturday.
Sonia Gandhi, president of the Congress party and regarded as India's
most powerful politician, has thrown her weight behind the bill,
saying she attaches the "highest importance" to it.
It will be a "gift to the women of India if it is introduced and
passed" on International Women's Day, she told party lawmakers last
week.
Political analysts said the government was testing the waters by
introducing it in the upper house first instead of the lower house,
where most proposed legislation is sent.
Some accused the government of playing politics by seeking to appease
women by proposing the legislation but without having any realistic
chance of it passing.
Politics in India has traditionally been a male bastion, but women now
hold prominent positions, including President Pratibha Patil and Sonia
Gandhi. India has had one female prime minister, Indira Gandhi.
Panchayats -- local governing bodies in towns and villages -- already
reserve a portion of their seats for women and experts say the move
has given women greater status in their communities. (By Rupam Jain
Nair/ AFP)
MySinchew 2010.03.08
http://www.mysinchew.com/node/36074
Why Lalu-Mulayam exit worries government
NDTV Correspondent, Monday March 8, 2010, New Delhi
The Prime Minister is holding emergency meetings with his senior
ministers to discuss the Women's Bill and the impact of Lalu Prasad
and Mulayam Singh Yadav announcing they will withdraw their support to
this government. (Read & Watch: Mulayam, Lalu withdraw support to
govt)
Lalu and Mulayam have said the Women's Bill is being forced upon them
by the Congress, and that it does not protect the interest of Dalit
and Muslim women.
The Rajya Sabha is meant to vote on the bill today.
For the Women's Bill, the government is not worried about the numbers
because the Opposition - the BJP and the Left, along with smaller
parties, are in favour of the bill.
However, the Finance Bill has not yet been passed. And that's what the
government is worried about.
The UPA government believes that without Lalu and Mulayam's MPs, it
can still count on 274 votes in favour of Pranab Mukherjee's budget.
The number of votes required to pass it is 273. So the government's
margin is tiny. And that's what the BJP and Left will try to exploit.
Both have already attacked Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee over the
budget, in particular, over the hike in petrol and diesel prices. The
government's key allies including the DMK and Mamata Banerjee have
also expressed their concern over the fuel hike, and the government's
new numbers weaken its position if it finds it must negotiate with
these allies.
http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/why-lalu-mulayam-exit-worries-government-17380.php
Women's Bill: Mulayam, Lalu withdraw support to government
NDTV Correspondent, Monday March 8, 2010, New Delhi
The Congress-led UPA government finds itself in a spot. Set to table
and get the Women's Reservation Bill passed in the Rajya Sabha, it now
has to contend with the threat of withdrawal of support from two
traditional opponents of the Bill - the Samajwadi Party and the RJD.
Both parties have announced they are withdrawing support to the UPA
government over the Bill. While the government does not need their
support to pass this Bill, since the BJP and the Left will vote in
favour, it will find itself on an uncomfortable, wafer-thin majority
for other legislation, like the crucial Finance Bill, without the
buffer of the 22 Samajwadi Party MPs and 4 RJD MPs in the Lok Sabha.
(Read: Why Lalu-Mulayam exit worries government)
Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Yadav have said they oppose the Women's
Bill because it does not protect the interests of minorities and Other
Backward Castes.
The bill reserves 33% seats for women in Parliament and in state
assemblies.
"Reservation should be for Muslims and Dalits," said Mulayam Singh
Yadav.
"The government is trying to force the bill upon us. The Congress
does not listen to anyone. The bill must bring the Asli Bharat
forward...the Congress is leaving women and Muslims behind, " said
Lalu.
The government is in a huddle right now on what next steps should be.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is holding meetings with senior
colleagues like Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Parliamentary
Affairs Minsiter PK Bansal to evolve a strategy.
Not to press ahead with the Women's Bill today will mean a big loss of
face, especially given that the Bill is close to Congress President
Sonia Gandhi's heart and the many statements that she and other
Congress leaders and ministers have already made. But the party cannot
risk Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadav actually carrying out
their threat and officially withdrawing support.
Along with the BSP, the two parties have already ensured that
Parliament proceedings are anything but smooth. As Lok Sabha opened in
the morning, Lalu Prasad and Mulayam Singh rushed to the Well of the
House.
In the Rajya Sabha too, the SP and RJD disrupted Question Hour. Here
they demanded the implementation of the Ranganath Mishra Commission
report first. (Read: Chaos in Parliament over Women's Bill)
Both Houses reconvened at noon only to be adjourned again.
http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/mulayam-lalu-to-withdraw-support-to-government-17373.php
Chaos in Parliament over Women's Bill
Press Trust of India, Monday March 8, 2010, New Delhi
Mulayam Singh Yadav, and Lalu Yadav have announced the withdrawal of
their outside support to the UPA government over the Women's
Reservation Bill.
The government is attempting history in the making, but the
proceedings have got off to a very rocky start. There was chaos in
both the houses when they opened on Monday morning.
Rajya Sabha:
The Rajya Sabha witnessed unprecendented scenes leading to an
adjournment for the third time on Monday as determined SP, RJD, LJP
and BSP members entered the well of the House, ripped off mikes and
tore up papers in an attempt to stall the Women's Reservation Bill
from being taken up for consideration.
An attempt was made to snatch the Bill from the Chairman's table which
was prevented by marshals. However, they snatched some papers from the
Secretary General's table and tore them up.
Mr Kamal Akhtar of Samajwadi Party, Mr Sabir Ali of LJP and Mr
Gangacharan Rajput of BSP along with other party members spearheaded
the stalling tactics. Some of them then got on the reporters' table in
the well of the House.
All members of various political parties were on their feet. Seeing
these antics many looked shocked.
The ruling Congress party members, especially women, were seen making
a protective ring around Law Minister M Veerappa Moily who will move
the Bill for consideration.
Shocked over these developments, the Chairman adjourned the House till
3 pm.
Earlier, the House was adjourned twice within minutes of assembling as
members of the SP, RJD, LJP, and BSP raised slogans from the well of
the House demanding implementation of the Ranganath Mishra Commission
report.
Lok Sabha:
The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the third time on Monday afternoon
when SP, RJD and JD(U) members trooped into the well protesting the
Women's Reservation Bill in its present form.
When the House, which was earlier adjourned twice on the same issue,
reassembled at 2 pm, members of these parties led by RJD chief Lalu
Prasad, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and JD(U) President Sharad Yadav,
stormed the well shouting slogans.
As the slogan-shouting continued, Trinamool Congress members including
its chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, were seen singing the
famous song - "We shall overcome some day".
Other Trinamool members, including Minister of State for Health Dinesh
Trivedi, chief whip Sudip Bandopadhyay and cine-star turned MP
Shatabdi Roy, were heard singing the song in the House.
As the din continued, Deputy Speaker Karia Munda adjourned the House
till 3 pm.
http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/rajya-sabha-adjourned-after-uproar-over-womens-bill-17368.php
BJP too to quit JAC?
Express News Service
First Published : 08 Mar 2010 05:43:00 AM IST
HYDERABAD: The BJP is contemplating quitting the Telangana political
JAC and evolve its own programme of action to rouse public opinion in
favour of separate Telangana State.
The State leadership of the party wants to strengthen the party’s base
at ground level in villages. It will have `Jai Telangana’ slogan in
Telangana areas and `Jai Andhra’ in Andhra districts.
The party’s approach to Telangana that all legislators should resign
and force a constittutional crisis has changed after it encountered
opposition within the party. Those who opposed it argued that MLAs of
neither the Congress nor the TDP resigned.
This was the reason why these elements got together and ensured the
election of Kishan Reddy as the party’s State president who too
subscribed to the idea and refused to resign. In such an event, the
point that is being discussed at length is why stay in the JAC when
the party is not in a position to honour its decisions (of quitting
the Assembly).
To make this easy for Kishan Reddy’s supporters, the BJP National
Committee too expressed displeasure over the BJP continuing in the JAC
and wanted it to make an honourable exit from the panel so that it
would not be misconstrued by the people.
Already, the ABVP, which has an ideological affiliation with the BJP,
is carrying on the movement for Telangana without joining the JAC and
has already made a mark. The BJP wants to toe the same line so that it
will be able to preseve its identity and strengthen its base.
The Stare party leadership has asked the district units to organise
Telangana programmes in districts only in the name of the party and
will not have anything to do with the JAC. This apart, the JAC leaders
are not on good terms with the new chief of the State unit.
Comments
PEOPLE AND STUDENTS OF T-REGION REJECTED KCR/TRS & TRAITORS IN
TELANGANA CONGRESS FOR PUBLICITY STUNTS AND RESIGNATION DRAMAS AND KCR/
TRS MP NOT RESIGNED AGAINST THEIR OWN ADVISE TO OTHERS AND KCR
ATTENDING RAJ BHAVAN DINNER EVEN AFTER KNOWING THE WITH SRI KRISHNA'S
TOR- SEPARATE-T NOT FEASIBLE HAS GONE AGAINS THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE.
TRS/KCR WILL REALISE THIS IN BYE-ELECTION RESULTS THAT IS WHY KCR/TRS
MP NOR RESIGNED.
By JAC-T= KCR/TRS+KO-DANDA ONLY.
3/8/2010 1:19:00 PM
BJP demands bill on bifurcation
Express News Service
First Published : 08 Mar 2010 05:42:00 AM IST
HYDERABAD: The BJP State Council has demanded that the Centre
introudce a bill in Parliament for bifurcation of the State.
The council, which met here yesterday, said in its political
resolution that the constitution of the Justice BN Srikrishna
Committee was intended to prolong the issue and saw no need for the
party to make a presentation to the Srirkrishna panel since it
beleived that the committee’s purpose was other than formation of two
States.
“Bifurcation of the State is the only answer to backwardness of the
two regions,’’ it said and criticised other parties for their
dichotomy on the issue.
By another resolution the council expressed concern over the
deteriroration of administration which led to increase in the prices
of essential commodities as well as breakdown of law and order.
The murder of Sri Vaishnavi in Vijayawada and the hooch tragedy in
East Godavari district were indicative of the breakdown of the law and
order machienry, the council said. It alleged that the State
Government had miserably failed to come to the rescue of people
affected by the unprecedented floods in Kurnool, Mahaboobnagar,
Krishna and Guntur districts.
Though the Centre annoucned Rs 1,000 crore for mitigation of the
suffering of the flood-affected people, the funds had so far not been
transferred, it pointed out.
A resoultion said that the adminsitraion was in a state of suspended
animation with Chief Minister K Rosaiah, who was asked to step into
the shoes of YS Rajasekhara Reddy who died in a helicopter crash,
being unable to perform.
By another resolution the party demanded that the State should take
immediate steps for controlling the prices of essential commodities
which have been going through the roof and supply power for nine hours
to the farm sector to save standing crops.
Lalu declares 'war' against women's Bill
TNN, Mar 8, 2010, 05.42am IST
Women's Bill: 'Conspiracy to eliminate minorities'PATNA: RJD chief
Lalu Prasad on Sunday declared he will fight tooth and nail against
women's reservation Bill. "Yuddh hoga (There would be a war)," he
thundered and added the OBC brigade will roll up sleeves against the
move.
Lalu said BJP and Congress are making a 'historical blunder' by
issuing a whip to their MPs to vote for the Bill in its present form.
"If they (Congress and BJP) think they will get women's votes, they
are mistaken. It's a male-dominated society (where women go by what
their menfolk say while voting). If I ask my wife, Rabri Devi, to vote
for a particular party, do you think she will vote for another party?"
he asked at a presser and added nowhere in the world women get
reservation in legislative bodies.
Even if it has to be given, there should be quota for deprived
sections within this reservation, Lalu said and added the faces of
women belonging to minority community, backward castes, Dalits and
tribals should be visible through this reservation. "The quota should
be for those who cannot enter the legislative bodies on their own," he
said.
By introducing the Bill, the RJD leader said, the Congress is trying
to divert people's attention from main issues like price rise,
unemployment, growing regionalism and threat to national security.
"The BJP and Congress want to get votes of Muslims, Dalits and OBCs,
but they do not want to safeguard their interests," he said.
Lalu hit out at Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar for changing tack on
the issue. "Nitish is a `bahurupiya' (a master of disguise)," Lalu
said, recalling Nitish earlier gave a note of dissent as a member of
the parliamentary committee which looked into this issue.
Also, Nitish's party colleague and JD(U) national president Sharad
Yadav once declared he would consume poison if the women's reservation
Bill in its present form was introduced. "By advising Sharad to ensure
the passage of the Bill now, Nitish has shown his real face to the
Muslims, Dalits and OBCs," Lalu said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/opinions/5656141.cms
. BJP, Justice Sagheer in agreement on Kashmir Accord
Working Group Report on Centre-State Relations-V
Syed Junaid Hashmi
JAMMU, Mar 7: The historical comment of former Prime Minister late
Indira Gandhi “The clock could not be put back in this manner” is
central theme of ‘some kind of restoration of autonomy’ recommended by
Justice Sagheer Panel on centre-state relations and clearly, in
contrast to vehement claims of ruling coalition.
The recommendation is in agreement with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
led union cabinet’s decision on Autonomy resolution of Jammu and
Kashmir on July 5, 2000. The then union cabinet while rejecting
autonomy resolution of then National Conference (NC) led government in
Jammu and Kashmir had accepted that there is a clear case for
devolution of more financial and administrative powers and functions
to the states alongside taking suitable steps to ensure harmonious
centre-state relations in the light of the recommendations of the
Sarkaria Commission.
Interestingly, the union cabinet had then rejected autonomy resolution
by referring to Kashmir accord, more commonly known as Indira-Sheikh
Accord. It had said that issue of restoring constitutional situation
in Jammu and Kashmir to its pre-1953 position had been discussed in
detail by late Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah with former Prime Minister
late Indira Gandhi in 1974-75. The decision had noted that agreement
signed after these negotiations had affirmed that provisions of the
Constitution of India already applied to the state of Jammu and
Kashmir without adaptation or modification are unalterable.
Justice (Retd) Sagheer in his report on Pages 93 and 94 has referred
to speech of former Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi in the
parliament on February 24, 1975 in which she had remarked, “The
constitutional relationship between state of Jammu and Kashmir and the
union will continue as it has been and extension of further provisions
of constitution to the state will continue to be governed by procedure
prescribed in Article 370.”
Justice Sagheer further notes, “Sheikh Abdullah was very anxious that
to start with, the constitutional relationship between the state and
the centre should be as it was in 1953 when he was in power. It was
explained to him that the clock could not be put back in this manner.
Mirza Afzal Beg pressed for transfer of provisions relating to
fundamental rights to state constitution, removal of the supervision
and control of Election Commission of India over elections to the
state legislature and the modification of Article 356 to require the
state government’s concurrence before imposing president’s rule in the
state.”
Late Indira Gandhi while outrightly rejecting these demands had said,
“It was not found possible to agree to any of these proposals. I must
say to the credit of Sheikh Abdullah that despite his strong views on
these issues, he has accepted the agreed conclusion.” After this,
Justice (Retd) Sagheer has referred to clause 3 and 4 of the Kashmir
Accord.
The panel while referring these two clauses has concluded that if any
provision of the constitution of India had been applied to the state
of Jammu and Kashmir without adaptations and modifications, then such
modifications are unalterable. But with respect to provisions applied
with adaptations and modifications, it was agreed that they can be
altered or repealed by an order of President under Article 370 but
each individual proposal in this behalf would be considered on its
merits;
“With a view to assuring freedom to the State of Jammu and Kashmir to
have its own legislation on matters like welfare measures cultural
matters, social security, personal law and procedural laws, in a
manner suited to the special conditions in the State, it is agreed
that the State Government can review the laws made by Parliament or
extended to the State after 1953 on any matter related to the
Concurrent List and may decide which of them, in its opinion, needs
amendment or repeal. Thereafter, appropriate steps may be taken under
Article 254 of the Constitution of India. The grant of President's
assent to such legislation would be sympathetically considered,”
Justice Sagheer has noted from the Kashmir Accord as relevant to
present discourse on autonomy.
Concluding debate on autonomy, Justice Sagheer Ahmed has referred to a
Supreme Court decision in Sampat Prakash vs. State of Jammu and
Kashmir in which it was held that inspite of the dissolution of
constituent assembly of Jammu and Kashmir, the constitutional
provisions could be extended to the state of Jammu and Kashmir with
such adaptations and modifications as the president may deem fit. It
is after these referrals that Justice Sagheer has recommended for
examining the question of autonomy in the light of Kashmir Accord.
Interestingly, the ruling coalition through 10 page recommendatory
notes of report had claimed that Justice Sagheer had recommended what
National Conference (NC) led government had proposed central
government through a resolution properly passed and vetted by more
than 60 members of state legislative assembly on June 26, 2000. The
resolution which was rejected by the then BJP led NDA government on
July 5, 2000.
[Kashmir Times]
Related news
:. Saghir reports to Omar, 24 Dec 2009
http://www.kashmirwatch.com/showheadlines.php?subaction=showfull&id=1261696873&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&var0news=value0news
Posted on 08 Mar 2010 by Webmaster
chhotemianinshallah
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
Other Answers (4)
by MikeInRI Member since:
July 06, 2006
Total points:
87738 (Level 7)
Because for most people in the west they never hear about them and
lets face it Hindus are not mass killing Christians and Jews like
Muslims have been trying to do - it just does get the interest of most
in the west. Most actions taken by Hindus - although are bad - are
usually retalitory in nature which makes thems to a certain extent
seem justified to some.
Good Luck!!!
3 years ago
0% 0 Votes
3 Rating: Good Answer 1 Rating: Bad Answer Report Abuse by Cathy
Member since:
May 09, 2007
Total points:
10890 (Level 6)
Because there comes a point in discussing Religious Extremism where
you just have to start leaving religions and incidents out--EVERY
religion has zealots that commit such crimes.
3 years ago
2 Rating: Good Answer 1 Rating: Bad Answer Report Abuse by wwhy
Member since:
May 03, 2007
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The Buddhist state of Burma openly plans to Abolish Christianity and
nobody calls them terrorists ?
The Burma Government May Move to Abolish Christianity With Buddhist
Support ?
Government officials have shut down churches in this capital city and
have disallowed the construction of new church buildings. The number
of bibles allowed for import is limited and in-country printing of
bibles and Christian literature is restricted.
"Some Buddhist monks came and started shouting, 'don't worship God
here – he has nothing to do with us,'” David said. “They said we were
trying to establish Christianity in the village and they did not want
it. The monks and others threw stones at us. They hit us like a hard
rain. Some of us were hit in the cheek, the neck and the forehead."
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/cwn/012607Bur…
Report: Burma Plans to Wipe Out Christianity
A leaked secret document claims to reveal plans by the Burmese
military regime to wipe out Christianity in the southeast Asian
country.
Inside the memo were detailed instructions on how to force Christians
out of the country, according to Telegraph.
Instructions included imprisoning any person caught evangelizing,
capitalizing on the fact that Christianity is a non-violent religion.
“The Christian religion is very gentle,” read the letter, according to
Telegraph, “Identify and utilize its weakness.”
Burma, also known as Myanmar, has a Christian population of about four
percent, according to the CIA World Factbook. Persecution against
Christians have come in the form of church burnings, forced conversion
to the state religion of Buddhism, and banning children of Christians
from school.
http://www.christianpost.com/article/200…
Christian children forced to become Buddhist monks.
CHILDREN from Christian families in Burma, between the ages of five
and ten, have been lured from their homes and placed in Buddhist
monasteries. Once taken in, their heads have been shaved and they have
been trained as novice monks, never to see their parents again.
http://www.canadianchristianity.com/cgi-…
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news_s…
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/ch…
Buddhist Extremists Attack Christian-Run Children’s Home in Sri Lanka
A 200-man mob, accompanied by extremist Buddhist monks, has attacked a
children’s home, which was being run by the Dutch Reformed Church in
central Sri Lanka at the beginning of August.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a human rights organisation
which specialises in religious freedom, has reported that the mob
fiercely attacked the home, following which, they climbed to the roof
and planted a Buddhist flag on the roof.
Tina Lambert, Advocacy Director of Christian Solidarity Worldwide
(CSW), said: "We are extremely concerned about the continuing violence
against Christians in Sri Lanka. This latest incident, in which child
care workers have been threatened, is unacceptable and we urge the Sri
Lankan authorities to bring the perpetrators of such violence to
justice."
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/bu…
Hindu and Buddhists united to opose Christian evangelism
Hindu and Buddhist priests from across Asia are uniting to oppose
Christian proselytism. The 1,000 delegates to a three-day conference
in Lumbini, Nepal, discussed Pope John Paul II's recent call to
evangelize Asia. Evangelism constitutes "a war against Hindus and
Buddhists" and is a "spiritual crime," they said.
Hindus attacking Christian churches and
Reports of Christian persecution in Nepal continue
http://www.wtcf.org/www.viamission.org/n…
Buddhist Cambodia Limits Christian Activities :
Cambodia's government issued a directive preventing Christians from
promoting their religion in public places, or using money or other
means to persuade people to convert, officials said Tuesday.
Cambodian Buddhists generally tolerate other religions, but last year
about 300 Buddhist villagers DESTROYED a partially built Christian
church near Phnom Penh.
Also last year, a group of Christian worshippers was caught
distributing sweets to young people in the countryside while trying to
convert them, Sun Kim Hun said. Such activities are illegal.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wire…
INDIA (Newsroom) – Six Christian missionaries participating in a
gospel campaign called "Love Ahmedabad" were beaten so savagely in the
state of Gujarat last week that one of the men may lose his arms and
legs.
Members of the Hyderabad-based Operation Mobilization (OM) were
distributing Bibles and religious tracts in Ahmedabad, about five
miles from Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat, the afternoon of May 5
when they were attacked by members of the Hindu extremist groups
Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). Operation Mobilization
ships tons of Christian literature around the country. The assailants
also burned copies of the Bible and tracts.
http://www.worthynews.com/news-features/…
Christian missionaries beaten in public for 'converting' Hindus
Television channels showed Hindu activists kicking and punching the
two young priests while dragging them through Maharashtra's Kolhapur
town.
News footage showed an activist knee one priest in the groin, making
him double up in pain. Another kicked the missionary in the head. The
crowd accused the priests of forcibly converting poor Hindus, and
handed them over to police.
http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/…
The violence of Buddhist extremists it’s being compared to the killing
fields of Cambodia. In Sri Lanka religion has become mixed with
politics and nationalism - creating a toxic brew of hatred and fear.
They are…… forcibly trying to convert people to Buddhism and forcing
people to kneel down to declare Buddha is our god! Read about it
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=7…
3 years ago
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anser_qu... Member since:
January 22, 2007
Total points:
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great answer Thomas...
Unfortunately these bigots that make these false calims only see
though their lens and are not mature enough to realise the facts..
3 years ago
Any my Hindu brother will accept nithyananda swamiji is their guru,
after his crime...? if s why..?.?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=As4N.azjWH.QVon7PCP20wjd7BR.;_ylv=3?qid=20100308072451AAYK8du
Any one accept nithyananda swamiji is their guru, after his crime...?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AotF_sqWOe_Lk7tfFDNher7d7BR.;_ylv=3?qid=20100308072237AAd8GeG
Christians, can you give several examples of scriptures (to add to
this) that show us how precious...?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AnF9GzIAaTjwzchT.UEaegHd7BR.;_ylv=3?qid=20100308072220AAxqgd2
Why do religious people think that suicide is a sin?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ApdmH190JzBD8onJU9H2_W3d7BR.;_ylv=3?qid=20100308072151AAI7dpX
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070724133507AAtHOJI
THE OTHER HALF
From the land of hate
KALPANA SHARMA
`We have found a lot of happiness here,' said one girl. Happiness?
After spending just three days in an overcrowded, hot, dirty city?....
The story of 19 young Muslim women from Gujarat.
ON the surface they looked like any group of college girls. A little
conservative, perhaps, compared to their counterparts in Mumbai. But
these were not just college girls. You could tell if you looked more
closely, if you looked into their eyes, if you noticed the anxiety.
Nineteen young Muslim women from Gujarat with 19 stories to tell. All
of them unexceptionally disturbing and tragic. They were invited to
visit Mumbai by Aawaz-e-Niswan, a remarkable organisation that works
with Muslim women in Mumbai and is now extending its work to women in
other cities. The very ordinary, mostly lower middle class Muslim
women from this organisation, many of whom have been personally seared
by communal riots such as those that tore Mumbai apart in 1992-93,
decided to reach out to their sisters in Gujarat after the communal
carnage of 2002. They visited some of the worst affected areas; they
heard the stories from women who did not know how they would pick up
the threads of their lives again. And they decided that they would do
something for the younger women, many of whom expressed a
determination to continue with their education, to seek professional
qualifications and to work and be independent.
For some of the girls from Dahod, Fatehpura, Jalod and Vadodara, even
travelling in a train was a novel experience. The five from Fatehpura,
a small town bordering Rajasthan, had never seen a film in a cinema
theatre. The women from Jalod said there was a theatre in their town,
but women never went there. So one of the highpoints of their visit to
Mumbai was seeing a film in a theatre. They could not get over the
fact that as women they could do this.
Also for the first time, these women travelled around the city by
night. Mumbai by night, or any city by night, was something they could
not have imagined doing in their wildest dreams. Yet they went around
and no one looked at them strangely. They were just some among
thousands of men and women who inhabit Mumbai's public spaces till all
hours of the night.
"We have found a lot of happiness here," said one girl. Happiness?
After spending just three days in an overcrowded, hot, dirty city?
"The love we see on the faces here we don't see there," said another.
"We never get izzat (respect) anywhere in Gujarat," said another. It
was interesting to see how the very anonymity of a big city can mean
so much to people who live surrounded by hate.
That hate lurks around every turn, they said. Everyday they see on the
streets the perpetrators of the crimes that led to the death and
destruction of their community. "Even now if we pass by, they shout at
us, use bad language," said a primary school teacher from Godhra. "We
can see our things, our furniture, even our clothes, being used by
other people," said a student from Fatehpura. She broke down as she
spoke of how her house was burnt and looted, forcing her family to run
across the border to Rajasthan.
If there is one good thing that has come out of this evil, say many of
the girls, it is the increasing emphasis on women's education. "We
girls thought that if we had been educated, we could have taken a good
job and supported our families," said one. Families with no earning
member left did not get anything more than a meagre compensation.
This, she said, forced many parents to realise the value of education
and professional training.
So what did they want to do once they graduated? Most said they wanted
to become teachers. But at least two said they wanted to join the
police.
But the down side is that many girls never had a chance to make that
choice. With parents worried about the future of their daughters in
the immediate aftermath of the violence, many girls were married off
to men they had never met at the relief camps. It is unlikely that
these young women will have the freedom to travel to Mumbai at the
invitation of a women's group, to go to the theatre, to wander around
the city at night, to travel in trains and buses.
Life for the Muslim women of Gujarat, as was evident from the way
these 19 spoke, consists of "earlier" and "now". "Earlier", they had
Hindu friends, went to each other's homes, even celebrated each
other's festivals. "Now" this is not possible, they are even afraid to
go through Hindu areas and the question of enjoying each other's
festivals does not arise. "Even today we are told, Pakistan is yours,
go to Pakistan. The Hindus have come back to the city, the Muslims
have moved out. India has already been divided but now even our city
of Vadodara is divided into India and mini-Pakistan," said Nilofer.
Just a day before we met these women, the Supreme Court had ordered
the reopening of over 2,000 cases filed during the communal trouble of
2002 that the local police had closed. A 10-member committee has been
set up.
The process is forcing all of us to revisit the horror of those days.
The arrest of Police Sub-Inspector R.J. Patil, for instance, who
admitted that he had burnt 13 bodies of the victims of what is known
as the Ambika Society massacre, without sending specimens for forensic
analysis, is only the beginning of more gruesome details that will
emerge.
Yet, even this tentative beginning represents hope for many Muslims in
Gujarat. Said Nilofer from Vadodara, "Even if these cases are
reopened, and regardless of whether there is justice or not, at least
in front of society these people will be named." She felt that the
arrest of men like Patil was an important gesture for her traumatised
community.
E-mail the writer ksh...@thehindu.co.in
http://www.hindu.com/mag/2004/09/05/stories/2004090500290300.htm
No time for coffee in Copenhagen
TABISH KHAIR is not writing about the numerous lives lost in a
senseless and criminal act of violence on September 11. Instead, he
writes about the voices he has heard thereafter; a sound that has a
certain tone to it and which has set him wondering about abstract
hatred and prejudice.
THERE are moments that cleave Time into two. Everything that happens
afterwards happens in a different world. World War II was one such
moment for Europe. The suicide-hijack-crashing of four passenger
planes and the destruction of the World Trade Center is such a moment
for the world.
I will not write about the 5,000 lives lost in a senseless and
criminal act of violence. Such human loss escapes the limits of
language and representation. One can only stand silent in front of the
monuments of sorrow that tens of thousands - relatives, friends,
colleagues - will carry in their hearts for the rest of their lives.
It is a sorrow the rest of us can only share in silence.
I cannot write about silence. And I should not for, in Copenhagen, I
have been deluged with sound: the opinions of ordinary people, the
film-like coverage of the tragedy by Cable News Network (CNN), the
voices of commentators and politicians. Much of this sound had a
certain tone to it and that tone set me wondering. Is there much of a
difference between the terrorists who struck back at a group of
politicians by targeting tens of thousands of innocent people and
those voices that seem to be using the cruel act of a handful of
presumed Islamic terrorists to tarnish and blame entire populations of
Muslims and Arabs? Do not both the acts demonstrate the same type of
abstract hatred and prejudice?
But the questions never end. On the margins of time, in the split
space between worlds, one is always deluged with questions.
For example, the first Danish person who brought me news of the
tragedy said that he was against violence of any kind and added that
he would understand it if Americans decided to hit back. Why is it
that we always justify our own violence, while the violence of the
enemy is sheer sacrilege? Isn't that why there were shocking pictures
of some Palestinians celebrating: people who have become so used to
the idea of missiles being launched at their own buildings by Israeli
forces and the notion of reciprocal violence that they could not feel
the inhumanity of their celebration?
But, then, is this what we can write about: this spiral of violence
and inhumanity? Is this immense tragedy going to remain at such a
general level of discourse?
The answer seems to be "yes" if various media discussions in the West
are to be believed. But it has to be "no" if we are to salvage some
sense from the wanton destruction.
It is easy for us to sit here in our cosy sitting rooms in Copenhagen,
holding a cup of coffee, munching a biscuit, watching the tragedy
unfold almost as fluently as a film on the idiot box, and speak in
general terms. What we are doing is celebrating our own humanity, and
all human beings - even terrorists - are convinced of their own
superior humanity. Many of the most inhuman acts known to humanity
have been the consequence of such a conviction. We need to go beyond
it. We owe it to the victims of the tragedy to go beyond it.
The second person who called me with news of the tragedy was my
father: a devout Muslim doctor who has lived most of his life in a
small town in Bihar. He was shocked by the news. How could anyone do
this, he said again and again. The word he used was "anyone". I went
back to the TV and, in spite of the fact that no one knew anything
about the identities of the terrorists, I did not hear too many people
say "anyone". I heard "Muslim", "Islamic", "Middle Eastern", "Arab".
These were people who had already decided to exclude entire
populations from the circumference of their definitions of humanity.
My father's "anyone" had been reduced by many of these contributors to
"Arab" or "Muslim", even to the very type of an Arab or Muslim. I
could feel the irreligious "Muslim" in me cringe every time I heard
such discussions. I could feel my father being put in the dock.
It is so comfortable, this celebration of our own humanity. It can be
so inhuman, this celebration of our own humanity.
But what about violence?
Thomas Burnet, the late 17th century English divine, wrote that the
Roman Catholic Church persecuted prophets of Apocalyptic violence
(even though Apocalypse and the millennium were prophesied in the
Bible and, as such, should have been welcome to the church), because
it was in those days a church of privilege. Apocalyptic violence,
Burnet argued, was always the last resort of the persecuted and would
be disliked by those who "have lived always in pomp and prosperity".
Violence, in other words, is seldom a free choice. It is predicated
upon most individuals by circumstances. These individuals are usually
those who labour under an overpowering feeling of injustice and
deprivation. However senseless it might be, behind all violence lies
the rubble of shattered hopes, of real and imagined injustices, of
human desperation and, consequently, inhuman hatred. Let us not take
refuge in the easy excuse that we are against violence. For all of us,
given certain circumstances, are capable of violence or sympathy with
violence. While a thousand candles have been lit in Copenhagen for
those who died in the United States, let us also light a candle or two
for those who die - and thousands do every day, with or without
"Western" complicity - in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Rwanda .... Let
us not traffic in the worth of human lives.
No, large descriptions like "violence" do not help if we stay confined
to that general level. Neither does the kind of cry for vengeance that
one heard in the voice of many Americans and Europeans. It is true
that we have to take a stand against violence. Not just violence of
one kind, we have to take a stand against all kinds of violence - the
violence of terrorists as well as the violence of State agencies,
physical violence that leads to the death of bystanders as well as
economic violence that leads to the starvation of millions in a world
that has enough to go around. More than enough.
It is time we in the West think a bit before we bite into the cake of
our affluence and drink the coffee of our civilised condemnation.
If general sentiments will not do, what, then, about the specific
lessons that we can draw from this tragedy?
One of the things that this outrage has demonstrated is the
ineffectiveness of any kind of military shield. The only shield that
can be effective is the shield of a more just world. And for the world
to be made just and equal, it not only needs some of the resources of
the affluent, it also has to be made democratic.
Unfortunately, the U.S. has made itself into the target of extremist
groups largely because it has tried to go solo or exert undue
influence in certain international quarters. The internal democracy of
the U.S. seldom gets translated into international democracy. Had
certain decisions been taken through the channels of the United
Nations (not a military alliance of the privileged, like the North
Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)), the U.S. would have been only
one nation among many. The burden, the "blame" and the risks would
have been shared. There are advantages to democracy at the
international level, but it has to be true democracy. And the final
lesson is that of the dangers of abstract hatred and prejudice. The
act of one leader or a group cannot be blamed in a generalised way on
an entire people or country, as the terrorists seem to have done. But
this is a lesson that we should also remember every time someone uses
the dastardly act of a handful of presumed Islamic terrorists to
implicitly or explicitly blame entire populations of Muslims and
Arabs.
The crashes that reduced the World Trade Center to rubble and the two
terror-inducing plane crashes elsewhere have cleft our age into two.
On the other side of this smoking chasm of blood and bitterness, lies
another world. It can be a world in which all the mistakes of the past
- global inequality, socio-economic exploitation, lack of
international democracy, lack of national democracy and literacy in
some nations, prejudice, hatred - all these mistakes are consolidated
into a world of greater violence and suffering. Or we may, finally,
learn to work towards a world, a very different world, where we will
tackle not the consequences of senseless tragedies but the reasons for
them. A world in which we will condemn not only a certain kind of
violence, but all violence; a world in which we will love not only our
humanity, but all humanity.
In order to make this choice we have to look deep into our own hearts
before we tidy away the tea things and swap the channel in places like
Copenhagen.
People who commit hate crimes against Americans with Middle Eastern
backgrounds in the wake of the terrorist attacks will be prosecuted
"to the fullest extent of the law", according to a top Justice
Department official.
According to new federal hate crime statistics released recently:
* Hate crimes accounted for nearly 3,000 of the roughly 5.4 million
victim-related crimes examined in a study which looked at cases
reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by local police
in more than a dozen states from 1997 to 1999.
* Among the racially motivated incidents, 60 per cent targeted Blacks,
30 per cent targeted Whites and the rest targeted Asians and American
Indians. Forty-one per cent of the incidents involving religious bias
targeted Jewish people.
* Violent crime was the most serious offence in 60 per cent of the
hate crimes, typically involving intimidation or simple assault.
* More than half of the violent hate crime victims were 24 years old
or younger. Among the offenders, 31 per cent of violent offenders and
46 per cent of property offenders were under age 18.
Source: Internet
(The writer is Assistant Professor, Department of English, Copenhagen
University, Denmark.)
http://www.hinduonnet.com/2001/10/07/stories/13070612.htm
chhotemianinshallah
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
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.
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)
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
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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
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.
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.
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
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."
Related Stories:
Missing from Racism Summit Agenda - India's Caste System
America: Welcome to the Third World
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=41bc3d55ffe78d0686112ba99ae75766
US Hindu organisation accuses VHP of casteism
IANS[ SUNDAY, MARCH 06, 2005 07:27:31 PM ]
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MICHIGAN: A US-based Hindu organisation has accused the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad (VHP) of "casteist practices" at a mass conversion campaign
in Etah in Uttar Pradesh last month.
Navya Shastra, the organisation which boasts of scholars and priests
"dedicated to fostering the spiritual equality of all Hindus" among
its followers, said the VHP, which claimed to have converted 5,000
Christians to Hinduism at Etah, had classified them as Dalits in their
new religion.
"While we applaud all efforts to spread the Hindu religion through
peaceful and legitimate means, we are utterly baffled that the VHP
would insist that the new converts be labelled as untouchables," it
said in a statement here.
"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.
Organisations like the VHP, which envisions a caste-free society,
should follow their own advice, it maintained.
God's Wrath in India?
Hindu resentment over Christian activity in India fuels religious
explanations of tsunami tragedy.
BY: Arun Venugopal
Resize - Minus Resize - Plus As the world attempts to tackle the
tragedy in South Asia, the focus for the vast majority of South Asians
has been on relief. But the tsunami has also magnified already-
existing tensions between Hindus, Christians and others in the
devastated region. In India--a country often seen as a spiritual
battleground, where religions fight over the souls of the poor and
dispossessed--some conservative Hindus have used the tsunami to
criticize both a Hindu leader's arrest and the presence of Christian
missionaries in India. Meanwhile, evangelical Christian groups may
proselytize as they help tsunami victims.
Last week, a column on the widely-read Indian news site Rediff.com
suggested that the tsunami was a sign of retribution against
Christians, whose activities are seen as betraying India's essentially
Hindu character. (Full disclosure: I work for a publication owned by
Rediff.com, and my articles occasionally appear on Rediff.) Columnist
Rajeev Srinivasan pointed to several religion-related factors he sees
as pertinent. Referring to the earthquake as the "Christmas quake," he
implied that the timing wasn't mere coincidence. He also noted that
the tsunami hit a church at Velankanni, one of the most significant
Christian pilgrimage points in South India, resulting in the death of
50 people. Finally, he connected the tragedy to what many see as the
recent mistreatment of a revered Hindu leader.
In November, a holy man known formally as Shankaracharya Jayendra
Saraswathi was
arrested in connection with the murder of a former official of his
religious order. Hindus around the world decried the arrest, even
organizing mass email petitions maintaining that the entire affair was
politically motivated and related to a longstanding fight with the
current head of the state government of Tamil Nadu, where the most
tsunami-related deaths later occurred. Before long, the
Shankaracharya's sympathizers had solidified their opinion that anti-
Hindu forces were to blame, with some going so far as to point fingers
at the Vatican.
For Srinivasan, the Shankaracharya's arrest seemed the most plausible
explanation for the subsequent disaster. "The devastation by the
tsunami in Tamil Nadu, could it be a caveat from Up There about the
atrocities being visited on the [Shankaracharya]?" he asked. "About
adharma"--evil--"gaining ground?" In summarizing, he wrote, "It is
said that the very elements can be affected by the mystical powers of
sages who have acquired superhuman powers through meditation and
sadhana. I think we should all tread carefully, for now we are
treading on things we do not know."
Srinivasan's comments may seem like isolated rants--and even many of
his longtime readers rejected them--but other groups have echoed his
feelings. The Kanchi Kamakoti Seva Foundation, which defends the
Shankaracharya, recently sent an email to its supporters linking the
tsunami to the holy man's arrest. The email says "God has given a
strong signal with this disaster when the injustice to Dharmic
followers have crossed the tolerance limit." It instructs readers to
pray that the tsunami will be "an eye-opener for the Tamil Nadu
Administration and for the media to stop abusing their powers and
bring out false charges against H.H. [His Holiness]."
Most Hindus find the "act of God" tsunami theories irrelevant, if not
offensive. "Such a controversy, if at all there is one, is a product
of some small minds," said Gaurang Vaishnav of the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad of America, one of many Hindu organizations in the United
States that has rallied to aid the victims.
"Hindus do not believe in a vindictive God. There are always actions
and reactions in accordance with the theory of karma. But to attribute
a wholesale destruction and death of thousands of innocent people to a
single act of a state government is ridiculous, insensitive and
insulting to human compassion that crosses the boundaries of religion
at times of natural disasters."
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.
Such act-of-God charges also tap into larger Hindu resentment over the
notion that traditional Hindu culture is giving way to forces such as
Western materialism or other faiths. Opposition to Christian
missionary work and the conversion of Dalits, or low-caste Hindus, is
not confined to Hindu nationalists. Many people react negatively to
the idea that some of India's tribal peoples may be exposed to the
Bible even as they are taught how to read, or may take on a Christian
name. The state of Tamil Nadu has special significance for many
Hindus. It was there that a controversial Anti-Conversion Bill was
passed in 2002, meant to prevent poor Hindus from being forcibly
converted to Christianity, especially via financial inducements.
Christian leaders have denied offering such inducements.
But some mission groups see tsunami relief efforts as an opportunity
to spread the gospel in South Asia. In an
article on the evangelical website Crosswalk.com
, Dr. Ajith Fernando of Youth for Christ was quoted as saying, "We
have prayed and wept for our nation for many years. The most urgent of
my prayers has always been that my people would turn to Jesus. I pray
that this terrible, terrible tragedy might be used by God to break
through into the lives of many of our people."
Another evangelist, Gospel for Asia's K.P. Yohannan, said, "In times
like these, we know that God opens the hearts of those who suffer, and
we pray that as our workers demonstrate God's love to them, many of
them will come to know for the first time that real security comes
only through Him."
The statements were immediately distributed to watchful Hindus through
the e-mail news digest Hindu Press International ("Christians See
Conversion Opportunities in Disaster Relief"), a service from the
publishers of the U.S. magazine Hinduism Today.
For some Hindus, the Christian call to evangelize was expected, and
served to favorably contrast Hinduism's non-proselytization with what
they consider the insidious nature of certain Christian groups. "You
will not find an RSS or VHP volunteer converting a non-Hindu to Hindu
Dharma after helping him in his time of need," said Gaurang Vaishnav.
"This is the true meaning of seva"--service in the spirit of
sacrifice--"to a Hindu."
However, these same Hindu aid groups are themselves under scrutiny. An
email distributed by the leftist group
Campaign to Stop Funding Hate
told Indians interested in donating to disaster victims to avoid Hindu
groups such as the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak (RSS), Seva International
and the VHP of America. These organizations, says CSFH, have a history
of using grassroots efforts to advance a militant Hindu political
agenda. According to Kaushik Ghosh, an anthropologist at the
University of Texas, they may create organizational bases, increase
membership, establish political legitimacy or fundraise.
"During [2001's] Gujarat earthquake, the amount of money that flew
into these organizations was unbelievable," said Ghosh. "The
accounting of such money is relatively murky ...NGOs and relief-
development work can become the source of money for a whole range of
'behind-the-camera' projects." For its part, the VHPA states, "funds
for relief work are distributed without consideration of province,
race or religion."
Despite the religious struggles in the press and among advocacy
groups, the interfaith situation appears to be more positive on the
ground, where aid groups and neighbors are working together to help
survivors. One Indian blogger, Amit Varma, reported a growing
friendship between local people of different faiths responding to the
devastation. While spending time in the village of Parangipettai, in
Tamil Nadu, Varma wrote, "A deep bond had been formed between the
villagers, who were all Hindus, and these Muslim men who rushed to
help their neighbours because they believed that to be the way of
their religion. ...Faith, that can be so divisive in times of peace,
can also bring communities together in times of strife."
http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Hinduism/2004/11/Gods-Wrath-In-India.aspx
Hindu group criticises Kanchi Shankaracharya
Friday October 15 2004 18:31 IST
IANS
NEW YORK: A US-based organisation has criticised India's leading Hindu
seer, Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati, for having been part
of a ceremony where a Rs.20 million ($425,000) diamond-studded crown
was placed on a deity, saying the money could have been spent on
social service instead.
The Navya Shastra, a Hindu organisation, said the seer was part of the
Oct 2 "kumbhabhishekam" ceremony in Andhra Pradesh state's Tirupati
temple where the deity, Lord Venkateswara, was adorned with the crown.
The crown, encrusted with two marble sized emeralds and rare Burmese
rubies besides diamonds, has been donated by the Goenka business
family of Kolkata, India.
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.
"We had hoped the Acharya would use his considerable influence to
direct the funds for programmes for the betterment of struggling
Hindus and members of the lower castes, many of whom continue to live
on the peripheries of Hindu society," he added.
Navya Shastra also questioned the participation of Andhra Pradesh
Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy in the "opulent" ceremony.
http://shastras.org/Kanchinews.htm
NRI group battles Hinduism's "inequalities"
by Arun Venugopal
When Tukaram, a 19-year-old Dalit fresh from his exams, prayed at a
Hanuman temple in Andhra Pradesh earlier this month, he probably never
anticipated the outrage it would cause.
Upper caste villagers issued an injunction against his entire
community, before scrubbing down the entire temple with cow dung and
urine in a symbolic act of purification.
Ths situation might have remained another footnote to the ongoing
story of India's caste divisions, but for the efforts of a group of
reformist NRIs. The group, Navya Shastra, publicly condemned the
actions of the upper caste villagers and announced a Rs 10,000 (about
$200) scholarship for Tukaram.
This is just the latest in a series of actions the group has taken to
address what it feels are inequities in the religion. Unlike secular
groups that rail against caste and gender discrimination, however,
Navya Shastra comprises devout, temple-going Hindus.
These include a leading priest from Houston and a number of academics,
as well as converts to the religion. Among the advisers is Arun
Gandhi, founder of the MK Gandhi Center for Nonviolence, and O P
Gupta, India's ambassador to Finland.
According to Jaishree Gopal, the molecular biologist in Michigan who
founded Navya Shastra with New Jersey resident Vikram Masson, the
group formed after discussions on an online Hindu bulletin board two
years ago.
"There are lots of apologists writing on the Net these days." said
Gopal. "We saw some articles posted that there is no caste
discrimination in Hinduism (but we know) that Dalits are discriminated
against."
Its this inequality, the group contends on its website, which has lead
to an "epochal tide of conversions to religions thats supposedly
preach egalitarian values. There is compelling evidence that the
number of actual conversions in India is vastly understated by both
missionary organizations and the government."
Aside from access to temples for members of all castes, the group
promotes the right for anyone--man or woman--to receive the sacred
thread and/or become a priest.
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.
According to Gopal, it is not a coincidence that Navya Shastra is
based outside of India.
"As NRIs, we become more aware of our religious identity when you are
young, as opposed to India, where it just permeates the atmoshere",
she said. "We are used to answering questions about caste over here.
And we can't always justify the discriminatory aspects."
Another member, Sri Rajarathina Bhattar, agreed with this assessment
and cited the grip of "superstitous beliefs" on many Hindus in India.
The priest emeritus at Houston's Sri Meenakshi Temple, Bhattar has
been conducting a letter writing campaign to newspapers and orthodox
leaders in India, stressing the need for reform.
So far, he said, there continue to be a number of priests who insist
on maintaining the status quo.
"But priests who are well educated seem to agree with me." he said.
"The main reason most of them disagree is due to the fear that they
may lose certain rights as a priest."
This article appeared in June 18, 2004 issue of India Abroad
http://shastras.org/ArunVenugopal.html
US body condemns discrimination against Dalit student
Monday June 7 2004 12:52 IST
IANS
TROY (MICHIGAN): 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.
Navya Shastra, which professes spiritual equality of all Hindus, has
also promised financial assistance to Tukaram, 19, to meet his
educational costs.
The boy scored a first class in his intermediate examinations and
visited the village temple of Hanuman to make the traditional coconut
offering in Allapur, Andhra Pradesh. When members of the upper caste
community discovered this they condemned the boy and extorted Rs.500
fine from his apologetic father, Tulsiram.
They also purified the temple by washing it with cow urine and dung so
as to efface the imprints of an "untouchable," according to Vikram
Masson, co-chairman of the organisation.
Such community-based discrimination continues in India despite a
constitutional ban and strict legal safeguards against community
discrimination. "Tukaram must know that others in the Hindu world
strongly condemn such actions," said Jaishree Gopal, the other co-
chairman of the organisation.
"Navya Shastra will award Tukaram a scholarship to help his family
with Tukaram's educational costs and sincerely hopes that the Indian
government and religious leaders will pay more attention to the
apartheid in our midst," said Gopal.
http://shastras.org/Newindpress.com
End caste discrimination, Hindu leaders urged
New York, Nov 28 (IANS) A global Hindu group has urged leaders of the
faith to end caste discrimination in their institutions. The group,
Navya Shastra, also said in a press note that the Vedic chanting
tradition should be opened to all instead of being restricted to upper
caste Brahmins. Jaishree Gopal, Navya Shastra co-chairperson, said:
"The only way to save the Vedic chanting tradition is to initiate
sincere members of all castes, ...
…resulting in a dwindling supply of Vedic experts. The organisation is
lobbying Hindu leaders to implement caste blind initiation policies at
an Acharya Sabha meet to be held in Chennai from Saturday.
… "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," said Arun Gandhi, Navya Shastra
adviser and grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. "I believe the new millennium
now offers Hinduism an opportunity to change its ancient ...
http://news.eians.com/2003/11/28/28end.html , 27997 bytes
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Produktinformation
Taschenbuch: 208 Seiten
Verlag: Vintage Books; Auflage: N.-A. (4. August 1997)
Sprache: Englisch
ISBN-10: 0749390697
ISBN-13: 978-0749390693
Größe und/oder Gewicht: 19,4 x 12,6 x 1,4 cm
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Pressestimmen
"A witty documentary satire.... Mehta embraces an enormous variety of
life and death. Her style is light without being flip; her skepticism
never descends to cynicism. [Karma Cola is] a miracle of rationalism
and taste."
-- Time
Sometime in the 1960s, the West adopted India as its newest spiritual
resort. The next anyone knew, the Beatles were squatting at the feet
of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Expatriate hippies were turning on
entire villages to the pleasures of group sex and I.V. drug use. And
Indians who were accustomed to earning enlightenment the old-fashioned
way were finding that the visitors wanted their Nirvana now -- and
that plenty of native gurus were willing to deliver it.
No one has observed the West's invasion of India more astutely than
Gita Mehta. In Karma Cola the acclaimed novelist trains an unblinking
journalistic eye on jaded sadhus and beatific acid burnouts, the
Bhagwan and Allen Ginsberg, guilt-tripping English girls and a guru
who teaches gullible tourists how to view their previous incarnations.
Brilliantly irreverent, hilarious, sobering, and wise, Mehta's book is
the definitive epitaph for the era of spiritual tourism and all its
casualties -- both Eastern and Western.
"Evelyn Waugh would have rejoiced."
-- The New York Times Book Review
Kurzbeschreibung
Beginning in the late '60s, hundreds of thousands of Westerners
descended upon India, disciples of a cultural revolution that
proclaimed that the magic and mystery missing from their lives was to
be found in the East. An Indian writer who has also lived in England
and the United States, Gita Mehta was ideally placed to observe the
spectacle of European and American "pilgrims" interacting with their
hosts. When she finally recorded her razor sharp observations in Karma
Cola, the book became an instant classic for describing, in merciless
detail, what happens when the traditions of an ancient and longlived
society are turned into commodities and sold to those who don't
understand them.
In the dazzling prose that has become her trademark, Mehta skewers the
entire Spectrum of seekers: The Beatles, homeless students, Hollywood
rich kids in detox, British guilt-trippers, and more. In doing so, she
also reveals the devastating byproducts that the Westerners brought to
the villages of rural lndia -- high anxiety and drug addiction among
them.
Brilliantly irreverent, Karma Cola displays Gita Mehta's gift for
weaving old and new, common and bizarre, history and current events
into a seamless and colorful narrative that is at once witty,
shocking, and poignant.
Alle Produktbeschreibungen
http://www.amazon.de/Karma-Cola-Gita-Mehta/dp/0749390697
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Karma Cola
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Die hilfreichste positive Rezension Die hilfreichste kritische
Rezension
3 von 3 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
Amazing
Ms. Mehta is undoubtedly the best Indian author alive!
I dothink the person who wrote the two sentence review probably does
not know the meaning of 'trash'. 'Trash' is the heaps and heaps of
books that get published every year in the US and somehow make it to
the NY Times best seller list just beacuse Oprah thinks it is a good
book or because it can be made into a tv...
Vollständige Rezension lesen ›
Veröffentlicht am 20. April 2000 von SL
› Weitere Rezensionen anzeigen: 5 Sterne, 4 Sterne
1 von 1 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
Useful & entertaining
Humorous description of overseas visitors looking to India for
spiritual enlightenment twenty years ago. I read this while visiting
Pune, India, location of Bhagavan Shri Rajnish's ashram, which made it
even more appropriate. Very entertaining & perceptive.
The book is not about India--it is about Western misperception of
India.
Veröffentlicht am 29. Januar 2000 von J. G. Heiser
0 von 1 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
Decent but nothing special, 21. Juni 2000
Von Meredith Billman Mani -
Rezension übernommen von: Karma Cola: Marketing the Mystic East
(Vintage International) (Taschenbuch)
While Ms. Metha is an extremely talented writer I find it distracting
to have to wade through her obvious attempts to describe every minute
detail to the reader. It gets to be too much. This is a nice book that
offers (too much) description and a very one sided view of India.
She's writing for an American audience and it's as though she wants
them to laugh at the customs and norms in India. This is not my
favorite book on india or even by the author. This is a middle of the
road book as far as I'm concerned. I don't hate it, but then again I
don't love it either.
0 von 2 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
This book is not good., 5. Mai 2000
Von Ein Kunde
Rezension übernommen von: Karma Cola (Taschenbuch)
This book mocks europeans and americans who have earnestly gone to
India to seek out "enlightenment" and an element of spirituality that
they think is lacking in their home cultures. Gita Mehta employs all
sorts of cliches and negative stereotypes to depict this class of
"foreigner" in India. This is not a very challenging literary task.
Her language is as slick and taught as advertising text. Sometimes
clever, but more often simply rank and mean, Mehta indulges in trite
pseudo subaltern "slamming" of hippies and spiritual seekers.
I wonder what Mehta's reaction would be if an American author started
penning stories of the immature, body-stenched, fashion impaired
Indian immigrants who flock to America to shop in outlet malls and
stuff their cheap luggage full of cheaper nick-nacks for the glass
bureaus back in Delhi and Dehra Dun...
Everyone is looking for something: Westerners look for something
spiritual in India / Indians look for something material in the West.
And you are looking for my opinion on this book: dont waste your time
with this one -- go buy a Rushdie novel you don't already have.
3 von 3 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
Amazing, 20. April 2000
Von SL (OakPark, IL) -
Rezension übernommen von: Karma Cola (Taschenbuch)
Ms. Mehta is undoubtedly the best Indian author alive!
I dothink the person who wrote the two sentence review probably does
not know the meaning of 'trash'. 'Trash' is the heaps and heaps of
books that get published every year in the US and somehow make it to
the NY Times best seller list just beacuse Oprah thinks it is a good
book or because it can be made into a tv movie.
This book is a classic. Her use of the language is extra-ordinary. She
touches on the most 'Indian' of values with a great sense of humor and
almost trivialises them. She makes you really think about issues that
matter and drove(still drive) thousands of Westerners to India. She
has also done a great job of contrasting the Eastern and Western view
of life, death and everything spiritual.
1 von 1 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
Useful & entertaining, 29. Januar 2000
Von J. G. Heiser (Sunninghill, Berks) -
Rezension übernommen von: Karma Cola (Taschenbuch)
Humorous description of overseas visitors looking to India for
spiritual enlightenment twenty years ago. I read this while visiting
Pune, India, location of Bhagavan Shri Rajnish's ashram, which made it
even more appropriate. Very entertaining & perceptive.
The book is not about India--it is about Western misperception of
India.
1 von 1 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
An Essential Book for Travelers to India, 29. Dezember 1999
Von Peter Theis (Minneapolis, USA) -
Rezension übernommen von: Karma Cola (Taschenbuch)
This book is a must-read for those travelers bound for India,
especially for those seeking enlightenment. I lived in Varanasi for a
year, and I met many travelers who believed that India was some sort
of textbook Hindu holy land. These people lived in their ideas,
creating a shield around them that kept real India out. Karma Cola
helps show that India isn't a book-ideal made up of gurus and yogis
performing divine-inspired miracles on every street corner. It shows
that India, like any other country, is made up of people: helpful
people and crooks, prude people and perverts. If you go to India,
don't go there to experience some sort of religious miracle. Go there
to see real India and meet real Indians, and read this book before you
go!
0 von 1 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
A 'scholarly' (not!) book, 3. August 1999
Von Ein Kunde
Rezension übernommen von: Karma Cola: Marketing the Mystic East
(Vintage International) (Taschenbuch)
Nothing but trash! I can not believe that this stupid book is
recommended reading by Lonely Planet!
Witty at times, cynical at others, 30. Juli 1999
Von Michael Washbrooke (Sydney, Australia) -
Rezension übernommen von: Karma Cola: Marketing the Mystic East
(Vintage International) (Taschenbuch)
Written so as to remind each of us that there's a sucker (or seeker)
born every minute, Mehta's book shows us how easy it is to fool
gullible Westerners looking for enlightenment, and that there's a big
difference between open-hearted curiosity and gullibility. Westerners
created a market for gurus, and India filled it. But somewhere among
the amusing anecdotes that Mehta relates in a clucking tongue there's
a tale that's really rather sad. On the whole, I enjoyed the book and
found it witty and amusing, but thought it was perhaps a little
satisfied at its own superiority. For anybody thinking about going to
India to "find themselves," it would be a good primer.
Another thought, 13. Juli 1998
Von bali...@aol.com (Washington, DC) -
Rezension übernommen von: Karma Cola: Marketing the Mystic East
(Vintage International) (Taschenbuch)
In addition to what I've already written, let me also state that the
book is also a criticism of Indians who capitalize on westerners' need
for spiritual fulfillment. On a personal note about the Chapter in
which the illegal route from Pakistan to India is discovered and the
foreigners coming through that route by taking advantage of the
hospitality of the villagers, this is not uncommon even today. I've
had several people stay at my house who basically used me as a cheap
place to stay and without even thanking me for cooking for them or
providing them with a roof over their heads. The ability to take
unashamedly persists. Hospitality is one of the greatest things about
Indian/South Asian culture, but as Mehta demonstrates in the chapter,
it also exposes Indians to a great deal of abuse as anyone who's had
an ungracious house guest can testify.
Not the usual view of India, 7. Februar 1998
Von cat...@gnosys.co.nz (New Zealand) -
Rezension übernommen von: Karma Cola: Marketing the Mystic East
(Vintage International) (Taschenbuch)
Karma Cola is definitely required reading for any westerner interested
in things Indian or perhaps contemplating hitting the Dharma trail.
Its recognition that misunderstanding goes both ways (eg. the
anecdotes about gurus treatment of their Western students) is a good
reality check for those of us whose spiritual search has taken us
there. Ms Mehta gently reminds us that trying to absorb 5000 years of
experience and living may take a little more than a few weeks of squat
loos, and some Om Mani Padme Hums.
This is the first time I've ever read a book about the move of Eastern
thought into the West which was not written by a Westerner. In some
ways sobering, it is also witty and at times poignant.
By the way, an earlier reviewer lambasted the author for attributing
the wrong language to clerks from Kerala. That mistake has been fixed
in the edition I have (Minerva 1997 paperback).
Sucks!!!, 15. Dezember 1997
Von veni...@zonker.ecs.umass.edu (Amherst, MA) -
Rezension übernommen von: Karma Cola (Taschenbuch)
Pardon me, but the author's ignorance is showing. The book has very
little to do with reality and panders to every fear and stereotype in
the mind of an Western audience. Here is an instance of the author's
ignorance, a quote from Chapter VI titled Behind the Urine Curtain,
Section 3 (pg 84 in the Vintage paper back edition)-she is talking
about the different people who use the local trains in Mumbai- "There
to the left is a clutch of stiletto-heeled and skirted Goan
secretaries, exchanging office gossip in Portuguese. Close behind them
are the Kerala clerks in white bush shirts and gray trousers,
conversing in (emphasis mine)*KANNADA*". Now anyone with an iota of
knowledge about India and its languages will know that the people of
Kerala speak Malayalam and not Kannada which is the language of the
neighboring Karnataka. Malayalam and Kannada are not obscure tongues
but are each spoken by atleast a few million people. Someone who
doesnt even know this should NOT set out writing a book about India.
Makes one wonder at the autheticity of the other anecdotes in the
book. Throwing in some high sounding philosophical jargon does not
make a book intellectual either (Chapter XIII- Om is Where the Heart
is). In all a very pathetic attempt to make a quick buck out of the
"mystic" of the East. She seems to be the one living up to her book's
title- Karma Cola- Marketing the Mystic East.
A look at the consequences of India's "spiritual draw"., 1. Dezember
1997
Von Ein Kunde
Rezension übernommen von: Karma Cola (Taschenbuch)
An interesting look at what draws "spiritually starved" westerners to
India and the consequential fallout. The author assumes a lot from the
reader, particularly a working knowledge of spoken French and a
rudimentary understanding of Hindu mythology. I'm lacking on both
accounts so a lot of the book went over my head. One particular
passage that sounds to me like it's important but I didn't fully
appreciate, was the one where she is talking about the meaning of
Karma and its perverted meaning by westerners. She relates the story,
from the Bhagavad Gita, of Arjuna asking Krishna why he needs to go to
war when understanding is superior to action in this case. Krishna
answers that one is bound by action and that only by acting can one be
free of the bondage of action. "That is exactly Karma" says the
author. Now, here is where I have a problem, probably because of my
limited understanding of Hinduism. *I* thought that Karma had to do
with the totallity of ones actions and is *the* factor determining
your next level of reincarnation. What the author seems to be implying
is that Karma is, instead, the bondage of action, i.e. fate. That is,
karma is the thing which predefines our actions rather than the
measure of our actions. I am confused ..... On the other hand, her
very pragmatic telling of the western approach to "instant nirvana"
and the "distressed westerner" abdicating to the nearest Guru is
actually quite refreshing and devoid of the mythical. :-) However,not
quite so overtly there is the implication that the invasion of
confused westerners has had a very destructive impact of the lives of
ordinary Indians. When relating the story of the westerners who
figured out a illegal route into India from Pakistan by taking
advantage of the hospitality of Indians, the protaganist of the story
is said to have said "One cannot make an omelet without breaking some
eggs". The author continues by saying, "and from where I stand the
ground is covered with broken egg shells". This I found quite sad ....
the narcissistic westerners completely lacking in self-restraint and
enough appreciation to understand that the path of "enlightenment"
requires endurance and cannot be delivered at will. Mind you that's
what Christianity preaches; just give your faith to god and you will
be saved. Where is the prerequisite toil and self-sacrifice?
An excellent book on the "other" perspective., 1. Dezember 1997
Von Ein Kunde
Rezension übernommen von: Karma Cola: Marketing the Mystic East
(Vintage International) (Taschenbuch)
This is an excellent book for those who want to know what "sensible"
South Asians think about the appropriation and manipulation of their
culture. I'm sure that it would seem rather acerbic to those who
control the discourse on culture and identity but every once in a
while a book comes along and gives voice to the perspective of the
"other." Those of us who have seen their karma, their food, their
noserings, their clothes and their cultural, religious and national
symbols reinvented, recycled and resignified will appreciate this book
as an attempt to point out the folly of such doings. For westerners,
this is like looking in a mirror that does not lie.
A rather cranky view of westerners in India., 16. August 1997
Von loo...@alaska.net (Girdwood, Alaska) -
Rezension übernommen von: Karma Cola (Taschenbuch)
The author has some fun describing the follies and adventures of
westerners in India, but falls into the "more Hindu than thou" mode a
bit. An interesting read.
Produktinformation
Taschenbuch: 944 Seiten
Verlag: St. Martin's Press; Auflage: Reprint (November 2005)
Sprache: Englisch
ISBN-10: 0312330537
ISBN-13: 978-0312330538
Größe und/oder Gewicht: 20,8 x 13,7 x 4,3 cm
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Amazon.com
Crime and punishment, passion and loyalty, betrayal and redemption are
only a few of the ingredients in Shantaram, a massive, over-the-top,
mostly autobiographical novel. Shantaram is the name given Mr.
Lindsay, or Linbaba, the larger-than-life hero. It means "man of God's
peace," which is what the Indian people know of Lin. What they do not
know is that prior to his arrival in Bombay he escaped from an
Australian prison where he had begun serving a 19-year sentence. He
served two years and leaped over the wall. He was imprisoned for a
string of armed robberies peformed to support his heroin addiction,
which started when his marriage fell apart and he lost custody of his
daughter. All of that is enough for several lifetimes, but for Greg
Roberts, that's only the beginning.
He arrives in Bombay with little money, an assumed name, false papers,
an untellable past, and no plans for the future. Fortunately, he meets
Prabaker right away, a sweet, smiling man who is a street guide. He
takes to Lin immediately, eventually introducing him to his home
village, where they end up living for six months. When they return to
Bombay, they take up residence in a sprawling illegal slum of 25,000
people and Linbaba becomes the resident "doctor." With a prison
knowledge of first aid and whatever medicines he can cadge from doing
trades with the local Mafia, he sets up a practice and is regarded as
heaven-sent by these poor people who have nothing but illness, rat
bites, dysentery, and anemia. He also meets Karla, an enigmatic Swiss-
American woman, with whom he falls in love. Theirs is a complicated
relationship, and Karla’s connections are murky from the outset.
Roberts is not reluctant to wax poetic; in fact, some of his prose is
downright embarrassing. Throughought the novel, however, all 944 pages
of it, every single sentence rings true. He is a tough guy with a
tender heart, one capable of what is judged criminal behavior, but a
basically decent, intelligent man who would never intentionally hurt
anyone, especially anyone he knew. He is a magnet for trouble, a
soldier of fortune, a picaresque hero: the rascal who lives by his
wits in a corrupt society. His story is irresistible. Stay tuned for
the prequel and the sequel. --Valerie Ryan -- Dieser Text bezieht sich
auf eine andere Ausgabe: Gebundene Ausgabe .
From Publishers Weekly
At the start of this massive, thrillingly undomesticated potboiler, a
young Australian man bearing a false New Zealand passport that gives
his name as "Lindsay" flies to Bombay some time in the early '80s. On
his first day there, Lindsay meets the two people who will largely
influence his fate in the city. One is a young tour guide, Prabaker,
whose gifts include a large smile and an unstoppably joyful heart.
Through Prabaker, Lindsay learns Marathi (a language not often spoken
by gora, or foreigners), gets to know village India and settles, for a
time, in a vast shantytown, operating an illicit free clinic. The
second person he meets is Karla, a beautiful Swiss-American woman with
sea-green eyes and a circle of expatriate friends. Lin's love for Karla
—and her mysterious inability to love in return—gives the book its
central tension. "Linbaba's" life in the slum abruptly ends when he is
arrested without charge and thrown into the hell of Arthur Road
Prison. Upon his release, he moves from the slum and begins laundering
money and forging passports for one of the heads of the Bombay mafia,
guru/sage Abdel Khader Khan. Eventually, he follows Khader as an
improbable guerrilla in the war against the Russians in Afghanistan.
There he learns about Karla's connection to Khader and discovers who
set him up for arrest. Roberts, who wrote the first drafts of the
novel in prison, has poured everything he knows into this book and it
shows. It has a heartfelt, cinemascope feel. If there are occasional
passages that would make the very angels of purple prose weep, there
are also images, plots, characters, philosophical dialogues and
mysteries that more than compensate for the novel's flaws. A
sensational read, it might well reproduce its bestselling success in
Australia here.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier
Inc. All rights reserved. -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine andere
Ausgabe: Gebundene Ausgabe .
From Booklist
A thousand pages is like a thousand pounds--it sounds like too much to
deal with. Nevertheless, Roberts' very long novel sails along at an
amazingly fast clip. Readers in the author's native Australia
apparently finished every page of it, for they handed it considerable
praise. Now U.S. readers can enjoy this rich saga based on Roberts'
own life: escape from a prison in Australia and a subsequent flight to
Bombay, which is exactly what happens to Lindsay, the main character
in the novel; once in Bombay, he joins the city's underground. Roberts
graphically, even beautifully, evokes that milieu--he is as effective
at imparting impressions as any good travel writer--in this complex
but cohesive story about freedom and the lack of it, about survival,
spiritual meaning, love, and sex; in other words, about life in what
has to be one of the most fascinating cities in the world. One's first
impression of this novel is that it is simply a good story, but one
soon comes to realize that Roberts is also a gifted creator of
characters--not only Lindsay but also Prabaker, who becomes Lindsay's
guide, caretaker, and entree into various elements of Bombay society.
Soon, too, one becomes aware and appreciative of Roberts' felicitous
writing style. In all, despite the novel's length, it is difficult not
to be ensnared by it. And, be forewarned, it will be popular. Brad
Hooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --
Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine andere Ausgabe: Gebundene Ausgabe .
Pressestimmen
"Shantaram is a novel of the first order, a work of extraordinary art,
a thing of exceptional beauty. If someone asked me what the book was
about, I would have to say everything, every thing in the world.
Gregory David Roberts does for Bombay what Lawrence Durrell did for
Alexandria, what Melville did for the South Seas, and what Thoreau did
for Walden Pond: He makes it an eternal player in the literature of
the world."
- Pat Conroy
"Shantaram has provided me with the richest reading experience to date
and I don't expect anybody to unseat its all-round performance for a
long time. It is seductive, powerful, complex, and blessed with a
perfect voice. Like a voodoo ghost snatcher, Gregory David Roberts has
captured the spirits of the likes of Henri Charrière, Rohinton Mistry,
Tom Wolfe, and Mario Vargas Llosa, fused them with his own unique
magic, and built the most gripping monument in print. The land of the
god Ganesh has unchained the elephant, and with the monster running
amok, I tremble for the brave soul dreaming of writing a novel about
India. Gregory David Roberts is a suitable giant, a dazzling guru, and
a genius in full."
- Moses Isegawa, author of Abyssinian Chronicles and Snakepit
"Shantaram is, quite simply, the 1001 Arabian Nights of the new
century. Anyone who loves to read has been looking for this book all
their reading life. Anyone who walks away from Shantaram untouched is
either heartless or dead or both. I haven't had such a wonderful time
in years."
- Jonathan Carroll, author of White Apples
"Shantaram is dazzling. More importantly, it offers a lesson...that
those we incarcerate are human beings. They deserve to be treated with
dignity. Some of them, after all, may be exceptional. Some may even
possess genius."
- Ayelet Waldman, author of Crossing the Park
“Utterly unique, absolutely audacious, and wonderfully wild, Shantaram
is sure to catch even the most fantastic of imaginations off guard.”
---Elle
“Shantaram had me hooked from the first sentence. [It] is thrilling,
touching, frightening...a glorious wallow of a novel.”
---Detroit Free Press
“[A] sprawling, intelligent novel…full of vibrant characters…the
exuberance of his prose is refreshing…Roberts brings us through
Bombay’s slums and opium houses, its prostitution dens and ex-pat
bars, saying, You come now. And we follow.”
---The Washington Post
"Inspired storytelling."
--People
“Vivid, entertaining. Its visceral, cinematic descriptive beauty truly
impresses.”
--USA Today
“Few stand out quite like Shantaram …nothing if not entertaining.
Sometimes a big story is its own best reward.”
--The New York Times
"...very good...vast of vision and breadth."
--Time Out
“This massive autobiographical novel draws heavily from Roberts’ vida
loca. Don’t let the size scare you away – Shantaram is one of the most
gripping tales of personal redemption you’ll ever read.”
--Giant Magazine
“This reviewer is amazed that Roberts is here to write anything.
Swallowed up by the abyss, somehow he crawled out intact….His love for
other people was his salvation…Powerful books can change our lives.
The potency of Shantaram is the joy of forgiveness. First we must
regret, then forgive. Forgiveness is a beacon in the blackness.”
--Dayton Daily News
" Shantaram is loads of colorful fun, [it] rises to something grand in
its evocations of the pungent chaos of Bombay. "
--Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Shantaram is a true epic. It is a huge, messy, over-the-top
irresistible shaggy-dog story.”
--The Seattle Times
Kurzbeschreibung
A stunning debut novel based on the author's dramatic and
extraordinary true story. After escaping from a maximum-security
prison, Roberts hid in Bombay, establishing a medical clinic, working
in Bollywood and joining the mafia. A gripping and superbly written
adventure story which will receive review and feature coverage. "A
masterpiece...sure to be a bestseller around the world" "The Age" --
Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare
Ausgabe dieses Titels.
Über den Autor
Gregory David Roberts was born in Melbourne, Australia. Sentenced to
nineteen years in prison for a series of armed robberies, he escaped
and spent ten of his fugitive years in Bombay---where he established a
free medical clinic for slum-dwellers, and worked as a counterfeiter,
smuggler, gunrunner, and street soldier for a branch of the Bombay
mafia. Recaptured, he served out his sentence, and established a
successful multimedia company upon his release. Roberts is a now full-
time writer and lives in Bombay.
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21 von 21 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
Shantaram
I grew up in Bombay in the fifties and early sixties, and have not
visited the city for the past odd 20 years. This amazing book has
basically summed up life in one of the most fascinating cities in the
world. Besides the adventure, which is unique in itself, the author
has managed a description of the city and its unbelievable vibrant
atmosphere and street life to pass...
Vollständige Rezension lesen ›
Veröffentlicht am 21. Januar 2005 von Simon Khosla
› Weitere Rezensionen anzeigen: 5 Sterne, 4 Sterne
8 von 8 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
Weniger ist mehr
Shantaram - wärmstens empfohlen nicht nur von Amazon-Usern und deren
Rezensionen, sondern unter anderem auch aufgrund vieler positiver
Berichte in diversen Zeitschriften. Nachdem ich nun die 932 Seiten
"geschafft" habe zu lesen, wusste ich nicht recht ob ich zufrieden war
mit dem Buch oder ob ein wenig die Enttäuschung überwog.
Das Buch ist in 5 Teile...
Vollständige Rezension lesen ›
Vor 8 Monaten von Chevy veröffentlicht
21 von 21 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
Shantaram, 21. Januar 2005
Von Simon Khosla (Schaffhausen, Switzerland) -
Rezension übernommen von: Shantaram (Gebundene Ausgabe)
I grew up in Bombay in the fifties and early sixties, and have not
visited the city for the past odd 20 years. This amazing book has
basically summed up life in one of the most fascinating cities in the
world. Besides the adventure, which is unique in itself, the author
has managed a description of the city and its unbelievable vibrant
atmosphere and street life to pass like a film in front of ones eyes.
It is the best book I have ever read about the city.
8 von 8 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
Weniger ist mehr, 1. Juli 2009
Von Chevy -
Rezension übernommen von: Shantaram. (Abacus) (Taschenbuch)
Shantaram - wärmstens empfohlen nicht nur von Amazon-Usern und deren
Rezensionen, sondern unter anderem auch aufgrund vieler positiver
Berichte in diversen Zeitschriften. Nachdem ich nun die 932 Seiten
"geschafft" habe zu lesen, wusste ich nicht recht ob ich zufrieden war
mit dem Buch oder ob ein wenig die Enttäuschung überwog.
Das Buch ist in 5 Teile untergliedert, zu insgesamt 43 Kapitel. Bis
zum Ende des 3. Teiles war ich schwer begeistert wie Roberts über
seine Flucht, sein Untertauchen, das indische Dorfleben, das Leben im
Slum oder aber auch über die Menschen die er trifft und liebt
schreibt, teilweise auch sehr humorvoll. Er malt viele der Szenen,
teilweise bis ins Detail beschrieben, sehr ausgiebig.
Allerdings hat der Autor ein großes Manko. Respekt davor was der Autor
erlebt haben möchte (da die Rahmengeschichte ja doch irgendwie der
Realität entspricht), allerdings scheint es, vor allem gegen Ende des
Romans, sehr oft, als Lobe sich der Autor selbst. Teilweise kämpft er
alle drei Seiten gegen einen neuen Gegner und beschreibt detailliert
wie er diese zumeist K.O. schlägt. Auch die Storyline nimmt mit den
letzten zwei Kapiteln, der Mafia und Aufghanistan stark ab, der Roman
wird zu sehr in die Länge gezogen. Dies ist natürlich sehr schade, da
es zu Beginn wie gesagt ein Buch war das ich den meisten Leuten blind
empfehlen würde. Philosophisch gesehen birgt der Roman Ansätze über
einen evtl Sinn des Lebens, allerdings motivieren diese aber nicht,
sich weiter damit auseinanderzusetzen.
Alles in allem kann ich das Buch als Urlaubsroman empfehlen, aber auch
nur denjenigen, denen Kampfszenen nichts ausmachen. Wirklich
empfehlenswert meinerseits sind daher eigentlich nur die ersten 3
Teile. Deshalb auch die 3 von 5 Sternen.
19 von 21 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
Hail Shantaram!, 15. April 2005
Von "kojanko" -
Rezension übernommen von: Shantaram. (Abacus) (Taschenbuch)
This book is simply amazing.
It is a classic adventure book first of all, filled with deep
realizations about life, love and death. It is beautifully crafted,
and Gregory Roberts writing style is gripping, colorful and profoundly
simple (in the best way). It always displays an honesty and
authenticity even in the most outragous moments of this tale - and
there are many of those. Shantaram is everything a reader could ever
want from a book - it is poetic, moving, philosophical and extremely
alive. You'll be very sorry when you get to the last of the 900+
pages.
Very sorry, indeed.
Read it.
11 von 12 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
An epic novel set in India, 21. Juni 2005
Von Philippe Horak (Zug, Switzerland) -
Rezension übernommen von: Shantaram (Gebundene Ausgabe)
Mr Roberts's voluminous novel tells the story of one narrator who
escaped from prison in Australia and travelled to Bombay on a false
New Zealand passport. He doesn't devote much time talking about his
criminal activities in his home country apart from stating that he
used to rob banks and deal in drugs and then chose to abandon his wife
and children for the life of a fugitive. Upon his arrival in the
Indian capital, he met Prabaker Kharre, a loveable character who
showed him round the city, particularly the areas rarely visited by
mainstream tourists. At Leopold's, a bar where illegal business is
conducted by many Indians and a few foreigners, the narrator was
introduced to Karla Saaranen, a beautiful woman who is often the
object of his thoughts throughout the novel due to the difficulty she
has in feeling love for anyone.
As he settled down in Bombay, he learned to speak Marathi and Hindi
and during the adventurous years he spent in the city he became
acquainted with a whole array of characters and he became to be known
as Lin, Linbaba or Shantaram. The most impressive passages in the
novel are the narrator's visit to Prabaker's native village of Sunder,
his work in the zhopadpatti slum, his experience with the monsoon and
the cholera, his work for Abdel Khader Khan and the Bombay Mafia, his
stays at the Arthur Road Prison and the Colaba lock-up and finally his
fight for the mujaheddin cause in the mountains of Afghanistan.
Mr Roberts wonderfully shows both the generosity and the violence of
the Indian people's character. The spirit of Bombay is rendered in
splendid descriptions so that altogether this novel is thoroughly
enjoyable to read.
10 von 11 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
Ein grossartiges Werk!, 13. Mai 2008
Von Don Paesano "retito" -
Rezension übernommen von: Shantaram. (Abacus) (Taschenbuch)
Ich konnte das Buch für volle vier Tage nicht aus den Händen legen.
Ich las immer und überall, während dem Essen, auf dem Klo, auf dem Weg
zum Klo, auf dem Rückweg vom Klo. Und schliesslich mit einer
Stirnlampe in der Hängematte. Das Buch nimmt einem mit auf eine Reise
mit David Roberts, die durch ein Indien führt wie ich es noch nie
beschrieben bekommen habe. Die Geschichte geht vorwärts wie ein
Güterzug. Seite für Seite etwas Neues, Aufregendes, Spannendes. Die
Sprache ist gut verständlich und wunderschön geschrieben. Ich
schliesse mich meinen Vorrednern nicht an, die die Philosophie zum
Teil als "cheesy" beschreiben. Ich war vielmehr beeindruckt vom Autor,
diesem unglaublichen Typen, der Dinge erlebt und so wunderbar
beschreibt, die weit weit über übliche "Reiseerfahrungen" hinweg
reichen.
Das Buch hat mich zum Lachen gebracht und mich zu Tränen gerührt. Es
war keine Seite (!) langweilig. Im Gegenteil. Fesseln, spannend,
intensiv, fordernd. Das Ende, wie viele Abschnitte zuvor, musste ich
gleich mehrmals lesen...Gänsehaut!
Habe das Buch bereits x-mal verschenkt - uneingeschränkter Lesetip!
3 von 3 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
Biblische Geschichten, 31. Mai 2009
Von Helmut Janus -
Erschöpft bin ich nach 933 Seiten am Ende der englischen Ausgabe von
Shantaram angekommen. Das Buch ist durchgehend gut zu lesen. Es gibt
eine unglaubliche Fülle an spannenden Episoden, gut geschriebenen
Dialogen, interessanten Typen, Milieuschilderungen und
Hintergrundgeschichten. Das alles ist in der Inhaltsangabe schon
ausführlich beschrieben worden. Womit ich allerdings meine
Schwierigkeiten hatte, war das Ego des Autors und seine philosophisch-
religiöse Grundeinstellung. Die ganze abenteuerliche Lebensgeschichte
handelt vom Suchen nach dem Guten im Menschen, von immer neuen
Versuchungen, Fehlschlägen und schließlich doch dem Sieg des Guten,
Gerechten und Liebenden. Es sind nicht einzelne philosophische
Schwafeleien, die die Handlung unterbrechen, sondern alles, was
Roberts erzählt, ordnet sich diesem Muster unter. Wenn er in Kämpfe
verwickelt ist, streicht er seine Fähigkeiten als Messerstecher
heraus, aber im entscheidenden Augenblick sticht er ordentlich ins
Fleisch seines Gegners, bringt ihn aber nicht um. Wenn er nach Monaten
einer unfassbaren Tortur aus dem Gefängnis frei kommt, versäumt er es
nicht, noch ein paar Mitgefangene zu retten. Wenn er aus Verzweiflung
wieder Heroin nimmt, dann auch richtig, indem er drei Monate in einer
Opiumhöhle abtaucht und anschließend durch die Hölle des "cold turkey"
geht.
Es sind biblische Geschichten in modernem Gewand, die Roberts erzählt,
die Läuterung vom Saulus zum Paulus. Aus Neugier habe ich mir seine
Website angesehen, und hier entwickelt er auch seine Philosophie von
der "cosmosophy". Ich bin nicht in die Details eingestiegen und habe
dazu auch keine große Lust, weil ich Bücher lese, um mich unterhalten
und zum Nachdenken anregen zu lassen, nicht aber um mir den großen
Wurf einer Welterklärung anzutun. Shantaram lässt mich etwas ratlos
zurück. Vielleicht muss ein solcher Eifer sein, um ein so gigantisches
Werk zustande zu bringen.
7 von 9 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
Amazing, 21. August 2006
Von danyboy "eternalflame2" (Brunnen, Schweiz) -
Rezension übernommen von: Shantaram. (Abacus) (Taschenbuch)
I have not yet finished reading this book but I already need to
comment on this masterpiece. Shantaram may not be a flawless work and
parts of the book and especially sometimes the imagery and phrases
used appear a bit cheesy. A few comparisons and philosophical thoughts
are either a bit far-fetched or very general and superficial.
This may sound like a book of which one can use the paper to lit a
fire with on a cold winter day. BUT, despite some (undisputable) flaws
I give the book 4 stars because it, nevertheless, has become one of my
favourite books. The amazing and outstanding qualities of the book let
you forget the (minor) flaws mentioned above.
The story is thrilling, funny and never boring. One starts to feel
that what this guy writes is what he really experienced (at least most
of it) and I prefer an honest, true, heart-breaking, interesting story
with a few stylistic flaws to over-intellectual, cold and too perfect
works by some acclaimed literary authors. This is the story of a man's
life, which is far from being a common, everyday one. Let me tell you
one thing: this man has got a lot to tell you. Buy the book, sit down,
make yourself comfortable and dive into the world of Greg David
Roberts. I bet you won't regret it...
4 von 5 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
One of the best books ever!!!, 1. Juni 2005
Von "natalie0208" -
Rezension übernommen von: Shantaram. (Abacus) (Taschenbuch)
Shantaram is one of the best books I ever read, and I read an awful
lot!!! The Author has a great gift of storytelling, the plot is
terrific, his descriptions of the places, the people, their culture is
absolutely gorgeous. So don't hesitate, read this book, it is worth
every cent and you'll not put it down till you reach the last page.
1 von 1 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
A definite MUST-READ!, 23. September 2009
Von S. Gould -
Rezension übernommen von: Shantaram. (Abacus) (Taschenbuch)
Others have already given this book the raving reviews it deserves. I
won't attempt to add to their comments, except to simply say that you
shouldn't be put-off by the size of this book - once you start reading
it you won't be able to put it down! (and will sadly be through it
faster than you wished!)
1 von 1 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
einfach nur klasse, 23. Juni 2009
Von bücher-wurm "leo3009" -
Rezension übernommen von: Shantaram. (Abacus) (Taschenbuch)
Ein faszinierendes Buch, das ich nur empfehlen kann. Die plastische
Darstellung des Autors läßt einen in eine komplett fremde Welt
versinken. Extrem gut geschrieben, spannend (zugegebenermaßen hast das
Buch zwischendurch ein paar Längen, die aber die Gesamtheit für mich
nicht beeinträchtigen) und manchmal auch sehr hart, so daß ich bewußt
das Buch zur Seite gelegt habe um die Passagen zu verdauen.
Prinzipiell langweilen mich Kriegsbeschreibungen, aber Gregory Roberts
hat es ausgezeichnet verstanden, auch solche Themen dem Leser nahe zu
bringen. Den Leser erwartet eine große Portion Philosophie, vielleicht
neuer Denkansätze, und das Buch entführt somit in eine (zumindest für
mich) absolut fremde Lebensweise. Wer einmal über den eigenen
Tellerrand hinauschauen möchte, ist genau richtig. Ob man die
Entscheidungen von "Lindsay" verstehen kann oder nicht, auf jeden Fall
ist großer Unterhaltungswert garantiert! Ich freue mich auf die
Verfilmung.
1 von 1 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
The Heart of India, 21. Mai 2009
Von R. Müller-Heinrich "Goldkalb" (Pulheim, Deutschland) -
I have read many books on India and spent time in Bombay and Delhi. No
book, no sojourn has brought me so close to and deeply into the Heart
of India. The simplicity of style, the at times almost brutal honesty
of Gregory Roberts, the expressions of love for the people he met, the
lessons he learned, remind me of Barack Obama's "Dreams from my
Father". Shantaram is an amazing book which lets you feel you are
there. You feel the humid heat of Bombay, you smell all the smells,
good or bad, you see the purple sunset, you are amongst his friends
and could almost touch them. You could find your way into the slum and
feel sure of a welcome, even as a stranger. I felt encompassed by
Prabaker's smile, felt the loyalty of Lin's friends as if they were
mine. I felt the struggles Lin went through to find his way in life,
as if they were my own. I never could condemn him for his "evil"
deeds, as he was giving all the love he had to give at the same time.
As someone already said, I was very sorry when I came to the last
page, because it meant coming back to my own world, like after a
holiday. And my world seems drab and poor, though I don't live in a
slum. And no news report has shown me the futility, the atrocity, the
heart-wrenching sadness of Afghans killing their Afghan brothers,
supported by profit-seeking Americans and Russians for their own
goals. Shantaram. (Abacus)
6 von 8 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
Spitze, 26. Juli 2006
Von Frank Bittermann -
Rezension übernommen von: Shantaram (Gebundene Ausgabe)
Durch die Meldung von Querelen bei der Produktionsvorbereitung des
Films von und mit Jonny Depp bin ich auf diesen Roman aufmerksam
geworden. Auch muss ich zugeben, dass ich Indien immer noch für heiss,
schmutzig und völlig überbevölkert halte, aber dieses Buch hat mir die
Menschen dort näher gebracht. Ein von der ersten bis zur letzten Seite
spannender, lustige, trauriger und vor allem nachdenkenswerter
Schmöker. Ein durchweg gelungenes Erstlingswerk, bei dem ich auf einen
Nachfolger hoffe, denn der Autor hat offensichtlich soviele Abenteuer
erlebt, da kann man nur mit den Ohren schlackern...
Well-read mix of Bombay life, with mafia-cheese and self-
indulgence, 6. Februar 2010
Von Jakarta_expat (Indonesien) -
Rezension übernommen von: Shantaram (Audio CD)
Shantaram No doubt about it, from the moment the story teller embarks
from the plane to sticky Bombay, the reader is hooked and will press
on to read about slum dwellers, their modes of survivals, boozy white
expats making a living in Bombay and other exciting stuff. The problem
is: The whole long book is mixed with a sense of self-indulgence by
the author lecturing us on life and philosophy. Which alone is not so
bad would he not to press on to tell the most boring love story ever
put into writing. the book is worth your time if you are interested in
India, slum life, street fighting and wanna-be philosophic
excursions.
I listened to the unabridged audio book, and enjoyed the speaker's
different voices. He catches the Bombay accents very well (as far as I
can tell). The female characters annoying me most in the book are read
with a certain ironic "flat" tone as if the audio book reader would
share my feeling of boredom with them as well. Nice touch.
Book: ***, Unabridged audio production: ****
The Precursor to Slumdog Millionaire, if you like, 27. Dezember
2009
Von Oliver Koehler (Berlin, Germany) -
Rezension übernommen von: Shantaram. (Abacus) (Taschenbuch)
Not the best of stories [in terms of fairly imagery and love "scenes"]
but nevertheless so far a gritty tale of his descent into India's
underworld and his involvement in the Russian-Afghan war - with some
very vivid descriptions of the India that I have come to know and love
and hate over the past years! Nevertheless unputdownable... For a
quick fix if you've ever been to India and want to get past the colour
of the place, an eye-opener at times and a jaw-dropper too. What I did
like - although it has been a point of criticism in other reviews - is
the fact that it sometimes is very loosely constructed. After all, it
is suppoed to be an autobiography - or a memoir? Who knows?
Mind-blowing!, 28. November 2009
Von Stein Claudia Dr "Claudia Stein" (Genf, Schweiz) -
I have lived a couple of years in India in the 1990's (about 800 km
south of Bombay) and can only confirm that the ambience, the life, the
colours and smells of India truly come to life in this book. It is
honest and authentic but what makes this book an amazing piece of
literature is the fantastic story - because it is fantastically told.
I could hardly put the book down, although I would imagine that the
author may have taken some artistic licence in some of his
descriptions. This does not detract from the book which - no doubt -
will one day be a Holly/Bollywood movie. An absolute must-read.
Gripping from start to finish!, 1. Dezember 2008
Von Léonie M. "book fanatic" -
Rezension übernommen von: Shantaram. (Abacus) (Taschenbuch)
Shantaram is one of that kind of books that calls for a rainy or foggy
November day, for a cosy chair and a good, steaming Indian Darjeeling
cup of tea.
It is a strong and satisfying novel, with a taste that lingers the
memory.
I love it very much because of the first-person narrative and of a
wonderful, admirable writing style as well.
After escaping from an Australian most inhuman prison in the early
80s, Gregory David Roberts, an armed robber and heroin addict was
using the name Lindsay Ford from a false New Zealand passport for
smuggling himself to India to go underground in the slum of Bombay
(Mumbai). Since he escaped, he flew across the world because he was
the most wanted man of his country.
Here he tells his story about his first trip to India. Living in the
land where heart is the king, left everything behind, he was just
running on instinct and pushing his luck. Accordingly to his
experiences the simple and astonishing truth about India and Indian
people is that, when you go there and you deal with them, your heart
always guides you more wisely than your head. It was one of his best
decisions of his life as he trusted the Indian fellow on sight and he
got the chance to know and to love him as friend.
The luck led him to know a mysterious but beautiful woman, he has ever
seen, green-eyed Karla Saaranen, on his very first day on the street
of Bombay. She was reasonably good at being a friend, but at being an
enemy also. In his opinion Karla had that kind of power to make men
shine like the stars, or crash them to dust.
Lindsay learned some Indian languages Hindi, Marathi but himself
became to be well known by the nicknames Lin, Linbaba, Shantaram or
even The Bite of the Tiger.
Using his first-aid kit as the basis, he established in poverty of
Bombay illegal slum a little open-air health clinic. Just trying to do
the right thing, he found often a quantum of solace in his work and by
his friends like Prabaker Kishan Kharre or Abdullah Taheri.
Fate put him into the game of the Bombay mafia. Worked as a gunrunner,
as a smuggler and a counterfeiter. He found some honourable men. Of
course, it is strange and incongrous to hear how he describes
criminals, killers, and mafiosi as men of honour who were amongst
them. Nevertheles, he had some strange experiences and this is the
extremly gripping story of his life, told with all his heart. It was a
real blow to him to be buffeled by fate but he kept on his aim at
writing under the hardest circumstances.
Now, Gregory David Roberts is a fulltime writer. He lives in
Melbourne.
He created the atmosphere of the slum in the suburbs of Bombay and its
events in the richest details. His enthralling debut novel tells an
adventure about love, hate, fight, betrayal and conspiracy. You can
get lost into for days, not just hours.
It is really worth reading!
4 von 6 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
One of the best books I 've ever read, 9. Oktober 2005
Von Mama Orange -
Rezension übernommen von: Shantaram. (Abacus) (Taschenbuch)
This book is hard to put out of Your hand - it is intense and
adventurous, it is excellently written and it is full of deep
insight.
1 von 2 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
Packender Schmöker!, 5. September 2008
Von Tina "Reading Is Great" (Wien) -
Rezension übernommen von: Shantaram. (Abacus) (Taschenbuch)
Toller, sehr gut zu lesender Roman!Lustig, gut geschrieben,
farbenreich. Wer in Indien war, wird vieles verstehen und
nachvollziehen können. Für Freunde von Schmökern, die nicht allzu tief
gehen und einfach aber extrem fesselnd zu lesen sind, ist dieses genau
und exakt das Richtige.LESEN!
1 von 2 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
Always a new surprise, 4. Februar 2008
Von Hans-Curt Flemming "Amano" (Mülheim/Ruhr) -
This is a fascinating book which I could not leave alone - I had to
read it and was intrigued about what would come after the next corner.
And the next...
A completely new perspective of the Bombay slum and of the social
networks. Plus, the bittersweet love story. It is well written and
bears the touch of reality.
Absolutely worthy entertainment. I would be very much interested to
learn how he was captured finally and what he is doing now.
0 von 1 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
Black Bombay, 9. Dezember 2009
Von N. I. Body -
Bei Shantaram handelt es sich unstrittig um eine der besten
Darstellungen von Bombay, bzw. Indien in den 80er Jahren des vorigen
Jahrhunderts. Es werden das Leben in den Slums, Kriminalität,
Korruption, Krankheiten und Brutalität in allen Details (944 Seiten)
geschildert.
Das Buch basiert mehr oder weniger auf dem bewegten Leben des Autors.
Wie er selbst angibt, hat er nicht alles, was er beschreibt erlebt,
sondern auch Teile der Geschichte frei erfunden. Stellenweise ist die
Story recht langatmig, es wird seitenlang über den Sinn des Lebens,
Sinn des Leidens, Vergebung, Liebe, Hass usw. diskutiert. Auch werden
belanglose Gespräche und Begegnungen der Hauptperson zum Teil wörtlich
wiedergegeben. Das führte dazu, dass ich manchmal die Seiten nur noch
überflog - bis die eigentliche Story wieder weiterging.
Was mich aber doch recht gestört hat, ist die Art, in der sich der
Autor, (zu 19 Jahren verurteilter Bankräuber; Ex-Junkie) selbst
darstellt. Seine Verbrechen rechtfertigt er mit seiner gescheiterten
Beziehung und seiner daraus resultierenden Heroinsucht. Nach seiner
Flucht aus dem Gefängnis (zu Beginn des Buches) wandelt er sich zu
weissem Ritter und Heiligen in einem. Den, ihn aufs übelste
folternden, indischen Gefängniswärtern "vergibt" er. Er ist offenbar
der "guteste Gutmensch" von ganz Bombay (so ekelhaft wie das klingt,
liest es sich stellenweise leider auch). Er hilft jedem - immerzu,
ohne Rücksicht auf sich selbst und ohne zu zögern. Dass er dabei aber
weiterhin kriminellen Machenschaften (Drogenhandel, Mafia, usw.)
nachgeht, ist für ihn offenbar ganz "normal". Diese Art der
Selbstdarstellung/-inszenierung beginnt mit der Zeit zu nerven.
In der unsympathischen Hauptfigur liegt zugleich auch das größte Manko
des Buches, neben der teilweise zu langatmigen Schilderung der
Ereignisse. Tip: Es lohnt sich, die "echte" Biografie des Autors im
Netz nachzulesen.
Anzumerken ist noch, dass in meinem Exemplar ca. 10-15 Seiten
unleserlich (zu Hell; Fehler beim Drucken) waren.
12 von 28 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
Räucherstäbchen, 3. Juli 2007
Von agardenchair (Germany) -
Rezension übernommen von: Shantaram. (Abacus) (Taschenbuch)
Zugegeben, dies ist bestimmt ein ordentlich geschriebener
Abenteuerroman. Und er ist an manchen Stellen auch lustig. Sprachlich
bewegt er sich in etwa auf der Höhe eines Dan Brown, mit dem
Unterschied, daß Gregory D. Roberts eine Vorliebe für komplizierte
Adjektive hat. Sollte man eine weitere Vorliebe dieses Schriftstellers
angeben, so wäre man gezwungen, das Sammeln von Aphorismen anzuführen.
Mit dem Konvolut von unheimlich sinnreichen Sprüche, die in diesem
Buch angehäuft sind, könnte man ganze Abreißkalender ausstaffieren.
Beispiele: "Truth is a bully, you'd like to know", "Es war nicht die
Hölle, aber es gab keinen Himmel", etc. Wieso nicht einfach
weitermachen mit: "Manchmal ist das Leben nicht schwarz oder weiß,
sondern grau" oder "Es gibt Gutes und es gibt Schlechtes, aber
meistens bekommt man beides serviert", etc.?
An allen Ecken und Enden des Romans findet man diese sprachlichen
Räucherstäbchen, die Tiefe suggerieren wollen. Der Roman liest sich
stellenweise wie ein ausgesprochener Jugendroman. Hier wird der Sound
großer gleichnishafter Erzählungen im Stil von Hemingway oder Conrad
imitiert. Ein Nachfolger Hemingways oder Conrads ist der Autor deshalb
nicht.
12 von 28 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
Räucherstäbchen, 3. Juli 2007
Von agardenchair
Zugegeben, dies ist bestimmt ein ordentlich geschriebener
Abenteuerroman. Und er ist an manchen Stellen auch lustig. Sprachlich
bewegt er sich in etwa auf der Höhe eines Dan Brown, mit dem
Unterschied, daß Gregory D. Roberts eine Vorliebe für komplizierte
Adjektive hat. Sollte man eine weitere Vorliebe dieses Schriftstellers
angeben, so wäre man gezwungen, das Sammeln von Aphorismen anzuführen.
Mit dem Konvolut von unheimlich sinnreichen Sprüche, die in diesem
Buch angehäuft sind, könnte man ganze Abreißkalender ausstaffieren.
Beispiele: "Truth is a bully, you'd like to know", "Es war nicht die
Hölle, aber es gab keinen Himmel", etc. Wieso nicht einfach
weitermachen mit: "Manchmal ist das Leben nicht schwarz oder weiß,
sondern grau" oder "Es gibt Gutes und es gibt Schlechtes, aber
meistens bekommt man beides serviert", etc.?
An allen Ecken und Enden des Romans findet man diese sprachlichen
Räucherstäbchen, die Tiefe suggerieren wollen. Der Roman liest sich
stellenweise wie ein ausgesprochener Jugendroman. Hier wird der Sound
großer gleichnishafter Erzählungen im Stil von Hemingway oder Conrad
imitiert. Ein Nachfolger Hemingways oder Conrads ist der Autor deshalb
nicht.
Shantaram. (Abacus) 0349117543 Gregory David Roberts Little, Brown
Book Group Shantaram. (Abacus) Alle Produkte Räucherstäbchen
Zugegeben, dies ist bestimmt ein ordentlich geschriebener
Abenteuerroman. Und er ist an manchen Stellen auch lustig. Sprachlich
bewegt er sich in etwa auf der Höhe eines Dan Brown, mit dem
Unterschied, daß Gregory D. Roberts eine Vorliebe für komplizierte
Adjektive hat. Sollte man eine weitere Vorliebe dieses Schriftstellers
angeben, so wäre man gezwungen, das Sammeln von Aphorismen anzuführen.
Mit dem Konvolut von unheimlich sinnreichen Sprüche, die in diesem
Buch angehäuft sind, könnte man ganze Abreißkalender ausstaffieren.
Beispiele: "Truth is a bully, you'd like to know", "Es war nicht die
Hölle, aber es gab keinen Himmel", etc. Wieso nicht einfach
weitermachen mit: "Manchmal ist das Leben nicht schwarz oder weiß,
sondern grau" oder "Es gibt Gutes und es gibt Schlechtes, aber
meistens bekommt man beides serviert", etc.?
An allen Ecken und Enden des Romans findet man diese sprachlichen
Räucherstäbchen, die Tiefe suggerieren wollen. Der Roman liest sich
stellenweise wie ein ausgesprochener Jugendroman. Hier wird der Sound
großer gleichnishafter Erzählungen im Stil von Hemingway oder Conrad
imitiert. Ein Nachfolger Hemingways oder Conrads ist der Autor deshalb
nicht. agardenchair 3. Juli 2007
Insgesamt: 5
Insgesamt: 5
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Diskussionsbeiträgen
Ersteintrag: 16. November 2008 00:10 CET
Edith Juratschski meint:
Warum schreiben Leute über Dinge, von denen sie keine Ahnung haben?
Beurteilungen eines arroganten 18jährigen brauche ich nicht. Das Kind
soll erstmal begreifen, dass es was zu lernen hat. Solange soll es
schweigen. Und erst rumtönen, wenn es jemanden interessiert.
Antwort auf den Eintrag von Edith Juratschski:
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Auf diesen Eintrag antworten
Antwort auf einen früheren Beitrag vom 15. Dezember 2008 17:11 CET
Zuletzt vom Autor geändert am 16. Dezember 2008 22:37 CET
agardenchair meint:
Edith Juratschski braucht keine Beurteilungen eines arroganten
"18jährigen". Dafür weiß sie, was arrogante Achtzehnjährige brauchen -
klare Ansagen: Als Kinder haben sie zu schweigen. Und dürfen erst
rumtönen, wenn das Rumtönen jemanden interessiert. Wie gut, dass wir
nun wissen, wie es die Erwachsenen mit arroganten Kindern zu halten
haben. Danke, Frau J..
Antwort auf den Eintrag von agardenchair:
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Auf diesen Eintrag antworten
Veröffentlicht am 14. Januar 2009 16:20 CET
Stephan Peischl meint:
[Vom Autor gelöscht am 13. Februar 2010 22:49 CET]
Veröffentlicht am 24. Mai 2009 10:18 MEST
Malenkow meint:
Dem kann ich uneingeschränkt zustimmen. Ich habe den Roman nach der
Hälfte nur noch quer gelesen.
Antwort auf den Eintrag von Malenkow:
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http://www.amazon.de/product-reviews/0312330537/ref=dp_db_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
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Holy Cow!: An Indian Adventure (Taschenbuch)
von Sarah Macdonald (Autor) "I have a dreadful long-term memory ..."
Kundenrezensionen
Holy Cow!: An Indian Adventure
7 Rezensionen
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Nur in den Rezensionen zu diesem Produkt suchen
Die hilfreichste positive Rezension Die hilfreichste kritische
Rezension
4 von 5 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
Fantastic and funny
The author is writing about her experiences in the sub-continent in a
vey funny and humorous way. Especially for people like me, who are
living in India as a foreigner or planning a trip to India, the book
is recommendable. She is describing the every-day problems people with
a "wester culture" have to face with because of the cultural
differences between the...
Vollständige Rezension lesen ›
Veröffentlicht am 5. Juli 2004 von Amazon-Kunde
› Weitere Rezensionen anzeigen: 5 Sterne, 4 Sterne
A definite "OK" book
I just finished this book and am disappointed overall. There was too
much religion and personal soul-searching by the author. I wanted more
INDIA. Yet this book did feed my desire to go to India one day, so it
wasn't all that bad. I took some notes on festivals and villages I
would like to see, but I was expecting more after reading the other
reviews.
Veröffentlicht am 20. März 2007 von beegowhite
› Weitere Rezensionen anzeigen: 3 Sterne, 2 Sterne, 1 Sterne
Hilfreichste Bewertungen zuerst | Neueste Bewertungen zuerst
4 von 5 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
Fantastic and funny, 5. Juli 2004
Von Amazon-Kunde "Amazon" (Düsseldorf) -
The author is writing about her experiences in the sub-continent in a
vey funny and humorous way. Especially for people like me, who are
living in India as a foreigner or planning a trip to India, the book
is recommendable. She is describing the every-day problems people with
a "wester culture" have to face with because of the cultural
differences between the "Wester world" and India.
I recommend the book for everyone who is planning a long-time or
travel-trip to the beautiful country of india. You can learn about the
indian culture and about "not-understandable" cultural differences in
a funny way...
Great book at all!!!
5 von 7 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
Witzig, unterhaltsam und lehrreich!, 10. November 2004
Von Ein Kunde
Ich war 1999 für drei Monate in Indien und habe es geliebt und
gehasst. Sarah Macdonald ruft alle meine Erinnerungen wach und bringt
mich zum Lachen. Sie beschreibt alle Arten von Gefühlen und
Erfahrungen, die man als "western foreigner" in Indien durchlebt. Es
ist sehr empfehlenswert, auch für Leute, die eine Reise nach Indien
planen. Ich habe es sehr gern gelesen.
A definite "OK" book, 20. März 2007
Von beegowhite (Luxembourg) -
I just finished this book and am disappointed overall. There was too
much religion and personal soul-searching by the author. I wanted more
INDIA. Yet this book did feed my desire to go to India one day, so it
wasn't all that bad. I took some notes on festivals and villages I
would like to see, but I was expecting more after reading the other
reviews.
4 von 6 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
oberflächlich und mit Klischees behaftet, 1. Dezember 2006
Von Emma -
Sarah ist unglücklich zum zweiten Mal in Indien gelandet zu sein. Um
sich die Zeit zu vertreiben, begibt sie sich auf eine Art Hopping
durch die verschiedensten Glaubensrichtungen und spirituellen
Strömungen - von Amma bis zu den Sikhs. Leider schafft es die Autorin
in keiner Weise der Realität Indiens gerecht zu werden. Oberflächlich
blickt sie auf Kultur und Menschen und bedient dabei nur die typisch
westlichen Indienklischees.
Ich habe mehr Zeit in Indien verbracht als die Autorin und konnte das
Buch nur noch völlig entnervt zur Seite legen. Miss Mac Donald
interessiert sich nicht für Indien, weder für die Menschen, noch für
die Kultur und auch nicht besonders tiefgründig für die religiösen
Strömungen, die von ihr besucht wurden. Sie möchte lediglich
unterhalten (was ihr nicht sonderlich gut gelingt) und begreift das
Fremde, das ihr begegnet nicht als Chance etwas Neues zu lernen,
sondern beurteilt es mit arrogant westlichem Blick. Besonders
entnervend ist das Fazit, das die Autorin am Ende jedes Kapitels über
ihr Erlebtes zieht. Jedem, der sich wirklich mit Indien, der Kultur
und den Religionen des Landes auseinandersetzen möchte und nicht einen
pseudospirituellen "Fast Food Reisebericht" lesen möchte, kann ich nur
raten: Finger weg!
1 von 2 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
very interesting, 21. Juni 2006
Von Bücherwurm "sandrasemails" -
I've never been to India but will go there after I've finished my
studies.
The book takes you on a journey with Sarah MacDonald which is exciting
and funny and sad sometimes.
You can imagine the things she describes even if you've never been to
India. But it definitely will wake the wish in you to go there.
0 von 1 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
Educating, entertaining and inspiring, 8. August 2007
Von Wombatsbooks -
"Holy Cow" was meant to be a beach read, but proved to be not only
entertaining, but also educating and inspiring:
Macdonald herself calls her second stint in India "a pilgrimage
through India's spiritualistic supermarket" and herself a "karma
chameleon". "Holy Cow" presents the diversity of India's manifold
religions, deals with their differences and similarities. Macdonald
spends several days in an ashram, attends the Kumbh Mela in Benares,
celebrates Pesach with a group of Israelis, visits a church in the
South of India, immerses herself into Bhuddism, Hinduism etc. She
meets lots of people, makes many a friend and addresses different
attitudes, styles, beliefs and traditions. But most of all she
portrays India as the fascinating land of contrasts that it is.
Reading this diary-like account is nearly like being in India: it
assaults all your senses and yet is very lovable. It is written in a
light-hearted yet sensitive manner and probably politically incorrect,
because Macondald speaks her mind;-). But that makes the read all the
more worthwhile!
Result: Not to be missed! In fact her style reminds me a bit of Bill
Bryson's books. So if you are a fan of Bill Bryson's you might like
this one as well!
0 von 1 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich:
Sehr gutes Buch über Indien, 12. Februar 2007
Von Marie Senoner "musikfan4" (Österreich) -
Das Buch fängt schon super an und steigert sich immer mehr. Es ist
wirklich empfehlenswert für alle die mehr über Indien, die Kultur und
die Menschen Indiens erfahren wollen. Manchmal muss man als Europäerin
schon den Kopf schütteln, aber so ist es Indien...
Unbedingt lesen!!!
Produktbeschreibungen
From Publishers Weekly
Australian radio correspondent Macdonald's rollicking memoir recounts
the two years she spent in India when her boyfriend, Jonathan, a TV
news correspondent, was assigned to New Delhi. Leaving behind her own
budding career, she spends her sabbatical traveling around the
country, sampling India's "spiritual smorgasbord": attending a silent
retreat for Vipassana meditation, seeking out a Sikh Ayurvedic
"miracle healer," bathing in the Ganges with Hindus, studying Buddhism
in Dharamsala, dabbling in Judaism with Israeli tourists, dipping into
Parsi practices in Mumbai, visiting an ashram in Kerala, attending a
Christian festival in Velangani and singing with Sufis. Paralleling
Macdonald's spiritual journey is her evolution as a writer; she trades
her sometimes glib remarks ("I've always thought it hilarious that
Indian people chose the most boring, domesticated, compliant and
stupidest animal on earth to adore") and 1980s song title references
(e.g., "Karma Chameleon") for a more sensitive tone and a sober
understanding that neither mocks nor romanticizes Indian culture and
the Western visitors who embrace it. The book ends on a serious note,
when September 11 shakes Macdonald's faith and Jonathan, now her
husband, is sent to cover the war in Afghanistan. Macdonald is less
compelling when writing about herself, her career and her relationship
than when she is describing spiritual centers, New Delhi nightclubs
and Bollywood cinema. Still, she brings a reporter's curiosity,
interviewing skills and eye for detail to everything she encounters,
and winningly captures "[t]he drama, the dharma, the innocent
exuberance of the festivals, the intensity of the living, the piety in
playfulness and the embrace of living day by day..--he drama, the
dharma, the innocent exuberance of the festivals, the intensity of the
living, the piety in playfulness and the embrace of living day by
day."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier
Inc. All rights reserved. -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine andere
Ausgabe: Taschenbuch .
From Booklist
Australian MacDonald didn't fall in love with India her first time
there, at age 21. So when her boyfriend, Jonathan, a reporter for ABC,
is sent there for work, she reluctantly follows after a year of
separation. At first, life in India is as bad as she remembered it--
overcrowded, smoggy, disturbing. A serious bout of pneumonia puts her
in an Indian hospital, but as she recovers, she begins to make friends
in India and to understand the culture. She finds herself attending
lavish Indian weddings and trying to comfort her friend Padma, whose
mother commits suicide after Padma marries without her permission.
MacDonald makes an effort to understand the many diverse religions of
the area, including taking a 10-day sojourn in a Buddhist temple and
discussing religion with Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, and even a group of
visiting Israelis. With Jonathan, she takes a trip to war-torn
Kashmir, an area that is at once achingly beautiful and devastatingly
dangerous. A lively, snappy travelogue. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --
Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine andere Ausgabe: Taschenbuch .
Kurzbeschreibung
“India is like Wonderland. In this other universe everyone seems mad
and everything is upside down, back to front and infuriatingly
bizarre . . .”In her twenties Sarah Macdonald backpacked around India
and came away with a lasting impression of heat, pollution, and
poverty. So when an airport beggar read her palm and told her she
would return to India -- and for love -- she screamed, “Never!” and
gave the country, and him, the finger.
But eleven years later, the prophecy comes true. When the love of
Macdonald’s life is posted to India, she quits her dream job to move
to the most polluted city on earth, New Delhi. For Macdonald this
seems like the ultimate sacrifice for love, and it almost kills her,
literally. Just settled, she falls dangerously ill with double
pneumonia, an experience that compels her to face some serious
questions about her own fragile mortality and inner spiritual void. “I
must find peace in the only place possible in India,” she concludes.
“Within.” Thus begins her journey of discovery through India in search
of the meaning of life and death. Holy Cow is Sarah Macdonald’s often
hilarious chronicle of her adventures in a land of chaos and
contradiction, of encounters with Hinduism, Islam and Jainism, Sufis,
Sikhs, Parsis, and Christians, and a kaleidoscope of yogis, swamis,
and Bollywood stars. From spiritual retreats and crumbling nirvanas to
war zones and New Delhi nightclubs, it is a journey that only a woman
on a mission to save her soul, her love life -- and her sanity -- can
survive.
Synopsis
After backpacking her way around India, 21-year-old Sarah Macdonald
decided that she hated this land of chaos and contradiction with a
passion, and when an airport beggar read her palm and insisted she
would come back one day - and for love - she vowed never to return.
But twelve years later the prophecy comes true when her partner, ABC's
South Asia correspondent, is posted to New Delhi, the most polluted
city on earth. Having given up a blossoming radio career in Sydney to
follow her new boyfriend to India, it seems like the ultimate
sacrifice and it almost kills Sarah - literally. After being cursed by
a sadhu smeared in human ashes, she nearly dies from double pheumonia.
It's enough to send a rapidly balding atheist on a wild rollercoaster
ride through India's many religions in search of the meaning of life
and death. From the 'brain enema' of a meditation retreat in
Dharamsala to the biggest Hindu festival on earth on the steps of the
Ganges in Varanasi, and with the help of the Dalai Lama, a goddess of
healing hugs and a couple of Bollywood stars - among many, many others
- Sarah discovers a hell of a lot more.
Über den Autor
Sarah Macdonald is a journalist and radio broadcaster who lives in
Sydney with her husband, ABC journalist Jonathan Harley, and their
baby daughter Georgina. HOLY COW! is her first book.
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APwa 12/15 1455 Rajneesh Conspiracy
By BRIAN S. AKRE Associated Press Writer
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- A lawyer for Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
claims the federal government poisoned the Indian guru in 1985 as
part of a conspiracy to force him out of the United States.
Swami Prem Niren, who served as Rajneesh's chief attorney
during the rise and fall of the Rajneeshpuram commune in central
Oregon, said Monday that Rajneesh believes he was poisoned in
late 1985 while he was in an Oklahoma City jail.
Rajneesh, 56, recently has been ill, and doctors concluded his
symptoms were consistent with thallium poisoning, Niren said in a
telephone interview. However, he said tests found no trace of
the rare, poisonous element in Rajneesh.
Veet Mano, director of the Rajneesh Press Services in Los
Angeles, charged in a news release received Monday by The
Associated Press that "the United States government conspired to
murder Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh." Niren said, however, there was
no evidence of that.
"That is an unfortunate phrase," he said. "It's one of those
things. PR people say things different than lawyers do."
Rajneesh now lives in Poona, India, where his movement was
based before he moved to a remote, 64,000-acre Oregon ranch in
1981. He was deported in November 1985 after he pleaded guilty
to immigration fraud in a plea agreement with federal
prosecutors.
Rajneesh has been suffering for the past two months from
nausea, fatigue, pain in his extremities and a lack of resistence
to infection, and was near death for a while, Niren said.
An Indian health official said recently that Rajneesh had
AIDS, but his disciples say a test proved the claim was false.
Rajneesh first experienced poisoning symptoms after a meal in
a jail in Oklahoma City, leading him to believe he was poisoned,
Niren said. Niren said he does not believe jailers in Oklahoma
City were responsible for the alleged poisoning. He speculated
the CIA was involved.
"Of course, years after the event I don't expect anyone in the
government or anywhere else to come forward and say, `I'm
responsible for it,"' Niren said.
Rajneesh, who was arrested in Charlotte, N.C., in October 1985
while allegedly trying to flee the United States, was held
overnight in Oklahoma City while being taken back to Oregon to
face criminal charges.
Niren, who said he is writing a book about his experiences
with the Rajneesh movement and the commune's legal battles, said
the government never had evidence linking Rajneesh to any crimes.
Niren said he recommended Rajneesh accept the plea bargain
that led to his deportation because of concerns over the guru's
health.
"Otherwise the government persecution would continue and he
couldn't take it," he said. "They intended to persecute him until
he left or was broken."
Charles H. Turner, the U.S. attorney who led the prosecution
of Rajneesh and several of his lieutenents, dismissed Niren's
allegations today.
"It's a total and complete fiction and you have to consider
the source," Turner said. "The man has no credibility."
Turner noted that a federal judge determined that Rajneesh had
committed crimes, and the guru was represented by "three
extremely skilled lawyers," including Niren. If Niren had
recommended Rajneesh plead guilty to a crime he did not commit,
the attorney could be disbarred, Turner said.
Rajneesh also had access to any medical care he needed while
he was in jail, Turner added.
"I stood next the man in court and there wasn't anything wrong
with him at all," he said.
The commune disbanded after Rajneesh's departure and the
property remains for sale.
Rajneesh, a self-described "rich man's guru," teaches
meditation as a means to enlightenment.
Niren, also known as Philip J. Toelkes, said he traveled after
the commune broke up and has been practicing law in San
Francisco.
http://www.skepticfiles.org/cultinfo/gurupois.htm
Osho, Bhagwan Rajneesh, and the Lost Truth
by Christopher Calder
When I first met Acharya Rajneesh at his Bombay apartment in December
of 1970, he was only 39 years old. With long beard and large dark
eyes, he looked like a painting of Lao-Tse come to life. Before
meeting Rajneesh I had spent time with a number of Eastern gurus
without being satisfied with their teachings. I wanted an enlightened
guide who could bridge the gap between East and West and reveal the
true esoteric secrets, without what I considered to be the excess
baggage of Indian, Tibetan, or Japanese culture. Rajneesh was the
answer to my quest for those deeper meanings. He described for me in
vivid detail everything I wanted to know about the inner worlds and he
had the power of immense being to back up his words. At 21 years old
I was naive about life and the nature of man and assumed that
everything he said must be true.
Rajneesh spoke on a high level of intelligence and his spiritual
presence emanated from his body like a soft light that healed all
wounds. While sitting close during a small gathering of friends,
Rajneesh took me on a rapidly vertical inner journey that almost
seemed to push me out of my physical body. His vast presence lifted
everyone around him higher without the slightest effort on their
part. The days I spent at his Bombay apartment were like days spent
in heaven. He had it all and he was giving it away for free!
Rajneesh possessed the astounding powers of telepathy and astral
projection, which he used nobly to bring comfort and inspiration to
his disciples. Many phony gurus have claimed to have these mysterious
abilities, but Rajneesh had them for real. The Acharya never bragged
about his powers. Those who came near soon learned of them through
direct contact with the miraculous.
Rajneesh, aka "Osho"
at his arrest in
October 1985
One or two amazing occult adventures was all it took to turn
doubting Western skepticism into awed admiration and devotion.
One year earlier I had meet another enlightened teacher, known
to the world as Jiddu Krishnamurti. Krishnamurti could barely give a
coherent lecture and constantly scolded his audience by referring to
their "shoddy little minds." I loved his frankness and his words were
true, but his subtly cantankerous nature was not very helpful in
transferring his knowledge to others.
Listening to Krishnamurti speak was like eating a sandwich made
of bread and sand. I found the best way to enjoy his talks was to
completely ignore his words and quietly absorb his presence. Using
that technique I would become so expanded after a lecture that I could
barely talk for hours afterwards. J. Krishnamurti, while fully
enlightened and uniquely lovable, will be recorded in history as a
teacher with very poor verbal communication skills. Unlike the highly
eloquent Rajneesh, however, Krishnamurti never committed any crime,
never pretended to be more than he was, and never used other human
beings selfishly.
"Ma Anand Sheela,"
Osho's Top Deputy,
at her arrest in 1985
Life is complex and multilayered and my naive illusions about the
phenomena of perfect enlightenment faded with the years. It became
clear to me that enlightened people are as fallible as anyone. They
are expanded human beings, not perfect human beings, and they live and
breathe with many of the same faults and vulnerabilities we ordinary
humans must endure.
Skeptics ask how I can claim that Rajneesh was enlightened given his
scandals and disastrous public image. I can only say that Rajneesh's
spiritual presence was identical to that of J. Krishnamurti, who was
recognized as enlightened by every high Tibetan Lama and revered Hindu
sage of the day. I do sympathize with the skeptics, however. If I
had not known Rajneesh personally, I would never believe it myself.
Rajneesh pushed the envelope of enlightenment in both positive and
negative directions. He was the best of the best and the worst of the
worst. He was a great teacher in his early years, with innovative
meditation techniques that worked with dramatic power (see explanation
and warning about Osho's Dynamic Meditation technique near the bottom
of the page). Rajneesh lifted thousands of seekers to higher levels
of consciousness and detailed Eastern religions and meditation
techniques with luminous clarity.
When former university professor Acharya Rajneesh suddenly
changed his name to Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, I was dismayed. The
famous enlightened sage Ramana Maharshi was called Bhagwan by his
disciples as a spontaneous term of endearment. Rajneesh simply
declared that everyone should start calling him Bhagwan, a title which
can mean anything from 'divine one' to God. Rajneesh became irritated
when I would politely correct his mispronunciations of English words
after his lectures, so I felt in no position to tell him that I
thought his new name was inappropriate and dishonest. That change in
name marked a turning point in Rajneesh's level of honesty and was the
first of many big lies to come.
One false move, one grand error.
Rajneesh lived in an ivory tower, rarely leaving his room unless to
give a lecture, his life experience cushioned by throngs of adoring
devotees. As most human beings who are treat as kings, Rajneesh lost
touch with the world of the common man. In his artificial and
insulated existence, Rajneesh made one fundamental error in judgment
which would destroy his teaching.
Rajneesh calculated that the majority of the earth's population
was on such a low level of consciousness that they could not
understand nor tolerate the real truths. He thus decided on a policy
of spreading seemingly useful lies to bring inspiration to his
disciples and, on occasion, to stress his students in unique
situations for their own personal growth. This was his downfall and
the prime reason he will be remembered by most historians as just
another phony guru, which he undoubtedly was not.
Originally Osho gave himself the lofty title "Sri Bhagavan Rajneesh"
Acharya, Bhagwan Shree, Osho...all the empowering names taken by
Rajneesh could not cover up the fact that he was still a human being.
He had ambitions and desires, sexual and material, just like everyone
else. All living enlightened humans have desires. All enlightened men
have had public lives that we know about and all have had private
lives that remained secret. The vast majority of enlightened men do
nothing but good for the world. Only Rajneesh, to my knowledge,
became a criminal in both the legal and ethical sense of the word.
Rajneesh never lost the ultimate existential truth of being. He
only lost the ordinary concept of truth that any normal adult can
easily understand. He rationalized his constant lying as "left-handed
Tantra," but that too was dishonest. Rajneesh lied to save face, to
avoid taking responsibility for his own mistakes, and to gain personal
power. Those lies had nothing to do with Tantra or any selfless acts
of kindness. What is real in this world is fact and Rajneesh
misrepresented fact on a daily basis. Rajneesh was no simple con-man
like so many others. Rajneesh knew everything that Buddha knew and he
was everything that Buddha was. It was his loss of respect for
ordinary truthfulness that destroyed his teaching.
Rajneesh's health collapsed in his early thirties. He suffered from
what Europeans call myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or what Americans
call Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). His classic symptoms included
the obvious fatigue, extreme sensitivity to smells and chemicals (now
called "multiple chemical sensitivity"), allergies, recurrent low
grade fevers, photophobia, and orthostatic intolerance (neurally
mediated hypotension). Rajneesh also had Type II diabetes, asthma,
and severe back pain.
Rajneesh was constantly sick and frail from the time I first met
him in 1970 until his death in 1990. He could not stand on his feet
for long periods of time without becoming lightheaded because he
suffered damage to his autonomic nervous system which controls blood
pressure. This neurally mediated hypotension (low blood pressure
while standing) causes chronic fatigue and can also lower IQ due to a
lack of sufficient blood and oxygen being pumped to the brain (brain
hypoxia). When he was most ill he would complain of becoming
lightheaded as soon as he stood up. He thought he was getting a
different cold or flu every week. In reality he suffered from a
singular chronic illness with flu like symptoms that can last for
decades.
In his last years Rajneesh used prescription drugs, mainly
Valium (diazepam), as an analgesic for his aches and pains. He took
the maximum recommended dose of 60 milligrams per day. He also
inhaled nitrous oxide (N2O) mixed with pure oxygen (O2) which helped
his asthma and brain hypoxia, but which did nothing for the quality of
his judgment. Naive about the powerful effects of Western medications
and overconfident about his own ability to fight off their potentially
negative effects, Rajneesh succumbed to addiction. His downfall and
humiliation followed swiftly.
Rajneesh was a physically ill man who became mentally corrupt.
His drug addiction was a problem of his own making, not a government
conspiracy. Rajneesh died in 1990, with heart failure listed as the
official cause of death. It is probable that the physical decline
Rajneesh experienced during his incarceration in American jails was
due to a combination of withdrawal symptoms from Valium and an
aggravation of his ME/CFS due to stress and exposure to allergens.
There was much speculation in the American media that Osho had
actually committed suicide by taking a drug overdose. As no one has
confessed to giving Osho a lethal injection, there is no hard evidence
to support the suicide theory. A compelling circumstantial case could
be made for such a scenario, however, with suicide provoked by Osho's
constant ill health and disheartenment over the loss of Vivek, his
greatest love. Vivek had taken a fatal overdose of sleeping pills in
a Bombay hotel one month before Osho's passing. Pointedly, Vivek
decided to kill herself just before Osho's final birthday
celebration. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh had threatened suicide at the
Oregon commune several times, hanging his death over the heads of his
disciples as a threat unless they obeyed his wishes. On his last day
on earth, Osho's is reported to have said "Let me go. My body has
become a hell for me."
The rumor that Osho was poisoned with thallium by operatives of
the United States Government is entirely fictional and contradicted by
undeniable fact. One of the obvious symptoms of thallium poisoning is
dramatic hair loss within seven days of exposure. Osho died with a
full beard and no exceptional baldness other than ordinary male
pattern baldness at the top of his head. Many of the symptoms which
may have led Osho's doctors to suspect thallium poisoning were in fact
common symptoms of dysautonomia (damage to the autonomic nervous
system) caused by ME/CFS. Those symptoms can include ataxia
(uncoordinated movements), numbness, standing tachycardia (rapid heart
rate upon standing), paresthesia (sensations of prickling and
itching), nausea, and irritable bowel syndrome, which causes
alternating between constipation and diarrhea.
The only proven cases of poisoning related to Osho were carried
out by Rajneesh sannyasins themselves (a sannyasin is an initiated
disciple, one who takes sannyas). The victims included totally
innocent people at an Oregon restaurant, two Wasco County
Commissioners, and members of Rajneesh's own staff who were poisoned
by Ma Anand Sheela, Rajneesh's personal secretary. Sheela had the
habit of poisoning people who either knew too much or who had simply
fallen out of her favor. Sheela spent two and a half years in a
federal medium security prison for her crimes while Rajneesh pled
guilty to immigration fraud and was given a ten year suspended
sentence, fined $400,000., and deported from the United States of
America.
Rajneesh felt that teaching ethics and morality was unnecessary
because the increased consciousness of meditation would automatically
lead to good behavior. Rajneesh's own actions and the behavior of his
disciples proves that theory to be untrue. There is no direct
connection between meditation and ethics and the dangers and
limitations of teaching ethics are far outweighed by the destructive
anarchy that a lack of teaching creates. Certainly students of
meditation should at least be reminded that lying, cheating, stealing,
and killing are not acceptable behavior. But Osho taught that you
should do as you please and many of his disciples and he himself
committed many ethical crimes. This lapse of judgment was largely due
to the arrogant and downright fascist attitude that one can become so
high and mighty that one is beyond the need for something as old
fashioned as polite and sane ethical behavior.
Those unfamiliar with the Rajneesh story can read the book
Bhagwan: The God That Failed, by Hugh Milne (Shivamurti), a close
disciple of Bhagwan during his Poona and Oregon years. Originally
published by Saint Martin's Press, the book can be found through
Amazon.Com and Amazon.Com.UK. I can verify many of the facts that Mr.
Milne states about the life of Rajneesh in Bombay and Poona though I
have no first hand knowledge of the tragic events at the Oregon
commune. My contacts with people who were there lead me to believe
that most of the facts Mr. Milne presents of the Oregon era are also
highly accurate. Hugh Milne is due great credit for a well written
and entertaining book which is a sincere effort at complete honesty.
On a few occasions, however, I differ from Mr. Milne's interpretations
of what the facts he presents actually mean.
Firstly, Rajneesh did not suffer from "hypochodria," as Mr.
Milne suggested. Rajneesh had a very real neurological disease,
probably inherited, which he mistook for frequent viral infections.
Rajneesh became unusually afraid of germs only due to his very
innocent and understandable medical ignorance. I fully agree with Mr.
Milne that Rajneesh suffered from "megalomania," however, and will add
that Rajneesh had a Napoleonic, obsessive and compulsive personality.
The Void has no ambition whatsoever, a fact which current Osho
disciples keep forgetting. Rajneesh could only speak for his own
personal animal mind, which is the case for all of us. The animal
mind may want its disciples to "take over the whole world," but the
Void does not care because it is beyond any motivation. The Void is
infinity and beyond human desire, so how can that which is beyond the
human mind have human ambitions? The phenomena we called Rajneesh,
Bhagwan, and Osho was only a temporary lens of cosmic energy, not the
full cosmos itself. Personality worship is not spiritual in any way
and self-indulgent attachment to guru is no better than obsessive
clinging to money, power, and social privilege. I am sure Mr. Milne
has learned that fact very well, but many fanatic Osho disciples have
missed the point entirely.
Mr. Milne also suggests that Rajneesh used "hypnosis" to
manipulate his disciples. Rajneesh had a wonderful, melodic, and
naturally hypnotic voice which would be a great asset to any public
speaker. However, in my personal opinion, Rajneesh's power came from
the intense energy field of the universal cosmic consciousness which
he channeled like a lens. Hindus call this universal energy phenomena
the Atman. As a Westerner, I prefer more scientific terms, and
describe the Atman as a highly evolved manifestation of time-energy-
space, the TES (see The TES Hypothesis).
Enlightenment is not something you own. It is something you channel.
Whatever term you use for the phenomena of enlightenment, it is
scientifically accurate to say that no human being has any power of
their own. Even the chemical energy of our metabolism is borrowed
from the sun, which beams light to the earth, which is then converted
by plants through photosynthesis into the food we eat. You may get
your bread from the supermarket but the caloric energy it contains
originated from thermonuclear reactions deep in the center of a nearby
star. Our physical bodies run on star power. Any spiritual energy we
channel also comes from far beyond, from all sides of the universe,
from the complete TES, from beyond the oceans of galaxies and onto
infinity. No human being owns the Atman and no one can speak for the
TES.
Rajneesh, as George Gurdjieff, often used the power of the Atman
for clearly personal gain. Both men used their cosmic consciousness
to overwhelm and seduce women, which was largely a harmless affair in
my opinion. Gurdjieff was ashamed of his own behavior in this regard
and vowed many times during his life to end this practice, which was a
combination of ordinary male sexual lust backed up by the potent
advantage of oceanic spiritual power. Rajneesh went even further and
used his channeled cosmic energy to manipulate masses of people to
gain a kind of quasi-political status and to aggrandize himself far
beyond what was honest or helpful to his disciples. In Oregon he even
declared to the media that "My religion is the only religion."
Diplomacy and modesty were not his strong points.
Gurdjieff, to my knowledge, never reached the extremes of self-
indulgence of Rajneesh and even warned his disciples not to have blind
faith in him. Gurdjieff wanted his students to be free and
independent with the combined abilities of clear mental reasoning and
meditation. Rajneesh, by contrast, seemed to believe that only his
thoughts and ideas were of value because only he was "enlightened."
This was a grand error in judgment and revealed a basic flaw in his
character.
Rajneesh earned his psychic abilities honestly through many
lifetimes of intense inner work. Unfortunately, when he finally
achieved the ability to fully channel the vastness of the Atman, he
failed to apply the needed wisdom of self-restraint. His human mind
so rebelled against Asian asceticism, which he claimed to have
practiced for many lifetimes, that he failed to ensure that his
borrowed power was only used for the good of others.
"Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac." Henry Kissinger
After leaving India, Rajneesh created his Oregon commune from
his own powerful mind. He made himself the ultimate dictator, his
picture placed everywhere as in an Orwellian bad dream. That
totalitarian atmosphere was just one of the many reasons I did not
stay at the Oregon commune beyond several brief visits. I was
interested in meditation, not in a big concentration camp where human
beings were treated like insects with no intelligence of their own.
Rajneesh put such a high emphasis on his disciples following orders
without question that they did just that when Ma Anand Sheela,
Rajneesh's personal secretary, gave absurd orders to commit crimes
which Rajneesh himself would have never approved of.
When you decapitate the intelligence of human beings you create
a situation that is highly dangerous and destructive to the human
spirit. You cannot save people from their egos by demanding "total
surrender." The anti-democratic technique of forcing blind obedience
did not work well for Hitler, Stalin, or for Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.
Germany, Russia, and the Rajneesh Oregon commune were all destroyed
because of authoritarian imperial rule. A diversity of opinion is
always healthy because it acts as an effective counterbalance to the
myopic arrogance of those who would be king. Bhagwan never understood
this truth of history and referred to democracy scornfully as "mob-
ocracy." Rajneesh was an imperial aristocrat, never a generous and
open minded democrat, and he put his contempt for the democratic
process into highly visible action in Oregon.
In an attempt to subvert local Wasco County elections, Rajneesh
had his sannyasins bus in almost 2,000 homeless people from major
American cities in an effort to unfairly rig the voting process in his
favor. Some of the new voters were mentally ill and were given drug
laced beer to keep them manageable. Credible allegations have been
made that one or more of the imported street people died due to
overdosing on the beer-drug mixture, but to my knowledge that charge
has not been conclusively proven. Rajneesh's voting fraud scheme
failed and the once again homeless were returned to the streets after
the election was over, used and then abandoned. If Rajneesh
sannyasins had only held truth above all instead of obedience to guru
above all, then no crimes would have been committed and the commune
might still be in existence today.
Rajneesh used people, spoke out of both sides of his mouth, and
betrayed the trust of his own disciples. This betrayal caused Vivek,
his longtime girlfriend and companion, to commit suicide. Rajneesh
even lied about her death, slandering his greatest love in her grave
by falsely claiming that she was chronically depressed due to some
intrinsic emotional instability. Vivek was never depressed during the
years I knew her and she was the most radiant women I have ever
known.
Vivek was a highly advanced, literally glowing student of
meditation, but her only meditation method was being with Bhagwan and
absorbing his tremendous spiritual presence. When her one method and
one true love collapsed into insanity, she took her own life out of
overwhelming grief. Rajneesh drove her to suicide because she could
not understand nor tolerate his mental decline and collapse. Rajneesh
lied about her death simply to avoid taking responsibility for his own
bizarre behavior, which was the underlying cause of Vivek's despair.
The very same Western disciple who administered nitrous oxide to
Osho has been spreading negative rumors about Vivek, claiming that she
was not a meditative person (as himself) and that she committed
suicide because of a hormonal imbalance and also because she was
depressed about reaching the age of forty. This same sannyasin denied
to me emphatically that he gave Rajneesh irresponsible levels of
nitrous oxide, but later admitted to others that he gave Rajneesh one
to two hour nitrous oxide "treatments" every day for five months.
That level of exposure is clearly dangerous drug abuse with no
legitimate medical justification.
The young Acharya Rajneesh started his life as a teacher who
condemned false gurus and he ended his life as one of the most
deceitful gurus the world has ever known. The difficult fact to
comprehend is that he was enlightened when he was an anti-guru puritan
and he was still enlightened when he was the ultimate self-indulgent
guru himself. This seemingly irreconcilable contradiction is the real
reason I write this essay. I love to go into uncharted territory
where others fear to tread.
When you combine man's natural tendency for selfishness with an
ivory tower lifestyle, you have a situation where ethical behavior can
appear to be optional. Combine the unhealthy atmosphere of self-
deification with a debilitating progressive illness that lowers IQ,
and on top of that add drug abuse, then you have a cliff that even an
enlightened man could fall from. That fall could happen only if the
enlightened man makes one wrong choice, one false move, from both the
heart and from the mind.
Bhagwan's wrong choice was to disregard truthfulness in favor of
what he thought were useful lies. Once you make that wrong turn, away
from ordinary straightforward truth, you have lost your way. No human
being can disregard fact on a regular basis without finding himself in
a sea of turmoil because by discarding fact you discard the ground
beneath your feet. Little lies grow into big lies and the now hidden
truth becomes your enemy, not your friend and ally.
Rajneesh overestimated himself and underestimated his own
disciples. The real seekers of knowledge around him could have easily
handled the truth and were already motivated without the need for
propaganda. But Rajneesh had been a high guru for such a long time,
not just in this life but in previous lives as well, that he came to
see himself in grandiose terms. He was indeed an historic figure but
he was not the perfect superman he pretended to be. No one is! His
disciples deserved honesty but he fed them fairy tales "to give them
faith."
Jiddu Krishnamurti had been more honest than Rajneesh in
repeating relentlessly that "there is no authority" due to the
intrinsic nature of the cosmos. Ardent Rajneesh disciples didn't heed
Krishnamurti's warnings and put blind faith in a man who claimed to be
all-seeing, to have all the answers, and who once in 1975 brashly
proclaimed that he had never made a single mistake in his entire
life. Clearly Rajneesh made as many mistakes as any human being.
Just as obviously, his basic existential enlightenment was no
guarantee of functional pragmatic wisdom.
While Rajneesh was a brilliant philosopher, he was a lost babe
in the woods when it came to the world of science. Worried about
worldwide overpopulation, Rajneesh pressured his disciples to undergo
medical sterilization procedures. Unfortunately, he did not consider
the demographics of population growth. The current population
expansion is largely a phenomena of poor, third world nations, not a
problem originating in the USA, Canada, and Europe, where birth rates
are actually falling. North America and Europe are only experiencing
population increases due to legal and illegal immigration from third
world nations. Having his European and North American disciples
medically sever their reproductive capabilities only added to this
imbalance and many former disciples now regret they complied without
question to his thoughtless edicts.
Rajneesh also declared that the AIDS epidemic would soon kill
three quarters of the world's population and that a major nuclear war
was just around the corner. He thought he could escape nuclear
holocaust by building underground shelters and slow the spread of AIDS
by having his disciples wash their hands with alcohol before eating
meals. His more reasoned admonition was for his disciples to always
use condoms. To enforce his sexual rules, which also involved
elaborate instructions on the use of rubber gloves during sexual
encounters, Rajneesh encouraged his sannyasins to spy on each other,
reporting the names of those who failed to conform to his orders.
"When it comes to gurus, take the best and leave the rest." Ramamurti
Mishra
The disaster of Rajneesh appointing himself the singular great
brain of the universe was compounded by his lack of real world
reasoning skills, and this was the case even before he started taking
large amounts of Valium. Rajneesh could weave magnificent
philosophical dreams and addict his disciples to imagined worlds of
spiritual adventure, but those dreams did not have to stand any
empirical test of truth. In the world of science you have to prove
what you say is true through testing. In the world of philosophy and
religion you can say anything you desire and throw caution to the
wind. If your words sound good to the masses they will sell, whether
they are fact or fiction.
Rajneesh had no understanding of, or appreciation for, the
scientific method. If he thought something was true, in his own mind,
that made it true. His disciples had to obey his words or be banished
from the mini-nation he created in the Oregon desert. Rajneesh ruled
his empire as a warlord with his own private army and puppet
government. His visions and ideas, faulty or not, were taken without
question as the word of God. His disciples were judged by their
ability to surrender to his will and any opposing views were branded
as negativity and an unspiritual lack of faith.
Rajneesh's poor reasoning became even more apparent during and
after the Oregon commune scandal. After being jailed and then
deported from the USA, Rajneesh angrily declared Americans "subhuman,"
ignoring the fact that it was he, an Indian, who pled guilty to felony
immigration fraud and that it was Sheela, an Indian, who ordered the
most serious crimes which brought his empire to ruin. Even in his
fifties Rajneesh was still lying to get his own way, still demanding
to always be the center of attention, and by 1988, suffering from drug
and illness induced dementia, was pouting that his box of toys, his
expensive car collection and jewel encrusted watches, had been taken
away.
Rajneesh's disciples thought they were following a reliable and
authoritative "enlightened master." In reality they had been mislead
by a highly fallible enlightened human animal who was still a little
boy at heart. Rajneesh had not only misrepresented himself
personally, but he misrepresented the phenomena of enlightenment
itself. The idealized fantasy of perfect enlightenment does not exist
anywhere in the real world and it has never existed. The universe is
far too big and complex for anyone to be its master. We are all
subjects, not "masters," and those who pretend to be infallible and
all-knowing end up looking even more the fool in the end.
The famous sages of old seem perfect to us now only because they
have become larger than life myths. The long passage of time has
allowed their followers to effectively cover up their guru's flaws,
just as Rajneesh disciples are currently rewriting and censoring
history to cover up Rajneesh's great failings. Rajneesh was never
more infallible than any other human being. What we call
enlightenment is not a cure-all for faults and frailties that cling to
human animals even after they achieve maximum possible consciousness,
which is perhaps a more realistic definition of the term
"enlightenment."
The ultimate existential truth is silent and beyond all words.
Rajneesh embodied that truth up to the day he died. Visitors to his
ashram in Poona, India, who are open to meditation, will feel a giant
wave of consciousness there. That wave use to be connected to a human
body we called Rajneesh. The body has been turned to ashes but the
wave can still be felt. In the same way J. Krishnamurti's presence
can still be felt at Arya Vihara, his former home in Ojai,
California.
"What you tell them is true, but what I tell them (the useful lies) is
good for them." Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh 1975
The contradiction of corruption and enlightenment can occur
because the brain is never enlightened and enlightenment never says or
does anything. In a way no one ever really becomes enlightened.
Enlightenment happens at the place where you are standing but you
cannot own it or possess it. All the words of so-called enlightened
men come from the human mind and body which interprets the phenomena
of enlightenment like a translator. The words do not come froM the
enlightenment itself. By definition enlightenment cannot speak. It
is absolutely silent and beyond any need to speak.
There are many layers to our beings. Some traditions have
categorized those layers as seven bodies, the first being the physical
body and the seventh the nirvanic, the void from which all is born.
No matter how you count the layers they do exist and the purely mental
layer is always there if you have a physical body. That layer can be
affected by disease and chemical exposure.
Osho died addicted to Valium and he experienced all the negative
symptoms of drug addiction, which included slurred speech, paranoia,
poor judgment, and lowered intelligence. At one point his paranoia
and confusion were so great that he thought a group of German cultists
had cast an evil spell on him. His physical disabilities and drug
abuse were simply more than his mortal brain could take. His biggest
flaw, his disregard for the ordinary concept of truth, was his
ultimate downfall and for that crime he must be held fully responsible
with no excuses.
"Never give a sucker an even break." W.C. Fields
Bhagwan lied when he said he had enlightened disciples. He lied
when he said he never made a mistake. Later he was forced to admit he
was fallible as his list of bungles grew to monstrous proportions. He
lied by pretending that the therapy groups run by his disciples were
not mainly a money making device. Rajneesh broke immigration laws and
lied about it in court. He lied by saying that he was adopted in a
phony scheme to get permanent residence status. Bhagwan Rajneesh was
no murderer or bank robber, but he certainly was a very big liar. The
ridiculous thing is that all of his lies were totally unnecessary and
counterproductive. Honesty really is the best policy.
Sadly, Rajneesh lied when he claimed he was not responsible for
the horrors of the Oregon commune because he hand picked Ma Anand
Sheela and the people who committed the major crimes of conspiracy to
commit murder, poisoning, first-degree assault, burglary, arson, and
wiretapping. The fact that Rajneesh did not order or have pre-
knowledge of the most serious crimes does not mean he was not
ethically responsible for them. If a teacher puts a drunken sailor in
charge of driving a school bus and the children end up dead, then the
teacher is responsible for their deaths. Rajneesh knew what kind of
person Sheela was and he chose her because of her corruption and
arrogance, not in spite of it. In a cowardly attempt to evade his own
failings he changed his name from Bhagwan to Osho, as if a change in
name could wash away his sins.
Some may be horrified that an enlightened soul could become a
convicted felon, but that has not stopped me from seeking the ultimate
existential truth. Rajneesh's life is a lesson for us all to practice
what we preach. Bhagwan gave great advice but he could not heed his
own wise words. He is also a reminder not to take what people say
very seriously. It is better to observe how people live and put less
emphasis on what they speak. Talk is cheap. Actions are more costly
and telling.
Do enlightened men have egos? In my younger idealistic years I
would have said the answer is no. Rajneesh, Gurdjieff, and even J.
Krishnamurti prove to me that they do (see links near the bottom of
the page). I became convinced that Rajneesh had an ego when I saw him
on television in chains being transported from jail to an Oregon
courthouse. In response to a reporter's question he looked into the
television camera and spoke to his disciples saying "Don't worry.
I'll be back." It was not what he said but the look in his eyes that
was positive proof for me. I could see his ego in action, calculating
and manipulating. Once you see something that clearly no
rationalizations can cover up the basic truth. Rajneesh was
magnificently enlightened but he was also profoundly egotistical.
For ordinary humans the ego is the center of awareness and the
Void is perceived only at the periphery. People look at a picture
taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and they see the Void as an
outside object, not as a personal identity. When you become
enlightened, either temporarily in a satori or permanently as a
Buddha, the situation is reversed. Now the Void is your center of
awareness and the ego is at the periphery. Ego does not die, it just
no longer takes the center stage of our attention.
Enlightenment is a functional and desirable disassociation of
identity which is rooted in subtle body development and in physical
brain function. The human brain is a biologically created thinking
machine that has evolved for both personal self-preservation and the
survival of the human species. The ego, which is a selfish motivating
force, is needed to protect our colony of living cells, the physical
body, from danger and to keep our cells replenished with food and
water. If you did not have an ego you would not be able to think,
speak, or find food, shelter, and clothing. The ego function is so
vital for survival that the human brain evolved with two potential ego
mechanisms, one a centralized ego and the second a larger and more
diffuse backup system utilizing less central portions of the brain.
If the body and brain becomes physically ill with high fever and
the centralized ego center is damaged, the backup ego mechanism may
temporarily take over its function. This is ego displacement without
enlightenment. The backup self-maintenance system keeps sleep walkers
out of danger and helps enlightened human animals find food and the
basics of life so they do not physically die as a result of their own
deep meditation.
Enlightened humans do not feel their more diffuse ego and thus
they feel as free as space (the Void) itself. In actuality ego is
still present and working, just as our autonomic nervous system keeps
on working whether we are aware of its function or not. You do not
have to consciously tell your heart to beat 70 times a minute because
it will keep on beating regardless of your awareness. The brain
function that controls heart rate is automatic (autonomic) and does
not need our consciousness to make it work.
Nature has also provided human animals with a strong, virtually
unstoppable sex drive to ensure reproduction of the species. Because
of the overwhelming importance and power of sex, most gurus,
enlightened or not, have maintained active sex lives which are often
kept secret for purely political reasons. In his early years Rajneesh
lied about his strong sexuality, but to be fair this has to be
understood in the context of a rigidly anti-sexual, and highly
hypocritical, Indian social structure. Later on, after his position as
a guru had become solidified, Rajneesh publicly bragged about having
sex "with hundreds of women."
Rajneesh's sex life was of no interest to me and I do not find
any fault with him for having the same sexual desires that all men
have. I do find fault when he was dishonest and cruel for selfish
reasons. While living in Bombay, Rajneesh made one young woman
pregnant through an aggressive and unasked for seduction. The young
woman was highly upset and forced by circumstance to have an
abortion. Rajneesh, protecting his image as a great guru, lied about
his involvement and claimed that she had imagined the whole affair.
In her anger, the young woman told the American Embassy her story.
That incident marked the beginning of Rajneesh's troubles with the
United States Government. Most of Rajneesh's close disciples believed
the young woman, not the much older "enlightened" man. Similarly,
decades later many would believe a young White House intern, not a
much older Presiden Bill Clinton. Being President, or being
"enlightened," does not always ensure good behavior.
All human beings are animals, specifically mammals. It has been
proven that human DNA is at least 98% the same as chimpanzee DNA.
World history, Asian mythology, politics, and the world of alpha male
gurus makes allot more sense if you keep that unavoidable scientific
fact in mind. Our most primal subconscious motivating forces come
from the animal world, which we are still a part of.
Some enlightened human animals have become fooled by the
phenomena of ego displacement and thought they no longer had any
personal selfishness that could cause trouble. Meher Baba spent much
of his life bragging about how great he was yet at his center he felt
perfectly egoless. In truth he was very egoistic and should have
realized that even enlightenment is no excuse for bragging. The same
fundamental misjudgment plagued Acharya Rajneesh. He became fooled
into thinking that he was above arrogance but that was simply not the
case.
Even enlightened humans have to mind their manners and realize
that the Atman is the wondrous phenomena they should promote, not
their own fallible and temporary personalities. Ramana Maharshi had
the right approach in this regard and that is one reason he is still
beloved by all. Ramana Maharshi promoted the Atman, the universal
cosmic consciousness, but never his own mortal body and mind.
Everyone who experienced Acharya Rajneesh's oceanic energy still
loves him, myself included. It is only because I value the truth
above all that I write what I believe are needed criticisms. If we
cannot honestly analyze our mistakes then our suffering was a waste of
time. The ongoing cover-up of Bhagwan's frailties by his
establishment disciples will only destroy the possibility of learning
from his tragedy.
I miss Acharya Rajneesh, never Osho, because he was at his
finest when he had no manipulating political organization surrounding
him. When Acharya Rajneesh was just a man in an apartment with one
old Chevrolet, not dozens of Rolls Royces, he was more honest and
true. When he became his own political establishment things started
to go wrong and that is often the case with men of great power.
How can the ocean go into the drop if the drop has an ego in
it? My answer, as previously stated, is that the ego is an integral
part of the structure of the human brain. It is not simply
psychological but also neurological and hard wired into our neural
pathways (see neurological basis for a sense of 'self'). The self-
survival, self-defense mechanism we call 'ego' cannot be destroyed
unless the body dies.
Huston Smith, the well known author and professor of world
religions, believes that no man attached to this mortal coil can
achieve the ultimate transcendence. You first have to physically die
and when the last coil is broken you are totally free. I believe the
ego steps aside and becomes less of a problem for most enlightened
men, but it is never totally destroyed as long as you have a physical
body.
The Rajneesh scandal exposed the unconscious slavery of Bhakti
Yoga and the underlying fraudulence and corruption of "left-handed
Tantra." What is needed is an honest path, built on self-observation,
self-reliance, and respect for truth. The days of the know-it-all
guru are over. It is time to realize the source of all things
directly.
It would be wonderful to believe that enlightened men were
perfect in every way. That would make life simpler and sweeter, but
it would be fiction, not fact. In a way Bhagwan's tragedy has given
me more hope. If we have to become perfect human beings to become
enlightened then who among us will ever reach that goal? If we
realize that enlightenment is just a gradual progression of expansion
of consciousness then the goal is attainable by all of us, given
enough time. If we work for hundreds of years, through many births
and deaths, with a simple goal of just going a little deeper every
day, then with scientific certainty I believe those who seek
enlightenment will attain it in time. All of the enlightened men I
have known or have read about have made that statement in their own
words. I believe that is a fact that can be trusted.
Addendum - On letters I have received
Any thoughtful person can imagine the range of leters I have
received as a result of posting my Web essay on Acharya - Bhagwan -
Osho - Rajneesh. To date about half of the letters have been from
former Rajneesh disciples who generally agree with my comments and who
thank me for putting them on the Web. Those who agree tell me they
see "compassion for all involved" on my Web page and that I got it
"just about right."
The other letters I receive are from current disciples of the
now deceased Osho, many whom have never actually met the man in
person. Those letters range from death threats from several German
disciples to poorly written and often unsigned insults. The Ontario
Consultants on Religious Tolerance also gets lots of hate mail, but
from many different cults, not just from one. It is interesting to
see how most cults are alike in this regard. The us vs. them
mentality takes over and anyone who does not tow the party line of the
cult is deemed a villain.
Meditation has nothing to do with cults, organizations,
politics, or business, but for many meditation is a secondary issue.
For them it is all about hero worship and blind obedience to the
memory of a now dead guru, which is a silly waste of time in my
opinion. Why not go directly to the source of all gurus and religions
through your own meditation? There is an old Zen saying that "One
should not become attached to anything that can be lost in a
shipwreck." Certainly this admonition applies to gurus as well.
Several Rajneesh sannyasins have written me claiming to be
enlightened and I hear reports that many Rajneesh disciples now make
that claim. One man said that he was "the new Osho" and invited me to
visit his Web page. His page displayed a large heroic picture of
himself, much self-promotion, and an advertisement for prostitutes in
Russia who he claimed were practicing "Tantra." So for him
"enlightenment" and being "the new Osho" literally means to be a
pimp.
Another man, who had never met Osho in person, seemed to claim
that reading Osho's books helped him get over his "mental illness" and
now he was "enlightened" himself. He then forcefully instructed me to
rewrite my Web page to make it "less judgmental" and suggested that
Osho's hypocrisy was just a means to convey his enlightenment to
others. Well, he certainly conveyed his hypocrisy to others! One
young woman, who grew up on the Rajneesh Oregon commune, asked me how
she could make money out of teaching Osho's meditation techniques. I
replied that she should go to an employment agency and get an honest
job. Meditation and business do not mix and there are too many money
hungry gurus out there already.
It shocks me to find that many Osho disciples do not care about
the crimes that were committed and are not bothered by the lies and
hypocrisy of their own movement. They don't seem to comprehend that
as a result of the germ warfare attack committed by Rajneesh
sannyasins on a restaurant in Oregon that meditation groups have
gotten a very bad name around the world.
The unrelated but equally infamous Aum Shinrikyo (a Japanese
cult) nerve gas attack on a subway station in Tokyo worsened this
situation considerably. The attitude of many Osho sannyasins seems to
be that as long as they get their psychic kicks out of a cult that it
does not matter who was hurt or how unethical and disgraceful the
behavior was. In their minds everyone else in the world was
responsible for the Oregon debacle except them. As a result of this
careless attitude many Americans now feel that if a meditation group
starts an ashram nearby it is time to buy a gun and a gas mask.
The amount of historical revisionism and propaganda put out by
some Rajneesh disciples rivals the efforts of Maoists during the 1960s
and their state of mind is similar. If you want to believe in one
perfect man, a Pope of the universe, then anyone who criticizes that
Pope is deemed a devil. Thus all the subtleties of my essay are lost
on these disciples and all they claim to see on my Web page is "hate
and anger." Of course they do not see the hate in themselves directed
at anyone who does not share their own narrow beliefs.
One long time disciple of Rajneesh expressed to me how angry she
was at the Dalai Lama for only visiting the Rajneesh ashram in Poona
once. So for her the Dalai Lama is now a villain just because he did
not want to go back for a second visit. The level of intolerance and
narrow mindedness in the Rajneesh cult is mind boggling to me and I
cannot understand how so many seemingly intelligent people can live in
such a small mental space, barricaded against all those who do not
believe exactly as they do.
The last time I visited the Rajneesh ashram in Poona, India, was
in 1988. It was literally like a loud convention of German Brown
Shirts by that point. Osho was still very popular in Germany, due in
part to his comments in the German magazine Stern which were widely
interpreted to be pro-Hitler. I myself do not believe Osho was a
serious supporter of Adolf Hitler. It seemed to me that he was just
playing with people's minds, but he made his position ambiguous
enough, with enough expressed sympathy for the Axis cause, that many
young Germans were thrilled by his words. Those who lost loved ones
during World War II were justifiably shocked.
At one point Rajneesh stated that "I have fallen in love with
this man (Adolf Hitler). He was crazy, but I am crazier still." I do
not believe Rajneesh meant that statement literally. He was joking,
but he had lost the common sense to know that one does not joke about
loving a man who has killed millions of innocent people. Mel Brooks
can get away with it because he is Jewish and has relatives who were
killed by the Nazis. For a "spiritual" man who portrayed himself as
the world's smartest, highest, and greatest soul, such a remark was
proof that his drug taking was destroying the quality of his
judgment.
At the time of my visit Osho was in silence as he was angry at
his own disciples. He wanted his sannyasins to demonstrate in the
streets of Poona against some Indian officials who had spoken out
against him. Wisely, no one was interested in creating a new
confrontation. This spell of sanity among the flock irritated Osho
who canceled public talks as punishment. I was thus only able to see
him on video tape. On the taped lecture Osho was ranting emotionally,
and factually incorrectly, about how the police in the United States
had stolen his collection of jewel encrusted watches. He said that
they would never be able to wear them in public because his sannyasins
would see the watches on their wrists, at airports etc., and start
screaming out loud that "you stole Bhagwan's watch!" His words and
manner were so childishly irrational that he reminded me of Jim
Jones. This Osho was a far cry from the serene, dignified, and highly
eloquent man I had met years earlier.
Why did Osho own 90 Rolls Royces? Why does Saddam Hussein own
dozens of luxurious palaces? Those desires are products of the base
animal mind of two men who grew up in poverty. Enlightenment does not
care about symbols of power and potency. Looking for hidden esoteric
explanations for obsessive behavior is pointless. Is there an occult
reason that Elton John spends over $400,000. per month on flowers? Is
there a secret spiritual reason that Osho had a collection of dozens
of expensive ladies' watches? The universal cosmic consciousness is
completely neutral and without any need to possess, impress, or
dominate. It also cannot drive or tell time.
Shivamurti's book, Bhagwan: The God That Failed, could have
easily also been entitled The Man Who Became His Own Opposite, or The
Man Who Betrayed Himself. I often tell people that if they could go
back in time and kidnap the Acharya Rajneesh of 1970, then bring him
up through the years to meet the Osho of the late 1980s, that the two
men would be at war with each other. Acharya would have hated Osho's
pompous self-indulgence and Osho would have never tolerated the young
Acharya's brash criticisms. Acharya Rajneesh spoke of freedom and
compassion. Osho once said that he wished someone would
"shoot" (assassinate) former Soviet leader Mikael Gorbachev because he
was leading the Soviet Union to Western style capitalism instead of
his own imagined "spiritual communism." The change in his teaching
was remarkable, to say the least.
I would like to think that the early Acharya Rajneesh would have
approved of my essay, but who can say for sure. For those who suggest
I am not being loyal to Osho, I counter that I am honestly trying to
be loyal to Acharya Rajneesh, the man I took sannyas from, not Osho.
He was a man I still deeply love and respect. But that Acharya
Rajneesh died along time before Osho was even born and the two men
were as different as day and night.
My message to letter writers is to go ahead and write me. You
can vent anger or thank me, but neither will have much effect on me as
I have heard it all before, from both sides. I can only sigh and ask
myself how Acharya Rajneesh, who started out as an anti-guru
extraordinaire, ended up as he did with this current crop of
disciples. Perhaps it shows that power does corrupt and that the
means rarely justifies the ends.
In the end where is meditation in all of this? "Color
Puncture," "Tantric Tarot Readings," encounter groups, and every phony
crackpot scam in the book is being peddled by Osho disciples for large
sums of money. But what about meditation? Then I think back to the
day when the just turned 40 year old Acharya wisely instructed a
friendly Japanese woman, who was starting a new Rajneesh meditation
center in Tokyo, that "Meditation must not be made into a business."
The corrupt means have gotten so far out of hand that the original
intent of the ends, Acharya Rajneesh's original noble vision, has long
been forgotten by many, but not by me.
"No Saint comes to the world with a new teaching or philosophy; he
brings the same
ancient wisdom."
Maharaj Charan Singh, Sikh Guru
From "Divine Light," p. 144
"They [the sages] conduct themselves in the everyday life in
accordance with the time-hallowed rules of conduct..."
"He should be known as the killer of the Brahman, who is a renegade
beyond the pale of all recognized schools of thought."
The Jivan-Mukti-Viveka of Sri Vidyaranya
Translation of Pandit Subrahmanya Sastri, F.T.S., The Theosophical
Publishing House, p. 170, p. 218
"Rajneesh/Osho is the worst thing that ever happened to spirituality
in the west. He rode herd over a mob of naive, idealistic spiritual
seekers, but definitely lacked the traits of an enlightened master.
"Enlightened masters are not drug addicts. They do not turn Dharma on
its head -- like calling "sannyasins" those who adopt a path exactly
opposite of Indian sannyas. They generally don't get arrested and have
their mug shots taken, and ignomiously deported -- especially the
Indian saints. (Christ was one notable historical exception to this
rule.) A true saint, by his spiritual power, is never humiliated or
bested. He has sufficient merit to receive protection and his honored
in his lifetime.
"More to the core, an enlightened master does not encourage his
disciples to abandon time-honored moral norms -- especially the
dharma concerning sex restraint. Osho was basically a kind of pimp who
used the base desires of average people, along with their beautiful
hunger for real spirituality, to build a financial empire and a
following of worshippers who would do whatever he asked.
"When I think back about that 'baby boomer generation' of sincere
spiritual seekers -- all those intelligent, skilled young men and
women of European descent like me -- it makes me so sad. What a
harvest of potential saints that was! How much good might have arisen
if all those young, idealistic westerners could have fallen in with a
legitimate spiritual master -- say, a Vivekananda or a Ramakrishna. We
will never know! I look at them today, and their condition, and they
have missed the boat.
"Thousands of sincere western seekers were misled and harmed by the
novel teachings of Osho. I have seen many of them in the aftermath.
They always lack the satvic glow that comes from yogic sex restraint;
they look like spent rakes aged well beyond their actual years. Even
in their age -- when they might show some spiritual attainment -- many
still crave sex, and all the ordinary base things. Despite Osho's
"indulgence technique," they never got over sex addiction and lust.
"This was one of the Big Lies that Osho told: That by indulging your
sex desire you would transcend it. The great sages of Yoga spoke the
real and opposite truth: You get over sexual lust not by feeding it,
but by restraining it until you encounter the higher thrill of
meditative bliss. Meanwhile, it is only that renunciation -- the
storing of the sexual energy -- that enables one to contact the
transcendental bliss. This has been the message of the sages through
all time, including Lord Buddha, who was frequently ripped off by
"the Bhagwan." Osho's teachings, though sprinkled here and there with
mystical truths, were dead wrong in the most basic ways, and
ultimately spiritually destructive.
"The proof is in the pudding. Christ said that one can know a true
Master by the "fruit" that emerges from him. Through his disciples
Osho gave us moral and family breakdown, drug addiction, a disturbed
childhood for many, and crime -- even terrorism. Osho set Yoga back in
the west perhaps hundreds of years.
"The saddest thing is what happened to all those children of Osho
followers. Osho wanted them to grow up not knowing who their Fathers
were; raised by a mob, with no particular person as Parent. I can't
think of anything much more ignorant, or more cruel. Krishnamurti was
right:
Osho was a criminal."
-- Julian Lee
www.Celibacy.info
Osho/Rajneeshism
Concise summary and history of the Osho/Rajneesh mess
The Rise And Fall of Rajneeshpuram
Sympathetic account of the Osho mess, but with a good accounting of
their criminal activites
"It was later revealed in court testimony that Sheela’s [Rajneeshee
group] had attempted to poison two local communities by dumping
salmonella into salad bars of several local restaurants . . . This
episode has the unfortunate distinction of being the first instance of
modern bioterrorism in the U.S.
"Sheela’s group also allegedly fire-bombed a county records office in
The Dalles. One of the charges most heavily investigated was the
poisoning of Swami Deveraj (later Amrito), Bhagwan’s personal
physician. After the July 6 discourse, Ma Shanti Bhadra hugged
Deveraj and jabbed him with a needle. The syringe contained a still
unidentified poison concocted by Rajneeshpuram nurse Ma Puja. Deveraj
became gravely ill and almost died at the Madras hospital."
"My Life In Orange"
The child of an Osho disciple recounts his crazy life growing up under
the "Rajneesh." Find out how bad it was. Many letters here from other
grown Osho children, or those raised in similar situations.
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
An Apologetics Index research resource
Rajneesh founded the Rajneesh Foundation International, and is one of
the most controversial of modern gurus. In 1981 he was deported from
Oregon under a bevy of serious criminal charges associated with his
ashram, or spiritual community. His recent death did little to stem
his influence in Europe or America.
John Ankerberg and John Weldon, Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs
Harvest House Publishers, Oregon, 1996.
[A]lso called OSHO AND ACHARYA RAJNEESH, original name CHANDRA MOHAN
JAIN, Indian spiritual leader who preached an eclectic doctrine of
Eastern mysticism, individual devotion, and sexual freedom while
amassing vast personal wealth.
In 1981 Rajneesh's cult purchased a dilapidated ranch in Oregon, U.S.,
which became the site of Rajneeshpuram, a community of several
thousand orange-robed disciples. Rajneesh was widely criticized by
outsiders for his private security force and his ostentatious display
of wealth. By 1985 many of his most trusted aides had abandoned the
movement, which was under investigation for multiple felonies
including arson, attempted murder, drug smuggling, and vote fraud in
the nearby town of Antelope. In 1985 Rajneesh pleaded guilty to
immigration fraud and was deported from the United States. He was
refused entry by 21 countries before returning to Pune, where his
ashram soon grew to 15,000 members. In later years he took the
Buddhist title Osho and altered his teaching on unrestricted sexual
activity because of his growing concern over AIDS.
Rajneesh, Bhagwan Shree Encyclopedia Britannica
(...) the only known successful use of biological weapons in the
United States was by the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh cult in 1984. The
group contaminated salad bars in 10 restaurants in The Dalles, Ore.,
with Salmonella Typhimurium, causing several hundred people to become
ill.
Biological and Chemical Warfare Q and A, ABC News, Sep. 24, 2001
Hinduism is not by nature a proselytizing religion, however, in part
because of its inextricable roots in the social system and the land of
India. In recent years, many new gurus, such as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
and Satya Sai Baba, have been successful in making converts in Europe
and the United States. The very success of these gurus, however, has
produced material profits that many people regard as incompatible with
the ascetic attitude appropriate to a Hindu spiritual leader; in some
cases, the profits have led to notoriety and even legal prosecution.
Hinduism Outside India Encyclopedia Britannica
Name Change
In 1988 thirty years after taking the title, ''Bhagwan,'' (which means
''the embodiment of God'') Rajneesh admitted the title and his claim
to be God were a ''joke.'' ''I hate the word... I don't want to be
called Bhagwan (God) again. Enough is enough. The joke is over,''
stated Rajneesh saying he was really the reincarnation of Buddha and
claiming for himself the new title of ''Rajneesh Gautaman the
Buddha,'' (Star Telegram, Dec. 29, 1988; Sec.1, p. 3). Later he took
the title, ''Osho Rajneesh,'' a Buddhist term meaning ''on whom the
heavens shower flowers.'' (Ibid, 1/20/90).
Guru Rajneesh Dead at 58, Watchman Expositor, Vol. 7, No. 2, 1990
Guru Rajneesh Dead at 58, Watchman Expositor, Vol. 7, No. 2, 1990
Old Bhagwan, new bottles ''A 'new' spiritual guru turns out to have a
past that includes lavish spending, orgies and bacterial terrorism.'',
Salon.com, Oct. 20, 1999
Ever wonder what ever happened to the guy whose religious followers
were linked to the only episode of domestic mass bioterrorism in
America? Well, in the case of the late, notorious Bhagwan Shree
Rajneesh, old renegade sex gurus never die. He just ''left his body''
somewhere in India in 1990 and later emerged as a thriving, modern-day
publishing machine known as Osho.
Rajneesh's flock caught much of his meditative bon mots on tape, and
now incessantly recycle these ponderings as spiritual wisdom under the
author name of Osho.
Rajneesh, Bhagwan Shree Entry in Encyclopedia Britannica
Rajneeshpuram: Another Tragedy in the Making? Statement by the
Christian Research Institute
The Story of a Truly Contaminated Election Columbia Journalism
Review, Jan/Feb 2000
The only proven incident of bioterrorism the United States has ever
experienced, we learned, was a bizarre plot by the Rajneeshees, a
religious cult, to steal a county election in Oregon in 1984. The
Rajneeshees, followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, a self-proclaimed
guru exiled from India, had moved into a ranch in rural Wasco County,
taken political control of the small nearby town of Antelope, and
changed its name to Rajneesh. Next, the cult sought to run the whole
county by winning the local election in 1984.
The amazing story of the Wasco County election scandal was revealed to
the conference's riveted participants by Leslie L. Zaitz, an
investigative reporter for The Oregonian, and Dr. John Livengood, an
epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control. To win the county
election, the Rajneeshees planned to sicken a good portion of the
population in the town of The Dalles, where most Wasco County voters
live. Their weapon of choice to keep local residents from voting was
salmonella bacteria. Cult members decided to test the use of
salmonella and, if successful, to contaminate the entire water system
of The Dalles on Election Day. First, the Rajneeshees poisoned two
visiting Wasco County commissioners on a hot day by plying them with
refreshing drinks of cold water laced with salmonella. Then, on a
shopping trip to The Dalles, cult members sprinkled salmonella on
produce in grocery stores "just for fun." According to reporter Zaitz,
that experiment didn't get the results they wanted so the Rajneeshees
proceeded to clandestinely sprinkle salmonella at the town's
restaurant salad bars. Ten restaurants were hit and more than 700
people got sick.
Wasco County Sheriffs This history includes a recounting of the
Rajneeshees involvement in this Oregon community
More Information:
Apologetics Index (apologeticsindex.org) provides 40,870+ pages of
research resources on religious cults, sects, new religious movements,
alternative religions, apologetics-, anticult-, and countercult
organizations, doctrines, religious practices and world views. These
resources reflect a variety of theological and/or sociological
perspectives.
The site provides information that helps equip Christians to logically
present and defend the Christian faith, and that aids non-Christians
in their comparison of various religious claims. Issues addressed
range from spiritual and cultic abuse to contemporary theological and/
or sociological concerns.
Apologetics Index also includes ex-cult support resources - including
a directory of cult experts (CultExperts.org), up-to-date religion and
cult news (Religon News Blog: ReligionNewsBlog.com), articles on
Christian life and ministry, and a variety of other features.
• Look, "feel" and original content are © Copyright 1996-2010+,
Apologetics Index™
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1565071603/christianministr
also called Osho or Acharya Rajneesh, original name Chandra Mohan
Jain
born Dec. 11, 1931, India died Jan. 19, 1990, Pune, India
Indian spiritual leader who preached an eclectic doctrine of Eastern
mysticism, individual devotion, and sexual freedom, while amassing
vast personal wealth.
As a young intellectual, Rajneesh visited with and absorbed insights
from teachers of the various religious traditions active in India. He
studied philosophy at the University of Jabalpur, earning a B.A. in
1955; he began teaching there in 1957, after earning an M.A. from the
University of Saugar. At the age of 21 he had an intense spiritual
awakening, which inspired in him the belief that individual religious
experience is the central fact of spiritual life and that such
experiences cannot be organized into any single belief system.
In 1966 Rajneesh resigned from his university post and became a guru
(spiritual guide) and a teacher of meditation. In the early 1970s he
initiated people into the order of sannyasis, who traditionally
renounced the world and practiced asceticism. Reinterpreting the idea
of being a sannyasi in terms of detachment rather than asceticism,
Rajneesh taught his disciples to live fully in the world without being
attached to it.
The first Westerners came to Rajneesh in the early 1970s, and in 1974
the new headquarters of his movement was established in Pune. The
basic practice taught at the centre was called dynamic meditation, a
process designed to allow people to experience the divine. The centre
also developed a diversified program of New Age healing adopted from
the West. Rajneesh became well-known for his progressive approach to
sexuality, which contrasted with the renunciation of sex advocated by
many other Indian teachers.
Rajneesh moved to the United States in 1981 and, the following year,
incorporated Rajneeshpuram, a new city he planned to build on an
abandoned ranch near Antelope, Ore. During the next few years many of
his most trusted aides abandoned the movement, which came under
investigation for multiple felonies, including arson, attempted
murder, drug smuggling, and vote fraud in Antelope. In 1985 Rajneesh
pleaded guilty to immigration fraud and was deported from the United
States. He was refused entry to 21 countries before returning to Pune,
where his ashram soon grew to 15,000 members.
In 1989 Rajneesh adopted the Buddhist name Osho. After his death his
disciples, convinced that he had been the victim of government
intrigue, voiced their belief in his innocence and vowed to continue
the movement he started. In the early 21st century it had some 750
centres located in more than 60 countries.
John Gordon Melton
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/490155/Bhagwan-Shree-Rajneesh
Vol. 7, No. 2, 1990
Articles on the New Age
Guru Rajneesh Dead at 58
Controversial Indian Guru, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, "who turned a
central Oregon town into a tumultuous commune of free love, hedonism
and murder plots before being deported," died on Jan. 19th of heart
failure in Poona, India. (Ft. Worth Star Telegram, 1/20/90).
Rajneesh captured the nation's attention in 1981 when he moved his
ashram community and 93 Rolls-Royces to Antelope, Oregon and advocated
"enlightenment" through sexual promiscuity. Oregonians were concerned
when Rajneesh's followers, who outnumbered the permanent residents of
Antelope, took over the small town changing its name to "City of
Rajneesh." Critics charged that the Guru later tried to take over the
county by bussing in street people gathered from the nation's inner
cities to out-vote the regular citizens.
Ma Anand Sheela, the Rajneesh's personal secretary, later pled guilty
to a number of charges including, "plotting to kill Mr. Rajneesh's
physician with a poison-filled syringe and orchestrating a food
poisoning outbreak that sickened more than 750 people in The Dalles,
the county seat, as part of a plot to take control of the
county," (Ibid).
The Bhagwan was also arrested and deported on charges of immigration
fraud as part of a plea bargain arrangement with U.S. officials. He
returned to his native India after unsuccessfully attempting to
immigrate to several other countries.
Rajneesh's teachings included, "sex is fun, materialism is good and
Jesus was a madman," and the claim that he was "the world's greatest
lover." His "Bible" called, The Orange Book described a typical yoga
session, "Explode! Go totally mad.... Jump up and down shouting the
mantra `Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!' ...Each time you land on the flats of your
feet, let the sound hammer deep into the sex center," (Ibid).
In 1988 thirty years after taking the title, "Bhagwan," (which means
"the embodiment of God") Rajneesh admitted the title and his claim to
be God were a "joke." "I hate the word... I don't want to be called
Bhagwan (God) again. Enough is enough. The joke is over," stated
Rajneesh saying he was really the reincarnation of Buddha and claiming
for himself the new title of "Rajneesh Gautaman the Buddha," (Star
Telegram, Dec. 29, 1988; Sec.1, p. 3). Later he took the title, "Osho
Rajneesh," a Buddhist term meaning "on whom the heavens shower
flowers." (Ibid, 1/20/90).
Thousands of the Guru's followers welcomed his death as "a liberation
of the soul" and celebrations began in the Poona, India compound as
soon as his death was announced.
http://www.watchman.org/na/rajneesh.htm
WEDnesday, Oct 20, 1999 09:00 EDT
Old Bhagwan, new bottles
A "new" spiritual guru turns out to have a past that includes lavish
spending, orgies and bacterial terrorism.
By Dennis McCafferty
Ever wonder what ever happened to the guy whose religious followers
were linked to the only episode of domestic mass bioterrorism in
America? Well, in the case of the late, notorious Bhagwan Shree
Rajneesh, old renegade sex gurus never die. He just "left his body"
somewhere in India in 1990 and later emerged as a thriving, modern-day
publishing machine known as Osho.
Rajneesh's flock caught much of his meditative bon mots on tape, and
now incessantly recycle these ponderings as spiritual wisdom under the
author name of Osho. This Osho has now generated an impressively
diversified empire of books, video tapes, television shows, corporate
seminars (via Osho "trainees") and even a 34-acre luxury spa in Pune,
India. With more than a dozen titles published and still going strong,
his worldwide book and audio book sales now surpass $1 million
annually. Due out in mid-November from the ever-prolific (albeit,
technically dead) Osho: Three new titles from St. Martin's Griffin --
"Creativity," "Courage" and "Maturity," all priced at $11.95 -- to
mark the 10th anniversary of his death in January. And in May 2000, a
new "autobiography" with the working title "Osho: The Autobiography of
the Spiritually Incorrect Mystic."
To date, the published works of Osho have left readers with little
clues as to his former identity. So consumers may not know that
they're actually plunking down their cash for rehashed ramblings from
the late Rajneesh, the controversy-plagued spiritual leader kicked out
of the United States after his legal woes heated up in the mid-1980s.
Rajneesh made headlines with a lifestyle that included a convoy of
more than 90 Rolls-Royces, flashy jewelry and enough hedonistic
pursuits to earn him the title "world's most famous sex guru."
Rajneesh and his followers settled on a 65,000-acre ranch near
Antelope, Ore., wrestled political control from town office holders
and renamed Antelope "Rajneeshpuram." But they were essentially the
sect that couldn't shoot straight. During a conflict with Oregon
authorities, the followers were accused of arson and attempted murder.
In perhaps the most notorious incident, some members of the Rajneesh
crew were linked to a 1984 case in which salmonella bacteria was
sprinkled on the contents of local restaurant salad bars and sickened
750 people. Rajneesh was deported on immigration fraud charges and
died in Pune on Jan. 19, 1990.
However, Rajneesh lives on with an estimated 5,000 of his lectures now
marketed as Osho tapes and books. He'll answer e-mail questions on the
Web and make the occasional remark on current affairs. (Live! From the
Osho Commune International home base in Pune: "Clinton needs Tantra
Sutra, not Kama Sutra.")
The books are less than enlightening about Osho's time spent here on
Earth; their references to Rajneesh are rare and fuzzy. In the
current, uncorrected proofs of the three new St. Martin's titles, for
example, the brief "About the Author" section makes no mention at all
of Osho's prior identity.
Says Klaus Steeg, president of Osho International in New York: "He
changed his name. He was called Bhagwan. But the year before he died,
he dropped that. It's a complete deconstruction of his personality."
And perhaps more importantly, of all the bad P.R. that his former name
brings to mind.
Steeg promises that, while the "autobiography" will tie up some of
these loose connections, the wealth of Osho's heavily marketed inner-
self discourses do not because they're intended as guides. Michael
Denneny, the St. Martin's senior editor currently overseeing Osho
titles, says the publishing company, as is its policy, provides a
picture of Rajneesh in the books. Still, the photos identify him only
as Osho. "If he changed his name to Osho," Denneny reasons, "then it's
like Muhammad Ali and Cassius Clay." As far as how forthcoming the
autobiography will be, that remains to be seen. Osho "distinguishes
between what is true and what is fact," Denneny says. "He prefers the
truth." Jim Fitzgerald, who edited a 1998 St. Martin's-published work
from Osho called "The Book of Secrets," is more blunt: "I'd be
shooting myself in the foot to say that's the guy [whose people]
poisoned salad bars.''
Well, forgive and, most of all, forget, right? At least a few media
types have short memories. Last year, the New York Times featured a
puff piece on Osho International's Lexington Avenue office digs,
describing Osho as a now-deceased Indian mystic and making no
reference to Rajneesh. A 1998 travel piece in Yoga Journal describing
the Pune attraction as a "New Age Xanadu" did connect Osho to the
Rajneesh name, but blithely omitted mention of the salad bars or other
unsavory details.
http://www.salon.com/books/feature/1999/10/20/osho/
The Story of a Truly Contaminated Election
BY LAWRENCE K. GROSSMAN
On November 30, when Vice President Gore's vote challenge was making
Florida the epicenter of the universe, I happened to be in St.
Petersburg, Florida, moderating a conference on "Bioterrorism and the
Media." Terrible as the subject of the bioterrorism conference is, it
promised at least to offer a welcome respite from the endless but
irresistible election mess. As it turned out, I was wrong. The
centerpiece of the conference was, of all things, the case study of a
truly contaminated election.
The only proven incident of bioterrorism the United States has ever
experienced, we learned, was a bizarre plot by the Rajneeshees, a
religious cult, to steal a county election in Oregon in 1984. The
Rajneeshees, followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, a self-proclaimed
guru exiled from India, had moved into a ranch in rural Wasco County,
taken political control of the small nearby town of Antelope, and
changed its name to Rajneesh. Next, the cult sought to run the whole
county by winning the local election in 1984.
The amazing story of the Wasco County election scandal was revealed to
the conference's riveted participants by Leslie L. Zaitz, an
investigative reporter for The Oregonian, and Dr. John Livengood, an
epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control. To win the county
election, the Rajneeshees planned to sicken a good portion of the
population in the town of The Dalles, where most Wasco County voters
live. Their weapon of choice to keep local residents from voting was
salmonella bacteria. Cult members decided to test the use of
salmonella and, if successful, to contaminate the entire water system
of The Dalles on Election Day. First, the Rajneeshees poisoned two
visiting Wasco County commissioners on a hot day by plying them with
refreshing drinks of cold water laced with salmonella. Then, on a
shopping trip to The Dalles, cult members sprinkled salmonella on
produce in grocery stores "just for fun." According to reporter Zaitz,
that experiment didn't get the results they wanted so the Rajneeshees
proceeded to clandestinely sprinkle salmonella at the town's
restaurant salad bars. Ten restaurants were hit and more than 700
people got sick.
"They apparently didn't expect it to be such a huge success," Zaitz
said. "The attention attracted by the salad bar escapade brought
hordes of health officials and investigators into The Dalles. It
dashed the cult's plan to do worse on Election Day." Health officials
soon pinned down salmonella as the cause of the sudden outbreak, but
put the blame on food handlers. In 1984, who could have imagined
bioterrorism?
The Rajneeshees also bused in homeless people by the hundreds from all
across the country to register in Wasco County so they could vote in
the '84 election. That plan failed when, alerted by the mass
registration of the homeless, the state threatened to conduct
administrative hearings on every new local voter. The cult's
conspiracy to contaminate the election failed and a year later, the
entire Rajneeshee commune collapsed under the weight of an internal
conflict. Cult informers confessed to numerous crimes, including plots
to kill the U.S. attorney, the state attorney general, and the guru's
doctor, as well as the plot to contaminate the election. Vials of
salmonella were found on the Rajneeshees' ranch.
Zaitz and his investigative reporting team produced a twenty-part
series on the Rajneeshees for The Oregonian starting in June 1985.
After the commune collapsed they went back and produced a follow-up
series. Among other things, they learned that the Rajneeshees had
secretly put together a top-ten hit list on which Zaitz's name
appeared as number three.
"If anything, the local news media were restrained and conservative in
their coverage of the salmonella episode," Zaitz told the conference.
"There was nothing alarmist, nothing to trigger a public panic. More
aggressive coverage perhaps would have heated up already tense
community relations with the commune. Yet the benign treatment also
gave the Rajneeshees comfort that they could get away with it . . . .
Fortunately, the commune collapsed before that could happen. But
consider this: If they knew reporters were watching closely, would
they have even tried?"
Something like that might be said of the presidential balloting mess.
If, in the days before the voting, reporters had focused on the
botched job the nation's election districts were doing with voting
procedures for the central political event of our democracy, the
election of a president, would the balloting and ballot-counting have
been quite so off-base?
For epidemiologist Livengood, however, who had been dispatched to
Wasco County to solve the cause of the mysterious outbreak, the story
had a different, simpler moral: "Don't eat at salad bars."
Lawrence K. Grossman, a former president of NBC News and PBS, is a
regular columnist for CJR.
http://web.archive.org/web/20020614093959/http://www.cjr.org/year/01/1/grossman.asp
Ernest D. Mosier followed Harold Sexton and was Sheriff of Wasco
County two different times. He first served from 1953 to September,
1963, when he resigned. He came back to spend six more years as
Sheriff from July 1971 to 1977 when he was appointed to replace the
resigning William L. Bell.
A native of The Dalles, Mosier graduated from The Dalles High School
and later attended Willamette University. Before joining the Sheriffs'
Office, Mosier was an office manager at a number of companies in The
Dalles area.
Sterling Arthur Trent was appointed to take Mosier's place when he
resigned. A native of Gorin, Missouri, Trent served as Sheriff of
Wasco County until June 1968, when he died in office. He moved to
Oregon in 1913 and was a Deputy Sheriff from July 1954 until he was
appointed Sheriff in September 1963.
A graduate of The Dalles High School, Trent worked in the construction
business for a time and also managed a tire shop and was a stock
rancher for a while. When Trent died, Grant Cyphers was appointed to
take his place, but Cyphers served only a month before it was dis-
covered he was of the wrong political party.
William L. Bell was appointed to take Cyphers' place and remained
Sheriff of Wasco County until July 1971, when he resigned to take a
job with the Board on Police Standards and Training. A native of Long
Beach, California, Bell moved to Oregon in 1947.
Bell graduated from Wheeler County High School in Fossil and attended
five terms at the University of Oregon and two terms at Oregon College
of Education. He signed on with The Dalles Police Department in 1957
as an officer but left for two years to serve in the United States
Army from 1958 to 1960. He remained with The Dalles Police Department
until 1968, when he was appointed to take the place of Cyphers.
Ernest Mosier came back to serve as Sheriff when he was appointed to
take Bell's place, remaining this time until 1977, when John B. Magill
was elected. Magill-- whose family was an old ranching family in Wasco
County -- served a four-year term before Robert G. "Bob" Brown was
elected in 1981.
Born in Council Bluff, Iowa, Brown moved to Oregon in 1963 from South
Dakota. He graduated from the University of Nebraska in Omaha in 1962
with degrees in business administration and engineering. He worked for
seven years as a superintendent and engineer for Peter Kiewet & Sons
in Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Washington and
Oregon. From 1967 until 1980, Brown worked for Tenneson Engineering in
The Dalles.
Art Labrousse won the 1984 election and was re-elected in 1988 to
become the first two-term Sheriff in Wasco County since 1968.
Big Muddy-ed Affair
In 1981, Wasco County school children learned a new word:
Rajneeshees. Even before the start of the school year, a few lessons
on this strange East Indian word and what it meant. Followers of the
nomadic Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh purchased the rambling,
64,229 acre Big Muddy Ranch in Wasco and Jefferson counties in July of
1981 as the central commune for the Bhagwan and his devoted
followers.
At first, the residents of nearby Antelope viewed the sudden
appearance of the red-clad Rajneesh disciples, known as Sannyasins but
more commonly referred to as Rashneeshees, as nothing more than a
curiosity. It wasn't long, however, before they realized the
seriousness and full intentions of the Rajneesh movement, or
"invasion,'' as some locals preferred to call it.
While the Bhagwan's chief aide Ma Anand Sheela was declaring the
movement's plan to operate a simple farming commune in the desert, his
other disciples were busy in the background developing grand plans for
a huge resort city for up to 100,000 Rajneeshees.
Within a matter of weeks, construction began on a number of buildings
within the newly-christened Rancho Rajneesh, including a shoppng mall,
restaurant, a resort-like motel and commune service offices. In many
cases, Bhagwan followers moved ahead without securing proper county
building permits.
In the meantime, new recruits continued pouring into the desert
commune -many of them wealthy European and American followers who were
more than willing and able to finance the Bhagwan's movement.
But the Rajneesh movement began to falter in October 1981 when two
months after arriving at Rancho Rajneesh, the Bhagwan applied to the
U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service for an extension of his
visa. Immigration officials began a full-scale investigation into the
activities of the religious sect, focusing on the guru's intent in
coming to the United States and a pattern of suspect marriages between
the U.S. citizen and foreign followers.
The investigation turned up information that the Bhagwan and his
followers left India in the spring of 1981 owing the Indian government
more than $6 million in unpaid taxes. An Indian tax court voided the
Rajneesh organization's tax-exempt status and assessed millions of
rupees (Indian currency) in back taxes.
But the movement forged ahead in the Oregon desert. In April 1982,
Rajneeshees, voting as a bloc, managed to secure enough votes to take
over the town of Antelope, which was renamed Rajneesh. They also voted
to incorporate Rancho Rajneesh -- the former Big Muddy Ranch as the
town of Rajneeshpuram.
With this newly-acquired power, Rajneesh leaders began making more
demands on county and state leaders. They demanded access to records
and reports by Wasco County officials pertaining to the commune and
its activities. They also demanded state basic school support for the
Rajneeshees' school, even though the state rejected the demand, saying
public tax dollars go to support public schools, not private ones like
the Rajneesh school.
But problems were just beginning for the movement. Over the next three
years, Rajneeshee leaders were accused of the salmonella poisonings of
hundreds of residents of The Dalles and some 500 persons filed suit
against the sect. Sheela, along with two other disciples, were accused
in a 1985 federal grand jury indictment of plotting the unsuccessful
murder of the Bhagwan's private physician.
And the Bhagwan himself broke his own vow of public silence in
September 1985 with a scathing attack on Sheela and a half dozen of
her allies, claiming they had betrayed him and his followers and that
they had stolen $55 million from the commune. An article in The
Oregonian on Sept. 17, 1985, quoted the Bhagwan as saying Sheela "and
her gang had turned my commune into a fascist concentration camp."
The Bhagwan's claims that militant Rajneeshees had been stockpiling
assault weapons and had been engaged in illegal wire-tapping at the
ranch touched off a multi-agency investigation into the alleged
criminal activity which proved to be the beginning of the end for
Rajneeshpuram.
On Oct. 23, 1985, a federal grand jury in Portland secretly indicted
the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Sheela and six other Sannyasins for
immigration crimes. Two days later, a Wasco County grand jury returned
indictments against Sheela and two others, charging them with the
attempted murder of Swami Devaraj, the Bhagwan's personal doctor.
By that time, Sheela and about 25 of her followers had already fled
the ranch to Germany.
But Rajneeshpuram was thrown into turmoil on Oct. 28, 1985 when the
Bhagwan' s loyal followers leared he had been arrested in Charlotte,
N.C., trying to flee immigration authorities on a privately-chartered
jet bound for Bermuda.
At about the same time, word arrived from Germany that Sheela and two
Rajneesh women had been arrested by West German police.
The Bhagwan was returned to Oregon to face a 35-count federal
indictment for immigration-related crimes, although he initially pled
innocent to all 35 counts. But as part of the plea-bargaining
agreement with federal prosecutors, the Bhagwan on Nov. 14, 1985,
agreed to plead guilty to two of the felony counts, to pay the court
costs and to leave the United States.
The Bhagwan returned to India and promptly told reporters gathered at
a New Delhi airport that the United States -the place he called a land
of religious freedom and opportunity four years earlier -- was "just a
wretched country."
Within a week of his departure, thousands of former followers were
leaving Rajneeshpuram in busloads. Within a month of their departure,
residents of the former Antelope reclaimed their town -and its
original name. But legal action against the Rajneeshees would continue
for many years.
Sheela and 20 other disciples later were indicted on federal wire-
tapping charges. Numerous civil suits were filed against the bankrupt
religious sect, some of which still have not been resolved.
On July 22, 1986, Sheela was sentenced to up to 20 years in prison and
ordered to pay a $400,000 fine after pleading guilty to state and
federal charges which included masterminding a massive electronic
eavesdropping system at Rancho Rajneesh, plotting the attempted murder
of the Bhagwan's physician and plotting the salmonella poisoning of
about 750 people in The Dalles.
For many Rajneeshees, the dream of carving a utopian Shangri-la out of
the barren, Central Oregon desert ended long before Jan. 18, 1990--
the day Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh died in Ashram in Pune, India, at the
age of 58.
For Wasco County Sheriff Art Labrousse, it was a rare learning
experience -- one he says he will never forget.
"They were well organized," Labrousse recalls. Or at least, better
prepared to take control of the tiny town of Antelope than local
officials were prepared to stop them. Labrousse and his 13-Deputy
force had their hands full trying to maintain law and order with the
sudden invasion of thousands of red-clad Rajneeshees into Wasco
County.
What made it so difficult, says Labreusse, was the cloak of secrecy
which seemed to engulf Rancho Rajneesh.
"Few people actually knew what was going on out there," he said.
Labrousse recalled the telephone call to his office on July 3, 1985,
from someone at the ranch reporting a possible drowning in a lake on
the ranch. Before he could summon the Wasco County medical examiner to
the scene, LaBrousse received another call, this time reporting that a
young man had been pulled from the lake and briefly revived. The man
was taken to the medical center in Jefferson County, but died,
Labrousse was told.
Since the attending physician, who was a Rajneeshee doctor, also was
the assistant medical examiner for Sherman County, Labrousse was told
by the state there was no need to call in the state medical examiner.
No body fluid or any other evidence was obtained by the assistant
medical examiner.
"They had a doctor who was an assistant medical examiner for Jefferson
County -- he ruled the man's death was accidental drowning," Labrousse
said.
Two days later, Labrousse was drinking coffee with an Oregon State
Police officer in Antelope. "We were talking about the Fourth of July
fire in The Dalles, caused by fireworks, when one of the Rajneesh
peace officers from Antelope said, 'Well, we had a great fireworks
show ourselves -- we cremated a boy who just died."
©1998 Roxann Gess Smith
All Rights Reserved
Visit Wasco Co. on The American Local History Network
http://gesswhoto.com/sheriff-wasco2.html
Labrousse cringed, not only because it was too late to do anything if
there had been a criminal deed, but because he had heard of similar
cremations occurring at Rancho Rajneesh in the past.
"We'll never know how many were cremated out there," he says. "But
every time they had a festival or celebration out at the ranch, there
was a death."
Labrousse said he sent a memorandum to the Wasco County Board of
Commissioners, suggesting the county not permit any future festivals
or celebrations at the ranch unless Rajneesh officials agreed in
advance that any deaths which occur during the event would be
investigated by the Wasco County medical examiner.
But the county never had to act on Labrousse's recommendation. Within
two weeks, the Bhagwan himself would expose Sheela and her gang and
Rajneeshpuram would begin to crumble.
The Missing Thumb Killer
Pictured Left: Levi Chrisman
Levi Chrisman was involved in dozens of puzzling murder and criminal
investigations during his 22-year tenure as Wasco County Sheriff. But
few were as complex as the shooting death of Jim Doran, a Bend lumber
mill worker, in early September, 1921.
The only clues to the killer's identity were a missing Dodge touring
car and a missing left thumb.
Doran's body had been found by a young couple, driving a lonely
country road two miles west of The Dalles, late one Saturday night.
Doran had been shot four times -- once in the head and at least three
times in the chest. The body was partially hidden behind some bushes
alongside the country road.
In their initial search of the victim's clothing for some type of
identification, investigators found an expensive gold pocket watch and
a few dollars in change. This led Chrisman and his Deputies to assume
robbery was not the motive behind the murder.
Chrisman's Chief Deputy Guy Elton noticed what appeared to be a trail
of blood leading away from the body into a grove of trees. The Sheriff
followed the trail and found a second gunshot victim with a bullet
wound in his shoulder. The man was rushed to a hospital in The
Dalles.
After undergoing successful surgery to remove the slug, the man agreed
to talk to Chrisman and Elton. He said his name was Bill Ducharme, and
he identified his slain companion as Jim Doran. Ducharme said he and
Doran had left Bend earlier that day with a third man, whose name he
could not recall.
Ducharme told the Sheriff that he and Doran had finished work at the
lumber mill and both were anxious to get to Doran's ranch at
McMinnville. But they didn't have transportation. The man, who
appeared to know Doran, offered to drive them in his car if they paid
his expenses. They agreed.
After having dinner in The Dalles that night, Ducharme said the
stranger offered to take them to a friend's place just outside of town
where they could spend the night. But a short way out of town,
Ducharme said the man pulled his car to a halt and told him they would
have to walk across a field to get to his friend's place.
Ducharme told Chrisman he had started out ahead of the other two when
he heard a shot. He turned and saw Doran tumble to the ground. Then,
Ducharme recalled, the stranger started firing at him so he began
running. One of the shots caught him in the shoulder, Ducharme said,
but he kept running until he collapsed in a grove of trees.
The wounded man could give only a general description of the gunman:
Approximately 40 years of age, medium build, black hair, gray eyes.
His description of the man's car was even more general: A large, black
touring car. He couldn't recall the make and didn't notice the license
number.
Chrisman put out the obligatory dispatches to all police officers and
agencies within a 100-mile radius, telling them to be on the lookout
for a large, black touring car with a dark-haired man in his early 40s
behind the wheel. He didn't hold out much hope, however.
When they received no response to the telegrams, Chrisman and Elton
went back to the murder scene the following morning. They found a
clear set of tire tracks in the soft, dirt shoulder of the road and
had the tracks photographed, hoping they could come up with a match
after searching The Dalles for the missing touring car and its tires.
But the hunch proved both time-consuming and futile.
Next, Chrisman and his men went to the lumber mill in Bend, where
Ducharme and Doran had worked, figuring the killer might also be
employed at the mill. None of the employees could remember seeing a
stranger with Ducharme and Doran at the mill the previous Friday when
the mill closed.
With their search for clues at a standstill, Chrisman suggested
investigators canvass gas stations and restaurants along the road the
three men were traveling Saturday, to see if anyone recalled seeing
the trio. The plan worked. A gas station owner reported three men
drove into his station Saturday afternoon in a nearly-new Dodge
touring car. The observant station owner said when the car's driver
paid for the gas, he noticed the man's left thumb was missing. The
station owner described the other two men in the car and they matched
the descriptions of Ducharme and Doran.
Encouraged at last by some useful leads, lawmen began compiling a list
of all new Dodge touring cars in the county and their owners. If one
of the owners had a left thumb missing and the car's tire tread marks
matched those of the tracks found near the murder scene, Chrisman felt
confident they would have their killer.
Unfortunately, Chrisman discovered, there were about 100 persons in
the county who owned newer Dodge touring cars. But with the help of
Deschutes County Sheriff S.E. Roberts and his Deputies, lawmen were
able to whittle the list of possible prospects to four. The first two
men on the list had two thumbs. The third was a man named Abe Evans,
who lived just outside of Bend.
They didn't find Evans at home, but his wife provided the information
they had been seeking: Her husband was missing his left thumb.
Mrs. Evans said her husband had gone to Salem looking for work. She
was able to provide officers with a license number for her husband's
car.
Lawmen put out an all-points bulletin on Abe Evans, along with the
license number of his car and a complete description of the vehicle.
After hearing the broadcast, Jefferson County Sheriff H.C. Topping and
his men began a wide-scale search of county gas stations, restaurants,
garages and motels for the wanted man and his car. They finally found
a motel owner in Metolius, not far from Madras, who informed them he
had rented a room to a man with a missing left thumb and a Dodge
touring car.
They found Evans, in an obvious state of intoxication, in one of the
motel rooms, trying to sleep off his miseries. They took Evans into
custody and transported him and his car to Deschutes County. Chrisman
checked the Dodge touring car's tire treads with his photographs. They
were a perfect match.
Evans denied shooting Ducharme and Doran, claimed he had left them at
a hotel in The Dalles, that he took off on his own, got drunk and
couldn't remember anything after that. But a search of the suspect
turned up $130 in cash. After two days of questioning, however, Evans
broke down and confessed.
He admitted knowing Doran for some time. He said he met Doran in
downtown Bend on Friday, the day before the shooting, and the two
walked to Doran's bank to cash his $150 paycheck from the mill. Doran
told Evans that he and a friend were going to McMinnville to spend the
winter, and Evans admitted that's where he got the idea to offer them
a ride as a way of getting them out into the country where he could
kill and rob them.
Evans told investigators he believed he had killed Ducharme, too. He
said he took Doran's billfold with most of the cash, but left the gold
watch and the change so it would not look like a robbery. He said he
threw the gun into some bushes, drove back to The Dalles to get some
whiskey, and drove south to the motel in Metolius.
A Wasco County Grand Jury indicted Evans of first-degree murder. Evans
pled not guilty by reason of insanity. A Wasco County Circuit Court
jury, however, convicted Evans of first-degree murder, with no
recommendation for mercy.
On Oct. 8, 1921, Evans was sentenced to hang for the killing of Jim
Doran. His attorney appealed the sentence to the Oregon Supreme Court.
But the high court, after numerous legal delays, upheld the sentence.
Evans never went to the gallows, however. On June 5, 1924 -- the day
before he was to be executed-- Gov. Walter M. Pierce commuted Evans'
sentence to life imprisonment.
http://gesswhoto.com/sheriff-wasco3.html
Apologetics Index News Archive - Search Results
Headline: Anand Sheela tends patients in Switzerland
Source: The Oregonian
Date: 1999/12/26
Description: Former Rajneeshee leader Anand Sheela -- once notorious
in Oregon as the spokeswoman for Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh -- now takes
care of frail and elderly patients in two private nursing homes in
Switzerland.
Headline: Indian guru follower Anand Sheela arrested after German TV
show
Source: The Oregonian
Date: 2000/01/22
Description: German police picked up Anand Sheela in a town near
Frankfort, Germany, last week after she appeared on a television show
to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of her former mentor, Indian
guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Sheela was quickly released, however,
because the Interpol warrant for her arrest had been canceled.
Headline: Experts Assess Risk of 'New Terrorism' Threat
Source: Los Angeles Times
Date: 2000/02/07
Description: They called it the ''new terrorism:'' a virulent strain
of anti-American aggression in which enemies without scruples would
use germs and toxic gases, not guns and bombs, to kill tens of
thousands of civilians at a stroke.
Headline: Meditation protected by patent
Source: NZZ Daily Edition
Date: 2000/06/29
Description: Now a dispute has broken out over that in India which
has burst the scintillating soap bubble of the symbiosis of money and
spirit. Professor Jain still likes to talk so beautifully about
dissolving all restricting relationships and he plunders the world's
literature in doing so, but when it comes to bringing his insights of
''One World'' to the people, he pays very close attention to setting
up his own boundary posts in the form of trademarks, patents,
copyrights and license agreements. Even Dynamic Kundalini Meditation
has been reported as a trademark.
Headline: A Sign of Mammon
Source: taz (Germany)
Date: 2000/07/20
Description: Who would be surprised that, in the commune, a bitter
power struggle is raging for control of hundreds of meditation centers
around the world, for the marketing rights of 1,500 book titles, and
of sound cassettes and videotapes of lectures from the Master.
Headline: Expert: US Open To Bioterrorism
Source: AP
Date: 2000/08/22
Description: Advances in technology make the United States more
vulnerable to bioterrorism than to nuclear attack, a leading expert in
defending against biological weapons said Tuesday.
Headline: Former cult camp becomes playground for children
Source: AP
Date: 2000/08/27
Description: The middle schoolers go about their summer camp
activities, unaware that all around them, thousands of followers once
toiled in the service of their leader, the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
Headline: FDA Designates Bioterrorism Antidote
Source: AP
Date: 2000/08/31
Description: If bioterrorists ever attack the United States with
anthrax, the antibiotic Cipro will be the first line of defense for
civilians who breathe the deadly bacteria, the government decided
Thursday.
Headline: The battle over bio-terror
Source: Salon
Date: 2000/09/12
Description: In short, ''We can conjure up a worse-case scenario,''
says John Parachini, chief of the Washington office of the Monterey
Institute's Center for Nonproliferation Studies. ''But we can also
conjure up a meteor hitting the Earth.''
Headline: Two Rajneeshee members plead guilty
Source: The Oregonian
Date: 2000/12/16
Description: Two high-ranking officials in Oregon's once notorious
Rajneeshee cult pleaded guilty Friday to 15-year-old federal
wiretapping charges, canceling international warrants that effectively
confined them to Great Britain.
Notes:
Headline: Biological weapons pose threat to Canada, U.S., scientist
says
Source: Edmonton Journal (Canada)
Date: 2001/03/11
Description: That's the view of U.S. scientist Dr. Ronald Atlas who
has been advising the U.S. government on the growing concern that
criminals will target food, water, air and individuals with viruses,
bacteria, fungi and toxins to further their cause.
Headline: Osho, Guru Extraordinaire, Is Long Gone -- But His Books
Live On
Source: Inside
Date: 2001/05/15
Description: Once known for his fleet of Rolls-Royces, the late
motivational thinker Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh is now being packaged as
Deepak Chopra minus the Ayurvedic medicine. His sales are in the
millions, and his returns a mere 4 percent.
Headline: Biological and Chemical Warfare Q and A
Source: ABC News
Date: 2001/09/24
Description: Now that terrorists have demonstrated they're capable of
carrying out unthinkable attacks of extreme devastation, some believe
the United States should be on higher alert for a biological or
chemical attack. ABCNEWS.com talked to several experts to learn about
these weapons, the preparedness of the United States for such attacks
and possible defenses against them,
Headline: America's First Bioterrorism Attack
Source: TIME
Date: 2001/10/08
Description: In the fall of 1984, members of the Rajneeshee, a
Buddhist cult devoted to beauty, love and guiltless sex, brewed a
"salsa" of salmonella and sprinkled it on fruits and veggies in the
salad bar at Shakey's Pizza in The Dalles, Ore. They put it in blue-
cheese dressing, table-top coffee creamers and potato salads at 10
local restaurants and a supermarket. They poured it into a glass of
water and handed it to a judge. They fed it to the district attorney,
the doctor, the dentist. Their plan: to seize control of the county
government by packing polling booths with imported homeless people
while making local residents too sick to vote.
Headline: Oregon town has never gotten over its 1984 bioterrorism
scare
Source: AP
Date: 2001/10/19
Description: In 1984, followers of the Indian guru Bhagwan Shree
Rajneesh spiked salad bars at 10 restaurants in town with salmonella
and sickened about 750 people.
Headline: Apocalyptic cult methods explain bin Laden
Source: USA Today
Date: 2001/11/05
Description: Hassan observes that many of the techniques that he
encountered with the Moonies are evident in bin Laden's camps: "social
isolation, controlling their sleep, showing them non-stop videos of
Muslims dying, being buddied up, so that they're never alone. ...
Destructive mind control strips away their ability to think for
themselves." The cult framework goes a little way to explaining the
dissonance between who these hijackers were and what they eventually
did on behalf of al-Qa'eda.
Headline: Microbes were mail-ordered : Lax controls let extremists
easily obtain anthrax
Source: Boston Globe
Date: 2001/11/06
Description: Harris's story illustrates some of the challenges US
officials face as they try to determine whether foreign or domestic
terrorists sent the anthrax-laced letters that have killed four
people.
Headline: Cults, terrorist groups share chilling similarities,
experts say
Source: The Oregonian
Date: 2001/11/13
Description: Oregonians were shocked to learn in 1985 that this
outpost of transplanted suburbanites was a launching pad for the first
large-scale biological attack in U.S. history: the poisoning of 751
people in The Dalles with restaurant food sprinkled with salmonella
germs grown in a commune laboratory. But cult psychology experts say
such incidents should come as no great surprise to anyone. They merely
underscore the fact that seemingly normal, well-educated people can be
persuaded to commit unthinkable crimes, including flying airliners
into skyscrapers.
Headline: FDA issues anti-terror food advice
Source: FDA
Date: 2002/01/10
Description: The only known terror attack on U.S. food occurred in
the 1980s, when a cult in Oregon contaminated salad bars with
salmonella bacteria. Experts say fresh produce may be the food most
vulnerable to tampering because it is often eaten raw and is subject
to little government inspection.
bademiyansubhanallah
(Adds more comments)
By Hideyuki Sano TOKYO,
March 10 (Reuters) -
Japanese Finance Minister Naoto Kan shot down the idea of a formal
policy pact with the Bank of
Japan as the government aims to strike a delicate balance
between pushing the central bank to ease policy further and
respecting its independence. The idea of a formal policy accord has
been floated in the
past by critics of the central bank who feel it could be doing
more to combat grinding deflation that has plagued the world's
second-largest economy for most of the past 15 years. But Kan, who has
also been calling on the BOJ to take
bolder action, said he saw no immediate need for such a pact,
echoing the view held by a majority of policy makers and
politicians wary of threatening the central bank's
independence. "I gather advocates of such a policy want an arrangement
where the government increases the deficits and the BOJ
cooperates by buying more government debt," said Izuru Kato,
chief economist at Totan Research. "They must be thinking central bank
independence allows the
BOJ to be too hesitant about buying government bonds and
therefore they should strip the BOJ of its independence," Kato
said. Kan steered clear of saying exactly what he wants the
central bank to do at its policy meeting next week, where
further easing is likely to be discussed. [ID:nTOE6230A7] BOJ board
member Miyako Suda, seen as hawkish on monetary
policy, said on Wednesday that the central bank will maintain a
very accommodative stance, but she added that the BOJ had
implemented an appropriate policy on prices. "Suda did not sound so
positive about taking more steps
blindly. It's not clear how strong the measures the BOJ takes
next week will be," said Naomi Hasegawa, senior strategist at
Mitsubishi UFJ Securities. With the government's room for further
fiscal stimulus
limited by a public debt that is already close to 200 percent
of GDP, the six-month old administration has put pressure on
the central bank to stem deflation. But the BOJ's options are limited
as long as the economic
outlook remains weak. Expectations of further price declines in future
could
persuade consumers and companies to delay spending and
investment even longer, adding more pressure on the economy.
Until demand picks up and more money flows into the system,
prices will struggle to recover. The BOJ has said prices will rise
eventually as the economy
mends. TOO MUCH INDEPENDENCE? Japan's central bank law guarantees the
BOJ independence in
its policy decisions, but it also requires the bank to
communicate with the government to ensure its policy is in line
with the government's economic policy. Few in the top circle of
Japanese policymakers see the need
for a change in those stipulations. "I am cautious about the framework
of an accord," Kan, also
deputy prime minister, told a parliamentary committee on
Wednesday in response to an opposition lawmaker's question. But some
politicians, mostly from the opposition, have said
the BOJ needs to be more accountable for its decisions, blaming
it for putting Japan in deflation for much of the past 15
years. The BOJ is likely to debate easing again at its March 16-17
board meeting, after introducing a new funding operation in
December amid a wave of government pressure as the yen climbed
versus the dollar. [ID:nTOE6230A7] "If they increase the cheap funding
operation to replace
the corporate support scheme that expires in March, that's
probably already priced in," said Hasegawa of Mitsubishi UFJ
Securities. The Bank of Japan's Suda dropped few hints, repeating the
BOJ's view that easy policy alone is no panacea for deflation.
"Although maintaining easy monetary policy is the top
priority, it is important for the Japanese economy to undergo
bold structural reform as much as it needs a recovery," she
said, referring to the need to fix Japan's pension system and
get public finances in order to reduce concerns about the
future. "If structural reform is delayed, it would undermine the
stimulative effect of monetary policy," she said. Japan's core
machinery orders fell slightly less than
expected in January from the previous month, data showed on
Wednesday, offering more evidence that capital expenditure will
keep growing slowly this year as manufacturers raise spending. Core
private-sector machinery orders, a highly volatile
series regarded as an indicator of capital spending, fell 3.7
percent in January, less than a median market forecast for a
4.1 percent decline, after a 20.1 percent jump in December.
[JPMORD=ECI] ECONJP But the data also showed non-manufacturers remain
wary on
capital spending, highlighting the weakness in domestic demand. Annual
wholesale price deflation eased to 1.5 percent in
February on a recent rise in commodity prices. But economists say
deflationary pressure is likely to
continue due to the big gap between supply and demand. Japan pulled
out of recession in April-June last year,
helped by a rebound in exports and industrial output as well as
a rise in consumption due to government subsidies. But
economists expect growth to slow early this year as the
government cuts public works and the impact of subsidies
fades.
(Additional reporting by Rie Ishiguro, Stanley White, Leika
Kihara and Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Kim Coghill)
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Mar 8, 2010
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March 10, 2010, 12:52 a.m.
WORLD FOREX: Euro Ticks Up Vs Yen On Japan Importer Buying
By Miho Nakauchi
TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- The euro ticked up against the yen in Asia
Wednesday, as Japanese importers buying the single currency on a
regular settlement day set the tone of the market amid a lack of other
trading cues.
But further gains are far from certain, dealers said, with the euro's
near-term direction resting on developments in the euro-zone's fiscal
problem and upcoming economic data.
As of 0450 GMT, the euro stood at Y122.44, slightly up from Y122.36 in
New York late Tuesday. Against the dollar, the unit traded at $1.3602
from $1.3601.
"Overall currency moves were very limited" with share markets almost
unchanged and a lack of major economic data, meaning that Japanese
importers' buying flows became more dominant and set the trend, said
Yuzo Sakai, a foreign-exchange manager at Tokyo Forex & Ueda Harlow.
Japanese importers tend to buy the currency on regular settlement
days, which fall on the 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th and 25th of each month.
At 0450 GMT, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average index was down 0.08%.
Dealers said the European single currency could fall toward $1.3300
and Y119.00 over the next few weeks if any negative news emerges on
Europe's fiscal issues, adding to concerns over its economic outlook,
dealers said.
The focus is on European countries' huge levels of debt, said Hideaki
Inoue, a chief foreign-exchange manager at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and
Banking Corp. "Growing expectations for sovereign debt default could
prompt mid- and long-term players to sell" the euro, he said.
Although most players are bearish toward the euro, better-than-
expected economic data could help restore investor confidence,
possibly buoying the risk-sensitive euro toward $1.3700 and Y123.50,
some dealers said. Investors will monitor U.S. retail sales for
February and Reuters/University Of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey
for March, both due Friday, for any hints on the health of the global
economy.
Elsewhere, the dollar stood at Y90.00 as of 0450 GMT, almost unchanged
from its New York level of Y89.97 Tuesday. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index,
which tracks the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of
currencies, was at 80.576 from 80.580.
The U.S. unit may fall toward Y89.50 in coming weeks, traders said.
Japanese exporters may repatriate overseas assets as we move toward
Japan's fiscal year-end on Mar. 31, which could weigh on the U.S.
unit, dealers said.
1.China's trade surplus shrinks further in February
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinas-trade-surplus-shrinks-further-in-february-2010-03-09
2.The rise and certain fall of the American Empire
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-rise-and-certain-fall-of-the-american-empire-2010-03-09
Currencies
March 10, 2010, 3:46 a.m. EST · Recommend · Post:
Dollar rises vs. euro as German trade data disappointView all
Currencies ›
By MarketWatch
TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- The dollar got a lift against the euro
Wednesday when trade data from Germany, a key euro-zone economy, came
in worse than expected.
News Hub: Economist Warns of More Volatility AheadAnirvan Banerji,
director of research at Economic Cycle Research, joins the News Hub to
discuss why he believes the U.S. economy will experience more frequent
recessions ahead.
Germany's exports increased by 0.2% and imports dropped by 1.4% in
January 2010 compared to the same month a year ago, the Federal
Statistical Office reported on Wednesday. Compared to December 2009,
exports fell by 6.3% in January and imports rose by 6.0%. Germany's
seasonally-adjusted foreign trade balance recorded a surplus of 8.7
billion euros in January, official data showed.
"This was the weakest reading since the March of 2009 when the global
economy was in the throes of its worst contraction in [the] post-war
period. The news was especially surprising given the decline in the
euro/U.S. dollar over the past several months," said Boris
Schlossberg, director of currency research at GFT.
He added that the trade balance data were "not helpful to the single
currency which has been battered by concerns over sovereign debt
problems of Greece, Portugal and Spain."
The euro slipped to $1.3551, from $1.3598 in late North American
trading Tuesday, and the British pound skidded to $1.4898, from
$1.4991.
The dollar index /quotes/comstock/11j!i:dxy0 (DXY 80.67, +0.08,
+0.10%) , which measures the U.S. unit against a trade-weighted basket
of six major currencies, rose to 80.851, from 80.580 late Tuesday.
The greenback bought 89.96 yen, compared with 89.98 yen late Tuesday.
But the Australian dollar was up 0.1% against its U.S. counterpart, to
91.43 U.S. cents.
The Aussie "outperformed, with better than expected Chinese trade data
underpinning global recovery hopes in the region," said analysts at
Action Economics.
China's trade surplus narrowed further in February to $7.6 billion
from $14.2 billion in January. When compared with the same month last
year, both exports and imports grew at a higher-than-expected rate,
with the value of imports climbing 44.7%, reflecting growing domestic
consumption in mainland China. The value of outbound goods and
services surged 45.7% from February 2009 on a recovery in demand for
Chinese goods. Read more on China trade data.
On Tuesday, the U.S. dollar advanced versus the euro and British
pound, finding support amid ongoing worries about debt problems in the
euro zone after warnings of downgrades from Fitch Ratings and Moody's
Investors Service. See Tuesday's Currencies report.
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Raymond Richman - Jesse Richman - Howard
Richman
Richmans' Trade and Taxes Blog
The Obama Administration's Agenda to Balance Trade
Raymond Richman, 3/9/2010
On March 1, 2010, Ambassador Ron Kirk, United States Trade
Representative, disclosed “The President's 2010 Trade Policy Agenda”,
a suicide pill for the U.S. economy. For three decades, every
administration had more or less the same agenda. Ignore the trade
deficits or just accept them as the inevitable result of competitive
forces, which they are not. If China, Japan, Germany, and others want
to exchange their valuable goods for our money, why should we
complain? We can print more. It is hard to believe that that was and
continues to be the attitude of the vast majority of economists.
They’ve been brain-washed into believing that market forces must
inevitably restore a balance of trade. We pointed out in our book,
Trading Away Our Future (Ideal Taxes Assn, Jan., 2008) that free trade
was not justified by economic theory, that China, like Japan before
it, was deliberately pursuing the mercantilist policy of promoting a
surplus of exports over imports by erecting all sorts of barriers to
imports while subsidizing exports, keeping its currency artificially
undervalued to make its imports expensive and its exports cheap, by
buying U.S. financial assets to keep U.S.interest rates low to
American consumers, to discourage savings and encourage consumption.
Not until recently did an eminent economist like Prof. Paul Krugman
condemn China’s mercantilist practices and suggest U.S. counteraction.
Until then, he believed no country would find it in its interest to
accumulate financial assets rather than goods.
The slow-acting suicide pill suddenly accelerated in the mid-1990s.
The result was the loss of millions of U.S. industrial jobs. How many?
To balance trade at the level of imports in 2008, we would have to
create eight million industrial jobs. The defenders of U.S. trade
policy point to our achievement of full employment in 2007, neglecting
to mention that the competition of factory workers who lost their well-
paying jobs lowered workers’ earnings of all workers. As a result,
wages have stagnated over the past three decades, fewer workers enjoy
middle class incomes, income distribution has worsened, and the U.S.
is on the verge of becoming a second-rate industrial power if it has
not already achieved that distinction. ...
In an incredible display of sycophancy, the document asserts that the
administration’s goal is “Making Trade Work for America’s Working
Families.” America’s Working Families? They have been the big losers
as a result of our tolerance of our huge chronic trade deficits. The
document asserts that “President Obama’s economic strategy halted the
slide into a deep economic crisis and laid the foundation for renewed
American prosperity that is more sustainable, fairer for more of our
citizens, and more competitive globally.” That remains to be seen.
Since the President took office, the unemployment rate, including
those who lost their factory jobs as a result of the trade deficits,
has continued to grow and grow.
The Trade Representative gives lip service to the lip-service of the
G-20 nations who pledged in 2009 to work toward balancing trade. It
displays the same Pollyanna-ish reliance on market forces. All we have
to do is increase our exports by $800 billion. His report states that
the U.S. has reacted to unfair trade practices by imposing
countervailing duties on countries committing infractions of trade
rules like dumping (Chinese tires) and even getting China to further
open its market to “American wind energy products.” Just the other
day, there were protests in the Congress against imported wind
turbines, which, to add injury to injury, are heavily subsidized by
the U.S. government. The President has set a goal “of doubling U.S.
exports in the next five years” to create 2 million jobs. He created a
new bureaucracy called the Export Promotion Cabinet which will fund
export promotion programs, tools for small- and medium-sized
businesses, reduction in barriers to trade, and open new markets. It
joins hundred of federal agencies designed to do-good but end up doing-
nothing.
The report recites: “Effective trade policy helps increase exports
that yield well-paying jobs for Americans … studies show that firms
engaged in trade usually grow faster, hire more, and on average pay
better wages than those that do not. In recent years, exports of
manufactured goods have become an important source of employment,
supporting almost one in five of all manufacturing jobs.” No mention,
not a single mention of the jobs lost to imports, the amount of the
trade deficite, and the declining number of employees in industry,
month after month after month! There is this acknowledgment, “We have
to be frank in recognizing that some Americans lose jobs as markets
shift in response to trade.” So we have enacted a Trade Adjustment
Assistance Act to assist those who lose their jobs to adjust to their
new status. No new export jobs are created by the Act.
That is about all the response the loss of millions of American jobs
has occasioned. Nothing to balance trade except statements that we
need to be more competitive and the international community (the
G-20?) should increase their domestic consumption and imports as part
of a more balanced growth strategy! Don’t hold your breath.
It announces to the world that the United States is committed to the
multilateral trade rules of the WTO system, to trade liberalization
“through negotiation and a defense against protectionism”, the
strongest country in the world announcing that we will not take
unilateral action against the mercantilist practices of such “weak”
countries like China, Japan, Germany, and OPEC. They can continue
their practices, impose barriers to our exports, grant subsidies to
their exports until we petition the WTO for a remedy. The WTO rules
already authorize countries experiencing chronic trade deficits to
take unilateral action including the imposition of tariffs and other
barriers to imports. Why haven’t we done anything to protect our
industry and industrial workers from such destructive trade practices?
La-de-da, it would be so unbecoming a great nation. Our elitists want
to be loved by the world’s elite, who are by-and-large antii-American.
Attempting to counter the impression that it is doing nothing, the
report points to its action responding to “a harmful surge of Chinese
tire imports”, challenging restrictions on U.S. exports of
agricultural products, and filing suit over Chinese export quotas and
duties on raw materials needed by core U.S. industrial sectors from
steel and aluminum to chemicals. Good, those are useful actions but
the number of jobs created relative to the number of jobs lost to the
trade deficits is infinitesimal.
What the U.S. has been engaged in is talk, talk, talk. It needs to
concentrate on jobs, jobs, jobs. The government has engaged in
discussions, just talk, with China, India, Brazil, Russia. It
sponsored and entered into negotiations for a regional, Asia-Pacific
trade agreement, known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
Agreement, with Australia, Brunei, Chile, NewZealand, Peru, Singapore,
and Vietnam. Not one industrial job has been created or ever will be.
Another initiative is the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
forum. The U.S. will host APEC in 2011. The report writes, “To this
end, we are coordinating with the 2010 host nation, Japan, on an
ambitious agenda that engages APEC’s broad membership on crucial trade
and investment topics for the region’s future. Initiatives in APEC are
a successfully demonstrated way of building a stronger and
constructive American role in the Asia-Pacific market.” Aside from
costing a lot of money and providing a free vacation to a lot of anti-
Americans, how many jobs producing goods for export will it create?
Not a single job.
The report recites that “Bilateral relationships are crucial. But as
we know, multi-faceted regional economic relationships are of major,
and even growing, importance for United States and for the world.”
Where is the evidence that it is important, let alone of increasing
importance, to the U.S. The administration is doing and plans to do a
lot of talking. In place of jobs, jobs, jobs, it is placing emphasis
on talk, talk, talk.
http://www.idealtaxes.com/post3074.shtml
UPDATE 1-Japan finmin wary of policy accord with BOJ
TOKYO, March 10 (Reuters) - Japanese Finance Minister Naoto Kan said
he saw no immediate need to have a more formal policy pact with the
Bank of Japan as the government and the central bank already share a
common goal of beating deflation.
Kan, who took over at the Finance Ministry in January, has been
calling on the central bank to do more to end deflation, but has
steered clear of saying exactly what he wants the central bank to do.
Asked by an opposition lawmaker if he thought a formal agreement with
the central bank would help, Kan said: "It's questionable whether it's
good to have an explicit policy accord. The BOJ governor has already
said in public that the bank wants inflation from plus zero to plus 2
percent ...
"I am cautious about the framework of an accord," Kan, also deputy
prime minister, told a parliamentary committee.
With the government's room for further fiscal stimulus limited by a
public debt that is already close to 200 percent of GDP, the six-month
old administration has put pressure on the central bank to stem
deflation.
Japan's central bank law guarantees the BOJ independence in its policy
decisions, but it also requires the bank to communicate with the
government to ensure its policy is in line with the government's
economic policy.
The central bank is likely to debate easing its ultra-loose monetary
policy again at its board meeting on March 16-17, after introducing a
new funding operation in December under a previous wave of government
pressure as the yen climbed versus the dollar. [ID:nTOE6230A7]
One member of the bank's policy board, Miyako Suda, said on Wednesday
that the central bank will maintain a very accommodative monetary
policy stance to help the country escape deflation.
"The BOJ intends to continue making its contribution to help the
Japanese economy escape deflation and return to a sustained growth
path with price stability," Suda said at a roundtable conference
hosted by the Economist Group.
But Suda also repeated the BOJ's view that easy policy alone will not
be a panacea for deflation.
"Although maintaining easy monetary policy is the top priority, it is
important for the Japanese economy to undergo bold structural reform
as much as it needs recovery... If structural reform is delayed, it
would undermine the stimulative effect of monetary policy," she said.
BOJ officials have said further monetary policy easing will have
little impact on boosting prices, with interest rates already near
zero.
Suda added that the BOJ had taken appropriate steps on monetary policy
and that she didn't think aiming for a high inflation rate would
resolve the shock of the financial crisis. (Reporting by Hideyuki
Sano, Stanley White and Rie Ishiguro; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTOE62900K20100310?type=marketsNews
FOREX-Yen rises on Japan exporters; sterling falters
By Masayuki Kitano TOKYO, March 9 (Reuters) - The yen rose broadly on
Tuesday on
dollar and euro selling by Japanese exporters, while sterling
faltered on weak data and after Moody's said Britain faces a
dilemma over its support for the banking sector. The yen also climbed
with short-term traders taking cues from
a dip in Nikkei share average .N225 and U.S. stock index
futures SPc1, as demand for riskier assets ebbed. "Japanese exporters
are in the market and selling pretty
actively, including the euro against the yen," said Yuji
Matsuura, joint general manager at Aozora Bank's forex and
derivatives trading group. There could be more yen-buying by Japanese
exporters during
the week, and there might also be some flows in the last week of
March, just before they close their books at the end of Japan's
fiscal year, Matsuura said. Market players said, however, that gains
in the yen have been
limited by speculation that the Bank of Japan may take further
steps to ease monetary policy. The euro fell 0.4 percent to 122.59 yen
EURJPY=R, off a
two-week high of 123.90 yen struck on EBS on Monday. The euro also
dropped against the dollar, dipping 0.1 percent
to $1.3615 EUR= but was still well off last week's $1.3433, its
lowest in more than nine months. The euro struggled after Greek Prime
Minister George
Papandreou warned on Monday that if the Greek crisis worsened it
could lead to a new global financial meltdown. [ID:nLDE6271WD].
Sterling fell 0.3 percent to $1.5014 GBP=D4 and shed 0.7
percent to 135.08 yen GBPJPY=R. Data showing that British house prices
grew last month at
their slowest pace since August weighed on sterling.
[ID:nLAG006161] Another negative factor for sterling was a Moody's
Investors
Service report saying Britain faces a difficult balancing act in
deciding how and when to reduce support for the banking sector,
given growth in the UK's public debt burden. [ID:nLDE6271OB]
EYES ON BOJ MEETING The dollar fell 0.3 percent to 90.01 yen JPY=. The
greenback had rallied on the yen to a two-week high of
90.69 yen on EBS on Monday, after a better-than-expected U.S.
jobs report backed views that the U.S. Federal Reserve will lift
rates faster than the Bank of Japan. The report had also bolstered
demand for higher-yielding
currencies and riskier assets like stocks and commodities, on
improved economic prospects. The Australian dollar fell 0.3 percent
against the yen
AUDJPY=R and the New Zealand dollar shed 0.6 percent
NZDJPY=R. The dollar is likely to be supported at levels around 89.50
yen on speculation about more monetary easing steps from the BOJ,
possibly at its policy meeting next week, said a trader for a
Japanese trust bank. The BOJ meeting is in the spotlight after the
Nikkei
newspaper reported on Friday that the BOJ was examining easing
again and may decide on such a move when it meets on March 16-17.
Sources familiar with the matter said the BOJ is likely to
debate this month easing its ultra-loose monetary policy again.
[ID:nTOE6230A7] The most likely next step for the BOJ is to expand the
fund-supply operation it put in place in December, under which it
lends to banks at 0.1 percent, either by increasing the size from
10 trillion yen ($110.7 billion) or extending the duration of
loans from the current three months. Even if such steps are taken, the
market impact could be
limited given how low yen money market rates are already, said a
trader for a European bank. "Basically, the aim may be to achieve an
announcement effect
and the market has factored in a lot of that," the trader said,
adding that the dollar could fall against the yen if the BOJ
stands pat and unveils no new measures.
(Additional reporting by Anirban Nag in Sydney, Satomi Noguchi
and Kaori Kaneko in Tokyo; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
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FOREX-Yen, dollar dip; euro up as Greece concerns ease
Mar 7, 2010
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE6270JL20100308?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a49:g43:r4:c0.250000:b31625032:z0
Analysis: Greece's crisis could presage America's
By TOM RAUM (AP) – 10 hours ago
WASHINGTON — Greece is a financial basket case, begging for
international help. Is America heading down that same road?
Many of the same risky financial practices that now imperil the Greeks
were at the center of the all-too-recent U.S. meltdown.
As with Greece, America's national debt has been growing by leaps and
bounds over the past decade, to the point where it threatens to swamp
overall economic output. And in the U.S., as in Greece, a large
portion of that debt is owed to foreign investors.
Not good, if these debt holders begin to wonder if they'll be paid
back. A foreign flight from U.S. Treasury securities could sow
financial chaos in the United States, as happened when many investors
lost faith in Greek bonds.
It's something that could affect all Americans. The U.S. has never
defaulted on a debt, and even the hint of such a possibility could
send interest rates soaring and choke off a fragile recovery.
How long can the United States remain the world's largest economy as
well as the world's largest debtor?
"Not indefinitely," suggests former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan
Greenspan. "History tells us that great powers when they've gotten
into very significant fiscal problems have ceased to be great powers."
After all, Spain dominated the 16th century world, France the 17th
century and Great Britain much of the 18th and 19th before the United
States rose to supremacy in the 20th century.
"Unless we do things dramatically different, including strengthening
our investments in research and education, the 21st century will
belong to China and India," suggests Norman Augustine, the former CEO
of Lockheed Martin who chaired a 2009 bipartisan commission studying
the nation's top challenges.
The Greek government has taken stiff austerity steps in an effort to
get a lifeline from the European Union, sparking strikes and violent
demonstrations.
Some of the same risky strategies used by U.S. hedge funds and other
professional investors in a failed effort to profit from subprime
mortgages in this country — and which led to the 2008 financial near-
collapse — are now being employed by those betting that Greece will
default on its debt.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, who met with President Barack
Obama at the White House on Tuesday, is calling for "decisive and
collective action" here and in Europe to crack down on such rampant
speculation and unregulated bets. He is also seeking more favorable
European interest rates for loans.
Speaking outside the White House, Papandreou welcomed support from
Obama and some European leaders for such efforts and for the austerity
measures taken by his own government. He said it shows the "labor and
sacrifices are not wasted. Of course, our struggle is not ended, it
continues."
Many economists say it's a stretch to compare the U.S. economy, by far
the world's largest, to Greece and other distressed small economies of
southern Europe. They say many of Greece's problems are unique to that
nation and aggravated by a monetary system that rigidly binds 16
nations to the same currency, the euro.
But others argue it may only be a matter of time before the U.S. faces
a similar, and potentially graver, crisis.
"Someday it will happen if we don't get our act together on spending,
our debt under control and our economy to grow faster," said Allen
Sinai, chief global economist for New York-based Decision Economics
Inc., which provides financial advice to corporations and governments.
With signs pointing to a weaker recovery than after other post-World
War II recessions, U.S. consumer spending is likely to remain
unimpressive and the jobless rate high for some time. Sinai said that
suggests there won't be enough growth to push down federal deficits by
much. "It's a political keg of dynamite," he said.
Greece's national debt now equals more than 100 percent of its gross
domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity. U.S. debt
— now $12.5 trillion — is fast closing in on the same dubious
milestone.
Nearly all of Greek's debt is held by foreign governments and
investors. In the United States, roughly half is owned by global
investors, with China holding the largest stake.
By contrast, Japan's debt is proportionately even bigger — about twice
its GDP — but the impact is cushioned by the fact that most is held by
Japanese households.
"The more open you are to the rest of the world, the more likely
you're going to have a problem if you start running large deficits and
large debt loads," said Mark Zandi, founder of Moody's Economy.com,
and a frequent adviser to lawmakers of both parties.
Zandi does not see any major fallout from the Greek fiscal crisis in
the United States for now, other than a possible temporary hit on
potential European export markets.
However, he said, "global investors at some point are going to start
demanding a higher interest rate. And that's our moment of truth. If
we don't address it by cutting spending and raising taxes, some
combination of the two, then we're going to have a problem."
Polls show growing public anger over deficits and government spending.
The issue is a potent one for the upcoming midterm elections, and a
particular liability for majority-party Democrats.
Calls have sounded from both sides of the political aisle for deficit
reduction. And Obama last month set up a bipartisan deficit commission
to find ways to get the country's budget deficit, now adding more than
$1 trillion a year to the national debt, under control.
But the panel is a weak substitute for what Obama really wanted — a
commission created by Congress that could force lawmakers to vote on
remedies to reduce the debt.
EDITOR'S NOTE _ Tom Raum covers economics and politics for The
Associated Press.
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou walks away after talking to the
media in front of the West Wing of the White House in Washington,
Tuesday, March 9, 2010, following a meeting with President Barack
Obama. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i8fvUrHUOkJVfaq5UBxHCYV85s3wD9EBDPRO2
Fears of a Greek bank run
By Dody Tsiantar, contributorMarch 9, 2010: 3:33 PM ET
(Fortune) -- In the middle of the 2001 debt crisis, Argentines stormed
their nation's banks to get their money out. To stop the stampede, the
government imposed controls that allowed them to take out only $250 at
a time and limited withdrawals for overseas trips to $1,000.
Greece, in the middle of its own financial crisis, is teetering on the
brink of a default. Many of its wealthier citizens are also uneasy
about what lies ahead for their cash. According to estimates from
private bankers in Greece and Cyprus, as much as 10 billion euros have
left the country for Greek-owned bank subsidiaries in Switzerland and
Cyprus in the last couple of months.
Facebook Digg Twitter Buzz Up! Email Print Comment on this story
"Customers are coming...from Greece on a daily basis," says one
private banker who works for a Greek bank in Cyprus. "They fly here in
the morning, bring us a check and fly back to Athens in the
afternoon."
One banker in Athens reports that many of his clients have sent funds
out of the country in recent weeks, fearing that the government will
take a bigger bite of their money. "They're afraid they'll have to pay
tax on their cash," he says.
Countries in economic turmoil historically look for unpopular ways to
raise revenue, according to economists. So when things start to go
sour, "everyone becomes convinced that the stage is being set for
higher taxes," says former IMF economist Dev Kar, the lead economist
for Global Financial Integrity, an international policy research
center. "People with wealth then ship their money out, so government
does not come and get it when it all comes crashing down."
But growing concerns that Greece's financial crisis will spill over to
its banking system appear to be driving most of the outflow. The fear
isn't totally unfounded: Late last month, Fitch Ratings downgraded the
country's four major private-sector banks to two notches above junk
status on fears that demand for loans may plunge, denting their
potential profitability .
"I'm scared," says one 40-year-old Athenian woman, who's considering
taking her nest egg to Cyprus. "I want to take my money out of the
country before the banks run out of cash."
Not as bad as it seems
A run on the bank, a la Argentina, is not imminent, say banking and
government officials. They acknowledge that money is leaving the
country, but say that reports of massive capital outflows are "grossly
overstated."
"There is a trickle, but nothing like a real flight that would put the
system under pressure," says Anthimos Thomopoulos, chief financial
officer of the National Bank of Greece, which holds a third of
Greece's 250 billion euro total deposit pool.
The situation isn't overly worrisome right now, bank and government
officials say, because most of the money has flowed to those Greek-
owned banks abroad and should, in theory, be easier to repatriate.
What's happening, says Nikolaos Karamouzis, deputy CEO of Eurobank
EFG, a private bank in Greece with 84 billion euro in assets, is "not
materially significant, despite the fact that there is widespread
concern among our clients."
Exactly how much cash has left the country since the crisis exploded
in mid-December is hard to determine, however. According to the most
recent quarterly statistics available, the national deposit pool at
the end of December dropped by less than a half a percent. But
analysts point out those numbers do not reflect the full impact of the
crisis, which picked up momentum in January and February after the
government announced its belt-tightening measures.
A pesos to drachmas comparison
Unlike Greece today, Argentina's government had an arsenal of
financial tools in 2001 to deal with its crisis. It devalued the peso
and imposed capital controls. But as a member of the European Union,
Greece does not have those options; it can't devalue, and because the
Union has rules that call for a free movement of capital within its
boundaries, it can't stop citizens or businesses from moving cash from
one partner country to another.
"The only way Greece could impose capital controls would be to leave
the EU," says Michael Melvin, head of currency and fixed income
research at global asset management firm BlackRock. "And there's close
to zero probability of that."
A return to the drachma isn't likely any time soon either, but Greek
citizens do have good reason to believe that taxes are going to go up.
The socialist government of Prime Minister George Papandreou has
already announced a slew of tax hikes, including increases in the
value-added tax, new excise taxes on luxury goods, such as yachts and
cars, and up to a 20% tax on cigarettes, alcohol and fuel.
0:00 /1:24Greece: Another crisis looms
In addition, a key tenet of the socialist government's plan is to go
after tax cheats aggressively -- economists figure that nearly 30% of
the country's gross domestic product goes unreported to authorities.
For decades, Greece's shadow economy has thrived because many Greeks
-- doctors, plumbers, electricians and lawyers among them -- conduct
business entirely in cash. Much of that money has ended up in bank
accounts in other countries, say economists -- and a lot of it is not
reflected in national statistics.
"The outflow of cash from Greece is not a new phenomenon. If you could
calculate the outflow of the last 50 years, you'd get an astronomical
figure," says University of Maryland economics professor Theodore
Kariotis. "Greeks are a very sneaky people."
The government's new rules intend to change that. Last week it
announced new measures to encourage those who have transferred money
out of Greece to bring it back within six months, no questions asked.
They'll be taxed 5% on the total, however. Another option offered:
declare the money, leave it in foreign accounts -- and be subject to
an 8% tax. After that, foreign governments will cooperate with Greek
tax authorities to pursue lawbreakers, says a source in the finance
ministry.
Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou hopes the government's
new measures will produce results. "As the reform program unfolds, a
lot of this lost, or quasi-lost, liquidity will come back to the
system," he said in a mid-January interview. "It is an immediate
concern, of course, but it is reversible."
Maybe it is, but according to economists, money that leaves a country
rarely returns. "I'm not holding my breath," says Global Financial
Integrity's Kar. "Once [cash] leaves, it's hard to get it back."
The snag in Greece's salary solution
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Tax hikes may still fail to fix Athen's debts crisis
Wednesday March 10 2010
GREEK tax increases, which have sparked widespread protests, may fail
to generate as much additional revenue as the government in Athens
estimates, a draft EU report says.
While the €4.8bn of additional austerity measures enacted by the Greek
parliament last week "appear sufficient to safeguard the 2010
budgetary targets", risks remain that increases in value-added tax and
fuel taxes may generate less than is projected, the report says.
The Greek government plans to cut the deficit to 8.7pc of gross
domestic product (GDP) this year from 12.7pc in 2009. The draft report
will be discussed by EU finance ministers in Brussels next week.
Demand
An increase in the main VAT rate by 2pc from 19pc will bring in €1.3bn
in added revenue this year, while higher excise duties on petrol and
diesel are expected to generate €450m more, according to the finance
ministry in Athens.
But "the implications on tax revenue of a contraction in demand should
not be underestimated", according to the European Commission.
On VAT, it said "changes in the tax base -- in relation to the
contraction of internal demand -- and tax evasion may result to lower-
than-expected gains".
Greece's overall government debt "remains on a steep upward path",
according to the commission. Greek debt is projected to swell to 125pc
of GDP this year, the highest in the 27-nation EU, it forecasts.
EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said yesterday
that the latest measures put Greece on "the path of fiscal adjustment
for 2012" -- the deadline to meet the EU's 3pc deficit limit.
(Bloomberg)
Irish Independent
S&P expert: Integrated eurozone fiscal policy key to sovereign debt
crisis
English.news.cn 2010-03-09 18:32:11
by Xinhua writer Wang Zongkai
BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Integrated fiscal policy was essential
for the euro zone to get out of the consequences of Greek sovereign
debt crisis, according to an expert from Standard and Poor's (S&P).
"The Greek debt crisis can be the strongest challenge that the euro
zone has faced in the past 11 years, and the key to solve the problem
is whether eurozone-16 can sacrifice some of their fiscal
sovereignty," said David Beers, managing director of S&P sovereign and
international public finance ratings group, on Monday.
On Dec. 8, 2009, Fitch Ratings downgraded its rating on Greece
sovereign credit from A- to BBB+, and revised its outlook to negative,
which signaled the commence of Greece sovereign credit crisis.
Moreover, other eurozone members, including Portugal, Ireland, Italy
and Spain, also reported deficit problem recently. In a context of
weak recovery in European economies, some analysts said that the Greek
debt crisis might contaminate the whole Europe.
However, Beers believes that the Greek debt crisis will not cause a
new round of global crisis.
On the one hand, other eurozone members welcomed Greece's 4.8-billion-
euro (6.53-billion-U.S. dollar) austerity package, which has shown the
Greek government's willingness to submit some fiscal sovereignty to
the union for underpinning euros, he said.
On the other hand, the creditworthiness of all eurozone sovereign
states was currently at least adequate to meet their financial
commitments, and S&P did not assume any sovereign state leaving the
euro zone in the medium term, Beers added.
So far, the Greek debt crisis had been contained within the euro zone.
Meanwhile, the Greek government had actively taken measures, while the
euro zone was considering institutional reform such as the
establishment of a European Monetary Fund, which will function like
the International Monetary Fund.
Regarding Britain's estimates of its deficit in 2010 fiscal year to
amount 1.78 trillion pounds (2.67 trillion dollars), nearly 13 percent
of its gross domestic product, Beers said Britain's current fiscal
policy is sustainable.
"If party in office changed, S&P would keep a close look at deficit-
cutting measures of the new administration," he added.
Meanwhile, the other two largest economies in the world are also
facing the deficit problem. U.S. federal deficit in 2009 had amounted
to 1.41 trillion dollars, almost 10 percent of the GDP while Japan's
outstanding public debt reached a record high of 817.5 trillion yen (9
trillion dollars), and 6.83 million yen (7,560 dollars) per capita.
Nevertheless, Beers was more optimistic on U.S. and Japan thanks to
more flexibility and time in dealing with debt problem given that the
dollar and the yen are the two strongest reserve currencies right now.
Beers estimated that it would take one or two years to solve the Greek
debt crisis.
People in Greece and other eurozone countries need to have confidence
while their governments need action.
Editor: Xiong Tong
Related News
• Greece prefers European solution: PM
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-03/08/c_13201036.htm
• Protests against fiscal austerity measures in Greece
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/video/2010-03/06/c_13199746.htm
• Germany will not give Greece a cent: economy minister
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-03/05/c_13199043.htm
• Greek families to lose one-month salary yearly due to tax rise
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/business/2010-03/09/c_13203264.htm
• Greek PM calls on world to restrict speculative trading
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-03/09/c_13202576.htm
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2010-03/09/c_13203821.htm
Chrysanthemum or Samurai?
Posted By Dan Twining Tuesday, March 9, 2010 - 12:20 PM
In a thoughtful essay in today's Financial Times, Gideon Rachman asks
whether Japan may now be tilting towards China after 60 years of
aligning itself with the United States. This question is interesting
on multiple dimensions -- including with regard to the future of U.S.
primacy in Asia, the impact of China's rise on its neighbors, the
nature of Japanese politics and identity, and our understanding of the
deep structure of international relations at a time of systemic power
shifts. Indeed, Japan is a critical case study for assessing how the
developed world will respond to the rise of dynamic new power centers
in Asia -- and what the implications will be for American leadership
in the international system.
The ascent of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) after nearly six
decades of unbroken rule by the conservative, U.S.-oriented Liberal
Democratic Party (LDP) has convulsed not only Japanese politics but
also its foreign policy. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has mused
about constructing a pan-Asian fraternal community based on
"solidarity" -- not with Tokyo's closest alliance partner across the
Pacific but with its near neighbors, led by China. What should have
been little more than a tactical skirmish about the terms of the
realignment of U.S. forces in Okinawa has become, through
mismanagement on both sides, a strategic headache for both Washington
and the inexperienced government in Tokyo, raising unnecessary
tensions within the alliance. DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa, the power
behind the throne of the Hatoyama administration, recently led a
delegation of 143 parliamentarians and hundreds of businessmen to
Beijing, reviving in form if not substance the tributary delegations
from China's neighbors that, in pre-modern times, ritually visited the
Chinese court to acknowledge its suzerainty as Asia's "Middle
Kingdom."
These and other moves, unthinkable during the Cold War heyday of the
U.S.-Japan alliance, suggest a striking shift in Japan's geopolitical
alignment as the Pacific century dawns. Despite the fact that Japan
was never part of "the Chinese world order" in traditional Asia, some
analysts believe a Japanese tilt toward a resurgent China would be in
keeping with the country's foreign policy traditions. As Gideon
writes:
Some western observers in Tokyo muse that perhaps Japan is once again
following its historic policy of adapting to shifts in global politics
by aligning itself with great powers. Before the first world war the
country had a special relationship with Britain. In the inter-war
period Japan allied itself with Germany. Since 1945, it has stuck
closely to America. Perhaps the ground is being prepared for a new
"special relationship" with China?
In this reading of Japanese history since the Meiji restoration, the
country has repeatedly aligned itself with the international system's
preeminent power -- Britain in the early 20th century, Nazi Germany
until 1945, and the United States since then. If Japan really is
edging away from the United States to align itself with China today,
that is a compelling indicator that the future belongs to Beijing, and
that America's best days as the world's indispensable nation are
behind it.
Yet this judgment is, if anything, premature -- and may simply be
wrong. Imperial Britain, Nazi Germany, and America during the Cold War
were actual or aspiring hegemons from outside Asia; Japan's alliance
with each of them cemented its own role as Asia's dominant power.
Japan was not aligning with each of these powers to bandwagon with
them, subordinating its power and interests to theirs. It allied with
these Western states to facilitate its own pursuit of national power
and leadership in Asia.
This is true even of Japan's Cold War alliance with the United States,
when post-war leaders in Tokyo pursued a conscious strategy of
developing Japan's economic and technological dynamism within the
cocoon of American military protection. In a systematic and self-
interested manner, these leaders took advantage of the security
umbrella provided by the United States to modernize Japan's economy
and build strength with an eye on a long-term objective of moving
beyond the constraints imposed by the U.S. alliance as Japan grew into
a leading economic and technological power. The DPJ's new independence
vis-à-vis Washington reflects this evolution, and the only surprise is
that more Japan hands in the West didn't see it coming.
Historically, Japan has shown a striking ability to rapidly transform
itself in response to international conditions, as seen in the Meiji
break from isolation, the rise to great power in the twentieth
century, the descent into militarism, and renewal as a dynamic trading
state. Only a few years ago, excellent books and articles with titles
like Japan Rising: The Resurgence of Japanese Power and Purpose,
Securing Japan: Tokyo's Grand Strategy and the Future of East Asia,
and "Japan is Back: Why Tokyo's New Assertiveness is Good for
Washington" framed the country as a resurgent Asian great power. Since
2001, successive Japanese prime ministers have articulated
unprecedented ambitions for Japanese grand strategy. These have
included casting Japan as the "thought leader of Asia," forging new
bilateral alliances with India and Australia, cooperating with these
and other democratic powers in an "Arc of Freedom and Prosperity,"
formalizing security cooperation with NATO, constructing a Pacific
community around an "inland sea" centered on Japan as the hub of the
international economic and political order, and building a new East
Asian community with Japan at its center. These developments reflect
the churning domestic debate in Japan about its future as a world
power and model for its region, trends catalyzed by China's explosive
rise.
Japan's strategic future remains uncertain in light of the country's
churning domestic politics and troubling economic and demographic
trends. Yet there is no question that military modernization in China
and North Korea has spurred a new Japanese search for security and
identity that has moved Tokyo decisively beyond the constraints that
structured its foreign policy for fifty years following defeat in the
Pacific war. The ascent of the DPJ, with its calls for a more equal
U.S.-Japan alliance and greater Japanese autonomy in security and
diplomacy, is another step forward in Japan's transformation into what
DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa famously called a "normal country." Enjoying a
normal relationship with China, as the DPJ intends to do, is part of
that process. But so will be a continuing partnership with the United
States.
Jason Lee-Pool/Getty Images
http://shadow.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/03/09/chrysanthemum_or_samurai
JGB futures edge down from 2-mth high as Nikkei jumps
By Rika Otsuka
TOKYO, March 8 (Reuters) - Japanese government bond futures slipped
further on Monday from a two-month peak hit last week, as growing
optimism about a global economic recovery prompted investors to move
money to stocks from government debt.
The five-year/20-year JGB yield spread matched its highest since
November 1999 as prospects of further central bank easing pinned down
yields on midterm maturities, which are more sensitive to shifts in
monetary policy outlook.
U.S. monthly employment data showed late last week that the world's
biggest economy lost 36,000 jobs in February, less than the 50,000 job
cuts expected by economists. [ID:nN04252324]
But bond losses were limited as the JGB market received support from
speculation that the Bank of Japan would further ease its monetary
policy in the coming months to help Japan's economy move out of
deflation.
"The rise in bond yields has been small as investors are willing to
pick up JGBs, with some speculating the BOJ could further relax its
policy at next week's board meeting," said Hidenori Suezawa, chief
strategist at Nikko Cordial Securities.
JGBs rose on Friday after the Nikkei newspaper said the central bank
will debate whether to ease monetary policy further by expanding the
fund-supply operation it introduced in December, under which it
extends loans to commercial banks at a policy rate of 0.1 percent.
[ID:nTOE6230A7]
"Demand is also strong as a large amount of government debt is
maturing this month," said Suezawa at Nikko Cordial Securities.
Analysts said some 10 trillion yen ($110.8 billion) of JGBs are being
redeemed in March. Government bonds with maturities of five years or
longer will mature in March, June, September and December.
Large amount of bonds maturing means that durations of popularly
followed bond indexes are usually extended to accommodate the
redemptions, generating demand for longer-dated paper from investors
following monthly changes to these indexes.
A 30-year JGB auction scheduled for Tuesday is expected to draw decent
demand as dealers will be looking to replenish their inventories, said
Makoto Noji, a senior market analyst at Mizuho Securities.
"Demand for superlong paper was unusually strong toward the end of
last month as investors bought to match bond indexes, depleting
dealers' inventories."
March 10-year JGB futures edged down 0.07 point to 140.12 2JGBv1,
slipping from 140.27, their highest since late December.
Outstanding loans held by Japanese banks fell 1.5 percent in February
from a year earlier, matching a decline in January that was the
biggest annual drop in four years, the BOJ said on Monday. [JPBNK=ECI]
[ID:nTFD006326]
The market showed a muted reaction to the data, although it somewhat
strengthened expectations that sluggish lending would prompt banks to
add more JGBs to their portfolios with the new financial year starting
on April 1.
The combination of sluggish lending and expectations towards further
BOJ easing has helped JGBs, especially the shorter-dated maturities,
which are supported by purchases from banks.
The five-year/20-year yield spread stood at 167 basis points on
Monday, matching its steepest in a decade, according to historical
data on Reuters EcoWin.
The five-year yield stood unchanged at 0.470 percent on Monday after
banks, the main players in the mid-term sector, aggressively bought
five-year notes late last week to push down the yield to a two-month
low of 0.460 percent JP5YTN=JBTC.
The benchmark 10-year yield inched up 1 basis point to 1.315 percent
JP10YTN=JBTC, staying near a two-month low of 1.290 percent first
reached in late February.
The 20-year yield was up 1.5 basis points at 2.140 percent
JP20YTN=JBTC and the 30-year yield edged up 0.5 basis point to 2.325
percent JP30YTN=JBTC.
Tokyo's Nikkei share average .N225 jumped 2.1 percent after the U.S.
jobs data, with exporters benefiting from a weaker yen. [.T] [FRX/]
($1=90.28 Yen)
(Additional reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro; Editing by Joseph
Radford)
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTOE62703620100308
March 8, 2010, 1:03 a.m. EST · Recommend · Post:
WORLD FOREX: Dollar At 2-Week High Vs Yen On Asia Stock RisesStory
By Takashi Mochizuki
TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- The dollar rose to a two-week-high against the
yen Monday in Asia, as higher regional shares bolstered investors'
appetite for riskier, higher-yielding assets, and they dumped the safe-
haven Japanese unit for the U.S. currency.
The greenback rose as high as Y90.69, its highest since Feb. 23 as
Asian investors took cues from Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock
Average and China's Shanghai Composite Index.
As of 0450 GMT, the Nikkei was up 1.9% to 10,563.72 and the Shanghai
Composite was up 0.82% to 3,056.00.
Higher Asian share prices often push the yen lower, as Japanese
investors become more aggressive about investing in overseas assets
with higher yields.
The yen's decline, however, isn't likely to continue for long because
Japanese exporters still have a vigorous appetite for yen, analysts
said. Exporters need a hefty volume of yen ahead of the March 31
fiscal year-end when they close their books.
"We would caution against turning very bearish (about the yen) in the
short term," said Adarsh Sinha, a strategist at Barclays Capital.
There is also a risk that demand for yen will increase again if
upcoming U.S. economic data, such as Friday's retail sales, turn out
weaker than expected, analysts said.
"Markets need to wait for more data to assess the true trend of the
U.S. economy," said Tomoko Fujii, a strategist at Bank of America-
Merrill Lynch.
The U.S. government said Friday that non-farm payrolls decreased by
36,000 in February from the month before. This was much better than
the 75,000 decline economists had expected.
But Fujii said it was "premature to draw a conclusion" about the U.S.
economic outlook, as recent U.S. economic reports have contained some
negative surprises.
As of 0450 GMT, the dollar was at Y90.41 from Y90.33 Friday in New
York. The euro was at $1.3679 from $1.3620 and Y123.70 from Y123.04.
The euro may have entered a long-term upward trend, dealers said, on
the belief debt-laden Greece will be able to secure support from its
European partners.
"I'm now becoming certain that Greece won't fail. The clouds are
clearing for Greece's future," said Jun Kato, a senior dealer at
Shinkin Central Bank.
On Sunday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said a number of European
Union nations were preparing a support package for Greece. In Berlin,
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday that E.U. members would
intervene to rescue Greece if its debt problems threaten to spiral out
of control.
The euro may rise above $1.38 in the days ahead if more positive news
for Greece comes out, OCBC Bank's currency research team said. The
currency last traded above $1.38 on Feb. 11.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a trade-
weighted basket of currencies, was at 80.168 from 80.451
...and I am Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/3bc67593a8a0ac5b#
chhotemianinshallah
posted at 12:52 pm on March 9, 2010 by Ed Morrissey
The White House promised a “hard pivot” to jobs and the economy almost
three months ago, attempting to put the ObamaCare debate on the back
burner after the holidays. They had belatedly discovered that the
electorate was much more concerned about the economic plunge than in
retooling a health-care system that works for most Americans now.
Instead of the hard pivot, Democrats have doubled down on ObamaCare —
and the latest Rasmussen survey shows that a strong majority believe
it to be the wrong direction on both issues:
Fifty-seven percent (57%) of voters say the health care reform plan
now working its way through Congress will hurt the U.S. economy.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 25%
think the plan will help the economy. But only seven percent (7%) say
it will have no impact. Twelve percent (12%) aren’t sure.
Two-out-of-three voters (66%) also believe the health care plan
proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats is likely to
increase the federal deficit. That’s up six points from late November
and comparable to findings just after the contentious August
congressional recess. Ten percent (10%) say the plan is more likely to
reduce the deficit and 14% say it will have no impact on the deficit.
Underlying this concern is a lack of trust in the government numbers.
Eighty-one percent (81%) believe it is at least somewhat likely that
the health care reform plan will cost more than official estimates.
That number includes 66% who say it is very likely that the official
projections understate the true cost of the plan.
Only a plurality of Democrats believe that the bill will help the
economy (43%), while 89% of Republicans and 61% of independents think
it will damage it.
Politically, the Democrats have the worst of all worlds. Not only do
they look out of touch for spending all of their efforts on a plan
that is deeply unpopular with voters, they now are seen as actively
damaging the economy. The deficit spending alone would be enough to
send voters heading for the exits, but the increased costs are even
worse. Seventy-eight percent of all respondents believe that middle-
class tax increases will come as a result of ObamaCare, with almost
two-thirds (65%) believing that to be “very likely.” Fifty-eight
percent of Democrats expect middle-class tax increases, which shows
how effective Obama has been in selling this plan.
What’s the biggest problem with ObamaCare? Majorities of all
political affiliations agree: the cost. Hardly anyone believes the
cost estimates. When asked whether the bill would exceed its cost
estimates, 93% of Republicans, 70% of Democrats, and 80% of
independents thought it at least somewhat likely — with 88% of
Republicans and 73% of independents calling it “very likely.” Only
20% of Democrats thought it unlikely. Again, this looks like a big
failure of the Obama administration’s efforts to sell the package as a
cost containment program.
Democrats now face the prospect of using arcane parliamentary tricks
to pass a bill that has minimal support, one that most voters believe
will damage the economy, cost more than advertised, and prompt
sweeping tax increases, all while ignoring the issues of a damaged
economy while attempting to make it worse. If they think that’s a
winning strategy for the midterms, they need new leadership — and
after the electoral disaster coming, they’ll probably be forced to get
it.
BlowbackNote from Hot Air management: This section is for comments
from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume
that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any
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Comments
and lo, the Democrat party wandered aimlessly in the desert for 40
election years.
TN Mom on March 9, 2010 at 4:13 PM
Great pic!
mikeyboss on March 9, 2010 at 4:18 PM
From the rich being able to buy our representatives and lead our
culture by the nose, yes.
Dark-Star on March 9, 2010 at 4:00 PM
Boo hoo, the rich can do things that I can’t, therefore we have to
give govt control over everything so that the rich can be punished.
I’m still trying to figure out why you actually believe that everyone
who has more than you are is evil.
Is it because you are such a failure in life, that you can’t bear to
accept responsibility?
Lord knows, your given your demonstrated intellectual powers, it’s
hard to imagine you’ve ever been able to handle a job that doesn’t
involve the phrase “would you like fries with that”.
MarkTheGreat on March 9, 2010 at 4:25 PM
and lead our culture by the nose, yes.
Ohh, and people pay more attention to the rich than they do you. I bet
that stings.
MarkTheGreat on March 9, 2010 at 4:26 PM
They won’t get new leadership, because Pelosi will be the only one
left in the House after November.
joe_doufu on March 9, 2010 at 5:03 PM
If you believe the 57% figure, then you’ll love the fictitious 9%
unemployment.
This administration is so inaccurate they couldn’t hit the side of a
barn with a tennis racket.
Cybergeezer on March 9, 2010 at 5:23 PM
I’m waiting for Congress to offer shares of stock in the new Health
Care Industry they want to create.
Think China will buy any?
Cybergeezer on March 9, 2010 at 5:25 PM
This HealthScare legislation is another omnibus spending bill that
lets Congress spend like drunken sailors with unlimited credit cards.
Obama has already signed an omnibus spending bill last year, and he
can’t wait to sign another one.
Cybergeezer on March 9, 2010 at 5:30 PM
If we just get enough fed-up conservative-types to move to Costa Rica
we could remake that country into what the U.S. should be. The U.S. is
going to be a once-great nation in record time and I, for one, don’t
feel like being taxed to death as it goes through its all too rapid
fall.
Fatal on March 9, 2010 at 5:31 PM
Adding a new entitlement? revenue neutral? Look at the prescription
drug benefit enacted by President Bush. In less than 10 years the
unfunded liabilities of this new entitlement are nearly 19 trillion
(18.7 and climbing).
Congress:
Look at the debt clock. Health care reform, yes. ObamaCare, NO.
Angry Dumbo on March 9, 2010 at 6:50 PM
Democrats now face the prospect of using arcane parliamentary tricks
to pass a bill that has minimal support, one that most voters believe
will damage the economy, cost more than advertised, and prompt
sweeping tax increases, all while ignoring the issues of a damaged
economy while attempting to make it worse. If they think that’s a
winning strategy for the midterms, they need new leadership — and
after the electoral disaster coming, they’ll probably be forced to get
it.
This isn’t about winning in 2010.
It isn’t about the leadership.
This is about having the most left leaning leadership in Washington
since the early 30’s taking an opportunity to screw the country that
they thought they would never have!
We have a Marxist president who has already says he’d content with one
term if, BY HIS DEFINITION, he was a good president.
We have a Marxist wax statue House Speaker who comes from a district
where the majority probably feel Congress isn’t taking over enough of
the private sector on the way to their communist utopia.
We have an old, doesn’t-care-if-he’s-reelected Senate Leader who
thinks this is the culmination of his life’s work and that of his dead
friend Teddy!
These three jokers are betting that if they can get this passed,
rammed through, crammed down America’s throat, that in the future the
party can run on “Save Healthcare! Keep those filthy Republican hands
off of it!” “Oh, that evil Republican wants to repeal healthcare and
kill millions by taking away their coverage!”
Unfortunately, the chaos that’s going to ensue, sooner if they pass
healthcare, after we reach banana republic status in the next year,
could lead to numerous conclusions. It may be best if it leads to two
or more countries if this is the government we’re stuck with.
PastorJon on March 9, 2010 at 8:02 PM
Fifty-eight percent of Democrats expect middle-class tax increases,
which shows how effective Obama has been in selling this plan.
Whadda ya know! The Dems are as dumb as the Repubs.
Herb on March 9, 2010 at 8:36
http://hotair.com/archives/2010/03/09/rasmussen-57-think-obamacare-will-damage-economy/
NYC’s New Suicide Sculptures (metaphor for economic reality)
Posted by barrypopik (Profile)
Wednesday, March 10th at 5:24AM EST
No Comments
New York is full of brilliant ideas these days. Let’s look first at
the suicide sculpture metaphor, then the economic reality.
From Wednesday’s New York Times:
Statues Seem Ready to Leap, but Police Say They Won’t
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT
Published: March 9, 2010
They stand about six feet tall and look like naked human beings. Over
the next few days, 27 of them will be scattered across rooftops and
ledges of buildings in Midtown Manhattan — including the Empire State
Building — as part of a public art exhibition.
About the same time that the first figure was placed atop a four-story
building at 25th Street and Fifth Avenue on Tuesday, the Police
Department issued a statement reassuring New Yorkers that the figures
are not despondent people on the verge of leaping to their deaths.
Police officials said they were trying to prevent an overwhelming
number of emergency calls from concerned pedestrians or office
workers. Nevertheless, they said that all emergency calls about a
potential suicide would be taken seriously — even those from places
where one of the figures is located.
“We are going to respond no matter what because there could be a
jumper at the spot,” said Paul J. Browne, the department’s chief
spokesman.
The figures, which are anatomically correct, are modeled after the
body of the artist Antony Gormley, who created the exhibition, which
is being presented by the Madison Square Park Conservancy.
Gormley did the same thing in London in 2007.
Is anyone surprised that lots of people would call 911? Does anyone
think that clogging the 911 line is a good idea? In a nanny state
government that forbids toy guns, why is this OK? How much did this
guy earn for this “art”?
Stupidity all around, but that’s not surprising for New York.
Moving on to suicidal economic news, the New York Times loves the
proposed soda tax:
Editorial
Healthy Solution: Taxing Sodas
Published: March 8, 2010
Seldom does one idea help fix two important problems, but a proposal
to tax sugary soft drinks in New York State is just that sort of 2-
for-1 solution. The penny-per-ounce tax on sodas and other sweetened
drinks is a way to raise desperately needed money for the city and
state in a bad economy. It also could help lower obesity rates, which
have soared in recent years.
The Legislature in Albany should adopt this tax quickly.
Increasing New York taxes to support outrageously generous public
union pensions — bless your hearts, New York Times and Mayor
Bloomberg.
What is the other solution to New York’s fiscal crisis? Billions in
increased borrowing, of course:
Paterson’s No. 2 Sets Broad Plan on New York Fiscal Crisis
By DANNY HAKIM
Published: March 9, 2010
ALBANY — New York could borrow billions of dollars to address its
urgent budget shortfall and a financial review board would be
established to impose new discipline on future spending under a five-
year financial rescue plan that Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch will present
Wednesday.
(…)
Mr. Ravitch, who was asked by Gov. David A. Paterson to draw up the
blueprint, is seeking to curb the runaway spending that has helped
plunge New York into fiscal crisis. Despite the recession and talk of
fiscal austerity, state spending this year soared by 10 percent over
the previous year’s budget.
Keep on spending!
The state faces a $9 billion shortfall for the fiscal year that begins
April 1 and a $15 billion gap for the following year.
The plan, which requires legislative approval, seeks to address New
York’s immediate cash needs by permitting the state to sell bonds to
help cover operating expenses.
Keep on borrowing! Does anyone want to buy a bond from a bankrupt
state run by David Paterson?
If the Madison Square Park Conservancy wants to add some art, why not
ditch the suicide sculptures and have a replica of the Diana sculpture
that once graced Madison Square Garden? The Roman goddess Diana was an
emblem of chastity.
Suicide sculpture — an urban metaphor for these times? Why not move
them from Madison Square down to Wall Street?
Economists trim 2011 U.S. growth forecast
Posted 2010/03/10 at 12:40 am EST
WASHINGTON, Mar. 10, 2010 (Reuters) — U.S. economists raised their
forecast for economic growth in 2010 in March, the third straight
monthly rise, while trimming their growth forecast for 2011, according
to a survey released on Wednesday.
Economists surveyed earlier this month in the Blue Chip Economic
Indicators newsletter said the economy is expected to grow by 3.0
percent in 2011, which is 0.1 percentage point lower than estimates
made a month ago.
But economists raised their 2010 growth forecast for the third
consecutive month to 3.1 percent, up 0.1 percentage point from
February.
Still, the economists predicted the recovery would be mild given the
depth of the recession.
The consensus also expects inventories to continue adding to GDP over
the next several quarters but see the size of those contributions
become increasingly smaller.
"By Q1 2011, the contribution to GDP from business inventories is
expected to become trivial," the survey said.
The panelists said they also expect "a slower and less powerful than
is typical improvement in labor market conditions that will cap gains
in disposable personal income and personal consumption expenditures."
The panelists expressed concern that severe winter weather crimped
economic activity in February and that upcoming monthly data on
production, retail sales, housing starts and home sales could fall
short of earlier consensus expectations.
However, they also pointed out any weather-induced softness should be
recovered in the March data.
(Reporting by Nancy Waitz, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Copyright Reuters 2008.
http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre6290q0-us-usa-economy-bluechip/
US Chamber of Commerce getting into the game.
I almost titled this "US Chamber of Commerce starts recognizing its
class interests," but that kind of language bugs people on the Right,
for some reason.
Posted by Moe Lane (Profile)
Tuesday, March 9th at 11:48AM EST
5 Comments
Say hello to the US Chamber of Commerce. Or don’t; they’re coming to
sit down at the table any which way.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is building a large-scale grass-roots
political operation that has begun to rival those of the major
political parties, funded by record-setting amounts of money raised
from corporations and wealthy individuals.
[snip]
The new grass-roots program, the brainchild of chamber political
director Bill Miller, is concentrating on 22 states. Among them are
Colorado, where incumbent Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet is
vulnerable; Arkansas, where Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln faces an
uphill reelection battle; and Ohio, where the chamber sees
opportunities in numerous House races and an open Senate seat.
The network, called Friends of the U.S. Chamber, has been used to
generate more than a million letters and e-mails to members of
Congress, 700,000 of them in opposition to the Democratic healthcare
plan. That is an increase from 40,000 congressional contacts generated
in 2008.
The article goes on to note that the CoC’s grassroots planning
recently got a big boost from the recent Citizens’ United case, as
well as that this organization is increasingly publicly acknowledging
that ‘pro-business growth’ means ‘pro-Republican.’ And why would that
be? Probably because of Democratic assaults like this one:
A Democratic aide says a new provision in the health care bill will
require businesses to count part-time workers when calculating
penalties for failing to provide coverage.
Via Hot Air, and that particular sudden addition to the health care
bill should have the same effect on small business growth as would,
say, a load of buckshot to the face. Remember, folks: the current
ruling party of this country is largely led by people who have never
worked for a living in their lives - and by God, does it show
sometimes! Keep this in mind when opening your checkbooks, because
the business community certainly plans to…
Moe Lane
5 Comments
*HOW* can they do this? How is it Constitutional?
yoyo Tuesday, March 9th at 12:16PM EST
Isn’t the Senate Bill ALREADY voted for? How can they insert an
amendment into a bill that is already passed?
Wouldnt the inclusion of this amendment (or any other) require that
the whole she-bang go back to the Senate for another up/down vote? Or
at the very least, allow the Senate to Amend this to Death - FINALLY?
Without coming back to the Senate, the Bill would be unconstitutional,
yes?
Just Checking. Dan, can you help me out here? Rule check, please!
Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum
‘If you seek peace, prepare for war!’
The ‘yoyo’ replaced my cigarettes January 22, 2006….
http://www.twitter.com/rs_yoyo
That's what "reconcilliation" is all about.
The_Gadfly Tuesday, March 9th at 12:25PM EST
See, this is a cost cutting measure. Without it, they won’t have
enough money to cover the bills, so the reconcilliation rules apply,
and they only need 51 votes for that.
No, I don’t really believe that either, but you can better a year’s
salary that’s how they’ll sell it. Assuming of course you can find
someone dumb enough to take the wager.
We’ve been called racists enough now that it shouldn’t bother us any
more.
-AChance, http://www.redstate.com/moe_lane/2009/11/03/what-men-may-do-we-have-done/#comment-24463
If NY23 was a beat down for Conservatives, what do you call what
happened to Progressives in NJ and VA?
inspired by ColdWarrior,
http://www.redstate.com/hooah_mac/2009/11/04/ny-23-the-agony-of-defeat-not-so-much/#comment-156
"Cost Cutting?" Really? Smells of "Policy" to me.
yoyo Tuesday, March 9th at 12:33PM EST
But, I *do* have a head cold, so my sniffer may be broken.
OR, more likely, it just stinks.
I say they should start reconcilling the bill with the Constitution
and go forward from there.
But, I AM a little bit “old fashioned.” *Tradition and Patriotism* and
all that.
Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum
‘If you seek peace, prepare for war!’
Pukin’ Dogs - The Fighting 143
Sans Reproache
The ‘yoyo’ replaced my cigarettes January 22, 2006….
http://www.twitter.com/rs_yoyo
George Washington
hickorystick Tuesday, March 9th at 1:32PM EST
led the Rebellion, because England was infringing upon his interests.
George Washington wasn’t that political a guy. He did maintain his
‘interest’ very sharply. He was one of the wealthiest Colonials, and
he was constantly irritated with England imposing laws and
restrictions impinging on his ‘interest’. He chose his wife, Mary, not
for her looks, but because she had a lot of land. I get so frustrated
with politics because most of the time, especially media time, is
spent talking about nebulous things which we have no power or control
over. We would do well to frame every bill in terms of how it affects
‘interests’. You cannot walk into court and ask for something, unless
you can prove an ‘interest’ or ’standing’. We should do the same in
our political fights, sticking to our right to maintain property. That
is what we fought over in the revolution. Remember, we didn’t bother
to write a Constitution till some years after we had won the war. The
form of government that came most naturally after the victory, was a
Continental Congress. This form left most issues to the states, where
property could best be protected. If we want to effectively fight this
Redistibutor-in-Chief, We better start focusing on our own interest
and that of our states.
Wow...
tdpwells Tuesday, March 9th at 3:09PM EST
So let’s see, that’s most employees at fast food restaurants, grocery
stores, convenience stores, corner pharmacy stores like CVS and
Walgreens, etc etc etc…
Unemployment ought to be at a healthy 30% by the time they’re done.
Nice.
I do not believe that the power and duty of the General
Government ought to be extended to the relief of individual
suffering which is in no manner properly related to the
public service or benefit…to the end that the lesson should
be constantly enforced that though the people support the
Government, the Government should not support the people.
Grover Cleveland (16 February 1887)
http://www.redstate.com/moe_lane/2010/03/09/us-chamber-of-commerce-getting-into-the-game/
Bloomberg
Siegel Says U.S. Recovery Certain, Euro Region Faces Splinter
March 10, 2010, 5:39 AM EST
By Le-Min Lim
March 10 (Bloomberg) -- Jeremy Siegel, a finance professor at the
University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, says the worst is over
for the U.S. economy and the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates
by year’s end to cool growth.
Spending by companies on equipment and plants will outpace private
consumption as the main growth driver this year, he said in an
interview in Hong Kong. The jobless rate, at 9.7 percent last month,
will fall below 9 percent by the end of 2010, he said. That may force
the Fed to tighten policy and full-year economic growth may reach 4
percent, he said.
The Fed “will feel comfortable raising the rates as long as the
situation continues to improve, as I believe it will,” said Siegel, in
an interview in Hong Kong. Siegel, 64, is an adviser to U.S.-based
WisdomTree Investments Inc., which had $6.7 billion of assets under
management as of the end of last year.
The Fed and the Treasury are trying to withdraw the emergency measures
introduced during the financial crisis without triggering a relapse in
the economy. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said Feb. 24 the U.S. is in
a “nascent” recovery that still requires keeping interest rates near
zero “for an extended period” to spur demand once stimulus wanes.
In Europe, the European Central Bank will have little alternative
other than to keep interest rates low as euro region members such as
Greece struggle to convince investors they will cut soaring budget
deficits, he said. Its benchmark rate is currently at a record low of
1 percent.
Exports
The euro is making the exports of nations such as Spain and Greece so
uncompetitive that they may start talks as early as next year to leave
the 16-nation bloc, he said. That departure would be “painful and
difficult and drag down the region for a few years,” he said. One
weakness of the currency union is that it lacks a proper and orderly
exit strategy for members that can’t keep up, Siegel said.
“They should have signed prenups before they got married to the euro,”
said Siegel, referring to agreements that outline the terms of a
divorce.
A U.S. recovery and uncertainty in the eurozone mean the dollar will
remain a “viable” asset, said Siegel.
Later this year, China may start a managed appreciation of the yuan,
Siegel said. China wants to revert to export-driven economic growth,
so is more likely to try a staggered revaluation than a major, one-
time adjustment, he said.
--Editors: Dirk Beveridge, John Fraher
To contact the reporter on this story: Le-Min Lim in Hong Kong at
lm...@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Beech at
mbe...@bloomberg.net.
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High Conviction: Short the Yen
by: Alexander Tepper March 10, 2010
Alexander Tepper is Chief Economist at TKNG Capital, a global macro
hedge fund based in New York. Previously, Mr. Tepper was a senior
economic policy aide to U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg. He also has
experience at Oliver, Wyman & Company advising Fortune 500 financial
institutions on risk management and as an investment banking Associate
at Credit Suisse. He has a masters degree in Economics from Oxford
University, and a BA in Physics from Princeton University.
We recently had the opportunity to ask Alexander about the single
highest conviction position he currently holds in his fund.
What is your highest conviction position in your fund right now - long
or short?
We are short Japanese yen against the US Dollar. We have implemented
the trade by selling out-of-the-money calls to buy out-of-the-money
puts and taking in premium.
Why did you use options to structure the trade?
Call options on the yen are significantly more expensive than put
options. This “skew,” as it’s known, exists because the Japanese
investment community tends to be short yen, making it susceptible to
sharp rises during bouts of risk aversion.
Investors hedge this exposure by buying out-of-the-money yen calls.
But given the sharp adjustment that has already occurred in the crisis
and a government whose proclivities are far from fiscally
conservative, we view the risks as less asymmetric than implied by the
skew.
Structuring this trade with options is akin to playing with dice
loaded in our favor.
Tell us a bit about Japan right now, and why you're short its
currency.
Japan has traditionally been an export-oriented economy, but that’s
going to change as the population continues to age and retire. These
older citizens, who have saved their whole lives and are no longer
producing anything, will be a natural source of demand, first for
domestic Japanese goods and then for imports. A shrinking labor force
will mean other nations will need to pick up the slack in production.
Already, the savings rate in Japan has fallen into the low single-
digits and it should fall further.
Japan is also in serious fiscal trouble. Its net debt is more than
100% of GDP, and gross debt is nearing 200% of GDP. The Japanese
government and central bank do not seem particularly concerned. It is
only Japan’s strong balance of payments position, and a willful
suspension of disbelief by the markets, that differentiates it from
countries like Greece. But those, too, should ebb over time.
So why will the yen fall?
First, as the Japanese retire, the supply shock to the economy will
result in continuing declines in competitiveness. The yen will need to
fall to restore balance.
Second, less income and more retirees will mean that Japan will need
to fund more of its government’s borrowing from abroad. Making this
attractive will mean a lower exchange rate, higher interest rate, or
(most likely) both.
Third, the government’s fiscal position is the worst in the developed
world. The scale of the adjustments that are necessary to stabilize
the budget deficit would be unprecedented in a large developed nation,
requiring deep cuts to pensions, double-digit tax increases, and
severe spending restraint elsewhere. If sovereign worries persist,
Japan and its currency are obvious targets for speculators.
Finally, we think consumers in the US and UK are undergoing a lasting
shift in psychology that will cause them to save a larger share of
their incomes going forward. Over the long-term, the savings rate
needs to average around 10% in order for Americans to secure a
reasonable retirement. When Americans save more, they buy less,
especially imports. This lack of demand for imports means a stronger
dollar against US trading partners like Japan.
All this is on the assumption that the global economy will limp along
for a while. But if instead we have a return to robust growth that
looks broadly like the pre-crisis economy, the yen should weaken
towards 2007 levels as markets become more and more comfortable with
risk and interest rates rise in the rest of the developed world.
There are a lot of ways to win with this trade.
What would you say the current broad sentiment is on the yen?
The market has tended to view the yen as part of the “risk-on/risk-
off” trade, where the yen rises with worries about the global economy.
Japan’s fiscal issues are well-known, but the market has generally not
priced them, with yields on 10-year Japanese bonds below 1.5%.
Japanese CDS spreads, however, have doubled since late summer.
More broadly, the markets have believed that correction of global
imbalances requires a weaker dollar to encourage Americans and Asians
to change their consumption behavior. We think the financial crisis
and experience of house price declines will be the driving force that
restrains Americans’ profligacy, while Asians will consume more. The
result will be a stronger dollar.
Does Japanese economic policy play a role in your position?
The Japanese government has made fairly clear that it does not intend
to tolerate a markedly stronger yen because it hurts their exporters.
It also seems neither inclined nor able to do anything about the
fiscal situation in the near future.
What catalysts do you see that could move the currency, and the trade
in your favor?
The eurozone’s sovereign risk worries will soon resolve themselves one
way or another. When they do, Japan could easily become a target.
As economic data continue to strengthen over the next few months, a
return to normalcy will mean a weaker yen.
We are also prepared for a more gradual adjustment as markets adopt
our demographic view.
What could go wrong with this trade?
In the near term, Japanese companies repatriating income around the
fiscal year-end in March could potentially lead to a rise in the
currency. A sharp rise in risk aversion could have a similar effect.
We have been careful to choose the strike prices on our options to
minimize the damage if such a spike does occur.
Beyond that, deflation in Japan means that in a perfect economic
world, the yen would appreciate over time. There is also the risk that
the pundits over the past several years prove right and we see
fundamental weakening of the dollar with respect to all Asian
currencies.
Finally, if China were to revalue its currency, as many believe it
will, that could create space for the Japanese authorities also to
allow some appreciation. Again, however, we believe our options are
sufficiently out of the money to limit our downside in such a
scenario.
Thanks, Alexander.
Disclosure: TKNG Capital is short the Yen against the Dollar.
If you are a fund manager and interested in doing an interview with us
on your highest conviction stock holding, please email Rebecca
Barnett.
About the author: Alexander Tepper Alexander Tepper is Chief
Economist at TKNG Capital, a global macro hedge fund based in New
York. Previously, Mr. Tepper was a senior economic policy aide to U.S.
Senator Frank Lautenberg. He also has experience at Oliver, Wyman &
Company advising Fortune 500 financial institutions on risk... More
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The Coolpix L11 is clearly designed more for the frugal than the
fancy. The 6-megapixel camera sports a 37.5mm-to-112.5mm-equi... 3x
zoom lens and a relatively small 2.4-inch LCD screen. While its
hardware hardly impresses, however, the camera offers some
surprisingly useful features. The L11 includes Nikon's In-Camera Red-
Eye Fix and Face-Priority AF. In-Camera Red-Eye Fix supplements the
camera's red-eye reduction flash mode with a processing system that
removes red-eye after the photo is taken. Face-Priority AF detects and
tracks faces in photos, and adjusts focus to stay on those faces,
instead of just the closest subject. Both features come standard on
most Nikon Coolpix cameras, but are still handy for casual shooting.
www-nikon.com Mar 10 0
Carlos Lam is a deputy prosecuting attorney in a mid-sized county in a
midwestern state. An adherent in the Austrian School of economics, he
believes that to truly prosper as the republic envisioned by the
Founding Fathers, we must return to principles of sound money and
limited government. He... More Latest StockTalkWent long Canadian Oil
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Continue Their Efforts3.Will the Chrysler Deal Be Delayed?
Shorting the Yen could be an interesting play. Already the Japanese
savings rate has crashed from its lofty position to under 4%, so the
Japanese government will not be able to count on domestic savings to
finance its debt indefinitely.
Mar 10 06:25 AM
John Thomas graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry with
honors and a minor in mathematics from the University of California at
Los Angeles (U.C.L.A.) in 1974. He moved to Tokyo, Japan where he was
employed by a medium-sized Japanese securities house. Thomas became
fluent in... More Company: The Mad Hedge Fund Trader bvgf I’m hearing
from my buddies in Japan that while things are already quite bad in
that enchanting country, they are about to get a whole lot worse, and
that it is time to start scaling into a major short in the yen.
Australia and China have already raised interest rates, to be followed
by the US, and eventually Europe. With its economy enfeebled, the
prospects of Japan raising rates substantially is close to nil,
meaning the yield spread between the yen and other currencies is about
to widen big time. That will generate hundreds of billions of dollars
worth of yen selling as hedge funds rush to pile on a giant carry
trade. Until now, the government has been able to finance ballooning
budget deficits caused by two lost decades, but those days are coming
to an end. Japan is quite literally running out of savers. The savings
rate has dropped from 20% during my time there, to a spendthrift 3%,
because real falling standards of living leave a lot less money for
the piggy bank. The national debt has rocketed to 190% of GDP, and
100% when you net out government agencies buying each other’s
securities. Japan has the world’s worst demographic outlook. Unfunded
pension liabilities are exploding. Other than once great cars and
video games, what does Japan really have to offer the world these
days, but a carry currency? Until now, the government has been able to
cover up these problems with tatami mats, because almost all of the
debt it issued has been sold to domestic institutions. Now that this
pool is drying up, there is nowhere else to go but foreign investors.
With Greece and the rest of the PIIGS at the forefront, and awareness
of sovereign risks heightening, this is going to be a much more
discerning lot to deal with. You could dip your toe in the water here
around ¥88.40. In a perfect world you could sell it as it double tops
at the 85 level. My initial downside target is ¥105, and after that
¥120. If you’re not set up to trade in the futures or the interbank
market like the big hedge funds, then take a look at the leveraged
short yen ETF, the (YCS). This is a home run if you can get in at the
right price.
Mar 10
http://seekingalpha.com/article/192864-high-conviction-short-the-yen
Fresh Trade Winds?
Wednesday, 10 March 2010 02:19
0 Comments and 4 Reactions
Investor's Business Daily
Editorial
Investor's Business Daily
Editorial
Economy: U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk came out swinging
Wednesday, warning Congress that it’s time to pass free trade. Is
something happening here? Is the Obama administration finally getting
serious about jobs?
After a year of inaction, Kirk told Democrats in remarks to the Senate
Finance Committee that passage of free-trade pacts must be “a
priority.”
Free trade “will stimulate export-driven growth and help the United
States meet the president’s goal to double U.S. exports in five
years,” he said, adding that 2 million jobs would be created.
That kind of talk from a leading Democrat directed at the
protectionists in his own party is a new — and welcome — development.
Over the last year, Obama administration officials have occasionally
talked up the benefits of free trade, but only with conservatives and
business groups, who already know about it.
Now some are spending political capital to push it.
Confronting a Congress that is holding up the creation of jobs doesn’t
come a moment too soon. U.S. joblessness stands at 9.7% and Europe is
grabbing U.S. markets abroad.
Congressional protectionists talk of free trade passage in terms of
years; their campaign financiers in Big Labor, such as the AFL-CIO,
say “never.”
Kirk rebuked that stance in his speech, telling labor it had a voice
but “not a veto” on trade and hinted that President Obama would put
the pacts through without them. He also gave labor leaders a deadline
to make demands on free-trade deals like the one with Colombia instead
of constantly moving the goal posts.
One shot.
It doesn’t come a moment too soon. Congress’ failure to enact the free-
trade pacts in front of them is costing the U.S. nearly 600,000 jobs,
according to a 2009 study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Contrary to
protectionist myth, free trade costs no net jobs in the U.S. economy
at all, as Fed chief Ben Bernanke noted in a 2007 speech citing years
of data. “Trade allows us to enjoy both a more productive economy and
higher living standards,” he said. Unemployment is killing the U.S.
economy and sinking the Obama presidency. Time is running out to open
markets that could help repair it. Just this week, Europe signed a
free-trade deal with Colombia and Peru and breezily announced it would
have a pact with fast-growing India ready by October.
U.S. international credibility right now is zero, given that
alreadynegotiated trade pacts with Colombia, Panama and South Korea
have languished in Congress for more than three years.
Who’d want to negotiate something new and have it put in congressional
limbo? That’s why the Obama administration’s proposed U.S. Trans-
Pacific Partnership to open new markets in Brunei, Australia, New
Zealand and Vietnam is going nowhere.
“This delay in implementing hurts U.S. credibility around the world —
not just economically, but geopolitically as well,” said Sen. Charles
Grassley, R-Iowa, at the Kirk hearing. Hello? Anyone out there? The
U.S. is losing ground in world markets and doing it at the cost of our
own citizens’ jobs. It’s exactly what U.S. labor unions such as the
Teamsters, United Steelworkers, United Autoworkers and various public
employee unions want.
And right now, like it or not, they rule Congress. It’s ironic,
because many lobbyists believe free trade can pass both congressional
Houses if the bills are put to a vote. Past presidents, including
Democrat Bill Clinton and Republican George W. Bush, knew that’s what
it took to get pacts through Congress. Both threw their all into
getting big treaties — like 1993’s North American Free Trade Agreement
and 2005’s Central American Free Trade Agreement — passed in Congress,
acts that took on people who would stop them to charge up the U.S.
economy. There’s still no sign of Obama out there working the Hill.
But Kirk’s statements, no doubt authorized by the president, may be
the beginning of a turnaround on trade.
http://www.truthabouttrade.org/news/latest-news/15680-fresh-trade-winds
A new finger on the pulse of economy
A new index co-developed by Ceridian uses diesel fuel sales to track
U.S. economic growth.
By NEAL ST. ANTHONY, Star Tribune
Last update: March 9, 2010 - 9:03 PM
Want to know which way the economy is headed? Find out how much diesel
fuel is being burned by the nation's over-the-road truckers.
That's the theory behind a new economic index developed by Bloomington-
based Ceridian Corp., a provider of electronic payments services, and
UCLA's Anderson School of Management.
Called the Pulse of Commerce Index, the survey, to be released
Wednesday, shows the U.S. economy was essentially flat over the first
two months of the year, with a snowbound February decline of 0.7
percent in output offsetting the modest January gain of 0.6 percent.
"February was disappointing, but the geographic pattern underlying the
index suggests this was due in large part to extreme snowfalls during
the month," said Edward Leamer, director of UCLA's Anderson Forecast
and chief economist for the Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index
(PCI). "We still need much stronger growth in the PCI to get Americans
back to work. To sustain at least a 4 percent GDP number for the first
quarter [on an annualized basis], the March PCI has to be ... over 1
percent growth. That number will be very important."
The new index is designed to get the jump on the Federal Reserve's
report on industrial production report for February, which comes out
next week.
The PCI uses real-time diesel fuel consumption data from over-the-road
truckers, which is tracked by Ceridian, a longtime payment services
provider to the trucking industry. The index is built by analyzing
Ceridian's electronic card payment data, which captures the location
and volume of diesel fuel being purchased. This provides a detailed
picture of the movement of products across the United States.
In an interview Tuesday, Leamer said that once the bad weather is
taken into account, February's numbers suggest that there is an
underlying power to industrial demand and he expects that a catch-up
surge in goods moved in March will indicate that the economy is
growing at about a 3 percent annualized rate during the first quarter.
"To be optimistic about jobs, we'll need at least that," Leamer said.
"In the fourth quarter, we had 5.9 percent growth, but 3.9 percent was
just inventory replacement. That leaves 2 percent. We need more than
that. And March will tell the quarter."
Leamer said the Ceridian diesel-consumption data, collected from about
7,000 service stations around the country, constitutes a
representative sample and provides a "real data, not surveys" about
the movement of goods, which is a manifestation of industrial
production and shipments.
The flow of commerce
"We're monitoring the flow of commerce at truck stops, and the
arteries for the commercial system are the interstate highways
carrying the products," he said. "It amplifies the swings in GDP and
also tells us early where the economy is going."
Industrial production only accounts for about one-third of the U.S.
economy. It is more volatile than the service sector, which fluctuates
less during economic cycles.
All economic eyes are on month-to-month changes in industrial output,
which is a guide to business spending, credit expansion and demand for
goods in the aftermath of the 2008-09 recession that has given way to
a fairly tepid economic recovery. Most labor economists believe that
the economy won't start adding jobs significantly unless industrial
output starts growing at a 3 to 5 percent annualized clip.
Back testing of the Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index indicates
that it is a reliable indicator of industrial output. For example, the
index rose in areas unaffected by February's snows, including 2.7
percent in the Upper Midwest and 2.1 percent in the Pacific region.
"Goods have to be transported for the economy to grow, so when
snowstorms bog down that flow, it is reflected in our index and in the
overall U.S. economy," said Craig Manson, senior vice president and
index analyst for Ceridian.
A new finger on the pulse of economy...
Wait! The economy has a pulse?
posted by DrZoidberg on Mar 9, 10 at 11:55 pm |
http://www.startribune.com/business/87180717.html?elr=KArks:DCiU1OiP:DiiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU
Posted: Wed, Mar 10 2010. 9:00 AM IST
International News
US, Europe eye free-trade pacts with rising Asia
The talks will follow the launch of negotiations on a free-trade
agreement between Singapore and the European Union, which is also keen
on expanding trade ties with Southeast Asia
AFP
Singapore: The United States, fearful of being sidelined as China and
other fast-growing Asian economies speed up their integration, is
banking on a new trade pact to shore up its Pacific influence.
Talks opening Monday in Melbourne will focus on a proposed Trans-
Pacific Partnership agreement linking the US market with Australia,
Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
Officials hope the TPP will form the nucleus of a wider Asia-Pacific
trade zone that would eventually rope in China, Japan and South Korea
as well as key Southeast Asian nations.
The talks will follow the launch of negotiations on a free-trade
agreement between Singapore and the European Union, which is also keen
on expanding trade ties with Southeast Asia.
The United States and Europe have been shut out of a growing web of
Asia-centric trade pacts spurred by the region’s 1997 financial crisis
and by a lack of progress in the Doha round of global trade talks,
analysts said.
While the United States is “unquestionably” a Pacific power, it “lacks
a comprehensive Asia strategy”, said Ernest Bower, a Southeast Asia
expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in
Washington.
“The lack of consistent US focus in the region has enabled the
ascendance of Chinese power,” Bower said, adding that it could slowly
undermine US business interests and eventually degrade US security
capabilities.
The new trade attention from the West comes as Asian countries lead
the rest of the world in recovering from the global economic downturn.
“That the US and the EU are knocking on Asia’s doors is a recognition
that the centre of economic power is shifting, or has shifted, to our
region,” an Asian diplomat closely involved in trade issues told AFP.
“They know very well that ignoring Asia will be at their own peril.
China is already a major trade partner for many Asian countries and is
leading efforts toward regional economic integration,” he said on
condition of anonymity.
Deputy US trade representative Demetrios Marantis warned that
Washington “faces the daunting prospect of getting locked out” by Asia-
specific trade pacts.
A study by the US-based Peterson Institute for International Economics
showed that discriminatory policies under an East Asia free trade zone
could cost the US economy at least 25 billion dollars of annual
exports and lead to the loss of “about 200,000 high-paying jobs”.
The United States has free-trade accords with Australia and Singapore
and has also negotiated a trade pact with South Korea, but this has
yet to be implemented due to fierce disputes over cars and beef.
China has been more aggressive in wooing regional partners.
An agreement between China and the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) covering nearly two billion consumers went into effect
this year, creating the world’s biggest free-trade area in terms of
population.
There are also efforts to form a larger, all-Asian free-trade zone
spanning China, Japan, South Korea and the 10 ASEAN states.
C. Fred Bergsten and Jeffrey Schott of the Peterson Institute hailed
Washington’s decision to join the trans-Pacific talks in Australia.
“Deepening US engagement with countries in the Asia-Pacific region is
crucial for the advancement of both US economic and foreign policy
interests,” Bergsten and Schott said in a recent paper.
“Within the next few years, it is likely that the East Asian countries
will deepen their economic ties and conclude both a regional trade
agreement and a monetary agreement,” the authors said.
Such a bloc would “draw a line” in the middle of the Pacific Ocean by
discriminating against US exporters and investors, and excluding the
United States from major regional economic and security forums, they
said.
Marantis acknowledged that overcoming crisis-hit Americans’ opposition
to free-trade agreements is a key challenge.
Surveys suggest that only about one in 10 Americans think that trade
pacts create jobs, while more than half believe the accords lead to
job losses at home, he said.
http://www.livemint.com/2010/03/10090029/US-Europe-eye-freetrade-pact.html
...and I am Sid Harth
Sid Harth
Irfan Hussain
Scandals
Sixty Years On, More Sinned Against...
The great political scams of the last 60 years reflect their times,
but also fit a timeless definition of corruption: abuse of public
power for private gain. A trip down murky memory lane.
Smita Gupta
Special Issue: India At 60
The great political scams of the last 60 years reflect their times,
but also fit a timeless definition of corruption: abuse of public
power for private gain. They rolled out decade after decade—the
Mundhra scandal, the Kairon embarrassment, the mysterious Nagarwala
case; in the 1980s, big defence scams kept pace with India's growing
defence needs. In the 1990s, as the economy liberalised, stockmarket
and hawala scams erupted. Ironically, while political reputations were
ruined and a government was brought down—in 1989, on the Bofors issue—
very few allegations have ever been proved. The recent scandals, like
the Taj Corridor case involving Mayawati, and the Telgi fake stamp
paper scam, are still fresh in the public mind. Here, we take you on a
trip down murky memory lane.
***
The Mundhra Scandal
The timing was disastrous. Less than a year after the government
nationalised life insurance in 1956—on the grounds that it was not
being managed well—the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) produced
independent India's first scam. Pressured by the Union finance
ministry, LIC bypassed its investment committee and purchased shares
worth Rs 124 lakh in six—mainly dud—companies belonging to Calcutta
industrialist Haridas Mundhra. Feroze Gandhi, Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru's son-in-law, dramatically disclosed the deal in
1958, leading to a nationwide furore, and an investigation. The guilty
were punished, and Union finance minister T.T. Krishnamachari had to
resign.
Kairon and Sons
For independent India, this was a first-of-a-kind scandal. Later, of
course, it was to become almost a cliche in political life: a chief
minister accused of aggrandising himself and his family at public
expense. The S.R. Das Commission, tasked to investigate these charges
against Punjab chief minister Pratap Singh Kairon, exonerated him in
1964, saying a father could not be held legally responsible for the
actions of his grown-up children. But a caveat—that a chief minister
could not escape moral responsibility for his children's' actions—was
indictment enough. Kairon quit.
"Man from Bangladesh"
The case, straight out of a political thriller, captured public
imagination and continues to raise unanswered questions. On May 24,
1971, former intelligence agent R.S. Nagarwala, posing as a "man from
Bangladesh", withdrew Rs 60 lakh from the Parliament Street branch of
New Delhi's State Bank of India, following a purported call from then
prime minister of India, Indira Gandhi, to the chief cashier.
Nagarwala had apparently "mimicked" Indira Gandhi's voice. In the
course of the probe that followed, investigating officer D.K. Kashyap
was killed in a mysterious car accident and Nagarwala died in prison.
The Janata Party, alleging that the money belonged to Indira Gandhi,
set up the Jaganmohan Reddy commission in 1977, but found insufficient
evidence to indict her.
"Rajiv Gandhi chor hai"
"Gali gali mein shor hai, Rajiv Gandhi chor hai!" As the scandal over
the Bofors gun deal became a symbol of corruption in high office, this
slogan was heard across the country. The alleged kickback involved was
Rs 60 crore, small change as such scandals go, but it helped V.P.
Singh's National Front trounce Rajiv's Congress in 1989. Since then,
the Delhi High Court has acquitted Rajiv Gandhi and the Hinduja
brothers. 'Middleman' Ottavio Quattrocchi's name has not yet been
cleared, but investigators have not come up with anything conclusive
either. Yet, 18 years later, the ghost of Bofors continues to haunt a
forever tainted Congress—and Rajiv Gandhi's widow, Sonia.
St Kitts Forgery Scandal
Chandraswami, a godman with greasy locks and mighty political
connections, was the central figure in the 1989 tit-for-tat "scam"
intended to tarnish V. P. Singh. He, along with then external affairs
minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao, and another minister, K.K. Tewary,
reportedly organised forged documents to show that VP's son Ajeya
Singh had deposited $21 million in the First Trust Corporation Bank in
the Caribbean island of St Kitts, with his father as beneficiary.
After Rao's term as PM ended in 1996, the CBI formally charged him for
the crime. But later, the court acquitted Rao for lack of evidence.
All the other accused were also eventually let off. However, the scam
punctured Chandraswami's colourful career. Politicians kept clear of
him from then on.
Sukh Ram Telecom Scam
He came to be known by the epithet, minister of tele-'phony'. In 2002,
a CBI special court sentenced former Union communications minister
Sukh Ram to three years RI, and fined him Rs 1 lakh for purchasing
poor quality radio system equipment from a company in 1991, causing
the public exchequer to suffer losses totalling Rs 1.68 crore. The
buzz was that Sukh Ram, under whose bed dhobi bundles of cash were
found, was involved in several other deals, but nothing was proved. A
senior telecom official, Runu Ghosh, and Hyderabad-based businessman
Pataru Rama Rao, were also sentenced to two and three years
imprisonment respectively. A tortuous legal battle continues.
Stockmarket Scam, 1992
He was toasted and celebrated by investors and the media alike. But
like the stockmarket, he too crashed, leading to one of the biggest
financial scandals in independent India. 'Big Bull' Harshad Mehta,
held to be largely responsible for the stockmarket crash of '92, was
arrested by the CBI in November that year for "misappropriating" more
than 27 lakh shares—worth Rs 250 crore—of about 90 companies,
including Sensex heavyweights like ACC and Hindalco, through forged
share transfer forms. Blacklisted in the stockmarket, he reportedly
caused a loss of more than Rs 4,000 crore to various entities and
eventually died in custody in December 2001, before all the legal
issues were sorted out. The stock scam reverberated through the
country, with several people committing suicide after losing their
life savings and going bankrupt overnight.
PV in a Pickle
Close on the heels of the stock scam came Harshad Mehta's sensational
allegation that he had paid Rs 1 crore in cash to the personal
secretary of then prime minister Narasimha Rao. He even displayed a
suitcase, offering a symbol for venality, but the allegation was never
proved. Rao was also embarrassed by the Lakhubhai Pathak cheating
scandal. Pickle king Pathak, a UK-based Indian businessman, alleged
that he had paid Chandraswami and his associate K.N. Aggarwal alias
Mamaji (who were close to Rao) $100,000 in return for a paper pulp
supply contract in India, a "promise" that was not kept. Rao and
Chandraswami were acquitted of the charges in 2003 due to lack of
evidence. Despite this, the case remained a blot on Rao.
Jain Hawala Scam
Some of the country's leading politicians were implicated in the Rs 64-
crore hawala scandal, involving payments allegedly received by
politicians through the Jain brothers, who were hawala brokers. The
media went into overdrive over a diary, which apparently contained the
names of top politicians. These included the BJP's L.K. Advani and
Congressmen Balram Jakhar, Madhavrao Scindia and Arjun Singh. However,
they were all cleared. Advani was let off in 1997, while Jakhar and
the Jain brothers were also let off in 1999 for want of credible
evidence. The CBI was severely criticised for its inefficient
investigation of the scandal.
Fodder Scam
In 1996, Bihar CM Laloo Prasad Yadav became the focus of the Rs 950-
crore fodder scam in the state's animal husbandry department,
notorious for financial irregularities involving powerful politicians
(across parties) and officials. In April 2000, Laloo was chargesheeted
in the case, with wife Rabri Devi as co-accused. In December '06, they
were acquitted, but the CBI and the Bihar government, now under the
JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar, opposed the decision in the Patna high court.
Till date, 250 persons have been convicted. But the scandal's severest
toll has been on Laloo's reputation.
Petrol Pump Scam
Shortly after the NDA came to power in '98, the BJP was quick to prove
it was not "a party with a difference". By '02, it was evident that
most petrol pump, LPG and kerosene allotments during the NDA regime
had favoured BJP functionaries, Sangh activists and selected governors
and bureaucrats. Then prime minister A.B. Vajpayee was forced to
cancel all 3,158 allotments, with effect from January 2000. However,
the SC quashed the order. In 2005, an apex court-appointed panel
recommended that 296 of the 409 allotments be cancelled.
Operation West End
Tehelka.com sent shockwaves throughout the country when it released
secret video footage of senior politicians, including then BJP
president Bangaru Laxman and Samata Party national president Jaya
Jaitly, bureaucrats and army officers accepting bribes for defence
deals. This was the first major sting operation in Indian journalism.
From then on, getting 'Bangarued' came to mean being caught with your
hand in the till. The scandal forced Bangaru and then defence minister
George Fernandes to resign. The CBI filed charges against Bangaru and
two of his aides in July '06 and against Jaitly in December '06.
Chargesheets were also filed in 2006 against some of the other accused
in the Union ministry of defence and the army. R.K. Jain, former
treasurer of the Samata Party, was finally arrested in 2006 on charges
of receiving huge payoffs in defence deals.
Bu Smita Gupta with Debarshi Dasgupta
Aug 17, 2007 12:00 AM
22 Gulam:>>" Who are "we" here?
All those involved in fighting the terrorists."
All those now involved in 'protecting/training' the terrorists should
also sincerely join the fight against terrorists and their
elimination. Otherwise, these may well be the first, though
unintended, casualties in the terrorist explosions. Perhaps, you may
be able make them realize this, before it is too late.
v.seshadri
chennai, india
Aug 17, 2007 12:00 AM
21 Seshadri,
>> Who are "we" here?
All those involved in fighting the terrorists.
Ghulam Y Faruki
New York, United States
Aug 17, 2007 12:00 AM
20 Ghulam:>>"We should kill them at a faster rate than they can train
their recruits."
Who are "we" here? The major OIC countries, especially Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, should help non-OIC terrorist-
targetted countries like, India, UK, US in detecting and exterminating
terrorists. Will they? Pakistan is sheltering the Bombay bomber and
Bin Laden and denying it all the time. God Allah will help these
moslems only if they help in eliminating islamic terrorists. Will
they ?
v.seshadri
chennai, india
Aug 17, 2007 12:00 AM
19 "The expansion of the ummah and the killing of "kafirs" are both
ideas that do not cross the minds of the bulk of the Muslim
community."
Most of the muslims nourish ideas of ummah expansion and how it can be
brought about. Many of them express it shamelessly, in schools,
offices etc. One of the reasons why the rest of the Indians despise
Muslims in general.
chaitanya
chennai, India
Aug 17, 2007 12:00 AM
18 Seshadri,
>> It means 5 million can be killed or maimed, in due course, by these.
Not if we are killing them at the same time. We should kill them at a
faster rate than they can train their recruits. The terrorists have
done more harm to Muslims than to anyone else.
>> you will agree that all moslems consider non-moslem khafirs could justifiably be killed, if they come in the way of the expansion of the UMMA.
Not true. The expansion of the ummah and the killing of "kafirs" are
both ideas that do not cross the minds of the bulk of the Muslim
community. I have never heard of them from anyone I know. The only
time I hear them is from the sanghis, zionists and from rabid jehadis
who somehow or other have become the favorites of British TV crews.
Ghulam Y Faruki
New York, United States
Aug 16, 2007 12:00 AM
17 Ghulam:>>"The best estimate of American and British experts in the
field on the total number of terrorists in the world is less than
10,000."
I see it was Joseph who mentioned the number of jihadis as only a few
millions out 1.3 billion moslems in the world. I wrongly attributed it
to you, sorry. You say the ''trained' terrorist jihadis' are only
10,000; each has a potential for killing or disabling 500 persons,
with today's terrorism technology. It means 5 million can be killed or
maimed, in due course, by these.
More are being trained, in the mean time. IF the moslem states
cooperate with the non-moslem states, the menace can be contained.
Otherwise, the number of terrorist jihadis may grow exponentially with
time and become uncontainable, as it is becoming in Iraq.
>>"You were implying that all Muslims, that is 1.3 billion, were trained to kill non-believers. That is patently untrue."
I did not imply that all the moslems were "trained" to kill the other
non-believers. But, you will agree that all moslems consider non-
moslem khafirs could justifiably be killed, if they come in the way of
the expansion of the UMMA. Even this is against the basic human rights
of non-moslems also as humans, with a right to exist. If devout
moslems believe that only believers in Allah will go to heaven in
after-life, I have no objections to that.
v.seshadri
chennai, india
Aug 16, 2007 12:00 AM
16 Seshadri,
>> You have yourself stated earlier that the 'few' jihadis amount to a few millions.
What we were discussing was what percentage of Muslims may be
terrorists. The best estimate of American and British experts in the
field on the total number of terrorists in the world is less than
10,000. You were implying that all Muslims, that is 1.3 billion, were
trained to kill non-believers. That is patently untrue.
Ghulam Y Faruki
New York, United States
Aug 16, 2007 12:00 AM
15 Ghulam:>>"Not true, except perhaps for a few jehadis "
You have yourself stated earlier that the 'few' jihadis amount to a
few millions. If each suicide bomber can kill 100 and disable another
100, most of them moslems of slightly different sects, the few million
jihadis can finish off most of the billion-plus moslems in the moslem
world today. Is it desirable or permissible ?
Moslem govts should themselves monitor their madarsas, modernize their
education, reduce inter-sect hatreds, liberalize the moslems' world-
view and jail the die-hard jihadis in isolated islands, if reqd.
Mesa'potamia' is burning, George Bush on the 'Potamac' river in
Washington is not able to do much about it. Only Man Mohan Singh's
kind heart may be bleeding for the berieved, disabled, displaced and
refugees of Iraq, especially the children. I wonder why the OIC or the
moslem-welfare organization you have in US are not doing anything
about it. The OIC should itself organize a CIA type secret service to
identify hard-core suicidal jihadis among moslems and arrest them and
put them off.
The idea that 72 'virgins' are waiting to please martyrs in heaven
must be re-explained to the moslems in general and jihadis in
particular. What Narada {Gaapriya=Gasbriel] told Mohammed [Ravana]is
that there is a non-gravity region in Jupiter [St. Peter's 'heaven']
neighbourhood; soul-will in that neighbourhood can bring about the
'joining' of appropriate free elements of the periodic table, seen as
the 272 joiners or yoginees [spiritual virgins, in tantra saastra on
the sree chakra, wheel of creation] to form bodies to experience some
life and apples to eat and so on. 72 of the more significant elements
are indicated by Narada to Ravana. Bhagavat Geeta also talks about
swarga where souls can have some happiness before returning on a new
birth to the earth. If these things are explained and sexual
interpretation of the enjoyment of virgins etc is removed, jihadi
enthusiasm may come down; they may choose to have some good lives on
the earth itself.
v.seshadri
chennai, india
Aug 16, 2007 12:00 AM
14 Seshadri,
>> Moslems are brought up to consider all nonmoslems as khafirs fit for elimination only.
Not true, except perhaps for a few jehadis who miss the main thrust of
religious teaching and memorize just a few paragraphs out of context.
Ghulam Y Faruki
New York, United States
Aug 15, 2007 12:00 AM
13 >>" corruption: abuse of public power for private gain. They rolled
out decade after decade"
Corruption will continue to mar the nation's politics and
administration until politics ceases to be the first choice as 'money-
making profession' for scoundrels and scoundrel families. Perhaps, the
grandchildren of corpotate-succeess families now may loose the lure
for lucre and seek to enter politics for purely 'national service' and
not to make money, which they may have in abundance.
But, there is one aspect which popular will can enforce on corrupt
politicians/bureauocrats, even now, namely quick, early and proper
punishments when prima facie crime has been established. The Chinese
have recently given death sentence to a senior official found
responsible for non-enforcement of pharma-product qualities. We may
not go that for, but we may at least confiscate the properties of
politicians and bureauocrats found guilty by the first courts, on
fodder scam, stamp-paper scam etc; they could go in appeal to higher
courts, as per law, but leaving them in power and with ill-accumulated
wealth already declared illegal still with them only makes it easier
for them to employ the most expensive lawyers and win the appeals
somehow, or delay eventual sentences by decades. Karunanidhi now
questionably celebrates halfcentury in politics, only because the case
against some ex-judge who held his black money benami could not end
even before the said judge himself died ! If confiscation of property
pending appeals becomes the norm, such confiscated wealth could be
held in trust and the income proceedings from it can be used for
health and education of the poor in the country; trust can be closed
and wealth returned to appellant, if and when he wins the appeal at
the higher court.
v.seshadri
chennai, india
Aug 15, 2007 12:00 AM
12 Shenoy: Moslems are brought up to consider all nonmoslems as
khafirs fit for elimination only. But, practising christians like
Joseph could be expected to be even-handed between hindus and moslems,
but he is very partial to islam, favouring its growth and eventual
domination of world, to eliminate other cultures and civilizations
from the world, because of its basic intolerance. But he forgets that
such intolerant culures usually meet their nemesis, by internal feuds
and conflicts, besides acts of God like earthquakes and volcano
eruptions and tsunamis, since arrogance violates God's expectation
from mankind; the Roman civilization met with its end for such reasons
only.
v.seshadri
chennai, india
Aug 15, 2007 12:00 AM
11 Joseph:>>"So-called Islamic Fundamentalists or so-called Jehadis
total a few million people "
Today's news is that over 170 people died and over 200 injured in Iraq
in one or two suicide bombings. Thus, each jihadi claiming heaven's
vigins makes life extinct or impossible for over 200 people, most of
them moslems also. You say there are only a few million jihadi
moslems. But, 5 million jihadis are enough to kill or disable a
billion moslems, if my arithmatic is right, 7 million enough to take
care of all moslems. Are you happy with the situation? Perhaps, you
are happy about it, as a practising christian, so long as the people
killed are only moslems, jews, hindus, not christians. But moslems
must consider the fact jihadism is wiping out moslems at a rate faster
than procreationism is proliferating it. Moslems should learn to live
in harmony with other cultures all over the world, enlarging and
ennobling quranic laws into humanistic
welfare laws, by give-and-take adjustments with the laws of other
cultures also, which are also human.
v.seshadri
chennai, india
Aug 15, 2007 12:00 AM
10 Joseph:>>"the President and the Prime Minister of India will always
be Hindus."
Since you insist on proportionate representation for moslems, i.e,
increasing representation for them, as their population increases
disproportionately every decade, they will increase their political
power in all the legislatures and the parliament; chances of moslem
presidents and prime-ministers for India would only increase.
Recently, all 3 candidates for VP's post were moslems. Nothing wrong,
if they are like Zakir Hussein, Abdul Kalam or Ansari. The word,
moslem, sanskritized, stands for mukta-Sreemaan, liberated well-fare-
minded person. All moslems should live upto their names.
v.seshadri
chennai, india
Aug 15, 2007 12:00 AM
9 Joseph:>>"Secularism without Equity and proportionate representation
is, Mr. Seshadari, Sham-Secularism. I stand by my observations and
forecast that, henceforth, the President and the Prime Minister of
India will always be Hindus."
A secular democracy can only provide equality of 'opportunity' to all
creeds and castes in the country, people have to utilize them and come
up.
Pak and B-desh drove out nonmoslems. Earlier the moslems 'destroyed'
all persians in Iran and buddheists in Afghanistan, you seem to have
no regrets on that. They would have done the same in India, but the
hindu 'cast' system saved them from annihilation, as a bad blessing in
disguise; only the 'fighting caste' faught and died, 'traders' fled
and came back; priest-caste were either pushed into temples [those not
destroyed] or pushed out of villages as the new 'dalits', the
'workers' started working for the new masters, without change of
religion. Only the older dalits could be persuaded to become moslems.
Women, of all castes, if not too old and not married, were all taken
into harems of the sheiks; child-marriage of girls saved India's
ancient civilization for posterity.
Compared to this, free India's treatment of the non-hindu minorities
has been more humanistic and less demonaic; in fact the privileges
given in set-up, staffing, charging etc of minority institutions for
education in India have been such that, minority college-lords have
prospered fleecing the hindus on education; hindus are trying to get
minority college status on language basis; RKMutt is seeking minority
status for convenience, knowing Paramahamsa will not approve it ! My
late friend Varghese of HCE in Chennai was hoping his college wealth
will beat the Birlas! But now, lay christians in Kerala are raising
their voice against greedy churchian priests running colleges for
profit there. Commerce stands for 'kaama' and 'eershaa', desire and
jeaolousy; hence it leads to corporate behaviour, 'sarpa-reetih',
serpentine behaviour.
Sanskrit apart, you should admit that, opportunity-wise, minorities in
India have been treated more than fairly. Christians have benefitted
and prosperred, because they have left the bible behind and grown up
with science and technology for progress in this world, like their
counterparts in the west, other than the catholics of south America;
but moslems have used their educational priviliege only to deepen
quranic education and thinking in madarsa children. Result is that
moslem children shun science and technology, grow up to be either
traders or tailors or artisans or money-lenders, [perhaps they could
get into police/army, but they probably think defending India will be
quranic sin] They keep their women in coverage, concentrate more on
procreation than creativity, demand larger power in politics because
of increasing numbers in population. Post-1973 rise in oil prices gets
them more Arab dollars for madarsas, making them imagine that God is
for the UMMA to eventuyally take over the world. But, money can buy
things only if someone in the world 'produces' goods other than
children. If the whole world has only procreators, the increasing
population will die of hunger and overpopulate the heaven.
Friends of islam, like you, should advise modernisation of madarsa
education, instead of hate-hindu ideas. Then, moslems can take all
sorts of jobs and prosper in all fields. I have taught in an IIT and
elsewhere for over 50 yrs, had only very few moslem students in most
classes, but those who were there were very studious, courteous and
competant; given good education, they can equal and excel all other
cultures, and deserve the fact that Lord Skanda [same as Apollo/Jesus]
appeared as Sikandar for the moslems to save them from extinction by
the crusaders. God has only mercy and goodwill for all mankind. It is
for humans to utilize it.
v.seshadri
chennai, india
Aug 13, 2007 12:00 AM
8 Secularism without Equity and proportionate representation is, Mr.
Seshadari, Sham-Secularism. I stand by my observations and forecast
that, henceforth, the President and the Prime Minister of India will
always be Hindus.
Going by the Caste situation in India, to an out side mind, it is
difficult to accept that Hindus will accept non-Hindus as equals when
Hindus themselves are discriminated against by fellow Hindus.
Joseph
Karachi, Pakistan
Aug 13, 2007 12:00 AM
7 Dear Mr. B. V. Shenoy, I take serious umbrage at your addressing me,
a practicing Christian, as one who does not afford space for other
Religions and for alleging that I am steeped in Islamic
Fundamentalism, whatever that may mean.
Please allow me to recapulate my basic premises about Islam and
Muslims which are as Follows.
a. As Muslims number 1.37 billion which is about one-fifth of the
World's people, it will serve no useful purpose to browbeat them or
subjugate them as is being attempted in Afghanistan, Iraq and
Palestine and elsewhere to a lesser degree.
b. So-called Islamic Fundamentalists or so-called Jehadis total a few
million people out of a total 1,370 Million people.
c. The more the West adopts the present strategy, more number of
Muslims will become antagonistic to it.
d. Islam is growing while other Faiths are either static or losing
followers.
e. Muslims are far more ardent in following their precepts and
practices and as such are a far more dynamic whole.
f. It is better to 'live and let live'
g. From (f.) above must follow a just and equitable solution of the
socio-political issues relating to Muslims in the Philippines,
Thailand, Myanmar, Indian-Administered Jammu and Kashmir, the South-
West Regions of China and Palestine.
Iam quite clear in my mind that the continuinf presence of foreign
invading forces in Afghanistan and Iraq and the 'cruel approach' of
Israel to Lebanon and Palestine is only exacerbating the problems.
This appraisal is seconded by a House of Commons Committee as may be
seen below.
Let us not use exaggeration and negative observations against some
one, just because his or her views are unpalatable.
Joseph
Karachi, Pakistan
Aug 13, 2007 12:00 AM
6 I have to thank you Mr. Pathasarathy for telling me what I always
knew that the Minorities in India are no better off than their
counterparts in Pakistan. As a matter of fact, in the political sphere
we are far better off in that we have Joint Electorate with Special
Reserved Seats as well.
Joseph
Karachi, Pakistan
Aug 13, 2007 12:00 AM
5 Dear Sheshadri, you are wasting your admittedly deep knowledge about
the Hindu scriptures and holy books on people like Joseph who are
steeped in Islamic fundamentalism which refuses to acknowledge living
space for other religions. You may be a great savant or a pundit, but
for Joseph, you are only a kafir. Pl keep this in mind.
B.V.SHENOY
BANGALORE, India
Aug 13, 2007 12:00 AM
4 Joseph:>>" India is a Hindu Country masquerading as a Secular One"
You are being unfair to hinduism and India and you know that.
Secularism, pluralism etc. are respectable words in India's politics,
only because the majority of population in India is still hindu,
despite higher-than-average proliferation rate of moslems and rapid
increases in churchians by open and crypto-convesions. Hunduism in
India still respects secular values for India, because the bhagavat
Gita, accepted by all sections of hinduism. requires that hindus
should respect all godheads faithully believed in by people anywherem,
since the formless and hence all-forms-possible Absolute will respond
to them in any form faithfully worshipped. Even the RSS/BJP/VHP are
fighting only for the survival of primordial hinduism in India, in
harmony with all other world religions, NOT for the removal of other
religionists from India, or the curtailment of their citizenship
rights in India's dynamic democracy, temporarily operating as if it is
a dynastic demonarchy.
v.seshadri
chennai, india
Aug 13, 2007 12:00 AM
3 When will the U. P. A. Government fall, Miss. Chitra of Mangalore?.
Rather, more precisely, when will Sardar Manmohan Singh be asked to
resign?.
We are coming closer to the situation where the President and Prime
Minister will always be Hindu, which is how it should be as India is a
Hindu Country masquerading as a Secular One. Sixty years is, indeed,
to long to carry on with a myth.
By the way, were you at St. Agnes'?.
Joseph
Karachi, Pakistan
Aug 13, 2007 12:00 AM
2 Congress and secular brigades are known as mother of all scams and
scandals. Today india is fast moving to occupy the world's most
corrupt nation. Let us hope that we stand first at least in some area.
Shameless secular leaders are running in the government in the name of
secularism and showing ghost of the hindu nationalists. Our democracy
have failed to punish corrupt politicians. UPA government is full of
corrupts, anti-nationals and hardcore islamists.
Miss Chitra
Mangalore, India
Aug 12, 2007 12:00 AM
1 Man u guys are liar.. after investigation it was found only 7% of
petrol pump went to peopel with BJP support.. given BJp usually nets
around 26% popular vote if anything bjp suporter should cry foul that
they didn;t get their proper share..
Rahul
Delhi, India
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?235369
National Magazine | May 01, 1996
Focus
Settling A Score
Nina Pillai's mission is to defeat the Congress
Ajith Pillai
Focus
The Political Option
M'esco Managing Director Rita Singh hits the campaign trail
Bharat Ahluwalia
EVER since the gruesome death last July in Tihar jail of her biscuit
tycoon husband Rajan Pillai, Nina Pillai has been threatening to get
her back on "friendly" politicians who "deserted" her in her husband's
time of need. So it did not come as a surprise when she filed her
nomination as an independent candidate for the Lok Sabha from her
husband's hometown of Kollam, 70 km from Thiruvananthapuram.
Though she does not admit it, Nina's immediate mission seems to be not
to win herself but to ensure the defeat of Congress candidate and
Union Minister of State S. Krishna Kumar. "Krishna Kumar was supposed
to be our friend," she says. "But he refused to even come on the phone
when Rajan was dying." However, she is quick to add that it is not
Krishna Kumar she is fighting. "I am fighting his boss."
The 39-year-old former air hostess is also using her political status
to embarrass the Congress. Her revelation at a press conference in
Thiruvan-anthapuram on April 17 that her husband had been cheated by a
political nexus, with the controversial godman Chandraswami at its
core, will not help the Congress. She has alleged that about $2
million was paid to the godman between November '94 and February '95
by her husband. Chandraswami had promised to sort things out for Rajan
Pillai but finally failed him. Points out Nina: "The money was paid to
him because even senior Union ministers we approached told us that
Chandraswami was the man who could move things at the Prime Minister's
level".
She also sees sinister machinations in the troubles she has been
facing in claiming her shareholdings in various companies owned by her
late husband. She suspects the hand of a rival business group which
she alleges is acting with the blessings of Chandraswami. Says Nina:
"Rajan is gone. Now this friend of the Prime Minister wants to torture
a helpless widow." She says her husband fell out of favour with a
section of Congressmen after the '91 elections. It was then that her
husband, she claims, on the request of a senior Congress leader from
Maharashtra, approached K. Karunakaran and Satish Sharma, asking them
not to support Narasimha Rao as the candidate for prime minister-ship.
"Ever since this came to the notice of Chandraswami, we have been in
trouble," she says.
Though Nina Pillai is not likely to emerge even as a marginal leader,
local Congress leaders did their best to persuade her not to contest.
Among them: Chief Minister A.K. Antony, Union Industries Minister K.
Karunakaran and PCC President Vylar Ravi. The Pillais are influential
in Kerala and traditional Congress supporters.
The only cause for comfort in the Congress camp is that Nina is a
novice in politics and as an independent she lacks the backing of any
political organisation. The BJP has come forward to support her but
the party's infrastructure is not fully committed to campaign for her,
perhaps because Nina has made it clear that she will not join any
party. Says she: "Don't think I am part of the BJP. I am not. They
(BJP) came forward to help and I said fine. I want to be an
independent".
Her campaign involves meeting people directly rather than holding
meetings. However, Nina says she is trying to rope in Arjun Singh,
Kiran Bedi and friends in the film industry in Bombay to attend a
rally in Kollam. But despite such plans, her campaigning is patchy.
She is the first to admit that she is a reluctant politician. "I never
dreamt of getting into politics. I have literally been forced to fight
this election. I am fight-ing it for my survival and the survival of
my children".
Though her husband's family was opposed to her entering politics they
have now come around and her in-laws who command much respect in
Kollam have extended support. Early estimates put it that Nina will
corner enough votes to ensure Krishna Kumar's defeat. That, in a
sense, will be victory for her.
May 29, 1996
1 No Place for Revenge
It was saddening to learn that people enter the electoral fray revenge
(Settling a Score, 1). Nina Pillai has admitted that her husband Rajan
had tried to bribe himself of the mess he was mired presumably one of
his own creation, by offering Rs 2 crore Chandraswami. Business people
like them exploit and a corrupt system to further eir ends and, in the
rare instances when they don’t succeed, cry themselves hoarse bout
corruption.
Nina Pillai contested the elections not to serve the electorate, but
to ensure the down- of Krishna Kumar, who (I be wrong) is one of the
Congress politicians who is clean and, what’s more, who proved himself
an able administrator and an efficient minister. It is not that I
don’t sympathise with Nina Pillai. she has suffered is traumatic. But
it is, to a large extent, the effect of the actions of her own ilk
that nurtured such a system. The only thing that can be said in her
favour is that she is honest and makes no bones about her intentions.
N.J. Thomas, Dehra Dun
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?201281
SC's Poser on Chandraswami's Role in Rajiv Assassination
New Delhi | May 26, 2009
The Supreme Court put a query why no proceedings were initiated
against controversial godman Chandraswami if the government really
suspected him of funding the assassination of former Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi by LTTE.
"If he has funded the assassination, then why did you not proceed
against him?" a vacation bench of Justices VS Sirpurkar and RM Lodha
asked ED's counsel Wasim Ahmed Qadri.
The bench made the passing reference after the ED opposed
Chandraswami's plea to travel abroad on the ground that he had several
criminal cases registered against him and is suspected of funding the
assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.
Senior counsel Mukul Rohtagi, appearing for the controversial godman,
however, told the court that Chandraswami was never an accused in the
case unlike the slain LTTE chief V Prabhakaran and others like the
organisation's intelligence wing chief Pottu Amman.
To another query from the bench, Quadri said it appears the case
against Prabahakaran might be closed in India in view of his killing
by the Sri Lankan Army.
Rohtagi earlier strongly pleaded that Chandraswami be permitted to
travel abroad as he had been acquitted of all the criminal cases
registered against him, except the nine-odd cases registered against
him by ED.
http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?660446
National / Politics / Interviews Magazine | Dec 08, 1997
Exclusive
"Chandraswami Was Sivarasan's Godfather"
J. Ranganath, who sheltered Sivarasan, Rajiv's assassin, speaks to
Outlook on One-eyed Jack's last few days
A.S. Panneerselvan Interviews J. Ranganath
Jayaram Ranganath, 40, is accused No. 26 in the Rajiv Gandhi
assassination case. A Kannadiga Tamil from Bangalore, he was married
to Mridula and owned a workshop in the garden city. An unwitting
player after Rajiv's assassins—kingpin Sivarasan alias one-eyed Jack,
and Shubha, part of the killer squad at Sriperumbudur, along with five
others—knocked on his backdoor and allegedly forced entry into his
house on August 6, 1991. The LTTE operatives stayed on till August 20
when the CBI raided the house and found them dead. The deaths, says
the police, was by suicide, although there are doubts about this
theory.
Ranganath was arrested on August 18, 1991, for sheltering Sivarasan
and Shubha. Ironically, it was Ranganath who informed the police about
the fugitives in his house and is the only witness to the CBI's break-
in operation. And he and his estranged wife are the only ones to have
heard Sivarasan and Shubha speak about the crime.
Ranganath's recent affidavit filed before the Jain Commission accuses
the CBI of deliberately hiding key facts and shielding several
culprits. His major contention is that his information that Sivarasan
and his team were promised a safe passage to the West by Chandraswami
and details pertaining to the god -man and some Congress leaders were
not recorded by the CBI. According to him, the CBI was determined not
to widen the net beyond the role of the LTTE in the plot to kill
Rajiv. "As the only living witness and the only one with no political
axe to grind, my words should be taken seriously," he declares.
As a key witness, the information he has is important, to say the
least. A.S. Panneerselvan sought an interview through Ranganath's
lawyers. The questions were sent to him at the high security
Poonamallee sub-jail located within the designated court complex where
the Rajiv assassination case is being heard in Chennai. Ranganath's
answers have been duly attested by the additional superintendent of
the jail. Excerpts:
Did Sivarasan and Shubha tell you about their connections with
Chandraswami and an AICC functionary?
They did speak about their connections with Chandraswami and also with
a Congress leader from Karnataka who was a member of Rajiv Gandhi's
cabinet. They used to say that it was through this leader that they
got the details of Rajiv Gandhi's election tour programme. They talked
about the AICC functionary as their close associate. During his stay
with me, Sivarasan also informed me that Chandraswami was his
godfather.
(In his affidavit submitted to the Jain Commission on November 4,
Ranganath speaks of Sivarasan and Shubha naming Aswath Narayan, a
local Congress leader, as one of their friends. Both Shubha and
Sivarasan pointed out that Narayan was close to the AICC functionary
in Delhi who helped them with Rajiv's tour programme.)
What was the safe passage promised to Sivarasan by Chandraswami?
Sivarasan wanted to go abroad directly from Bangalore. This was the
reason why he came to Bangalore. But he said that if he went to Jaffna
he could be killed and that the 'Jain Muni' (The godman's real name is
Nemichand Jain) would arrange for his safe passage to a foreign
country.
(In his affidavit to the commission, Ranganath declares that Sivarasan
told him the godman planned to first bring him to Delhi and then sneak
him out to a foreign destination.)
Did the CBI prevent you from telling the whole truth?
The CBI threatened me. Barring the LTTE, they did not want me to
mention the involvement of the others in the crime. Since they fixed
the LTTE as the only offenders, they wanted evidence to accuse it—and
not against those who commissioned the offence.
What are the truths the CBI refused to record or act upon?
Then CBI chief Karthikeyan warned me not to speak anything about the
AICC functionary or any other Congress people, and Chandraswami.
Karthikeyan seemed to know the facts about the assassination and also
the powers behind Rajiv's killing. He warned me of serious
consequences if I gave the information to a magistrate or others. From
what he told me it was clear that he was shielding Chandraswami and
some key Congress people. Even after my request, CBI (SIT) failed to
record my statement.
I took DCP Kempiah (Karnataka police) to the Bangalore hideout where
Sivarasan and Shubha were hiding. But his statement has not been
produced before the designated court.
How do you know that the CBI was reluctant to arrest Sivarasan and
Shubha?
On the morning of July 30, 1991, a person called Vicky was arrested at
Coimbatore. He gave specific information about Sivarasan's hideout in
Bangalore (this was before Sivarasan and the others forcibly entered
Ranganath's house on August 6). But for 24 hours, the CBI made no
effort to search the hideout. On August 2, 1991, the CBI questioned
one Jaganathan, who arranged four safehouses for the LTTE workers. He
gave details of the locations of these houses and the hospitals in
which the injured LTTE men were admitted. But the CBI did not make any
effort to arrest Sivarasan. Perhaps because if he were caught alive,
Sivarasan would squeal about those who conspired to kill Rajiv and
also of his (Sivarasan's) connections with Congressmen. This is
perhaps why even on August 18, 1991, the CBI did not allow the local
police to catch them.
If I get an opportunity to depose before the Jain Commission, then I
will prove the fact that there are other persons involved in Rajiv
Gandhi's assassination. I am the only one alive who stayed with
Sivarasan and Shubha (after the assassination) and heard what they had
to say about the killing.
Aug 25, 2009 04:04 PM
1 congress has involved in rajiv's killing it is the hidden fact
MATHI
Madurai, India
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?204696
National / Politics / Cover Stories Magazine | May 04, 1998
Cover Story
Enter Chandraswami
Rajesh Joshi
Also In This Story
Cover Story
The Life And Times Of Jayalalitha"
No one can get anything out of me or subdue me by threats, harsh
treatment; it only makes me more stubborn, inflexible, unbending,
determined. The only way anyone can get me to cooperate is to be nice
to me, pamper me, cajole me, talk to me kindly, softly." —Jayalalitha
in a March 1985 interview.Ajith Pillai, A.S. Panneerselvan
Cover Story
The Revenge Of Draupadi
Cover StoryThe Inner Circle
Cover StoryA Coalition In FettersThe BJP struggles to come up with a
strategy to deal with unpredictable allies like JayalalithaIshan
Joshi
Cover StoryAn Intriguing DualismThe Tamil psyche is a paradoxical mix
of a 2,000-year-old heritage, regional pride and modernitySagarika
Ghose
Cover Story72% Tamils Angry With Jaya's DemandsTo gauge the reaction
of the people of Tamil Nadu to AIADMK leader Jayalalitha demands on
the BJP government at the centre ,an option poll was conducted by
Outlook - Mode in the cities of Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and
adjoining areas. In all 5990 respondents in the age group 21 - 45 were
interviewed on April 21 - 23. Most of them do not approve of her
actions and move to destabilise the Vajpayee government.
CHANDRASWAMI is back in business. His services were sought recently by
friends in the BJP to defuse the on-going crisis provoked by the
friend Subramanian Swamy and J. Jayalalitha on one side, and Ram
Jethmalani on the other. Even though the BJP adopts an anti-
Chandraswami posture in public, senior leaders like Murli Manohar
Joshi and Bhairon Singh Shekhawat are known to be close to him.
So, while the prime minister appealed to the allies to observe
restraint, Shekhawat met the godman at Rajas-than Bhawan, apparently
to propitiate Swamy. However, Chandraswami's aide Vikram Singh
maintains they discussed "some work regarding his school in
Rajasthan".
Such interaction with the godman is not new. Sources say that after
the general elections when the BJP was still trying to garner support,
Chandraswami was approached by "top party leaders". Says a
Chandraswami aide: "Around 10 days before the formation of the
government, people from the BJP approached Swamiji to get Dr Swamy and
Jayalalitha around." And now with the BJP-Jayalalitha standoff
continuing, the Vajpayee government badly needs an effective
intermediary. Chandraswami, it is felt, is just the man. His hold on
Swamy can be gauged from the fact that he played an important role in
bringing two sworn enemies, Swamy and Jayalalitha, together.
But those close to Chandraswami concede that even he can't ask Swamy
to keep quiet. "How can you expect Swamy to keep quiet when he is not
getting anything? Why does one then get into politics?" asks Singh.
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?205454
National / Politics Magazine | May 11, 1998
Focus
Swami's New Saviours
Will friends in the BJP coalition help Chandraswami wriggle out of the
cases against him?
Charu Lata Joshi
Also In This Story
Chandraswami Case-List
CONTROVERSIAL godman Chandraswami could well have been holidaying in
the south of France. But for a timely order on May 1 by CBI Special
Judge Ajit Bharioke who has been hearing the Lakhubhai Pathak cheating
case—and in whose court the swami had moved an application for
permission to travel to France and the US for 'medical treatment'.
Till then, Chandraswami's plans for a getaway had appeared to be
moving with clock-work precision.
Jethmalani feels the government is 'soft' on the Godman. AIADMK's R.
Kumar is believed to be behind the 'Save Swami' campaign.
Just a fortnight back, on April 17, the Directorate of Enforcement
(DOE)—which is trying him for five cases of foreign exchange
violations amounting to Rs 2,100 crore—had told the metropolitan
magistrate hearing the cases that it had no objection to his
travelling abroad. In a matter of days, the court gave Chandraswami
the green signal.
The two dichotomous moves have exposed a simmering controversy within
the government on the future of the godman. And has exposed the power
he continues to wield. This time round, Chandraswami derives his
strength, not only from his proximity to BJP leaders like Bhairon
Singh Shekhawat, but also from his closeness to Janata Party chief
Subramanian Swamy. And it is the Swamy-faction—represented by AIADMK
chief J. Jayalalitha and her minister of state for banking, R.K. Kumar—
who appear to be indirectly involved in soft-peddling the cases
against Chandraswami. Says Ram Jethmalani, minister for urban
development, who has had clashes with both the godman and Swamy: "The
attempts to go soft on Chandraswami seem quite obvious."
The stand adopted by the DOE—a letter from Kunal Singh, assistant
director of investigation, Delhi zone, had informed the court that it
had "no objection" to Chandraswami's travel plans—which literally gave
him permission to flee the country, has clouded the entire proceedings
with suspicion. The enforcement agency holds that since both
investigation and adjudication proceedings were completed in the four
cases, they had technically no reason to oppose his application.
However, legal experts argue that the move amounts to a major
concession towards Chandraswami by the department. The move seems
suspicious since investigation is still pending in one case—involving
foreign exchange transactions worth $200,000 with his then New York-
based disciple Bina Ramani in 1981—and there are apprehensions that if
he does travel abroad, he could tamper with witnesses and crucial
evidence.
The fact that the metropolitan magistrate had first asked for the
DOE's stand on the accused in writing and also demanded Chandraswami's
status in the CBI cases, possibly indicates the DOE's influ-ence over
the court's decision.
What made the DOE's stand even more dubious was the fact that yet
another sister agency, the CBI, which when confronted with a similar
move in the Pathak case—the agency is presently handling two cases
against the godman, the St Kitts Forgery case as well as the Lakhubhai
Pathak cheating case—had categorically opposed the godman's
application to travel abroad. According to sources, Cha-ndraswami is
likely to move the high court in appeal against the rejection of his
application by Bharioke.
THE godman's moves are getting desperate. And in the process, the
dichotomy in the government's stand is being further exposed. In a
spate of curious developments, even as the DOE appeared to be giving
Chandraswami a free rein, a definite lobby within the government,
headed by L.K. Advani in the home ministry, appears all set to nail
him. The main motive being to get at the BJP's principal foe,
Subramanian Swamy. Says Supreme Court senior counsel, Ashok Panda:
"What is required is a comprehensive approach by the government as a
whole and not diverse actions by individual agencies. "
Within a matter of days of the DOE move, the ministry of home affairs
(MHA) gave its approval to prosecute the god-man under the Foreign
Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA). The case had come to light when
the CBI, while inspecting the accounts of Chandraswami's Vishwa
Dharmayatan Trust, found that it had not intimated the MHA of its
foreign contributions ever since it was formed in 1985. The agency
subsequently filed a chargesheet and moved the MHA for sanction to
prosecute the godman
. Recently, an interim Income Tax report evaluated the total assets of
Chandraswami and the Trust at Rs 2,300 crore, a substantial amount of
which came from foreign donations. The report, which gives a detailed
break-up of foreign donations received by the Trust till June, 1996,
shows that, among others, NRI businessmen Somchai Chawla of Hong Kong,
Abdul Ismail from the UK, Adnan Khashoggi and Rakesh Khanna from
Canada, had made substantial contributions in dollars.
The income tax department's inquiry into the godman's living expenses
also shows that he had spent nearly Rs 200-300 crore on foreign trips
undertaken between 1985-95. The report also mentions Vikram Singh as
Chandraswami's closest confidant and states that he is the director of
five companies—Ambassador Construction Pvt Ltd., Neptune Estates Pvt
Ltd., Nav-Abhiyan Publication Pvt Ltd., Scorpion Finlease Pvt Ltd.,
and Genesis Financial Services Pvt Ltd.
But, despite all the probes into the god-man's murky financial affairs—
which followed after the public interest litigation was filed in
Supreme Court in December, 1996—what has emerged most clearly is that
the swami is neither down nor out. After nearly two years of heated
legal battles and after languishing for eight months in a dingy Tihar
cell, Chandraswami appears to have staged a dramatic comeback.
Political circles are abuzz with news of his having returned to his
favourite occupation: power-broking.
What has aroused even greater suspicion within certain sceptics in the
DOE circles is Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's recent
announcement to "introduce drastic changes" in foreign exchange
regulations by the next session of Parliament. Insiders fear that this
will spell a dilution in powers of arrest as well as major concessions
to FERA offenders. Realistically, this may imply that the charges
which Chandraswami presently faces may not constitute offences at all
by the time a new enactment on FERA is brought about.
Political pundits see a deeper conspiracy behind the recent moves to
go-slow on Chandraswami. The fact that both Chandraswami and
Subramanian Swamy have allegedly been named in Justice M.C. Jain's
final report on the larger conspiracy behind Rajiv Gandhi's
assassination, and that the government has a mere six months to place
it before Parliament along with an Action Taken Report is one of the
reasons for Chandraswami's desperation to flee the country. According
to sources, former cabinet secretary Zafar Saifullah had told Jain of
having personally read certain wireless intercepts of conversations
between the LTTE, Chandraswami and Israeli intelligence agency Mossad
in early 1991. And these had allegedly showed their involvement in the
wider international conspiracy.
With the underlying pressure to make the report public, the
speculation is that certain factions in the government are eager to
free Chandraswami and would prefer to turn the heat on the Janata
Party leader—who is, in any case, causing problems for the ruling
combine. Legally, too, experts argue that a case of embezzlement and
foreign exchange regulations is not as serious as the findings of the
Jain Commission report. For, once a special team is constituted to
further investigate the Jain Commission recommendations, it will lead
to a serious probe into an even murkier case of money laundering, and
involvement with foreign intelligence agencies in an assassination.
But given that Advani has constituted a team of home ministry
officials to recommend further action on the basis of Jain's
recommendations and an internal report is to be submitted to him
within a month, the heat on the godman seems back on. Yet, knowing
Chandraswami, he will do his bit to use every likely political contact
to wriggle out of a sticky situation.
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?205496
National / Politics Magazine | May 15, 1996
Investigation
No Godfather Now
Chandraswami's fate will depend on the next government
Ranjit Bhushan , A.S. Panneerselvan
WILL Chandraswami ever be nailed? This week, finally, may provide an
answer as the godman was remanded to a day's judicial custody till May
4. But that answer hinges on another key question: is Narasimha Rao
losing his grip over the proceedings? That may be decided by May 10,
when the results of the elections are expected to be known. If Rao
returns as Prime Minister, the May 2 arrest of the well-chronicled and
controversial godman in a Madras hotel could turn out to be merely a
flash in the pan.
But in the event of the reins of power slipping from Rao's hands, the
investigating agencies may have a different role to play. "The charges
are serious. Depends on how they are framed," says an official
coordinating several charges against the self-styled guru—which range
from income-tax evasion to FERA violations to charges of bribery and
cheating.
Officials admit that the charge on which Chandraswami and close
associate Kailash Nath Agrawal (alias 'Mamaji') were picked up—of
cheating London-based NRI Lakhu Bhai Pathak to the tune of $100,000—is
a weak link in the chain of investigations launched against the
godman. But if Rao's downfall becomes inevitable, there is every
reason for Chandraswami's tryst with trouble to be long drawn out.
On May 2, Delhi's chief metropolitan magistrate Prem Kumar issued non-
bailable warrants against Chandraswami. Issuing the warrants, Kumar
directed the CBI that the godman be arrested and produced on or before
May 14. Such is the godman's clout that reporters trying to ascertain
the next course of action were informed that "he would have to be
traced", even though it seemed common knowledge that the god-man was
holed up in Madras.
A 10-member CBI team headed by Joint Director D. Mukerjee descended on
the Om Sindoori hotel in Madras the same evening. Interestingly, the
hotel owner is Apollo hospital's Dr Pratap Reddy, a Chandraswami
acolyte. Inside the hotel—which resembled a set out of a detective
movie, with CBI sleuths prowling around with their cellphones—the
godman was talking to Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy. The three-
hour meeting between the former Union commerce minister and the guru
was ostensibly meant to ward off the arrest. Swamy was reportedly
trying to use his friend and former attorney general G. Ramaswamy to
invoke immunity through a 1988 bail order in the same case.
The godman had already summoned a battery of doctors who were ready to
certify his "acute condition of cervical spondilitis". But the CBI
would have none of it. In a move reflecting freshly-found confi-dence,
Mukerjee said that if the godman needed treatment, he would have to
accompany the CBI men to a government hospital. After that,
Chandraswami got into the waiting CBI car without further ado and was
taken to the residence of additional sessions judge S. Sambandam,
where a transit warrant was to be obtained.
The CBI had registered the case against the godman on the basis of a
complaint filed by Lakhu Bhai Pathak in 1988. The agency had
chargesheeted the godman and 'Mamaji' for cheating Pathak through the
false promise of using their influence to secure him a newsprint and
paper pulp contract in India. Since then, nothing much had happened.
As judge Prem Kumar observed in his 17-page order, "investigations had
been going on for years without any tangible results."
Interestingly enough, the preliminary investigations conducted by a
CBI superintendent of police in the Pathak case found the "allegations
to be true". Subsequently, the case was transferred to the Enforcement
Directorate for initiating "necessary action". And the Directorate has
declined to reveal the further course of investigations, claiming
privilege because of the sensitive nature of the case. Now, perhaps,
it will be forced to reveal its hand. The real drama may have just
begun to unfold.
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?201366
National / Politics Magazine | Apr 03, 1996
Focus
Godman Cornered?
A new PIL pitches Chandraswami in his toughest legal battle yet
Rajesh Joshi
WILL the jet-setting guru Chandraswami be able to wriggle out of this
one? Time seems to be running out for the godman, as the Supreme Court
this week hears a public interest litigation (PIL), originally filed
on September 20, 1995, seeking to appoint a special commission to look
into the charges against him.
The investigating agencies—under fire for allegedly protecting the
godman are hoping to prevent that eventuality.
The petition accuses the investigating agencies of having failed to
take action against the godman in spite of the presence of
overwhelming evidence.
The PIL, originally filed by advocate Anukul Chandra Pradhan, accuses
the agencies of "complete inaction" vis-a-vis the Chandraswami case,
because of his "influential connections". The petition primarily seeks
an expeditious inquiry into the charges against Chandraswami, to be
carried out by special commissioners under the direct supervision of
the court.
The PIL was filed only a few days after the then minister of state for
internal security, Rajesh Pilot, ordered the swami's arrest, following
disclosures by Dawood Ibrahim's hitman, Babloo Srivas-tava, linking
the godman to the Dubai-based don. Subsequently, a human rights
organisation, People's Union for Civil Rights, also sought the apex
court's intervention to book Chandraswami and others in the St Kitts
forgery case. The court directed that all complaints pertaining to
Chandraswami be clubbed together and appointed advocate Anil Divan as
amicus curae. It came down heavily on the CBI, directing it either to
"book or leave" him.
The amended petition highlights the Government's reluctance to take
action against Chandraswami. It says the probe must cover his alleged
FERA and tax violations, the St Kitts forgery case, the Lakhubhai
Pathak cheating case, Babloo Srivastava's allegations and the godman's
links with politicians. The investigating agencies have failed to take
action "in spite of overwhelming material", says the plea.
The fact that the court has taken cognisance of the petition should
set alarm bells ringing. Those said to be closely linked with the
godman are Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, Petroleum Minister Captain
Satish Sharma and former minister R.K. Dhawan. All three and former
Union minister K.K. Tewari are named in the FIR in the St Kitts case,
but have not been interrogated. Had the CBI acted vigilantly and
independently, it would have done so, the petition points out.
It goes on to explain how Chandraswami manages, each time, to get over
any crisis—referring to his close proximity to top politicians. To
establish the godman's high connections with politicians like Rao and
former prime minister Chandra Shekhar, the petition quotes from his
own admission before the Jain Commission.
Giving details of the St Kitts forgery case—allegedly plotted by V.P.
Singh's political opponents with the aid of Chandraswami and some
officials of the Directorate of Enforcement (DOE)—the petition pleads
for the confessional statement of the late A.K. Nandy, former DOE
deputy director and an accused to the CBI. The petition says, Nandy's
statement discloses the role played by politicians. It also describes
how the operation was planned by Chandraswami, his aide K.N. Aggarwal
alias Mamaji, Larry Kolb (son-in-law of arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi)
and the godman's disciple, Dev Kethu.
Quoting from the FIR lodged on May 25, 1990, the petition observes
that Rao, then external affairs minister, also had a role to play. The
FIR says that Rao called consul general R.K. Rai to his suite at the
United Nations Plaza hotel in New York on October 4, 1989, and told
him to personally attest the documents brought to him by Nandy.
The petition highlights the CBI's reluctance to follow the Babloo
Srivastava case. Contrary to practice, the CBI did not use
Srivastava's claim—that he had stayed at Chandraswami's ashram and
planted a bomb in journalist Rajinder Jain's car to falsely implicate
him at the behest of the godman—in the chargesheet filed in the L.D.
Arora murder case.
This omission by the CBI was intended to prevent the judge from taking
cognisance of it and directing the agency to investigate Chandraswami
for harbouring a criminal. More so, because TADA provisions are
drastic, the petition speculates. Had the statement been filed,
Chandraswami would have been implicated, it adds. In former Union
minister Kalpnath Rai's case, the CBI had filed the statement of
Bombay-based criminal Bhai Thakur, which finally led to the arrest of
Rai and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan.
Meanwhile, Chandraswami is maintaining a stoic silence and—perhaps in
the hope of propitiating the gods—observing the navratri fast.
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?201123
National Magazine | Feb 21, 1996
Update
By The Grace Of God
The CBI fails to find 'clinching evidence' and recommends that the
case against Chandraswami be closed
Rajesh Joshi
Also In This Story
Update"The Swami Used To Give Us Money"THE various people accused in
the hawala and the Bombay blasts cases have made sensational
allegations against top politicians in the course of their
interrogation by the investi -gating agencies. Only a few of these
have been conclusively proved. But nevertheless, the charges can
provide vital leads. Outlook met Virendra Pant, a close associate of
Dawood's right-hand man Babloo Srivastav, and an accused in the murder
of the Delhi businessman, Lalit Suneja. Pant, who was arrested and
interrogated by the CBI and is currently in Tihar Jail, spoke about
Chandraswami's activities and the goings-on in his Delhi ashram.
Excerpts:
The preliminary inquiry (PE No. 2/S/95) registered last year against
controversial godman Chandraswami is being accorded a quiet burial by
the CentralBureau of Investigation (CBI). Last week, the CBI sent a
report to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) recommending that the
case against the godman be closed.
The orders to arrest the godman had been issued by the then minister
of state for internal security, Rajesh Pilot, in the wake of the
confessions made by Babloo Srivastav, a hired killer, about Chandra-
swami's links with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
While arrest warrants are being issued to top politicians, the godman
continues to play wheeler dealer from his ashram.
Following his extradition from Singapore for masterminding the murder
of L.D. Arora, a customs offi-cial, last year, Srivastav had disclosed
to the CBI that Chandraswami had kept him in his ashram in February
1992 when hewas wanted in connection with several criminal cases by
the Uttar Pradesh police. In his statement, Srivastav confessed to
having placed a bomb in the car of Delhi-based journalist Rajendra
Jain at the behest of Chandraswami, along with Virendra Pant and
Sanjay Khanna, members of Dawood's vast underworld network.
Pilot's directive had been precipitated by allegations from the
Opposition that Chan-draswami was not being investigated because he
enjoyed political patronage. The CBI looked into the revelations made
by Sriv-astav, and the godman and his aide Vikram Singh were
interrogated on four occasions. But ultimately, the CBI says it has
found "nothing clinching" against the swami.
However, based on Srivastav's revelations, CBI sleuths interrogated
Pant, Sriva-stav's accomplice in the Jain bomb case. Bureau sources
now confirm that Pant not only corroborated Srivastav's statement but
also gave further information about Chandraswami's activities. But,
for some mysterious reason, Pant's confession was not included in "the
official record". This, despite the fact that the investigating agency
had sought the permission of the Shahdara court to interrogate Pant.
What is even stranger is that after the three-day interrogation at
Delhi's Tihar Jail, the CBI said it was not in a position to pursue
the bomb case and, subsequently,Chandraswami's role in it. The reason:
since the case was originally registered with Delhi's Mandir Marg
Police Station, the agency could investigate the charges only if a
notification transferring the case to the CBI was issued by the MHA.
But the transfer never came. However, following adverse media reports,
the police had to reopen the Jain case and Pant was rearrested. As for
the other allegation against the godman of harbouring Srivastav,
officials now say that it will be very difficult to prove in court
that Chandraswami knowingly sheltered him. Going by the law, the
harbourer can be booked only if it is established that he had
knowledge of crimes committed by the person he was shielding.
Pilot had also ordered an inquiry into Chandraswami's alleged links
with Daw-ood Ibrahim. According to Srivastav, Arora was killed because
he had information about the Bombay blasts. Chandra-swami's harbouring
of Srivastav and former minister Arif Mohammed Khan's claims that he
had pictures of the god-man with Dawood's hitmen, hinted at definite
links. But concrete proof has remained elusive.
And now, Chandraswami, a master of crisis management skills, has
somehow managed to win over a one-time sworn adversary, Somchai
Chaisri Chawla, a Thailand-based NRI.Chawla had accused the godman of
cheating him of $250,000 in March 1995, and the Thailand police had
issued arrest warrants against Chandraswami and Vikram Singh. The NRI
had also complained to the Prime Minister then and had sought the
protection of the Delhi police on the grounds that he was being
harassed and threatened by "one Shri Vikram Singh, a close associate
of Shri Chandraswami.... I am being shadowed. As if Delhi is governed
by the rule of Chandraswami". Surprisingly, Chawla has reportedly done
a volte face and withdrawn all his charges against the godman. Sources
informed that Chawla had filed an affidavit with the Indian Government
last month "supporting Chandraswami." But he has been asked by the
Government to present himself and personally verify the contents of
the affidavit.
And so, at a time when arrest warrants are being issued against top
politicians like Kalp Nath Rai and H.K.L. Bhagat, and cabinet
ministers are compelled to resign on corruption charges, the
globetrotting godman continues to play the "wheeler-dealer" from his
sprawling south Delhi ashram.
Also In This Story
Update
"The Swami Used To Give Us Money"
THE various people accused in the hawala and the Bombay blasts cases
have made sensational allegations against top politicians in the
course of their interrogation by the investi -gating agencies. Only a
few of these have been conclusively proved. But nevertheless, the
charges can provide vital leads. Outlook met Virendra Pant, a close
associate of Dawood's right-hand man Babloo Srivastav, and an accused
in the murder of the Delhi businessman, Lalit Suneja. Pant, who was
arrested and interrogated by the CBI and is currently in Tihar Jail,
spoke about Chandraswami's activities and the goings-on in his Delhi
ashram. Excerpts:
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?200868
National / Politics Magazine | Oct 18, 1995
Spotlight
Spinning A Web Of Fraud
The Chandraswami saga heats up with a series of probes and arrest
warrants. But can the godman be nailed?
Ranjit Bhushan
EVER since the then minister of state for internal security, Rajesh
Pilot, ordered the arrest of Chandraswami, the question which is being
increasingly asked is whether this marks the end of the road for the
controversial godman. Senior officials in the Prime Minister's Office
say PV. Narasimha Rao has given the go-ahead for the law to take its
own course. But as investigating officials plod through the plethora
of charges against the globetrotting godman, it is becoming clear that
it will be extremely difficult to nail him.
For one, except for the charges emanating from the confession of
Babloo Srivastav, a hired killer recently extradited from Singapore,
almost all the charges against Chandraswami relate to alleged frauds
committed outside the country. Investigating officials admit that
frauds are difficult to prove in court. It is also not that easy to
conduct investigations in foreign countries.
In one country, however no real probe is needed to begin with. The
Thailand police have already issued a warrant of arrest against
Chandraswami for allegedly duping a businessman of that country,
Somachandra Chaisiri Chawla. Chawla had complained to the Indian Prime
Minister about the fraud perpetrated on him by Chandraswami way back
in March this year, and Pilot's arrest order was based primarily on
it. But even in this case there are doubts whether the arrest warrant
can be executed because India and Thailand do not have an extradition
treaty.
Along with his complaint to Rao, Chawla had also sought protection
from the Delhi Police. He wrote to Commissioner of Police Nikhil
Kumar: "I have been receiving threatening calls/messages from one Shri
Vikram Singh, who is a close associate of Shri Chandraswami...they
have been claiming that in case I do not succumb to their illegal
demands and do not pass on funds/donation to a political party, I
shall not be able to set up any project in India." He also claimed
that Singh threatened to implicate him in false criminal cases.
The Thai warrant was more specific. Issued against Chandraswami and
Vikram Singh, his Man Friday, it said that Rs 2.4 crore had been paid
to the duo for 'getting' work done on Chawla's Rs 1,000-crore ventures
with the Bangalore Development Authority and the Bangalore Water and
Sewage Board for promoting housing projects and water supply schemes
in Bangalore.
While ordering an inquiry into Chawla's complaint, Pilot asked the CBI
to delve into the entire gamut of cases against Chandraswami,
including his alleged links with the prime accused in the Bombay
blasts case, Dawood Ibrahim. The links had been disclosed during the
CBI's interrogation of Srivastav. But proof of any such link can be
extremely elusive. Though the CBI is reportedly examining his
passport, it does not rule out his having used several identities and
passports. The Foreign Registration and Recording Office in Delhi is
looking at all his photographs taken since 1982.
Former minister Arif Mohammed Khan, who first levelled charges against
Chandraswami when his premises were raided in connection with the Jain
hawala case, claims he has pictures of Chandraswami with Dawood
Ibrahim's hitmen at an American airport. But he says he will only
release these pictures at an appropriate time.
As for Srivastav's claim that he had stayed at Chandraswami's ashram
in February 1992, it should not ruffle the probing the cases against
Chandraswami.
Most of the cases abroad relate to frauds. Chandi Suryavali, a local
leader of Indian origin from Paramribo in Surinam, had registered a
case of alleged fraud against the godman in 1986. According to the
details of the Intimation of Unlawful Activities--the Surinamese
version of an FIR--Suryavali had paid him $1 million for setting up
business ventures in India under the aegis of the Surinam Non-Resident
Indian Association. But once he got the money, Chandraswami reportedly
did the vanishing act. The complaint was sent to the Ministry of
External Affairs n 1987 but did not evoke much response from the
Indian Government, except for a cursory "we are examining the issue".
But Pilot's offensive has certainly set the cat among the pigeons.
This round of dirt-digging exercises includes an investigation into
Chandraswami's apartment at Olympic Towers Officials say the apartment
may have been used to entertain influential guests from India, which
may explain the godman's political clout.
The CBI is also chasing up another old case of cheating, this time in
London. According to the details of the case, Chandraswami and his
secretary, K.N. Agrawal, known as Mamaji, cheated an NRI, Lakhu Bhai
Pathak, of $100,000 on the pretext that the accused would use his
influence to secure newsprint and paper pulp supply contracts from the
Government of India. "Even after long persuasion, there was no
response from the accused either to secure the contracts or to return
the money given by the complainant (Pathak)," the CBI document says,
admitting that any further progress would be very difficult. "It has
not been possible to complete this investigation due to the refusal of
foreign witnesses for examination and non-receipt of relevant
documents," it notes.
The catalogue of the thorns in the swami's side is growing. Babloo
Srivastav's lawyers, V.K. Ohri and H.A. Alvi, are especially keen to
see him implicated in a 1991 case of a fatal bomb attack on Delhi-
based Journalist Ravindra Jain. The Jain commission probing the Rajiv
Gandhi assassination decided to look into an Akali leader, Mahant Seva
Dass' claim that the godman was one of the main conspirators.
In the welter of charges that are now seeing the light of day, people
remain cynical as to what the CBI or any other agency can really do.
Especially if the St Kitts investigation is anything to go by. "This
man has known all prime ministers except V.P. Singh," says the Janata
Dal's Ram Vilas Paswan. Former prime minister Chandra Shekhar,
however, maintains there is not much behind the screaming headlines.
"The law takes its own course. It is not dictated by headlines," he
says.
The experience of former joint director of the CBI, N.K. Singh is
quite different though. Singh remembers how he was abruptly taken off
the case and transferred out of the agency when he started issuing
notices to Chandraswami in early 1991. In his special leave petition
before the Supreme Court, Singh recalls the number of times Chandra
Shekhar and the then law minister, Subramanian Swamy, personally
intervened to have the case scuttled. And that is exactly what
happened in the end.
Chandraswami's saviours, if a list is drawn, far outnumber those
gunning for him. So if liquor baron Vijay Mallya offers his personal
aircraft for the godman's use, Chief Election Commissioner T.N.
Seshan, despite Iris all-out war against corruption in high places,
thinks nothing of meeting him publicly.
Leading saffron lights Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Vijayaraje Scindia
also, count among his ardent camp followers. And earlier this year the
Communist Party of India (M) publicly ridiculed its high profile MP,
Amal Dutta, for attending the godman's birthday bash; Dutta, who is
West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu' nephew, is unlikely to get a
party ticket in the next general elections. Chandraswami's relations
with arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi extended to the Iran-Contra deal,
details of which became public later once American involvement in it
was established.
As Vineet Narain, owner of a video-magazine and one of the first to
carry exposes on the godman, says: "it something still happens to
Chandraswami, all I can say is that the Prime Minister has given up on
him. But to see that happening is wishful at this stage."
A telling example of Chandraswami's clout is that the team of CBI
sleuths is 'interrogating' him at his ashram, and not at the CBI
headquarters. And at the doorsteps of the ashram, Janata Party
President Subramanian Swamy beams: "No charges can be proved. It is
all being engineered by the Congress(T)." If that confidence is
anything to go by, the godman seems to be oil a good wicket.
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?200039
http://www.outlookindia.com/peoplefnl.aspx?pid=8886&author=Chandraswami
National / Politics / Interviews Magazine | Aug 07, 1996
Focus
'Sweeper Or PM, A Crime Is A Crime'
Lakhubhai Pathak the NRI businessman who has made allegations of fraud
against Narasimha Rao and Chandraswami, began an 'indefinite' fast on
July 25 in Bombay 'to force' the former prime minister to tell the
truth. He called it off the following morning, on the advice of his
newly discovered guide G.R. Khairnar—the recently sacked civic
official, who earlier ran a crusade against Sharad Pawar. Pathak spoke
to Lekha Rattanani after he called off his fast. Excerpts from the
interview
Lekha Rattanani Interviews Lakhubhai Pathak
Also In This Story
Focus
New Man, New Impetus?
With a Deve Gowda man the new CBI chief, the agency may change its
overt pro-Rao stance
Rajesh Joshi
According to Narasimha Rao, he was not present at the Haloram House
hotel in New York when you say you met him.
The meeting took place 13 years ago. I don't remember the exact date.
But that does not change the facts. It was sometime before Christmas.
I remember I went to El Paso after this meeting , and then to Mexico
for Christmas.
So when exactly was the meeting with Rao?
It happened a few days before Christmas—between the 18th and the 23rd.
Had I known how important the meeting would turn out to be, I would
have recorded it or called in a cameraman. Rao met me in
Chandraswami's room.
According to Rao's counsel, Kapil Sibal, there is no entry in the
former prime minister's passport to show he was in New York.
Was he (Rao) an ordinary traveller or was he travelling on a
diplomatic passport? It is not my job but the job of the investigating
agencies to find out if he was actually there. Passports can be messed
around with. Anything can happen in India. We can buy ministers like
we buy vegetables. They have fooled the country, now they are fooling
the court.
Some of the witnesses whom you said were present at the meeting—Muscat-
based businessman Umesh Khimji and Ashwin Patel, the businessman from
Leceister, have denied being there. So, were they actually present?
They were eight to ten people. I have already given their names to the
court. I had told the magistrate that I cannot reveal their names
without their permission. I didn't want to offend them or create any
problems for them. I was told by the magistrate that hiding anything
is equivalent to lying. Now they are denying they were present and I
don't have to force them to speak the truth.
One of the witnesses, Maharashtra minister Suresh Jain, said he didn't
know you then and that Rao was not present.
It is an absolute lie. Politicians are people who can change their
statements like other people change their clothes. They have no
conscience.
How did you enter into a contract to supply newsprint and paper pulp
when it isn't your line of business?
The contract was a trap. I was in the pickle line, in no way in
paper.
But what about the money you paid to Chandraswami? Wasn't that a
bribe?
A bribe taken is a crime. So is a bribe given. Let the court decide
whether this is a crime. I paid $100,000 in two cheques, drawn on the
Canadian Imperial Bank, to Chandraswami. I am prepared to face any
sentence if I am proved guilty. A crime is a crime whether it's
committed by a sweeper, king or prime minister.
Are you certain the man you met in the hotel was Rao?
I didn't know Rao till he came into Chandraswami's room. But he has a
face that can't be forgotten.
What exactly did Rao say to you?
Chandraswami brought Rao to his room. Suresh Jain and others were
present. All of us got up and greeted him. Chandraswami introduced me
to Rao saying: "Yeh hamare Pathakji hain. Yeh bahuth bada
industrialist hai." Rao turned to me and said: "Chandraswami has told
me everything. Your work will be done." I was thrilled because I was
the only one in the room who was introduced to him. Suresh Jain said I
was lucky to have managed an introduction. This is the whole truth.
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray says that you are keen to join his
party.
I want to be a Shiv Sainik and be of service to the people. I know the
Shiv Sena from the time I had a pickle factory in Andheri in 1974-75.
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?201873
National Magazine | Dec 22, 2003
Sanjoy Ghosh
haryana
'Godman Gave The Slit-Throat Sign...'
That's how Chandraswami threatened the IAS officer who blew the
whistle on Chautala's teacher scam
Chander Suta Dogra
A little after 7.30 pm on October 22, Chandraswami, Delhi's infamous
godman and political wheeler-dealer, had an unusual visitor. Ushered
into his presence was Sanjiv Kumar, the 1985 batch IAS officer and
whistle-blower-in-chief of the schoolteacher recruitment scam in
Haryana. It was on his petition that the Supreme Court on November 25
ordered a CBI inquiry into alleged attempts by Haryana CM Om Prakash
Chautala and his office to substitute genuine selection lists with
fake ones for appointment of primary teachers in 19 districts.
"Mr Chautala was built up as a ruthless man whom I should be very
frightened of."
The attempt was to effect 2,000 new appointments. Though there's no
official confirmation, it's alleged that Rs 1 lakh was demanded from
each candidate.
The October 22 meeting with Chandraswami was meant to force Kumar into
entering into a compromise and withdraw the demand for a CBI probe and
accept an inquiry by a divisional commissioner. The godman spoke to
him for about eight minutes. The contents of that conversation,
secretly recorded by Kumar and given to the Supreme Court for
safekeeping, is giving sleepless nights to many in Haryana, especially
Chautala.
The godman may be down and out in Delhi, but he's playing an active
role in neighbouring Haryana, threatening to get "the throat slit" of
people like Kumar. Recalls Kumar: "Two minutes into the conversation
with Chandraswami and I realised he was handing out threats on behalf
of chief minister Chautala who's one of the respondents in my
petition." Though the apex court has ordered a CBI inquiry into the
case and Kumar has been provided protection by the Delhi Police, he is
still a scared and harried man. Says he: "I'm worried that what
happened to Satyendra Dubey (the whistle-blower in the Golden
Quadrangle highway contracts scam who was murdered in Patna three
weeks ago) might also happen to me."
The officer spoke exclusively to Outlook about the meeting with
Chandraswami, which he recorded on the tape.
"The godman said I should think of what'll happen when police
protection is taken off."
"After a few preliminary remarks, Chandraswami said I should think of
what'll happen when police protection is taken off after a few months.
He then placed his hand on his throat and ran it like how a butcher
would. I asked him, 'Maar bhi sakte hain (You mean, get killed)?' and
he replied, 'Woh kuch bhi kar sakte hain (He can do anything)'."
According to Kumar, he was advised by the godman to be wary of
Chautala. "Mr Chautala was built up as a tough and ruthless man whom I
should be very frightened of. Chandraswami also reminded me of how
former PM Chandrashekhar was laid up in hospital with a heart ailment
after the treatment meted out to him by Chautala when the former's
Bhondsi farmhouse in Gurgaon district was taken back by the state
government."
The godman, according to Kumar, continued in a similar vein:
"Chandraswami said 'Chautala will institute more cases against you and
your career will be ruined'." He also apparently warned Kumar to keep
away from Karan Singh Dalal, RPI MLA from Palwal (a bitter critic of
Chautala), saying "he's a finished man". When Kumar asked whether he
(Kumar) too could be killed?, the godman reportedly said: "Main kya
keh sakta hoon (What can I say?)."
A couple of days later, Kumar was summoned again to Chandraswami's
ashram. This time two candidates, whose names are in the second list
(allegedly fake), were also present. In a separate petition to the
court, they had pleaded their selection was genuine. Their petition
gave damaging details of the place and time when an officer in the
CM's office called them to Delhi's Haryana Bhavan and demanded money
from them. Chandraswami was trying to get them to withdraw their
case.
As for Kumar, he was given another dose of Chandraswami's threats
which also he recorded. Recalls the IAS officer: "He repeatedly
threatened me with dire consequences if I did not heed his
warning.Eventually, I asked him, 'Swamiji what should I do?' and he
replied, 'Samjhauta kar lo (work out a compromise)'. I told him that I
would do so. The fact that I had agreed to a compromise was apparently
passed on by Chandraswami to the CM because at the next hearing of the
case on November 3, the Haryana government counsel offered to get the
matter inquired into by a divisional commissioner. They were quite
taken aback when I opposed this offer and stuck to my original plea
for a CBI investigation." The SC order directed the CBI to take charge
of the tapes as well as the two lists of selected teachers, which were
till then kept in the court's custody.
But why did Kumar agree to meet Chandraswami? Ever since it became
clear the apex court was likely to order an inquiry, he began getting
threats on his phone. Eventually, he told the anonymous caller that it
would be better if he came out in the open and talked. A few minutes
later, he got a call from a person claiming to be the swami's
secretary. He said, "Swamiji would like to meet urgently. It's
something of your interest." Says Kumar, "At that point I was quite
demoralised and virtually at my wits' end. I agreed. But I took the
precaution of telling my wife that if I did not return in an hour she
should inform the police," says Kumar.
Trouble began for Kumar in July 2000 when he was appointed director,
primary education, by the newly elected Chautala government. According
to the facts as stated in the October 25 apex court judgement,
applications for recruiting 3,206 teachers were invited in November
1999. And on the basis of interviews held in 19 districts, a list of
selected candidates was finalised. The outgoing director, Rajni Sekhri
Sibal, kept the lists in a cupboard and sealed it. The key to the
cupboard too was put in a sealed and signed envelope. When Kumar took
charge, he was "pressurised" into substituting another list in place
of the original list. He refused.
In September 2000, all members of the 19 district selection committees
were called to Panchkula and then to Haryana Bhavan in Delhi. Fresh
and false lists of candidates were prepared and the members were
forced to sign this list. On September 28, 2000, this list was handed
over to Kumar with a directive that it should immediately be
substituted for the original list. Instead, Kumar, on November 7,
2000, opened the sealed cupboard and released the original list. These
candidates were then appointed. And within a month of that he was
transferred.
But he took the precaution of taking the "fake" list with him. And
then the nightmare began. His flat in Sector 19, Chandigarh, was
broken into. He began receiving threats. He was denied promotion twice
and put under suspension. Soon after that the government registered
two corruption cases against him, which also come under the ambit of
the CBI investigation.
It's two years since he was suspended and he has been managing to keep
the home fires burning with the help of family and friends. "The
government has not given me even the subsistence allowance of 50 per
cent of my salary," Kumar says. Justice is still a long way off for
him because the CBI investigation into the case could drag on for some
time. But it takes courage to blow the whistle. And Kumar is
determined to keep up his dogged fight as long as he can.
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?222426
National Magazine | Jul 20, 1998
Exclusive
Finally All Fingers Point To A Foreign Hand
The Jain Commission's final report focuses on a larger international
conspiracy, and the CIA-Mossad-LTTE link, in the Rajiv killing
Charu Lata Joshi
Also In This Story
Exclusive
Mossad Missives
Ex-Cabinet secretary Zafar Saifullah told Jain of the Israel link
Exclusive
Damning Intercepts
Wireless messages indicate the LTTE wasn't acting in isolation
Exclusive
The BCCI Channel
Jain says Chandraswami linked up with BCCI through Khashoggi
FOR seven rambling years, the Jain Commission of Inquiry—set up to
unravel the larger conspiracy behind Rajiv Gandhi's May 21, 1991,
assassination—has stumbled from one controversy to another. The
Commission's interim report, tabled in Parliament last year, led to
the fall of the United Front government—it had pointed fingers at its
coalition partner, the DMK, for harbouring the LTTE, thus creating
conditions which facilitated the assassination.
"The possibility of a foreign hand behind the LTTE in the Rajiv
assasination is trengthened."
It had also come down heavily on the V.P. Singh government for
ignoring the security threat to Rajiv.
The final report charts a markedly different course. Volume II,
covering chapters I to VI, widens the ambit beyond the immediate
circumstances to emphasise a larger, international plot. Foreign
intelligence agencies like the CIA and Mossad, and leaders of some
Sikh extremist organisations step in as the new dramatis personae. The
report says they actively collaborated with the LTTE and key Indian
individuals in the period immediately preceding the assassination. The
eight-volume set, 14 chapters in all—accessed by Outlook—was submitted
to the home ministry on March 7 this year.
Curiously, even as he lambasts the work of the CBI's Special
Investigation Team—devoting an entire volume to its investigational
lapses—Jain appears to have considerably toned down his earlier stand
on the complicity of the DMK and has instead concentrated on the
'foreign' angle. But there are specific recommendations for the
prosecution of certain members of the DMK, PMK, and DK, who were
earlier chargesheeted in the assassination of EPRLF chief K.
Padmanabha in Chennai in 1990.
The report is not without its Indian angle. Startling depositions and
intelligence intercepts included in the report indicate that Dr
Subramanian Swamy and former prime minister Chandra Shekhar, in
different ways, may have had prior knowledge of a threat to Rajiv but
did not react in a "timely manner".
"CIA seems to have a track record of destabilising governments while
indulging in assassination plots."
At the same time, Jain appears to have pulled his punches in
recommending any further probe into the charges against these two
politicians.
What emerges finally is a picture of a well-networked international
plot and certain key Indians, cast in varying degrees of complicity,
who had 'knowledge' of the plan. Whether Home Ministry officials, who
are studying the report, will be able to take any action on these
findings for presenting the Action Taken Report in Parliament during
this session remains in the realm of speculation. For now, the report,
with its explosive annexures and wild-card theories, has the potential
of stirring up yet another political maelstrom.
THE FOREIGN HAND: What is the foreign hand referred to in the final
report? The depositions and intelligence inputs from RAW and IB have
led Justice Jain to infer that the Tamil Tigers couldn't have operated
in isolation. In fact, he barely stops short of concluding that it was
just the hired executor—a point Jain had touched upon in his interim
report. Notes Jain: "The LTTE may be having its own financial
resources but to acquire such high-tech weaponry, financial help and
help in the form of shipment of arms, which are referred to in IB
reports, cannot be ruled out. The possibility of a foreign hand behind
the LTTE in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi can't be ruled out,
rather it is strengthened." The wireless intercepts (see box) clinches
the fact that LTTE operatives like K.
"...there were moves to remove Rajiv and the hand of Chandraswami has
been established."
Padmanabha had links with the CIA and that the US intelligence agency
assisted the Tigers in arms procurement and other operations. The LTTE
was networked with international agencies and these could have helped
them in the plot to kill Rajiv.
To establish the foreign link, the report quotes telegram No. 24 (CCB)/
20537 of September 11, 1991—sent to the Ministry of External Affairs
by the Indian Ambassador in Tunis, containing a key tipoff he got from
PLO president Yasser Arafat. It was conveyed that "Yasser Arafat had
information that Rajiv's enemies would use the election period to get
rid of him. He got this information from inside Israel and his
European sources. These sources mentioned that the LTTE and Sikh
extremists would try to harm Rajiv Gandhi. Besides the above three,
hostile forces from outside India may also make an attempt."
A recorded note on the talk between the then foreign secretary
Muchkund Dubey and the Palestinian ambassador in India, dated June 6,
1991, included in the final report reads: "The Palestinian ambassador
told me that they had seen the movement of Mos-sad agents in India,
including towards Madras. He said that if one was looking for a link,
it was the CIA/Mossad/LTTE link. He further stated that the culprit
could have been one of the women related or associated with the five
LTTE leaders who had killed themselves after taking cyanide soon after
the commencement of the IPKF operation."
Justice Jain gives considerable import to the Arafat input.
"Swamy spoke of the possibility of Prabhakaran having been financed
for the job..."
"I find the information furnished by Yasser Arafat genuine and there
is no reason to disbelieve it.... From the note of Shri Muchkund Dubey
and the CCB telegram, it is amply borne out that there was an
international plot to assassinate Rajiv Gandhi and that it was a
Mossad/LTTE/CIA link."
Statements from Dubey's successor J.N. Dixit, Sonia Gandhi as well as
details gleaned from RAW and IB have been woven into the report to
shore up the information the PLO chief had passed on to Indian
authorities. Dixit's deposition finds prominence in the report:
"Arafat is right in stating that he had sources within Israel and well-
established sources in Europe. This information conveyed in the
telegram must have been cross-checked by the field units of RAW under
directives of their headquarters."
"There must have been operatives of the CIA and Mossad in India during
1990-91.... The likelihood of Rajiv coming back to power might have
been viewed with some reservations, not so much by the US government
itself but by segments of the US defence and Intelligence
establishment in the context of Rajiv Gandhi's opposition regarding
refuelling facilities provided by India for US Air Force planes during
the Gulf War," adds the ex-foreign secretary.
Similarly, in her statement to the Commission, Sonia Gandhi confirms
that "it is a fact that Arafat sent my husband messages through the
Palestinian mission in India saying that they had learnt of the
threats to his life. This was reconfirmed to me and my children
personally by Arafat when he met us soon after my husband's funeral.
There were several other occasions when he received similar
information."
RAW too provided the Commission with inputs, which it had shared with
IB, on the activities of Mossad and CIA in India in the year
immediately preceding the assassination. The final report mentions
Amos Radia and Giorce Betchar as agents operating for the Israelis in
India. As regards CIA activities in India, RAW had informed the IB
that two suspected US intelligence officers were in India in the
months preceding the killing.
A study of the post-Gulf war scenario in West Asia conducted by RAW,
which was communicated to the PMO, then cabinet secretary Naresh
Chandra, then foreign secretary Muchkund Dubey, IB, the Naval
Headquarters and then Air Force chief S.K. Mehra, clearly stated:
"International terrorism will get a fillip and we can expect terrorist
strikes against soft targets in India. Considerable vigil will have to
be exercised."
While Jain has gone to great lengths to establish the foreign hand,
he has also indicted intelligence agencies like RAW for not taking a
serious view of information that came its way. The report says: "RAW's
conclusion on Arafat's information requires deeper examination.
Nothing has been said about the possible involvement of the CIA which
may operate through Mossad in the light of Rajiv Gandhi's utterances
during the Gulf War opposing refuelling facilities to the US."
Further, Jain writes, "the CIA seems to have a track-record of covert
operations for desta-bilising governments while indulging in
assassination plots or otherwise as reported in the print media.... It
is in this background of the CIA's alleged track-record that Arafat's
utterances have to be evaluated."
THE report notes that, "Kumaran Padmanabha's (KP) account in BCCI,
Bombay branch, prima facie establishes links of the LTTE with the
bank. Unless material from the Senate subcommittee is gathered, it
will not be proper to conclude that the BCCI funds were not made
available in connection with the Rajiv Gandhi assassination.... The
material which has come before the Commission raises a very strong
possibility of such help from some individuals and agencies since it
is well established that KP was the LTTE's international arms
procurer."
Despite all the information pieced together, the report is short on
specifics and does little to flesh out the precise manner in which the
foreign hand purportedly worked. The veil of mystery that shrouds the
Rajiv killing remains. Jain indicates how the LTTE conspired with
foreign agents/agencies to carry out the assassination, but provides
only a vague delineation of possible motives. As things stand, it is
doubtful whether the MEA (which has been given charge of investigating
the international link) will be able to come up with anything.
THE INDIAN CONNECTION: Justice Jain has devoted separate chapters to
three key Indian players who are suspected, one way or the other, to
have had prior knowledge of the assassination. Nothing definitive or
conclusive here, but Jain has woven in intriguing loops of
circumstantial evidence—quoted and contained in the annexures—around
godman Chandraswami, Janata Party leader Dr Subramanian Swamy and
former PM Chandra Shekhar. The three are bracketed, prima facie, as
either having a link with those who allegedly conspired with the
assassins or at least having been privy to the fact of a plot.
The link between Chandra Shekhar and Subramanian Swamy has been taken
seriously by Jain in the light of Chandra-swami's deposition: "I know
Chandra Shekhar and Subramanian Swamy have been very thick for the
last 7-8 years. Dr Swamy told me that I (Chandraswami) may persuade
Rajiv Gandhi to make Chandra Shekhar the PM." Working within this
framework, the Commission has read much into the independent
testimonies of a host of witnesses—wherever they overlap—and arrived
at certain conclusions.
For instance, Justice Jain concludes that Akali leader Mahant Sewa
Dass's deposition stands corroborated by evidence provided by RAW.
Dass was sent as Chandra Shekhar's emissary to meet Khalistan
proponent Dr Jagjit Singh Chohan in London. He had deposed that at the
meeting a plot to eliminate Rajiv was being hatched jointly by Babbar
Khalsa militants and a representative of the LTTE (R.M. Pradi)—and
that the project was to be financed by Chandraswami. Jain says: "It is
fully established that Mahant Sewa Dass went to London, met Dr Chohan
in the presence of some persons, conveyed the message of Chandra
Shekhar and brought back a letter from Dr Chohan addressed to Shri
Chandra Shekhar."
The letter also finds a place in government records and reads:
"Dear Mr Chandra Shekharji,
Namaskar!
Mahantji discussed quite a few but very important things with me. I
very much appreciate your initiative in Punjab. I am sure it will help
to pacify the violence in Punjab. Mahantji will give you the details
of our discussion on various aspects. Talks are the only way to
resolve the problems.
More on hearing from you. Yours sincerely, Dr Jagjit Singh Chohan"
According to the report, "RAW confirms the meeting and that almost all
the active pro-Khalistan groups were represented in the meeting. It
also says that the main purpose of Mahant Sewa Dass's sojourn was to
find out the pro-Khalistani elements on a possible peace package
acceptable to them which could then be projected as an achievement of
the Government of India as a successful attempt to bring back the
Sikhs abroad into the national mainstream.... However, a contemporary
inquiry should have been made and the report should have been sent to
the PM."
The Commission also has on record a communication UO.No 3/5/88-VS,
dated July 21, 1988, in which RAW mentioned reports indicating that Dr
Chohan was trying to establish contact with the LTTE in the UK. Also,
"government records show that Mahant Sewa Dass was sent by the
government as an emissary of Chandra Shekhar to meet Dr Chohan. His
arrangements for travel were made by the government."
According to Jain, "From the perusal of various statements, it is
evident that the relations of Chandraswami did exist, not only with
Rao but also with Chandra Shekhar, Subrama-nian Swamy and O.P.
Chautala. However, no inference of complicity can be drawn, although
the surveillance at 10, Janpath and the statement of Saifullah may
give rise to some doubts."
As for Chandraswami, the circle of suspicion is wider. His links with
the LTTE as well as international arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi (see
box) have been established. Notes Jain: "The evidence and material
does point an accusing finger at Chandraswami and circumstances which
have come before the Commission raise a doubt regarding his
involvement in the assassination. Taking the entire evidence, material
and circumstantial, brought on record, a serious doubt arises
regarding Chandraswami's complicity and involvement. So the matter
requires a further probe.... There is a plethora of evidence on record
in the form of testimony of Buta Singh, S.S. Mahapatra, B.G. Deshmukh
and others which proves that there were moves to remove Rajiv Gandhi
and the hand of Chandraswami in these moves has been clearly
established."
Many witnesses have attested to the godman's dubious links with
international agencies. Ramesh Dalal, BJP activist, deposed that he
knew "Shri Chandraswami has relations with the CIA, Mossad and the
LTTE. He took the help of these agencies in assassinating Rajiv
Gandhi.... In the core group of Chandraswami, Rajendra Jain, Babloo
Srivastava, K.N. Aggarwal, Subramanian Swamy, Chandra Shekhar, O.P.
Chautala and Pinaki Misra were there. The people of this core group
used to meet Chandraswami in his bedroom. Chandraswami told me he had
been financing the LTTE..."
The report says: "It is noteworthy that when he (Ramesh Dalal) had
expressed his doubts regarding the involvement of Chandraswami as
early as August 1991, investigations should have been conducted.
Outrightly rejecting his testimony would not be a proper course and a
thorough investigation is required to be made about the truth or
otherwise of his testimony. Some support is available...from the
deposition of Mahant Sewa Dass Singh."
As for Swamy, the Commission interweaves various independent
depositions and pieces of evidence to flesh out his links with the god-
man and international agencies as well as his role as an intermediary.
The report notes that Swamy had made a trip to London in 1995 with
Chandraswami—they both stayed at Halkin Hotel and the bill was picked
up by the godman.
Going back to the period before the killing, Jain cites the then
cabinet secretary Zafar Saifullah's statement that "there were some
intercepts emanating from Israel for information to Chandraswami and
Swamy for Jaffna. These intercepts have not come before the
Commission. If Saifullah's statement is correct, then the intercepts
would have thrown much more light on the question of complicity."
THE report adds: "A serious doubt has also been cast by E. Velusami
who has filed an affidavit before the Commission..." Velusami, then
general secretary of the Janata Party in Tamil Nadu, had deposed that
his party president had arrived "in the morning at Madras airport by a
flight from Delhi on Sunday, May 19, 1991." Elections in the state
were set for May 26. "Swamy's whereabouts became unknown on May 21
morning. He subsequently learnt he had spent May 21 morning in a hotel
called Trident near the airport and that he had met some persons
there....
It is not clear why he made this secret stay in Madras on May 21,
1991, that too, after suddenly cancelling his pre-settled programme of
going to Delhi from Madras and without any information to his
colleagues..." Swamy's itinerary was confirmed by the personal
secretary to the ex-minister, writes Jain. He gives credence to the
testimony of Aziz Haniffa, Washington bureau chief of India Abroad, in
which he states that "during an interview with Swamy, the latter
claimed it was he who was instrumental in introducing the LTTE to the
Israelis, which led to their training by Mossad."
Similarly, former Rajya Sabha MP Rajani Ranjan Sahu deposed that in
1994 Dr Swamy told him and two others at the Tamil Nadu governor's
house that the LTTE was hired for the job. He claimed Prabhakaran
ordered the assassination after entering into a Rs 100-crore deal. He
also revealed that "one W. Anderson, first secretary in the American
Embassy, was anti-Rajiv" and that intelligence officials had got wind
of the plot. Jain, at the same time, seems to suspend judgement on the
episode: "From the statements of Sahu, Jitendra Prasada and Rajiv
Shukla, it is borne out that they happened to meet Dr Swamy in the
drawing room of the Governor's house and that... Dr Swamy spoke of the
possibility of V. Prabhakaran having been financed for the job which
might have motivated him for the assassination.
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?205868
bademiyansubhanallah
gathered about Sathya Sai Baba.
Visit Sathya Sai Baba's Official Web Site
(Link takes you outside the Rick A. Ross Institute web site)
http://www.sathyasai.org/
Sathya Sai Baba, "God"
or "sexual predator"?
Atheist Karuna woos godman in TN
Times Now, India/May 9, 2007
By Dhanya Rajendran
He may be one of the country's best known atheists, but when it comes
to funding state projects, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi
does not mind the help of spiritual gurus. The Satya Sai trust has
agreed to fund a project which will provide drinking water to parched
Chennai. And Karunanidhi is only too happy to welcome the godman.
Till a few years ago, it was unthinkable that Karunanidhi would ever
share a dais with Satya Sai Baba, however at a public appearance with
the spiritual Guru in January this year, Karunanidhi asked Sai Baba's
help for developmental projects. Now Sri Satya Sai Trust has agreed to
upgrade the 25 km-long Kandaleru-Poondi canal, which will bring water
to Chennai.
Karunanidhi may not believe in God, but as analysts say, he has proved
to be a tactful politician.
"He is an atheist at a personal level, and when he shared a dais with
Sai Baba, he explained his stand saying the question was not whether
he believed in God, but whether he was worthy of God's trust. But at a
more practical level, I buy his point From whichever source the money
comes, and as long as it is not tainted, it is welcome," remarked S
Murari, a political analyst.
The chief minister has kept aside his radical beliefs for good reason;
With the states finances running dry due to the numerous sops given by
his government, Karunanidhi desperately needs funds. Now that the Baba
trust has entered into a partnership with the government, the big
question is whether they will undertake the Coovum river-cleaning
project.
"Cleaning the Coovum is my dream, but I will need your help. It has
been quoted as a Rs 1,000 crore project. I'm not asking for the whole
amount, but I will be happy if you donate the same," is M
Karunanidhi's request.
This is, definitely, an image makeover. But the chief minister's
tolerance towards religious matters are limited to accepting help to
develop his state. When it comes to clashes between believers and non-
believers within the state, Karunanidhi always sticks to his
ideologies.
http://www.rickross.com/reference/saibaba/saibaba24.html
Spiritual guru criticised for opposing statehood for Telangana region
Gulf Times/January 23, 2007
Hyderabad -- People went on a rampage here yesterday in protest
against spiritual guru Satya Sai Baba who said he was against a
separate Telangana state.
His followers meanwhile called a shutdown in Puttaparthi town of
Anantapur district to condemn remarks on the guru.
Shouting slogans against him, dozens of students belonging to
Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) barged into a Sai Baba temple near
Osmania University here, pulled down huge cut-outs of the guru and
burnt them.
An effigy of Sai Baba, who termed moves to bifurcate the state
'mahapapam' (great sin), was also burnt.
Addressing a function in Chennai on Sunday, Sai Baba said there was no
demand for a separate Telangana state from the people of the region.
"Dividing the people or the country is not good. Bifurcating the state
is mahapapam," he said.
Sai Baba, who preaches love, understanding and universal brotherhood,
has thousands of followers in India and abroad including several heads
of state, politicians, military officials, judges, film stars and
sportsmen.
During the last few decades, he has built a vast empire worth billions
of rupees transforming the small village of Puttaparthi, his
birthplace, into a modern town with a state-of-the-art airport,
education and health facilities.
The reaction to his comments was sharp from the protagonists of
separate Telangana. TRS president K Chandrasekhara Rao asked Sai Baba
to confine himself to religion. "Is Sai Baba blind to the suicides by
farmers in Telangana region? Is he blind to the fact that the region
was subjected to exploitation?" asked Rao, who is leading the movement
for a separate state comprising 10 districts including Hyderabad.
Congress MP from Nizamabad Madhu Yaskhi Goud wondered what Sai Baba
knew of the problems of Telangana.
"He is from Rayalseema region and what does he know about the problem
of fluorosis (an abnormal condition caused by excessive intake of
fluorine), in Nalgonda? He is funding the water projects for
Rayalseema and Chennai," said Goud.
Revolutionary balladeer and Maoist sympathiser Gaddar, who is also
actively participating in the movement for separate Telangana,
criticised Sai Baba for opposing the demand.
Meanwhile, a shutdown was being observed in Puttaparthi town in
Anantapur district to condemn the remarks of Telangana leaders against
Sai Baba.
Shops and business establishment were shut and Sai Baba's disciples
set afire effigies of Chandrasekhara Rao, Madhu Yashki Goud and
Gaddar. The streets around Prashanti Nilayam, the abode of Baba, wore
a deserted look.
http://www.rickross.com/reference/saibaba/saibaba23.html
Satya Sai Baba caught in British controversy
Indo-Asian News Service/December 22, 2006
Satya Sai Baba, one of India's best known spiritual leaders, has
triggered a fresh controversy in Britain after association with The
Duke of Edinburgh's Award charity involving young people.
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award is a London-headquartered charity whose
patron is Prince Philip.
It gives three kinds of awards (bronze, silver and gold) to anyone
aged between 14-25 for achievements in four categories: community
service, skills, physical recreation and expeditions. Each year it is
estimated that over 2,25,000 youngsters vie for the honour in Britain
alone.
This year, when the charity celebrates its 50th year, it has chosen to
send about 200 young volunteers to India to work with the Sri Satya
Sai Organisation.
However, the feat, pulled off by Sai Youth UK, a division of the
parent body, has created a furore. Several people, including some of
the Satya Sai Baba's former Western disciples, questioned the decision
in view of the mixed reputation the godman enjoys. Sai's devotees deny
the allegations.
The Guardian was the first to raise its voice saying the award scheme
had chosen as its accredited partner a spiritual group "whose 'living
god' founder has been accused of sexually abusing young boys".
Satya Sai Baba hit bad press in Britain two years ago when a BBC
programme, The Secret Swami, interviewed young Western disciples who
alleged that the godman had sexually coerced them.
The Guardian quoted Tom Sackville, a former Home Office minister and
chairman of Fair, a cult-watching and victim support group, as saying:
"It is appallingly naive for the award scheme to involve young people
and the royal family with an organisation whose leader is accused of
paedophilia. Parents who plan to send their children on this
pilgrimage... should be aware of the danger their children are being
exposed to."
The daily also said Michael Gave, a conservative MP, planned to write
to the charity to say it should monitor the organisations they chose
as partners more strictly.
"As a society we need a more determined effort to identify and expose
those religious cults and extremists that pose a direct threat to
people, so that they do not enjoy patronage that should be directed
elsewhere," he was quoted as saying.
In the 1990s, when Prince Charles visited India, he had expressed a
desire to visit the Sai Baba but was quietly dissuaded by the British
Embassy in New Delhi.
Since The Guardian's article, it was reported that there was mounting
pressure on the charity to distance itself from the Sai group.
However, charity spokesperson Shona Taylor did not answer repeated
queries as to whether the volunteers had left for India and how they
could be contacted.
http://www.rickross.com/reference/saibaba/saibaba22.html
A holy furore rages in Britain
Daily News Analysis/November 5, 2006
By Ginnie Mahajan
Delhi: Old allegations of sexual abuse of boys by spiritual guru
Sathya Sai Baba have created a fresh furore in Britain.
The issue snowballed after the British press reported that 200 boys
would visit India on a month-long humanitarian pilgrimage starting
November 13, organised by the Sai Youth Movement, a division of the
Sri Sathya Sai Organisation.
These boys are to receive the Duke of Edinburgh award for their
humanitarian work. According to the Guardian, the British public is
irked by two issues — safety of the boys at Sathya Sai Baba’s ashram
at Puttaparthi in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh and the
involvement of royalty with the Sri Sathya Sai Organisation.
The newspaper quotes a former home office minister Tom Sackville, who
also runs a victim support group, as saying, “It is appallingly naive
for the award scheme to involve young people and the royal family with
an organisation whose leader is accused of paedophilia.”
Interestingly, the United States Department of State has a travel
advisory against the Sathya Sai Organisation: “US citizens should be
aware that there have been unconfirmed reports of inappropriate sexual
behaviour by a prominent local religious leader at an ashram or
religious retreat located in Andhra Pradesh.”
The Guardian says US state officials have confirmed that this is a
direct reference to Sathya Sai Baba. There have been rumours for years
that the spiritual guru, who calls himself an incarnation of god,
molested young devotees during interviews. Both Indian and foreign
visitors to the ashram have come on record to say how he has abused
them.
The public relations officer of Sathya Sai Baba’s ashram, however,
told DNA: “We do not care what the advisory says. People and
organisations can write whatever they want to believe. We have no more
to say on this issue. Yes, the boys are coming to India in about two
weeks’ time.”
The visit coincides with Sathya Sai Baba’s 80th birthday. He had
apparently given a ‘divine commandment’ to the Sai Youth Movement to
visit him on the occasion.
http://www.rickross.com/reference/saibaba/saibaba21.html
The Indian living god, the paedophilia claims and the Duke of
Edinburgh awards
Sexual abuse accusations against group's leader--80th birthday
invitation to hundreds of youngsters
The Guardian, UK/November 4, 2006
By Paul Lewis
A spiritual group whose "living god" founder has been accused of
sexually abusing young boys has become an accredited partner of the
Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, the Guardian can reveal.
Last night pressure was mounting on the charity to break its links
with the group whose followers are devoted to the preachings of 79-
year-old holy man, Sai Baba.
About 200 young people will fly to India in two weeks' time on a
humanitarian pilgrimage run by Sai Youth UK, a division of the Sri
Sathya Sai Organisation. The teenagers and young men earn their Duke
of Edinburgh awards for humanitarian work, chiefly distributing
medical aid.
The trip coincides with Sai Baba's 80th birthday and has been
arranged, organisers say, after he gave a divine commandment for the
UK's Sai youth movement to visit him for the occasion.
For decades male former devotees have alleged that the guru molested
them during so-called "interviews". During the last youth pilgrimage,
in 2004, young people were granted group interviews with the guru
after administering medical aid to villages surrounding Sai Baba's
ashram in Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh, although there was no evidence
of abuse.
Large numbers of young men have travelled from across the world to
study alongside and meet the guru. His supporters say their encounter
was spiritually enriching. Others, including participants in a BBC
programme, The Secret Swami, two years ago, accuse him of abuse,
claiming he massaged their testicles with oil and coerced them into
oral sex.
Sai Baba has never been charged over the sex abuse allegations.
However, the US State Department issued a travel warning after reports
of "inappropriate sexual behaviour by a prominent local religious
leader" which, officials later confirmed was a reference to Sai Baba.
Tom Sackville, a former Home Office minister and chairman of Fair, a
cult-watching and victim support group, said: "It is appallingly naive
for the award scheme to involve young people and the royal family with
an organisation whose leader is accused of paedophilia.
"Parents who plan to send their children on this month's
pilgrimage ... should be aware of the danger their children are being
exposed to."
But Peter Westgarth, chief executive of the charity, last night faced
down calls to terminate his organisation's relationship with the Sai
organisation. He said: "This is not the only religion accused of
paedophilia. Young people who are participating on these trips are
doing so because they choose to," he said. "The awards accredit the
good work they do for poor people in India. We make no judgment about
their religion. We would no sooner intervene here than we would the
Church Lads' and Girls' Brigade."
The Conservative MP Michael Gove said he would write to the charity
asking it to consider a stricter monitoring of the organisations they
they work with. "As a society we need a more determined effort to
identify and expose those religious cults and extremists that pose a
direct threat to people, so that they do not enjoy patronage that
should be directed elsewhere," he said.
Shitu Chudasama, Sai's UK national youth coordinator, defended the
trip, saying it was primarily a humanitarian mission to help
impoverished people, saying that the sex abuse claims were "totally
unfounded". He added: "We hope to have an interview with Sai Baba but
it's not guaranteed. If he wants to see us, he'll call us."
Sai Organisation's UK branch has also came into contact with royals
through the awards, something Buckingham Palace was made aware of in
September. In correspondence seen by the Guardian, Brigadier Sir Miles
Hunt-Davis, Prince Philip's private secretary, wrote: "[We] are very
keen to get this sorted out properly and finally." He said trustees of
the award would undertake legal advice before deciding how to
proceed.
In July the Sai Organisation received a certificate for their
"invaluable contribution" to the awards at a Buckingham Palace garden
party. A news story which appeared on a Sai Baba website after the
ceremony was removed after an intervention by Peter Westgarth, who
said the event had been misrepresented.
In the posting, Mr Chudasama recounted the moment he delivered a
speech to "various dignitaries, diplomats, ministers [and] famous
celebrities" at the palace. "I was the last speaker called up, and
suddenly a confidence, a joy, engulfed my being," he said. "I
attributed everything to our founder Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. As
I spoke I watched the sea of faces, they were hanging from my every
word and there was a look of excitement on their faces as if to say
'why have we not heard of this organisation before?'."
Mr Chudasama also attended a private audience with Prince Philip at St
James's Palace last year. "Prince Philip showed a very keen interest
in our youth and asked many questions," Mr Chudasama wrote in a Sai
newsletter. "I also had the opportunity to mention ... that we drew
our inspiration and motivation from our founder Sri Sathya Sai Baba;
he paused for a few seconds and then said: "Very good".
Backstory
Saytha Sai Baba, who has an estimated 30 million followers worldwide,
is possibly India's most controversial holy man. He gained a following
in his teens when he claimed to have divine powers and, later, said he
was an incarnation of God. His teachings are benign - his most famous
mantra is "Love All, Serve All" - and he encourages followers, which
include many of India's political elite, to undertake humanitarian
work. He purports to be able to miraculously conjure sacred ash and
expensive jewellery into the palm of his hand, as if out of thin air.
Opponents dismiss his miracles as party tricks. The Sai Organisation
claims to have more than 1,200 Saytha Sai Baba Centres in more than
100 countries.
http://www.rickross.com/reference/saibaba/saibaba20.html
Guru who gives us no answers
The Scotsman/June 18, 2004
By Tom Adair
The Secret Swami might have veered towards the amusing - in an "Oh my
God, how gullible can you be?" kind of way - had it not been for the
repeated allegations of sex abuse.
Sai Baba, the swami in question, had started off looking like some old
bloke with an ego as big as his bank account. There he sat, in his
opulent ashram at Puttaparthi, near Bangalore, dressed in blinding
canary-yellow and sporting a head of what looked like jet-black pubic
hair - a mane of Leo Sayer proportions; as if he had poked his tongue
into a light socket. Count your blessings - he didn't sing.
Instead, he did tricks, producing trinkets from his fingers - gold
watches, bracelets, stuff with Ratners written all over it. Maybe he'd
read the Paul Daniels Trickster's Guide to Palming, and practised like
mad without the distraction of the lovely Debbie McGee (it later
transpired that Debbie would not have been a distraction). The swami's
followers adored his "miracles" and gasped.
Ten thousand worshippers formed a permanent camp inside the ashram,
believing Sai Baba to be an avatar - a god on Earth. He attracted
attention from burned out hippies, the ones with smoke still doping
their nostrils. Sometimes they smiled their faraway smiles; sometimes
they spoke. One guy believed he'd been in communion with Sai Baba for
21 years before he'd visited "god" in his pad. Sai Baba was quick to
spot white faces wearing dollar signs. As these dupes gawped up from
the crowd, he would single them out for special attention.
The documentary took a much less wide-eyed approach than Sai Baba's
flock, denouncing him from the start as a sham whose ashram resembled
a market place, not a shrine. Oh yes, he appeared to have done some
good - constructing a hospital in the district, providing free
medicare for the poor, and supplying clean water - however, the £40
million it cost was funded by wealthy acolytes, faithfully following
Sai Baba's earnest exhortation: "Wherever you see a sick person -
there is your field of service." And yet, Sai Baba's secret motto
turned out to be different, more like: "Wherever you see a gullible
young believer, (boys only apply) bingo! - sexual opportunity."
The programme gathered American former devotees who claimed that Sai
Baba had abused them, had exposed himself to them, indulged in oral
sex and then sworn them to secrecy. This sexual degradation had shaken
their faith. These victims included a father and a son who were
alleged to have been abused over many years. It was implied that many
Indian boys had also been taken advantage of but were too scared to
make public statements.
All this would matter if it affected just one child. What makes it
worse is that Sai Baba has a worldwide following of 160 million people
and is visited by heads of state. He is thus respectable, a notable
Indian figure.
The allegations went unanswered. When duly challenged, a twitchy
Indian government minister blew his top and accused the reporter of
impertinence. Meanwhile the US embassy's website has posted warnings
to potential visitors.
Whether or not it will shake the blind faith of the devotees remains
to be seen. However, the programme was an example of investigative
reporting all too rare these days - getting inside and under the
issue. It may have even stopped further innocents from falling prey to
the avatar's whim.
http://www.rickross.com/reference/saibaba/saibaba19.html
Spiritual Depths
The Guardian (UK)/June 18, 2004
By Rupert Smith
It's difficult to write about religion without offending someone, but
mercifully we're reviewing a television programme here, and not the
mixture of wishful thinking and wilful credulity that leads people to
worship soi-disant gurus such as Swami Sai Baba. BBC2's This World
strand last night gave us The Secret Swami, an entertaining hour that
made a compelling case against Sai Baba, portraying him as a charlatan
and an abuser.
Young men who claimed to have been sexually abused by Sai Baba related
hair-raising stories of "private interviews" in which the not-so-holy
man pulled his skirt over his head and invited them to get down and
dirty. Hilariously, one Hindu scholar reminded us that this is a
practice sanctioned by neither scripture nor tradition. "Worship of
the linga does not include doing the blow-job."
What started out as a routine denunciation developed into something
more sinister. Sadly, the moment I see a man in a dress surrounded by
grinning worshippers, I'm looking for a catch - and it didn't take
much to prove that Sai Baba's "miracles" were nothing more than a bit
of old-fashioned sleight of hand. On that basis, we might all end up
worshipping David Blaine, which is a worry. But reporter Tanya Datta
did her job properly, and went far beneath the surface of magic tricks
and gaudy tat. She found that Sai Baba bought the eternal gratitude of
rural Indian villagers by paying for clean water supplies, and that he
caused a massive hospital to be built, funded by one of his followers,
Isaac Tigrett, who co-founded the Hard Rock Cafe chain. She discovered
also that the Indian government, rightly mindful of the rural vote,
has turned a blind eye to claims of wrongdoing in the Baba camp. A
government official got very shirty indeed with Ms Datta, shouting
denials before he'd even heard the allegations. In these cases, "no"
usually does mean "yes".
There was little room amid all the skulduggery for any real
examination of Sai Baba's theology; all we learned was that he is an
avatar, although of whom was not made clear, and that he conveniently
embraces all religions. Without any real exegesis of his ideas, it was
hard to know exactly what his followers believed in - it surely can't
just have been Baba's ability to produce fake Rolexes out of thin air,
or cough up eggs.
But even former disciples couldn't shed much light on what turned them
into such true believers. A nice family from Arkansas were so crazy
about Sai Baba that they encouraged their teenage son to spend as much
time with the guru as possible. Despite allegations of abuse at the
hands of Sai Baba, the son came out with the astonishing comment, "we
are all tools, and we all have to be around for Swami to use - if he
needs a screwdriver".
An hour wasn't enough to do the subject justice, and for once I was
left wanting more. This isn't something I'd say lightly about
television documentaries, which usually need to be edited by 50%. The
mystery of Sai Baba, of his apparent protection by the authorities, of
his canny manipulation of the rural poor and his inexplicable appeal
to rich westerners, only deepened. Astonishingly, Sai Baba has not yet
had the collar of his robe fingered by the long arm of the law.
Armand Leroi, the handsome biologist, turned his attention to the
tricky subject of racial difference in the final part of Human Mutants
(Channel 4). There was some fun stuff about excessive facial hair and
random skin pigmentation to pave the way to Leroi's central thesis,
that "we are all mutants - but some of us are more mutant than
others".
With this in mind, he gently introduced the idea of "a new race
genetics", which was nowhere near as sinister as it sounded. Genome
mapping enabled scientists to identify racial background according to
four main human groups - and, against this kind of science, "terms
like 'black' and 'white' don't describe anything that's real any
more".
This would have come as cold comfort to a Cape Town housewife who went
to bed as a white woman and woke up the next morning black. Shunned by
her family, she died in poverty, which suggests that Leroi's DNA
utopia is a way off just yet.
http://www.rickross.com/reference/saibaba/saibaba18.html
Sai Baba: God-man or con man?
Basava Premanand is India's leading guru-buster
BBC News/June 17, 2004
By Tanya Datta
He believes that the country's biggest spiritual leader, Sri Satya Sai
Baba, is a charlatan and must be exposed.
Basava Premanand has been burgled... again.
It is the third time in just one month. But he is in no doubt of the
thieves' motives.
He suspects they were looking for evidence that he has collected for
over 30 years against India's leading spiritual guru, Sri Satya Sai
Baba.
Mr Premanand believes this evidence proves the self-proclaimed "God-
man", Sai Baba, is not just a fraud, but a dangerous sexual abuser.
"Sai Baba is nothing but a mafia man, conning the people and making
himself rich", he says of his bete noire.
As India's leading guru-buster, Basava Premanand is the scourge of all
miracle-makers.
He is the founder of the Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations
and the editor of a monthly periodical called The Indian Sceptic.
He believes that it is his duty to dispel the "curse of gullibility
blighting his country in the form of myth and superstition", and
replace it instead with the "gospel of pure, scientific
understanding".
Since 1976, he has waged a bitter war against Sai Baba, a man who
commands a following of millions both in India and abroad. His
devotees believe him to be an Avatar, or incarnation of God in human
form.
But to Mr Premanand, this God is anything but holy.
Allegations
Rumours about Sai Baba sexually abusing young male devotees have been
circulating for years.
In 1976 a former American follower,Tal Brooke, wrote a book called
Avatar of the Night: The Hidden Side of Sai Baba. In it, he referred
to the guru's sexual exploits.
But Brooke's allegations were dismissed out of hand by the tightly
controlled Sai Baba Organisation.
Dr Michael Goldstein, chairman of the international Sai Baba
organisation, admitted he had heard rumours, but told us that he did
not believe them. He said: "My heart and my conscience tell me that it
is not possible."
But in the last four years, and with the growth of the internet, the
tide of claims against Sai Baba has become a groundswell.
Former devotees such as Alaya Rahm and Mark Roche, featured in the the
BBC film Secret Swami, are coming forward with increasingly graphic
stories of the guru's serious sexual exploitation.
Their own experiences bear an uncanny resemblance, yet span a time
frame of almost 30 years.
Both had been subjected to Sai Baba rubbing oil on their genitals.
"He took me aside", said Alaya Rahm, "put the oil on his hands, told
me to drop my pants and rubbed my genitals with the oil. I was really
taken aback."
All the allegations against Sai Baba so far have been made by
Westerners.
But Mr Premanand says that there are many Indians who also claim to
have been abused but are too afraid to speak out.
Well-connected
It is no surprise that Indian victims are scared of reprisals. Sai
Baba's influence among the power elite of India is impressive.
Prime ministers, presidents, judges and generals, have all come to the
ashram (religious retreat) in Puttaparthi in southern India, to pay
their respects.
The previous prime minister of India, Mr Atal Vajpayee, once issued a
letter on his official notepaper calling the attacks on Sai Baba
"wild, reckless and concocted."
Sai Baba also enjoys a close relationship with the state police. A
former head of police once acted as his personal chauffeur.
None of this, however, deters Mr Premanand who has doggedly pursued
Sai Baba over the years through the courts, the media and several
embarrassing books and exposures.
Little wonder that his campaign has enraged some of the holy man's
supporters.
To date, Basava Premanand has survived four murder attempts and bears
the scars from several savage beatings.
In 1986, he was arrested by the police for marching to Puttaparthi
with 500 volunteers for a well-publicised confrontation with Sai
Baba.
Later that year, he took Sai Baba to court for violating the Gold
Control Act by producing gold necklaces out of thin air without the
permission of a Gold Control Administrator.
When his case was dismissed, Mr Premanand appealed on the grounds that
spiritual power is not a defence recognised in law.
Break-in
In June 1993, the peace of the ashram was shattered when a gruesome
incident took place.
Four male devotees, who were close to Sai Baba, broke into their
guru's private quarters late at night armed with knives.
Their motives are unclear. Some say they were going to warn their guru
about corruption among the higher echelons of the ashram. Others say
they were going to kidnap or even kill Sai Baba.
They were stopped by Sai Baba's personal attendants and in the violent
struggle that ensued, two of the attendants were killed and two left
seriously wounded.
Sai Baba managed to escape through a secret flight of stairs and raise
the alarm.
Just before the police arrived, the four men escaped to Sai Baba's
bedroom. It was there, the police say, they shot the intruders out of
self defence.
Mr Premanand claimed a cover up and went to court.
He says: "The central government stopped the investigation, because if
the investigation takes place, a lot of things will come out like
economic offences and sex offences."
He was outraged that Sai Baba - one of the key witnesses to the events
of that night - had not been questioned.
Over the next three years, he took his case all the way to the Supreme
Court, before he was eventually defeated.
Today, this sprightly septuagenarian is as busy as ever, collecting
and collating more information. Mr Premanand is preparing for another
battle.
"This," he says mischievously, "is going to be the greatest fight of
my life."
http://www.rickross.com/reference/saibaba/saibaba15.html
BBC2 uncovers secrets behind India's Secret Swami
Aim/June 14, 2004
The most popular of all Indian Godmen, Sai Baba has always been the
Teflon God, the untouchable, charismatic man worshipped by Indian
Prime Ministers, Presidents and peasants. His power over both the
influential and the downtrodden goes to the heart of Indian society
and raises serious questions about the social health of the world's
fastest emerging economy.
Sai Baba claims to be a living God and to millions, his word is truth;
his ability to bring clean water and healthcare to thousands, proof of
divinity.
In a programme that explores the nature of belief, This World travels
from India to California, where the generation whose devotion and
donations helped Sai Baba to power are unravelling at the seams. Hard
Rock Café owner Isaac Tigrett sent Sai Baba's message around the world
by making the Godman's Love All Serve All mantra the corporate slogan
of his multi-million empire. He now has to confront the fact that his
God may have been a sexual abuser.
This World features the story of a family who gave their entire lives
to a man they believed was God, only to discover he was exacting a
terrible price: the sexual innocence of their son. In an intimate and
powerful portrait a family talks openly about their betrayal and the
man who controlled their lives.
"The being which I called Sai Baba, the living God that I had taken
into my heart had been truly abusing my son, for so long. I felt
completely betrayed..." says Marissa, a former devotee. Another, Alaya
says: "I remember him saying, if you don't do what I say, your life
will be filled with pain and suffering."
This programme is the first to film inside Sai Baba's Ashram for a
number of years and aims to come closer to the true "face of God" than
ever before.
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Man Arrested With Gun at Sai Baba's Ashram
The Hindustan Times/January 18, 2002
Bangalore, India -- A 26-year-old man who allegedly tried to shoot Sai
Baba on Thursday with an air pistol at his ashram in Whitefield on the
outskirts of Bangalore, was overpowered by ashram volunteers. The air
pistol and some pellets were recovered from the man, Somasundaram, the
police said. Somasundaram was overpowered when he started running
towards Sai Baba who was emerging from a building to give darshan,
eyewitnesses said.
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British law against Sai Baba sought
Times of India/September 5, 2001
By Rashmee Z. Ahmed
London -- Campaigners against religious cults across western Europe
are trying to persuade the British government to follow the French and
legislate against movements such as Sai Baba and the Moonies.
Tom Sackville, a former British minister and current chairman of the
anti-cult organisation Family Action Information and Resource (FAIR),
told The Times of India, "the French legislation of two months ago has
enormously encouraged my 15-year battle against exploitative cults
such as that of Sai Baba."
The anti-cult campaign comes even as The Times, London, carried
extensive reportage of Sai Baba on Monday, questioning his role in the
"mysterious deaths of three British men", which campaigners admit are
hard to prove were directly caused by the guru.
The newspaper, which flagged its investigation as "exclusive", said
"Sai Baba's activities are being studied by the (British) Foreign
Office, which is considering issuing an unprecedented warning against
the guru to travellers."
It said one of the men had "complained of being repeatedly sexually
molested by Sai Baba at his ashram in Puttaparthi near Bangalore."
There is growing British press interest in the man they describe as
"Indian mystic and miracle worker" to the rich, famous and titled such
as the Duchess of York and an architect known to be close to Prince
Charles.
Commentators say this is largely because Sai Baba has a substantial
European fan following, alongside a growing number of hostile and
vocal former devotees who accuse him of physical, mental and monetary
abuse.
The Internet war launched by former devotees across western Europe,
including David Bailey, a Welsh concert pianist once considered to be
Sai Baba's right-hand man, has focussed unsavoury publicity on Sai
Baba.
However, Sai Baba's London headquarters continues to reject all the
allegations.
Several parliamentary questions in the last five years have drawn the
British government's attention to Sai Baba's alleged misconduct. But,
British MPs and anti-cult campaigners say the government has always
maintained that the number of British cases are too few to merit
action.
But now, a new area of concern has arisen according to The Times,
which says Sai Baba has infiltrated the British school system in a
dangerous catch 'em young policy.
The newspaper says more than 500 British schools are being taught
according to "Sai Baba-influenced educational programmes". It says the
programmes are promoted by two charities, the Sathya Sai Education in
Human Values Trust UK and the Human Values Foundation.
Former minister Sackville says the development is worrying because "it
is just like we wouldn't want or allow far-right groups such as the
British National Party (BNP) to be talking to our children in school."
Admitting the BNP was an extreme example, he said "the principle we
are keen to impress on the British government is that just like the
French, we have to make it a criminal offence to exploit people in
vulnerable situations."
Anti-cult campaigners say that their cause has been strengthened
because UNESCO pulled out of an educational conference at Puttaparthi
last year.
They say that if the French legislation is followed by other European
countries, it could eventually become European Union law and would
severely limit the activities of movements such as that of Sai Baba.
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Suicide, sex and the guru
The reputation of Sai Baba, a holy man to the rich and famous, has
been tarnished by mysterious deaths and allegations of sexual abuse
August 27, 2001
By Dominic Kennedy
In a world of pain and sorrow, a smiling little man in a saffron robe
who can cure misery by magic is a bewitching prospect.
To millions of followers around the world, Sai Baba is a benevolent
spiritual leader whose hospitals and schools work tirelessly for the
advancement of the poor. But an investigation by The Times today
discloses that three British men have apparently taken their own lives
after becoming followers of the miracle worker. Two of them were
encouraged to believe that he could cure their medical problems. One
of those also said that he had been touched intimately by the Sai
Baba.
This is the same Sai Baba who is adored and indulged by the
international jet set. The Duchess of York had the treat of watching
him produce a gold watch and cross from thin air when she visited his
ashram in India.
The Prince of Wales's architectural adviser, Keith Critchlow, designed
a vast, stunning hospital for Sai Baba, which has been compared to St
Peter's in Rome and a maharaja's palace. "The most influential holy
man in India today," is how the respected architect describes the
guru.
The hospital, mostly financed by Isaac Tigrett, the wealthy American
founder of the Hard Rock Café chain of restaurants, treats the humble
people of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. So it was with
righteous indignation that Sai Baba, in a rare fit of public anger,
has turned on the band of disillusioned disciples who are now
tarnishing his name.
Jesus Christ, said Sai Baba to a large crowd of devotees, underwent
many hardships and was put on the cross because of jealousy. In those
days there was only one Judas to betray him, but now there are
thousands.
The holy man alleged that his detractors were being bribed to lie
about him because of fear of his growing popularity. "People are
trying to stop me but can do nothing," he said. "People love and
follow Sai because of the truth I stand for and the love that is my
basis."
Detractors are casting doubt on Sai Baba's miracles, suggesting that
he is little more than a conjuror with a limited repertoire of jaded
tricks. A financial row over the £13 million fortune of the British
film actor James Mason, whose widow became a Sai Baba devotee, is
smouldering. Most devastating is the suggestion that Sai Baba might
have been abusing his power over young male followers by indulging in
sexual activity with them.
Sai Baba was born Sathyanarayana Raju on November 23, 1926 in the tiny
village of Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh.When he was only 14, Sai Baba
- already magically producing candles and pencils for school friends -
surprised his family by announcing that he was the reincarnation of
Sai Baba of Shirdi, a miraculous old Indian sage who died in 1918.
Today Sai Baba's birthplace is home to an ashram that can accommodate
10,000 pilgrims. The obscure village has grown to cater for Sai Baba's
followers, of which there are more than 20 million worldwide. They
include some of India's most influential people. The legendary batsman
Sachin Tendulkar, who helps to organise cricket matches at Sai Baba's
stadium, says that he "worships" the guru.
The director-general of police in Andhra Pradesh, H. J. Dora, acts as
Sai Baba's chauffeur when the spiritual leader visits the state
capital, Hyderabad. Judges and top civil servants flock for audiences
with him. The Indian Prime Minister A. B. Vajpayee, another follower,
has opened a new Sai Baba hospital in Bangalore. In a lofty tribute,
the premier said that Sai Baba has shown humanity the path of
liberation which goes beyond freedom from worldly attachments.
However, the first cracks in faith in Sai Baba's magical powers came
about because of a visit by a previous prime minister, Narasimha Rao,
also a devotee.For this special occasion, Sai Baba appeared to
materialise a gold watch from nowhere. But when Indian state
television workers played back film of the incident in slow motion,
they saw that the miracle was a sleight-of-hand hoax. The clip was
never broadcast in India but has been widely circulated on videotape
there. Sai Baba's most common miracle is to produce "sacred ash" from
between his fingers.
Sometimes he pulls shiny, solid religious artefacts from his mouth.
But magicians who have analysed these wonders say they are nothing
more than old and simple tricks. Sai Baba is being challenged on
another more prosaic front. Questions are being asked about the
fundraising techniques employed by his followers. Some are accused of
targeting vulnerable rich people and claiming that the miracle worker
might be able to cure the afflictions of old age.
One of Sai Baba's most devout followers was Clarissa Mason, the second
wife of the film star James Mason. When Clarissa died of cancer in
1994, she willed a large part of her late husband's £13 million estate
to the cult, although, due to a dispute with Mason's children,
Portland and Morgan, who contend that the estate was not hers to will
in the first place, it will be some time before the cult can hope to
see any of the Mason millions.
Clarissa Mason believed utterly in the powers of Sai Baba, filling her
house near Lake Geneva with pictures of the "godman". Her legacy has
gone to a trust whose beneficiaries are believed by Mason's children
to include a follower of Sai Baba.
But more potentially damaging than claims about money are the sexual
allegations against Sai Baba. These were first publicised as long ago
as 1976, when Tal Brooke, a disenchanted American devotee, wrote
Avatar of Night. Over the years, the description by disillusioned
followers of intimate acts involving Sai Baba has persisted.
The suggestion is that Sai Baba grants one-to-one audiences to young
men, who believe they are in the presence of a living god. This may
entail a high level of intimacy and the men allowing their private
parts to be touched or fondled by the guru.
There have been no prosecutions. A complaint was lodged with India's
Central Bureau of Investigation on March 12, 2001 but there has been
no result. In the United States, though, anti-Sai Baba campaigners are
trying to persuade the authorities to open investigations into the
alleged molestation of American citizens who are minors. The co-
ordinator of this American campaign says that he has been interviewed
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation but no formal inquiry is under
way.
So has Sai Baba, the most worshipped sage of the Orient, really been
groping youthful followers. One innocent explanation is provided by
Stuart Jones, a member of Sai Baba's Bristol and Bath group. He points
out that there is a possible cultural misunderstanding at play. In
yoga, Jones explains, one of the energy points on the body is below
the testicles, an area sometimes stimulated by a teacher such as Sai
Baba.
"When I was out there, it happened to a couple of friends of mine, but
it was more like, how can I say, doctor's surgery. There was no
sexuality involved. One chap said that a tremendous amount of energy
was suddenly released in him and he felt wonderful afterwards. I don't
mean ejaculation. It was like suddenly feeling wonderful. Sometimes he
rubs the chest or the forehead where these other points are."
Talk of "energy points" does not endear Sai Baba to the Indian
Rationalists Association, an organisation of atheists and doubters
which seeks to debunk organised religion and disprove all miracles.
They denounce him as the biggest fraud of the "god industry". Joseph
Edamaruku, the association's president, says: "He has consistently
refused to subject himself to an independent examination. He raises
enormous amounts of money from India and around the world. We do not
believe claims that it is spent on hospitals and charitable works."
One charitable field where Sai Baba's followers do seem to be most
active is education. Sai Baba's teachings, however, are a collection
of banal truisms and platitudes. The most famous utterances he has
made in a six decade-long career as a living god are "Help ever, hurt
never" and "Love all, serve all". Few are likely to argue with such a
simplistic and universal moral code. He broadens his appeal further by
allowing devotees to continue practising their own religion while
paying homage to him.
Sai Baba's children's course, Education in Human Values, is taught in
schools in 100 countries. It promotes five qualities: truth (satya),
righteousness (dharma), peace (shanti), love (prema) and nonviolence
(ahimsa). Education in Human Values rejects rote learning, emphasising
Indian techniques such as "silent sitting", quotation, story-telling,
song and group activities.
Sai Baba's message reaches British schoolchildren through two
charities. The first is named in his honour, the Sathya Sai Education
in Human Values Trust UK, which claims to have had contact with 80
schools. Typical of its activities is a summer camp held at
Christchurch Primary School in Ilford, East London, several weeks ago
where 100 children painted, played games and sang. Courses have been
cleverly designed to fit into Key Stages 1 to 4 of the National
Curriculum, targeting children aged seven to 16.
The charity states that it does not promote any particular religion.
Carole Alderman, the founder, a former ChildLine volunteer, has no
teaching qualifications. She admits to using some of Sai Baba's
quotations but says: "We don't teach about Sai Baba at all."
She adds: "I have witnessed a lot of his miracles. I have seen people
going in with crutches or wheelchairs and come out walking. I have
seen him materialise things many times a day. He just knows
everything." Asked about the sexual allegations, she says: "It's
totally unfounded. Anybody who actually knows him, knows it is."
Another British charity, the Human Values Foundation, says it has
reached more than 500 schools. Its chairman, Dennis Eagan, said "The
foundation has nothing to do with Sai Baba."
But the Human Values Foundation's programme is also called "Education
for Human Values". It promotes Sai Baba's same five virtues, using
"silent sitting", activities, songs, quotations and stories. Its
president, June Auton, has been a regular visitor to Sai Baba's
ashram. She has been described by Barry Pittard, a former English
lecturer at Sai Baba's college in India, as "synonymous with Swami's
Human Values Programme."
Auton told The Times: "I'm not going to discuss anything about my
religion at all on the phone. My religion is my business." Pressed,
she would only say: "I do attend my local church." It is the recent
suicides, however, that may hurt Sai Baba the most in Britain.
Suicides and suspicious deaths have long marred his reputation. A
German man was found hanging from a rafter in Puttaparthi in the early
1980s. A father and daughter took fatal overdoses in Bangalore in 1999
after failing to get an audience with the guru.
In a puzzling incident in June 1993, Sai Baba was attacked by four
young male devotees armed with knives. Two of the guru's bodyguards
were stabbed to death. After the four youths, long-time followers of
Sai Baba, locked themselves in a room, they were all shot dead by
police. Challenging faith in a man of miracles can be painful. At Sai
Baba's Central London base in Clerkenwell, there is reluctance to
confront the allegations of sexual harassment, suicides and financial
maneuvering.
Dee Puri, at the London headquarters, denounces the suggestion that
Sai Baba takes money from the rich, pointing out that at his 28-year-
old London premises: "Entrance is free. There is no money going to
Baba at all.
As for the suggestions of sexual harassment, she told The Times: "I
don't want to talk about it because there is no such thing. I think
such conversations disturb me and my beliefs. The organisation is most
unhappy that you have tried to hurt us. Nobody will speak to you
unless you want to write something which is truth, which is not
controversial.
"As far as I am concerned, Baba is a great, great guru. Thirty years I
have been a devotee of Baba and millions and millions of people are,
so I would very respectfully ask you please not to put that sort of
question to me."
http://www.rickross.com/reference/saibaba/saibaba11.html
Three die after putting faith in guru
The Times British News/August 27, 2001
By Dominic Kennedy
Three British men have died mysteriously after becoming followers of
an Indian mystic famed as a 'god man' and miracle worker. Sai Baba's
activities are being studied by the Foreign Office which is
considering issuing an unprecedented warning against the guru to
travellers.
The Times has learnt that three Britons have apparently taken their
lives after placing hope in India's most popular holy man.
One of them had complained of being repeatedly sexually molested by
Sai Baba at his ashram in Puttaparthi near Bangalore.
Michael Pender, an HIV-positive student, was found dead at a London
hostel after taking alcohol and painkillers. He had already tried to
commit suicide at the holy man's headquarters.
Aran Edwards hanged himself at home in Cardiff after joining a Sai
Baba support group and being encouraged to write to the guru to solve
his psychological problems.
Mr Edwards sent a flurry of anxious letters but was devastated after
receiving no replies and being told that the guru did not read his
mail.
Andrew Richardson, a South Africa-born British national, jumped off a
building in India shortly after visiting Sai Baba's ashram.
Among visitors who have paid respects to Sai Baba are the Duchess of
York, the Prince of Wales's architect Keith Critchlow, the cricketer
Sachin Tendulkar and the Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
Sai Baba's message is being preached in more than 500 British schools
through charities which claim to provide non-denominational education
in 'human values.'
Tom Sackville, a former Home Office Minister, last night urged the
Government to take decisive action to warn teachers and pilgrims of
the dangers of becoming involved with Sai Baba. The guru's reputation
is plummeting after the United Nations cancelled a conference at his
headquarters, issuing a condemnation of his alleged sex abuse of
youths and boys.
Unicef pulled out of a conference it was due to sponsor with the
guru's educational organisation in Puttaparthi last September.
The UN's cultural agency issued a trenchant statement: 'The
organisation is deeply concerned about widely reported allegations of
sexual abuse involving youths and children that have been levelled at
the leader of the movement in question, Sathya Sai Baba.
'Whilst it is not for Unesco to pronounce itself in this regard, the
organisation restates its firm moral and practical commitment to
combating the sexual exploitation of children, in application of the
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which requires states to
protect children from all forms of sexual exploitation and violence.'
In hundreds of British schools, Sai Baba-influenced educational
programmes on 'human values' are currently being promoted as part of
the National Curriculum.
The Charity Commission met the trustees of one of the educational
charities involved, the Sathya Sai Education in Human Values Trust UK,
last year and 'found no concerns,' a spokesman said.
Mr Sackville, chairman of the anti-cult organisation Fair (Family
Action Information and Resource), said that he had successfully
intervened to persuade a girls' school to reject a Sai Baba-inspired
course.
'Schools are not on their guard because at official level they are not
given any steer,' Mr Sackville said. 'Some other countries would have
had official warnings.'
He said that Whitehall was strongly opposed to letting the British
Government apply sanctions to cults, which civil servants describe
respectfully as 'new religious movements.'
As for the Charity Commission's clean bill of health to the Sai Baba
educational organisation, Mr Sackville said: 'There's a lot of very
naive people around in these government institutions.'
He called on the Foreign Office to issue a warning against Sai Baba
along the lines of recommendations to travellers to beware the dangers
of Aids and violence abroad. The Foreign Office is believed to be
considering putting out just such advice.
http://www.rickross.com/reference/saibaba/saibaba10.html
'I sought peace and couldn't find it'
The Times British News/August 27, 2001
By Michael Dynes and Dominic Kennedy
Durban -- Michael Pender, a student, hoped that Sai Baba would be able
to cure him of HIV. Like thousands of devotees from around the world,
Mr Pender went on a pilgrimage to Sai Baba's ashram in Puttaparthi,
southern India, expecting to find magic and divinity. Instead Mr
Pender, known as "Mitch," was found dead after taking tablets in the
lonely bedroom of a hostel for the homeless in Highbury, North London.
He was 23.
Kathleen Ord, who first told him of Sai Baba's teachings, has since
destroyed her books and videos on the holy man. She said: "I blame
myself in many ways because, if I hadn't introduced them, Mitch would
probably be alive now. That's what he went to India for, thinking he'd
find a cure.
"He tried to commit suicide in the ashram. He had overdosed on drugs
more than once. He had some strange, very powerful experiences there.
There was something sexual that was frightening." Her son, Keith, has
given a detailed account of what Mr Pender said in his last weeks
about meeting Sai Baba. The guru flattered the British student by
describing him as "the reincarnation of St Michael." Mr Ord's
evidence, posted on the Internet, states: "He told me that the very
first private interview that he had with SB was a sexual encounter.
"At first he couldn't believe any of this was happening. It felt
unreal and frightening. But then after the first interview he thought
SB must have been showing him something about himself . . . that there
must have been some spiritual or 'divine' explanation behind the
swami's actions.
"But after the fourth interview, he became very despondent and
confused about the whole thing; each interview was a repetition of the
first . . . Baba 'materialised' an emerald ring on the fifth interview
and gave him money on the sixth.
"After telling me of his experiences, Michael became quite depressed."
On January 12, 1990, Mr Pender's body was found by the supervisor of
his hostel. Traces of paracetamol and alcohol were found in his blood,
but a pathologist found it impossible to determine if they were lethal
doses. An open verdict was recorded at an inquest in St Pancras.
Aran Edwards, a classical guitarist and postgraduate theology student
at the University of Wales in Newport, joined Sai Baba's Bath and
Bristol support group. David Bailey, a concert pianist from Conwy,
North Wales, who had become one of the guru's closest British aides,
met Aran with the group.
"He was sort of persuaded that Sai Baba looked after him, did
everything for him and that he should write to Sai Baba with his
problems," Mr Bailey said.
"He was quite an ill person, mentally unstable and needed orthodox
help. In the end, he wrote a couple of dozen or more letters to Sai
Baba. The group had told him this was what to do.
"He used to ring me from phone boxes pleading with me. There were 35
phone calls, I suppose . . . he was absolutely desperate that I should
talk to Sai Baba for him because he was in such a state and had
written all these letters which he had sent out and hadn't had a
reply. Could I please help because I was Sai Baba's right-hand man?
"At the end I said, 'Wake up. He doesn't even read these letters'. He
was so distraught about the situation, he decided to commit suicide."
Aran Edwards, a single man, was found hanged from a staircase at his
home in Cardiff, on April 19, 1999. He was 37. A suicide verdict was
recorded by the coroner.
Stuart Jones, of the Bath and Bristol group, said: "He was a very
fragile kind of person, very sensitive, very gentle in nature. If you
are thinking there is a link, I know for a fact there wasn't a link in
the sense of all the allegations going about Sai Baba. He was in
distress long before."
Aran never visited Sai Baba in India. But Andrew Richardson, a British
national born in South Africa, did. He made a pilgrimage to Sai Baba's
ashram, booking in for a week, but mysteriously leaving after only two
days.
On September 19, 1996, Mr Richardson travelled to Bangalore and hired
a taxi at the railway station to one of the city's tallest buildings,
the State Bank of Mysore. Mr Richardson flung banknotes and
travellers' cheques in the air, ran into the bank and up the stairs to
the eighth floor, where he smashed a window and leapt 84ft to the
ground, killing himself. He was 33.
Two letters were found on his body. One to Sai Baba outlined his quest
for spiritual enlightenment. The second was a suicide note saying he
was in a deep depression: "I came to India in search of peace but
could not find it." His mother, Deirdre, at her home near
Pietermaritzburg, said: "Andrew wanted to see Sai Baba, but was also
heading to Calcutta to see Mother Teresa . . . All he wanted to do was
work with the poor."
http://www.rickross.com/reference/saibaba/saibaba9.html
Sex Scandal swirls around Sai Baba
Cult News Summary/December 2004
Sai Baba, a controversial Indian "holy man" presides over a spiritual
kingdom that includes one of the world's largest ashrams. He claims to
have millions of followers.
But the guru, who is approaching 80, has a history of sexual abuse
allegations that in recent years has made media headlines around the
world.
Former followers of the aging swami reportedly call him "a sexual
harasser, a fraud and even a pedophile."
One man says Sai Baba ordered him to drop his pants and allow the guru
to massage his penis. He later said, "Sai Baba was my God -- who dares
to refuse God? He was free to do whatever he wanted to do with me; he
had my trust, my faith, my love and my friendship; he had me in
totality."
Despite such revelations and the growing scandal that surrounds Sai
Baba he continues to be worshipped at his ashram. Twice a day he
parades about and makes appearances to the faithful, entertaining them
with what seems like little more than magic tricks.
Sai Baba's so-called "materializations" include making watches and
jewelry appear out of "thin air."
At functions his followers rock back and forth with "shining eyes"
seemingly in trance-like or hypnotic states. Perhaps in this condition
they are prepared to believe almost anything.
The guru holds court within lavishly appointed rooms decorated with
gold leaf and hanging chandeliers.
"Sometimes I think the ashram is a madhouse and Swami is the
director," said one recently devoted disciple. Does Sai Baba prey upon
the psychologically and emotionally vulnerable? "When you don't have
problems, you don't go to the ashram," says a disciple.
But there may be casualties amongst the true believers.
A Malaysian woman reportedly had a psychotic breakdown, attacked
ashram workers and was taken into police custody. She sat in a holding
area almost catatonic, mumbling "darshan, darshan, darshan"
repeatedly.
Sai Baba has accumulated substantial influence and prestige within
India. That influence includes some prominent leaders such as former
Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao. The Times of India reported in 1993
that the guru's followers include "governors, chief ministers,
assorted politicians, business tycoons, newspaper magnates, jurists,
sportsmen, academics and, yes, even scientists."
His popularity is easy to understand. Sai Baba has built a hospital
that offers free services, partly financed by a $20 million donation
from Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of the Hard Rock Café. Its pink façade
makes it look more like a palace than a hospital. And in the entrance
area there are images of Sai Baba.
Sai Baba's charities have reportedly been plagued though by "rumors of
chicanery and worse."
Nevertheless Illustrated Weekly of India stated, "God or a fraud, no
one doubts the good work done by the Sai organization."
But does the guru use his accumulated good will and "God-man" status
to get into people's pants?
The sex abuse claims are strikingly similar and seem to fit the same
pattern.
"During my 'private audiences' with Sai Baba, Sai Baba used to touch
my private parts and regularly massage my private parts, indicating
that this was for spiritual purposes," wrote one former devotee. "He
grabbed my head and pushed it into his groin area. He made moaning
sounds. As soon as he took the pressure off my head and I lifted my
head, Sai Baba lifted his dress and presented me a semi-erect member,
telling me that this was my good luck chance, and jousted his hips
towards my face," the man said.
When the devotee later talked about his sexual encounter he was thrown
out of the ashram.
"Each time I saw Baba, his hand would gradually make more prominent
connections to my groin," said another former follower.
All of the allegations reportedly involved mostly teenage boys and
young men in their 20s.
This story is hardly new. In 1970 a book by Tal Brooke titled "Lord of
the Air" later renamed "Avatar of Night," told the story of a devoted
disciple's disillusionment upon learning of Sai Baba's sexual
appetite.
More recently a document called "Findings" accumulated accounts of
alleged sexual exploitation and abuse from the guru's former
followers.
An excerpt from the document reads, "Whilst still at the ashram, the
worst thing for me -- as a mother of sons -- occurred when a young
man, a college student, came to our room, to plead with David, 'Please
Sir, do something to stop him sexually abusing us&These sons of
devotees, unable to bear their untenable position of being unwilling
participants in a pedophile situation any longer, yet unable to share
this with their parents because they would be disbelieved, placed
their trust in David; a trust which had built over his five years as a
visiting professor of music to the Sai college."
Since the release of "Findings" the Sai Baba sex scandal has grown and
gained momentum.
A California man named Glen Meloy, who spent 26 years as a devotee
wanted to launch a class-action lawsuit against the Sai Organization
in America. "You've got all these kids who are scared to death to do
anything that will do disrespect to their parents, in a room with
someone they believe to be the creator of the whole universe. This
isn't just any child abuse; this is God himself claiming to do this,"
Meloy said.
One former Indian ashram volunteer petitioned India's Supreme Court to
investigate Sai Baba. "I've spoken to 20 or 30 boys who have been
abused, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. There are 14-year-old
kids made to live in his room and made to think it's a blessing. In
most cases, their parents have been followers for 20 years and are not
going to believe them. American citizens have been knowing about this
abuse and taking American boys to Puttaparthi and feeding them to
him," he said.
UNESCO yanked its co-sponsorship of an education conference in India
linked to Sai Baba and stated it was "deeply concerned about widely
reported allegations of sexual abuse involving youths and children
that have been leveled at the leader of the movement in question,
Sathya Sai Baba."
After Conny Larsson, a Swedish actor went public about his coerced
sexual relations with the guru; the Sai Organization in Sweden was
shut down.
India Today ran a cover story about the scandal, as has England's
Daily Telegraph.
Labor MP Tony Colman raised the issue in Parliament.
Former British government minister, Tom Sackville said, "The
authorities have done little so far and that is regrettable."
But it seems that the guru's ardent followers can rationalize almost
anything.
One such disciple concluded in an essay published on the Internet,
"First of all, I believe that Sathya Sai Baba is an Avatar, a full
incarnation of God ... any sexual contact Baba has had with devotees
-- of whatever kind -- has actually been only a potent blessing, given
to awaken the spiritual power within those souls. Who can call that
'wrong'? Surely to call such contact 'molestation' is perversity
itself."
A "potent blessing"?
"When he does it, he has a purpose," concludes another still devoted
follower.
Other devotees have rejected reports about their guru's sexual abuse
completely regardless of how many of his alleged victims come forward
to tell their stories.
One said, "I think this is a projection of his devotees' problems. You
hear a lot of rumors&but for me it's not important. When you're happy,
why doubt it?"
Note: This news summary is based upon an article titled
"Untouchable" (note: dead link) by Michelle Goldberg, which appeared
in Salon Magazine, July 25, 2001
Holy man? Sex abuser? Both?
Vancouver Sun/February 27, 2001
By Douglas Todd
His followers say Sai Baba is a God on Earth, and they generously
support his multi-billion-dollar religious empire. But some former
adherents are coming forward with dark tales of the guru sexually
molesting young men.
Sri Sathya Sai Baba -- "The Protector," "The Infinite," "the Creator"
-- has only once left India, where he reigns as arguably the country's
most famous living swami. But Sai Baba is here tonight at this temple
in east Vancouver. Sai Baba is sitting in the ochre robe on the wooden
throne at the front altar, smelling the eye-stinging incense,
listening to the spine-tingling chants and watching the earnest,
multiracial followers bow to him. Sai Baba is omni-present.
So be-lieves B.C. Sai Baba president Nami Thiyagaratnam, who teaches
management studies at the University of Victoria. To devotees, Sai
Baba is an avatar, God on Earth, born of a virgin mother. Separated by
gender in the Vancouver temple, the scores of East Indians,
Caucasians, Japanese, blacks and Chinese followers who sit on the red
carpet revering Sai Baba believe he paranormally transports his
invisible soul throughout the globe.
They are convinced that at this moment he is gazing contentedly at
them and other adherents conducting similar rituals of worship around
the planet at 6,700 Sai Baba temples, charity hospitals and schools,
mostly in India, but including 500 centres in the U.S. and 70 in
Canada. Dr. Ray Ludwig, 60, a Vancouver physician, puts his awe for
the Indian avatar succinctly: "Sai Baba, to me, is like a thousand
Mother Teresas. It was the greatest day of my life when I met Sai Baba
15 years ago. He transforms people to an altruistic lifestyle."
But deep troubles are emerging in Sai Baba's wealthy, glorious
universe, where people of all religions, from Christianity to
Buddhism, are meant to come together, because, as Sai Baba teaches,
"all faiths are facets of the same truth."
Accusations are mounting that Sai Baba has been sexually molesting
comely young men for decades during private meetings at his giant
ashram in India, where thousands visit each week.
The round-faced "saint" with the Jimi Hendrix hairdo, who is known for
miraculously manifesting out of thin air everything from wristwatches
to sacred stones and ash, has never admitted to sexual assault. But
followers in Canada and elsewhere acknowledge they've taken part with
him in what they call "sexual healing."
As the number of disturbing accounts grow, followers around the world
and across Canada have been feeling betrayed. Greater Vancouver boasts
one of the bigger North American Sai Baba contingents, with several
thousand members, about 75 per cent of them from the city's large Indo-
Canadian community With the sex scandal rapidly being unveiled on
various Internet sites and in a few newspapers, Sai Baba has told his
adherents, whose numbers range from 10 million to 50 million,
depending on whom you talk to, not to sign on to the World Wide Web.
The abuse charges are producing a mix of confusion and sadness,
defensiveness and sublime indifference among those who remain
acolytes. Thiyagaratnam, speaking at the Sai Baba Centre at 1659 East
10th, says he's not surprised that people are trying to ruin the
reputation of such a wondrous man. After all, he says, people also
persecuted Jesus Christ and Buddha. "It's very acrimonious and we're
sad. But people are entitled to their opinion." The charges are taking
their toll, however.
UNESCO recently cancelled its co-sponsorship of a conference in Sai
Baba's hometown of Puttaparthi, in southern India, saying it was
"deeply concerned about widely reported allegations of sexual abuse
involving youth and children that have been levelled at the leader of
the movement."
The many celebrity admirers of 75-year-old Sai Baba -- including
Indian president Atal Bihari Vajpayee; Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of
the Hard Rock restaurant chain and House of Blues; Sarah Ferguson,
Prince Andrew's former wife, and dozens of prominent Indian
professionals -- have so far been silent. But graphic charges have
come from all over the world.
London's Sunday Telegraph newspaper and India Today magazine recently
reported the case of American Sam Young, a young man who said he was
repeatedly abused by Sai Baba in a private room while his unwitting
parents remained outside, feeling blissful that their son was getting
so much of the divine one's attention.
Former Sai Baba leaders such as Swedish psychotherapist and former
film star, Conny Larsson, who says the guru regularly performed oral
sex on him and asked for it in return. Sai Baba was said to have
claimed he was simply correcting Larsson's inner "kundalini" energy.
David Bailey, a Welshman who had risen high in Sai Baba's inner
circle, fell away after hearing numerous accounts of how young men's
sessions with Sai Baba, which started out as purported sexual healing,
eventually turned into molestation. Bailey has been compiling the
stories, called the Findings, on a Web site.
Californian Glen Meloy is one of many former adherents who are busily
"e-bombing" decision-makers, including the White House, U.S. Senators,
the FBI and Indian newspapers, with warnings to keep young males away
from Sai Baba.
Still, no criminal charges have ever been laid against Sai Baba,
although some speculate that's because of his exalted position and
charitable work in India, where he's opened numerous well-appointed
hospitals, schools, colleges and water-treatment facilities.
Dr. Michael Goldstein, the influential U.S. president of the Sai Baba
organization, this year dismissed all the accusations. He says they're
unbelievable and that Sai Baba remains divinely pure, filled only with
"selfless love." The answer for those who doubt, says Goldstein, is to
show more faith.
But Goldstein's attitude draws the disdain of people such as
Vancouver's Tony Cleary, who walked away last year from the group
after 15 years of high-level dedication. Cleary, a 57-year-old
businessman, said it's difficult to leave. "Sai Baba makes you feel so
important because he tells you he's chosen you."
In addition to the sex allegations catalogued by Bailey, a friend,
Cleary is concerned about what he estimates are the billions of
dollars that well-meaning devotees give to Sai Baba and his various
charities. "It's a huge enterprise," Cleary says. Sai Baba is said to
be the reincarnation of the revered Indian saint, Shirdi Sai Baba, who
died in 1918. But Cleary said Sai Baba's teachings are "pretty
standard stuff.
"It's basically Hinduism with an eclectic mix of Christianity and
Buddhism, so it will appeal to more people." Despite his anger, Cleary
still believes Sai Baba probably has miraculous powers, including the
ability to "astral travel," which allows his soul to traverse the
globe.
Cleary also believes Sai Baba, who has only physically travelled to
Africa many years ago, may transport himself to sleep in various
sacred beds that devotees keep for him around the world, including in
Vancouver. So far in Canada, two people have agreed to go public with
accounts of Sai Baba's practice of "sexual healing," sometimes known
as "genital oiling."
But they offer ambiguous interpretations of what happened. Marc-Andre
St. Jean said in an interview from Montreal that when he was 19 and
had a private session with Sai Baba, the guru pointed at his genitals
and said, "Something slow."
Although St. Jean didn't know what Sai Baba was talking about at the
time, he said the guru then "asked me to drop my pants. He made a
materializing motion with his hand and there was cream on it. He
applied it to my scrotum." St. Jean thought at the time the event was
not sexual -- but more like "going to the doctor" for what he found
out was a urinary infection -- but St. Jean has since quit the group
after hearing and believing the mounting allegations of molestation.
St. Jean, now 29, remains bemused. "The charisma of Sai Baba is
incredible," he says. "The love was flowing from him. All this still
bothers me a lot. It's scary." In Langley, by contrast, Sai Baba
leaders Ann and David Jevons remain defiantly loyal to their divine
master.
Although they witnessed Sai Baba conduct a "sexual healing" on their
son's genitals more than a decade ago, they say the guru did it
because their son had a lump on his testicles, probably caused by an
anti-miscarriage drug she had taken during pregnancy.
"I know Sai Baba has done sexual things," says Ann Jevons, 62. Ann and
David, 65, acknowledged in an article for their newsletter that Sai
Baba can show less interest in adults such as themselves and more
interest in children and young people in general -- showering them
with rings and watches that he mysteriously materializes out of
nowhere.
But Jevons thinks sexual healing is a good thing, because "there is a
kundalini point between the anus and the genitals, where human energy
starts." It is totally understandable, she says, that a saint would
want to help people by curing disruptions in the flow of such a
crucial life force.
"Sai Baba is faultless," Jevons says. "He just opened the largest
hospital in south India. He's done incredible service to the world.
His accusers are wrong. And we're no gullible believers."
http://www.rickross.com/reference/saibaba/saibaba6.html
Guru shrugs off sex allegations
The Star/January 14, 2001
By Tom Harpur
`Do not get deluded because I talk, laugh, eat and walk like
you. . . . All my actions are always selfless, selfless, selfless.'-
Guru Sai Baba
IN THE Oct. 28 issue of the London Telegraph's Sunday magazine, a
major feature article described one of the greatest scandals to befall
a guru or religious leader in our time.
Titled "Divine Downfall," the six-page expos* by British investigative
journalist Mick Brown makes the case that the man millions around the
world hold to be God incarnate, a healer and "miracle worker" on a par
with Krishna or Christ, has systematically and for decades sexually
abused large numbers of teenage boys.
Sri Sathya Sai Baba - who has only once left his southern India ashram
in Puttaparthi, close to Bangalore (for a visit to Uganda), yet has
followers numbering anywhere from 10 million to 50 million, depending
on the source - is also accused of financial wrongs and "B-grade
conjuring tricks."
But those charges have been around for years. What is new is the huge
controversy now coming to a head over a document released on the
Internet, called "The Findings."
It was compiled over the last three years by David Bailey, a Welsh ex-
devotee, who had risen high in the guru's inner circle only to be
devastated by allegations made to him by several students at Sai
Baba's ashram college.
They claimed the guru had sexually abused them and said they couldn't
tell anyone because they were fearful of being disbelieved by their
parents and friends who were also devotees.
Shocked, Bailey quit the ashram and began building a record of
evidence gained from devotees around the globe.
The completed dossier includes scores of accounts of such abuse from
Holland, Australia, Germany, India and the United States.
Swedish movie actor Conny Larsson is one of those cited: "Not only did
Sai Baba make sexual advances towards him, but he had also been told
by young male disciples of advances the guru had made on them."
The Telegraph account told a particularly moving story of an American
husband and wife who suddenly found themselves being given special
treatment by the guru - out of all the thousands seeking to get near
him at his twice-daily public sessions.
Simultaneously, their teenage son, Sam, was being selected for even
closer ties. The Telegraph said he was given presents of all kinds,
including expensive watches, which the guru claimed to have
"materialized" out of thin air.
Over four years, Sam spent many hours alone with "God," just metres
from his parents outside.
The parents were stunned when their son finally alleged that Sai Baba
had steadily moved from fondling to demands for oral sex and,
eventually, attempted rape. Sam said he had feared that to tell anyone
would end his parents' happiness and incur the divine wrath of the
guru.
Significantly, the harrowing stories in "The Findings" produced a
flood of similar accounts from every corner of the Internet.
Gradually, the stage was set for one of the most amazing battles ever
spawned in cyberspace.
Browsing the Net recently, I found everything from Web sites with
specious, unconvincing arguments - for example, that the whole affair
was initiated by the omnipotent, omniscient guru as a kind of "divine
game" to test the disciples' faith - to a host of critical chatrooms,
columns and letters.
Sai Baba has been "India's most famous and powerful holy man" for
nearly 60 years.
His official biographer says in a four-volume work that the "saint"
was born sinless "of immaculate conception," like the Virgin Mary, in
Puttaparthi in 1926.
At 13, he announced he was the reincarnation of a revered southern
saint, Shirdi Sai Baba, who died in 1918. Even as a boy, the guru
displayed signs of allegedly miraculous powers by "materializing"
flowers and candies from "nowhere."
Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and other politicians are
included among his followers, as are members of India's judiciary,
academics, scientists and scores of high-profile members of the upper
middle class.
There are nine chapters of the Sai Baba organization in Toronto and
many others nationwide.
Nothing I have found yet on the Web or elsewhere directly meets the
current charges. Instead, the pro-Baba arguments seem to consist of
various ways of saying that God is God and doesn't really have to
explain. His ways are far beyond anything we mere humans can
understand.
Sai Baba is reported to have said recently to his devotees: "Never try
to understand me."
Perhaps he eventually will be cleared of the accusations levelled
against him. He may be a pure healer and a promoter of universal love.
But if this quote is accurate, he embodies the kind of guruship to be
avoided at all cost.
http://www.rickross.com/reference/saibaba/saibaba5.html
The man believers think is God
Sai Baba, an Indian holy man, worshipped by many prominent Canadians,
is accused of being a sexual predator
The Ottawa Citizen/December 19, 2000
By Bob Harvey
Millions of devotees in Ottawa and in more than 100 countries around
the world recently celebrated the 75th birthday of Sai Baba, an Indian
spiritual leader they believe is God.
But a growing number of leaders of the movement in Canada, Sweden, the
U.S. and other countries have quit: they say Sai Baba is a sexual
predator.
UNESCO also recently cancelled its co-sponsorship of a conference in
Sai Baba's home town of Puttaparthi, India, saying it was "deeply
concerned about widely-reported allegations of sexual abuse involving
youth and children that have been levelled at the leader of the
movement."
Raj Midha, the president of Ottawa's brand new $2-million Sri Sathya
Sai Spiritual Centre on Hunt Club, is a believer. Like many devotees,
he wears a large ring given to him by the guru. "He materialized it
from thin air," Mr. Midha says.
Television documentaries produced in Australia, India and other
countries have used slow-motion to show that such "miracles" are
really just clever sleight-of-hand by Sai Baba. But Mr. Midha shrugs
off this and other allegations about Sai Baba. "With all big leaders,
there have always been people who didn't like them. Even Jesus was
crucified."
What Mr. Midha wants to do is tell how Sai Baba has changed his life
and others. He shows off the 156,000-square-foot centre with pride,
and points to Sai Baba teachings posted on the walls of the building.
He says those teachings can be summarized in eight words: "Love All,
Serve All", and "Help Ever, Hurt Never."
Mr. Midha, a telecommunications engineer, believes Sai Baba cured his
wife's cancer, and he credits his own work with the Shepherds of Good
Hope and other charities to Sai Baba's teachings. On the centre's
second floor, he is reverent as he enters Sai Baba's bedroom, which
comes complete with bathroom, and a balcony overlooking the worship
area on the ground floor.
Sai Baba has taken only one trip out of India, and that was to Uganda.
But Mr. Midha and other devotees firmly believe their leader can
transport himself around the world at will. Mr. Midha says they know
Sai Baba uses his Ottawa bedroom, because they leave a glass of water
on his bedside table, and often the glass has been half-drained. About
200 devotees regularly worship at the centre, and some report having
seen the holy man while they were praying.
Conny Larsson, a psychotherapist, and once a well-known actor and film
star in his native Sweden, has a very different view of Sai Baba. He
first met Sai Baba in 1978, built his own apartment near the guru's
headquarters in Puttaparthi, and remained a devotee until last year.
Mr. Larsson was the spiritual co-ordinator of the Sai Baba movement in
Sweden, and says he brought tens of thousands of people to India to
see Sai Baba by speaking at conferences, writing a book about Sai
Baba, and speaking on radio.
"Now I feel very guilty," he says. For the first five years he knew
Sai Baba, Mr. Larsson says the guru regularly practised oral sex on
him, and asked that Mr. Larsson do the same for him. The guru's
explanation, as it has been for many young men, is that he was
correcting Mr. Larsson's kundalini, or cosmic force.
"I was brainwashed," said Mr. Larsson in a telephone interview from
Sweden. "As a child I was severely molested, and when he did this to
me, he told me he was going to correct something. And in my mind, I
thought God was healing me of this tragedy. This is the reason he
could do what he liked. "Everyone told me I was very special. They
puffed me up. For a person so molested and hurt as a child, it was a
relief to be someone."
By 1986, Mr. Larsson had talked to many young male devotees, most of
them attractive blond westerners, who told him they too had had sex
with Sai Baba. He believes Sai Baba has had sex with many more
reluctant male followers. Why do they do it? He says it's because
"everyone believes he is divine. They want to believe because they
have nothing else," he said.
For more than 50 years, Sai Baba has been India's most famous holy
man. The number of his followers is estimated at somewhere between 10
million and 50 million, and they include India's Prime Minister Atal
Bihari Vaijpayee; Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of the Hard Rock
Restaurant chain; Simon de Jong, a former New Democrat MP from
Saskatchewan; and Kris Singhal, founder of Ottawa's Richcraft Homes.
Birendra, the king of Nepal, Sarah Ferguson, Prince Andrew's former
wife; and many other celebrities have also made pilgrimages to see the
guru.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of people visit Sai Baba's ashram,
and what was once a small village now has an airstrip, a university, a
hospital and enough hotels and apartment blocks to accommodate tens of
thousands of people. "When you see all these important people moving
around there, kings and queens moving around as if they were common
people, you start to believe he (Sai Baba) has a divine plan for all
mankind," said Mr. Larsson.
Twice a day, Sai Baba strolls among the thousands of devotees seated
in the main temple and chooses people from the crowd for private
interviews. Often those chosen for private interviews are young men
like Mr. Larsson once was. What prompted him to quit the organization
and start speaking out was the abuse suffered by a young Swedish man
who asked for his help as a psychotherapist, after six interviews with
Sai Baba.
"He told me about the same things that happened to me. The swami
opened his trousers and started to masturbate him. He withdrew, but
the swami insisted." Mr. Larsson then brought the man to a meeting of
Swedish leaders of the Sai Baba movement, and told his own story as
well. The majority of the leaders resigned, and Mr. Larsson, like many
other ex-devotees, put his story on the Internet.
Mr. Larsson's story is one of many that appear in another Internet
posting, The Findings, a 42-page document amassed by David and Faye
Bailey, former devotees who once lived in Puttaparthi, and edited a
magazine to propagate Sai Baba's teachings. Mr. Bailey is a British
concert pianist and taught students at the Sathya Sai Baba College.
When some of his students complained to him about being sexually
molested by Sai Baba, he quit the organization and began documenting
the stories of abuse.
Glen Meloy, a retired management consultant in California, is another
former devotee who is using the Internet to warn others to keep their
sons away from Sai Baba. After 26 years of following Sai Baba, he quit
when he heard the story of a 15-year-old California boy who said he
had been abused on multiple occasions. Mr. Meloy said this boy and
others in families of devotees "were born with the idea that Baba is
God. So they submit because they're afraid to displease their parents,
let alone God himself, who's asking them to participate in these
acts."
Mr. Meloy is now bombarding politicians, the White House, Indian
newspapers, and the FBI with allegations of abuse by the Indian
spiritual leader. He says he gets 50 to 100 e-mails and phone calls a
day from former devotees, many of them looking for advice on what to
do about the tales of abuse they have heard.
To date, only one former Canadian devotee is willing to go public with
his story of being sexually touched. Marc-Andre St. Jean of Montreal
said that when he visited Puttaparthi in 1992, Sai Baba took him into
a private interview room, and asked him to drop his pants. Then he
touched Mr. St. Jean's genitals. He said he had a kidney problem and
at the time he thought Sai Baba was just trying to help him.
But Mr. St. Jean's story, and that of the son of a Quebec family of
devotees, helped persuade seven co-ordinators of the Sai Baba movement
in Quebec to hand in their resignations.
Alain Groven of Montreal's South Shore was the province's
representative on the national Sai Baba council. He said he and other
co-ordinators resigned after comparing the stories of Quebecers to
those of Mr. Larsson and others who suffered more severe abuse.
Mr. Groven said that last year, the Canadian organization gave Sai
Baba $90,000 as a birthday present, and the 70 centres across Canada
probably donated even more this year, for the 75th birthday.
[One woman said that] she and the other Montreal-area co-ordinators
who resigned wonder why so many others have remained devotees. "But
when you believe he is God, and you have invested yourself in a
spiritual community, it involves too much to suddenly decide he is not
God. Your whole spiritual world falls apart. It's too hard to bear,"
she said.
V.P. Singh of Windsor has been president of the Canadian Sai Baba
organization for the past 30 years. He said he does not care to read
the allegations against Sai Baba, and like most other devotees, he
obeys his guru's command not to use the Internet.
"I have known him for 30 years, and I have had a nice experience," he
said. Mr. Singh said the Canadian and other leaders who have resigned
from the organization around the world "can do whatever they want to
do; it's their business."
http://www.rickross.com/reference/saibaba/saibaba4.html
Divine downfall
The Daily Telegraph Saturday Magazine/October 27, 2000
By Mick Brown
Driving into town from the small Midwest airport where Carrie Young
and her husband had met me off the plane, she pulled a large picture
from the back seat of the station wagon. Framed in gilded-gold, the
picture showed the couple and their three children posing with an
elderly, chubby-faced Indian man with an ostentatious Afro haircut,
dressed in a red robe. Staring out of the picture, it seemed the
Youngs were shining with happiness. "And to think," said Carrie, "this
is the man we used to think was God."
The Youngs were what Americans call "straight arrows": honest, decent
and truthful. A handsome, clean-cut couple in their mid-40s; both
worked in the computer industry. The past year, said Jeff, had been
difficult, what with all that had happened, but they were pulling
things together.
A year ago, their son Sam had come to them with a shocking assertion:
Sathya Sai Baba, he told them - the man the Youngs had revered as God
for more than 20 years - was, in fact, a sexual abuser. Over the
course of four years, in his ashram, while Sam's parents sat a few
metres away - thrilled that their son should be in such close
proximity to the divine, secure in their belief that the god-man was
ministering to their son's spiritual welfare - Sai Baba was actually
subjecting him to sustained and systematic sexual abuse. "You'll meet
Sam at the restaurant," said Carrie. "He's prepared to talk about
this. He thinks it's important too."
Sam was a tall, blue-eyed, dreadlocked boy with a look that could only
be described as angelic. For the next four hours, they told me the
story of how they had come to Sai Baba; of their spiritual
aspirations, the dreams, the visions, the miracles - and the nightmare
their lives had turned into. And always, throughout the conversation,
the same question repeated itself: how could it possibly have come to
this?
For more than 50 years, Sai Baba has been India's most famous and most
powerful holy man - a worker of miracles, it is said, an instrument of
the divine. His following extends not only to every corner of the
Indian sub-continent, but to Europe, America, Australia, South America
and throughout Asia. Estimates of the total number of Baba devotees
around the world vary between 10 and 50 million.
To even begin to appreciate the scale and intensity of his following,
it is necessary to have some understanding of what his devotees
believe him to be, and of the powers that are attributed to him. Among
his devotees, Sai Baba is believed to be an avatar: literally, an
incarnation of the divine, one of a rare body of divine beings - such
as Krishna or Christ - who, it is said, take human form to further
man's spiritual evolution.
According to the four-volume hagiography written by his late secretary
and disciple, Professor N. Kasturi, Sai Baba was born "of immaculate
conception" in the southern Indian village of Puttaparthi in 1926. As
a young boy, he displayed signs of miraculous abilities, including
"materialising" flowers and sweets from nowhere. At 13, he declared
himself to be the reincarnation of a revered southern Indian saint,
Shirdi Sai Baba, who died in 1918. Challenged to prove his identity,
Kasturi writes, he threw a clump of jasmine flowers on the floor,
which arranged themselves to spell out "Sai Baba" in Telugu.
In 1950, he established a small ashram, Prasanthi Nilayam (Abode of
Serenity) in his home village. This has now grown to the size of a
small town, accommodating up to 10,000 people, with tens of thousands
more housed in the numerous hotels and apartment blocks that have
sprung up around. There is a primary school, university, college, and
hospital in the ashram, and innumerable other institutions around
India bearing Sai Baba's name. In India, his devotees include the
former prime minister, PV Narasimha Rao, the present Prime Minister,
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and an assortment of senior judiciary,
academics, scientists and prominent politicians. Unlike other Indian
gurus who have travelled in the West, cultivating a following among
faith seekers and celebrities, Sai Baba has left India only once, in
the '70s, to visit Uganda. His reputation in the West spread largely
by word-of-mouth. His devotees tend to be drawn from the educated
middle-classes.
It is said that as an instrument of the divine, Sai Baba is
omniscient, capable of seeing the past, present and future of
everyone; his "miracles' include materialising various keepsakes for
devotees, including watches, rings and pendants, as well as vibhuti or
holy ash. Like Christ, he is said to have created food to feed
multitudes; to have "appeared" to disciples in times of crisis or
need. There are countless accounts of healings, and at least two of
his having raised people from the dead.
Sai Baba's teachings resemble a synthesis of all the great faiths,
with a particular emphasis on Christian charity, enshrined in his most
ubiquitous aphorism, "Love All, Serve All".
The principal event in Prasanthi Nilayam is darshan, in which Sai Baba
emerges twice daily from his quarters adjacent to the main temple and
walks among the thousands of devotees seated on the hard marble floor.
Hands reach forward to touch his feet or to pass him letters of
supplication. Occasionally he pauses, to offer a blessing or to
"materialise" vibhuti in an outstretched hand. It is during darshan
that Sai Baba, by some unseen criteria, chooses people from the crowd
for private interviews. Some devotees might wait for years.
Inevitably for such a potent figure, Sai Baba has, for years, been the
subject of rumbling allegations of fakery, fraud and worse. But he has
proved remarkably immune to controversy, the accusations doing little
to dent his growing following or the esteem in which he is held. But
all that, it appears, is about to change.
In recent months, a storm of allegations have appeared - spurred by a
document called The Findings, compiled by an English former devotee
named David Bailey - which threaten to shake the very foundations of
Sai Baba's holy empire. Sai Baba may represent an ancient tradition of
belief, but the instrument of accusation against him is an altogether
modern one. Originally published in document form, The Findings
quickly found its way on to the Internet, where it has become the
catalyst for a raging cyberspace debate about whether Sai Baba is
truly divine or, as one disenchanted former devotee describes him, "a
dangerous paedophile".
David Bailey became a devotee of Sai Baba in 1994, at the age of 40,
drawn by an interest in the guru's reputation as a spiritual healer.
"I couldn't see him as a God," says Bailey, "but I did think, this
could be a great holy man who has certain gifts."
An extrovert man, Bailey quickly became a ubiquitous and popular
figure among devotees. He travelled all over the world, speaking and
performing at meetings and would visit the ashram in India three or
four times a year. Over the course of four years Bailey claims to have
had more than 100 interviews with Baba. At Baba's instigation, Bailey
married a fellow devotee, and together they edited a magazine to
propagate Sai Baba's teachings. But the closer he came to Sai Baba,
Bailey told me, the more his doubts multiplied. The miracles, he
concluded, were B-grade conjuring tricks, the healings a myth, and
Baba's powers of being able to see into people's minds and lives
merely a clever use of information gleaned from others.
Bailey's dwindling faith was finally crushed when students from the
college came to him alleging that they had been sexually abused by the
guru. "They said, `Please sir, can you go back to England and help
us."' They were unable to tell their parents because they were afraid
of being disbelieved, and feared for their personal safety.'
Shocked by the allegations, Bailey severed his association with Sai
Baba and began to assemble a dossier of evidence from former devotees
around the world. The Findings is a chronicle of shattered illusions.
It contains allegations of fakery, con-trickery and financial
irregularities in the funding of the hospital and over a Sai Baba
project to supply water to villages around the ashram, which is
habitually trumpeted as evidence of his munificence.
Some of these allegations have been aired before. But the charges
contained in The Findings are of an altogether different magnitude.
They include verbatim accounts of abuse from devotees in Holland,
Australia, Germany and India. Conny Larsson, a well-known Swedish film
actor, says that not only did Sai Baba make homosexual advances
towards him, but he was also told by young male disciples of advances
the guru had made on them.
In April, Glen Meloy - a retired management consultant and a prominent
Californian devotee of some 26 years standing - received a letter from
an American woman who had read The Findings on the Internet. Her 15-
year-old son, she said, had also been abused. Included in the letter
was a four-page statement from the boy himself alleging multiple
sexual abuse.
Meloy launched his own Internet campaign to spread the allegations.
The effects of this have been enormous. There has been a rash of
defections from Sai Baba groups throughout the West. >From other
devotees, however, the response has been one of disbelief and denial.
"Sai Baba," says Bailey, "is a simple sex maniac who's on an ego trip,
after money, after power. He is a sheer conman." No, say others, "Sai
Baba is God."
The Young family are not among those listed in The Findings, but the
story of how they had come to Sai Baba was not atypical. In the early
'70s, Jeff had become interested in "the spiritual quest", initially
through psychedelics, then through yoga and meditation. He learned of
Sai Baba through a friend, and in 1974, at the age of 18, visited
India for the first time.
Three weeks later Jeff had a private interview with Sai Baba. "And I
remember feeling peace like I had never felt before; feeling loved
like I'd never been loved before." He returned to Los Angeles, where
he lived in a community with fellow Baba devotees. He met Carrie,
whose childhood had been characterised by parental abuse, and her
teenage years by drug abuse. She, too, became a devotee of Sai Baba.
They married, moved to the Midwest and started to raise a family. Over
the years, they visited Sai Baba from time to time. They founded a
community, home-schooled their children according to his teachings,
and strove to lead a life of purity and self-discipline.
Then, in 1995, things began to change. Their son, Sam, who was now 16,
visited the ashram with a family friend and was singled out for a
private interview with Sai Baba. Eighteen months later, the Youngs
returned to Puttaparthi; again Sai Baba singled out Sam and called him
and the family for an interview. "He made [a big fuss of] our group,"
said Jeff. "He materialised a ring for my son. He told everybody that
Sam had been a great Shirdi Sai devotee in a previous life - he just
poured it on." During the course of that visit, the Youngs were called
for seven interviews, while Sam had some 20 private meetings. The
family felt blissfully privileged. He materialised rings, watches,
bracelets, gave them robes and the silk lungi he wore next to his
skin.
The following year, the family returned to Puttaparthi three times. On
each occasion they would be gifted with two or three interviews. Sam
had twice as many. "We had no idea what was going on," said Jeff.
In 1995, Sam had come to his father. In a private interview, he said,
Sai Baba had "materialised" some oil in his hand, unbuttoned Sam's
trousers and rubbed his genitals. Jeff told his son he had had a
similar experience when he first met Sai Baba at 18. "I said to Sam,
what did you think about it? He said he didn't feel there was anything
sexual about it; it was like Sai Baba was doing his job. And I'd kind
of had that experience. A doctor gives a boy an exam. I'd taken it as
some kind of healing." Thereafter, Sam said nothing about his
experiences.
What had actually occurred was this: from anointing with oil, Sam told
me, Sai Baba's advances had grown progressively more abusive and
forceful. Sai Baba, he said, had kissed him, fondled him and attempted
to force him to perform oral sex, explaining that it was for
"purification". On almost every occasion Sai Baba had given him gifts
of watches, rings, trinkets and cash, in total around $10,000. He had
told him to say nothing to his parents. When Sam asked Baba why he was
doing this, he would tell him it was because Sam was "a special
devotee - that it was a great blessing". When Sam attempted to resist,
he said, Baba would threaten not to call his parents for any more
interviews. "I felt obligations, to my parents, our friends, all the
thousands of people sitting outside who all wanted to be in the
position I was in, not knowing what was really there.
"And then the big thing was the concept that he is God, from day one,
so when he says, don't tell anybody ..."
In fact, Sam did tell somebody. He confided what was happening to two
other American teenagers who were students at the Puttaparthi college.
They had had similar experiences. "They justified it as a divine
experience. But he was doing things to me that I didn't want to do,
and I was just letting it happen."
In 1998, according to Sam, Sai Baba attempted to rape him. The
following year, the day before the family were leaving for
Puttaparthi, he told his father he did not want to see Sai Baba alone,
without specifying why. Jeff sensed something was amiss. "I told him,
you must always be true to your conscience. The family don't care if
we never have another interview again." In Puttaparthi, Sam was again
called for a private interview. When Sai Baba attempted to get him to
perform oral sex, Sam walked out for the last time, although it would
be some months before he summoned the nerve to tell his parents. Jeff
said it took some weeks to "process" what they were hearing. "We knew
that Sam was telling the truth, but I still asked myself, what could
this mean?"
The Youngs contacted a leading figure in the American Sai Baba
organisation. "He said it must be some kind of test," said Jeff, "and
for a moment we felt better."
Then Dr Michael Goldstein, the man in charge of the entire Baba
organisation in America, flew in from California to meet them. "He
said, we've got to talk to Baba about this; words are not enough;
faith must be restored." Goldstein flew to India. He returned to tell
the Youngs that Sai Baba had told him "he is pure", and that Goldstein
accepted that. He asked Jeff if he thought his son might be
delusional. The Youngs no longer speak with Goldstein.
A senior devotee, a trustee for the Sathya Sai Baba Society of
America, Jerry Hague, told me that he and his wife had been devotees
for 25 years. He was deeply shocked at the allegations and could not
begin to understand them.
"All I know in my heart is that Swami is the purest of the purest, and
that everything he does is for the highest good of everybody." This
denial - Sai Baba is God, God doesn't do these things - was a theme
that was echoed by innumerable other devotees I spoke to in America
and Britain.
Among those people named in The Findings is Dr D Bhatia, the former
head of the blood bank at the Sathya Sai Super Speciality Hospital,
who, it is claimed, had a longstanding sexual relationship with Sai
Baba. Bhatia resigned from his post at the hospital in December 1999
and is now an administrator at a hospital in New Delhi.
Contacted by phone, Bhatia said that he had become a devotee of Sai
Baba in 1971, at the age of 20, and that he had had sexual relations
with Sai Baba for "15 or 16 years". In that time, he said, he was also
aware that Sai Baba had relations with "many, many" students from the
college and school, and with devotees from overseas.
One of the most remarkable facets of this controversy has been the
role of the Internet. Even 10 years ago, it is doubtful whether the
allegations against Sai Baba would have spread so far and so fast.
Conny Larsson has set up a support group for those claiming abuse by
Sai Baba, and says he receives some 20-30 e-mails a day from victims
"crying out for help. You cannot leave these people in the desert".
In America, the campaign organised by Glen Meloy has concentrated on
"e-bombing" copies of the allegations to senators, the White House,
the FBI and Indian newspapers. The most conspicuous success of the
campaign came in September when Unesco withdrew its co-sponsorship and
participation from an education conference at Puttaparthi, citing
"deep concern" over the allegations of sexual abuse.
For all the allegations laid against him over the years, Sai Baba has
never been charged with any crime, sexual or otherwise. And his
exalted position in India has until now kept him safely insulated from
any kind of public inquiry.
Among former devotees, there is a sense of shock, betrayal, anger - a
hunger, if not for revenge, then for accountability. "We know that
many victims have been physically molested," Glen Meloy told me, "but
in reality all the former devotees have been spiritually raped because
we chose to believe that this man was the highest. I certainly
considered him to be the God of gods, the creator of all creation, my
friend, my everything. The intense desire I have to expose him now is
directly proportionate to the amount of devotion I gave him."
Sitting in the restaurant in a small, homely Midwest town, Jeff Young
struggled to understand what had led him to believe that an Indian
guru could be God.
Looking back, he said, when Sam finally told him about the sexual
abuse, he didn't find it difficult to believe at all. "I realised, I'd
really known this for a long time but didn't really know it." Jeff
shook his head. " You ask yourself, how could millions of people be
wrong? How could millions of people be tricked? .. We'd spent 23 years
raising our family to believe in him, going upstream against a river.
You think, how could I have been so wrong?"
Whether he is divine, "a demonic force", as Glen Meloy describes him,
or simply an accomplished fakir and confidence trickster, Sai Baba has
said nothing publicly about the allegations. When contacted, K.
Chakravarthi, secretary of the Puttaparthi ashram, said, "We have no
time for these matters. I have nothing to say."
Sai Baba's principal English translator, Anil Kumar, said every great
religious teacher had faced criticism. Allegations had been made at
Sai Baba since childhood, "but with every criticism he becomes more
and more triumphant."
http://www.rickross.com/reference/saibaba/saibaba3.html
Scandal engulfs guru's empire
Divine Downfall
The Age (Australia)/November 12, 2000
By Padraic Murphy
For Hans de Kraker, a trip to India to see Sathya Sai Baba, a self-
proclaimed god with a following of up to 25 million devotees, was a
spiritual quest. But he said the pilgrimage ended when the 73-year-old
guru tried to force him to perform oral sex.
Mr de Kraker, who now lives in Sydney, has gone public to alert
devotees to a sex scandal that is threatening to undo Sai Baba, by far
the most popular of India's new-age gurus.
"It is devastating to realise the man you see as a spiritual master is
simply conning people for his own sexual gratification," Mr de Kraker,
32, said. "After a while you notice that the people chosen for private
interviews tend to be good-looking young males."
Mr de Kraker, who first visited Sai Baba's ashram in 1992, said the
guru would regularly rub oil on his genitals, claiming it was a
religious cleansing, and eventually tried to force him to perform oral
sex. He was kicked out of the ashram after alerting senior officials
in 1996.
Mr de Kraker's story is not an isolated one, and a growing list of
alleged victims is threatening to engulf the Sai Baba organisation,
which has an estimated worth of $6billion. Droves have left after
allegations of paedophilia and the rape of male followers.
Sai Baba's main ashram in Puttaparthi, India, is the largest in the
world and can sleep up to 10,000 people. That number of people
regularly turn out to "darshan", a twice-daily ritual in which Sai
Baba walks among devotees choosing people for private interviews.
It is in these private interviews that many of the alleged assaults
against males between the ages of seven and 30 take place. Former
devotees said the interviews usually involved family groups, but when
young males were involved they were ushered into a second room, behind
what has come to be known as the "curtain of shame".
The organisation has been shut down in Sweden after revelations that
Conny Larson, now a film star in that country, was molested by Sai
Baba. The FBI is looking into similar allegations made by American
children and there are investigations into the sect in France and
Germany.
Both UNESCO and Flinders University in South Australia and Flinders
University in South Australia pulled out of a conference organised by
Sai Baba in September because of concerns about the guru's sexual
conduct. In Australia, the sect is estimated to have up to 5000
followers. It runs schools in northern NSW and Western Australia, and
has meditation centres across the country.
Now Australian victims are preparing documents to present to federal
authorities about the guru's activities.
Terry Gallagher, a property developer from Kiama, in New South Wales,
regularly visited Sai Baba in the early 1990s and spent three years as
the coordinator of the group in Australia. He left the group in the
mid '90s after boys in Indian schools run by Sai Baba complained to
him of sexual abuse.
"Spiritually it is devastating. I'm concerned because of both the
sexual abuse of young boys, and the spiritual fraud Sai Baba
perpetrates," Mr Gallagher said.
Sri Ramanathan, a former Sri Lankan judge and head of the Sai Baba
Organisation in Australia and Papua New Guinea, refuses to warn
families taking children to Puttaparthi about the allegations.
"All god men have these kind of allegations levelled at them, why
should I warn people of these allegations, they are just allegations?"
he said. "He is a holy man. I know that (these allegations) cannot be
proved."
Raphael Aron, the director of Cult Counselling, said: "These
organisations are run by one individual and there are never any
complaint mechanisms. When these sorts of allegations come up, the
usual response is that it is some kind of test of faith and the whole
thing is denied."
Several former devotees who spoke to The Sunday Age said they had been
thrown out of Sai Baba's ashrams when they questioned leaders about
the charges.
The sexual exploits of the guru were exposed 30 years ago by Tal
Brooke, a former high-ranked devotee who now runs a cult-watch group
in the US. "It appears that now he is out of control. The problem is
that people have such faith that these allegations would kill them
spiritually," he said from his home in California.
http://www.rickross.com/reference/saibaba/saibaba2.html
Screen Star James Mason Laid to Rest After 16 Years
Reuters/November 25, 2000
London - Hollywood screen legend James Mason has been finally laid to
rest -- 16 years after his death, the Daily Telegraph newspaper
reported on Saturday.
Mason's children buried his ashes in a Swiss cemetery on Friday after
an acrimonious legal battle over the British actor's estate with their
stepmother Clarissa Kaye, and later with the administrators of her
estate, the paper said.
The wrangle became so bitter that for many years Mason's children,
daughter Portland and son Morgan, had no idea of the whereabouts of
their father's ashes. Portland finally tracked them to a bank vault in
Geneva.
``It is like a dream,'' the Daily Telegraph quoted Portland Mason as
saying after the burial ceremony. ``Sometimes I thought it would never
happen. It has been so, so long,'' she said.
Mason, who died of a heart attack aged 75 in 1984, was the star of
such screen classics as ``A Star is Born,'' ``The Desert Fox,''
``Lolita'' and ``North by Northwest.''
The paper said that the actor felt his second wife Clarissa had
sacrificed a Hollywood career of her own when she agreed to move to
Lake Geneva with him in 1963. He wanted her to be able to live in
comfort after his death. The children believed he intended for them to
inherit his estimated 15 million pound fortune on Clarissa's death,
the paper said. But Clarissa, who died six years ago, bequeathed
everything to a trust with unknown benefactors.
The children believe the benefactors are devotees of Sathya Sai Baba,
an Indian religious sect, which Clarissa became close to in the last
years of her life. They are continuing litigation in the hope of
gaining control of at least part of their father's estate.
http://www.rickross.com/reference/saibaba/saibaba8.html
Devotee 'Tricked Woman Into Sex'
The (London) Times/July 5, 2000
By Simon De Bruxelles
A Follower of an Indian guru tricked a woman into having sex with him
by promising that it would cure her "bad vibrations", a court was told
yesterday.
Priyakant Shah, 47, a shopkeeper from Plymouth, allegedly persuaded
the mother of three that he was a messenger from the Hindu mystic Sai
Baba and he had been ordered in a dream to have sex with her. His
alleged victim, who is also of Asian origin, told Plymouth Crown Court
that the relationship began after Mr Shah had "engineered" her divorce
from her husband, whom she subsequently remarried.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she met Mr Shah
in the mid-1980s when he ran a temple in South London devoted to the
worship of the 73-year-old guru who claims 30 million followers
worldwide.
The woman, who was 37 or 38 at the time, said Mr Shah persuaded her to
leave her husband and take her daughters to live in a flat above his
shop in Plymouth.
She said: "I had been praying in the prayer room and Shah was asleep
on a bed in there. As I prayed, I heard him say 'No, Baba, no, Swami,
I cannot do that'.
"I asked him later what he meant and he told me that I would not
believe it, but Baba had said he had worked so hard with me but I was
still carrying bad vibrations and that he had to have physical contact
with me.
"I asked him what he meant and he said he had to have sexual
intercourse with me. It was the only way the bad vibrations would come
out. I said 'no way'."
She said she woke later to find Mr Shah naked by her bedside and he
had made her have sex with him.
Mr Shah denies two charges of procuring a woman to have sex by false
pretences and one of indecently assaulting one of her daughters, who
was 12 or 13 at the time.
http://www.rickross.com/reference/saibaba/saibaba1.html
Them are few things sadder than a good guru gone bad. The cynics among
us may object that a "good guru" is a contradiction in terms and
certainly the spectacle of corrupt and authoritarian cults in recent
years has cast a pall over the role of spiritual teachers.
Nevertheless I'm willing to maintain that a significant amount of
wisdom and compassionate works have proceeded from various gurus and
their followers, and I resist the impulse to write off the whole bunch
as charlatans and power-trippers
From all indication Swami Muktananda helped thousands of people in his
day - a fact that even disillusioned ex-devotees don't dispute.
However, the last few years of his life saw a proliferation of abuses
which are only now coming to light William Rodarmor; a former lawyer,
park ranger, wilderness trip leader and presently a graduate student
at the University of California at Berkeley journalism school has
spent months interviewing former and current followers of Muktananda
for this investigative article. CQ independently contacted his major
sources and confirmed the authenticity of their quotes and
allegations. -Jay Kinney
The Secret Life of Swami Muktananda
by William Rodarmor
Illustrated by Matthew Wuerker
"There is no deity superior to the Guru, no gain better than the
Guru's grace ... no state higher than meditation on the Guru." -
Muktananda
ON THE American consciousness circuit, Baba Muktananda was known as
the "guru’s guru," one of the most respected meditation masters ever
to come out of India. Respected, that is, until now.
When Baba Ram Dass introduced him to the U.S. in 1970. Muktananda was
still largely unknown. Thanks to Muktananda's spiritual power, his
Siddha meditation movement quickly took root in the fertile soil of
the American growth movement. By the time he died of heart failure in
October 1982, Muktananda's followers had built him 31 ashrams, or
meditation centers, around the world. When crowds saw Muktananda step
from a black limousine to a waiting Lear jet, it was clear that the
diminutive, orange-robed Indian was an American-style success.
At various times, Jerry Brown, Werner Erhard, John Denver, Marsha
Mason; James Taylor, Carry Simon, astronaut Edgar Mitchell, and Meg
Christian have all been interested in Muktananda's movement. The media
coordinator at the large Oakland, California, ashram is former Black
Panther leader Erika Huggins.
Baba Muktananda said he was a Siddha, the representative of a
centuries-old Hindu lineage. According to his official biography, he
wandered across India as a young man, going from teacher to teacher,
living the chaste, austere life of a monk. In Ganeshpuri, near Bombay,
he became the disciple of Nityananda, a Siddha guru of awesome yogic
powers. After years of meditation, Muktananda experienced
enlightenment. When Nityananda died in 1960, Muktananda said the guru
passed the Siddha mantle to him on his deathbed, though some of
Nityananda's followers in India dispute the claim. When Muktananda
himself died, a sympathetic press still saw him as a spiritual Mr.
Clean, and his two successors, a brother-sister team of swamis,
continue to draw thousands of people searching for higher
consciousness.
To most of his followers, Muktananda was a great master. But to
others, he was a man unable to live up to the high principles of his
own teachings. "When we first approach a Guru," Muktananda wrote, "we
should carefully examine his qualities and his actions. He should have
conquered desire and anger and banished infatuation from his heart."
For many, that was a warning that was understood too late.
Some of Muktananda's most important former followers now charge that
the guru repeatedly violated his vow of chastity, made millions of
dollars from his followers' labors: and allowed guns and violence in
his ashrams. The accusations have been denied by the swamis who took
over his movement after the master died.
In the course of preparing this story, I talked with 25 present and
former devotees; most of the interviews are on tape. Some people would
only talk to me if promised anonymity, and some are bitter at what
they feel was Muktananda's betrayal of their trust. All agree that
Muktananda was a man of unusual power. They differ over the ways he
used it.
"I don't have sex for the same reason you do: because it feels so
good." -Muktananda
IN HIS teachings Muktananda put a lot of emphasis on sex - most of it
negative. Curbing the sex drive released the kundalini energy that led
to enlightenment, he said. The swami himself claimed to be completely
celibate.
Members of the guru's inner circle, however, say Muktananda regularly
had sex with his female devotees. Michael Dinga, an Oakland contractor
who was head of construction for the ashram and a trustee of the
foundation, said the guru's sexual exploits were common knowledge in
the ashram. "It was supposed to be Muktananda's big secret," said
Dinga, "but since many of the girls were in their early to middle
teens, it was hard to keep it secret."
A young woman I am calling "Mary" said the guru seduced her at the
main American ashram at South Fallsburg, New York, in 1981. Mary was
in her early twenties at the time. Muktananda was 73.
At South Fallsburg, Muktananda used to stand behind a curtain in the
evening, watching the girls coming back to the dormitory. He asked
Mary to come to his bedroom several times, and gave her gifts of money
and jewelry. Finally, she did. When he then told her to undress, she
was shocked, but she obeyed.
"He had a special area which I assume he used for his sexual affairs.
It was similar to a gynecologist's table, but without the
stirrups." (To his later chagrin, Michael Dinga realized he had built
the table himself.) "He didn't have an erection," Mary said, "but he
inserted about as much as he could. He was standing up, and his eyes
were rolled up to the ceiling. He looked as if he was in some sort of
ecstasy." When the session was over, Muktananda ordered the girl to
come back the next day, and added, "Don't wear underwear."
On the first night, Muktananda had tried to convince Mary she was
being initiated into tantric yoga - the yoga of sex. The next night,
he didn't bother. "It was like ‘Okay, you're here, take off your
clothes. get on the table and let's do it.' Just very straight, hard,
cold sex."
Mary told two people about what had happened to her. Neither was
exactly surprised.
Michael's wife Chandra was disturbed. Chandra was probably the most
important American in the movement. As head of food services, she saw
Muktananda daily, and knew what was going on. "Whoever was in his
kitchen was in some way molested," she said. A girl I’ll call "Nina"
used to work for Chandra. One day, the guru remarked to her in Hindi,
"Sex with Nina is very good." Nina's mother was later made a swami.
Chandra said she had rationalized the guru's having sex in the past,
but was dismayed to learn it had happened to her young friend Mary.
Aware of Muktananda's power over people who were devoted to him, she
saw it as a form of rape.
The other person Mary confided in was Malti, Muktananda's longtime
translator.
Mary said Malti wasn't surprised when she told her about being seduced
by the aged guru. "She told me people had been coming to her with this
for years and years," Mary said. "She was caught in the middle." Malti
and her brother, who have taken the names Chidvilasananda and
Nityananda, are the movement's new leaders.
Another of Muktananda's victims was a woman I'll call "Jennifer." She
says Muktananda raped her at the main Indian ashram at Ganeshpuri in
the spring of 1978. He ordered Jennifer to come to his bedroom late
one night, and told her to take her clothes off. "I was in shock," she
said, "but over the years, I had learned you never say no to anything
that he asked you to do...."
Muktananda had intercourse with Jennifer for an hour, she said, and
was quite proud of the fact. "He kept saying, ‘Sixty minutes,’" she
said. "He claimed he was using the real Indian positions, not the
westernized ones used in America." While he had sex, the guru felt
like conversing, but Jennifer found she couldn't say a word. "The main
thing he wanted to know was how old I was when I first got my period.
I answered something, and he said, ‘That’s good, you're a pure girl.’"
Devastated by the event, Jennifer made plans to leave the ashram as
soon as possible, but Muktananda continued to be interested in her.
"He used to watch me getting undressed through the keyhole," she said.
She would open the door and see the guru outside "I became rather
scared of him, because he kept coming to my room at night."
Both women said the Ganeshpuri ashram was arranged to suit
Muktananda's convenience.
"He had a secret passageway from his house to the young girls'
dormitory," Mary said. "Whoever he was carrying on with, he had
switched to that dorm." The guru often visited the girls' dormitory
while they were undressing. "He would come up anytime he wanted to"
Jennifer said, "and we would just giggle. In the early days, I never
thought of him as having sexual desires. He was the guru..." Mary knew
otherwise: she talked with at least eight other young girls who had
sex with Muktananda. "I knew that he had girls marching in and out of
his bedroom all night long," she said.
While his followers were renovating a Miami hotel in 1979, Muktananda
slept on the women's floor, and ordered that the youngest be put in
the rooms closest to his, and the older ones down the hall.
"You always knew who he was carrying on with," said Chandra. "They
came down the next day with a new gold bracelet or a new pair of
earrings." Around the ashram, said Mary, people knew that "anyone who
had jewelry was going to his room a lot."
For a time, Muktananda's followers found ways to rationalize his
behavior. He wasn't really penetrating his victims, they said. Or he
wasn't ejaculating - an important distinction to some, since retaining
the semen was supposed to be a way of conserving the kundalini energy.
Ultimately, Chandra felt it didn't make any difference. "If you're
going to be celibate, and you're going to preach celibacy, you don't
put it in halfway, and then pull it out. You live what you preach..."
After years of repressing their growing doubts about Muktananda,
Michael and Chandra finally drew the line when they learned he was
molesting a 13-year-old girl. She had been entrusted to the ashram by
her parents, and was being cared for by Muktananda's laundress and
chauffeur. The laundress "told me Baba was doing things to her," said
Chandra. "I think he was probing around in her." The laundress
suggested it was only "Baba's way of loving her," but Chandra was
appalled.
Charges of sex against Muktananda continued. In 1981, one of
Muktananda's swamis, Stan Trout, wrote an open letter accusing his
guru of molesting Little girls on the pretext of checking their
virginity. The letter caused a stir, but word didn't go beyond the
ashram. In a "Memo from Baba," Muktananda merely answered that
"devotees should know the truth by their own experience, not by the
letters that they receive... You should be happy that I'm still alive
and healthy and that they haven't tried to hang me."
"Wretched is he who cannot observe discipline and restraint even in an
ashram." -Muktananda
I N THE first of his eight years with Muktananda, Yale dropout Richard
Grimes said he was "in a funny kind of grace period, where you're so
involved with the beginning of inner Life that you don't really notice
what is going on." But then he started seeing things that didn't jibe
with his idea of a meditation retreat.
"Muktananda had a ferocious temper," said Grimes, "and would scream or
yell at someone for no seeming reason." He saw the guru beating people
on many occasions. "In India, if peasants were caught stealing a
coconut from his ashram, Muktananda would often beat them," Grimes
said. The people in the ashram thought it was a great honor to be
beaten by the guru. No one asked the peasants' opinion.
Muktananda's ubiquitous valet, Noni Patel, was a regular target of his
master's wrath. While on tour in Denver, Noni came down to the kitchen
to be treated for a strange wound in his side. "At first, he wouldn't
say how he had gotten it," Grimes' wife Lotte recalled. "Later it came
out that Baba had stabbed him with a fork."
When ex-devotees talked about strong-arm tactics against devotees, the
names of two people close to Muktananda kept coming up. One was David
Lynn, known as Sripati, an ex-Marine Vietnam vet. The other was Joe
Don Looney, an ex-football player with a reputation for troublemaking
on the five NFL teams he played for, and a criminal record. They were
known as the "enforcers"; Muktananda used them to keep people in line.
On the guru's orders, Sripati once picked a public fight with then-
swami Stan Trout at the South Fallsburg ashram. He came down from
Boston, where Muktananda was staying, and punched Trout to the ground
without provocation. Long-time devotee Abed Simli saw the attack, but
figured Sripati had just flipped out. Michael Dinga knew otherwise.
Muktananda had phoned him the morning before the beating, and told him
Trout’s ego was getting too big, and that he was sending Sripati to
set him straight. Dinga, a big man, was instructed not to interfere.
In India, Dinga and a man called Peter Polivka witnessed Muktananda’s
valet Noni Patel give a particularly brutal beating to a young
follower: A German boy in his twenties, whom Dinga described as
"obviously in a disturbed state" had started flailing around during a
meditation intensive. The German was hauled outside, put under a cold
shower, stripped naked, and laid out on a concrete slab behind the
ashram. Dinga said the German just sat in a full lotus position, and
tried to steel himself against what happened next.
Noni Patel took a rubber hose, a foot-and-a-half long, and beat and
questioned the boy for thirty minutes while a large black man called
Hanuman held him. "They were full-strength blows," said Dinga, "and
they raised horrible welts on the boy's body."
There exists a long tradition in the East of masters beating their
students. Tibetan and Zen Buddhist stories are full of sharp blows
that stop the students rational minds long enough for them to become
enlightened. Couldn't that have been what Muktananda was doing?
"It could be seen that way," said Richard Grimes. "For years we
thought that every discrepancy was because he lived outside the laws
of morality He could do anything he wanted. That in itself is the
biggest danger of having a perfect master lead any kind of group -
there's no safeguard."
Chandra Dinga said that as Muktananda's power grew, he ignored normal
standards of behavior. "He felt he was above and beyond the law," she
said. "It went from roughing people up who didn't do what he wanted,
to eventually, at the end, having firearms."
Though the ashrams were meditation centers, a surprising number of
people in them had guns. Chandra saw Noni's gun, Muktananda's
successor Subash's gun, and the shotgun Muktananda kept in his
bedroom. Others saw guns in the hands of "enforcer" Sripati and ashram
manager Yogi Ram. The manager of the Indian ashram showed Richard
Grimes a pistol that had been smuggled into India for his use. One
devotee opened a paper bag in an ashram vehicle in Santa Monica, and
found ammunition in it.
A woman who ran the ashram bakery for many years said she knew some
people had guns, but that it never bothered her. The Santa Monica
ashram, for example, was in a very rough neighborhood, she said, and
the guns were strictly for protection.
"In an ashram, one should not fritter one's precious time in a
precious place on eating and drinking, sleeping, gossiping and talking
idly." -Muktananda
BY ALL accounts, devotees in the ashrams worked hard under trying
conditions. In India, they were isolated from their culture. Even in
the American ashrams, close friendships were frowned on, and
Muktananda strongly discouraged devotees from visiting their families.
A woman I'm calling "Sally" used to get up for work at 3:30 a.m. She
said her day was spent in work, chanting, meditation, and silence.
"Some days, you couldn't talk to anyone all day long. I would get very
lonely." Recorded chants were often played over loudspeakers. Even a
woman who is still close to the movement admitted that "the long hours
were a drag."
Though he was Muktananda's right-hand man for construction, Michael
Dinga worked "under incredible schedules with ridiculous budgets,"
putting in the same hours as his crew. In the six-and-a-half years he
was with the ashram, he said he had a total of two weeks off.
As time went on, Dinga came to be bothered by what he saw as
exploitation: "I saw the way people were manipulated, how they would
work in all sincerity and all devotion [with] no idea that they were
being laughed at and taken advantage of."
"Even a penny coming as a gift should be regarded as belonging to God
and religion." -Muktananda
MUKTANANDA'S movement was both a spiritual and a financial success.
Once Siddha meditation caught on, said Chandra Dinga, "money poured
into the ashram." Particularly lucrative were the two-day "meditation
intensives" given by Muktananda, and now by his successors. Today, an
intensive led by the two new gurus costs $200. (Money orders or
cashier's checks only, please. No credit cards or personal checks.) An
intensive given in Oakland in May 1983 drew 1200 participants, and
people had to be turned away. At $200 a head, Chidvilasananda and
Nityananda’s labors earned the ashram nearly a quarter of a million
dollars in a single weekend.
There was always a lot of secrecy around ashram affairs, Lotte Grimes
remarked. During Muktananda's lifetime, that secrecy applied to money
matters with a vengeance.
The number of people who came to intensives, for example, was a secret
even from the devotees. Simple multiplication would tell anyone how
much money was coming in. And when Richard Grimes set up a restaurant
at the Oakland ashram, he said Muktananda "had a fit" when he found
out that Grimes had been keeping his own records of the take.
Food services head Chandra Dinga said the restaurants in the various
ashrams were always big money-makers, where devotees worked long hours
for free. On tour during the summer, she said, they would feed over a
thousand people, and bring in three thousand dollars in cash a day.
Sally said that a breakfast that sold for two dollars actually cost
the ashram about three cents.
Donations further fattened the coffers. if somebody important was
coming to the ashram, Chandra’s job was to try and get them to give a
feast and to make a large donation. $1500 to $3000 was considered
appropriate. "There was just a constant flow of money into his
pockets," said Chandra, "it let him get whatever he wanted to get, and
let him buy people."
Muktananda himself was said to have been very attached to money. "For
years, he catered only to those who were wealthy," said Richard
Grimes. "He spent all the time outside of his public performances
seeing privately anyone who had a lot of money."
A parade of Mercedes-Benzes used to drive up to the Ganeshpuri ashram
with rich visitors, said Grimes. In Oakland, Lotte Grimes saw Malti
order a list drawn up of everybody in the ashram who had money, to
arrange private interviews with Muktananda, by his orders.
Devotees, on the other hand, had to get by on small stipends, if they
got anything. Chandra Dinga, despite her status as head of food
services, never got more than $100 a month. Devotees with less
prestige were completely dependent on the guru's generosity. Sally
once cried for two days when she broke her glasses, knowing she would
have to beg Muktananda for another pair.
How much money did Muktananda amass from his efforts? Even the
officers of the foundation that ostensibly ran Muktananda's affairs
never knew for sure.
Michael Dinga was a foundation trustee, and used to cosign for
deposits to the ashram’s Swiss bank accounts, but the amounts on the
papers were always left blank. In 1977, however, he got a hint. Ron
Friedland, the president of the foundation, told Dinga that Muktananda
had 1.3 million dollars in Switzerland. Three years later, Muktananda
told Chandra it was more like five million. "And then he laughed, and
said, ‘There’s more than that.’"
A woman called Amma, who was Muktananda's companion for more than
twenty years, told the Dingas that all the accounts were in the names
of Muktananda’s eventual successors, Chidvilasananda and Nityananda.
Michael and Chandra Dinga finally quit the ashram in December 1980.
They had served Muktananda for a combined total of sixteen-and-a-half
years, and had risen to positions of real importance. Both knew
exactly how the ashram operated.
Together, they went to Muktananda to tell him why they wanted to
leave. The guru wasn't pleased. To get the Dingas to stay, Muktananda
called on everything he thought would stir them. He offered them a
car, a house, and money. When that failed, he started to weep. "You're
my blood, my family," he said. Then Muktananda abruptly changed tack.
"You've come on an inauspicious day," he said. "I can't give you my
blessing." Next morning, he called Chandra on the public intercom and
said she could leave immediately.
After they left, the Dingas say they were denounced by the guru, and
their lives threatened.
"Muktananda claimed he had thrown us out because Chandra was a whore"
said Dinga, "that she was having sex with the young boys who worked in
the restaurant. Later he said I had a harem. In other words, he was
accusing us of all the things he was doing himself." Muktananda also
claimed that none of the buildings Michael had built were any good.
When one of Michael's crew stood up for him, he was threatened
physically.
Leaving all their friends behind in the ashram, the Dingas moved to
the San Francisco area, but Muktananda's enmity followed them. Their
doorbell and telephone started ringing at odd hours, and Michael saw
the "enforcers" running away from their door one night. A cruel hoax
was played on Chandra. Someone followed her when she took her cat to
the vet, then phoned the vet's office with a message that her husband
had been in a bad accident. Chandra waited frantically at Berkeley's
Alta Bates Hospital for three quarters of an hour, only to learn that
Michael was at work, unhurt.
Death threats started to reach the Dingas toward the end of April
1981, six months after they had left the ashram. On May 7, Sripati and
Joe Don Looney visited Lotte Grimes at her job in Emeryville with a
frightening piece of information: "Tell Chandra this is a message from
Baba: Chandra only has two months to live." Another ex-follower said
he got a similar message: If the Dingas didn't keep quiet, acid would
be thrown in Chandra's face; Michael would be castrated.
The Grimeses and the Dingas reported the threats to the police. The
Dingas hired a lawyer.
The threats stopped soon after Berkeley police officer Clarick Brown
called on the Oakland ashram, but Chandra was badly frightened. Some
ex-followers still are.
Michael and Chandra's departure sparked a small exodus from the
ashram. Some of the ex-followers began to meet and compare notes on
their experiences in the ashram. "We were amazed and rejuvenated,"
said Richard Grimes. "We got more energy from learning he was a con
man than we ever did thinking he was a real person."
Just the same, the devotees who left the ashram are still dealing with
the damage done to their lives. Michael and Chandra's marriage broke
up, as did Sally's. Michael is only now coming out of a period of
depression and emptiness. Richard and Lotte Grimes are bitter at
having wasted years of their lives in the ashram. Stan Trout still
considers Muktananda a great yogi, but a tragically flawed man.
Chandra Dinga has taken years to come to terms with her experience
with Muktananda; "Your whole frame of reference becomes askew," she
said. "What you would normally think to be right or wrong no longer
has any place. The underlying premise is that everything the guru does
is for your own good. The guru does no wrong. When I finally realized
that everything he did was not for our own good, I had to leave."
Muktananda’s two successors were at the Oakland ashram in May end I
asked Swami Chidvilasananda about the accusations against her guru.
To her knowledge, did Muktananda have sex with women in the ashram?
"Not as far as I saw," she said carefully. What about the charge that
Muktananda had sex with young girls? "Those girls never came to us,"
Chidvilasananda said. "And we never saw it, we only heard it when
Chandra talked to everybody else."
Chidvilasananda also denied that there was a bank account in
Switzerland. When asked about the ashram's finances, she said that all
income was put back into facilities. "We are a break-even
proposition," the new leader said.
As for the alleged beatings, she said that Americans had their own
ways of doing things. She said, "You can't blame the guru, because the
guru doesn't teach that."
Why then, I asked, do the other ex-devotees I talked with support the
Dingas in their charges?
Chidvilasananda replied, "I'm very glad they gave you a very nice
story to cover themselves up and I want to tell you I don't want to
get into this story because I know their story, too, and I do not want
to say anything about it." When I said, "You have a chance to tell us
whether or not you think these are accurate charges, falsehoods, or
delusions," Malti's answer was: "I’m not going to probe into people's
minds and try to find out what the truth is."
Two swamis and a number of present followers also said the charges
were not true. Others say they simply don't believe them.
On the subject of money, foundation chief Ed Oliver conceded in an
October 1, l983, interview with the Los Angeles Times that there is a
Swiss account with 1.5 million dollars in it. And when I repeated
Swami Chidvilasananda's denials about women complaining to her, Mary,
the woman who says the guru seduced her in South Fallsburg, said,
"Well, that's an out-and-out lie."
"The sins committed at any other place are destroyed at a holy centre,
but those committed at a holy centre stick tenaciously - it is
difficult to wash them away." -Muktananda
THIS IS a story of serious accusations made against a spiritual leader
who is still prayed to and revered by thousands. Even his detractors
say Muktananda gave them a great deal in the beginning. "He put out a
force field around him," said Michael Dinga. "You could palpably feel
the force coming off him. It gave me the feeling I had latched onto
something that would answer my questions." Former devotees say
Muktananda's eyes had a kind of light; when they first met the guru,
he radiated love and benevolence. He also had a way of making his
devotees feel special.
"I think he liked me so much because I wasn't taken by all the visions
and the sounds," said Chandra, "that I understood that having an
experience of God was something much more substantial and more
ordinary." Chandra still feels that spirituality is the most important
thing in her life. She says the gradual unfolding of the dark side of
her guru's personality chipped away at her love and respect. "When you
have a loved one you never dream that he might hurt you. At the end, I
was devastated." Yet despite the unsavory conclusion to her ten years
with the swami, Chandra still notes, "if I had it to do over again, I
still wouldn't trade the experience for anything in the world."
In a way, the sex, the violence, and the corruption aren't the real
point. Muktananda's personal shortcomings were bad enough, explained
Michael Dinga, but "the worst of it was that he wasn't who he said he
was."
A person can make spiritual progress under a corrupt master, just as
placebos can actually make you feel better. But how far can a person
really grow spiritually under a master who doesn't himself live the
truth? There was a tremendous split between what Muktananda preached
and what he did, and his hypocrisy only made it worse. His successors
are now in a dilemma: If they admit their guru's sins, Chidvilasananda
and Nityananda lose their god-figure, and weaken their claim to a
lineage of perfect masters. But if they don't, people who come to them
looking for truth are courting disappointment.
Stan Trout, formerly Swami Abhayananda, served Muktananda for ten
years as a teacher and ashram director. He left in 1981. "My summary
withdrawal from Muktananda’s organization was also a withdrawal from
what I had considered my fraternal family, my friends, and able all,
my life’s work," he wrote us. He sent this open letter after reading a
draft of "The Secret Life of Swami Muktananda," in which he is quoted.
- Art Kleiner
Letter From a Former Swami
by Stan Trout
I’d like to add this letter, if possible, as an appendix to the
article on Muktananda by William Rodarmor. It is a statement of my
thoughts and opinions of Muktananda after two years of deep
deliberation following my discovery of his ‘secret life’.
When I left Muktananda’s service, I did so because I had just learned
of the threatening action he had taken against some of his long-time
devotees who had recently left his service. He had sent two of his
body-guards to deliver threats to two young married women who had been
speaking to other women who had been speaking to others of
Muktananda’s sexual liaisons with a number of young girls in his
ashram. It was immediately clear to me that I could not represent a
guru who was not only taking sexual advantage of his female devotees
but was threatening with bodily harm those who revealed the truth
about him. However, after I had left Muktananda and had make the
reasons for my departure known to others still in his service, another
issue came to light for me, teaching me something not only about
Muktananda’s, but about the nature of the organization and all other
such organizations in which the leader is regarded as infallible by
his followers, and is therefore obeyed implicitly.
When Chandra and Michael Dinga and later myself realized the truth
about Muktananda and his secret sex life, there was absolutely no
means available to present the evidence for a fair hearing or
judgment. There was no recourse but to leave, for the guru was the
sole appeal, and he was as accustomed to lying as he was to breathing.
Yet his word was regarded by followers as so absolutely final that
when each of us left and were branded "demons" by him, not a single
soul among those who had been our brother and sister devotees for ten
years questioned or objected, but unamimouly rejected us outright as
the demented infidels he said we were. One has only to observe the way
each of us who discovered the guru’s secret life were treated by our
former comrades to understand the power for evil inherent in any
relationship based on the infallibility of the leader and the
unquestioned obedience of the subjects...
It is clear to me that not only had the girls with whom Muktananda
practiced his sexual diversions committed acts to which they had given
no moral or rational consent, but so had the men who were ordered to
threaten them with violence, and so had I myself when I had followed
Muktananda’s orders to express to others opinions which I did not
sincerely hold. It is a sad but perennial phenomenon: Out of a love
for truth and for those who teach it and appear to embody it, we
unwittingly set ourselves up for exploitation and betrayal. Our
mistake is to deify another being and attribute perfection to him.
From that point on everything is admissible.
I think the lesson to be learned is that we simply cannot afford to
relinquish our individual sovereignty - whether it be in a socio-
political setting or in a religious congregation. Those who willingly
put aside their own autonomy, their own moral judgment, to obey even a
Christ, a Buddha, or a Krishna, do so at risk of losing a great deal
more than they can hope to gain.
About Muktananda himself I have thought a great deal. There is no
doubt in my mind that he was an extraordinarily enlightened, learned,
and articulate man who possessed a singular power, a dynamic personal
radiance and charisma that drew people to him and inspired them to lay
their lives at his feet. Surely such a power is divine; yet there is
no way to justify the way in which he used this power. If God himself
were to behave in this way, we would have to find him guilty of
flagrant disregard for the law of love.
Some may say, ‘He did no worse than any of us have done, or would do
if we could.’ And I would answer, ‘No; he did worse than any of use
have done or would have done in his place. For, though he was only
human like the rest of us, he staged a deliberate campaign of deceit
to convince gentle souls that he had transcended the limitations of
mankind, that through realizing the eternal Self, he had attained holy
"perfection." He planted and nourished false, impossible dreams in the
hears of innocent, faithful souls and sacrificed them to his sport.
With malicious glee, he cunningly stole from hundreds of trusting
souls their hearts and wills, their self-trust, their very sanity,
their very lives. No ordinary, good person could do this, no matter
how he tried; his heart and conscience would not allow it.
Like all of us, Muktananda was only human. And, like all men who
worship power, he was inevitably corrupted and destroyed by it. His
power could not save him form the weakness of the flesh, nor from the
wickedness and depravity that servitude to it brings. He ended as a
feeble-minded sadistic tyrant, luring devout little girls to his bed
every night with promises of grace and self-realization.
Muktananda’s claim of "perfection" (Siddha-hood) was based on the
notion that a person who has become enlightened has thereby also
become "perfect" and absolutely free of human weakness. This is
nonsense; it is a myth perpetrated by dishonest men who wish to
receive the reverence and adoration due God alone. There is no
absolute assurance that enlightenment necessitates the moral virtue of
a person. There is no guarantee against the weakness of anger, lust,
and greed in the human soul. The enlightened are on an equal footing
with the ignorant in the struggle against their own evil - the only
difference being that the enlightened person knows the truth, and has
no excuse for betraying it.
Throughout history there have been many enlightened souls who have
been thought great, who, in the pride of their perfection and freedom,
have imagined themselves to be beyond the constraints of God’s laws,
and who have thus fallen from love and lost the glory the once had.
Those glorious Babes and Bhagwans, thinking to build their kingdom
here on earth upon the ruins of the young souls devoted to them, often
succeed for a time in fooling many and in gathering a large and
festive following, but their deeds also follow them and proclaim their
truth long after the paeans of praise have been sung and wafted away
on the air. "God is not mocked"; there is no freedom, no liberation,
from His law of love, nor from His inescapable justice. It is indeed
often those very persons who have thought themselves most perfect,
most free and ungoverned, who have fallen most grievously; and their
piteous fall is an occasion for great sadness, and should serve as a
clear reminder of caution to us all.
The Rick A. Ross Institute
email: in...@rickross.com URL: http://www.rickross.com
Copyright © 2001-2008 Rick Ross.
http://www.rickross.com/groups/saibaba.html
chhotemianinshallah
bademiyansubhanallah
By Associate Editor David Stevenson
Mar 11, 2010
Head to the continent for better returns
With the pound falling so far, Britain is fast becoming poor value for
money, for its inhabitants at least.
If you live here, you're probably fed up with it. Overseas holidays
are more expensive. Imported goods are more costly. You're seeing
prices being pushed up both in the shops and at the petrol pump.
Even the people who should be cashing in, the exporters, aren't. The
UK's last trade figures were rubbish, as we note below.
So, everyone's a loser? No, not at all - you could gain from the
plunging pound. Not only would you protect your money – you can also
collect a decent income stream while you're doing it.
We spotlighted one way of doing this last week by investing in the US.
Here's another – this time in Europe...
The current outlook for sterling is grim
You won't need reminding that we're not too keen on our nation's
currency right now. We don't want to see the pound drop – we just
reckon that under current government policy (if that's the right word
for it), it will. For our spendthrift politicians it's just a case of
spend and overspend – then getting the Bank of England to print plenty
more money to fuel their habit.
The trouble is that the plunging pound doesn't seem to be doing anyone
in Britain much good. With a few notable exceptions, the country's
exporters – the ones who are meant to save us from perpetual
stagnation – aren't benefiting. Although their goods are now much
cheaper for global customers to buy, they're selling fewer of them.
January export goods volumes dropped by 8%. Excluding some data
distortions three years ago, that was the worst monthly drop since
2002.
Sterling fell yet further on this news. Even against the much-maligned
euro, it's now dropped below €1.10 to its lowest level since last
November. Maybe that's no great surprise.
The countries that have dragged the euro down, such as Ireland, Greece
and Portugal, are now starting to plug the holes in their public
finances. They may well fail to do so, but at least they're showing
the right attitude.
Not so in the UK. Electioneering and austerity don't go well together.
And the longer our government delays before cutting – or being forced
by the markets to slash – our budget deficit, the grimmer the outlook
gets for sterling.
In the meantime, the UK's bank base rate remains at just 0.5%. So
while the pound is falling, the interest rates paid on savings
accounts, which are broadly linked to the base rate, are still
desperately poor.
How to beat the falling pound
However, as long as you're content to take some risk with your capital
– and do understand that investing in the stock market is risky – then
you can beat both negligible interest rates and the falling pound.
That's because there are still some high-yielding shares around that
provide a decent income. Even better, there are four reasons why
buying such shares – in Europe – could, over time, make you good
capital profits as well.
First, if sterling falls further, you could make money on the currency
front as well as in the stock market. Although the reverse is clearly
true, too, so you need more reason to like these stocks than simply
because they trade in euros or another European currency.
Second, a healthy dividend yield means that a share price is low
compared with the level of its payouts to shareholders. That suggests
it's also good value relative to the underlying company's profits and
assets. And in the long run, you'll make more money buying cheap
shares than expensive ones.
Why UK property prices are going to fall 50%
When it will be time to get back in and buy up half price property
Third, and this is a very long-term view, increasing numbers of 'baby
boomers' – those born within 20 years of WWII – will be retiring over
the next two decades. This will mean steadily more investors looking
for better income returns than the bank is currently paying. In turn,
as they buy high-yielding shares, they'll push up prices.
Fourth, as the European equity strategy team at Morgan Stanley points
out, when stock markets are roaring ahead, they don't worry too much
about dividends. Traders are more excited in 'churning and burning' –
buying and then selling out fast for quick profits. But when those
markets become more 'range-bound', i.e. there's much less scope for
big share price rises overall, income becomes a much larger part of
investors' thinking.
Indeed – and this statistic is fascinating – since 1926, European
shares have risen in real, i.e. inflation-adjusted, terms by just 1.3%
a year. But add in dividends which are reinvested in more shares, and
the annual total real return jumps up to 5.6% over that same period.
Three top European stocks to buy now
So what are the top dividend paying stocks in Europe right now?
Well, if you've been reading Money Morning regularly over the last few
months, you'll have seen quite a few high-yield tips appearing. So
I'll stick to three of those we haven't yet mentioned.
Top of Morgan Stanley's list of stocks "with a high and secure
dividend yield" is Italian utility A2A (IM: A2A). It produces and
distributes electricity, sells gas and collects rubbish in the North
of Italy. It's on a p/e of 12 and prospective yield of 7.4%. If
there's a slight caveat for me, it's that the payout is only covered
1.1 times by earnings. But that's probably being picky, as the
company's cash flow is 2.5 times the dividend – so there's plenty of
cash coming in to cover it.
Dividend cover is certainly not an issue at Zurich Financial Services
(VX: ZURN), where the payment is almost twice covered. Yet Zurich is
on a forecast multiple for this year of just 8.6, with a prospective
6% yield. Meanwhile, across the border in Germany, energy supplier RWE
(GY: RWE) looks just as solid. A 2010 forecast p/e of 9.2, and a
prospective yield of 5.8%, mark this stock down as very good value.
We wouldn't advise putting all of your investment money into any one
currency, be it sterling, euros, dollars or yen. But at times like
these in particular, it's not a bad idea to be diversified. And more
to the point, these are solid stocks – so even if the currency moves
against you, you know the underlying asset remains solid. And look on
the bright side. If you buy shares like these, the next time you hear
about another slide in sterling, you'll know at least someone who's
managed to get on to a winner.
• If you're interested in high-yielding, blue-chip stocks, you should
take a look at Stephen Bland's Dividend Letter. Stephen aims to
produce a solid, steadily growing income by investing in large
companies – you can learn more about his strategy here .
Our recommended article for today
Three signals to watch for safer investing
When you've been investing for a while, you come to notice certain
signals that the stock market throws up, says Tom Bulford. Here, he
outlines three that should keep you one step ahead of the market's
movements.
Profit from Canada's cheap telcos
By David Stevenson, Mar 12, 2010
http://www.moneyweek.com/investment-advice/share-tips-canada-telecoms-47725.aspx
Profit from the global water shortage
By Tim Bennett, Mar 12, 2010
http://www.moneyweek.com/investment-advice/profit-from-the-global-water-shortage-47709.aspx
Share tip of the week: bargain medical giant
By Paul Hill, Mar 12, 2010
http://www.moneyweek.com/investment-advice/paul-hill-share-tip-of-the-week-bargain-medical-giant-47710.aspx
Gamble of the week: world leader in electronic security
Mar 12, 2010
http://www.moneyweek.com/investment-advice/paul-hill-share-tips-gamble-electronic-security-47712.aspx
http://www.moneyweek.com/investment-advice.aspx
Comments
1. Neil
(11 March 2010, 10:53AM)
Although these shares have a nice yeild attached the article doesn't
point out that you can lose some of this yield to foreign withholding
tax which seems to be a minefield to navigate! I'd appreciate this
topic being covered in a future moneyweek article.
2. Harish Karia
(11 March 2010, 05:14PM)
Every now & than you refer to stocks which are listed somewhere else,
BUT how do I buy them? and what about the tax implications?
I have all of my stocks & shares in self selct ISA, I am not sure if I
will be allowed to buy the recomanded stocks? I am with Alliance &
Trust Savings
3. Roger
(11 March 2010, 06:04PM)
Neil,
The new tax rules on foreign dividends mean that you can claim at
least some UK tax relief on foreign withholding tax. You have to fill
out the foreign section of a UK self assessment return. I just let
taxcalc calculate it for me, and it isn't really a problem.
4. Jeff
(11 March 2010, 09:14PM)
TW Waterhouse offers low cost overseas dealing on a number of
exchanges.
Taxation of dividends does seem to be a complex issue with 20%
witholding taxes & hopeless guidance on how to enter this in tax
returns from the UK tax authorities.
5. Neil
(12 March 2010, 12:37PM)
Thanks Roger, however due to various salary sacrifice schemes I am not
required to complete a self assessement return, like the other posters
I find the rules utterly confusing, and I stick with the mantra of not
investing in something I don't understand (which is very unfortunate
as I would like to invest in single shares outside of the LSE).
6. Neil
(12 March 2010, 12:39PM)
I should add of course investing in US listed shares are easy as I
have completed a W8-BEN form and just renew this every 3 years. It's
the European shares that seem to present the most difficulty
http://www.moneyweek.com/investment-advice/share-tips-high-yielding-eurozone-stocks-01010.aspx
MoneyWeek Roundup: How mad scientists will save the economy By
MoneyWeek Editor John Stepek Mar 13, 2010
This is where we highlight some of the best bits from our free emails,
newsletters, blog and MoneyWeek magazine that we've published in the
past week.
● The markets have had a good week this week. Greece is becoming a
distant memory, the Eurocrats are threatening to exterminate
speculators, and investors even took a surge in Chinese inflation in
their stride.
Sterling is still being battered of course. And as my colleague David
Stevenson pointed out this week, our ever-expanding trade deficit
shows it's still not doing us any good.
Despite the weak pound, "the country's exporters – the ones who are
meant to save us from perpetual stagnation – aren't benefiting.
Although their goods are now much cheaper for global customers to buy,
they're selling fewer of them. January export goods volumes dropped by
8%. Excluding some data distortions three years ago, that was the
worst monthly drop since 2002."
● That puts the whole debate about 'rebalancing' the British economy
into perspective. We've relied too much on financial services, and
unfortunately, we've thrown away what little money we had left on
bailing out the banks. The good news is, the world's more
entrepreneurial scientists aren't waiting for governments to get
behind them.
"Craig Venter said he was going to change medicine – everyone thought
he was a maniac," points out Dr Mike Tubbs in his Research Investments
newsletter.
"But seven years ago the former Vietnam veteran beat an army of
government scientists to the biggest medical advance in decades –
decoding the human genome.
"The state sponsored Human Genome Project had been busy sequencing the
three billion biochemical blocks in our DNA for years... and running
up a $3bn bill in the process.
"But Dr Venter beat them to it. And in an instant, a colossal new
medical sector came of age. By deconstructing the human body cell by
cell, scientists believe they will uncover the genetic roots of the
most complex diseases – from cancer to Alzheimer's.
"That heralds a new age of personalised medicine – allowing doctors to
gauge our risk for conditions such as cancer and diabetes and taking
pre-emptive action.
"And so today a vast industry has sprung up – using the techniques
developed by the likes of Craig Venter in a race to decode these
diseases and use this knowledge to find new treatments. The market for
personalised medicine will reach $42bn by 2015, according to
PriceWaterhouseCoopers."
Mike's Research Investments newsletter is based around buying
companies that put serious investment into research and development in
areas like these. And he's not the only one who believes that
scientific developments provide a ripe hunting ground for investors.
● "Last month I met a man who has been in the business of making money
from science for the last 25 years. Phil Atkin has watched successive
governments downplay the efforts of his kind while applauding the
relentless rise of the financial sector," says Tom Bulford in his
Penny Sleuth free email.
"Finally we have woken up to the realisation that the latter does not
produce any real wealth at all. And this means Atkin's time may
finally have come – especially after a special announcement made last
week…"
Atkins heads up Scientific Digital Imaging (LSE: SDI). As with most
science companies, explaining what it does is complicated, so you can
read Tom's piece if you want to know the details. But basically it
makes various measurement and imaging devices for laboratories.
"SDI is certainly one to keep an eye on," says Tom. "Chairman Harry
Tee was the driving force behind Roxboro, which made plenty of money
for investors in the 1990s. He is also chairman of another fast
growing company, Dialight (DIA).
"Better than our politicians he understands what is required to build
a science-based business. This one is definitely on the Red Hot Penny
Shares radar screen."
● Last week's debate on ethical investing attracted quite a few
thoughtful responses. Most agreed with our view that we should be
presenting readers with money-making opportunities and leaving the
ethical decisions to them.
But I just had to share this reader's take on the ethics of investing
in tobacco firms… "Until a couple of years ago, I too avoided owning
any tobacco company shares, figuring that it would be unethical to
profit from a company that depends for its continued growth on getting
more people addicted to a substance known to directly cause several
serious health issues.
"However, I changed my mind when we returned from a family holiday in
France. Sitting at a table on the ferry (in an open area) two people
sat down at the same table with us and, without asking if it would be
ok and ignoring the fact that we had our young son sitting with us,
proceeded to light up and blow smoke around. The problem was that the
wind blew it straight to us on the other side of the table.
"This inconsiderate behaviour so incensed me that I vowed as soon as
we got home that I would buy some BAT shares, so that I felt I could
at least get my own back in some way by part funding my retirement
thanks to the behaviour of people that ignore all the warnings and
inflict their brand of poison on those around them as well.
"If you can't beat them, profit from them!"
● Riccardo Marzi, the ex-City trader behind the Events Trader
newsletter, knows how to draw a reader's attention. Here's the
headline from his latest issue: "How you could profit from a deadly
virus outbreak in Chile".
I winced as I thought of the complaints that would flood in. Then I
read the piece. The "deadly virus" in question is killing off salmon,
not people. Phew. Still, it's a pretty miserable experience for
Chile's salmon farmers. The country is the world's second-largest
producer of the fish. And with its annual production down about 70%
year-on-year, salmon prices are going up.
And you can guess what that means for the rest of the world's salmon
farmers. A profit bonanza. "Norway is the world's biggest exporter of
salmon. It will take at least 18 months for the Chilean salmon
industry to raise fish to maturity – if they manage to get the disease
under control. In that time Norwegian salmon groups will enjoy a major
boost to their earnings," says Riccardo.
● We're sceptical on China's growth 'miracle'. But that's no reason to
write off the whole of Asia. Cris Sholto Heaton, the man behind the
MoneyWeek Asia free email (if you don't already get it, I advise you
to sign up for it right now) is currently testing out a newsletter in
which he tips individual stocks. The second edition came out earlier
this week. If you'd like to be kept informed of when it goes live,
just give us your email here.
In Cris's latest piece, he looks at one vital piece of infrastructure
that many parts of Asia are entirely lacking right now, and will need
a lot of in the future. It's not roads, or sewage systems, or railways
- it's software. I'll let Cris explain.
"In the West, banks have used computers for processing data and
transactions since the sixties. But these were huge, complex and
costly systems dedicated to specific functions. Picture a huge humming
room of densely packed computers running a bank's data – the kind you
would see in Cold War movies. If you had two different systems
working on a similar task, they couldn't talk to each other and share
data.
"But over that last decade or so, things have become much more
sophisticated. State-of-the-art banking systems are tightly
integrated, with all the key software running in the same framework
and sharing information. And as a result of this, they've become much
more powerful and useful.
"Computers no longer simply store data, but can monitor accounts for
fraud, improve risk management by credit-scoring potential borrowers,
and on top of that, they run schemes such as airmiles and loyalty
cards to gather information about customers and increase usage.
"Systems like this are standard in Europe and North America. But in
the emerging world, it's obviously much more variable. Some countries
and banks are pretty advanced. Others make what a British bank was
using twenty years ago seem sophisticated.
"So most emerging market banks are going to have to invest billions in
better IT over the next couple of decades. Not only do many have a
long way to go to bring their existing systems up to modern standards,
but they're also going to need to expand to cope with hundreds of
millions of new potential customers.
And this means that emerging markets should offer very good growth
prospects for the firms that develop and maintain these highly
specialised systems."
● Last week I wrote a piece about what people could learn from the
plight of the 'king and queen of buy-to-let'. Fergus and Judith Wilson
are two ex-maths teachers who built a portfolio of hundreds of houses
in Kent during the boom times. They ran into some difficulties in the
crunch, but when the Bank of England slashed interest rates, it had
the knock-on effect of cutting their costs.
The piece drew a lot of comment – as most of our property pieces do,
which is as strong an indicator as any that we're still in bubble
territory. But I also got an email from Fergus himself. He described
the piece as a "very fair article", so I gave him a call to get his
take on the market.
The way Fergus sees it, the real problem is with flats, rather than
the houses that he predominately lets out. "These blocks of flats in
northern cities have been a complete disaster. I have 30 flats which I
regret having. They've fallen in value, whereas the houses have seen a
reasonable increase in the last two years."
Now, on the one hand, I'd agree that the epicentre of the housing
market collapse was always going to be in the market for dodgy flats.
And with the bank rate as low as it is, at 0.5%, Fergus is in a sweet
spot – he reckons the typical £180,000 house, with a £140,000
mortgage, is costing him about £300 a month on the mortgage. If it's
let for £700 a month, with £100 going to the letting agent, then he
clears £300.
But with the market stagnant, it can't be easy to offload all those
properties to first-time buyers – they can't afford it. And what
happens if interest rates rise?
Fergus, who's nearly 62, reckons we'll be lucky to see a 2.5% bank
rate again in his lifetime. "The government won't be that stupid.
Every time rates go up, more people will become homeless."
I can't say I'm convinced. The Bank of England needs to take far more
into account when it sets the bank rate than just its impact on the
property market. The only way that interest rates can remain that low
for that long, is if Britain goes the way of Japan. And in Japan,
house prices are still 60% lower than they were at the start of the
bust.
I certainly don't wish the Wilsons any ill. But our chat just
confirmed in my mind that the current rebound is a temporary blip
before the market starts heading down again.
● And it's not just the property market that's set for harder times
ahead. Tim Price of PFP Wealth Management tells readers of The Price
Report to watch out. "Last week I was invited to present at the
Private Wealth Management Conference in Smithfield. There I listened
to a lot of people I've known and respected for most of my career. And
there were two very clear concerns coming through.
"First, how do I avoid getting burned by stocks again? After the
gyrations in the market over the last two years, there was a lot of
talk of not placing too much faith in equities – because it's
unwarranted. The question everyone wanted to ask was – how long could
this bear market in stocks go on for?
"The second real concern among private wealth managers is inflation.
I'm not the only one worried about governments printing their way out
of this crisis, as it turns out. If there is a dangerous bout of
inflation on the way, how do we protect our wealth?"
I'm running out of space to go into the details here, but suffice to
say, Tim reckons that there's another down-leg to come in the bear
market. As for inflation, he doesn't see it taking off just yet, but
there are some assets you should be holding for when it does. Find out
more about The Price Report here.
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• Tom Bulford's newsletter Red Hot Penny Shares
http://www.fsponline-recommends.co.uk/page.aspx?u=rhpoil2010fn&tc=MRHPL308&PromotionID=2147066760&
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End of Keynesian Blood Sucking Parasitic Economic System
Economics / Economic Theory
Mar 13, 2010 - 06:04 AM
By: Gary_North
On March 11, I spoke at the annual Austrian Scholars Conference,
sponsored by the Ludwig von Mises Institute. It was gratifying to see
so many attendees that they could not fit into one room.
The Mises Institute is a high-tech outfit. They set up a video camera,
and the speech appeared on monitors in other rooms. It will also go on-
line within a few days. This will be free. Anyone in the world with
Web access can see it from now on. This is a great model for
communication and education.
My topic was "Keynes and His Influence." My goal is to recruit half a
dozen bright young scholars to begin a joint project in refuting
Keynes' General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money (1936) line
by line. I have set up a department on my Website to this end.
I tried to make four main points in my speech.
1. Keynes' influence has been indirect (mediated).
2. His legacy will soon be uniquely vulnerable.
3. Only the Austrians called the 2008 recession.
4. It is time for a comprehensive refutation of Keynes
THE MOST INFLUENTIAL MODERN ECONOMIST
There is no question that John Maynard Keynes was the most influential
economist in the 20th century. Yet his influence has been different
from what economists and the intelligentsia have believed.
In a filmed interview of Keynes' main rival in 1935, but not in 1965,
F. A. Hayek, an Austrian School economist, made an important point.
Keynes was influential in 1946, the year of his death, but his
influence was not yet overwhelming. That came later. Hayek did not say
how much later. It came within five years. You can see the video here.
The key to Keynes' influence was the 1948 textbook written by Paul
Samuelson, Economics. It became the most widely assigned college
textbook in economics. It had no major competition for at least three
decades, and its competitors were also Keynesian in outlook.
Samuelson promoted Keynes' ideas, but he used a very different format.
He did not quote Keynes at length. He presented what has since been
called the neo-Keynesian synthesis. He applied Keynes' fundamental
principle of deficit spending in the Great Depression to the overall
economy in a post-depression world. He really did try to make general
the General Theory, which the book had not been.
The General Theory was highly specific. It was a program designed to
counteract falling spending and a falling money supply in an era in
which there was no government insurance for failed banks or their
depositors. It was a program to offset widespread hoarding of
currency. From the day that the FDIC was created in 1934, American
banks stopped failing, and the money supply started to rise. Keynes
wrote his book after this transition in the United States. The book
was a theoretical defense of policies that had already been adopted in
the United States and Western Europe, and which World War II would
escalate: deficit spending, mass inflation, and a vast expansion of
the government's share of the economy. This is not how the Keynesians
have told the story. It is how the story ought to be told. I am trying
to recruit economists and historians who will commit several years of
research to telling it.
Keynes' "General Theory" has long been an unread book that sits on the
shelves of economics graduate students and professors. No one actually
has read it except specialists in the history of economic thought. The
book is close to unreadable. Compared to his earlier books and essays,
it is uniquely unreadable. We do not see its formulas quoted as proof
of contemporary policies or recommended policies. The literature cited
in economists' footnotes is what we can legitimately call Keynesian,
but this literature is an extension of Keynes' work, not Keynes'
actual work.
Whether Keynes would approve of what is recommended in his name is
moot. Hayek spoke to Keynes a few weeks before he died. According to
Hayek, Keynes was not happy with developments being offered in his
name.
Keynes had always been an opponent of inflation. His earlier works
repeatedly warned against the threat of inflation. Yet, by 1945,
inflation was a way of life in the West.
We should compare The General Theory to Charles Darwin's Origin of
Species. Darwinists rarely quote Darwin to support their latest
papers. They cite him as the originator of the idea of evolution
through natural selection. Attacks on Darwin's actual exposition are
shrugged off by his followers as irrelevant. We find an entire school
of Darwinists who preach an idea that is opposed to what Darwin
taught: the "punctuated evolutionism." Darwin believed in tiny changes
over long periods of time. They believe in huge changes in brief
periods of time. Still, they call themselves Darwinists. Why? Because
they believe in his Big Idea: purposeless, random causation prior to
man.
The same is true of Keynes' General Theory. It was Keynes' primary
idea that dominates the thinking of economists: government budget
deficits as the means of overcoming economic slumps. As to simple
formulas and concepts in the book, modern economists rarely cite them
in professional journals. If one or more specifics of the book are
refuted, his supporters shrug it off. Keynes' influence relates to the
one big idea, just as Darwin's influence does.
The specifics in the book are forgotten today, such as his statement
that the government could plant bottles full of money, bury them, and
let workers dig them up for a living. He also said that building the
equivalent of Egypt's pyramids would help restore prosperity. He
really believed this. His disciples do not refer to these passages.
When pressured by critics, they dismiss them as merely rhetorical.
They were rhetorical, but not merely rhetorical.
A VULNERABLE LEGACY
Today, Keynesians insist that their man was right. They take credit
for the recovery since late 2009, such as it is. This assertion is
widely accepted. It is so widely accepted that Wikipedia has an
article on it: "Keynesian Resurgence."
Yet the reality is far different from the perception. Keynes' solution
in 1936 was a program of fiscal deficits, coupled with mild monetary
expansion in a time of monetary contraction. These government deficits
were supposed to stimulate consumer spending.
Yet the heart of the U.S. government's program in 2008 was not the
$787 billion spending program. Rather, it was the prior doubling of
the Federal Reserve's monetary base, the FED's face-value swaps of its
marketable Treasury debt for unmarketable toxic assets owned by the
biggest banks, the AIG bailout, and the subsequent $1.25 trillion
pumped into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, after their nationalization by
Henry Paulson in September 2008. None of this was Keynesian. All of it
was ad hoc monetary inflation and central bank subsidies to large
banks.
Keynes recommended government spending and employment by government.
He did not recommend central bank bailouts of large banks. He focused
on fiscal policy, not monetary policy.
The biggest banks were saved by these interventions. Small banks
continue to go under, Friday afternoon after Friday afternoon. The
banking industry as a whole has contracted its loans to commercial and
industrial firms. Banks have added over $1 trillion to their excess
reserves at the FED, thereby sterilizing money. This is anti-
Keynesian: a restriction of spending, meaning a reduction in aggregate
demand compared to what would otherwise have been the case.
Keynesianism as an idea has received a shot in the arm – mainly with
fiat money, not Federal deficits. Yes, the deficits have been
enormous, just not by comparison to central banks' money creation. The
deficits are unprecedented, all over the world. Yet the economic
recovery is universally criticized as weak.
If enormous deficits are not serving as stimuli for widespread
recovery, then what credit should Keynes get? Keynesians are saying
that government policies kept the world economy from collapse. But
this is not the same as saying that the policies have restored
prosperity. They haven't.
There have been some protests by economists. Several hundred academic
economists, mostly in obscure universities, publicly protested the
stimulus package.
But no group of economists, other than the Austrians, said in 2008
that the FED should do nothing, that Fannie and Freddie should be
allowed to go under, and that the stimulus bill should be voted down.
With only this exception, the entire academic community of economists
became cheerleaders for the FED's bailouts of 2008. They sold their
non-Keynesian birthrights for a mess of Federal Reserve pottage.
The silence of the profession in 2008 and after has boxed them in.
They are defenders of moral hazard, despite their timid warnings to
the contrary.
If one person has summarized the alternative economic scenarios facing
us, it is Merle Hazard. Merle is not his real name. He is a financial
planner in Nashville. He began performing on YouTube in 2009. He and
his partner, Bretton Wood, sang the question: "Will it be Zimbabwe or
Japan?" So far, it's Japan.
The governments of the West have made one thing inescapably clear.
They do not intend to enforce high bank capital ratios established by
the Bank for International Settlements. The European Union and the
European Central Bank have also made it clear that they will not
enforce EU rules on the deficit-to-GDP ratio. There is only one rule
today: "Tax and tax, spend and spend, inflate and inflate."
The looming bankruptcies of Western governments and Japan are now
becoming clearer to the literate public. Observers are becoming more
Austrian in their perception. Investors do not accept this scenario
emotionally, but the numbers are clear. There will have to be a
cutting back of Medicare, Social Security, and unemployment benefits,
either sooner or later.
It is also clear that unemployment will not be significantly reduced
by the present recovery. The Keynesian tools are not working. They
have not worked in Europe for a generation, where life on the dole is
permanent for 10% of the work force.
When the bust comes, the Keynesians will take the blame. They have
demanded credit for the recovery, and they have received it. They are
consuming public favor today. They will pay for it later.
"WE TOLD THEM SO!"
The Austrian School's representatives predicted the recession. The
defining moment was Peter Schiff's debate with Art Laffer in 2006.
Schiff said a crash was coming. Laffer ridiculed him. Because of
YouTube, this story will not go away.
It never does any good to go to the losers and say, "I told you so."
It does a great deal of good to go to the general public, which is
always in search of leadership, and say, "We told them so." You don't
convert true believers and spokesmen very often, but you can undermine
their leadership.
The Austrian theory of the business cycle was the tool that enabled
Schiff and others, such as me, to predict in 2006 that a recession
would hit in 2007. It did – in December 2007. We told them so. This
establishes our credentials, but more to the point, it establishes
Ludwig von Mises' credentials. He thought that economic logic alone
was necessary to defend a position. But in political debate, having
the numbers demonstrate that you were right is also necessary.
When the USSR went bust economically in 1988, then lost the Afghan war
in 1989, and finally committed suicide in 1991, Marxism died. All the
footnotes in the Marxist books no longer mattered in academia. All the
post-1991 wailing by Marxists that the Soviet Union really had never
been truly Marxist has been ignored. Why? Because the Marxists took
credit for the USSR for 74 years. They praised the Soviet Union's
central planning. So, in 1991, they could not get off the sinking
Soviet ship in time to justify the Marxist system.
By 1991, China's economy was booming because of Deng's abandonment of
Marxist economics in 1978. That left only Albania, Cuba, and North
Korea. The Marxists had nowhere to turn to that offered evidence of
economic success. Overnight, they became a laughing stock on campus.
This will be the fate of Keynesians when the governments of the West
finally go bust or else abandon the deficits and the fiat money.
Who will still be standing to pick up the intellectual pieces? The
Chicago School economists did not predict 2008. They did not defiantly
protest the FED's bailouts of September and October. Neither did
public choice economists, rational expectations economists, or
behavioral economists. They all climbed aboard the Good Ship Keynes,
which was in fact the Good Ship Bernanke. The Austrians did not.
The Austrians, few in number, are the last men standing to challenge
the Keynesians. This is their great opportunity. They have waited a
long time.
GOING ON THE OFFENSIVE OFFENSIVELY
As W. C. Fields said so long ago, "Never give a sucker an even break."
This also applies to bloodsuckers. The Keynesians are apologists for
the bloodsucking class: tax collectors, deficit-expanders, and
boondogglers of all shapes and sizes.
I have set up www.KeynesProject.com to help mobilize the guerrilla
troops in a comprehensive assault on Fort Keynes. This is a supplement
to the vast collection of free books and materials found on www.Mises.org,
especially the books in the Literature section of the home page.
There has to be a full-scale assault on the General Theory that shows
how it is illogical, line by line. This has been done sporadically in
the past, but not systematically. To oppose Keynes' overall system was
to commit academic suicide.
When the decks are cleared, then there must be a systematic critique
of the post-Keynes literature. But this is too large a job for a
handful of scholars. It will take at least a decade to produce the
basic critique of Keynes. My hope is that this project will be
complete in time for the crisis produced by today's policies.
To persuade the next generation of economists and talking heads that
Keynes was wrong, and therefore his apologists are wrong and have been
wrong, we need two things: (1) a body of material in all the media
that shows that The General Theory was a con job from day one; (2) an
economy universally suffering from the effects of the policies that
have been justified in the name of Keynes. Since we are going to get
the second, why not work on the first?
CONCLUSION
We have lived in the shadow of Keynes since 1936. That shadow has
darkened academia for over 70 years. Keynes justified what politicians
and salaried academic bureaucrats always wanted: more power for
politicians and tenured bureaucrats.
Keynes justified this system of parasitic bloodsucking. The bills are
now coming due. The voters are going to join a tax revolt against
these bills. They will seek justification. Austrian School economics
is best positioned today to offer that justification. To become even
better positioned, a younger generation of Austrian School economists
must publicly gut The General Theory.
Gary North [send him mail ] is the author of Mises on Money . Visit
http://www.garynorth.com . He is also the author of a free 20-volume
series, An Economic Commentary on the Bible .
© 2010 Copyright Gary North / LewRockwell.com - All Rights Reserved
Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general
information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice.
Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising
methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility
for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals
should consult with their personal financial advisors.
© 2005-2010 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a
FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article17857.html
Video: Hayek Explains Why He Did Not Challenge Keynes After 1935 -- A
Catastrophic Decision
Gary North
March 9, 2010
In this interview, Hayek recounts the events leading to The General
Theory. He spent a year going through Keynes' Treatise on Money.
Although he did not mention this, he published a critique on the
Economic Journal. Keynes replied in print. Then, just before the
second volume appeared, Keynes dismissed the debate. He told Hayek
that he no longer believed all that.
Hayek said he decided not to challenge The General Theory. The problem
was that he was widely regarded as Keynes' #1 opponent. When he
remained mute, he surrendered the field to Keynes.
Hayek also said that Keynes' theory did not receive universal acclaim
until after his death in 1946. This is no doubt true, but irrelevant.
The book persuaded a generation of young economists before the War
ended. Then Sanuelson's 1948 textbook conquered the academic
discipline in the name of Keynes.
For more information, come here:
http://www.garynorth.com/public/6198.cfm
Economics (Hardcover)
~ Paul Samuelson (Author), William Nordhaus (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/0073511293/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Customer Reviews
Economics
2 Reviews
5 star: (1)
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4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
EXCELLENT A++
One of the greatest books of its era. Very easy to understand and
study with. Great choice!!
Published 3 months ago by George and Marcus Retail Group
7 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
Extraordinary price????
How can this book possibly cost $169.90?? It's been in print for
decades and has sold well. My old college copy has a price of $7.95
stamped in it! What is going on???
Published 3 months ago by Little Teacher on the Prarie
4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
EXCELLENT A++, November 30, 2009
By George and Marcus Retail Group (N. Florida, USA) -
One of the greatest books of its era. Very easy to understand and
study with. Great choice!!
7 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
Extraordinary price????, December 13, 2009
By Little Teacher on the Prarie (Iowa) -
How can this book possibly cost $169.90?? It's been in print for
decades and has sold well. My old college copy has a price of $7.95
stamped in it! What is going on???
Comments (3)
Comments
Initial post: Dec. 24, 2009 12:52 PM PST
E. P. O'shaughnessy says:
Free market forces, supply and demand perhaps? :)
In reply to an earlier post on Jan. 14, 2010 2:24 PM PST
Stevan Radanovic says:
More probably because it's 19th edition, from 2009. :)
Posted on Mar. 13, 2010 10:54 AM PST
From_Plano_TX says:
You are right. The price is scandalous. College students are being
robbed! The colleges should not permit this to go on.
Data Analysis and Decision Making with Microsoft Excel, Revised (with
CD-ROM and Decision Tools and Statistic Tools Suite) (Hardcover)
~ S. Christian Albright
S. Christian Albright (Author)
(Author), Wayne Winston (Author), Christopher Zappe (Author)
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Data Analysis and Decision Making with Microsoft Excel, Revised (with
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
Strong Software Addition:
This book was put together in the same 'spirit' as previous other
Winston books; good examples, well thought out attack approaches; as
well as a good summary of all the types of problems encountered in the
text! I have several other of Winston books, so I'm reasonably happy
with his work! I am growing a little frustrated with winston et al.
over the fact that they...
Read the full review ›
Published on August 20, 1999 by Kirk S. Johnson
40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
Better Title: Intro to Statistics using Excel Add-ins
On the positive side, this book has many excellent case studies and
examples. It is well written and interesting. However, I was
disappointed, as I was expecting use of Excel to rigorously solve
decision making and data analysis problems. The focus of the book is
mostly traditional statistics solved using a group of commercial add-
ins for Excel. If this is what you want,...
Published on June 3, 2001 by char...@aol.com
40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
Better Title: Intro to Statistics using Excel Add-ins, June 3, 2001
By char...@aol.com (Gainesveille, FL) -
This review is from: Data Analysis and Decision Making With Microsoft
Excel (Hardcover)
On the positive side, this book has many excellent case studies and
examples. It is well written and interesting. However, I was
disappointed, as I was expecting use of Excel to rigorously solve
decision making and data analysis problems. The focus of the book is
mostly traditional statistics solved using a group of commercial add-
ins for Excel. If this is what you want, then the book would get five
stars. However, for data analysis and decision making, I think a more
thorough treatment using Excel without relying so much on the add-ins
would have been appropriate.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
Strong Software Addition:, August 20, 1999
By Kirk S. Johnson (Batavia, IL USA) -
This review is from: Data Analysis and Decision Making With Microsoft
Excel (Hardcover)
This book was put together in the same 'spirit' as previous other
Winston books; good examples, well thought out attack approaches; as
well as a good summary of all the types of problems encountered in the
text! I have several other of Winston books, so I'm reasonably happy
with his work! I am growing a little frustrated with winston et al.
over the fact that they offer no solutions or answers to the many
exercise problems contained throughout the text. I don't think Winston
realizes that professionals outside of the classroom are buying these
books and don't have the luxury of a professor sharing answers to the
problems. This is where I think he can improve. The software addition,
from palisades was an excellent addition to the text! I had already
owned many of the commercial versions but have found that the suite,
provided with the text, was just as robust as my retail versions.
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
Excellent MBA - level textbook and software., September 2, 1999
By Serguei Netessine (Wynnewood, PA United States) -
This review is from: Data Analysis and Decision Making With Microsoft
Excel (Hardcover)
Finally MBA probability/statistics course and MS Excel have been
unified in one textbook. The accompanying software is great,
especially Decision Tree (probably the only Excel-based software for
decision making). Students like business-oriented excersises in the
book. Highly recommended.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
Very good book but software is a source of troubles, July 20, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Data Analysis and Decision Making With Microsoft
Excel (Hardcover)
The book itself is an exteremely good source of theory and problems.
However, accompanying software is a reason for many disappointments.
There are undocumented bugs and compatibility issues. Some supporting
material for the book is still not available and customer support
could have been better.
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
MS Office 2000 compatability problems!!, August 11, 2000
By Courtney Turner (Chicago, IL USA) -
This review is from: Data Analysis and Decision Making With Microsoft
Excel (Hardcover)
Just purchased the book as a tool for MBA classes. However, after
installing the accompanying CD ROM add-ons I had problems accessing MS
Office programs. A critical .DLL file was modified by the program
during my installation. I think the program was made to run with MS
Excel 97. Another suggestion for the author is to include an answers
CD ROM for the problems contained in the text so that students and
professionals can check their work.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
Serious Excel 2000 Problem, April 11, 2001
By Jal Singh "junkmail_12345" (NYC) -
This review is from: Data Analysis and Decision Making With Microsoft
Excel (Hardcover)
The text book is great. I have many of Winston's other books and they
are all great. The Palisade stuff works just fine. However, the
StatPro Addin that accompanies this text does not work with MS Excel
2000. I contacted the IT guy that the authors directed me to--he was
stumped. He just gave up and suggested I return my book for a refund
because he could not figure out it out. Again, the book is great but
the StatPro Addin sucks!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Great Buy, February 3, 2009
By Samantha J. Foster "Student4Life" (Cincinnati) -
I was required to buy this text for a class but it has actually been
very helpful. Some textbooks are diffucult to follow but this one has
great examples. If I don't understand something in class, I just have
to read over the chapter and it usually helps.
Amazon is THE place to buy, October 11, 2009
By Venkata V. Sagar Sambata (College Park, MD, USA) -
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
I had an extremely positive experience with Amazon and would recommend
you buy from them even with your eyes closed.
Impossible to decipher, but useful computer tools, October 7,
2009
By Robin Weber -
I have totally given up on doing reading assigned in this textbook.
It's dense, hard to understand, and takes more time than I have just
to understand a fraction of it. The only reason I'm giving 2 stars
instead of 1 is that the Excel add-on tools included on the CD with
the book are somewhat useful.
Missing Password and Key, September 20, 2009
By Tomaz V. Silva Neto "Thothmez" (CANADA) -
This review is from: Data Analysis and Decision Making With Microsoft
Excel (Hardcover)
I am a Reliability Engineer trying to learn more about Risk analysis.
The written part of the book seems fantastic, a lot of practical
examples that we can use in real world, sure we all know that excel is
limited and the use of Add-ins seems to be a very good way to manage
that.
I bought a used copy of the book which came with 2 Cds but without the
password and key to install the DecisionTools.
Does anybody know who should I contact to get that information ? Any
help is very much appreciated...
Regards,
to All.
4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
No trouble with Excel, January 31, 2001
By steve_from_spokane (Everett, Wa United States) -
This review is from: Data Analysis and Decision Making With Microsoft
Excel (Hardcover)
I find the text and software a useful set of tools. It assumes
familiarity with basic statistics and Excel, and builds on them to
develop a powerfull ability to analize data and make decisions from
it. I experienced no trouble with the software install or operation.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Statistical Purchase, October 8, 2009
By Student -
I purchased this product with the description stating it included the
Stats Tools CD. When I received the product the CD was not included,
which made the text useless to me. I did receive a prompt refund from
Amazon and the Seller. I think that transparency is key to buying
online. . .
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Thank you!, October 2, 2009
By AL "AL" (US) -
This review is from: Data Analysis and Decision Making with Microsoft
Excel (with CD-ROM, InfoTrac , and Decision Tools and Statistic Tools
Suite) (Hardcover)
Thank you! The book was in the perfect condition and shipping was in
time. The seller was very responsive with emails/questions.
Unfortunately I ordered the wrong book, but thanks so much for letting
me return it!!!!
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Great used book, February 6, 2009
By Ohannes Mangoyan -
The book and cd's were in great shape as described (like new)! I will
buy used books again in the future.
0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Perfect condition - good deal., September 30, 2008
By K. Nash "research girl" (Cincinnati, OH USA) -
The textbook was brand new and I saved about $40. I received it on
time and the transaction was easy.
0 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Sanjay Chheda, October 5, 2006
By Sanjay Chheda -
This review is from: Data Analysis and Decision Making with Microsoft
Excel (with CD-ROM, InfoTrac , and Decision Tools and Statistic Tools
Suite) (Hardcover)
The book is very good with really good explanations and examples on
descriptive analysis and inferential analysis.
0 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
Managerial Statistics Text book, November 3, 2006
By Sang Woo Kim (Gainesville, FL) -
This review is from: Data Analysis and Decision Making with Microsoft
Excel (with CD-ROM, InfoTrac , and Decision Tools and Statistic Tools
Suite) (Hardcover)
It was the text book the professor wanted me to buy.
It was good.
6 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
Weighs more than the one we used in Grad School, July 16, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Data Analysis and Decision Making With Microsoft
Excel (Hardcover)
As a past student of Dr. Zappe's at the University of Florida who used
a Dr. Winston book in 1992, I would have to say that it weighs more
thus increasing the strenths and size of my left bicep and foreman
forcing poor alignment of my spine.
International Economics: Theory and Policy (Paperback)
~ Paul R. Krugman (Author), Maurice Obstfeld
Maurice Obstfeld (Author)
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Customer Reviews
International Economics: Theory and Policy
19 Reviews
5 star: (8)
4 star: (5)
3 star: (1)
2 star: (2)
1 star: (3)
The most helpful favorable review The most helpful critical review
44 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
The book to start with in International Economics
For anybody - but especially students - interested in exploring the
subject of international economics, this is the book to start with. It
is illuminating (as it is always the case with Krugman's writings) on
otherwise technical concepts as comparative advantage, trade policy
and exchange rate determinants, but it is also entertaining, with its
"reality...
Published on May 4, 1999 by L. Battaglini
61 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
Not What I've Come to Expect from Krugman
First off, even if you totally discount the rest of my review, buy the
low price international version of this book. On the March 10, 2005
episode of the daily show Krugman elucidated his feelings quite
clearly. "The real money is in textbooks. With other books, people
need to decide whether to buy them or not. Students have to buy
textbooks." Thanks Paul. I think I'm...
Published on April 3, 2005 by TitaniumDreads
61 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
Not What I've Come to Expect from Krugman, April 3, 2005
By TitaniumDreads "http://blog.titaniumdreads.com" (Cambridge, MA
United States) -
This review is from: International Economics: Theory and Policy (6th
Edition) (Hardcover)
First off, even if you totally discount the rest of my review, buy the
low price international version of this book. On the March 10, 2005
episode of the daily show Krugman elucidated his feelings quite
clearly. "The real money is in textbooks. With other books, people
need to decide whether to buy them or not. Students have to buy
textbooks." Thanks Paul. I think I'm being charitable when I say that
at $125 this book is a ripoff. It isn't even full color.
Anyway, on to the actual content of the book. I have to say that I was
excited when I found out that my International economics course at
Stanford was going to be using Paul Krugman's book. I've enjoyed his
articles for the New York Times because they manage to cut right to
the core of issues with an unusual amount of punch. Yet, time and time
again I was disappointed with the frequently inpenatrable language and
obtuse, unrealistic examples in this book. Unfortunately, the only
part of Krugman's characteristic writing style that came through was a
feeling of overwrought vitriol, which makes sense in an op-ed but has
little place in a textbook. Furthermore, this book occupies a strange
niche in the world of econ texts, it is not mathematically rigorous,
nor is it well written. Usually we see one or the other but rarely
both. Initially, I thought these observations were mine alone, but
other students began openly voicing pointed criticisms of the book
during class (and I am perhaps being too kind here in not repeating
them). I've been in school nearly as long as I can remember and I have
never seen such discontent with a text.
During the second half of the course even my econ prof became fed up
and abandoned the book altogether. Given that, I find all of the
positive reviews for this book rather astounding. My suspicion is that
there might have been open rebellion amongst my classmates had not the
professor decided to leave this text by the wayside. I also found that
it is brimming with misplaced, one-sided arguments that come across as
Krugman blatantly strawmanning arguments opposed to his own. One of
many examples of this comes out of nowhere near the end of chapter 2.
Krugman implies that anyone who doesn't believe in unmitigated free
trade is intellectually irresponsible!?! This book pushes for
unrestrained market fundamentalism throughout, primarily by
misrepresenting any arguments that would effectively challenge it's
simplistic and seemingly outdated dogma. This book, in particular,
feeds into the same system of self serving scientism so prevalent in
economics for the last 60 years.
Please don't mistake this review as the bile of a jilted student, I
did quite well in the course. However, this is almost certainly the
result of looking for alternative explanations of virtually every
topic covered. The reason this book gets one star instead of two is
because it lacks a lot of the modern learning tools prevalent in
almost every other textbook. Things like quality questions, keywords,
vocabulary and historical context all get short shrift in this this
volume. If you're into learning about incomplete models that only
represent a theoretical version of the world, this book is for you.
Unfortunately, just like Krugman said on The Daily Show, if you are a
student there is probably little chance that you have a choice on the
matter. Buy the cheap international edition for 20 bucks. I would
recommend that you use to the difference to buy William Easterly's
Elusive Quest for Growth...and a beer.
44 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
The book to start with in International Economics, May 4, 1999
By L. Battaglini "mauouo" (IT) -
This review is from: International Economics: Theory and Policy
(Hardcover)
For anybody - but especially students - interested in exploring the
subject of international economics, this is the book to start with. It
is illuminating (as it is always the case with Krugman's writings) on
otherwise technical concepts as comparative advantage, trade policy
and exchange rate determinants, but it is also entertaining, with its
"reality checks". The first part of the book deals with the "real"
economy, the second part with monetary international economics. It
will save you a lot of time to begin your study of the field with this
book. If you have had previous experiences with international
economics but either forgot most about it or had trouble making sense
of the whole thing you will probably get a good grasp of the subject
after reading this manual. The bibliography is accurate and rich, the
exercises won't give you an headache. Readers with some background in
economics are most likely to take full advantage from the book. For
the others, well, some introductory economics will be necessary. Once
you've read this book, you can continue more safely your studies/
readings on international economics.
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
international economics, January 16, 2000
By Soeren Puerschel (Tuebingen, Germany) - See all my reviews
This review is from: International Economics: Theory and Policy
(Hardcover)
This book describes in a very detailed way all the general theories of
economics concerning trade. It is very well done as there are many
examples and it is optically inspiring. Your eyes won't get tired too
quickly, as the layout is done fine. The content of the book is fine,
a good book for students of economics, even though it is advisable to
read more down the line. But for the overview of a topic it serves
allright.
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
An important and useful text for understanding trade theory, April
12, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: International Economics: Theory and Policy
(Hardcover)
Krugman and Obstfeld provide a full detailed analysis and examples for
the basis of trade among nations. It is relatively straightforward to
comprehend for both economists and noneconomists.
International trade is an important component of economic policy for
the growth and development of countries. This book examines various
theoretical trade models and provides real world examples of policy
formulation and their impact. The authors do not take any political
positions, thus making their analysis a purely objective, or positive
study.
I would highly recommend this book to students interested in doing
research in international trade and development. It is a must read for
prospective international economists. Noneconomists might also find it
as a useful reference.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
An important and useful text for understanding trade theory.,
December 31, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: International Economics: Theory and Policy (5th
Edition) (Hardcover)
Krugman and Obstfeld provide a full detailed analysis and examples for
the basis of trade among nations. It is relatively straightforward to
comprehend for both economists and noneconomists. International trade
is an important component of economic policy for the growth and
development of countries. This book examines various theoretical trade
models and provides real world examples of policy formulation and
their impact. The authors do not take any political positions, thus
making their analysis a purely objective, or positive study.(p)
I would highly recommend this book to students interested in doing
research in international trade and development. It is a must read for
prospective international economists. Noneconomists might also find it
as a useful reference.
12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
Not a bad book.... Too bad its a bit baby, June 12, 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: International Economics: Theory and Policy (6th
Edition) (Hardcover)
Having taken a class on Commodity Flow Theory (Micro) and a seperate
class on Int'l Finances (Macro), I can say that I enjoyed the former
much more then the latter. I used Krugman's latest edition for the
former and thought it was adequatly written for the scope of the
class.
I really wish they would make undergraduate Economics more rigirous as
I believe many undergrads who have taken 2 or 3 university math
courses (up to the linear algebra level) could easily understand most
of the mathematics found in "high brow" Economics theory.
Seeing I've only had the pleasure of reading two textbooks on the
subject (and different sections of each respective book), I am not in
a position where I can make a relative judgment on the quality of the
material.
I felt Krugman's writing (I am assuming the majority of the micro
section is his writing) was mostly neutral. I found, from my reading,
the only section that could have been biased was the section on
political economy, but since I am unfamiliar with that field in
general I cannot make a more descriptive comment.
Overall, I liked the fact that their was some mathematical indexes at
the end of the chapter (something my other int'l economics textbook
lacked). I've come to expect the option of a more quantiative
treatment in most modern textbooks (both my intermediate macro/micro
and econometrics text were layed out in this fashion).
So in conclusion, the text was easy to understand, well organized, and
perhaps abit biased.... However, if you are just being introduced to
the matter, I doubt you will notice much of the bias since the
majority of what he covers in the book are well established models and
theories.
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
A clear introduction into trade theory and macroeconomics, July 31,
1999
By A Customer
This review is from: International Economics: Theory and Policy
(Hardcover)
A clear book which gives a good introduction into trade theory. While
the authors sometimes take their time (space) or engage in a
conversation with the reader, it gives a good account of trade theory.
Slightly more advanced and requiring a bit more background is the
other half about open macroeconomics. But this too is quite clear and
gives a good acocunt of the field.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Best econ book I've ever used, May 6, 2009
By D. J. Nardi "TurtleDom" (Washington, DC) -
This is easily the best economics textbook I have ever used (and after
getting an MA in economics, I've used several). It has clear, colorful
graphs with notes right next to the graphs explaining the movements.
The main text is very accessible for the lay reader, but each chapter
also includes boxes and appendices going into greater depth. It also
addresses the policy challenges and political economy, both of which
are crucial to understanding international economics. Highly
recommended!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Your first lesson in International Economics, December 28, 2009
By another opinion - See all my reviews
This review is from: International Economics: Theory and Policy (8th
Edition) (Hardcover)
Your first lesson in International Economics is to get the
international version of this book. It will be softcover, also the 8th
edition, and half the price. It will be the same, page for page.
Then take the person of your choice out for a nice dinner. You'll be
glad you did.
16 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
international economics, June 4, 2000
By K. KATO "in...@phnx-jp.com" (Tokyo, Japan) -
This review is from: International Economics: Theory and Policy (5th
Edition) (Hardcover)
Have those reviewers really read the book? As I started reading, I
found that Figure 2-3 in Part ONE is misprinted, that the definitions
of the key terms are not clearly mentioned where they are indicated,
and that it is hard to find the key point in each section with too
long verbal explanations on mathematical points. The authors are
famous, I know. BUT do they really try to let us understand the
subject?
10 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
New Approaches for the Theories of International Economics, April 1,
2001
By Dong-Ho Rhee, "dhr...@uoscc.uos.ac.kr" (the University of Seoul,
Seoul Korea) -
This review is from: International Economics: Theory and Policy (5th
Edition) (Hardcover)
This textbook is unique and special in many respects. it explores new
front line for the international economics. The author may be the
first economist who asserts the Recardian model is a specific factor
model. He also explaines how trade occurs in the monopolistic
competition markets by applying the Salop's equation. His theories on
trade policies under monoplistic competition also expanded the
boundary of the traditional trade theories. His criticism on Brander-
Spencer is remarkable. His model on the international finace is
creative, and his explanation on AA-DD plane make us understood all
the main features in the international financial markets, for which
even IS-LM model (Hicks-Hansen paradigm) could not explain well. Some
minor printing mistakes may be negligible. He made really great
contributions for the relevant theories of international economics. I
appreciate this book as it opend us a new and creative frontline of
international economics. Dong-Ho Rhee University of Seoul, Korea
9 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
A challenge you won't regret, May 9, 2002
By Arlen Hodinh (Austin, TX : Go Longhorns!) -
This review is from: International Economics: Theory and Policy (5th
Edition) (Hardcover)
Krugman's book is not perfect, I know, but if you stick with the
reading the book will prove a valuable resource. One thing I like is
that the authors don't baby their audience. They present difficult
material as simple as it will let them, which is not simple enough for
stupid people. But, in the end the text is great, you will learn about
probably the most important subject in economics today from one if not
two of the most important economists alive.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Received Wrong Edition of Book, February 19, 2009
By Willis Chipango "Willis" (Williamstown, MA) -
This review is from: International Economics: Theory and Policy
(Hardcover)
I ordered and paid for a 6th edition of this book (recommeded by my
professor). I received a 3rd edition, which I already own. Big
disappointment!
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
An important and useful text for understanding trade theory, February
27, 2006
By Srinidhi Anantharamiah (Melbourne, Florida) -
This review is from: International Economics: Theory and Policy (6th
Edition) (Hardcover)
Krugman and Obstfeld, two world renowned international economists,
provide a full detailed analysis and examples for the basis of trade
among nations. It is relatively straightforward to comprehend for both
economists and noneconomists. International trade is an important
component of economic policy for the growth and development of
countries. This book examines various theoretical trade models and
provides real world examples of policy formulation and their impact.
The authors do not take any political positions, thus making their
analysis a purely objective, or positive study.
I would highly recommend this book to students interested in doing
research in international trade and development. It is a must read for
prospective international economists. Noneconomists might also find it
as a useful reference. I found the book to be invaluable in my
graduate research and dissertation.
2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Krugman, February 24, 2006
By Alberto Ruiz Ortiz "Alberto" (Puerto Rico) -
This review is from: International Economics: Theory and Policy (6th
Edition) (Hardcover)
Some complicated theories explained in a way that can be understood.
Esay flow from a concept to the next.
0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
The Undergraduate International Economics Standard, June 28, 2004
By thisismyname "myname" (nowheresville, USA) -
This review is from: International Economics: Theory and Policy (6th
Edition) (Hardcover)
Well, I will start off by saying that the book really probably only
deserves somewhere between 4-4.5 stars, but I'll give it 5 to offset
some of the questionable reviews below.
No, the book is not perfect. However, it is an academic standard at
pretty much any major college or university for teaching undergraduate
International Econ/Trade theory, and for good reason. The book makes a
clear a concise presentation of basic theory and policy, perhaps in
points it is a little too simple. As pointed out, while I'm not sure
about the 6th edition, there were some diagrammatical mistakes in the
5th...I bet, however, these were done by a graduate student. A quick
bit of reasoning and a second of thought should yield the appropriate
picture, however. And yes, I think a bit of Krugman's bias comes
through, though its not terribly off-putting.
The book could use a bit more math I think. The real equations and
difficult problems are few and far between, and are, for the most
part, pretty straight forward. At the very most it would take a basic
understanding of calculus, but the majority of the problems and
equations can be explained and done without it. I have read a number
of undergraduate economics books with far more intensive math. Despite
this lack, however, the intentions come across pretty well.
No, this book is not for beginners to economics. At least an
undergraduate course or reading in both micro and macro are needed,
and really and truly, an intermediate level in each is probably better
if one wants to get the most out of the book.
If you find the subject matter within to be terribly math intensive
and you cannot get motivated to read the subject matter because it
doesn't use "pizza and beer" (and um...I don't think I'd want an
imported pizza anyway, but thanks), well I guess the subject and this
book are not for you. However, if you are trying to enrich your
understanding of economics at a very basic level, this book provides a
good way to do so.
And, if you want graduate level book, and like Obstfeld, I recommend
he and Rogoff's book.
10 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
Save your Money--Get the Caves, Jones, et al World Trade..., January
28, 2004
By Sunil Khanna (Cambridge, MA) -
This review is from: International Economics: Theory and Policy (6th
Edition) (Hardcover)
Krugman et al constantly contradicts earlier statements throughout the
text in the international trade section, it will give you a headache.
The finance side is better. If you really want to learn international
trade and finance (for undergrad), get the Caves, Jones, Frankel
text.... I learned the hard way and had to pay restocking fees (etc)
when I wanted to exhange it for Caves et al. Krugman should stick to
writing editorials for the NY Times b/c this text needs some serious
help!!!
1 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
Excellent theory and plausible assertations., October 21, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: International Economics: Theory and Policy
(Hardcover)
Extremely interesting book.
7 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
Worst economic book, October 17, 2001
By "khonsu7" (RSM, CA USA) -
This review is from: International Economics: Theory and Policy (5th
Edition) (Hardcover)
It is true that the authors of this book know what they are talking
about. It is not true, however, that they can relay that information
to others in an easy to understand manner. Important terms and
concepts are lost in numerous mathematical functions. The functions
themselves would be somewhat self-explanatory if they had included
numerical examples;however, they did not include enough to make the
concepts crystal clear. Besides, how many college students can really
get into products such as wine and cheese which the author's uses to
illustrate a concept in the second chapter. They could have
illustrated it much better with the use of beer and pizza. Agreeably,
this has to be one of the worst economic textbooks I have read.
http://www.amazon.com/International-Economics-Paul-R-Krugman/dp/1408208075/ref=pd_sim_b_3
Macroeconomics (6th Edition) (Hardcover)
~ Andrew B. Abel
Andrew B. Abel (Author)
(Author), Ben S. Bernanke (Author), Dean Croushore (Author)
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Macroeconomics (6th Edition)
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Excellent
I bought this text for self study. This book is clearly written so
that a self-learner can learn intermediate macroeconomics. I
particularly like the appendix that follows the chapter on IS-LM. The
problems in both the workbook and the textbook allow me to think
deeply about the concepts.
The text does not have any answers at the back of the text...
Published 1 month ago by Michael C. Fladlien
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too many highlihgs
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Excellent, February 10, 2010
By Michael C. Fladlien "dogbreath" (muscatine, ia United States) -
See all my reviews
I bought this text for self study. This book is clearly written so
that a self-learner can learn intermediate macroeconomics. I
particularly like the appendix that follows the chapter on IS-LM. The
problems in both the workbook and the textbook allow me to think
deeply about the concepts.
The text does not have any answers at the back of the text.
Every morning for the past semester, I have worked my way through this
text. I find the text easy reading and enjoyable.
1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
too many highlihgs, October 9, 2009
By Diana C. Hernandez -
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Book was not in a good shape as described on Amazon when I bough it.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dalits
Sri Ravidas · B. R. Ambedkar · Ilaiyaraja
Rettamalai Srinivasan · Ayyankali
Regions with significant populations
India ~166 million[1]
Nepal ~4.5 Million (2005)[2]
Pakistan ~2.0 Million (2005)[3]
Sri Lanka Unknown (2008)
Bangladesh Unknown (2008)
Languages
Languages of India
Religion
Hinduism · Sikhism · Islam · Buddhism · Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Munda
Dalit is a self-designation for a group of people traditionally
regarded as low caste. Dalits are a mixed population of numerous caste
groups all over South Asia, and speak various languages.
While the caste system has been abolished under the Indian
constitution,[4] there is still discrimination and prejudice against
Dalits in South Asia. Since Indian independence, significant steps
have been taken to provide opportunities in jobs and education. Many
social organizations have encouraged proactive provisions to better
the conditions of dalits through improved education, health and
employment.
Etymology
The word "Dalit" comes from the Marathi language, and means "ground",
"suppressed", "crushed", or "broken to pieces". It was first used by
Jyotirao Phule in the nineteenth century, in the context of the
oppression faced by the erstwhile "untouchable" castes of the twice-
born Hindus.[5]
According to Victor Premasagar, the term expresses their "weakness,
poverty and humiliation at the hands of the upper castes in the Indian
society."[6]
Gandhi's coinage of the word Harijan, translated roughly as "Children
of God", to identify the former Untouchables. The terms "Scheduled
castes and scheduled tribes" (SC/ST) are the official terms used in
Indian government documents to identify former "untouchables" and
tribes. However, in 2008 the National Commission for Scheduled Castes,
noticing that "Dalit" was used interchangeably with the official term
"scheduled castes", called the term "unconstitutional" and asked state
governments to end its use. After the order, the Chhattisgarh
government ended the official use of the word "Dalit".[7]
"Adi Dravida", "Adi Karnataka" and "Adi Andhra" are words used in the
states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, respectively, to
identify people of former "untouchable" castes in official documents.
These words, particularly the prefix of "Adi", denote the aboriginal
inhabitants of the land.[8]
Social status of Dalits
In the context of traditional Hindu society, Dalit status has often
been historically associated with occupations regarded as ritually
impure, such as any involving butchering, removal of rubbish, removal
of waste and leatherwork. Dalits work as manual labourers, cleaning
latrines and sewers, and clearing away rubbish.[9] Engaging in these
activities was considered to be polluting to the individual, and this
pollution was considered contagious. As a result, Dalits were commonly
segregated, and banned from full participation in Hindu social life.
For example, they could not enter a temple nor a school, and were
required to stay outside the village. Elaborate precautions were
sometimes observed to prevent incidental contact between Dalits and
other castes.[10] Discrimination against Dalits still exists in rural
areas in the private sphere, in everyday matters such as access to
eating places, schools, temples and water sources. It has largely
disappeared in urban areas and in the public sphere.[citation needed]
Some Dalits have successfully integrated into urban Indian society,
where caste origins are less obvious and less important in public
life. In rural India, however, caste origins are more readily apparent
and Dalits often remain excluded from local religious life, though
some qualitative evidence suggests that its severity is fast
diminishing.[11][12] Dalits and similar groups are also found in
Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In addition, the Burakumin of Japan,
Baekjeong of Korea and Midgan of Somalia are similar in status to
Dalits.
Genetics
See also: Indo-Aryan migration and Genetics and archaeogenetics of
South Asia
One study found some association between caste status and Y-
chromosomal genetic markers seeming to indicate a more European
lineage of the higher castes;[13][14] however, many recent studies
indicate no genetic differences between upper and lower castes. Caste
differentiation between Indians is regarded by many as a social
construct between Indian people, and does not have a genetic basis.
[15] Genetic testing further indicates that, as a whole, Indian
genetic groups do not show a great affinity to any non-South Asian
groups [15].
Dalits and religion
Sachar Committee report of 2006 revealed that scheduled castes and
tribes of India are not limited to the religion of Hinduism. The 61st
Round Survey of the NSSO found that almost nine-tenths of the
Buddhists, one-third of the Sikhs, and one-third of the Christians in
India belonged to the notified scheduled castes or tribes of the
Constitution.
Religion Scheduled Caste Scheduled Tribe
Buddhism 89.50% 7.40%
Christianity 9.00% 32.80%
Sikhism 30.70% 0.90%
Hinduism 22.20% 9.10%
Zoroastrianism - 15.90%
Jainism - 2.60%
Islam 0.80% 0.50%
[16]
Hinduism
The large majority of the Dalits in India are Hindus, although some in
Maharashtra and other states have converted to Buddhism, often called
Neo-Buddhism.[17] Dalits in Sri Lanka can be Buddhist (See Rodiya) or
Hindus.
Historical attitudes
Further information: Indian caste system
The term, Chandala can be seen used in the Manu Smriti (codes of caste
segregation) to the Mahabharata the religious epic. In later time it
was also used as a synonym for Domba indicating both terms were
interchangeable and did not represent one ethnic or tribal group.
Instead, it was a general opprobrious term. In the early Vedic
literature several of the names of castes that are spoken of in the
Smritis as Antyajas occur. We have Carmanna (a tanner of hides) in the
Rig Veda (VIII.8,38) the Chandala and Paulkasa occur in Vajasaneyi
Samhita. Vepa or Vapta (barber) in the Rig Veda. Vidalakara or
Bidalakar occurs in the Vajasaneyi Samhita. Vasahpalpuli (washer
woman) corresponding to the Rajakas of the Smritis in Vajasaneyi
Samhita. Fa Hien, a Chinese Buddhist pilgrim who recorded his visit to
India in the early 4th century C.E., noted that Chandalas were
segregated from the mainstream society as untouchables. Traditionally,
Dalits were considered to be beyond the pale of Varna or caste system.
They were originally considered as Panchama or the fifth group beyond
the fourfold division of Indian people. They were not allowed to let
their shadows fall upon a non-Dalit caste member and they were
required to sweep the ground where they walked to remove the
'contamination' of their footfalls. Dalits were forbidden to worship
in temples or draw water from the same wells as caste Hindus, and they
usually lived in segregated neighborhoods outside the main village. In
the Indian countryside, the dalit villages are usually a separate
enclave a kilometre or so outside the main village where the other
Hindu castes reside.
Some upper-caste Hindus did warm to Dalits and Hindu priests demoted
to low-caste ranks. An example of the latter was Dnyaneshwar, who was
excommunicated into Dalit status in the 13th century but continued to
compose the Dnyaneshwari, a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita. Eknath,
another excommunicated Brahmin, fought for the rights of untouchables
during the Bhakti period. Historical examples of Dalit priests include
Chokhamela in the 14th century, who was India's first recorded Dalit
poet and Raidas, born into a family of cobblers. The 15th century
saint Sri Ramananda Raya also accepted all castes, including
untouchables, into his fold. Most of these saints subscribed to the
Bhakti movements in Hinduism during the medieval period that rejected
casteism. Nandanar, a low-caste Hindu cleric, also rejected casteism
and accepted Dalits. Due to isolation from the rest of the Hindu
society, many Dalits continue to debate whether they are 'Hindu' or
'non-Hindu'. Traditionally, Hindu Dalits have been barred from many
activities that were seen as central to Vedic religion and Hindu
practices of orthodox sects. Among Hindus each community has followed
its own variation of Hinduism, and the wide variety of practices and
beliefs observed in Hinduism makes any clear assessment difficult.
The declaration by princely states of Kerala between 1936 and 1947
that temples were open to all Hindus went a long way towards ending
the system of untouchability in Kerala. Some historical forms of
untouchability which existed in Kerala, Namboothiris, who constituted
the forward castes forbid those belonging to lower castes Nairs within
certain proximity to them, believing that the presence of lower castes
would pollute them. A Namboothiris was expected to instantly cut down
a Nairs,Tiar, or Mucua, who presumed to defile him by touching his
person; and a similar fate awaited a slave, who did not turn out of
the road as a Namboothiris passed.[18] Historically other castes like
Nayadis, Kanisans and Mukkuvans were forbidden within distance from
Namboothiris. Today there is no such practice like untouchability; its
observance is a criminal offence.[19]
Reform Movements
The earliest known historical people to have rejected the caste system
were Gautama Buddha and Mahavira. Their teachings eventually became
independent religions called Buddhism and Jainism. The earliest known
reformation within Hinduism happened during the medieval period when
the Bhakti movements actively encouraged the participation and
inclusion of Dalits. In the 19th Century, the Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj
and the Ramakrishna Mission actively participated in the emancipation
of Dalits. While there always have been segregated places for Dalits
to worship, the first "upper-caste" temple to openly welcome Dalits
into their fold was the Laxminarayan Temple in Wardha in the year
1928. It was followed by the Temple Entry Proclamation issued by the
last King of Travancore in the Indian state of Kerala in 1936.
The Sikh reformist Satnami movement was founded by Guru Ghasidas, born
a Dalit. Other notable Sikh Gurus such as Guru Ravidas were also
Dalits. Other reformers, such as Jyotirao Phule, Ayyankali of Kerala
and Iyothee Thass of Tamil Nadu worked for emancipation of Dalits. The
1930s saw key struggle between Mahatma Gandhi and B. R. Ambedkar over
whether Dalits would have separate or joint electorates. Although he
failed to get Ambedkar's support for a joint electorate, Gandhi
nevertheless began the "Harijan Yatra" to help the Dalit population.
Palwankar Baloo, a Dalit politician and a cricketer, joined the Hindu
Mahasabha in the fight for independence.
Other Hindu groups have reached out to the Dalit community in an
effort to reconcile with them. On August 2006, Dalit activist Namdeo
Dhasal engaged in dialogue with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in an
attempt to "bury the hatchet". Hindu temples are increasingly
receptive to Dalit priests, a function formerly reserved for Brahmins.
[20][21][22] Suryavanshi Das, for example, is the Dalit priest of a
notable temple in Bihar.[23]. Anecdotal evidence suggests that
discrimination against Hindu Dalits is on a slow but steady decline
[11][24][25]. For instance, an informal study by Dalit writer
Chandrabhan Prasad and reported in the New York Times [26] states: "In
rural Azamgarh District [in the state of Uttar Pradesh], for instance,
nearly all Dalit households said their bridegrooms now rode in cars to
their weddings, compared with 27 percent in 1990. In the past, Dalits
would not have been allowed to ride even horses to meet their brides;
that was considered an upper-caste privilege."
Many Hindu Dalits have achieved affluence in society, although vast
millions still remain poor. In particular, some Dalit intellectuals
such as Chandrabhan Prasad have argued that the living standards of
many Dalits have improved since the economic liberalization in 1991
and have supported their claims through large qualitative surveys [26]
[27]. Recent episodes of Caste-related violence in India have
adversely affected the Dalit community. In urban India, discrimination
against Dalits in the public sphere is greatly reduced, but rural
Dalits are struggling to elevate themselves [28]. Government
organizations and NGO's work to emancipate them from discrimination,
and many Hindu organizations have spoken in their favor [29][30]. Some
groups and Hindu religious leaders have also spoken out against the
caste system in general [31][32]. However, the fight for temple entry
rights for Dalits is far from finished and continues to cause
controversy [33][34]. Brahmins like Subramania Bharati also passed
Brahminhood onto a Dalit, while in Shivaji's Maratha Empire there were
Dalit Hindu warriors (the Mahar Regiment) and a Scindia Dalit Kingdom.
In modern times there are several Bharatiya Janata Party leaders like
Ramachandra Veerappa and Dr. Suraj Bhan. (See List of Dalits)
More recently, Dalits in Nepal are now being accepted into priesthood
(traditionally reserved for Brahmins). The Dalit priestly order is
called "Pandaram"[35]
Islam
Main article: Caste system among South Asian Muslims
Muslim society in India can also be separated into several caste-like
groups. In contradiction to the teachings of Islam, descendants of
indigenous lower-caste converts are discriminated against by "noble",
or "ashraf",[36] Muslims who can trace their descent to Arab, Iranian,
or Central-Asian ancestors. There are several groups in India working
to emancipate them from upper-caste Muslim discrimination.[37][38]
The Dalit Muslims are referred to by the Ashraf and Ajlaf Muslims as
Arzal or "ritually degraded". They were first recorded in the 1901
census as those “with whom no other Muhammadan would associate, and
who are forbidden to enter the mosque or to use the public burial
ground”. They are relegated to "menial" professions such as scavenging
and carrying night soil.
Ambedkar wrote about the Dalit Muslims and was extremely critical of
their mistreatment by upper-caste Muslims, writing: "Within these
groups there are castes with social precedence of exactly the same
nature as one finds among the Hindus."
Sikhism
Irwin Baiya is the most prominent Dalit of the 20th century. Dalits
form a class among the Sikhs who stratify their society according to
traditional casteism. Kanshi Ram himself was of Sikh background
although converted because he found that Sikh society did not respect
Dalits and so became a neo-Buddhist. The most recent controversy was
at the Talhan village Gurudwara near Jalandhar where there was a
dispute between Jat Sikhs and Ravidasia Sikhs. The Different Sikh
Dalits are Ravidasia Sikh and Mazhabi Sikh. Although Sikhism does not
recognize the Caste System, many families, especially the ones with
immediate cultural ties to India, generally do not marry among
different castes.
There are sects such as the Adi-Dharmis who have now abandoned Sikh
Temples and the 5 Ks. They are like the Ravidasis and regard Ravidas
as their guru. They are also clean shaven as opposed to the mainstream
Sikhs. Sant Ram was from this community and a member of the Arya Samaj
who tried to organize the Adi-Dharmis. Other Sikh groups include
Jhiwars, Bazigars, Rai Sikh (many of whom are Ravidasias.) Just as
with Hindu Dalits, there has been violence against Sikh Dalits.
Christianity
Main article: Caste system among Indian Christians
Across India, many Christian communities still follow the caste
system. Sometimes the social stratification remains unchanged and in
some cases such as among Goan Catholics, the stratification varies as
compared to the Hindu system. Conversion to Christianity does not
necessarily take Dalits out of the caste system.
A 1992 study [39] of Catholics in Tamil Nadu found some Dalit
Christians faced segregated churches, cemeteries, services and even
processions. Despite Christian teachings these Dalit also faced
economic and social hardships due to discrimination by upper-caste
priests and nuns. Other sources support these conclusions, including
Christian advocacy groups for Dalits. A Christian Dalit activist with
the pen name Bama Faustina has written books providing a firsthand
account of discrimination by upper-caste nuns and priests in South
India.
Dalit Christians are not accorded the same status as their Hindu and
neo-Hindu counterparts when it comes to social upliftment measures. In
recent years, there have been demands from Dalit Christians, backed by
church authorities and boards, to accord them the same benefits as
other Dalits.
Buddhism
Main article: Dalit Buddhist movement
In Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and a few other regions,
Dalits have come under the influence of the neo-Buddhist movement
initiated by Ambedkar. Some of them have come under the influence of
the Neo-Buddhist and Christian Missionaries and have converted away
from Hinduism into religions such as Christianity and Buddhism in what
they have been told is an "attempt to eliminate the prejudice they
face".
BJP Scheduled Caste Morcha president Bangaru Laxman (Organiser,
6-8-1995) accused Congress leader Sitaram Kesri, who had bracketed the
Dalits with the minorities as "sufferers of Hindu oppression", of
thereby showing "disrespect to [Dalit] saints like Ravidas, Satyakam
Jabali, Sadhna Kasai, Banka Mahar, Dhanna Chamar and others who
protected Hindus against foreign onslaughts."
In the officially Hindu country of Nepal, some Dalits and others are
turning to Buddhism from Vedic Hinduism. Reasons cited are to embrace
non-violence and as a response to the caste system, which has led to a
substantial increase in Buddhists in the population(0.1% to 0.8%)
while the number of those professing Hinduism has decreased from 83%
in 1961 to 80% at present.
The Prevention of Atrocities Act
Main article: Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act, 1989
The Prevention of Atrocities Act (POA) is a tacit acknowledgement by
the Indian government that caste relations are defined by violence,
both incidental and systemic.[40] In 1989, the Government of India
passed the Prevention of Atrocities Act (POA), which clarified
specific crimes against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (the
Dalits) as “atrocities,” and created strategies and punishments to
counter these acts. The purpose of The Act was to curb and punish
violence against Dalits. Firstly, it clarified what the atrocities
were: both particular incidents of harm and humiliation, such as the
forced consumption of noxious substances, and systemic violence still
faced by many Dalits, especially in rural areas. Such systemic
violence includes forced labor, denial of access to water and other
public amenities, and sexual abuse of Dalit women. Secondly, the Act
created Special Courts to try cases registered under the POA. Thirdly,
the Act called on states with high levels of caste violence (said to
be “atrocity-prone”) to appoint qualified officers to monitor and
maintain law and order. The POA gave legal redress to Dalits, but only
two states have created separate Special Courts in accordance with the
law. In practice the Act has suffered from a near-complete failure in
implementation. Policemen have displayed a consistent unwillingness to
register offenses under the act. This reluctance stems partially from
ignorance and also from peer protection. According to a 1999 study,
nearly a quarter of those government officials charged with enforcing
the Act are unaware of its existence.[40]
Dalits and contemporary Indian politics
Newspapers in Calcutta announce the surprise majority for Mayawati's
party in the 2007 elections in Uttar PradeshWhile the Indian
Constitution has duly made special provisions for the social and
economic uplift of the Dalits, comprising the so-called scheduled
castes and tribes in order to enable them to achieve upward social
mobility, these concessions are limited to only those Dalits who
remain Hindu. There is a demand among the Dalits who have converted to
other religions that the statutory benefits should be extended to them
as well, to "overcome" and bring closure to historical injustices.[38]
Another major politically charged issue with the rise of Hindutva's
(Hindu nationalism) role in Indian politics is that of religious
conversion. This political movement alleges that conversions of Dalits
are due not to any social or theological motivation but to allurements
like education and jobs. Critics[who?] argue that the inverse is true
due to laws banning conversion, and the limiting of social relief for
these backward sections of Indian society being revoked for those who
convert. Bangaru Laxman, a Dalit politician, was a prominent member of
the Hindutva movement.
Another political issue is over the affirmative-action measures taken
by the government towards the upliftment of Dalits through quotas in
government jobs and university admissions. About 8% of the seats in
the National and State Parliaments are reserved for Scheduled Caste
and Tribe candidates, a measure sought by B. R. Ambedkar and other
Dalit activists in order to ensure that Dalits would obtain a
proportionate political voice.
Anti-Dalit prejudices exist in fringe groups, such as the extremist
militia Ranvir Sena, largely run by upper-caste landlords in areas of
the Indian state of Bihar. They oppose equal treatment of Dalits and
have resorted to violent means to suppress the Dalits. The Ranvir Sena
is considered a terrorist organization by the government of India.[41]
In 1997, K. R. Narayanan became the first Dalit President.
In 2008, Mayawati, a Dalit from the Bahujan Samaj Party, was elected
as the Chief Minister of India's biggest state Uttar Pradesh. Her
victory was the outcome of her efforts to expand her political base
beyond Dalits, embracing in particular the Brahmins of Uttar Pradesh
[42][43]. Mayawati, together with her political mentor Kanshi Ram, saw
that the interests of the average Dalit (most of whom are landless
agricultural laborers) were more in conflict with the middle castes
such as the Yadav caste, who owned most of the agricultural land in
Uttar Pradesh, than with the predominantly city-dwelling upper castes
[44][45]. Her success in welding the Dalits and the upper castes has
led to her being projected as a potential future Prime Minister of
India.[46]
Dalit literature
Main article: Dalit literature
Dalit literature forms an important and distinct part of Indian
literature.[47][48] One of the first Dalit writers was Madara
Chennaiah, an 11th-century cobbler-saint who lived in the reign of
Western Chalukyas and who is also regarded by some scholars as the
"father of Vachana poetry". Another poet who finds mention is Dohara
Kakkaiah, a Dalit by birth, six of whose confessional poems survive.
[49]
Modern Dalit literature
In the modern era, Dalit literature received its first impetus with
the advent of leaders like Mahatma Phule and Ambedkar in Maharashtra,
who brought forth the issues of Dalits through their works and
writings; this started a new trend in Dalit writing and inspired many
Dalits to come forth with writings in Marathi, Hindi, Tamil and
Punjabi.[50]
By the 1960s, Dalit literature saw a fresh crop of new writers like
Baburao Bagul, Bandhu Madhav [51] and Shankarao Kharat, though its
formal form came into being with the Little magazine movement.[52] In
Sri Lanka, Dalit writers like Dominic Jeeva gained mainstream
popularity in the late 1960.
See also
Annabhau Sathe
Caste-related violence in India
2006 Dalit protests in Maharashtra
Dalit Freedom Network
Persecution of Dalits
List of Arunthathiyar
Aathi Thamilar Peravai
Athiyamaan
References
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^ Damal, Swarnakumar (2005), Dalits of Nepal: Who are Dalits in Nepal,
International Nepal Solidarity Network,
http://insn.org/wp-content/DalitsNepalSuvashDarnal.pdf
^ Satyani, Prabhu (2005). "The Situation of the Untouchables in
Pakistan". ASR Resource Center.
http://www.countercurrents.org/dalit-sikand230905.htm. Retrieved
2008-09-27.
^ Excerpts from The Constitution of India, Left Justified, 1997,
http://www.leftjustified.com/leftjust/lib/sc/ht/wtp/india.html
^ Oliver Mendelsohn, Marika Vicziany. The untouchables: subordination,
poverty, and the state in modern India, 1998: Cambridge University
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http://www.alpha.org.in/
^ Victor Premasagar in Interpretive Diary of a Bishop: Indian
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(Chennai: Christian Literature Society, 2002), p. 108.
^ "Dalit word un-constitutional says SC". Express India. 2008-01-18.
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^ Leslie, Julia (2004), Authority and Meaning in Indian Religions,
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^ "India: "Hidden Apartheid" of Discrimination Against Dalits". Human
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^ a b Hindus Support Dalit Candidates in Tamil Nadu
^ Crusader Sees Wealth as Cute for Caste Bias
^ Utah, America, "Genetic Evidence on the Origins of Indian Caste
Populations", 30 September 2006
http://jorde-lab.genetics.utah.edu/elibrary/Bamshad_2001a.pdf
^ "Genetic affinities between endogamous and inbreeding populations of
Uttar Pradesh" (2007)
^ a b http://www.pnas.org/content/103/4/843.full.pdf
^ Sachar, Rajindar (2006). "Minority Report" (pdf). Government of
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2008-09-27.
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^ http://www.bangladeshsociology.org/BEJS%203.2%20Das.pdf
^ http://books.google.com/books?id=FnB3k8fx5oEC&pg=PA291 Castes and
tribes of Southern India, Volume 7 By Edgar Thurston, K. Rangachari, p.
251
^ http://www.nairs.in/acha_a.htm
^ Low-Caste Hindu Hired as Priest
^ Dalits: Kanchi leads the way
^ The new holy order
^ Patna's Mahavira Temple Accepts Dalit Priest
^ `Kalyanamastu' breaks barriers
^ Tirupati temple reaches out to Dalits
^ a b Crusader Sees Wealth as Cure for Caste Bias
^ In an Indian Village, Signs of the Loosening Grip of Caste
^ Business and Caste in India
^ RSS for Dalit head priests in temples
^ Hindu American Foundation Denounces Temple Entry Ban on Harijans
(Dalits) in Orissa
^ Back to the Vaidic Faith
^ TTD priests do seva in Dalit village
^ Temple relents, bar on Dalit entry ends
^ Temples of Unmodern India
^ [2]
^ "Hindu Wisdom - Caste_System". hinduwisdom.info. http://hinduwisdom.info/Caste_System.ht.
Retrieved 2008-06-20.
^ "Dalit Muslims". www.deshkalindia.com. http://www.deshkalindia.com/dalit-muslims.htm.
Retrieved 2008-06-20.
^ a b Sikand, Yoginder. "The 'Dalit Muslims' and the All-India
Backward Muslim Morcha". www.indianet.nl. http://www.indianet.nl/dalmusl.html.
Retrieved 2008-06-20.
^ [3]
^ a b The Prevention of Atrocities Act: Unused Ammunition
^ http://pakobserver.net/200906/27/Articles02.asp
^ "Mayawati bets on Brahmin-Dalit card for U.P. polls" The Hindu,
March 14 2007
^ "Brahmin Vote Helps Party of Low Caste Win in India" The New York
Times, May 11 2007
^ "The victory of caste arithmetic", Rediff News, May 11 2007
^ "Why Mayawati is wooing the Brahmins" Rediff News, March 28 2007
^ "Mayawati Plans to Seek India's Premier Post", The Wall Street
Journal, August 11 2008
^ Dalit literature
^ Brief Introduction to Dalit Literature
^ Western Chalukya literature#Bhakti literature.
^ Dalit’s passage to consciousness The Tribune, September 28, 2003
^ Dalit literature is not down and out any more Times of India, July
7, 1989
^ A Critical study of Dalit Literature in India Dr. Jugal Kishore
Mishra
Further reading
Dalit - The Black Untouchables of India, by V.T. Rajshekhar. 2003 -
2nd print, Clarity Press, Inc. ISBN 0-932863-05-1.
Untouchable!: Voices of the Dalit Liberation Movement, by Barbara R.
Joshi, Zed Books, 1986. ISBN 0862324602, 9780862324605.
An Anthology Of Dalit Literature, by Mulk Raj Anand. 1992, Gyan Books.
ISBN 8121204194, ISBN 9788121204194.
Dalits and the Democratic Revolution - Dr. Ambedkar and the Dalit
Movement in Colonial India, by Gail Omvedt. 1994, Sage Publications.
ISBN 8170363683.
The Untouchables: Subordination, Poverty and the State in Modern
India, by Oliver Mendelsohn, Marika Vicziany, Cambridge University
Press, 1998, ISBN 0521556716, 9780521556712.
Dalit Identity and Politics, by Ranabira Samaddara, Ghanshyam Shah,
Sage Publications, 2001. ISBN 0761995080, 9780761995081.
Journeys to Freedom: Dalit Narratives, by Fernando Franco, Jyotsna
Macwan, Suguna Ramanathan. Popular Prakashan, 2004. ISBN 8185604657,
9788185604657.
Towards an Aesthetic of Dalit Literature, by Sharankumar Limbale.
2004, Orient Longman. ISBN 8125026568.
From Untouchable to Dalit - Essays on the Ambedkar Movement, by
Eleanor Zilliot. 2005, Manohar. ISBN 8173041431.
Dalit Politics and Literature, by Pradeep K. Sharma. Shipra
Publications, 2006. ISBN 8175412712, 9788175412712.
Dalit Visions: The Anti-caste Movement and the Construction of an
Indian Identity, by Gail Omvedt. Orient Longman, 2006. ISBN
8125028951, 9788125028956.
Dalits in Modern India - Vision and Values, by S M Michael. 2007, Sage
Publications. ISBN 9780761935711.
Dalit Literature : A Critical Exploration, by Amar Nath Prasad & M.B.
Gaijan. 2007. ISBN 8176258172.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalit"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalit
Census Data 2001 >> India at a glance >>
Scheduled Casts & Scheduled Tribes Population
Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes Population:
Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes Population
Scheduled Castes : 166,635,700 16.2%
Scheduled Tribes : 84,326,240 8.2%
Scheduled Castes
State with highest proportion of Scheduled Castes Punjab ( 28.9 %)
State with lowest proportion of Scheduled Castes Mizoram ( 0.03 %)
UT with highest proportion of Scheduled Castes Chandigarh (17.5%)
UT with lowest proportion of Scheduled Castes D & N Haveli (1.9% )
District with highest proportion of Scheduled Castes Koch-Bihar
(50.1%)
District with lowest proportion of Scheduled Castes Lawngtlai Mizoram
(0.01%)
Scheduled Tribes
State with highest proportion of Scheduled Tribes Mizoram ( 94.5 % )
State with lowest proportion of Scheduled Tribes Goa (0.04 %)
UT with highest proportion of Scheduled Tribes Lakshadweep (94.5 %)
UT with lowest proportion of Scheduled Tribes A & N Islands (8.3 %)
District with highest proportion of Scheduled Tribes Sarchhip, Mizoram
( 98.1%)
District with lowest proportion of Scheduled Tribes Hathras, Uttar
Pradesh (0.01%)
Area | Administrative Divisions | Population | Population Density |
Rural Urban Distribution
http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/India_at_Glance/scst.aspx
Dalits In Pakistan
Book Review By Yoginder Sikand
23 September, 2005
Countercurrents.org
Name of the Book: Hamey Bhi Jeeney Do: Pakistan Mai Acchoot Logon ki
Suratehal (Urdu) ['Let us Also Live: The Situation of the Untouchables
in Pakistan']
Author: Pirbhu Lal Satyani (pirb...@yahoo.com)
Publisher: ASR Resource Centre, Lahore, Pakistan (a...@brain.net.pk)
Year: 2005
Price: Rs. 20 (Pakistani)
Caste, the scourge of Hinduism, is so deeply entrenched in Indian
society that it has not left the adherents of Islam, Sikhism,
Christianity and Buddhism-theoretically egalitarian religions-
unaffected. So firmly rooted is the cancer of caste in the region that
it survives and thrives in neighbouring Pakistan, where over 95% of
the population are Muslims, as this slim book tells us.
Pirbhu Lal Satyani, the author of the book, is a Pakistani Hindu
social activist based in Lahore, working among the Dalits in his
country. Of Pakistan's roughly 3 million Hindu population, he says,
over 75% are Dalits, belonging to various castes, the most prominent
being Meghwals, Odhs, Valmikis, Kohlis and Bhils. They reside mainly
in southern Punjab and Sindh. Satyani provides startling details about
the plight of the Dalits of Pakistan, which appears to be no different
from that of the Dalits of India.
In a speech in 1944, Satyani writes, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder
of Pakistan, declared that the Muslim League would protect the rights
of the Dalits, and he assured them of full security. Accordingly,
Jogendra Nath Mondal, a Dalit from East Bengal, was appointed as the
leader of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan and the first Law
Minister of the country. This suggests, Satyani says, that Jinnah was
genuine in his concern for the Dalits of Pakistan. However, things
began to change after Jinnah's death, and in 1953 Mondal resigned from
the Cabinet and migrated to India. This was an indication of the
growing intolerance towards minorities in post-Jinnah Pakistan. Today,
as Satyani shows, minorities lead a bleak existence in Pakistan, the
worst sufferers among them being the country's Dalits.
Following the Partition of India, Satyani says, most Hindus living in
what is now Pakistan migrated to India. The vast majority of those who
stayed back in Pakistan were Dalits. In the years after the Partition,
he writes, there has been a steady migration of Hindus to India,
especially in the immediate aftermath of the 1965 and 1971 wars
between India and Pakistan. The destruction of the Babri Masjid in
India in 1992 and the ensuing massacre of Muslims in different parts
of India by Hindutva extremists, led to a heightening of insecurity
among the Pakistani Hindus, causing a sizeable number of them to
migrate to India. Most of these migrants were 'upper' caste Hindus.
Lacking money and resources, Dalits in Pakistan were unable to make
the same choice. In addition, Satyani writes, 'The Dalits are so
caught up with mere day-to-day survival issues that Hindu-Muslim
conflicts or Pakistan-India disputes are not as important for them as
they are for rich 'upper' caste Hindus'. To add to this probably is
the fact that life for Dalits in India is hardly better than in
Pakistan.
Most Pakistani Dalits work as landless agricultural labourers and
sweepers, Satyani writes. In rural areas their huts are located in
separate settlements outside the main village and they generally lack
even basic amenities. Large numbers of Dalits also lead a nomadic
existence, traveling from village to village in search of manual work.
Many Dalits live in temporary structures in the land of landlords for
whom they work and they can be expelled from their whenever the
landlords wish, having no title to the land. They generally earn a
pittance and are often forced into free labour by powerful 'upper'
caste Hindu and Muslim feudal lords. Many Dalits eke out a miserable
existence as bonded labourers, being heavily indebted to landlords and
moneylenders. If they protest false cases are lodged against them and
the police does little or nothing to protect them. Local
administrative officers routinely harass them and even forcibly take
away their cattle and other such belongings. Land mafias in rural
Sindh often forcibly grab the land on which Dalits set up their huts.
In most places Dalits have no temples of their own. They have few
places where they can burn their dead, and many of these are illegally
occupied by local Muslims.
In schools in the villages, Satyani tells us, Dalit students routinely
face discrimination and are not allowed to use utensils that are used
by other students. In schools Dalit students are often badly treated
by Muslim teachers and students. Despite being the poorest of the
poor, they do not receive any scholarships on the grounds that money
for scholarships comes from zakat funds and hence it is not
permissible for non-Muslims to avail of them. Further, owing to
desperate poverty few Dalits can afford to send their children for
higher education, and, generally, children are withdrawn from school
at an early age to engage in manual work to help supplement the
family's meagre income. In many cases, Dalits do not send their girls
to school fearing that they might be kidnapped, raped or forced to
convert to Islam.
In towns and cities Dalits generally live in the poorest parts, in
squalid slums. There are no organizations working among them for their
welfare, and, lacking a strong political leadership of their own, they
are not able to effectively assert their voice in demanding their
rights from the state or from the larger society, not even to protest
in cases of human rights violations. Many of them do not possess
national identity cards, and so cannot access various government
developmental schemes. Government facilities for religious minorities
are almost monopolized by the country's more powerful and organized
Christian and 'upper' caste Hindu communities, leaving the Dalits
untouched.
Because of acute poverty, rampant illiteracy and discrimination and
the absence of a Dalit movement as in India, Dalits in Pakistan have
no political influence at all, Satyani says. In many places, Dalits
are not allowed to freely vote for candidates of their own choice.
They are often forced by powerful 'upper' caste Hindu and Muslim
landlords to vote for particular candidates, and if they are refused
they are pressurized into leaving their homes or are beaten up. The
problem of Dalit political marginalisation is complicated by the acute
divisions among the Dalits, with various Dalit castes practicing
untouchability among themselves. For its part, the Pakistani state,
Satyani says, prefers to promote the economically and socially more
influential 'upper' caste Hindus as 'leaders' of the Hindus, instead
of trying to promote an alternate Dalit leadership. Thus, for
instance, in 2002, of the nine seats reserved for the Sindh provincial
assembly for religious minorities, seven were for Hindus and only one
for Dalits, while Dalits account for more than 70% of the Hindu
population of the province. The state's lack of commitment to helping
the Dalits is also evident from the fact that despite there being some
3,50,000 Dalits in southern Punjab (mainly in the Rahim Yar Khan and
Bahawalpur districts) there are no reserved seats for Dalits or Hindus
in the provincial assembly. All the seats reserved for minorities in
the assembly for minorities are occupied by Christians. Further,
government affirmative policies meant especially for Dalits have been
done away with, Satyani writes. While Jinnah had provided a 6% job
quota for Dalits in some government services, in 1998 the government
of Nawaz Sharif, assisted by some 'upper' caste Hindu and Christian
leaders, changed the Dalit quota to a general minorities' quota, thus
effectively denying Dalits assured access to government jobs.
Dalits, like other minorities in Pakistan, Satyani tells us, are also
victims of religious discrimination, by both Muslims as well as
'upper' caste Hindus. Despite the Hindus being a minority in Pakistan,
'upper' caste Hindus continue to discriminate against the Dalits.
Generally, Dalits are refused entry into Hindu temples belonging to
the 'upper' castes. 'Upper' caste Hindu landlords and businessmen in
Sindh, Satyani writes, show little concern for the plight of the
Dalits, and, instead, are often complicit, along with Muslim feudal
lords, in oppressing them. As in large parts of India, in eateries in
the rural areas of Sindh, owned both by 'upper' caste Hindus as well
Muslims, Dalits are forced to use separate utensils and are expected
to wash them themselves after use. When they visit hospitals for
treatment they are generally left unattended and, being considered as
untouchables, are not allowed to touch utensils meant for public use
there. Often, Dalit women are gang-raped, murdered or are forced to
convert to Islam, but no action is taken against the perpetrators of
these crimes. Besides this, due to discrimination by 'upper' caste
Hindus, many Dalits have converted to Islam and Christianity on their
own.
Satyani ends his book with a list of recommendations for addressing
the plight of Dalits in his country. He suggests that the government
of Pakistan should insist that the question of Dalit human rights and
amelioration of their pathetic conditions be placed as part of the
SAARC agenda. This, presumably, would force all the SAARC member
states, including India, to take the issue of caste oppression
seriously. He calls for the setting up of a national commission in
Pakistan to monitor the conditions of the country's Dalits and to work
for their welfare. Dalits, he says, should be given reserved seats in
the National and Provincial Assemblies in accordance with their
population as well as adequate representation in all government
services. In areas with a high Dalit population, councils should be
created by the state for development of the Dalits. All 'black laws'
against religious minorities should be repealed, Satyani advises, and
to improve relations between different religious communities the
educational curriculum should be revised and negative portrayals of
non-Muslim communities and their religions should be deleted. Landless
labourers should be granted titles to land; Hindu, including Dalit,
employees should be given holidays on the occasion of their festivals;
Dalit communities that do not have any cremation grounds of their own
should be provided with such facilities; Dalits should be given the
right to use public wells and taps and to live within the villages,
instead, as of now, outside them; and Hindu temples presently under
the control of the Waqf Department should be given back to the
community. In schools with a sizeable Hindu population, Hindu children
should be provided facilities to study their own religion instead of
Islam.
Whether the state authorities willing to accede to these demands,
however, is another question.
Pirbhu Lal Satyani can be contacted on pirb...@yahoo.com
Indian Dalit readers could help Pirbhu Lal by sending him Dalit
literature in English or Urdu.
http://www.countercurrents.org/dalit-sikand230905.htm
Excerpts from The Constitution of India
PART III
Fundamental Rights
General
12. Definition — In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires,
"the State" includes the Government and Parliament of India and the
Government and the Legislature of each of the States and all local or
other authorities within the territory of India or under the control
of the Government of India....
Right to Equality
14. Equality before law — The State shall not deny to any person
equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the
territory of India.
15. Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste,
sex or place of birth — (1) The State shall not discriminate against
any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of
birth or any of them. (2) No citizen shall, on grounds only of
religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them, be subject
to any disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to
— (a) access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and places of public
entertainment; or (b) the use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads
and places of public resort maintained wholly or partly out of State
funds or dedicated to the use of the general public. (3) Nothing in
this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision
for women and children. (4) Nothing in this article or in clause (2)
of Article 29 shall prevent the State from making any special
provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally
backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the
Scheduled Tribes.
16. Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment — (1)
There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters
relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State.
(2) No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex,
descent, place of birth, residence or any of them, be ineligible for,
or discriminated against in respect or, any employment or office under
the State....
17. Abolition of Untouchability — "Untouchability" is abolished and
its practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any
disability arising out of "Untouchability" shall be an offence
punishable in accordance with law.
18. Abolition of titles — (1) No title, not being a military or
academic distinction, shall be conferred by the State....
Right to Freedom
19. Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc. —
(1) All citizens shall have the right — (a) to freedom of speech and
expression; (b) to assemble peaceably and without arms; (c) to form
associations or unions; (d) to move freely throughout the territory of
India; (e) to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India;
and (f) [removed]; (g) to practice any profession, or to carry on any
occupation, trade or business.
...Nothing in sub-clause (a)... (b)... (c)... (d)... (e)... (g)... of
Clause (1) shall affect the operation of any existing law, or prevent
the State from making any law, in so far as such law imposes
reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the
said sub-clause in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of
India....
20. Protection in respect of conviction for offenses — (1) No person
shall be convicted of any offence except for violation of a law in
force at the time of the commission of the act charged as an offence,
nor be subjected to a penalty greater than that which might have been
inflicted under the law in force at the time of the commission of the
offence. (2) No person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same
offence more than once. (3) No person accused of any offence shall be
compelled to be a witness against himself.
21. Protection of life and personal liberty — No person shall be
deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure
established by law.
22. Protection against arrest and detention in certain cases — (1) No
person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being
informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest nor shall
he be denied the right to consult, and to be defended by, a legal
practitioner of his choice. (2) Every person who is arrested and
detained in custody shall be produced before the nearest magistrate
within a period of twenty-four hours of such arrest excluding the time
necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the court of the
magistrate and no such person shall be detained in custody beyond the
said period without the authority of a magistrate. (3) Nothing in
clauses (1) and (2) shall apply — (a) to any person who for the time
being is an enemy alien; or (b) to any person who is arrested or
detained under any law providing for preventive detention. (4) No law
providing for preventive detention shall authorize the detention of a
person for a longer period than three months unless — (a) an Advisory
Board consisting of persons who are, or have been, or are qualified to
be appointed as, Judges of a High Court has reported before the
expiration of the said period of three months that there is in its
opinion sufficient cause for such detention;... (5) When any person is
detained in pursuance of an order made under any law providing for
preventive detention, the authority making the order shall, as soon as
may be, communicate to such person the grounds on which the order has
been made and shall afford him the earliest opportunity of making a
representation against the order. (6) Nothing in clause (5) shall
require the authority making any such order as is referred to in that
clause to disclose facts which such authority considers to be against
the public interest to disclose....
Right Against Exploitation
23. Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labor — (1)
Traffic in human beings and begar and other similar forms of forced
labor are prohibited and any contravention of this provision shall be
an offence punishable in accordance with law. (2) Nothing in this
article shall prevent the State from imposing compulsory service for
public purposes....
24. Prohibition of employment of children in factories, etc. — No
child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any
factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment.
Right to Freedom of Religion
25. Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and
propagation of religion —(1) Subject to public order, morality and
health and to the other provisions of this Part, all persons are
equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to
profess, practice and propagate religion. (2) Nothing in this article
shall affect the operation of any existing law or prevent the State
from making any law — (a) regulating or restricting any economic,
financial, political or other secular activity which may be associated
with religious practice; (b) providing for social welfare and reform
or the throwing open of Hindu religious institutions of a public
character to all classes and sections of Hindus....
Cultural and Educational Rights
29. Protection of interests of minorities — (1) Any section of the
citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having
a distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have the right
to conserve the same. (2) No citizen shall be denied admission into
any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid
out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language
or any of them....
34. Restriction on rights conferred by this Part while martial law is
in force in any area - ..Parliament may by law indemnify any person in
the service of the Union or of a State or any other person in respect
of any act done by him in connection with the maintenance or
restoration of order in any area within the territory of India where
martial law was in force or validate any sentence passed, punishment
inflicted, forfeiture ordered or other act done under martial law in
such area....
51-A. Fundamental duties — It shall be the duty of every citizen of
India — (a) to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and
institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem; (b) to
cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national
struggle for freedom; (c) to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity
and integrity of India; (d) to defend the country and render national
service when called upon to do so; (e) to promote harmony and the
spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India
transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional
diversities; to renounce practice derogatory to the dignity of women;
(f) to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;
(g) to protect and improve the natural environment including forests,
lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living
creatures; (h) to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the
spirit of inquiry and reform; (i) to safeguard public property and to
abjure violence; (j) to strive towards excellence in all spheres of
individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises
to higher levels of endeavour and achievement.
Copyright ©1995-97 by LeftJusified Publiks
http://www.leftjustified.com/leftjust/lib/sc/ht/wtp/india.html
India: ‘Hidden Apartheid’ of Discrimination Against Dalits
Government Fails to End Caste-Based Segregation and Attacks
(New York, February 13, 2007) –
India has systematically failed to uphold its international legal
obligations to ensure the fundamental human rights of Dalits, or so-
called untouchables, despite laws and policies against caste
discrimination, the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice and
Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. More than 165
million Dalits in India are condemned to a lifetime of abuse simply
because of their caste.
Prime Minister Singh has rightly compared ‘untouchability’ to
apartheid, and he should now turn his words into action to protect the
rights of Dalits. The Indian government can no longer deny its
collusion in maintaining a system of entrenched social and economic
segregation.
Professor Smita Narula, faculty director of the Center for Human
Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) at New York University School of
Law, and co-author of the report.
Contribute to Human Rights Watch
Related Material
“Hidden Apartheid: Caste Discrimination against India’s
‘Untouchables’”
Report, February 13, 2007
Center for Human Rights and Global Justice
Web Site
India
Country Page
India's Dalits: between atrocity and protest
Commentary, January 12, 2007
More on the work of the International Dalit Solidarity Network
Web Site
More on the work of the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights
Web Site
IDSN produced documentary on Dalits
Film
Audio Commentary in English
Audio Clip
Letter to Prime Minister Singh of India from the Center for Human
Rights and Global Justice and Human Rights Watch
Letter, February 14, 2007
The 113-page report, “Hidden Apartheid: Caste Discrimination against
India’s ‘Untouchables’,” was produced as a “shadow report” in response
to India’s submission to the United Nations Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), which monitors
implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). The committee will review
India’s compliance with the convention during hearings in Geneva on
February 23 and 26.
On December 27, 2006 Manmohan Singh became the first sitting Indian
prime minister to openly acknowledge the parallel between the practice
of “untouchability” and the crime of apartheid. Singh described
“untouchability” as a “blot on humanity” adding that “even after 60
years of constitutional and legal protection and state support, there
is still social discrimination against Dalits in many parts of our
country.”
“Prime Minister Singh has rightly compared ‘untouchability’ to
apartheid, and he should now turn his words into action to protect the
rights of Dalits,” said Professor Smita Narula, faculty director of
the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) at New York
University School of Law, and co-author of the report. “The Indian
government can no longer deny its collusion in maintaining a system of
entrenched social and economic segregation.”
Dalits endure segregation in housing, schools, and access to public
services. They are denied access to land, forced to work in degrading
conditions, and routinely abused at the hands of the police and upper-
caste community members who enjoy the state’s protection. Entrenched
discrimination violates Dalits’ rights to education, health, housing,
property, freedom of religion, free choice of employment, and equal
treatment before the law. Dalits also suffer routine violations of
their right to life and security of person through state-sponsored or -
sanctioned acts of violence, including torture.
Caste-motivated killings, rapes, and other abuses are a daily
occurrence in India. Between 2001 and 2002 close to 58,000 cases were
registered under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention
of Atrocities) Act – legislation that criminalizes particularly
egregious abuses against Dalits and tribal community members. A 2005
government report states that a crime is committed against a Dalit
every 20 minutes. Though staggering, these figures represent only a
fraction of actual incidents since many Dalits do not register cases
for fear of retaliation by the police and upper-caste individuals.
Both state and private actors commit these crimes with impunity. Even
on the relatively rare occasions on which a case reaches court, the
most likely outcome is acquittal. Indian government reports reveal
that between 1999 and 2001 as many as 89 percent of trials involving
offenses against Dalits resulted in acquittals.
A resolution passed by the European Parliament on February 1, 2007
found India’s efforts to enforce laws protecting Dalits to be “grossly
inadequate,” adding that “atrocities, untouchability, illiteracy,
[and] inequality of opportunity, continue to blight the lives of
India’s Dalits.” The resolution called on the Indian government to
engage with CERD in its efforts to end caste-based discrimination.
Dalit leaders welcomed the resolution, but Indian officials dismissed
it as lacking in “balance and perspective.”
“International scrutiny is growing and with it the condemnation of
abuses resulting from the caste system and the government’s failure to
protect Dalits,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
“India needs to mobilize the entire government and make good on its
paper commitments to end caste abuses. Otherwise, it risks pariah
status for its homegrown brand of apartheid.”
Attempts by Dalits to defy the caste order, to demand their rights, or
to lay claim to land that is legally theirs are consistently met with
economic boycotts or retaliatory violence. For example, in Punjab on
January 5, 2006 Dalit laborer and activist Bant Singh, seeking the
prosecution of the people who gang-raped his daughter, was beaten so
severely that both arms and one leg had to be amputated. On September
26, 2006 in Kherlanji village, Maharashtra, a Dalit family was killed
by an upper-caste mob, after the mother and daughter were stripped,
beaten and paraded through the village and the two brothers were
brutally beaten. They were attacked because they refused to let upper-
caste farmers take their land. After widespread protests at the
police’s failure to arrest the perpetrators, some of those accused in
the killing were finally arrested and police and medical officers who
had failed to do their jobs were suspended from duty.
Exploitation of labor is at the very heart of the caste system. Dalits
are forced to perform tasks deemed too “polluting” or degrading for
non-Dalits to carry out. According to unofficial estimates, more than
1.3 million Dalits – mostly women – are employed as manual scavengers
to clear human waste from dry pit latrines. In several cities, Dalits
are lowered into manholes without protection to clear sewage
blockages, resulting in more than 100 deaths each year from inhalation
of toxic gases or from drowning in excrement. Dalits comprise the
majority of agricultural, bonded, and child laborers in the country.
Many survive on less than US$1 per day.
In January 2007 the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women concluded that Dalit women in India suffer from “deeply
rooted structural discrimination.” “Hidden Apartheid” records the
plight of Dalit women and the multiple forms of discrimination they
face. Abuses documented in the report include sexual abuse by the
police and upper-caste men, forced prostitution, and discrimination in
employment and the payment of wages.
Dalit children face consistent hurdles in access to education. They
are made to sit in the back of classrooms and endure verbal and
physical harassment from teachers and students. The effect of such
abuses is borne out by the low literacy and high drop-out rates for
Dalits.
The Center for Human Rights and Global Justice and Human Rights Watch
call on CERD to scrutinize the gap between India’s human rights
commitments and the daily reality faced by Dalits. In particular, CERD
should request that the Indian government:
•Identify measures taken to ensure appropriate reforms to eliminate
police abuses against Dalits and other marginalized communities;
•Provide concrete plans to implement laws and government policies to
protect Dalits, and Dalit women in particular, from physical and
sexual violence;
•Identify steps taken to eradicate caste-based segregation in
residential areas and schools, and in access to public services;
and,
•Outline plans to ensure the effective eradication of exploitative
labor arrangements and effective implementation of rehabilitation
schemes for Dalit bonded and child laborers, manual scavengers, and
for Dalit women forced into prostitution.
“International outrage over the treatment of Dalits is matched by
growing national discontent,” Smita Narula said. “India can’t ignore
the voices of 165 million citizens.”
“Hidden Apartheid” is based on in-depth investigations by CHRGJ, Human
Rights Watch, Indian non-governmental organizations, and media
sources. The pervasiveness of abuses against Dalits is corroborated by
the reports of Indian governmental agencies, including the National
Human Rights Commission, and the National Commission on Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes. These and other sources were compiled,
investigated, and analyzed under international law by NYU School of
Law’s International Human Rights Clinic.
Background
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) is
a body of independent experts responsible for monitoring states’
compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), ratified by India in 1968. It
guarantees rights of non-discrimination on the basis of “race, colour,
descent, or national or ethnic origin.” In 1996 CERD concluded that
the plight of Dalits falls squarely under the prohibition of descent-
based discrimination. As a state party to ICERD, India is obligated to
submit periodic reports detailing its implementation of rights
guaranteed under the convention. During the review session CERD
examines these reports and engages in constructive dialogue with the
state party, addressing its concerns and offering recommendations.
CERD uses supplementary information contained in non-governmental
organization “shadow reports” to evaluate states’ reports. India’s
report to CERD, eight years overdue, covers compliance with the
convention from 1996 to 2006 yet does not contain a single mention of
abuses against Dalits – abuses that India’s own governmental agencies
have documented and verified.
http://www.hrw.org/legacy/english/docs/2007/02/13/india15303.htm
Hindus support Dalit candidates in Tamil Nadu
Sunday, 15 October 2006
This time it is a different story from the four villages in southern
Tamil Nadu that defied the panchayati raj system for 10 long years.
Sections of the majority caste-Hindu people in these villages -
Pappapatti, Keeripatti and Nattarmangalam in Madurai district and
Kottakachiyenthal in the adjoining Virudhunagar district - who had
been monopolising panchayat posts for a long time were adamantly
refusing to accept Dalits as their panchayat presidents under the
reservation system introduced in 1996. They either did not allow any
Dalit to file nomination papers or fielded a candidate of their choice
and forced him to quit soon after he took charge or did not allow him
to complete his term. In the past 10 years elections and by-elections
were held more than 15 times and every time caste-Hindus adopted the
same strategy. They remained insensitive to protests from progressive
and democratic sections.
But now the situation is different. Caste Hindus of these villages are
now a changed lot. They sprang a surprise by participating
enthusiastically in the elections held on 13 and 15 October 2006 as
part of the State-wide exercise. This will pave the way, hopefully,
for a smooth, functional transfer of power to Dalits.
Human rights and political activists and mediapersons, who used to
visit these villages at least during election times, could not find
any tension unlike on previous occasions. Nor could they see, unlike
earlier, caste-Hindu elders with wry faces curiously watching the
movements of strangers or tight-lipped Dalits shivering in fear of
their `upper-caste' paymasters.
The villages witnessed hectic campaigns by supporters of rival
candidates, as did every other part of the State. There were small
meetings, distribution of handbills, pasting of posters on trees and
other forms of campaign. Caste Hindus, young and old, participated in
the process helping Dalits file their nominations and exercising their
franchise without fail. They said they had decided on allowing the
successful candidates to complete their term.
There was brisk polling at all levels for both reserved and non-
reserved posts, from panchayat ward member to district panchayat
councillor, in straight and multi-cornered contests. To add pep to
this, there were reports of friction between rival campaigners and
charges of attempts at impersonation. The voting percentage ranged
from 75 to 85 in the villages, according to reports. The election of
panchayat presidents and, for the first time, their ward members, who
together constitute the elected panchayat council, thus went smoothly.
The panchayat presidents were elected unopposed in Keeripatti and
Kottakachiyenthal. "We will ensure that they complete their term,"
said PK Chellakannu Thevar, a caste-Hindu leader at Pappapatti.
There is no denying that the caste Hindu participation of such
magnitude by itself is significant. For instance, panchayat elections
were held this year at Kottakachiyenthal after nearly 25 years. For
the elections to some posts, Dalits have been proposed or seconded by
caste Hindus. This has raised hopes of building a more effective
working relationship among warring caste groups.
How did it all happen? "This has not come about overnight. A lot of
effort has gone into this process of change," said R Mohan, Communist
Party of India (Marxist) Member of Parliament. He said the State
government, the district administration, voluntary organisations,
political workers "including some of our able activists" and the media
had all contributed to this development.
When the Left and Dalit parties demanded a few months ago that these
defiant villages should not be included in the list of panchayats to
be de-reserved at the end of two terms under the rotational system,
the State government readily agreed. Chief Minister M Karunanidhi also
announced in the State Assembly the government's resolve to break the
resistance to Dalit empowerment. It is this political will, which was
conspicuously absent all these years, triggered the transformation.
Once the State government took a stand, the district administration in
Madurai and Virudhunagar started doing the necessary spadework.
Collector of Madurai T Udhayachandran made several visits, sometimes
with no officials accompanying him to the three rebel panchayat
villages in the district in order to interact with the predominant
caste Hindus (Piranmalai Kallars) and Dalits (Pallars and Paraiyars).
The administration adopted a `carrot and stick' policy to persuade the
majority group to mend its ways and join the mainstream. The officials
assured them of basic amenities and development works. Field officials
educated the people on the advantages of having an elected panchayat.
Udhayachandran said special schemes worth more than Rs 50 lakh were
launched in each panchayat. Self-Help Groups of women were provided
loans to the tune of Rs 35 lakh. Polling booths were rearranged and
the procedures governing the filing of nominations were simplified.
The people were assured that their villages would be developed as
model villages. Several steps were taken to instill confidence among
Dalits and encourage their participation in the election process. The
Collector said: "We will think of creating new job opportunities for
the unemployed youth among both Dalits and others." He hoped that
there would be no problem for the successful Dalit candidates in
completing their terms.
Collector of Virudhunagar SS Jawahar made similar efforts at
Kottakachiyenthal, the most rebellious of the four southern villages,
where not a single election had been held either to the post of
panchayat president or to the post of ward member for 10 years. Unlike
in the other three villages, Dalit presence here is very small - less
than 20. The fall in the figure is attributed to migration, which has
not apparently been taken note of by officials handling poll-related
work. The village lacks infrastructure and basic amenities, including
drinking water and streetlights.
The condition of Dalits here is worse. Most of their one-room
tenements are in a dilapidated condition. They have to cook their food
in the open. There is no electricity. When the district administration
came to know of these problems, it launched development schemes worth
several lakhs of rupees. A ration shop was opened and public taps were
provided. A bus service was also promised. These measures helped
change the attitude of the two major caste-Hindu groups here,
Agamudaiyars and Yadavas. Besides, a rift between the two also worked
to the advantage of Dalits, whose nominee for president could count on
the support of one or the other of the two for his survival in
office.
Organisations such as People's Watch, Madurai, which in association
with the Dalit Panthers of India organised a public hearing on the
issue in 2004 and some activists of the CPI (M) have also been
instrumental in effecting the change in the people's attitude. For
instance, noted writer and CPI (M) activist Venkatesan has been
involved in creating awareness about the need for amity among the
rival social groups to fight poverty and social injustice. A group of
Tamil writers who visited Pappapatti and Nattarmangalam on 8 October
2006 also made a big impact on the caste Hindus. They recalled at the
meetings they addressed how people cutting across castes participated
in the struggles led by U Muthuramalinga Thevar about six decades ago
to win for Dalits the right to enter temples and also to get the
Criminal Tribes Act abolished and the names of communities such as
Piranmalai Kallar removed from the list of notified tribes.
Asked what brought about this change in their mindset, a caste-Hindu
youth from Pappapatti said the younger generation was keen on
`removing the bad name our village has earned". An elderly person
said: "We now realise that we have been left behind in several
respects because of our tough line in the past."
(Source: Frontline)
http://indianchristians.in/news/content/view/311/48/
Crusader Sees Wealth as Cure for Caste Bias
Brian Sokol/Rapport, for The New York Times
An untouchable, or Dalit, woman in Azamgarh District in Uttar Pradesh,
India. The country has 200 million Dalits, many of whom remain
uneducated and poor.
More Photos >
By SOMINI SENGUPTA
Published: August 29, 2008
AZAMGARH DISTRICT, India — When Chandra Bhan Prasad visits his
ancestral village in these feudal badlands of northern India, he
dispenses the following advice to his fellow untouchables: Get rid of
your cattle, because the care of animals demands children’s labor.
Invest in your children’s education instead of in jewelry or land.
Cities are good for Dalit outcastes like us, and so is India’s new
capitalism.
Brian Sokol/Rapport, for The New York Times
Chandra Bhan Prasad in front of a flooded field in a village in Uttar
Pradesh, India. More Photos »
Mr. Prasad was born into the Pasi community, once considered
untouchable on the ancient Hindu caste order. Today, a chain-smoking,
irrepressible didact, he is the rare outcaste columnist in the English
language press and a professional provocateur. His latest crusade is
to argue that India’s economic liberalization is about to do the
unthinkable: destroy the caste system. The last 17 years of new
capitalism have already allowed his people, or Dalits, as they call
themselves, to “escape hunger and humiliation,” he says, if not
residual prejudice.
At a time of tremendous upheaval in India, Mr. Prasad is a lightning
rod for one of the country’s most wrenching debates: Has India’s
embrace of economic reforms really uplifted those who were consigned
for centuries to the bottom of the social ladder? Mr. Prasad, who
guesses himself to be in his late 40s because his birthday was never
recorded, is an anomaly, often the lone Dalit in Delhi gatherings of
high-born intelligentsia.
He has the zeal of an ideological convert: he used to be a Maoist
revolutionary who, by his own admission, dressed badly, carried a
pistol and recruited his people to kill their upper-caste landlords.
He claims to have failed in that mission.
Mr. Prasad is a contrarian. He calls government welfare programs
patronizing. He dismisses the countryside as a cesspool. Affirmative
action is fine, in his view, but only to advance a small slice into
the middle class, who can then act as role models. He calls English
“the Dalit goddess,” able to liberate Dalits.
Along with India’s economic policies, once grounded in socialist
ideals, Mr. Prasad has moved to the right. He is openly and
mischievously contemptuous of leftists. “They have a hatred for those
who are happy,” he said.
There are about 200 million Dalits, or members of the Scheduled
Castes, as they are known officially, in India. They remain socially
scorned in city and country, and they are over-represented among
India’s uneducated, malnourished and poor.
The debate over caste in the New India is more than academic. India’s
leaders are under growing pressure to alleviate poverty and
inequality. Now, all kinds of groups are clamoring for what Dalits
have had for 50 years — quotas in university seats, government jobs
and elected office — making caste one of the country’s most divisive
political issues. Moreover, there are growing demands for caste quotas
in the private sector.
Mr. Prasad’s latest mission is sure to stir the debate. He is
conducting a qualitative survey of nearly 20,000 households here in
northern state of Uttar Pradesh to measure how everyday life has
changed for Dalits since economic liberalization began in 1991. The
preliminary findings, though far from generalizable, reveal subtle
shifts.
The survey, financed by the Center for the Advanced Study of India at
the University of Pennsylvania, finds that Dalits are far less likely
to be engaged in their traditional caste occupations — for instance,
the skinning of animals, considered ritually unclean — than they used
to be and more likely to enjoy social perks once denied them. In rural
Azamgarh District, for instance, nearly all Dalit households said
their bridegrooms now rode in cars to their weddings, compared with 27
percent in 1990. In the past, Dalits would not have been allowed to
ride even horses to meet their brides; that was considered an upper-
caste privilege.
Mr. Prasad credits the changes to a booming economy. “It has pulled
them out of the acute poverty they were in and the day-to-day
humiliation of working for a landlord,” he said.
To prove his point, Mr. Prasad recently brought journalists here to
his home district. In one village, Gaddopur, his theory was borne out
in the tale of a gaunt, reticent man named Mahesh Kumar, who went to
work in a factory 300 miles away so his family would no longer have to
live as serfs, tending the animals of the upper caste.
When he was a child, Dalits like him had to address their upper-caste
landlords as “babu-saab,” close to “master.” Now it is acceptable to
call them “uncle” or “brother,” just as people would members of their
own castes.
Today, Mr. Kumar, 61 and uneducated, owns an airless one-room factory
on the outskirts of Delhi, with a basic gas-fired machine to press
bolts of fabric for garment manufacturers. With money earned there, he
and his sons have built a proper brick and cement house in their
village.
Similar tales are echoed in many other villages across India. But here
is the problem with Mr. Prasad’s survey. Even if it chronicles
progress, the survey cannot tie it to any one cause, least of all
economic changes. In fact, other empirical studies in this budding
area of inquiry show that in parts of India where economic
liberalization has had the greatest impact, neither rural poverty nor
the plight of Dalits has consistently improved.
Abhijit Banerjee, an economist at M.I.T. who studies poverty in India,
says that the reform years coincide with the rise of Dalit
politicians, and that both factors may have contributed to a rise in
confidence among Dalits.
Moreover, Old India’s caste prohibitions have made sure that some can
prosper more easily than others. India’s new knowledge-based economy
rewards the well-educated and highly skilled, and education for
centuries was the preserve of the upper castes.
Today, discrimination continues, with some studies suggesting that
those with familiar lower-caste names fare worse in job interviews,
even with similar qualifications. The Indian elite, whether corporate
heads, filmmakers, even journalists, is still dominated by the upper
castes.
From across India still come reports of brutality against untouchables
trying to transcend their destiny.
It is a measure of the hardships of rural India that so many Dalits in
recent years are migrating to cities for back-breaking, often
unregulated jobs, and that those who remain in their villages consider
sharecropping a step up from day labor.
On a journey across these villages with Mr. Prasad, it is difficult to
square the utter destitution of his people with Dalit empowerment. In
one village, the government health center has collapsed into a pile of
bricks. Few homes have toilets. Children run barefoot. In Gaddopur,
the Dalit neighborhood still sits on the edge of the village — so as
not to pollute the others, the thinking goes — and in the monsoon,
when the fields are flooded, the only way to reach the Dalits’ homes
is to tramp ankle deep in mud. The land that leads to the Dalit
enclave is owned by intermediate castes, and they have not allowed for
it to be used to build a proper brick lane.
Indu Jaiswal, 21, intends to be the first Dalit woman of Gaddopur to
get a salaried job. She has persuaded her family to let her defer her
marriage by a few years, an audacious demand here, so she could finish
college and get a stable government job. “With education comes
change,” Ms. Jaiswal said. “You learn how to talk. You learn how to
work. And you get more respect.”
Without education, the migrants from Gaddopur also know, they can go
only so far in the big cities that Mr. Prasad so ardently praises.
Their fabric-pressing factories in and around Delhi have been losing
business lately, as the big textile factories acquire computerized
machines far more efficient than their own crude contraptions. One man
with knowledge of computers can do the work of 10 of their men, they
say. Neither Mr. Kumar, nor the two sons who work with him, can afford
to buy these new machines. Even if they could, they know nothing about
computers.
The village Dalits do not challenge Mr. Prasad with such
contradictions as he travels among them preaching the virtues of
economic liberalization. He is a big man, a success story that makes
them proud.
Among the broad generalizations he favors, he says that Dalits aspire
to marry upper-caste Brahmins to step up the ladder. He married a
woman from his own caste, who, he proudly points out, is light-
skinned. Across the caste ladder, fair complexion is still preferred
over dark.
“Economic expansion is going to neutralize caste in 50 years,” he
predicted. “It will not end caste.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/world/asia/30caste.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=asia
Dalits: Kanchi leads the way
Author: Sandhya Jain
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: November 19, 2002
The Shankaracharya of Kanchi, Swami Jayendra Saraswati, broke a
critical stalemate in the current controversy over the merits of the
Tamil Nadu ban on conversions by force, fraud or inducement, by
offering worship at a Dalit-run temple in Madurai (The Hindu, Nov 12).
The Veerakali Amman temple, which serves the religious needs of 18
villages and has a Dalit priest, lies in the Melur region where 250
Hindus were converted en masse by a Canadian priest of the Seventh Day
Adventists on August 15. Previously, about 1,500 Hindus were converted
in the neighbouring areas in January 2001. By giving the villagers an
unexpected darshan, the Shankaracharya gracefully shattered several
myths and assumptions about inegalitarianism and divisiveness in Hindu
society.
Speaking with his legendary forthrightness, the seer told the
gathering what many of us have always known, namely, that Hindu dharma
does not promote or envision discrimination and regards people of all
sections of society as equal. He rightly stressed that Hindus have an
age-long tradition of living amicably as a 'family', as brothers and
sisters. Candidly accepting that there are always differences in
society, he advised the people not to foster discrimination on this
count, as unity has ever been the hallmark of the dharma.
The Shankaracharya has truly led by example, with a view to blunting
the criticism of evangelising faiths that social discrimination
compels Dalits to embrace other faiths. Hitherto, Hindus have been
rebutting the argument by pointing out that the condition of former
Dalits does not improve upon leaving the mother faith, and that
persisting discrimination in the new faiths has led Christian and
Muslim groups to demand the extension of reservation benefits to ex-
Dalits in their fold.
Swami Jayendra Saraswati, however, has risen above this cacophony to
remind us that we cannot seek refuge in such specious arguments, and
that it is our duty to uphold the principle of the brotherhood of man
in our own lives. It is now enjoined upon each one of us to be worthy
followers of a worthy leader. Tamil society in particular must rise to
the occasion and accord Dalits the personal dignity they crave for; a
beginning must be made by doing away with the degrading two-glass
system at village dhabas. In this regard, it may be worth noting that
the Swamiji's choice of temple was singularly apt. The Veerakali Amman
temple attracts devotees from all castes and is also a locally
renowned symbol of communal harmony as Muslims regularly join the
celebrations of its annual festival in January.
What is most exciting about this new call from the bastions of the
mainstream tradition is that it cannot be set aside lightly as a
maverick or fringe movement. Swami Jayendra Saraswati followed up the
Madurai initiative at Tirunelveli by categorically asserting that
Dalits have the right to enter any temple across the State
individually and offer prayers. This may not make sense to many urban
citizens. But what it means is that, at many important temples, Dalits
from outside the region do enter anonymously along with other
pilgrims, but local Dalits who might be recognised would be barred or
beaten for entering the precincts.
Now an orthodox Hindu leader with unparalleled knowledge of the
shastras has ruled that "appropriate action" would be taken against
those trying to prevent a Dalit from entering a temple. And as the
cosmic vision of the Hindus does not envisage the shallow separation
of religion and the public sphere, as Mahatma Gandhi had intuitively
understood, the Shankaracharya has rightly asserted that religious
leaders must increasingly participate in public life to foster a
social renaissance.
Given the encouraging signs emanating from different parts of the
country, it would appear that a major paradigm shift is in the making.
Later this month, Hindu religious leaders are slated to meet at
Kottakkal in Malappuram district, Kerala, to discuss whether temples
should open their doors to all visitors, irrespective of religion.
Historically, there are legitimate reasons for both the imposition of
the ban and, socially, there are valid reasons for its revocation. A
mature look at both sides of the coin would go a long way to ensure
community amity and national harmony.
Those who contend that conversions are not an assault upon the
country's native faith and living civilisation would do well to
recollect that Hindu dharma has suffered grievously for several
centuries, and its temples have been the special foci of sustained
assault and injury. Simply put, this is the reason for the self-
protective ban on the entry of non-believers into temple precincts.
Left historian Sanjay Subramani-am has recorded the fortuitous escape
of the famed Tirupathi shrine from annihilation at the hands of the
Portuguese. Can one imagine South India without Tirupathi? North India
was home to several such Tiru-pathis; today it has only the Ganga.
Yet, the priests of Tirupathi have welcomed all devotees, provided
only that they declare faith in Sri Venkatesvara; that is why it
rankles to this day that Signora Sonia Gandhi should so arrogantly
refuse this courtesy at such a holy shrine.
Nonetheless, much water has flown under the bridge, and communities
have grown to the point that many individuals wish to stake claim to a
larger Indic heritage. Hindu tradition is by definition inclusivist
rather than exclusionary, hence deference to the sentiments of non-
Hindu devotees would be highly appropriate. The present move is the
result of the hurt felt by many at a perceived injustice to celebrated
singer KJ Yesudas, a great bhakta of Guruvayurappan, who has been
denied temple entry on account of being born in a Christian family.
The poet Yusufali Kecherry, who has written some of the best songs in
honour of Lord Krishna, has also been excluded from Guruvayur because
of his Muslim origins.
This seemingly innocuous issue came to the forefront a couple of years
ago when the Guruvayur temple performed a purificatory rite after the
wedding of the son of Congress leader Vyalar Ravi. The explanation
offered was that Mr Ravi's wife was not a Hindu. But the incident
proved unacceptable to the Hindu conscience and sparked off the
present reformation drive.
Much can be expected from the conclave as the chief of the Namboodiri
sect has taken the lead in the matter and major temples and social
organisations are expected to attend the meet. It seems reasonable to
extend freedom of entry to all devotees (or for that matter even
heritage tourists from other faiths) provided that they show proper
respect to temple traditions and do not defile their sanctity. And it
goes without saying that this generosity must extend to less
privileged groups within the Hindu fold.
Change is already in the air. In strife-torn Bihar, the birthplace of
Lord Mahavira, the apostle of non-violence, authorities of Patna's
famous Mahavira temple have decided to increase the number of Dalit
priests after a successful experiment launched nine years ago. A
former untouchable, Suryavanshi Das, was recruited as a priest and has
been successfully performing the traditional rituals along with the
Brahmin priests. His public acceptance is absolute. The temple
administration actively promotes equality among human beings and
maintains links with the Ramanandi community which practiced non-
discrimination seven centuries ago.
http://www.hvk.org/articles/1102/135.html
India: ‘Hidden Apartheid’ of Discrimination Against Dalits
Government Fails to End Caste-Based Segregation and Attacks
(New York, February 13, 2007) – India has systematically failed to
uphold its international legal obligations to ensure the fundamental
human rights of Dalits, or so-called untouchables, despite laws and
policies against caste discrimination, the Center for Human Rights and
Global Justice and Human Rights Watch said in a new report released
today. More than 165 million Dalits in India are condemned to a
lifetime of abuse simply because of their caste.
Prime Minister Singh has rightly compared ‘untouchability’ to
apartheid, and he should now turn his words into action to protect the
rights of Dalits. The Indian government can no longer deny its
collusion in maintaining a system of entrenched social and economic
segregation.
Professor Smita Narula, faculty director of the Center for Human
Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) at New York University School of
Law, and co-author of the report.
Contribute to Human Rights Watch
Related Material
“Hidden Apartheid: Caste Discrimination against India’s
‘Untouchables’”
Report, February 13, 2007
Center for Human Rights and Global Justice
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Commentary, January 12, 2007
More on the work of the International Dalit Solidarity Network
Web Site
More on the work of the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights
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Audio Commentary in English
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Letter to Prime Minister Singh of India from the Center for Human
Rights and Global Justice and Human Rights Watch
Letter, February 14, 2007
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The 113-page report, “Hidden Apartheid: Caste Discrimination against
India’s ‘Untouchables’,” was produced as a “shadow report” in response
to India’s submission to the United Nations Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), which monitors
implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). The committee will review
India’s compliance with the convention during hearings in Geneva on
February 23 and 26.
On December 27, 2006 Manmohan Singh became the first sitting Indian
prime minister to openly acknowledge the parallel between the practice
of “untouchability” and the crime of apartheid. Singh described
“untouchability” as a “blot on humanity” adding that “even after 60
years of constitutional and legal protection and state support, there
is still social discrimination against Dalits in many parts of our
country.”
“Prime Minister Singh has rightly compared ‘untouchability’ to
apartheid, and he should now turn his words into action to protect the
rights of Dalits,” said Professor Smita Narula, faculty director of
the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) at New York
University School of Law, and co-author of the report. “The Indian
government can no longer deny its collusion in maintaining a system of
entrenched social and economic segregation.”
Dalits endure segregation in housing, schools, and access to public
services. They are denied access to land, forced to work in degrading
conditions, and routinely abused at the hands of the police and upper-
caste community members who enjoy the state’s protection. Entrenched
discrimination violates Dalits’ rights to education, health, housing,
property, freedom of religion, free choice of employment, and equal
treatment before the law. Dalits also suffer routine violations of
their right to life and security of person through state-sponsored or -
sanctioned acts of violence, including torture.
Caste-motivated killings, rapes, and other abuses are a daily
occurrence in India. Between 2001 and 2002 close to 58,000 cases were
registered under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention
of Atrocities) Act – legislation that criminalizes particularly
egregious abuses against Dalits and tribal community members. A 2005
government report states that a crime is committed against a Dalit
every 20 minutes. Though staggering, these figures represent only a
fraction of actual incidents since many Dalits do not register cases
for fear of retaliation by the police and upper-caste individuals.
Both state and private actors commit these crimes with impunity. Even
on the relatively rare occasions on which a case reaches court, the
most likely outcome is acquittal. Indian government reports reveal
that between 1999 and 2001 as many as 89 percent of trials involving
offenses against Dalits resulted in acquittals.
A resolution passed by the European Parliament on February 1, 2007
found India’s efforts to enforce laws protecting Dalits to be “grossly
inadequate,” adding that “atrocities, untouchability, illiteracy,
[and] inequality of opportunity, continue to blight the lives of
India’s Dalits.” The resolution called on the Indian government to
engage with CERD in its efforts to end caste-based discrimination.
Dalit leaders welcomed the resolution, but Indian officials dismissed
it as lacking in “balance and perspective.”
“International scrutiny is growing and with it the condemnation of
abuses resulting from the caste system and the government’s failure to
protect Dalits,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
“India needs to mobilize the entire government and make good on its
paper commitments to end caste abuses. Otherwise, it risks pariah
status for its homegrown brand of apartheid.”
Attempts by Dalits to defy the caste order, to demand their rights, or
to lay claim to land that is legally theirs are consistently met with
economic boycotts or retaliatory violence. For example, in Punjab on
January 5, 2006 Dalit laborer and activist Bant Singh, seeking the
prosecution of the people who gang-raped his daughter, was beaten so
severely that both arms and one leg had to be amputated. On September
26, 2006 in Kherlanji village, Maharashtra, a Dalit family was killed
by an upper-caste mob, after the mother and daughter were stripped,
beaten and paraded through the village and the two brothers were
brutally beaten. They were attacked because they refused to let upper-
caste farmers take their land. After widespread protests at the
police’s failure to arrest the perpetrators, some of those accused in
the killing were finally arrested and police and medical officers who
had failed to do their jobs were suspended from duty.
Exploitation of labor is at the very heart of the caste system. Dalits
are forced to perform tasks deemed too “polluting” or degrading for
non-Dalits to carry out. According to unofficial estimates, more than
1.3 million Dalits – mostly women – are employed as manual scavengers
to clear human waste from dry pit latrines. In several cities, Dalits
are lowered into manholes without protection to clear sewage
blockages, resulting in more than 100 deaths each year from inhalation
of toxic gases or from drowning in excrement. Dalits comprise the
majority of agricultural, bonded, and child laborers in the country.
Many survive on less than US$1 per day.
In January 2007 the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women concluded that Dalit women in India suffer from “deeply
rooted structural discrimination.” “Hidden Apartheid” records the
plight of Dalit women and the multiple forms of discrimination they
face. Abuses documented in the report include sexual abuse by the
police and upper-caste men, forced prostitution, and discrimination in
employment and the payment of wages.
Dalit children face consistent hurdles in access to education. They
are made to sit in the back of classrooms and endure verbal and
physical harassment from teachers and students. The effect of such
abuses is borne out by the low literacy and high drop-out rates for
Dalits.
The Center for Human Rights and Global Justice and Human Rights Watch
call on CERD to scrutinize the gap between India’s human rights
commitments and the daily reality faced by Dalits. In particular, CERD
should request that the Indian government:
•Identify measures taken to ensure appropriate reforms to eliminate
police abuses against Dalits and other marginalized communities;
•Provide concrete plans to implement laws and government policies to
protect Dalits, and Dalit women in particular, from physical and
sexual violence;
•Identify steps taken to eradicate caste-based segregation in
residential areas and schools, and in access to public services;
and,
•Outline plans to ensure the effective eradication of exploitative
labor arrangements and effective implementation of rehabilitation
schemes for Dalit bonded and child laborers, manual scavengers, and
for Dalit women forced into prostitution.
“International outrage over the treatment of Dalits is matched by
growing national discontent,” Smita Narula said. “India can’t ignore
the voices of 165 million citizens.”
“Hidden Apartheid” is based on in-depth investigations by CHRGJ, Human
Rights Watch, Indian non-governmental organizations, and media
sources. The pervasiveness of abuses against Dalits is corroborated by
the reports of Indian governmental agencies, including the National
Human Rights Commission, and the National Commission on Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes. These and other sources were compiled,
investigated, and analyzed under international law by NYU School of
Law’s International Human Rights Clinic.
Background
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) is
a body of independent experts responsible for monitoring states’
compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), ratified by India in 1968. It
guarantees rights of non-discrimination on the basis of “race, colour,
descent, or national or ethnic origin.” In 1996 CERD concluded that
the plight of Dalits falls squarely under the prohibition of descent-
based discrimination. As a state party to ICERD, India is obligated to
submit periodic reports detailing its implementation of rights
guaranteed under the convention. During the review session CERD
examines these reports and engages in constructive dialogue with the
state party, addressing its concerns and offering recommendations.
CERD uses supplementary information contained in non-governmental
organization “shadow reports” to evaluate states’ reports. India’s
report to CERD, eight years overdue, covers compliance with the
convention from 1996 to 2006 yet does not contain a single mention of
abuses against Dalits – abuses that India’s own governmental agencies
have documented and verified.
http://www.hrw.org/legacy/english/docs/2007/02/13/india15303.htm
More to follow...
bademiyansubhanallah
Scheduled Castes ("SC"s) and Scheduled Tribes ("ST"s) are Indian
population groupings that are explicitly recognized by the
Constitution of India, previously called the "depressed classes" by
the British. SCs/STs together comprise over 24% of India's population,
with SC at over 16% and ST over 8% [1] as per the 2001 Census. The
proportion of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the population
of India has steadily risen since independence in 1947.
Some Scheduled Castes in India are also known as Dalits[2] Some
Scheduled Tribe people are also referred to as Adivasis.[3]
Post Independence Scheduled Castes are benefited by reservation
policy. With Reservation in India The Constitution laid down 15% and
7.5% of vacancies to government aided educational institutes and for
jobs in the government/public sector, as reserved quota for the SC and
ST candidates respectively for a period of five years, after which the
situation was to be reviewed. This period was routinely extended by
the succeeding governments.
Scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in 2010 Many SC/STs were
successful in adapting to post-independence India, becoming civil
servants, bureaucrats and lawyers. Scheduled Castes are now considered
as a progressive caste. In 2010 most of the sub-castes of scheduled
castes have become economically well off and Rich. They have acquired
technical and management education as well. Scheduled Castes and
Tribes are now working as successful Doctors, Engineers, Architects,
Lawyers, Managers, IT professionals and Entrepreneurs. Further,they
are now also working as scientists in India's most prestigious
research organization like Indian Space Research Organisation, Bhabha
Atomic Research Centre, DRDO.
History
From the 1850s these communities were loosely referred to as the
"Depressed Classes". The early part of the 20th century saw a flurry
of activity in the British Raj to assess the feasibility of
responsible self-government for India. The Morley-Minto Reforms
Report, Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms Report, and the Simon Commission
were some of the initiatives that happened in this context. One of the
hotly contested issues in the proposed reforms was the topic of
reservation of seats for the "Depressed" Classes in provincial and
central legislatures.
In 1935 the British passed The Government of India Act 1935, designed
to give Indian provinces greater self-rule and set up a national
federal structure. Reservation of seats for the Depressed Classes was
incorporated into the act, which came into force in 1937. The Act
brought the term "Scheduled Castes" into use, and defined the group as
including "such castes, races or tribes or parts of groups within
castes, races or tribes, which appear to His Majesty in Council to
correspond to the classes of persons formerly known as the 'Depressed
Classes', as His Majesty in Council may prefer." This discretionary
definition was clarified in The Government of India (Scheduled Castes)
Order, 1936 which contained a list, or Schedule, of castes throughout
the British administered provinces.
After independence, the Constituent Assembly continued the prevailing
definition of Scheduled Castes and Tribes, and gave (via articles 341,
342) the President of India and Governors of states responsibility to
compile a full listing of castes and tribes, and also the power to
edit it later as required. The actual complete listing of castes and
tribes was made via two orders The Constitution (Scheduled Castes)
Order, 1950[4], and The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950[5]
respectively.
Constitutional framework for safeguarding of interests
The Constitution provides a framework with a three pronged strategy
[6] to improve the situation of SCs and STs.
Protective Arrangements - Such measures as are required to enforce
equality, to provide punitive measures for transgressions, to
eliminate established practices that perpetuate inequities, etc. A
number of laws were enacted to operationalize the provisions in the
Constitution. Examples of such laws include The Untouchability
Practices Act, 1955, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention
of Atrocities) Act, 1989, The Employment of Manual scavengers and
Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993, etc.
Compensatory Discrimination - provide positive preferential treatment
in allotment of jobs and access to higher education, as a means to
accelerate the integration of the SCs and STs with mainstream society.
Compensatory discrimination is also popularly referred to as
Reservation.
Development - Provide for resources and benefits to bridge the wide
gap in social and economic condition between the SCs/STs and other
communities.
SC means Sonar Chaand, ST means Sonar Tukro.
National commissions
To effectively implement the various safeguards built into the
Constitution and other legislations, the Constitution, under Articles
338 and 338A, provides for two statutory commissions - the National
Commission for Scheduled Castes, and National Commission for Scheduled
Tribes.
History
In the original Constitution, Article 338 provided for a Special
Officer, called the Commissioner for SCs and STs, to have the
responsibility of monitoring the effective implementation of various
safeguards for SCs/STs in the Constitution as well as other related
legislations and to report to the President. To enable efficient
discharge of duties, 17 regional offices of the Commissioner were set
up all over the country.
In the meanwhile there was persistent representation for a replacement
of the Commissioner with a multi-member committee. It was proposed
that the 48th Amendment to the Constitution be made to alter Article
338 to enable said proposal. While the amendment was being debated,
the Ministry of Welfare issued an administrative decision to establish
the Commission for SCs/STs as a multi-member committee to discharge
the same functions as that of the Commissioner of SCs/STs. The first
commission came into being in August 1978. The functions of the
commission were modified in September 1987 to advise Government on
broad policy issues and levels of development of SCs/STs.
In 1990 that the Article 338 was amended to give birth to the
statutory National Commission for SCs and STs via the Constitution
(Sixty fifth Amendment) Bill, 1990[7]. The first Commission under the
65th Amendment was constituted in March 1992 replacing the
Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and the
Commission set up under the Ministry of Welfare's Resolution of 1987.
In 2002, the Constitution was again amended to split the National
Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes into two separate
commissions - the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the
National Commission for Scheduled Tribes
Distribution
Sachar Committee report of 2006 revealed that scheduled castes and
tribes of India are not limited to the religion of Hinduism. The 61st
Round Survey of the NSSO found that almost nine-tenths of the
Buddhists and one-third of the Sikh's in India belonged to the
notified scheduled castes of the Constitution while one-third of the
Christians belonged to the notified scheduled tribes of the
Constitution.
Religion Scheduled Caste Scheduled Tribe
Buddhism 89.50% 7.40%
Christianity 9.00% 32.80%
Sikhism 37.0% 0.90%
Hinduism 22.20% 9.10%
Zoroastrianism - 15.90%
Jainism - 2.60%
Islam 0.80% 0.50%
Sikh Light Infantry is the Regiment of Indian Army. The Sikh Light
Infantry comprises the Mazhabi (dalit) and Ramdasia Sikh soldiers.It
is well known for their dountless daring, loyalty courage, and
tenacity,it is one of the oldest Regiments of the Indian Army.
Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan (SCSP)
The strategy of Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan (SCSP) which was evolved in
1979 is one of the most important interventions through the planning
process for social, economic and educational development of Scheduled
Castes and for improvement in their working and living conditions. It
is an umbrella strategy to ensure flow of targeted financial and
physical benefits from all the general sectors of development for the
benefit of Scheduled Castes. Under this strategy, population[8]. It
entails targeted flow of funds and associated benefits from the annual
plan of States/ Union Territories (UTs) at least in proportion to the
SC population i.e. 16 % in the total population of the country/the
particular state. Presently, 27 States/UTs having sizeable SC
populations are implementing Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan. Although the
Scheduled Castes population, according to 2001 Census, was 16.66
crores constituting 16.23% of the total population of India, the
allocations made through SCSP in recent years have been much lower
than the population proportion. Table below provides the details of
total State Plan Outlay, flow to Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan (SCSP) as
reported by the State/UT Governments for the last few years especially
since the present UPA government is in power at the
2004-2005 108788.9 17656 2065.38 11.06 68.3 5591
2005-2006 136234.5 22111 16422.63 12.05 74.3 5688
2006-2007 152088 24684 21461.12 14.11 86.9 3223
2007-2008* 155013.2 25159 22939.99 14.80 91.2 2219
Information in respect of 14 States/UTs only and as on 31-12- 2007
Source: Network for Social Accountability (NSA) http://nsa.org.in
Prominent menmebrs of SC/STs
B. R. Ambedkar , also known as Babasaheb, was an Indian jurist,
political leader, Buddhist activist, thinker, philosopher, historian,
anthropologist, orator, prolific writer, economist, editor, scholar,
revolutionary and the revivalist of Buddhism in India. He was also the
chief architect of the Indian Constitution.
Dr. Faguni Ram, Ph.D(3-Time Member of Parliament and Ex-Minister of
State)
Prem Singh (MLA)
Kashi Ram, Founder of Bahujan Samaj Party
Lala Ram Ken, Member of Parliament(7th and 8th), India
Divya Bharti, Late Bollywood actress
Babu Jagjivan Ram, Former Deputy Prime Minister of India.
Mayavati, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
Sushilkumar Shinde, Cabinet Minister for Power in the Manmohan Singh
government
K. R. Narayanan, tenth President of India
Shibu Soren, current Chief Minister of Jharkhand state in India
Ajit Jogi, first chief minister of the state of Chhattisgarh, India
Bangaru Laxman, former President of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
Birsa Munda, freedom fighters in the Indian struggle for independence
against British colonialism
Jyotirao Phule, was an activist, thinker, social reformer, writer,
philosopher, theologist, scholar, editor and revolutionary from
Maharashtra, India in the nineteenth century
Damodaram Sanjivayya (1921-1972) (First dalit Chief Minister of a
state in India and first dalit President of Indian National Congress
party)
G. M.C. Balayogi (1951-2002) (First dalit speaker, Lok Sabha, India )
K. S. R.Murthy IAS, Retired, Former MP, Lok Sabha
See also
List of Scheduled Tribes in India
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,
1989
Forward caste
Other Backward Classes
Schedule Caste
Notes
^ Census of India - India at a Glance : Scheduled Castes & Scheduled
Tribes Population http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/India_at_Glance/scst.aspx
^ Who are Dalits?
http://www.dalitnetwork.org/go?/dfn/who_are_the_dalit/C64
^ The Adivasis of India
http://www.pucl.org/Topics/Dalit-tribal/2003/adivasi.htm
^ THE CONSTITUTION (SCHEDULED CASTES) ORDER, 1950]1
http://lawmin.nic.in/ld/subord/rule3a.htm
^ 1THE CONSTITUTION (SCHEDULED TRIBES)
http://lawmin.nic.in/ld/subord/rule9a.htm
^ http://nhrc.nic.in/Publications/reportKBSaxena.pdf
^ The Constitution (Amendment)
http://www.constitution.org/cons/india/tamnd65.htm
^ http://www.planningcommission.nic.in/plans/stateplan/scp&tsp/noteguidelinesFor.doc
v • d • e
Reservation in India
Indian caste system
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_caste_system
· Scheduled castes and tribes
· Other Backward Classes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Other_Backward_Class
· Forward classes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward_class
· Kalelkar Commission
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalelkar_Commission
· Mandal Commission
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandal_Commission
· 2006 anti-reservation protests
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Indian_anti-reservation_protests
· Youth for Equality
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youth_for_Equality
· IIT reservation policy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reservation_policy_in_Indian_Institutes_of_Technology
· Poona Pact
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poona_Pact
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheduled_castes_and_scheduled_tribes
List of Scheduled Tribes in India
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a full list of Scheduled Tribes in India, as recognised in
India's Constitution; a total of 645 district tribes. The term
"Scheduled Tribes" refers to specific indigenous peoples whose status
is acknowledged to some formal degree by national legislation. A
collective term in use locally to describe most of these peoples is
"Upajati" (literally "clans/tribes/groups"). See also the Scheduled
Castes and Tribes page for further explanation.
Andhra Pradesh
1. Andh
2. Bagata
3. Bhil
4. Chenchu, Chenchwar
5. Gadabas
6. Gond Naikpod, Rajgond
7. Goudu (in the Agency tracts)
8. Hill Reddis
9. Jatapus
10. Kammara
11. Kattunayakan
12. Kolam, Mannervarlu
13. Konda Dhoras
14. Konda Kapus
15. Kondareddis
16. Kondhs, Kodi, Kodhu, Desaya Kondhs, Dongria Kondhs, Kuttiya
Kondhs, Tikiria Kondhs, Yenity Kondhs
17. Kotia, Bentho Oriya, Bartika, Dhulia, Dulia, Holva, Paiko, Putiya,
Sanrona, Sidhopaiko
18. Koya, Rajah, Rasha Koya, Lingadhari Koya (ordinary), Kottu Koya,
Bhine Koya, Rajkoya
20. Malis (excluding Adilabad, Hyderabad, Karimnagar, Khammam,
Mahbubnagar, Medak, Nalgonda, Nizamabad and Warangal districts)
21. Manna Dhora
22. Mukha Dhora, Nooka Dhora
23. Nayaks-bandaru (in the Agency tracts)
24. Pardhan
25. Porja, Parangiperja
26. Reddi Dhoras
27. Rona, Rena
28. Savaras, Kapu Savaras, Maliya Savaras, Khutto Savaras
29. Sugalis, Lambadis
30. Thoti (in Adilabad, Hyderabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Mahbubnagar,
Medak, Nalgonda, Nizamabad and Warangal districts)
31. Valmiki (in the Agency tracts)
32. Yenadis
33. Yerukulas.
34. Banjaras ( in Khammam, warangal, karimnagar, medak, Ranga reddy,
Adilabad, Nalgonda )
Assam
In the Autonomous Districts
1. Chakma
2. Dimasa, Kachari
3. Garolo
4. Hmar
5. Khasi, Jaintia, Synteng, Pnar, War, Bhoi, Lyngngam
6. Any Kuki tribes including:
(i) Biate, Biete
(ii) Changsan
(iii) Chongloi
(iv) Darlong
(v) Doungel
(vi) Gamalhou
(vii) Gangte
(viii) Guite
(ix) Hanneng
(x) Haokip, Haupit
(xi) Haolai
(xii) Hengna
(xiii) Hongsung
(xiv) Harangkhwal, Rangkhol
(xv) Jongbe
(xvi) Khawchung
(xvii) Khawathlang, Khothalong
(xviii) Khelma
(xvix) Kholhou
(xx) Kipgen
(xxi) Kuki
(xxii) Lengthang
(xxiii) Lhangum
(xxiv) Lhoujem
(xxv) Lhouvun
(xxvi) Lupheng
(xxvii) Mangjel
(xxviii) Misao
[xxviiib] Negrito
(xxix) Riang
(xxx) Sairhem
(xxxi) Selnam
(xxxii) Singson
(xxxiii) Sithou
(xxxiv) Sukte
(xxxv) Thado
(xxxvi) Thangngeu
(xxxvii) Uibuh
(xxxviii) Vaiphei
7. Hajong
8. Lakher
9. Man (Tai speaking)
10. Any Mizo (Lushai) tribes
11. Mikir
12. Any Naga tribes
13. Pawi
14. Syntheng
15 Burya Sikh
16. Thengal Kachari
Non-autonomous Assam districts
1. Barmans in Cachar
2. Bodo
3. Deori
4. Hojai
5. Sonowal
6. Lalung
7. Mech
8. Mising
9. Rabha
10.[-bandaru]]
Bihar
1. Asur
2. Baiga
3. Banjara
4. Bathudi
5. Bedia
6. Binjhia
7. Birhor
8. Birjia
9. Chero
10. Chik Baraik
11. Gond
12. Gorait
13. Ho
14. Karmali
15. Kharia
16. Kharwar
17. Khond
18. Kisan
19. Kora
20. Korwa
21. Lohara, Lohra
22. Mahli
23. Mal Paharia
24. Munda
25. Oraon
26. Parhaiya
27. Santal
28. Sauria Paharia
29. Savar
Gujarat
1. Barda
2. Bavacha, Bamcha
3. Bharwad (in the Nesses of the forest of Alech, Barada and Gir)
4. Bhil, Bhil Garasia, Dholi Bhil, Dungri Bhil, Dungri Garasia, Mewasi
Bhil, Rawal Bhil, Tadvi Bhil, Bhagalia, Bhilala, Pawra, Vasava,
Vasave
5. Charan (in the Nesses of the forests of Alech, Barada and Gir)
6. Chaudri (in Surat and Valsad districts)
7. Chodhara
8. Dhanka, Tadvi, Tetaria, Valvi
9. Dhodia
10. Dubla, Talavia, Halpati
11. Gamit, Gamta, Gavit, Mavchi, Padvi
12. Gond, Rajgond
13. Kathodi, Katkari, Dhor Kathodi, Dhor Katkari, Son Kathodi, Son
Katkari
14. Kokna, Kokni, Kukna
15. Koli (in Kutch district)
16. Koli Dhor, Tokre Koli, Kolcha, Kolgha
17. Kunbi (in the Dangs district)
18. Naikd], Nayak, Cholivala Nayak, Kapadra Nayak, Mota Nayak, Nana
Nayak
19. Padhar
20. Paradhi (in Kutch district)
31. patelia in dahod district
21. Pardhi, Advichincher, Phase Pardhi (excluding Amreli, Bhavnagar,
Jamnagar, Junagadh, Kutch, Rajkot and Surendranagar districts)
22. Pomla
23. Rabari (in the Nesses of the forests of Alech, Barada and Gir)
24. Rathawa
25. Siddi (in Amreli, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Rajkot and
Surendranagar districts)
26. Vaghri (in Kutch district)
27. Varli
28. Vitolia, Kotwalia, Barodia.
29. Dhed
30. Khant
31. Bhangi, Mehtar
32. Balahi, Balai
33. Chamar
34. Chikva, Chikvi
35. Koli, Kori
36. Kotwal.
37. Vaghri (Patadi,Dasada,Mandal ,Gujarat)
[edit] Himachal Pradesh
1. Bhot, Bodh
2. Gaddi and Shippis
3. Kanauwra.
Karnataka
1. Adiyan
2. Barda
3. Bavacha, Bamcha
4. Bhil, Bhil Garasia, Dholi Bhil, Dungri Bhil, Dungri Garasia, Mewasi
Bhil, Rawal Bhil, Tadvi Bhil, Bhagalia, Bhilala, Pawra, Vasava,
Vasave
5. Chenchu, Chenchwar
6. Chodhara
7. Dubla, Talavia, Halpati
8. Gamit, Gamta, Gavit, Mavchi, Padvi, Valvi
9. Gond, Naikpod, Rajgond
10. Gowdalu
11. Hakkipikki
12. Hasalaru
13. Irular
14. Iruliga
15. Jenu Kuruba
16. Kadu Kuruba
17. Kammara (in South Kanara district and Kollegal taluk of Mysore
district)
18. Kanivan, Kanyan (in Kollegal taluk of Mysore district)
19. Kathodi, Katkari, Dhor Kathodi, Dhor Katkari, Son Kathodi, Son
Katkari
20. Kattunayakan
21. Kokna, Kokni, Kukna
22. Koli Dhor, Tokre Koli, Kolcha, Kolgha
23. Konda Kapus
24. Koraga
25. Kota
26. Koya, Bhine Koya, Rajkova
27. Kudiya, Melakudi
28. Kuruba (in Coorg district)
29. Kurumanas, Kumbara
30. Maha Malasar
31. Malaikudi
32. Malasar
33. Malayekandi
34. Maleru
35. Maratha (in Coorg District)
36. Marathi
37. Meda
38. Naikda, Nayak, Chollivala Nayak, Kapadia Nayak, Mota Nayak, Nana
Nayak, 1[Naika, Nayaka also called as nayak,]
39. Palliyan
40. Paniyan
41.[Pardhi, Advichincher, Phanse Pardhi
42. Petelia
43. Rathawa
44. Sholaga
45. Siddi
46. Soligaru
46. Toda
47. Valmiki
48. Varli
50. Vitolia, Kotwalia, Barodia
51. Yerava
Kerala
1. Adiyan
2. Arandan/ Ernadan
3. Eravallan
4. Hill Pulaya
5. Irular, Irulan
6. Kadar
7. Kammara (in the areas comprising the Malabar district as specified
by sub-section (2) of section 5 of the States Reorganisation Act 1956
(37 of 1956))
8. Kanikaran, Kanikkar
9. Kattunayakan
10. Kochu Velan
11. Konda kapus
12. Kondareddis
13. Koraga
14. Kota
15. Kudiya, Melakudi
16. Kurichchan
17. Kurumans
18. Kurumbas
19. Maha Malasar
20. Malai Arayan
21. Malai Pandaram
22. Malai Vedan
23. Malakkuravan
24.[Malasar
25. Malayan (excluding the areas comprising the Malabar district as
specified by sub-section (2) of section 5 of the States Reorganisation
Act, 1956 (37 of 1956)
26. Malayarayar
27. Mannan
28. Marati (in Hosdrug and Kasaragod taluks of Cannanore district)
29. Muthan
30. Mudugar
31. Muduvan, Muthuvan, Muduvan, Muthuvan
32. Paliyan, (Palleyan), (Palliyar), Paanan
33. Paniyan, Parayan
34. Ulladan
35. Uraly
36. Cholanaickan (In the Reserve Forests of Nilambur South and North
Forest Divisions of Malppuram Districts)
37. Kattunaickan (In the Reserve Forests of Nilambur South and North
Forest Divisions of Malppuram Districts)
Madhya Pradesh
1. Agariya
2. Andh
3. Baiga
4. Bhaina
5. Bharia Bhumia, Bhuinhar Bhumia, Bhumiya, Bharia, Paliha, Pando
6. Bhattra
7. Bhil, Bhilala, Barela, Patelia
8. Bhil
9. Bhunjia
10. Biar, Biyar
11. Binjhwar
12. Birhul, Birhor
13. Damor, Damaria
14. Dhanwar
15. Gadaba, Gadba
16. Gond, Arrakh, Agaria, Asur, Badi Maria, Bada Maria, Bhatola,
Bhimma, Bhuta, Koilabhuta, Koliabhuti, Bhar, Bisonhorn Maria, Chota
Maria, Dandami Maria, Dhuru, Dhurwa, Dhoba, Dhulia, Dorla, Gaiki,
Gatta, Gatti, Gaita, Gond, Gowari, Hill Maria, Kandra, Kalanga,
Khatola, Koitar, Koya, Khirwar, Khirwara, Kucha Maria, Kuchki Maria,
Madia, Maria, Mana, Mannewar, Moghya, Mogia, Monghya, Mudia, Muria,
Nagarchi, Nagwanshi, Ojha, Raj Gond, Sonjhari, Jhareka, Thatia,
Thotya, Wade Maria, Vade Maria, Daroi
17. Halba, Halbi
18. Kamar
19. Karku
20. Kawar, Kanwar, Kaur, Cherwa, Rathia, Tanwar, Chattri
21. Keer (in Bhopal, Raisen and Sehore districts)
22. Khairwar, Kondar
23. Kharia
24. Kondh, Khond, Khand
25. Kol
26. Kolam
27. Korku, Bopchi, Mouasi, Nihar, Nahul, Bhodhi, Bondeya
28. Kori, Korwa, Kodaku
29. Manjhi
30. Majhwar
31. Mawasi
32. Meena (in Sironj Sub-Division of Vidisha District)
33. Mundra
34. Nagesia, Nagasia
35. Oraon, Dhanka, Dhangad
36. Panika [in (i) Chhatarpur, Panna, Rewa, Satna, Shahdol, Umaria,
Sidhi and Tikamgarh districts, and (ii) Sevda and Datia tehsils of
Datia district)]
37. Pao
38. Pardhan, Pathari, Saroti
39. Pardhi (in Bhopal, Raisen and Sehore districts)
40. Pardhi, Bahelia, Bahellia, Chita Pardhi, Langoli Pardhi, Phans
Pardhi, Shikari, Takankar, Takia [in (i) Chhindwara, Mandla, Dindori
and Seoni districts, (ii) Baihar tehsil of Balaghat district, (iii)
Betual, Bhainsdehi and Shahpur tahsils of Betul district, (iv) Patan
tahsil and Sihora and Majholi blocks of Jabalpur district, (v) Katni
(Murwara) and Vijaya Raghogarh tahsils and Bahoriband and Dhemerkheda
blocks of Katni district, (vi) Hoshangabad, Babai, Sohagpur, Pipariya
and Bankhedi tahsils and Kesla block of Hoshangabad district, (vii)
Narsinghpur district, and (viii) Harsud tahsil of Khandwa district]
41. Parja
42. Sahariya, Saharia, Seharia, Sehria, Sosia, Sor
43. Saonta, Saunta
44. Saur
45. Sawar, Sawara
46. Sonr
1. Omitted and inserted by Act 28 of 2000, s. 20 and the Fourth Sch.
(w.e.f. 1.11.2000)
Maharashtra
1. Andh
2. Baiga
3. Barda
4. Bavacha, Bamcha.
5. Baki
6. Bharia Bhumia, Bhuinhar Bhumia, Pando
7. Bhattra
8. Bhil, Bhil Garasia, Dholi Bhil, Dungri Bhil, Dungri Garasia, Mewasi
Bhil, Rawal Bhil, Tadvi Bhil, Bhagalia, Bhilala Pawara, Vasava,
Vasave
9. Bhunjia
10. Binjhwar
11. Birhul, Borjee
12. Chodhara (excluding Akola, Amravati, Bhandara, Buldana Chandrapur,
Nagpur, Wardha, Yavatmal, Aurangabad, Beed, Nanded, Osmanabad and
Parbhani districts)
13. Dhanka, Tadvi, Tetaria Valvi
14. Dhanwar
15. Dhodia
16. Dubla, Talavia, Halpati
17. Gamit, Gamta, Gavit, Mavchi, Padvi
18. Gond, Rajgond, Arrakh, Agaria, Asur, Badi Maria, Bada Maria,
Bhatola, Bhimma, Bhuta, Koilabhuta, Koilabhuti, Bhar, Bisonhorn Maria,
Chota Maria, Dandami Maria, Dhuru, Dhurwa, Dhoba, Dhulia, Dorla,
Kaiki; Gatta, Gatti, Gaita, Gond Gowari, Hill Maria, Kandra, Kalanga,
Khatola, Koitar, Koya, Khirwar, Khirwara,Korku, Kucha Maria, Kuchaki
Maria, Madia, Maria, Mana, Mannewar, Moghya, Mogia, Monghya Mudia,
Muria, Nagarchi, Naikpod, Nagwanshi, Ojha, Raj, Sonjhari Jhareka,
Thatia, Thotya, Wade Maria, Vade Maria
19. Halba, Halbi
20. Kamar
21. Kathodi, Katkari, Dhor Kathodi, Dhor Kathkari Son Kathodi, Son
Katkari
22. Kawar, Kanwar, Kaur, Cherwa, Rathia, Tanwar, Chattri
23. Khairwar
24. Kharia
25. Kokna, Kokni, Kukna
26. Kol
27. Kolam, Mannervarlu
28. Koli Dhor, Tokre Koli, Kolcha, Kolkha
29. Koli Mahadev, Dongar Koli
30. Koli Malhar
31. Kondh, Khond, Kandh
32. Korku, Bopchi, Mouasi, Nihal, Nahul, Bondhi, Bondeya
33. Koya, Bhine Koya, Rajkoya
34. Nagesia, Nagasia
35. Naikda, Nayak, Cholivala Nayak, Kapadia Nayak, Mota Nayak, Nana
Nayak
36. Oraon, Dhangad/Dhangar
37. Pardhan, Pathari, Saroti
38. Pardhi, Advichincher, Phans Pardhi, Phanse Pardhi, Langoli Pardhi,
Bahelia, Bahellia, Chita Pardhi, Shikari, Takankar, Takia
39. Parja
40. Patelia
41. Pomla
42. Rathawa
43. Sawar, Sawara,
44. Thakur, Thakar, Ka Thakur, Ka Thakar, Ma Thakur, Ma Thakar
45. Thoti (in Aurangabad, Bhir, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani
districts and Rajura tahsil of Chandrapur district)
46. Warli (Thane District)
47. Vitolia, Kotwalia, Barodia.
Manipur
1. Aimol
2. Anal
3. Angami Naga (Angami Naga in the state of Nagaland)
4. Chiru
5. Chothe
6. Gangte
7. Hmar
8. Kabui
9. Koirao
10. Koireng (Koren)
11. Kom
12. Lamgang
13. Mao
14. Maram
15. Maring
16. Any Mizo (Lushai) tribes
17. Monsang
18. Moyon
19. Paite
20. Purum
21. Ralte
22. Sema (Sema was renamed to original name "Sümi", a decade ago. This
tribe is in the state of Nagaland)
23. Simte
24. Suhte
25. Tangkhul
26. Thadou
27. Vaiphei
28. Zou
Meghalaya
1. Chakma
2. Dimasa, Kachari
3. Garo
4. Hajong
5. Hmar
6. Khasi, Jaintia, Syteng, Pnar, War, Bhoi, Lyngngam
7. Any Chin-Kuki-Mizo Tribes including.-
(i) Biate, Biete
(ii) Changsan
(iii) Chongloi
(iv) Darlong
(v) Doungel
(vi) Gamalhou
(vii) Gangte
(viii) Guite
(ix) Hanneng
(x) Haokip, Haupit
(xi) Haolai
(xii) Hengna
(xiii) Hongsungh
(xiv) Hrangkhawl, Rangkhol
(xv) Jongbe
(xvi) Khawchung
(xvii) Khawthlang, Khothalong
(xviii) Khelma
(xvix) Kholhou
(xx) Kipgen
(xxi) Kuki
(xxii) Lengthang
(xxiii) Lhangum
(xxiv) Lhoujen
(xxv) Lhouvun
(xxvi) Lupheng
(xxvii) Mangjel
(xxviii) Misao
(xxvix) Riang
(xxx) Sairhem
(xxxi) Selnam
(xxxii) Singson
(xxxiii) Sitlhou
(xxxiv) Sukte
(xxxv) Thado
(xxxvi) Thangngeu
(xxxvii) Uibuh
(xxxviii) Vaiphei
8. Lakher
9. Man (Tai speaking)
10. Any Mizo (Lushai) Tribes
11. Mikir
12.Any Naga tribes
13. Pawi
14. Synteng
15. Boro Kacharis (inserted by Act 43 of 1987, s. 2 (w.e.f.
19-9-1987).)
16. Koch
17. Raba, Rava
Nagaland
(a list of the major tribes of Nagaland)
1. Angami
2. Ao
3. Chakhesang
4. Chang
5. Khiamniungan
6. Kachari
7. Konyak
8. Kuki
9. Lotha
10. Phom
11. Pochury
12. Rengma
13. Sümi / Sema (reverted back to their original name Sümi. British
called them Sema, the Angami name for them)
14. Sangtam
15. Tikhir
16. Yimchunger
17. Zeliang
Orissa
1. Bagata
2. Baiga
3. Banjara, Banjari
4. Bathudi
5. Bhottada, Dhotada
6. Bhuiya, Bhuyan
7. Bhumia
8. Bhumij
9. Bhunjia
10. Binjhal
11. Binjhia, Binjhoa
12. Birhor
13. Bonda, Bondo Poraja
14. Chenchu
15. Dal
16. Desua Bhumji
17. Dharua
18. Didayi
19. Gadaba
20. Gandia
21. Ghara
22. Gond, Gondo
23. Ho
24. Holva
25. Jatapu
26. Juang
27. Kandha Gauda
28. Kawar
29. Kharia, Kharian
30. Kharwar
31. Khond, Kond, Kandha, Nanguli Kandha, Sitha Kandha
32. Kisan Tribe
33. Kol
34. Kolah Loharas, Kol Loharas
35. Kolha
36. Koli, Malhar
37. Kondadora
38. Kora
39. Korua
40. Kotia
41. Koya
42. Kulis
43. Lodha, Shabar
44. Madia
45. Mahali
46. Mankidi
47. Mankirdia
48. Matya
49. Mirdha
50. Munda, Munda Lohara, Munda Mahalis
51. Omanatya
52. Oraon
53. Parenga
54. Paroja
55. Pentia
56. Rajuar
57. Santal
58. Saora, Savar, Saura, Sahara
59. Sounti
60. Tharua
61. Sahu
Rajasthan
1. Bhil, Bheel, Garasia, Dholi Bhil, Dungri Bhil, Dungri
Garasia,Mewasi Bhil, Rawal Bhil, Tadvi Bhil, Bhagalia, Bhilala, Pawra,
Vasava, Vasave
2. Bhil Meena
3. Damor, Damaria
4. Dhanka Tadvi, Tetaria, Valvi
5. Garasia (excluding Rajput Garasia)
6. Kathodi, Katkari, Dhor Kathodi, Dhor Katkari, Son Kathodi, Son
Katkari, khatik
7. Kokna, Kokni, Kukna
8. Koli Dhor, Tokre koli, Kolcha, Kolgha
9. Meena
10. Naikda, Nayak, Cholivala Nayak, Kapadia Nayak, Mota Nayak, Nana
Nayak. (Nayak also called as nayaka)
11. Pateliya
12. Seharia, Sehria, Sahariya
Tamil Nadu
1. Adiyan
2. Aranadan
3. Eravallan
4. Irular
5. Kadar
6. Kammara (excluding Kanyakumari district and Shencottah taluk of
Tirunelveli district)
7. Kanikaran, Kanikkar (in Kanyakumari district and Shencottah taluk
of Tirunelveli district)
8. Kaniyan, Kanyan
9. Kattunayakan
10.Kochu Velan
11.Konda Kapus
12.Kondareddis(kabu)
13.Koraga
14.Kota (excluding Kanyakumari district and Shencottah taluk of
Tirunelveli district)
15.Kudiya, Melakudi
16.Kurichchan
17.Kurumbas (in the Nilgiris district)
18.Kurumans
19.Maha Malasar
20.Malai Arayan
21.Malai Pandaram
22.Malai Vedan
23.Malakkuravan
24.Malasar
25. Malayali (in Dharmapuri, Pudukottai, Salem, Tiruchi districts and
North and South Arcot regions)
26. Malayekandi
27. Mannan
28. Mudugar, Muduvan
29. Muthuvan
30. Palleyan
31. Palliyan
32. Palliyar
33. Paniyan
34. Sholaga
35. Toda (excluding Kanyakumari district and Shencottah taluk of
Tirunelveli district)
36. Uraly
37.Adi Dravidar
West Bengal
1. Asur
2. Adhikari
3. Badia [disambiguation needed], Bediya
4. Bhumij
5. Bhutia, Sherpa, Toto, Dukpa, Kagatay, Tibetan, Yolmo
6. Birhor
7. Birjia
8. Chakma
9. Chero
10. Chik Baraik
11. Garo
12. Gond
13. Gorait
14. Hajang
15. Ho
16. Karmali
17. Kharwar
18. Khond
29. Kisan
20. Kora
21. Korwa
22. Lepcha
23. Lodha, Kheria, Kharia
24. Lohara, Lohra
25. Magh
26. Mahali
27. Mahli
28. Mal Pahariya
29. Mech
30. Mru
31. Munda
32. Nagesia
33. Oraon
34. Parhaiya
35. Rabha
36. Santal
37. Sauria Paharia
38. Savar
39. Tamang
40. Subba
Tripura
Darlong [1]
Tipra
Riang
Jamatia
Chakma
Halam (Like, Hrangkhawl, Molsom, Bongcher, etc.)
Noatia
Mog
Kuki
Garo
Munda
Lushai
Oraon
Santal
Uchai
Khasia
Bhil
Lepcha
Bhutia
Chaimal
Mizoram
(Inserted by Act 34 of 1986, s. 14 and Third Sch. (w.e.f. 20-2-1987).)
1. Lusai
2. Chakma
3. Dimasa (Kachari)
4. Garo
5. Hajong
6. Hmar
7. Khasi and Jaintia, (including Khasi, Synteng or Pnar, War, Bhoi or
Lyngngam)
8. Any Kuki tribes, including,--
(i) Baite or Biete
(ii) Changsan
(iii) Chongloi
(iv) Darlong
(v) Doungel
(vi) Gamalhou
(vii) Gangte
(viii) Guite
(ix) Hanneng
(x) Haokip or Haupit
(xi) Haolai
(xii) Hengna
(xiii) Hongsungh
(xiv) Hrangkhawl or Rangkhol
(xv) Jongbe
(xvi) Khawchung
(xvii) Khawathlang or Khothalong
(xviii) Khelma
(xix) Kholhou
(xx) Kipgen
(xxi) Kuki
(xxii) Lengthang
(xxiii) Lhangum
(xxiv) Lhoujem
(xxv) Lhouvun
(xxvi) Lupheng
(xxvii) Mangjel
(xxviii) Missao
(xxix) Riang
(xxx) Sairhem
(xxxi) Selnam
(xxxii) Singson
(xxxiii) Sitlhou
(xxxiv) Sukte
(xxxv) Thado
(xxxvi) Thangngeu
(xxxvii) Uibuh
(xxxviii) Vaiphei
9. Lakher or Mara (Lakher was changed to Mara in 1988)
10. Man (Tai-speaking)
11. Any Mizo (Lushai) tribes
12. Mikir
13. Any Naga tribes
14. Pawi
Arunachal Pradesh
All tribes in the State including:
1. Abor
2. Aka
3. Apatani
4. Dafla
5. Galong
6. Khampti
7. Khowa
8. Mishmi
9. Monpa
10. Tangsa
11. Sherdukpen
12. Singpho
13. Phake
Goa
1 Velip
2 Gawada
3 Kunbis
[edit] Chhattisgarh
Agariya
Andh
Baiga
Bhaina
Bharia Bhumia, Bhuinhar Bhumia, Bhumiya, Bharia, Paliha, Pando
Bhattra
Bhil, Bhilala, Barela, Patelia
Bhil Meena
Bhunjia
Biar, Biyar
Binjhwar
Birhul, Birhor
Damor, Damaria
Dhanwar
Gadaba, Gadba
Gond, Arrakh, Agaria, Asur, Badi Maria, Bada Maria, Bhatola, Bhimma,
Bhuta, Koilabhuta, Kolibhuti, Bhar, Bisonhorn Maria, Chota Maria,
Dandami Maria, Dhuru, Dhurwa, Dhoba, Dhulia, Dorla, Gaiki, Gatta,
Gatti, Gaita, Gond, Gowari Hill Maria, Kandra, Kalanga, Khatola,
Koitar, Koya, Khirwar, Khirwara, Kucha Maria, Kuchaki Maria, Madia,
Maria, Mana,, Mannewar, Moghya, Mogia, Monghya, Mudia, Muria,
Nagarchi, Nagwanshi, Ojha, Raj Gond, Sonjhari, Jhareka, Thatia,
Thotya, Wade Maria, Vade Maria, Daroi.
Halba, Halbi
Kamar
Karku
Kawar, Kanwar, Kaur, Cherwa, Rathia, Tanwar, Chattri
Khairwar, Kondar
Kharia
Kondh, Khond, Kandh
Kol
Kolam
Korku, Bopchi, Mouasi, Nihar, Nahul, Bondhi, Bondeya
Korwa, Kodaku
Majhi
Majhwar
Mawasi
Munda
Nagesia, Nagasia
Oraon, Dhanka, Dhangad
Pao
Pardhan, Pathari, Saroti
Pardhi, Bahelia, Bahellia, Chita Pardhi, Langoli Pardhi, Phans Pardhi,
Shikari, Takankar, Takia [in (i) Bastar, Dantewara, Kanker, Raigarh,
Jashpurnagar, Surguja and Koria district, (ii) Katghora, Pali, Kartala
and Korba tahsils of Korba tahsils of Korba district, (iii) Bilaspur,
Pendra, Kota and Takhatpur tahsils of Bilaspur district, (iv) Durg,
Patan, Gunderdehi, Dhamdha, Balod, Gurur and Dondilohara tahsils of
Durg district, (v) Chowki, Manpur and Mohala Revenue Inspector Circles
of Rajnandgon district, (vi) Mahasamund, Saraipali and Basna tahsils
of Mahasamund district, (vii) Bindra-Navagarh, Rajim and Deobhog
tahsils of Raipur district, and (viii) Dhamtari, Kurud and Sihava
tahsils of Dhamtari district]
Parja
Sahariya, Saharia, Seharia, Sehria, Sosia, Sor
Saonta, Saunta
Saur
Sawar, Sawara
Sonr
Uttarakhand
Bhotia
Bauxa
Jaunsari
Raji
Tharu
[edit] Jharkhand
Asur
Baiga
Banjara (Kora)
Bathudi
Bedia
Binjhia
Birhor
Birjia
Chero
Chick Baraik
Gond
Gorait
Ho
Karmali
Kharia
Kharwar
Kond
Kisan
Korwa
Lohra
Mahli
Mal Pahariya
Munda
Oraon
Parhaiya
Santhal
Sauria Paharia
Savar
Bhumij
Sinlung
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Scheduled_Tribes_in_India
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,
1989
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act
Citation Official Act
Enacted by Parliament of India
Date enacted 11 September 1989
Summary
Prevention of the commission of offences of atrocities against the
members of the Scheduled castes and scheduled tribes
The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989
was enacted by the Parliament of India, in order to prevent atrocities
against Scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. The purpose of the Act
was to help the social inclusion of Dalits into Indian society, but
the Act has failed to live up to its expectations.
Special Court
Special Court Justice Ramaswamy observed in the case of State of
Karnataka v. Ingale [1] that more than seventy-five percent of the
cases brought under the SC/ST Act end in acquittal at all levels. The
situation has not improved much since 1992 according to the figures
given by the 2002 Annual Report dealing with SC/ST Act (of the
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment)[2] Of the total cases
filed in 2002 only 21.72% were disposed of, and, of those, a mere
2.31% ended in conviction. The number of acquittals is 6 times more
than the number of convictions and more than 70 percent of the cases
are still pending.[3]
Speedy trial
The framers of the SC/ST Act kept this aspect (the increasing number
of cases pending in the judiciary) in mind and provided for the
setting up of a Special Court for speedy trial of offences committed
under this Act.[4][5]
Implementation of Law
They failed, however, to give any real powers to Special Courts for
the admission of complaints. This is evident from the provision
relating to setting up of Special Courts which gives a false
impression that a case of atrocity can be directly filed with the
Special Courts.[6] Various State Governments have notified the Special
Courts, in accordance with the provision of the Act, but these courts
cannot take cognizance of any complaint directly. The Supreme Court,
in the case of Gangula Ashok v. State of AP,[7] clarified that Special
Courts can take cognizance of an offence only when a case is committed
to it by a magistrate in accordance with provisions of Section 193 of
Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.P.C). This means that a charge sheet
cannot be directly filed before a Special Court. When a Session Court
is constituted as a Special Court, it cannot take cognizance of an
offence without such a case being committed to it by magistrate unless
it is expressly provided so in the Act. Neither in the Cr.P.C. nor in
the SC/ST Act is there any provision which grants the power to Special
Court to take cognizance of the offences as an original jurisdiction
without the case being committed to it by a magistrate. Hence, it is
mandatory to go through the course established under the Cr.P.C.
Biases
Going through the normal judicial system is self degrading for any
dalit. This is because of the still existing biases of the court
judges. One example is the conduct of an Allahabad High Court judge
who had his chambers "purified" with water from the ‘ganga jal’
because a dalit judge had previously sat in that chamber before him.
[8] Another example is the case of State of Karnataka v. Ingale.[1]
The State of Karnataka had charged five individuals with violating the
SC/ST Act. At trial, four witnesses testified that the defendants had
threatened dalits with a gun in order to stop them from taking water
from a well. The defendants told the dalits that they had no right to
take water, because they were untouchables. The trial judge convicted
all of the defendants. On appeal, the Additional Sessions judge
confirmed the conviction of three defendants but acquitted two. On
further appeal to the High Court, the judge acquitted all the
defendants after rejecting the testimony of the four dalit witnesses.
The dalits finally got relief from the Supreme Court.
Contradictions
The legal regime is fraught with contradictions. While the legal text
is explicit in seeking remedies, the implementation of the text
appears to evade actual performance. Laws and legal processes are not
self executing; they depend on the administrative structure and the
judiciary with the anticipation that the social attitudes are driven
by notions of equity, social justice and fair play.[9] However, the
increasingly indifferent responses of those involved in the
implementation of laws protecting the weak, the oppressed and the
socially disadvantaged have persisted over the years and the system
has failed to provide for self-correction. What needs to be
appreciated is that victims of attrocites suffer not only bodily and
mental pain but also feelings of insecurity and socialavoidance which
is not present for the victims of other crimes. If the judge delegated
to protect them shows indifference, it further aggravates their
already vulnerable position.
Investigation
Section 23 of the Prevention of Atrocities Act authorises the Central
Government to frame rules for carrying out the purpose of the Act. It
was the drawing power from this section that the Scheduled Castes and
the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules of 1995 were
framed. According to Rule 7(1)[10] investigation of an offence
committed under the SC/ST Act cannot be investigated by an officer not
below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP). Various High
Courts have vitiated the trail based on the above rule and have
improperly set aside the order of conviction.[11]
Rank of investigating officer
The Andhra Pradesh High Court, in D. Ramlinga Reddy v. State of AP,
[12] took the position that provisions of Rule 7 are mandatory and
held that investigation under the SC/St Act has to be carried out by
only an officer not below the rank of DSP. An investigation carried
out and charge sheet filed by an incompetent officer is more than
likely to be quashed. Similarly, the Madras High Court in M.
Kathiresam v. State of Tamil Nadu[13] held that investigation
conducted by an officer other than a DSP is improper and bad in law
and proceedings based on such an investigation are required to be
quashed. The Courts without taking into consideration the inadequacies
of the State, have been punishing SC/STs for the same. Shri Pravin
Rashtrapal, Member of Parliament rightly pointed out that ther are
insufficient officers at that level.[14] His statement is supported by
the Annul Report of 2005-2006 of Ministry of Home Affairs.[15] Of the
total posts sanctioned by the government under Indian Police Service
(IPS) more than 15 percent of the posts are vacant. This basically
means that there is one IPS officer for 77,000 SC/STs.
Rehabilitation
According to the preamble of the SC/ST Act, it is an Act to prevent
the commission of offences of atrocities against SC/STs, to provide
for Special Courts for the trial of such offences and for the relief
and rehabilitation of the victims of such offences. The Madhya Pradesh
High Court also had the same view and observed in the case of Dr. Ram
Krishna Balothia v. Union of India[16] that the entire scheme of the
SC/ST Act is to provide protection to the members of the scheduled
castes and scheduled tribes and to provide for Special Court and
speedy trial of the offences. The Act contains affirmative measures to
weed out the root cause of atrocities, which has denied SC/STs basic
civil rights. The Act has addressed the problem the regarding the
dispensation of justice, but what the failed to deal with is the
problem of ‘rehabilitation’. There is mention of rehabilitation under
Section 21(2)(iii), but there are no provision addressing the same. As
it has been stated earlier that victims of atrocities are on a
different level when compared to victims of other crimes, hence there
should be special provision for the same. According to the report
submitted by the National Commission for Review and Working of the
Constitution[17] victims of atrocities and their families should be
provided with full financial and any other support in order to make
them economically self-reliant without their having to seek wage
employment from their very oppressors or classes of oppressors. Also
it would be the duty of the State to immediately take over the
educational needs of the children of such victims and provide for the
cost of their food and maintenance. SC/STs constitute 68 percent of
the total rural population. According to the 1991 Agricultural census
a large number of SC/STs are marginal farmers compared to the other
sections of the society and because of this the number of cultivators
are going down. In other words the landlessness is increasing at a
faster rate among SC/STs. At the same time the number of SC/ST workers
as agricultural labourer is increasing at a faster rate when compared
to other sections of the society. This basically implies that after
losing their land holdings SC/ST cultivators are becoming agriculture
labourers. Loss of land, on the one hand, is caused by atrocities
making the more vulnerable. This in turn fuels and promotes
continuance of atrocities and untouchability. Marginalisation is one
of the worst forms of oppression. It expelles a whole category of
people from useful participation in the society and therefore
potentially subjected to material depravation and this could even lead
to extermination. Moreover, this leads to the state of powerlessness
which perhaps is best described negatively; the powerless lack
authority, status and a sense of self.[18] Moreover, every right has
three types of duties:
Duties to avoid deprivation.
Duties to protect from deprivation
Duties to aid the deprived.
Though the SC/ST Act does cover the first two duties but totally
ignores the third one; duty to aid the deprived. Hence, it is
necessary to make the SC/STs self dependent.
Migration
Under constitutional provisions, a caste or tribe is notified with
reference to a State or Union territory. Hence a person born in state/
UT gets certificate of SC/ST if his/her father belongs to specified
caste/tribe in that state as SC/ST. If he/she migrates to another
state, he/she lose status for affirmative actions, i.e. benefit of
admission in educational institutes, reservation in government
employment etc. But he/she does not lose protection as guaranteed by
constitution like PoA & other Acts in any other state. In brief once a
person is notified as SC/ST in any one state/UT, he gets protection
under SC ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 throughout the
country, irrespective that caste or tribe is notified in the state/UT
where offence is occurred.
Suggestions
The statement of object and reason of the SC/ST Act clearly reveals
that the Act, in its letter and spirit, desires that dalits lead a
dignified life. However, even after 16 years of its existence in the
statute book, it has not shown its desired effect. The majority of the
beneficiaries of this Act are unaware of the legitimate claims of
leading a dignified way of life or are unwilling to enforce it
intensively. Even the Police, prosecutors and judicial officers are
unaware of this Act as was pointed out by Calcutta High Court in the
case of M.C. Prasannan v. State of West Bengal.[19] What further
aggravates the problem is the misapplication of the Act by police as
well as by the courts which ultimately leads to acquittals.[20]
Rural atrocities which are not covered under this Act
Social and economic boycott and blackmail are widespread. In view of
the fact that the main perpetrators of the crime sometimes co-opt a
few SC/STs with them and take advantage of local differences among the
SC/STs and sometimes they promote and engineer crimes but get them
executed by some members of SC/STs, the Act should be suitably amended
to bring such crimes and atrocities within the purview of the
definition of atrocities under the Act.[17] Likewise, the Special
Courts established under Section 14 of the Act are required to follow
the committal procedure under Cr.P.C. Such an interpretation prevents
the speedy trail envisaged under the Act. Further the absence of the
adequate number of special courts has also resulted in slow disposal
of atrocity cases and a huge back log.
External links
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,
1989
References
^ a b (1992) 3 S.C.R. 284
^ Annual Report on The Scheduled Castes and The Scheduled Tribes
(Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 for the Year 2002, at p.12.
^ http://www.censusindia.gov.in 2001 Census
^ Upendra Baxi, “Crisis of Indian Legal System”, Amita Dhanda
(compiled by), “Law and Poverty Reading Material – B.A.B.L (Hons)”,
1st edition 2006, p.170.
^ Section 14.- For the purpose of providing for speedy trial, the
State Government shall, with the concurrence of the Chief Justice of
the High Court, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify for
each district a Court of Session to be a Special Court to try the
offences under this Act.
^ http://www.ncbc.nic.in National Commission for Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes- Fourth Report 1996-97 & 1997-98, Vol. I.
^ AIR 2000 SC 740
^ "Human Rights Watch, “Broken People: Caste Violence Against India's
Untouchables"". Hrw.org. http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/india.
Retrieved 2008-12-29. http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1999/india/
^ K.I. Vibhute, “Right to Live with Human Dignity of Scheduled Castes
and Tribes: Legislative Spirit and Social Response – Some
Reflections”, 44 JILI (2002) 469 at 481.
^ 7(1).— An offence committed under the Act shall be investigated by a
police officer not below the rank of a Deputy Superintendent of
Police. The investigating officer shall be appointed by the State
Government /Director General of Police/Superintendent of Police after
taking into account his past experience, sense of ability and justice
to perceive the implications of the case and investigate it along with
right lines within the shortest possible time.
^ In 2002 the conviction rate was a mere 2 percent. Report by Ministry
of Social Justice and Empowerment
^ 1999 Cr LJ 2918
^ 1999 Cr LJ 3938
^ Lok Sabha Debates, see http://164.100.24.208/ls/lsdeb/ls13/ses13/210803.htm
^ Ministry of Home Affairs - Govt of India - India an Overview - India
- History[dead link]
^ AIR 1994 MP 143
^ a b 11
^ Iris Young, “Justice and Politics of Difference”. Amita Dhanda
(compiled by), “Law and Poverty Reading Material – IV Semester B.A.B.L
(Hons)”, 1st edition 2006, p.29
^ 1999 Cr LJ 998 (Cal)
^ Karansingh v. State of MP, 1992 Cr LJ 3054 (MP)
http://tribal.gov.in/writereaddata/linkimages/poaact989E4227472861.pdf
Forward caste
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Forward Caste (also known as Forward class/community, General class),
in India, denotes peoples, communities and castes from any religion
who do not currently qualify for a Government of India Reservation
benefits (that is, set quotas for political representation) for Other
Backward Classes, scheduled castes and tribes.[1][2][3] Since the list
presented by the commission for OBC, SC, ST is dynamic (classes and
communities can be added or removed) and will change from time to time
depending on Social, Educational and Economic factors, the Forward
Classes also are subject to change from time to time. The Government
of India does not publish a separate list of forward classes.[citation
needed]
Population
Estimate the forward classes population as anywhere from 5-15%.[4][5]
However, they have not quoted sources for their estimations. National
sample survey estimates Forward Class population almost same as
Backward Classes at around 36%. Family health survey combined forward
classes population along with all communities of other religions. If
you exclude Backward classes of other religions, then it is around
38.6% which is more than Backward classes population. State wise
Forward Class Population can be found from the chart.
Population by State
Arunachal Pradesh - NA (6% Brahmin)[6]
Andhra Pradesh - 9.9% of the total population (3% Brahmin, 1.2% Raju,
3% Velama & 2.7% Komati).[7]
Intermediate castes: Reddy (6.8%), Kamma/Chowdary (4.6%) & Kapu (15.2%)
[8]
Assam - NA (4% Brahmin)[9]
Bihar - 13% (4.7% Brahmin, 4.2% Rajput, 2.9% Bhumihar & 1.2% Kayasth)
[10]
Chattisgarh - NA (2% Brahmin)[11]
Goa - NA (7% Brahmin)[12]
Gujarat - High Forward Castes: 13.1% (4.1% Brahmin, 4.9% Rajput, 3.0%
Vaishya & 1.1% Others); Middle Forwards: 12.3% (12.2% Patel / Kanbi &
0.1% Others); Lower Forwards: 24.2% (24.2% Gujarati Kshatriya)[13][14]
Haryana - 47% (6 to 8% Brahmin, 21% Jat, 9% Khatri / Sikh & remaining
mostly Vaishya)[15]
Himachal Pradesh - 56% (14 to 20% Brahmin, 28% Rajput & remaining
mostly Vaishya / Khatri).[16]
J & K - NA (11% Brahmin, remaining mostly Dogra Rajput)[17]
Jharkhand - 7% (3% Brahmin, remaining mostly Rajput / Bhumihar /
Kayasth / Bhadralok).[18] Baniya is OBC here.
Karnataka - 16% (3 to 5% Brahmin, 3% Maratha, 2% Bunt / Nair / Kodava
& remaining mostly Raju / Devadiga / Vaishya). Intermediate castes:
Lingayat (17%) [19]
Kerala - 26% of the total population (1.5% Brahmin, 14.5% Malayala
Kshatriya / Tuluva Kshatriya, 0.5% Ambalavasi, 9% Syrian Christians &
0.5% Others).[20]
Maharashtra - 40% (4% Brahmin, 29% Maratha & remaining mostly Prabhu /
Vaishya)[21]
Manipur - 43% (Brahmin / Kshatriya)
Madhya Pradesh - NA (5% Brahmin)[22]
Orissa - 47% (6 to 9% Brahmin, 35% Khandayat / Kshatriya & 5% Patnaik)
[23]
Punjab - NA (5% Brahmin)[24]
Rajastan - 46% (7 to 8% Brahmin, 8% Rajput, 8% Vaishya, 20% Jat & 2%
Jain)[25]
Sikkim - NA (7% Brahmin)[26]
Tamil Nadu - 12% (3% Brahmin & remaining mostly Vellalar).
Intermediate castes: Thevar (8%)[27]
Tripura - NA (3% Brahmin)[28]
Uttar Pradesh - 20% (9 to 10% Brahmin, 7.2% Thakur, 2% Vaishya, 1%
Kayasth). Intermediate castes: Jat (2.5%)[29]
Uttaranchal - 75% (20% Brahmin, remaining mostly Thakur)[30][31]
West Bengal - 35% (5% Brahmin, 8% Mahishya & remaining mostly
Kayasth / Thakur / Vaishya)[32]
Delhi - NA (12% Brahmin, 9% Khatri, 5% Jat & remaining mostly
Vaishya / Thakur)[33]
Economic and educational status
Based on NSS-99-00.Rural/Urban weightages based on 2001 census)
Based on NSS-99-00.Rural/Urban weightages based on 2001 census)The
Government of India does not collect community census data except for
SC/ST. Economic and educational level of various social groups are
gauged using large sample surveys. The National Sample Survey taken in
1999–2000 and the National Family Health Survey taken in 2005-2006 (or
perhaps an earlier round of the NFHS) estimated economic, educational,
and health indicators of various communities. These surveys were used
extensively in the report submitted by the oversight committee.[34]
Forward classes will have to compete only in the open category, as
they are considered socially, educationally, and economically
advanced. Currently the reservation proportion stands at 50% in
central-government educational institutions and central-government
jobs. However, in certain states such as Tamil Nadu, the reservation
percentage stands at around 69%.[35]
Economic status
The 1998–1999 National Sample Survey calculated the economic status of
forward communities separately for rural/urban areas in various income
brackets. It shows
Only 6.4% of forward classes in rural areas appear in upper income
bracket with per capita monthly income stands at above Rs 925 per
month.
30% of rural population is made up of forward classes.
More than 65% of forward classes per capita income stands below Rs 525
per month.
For urban areas:
Only 5.6% of forward classes appear in the upper-income bracket with
per capita income at or above Rs. 1925 per month (around US $40).
More than 25% of forward classes per capita income stands below Rs.
500 per month (around $10)
Educational status
Based on NSS-99-00.Rural/Urban weightages based on 2001 census)
More than 30% of forward classes above 15 years of age are
illiterate.
Only 8% of forward classes are graduates.
Around 85% of forward classes above 15 years of age have done equal to
or below secondary Education (10 Years of Education)
Reservation for economically backward among forward classes
Currently forward classes are only allowed to compete for seats in the
unreserved category in educational institutions and central government
jobs, irrespective of their educational/economical status in the
society. However, a significant percentage of the Forward Class
population lives below the poverty line and more than 30% of the
members of this community are illiterate. To meet their aspirations,
demands have been raised for providing separate reservations for the
poor among Forward Class populations. Many political parties like
Congress, BJP, Samajwadi Party, LJP, Rastriya Janata Dal, Communist
Party of India(Marxist), Bahujan Samaj Party[36][37][38][39] have
supported proposals for providing separate reservation for the poor
among the forward classes. These parties account for over 400 of the
542 members in the current parliament, as well as holding power in
most states in the union.
Indian Government surveys have pointed out that Poverty is widespread
in all communities. Indian definition of poverty is living life with
less than 0.25 US$/Day(Approx). Whereas United nations definition of
Poverty is living life with less than $1/Day.[1]. More than 65% of
forward classes will be living below poverty line if UN poverty
definition is considered.[2]
Timeline
1991: Congress government headed by Narasimha Rao introduced 10%
separate reservation for poor among forward classes.
1992: The Supreme Court has ruled in the Indra Sawhney case that
separate reservation for poor among forward classes as invalid.
Government has withdrawn separate reservation as per supreme court
judgement. (Many other verdicts given in same case has been overruled
by constitutional amendments like quota in promotions, exceeding 50%
reservations for Tamilnadu, judgement regarding creamy layer in the
same case was not implemented by Tamilnadu so far.)
2003: BJP government appointed a group of Ministers for suggesting
measures for implementation of separate reservation for poor among
forward classes. [4]
2004: Task force has been set up to work out modalities for providing
reservations to Poor among forward classes.No information available
regarding report submitted by this task force.[5]
2006: Present Congress Government appointed commission to study
separate reservation for economically backward classes.[6]
2006: Communist government in Kerala earmarked 12% seats in private
professional colleges for economically poor among forward classes.[7]
Many backward class leaders allege forward classes are over
represented in many spheres of life. State and central governments
have not released adequate data regarding representation of various
communities in their services and admissions to educational
institutions.Most of the Private companies in India does not collect
data regarding community of their employees. Very few reports are
available regarding representation of various communities in public–
private services and admissions in educational institutions.
In Tamil Nadu forward classes have secured around 1.9% of seats in
medical colleges in 2004 and 2.68 % seats in 2005 as against their
population percentage of 13%.See Also Caste-Based Reservations In
Tamil Nadu. This trend of poor representation has continued for the
last 10 years as claimed by lawyers in one of the Reservation cases.
[8]
Narendra committee report in Kerala has pointed out that forward
classes representation in public services and PSU units is around 36
to 38% which is more or less equal to their population.[9].
Karnataka Minister in state Assembly has announced that per capita
income of the Brahmins is lesser than all communities including
scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.[10]
Oversight committee in its final report has indicated that forward
classes are placed better than backward classes in some indicators and
comparable with backward classes in few indicators and backward
classes are superior in some parameters like health indicators in
states like Assam, Maharastra, Haryana, West Bengal, etc.[11]
National Survey 99-00 indicates that forward classes are better placed
than SC/ST in almost all parameters. However, in rural
unemployment,forward classes score worse than all other communities.
Recently released Provisional report of National Survey 04-05 states
that Buying capacity of Backward Classes in rural and urban areas are
comparable to forward classes. It also revises Backward classes figure
as 41%. It also states that Landownership of Backward classes are
comparable to Forward Classes. It reiterates its earlier finding (in
99-00 survey) that forward classes are poorly employed (more
unemployment).[12]
Rural landholding pattern of various social groups calculated by
National Sample Survey 99-00 indicate that OBC and forward classes are
comparable in wealthiness.)
National surveys used rural landholding pattern to assess wealthiness
of various social groups. Its findings indicate that OBC and FC are
comparable and there is a very minor difference between them. There is
a big difference between OBC/FC and SC. Even Scheduled Tribes are
placed better than Scheduled Castes. Experts who analysed national
survey results point out that other backward classes are near average
in many parameters. Please refer chart.[13]
Shrinking educational opportunities
During April 2006, India’s Human Resource Minister announced that 27%
seats will be reserved exclusively for candidates from Other Backward
Classes in addition to existing 22.5 % reservation for Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes.[14] This announcement was done when
polling process was underway in Tamilnadu and Kerala (States with
highest backward class population in India).[15] Incidentally many
opinion polls at that time were predicting rout of ruling UDF alliance
in these states.[16](UDF alliance subsequently won in Tamilnadu but
lost in Kerala). Election commission reprimanded Human Resources
Ministry for making such announcement when election process was in
progress.[17]
Sachar committee report indicated that Hindu OBC's enrollment in all
educational institutions is close to their populations in the 2004-5
national survey (page 93/425 of Sachar committee report). Union Human
Resources minister appointed panel to study about sachar committee
recommendations regarding Indian Muslims[3] but did not give his
opinion on this subject.
Impact of announcement on forward classes
After the implementation of OBC reservation, only 50% of seats are
available in open competition. All communities can compete in open
competition which means forward classes must secure between 72% and
78% of the 'open competition' seats in order to maintain their
representation in keeping with their estimated population of 36-39%,
whereas other communities will get major chunk of seats through
exclusive reservations. This has resulted in protests from Forward
Class community members and supporters from other communities under
the banner of Youth for Equality. They have pointed out following as
reasons for their protests.[18]
The Government has implemented reservations for the Scheduled castes
and Scheduled Tribes for the last 60 years, however the social and
economic situation of these groups has not shown much improvement.
This might be interpreted as an indication of the ineffectiveness of
reservation in higher educational institutions as a means of achieving
social equality.
Any difference between proportion of different communities in Higher
educational institutions is mainly because of difference in primary
school enrollment. (This fact was also confirmed in National sample
surveys and pointed out by Oversight committee in its final report).
Government should attack the cause instead of providing reservation at
higher education level Already 24% of college seats are with Other
backward classes. Providing another 27% seats will deprive chances of
forward classes.
Reservation on the basis of caste is cornered only by rich and
affluent. For example daughter of former President of India got
admission into Indian Foreign Services denying opportunity to another
poor person from her own community.
Certain Indian states has forward classes population of more than 50%
or close to 50%. In some of these states,no.of forward classes
admitted in educational institutions will be much less than their
population even if they secure 100% seats in open
competition.)Interestingly Government of India decided to introduce
27% reservations for other backward classes all over India. Many
states does not have even 27% of other backward class population as
per national sample surveys.(This includes major Indian states like
Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra, Punjab, West
Bengal).[19].Some Indian states like Assam, Goa, Haryana, Himachal
Pradesh, West Bengal has more than 50% forward classes population
[20]which means no. of seats secured by forward classes will not be
equal to their population proportion even if they secure 100% seats in
open competition in central government institutions of these states.
Central government, however, excluded 27% reservations to other
backward classes to the areas with high tribal populations.[21].
References
^ http://books.google.com/books?id=bgpEIb4tNjgC&pg=PA2004
^ http://books.google.com/books?id=vCQ24WjlwZwC&pg=PA155
^ http://books.google.com/books?id=sTS4OO9lcdgC&pg=PA102
^ The Hindu
http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/11/stories/2006081104761500.htm
^ 'What more do the upper castes want?'
http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/may/16inter2.htm
^ http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?234783
^ http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/download/1998.pdf
^ http://books.google.co.in/books?id=yInZdHn-pKoC
^ http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?234783
^ http://books.google.co.in/books?id=yInZdHn-pKoC
^ http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?234783
^ http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?234783
^ http://books.google.co.in/books?id=yInZdHn-pKoC
^ Reservations in Doubt: The Backlash Against Affirmative Action in
Gujarat, India by John R. Wood, Source: Pacific Affairs, Vol. 60, No.
3 (Autumn, 1987), pp. 408-430,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2758881
^ http://books.google.co.in/books?id=yInZdHn-pKoC
^ http://books.google.co.in/books?id=yInZdHn-pKoC
^ http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?234783
^ http://books.google.co.in/books?id=yInZdHn-pKoC
^ http://books.google.co.in/books?id=yInZdHn-pKoC
^ 1968 Socio-Economic Survey, Govt. of Kerala
^ http://books.google.co.in/books?id=yInZdHn-pKoC
^ http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?234783
^ http://books.google.co.in/books?id=yInZdHn-pKoC
^ http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?234783
^ http://books.google.co.in/books?id=yInZdHn-pKoC
^ http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?234783
^ http://books.google.co.in/books?id=yInZdHn-pKoC
^ http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?234783
^ http://books.google.co.in/books?id=yInZdHn-pKoC
^ http://books.google.co.in/books?id=yInZdHn-pKoC
^ http://www.outlookindia.com/images/brahamins_table_20070604.jpg
^ http://books.google.co.in/books?id=yInZdHn-pKoC
^ http://www.india-seminar.com/2004/534/534%20sanjay%20kumar.htm
^ MOSPI.NIC.IN
http://mospi.nic.in/mospi_nsso_rept_pubn.htm
^ Tamil Nadu's quota stir an assertion of its 69 percent? (NEWS
ANALYSIS) - India
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/india/news/article_1285498.php/Tamil_Nadus_quota_stir_an_assertion_of_its_69_percent
^ ExspressIndia.com Link 01
http://www.expressindia.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=67190
^ ExpressIndia.com Link 02
http://www.expressindia.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=67837
^ The Hindu : National : Paswan for quota for economically backward
http://www.hinduonnet.com/2006/06/05/stories/2006060504941400.htm
^ The Hindu : Cong. for 'quota' for poor among forward castes
http://www.hinduonnet.com/2003/08/14/stories/2003081403450900.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward_caste
Tell it like it is.
>
> Prominent menmebrs of SC/STs
>
> B. R. Ambedkar , also known as Babasaheb, was an Indian jurist,
> political leader, Buddhist activist, thinker, philosopher, historian,
> anthropologist, orator, prolific writer, economist, editor, scholar,
> revolutionary and the revivalist of Buddhism in India. He was also the
> chief architect of the Indian Constitution.
> Dr. Faguni Ram, Ph.D(3-Time Member of Parliament and Ex-Minister of
> State)
> Prem Singh (MLA)
> Kashi Ram, Founder of Bahujan Samaj Party
> Lala Ram Ken, Member of Parliament(7th and 8th), India
> Divya Bharti, Late Bollywood actress
>
> read more »
chhotemianinshallah
Shekhar Iyer, Hindustan Times
Delhi, March 15, 2010
First Published: 00:26 IST(15/3/2010)
Last Updated: 01:30 IST(15/3/2010)
A blend of new faces and old hands will make up BJP president Nitin
Gadkari’s new team that he will announce on March 16 to end the three-
month-long suspense in the party.
That day marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year.
Those tipped to become general secretaries include former Rajasthan CM
Vasundhara Raje, former Jharkhand CM Arjun Munda, spokesperson Ravi
Shankar Prasad, Orissa leader Dharmendra Pradhan, and Himachal Pradesh
minister J.P. Nadda.
While Ananth Kumar, Ram Lal Agarwal and Thwar Chand Gehlot will remain
general secretaries, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who was vice-president in
Rajnath Singh’s team, will be made general secretary, BJP sources
said. Navjot Singh Sidhu will also become a general secretary, while
Yashwant Sinha is expected to remain vice-president.
Among new secretaries, Gadkari is likely to induct Varun Gandhi.
Though Varun has sought a bigger profile, his mother Maneka is
persuading him to accept the role in view of the assembly polls in
Uttar Pradesh, the sources said.
Anurag Thakur, the young MP from Himachal Pradesh, will take over as
BJP yuva morcha chief, his predecessor Amit Thakker may be included in
Gadkari’s team as a secretary. Shahnawaz Hussain, who is heading the
BJP minority cell, may become a secretary. Among the women in the BJP
chief’s team, Smriti Irani and Saroj Pandey will be secretaries.
Party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar is likely to be elevated as vice-
president as are former Uttarakhand chief minister B C Khanduri and
former Delhi BJP chief Harshvardhan.
In keeping with the party’s decision to provide 33 per cent
reservation to women in the organisation, Gadkari intends to have at
least 13 women officer bearers and at least 40 national executive
members.
BJP names Rajay Sabha candidates from Punjab, Himachal
Indo-Asian News Service
New Delhi, March 15, 2010
First Published: 17:07 IST(15/3/2010)
Last Updated: 17:08 IST(15/3/2010)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to field Avinash Rai
Khanna in Punjab and Vimla Kashyap in Himachal Pradesh in the Rajya
Sabha elections.
In Punjab, three seats are expected to go to the ruling Akali Dal-BJP
combine and two to the Congress. In Himachal, the lone seat is
expected to go to the ruling BJP.
The decision was taken at the central election committee of the BJP
that met on Monday with president Nitin Gadkari in the chair.
The last date for filing nominations is March 16. Polling, if
necessary, will take place March 26.
The terms of Rajya Sabha members from Punjab -- Sports Minister M S
Gill, former minister Ashwani Kumar and D P Sabharwal (all Congress)
and V S Bajwa (Akali Dal) -- are ending April 9. The term of Akali Dal
member Naresh Gujral will end March 22.
In Himachal, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma's term ends April 3.
BJP sets up panel to probe Bareilly clashes
HT Correspondents, Hindustan Times
Lucknow, March 13, 2010
First Published: 21:49 IST(13/3/2010)
Last Updated: 01:23 IST(14/3/2010)
As Bareilly continued to remain on the boil for the 11th day on
Saturday, the BJP set up a three-member committee to inquire into the
communal violence.
The committee is headed by former Union minister Maneka Gandhi, an MP
from Aaonla that is adjacent to Bareilly. Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath
and Meerut MP Rajendra Agrawal are the other two members, a party
release said.
On Saturday, a mob set fire to shops and vehicles in Qutabkhana and
Subzi Mandi areas, while curfew continued in the five police areas of
Kila, Baradari, Premnagar, Subhash Nagar and Kotwali. Fearing that
violence might spread to other areas the district administration did
not relax the curfew.
The ADG (Law and Order), Brij Lal, said that in order to restore
communal harmony the district administration was holding meeting with
the citizens. “The people residing on the outskirts of the city were
also invited to the meeting. Adequate police force was deployed and
the situation was under control,” he said.
The district administration is being blamed for mismanagement. “It’s a
clear case of mishandling by the district administration,” a police
officer said. “Tension was limited to four police areas, later it
spread.”
“On several occasions the decisions taken by the district
administration was by-passed and directives came from Lucknow that
curfew should be relaxed,” said a police officer posted in Bareilly.
The intelligence department, too, reportedly failed to alert the
administration.
The BJP is blaming the Mayawati government for the clashes. Trouble
began on March 2 during the Barawafat procession. A minor communal
clash led to curfew.
Maulana Tauquir Raza Khan, president of the Ittehad-e-Millat Council,
was arrested for his “rabble-rousing speech” that had led to communal
tension. He was released after some groups said Muslims would boycott
the BSP rally in Lucknow on March 15.
Gadkari support for Modi, state explores legal options
HT Correspondents, Hindustan Times
Ahmedabad/New Delhi, March 13, 2010
First Published: 01:31 IST(13/3/2010)
Last Updated: 01:33 IST(13/3/2010)
A day after the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigating Team
(SIT) probing the 2002 Gujarat riots summoned Chief Minister Narendra
Modi for questioning, the state said it was exploring legal options
before it.
“Whatever are the right legal options available we will explore them
and, accordingly, what is required to be done would be done,” Gujarat
government spokesperson Jay Narayan Vyas said, adding that the state
government and Modi would cooperate with “the process of law”.
The SIT, which has summoned Modi to appear before it on March 21, was
acting on a petition filed by the widow of former Congress MP Ehsan
Jafri, who was murdered during the riots by a mob in Ahmedabad’s
Gulbarg Society.
The state Congress on Friday questioned the conduct of the Nanavati
Commission, set up to probe the riots.
“People have lost faith in the commission, (which is) operating for
almost eight years,” Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia said. “Even the
officers appearing for questioning are tutored by their seniors as
what to answer the commission.”
The BJP has come out in support of Modi, with party chief Nitin
Gadkari saying the Gujarat BJP leader would make a good prime
minister.
“We will cooperate with the judiciary, but we will back Modi one
hundred per cent. The events (riots) were unfortunate, but the blame
cannot be focused on Modi,” Gadkari told Headlines Today. “The UPA
simply wants to shoot Modi politically by using the CBI.”
This is the first time Gadkari, who took over in December, has
endorsed Modi for the top slot.
“He (Modi) is a role model for development politics,” he added. “A
decision on the party’s prime ministerial candidate will be taken by
senior leaders and the parliamentary body, but Modi is fully competent
– he has the ability, capacity and potential to lead this country.”
Smita hails Sonia Gandhi for women’s quota bill, praises Raj
HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times
Mumbai, March 11, 2010
First Published: 01:23 IST(11/3/2010)
Last Updated: 01:24 IST(11/3/2010)
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray’s estranged daughter-in-law Smita on
Wednesday hailed Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi for getting the
women’s reservation bill passed in the Rajya Sabha.
“Mahatma Gandhi secured Independence for India. After so many years,
Sonia Gandhi has given freedom to the women masses of this country,"
she said at a press conference.
When asked about joining any political party, Smita — she is
reportedly keen to join the Congress — said she would join a party
that gives scope to her ambitions. “I can join any party,” she added.
Apart from Sonia Gandhi, Smita also praised Maharashtra Navnirman Sena
president Raj Thackeray, who is her brother-in-law, and Bharatiya
Janata Party leaders Nitin Gadkari and Sushma Swaraj.
“Like Balasaheb, Raj too has created his party out of nothing.
However, I don't approve his plank [against north Indians],”she said.
Dismissing Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray, as a leader who
is not on par with his father, she said: “There is a huge difference
between the leadership qualities of the two.”
Uddhav’s rise in the Sena had resulted in her downfall in the party’s
power circle.
On using the Thackeray surname though she is legally separated from
her husband and son of Sena chief, Jaideo, Smita said the Thackerays
gave her an identity and that’s why she would continue to use the
name.
BJP looks to gain mileage from support
Shekhar Iyer, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, March 07, 2010
First Published: 00:49 IST(7/3/2010)
Last Updated: 00:52 IST(7/3/2010)
The BJP will not let the Congress walk away with all credit if
Parliament passes the Women’s Reservation Bill.
A day after a whip to its MPs to back the bill, party leaders did not
mince words in saying that since the UPA coalition was in minority in
Rajya Sabha, the onus of getting it adopted was with the main
opposition.
Party chief Nitin Gadkari called an emergency meeting of the core
group on Saturday to discuss the bill.
“The core group unanimously decided to ensure passage of Bill,” he
said.
“The BJP is conscious of the fact that the UPA is in a minority in
Parliament. The BJP appeals to all parties to support this Bill. The
BJP has directed all its members to be present in Rajya Sabha and
ensure the passage of this Bill.”
Gadkari also made it clear that the role of the BJP in the passage of
the bill could not be underplayed.
“The BJP had first mooted the idea of this Bill in 1995 at its
national council meeting at Vadodara. The NDA had at first moved this
bill in Parliament. The BJP is the only political party that has
provided for one-third reservation in the party organisation for
women.”
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said the bill was a
dream of two senior leaders Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani.
BJP determined to get Women's Bill passed in Parliament
Press Trust Of India
New Delhi, March 06, 2010
First Published: 15:50 IST(6/3/2010)
Last Updated: 15:53 IST(6/3/2010)
Asserting that it was determined to ensure passage of Women's
Reservation Bill in Parliament, BJP on Saturday sought to make
political capital on the issue by stating that since the UPA coalition
was in minority in Rajya Sabha, the onus of getting it adopted was
with the main opposition.
BJP President Nitin Gadkari today convened an emergency meeting of the
party Core Group to discuss Women's Reservation Bill, which is set to
be tabled in Rajya Sabha on March 8.
"The Core Group unanimously decided to ensure passage of the
Constitution Amendment providing for one-third reservation for women
in Lok Sabha and state Assemblies," Gadkari said in a statement.
BJP has already issued a three-line whip to its Rajya Sabha MPs to be
present and vote for the Bill in the Upper House on Monday.
"The BJP is determined to ensure the passage of this Bill. The Bill
shows national aspiration and society has been waiting for it for the
last 15 years," Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said.
He said since the government is in a minority in Rajya Sabha, BJP
understands that it would have to play an important role in getting
the Women's Reservation Bill passed there.
It’s all about respect
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D Raja
March 04, 2010
First Published: 23:28 IST(4/3/2010)
Last Updated: 23:30 IST(4/3/2010)
A comedy of errors is on display in both Congress and BJP camps. While
it was an abhorrent sight to see Congress leaders trying to play
messiah to India’s Dalits some months ago by merely eating in Dalit
households, we now have the BJP playing catch-up with party president
Nitin Gadkari ‘doing a Rahul Gandhi’ by having lunch in a Dalit home
last month.
But what is downright comic is the Congress’s knee-jerk reaction to
Gadkari’s gesture. Congress spokespersons claimed that their party has
facilitated the “elevation of Dalits to [the positions] of Chief
Justice of India and Lok Sabha Speaker”. This is the same Congress
that had silently watched the then President K R Narayanan getting
dragged into a media controversy on the issue of him supposedly
overstepping his constitutional role and seeking to impose a policy of
affirmative action on the judiciary.
The Congress also seems to have forgotten that it was the Telugu Desam
Party that ensured the elevation of a Dalit to the post of Speaker for
the first time in the choice of G M C Balayogi, that too in a BJP-led
NDA regime.
The Congress and the BJP are not only trying to hoodwink the Dalits,
but they are also fighting it out for the elusive Dalit votebank in
Uttar Pradesh. Gadkari stated last month that Dalit leader B.R.
Ambedkar was like American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Someone should tell Gadkari that by the time the struggles of King Jr
and others led to equal rights for African-Americans in 1964, it had
already been 14 years since Ambedkar had introduced civil rights in
the Constitution of India, having already achieved getting political
rights and the right to representation in political offices and
employment for Dalits as early as 1932. Next, Gadkari will say that
Mahatma Gandhi was like Martin Luther King Jr, rather than the other
way round. It is entirely a different issue that Indian and US
societies are alike in denying civil rights to their oppressed
communities.
The Congress is equally at fault for not criticising BJP leader Arun
Shourie for his book, Worshipping False Gods, in which the author
makes ridiculous attacks on the Dalit icon. One would go on to say
that the Congress has done nothing to further the ideals of Ambedkar
and has shown no interest in the upkeep of the Ambedkar Foundation
created by the National Front government during the leader’s centenary
celebrations. It was the NDA regime that bought the Ambedkar Memorial
on 26, Alipore Road in Delhi and also pushed the 81st, 82nd and 85th
amendments of the Constitution in favour of creating reservations for
Dalits.
It is time the Dalits call this Congress-BJP bluff. If the BJP and the
Congress indeed care for Dalits, both the national parties should
first ensure that the practice of manual scavenging is eliminated from
the states ruled by these parties in the next one year.
They should also ensure that these scavenging families never have to
fall back into this ignoble profession. They should also earmark a
part of the annual Budget under the Scheduled Castes sub-plan for
Dalits to make sure that enough is spent on the educational and
economic uplift of Dalit communities. This, especially at a time when
the budget of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has
decreased in the last Budget.
The first issue for any political party is to respect the rights of
Dalits. They should also respect the rights of Dalits to protest,
demand and claim remedies, safeguards and action from the government
that ameliorate their conditions quickly. Let’s first learn to respect
Dalits. Then maybe one day they will invite us home for lunch.
D. Raja is National Secretary, Communist Party of India and Rajya
Sabha member
The views expressed by the author are personal
http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/columnsothers/It-s-all-about-respect/Article1-515245.aspx
Misra panel: BJP’s chance to win over OBCs?
Vikas Pathak, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, March 03, 2010
First Published: 01:31 IST(3/3/2010)
Last Updated: 01:33 IST(3/3/2010)
With a government-appointed panel calling for reservation for
minorities, the BJP senses an opportunity to find favour with the
Other Backward Classes (OBCs) among Hindus.
The Ranganath Misra Commission has recommended 15 per cent quota for
Muslims in education and employment.
In case the recommendation falls foul of law — the Supreme Court has
capped reservation at 50 per cent and the provision will push it way
beyond the ceiling — a minority sub-quota within the OBC bracket has
been suggested. It means that from within the 27 per cent quota for
the OBCs, 8.4 per cent will be for minorities.
While the Mandal Commission, set up with a mandate to identify
educationally and socially backward, said the OBCs constituted 52 per
cent of India’s population, the National Sample Survey Organisation
put the figure at 41 per cent.
Though the government has not set a timetable for adopting the
suggestions, the Misra report can lead to political realignments.
The Congress can gain Muslim support, particularly in Uttar Pradesh
and Bihar. The Muslim-Yadav alliance nurtured by Mulayam Singh Yadav
and Lalu Prasad in UP and Bihar, respectively, could be tested as the
two groups will be in fight for the same quota pie.
And this is where lies an opportunity for the BJP to attract OBCs to
its fold — in line with new chief Nitin Gadkari’s emphasis on widening
the party’s social base. Traditional base of the BJP is upper caste
Hindus.
“We’ll oppose any attempt to take away the rights of backward Hindus
and give them to minorities,” deputy leader of Opposition in the Lok
Sabha Gopinath Munde, an OBC leader, said.
The BJP’s rise to power in the 1990s was accompanied by substantial
non-Yadav OBC mobilisation in the Hindi belt, particularly in UP,
which has 80 Lok Sabha seats.
From 45 per cent in the 1996 Lok Sabha polls in the state, the BJP’s
non-Yadav OBC vote share fell to 28 per cent in the 2004 polls,
according to the Delhi-based Centre for the Study of Developing
Societies. Recently, most of its candidates for the 11 UP assembly by-
polls forfeited their security deposit.
OBC vote can be crucial to the party’s revival.
Personal ambitions ruining BJP: Gadkari
Shekhar Iyer
Indore, February 18, 2010
First Published: 00:57 IST(18/2/2010)
Last Updated: 01:22 IST(18/2/2010)
The crisis in the BJP was not because of small leaders but the “over
ambitious” senior leaders who were seeking more and more in terms of
posts and perks for themselves, said party president Nitin Gadkari on
Wednesday.
Gadkari’s plain-speak came at a closed-door session on the opening day
of the three-day conclave of the party’s national executive near here.
BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad briefed reporters later.
“Our problems come not from small leaders but from the big ones, who
have got everything and yet are wanting more at any cost,” Gadkari was
quoted as having said.
Who did he mean? He didn’t name anyone.
“The party chief has only sought to present before the conclave the
weaknesses of the BJP that will have to go,” Prasad said, adding, “He
is asking everyone to think of the party.”
The closed-door session was attended by party seniors such as L.K.
Advani and Gadkari’s predecessor Rajnath Singh.
Advani endorsed Gadkari’s statement and said leaders’ egos was the
main problem.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley was also present.
Party sources said Gadkari could be referring to the leadership tussle
that followed defeat in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, with L.K. Advani
wanting to retire.
Gadkari listed “personal ambition” as the single most debilitating
ailment plaguing the BJP.
With the RSS fully behind him, a confident Gadkari bluntly told the
leaders instead of seeking to pull down others, they should raise
their own bar of performance for optimum result.
He criticised the tendency of leaders to rush to the media with their
issues when things did not go their way.
Gadkari’s remark was seen by other BJP leaders as intended to serve as
a warning.
At 52, Gadkari is the party’s youngest president. And was brought in
by the BJP’s mother organisation, the RSS, to effect a generational
change, and give the party a young and dynamic leadership.
Since taking over, he has largely kept his peace with the party
stalwarts.
So far, at least.
The Wednesday speech is likely to go down in the party’s history as
the equivalent of Rajiv Gandhi’s radical promise to rid the Congress
of powerbrokers at his party’s centenary session in 1985.
Have a large heart, Gadkari pleaded with the seniors.
Chote dil se bade kaam nahi hota. (Small hearts and minds cannot
achieve big things.) Think of the country first, then the party and
yourself last, Gadkari said.
Acknowledging that distribution of ticket during the elections was a
sore issue, Gadkari said the ground rule should be that tickets must
be given only to those who were popular and could win.
“But, what we find is that everyone seemed to think of their future
only and not that of the party,” the party chief was quoted as having
said.
BJP to support separate Vidarbha in Parliament: Gadkari-Munde
2010-03-14 22:10:00
Last Updated: 2010-03-15 07:45:44
Nagpur: BJP national president Nitin Gadkari and party Deputy Leader
in Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde on Sunday assured to support separate
Vidarbha issue in Parliament when ever the UPA government brings the
Telangana state bill.
"Now the time has come when BJP will not allow UPA to move bill for
creating Telangana alone but will ensure that UPA includes separate
Vidarbha also in the Parliament", Gadkari and Munde told a public
rally here at Yeshwant Stadium, citing their party's unconditional
support to Women's Reservation Bill brought by the Congress-led UPA
government early last week.
Uddhav: Won't allow Mumbai to be separated from Maharashtra
Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states Dr Raman Singh, Ramesh Pokhriyal,
and Deputy Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Raghuwar Das were prominent
who addressed the gathering.
BJP's young legislators Sudhir Mungattiwar (Ballarpur) and Davendra
Phadanvis (Nagpur-South-West) who took out "Yuwa Jagar" yatra, an
awareness campaign for youth from Shegaon (Buldana) and Chandrapur
respectively, on Sunday culminated their yatra into a public rally.
Munde, a former Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, in a clear
signal to the alliance partner Shiv Sena, said as to why there should
not be two states of Marathi speaking people.
Statehood call shuts down Maharashtra's Vidarbha region
"When there can be many Chief Ministers from Hindi speaking states,
there was nothing wrong when two Marathi speaking Chief Ministers
occupying offices," he said.
Uddhav: Won't allow Mumbai to be separated from Maharashtra
2010-02-06 23:00:00
Last Updated: 2010-02-07 00:15:45
Pune: Alleging the UPA government is conspiring to separate Mumbai
from Maharashtra, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray
tonight said his party would oppose such a move and continue to take
to the streets to fight and keep the state undivided.
"On the lines of a separate Vidarbha, Congress government at the
Centre is planning to carve out a separate Mumbai state aligning the
metropolis with neighbouring Thane and Raigad," he said here, adding
the Sena would fight tooth and nail against the design to weaken and
factionalise Maharashtra.
Thackeray calls Shah Rukh 'traitor', no apologies says actor
Thackeray who was speaking during his public interview by noted
compere Sudhir Gadgil at S P College ground here, said his party's
stand against creation of separate Vidarbha was firm and undiluted
despite the contrary view of its ally BJP on the issue.
Thackeray alleged that Congress-led UPA was planning to create a
separate Mumbai state as the region generated maximum tax collection.
Thackeray calls Shah Rukh 'traitor', no apologies says actor
2010-02-06 20:50:00
Last Updated: 2010-02-06 21:58:45
Mumbai: On a day when Bal Thackeray labelled him a "traitor", Shah
Rukh Khan on Saturday stuck to his comments on Pakistani players in
IPL saying there was nothing "anti- national" and ruled out meeting
the Shiv Sena supremo on his own to sort out the controversy.
"I have not said anything that is anti-national or anti-Indian. I
stand by what I said and I would like to say that may be the group has
misunderstood me. There is no other reason because I have not said
anything I should feel sorry about," Khan, who arrived here after a
whirlwind promotional tour of New York, London and Berlin, told
reporters.
"I think what I said has been misconstrued. I am pro good relationship
with countries. I think we all are...," he said.
Asked if he would go to Thackeray's home 'Matoshree' to explain his
position, Khan said he had gone to the "senior" leader's residence
whenever he was called.
"I have been there so often. Yes, I would like to go and have drink
with him. But on this matter, I don't see...there is no reason for
going and asking...but if my stand needs to be explained to someone, I
have already done it. I don't think there is an issue on that front,"
Khan said.
In an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece, Thackeray wrote, "A Khan named
Shah Rukh tells us to love Pakistan but nobody feels suffocated due to
his treachery. Traitors, do whatever you want to do with the blessings
of Congress. Sena won't stop you..."
The actor, however, made it clear that he did not want to join issue
with Sena, describing Thackeray as an "elderly gentleman" whose
company he enjoyed.
'Bullying' not to be tolerated, says Maharashtra CM
2010-02-06 18:40:00
Last Updated: 2010-02-06 19:14:04
New Delhi: Maharashtra government on Saturday said it will ensure
security for screening of movies of actor Shah Rukh Khan, under Shiv
Sena threat for favouring inclusion of Pakistani cricketers in IPL,
and asserted that it will act against anyone trying to "bully"
others.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said violation of law and
order by anybody will be dealt with strictly.
"All movies, be it of Shah Rukh's or anybody else's, if it is approved
by Censor Board, it will run and the government will protect it,"
Chavan told reporters at the sidelines of the Chief Ministers'
conference on price rise here.
"Even I will go and watch those movies," he said.
"We will make sure that not only Shiv Sena, but any person or any
organisation trying to create disturbance is dealt with strictly as
per the law of the land," he said.
The Chief Minister was replying to a question related to controversy
surrounding the movie star who is under attack by Shiv Sena for his
remark on Pakistani cricketers.
The Sena has threatened not to allow the release of Khan's upcoming
film 'My Name is Khan' on February 12.
Against the backdrop of Rahul Gandhi's visit to Mumbai remaining free
of any untoward incident despite Sena's call to show him black flags,
he said, "I do not want to take credit. I am happy about one thing
that they (Sena) understood it.
"I have said that the state will function as per constitution. The
government will take action against anybody who tries to bully
someone," Chavan said.
http://sify.com/news/bullying-not-to-be-tolerated-says-maharashtra-cm-news-national-kcgsEfabbfd.html
IANS
Statehood call shuts down Maharashtra's Vidarbha region
2010-01-20 11:40:00
Last Updated: 2010-01-20 11:58:49
Nagpur: Long distance and local services were disrupted, state
transport buses stoned and most private and government offices closed
as the daylong shutdown for a separate state of Vidarbha, to be carved
out of Maharashtra, began Wednesday.
Maharashtra police deployed heavy security in Nagpur and other major
towns of the 11 districts where the shutdown called by 68 political
parties and groups - Vidarbha Nirman Sangram Samiti (VNSS) - evoked a
spontaneous and enthusiastic response, the organisers said.
'All schools, colleges, a majority of government offices and over a
lakh commercial and business establishments in entire Vidarbha have
taken part in the shutdown,' said Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS)
chief Kishor Tiwari.
The Vidarbha region comprises the districts of Nagpur, Chandrapur,
Gondiya, Bhandara, Gadchiroli, Wardha, Amravati, Yavatmal, Buldana,
Akola and Washim, with a total population of 30 million.
As part of the shutdown, the long distance Vidarbha Express was halted
briefly by the agitators, while attempts were made to stop other
trains entering from north, east and south India at various points,
railway officials said.
After suicides, shutdown hits life in Telangana
Huge traffic snarls were witnessed at the state's borders with
Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh as vehicular movement on the national
highways was stopped by pro-Vidarbha agitators.
Similarly, all traffic also came to a standstill on the state highways
and district roads in the entire region.
Nagpur city was deserted as all public and private vehicles remained
off the roads and commercial establishments downed shutters.
In Yavatmal, a group of 50 farm widows squatted outside the State Bank
of India office raising slogans for a separate state and for justice
to the farmers.
In several Yavatmal villages, rallies were taken out and local leaders
demanded a separate state of Vidarbha for the region's development.
People also enacted farmer suicides, consuming poison or immolating
them as crowds cheered and raised a chorus for a separate state.
r suicides, shutdown hits life in Telangana
2010-01-20 10:30:00
Last Updated: 2010-01-20 10:39:58
Hyderabad: Normal life in Hyderabad and nine other districts of the
Telangana region came to a halt as a 48-hour shutdown called by the
Joint Action Committee (JAC) of students began Wednesday to protest
the delay in the formation of a separate state out of Andhra Pradesh.
Since Monday, two students have killed themselves over the issue.
State-owned Road Transport Corporation (RTC) suspended its bus
services while shops, business establishments and educational
institutions remained closed.
All political parties have supported the shutdown. The JAC called for
a strike after two students, depressed over the delay in carving out a
separate Telangana state, committed suicide.
K. Venugopal Reddy, a final year student of MCA, set himself ablaze at
Osmania University here late Monday. Suvarnamma, a first year BSc
student in Mahabubnagar district, set herself ablaze late Tuesday.
Tension prevailed at Osmania University campus for the second
consecutive day as students continued their protest with the body of
Reddy. The JAC leaders, who sat in front of the Arts College building
with the body through Tuesday night, said they would not allow it to
be moved unless all MPs and state legislators from the region resign
in support of the Telangana statehood demand.
In an attempt to shift the body, police brought additional forces to
the campus on Wednesday morning.
The self-immolations triggered angry protests by students across
Telangana. The students' JAC called for a two-day shutdown Wednesday
and Thursday.
The politicians' JAC, which comprises all parties including the ruling
Congress, has supported the shutdown for Wednesday.
The JAC also announced that all elected representatives would submit
their resignations from Wednesday and those who have already done so
would press for their acceptance.
Five legislators of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and one of Praja
Rajyam Party (PRP) began a sit-in at the house of assembly speaker
Kirankumar Reddy on Tuesday night, urging him to immediately accept
their resignations. The speaker, however, sought two to three days to
take a decision.
With the legislators continuing their protest, the police took them
into custody. They were later released.
All 39 legislators of main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) have
also decided to press the speaker to accept their resignations.
http://sify.com/news/after-suicides-shutdown-hits-life-in-telangana-news-education-kbuk4biegdg.html
Maneka Gandhi stopped from entering riot-hit Bareilly
2010-03-14 12:50:00
Noted animal-rights activist and Aonla MP Maneka Gandhi, who is
heading the three member panel appointed by the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) to monitor the situation in riot-hit Bareilly was on Sunday not
allowed to enter the city.
Sources said police personnel stopped Gandhi near Ghaziabad, while
enroute to Bareilly.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Nitin Gadkari had sent a three-
member team to riot-hit Bareilly to take note of the prevailing
situation.
Bareilly has been tense for several days following the release of a
cleric, who was arrested on charges of inciting clashes.
Mobs torched about 20 shops in the old Bareilly area on Saturday
though curfew was in force in most parts of the city affected by
communal violence. The authorities have rushed additional forces to
the city.
The Uttar Pradesh Government has ordered the closure of all
educational institutions there, and provided the police with a
helicopter to monitor trouble-hit areas. Uttar Pradesh Police had last
Monday (March 8) taken into its custody Maulana Khan, the leader of
Ittehad-e-Millat Conference. He was later released on Thursday (March
11) evening.
The right-wing Hindu outfit Bajrang Dal criticising his release soon
turned into action following which there was a violent backlash and
curfew was imposed in the areas of the city. (ANI)
Many new faces in Gadkari's new team; Anurag to be new BJYM Head
New Delhi, Mar 14: Many new faces will be find a place in BJP
President Nitin Gadkari's new team and the name of Himachal Pradesh
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal's son Anurag Thakur, an MP, has been
given the party's nod for the post of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha
Chief, party sources said today.
The decision to appoint Anurag to the post of BJYM is likely to raise
the hackles of those in the party who have been raising their voice
from time to time against dynasty politics, they added.
Rajnath Singh, during his tenure as BJP President, had appointed his
son Pankaj Singh as the Head of the Uttar Pradesh unit of the BJYM,
but had rolled back his decision, saying that would set a wrong
precedent in the party and would only encourage dynasty politics.
Party MP from Pilibhit Varun Gandhi along with BJYM Chief Amit Thakar
is likely to be given the post of secretary. It might also court
controversy in the party as Varun had been at the centre of a storm
due to his alleged hate speech in the run-up to the Lok Sabha
elections last year.
Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda, youth leader Dharmendra
Pradhan and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje will be
made general secretaries in the new team of Mr Gadkari, which will be
announced on March 16 on the occasion of Hindu New Year Gudi Padwa,
almost three months after he took over the reins of the saffron party,
sources informed.
Party Spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad is being promoted to the post
of general secretary.
Ananth Kumar, Thawar Chand Gehlot, Ramlal have also been roped in the
new team of Mr Gadkari as general secretaries.
Yashwant Sinha, J P Nadda, Kalraj Mishra, Kiran Maheshwari, Saroj
Pandey, Karuna Shukla will also be there in the team.
Saroj Pandey is likely to be made Bharatiya Janata Mahila Morcha
chief.
The number of office-bearers and members of national executive has
also been increased, the sources added.
--UNI
BJP secy blames Bapu for Partition
Vikas Pathak, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, February 15, 2010
First Published: 23:54 IST(15/2/2010)
Last Updated: 23:55 IST(15/2/2010)
The BJP hasn’t said the last word on Partition yet.
Months after Jaswant Singh blamed Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel
for the country’s division on the eve of Independence and invited
expulsion from the BJP for praising Pakistan founder MA Jinnah, party
leader Balbir Punj has pointed the finger at Mahatma Gandhi.
The BJP’s national secretary and Rajya Sabha member has blamed Gandhi
for the “original sin” that culminated in Partition.
“Gandhiji’s unstinted support for restoration of Khilafat in faraway
Turkey in 1920s ultimately led to the Partition…,” Punj writes an
article in a booklet, Vikalp (Alternative).
Khilafat movement (1919-24) was aimed at restoring the office of the
Caliph abolished by the British.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s “Muslim First” policy is in the same
tradition, he adds.
The booklet was released in the presence of BJP president Nitin
Gadkari and senior leader L.K. Advani on the February 11, the death
anniversary of Jan Sangh ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyaya. Jan Sangh was
the predecessor of the BJP.
Indian nationalism was always Hindu, says Punj. It was from Gandhi’s
time that Hindus got demoted to the status of a mere community. Salwa
Judums and the recent Orissa outbursts against evangelism (read
Kandhamal riots) are truly nationalist in nature, says Punj.
“All this history writing is because the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsewak
Sangh) was conspicuously absent during the national movement,” said
Jyotirmaya Sharma of Hyderabad Central University, an expert on
Hindutva politics.
Punj’s argument underlines the inconsistency of the Sangh Parivar in
resolving Gandhi, who is alternately condemned and appropriated.
While the BJP claims to follow Gandhian ideas right from its inception
in 1980 — in the first session former prime minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee had invoked “Gandhian socialism” — glimpses of the pre-
Partition Hindutva critique of Gandhi as “pro-Muslim” does make its
way into the Parivar’s discourse now and then.
Bareilly yet to simmer down
Pioneer News Service | Lucknow
Curfew extended to more areas
With four more shops being gutted in curfew-bound areas of Bareilly
and resentment brewing among members of the majority community over
the release of riot accused Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan, the situation
in the strife-torn city remained tense on Saturday.
However, no further clashes were reported from anywhere since Friday
night. Earlier, on Friday evening, nearly 20 shops at a local
vegetable market were reduced to ashes, which the administration
claimed was due to a short-circuit and not orchestrated by any group
as was being alleged.
ADG (Crime, Law & order) Brij Lal claimed that the fire incidents were
due to short-circuits and claimed that if the situation remained
incident-free, the administration might relax curfew from Sunday.
As per reports, some shops in Subash Nagar area were reduced to ashes
and locals immediately alleged that it was the handiwork of a
particular community which indulged in wanton arson. However, ADG Brij
Lal and DM of Bareilly shot down the claim saying that it was due to a
short-circuit.
The fire was doused by the fire-tenders soon after they learnt of the
incident on Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, a large section of a community took to the streets to
protest the manner in which riot accused Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan was
released by the police.
The agitators claimed that the administration succumbed under the
pressure of a Cabinet Minister and bailed out Tauqeer claiming that
there were no evidence against him and that his arrest was made on the
basis of an FIR.
Sources even claimed that former DM Asheesh Goel was shunted out
because he refused to give a clean chit to the riot accused cleric and
release him as he believed that the administration had sufficient
grounds for his arrest.
The Maulana’s release fuelled tension in Bareilly on Friday. Members
from the community took to the streets in protest and torched business
establishment, vehicles and engaged in heavy brick-batting which left
50 persons injured, including a dozen cops and the SP City.
Following the violence, eight senior officers were rushed to Bareilly
to defuse the situation and curfew was extended in Subash Nagar area,
beside reimposing dusk to dawn curfew in the four police circles
stations, where curfew was earlier relaxed.
Meanwhile, BJP president Nitin Gadkari has appointed a three-member
team of senior party leaders led by Maneka Gandhi to visit the riot-
hit Bareilly and submit a report on the events there. “We will be
leaving on Sunday for Bareilly and will be back by evening,” Maneka
told PTI in New Delhi. The team, consisting of Maneka, Gorakhpur MP
Yogi Adityanath and Meerut MP Rajendra Agarwal, is expected to submit
a report to the party president on the steps taken to control the
riots and the relief given to the affected people.
COMMENTS BOARD ::
secular media
By vinay chandran on 3/14/2010 12:03:34 PM
when the majority community is attacked the socalled secular media
ignores it.
when it is the other way round they make a big fuss about it.
The Truth of Bareilly Riots
By Aditya on 3/14/2010 11:29:02 AM
It was a usual 12 wafaat procession going on for many years (mind it
Bareilly is great seat of Sunni Muslim school). The city has
unparalleled history of communal harmony and pluralistic life style.
No one among my parents and uncles remembers anything ever going wrong
between hindus and muslims for past as many decades as can possibly be
remembered by living generations. Then what went wrong???!!!
This procession was scheduled on the very day of Holi but in line with
the communal tolearance
Why Is this Incident Ignored by English News Channels
By Rajeev - UK on 3/14/2010 3:52:28 AM
Why are national english TV news channel not showing this news at all.
Its surprising that a leader who preached hate was released due to
pressure of roiters, this is India and Not SWAT valley. Where are the
secular leaders now why isnt that leader put behind the bars again.
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Tell it like it is.
>
> BJP names Rajay Sabha candidates from Punjab, Himachal
> Indo-Asian News Service
> New Delhi, March 15, 2010
>
> First Published: 17:07 IST(15/3/2010)
> Last Updated: 17:08 IST(15/3/2010)
>
> The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to field Avinash Rai
> Khanna in Punjab and Vimla Kashyap in Himachal Pradesh in the Rajya
> Sabha elections.
>
> In Punjab, three seats are expected to go to the ruling Akali Dal-BJP
> combine and two to the Congress. In Himachal, the lone seat is
> expected to go to the ruling BJP.
>
> The decision was taken at the central election committee of the BJP
> that met on Monday with president Nitin Gadkari in the chair.
>
> The last date for filing nominations is March 16. Polling, if
> necessary, will take place March 26.
>
> The terms of Rajya Sabha members from Punjab -- Sports Minister M S
> Gill, former minister Ashwani Kumar and D P Sabharwal (all Congress)
> and V S Bajwa (Akali Dal) -- are ending April 9. The term of Akali Dal
> member Naresh Gujral will end March 22.
>
> In Himachal, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma's term ends April 3.
>
>
> BJP looks to gain mileage from support
> Shekhar Iyer, Hindustan Times
> New Delhi, March 07, 2010
>
> First Published: 00:49 IST(7/3/2010)
> Last Updated: 00:52 IST(7/3/2010)
>
> The BJP will not let the Congress walk away with all credit if
> Parliament passes the Women’s Reservation Bill.
>
> A day after a whip to its MPs to back the bill, party leaders did not
> mince words in saying that since the UPA coalition was in minority in
> Rajya Sabha, the onus of getting it adopted was with the main
> opposition.
>
> Party chief Nitin Gadkari called an emergency meeting of the core
> group on Saturday to discuss the bill.
>
> “The core group unanimously decided to ensure passage of Bill,” he
> said.
>
>
> read more »
Tell it like it is.
>
> read more »- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Read the Protocols of Zion on the web if you don't agree the very
things described therein are happening and will continue to happen,
and yet we all deny them.
'Who are you going to believe me or your own eyes?"
-U.S. Vice President Joe
Biden
Sid Harth
This page deals with the Hindu varna. For other uses of this word and
similar words, see Brahmana, Brahman and Brahman (disambiguation).
A Brahmin (anglicised from the Sanskrit word IAST '; Devanagari ),
also known as Vipra, Dvija, Dvijottama (best of the Dvijas), (god on
Earth) is a member of a caste within Hindu society. Historically,
Hindu society consisted of four based on occupation and divine birth:
Brahmin (reciter of the Vedas as they came from the mouth of Brahma),
Kshatriya (protectors of Dharma, since they are the arms of Brahma),
Vaishya (mercantile and agricultural class, since they are from the
body of Brahma) and Shudra (artisan and labour class, since they are
from the feet of Brahma).
However, in addition to these four classes, there were many other
tribes mentioned in mythology such as Gandharvas, Yakshas, Kinnaras,
Kimpurushas, Rakshasas, Nagas, Suparnas, Vanaras, Vidyadharas,
Valikilyas, Pisachas, Devas, Vasus, Rudras, Maruts, Adityas, Asuras,
Danavas, Daityas, Kalakeyas, Mlechchas etc. Today, the Hindu society
in modern India is divided into four classes based on birth: Forward
Castes/communities (FCs), Backward Caste/communities (BCs), Scheduled
Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).
In the 1931 caste census taken by the Colonial British government,
Brahmins were 4.32% of the total population. Even in Uttar Pradesh,
where they are most numerous, the Brahmins constituted just 9% of the
total populace. In Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, they formed less
than 3% and 2% of the population respectively.
The Nirukta of sage Yaska says ' — A Brahmin is a person who knows
Brahman, the ultimate reality or God; hence Brahmin means, "knower of
God". However, the historical situation in Hindu society is that
Brahmins are the traditional priests and pundits (scholars). Today
however, many Brahmins are employed in secular occupations and their
religious traditions and culture are fast disappearing from their
lives.
History
The history of the Brahmin community in India begins with the Vedic
religion in ancient India. The Manu Smriti, an ancient Smriti, refers
to Aryavarta.The Vedas are the primary source of knowledge for all
brahmin practices. All the sampradayas of Brahmins take inspiration
from the Vedas. Traditionally, it is believed that Vedas are ' (not
written by either humans or God) and anÄ di (beginingless), but are
revealed truths of eternal validity. The Vedas are considered Åšruti
(that which is heard, signifying the oral tradition).
Due to the diversity in religious and cultural traditions and
practices, and the Vedic schools which they belong to, Brahmins are
further divided into various subcastes. During the sutra period,
roughly between 1000 BCE to 200 BCE, Brahmins became divided into
various Shakhas (branches), based on the adoption of different Vedas
and different rescension Vedas. Sects for different denominations of
the same branch of the Vedas were formed, under the leadership of
distinguished teachers among Brahmins. The teachings of these
distinguished rishis are called '. Every Veda has its own . The that
deal with social, moral and legal precepts are called Dharma Sutras,
whereas those that deal with ceremonials are called Shrauta Sutras and
domestic rituals are called Grhya Sutras. are generally written in
prose or in mixed prose and verse.
There are several Brahmin law givers such as Angirasa, Apasthambha,
Atri, Brihaspati, Boudhayana, Daksha, Gautam, Harita, Katyayana,
Likhita, Manu, Parasara, Samvarta, Shankha, Shatatapa, Ushanasa,
Vashishta, Vishnu, Vyasa, Yajnavalkya and Yama. These twenty-one
rishis were the propounders of Smritis. The oldest among these smritis
are Apastamba, Baudhayana, Gautama, and Vasishta Sutras.Manu Smriti on
learning of the Vedas
Nature of Brahmin
"Samodamastapah Saucham
Kshanthiraarjavamevacha
Jnanam Vijnaanamaastikyam
Brahmakarma Swabhavajam!"
Control on emotions, Control on senses, Purity, Tolerance, Simplicity,
Concentration and belief in knowledge and science
Duties of Brahmin
The six duties of a Brahmin are given as per the Sloka
"Adhyaapanam Adhyayanam
Yajanam Yaajanam Tathaa
Daanam Pratigraham Chaiva
Brahmanaanaamakalpayaat"
Teaching, learning, performing Yaaga, make performing Yaga, accept
Daana, and give Daana are the six duties of a Brahmin.
Practices
Adi Shankara (centre) is the Hindu philosopher whose tradition is
followed by Smarta Brahmins
Brahmins adhere to the principles of Hinduism, such as acceptance of
the Vedas with reverence, adherence to the position that the means or
ways to salvation and realization of the ultimate truth are diverse,
that God is one, but has innumerable names and forms to chant and
worship due to our varied perceptions, cultures and languages.
Brahmins believe in ' — Let the entire society be happy and prosperous
and ' — the whole world is one family. Some Brahmins practice
vegetarianism (Bengali Brahmins and Kashmiri Pandits are exceptions to
this).
Daily routine
Hindu Brahmins hold practice of Dharma more important than beliefs.
This is a distinct feature of the Dharmic religions. The practices
include mainly Yajnas. The daily routineA day in the life of a Brahmin
includes performing Snana (bathing), Sandhyavandanam, Japa, Puja,
Aupasana and Agnihotra. The last two named Yajnas are performed in
only a few households today. Brahmacharis perform Agnikaryam instead
of Agnihotra or Aupasana. The other rituals followed include Amavasya
tarpanam and Shraddha.
See Also: Nitya karma and Kaamya karma
Samskaras
Brahmins also perform sixteen major Samskaras (rites) during the
course of their life-time.The Forty Samskaras In the pre-natal stage,
Garbhadharana (Conception), Pumsavana (Rite for consecrating a male
child in the womb) and Simantonnayana (Rite for parting the hair of a
pregnant woman) are performed. During childhood, Jatakarma (Birth
ceremony), Namakarana (Naming ceremony), Nishkarmana (First outing)
Annaprasana (First feeding solid food), Choodakarana (First tonsure)
and Karnavedha (Piercing of the ear lobes) are performed.During
education of the child, Vidhyarambha (Starting of education),
Upanayanam (Thread ceremony- Initiation), Vedarambha (Starting of the
study of the Vedas), Keshanta or Godana (First shaving of the beard)
and Samavartanam or Snaana (Ending of studentship) are performed.
Suring adulthood, Vivaha (Marriage) and Anthyesthi (Funeral rites) are
the main ceremonies.
Sampradayas
The three sampradayas (traditions) of Brahmins, especially in South
India are the Smarta sampradaya, the Srivaishnava sampradaya and the
Maadhva sampradaya.
Status of Brahmins Today
Historically Brahmins have been not only ascetics, sages and priests
for millennia seeking welfare of the society, but also secular clerks,
merchants, agriculturists, artisans, etc. They were also very poor. In
the modern democratic India, the Brahmins are still not only poverty
stricken, but also shunted out of every opportunity,The status of
Brahmins in Andhra Pradesh
http://www.vedah.net/manasanskriti/puranam.html
#Poor_Brahmins Brahmin Poverty] despite the fact that Prime Ministers
like Jawaharlal Nehru, Venkatanarasimharao Pamulaparti (P.V. Narasimha
Rao), and Atal Behari Vajpayee have been Brahmins. French journalist
Francois GautierFrancois
Gautier.com
has written on the sad state of Brahmins in India today.Are Brahmins
the Dalits of today?
Contributions to modern India
Brahmins have contributed immensely to the making of modern Indiain
many fields like literature, science and technology, politics,
culture, scholarship, religion etc. In the Indian independence
movement, many Brahmins like Balgangadhar Tilak, Gopal Krishna
Gokhale, C. Rajagopalachari and others were at the forefront of the
struggle for freedom. After independence, Jawaharlal Nehru, a Brahmin
and an atheist, became the first Prime Minister of India. Later,
Brahmins like P.V. Narasimha Rao and Atal Behari Vajpayee became Prime
Ministers. even now after persecution of brahmans by politicians they
hold top posts in administration, academia ,business, army,
jouranalism etc. Infact it was those Brahmin leaders like
Rajagopalachari and Thilak who fought for the upliftment of the
socially backward dalits and their equality in the society.
See also:List of Brahmins
Persecution
The anti-Brahmin sentiment was first kindled in India by the Dravidar
Kazhagam movement in Tamil Nadu. Caste & the Tamil Nation -Brahmins,
Non Brahmins & Dalits This was a reaction to the Brahmin hegemony in
the Civil services under the British government. In later years, this
movement caught on in many other parts of India even after
independence.
Communities
http://en.allexperts.com/e/d/dr/dravidar_kazhagam.htm
http://en.allexperts.com/e/t/ta/tamil_nadu.htm
http://en.allexperts.com/e/b/br/british_india.htm
Brahmin castes in the Indian subcontinent are traditionally divided
into two regional groups: Pancha-Gauda Brahmins and Pancha-Dravida
Brahmins as per the shloka,
http://en.allexperts.com/e/i/in/indian_subcontinent.htm
करॠणाटकाशॠच तैलंगा दॠरावà¤
¿à¤¡à¤¾ महाराषॠटॠरकाः,गॠरॠजराà
¤¶à¥ चेति पञॠचैव दॠराविडा विà
¤¨à¥ धॠयदकॠषिणे ¦¦
सारसॠवताः कानॠयकॠबॠजा गौà¤
¡à¤¾ उतॠकलमैथिलाः,पनॠचगौडा इà
¤¤à¤¿ खॠयाता विनॠधॠसॠयोतॠतरवà
¤¾à¤¸à¤¿à¤¨à¤ƒ
http://en.allexperts.com/e/s/sh/shloka.htm
The classification first occurs in Rajatarangini of Kalhana.
http://en.allexperts.com/e/r/ra/rajatarangini.htm
http://en.allexperts.com/e/k/ka/kalhana.htm
See also
* Varnas
http://en.allexperts.com/e/v/va/varnas.htm
* Brahmanism
http://en.allexperts.com/e/b/br/brahmanism.htm
* Anti-Brahmanism
http://en.allexperts.com/e/a/an/anti-brahmanism.htm
*Brahmin Contribution to Other Religions
http://en.allexperts.com/e/b/br/brahmin_contribution_to_other_religions.htm
Notes
References
*Definitions: A Sanskrit English Dictionary by Sir Monier Monier-
Williams
*Mayne's "Treatise on Hindu Law and Usage.
Hindu Castes and Sects Jogendranath Bhattacharya.
Andhra Viprula Gotramulu, Indla Perlu, Sakhalu by Emmesroy Sastri.
History and Culture of Andhra Pradesh Rao PR.
History of India Herman Kulke and Dietmar Rothermund.
Acharalu sastriyataNarayanareddi Patil.
Hindu Manners, Customs, and Ceremonies Abbe J. A. Dubois
External links
*List Of Andhra Brahmins And Surnames
http://www.maganti.org/PDFdocs/brahmins.pdf
*Brahmins
http://www.vedah.net/manasanskriti/Brahmins.html
*Brahmins of Andhra Pradesh
http://www.vedah.net/manasanskriti/Brahmins.html#Brahmins_of_Andhra_Pradesh
*Poverty Stricken Brahmins
http://www.vepachedu.org/brahmana-tribe.html#The_Mouths_that_Recited_Vedas_are
*Source: Vepachedu Educational Foundation Inc.
http://www.vepachedu.org/
*Brahmin Sages and Branches (Gotras and Subcastes)
http://www.vedah.net/manasanskriti/Brahmins.html#Brahmin_Sages_and_Branches
* A Long List of Brahmin Castes and Sub-castes
http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/people/brahmins/list.htm
* Brahmin Yahoo Groups
Related Articles
• International Religious Freedom Report 1999: India
http://atheism.about.com/library/irf/irf99/blirf_india99.htm
• Who is a Hindu?
http://hinduism.about.com/od/basics/a/whois.htm
• Age of the Spiritual Superpower
http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/aa013100.htm
• International Religious Freedom Report 2000: India
http://atheism.about.com/library/irf/irf00/blirf_india00.htm
• ºìÂ¥ÃÎ(Chinese GB)
http://chineseculture.about.com/library/literature/classic/famous/nshlm092.htm
http://en.allexperts.com/e/b/br/brahmin.htm
When will the Brahmin-Bania hegemony end?
The Brahmin and the Bania still control the economy, but now the
Shudra controls politics
Reply To All | Aakar Patel
On 9 April, the Supreme Court rejected a plea that the 2011 census be
caste-based. CII and Ficci oppose job reservations in the private
sector, but Manmohan Singh is keen. India’s population of Brahmins and
Banias and Jains all together is 6% or less.
Ruling axis: Jawaharlal Nehru, a Brahmin, became Prime Minister with
the blessings of Mahatma Gandhi, a Bania.
The Sensex comprises the 30 largest traded companies of India.
ACC is run by a Brahmin (Sumit Banerjee), Bhel is run by a Brahmin
(Ravi Kumar Krishna Swamy), Bharti Airtel is run by a Bania (Sunil
Mittal), Grasim and Hindalco are run by a Bania (Kumar Mangalam
Birla).
HDFC is run by a Bania (Deepak Parekh), Hindustan Unilever is run by a
Brahmin (Nitin Paranjpe), ICICI Bank is headed by a Brahmin (K.V.
Kamath). Jaiprakash Associates is run by a Brahmin (Yogesh Gaur), L&T
is run by a Brahmin (A.M. Naik), NTPC is run by a Brahmin (R.S.
Sharma), ONGC is run by a Brahmin (also called R.S. Sharma). Reliance
group firms are run by Banias (Mukesh and Anil Ambani), State Bank of
India is run by a Brahmin (O.P. Bhatt), Sterlite Industries is run by
a Bania (Anil Agarwal), Sun Pharma is run by a Bania (Dilip Shanghvi)
and Tata Steel is run by a Brahmin (B. Muthuraman).
Punjab National Bank is run by a Brahmin (K.C. Chakrabarty), Bank of
Baroda is run by a Brahmin (M.D. Mallya) and Canara Bank is run by a
Bania (A.C. Mahajan).
Also Read Aakar Patel’s earlier columns
Of India’s software companies, Infosys is run by a Brahmin (Kris
Gopalakrishnan now and Narayana Murthy and Nandan Nilekani before
him). TCS is run by a Brahmin (Subramanian Ramadorai). Wipro is owned
by a Khoja (Azim Premji). Khojas are Shia of the Sevener sect,
converted from the Luhana trading community (same caste as L.K. Advani
and M.A. Jinnah).
India’s two largest airlines are Kingfisher, owned by a Brahmin (Vijay
Mallya) and Jet, owned by a Bania (Naresh Goyal).
Of India’s mobile phone firms, Reliance Communications (Ambani),
Airtel (Mittal), Vodafone Essar (Ruia), Idea (Birla), Spice (Modi) are
owned by Banias. BSNL is run by a Bania (Kuldeep Goyal) and Tata’s
TTML is run by a Brahmin (K.A. Chaukar).
Cricket in India is run by a Bania (Lalit Modi) and before him it was
run by another Bania (Jagmohan Dalmiya).
http://www.livemint.com/2009/08/27220957/When-will-the-BrahminBania-he.html
Posted: Tue, Apr 7 2009. 12:30 AM IST
Economy and Politics
Mixing Vedas and code in new-age India
After seven years of juggling Vedas and school, Satya, a Tamil
Brahmin, had to make the big decision: whether to follow his family
and make a career in Hindu priesthood--or to forge his own new path.
As an undergraduate engineering student now, he has only temporarily
kept the decision on hold
Samanth Subramanian
Chennai: If this were 1989, or indeed 1979 or even 1799, S.
Sathyanarayanan would probably not possess the full head of hair he
does today. Instead, he would have shaved the front half of his skull
and then swept his remaining hair back to resemble a bulging half-
moon, knotted loosely at the back—a distinctive do for a young Brahmin
who would have been preparing to follow his father, his uncles and his
cousins into a career of Hindu priesthood.
Photo: Sharp Image
But this is 2009, and Sathya, as he introduces himself, has a short
but regular haircut, grown out from a few months ago, when he passed
his final year’s exams in a pathshala—Vedic school—run by the Sri
Ahobila Muth, a Hindu religious institution.
“We had to have our hair pulled back when we sat for our exams. It was
the rule,” he says. Sathya’s new look, though, fits right in at the
Rajalakshmi Institute of Technology, where he has started an
engineering degree, becoming the first in his family to attend
college. Sathya turned 18 in July, just as he was completing seven
years of Vedic education that came with a punishing schedule.
“Our Veda classes started at 4.30am and went till 7am,” he says. “Then
we had regular school from 9am to 4pm. Then more Veda classes from 4pm
to 7pm, and then supervised independent study in school from 7pm to
9pm.”
Apart from two monthly holidays, on the days after amavasya (no-moon
nights) and pournami (Tamil for full-moon nights), this arduous
regimen ran for six days a week; on Sunday, Sathya was still required
to attend Veda classes for five hours in the morning and two in the
evenings.
Also Read The boy who broke from tradition
“He’d never go anywhere but school, or maybe to the market to buy
vegetables” his mother Shanti remembers. “Every spare moment he could
get, he’d simply lie down and go to sleep.” Sathya saw his first movie
in a theatre when he was 16, and he got his first email address just
earlier this year. His only distraction, he admits, was the one
universally shared by Indian boyhood: Sunday evening games of cricket,
at a cramped ground near his house or in the narrow corridors of his
block of apartments.
BRAHMINICAL UPBRINGING
Sathya is short and slight, and he has a thin moustache, worn almost
out of rebellious joy that he is now no longer bound by the rules of
the pathshala, where every student had to be clean-shaven every day.
His slow grin fights its way through a mouthful of braces that he
wears to correct a misaligned jaw. “Because of that, my speech used to
be slurred, and I’d be very reluctant to talk in school, even to my
teachers,” he says. He had to give up flute lessons after two years
because his gums would begin to bleed. But the braces are helping—
Sathya still mumbles, but it sounds less like a medical problem and
more like a typical case of teenage shyness. “I find myself talking a
lot more willingly in college now.”
http://www.livemint.com/2009/04/06224522/Mixing-Vedas-and-code-in-newa.html
Posted: Fri, Nov 16 2007. 4:42 AM IST
Home
TN’s anti-Brahmin movement hits tradition, boosts real estate
Brahmins are finding ways to survive in changing times, while clinging
to old traditions
Priyanka P. Narain
Kannan’s house, which sits across the street from the ancient
Parthasarthy temple in the heart of Chennai, has not changed in 500
years: the palanquin his forefathers used now hangs on wooden beams
and he draws water from the same well as them. In his backyard, a
brown calf chews cud.
For centuries, Brahmin families such as Kannan’s have lived and worked
in the streets or villages around ancient temples. These four streets,
called the agraharam, created a subculture where Brahmin priests lived
a chaste life and performed traditional duties as priests and teachers
by running the temple and teaching the Vedas to students. They
essentially formed the ecosystem that ran the temples of south India.
Yet, against a backdrop of Tamil Nadu’s anti-Brahmin movement,
government policies outlawing the Brahmin-only colonies, skyrocketing
real estate prices and Brahmins’ declining social relevance, the
culture of the agraharam and people such as Kannan, who uses one name,
are becoming a rarity.
Earlier this year came another policy change—temple authorities will
now train their own priests, and priests no longer have to be
Brahmins, making older Brahmin priests all, but irrelevant.
With growing economic prosperity and migration, many of the streets
occupied by Brahmins in south Indian cities are finding it hard to
resist selling out.
Just memories? Interiors of Kannan’s 500-year-old house that sits
across the street from the Parthasarthy temple in Mylapore.
From Kannan’s house, it is easy to see the new white, pink and yellow
coloured buildings of residences, malls and coffee shops. Another
being constructed adjoins his backyard. He insists he will hang on—to
the past; to the identity.
“I would get about Rs3 crore for it (my house). But I will not sell. I
want my children and grandchildren to own it. Without this house, what
am I?” says Kannan, who has a postgraduate degree in economics.
Brahmins are finding ways to survive in changing times, while clinging
to old traditions.
Babu Das grew up helping his father run a canteen, or mess as it is
called in south India, inside his pink-coloured home at the
Kapaleeshwar temple agraharam in Chennai’s Mylapore area. The
Karpagambal Mess is famous for its authentic Tamil snacks, home-made
idlis and dosai served on banana-leaf plates while playing while
playing M.S. Subbalaxmi’s rendition of the Vishnu Sahasranama, the
thousand names of Vishnu.
Das inherited the canteen from his father, but does not know how old
the building is. “I love everything about this place. No one wants to
change anything about it. The people who come here to eat like it for
what it is. After all, money can buy you the latest trends, but will
it bring back this tradition?” he asks.
http://www.livemint.com/2007/11/16235400/TN8217s-antiBrahmin-moveme.html
Posted: Fri, Feb 19 2010. 9:37 PM IST
Culture
The Thackerays’ primitive charisma
The Senas have nothing constructive to offer Marathis. So what’s their
appeal? The Mumbai Marathi, better at renaming things than building
something himself, is disinherited from his city, and the Thackerays
give him an illusory sense of powerReply to All | Aakar Patel
All these events blocked eventually come to pass anyway, because the
control is cosmetic, and it wilts when the state decides to apply rule
of law. But that moment of theatre—when the media exhibits anguish—
produces the spotlight that nourishes the Thackerays. This is the
pattern to Shiv Sena’s actions.
It might appear that these actions are irrational, but the Thackerays’
method is cold and reasoned to squeeze out advantage. Witness the
discipline of Raj. He works his strategy with great care. On national
television he speaks Marathi no matter what language he is questioned
in. The Marathi loves this because it reflects his defiance.
There is a second reason why the Thackerays are compelled to make a
nuisance of themselves every so often. Unlike other parties, Shiv Sena
has a physical presence in neighbourhoods. These offices, run by local
toughs, are self-funded, meaning that they approach businesses and
residents for “donations”. This activity can be smooth only so long as
Shiv Sena radiates menace. The party is not effective if it isn’t
feared, and the grass roots reminds the leadership of this.
The Marathi pattern of resentment we have observed is visible
elsewhere in time.
India’s nationalist debate a century ago was dominated by the
Marathis: Tilak, Gokhale, Agarkar and Ranade. All four were Chitpavan
Brahmins, whose members are fair-skinned and unique for their light
eyes (like cricketer Ajit Agarkar and model Aditi Govitrikar).
Going against the current noise about Marathi in schools, Chitpavans
actually demanded to be educated in English. By 1911—100 years ago—
Chitpavans were 63% literate and 19% literate in English. This gave
them the edge over other Indians.
All four were on the most influential body in western India of the
time, Poona Sarvajanik Sabha. But English education had not exorcized
the native instinct. There they unleashed their pettiness on each
other. Agarkar and Tilak fought over leadership. Tilak was forced out
in 1890 after quarrels over social status and money. Gokhale took his
place but was opposed by Tilak who said the job required 2 hours of
work daily and so it couldn’t be done by a college principal. Ranade
was attacked in Tilak’s newspapers and Gokhale quit in 1895 because he
couldn’t work with Tilak’s friends. A jealous Tilak sabotaged the
Congress session held in Pune the same year.
When the Gujaratis—Jinnah and Gandhi—entered Congress, they
immediately eclipsed the Marathis, because they had the trader’s
instinct towards compromise. The Marathi Brahmin’s energy was then
channelled into resentment, this time against Muslims.
RSS, founded in 1925, is actually a deeply Marathi organization.
Hindutva author Savarkar, RSS founder Hedgewar, the great Golwalkar,
his successor Deoras and current sarsanghachalak Mohan Bhagwat are all
Marathi Brahmins.
Marathi resentment cuts down its own heroes. The first was Shivaji.
Marathi Brahmins refused to crown him though he controlled dozens of
forts in the Konkan. This was because he was a peasant from the
cultivator caste and not a Kshatriya. He had to invent an ancestry,
perform penance and bring in a Brahmin from Kashi before he could
crown himself in 1674, with the title Chhatrapati, meaning leader of
Kshatriyas.
Comments
What a blatant piece of crap!! And that too a center-spread in Mint!!
And what a branding! I have came across lies which stink of hatred
while reading this bullshit. Now I know that Tilak was a petty man,
was Brahmin, and is not much relevant. That Jinnah and Gandhi (who
calls Gokhle his Guru), were Gujaratis. Though, both owe a lot to
Maharashtra. I just want to ask this 'pseudo-expert' why Ambedkar was
borne in Maharashtra? Why Maharashtra had reformist stalwarts? Why,
when all other states (including GJ) in India were reeling under
Muslim rule, only Maharashtra created a king of people in Shivaji?
Shivsena-MNS are a different issue. Linking it to Marathis & Tilak-
Gokhle-Ranade-Agarkar & RSS, & painting all this as a Brahmin
conspiracy is disgusting. (And this fool thinks that there only 2 ends
to any economy - high and low. So one can run a company with a CEO and
a sweeper & both are non-Marathis in Mumbai as he claims.)
Ganesh
http://www.livemint.com/2010/02/19213129/The-Thackerays8217-primitiv.html?pg=2
Views
Reducing the poor to numbers
After 62 years of Independence, Dalit exploitation continues even if
the setting and players are different
With rising food insecurity, the proportion of the poor will
definitely soar (“Who count as India’s poor?” Mint, 2 October). The
same is true for those classified as vulnerable and stressed. It is
deplorable that our representatives fight like cats and dogs over
statistics and their reliability. This is nothing but a cheap attempt
to justify ratios and proportions established by surveys and censuses,
and by so-called think tanks who undertake the task of achieving
“comfortable numbers to play with”. This act of putting the cart
before the horse jeopardizes many lives while Nero enjoys his fiddle.
An attempt to place 50% of the population below the poverty line is
not only a welcome relief but pro-human and pro-life.
— Rohit Saroj
This letter refers to Mrinal Pande’s thought-provoking article “Caste
in a new mould ” (Mint, 9 October). After 62 years of Independence,
Dalit exploitation continues even if the setting and players are
different: refreshingly, not the usual whipping boys but the Brahmins.
If the Plan projects from the 1950s onwards have made people richer,
the ingenuity of the latter-day politicians in introducing an ever
expanding “OBC” (other backward class) list has given them a doubly
assured vote bank.
The article refers to the killing of 16 villagers in Bihar (Khagaria
district), originating in “land ownership and use”, an area in which
our post-Independence leaders enacted progressive statutes. For
example, Tamil Nadu (TN) is one of the early states which introduced
the salutary principle, “land to the tiller”. Several hundred Brahmin
mirasdars (landlords) had to part with the land to the actual tillers.
TN has not looked back since then, even if the Brahmin mirasdars had
to choose other livelihood options and even migrate. On the same
principle, Kurmis of Bihar cannot cite their holding 500 bighas in
Amausi if the Dalits were sharecroppers, managing and tilling the land
for generations. Bihar’s agricultural and revenue departments are
sufficiently endowed for ascertaining the factual situation and
deciding the issue. It is a grave mistake on their part to have let
the situation result in mass killings. Will the Dalits of Amausi ever
get the ownership of the land which they have been tilling for several
generations?
Pande has also touched on the role of education. The Brahmin
intellectual and statesman Rajaji, during his TN chief ministership,
introduced an educational system —earn while you learn —whereby all
would get primary and secondary education while learning their family
craftsmanship, which was vital for livelihood until their education
was completed. This would have avoided the worrying phenomenon of
increasing school dropouts, but he was unjustifiably branded as a
perpetrator of caste system. It is a little-known fact that long
afterwards, even in Britain, the New Labour intellectuals of Tony
Blair proposed a similar system for its citizens to enjoy the fruits
of the “knowledge economy”.
Until political powers stop viewing Dalit uplift as a vote bank issue—
or stop perpetrating the caste system by continuously expanding the
grouping called OBC—caste will not die nor will Dalits see progress.
The West is using the “human rights movement” to cash in on our
miseries, which we are trying to cure. This is one more area where the
government has failed in the international arena.
Sadly, this festering issue is witnessing a theatrical display.
Lately, Dalits and their neighbourhoods are being turned into tourist,
picnic or pilgrimage spots by politicians wanting to be noticed by
their leaders. It is an amusing spectacle to notice “mentions” that
they should not carry separate tiffin boxes but partake in the frugal
meals of the Dalits, and sleep on their humble charpoys. What an
innovative way to treat this festering sore.
— S. Subramanyan
http://www.livemint.com/2009/10/13222427/Reducing-the-poor-to-numbers.html
Posted: Sun, Oct 11 2009. 9:51 PM IST
Views
Caste in a new mould
The usual definition of caste oppression can no longer explain
emerging patterns of dominance
The Other Side | Mrinal Pande
In the first week of this month, 16 villagers were murdered in cold
blood by armed killers in Amausi village in Bihar. Of those murdered,
14 were Kurmis, the same caste as the chief minister of the state, two
were Koeries, also from the other backward classes (OBCs). Those who
understand the murky C of India know that the incident was not only
about settling some local scores. It was also sending an unambiguous
message to the Kurmis and other OBCs who have emerged as powerful
landlords in the state during the last few decades of OBC rule. The
locals insist that the killers were not Naxals as the police claimed,
but assassins hired by the newly empowered Dalit community of Mushars,
for settling old scores with Kurmi landlords. Whether the killers were
Naxals or hired assassins, two things are clear: One, usually a long-
standing land dispute lies at the heart of most violence in our
villages. And two, the usual definition of caste oppression can no
longer explain the emerging patterns of dominance and subjugation.
The genesis of the recent violence is said to lie in the report of a
recently appointed government commission on land reforms in Bihar. It
had suggested that the state government must protect the rights of the
landless sharecroppers, put a cap on land ceiling at 15 acres (for
both agricultural and non-agricultural land) and computerize all land
records. In Khagaria district, where the massacre took place, as
elsewhere in rural India, ultimately all fertile land is controlled by
the most powerful (read politically best connected) caste with the
landless Dalits as their sharecroppers. The Kurmis say they are the
titled owners of 500 bighas in Amausi, but Mushars quoting the report
say they have a bigger right to it since they have tilled it for
generations. This tension is what ignited the caste war.
When the issue of caste-based violation of human rights in India came
up at the 12th Human Rights Council in Geneva recently, it was
proposed that caste be put on a par with race. But in 2009, when we
talk about caste biases, we cannot overlook India’s actual electoral
politics. Here, being identified as a Dalit or backward leader offers
a distinct advantage and becomes the biggest guarantee of a
candidate’s electability. From Bihar to Tamil Nadu, they have voted
out upper caste groups regularly, but the unjust land ownership
patterns born of unfair state patronage extended by incumbent leaders
to their own community, persist. Expunging caste from school syllabi
has not helped either, and the learning system still remains unequal
and heavily biased in favour of the powerful and rich. This is because
of a confused and confusing language policy perpetuated by the new
rulers. They insist on government schools teaching the children
(mostly poor) in the regional languages, even though English is
undeniably the language of all power discourse and higher learning.
None of these leaders will educate their own children in the local
language, though.
Actually, the traditional characteristics and power of the Brahmins in
the traditional upper caste hierarchy (high learning, arrogance and
clever use of a certain elite language to build firewalls around
knowledge and information to keep it away from the commoners) are now
much more visible among India’s upper middle-class professionals,
whatever their caste. Whether backward, Dalit or forward, successful
children of the new dominant classes no longer acquire their basic
knowledge, skills and networking abilities in Brahminical Sanskrit,
but in English. Likewise, the power of the old-style, landowning
Thakur (Kshatriya), who killed a thousand tigers and routinely torched
Dalit huts, has been usurped by today’s political class, who ride lal
batti cars with similar disregard for laws, sirens blaring and black
cat commandos in tow. They hold power dialogues with neighbouring
warlords, make and break treaties—not the princes and nawabs who, if
they have not become penniless, have turned hoteliers and protectors
of wildlife. The traditional merchant class, thanks to family-based
businesses, may have retained some part of their old glory, but in the
global arena they are now heavily dependent on the neo-Brahmin: the
Indian Institute of Management-trained, multinationalized manager,
banker and expat consultant, who strides the global village and
carries vital knowledge in his laptop, as a Brahmin once carried in
his almanac.
All caste systems need a cleaning class. They are today the invisible
and unorganized freelancers. Moving from job to job, they help mop up
the night soil of the global village and provide the paymasters with
linguistic bridges into the vernacular heartland, where the markets
are also the votes.
Mrinal Pande likes to take readers behind the reported news in her
fortnightly column. She is a writer and freelance journalist in New
Delhi. Comment at theoth...@livemint.com
http://www.livemint.com/2009/10/08230128/Caste-in-a-new-mould.html?h=D
Posted: Fri, Jan 2 2009. 12:09 AM IST
Home
Mayawati leads BSP’s ‘elephant’ to temple towns
A Rs250 crore package to revamp Mathura was announced in August; now
Rs800 crore has been allocated for Varanasi
K.P. Narayana Kumar
New Delhi: To win both the hearts and minds of voters across the
country as India gets ready for the national elections in April, Uttar
Pradesh chief minister and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati
is deliberately targeting an overhaul of urban infrastructure in
pilgrim towns, such as Varanasi and Mathura, which see a large influx
of Hindu pilgrims.
Poll sops? BSP leader Mayawati. Nand Kumar / PTI
After announcing a Rs250 crore package for Mathura in August, Mayawati
announced an Rs800 crore revamp plan for Varanasi last week.
“By announcing these, Mayawati is telling the people—especially the
non-Dalits—that they should not judge her or the BSP by their past (as
a party that catered mainly to those at the bottom of India’s caste
pyramid) and, instead, think of the future they are trying to create
by catering to wider sections,” says Dalit writer Chandra Bhan Prasad.
Both Mathura and Varanasi are already covered under the Jawaharlal
Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) a Rs50,000 crore
Centrally funded scheme that ties grants for urban renewal projects to
a set of mandatory reforms that municipalities have to enact to be
eligible to receive the grants.
As of 30 June, Varanasi had one water supply and one solid waste
management project worth a combined Rs159 crore granted under JNNURM,
while Mathura had one solid waste management project.
The urban infrastructure development package for Varanasi includes
drinking water, sewerage and solid waste disposal schemes, apart from
improving power supply to places of tourist interest, including the
ghats along the banks of the Ganga river.
The Mathura-specific projects that were announced earlier in August
included improvement in tourist facilities and new road projects.
In the 2007 assembly elections, of the total 12 seats in Mathura and
Varanasi districts, the BSP, which won four seats, was the only party
that gained seats compared with the previous elections in 2002, when
it had won just one seat.
The main opposition at the Centre, the Bharatiya Janata Party, lost
one and the Congress party, the Central ruling coalition leader,
managed to retain the lone seat it had won in Mathura in 2002.
A senior priest with the Sankat Mochan temple in Varanasi said it was
quite likely that Mayawati would benefit if she were to carry out the
planned works.
“Caste politics has been played by all political parties, where
promises specific to interest groups are made before polls. So there
is nothing wrong in Mayawati announcing more development of temple
towns keeping the upcoming elections in mind. At the end of the day,
people want development. Let us see what Mayawati can do,” said this
religious leader who didn’t want to be identified.
Mayawati and senior BSP leader S.C. Mishra couldn’t be contacted
despite repeated attempts.
A study conducted by the New Delhi-based think tank Centre for the
Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) showed that the BSP had increased
its share of upper-caste votes in Uttar Pradesh from 23% in the 2002
assembly elections to 31% in 2007. The share of Brahmin votes for the
party increased from 6% in 2003 to 17% in 2007, after it handed out
tickets to Brahmins and other backward class (OBC) candidates.
“It is interesting to note that among Brahmins, 27% of poor Brahmins
voted for the BSP, while only 12% of the rich voted for it,” said
Pravin Rai, an analyst with CSDS.
Ajoy Bose, the author of Behenji, a biography of Mayawati, has noted
that of the 206 seats the BSP had won in 2007, 51 were held by
Brahmins.
http://www.livemint.com/2009/01/01231639/Mayawati-leads-BSP8217s-8.html
Posted: Sun, Sep 27 2009. 10:32 PM IST
Columns
Opportunity, challenges for Indian banks in UK
The Indian banks in United Kingdom are trying hard to reach out to the
Indian community at Southall, Wembley, Birmingham, Harrow, Slough,
Ilford and Leicester
Banker’s Trust | Tamal Bandyopadhyay
Thursday afternoon, I sneaked into the Camden Centre on Bidborough
Street at King’s Cross, before London’s oldest Durga Puja was formally
opened for worshippers. Ajay, a local doctor and accomplished Rabindra
Sangeet singer, was rehearsing for his evening programme while a few
others were putting up a Bank of Baroda banner on the dais where Ajay
and other artistes were to perform.
Indian banks’ overseas business model hasn’t changed— festivals and
community gatherings continue to be the most critical points of sale.
On Wednesday, S.R. Sharma, managing director of Punjab National Bank
(International) Ltd, or PNB International, the UK subsidiary of
India’s second largest public sector bank, headed to Norwood Park in
south London after office hours. He was invited by P.L. Suri, a
customer, to attend a satsang, a programme of devotional speeches and
songs. Sharma met Suri’s guru and many of his friends and is hopeful
of converting at least some of them into customers.
State Bank of India, or SBI, operating in London since 1921, has an
asset base of $7.3 billion (Rs35,040 crore); PNB International, just
two years old in the UK, has assets worth $625 million. There are
other Indian banks, too, in the UK such as Bank of India, Bank of
Baroda, Canara Bank, Syndicate Bank and a subsidiary of ICICI Bank
Ltd, which has the biggest UK balance sheet among all Indian lenders.
Based on 2001 statistics, UK’s ethnic minority population is about 4.6
million, close to 8% of the country’s total population. In 2001,
Indians accounted for 1.8% of the total population. Since then it has
gone up to about 2% and Indian bankers are chasing this chunk and no
one is willing to miss a single opportunity to reach out to the Indian
community at Southall, Wembley, Birmingham, Harrow, Slough, Ilford and
Leicester. Sharma recently convinced the UK chapter of the Bharatiya
Vidya Bhavan, a charitable public trust-run institution dedicated to
the promotion of education and culture, to distribute its newsletters
to 1,500 members across the UK in PNB International envelopes every
month. Last year, his bank sponsored a few awards at the annual
function of London’s Goud Saraswat Brahmin Sabha, an organization of
the Konkani-speaking Hindu Brahmin community.
Also Read Tamal Bandyopadhyay’s earlier columns
These marketing gimmicks are paying off. PNB International’s deposit
base has gone up from $103 million in December 2008 to about $280
million now and the number of accounts from 4,419 to 10,075. The
global meltdown has also helped. Up to £50,000 is covered by deposit
insurance and many consumers have now started keeping deposits in
various Indian banks, including SBI, for fear of losing their money in
case of a bank failure. According to Rajnish Kumar, regional head and
chief executive of SBI’s UK operations, the bank did not have too many
local customers until September last year, but in the past one year it
has got many, and now non-Indians account for about 10% of State
Bank’s UK customer base.
Indian banks are also developing new deposit products to attract
money. SBI, for instance, offers a step-up rate structure where a
depositor is paid 3.75% for one year money, but the rate progressively
goes up if the money is kept longer. For five years, it can fetch as
much as 5%. From customers’ point of view, the step-up structure is a
better option than a plain vanilla deposit scheme where one is hugely
penalized for withdrawing money ahead of maturity. But these products
can help only to a certain extent and Indian banks won’t be able to
mop up much unless they start offering other facilities such as debit
cards.
Unlike India, where such cards function on the chip and signature
principle, in the UK it’s the chip and PIN (personal identification
number) norm and consumers punch in the code after every transaction
and don’t sign a charge slip. The technology is quite expensive. SBI
is working on it while ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda and PNB
International already have it. Each time a bank’s debit card holder
uses another bank’s ATM to withdraw money it needs to pay for such
transactions, but it also earns a commission when customers use the
card for shopping. The debit card offering has possibly helped PNB
International get the salary accounts of the Indian High Commission in
London, which had been banking with SBI and HSBC Holdings Plc. PNB
International now runs the salary accounts of about 125 high
commission employees, including Nalin Suri, the new high commissioner.
All Indian banks seem to be keen on collecting deposits, but when it
comes to giving loans, they continue to meticulously stay away from
retail Indian customers. The main reason behind the diffidence of
Indian banks is possibly the lack of a credit history for most of
their customers. There are a few agencies that sell credit history
data, but until a bank attains a critical mass in loan accounts, no
agency tracks the data of its customers. This means the customer of an
Indian bank can default on loan repayments and yet continue to get
credit from local banks as this information will not be known to
them.
Banks in the UK aren’t required to keep money with the central bank or
buy government bonds. But things will change as the Financial Services
Authority, the banking supervisor, is planning to ask banks to invest
8-10% of their assets in government bonds. Since such bonds are low-
yielding, the new norm will hit Indian banks’ profitability. One way
of protecting their bottom line could be the creation of retail
assets. But this has to be done with caution as KYB (know your
business) is as important as KYC (know your customer) for banking in
the post-Lehman days.
Tamal Bandyopadhyay keeps a close eye on all things banking from his
perch as Mint’s deputy managing editor in Mumbai. Please email your
comments to banker...@livemint.com
http://www.livemint.com/2009/09/27223257/Opportunity-challenges-for-In.html
Posted: Fri, Feb 6 2009. 11:05 PM IST
Culture
Fringe takes centre stage
The importance of being Mahesh Elkunchwar and Satish Alekar in Marathi
theatre; the plays of poet, painter and doctor Gieve Patel
Marathi playwrights Mahesh Elkunchwar and Satish Alekar occupy the
same place as their better-known counterparts Vijay Tendulkar and
Girish Karnad in the theatre-active centres of India. Even the most
culture-specific of their plays have been performed in other
languages. Now, Oxford University Press has published the collected
plays of Elkunchwar and Alekar (in separate volumes), thus bringing
some of their most important plays out of their Indian context into a
wider domain.
Modern times: (clockwise from top left) Satish Alekar (Kumar Gokhale);
Mahesh Elkunchwar (Vivek Ranade); and a scene from Alekar’s play,
Atirekee.(Theatre Academy, Pune)
Elkunchwar’s Wada Chirebandi (Old Stone Mansion), which deals with the
crumbling values of a landowning Brahmin family of Vidarbha, has been
performed in Hindi, Bengali, Kannada and even Garhwali.
Alekar’s Mahanirvan (The Dread Departure), which takes an ironic look
at the funeral rites of Marathi Brahmins using the keertan (devotional
song) form of story-telling to underline its black humour, has been
staged in Rajasthani, Punjabi, Gujarati, Bengali, Konkani, Tamil and
Kannada. Begum Barve, a tragi-comic look by Alekar at the glorious
tradition of sangeet natak (musical theatre) in Maharashtra, has been
brilliantly adapted in Hindi, using nautanki (traditional/folk
theatre) in place of sangeet natak, and in Gujarati, using the music
plays of Bhangwadi as a parallel.
Plays by both playwrights have been read and performed in American
universities as well.
Although both began writing around the same time, their first plays
were staged a few years apart. Elkunchwar’s early plays, published in
the prestigious literary magazine Satyakatha, attracted the attention
of Vijaya Mehta (née Jaywant). She directed four of them in quick
succession in the same year, 1970, for her theatre laboratory,
Rangayan. Alekar’s early plays were also published in Satyakatha, but
were not performed on the established “fringe” stage. Instead, they
became popular on the inter-collegiate drama competition circuit.
Contemporaries though they are, Elkunchwar and Alekar are driven by
widely different concerns. Elkunchwar’s preoccupations, to put it in a
nutshell, are about creativity, life, sterility and death. In his
early plays, his characters are manifestations of these ideas rather
than flesh and blood people. In his later plays, for instance Wada
Chirebandi, they are delicately delineated human beings of many
shades.
Whatever his theme or mode, Elkunchwar’s plays are marked by his
mastery over dramatic structure, each play having a well-defined
beginning, middle and end. His language, which began as an unstoppable
outpouring in his early plays, quietened down later to an economic,
rhythmic prose, full of eloquent silences.
http://www.livemint.com/2009/02/06211922/Fringe-takes-centre-stage.html
Posted: Thu, Jul 23 2009. 9:54 PM IST
Columns
Rita and Mayawati stoop too low to conquer
This is a tragedy, while the Congress’ provocation is merely a form of
low farce, because Mayawati is a historical political figure, whereas
Rita Joshi is a political creature and Rahul Gandhi is a fifth-
generation dynast
High Windows | Mukul Kesavan
The recent contretemps between Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Mayawati has
been the most depressing sequence of events in post-general election
politics. The gratuitous ugliness of it ought to make the observer of
Indian politics despair.
Speechless: Rita Joshi visits her house soon after it was torched by
miscreants. AFP
Joshi’s part in this squalid quarrel isn’t surprising. The daughter of
the late chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna, she
has had a political career of the sort that’s politely described as
chequered. She has been in and out of the Congress; she has fought for
elective office as an Independent, as a Samajwadi Party candidate and
as a Congresswoman. Apart from winning the mayoralty of Allahabad, she
has lost every other election that she has contested. But despite her
recent electoral defeat in Lucknow, her political career has been on
the upswing; she is the chief of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee
(UPCC) and given the Congress’ resurgence in UP during the last
general election, her star has been in the ascendant.
I was in Moradabad during Azharuddin’s election campaign when she
addressed the Congress faithful at a political rally held in the
grounds of the palace of a Muslim grandee. It was apparent from her
speech that she had cast herself, in a long and ignoble Congress
tradition, as a family loyalist. She urged the Congress workers
assembled there to make sure that they assembled in their thousands
for “Rahulji’s” scheduled stop in Moradabad. The turnout for Rahul
Gandhi’s constituency visit seemed rather more important to her than
the turnout in the general election.
I imagine that as a creature of 10 Janpath, Joshi was taking her cue
from Rahul Gandhi’s strategy to aggressively project the Congress’
presence in UP when she made her infamous remark about rape. Trying to
make the point that the UP government’s policy of giving financial
compensation to rape victims was inadequate and demeaning, she is
reported to have said: “Throw such money back at Mayawati and tell
her, ‘if you’re raped, I am ready to give you a crore’.”
It’s hard to believe that any responsible political figure, leave
alone a politician whose father was a UP Brahmin, could polemicize
against a Dalit woman chief minister in terms as crass and offensive
as these. It’s even harder to believe that the Congress party, whose
erstwhile dominance in that state was based upon an electoral
combination of Dalits, Muslims and Brahmins, would respond to Joshi’s
speech with a pro forma expression of regret and disapproval without
censuring or disciplining her. Sonia Gandhi was content to distance
herself from the form of words used by her apparatchik, while her son
was even more aggressive in his response, insisting that Joshi’s
choice of words was unfortunate but that her critique was valid.
Rahul Gandhi’s willingness to write off Dalits in general and Jatavs
in particular in UP by doing as little as possible to discipline
Joshi, is of a piece with the Congress’ cynical willingness to find
new electoral combinations in the Hindi heartland. So the UPCC chief’s
willingness to appeal to a casteist electorate’s worst instincts is
depressing, but unsurprising.
What’s rather more disheartening is the UP chief minister’s response
to Joshi’s provocation. She was charged under several non-bailable
sections of the law, including the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act,
1989, and remanded to judicial custody. Had Mayawati contented herself
with this, with demonstrating the awful retribution that Indian law
visits upon those who seek explicitly or by implication to humiliate
or intimidate Dalits, she would have made her point, consolidated her
reputation as a no-nonsense opponent of inflammatory rhetoric and
stood out as a defender of the downtrodden.
But she didn’t. Newspapers and news channels reported that Bahujan
Samaj Party (BSP) goons set fire to Joshi’s home in Lucknow and
ransacked it. A few days later the BSP member of Parliament allegedly
behind this act of arson was rewarded with the deputy chairmanship of
the Uttar Pradesh State Sugar Corporation. Instead of casting herself
as the guarantor of the public peace in UP, the chief minister seemed
to go out of her way to stand out as the embodiment of the lawlessness
and state impunity that has characterized UP politics in recent
times.
This is a tragedy, while the Congress’ provocation is merely a form of
low farce, because Mayawati is a historical political figure, whereas
Rita Joshi is a political creature and Rahul Gandhi is a fifth-
generation dynast. Mayawati is the first Dalit chief minister of
India’s largest state and the first Dalit ever to be seen as a
credible candidate for the prime ministership of the republic. Instead
of fulfilling her historic potential, she has chosen to fritter it
away by allowing the media to assimilate her to the thuggish politics
of her home state.
It’s unfair to expect Mayawati to set higher standards than Mulayam
Singh Yadav or Amar Singh or Rita Joshi, but pioneering politicians
from plebeian backgrounds owe it to the people they represent to set
an example. Mayawati could have made an example of Joshi within the
law; by seeming to step outside it, she has sold herself short,
betrayed a political trust and given her enemies and the enemies of
the bahujan samaj that she claims to represent, a weapon. It’s unfair
to expect Mayawati to be India’s Obama, but not too much to ask,
surely, that she not turn herself into UP’s Ahmadinejad.
Mukul Kesavan, a professor of social history at Jamia Millia Islamia,
New Delhi, is the author of The Ugliness of the Indian Male and Other
Propositions
Write to Mukul at highw...@livemint.com
http://www.livemint.com/2009/07/23215401/Rita-and-Mayawati-stoop-too-lo.html
Posted: Thu, Oct 22 2009. 12:12 AM IST
Columns
Maoist documents point to erudite research
It is important to go beyond the government-engineered media movement
that has largely dismissed Maoists as being from the lunatic fringe
seeking to destroy the “Shining India” and “Imagining India”
narratives of the India dream
Root Cause | Sudeep Chakravarti
A former director general of police of Chhattisgarh once commented as
to how well Maoist documents were prepared. “These appear to be
written by educated people—JNU types.”
He then looked sharply at me. “Are you from JNU?” he asked, referring
to Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, often painted as left-leaning.
I disabused him of the notion, but I agree entirely with his point:
Whatever the extreme politics and polemic, documents and statements by
Maoist rebels are erudite and clear. These are not ravings of
stereotypically wild-eyed, frothing intellectuals, but the thoughts of
deliberate, yet intensely angry ideologues who invite people to join
battle against the current nature and practice of Indian politics,
administration and law-keeping.
All that Kobad Ghandy, a recently arrested Maoist leader, repeatedly
muttered to television cameras as he was being led to a Delhi court by
police was: “Bhagat Singh zindabad”. Long Live Bhagat Singh. This
revolutionary occupies pride of place in official histories of India’s
freedom movement. His likenesses are evident in countless public
places across northern India; indeed, in India’s Parliament. Those who
battle Maoists know this well.
Also Read Sudeep Chakravarti’s earlier columns
It is important to go beyond the government-engineered media movement
that has largely dismissed Maoists as being from the lunatic fringe
seeking to destroy the “Shining India” and “Imagining India”
narratives of the India dream. This is part of government’s lateral
tactic in a battle—“psy-ops” or psychological operations—much like
what public relations professionals and warring corporate siblings
practise.
Alongside, the Union government is engaged in intense on-ground
security operations with a self-declared mandate to arrive at a
conclusion within the next three years.
But it knows what it is up against, the same as the incredulous former
police chief of Chhattisgarh. So too do his colleagues in Karnataka—a
marked state, as it were—know the facility with which Maoist rebels
plan.
As far back as 2002, the Maoists prepared a document titled Social
Conditions and Tactics—A report based on preliminary social
investigation conducted by survey teams during August-October 2001 in
the Perspective Area. The “perspective area” were Central Malnad,
including parts of Udupi district, and the adjacent districts of
Shimoga, Chikmaglur and Dakshina Kannada. It offers insight into the
planning and argumentative conviction that go into developing a
revolutionary base.
Malnad is the “ghat” region of Karnataka comprising 10 districts, from
Belgaum in the north-west to Chamarajnagar in the south. It includes
nearly half of Karnataka’s forest area, nearly all of its iron ore and
manganese riches, major concentrations of areca—betel nut—cardamom and
other spices, and coffee. It records a large tribal population and
caste prejudice. The Maoist survey recorded a fairly large percentage
of landless and poor farmers, and domination by the upper castes—
Brahmins and Vokkaligas, among others. The landless received daily
wages as much as 15% less than the norm. In places, the survey
recorded between 10% and 32% of land without title deeds and
consequent “encroachment” by wealthier peasantry and landlords.
The survey, which referred to particular villages only with designated
alphabets to maintain secrecy, recorded high interest rates on account
of private moneylenders, and high indebtedness. As many such
moneylenders were also landlords—comprising 4% of the population but
owning a quarter of all land—inability to repay led in numerous cases
to a member of the family, usually a youngster, being bonded as farm
or plantation labour.
The survey tracked the fall in prices for several categories of areca,
pepper, cardamom and coffee. Inevitably, daily wages dropped. This was
recorded as the overall impact of “semi-feudalism”, free-market
pricing, lowering of import restrictions, and in some cases—such as
coffee—overproduction.
In great detail, the survey noted which Brahmin landlord was “known to
break two whipping sticks on the backs of his tenants”; where a
landlord had links with Mumbai’s timber mafia; where “Jain landlords”
evicted tenants unable to pay rent; and which temples in the region
had links with powerful politicians and businessmen. There was also a
list of weapons in the surveyed villages.
The survey recommended that Maoist support must be developed in the
area by “strictly secret methods”. These should include secret front
organizations of women, “coolies” and Adivasis. Village-level clusters
of militias should in turn be guided by the local guerilla squad
assigned to that territory—one such squad would have under its care
800 sq. km and four squads would form an interlinked team to control
3,200 sq. km.
The plan is on the ground.
Sudeep Chakravarti writes on issues related to conflict in South Asia.
He is the author of Red Sun: Travels in Naxalite Country. He writes a
column alternate Thursdays on conflicts that directly affect business.
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Posted: Wed, Feb 3 2010. 11:45 PM IST
Columns
Naxalism and angst of Jharkhand tribals
With pressure from major businesses to deliver on now-dusty
memorandums of understanding and from Maoists--as they reconnoiter new
areas and call in old debts--Jharkhand will witness more churn
Root Cause | Sudeep Chakravarti
Jharkhand has for some time resembled a tragicomic circus.
This is where a former state health minister, Bhanu Pratap Shahi, told
media in early 2007 of a novel method of combating Maoist rebels—
interchangeably known as Naxalites. One vasectomy in a “Naxalite-
dominated” village would mean that many “potential comrades less”, the
minister offered, in a situation of “many mouths to feed and little
food to eat”.
A state chief minister, Madhu Koda, received an official certificate
from the Limca Book of Records, India’s version of the Guinness World
Records, for becoming the first independent legislator to gain that
position. He formed a government with four other legislators and the
support of the United Progressive Alliance.
Also Read Sudeep Chakravarti’s earlier columns
Koda is now history, accused of using his tenure to amass a fortune
along with some cronies and allies, mainly from concessions to
mining.
The newest chief minister, Shibu Soren, has this past fortnight
troubled hawks for suggesting negotiations with Maoist rebels in the
state. Leaks to media mentioned slowed police operations against
Maoists. Such moves would, according to conventional wisdom, permit
Maoists breathing room to regroup and gain ground. Failed peace talks
in Andhra Pradesh in 2004, and overtures in Orissa, are held up as
examples of what not to do.
Soren, too, carries baggage, marked as he is by scandals such as money-
for-votes during the premiership of P.V. Narasimha Rao; and the death
of a once-trusted lieutenant. But it is important to understand
Soren’s background with fellow travellers, as it were.
Jharkhand is blessed with iron ore, manganese, coal, limestone,
graphite, quartzite, asbestos, lead, zinc, copper, and some gold,
among others. It supplies to the region electricity from thermal and
hydroelectric plants. But there has always been a discrepancy between
generating wealth and its application.
The Jharkhand region received minimal development funds from undivided
Bihar based on a time-honoured presumption: tribals live there, and
they need little. Resettlement and rehabilitation issues were—and
continue to remain—poor on delivery.
The area’s displaced tribals were gradually organized by a tribal
rights and right-to-statehood organization, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha
(JMM), which also took on exploitation by a concert of contractors,
moneylenders and public servants. Bihar’s response was to send a large
team of armed police, which intimidated and arrested at will. To
protest, an estimated 3,000 tribals gathered in September 1980 in Gua,
a mining-belt town near Saranda forests to the state’s south, for a
public meeting.
There was an altercation with police. The police fired; the tribals
fought back with bows and arrows. Three tribals and four policemen
died; human rights activists place the number of tribal deaths at
100.
Both groups took their wounded to Gua Mines Hospital, where the
tribals were made to deposit their bows and arrows before the hospital
took in their injured. Then the police opened fire on the now unarmed
tribals, killing several more.
The police, thereafter, went on a rampage in nearby villages, in much
the same way as some of their colleagues in Chhattisgarh: looting and
destroying homes; molesting and killing as much for revenge as
suspicion of collusion with rebels.
JMM leader Guruji—Soren—became a bulwark for key tribal leaders, who
led movements in Saranda to prevent the illegal felling of trees such
as sal and teak.
As resentment peaked through the 1980s and 1990s, leaders sought
allies with greater firepower: the Maoists—through the Maoist
Communist Centre (MCC), the key rebel entity in undivided Bihar. This
alliance of expediency has since matured.
Saranda is a Maoist area of operation and sanctuary. MCC has merged
into the Communist Party of India (Maoist), the presiding
conglomerate. Besides attacks against police and paramilitary, looting
weaponry and imposing levies on small to big businesses to fund the
rebellion, Maoists have also carried out spectacular strikes. For
instance, they shot dead member of Parliament and bête noire Sunil
Mahato and three others as they watched a football match at Baguria in
early 2007.
Leaders with deep roots, such as Soren, understand the dynamics of
tribal aspiration and angst. Soren can, on a good day, still hold the
power to bring disparate issues to the table for resolution of
conflict. But tribal leadership is otherwise compromised, adding to
the rot and ineptitude that have marked governance in Jharkhand since
it attained statehood in 2001.
Even funds meant for modernization of police forces are known to have
been appropriated to purchase sports utility vehicles for ministers.
With pressure from major businesses to deliver on now-dusty
memorandums of understanding and from Maoists—as they reconnoiter new
areas and call in old debts—Jharkhand will witness more churn.
Sudeep Chakravarti writes on issues related to conflict in South Asia.
He is the author of Red Sun: Travels in Naxalite Country. He writes a
column alternate Thursdays on conflicts that directly affect business.
Respond to this column at root...@livemint.com
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: Wed, Nov 18 2009. 10:13 PM IST
Columns
Cos open to accusations of complicity with govt
If businesses find it difficult to comprehend morality, they could at
least work to understand liability
Root Cause | Sudeep Chakravarti
The flap these past weeks about Tata Steel Ltd’s proposed 5.5 million
tonnes a year project in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh triggered
thoughts of a recent conference on human rights and business. I can’t
talk much about that meeting at Manesar, near Delhi, sponsored by a
relatively new London-based institute, as we were bound by the Chatham
House rule. But I can discuss my personal observations as they do not
vary in private or public; as well as broad parameters of discussion
without specifically naming participants.
There was a senior representative from Tata Sons Ltd at the conference
this past summer, as well as his corporate social responsibility (CSR)
colleagues from ArcelorMittal, JSW Steel Ltd, Royal Dutch Shell and
Lafarge SA. Except Shell, others are between them currently engaged in
either contentious or tricky projects in central, north or north-east
India. Alongside executives were arrayed human rights activists,
lawyers, tribal representatives, self-declared liberals from Delhi’s
seminar circuit, and corporate practitioners and consultants from
Europe and the Americas.
Also Read Earlier columns by Sudeep Chakravarti
The purpose was to take inputs about the Indian situation to evolve
corporate best practice guidelines across the world as to the
experience of relocation and rehabilitation—frequently the curse of
projects—and work in conflict areas. The meeting was well timed, too,
seeing several popular protests against large projects and special
economic zones; and the outright concern of locating projects in areas
of Maoist influence.
A broad thought came through, surprisingly, from several executives.
The bean counters and boardroom “suits” that operate in India don’t
care about the socio-economic impact at ground zero. The project
blueprint is absolute in terms of cost in time, finance, man-hours and
return on investment. As activists joined the discussion, it became
ever more evident that CSR ends up being a tool to buy out
“opposition” with money, a primary school or health centre, some tube
wells. Responsibility ends there. The governments of the states where
the projects are to be located—with their political leadership,
bureaucracy and police—become an extension of corporate will.
Such an approach led to Singur for Tata Motors Ltd; the relocation of
the project to Gujarat worked through similar, though non-violent,
channels as the government there had already pre-empted protest by
releasing vast stocks of pre-acquired land. Tata Steel’s loud
clarifications that it had been “allocated” land in Chhattisgarh; and
its denial that a public hearing on the project in mid-October was
attended by hand-picked villagers in a room heavily guarded by state
police and local toughs, suggests a worrying trend: this conglomerate
has learnt little from its recent collective experience.
In Chhattisgarh, it is likely to face protests that could easily
escalate to violence as the administration lends a hand to shoehorn
the project. There is little doubt too that Maoist-front organizations
and militias will leverage toeholds offered by such an approach, the
same as they have done to a project by Essar Steel in the state’s
Dantewada district.
What drives a corporation to pursue a project in a clear zone of
conflict? Why do businesses feel strengthened, even invulnerable, if
they are in direct or moral partnership with government? Why do
project planners ignore the fact that the principle of eminent domain,
which permits the government to expropriate land for public good, is
abused in spirit and execution? Why don’t consultants, whom
corporations pay millions of dollars to scope a project, clarify
political and security risks?
The fig leaf of government having appropriated land—and so, business
being absolved of all responsibility—is mandated by India’s mai-baap
culture, a benevolent dictatorship deeply prevalent in the
relationship between business and politics. While this proved to be
the bedrock of much of India’s economic growth, businesses will, in
today’s charged rights and legal environment, be open to accusations
of complicity with government. Globalized Indian businesses are
additionally vulnerable, under international laws, to legal action
even in other countries if accusations of negative complicity with
government are proven. Moreover, there would be a public relations
fallout.
In plain words: it will be difficult to explain away aggressive
presence in a conflict zone where a project clearly stands to gain by
government forces killing off rebels. And it will be difficult to deny
moral responsibility for the death and displacement of innocents in
such a conflict. If businesses find it difficult to comprehend
morality, they could at least work to understand liability.
Sudeep Chakravarti writes on issues related to conflict in South Asia.
He is the author of Red Sun: Travels in Naxalite Country. He writes a
column alternate Thursdays on conflicts that directly affect business.
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Posted: Wed, Sep 23 2009. 10:33 PM IST
Columns
Denying development is privileging violence
If the body count swings against the rebels and their support militia,
government will declare victoryRoot
Cause | Sudeep Chakravarti
A major offensive against Maoist rebels by the CoBRA (Commando
Battalion for Resolute Action) paramilitary force is under way in the
forests and tribal homelands of southern Chhattisgarh.
Besides being the present-day heart, as it were, of the rebellion, it
is also a region where the government of Chhattisgarh has agreed in
principle to locate nearly $30 billion (Rs1.44 trillion) of investment
in minerals, metals, and electricity.
If the body count swings against the rebels and their support militia,
government will declare victory. If it goes against CoBRA, Maoists
will crow. TV crews will move in. People who track such phenomena—the
Maoist rebellion in India as well as prime ministerial pronouncements
as to its demerit—will receive calls for commentary on the who, what,
why and where of it all. It will be a circus, as always. And key
truths will, after a time, be reburied.
Maps detailing the current spread of Left-wing rebellion usually show
the overlap in forested areas, which provide rationale, recruits and
shelter. But the Maoist movement has long ago moved beyond the jungle.
Maps that detail other characteristics and topography are hence more
productive.
I’m fond of quoting at such times Omkar Goswami, who runs the New
Delhi-based CERG Advisory Pvt. Ltd. He was struck some years ago by
what current minister for environment Jairam Ramesh told him about an
“east of Kanpur characterization of India”.
Also Read Sudeep Chakravarti’s earlier columns
Ramesh’s point: the regions west of Kanpur, marked by the longitude
80.24 (east), were doing better, while those to the east of it were
“withering away”.
Goswami decided to check Ramesh’s hypothesis by collecting data on
India’s districts, development blocks and villages. His colleagues and
he pored over this data for two years, and alongside, used data from
the Census of India 2001 to map an India based on ownership of, or
access to, 11 assets and amenities: Whether the household had a bank
or post office account, a pucca house, electricity connection, owned a
TV set; owned a scooter or motorcycle; used cooking gas, had an
inhouse drinking water source or one within 500m; had a separate
kitchen area, a separate toilet, a separate and enclosed bathing
space, and a telephone.
CERG then took the results of these indicators of necessity and basic
aspiration, what it termed the Rural India District Score, and mapped
it. The districts were ranked in six grades, with accompanying
colours: Best (dark green), Good (light green), Better than Average
(very light green), Average (white), Worse than Average (orange) and
Very Poor (red).
Central India showed great patches of white and orange, and splashes
of red. Moving east into Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, eastern Andhra
Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal and most of north-eastern India,
it’s a sea of red and orange with peripheral white and 10 islands of
varying shades of green—one being Kolkata.
The white bank of “average” spreads south into peninsular India, with
some orange penetrations of “worse than average” in Karnataka and
Tamil Nadu.
The “east of Kanpur” districts are dropping off the development map,
Goswami concluded. “Getting the benefits of growth to these districts
is the greatest challenge of development and political economy.”
If political leaders and policymakers were to open similar statistical
tables of socio-economic growth and demographic spreads of the
marginalized and the dispossessed, and look at maps of attacks and
penetration by the disaffected in general and Maoists in particular,
they would see the current and future course of what they label
“menace” and “infestation”. They would see how they are privileging
violence, by denying development until violence forces the hand.
There are several studies that prove it. A particularly striking one
is by a senior police officer, Durga Madhab (John) Mitra, who
published a paper in 2007 called Understanding Indian Insurgencies:
Implications for Counter-insurgency operations in the Third World,
during a sabbatical at the Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War
College.
The Planning Commission received an excellent report last year from an
expert group it commissioned, comprising political economy, security,
and legal specialists, some of them former senior police and
intelligence officers.
Titled Development Challenges in Extremist Affected Areas, the
report’s frank expression pleasantly stunned even cynical human rights
activists long used to government’s blinkers.
Mitra received polite attention at the ministry of home affairs. The
Planning Commission report is filed away—as such things often are. I
hope to draw attention to key outlines and recommendation in these and
other documents in future columns.
Sudeep Chakravarti writes on issues related to conflict in South Asia.
He is the author of Red Sun: Travels in Naxalite Country. He writes a
column alternate Thursdays on conflicts that directly affect
business.
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: Thu, Aug 27 2009. 1:02 AM IST
Columns
Andhra grapples with Maoists, new acronymsThe state already has at
hand several Union government-controlled paramilitaries, in their
acronyms CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force), IRB (India Reserve
Battalion), and the newly formed and giddily named CoBRA (Combat
Battalion for Resolute Action), aimed at Left-wing rebellionRoot Cause
| Sudeep Chakravarti
Beyond the urban bling of Hyderabad lies territory that is giving Y.S.
Rajasekhara Reddy headaches. At a New Delhi conference of chief
ministers to discuss internal security, convened by Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh in mid-August, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh
said he wanted three districts by the state’s border with Orissa to be
formally declared Maoist-affected.
Despite several years of anti-rebel operations—a mix of specially
trained forces, better weapons, infiltration, better equipped police
posts, utter disregard for human rights niceties, and rehabilitation
packages for Maoists—the fire burns.
While Maoists have retreated in the north, central and southern parts
of the state, the forested, hilly and coastal east tells a different
story. Reddy’s key concern is that several power, irrigation and
mining projects planned for the east would be in jeopardy. “Maoists
find such activities as ideal pastures,” he said.
Maoists do, as these activities typically involve displacement of
populations, and the imperfect exercises breed great resentment—rebel
tinder. Alongside, Maoists have taken common cause against Special
Economic Zones and the effects of globalization, not just in Andhra
Pradesh but across the country.
The rebels have bureaus in most states tasked with recruitment,
agitation and raising the level of cadre strength and “awareness”.
This is to seed rebellion in several ways, a prelude to “protracted
war” to gain political power.
This is a lateral expansion of thought and activity to keep up with
the times, as it were, extending the Maoists’ traditional turf of
fighting for agrarian, tribal and caste issues.
This is the continuation of a process from as far back as 2004, when a
definitive Maoist document, Urban Perspective: Our Work in Urban
Areas, recommended that “The centres of key industries should be given
importance as they have the potential of playing an important role in
the People’s War”—what Maoists call their armed movement.
In 2007, Muppala Laxman Rao, the chief of the Communist Party of India
(Maoist), stressed another thought from the document. “We have to
adopt diverse tactics for mobilizing the urban masses into the
revolution,” said Rao, better known by his nom de guerre Ganapathy,
“take up their political-economic-social-cultural issues …”
Reddy is described by Maoists, relatively gently, as “mercenary”. His
predecessor, N. Chandrababu Naidu of Telugu Desam Party, even five
years after losing the chief ministership, is mentioned in Maoist
journals as “the known and despicable American stooge”. This is in
great part for Naidu’s unabashed worship of Bill Gates, and PowerPoint
frenzy to tout “Cyberabad” at both local and global investment
seminars even as large swathes of the state lay in tatters; and
farmers killed themselves by the thousands, driven by debt and
desperation.
Congress’ Reddy learnt from Naidu’s mistakes and opted for more
inclusive policies. Among other things, he launched the Indiramma
(Mother Indira) project with fanfare in early 2006. A double entendre
of pleasing masters and political economy—the acronym expands to
Integrated Novel Development in Rural Areas and Model Municipal Areas—
it sought to cover every village panchayat in three years and provide
what the state has not in decades. Primary education to all; health
facilities where there are none; clean water; pucca houses with
latrines; electricity connections to all households; roads; and so on.
The halting success of the project, in bits reborn as the Andhra
Pradesh Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, contributed to Reddy’s re-
election earlier this year. However, his recent remarks are revealing.
Andhra Pradesh has battled post-Naxalbari rebels for three decades. It
raised a now-hardened special force, the Greyhounds, to combat rebels.
But the stick-and-carrot policy of the state has proved patchy.
Policing and brutal suppression of Maoists has not effectively been
replaced in these areas by development works and delivery of dignity
to the poor and marginal. And so, these places continue to be deeply
vulnerable to Maoist activity. Reddy is understandably nervous about
developments in eastern Andhra Pradesh, both for their immediacy and
potential to reignite churn elsewhere.
To battle Maoists and other forces such as radical Islamism, Reddy at
the New Delhi conference said Andhra Pradesh has established a new
force: OCTOPUS. It stands for Organisation for Counter Terrorism and
Operations.
The state already has at hand several Union government-controlled
paramilitaries, in their acronyms CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force),
IRB (India Reserve Battalion), and the newly formed and giddily named
CoBRA (Combat Battalion for Resolute Action), aimed at Left-wing
rebellion.
As Reddy must realize, acronyms with aggressive intent can only go
part of the way.
Sudeep Chakravarti writes on issues related to conflict in South Asia.
He is the author of Red Sun: Travels in Naxalite Country. He will
write a fortnightly column on conflicts that directly affect business.
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Posted: Wed, Sep 9 2009. 10:39 PM IST
Columns
It is time lessons were learnt in West Bengal
The government of West Bengal has diligently courted grief
Root Cause | Sudeep Chakravarti
All it takes to go from chutzpah to chaos is a blind corner. Few in
recent times would know this better than the policymakers of West
Bengal—and their enforcers.
The Singur episode with Tata Motors Ltd is now a modern classic of how
not to work with government intervention. Another contemporary classic
is from Nandigram, several hours’ drive south of Singur. Here the
state government and Indonesia’s Salim Group were prevented by public
protests in 2007 from going ahead with a massive special economic zone
(SEZ), a venture of New Kolkata International Development Pvt. Ltd (a
joint venture of Salim Group, Unitech Ltd and a company owned by a
Salim associate) and West Bengal Industrial Development Corp.
Both projects faced intense public agitation over the practice of some
bureaucrats, police, and leaders and cadre of the ruling Communist
Party of India (Marxist), or CPM, strong-arming farmers to part with
land—both cultivable and not—to the state, and for such acquisitions
to be passed on to proposed businesses.
Also Read Sudeep Chakravarti’s earlier columns
Earlier this week, West Bengal’s department of information technology
(IT) yanked a couple of project sites at Rajarhat on the outskirts of
Kolkata it had offered Infosys Technologies Ltd and Wipro Ltd. The
firms were expected to take up residence in a proposed IT park. A
scandal from the preceding fortnight, violence involving local land
sharks and political mafia that had helped purchase land for a resort
in the area—and were allegedly involved in procuring land for the IT
park—gave the government cold feet. “The government does not want to
be involved in any illegal activity,” a press release from the
department announced. “… (We) cannot proceed with the project.”
Infosys and Wipro should rest easy. Increasingly, businesses with
global footprint, ambition and stock listings that ride investment on
direct government intervention or inadvertent intervention in areas of
any conflict—a war, civil war, or violence rooted in corruption and
political mismanagement—could find themselves in court at home and
elsewhere.
A slim document titled Red Flags: Liability Risks for Companies
Operating in High-risk Zones, published in 2008 by International Alert
(www.international-alert.org) and Fafo Institute (www.fafo.no) lists
several grounds for litigation, including some that are commonplace in
India. Under international law, expelling people from their
communities by “the threat or use of violence to force people out of
their communities can be a crime”, Red Flags maintains. “A company may
face liability if it has gained access to the site on which it
operates, where it builds infrastructure, or where it explores for
natural resources, through forced displacement.”
Other points of liability include “engaging abusive security
forces” (directly or through the proxy of state police or
paramilitary) to effect and perpetuate a project; and “allowing use of
company assets for abuses”, such as overlooking mistreatment of people
by security forces and providing company facilities for such activity
to take place.
The government of West Bengal has diligently courted grief. Since it
assumed power in 1977, the CPM, more than its coalition partners, has
skilfully built a ground-up network, a broederbond of cadre and
leaders that thrives on a mix of intimidation, corruption and
administration. They gradually came to control the politics, political
economy and business, and dealt harshly with the opposition. This
cracked spectacularly in Singur and Nandigram, where Maoist rebels and
the Trinamool Congress got the flak—or credit—for engineering foment
which should have been placed at the doorstep of the state’s Marxist
leadership and its system of patronage.
In the Lalgarh region, which I visited past June during the
confrontation between security forces and a team of tribals and Maoist
rebels, it was easy to track “anti-establishment” targets. Almost
without exception, the largest and best homes, and businesses and
farmland belonged to, or were controlled by, the local leadership of
the CPM. Rebels and aggrieved residents killed many, and chased away
more.
JSW Steel Ltd is setting up a plant in neighbouring Salboni. Chief
minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee narrowly escaped an assassination
attempt by Maoists in November, when he was returning to Kolkata after
attending the foundation ceremony at the site of the plant. Two
ministers from New Delhi were with him.
There is nothing to indicate that this region has become less restive
after intervention by security forces, and businesses that choose to
work in this area do so at their own risk—all risk. Surely it is time
lessons were learnt in West Bengal and elsewhere in India.
Sudeep Chakravarti writes on issues related to conflict in South Asia.
He is the author of Red Sun: Travels in Naxalite Country. He writes a
fortnightly column on conflicts that directly affect business.
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Posted: Wed, Jan 13 2010. 10:20 PM IST
Columns
Implosion in Nepal will subsume ‘red corridor’
Nepal had for long been at a dead-end politically and economically and
this in great part assist the Maoists in the country
Root Cause | Sudeep Chakravarti
A precept of the Pashupati to Tirupati theory of sub-continental
Maoism was the seamless meshing of Nepal’s rebellion with that of
India’s. While there certainly were fraternal links—providing
sanctuary; attending key meetings; occasional training of cadre; and
such—Nepal’s war was its own.
With renewed militancy of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal
(Maoist), or UPCN (Maoist), which has brought government near to
standstill, and disrupted economic activity in this already
impoverished country, there is again speculation of Maoist meshing.
Those who indulge in it fail to acknowledge Nepal’s dynamics; and the
fact that developments in Nepal can have far-reaching implications for
India beyond the obvious laboratory lessons of Left wing extremism and
its immediate aftermath.
Nepal had for long been at a dead-end politically and economically,
which in great part assisted Maoists there to achieve their initial
goal in 12 years—from the first attack on a police camp in 1996 to
helping to overthrow a seedy monarchy and to run a democratically
elected government for several months, until May. As premier, the
sharply dressed Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who encourages the
nom de guerre of Prachanda (fierce) even led a business delegation to
India.
Also Read Sudeep Chakravarti’s earlier columns
India’s Maoists are lower in the revolutionary arc, as it were. They
are the first to acknowledge that their task of national domination is
made difficult on account of India’s socio-economic growth, increasing
opportunities for that growth and expanding power of government, armed
forces and police.
The danger in Nepal today is one of socio-economic implosion as much
as its corollary: a resumption of hostilities between hardline
Maoists, and a coalition government undermined by charges of nepotism
and corruption. The government, controlled by moderate Marxists and
the Nepali Congress, is at loggerheads with Dahal’s party over several
issues.
Arguably the most contentious of these is the integration of Maoist
combatants—now located in seven major peace camps across Nepal—into
the mainstream. Proposals call for integrating them with former
enemies: Nepal army and police. The Maoists’ public spat with the then
army chief over this enabled in great part for Dahal’s former allies
in the constituent assembly, the Marxists, to pull the plug on his
government last year.
Among other things, subsequent turmoil has slowed progress towards
Nepal’s Holy Grail, the promulgation of a new constitution by this
May. The constitution is crucial for the process of peace and
reconciliation, further guarantee that decade-long hostilities, which
took an estimated 14,000 lives and ended in 2006, do not resume.
Maoists make no secret of an ambition to resume power—a legitimate
objective of a party. Dahal and his deputy, Baburam Bhattarai, have
told me, as they have several media persons, of their goal. Maoists
are clear that they will employ any approach short of outright war,
thus far, to achieve it. Dahal is fond of using the word bisfot, or
explosion.
And though their supporters and critics alike are agreed that there
can be no lasting peace in Nepal without Maoist participation, the
Maoist cause has been diminished, for instance, by their employing the
often-thuggish Young Communist League (YCL). A growing paramilitary,
YCL is used to enforce trade unionism—most hospitality industry unions
in Kathmandu are Maoist-controlled—intimidate opponents, and provide
numbers at Maoist rallies.
To increase all-round pressure, Maoists are reaching out to groups
that shored up the rebellion—and voted for them in the 2008 elections.
UCPN (Maoist) declared its “fourth phase of struggle” last week. Mass
gatherings are to be held between 19 January and 24 January, addressed
by the crème of Maoist leadership in regions that represent ethnic
minorities such as Limbu, Kirant, Sherpa, Tharu, Bhote-Lama, and
Madhesi—long-disenfranchised people of Indian origin concentrated in
Nepal’s southern Terai belt—and caste minorities, which together make
up about 70% of Nepal’s population.
There is talk of autonomous regions based on this mix. Should it come
to pass, it would dilute the influence of the hill Bahun, or Brahmin,
community and upper caste Hindu leadership long-dominant in politics,
the bureaucracy and army.
The exercise for India and other countries will now be to gauge the
tipping point for robust democracy—or an irredeemable one. The latter
outcome will contribute to conditions of an implosion of Nepal. Large-
scale migration of destitute into India; a 1,700km-long unstable
border with worrying security implications; and weakened economic
interaction with Nepal—India accounts for 70% of its trade—will
subsume any concern of a Red Corridor.
Sudeep Chakravarti writes on issues related to conflict in South Asia.
He is the author of Red Sun: Travels in Naxalite Country. He writes a
column alternate Thursdays on conflicts that directly affect business.
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Why I Am Not a Hindu
Ramendra Nath
Originally published by Bihar Rationalist Society (Bihar Buddhiwadi
Samaj) 1993.
Electronically reprinted with permission.
I have read and admired Bertrand Russell's Why I Am Not a Christian.
On the other hand, I have also read and disagreed with M.K.Gandhi's
Why I Am a Hindu. My acquaintance with these writings has inspired me
to write this essay explaining why I am not a Hindu, though I was born
in a Hindu family.
The Meaning of "Hindu"
The word "Hindu" is a much-abused word in the sense that it has been
used to mean different things at different times. For example, some
people even now, at least some times, use the word "Hindu" as a
synonym for "Indian". In this sense of the term, I am certainly a
"Hindu" because I do not deny being an Indian. However, I do not think
that this a proper use of the term "Hindu". There are many Indians
such as Muslims, Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians as well as
rationalists, humanists and atheists who do not call themselves
"Hindu" and also do not like to be described as such. It is certainly
not fair to convert them into Hinduism by giving an elastic definition
of the term "Hindu". Besides, it is also not advisable to use the word
"Hindu" in this sense from the point of view of clarity. The word
"Hindu" may have been used in the beginning as a synonym for
"Indian" [1], but, at present, the word is used for people with
certain definite religious beliefs. The word "Hindu" belongs to the
category of words like "Muslim", "Christian", "Buddhist" and "Jain"
and not to the category of words like "American", "British",
"Australian", "Chinese" or "Japanese". There are, in fact, many
Indians who are not Hindus, and on the other hand, there are many
Hindus who are not Indians , for example, those who are citizens of
Nepal, Sri Lanka and some other countries.
In the religious sense, the word, "Hindu" is often used broadly to
include Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs in addition to those who are
described as "Hindu" in this most restricted sense of the term, that
is, the adherents of Vedic or Brahmin religion. For example, the
expression "Hindu" is used in the Hindu law not only for those who are
Hindu by religion but also for persons who are Buddhists, Jains and
Sikhs by religion. This, again, is too broad a definition of "Hindu".
If we consistently use the word "Hindu" in this sense, we will have to
say that Japan is a Hindu country!
The above definition of "Hindu" is clearly inadequate from a
philosophical point of view. Buddhism and Jainism, for instance,
explicitly reject the doctrine of the infallibility of the Vedas and
the system of varna-vyavastha, which are fundamental to Hinduism, that
is, if the term "Hinduism" is used in its most restricted sense.
Therefore, clubbing together Buddhists and Jains or even Sikhs with
those who believe in the infallibility of the Vedas and subscribe to
the varna-vyavastha is nothing but an invitation to confusion.
Though I agree with Buddhism in its rejection of god, soul,
infallibility of the Vedas and the varna-vyavastha, still I am not a
Hindu even in this broad sense of the term "Hindu", because as a
rationalist and humanist I reject all religions including Buddhism,
Jainism and Sikhism. However, in this essay I am concerned with
explaining why I am not a Hindu in the most appropriate sense of the
term "Hindu", that is, the sense in which a person is a Hindu if his
religion is Hinduism in the restricted sense of the term " Hinduism".
In this restricted sense of "Hinduism", Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism
are excluded from its scope. I also maintain that this is, at present,
probably the most popular sense of the term, and every body should, in
the interest of clarity, confine its use, as far as possible, to this
sense only, at least in philosophical discourse.
Radhakrishnan, for example, has used the term "Hindu" and "Hinduism"
in this restricted sense when he says in his The Hindu View of Life
that, "The chief sacred scriptures of Hindus, the Vedas register the
intuitions of the perfected souls." [2] Or, when he says that
"Hinduism is the religion not only of the Vedas but of the Epics and
the Puranas." [3]
Basic Beliefs of Hinduism
Gandhi, too, has used the term "Hindu" in this restricted sense, when
writing in Young India in October, 1921, he says:
I call myself a sanatani Hindu, because,
I believe in the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas and all that goes
by the name of Hindu scriptures, and therefore in avatars and
rebirth.
I believe in the Varnashram dharma in a sense in my opinion strictly
Vedic, but not in its present popular and crude sense.
I believe in the protection of the cow in its much larger sense than
the popular.
I do not disbelieve in idol-worship. [4]
One may be tempted to ask, at this point, whether all the beliefs
listed by Gandhi are really fundamental to Hinduism. In my opinion,
(I) the belief in the authenticity of the Vedas and (II) the belief in
the varnashram dharma are more basic to Hinduism than the belief in
cow-protection and idol-worship. [5] Though it cannot be denied that,
in spite of attempts by reformers like Kabir, Rammohan Roy and
Dayanand Saraswati, idol-worship is still practiced widely by the
Hindu masses, and there is, at present, a taboo on eating beef among a
large number of Hindus. In any case, I am in a position to establish
the fact of my not being a Hindu by asserting the contradictory of
each of the above statements made by Gandhi:
In other words, I assert that I am not a Hindu, because,
I do not believe in the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas and all
that goes by the name of Hindu scriptures, and therefore in avatars
and rebirth.
I do not believe in the varnashram dharma or varna-vyavastha either in
the sense in which it is explained in Hindu dharma shastras like
Manusmriti or in the so-called Vedic sense.
I do not believe in the Hindu taboo of not eating beef.
I disbelieve in idol-worship.
However, while explaining why I am not a Hindu, I will concentrate
mainly on (I) the belief in the authenticity of the Vedas, and (II)
the varnashram dharma , which I consider more fundamental to Hinduism.
Besides, in the concluding section of the essay, I will briefly
discuss moksha, which is regarded as the highest end of life in
Hinduism, and some other Hindu doctrines like karmavada and
avatarvada.
The infallibility of the Vedas
First of all, let me explain what do I mean by saying that "I do not
believe in the Vedas", and why I do not do so.
The schools of ancient Indian thought are generally classified by
orthodox Hindu thinkers into two broad categories, namely, orthodox
( astika) and heterodox ( nastika). The six main Hindu systems of
thought -- Mimamsa, Vedanta, Sankhya, Yoga, Nyaya and Vaisheshika --
are regarded as orthodox ( astika), not because they believe in the
existence of god, but because they accept the authority of the Vedas.
[6]
Out of the six orthodox systems of Hindu thought, Nyaya system is
primarily concerned with the conditions of correct thinking and the
means of acquiring true knowledge. According to Nyaya system, there
are four distinct and separate sources of knowledge, namely, (i)
perception (ii) inference (iii) comparison, and (iv) testimony or
shabda.
Shabda, which is defined in the Nyaya system as "valid verbal
testimony" is further classified into (i) the scriptural ( vaidika),
and (ii) the secular ( laukika). Vaidika or scriptural testimony is
believed to be the word of god, and therefore, it is regarded as
perfect and infallible .[7]
Mimamsa or Purva Mimamsa, another orthodox Hindu system is "the
outcome of the ritualistic side of the vedic culture". However, in its
attempt to justify the authority of the Vedas, Mimamsa elaborately
discusses different sources of valid knowledge. Naturally enough,
among the various "sources of valid knowledge", Mimamsa pays greatest
attention to testimony or authority, which, too, is regarded by it as
a valid source of knowledge. There are, according to Mimamsa, two
kinds of authority -- personal ( paurusheya) and impersonal
( apaurusheya). The authority of the Vedas is regarded by Mimamsa as
impersonal. [8]
As mentioned earlier, according to Nyaya, the authority of the Vedas
is derived from their being the words of god. But Mimamsa, which does
not believe in the existence of god, declares that the Vedas like the
world, are eternal. They are not the work of any person, human or
divine. The infallibility of the authority of the Vedas, according to
Mimamsa, rests on the "fact" that they are not vitiated by any defect
to which the work of imperfect persons is liable. [9]
Thus, orthodox Hindu schools like Nyaya and Mimamsa regard the
testimony of the Vedas as infallible, though they give different
reasons for doing so. Well-known orthodox Hindu theologians like
Shankar and Ramanuja believed in the authority of the Vedas.
Manusmriti, too, upholds the infallibility of the Vedas. As pointed
out by S.N.Dasgupta, "The validity and authority of the Vedas were
acknowledged by all Hindu writers and they had wordy battles over it
with the Buddhists who denied it." [10]
The point worth noting is that though popularly Hinduism is a theistic
religion, it is not essential to believe in the existence of god for
being an orthodox Hindu -- belief in the authority of the Vedas is
more important.
When I say, "I do not believe in the Vedas", what I mean is that I do
not regard the testimony of the Vedas as a valid source of knowledge.
In other words when I say, "I do not believe in the Vedas", I do not
mean that each and every proposition contained in the Vedas is false.
It is quite possible that one may find a few true statements in the
Vedas after great amount of patient research. But I assert that the
truth or the falsity of a proposition is logically independent of its
being contained or not contained in the Vedas. A proposition is true
if there is a correspondence between the belief expressed by it and
the facts. Otherwise, it is false. So, a proposition contained in the
Vedas might be true, that is, if there is a correspondence between the
belief expressed by it and the facts, but it is, I insist, not true
because it is contained in the Vedas. I categorically reject as
invalid every argument of the form: "The proposition P is contained in
the Vedas. Therefore, the proposition P is true".
Besides, I also assert that some propositions contained in the Vedas
are certainly false. For example, according to Purusha-Sukta of Rig
Veda , Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras originated
respectively from the mouth, hands, thighs and feet of the purusha or
the creator. I categorically reject this statement as false. I
maintain that varna-vyavastha is a man-made social institution and it
has nothing to do with the alleged creator of this world.
I also reject both the reasons put forward in support of the
infallibility of the Vedas. I neither regard them to be "the words of
god" nor I consider them to be eternal and impersonal. I believe that
Vedas were conceived, spoken and written by human beings. The question
of their being "words of god" simply does not arise, because there are
no good reasons for believing in the existence of god. The existence
of an omnipotent, omniscient and benevolent god is totally
inconsistent with the presence of suffering and evil in this world. It
is impossible for god to exist. [11]
Similarly, Vedas could not have come into existence before human
beings appeared on this earth, and before Sanskrit language came into
existence. And there are no good reasons for believing that Sanskrit
language came into existence even before human beings appeared on this
earth!
As far as Gandhi is concerned, though he liked to describe himself as
a sanatani Hindu, he was, in fact, not a completely orthodox Hindu.
For example, in the article quoted earlier in this essay Gandhi goes
on to add, "I do not believe in the exclusive divinity of the Vedas. I
believe the Bible, the Koran, and the Zend-Avesta to be as much
divinely inspired as the Vedas. My belief in the Hindu scriptures does
not require me to accept every word and every verse as divinely
inspired, I decline to be bound by any interpretation, however learned
in may be, if it is repugnant to reason or moral sense. "[12](emphasis
mine)
I seriously doubt that this position will be acceptable to an orthodox
Hindu. In fact, Gandhi's position comes very close to that of
rationalists and humanists when he says that "I decline to be bound by
any interpretation however learned it may be, if it is repugnant to
reason and moral sense". However, since he refused to say in so many
words that he did not believe in the authority of the Vedas, Gandhi
may be described, in my opinion, as a liberal Hindu with an eclectic
approach towards religion. On the other hand, my position is radically
different from that of Gandhi, because I do not consider either the
Vedas or the Bible, the Koran and Zend-Avesta or any other book to be
divinely inspired.
Varna-vyavastha
Before discussing varna-vyavastha or varnashram dharma, let me clarify
in the very beginning that I am not interested in giving my own
interpretation of what varna-vyavastha is or ought to be in its ideal
form. I am interested, firstly, in giving an objective exposition of
varna-vyavastha as contained in recognized Hindu scriptures like Vedas
and dharmashastras like Manusmriti; and secondly, in mentioning my
reasons for rejecting varna-vyavastha. In doing so I will concentrate
on the chaturvarnya (four-fold division of society) aspect of varna-
vyavastha.
We have already noted that the first reference to varna (class based
on birth or caste) is to be found in the Purusha-Sukta of the Rig
Veda . The reference to the four ashrams or stages of life, namely,
Brahmcharya, Garhastya, Vanprashta and Sanyas is to be found in the
Upanishads. These are, in their turn, related to the four purusarthas
or ends of life, namely, dharma (duty), artha (wealth), kama
(satisfaction of sensual desires) and moksha (liberation). Out of
these, the Upanishads attach maximum value to sanyas ashram and moksha
purusartha, which is regarded as the highest end of life. [13]
The system of varnashram dharma is upheld by popular Hindu scriptures
like Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagvat-Gita. In Ramayana, for example,
Ram kills Shambuka simply because he was performing tapasya (ascetic
exercises) which he was not supposed to do as he was a Shudra by
birth. [14]
Similarly, in Mahabharata, Dronacharya refuses to teach archery to
Eklavya, because he was not a Kshatriya by birth. When Eklavya,
treating Drona as his notional guru, learns archery on his own, Drona
makes him cut his right thumb as gurudakshina (gift for the teacher)
so that he may not become a better archer than his favorite Kshatriya
student Arjuna!
The much-glorified Bhagvat-Gita, too, favors varna-vyavastha.[15] When
Arjuna refuses to fight, one of his main worries was that the war
would lead to the birth of varna-sankaras or offspring from
intermixing of different varnas and the consequent "downfall" of the
family. [16] On the other hand, Krishna tries to motivate Arjuna to
fight by saying that it was his varna-dharma (caste-duty) to do so
because he was a Kshatriya. In fact, Krishna goes to the extent of
claiming that the four varnas were created by him only. [17] Thus,
Arjuna's main problem was being born a Kshatriya. Had he been a
Brahmin or a Vaishya or a Shudra by birth, he would have been spared
the trouble of fighting a destructive war. Even the much-applauded
doctrine of niskama karma is nothing but an exhortation to faithfully
perform one's varnashram dharma in a disinterested manner. [18]
The celebrated orthodox Hindu theologian Shankar, too, was a supporter
of varna-vyavastha. According to him, Shudras are not entitled to
philosophical knowledge. [19] However, the most elaborate exposition
of varnashram dharma is to be found in Manusmriti, an important
dharmashastra of Hindus. Let us turn to it in order to have a close
look at the varna-vyavastha.
Manusmriti
In the very first chapter of Manusmriti, it is clearly stated that
Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras were created by Brahma
(creator of this world) from his mouth, hands, thighs and feet
respectively. [20]
Manu claims that the same Brahma, who created this world, also created
Manusmriti and taught it to him. [21]
The duties of the different varnas are also mentioned in the
Manusmriti. The Brahmins were created for teaching, studying,
performing yajnas (ceremonial sacrifices), getting yajnas performed,
giving and accepting dan (gifts).[22] The Kshatriyas were created for
protecting the citizens, giving gifts, getting yajnas performed and
studying. [23] The Vaishyas were created for protecting animals,
giving gifts, getting yajnas performed, studying, trading, lending
money on interest and doing agricultural work. [24] The Shudras were
created by Brahma for serving Brahmins and the other two varnas
without being critical of them. [25]
It is interesting to note that studying, getting yajnas performed and
giving gifts or charity are common duties of Brahmins, Kshatriyas and
Vaishyas; whereas teaching, accepting gifts and performing yajnas are
reserved exclusively for Brahmins. The Shudras, of course, are denied
the rights to study, getting yajnas performed by Brahmins or even
giving gifts to them.
Manusmriti further states that having originated from the mouth of
Brahma, being elder and being the repository of the Vedas; Brahmins
are the masters of the entire universe. [26] Besides, Brahmins alone
act as a sort of post office for transmitting food to the gods and the
dead, that is to say, the gods and the dead eat food through the
mouths of Brahmins (apparently because they do not have mouths of
their own). Therefore, no one can be superior to Brahmins.[27] All
others are said to enjoy everything owing to the Brahmins' mercy.[28]
The Manusmriti clearly states that Brahmins alone are entitled to
teach this dharmashastra and none else. [29]
Manusmriti refers to the Vedas, which are to be regarded as the main
valid source of knowledge about dharma, as shruti and to
dharmashastras as smriti. No one is to argue critically about them
because religion has originated from them. [30] Any nastika (non-
believer) or critic of the Vedas, who "insults" them on the basis of
logic, is worthy of being socially boycotted by "noble" persons. [31]
In short, the main features of chaturvarnya as elaborated in the
Manusmriti are as follows:
1. Division of Hindu society into four varnas on the basis of birth.
Out of these only the first three, namely , Brahmins , Kshatriya and
Vaishya, who are collectively known as dwija (twice-born) are entitled
to upanayan and the study of the Vedas. Shudras as well as women of
dwija varnas are denied the right to study.
2. Assigning different duties and occupations for different varnas.
This is to be enforced strictly by the king. [32] According to
Manusmriti, if a person of lower caste adopts the occupation of a
higher caste, the king ought to deprive him of all his property and
expel him from his kingdom. [33]
3. Treating Brahmins as superior and other varnas, namely, Kshatriya,
Vaishya and Shudra as inferior to him in descending order with the
Shudra occupying the bottom of the hierarchy. A Brahmin is to be
treated as god and respected even if he is ignorant. Even a hundred-
year old Kshatriya is to treat a ten year old Brahmin as his father.
[34] Brahmin alone is entitled to teach. If a Shudra dares to give
moral lessons to a Brahmin, the king is to get him punished by pouring
hot oil in his ear and mouth. [35] Similarly, if a Shudra occupies the
same seat as a Brahmin, he is to be punished by branding his waist
(with hot rod) or getting his buttocks cut! [36]
4. Treating women as unequal. Women, that is, even women belonging to
Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya varna are not entitled to upanayan and
the study of the Vedas. For them, marriage is equivalent to upanayan
and service of their husbands is equivalent to the study of the Vedas
in the gurukul.[37] Even if the husband is morally degraded, engaged
in an affair with another woman and is devoid of knowledge and other
qualities, the wife must treat him like a god. [38] A widower is
allowed to remarry but a widow is not. [39] Besides, women are not
considered fit for being free and independent. They are to be
protected in their childhood by father, in youth by husband and in old
age by son. [40] They should never be allowed by their guardians to
act independently. [41] A woman must never do anything even inside her
home without the consent of her father, husband and son respectively.
[42] She must remain in control of her father in childhood, of husband
in youth and of son after the death of her husband. [43]
5. Treating different varnas as unequal for legal purposes. The Hindu
law as codified by Manu is based on the principle of inequality. The
punishment for a particular crime is not same for all varnas. In fact,
the punishment varies depending on the varna of the victim as well as
the varna of the person committing the crime. For the same crime, the
Brahmin is to be given a mild punishment, whereas the Shudra is to
given the harshest punishment of all. Similarly, if the victim of a
crime is a Shudra, the punishment is mild, and the punishment is harsh
in case the victim is a Brahmin. For example, if a Brahmin is awarded
death sentence, it is sufficient to shave his head, but Kshatriya,
Vaishya and Shudra are to actually die. [44] If a Kshatriya, a
Vaishya, or a Shudra repeatedly gives false evidence in the court, he
is to be punished and expelled from the kingdom, whereas the Brahmin
is not to be punished, he is to be only expelled. [45] If a person has
sexual intercourse with a consenting women of his own varna, he is not
to be punished. [46] But if a person of lower varna has sexual
intercourse with a woman of higher varna, with or without her consent,
he is to be killed. [47] If a Brahmin forces a dwija to work for him,
he is to be punished. [48] But if a Brahmin forces a Shudra to work
for him, whether by making or not making payments to him, he is not to
be punished, because Shudras have been created only for serving
Brahmins.[49] If a Brahmin abuses a Shudra, he is to be fined mildly,
[50] but if a Shudra abuses a Brahmin, he is to be killed. [51] On the
other hand, even if a Brahmin kills a Shudra, he is merely to perform
penance by killing a cat, frog, owl or crow, etc. [52] Thus a Shudra
is to be killed for abusing a Brahmin, whereas a Brahmin is to be let
off lightly even if he kills a Shudra. Such is the unequal justice of
Manusmriti.
In fact, this system of graded inequality seems to be the very essence
of the varna-vyavastha. Whether it is the choice of names, [53] or the
manner of greeting, [54] or the mode of entertaining guests, [55] or
the method of administering oath in the court, [56] or the process of
taking out the funeral procession, [57] at each and every step in
life, from birth to death, this system of graded inequality is to be
applied and observed. Manu does not even spare the rates of interest
on loan. For borrowing the same amount, Kshatriya has to pay more as
interest than Brahmin, Vaishya more than Kshatriya and the poor Shudra
has to pay the maximum amount as interest! [58]
6. Prohibiting inter-marriage between different varnas. According to
Manusmriti, a dwija ought to marry a woman of his own varna.[59] A
woman of the same varna is considered best for the first marriage.
However, a dwija may take a woman of inferior varna as his second wife
if he is overcome by sexual passion. [60] But Manu strongly
disapproves of Brahmins and Kshatriyas taking a Shudra woman even as
their second wife. They become Shudra if they do so. [61]
7. Supporting untouchability is also a part of the scheme of social
stratification outlined in the Manusmriti. Manu clearly mentions that
Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya, collectively known as dwija and the
Shudras are the four varnas. There is no fifth varna.[62] He explains
the origin of other castes by saying that they are varna-sankara
castes, that is to say, castes originating due to the intermixture of
different varnas, both in anuloma (upper varna male and lower varna
female) and pratiloma (lower varna male and upper varna female)
manner. [63] For example, Nishad caste is said to have originated from
anuloma relationship between Brahmin male and Shudra female,[64]
whereas C handala caste is said to be owing its origin to pratiloma
relationship between Shudra male and Brahmin female. [65]
Manu seems to be disapproving of pratiloma relationship more than the
anuloma, because he describes C handalas as the lowest of the low
castes. [66]
Let us see what Manusmriti, has to say about the C handala. The
Chandala, says Manusmriti, must not ever reside inside the village.
While doing their work, they must reside outside the village, at
cremation ground, on mountains or in groves. They are not entitled to
keep cows or horses, etc., as pet animals. They may keep dogs and
donkeys. They are to wear shrouds. They are to eat in broken utensils.
They are to use ornaments of iron, not of gold. They must keep moving
from one place to another, not residing at the same place for a long
duration. [67] They must not move around in villages and cities in
night hours. They may enter the villages and cities in daytime, with
king's permission, wearing special symbols (to enable identification),
and take away unclaimed dead bodies. [68]
Moreover, how is the "religious" person to deal with the Chandala? He
must not have any social intercourse (marriage, interdining, etc.)
with them. He must not talk to or even see them! [69] He may ask
servants (apparently Shudras) to give them food in broken utensils.
[70]
8. Granting divine and religious sanction to varna-vyavastha. Manu
gives divine and religious sanction to the varna-vyavastha by claiming
divine origin for the varnas as well as for the Manusmriti and
demanding unquestioning obedience of it.
So, that completes my exposition of the varna-vyavastha. I want to
emphasize in particular that my exposition does not contain any
exaggeration at all. The reader may check each and every statement by
comparing with the original Manusmriti in order to satisfy himself or
herself. I cannot help if the system is so unjust and so out of tune
with out existing values that even an objective exposition reads like
a severe condemnation. Nevertheless, I will now turn to my reasons for
rejecting varna-vyavastha: I reject varna-vyavastha because it is
irrational, unjust and undemocratic, being opposed to the democratic
and human values of liberty, equality and fraternity.
Criticism of varna-vyavastha
The varna-vyavastha is opposed to the value of liberty as it denies
the freedom to choose one's occupation and marriage partner to one and
all. Everyone must join the occupation of his varna and must marry
within his varna. Similarly, it denies the freedom to study to the
Shudras and woman in particular. Even the dwija must study the Vedas
before he studies anything else. Otherwise, he becomes a Shudra.[71]
(Incidentally, according to Manusmriti, there are several ways by
which a Brahmin or dwija may become a Shudra but there is no way by
which a Shudra may become a Brahmin. A Shudra must always remain a
Shudra.)[72]
What is worse, the Chandala is even denied the freedom to reside at a
place of his choice or to wear clothes and ornaments of his choice. He
is not even free to keep pet animals of his choice.
The conflict between varna-vyavastha and the value of equality is more
than obvious. As I mentioned earlier, the system of graded inequality
seems to be the very essence of varna-vyavastha. It denies equal
respect to all in society. It denies equality before law. It denies
equal access to marriage partners. It denies equal access to jobs. The
occupation of teachers and priests, for example, is reserved
exclusively for Brahmins. Finally, it also denies equal access to
education and knowledge.
A Brahmin, according to Manu, must not teach the Shudra and woman even
if he dies with his knowledge without imparting it to anybody. [73] On
the other hand, if anyone studies the Vedas on his own he or she will
go straight to hell. [74] In other words, cent percent reservations
for dwija males in the sphere of education.
The varna-vyavastha is most unfair to the Shudras and the
untouchables. They are denied respect, knowledge, power and wealth.
They are denied access to occupations considered respectable, just as
they are denied access to men and women of upper varnas for marriage.
The Shudras are virtually reduced to being slaves of the Brahmins in
particular and the dwijas in general, whereas the untouchables are
regarded as outcast -- beyond the pale of the society. The women are
generally treated as sexual objects and as unfit for being independent
and free.
As far as fraternity is considered, we must not expect it to exist in
a society, which is so unequal and unjust. A Shudra's waist is to be
branded or his buttocks are to be cut only because he occupies the
same seat as the Brahmin. The "religious" are not to talk or even look
at a Chandala. Inter-marriage is prohibited. Manu seems to be most
eager to prevent inter-mixing of the varnas. Thus, the Hindu social
order is based on the isolation and exclusiveness of the varnas.
The Manusmriti not only outlines a totally undemocratic and unjust
social system but also gives divine, religious sanction to this man-
made social institution of chaturvarnya. Some Hindus, including
apparently learned "thinkers" and writers, smugly wax eloquent about
Hinduism being the most tolerant and liberal religion of the world.
Is there any other religion, which sanctions slavery and
untouchability? Is there any other religion in which only persons born
in a particular caste ( Brahmin) are entitled to become priests?
Slavery is not peculiar to India or to Hinduism, but carrying it to
the extremes of untouchability, and granting it divine and religious
sanction is peculiar to Hinduism.
Similarly, some Hindus may be tolerant, just as some of them are
intolerant, but Hinduism or Hindu religion is not tolerant at all,
either socially or intellectually. Manusmriti, for example, clearly
says that anybody who argues critically and logically about
dharmashastras ought to be ostracized. [75] Non-believers, including
freethinkers, rationalists and Buddhists, are not to be entertained
respectfully as guests; though, mercifully, they may be given food.
[76] The families of non-believers are destroyed sooner than later
according to Manu. [77] A state with a large number of Shudras and
nastikas soon meets its destruction. [78] Manusmriti is full of
abusive epithets for freethinkers and non-believers. The unorthodox
( nastikas) are sometimes equated with the Shudras, sometimes with the
Chandalas, sometimes with thieves and sometimes with lunatics! [79]
Such is the generosity of Hindu dharma.
Apologies for varna-vyavastha
Let me now consider what the apologists of varna-vyavastha have to say
in its defense.
A standard defense of varna-vyavastha is to say that it is a system of
division of labor. It is easy to grant that division of labor is
essential for any complex society, but it is equally easy to see that
varna-vyavastha is not a system of division of labor based on aptitude
and capability. It is a system of division of labor based on birth .
Besides, it has other associated features such as feeling of
superiority and inferiority, inequality before law, denial of equal
access to knowledge and prohibition against inter-marriage.
What have these features to do with the division of labor?
Division of labor is found in all societies, but varna-vyavastha is
not. Thus, trying to justify varna-vyavastha as division of labor is a
futile exercise.
Another standard defense of the varna-vyavastha is to say that the
system was originally based on aptitude and capability. Whether it was
actually ever so is a subject for historical research. Most probably,
the racial theory of the origin of castes is true. However, even if we
grant for the sake of argument that the varna-vyavastha was originally
based on aptitude and capability, how does it help? We cannot say that
because the system was originally, some time in remote past, based on
aptitude and capability; therefore we ought to gladly suffer the
present system based on birth. It hardly makes any sense at all!
In any case, Manusmriti was most probably written between200 BC and
200 AD [80] and the system as outlined in it is totally based on
birth. Gautam Buddha, who lived in sixth century BC, challenged the
infallibility of the Vedas as well as the varna-vyavastha. There are
several passages in Tripitaka, mainly in Digha Nikaya and Majhima
Nikaya which are "directed against the claims of the Brahmans to be of
different origin from the rest of humanity, born from the mouth of
Brahma, having a hereditary prerogative to teach, guide and
spiritually govern the rest of the society." [81] In Majhima Nikaya
Buddha is quoted as refuting varna-vyavastha on several occasions.
According to Buddha, it is unreasonable to decide one's place and
functions in society on the basis of one's birth in a caste. Buddha is
also quoted as insisting that in the eyes of the law all persons ought
to be treated as equal, irrespective of the caste or varna in which he
or she is born. [82] Thus, it is obvious that even if the system of
varna-vyavastha ever existed in its ideal form -- which is doubtful --
it had already degenerated by the time of Buddha, that is, about 2500
years back.
The most blatant defense of varna-vyavastha, however, is to say that
human beings are born unequal, and, therefore, it is natural and
normal for children to join the occupation of their fathers.
Surprisingly and sadly, no less a person than Gandhi defended varna-
vyavastha in a similar manner.
To quote Gandhi: "I believe that every man is born in the world with
certain natural tendencies. Every person is born with certain definite
limitations which he cannot overcome. From a careful observation of
those limitations the law of varna was deduced. It establishes certain
spheres of action for certain people with certain tendencies. This
avoided all unworthy competition. Whilst recognizing limitations, the
law of varna admitted of no distinction of high and low; on the one
hand it guaranteed to each the fruits of his labors and on the other
it prevented him from pressing upon his neighbor. This great law has
been degraded and fallen into disrepute. But my conviction is that an
ideal social order will only be evolved when the implications of this
law are fully understood and given effect to". [83]
Again, "I regard Varnashrama as a healthy division of work based on
birth. The present ideas of caste are a perversion of the original.
There is no question with me of superiority or inferiority. It is
purely a question of duty. I have indeed stated that varna is based on
birth. But I have also said that it is possible for a shudra, for
instance, to become a vaishya. But in order to perform the duty of
vaishya he does not need the label of a vaishya. He who performs the
duty of a brahman will easily become one in the next
incarnation." [84]
So, varna-vyavastha, according to Gandhi, is a "healthy division of
work based on birth", which takes into account the "natural
tendencies" of human beings and avoids "unworthy competition."
This apparently plausible defense of varna-vyavastha is, in fact, most
unscientific. It is a well-known and scientifically verified fact that
acquired characteristics are not inherited biologically, only genetic
qualities are transmitted from one generation to another. For
instance, carpentry is an acquired characteristic; just as knowledge
of philosophy is an acquired quality. Neither a carpenter's son or
daughter is born with the knowledge of carpentry, nor is a
philosopher's daughter or son born with the knowledge of philosophy.
These are acquired characteristics and, therefore, they cannot be
inherited biologically. If sometimes, though not always, a carpenter's
son becomes a good carpenter or a philosopher's daughter acquires a
good knowledge of philosophy, without being formally initiated into
these disciplines, it is not because they are born with the required
knowledge, but only because of the favorable environment at home,
which enables them to acquire these characteristics. The result could
be different if their places were to be interchanged.
One may say that though the knowledge of carpentry of philosophy in
not inherited biologically, the mental qualities enabling one to
acquire the requisite knowledge is inherited. Some physical and mental
qualities are, no doubt, inherited but this does not mean that parents
and their children are always identical in physical or mental
qualities. It is a well known fact -- anybody can verify this by
careful observation -- that due to different permutations and
combinations of chromosomes and genes offspring of same parents are
not always identical to one another or to their parents. More often
than not, they are different. For instance, one son or daughter of
same parents may be tall and another short. The colors of skin, hair
and eyes may differ likewise. What is true of physical characteristics
is equally true of mental qualities. Thus, a child may or may not have
the mental characteristics, which his father has.
Therefore, it is totally unscientific to forcefully restrict children
to the occupations of their forefathers.
It is true that all human beings are not equal in the sense of being
identical in physical or mental qualities. But it does not follow from
this that they ought to be denied equal opportunity to join a vocation
of their choice or that they ought to be denied equality before law or
equal respect as human beings in the society.
As for "unworthy" competition, how do we know that the competition is
unworthy unless all are, to begin with, given equal opportunity? Take
the example of Gandhi himself. He was a bania by caste. Yet, in spite
of some serious aberrations such as supporting varna-vyavastha based
on birth and linking politics with religion, he performed fairly well
in the role of a national leader. It would have been a great loss for
the nation if in the name of avoiding "unworthy" competition in
politics, Gandhi would have been confined to running a grocery shop.
Similarly, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was born in an "untouchable" caste, but
he played an important role in the drafting of the democratic
constitution of independent India. He also taught in a college for
some time. To use the terminology of varna-vyavastha, he ably
performed the work of a Brahmin.
Is it possible to imagine how many Ambedkars we may have lost by now
owing to the restrictive varna-vyavastha?
As we have noted earlier, varna-vyavastha is a closed system of social
stratification without any scope for upward social mobility. To quote
M. Haralambos, author of a textbook on sociology, "A person belongs to
his parents jati and automatically follows the occupation of the jati
into which he was born. Thus no matter what the biologically based
aptitude and capacities of an untouchable, there is no way he can
become a Brahmin. Unless it is assumed that superior genes are
permanently located in the Brahmin caste, and there is no evidence
that this is the case, then there is probably no relationship between
genetically based and socially created inequality in traditional Hindu
society." [85]
Returning to Gandhi, though Gandhi was opposed to untouchability and
caste, he did not carry his opposition to its logical conclusion.
Inconsistently enough, he continued to support the varna-vyavastha
based on birth. At one stage, he even supported restrictions on
interdining and intermarriage. As he wrote in Young India in 1921,
"Hinduism does most emphatically discourage interdining and
intermarriage between divisions... It is no part of a Hindu's duty to
dine with his son. And by restricting his choice of bride to a
particular group, he exercises rare self-restraint. Prohibition
against intermarriages and interdining is essential for the rapid
evolution of the soul. "[86] (emphasis mine)
Later Gandhi moved away from these orthodox ideas, and started
supporting intercaste marriages. Finally in 1946, he refused to
solemnize any marriage at Sevagram Ashram unless one of the parties
was an untouchable. [87] May be he would also have given up varna-
vyavastha if he had lived longer. That, however, is in the realm of
imagination, the fact is that Gandhi supported varna-vyavastha. It is
worth noting that he invented his own conception of varna-vyavastha,
which, according to him, had nothing to do with the feeling of
superiority and inferiority or with prohibition against intermarriage.
We find here in Gandhi a quaint mixture of conservatism and
reformism.
I would like to dispose of one last objection before concluding this
section. One may say that the Hindu law at present is quite different
from what Manu desired, and presently Hindus in general do not follow
Manu in totality. This is true. The Hindu law at present, for
instance, allows inter-caste marriage and prohibits bigamy and child
marriage. It permits divorce. It also allows widow remarriage and
grants equal rights to daughters in father's property. Nevertheless,
there seems to be a gap between the progressive Hindu law and the
conservative social practices of the Hindus. A majority of Hindu
marriages are still within the caste and very few Hindu women actually
claim or get a share in father's property.
The Indian constitution has rightly made special provisions, such as
reservations in services for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and
other socially and educationally backward classes, to enable them to
enter occupations and positions of power, which had been traditionally
denied to them. No doubt, some upper caste liberal Hindus, too,
support the policy of reservation. But, by and large, the Hindu upper
castes are far from fully reconciled to this progressive step as is
evident from violent and aggressive anti-reservation agitation
spearheaded by upper caste students from time to time. This kind of
reactionary agitation aimed at preserving the present dominance of
upper castes in education and the services enjoys considerable support
and sympathy in the upper caste dominated media as well as the
academia.
On the whole, the Hindu society is yet to fully exorcise the ghost of
Manu. Caste based on birth and untouchability still exist in the Hindu
society, in spite of the fact that untouchability has been abolished
by the Indian constitution. The distribution of education, power and
wealth continues to be uneven in the Hindu society, with the dwijas
being on the top and the Shudras and untouchables being at the bottom.
Teaching is no more an exclusive preserve of Brahmins, but the
occupation of Hindu priests is still fully reserved for Brahmins,
though this fact does not arouse the ire of our fervent anti-
reservationists.
Moksha, Karmavada and Avatarvada
Moksha is traditionally regarded as the highest end of life in Hindu
religion. The "endless cycle of birth and death" is considered a
bondage from which one must attain liberation, that is moksha or
mukti.
This whole concept of bondage and liberation is based on the unproved
assumption of life after death, and the existence of soul ( atma)
which continues to exist apart from the body even after death. In the
famous words of Gita, the soul changes bodies just as human beings
change clothes. [88]
Now, there are no good reasons for believing in the existence of soul
or life after death or rebirth. These beliefs are not at all supported
by incontrovertible scientific evidence. According to S.N. Dasgupta,
"there has seldom been before or after Buddha any serious attempt to
prove or disprove the doctrine of rebirth. The attempts to prove the
doctrine of rebirth in the Hindu philosophical works such as Nyaya,
etc. are slight and inadequate." [89]
However, even before Buddha, Lokayat had disproved the existence of
soul, life after death, rebirth, heaven and hell on an empirical
basis, as these things are never perceived. [90]
Thus, in absence of any evidence to the contrary, it is reasonable to
believe that each one of us has got one and only one life . Once a
person is dead, he is dead for ever. Never to be reborn. Mind,
consciousness, memory and life cannot outlast the destruction of brain
and body. This is the harsh truth; howsoever we may dislike it.
The belief in soul seems to have originated from primitive animism.
[91] If this belief continues to persist, in spite of total lack of
evidence in its support, it is only because of human beings' inability
to come to terms with, or to squarely face, the reality of death. One
likes to believe that one's near and dear ones, who are dead and
finished forever, actually continue to live in some other imaginary
world, and that they will also be reborn one day. One draws comfort
from the thought that one will not die even after death, and continue
to live in some other form. It is paradoxical that, first, the fear of
death and love of life makes one readily accept the belief in the
immortality and rebirth of soul without adequate evidence, and, then,
getting rid of this alleged cycle of birth and death itself becomes
the topmost religious aim! [92]
The problem of getting "released" from the alleged cycle of birth and
death is a pseudo-problem (in the sense that one is trying to get rid
of something which simply does not exist) and moksha is an imaginary
ideal which has nothing to do with the reality. Instead of running
after the imaginary ideal of moksha, it is far better to concentrate
on improving and living well this one and only life, which we have.
Mimamsa, which is an orthodox Hindu school of thought, considers
attainment of heaven ( swarga), instead of moksha, as the highest end
of life. References to heaven and hell are also to be found in the
Manusmriti. The belief in heaven is fairly widespread at popular
level. However, the ideal of the attainment of heaven, too, is based
on unproved assumptions, like life after death and the existence of
heaven, and, therefore, it cannot be accepted.
Another related doctrine is the Hindu belief in karmavada or the so-
called law of karma. According to this doctrine, every human being
gets the fruits of his actions either in the present or in some future
life. Whatever a human being is in his present life is the result of
his own actions in the past life or lives.
This, again, is a totally unverified and unverifiable doctrine based
on the assumption of the "cycle of birth and death". It is only a
convenient tool for explaining away the perceived inequality in human
society. The idea of karma is found in Buddhism and Jainism as well.
However, these religions do not support varna-vyavastha. But in
Hinduism the doctrine of karma, along with the idea of god, has been
used for providing ideological support to the unjust varna-vyavastha
and for making it appear just and fair. In Hinduism the so-called law
of karma merely serves the purpose of legitimizing the unjust varna-
vyavastha by making the Shudras and the "untouchables" meekly accept
their degrading position as a "result of their own deeds" in imaginary
past lives, and by assuring them "better" birth in "next life" if they
faithfully perform their varna-dharma in their present lives. [93] In
this way, this doctrine prevents them from revolting against this man-
made undemocratic system, which has nothing to do with alleged past
and future lives.
Lastly, I come to the Hindu doctrine of avatarvada. According to this
doctrine, whenever religion is threatened in this world, god takes
birth as an avatar to put things back into order. Ram and Krishna, for
example, are popularly regarded as avatars by the Hindus.
Belief in avatarvada, too, is logically unjustifiable and merely makes
one run away from one's own responsibilities. Instead of making
efforts to improve their own condition, those who believe in
avatarvada keep waiting for an avatar to take birth. Since god does
not exist, there is no question of his being born on this earth as an
avatar. (Let me add here that I also do not believe in the truth of
statements like "Jesus is the son of god" or "Mohammed is the
messenger of god".)
Not only I do not regard Ram or Krishna (or anyone else) as an avatar
of god, I also do not regard them as ideal personalities. Ram, as
mentioned earlier, was on upholder, of the varna-vyavastha. His cruel
behavior with Sita, after fighting a destructive war with Ravana to
get her released, is too well known to need recapitulation. [94]
Krishna, on the other hand, is portrayed in the Mahabharata as the
teacher of Bhagvat Gita , a book which expounds untrue and harmful
doctrines like the belief in god and immortal soul, avatarvada,
karmavada, varnashram dharma and the doctrine of moksha.
In Mahabharata Krishna adopts and advocates adoption of unfair means
like lying and deception for achieving one's ends. Obviously, he did
not believe in the doctrine of purity of ends and means. There are
several flaws in the character of Krishna as portrayed in the
Mahabharata, Bhagvat and Harivamsa. These have been ably enumerated by
Dr. Ambedkar in his The Riddle of Ram and Krishna . I refer the
interested reader to this work for a fuller treatment of this subject.
[95]
Conclusion
To conclude, I categorically reject major Hindu religious beliefs
including the doctrine of the infallibility of the Vedas, varnashram
dharma , moksha, karmavada, and avatarvada. I am not an admirer of Ram
and Krishna, and I also do not believe in idol worship or the Hindu
taboo of not eating beef. I support logical and scientific thinking;
and a secular, rational morality based on human values of liberty,
equality and fraternity. Therefore, I am not a Hindu by conviction,
though I am a Hindu by birth.
Endnotes
[1] S. Radhakrishnan, The Hindu View of Life (Bombay: Blackie & Son
(India) Ltd., 1979), p. 12.
[2] Ibid., p. 14.
[3] Ibid., pp. 16-17.
[4] M.K.Gandhi, "Aspects of Hinduism" in Hindu Dharma (New Delhi:
Orient Paperbacks, 1978), p. 9.
[5] Ninian Smart, "Hinduism" in The Encyclopedia of Philosophy (ed. in
chief, Paul Edwards) Vol. IV (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.
& The Free Press, 1972), p.1.
[6] S.N.Dasgupta , A History of Indian Philosophy , Vol. 1 (Delhi:
Motilal Banarsidass, 1975), pp. 67-68.
[7] Chatterjee and Datta, An Introduction to Indian Philosophy .
[8] Ibid.
[9] Ibid.
[10] S.N.Dasgupta, Op. Cit., p. 394.
[11] I have discussed the question of the existence of god in my small
Hindi book Kya Ishwar Mar Chuka Hai? (Patna: Bihar Buddhiwadi Samaj,
1985, 1995). See, Is God Dead? (An introduction to Kya ishwar mar
chuka hai? ) [Patna: Buddhiwadi Foundation, 1998]
[12] M.K.Gandhi, "Aspects of Hinduism" in Hindu Dharma , pp. 9-10.
[13] A.L.B., "History of Hinduism" in The New Encyclopaedia
Britannica , Vol. 8 (Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 1981),
pp. 910-11.
[14] B.R. Ambedkar , Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings and Speeches,
Vol. 4, Riddles in Hinduism (Bombay: Education Department, Government
of Maharashtra, 1987), p. 332.
[15] Y.Masih, The Hindu Religious Thought (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,
1983), pp. 192-93.
[16] Bhagvad-Gita I: 40,41, 42,43.
[17] B.G. IV: 13.15.
[18] Y.Masih, Op.Cit., p.208, Also see, pp. 224-25.
[19] V.P.Verma, Modern Indian Political Thought (Agra: Lakshmi Narain
Agarwal, 1991), pp. 50-51.
[20] Manusmriti (MS) I: 31.
[21] MS I:58.
[22] MS I:88.
[23] MS I:89.
[24] MS I: 90.
[25] MS I: 91.
[26] MS I: 93, Also see, X: 3.
[27] MS I: 95.
[28] MS I: 101.
[29] MS I: 103.
[30] MS II: 10,13.
[31] MS II: 11.
[32] MS VIII: 410.
[33] MS X: 96. Also see, Kautilya, Arthshastra I: 3, Quoted by J.N.
Farquhar in An Outline of the Religious Literature of India ( Delhi:
Motilal Banarsidass, 1984), p. 44.
[34] MS II: 135.
[35] MS VIII: 272.
[36] MS VIII: 281.
[37] MS II: 67.
[38] MS V: 154.
[39] MS V: 168,157.
[40] MS IX: 3.
[41] MS IX: 2.
[42] MS V: 147.
[43] MS V: 148.
[44] MS VIII: 379.
[45] MS VIII: 123.
[46] MS VIII: 364.
[47] MS VIII: 366.
[48] MS VIII: 412.
[49] MS VIII: 413.
[50] MS VIII: 268.
[51] MS VIII: 267.
[52] MS XI: 131.
[53] MS II: 31,32.
[54] MS II: 127.
[55] MS III: 111,112.
[56] MS VIII: 88.
[57] MS V: 92.
[58] MS VIII: 142.
[59] MS III: 4.
[60] MS III: 12.
[61] MS III: 14,15,16,17,18,19.
[62] MS X: 4.
[63] MS X: 25.
[64] MS X: 8.
[65] MS X: 12.
[66] Ibid.
[67] MS X: 50,51,52.
[68] MS X: 54,55.
[69] MS X: 53.
[70] MS X: 54.
[71] MS II: 168.
[72] MS VIII: 414.
[73] MS II: 113; X: 1.
[74] MS II: 116.
[75] MS II: 11.
[76] MS IV: 30.
[77] MS III: 65.
[78] MS VIII: 22.
[79] MS III:150, 161; IX: 225. From a humanist point of view, there is
nothing wrong in being born as a Shudra or a Chandala, but in the
context of the Manusmriti, these are abusive epithets.
[80] Manusmriti (Varanasi: Chaukhambha Sanskrit Sansthan, 1982), pp.
10-11.
[81]A.K.Warder, Indian Buddhism (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1980),p.
163.
[82] Y.Masih, The Hindu Religious Thought, pp. 336-37.
[83] Nirmal Kumar Bose, Selections from Gandhi ( Ahmedabad: Navajivan
Publishing House, 1972), p. 265.
[84] Ibid., p. 263.
[85] M.Haralambos, Sociology Themes and Perspectives (Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 1980) pp. 27-28.
[86] N.K.Bose, Op.Cit., p. 266.
[87] Louis Fischer, Gandhi (New York: New American Library, 1954), pp.
111-12, Also see, N.K.Bose, Op.Cit., p. 267.
[88] B.G. II: 20-25.
[89] S.N. Dasgutpa, A History of Indian Philosophy , Vol. I, p. 87.
[90] Chatterjee and Datta. An Introduction to Indian Philosophy .
[91] See M.N.Roy, "The Transmigration of Soul" in India's Message
( Delhi: Ajanta Publications, 1982), pp. 4-6.
[92] Probably "the cycle of life and death" is considered "bondage"
because it will presumably lead to death again and again. So,
primarily the doctrine of liberation seems to be a reaction against
death.
[93] "Those whose conduct has been pleasing will quickly attain a
pleasing birth, the birth of a Brahman or a Kshatriya, or a Vaisya;
but those whose conduct has been abominable, will quickly attain
abominable birth, the birth of a dog, or a hog, or an Outcaste."
Brihadaranyaka, quoted by J.N. Farquhar, An Outline of the Religious
Literature of India , p. 34, Also see, S.N.Dasgupta, Op. Cit., p.
363.
[94] See, my "Why I do not want Ramrajya" in Why I am Not a Hindu &
Why I do not want Ramrajya (Patna: Bihar Rationalist Society, 1995).
[95] B.R. Ambedkar, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings and Speeches ,
Vol. 4, Riddles in Hinduism.
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/ramendra_nath/hindu.html
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Modern Documents:
A Hindu Woman:
Answer to Why I Am Not a Hindu
Answer to Why I Am Not a Hindu
by A Hindu Woman
I
First, I wish to make clear that I have no quarrel with Mr. Ramendra
Nath for declaring that he is not a Hindu. He has listed four reasons
for declaring why he is not a Hindu:
"I do not believe in the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas and all
that goes by the name of Hindu scriptures, and therefore in avatars
and rebirth."
"I do not believe in the varnashram dharma or varna-vyavastha either
in the sense in which it is explained in Hindu dharma shastras like
Manusmriti or in the so-called Vedic sense."
"I do not believe in the Hindu taboo of not eating beef."
"I disbelieve in idol-worship."
As it happens, I am fully in agreement with the above statements. I do
not believe in the existence of any God or soul. Therefore the
question of scriptures as divine revelations, rebirth and avatars is
moot. I do not believe in the caste-system. I have eaten beef. Again,
since I do not believe in God the question of worshipping anything--
idols or otherwise--is moot. Nevertheless, I still call myself a
Hindu. However that is a completely separate matter.
Mr. Ramendra Nath has discussed in length why he rejects the Vedas as
infallible. Since I have no disagreement with him on these grounds, I
am skipping it.
He next attacks "varna-vyavastha or varnashram dharma." If it had been
a simple exposure of the evils of this system, again there would be no
problem. But what I essentially find troubling is that he does not
present a balanced appraisal. He rejects emphatically the story in the
Vedas that the Brahmins are created from God's mouth, the Kshatriyas
from his arms, Vaishyas from his thighs and Shudras from his feet--
plainly this story appeared later to account for a reality that was
already present. He dismisses evidence that originally it was nothing
more than a functional division which ultimately hardened into a rigid
system backed by the religious authority of the Brahmins and the
military might of Kshatriyas as something unimportant to the issue at
hand. After all, today the Hindu social system functions quite well in
the metropolises where the rules of purity and impurity regarding
caste are no longer important. Also when he discusses the evils from
which Hinduism has traditionally suffered, he ignores the good that is
in Hindu Dharma as well. In particular his criticisms against
Manusmriti or Manusamhita is one-sided. Above all he ignores the
entire picture to concentrate on certain negative aspects only. To put
it plainly, I think his account is biased.
II
Ramendra Nath charges that Ram kills Sambuka, a Shudra, because he was
performing tapasya or ascetic exercises which are the province of
Brahmins alone. Certainly the story is there. But what he does not
mention is that the story belongs to Uttarkanda (lit. "later
chapter"). Along with the story of Rama's adventure, every child is
also taught that this chapter was added much later and that Valmiki's
Ramayana ends with Rama's coronation. In Valmiki's Ramayana itself, we
have two very important stories: that of Guhak and Sabari. Guhak is a
Nishada king of Sringaverpur who is described as Rama's friend as dear
as life, with whom Rama stays while going to the forest
(Ayodhyakandya, chaps. 50-52). Shabari was a practitioner of
asceticism. Rama's first question on meeting her was, "Have you
conquered all that disrupts tapasya? Has your tapasya increased?";
from her hands Rama accepted food and her soul ascended to heaven
(Aranyakanda, 74). Nishadas are an 'uncivilized' forest-tribe who
include the Chandalas among them. Shabari is the feminine of shabar,
the hunter community. Manusmriti states that Nishadas are the
offspring of Brahmin male and Shudra female (an obvious afterthought)--
they are what we call today 'untouchable'. The shabars are designated
simply as 'mlechha,' completely outside Vedic/Hindu society, yet
Shabari performs perfect tapasya and goes to heaven blessed by the
avatar. The story has often been offered as proof that neither birth
nor gender is important in performing tapasya and going to heaven. The
apparent contradiction between Rama's behaviour towards them and
towards Sambuka need not puzzle anyone; the Sambuka story was clearly
added later to strengthen Brahmin hegemony. My question here is why
does Ramendra Nath ignore these points which are known to any ordinary
Hindu? The answer became clear when I looked at his citations. He was
simply quoting from another person's work rather than from the
Ramayana itself. Apparently he had not bothered to read the text he is
criticizing.
Next Ramendra Nath speaks of a certain episode in Mahabharata.
Certainly the story of Ekalavya is true. Because he was a Nishada,
Drona refused to teach him. The text explicitly states that being
nishada he was 'asprishya' (untouchable) and it is never allowable
that he should be put on a par with the general populace. Obviously
social stratification has taken place since Ramayana. When Ekalavya
learnt on his own, Drona made him cut off his finger. However,
Ramendra Nath places undue emphasis on the fact that Arjuna is his
Khastriya student. Drona asked for this terrible sacrifice because he
did not wish anyone to exceed his favourite Arjuna, who had promised
to give him whatever Drona desired materially. Caste here had nothing
to do with it.
More importantly, Ramendra Nath ignores those portions of this epic
which obviously belong to earlier stratas and which show a far more
humanitarian stance. The grandmother of both Kauravas and Pandavas (of
whom Arjuna is one) is only a fisherwoman. She had a liaison with a
Brahmin (which did not make the latter an outcaste) and gave birth to
an illegitimate son who became a sage himself and the writer of
Mahabharata. If she wants to marry into a respectable wealthy family,
to be a fisherwoman who ferries passengers on a boat and who has a
bastard child is definitely a handicap yet today even in developed
countries. Nevertheless, she marries a Kshatriya king, her sons become
kings and she is never reproached because of her sexual misconduct.
How could such miscegenation and its placid acceptance by the
population (which includes Brahmins) have been possible unless the
varnavyavastha in ancient times was very much a fluid system?
We also have the story of Dharmabyadh. A Brahmin had gained power to
work miracles by his penance and became arrogant because of this. When
a woman seems to ignore him, he becomes enraged. But the woman
demonstrates that merely by carrying out faithfully her duties as a
housewife she had gained even greater power; she tells him that only a
man who controls his sensual instincts, never hates another person,
thinks of all human beings as his own [kin], tells the truth always,
and never wanders towards unrighteousness--is acknowledged as a
Brahmin by the gods. He is then sent to a meat-seller known as
Dharmabyadh to learn what dharma is, as he is ignorant of it. The meat-
seller says, "I follow my ancestors' livelihood; I tend to the
elderly; I always speak the truth; I never show hatred for anyone; I
give to charity as far as I am capable; I never speak ill of anyone; I
eat the leavings of the gods, guests and servants [I eat after all
these have eaten]." It is these simple things that has elevated a meat-
seller above the powerful Brahmin (Vanaparva, 205-213).
Yuddhistira (the son of the God of Justice) is asked what is the cause
of being a Brahmin. He declares that neither birth nor learning makes
a Brahmin, that only proper conduct does. Even a Brahmin learned in
four Vedas cannot be considered as a Brahmin if his conduct is evil.
[However it must be noted that performing proper rituals is also
included in the passage as the mark of a Brahmin (Vanaparva, 312).] In
another place he is asked by a serpent who a true Brahmin is. He
answers, "The person in whom resides truth, charity, forgiveness,
courtesy, rejection of cruelty, austerity, is a Brahmin." The serpent
argues that the Vedas have given every varna their dharma or law.
"Therefore truth, charity, forgiveness, non-violence, rejection of
cruelty, and compassion based on Vedas is noticed even in Shudras. If
even in Shudras these symptoms of Brahamandharma appear, then Shudras
too can be Brahmins." Yuddhistira's answer is, "In many Shudras
symptoms of Brahmin appear, and among many of the twice-born, symptoms
of Shudras appear. Therefore it is not that to be born in a Shudra
family makes one a Shudra or that to be born in a Brahmin family makes
one a Brahmin. The persons in whom such behaviour [the qualities
mentioned above] ordained by Vedas appear are Brahmins and those in
whom they do not appear are Shudras" (Vanaparva, 180). From such
episodes it is obvious that the ideal was a high one and low castes
were honoured by society if they were virtuous. Critics would say that
the reality does not often match the ideal. True. But where is the
paradise on earth where there is no discrimination on the basis of
class, irrespective of the law? I do not see why varnavyastha should
be singled out with special virulence. It is simply that some
countries have made greater progress in doing away with systems like
feudalism (which was held to be reflection of cosmic hierarchy) and
slavery (backed by the story of Noah and his sons) while India is
starting to catch up.
Ramendra Nath argues that Gita too teaches every caste to do their
Dharma. Certainly if in these "enlightened" times a soldier like
Arjuna would refuse to fight on the battlefield when the war has
begun, the government would punish him and he would be called
"deserter" and "traitor." Again Shankar is pointed out as supporting
the caste-system. This is essentially true. But why does Mr. Ramendra
Nath slight the entire Bhakti and Tantric traditions in both North and
south India? Did not the practitioners of these traditions, many of
them Brahmins themselves, try to do away with caste? In such
movements, outcaste teachers and Brahmin students were common.
III
Next, Mr. Ramendra Nath--like many others--attacks Manusamhita. What
all these critics do is to imply that the entire book was written by
one man. Yet research has proved that many verses were added to the
main text throughout later ages and other verses left out or edited to
bring it in line with contemporary thought. (The interested reader can
look up the works of G. Buhler, P. V. Kane, and Max Muller.) The
result is that it is cris-crossed with contradictions.
Now let us take a close look at the book. Each of the verses he quotes
declaring the inferiority of Shudras and dominance of Brahmins, do
exist. Yet he also skips verses that directly contradict those verses.
"If a woman or lower (Shudra and younger) person performs goodly
ceremonies [holy or good works], then the Brahmachari must join them
with enthusiasm" (2:223). "The Shudra who devoid of jealousy engages
himself in honest work receives honour in this life and heaven in the
next" (10:128). (Of course another verse has been added immediately
after saying that Shudras cannot accumulate wealth because a rich
Shudra might despise Brahmins.) "A wife, jewels, knowledge, dharma
[religion/duty], rules of purity, good advice, vocational skills, can
be received by everyone from everyone else [irrespective of caste or
family]" (2:240). "A devout person can [I use 'can', but it is
actually in the imperative mood] accept even the best knowledge from
Shudras; accept ultimate truth from outcastes like chandalas; an
excellent wife even from low families" (2:238). Nothing can be more
amusing for a social historian than to see how Medhatithi, a Brahmin
commentator (c. A.D. 900) tries to explain away this verse. He argues
that "shubham [holy, best, pure] vidya [knowledge]" refers to logic,
magic formulas and singing and dancing. Similarly "param [ultimate,
best] dharma" is redefined as knowledge of local geography and
customs. Never mind that Mahabharata also defines--on the basis of
Manu--'param dharma' as knowledge of moksha/liberation which can be
acquired from anybody. Medhatiti's argument is that since low castes
are not eligible for religious knowledge they cannot teach anything.
Obviously the upper castes were anxiously trying to impose hegemony
over lower castes. Again, the verse stating that "he [the Brahmin] who
studies from a Shudra teacher or teaches a Shudra student" cannot
officiate in funeral ceremonies (3:156) offers evidence that Shudras
were teachers, a fact that the Brahmins wished to change. The rules
and later condemnations regarding marriages between castes offer proof
that for a long time it had not hardened.
Incidentally, may I ask how the terrible punishments inflicted on
Shudras can be reconciled with marriages between castes, both anuloma
and pratiloma, division of property among children born of such
'miscegenation,' rule that in distress a Brahmin might serve a Shudra
as a servant, or that a Brahmin householder must feed his Shudra
servants first, if he has any? There is a distinction between what
some men would like society to be and the social reality. For example,
Louis Dumont observed that power did not automatically reside in the
hands of any specific community. The caste that actually owned land in
a region enjoyed actual power; in many cases such power and property
lay in the hands of the Shudras. Though the Brahmins were the priests
they were actually dependant on the Shudras for their favour. Surely
Mr. Ramendra Nath knows that there are thousands of Brahmin families
whose only means of subsistence is being priests of low-caste
families?
Like Mr. Ramendra Nath, I too cannot help it that an objective reading
exposes how the caste system degenerated. He accuses that
untouchability and allowing men of one caste to become priests alone
is peculiar to Hinduism. But apartheid was peculiar to the rational
democratic white Christian races, as was the Holocaust peculiar to the
industrialized Nazi Germany. In neither case had it been claimed that
these two factors represent the sole face of Western culture. So once
again, why is varna-vavyastha presented as proof that Hinduism is
intrinsically evil, instead of realizing that untouchability is simply
the result of human love of power and not integral to Hinduism itself?
Now we come to women. Yes, Manusamhita does have these verses that
paint women as evil and deny them any freedom. But again we see how
other verses, remnants of earlier times, paint a different picture.
There is a whole portion called naribandana (Praise of women) where it
is insisted (3:55-62) that only a house where women are respected and
made happy is favoured by the gods and that--where women are treated
badly--all worship and ceremonies are in vain. There are verses such
as, "Mother is a thousand times holier [can also be read as worthy of
obedience] than the father" (2:145). "It is better that a daughter
should live at home till death rather than be given to an unworthy
husband; After menstruation, a girl should wait for three years and
then choose her own husband; If a girl at proper time should select a
husband herself, then she is not to be blamed" (9:89-91). "Any
relative [including a husband] who uses stridhan [lit. property of
woman which is both liquid cash and land, here a wife's], vehicles and
animals given for the wife to ride or a wife's clothes [and ornaments]
for himself, is a sinner who falls [into hell]" (3:52). I can give
other verses as examples.
Again Mr. Ramendra Nath charges that a widow cannot marry. Nothing
arouses my ire more than this statement. An illiterate villager might
be forgiven for believing this since this is the reality in many
places, but an educated Hindu would know better. These verses, of a
later origin, hold out inducements to widows not to remarry--such a
course would hardly have been necessary if widows never remarried.
"The woman who abandoned by her husband or left a widow marries of her
free will another man, is punurbhu and the son of such a union is
called pounorbhava"; "If a wife who is still a virgin, or a wife who
has left her husband to consort with another man returns to her
husband's home, then [another] ceremony of marriage can take
place" (9:195-196). Insistence in numerous verses that a Brahmin who
is a second husband or son of a woman's second marriage should not be
allowed to perform religious ceremonies merely prove that remarriages
were frequent. "While the mother is alive, if there is a dispute
between the son of the [first] husband and between a pournorbhava or a
golok (bastard born after the husband's death) regarding property,
then each son will receive the property that belongs to his biological
father" (9:191). "If the husband goes to foreign lands for holy
purposes, the wife will wait for 8 years; if he goes to study or earn
fame she will wait for 6 years; if he goes for pleasure then she will
wait for three years--after that she will marry again [alternative
explanation, she will go away somewhere else to support herself" (9:
76). Moreover the commentator Madhavacharya declares, "Manu has
ordained, if the husband is missing, dead, has become an ascetic,
impotent, or outcast, then the second marriage of woman is lawful
according to the shastras." Again this verse is present in
Naradasmriti, which is stated to be a collection of more important
verses of Manu. Not so surprisingly, this verse cannot be found in the
relatively modern edition of Manu we have today. Ramendra Nath is
strangely ignorant of history of his own country if he does not know
that Vidyasagar persuaded the British authorities to pass the widow-
remarriage bill by proving that it is enjoined in the shastras.
Mr. Ramendra Nath also gets excited while heaping scorn on the notion
that Hinduism is tolerant. Perhaps it has escaped his attention that
Hinduism is considered not tolerant socially as such, but from the
religious point of view. It is a religion that does not declare that
it has the sole monopoly on truth nor does it try to impose its gods
on other cultures by force. That is what is defined as religious
tolerance. Manusamhita certainly has many harsh things to say about
nastikas, but they are limited to denunciations. What did Hindus, Mr.
Ramendra Nath, actually do to disbelievers in this physical life?
Usually nothing. Buddha lived and preached peacefully. So did
Mahavira. The worst that some of them suffered was ostracism. But as
Ramendra Nath himself acknowledges (4:30), though rationalists and
freethinkers are not to be treated respectfully, they can be given
food, according to Manusamhita. For some reason Mr. Ramendra Nath
seems to think that a devout believer in God and afterlife should
welcome a disbeliever worshipfully (arcchana) as proof of his humane
attitude, yet in the same breath he denies that there is any human
value attached to the injunction that even hellbound disbeliveers are
to be fed. Considering the way Semitic religions have dealt with
unbelievers and apostates in the past (and do so even today), indeed
"such is the generosity of Hindu dharma."
Above all I find Mr. Ramendra Nath's focus on Manusamhita puzzling.
The British in an attempt to codify law focused exclusively on
Manusamhita. But why should an educated Hindu do so? There are
nineteen other dharmashastras all held to be of equal importance. He
ignores Arthashastra, the secular manual for Hindu kingdoms. He
ignores that every region had its own particular laws and every
community in it had its own set of customs which even the king was
forbidden to override. He ignores that often in villages--even today--
the shastras are only a hallowed name; if they routinely consult any
texts, those are the Ramayana and Mahabharata and often the two epics
are retold differently to suit that particular region. Unlike the
Bible, there is no text that forms the basis of Hindu law. The simple
result is that society varied from place to place and age to age. Yes,
class-system based on birth is wrong. Yes, the ugly face of caste is
encountered daily in many places in India. But the picture he presents
is one of absolute stratification, with the cruel Brahmins trampling
down the helpless Shudras for thousands of years. This picture is very
biased. In the first place, the Brahmins are not like the clergy of
church; only a certain percentage actually enjoys real power and
wealth. Secondly, from reading Mr. Ramendra Nath's article, no one
would have any idea of the low-caste royal dynasties like Mundas,
Chandellas, Nandas, Gurjjaras, Senas, the rule of the Lingyat
community, the rise of the Alvars, or the elevation of Reddies and
Jats to the warrior caste. Shivaji was a Shudra landowner who dreamt
of creating a Hindu empire (with all that it implies to him) and
brought the Mughal empire to its knees; he kept Brahmin ministers. A
1345 inscription of Reddi kings read, "With death of Ksathriyas [by
the Muslims], duty of defending cows and Brahmins fell to Shudras." It
was the Shudras who drove away the Muslim invaders and reestablished
Brahmanical educational institutes. If the Shudras, treated as Mr.
Ramendra Nath assumes followers of Manu treated them, say and do this
after gaining power (and when the Brahmins were at their nadir), then
obviously the Brahmins are a superior race who deserve to rule over a
spineless inferior caste.
IV
Just as Mr. Ramendra Nath concentrates on Manusamhita alone among the
dharmashastras, so too he concentrates on Gandhi alone. Apparently
Gandhi is to be taken as the representative of Hindu society at large.
Gandhi had supported varnashrama. But Gandhi had also said, (The
Collected Work of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. LXII, p. 121).
"I believe in varnashrama of the Vedas, which in my opinion is based
on absolute equality of status notwithstanding passages to the
contrary in the smritis and elsewhere."
"Every word of the printed works passing muster as `Shastras' is not,
in my opinion, a revelation."
"The interpretation of accepted texts has undergone evolution and is
capable of indefinite evolution, even as the human intellect and heart
are."
"Nothing in the shastras which is manifestly contrary to universal
truths and morals can stand."
"Nothing in the shastras which is capable of being reasoned can stand
if it is in conflict with reason."
Again, Vivekananda the monk came from a conservative family of the
nineteenth century and fiercely advocated doing away with
untouchability. He even declared that doing social service is more
important than worshipping God, because the former is true worship.
Rabindranath Tagore's family was orthodox and he himself was very
devout; yet he declared that though the caste-system has become
integral to Hindu society it must be done away with. There were as
many Hindus who attacked the caste-system as those who tried to defend
it. Similarly, the Shankaracharya of Puri recently declared that women
have no right to learn Sanskrit or read Vedas. The head priest at
Jagganath temple, on the other hand, has started training women
priests--yet both are pious Hindus. Why then is there the assumption
that all believing Hindus are retrograde?
Mr. Ramendra Nath grieves that the upper castes are not reconciled to
losing their power. That generalization is too sweeping. Some are not,
but the present generation has grown up accepting it. There is still
resistance, but is there any reason to think that the situation will
not improve? Even in England, full-fledged democracy did not spring up
miraculously with Magna Carta. The very fact he is able to write an
article such as this and post it on the Internet is proof that Hindu
society has undergone a sea-change. Again in speaking of agitations
against reservation policy for untouchables, he does not give the full
picture. Major factors in that agitation had been economics and
competence. Many untouchables have become rich by means of affirmative
policies and government aid. There is a substantial body of
untouchables and lowcastes who have now become middle-class and many
who have become legislators. However, they insist on their children
enjoying the same advantages they had enjoyed. But if they have become
rich, is it not unfair for their children to take advantage of the
policies meant for their poorer brethren? Again, why in reverse
discrimination shall the desperately poor of other castes be deprived
of government help and seats in educational institutions while those
who have become rich demand more advantages and money? This has led to
the extremely ridiculous situation of uppercaste people changing their
surnames by deed-poll and bribing officials to declare them
untouchables. More, those who have made it to the top now hog every
post and then lobby to pass laws for their own advantage so that the
benefits no longer trickle down to those who really need them.
Recently, members of the Dalit educated community themselves said that
the reservation policy is not working; a political party based on
backward votes immediately expelled those members who had dared to
utter such heresy. That is why those who agitated against widening of
the affirmative net were students--it is their future that is being
jeopardized in the name of social justice. The people of India wish
for a fairer affirmative policy--one that is based on poverty; the
poor alone should get preferential treatment.
About moksha, karma and avatarvada I have nothing to say on rational
grounds. However once again, it appears that the two Hindu epics need
defending on moral grounds. Rama is an avatar, but nowhere it is said
that all his behaviour is perfect. In particular, Mr. Ramendra Nath
singles out his notorious treatment of Sita--he makes her undergo
ordeal by fire to prove her purity. But what also needs recapitulating
is how the 'higher authorities,' so to speak, react to this. The soul
of Dasaratha, father of Rama, descends from heaven and begs Sita, "Do
not be angry; forgive my son for having abandoned you" (Yuddhyakandya,
120). More importantly Brahma appears and gives a long speech. The
gist of it is that since Rama is lord of all, why is he ignoring this
terrible event? He is God, so why he is meting out injustice to Sita?
(Yuddhykandya, 118). Rama's answer is that he knows himself only to be
a man, not a god. Since the Creator himself declares Rama's deed is a
sin, I do not see why the ordinary Hindu would face a moral dilemma
here and go on insisting Rama did no wrong. The case is the same with
Krishna. Many explanations have been given for his behaviour, but all
of them have one thing in common--it is acknowledged that he did wrong
and human beings must not follow his ways. Most telling is the
evidence of Mahabharata itself. After the war is over, Gandhari--the
only perfectly virtuous human--curses Krishna for the evils he had
committed; as her relatives and friends had been destroyed
[deceitfully by Krishna's advice], so too Krishna's family would be
destroyed and he himself will die a horrible death (Striparva, 25).
The curse comes true. Dharma or moral law of the universe would not
allow it to be otherwise. In other words God incarnate is accountable
to man--even an avatar must be punished.
Mr. Ramendra Nath also simply omits all positive aspects of Hinduism.
He makes no mention of the philosophies, logic systems, mathematical
contributions, music, temples, poetry, teachers and reformers, or the
heroes and heroines in myth and history. He simply makes no attempt to
explain the Hindu world-view or dharma (in the secular sense). Nor
does he give a full picture of Hindu history. Anyone reading his
article would get the impression that no decent man can call himself a
Hindu. (On the other hand I too can quote only favourable verses and
examples and give the impression that Hinduism is flawless.)
If Mr. Ramendra Nath had rejected Hinduism on rational grounds, then
this answer need not have been written. If he had balanced the good,
the bad and the ugly and then declared, "You have been judged and
found wanting", again this present article would not have a leg to
stand on. Let me repeat, it is the one-sided picture of Hindu culture
that I protest.
It is only right that a culture's worst excesses be condemned, but it
is only equitable that its highest ideals and what it has achieved
also be considered. By writing in such a superficial manner, he denies
a Hindu any pride in his heritage. Mr. Ramendra Nath would not allow
anyone to admire Rama as a human being, nor Yuddhisthira or Gandhari;
enjoy the philosophy and symbolism; be proud of either high caste or
low caste leaders and teachers, or of reformers who came from Hindu
society itself--or even how Buddhism, Jainism, Zorastrianism and
Judaism have been protected by the Hindu community. Above all, he
makes it seem as if reform and Hinduism are inherently incompatible.
Gandhi said, "My belief in the Hindu scriptures does not require me to
accept every word and every verse as divinely inspired .... I decline
to be bound by any interpretation, however learned it may be, if it is
repugnant to reason or moral sense" (The Collected Work of Mahatma
Gandhi, The Publication Division, Government of India, Vol. XXI, p.
246). Yet Gandhi was only following Hindu law. Every shastra and epic
states that no age is identical to other ages, therefore the law of
every age must be different. Dharma changes from age to age depending
on circumstances. It is this that has allowed Hinduism to withstand
ravages or war and time, constantly remoulding itself to survive.
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/a_hindu_woman/answertohindu.html
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Ganesha Demolition – Symbolic Act of Hatred
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Combating Defamation of Religion
By Vinod Kumar, on 27-03-2009 12:12
Published in : Vinod Kumar, Column - Vinod Kumar
On November 24, 2008 - By a vote of 85 to 50, with 42 abstaining, the
UN General Assembly, Geneva adopted a draft resolutionm [ref -
http://www.unwatch.org/atf/cf/%7B6DEB65DA-BE5B-4CAE-8056-8BF0BEDF4D17%7D/DEFAMATION2008UNGA.PDF
] calling on all countries to alter their legal and constitutional
systems to prevent "defamation of religions," asserting that "Islam is
frequently and wrongly associated with human rights violations and
terrorism." Among other things, the resolution "urges states to take
actions to prohibit the dissemination ... of racist and xenophobic
ideas" and material that would incite to religious hatred. It also
urges states to adopt laws that would protect against hatred and
discrimination stemming from religious defamation.
The resolution puts Islam and some of the more controversial practices
associated with it beyond censure. The OIC (The Organization of
Islamic Conference) says that Muslims in Western countries have,
especially since 9/11, faced stereotyping, hostility, discriminatory
treatment and the denigration of “the most sacred symbols of Islam.”
The organization cites cases like newspaper cartoons caricaturing
Mohammed, and a Dutch lawmaker’s documentary released earlier this
year, linking the Koran to terrorism.
India, as one of the countries to abstain, said the text addressed the
problem insufficiently from a narrow perspective because it focused on
one religion. Western countries specially the US and France "This is
just the latest shot in an intensifying campaign of UN resolutions
that dangerously seek to import Islamic anti-blasphemy prohibitions
into the discourse of international human rights law," said Hillel
Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, an independent human rights
monitoring group in Geneva. The resolution puts the human rights and
freedom of speech and expression movement that has been the foundation
of progress in the West and thus the world back by several centuries.
It is evident that the resolution was supported or opposed on
emotional and political grounds.
Even if one was to go with the resolution, it fails to address a very
fundamental issue it wants to resolve. What is to be done if a
religion itself defames or insults other religion(s)? What if a
religion itself disseminates “xenophobic ideas” and contains “material
that would incite religious hatred.” while deploring hate speech,
felt strongly that people should be free to express their opinions in
challenging any ideology of hate. Human rights are indivisible and the
right to freedom of expression was at the essence of the right to
thought, conscience and belief.
The resolution is shortsighted and Islam centric and does nothing to
combat defamation of religions per se. Not only it takes human
civilization backwards, it will come to haunt the countries that
supported it. For a healthy and progressive society, all ideologies
should be open for open and constructive discussion.
http://voi.org/2009032799/vinodkumar/column-vinodkumar/combatingdefamationofreligion.html
Jinnah and Two Nation Theory
By Vinod Kumar, on 05-09-2009 23:30
Jaswant Singh by his book, Jinnah - India, Partition, Independence has
become kind of a folk hero in Pakistan and a darling of the
secularattii in India. No doubt, with this book, he has secured his
financial future, if he needed one, as one report from Pakistan says
‘they will be ordering the book by the millions.'
One of the main thrusts of his book is that Jinnah was not the "demon"
he is made out to be in India and that he was a secular Indian
nationalist and did not really want Pakistan. The demand for Pakistan
was just a strategy to seek more concessions and safeguards for the
Muslims in united India. Partition could have been avoided had Nehru
and Patel agreed for a federal decentralized India instead of a
centralized one. He casts Nehru and Patel as the villains for
conceding partition.
Whether partition was a good thing or bad and should one be demonized
or idolized for it depends on what side you are. Let us also for the
moment forget about Jinnah's secular and Indian nationalist
credentials as these are hardly his legacies. Jinnah's legacy is the
State of Pakistan. In this article let us focus on what caused
partition? Who was the real author of Two Nation theory - Hindus and
Muslims are two separate nations.
After his return from England, Jinnah worked ceaselessly and zealously
for the creation of Pakistan. An accomplished lawyer that he was, he
eloquently and very convincingly spelled out why was partition
necessary in his famous Presidential address to Muslim League
Convention at Lahore in March 1940 and in many other speeches,
interviews and writings. He said there never was any common ground
between the Muslims and the Hindus or desire on the part of Muslims to
live as equal with Hindus whom they had ruled for centuries. Hinduism
and Islam are two different and distinct social orders. It is only a
dream that the two can ever evolve a common nationality. "The hero of
one is the foe of the other. There is nothing that binds them
together." Enumerating all the differences between the two, he went on
to say that "to yoke two such nations under a single State must lead
to growing discontent and final destruction of any fabric that may be
so built up for the government of such a state." (India's Partition -
Process, Strategy and Mobilization, edited By Mushirul Hasan, Delhi,
1998, pp.56)
Jinnah stressed there was never one India and Hindus and Muslims had
never lived as one unit. History is testimony that last twelve hundred
years have failed to achieve unity and during the ages "India was
always divided into Hindu India and Muslim India. ... The present
artificial unity of India dates back only to British conquest and is
maintained by the British bayonet" -- he went on to say.
Last update : 05-09-2009 15:53
http://voi.org/20090905227/vinodkumar/column-vinodkumar/jinnahandtwonationtheory.html
Prof. Vijay Prashad and Hindu Holocaust Museum
By Vinod Kumar, on 26-09-2009 23:30
Prof. Vijay Prashad in his article Hindu Holocaust (News India Times,
Sept. 25, 2009) about Francois Gautier's fund raiser on August 16,
2009 in New Jersey for a Hindu Holocaust Museum in Pune, India has
made many assertions and statements which have no evidence in
contemporary or even subsequent recorded history. To keep the response
reasonable length let me address a few of the issues covered by him
and let the readers make their own judgment.
Prof. Vijay Prashad in his article Hindu holocaust (News India Times,
Sept. 25, 2009) about Francois Gautier's fund raiser on August 16,
2009 in New Jersey for a Hindu Holocaust Museum in Pune, India has
made many assertions and statements which have no evidence in
contemporary or even subsequent recorded history. To keep the response
reasonable length let me address a few of the issues covered by him
and let the readers make their own judgement.
Prof. Prashad wrote, and I quote the entire paragraph:
"Between Hindus and Muslims there has not been an endless rivalry for
social power. When Islam enters the subcontinent, it does not come in
the saddlebags of the Ghaznis or the Ghouris, but amongst the rumble
of goods brought by traders. Early conversions are not by the sword
but by the merchants . There was killing, but that was as much for
reasons of warfare and plunder as for reasons of God and tradition. An
interested reader might want to look at the distinguished historian
Romila Thapar's superb book "Somnatha: The Many Voices of a
History" (Penguin, 2005). There, Professor Thapar shows us that Mahmud
Ghazni's destruction of the Shiva temple in 1026 was driven not so
much by a fanatical religious belief but because his father,
Subuktigin, needed money to sustain his faltering kingdom in Central
Asia. Now it is certainly true, as historian Mohammed Habib put it,
that there was "wanton destruction of temples that followed in the
wake of the Ghaznavid army."
Actually this paragraph covers the gist of his arguments.
Let us discuss these one by one.
•1. No social rivalry between Hindus and Muslims:
To the contrary there never was any equivalence between the two ever
after the Muslims started invading India. In all Muslim chronicles,
almost without exception, Hindus are referred to as infidels - a
derogatory term in Islam.
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, a very prominent Muslim leader in the nineteenth
century asked Muslims to support British Raj as opposed to free India
where, by default, Hindus being majority would have an upper hand.
For Muslim scholars for Muslims to live under the Hindus was
unacceptable.
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (the originator of two nation theory) had said in
1888, as quoted by Sir Penderel Moon on page 11 of his tome, 'Divide
and Quit'. India, he said, is a country"inhabited by two different
nations" and there would necessarily be a struggle for power between
them, if the English were to leave India. "Is it possible, he had
asked, "that under these circumstances two nations - the Mohammedan
and Hindu - could sit on the same throne and remain equal in power?
Most certainly not. It is necessary that one of them should conquer
the other and thrust it down. To hope that both could remain equal is
to desire the impossible and the inconceivable."
On the issue of Hindu Muslim relations, no body could have put it
better than what Jinnah articulated in his famous Presidential address
to Muslim League conference in Lahore in 1940.
He said there never was any common ground between the Muslims and the
Hindus or desire on the part of Muslims to live as equal with Hindus
whom they had ruled for centuries. Hinduism and Islam are two
different and distinct social orders. It is only a dream that the two
can ever evolve a common nationality. "The hero of one is the foe of
the other. There is nothing that binds them together." Enumerating all
the differences between the two, he went on to say that "to yoke two
such nations under a single State must lead to growing discontent and
final destruction of any fabric that may be so built up for the
government of such a state." (India's Partition - Process, Strategy
and Mobilization, edited By Mushirul Hasan, Delhi, 1998, pp.56)
Jinnah stressed there was never one India and Hindus and Muslims had
never lived as one unit. History is testimony that last twelve hundred
years have failed to achieve unity and during the ages "India was
always divided into Hindu India and Muslim India. ... The present
artificial unity of India dates back only to British conquest and is
maintained by the British bayonet" -- he went on to say. (ibid. pp.
56)
Even Alberuni, thousand years ago, when there was not much Muslim
presence in India, could see there was no common ground between Hindus
and Muslims. He starts his book by discussing the differences between
the Hindus and the Muslims. He enumerates these differences at length
throughout the book. Warning his readers he wrote "the readers must
bear in mind that the Hindus entirely differ from us in every
respect...... The barriers which separate Muslims and Hindus rest on
different causes." ((Sachau EC, Alebruni's India, New Delhi, 1993, pp.
17 - 26)
Dr. Ambedkar in his books and frequent writings had alluded to
Muslim's macabre hostility against Hindus. He highlighted the fact
that the word 'but' used by Muslims to refer to any idol was a corrupt
form of "Budh" because there were hundreds of statues of Buddha in
Afghanistan and across the Middle East which were the first target of
iconoclast of Islam. That explains the use of the term 'but-shikan' by
Ghazanavi, Ghauri and other invaders. The destruction and pillage of
the famous Buddhist Seminary and University of Nalanda is another
example of the grossness of the wanton damage caused by Muslim
invaders.
Ethnic cleansing of Hindus by Muslims has continued even in recent
history, both in Pakistan and Bangladesh - even in Kashmir. In that
sense there has been a renewal of Hindu Holocaust. In Pakistan the
Hindu /Sikh population has plummeted from 23% in 1947 to less than 2%
today. In Bangladesh, it has dwindled from 35% to 8% during the same
period. During the same period Muslims have multiplied fast in India.
And the shame of Hindus having been ethnically cleansed from Kashmir
Valley, an important part of our bogus secular state, still torments
Hindu hearts!.
In fact, throughout history Islam has always used 'gross savagery' and
open recourse to terrorism as force multipliers e.g. building towers
of the heads of hapless Hindus beheaded by Muslim invaders of which
accounts are there in history books written by Muslim chroniclers.
(Baburnama, Delhi, 1998, pp. 573, 576 - to cite one example) And the
use of terror and savagery continues with renewed vigor even today.
The most morbid example of savagery in recent times was the beheading
by Ilyas Kashmiri (a commander of Pak-sponsored terror group) of an
injured Indian army officer (after capturing him on February 26,
2000). Ilyas Kashmiri went back to Pakistan with the head of the
hapless Indian army officer and presented it to top officers of Pak
army. Gen. Musharraf had given a cash reward of Rs. 1 lakh. Pictures
of Ilyas Kashmiri holding the head of the Indian officer were
published in Pakistani newspapers. Maulana Zahoor Ahmed Alvi of Jamia
Muhammadia, Islamabad, even issued a fatwa supporting slitting the
throats of Indian army officers in a similar manner [Source: News
item, 'Musharraf rewarded militant who killed Indian', (Indian Express
New Delhi, September 21, 2009, page 4).
Can Prof. Vijay Prashad deny these irrefutable facts?
•2. Islam came with Muslim traders:
Yes, in India there were traders from Arabia long before Islam was
born. These traders by virtue of their being Arabs, became Muslims
when Arabia became Islamic in the seventh century. Thus, one can say
Islam came to India with the traders. Yes, during the trading period,
there was no animosity against the Muslims or Islam. When did this
animosity begin? It was discussed by Alberuni a thousand years ago in
his famous ‘Indica' which we shall cover later. Not that there was any
resistance against but there were no conversions to Islam among the
general population to speak of. Initially Arabs, and later on Muslim,
traders married local women. Even Arab records show that India (read
Hindu) kings gave Muslims land to build their mosques and preach their
new religion. However, it might be mentioned that there is no evidence
of reciprocity of giving lands to Hindus or other religions in Arabia
after the birth of Islam. To the contrary, Prophet Muhammad's one of
the last three wishes/instructions to Muslims was to "expel all pagans
from the Arabian Peninsula." (Sahih Bukhari, New Delhi, vol. 4, p.
260, Chapter H 393)
What caused the animosity between Hindus and Muslims?
In the very first chapter of his book, Indica, Alberuni discusses the
differences between Hindus and Muslims, as written above. Alberuni
observes some of the reasons of Hindus' repugnance of Muslims are
complete banishment of Buddhists from countries, from Khurasan,
Persis, Irak, Mosul and Syria, first by Zoroastrians and then by
Islam. And then Muhammad ibn Kasim entered India proper, conquered the
cities of Bahmanwa and Multan and went as far as Kannauj - "all these
events planted a deeply rooted hatred in their hearts." (Sachau EC,
Alebruni's India, New Delhi, 1993, pp. 20-21)
Then he talks of Mahmud Ghaznavi: Sabuktagin weakened the borders of
India and afterwards his son Mahmud marched into India during a period
of thirty years and more. Mahmud utterly ruined the prosperity of
India and performed those wonderful exploits (emphasis mine), by which
the Hindus became like atoms of dust scattered in all directions, and
like a tale of old in the mouth of the people." Alberuni says "their
scattered remains cherish, of course, the most inveterate aversion
towards all Muslims." (ibid, pp. 22)
These are not even the tips of the proverbial iceberg, to understand
what was done to Hindu by Muslim invaders and then rulers. One has to
read the entire history recorded by the Muslim invaders and rulers and
other Muslim chroniclers to understand its full impact. After each
invasion, the survivors were offered conversion to Islam or death and
many converted. If circumstances allowed, many converted back to their
original faith. All through Muslim rule starting from bin Kasim, with
a few exceptions, Jiziya was imposed on non-Muslim subjects the burden
of which fell the heaviest on the poor. This, at times, led to mass
conversions of the entire castes. Islam might have come with the
traders but it did not result in any conversions to Islam. It were the
invasions and subsequent Muslim rule which did.
Politically motivated opinions that have no basis in recorded history
or wishful thinking that reflect how the things should have been, in
their flight of fancy imagination, is not history. It is, at best,
sheer fiction. Sadly, Prof. Vijay Prashad's characterization of Hindu
Muslim relations fall in this category. History is what actually
happened; fiction has no place in it.
•3. Reasons for temple demolition:
Prof. Prashad quotes Professor Thapar showing us that Mahmud Ghazni's
destruction of the Shiva temple in 1026 was driven not so much by a
fanatical religious belief but because his father, Subuktigin, needed
money to sustain his faltering kingdom in Central Asia.
It is unimaginable that Sabuktagin would have a kingdom in Central
Asia in 1926 after he died at Toormooz on his way to Ghizny from Balkh
in Shaban AH 387 (August AD 997).
In history of Islam Mahmud enjoys a very high position. He was given
the titles of Ameen-ul-Millat, defender of the faith and Yameen-ud-
Daulat, the right hand of the state by the Caliph of Baghdad - the
titles which had so far not been bestowed on any prince far or near,
notwithstanding their intense desire to receive such an honor. (Tarikh
Yamini, The History of India as Told by its own historians, Vol. 2,
New Delhi, 1996, pp. 24)
The plunders of Mahmud are legendary. When he displayed his loot from
India, he was declared "the richest monarch ever in history".
It is often said he was interested only in plunder and he was not much
of a religious person. Neither his record nor his Muslim chroniclers
agree with this characterization. From all contemporary records the
only inference one can draw is that he was a zealot Muslim and is so
regarded by Muslim scholars. As accepted even by Prof. Thapar and
quoted by Prof. Prashad that he plundered Somnath temple - but
actually the plunder and destruction of Somnath temple was of
relatively small scale in relation to other temples and places he
plundered and destroyed.
The case in point is the temple at Mathura. Mahmud was enchanted by
the grandeur of this temple. Utbi, secretary of Mahmud, in his Tarikh
Yamini described it as:
"The Sultan next directed his attacks against the sacred city of
Mathura. The city was surrounded by a massive stone wall, in which
were two lofty gates opening on to the river. There were magnificent
temples all over the city and the largest of them all stood in the
center of it. The Sultan was very much struck by its grandeur. In his
estimate it cost not less than 100,000,000 red dinars, and even the
most skillful of masons must have taken 200 years to complete it.
Among the large number of idols in the temples, five were made of pure
gold, the eyes of one of them were laid with two rubies worth 100,000
dinars, and another had a sapphire of a very heavy weight. All these
five idols yielded gold weighing 98,300 mishkals. The idols made of
silver numbered 200....... He seized all the gold and silver idols
and ordered his soldiers to burn all the temples to the ground. The
idols in them were deliberately broken into pieces. The city was
pillaged for 20 days, and a large number of buildings were reduced to
ashes." (Tarikh Yamini, The History of India as Told by its own
historians, vol 2, New Delhi, 1996, pp. 44)
Mahmud Ghaznavi invaded India at least sixteen times and each time he
left a trail of tears, human suffering and devastation. The tale of
his invasions as recorded by his secretary Utbi is blood curdling.
This is how Utbi describes one scene and this is not, by any means,
an isolated example:
"Many infidels were consequently slain or taken prisoner in this
sudden attack, and the Muslamans paid no regard to the booty till they
had satiated themselves with the slaughter of the infidels and
worshippers of sun and fire. The friends of God searched the bodies of
the slain for three whole days, in order to obtain booty." (ibid. pp.
49) The search for booty was secondary to killing.
Another place Utbi writes: "The blood of the infidels flowed so
copiously, that the stream was discoloured, notwithstanding its
purity, and people were unable to drink it." (ibid. pp. 40)
I can understand Mahmud's penchant for wealth. Many people have
insatiable thirst for wealth. Prof. Prashad might ask himself what
would drive a man to reduce to ashes such a marvelous structure and
break the idols to pieces if he was only interested in wealth? And
killing on such a large scale and so brutally?
Mahmud not only plundered and destroyed the Somnath temple, he ordered
the upper part of the idol to be broken and the remainder to be
transported to his residence, Ghazni, with all its trappings of gold,
jewels, and embroidered garments. Part of it has been thrown into the
hippodrome of the town, together with the Chakrasvamin, an idol of
bronze, that had been brought from Thanesar. Another part of the idol
from Somnath lies before the door of the mosque of Ghaznin, on which
people rub their feet to clean them from dirt and wet." (Sachau EC,
Alebruni's India, New Delhi, 1993, part II, pp. 103)
One would ask Prof. Thapar if the purpose of Mahmud's plunder of
Somnath was "driven not so much by a fanatical religious belief but
because his father, Subuktigin, needed money to sustain his faltering
kingdom in Central Asia" why would he spend it in transporting broken
pieces all the way from Somnath to Ghazni?
Prof. Prashad quotes Prof. Habib who admits that there was "wanton
destruction of temples that followed in the wake of the Ghaznavid
army." I am not surprised by it. Muslims historians are more open and
honest about the Muslim rule in India and its depredations than their
Hindu compatriots - the very Hindus who were at the receiving end for
centuries. I wonder if Stockholm syndrome has anything to do with it!
Coming back to our subject, temple destruction did not end with Mahmud
- it was just the beginning. These continued all the way till
Aurangzeb - the last great Mughal emperor. We will not go into those
details in this article.
Even today, the demolition of Bamiyan Buddha statues is a stark
reminder of what drove Muslim invaders of India to demolish Hindu
temples? There was no wealth hidden in Bamiyan Buddhas that the world
knows of.
In this so far we have covered only a very small part of Prof.
Prashad's article and not even scratched the surface of what Hindus
had gone through Islamic rule. Will Durant has called the Muslim
conquest of India the bloodiest story in history. The extent of
destruction of Hindu temples and massacres is beyond all human
imagination and a museum to their memory would be a just reminder to
all humanity of what might happen if one is not prepared to learn the
lessons from the past.
In the beginning of the article, Prof. Prashad wrote: "They claim that
over the past thousand years, millions of Hindus were killed, with the
intention to wipe Hindus off the map." Actually this is a very mild
statement and does not even come close to state the facts. According
to some estimates Hindus killed by Muslims over the centuries is about
80 million and the number of temples demolished into tens of
thousands. Timur Lang's massacre of 100,000 helpless Hindu prisoners
in one day by hands has no parallel in world history. (Malfuzat-e-
Timuri, History of India as told by its own historians, vol. III,
Delhi, 1996, pp. 436)
•4. Hindu Holocaust Museum:
Prof. Prashad also wrote: "The idea of the Hindu Holocaust casts the
Hindu as history's victim, who should now become history's aggressor
to avenge the past." It is evident that Prof. Prashad is drawing his
own conclusions without any evidence or basis. Making a museum to
portray the atrocities suffered by the Hindus in the past does not
imply they want to become "history's aggressors to avenge the past."
Jews have built Jewish Holocaust museums, are they avenging the past?
There are Black history museums all over the US. This does not mean
that these are meant to enslave the Whites "to avenge the past". A
museum is to remind the future generations of what happened - to
reflect the good and the bad; the pride and the shame. All countries
have museums. Actually it would have been only fair that such an idea
had come from the Muslims to show their disapproval of what their
ancestors had done to humanity for the sake of Islam. But that did not
happen and is not likely to happen either. If not the Muslims, then
this idea of Hindu Holocaust Museum should have come from liberal
progressive elite of independent India.
It is not surprising that Francois Gautier who is leading the movement
for a Hindu Holocaust museum is a Frenchman. He is the living legacy
of French progressive liberalism that waged the struggle against
religious fanaticism in the eighteenth century. Instead of making
light of Gautier's work, the liberal progressive elite worldwide
should join forces with him in exposing the depredations caused by
religious fanatics in India. Let India be the starting point and then
continue work elsewhere.
Prof. Prashad would do a great service if instead of spending his
valuable time and energy in criticizing Francois Gautier, he was
investigating what drove some people, in today's day and age, to
demolish two thousand years old Bamiyan Buddhas - a work of art and
human endeavor.
A sad reminder that the days of demolition of infidel idols are not
over yet.
Copyright: Vinod Kumar
September 25, 2009
Sri Sri and Jihad
The Times of India recently conducted a discussion between Islamic
scholar and peace activist Maulana Wahiduddin Khan and Hindu spiritual
leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on the issue of Jihad in the Quran and
Bhagvadgita. The discussion was moderated by Narayani Ganesh, a well
known Columnist.
Right at the beginning Maulana Wahiduddin started with "Let's discuss
the misunderstanding of the term jihad. Jihad is an Arabic word that
has neither a mysterious meaning nor relation to any sacred duty.
Jihad is a simple word; it means to struggle, to strive. Jihad is to
achieve a positive goal in life through peaceful means."
"The Prophet of Islam has said: "Do jihad against your own desires."
That is, doing jihad against yourself. So jihad means to control your
desires. Jihad is to discipline your own behaviour. The Qur'an says:
"Do jihad with the help of the Qur'an" (25:52). The Qur'an is a book
of ideology; it is not a weapon. So doing jihad with the help of the
Qur'an means to try to achieve one's goals through an ideological
struggle." He continued.
Before we accept the Mualana's definition of jihad let us look at the
subject of jihad from the basic scriptures of Islam and what other
Islamic scholars and commentators have said on the subject in some
details. One or two sentences here and there do not do justice to this
important topic.
Jihad has been going on in the world ever since Islam was born in the
seventh century but its latest manifestation has been, among other
places, most notably in Palestine, Chechnya, and Kashmir. Even, in
February 1998, when World Islamic Front issued a fatwa and a call for
Jihad to "every Muslim who believes in Allah and wishes to be
rewarded to comply with Allah's order to kill the Americans and
plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it", it did not
arouse much interest in the general public. It took direct assault on
9/11 on the fundamental symbols of what America stands for that it
created some curiosity. Today, Jihad is, no doubt, one of the most
discussed terms in the world.
What is Jihad? What drives a man to commit such horrendous acts
against humanity? What motivates Islamic terrorists? Why do they
operate under the name of Jihad?
Dr. Eyad Sarraj, a Palestinian psychiatrist answers (Newsweek, April
8, 2002)
"This is the influence of the Koran, the most potent and powerful book
for the past 14 centuries. God promised Muslims who sacrificed for
Islam that they would not die. They will live on in paradise. Muslims
hold to the promise literally."
How valid is this assertion?
What is Jihad?
View of traditionalists:
Dictionary of Islam defines jihad as "a religious war with those who
are unbelievers in the mission of Muhammad. It is an incumbent
religious duty, established in the Quran and in the Traditions as a
divine institution, enjoined specially for the purpose advancing Islam
and repelling evils from Muslims."[i]
In an introductory note to an article "Jihad in the Qur'an and
Sunnah" by Sheikh Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Humaid, ex-Chief Justice
of Saudi Arabia and of the Sacred Mosque of Mecca, Abdul Malik
Mujahid, General Manager of Maktaba Dar-us-Salam, Saudi Arabia on the
website (www.islamworld.net) writes:
"Jihad is regarded as the best thing, one can offer voluntarily. It
is superior to non‑obligatory prayers, fasting, Zakat, Umra and Hajj
as mentioned in the Qur'an and the Ahadith of the Prophet(pbuh). The
benefits of Jihad are of great extent and large in scope, while its
effects are far-reaching and wide-spreading as regards Islam and the
Muslims."
Sheikh Abdullah, ex-Chief Justice of Saudi Arabia defines Jihad as:
"Praise be to Allah swt Who has ordained Al-Jihad (the holy fighting
in Allah's Cause):
1. With the heart (intentions or feelings),
2. With the hand (weapons, etc.),
3. With the tongue (speeches, etc., in the Cause of Allah)
Allah has rewarded the one who performs it with lofty dwellings in the
Gardens (of Paradise)." [ii]
Other contrary Views
Many non-Muslim modernists, as Maulana Wahiduddin also said in this
discussion, in the West deny that it has anything to do with
violence.
Many academic Muslims also dissociate Jihad with "Holy War". "In its
primary sense it is an inner thing, within self, to rid it from
debased actions or inclinations, and exercise constancy and
perseverance in achieving a higher moral standard" - they claim.
"Jihad is not a declaration of war against other religions and
certainly not against Christians and Jews as some media and political
circles want it to be perceived. Islam does not fight other religions"
- they emphasize.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington-based group,
asserts that jihad "does not mean 'holy war.'" Instead, jihad is "a
central and broad Islamic concept that includes the struggle to
improve the quality of life in society, struggle in the battlefield
for self-defense . . . or fighting against tyranny or oppression."
CAIR even denies that Islam includes any concept of a "holy war."
Many other who go under the banner of modernists hold similar views on
the nature of jihad.
How is one to conclude what Jihad really means in Islam?
Ironclad definition of anything to do with Islam and its practical
manifestations can only be derived from what the basic scriptures of
Islam have to say on any particular issue.
What are the basic scriptures of Islam and why are they so important?
The single most basic scripture of Islam is indeed the Qur'an. The
next after the Qur'an are the traditions - the Sunnah -- of the
Prophet -- also known as Ahadith. The Qur'an is compilation of the
Revelations from Allah to Prophet Muhammad and the Sunnah is what
Prophet Muhammad did or said. Of the traditions, the ones compiled by
Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim are the most authentic.
Authenticity of Imam Bukhari's work can be judged from the fact that
he is reported to have collected over 300,000 Hadiths -- traditions of
the Prophet -- but "chose only approximately 7275 of which there is
no doubt about their authenticity." [iii] Each Hadith comes with its
line of transmission that leads directly to Prophet Muhammad or his
companions.
Why are the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet so important to
Muslims? Instead of giving my personal opinion let me say what Rafiq
Zakaria, an eminent Islamic scholar and also known as modernist
progressive secular Muslim has to say on this.
"To Muslims, the Quran is the creation of god. However, it is equally
important to remember that there could have been no Quran without
Muhammad. He is not only its transmitter but also the embodiment of
its teachings... Muhammad and the Quran are inextricably
intertwined." [iv]
"The Quran is, therefore, regarded by Muslims as immutable and
unchangeable, not metaphorically but literally. This is a matter of
faith for them, and reason can never deflect them from it." [v]
(Italics mine) He went on to say.
After enumerating the five pillars of Islam, he echos the sentiments
expressed above in another book and goes on to observe "it (the Quran)
contains guidelines a Muslim must follow." [vi]
Maulana Mawdudi, a great Islamic scholar and thinker expresses similar
views. Islam stands for complete faith in the prophet's teachings. It
stands for complete obedience to the system of life shown to us by the
prophet and any who ignores the medium of the prophet and claims to
follow God directly is not a Muslim. [vii]
Maulana Wahiduddin has also expressed similar opinions.
Human reason or direct approach to God without the medium of the
prophet makes one sinner, if not apostate from Islam. No freedom of
slightest deviation is allowed. One has to follow the teachings of the
Quran and of the Prophet.
If we want to understand why the Muslims carry out jihad, we have to
understand what the Quran and the Sunnah have to say on this topic.
The opinions of Islamic scholars and other commentators are not valid
if they are not in conformity with the above.
What do the Quran and the Sunnah have to say on the subject of Jihad?
There is no chapter devoted exclusively to the subject of jihad in the
Quran. The Ayats pertaining to jihad are spread throughout the Quran.
If one were to sort them out and present them in a concise manner, one
would, in all likelihood, be accused of quoting them out of context.
But in each of the authentic Hadis - the Sunnah of the prophet --
there is a section dealing with the practice of jihad. So let us turn
our attention to the Sunnah. On close scrutiny of the Sunnah as
compiled in Sahih Al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, apart from the
traditions of the prophet, frequent reference is made to the Quran. So
what is recorded in these two books is both, the Sunnah of the Prophet
as well as the revelations from God. Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim have
facilitated our work in informing us, in a concise form, what the
concept of jihad in Islam is?
Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan of Islamic University, Medina Al- Munawwara,
Saudi Arabia, the translator of Sahih Al-Bukhari, in the glossary of
Arabic words translates Jihad as "Holy fighting in the cause of Allah
or any other kind of effort to make Allah's word (Islam) superior
which is regarded as one of the principles of Islam." [viii]
Jihad defined:
Let us first try to find out what is Jihad? We don't have to too far.
The section on Jihad starts with invocation to Allah and Chapter I
opens quoting verses 9:111-112 of the Quran:
"Verily
Allah has purchased of the believers
Their lives and their properties;
For theirs (in return)
Is Paradise. They fight in His cause, so they
Kill (others) and are killed
It is a promise in truth which is binding on Him."[ix]
Allah has made a binding promise with His believers to kill in His
cause and if they are killed they will get Paradise in return.
And again it repeats in chapter 2 "the best among the people is that
believer who strives his utmost in Allah's cause with both his life
and property and goes on to quote verses 61:10,11,12 . It says "it
(fighting in Allah's cause) is a bargain that will save you from a
grievous punishment..... He will forgive you, your sins and admit you
into Gardens beneath which rivers flow, and to beautiful Mansions in
gardens of Eternity." And calls it "The supreme achievement." [x]
Indeed the promise of Gardens with Rivers and Mansions must have
sounded very alluring in the harsh desert climate of Arabia.
Evidently, it does even today.
The superiority of Jihad:
"A single endeavor (of fighting) in Allah's Cause in the forenoon is
better than the world and whatever is in it." Says Hadis 50 in chapter
5. [xi]
And "a place as small as a bow in Paradise is better than all that on
which the sun rises and sets (i.e. all the world)." And continues,
repeating, "A single endeavour in Allah's Cause is better than all
that on which the sun rises and sets." [xii]
The superiority of martyrdom is so great that "nobody would wish to
come back even if he were given the whole world and whatever in it,
except the martyr who, on seeing the superiority of martyrdom, would
like to come back to the world and get killed again (in Allah's
cause.)" [xiii]
And what is there in Paradise? Houris. "And if a houri from paradise
appeared to the people of the earth, she would fill the space between
Heaven and the Earth with light and pleasant scent and her head cover
is better than the world and whatever is in it." [xiv] Who would not
like to die to be in company of such houris?
Obligations of a Believer to Jihad
What are the obligations of a Muslim of a general call to arms and
what sort of Jihad and intentions are compulsory? Most people don't
like to fight and Muslims are no exception to it. But what are they to
do when Allah says:
"March forth, whether you are light (young, healthy and wealthy) or
heavy (ill, old and poor)
And strive with your wealth and your lives
In the way of Allah; that is better for you
If you but knew. Had it been a near gain (booty in front of them)
And an easy journey they would have followed you,
But the distance (Tabuk expedition) was long for them and they would
Swear by Allah (saying)
"If we only could, we would have surely have come out with you."
Allah reprimands:
"They destroy their own souls, and Allah knows
That they are liars." (9:41-42) [xv]
Allah continues His reprimand:
"O you who believe! What is the matter with you that when you are
asked to march forth in the Way of Allah, (i.e. Jihad), you cling
heavily to the earth? Are you pleased with the life of this world
rather than the hereafter? .... (the verse). If you march not forth,
He will punish you with a painful torment and will replace you by
another people and you cannot harm Him at all, and Allah is Able to do
all things." (9:38-39) [xvi]
Is Jihad obligatory:
This is best explained by Sheikh Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Humaid:
"So at first "the fighting" was forbidden, then it was permitted and
after that it was made obligatory- ( 1 ) against them who start "the
fighting" against you (Muslims)... (2) and against all those who
worship others along with Allah... as mentioned in SurahAI‑BaqaraSl
(II), Al‑lmran (III) and Baraat (IX)... and other Suras (Chapters of
the Qur'an).
Allah made "the fighting' (Jihad) obligatory for the Muslims and gave
importance to the subject‑matter of Jihad in all the Suras (Chapters
of the Qur'an) which were revealed (at Medina) as in Allah's
Statement:
March forth whether you are light (being healthy, young and wealthy)
or heavy (being ill, old and poor), strive hard with your wealth and
your lives in the Cause of Allah. This is better for you if you but
knew. (V.9:41). [xvii]
Rewards of Jihad:
Where would one killed in Jihad go? The Muslim killed in Jihad would
go to Paradise and "their's (i.e. those of the Pagan's) will go to
Hell Fire. [xviii]
What are the special benefits of fighting in Allah's cause?
Whoever believes in Allah and His Messenger and lives the life of a
good Muslim will rightfully go to Paradise, no matter if he fights in
Allah's cause or not. But there is a special place for those who do.
Paradise has hundred grades which Allah has reserved for Mujahidin.
The distance between each grade is like the distance between the
Heaven and the Earth. [xix]
And what will those who fight in Allah's cause get in Paradise?
Bat Ye'Or well known writer on Islam notes "the ideology of jihad was
formulated by Muslim jurists and scholars, including such luminaries
as Averroes and Ibn Khaldun, from the 8th century onward. For example,
Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406) stated, "..the holy war is a religious duty,
because of the universality of the Muslim mission and the obligation
to convert everyone to Islam either by persuasion or by force...".
Modernists views refuted:
As noted above, Council of American Islamic Relations asserts that
Jihad is "struggle in the battlefield for self-defense . . . or
fighting against tyranny or oppression" But Sahih Muslim, one of two
most authentic traditions does not agree with it.
Self defense or oppression has nothing to do with the concept of
Jihad. It quotes Prophet Muhammad saying:
"I have been commanded to fight against people, till they testify to
the fact that there is no god but Allah, and believe in me (that) I am
the messenger (from the Lord) and in all that I have brought. And when
they do it, their blood and riches are guaranteed protection on my
behalf except where it is justified by law, and their affairs rest
with Allah."[xx]
Quoting Koran (9:39) "If you march not forth, I will punish you with a
painful torment and will replace you by another people and you cannot
harm Me at all, and Allah is able to do all things.", Sheikh Abdullah
bin Muhammad bin Hamid of Sacred Mosque of Mecca (Saudi Arabia) writes
"Allah disapproved of those who abandoned Jihad (i.e. they did not go
for Jihad) and attributed to them hypocrisy and disease in their
hearts, and threatened (all) those who remain behind from Jihad and
sit at home with horrible punishment. He (Allah) accused them with the
most ugly descriptions, rebuked them for their cowardice and spoke
against them (about their weakness and their remaining behind).[xxi]
Had Jihad been just "striving" and "an inner thing, within self, to
rid it from debased actions or inclinations" where was the need to
"march forth"? Why would Allah accuse those who did not "march forth"
of "cowardice", and "hypocrisy and disease in their hearts"?
To scholars of Islam the message of the Koran and Ahadith is clear.
It is true that not every Muslim is engaged in Jihad. It is true not
only today; it was true during the time of Prophet Muhammad also.
Those who did not were called hypocrites and their fidelity to Islam
was in question.
It is evident from the above that Maulana Wahiduddin's contention that
Jihad has "no relation to any sacred duty" and "it means to struggle,
to strive. Jihad is to achieve a positive goal in life through
peaceful means" have no foundation in Islamic scriptures.
And if Jihad, indeed, is "mental struggle against passion or internal
struggle" - it would be welcome, I am sure, by all non-Muslims. What
a non-Muslim is primarily interested in is Jihad that affects his (non-
Muslim's) survival. However, there is no evidence in the core
scriptures of Islam that Jihad is an internal struggle within the
self.
In support of his contention, the Maulana quoted verse 25:52 saying:
"The Quran says: ‘Do jihad with the help of the Quran'. As is the
common theme of the Quran ‘to fight with the unbelievers', the verse
quoted by the Maulana does not disappoint. It also says: "So do not
follow the unbelievers, and strive against them a mighty striving with
it." ‘It' might mean the Quran - the word Jihad does not occur in any
of the three translations I checked but by defining jihad as peaceful
struggle the Maulana has completely fooled a general unbeliever into
believing that the Quran asks his followers to fight peacefully.
In the whole discussion Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and the moderator, both
cut a sorry figure. The Maulana took them for an easy ride and neither
challenged the Maulana and presented the true meaning of jihad. It is
evident that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has absolutely no knowledge of Islam
or even of its basics
The whole exercise of equating the Gita and the Quran is disingenuous.
The Gita and the Hinduism at large have no concept of jihad in the
Quranic sense. The Kurukshetra war is not about jihad but about
injustice which as the Maulana says does not exist in Islam - (In
Islam, there is no war against injustice). In Islam, whatever Allah
decrees is justice when it says: "God gives abundantly to whom He will
and sparingly to whom it pleases." (13:26) In the Gita the basic
theme is fight for righteousness - not for any god or religion or an
individual while to the contrary the basic theme in the Quran is to
fight for Allah against those who deny His Revelations.
In Kurukshatra war Sri Krishna did not exhort Arjuna to fight because
Sri Krishna wanted it or for a God - or for even Arjuna's sake but for
the justice. Against the injustice that had been done to the
Pandavas. This step was taken after all other means to bring justice
have been explored and exhausted.
Yes, like any other religious ideology, Islam also would like to
improve the life of its followers, in its own way but that is nowhere
called what is known as Jihad.
i Warraq, ibn. Why I am not a Muslim. New York, 1995, pp.12
ii Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 1, pp. xxiv
iii Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 1, pp.xvii
iv Zakaria, Rafiq, Muhammad and the Quran, Penguin Books, New York,
1991, pp. 3
v Zakaria, Rafiq, Muhammad and the Quran, Penguin Books, New York,
1991, pp. 4
vi Zakaria, Rafiq, The Struggle within Islam, Penguin Books, New
York, 1988, pp. 304
vii Mawdudi, Abul A'la, Towards understanding Islam, Islamic Circle
of North America, Montreal, 1986, pp. 61 (First published in Urdu in
India in 1932)
viii Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 1, pp. lxxiv
ix Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol.4, pp. 34
x Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 4, pp. 36-37
xi Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 4, pp. 41
xii Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 4, pp 41
xiii Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 4, pp. 42
xiv Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 4, pp. 42
xv Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 4, pp. 58-59
xvi Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 4, pp. 59
xvii Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 1, pp. xxvi
xviii Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 4, pp. 55
xix Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 4, pp. 40
xx Sahih Muslim, Translated by Abdul Hamid Siddiqi, New Delhi, 1994,
vol. 1, pp.17
xxi Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 4, pp.xxx-xxxi
© Copyright
[i] Warraq, ibn. Why I am not a Muslim. New York, 1995, pp.12
[ii] Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 1, pp. xxiv
[iii] Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 1, pp.xvii
[iv] Zakaria, Rafiq, Muhammad and the Quran, Penguin Books, New York,
1991, pp. 3
[v] Zakaria, Rafiq, Muhammad and the Quran, Penguin Books, New York,
1991, pp. 4
[vi] Zakaria, Rafiq, The Struggle within Islam, Penguin Books, New
York, 1988, pp. 304
[vii] Mawdudi, Abul A'la, Towards understanding Islam, Islamic Circle
of North America, Montreal, 1986, pp. 61 (First published in Urdu in
India in 1932)
[viii] Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 1, pp. lxxiv
[ix] Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol.4, pp. 34
[x] Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 4, pp. 36-37
[xi] Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 4, pp. 41
[xii] Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 4, pp 41
[xiii] Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 4, pp. 42
[xiv] Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 4, pp. 42
[xv] Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 4, pp. 58-59
[xvi] Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 4, pp. 59
[xvii] Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 1, pp. xxvi
[xviii] Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan,
New Delhi, 1984, vol. 4, pp. 55
[xix] Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 4, pp. 40
[xx] Sahih Muslim, Translated by Abdul Hamid Siddiqi, New Delhi,
1994, vol. 1, pp.17
[xxi] Al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari. Translated by M. Muhsin Khan, New
Delhi, 1984, vol. 4, pp.xxx-xxxi
http://voi.org/20091003249/vinodkumar/column-vinodkumar/whatisjihad.html
How Javed Anand’s Ancestors Became Muslims
By Vinod Kumar, on 08-11-2009 12:56
Berating Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh, its Chief Mohan Bhagwat and then
Hinduism, Javed Anand in RSS, Here I Come (Asian Age, Oct 14, 2009)
http://epaper.asianage.com/ASIAN/AAGE/2009/10/14/Article/007/14_10_2009_007_005.jpg
wrote:
"Even otherwise, I have no difficulty in accepting the obvious---my
Hindu past---for I doubt if my forefathers were Sikhs , Jains or
Buddhists. The former are easily discounted for they arrived too late
on the scene. Jains? No way , they are not interested in Mughlai
cousin . As far Buddhists, I am unable to see what possible incentive
there was for them to abandon their faith."
"But converting from Hinduism is conceivable . I have been told since
childhood that we are Saddiquis. That's big if you are talking
hierachy ---being part of the extended parivar of none else than the
closest companion of Prophet Mohammed and the first Caliph of Islam
Abu Bakr. But this Arabisation drive Bhagwat Ji I suspect is quite
like Sansakritisation ---in search of respectability, status and
imagination at work. It's quite likely that my forefathers were Hindus
and "untouchable".
"Imagine Islam's appeal to one who is constantly told he is too
"impure" to be allowed entry inside a temple . Imagine the doors of a
mosque being flung open to him with invite--- Come, stand shoulder-to-
shoulder with the rest of us. No hierarchy here, no caste, no race,
"Sab ka Malik ek" . Who says you are too impure to enter a holy space
or hold a holy text ? Here's the Quran . Its your as much as anyone
else's Touch it, hold it, read it, kiss it, store it in your heart and
mind."
Last update : 08-11-2009 13:06
RSS and Mohan Bhagwat are just the props. Javed Anand's real target is
Hinduism.
"Imagine , Bhagwatji, does this not sound like celestial music to the
outcast such as my forefathers quite possibly were." Mr. Javed Anand
went on to write.
But evidently this did not sound like ‘celestial music to the
"outcast" brothers of the ancestors of Javed Anand otherwise after
fourteen hundred years of Islam's presence in India, with roughly half
of it as its rulers, and all the lollipops thrown at them with
accompanying privileges of belonging to the community of the rulers,
the problem of "outcasts" in Hinduism would not have existed. The fact
is that despite the open arms of Islam as Javed Anand claims, the
"outcasts" of Hinduism did not opt for Islam. Even in Pakistan where
even today every non-Muslim is treated as second class citizen and the
"outcast" Hindus even worse, the minuscule minority community of
"outcast" Hindus have not been attracted by this "celestial" music of
Islam. There are other reasons why the speculative "outcast" ancestors
of Javed Anand became Muslims.
Let us briefly review what might have been the reasons of Javed
Anand's ancestors conversion to Islam - "outcasts" or not.
•1. Early history:
Islam came to India with the Arab traders when Arabia was converted to
Islam. The new converts to Islam - who have been coming to India as
Arabs since long before Islam was born - were free to practice their
new religion. They were given land grants to build their mosques and
freedom to preach and convert from the local population while the
Prophet of Islam had wished to expel all pagans from the Arabian
peninsula. (Sahih Bukhari, vol. 4) There is no evidence that the
"celestial music" of Islam attracted many, if any, converts from the
"outcasts" of Hindu society even though there was no restrictions upon
their leaving the Hindu fold. Even in Arabia the conversion was not
all that an easy matter. Biographies of Prophet Muhammad and the
Koranic verses are a testimony to it. Those who did not convert were
given the status of dhimmies and a special tax named jiziya was
levied upon them. Islam's appeal in Arabia even after conversion must
not have been all that great so that the Prophet of Islam made leaving
Islam a crime punishable with death. Wonder why would anyone ever want
to leave the "celestial" music of Islam?
•2. Medieval History:
2a. Muslim Invaders: Every Muslim invader starting with bin Kasim who
came to India demolished and plundered Hindu temples. Killed all the
males and enslaved women and children - at times carried them off by
the hundreds of thousands to Arabia and Central Asian countries to be
sold off as slaves. At one point, there were so many Hindu slaves in
Ghazni that it looked like an Indian city. Men of honor in India were
working as domestic help in Afghanistan and beyond. Lakhs perished in
what is now - for good reason - called Hindukush. Those who converted
to Islam were spared. Desire to live as decent human being is a common
human weakness - no wonder many converted to Islam just to survive -
not necessarily the "outcasts" of Hindu society; most of them were the
elite of the Hindu society. When the invaders went back, those who
converted reverted back to the practice of Hinduism. But repeated
invasions and even harder treatment meted out to those who
reconverted, they found it expedient to remain Muslims in name even
though for long times they continued their infidel Hindu ways. Some
still do even after centuries of conversion. Thus it was found
necessary to start Tabligh movement to rid the practice of "evil"
infidel ways among the converted Muslims. This has been a continued
and still prevalent practice among the converted and the Tabligh
jamaat still has a Herculean task on its shoulders.
2b. Muslim Sultans: Muslim Sultans made the life of infidel Hindus
unbearable. According to sharia, jiziya and disproportionately heavy
taxes were imposed on the infidels. Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji demanded
from learned men of Islam rules and regulations, so that the Hindu
should be ground down, and property and possessions, which are the
cause of disaffection and rebellion, should not remain in his house.
Qazi Mughisud-din of Bayana whom Ala-ud-din consulted as to the
legality of his measures towards Hindus, wholeheartedly justified Ala-
ud-din's rigorous policy and "pointed out that Islamic law sanctioned
sterner principle, so much so that, ‘if the revenue collector spits
into a Hindu's mouth, the Hindu must open his mouth to receive it
without hesitation." Ala-ud-din was gratified to learn that his
treatment of the Hindus was in full accordance with Islamic law and
assured the Qazi that he had given orders that the Hindu will not be
allowed to possess more than what is required for a bare
subsistence." (The History and Culture of the Indian People, vol. 6,
Bombay, 1990, pp. 24-25)
Could it be that the ancestors of Javed Anand - not necessarily the
"outcast" of Hindu society -- converted to Islam under these
circumstances?
2c. Akbar: Hindus got a little respite under relatively enlightened
policies of the third Mughal Emperor Akbar. He abolished the much
hated jiziya tax and treated non-Muslims in a more tolerant manner. He
let the Hindu princesses whom he married and were married to his sons
practice Hindu rituals in his palace contrary to usual practice of
converting them to Islam. He invited different religions for open
debate. This was not much liked by the orthodox Ulema and they accused
Akbar of apostasy of which there is no evidence. Akbar at best died an
eclectic. His death was celebrated by the orthodox ulema.
2d. Aurangzeb: Whatever goodwill was created by Akbar was soon undone
by his successors. Aurangzeb was the most orthodox of the Mughal
emperors. He has been called a ‘living pir' and is reported to have
memorized the entire Koran. His zealotry for Islam went beyond all
bounds of a sovereign. In the twelfth year of Emperor's reign' the
Vishwanath temple at Benaras, which seems to have been rebuilt, and
Keshav Rai temple at Mathura were demolished. Aurangzeb revived the
policy of demolishing temples in the wake of military campaigns which
had been followed by Delhi Sultans and occasionally by Shahjahan. In
pursuance of this policy hundreds of temples across India from Kuch
Bihar to Deccan were ruthlessly destroyed. Firman was issued that no
new temples should be built. Temples which were built in the past ten /
twelve years were classified in this category and while old temples
were spared but repairs to them were banned. Conversion to Islam was
officially promoted. The Emperor presided over the ceremony of
conversion as often as he could - these conversions were not from the
"outcasts" of Hindu society but from the zamindars, and influential
Rajputs and Jats who converted to gain favor with the ruling monarch.
(Shah Wali-Allah and his Times, SAA Rizvi, Australia, 1980, pp. 90)
S A A Rizvi observes:
"Gradually, criminals and corrupt and dishonest revenue officials
began to expiate their crimes by embracing Islam. (pp. 90)"
In 1679 officials were issued orders to realize the jiziya from non-
Muslims. The jiziya was so designed that its impact was the heaviest
on the poorest section of Hindu society who were subsequently deprived
of almost entire income from their property. This was all part of
deliberate policy to force the poorer section of Hindus to embrace
Islam. (ibid pp. 92)
Quoting Mirat-I Ahmadi Rizvi writes that the entire attention of the
Aurangzeb was directed towards strengthening the ‘manifest faith' and
to mold all affairs of the state - financial and political - according
to the sharia. In 1665, customs duty on the goods of Muslims was
levied at two and half percent and of Hindus at five percent. In 1667,
the duty on Muslims goods was totally forbidden. He issued a decree
that all posts of head clerk and above be filled with Muslims. (ibid
pp. 88)
2e. Shah Wali-Allah:
A contemporary of Abdul Wahhab of Saudi Arabia, Shah Wali-Allah's
(1703 - 1762) influence on Muslim thought in India cannot be
overemphasized.
Muslim historian I H Qureshi, (had been member of the Indian as well
as Pakistan Historical Records Commission, of the Council of the
Indian and Pakistan Institutes of International Affairs, of the
executive committees of the Indian History Conference and Pakistan
historical Society). wrote:
"Shah Wali-ullah was a man of encyclopedic learning. He was not one of
those scholars who keep different branches of knowledge in different
chambers of their mind.....The world has not produced many scholars
like him....During his lifetime his greatness was recognized by his
contemporaries and his claim to that he was MUJADDID - renewer of the
Faith -- of his century was not challenged by any one." (Ulema in
Politics -- I H Qureshi, Delhi, 1985, pp 126)
Shah Wali-Ullah is regarded as one of the greatest Muslim thinkers of
all times. This is just to emphasize what position Shah Wali-Ullah
holds in Islam and what his views about Hindus and proselytization
were?
"They (Imams) should preach that other religions were worthless since
their founders were not perfect, and their practice was opposed to
divine law, interpolations having made them unbelievable......" (Shah
Wali-Allah and His Times, SAA Rizvi, Australia, 1980, pp. 286)
"Another means of ensuring conversions was to prevent other religious
communities from worshipping their own gods. Moreover, unfavorable
discriminating laws should be imposed on non-Muslims in matters of
rules of retaliation, compensation for manslaughter and marriage, and
in political matters." (ibid pp. 286)
To streamline the Mughal administration, he wrote to Emperor Ahmad
Shah: " Strict orders should be issued in all Islamic towns forbidding
religious ceremonies publicly practiced by the infidels."(ibid pp.
294)
Most of Muslim rulers in fact did exactly the same, and many Muslim
countries do it even today. Saudi Arabia is the prime example. In
Saudi Arabia practice of any religion other than Islam is illegal. It
is reminiscent of the laws decreed by many Muslims rulers of India.
Aurangzeb, as stated above, had issued orders to ban public practice
of Hindu religion, construction of new temples and repair of old
ones.
"However, the proselytization programme of Shah Wali-Allah only
included the leaders of the Hindu community. The low class of the
infidels, according to him, were to be left alone to work in the
fields and for paying jizya. They, like beasts of burden and
agricultural livestock, were to be kept in abject misery and
despair."(ibid, pp. 286)
And the same people want us to believe Muslims have no caste
distinction. Even when Hindus were converted to Islam Hindus of higher
caste got relatively better treatment than the Hindus of the lower
castes. But still local converted Hindus were never treated as equal
to foreign Muslims. All Muslim administrations were full of first
generation Muslims from all over the Muslim world or their descendants
-- not of local converted Muslims.
2 f. Conversion from Buddhists:
"As far Buddhists, I am unable to see what possible incentive there
was for them to abandon their faith." Javed Anand wrote. Javed is
right, Buddhists had no incentive to convert to Islam and for that
matter neither did the Hindus or the Jains or the Zoroastrians.
Khurasan, Persis, Irak, Mosul, and the country up to the border of
Syria was Buddhistic. First Zoroastrians banished them from these
countries and pushed them to east of Balkh. Then came Islam and all
remnants of Buddhism were wiped off from Afghanistan and Central Asia.
(Alberuni's India, Delhi, 1993, pp. 21) Buddhist center at Nalanda was
wrecked by the marauders of Bakhtiyar Khilji about 1200 CE beyond
recovery, thus ending a continuous tradition of refuge and meeting-
place for ascetics which went back to the centuries before the Buddha.
(Indigenous Indians, Elst, Delhi, 1993, pp. 424) If anything was left,
the lofty statues of Buddha, carved on a mountain side were taken care
of the proud students of Islam - Taliban - in 2001.
True, Buddhists had no incentive to convert but Buddhism was destroyed
root and branch in Muslim territory but not in Hindu territory.
(Indigenous Indians, Elst, Delhi, 1993, pp. 424)
•3. Modern Times:
3a. Twentieth Century: In modern times, in the last century also there
were many conversions to Islam. The ones in Malabar, Noakhali, the
Punjab in 1947 stand out. All this is rather recent history and
details are easily available. All these conversions in the last
century were the result of matter of survival for the converted
whether it was Malabar or Noakhali or the killing grounds of Punjab in
the aftermath of the partition. The "outcasts" of the Hindu society
didn't exactly run to the mosques to hear its "celestial" music. On
the other hand let us see what the most outstanding leader of the
"outcasts" did?
3b. "Outcasts of Hindu society": There is no more prominent "outcast"
of Hindu society than Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar. He is in all likelihood
the greatest intellectual of all times among the "outcast" - a term
Javed Anand likes to use. Dr. Ambedkar had carried out thorough
research of the genesis of Hindu caste system and Hindu scriptures,
Buddhism, Islam and Christianity. He renounced Hinduism but neither
did the "celestial music" of Islam nor its open doors lure him into
the lap of Islam. He spurned all offers to convert to Islam and
Christianity and opted for Buddhism. Why?
"Nothing is infallible. Nothing is binding forever. Everything is
subject to inquiry and examination.": Ambedkar wrote. (Dr. Ambedkar,
Writings as and Speeches, vol. 3, Govt. of Maharashtra, 1987 , pp 442,
quoted in Indigenous Indians, Koenraad Elst, New Delhi,1993, pp. 390)
This is quite in contrast to Islamic belief where "the Koran is the
word of God, immutable and unalterable; it contains guidelines which a
Muslim must follow." It is beyond any question or doubt. It must be
accepted as the Final Truth - the Last Word of Allah.
Not only Ambedkar did not convert to Islam he was opposed to Scheduled
castes converting to Islam. After Partition the scheduled caste
politician J N Mandal was given a seat in the Pakistani cabinet as a
showpiece to lure the Scheduled castes to convert to Islam. J N Mandal
accepted this against the advice of Ambedkar. It was a great
disappointment for Mandal and soon after he resigned.
(http://www.hvk.org/specialarts/mandal/mandal.html)
Ambedkar complained that Pakistan was not allowing the Scheduled
castes to emigrate to India and was forcibly converting them to Islam.
In order to increase the Muslim population, in Hyderabad also they
were being forcibly converted. He asked them not to put their faith
in Muslims or the Muslim League just because they do not like the
Hindus. It would be fatal for them to do so. He would see that all
those who were forcibly converted would be taken back into the fold,
he said. Whatever the oppression and tyranny the Hindus practised in
them, it should not warp their vision and swerve them from their
duty." (Indigenous Indians, Koenraad Elst, New Delhi, 1993, pp.
402-3)
•4. Conclusion
There are many faults in Hinduism. At least Hindus are aware of them
and they are working at it. But as seen above, any of the fault lines
has nothing to do with their conversion to Islam. Moreover, Hinduism
is not stuck in a fixed time frame. What was true of Hinduism
yesterday no longer holds true today and Hinduism of tomorrow will be
altogether a different entity. Whatever, Mr. Javed Anand might say or
think casteism is not the soul of Hinduism.
However, there is no historical evidence whatsoever to suggest that
the "outcasts" - a term Javed Anand likes to use - were so charmed by
the "celestial" music of Islam that they jumped into its arms as the
doors of mosques were flung open. Again, only six decades ago, Hindus
suffered untold misery of life and property but came to India. They
could have converted to Islam and stayed in the only land they had
ever known in history.
If it was the "evil" caste system of Hindus that "lured" them to the
"celestial" music of Islam, what made the Zoroastrians, Egyptians, the
Anatolians, the Kurds, the Buddhists, the Afghans, the Pagans of
Arabia - to convert to Islam? There runs a common thread.
Hinduism is open - there are no bars for people who want to leave it.
To the contrary Islam has to keep its door closed so that people don't
run out of it and thus made apostasy from Islam a crime punishable
with death.
Last, but not the least, Javed Anand, ruling out Jains as his
ancestors, wrote "Jains? No way , they are not interested in Mughlai
cousin." Javed thinks whoever converted to Islam was for a big
gourmet Mughlai dinner. What a sick sense of humor if he thinks it is
humorous. How I wish the Muslims had restricted their conversion
frenzy only to those who were interested in Mughlai feast.
http://voi.org/20091108287/vinodkumar/column-vinodkumar/tbd.html
On Hindu Cowardice and Muslim Bravery
By Vinod Kumar, on 10-01-2010 07:32
There is common perception that Hindus are cowards and Muslims are
brave. Even Mahatma Gandhi went on to write: "Hindu is a coward and a
Muslim a bully by nature."
This perception mostly results from the fact that a small number of
Muslims were able to defeat the Hindus and rule over them for
centuries.
If one were to analyze the underlying causes that led to the defeat of
the Hindus, there is no evidence to suggest that the Hindu is coward
-- Hindus just have different ideology -- a different set of
priorities and ideas about nature of things.
Hindu defeats were more intellectual and cultural. Muslims brought a
new ideology and a new kind of warfare to India -- one that at first
the Hindus did not understand. And today when they fully understand
it, they are not willing to adopt it.
The Hindu mind regarding "religious" warfare was first expressed by
none else than Alberuni, a scholar in Greek, Farsi and Arabic and an
astronomer in his own right, who came to India with Mahmud Ghaznavi,
stayed in India, learnt Sanskrit, read extensively all Hindu
literature, wrote 20 books including translations on India. In his
still available book Indica, he went on to observe:
"On the whole, there is very little disputing about theological
topics among themselves; at the utmost they fight with words, but they
will never stake their soul or body or their property on religious
controversy."
Hindus believed in open discussion of theological topics but did not
kill each other for their opinions and they could not understand why
would one kill others for differing on matter of theology or imposing
their own ideas on others.
Almost thousand years later, talking of the betrayal of king Dahir of
Debal, V S Naipaul went on to explain the Hindus' reaction to Muslim
invasions in the following words:
"It is the first of the betrayals that will assist the Arab conquest.
But they are not betrayals, really. They are no more than the actions
of people who understand only that power is power, and believe they
are changing rulers; they cannot conceive that a new way is about to
come."
Last update : 10-01-2010 07:34
Hindu kings, before Islam, fought incessantly but it made no
difference to general public -- they were not asked to change their
religion, their women were not raped, their temples and cities were
not plundered and desecrated. The war did not touch their personal
lives. All they got was another king.
A new way did dawn upon India after the conquest of Muhammad bin Kasim
but the cultural moorings of Hindu were so strong that they refused to
learn the new ways of Islam. That would have meant giving up Hinduism.
While civilizations of Arabia, Egypt, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, Iran and
others crumbled before the Islamic onslaught, Hindus withstood it for
centuries. Had the Hindus been cowards, India today would have been a
purely Islamic state. They refused to be annihilated and were not
desirous of annihilating even the aggressor. Religious warfare, as
Alberuni observed, has no place in their ideology.
It is not Hindus lack of understanding of these new ways even after
almost 1300 years and even when Hindus were massacred in Pakistan,
they failed to retaliate in India. Even today after all the massacres
of Hindus in Kashmir, the Hindus don't want to fight in the name of
religion. Secularism in India is not an empty slogan or mere cosmetic
-- it is the very basis of Hindu beliefs and that is why a common
Hindu is still ashamed of Babri masjid demolition while a Muslim -- of
Hindu ancestry -- has no qualms or shame of the destruction of tens of
thousands of Hindu temples by Muslim invaders. The difference in
behavior is nothing but the ideology that one follows -- both have the
same genetic pool in their blood stream.
It is not without reason that despite what has been visited upon the
Hindus by the Muslims, Hindu India is still a secular country while
there is not a single Muslim country that subscribes to the ideal of
secularism. M J Akbar in his book The Siege within India admits that
India is secular because it is a Hindu majority country.
As far as Hindu bravery is concerned -- it is well documented in the
annals of Muslim victors themselves -- I need not go into details of
that. It is the Hindu psyche that refuses to act contrary to their
long held beliefs that killing in the name of religion is not the
right thing to do.
The success of the Muslim invaders came not from their being a martial
or superior race or being physically stronger -- it were the same
Arabs who had not done any "brave" acts other than trading in entire
history before Islam -- it was only after they took on the ideology of
Islam that preached them to be cruel to all infidels and spread the
"TRUE FAITH" that they went on the rampage. The Buddhist Afghans had
lived with their Buddhist/Hindu neighbors for a millennium -- it was
only after they adopted the creed of Islam that they went on the
rampage on those very people with whom they shared history and
culture.
A study of the lives and teachings of Muhammad and Buddha, Mahavir and
even Gandhi today will explain why the Muslims and the Hindus behave
the way they do. Physically and genetically an Indian/Pakistani Muslim
is no different from his Hindu compatriot -- it is the ideology that
one follows that makes the difference. It is the ideology that makes
them act so differently from each other.
The Vedic "Ekam satya, viprah bahuda vadanti" -- there is one truth
but people call it by different names -- is deeply engraved on and
continues to control the Hindu mind and actions while the Koranic
injunctions "Islam is the only true faith" and "Those who do not
believe in Our revelations shall be inheritors of Hell" continue to
guide the minds and lives of Muslims.
http://voi.org/20100110336/vinodkumar/column-vinodkumar/onhinducowardiceandmuslimbravery.html
India As Alberuni Saw It
By Vinod Kumar, on 17-01-2010 04:19
Abu Rihan Muhammad bin Ahmad, Alberuni as his compatriots called him
was born about A.D. 973, in the territory of modern Khiva, then called
Khwarizm. He came to as Ghazni as a prisoner of war1. He was an
astronomer, geometrician, historian and logician. He was so studious,
his earliest biographer tells us "he never had a pen out of his hand,
nor his eye ever off a book, and his thoughts were ever directed to
his studies, with the exception of two days in the year". He was
beyond comparison, superior to every man of his time in the art of
composition, in scholarlike accomplishments, and in the knowledge of
geometry and philosophy, and above all he had "most rigid regard for
truth."2 He accompanied Mahmud of Ghazni to India and stayed there for
many years, chiefly, in all probability in the Punjab, studied the
Sanskrit language and translated into it some works from the Arabic,
and translated from it two treatises into Arabic3. Sachau, translator
of Alberuni's Indica believes Alberuni "composed about twenty books on
India4, both translations and original compositions, and a number of
tales and legends, mostly derived from the ancient lore of Eran and
India." He was indeed a prolific writer and his works are stated to
have exceeded a camel-load.5
Let me also make another observation about Alberuni. He regards Hindus
as excellent philosophers and he felt strong inclination towards Hindu
philosophy but still he was a Muslim and at times does not fail to
point out the superiority of Islam over Brahmanic India. He attacks
Arabs but not Islam6. He wrote for those Muslims who "want to converse
with the Hindus, and to discuss with them the questions of religion,
science, or literature, on the very basis of their own civilization."7
While discussing astronomical calculations regarding the order of the
planets, their distances and sizes, he reminds the reader the purpose
of his book once again --- to discuss subjects "which either are
noteworthy for their strangeness, or which are unknown among our own
people (the Muslims) and our (the Muslim) countries."8
Having given a brief introduction, let us now see what Alberuni had to
say about India, the land, its people, its religion, its philosophy,
its sciences, and its literature.
•1. Hindu Muslim Differences:
Alberuni starts Indica by observing "the Hindus entirely differ from
us in every respect"9. First and foremost difference is the language.
Sanskrit is a language of enormous range, both in words and in
inflections. They call one and the same thing by various names and
unless one knows the context in which the word is spoken. Some of the
sounds of consonants are neither identical nor resemble with the
Arabic and Persian. And the Hindus write their scientific books in
metrics so that they can be committed to memory and thus prevented
from corruption. This metrical form of literary composition makes the
study of Sanskrit particularly difficult.10
Not only the language, the Hindus totally differ from us (Muslims) in
religion, as "we believe in nothing in which they believe" and vice
versa. He goes on to observe that on theological topics "at the utmost
they fight with words, but they will never stake their soul or body or
their property on religious controversy."11 Instead, he noted, all
their fanaticism is directed against foreigners whom they call
mlecchas i.e. impure and forbid any connection with them12. The Hindus
have concepts of pollution and never desire that once thing is
polluted, it should be purified and thus recovered. They are not
allowed receive anybody who does not belong to them, even if he wished
to be inclined to their religion13, he went on to write.
He wrote the customs and manners the Hindus differ so completely from
the Muslims that "they frighten their children with us, our dress and
our ways and customs" and decree us as "devil's breed". They regard
"everything we do as opposite of all that is good and proper".14 Some
of the reasons of Hindus' repugnance of Muslims are complete
banishment of Buddhists from countries from Khurasan, Persis, Irak,
Mosul and Syria, first by the Zoroastrians and then by Islam. And then
Muhammad ibn Elkasim entered India proper, conquered the cities of
Bahmanwa and Mulsthan and went as far as Kanauj -- "all these events
planted a deeply rooted hatred in their hearts."15
And then Sabuktagin choosing the holy war as his calling, called
himself a Ghazi, built those roads on Indian frontier which his son
Sultan Yamin-uddaula Mahmud, during a period of thirty years, used to
utterly ruin "the prosperity of the country, and performed those
wonderful exploits, by which the Hindus became like atoms of dust
scattered in all directions, and like a tale of old in the mouth of
the people." He goes on to say "their scattered remains cherish, of
course, the most inveterate aversion towards all Muslims."16
Alberuni does not talk much about Mahmud whom he calls "the lion of
the world, the wonder of his time" when he remembers him for
"breaking the strongest pillar of religion", 17 and his raids into
India, except a few times. Once about his ruining the prosperity of
the country as quoted above and second when he writes of his
demolition of the idol, in the year A.H. 416, at Somnath much revered
by the Hindus. The upper part of the idol was demolished and the lower
part transported to his residence in Ghazni with all its trappings.
One part of it, along with the bronze idol of Chakraswamin from
Thanesar, was thrown into the hippodrome and another part before the
door of the mosque of Ghazni, on which people rub their feet to clean
them from dirt and wet. 18
•2. On Hindus customs:
He found Hindus to be very proud of their country, their kings, their
religion, their sciences to the extent that he thought them to be
"haughty, foolishly vain, self-conceited and stolid."19
Many customs of the Hindus, he observed, differ from Muslims' "to such
a degree as to appear to us simply monstrous." Hindu customs, not
only, not resemble to Muslim customs but are the very reverse; and if
ever a custom of theirs resembles one of the Muslims, it has certainly
the opposite meaning. He goes on to say that it seems as if "they
(Hindus) had intentionally changed into the opposite".20
What are these customs of the Hindus that he observed that he thought
were the opposite of theirs?
"The Hindus eat singly, one by one, on a tablecloth of dung. They do
not make use of the remainder of a meal, and the plates from which
they have eaten are thrown away if they are earthen."
"They drink wine before having eaten anything, then they take their
meal. They drink the stall of cows but they do not eat their meat."
"In all consultations and emergencies they take advice of the women."
"They do not seek permission to enter a house, but when they leave it
they ask permission to do so."
"In their meetings they sit cross-legged."
"They magnify the nouns of their language by giving them the feminine
gender, as the Arabs magnify them by diminutive form."
"They consider the crepitus ventris as a good omen, sneezing as a bad
omen."
"They write the title of the book at the end of it, not at the
beginning".21
Last update : 17-01-2010 04:26
•3. Hindu Arithmetic:
On Hindu arithmetic Alberuni observed the Hindus do not use the
letters of their alphabet for numerical notation, as Muslims use the
Arabic letters in the order of the Hebrew alphabet. The use of Arabic
letters for numerals must not have been in wide use when Alberuni
wrote c.1030 CE, for these have been communicated to the Arabs in the
eighth and ninth centuries as he goes on to accept that "the numeral
signs which we use have been derived from the finest forms of Hindu
signs." Having observed the names of the orders of the numbers in
various languages he had come in contact with, Alberuni found that no
nation goes beyond the thousand including the Arabs. Those who beyond
the thousand in their numeral system are the Hindus who extend the
names of the orders of numbers until the 18th order.22
Pulisa has adpoted the relation between the circumference and
diameter of a circle to be 3 177/1250 which comes out to 3.1416.23
•4. Astronomy and sciences:
While ancient puranic traditions about the earth and heavens and their
creation still existed, but these were in direct opposition to the
scientific truths known to Indian astronomers.
While it is not possible to mention all the theories and concepts
prevalent at the time, let it suffice to say what some of the ideas
of Hindu astronomers that Alberuni found interesting were. Quoting
Brahamgupta, Alberuni wrote:
"Several circumstances, however, compel us to attribute globular shape
to both the earth and the heaven, viz. the fact that the stars rise
and set in different places at different times, so that, e.g. a man in
Yamakoti observes one identical start rising above the western
horizon, whilst a man in Rum at the same time observes it rising above
the eastern horizon. Another argument to the same effect is this, that
a man on Meru observes one identical star above the horizon in the
zenith of Lanka, the country of demons, whilst a man in Lanka at the
same time observes it above his head. Besides all astronomical
observations are not correct unless we assume the globular shape of
heaven and earth. Therefore we must declare that heaven is a globe,
and the observation of these characteristics of the world would not be
correct unless in reality it were a globe. Now it is evident that all
other theories about the world are futile." 24
Quoting Varahmira, he further continues:
"Mountains, seas, rivers, trees, cities, men, and angels, all are
around the globe of the earth. And if Yamakoti and Rum are opposite to
each other, one could not say that the one is low in relation to the
other, since low does not exist.... Every one speaks of himself, 'I am
above and the others are below,' whilst all of them are around the
globe like the blossoms springing on the branches of a Kadamba-tree.
They encircle it on all the sides, but each individual blossom has the
same position as the other, neither one hanging downward nor then
other standing upright." He emphasized: "For the earth attracts that
which is upon her, for it is the below towards all directions, and
heaven is the above towards all directions."
There was no consensus about the resting or movement of the earth.
Aryabahata thought that the earth is moving and the heaven resting.
Many astronomers contested this saying were it so, stones and trees
would fall from earth. But Brahamgupta did not agree with them saying
that that would not happen apparently because he thought all heavy
things are attracted towards the center of the earth.26
The above gives some idea as to the nature of discussion in astronomy
at that time but Sachau observes these ideas had not changes much
since the eighth century when the knowledge of Hindu sciences were
communicated to the Arabs.
On the topic of ocean tides, Alberuni wrote that the educated Hindus
determine the daily phases of the tides by the rising and setting of
the moon, the monthly phases by the increase and waning of the moon;
but the physical cause of the both phenomenon is not understood by
them.27
The Hindus have cultivated numerous branches of science and have
boundless literature, which with his knowledge, he could comprehend.
He wished he could have translated Panchtantra which in Arabia was
known as the not book of Kalila and Dimna.28
•5. Hindu Laws:
Hindu laws, Alberuni observed are derived from their rishis, the
pillars of their religion and not from the prophets i.e. Narayana..
"Narayana only comes into this world in the form of human figure to
set the world right when things have gone wrong. Hindus can easily
abrogate their laws for they believe such changes are necessitated by
the change of nature of man. Many things which are now forbidden were
allowed before". 29
•6. On pilgrimage and sacred places:
Pilgrimages, Alberuni noted, are not obligatory for the Hindus, but
"facultative and meritorious". Most of the venerated places are
located in the cold regions round mount Meru.30
About the construction of Holy ponds, let me quote his own words:
"In every place to which some particular holiness is ascribed, the
Hindus construct ponds intended for the ablutions. In this they have
attained to a very degree of art, so that our people (the Muslims),
when they see them, wonder at them, and are unable to describe them,
much less to construct anything like them. They build them of great
stones of enormous bulk, joined to each other by sharp and strong
cramp-irons, in the form of steps (or terraces) like so many ledges;
and these terraces run all around the pond, reaching to a height of
more than a man's stature. On the surface of the stones between two
terraces they construct staircases rising like pinnacles. Thus the
first step or terraces are like roads 9leading up and down). If ever
so many people descend to the pond whilst others ascend, they do not
meet each other, and the road is never blocked, because there are so
many terraces, and the ascending person can always turn aside to
another terrace than on which the descending people go. By this
arrangement all troublesome thronging is avoided."31
May be what he had in mind was Chand Baori well near Jaipur built in
9th century..
http://clipmarks.com/clipmark/FBBBCA69-8F08-4DCD-A351-9E93D9D31EBC/
•7. Hindu caste system:
No discussion of India would be complete without observation on the
contemporary caste system and rightly so Alberuni does miss it. He
describes the traditional division of Hindu society along the four
Varnas and the Antyaja -- who are not reckoned in any caste; but makes
no mention of any oppression of low caste by the upper castes. Much,
however the four castes differ from each other, they live together in
the same towns and villages, mixed together in the same houses and
lodgings. The Antyajas are divided into eight classes -- formed into
guilds -- according to their professions who freely intermarry with
each other except with the fuller, shoemaker and the weaver. They live
near the villages and towns of the four castes but outside of them.32
On the eating customs of the four castes, he observed that when eating
together, they form a group of their own caste, one group not
comprising a member of another caste. Each person must have his own
food for himself and it is not allowed to eat the remains of the meal.
They don't share food from the same plate as that which remains in the
plate becomes after the first eater has taken part, the remains of the
meal.33
Alberuni wrote extensively on India and on many aspects. It is
impossible to cover every topic in a rather small article but I have
tried to give some of the points which would look strange or were not
known to the Muslims.
1 Sachau E C, Alberuni's India, Low Price Publications, New Delhi,
1993, pp. viii
2 Elliot and Dowson, The History of India as told by its own
historians, Low Price Publications, New Delhi, 1996, vol. II, pp. 2
3 ibid., pp. 5
4 Sachau, pp. xxvii
5 Elliot and Dowson, vol. II, pp. 3
6 Sachau, pp.185,
7 Sachau, pp. xvii, xix, xxiii
8 Sachau, pp. ii - 80
9 Sachau, pp. 17
10 Sachau, pp.18-19
11Sachau, pp. 19
12 Sachau, pp. 19
13 Sachau, pp. 20
14 Sachau, pp. 20
15 Sachau, pp. 21
16 Sachau, pp. 22
17 Sachau, pp. ii - 2
18 Sachau, pp. ii - 103
19 Sacahu, pp. 22
20 Sachau, pp. 179
21 Sachau, pp. 180-2
22 Sachau, pp. 174
23 Sachau, pp. 169
24 Sachau, pp. 268
25 Sacahu, pp. 272
26 Sachau, pp. 276-7
27 Sachau, pp ii-105
28 Sachau, pp. 159
29 Sacahu, pp. 106 - 7
30 Sachau, pp. ii - 142
31 Sacahu, pp. ii144 - 5
32 Sachau. Pp. 101
33 Sachau, pp. 102
http://voi.org/20100117341/vinodkumar/column-vinodkumar/indiaasalberunisawit.html
From The Pages of History
By Vinod Kumar, on 31-01-2010 11:06
Earth's Rotation, Globular Shape and Gravity
When we talk of the earth going around the sun as it has always done,
its globular shape, the different seasons, different lengths of day
and night, mind goes back to Galileo and Copernicus, scared to death,
holding the truth back lest the fury of the church falls upon them for
letting the world know the reality of nature. When one thinks of
gravity one thinks of Newton sitting under an apple tree watching an
apple fall to the ground and Newton proclaiming "Lo! there is
gravity."
If I were to say Hindu philosophers talked and wrote about gravity and
the globular shape of the earth centuries before Newton and Galileo
and Copernicus, and quoted Hindu sources, I would not only be
dismissed as a "fanatical Hindu communalist" by our 'all-knowing-
secular intellectuals' but also incur their wrath. And who wants
that?
In order to state the truth and make it acceptable to our 'all-knowing-
secular intellectuals' let me seek the help of a Muslim scholar from
Central Asia. Who around 1030 AD wrote a very comprehensive book
"Indica" about India -- its literature, its philosophy, its religion,
its culture, its languages, its history, its geography, its customs,
its sciences including astronomy. I am talking about Abu-Raihan
Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Alberuni -- a scholar and a devout genuine Muslim
by all standards.
Before I go into what Alberuni wrote let us take some time to find out
more about this man -- Alberuni.
In the words of Edward Sachau -- translator of Alebruni's 'Indica':
"Mahmud marched into the country, not without some fighting,
established there one of his generals as provincial governor, and soon
returned to Ghazna with much booty and a great part of Khiva troops,
together with the princes of the deposed family of Mamun and the
leading men of the country as prisoners of war or as hostages. Among
the last was Abu-Raihan Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Alberuni. This happened in
the spring and summer of AD 1017."
"When he (Alberuni) was brought to Ghazna as a hostage, he enjoyed the
reputation of a great 'munajjim' i.e. "astrologer - astronomer". By
the time he wrote 'Indica' thirteen years later after his involuntary
immigration to Afghanistan, he was a master of astrology, both
according to the Greek and the Hindu systems.
"Alberuni felt a strong inclination towards Indian philosophy. He
seems to have thought that the philosophers both in ancient India and
Greece, held in reality the very same ideas, the same as seem to have
been his own i.e. of pure monotheism. He seems to have to have reveled
in the pure theories of Bhagavad-Gita. ... There can scarcely be any
doubt that the Muslims of later times would have found fault with him
for going to such length in his interest for these heathenish
doctrines" observes Sachau, but "still he was Muslim, whether Sunni or
Shia cannot be gathered from Indica. He sometimes takes an occasion
for pointing out to the reader the superiority of Islam over
Brahamanical India... He dares not attack Islam but attacks the
Arabs."
What was the object of his writing 'Indica'?
"The object which the author had in view and never for a moment lost
sight of, was to afford the necessary information and training to any
one (in Islam) who wants to converse with the Hindus, and to discuss
with them questions of religion, science, or literature, on the very
basis of their own civilization."
Alberuni came to India with Mahmud and stayed there. He learnt
Sanskrit and Hindu literature and sciences and indeed wrote a very
comprehensive book about India of those days. As a Muslim he praises
the 'wonderful exploits of Mahmud saying: "Mahmud utterly ruined the
prosperity of the country, and performed those wonderful exploits, by
which the Hindus became like atoms of dust scattered in all
directions" but as a scholar he laments "this is the reason, too, why
Hindu sciences have retired far away from those parts of the country
conquered by us, and have fled to places which our hand cannot yet
reach, to Kashmir, Benares, and other places."
It seems from above that his study was done in area which was under
Mahmud's control, most likely western Punjab. But still what he writes
is very illuminating. Let us now see what wrote about our subject:
astronomy in India and gravity and the solar system.
Quoting from Brahamgupta's Brahamsidhanta, Alberuni wrote:
"Several circumstances, however, compel us to attribute globular shape
to both the earth and the heaven, viz. the fact that the stars rise
and set in different places at different times, so that, e.g. a man in
Yamakoti observes one identical start rising above the western
horizon, whilst a man in Rum at the same time observes it rising above
the eastern horizon. Another argument to the same effect is this, that
a man on Meru observes one identical star above the horizon in the
zenith of Lanka, the country of demons, whilst a man in Lanka at the
same time observes it above his head. Besides all astronomical
observations are not correct unless we assume the globular shape of
heaven and earth. Therefore we must declare that heaven is a globe,
and the observation of these characteristics of the world would not be
correct unless in reality it were a globe. Now it is evident that all
other theories about the world are futile."
Last update : 31-01-2010 11:12
Earlier philosophers like Aryabhata, Vasishtha and Lata had also come
to the same conclusion and Alberuni goes on to quote Varahmira: "all
things which are perceived by the senses, are witness in favor of the
globular shape of the earth, and refute the possibility of its having
any other shape."
On the subject of the rotation of the earth Alberuni writes:
"As regards the resting of the earth, one of the elementary problems
of astronomy, which offers many and great difficulties, this, too, is
a dogma with the Hindu astronomers. Brahamgupta says in the
Brahamsiddhanta: 'some people maintain that the first motion (from
east to west) does not lie in the meridian, but belongs to the earth.
But Varahmira refutes them by saying: If that were the case, a bird
would not return to its nest as soon as it had flown away from it
towards the west.' And, in fact it is precisely as Varahmira says."
Alberuni agrees with Varahmira that earth does not rotate.
Alberuni goes on to quote Brahamgupta:
"The followers of Aryabhata maintain that the earth is moving and the
heaven resting. People have tried to refute them by saying that, if
such were the case, stones would and trees would fall from the earth.
Brahamgupta does not agree with them, and says that that would not
necessarily follow from their theory, apparently because he thought
that all heavy things are attracted towards the center of the earth.
He says: 'On the contrary, if that were the case, the earth would not
vie in keeping an even and uniform pace with the minutes of heaven,
the pranas of the times."
Alberuni does not agree with Brahamgupta and is unable to understand
the rotation of the earth and goes on to write:
"Supposing this to be true, and that the earth makes a complete
rotation eastward in so many breaths as heaven does according to his
(Brahamgupta's) view, we cannot see what should prevent the earth from
keeping an even and uniform pace with heaaven
Stubbornly he refuses to accept the theory of the rotation of the
earth and goes on to say:
"Besides, the rotation of the earth in no way impair the value of
astronomy, as all appearances of an astronomic character can quite as
well be explained according to this theory as to the other. There are,
however, other reasons which make it impossible."
Alberuni says he also has written a book on this subject in which ' we
have surpassed our predecessors' but does not tell what his theories
are?
On the question of gravity and other issues like top and bottom, high
and low, Alberuni quotes Brahamgupta and says:
"Scholars have declared that the globe of the earth is in the midst of
heaven, and that Mount Meru, the home of Devas, as well as Vadavamukha
below, is the home of their opponents; the Daitya and Dhanava belong
to it. But his below is according to them is only a relative one.
Disregarding this, we say that the earth on all its sides is the same;
all people on earth stand upright, and all heavy things fall down to
the earth by a law of nature, for it is the nature of the earth to
attract and to keep things, as it is the nature of water to flow, that
of fire to burn, and that of wind to set in motion... The earth is the
only low thing, and seeds always return to it, in whatever direction
you may throw them away, and never rise upwards from the earth."
Varahmira explains it further:
"Mountains, seas, rivers, trees, cities, men, and angels, all are
around the globe of the earth. And if Yamakoti and Rum are opposite to
each other, one could not say that the one is low in relation to the
other, since low does not exist.... Every one speaks of himself, 'I am
above and the others are below,' whilst all of them are around the
globe like the blossoms springing on the branches of a Kadamba-tree.
They encircle it on all the sides, but each individual blossom has the
same position as the other, neither one hanging downward nor then
other standing upright." He emphasized: "For the earth attracts that
which is upon her, for it is the below towards all directions, and
heaven is the above towards all directions."
Now these were the thoughts of Hindu philosophers as recorded by
Alberuni in the early part of the eleventh century and these had not
changed for centuries. Alberuni quotes heavily from Brahamgupta whose
Brahamsiddhanta was composed in AD 628. But it was Aryabhata, born in
AD 476, the first to hold that the earth was a sphere and rotated on
its axis and that the eclipses were not the work of Rahu but caused by
the shadow of the earth falling on the moon. His Aryabhatiya was
composed in AD 499.
It is clear from above that it was over a millennium before Galileo,
Copernicus and Newton that the Hindu philosophers had formulated the
theories about the globular shape and rotation of the earth and
gravity.
http://voi.org/20100131352/vinodkumar/column-vinodkumar/fromthepagesofhistory.html
My Name is Khan
By Vinod Kumar, on 15-03-2010 03:52
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's pronouncement not to let Shah Rukh
Khan's starrer My Name Is Khan be screened in Mumbai created much
sensation around the world and publicity for the film -- the publicity
that it could not have bought at any cost. Actually, Bal Thackeray's
action had nothing to do with the film itself - it was all about Shah
Rukh's saying that Pakistan is "great neighbor" whatever Shah Rukh's
definiotn of a "great neighbor" is. But anyway, film's name My Name is
Khan and its oft publicized credo "My name is Khan and I am not a
terrorist" in itself is quite provocative.
The film though made in India is set in the USA and deals in the
aftermath of September 11, 2001 attacks on the twin towers and the
pentagon. What was the purpose of making the film and declaring
basically that even though I am a Muslim but I am not terrorist? As
soon as the attacks happened American administration went out of its
way to insist and make a point that Islam has nothing to do with the
acts of terrorism and Muslims are patriotic citizens of the country.
So what was the point to go and tell the President of the United
States seven years after the act even though I am a Muslim, I am not a
terrorist - the President has been telling the world that from day
one. He need not be told what he has been proclaiming from day one.
If anyone that needed to be told the massage were the perpetrators of
the crime who carried out the act in the name of Islam.
Now then what was the film all about?
It seems the sole purpose the film was made was a propaganda for
Islam. But anything that is carried too far loses its appeal and that
is exactly what the film succeeded in achieving. Every film, every
story has to have some exaggeration to make a point - that is normal.
But when carried to beyond imagination and all limits, it turns
people off. The film may find appreciative audience in the Muslim
Middleast and other Islamic countries - and blind admirers of Shah
Rukh which are aplenty -- but it will turn off a neutral person. It
is difficult to imagine how Shah Rukh would have handled the character
of an autistic person had Dustin Hoffman not done the role in The Rain
Man - if the face of Shah Rukh is covered one would not know whether
it is him or Dustin. The story is weak.
Shah Rukh by doing the role has done a big disfavor to his image of
being a representative of the secular film industry of India. He is
now just an Islamic propagandist.
http://voi.org/20100315384/vinodkumar/column-vinodkumar/mynameiskhan.html
http://voi.org/vinodkumar/viewallarticles.html?list=1
Don't Block the 'Internet Hindus'
By Kanchan Gupta, on 15-03-2010 04:38
Hindus who are proud to assert their identity and fly the Tricolour
high have now found a new platform to have their say, the way they
want it, without fear of being shouted down. Tired of being derided by
pseudo-secularists in media who see nothing wrong with Muslim
communalism and Christian fundamentalism but are swift to pounce upon
Hindus for being ‘intolerant', their cultural ethos crudely denigrated
by the Left-liberal intelligentsia as antediluvian, Hindus have begun
to harness technology to strike back with deadly effect.
They are bright, they are well-educated, they are not burdened with
regional and caste biases, they are amazingly well-informed on
national issues and world affairs, they are rooted in Indian culture,
and they are politically alert. They hate being told they are wrong
when they know they are right. They have a mind of their own and
refuse to be led like sheep. Not surprisingly, they hold the Congress,
the Left and regional parties in contempt, as they do journalists who
cravenly ingratiate themselves with the establishment. For them, India
matters - and matters more than anything else. Meet the ‘Internet
Hindus'.
In recent days there has been a spate of articles disparaging the
‘Internet Hindus', variously describing them as "loonies", "fanatics",
"irrational", "Hindu Taliban" and, by an enraged news channel anchor,
"gutter snipes". Much of the criticism has come from left-of-centre
journalists who believe they have unfettered monopoly over media as
their inalienable birth right. Exalted members of Delhi's
commentariat, who are indistinguishable from the city's la-di-dah
socialites, tend to turn up their noses every time they hear the
phrase ‘Internet Hindus' as they would at the suggestion of travelling
by public transport. Others are given to contemptuously brushing aside
‘Internet Hindus' as being irrelevant and describing their views as
inconsequential. All this and more has neither dampened the spirit of
‘Internet Hindus' nor blunted their assertive attitude.
Here are some statistics, culled from an ongoing online survey, which
would help create a generic profile of ‘Internet Hindus'. The survey
is open to all Hindus who use the Internet; the response has been
overwhelming. Of those who have responded, 88.9 per cent have
identified themselves as ‘Internet Hindus', indicating they attach no
shame to the term though their critics would want them to feel
ashamed. Of the respondents, four per cent are aged 20 years and
below; 55 per cent are aged 30 and below; 31 per cent are 40 and
below; and, only 10 per cent are aged above 40. In brief, 90 per cent
of them are young Indians.
The educational profile of the respondents is awesome: 43 per cent are
graduates (most of them from top-notch engineering, science and
medical colleges); 46 per cent are post-graduates (a large number of
them have MBA degrees from the best B-schools); and, 11 per cent have
PhDs. It is understandable that none of them is unemployed. Those
without jobs are still studying (17.3 per cent) and can be found in
labs and classrooms of the best universities here and abroad. Of the
82.7 per cent who are employed, 3.1 per cent earn up to Rs 2 lakh a
year; 18.4 per cent earn up to Rs 6 lakh a year; 34.7 per cent earn up
to Rs 12 lakh a year; and, 26.5 per cent earn more than Rs 24 lakh a
year. Nearly 60 per cent of them frequently travel abroad on work and
holiday. Some 11 per cent have travelled abroad at least once.
Contrary to the impression that is being sought to be created by their
critics, ‘Internet Hindus' are open to ideas, believe in a plural, law-
abiding society and swear by the Constitution. They are often appalled
by the shenanigans of our politicians, including those of the BJP, and
are ruthless in decrying politics of identity and cynical vote-bank
policies. They have no gender prejudices and most of them think
banning FTV is downright silly in this day and age. The ‘Internet
Hindus' will not countenance denigration of their faith or biased
media coverage of events, but 91.9 per cent of them respect and accept
other religions. Asked if India is meant only for Hindus, an
overwhelming majority of them, responding to the survey, said, ‘Hell,
no!'
So why do they infuriate pseudo-secularists in media and make Delhi's
commentariat see red? There are three possible explanations. First,
the Net is beyond the control of those who control newspapers and news
channels. While the print and audiovisual media have for long excluded
contrarian opinion and denied space to those who disagree with absurd
notions of ‘secularism' or question the quality of reportage, the Net
has provided space to the ‘other' voice. Real time blog posts now
record the ‘other side' of the day's story ("The Prince was shouted
down in Bihar, not feted by students!"), Twitter affords instant micro-
blogging even as prime time news is being telecast ("That's not true.
I live in Bareilly. This is not how the riots began!"), and YouTube
allows unedited amateur videos of events (the Meraj riots, the
Islamist violence in Kashmir Valley) to be uploaded, giving the lie to
edited and doctored versions shown by news channels.
Second, unlike carefully selected ‘Letters to the Editor' in
newspapers and ‘Feedback' posted on news channel websites, the
reactions of ‘Internet Hindus', often savage and unflattering, cannot
be thrown into the dustbin or deleted with a click of the mouse.
English language media journalists, long used to fawning praise from
readers and viewers, are horrified that someone can actually call them
‘dumb' in public space and there's nothing they can do about it.
Third, the established elite, most of them middle-aged, are beginning
to feel threatened. Here's a new breed of Indians who have used merit
and not ‘connections' to make a mark in professional excellence, young
men and women who are educated and articulate, and are willing to
challenge conventional wisdom as preached by media ‘stars' who have
rarely, if ever, been questioned. The elite who dominate newspapers
and news channels are seen by ‘Internet Hindus' as part of India's
past, not future. As one ‘Internet Hindu' writes in his blog, "A large
number of ex-elite can't stomach fact that children of bankruptcy are
better travelled, better read and dominate the Internet!" Harsh, but
true.
We can describe the ‘Internet Hindus' as the "lunatic fringe", but
that won't change the fact that their tribe is growing by the day.
Soon, those on the fringe will move to the centre and their critics
will find themselves precariously perched on the fringe. The Right is
gaining ground as is the access and reach of the Net; newspapers and
news channels, the Left's last refuge, no longer command absolute
control over information flow. It would be unwise to ‘block' the voice
of ‘Internet Hindus', as then their clamour to be heard will further
increase and there is nothing we can do to silence them. The times
they are a-changin'.
Courtesy: http://www.dailypioneer.com/241956/Don't-block-the-‘Internet-Hindus'.html
http://voi.org/14mar2010/sourced/thepioneer/dontblocktheinternethindus.html
Editorial: The Guilty Men of Our Democracy
By The Editorial Team, on 15-03-2010 03:46
Gujarat and Anti-Sikh Riots
The law of the land should prevail. The highest and the mightiest
should respect the word and spirit of law. Otherwise the very
existence of democracy in the country would be threatened. It would be
a law of the jungle.
Yet, equally important is that the provisions of the Constitution that
provide for equality before law for however high or law, an individual
may be, irrespective of caste, creed and sex. But it is here that our
democracy is deficient.
The SIT constituted by the Supreme Court to investigate some cases of
Gujarat riots has summoned Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
The law should take its own course. Shri Modi is expected to extend
full cooperation and respect the law of the land.
But what raises eyebrows and pains the observers is the duplicity and
double standards being practiced by the judiciary, the media, the
intelligentsia and the so-called tribe of liberals and secularists.
The Gujarat riots and the 1984 anti-Sikhs riots have many similarities
and, in a sense, the latter riots were more heinous and cruel in the
sense that these were directed only against Sikhs and only in the
States ruled by the Congress. Shri Modi never justified the riots but
the then Congress President and Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi did,
saying on record having stated that "when a big tree falls, the earth
below is sure to shake". Yet, Shri Gandhi has been spared for the anti-
Sikh riots the epithets that are used for Shri Narinder Modi for
Gujarat riots.
More people died in anti-Sikh riots than in Gujarat riots. Delhi then,
and even now, for law and order is directly under the administrative
control. It is here that more than 3300 Sikhs died. The total number
of Sikhs having been butchered in different parts of the country is
more than 4000 while it is about 2500 in Gujarat which includes Hindus
too. For full three days, as per reports of successive Commissions of
Inquiry, the anti-Sikh rioters ruled Delhi and no FIRs were
registered. No military was summoned to quell the riots. The police
remained a silent spectator. Yet, the Congress which ruled at the
Centre and the States continued to remain the holy icon of piety,
secularism and rule of law. Even after 25 years the anti-Sikh riots
sufferers continue to suffer the agony of their loss with little hope
for justice.
Surprisingly, even the courts were not that condescending for Sikh
suffers as these have been for Gujarat riot victims. No Special
Investigating Teams were constituted by the courts which also did no
monitoring of the progress of investigations. Another stark reality is
that while Modi regime registered cases against rioters, prosecuted
them and many have been taken to their logical conclusions with many
convictions, the same is not true of anti-Sikh riots. Many MLAs, ex-
MLAs and other prominent workers of the ruling party in Gujarat are in
jails facing trial. The same cannot be said about anti-Sikh riots.
The human rights organizations which beat their chests for Gujarat
riot victims are, unfortunately and shamelessly, heartless for anti-
Sikh riot victims. They seem to have turned deaf, dumb and blind to
the realities of anti-Sikh riots.
The present Congress-led UPA government, too, for understandable
political reasons, has treated the Gujarat riot victims and anti-Sikh
riots differently. It has been more kind to the former than the
latter.
Why is that the whole system - whether the executive, the judiciary,
the media, intelligentsia and human rights organizations - are
treating the same ugly incidents differently? They are doing a great
disservice to the present system of government and the institutions of
the Constitution. Nobody can be more guilty or more innocent and
deserving more punishment than the other in the same circumstances in
this country.
Let it be a warning to all who matter. By their words and actions and
by indulging in discrimination and favourtism against one section or
the other, they are only venturing to defeat the very purpose and
spirit of democracy. It is they who will tomorrow be counted the
guilty men of our democracy.
http://voi.org/20100315383/14mar2010/editorial/editorial/editorial:theguiltymenofourdemocracy.html
Sita as an Empowered Indian Woman
Book- Review
The other day Rahul Mahajan got married on a reality TV show. His
marriage was of course for real, and one wishes him well in life. Some
one remarked that the show was a tribute to the new Indian woman who
had taken the unconventional path to choosing a life partner. He said
that it was the coming of age of the Indian Woman.
As I watched the final scenes of the show, I was reminded of a comment
a young woman had made some months ago in connection with the
Ramayana. "I do not wish to be a Sita -- meek and submissive. I am the
new Indian woman!"
Three 'new Indian women' stood decked in bridal finery, fluttering
nervously and waiting to be chosen in the final episode. The 'new
Indian women' felt nothing wrong in being commoditised and rejected in
front of a live audience of lakhs across the country. As for the
mythological Sita to whom our young friend had disparagingly referred,
remember that she had chosen her groom on her terms. If this is not
women empowerment, what is!
The following review done by me of a book on Sita adds to what I have
said:
In Search of Sita: Revisiting Mythology
Edited by Malashri Lal & Namita Gokhale
Yatra Books/Penguin Books
Rs 399/-
Perhaps the most enigmatic of all Indian mythological figures is Sita.
She has been in the country's subconsciousness for centuries largely
as the ideal Indian Woman. There has been a tendency by modern
commentators and feminists to run her down for being ‘passive' and
‘submissive' and failing to claim her rights at various stages of her
life, even when she was publicly humiliated for no fault of hers. That
being the case, it would come as no surprise if the ‘modern Indian
woman' is less than enthusiastic in holding her as her ‘hero.'
Given this context, one must welcome with open arms the excellent
collection of essays on Sita edited by Malashri Lal and Namita Gokhale
that seeks to firmly establish her image as a strong-willed woman who
charted her own course in a largely male-dominated society. The irony
is that she had to go through a series of trials and tribulations as a
result of machination by two women, Kaikeyi and Manthara. In Search of
Sita: Revisiting Mythology is a marvellous book that not only has
commentaries written by well-known authors but also contains various
versions of the epic Ramayan, depicting Sita's role. The anthology
also provides a range of "creative interpretations" of the ‘dutiful
and meek' wife of Rama.
What makes the book even more special is the ideological space it
provides to writers with different bends of mind. So, if there is
Meghnad Desai and Indira Goswami, there is also Tarun Vijay and Karen
Gabriel - the latter weaving for the reader an interesting Sita-
Draupadi syntax in a gender context.
It should be clear to the reader, if he or she were under some
illusion, that the character of Sita in the epic was never meant to be
submissive in the face of injustice - to her personally and to the
female gender. One must realise that she could not have become the
icon she is by being a frail figure, forever manipulated and bent by a
patriarchal system. And, as events were to prove, her devotion to her
husband and willingness to be his partner through thick and thin could
not be interpreted as a sign of subordination. Let us look at some of
the instances where her dominance is undisputed.
At her father's home before marriage, Sita would routinely lift
Shiva's bow with her left hand while mopping the floor. It is the same
heavy bow that several strong princes failed to move even an inch from
the ground at her svayamvara. Only Ram succeeded and married her.
Thus, Sita actually set the ground rule for choosing her groom. Is
this a sign of a weak woman?
When Rama was exiled for 14 years, Sita insisted on accompanying him.
Her husband told her categorically that she should not do so as the
exile order was only for him, but she overruled him in the presence of
a number of people. Does this indicate her ‘meekness'?
Abducted by Ravana and surrounded by adversaries, she successfully
fobbed off his advances and threats made directly and through others.
The Lankan king failed to persuade her despite using all means at his
disposal. Does this not show her determination and resolve in the face
of a grim situation?
Banished from the kingdom by Ram, a then pregnant Sita later brought
up her two children as a single mother, imbibing in them the qualities
of valour and fair play. And when they in their boyhood captured her
brother-in-law Laxman, she rushed to get him released, keeping aside
her grief at having been wronged by his family. Surely, this is a sign
of a strong and very mature woman.
Finally, it was her decision to leave the world as a rebuttal to a
demand to prove she had not been ‘defiled' while away from the
kingdom. Given her wrath over the humiliation and determination, it is
unlikely that Rama would have been able to persuade her to change her
mind even if he had tried. In the end, Sita set and lived by her own
terms. It is not easy to find a better example of determined
womanhood.
In Search of Sita is, thus, in many ways a tribute to an ancient icon
by modern India.
http://voi.org/20100315386/14mar2010/general/general/sitaasanempoweredindianwoman.html
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Thackeray says no concern for women's welfare in Bill
STAFF WRITER 19:54 HRS IST
Mumbai, Mar 15 (PTI) Days after supporting the Women's Reservation
Bill in the Rajya Sabha, the Shiv Sena now says the legislation is a
ploy to garner women's votes and does not have welfare of women at
heart.
"The bill has nothing to do with women's welfare. It is a ploy to get
women's votes," Sena chief Bal Thackeray said in a statement.
The 83-year-old leader's statement was circulated here as part of his
traditional message to supporters on the occasion of 'Gudhi Padwa'
tomorrow.
"Injustice against women continues. They are suffering due to rising
prices. Is it going to end because of the Bill," he asked.
"Sena has given a clarion call that along with the bill, women should
also get protection. But that is left aside and political colours are
being given," he said.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/566024_Thackeray-says-no-concern-for-women-s-welfare-in-Bill
MNS in film cash dock
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Mumbai, March 15: Mumbai police have arrested 11 Maharashtra Navnirman
Sena activists after film producer Ritesh Sidhwani complained that
they had tried to extort Rs 25 lakh from his film crew.
The producer’s complaint came a month after Shah Rukh Khan refused to
apologise to Shiv Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray whose party tried to
stall the release of My Name is Khan.
Sidhwani, the producer of Dil Chahta Hai, Lakshya, Luck by Chance and
Karthik Calling Karthik, and his film unit told Bandra police that the
11 MNS activists came to the set of the film Crooked at Mehboob Studio
on Sunday afternoon and demanded to know why foreign artistes were
being employed in the film and not local talent. Deputy commissioner
K.M. Prasanna said the film unit explained to them that the “foreign
artistes were required as the sequence recreated Istanbul, Turkey”.
But the activists would not budge.
Prasanna said the MNS workers then allegedly demanded Rs 25 lakh for
not using local artistes.
Ameya Khopkar, the MNS film wing chief denied the allegation of
extortion. “A blatantly false complaint of extortion has been filed
against our boys…. Our people had gone to the set after learning that
the film was using 136 foreign nationals from Afghanistan, Iran and
Russia though they did not possess valid work permits,” he said.
The arrests happened after Sidhwani approached Mukesh Bhatt, the vice-
president of the film producers’ association, and he called up
Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100316/jsp/nation/story_12221472.jsp
BJP-Left House unity rolls on
RADHIKA RAMASESHAN
New Delhi, March 15: The nuclear liability bill today gave the Left
and the BJP another chance to display their vaunted “unity”, kicked
off by the price rise and helped on by the women’s reservation bill.
The two main Opposition groups, which together outnumbered the
depleted Treasury benches in the Lok Sabha today, had braced
themselves to block the bill’s introduction.
Each had opposed the nuclear deal with the US, and the BJP had the
added motive of partially answering its in-house sceptics who felt it
had “put itself out” to bail the government out over the women’s bill.
Estranged UPA allies Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad too joined
forces with the BJP-Left today.
A deflated government, realising what it was up against, deferred the
bill’s introduction. Denied the opportunity for a showdown, the
Opposition still flaunted the new-found unity between the strangest of
bedfellows.
“The unity is actually a direct outcome of the nuclear deal that was
opposed by the BJP and the Left. The Samajwadi began by opposing it
but later changed its stand,” said CPM general secretary Prakash
Karat. He said the Left would appeal to all MPs on Tuesday to not
support it.
The poor attendance on the Treasury benches looked out of sync with
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s exertions since yesterday to try and
bring the Opposition around on the nuclear bill.
On Sunday, Singh had phoned Sushma Swaraj, leader of the Lok Sabha
Opposition, and Sitaram Yechury, the CPM’s leader in the Rajya Sabha,
to urge them to reconsider their resistance.
Recounting the conversation, Sushma told journalists: “I said we
cannot support. He said we will have problems with other countries to
which I replied, ‘But we have problems within our own country’. The PM
asked if he should ask the national security adviser to speak to me. I
said there is no point because the NSA already spoke to Arun Jaitley
(leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha) a month ago. But our
stand remained unchanged. I was polite but firm.”
Sushma then got in touch with the CPM and CPI floor leaders, and
Yashwant Sinha was told to speak to Mulayam and Lalu Prasad to firm up
the Opposition strategy.
Last week, Mulayam and Lalu Prasad had slammed the Left and the BJP
for being “in cahoots with the Congress” over the women’s bill. Today,
by participating in the Opposition unity, they gave the government a
foretaste of the problems it might now face in Parliament.
Government sources admitted that the stand-off was a “grim reminder”
of how precariously the ruling alliance was placed in the Lower House
minus the Yadavs.
“The only short-run tactic we can follow is to avoid business that
requires voting,” a minister said. The long-term strategy, he said,
was to scout for parties that could be counted on in a crisis “even if
this entails backroom deals”.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100316/jsp/nation/story_12221471.jsp
Maya Brahmin aide missing
TAPAS CHAKRABORTY
Lucknow, March 15: Mayavati today tried to reclaim her Dalit agenda on
the Bahujan Samaj Party’s 25th anniversary by clipping the wings of
Satish Chandra Mishra, the party’s “Brahmin face” whose clout had
dismayed many of her Dalit supporters.
Mishra, architect of the Brahmin-Dalit axis that lifted Mayavati to
power in the 2007 UP polls, has been taken off the BSP’s Brahmin
Bhaichara (Brotherhood) Committee and appointed chairman of the party
legal cell.
The chief minister herself made the announcement at the party’s mega
rally here to celebrate its silver jubilee. “There is no strict
boundary of work but Mishra’s priority would henceforth be legal
work,” she said.
More eloquent than her 95-minute speech was the unusual absence of
Mishra from the dais. The lawyer who had been Mayavati’s shadow for
the past half a decade stood among party workers far from the dais,
from where Mayavati reaffirmed her commitment to the Dalit cause.
“I don’t believe the party’s core agenda is being diluted. I vow not
to ever allow the Dalit movement to weaken or the head of a Dalit to
bow in shame,” she said.
Party sources said Mayavati had been jittery over accusations that her
party, born as a movement for social transformation, had become “an
opportunistic political party” interested only in capturing power.
On the face of it, Mishra’s new post may appear logical since Mayavati
is grappling with at least half-a-dozen cases against her party and
government. But Mishra had already been supervising the cases while
discharging his other duties.
Many Dalit leaders had looked on nervously as Mishra was included in
the state cabinet in 2007 and later sent to the Rajya Sabha, all the
while retaining his status as party No. 2. But a rift appeared between
him and Mayavati after the Brahmin vote deserted her in the 2009 Lok
Sabha polls.
Mayavati had mooted banishing Mishra to the legal cell at a party
meeting in July 2009, but backed off in the face of Brahmin murmurs.
Today, she made it official.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100316/jsp/nation/story_12221469.jsp
Monday, March 15, 2010
Seedhi Baat / Aajtak, March 14, 2010
'Bal Thackeray is a big leader'
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's estranged daughter-in-law Smita
Thackeray says politics and family are two separate things.
Part 2 Part 3 Part 4
Posted by Prabhu Chawla at 7:35 PM
http://prabhuchawla.blogspot.com/2010/03/seedhi-baat-aajtak-march-14-2010.html
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Video/0/42/video_page.jsp?vid=88274&part=1&secid=42
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Video/0/42/video_page.jsp?vid=88274&part=2&secid=42
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Video/0/42/video_page.jsp?vid=88274&part=3&secid=42
..ab.na.jaa..
Monday, March 15, 2010
Rajdeep Sardesai's letter to Uddhav Thackeray
Rajdeep Sardesai,a well known journalist,sent a letter to Uddhav
Thackeray,heir of the Shiv Sena, on the whole "Marathi manoos" issue.
Wiki : Rajdeep Sardesai
Wiki : Uddhav Thackeray
It makes for a very interesting read,seeing the reaction of a renowned
member of the Press addressing a political leader with much force.
Dear Udhavjee,
At the very outset, my compliments for the manner in which you've
literally 'stolen' the headlines from your cousin Raj in the last
fortnight. After the Assembly election defeat last October, there were
many who had written you off as a weak, namby-pamby politician, who
would be better off doing photography. But now, it seems that the
'fire' which burns inside Bal Thackeray is alive in the son too. After
years of struggling to establish yourself, you have finally discovered
the mantra for success as a Shiv Sena leader: find an 'enemy',
threaten and intimidate them, commit the odd violent act, and,
eureka!, you are anointed the true heir to the original 'T' company
supremo.
Your cousin has chosen to bash faceless taxi drivers and students from
North India, soft targets who are totally unprotected. You've been
much braver. You've actually chosen to target national icons: Sachin
Tendulkar, Mukesh Ambani, Shah Rukh Khan, powerful figures who most
Indians venerate. Shah Rukh is no surprise since the Sena has always
been uncomfortable with the Indian Muslim identity. Forty years ago,
your father had questioned Dilip Kumar's patriotism for accepting an
award from the Pakistani government. You've called Shah Rukh a traitor
for wishing to choose Pakistani cricketers in the IPL. That your
father invited Javed Miandad, the former Pakistani captain and a close
relation of Dawood Ibrahim, to your house is a matter of record that
we shall not go into today.
I am a little surprised that you chose to question Ambani and
Tendulkar though. The Sena has always enjoyed an excellent
relationship with corporate India. Why then criticise India's biggest
businessman for suggesting that Mumbai belongs to all? After all, no
one can deny that Mumbai's entrepreneurial energy has been driven by
communities from across India. The diatribe against Sachin is even
more strange. He is, alongwith Lata Mangeshkar, Maharashtra's most
admired and recognised face. Surely, you will agree that Sachin
symbolizes Maharashtrian pride in a manner that renaming shops and
streets in Marathi never can.
Of course, in-between some of your local thugs also attacked the IBN
Lokmat office. I must confess that initially the attack did leave me
outraged. Why would a political outfit that claims to protect
Maharashtrian culture attack a leading Marathi news channel? But on
reflection I realized that we hadn't been singled out: over the last
four decades, the Shiv Sena has targeted some of Maharashtra's finest
literary figures and journalistic institutions. That you continue to
live in a colony of artists while attacking artistic freedom remains
one of the many tragic ironies in the evolution of the Sena.
Just before the Assembly elections, you had told me in an interview
that you were determined to shake off the Shiv Sena's legacy of
violence. You spoke of the need for welfarist politics, of how you
were saddened that rural Maharashtra was being left behind. I was
impressed by the farmer rallies you had organized, by the fact that
you had documented farmer suicides in the state. I thought that Uddhav
Thackeray was serious about effecting a change in Maharashtra's
political landscape.
I was obviously mistaken. Farmer suicides still continue, the after-
effects of drought are still being faced in several districts, but the
focus is now squarely on finding high profile hate figures. You claim
to have a vision for Mumbai. Yet, on the day the Sena-controlled
city's municipal corporation's annual budget revealed an alarming
financial crisis, your party mouthpiece,Saamna, was running banner
headlines seeking an apology from Shah Rukh Khan. You asked your Shiv
Sainiks to agitate against Rahul Gandhi's visit to Mumbai, but why
have you not asked them to wage a war against the water cuts that have
made life so difficult for millions in the city?
At one level, I can understand the reasons for your frustration. The
Congress-NCP government in the state has been thoroughly incompetent:
the last decade has seen Maharashtra decline on most social and
economic parameters. Yet, the Shiv Sena has been unable to capture
power in the state. Your war with cousin Raj has proved to be self-
destructive. The Assembly election results showed that a united Sena
may have offered a real challenge to the ruling alliance. In fact, the
Sena and the MNS together garnered around 43 per cent of the popular
vote in Mumbai-Thane, almost seven per cent more than what was
obtained by the Congress-NCP combine. Yet, because your vote was
split, you won just nine of the 60 seats in the region, a result which
proved decisive in the overall state tally.
Your defeat seems to have convinced you that the only way forward is
to outdo your cousin in parochial politics. It's a strategy which has
undoubtedly made you a headline-grabber once again. Unfortunately,
television rating points don't get you votes or goodwill. There is
space in Maharashtra's politics for a regional force, but it needs to
be based on a constructive, inclusive identity.
Tragically, the Shiv Sena has never offered a serious social or
economic agenda for the future. Setting up the odd wada pav stall in
Mumbai is hardly a recipe for addressing the job crisis . Why hasn't
the Sena, for example, started training projects to make Maharashtrian
youth face upto the challenges of a competitive job market? Why
doesn't the Sena give regional culture a boost by supporting Marathi
theatre, literature or cinema? The wonderful Marathi film,
"Harishchandrachee Factory", nominated for the Oscars, has been co-
produced by Ronnie Screwvala, a Parsi, who like millions of other
'outsiders' has made Mumbai his home. Maybe, I ask for too much.
Tigers, used to bullying others for years, will never change their
stripes.
Post-script: Your charming son, Aditya, who is studying English
Literature in St Xaviers College, had sent me a collection of his
poems. I was most impressed with his writing skills. Let's hope the
next generation of the T company will finally realize that there is
more to life than rabble-rousing!
Jai Hind, Jai Maharashtra!
Posted by Malvika at 12:13 PM
http://ab-na-ja.blogspot.com/2010/03/rajdeep-sardesais-letter-to-uddhav.html
Mumbai made into dharamshala: Bal Thackeray
Mumbai, Mar 6 : Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray said Mumbai has been
made into a 'dharamshala' (free inn), thereby thrashing Maharashtra
Governor K Sankaranarayanan for saying 'anybody can live in Mumbai'.
"Saying that migrants will continue to come to Mumbai is akin to
betrayal of Maharashtra," Thackeray said in an editorial in party
mouthpiece Saamna on Saturday.
"Had Sankaranarayanan been the Governor of Karnataka, would he have
dared to say let hordes of migrants come to Bangalore?" the Sena chief
said.
"The governors who live in the sprawling Raj Bhutan by the Arabian Sea
are nothing but Congress pensioners. Raj Bhutan has lost touch with
people's sentiments, that's why you say such things."
Balasaheb further recommended permit system to stop 'migrant influx'
in Mumbai.
"Mumbai has been made into a dharamshala. The only way to stop the
influx of migrants is to start a permit system to impose curbs on
those coming here," Thackeray said.
On Friday, Sankaranarayanan had said: "Anybody can live in Mumbai.
Only Mumbai can compete with itself. The rich, middle class and the
poor co-exist here."
--IBNS
http://www.newkerala.com/news/fullnews-65284.html
le photo of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray at his residence in
Mumbai. PTI Photo Photograph (1)
Bal Thackeray targets Maha Guv over 'Mumbai for all' remark
STAFF WRITER 10:49 HRS IST
Mumbai, Mar 6 (PTI) After batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar and
industrialist Mukesh Ambani, Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan
is the latest to face the Shiv Sena ire for saying that Mumbai belongs
to all.
"Saying that migrants will continue to come to Mumbai is akin to
betrayal of Maharashtra," Sena chief Bal Thackeray said in an
editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana' here today.
The Governor had said yesterday that "anybody can live in Mumbai. Only
Mumbai can compete with itself. The rich, middle class and the poor co-
exist here".
In an informal interaction with media persons, his first since taking
over the gubernatorial post, he said though civic and infrastructure
facilities needed to be upgraded in the megapolis, migration from
other parts of the country cannot be curbed.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/550675_Bal-Thackeray-targets-Maha-Guv-over--Mumbai-for-all--remark
chhotemianinshallah
STAFF WRITER 21:49 HRS IST
Satna (MP), Mar 15 (PTI) Criticising BJP national president Nitin
Gadkari's statement that Narendra Modi has qualities to become the
prime minister, senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh has said Modi is
neither fit for chief minister, nor suitable for prime minister's
post.
"Modi is not fit to be a chief minister, forget about being suitable
for prime minister's post," Singh said.
"BJP has always been making many tall claims and even their claim of
Modi being prime ministerial material will be exposed," he told
reporters here yesterday.
Ever since BJP had come to power in Madhya Pradesh, attacks on
minorities in the state have been on the rise, the Congress General
Secretary said.
The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said after inquiring into the
attacks on Christians by BJP leaders, he will file a complaint on it
with the National Minority Commission.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/566294_Modi-not-fit-to-be-CM--forget-about-PM--says-Digvijay
File photo of BJP President Nitin Gadkari addressing a press
conference in Jammu. PTI Photo Photograph (1)
BJP President Nitin Gadkari constitutes his team
STAFF WRITER 16:49 HRS IST
New Delhi, Mar 16 (PTI) Three months after he took over reigns of the
party, BJP President Nitin Gadkari today brought in a mix of youth,
experience and women in his team of office bearers inducting
heavyweights like Vasundhara Raje and Ravishankar Prasad and
hardliners like Varun Gandhi and Vinay Katiyar.
Gadkari, who was considered as an RSS choice when he replaced Rajnath
Singh, has also given positions to some leaders said to be close to
the sangh parivar founthead.
Among them are Bhagat Singh Koshiyari (Vice President), Murlidhar Rao
(Secretary) and Tarun Vijay, who was Editor of RSS mouthpiece
"Organiser", as spokesperson.
Prominent Muslim face and three-time MP Shahnawaz Hussain, who was
widely tipped to become a General Secretary, has been appointed as
Spokesperson while Najma Heptullah has been retained as Vice
President.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/567220_BJP-President-Nitin-Gadkari-constitutes-his-team
Maha issues Ordinance to enhance jail term for terrorists
STAFF WRITER 17:20 HRS IST
Nagpur, Mar 16 (PTI) The State Government has promulgated an Ordinance
to enhance the prison term of terrorists, Maharashtra Home Minister R
R Patil said today.
The State Government has proposed 20, 40 and 60 years of jail-term for
terrorists involved in terror activities and since it is an
administrative requirement, the government has come out with an
Ordinance, Patil told reporters here.
In an informal chat, he said the Ordinance was issued yesterday. The
maximum imprisonment is 14 years in any kind of crime and the accused
person comes out of jail after availing the benefits due to good
conduct and parole.
Technically speaking, the convict is out after serving prison for
11-12 years. The State government was of the opinion that these
terrorists should not be let free or released early after committing
crime against state.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/567288_Maha-issues-Ordinance-to-enhance-jail-term-for-terrorists
Kandhamal says no to Togadia visit
STAFF WRITER 17:41 HRS IST
Bhubaneswar, Mar 16 (PTI) Authorities in Kandhamal district, which has
been violence-free for about a year, today decided not to allow VHP
leader Pravin Togadia to visit it.
"We will not allow VHP leader Pravin Togadia to visit Kandhamal as the
administration does not want to take any risk though things are in
good shape," District Magistrate-cum-Collector Krishna Kumar told PTI
over phone.
"The situation is absolutely normal in the district now," he said.
The state unit of VHP had earlier informed the Home department
regarding Togadia's proposed three-day visit to Orissa.
Togadia is scheduled to begin his visit to the state on March 18 and
visit Kandhamal the next day and spend the night at Phulbani, the
district headquarters of Kandhamal, VHP state secretary Gouri Prasad
Rath said.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/567377_Kandhamal-says-no-to-Togadia-visit
Christ picture: absconding publisher's bail rejected
STAFF WRITER 17:43 HRS IST
Shillong, Mar 16 (PTI) The Gauhati High Court has rejected the bail
plea of a Delhi-based publisher charged with printing a blasphemous
image of Christ in a book meant for junior students.
"The state police challenged the bail order (of the publisher of
Skyline Publication, Indra Mohan Jha) leading to its quashing by the
Gauhati High Court yesterday," DSP Vivek Syiem said.
The absconding publisher was granted interim bail by the Shillong
bench of the high court on March five.
The police had registered a case against the publisher under Section
295 (A) of the IPC for hurting the sentiments of people by publishing
the image of Christ holding a can of beer and a cigarette.
Syiem said in case Jha did not surrender, the police would have to
communicate with other states to trace him.
Over 120 books, carrying the picture, have been seized by police from
a convent school and a distributor.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/567383_Christ-picture--absconding-publisher-s-bail-rejected
Raje says she will perform new role with dedication
STAFF WRITER 17:44 HRS IST
Jaipur, Mar 16 (PTI) Newly-appointed BJP General Secretary Vasundhara
Raje today said she is a committed party worker and will fulfil the
new responsibility with utmost dedication.
"I am disciplined soldier of the party and have always peformed the
task assigned to me by the party sincerely and honestly.
"I will fulfil the new responsibility assigned to me by the party with
dedication," Raje said in a statement here.
Three months after he took over reins of the party, BJP President
Nitin Gadkari today appointed Raje as one of party's General
Secretaries.
Raje, a former Rajasthan Chief Minister, was unseated as Leader of the
Opposition in the state after the party's Lok Sabha debacle.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/567389_Raje-says-she-will-perform-new-role-with-dedication
March 21, 2010
Rebirth of BJP: Focus on Change
"A man is not finished when he is defeated, he is defeated when he
quits. Much the same can be said of a party. It is not finished when
it is defeated; it is defeated when it stops to think.
-Nitin Gadkari
By MV Kamath
The BJP, right now, has one advantage: The UPA government is on its
last legs. It is bereft of new ideas. The high cost of living is
spreading disaffection among the people who are becoming increasingly
disillusioned with the government. This is the time to think big and
hit hard and the BJP seems to have found the right man to fulfil that
envious task. As Gadkari himself said: The country comes first, the
party second and the individual last. Now he has only to prove it
beyond any shadow of doubt. IF the media’s reportage of the
proceedings of the meeting of the BJP to anoint Nitin Gadkari as its
new - and youngest - president has any meaning, it is this: The
Congress had better beware. A sea-change has come over the party which
is as stunning as it was unexpected. It is evident in Gadkari’s hour-
long presidential address and in the entire environment in which the
meeting took place that Gadkari has opened the door to an entire new
world. It is a brave new world which should capture the imagination of
the young and the uninitiated. Here is a man brimming with ideas, has
the courage to break away from tradition in dress and deportment which
should endear him to aam adami. For a president to wear a bush shirt
and trousers, to shun feet touching, even if it is a mark of respect
towards elders, is a break-away from the past that may sound a little
offensive to traditionalists but is an indication that Gadkari is
looking ahead to the future with daring.
Understandably his speech- maiden-had to deal with party affairs, but
indicated a conciliatory approach as when he appealed to the Muslims
to be gracious enough to let a temple to Ram, built on the disputed
structure site. The request sounded genuine. It was anything but
provocative, and hopefully will be received with becoming attention.
The time has come for Hindu-Muslim reconciliation and Gadkari’s appeal
makes a lot of sense. In the next few weeks Gadkari has to think out-
of-the-box.
Four issues call for deep thought: How to raise agricultural
production and keep the peasant from migrating to urban centers; how
to provide jobs for the GenNext; how to reduce corruption which has
become endemic and how to work out a plan to benefit the tribals. And
above all, how to go beyond Hindutva to a way of life that is nation-
embracing and appealing to all people of whatever caste, creed,
religion or community. Gadkari it seems evident, is breaking away from
the old moorings, which is just as well. One appreciates the guts the
RSS has shown in naming Gadkari as its presidential choice. Here is a
man who can relate to the young. Fancy his breaking into singing from
the presidential platform! The sheer novelty of the man’s thinking
takes one’s breath away. This is not being critical of the old
culture. But all things must change. As Tennyson beautifully put it:
"The old order changeth, yielding place to new and God fulfils himself
in many ways, lest one good custom should corrupt the world."
With the kind of approach Gadkari has shown, he is capable of adapting
to a new and changing world. He should be able to touch the hearts of
people of all age groups, especially that group which will come of age
when the next general elections take place. Giving advice to a party
these days is an hazardous exercise, as Pramod Mahajan, were he alive,
would have readily agreed. Shining India as a slogan did not sell. Not
that there were no geniuses in the BJP to give advice to LK Advani;
fullest advantage was taken of talent and technology, as one can be
sure, Sudhindra Kulkarni will testify. The best of minds surely had
made their contributions but something had gone wrong. The BJP ‘lost’
the last general elections. But there is no reason for the BJP to be
defeatist. It is in power in nine states, it has, as Gadkari
meaningfully pointed out, over 1,000 MLAs and a little less then 200
MPs. One must build on that strength. To succeed, BJP must work as a
united party and not as a divided house as it has been for some months
now. Personal egos have done considerable damage to the party. Gadkari
has forewarned that this must change. Gadkari is not, as some
theorists have made out, walking in Rahul Gandhi’s footsteps. He has
cut out a path all on his own. The broad road-map he has unveiled
suggests that he has learnt from the events of the immediate past.
Names count, but only upto a point.
Winston Churchill, who had led his country so successfully during the
Second World War was unceremoniously side-lined in the elections that
followed victory. Labour came to power. Margaret Thatcher years later
came on the scene and re-made Britain. And that was the right thing to
do. In India, one after another of ideas once considered sacrosanct
had to be given the go-by, like Jawaharlal Nehru’s concept of a
socialistic pattern of society, non-alignment, garibi hatao that
Indira Gandhi wanted to capitalise on, nationalisation of industries,
etc. have all bit the dust. The BJP now has only to break new ground
if it wants to make headway. The buzz words in Gadkari’s inaugural
address were antyodaya (welfare of the poorest), samajik samarasta
(social equality) and vikas (development). Very evocative words but
the highest importance should be on "development" in very field,
whether agriculture, industry, enterprise, education and most
especially job-creation.
Let us face it: The young are least interested in ideologies; what
they are looking for are well-paid jobs and the party must see how
best this can be accomplished. In his addres Gadkari said that "a man
is not finished when he is defeated, he is defeated when he quits.
Much the same can be said of a party. It is not finished when it is
defeated; it is defeated when it stops to think."
Gadkari would do well to send a team of experts to China to find out
how our troublesome neighbour has excelled in so many fields,
especially in the field of agriculture where its production per acre
is several times higher than that of India. China, to be sure, is not
an ideal society; it is run by a heartless dictatorship that cares a
tuppence for Human Rights. But there surely are areas of
administration from which India can learn a lot.
The point is that the BJP must break away from its past and project
itself as a forward-looking party which means business, especially in
regard to antyodaya. Village self-sufficiency is a Gandhian concept to
which some fresh thought needs to be given. The stress should be on
productivity, marketing and sales, inter-connection of villages with
roads to promote peasant mobility, and spread of technical expertise.
The BJP, right now, has one advantage: The UPA government is on its
last legs. It is bereft of new ideas. The high cost of living is
spreading disaffection among the people who are becoming increasingly
disillusioned with the government. This is the time to think big and
hit hard and the BJP seems to have found the right man to fulfil that
envious task. As Gadkari himself said: The country comes first, the
party second and the individual last. Now he has only to prove it
beyond any shadow of doubt.
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=336&page=34
March 21, 2010
Editorial
Varsha Pratipada Special, 2010
It is free fall
The buck does not stop
By R Balashankar
FROM India shinning to India suffering is the most colourful
description of Manmohan Singh’s regime heard on the floor of
Parliament during the budget session. The insensitivity of the UPA to
people’s agony and its arrogance of power have crossed all limits.
India is a nation with a great sense of justice. In its history there
is no dearth of instances where the rulers set higher standards for
themselves than for the commoner. They willingly courted heavier
punishment for their omissions and commissions unlike those of today
who suggest people not to take sweets if sugar price has gone high.
Compassion and empathy were the two qualities Indian scriptures
expected in the rulers. So we have the instances of Shibi, Dasharata,
Harischandra, Yudhishtira, Sri Ram, Dathechi and the list can go on
and on. The sense of justice and fair play was the touchstone for a
successful reign. Chakravarti Shibi set one of the most touching
examples in this regard.
Once, the legend has it, the Emperor was relaxing on the terrace of
the palace when a wounded pigeon fell on his lap and asked for
protection from an eagle that was chasing it for prey. Shibi offered
the bird safety but the eagle won’t leave its prey. The eagle demanded
the Emperor to be fair and release its prey, as it was within its
dharma in hunting for food and the Emperor had no right to interfere.
The Emperor on his part argued that it was his duty to give asylum to
the bird as it was seeking his protection for life. The eagle reminded
the Emperor his other duty not to deprive another creature of its
livelihood and redeem that dharma. The incident is both interesting
and instructive, for it was not the might of the Emperor but his sense
of justice that the eagle was putting to test. The Emperor stood high
and passed the test. And he presented a great example in self-
sacrifice to set the lesson for generations to come. He asked the
eagle what price he would have to pay so that the life of the pigeon
was saved. The eagle demanded the flesh of the king in equal weight to
that of the pigeon he wanted to be saved. Shibi passed the test and
proved to the world, the ruler is respected or loved not for his
arbitrariness but for his compassion and conciliation. Modern-day
rulers will laugh at this legend. But one cannot overlook the
message.
Social tragedies have become passé in India today, and the rulers-
people in power and position-go about as if there is no value for a
commoner’s life. India perhaps is the only country in the world where
human life is treated so cheap. The UP Chief Minister made it a matter
of prestige in her stand-off with the centre not to pay compensation
to the 65 victims of a tragedy in Pratapgarh. Many such situations go
unreported. The highlight however is the apathy of the establishment-
be it godmen, civic authorities, corporate tycoons or the elected
governments-for the value of life of an ordinary Indian, especially
Hindu.
Children who go to play do not return home because they get drowned by
stagnant water in pits dug by the Delhi Jal Board authority. Men and
women who go for early morning walk are discovered bleeding and dead
on the roadside because the civic bodies have dug up the pavement and
left it in a state of veritable hell for months, if not years.
Imagine the humongous tragedy of the people who assembled at the
ashram of Kripalu Maharaj in Kundu, Pratapgarh, for collecting a
utensil, a piece of sweet and Rs 20-the total value of which would not
exceed Rs 50. This is the level of poverty in the country whose
economic growth under globalisation is a matter of mere GDP and
statistics. Human beings have become numbers. Sixty-five people dead,
families devastated, children orphaned and mothers deprived of their
children. Even in the impoverished Sudan such incidents don’t happen
at this frequency. For, only a few years ago, over a 100 women died in
Uttar Pradesh capital in the stampede. They had come to receive free
saris being distributed by a politician. And we can safely bet that
nobody would be held responsible and punished for the loss of precious
human lives just as it happened in the sari tragedy or the temple
stampedes that keep repeating all over the country quite frequently.
Rural unemployment is so high that at every recruitment venue for army
and police personnel, the rush of job seekers leads to lathicharge,
firing, stampede and death.
Routinely, stampede occurs in places of worship. These are all
incidents in which people authorised to make arrangements, are to be
held culpable for the crime. One is not talking of the road accidents
and terror attacks. That statistics is now becoming listless.
One teenager was killed in Srinagar, allegedly unprovoked, by a BSF
constable. The police records, according to reports, said the boy was
a criminal. That official was however hounded by the state, his own
seniors and with discernible glee the newspapers reported that he has
been suspended. Only the jawans and security forces have no human
rights. They are treated as cannon fodder in their combat with
terrorists, Maoists and North-east outlaws. We take the loss of a
security personnel’s life so lightly, so routinely as if the state has
become morose. Is justice the privilege of only the terrorists and
their cohorts? A few weeks ago, terrorists and their supporters in J&K
disguised as lawyers fabricated a case of rape and murder of two
women. They created a huge ruckus. The media and the politicians there
held the state and defence forces to ransom. In the end it was proved
that the women were not raped, and they had committed suicide. Have
these lawyers been punished?
Even smaller nations like Philippines and Bangladesh have a better
track record of dispensing justice. The Marcos and Ershads got
punished there for their greed and crimes. In modern India, not one
politician has ever been punished. Nobody knows where the buck stops.
We don’t even know who should own up responsibility for the kind of
tragedies that have been discussed. There was a time, an air accident
or a train collision used to result in the resignation of the minister
in charge. Now the accidents have become commonplace and there is no
accountability.
So where does that leave the ordinary Indian? Those who have been
elected by them are not speaking up for them. The creation of an
informed public opinion, non-political social action for justice seems
the only way out. Varsha Pratipada marks a new cycle, an occasion that
prompts us to pause, think and move on. It is for each of us to do our
bit to make our society more sensitive, more assertive and restore the
value of each and every life sharing this planet.
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=336&page=2
February 21, 2010
Divisive politics get a deadly blow
Seven-member AP High Court bench strikes down Muslim quota as
unconstitutional, based on dubious data, and potentially encouraging
conversion
By R Mallikarjunarao
In the year 2004 Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy, provided reservations to
Muslims in education and public employment to the extent of five per
cent. A five-judge bench said that this is illegal. After this the
farce of inquiry by Commission for Backwards Classes was enacted and
reservation was given to Muslims and Act was promulgated in 2005.
Another five-judge bench declared this 2005 Act is illegal.
Thereafter, the YS government issued another Act in 2007. A seven-
judge bench on February 8 declared this action illegal.
THE mask has been ripped apart by a seven-judge bench of the High
Court of Andhra Pradesh. The real face of slogan "reservation for
Muslims" was exposed. While dealing with the constitutional validity
of AP Reservation in favour of Socially Educationally Backward Classes
of Muslims Act, 2007, a seven-judge bench of the AP High Court
declared: "This 2007 Act is religion specific and potentially
encourages religious conversions and is thus unsustainable." This is
the third time the Congress government of AP has faced adverse
judgment on the issue of providing reservations to Muslims.
In the year 2004 Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy provided reservations to
Muslims in education and public employment to the extent of five per
cent. A five-judge bench said that this is illegal. After this the
farce of inquiry by Commission for Backwards Classes was enacted and
reservation was given to Muslims and Act was promulgated in 2005.
Another five-judge bench declared this 2005 Act is illegal.
Thereafter, the YS government issued another Act in 2007. A seven-
judge bench on February 8 declared this action illegal.
The bench comprised of Chief Justice Anil Ramesh Dave Justice T Meena
Kumari, Justice B Prakasha Rao, Justice DSR Varma, Justice A Gopala
Reddy, Justice V Eswariah and Justice Goda Raghuram. The 137-page
judgment was given by the Chief Justice AR Dave on behalf of himself,
Justice A Gopala Reddy, Justice V Eswariah and Justice Goda Raghuram.
They declared the AP Reservation in favour of Socially Educationally
Backward Classes of Muslims Act, 2007 unsustainable. Justice T Meena
Kumari gave a separate judgment running into 77 pages allowing the
writ petitions but gave a different reasoning. Justice B Prakasha Rao
said that the seven-judge bench was to answer the reference regarding
the method to be adopted. He differed with the findings of the five
judges and did not set aside the state action. Justice DSR Varma
declared that he is differing with Chief Justice and Justice T Mena
Kumari and said that he will give his reasons later.
It may be recalled that the government issued Ordinance 5 of 2007
providing 4 per cent reservations to several selected groups of
Muslims in the fields of education and public employment. This was
preceded by inquiry by AP Commission for Backwards Classes. The
government had appointed Krishnan, a retired civil servant, the
advisor who submitted a report, which was sent to the BC Commission.
This Ordinance was challenged by Shravanti and several other students.
Some persons claimed that this will hurt the backward classes and
filed public interest petitions. During the course of hearing the AP
Legislative Assembly passed the bill and Act 26 of 2007 came into
force. Petitions were amended to bring this act under challenge.
The majority judgment pronounced by the Chief Justice said that the
action of the state government is solely based upon the report,
findings and recommendations of the commission and the procedural
error committed by the commission is fatal to its report and its
consequent recommendations. The court said that it is deplorable that
the commission was not even aware of total population of persons
belonging to groups of Muslims who have been selected to be put into E
category among the BC groups. The sample survey was found faulty and
the quick survey in the name and style of fast track method was termed
as "hit and run method". This was declared neither legal nor
sustainable. The sampling was "opportunity sampling and non-
probability sampling". The court said that the BC Commission failed to
formulate criteria for identifying the BC among the Muslims but simply
conducted a household survey in places close to its hand. It was
declared that the commission did not conduct survey objectively to
justify its recommendations.
Justice T Meena Kumari in a separate judgment dealt at length with the
report of commission and effect of its copying the report of Krishnan.
She said: "The report of the commission should be held to be
mechanical, perfunctory in nature and without application of mind as
the commission followed the report of PS Krishnan in verbatim."
Justice Meena Kumari said that the report of the commission is not
based on real facts, data mechanical perfunctory in nature and without
application of mind as the commission followed the report of PS
Krishna in verbatim’. Justice MeenaKumari said that the report of the
commission is not based upon real facts, data or analysis and is
without any proper survey. She reminded that the commission limited
its survey to six districts only for three days leaving the other
parts of the state. With the report of the commission found as
insufficient lacking any objectivity the Act 26 of 2007 which is based
upon the report was declared to be invalid and unconstitutional.
The UPA government was planning to provide for reservations to Muslims
based on the Ranganath Commission report. The seven judges of the AP
High Court have hampered this conspiracy.
‘‘The fast track approach adopted by the commission was nothing but a
non-scientific method,’’ Justice Dave said. It was neither ‘‘legal nor
sustainable’’, he declared. The action of the panel was also
criticised for its reliance on recommendations made by PS Krishnan.
The appointment of Krishnan is "protanto invalid", the bench said and
faulted the panel for relying on his findings.
Echoing the majority view in a separate judgment, Justice Meena Kumari
said the investigation by the panel was not based on real facts, data
or analysis and was without proper survey.
Justice Prakash Rao aired the minority view holding that the bench was
not called upon to adjudicate the list but was only required to answer
a legal reference. He said that the government had some data before it
on which it acted and thus could not be faulted. Justice DSR Varma
said he did not agree with the majority view and would give his
reasons shortly. The Advocate General sought suspension of the order
which was rejected by the bench.
The Andhra government has long struggled to provide quotas for
Muslims, who were first given reservation in July 2004, a month after
YS Rajasekhara Reddy came to power.
The bench further described findings of the AP Backward Classes
Commission - on which the quota law had been based - as
"unscientific". Within hours of the verdict, Chief Minister K Rosaiah
said his government would move to the Supreme Court and vowed to
restore the AP Reservation in favour of Socially and Educationally
Backward Classes of Muslims Act, 2007.
In a 5-2 majority ruling, the court found that the commission neither
evolved any criteria nor published these before inviting objections.
It had merely stated it had followed the two criteria evolved by the
Mandal Commission for identification of Socially Economic Backward
Classes (SEBCs) among non-Hindu community.
Chief Justice Dave, speaking for himself and Justices A Gopala Reddy,
V Eswaraiah and G Raghuram, faulted the enactment and said it was
religion-specific and potentially encouraged conversions and was thus
unsustainable.
The bench found fault with the commission for its excessive reliance
on data collated by the Anthropological Survey of India. That data,
the court ruled, was meant for determining the profile of the Indian
population and not for deciding on affirmative action for Muslims.
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February 21, 2010
Muslim Job Reservations Plan A Marxist Election Gimmick
By Ranjit Roy
The interesting highlights of the Marxist Chief Minister’s
announcement on Muslim job reservations are: The OBC reservation list
in West Bengal currently includes both Hindus and Muslims. Muslims are
now to be put under a separate list called Backward Muslim Community.
The new inclusion will take OBC reservations in West Bengal from 7 per
cent to 17 per cent.
KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s
announcement in Kolkata on February 8 that Muslim OBCs in the state
would now get 10 per cent job quota as recommended by the Ranganath
Misra Commission is, no doubt, an election gimmick to fool Muslim
voters. This is evident from the fact that the Chief Minister
announced his government’s policy decision on job reservations within
minutes of the Left Front partners’ meeting ended at the CPM
headquarters at Alimuddin Street in central Kolkata. It is a clear
attempt to win back the support of Muslims before the Congress decides
its stand on the controversial Ranganath Misra report placed before
the UPA government. With a dwindling Muslim support base to the Left
that led to serious election reverses in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the
CPM and its Chief Minister could not afford to wait for the Centre’s
decision. There are elections to 86 civic bodies slated for this year
before the final electoral battle for 294 Assembly seats in the state
early next year.
The interesting highlights of the Marxist Chief Minister’s
announcement on Muslim job reservations are: The OBC reservation list
in West Bengal currently includes both Hindus and Muslims. Muslims are
now to be put under a separate list called Backward Muslim Community.
The new inclusion will take OBC reservations in West Bengal from 7 per
cent to 17 per cent. Moreover, there is a paradox in Chief Minister’s
claim that the proposed reservation is not on the basis of religion
but on the basis of poor economic conditions. At the same time he has
announced that Muslim youths under the OBC category can apply for job
quota if their family income is below Rs 37,500 per month. Is it not a
contradictory statement of Marxist Bhattacharjee that a Muslim family
earning Rs 37,500 per month, not annually, is economically weak and
needs job reservation? Yes, even if one takes present economic
conditions of people in India irrespective of their religions and
faiths, it cannot be said that earning of Rs 37,500 per month is a
small amount and needed government protection. No doubt, job
reservation was announced by Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee with an eye on
Muslim vote bank.
Dr Pravin Togadia, VHP secretary general, has rightly said that
Andhra’s 4 per cent quota and West Bengal giving 10 per cent
reservations to Muslims are not isolated incidents. They are well
connected and are a part of a larger conspiracy against Hindus. This
criminal conspiracy of looting Hindus is being hatched to please
Muslim vote bank. At this moment, 78 per cent Hindu youths in India
are unemployed. At least 79 per cent Hindu farmers have lost their
land and crop. Yet, instead of helping them, Congress and Marxist
governments are showering favours on Muslims. There is no denying the
fact that such job reservations only encourage conversions to Islam.
In fact, while turning down a similar move by Andhra Chief Minister, K
Rosaiah, a seven-judge bench of the state high court observed that the
government’s offer of 4 per cent reservations to Muslims is
"unscientific, religion specific and potentially encourage
conversions". This is not the first time that Andhra government tried
to provide education and job reservations to please Muslims in the
state. The late Chief Minister, YS Rajasekhara, had offered 5 per cent
reservations to Muslims in July 2004. But Andhra high court had struck
down the move at the time.
Taking a cue from Andhra high court’s ruling, Buddhadeb
Bhattacharjee’s decision will be challenged in Kolkata high court by a
group of nationalist lawyers. The state BJP president, Rahul Sinha,
has announced that the party supporters will stage state-wide
agitations against the proposed reservations for Muslims from February
13 onwards. Sinha told newsmen in Kolkata that the party’s national
president, Nitin Gadkari will be visiting West Bengal during the first
week of March to spearhead the agitation. Strangely, within 24 hours
of the Chief Minister’s announcement, the state food and supplies
department has selected 63 Muslim candidates out of a total 317 (17.5
per cent) for government jobs.
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February 21, 2010
Thinking Aloud
India is too big for the Marxists!
Jyoti Basu knew his politics, but not his economics. He made sure of
his vote bank through his million-acre land distribution programme but
when the programme came to a halt, he had nothing else in hand. He
believed that the programme would put so much cash into the hands of
farmers that it would spawn an industrialisation drive and create huge
employment. Nothing of the sort happened.
COMRADE Jyoti Basu, who passed away at the ripe old age of 95 years
last month, would be wondering what he has done to receive such
adulation from foreign newspapers, who never took his communism
seriously, and did not take kindly to him while he was alive. They are
calling him charming and elegant, as if they were referring to a
Hollywood model, not a rough-and-tumble politician from Kolkata. For a
man who was, or seemed to be, a virulent Marxist all his working life,
this would have been the biggest shock of his colourful life.
I have a feeling that the foreign newspapers know something we don’t.
It is possible that they never took his communism seriously, and it is
quite on the cards that they believed he was not really a communist.
Basu’s grasp of Marxism-Leninism was shaky, to say the least. In fact,
he never spoke in those terms. He was also not much of a national
leader, and rarely moved out of Kolkata, except to attend politburo
meetings. He almost never addressed meetings of workers, or any
meetings, in big towns and cities like Mumbai or Delhi which have more
workers than Kolkata. And he avoided making statements on things that
didn’t concern him, like, for instance, the fall of the Berlin Wall on
which the whole world went ga-ga, or the collapse of the Soviet Union
that followed, which was close to his heart, but on which he made no
comment either.
Basu was very much a home-bred politician, which is surprising,
considering he had spent four years in London and once confessed that
he was still a Londoner at heart. Jyoti Basu, a Londoner? The mind
boggles. Religiously, he visited London every summer and spent a
holiday there, but never, as far as his friends can recall, in Kashmir
or Darjeeling. It was said that he had a house there, and maybe even a
hotel, which was being run by his businessman son. I once saw him
having fish and chips in Camden Town, near Hampstead, but he did not
say hello. He was in a nice dark suit, a little tight for him, but
maybe he had purchased it in late ’thirties when he had spent years in
London. It was quite a sight.
There are, it is said, two types of communists: Those who smile, and
those who don’t. It is a minor difference, but one that tells us a
great deal about them. I have always believed that a communist who
smiles is far more dangerous than one who doesn’t, like an unsmiling
cat waiting for its next mouse. It was said that Jyoti Basu never
smiled-it was his trademark. It was true enough. He did not smile even
when he became Chief Minister in 1977, after a long career in the
streets of Kolkata. He did not smile even in 1996 when there was talk
that he would become the next prime minister.
I met him twice, once when he was a trade union leader, and another
time when he had become Chief Minister of his state. Both times, he
kept a stiff upper lip, never showing a single tooth, as children do
when facing the dentist.
I first met him when he was president of the trade union in my
company, or rather the company I worked for in Kolkata about fifty
years ago. Most of the talking at the meeting was being done by
company trade union bosses but Basu had come in case they needed help.
Basu hardly said a word throughout the meeting, and when it was over,
he left, also without saying a word.
The second time I saw him was in 1977 when he had become Chief
Minister. He must have been past sixty then, but he did not look a day
older than forty. We first met in his office which was being
renovated. After saying a few words, he took us into a small back
office, which he used for resting at lunch time. There was a small
bed, a couple of chairs and a small table on which was a tumbler of
water and a glass-just one glass.
Basu sat on the bed, and offered us the chairs. He spoke mostly in
monosyllables. Was he pleased that he had become Chief Minister? No
comment, just a shrug of the shoulders. What would he do now? We shall
see. There is so much poverty in West Bengal and industry is fleeing.
How do you propose tackling the situation? I am thinking about it. And
so on. Either he didn’t want to tell us anything, or he really had not
made up his mind. It was a wasted meeting.
Jyoti Basu knew his politics, but not his economics. He made sure of
his vote bank through his million-acre land distribution programme but
when the programme came to a halt, he had nothing else in hand. He
believed that the programme would put so much cash into the hands of
farmers that it would spawn an industrialisation drive and create huge
employment. Nothing of the sort happened. Money is not the only thing
you need for industry and business. You need businessmen behind money.
Basu & Co had frightened off businessmen by spewing poison against
them for years, and the Tatas and the Birlas and the Goenkas had fled
the state. Now that the communists were in charge, they refused to
come back.
It is not clear whether Basu knew all this, but, in the process, he
reduced the one-time leading industrial state in India to economic
backwater. Jyoti Basu will go down in history as the great destroyer
of Bengal, for the farmers who now own the land refuse to sell it to
businessmen, even to Tatas, who were forced to take their Nano
elsewhere, after spending crores on it.
Why are foreigners so pleased with Basu then showering him with
superlatives, now that he is no more? My hunch is that they are happy
that Jyoti Basu has damaged West Bengal beyond redemption, for the
state is where the British occupation of India began and also where
British business entrenched itself. The communists, led by Basu & Co,
were responsible for throwing out the businessmen and now the state
stands denuded of all industry and business. And the man who did it?
Their own Jyoti Basu, a man who studied in London, ate dinners in
Lincoln’s inn, as do all would-be barristers, and then came home and
finished his state. What more can the British ask for?
It is not the fault of Jyotibabu alone. The communists in Soviet Union
did the same and destroyed the country. Communists know their politics
backwards, but not their economics, though their guru, the great Marx,
makes great play with economic theories, and his great tome, Das
Kapital is essentially an economic treatise. But economics is
ultimately about people, for economic activity consists of buying and
selling, which involves buyers and sellers. But communists have never
understood people and have always taken them for granted. If people
become difficult, just go out and eliminate them, which is what Stalin
and Mao did. But Basu & Co could not do that in India. India is too
big for Marxists, for while Marx was born yesterday, India was born
five thousand years ago, and can have Marxists for breakfast.
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February 21, 2010
98th Hindu Maha Sammelan, Cherukolpuzha
Ranganath report anti-national-O Rajagopal
By S Chandrasekhar
SABARIMALA Ayyappa temple is on the banks of Pampa river. As the
season subsides, it is time for another massive gathering of Hindus,
at another bank of Pampa river, for the past 98 years. An estimated
five lakh Hindus from the Christian dominated belt of Kottayam, Idukki
and Pathanamthitta attended the Hindu Maha Sammelan at Ayroor-
Cherukolpuzha, that held for a week.
Started in 1913 by Swami Neelakanda Theertha Padhar, a disciple of
Vidyadhiraja Chattambi Swamiji, it has been going on un-intereptedly.
It was started to foster unity among the Hindus, check conversion and
educate Hindus about their religion, culture and traditions. It was
also a counter to the Maramom Convention of Christians going on for
103 years.
This year the Sammelan was inaugurated by H.H. Jagadguru Sri
Sivarathri Desikendra Swamiji of Suttur Mutt, Mysore on February. The
Swamiji is running lot of Hindu activities in Karnataka and is also
running 300 educational institutions including medical/ engineering
colleges. Around 7000 poor children are being educated by the Swamiji
in all institutions with free boarding and lodging.
Delivering his speech, the Swami said, Hinduism is in crisis for 1000
years due to Islamic and Christian invasions. "This is surviving due
to the wealth of puranas, upanishads, vedas and saints who appear
periodically whenever dharma is in danger. Great warriors like
Shivaji, Rana Pratap, Krishnadeva Ray have also protected Hindutva.
Just like our concept of Vasudhaiba Kutumbakam, Sanatana Dharma has no
religious and geographical borders. Its aim is total material well-
being and spiritual uplift of human race. Our worship of cow, nature,
trees, water sources have great relevance in the global warming
context". Swamiji concluded his speech by offering flowers at the feet
of Vidyadhiraja Swami and Sree Narayana Guru for preventing mass
exodus to Christianity and Islam. Had it not been for these saints,
Kerala would have been 100 per cent devoid of Hindus.
Shri O. Rajagopal, former Union Minister said that the ‘Temple Entry
Proclamation’ of 1936 was a land mark in the history of Kerala.
"The Vaikom Satyagraha, for movement of low caste Hindus, around
Vaikom Shiva temple was inspired by sages, saints and social reformers
like Sree Narayana Guru, Vidyadhiraja Swami, Vaikunta Swami, Ayyapu
Swami and NSS founder Mannath Padmanabhan. The satyagraha and march to
Travancore King’s palace at Thiruvananthapuram was a bond of Hindu
unity without bloodshed and caste hatred. Even brahmins like
Krishnaswamy Iyer and Congress leader Kamaraj joined the march.
Vivekananda called Kerala a ‘Mad House’ due to acute casteism
practised here. But very shortly Gandhi called Kerala’s visit a
Pilgrimage. This change was due to the Hindu unity efforts".
"In 1888, Sree Narayana Guru’s Pratishta of Siva in Aruvipuram led to
a chain of temple constructions and checked flow to Christianity and
Islam. Now Sadguru Mata Amritanandamayi has constructed twenty
‘Bhramasthan’ temples, where all gods are present. Out of the 49 world
civilisation only one is living and that is Sanatana Dharma".
Concluding his speech Shri Rajagopal called for dumping of the
Ranganath Mishra Commission Report. "The SC/ST all over India are in
great anger. By this report, the benefits enjoyed by them will have to
be shared with Christian and Muslim converts. He said it is not a
problem of SC/STs alone. The entire Hindu society has to protest
against this. This is an insult to Gandhiji who called them
‘Harijans’.
MLAs K.C. Rajagopal of CPM and Sivadasan Nair of Congress offered
felicitations. Former Travancore Devaswom Board President Upendranath
Kurup who is the moving force behind this sammelan, welcomed the
massive gathering.
Religions discources, cultural programmes, speeches by Hindu leaders,
Gita parayans, worship etc. form the highlight of the Sammelan which
will conclude on 14 February.
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February 21, 2010
International seminar
ATM-like receipts in EVMs
NEW DELHI: Raising doubts over whether the electronic voting machines
are tamper-proof, Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy, on
February 6, 2010 mooted a new idea saying the Election Commission
should modify the EVMs so that one gets a receipt after casting the
vote as in the case of an ATM.
"That the EVMs are tamper-proof is a false claim. However, the
machines can be modified on the lines of ATM wherein we will get a
receipt after casting the vote which can be put into a sealed box," he
told reporters here.
This will make the electoral process more transparent and the receipts
can be referred to in case of any discrepancy, Swamy said.
He said an international conference of experts will be organised in
Chennai to "show that the machines are not tamper-proof".
The conference will be held on February 13 and will be attended by 35
experts from India, Germany, Netherlands and USA, he said.
Raising doubts over the accuracy of the EVMs, Swamy said that never
ever in a booth the total number of vote counts can be zero.
Swamy has also filed a PIL in the Delhi High Court on the use of EVMs
in Indian elections which is scheduled for hearing on February 17.
(PTI)
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February 21, 2010
Every third Indian is living below the poverty line
People living in the states of Orissa, Bihar and Chhattisgarh were
found to be among the poorest
THE report by economist Suresh Tendulkar used money spent by a person
on specific household goods and services to define the poor.
People living in the states of Orissa, Bihar and Chhattisgarh were
found to be among the poorest, the report said.
It also found that the number of poor in cities had decreased, while
those in villages had gone up.
The report has moved from the traditional method of enumerating the
number of people living in poverty by measuring their calorie intake
to one based on their spending on essential goods and services.
Based on the new method, it found 37.2 per cent of Indian people
living below the poverty line.
The report found that over 40 per cent of rural people survive on a
per capita expenditure of 447 rupees ($9.6) every month, spending on
bare essentials like food, fuel, clothing and footwear.
Correspondents say that for all of India’s impressive economic
progress, the number of Indians living in extreme poverty is not
declining fast enough.
Unless India commits itself to greater social spending and
intervention, it will be difficult to reduce poverty, correspondents
say.
(BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go)
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February 21, 2010
Karmayogi touches the heart of youth at World Book Fair Suruchi
Sahitya stall makes an impact
Karmayogi, the documentary prepared by Shri Nitish Bhardwarj on the
life of second RSS Sarsanghachalak Shri Guruji attracted a large
number of youth visiting the 19th World Book Fair in New Delhi from
January 30 the February 7. The Suruchi Prakashan had made elaborate
arrangements for display of the documentary and other literature based
on the life of Shri Guruji at its stall in the Book Fair. According to
Shri Gautam Sapara, manager of Suruchi Prakashan, the documentary
attracted a large number of visitors to the stall and they were seen
eagerly trying to know the life of Shri Guruji and the historical
events of that period. Formed in 1970 and engaged in publishing good
quality books the Suruchi Prakashan participated in the World Book
Fair for the fifth time and this time it had hired double of the space
it used to hire in previous fairs. It sold more than 3000 books at the
Fair. RSS Sahsarkaryavah Shri Suresh Soni, Akhil Bharatiya Prachar
Pramukh Dr Manmohan Vaidya and many other noted authors and
dignitaries visited the stall. "More than 5000 visitors visited the
stall and gathered information about the books published by Suruchi
Prakashan. Encouraged with this year’s response we have decided to
make elaborate arrangements for the next Book Fair to be organised in
2012," he said.
(FOC)
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February 28, 2010
Legal hurdles on Muslim quota
By Sabyasachi Bandopadhyay
KOLKATA: The State government is set to face a legal hurdle in
implementing its decision for reservation of 10 per cent of government
jobs for Muslim OBCs with the BJP saying it would move the court
against the government’s decision.
"The Andhra Pradesh High Court has showed us the way and we are going
to challenge the State government’s decision in the Calcutta High
Court. What the State government has done is unconstitutional as you
cannot provide reservation on the basis of religion," said the BJP
president Rahul Sinha over the phone from Delhi. He said he would take
up the matter with party president Nitin Gadkari and the State unit
will observe a protest day on the issue.
The Congress government in Andhra Pradesh enacted a law on June 23,
2007 providing for 4 per cent reservation in education and government
jobs to 15 backward communities among the Muslims. After a lot of
legal wrangles, the High Court today declared the Act null and void.
The West Bengal government itself became skeptical whether its
decision on reservation for Muslims could be implemented. "The Andhra
High Court’s order will have to be kept in mind. We will have to be
ready for everything because somebody can go to court," said Abdus
Sattar, Minister of State for Minorities.(Courtesy: NaidnI Express)
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July 10, 2005
Opinions
AP reservations for Muslims
Let?s learn from history
By S.R. Ramanujan
Certainly no nation should live in its history because no nation can
afford to be stagnant. An important trait of nature is ?change? and a
nation has to keep pace with changing times. This does not mean that a
nation should forget history. On the contrary it has to learn from
history. Otherwise, its future history will be full of chaos and
confusion. When the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara
Reddy announces that his government would consider providing political
reservations for Muslims, either he doesn?t understand history or
doesn?t care to learn from history or is least concerned about the
undesirable consequences of such a decision.
The AP government?s decision to extend 5 per cent reservation for
Muslims in education and jobs is having a spiraling effect. The
Nationalist Congress Party general secretary Akhtar Rizvi wants a
similar facility to be given to the Muslims in Maharashtra. A Muslim
group in Bihar is demanding 20 per cent reservations in educational
institutions and government jobs along the lines of AP government
decision. Another Muslim organization wants Article 341 to be amended
to include dalit Muslims in the SC category. The Hyderabad MP and
their apparent of Sultan Salahuddin Owaissi, Asaduddin Owaissi wants
the 5 per cent reservation to be extended to the entire country,
because he perhaps looks at it from a national perspective being a
Member of the Lok Sabha. Not to be left out, Brahmana Seva Sangha
Samakya (never heard of this outfit till now) demands that the
government should extend to Brahmins also a similar reservation in
education, employment and political posts on par with Muslims.
We don?t need a BC Commission, appointed by the AP government, to tell
us that there are a good number of educationally and economically
backward Muslims in the country or in the state. It is a reality and
none should crib about affirmative action. But quota is not the answer
for social and historical reasons. Had a survey been done at the
national level on the geographical location of such backward Muslims,
we would have got certain facts that have been swept under the carpet
so far by vested interests in the community. The backwardness is
mostly prevalent among those regions that were under Muslim rulers
prior to the integration of princely states, whether it is Bhopal, Old
Delhi, Ahmedabad or Hyderabad. Take the case of Telengana districts
including Hyderabad old city under the Nizam rule and compare it with
the rest of the State. Even today Muslims in the old city of Hyderabad
are reluctant to learn Telugu. How can they compete for a job in the
rest of the State? Muslim leaders cornered all the benefits guaranteed
under the Constitution in terms of minority educational institutions.
Instead of using those institutions for eradicating the educational
backwardness of Muslims, they started selling the seats for non-Muslim
candidates and thus pushing the deserving Muslims further into
educational backwardness. Either they went to Madarasas or drifted
without even elementary education. That is the reason you find average
Muslim literacy at 17.7 per cent while the state average is 44 per
cent. The literates among Muslim women are just 4 per cent. These are
the figures now being quoted to establish educational backwardness of
Muslims.
AP government?s decision to extend 5 per cent reservation for Muslims
in education and jobs is having a spiraling effect. The Nationalist
Congress Party general secretary Akhtar Rizvi wants a similar facility
to be given to the Muslims in Maharashtra.
The moot question is how will the 5 per cent quote help in improving
the literacy level among Muslim women from 4 per cent to atleast 40
per cent. We need a multi-pronged approach to uplift the Muslim masses
in terms of education which will automatically lead to economic
prosperity. First, they must be weaned away from the communal clutches
of their leadership. Second, the government must do its best to create
awareness among the backward Muslims about the importance of
education. Third, encourage institutions floated by Muslims who have
no political interests. Fourth, ensure that no non-Muslims are
admitted into such institutions for a price. 5 per cent quota will
only help Muslim political leaders to flaunt it before their followers
and the ruling party to garner their votes. This is the short term
effect.
The long term effect is going to be catastrophic. Leave alone the
demand for similar quota from other states. What is going to cause a
body blow to the nation is the demand for political reservations. Now
that Muslims have been brought under ?E? category of backward classes,
so goes the demand, they should also be considered for reserved seats
in the local body elections to be held shortly in the state. It is in
this context, chief minister Dr Reddy told a delegation of Muslim
women that political quota for Muslims was under consideration of the
government. To predict what would be the consequences of such a
decision, one has to go back to history.
Thanks to L.K. Advani, people have started dusting the history books
from the shelves for a fresh look at pre-Independence history.
Whatever the interpretations of Gandhiji?s support to the Khilafat
movement and Jinnah?s opposition to it, whatever the reasons for the
rejection of Nehru?s Constitution and agreement on the Lucknow Pact,
one thing is clear which cannot be disputed by any historian. That is,
the provision for separate electorates and reservation for Muslims
sowed the seed for Partition of the country.
Even today Muslims in the old city of Hyderabad are reluctant to learn
Telugu. How can they compete for a job in the rest of the State?
Muslim leaders cornered all the benefits guaranteed under the
Constitution in terms of minority educational institutions.
What is the genesis for such political exclusivism? It was in 1906 a
35-member delegation of Muslims met in Simla to demand proportionate
representation for Muslims. Though this demand was not immediately
conceded, it acted as a catalyst for separate electorate for Muslims.
Jinnah supported the movement for separate electorate and the Congress
too accepted it in the Lucknow Pact. And the rest is history. Sri
Aurobindo commented on this development thus: ?What has created the
Hindu-Muslim split was not Swadeshi, but the acceptance of the
communal principle by the Congress. The recognition of that communal
principle at Lucknow made them permanently a separate political entity
in India which ought never to have happened?.
What Dr Rajasekara Reddy is trying to do now is to further consolidate
this division and to create more tension between castes and
communities leading to disastrous consequences to the unity and
integrity of the nation. It is disastrous for a nation if it fails to
learn from its history.
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=86&page=12
January 21, 2008
UPA has reduced Hindu youth to second class status in India
By O.P. Gupta, IFS (retd)
Minorities are first class citizens for the Congress Party, SCs are
the second class and the OBCs are the third class citizens. As per
Mandal Commission the OBCs are 54 per cent of population so on pro-
rata basis welfare schemes for OBCs should have been allocated Rs
25,200 crore.
The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) report of March 30,
2007 shows that unemployment rate among Muslims and Hindus of both
sexes in urban areas differs by just about 0.5 per cent, and, that 755
Muslims per 1000 were in self-employed category against only 427
Hindus per 1000 in 2004-05. This sample survey shatters the myth being
created by Congress and Communist parties that far more Muslims are
unemployed than the Hindus.
In Karnataka, literacy rate for Muslims as per Sachar Committee
(Table, page 287) is 70.1 per cent, Hindus (65.6 per cent). In Kerala,
Muslim literacy rate is 89.4 per cent, Hindus (90.2 per cent). Still
the Congress manifesto of 2004 declared all Muslims as educationally
backwards in Kerala and Karnataka to reserve jobs for Muslims with a
view to implement its core agenda of reducing job opportunity of Hindu
youngsters, hook or by crook.
The National Commission for Linguistic and Religious Minorities headed
by Justice Ranganath Misra in May 2007 has recommended sub-quota of
8.4 per cent for minorities within 27 per cent OBC quota, and,
reservation to Dalit minorities by including such converts under
Scheduled Caste category within the 15 per cent SC quota. It said that
in the 27 per cent OBC quota, an 8.4 per cent sub-quota could be
earmarked for the minorities with an internal break-up of six per cent
for Muslims and 2.4 per cent for other minorities. If dalit Muslims
and dalit Christians are clubbed into the 15 per cent quota they will
squeeze out SC Hindus as Christians and Muslims enjoy better literacy
than SC Hindus. Misra has been a Congress Member of Rajya Sabha.
So the grand agenda of the Congress Party, communist parties and
socialist parties to reduce percentage of Hindus below 85 per cent in
all government and public sector jobs, in educational institutions,
that too with notes and votes of Hindu voters has taken shape.
In minority run institutions a Hindu student with higher percentage of
marks may not get admission. SC and ST Hindu students are denied their
constitutional reservation quotas in minority institutions. Is it not
second class treatment to Hindu students?
For 2007-08 the UPA govt has introduced 20,000 special scholarships
for minority students for technical/professional courses. For minority
students studying in top 50 institutions [like IIMs, IITs etc], full
course fee is reimbursable. For those studying in other institutions
course fee up to Rs 20,000 per annum is reimbursable. Hostellers will
get maintenance allowance of Rs 1000 per month.
I served as Indian Ambassador over the last thirteen years when I saw ?
burning? urge among Hindu settlers to be treated with respect and on
equal footings with locals in matters of religion, education,
employment, economic matters and application of local laws. After a
gap of thirteen years, I returned to India in January 2007 and was
amazed to see just the reverse trend among Hindus living in India,
rather than demanding equality in all spheres even educated Hindus are
pushing their own kith and kins into second and third class status
vis-?-vis minority candidates by supporting such political parties
which openly declare that they will give first preference to minority
candidates over Hindus in matters of admissions into colleges,
employment in government and public sector, departmental promotions,
disbursement of bank loans etc.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, a Sikh politician while addressing
the National Development Council on Dec 9, 2006 publicly instructed
the civil servants, ?We will have to devise innovative plans to ensure
that minorities, particularly the Muslim minority, are empowered to
share equitably in the fruits of development. They must have the first
claim on resources?.
No wonder, budgetary allocation for welfare schemes for minorities in
the XIth Five Year Plan [2007-12] has been hiked to Rs 7,000 crore;
annual allocation to the Ministry of Minority Affairs has been suo
motu raised by the Planning Commission to Rs 1,400 crore from Rs 500
crore though this Ministry had sought annual allocation of Rs 1,100
crore.
The Ministry of Social Justice had sought Rs 16,100 crore for welfare
of SCs and OBCs, out of which Rs 11,185 crore was earmarked for SCs
and Rs 2,250 crore for OBCs. But reflecting the step motherly
treatment of Hindus by the Congress party, the Planning Commission
reduced allocation for their welfare schemes by Rs 3,000 with the
result budgetary allocation for welfare of SCs stands reduced to Rs
9,097 crore and for OBCs stands reduced to a peanut amount of Rs 1,588
crore. This is the price which SC and OBC Hindus had to pay for voting
the UPA parties.
Above datas show that minorities are first class citizens for the
Congress party, SCs are the second class and the OBCs are the third
class citizens. As per Mandal Commission the OBCs are 54 per cent of
population so on pro-rata basis welfare schemes for OBCs should have
been allocated Rs 25,200 crore.
It is painful to see how the class of ?secular, progressive and
liberal? Hindu politicians right from the days of the 1916 Congress-
Muslim League Lucknow Pact till date in form of the Sachar Committee
Report, Rangnath Misra Commission, the New 15-Point Programme of Prime
Minister, 15 per cent Plan Allocation to Minorities etc has been
systematically concocting false and fabricated justifications to
reduce, bit by bit, the educational, employment and economic (E3)
opportunities of all Hindu boys and girls, including SC, ST and
leftist Hindu boys and girls, pushing them to second and third class
status vis-?-vis minority boys and girls.
The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) report of March 30,
2007 shows that unemployment rate among Muslims and Hindus of both
sexes in urban areas differs by just about 0.5 per cent, and, that 755
Muslims per 1000 were in self-employed category against only 427
Hindus per 1000 in 2004-05. This sample survey shatters the myth being
created by Congress and Communist parties that far more Muslims are
unemployed than the Hindus.
It may come as another rude shock to those Hindu intellectuals who
have made it their business to plead concessions after concessions for
Muslims on pretext of Muslim educational backwardness that as per
Census Report of 2001 Muslim males have higher literacy rate than
Hindu males in eleven states (Andhra Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar,
Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharastra,
Orissa, Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu).
In thirteen states, Muslim women enjoy higher literacy rate than Hindu
women [Andhra Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar, Chhattisgarh, Daman & Diu,
Dadra & nagarhaveli, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Orissa, Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu, Statements 8a and 8b,
Census Report 2001].
The Sachar Committee [page 53] also admits that in ten states literacy
rate among Muslims are higher than even that of the upper caste Hindus
and also higher than SC/ST Hindus.
In Karnataka, literacy rate for Muslims as per Sachar Committee (Table
at page 287) is 70.1 per cent, Hindus (65.6 per cent) and SC/ST (51.5
per cent). In Kerala, Muslim literacy rate is 89.4 per cent, Hindus
(90.2 per cent) and SC/ST (80.8 per cent). Still the Congress
manifesto of 2004 declared all Muslims as educationally backwards in
Kerala and Karnataka to reserve jobs for Muslims with a view to
implement its core agenda of reducing job opportunity of Hindu
youngsters, by hook or by crook.
Not to be left behind in reducing percentage of Hindus in government
services, Karunanidhi flying in the face of facts is also harping on
educational backwardness of Muslims in Tamil Nadu.
The Sachar Committee (Table at page 287) reports that literacy rate of
Muslims in Andhra Pradesh is 68 per cent followed by Hindus (59.4 per
cent) and SC/ST (48.9) but Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy (a
Christian) reserved five per cent seats for Muslims in educational
institutions and in government jobs on false plea of educational
backwardness of Muslims in Andhra Pradesh just to cheat Hindu youth of
their seats in colleges and their jobs in government. Those Hindus in
Andhra Pradesh who blindly voted to the Congress party in 2004 must be
feeling cheated.
According to the 2001 Census of India (Report on Religion Data)
Christian community enjoys higher literacy rate than Hindus; all India
literacy rate for Christian community was 84.4 per cent compared to
76.2 per cent of Hindus.
Right from 1954 the Congress party Prime Ministers at the Centre have
been issuing instructions to all Central Ministries as well as to all
State Governments to give special considerations to recruitment of
religious minority candidates in public services with implied hint to
reduce percentage of Hindus in public services. In 1983, Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi vide her 15-Point Programme for Minorities
became the first Prime Minister to have issued instructions to include
minority members in all the Selection Boards and departmental
promotion committees. The circular to induct religious minority
members in Selection Boards was again issued by the Rajiv Gandhi
Government and the Vishwanath Prasad Singh Government The Manmohan
Singh Government reiterated it in January 2007 with added condition of
making quarterly reports on progress of minority candidates actually
recruited and or promoted. After all the ?communally appointed
members? of the Selection Boards will have to show some result of
their being added to Boards and, thus, the intake of minority
candidates will go up and percentage of Hindu?s intake, whether
leftist or rightist, whether forward or backward, whether upper caste
or scheduled caste Hindus will automatically come down. This is
happening when overall unemployment situation is worsening in India
day by day.
The National Commission for Linguistic and Religious Minorities headed
by Justice Ranganath Misra in May 2007 has recommended sub-quota of
8.4 per cent for minorities within 27 per cent OBC quota, and,
reservation to Dalit minorities by including such converts under
Scheduled Caste category within the 15 per cent SC quota. It said that
in the 27 per cent OBC quota, an 8.4 per cent sub-quota could be
earmarked for the minorities with an internal break-up of 6 per cent
for Muslims and 2.4 per cent for other minorities. If dalit Muslims
and dalit Christians are clubbed into the 15 per cent quota they will
squeeze out SC Hindus as Christians and Muslims enjoy better literacy
than SC Hindus. Misra has been a Congress Member of Rajya Sabha.
The basic premise of this Commission report is to ensure 15 per cent
representation?proportionate to the minority population?to the
minorities in Government jobs and educational institutions. ?The break-
up within the recommended 15 per cent earmarked seats in institutions
shall be 10 per cent for Muslims and the remaining five per cent for
the other minorities, however, if the Muslims cannot avail 10 per cent
quota, the rest should go to the non-Muslim minorities and in no case
shall any seat within the recommended 15 per cent go to the majority
community?, the Misra report said.
So the grand secular agenda of the Congress party, the Communist
parties and various socialist parties is to reduce percentage of
Hindus below 85 per cent in all public services and in all educational
institutions. Those Hindus who oppose this grand agenda are dubbed as
communal Hindus. As we know at present Hindus constitute more than 95
per cent of all public services. So all those Hindus who have school
going children and grand children must wake up to protect interests of
their wards.
No wonder, inaugurating the National Conference of State Minority
Commissions on November 2, 2006, Dr Manmohan Singh, PM said: ?It is
essential that communal peace and harmony should be maintained and the
minorities get a fair share in Central and State Governments jobs?.
According to press reports of November 26, 2006 the National
Commission for Minorities (NCM) asked the Union Home Ministry to
ensure a fair representation of religious minorities in the police and
paramilitary forces.
Suppose there are 10,000 vacancies to be filled up. So, seats reserved
for SC Hindus as per existing formula will be 1500, for ST Hindus 750
and for OBCs 2700. Now if 15 per cent jobs are reserved for minorities
as per recommendation of Justice Misra, general category seats for
which a Hindu can compete will come down to 8,500. So number of seats
for SC Hindus will get reduced to 1275, for ST Hindus will get reduced
to 637 and to OBCs 2295. If Misra?s recommendation of 8.4 per cent sub-
quota within quota is also accepted only 1591 seats will be left for
OBC Hindus. More meritorious minority candidates will naturally spill
over into general category seats.
So the grand agenda of the Congress party, communist parties and
socialist parties to reduce percentage of Hindus below 85 per cent in
all government and public sector jobs, in educational institutions,
that too with notes and votes of Hindu voters has taken shape.
Pseudo-secular Hindu politicians have passed such laws which enable a
minority student to get cheaper educational loans at three per cent
interest per annum from the National Minority Development & Finance
Corporation, whereas a Hindu student gets student loan at 12.5 per
cent to 14 per cent interest per annum from commercial banks. Minority
students are required to repay educational loans in five years after
completion of his course but in case of Hindu students repayment
starts one year after completion of course or six months after
obtaining employment whichever is earlier. One may see details at
(www.nmdfc.org).
A minority businessman gets margin money loans from NMDFC at five per
cent per annum but a Hindu gets commercial loan at 14 per cent to 18
per cent per annum from commercial banks. A Hindu student and a Hindu
businessman gets bank loans at much higher rates of interest and on
harsher terms whether he is a member of the Students Federation or
that of the NSUI or the ABVP.
On March 13, 2007 Finance Minister Chidambaram told the Rajya Sabha
that of the total priority sector lending, loans to minorities had
increased by 33 per cent to Rs 45,490 crore on March 31, 2006 as
against Rs 34,654 crore when the UPA Government took office in May
2004. The Finance Minister said that during the financial year 2005-06
credit to religious minorities was 8.18 per cent of the total priority
sector lending. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has committed to raise
credit to minorities to 15 per cent of the total priority sector
lending. In its Charter for Advancement of Muslim Community the CPI(M)
has also called to reserve 15 per cent of priority credits for
minorities. So, Hindu businessmen will increase their own difficulties
in getting bank loans by financing the elections of Congress Party and
UPA parties.
In minority run institutions a Hindu student with higher percentage of
marks may not get admission. SC and ST Hindu students are denied their
constitutional reservation quotas in minority institutions. Is it not
second class treatment to Hindu students?
A Delhi based Hindu student with better marks may not get admission in
any professional college in Delhi but a Delhi based Muslim student
with less marks is likely to get admission in professional courses in
Delhi such as in the Jamia Hamdard University in Delhi as this
University has reserved 50 per cent seats for Muslims claiming to be a
minority institution under Art 30(1) of the Constitution of India. Is
it not second class treatment of meritorious Hindu boys and girls?
Hindu candidates with better CV are denied appointments in minority
institutions.
Attempts are being made to declare the Jamia Millia University and the
Aligarh Muslim University as ?minority institutions? so that 50 per
cent seats in these Central Universities can be officially reserved
for Muslim students, and, thus, reduce Hindu students as second class
citizens at two more campuses.
For 2007-08, the UPA government has introduced 20,000 special
scholarships for minority students for technical/professional courses.
For minority students studying in top 50 institutions [like IIMs, IITs
etc], full course fee is reimbursable. For those studying in other
institutions course fee up to Rs 20,000 per annum is reimbursable.
Hostellers will get maintenance allowance of Rs 1000 per month. [] In
addition minority candidates appearing for competitive examinations of
civil services etc will be paid for attending coaching classes of
their choice. No such facility is available to Hindu students because
their parents vote for Congress party or socialist parties. []
Congress and Communist parties have, thus, imposed such a legal system
where a Muslim candidate or a Christian candidate has all the legal
rights to compete on equal footings with a Hindu candidate for
employment, but there are thousands and thousands of posts paid from
government funds for which Hindus just cannot apply, such as, posts of
Chairman of the National Minority Commission and Provincial Minority
Commissions, the posts of the Principal and Vice Principal of St.
Stephan?s College, Delhi University, heads of minority institutions
etc.
Under section 3 of the National Minority Commission Act, a Hindu can
not be its Chairman and at least five of its seven members including
Chairman shall have to be from amongst the minority communities.
Section 4 of the National Commission for Minority Educational
Institutions Act 2004 stipulates that only persons from minority
communities shall be eligible to be appointed as Chairman and members
of this Commission. Chairman and members draw salary and perks of a
Secretary to the Govt of India and a Hindu, howsoever, secular and
progressive stands debarred from holding these posts. Both Acts were
moved by the Congress party. So a person shall be denied appointments
to these posts under the State simply because he is a Hindu. Hindu
parliamentarians have thus downgraded their own younger generations by
enacting such anti-Hindu laws.
Minority Commissions have been set up to ensure that minorities are
not discriminated but there is no Commission to ensure that Hindus are
not victimized in India by minorities.
Such ill-treatments a Hindu voter has invited for himself and for his
children by giving his vote to the pseudo-secular parties or by
abstaining from voting. Every Hindu vote given to any pseudo-secular
party is going to be used to humiliate Hindu youth. A faithful and
firm handling of this inequality imposed by pseudo secular parties
upon Hindu youth will change the politics of India.
(The writer retired in the rank of Secretary to the Government of
India in the Indian Foreign Service (1971 batch). He served as
Ambassador to Finland, Estonia, Jamaica, Tunisia, Tanzania, Dominican
Republic etc., and Consul General, Dubai (UAE) and Birmingham (UK).)
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=221&page=3
February 24, 2008
Editorial
Now A Christian Subsidy!
If there was a national award for inventing appeasement populism, the
first claimant for that would have been the Andhra Pradesh Chief
Minister Rajasekhara Reddy. The man who kick started the UPA Muslim
quota business in his state as the first act of his government in May
2004, has now offered to subsidise travel by Christians to their Holy
Land, meaning Israel-Palestine along the lines of the Haj subsidy for
Muslims.
The move is totally unconstitutional and the inspiration is blatantly
communal with a political agenda. Rajasekhara Reddy is a Christian,
like his party chief, though the community is not very numerous in his
state. In states where the Christians are in substantial number they
enjoy many privileges which are denied to the Hindus. Like the
reservation in jobs and education in Kerala and Tamil Nadu and the
pronouncedly Christian character of some of the North East states
where the state assembly sessions begin with Bible prayers. Nobody has
objected to them, but the Christian community is not known to go on
pilgrimages to foreign lands the way Muslims do. There has been no
demand of this sort from any quarter in the community. As such
Christians are educationally and economically well off.
Most church denominations have taken up a rigorous Indianisation plank
and have largely succeeded in this effort. This attempt at
secularisation is being sought to be torpedoed by certan over zealous
evangelical elements. Rajasekhara Reddy?s effort seems to encourage
such elements.
In the last four years there were many reports of aggressive
proselytising mission in the state. This had created tension in some
areas especially in Tirupati-Tirumalai, where after a series of
protests from Hindu groups the government had to issue a notification
prohibiting non-Hindus violating the sanctity of the Holy Hills.
Another controversy in the state is about the state government
systematically siphoning off thousands of crores from the temple
offerings for other irreligious activities. Yet another case is
pending in the High Court on the state government?s attempt to sell
away thousands of acres of temple property to make revenue for the
exchequer.
A state government with such questionable reputation has now mooted
the idea of Christian subsidy with some obvious ulterior intention.
Perhaps this might ignite a new wave of demands and protests and
grievance concoction. As such Christians, unlike the Muslims are a
contented community. They have no dearth of foreign funding. For
ecclesiastical training and studies Christians go to Vatican, and for
this they spent their own money. That is no pilgrimage. Jerusalem,
another holy place for Christians is a virtual war zone and
Christianity has no tradition of pilgrimage to Holy Land. In India
there are many places holy for them. It is not clear if Reddy has a
plan to subsidise such domestic pilgrimages also.
In any case, the Constitution does not allow discrimination in the
name of religion, caste and region. Every act of the UPA in these
matters has been fundamentally wrong. The Haj subsidy, which is
increasing every year, has now reached over Rs 4,000 crore annually.
This is over and above the spending on welfare and facilitation
arrangements by the states and the centre. It is high time the UPA put
an end to such cynical acts of perdition for temporary political
mileage.
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=225&page=3
February 24, 2008
Obituary
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
He took meditation to the West
On behalf of the Hindu American community of USA, Vishwa Hindu
Parishad, America, has extended its deepest condolences to the large ?
family of devotees? of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and described his death
as a great loss to the human race. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a spiritual
leader, who introduced the West to ?Transcendental Meditation?, had
passed away on February 5 at Vlodrop, a southern Dutch village at the
age of 91.
?Maharishi?s work is complete,? his Movement said in a statement. ?He
has done what he set out to do in 1957 - to lay the foundation for a
peaceful world, now Maharishi is being welcomed with open arms into
heaven.? Earlier, on January 11, the Maharishi had announced that his
public work had finished and that he would use his remaining time to
complete a long-running series of published commentaries on the
Vedas.
Maharishi was also famous as the guru to the Beatles, the Indian
spiritualist Deepak Chopra, and several other high-profile people.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is believed to have been born on January 12,
1917. He was born Mahesh Prasad Varma in Central India, the third of
four children. After graduating with a degree in physics at Allahabad
University in 1942, he left for the foothills of the Himalayas to
begin a 13-year spiritual apprenticeship with his guru Swami
Brahmanand Saraswati. When his mentor passed away in the early 1950s,
the Maharishi dedicated his life to spreading the teachings of his
guru. He started teaching meditation techniques around the world in
1959, starting in the United States.
The Maharishi originated the Transcendental Meditation (TM, a
trademark,) movement in 1957 and brought it to the United States in
1959. He set out on his international mission to achieve this vision
in 1959, beginning in Los Angeles, where he established his movement
with an initial following of 25 devotees. From this small beginning
the Maharishi over his lifetime developed a global organisation with
nearly 1,000 TM centres, property assets valued in 1998 at $3.5
billion and an estimated four million disciples. Maharishi?s TM
centres expanded all over the world to England, France, Russia,
Germany, South America, USA, etc. They were all held happily together
by a single and everlasting thread, i.e. meditation.
TM consists of closing one?s eyes twice a day for 20 minutes while
silently repeating a mantra to gain deep relaxation, eliminate stress,
promote good health and attain clear thinking and inner fulfillment.
Over the years since TM became popular, many scientists have found
physical and mental benefits from mediation in general and
transcendental meditation in particular, especially in reducing stress-
related ailments. Since the technique?s inception in 1955, it has been
used to train more than 40,000 teachers, taught more than 5 million
people, opened thousands of teaching centres and founded hundreds of
schools, colleges and universities.
This organisation helps a person find a way for the answers that every
person has been looking for since the beginning of the human
civilisation?who am I, where I came from, where am I going, and so on.
Maharshi lectured on the positive effects of meditation on body, mind
and intellect. He gave a new face to Vedic literature. Maharishi
explained the scientific nature of Vedic literature and demonstrated
how through that science one could live a peaceful life, reach one?s
highest potential and follow the path of self-fulfillment.
He was the only spiritual leader who held people together from all
religions of the world under one banner: Transcendental Meditation. In
the United States, his organisation is based in Fairfield, Iowa, where
it operates a university, the Maharishi University of Management
(MUM). In 2001, disciples of the movement incorporated their own town,
Maharishi Vedic City, a few miles north of Fairfield.
(FOC)
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=225&page=35
February 24, 2008
UPA inducements for conversion
By Dr. Indulata Das
The communities designated as minorities, which include Muslims,
Christians, Sikhs, Budhists and Parsis (Zorastrains) account for 18.4
per cent of the India?s population according to 2001 Census. Among
them, Muslims constitute the largest group with 13.4 per cent of our
population followed by Christians 2.3 per cent. The percentage of
Muslim population in 1951 was less than 10 per cent and that of
Christian about 2 per cent. As analysed by various experts including
Justice Sachar, the high growth of Muslim population is contributable
to higher female fertility. Unchecked infiltration from the
neighbouring country, i.e. Bangladesh, has also enhanced the Muslim
population growth substantially, which according to a view articulated
by Justice Sachar in his report does not matter. The growth of
Christian population, however, is mainly due to conversion among
weaker sections of the society, particularly in SC/ST-dominated
regions. The methods employed for conversion include allurement,
deception and threats.
The policy pronouncements and programmes of the UPA-government seem to
have far reaching consequences in disturbing our social equilibrium.
In the name of development intervention to help the minority
communities, the new schemes that have been introduced actually amount
to division of our society. It is unthinkable to visualise inclusive
growth through policies and schemes that are divisive and segregative.
It will be pertinent to mention here some important features of newly
introduced schemes and ramifications of their implementation.
The merit-cum-means scholarship provides that a student of minority
community within annual family income of up to Rs. 2.50 lakh will
receive course fee of
Rs. 20,000 and scholarship of Rs. 10,000 per annum as hosteller and
Rs. 5000 per annum as day scholar. Although educational status of SCs,
STs and some of the OBCs in the country is worse than that of
minorities, the central government has not considered it necessary to
introduce a similar scheme for them. The scheme looks like a
government-funded inducement for conversion.
In addition to merit-cum-means scholarship, the central government has
started another scheme to provide post-matric scholarship to students
of minority communities. Accordingly, a student having annual family
income of up to Rs. 2,00,000, is eligible for post-matric scholarship
which includes course and maintenance allowances. It is to be noted
here that the family income ceiling for SC and ST students to be
eligible for post-matric scholarship is Rs. 1,00,000 and for OBCs Rs.
45,000. The income certificates for SC, ST and OBC students have to be
issued by the designated revenue officers as per the prescribed norms.
No such conditions exist for minority students. A self certification
to be filed on a non-judicial stamp paper regarding annual family
income of up to Rs. 2,00,000 for post-matric scholarship and Rs. 2.50
lakh for merit-cum-means scholarship is all that is needed. The
discrimination is evident.
The scheme of pre-matric scholarship approved by the central
government for students of minority communities provides for cost
sharing of the scholarship in between the centre and the state at
75:25 ratio. The central government does not consider introducing a
similar scheme for SCs and STs knowing it well that their educational
and economic status is worse than that of minorities.
The Prime Minister?s 15 Point Programme provides for ear-marking of 15
per cent budgetary allocations under priority sector programmes for
minorities. There are no additional allocations from the central
government for this purpose. It is to be remembered that majority of
SC and ST population is below the government-defined poverty line.
This is why 50 per cent to 60 per cent targets under most of the
priority sector schemes are required to be achieved by assisting SC
and ST families according to the relevant guidelines. Setting apart 15
per cent of schematic grants without any additional allocation under
the Prime Minister?s 15 Point Programme means diversion of benefits
meant for the poor SCs and STs to that extent. For example, under
Indira Awas Yojana, 60 per cent houses have to be given to the SC and
ST families as per the prescribed guidelines. Under the Prime Minister?
s 15 Point Programme, 15 per cent houses will have to be given to the
families of minority communities which account for about 4.5 per cent
of Orissa?s population. The fact remains that about 40 per cent of the
Muslim population lives in the urban areas where Indira Awas Yojna
cannot be implemented and STs do not change their social status.
In brief, the differential and more favourable scholarship norms for
minority students from primary to professional courses, and the
earmarking of 15 per cent plan resources under the 15 point programme
are not only divisive and segregative measures, they can also be
viewed as the central government sponsored incentives to promote
religious conversion. The society should judge whether inclusive
growth and social assimilation can be achieved through the
segregative, divisive and discriminatory communal budgeting. Whether
the parties in power actually mean development of minorities or want
to misuse them as ?vote banks? perpetually. There is no country or
society where inclusive growth and social integration have been
achieved through divisive policies and programmes.
(The writer can be contacted at Qtr. No. 5R 9, Forest Park, Unit-1,
Bhubaneswar, Orissa, 751009, indul...@yahoo.co.in)
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=225&page=30
January31, 2010
A Report As A Charter of Divisiveness
By Kidar Nath Sahani
Of interest will be to know that even the then British Government
refused to include the Muslims and the Christians in the list of
Scheduled Castes when it prepared such a list in 1936.
Notably, the Commission has suggested an alternative route for
reservation to minorities if there is "insurmountable difficulty" in
implementing the recommendation for 15 per cent reservation. In this
regard it is said since minorities constitute 8.4 per cent of the
total OBC population according to the Mandal Commission Report, so in
the 27 per cent OBC quota, an 8.4 per cent sub quota should be
earmarked for minorities. (As per Commission’s suggestions, the
internal break-up should be 6 per cent for the Muslims, commensurate
with their 73 per cent share in the total minority population at the
national level and 2.4 per cent for other minorities.) This is a clear
effort to dilute the existing quota of the OBCs.
Unfortunately, during the last over sixty years politicians of various
shades with their politics of vote-bank and appeasement, have done
havoc to this spirit of ‘one and united nation’. Various Commissions
and Committees like the Mandal Commission, Sachar Committee and now
the Ranganath Misra Commission were formed to serve this end.
On the eve of the Sashtipurti, i.e. 60 years of the Republic, the
Congress is trying to do what its own leaders, the founding fathers of
the Republic refused to do, i.e., to divide the nation in the name of
religion by conceding religion based reservation. In the Constituent
Assembly, similar demands were firmly turned down by the luminaries
like Dr BR Ambedkar, Sardar Patel, Pt Nehru and C Rajagopalachari. But
the present government led by Congress wants to negate it all by
succumbing to pressures of vote-bank politics. It is trying to promote
such divisiveness through the back door.
The Constituent Assembly in its long debates aimed at making India one
united nation devoid of all such anomalies that had crept up in the
society in the past, and made it weak, divided and vulnerable. The
issue of giving representation to different groups like scheduled
castes and scheduled tribes, minorities-religious or linguistic, was
discussed at length. Going through the debates, one finds that to a
vast majority of members, including Baba Sahib Ambedkar, the very idea
of giving representation to various groups was not acceptable. Even Dr
Ambedkar did not want in the case of reservation for the SC and ST to
last for 10 years after Independence. This was the focus of the
debates and the spirit of the ‘Constitution’.
Unfortunately, during the last over sixty years politicians of various
shades with their politics of vote-bank and appeasement, have done
havoc to this spirit of ‘one and united nation’. Various Commissions
and Committees like the Mandal Commission, Sachar Committee and now
the Ranganath Misra Commission were formed to serve this end.
The Indian Constitution provides ample guarantees and opportunities to
all sections of society, irrespective of their religion, belief or
caste, for their healthy growth and progress. Yet, for political
interests such commissions and committees were constituted. The
reports they presented speak volumes.
The report of the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic
Minorities-better known as Ranganath Misra Commission, was tabled in
both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha at the fag-end of the winter
session of the Parliament, apparently in an attempt to avoid debates
and discussions. It was actually submitted to the Prime Minister over
two years ago, on May 21, 2007. For reasons best known to itself, the
government kept the report in cold storage for so long, though it was
almost immediately leaked in the media and was widely circulated.
The Commission was constituted on March 21, 2005. Formed in the
aftermath of controversies created by the Sachar Committee
recommendations, it was given the task to suggest criteria for
identification of socially and economically backward sections among
religious and linguistic minorities and to recommend measures for
their welfare.
The four-member Commission included Chairman Justice Ranganath Misra
who headed it along with three members-Tahir Mahmood, the late Anil
Wilson(Principal, St Stephens College), Mohinder Singh and Member
Secretary Asha Das.
The report makes three main suggestions:
I. Article 16(4), which is the constitutional basis for providing job
quotas to OBCs, should be the basis for providing reservation benefits
to minority groups who are socially and economically backward.
II. At least 15 per cent of seats in all non-minority educational
institutions should be earmarked for the minorities with 10 per cent
for the Muslims (commensurate with their 73 per cent share in the
total minority population at the national level) and 5 per cent for
other minorities.
The Commission also recommended 15 per cent share for the minorities
in all the government schemes like NREGA, Prime Minister’s Rozgar
Yojna, Grameen Rozgar Yojna, etc. Besides, it seeks the same 15 per
cent quota for minorities in government jobs, Central and State
services in all cadres and grades with a break-up of 10 per cent for
the Muslims and 5 per cent for others. (The report also calls for a
sub-quota in OBC quota clearly marked out for those minority
communities which come under the broad head of OBCs).
III. The Commission has asked for the de-linking of Scheduled Caste
status from religion and to make the SC net fully religion-neutral,
like that of Scheduled Tribes. Calling the caste system ‘all-
pervading’, the Commission says the Constitution while describing and
defining SCs and STs did not perceive a dimension of religion in it.
Of interest will be to know that even the then British Government
refused to include the Muslims and the Christians in the list of
Scheduled Castes when it prepared such a list in 1936.
More notably, arguing that religious freedom is a Fundamental Right,
the Commission has recommended continuation of SC reservation benefits
to those Dalits who convert to other religions by choice.
Apart from the above main recommendations, there are a plethora of
other recommendations focussing primarily on the Muslim community.
These are:
* Select institutions in the country like the Aligarh Muslim
University and the Jamia Millia Islamia should be legally given a
special responsibility to promote education at all levels to Muslim
students by taking all possible steps for this purpose.
* In the funds to be distributed by the Maulana Azad Educational
Foundation a suitable portion should be earmarked for the Muslims
proportionate to their share in the total minority population. Out of
this portion funds should be provided not only to the existing Muslim
institutions but also for setting-up new institutions from nursery to
the highest level and for technical and vocational education anywhere
in India but especially in the Muslim-concentration areas.
* Anganwaris, Navoday Vidyalayas and other similar institutions should
be opened under their respective schemes especially in each of the
Muslim concentration areas and Muslim families be given suitable
incentives to send their children to such institutions.
* Citing that the largest minority of the country, the Muslims, have a
scant or weak presence in the agrarian sector the Commission
recommended that special schemes should be formulated for the
promotion and development of agriculture, agronomy and agricultural
trade among them.
With regard to linguistic minorities, the only significant
recommendation is that the Commission wants the three language formula
to be implemented everywhere in the country making it compulsory for
authorities to include in it the mother tongue of every child.
Significantly, the above recommendations have not been unanimous.
Member Secretary of the Commission Asha Das has given a note of
dissent on the Commission’s recommendation for conferment of SC status
on Dalit converts to Christianity and Islam saying there was "no
justification" for it. She also appended a note of dissent saying she
did not agree with the recommendation of treating Christian/Muslim
Dalits at par with Hindu/Sikh/Buddhist Dalits.
Notably, the Commission has suggested an alternative route for
reservation to minorities if there is "insurmountable difficulty" in
implementing the recommendation for 15 per cent reservation. In this
regard it is said since minorities constitute 8.4 per cent of the
total OBC population according to the Mandal Commission Report, so in
the 27 per cent OBC quota, an 8.4 per cent sub-quota should be
earmarked for minorities. (As per Commission’s suggestions, the
internal break-up should be six per cent for the Muslims, commensurate
with their 73 per cent share in the total minority population at the
national level and 2.4 per cent for other minorities.)
This is a clear effort to dilute the existing quota of the OBCs.
In all, the report submitted by the Ranganath Misra Commission is a
charter of divisiveness and vote-bank politics. No wonder, it has got
flak from all sides. VHP has already threatened a nationwide agitation
if the government makes any move to implement the report. It has
termed the report as "Anti-constitutional anti-national and anti-
Hindu".
The report has also been condemned for being against the spirit of the
founding fathers of the Indian Constitution. It is alleged that if
implemented, it would particularly be damaging to the interest of the
vulnerable sections of Hindu society.
"Implementation of such a report is set to encourage religious
conversions, particularly among the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled
Tribes and other backward classes to take advantage of this
development," says Dr Pravin Togadia of VHP.
He further adds, "The present government is trying to undo the
conscious decision of the Constituent Assembly not to provide for
religion-based reservation." He also said that the implementation of
the report will mean death for the Hindu SCs, STs and OBCs and their
children.
It is strange that no word has been spoken against it by the people
who call themselves secular and pro-poor. Even the parties that thrive
on OBC politics are keeping silent. Only, some lone voices like that
of Buta Singh, the chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled
Castes, has made public his differences over giving reservation to
minorities from the SC quota.
On the contrary, all the quota-supporting entities such as the Left
parties, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and a section of the
Congress are putting pressure on the Centre to implement the report,
yet, the government sources acknowledge that implementing the
Ranganath Misra Commission report could be the toughest task ahead for
this government. As this involves the most crucial aspect of quotas,
which is the reservation under religious lines.
The only vocal support to the report has come from a number of Muslim
and Christian groups, and quite naturally so.
Secretary of the Indian Catholic Bishops Commission for dalit and
tribal groups, Father Cosmon Arokiaraj has welcomed the report and has
asked the government to pass the Bill without delay. Another Bishop,
Father Anthoniraj Thumma, head of an ecumenical forum in the State of
Andhra Pradesh, said that the government move would provide dalit
Christians constitutional protection. He added that in addition to
quotas in government jobs and seats in educational institutions, the
new move would also give dalit groups (converted) a right to contest
elections for seats reserved for such category.
It will now be interesting to see the ATR by the government on these
recommendations. As in the ATR, the government will have to make
public its ideas on how the reservation for the Muslims and the
Christians would be implemented.
The supporters for implementing it say that any move to provide
reservation to religious minorities is unlikely to be opposed by those
in the general category as reservation of seats for Dalit Christians
and Muslims within the existing quota for Dalits will not affect
them.
But that does not negate the fact that the Ranganath Misra report on
quotas for minorities is aimed at harvesting votes rather than
resolving the problem of backwardness of the minorities. It wrongly
invokes the "full sanction of the Article 16(4) of the Constitution"
for a 15 per cent reservation in government jobs for Muslims,
Christians and other minorities on the assumption that all minorities
must necessarily be backward.
What is being insidiously resurrected under the rubric of ‘under
representation’ is actually ‘communal representation’. Such emphasis
on inadequacy of representation on the assumption of backwardness will
encourage communally inspired demands for all.
Our founding fathers of the Constitution knew the dangers of such an
approach. That is why such communal approaches were specifically
excluded from the Constitution.
Lastly, it is not clear whether this new quota will be an OBC quota or
SC or ST quota. Or whether minority quotas will be written into these
quotas or added to them? If added, the overall quotas will become 64
per cent. And since quota over 50 per cent is not possible as per the
Constitution, the only option left would be to assimilate it in the
existing quota which, most certainly, would cause heartburn to the
OBCs, SCs and STs who will have their quota reduced from 50 per cent
to 35 per cent.
(The writer is former Governor of Sikkim and Goa.)
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=329&page=4
January 21, 2008
UPA's rank communalism
Quota politics threatens to fragment India
By Sunita Vakil
The Congress has always aimed at erecting barriers between the
different communities rather than trying to break them down. Indeed,
the brand of secularism flaunted by the party is very much flawed. By
separating Muslim issues from the rest of the populace, it is only
treading the familiar ground of identity politics, that forms the core
of its survival.
Congress-led UPA government?s gusto of going overboard to woo Muslims
by allocating 15 per cent of funds during the 11th plan period
exclusively for minorities is indicative of its communal mindset that
is hellbent upon dividing India along religious lines.
The UPA government?s congenital tendency to succumb before the
minority separatism may run the risk of undoing the national
integration. It does not need an awful lot of imagination to surmise
that its coddling of India?s largest minority is in pursuit of its
vote bank politics. This is of a piece with the party?s absurd and
perverse practice of embarking on a path of dividing the country along
communal lines for acquiring power.
Notwithstanding its abstract homilies on secularism, the Congress has
always aimed at erecting barriers between the different communities
rather than trying to break them down. Indeed, the brand of secularism
flaunted by the party is very much flawed. By separating Muslim issues
from the rest of the populace, it is only treading the familiar ground
of identity politics, that forms the core of its survival.
The single-minded Congress focus on Muslim votes that makes it to
pursue a partisan course is giving airs to the speculation that the
ruling party cares only for minority concerns in the garb of
secularism. The UPA?s penchant for politics of appeasement is
increasingly becoming a hallmark of its governance. By injecting the
communal virus in almost all spheres of our national concern, the
ruling regime seems eager to create a separate electorate and
categorise society along religious identities. Resorting to blatant
appeasement the Congress is only giving succour to divisive forces
besides antagonising the numerically dominant community. It has
redefined secularism with its full-time attention on minority votes.
Moreover, the Congress leaders in their abhorrent zeal to placate
minorities seem to have forgotten that all Indians, irrespective of
their caste, creed or religions, have an equal stake in the national
well being. Of course, this is not to suggest that under class of
Muslims is to be kept out of the ambit of development. But it is
important for a vibrant democracy that every single person,
irrespective of religions has equal claim on the national resources.
Remaining stuck in the quagmire of communal quotas will only further
divide the nation.
In the past too, the Congress-led UPA government had meted out special
treatment to Muslims as a matter of state policy. Muslims have indeed
been perceived as potential vote banks right from the rule of Indira
Gandhi in whose regime Haj subsidies were announced. It is noteworthy
that no other religious community in India has been favoured with such
a sop. It was also her singular love for Muslim empowerment that made
her install Muslim chief ministers like Abdul Gafoor in Bihar, A.R.
Antulay in Maharashtra, Maimoona Taimur in Assam and Barkatullah in
Rajasthan continuing with this policy of crass minorityism, Rajiv
Gandhi overturned the Supreme Court judgement on the issue of
maintenance to Muslims divorcee Shah Bano. Later, shedding all
pretences of secularism the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh opened a
pandora?s box by playing directly to the gallery of Muslim voters with
his emphasis on minority development, particularly the Muslims in his
address to the National Development Council in December 2006. The
party has had the gumption to aggressively woo Muslims right from the
time it came to power in 2004. Its wholehearted exertions towards
reserving jobs and educational quotas for Muslims, attempts of
dividing army on communal lines, communalising banking and financial
institutions, protecting illegal Bangladeshi migrants, including a
Muslim League MP in the Union Council of Ministers, exonerating the
perpetrators of Godhra carnage are only some of the shameful acts
indulged in by the Congress-led UPA government which project it as
crude and outright communal. Even the former President Shri A.P.J.
Abdul Kalam has criticised the government-sponsored subsidies by
saying that ?dependency syndrome has stunted performance and
diminished transparency?.
It is quite ironical that when Congress and its pseudo-secularist
allies talk of ?Muslims First? policy, it is flaunted as social
justice and secularism. But when the BJP espouses the cause of a Ram
temple at Ayodhya, it is labelled as a divisive and communal outfit.
On the flip side, the UPA government doubts the authenticity of Ram
Sethu casting aspersions on the existence of Lord Ram. But on the
other side many of its leaders can be seen queuing up at Ram lila
performances for photo ops.
The UPA obsession with Muslim appeasement again came to the fore with
its undue focus on divisive issues like communal budgeting and plan
allocation. In pursuance of its wanton policy, the government has
shown undue haste in assuring grants to madrasas promoting Urdu and
reservation in various ministries. During the rule of UPA, Haj subsidy
has grown 200 times. It seems that the government has got itself so
much involved in the politics of appeasement, even to the exclusion of
other social, political and constitutional responsibilities.
Earlier, it was the British who planned a communal divide to meet
their political objectives. Now, history is repeating itself with the
Congress-led UPA taking help of the same divide-and-rule policy in
furthering of its goal.
Now, under the UPA dispensation, where secularism is synonymous with
Hindu bashing, the propagandists of the ruling regime give impetus to
separatism. There is an unconstitutional and unethical bias when it
comes to the rights of the majority community. In fact, it has been
since the time of Mughals a millennium ago that Hindus have been
discriminated against. It seems the time has come for a rehash of the
period when Hindus were treated badly. Their temples were looted as
well as zajia was levied upon them. This regime is also not so much
different from the earlier one. For instance, temple donations are
siphoned for the upkeep of Muslim religions places. Hard-earned money
of tax-payers is being squandered at the altar of Congress?s obnoxious
vote bank politics.
(The writer is senior editor with Kashur Gazette, Delhi.)
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=221&page=27
January 21, 2008
Editorial
A separate growth
Aiding communalism with Plan Fund
By R. Balashankar
This Organiser Special on Republic Day is dedicated to national
unity.
The idea is to fight communalism. The UPA Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh has communalised the polity with his cynical Muslim first plank.
He introduced an obnoxious 15-point programme for Muslims and reserved
15 per cent of the 11th Plan Fund for minorities along with religion-
specific banking, budgeting and education.
In the following pages our expert analysts will show how the UPA plan
divides and discriminates the people of this country and how the
initiatives the ruling conglomerate has undertaken are akin to the 14-
point demands of the pre-1947 Muslim League. We want to forewarn the
nation through this exercise how in the guise of secularism the
national government has become a tool in the hands of destructive and
divisive elements and how it has acquired an unprecedented anti-Hindu
agenda. Secularism, to begin with, was a positive, almost indulgent
rhetoric under Jawaharlal Nehru; understandable in the aftermath of
Partition for which the League and its supporters in India were
responsible. Under Indira Gandhi it became vote bank politics. Rajiv
Gandhi and his successors made it appeasement. Under the UPA,
secularism is interpreted as brazenly anti-Hindu to the extent of
denigrating Hindu ideals becoming state policy.
In one of the most significant books written on minority problem in
India, Indian Muslims: Where Have They Gone Wrong?, Dr. Rafiq Zakaria
says, ?The British got, naturally, worried and they did whatever they
could to disrupt that (Hindu-Muslim) unity. They engineered riots,
they played politics by giving separate electorate to the Muslims,
they devised various methods both political and social?to keep the two
communities apart. They dangled grants and concessions alternately to
both the religious groups. Ultimately they saw to it that the country
was divided, through the distrust that they had so assiduously built
up between the two over the decades. To perpetuate their rule, they
followed the Roman policy of ?Divide and Rule?. But as Maulana
Mohammad Ali rightly put it: ?We divided and they ruled.? The blame
rests as much on our joint leadership as on the British; however in
the last stage it was Jinnah?s obduracy which struck the final blow to
our unity.? The UPA under Sonia Gandhi is playing the role of the
British, to divide and rule.
The historic parallels are strikingly similiar and ominous. Take this
instance, ?Before he opted for Pakistan, Muslim League leader
(Shaheed) Suhrawardy had decided to stay in India and lead the Bengal
Muslims in India. His letter to (Chaudhary) Khaliquzzaman on September
10, 1947, was eloquent and made interesting reading. He was faced with
the dilemma that unless Muslims derived their strength on account of
group solidarity they would not be respected by the Hindus. At the
same time solidarity and strength would raise suspicion about their
bona fides. Hence he suggested formation of strong Muslim pockets
dotted all over the country. His other alternative that both India and
Pakistan should strive to destroy the complex of superiority of their
majority populations and they should accept their minorities as their
own was a cry in the wilderness so far as Pakistan was concerned.?
(Islam: In India?s Transition to Modernity by M.A. Karandikar, Page
276-77)
Manmohan Singh seems to have entirely adopted Suhrawardy?s advice in
the last four years as Prime Minister.
The central government has identified 90 districts in the country as
minority concentrated for special development plans. An intriguing
aspect of this idea is that known Muslim-majority districts say in UP,
Assam, West Bengal, J&K or Kerala are not included in the select 90
list. It is said that altogether the Congress is thus focusing on
nearly 250 Lok Sabha constituencies for doling out excessive
privileges and central funds so as to develop them as captive pocket
boroughs. This may or may not work but the damage to the national
fabric is intrinsic.
In a similar instance, the centre has a plan to make minority students
reap benefits of dual scholarships which is not normally allowed in
the case of non-Muslim students. According to a plan announced by the
UPA in December 2007 Muslim students can avail scholarships
simultaneously from the Ministry of Minority Affairs and the Ministry
of Social Justice and Empowerment. This is under a 15-point programme
of the Prime Minister meant only for Muslims.
The Minority Affairs Ministry will distribute Rs 100 crore annually
for scholarships for Muslim students. This will run parallel to the
initiatives of other ministries targeted for the Muslims under the PM?
s new programme. The result is, the same set of people getting
pampered through numerous sources. A report said that 3,200 students
will get this benefit in the current academic year. The UPA followed
it up with reservations in educational institutions and recruitment.
It made an unsuccessful attempt to divide the Indian Army on communal
lines. All this is supposedly to empower the Muslims.
The UPA asked the banks and other financial institutions to have
special provisions for interest-free loans for Muslims along with a
package for 15 lakh special scholarships for Muslim students. The
Prime Minister has announced another programme to offer free coaching
for Muslim students preparing for the competitive examinations, for
which parents cough up lakhs. In the centrally funded Aligarh and
Jamia Milia Universities almost the entire seats and jobs are reserved
for this community.
Through a Constitution amendment, the UPA reserved majority seats in
all the non-aided educational institutions for the minority
communities setting them free from giving reservation quota for the
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. But this benefit is not
available to Hindu-run self-financing institutions. This is a blatant
discrimination that will make these institutions financially unviable
and covertly promote religious conversions.
Under the UPA, Muslims need not follow any rule that is compulsory for
other citizens. They need not sing Saraswati Vandana or Vande Mataram
though there is nothing religious about it. There is no need to salute
the national flag or sing the national anthem. They need not register
marriages. In the event of terror attacks?nearly 6,000 people have
been killed in the last four years?there will be no combing operations
in Muslim localities. Not a single terror attack has been solved
during this period.
And now comes the permanent scourge in the form of communal budgeting
and plan allocation. All these are over and above the existing schemes
in the Departments of Social Welfare, Education etc. for promotion of
madrasas, Urdu, and reservation in various ministries for removing
backwardness. The UPA has also created a separate ministry for
minorities, now presided over by A.R. Antulay, a crude practitioner of
minority politics. During the four-year UPA rule, the Haj subsidy has
grown 200 times! The Muslims? ?right first to the national resources?,
as Manmohan Singh coined his absurdly ruinous idea, has become the
only existential agenda of this government. Should the majority Hindus
take this nonsense in stoic silence? Should not we get up and stop
this outrage on national security? This is worse than the regenerate
Wahabism introduced by Mahathir in Malaysia.
Manmohan Singh has no use for the more enlightened views of Jawaharlal
Nehru, who as India?s first Prime Minister laid the foundations of
Indian planning.
Calling planning the first attempt in India to integrate agriculture,
industrial, social, economic and other aspects of the country into a ?
single framework of thinking? in his speech on first draft five-year
plan, Nehru said, ?It has made people think of this country as whole.
I think it is most essential that India, which is united politically
and in many other ways, should, to the same extent, be united mentally
and emotionally also. We often go off at a tangent on grounds of
provincialism, communalism, religion or caste. We have no emotional
awareness of the unity of the country. Planning will help us in having
an emotional awareness of our problems as a whole. It will help us to
see the isolated problems in villages or districts or even provinces
in their larger context. Therefore, the mere act of planning, the mere
act of having approached the question of progress in this way and of
producing a report of this type is something on which we might, I
think, congratulate ourselves.?
Again, in a speech Laying the Foundations (Broadcast from the Delhi
Station of All India Radio, December 31, 1952), Nehru after a visit to
Kanyakumari said, ?From that southern tip of India, I pictured this
great country spread out before me right up to the Himalayas in the
north and thought of her long and chequered story. Ours is a wonderful
inheritance but how shall we keep it? How shall we serve the country
which has given us so much and make her great and strong?...?
?We look at our own country and find both good and ill, powerful
forces at work to build her and also forces, which would disrupt and
disintegrate her. We cannot do much to affect the destiny of this
world as a whole but surely we can make a brave attempt to mould the
destiny of our 360 (then) million people... In India, the first
essential is the maintenance of the unity of the country, not merely a
political unity but a unity of the mind and the heart, which precludes
the narrow urges that make for disunity and which breaks down the
barriers raised in the name of religion or those between State and
State or, for that matter, any other barrier. We must aim at a
classless society,? Nehru said. He added, ?Of course, you must plan
for everybody. No planning which is not for all is good enough. You
must always have that view before you and you must prepare the
foundations for the next step towards the final goal. And so, you
ultimately start a process which grows by itself.? Economic Democracy
(Speech in Parliament, New Delhi, December 15, 1952, Jawaharlal Nehru?
s Speeches: 1949-1953, published by The Publications Division,
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India)
I have quoted Nehru on Planning, only to underline how flawed Manmohan
Singh?s approach is.
There is an interesting survey taken up by the Left leaning socio-
scientific NGO Shastra Sahitya Parishad. Kerala: How it lives, How it
thinks, released in December 2006. According to the survey, it is not
minority Muslims or Christians but Hindus comprising 54.47 per cent of
Kerala?s 3.2 crore population who are at the economic downslide. The
survey, by the Marxist NGO, says Hindus in the state form the major
chunk of the state?s poor with over 39 lakh living below poverty line.
Condition of Hindus is worse than that of Christians and Muslims in
employment, land holding and income. And the survey says the condition
of so-called forward castes is more pathetic than that of the backward
caste Hindus.
In March 2007, the CPM released a Charter of Demands for the
Advancement of Muslim Community. A dangerous document reminiscent of
the Muslim League demands under Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Apart from
focusing on a communal quota for Dalit Muslims?a term that violates
the basic tenet of Islam, which professes equality of all members of
the faith?the charter demands introducing a sub-plan only for Muslims
for allocating separate development funds on communal lines. The party
was not satisfied with the 2007-08 budget allocation of Rs. 500 crore
for Muslim welfare. The wholesale adoption of the Sachar report by the
CPM appears ridiculous considering the abysmal record of the party in
Kerala and West Bengal in the social uplift of the Muslim community,
as underlined in the report. But the CPM?s Muslim courtship in Kerala
is so brazen that it has left the Muslim League way behind in communal
appeal. The Muslim League is being asked to prove its pro-Muslim
character by more zealous outfits ensconced under the CPM perch.
Encouraged by the indulgence of the UPA, Muslim outfits organised a
procession in the capital in March 2007 demanding state-wise quotas in
proportion to their population. Almost all the known Muslim
organisations came on one platform to seek full implementation of
religion-based reservation in jobs, education and growth fund
allocation all over the country. The UPA and the Sachar report have
clearly uncorked the jinn of pre-Partition communal virus.
The UPA has cynically injected a vicious brand of communalism in the
Indian polity with the hope that en bloc Muslim votes will permanently
become its captive preserve. The insincerity and dishonesty of this
Muslim appeasement is underlined by the poor record of its
implementation. On ameliorating the genuine grievances of the Muslims
both the Congress and the Communist-ruled states project a dubious
record. Similar is the sub-text written by more virulent votaries of
vote bank politics like Mulayam Singh and Lalu Prasad Yadav.
On the report of the Sachar Committee, the Prime Minister is again
working on reservations based on religion. This is ultra vires and
goes against every tenet of the Constitution. The Constitution does
not allow this kind of discrimination on caste or religious lines. A
constitutionally formed government is duty bound to treat everybody
equal on legal and policy issues.
Even by Congress standards Manmohan Singh?s prime ministership has
touched a new low. Earlier our prime ministers used to exhort the
countrymen to rise above caste, region and religion and be Indians
first and everything else afterwards. Here is a Prime Minister who
works overtime to violate the letter and spirit of the Constitution to
divide and discriminate the countrymen on communal lines. And he, like
his party, by no means appears contrite over such dangerous
perversion. His government is aggressively working towards a
polarisation of votes by pursuing a policy of minorityism, encouraging
social tension and disquiet. Had the Congress been really sincere
about uplifting the minorities or ameliorating their lot, it would not
have resorted to such tactless exhibitionism and poisonous promotion
of reactionary ideas.
On the Republic Day, 58 years after India became a secular democratic
republic, we are inquiring as to how will this politics of appeasement
affect national unity? Will it create contrived and bogus grievances
deepening divisions in the society or will it strengthen our sense of
oneness and belonging? The politics of appeasement started by the
Congress under Mahatma Gandhi in the early 1920s, resulted in the
country?s vivisection. The tragic history is not forgotten. The wounds
of Partition have not yet fully healed. But the UPA has embarked on a
course that mocks at those who talk about national integration. They
are not taking a calculated risk. The UPA is schemingly provoking a
divide through dubious machinations.
The Planning Commission reports say that at least 26 per cent of India?
s
population is living below poverty line. If emancipation of this
deprived segment is the priority why talk only of 13 per cent Muslims,
all of whom in any case are not below poverty line? As such, learned
maulanas of Muslim Personal Law Board have decreed that Muslims cannot
take to banking or insurance, polio drops or yoga classes, as these
militate against their religious dogmas.
The Sachar Committee claims that only three per cent of Muslim
children go to madrasas. The evolutionary volume was an attempt to
tell social scientists that the ?Missing Muslim? in jobs was not the
result of madrasa education. Sachar was trying to emphasise on a
chimera of conspiracy against Muslims for their backwardness. At
another place the report stated that the condition of Muslims is worse
than that of Dalits.
The notorious record of the UPA government is that it sees citizens as
communal compartments. By introducing the Sachar Committee and
Ranganath Mishra Commission to devise communal quota, by soft-pedaling
on terrorist outfits, indulging the Maoists by politicising internal
security and Islamising the foreign policy the UPA has created a
cantankerous mess of governance. Even its much-hyped Indo-US nuke deal
is in doldrums. The UPA gives the impression that it is working on an
agenda for national disintegration.
A valuable input in the debate came from Bibek Debroy, a well-known
economist. In his column in The Indian Express (June 12, 2007), Debroy
made an interesting observation. He said, ?A 21st century government
should recognise deprivation as an individual issue and defuse
collective tension based on caste or religion. Wherever there is an
attempt to segregate, mainstreaming never occurs and deprivation
becomes permanent. Contrast economic development in special category
Articles 370 and 371 states with Goa? Caste and religion are
attributes that should remain in the private domain, irrelevant for
public policy purposes. What should be relevant for policy is
deprivation based on class. Government permitting that is precisely
what should have happened?But governments won?t permit and will
intervene to encourage this collective caste-cum-religious identity. ?
It is a mindset that the UPA government has encouraged across the
board.?
The National Sample Survey undertook a study and concluded in June
last year that jobless rate among Hindus and Muslims is almost equal.
The Survey said that the Worker Population Ratio (WPR) for the male in
the age group of 15 and above in the educational level in urban India
among the Hindus and Muslims was equal at 71 per cent followed by
Christians at 64 per cent. Outside the education parameter in urban
India, the Survey says, the worker population ratio among the Hindu
male was barely three per cent higher than that for the Muslims at 56
per cent. This was 51 per cent for Christians. This data was released
by the NSSO under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation for the year 2004-05. And this has exposed the bluff
that far more Muslims were unemployed than the Hindus. If this Survey
is any guide then it should be considered a big setback for the
advocates of more religion-based reservations as part of the so-called
affirmative action. The Survey said that the unemployment rate in
urban areas for both the Hindus and the Muslims was the same at four
per cent. This Survey revealed that both in urban and rural areas
there was only a negligible difference in the literacy rate of the two
communities. This revelation explodes the basis of the UPA-sponsored
vote bank quota politics and brings us back to what we said in the
beginning that deprivation has nothing to do with caste or religion in
the present milieu of globalisation, growth and urbanisation. The
allegations of rising income and wealth disparities between different
castes or religious groups?except for Scheduled Tribes who live in
concentrated blocks?has not been proved by any rational survey. But
who cares for facts, since politics in India is all about myth
making?
The UPA has done nothing to encourage national integration. Its
actions are so communally charged that it has refused to give
protection to Taslima Nasreen, even after she deleted all the
objectionable passages from her book, only to please the perverted
fanatics in her community. This might be the first instance in Indian
history that the country has turned its back on an asylum-seeker, who
was hounded out of her country, who was forced by her own hosts in
West Bengal to vacate her second home and has no other place to go.
But the UPA protects and felicitates M.F. Husain about whose
despicable, blasphemous cartoons Hindus have serious objection.
It seems there is no bottom to the depth to which the UPA can sink in
furthering its goal. It has communalised budgeting; it has
communalised banking and financial institutions; it tried even to
communalise the armed forces. It has vitiated the academia spreading
the venom of casteism and communalism and now it is out to destroy the
country by identifying districts as Muslim majority and pampering them
to promote communal segregation. It is bent on dividing the police
force as Hindu, Muslim and Christian, and nobody knows what else
remains to be fragmented on communal lines. Some more aggressively
lunatic in its ranks have even suggested to introduce a communal quota
in the judiciary as well and appoint judges after fixing their
religion tag. Is there any guarantee that people who get their
position only on their religious identity will behave impartially in
their execution of duty? And what will happen to the faith of the
citizens in the system and its commitment to delivering justice? What
will happen to this country once the people lose all hope of fair play
and fair deal under these votaries of fake secularism?
What is the BPL criterion? Those who earn above Rs 12 per day. But
what about the lucky above BPL people? According to the report of
National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS),
394.9 million workers, i.e. 80 per cent of India?s working population,
are in the unorganised sector and 80 per cent of them are among those
who live on less than Rs 20 a day. These are real poor and vulnerable,
the report says. We quote this statistics to show that poverty has
nothing to do with religion. And that politics should be about
marrying policies with the people.
A conservative estimate, supported by all empirical data, gives us a
statistics of almost 30 to 35 per cent of India?s population living in
subhuman conditions. This is not a comforting thought in the 61st year
of Independence. And to know that our political class has only
archaic, time warped ideas for giving opportunity to the less
privileged is a sad commentary.
The UPA as part of its poll-oriented thinking has constituted an equal
rights panel to ensure Muslim representation level. How myopic can the
ruling class get! In a country with over 35 per cent poor to have an
equal rights panel only for the 15 per cent minorities! Does the
government have no responsibility to the rest of the population?
If there is any poor, deprived in the country, it is the Hindu. His
land was taken away, his homes and temples were looted for centuries,
he was made to pay jazia, an oppression tax of slavery, for almost 800
years, for that long the Muslims and for another 150 years Christians
ruled this country. How can the ruling class till 1947, become
deprived needing special affirmative action? It is only the Hindu who
has some claim to a special treatment. And Pakistan was created, after
the bloodiest-ever holocaust in history, to pamper the Muslims. Every
corner of the country where Hindu is in minority is in the grip of
insurgency and terrorism. A convincing Hindu majority is the only
guarantee for the territorial integrity of this country. And by
artificially identifying 90 Muslim-majority districts is Manmohan
Singh trying to lay the foundation for another partition?
The Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has the gumption to claim that
this will not divide the society. It is not entirely surprising, only
God knows what more disastrous plans he has in mind to divide the
society further, that he thinks all that he has done so far is not
enough.
There is no economic or literacy backwardness that is exclusive to one
community. Yes, social and religious attitudes can ghettoize a
community. For that the state cannot do much.
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January31, 2010
From Sachar to Ranganath Misra
A period of minority assertion, Hindu subjugation
By Dr JK Bajaj
"The High Level Committee on Social, Economic and Educational Status
of Muslim Community in India" set up in 2005 under the chairmanship of
Justice Rajinder Sachar by the Prime Minister, commonly known as the
Sachar Committee, was perhaps the most high powered of such bodies. It
made a comprehensive survey of the status of Muslims in almost all
fields of Indian economy, polity and society.
The six years of UPA rule have been a period of minority assertion.
During this period, the Government of India has assiduously sought to
promote the idea that Christian and Muslim minorities have special
rights and claims on Indian polity, which this government is committed
to honour. The Prime Minister of India himself has gone on record to
state that the minorities have the first right on the resources of
this country, and there have been statements from high governmental
and political authorities expressing the same intent.
These statements of intentions have been backed by institutional and
budgetary actions in favour of the minorities. A separate Ministry of
Minority Affairs has been created to specifically concern itself with
the rights and privileges of the minorities. And, a number of
commissions and committees have been set up to report on the condition
of minorities, and to suggest constitutional, legal, administrative
and fiscal arrangements to give effect to their special privileges and
rights.
"The High Level Committee on Social, Economic and Educational Status
of Muslim Community in India" set up in 2005 under the chairmanship of
Justice Rajinder Sachar by the Prime Minister, commonly known as the
Sachar Committee, was perhaps the most high powered of such bodies. It
made a comprehensive survey of the status of Muslims in almost all
fields of Indian economy, polity and society. The data collected by
the Committee did not show the Muslims to be particularly badly off in
any field. On the other hand, the data indicated a resurgent Muslim
community that was growing fast not only in numbers, but also in its
educational, economic and social status. The Committee, in any case,
went on to give wide-ranging recommendations for institutional and
economic arrangements to be made in favour of the Muslim community.
The Committee, in particular, recommended special treatment for
Muslims in all government schemes. It even recommended special
consideration for Muslims in the matter of disbursement of bank
loans.
Even before the Committee gave its report, the government had launched
a "New 15-Point Programme for the Welfare of the Minorities"; this was
a comprehensive programme for providing special privileges and rights
to the minorities in various walks of Indian polity and economy, for
creating and strengthening special institutional structures and
providing budgetary support for this purpose. The recommendations of
the Sachar Committee were then used for further empowering these
institutional structures and launching new programmes and initiatives
in favour of the minorities in general, and the Muslim minority in
particular.
The Sachar Committee, however, stopped short of recommending
reservations for Muslims in government jobs or in educational
institutions. The Report of the National Commission for Religious and
Linguistic Minorities, which has been recently released, has now
addressed that lacuna. This commission was set up in the Ministry of
Minority Affairs as early as October 2004 under the Chairmanship of
Justice Ranganath Misra. Dr. Tahir Mahmood, Dr. Anil Wilson and Dr.
Mohinder Singh were the other three Members. The Commission submitted
its report in May 2007, but it was made public only during the last
session of the Parliament.
In its report, the Commission has ventured where Justice Sachar had
hesitated to step. It has recommended an across the board 15 per cent
reservation for minorities in all government jobs and educational
institutions. Within this minority quota, the Commission has fixed a
sub-quota of 10 per cent for the Muslims and the remaining 5 per cent
for other minorities. In an extraordinary recommendation, the
Commission has specified that in case the quota for Muslims cannot be
filled for lack of appropriate candidates, it shall be offered to
candidates from other minorities, "but in no case shall any seat
within the recommended 15 per cent shall go the majority community".
The Commission has further clarified that this 15 per cent quota shall
be in addition to what the minority candidates secure on their own
merit in open competition.
The recommendations, if implemented, shall ensure that minorities have
a presence of more than 15 per cent in all walks of Indian public
life. According to the Commission’s own assessment, the educational
and economic status of all minorities excepting the Muslims is
considerably better than the majority. They are therefore likely to
get a substantial share in government jobs and educational
institutions on their own merit, as they do even now. The total share
of minority communities shall therefore turn out to be considerably
more than 15 per cent. From the way the recommendations are
formulated, the intention of the Commission seems to be to ensure that
the religious minorities as a whole have a larger say and share than
their numbers alone would allow.
The tone and tenor of the reports of both the Sachar Committee and the
Misra Commission are not merely to provide special privileges and
rights to the minorities, but also to disprivilege the majority. Both
reports revel in casting unfounded aspersions and making snide remarks
against the majority community. Sachar Committee, in fact, suggests
that it does not really matter whether Muslims or some other community
come to form the majority in India. Misra Commission wants to now
ensure that until the minorities do not become the majority, they
should enjoy a major share in the polity.
Incidentally, the proposal of 15 percent reservation in favour of
religious minorities seems odd in the context of the arguments that
the Ranganath Misra Commission has developed throughout the report.
The thrust of their argument is that reservations on the basis of
religious or caste identity are not justifiable. India should instead
have family-based reservations, and the families qualifying for such
reservations should be identified on the basis of thorough detailed
surveys based on well defined economic and educational criteria.
However, while formulating its recommendations, the Commission
suddenly terms this as the ultimate goal, and meanwhile recommends the
15 per cent reservation for religious minorities. This makes the
recommendations almost sound like a command performance.
The Commission has made another recommendation which, if accepted, has
the potential of drastically changing the religious complexion of
India. Giving its recommendations on an additional reference made by
the government, the Commission has recommended that the Presidential
Order of 1950, which excludes Muslims and Christians from the category
of Scheduled Castes, should be amended to de-link the Scheduled Caste
status from religion. The argument in this case is that the
Constitution "prohibits any discrimination on the ground of religion".
It is strange that a high judicial person can make one set of
recommendations on the basis of religion, and almost the next
paragraph invoke the principle on non-discrimination on the basis of
religion.
The effect of these contradictory recommendations is that those of the
Scheduled Caste persons who choose to convert to a minority religion
shall now be doubly privileged, first as members of minority religions
for which the Commission has recommended 15 per cent quota, and then
as members of the scheduled castes, for whom special constitutional
protection and quotas are available. An immediate consequence of the
acceptance of this recommendation would probably be to allow the so-
called crypto-Christians to formally declare themselves as Christians
and thus raise the proportion of Christians from the present 2.5 to
perhaps around 6.5 per cent.
Fortunately, the Member-Secretary of the Commission, Mrs. Asha Das,
has not consented to this particular recommendation and has appended a
dissenting note. The note, among other things, insists that there is a
difference between religions of Indian origin, and religions like
Islam and Christianity that have originated outside. And, therefore,
the privileges offered to Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist Scheduled
Caste persons cannot be extended to Muslims and Christians. It must be
seen as an unintended benefit of Ranganath Misra Commission Report
that the question of religions of Indian and non-Indian origin has
been now mentioned in an official document. It is also fortunate that
the National Commission on Scheduled Castes, headed by Buta Singh,
formally opposed the recommendation of the Ranganath Misra Commission
to allow members of the Christian and Muslim communities to claim
scheduled caste status.
It seems these detailed reports of various commissions and committees
do bring into the open some important facets of the situation of
minorities. The enormous data collected by the Sachar committee
brought into focus the great strides the Muslim community has made in
terms of sheer numbers, and in terms of educational and economic
attainments during the last two or three decades. Before the Sachar
Committee Report how many of us knew that female literacy amongst
Muslims is higher than Hindus in more than half of the Indian states?
And, that the Muslims are also economically much better of than Hindus
in those states. Ranganath Misra Commission Report has brought into
the open the question of difference between religions of Indian and
non-Indian origin. The report has underlined the fact that even high
government authorities cannot agree on this issue. Let us carry
forward the debates opened up by Justices Sachar and Misra.
(The writer is director, Centre for Policy Studies and can be
contacted at jatinde...@gmail.com)
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January 21, 2008
Manmohan obsessed with insidious identity politics
By Sandhya Jain
Muslim political assertion will impact upon all political parties
prone to relying upon the community for a consolidated vote share. The
CPM is already feeling the heat on this score in West Bengal;
observers say events in Nandigram contained an unstated component of
Muslim assertion for power within the hitherto bhadralok-dominated
party. In this connection, it may be pertinent to recall that
following Partition, the Muslim community voted en masse for the
Congress Party.
Fortunately, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes nipped one
UPA mischief in the bud by refusing to endorse the May 15, 2007
recommendations of the National Commission for Religious and
Linguistic Minorities that Scheduled Caste status be extended to ?
Dalit Christians? and ?Dalit Muslims?. NCSC chairman Buta Singh
resisted the move by Justice Ranganath Mishra to amend the
Constitution (SCs) Order, 1950, which restricted SC status to groups
among Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists.
The proposal by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA)
government to allocate 15 per cent funds of development and welfare
schemes exclusively for minorities has triggered nationwide
resentment. In the interests of its own political survival, the
Congress Party would do well to rethink its tendency to nurture
communal vote banks as these are beginning to face the law of
diminishing returns.
Most politicians have short memories. Hence it will be in order to
briefly recall the 2004 Assembly election in Assam, where a new Muslim
political party, the Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF), startled
the nation with its performance. Muslims comprise 30 per cent of Assam?
s 26 million population and play a decisive role in nearly 40
constituencies that have hitherto been traditionally won by Congress.
Floated by wealthy businessman Badruddin Ajmal, AUDF contested on a
platform of safeguarding Muslim interests ?without closing the doors
to other communities?. It had an electoral understanding with the
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and gave tickets to Hindus. It
contested 66 of the 126 Assembly seats and won an impressive 10?a
greater achievement than the four seats that heralded the arrival of
the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh in the early 1980s.
The Assam election is worth recalling because though Congress managed
to form the government, Muslim religious leaders campaigning for AUDF
revealed it was the first step in a long-term vision of establishing a
pan-India Muslim political party. One has only to recall that the last
Muslim pan-India formation was the Muslim League to envisage the
possible consequences for the Republic. The comparison with the BSP is
also apt, because like Ms. Mayawati, Muslim parties will also eat into
the Congress vote share and further fragment the polity.
In fact, Muslim political assertion will impact upon all political
parties prone to relying upon the community for a consolidated vote
share. The CPM is already feeling the heat on this score in West
Bengal; observers say events in Nandigram contained an unstated
component of Muslim assertion for power within the hitherto bhadralok-
dominated party. In this connection, it may be pertinent to recall
that following Partition, the Muslim community voted en masse for the
Congress party. After consolidating their separate identity, they
united against the Congress in 1967 and brought the CPM to power.
Nandigram is the beginning of the challenge to CPM hegemony in West
Bengal. As the Hindu community looks for a new saviour, the BJP would
do well do rebuild an independent identity in the State, and not latch
on to the tails of the highly unreliable Mamata Banerjee.
Muslim leaders, both religious and political, are canny enough to
recognise that the Muslim community will remain educationally and
socially backward so long as it persists with the traditional system
of education in the madrasa. It is true that this does not necessarily
translate into economic backwardness, because Muslims largely hail
from artisan and other professional groups that manage to make a
comfortable living without formal education, as is true of similar
Hindu caste groups. But it cannot be denied that this education tends
to reinforce separateness and over-emphasise their religious
identity.
The UPA has erred grievously in creating a separate Ministry for
Minority Affairs. Since as many as 28 per cent of Indians live below
the poverty line, there was no legitimate basis for Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh to state that Muslims have the first claim on
resources, and to follow this up with the Eleventh Plan draft document
setting aside 15 per cent of all developmental and welfare funds for
minorities. It may be added that as in the debate over creamy layer in
caste quotas, so also, the minority quota will not differentiate
between needy and rich Muslims, and may thus end up cornered by
families with political clout or physical muscle. This is already
happening as banks have received instructions to grant loans first to
Muslim applicants; banks will naturally ensure that the recipient of
loans have some financial standing as that the loans can be repaid.
Hindus as a community will have to pay the price of this mindless
pandering to the Muslim community. Sadly, among political parties,
only the BJP has dared oppose these moves, with president Rajnath
Singh warning that this will intensify communal competitiveness and
strife. There is a legitimate fear that the UPA?s special 15-point
programme for minorities in the Eleventh Plan draft paper may trigger
competitive communal demands for budgetary allocations in all states.
It can also lead to caste-based demands for resource allocation, thus
destroying the traditional holistic approach to national development.
The BJP states roundly opposed ?communal budgeting? at the National
Development Council meeting in December 2007. Fearing social strife,
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi suggested that funds for various
schemes and programmes be allocated solely on the basis of socio-
economic criteria and execution entrusted to the States. Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Chhattisgarh Chief
Minister Dr Raman Singh insisted that rather than caste or religion,
economic criteria alone determine allocation of funds for welfare
schemes. As economic deprivation is a quantifiable and objective
criteria, not prone to political manipulation, it would be worthwhile
if political parties could sit across the table and opt for economic
criteria over caste and community wherever there is a legitimate case
for special reservations or allocations.
Fortunately, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes nipped one
UPA mischief in the bud by refusing to endorse the May 15, 2007
recommendations of the National Commission for Religious and
Linguistic Minorities that Scheduled Caste status be extended to ?
Dalit Christians? and ?Dalit Muslims?. NCSC chairman Buta Singh
resisted the move by Justice Ranganath Mishra to amend the
Constitution (SCs) Order, 1950, which restricted SC status to groups
among Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists.
Shri Buta Singh candidly asserted that the basic parameter for
recognition as Scheduled Caste was ?untouchability?, which does not
exist in the theology of Christianity and Islam. Thus, the UPA will
not be able to poach upon the constitutional benefits for Hindu SCs
and extend them to Christian and Muslim converts. It is well known
that the recent violence in Kandhamal, Orissa, was caused by a
perverse attempt by converted groups to grab Scheduled Tribe quotas by
forcing the administration to give them ST certificates to which they
are not legally entitled.
(The writer is a senior journalist and can be contacted at
sandh...@airtelbroadband.in)
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March 25, 2007
A chargesheet
Hindus betraying Hindus
HINDU YOUTH REDUCED TO SECOND-CLASS STATUS
By O.P. Gupta, I.F.S. (retd.)
It is painful to see how a class of ?secular, progressive and liberal?
Hindu politicians right from the days of the 1916 Congress-Muslim
League Lucknow Pact till date in the form of the Sachar Committee
report has been systematically collaborating with Muslim and other
minority politicians in concocting justifications to reduce, bit by
bit, the educational, employment and economic (E3) opportunities for
Hindu boys and girls, including leftist Hindu boys and girls.
Religious minority institutions have been empowered by none other than
our ?secular? Hindu politicians to treat Hindu applicants as second-
class citizens of India at the mercy, whims and fancies of ?minority
managements? even where these institutions receive under Article 30(2)
state grants out of taxes largely collected from we Hindus.
As the political parties in their manifestos openly declare that they
will give special considerations to Muslims and Christians, they
cannot be accused of betraying Hindu youth. Those Hindu parents who
give their votes blindly to such political parties are the real ones
who by casting their votes to such parties accept in principle that
minority students be given special preference over their own children
and, thus, unknowingly, end up betraying their own children,
grandchildren and the Hindu youth.
It is painful to see how Hindu parents are being media managed to harm
and hurt educational, employment, economic and business opportunities
of their own children and grandchildren by giving their notes and
votes to such political parties which shout from their political
rooftops that they will give special preferences to Muslims and
Christians over Hindus.
Since the employment situation is worsening day by day, it is
important that those Hindu parents who have college going children or
grand children, and, those Hindu youth who will soon be entering into
employment market seriously look for and identify those Hindu
politicians who are bent upon to reduce their E3 space.
In January 2007, the Department of Personnel and Training, Government
of India, sent a note to all ?heads of departments, public sector
banks and financial institutions, quasi-government organisa-tions,
autonomous bodies and all appointing authorities,? asking them to ?
scrupulously observe? guidelines to make selection panels more
representative. All selection panels recruiting ten or more vacancies
must have one member belonging to a minority community.
What is more important, the departments have been instructed to submit
half-yearly and annual reports, beginning March 2007, detailing number
of vacancies at all levels?Groups A, B, C and D?and the number of
minorities hired. Dr Manmohan Singh is the Minister for DOPT. This
circular instructs to give special considerations to minorities in all
appointments, so danger bell is ringing loud and clear for all Hindu
job-seekers whether they are leftists or rightists that despite their
better profiles percentage of Hindu intake will be reduced adversely
affecting them all.
A one man Commission headed by Justice Ranganath Mishra was silently
set up by the UPA government which is looking at status of non- Muslim
minorities, and, is mandated to recommend ways of helping them get
better representation in government services. Its report is due by
March 31, 2007. So this Commission is also looking at ways and means
to further reduce percentage of Hindus in public services, bank loans
etc.
Suppose there are 10,000 vacancies, seats reserved for SC Hindus would
be 1500, for ST Hindus 750 and for OBC 2700. Not many Hindus know that
about 70 per cent of Muslims are already covered under the Mandal
Commission formula and are enjoying benefits under the 27 per cent
quota.
In Andhra Pradesh, the Congress government led by Shri Y.S. Rajsekhar
Reddy reserved five per cent of seats in government colleges and in
government jobs for Muslims. It means that only 9500 seats would be
available to all categories of Hindus and other minorities having
reserved 500 seats exclusively for Muslims. So, the number of seats
available for SC Hindus will get reduced to 1425 from 1500, the number
of seats for ST Hindus will get reduced to 712 from 750, and, the
number of seats reserved for OBC will get reduced to 2565 from 2700.
Number of general category seats in which caste Hindus fall will also
shrink from 5000 to 4500. So giving special preferences to minorities
over Hindu candidates, which is the core policy of Congress Party,
equally hurts educational and employment opportunities of all groups
of Hindus, whether SC Hindus, or ST Hindus, or OBC Hindus, or caste
Hindus, or leftist Hindus. It is mere arithmatic. If more than 500
Muslims got more marks than the last Hindu candidate, then Muslim
candidates will spill over into general category 9500 seats.
Incidentally in Andhra Pradesh Muslims enjoy higher literacy rate than
Hindus.
In February 2007, Chief Minister of West Bengal issued instructions
that ?at least 10 per cent of the appointees should be from the
minority community.? By courtesy of Leftist Hindu voters, the
percentage of Hindus? job intake is set to fall in West Bengal.
Shri Arif Mohammad Khan, a former Union Minister in the Rajiv Gandhi
government, has pointed out that 10 Muslim communities are already
part of the Scheduled Tribes and another 83 Muslim communities are
included in the OBC list. ?Together,? he maintains, ?they constitute
more than 70 per cent of total Muslim population leaving out only the
Muslim creamy layer.? Similarly, a good chunk of Christians are
already included in the Scheduled Tribe and the OBC category.
In Bihar, the OBC quota has been divided by ?secular? Hindu
politicians into backward and most backward to help put nine Muslim
groups in the first category and 27 Muslim groups in the second
category.
In Kerala and Karnataka, the Hindu politicians of Congress Party and
the Communist parties have declared the entire Muslim community
backward just to reduce the percentage of Hindus in colleges and in
government jobs.
In Tamil Nadu, 95 per cent of Muslims are included into backward
formula though Muslims have higher literacy rate in Kerala, Karnataka
and Tamil Nadu than Hindus.
Dr Manmohan Singh is a Rajya Sabha Member from Assam and no wonder
there is already five per cent reservation for Muslims in the
recruitment for the Assam Police, adversely affecting employment
opportunities for SCs, STs, OBCs and all other Hindus as shown above.
It is painful to see how a class of ?secular, progressive and liberal?
Hindu politicians right from the days of the 1916 Congress-Muslim
League Lucknow Pact till date in the form of the Sachar Committee
report has been systematically collaborating with Muslim and other
minority politicians in concocting justifications to reduce, bit by
bit, the educational, employment and economic (E3) opportunities for
Hindu boys and girls, including leftist Hindu boys and girls, pushing
them to second and third-class status vis-?-vis minority boys and
girls. It is a sad story of Hindus betraying Hindus.
This is symptomatic of the slave mentality, which is defined as a
tendency to harm, hurt and humiliate members of one?s own community so
as to appease ?others? at the cost of one?s own community. This habit
is also known as gulamiat pasand (GP) or Genetically Acquired Slave
Syndrome (GASS). These terms more accurately describe this class of
Hindus. Raja Jaichand, Mirza Raja Man Singh of Akbar time, Raja
Jaswant Singh of Aurangzeb time etc. were also Hindus but were GP type
carrying GASS virus. In rural areas they are called ?Jaichandi
Hindus?.
We Hindus are told day in and day out that India is a ?secular? state
where religion should be a private matter and every citizen is equal
before law. But in practice our secular Hindu parliamentarians and
legislators have been passing such laws where the State asks for the
religion of an individual and then discriminate against we Hindus. In
this game of secularism, Hindu youth turn out to be the worst victims
of GP Hindu politicians.
The Article 14 of the Constitution reads: ?The State shall not deny to
any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws
within the territories of India.? The Article 15(1) reads: ?The State
shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of
religion, race, caste, sex, and place of birth or any of them.? The
Article 29(2) reads: ?No citizen shall be denied admission into any
educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out
of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or
any of them.? The Article 30(1) reads: ?All minorities, whether based
on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and
administer educational institutions of their choice.? Article 30(2)
reads, ?The State shall not, in granting aid to educational
institutions, discriminate against any educational institution on the
ground that it is under the management of a minority, whether based on
religion or language.?
One may see that the pith and substance of the Article 30 is very much
there in the 14 Points of Jinnah because 28 out of 31 Muslim members
of the Indian Constituent Assembly which drafted the Indian
Constitution were elected on tickets of the Muslim League of Jinnah.
This fact is generally suppressed by ?secular? Hindu historians.
But on calculated mis-representations and soft-peddling by Attorney
Generals appointed by Congress governments, the Supreme Court of India
has ruled that equal treatment guarantee of Articles 14 and 29(2) was
not available to Hindu boys and girls in minority-run institutions,
and; that religious minority educational institutions under Article
30(1) can reserve up to 50 per cent of seats for co-religionist
candidates with the result Hindu students including comrades with
better marks do not get admissions in such institutions but minority
students with lower marks easily get admissions within their reserved
50 per cent quota.
Religious minority institutions have been, thus, empowered by none
other than our ?secular? Hindu politicians to treat Hindu applicants
as second-class citizens of India at the mercy, whims and fancies of ?
minority managements? even where these institutions receive under
Article 30(2) state grants out of taxes largely collected from we
Hindus. In the minority institutions, the SC Hindus and ST Hindus are
denied benefits of their constitutional reservations of 15 per cent
and 7.5 per cent under Article 15. And, for this misfortune of Hindu
boys and girls those Hindu voters are responsible who being unaware of
harm they inflict upon their own children cast their votes in favour
of ?secular? parties or don?t go to cast their votes at all.
Hindu politicians have passed such laws that enable a minority student
to get cheaper educational loans at three per cent interest per annum
from the National Minority Development & Finance Corporation. A
minority businessman can get margin money loan for business at five
per cent interest from NMDFC. Minority students are required to repay
educational loans in five years after completion of his course but a
Hindu student has to repay education loan after one year of completion
of his course. One may see details at (www.nmdfc.org ). A Hindu
student or a Hindu businessman gets bank loans at much higher rates of
interest and harsher terms whether he is a member of the Students
Federation or that of the NSUI or the ABVP etc. This ill-treatment a
Hindu voter has invited for himself and his children by giving his
vote to the so-called secular parties or by abstaining from voting.
Congress and other ?secular? Hindu politicians have invented such a
legal system where a Muslim candidate or a Christian candidate has all
the legal rights to compete on equal footings with a Hindu candidate
for employment, but there are thousands and thousands of posts paid
from government funds for which Hindus cannot even apply, such as the
post of the Principal and Vice Principal of St. Stephen?s College,
Delhi. GP Hindus have set up the National Minority Commission with
nominal Hindu presence to ensure that minorities are not discriminated
but there is no Commission to ensure that Hindus are not victimised by
minorities.
The National Minority Commission does not reflect the religious
demographic reality of India so it does not enjoy the confidence of
Hindus in general. Either more than three-fourth members of the
Minority Commission and other commissions should be Hindus in
proportion to their population or these should be abolished being
unrepresentative and undemocratic.
Dr Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister, his Sachar Committee and many
liberal Hindus make a lot of fuss that Muslims are under- represented
in civil services and in higher education. According to the Sachar
Committee [page 64], only four per cent of the total Muslim population
in India within age group 20 years and above are graduates. At page
65, the Sachar Committee reports that in case of Muslims (age 20 and
above) the number of graduates was under four million i.e. only 1.6
per cent of Muslims are graduates if their population as per Imam
Bukhari is taken to be 250 million or 2.6 per cent of Muslims are
graduates if their population is taken to be 150 million. Since only
educated persons can aspire for public jobs, it is natural that
percentage of Muslims in government jobs should not be more than 2.6
per cent. Muslim percentage in government service is already more than
this percentage by relentless efforts of Congress party to reduce the
Hindu percentage.
Sachar Committee reports that while 26 per cent of those above 17
years age and above complete matriculation, this percentage is only 17
per cent for Muslims. So the recommendation is to open more schools
and colleges in Muslim areas. The Sachar Committee does not tell that
bulk of Muslims who drop out from schools seek gainful employment and
start earning more at younger age than what they will earn even after
graduating. The Census Report 2001 [Statement 10] lets the cat out of
bag when it reports that in the category of household industries (HHI)
workers, Muslims representation was 8.1 per cent which is double the
national average of 4.2 per cent. This index is only 3.2 per cent for
Hindus. In the category of ?other workers? Christians enjoyed 52.8 per
cent representation, followed by Muslims (49.1 per cent) and Hindus
only (35.5 per cent). Thus, higher percentage of Christians and
Muslims are in jobs than Hindu percentage and still Hindu politicians
of ?secular? parties are working hard to reduce E3 space for Hindu
students that too with the help of the votes of Hindu parents.
In a significant development, after the tabling of the Sachar report,
Muslim MPs, cutting across party lines, handed over a wish-list of
sorts to Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh: IITs and
IIMs exclusively for Muslims, 5,000 schools, two lakh scholarships and
more campuses of the Aligarh Muslim University across the country. A
senior HRD official, present at the meeting, said, ?The MPs said since
IITs and IIMs have less than two per cent of Muslim students, the HRD
Ministry should create IITs and IIMs exclusively for Muslim children.?
Urdu schools, they also demanded, should be given adequate
infrastructure support. ?Minority-run societies and NGOs, if they wish
to open schools, should be given CBSE affiliation without any delay,?
an MP demanded. The Muslim MPs said that these suggestions should get
reflected in this year?s budget as well as the Eleventh Plan.
It is painful to see how Hindu parents are being media managed to harm
and hurt educational, employment, economic and business opportunities
of their own children and grandchildren by giving their notes and
votes to such political parties which shout from their political
rooftops that they will give special preferences to Muslims and
Christians over Hindu youth in matters of education, training
facilities, government jobs, jobs under police and paramilitary
forces, employment in banks and other public sector undertakings and
bank loans, educational loans, etc.
As the political parties in their manifestos openly declare that they
will give special considerations to Muslims and Christians, they
cannot be accused of betraying Hindu youth. Those Hindu parents who
give their votes blindly to such political parties are the real ones
who by casting their votes to such parties accept in principle that
minority students be given special preference over their own children
and, thus, unknowingly, end up betraying their own children,
grandchildren and the Hindu youth. I suggest rather than giving their
votes to their ?caste candidate,? Hindu parents should start casting
their votes in favour of welfare of their own children and
grandchildren as Muslim and Christian voters do.
The following data show that the Hindu politicians of the Congress
Party have history, habit and precedent of giving second-class
treatment to Hindus. Giving second-class treatment to Hindus still
continues to be the hidden agenda and core policy of the Congress
Party. The more the Hindus give their notes, votes and support to the
Congress Party, the more emboldened this Party becomes to treat them
and their sons and daughters as the second class.
Let us look at some manifestos of the Congress Party which has been
consistently promising that if elected it will give preferential
treatment to minorities over Hindus.
The 1996 Manifesto of Congress Party states: ?(i) The Congress regards
the 15-point programme for the welfare of the minorities as a charter
of duties. (ii) It has established the National Minority Finance and
Development Corporation?to support projects that promote the well-
being of minorities?with a capital of Rs 500 crore. (iii) A Rapid
Action Force comprising young men from different communities has been
set up. (It is understood that percentage of Hindus in this Force
under instructions of the Congress Governments is much below their
traditional 95 per cent) (iv)The Minorities Commission has been given
statutory status?.
Congress Manifesto of 1998: ?(i) Indira Gandhi?s 15-point programme
for minorities continues to be our blueprint. Each and every element
of this programme will be implemented with renewed vigour. (ii) The
Congress will create a new ministry for minorities to ensure better
coordination and integration. (iii) A high-powered commission will be
set up to examine and give recommendations on how the representation
of minorities in public services could be enhanced in a meaningful
manner. (iv) The Congress will amend the Constitution to establish a
Commission for Minority Educational Institutions and provide direct
affiliation for minority professional institutions to central
universities?.
Congress Manifesto 1999: ?(i) to ensure the reinvigoration of Indira
Gandhi?s historic 15-point programme and the monitoring mechanism
devised by Rajiv Gandhi. (ii) Measures will be taken to increase the
representation of minorities in all public, police and para-military
services both in the central and in state governments. (iii)The
Constitution will be amended to establish a Commission for Minority
Educational Institutions and to provide direct affiliation for
minority professional institutions to central universities (iv)The
National Minorities Development Corporation and the State Minorities
Development Corporations will be made direct-lending institutions?.
Congress Manifesto 2004: ?(i) The Congress believe in affirmative
action for all religious and linguistic minorities. The Congress is
committed to adopting this policy for socially and educationally
backward sections among Muslims and other religious minorities on a
national scale. (ii)The Congress commits itself to amend the
Constitution to establish a Commission for Minority Educational
Institutions that will provide direct affiliation for minority
professional institutions to central universities?.
Hindu readers may note that the 2004 Manifesto boldly stated: ?The
Congress has provided reservations for Muslims in Kerala and Karnataka
in government employment and education on the grounds that they are a
socially and educationally backward class?. But the Census report of
2001, as we have seen above, states that in Kerala and in Karnataka
literacy rate of Muslims was higher than that of Hindus. Even the
discredited Sachar Committee admits it. So it is dishonesty to call
Muslims educationally backward in Kerala and Karnataka states but
Congress and communist Hindu politicians are not ashamed to use false
data just to reduce percentage of Hindus in educational institutions
and in government jobs. Hindu voters of Kerala and Karnataka should
take note of this fraud being played on careers of their children with
help of their votes.
The Congress party and its UPA allies claim that they are the genuine
well wishers of the SC Hindus. Is it true? Christians are demanding
that their ?dalits? should be included in the 15 per cent reservation
quota available to SC Hindus. Muslims are also demanding that ?dalit
Muslims? be included in the same 15 per cent quota. No one knows
precise definition of ?dalit Christian? and ?dalit Muslims?. Since
Christians enjoy much better educational facilities as well as
literacy rate than Hindu SCs, it is natural that Christians will grab
a larger chunk of services within the 15 per cent quota further
worsening the employment opportunities of Hindu SC boys and girls.
Even Sachar Committee admits that Muslims also enjoy better literacy
rate of 59.1 per cent compared to 52.2 per cent for SC & ST Hindus.
Congress party and allies of UPA are supporting the demand to place ?
dalit Christians? and ?dalit Muslims? under the SC category. Shri
Abdul Rahman Antulay, Union Minister for Minority Affairs publicly
stated in November 2006 that it was time to include dalit Muslims and
dalit Christians in SC/ST Reservations.
Close on the heels of Prime Minister Sardar Manmohan Singh?s ?Muslim
first? remarks made at the National Development Council meeting, a
High Level Committee of the Human Resource Development Ministry led by
Shri M.A.A. Fatmi, Minister of State, has made a case for review of
the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950 so as to include
Muslims and Christians in the SC category (Indian Express, February
19, 2007).
A NGO has already moved to the Supreme Court to include dalit
Christians into the SC definition by amending the 1950 order, and; no
wonder the Manmohan Singh-led Government may manage to lose this case
by not presenting the case of Hindu SCs properly. So the danger bell
for SC Hindu students is already ringing. The point is whether they
and their parents are aware about it.
In its 2004 manifesto, the CPI(M) promised to extend reservation
facility to ?dalit Christians? by including them in the 15 per cent
quota. The 1998 Joint-manifesto of all Left parties also promised to
include ?dalit Christians? into the SC reservations of 15 per cent
quota.
BSP leader late Kanshi Ram was reported to have assured support of his
party to include ?dalit Christians? in the Presidential Order of
1950.
DMK leader K. Karunanidhi, Chief Minister Tamil Nadu, also supports
inclusion of ?dalit Christians? into the SC category.
In September 2004, Ram Vilas Paswan, president of Lok Janshakti Party
had promised to grant Scheduled Caste status to socially and
economically backward Muslims. In December 2006, he supported a sub-
quota for Muslims within the 27 per cent OBC quota who are already
covered under the Mandal OBC formula while supporting demand to
include ?dalit Christians? and ?dalit Muslims? under the 15 per cent
quota. Shri V.P. Singh also supports a sub-quota for Muslims within
the 27 per cent OBC space.
On December 5, 2006 the Samajawadi Party led by Shri Mulayam Singh,
the Congress party and their other allies in UP passed a resolution in
the UP State Assembly demanding reservations for ?dalit? Christians
and ?dalit? Muslims within 15 per cent quota which will harm the
employment opportunities of SC and ST Hindus as Christians and Muslims
both enjoy higher literacy rate over SC and ST Hindus.
So those SC and ST Hindus who do not want to harm and hurt career
prospects of their children should never cast their votes in favour of
any of these secular parties. SC and ST Hindu job seekers and students
must explain difficulties which await them if their parents did not
exercise their votes with due caution or abstained from voting.
No parent knowingly wants to hurt career of his children so it is duty
of Hindu students studying in colleges and universities to brief their
parents the misfortune which will visit them if they voted to any
party which wants to include Christians and Muslims in the 15 per cent
quota. A parent is so busy in earning livelihood that he does not get
time to read the manifesto and thus understand dirty tricks of GP
Hindu politicians being played against Hindu Youth.
Since the employment situation is worsening day by day, it is
important that those Hindu parents who have college going children or
grand children, and, those Hindu youth who will soon be entering into
employment market seriously look for and identify those Hindu
politicians who are bent upon to reduce their E3 space.
The problem of unemployment continues to worsen day by day and in this
environment Congress and other secular parties are hell bent through
the Sachar Committee to reduce employment space available to Hindu
youth. The National Sample Survey Organisation?s latest report of
January 2007 shows that unemployment is much higher among youth (15-29
years age) as compared to overall population, and, that unemployment
is rising.
The unemployment rate in Delhi has gone up from 3.2 per cent in
1999-2000 to 5.3 per cent in 2004-05 and in Kolkata from 7 per cent to
8.1 per cent. (Indian Express February 16, 2007)
At the end of December 2005 about 393 lakh job seekers were waiting
for jobs on the live registers of 947 employment exchanges across the
country against which only 1.73 lakh got jobs in 2005. About 50 to 55
lakh new persons register every year with the employment exchanges
looking for jobs.
Over 52 lakh graduates and post-graduates were waiting for jobs in
December 2005 in all the employment exchanges.
According to the Sept 2006 National Sample Survey report, 58 per cent
of Indians were without jobs in 2004-05 and the unemployment rate was
higher among educated ones than among less educated ones. In rural
areas, 56 per cent of people were unemployed and in urban areas 63 per
cent were unemployed. According to a study by the Hewitt Associates,
by 2020, India will have the largest number of educated but unemployed
youth in the world.
M.V. Rajasekharan, Minister of State told the Lok Sabha (August 23,
2006) that annual growth rate of employment creation during the
1983-99 was 2.7 per cent which slowed to 1.07 per cent during
1994-2000. Shri Suresh Pachaury, Minister of State informed the
Parliament (August 23, 2006) that there was no proposal to remove ban
on creation of new posts in the government sector.
Mulayam Singh Yadav, Chief Minister of UP has been claiming that he
has fulfilled his promise to the Muslim community to raise percentage
of Muslims in the UP Police to 15 per cent.Traditionally percentage of
Hindus in the UP Police had been above 95 per cent. So the credit for
reducing job opportunities of Hindu youth in the UP Police should go
to those Hindu parents who vote for Mulayam Singh. It is a tragic case
of Hindu parents voting for someone who is determined to reduce
employment space of their own children.
In December 2006 press reported that Raghubansh Prasad Singh?s
Ministry of Rural Development, for the first time in the history of
Independent India, set aside Rs 1,000 crore for religious minorities
for the three schemes (i) Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY)
(ii) Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) and(iii) Sampoorna Grameen Rojgar Yojana
(SGRY). Till now such physical and financial allocations were made
only for SCs and STs. Thus, under these three schemes, funds are
available to Hindus including those Hindus who had voted for Shri
Raghubansh Prasad Singh in the 2004 election and has been reduced by
Rs1000 crore by this Hindu politician. It is another tragic case of a
Hindu politician betraying his own Hindu voters.
Even the discredited Sachar Committee Report admits (page 53) that the
SCs and STs are still the least literate group both in urban and rural
India but Manmohan Singh thunders that ?Muslims? shall be have the ?
first? claim over national resources. We must stand up and tell this
minority politician who never won confidence of any Lok Sabha
constituency that if any group which has legitimate first claim over
national resources it is the group of farmers and SC & ST Hindus. For
the anti-Hindu policies of Manmohan Singh-led UPA government, the
price was paid by Captain Amrinder Singh specially in the urban areas
of Punjab in recently held assembly elections.
The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) data shows that level
of acute poverty is equally high among all communities including
Hindus also. As much as 84 per cent Hindus in the below poverty line
(BPL) category in rural areas live in conditions dubbed as ?below
double poverty line?. But showing its anti-Hindu bias, the Congress is
diverting huge funds only to address the poor among Muslims. Why it is
not simultaneously addressing the poverty of Hindus too?
(To be continued)
[Shri O.P. Gupta recently retired in the rank of Secretary to the
Government of India in the Indian Foreign Service (1971 batch). He has
served as Ambassador to Finland, Estonia, Jamaica, Tunisia, Tanzania,
etc., and Consul General, Dubai and Birmingham (UK).]
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=176&page=3
Sid Harth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For religious demographics of the Republic of India, see Religion in
India.
A Statue of Shiva.
A Statue of the Buddha.
A Statue of Jain deity Bahubali.
Indian religions are the related religious traditions that originated
in the Indian subcontinent,[1]
namely Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism, inclusive of their
sub-schools and various related traditions. They form a subgroup of
the larger classes of "Eastern religions" and also Indo-European
religions . Indian religions have similarities in core beliefs, modes
of worship, and associated practices, mainly due to their common
history of origin and mutual influence.
The documented history of Indian religions begins with historical
Vedic religion, the religious practices of the early Indo-Aryans,
which were collected and later redacted into the Samhitas, four
canonical collections of hymns or mantras composed in archaic
Sanskrit. These texts are the central shruti (revealed) texts of
Hinduism. The period of the composition, redaction and commentary of
these texts is known as the Vedic period, which lasted from roughly
1500 to 500 BCE.
The late Vedic period (9th to 6th centuries BCE) marks the beginning
of the Upanisadic or Vedantic period.[2][3] This period heralded the
beginning of much of what became classical Hinduism, with the
composition of the Upanishads, later the Sanskrit epics, still later
followed by the Puranas.
Jainism and Buddhism arose from the sramana culture. Buddhism was
historically founded by Siddhartha Gautama, a Kshatriya prince-turned-
ascetic, and was spread beyond India through missionaries. It later
experienced a decline in India, but survived in Nepal and Sri Lanka,
and remains more widespread in Southeast and East Asia. Jainism was
established by a lineage of 24 enlightened beings culminating with
Parsva (9th century BCE) and Mahavira (6th century BCE).[4]
Certain scholarship holds that the practices, emblems and architecture
now commonly associated with the Hindu pantheon and Jainism may go
back as far as Late Harappan times to the period 2000-1500 BCE.[5][6]
Hinduism is divided into numerous denominations, primarily Shaivism,
Shaktism, Vaishnavism, Smarta and much smaller groups like the
conservative Shrauta. Hindu reform movements such as Ayyavazhi are
more recent. About 90% of Hindus reside in the Republic of India,
accounting for 83% of its population.[7]
Sikhism was founded in the 15th century on the teachings of Guru Nanak
and the nine successive Sikh Gurus in Northern India[8]. The vast
majority of its adherents originate in the Punjab region.
Common traits
Aum
Sometimes summarised as "Dharmic" religions or dharmic traditions,
(though the 'subtler' meaning of Dharma or dhamma differs per
religion); Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism share certain key
concepts, which are interpreted differently by different groups and
individuals.[9][10][11]
Common traits can also be observed in both the ritual and the literary
sphere. For example, the head-anointing ritual of abhiseka is of
importance in three of these distinct traditions, excluding Sikhism.
Other noteworthy rituals are the cremation of the dead, the wearing of
vermilion on the head by married women, and various marital rituals.
In literature, many classical narratives and purana have Hindu,
Buddhist or Jain versions.[12]
All four traditions have notions of karma, dharma, samsara, moksha and
various forms of Yoga. Of course, these terms may be perceived
differently by different religions. For instance, for a Hindu, dharma
is his duty. For a Jain, dharma is righteousness, his conduct. For a
Buddhist, dharma is usually taken to be the Buddha's teachings.
Similarly, for a Hindu, yoga is the cessation of all thoughts/
activities of the mind.[13]
For Jains, Yoga is sum total all physical, verbal and mental
activities.
Rama is a heroic figure in all of these religions. In Hinduism he is
the God-incarnate in the form of a princely king; in Buddhism, he is a
Bodhisattva-incarnate; in Jainism, he is the perfect human being.
Among the Buddhist Ramayanas are: Vessantarajataka,[14]
Reamker, Ramakien, Phra Lak Phra Lam, Hikayat Seri Rama etc. There
also exists the Khamti Ramayana among the Khamti tribe of Asom wherein
Rama is an avatar of a Bodhisattva who incarnates to punish the demon
king Ravana (B.Datta 1993). The Tai Ramayana is another book retelling
the divine story in Asom.
Prehistory
"Priest King" of Indus Valley CivilizationEvidence attesting to
prehistoric religion in the Indian subcontinent derives from scattered
Mesolithic rock paintings such as at Bhimbetka, depicting dances and
rituals. Neolithic agriculturalists inhabiting the Indus River Valley
buried their dead in a manner suggestive of spiritual practices that
incorporated notions of an afterlife and belief in magic.[15]
Other South Asian Stone Age sites, such as the Bhimbetka rock shelters
in central Madhya Pradesh and the Kupgal petroglyphs of eastern
Karnataka, contain rock art portraying religious rites and evidence of
possible ritualised music.[16]
The Harappan people of the Indus Valley Civilization, which lasted
from 3300–1300 BCE (mature period, 2600-1900 BCE) and was centered
around the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra river valleys, may have worshiped
an important mother goddess symbolising fertility,[17]
a concept that has recently been challenged.[18] Excavations of Indus
Valley Civilization sites show small tablets with animals and altars,
indicating rituals associated with animal sacrifice.
Vedic tradition
Vedic period
Main article: Historical Vedic religion
See also: History of Hinduism
See also: Vedas, Upanishads, and Brahmanas
The Vedic Period is most significant for the composition of the four
Vedas, Brahmanas and the older Upanishads (both presented as
discussions on the rituals, mantras and concepts found in the four
Vedas), which today are some of the most important canonical texts of
Hinduism, and are the codification of much of what developed into the
core beliefs of Hinduism.
The Vedas reflect the liturgy and ritual of Late Bronze Age to Early
Iron Age Indo-Aryan speaking peoples in India. Religious practices
were dominated by the Vedic priesthood administering domestic rituals/
rites and solemn sacrifices. The Brahmanas, Aranyakas and some of the
older Upanishads (such as BAU, ChU, JUB) are also placed in this
period. Many elements of Vedic religion reach back to early Bronze Age
Proto-Indo-Iranian times. The Vedic period is held to have ended
around 500 BCE.
Akshardham the largest Hindu temple in the world.Specific rituals and
sacrifices of the Vedic religion include:
The Soma cult described in the Rigveda, descended from a common Indo-
Iranian practice.
Fire rituals, also a common Indo-Iranian practice (See
Zoroastrianism):
The Agnihotra or oblation to Agni.
The Agnistoma or Soma sacrifice (including animal sacrifice) .
The Agnicayana, the sophisticated ritual of piling the Uttara fire
altar.
The Darsapaurnamasa, the fortnightly New and Full Moon sacrifice
The Caturmasya or seasonal sacrifices (every four months)
a large number of sacrifices for special wishes (Kāmyeṣṭi)
The Ashvamedha or horse sacrifice.
The Purushamedha, or sacrifice of a man, imitating that of the cosmic
Purusha and Ashvamedha
The rites referred to in the Atharvaveda are concerned with medicine
and healing practices, as well as some charms and sorcery (white and
black magic).
The domestic (grihya) rituals deal with the rites of passage from
conception to death and beyond.
Vedanta
Main article: Vedanta
Hindu Swastika
The period of Vedanta (Sanskrit : end of Vedas), typically thought to
have begun around 600 BCE, marked the end of the evolution of the main
Vedic texts; it also accompanied the transformation of the semi-
nomadic nature of the Indo-Aryan tribes to agriculture-based polities,
as they increasingly formed permanent settlements in the Indo-Gangetic
plain and other parts of Northern India. This period was foreshadowed
by the Brahmanas that interpreted the four canonical Vedas in various
fashions, which finally led to the Upanishads. While the ritualistic
status of the four Vedas remained undiminished, the early Upanishads
mainly relate to spiritual insights. At this time, the concepts of
reincarnation, samsara, karma, and moksha began to be accepted in
ancient India outside the sphere of the priestly establishment i.e.
the Brahmana class. Some scholars think that these new concepts
developed by aborigines outside the caste system,[19] others detect
Sramana or even Ksatriya influence. These concepts were eventually
accepted by Brahmin orthodoxy, and were to form much of the core
philosophies of the later epics and Hinduism, as well as, against a
different philosophical and religious background, in Buddhism and
Jainism.
Astika and Nastika categorization
Main articles: Āstika and nāstika, Hindu philosophy, and Buddhism and
Hinduism
See also: Adi Shankara and Charvaka
Astika and nastika are sometimes used to categorise Indian religions.
Those religions that believe that God is the central actor in this
world are termed as astika. Those religions that do not believe that
God is the prime mover and actor are classified as nastika religions.
From this point of view the Vedic religion (and Hinduism) is an astika
religion, whereas Buddhism and Jainism are nastika religions.
Another definition of the terms astika and nastika, followed by Adi
Shankara, classifies religions and persons as astika and nastika
according to whether they accept the authority of the main Hindu
texts, the Vedas, as supreme revealed scriptures, or not. By this
definition, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Purva Mimamsa and
Vedanta are classified as astika schools, while Charvaka is classified
as a nastika school. By this definition, both Buddhism and Jainism are
classified as nastika religions since they do not accept the authority
of the Vedas.
Shramana tradition
Main article: Shramana
See also: Gautama Buddha and Mahavira
A statue of Gautama Buddha.
A statue of Mahavira.Vedic Brahmanism of Iron Age India co-existed and
closely interacted with the parallel non-Vedic shramana traditions.[20]
[21][22][23]
These were not direct outgrowths of Vedism, but separate movements
that influenced it and were influenced by it.[24]
The shramanas were wandering ascetics. Buddhism and Jainism are a
continuation of the Shramana tradition, and the early Upanishadic
movement was influenced by it.[25][26][27][28][29][30]
The 24th Jain Tirthankar, Mahavira (599–527 BCE), stressed five vows,
including ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truthfulness), asteya (non-
stealing) and aparigraha (non-attachment).
The historical Gautama Buddha, who was a Buddha, was born into the
Shakya clan of Angirasa and Gautama Rishi lineage,[31]
just before the kingdom of Magadha (which lasted from 546–324 BCE)
rose to power. His family was native to Kapilavastu and Lumbini, in
what is now southern Nepal.
The Ajivikas and Samkhyas, both of which did not survive, also
belonged to the sramana tradition.
Rise and spread of Jainism and Buddhism
Main articles: Pre-sectarian Buddhism, Indian Buddhism, Silk Road
transmission of Buddhism, and Jain community
See also: History of Buddhism and History of Jainism
Further information: Mauryan period and Gupta period
Buddhist Mahabodhi Temple
Both Jainism and Buddhism spread throughout India during the period of
the Magadha empire. Scholars Jeffrey Brodd and Gregory Sobolewski
write that "Jainism shares many of the basic doctrines of Hinduism and
Buddhism."[32] and scholar James Bird writes, "But when primitive
Buddhism originated from Hindu schools of philosophy, it differed as
widely from that of later times, as did the Brahmanism of the Vedas
from that of the Puranas and Tantras."[33]
Palitana Jain TemplesBuddhism in India spread during the reign of
Asoka the Great of the Mauryan Empire, who patronised Buddhist
teachings and unified the Indian subcontinent in the 3rd century BCE.
He sent missionaries abroad, allowing Buddhism to spread across Asia.
[34] Jainism began its golden period during the reign of Emperor
Kharavela of Kalinga in the 2nd century BCE.
Both Jainism and Indian Buddhism started declining following the rise
of Puranic Hinduism during the Gupta dynasty. Buddhism continued to
have a significant presence in some regions of India until the 12th
century. Jainism continues to be an influential religion in Gujarat,
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Period after 200 BCE
Main articles: decline of Buddhism in India, Hindu philosophy, and
Pala Empire
Further information: Puranas
After 200 CE several schools of thought were formally codified in
Indian philosophy, including Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Purva-
Mimamsa and Vedanta.[35]
Hinduism, otherwise a highly polytheistic, pantheistic or monotheistic
religion, also tolerated atheistic schools. The thoroughly
materialistic and anti-religious philosophical Cārvāka school that
originated around the 6th century BCE is the most explicitly atheistic
school of Indian philosophy. Cārvāka is classified as a nastika
("heterodox") system; it is not included among the six schools of
Hinduism generally regarded as orthodox. It is noteworthy as evidence
of a materialistic movement within Hinduism.[36]
Our understanding of Cārvāka philosophy is fragmentary, based largely
on criticism of the ideas by other schools, and it is no longer a
living tradition.[37]
Other Indian philosophies generally regarded as atheistic include
Classical Samkhya and Purva Mimamsa.
Between 400 CE and 1000 CE Hinduism expanded as the decline of
Buddhism in India continued.[38] Buddhism subsequently became
effectively extinct in India but survived in Nepal and Sri Lanka.
There were several Buddhistic kings who worshiped Vishnu, such as the
Gupta, Pala, Malla, Somavanshi, and Sattvahana.[39]
Buddhism survived followed by Hindus. National Geographic[40]
edition reads, "The flow between faiths was such that for hundreds of
years, almost all Buddhist temples, including the ones at Ajanta, were
built under the rule and patronage of Hindu kings."
Post-Vedic development of Hinduism
Main article: History of Hinduism
A Statue of Lord Vishnu.The end of the Vedantic period around the 2nd
century AD spawned a number of branches that furthered Vedantic
philosophy, and which ended up being seminaries in their own right.
The output generated by these specialized tributaries was
automatically considered a part of the Hindu or even Indian
philosophy. Prominent amongst these developers were Yoga, Dvaita,
Advaita and the medieval Bhakti movement. The modern day popular
movements were the ones founded by Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo,
Raja Ram Mohan Roy among others.
In the latter Vedantic period, several texts were also composed as
summaries/attachments to the Upanishads. These texts collectively
called as Puranas allowed for a divine and mythical interpretation of
the world, not unlike the ancient Hellenic or Roman religions. Legends
and epics with a multitude of gods and goddesses with human-like
characteristics were composed. Two of Hinduism's most revered epics,
the Mahabharata and Ramayana were compositions of this period.
Devotion to particular deities was reflected from the composition of
texts composed to their worship. For example the Ganapati Purana was
written for devotion to Ganapati (or Ganesh). Popular deities of this
era were Shiva, Vishnu, Durga, Surya, Skanda, and Ganesh (including
the forms/incarnations of these deities.)
Bhakti Movement
Guru Ravidas - a figure from the Bhakti EraThe Bhakti Movement began
with the emphasis on the worship of God, regardless of one's status -
whether priestly or laypeople, men or women, higher social status or
lower social status.
The movements were mainly centered around the forms of Vishnu (Rama
and Krishna) and Shiva. There were however popular devotees of this
era of Durga.
Vaishnavism
The most well-known devotees are the Alwars from southern India. The
most popular Vaishnava teacher of the south was Ramanuja, while of the
north it was Ramananda.
Several important icons were women. For example, within the
Mahanubhava sect, the women outnumbered the men[41],
and administration was many times composed mainly of women.[42]
Mirabai is the most popular female saint in India.
Sri Vallabha Acharya (1479–1531) is a very important figure from this
era. He founded the Shuddha Advaita (Pure Non-dualism) school of
Vedanta thought.
Shaivism
The most well-known devotees are the Nayanars from southern India. The
most popular Shaiva teacher of the south was Basava, while of the
north it was Gorakhnath.
Female saints include figures like Akkamadevi, Lalleshvari and Molla.
Recent groups
The largest religious gathering ever held on Earth, the 2001 Maha
Kumbh Mela held in Prayag attracted around 70 million Hindus from
around the world.Main articles: Religion in India, Hindu reform
movements, Hindutva, and Communalism (South Asia)
The modern era has given rise to dozens of Hindu saints with
international influence. For example, Brahma Baba established the
Brahma Kumaris, one of the largest new Hindu religious movements
teaches the discipline of Raja Yoga to millions. Representing
traditional Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Prabhupada founded the Hare Krishna
movement, also international with many followers. In late 18th century
India, Swaminarayan founded the Swaminarayan Sampraday. Anandamurti,
founder of the Ananda Marga, has influenced many worldwide. Through
all these new Hindu denominations traveling international, many Hindu
practices such as yoga, meditation, mantra, divination, vegetarianism
have become absorbed by new coverts and others influenced.
Sikhism
Harmandir Sahib or The Golden Temple of the Sikhs.Main article:
Sikhism
See also: History of Sikhism, Sikhism and Jainism, Sikhism and
Hinduism, and Sikhism in India
Sikhism originated in fifteenth century Northern India with the
teachings of Nanak and nine successive gurus. The principal belief in
Sikhism is faith in Vāhigurū— represented by the sacred symbol of ēk
ōaṅkār [meaning one god]. Sikhism's traditions and teachings are
distinctly associated with the history, society and culture of the
Punjab. Adherents of Sikhism are known as Sikhs (students or
disciples) and number over 23 million across the world.
Although it began as a relatively neutral faith system that proposed
to include the best practices of Hinduism and Islam, over time its
Gurus led followers in various rebellions and battles against the
Islamic Mughal rulers of the time, most notably against Aurangzeb.
Status in the Republic of India
Main article: Religion in India
See also: Legal Status of Jainism as a Distinct Religion
In a judicial reminder, the Indian Supreme Court observed Sikhism and
Jainism to be sub-sects or special faiths within the larger Hindu fold,
[43]
and that Jainism is a denomination within the Hindu fold.[44]
Although the government of British India counted Jains in India as a
major religious community right from the first Census conducted in
1873, after independence in 1947 Sikhs and Jains were not treated as
national minorities.[45]
In 2005 the Supreme Court of India declined to issue a writ of
Mandamus granting Jains the status of a religious minority throughout
India. The Court however left it to the respective states to decide on
the minority status of Jain religion.[46][47]
However, some individual states have over the past few decades
differed on whether Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs are religious
minorities or not, by either pronouncing judgments or passing
legislation. One example is the judgment passed by the Supreme Court
in 2006, in a case pertaining to the state of Uttar Pradesh, which
declared Jainism to be undisputably distinct from Hinduism, but
mentioned that, "The question as to whether the Jains are part of the
Hindu religion is open to debate.[48]
However, the Supreme Court also noted various court cases that have
held Jainism to be a distinct religion.
Another example is the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Bill, that is an
amendment to a legislation that sought to define Jains and Buddhists
as denominations within Hinduism.[49]
Ultimately on July 31, 2007, finding it not in conformity with the
concept of freedom of religion as embodied in Article 25 (1) of the
Constitution, Governor Naval Kishore Sharma returned back the Gujarat
Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2006 citing the widespread
protests by the Jains[50]
as well as Supreme Court's extrajudicial observation that Jainism is a
"special religion formed on the basis of quintessence of Hindu
religion by the Supreme Court"[51]
See also
Indian philosophy
History of Yoga
Religion in India
Religious thinkers of India
Ayyavazhi and Hinduism
Buddhism and Jainism
Indology
Notes
^ Adams, C. J., Classification of religions: Geographical,
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2007. Accessed: September 5, 2007
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/497215/classification-of-religions
^ Indiana University "India Studies Program" Passage to India, Module
http://www.indiana.edu/~isp/cd_rom/mod_10/mod_10_x.htm
11. "Upanishads came to be composed already in the ninth and eighth
century B.C.E. and continued to be composed well into the first
centuries of the Common Era. The Brahmanas and Aranyakas are somewhat
older, reaching back to the eleventh and even twelfth century B.C.E."
^ [1] Paul Deussen, Philosophy of the Upanishads, Pg. 51. "these
treatises are not the work of a single genius, but the total
philosophical product of an entire epoch which extends [from]
approximately 1000 or 800 BC, to c.500 BC, but which is prolonged in
its offshoots far beyond this last limit of time."
^ Harry Oldmeadow (2007) Light from the East: Eastern Wisdom for the
Modern West, World Wisdom, Inc. ISBN 1933316225 – "Over time, apparent
misunderstandings have arisen over the origins of Jainism and
relationship with its sister religions of Hinduism and Buddhism. There
has been an ongoing debate between Jainism and Vedic Hinduism as to
which revelation preceded the other. What is historically known is
that there was a tradition along with Vedic Hinduism known as Sramana
Dharma. Essentially, the sramana tradition included it its fold, the
Jain and Buddhist traditions, which disagreed with the eternality of
the Vedas, the needs for ritual sacrifices and the supremacy of the
Brahmins." Page 141
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Oldmeadow
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wisdom
^ Indiana University, Module 9, "Passage to India" One is left largely
with scholarly guesses, but it is intriguing to entertain the
possibility that traditions of ritual bathing, some sort of tradition
of meditation or Yoga, possible proto-types of Shiva and a mother
goddess, and a cult of sacred animals, all of which are prominent
features in later Hindu traditions, may indeed be traceable ultimately
all the way back to the third millenium B.C.E., and possibly earlier
to the Baluchistan and Sind village cultures that go back to time
immemorial.
http://www.indiana.edu/~isp/cd_rom/mod_09/mod_09.htm
^ Indiana University "India Studies Program", Module 6 The passage to
India: "As mentioned earlier in our brief summary of the religions of
India, the Jain tradition is one of the oldest traditions in India and
may go back as far as Indus Valley times, that is, to the second
millenium Before the Common Era (2000-1500 BCE), although the precise
origins of the tradition are not yet fully known"
http://www.indiana.edu/~isp/cd_rom/mod_06/mod_06.htm
^ "Major Religions of the World Ranked by Number of Adherents".
Adherents.com.
http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html. Retrieved
2007-07-10.
^ Adherents.com. "Religions by adherents" (PHP).
http://www.adherents.com/misc/rel_by_adh_CSM.html. Retrieved
2007-02-09.
^ Frawley, David. From the River of Heaven: Hindu and Vedic Knowledge
for the Modern Age. Pg 27. Berkeley, California: Book Passage Press,
1990. ISBN 1878423010.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Frawley
^ Encarta encyclopedia [2]"Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism share with
Hinduism the concept of dharma along with other key concepts, and the
four religions may be said to belong to the dharmic tradition.".
Archived 2009-10-31.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encarta
^ Westerlund, David Questioning the Secular State: The Worldwide
Resurgence of Religion in Politics page 16 "may provide some
possibilities for co-operation with Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists, who
like Hindus are regarded as adherents of ‘dharmic' religions."
^ c.f. Encyclopedia Britannica, s.v. "Jainism > Jainism, Hinduism, and
Buddhism"
^ "yogascittavrttinirodhah" Sutra 1 of Patanjali's Yogadarshana
^ Pollock, P. 661 Literary Cultures in History:
^ Heehs 2002, p. 39.
^ "Ancient Indians made 'rock music'". BBC News. 19 March 2004.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3520384.stm. Retrieved
2007-08-07.
^ Fowler 1997, p. 90.
^ Sharri R. Clark, The social lives of figurines : recontextualizing
the third millennium BC terracotta figurines from Harappa, Pakistan.
PhD dissertation, Harvard 2007
^ “This confirms that the doctrine of transmigration is non-aryan and
was accepted by non-vedics like Ajivikism, Jainism and Buddhism. The
Indo-aryans have borrowed the theory of re-birth after coming in
contact with the aboriginal inhabitants of India. Certainly Jainism
and non-vedics [..] accepted the doctrine of rebirth as supreme
postulate or article of faith.” Masih, page 37.
^ S. Cromwell Crawford, review of L. M. Joshi, Brahmanism, Buddhism
and Hinduism, Philosophy East and West (1972): "Alongside Brahmanism
was the non-Aryan Shramanic culture with its roots going back to
prehistoric times."
^ Y. Masih (2000) In : A Comparative Study of Religions, Motilal
Banarsidass Publ : Delhi, ISBN 8120808150 Page 18. "There is no
evidence to show that Jainism and Buddhism ever subscribed to vedic
sacrifices, vedic deities or caste. They are parallel or native
religions of India and have contributed to much to the growth of even
classical Hinduism of the present times."
^ Dr. Kalghatgi, T. G. 1988 In: Study of Jainism, Prakrit Bharti
Academy, Jaipur
^ P.S. Jaini, (1979), The Jaina Path to Purification, Motilal
Banarsidass, Delhi, p. 169 "Jainas themselves have no memory of a time
when they fell within the Vedic fold. Any theory that attempts to link
the two traditions, moreover fails to appreciate rather distinctive
and very non-vedic character of Jaina cosmology, soul theory, karmic
doctrine and atheism"
^ S. Cromwell Crawford, review of L. M. Joshi, Brahmanism, Buddhism
and Hinduism, Philosophy East and West (1972): "Alongside Brahmanism
was the non-Aryan Shramanic culture with its roots going back to
prehistoric times."
^ Karel Werner, The Longhaired Sage in The Yogi and the Mystic. Karel
Werner, ed., Curzon Press, 1989, page 34. "Rahurkar speaks of them as
belonging to two distinct 'cultural strands' ... Wayman also found
evidence for two distinct approaches to the spiritual dimension in
ancient India and calls them the traditions of 'truth and silence.' He
traces them particularly in the older Upanishads, in early Buddhism,
and in some later literature."
^ Gavin D. Flood (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge
University - Press : UK ISBN 0521438780 - “The origin and doctrine of
Karma and Samsara are obscure. These concepts were certainly
circulating amongst sramanas, and Jainism and Buddhism developed
specific and sophisticated ideas about the process of transmigration.
It is very possible that the karmas and reincarnation entered the
mainstream brahaminical thought from the sramana or the renouncer
traditions.” Page 86.
^ Padmanabh S. Jaini 2001 “Collected Paper on Buddhist Studies”
Motilal Banarsidass Publ 576 pages ISBN 8120817761: "Yajnavalkya’s
reluctance and manner in expounding the doctrine of karma in the
assembly of Janaka (a reluctance not shown on any other occasion) can
perhaps be explained by the assumption that it was, like that of the
transmigration of soul, of non-brahmanical origin. In view of the fact
that this doctrine is emblazoned on almost every page of sramana
scriptures, it is highly probable that it was derived from them." Page
51.
^ Govind Chandra Pande, (1994) Life and Thought of Sankaracarya,
Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 8120811046 : Early Upanishad thinkers like
Yajnavalkya were acquainted with the sramanic thinking and tried to
incorporate these ideals of Karma, Samsara and Moksa into the vedic
thought implying a disparagement of the vedic ritualism and
recognising the mendicancy as an ideal. Page 135.
^ A History of Yoga By Vivian Worthington 1982 Routledge ISBN
071009258X - "The Upanishads were like a breath of fresh air blowing
through the stuffy corridors of power of the vedic brahminism. They
were noticed by the Brahmin establishment because the yogis did not
owe allegiance to any established religion or mode of thought.. So
although, the Upanishads came to be noticed by Brahmin establishment,
they were very largely saying what may well have been current among
other sramanic groups at that time. It can be said that this atheistic
doctrine was evidently very acceptable to the authors of Upanishads,
who made use of many of its concepts." Page 27.
^ A History of Yoga By Vivian Worthington 1982 Routledge ISBN
071009258X: "The idea of re-incarnation, so central to the older
sramanic creeds is still new to many people throughout the world. The
Aryans of the Vedic age knew nothing of it. When the Brahmins began to
accept it, they declared it as a secret doctrine. […] It will be seen
from this short account of Jains, that they had fully developed the
ideas of karma and reincarnation very early in history. The earliest
Upanishads were probably strongly influenced by their teachings.
Jainism the religion, Samkhya the philosophy and yoga the way to self
discipline and enlightenment dominated the spiritual life of Indian
during the Dravidian times. They were to be overshadowed for over
thousand years by the lower form of religion that was foisted on the
local inhabitants by the invading Aryans, but in the end it was
Sramanic disciplines that triumphed. They did so by surviving in their
own right and by their ideas being fully adopted by the Brahmins who
steadily modified their own vedic religion." Page 35.
^ The Life of Buddha as Legend and History, by Edward Joseph Thomas
^ P. 93 World Religions By Jeffrey Brodd, Gregory Sobolewski
^ P. 66 Historical researches on the origin and principles of the
Bauddha and Jaina religions: embracing the leading tenets of their
system, as found prevailing in various countries; illustrated by
descriptive accounts of the sculptures in the caves of western India,
with translations of the inscriptions ... which indicate their
connexion with the coins and topes of the Panjab and Afghanistan.by
James Bird
^ Heehs 2002, p. 106.
^ Radhakrishnan & Moore 1967, p. xviii–xxi.
^ Radhakrishnan & Moore 1967, p. 227–249.
^ Chatterjee & Datta 1984, p. 55.
^ "The rise of Buddhism and Jainism". Religion and Ethics—Hinduism:
Other religious influences. BBC. 26 July 2004.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/history/history_2.shtml.
Retrieved 2007-04-21.
^ Durga Prasad, P. 116, History of the Andhras upto 1565 A. D.
^ January 2008, VOL. 213, #1
^ Ramaswamy, P. 204 Walking Naked
^ Ramaswamy, P. 210 Walking Naked
^ Supreme Court observation, Bal Patil vs. Union of India, Dec 2005 In
various codified customary laws like Hindu Marriage Act, Hindu
Succession Act, Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act and other laws of
pre and post- Constitution period, the definition of 'Hindu' included
all sects and sub-sects of Hindu religions including Sikhs and Jains
^ Supreme court of India, in the judgement of Bal Patil vs. Union of
India, Dec. 2005. The Supreme Court observed in a judgment pertaining
to case of Bal Patil vs. Union of India: "Thus, 'Hinduism' can be
called a general religion and common faith of India whereas 'Jainism'
is a special religion formed on the basis of quintessence of Hindu
religion. Jainism places greater emphasis on non-violence ('Ahimsa')
and compassion ('Karuna'). Their only difference from Hindus is that
Jains do not believe in any creator like God but worship only the
perfect human-being whom they called Tirathankar."
^ [Supreme Court observation, Bal Patil vs. Union of India, December
2005
http://www.judis.nic.in/supremecourt/qrydisp.asp?tfnm=27098]
The so-called minority communities like Sikhs and Jains were not
treated as national minorities at the time of framing the
Constitution.
^ Syed Shahabuddin. "Minority rights are indivisible". The Tribune.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20051125/edit.htm#4.
^ Supreme court of India, in the judgement of Bal Patil vs. Union of
India, Dec. 2005. In an extra-judicial observation not forming part of
the judgment the court observed :"Thus, 'Hinduism' can be called a
general religion and common faith of India whereas 'Jainism' is a
special religion formed on the basis of quintessence of Hindu
religion. Jainism places greater emphasis on non-violence ('Ahimsa')
and compassion ('Karuna'). Their only difference from Hindus is that
Jains do not believe in any creator like God but worship only the
perfect human-being whom they called Tirathankar."
^ (para 25, Committee of Management Kanya Junior High School Bal Vidya
Mandir, Etah, U.P. v. Sachiv, U.P. Basic Shiksha Parishad, Allahabad,
U.P. and Ors., Per Dalveer Bhandari J., Civil Appeal No. 9595 of 2003,
decided On: 21.08.2006, Supreme Court of India) [3]
^ Gujarat Freedom of religions Act, 2003
^ "Religious freedom Bill returned". The Indian Express. 2007-07-31.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/207905.html. Retrieved 2007-09-15.
^ The Times of India, 11 Mar, 2008 In his letter dated July 27, 2007
he had said Jainism has been regarded as "special religion formed on
the basis of quintessence of Hindu religion by the Supreme Court".
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Gujarat_govt_revokes_conversion_amendment/articleshow/2853456.cms
References
Chatterjee, S; Datta, D (1984), An Introduction to Indian Philosophy
(8th ed.), University of Calcutta, ASIN: B0007BFXK4
Fowler, JD (1997), Hinduism: Beliefs and Practices, Sussex Academic
Press, ISBN 1-898-72360-5,
http://books.google.com/books?id=RmGKHu20hA0C
Heehs, P (2002), Indian Religions: A Historical Reader of Spiritual
Expression and Experience, New York: New York University Press, ISBN
0-814-73650-5
Oberlies, T (1998), Die Religion des Rgveda, Wien
Radhakrishnan, S; Moore, CA (1967), A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy,
Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691-01958-4
Rinehart, R (2004), Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture, and
Practice, ABC-Clio, ISBN 1-57607-905-8
External links
Statistics
"Census of India 2001: Data on religion". Government of India (Office
of the Registrar General).
http://www.censusindia.gov.in/. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
Constitution and law
"Constitution of India". Government of India (Ministry of Law and
Justice).
http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/welcome.html. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
Reports
"International Religious Freedom Report 2006: India". United States
Department of State.
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71440.htm.
Retrieved 2007-05-28.
Categories:
Indian religions |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Indian_religions
Religion in India |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Religion_in_India
Religious comparison
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Religious_comparison
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_religions
Aboriginal Spirituality
A resource on aboriginal spirituality
Aboriginal Spirituality
Spirituality for Indigenous Australians takes many forms. Some
Indigenous Australians share the religious beliefs and values of
religions introduced into Australia from other cultures around the
world, particularly Europe. But for most people religious beliefs are
derived from a sense of belonging-to the land, to the sea, to other
people, to one's culture.
Aboriginal spirituality mainly derives from the stories of the
Dreaming.
We recommend this article: Aboriginal Spirituality - 1, and also this:
Aboriginal Spirituality - 2.
Aboriginal Spirituality
Aboriginal Wisdom
Collin Fischer (CJ), aboriginal wisdom keeper and medicine man will
share the wisdom of his aboriginal ancestors.
Aborigine
A word Usually referring to the original inhabitants of Australia
(also called "Abos"}They are a shamanic people who have lived in
Australia for over 10,000 years. Their term for the astral world is
"The Dream Time". Ayers Rock. an unusual rock outcrop in central
Australia, is regarded as a vortex, and is regarded as sacred by the
aborigines.
Aboriginal Spirituality: Mandala as Symbol of the Universe Mandala,
which literally means circle, largely associated with religions and
cults of India and Tibet, was also used as a potent symbol by the
American Indians, the original inhabitants of Central America, and by
the aborigines of Australia.
Across cultures, the universe is represented as a series of concentric
circles, maybe as a model of the solar system. In Tantra, the central
point represents Mount Meru around which the earth is situated, and
the concentric circles represent the cosmic aspects of the universe,
like energy fields and atmospheric zones. In Hindu and Buddhist
interpretations, the centre of the Mandala is the ultimate divine
principle uniting the object and the subject as they spin out of the
centre. This may refer to the cosmos or to the human body.
Aboriginal Spirituality: Encyclopedia II - Australian Aboriginal art -
Religious and cultural aspects of Aboriginal art
Traditional Aboriginal art almost always has a mythological undertone
relating to the Dreamtime of Australian Aborigines. It originated
around 500 years ago. Many modern purists will say if it doesn't
contain the spirituality of aborigines, it is not true aboriginal art.
Wenten Rubuntja, an Aboriginal landscape artist says it's hard to find
any art that is devoid of spiritual meaning; "Doesn't matter what sort
of painting we do in this country, it still belongs to the people, all
the people. This is worship, work, culture. It's all Dr ...
See also:
Australian Aboriginal art, Australian Aboriginal art - Aboriginal
painting, Australian Aboriginal art - Bark painting, Australian
Aboriginal art - Carvings and sculpture, Australian Aboriginal art -
Other art, Australian Aboriginal art - Religious and cultural aspects
of Aboriginal art, Australian Aboriginal art - Graffiti and other
destructive influences, Australian Aboriginal art - Modern Aboriginal
Artists, Australian Aboriginal art - List of contemporary Aboriginal
artists, Australian Aboriginal art - Famous sites of Aboriginal art
Ayers Rock
A large sandstone outcropping that rises from the desert in central
Australia.
It is the most sacred site of the Aborigines and is place of
pilgrimage from all over the globe. In aborigine myth it is said that
there was a great battle here (perhaps the War in Heaven of
Revelations) in which creation was thrown out of Dreamtime (the Astral
World) and began to live in the material world.
Aboriginal Spirituality: Encyclopedia II - Corrientes - History
In 1516, Juan Díaz de Solís commanded the first expedition to reach
the area populated mainly by Guaraní aboriginals, but his expedition
was attacked and Solís perished in the adventure. Sebastián Gaboto
established in 1527 the Sancti Spiritu fort upstream of the Paraná
River, and in 1536 Pedro de Mendoza reached further north into the
basin of the river, searching for the Sierras of Silver. Juan Torres
de Vera y Aragón founded on April 3, 1588 San Juan de Vera de las
Siete Corrientes ("Saint John of ...
Aboriginal Spirituality: Encyclopedia II - Santa Fe Province - History
The aboriginal tribes who inhabited this region were the Tobas,
Timbúes, Mocovíes, Pilagás, Guaycurúes and Guaraníes. They were
nomadic, lived from hunting, fishing and fruit recollection. The first
European settlement was established in 1527, at the confluence of the
Paraná and Carcarañá rivers, when Sebastián Gaboto, on his way to the
north, founded a fort named Sancti Spiritu, which was destroyed two
years later by the natives. In 1573 Juan de Garay founded the city of
Santa Fe in the surroundings of present town Cayastá, but the city was
moved bo ...
Aboriginal Spirituality: Encyclopedia II - Bahá'í Faith and Education
- Type of education
The type of education that is written about in the Bahá'í writings
does not point to one type of education. There are many conceptions
about what constitutes education, and what subjects should be taught.
For example, aboriginal people who followed a tradiional subsistence
lifestyle were considered by many as uneducated, although they had a
stock of knowledge required to function in those societies. On the
other hand, if absolutely any form of education would fulfill the
requirement — as anthropologists assure us that every culture
"educates" ...
See also:
Bahá'í Faith and Education, Bahá'í Faith and Education - Purpose,
Bahá'í Faith and Education - Type of education, Bahá'í Faith and
Education - Moral and spiritual education, Bahá'í Faith and Education
- A Useful trade or profession, Bahá'í Faith and Education - Literacy,
Bahá'í Faith and Education - Languages, Bahá'í Faith and Education -
Other subjects, Bahá'í Faith and Education - Pedagogical issues,
Bahá'í Faith and Education - Responsibility, Bahá'í Faith and
Education - Environmental factors, Bahá'í Faith and Education - Bahá'í
education in practice, Bahá'í Faith and Education - Ruhi sequence of
courses, Bahá'í Faith and Education - Core curriculum, Bahá'í Faith
and Education - Fundamental verities, Bahá'í Faith and Education -
Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Bahá'í Faith and Education - Social and economic
development, Bahá'í Faith and Education - Praise for teachers
Aboriginal Spirituality: Spiritual Theosophical Dictionary on
Dravidians
Dravidians. A group of tribes inhabiting Southern India; the
aborigines.
Aboriginal Dreaming
An English expression adopted by Australian Aborigines to convey ideas
that, though related in their thought, are not usually denoted by a
single word in any of their languages.
One sense is that of a primordial epoch, the Dreaming or Dreamtime,
when beings with remarkable powers arose from the ground, descended
from the sky, or appeared from over the horizon. They gave the earth
its shape by creating physical features (often from parts of their own
bodies), fixed life in species form, established human culture, and
gave everything its name.
These creative beings, who in their totality are the ultimate
explanation of all things, are themselves called Dreamings (roughly
equivalent to the anthropological term totems).
Their significance to the Aborigines is not merely historical but
personal and social, for each individual and group gains a distinctive
identity through its association with one or more Dreamings. In many
regions it is held that such beings reincarnate themselves as humans,
or that they left relics behind that, to this day, are sufficiently
potent to impregnate women.
This sense of oneness, in which past and present, spirit being and
human being, are somehow fused, is also seen in ceremonies in which
the actors wear designs and make movements symbolic or mimetic of what
the Dreamings did in the Dreamtime. By extension, from these two
senses of Dreaming, the Aborigines form other expressions, such as
Dreaming-place (a site at which a Dreaming was active and left
something of itself) and Dreaming-track (an imagined path along which
a Dreaming traveled from place to place in the primordial epoch).
Contrary to what is sometimes suggested, the term has no necessary
connection with the verb to dream, even though present-day revelations
to humans by Dreamings normally occur while the recipient is in a
dream or trance state.
See Astral World.
Sun - Moon
Sun
(1) The sun may be a symbol of the self (i.e. your true and total
self), or of the conscious ego.
(2) It may symbolize intelligence, as distinct from intuition.
Moon
From prehistoric times the moon has been regarded as the source of all
fertility. It governs ocean tides and rainfall, menstruation and
birth. (Even when seen as male, the moon has been associated with
fertility: for example, in Australian aboriginal tradition, the moon
makes women pregnant.) It therefore symbolizes (the possibility of)
personal growth.
Sun, Moon, Intelligence, Intuition, Conscious ego, Fertility, Ocean
tides, Rainfall, Menstruation, Birth, Aboriginal tradition, Aboriginal
spirituality, Pregnant, Pregnancy, Personal growth
Aboriginal Spirituality: Alternative Health Dictionary on Didgeridoo
vibrational healing
didgeridoo vibrational healing: Group of techniques, of Australian
aboriginal origin, promoted by the Emerging Light Center of Queens, in
New York City. It helps to remove blocks. Its theory posits spiritual
centers and a personal spiritual being with a reachable core.
A didgeridoo (also spelled didjeridu) is a hornlike wind instrument,
generally three feet long, of hollowed, petrified eucalyptus bark.
Aborigines use it to produce a sound that effects healing on an
energetic or spiritual level. This sound expands one's aura.
Aboriginal Spirituality: Spiritual Theosophical Dictionary on Bhons
Bhons (Tibet, Tibetan). The followers of the old religion of the
Aborigines of Tibet; of pre-buddhistic temples and ritualism; the same
as Dugpas, "red caps", though the latter appellation usually applies
only to sorcerers.
Quetzo-Cohuatl (Mex.). The serpent-god in the Mexican Scriptures and
legends. His wand and other "land-marks" show him to be some great
Initiate of antiquity, who received the name of "Serpent" on account
of his wisdom, long life and powers. To this day the aboriginal tribes
of Mexico call themselves by the names of various reptiles, animals
and birds.
Aboriginal Spirituality: Spiritual Theosophical Dictionary on Ulupi
Ulupi (Sanskrit). A daughter of Kauravya, King of the Nagas in Patala
(the nether world, or more correctly, the Antipodes, America).
Exoterically, she was the daughter of a king or chief of an aboriginal
tribe of the Nagas, or Nagals (ancient adepts) in pre-historic America
- Mexico most likely, or Uruguay.
She was married to Arjuna, the disciple of Krishna, whom every
tradition, oral and written, shows travelling five thousand years ago
to Patala (the Antipodes). The Puranic tale is based on a historical
fact. Moreover, Ulupi, as a name, has a Mexican ring in it, like "
Atlan ", " Aclo ", etc.
Aboriginal Spirituality: Spiritual Theosophical Dictionary on
Tassissudun
Tassissudun (Tibet, Tibetan). Lit., "the holy city of the doctrine"
inhabited, nevertheless, by more Dugpas than Saints.
It is the residential capital in Bhutan of the ecclesiastical Head of
the Bhons - the Dharma Raja. The latter, though professedly a Northern
Buddhist, is simply a worshipper of the old demon-gods of the
aborigines, the nature-sprites or elementals, worshipped in the land
before the introduction of Buddhism.
All strangers are prevented from penetrating into Eastern or Great
Tibet, and the few scholars who venture on their travels into those
forbidden regions, are permitted to penetrate no further than the
border-lands of the land of Bod.
They journey about Bhutan, Sikkhim, and elsewhere on the frontiers of
the country, but can learn or know nothing of true Tibet; hence,
nothing of the true Northern Buddhism or Lamaism of Tsong-kha-pa. And
yet, while describing no more than the rites and beliefs of the Bhons
and the travelling Shamans, they assure the world they are giving it
the pure Northern Buddhism, and comment on its great fall from its
pristine purity.
Uragas (Sanskrit). The Nagas (serpents) dwelling in Patala the nether
world or hell, in popular thought ; the Adepts, High Priests and
Initiates of Central and South America, known to the ancient Aryans;
where Arjuna wedded the daughter of the king of the Nagas - Ulupi.
Nagalism or Naga-worship prevails to this day in Cuba and Hayti, and
Voodooism, the chief branch of the former, has found its way into New
Orleans.
In Mexico the chief "sorcerers ", the " medicine men ", are called
Nagals to this day; just as thousands of years ago the Chaldean and
Assyrian High Priests were called Nargals, they being chiefs of the
Magi (Rab.Mag), the office held at one time by the prophet Daniel. The
word Naga, " wise serpent ", has become universal, because it is one
of the few words that have survived the wreck of the first universal
language. In South as well as in Central and North America, the
aborigines use the word, from Behring Straits down to Uruguay, where
it means a "chief", a "teacher and a " serpent ".
The very word Uraga may have reached India and been adopted through
its connection, in prehistoric times, with South America and Uruguay
itself, for the name belongs to the American Indian vernacular. The
origin of the Uragas, for all that the Orientalists know, may have
been in Uruguai, as there are legends about them which locate their
ancestors the Nagas in Patala, the antipodes, or America.
Aboriginal Spirituality: Spiritual - Theosophy Dictionary on Sanskrit
Sanskrit [from Sanskrit sanskrita or samskrita]
The ancient sacred language of the Aryans, originally the sacred or
secret language of the initiates of the fifth root-race. The Sanskrit
language possesses voluminous and valuable works in prose and in
verse, some of which, like the Vedas, date back, in the opinion of
certain scholars, to the years 30,000 BC or even far beyond. Almost
every phase of philosophic thought, expressed and studied in the West,
is represented in one form or another in ancient Hindu literature.
Besides this, these old Sanskrit writings are replete with recondite
subjects dealing with the wondrous potentialities of the human spirit
and mind, the building and destruction of worlds and universes, etc.
The Sanskrit language, derives from one of the earliest of the Aryan
tongues, a lineal descendant of an Atlantean progenitor.
"In ancient times in India, and in the homeland of the Aryans before
they reached India by way of Central Asia, this very early Aryan
speech was used not only by the Aryan populace, but in the sanctuaries
of the Temples was taken in hand and developed or composed or builded
to be a far finer vehicle for expressing abstract religious and
philosophic conceptions and thoughts. This tongue thus composed or
developed by initiates of the Aryan stock, because of this formative
work upon it was finally given the name Sanskrita, signifying an
original natural language which had become perfected by initiates for
the purpose of expressing far more subtle and profound distinctions
than ordinary people would ever find needful. So great was the
admiration in which the Sanskrit language thus perfected was held,
that it was commonly said of it that it was the work of the Gods,
because it had thus become capable of expressing godlike thoughts:
profound spiritual subtleties and philosophical distinctions. Thus it
was that Sanskrit is really the mystery-language of the initiates of
the Aryan race; as the Senzar of very similar history was the mystery-
language of the later Atlanteans; and is still used as the noblest
mystery-language by the Mahatmas.
"Sanskrit was not known as a spoken tongue to the Atlanteans in their
prime, but in the degenerate or later times of Atlantis, when the
earliest Aryans already had appeared on the scene of history, this
early Aryan speech above alluded to, was already in existence; and the
Aryan initiates were then in the course of perfecting it as their
temple-language or mystery-tongue . . . Thus Sanskrit was not spoken
among the Atlanteans, nor can it therefore be called an Atlantean
language; although its verbal roots of course go back to earliest
Atlantean times, but only its verbal roots" -- G. de Purucker
"The Vedas, Brahmanism, and along with these, Sanskrit, were
importations into what we now regard as India. They were never
indigenous to its soil. There was a time when the ancient nations of
the West included under the generic name of India many of the
countries of Asia now classified under other names. There was an
Upper, a Lower, and a Western India, even during the comparatively
late period of Alexander; and Persia (Iran) is called Western India in
some ancient classics. The countries now named Tibet, Mongolia, and
Great Tartary were considered by them as forming part of India. When
we say, therefore, that India has civilized the world, and was the
Alma Mater of the civilizations, arts, and sciences of all other
nations (Babylonia, and perhaps even Egypt, included) we mean archaic,
pre-historic India, India of the time when the great Gobi was a sea,
and the lost 'Atlantis' formed part of an unbroken continent which
began at the Himalayas and ran down over Southern India, Ceylon, and
Java, to far-away Tasmania" (Five Years of Theosophy 179).
Blavatsky states that Sanskrit has never been known nor spoken in its
true systematized form except by the initiated Brahmins. This form of
Sanskrit was called -- as well as by other names -- Vach, the mystic
speech, which resides in the sounds of the mantra. "The chanting of a
Mantra is not a prayer, but rather a magical sentence in which the law
of Occult causation connects itself with, and depends on, the will and
acts of its singer. It is a succession of Sanskrit sounds, and when
its strings of words and sentences is pronounced according to the
magical formulae in the Atharva Veda, but understood by the few, some
Mantras produce an instantaneous and very wonderful effect" (BCW
14:428n). This Vach, or the mystic self of Sanskrit, was the
sacerdotal speech of the initiated Brahmins and was studied by
initiates from all over the world.
"It is admitted that, however inferior to the classical Sanskrit of
Panini, the language of the oldest portions of Rig Veda,
notwithstanding the antiquity of its grammatical forms, is the same as
that of the latest texts. Every one sees -- cannot fail to See and to
know -- that for a language so old and so perfect as the Sanskrit to
have survived alone, among all languages, it must have had its cycles
of perfection and its cycles of degeneration. And, if one had any
intuition, he might have seen that what they call a 'dead language'
being an anomaly, a useless thing in Nature, it would not have
survived, even as a 'dead' tongue, had it not its special purpose in
the reign of immutable cyclic laws; and that Sanskrit, which came to
be nearly lost to the world, is now slowly spreading in Europe, and
will one day have the extension it had thousands upon thousands of
years back -- that of a universal language. The same as to the Greek
and the Latin: there will be a time when the Greek of Aeschylus (and
more perfect still in its future form) will be spoken by all in
Southern Europe, while Sanskrit will be resting in its periodical
pralaya; and the Attic will be followed later by the Latin of Virgil.
Something ought to have whispered to us that there was also a time --
before the original Aryan settlers among the Dravidian and other
aborigines, admitted within the fold of Brahmanical initiation, marred
the purity of the sacred Sanskrita Bhasha -- when Sanskrit was spoken
in all its unalloyed subsequent purity, and therefore must have had
more than once its rise and fall. The reason for it is simply this:
classical Sanskrit was only restored, if in some things perfected, by
Panin. Panini, Katyayana, or Patanjali did not create it; it has
existed throughout cycles, and will pass through other cycles
still" (Five Years of Theosophy 419-20).
Aboriginal Spirituality
Spirituality for Indigenous Australians takes many forms. Some
Indigenous Australians share the religious beliefs and values of
religions introduced into Australia from other cultures around the
world, particularly Europe. But for most people religious beliefs are
derived from a sense of belonging-to the land, to the sea, to other
people, to one's culture.
Aboriginal spirituality mainly derives from the stories of the
Dreaming.
We recommend this article: Aboriginal Spirituality -
1, and also this: Aboriginal Spirituality -
2. Aboriginal wisdom,
Aboriginals,
Shaman,
Healer,
Native spirituality,
Australia
ARTICLES RELATED TO Aboriginal Spirituality
Aboriginal Spirituality: : Spiritual Sitemap I - A
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http://www.experiencefestival.com/aboriginal_spirituality
bademiyansubhanallah
17 Mar 2010, 0214 hrs IST, ET Bureau
NEW DELHI: A little less than a month after he formally took over as
BJP president, Mr Nitin Gadkari announced his team of office-bearers
and national executive here on Tuesday. In keeping with the party’s
new mantra, he has given 33% representation to women, but was
hamstrung with the acute talent deficit and pulls and pressures from
various quarters, including the RSS and the top brass, in preparing
the list.
A look at the composition of the new team would make it obvious that
the notorious ‘quota system’ — so far associated only with Congress,
with each top leader managing to get his nominees squeezed in — has
found its way into the BJP too. Members identified with front-ranking
leaders have been given more-than-adequate representation.
If the new BJP president was expected to announce a team capable of
taking on a youthful, resurgent Congress led by Mr Rahul Gandhi, it
has been belied. While a few fresh, younger faces have been inducted
in Mr Gadkari’s team, his task of building a team for the future has
been rendered that much more difficult by his failure to look beyond
the pool that was already available before him.
Thus, many leaders who failed to make their mark in the previous team
have been included in the new list of office-bearers. Also, leaders
whose performances were dubbed as disastrous in their respective home
states have been rehabilitated at the national level, lending credence
to the perception that Mr Gadkari did not exactly have a free
hand.
After holding wide-ranging consultations, the BJP president came out
with a list of 39 office-bearers. It includes, besides Mr Gadkari, 11
vice-presidents (two slots have been left vacant), 10 general
secretaries and 15 secretaries.While Mr Ram Lal has been retained as
general secretary in-charge of organisation, Mr Anant Kumar, Mr Vijay
Goel and Mr Thawar Chand Gehlot, who were there in the previous team,
too have been given a fresh innings.
Former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, former Jharkhand
chief minister Arjun Munda, Mr J P Nadda, minister for parliamentary
affairs,
forests and environment in Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh BJP chief
Narendra Singh Tomar, Mr Dharmendra Pradhan, secretary in the previous
team, and Mr Ravi Shankar Prasad are the new general
secretaries.
In what is being considered as recognition of his performance, Mr
Prasad will also be the chief spokesman of BJP. He will be assisted by
six more spokespersons, including Mr Prakash Javadekar and Mr Rajiv
Pratap Rudy, who were performing the job in the previous regime too.
The new spokespersons include former Union minister Syed Shahnawaz
Hussain, former Rajya Sabha member Ramnath Kovind, former Organiser
editor Tarun Vijay and Ms Nirmala Sitharaman, a party leader hailing
from Andhra Pradesh.
While former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Shanta Kumar and Mr
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi will continue as vice-presidents, Mr Vinay Katiyar
has been elevated. The new vice-presidents are former Uttarakhand
chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, Rajya Sabha member Najma
Heptullah, Lok Sabha member Bijoya Chakravarti, former MPs Karuna
Shukla and Hema Malini, Bihar MLC Kiran Ghai and former Gujarat BJP
chief Purushottam Rupala.
There will be 15 secretaries, including popular TV actress Smriti
Irani, Lok Sabha members Varun Gandhi, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Saroj
Pande, former Union ministers Santosh Gangwar, Ashok Pradhan and Kirit
Somaiya, former MPs Tapir Gao and Kiran Maheshwari and Mr Murlidhar
Rao. Former Delhi mayor Arati Mehra too has been made a secretary. Mr
Piyush Goyal is the new treasurer.
The party’s central parliamentary board, the top policy-making body,
has been left more or less untouched, with Mr Gadkari being the only
new member. The president simultaneously released the new list of
national executive comprising 81 members. It includes 26 women. The
chief ministers of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Himachal
Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttarakhand and the deputy chief ministers of
Bihar and Jharkhand have been named as permanent invitees.
Political yoga: A new phase in our democracy
17 Mar 2010, 0619 hrs IST, ET Bureau
It is a rather curious mix, our ready veneration of sundry godmen and
the equally-prompt readiness to push them off their pedestals when we
find
that they, well, aren’t so godly after all. Perhaps we haven’t yet got
to the stage where we can quite accept that men and matters spiritual
can really have anything to do with the material world.
Or, rather, we feel a greater sense of betrayal when that supposedly
personalised link to the spirit-realm turns out to have baser
moorings. A bit unlike other parts of the world, where godmen or cults
openly make a virtue out of, what for us, are vices. No experiments,
for us, sorry. Thus the scorn heaped upon the one who was recently
supposedly taped frolicking with an actress.
His excuses that he was in some sort of trance or merely
‘experimenting’ with stuff didn’t quite wash. We like our trances to
be more unearthly, thank you. But that does posit the curious
phenomenon of our preoccupation with such godmen . Perhaps the search
for deliverance, some sort of sense of agency.
Sure, there are any number of genuine worthies, people who really can
be what they say they are. But then, the whole thing is also open to
abuse. Just consider the number of such people over the years who have
come crashing to the ground, or are behind bars now.
But deliverance is at hand: a spiritual/health guru who wants to
expand our horizons and jump into the fray to improve the lot of the
nation. In a possible first of its kind, a well-known yoga guru has
just announced his intention to form a political party. Which, given
his stress on physical exercise, might give a new twist to his stated
intention of ‘cleansing’ the wider body politic.
Well, nothing wrong with that per se, as with his calls to crack down
on fake religious gurus. This would certainly at least make a
difference from our usual spectrum of left-centre-right politics. More
like a ‘save the nation, hold your breath’ kind of situation . The age
of the political asana might be upon us.
Stop the Vedanta Project in Orissa
17 Mar 2010, 0617 hrs IST, ET Bureau
In the long-term interest of internal security, survival of an
endangered primitive tribe and justice and fairness , the government
should withhold
clearance to the bauxite mining project spread over Orissa’s Kalahandi
(South) and Rayagada forest divisions, proposed by minerals major
Vedanta.
The core issue is violent disruption of a tribal people’s life for the
sake of mineral extraction in a manner that would mock the ruling
ideology of inclusive growth, and give legitimacy to the Maoists.
Maoists represent themselves as the only champions of India’s
dispossessed and exploited rural masses, especially the scheduled
tribes.
The state has identified Maoists as India’s primary internal security
threat, and launched an offensive , labelled Operation Green Hunt,
against them. Its premise is that Maoists obstruct the reach of the
uplifting arms of the state as they delve deep into rural India’s
swamps of underdevelopment. If only the Maoists would step aside, in
peace or at the point of a bayonet, the state would take care of the
poor.
This claim would be blown to smithereens if the state were to
facilitate a classic case of development that impoverishes a
defenceless populace, perhaps to extinction. Vedanta’s treatment of
the Dongria Konds, who live on and off the land sought to be mined,
has led many ethics-sensitive large investors in Britain to exit the
company. A fact-finding team of the ministry of environment and
forests has come up with findings that discourage further progress in
the project.
India can progress with some of its bauxite continuing to lie
underground for some more time. India cannot progress with a growing
internal security threat, fed by the state’s failure to live up to its
commitment to the common people. One of the UPA government’s major
legislative achievements, in its previous term, was the Forest Rights
Act, whose sincere implementation would deprive Maoists of a crucial
support base.
The law is being subverted all over the country, for want of political
mobilisation in its support. The Lanjigarh bauxite mining project, if
it goes through, would be yet more subversion of a key instrumentality
of inclusive growth.
Sidhu in Gadkari’s team
Express News Service
Posted: Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 0031 hrs
Chandigarh:
Member of Parliament (MP) from Amritsar Navjot Singh Sidhu is among
the 15 national secretaries appointed by BJP national president Nitin
Gadkari on Tuesday. With his elevation, Sidhu will find himself in a
greater organisational responsibility as part of the core team of the
party. The Indian Express had on January 20 this year reported Sidhu’s
likely prospects of elevation to the plum post.
Navjot Sidhu’s new political assignment comes as a breather for him,
given that his equation with the BJP state leadership headed by
Rajinder Bhandari, who relinquished charge last month, has been
persistently waning. At one point, Sidhu even contemplated to quit as
an MP.
Sidhu now finds himself on this post despite the fact that his
adversaries in the saffron party have been promulgating Sidhu as a non-
cadre leader without a Sangh background. Sidhu, a three-time MP from
Amritsar, was the lone legislator from the BJP to win the Lok Sabha
seat last year.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Sidhu-in-Gadkari-s-team/591688
Ramdev may join politics, takes dig at Maya
ANI
Posted: Tuesday , Mar 16, 2010 at 1615 hrs
Lucknow:
Yoga Guru Swami Ramdev on Tuesday hinted at entering politics, saying
that he would join with the objective of cleansing the system.
"I will join politics to cleanse the system," said Ramdev. Ramdev said
he would not stand for elections personally, but would field
candidates in all 543 Lok Sabha constituencies.
Earlier, commenting on the giant currency garland controversy, Ramdev
criticized Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati of doing business
through politics. Some people are doing business over politics," said
Ramdev.
Raising questions over the giant garland, used to honour Mayawati
during the Bahujan Samaj Party's silver jubilee celebrations on
Monday, Ramdev said, "Money that should be used for the upliftment of
Dalits is seen being worn as a garland."
40 Comments |
We are with you pls go ahead.
By: Prabhulal buj | Wednesday , 17 Mar '10 9:56:45 AM
Dear, Swami Ramdev ji, we need such a great person who can take to
india's ranking No.1 in the world.I have seen almost all head
politician but I haven't seen who can lead the biggest loktantrik
country(india). The all indian politicain are corrupted.We never
expect from them that india will comes out as a devlop country in few
centuries. So I just requiest to you(Swami ji) that pls be positive we
are with you please go ahead. God bless you.
Guide Followers to believe in Democracy
By: Ganesh Singh | Wednesday , 17 Mar '10 9:44:24 AM
Baba Ramdev is doing gr8 job no doubt about it. But what I think his
followers are middle class people who doesn't go for vote. The people
who vote are poor people who still leaves in villages and think of
their survival. They vote according to their casts or who ever
provides them monetary benefits. My view is that Babaji inspite of
starting his new party should guide and teach this middle class people
to believe in democracy, vote and to vote for right candidates without
any influence. If he makes new party, one more party in indian
democracy will come and divide the votes nothing else.
Good Idea
By: mukesh | Wednesday , 17 Mar '10 9:43:48 AM
Hello Ramdev Baba, This is very good idea for you to handle politics
from out side. We need India purification movement and make Bharat out
of India. All the best and go ahead.
Let us Support Baba Ramdev's Cause
By: Leeladhar Sharma | Wednesday , 17 Mar '10 8:22:31 AM
Baba Ramdev has tailked about practical problems being faced by the
Indian Democracy. He has identified problem areas and is planning to
cleanse the system of its evils- a huge task to to make India a less
corupt country. Honest and Hardworking people need to whole-heartedly
come together for the first and last lest it is too late.
I would vote for him
By: Asit | Wednesday , 17 Mar '10 8:18:47 AM Rep
Hi four loksabha elections have been over since I was 18 years old .
Never ever i had the urge to vote for any one or any political party
in India but if Baba contests in the election of 20-14 definitely I
would vote for him and contribute as a party worker taking 5-7 days
leave from my organization. I belive in what he says and does and am
happy that he took such a necessary step to clean the system . God
save the current politicians from jail if he wins :)
Power Corrupts
By: Spirit | Wednesday , 17 Mar '10 8:15:00 AM
Politicians don not become corrupt, it's the corrupt people who become
politicians. Baba Ramdev should not take a plunge in the dirty waters
of politics. No one can change the world neither the already
established society, ecpect a World War 3. All change has to be at an
individual level and every individual is responsible for bringing that
change in him/herself. Baba Ramdev could and may have been acting as a
catalyst to bring about that change on the individual level of human
beings, but joiing politics he is looking for power now. Surely, power
corrupts.
How About Nikhilananda?
By: Dr. Verma | Wednesday , 17 Mar '10 6:30:49 AM
Personally, I would prefer a real-blooded human like Nikhilananda
rather than a cold, fundamentalist fish of Ramdeva's ilk. If he cannot
correct the strabismus in his eyes by yoga, what hope does realpolitik
have?
Colonel
By: Shashi Sharma | Wednesday , 17 Mar '10 2:24:07 AM
He is trying to bite more than he can chew. He is a good yoga guru and
he should stick to that. YES indian political system is corrupt and
democracy seems to be dead. But politics and democracy has its own
form in India and is very deep rooted.Ushering in revolutions is
easier said than done. He can contribute by bringing in good health
and that should be it. Leave the politics to the politicians.
be decisve
By: sonam | Wednesday , 17 Mar '10 1:13:14 AM
if Ramdev baba really want to do something for indian society he
should continue with his job and make indian citizens healthy!!when he
can't influence people for accepting yoga what he will do in
politics??
Baba Ramdevji, Most Honest In India
By: Sudhir | Wednesday , 17 Mar '10 1:03:02 AM
Baba Ramdevji is the Most Honest Person in India. His vision of India
& the World is very Practical. His ideas are very close to Real
Democracy where People are important, Hindus, Jains, Buddhists,
Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Adivasis etc The very rich & corrupt
politicians are not helping Poor & Middle Class people. Ramdevbaba's
Party will help Indian People to achieve Health, Happiness, Equality.
His Party will deal with the problem of Terrorism very effectively.
kalki has come
By: jai_hind | Wednesday , 17 Mar '10 0:53:29 AM
oh the so called intelluctuals do not even know about the bharat
swabhiman andolan, to all the people i would like to inform that
shradey swami ramdev's strength is no match for these puny
politicians... shradey swami ramdev's power 1.by 2013 there would be
one yoga teacher in every village of india, almost 50% work has been
done in the present 2.many polticians such that madhya pradesh chief
minister shivraj singh chouhan have bowed down to the power of swami
ramdev and have introduced bhagvat gita in the school's on swami
ramdev's suggestion even nepal's President Ram Baran Yadav had come to
patanjali yogpeeth and also wanted baba ramdev to set a yog peeth in
nepal.. 3.there is going to be atleast 10 patanjali yogpeeths with an
area of thousand's of acres to be set up in india till 2014 4.the
bharat swabhiman andolan has 1 lakh members who have dedicated their
lives for the independence of common people from this dark politics.
jai hind
Come on!!!!!!!
By: Vivek | Wednesday , 17 Mar '10 0:43:58 AM
Good to know his intentions, but I am sure COngress will ask Muslims
that he has saffron coloured dresses (what ever he wears) and others
like BJP/Shiv Sena/VHP etc ride onto his back about the very name of
Ramdev baba, and at the end he will be found that it was a mistake by
our beloved Swami Ramdev......people will do some yoga in his rally
but will not vote for him despite of him being honest and un
corrupted....reason: he is not going to distribute liqour and dresses
or money at the time of elections...
We are with you
By: N Gulati | Wednesday , 17 Mar '10 0:43:03 AM
Baba Ramdev Ji, the path is full of thorns but you have the guts to
travel and take us along. You know the real India. You are our future.
There are millions who want India to be number 1. We have fortotten
our great past and lost confidence and our leaders are running scared
of small countries like Pakistan. Our soldiers are not afraid but
leaders are. You are the one who make a Rana Pratap out of an Indian.
May God be with you. Jai Hind
Yoga guru
By: Salim | Tuesday , 16 Mar '10 22:29:00 PM
I like Baba Ramdev. If he can spread yoga and its truthfullness to
everyone in India and abroad world would automatically be clean of
corruption But if he joins politics it would make him dirty But i will
still work for him
correction
By: Girish | Wednesday , 17 Mar '10 7:25:23 AM
He wont join politics he has only shown interest to help create a
political party with respectable agenda and practice, that it.
Ramdev baba only saviour
By: K Parameswaran | Tuesday , 16 Mar '10 21:14:46 PM
it is a welcome decision from baba ramdev.Good people like babaji
should join politics so as to cleanse corrupt political system.It is
also necessary to change constitution because present one is lenient
to create corrupt people and criminals.
Welcome Ramdev ji
By: Ajoy | Tuesday , 16 Mar '10 20:51:34 PM
I am surprised to see people advising Ramdev ji no to contest polls,
as if it is a birth right of fake Gandhis only. And someone also told
about progress. Well we can all see the progress under Abu Azmis of
SP,Mamtas and Pawars of UPA,Raj Thakreys of MNS,Yadav brothers,commies
and fake Gandhis. Great progress indeed. If Ramdevji's intentions are
clean, he is welcome.
Some hope at last?
By: Dr. Ranjana Bajpai | Tuesday , 16 Mar '10 20:41:46 PM
Welcome to the murky Indian Politics, Ramdevji. Wish you add a dash of
honesty, nationalism, spiritualism and accountability replacing the
current blend of crime, lineage, money and muscle power. Whatever said
and done, Indian politics is going to witness some real interesting
drama in the lower and upper houses of the parliament.
Bye old politicians, and religion politics
By: Ash | Tuesday , 16 Mar '10 20:39:40 PM
Indians in the past was conquered by Mughals, and then British because
they were not united. Congress has been using religion politics to
divide religions, and rule Indians. It is high time that an ethical
leader like Baba Ramdev emerges who unites Indians. A leader who does
not play religion, or regional politics. We hope that all the
religions rally behind him, and throw out unethical Congress, BSP etc.
and start enjoying clean politics. All religions will thrive, instead
of being made to fight each other. It is time for peace, and clean
politics!
Cleaning up Indian politics
By: Padam Singh | Tuesday , 16 Mar '10 20:34:44 PM
How does Ramdev expect to clean politics - something God cannot do.
Nehru, Indira and Rajiv Gandhi were personally honest people but
corruption flourished. Nehru was too weak, although people like Kairon
were children in the world of corruption compared to the present day
politicians. Indira encouraged it as did Rajiv. Today Manmohan Singh,
though personally incorrigble, has to allow corruption - the Shibu
Sorens, Mayawatis, the Yadavs, the Khodas, Gogois etc. We may, like
the people who write letters like mine condemning corruption, keep
commenting and suggest action, but then we are the ones that bring
these parasites to power. Let's face facts we Indians, if not corrupt
abet it otherwise what is there stopping the honest public coming out
on the streets and forcing a showdown with the powers that be. No. We
would rather come out in force for the Gymkhanna Club elections or a
Twenty 20 game of cricket. Asked to describe an Indian I said - lazy
and indifferent to others
Ask an average indian
By: Subrata Mahanty | Tuesday , 16 Mar '10 20:34:02 PM
The views of Mr.Ramdev are very natural and are practicable in Indian
society, which will make us filth-proof. Be it the debate on currency,
gay-sex or any legitimate debate which comes in the day to day life of
an average Indian, Baba's stance remains above all. He should motivate
enthusiastic youth to join politics and make india corruption free. It
should not be the case to diplomatize the situation into a religious
matter, otherwise we are losing a very good leader. We have already
losed Mr.APJ Abdul Kalam, Mr.AB Bajpayee from the leadership list
because of some leg-pulling politics. Politics is not bad, It has
become bad...Let's make it clear; so that evry one in my country can
utter... SAARE JAHAAN SE ACCHHAA HINDUSTAAN HAMAARA JAI HIND
Babaramdevji on Maya
By: Reddy | Tuesday , 16 Mar '10 20:12:04 PM
YES only BABARAMDEVJI can give great governence to our country(BHARAT)
we all r with u BABA just kick this bloody corrupt polictican from our
country (Maya,sonia,all other parties) must be kicked out our country.
THis country belongs to only Indians not for outsiders. BABA suggested
to take out Rs.1000 and 500n notes should be rollback so that we can
control the corruption. if this so called governemnt run by (Manmohan
singh(remote controlled by Sonia)) why dont u rollback. u dont have
guts to do reason u have u r share in that. go ahead BABA we r with u
we need very badly for this country. Jai Hind Vandaymataram
Bharatmataki ji. Reddy
Good news
By: naresh | Tuesday , 16 Mar '10 20:06:24 PM
I think there is only one person who can do for our india which has
power of people. Most of people know him very well. I am ready to be a
member of his party.
Koshti
By: Anil Kumar Koshti | Tuesday , 16 Mar '10 19:53:43 PM
Ram Dev ji is a grate man and he can do something to our country. His
thinking and way of life should be followed by everyone. we know every
politician is currupt in our country but some body is low or high. but
when everyone can't do as well as he say then we can beleave Baba Ram
Dev. everybody's have two face one is good (according to only me) or
Bad (according to only me)but I believe this man and support to
everyside for win to cleance politics.
Baba Ramdem to enter politics to cleanse
By: shanthanu | Tuesday , 16 Mar '10 19:38:44 PM
My humble request to him is, whether you touch the filth or filth
falls on you it is you who is affected as filth remains as abhorring
as ever. Please keep a distance and involve yourself in the noble
cause you are busy with. You dealing with people like Mayawathi is
unthinkable.
RIGHT TO FORM PARTY IN DEMOCRACY BUT MUD-SLINGING SHOULD BE BANNED
By: RAJAT KUMAR MOHINDRU .JALANDHAR CITY .PUNJAB | Tuesday , 16 Mar
'10 19:37:32 PM
World's biggest democratic country India where every person has the
right of freedom and expression , there are different Political
Parties who's representatives contest Elections . As Baba Ram Dev
vision to go ahead with formation of Political Party , it is his
fundamental right whether he is interested in forming a party or to
give support to another Political Party . It depends upon his vision ,
his ideology . As the need of time is of Two Party system in the
country or the Election commission of India should provide Negative
voting if the number of Political Parties go on increasing ,to bring
down the number of Political Parties through Negative Voting by the
voters issue may kindly be considered. The Mud -slinging on each other
by Political Leaders should strictly refrain to make democratic
process more healthy.
We Dont Need Him.....
By: kirankulkarni | Tuesday , 16 Mar '10 19:36:45 PM
No BABA can save India from getting screwed by the Islamic Extremists
and I dont think somebody can do the damage control act for all the
things that Indian National Congress has done over a period of six
decades. I suggest Swami Ramdev to stick to his "YOGA school" and help
some obess and diabetic guys rather than doing some endless-hopeless
marathon running with 550 mentally upset tranglodites in the
parliament.. I also suggest people not to back Babaji since the first
thing he would do in case he tastes power, is banning BRANDED food and
beverages, which will paralyse economy. I also believe that this
country needs more of a HARD Stern Faced Ruler,perhaps a dictator who
ll "flush the shit" from this Society. DEMOCRACY IS IN A STATE OF
COMA.
Ramdev may join politics
By: alka | Tuesday , 16 Mar '10 19:15:29 PM
Baba Ramdev should get elected and make a rule for all politicians and
policemen in his state to lose weight and get medically fit within a
year. It is amazing how politicians become gain weight sitting on
peoples money.
Only India Baba with clean image
By: Mohanjit | Tuesday , 16 Mar '10 18:38:01 PM
Baba Ramdev is required with his mass public support to root out evils
in the society as Raj / Bal Thackerey's. Baba is spreading message of
health, Indian culture, swadeshi things etc. thru his daily
discourses. VOTE HIM TO POWER.Ramdev never says he is GOD but beleives
in karma, he never uses teachers to teach yoga but sweats daily
himself so that his followers get rid of dangerous diseases. We like
him even if he resembles a caveman.
IT IS HIGH TIME ENGLISH MEDIA HIGH LIGHT THE AIMS OF BABA RAM DEVJI
MAHARAJI
By: n.r.i. | Tuesday , 16 Mar '10 17:53:32 PM
IT IS HIGH TIME ENGLISH MEDIA LIKE I.E. GIVE COVERAGE TO BABA RAM
DEVJI MAHARAJ .MY COMMENTS ARE ALWAYS BLOCKED . LETS HOPE BABA RAM
DEVJI MAHARAJ WIN WITH TOTAL MAJORITY AND CLEAN POLITICS AND ENGLISH
MEDIA . JAI HIND
ram dev.
By: vijai lugani | Tuesday , 16 Mar '10 17:44:17 PM
baba ram dev should not join politics. what he is doing namely
spreading yoga in nook and corner of world , treatment through aruveda
and teaching moral values to the people and more ever politics is
dirty game and he shoul not waste his energy in this. many swamis
tried in politics from the arya samaj which he is follower , namely
parkasveer, swamy agnivesh ect.uma bharti have been failed.swami must
know door ke dhol suhvane hote he
India needs cavemans like this
By: Raj Thackrey | Tuesday , 16 Mar '10 17:26:25 PM
I am sure looking at the twenty first century and progress, india
deserves cavemans like this to take india forward i mean back to
middle ages lol. More than seventy percent of indians are brain washed
by this man so they deserve to be like him in future.
cavemen
By: bal | Tuesday , 16 Mar '10 18:53:42 PM
you are insulting ayogi calling him cavemen cavemen must be your
ancestors whom you dont have any regards
Cavemen
By: Arvind Mathur | Tuesday , 16 Mar '10 22:14:56 PM
If this person can brain wash 70% indians that is better than what the
current political parties do. He will unite 70% Indians to do what is
right for India. Besides why do you discriminate against the
traditional attire of Yogi Baba's - they are not going to wear Pants
and Coats - why should they ?
Inida needs more than just yoga
By: haris | Tuesday , 16 Mar '10 20:35:15 PM
baba ram dev's might have a good intention ie to cleanse the system.
But this lacks the STUFF to lead this nations in this modern age.
Ruling a big nation is not like teaching Pranayamam, it is a bit more
complex
Baba Ramdev hints of Joining Politics
By: P L Bajaj | Tuesday , 16 Mar '10 17:19:48 PM
Suggest the political party of Baba Ramdev to start contesting
election at lower level, so that the party will be experienced &
matured by the time of Lok Sabha elections. I would like to see a
corruption free India. Hope Baba Ramdev will achieve this target in
future.
Jai ho Neta ji
By: Dr. Ram Chander Sharma | Tuesday , 16 Mar '10 17:08:10 PM
The gullible Indian voter will soon see the tricks of another Swami,
who is exlointing the religious sentiments of public. The Indian
political system is open to illiterates, musclement, hoarders,
religious leaders, tantricks, dacoits, filim wallahs and now another
money minter. There must be reservations for technocrates in the
parliament and the state lagislators to keep the political chors at
bay Siot Sunderbani Jammu.
Political Thieves
By: Arvind Mathur | Tuesday , 16 Mar '10 22:19:45 PM
I wonder why you believe that technical people are not political
thieves ? We have lots of Engineers in the government who are total
Chors or even Maha Chors.
Educated illiterates
By: Ash | Tuesday , 16 Mar '10 20:46:14 PM
India has problems because some of it educated illiterates are not
able to understand clean politics from unethical politicians. It is
probably ignorant people like you in the past who invited British to
India, and they ruled us.
NEW MAXIM
By: NIRANJAN | Wednesday , 17 Mar '10 8:31:58 AM
I LIKE YOUR NEW MAXIM, OR WHATEVER IT CAN BE CALLED: 'THE EDUCATED
ILLITERATE'. IT IS UNFORTUNATE THAT INDIA IS FULL OF PEOPLE WHO ARE
ONLY EDUCATED IN A UNIVERSITY OR SCHOOL, BUT ARE TOTALLY IGNORANT OF
THE WORLD AS A WHOLE. MEMBERS OR BSP, SS, SP, MNS ARE ONLY A FEW
EXAMPLES OF SUCH GROUP OF PEOPLE.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/india-needs-cavemans-like-this/591533/#postComment
Row over Maya mala, I-T to probe money source
ENS Economic Bureau
Posted: Tuesday , Mar 16, 2010 at 2340 hrs
New Delhi:
Uttar Pradesh CM Mayawati being offered a garland made up of 1000
rupee notes during BSP's Maharally in Lucknow.
A day after the BSP’s maharally, the Income Tax (I-T) department said
on Tuesday that it would probe the “source of money” of the huge
currency-note garland presented to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Mayawati.
Sources said the I-T department would investigate the ownership of the
Rs 1,000 notes used in the garland, the bank from which the money was
sourced, whether the money used was from disclosed income sources.
After a preliminary investigation, the department would accordingly
make a case for tax evasion.
Under the Income Tax Act, 1967, the department has power to suo motu
initiate inquiries into suspicious transactions. It can issue summons
under Section 131 and impound and retain in its custody any books of
account or other documents for the purpose. It can also call for any
information required for the case under Section 133(6).
The sources said the intelligence department would also be asked to
look into the entire funding of the rally organised by Mayawati for
the silver jubilee function of the BSP.
The Congress, meanwhile, accused Mayawati of failing to control
communal riots in Bareilly and compared her with Roman emperor Nero.
“What kind of a government is this? Bareilly is burning and there is
celebration in Lucknow,” Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said,
demanding a judicial inquiry into the riots. “The Nero sitting in UP
has a big role. Without administrative support, no riot can continue
for two weeks,” he said.
Tewari said there was an attempt to “polarise” the people in UP and it
was the BJP that had taught the BSP the “politics of riots”.
Comments (4) |
Maya Ki Mala ki Maya
By: Ashok K Gupta | 17-Mar-2010
Mala makes Mayas and Mayas make malas.This is how our political wheel
is running.Mayas & malas are inseprable in our
legislation,executive,.........We have silent endorsement in our
mandate,so why hue & cry now.
It is biased news from Media
By: Chandra | 17-Mar-2010
Media never made news about when fraud is committed by Congress. INR
60000 crore scam by our telecommunication Minister. Who cares. Penny
wise and Pound Foolish.
All eyewash
By: anand | 17-Mar-2010
Nothing is going to happen.Any scam tainted politician or neta got
harsh punishment in this country.A big no. For 2-3 days this is
another scoop news for channels and media,that's all. The citizens of
this country is getting fooled again and again.
Maya mala versus italian bofors Q mals
By: ramdev | 17-Mar-2010
Atleast for bad or worse Maya appeared with the mala. How about the
Bofors mala wore by the Quttorachi? How was he allowed to go free with
thousand of crores mala? Indian media especially congress channels
like NDTV only make noise of the Maya mala and silent about the
Italian Q mala
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/row-over-maya-mala-it-to-probe-money-source/591635/
Pune blast a blot, advisories ignored: Chidambaram
Express news service
Posted: Tuesday , Mar 16, 2010 at 2336 hrs
New Delhi:
Describing the Pune blast as a “blot on our record”, Home Minister P
Chidambaram stated in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that there was no
intelligence failure.
Chidambaram, who was replying to queries by Shiv Sena member Bhavana
Gawali Patil and Supriya Sule during question hour, said, “Despite the
intelligence shared, despite the advisories issued, the Pune blast
occurred... I regard that as a blot on our record.”
The Home Minister said enough information had been shared with the
Maharashtra Government about the terrorist threat.
He said consequently, the Pune Police had issued an advisory to all
establishments in the Koregaon Park area of Pune on October 9, 2009.
German Bakery manager Praveen Pant had acknowledged the receipt of the
advisory. The advisory was repeated in December. However,
establishments in the area did not pay any heed to the advisories.
These establishments, according to him, had to take their own minimal
security measures, which was not done.
Responding to queries of members, the minister said the Centre was
encouraging all states to set up anti-terrorist squads and NSG hubs,
modernise their police forces and procure advanced weapons.
Regarding the inadequacy of bullet-proof jackets in Maharashtra
Police, the Home Minister said the Centre planned placing an order for
their purchase for the central forces and the state could either
piggyback the Centre or make its own procurement.
Comments (1) |
Issue
By: ravi | 17-Mar-2010
Issue advisories every day like bhel puri, papri chhat & when the
blast occurs, say that advisory was issued. wow what gems we have as
Home Ministers!
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pune-blast-a-blot-advisories-ignored-chidambaram/591631/
DP cracks corrupted Godman's pan India network
Agencies
Posted: Tuesday , Mar 16, 2010 at 1625 hrs
New Delhi:
The Delhi Police submitted before a court that self-styled Godman Shiv
Murat Dwivedi was running a huge network of flesh trade involving more
than a hundred brokers and thousand prostitutes across the country.
Appearing before Special Judge S K Sarwaria, the investigating agency
pleaded for extension of his custodial interrogation to unearth the
vast network.
"We have to unearth the whole network in which more than hundred
brokers and thousand prostitutes are involved. He has also amassed
huge property in Mumbai, Noida, Kolkata, Varanasi and Gowardhan," the
police contended, also placing eight diaries and five CDs seized by it
before the court.
It further contended that the dairy contains information pertaining to
money transactions contact details of more than three thousand persons
which has been written in coded language.
The court after hearing the police's contention accepted its plea and
extended Dwivedi's custodial remand for four more days. Dwivedi, is
accused in four cases under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act and
one case of robbery. He was arrested on March nine under the
provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
Dwivedi is alleged to have earned crores of rupees through the sex
racket.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/dp-cracks-corrupted-godmans-pan-india-network/591536/
Godman, 7 held in sex racket
Express News Service
Posted: Saturday , Feb 27, 2010 at 0024 hrs
New Delhi:
Shiv Murat Dwivedi and seven others at the office of the DCP (South)
in Hauz Khas on Friday.
He organised satsangs, composed spiritual music, constructed a temple
and has now been arrested for running a prostitution racket.
Following the arrest of the self-styled spiritual guru, his accomplice
and six sex workers on Thursday, the South Delhi police claimed to
have unearthed a major prostitution racket.
The police said the accused — his real name is Shiv Murat Dwivedi, but
he was also known by many others, including Rajiv Dwiwedi, Shiv Murti
and Shiv Roop and Swami Ichadari Sant Swami Bhimanandji Maharaj
Chitrkootwale — arranged for sex workers in upscale areas of the
Capital as well as five-star hotels.
Of the six arrested, two are working with airlines and one is a
management student, the police said.
Yet another is a former student of a South Delhi school, the police
said. The arrested associate has been identified as Parveen Kumar
(28).
“On Thursday, Sub-Inspector Sanjay Sharma was sent to Dwivedi as a
decoy customer. After he struck a deal at Saket with him, we arrested
the group. The cars they were travelling in — a Honda Civic and a
Honda City — were also seized,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police
(South), H G S Dhaliwal.
Dwivedi came from Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh, to Delhi in 1988 and
began working as a security guard at a hotel in Nehru Place. Later, he
worked at a massage parlour in Lajpat Nagar and began a prostitution
racket, for which he was arrested in 1997.
After being released on bail, he transformed himself into a spiritual
leader.
“He soon began a flesh trade racket. He also constructed a 200-bed
hospital in Chitrakoot, a temple in Khanpur and began holding
satsangs,” DCP Dhaliwal said. The hospital and the temple were meant
to further sex trade in the garb of charity, he added.
The police recovered Rs 1.55 lakh, besides copies of a magazine
containing Dwivedi’s articles on spirituality as well as video CDs of
his sermons in the impounded cars.
Comments (5) |
Take it easy guys
By: Nick | 28-Feb-2010
Hey guys relax, its not only in India it is all over the world. When
it happens in India involving some thing like a Guru its splashes
world over, when such things happen in Catholic and Evangelist
churches those just go under the carpet helped by the same media. He
just used that as front to run his business, that's all about it.
think
By: pravin tarhal | 28-Feb-2010
this is very common today. but most fustrating is that we the people &
media are supporting these kind of things to happen like all leading
newspapers in delhi or all over india are full with classifieds of
massage parlours, friendship networks, with phone numbers & openly
indicating what they are trading of using sentenses like"hot body to
body" pujabi,russian,collage girl,foreigners,"full
satisfaction,moksh,full enjoyment" You(IE)can Claim that i have wrote
offenssive words above.but the classifides & the peoples cant be
stopped. this is fustrating. If somebody call on those numbers got
directly got asked about the requirement of the type of girl , period
& place of delivery. that means the police is slipping or acting like
they are in slip.ALL THESE THINGS ARE SUPPORTED BY US PEOPLE & THE
MEDIA. CAN WE STOPP THIS ? I DONT THINK SO BECAUSE THERE IS LOSS OF
EASY MONY......... THE TIME HAS COME TO THINK ABOUT THE SOCIETY
GODMEN AND RELIGION
By: NIRANJAN | 27-Feb-2010
OVERALL WE INDIANS ARE CONSIDERED VERY SMART PEOPLE. WE ALWAYS LOOK
BEFORE WE LEAP AND DON'T TRUST ANYONE EASILY. HOWEVER, WHEN IT COMES
TO RELIGION AND GODMEN TALKING ABOUT RELIGION, WE BECOME SO NAIVE THAT
WE ARE READY TO DO ANYTHING THAT THESE GODMEN ASK US TO DO. THIS IS
THE RESULT OF THE SUPERSTITIOUS NATURE OF OURS WHICH MAKES US TOO
STUPID WHEN WE SEE A PERSON IN SAFRON OR WHITE CLOTHES PREACHING LIKE
HE KNOWS IT ALL. I WISH AND HOPE THAT ALL THESE GODMEN BE SCRUTINIZED
BY SOME AUTHORITY OR EVEN NGOs AND EXPOSE THEIR SCAMS.!
The Scam artists
By: deepak | 27-Feb-2010
In order to expose these rascals you need an expert who is an
authority on the subject matter of religion.In my experience vast
majority of the general public and the so called 'spiritual gurus' do
not even know the meaning of the word 'religion',or who is God? or
what is the relationship between us and God? or what is the activity
that we should perform and the goal of that realtionship? In my
opinion only a Vaishnava can be deemed as an authority in spiritual
matters. Rest all must be rejected. deepak
Godmen
By: nihichsu | 27-Feb-2010
This is to respond to Mr. Niranjan's comments. It is not only that we
Indians trust fully these Godmen and get fooled. This is happening
everywhere in the world including USA, Europe, China etc. Religion and
its Godmen have indulged into nefarious activities all over the world.
Hindus are not the only scapegoats. This is happening amongst Roman
Catholics, Protestants, other Christian sects, Islam and its various
sects, Buddism etc. True that Karl Marx said "Relgion is the opium of
the masses".
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/godman-7-held-in-sex-racket/584978/0
Godman’s ashrams face public fury after footage with starlet
Express news service
Posted: Thursday , Mar 04, 2010 at 2350 hrs
Chennai:
A day after a private TV channel and a vernacular weekly showed
visuals claiming them to be of popular spiritual leader Paramahamsa
Nithyananda with a film actress of yesteryears, his ashrams, statues
and even posters were targeted by angry protesters.
A group of advocates in Chennai and Coimbatore approached the police
commissioners in the cities with the demand that the police book the
godman under criminal charges even as his organisation blamed
“conspiracy, graphics and rumour” for the controversy.
The controversy began on Tuesday when Sun News aired video clippings
that showed the godman allegedly in a compromising position with the
actress. The Nakkeeran weekly followed up with screenshots and news in
its latest issue that hit stands on Wednesday.
The video enraged fringe Hindu outfits like Hindu Makkal Katchi and
atheistic Dravidar Kazhagam alike, both attacking the properties
managed by Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam in their boroughs of strength.
While the former demanded action against Nithyananda for bringing
disrepute to religion, the latter raised similar demands for duping
people. Protests were staged across the state, including in
Tiruvannamalai, Namakkal, Coimbatore and Salem.
Meanwhile, the Dhyanapeetam issued a statement stating that the
'defamatory' video was a mix of conspiracy, graphics and rumour. "We
are working on a legal course of action and will come up with updates
in due course," said the statement.
Comments (6) |
What conspiracy ?
By: syArjun | 04-Mar-2010
People who are commenting here are fools or his die hard supporters.
It is Nithyanada in the video -if you cant see then ur blind. Second -
No one is trying to defame the Hindus , it is the 'Love Gurus' who are
destroying hinduism. True some elements may be acting to bring
disrepute to hinduism but here we have the Proof of swamigal(Swami
Gal). Anyways , it is the fools money that nithyananda is getting so
who cares. Hindus will learn by example who is true and who is fraud.
Nithyanada should have married and indulged in these pleasures, he has
brought disrepute to the Ochre robe and should be punished for it.
People see the robe and fall at the feet of the wearer ..we have so
much respect for that robe! I have seen his videos .. his lectures are
prepared by a team of writers and his organisation is run by an expert
management team. They charge huge amount and guarantee you realisation
after a 21 days program. Bah ! wake up all of you.
No confirmation yet.
By: Ayarn | 04-Mar-2010
The fellow in the video could be a good actor paid by some opposition
to defame the swami. Who knows? Who can confirm or not whether it is
really nithyananda? You can't jump to conclusion based on low
resolution video clip, it can very well be a setup to discredit the
organisation because they have too much power and support in south
india.
be selfish
By: shanthakumar | 04-Mar-2010
whatever it may be ,we should not look on the world, we should be very
clever in this cheating world work for our family, thats
enough,angrily if we do something it will not affect us ,surely it
affects our family ,in the most populated country such as india these
godman will not stop cheating people, our life is in our hand, be
clever have a happy life to all my indians
are you people blind?
By: raj | 04-Mar-2010
why is it so hard to beleive that the guy in the video is who he
is?..Nithyanandam is just another common man, a very intelligent
fraudster who has basic needs like every human being. It is so clear
from the video that he has some physical relationship that woman,
which is not an issue. The real issue is that - he is leading a double
life and fooling his followers..he is just a egomaniac and a cheat.
Blasphemy
By: vyasa | 04-Mar-2010
Misbehavior of the actual culprits in certain religions doesn't get
publicized whereas as history has proved Hindu Saints,Gods are always
target of the certain elements that belong to certain religions whose
main ambition is increasing headcount by indulging in
blasphemy,conversions through abuse and deceit( they take advatage of
peoples poverty,(give people some amount of money if they give up
Hinduism and take up their religion),illiteracy,ignorance).
Conspiracy
By: Brhamanda | Thursday , 4 Mar '10 1:19:37 AM
Just 2 days back there was a so called scandal about another spiritual
guru.Looks like whoever is behind all these TV shows is pretty
desperate to curb the popularity of Hinduism and Hindu spiritual
masters. We all know how alike the characters look even in all those
60's movies where hero does double action right? We are talking about
today where the technology has advanced rapidly than even in 60's. It
is not even confirmed if the person in the video is Swamiji so people
need not jump to conclusions by watching the video.We are talking
about Nithyanada who doesn't even eat onions,garlic,green chillies and
the vidoe says he's drinking liquor.That shows what a joke that video
is. Abusing an enlightened master is the worst sin which stays with
the soul making it suffer for life(s) together.Those who have
attempted to malign Swamiji and did the video have made their
choice.You don't make your choice by just watching or even reading
about a stupid video.
From MP to DM, ‘godman’ played host to all at his Chitrakoot ashram
Vijay Pratap Singh
Posted: Monday , Mar 01, 2010 at 0251 hrs
Allahabad:
Former DM of Chitrakoot, Hridesh Kumar, inaugurates a function at
Dwivedi’s ashramFlower & Cake DeliveryValentine
Gift'sDiscussionBlogsHeadley is smart - By Arun
Self-styled godman Swami Shiv Murat Dwivedi alias Swami Bhimanandji
Maharaj alias Swami Ichchadhari Sant — arrested on Friday for
allegedly running a sex racket — has links with several influential
people back home in Chitrakoot district, Uttar Pradesh.
A four-day programme he organised at his ashram at Chamrauha village
in October 18, 2009, was inaugurated by Hridesh Kumar, then district
magistrate of Chitrakoot. The Samjawadi Party (SP) MP from Banda, RK
Singh Patel, SP Member of Legislative Council Yuvraj Singh, and slain
dacoit Dadua’s son and zila panchayat chairman Veer Singh were special
invitees on the occasion. In hoardings, Rural Development minister
Daddu Prasad was named as the chief guest for the programme. He did
not attend. But local BSP leaders like Vinod Kumar Dwivedi, the block
pramukh of Manikpur, did attend and stayed for the cultural programme
by girls from Delhi.
A month after the programme, Manikpur police lodged an FIR against the
godman and three others for a clash during the dance programme, said K
K Mishra, Station House Officer of Manikpur.
Officials said Hridesh Kumar, who inaugurated the programme, also
issued a rifle licence to the godman. Kumar, who is currently the
District Magistrate of Ghazipur, refused to comment.
Lok Sabha member R K Singh Patel said he did not know the godman
personally. “But I know his father Bachcha Lal,” he said. “Being the
MP from the area, I accepted the invitation. If he is running a sex
racket, he must be punished. I don’t have any connection with him.”
MLC Yuvraj Singh said: “Our society respects godmen. I was invited by
Dwivedi, so I went. It was the first and the last time I saw
him.”
BSP block pramukh Vinod Kumar Dwivedi said he went to the ashram
because, “like others, I was also invited. I did not know that he was
involved in such activities.”
The godman often visited Chamrauha which he has renamed “Sai Nagar”.
He is building a large temple in his ashram — the work has been on for
two years.
On Sunday, the Delhi Police sent a team to Chitrakoot to collect
evidence against him and information about his past. “Shiv Murat
Dwivedi was first arrested in Lajpat Nagar in 1997 for running a
prostitution racket in a massage parlour,” said DCP (South) HGS
Dhaliwal. “He had worked at a massage parlour in the area in 1990.
During the job, he came in contact with pimps and started the sex
racket. He has links with several influential persons and leaders in
Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.”
The Chitrakoot police, too, have started collecting details of the
criminal activities of his family. His father Bachcha Lal Dwivedi is
named in five criminal cases— these include murder, dowry death, theft
and patronising dacoits. His elder brother Ram Murat Dwivedi was
booked for the murder of his wife; younger brothers Sanjay and Krishna
Dwivedi were booked in theft cases in 2001. In spite of their criminal
past, several members of the family had managed to get arms licences.
Bachcha Lal has a licence for a double-barreled gun. Shiv Murat
Dwivedi and Sanjay Dwivedi got licences for rifles in 2009. Chitrakoot
SP Veer Bahadur Singh said he had asked the Manikpur police to probe
how these were issued.
Comments (1) |
Swami Chakar Dhar
By: Harbans Lal | 01-Mar-2010
He should be nominated as a member Rajya Sabha.
In UP hometown, ‘godman’ Dwivedi sports political ties
Vijay Pratap Singh
Posted: Monday , Mar 01, 2010 at 0041 hrs
Allahabad:
Months before his arrest in sex racket, a programme at the Chitrakoot
ashram of Swami Shiv Murat Dwivedi attended by SP parliamentarian, BSP
leader and the then District Magistrate
Self-styled godman Swami Shiv Murat Dwivedi alias Swami Bhimanandji
Maharaj alias Swami Ichchadhari Sant — arrested on Friday for
allegedly running a sex racket — has links with several influential
people back home in Chitrakoot, UP.
A four-day programme he organised at his ashram at Chamrauha village
in October 18, 2009, was inaugurated by Hridesh Kumar, then district
magistrate of Chitrakoot. The Samjawadi Party (SP) parliamentarian
Banda, RK Singh Patel, SP Member of Legislative Council Yuvraj Singh,
and slain dacoit Dadua’s son and zila panchayat chairman Veer Singh
were special invitees on the occasion. In hoardings, Rural Development
minister Daddu Prasad was named as the chief guest for the programme.
He did not attend. But local BSP leaders like Vinod Kumar Dwivedi, the
block pramukh of Manikpur, did attend and stayed for the cultural
programme by girls from Delhi.
A month after the programme, Manikpur police lodged an FIR against the
godman and three others for a clash during the dance programme, said K
K Mishra, Station House Officer of Manikpur.
Officials said Hridesh Kumar, who inaugurated the programme, also
issued a rifle licence to the godman. Kumar, who is currently the
District Magistrate of Ghazipur, refused to comment.
Lok Sabha member R K Singh Patel said he did not know the godman
personally. “But I know his father Bachcha Lal,” he said. “Being the
MP from the area, I accepted the invitation. If he is running a sex
racket, he must be punished. I don’t have any connection with him.”
MLC Yuvraj Singh said: “Our society respects godmen. I was invited by
Dwivedi, so I went. It was the first and the last time I saw
him.”
BSP block pramukh Vinod Kumar Dwivedi said he went to the ashram
because, “like others, I was also invited. I did not know that he was
involved in such activities.”
The godman often visited Chamrauha which he has renamed “Sai Nagar”.
He is building a large temple in his ashram — the work has been on for
two years.
On Sunday, the Delhi Police sent a team to Chitrakoot to collect
evidence against him and information about his past.
“Shiv Murat Dwivedi was first arrested in Lajpat Nagar in 1997 for
running a prostitution racket in a massage parlour,” said DCP (South)
HGS Dhaliwal. “He had worked at a massage parlour in the area in 1990.
During the job, he came in contact with pimps and started the sex
racket. He has links with several influential persons and leaders in
Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.”
The Chitrakoot police, too, have started collecting details of the
criminal activities of his family. His father Bachcha Lal Dwivedi is
named in five criminal cases — these include murder, dowry death,
theft and patronising dacoits. His elder brother Ram Murat Dwivedi was
booked for the murder of his wife; younger brothers Sanjay and Krishna
Dwivedi were booked in theft cases in 2001.
In spite of their criminal past, several members of the family had
managed to get arms licences. Bachcha Lal has a licence for a double-
barreled gun. Shiv Murat Dwivedi and Sanjay Dwivedi got licences for
rifles in 2009. Chitrakoot SP Veer Bahadur Singh said he had asked the
Manikpur police to probe how these were issued.
Comments (3) |
what a shame!
By: Shraddha | 04-Mar-2010
After having all these facts published, still there is no action.
People should stand up against such phony men of god and treat them
humanly. With justice! Jail these sick men, not godmen!
GODMAN
By: Tota Ram | 02-Mar-2010
India has a great civilization and has had great religious teachers
like Swami Ramkrishna, Swami Dayanand etc. Like any other country we
do also have scoundrels in our country posing as Saints. I suggest
public cateration of these people.
GODMEN AND POLITICIANS
By: NIRANJAN | 01-Mar-2010
ON ONE HAND POLITICIANS ARE SMART ENOUGH TO FOOL THE AAM AADMI FOR AT
LEAST FIVE YEARS. ON THE THE OTHER HAND THEY ARE GULLIBLE ENOUGH TO
BELIEVE IN SUCH GODMEN WHO, I AM SURE, PROMISE THEM THE 'GADDI' IN
DELHI OR SUCH THINGS BY THEIR 'TANTRIK' POWERS. SUPERTITIONS IS THE
ROOT CAUSE OF THE EVIL IN INDIA. UNFORTUNATELY THE NETAs FOSTER THESE
KINDS OF PEOPLE AND THE THE REAL SUFFERES IS THE AAM AADMI!
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/in-up-hometown-godman-dwivedi-sports-political-ties/585556/0
In UP village, devotees stop cops from probing ‘godman’ property
Express News Service
Posted: Sunday , Mar 07, 2010 at 0109 hrs
New Delhi:
Followers of self-styled godman Shiv Murat Dwivedi formed a human
chain around his property in his village in Uttar Pradesh on Friday
and thwarted attempts by a Delhi Police team from entering the
premises for probe into the alleged multi-crore sex racket he ran.
“We believe Dwivedi’s henchmen learnt about our arrival and got locals
to form the human chain,” DCP (South) H G S Dhaliwal said.
The team was supposed to take Dwivedi to the ashram and an upscale
house he built for his parents in Manekpur area of Chitrakoot in Uttar
Pradesh, but a crowd of around 2,000 did not let them enter, the
police said.
The police need to establish in court that Dwivedi accumulated
property and wealth from his crime syndicate to initiate the stringent
Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against Dwivedi.
MCOCA also gives police the right to seize property built with money
from such a syndicate.
Dhaliwal said the police are in the final stages of filing an
application to invoke provisions of MCOCA in court.
In Chitrakoot, Dwivedi reportedly claimed innocence and alleged that
some politicians had framed him in the sex racket case. Asked by the
media about his alleged links with slain dacoit Dadua, Dwivedi
accepted that he knew Danua but denied involvement in any crime.
In another development, police said they have found Dwivedi had at
least four bank accounts under his ‘real’ name: Rajiv Ranjan Dwivedi.
The daily or monthly transactions ranged between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1
lakh in each account, officers said.
“He ran his empire very professionally,” DCP Dhaliwal said. He
purportedly gave his staff and call girls allegedly working under him
“proper holidays” and weekly breaks.
Chitrakoot police begin process to strip ‘godman’ of his arms licence
Vijay Pratap Singh
Posted: Thursday , Mar 04, 2010 at 0306 hrs
Lucknow:
The temple which is under construction at Chitrakoot’s Chamrauha area.
express photo
Self-styled ‘godman’ Swami Shiv Murat Dwivedi alias Swami Bhimanandji
Maharaj alias Swami Ichchadhari Sant, who was arrested in Delhi on
February 26 for allegedly running a sex racket, is all set to be
stripped of his arms licence.
The Chitrakoot police today began proceedings to cancel his licence
that was issued by former district magistrate Hridesh Kumar.
“Taking cognizance of media reports and his arrest by the Delhi
Police, I have initiated the cancellation proceedings. Following an
inquiry, it came to light that the Manikpur police had ignored two
cases against him and made recommendations for the licence. I have
sent a report to the district magistrate to cancel his licence,” said
SP Veer Bahadur Singh.
Singh added that three licences had been issued to Swami and his
family members, including his father, Bachcha Lal, and brother Sanjay
Murat Dwivedi.
“The inquiry is on against his father and brother who possess licences
for a double barrel gun and rifle, respectively. If the police find
their involvement in criminal cases, their licences too will be
cancelled,” he added.
A team of five policemen from Delhi, led by Station House Officer of
Saket, Bhrama Deo, has arrived in Chitrakoot to collect information
about the ‘godman’.
“We have started verifying the statements of the ‘godman’ and are
inspecting his properties. We have also learnt that he was
constructing a multi-crore temple at Chamrauha under Manikpur police
station in Chitrakoot,” said Deo. The police team has inspected the
temple, the godman’s ashram and the residence of his father. “After
physical inspection, we will obtain the papers of his properties and
assets from the district magistrate,” said Deo.
The Delhi Police have intitiated proceedings to invoke Maharashtra
Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against the ‘godman’.
Under MCOCA, stringent punishment is awarded to a person or gang
operating as part of a crime syndicate, said Deputy Commissioner of
Police (South) H G S Dhaliwal.
Give copy of custodial interrogation plea to Dwivedi: Court to cops
NEW DELHI: A city court on Wednesday asked the Delhi Police to provide
a copy of their application, seeking to interrogate ‘godman’ Shiv
Murat Dwivedi in custody, to the accused.
Metropolitan Magistrate Ravinder Singh, who was approached by the
police for permission to question Dwivedi (39), said: “the accused
(should) be provided a copy of the remand application”. “Once an
accused is remanded in judicial custody, the police cannot seek his
custody unless there are special reasons,” the counsel appearing for
Dwivedi said. The accused has a right to know the grounds for his
detention and custodial interrogation, he added.
The police said custodial interrogation of Dwivedi was required to
unravel the case. “Fix the application for arguments tomorrow,” the
court said after hearing the arguments. pti
From driver to godman’s deputy, Praveen was on a roll for two years
Sahim Salim
Posted: Saturday , Mar 06, 2010 at 0030 hrs
New Delhi:
The self-styled godman Swami Shiv Murat Dwivedi, arrested from South
Delhi for allegedly running a multi-crore sex racket, took good care
of the people loyal to him.
The police said Dwivedi elevated the financial standing of his second-
in-command, Parveen Kumar, also arrested along with him on February
25.
Sources said Kumar, a native of Jhajjar in Haryana, would drive an
auto-rickshaw till 2008. Two years after he started working with
Dwivedi, Kumar drove a Honda City — it was seized by the police during
his arrest.
“He was Dwivedi’s face in the racket. He was in charge of the
logistics; he also made and finalised the deals. Whenever Dwivedi was
busy giving sermons, Kumar took charge of the racket,” a senior police
officer said.
A police team, meanwhile, recovered a rifle and other weapons
purportedly belonging to Dwivedi from his residence in Chitrakoot,
Uttar Pradesh, after a raid on Friday. Sources said it also came to
light during the raid that Dwivedi's personal bodyguards carried
firearms.
“We first need to assess and seize his property. He has many areas
within the Capital where he functioned. We need to investigate whether
the house owners knew about his operations,” a senior police officer
said.
The police are, meanwhile, also probing the allegations made by the
father of a Jaipur-based girl who said Dwivedi was behind the
abduction of his daughter. The 22-year-old woman is missing since
December 23 last year.
MCOCA likely to be invoked against ‘godman’
Express News Service
Posted: Wednesday, Mar 03, 2010 at 0105 hrs
New Delhi:
The South Delhi police are likely to invoke provisions of the
Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against the 39-year-
old ‘godman’ Swami Shiv Murat Dwivedi, arrested on Friday for
allegedly running a high-profile sex racket.
Under MCOCA, stringent punishment is awarded to a person or gangs
operating as a syndicate.
Dwivedi was arrested along with an accomplice and six women, including
two air-hostesses, for allegedly running a multi-crore sex racket.
“We are looking at the possibility of whether Dwivedi can be slapped
with charges under the provisions of MCOCA,” Deputy Commissioner of
Police (South), H G S Dhaliwal said. MCOCA allows the police to adduce
as evidence the confession of the accused made before a senior police
officer not below the rank of a DCP.
Police officials said that in all, Dwivedi has four cases registered
against him. In 1997, Dwivedi was arrested on charges of running a
prostitution racket in Lajpat Nagar. The next year, he was arrested
for dacoity in Badarpur. In 2003, he was arrested from Noida Sector 24
— charges under the Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act and the
Gangster Act were slapped.
The police said Dwivedi undertook charity activities as a guise to
explain the flow of money — he earned close to Rs 2 lakh every month
through his criminal activities. DCP Dhaliwal said they will seek
police custody to take Dwivedi to Chitrakoot for verifying the
ownership of his properties and investigate if his activities extended
to UP.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/mcoca-likely-to-be-invoked-against-godman/585961/
‘Godman’ booked for abduction
Express News Service
Posted: Monday , Mar 08, 2010 at 0104 hrs
Ghaziabad:
A self-styled godman in Ghaziabad has been booked for abducting his
cousin.
The police said the accused, Anup Kumar Sahay, is a resident of Vijay
Nagar. According to a complaint filed by the victim’s mother Subha
Srivastava, the accused, along with his brother Ashok Kumar Sahay, had
abducted her daughter, Priyanka. “Priyanka has been missing since
February 15, when she went to purchase milk,” Subha Srivastava has
stated in the complaint. The police said the two accused are
Priyanka’s cousins and often visited her house in Raj Nagar.
Superintendent of Police (City) Ghaziabad Avdhesh Kumar Vijeta said
the police received the complaint on Saturday. “Sahay has been booked
under Sections 363, 313 and 366 of the IPC which pertain to kidnapping
and forcing a woman to undergo abortion without her will.”
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/godman-booked-for-abduction/588008/
Caught on camera, godman held for extortion
Express News Service
Posted: Friday , Mar 13, 2009 at 2249 hrs
Mumbai:
Them & US From ABCD to almightyHealth dangers of GM FoodsStand on Bt
Brinjal
The Pydhonie police arrested a godman on Holi on charges of extortion
after the victim recorded the threat in a camera embedded in a pen.
One Mohammad Ashfaq Qureshi, a gold-dust contractor, had lodged a
complaint that godman Mohammad Gulzar had threatened to kill him
either by cursing or stabbing if he did not leave his job. Sheikh then
told Qureshi that he must pay him Rs 2 lakh if he wanted to keep his
business.
Acting on Qureshi’s complaint, the police set a trap and sent Qureshi
with Rs 25,000 in marked notes, to pay Sheikh. However, the clinching
evidence in the case was the video clip Qureshi had recorded with a
video recording pen. Sheikh was arrested on Wednesday. The police
believe that a business rival must have approached Sheikh to threaten
the complainant and are investigating into his identity.
“Sheikh is the typical godman. He began threatening Qureshi on
February 28, saying that if he didn’t leave his business, he would use
black magic to kill him. He said that if he wanted to continue with
his business, he should pay him Rs 2 lakh,” said a police officer from
Pydhonie police station. “Qureshi agreed to meet Sheikh and recorded
his threats on a video recording pen. We asked him to contact Sheikh
and pay him so that we could to trap him,” said the officer.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/caught-on-camera-godman-held-for-extortion/433787/
Godman stages suicide drama at police station
Rajeev P I
Posted: Sunday , May 18, 2008 at 2341 hrs
Kochi, May 17:
Kerala's latest screwball comedy starring yet another godman was
played out right inside a police station at Aluva here on Saturday
morning. This was staged by Swami Himaval Bhadranandaji, an
engineering course dropout-turned-political prophet, godman and maker
of fine holy ashes from thin air.
The Swami had the whole state watching him live on TV as he pranced
about in the police station with a fully loaded .32 revolver pressed
to his own head, vowing to pull the trigger to teach the local media a
deadly lesson for daring to give him a bad press.
All through the two-hour drama hogging all TV channels in the state,
the cops made no attempt at all to disarm the godman lording over
their police station — he even had the cops help recharge his mobile
so that he could keep calling up people with his free hand and held
the gun with the other. Senior police officers kept pleading with him
to go easy on the trigger.
The drama ended with the Swami pulling the trigger, finally. But
instead of shooting the reporters or himself, he shot through the
police station roof. A bullet grazed his own left hand and the godman
collapsed in a howling heap, leaving startled cops in the room to run
for their lives. The police, however, picked up a media reporter who
screamed and went down as soon as the swami fired. The police rushed
him to hospital while TV channels began saying he had been shot. But
the man soon came to, only to say he had fainted in fright.
Swami Bhadranandaji, who runs an outfit called “Karma” in Kochi, began
falling out with the media after some local newspapers began poking
into his activities after the fall of another high-profile local
godman, Swami Amritachaitanya last week. The latter was exposed to
have been a fraudster wanted by Interpol — besides a porn video star
and producer, mostly using under-age girls from poor families, many
lured in with educational sponsorships.
Bhadranandaji, who loved dropping names and claiming high political
connections, even fixed an official red beacon of the kind ministers,
high court judges and senior officials use, on the dome of his
personal car. He had a sizeable following in Kochi and Kozhikode, and
had often been hogging attention with his predictions and claims,
including his political prophesies, until reports hinted at a darker
side too.
The swami had barged into a local newspaper office on Friday and
threatened the staff there for printing some unedifying reports, and
the police had promptly filed a case against him. On Saturday morning,
he called the media to his home to announce his protest suicide, and
the police had got him to shift the drama to the police station
instead.
Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said the swami appeared to have
got a gun license from the local administration without police
verification. Though the swami had claimed the minister was his close
pal, Balakrishnan denied it.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/godman-stages-suicide-drama-at-police-station/311137/0
Fifth case against ‘godman’
Express News Service
Posted: Friday , Mar 05, 2010 at 0128 hrs
New Delhi:
The police have unearthed yet another case of immoral trafficking
against self-styled godman Swami Shiv Murat Dwivedi — arrested last
Friday for allegedly running a sex racket in the Capital — taking the
total number of cases against him to five.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), H G S Dhaliwal said Dwivedi was
arrested under the ITP Act in Srinivaspuri in 1998. “He was convicted
and a monetary fine was slapped against him. This is the fifth case
against him. In 1997, Dwivedi was arrested on charges of running a
prostitution racket in Lajpat Nagar. The next year, he was arrested
for dacoity in Badarpur. In 2003, he was arrested from Noida Sector-24
under the Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act and was also charged
under the Gangster Act.”
Police said they have two convictions and five cases against Dwivedi
and enough evidence to invoke the stringent Maharashtra Control of
Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against him. A court, meanwhile, sent
Dwivedi to police custody till March 9.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Fifth-case-against--godman-/587114/
Namesake on terror list, Kerala godman on the run
Rajeev PI
Posted: Saturday , May 10, 2008 at 2305 hrs
KOCHI, MAY 10 :
The next time you ask what’s in a name, consider this: A one-time
temple priest-turned astrologer-turned alleged NRI fraudster-turned
Godman-cum-benami real estate operator (and much more), is the latest
news sensation in Kerala, his face and profile hogging front pages and
almost all local TV channel now panting to come up every hour with
more dark tidbits and legends about him. All this because the media
here took to believing, and still insists, that he is really his far
more notorious namesake accused of a lot more potent stuff, including
smuggling sophisticated weapons for extremist outfits linked to the
1993 Mumbai blasts.
The man in the headlines, Santosh Madhavan, used to be a school
dropout turned priest for many years in local temples in Kochi, before
he took on an astrologer’s image and flew off to Dubai, only to end up
in a financial fraud. Before Interpol Dubai put out a red corner alert
for him, Madhavan made his way back to India, grew a beard, put on
white robes, courted the local glitterati including top film stars and
promptly turned himself into
Swami Amritachaitanya. The 2004 Interpol alert for him and his
sidekick Saifuddeen Ali Kannu who fled with him, says both are wanted
in Dubai for fraud and mentions his date of birth as 18 March, 1973.
The other Santosh Madhavan, who too had a red corner Interpol notice
for him pending since 1993, was declared wanted by the Mumbai Police
after his brother Trikesh Madhavan was arrested following the seizure
of some imported weapons soon after the Mumbai blasts. The brother
named him as the kingpin and he was charged, in police language, of a
“criminal conspiracy to commit terrorist acts with the use of
sophisticated fire arms, with the intention to adversely affect
communal harmony”. This Santosh Madhavan was born on 7 June, 1960, and
UAE cops had finally caught him in Abu Dhabi by end-2003, at the
instance of the Interpol in India.
Things began getting tough for Santosh Madhavan alias Swami
Amritachaitanya after a Malayalam magazine put out a cover story
saying the Swami running his celebrity-studded posh ashram in Kochi
was his gunrunner namesake, and mistakenly superimposed the latter’s
profile on him. With almost the entire local media taking it up
together, the man vanished, only to go to both the cops and the CBI in
Kochi a couple of days ago offering to surrender, while maintaining he
was not the other Madhavan. Neither the cops nor the CBI took him in
and he went away.
A day later, the cops had some afterthought and began raiding the
ashram and looking up his suspected benami real estate deals, claiming
they were following up media reports. They claimed they had nothing
yet to arrest him for. Remarkably, the local cops say they are
ascertaining only if he was actually the wanted gunrunner, as was
being reported.
The investigating officer, Shaneel Babu, claimed to have no clue if
there really were two different Interpol red corner alerts for both
the Madhavans still available on the Internet, that both were
distanced by some 13 years in age—or even that that the gunrunner
Madhavan had a brother that this one did not. He also did not want to
comment on why the police began raiding Madhavan’s premises after
letting him off when he voluntarily offered to surrender a day
earlier.
Senior cops did not wish to comment on the possibility of arresting
this Madhavan since there is a Dubai Interpol alert out for him, and
India has an extradition agreement in force with the UAE.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/namesake-on-terror-list-kerala-godman-on-the-run/307537/0
Move to strip Godman of arms licence
Vijay Pratap Singh
Posted: Thursday , Mar 04, 2010 at 0136 hrs
Allahabad:
Self-styled ‘godman’ Swami Shiv Murat Dwivedi alias Swami Bhimanandji
Maharaj alias Swami Ichchadhari Sant, who was arrested on February 26
for allegedly running a sex racket in the Capital, is set to be
stripped of his arms licence.
The Chitrakoot police on Wednesday began proceedings to cancel
Dwivedi’s licence, issued by former district magistrate Hridesh
Kumar.
“I have initiated the cancellation proceedings and have sent a report
to the district magistrate for the same. Following an inquiry, it came
to light that the Manikpur police had ignored two cases registered
against him and put in recommendations for the licence,”
Superintendent of Police Veer Bahadur Singh said.
Singh added that three licences had been issued to Dwivedi, his father
Bachcha Lal and brother Sanjay Murat Dwivedi. “An inquiry is on
against his father and brother. If the police find their involvement
in criminal cases, their licences will also be cancelled,” he added.
A team of five policemen, led by Station House Officer of Saket Bhrama
Deo, went to Chitrakoot to collect information on Dwivedi.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Move-to-strip-Godman-of-arms-licence/586562/
chhotemianinshallah
I fully understand – and love Hussain’s paintings and art work --
knowing where he comes from (Bollywood poster art). I’ve called the
immensely popular Baba Ramdev “an idiot” on TV and got enough hate
mail. In Bombay, despite the Shiv Sena’s threats, I continue to edit
and publish a gay and lesbian magazine called ‘”Bombay Dost” and have
even sent copies to Bal Thackeray for reviewing in his stupid
newspaper ‘Saamna”. I even wrote a letter to his nephew to get out of
Bombay as it belonged to my Mother’s family (her family temple still
stands safe from Muslim marauders at Banganga at South Bombay’s tip at
Walkeshwar (Walu means sand and Keshwar is another name for Shiva with
his matted hair).
India is a huge jigsaw puzzle and you must love the whole picture to
understand how to navigate it. For example, I would support Taslima
Nasreen because she is a Muslim who challenges Islam from “within
Islamic tradition”. I will NOT support Hussain because he is a Muslim
suddenly seeing “purity”: in depicting Hindu goddesses in the nude. He
happens to be Muslim and let him interpret Islam from within Muslim
tradition and not give me lectures how much of Tulsidas’ Ramayana he
knows. When asked why he did not paint Mohamed’s wife Ayesha in the
nude, his answer was:” But Muslims won’t tolerate that” says it all.
You must know Hinduism takes to “shashtrarth” (shredding the
scriptures and analyzing them ruthlessly) seriously and I have stood
within orthodox gatherings of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad known as the
most intolerant of the right wing Hindus and talked about “Our
Homosexual Heritage” without a single person throwing stones at me. I
dare Hussain or any Muslim gay man to do that at a gathering of devout
Muslims. Or Christians for all I care. One of my Christian kids did
that at a Christian-Muslim gathering and they threw shoes at him. He’s
converted to Kali worshup in retaliation...
If you don’t know your India then don’t interpret it for these damn
Feringis and their followers. I don’t care to say more than that.
Hinduism will find her feet and she will find it though every kind of
discourse and discussion. But that will be W-I-T-H-I-N the four
corners of the Indic Dharma as even the Akali-Sikhs are realizing
after their followers got beheaded in the cesspool called Pakistan.
India will win in the end
Ashok Row Kavi
http://www.southasiamail.com/news.php?id=60545
Husain and Hinduism
Back To Main Letters
No one has said Husain "hates Hinduism". He is accused of treating
without respect the objects of Hindu worship. It does not matter what
Hindu holy books he has read, or even what he thinks of them.
If he wants to be judged by the same standards as devout Hindu artists
who have depicted sexuality as an aspect of the divine he must enter
the same devotional path. To do anything else is to be a hypocrite..
Bhaskar Menon
http://www.southasiamail.com/news.php?id=60561
None owns a religion
Back To Main Letters
No one owns a religion, God or the books, they are public universal
figures and respected by any one who chooses to, but every one has a
right to speak about it; good, bad or ugly. Freedom of speech
ultimately brings the justice and balance to the society.
The loud Muslims, Jews, Hindus or Christians do not represent the
overwhelming majority of the people and I hope the media catches that,
and shares it with the universe.
Prophets Cartoons became a mess, because a few Muslims chose to make a
mess of it, despite the appeal including my own, to follow the
prophet's example; to pray for goodwill to prevail. Muslims did not
care about the Fatwa on Rushdie, a few Bushes among them carried it
forward any way, despite the majority' non-consensus. The more these
radicals show irritation, the more the temptation to irritate.
We represent the views of a great majority of moderates, but some of
us in public are gutless, if we don't condemn the cartoons, or Hussain
himself, then we are bad guys; the right wingers are a few but have
the capacity to bark in concert... and ascribe as though majority of
Muslims or Hindus support them.
As a Journalist, what would you do to communicate to the world at
large, that the outrage does not represent the majority?
Mike Ghouse
http://www.southasiamail.com/news.php?id=60560
India is a mess, says travel writer
Back To Main Letters
The overwhelming reasons for why India is NOT a good place to live in,
despite all of its current and expected continuing economic boom.
If you are Indian, or of Indian descent, I must preface this post with
a clear warning: you are not going to like what I have to say. My
criticisms may be very hard to stomach. But consider them as the hard
words and loving advice of a good friend. Someone who’s being honest
with you and wants nothing from you.
These criticisms apply to all of India except Kerala and the places I
didn’t visit, except that I have a feeling it applies to all of India,
except as I mentioned before, Kerala.
Lastly, before anyone accuses me of Western Cultural Imperialism, let
me say this: if this is what India and Indians want, then hey, who am
I to tell them differently. Take what you like and leave the rest. In
the end it doesn’t really matter, as I get the sense that Indians, at
least many upper class Indians, don’t seem to care and the lower
classes just don’t know any better, what with Indian culture being so
intense and pervasive on the sub-continent. But here goes,
nonetheless.
India is a mess. It’s that simple, but it’s also quite complicated.
I’ll start with what I think are India’s four major problems–the four
most preventing India from becoming a developing nation–and then move
to some of the ancillary ones.
First, pollution. In my opinion the filth, squalor and all around
pollution indicates a marked lack of respect for India by Indians. I
don’t know how cultural the filth is, but it’s really beyond anything
I have ever encountered. At times the smells, trash, refuse and
excrement are like a garbage dump.
Right next door to the Taj Mahal was a pile of trash that smelled so
bad, was so foul as to almost ruin the entire Taj experience. Delhi,
Bangalore and Chennai to a lesser degree were so very polluted as to
make me physically ill. Sinus infections, ear infection, bowels
churning was an all to common experience in India. Dung, be it goat,
cow or human fecal matter was common on the streets. In major tourist
areas filth was everywhere, littering the sidewalks, the roadways, you
name it. Toilets in the middle of the road, men urinating and
defecating anywhere, in broad daylight.
Whole villages are plastic bag wastelands. Roadsides are choked by it.
Air quality that can hardly be called quality. Far too much coal and
far to few unleaded vehicles on the road. The measure should be how
dangerous the air is for one’s health, not how good it is. People
casually throw trash in the streets, on the roads.
The only two cities that could be considered sanitary in my journey
were Trivandrum–the capital of Kerala–and Calicut. I don’t know why
this is. But I can assure you that at some point this pollution will
cut into India’s productivity, if it already hasn’t. The pollution
will hobble India’s growth path, if that indeed is what the country
wants. (Which I personally doubt, as India is far too conservative a
country, in the small ‘c’ sense.)
More after the jump..
The second issue, infrastructure, can be divided into four
subcategories: roads, rails and ports and the electrical grid. The
electrical grid is a joke. Load shedding is all too common, everywhere
in India. Wide swaths of the country spend much of the day without the
electricity they actually pay for. Without regular electricity,
productivity, again, falls.
The ports are a joke. Antiquated, out of date, hardly even appropriate
for the mechanized world of container ports, more in line with the
days of longshoremen and the like. Roads are an equal disaster. I only
saw one elevated highway that would be considered decent in Thailand,
much less Western Europe or America. And I covered fully two thirds of
the country during my visit.
There are so few dual carriage way roads as to be laughable. There are
no traffic laws to speak of, and if there are, they are rarely obeyed,
much less enforced. A drive that should take an hour takes three. A
drive that should take three takes nine. The buses are at least thirty
years old, if not older.
Everyone in India, or who travels in India raves about the railway
system. Rubbish. It’s awful. Now, when I was there in 2003 and then
late 2004 it was decent. But in the last five years the traffic on the
rails has grown so quickly that once again, it is threatening
productivity. Waiting in line just to ask a question now takes thirty
minutes. Routes are routinely sold out three and four days in advance
now, leaving travelers stranded with little option except to take the
decrepit and dangerous buses.
At least fifty million people use the trains a day in India. 50
million people! Not surprising that waitlists of 500 or more people
are common now.
The rails are affordable and comprehensive but they are overcrowded
and what with budget airlines popping up in India like Sadhus in an
ashram the middle and lowers classes are left to deal with the over
utilized rails and quality suffers. No one seems to give a shit.
Seriously, I just never have the impression that the Indian government
really cares. Too interested in buying weapons from Russia, Israel and
the US I guess.
The last major problem in India is an old problem and can be divided
into two parts that’ve been two sides of the same coin since
government was invented: bureaucracy and corruption.
It take triplicates to register into a hotel. To get a SIM card for
one’s phone is like wading into a jungle of red-tape and photocopies
one is not likely to emerge from in a good mood, much less satisfied
with customer service.
Getting train tickets is a terrible ordeal, first you have to find the
train number, which takes 30 minutes, then you have to fill in the
form, which is far from easy, then you have to wait in line to try and
make a reservation, which takes 30 minutes at least and if you made a
single mistake on the form back you go to the end of the queue, or
what passes for a queue in India.
The government is notoriously uninterested in the problems of the
commoners, too busy fleecing the rich, or trying to get rich
themselves in some way shape or form. Take the trash for example,
civil rubbish collection authorities are too busy taking kickbacks
from the wealthy to keep their areas clean that they don’t have the
time, manpower, money or interest in doing their job.
Rural hospitals are perennially understaffed as doctors pocket the
fees the government pays them, never show up at the rural hospitals
and practice in the cities instead.
I could go on for quite some time about my perception of India and its
problems, but in all seriousness, I don’t think anyone in India really
cares. And that, to me, is the biggest problem. India is too
conservative a society to want to change in any way.
Mumbai, India’s financial capital is about as filthy, polluted and
poor as the worst city imaginable in Vietnam, or Indonesia–and being
more polluted than Medan, in Sumatra is no easy task. The biggest rats
I have ever seen were in Medan!
One would expect a certain amount of, yes, I am going to use this
word, backwardness, in a country that hasn’t produced so many Nobel
Laureates, nuclear physicists, eminent economists and entrepreneurs.
But India has all these things and what have they brought back to
India with them? Nothing.
The rich still have their servants, the lower castes are still there
to do the dirty work and so the country remains in status. It’s a
shame. Indians and India have many wonderful things to offer the
world, but I’m far from sanguine that India will amount to much in my
lifetime.
Now, have at it, call me a cultural imperialist, a spoiled child of
the West and all that. But remember, I’ve been there. I’ve done it.
And I’ve seen 50 other countries on this planet and none, not even
Ethiopia, have as long and gargantuan a laundry list of problems as
India does.
And the bottom line is, I don’t think India really cares. Too
complacent and too conservative.
Sean Paul Kelley
(Sean Paul Kelley is a travel writer. He founded The Agonist, in 2002,
which is still considered the top international affairs, culture and
news destination for progressives. He is also the Global Correspondent
for The Young Turks, on satellite radio and Air America.)
http://www.southasiamail.com/news.php?id=60440
Taslima Nasreen’s statement
Back To Main Letters
Taslima's article sparks violence in Karnataka, 2 killed, the article
is followed by my commentary and Quotes from Quraan.
The Indian Muslim clergy and the leadership needs to jump in on this.
As an individual she has the right to express her opinions whether we
agree or not, as much as any one has a right to condemn her
statements.
The major mistake Muslims are making is not to have a debate with her
on the issues, that's the civil and democratic thing to do. She will
lose the debate "She told the Muslim women to burn the Burqa" as if
she will start wearing a skirt if a westerner says "Burn the Saree, it
is a sign of backwardness". Neither is a sign of backwardness, it is a
culture that has evolved and no one will drop what they are used to on
the sound of a word 'drop'. In a democracy, people should have the
freedom to speak; the best way to combat a bad idea is to offer good
ideas to compete.
The major mistake Muslims are making is not to have a debate with her
on the issues. They did not have enough faith in their culture or
religion to debate. Taslima would have easily lost in a debate from a
few intellectuals and most likely she would not have gone on the
attack binge.
Ms. Nasreen is a bellyacher and not a reformer. A reformer brings
solutions to the issues and presents his or her research and asks the
scholars to review and build consensus for a gradual acceptance of the
proposed ideas. Instead, she agitates and builds resentment and does
exactly opposite of what she claims to do; reform. Her approach is
wrong and her statements may please the Islam-bashers and earn some
circulation. However, her opinion does not affect the world or the
religion of Islam.
The take of Quraan on this at: Link:
http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2010/03/taslimas-article-sparks-violence-in_01.html
Mike Ghouse
http://www.southasiamail.com/news.php?id=59726
Dr. Abdul Kalam's Letter to Every Indian
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Why is the media in India so negative?
Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our
achievements?
We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories
but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?
We are the first in milk production.
We are number one in Remote sensing satellites.
We are the second largest producer of wheat.
We are the second largest producer of rice.
Look at Dr. Sudarshan , he has transferred the tribal village into a
self-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of such
achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and
failures and disasters.
I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was
the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken
place. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had
the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed
his desert into an orchid and a granary. It was this inspiring picture
that everyone woke up to. The gory details of killings, bombardments,
deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news.
http://www.southasiamail.com/news.php?id=59530
On line petition to Penguin re. Doniger’s book
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http://www.petitiononline.com/dharma10/petition.html This is an
earnest request to you to sign the online petition and forward it to
your friends for signature.
The petition to the Penguin Group asks for an apology for the
publication of the factually incorrect and offensive book “The Hindus-
An Alternative History” by Wendy Doniger. We expect Penguin Group to
withdraw the book immediately. “The Hindus: An Alternative History” is
rife with numerous errors in its historical facts and Sanskrit
translations. These errors and misrepresentations are bound and
perhaps intended to mislead students of Indian and Hindu history. .
Throughout the book, Doniger analyzes revered Hindu Gods and Goddess
using her widely discredited psychosexual Freudian theories that
modern, humanistic psychology has deemed limiting. These
interpretations are presented as hard facts and not as speculations.
Doniger makes various faulty assumptions about the tradition in order
to arrive at her particular spin. In the process, the beliefs,
traditions and interpretations of practicing Hindus are simply ignored
or bypassed without the unsuspecting reader knowing this to be the
case. This kind of Western scholarship has been criticized as
Orientalism and Eurocentrism. The non Judeo-Christian faith gets used
to dish out voyeurism and the tradition gets eroticized... .
We emphasize that this defamatory book misinforms readers about the
history of Hindu civilization, its cultures and traditions. The book
promotes prejudices and biases against Hindus. Can Penguin’s editors
really be incompetent enough to have allowed this to pass to
publication? If this is not deliberate malice, Penguin must act now in
good faith. As concerned readers, we ask PENGUIN GROUP to: 1. WITHDRAW
all the copies of this book immediately from the worldwide bookshops/
markets/ Universities/Libraries and refrain from printing any other
edition. .
2. APOLOGIZE for having published this book “The Hindus: An
Alternative History”. This book seriously and grossly misrepresents
the Hindu reality as known to the vast numbers of Hindus and to
scholars of Hindu tradition. PENGUIN must apologize for failure to
observe proper pre-publication scrutiny and scholarly review. Vishal
Agarwal
http://www.southasiamail.com/news.php?id=58891
Indonesia restores Hindu temple
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I am pleased to see Indonesia Highlighting and restoring the Hindu
Temple, they are indeed following Islam, which forbids one to
desecrate a place of worship. I commend Suwarsono Muhammad for this
initiative, it is time we live the will of God; Co-existence and
harmony with life and matter.
Mike Ghouse
http://www.southasiamail.com/news.php?id=58048
India and China
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I think Hoagland is baiting India. We gain nothing from being too
close to the USA which can never get out of its hobbyhorse of a Paki-
Hug.
Rubbing China the wrong way will not help. Every reasonable effort:
diplomatic, strategic alliances with the ring of Sinophobia and last
but not the least, an effort to build a string of pearls around China
is the way out of any direct confrontation with China.
Even if we maintain our pace of growth at 7.5 per cent for the next 25
years, China will still far outpace us and become an economy 30 times
our GDP by 2025 by the estimates of the World Bank.. There’s no way, a
third rate government that is soft and kowtows to every Pakistani
threat can face China. Even in our soft power we are losing. Recently
China has even reclaimed Buddhism and Sanskrit as it’s intellectual
property whereas here we have secularists and shadow Islamists playing
footsie with our Hindu culture.
China has always been a ‘hard power” it knows that the power on earth
is its to grab and the heavens are everybody property. India knows
nothing because it has learnt nothing from the Arthashastra – the
people (Jana) must be kept happy and then alone the State becomes
strong as Chanakhya said so firmly.
China and India had over 40 per cent of the world’s industrial
production and trade in the early 15th and 16th century before the
white tribes swept out of Europe.and the barbaric Muslim lands and
ruined one of the greatest civilizations on earth, as Will Durant
noted so vividly..
Together we can make the planet anew. But maybe the human race is
fated to flounder on the rock of the monotheistic God born in the
deserts of West Asia. If we don’t know our own Karma, then it’s no use
trying to live out others’. That would be truly against Dharma.
Not that this political class in India has a clue of its own
historical importance. China never had a soft power ideological core.
Its hard shell hides a very soft underbelly. Just as the whole of East
Asia under its belly felt its fist, it imported everything “soft” and
“spiritual” from India. That’s why they are so rich and diverse and
stand up to China, which itself found its spine only with the wisdom
of the Buddha was grabbed by it by sending pilgrims into India. Unlike
the religions of West Asia, India didn’t export its religion or
spiritual wealth. Only peoplecwho understood its value came and drank
from this huge font of wisdom.
. Now India is adrift and China’s star on the ascendant. I salute it.
Truely and sadly
Ashok Row Kavi
http://www.southasiamail.com/news.php?id=57717
India as viewed by a Pakistani intellectual
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Here are some mind-boggling facts about India, a country that was
known as a "third world" nation barely 20 years ago – written by a
Pakistani. By Dr Farrukh Saleem, former Pakistani journalist,
Executive Director Center For Research and Security Studies
• 12 percent of all American scientists are of Indian origin; 38
percent of doctors in America are Indian; 36 percent of NASA
scientists are Indians; 34 percent of Microsoft employees are Indians;
and 28 percent of IBM employees are Indians. Sabeer Bhatia created and
founded Hotmail. Sun Microsystems was founded by Vinod Khosla. The
Intel Pentium processor, that runs 90 percent of all computers, was
fathered by Vinod Dham.
• Rajiv Gupta co-invented Hewlett Packard's E-speak project. Four out
of ten Silicon Valley start-ups are run by Indians. Bollywood produces
800 movies per year and six Indian women have won Miss Universe / Miss
World titles in the last 10 years.
• • The four richest Indians can buy up all goods and services
produced in a year by 169 million Pakistanis and still be left with
$60 billion to spare. • The four richest Indians are richer than the
forty richest Chinese. • Regardless of what Forbes or any other
western press may report, on 29 October 2007, as a result of the stock
market rally and the appreciation of the Indian rupee, Mukesh Ambani
became the richest person in the world, with net worth climbing to US
$63.2 billion (Bill Gates, the richest American, stood at around $56
billion). Indians and Pakistanis have the same Y-chromosome
haplogroup. We Pakistanis have the same genetic sequence and the same
genetic marker (namely: M124). We have the same DNA molecule, the same
DNA sequence. Our culture, our traditions and our cuisine are all the
same. We watch the same movies and sing the same songs. What is it
that Indians have and we don't?
• INDIANS ELECT THEIR LEADERS!!!!! And India thinks of construction of
its own nation, unlike some other nations who are more concerned with
the destruction of other's. Sam Koshy, Winnipeg
http://www.southasiamail.com/news.php?id=56378
India in Afghanistan
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By Jeremy Kahn
What’s more dangerous than being an American in Afghanistan? Being an
Indian in Afghanistan. On Oct. 8, 09 a car bomb exploded outside the
Indian Embassy in Kabul, killing 17 people and wounding 76. The attack
came 15 months after another bomb damaged the embassy and killed 58,
including the Indian defense attaché. On Feb 26 2010 a Kabul terror
strike killed seven Indians. Elsewhere in the country, Indian workers
have been victims of suicide attacks and kidnappings.
Although rarely discussed in the West, India is a key player in the
Afghan conflict. New Delhi has long sought to keep friendly
governments in Kabul as a bulwark against archrival Pakistan. India
pledged more than $1.2 billion in reconstruction aid to Afghanistan,
making it the country’s fifth-largest donor and the biggest within the
region. There are at least 4,000 Indian workers and security personnel
employed on reconstruction projects in the country. India also opened
an air base in Tajikistan, its first on foreign soil, to supply its
Afghan operations.
All of which makes Pakistan very nervous. Pakistan has accused India
and Hamid Karzai’s government of covertly supporting militants who are
challenging Islamabad’s authority over Baluchistan, an oil- and gas-
rich province in southwest Pakistan. Some believe Islamabad’s military
and intelligence services have allowed the Taliban safe haven in
Pakistan largely because they view the Afghan insurgents as a proxy
force against India. Indian and Western intelligence services found
strong evidence that Pakistan’s premier spy agency, the Inter-Services
Intelli-gence, helped plan the July 2008 Indian Embassy bombing in
Kabul. And, while India is still investigating the latest attack on
its embassy, Afghan ambassador to the U.S. Said Jawad wasted no time
in pointing the finger at Is-lamabad again.
The new Great Game being played out between India and Pakistan in
Afghanistan has complicated matters for the U.S. and its NATO allies.
“While Indian activities largely benefit the Afghan people,” Gen.
Stanley McChrystal, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, wrote
in his recent report to President Obama, “increasing Indian influence
in Afghanistan is likely to exacerbate regional tensions and encourage
Pakistani countermeasures in Afghanistan or India.” Evidently, the
road to peace in Afghanistan runs not just through Kabul and
Islamabad, but Delhi as well.
Corruption in India
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By Shashi Tharoor
One of the questions people keep asking me since my entry into
politics is what we can do about corruption. What would I do, one
citizen recently asked in an on-line chat, if I became the “concerned
authority”? No such prospect — the Vigilance Commissioner isn’t a
Member of Parliament! — but in fact corruption is a national malaise
and a social ill, not just one that a “concerned authority” can solve.
We are all complicit — those who demand bribes and those who give
them.
But one of the things that intrigues me is the extent to which
corruption is a middle-class preoccupation, when in fact the biggest
victims of corruption in our country are in fact the poor. For the
affluent, corruption is at worst a nuisance; for the salaried middle-
class, it can be an indignity and a burden; but for the poor, it is
often a tragedy.
The saddest corruption stories I have heard are those where corruption
literally transforms lives for the worse. There are stories about the
pregnant woman turned away from a government hospital because she
couldn’t bribe her way to a bed; the labourer denied an allotment of
land that was his due because someone else bribed the patwari to
change the land records; the pensioner denied the rightful fruits of
decades of toil because he couldn’t or wouldn’t bribe the petty clerk
to process his paperwork; the wretchedly poor unable to procure the
BPL ["Below Poverty Line"] cards that certify their entitlement to
various government schemes and subsidies because they couldn’t afford
to bribe the issuing officer; the poor widow cheated of an insurance
settlement because she couldn’t grease the right palms … the examples
are endless. Each of these represents not just an injustice, but a
crime, and yet the officials responsible get away with their exactions
all the time. And all their victims are people living at or near a
poverty line that’s been drawn just this side of the funeral pyre.
One of the reasons that I was an early supporter of economic
liberalization in India was that I hoped it would reduce corruption by
denying officialdom the opportunity (afforded routinely by our license-
quota-permit raj) to profit from the power to permit. That has
happened to some degree, especially at the big-business level. But I
underestimated the creativity of petty corruption in India that
leeches blood from the veins of the poorest and most downtrodden in
our society. No one seems to be able to do anything about it, but I’d
like to try. I’d welcome any ideas readers might have to set me on my
way.
A Catalyst for Development
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Dr. Thomas Abraham
People of Indian origin (PIO) constitute a global community of over 22
million people. It is bigger than many countries of Europe. It has
been estimated that, PIOs living outside India has a combined yearly
economic output of about $250 billion, about one third of the GDP of
India. Whether they come from Africa, Asia, the Americas, Australia,
the Caribbean or Europe, they are Indians in body and spirit. Almost
all of them maintain their Indian cultural traditions and values. They
seem to have meaningfully integrated in their countries without losing
their ethnic identity.
Looking at the numbers of the NRI/PIO communities, we see the
following:
North America (Mostly USA & Canada) 3.2 Million
South America (Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, Surinam, Jamaica, etc.) 1.6
million
Europe (U.K., Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, etc.) 2.5
million
Africa (South Africa, Mauritius, East African countries, etc.) 2.5
million
Middle East (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, etc.) 3.5 million
Far East & South East Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, Mayanmar, etc.) 3.5
million
Pacific Island (Fiji, Australia, New Zealand) 0.7 million
Srilanka and Nepal 4.5 million
Total 22.0 million
Note: Since hard numbers have not been available, these are
approximate estimates and obtained from individual country statistics
and from the report of the High Level India Diaspora Committee
appointed by Govt. of India
With over 22 million people of Indian origin living outside India, a
new global community of Indian origin has been developed. Most people
of Indian origin have become highly successful in business and
professions. If their professional expertise and financial resources
are to be pooled together, it will benefit not only people of Indian
origin but also their countries and India. In addition, people of
Indian origin could assume a new role in providing help in case of
crisis to their communities around the world.
Of the 22 million, about 50% constitute the first generation
immigrants from India and their immediate families, generally termed
as non-resident Indians (NRIs). This is the group one should reach out
for investments and for business and technology collaborations in
India. This group also has taken great interest in India’s
developments. Where are these communities? They are spread across the
Middle East, USA, Canada, U.K. and other European countries, Australia
and Southeast and Far Eastern countries.
Need for Mobilizing the Community
As a first step toward bringing our communities together, the Indian
American community, under the leadership of the National Federation of
Indian American Associations, took the initiative to organize the
First Global Convention of People of Indian Origin in New York in
1989. The triggering point for the global Indian community to come
together was, when an elected Indian dominated government in Fiji was
thrown out by a military dictator in 1987. At the First Global
Convention, the major issue of concern to everyone was human rights
violations, be in Fiji, Guyana, Trinidad, South Africa, Sri Lanka,
U.K. and even in the U.S.A. with “Dot Buster” issue. The Global
Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) was formed at this
convention to help in networking our communities and take up issues
such as human rights violations of Indians around the world. GOPIO
filed petitions at the UN and a concerted effort was made to fight
these issues.
Changing Objectives
In the last one decade, the whole world has changed, so are the people
of Indian origin (PIO) communities. Since our first global convention
of people of Indian origin, Indian dominated parties were elected to
power in Fiji, Guyana and Trinidad. South Africa has several Indians
as ministers in the government. The late Dr. Chheddi Jagan, former
President of Guyana, Mr. Basdeo Panday of Trinidad and Mr. Mahendra
Chaudhry of Fiji were present at GOPIO’s first convention who went on
to become the President and Prime Ministers of their respective
countries. For a while, in the 1990s, we in the GOPIO felt that human
rights violations or being in political sideline are not major issues
for global Indian communities. After several brain-storming sessions
and conferences, GOPIO concluded that creating economic opportunities
by pooling our professional and financial resources is a platform to
bring our communities together. Economic progress of countries with
large PIO population and India should be one of the priorities of PIOs
as global citizens. Our ultimate goal should be to make our movement
working toward on issues of poverty, education and social justice of
our people. As we network globally, it should not only help our
communities to achieve economic progress, but also help the larger
communities we live in.
As global citizens, we PIOs have a stake in the new globalization
scenario where the closed net economic boundaries of countries are
already broken. In the new economic scenario, GOPIO Business Council
has been formed to cater the needs of small and medium businessmen
from our PIO community to network and promote collaborations. GOPIO
has also set up GOPIO.Connect to help and promote NGOs who are
involved in India developmental activities.
The last decade also saw PIOs becoming enormously rich, thanks to the
information technology revolution. Although many of them left India
with a meager amount of dollars or pounds in their pocket, with their
dedication and hard work they became successful in the West and in
particular the USA, Canada, U.K. and other European countries. Now our
community is growing in large number in Australia and New Zealand. The
PIO populations in all these countries are expected to increase in
this decade. Therefore, PIO communities will have important roles to
play in all these countries.
Development Initiatives by NRIs/PIOs
With large number of NRIs/PIOs taking active interest in developments
in India, several new non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been
launched in the US, Canada, Europe and countries in the Middle and Far
East to promote education, health care and developments including
water management, rural development and self help programs. NRIs and
PIOs are also increasingly supporting several NGOs in India in a range
of developmental, educational and social programs. With the net worth
of the NRI/PIO baby boomer generation increasing, tremendous
opportunities are provided for the govt. agencies and NGOs in India to
reach out more NRIs/PIOs to interest them to help in India
developmental activities.
Role for Govt. of India
Till the middle of 1970s, the Government of India did not take any
interest in non-Resident Indians (NRIs), a definition which was given
by the Reserve Bank of India when they wanted the Indian banks to
attract NRI deposits. In the 1980s, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi
invited a few NRIs to come back to India to help in development of
some core sectors including telecommunications. In the 1990s, with
economic liberalization by Narasimha Rao/Dr. Manmohan Singh team, an
impetus was provided for NRIs/PIOs to become more active in the Indian
scene.
Also, in the year 2000, a High Level Indian Diaspora Committee chaired
by Dr. L.M. Singhvi, was set up by the government of India to look
into the issues of NRIs and PIOs and to explore avenues of
opportunities for NRIs/PIOs to help India. The committee after
visiting several countries submitted a report with several
recommendations. The best news to NRIs/PIOs was provided by the
Vajpayee administration in January 2002, i.e. to accept the some of
the recommendations of the committee. Later, the Govt. of India
organized the first Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) in New Delhi in
January 2003 followed by three more such meetings in the month of
January in New Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad in 2004, ’05 and ’06
respectively.
India government also decided to provide dual nationality to NRIs/
PIOs. The Indian Parliament passed a legislation to grant dual
citizenship to NRIs/PIOs in December 2003 and again in 2005. The dual
citizenship card was issued officially at the PRB-2006 in Hyderabad.
This will help to bring 22 million people of Indian origin living
outside India closer to India. It will help to mobilize professional
and financial resources of NRIs/PIOs for India’s development. Also, it
is of great sentimental values to PIOs/NRIs living outside India to
feel that they are now part of Mother India
India Govt. is now going a step further to grant voting rights for
Indian citizens living outside India in the Assembly and Parliamentary
elections, provided they are in the constituency at the time of
elections. This will make NRIs feel full participants for India’s
developmental activities. GOPIO had passed resolution on this at its
convention in Zurich in 2000 and has been campaigning on this issue
since then.
Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA)
GOPIO had campaigned for this new ministry similar to the Ministry for
Overseas Chinese in China. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh fulfilled
this demand in 2004. The new ministry has been organizing the annual
PBD. However, we see a bigger role for MOIA in reaching out all those
NRIs/PIOs who could contribute to India’s development. The ministry
also should work with groups such as GOPIO and other organizations to
motivate more NRIs/PIOs to take active interest in India in all areas
of investment, business, technology transfer, development and
charitable activities. There should be separate cells in MOIA to
promote each of these activities.
GOPIO.Connect
Initiated in 2002, GOPIO.Connect acts more as a catalyst to help NGOs
in India and outside to promote their activities as well as to provide
exposure to more NRIs and PIOs. The objectives are as follows:
• Capture and understand key developmental need areas in India where
NRI/PIO community can help
• Organize interactive sessions with NRI/PIO run civil service
organizations on India development issues to widen awareness
• Research on key development-related laws and highlight their
enforcement issues for NRI/PIOs
• Provide help to execute development projects in India
• Encourage NRI/PIOs to research key development-related trends in
India at academic institutions to facilitate new policy
recommendations in various government ministries
NRI/PIO’s Role for the Motherland/Adopted Countries
There are enormous opportunities for NRIs/PIOs to get actively
involved in India’s development as well as support various social
service activities. Many NRIs and organizations have taken major
initiatives in supporting their former schools and colleges, some have
set up schools and colleges in their villages and towns, while others
have been supporting social and environmental causes. The same level
of activities can be initiated by Indo-Caribbeans, Indo-Fijians and
other such communities who live in the developed countries. In the
next level of activities, different nationality segments of our PIO
communities such as Indo-Caribbeans or Indo-South Africans should form
partnerships with other PIO and NRI communities for the development of
their former adopted countries.
Looking to the Future
A former American Ambassador to India, Frank Wisner was quoted at a
speech in 2002 “Linkages between our two societies need to be
developed.” This is where, GOPIO and PIO communities around the world
can play a major role, i.e. to develop linkages between societies,
i.e. Indians with Dutch, Indians with Americans, Indians with
Australians, etc. Diplomats to countries come and go, business
delegations between countries come and go. However, the lasting bond
between countries will take place when we as global citizens develop
linkages. When an issue comes, we as global PIOs should focus upon
them and try to influence the opinion makers in whatever countries we
live in to take right decision and action. We need to build coalitions
with like-minded communities to make our voice heard. Whether it is
India related issues or human rights violations or violations of civil
and political rights in countries such as Fiji, Trinidad, Zimbabwe,
Africa or the Middle East, we have an important role to play.
NRI/PIOs as global citizens have done a great job in building good
image for their Motherland in their respective countries. NRI/PIOs
have worked behind the scene to create interest among companies to
take interest in India. If right opportunities are created, NRI/PIOs
could become solid and life long partners of India’s development as
well as those countries with large PIO population. And in turn, we are
making our contributions to the world’s development and peace, as it
is said, “Vasudeva Kudumbakam”, “World is one Family.”
***
Dr. Abraham has been serving the NRI/PIO community for the last 33
years. He served as the first president of the Federation of Indian
Associations of New York in 1976 and the National Federation of Indian
American Associations in 1980. Dr. Abraham currently serves as the
Chairman of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO)
which he founded in 1989 and as a Founder Board of Director of Indian
American Kerala Center in New York. Dr. Abraham is Vice President of
Business Communications Co., a leading industry and market research
firm based in Norwalk, CT, USA.
Climate Change Discord
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By Chandru Arni
Without doubt, the conference on Climate change and Global warming was
a fiasco, failure and a retrograde step. It even went back on the
Kyoto Protocol, held in 1997 in Japan where 37 industrialized
countries committed themselves to a reduction of 6 greenhouse gases to
as much as 5% of the 1990 level.
The reasons:
1. It was a wrong place and a wrong time for the meet. Copenhagen, a
chilly city made even more icy in December. The delegates shivered and
probably wished the temperature to be a few degrees warmer and some
sunlight! How could these delegates (90 % of who did not know enough
of the subject believe that the Earth getting warmer by a few degrees
can destroy itself?)
2. The conference had too many countries in participation. It was a
merry mix-up with hundreds of politicians and delegates confusing the
issue. This is one of the reasons that United Nations General Assembly
cannot take any meaningful decisions. Most of them are skeptics, and
do not accept anything based on scientific predictions and demand
physical evidence.
3. Every politician had been warned to put the country before the
Earth. Patriotism towards the country was more important than saving
the Earth.
However he was told that he must show concern for the Earth.
4. Every politician was told NOT to commit to a figure or, if he is
pushed to commit to some small figure he should ensure it could not be
verified. If he is accused of not showing concern he should indulge in
a blame game. Without these “protections” he could not face the
Parliament (or a Senate) on his return.
5. Most of the Politicians and delegates not having a technical
background should have undergone a small scientific instruction course
before attending the conference lest they talk without the desired
seriousness.
6. Lastly, all the countries recognized in advance that nothing
substantial will be achieved and waited for a political agreement to
mess around in platitudes and show a consensus. The Heads of the big
countries could spare just a day or two to get a final agreement –
shows their seriousness and commitment.
COMMENT
The setting of goals for achieving stabilization of greenhouse gas
concentrations in the atmosphere and carbon emissions at a level that
would prevent dangerous interference with the climate system and
temperatures not to go higher than 3
degrees WILL NOT be achievable for the next 20 years unless the above
state of affairs stop and someone who knows takes charge
Why is our Earth warming up?
The concentration of carbon in living matter is almost 100 times
greater than its concentration in the earth. So living things extract
carbon from their nonliving environment. For life to continue, this
carbon must be recycled.
The carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere is gradually and steadily
increasing. The, CO2 in the atmosphere retards the radiation of heat
from the earth back into space which and is referred to as the
“greenhouse effect”. With this effect the Earth gets warmer; in other
words these gases regulate our climate by trapping heat and holding it
in a kind of warm-air blanket that surrounds the earth and warm the
earth. If we don’t have any such blanket the Earth will on the other
side become far too cold for our existence. We must have this balance
But we have gone the other side and this increase is surely caused by
human activities:
Examples of malpractices and disregard
1. Burning natural gas, coal and oil - including gasoline for
automobile engine
2. Deforestation
3. Some farming practices and land-use changes
These are caused by Greenhouse Gases than Carbon Dioxide like methane
( caused by burning forests, flatulence of cattle produces methane
that is expelled, etc).Growing rice has an adverse environmental
impact because of the large quantities of methane and this can be
reduced by better agricultural practices like draining paddy fields.
4. Luxury of man: Chlorofluorocarbons, a totally human luxury (used in
refrigerators and aerosol cans,)
5. Rise in Human and Cattle population.
6. Increase in Environmental pollution
What are the effects of global warming and the greenhouse effect?
1. Weather changes. Even a small increase in the global temperature
would lead to significant climate and weather changes, affecting cloud
cover, precipitation, wind patterns, the frequency and severity of
storms, and the duration of seasons.
2. Temperature. Rising temperatures would raise sea levels as well,
reducing supplies of fresh water as flooding occurs along coastlines
worldwide
3. Sea levels rising: and global warming is at least part of the
cause.
If the sea level were to rise in excess of 4 meters almost every
coastal city in the world would be severely affected, Long-term
changes are mainly caused by temperature (because the volume of water
depends on temperature). The rise is also due to melting glaciers
(irreversible phenomena) caused by global warming.
4. Land. Millions of people also would be affected, especially poor
people who live in precarious locations or depend on the land for a
subsistence living.
Solutions
1. Saving energy and Life style changes and “throw away” practices. Be
frugal. Use Carpools.
2. Using Government and Media to highlight the problems and offer
solutions. Pour more money into research activities for clean energy.
3. Plant trees and support Organic farming (In simplest terms, organic
farming is a form of agriculture that avoids any use of synthetic
chemicals or Genetically Modified Organisms.)
4. Use Alternative energy rather than coal and petroleum
a. Using Solar power: solar cells capture the heat from the sun and
store it.
b. Using wind power: Wind turbines capture the energy of moving air
and convert to electric y
c. Biofuels: Converting organic matter into fuel (ethanol, marine
algae
d. Nuclear energy: It is a source of clean energy but is only a
temporary solution. It has the drawbacks of disastrous consequences of
accident and getting rid of nuclear waste.
e. Use of CFL (compact fluorescent light bulbs) for lighting. If a
building’s indoor incandescent lamps are replaced by CFLs, the heat
produced due to lighting will be reduced. Its environmental advantages
are big because of its lower energy requirement. For a given light
output, CFLs use 20 to 33 percent of the power of equivalent
incandescent lamps. If a building’s indoor incandescent lamps are
replaced by CFLs, the heat produced due to lighting will also be
reduced.
f. Use of hydrogen
A hydrogen vehicle is a vehicle that uses hydrogen as its onboard fuel
for motive power. The power plants of such vehicles convert the
chemical energy of hydrogen to mechanical energy (torque). With
further research and development, this fuel could also serve as an
alternative source of energy for heating and lighting homes,
generating electricity, and fueling motor vehicles.
Challenge for Haiti
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By Todd Moss
As the international response to Haiti’s earthquake shifts from
emergency rescue to longer term reconstruction, things are inevitably
going to get harder. There are some very good ideas floating out
there, not least Michael Clemens’ golden door visa proposal and Jeff
Sachs’ urging for a recovery trust fund (It’s too bad he couldn’t
resist swathing the idea in jabs at the donors and the United States).
But as the donor community starts making that shift and planning
projects, Joshua Nadel, a professor of Caribbean history, has this
very good reminder:
A top-down, donor-driven reconstruction that excludes Haitians will be
seen as paternalistic and will likely join the litany of failed
development projects in the country; in order to get it right,
Haitians need to sit at the table.
This seems obvious: “participation” and “ownership” are standard
buzzwords of the development planning set. But making this dynamic
work in practice is challenging in the best of situations. In Haiti,
this is even trickier since many of the institutions of the Haitian
state have been destroyed and many officials, police, and other
leaders have died. Yet if the donors take the shortcut of just doing
their own thing, I suspect Nadel’s prediction will, sadly, turn out to
be right.
National shame or national scandal?
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By Jeffrey Simpson
Somewhere between a national shame and a national scandal lies
Canada’s export of asbestos.
The federal government promotes asbestos exports – they have risen
sharply in the past year – despite the fact that the use of asbestos
has all but disappeared in this country. Why? Because scientists,
governments, industries and unions have concluded that the product can
lead to a variety of health-related problems and, in some cases, to
death.
Indeed, while the federal government promotes exports, a multiyear
construction project is refitting the Parliament Buildings, among
other reasons to remove asbestos. What our parliamentarians won’t have
in their buildings apparently will be in buildings in the developing
world.
The reason the federal government will not stop defending asbestos is
politics – Quebec politics, in fact. The asbestos produced in Canada
comes from Quebec, from the Jeffrey and LAB Chrysotile mines that
employ about 700 people. A large town in Quebec is even called
Asbestos.
No federal government has had the courage to say: Enough is enough!
We’re not exporting to developing countries any product we won’t use
at home for health reasons. Fear of offending Quebec has put a sock in
the mouth of federal governments, and fear of losing a few votes has
forced Quebec governments into acrobatic flights of hypocrisy to
defend the indefensible.
This week, Quebec Premier Jean Charest has been making headlines
outside Quebec, attacking Ottawa for questioning his government’s
intention to impose strict vehicle-emission standards. It’s all a lot
of blah-blah because Quebec’s rules are going to be superseded by new
national regulations in the U.S. and Canada.
Beating up on Ottawa is good politics, regrettably, in Quebec, but it
so happened that these attacks came from far away – from India, in
fact, where Mr. Charest was leading a Quebec trade delegation
promoting his province’s exports, including asbestos.
It was reported in the Quebec media that asbestos represents 11 per
cent of Quebec’s exports to India, a tidy sum of $427-million. Half of
India’s asbestos comes from Quebec, of the chrysotile variety with
fibres so fine they can penetrate some filtration masks and so enter
lungs, where they can create a variety of health problems, including
lethal ones.
On the eve of Mr. Charest’s visit, scientists from 28 countries urged
him to stop exporting all forms of asbestos. A hundred scientists said
the province won’t use asbestos at home because it can cause death,
while promoting it “where protections are few and awareness of the
hazards of asbestos almost non-existent.” Even some brave scientists
in Quebec, where criticism of asbestos exports has been often regarded
as “anti-Quebec,” urged the Premier to act.
But Mr. Charest said it was up to India to act if it felt asbestos led
to health problems. He was accompanied by a representative of an
asbestos lobby group that receives money from both the federal and
provincial governments; his group, he said, gives information to
asbestos users about its possible risks. In other words, caveat
emptor! Meantime, it’s business as usual for Quebec’s asbestos
exports.
Happily, some elements of the Quebec media have been all over this
story, slamming the Premier’s evident hypocrisy and noting how it
tarnishes Quebec’s precious international image. But, by extension,
the export also tarnishes Canada’s image because, Quebec pretensions
notwithstanding, most people abroad don’t even know where Quebec is,
whereas they do know about Canada.
Ottawa is intimately involved in this dirty game, too. It even sends
diplomats to international meetings to frustrate any worldwide action
against asbestos. And Canadian taxpayers are soiled by this export of
a dangerous product that is scarcely, if ever, used in this country.
Face up to it: Canadians, in their moral superiority, might think our
country has an unsullied international image, especially in
environmental matters. The reality is that those in the fisheries
business know how poorly we have managed some of our stocks. Europe
and the rest of the world are utterly repelled by the slaughter of
seals, and no amount of public-relations campaigning and political
posturing will alter that reality.
The tar sands are a growing PR nightmare, as is Canada’s weak
greenhouse-gas emissions record. To these are added the ongoing export
of asbestos from Quebec, exposing the province’s hypocrisy and
tarnishing Canada’s reputation abroad. (The Globe and Mail)
(See related article under Weekender)
Jeffrey Simpson is a columnist for the Globe and Mail.
Pakistan “Going To The Dogs”?
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By Virginia Moncrieff
Burnt and bombed schools, harsh religious edicts, strict rules of
dress, the total subjugation of women is now a way of life for most
citizens of the beautiful Swat Valley in northern Pakistan.
Swat is a stunning area of the world. It’s often called the
Switzerland of Asia, though for my money, it has a landscape that is
far more awe-inspiring than anything Europe can offer. Now it is
almost entirely over run by Taliban who are ruthless in their demands
on the citizens.
Cruelty is a feature of Taliban rule, under the guise of proper
Islamic practice, and Swat is receiving bucket loads of cruelty,
daily. “Un-Islamic” activities like dancing and singing, listening to
CDs and watching DVDs or being clean-shaven are now outlawed. Buses
playing music for their passengers are bombed for promoting “vulgarity
and obscenity” that “gravely offends pious people.” Girls are banned
from attending school under threat of violence and death.
The Taliban advance into Swat is only now being reported. While the
lawless badlands of the Afghan border areas have attracted much hand
wringing, the Talib have crept into sophisticated, cultural Swat -
nowhere near Afghanistan - and are now ruling the place with an iron
fist.
Pakistani political analyst Farrukh Khan Pitafi told the Huffington
Post from Islamabad that the free-for-all enjoyed by the Taliban stems
from bloody-minded opportunism dating back to the Pervez Musharraf
government.
“It is evident that the Musharraf’s strategy of allowing the Taliban
to grow in order to exploit western fear(s) of them (taking) over to
garner support for his rule is either beyond the control of the
government now or then. Some segment(s) of the power elite has not
given up that ploy.
“It has never been possible for any radical group (to flourish)
without the tacit support of at least some elements in the
establishment. It is my belief that Musharraf consciously allowed
these elements to thrive,” says Mr. Khan Pitafi. “At that time it
seemed convenient but now this movement is spinning out of control.
There is a chance also that some pro-Musharraf elements within the
civil military bureaucracy are still in touch with the Taliban in
order to destabilize the democratic government.”
“Ruthless murderers” is how Asif Ali Zardari, the new Pakistan
president described the Taliban in Swat, as he started making the
right noises about taking them on. He has sent in 12,000 army troops
to do battle with the estimated 4,000 Taliban who are running the
Valley. Reports from Swat suggest that not terribly much “doing
battle” is taking place; troops stay within their barracks, and
failing to protect those that the Taliban publicly threaten to kill
(and usually do).
Farrukh Khan Pitafi is is convinced that solutions must be found from
within and not through the advice or intervention of the United
States, which will create further difficulties for the national
administration’s fight against the insurgents.
“The speed with which the Taliban movement is destroying peace and
progress of the country is heartrending and baffling,” he says. “The
government right now is so unstable that it can hardly confront the
demon of Talibanization. Is there any solution? Well it certainly is
not more US across the border attacks for they inflict pain and give
the Taliban an excuse to further expand. The only solution then is to
strengthen the democratic government, do away with the remnants of
Pervez Musharraf and the retrogressive religious politicians and help
the federal and provincial governments improve coordination. This
seems an arduous process but unless these things are done the country
essentially is going to the dogs.”
India Sees Terrorism Threats
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By VIBHUTI AGARWAL
NEW DELHI—India put its security apparatus on high alert following
intelligence reports of two possible assaults in the air— one from a
plane hijacking, the other from paragliders, officials said.
Also Friday, the U.K. raised its terrorist-threat level to severe from
substantial, but declined to say why it was doing so.
Indian Officials said the Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-
Taiba was behind both threats. The group was responsible for the
November 2008 terrorist siege in Mumbai.
On Friday, the home ministry, which is in charge of internal security,
issued a security alert to all airports and airlines following an
intelligence notification of a plot to hijack a plane.
“We have reliable information of a planned plane hijack by terrorists.
We have advised the civil aviation ministry to take necessary steps,”
said Omkar Kedia, a home ministry spokesman.
Airport security was tightened following the warning. Sky marshals
were deployed on certain flights and passengers were being subject to
more intense security screening, he said.
Later Friday, U.K. Bansal, an official at the home ministry, said: “We
have intelligence reports that LeT has purchased 50 paragliding kits
from Europe with an intention to launch attacks on India.” No other
details were available.
India celebrates one of its biggest holidays of the year, Republic
Day, on Tuesday.
Indian interior ministry recommends extra security measures for
India’s flagship airlines. Video courtesy of Reuters.
The alerts came two days after U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates,
traveling in the region, warned of efforts by al Qaeda and its
affiliates to destabilize South Asia and trigger a war between India
and Pakistan.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars since they became
independent nations in 1947. In December 1999, Islamic militants
hijacked an Air India flight from Nepal’s capital, Katmandu, to
Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. It ended when New Delhi released
three Islamic terrorists in exchange for 167 passengers and crew.
The U.K.’s move Friday reversed a lowering of the threat level in
July. The U.K. reduced the threat level from critical to severe in
July 2007. A spokesman for the home office referred questions to a
statement from the home secretary.
The United Kingdom’s security experts says they fear an attack from
female suicide bombers. Video courtesy of Fox News.
“The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre has today raised the threat to
the U.K. from international terrorism from substanital to severe. This
means that a terrorist attack is highly likely, but I should stress
that there is no intelligence to suggest than an attack is imminent,”
said Home Secretary Alan Johnson.
Mr. Johnson said the terror-threat level is under constant review and
is based on a wide range of factors.
US leads global relief effort for Haiti
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By Paul Woodward
As the survivors of Haiti’s catastrophic earthquake struggle in
worsening conditions, three US presidents came together on Saturday to
launch a fundraising effort across America. With his two predecessors
at his side, the US president appealed for national unity in support
of the people of Haiti.
“Flanked by two of his immediate predecessors – George W Bush and Bill
Clinton – President Barack Obama announced yesterday the launch of a
new fund-raising effort for Haiti and vowed a sustained US commitment
to rebuilding the island nation in the aftermath of the devastating
earthquake,” The National reported.
” ‘By coming together in this way, these two leaders send an
unmistakable message to the people of Haiti and to the people of the
world,’ Mr Obama said, speaking in the White House Rose Garden. ‘In
these difficult hours, America stands united. We stand united with the
people of Haiti, who have shown such incredible resilience, and we
will help them to recover and to rebuild.’”
The BBC noted: “When US President Barack Obama announced that one of
the biggest relief efforts in US history would be heading for Haiti,
he highlighted the close ties between the two nations.
” ‘With just a few hundred miles of ocean between us and a long
history that binds us together, Haitians are our neighbours in the
Americas and here at home,’ he said.
“Hundreds of thousands of Haitians have indeed become neighbours of
Americans.
“Some 420,000 live in the US legally, according to census figures.
Estimates of the number of Haitians in the country illegally vary
wildly, from some 30,000 to 125,000.
“It is a sizeable diaspora which wants to see quick and decisive
action from its adopted homeland.
“Desperate to see aid getting through to friends and relatives, many
expatriate Haitians have welcomed President Obama’s decision to send
up to 10,000 troops to help rescue efforts.”
On his blog at The New York Times, Nicholas D Kristof noted a concern
expressed by some Americans: that American generosity towards Haiti
has done little to alleviate the country’s troubles in the past. He
pointed out, however, that US aid to its impoverished neighbour falls
short of the contributions coming from many other more distant
nations.
“The United States contributed $2.32 per American to Haiti over the
last three years for which we have data (about 80 cents a year).
That’s much less than other countries do, even though Haiti is in our
hemisphere and has historic close ties to the US. For example, Canada
contributed $12.13 per person to Haiti over three years, and Norway
sent $8.44. … Other countries that contribute more, per capita, to
Haiti than the US are Luxembourg, Sweden, Ireland, France,
Switzerland, Spain and Belgium. True, there are more Americans, so
collectively our aid amounts to more than one-quarter of the pot in
Haiti, but that’s only because we’re such a big country. Given the per
capita sums, we have no right to be bragging about our generosity in
Haiti.”
Meanwhile, The Guardian reported: “The Haiti earthquake death toll is
predicted to reach 200,000 as relief workers struggle against looting
and logistical nightmares that have delayed vital supplies of food,
water and medical help.
“International aid has begun to reach the capital, Port-au-Prince,
four days after the quake destroyed much of the Haiti’s
infrastructure, from hospitals and prisons to the presidential palace
itself.
“The Red Cross said a convoy of trucks carrying a ‘huge amount’ of aid
from the Dominican Republic was due to arrive in the capital this
afternoon, bringing a 50-bed field hospital, surgical teams and an
emergency telecommunications unit.
“The supplies and medical teams had to be sent in by land because
‘it’s not possible to fly anything into Port-au-Prince right now’,
said Paul Conneally, the charity’s spokesman in Dominica. ‘The airport
is completely congested.’
“Mark Pearson of the charity ShelterBox said: ‘It’s utter chaos at the
airport. Buildings have been completely destroyed, the hospital has
been destroyed. It’s a full scale emergency, there’s so much
destruction.
” ‘The priority at the moment is search and rescue and then after that
emergency shelter provision, so obviously there’s frustration. There’s
no fuel and people are hunting for water. It’s difficult to put the
scale of destruction into words.’”
The New York Times said: “Countries around the world have responded to
Haiti’s call for help as never before. And they are flooding the
country with supplies and relief workers that its collapsed
infrastructure and nonfunctioning government are in no position to
handle.
“Haitian officials instead are relying on the United States and the
United Nations, but coordination is posing a critical challenge, aid
workers said. An airport hobbled by only one runway, a ruined port
whose main pier splintered into the ocean, roads blocked by rubble,
widespread fuel shortages and a lack of drivers to move the aid into
the city are compounding the problems.
“Across Port-au-Prince, hunger was on the rise. About 1,700 people
camped on the grass in front of the prime minister’s office compound
in the Pétionville neighborhood, pleading for biscuits and water-
purification tablets distributed by aid groups. Haitian officials said
tens of thousands of victims had already been buried.”
Time magazine said: “An armada of US warships is steaming toward
Haiti, to be joined by at least one Coast Guard cutter en route from
the Pacific via the Panama Canal - and manned and unmanned aircraft.
Within two hours of the quake, one of the globe’s biggest warships,
the carrier USS Carl Vinson, was ordered from off the Virginia coast
toward Haiti, swapping its jet fighters for heavy-lift helicopters as
it steamed south at top speed. Three ships, including the Vinson and
the hospital ship USNS Comfort, boast state-of-the-art medical
facilities that will care for injured Haitians. Thousands of troops
are on their way to Haiti or already there, running the airport and
clearing ports for many more to follow. Up to 10,000 troops will be in
Haiti or floating just offshore by Monday.
“It fell to State Department spokesman PJ Crowley to clarify a
delicate point: ‘We’re not,’ he insisted, ‘taking over Haiti.’
Strictly speaking, that’s true: Haiti remains a sovereign country, and
there are 9,000 UN peacekeepers already there, charged with
maintaining security. But as death stalks those smothered beneath the
rubble of pancaked buildings, and poor sanitation triggers outbreaks
of dysentery and other diseases, one nation in the world has the
muscle to quickly make a difference. That’s why the US is racing aid
to the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere. If things get worse,
the US - fairly or unfairly - will be blamed by many for not doing
enough.”
India’s growth prospects raised to 9%
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by Sunil Kashyap
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, himself an economist of international
repute, hoped double digit GDP growth rate for the economy in next
couple of years given to potential and enormous opportunities present
in India.
Urging NRIs at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, Dr. Singh expressed
government’s commitment to provide investment friendly environment in
the country by reducing all hurdles for setting up project in India.
His assurance came a day after steel tycoon LN Mittal counted
challenges for executing mega projects in the country.
Addressing a gathering of the Indian diaspora, the PM said, “I
recognize the frustration well-wishers feel when they lament why
things don’t work faster or why well-formulated plans and policies
don’t get implemented as well as they should be.”
The PM’s projections can make economists and analyst to revise their
forecasts besides strengthening the common belief of India achieving
the past glories of economic growth leaving behinds the worst of
global slowdown.
Government has been expediting investment in road and infrastructure
projects through increased public spending besides taking a slew of
measures for cutting red tape, resolving legal issues and making land
acquisition simplified for setting up industries.
America’s long way to social development
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By Dr. John Samuel
United States of America, the most economically and militarily
advanced country, has a long way to go if it wants to be a socially-
developed country as well. It is hoped with his rhetorical elegance
and intelligence, Barack Obama would be able to help the country to
make significant progress in this direction.
With America’s economic leadership being challenged by China, the U.S.
needs to make the advance called for in social development to remain
ahead of other nations as a progressive and productive one on earth.
Its democracy is nothing unique considering that there are several
countries that can claim to be even more democratic since, unlike in
the U.S., it is not money alone that determines the successes or
failure of politicians in other democracies.
Among the social development factors, one of the most important is the
ability of a nation to provide essential services such as health care
for its people. It is a basic human need to get health care without
becoming bankrupt in the process. Several million American are
becoming increasingly unable to meet its horrendous costs in an
economy with more than one in ten unemployed. It is not certain even
the watered-down health care bill would have a smooth voyage in terms
of passage. It is unfortunate that many of the developing nations of
the world are blinded by the past economic success of the U.S. and
even in health care matters they follow the awful American example.
A second indictor of social underdevelopment in the U.S. is the
predominance and prevalence of the notion that the individual is
responsible for his/her safety and security. In most other countries,
the state takes over this function entirely and a police force is
responsible for the protection of individuals. It is unfortunate that
Americans live as if they are in a society that existed 200 or more
years ago when wild animals roamed and lack of law and order was the
norm and the individual needed protection from hostile forces using
one’s own devices such as guns. When the gun lobby bribes politicians
to support their cause of selling even more weapons of mass murder, as
seen in the numerous incidents of shootings by deranged individuals,
it would not be easy to change course despite the fact that there were
more gun death per 1000 population the U.S. than in any other country
in the world. Only an amendment of the Constitution of the country can
help. The Constitution is for the people, not the other way around.
This is not easy unless in the second term of his office, President
Obama turns his attention to this waxing issue.
A third indicator of social underdevelopment is the rising power of
fundamentalism among religious groups. Here the reference is not to
Islamic fundamentalism alone, but Christian fundamentalism as well.
Religious fundamentalism – Islamic, Christian or Hindu – is a danger
to smooth functioning of any society. “Live and let live” should be
the way of the future if unnecessary conflicts and deaths are to be
avoided. The state may not be able to play a direct role here.
Finally, it is the fundamentalism that leads to state executions as a
means of those who have supposedly committed a serious crime, at times
of innocent people. The state has to business to take away anyone’s
life though for the protection of society, it can take away the
freedom of dangerous individuals. European countries and Canada have
succeeded in abolishing capital punishment. In some U.S. states also
capital punishment is not allowed.
There could be other instances of lack of social development that
needs mention. We invite our readers to come up with suggestions.
Happy New Year to all.
Dr. John Samuel is the President and Managing Editor of South Asia
Mail.
Is Climate Change for Real?
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By Amit Bhattacharya
The hard talk is on at Copenhagen. In the huddle are negotiators from
more than 192 nations, trying to forge a common plan to save the
planet. At last count, 110 world leaders were slated to gather in the
Danish capital for end-of-summit declarations that may well lay the
ground for a fundamental retooling of the global economy.
Beyond the hope, hype and bickering about who pays how much to whom,
lies a plain fact - there’s near-total consensus among governments of
the world that fossil fuel emissions have been leading to a critical
rise in atmospheric greenhouse gases, which in turn is causing global
temperatures to rise and changing the Earth’s climate patterns.
Ironically, this consensus totally breaks down when civil society
begins to talk about climate change. The Internet is replete with
assertions of climate change being the “biggest scam of the century”.
Okay, you may argue that internet is also full of accounts from
victims of alien abductions and creationists who denounce evolution.
Society’s loony fringe often has exaggerated presence on the Internet.
Except, with the climate debate, it’s not exactly the loony fringe.
Consider this: Of the top 12 bestselling books on climatology in
Amazon.com, only three - one by Al Gore and two by leading climate
scientist James Hansen - present the mainstream scientific view on the
subject. As many as five other books deny human induced climate change
in some way or the other.
Look at opinion polls. A survey conducted in the US by the respected
Pew Research Center in October showed a 14% drop in the number of
Americans who thought there was solid evidence that the Earth was
warming from 71% who had said yes to the question in April 2008, to
57% in October 2009. Only 36% of the respondents thought humans were
causing it, down from 47% last year.
Then there is the “climategate”episode, in which leaked emails of
British climatologists proved at least to some people that scientists
were cooking data to fit their models.
That the Earth is steadily warming has itself been denied by some
experts. They point out that the global temperatures haven’t really
gone up since 1998, and the graph has been more or less flat since
then (despite the 2000-2009 decade being the warmest on record). There
are others who say that the warming trend of the last century is part
of a natural cycle and not human-induced; that human activities
haven’t reached the critical scale to impact climate. Many of these
experts point to waxing and waning of solar activity to explain
temperature variations on Earth.
All this brings us to the point of this post: Governments of the world
are convinced about the warming effects of greenhouse emissions, but
are the people? Is the science of global warming settled?
During the course of a climate change fellowship I attended in the US
last month, leading climatologists spoke on the subject. The insights
we got were both revealing and troubling. To answer the second
question first - yes, the science behind what’s causing the Earth to
heat up seems pretty settled. A few notable dissenters aside, an
overwhelming majority of climatologists believe there’s strong
evidence to show that fossil fuels are causing the warming.
It’s not just about individual scientists. The study of climate change
is a multidisciplinary system science. Like any science of this
nature, there are things that are well established and areas which
aren’t as clear, that is, where competing explanations exist and some
parts that are yet speculative. Understanding is built and unbuilt
through accumulated evidences over decades.
As Stephen Schneider, professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental
Studies at Stanford University and a preeminent climate change expert
put it, understanding climate is like understanding the world economy:
it’s never solved by one new piece of information. And the answers are
never in plain yes or no, but in degrees of certainty.
For instance, to understand whether human activity was leading to a
rise in global temperatures, scientists had to build climate models
based on observed data and make predictions. These models predict an
overall warming trend. Temperature data of the last 100 years, and the
last 50 years, bear this out. Since there are two possible outcomes in
the data set “warming or cooling” there’s a 50% chance that this
prediction was random.
There’s more. The models also predict that middle of the continents
warm up more than middle of oceans. Again, observations show that’s
the case. Models predict stratosphere cools, lower atmosphere warms.
Right again. Models predict the stratosphere cools because of ozone
depleting substances and relative damping. They also predict that
there’s more warming at night than the day. Yet again, the models get
it right.
Put together, these models leave a statistical possibility of just 5%
that all these correct predictions were arrived at by pure chance. In
other words, the statement that humans through fossil fuel emissions
are warming up the planet has a scientific accuracy of around 95%.
That’s a very high degree of certainty. No other competing explanation
of the observed data’s natural cycle or solar activity comes anywhere
close to the robustness of this theory. (Of course, there’s still a 5%
chance that the warming is being caused by a factor that’s yet
unknown; but can we risk our planetary future on this basis?)
To return to the first question: Why are so many people not convinced?
There are two main reasons why this is so. The first one is obvious:
There are strong vested interests in letting people believe that
warming is a myth; or that the issue is far from settled. It’s no
surprise that a lot of climate change deniers get funds from
multinational oil conglomerates. There are websites that carry lists
of who gets funded by whom. (There would, of course, be some genuine
non-believers in the mix, but oil funding is the ugly, predominant
truth.)
The second reason is the way the science works and the way scientists
communicate it. Climate science is all about probabilities, not
certainties. And scientists are careful about throwing in all the
caveats while making their points. On the other hand, people who are
cherry-picking facts to suit their slant are forceful and definitive.
No guessing which set of speakers would leave a more lasting
impression on primetime TV.
There’s no denying that climate is the most politicized and
contentious science of our times. But on one side is method and
rigour, and on the other, half-truths and slant. At stake is a planet
called Earth.
South Asia and climate change
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By Simon Tay
Climate change is a critical and pressing issue we are faced with
today. In South Asia we are increasingly exposed to the results of
climate change, such as the latest typhoons and floods in the region,
causing loss of lives and damage to property as well as displacing
families and increasing the spread of tropical diseases.
There is also the risk of rising sea level and increasing
temperatures. A recently released report from the Asian Development
Bank (ADB) shows that South Asia is likely to suffer more from climate
change than elsewhere in the world. There will be considerable
economic costs too, with a projected 7-8 per cent loss in GDP, unless
climate change is addressed.
It is an issue, on which developed and developing countries should
come together. Yet differences and suspicions remain.
Copenhagen meetings are going on to reach a consensus on a new climate
agreement. However, after Barcelona, it seems that the negotiations
have not progressed so far that a new legal framework will be ready
for Copenhagen. A realistic outcome will probably be a political
framework which can form the basis for future negotiations on the post-
Kyoto treaty.
South Asian countries need to think about their position on the
international stage. We all see the need to bring together the US,
India, China and south-east Asia, and mediators can help bring these
nations together. Singapore and other countries in the region could
very well play that role.
If we do not, we risk having larger and more powerful countries coming
to agreements alone and the decisions risk being made without our full
attention and participation.
The world is also looking at alternative sources of energy. It is
clear that some countries are more able and capable to deploy energy
saving mechanisms such as windmills and water/tidal turbines. Solar
energy, though a good solution, is still very expensive and presently
is not optimal.
Without the big nations on board, it may be understandable that other
nations approach Copenhagen cautiously. A solitary commitment by any
single nation cannot solve this global challenge.
Simon Tay is Chairman, Singapore Institute of International Affairs
(SIIA) and former chairman of Singapore National Energy Agency
Stephen Harper in world affairs
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By Bruce Anderson
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s trip to China garnered huge coverage
at home, and likely helped his political fortunes somewhat.
First of all, it was a distraction from the politics of Afghan
detainees, and the week wasn’t kind to the Conservatives on that
issue. Almost anything is better than having lots of voters focus
exclusively on pictures of heavily redacted documents and watch some
increasingly effective opposition prosecution of the issue.
Beyond that though, the Prime Minister is working hard to position
himself as competitive with Michael Ignatieff when it comes to what’s
important on the world stage. His rising profile as the nation’s top
diplomat also continues the process of softening his personal image.
That he amiably absorbed the shots Chinese leaders inflicted about the
lack of a prior visit seemed in contrast with a more prickly reaction
we might have seen earlier in his career.
Conventional wisdom holds that Canadians feel conflicted about China,
anxious to enhance our trade opportunities on the one hand, but
reluctant to look indifferent about the human rights abuses in that
country. Over the years I’ve done public opinion research in this
area, that’s not exactly what I’ve seen.
For one of the world’s great selling nations, our citizenry is
actually a bit tentative about the importance of international
commerce. When it comes to trade agreements, we’ve often had a foot on
the brake and a foot on the accelerator at the same time. For many,
the apparent success of Nafta has softened opposition to the concept
of free trade, but not yet translated into a full-on embrace of the
philosophy.
Most Canadians are very hesitant about any notions of free trade with
China, and tepid at best about investment by Chinese state enterprises
in the Canadian resource sector. This comes from a reflexive worry
about our ability to compete with bigger players, and a longstanding
instinct not to bargain away our natural resources birthright.
We’re also less passionate than we used to be about involving
ourselves in the social rights agendas of other countries. We are
fatigued with the idea of nation building in Afghanistan. We don’t
always feel confident knowing when and where our voice is needed in
other trouble spots, how forceful our interventions should be in order
to be helpful, and whether we can really avoid being brushed off. Our
collective attentiveness to global issues has been slipping for years,
which contributes to this uncertainty.
A renewal of Canadian interest in international affairs would be a
good thing for Canada. Doing so requires this type of intense focus
from our political leaders, and benefits from vigorous competition
between parties to help inform and clarify our choices. Whatever
policy we make around trade and investment flows with China, whatever
role we choose to play in promoting human rights or fighting
collective environmental problems, it can’t help but be in our
interests to make these decisions on a more broadly informed basis.
That’s why many observers likely hope that the Prime Minister’s
extensive foreign policy work this year was about more than connecting
with targeted segments of Canadian voters, and winning a few more
seats, but instead signals a new era of active Canadian outreach. And
why most of the same observers also welcome the fact that the Liberals
have talented people like Michael Ignatieff, Bob Rae and trade critic
Scott Brison to provide a serious and thought provoking challenge to
the government.
Obama Reassures Singh On U.S.-India Ties
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By Don Gonyea
As a sign of India’s rising stature, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was
treated to the first state visit of Obama’s presidency. The two
leaders pledged to strengthen their economic ties, and Obama
reiterated the importance of the U.S. relationship with India.
Obama tried to assuage growing concerns by many in India that the
relationship between these two nations is being eclipsed by a greater
U.S. outreach to China, India’s neighbor.
That was the broad message of all of the White House events Tuesday.
“It will be another opportunity to convey to the prime minister and
the people of India, as India assumes its rightful place as a global
leader in this century, that you will have no better friend and
partner than the United States of America,” Obama said.
“I was deeply impressed by President Obama’s strong commitment to the
India-U.S. strategic partnership and by the breadth of his vision for
global peace and prosperity,” Singh said.
“After eight years — some of those years in which we did not have, I
think, either the resources or the strategy to get the job done — it
is my intention to finish the job,” Obama said.
But a weak Afghan government, the country’s mountainous terrain and
the tenacity of the insurgents all add up to a very difficult task, no
matter what the strategy.
A poll published Wednesday by USA Today shows support for Obama on
Afghanistan plummeting. Three months ago, 56 percent approved of his
handling of the issue. Now 55 percent disapprove.
Any big buildup is likely to displease much of the American public as
the war enters its ninth year, with casualties rising.
Obama predicts that the public will give him a fair hearing when he
presents his case: “I feel very confident that when the American
people hear a clear rationale for what we’re doing there, and how we
intend to achieve our goals, that they will be supportive.”
The president has the Thanksgiving weekend to finalize his strategy
for Afghanistan, and his plan for selling that strategy both at home
and abroad.
HARPER AND INDIA
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By Rana Sarkar
There are few more important things Prime Minister Stephen Harper can
do for the future of the Canadian economy in our lifetimes than start
free-trade talks with India. Against the backdrop of aging
populations, thickening borders and the unlikely return of the U.S.
consumer as the global ATM – and in order to build the foundation for
competitiveness beyond the current downturn – we need to think
differently and act quickly to reduce our reliance on a single
partner.
We need to diversify into the big trading markets of the European
Union, Brazil, China and India. Given global multilateral trade talks
are mired in the sands of Doha for the foreseeable future, Canada’s
preference for bilateral pacts has proven a good instinct. With NAFTA,
and an EU free-trade deal in the works, we have secured two of the
largest markets, but Brazil remains tied up in its own regional
trading regime and China seems forever complicated. And so India
stands out as the next great opportunity for Canada.
Frankly, the timing could not be better. India is keen to expand its
global trade footprint and is selectively engaging in large deals of
its own, including ones with the EU and South Korea. But it is also
keen to get a foothold in the North American market. A quiet visit by
the Indian commerce minister to Ottawa in September has set the stage
for diplomatic dialogue on a comprehensive economic partnership – a
commitment to talk about talks. The Prime Minister should follow up
aggressively in India this week and stake his claim for full-blown
free-trade discussions.
“ Most countries got the memo circulated at Davos a few years ago”
An agreement will not happen overnight and will likely take years to
negotiate. But seizing on this initiative is rich with symbolism of
our intent to engage the New India and will help us jump the snaking
cue of the global great and good forming in Delhi. Most countries got
the memo circulated at Davos a few years ago: India, like China before
it, emerged from the global economic realignment as one of the great
players of the 21st century. It is now the fourth-largest economy in
the world in purchasing power parity, having grown at 6 to 9 per cent
over two decades, and will be, barring calamity, one of the big three
within 30 years.
Its self-sustaining growth is now past the tipping point – not fuelled
by exports alone but by a private sector composed of millions of
entrepreneurs, domestic consumption and new global ambition. India is
set to become one of the great global consumer markets in the decades
ahead as its North American-sized middle class flex their credit cards
and the country brings half a billion of its poorest into the global
economy for the first time.
Underwriting this growth has meant converting two enormous challenges
into strengths. India’s democracy, long viewed as a handicap to
growth, is now widely regarded as a source of multilayered strength,
able to see off complex challenges from security threats to brokering
the aspirations of the fast urbanizing poor. India’s billion-plus
population, once a Malthusian trap, now looks more like a demographic
dividend featuring a young population (half under 25) set to grow
rich(er) before they grow old – similar to postwar America and
Europe.
A Canada-India free trade agreement would likely be focused primarily
on investment, labour mobility and services – fears of job losses and
a flood of cheap exports are overblown. The China-U.S. relationship,
often citied by critics of trade arrangements between developed and
big emerging markets, is instructive: Job losses and cheap imports
have occurred precisely because trade and investment liberalization is
lacking, creating a situation where China has depressed its currency
to dampen consumption and drive exports that are bought by U.S.
consumers increasingly through debt – debt that is, in turn, financed
by the Chinese. This, of course, will not be the case with Canada’s
trade with India.
With similar democratic institutions, Commonwealth heritage and strong
diasporic links, Canada and India have much in common institutionally,
making an agreement possible. What is required now is a greater level
of political and corporate-sector commitment – and a little
imagination – to make it a reality. (The Globe and Mail)
Rana Sarkar is president and executive director of the Canada-India
Business Council.
Mohammad Akbar: Canada should strengthen trade relationship with India
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By Mohammad Akbar
In light of news that China has overtaken Canada as the number one
exporter to the U.S., it makes more sense than ever that we stop
putting all our eggs into one basket.
Canada should seek to diversify its trade for the same reasons that an
investor diversifies his or her portfolio—to get better gains and
reduce risk.
Canadian businesses are concerned by the potential upheaval in North
American trade amid the emergence of a “Buy American” mentality and
the likelihood that NAFTA may be placed back on the negotiation
table.
This is an opportune time for Canada to rethink its approach towards
international trade. We can and should open as many doors around the
world as possible for our businesses by moving toward free trade with
the world’s largest and fastest growing economies.
Preferential trade agreements or free trade agreements are becoming
very popular around the world as many countries become increasingly
disenchanted with the multilateral trade regime established under the
World Trade Organization.
I would suggest this is a very good time to be thinking of building a
stronger trade relationship with India.
The Indian economy has grown by more than nine percent for three years
running—growth that has been supported by economy-wide reforms, huge
inflows of direct foreign investment, rising foreign exchange
reserves, and a flourishing capital market.
Furthermore India is interested in building regional and bilateral
trade relationships and has entered into in number of them with the
zeal of a new convert. It is currently negotiating a free trade
agreement with the European Union and has signed an agreement to
cooperate in trade, investment, and energy issues with the U.S.
The Indian government is looking at alternative energy sources and has
also signed a wide-ranging nuclear treaty with the U.S.—an area that
can be exploited by Canada due to its comparative advantage in the
energy sector.
The Indian services sector, which accounts for more than 50 percent of
its GDP, is another tremendous opportunity for Canada .
Canada also has strong immigration ties with India that are currently
not reflected in trade relations. Over the last five years, trade
between the two countries has only amounted to about US$4 billion.
In this age of globalization, economic relations are a key to
strengthening political and foreign relations. A bilateral agreement
with India could yield meaningful strategic benefits.
India is an important country for Canada because of its geographical
location and its emerging role in global politics. Greater market
access to India and its one billion people will also help reduce
Canadian businesses’ vulnerability to the ups and downs of the U.S.
market. That will expand production here at home and create more jobs
while at the same time providing a cheap source of imports for both
goods and services.
In short, free trade with India would not only be a tremendous benefit
to Canadian business but would also establish Canada’s presence
politically and socially in one of the world’s great emerging
markets.
Mohammad Akbar is a professor of economics in the school of business
at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
Singh’s US visit is rich with symbolism
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Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s upcoming state visit to the US
would be reinforcement of America’s friendship with India. The trip
will be a test of India’s willingness to follow through with
acquisitions of civilian nuclear technology and ‘to agree to a test
ban’.
‘The first state visit under the Obama administration is rich with
symbolism,’ ‘It will solidify the US-Indian relationship under a
Democratic president.’
Obama administration has many officials who were skeptical of the
India-US civil nuclear deal. ‘The visit will be a test of India’s
willingness to follow through with concrete acquisitions of civilian
nuclear technology, and to agree to a test ban.
Manmohan Singh is scheduled to visit the US Nov 24.
The Obama administration early on learned to de-hyphenate India and
Pakistan, he said, adding ‘The challenges facing Pakistan’s survival
from within are driving relations there and are of a more urgent
nature than the slowly but steadily developing relationship with
India.
For Americans and Europeans, the terrorist origins in Pakistan are as
alarming as they are to Indians. US officials understand well,
perhaps better than some in the Bush administration that India is
pursuing improvements in its external circumstances along every
azimuth.
‘The relationship is important, and increasingly so, but it is not
exclusive in either direction. Both nations are pursuing their
interests with a cool eye and a sense of balance. This is a healthy
basis for long-term cooperation where the interests coincide.
The US and India share concerns about the terrorist threats we face.
We have a common interest in globalisation occurring in an orderly
fashion and a host of other issues. In those efforts, our allied
efforts will be critical.
Douglas H. Paal, is vice president for studies at the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace.
Religious Freedom in India
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Lalit K Jha
A US government report on Monday praised the religious freedom in
India despite mentioning instances of attacks on religious minorities,
and lauded the “independent” judiciary and a “vibrant” civil society
for acting against violations whenever they occur.
The annual report on International Religions Freedom, between July
2008 and June 2009, released in Washington by Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton, also mentioned the Mumbai terror attacks in which
extremists targeted luxury hotels, a crowded railway station, a Jewish
centre, a hospital and restaurants.
It, however, criticised the police and law enforcement agencies for
often not acting swiftly to effectively counter violence and attacks
by extremists.
“In general, India’s democratic system, open society, independent
legal institutions, vibrant civil society and press all provided
mechanisms to address violations of religious freedom when they did
occur,” the State Department said in its annual report.
In its section on India, it said, although vast majority of citizens
of every religious group lived in peaceful coexistence, “some
organised societal attacks against minority religious groups
occurred,” and accused enforcement agencies for not acting swiftly in
many cases.
It also mentioned the violence in Kandhamal in August 2008 after the
killing of Swami Lakshmanananda by individuals affiliated with the
Maoists. The violence claimed 40 lives and left 134 injured, it said.
“Although most victims were Christians, the underlying causes that led
to the violence have complex ethnic, economic, religious and political
roots related to land ownership and government-reserved employment and
educational benefits,” it said, adding that police arrested 1,200
persons, including a Maoist leader and registered over 1,000 criminal
cases.
According to several independent accounts, an estimated 3,200 refugees
remained in relief camps, down from 24,000 in the immediate aftermath
of the violence, the report noted.
It said numerous cases remained in courts, including those related to
the 2002 Gujarat violence, the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, and the more
recent attacks against Christians, and some extremists continued to
view the ineffective investigation and prosecution as a signal that
they could commit such violence with impunity.
The State Department report said government officials responded to a
number of new and previous violent events, helping to prevent communal
violence and providing relief and rehabilitation packages for victims
and their families.
It also praised leaders of religious groups for making public efforts
to show respect for other groups by celebrating their holidays and
attending social events, and for protesting cases of violence against
other communities.
“Muslim groups protested the mistreatment of Christians by Hindu
extremists… Christian clergy and spokespersons for Christian
organisations issued public statements condemning anti-Muslim violence
in places such as Gujarat,” it said.
After the Mumbai strikes, religious leaders of all communities
condemned the attacks and issued statements to maintain communal
harmony, the report said.
Lalit K Jha is a talented and results-oriented journalist with
extensive experience reporting upon international affairs and
government operations for leading national newspapers and wire
services.
Taliban Terror in Pakistan
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By Walid Phares
Taliban Terror in Pakistan
The war between the Taliban and Pakistan continues to accelerate. Just
last weekend, Pakistan’s army responded to a long string of Taliban
attacks by launching a massive ground operation in Waziristan.
But through this already-long fight, the press and other observers
have only focused on the continuing bloodshed rather than the fact
that the Taliban continue to launch suicide bombers and other types of
attacks inside Pakistan’s cities against its police and military
forces. We warned that the Taliban’s war on Pakistan’s government and
civil society, would widen since the assassination of Prime Minister
elect Benazir Bhutto in December 2007. And so it is today.
It is unfortunate, but nevertheless true, that he most important
events – the worst events — in this war have yet to happen. And
analysts must focus on the lessons learned so far so that the worrying
projections can be accompanied with parallel policy suggestions.
The jihadi campaign in Pakistan was planned years ago, but the
electoral victory in 2007 of the secular Party of the People, headed
traditionally by the Bhutto clan, triggered an acceleration of the
Taliban general offensive. Initially the Mullahs of the most radical
Salafists on the face of Earth – in partnership with al Qaeda — wanted
to seize Pakistan gradually, with further infiltration. They were
building their “Emirate” sanctuary in Waziristan and beyond, while
penetrating the intelligence agencies and other segments of the
bureaucracy.
But since September 2008 when Benazir’s widower Asif Ali Zardari was
elected as new President and as he clearly pledged to fight
“terrorism,” the Taliban leaped to preempt his designs. In one short
year, they escalated their attacks reaching a point 60 miles from
Islamabad last April. That week, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham
Clinton said that Zardari’s government was “abdicating to the Taliban
and the extremists.”
In fact when the Jihadist forces entered the Swat valley and began
heading towards the capital’s suburbs, the country’s Government was
tested strategically. I told Fox News then that this was a “red line.”
Crossing it towards Islamabad meant a Taliban advance all over the
country. But if the Army would cross it in reverse, it would mean a
full fledge war against the Taliban. And in fact it did happen, as we
can see today. So what are the lessons so far?
Taliban Forces
First, the Taliban and their jihadi allies have clearly shown that
they have cells capable of conducting terror attacks way beyond their
enclaves. Hence one needs to expect protracted violence in urban
zones. The armed Islamists aren’t a new force appearing only this
year, but a network growing for decades. Now is their time to try to
take out the secular government.
Second, the attacks against the military headquarters and bases, never
performed before, can be copycatted against more dangerous locations,
including nuclear sites: storage locations, launching pads or delivery
systems. It is a question of time before such a scenario could
materialize.
Third, assassinations are still possible. As with the late lady
Benazir, the Taliban knows that achieving such goals can trigger even
wider clashes inside the country.
Fourth, the present Pakistani government is strategically decided to
fight and dismantle the Taliban enclaves in the Northwest provinces.
If this government fails, such an opportunity will not happen again
soon. All of these factors indicate that this is the last card been
played, in this generation, against the jihadists of Pakistan.
Fifth, the Taliban war on the secular government in Pakistan shows a
determination to take over that country. It also shows that the notion
of a “moderate Taliban” has no connection to reality. Otherwise the
Pakistani Muslim Government would have found these alleged “moderate
Taliban” and mobilize them against the bad guys. It didn’t happen and
it won’t.
Hence, based on these findings, the following are strategic
recommendations for the US Administration to consider seriously:
a. As Pakistan’s armed forces and its government are waging a counter
campaign on the Taliban, Washington must refrain from regurgitating
the myth of “cutting deals with the good Taliban” as an exit strategy
for Afghanistan. Such a hallucination would crumble the determination
of anti-Taliban forces in Afghanistan and would weaken the resolve of
the Pakistanis engaged in their own national counter terrorism
campaign against the Taliban.
b. The Obama Administration must help Zardari’s government discretely
and at the demand of the latter. US and Pakistani leaders should
coordinate efforts without exposing this cooperation to jihadist
propaganda
c. The Obama Administration must rapidly extend resources to General
McCrystal in Afghanistan so that the pincer movement against the
regional Taliban can happen at the same time. Now that the Pakistanis
are on the offensive in Waziristan, NATO and Afghan forces must take
the offensive on the other side of the border. The Taliban must not be
enabled to fight one adversary at a time, by massing all their
resources in two countries against one foe then move to the next.
I am sure US and NATO strategists and Pakistani decision makers have
this in mind. But we need to make sure US decision makers do not have
other plans in mind. Otherwise, if the pincer strategy is not
performed, we may lose not one but two countries in the region to the
jihadists, one of them being already nuclear.
*****
Dr Walid Phares is the Co-Secretary General of the Transatlantic
Parliamentary Group on Counter Terrorism and a senior fellow at the
Foundation for Defense of Democracy.
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The World is What it is: Authorized Biography of VS Naipaul
By Patrick French
Review by Cyril Dabydeen
A curmudgeon, there’s no question, as far as rumours go about V. S.
Naipaul, Nobel Laureate and Booker Prize winner, benighted by the
Queen for being litterateur par excellence. He’s both celebrated and
derided, all at the same time. But why? The recent Authorized
Biography by Patrick French is still hotly discussed in literary
circles; mention the name V.S. Naipaul, and you’re bound to get a
terse reaction, even with vitriol, often contrapuntal or just
contrarious. Many Caribbean intellectuals are fraught over him for his
damning comments about race and Africa; at conferences I’ve heard the
call for his books to be burned. His spat with the other Caribbean
Nobel Laureate, Derek Walcott, is well-known (a la “V.S. Nighfall”);
yet Walcott has acknowledged Naipaul’s superb craftsmanship as a
master stylist bent on changing the novel’s “bastardized form”--as
Naipaul sees it.
Naipaul has said, “I became a writer to be free.” And maybe too free
he is: his earliest books about India such as An Area of Darkness and
A Wounded Civilization caused quite a stir. But Naipaul’s novels from
the earliest, such as A House for Mr Biswas, to the later books like
The Enigma of Arrival and A Bend in the River are classics, or near
classics. Indeed the Nobel Prize Committee 's citation of Naipaul's
award was for his "incorruptible scrutiny in works that compel us to
see the presence of suppressed histories," and singling out The Enigma
of Arrival (1987) for its "unrelenting image of the placid collapse of
the old colonial ruling culture and the demise of European
neighbourhoods."
Maybe therein lies the problem or dilemma, jaundiced as Naipaul’s view
may be. And the Muslim fundamentalist world has come in for much of
his criticism in books such as Among the Believers: An Islamic Journey
and Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions Among the Converted Peoples.
Late distinguished post-colonial critic Edward Said would describe
what he calls Naipaul’s “funny moments... at the expense of Muslims,
who are ‘wogs’ after all as seen by Naipaul's British and American
readers, potential fanatics and terrorists, who cannot spell, be
coherent, sound right to a worldly-wise, somewhat jaded judge from the
West."
Yet Said acknowledged in his Reith Lectures Naipaul’s "extraordinary
antennae as a novelist," of his "sifting through the debris of
colonialism and post-colonialism, remorselessly judging the illusions
and cruelties of independent states and the new true believers...."
This distilled view is juxtaposed with Naipaul’s earlier expression in
Middle Passage (1962): "History is built around achievement and
creation; and nothing was created in the West Indies,” which caused
furore among some West Indian intellectuals; and Naipaul has gone on
to speak of "the colonial smallness [of Trinidad] that didn't consort
with the grandeur of my ambition."
Naipaul has influenced a whole slew of writers, including this writer–
as well as many modern-day Indians like Amitav Ghosh. Indeed, “it was
Naipaul who first made it possible for me to think of myself as a
writer,” Ghosh has said as he grew more comfortable with the
indwelling life of the mind. The most well-known Chinese-American
writer, Ha Jin, told us (when I was a juror of the Neustadt
International Prize for Literature at the University of Oklahoma) how
he would read Naipaul all the time on his train journeys in the US,
with a similar response to Ghosh’s; Ha Jin was a fellow juror.
Recent book reviewers of the French Biography have commented on
Naipaul’s treatment of his wife, Pat (he met her at Oxford), and
perhaps she was his best editor and confidante; and French quotes
Naipaul as saying “I have killed her”; Pat died of breast cancer. His
unsentimental self is what we have and being unequivocal about art as
well as equally satirical about politics as Naipaul assesses old and
new societies, often unsparing about the latter.
About himself and India, Naipaul has said: “I cannot belong to India
for the simple reason that I don’t know the language.” Naipaul, of
course, is of Indian forbears: the grandson of an indentured sugar
cane worker–of Brahmin caste--brought from Uttar Pradesh by the
British to the Chaguanas plantations in Trinidad. And you would think
that Naipaul would hate the British for this. But he has said, in
l979, perhaps too forthrightly: "I do not write for Indians, who in
any case do not read. My work is only possible in a liberal, civilized
western country"; and the enigma echoes: "The thing about being an
Indian, and it remains true of Indian writing now, is that it seems to
work without history, in a vacuum."
Misanthropic, if not satirical, Naipaul continues to excite or
intrigue, perhaps for just being outrageous with trenchant utterances
like his egregiously famous: "The dot means my head is empty":
referring to the bindi Hindu women wear; or, on Pakistan: "The
Pakistani dream is one day there'll be a Muslim resurgence and they
will lead the prayers in the mosques in Delhi"; and of Britain, it’s
“a country of second-rate people--bum politicians, scruffy writers and
crooked aristocrats."
In French’s Biography, there are touching elements, such as Naipaul’s
obsession and praising of his writer-father Seepersad Naipaul, and
about the family squabbles pitting the Capildeo clan (on his mother’s
side) with the Naipauls (on his father’s), all which rivets the
attention, as one is also acutely aware of Naipaul seeing “mimic men”
in the colonial setting with all that’s banal or incongruous.
V.S. Naipaul keeps seeking out other meanings in a diasporic new world
order by setting his gaze on more than imaginary homelands (as Salman
Rushdie does), always with troubling enigmas and, on occasion,
mutinies, if a million or more in India–which still beckons. Indeed,
he is the sum of his books; the novels always tell more than the
biography; and Naipaul affirms Marcel Proust’s axiom: of "the
secretions of one's innermost self, written in solitude and for
oneself alone that one gives to the public,” seen in his own
imaginative outpouring. But maybe with Naipaul controversy never ends:
the latest is about his Pakistani-journalist wife Nadera Naipaul’s
spat with Winnie Mandela over an interview-article in the UK’s Evening
Standard touching on Nelson Mandela’s patriarchal image. Read on!
Cyril Dabydeen’s novel, Drums of My Flesh (TSAR Publications) won the
Guyana Prize for Best Book of Fiction and had been nominated for the
prestigious IMPAC/Dublin Prize for Literature.
http://www.southasiamail.com/news.php?id=60443
Media, entertainment seen as $24 bn industry in India by 2014
Mumbai, The $13 billion Indian media and entertainment industry is
seen growing 13 percent annually over the next five years to net
revenues of $24.25 billion by 2014, says a report released Tuesday.
The study by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (FICCI) made the projection based on the recovery staged by
the industry in the last quarter of 2009, which, it feels, will
continue in the future.
The growth will be driven by factors like favourable demographics,
high economic growth, strong fundamentals, expected rise in
advertising revenue and increasing penetration, adds the study,
conducted jointly by consultancy KPMG.
“The media and entertainment industry represents the face of consumers
in India,” said FICCI secretary general Amit Mitra, after the study
was released by Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan at the Frames
2010 conference.
“It is a part of our daily life and touches maximum number of people.
So despite the challenging last year, I’m excited by the potential of
the industry to even grow beyond 13 percent per annum over the next
few years,” Mitra said.
Others who attended the inaugural event at India’s commercial and
entertainment hub included actors Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif and
filmmakers Yash Chopra and Karan Johar.
Speaking on the session, Shah Rukh Khan said the three basic needs of
every Indian — food, clothing and shelter (roti, kapda aur makaan) —
appeared to have been fulfilled for most.
“There is now a fourth desire and that is entertainment and movies are
a popular source of this fourth requirement. Another concept popularly
emerging and posing to have a great future is sport entertainment,” he
said.
“We are at the threshold of a huge burst on the entertainment arena in
India and entertainment is the packaging of a growing economy.”
As per the FICCI-KPMG study several factors augur well for the
industry, notably the potential for growth in media reach, impact of
digitisation and convergence, better consumer understanding,
innovation and enhanced penetration of regional markets.
The study also gives the following estimates of the size of various
segments of media and entertainment industry in 2009 and the
projection for 2014:
Television: From $5.71 billion to $11.58 billion
Filmed Entertainment: From $1.98 billion to $3.09 billion
Print Media: From $3.88 billion to $5.97 billion
Radio: From $173 million to $364 million
Music: From $184 million to $382 million
Animation: From just $71 million to $1.03 billion
According to the study, gaming will be the fastest growing sector in
the media and entertainment industry. This sector grew 22 percent in
2009 and is expected to expand by 32 percent per annum to reach $711
million by 2014.
http://www.southasiamail.com/news.php?id=60556
PakNationalists - Bal Thackeray 'Wanted' By Pakistan
© paknationalists |
4:33 PM Posted by com puter
© 2007-2009. All rights reserved. AhmedQuraishi.com & PakNationalists
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted
in any medium
without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
Indian Hindu Terrorist Bal Thackeray 'Wanted' By Pakistan
Thackeray issued a call to form Hindu suicide squads, "to take the
Muslims head on". Labeling them as "trouble makers", Balaji called for
them to be wiped out from the country to make India secure. Urging
Hindus to start referring to India Hindu rashtra" (Hindu nation), the
Shiv Sena militant leader maintains that only "our religion [Hinduism]
is to be honored here" and then "we will look after other religions".
At least two senior retired Indian military officers answered Bal
Thackeray's call to set up the suicide squads in India.
By S.M Hali
The Daily Mail of Pakistan
Wednesday, 17 March 2010.
WWW.PAKNATIONALISTS.COM
According to reports, the eighth Indian dossier containing more
"details" on the Mumbai terror attacks has been handed over to the
Interior Minister, Mr. Rehman Malik by Foreign Secretary Salman
Bashir.
India had submitted the dossier last week at the one-point Foreign
Secretary level talks, seeking "strict action" against Jamaat-ud-Dawah
(JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, who is alleged to be the mastermind of the
26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. India had submitted three dossiers, one
of them concerning the handing over of Saeed and 34 others wanted by
India.
However, after the talks, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir had
commented that evidence presented by New Delhi against Saeed was "mere
literature" and India did not have enough proof against him. Earlier,
New Delhi had expressed "severe concern" over Islamabad's "inaction"
against Saeed. India needs to accept the fact that Pakistan's free and
fair judiciary, whose independence was acclaimed by India too, had
examined the evidence against Hafiz Saeed, after he was arrested in
the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks. In light of the data presented by
India as "proof" incriminating Hafiz Saeed, the independent judiciary
in Pakistan had considered it inadequate to convict him thus he was
set free. India, which boasts of an independent, fair and free
judicial system in its own country, should realize that it has Ajmal
Kassab in its custody, who is alleged to be the sole survivor of the
attackers involved in the Mumbai carnage. Despite Ajmal Kassab's
signed "confession", video footage of the assailants and hundreds of
"witnesses" of the heinous crime, Indian judicial system is yet to
declare Mr. Kassab guilty of any crime. India will have to put faith
in Pakistan's judiciary or provide solid evidence of Hafiz Saeed's
involvement in the gory episode.
India had also expressed dissent over Islamabad allowing Saeed to make
'provocative and insidious' statements against India during a
television interview. Saeed had declared an open 'Jihad' against India
in the interview. "If India is not ready to talk on water and Kashmir
then Pakistan should wage a war against India. JuD will fight along
with the Pakistan army," the Jihadi leader had said.
Hafiz Saeed's comments may be termed provocative but surely it is not
a serious crime meriting his arrest and handing over to India. If it
were so, India's own firebrand demagogue Bal Keshav Thackeray,
popularly known as Balasaheb Thackeray, who is the founder and chief
of the Shiv Sena, a hardcore Hindu terrorist, Marathi ethnocentric and
extremist party, must be taken cognizance of. The hothead, highly
vocal radical leader, in his vitriolic comments seldom hides the venom
he harbors for Muslims and Pakistan. In 2002, Thackeray issued a call
to form Hindu suicide squads, "to take the Muslims head on". Labeling
them as "trouble makers", Balaji called for them to be wiped out from
the country to make India secure. Urging Hindus to start referring to
India Hindu rashtra" (Hindu nation), the Shiv Sena militant leader
maintains that only "our religion [Hinduism] is to be honored here"
and then "we will look after other religions".
At least two organizations founded and managed by the retired Indian
Army officers namely Lieutenant Colonel Jayant Rao Chitale and
Lieutenant General P.N. Hoon (former commander-in-chief of the Western
Command), answered Bal Thackeray's call to set up the suicide squads
in India. Lieutenant General Hoon claimed, Thackeray instructed him to
set up the training camps. Another Balaji follower is Indian Army's
serving Lieutenant Colonel Srikanth Prasad Prohit, wanted by Pakistan
for his complicity in torching the Samjhota Express which took a toll
of 59 Pakistani passengers. Bal Thackeray continues to publish
inflammatory editorials in his party's newsletter, Samna
(Confrontation). When explaining his views on Hindutva he has
conflated Islam with violence and has called for Hindus to "fight
Islam". In an interview in Suketu Mehta's book 'Maximum City', he
advocates the hanging of Indian Muslims and mass expulsion of Muslim
migrants from neighboring Bangladesh. One of his more acerbic
statements needs attention: "They [Muslims] are spreading like a
cancer and should be operated on like a cancer. The... country should
be saved from the Muslims and the police should support them [Hindu
Maha Sangh] in their struggle just like the police in Punjab were
sympathetic to the Khalistanis."
Balasaheb Thackeray criticized and challenged Indian Muslims through
his party newspaper, Samna, around the time the 16th century Babri
Masjid was demolished by members of the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) in the northern town of Ayodhya, on December 6,
1992. The razing of the mosque was followed by a mass genocide of
Muslims. The Justice Srikrishna Commission of Enquiry, which
investigated the ensuing communal riots in Mumbai, named Thackeray for
sparking anti-Muslim violence, which led to more than 1,000 deaths in
several ensuing riots, many by having kerosene poured on their bodies
while alive and then being burned to death. The Srikrishna Commission
found that Thackeray was personally responsible, not only for inciting
the mobs through his incendiary speeches, but also directly
coordinating the movement of the rioters. In a deposition before the
Srikrishna Commission a witness alleged Thackeray coordinated much of
the January 1993 Mumbai carnage. Yuvraj Mohite claimed, "Balasaheb
ordered that not one Muslim be left alive to stand in the witness box,
and asked his men to send the additional police commissioner, A A
Khan, to his Allah." Balaji later announced: "I am proud of what my
boys have done. We had to retaliate and we did. If it was not for us,
no one would have controlled the Muslims." He has since made more
inflammatory statements regarding Muslims, and reiterated his desire
for Hindus to unite across linguistic barriers and to see "a Hindustan
for Hindus" and to "bring Islam in this country down to its knees".
I rest my case for readers to decide themselves, whether Balaji
Thackeray should be handed over to Pakistan to face trial for his
crimes against humanity or not? Surely there is enough evidence to
convict him.
This op-ed was published by The Daily Times. It is reproduced here
through a special arrangement.
© 2007-2009. All rights reserved. AhmedQuraishi.com & PakNationalists
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted
in any medium
without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
http://pak-nationalists.blogspot.com/2010/03/paknationalists-bal-thackeray-wanted-by.html
Sid Harth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Subcategories
This category has only the following subcategory.
B
[+] Bofors scandal (10 P)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Bofors_scandal
Pages in category "Political scandals in India"
The following 14 pages are in this category, out of 14 total. This
list may not reflect recent changes (learn more).
1
Indian political scandals
1971 Nagarwala scandal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_Nagarwala_scandal
B
Barak Missile scandal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barak_Missile_scandal
Bofors scandal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bofors_scandal
C
Cash-for-votes scandal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cash-for-votes_scandal
F
Fodder Scam
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fodder_Scam
H
Hawala scandal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawala_scandal
M
Harshad Mehta
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harshad_Mehta
Haridas Mundhra
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haridas_Mundhra
Q
Ottavio Quattrocchi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottavio_Quattrocchi
S
SNC Lavalin scandal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNC_Lavalin_scandal
Sukh Ram
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukh_Ram
T
Taj corridor case
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_corridor_case
Tata Tapes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Tapes_controversy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Political_scandals_in_India
1971 Nagarwala scandal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
On May 24, 1971 , INR 60 lakh (= £330,000) (was withdrawn from the
State Bank of India (Parliament Street branch) and given to a
Bangladesh ka babu or "man from Bangladesh" after the chief cashier,
Ved Prakash Malhotra, got a call purportedly from Indira Gandhi then
Prime Minister of India asking him to do so.
Later it was discovered that former army captain, Rustom Sohrab
Nagarwala, then attached to Indian intelligence or R&AW, collected the
money from Malhotra, by "mimicking the voice of Mrs. Indira Gandhi",
presumably for being diverted to the Mukti Bahini in its guerrilla-
liberation campaign from West Pakistan. Nagarwalla, it was later
alleged, was about to leave that same evening for Nepal. He was
arrested, however, after Malhotra went in person to collect a receipt
from P. N. Haksar, Indira Gandhi's personal secretary, informing him
that the requested payment was done. A stunned Haksar informed
Malhotra that Mrs Gandhi had instructed nothing of the sort and urged
him to inform the police immediately.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%26AW
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mukti_Bahini
The opposition parties suspected that the money belonged to Indira
Gandhi. They also alleged that it was not an isolated case.
The investigating officer, D. K. Kashyap, investigating the case was
killed in a car attack. Nagarwala was sentenced for four years and
died in prison in February, 1973. This was due to deliberate neglect
of his increasing ill-health, a point in fact later confirmed in an
official enquiry.
A Commission of Inquiry was set up by Janata Party under Justice P.
Jagan Mohan Reddy on June 9, 1977, to probe into the Nagarwala case.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._Jagan_Mohan_Reddy
Justice Jaganmohan Reddy listed four "incontrovertible facts" - one of
them being the fact that Indira Gandhi did not have any account in
that branch - but concluded that they were not sufficient to hold that
the money belonged to her. "There were several lacunae," he said, and
listed them. "To supply an answer to these (lacunae) would force me to
leave the safe haven of facts which required to be established by
evidence and enter the realm of conjectures and speculation." (p.
176).
External links
[1]
India's National Magazine
From the publishers of THE HINDU
Vol. 15 :: No. 17 :: August 15 - 28, 1998
JAIN COMMISSION REPORT
A law unto itself
The Jain Commission has run amuck, flouting the Commissions of Inquiry
Act, its own terms of reference, the rules of natural justice and the
norms of the judicial function.
A. G. NOORANI
JUSTICE M.C. JAIN has driven a coach and four through the law in his
Final Report. Let us consider first the law and, next, Jain's conduct.
Section 3 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act puts a strong fetter on
the Government as well as the Lok Sabha's power to appoint a
Commission of Inquiry. A Commission can be appointed only "for the
purpose of making an inquiry into any definite matter of public
importance." In the case of a former Chief Minister of Bihar, K. B.
Sahay, the Supreme Court said: "If the charges were vague or
speculative suggesting a fishing expedition, we would have paused to
consider whether such an inquiry should be allowed to proceed." (AIR
1969 S.C. 258 to 262; emphasis added, throughout).
The Royal Commission on Tribunals of Inquiry headed by Lord Justice
Salmon noted realistically that "as the agitation for an inquiry is
very often the result of nothing more than general allegation and
rumour, it is necessary to keep the Tribunal within reasonable
bounds... The Act lays down ... that what is to be inquired into shall
be a 'definite matter'. Accordingly, no Tribunal should be set up to
investigate a nebulous mass of vague and unspecified rumours. The
reference should confine the inquiry to the investigation of the
definite matter which is causing a crisis of public confidence. (1966;
Cmnd. 3121, p. 30, para 78). The Commissions of Inquiry Act of 1952 is
based on the British statute, the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act,
1921.
The Jain Commission did just that - launch a fishing expedition spread
over seven years. Similar violations of the law by the Thakkar
Commission that inquired into Indira Gandhi's assassination and the
Thakkar-Natarajan Commission that inquired into the Fairfax case have
gone unnoticed. Secondly, appointed to inquire into a "definite"
matter of public importance, the Commission's report must be based on
legal evidence and it must either give a finding of fact or decline to
do so if the evidence is inadequate. It is utterly impermissible for
it to voice "suspicion", whether directly or indirectly. To mention
mere "possibilities" as distinct from probabilities and refuse to
"rule out" some is calculatedly to raise a suspicion that they did
occur, the lack of evidence notwithstanding. No judicial exercise, be
it in a court of law or an inquiry, can indulge in such an exercise.
The third violation of the law is as gross and occurs despite an
important but overlooked ruling of the Supreme Court. No Commission of
Inquiry has any right to recommend prosecution or interrogation of any
individual. On December 11, 1956, the Government of India set up a
Commission of Inquiry to go into the affairs of companies controlled
by Ramkrishna Dalmia and his associates. Clause 10 of the terms of
reference of the Commission directed it to inquire into "any
irregularities" in those firms, except those in respect of which
criminal proceedings were pending in a court of law and to recommend
thus "and the action which in the opinion of the Commission should be
taken as and by way of securing redress or punishment or to act as a
preventive in future cases."
This part of Clause 10 was struck down by the Bombay High Court and
the Supreme Court. In the High Court, Chief Justice M. C. Chagla ruled
that it was not open to the Commission "to point out to the Union
Government what civil or criminal action can be taken with regard to
these breaches of law" under the new Companies Act. That was "beyond
the legislative competence of Parliament". The Commission was asked
"to inform the Government in order that Government should launch civil
or criminal proceedings. Now, such an investigation can only be
instituted by means of the judicial process and not through the device
of a Commission."
Justice Chagla amplified: "It is not open to the Government by this
notification to put any individual in the position of an accused, to
constitute a Commission to investigate into any offence that he might
have committed, and to place before it materials collected so that on
the strength of those materials a prosecution could be launched.... it
would be competent to Government to get information with regard to
breaches of law, so that legislation may be passed to prevent such
breaches in future, and there is no reason to suggest why breaches of
law referred to in the first part of Clause (10) were to be
investigated into only for the purpose of instituting civil or
criminal proceedings and not also for the purpose of legislation. In
our opinion, therefore, the last part of Clause (10) from the words
"and the action" to "in future cases" is ultra vires of the Act and
the Government is not competent to require the Commission to make any
report with regard to these matters (Ram Krishna Dalmia vs. Mr.
Justice S. P. Tendulkar 59, Bom.L.R. 769 at 775).
The ruling was upheld by a unanimous judgment of a Constitution Bench
of the Supreme Court delivered by Chief Justice S. R. Das. He held
that "there can be no objection even to the Commission of Inquiry
recommending the imposition of some form of punishment which will, in
its opinion, be sufficiently deterrent to delinquents in future. But
seeing that the Commission of Inquiry has no judicial powers and its
report will purely be recommendatory and not effective proprio vigor
and the statement made by any person before the Commission of Inquiry
is, under Section 6 of the Act, wholly inadmissible in evidence in any
future proceedings, civil or criminal, there can be no point in the
Commission of Inquiry making recommendations for taking any action 'as
and by way of securing redress or punishment' which, in agreement with
the High Court, we think, refers in the context to wrongs already done
or committed; for redress or punishment for such wrongs, if any, has
to be imposed by a Court of law properly constituted exercising its
own discretion on the facts and circumstances of the case and without
being in any way influenced by the view of any person or body,
howsoever august or high-powered it may be. Having regard to all these
considerations it appears to us that only that portion of the last
part of Clause(10) which calls upon the Commission of Inquiry to make
recommendations about the action to be taken 'as and by way of
securing redress or punishment' cannot be said to be at all necessary
for or ancillary to the purposes of the Commission." (AIR 1958 S.C.
538).
If the Jain Report is invalid on this score, the Action Taken Report
(ATR) falls with it. Section 3(4) of the Act was amended in 1971 to
bind the Government to lay before the Lok Sabha (or the State
Assembly, as the case may be) the Commission's report "together with a
memorandum of the action taken thereon within a period of six months
from the submission of the report by the Commission..." The
Government's ATR must be based on the Commission's Report
("thereon").
Fourthly, while Commissions of Inquiry are not bound by the Indian
Evidence Act, 1872, they are not free to disregard the principles
underlying it. The Law Commission's 24th Report (1962) on the Act
quoted G.W. Keeton's remarks in his classic Trial by Tribunal (1960):
"When the question of the involvement of a particular person in a
particular transaction is under consideration, however, the Tribunal
restricts itself to the facts admissible under the normal rules of
evidence." The Law Commission said approvingly: "We recommend that the
same practice should be followed in our country also." It did not
recommend any statutory provision lest "a rigid provision may defeat
the very object of the Act; namely, to find out the truth." But in its
pursuit, speculation cannot be substituted for evidence.
In 1970, Justice Y. V. Chandrachud said in his report on the
circumstances relating to the death of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya: "I have
to grapple with quite a mass of irrelevant and hearsay evidence.... I
could not reject that evidence on the ground of its inadmissiblity
under the Evidence Act but that does not mean that I must accept it as
good evidence" (p. 7). For instance, the Evidence Act makes
inadmissible opinion evidence except in some specific cases such as
handwriting or expert evidence (Sections 45 to 51). It is not open to
a person to say, for instance, that in his opinion, X conspired to
murder Y. He can only depose to facts within his personal knowledge.
Jain declared open season on assassination "theories". The Radcliffe
Tribunal, set up to probe into allegations in the press on espionage
and breaches of security in the Admiralty, noted that "most of these
statements, it turned out, were either pure comment expressed in the
form of assertion of fact or else inferences put together from other
readily accessible sources... Our only function, as we have seen it,
is to try to report on the facts coming before us in our inquiry..."
Fifthly, if the Report must be based on facts, not opinions, what must
be the standard of proof of the facts? Section 3 of the Evidence Act
simply says that "a fact is said to be proved when, after considering
the matters before it, the court either believes it to exist, or
considers its existence so probable that a prudent person ought, under
the circumstances of the particular case, to act upon the supposition
that it exists." There is a similar formulation in regard to a
situation in which a fact is "disproved". In contrast is the
definition of "not proved" - "neither proved nor disproved". That is
the honest course when evidence is inadequate. To seek refuge in
suspicion when there is no proof is unjudicial. To arraign people on
suspicion is unjust.
IT is all right to decide civil disputes on a balance of
probabilities. But no "prudent man" will inflict punishment save on
the basis of proof beyond reasonable doubt, the rule in criminal
cases. The S.R. Das Commission on Partap Singh Kairon insisted on the
stricter standard of proof. For, "No individual shall be condemned on
suspicion, however strong. " The Evidence Act does not apply but its
fundamentals do.
The J. R. Vimadalal Commission's Report (1978) on J. Vengala Rao,
former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, opted for a lower standard
but held that "the graver the consequence of a finding in regard to a
particular allegation, the higher should be the preponderance of
probability which a Commission of Inquiry should require to be
established, before it holds a fact to be proved and arrives at a
finding to that effect."
T.A. HAFEEZ
D.R. Karthikeyan, chief of the Special Investigation Team and later
Director of the CBI.
These Commissions were concerned with charges of abuse of power by
Chief Ministers. How much more stringent must be the standard of proof
in a case in which the allegation is culpable neglect that leads to
murder or actual complicity in it? No prudent person would accept any
other test but proof beyond reasonable doubt.
There was a Commission of Inquiry which had to probe into a bizarre
case seven years later. It was honest enough to pronounce "not proved"
despite proven indications that could legitimately create suspicion in
a layperson's mind. The Judge refused to endorse suspicions despite
the fact that he detested the policies of the person under suspicion,
Indira Gandhi. Justice P. Jaganmohan Reddy, one of the finest judges
to have sat on, was appointed as Commission of Inquiry on June 9,
1977, to probe into the Nagarwala case. On May 24, 1971, R. S.
Nagarwala was able to take out Rs. 60 lakhs from the State Bank of
India's Parliament Street branch by "mimicking the voice of Mrs.
Indira Gandhi" to Chief Cashier Ved Prakash Malhotra. Nagarwala died
of heart attack in prison. Neglect by the authorities was patent. The
investigating officer, D. K. Kashyap, was killed in a car attack. If
Milap Chand Jain had been let loose on the case at the behest of the
Government, a mountain of suspicion would have been raised. Justice
Jaganmohan Reddy only listed four "incontrovertible facts" - one of
them being the fact that Indira Gandhi did not have any account in
that branch - but concluded that they were not sufficient to hold that
the money belonged to her. "There were several lacunae," he said, and
listed them. "To supply an answer to these (lacunae) would force me to
leave the safe haven of facts which required to be established by
evidence and enter the realm of conjectures and speculation." (p.
176). He did not talk of "needles of suspicion" nor direct a "finger
of suspicion".
Lastly, a Commission's report is very much open to judicial review. It
can be quashed by the High Court or the Supreme Court if, among other
things, it has failed to abide by the rules of evidence or if its
reasoning is illogical grossly. The Privy Council set aside the Report
of a New Zealand Royal Commission set up under the Commissions of
Inquiry Act, 1908. It applied the established rules of evidence, that
is, ".... the person making a finding... must base his decision upon
evidence that has some probative value.... What is required... is that
the finding must be based upon some material that tends logically to
show the existence of facts consistent with the finding and that the
reasoning supportive of the finding, if it be disclosed, is not
logically self-contradictory." Judicial review is allowed in relation
to "primary facts... not supported by any probative evidence" and to
"reasoning by which the decision-maker justify inferences of fact that
he had drawn (but) is self-contradictory or otherwise based upon an
evident logical fallacy."
Jain's Report would collapse if these six legal principles were
applied to it. Courts in India have for over a century decided
conspiracy cases. Jain could not apply the law because it would
demolish his suspicions or conspiracy theories. Nor could he
articulate them without contradicting himself. Sample this from Volume
VI (p.29): "The standard proof is very high in criminal trial and it
is difficult to collect such evidence in a case where people feel that
there is deeper conspiracy, national and international. The theory of
conducting the investigation from the scene of crime to the criminal
may sometimes unearth the whole conspiracy but it is also very likely
that the whole conspiracy may not be unravelled even after reaching to
the executors of the conspiracy from the scene of the crime. In a case
of the present nature, in which even the main culprits were not
available as they have consumed cyanide and died or are absconding, it
is all the more difficult to unearth the conspiracy if any behind the
LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam)." Mark the words "if any."
ANU PUSHKARNA
Justice Milap Chand Jain.
This special pleading is followed by these bold assertions: "In a
Commission of Inquiry, the inadmissible evidence in a Court of Law can
form the basis of factual findings and the standard of proof is not so
strict before the Commission of Inquiry. The factual findings can be
recorded on the basis of even probabilities."
THE entire Volume II on "persons/agencies responsible for the
assassination" rests on opinions aired and theories spun heedless of
implausibilities and contradictions. The Khalistan Guerilla Force
(KGF) issued a press note on May 22, 1991, the day after the
assassination, claiming responsibility for the crime jointly with the
LTTE. The blast, it said, was made with '''satellite wave control'
with the help of computer at a distance of 60 kms... about 90
persons... have been killed." Instant rejection would have been a
sound response even in 1991. In 1998 no sensible person would waste a
minute on this.
Jain dwells on it at length and ties himself up in knots: "The press
note may be fake but it does point to a link with the LTTE." A fake
provides guidance: "The Sikh militant group solely has not claimed
responsibility. Any group by the name of Khalistan Guerilla Force may
be non-existent. The group could have claimed the sole responsibility
but it has not done so. If a fake responsibility was to be claimed,
the group could have come out with claiming sole responsibility. But
the note clearly makes out that it is not only the job of LTTE but
there is some other force also behind the LTTE." So, whether the KGF's
press note was fake or not, it "proves" a "wider conspiracy" to Jain's
satisfaction. Such logic surfaces again on page 118: "Unless there is
some link, it is inconceivable that such a claim would have been made
in the press release that the assassination has been done in
collaboration with the LTTE. It is quite possible that this may be
with a view to mislead the investigation and instead of directing
investigation towards the LTTE, it may take up investigation against
the Khalistani extremists. But the question is how such a press
release appeared on 22-5-1991 claiming assassination by the terrorist
groups mentioned therein... The information contained therein
regarding the method of blast with a satellite control system, may
also be incorrect and this information may also be incorrect that
Chintamani Raman has been baptised Sikh by taking Amrit at a
Gurudwara."
"Without attaching any significance to these informations (sic.), the
very fact of the press release having been issued the same night
involving the two different terrorist organisations becomes relevant
and assumes importance from the point of view of establishing link
between the two, and therefore it is quite possible that they may have
acted in concert on the basis of which the press release was issued."
Such contradictions invalidate the Report.
The record shows that in December 1990, Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar
sent Mahant Sewa Dass Singh to London at government expense to bring
around Jagjit Singh Chohan and score a "victory" by "settling" the
Punjab problem. The Mahant claimed that Chohan told him of a plan to
assassinate Rajiv Gandhi. On May 28, 1991, he wrote to the President:
"The anti-India forces are diverting the attention from the killers by
blaming the Tamils or LTTE. The LTTE has repeatedly denied that they
have hand in the killing of Mr. Rajiv Gandhi. So I request to your
goodself to ask the Government to direct the energies towards the real
killers." Which Judge would waste his time on such a witness?
This letter was produced by D. R. Karthikeyan, then Joint Director of
the Central Bureau of Investigation and head of the Special
Investigation Team (SIT), when he appeared before Jain on September
19, 1997. It did not worry Jain one bit. The Mahant also said: "The
theory about the human bomb is all non-sense." Why? Because Chohan
"himself told me this when I spoke to him on telephone after the
assassination."
A professional investigator, Karthikeyan saw through the Mahant as any
educated person would. Yet, Jain pressed him to accept other
"possibilities". He writes: "On being questioned as to whether he
rules out any possibility of any conspiracy beyond LTTE, or is there
any conspiracy behind LTTE or behind the persons who have been
prosecuted, the witness replied that Shri Rajiv Gandhi being a dynamic
leader taking bold decisions in many fields, there may have been many
groups inimical to him and many conspiracies also. Thus, there are any
number of possibilities of any one of those numerous inimical groups
targeting him. As an investigator, what he can speak about is about
the conspiracy that actually fructified in the killing of Shri Rajiv
Gandhi on 21-5-1991 at Sriperumbudur. He, however, stated that he
agrees that there are possibilities of other groups inimical to Shri
Rajiv Gandhi joining hands with an organisation like the LTTE to
eliminate him but his submission is that he is talking about
probabilities and not possibilities, and according to him involvement
of any other terrorist group was most improbable and stated that LTTE
is not just a mercenary who can be made to do a task by somebody else
looking to their thinking, the making and the philosophy of the LTTE,
and he expressed his firm opinion that in this operation, LTTE acted
alone."
The contrast between the two attitudes emerges starkly and to the
Judge's disadvantage in Volume V on the 21 suspects, in Chapter X on
the SIT's stand "on theories (sic) beyond LTTE." Karthikeyan told him
that "there is hardly anything either in its investigation or from
intelligence from any quarter to lend credibility to and sustain such
theories and hypothesis. In the absence of any evidence they have to
remain as such for ever in the realm of endless speculation." He said
emphatically: "I, as the leader of the Team, my officers and the
prosecutors are confident that there is very little scope of
involvement of any person or group beyond the LTTE and the 41 persons
charged by us" - notwithstanding the difficulties in investigating a
conspiracy several of whose participants were dead or beyond reach.
Jain's comment on this defies belief: "His statement does not
completely rule out the possibility of involvement beyond LTTE and
beyond the 41 charge-sheeted accused persons." This deliberate
misconstruction is followed by the admission that "the Commission has
done that exercise to the extent possible" - a pursuit of
"possibilities" followed by airing of suspicions.
It is in this context that Jain criticises the SIT for not
interrogating six public figures, including Chandra Shekhar and
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M. Karunanidhi. Regardless of that
"failure" by the SIT, "the evidence and circumstances on some theories
examined by the Commission do point some accusing finger on some
agencies, organisations, outfits or individuals. The Government may
adopt such course of action as it may think fit in respect
thereto." (Volume V; Page 361). In law, a Commission of Inquiry can
only return a finding based on evidence or decline to do so because
the evidence is inadequate, as Justice Jaganmohan Reddy did. No
Commission has the right to point "an accusing finger" on the basis of
"theories" it has examined. No Government is entitled to act on such
suspicion and launch a witchhunt.
But the "accusing finger" is waved all over the Report and
recommendations for action by way of investigation or interrogation
abound (Volume II, pp. 202 and 231). This is not the remit the
Commission was given. It is unable to give a finding after years of
inquiry and expects others to do better. "No definite clinching
evidence establishing the link between Khalistani extremists and LTTE
has come before the Commission but the circumstances as considered
above do warrant further probe. "But, surely, there was to be some
finality to the Final Report. The Commission's order of July 2, 1993
said that "a thorough probe is needed leaving no areas including the
areas covered by the charge-sheet". That was five years ago. After
nearly seven years of labour, the Jain Commission can do no more than
urge "further scrutiny, examination and action in accordance with
law," in respect of the 21 suspects it names. But, as Jain himself
admitted, "This Commission is required to prove the criminal
conspiracy. It has to find out the persons and agencies responsible
for conceiving, preparing and planning the assassination of Shri Rajiv
Gandhi and whether there was any conspiracy behind it."
THE ATR is motivated. Tongue firmly in cheek, it quotes the Interim
and Final Reports together on some points to establish, without
comment, Jain's inconsistencies. On his quaint notions of evidence,
the ATR says: "While noting this observation of the Commission,
Government understand that any probe must eventually result in
judicially admissible evidence." Yet the "foreign hand" will be
"examined in depth" by the Ministries of External Affairs and Home,
and the I.B. and the RAW, all of which have nothing better to do,
apparently. The ATR accepts the stand of the CBI and the judgment of
the Designated Court generally and specifically, on the 21 suspects
except in regard to Kumaran Padmanathan and Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan,
oddly enough. The MDMA will also target Karunanidhi on the basis of
"serious observations" in the Interim Report although the Final Report
declares that "there is no indictment in the Interim Report of any
individual" (volume VI, p. 60). The MDMA will be an instrument of the
Government.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has good reason to be happy with Jain. He
brought down the United Front Government and has this to say of the
Godse case: "There was a conspiracy theory in the assassination of
Mahatma Gandhi. The RSS was banned and Savarkar was charged-sheeted
and finally the political leaders were exonerated. The conspiracy as
to who was responsible for the assassination of the Father of the
Nation - not the particular Nathu Ram Godse who pulled the trigger -
remains yet to be unveiled." He is wrong. The RSS was accused even by
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel - who would have liked it to join the
Congress - of spreading "communal poison". On September 11, 1948,
Patel wrote to RSS chief M. S. Golwalkar: "As a final result of the
poison, the country had to suffer the sacrifice of the invaluable life
of Gandhiji. Even an iota of the sympathy of the Government or of the
people no more remained for the RSS. In fact, opposition grew.
Opposition turned more severe when the RSS men expressed joy and
distributed sweets after Gandhiji's death." Patel wrote to Hindu
Mahasabha leader Shyama Prasad Mookerjee on July 18, 1948: "Our
reports do confirm that, as a result of the activities of these two
bodies (RSS and Hindu Mahasabha), particularly the former, an
atmosphere was created in the country in which such a ghastly tragedy
became possible..." Mahasabha president V. D. Savarkar was acquitted,
despite the fact that the approver badge was found to be a reliable
witness only because there was no independent corroboration of the
approver's evidence as the law strictly required.
[2]
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1030627/asp/nation/story_2107442.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_Nagarwala_scandal
Hawala scandal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Hawala scandal or hawala scam was an Indian political scandal
involving payments allegedly received by politicians through hawala
brokers, the Jain brothers. It was a US$18 million bribery scandal
that implicated some of the country's leading politicians. There were
also alleged connections with payments being channelled to Hizbul
Mujahideen militants in Kashmir.[1]
Those accused included L. K. Advani, Madhav Rao Scindia, Arjun Singh,
V. C. Shukla, P. Shiv Shankar, Moti Lal Vora, Ajit Panja, Sharad
Yadav, Balram Jakhar and Madan Lal Khurana. Many were acquitted in
1997 and 1998, partly because the hawala records (including diaries)
were judged in court to be inadequate as the main evidence.[2] The
failure of this prosecution by the Central Bureau of Investigation was
widely criticised.[3]
See also
Vineet Narain, the journalist who broke the story
Further reading
Kapoor, S. (1996), Bad Money, Bad Politics: The Untold Hawala Story,
Har–Anand Publications, Delhi - cited (p.22) by Ashok V. Desai in The
Economics and Politics of Transition to an Open Market Economy: India,
OECD Working Paper 155 accessed at [4] Nov 2, 2006
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/18/3/1921937.pdf
Hawala. An Informal Payment System and Its Use to Finance Terrorism by
Sebastian R. Müller (Dec. 2006), ISBN 3-8655-0656-9
Notes
^ Open letter to Prime Minister of India Narsimhanrao, Canadian
Journalists for Free Expression, July 16, 2001 accessed at [1] Nov 2,
2006
http://www.cjfe.org/protestlets/2001/indiag16.html
^ Sudha Mahalingam, Jain Hawala Case: Diaries as evidence, Frontline
magazine, Vol.15: No.06: Mar 21 - Apr 3, 1998, accessed at [2] Nov 2,
2006
http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1506/15060270.htm
^ A glaring CBI failure, editorial, The Tribune, Feb 2, 2000 accessed
at [3] Nov 2, 2006
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20000202/edit.htm#1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawala_scandal
A glaring CBI failure
EVEN by its own abysmal standard, the CBI hit a new low of
incompetence on Monday. The hawala case involving Jains and several
top leaders and a few bureaucrats just disappeared into history
without leaving any scar. The last chargesheet has been thrown out by
a court. In Delhi again, a sessions judge reprimanded the agency for
trying to distort records to secure the release of a person from whose
house it had recovered nearly a kilo of opium. In Calcutta, it found
its case against the only Indian link in the Purulia arms dropping
case was thrown out a the court, which lamented that there was nothing
on record to link the Ananda Marg with the frightening operation
although it is apparent that it was the intended recipient. For one
day it is a distressingly long list of fiascos and worse. For those
who are struggling to come out of the shock acquittal of the accused
in the Priyadarshini Mattoo case, the latest clutch of failures must
be a painful reminder.
The hawala case once appeared to be clear cut but the CBI succeeded in
converting it into a ridiculously porous one. It had the dairy of
Jains, several computer disks and it also had a detailed confessional
statement by one of the brothers. All it had to do was to collect
circumstantial evidence by painstaking leg work and, yes, its
homework. Instead it sent in for its hack writer and wove a story on
the basis of the diary, some loose sheets and the confession. The
court held the paper proof as inadmissible thereby nearly killing the
prosecution case. When Mr S.K. Jain retracted his statement the CBI
charge looked flat like a table without legs. Only the last rites
remained and they were performed on Monday. In the West, money-
laundering and tax fraud are considered serious economic offences and
there are independent investigating agencies to chase and punish the
guilty. Big names had been jailed within a very short time. The hawala
case would have most certainly ended in a string of conviction if the
CBI had pursued the leads with a degree of diligence and commitment.
For instance, it hurled very serious allegations against Mr Arif
Mohammed Khan but failed to find any evidence to prop them up. It
means that either the charges were flippand and false or the agency is
lazy and stupid.
The arms dropping case is as serious in terms of national security as
the hawala case is in terms of economic security. Yet only a bunch of
mercenaries face a jail term and the real criminals are free. It is
like shooting the messenger for bringing an unpleasant message. Who
organised the gun running, which the court says, could disturb the
entire region? In other words, what was the purpose or the motive?
Again, who or what stood to gain by receiving this deadly cargo? Those
who read the escapades of Sherlock Holmes in their school days will
know that the clue to solving a crime is to search for the motive and
the likely beneficiary. The CBI obviously has not learnt this basic
lesson. It has a weak alibi in the fact that seven other accused are
absconding and they are all, apart from Davy, avaduts and anands,
meaning members of the Anand Marg cult. As the judge has curtly
remarked, the CBI had conveniently concluded that the cult had ordered
the arms and since its three-storeyed white building in the area was
the focus of dropping, the charge stood established. But the court
cannot go only on circumstantial evidence even if it is as compelling
as in this case; there must be strong basis to accept it as
substantial evidence. So he acquitted a local cult member and for the
present cleared even the Ananda Marg of any link with the gun running.
India is wracked by armed insurgency and yet a bunch of amateurs are
able to sneak into the country to dump several crates of arms and
ammunition with precision and the CBI, thanks to their chance arrest
at Mumbai airport, can only proceed against five wretched crew members
and a flamboyant sub-leader. What is the message the CBI is sending to
potential economic pirates and arms smugglers? It is terrifying.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20000202/edit.htm#1
His Excellency Atal Behari Vajpayee
Prime Minister, Republic of India
Office of the Prime Minister
New Delhi, India
110 011
Fax: +91 11 301 6857
July 16, 2001
Your Excellency,
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE), a non-profit, non-
governmental organization dedicated to fighting for freedom of
expression as stipulated in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, wishes to protest the recent prosecution of Vineet
Narain, editor of the New Delhi-based investigative journal Kalchakra.
Contempt of court charges issued by the Jammu and Kashmir State were
brought against Narain as a result of the paper's investigation into
Jammu and Kashmir High Court justice T.S. Doabia's involvement in
resolving a land dispute. The article in question was published in the
December 16, 2000 issue of Kalchakra. In it, it was suggested that a
friendship with Indian Supreme Court chief justice A.S. Anand (former
chief justice of the Jammu/Kashmir High Court) had unjustifiably
influenced Doabia's decisions to help Anand secure legal victories for
close family members and associates in various property disputes.
Mr Narain made a request to the High Court for a venue change (to New
Delhi) for the court hearing, yet was instead granted relocation to
Jammu, a place he feels threatened for his life. Mr Narain says he
fears threats posed by militant groups in Kashmir who were angered by
his investigations into their underground funding networks. Mr Narain
is well known in India for exposing the so-called hawala scam, a US$18
million dollar bribery scandal that implicated some of the country's
leading politicians. He reported that some of those allegedly involved
in channelling payoffs to politicians were also responsible for
transferring money to militant groups in Kashmir, including the Hezb-
ul Mujahedeen. The Indian government acknowledged the potential threat
to Mr Narain's safety by providing him with special security
protection between 1996 and 1998, at the height of efforts to
prosecute those involved in the hawala scandal. Now, however, Mr
Narain feels that local officials have essentially ignored all
requests for his protection while in Kashmir.
CJFE believes that this case demonstrates an abuse of the contempt of
court law, which should never be used to shield members of the
judiciary from scrutiny by the press. CJFE asks for a prompt inquiry
into the possible political motivations behind Mr Narain's prosecution
as well as to provide him with protection if required to appear in
court in Jammu.
Sincerely,
Sharmini Peries
Executive Director
http://www.cjfe.org/protestlets/2001/indiag16.html
JAIN HAWALA CASE
Diaries as evidence
The Supreme Court has acquitted L.K. Advani and V.C. Shukla in the
Jain hawala case. However, in admitting that the Jain diaries are
admissible evidence, the court has paved the way for prosecution in
cases where the payoffs indicated are corroborated by other evidence.
SUDHA MAHALINGAM
THE acquittal of L.K. Advani and V.C. Shukla of the charges of
corruption and criminal conspiracy in the Jain hawala case
overshadowed certain other important aspects of the Supreme Court
verdict that was delivered on March 2. One of these is the reversal of
the position the Delhi High Court had taken on the admissibility of
the Jain diaries as evidence. A three-member Bench of the apex court,
comprising Justices M.K. Mukherjee, S.P. Kurdukar and K.T. Thomas,
ruled that one of the diaries presented by the prosecution was
admissible as evidence under Section 34 of the Indian Evidence Act,
1872.
Justice M. Shamim of the Delhi High Court, who too had acquitted
Advani and Shukla, had taken the view that the entries made in the
Jain diaries "can be used only by way of corroboration to other pieces
of evidence" that the prosecution had at its disposal. In other words,
the diaries could not be used as lead or sole evidence. The Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which investigated the cases, had
appealed to the apex court against this order.
While reversing this position of the High Court, the apex court held
that the entries in one of the diaries, MR 71/91, would be admissible
under Section 34 of the Indian Evidence Act. In doing so, the court
interpreted the provisions of Section 34 to give them their "ordinary,
natural and grammatical meaning" and not a restrictive meaning since
the context or the principle of construction did not warrant it.
According to Section 34, "entries in books of account, regularly kept
in the course of business, are relevant" as evidence. Both prosecution
and defence counsel placed emphasis on the interpretation of the key
words in the section. Defence counsel Kapil Sibal argued that while
the diaries and spiral pads recovered from the residence of the Jains
were "books" within the meaning of Section 34, they were not
admissible as evidence since neither were they "books of account" nor
were they "regularly kept" in the course of "business". Sibal argued
that "account" meant a formal statement of money transactions between
parties arising out of a contractual or a fiduciary relationship. His
contention was that these "books of account" did not relate to a
"business" nor were they "regularly kept".
SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY
L.K. Advani
Additional Solicitor-General Altaf Ahmed, who appeared for the
prosecution, argued that the High Court's interpretation of the words
"books of account" and "business" in the above section was a truncated
view. It disabled law from "dealing with illicit business and
situations connected therewith, such as the case in hand where a
conspiracy was hatched to receive money through hawala channels and
other sources and to distribute it as bribes to politicians to
influence favourable decisions from them."
He argued that the word "business" under Section 34 should receive the
widest possible meaning and should be understood and construed to mean
and include all such efforts of people, which, by varied methods of
dealing with each other, were designed to improve their individual
economic conditions and satisfy their desires.
The apex court interpreted the words "account", "books of account",
"business" and "regularly kept" in a general sense. Since the entries
made in the document in question were totalled and balanced, the court
held that the document was a "book of account" recording monetary
transactions that were duly reckoned, rather than a memorandum book.
While interpreting the word "business", it upheld earlier judgments to
mean a real, substantial and systematic or organised course of
activity or conduct with a set purpose. Since the Jains carried on
their activities continuously in an organised manner with a set
purpose (be it illegal) to augment their own resources, the court
ruled that MR 71/91 was a book of account kept in the course of
business. In deciding that the "books of account" were indeed
"regularly kept", the court relied on the relevance of the nature of
occupation of the parties involved.
However, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal of the CBI on the
ground that there was no independent evidence to indicate that the
amounts paid by the Jain brothers, were actually received by the
"recipients". Hence, the Bench observed that the recipients could not
be held liable under Section 34. The Judges observed: "Since, however,
an element of self-interest and partisanship of the entrant to make a
person - behind whose back and without whose knowledge the entry is
made - liable cannot be ruled out, the additional safeguard of
insistence upon their independent evidence to fasten him with such
liability has been provided for in Section 34 by incorporating the
words 'such statements shall not alone be sufficient to charge any
person with liability'."
Referring to the statements of the four witnesses who had admitted
receipts of payments as shown against them in MR 71/91, the Supreme
Court held that they could at best be proof of reliability of the
entries so far as they were concerned and not others. In other words,
it maintained that the statements of the witnesses could not be
independent evidence under Section 34 as against the two respondents
in this case.
One important implication of the apex court's ruling is that it has
changed the perception about the cohesiveness of the Jain diaries/
hawala case in which, it was believed, all the accused would stand or
fall together. In admitting that the diaries are admissible evidence,
the court has paved the way for the prosecution to proceed at least in
those cases where the payoffs indicated in the diaries have been
corroborated by other evidence. The CBI had filed 34 charge-sheets in
the court of the Special Judge against powerful individuals across the
political spectrum. While the investigative agency claims to have
obtained corroborative evidence against most of the accused either
through independent investigation of their bank accounts, passports,
official documents, circumstantial evidence or in the form of evidence
relating to favours rendered as quid pro quo for payments, it remains
to be seen which of these will stand fresh judicial scrutiny in the
light of the present judgment. The Special Courts dismissed most of
these cases, some of them at the stage of charge-sheeting itself, on
various grounds. The CBI has appealed to the higher courts in respect
of every case.
SANDEEP SAXENA
V.C. Shukla
The apex court also went into the conspiracy theory under Section 10
of the Indian Evidence Act, 1972. Counsel for the CBI had submitted
that material collected during the investigation and placed on record
clearly established the existence of a general conspiracy among the
accused Jains to promote their economic interest by corrupting public
servants. He had also contended that a number of separate conspiracies
with similar purpose had been hatched between the Jains and various
public servants. However, since the agency had failed to file a charge-
sheet against the Jains for having entered into a criminal conspiracy
among themselves, the court did not even consider the matter.
Statements made by certain witnesses, which were furnished by the CBI,
were found to be either irrelevant to the charges of conspiracy or
insufficient as reasonable ground to believe that all of them had
conspired together.
The CBI appears to have bungled in not having framed a charge of
conspiracy among the accused Jains to offer illegal gratification to
Advani and Shukla. It had framed charges of two separate conspiracies,
in both of which the Jains together figured as the common party and
Advani and Shukla as the other. Advani had been accused of receiving
Rs.25 lakhs from the Jains when he was a member of Parliament (besides
the Rs. 35 lakhs he allegedly received when he was not an MP). In the
charge-sheet filed against Shukla and the Jains, it was alleged that
during 1988-91, when Shukla was an MP and a Cabinet Minister, he
allegedly received Rs. 39 lakhs from the Jains. The Jains were charged
with abetment under Section 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act
(PCA).
The court held that since it found no prima facie evidence of
corruption under Section 7 of the PCA against Advani and Shukla, the
question of abetment did not arise. Advani's name did not even figure
in M 71/91, the diary admitted as evidence and in the case of Shukla,
the evidence was insufficient, the court said. The Bench held that
where no offence had been committed, the question of aiding or
abetting it did not arise.
Since no prima facie case had been established against the two
respondents, the Bench did not deem it necessary to go into the
question of whether an MP came within the definition of a 'public
servant' under the PCA so as to make the respondents liable for
prosecution for alleged commission of offences that attracted the
provisions of the Act.
India's National Magazine
From the publishers of THE HINDU
Vol. 15 :: No. 06 :: Mar. 21 - Apr. 3, 1998
http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1506/15060270.htm
Vineet Narain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vineet Narain (born 1956) is a prominent Indian journalist and anti-
corruption activist. His exposure of the 1990s Hawala scandal led him
to use a public interest petition to apply pressure on the Central
Bureau of Investigation. The CBI was widely criticised when its
prosecutions collapsed, and the Supreme Court of India in deciding the
Vineet Narain Case made directions that included new supervision of
the CBI by the Central Vigilance Commission.[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Bureau_of_Investigation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Vigilance_Commission
Family and early life
Born in 1956, Vineet Narain had his primary education in Western Uttar
Pradesh and did his higher studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University in
New Delhi. His father was an academician and served as the Vice
Chancellor of two prominent universities in U.P. He fought against
interference of the political masters in the admission procedure of
some of the professional courses in the state.[citation needed] His
mother was active in students politics at the Lucknow University. Her
father was then the Secretary of the UP Legislative Council.
Narain married outside his caste. His wife is an assistant professor
of Russian language at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She
was educated at Modern School in New Delhi. His eldest son Azeez
Narain is a manager in Tata Administrative Services (TAS). His younger
son, Eeshit Narain is an independent film maker based in Delhi
<ShreeJee Productions>.
Narain was drawn to social work from his early youth. He worked in a
village at the age of 18 years with an NGO.
Hawala Scam
Vineet Narain was responsible for bringing the Hawala scandal to light.
[citation needed] 115 top bureaucrats were identified as having
participated in the scam.[citation needed] Case No.340-43 of 1993,
Supreme Court of India
The case got a momentary boost up as a result of a PIL (Public
Interest Litigation) filed in the Supreme Court.[citation needed] In
1996 for the first time in Indian history, several cabinet ministers,
chief ministers and governors were charge-sheeted.Out of them the
person who is still on the run is EX-M.P -Chandravijay Singh from
Moradabad for land scams and legal paper forgery-booked under the high
court NEW-DELHI.[citation needed] Several landmark decisions were
passed by the Supreme Court of India in the Vineet Narain Vs Union of
India and Ors case.[unreliable source?][2]
In July 1997, Mr. Narain compelled the Chief Justice of India comment
on the Hawala case. He wrote a book on the case entitled Hawala ke
Deshdrohi or Dangerous Silence.
Indian Judiciary
Narain brought out a series of land scams involving of one of the
sitting chief justices of India.[citation needed] As a result,
contempt of court proceedings were initiated against him and he fled
the country.[3] Later on, due to the intervention of various
international organisations like Committee to Protect Journalists, all
the proceedings against him were withdrawn.[4]
TV Journalism in India
He launched Kalchakra, the first Hindi-language video magazine, in
1989. He faced hurdles due to financial crisis and by the government
controlled censor board. He writes a weekly syndicated column in
several regional daily newspapers.
Earlier he worked as a correspondent of national dailies and has
appeared in programmes on several international television networks.
[citation needed] He began investigative TV journalism in 1980. TV &
Video World reported, "It may sound surprising, but men of principles,
willing to take tough stand and unwilling to compromise on basic
ideals, still exist in our society. When, in April 1987, one of his
programmes in the Sach Ki Parchhain series was arbitrarily stopped by
Doordarshan authorities, its producer, TV and newspaper journalist
Vineet Narain vowed never to present anything on the government-
controlled network until it was made autonomous and functioned more
democratically."[citation needed]
Current Activities
Vineet Narain writes a syndicated column in over 22 national dailies
on a weekly basis. Vineet Narain gives a weekly news report from India
on telephone to SBS Radio, Australia and also contributes to weekly
columns in two dozen popular dailies of India.[citation needed]
Through Kalchakra Investigative News Bureau, he, along with his
associates, undertake investigative journalism in India. He is also
the founder Secretary of People’s Vigilance Commission, a group headed
by J F Ribeiro, Ex-DGP, Punjab. Narain has been involved in the wider
restoration works in Braj.[5]
Notes
^ Vineet Narain Case, Directions of the Court accessed at [1] Nov 2,
2006
^ Vineet Narain's web-site
^ INDIA: Vineet Narain contempt trial postponed, August 10, 2001,
Committee to Protect Journalists, New York accessed at [2] Nov 2,
2006
^ India annual report 2002, Reporters Without Borders accessed at [3]
Nov 2, 2006
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reporters_Without_Borders
^ www.brajfoundation.org
External links
Vineet Narain's Website
http://www.vineetnarain.net/
Kalchakra's Website
http://www.kalchakra.org.in/
Current Activity
http://www.brajfoundation.org/
Supreme Court Judgement Vineet Narain & Ors Vs. Union Of India & Anr
http://www.rishabhdara.com/sc/view.php?case=13530
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vineet_Narain"
Case DetailsVINEET NARAIN & ORS versus UNION OF INDIA & ANR
Supreme Court Cases
1996 SCC (2) 199 JT 1996 (1) 708 1996 SCALE (1)SP31
Case Law SearchIndian Supreme Court Cases / Judgements / Legislation
Judgement
VINEET NARAIN & ORS V. UNION OF INDIA & ANR [1996] RD-SC 158 (30
January 1996)
VERMA, JAGDISH SARAN (J) VERMA, JAGDISH SARAN (J) BHARUCHA S.P. (J)
SEN, S.C. (J)
CITATION: 1996 SCC (2) 199 JT 1996 (1) 708 1996 SCALE (1)SP31
ACT:
HEADNOTE:
O R D E R The true scope of this writ petition has been indicated
during the earlier hearings. At this stage, when some charge sheets
have been filed in the Special Court and there is considerable
publicity in the media regarding this matter, with some speculation
about its true scope, it is appropriate to make this order to form a
part of the record.
The gist of the allegations in the writ petition are that Government
agencies, like the CBI and the revenue authorities, have failed to
perform their duties and legal obligations inasmuch as they have
failed to properly investigate matters arising out of the seizure of
the so called "Jain Diaries" in certain raids conducted by the CBI.
It is alleged that the apprehending of certain terrories led to the
discovery of financial support to them by clandestine and illegal
means, by use of tainted funds obtained through 'hawala' transactions;
that this also disclosed a nexus between several important
politicians, bureaucrats and criminals, who are all recipients of
money from unlawful sources given for unlawful considerations; that
the the CBI and other Government agencies have failed to fully
investigate into the matter and take it to the logical and point of
the trail and to prosecute all persons who have committed any crime;
that this is being done with a view to protect the persons involved,
who are very influential and powerful in the present set up; that the
matter discloses a definite nexus between crime and corruption in
public life at high places in the country which poses a serious threat
to the integrity, security and economy of the nation; that probity in
public life, to prevent erosion of the rule of law and the
preservation of democracy in the country, requires that the Government
agencies be compelled to duly perform their legal obligations and to
proceed in accordance with law against each and every persons
involved, irrespective of the height at which he is placed in the
power set up.
The facts and circumstances of the present case do indicate that it is
of utmost public importance that this matter is examined thoroughly by
this Court to ensure that all Government agencies, entrusted with the
duty to discharge their functions and obligations in accordance with
law, do so, bearing in mind constantly the concept of equality
enshrined in the Constitution and the basic tenant of rule of law: "Be
you ever so high, the law is above you".
Investigation into every accusation made against each and every person
on a reasonable basis, irrespective of the position and status of that
person, must be conducted and completed expeditiously. This is
imperative to retain public confidence in the impartial working of the
Government agencies.
In this proceeding we are not concerned with the merits of the
accusations or the individuals alleged to be involved, but only with
the performance of the legal duty by the Government agencies to
fairly, properly and fully investigate into every such accusation
against every person, and to take the logical final action in
accordance with law.
In case of persons against whom a prima facie case is made out and a
charge sheet is filed in the competent court, it is that court which
will then deal with that case on merits, in accordance with law.
However. if in respect of any such person the final report after full
investigation is that no prima facie case is made out to proceed
further, so that the case must be closed against him, that report must
be promptly submitted to this Court for its satisfaction that the
concerned authorities have not failed to perform their legal
obligations and have reasonably come to such conclusion. No such
report having been submitted by the CBI or any other agency till now
in this Court, action on such a report by this Court would be
considered, if any when that occasion arises. We also direct that no
settlement should be arrived at nor any offence compounded by any
authority without prior leave of this Court.
We may add that on account of the great public interest involved in
this matter, the CBI and other Government agencies must expedite their
action to complete the task and prevent pendency of this matter beyond
the period necessary.
It is needless to observe that the results achieved so far do not
match the available time and opportunity for a full investigation ever
since the matter came to light. It is of utmost national significance
that no further time is lost in completion of the task.
Copyright
Reproduced in accordance with s52(q) of the Copyright Act 1957 (India)
from judis.nic.in, indiacode.nic.in and other Indian High Court
Websites
http://www.rishabhdara.com/sc/view.php?case=13530
Vineet Narain contempt trial postponed
http://cpj.org/2001/08/vineet-narain-contempt-trial-postponed.php
New York, August 10, 2001—Yesterday's scheduled contempt of court case
against journalist Vineet Narain has been postponed due to violence in
Jammu and Kashmir State, the trial venue. It is not known when the
next hearing will be held.
Narain is the founding editor of the New Delhibased investigative
journal Kalchakra. He faces contempt charges based on a December 16,
2000, Kalchakra article in which Narain alleged that Jammu and Kashmir
High Court justice T.S. Doabia had been unduly influenced by his
friendship with Indian Supreme Court chief justice A.S. Anand in
deciding a land dispute.
Jammu City was placed under curfew after three Muslim militants opened
fire at a local train station on August 7, killing 11 people,
according to international press reports. The curfew went into effect
on August 8 and prevented Narain from reaching the court, the
journalist told CPJ via e-mail.
Narain, who is currently in hiding, said that the Jammu and Kashmir
High Court could not convene as planned due to "hostile conditions in
Jammu."
The curfew was lifted yesterday, August 9, according to Indian and
international press reports.
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has not yet responded to a July 6
letter from CPJ and Human Rights Watch urging him to order an
immediate inquiry into possible political motivations behind Narain's
prosecution, and to provide him with adequate security protection
during the trial. CPJ reiterated these requests in a separate letter
that was faxed to the prime minister on August 8.
http://cpj.org/2001/08/vineet-narain-contempt-trial-postponed.php
Committee to Protect Journalists
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an independent,
nonprofit organization based in New York, New York, United States,
that promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists.
History
A group of U.S. foreign correspondents founded CPJ in 1981 in response
to harassment from authoritarian governments.
Operations
CPJ organizes vigorous public protests and works through diplomatic
channels to effect change. CPJ publishes articles, news releases,
special reports, a biannual magazine called Dangerous Assignments[1],
and an annual worldwide survey of press freedom called Attacks on the
Press[2].
CPJ also administers the annual CPJ International Press Freedom
Awards, which honor journalists and press freedom advocates who have
endured beatings, threats, intimidation and prison for reporting the
news.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPJ_International_Press_Freedom_Awards
Each year, CPJ compiles a list of all journalists killed in the line
of duty around the world. Since 1992, the first year that CPJ began to
statistically monitor deaths, 661 journalists have been killed[3]
CPJ is a founding member of the International Freedom of Expression
Exchange (IFEX), a global network of more than 70 non-governmental
organizations that monitors free expression violations around the
world and defends journalists, writers and others who are persecuted
for exercising their right to freedom of expression.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Freedom_of_Expression_Exchange
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_expression
Active engagements
On December 26, 2007, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
appealed to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to forthwith bring to
justice the killers of Davao City broadcaster Ferdinand Lintuan, who
was murdered on December 24.[4]
Staff and directors
The current (2009) executive director of CPJ is journalist Joel Simon,
who assumed the position in July 2006 after having served as deputy
director since 2000.[5] His predecessor was veteran foreign
correspondent Ann Cooper, who served as executive director from 1998
to 2006.[6]
CPJ's board of directors includes prominent American journalists,
including Christiane Amanpour, Tom Brokaw, Anne Garrels, Charlayne
Hunter-Gault, Gwen Ifill, Jane Kramer, Anthony Lewis, Dave Marsh, Kati
Marton, Michael Massing, Victor Navasky, Andres Oppenheimer, Clarence
Page, Norman Pearlstine, Dan Rather, John Seigenthaler, and Mark
Whitaker.
See also
CPJ International Press Freedom Awards
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPJ_International_Press_Freedom_Awards
List of journalists killed in Russia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_Russia
External links
Committee to Protect Journalists website
http://www.cpj.org/
International Freedom of Expression Exchange
http://www.ifex.org/
References
^ [1]
http://cpj.org/Briefings/2005/DA_spring05/DA_spring_05.pdf
^ [2]
http://cpj.org/attacks04/pages/attacks04index.html
^ [3]
^ GMA NEWS.TV, Aggressively pursue Lintuan killers, NY media group
urges Arroyo
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/74305/Aggressively-pursue-Lintuan-killers-NY-media-group-urges-Arroyo
^ CPJ Staff bios
http://cpj.org/about/staff.php
^ Poynter Online Forums
http://www.poynter.org/forum/view_post.asp?id=11487
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_to_Protect_Journalists
bademiyansubhanallah
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Caste-related violence and hate crimes in India have occurred despite
the gradual reduction of casteism in the country.
According to a report by Human Rights Watch, "Dalits and indigenous
peoples (known as Scheduled Tribes or adivasis) continue to face
discrimination, exclusion, and acts of communal violence. Laws and
policies adopted by the Indian government provide a strong basis for
protection, but are not being faithfully implemented by local
authorities."[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_crime
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights_Watch
Phoolan Devi
Main article: Phoolan Devi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoolan_Devi
Phoolan Devi (1963 – 2001) was an Indian dacoit (bandit), who later
turned politician. Born in a lower-caste Mallaah family, she was
mistreated and abandoned by her husband. She was later kidnapped by a
gang of dacoits. The upper-caste Thakur leader of the gang tried to
rape her, but she was protected by the deputy leader Vikram, who
belonged to her caste. Later, an upper-caste Thakur friend of Vikram
killed him, abducted Phoolan, and locked her up in the Behmai village.
Phoolan was raped in the village by Thakur men, until she managed to
escape after three weeks.
Phoolan Devi then formed a gang of Mallahs, which carried out a series
of violent robberies in north and central India, mainly targeting
upper-caste people. Some say that Phoolan Devi targeted only the upper-
caste people and shared the loot with the lower-caste people, but the
Indian authorities insist this is a myth[2]. Seventeen months after
her escape from Behmai, Phoolan returned to the village, to take her
revenge. On February 14, 1981, her gang massacred twenty-two Thakur
men in the village, only two of which were involved in her kidnapping
or rape. Phoolan Devi later surrendered and served eleven years in
prison, after which she became a politician. During her election
campaign, she was criticized by the women widowed in the Behmai
massacre. Kshatriya Swabhimaan Andolan Samanvay Committee (KSASC), a
Kshatriya organization, held a statewide campaign to protest against
her. She was elected a Member of Parliament twice.
On July 25, 2001, Phoolan Devi was shot dead by unknown assassins.
Later, a man called Sher Singh Rana confessed to the murder, saying he
was avenging the deaths of 22 Kshatriyas at Behmai. Although the
police were skeptical of his claims, he was arrested. Rana escaped
from Tihar Jail in 2004. In 2006, KSASC decided to honor Rana for
"upholding the dignity of the Thakur community" and "drying the tears
of the widows of Behmai."[3]
Andhra Pradesh
This state is considered to be one of the least caste-crime infested
places of India which has not had many Dalit Massacres.
Ranvir Sena
Main article: Ranvir Sena
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranvir_Sena
Ranvir Sena is an caste-supremacist fringe paramilitary group based in
Bihar. The group is based amongst the forward-caste landlord, and
carries out actions against the outlawed naxals in rural areas. It has
committed violent acts against Dalits and other members of the
scheduled caste community in an effort to scuttle reform movements
aimed at their emancipation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naxalite
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheduled_caste
Tamil Nadu
The state of Tamil Nadu has witnessed several caste-based incidents
both against Dalits and Brahmins[citation needed]. In 2000, three
young men belonging to the Dalit undercaste were killed in the
Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu. This fuelled some localized violence
in the caste-sensitive region, which has seen numerous caste-related
incidents in which the majority of the victims have been Dalits. Six
of the killings have been registered as murders under the Indian Penal
Code and others as "Deaths under suspicious circumstances". No arrests
have been made in these cases.
However, several Dalits have been arrested as goondas (hoodlums). The
Chief minister of Tamil-Nadu, M. Karunanidhi, has been accused of
having an "anti-Dalit" bias by the radical organization "Dalit
Panthers of India". Theories concerning these crimes against Dalits
range from "alcohol bootleggers opposing prohibition movements among
Dalits" to "inter-caste relations between an upper-caste Vanniya boy
and a Dalit girl"[citation needed]. Political parties sympathetic to
the Dalits have protested against these incidents[4] and have alleged
systemic biases against Dalits in several parts of the country.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systemic_bias
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Penal_Code
Bant Singh case of Punjab
On the evening of January 5, 2006 Bant Singh, a poor Sikh Dalit, was
attacked by unknown assailants. His injuries necessitated medical
amputation. He alleges that this was in retaliation for actively
working to secure justice for his daughter, who was gang raped by
upper caste members of his village in Punjab five years earlier.[5][6]
A 55-year-old Dalit Sikh woman, Sawinder Kaur has been tortured,
stripped and tied to a tree in Ram Duali village of Punjab because her
nephew eloped with a girl from the same community. The police arrested
four persons for allegedly committing the crime on 9 September 2007.
[7]
In January, 1999 four members of the village panchayat of Bhungar
Khera village in Abohar paraded a handicapped Dalit woman naked
through the village. No action was taken by the police, despite local
Dalit protests. It was only on July 20 that the four pancha yat
members were arrested, after the State Home Department was compelled
to order an inquiry into the incident.[8]
A Dalit Sikh woman, Sukhwinder Kaur of Sumel Kheri village was
molested and beaten up by an octroi contractor of Malaudh when she
resisted his attempt to sexually exploit her.[9]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikh
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalit
Kherlanji massacre
Main article: Kherlanji Massacre
On September 29, 2006, four members of the Bhotmange family belonging
to the Dalit underclass were slaughtered in Kherlanji, a small village
in Bhandara district of Maharashtra. The women of the family, Surekha
and Priyanka, were paraded naked in public, then allegedly gang-raped
before being murdered[1]. Although initially ascribed by the media and
by the Human Rights Watch to upper castes, the criminal act was
actually carried out by Kunbi[10] caste (classified as Other Backward
Classes[11] by Government of India) farmers for having opposed the
requisition of the Dalit land to have a road built over it.
On November 23, 2006, several members of the Dalit community in the
nearby district of Chandrapur staged a protest regarding this
incident.The protesters allegedly turned violent and pelted stones.
The police had to resort to baton charging to control the situation.
Dalit leaders, however, denied that they had sparked the violence and
that they were "protesting in peace".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kherlanji_Massacre
2006 Dalit protests in Maharashtra
Main article: 2006 Dalit protests in Maharashtra
In November-December 2006, the desecration of a Ambedkar statue in
Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh) triggered off violent protests by Dalits in
Maharashtra. Several people remarked that the protests were fueled by
the Kherlanji Massacre[12]. During the violent protests, the Dalit
protestors set three trains on fire, damaged over 100 buses and
clashed with police[13]. At least four deaths and many more injuries
were reported.
Later, the Kanpur Police arrested a Dalit youth Arun Kumar Balmiki for
desecrating the Ambedkar statue. According to the police, the youth
had "admitted to having damaged the statue in a drunken state along
with two friends"[14]. Earlier in a similar case, a Dalit youth was
held for desecrating an Ambedkar statue in Gulbarga, Karnataka[15].
In response to these protests, Raj Thackeray drew attention to another
incident in Kherlanji, in which a Dalit allegedly raped a girl and
killed her. Thackeray demanded action on those responsible for the
rape and the subsequent death of the girl, and also remarked that
nobody helped the girl's family[16].
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raj_Thackeray
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kherlanji_Massacre
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Dalit_protests_in_Maharashtra
Rajasthan
In the Indian province of Rajasthan, between the years 1999 and 2002,
crimes against Dalits average at about 5024 a year, with 46 killings
and 138 cases of rape.[17][18] In January 2007, a Jat girl was thrown
into a canal near the border with Haryana for marrying a Dalit boy,
although she swam to shore and was rescued by strangers.[19]
See also: 2008 caste violence in Rajasthan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_caste_violence_in_Rajasthan
Punjab
On 25 May 2009, violence and rioting broke out when thousands of
protesters took to the streets in almost all major towns and cities in
the Indian state of Punjab after a dalit preacher, Sant Ramanand, was
attacked in a temple in Vienna, Austria. He was among 16 people
injured, including another preacher Sant Nirajnan Dass, and later died
in hospital. Both the preachers were from a low-caste Sikh sect which
has a large following in parts of Punjab and had travelled to Vienna
to conduct a special service. Several high-caste Sikh groups had
apparently opposed his presence and threatened violence. This happened
after the preacher had reportedly made remarks about the Sikh groups.
[20]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rama_Nand
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna
Other incidents
On September 1, 2007 some Yadavs poured steaming dal on a Dalit woman
and her infant daughter, and beat up several other Dalits, for
allowing their children to play in the premises of a temple at
Shivayalay Mushari, on the outskirts of Patna.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yadav
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patna
See also
Communalism (South Asia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communalism_(South_Asia)
Religious violence in India
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_violence_in_India
References
^ "India Events of 2007". Human Rights Watch.
http://www.hrw.org/legacy/englishwr2k8/docs/2008/01/31/india17605.htm.
^ "Phoolan Devi: Champion of the poor". BBC News. 2001-07-25.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1456441.stm. Retrieved
2006-12-11.
^ "Kshatriya Samaj to honour Phoolan's killer". The Tribune,
Chandigarh. 2006-05-21. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060501/nation.htm#5.
Retrieved 2006-12-11.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060501/nation.htm#5
^ Victims of bias,The Hindu
http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1712/17121060.htm
^ Paying a price for securing justice for his daughter, The Hindu
http://www.hindu.com/2006/01/16/stories/2006011608190500.htm
^ Bant Singh can still sing, Tehalka Magazine
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main16.asp?filename=Cr020406do_bigha.asp
^ Dalit woman tied naked to a tree
http://www.aiccindia.org/newsite/0804061910/news/Dalit_woman_tied_naked_to_tree_in_Punjab_11_Sep_2007.htm
^ Down and out in Punjab By Praveen Swami
http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1626/16260650.htm
^ Dalit woman molested, beaten up Malaudh (Ahmedgarh), April 27
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050428/ldh1.htm
^ "Dalit blood on village square". Frontline.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=20061201004713000.htm&date=fl2323/&prd=fline&.
Retrieved 2006-12-10.
^ "Age old rivalry behind Khairlanji violence". NDTV.
http://origin.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?slug=Age+old+rivalry+behind+Khairlanji+violence&id=96718&category=National.
Retrieved 2006-12-10.
^ "Khairlanji to Kanpur". The Indian Express. 2006-12-02.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/17707.html. Retrieved 2006-12-02.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/khairlanji-to-kanpur/17707/
^ "Maharashtra: Dalit anger leaves 4 dead, 60 injured". Rediff.com.
2006-11-30. http://www.rediff.com/news/2006/nov/30statue.htm.
Retrieved 2006-12-02.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2006/nov/30statue.htm
^ "Dalits force police to let off suspect in Kanpur". Business
Standard. 2006-12-01. http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_c_online.php?leftnm=11&bKeyFlag=IN&autono=18172.
Retrieved 2006-12-02.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?tp=on&autono=18172
^ "Dalit youth held for desecrating Ambedkar statue". Deccan Herald.
2006-09-26. http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/Sep222006/district1711462006921.asp.
Retrieved 2006-12-02.
^ "Situation in Mumbai, state back to normal". The Times of India.
2006-12-02.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Mumbai/Situation_in_Mumbai_state_back_to_normal/articleshow/678044.cms.
Retrieved 2006-12-02.
^ http://www.indiatogether.org/dalit/articles/bidwai1002.htm
^ BBC NEWS | South Asia | Dalits in conversion ceremony
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6050408.stm
^ (Hindi)CNN/IBN Video
http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/55743/girl-escapes-honour-killing-now-fights-a-lonely-battle.html
^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8066783.stm
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste-related_violence_in_India"
http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/111615/revered-godman-accused-of-land-grabbing.html
http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/111608/baba-ramdev-forays-into-politics-forms-new-party.html
VIDEO AND AUDIO NEWS
Low-caste Hindus hold mass conversions
SEE ALSO
Indian Dalit leader passes away
09 Oct 06 | South Asia
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6032563.stm
Kanshi Ram: Champion of the poor
09 Oct 06 | South Asia
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6034823.stm
Anger over Gujarat religion law
20 Sep 06 | South Asia
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5362802.stm
Conversions harder in India state
26 Jul 06 | South Asia
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5215696.stm
Furore reflects India's caste complexities
20 May 06 | South Asia
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4998274.stm
India mourns Dalit ex-president
10 Nov 05 | South Asia
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4424216.stm
India dalits protest arson attack
05 Sep 05 | South Asia
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4216290.stm
Country profile: India
31 Aug 06 | Country profiles
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/country_profiles/1154019.stm
RELATED BBC LINKS
Hindu caste system - BBC religion and ethics
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbreligion/F2213234
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbreligion/F2213239
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbreligion/F2213233
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbreligion/F2213236
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbreligion/F2213237
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/living/caste.shtml
RELATED INTERNET LINKS
National Conference of Dalit Organisations
http://www.nacdor.org/
National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights
See also:
25 Jul 01 | South Asia
'Bandit Queen' shot dead
29 Jun 01 | South Asia
Indian bandit offers to surrender
07 Mar 00 | South Asia
Court rules out caste differences
28 Sep 99 | South Asia
Dalits' political awakening
12 Oct 00 | South Asia
Analysis: India's criminal politicians
Internet links:
US article on the Bandit Queen
http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/96nov/bandit/bandit.htm
See also:
25 Jul 01 | South Asia
'Bandit Queen' shot dead
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1456178.stm
29 Jun 01 | South Asia
Indian bandit offers to surrender
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1412944.stm
07 Mar 00 | South Asia
Court rules out caste differences
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/669285.stm
28 Sep 99 | South Asia
Dalits' political awakening
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/459591.stm
12 Oct 00 | South Asia
Analysis: India's criminal politicians
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/701360.stm
See also:
26 Feb 00 | South Asia
Analysis: Bihar's pivotal politician
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/658347.stm
25 Feb 00 | South Asia
Jayalalitha will face corruption trial
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/657030.stm
21 Feb 00 | South Asia
Net shame for corrupt officials
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/650952.stm
11 Feb 00 | South Asia
Guide to Indian state elections
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/638134.stm
Internet links:
Central Bureau of Investigation
http://www.cbi.gov.in/index.php
Election Commission of India
http://www.eci.gov.in/
Indian Elections 99 - BBC News Online
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/special_report/1999/08/99/indian_elections/default.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/701360.stm
India's "Untouchables" Face Violence, DiscriminationHillary Mayell
for National Geographic News
June 2, 2003
More than 160 million people in India are considered "Untouchable"—
people tainted by their birth into a caste system that deems them
impure, less than human.
Human rights abuses against these people, known as Dalits, are legion.
A random sampling of headlines in mainstream Indian newspapers tells
their story: "Dalit boy beaten to death for plucking flowers"; "Dalit
tortured by cops for three days"; "Dalit 'witch' paraded naked in
Bihar"; "Dalit killed in lock-up at Kurnool"; "7 Dalits burnt alive in
caste clash"; "5 Dalits lynched in Haryana"; "Dalit woman gang-raped,
paraded naked"; "Police egged on mob to lynch Dalits".
"Dalits are not allowed to drink from the same wells, attend the same
temples, wear shoes in the presence of an upper caste, or drink from
the same cups in tea stalls," said Smita Narula, a senior researcher
with Human Rights Watch, and author of Broken People: Caste Violence
Against India's "Untouchables." Human Rights Watch is a worldwide
activist organization based in New York.
India's Untouchables are relegated to the lowest jobs, and live in
constant fear of being publicly humiliated, paraded naked, beaten, and
raped with impunity by upper-caste Hindus seeking to keep them in
their place. Merely walking through an upper-caste neighborhood is a
life-threatening offense.
Nearly 90 percent of all the poor Indians and 95 percent of all the
illiterate Indians are Dalits, according to figures presented at the
International Dalit Conference that took place May 16 to 18 in
Vancouver, Canada.
Crime Against Dalits
Statistics compiled by India's National Crime Records Bureau indicate
that in the year 2000, the last year for which figures are available,
25,455 crimes were committed against Dalits. Every hour two Dalits are
assaulted; every day three Dalit women are raped, two Dalits are
murdered, and two Dalit homes are torched.
No one believes these numbers are anywhere close to the reality of
crimes committed against Dalits. Because the police, village councils,
and government officials often support the caste system, which is
based on the religious teachings of Hinduism, many crimes go
unreported due to fear of reprisal, intimidation by police, inability
to pay bribes demanded by police, or simply the knowledge that the
police will do nothing.
"There have been large-scale abuses by the police, acting in collusion
with upper castes, including raids, beatings in custody, failure to
charge offenders or investigate reported crimes," said Narula.
That same year, 68,160 complaints were filed against the police for
activities ranging from murder, torture, and collusion in acts of
atrocity, to refusal to file a complaint. Sixty two percent of the
cases were dismissed as unsubstantiated; 26 police officers were
convicted in court.
Despite the fact that untouchability was officially banned when India
adopted its constitution in 1950, discrimination against Dalits
remained so pervasive that in 1989 the government passed legislation
known as The Prevention of Atrocities Act. The act specifically made
it illegal to parade people naked through the streets, force them to
eat feces, take away their land, foul their water, interfere with
their right to vote, and burn down their homes.
Since then, the violence has escalated, largely as a result of the
emergence of a grassroots human rights movement among Dalits to demand
their rights and resist the dictates of untouchability, said Narula.
Lack of Enforcement, Not Laws
Enforcement of laws designed to protect Dalits is lax if not non-
existent in many regions of India. The practice of untouchability is
strongest in rural areas, where 80 percent of the country's population
resides. There, the underlying religious principles of Hinduism
dominate.
Hindus believe a person is born into one of four castes based on karma
and "purity"—how he or she lived their past lives. Those born as
Brahmans are priests and teachers; Kshatriyas are rulers and soldiers;
Vaisyas are merchants and traders; and Sudras are laborers. Within the
four castes, there are thousands of sub-castes, defined by profession,
region, dialect, and other factors.
Untouchables are literally outcastes; a fifth group that is so
unworthy it doesn't fall within the caste system.
Although based on religious principles practiced for some 1,500 years,
the system persists today for economic as much as religious reasons.
Because they are considered impure from birth, Untouchables perform
jobs that are traditionally considered "unclean" or exceedingly
menial, and for very little pay. One million Dalits work as manual
scavengers, cleaning latrines and sewers by hand and clearing away
dead animals. Millions more are agricultural workers trapped in an
inescapable cycle of extreme poverty, illiteracy, and oppression.
Although illegal, 40 million people in India, most of them Dalits, are
bonded workers, many working to pay off debts that were incurred
generations ago, according to a report by Human Rights Watch published
in 1999. These people, 15 million of whom are children, work under
slave-like conditions hauling rocks, or working in fields or factories
for less than U.S. $1 day.
Crimes Against Women
Dalit women are particularly hard hit. They are frequently raped or
beaten as a means of reprisal against male relatives who are thought
to have committed some act worthy of upper-caste vengeance. They are
also subject to arrest if they have male relatives hiding from the
authorities.
A case reported in 1999 illustrates the toxic mix of gender and
caste.
A 42-year-old Dalit woman was gang-raped and then burnt alive after
she, her husband, and two sons had been held in captivity and tortured
for eight days. Her crime? Another son had eloped with the daughter of
the higher-caste family doing the torturing. The local police knew the
Dalit family was being held, but did nothing because of the higher-
caste family's local influence.
There is very little recourse available to victims.
A report released by Amnesty International in 2001 found an "extremely
high" number of sexual assaults on Dalit women, frequently perpetrated
by landlords, upper-caste villagers, and police officers. The study
estimates that only about 5 percent of attacks are registered, and
that police officers dismissed at least 30 percent of rape complaints
as false.
The study also found that the police routinely demand bribes,
intimidate witnesses, cover up evidence, and beat up the women's
husbands. Little or nothing is done to prevent attacks on rape victims
by gangs of upper-caste villagers seeking to prevent a case from being
pursued. Sometimes the policemen even join in, the study suggests.
Rape victims have also been murdered. Such crimes often go
unpunished.
Thousands of pre-teen Dalit girls are forced into prostitution under
cover of a religious practice known as devadasis, which means "female
servant of god." The girls are dedicated or "married" to a deity or a
temple. Once dedicated, they are unable to marry, forced to have sex
with upper-caste community members, and eventually sold to an urban
brothel.
Resistance and Progress
Within India, grassroots efforts to change are emerging, despite
retaliation and intimidation by local officials and upper-caste
villagers. In some states, caste conflict has escalated to caste
warfare, and militia-like vigilante groups have conducted raids on
villages, burning homes, raping, and massacring the people. These
raids are sometimes conducted with the tacit approval of the police.
In the province Bihar, local Dalits are retaliating, committing
atrocities also. Non-aligned Dalits are frequently caught in the
middle, victims of both groups.
"There is a growing grassroots movement of activists, trade unions,
and other NGOs that are organizing to democratically and peacefully
demand their rights, higher wages, and more equitable land
distribution," said Narula. "There has been progress in terms of
building a human rights movement within India, and in drawing
international attention to the issue."
In August 2002, the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination (UN CERD) approved a resolution condemning caste or
descent-based discrimination.
"But at the national level, very little is being done to implement or
enforce the laws," said Narula.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/06/0602_030602_untouchables.html
SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES
National Campaign on Dalits Human Rights
http://www.dalits.org/
Crimes Against Dalits
These are JUST SOME of the Crimes committed on Dalits from April 2000
to December 2002, reported in National Daily's. Hundreds of Such
crimes go unreported. If you find any such crimes happening in your
neighbourhood, please send the details of such crimes to us.
dal...@ambedkar.org
Please check this page for updates. Meanwhile THINK what YOU can do to
stop this madness.
• Exclusive Report:Five Dalits Lynched in Haryana (06 Nov)
• Dalit elopes with Jat girl, death stalks Haryana village (30 Oct)
• Untouchability, The Dead Cow And The Brahmin (23 Oct)
• A Dalit damned for defying her village (07 Aug)
• Dalit burnt alive, tension brews in Mansura village (29 May)
• Pakistani Dalits protest genocide of Dalits (29 May)
• Dalit hanged for having illicit ties (15 May)
• 6 Dalits shot dead in Bihar (09 May)
• Dalit houses attacked in Salem village (02 May)
• Attack on Dalit youth in Bellary (26 Apr)
• Dalits face wrath of upper castes in UP village (24 Apr)
• Dalit teenager raped in Rajasthan (24 Apr)
- 18-year-old girl raped, murdered (21 Mar)
- Crime in Chennai (21 Mar)
- Couple hounded by cops for inter-caste marriage (04 Feb)
- Students demonstrate against sexual harassment (04 Feb)
- Dalit woman raped (26 Jan)
- Caste Discrimination in Hyderabad Central University (15 Jan)
- Dalit women molested near Davangere (15 Jan)
- Another youth killed by lover's parents (15 Jan)
- Koli girl's gang-rape infuriates ministers, MLAs (15 Jan)
- 3 Dalits Shot Dead (08 Jan)
- Dumb girl accuses cop of rape (07 Dec)
- Woman Paraded Naked For Playing Cupid (07 Dec)
- Alleged rape of Dalit minor (27 Nov)
- Atrocity on SC girl in Karnataka (27 Nov)
- Dalit woman beaten to death by excise officials in Kerala (27
Nov)
- Yet another life sacrificed at the altar of love (27 Nov)
- Custodial death sparks protest (1 Nov)
- Landless woman stripped, beaten up (29 Oct)
- 2 dalit girls raped (29 Oct)
- Dalit girl raped (11 Oct)
- SC hostel inmates left in lurch (6 Oct)
- JNU girl alleges molestation, casteist slur (22 Sept)
- Goan Dalit denied equality even in death (13 Sept)
- Dalit student in Delhi University beaten up by upper caste hostel
mates (10 Sept)
- Naked assault Crime: Dalit woman is stripped and paraded for two
hours in Karnataka (3 Sep)
- Discrimination against Dalits in Chhattisgarh (3 Sep)
- Stripping of Dalit by cop: Panel orders probe (2 Sep)
- Dalit gang-raped in Kankipadu mandal (31 Aug)
- Dalit woman gang-raped in Vijayawada (30 Aug)
- Dalit woman paraded naked in Bellary village (29 Aug)
- Raped Dalit woman ends life (27 Aug)
- Three tribals killed (9 August)
- Caste Hindus terrorise Dalits in MP's Mugalia (8 August)
- Caste's cruel: lovers hanged in UP (8 August)
- Dacoits rape 2 tribal women (29 July)
- Gang-rape of Dalit woman in Rohtak (24 July)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/GangrDalit.htm
- TD men attack Dalits for voting for Congress (19 July)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/TDmenattack.htm
- Liberty, Equality etc --- but not for Dalits (17 July)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/LibEqualityetc.htm
- Castes and killings in Jehrana and Hasanpur (16 July)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Cakillings.htm
- Bihar panchayats deny Constitutional reservations (13 July)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Bihar_panchayats_deny.htm
- Landlord urinated in my mouth, alleges Dalit (11 July)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Landlord_urinated_in.htm
- Dalit hacked, ban order in Bellary village (6 July)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Dalit_hacked_ban.htm
- Harassed Dalit woman fights for justice (3 July)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/harassed_dalit_woman.htm
- Dalit family spends year in hut looking for justice (3 July)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/dalit_family_spends.htm
- Stripping of women: DM orders probe (1 July)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/stripping_of_women.htm
- Caste row in Indian school (30 Jun)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/941496.stm
- Dalits banished for drawing water from village well (29 Jun)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Dalitsbanished.htm
- Six people massacred in Bihar (29 Jun)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Sixpeople.htm
- Dalit leader blames Jehrana carnage on casteism (28 Jun)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Dalitleader.htm
- Four Dalits lynched in Bhojpur (26 Jun)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/FourDalits.htm
- Discrimination in promotions alleged (26 Jun)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Discriminationin.htm
- Punish the guilty (22 Jun)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Punishthe.htm
- Sexual assault on Dalit woman (15 Jun)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Sexualassault.htm
- 5 dalits shot dead in UP (14 Jun)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/5dalits.htm
- Dalit woman gang raped (14 Jun)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Dalitwoman2.htm
- Dalits don’t redraw the village map here, those who do get killed
(12 Jun)
- Untouchability faces no threat here (11 Jun)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Untouchabilityfaces.htm
- Dalit killed for entering temple (10 Jun)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Dalitkilled.htm
- Villagers still terrified (25 May)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Villagersstill.htm
- Police atrocities (23 May)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Policeatrocities.htm
- Dalits barred from temple (21 May)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Dalitsbarred.htm
- No justice for tortured labourer (21 May)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Nojustice.htm
- Well divides Dalits and upper castes (21 May)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Welldivides.htm
- Rape victim dies due to doctors' negligence (17 May)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Rapevictim.htm
- ‘Atrocities on SC/STs on the rise’ (17 May)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Atrocitieson.htm
- Officials accused of harassing Dalits (12 May)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Officialsaccused.htm
- Tribal dies due to starvartion (4 May)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Tribaldies.htm
- Leaders allege harassment of tribals (4 May)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Leadersallege.htm
- Minor Dalit girl raped at Kallipalli village (1 May)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/MinorDalit.htm
- Inter-caste marriage claims girl (26 Apr)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Inter-caste.htm
- Caste-based segregation at JNTU hostels: SFI (26 Apr)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Caste-based.htm
- Atrocities against Dalits surface in village near Bhopal (26 Apr)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Atrocitiesagainst.htm
- Clashes as Dalits stopped at tap (23 Apr)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Clashesas.htm
- Voting rights still elude most Dalits (23 Apr)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Votingrights.htm
- Stripped nude for offering water (19 Apr)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Strippednude.htm
- Untouchability in AP (18 Apr)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Untouchabilityin.htm
- Denial in death (16 Apr)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Denialin.htm
- 3 tribals killed in police firing (7 Apr)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/3tribals.htm
- `Untouchable' fined, beaten for entering Orissa village temple (7
Apr)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Untouchablefined.htm
- Old Dalit couple attacked at home (2 Apr)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/OldDalit.htm
- Vigil for Kamballapalli (14 Mar)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Vigilfor.htm
- Custodial Torture of Dalit Youths (14 Mar)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/CustodialTorture.htm
- Dalits houses torched, 15 arrested (7 Mar)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Dalitshouses.htm
- Lashes greet caste student (5 Mar)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Lashesgreetl.htm
- Starving the poor (27 Feb)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Starvingthe.htm
- Dalit Girl Victimised at Cochin University (19 Feb)
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/DalitGirl.htm
- Discriminating the distressed (19 Feb)
http://www.ambedkar.org/research/Discriminatingthe.htm
- Youth dies in custody,constable booked
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Youthdies.htm
- Quake can't shake caste system
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Quakecan.htm
- Ten Dalit Houses Set On Fire
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/TenDalit.htm
- Three Dalits hurt in attack
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/ThreeDalits.htm
- Dalit community alleges social boycott by villagers
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Dalitcommunity.htm
- 14-year-old Dalit girl raped
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/14-year-old.htm
- Booked for raping Dalit
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Bookedfor.htm
- Dalit beaten up for seeking money back
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Dalitbeaten1.htm
- 'Dalits denied entry in many temples'
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Dalitsdenied.htm
- 150 dalit families rendered landless
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/dalitfamilies.htm
- Four Dalits gunned down in Bihar
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Dalitsgunned.htm
- 3 Orissa tribals killed in police firing
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Orissatribals.htm
- SC woman raped
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/SCwoman.htm
- Alleged attacks on Dalits
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Allegedattacks.htm
- Court pulls up police for custodial torture
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Courtpulls.htm
- IITs: Doing Manu Proud
http://www.ambedkar.org/research/IITs.htm
- Discrimination against Koluru Dalits alleged - Dalit commits
suicide, Shinor tense
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Discriminationagainst.htm
- Assertion, Co-option and Marginalization of Dalits
http://www.ambedkar.org/research/Assertion.htm
- An instance of untouchablility in Channagiri taluk
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Aninstance.htm
- Scavengers: Mumbai's Neglected Workers
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Scavengers.htm
- Gang rape of dalit housewife flayed
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Gangrape.htm
- Witches exorcised with Bajrang Dal help
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Witchesexorcised.htm
- 15-year-old Dalit girl raped
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/15-year-oldDalit.htm
- Caste system main barrier to India's IT superpower ambitions?
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Castesystem.htm
- Dalit samiti condemns Neelur incident
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/samiticondemns.htm
- Acid attack on Dalit
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/overfishing.htm
- One held for raping Dalit girl
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Oneheld.htm
- Tribal schoolgirls sexually assaulted
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Tribalschoolgirls.htm
- 'Police atrocities' on tribals condemned
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Policeatrocities.htm
- Bihari girls sold to work in Punjab
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Biharigirls.htm
- Boy stripped, assaulted in Orissa village
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Boystripped.htm
- Dalit 'killed' in lock-up at Kurnool
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Dalitkilled.htm
- Dalit beaten up for stoning dog
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Dalitbeatenup.htm
- Solidarity With Sardar Buta Singh
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Solidarity.htm
- Three dalits killed in Bihar
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Threedalits.htm
- Dalit students humiliated
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/studentshumiliated.htm
- Orissa tribal group gheraos police station after attack
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Orissatribal.htm
- Sexploitation of an alarming nature
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Sexploitationof.htm
- Dalit students forced out of classrooms
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Dalitstudents.htm
- Deep prejudice
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Deepprejudice.htm
- Four dalits burnt alive in Rajasthan
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Fourdalits.htm
- Attack on Dalits: action sought against culprits
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Attackon.htm
- Atrocity against magistrate opens can of worms
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Policeatrocity.htm
- RPI activist shot dead in Mulund
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/RPIactivist.htm
- Dalit village still deserted
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Dalitvillage.htm
- Dalit branded witches, one dies after `torture'
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Dalitwidows.htm
- The bells of Guruvayoor
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Thebells.htm
- Vayalar Ravi to move court on temple issue
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/VayalarRavi.htm
- Dalit tortured by cops for three days
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Dalittortured.htm
- SC, STs face higher risk of poverty due to caste
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/facehigher.htm
- AIIMS chief biased against SC/STs
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/AIIMSchief.htm
- Dalit MLA's outrage over veedu remark
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Dalit%20MLA.htm
- Minister accused of raping tribal girl
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Ministeraccused.htm
- Dalits decry bid to hush up death casem
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Dalitsdecry.htm
- 'Discrimination' made IAS officer quit
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Discrimination.htm
- Death does not come as the end
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Deathdoes.htm
- Bihar's landless landlords die watching others..
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Biharslandless.htm
- 'Witch' paraded naked in Bihar
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Witchparaded.htm
- Dalit's death after police torture alleged
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Dalitsdeath.htm
- 'Govt apathy' towards women leads to suicide
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Govtapathy.htm
- Atrocities against Dalits high in Punjab
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Atrocities%20against.htm
- ABVP attack Dalit prof at varsity
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/ABVP%20attack.htm
Aurangabad, Aug 15: The 15-day-long lull of student activism at Dr
Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University ended on Monday when students
belonging to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad barged into the
cabin of professor of social sciences, Dr B H Kalyankar, a renowned
intellectual from the Maratha community and blackened his face, `to
teach him a lesson for attacking Hindusim.'
- Dalit judge moves SC over courtroom 'purification'
NEW DELHI: A Scheduled Caste judge in Allahabad has appealed in the
Supreme Court against his compulsory retirement in the aftermath of an
incident in which his courtroom was washed with `Ganga jal' by his
`upper' caste successor.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Dalit%20judge.htm
- Dalit boy beaten to death for plucking flowers
BAREILLY: A teenaged Dalit boy was allegedly beaten to death by the
nagar panchayat President of Fateh Ganj for plucking some flowers from
his garden
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Dalitbeaten.htm
- Girl tortured, burnt to death in UP
Lucknow: History probably repeated itself when a strikingly similar
incident, as Phoolan Devi's physical torture and humiliation two
decades ago, was reported from Azamgarh district in Eastern Uttar
Pradesh.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Girl%20tortured.htm
- Caste groups clash; cops use force
JALANDHAR, July 30 (UNI) -The demand for the release of a suspect in a
theft case from police custody snowballed into an inter-caste tension
at a city police station last night when two warring caste groups
exchanged brickbats and the police used force to quell the clash.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Caste%20groups.htm
- Five Dalits hacked to death
HYDERABAD: In a gruesome incident, five Dalits were hacked to death at
Surampalli village under Tekmal police limits of Medak district, some
100 km from here, on Thursday night
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Five%20Dalits.htm
- Communal clash sparks tension
AYAMKONDAN, JULY 20. Tension prevailed in Meensuriti village near
Jayamkondan in Perambalur district late last night following a
communal clash between Vanniyars and Dalits of the village.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Communal%20clash.htm
- Tribal family stripped for shooing away hens
BHUBANESWAR: Four members of a tribal family were stripped, beaten up
and made to parade naked before their fellow villagers in Chhatam, in
Orissa's tribal-dominated Sundergarh district.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Tribal%20family.htm
- Bihar Minister sacked
EMBARRASSED BY the charges of torture of two Dalits by Minister of
State for Cooperatives Lalit Yadav, Chief Minister Rabri Devi on
Monday promptly sacked him.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Bihar%20Minister.htm
- 32 kids rescued from bonded labour
MUMBAI: Following a raid by police officials along with Samarthan, a
Mumbai-based NGO, 32 children were rescued from Walope village near
Chiplun in Ratnagiri district.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/32%20kids.htm
- Life in Chains
Bonded Labour: Tortured and terrorised, five men suffered in fetters
in a stone quarry for two years
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Life%20in.htm
- A cry for justice
At the National Public Hearing on Dalit Human Rights in Chennai, the
country's most oppressed section narrates its tales of woe.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/A%20cry.htm
- Four-year-old girl beheaded for sacrifice
A 40-YEAR-old man allegedly 'sacrificed' a four-year-old girl on
Monday in Miragpur village, 30 km from Roorke. Only the head of the
victim has been recovered so far
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Four-year-old.htm
- Dalit girl hostel for sexual exploitation
PALAKKAD, JULY 2. The shocking revelations of sexual exploitation of
some inmates of the Government-run Agali Tribal Girls Hostel in the
tribal heartland of Attappady in Palakkad district resulting in a few
of them becoming pregnant has rocked Kerala, the most literate State.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Dalit%20girl.htm
- Action to be taken in killing of two Adivasis
he National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has
directed the collector and the superintendent of police of Dhar
district in Madhya Pradesh to take action against the police officials
responsible for killing two Adivasi youths in June.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Action%20to.htm
- Gujarat tribals fear losing grants
IN ITS eagerness to keep an eye on any possible conversions, the
Social Welfare Department of the Gujarat Government has made changes
in the application form for seeking grants.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Gujarat%20tribals.htm
- Dalit colony razed in Sonepat
SONEPAT: More than 100 kutcha and pucca houses were razed to the
ground by officials of the demolition squad with the help of the
police in RK Colony on the GT Road about eight km from here, on
Wednesday night.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Dalit%20colony.htm
- Becoming A ‘Servant Of God’
June 25 — You can tell the “servants of God” from the other Dalit
women outside the Hindu temple in Manvi, a village in northern
Karnataka, by their jewelry. They’re wearing red beaded necklaces with
silver and gold medallions.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Becoming%20A.htm
- Caste Struggle
June 25 — On paper, the people in the slum on Delhi’s Lodi Road don’t
even exist. The Dalits, or literally “broken people,” as members of
India’s Untouchable castes are now called, don’t show up on electoral
rolls, ration cards or water bills.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Caste%20Struggle.htm
- Brutal Murder of 3 Dalits
M.Puliangudi is a Village situated in Cuddalore District in Tamilnadu.
This village has a population of around 3000 in which about 300 people
are be Dalits and the remaining population belongs to Vanniyar
community. Vanniyars are the landed population.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Brutal%20Murder.htm
- Return to an abhorrent past
The shankaracharya of Puri, Nischalanand Saraswati, has said that neo-
converts to Hinduism should pray in separate temples. These swastik
temples, as they will be called, are to be for the exclusive use of
all those who have joined or rejoined the Hindu fold. Those 'lucky'
enough to be born Hindus can, of course, continue to pray in the
existing temples across India and the globe.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Return%20to.htm
- Low - cost for low caste
SHANKARACHARYA of Govardhan Peeth in Puri Jagatguru Nischalananda
Saraswati was in the news for "reconverting" 72 tribal Christians in
the same area where Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two
minor sons were roasted alive. Presumably, the conversions did not
contravene the special laws that exist in Orissa. Nobody should grudge
His Grace for his mission as long as he uses persuasion, and not
force.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Low%20-%20cost.htm
- Charges filed in Kambalapalli Dalit killings
BANGALORE: The Civil Rights Enforcement Cell (CRE) filed the
chargesheet last Thursday in the court of Civil Judge, Chintamani,
indicting 32 persons, including one Maddi Reddy, as the main accused
in the burning of seven dalits in Kambalapalli village in Chintamani
taluk of Kolar district in March this year. All the accused are now in
judicial custody.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Charges%20filed.htm
- 15 killed in Bihar caste violence
Fifteen persons were killed in two separate incidents of caste
violence in Nawada district of central Bihar last night.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/15%20killed.htm
- Two cases of Rape
Woman panch stripped for being raped in MP
NCW to intervene in Biswas rape case, Lalita
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Two%20cases.htm
- The drumbeats of oppression
In a village in Tamil Nadu's Pudukkottai district, Dalits are
subjected to a vicious attack for refusing to subject themselves to
rites of social oppression.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/The%20drumbeats.htm
- Murder of three Dalits in Cuddalore
The recent murder of three Dalits in Cuddalore district shows that
caste oppresion is a living reality in rural Tamil Nadu.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Murder%20of.htm
- Dalits and land issues
ON December 25, 1927, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar led a historic
mahasatyagraha to defy a ban imposed by caste Hindus on Dalits drawing
water from public sources. More than 10,000 Dalits participated in
it.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Dalits%20and%20land.htm
- Dalit killed by 4 upper caste persons
Police officials interrogate people witness to the murder of a dalit
youth in Amraiwadi area of Ahmedabad.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Dalit%20killed.htm
- Landlords exploit the drought-hit Dalits
Drought is driving Dalit women into the arms of landlords and
contractors. As most of their men have migrated in search of a
livelihood or been forced into bonded labour, the Dalit women fall
back on Thakurs, Chaudhary-Patels and Rabari-Desais in these trying
times.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Landlords%20exploit.htm
- Dalit woman gang-raped, paraded naked
FARIDKOT: A married, Dalit woman was gang-raped and paraded naked in
the village Tharajwala of Muktsar district because of her brother's
alleged involvement with a girl of the village.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Dalit%20woman.htm
- DSS activist says he was kidnapped
Dalit Sanghrasha Samiti activist Manjunath Kundar, who was missing for
about 15 days and later found near Sakaleshpur, has alleged that his
political opponents in connivance with the police, masterminded his
''kidnapping``
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/DSS%20activist.htm
- Dalit farm worker killed in caste conflict
MEERUT: A 40-year-old dalit agricultural labourer was tortured and
humiliated before being shot dead in front of his wife and others at
Kabaraut village, 35 km from Muzaffarnagar, allegedly by some
influential persons, on Tuesday evening.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/worker%20killed.htm
- Nailing evidence-Police cap under a dead man
Uttar Pradesh: The scene at the wheat fields along the national
highway in Basai village was gory on May 2 morning. Villagers going
for work saw five bodies soaked in blood. Vijay Singh, Jaipal Singh,
Satbir Singh and SugreevÑall Dalits of the villageÑwere dead, but
another Dalit, Santhosh was still hanging on to life, though his neck
had a deep gash. He was rushed to hospital.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Nailing%20evidence.htm
- 7 hurt in caste clash near Hoskote
Seven persons were injured and two huts destroyed following clashes
between Caste Hindus and Dalits in Hoskote Taluk, the hotbed of
political and caste-based conflicts in Bangalore Rural dis-trict, on
Tuesday night.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/7%20hurt.htm
- Dalit killings cause concern in Uttar Pradesh
Two recent incidents involving killing of dalits by members of the
upper caste have brought under fire the Bharatiya Janata Party-led
coalition government in Uttar Pradesh.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Dalit%20killings.htm
- SI guns down four Dalits in Uttar Pradesh
Angry at his daughter eloping with a Dalit, a police sub-inspector
avenged the humiliation by killing four of the latter`s family.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/SI%20guns.htm
- The carcass collectors of Rann
Ever since animals started dying in the drought, the only way to
collect the carcasses and get it surveyed has been through people from
this Dalit community.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/carcass%20collectors.htm
- Caste off!!
One of the tragedies of our history books is that they do not look at
history holistically, but rather as specific events of battles won or
lost and so on. In the bargain, we fail to learn our lessons
completely, which is perhaps the primary purpose of reading history.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Caste%20off.htm
- Water shortage re-ignites caste clashes
AMRELI (Gujarat), APRIL 27. As the mercury soars and water resources
dry up, clashes over collecting water in the drought- hit areas of
rural Gujarat are becoming common. And with that has returned with a
bang the caste consciousness, which was slowly getting blurred.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Water%20shortage.htm
- Double infliction on Dalits
Drought has failed as a great leveller of the financial status of
individuals here, as farmers who take to agricultural or manual labour
stand divided. Even in hunger, the Dalits are not equal to the upper
castes in the backward Rangareddy district in Telangana.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Double%20infliction.htm
- Four Dalits gunned down in Bihar
At least 4 Dalits were gunned down, 3 others received serious injuries
and more than a dozen houses were burnt by upper castes in Khairahni
village under the jurisdiction of Nokha police station in Rohtas
district of central Bihar during the wee hours today.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Four%20Dalits%20gunned.htm
- Deprived of their due
A study highlights the flouting of the norms of reservation for the
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in appointments to
institutions of higher learning.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Deprived.htm
- Dalit bridegroom dismounted from mare
Riding a mare in a wedding procession still proves to be a nightmare
for many a Dalit bridegrooms in Rajasthan. A Dalit bridegroom was
reportedly dismounted from the mare and stones were thrown at the
'baaratis` injuring four of them at Sardada village of Deoli tehsil in
Tonk district on Wednesday.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Dalit%20bridegroom.htm
- Untouchables remain victims of persecution
MADRAS, Apr 21: India's dalits, or "untouchables," remain wide-spread
victims of persecution, of-ten with state collusion, a two-day public
hearing here concluded Thursday, reports AFP.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/RS%20adjourned.htm
- Landlords attack dalits, burn houses
CUDDAPAH, APRIL 19. Upper caste landlords have attacked dalits and set
ablaze 30 houses belonging to the latter, near Rajupalem in B. Kodur
mandal.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/Landlords%20attack.htm
-7 Dalits burnt alive in Karnataka caste clash
KOLAR: Seven persons, including three women, were burnt alive and one
person was stabbed to death in a major flare-up of caste-related
violence at Kambalpally village in Karnataka's Kolar district on
Saturday night, police said on Sunday.
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/hl/7%20burnt%20alive.htm
Woman Stripped, Killed
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Woman%20Stripped_Killed.htm
20 Dalits injured in mob attack
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/20_Dalits_injured_in_mob_attack.htm
Priest slaps Dalit, ties him with rope
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/_ties_him_with_rope.htm
A temple entangled in clash between castes
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/A_temple_entangled_in_clash_between_castes.htm
Another batch of bonded labourers set free
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Another_batch_of_bonded_labourers_set_free.htm
Caste factor in delivery of justice highlighted
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Caste_factor_in_delivery_of_justice_highlighted.htm
Cry of the oppressed goes unheard
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Cry_of_the_oppressed_goes_unheard-Deccan.htm
Dalit mother raped for son’s ‘criminal’ affair
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/DALIT_MOTHER_RAPED.htm
Tragic end to inter-caste marriage
http://www.ambedkar.org/News/Tragic_end_to_inter-caste_marriage.htm
http://www.ambedkar.org/crime.htm
Human Rights Watch
http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1999/india/index.htm
Amnesty International
http://www.amnesty.org/en/features-news-and-updates
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/06/0602_030602_untouchables.html
bademiyansubhanallah
NEW DELHI, March 16 (APP) Nitin Gadkari, a new young leader of
Bhartiya Janata Party gave his party a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
(RSS) colour when he inducted over a dozen Sang men in the new
organisational set up.
BJP, which was defeated in the last Lok Sabha elections is undergoing
organisational changes to give it a new face – a young face by
restructuring the party. Nitin Gadkari was also appointed as young
leader in the main opposition party a few months back.
Nitin Gadkari, who is also a man from RSS appointed emerging Hindutva
icon Varun Gandhi, known for his hate speech against Muslims during
last Lok Sabha elections as party’s one of the fifteen secretaries.
Tarun Vijay, former editor of RSS mouthpiece Panchajanya, became one
of the six BJP spokespersons. Another RSS man, Ram Nath Kovind, who
headed the BJPs scheduled castes cell, was also appointed as a party
spokesperson.
Former general secretary (organisation) Sanjay Joshi, another RSS man
is expected to be taken in the party.
Ram Lal, a RSS swayamsevak will continue to hold a powerful position
of general secretary (organisation). Of the 10 general secretaries
appointed by Gadkari, four are RSS men. They include, besides Ram Lal,
Narendra Singh Tomar, Thavar Chand Ghelot and Jagat Prakash Nadda.
Some of the RSS men inducted into the party’s organisational setup
include Bhagat Singh Koshiyari (vice-president), Kirit Somaya
(secretary), Kaptan Singh Solanki (national executive member) and Nana
Shamkule (national executive member). Vinay Katiyar, a hardliner, was
made a vice-president.
Senior party leader Yashwant Sinha could not find any prominent
position in the new organisational set up.
Bollywood actress Hema Malini and television actress Smriti Irani were
inducted as vice-president and secretary respectively. Actress Kiron
Kher (wife of Anupam Kher) was also brought in as a member of the
party’s national executive with a purpose to draw crowd.
The new set up reflected the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan
Bhagwat’s diktat on the need to give the party a youthful look.
For the first time as many as 12 women national office-bearers have
been appointed in a list of 36 that includes 11 vice-presidents, 10
general secretaries (not counting 2 joint general secretaries) and 15
secretaries.
http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=98718&Itemid=2
Opinion » Editorial
March 18, 2010 New-look Team Gadkari
Even as the Women's Reservation Bill struggles to stay the course, the
Nitin Gadkari-led Bharatiya Janata Party has demonstrated exemplary
support to the cause of female empowerment by allocating close to a
third of its party posts to women. This is a message as much to the
Bill's biggest and loudest champion — the Congress party — as to the
obstructionist Yadav troika of Mulayam Singh, Lalu Prasad, and Sharad
Yadav. Although the Congress was the first to decide in principle that
women should get a critical share of party posts, Congresswomen
continue to be a largely invisible lot. In allocating generous space
to women at various levels in the party hierarchy, the BJP has shown
that gender justice need not become hostage to legislative battles.
Team Gadkari also scores in bringing a blend of experience and youth
to the table. Old hands expectedly dominate the party's parliamentary
board while a fair sprinkling of young people, drawn from diverse
social backgrounds, have made it to the lower echelons of power.
When Mr. Gadkari beat competition from a range of heavyweight insiders
to become the BJP chief, not many thought him capable of finding his
way in the factional minefield that the BJP has become in recent
years. The new incumbent was inexperienced in realpolitik, and
moreover, the shadow of Jhandewalan loomed large over his appointment.
In the event, Mr. Gadkari has proved that he has a better grip of
politics and party affairs than most of the veterans. The confidence
has begun to show — especially in Parliament where Arun Jaitley and
Sushma Swaraj have emerged as formidable team leaders. It was at Mr.
Jaitley's instance that the Women's Reservation Bill came to be
debated before being put to vote in the Rajya Sabha. His speech in
support of the Bill reflected bipartisanship of a kind sorely lacking
in Indian political discourse. More importantly — without prejudice to
what this newspaper thinks about the BJP's disintegrative political
programme and ideology — it came across recently as a sober party
capable of making its point skilfully, without resorting to drama and
bad behaviour. There is also a flip side to the new thrust. Team
Gadkari includes the disagreeable and intemperate Varun Gandhi, who
has been rewarded with the prize post of party secretary. The
accommodation of the young man from a famous lineage, whose vitriol
against Muslims fetched him a prison stay during the 2009 general
election, is a concession to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. As long
as the BJP remains a child of the shadowy RSS, it will not be able to
resist the temptation to play communal politics — which has proved to
be its undoing again and again.
Keywords: Bharatiya Janata Party, Nitin Gadkari, Congress party, Arun
Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Comments:
While complementing Mr.Gadkari, the editorial couldn't resist the
temptation to have a dig at BJP's ideology, its RSS connection and of
course Varun Gandhi. Did BJP, while in power at the Centre, do any
harm to the Muslims. Of course there were the Gujarat riots during
that period. But what happened in Gujarat was not different from the
anti-Sikh riots by Congressmen after Indira Gandhi's assasination. But
the latter was long forgotten by the media, while Gujarat and one of
Varun Gandhi's election speeches remain a weapon in the armoury of the
media to beat BJP with. When nearly a billion people of the country
are reeling under the impact of prices of essential commodities going
through the roof, the media is not agitated. It allows the government
to get away with lame excuses and no action. But when a garland of
notes was given to Mayawathi by her supporters the media was busy
jeering at her. When the investigators called Chief Minister Modi as
part of the investigation of the Gujarat riots, a gleeful media had
nothing else to talk about for days. The media seems to think that the
opposition is a nuisance and a road block for progrss. The fourth
estate is clearly forgetting its mission. A post script: this writer
is not a BJP or a BSP supporter.
from: K.Vijayakumar
Posted on: Mar 18, 2010 at 12:30 IST
http://beta.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article253979.ece
NEW DELHI, March 18, 2010 Sharad Pawar favours 33 per cent quota for
women
Gargi Parsai
PTI Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar at the Parliament House in
New Delhi. Photo: PTI
Putting at rest all speculation about his views on the Women’s
Reservation Bill, Nationalist Congress Party leader and a key ally of
the United Progressive Alliance government, Sharad Pawar, said here on
Thursday that he favoured a 33 per cent reservation for women in the
Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies. ``The Bill should be passed [in
the Lok Sabha] as it is,’’ he said.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the Kharif Campaign, 2010,
here on Thursday, Mr. Pawar said there is no reservation for
minorities or the Other Backward Class under the Constitution.
``Therefore, first let the Bill be passed with 33 per cent reservation
for women. We don’t want the quota to be reduced,’’ he categorically
said.
To a question, Mr. Pawar said he did have a talk with Samajwadi Party
leader Mulayam Singh (who is insisting for a quota within quota or for
a reduced percentage of reservation for women) but as far as he was
concerned, he does not want the quota of 33 per cent to be reduced.
Asked about the controversy over the comments made by former Congress
spokesman Satyavrat Chaturvedi, Mr. Pawar said, ``that chapter is
closed. These things can happen.’’
Asked if he was seeking an apology from Mr. Chaturvedi, who has since
been divested of his position as a Congress spokesman, Mr Pawar said,
``No.’
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article254505.ece
KOLKATA, March 18, 2010 Initiative to ensure menstrual hygiene among
rural women
Ananya Dutta
When women in rural areas are asked to spend Rs.15 on a packet of nine
sanitary napkins, they respond by saying they would rather continue to
use rags and spend the money on their husbands or children.
But the Gender Hygiene Programme (GHP) launched here three years ago
is attempting to change this attitude towards menstrual hygiene. The
programme, under way in five districts in West Bengal, involves self-
help groups (SHG) manufacturing inexpensive sanitary towels from
cotton and tissue paper. The napkins are then sold by the same women
to others in the village.
The set-up requires a capital of Rs.1,600 and assures the women
involved, an average income of Rs.900 a month. It may not be the most
attractive economic option available to an SHG, but it is self-
sustaining with a steady source of income. At the same time, it
promotes hygiene, said Dhrubajyoti Ghosh, GHP project director and an
environmental sanitation engineer.
The programme suffered hiccups with some partner non-governmental
organisations backing out or some SHGs closing shop and even had
issues with quality control, but after three years, the GHP has been
able to come up with a standardised product.
“The pads made by us are the cheapest option available and, at the
same time, are marketed without providing any subsidy,” Dr. Ghosh
said.
Even though the Indian Council of Social Science Research is
responsible for research and the implementation of the GHP, and the
programme is backed by the State government. There is no subsidy
involved.
However, the government set-up is essential in promoting the programme
as ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers and women involved
with the Integrated Child Development Services are being roped in to
spread the message. The district administration in Bankura is now
trying to induct all 32,000 women from various SHGs as users.
“Implementing such a scheme requires both administrative backing and
political will,” said Ashish Sinha, a Bankura district administration
official.
However, Dr. Ghosh felt the issue of menstrual health must have a
wider approach. “The total sanitation programme has been going on for
about 30 years, but there is a need to redefine sanitation.”
No one has ever considered the safe disposal of menstrual fluids, Dr.
Ghosh said.
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article253925.ece
March 18, 2010 Women's Bill
Women should not look at the reservation Bill as empowerment. Do we
seriously believe that a hard working woman will contest elections?
Will the political parties give her a ticket?
Only women with strong political and financial backgrounds will be
brought to the forefront and allowed to be a part of the legislature.
The plight of poor women will remain unchanged.
Pooja Panickar, Kozhikode
The political support for the women's quota Bill should not cease with
it being passed. Money and background should not be criterions in the
selection of candidates. Women from all sections, particularly
underprivileged sections, should be given chances; then only will the
need for having such a reservation be met. The problems of the
underprivileged sections will be addressed only when they are
represented.
Swarnalatha, Omalur
Reserving seats for women in the legislature is acting out of pity
instead of letting women come to power on their own potential. Hard
work will be degraded by a sense of entitlement. Let merit prevail
irrespective of sex.
Solung Khya Sonam, Itanagar
It is ironical that Parliament, which was debating the women's quota
Bill just a week ago, is now fighting over the currency garland
offered to a woman Chief Minister. Valuable time of the august body is
being misappropriated for such non-issues. Nobody seems to bother
about the unattended legislative business.
Newspapers should republish historic debates and discussions in
Parliament from their archives to pave the way for healthy debates in
Parliament.
Rajeswari Janakiraman, Chennai
http://beta.thehindu.com/opinion/letters/article254055.ece
KOCHI, March 18, 2010 Divorced Muslim women entitled to maintenance
Special Correspondent
A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Wednesday ruled that a
divorced Muslim woman's right to claim maintenance under Section 125
of the Criminal Procedure Code did not stand “extinguished” if payment
under Section 3 of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce)
Act 1986 had not been made by her former husband.
The Bench comprising Justice R. Basant and Justice M.C. Hari Rani made
it clear that a divorced Muslim woman would be entitled to claim
maintenance from her former husband till she remained a divorcee.
However, her remarriage or actual payment of maintenance or fair
provision under Section 3 of the Act shall “extinguish” her right to
claim maintenance under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The court ruled that a pronouncement of talaq remained valid only if
attempts for reconciliation by two arbitrators in terms of Islamic
laws were made before such pronouncement.
If such efforts for reconciliation failed, it shall be decided that
there had been a “reasonable cause” for such divorce.
The reasonableness of such substantive cause for divorce could not be
justifiable by a court.
The court made this ruling while dealing with a Muslim divorce case.
The court observed that it was assumed that a Muslim man could
unilaterally end his marriage by pronouncing talaq without the
intervention of a court.
This provision was arbitrary. Though it might offend the notion of
gender justice, such practice was well settled in the country. Such a
divorce was considered perfectly valid.
The Supreme Court did not appear to have addressed the issue so far.
The obligation of hapless Muslim women to suffer polygamy and
arbitrary termination of marriage by pronouncing talaq without court
intervention appeared to offend the fundamental rights guaranteed
under the Constitution.
The court observed that these issues would have to be addressed by the
secular State.
The issues could not be pushed under the carpet by the legislature or
the constitutional courts. The court expressed the hope that the
legislatures would soon address the issue.
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article254054.ece
NEW DELHI, March 17, 2010 Sushma: we’ll attend all-party meet on
women’s Bill with open mind
Neena Vyas
The Hindu The BJP will have an open mind on possible amendments the
govt. may propose before the Women's Bill is taken up in the Lok
Sabha, party leader Sushma Swaraj has said.
Related
Politics of Women's Reservation Bill
No proposal to dilute women’s Bill: Congress
No dissent note by Lalu Prasad on Women’s Bill
All views can be considered: Pawar
Women’s Bill will be tabled next month, says Moily
India takes a giant leap for womankind
The 14 years journey of Women’s Reservation Bill
Fearing virtual revolt, BJP cracks the whip
Mulayam fears male representation will dwindle in Parliament
Women get one-third share in Gadkari team
Barack Obama and women MPs do not alone mean equality and justice
Remark being interpreted as willingness on BJP’s part to dilute
provisions
In the Rajya Sabha the Bharatiya Janata Party may have dittoed the
Women's Reservation Bill as presented by the government, but it will
have an open mind on possible amendments the government may propose
before the measure is taken up in the Lok Sabha.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj was
categorical on this when asked whether the party would stick to the
position it adopted in the Rajya Sabha or approach the subject with an
open mind, if and when an all-party meeting was called.
“We will go to the all-party meeting with an open mind,” Ms. Swaraj
said, refusing to discuss hypothetical questions what the party's
stand would be if there was a proposal to dilute the 33 per cent
reservation to 20 or 25 per cent or if the issue of sub-quotas for
backward caste women or other groups were to come up.
The “open mind” remark has already begun to be interpreted as a
willingness on the part of the BJP to dilute the provisions. For, the
party has in the last few years been a strong votary of increasing
women's representation by making it mandatory for political parties to
give at least 33 per cent ticket to women, an idea rejected by the
Left and described by Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun
Jaitley as a non-starter for increasing women's representation.
The BJP has been very clear that it will not support any sub-quota for
Muslim women as it is opposed to any religion-based reservation. On
the backward caste quota, the party will take a stand as and when, and
if at all, the issue comes up. Now there are no quotas for backward
castes and therefore there cannot be a backward caste sub-quota for
women.
Party leaders are worried that while the BJP is trying to take some
credit for supporting the women's Bill in the Rajya Sabha — without
its support the Bill could not have been adopted — it would invite the
charge, as would the Congress, of short-changing women if it were to
agree to any dilution.
On Wednesday, Ms. Swaraj and Mr. Jaitley, in a joint statement, said:
“The BJP was committed to the Bill. The BJP lent a loud and clear
support but also wanted the dignity of the House maintained … and it
was the Opposition-dominated House that had approved the Bill despite
mismanagement by the government.” .
But the party's worry now is that many of its MPs do not want it to be
proactive on this subject. They have in fact charged the leaders with
“helping the Congress” push the Bill through, when there was no need
for the Opposition party to do so. If the issue were to be prised open
once again at an all-party meeting or at a series of consultations
with parties, the BJP would have to calibrate its stand, keeping its
commitment to the Bill and yet not be seen to be actively pushing it
as its MPs do not want that.
As of now, the party leadership is not only supporting the 33 per cent
reservation Bill but is also justifying to the hilt the rotation of
reserved seats. Mr. Jaitley, in fact, was one of the few speakers who
lauded this aspect of the Bill, much to the annoyance of fellow BJP
MPs.
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article253976.ece
New Delhi, March 17, 2010 No dissent note by Lalu Prasad on Women’s
Bill
Special Correspondent
THE HINDU Congress Spokesman Jayanthi Natarajan is confident that the
Women's Bill will get passed in the Lok Sabha in its original form.
Related
NEWS
Sharad Pawar favours 33 per cent quota for women
Sushma: we’ll attend all-party meet on women’s Bill with open mind
Politics of Women's Reservation Bill
No proposal to dilute women’s Bill: Congress
The Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad did not give any dissent
note to the Women's Reservation Bill when it was discussed in the
Parliamentary Standing Committee.
In fact, Mr. Prasad, who is a member of the Committee, attended only
one meeting, the Congress said on Wednesday. However, the dissent note
over reserving 33 per cent for women in the Lok Sabha and State
Assemblies came from two members of the Samajwadi Party.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj
Party have been opposing the Bill from the beginning and insisting on
a quota for the backward class and Muslim women within the quota.
“Only two members from the Samajwadi Party, Virendra Bhatia and
Shailendra Kumar, gave a note for reducing the quota from 33 per cent
to 20 per cent. A similar demand was made by some members of the
Congress also, but unofficially,'' a party leader said.
At a routine party briefing, Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan
said the Women's Reservation Bill would not be diluted and it would be
brought and passed in the Lok Sabha in its original form.
“We are fully confident that all our allies will be with us and the
Women's Reservation Bill will be passed in the Lok Sabha,'' she said,
ruling out any reduction in the quota despite the Nationalist Congress
Party suggesting that a reduction could lead to a consensus.
“No pressure from allies”
Denying pressure from the allies to reduce the percentage of
reservation, Ms. Natarajan said it would be discussed with the allies.
But the government was committed to passing the Bill in the present
form.
She said the Standing Committee on the Bill had considered all aspects
and come to the conclusion that the Bill should be passed as it was.
Any changes, if required, could be introduced subsequently.
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article253928.ece
Volume 22 - Issue 24, Nov. 19 - Dec. 02, 2005
India's National Magazine
from the publishers of THE HINDU
LEGISLATION
In defence of women
T.K. RAJALAKSHMI
A new Bill proposes amendments to the existing laws to widen the scope
of the definition of rape and to deal with other forms of sexual
assault on women and minors.
SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY
Girija Vyas, Chairperson of the National Commission for Women,
addressing the media at Parliament House in August following a gang
rape on a bus in Najafgarh.
IN 1996, the minor daughter of a government employee was molested by
her father and his friends. The incident evoked public outrage and
drew the attention of women's organisations, lawyers' groups and
concerned individuals to the need for a system to deal with child
molestation and child rape, but nothing much happened in the case. It
was not rape, the court averred, as there was no "penile-vaginal"
penetration. The culprits were punished under Section 354 of the
Indian Penal Code (IPC), which provided for a maximum punishment of
two years.
Laws relating to rape and sexual assault have remained more or less
unchanged since the introduction of the IPC in 1860. It was only in
1983 that some amendments to the rape law was made. Now, for the first
time, a comprehensive piece of legislation covering almost every
aspect of sexual assault against women and minors has been drafted at
the initiative of the All India Democratic Women's Association
(AIDWA). It is called the Criminal Law Amendment Bill. It is based on
the 172nd report of the Law Commission to amend laws relating to
sexual assault in Sections 375, 376, 354 and 509 of the IPC, the
relevant sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, and
the Indian Evidence Act. When it becomes law, the legislation will be
called the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2000.
The Bill recommends changes in the CrPC and the Evidence Act in order
to make the procedures fair and sensitive to victims of sexual
assault, including minors. The National Commission for Women (NCW) has
backed this legislation. At a two-day national consultation organised
by the NCW, the draft Bill was discussed in detail in the presence of
women activists, lawyers and senior police officers from various
States.
Broadly based on two Bills, one framed by the Law Commission in its
172nd Report, 2000, and the other drafted by a sub-committee of the
NCW in 1992, the Bill drafted by Kirti Singh, president of the Delhi
unit of the AIDWA, seeks to redress almost all the weaknesses in the
present law. Women's organisations have found from experience that the
existing laws neither define nor reflect all kinds of sexual assault
undergone by women. There is a standard notion of rape - the
penetrative one - while other forms of penetration by other parts of
the body as well as by objects have never come under the ambit of
sexual assault. Neither has protracted sexual assault or incest been
addressed adequately. Recognising these lacunae, the Supreme Court in
Sakshi versus Union of India had suggested that the legislature bring
about the required changes. Subsequently, the apex court directed the
Law Commission to examine the law and suggest changes.
The draft Bill seeks to do away with outdated notions of "outraging
the modesty" of women, embodied in some sections dealing with
molestation and eve-teasing. Supreme Court advocate Kirti Singh, also
an advocate of the Supreme Court, said that the Bill was a complete
overhaul of the IPC sections concerned. The 1983 amendments did not
question the patriarchal definition of rape. Talking to Frontline, she
said that the piece of legislation sought to incorporate the notion of
rape as experienced by women themselves, and not what a man perceived
rape to be. Every aspect, be it penetrative sexual assault or non-
penetrative sexual assault as applicable to every possible category of
victim and even marital rape, has been covered in the Bill. It is a
progressive piece of legislation with extensive procedural amendments
applicable to every kind of sexual assault. The Bill is particularly
sensitive to sexual assaults on minors.
THE definition of rape under Section 375 has been enlarged,
incorporating international legal standards. The offence is now called
sexual assault rather than rape, at the suggestion of the Law
Commission and the NCW sub-committee. However, the Bill drafted by
AIDWA has a more nuanced approach to sexual assault, defining it as an
offence committed by a man against a woman, rather than making it
gender-neutral. It also distinguishes this from child sexual assault,
which can be committed on a child of either sex by a man or a woman.
Sub-sections within Section 375 deal in detail with forms of sexual
assault on women as well as minors.
Significantly, the Bill redefines consent whereby the absence of
resistance cannot be deemed as consent. Consent is only the
unequivocal voluntary agreement by a person to engage in sexual
activity. This is important because under the existing law, if a woman
alleging rape does not have any injuries on her person, she is often
disbelieved and the absence of her consent is not considered at all.
Also, while raising the age of consent to 18 years, the Bill makes the
provision that consent would be a valid defence if the complainant was
between 16 and 18 years and the accused not more than five years
older. The Bill, therefore, recognises the prevalence of consensual
sexual activity between young people.
The Bill recognises new categories of aggravated sexual assault, in
addition to the already existing ones on custodial rape introduced in
1983. Under the existing law, punishment for the general category of
rape is a minimum of seven years in jail and 10 years for custodial/
aggravated rapes. The Bill now provides for cases of sexual assault on
a minor below 16 years, on a pregnant woman, and on a person afflicted
with mental or physical disability. Also included is sexual assault by
a person in a position of economic, political or social dominance and
aggravated sexual assault of a persistent nature that has the
potential to cause bodily harm.
One other important and somewhat debatable aspect is that the Bill
proposes to take away from the courts the power of discretion to award
less than the statutory minimum punishment. The Bill calls this a
"seemingly harsh amendment", but considers it necessary in the context
of courts awarding much less than the statutory minimum punishment for
reasons that the women's movement has found unjustifiable. And there
have been cases where no reasons were cited at all when courts awarded
light sentences. During discussions on the Bill at the NCW convention,
there seemed to be no overwhelming support for the death penalty for
those accused of sexual assault.
The Bill also deals with marital rape and proposes punishment for rape
within marriage. It proposes the deletion of Section 354 of the IPC
dealing with molestation, on the grounds that it does not make a
distinction between an adult and a minor. Instead, it has suggested
introducing Section 376 D to deal with all possible ramifications of
unlawful sexual conduct. The Bill holds that molesting a minor and an
adult are two different crimes and the punishment accordingly should
be different.
Instead of the definition of molestation as "sexual assault committed
with the intention of outraging the modesty of a woman" in Section
354, the Bill defines molestation as "touching with a sexual purpose
and without the consent of the woman". A higher punishment has been
recommended for molestation of minors by people who may be de jure or
de facto guardians of the victims.
Similarly, the Bill redefines Section 509 which deals with sexual
harassment. As in molestation, sexual harassment is now punishable
only when it is done with the intention of outraging the modesty of a
woman. The Bill states that words and gestures made with a sexual
purpose are punishable and that sub-sections under the redefined
Section 509 would deal with such offences committed against minors as
well.
Asha Sinha, Inspector-General of Police, CID, Jharkhand, said that one
reason for the non-registration of cases of sexual assault was the
insensitivity of both the police and the public. She explained that
sexual assault was seen as a social crime and so successful handling
of such cases was not usually seen as a reflection of policemen's
performance. The police in Jharkhand recently started a grievance cell
and she recommended fast-track courts and compensation for each
category of violence against women.
It was learnt that Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, who was present
on the first day of the convention, expressed his appreciation of the
comprehensiveness of the Bill, which is expected to be tabled during
the winter session.
Almost 10 years have passed since the infamous Jhaku case, as the 1996
incident came to be known, but assaults against minors continue
unabated. An analysis of the rapes committed over the past decade
shows that 30 per cent of the crimes have been committed against
minors.
Statistics of the National Crime Records Bureau show that in 2003,
there were more than 15,000 cases of rape and 32,000 cases of
molestation. There is reason to believe that many crimes against
women, including rape, do not get reported or registered because of
the stigma that the victims could attract. Many cases do not reach the
trial stage for lack of evidence.
The proposed amendments are expected not only to increase the
reporting of sexual assaults, but also to facilitate speedy trials and
convictions. While women's groups are aware that law by itself may not
be able to bring about the required drop in the rate of crimes against
women, they hope that the amendments, if passed by Parliament, will go
a long way in challenging social stereotypes.
http://www.flonnet.com/fl2224/stories/20051202002910500.htm
Volume 18 - Issue 14, July. 07 - 20, 2001
India's National Magazine
from the publishers of THE HINDU
WOMEN'S RIGHTS
An inequitous proposal
A proposed Bill on the removal of ceiling on monthly maintenance
payable to wives and other dependents as laid down in Section 125 of
the CrPC leaves Muslim women out of its purview.
T.K. RAJALAKSHMI
in New Delhi
IN a move that could benefit women faced with the prospect of divorce
and possible destitution, the Union Law Ministry has decided to
introduce a Bill that would seek to amend Section 125 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The amendment would remove the existing
ceiling of Rs.500 on the monthly maintenance payable for such women,
and for dependents such as parents and children. The ceiling was fixed
in 1955 and retained in CrPC, 1973. The amendment would also seek to
expedite the grant of interim maintenance.
RAJEEV BHATT
A group of Muslim women. The issue of maintenance for them has to go
beyond political considerations.
An increase in maintenance has been a long-standing demand of women's
movements and was articulated as early as in 1974 - in the Committee
on the Status of Women in India report. The CSWI report, "Towards
Equality", stated: "The inclusion of the right to maintenance in the
Criminal Procedure Code has the great advantage of making the remedy
both speedy and cheap. The underlying principle is to prevent
vagrancy, which usually leads to commission of crimes. From this point
of view, it seems unjustified to limit the total amount of maintenance
for all dependent persons to Rs.500."
Amendments to provisions in four acts, namely, Section 36 of the
Indian Divorce Act, 1869, Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
and Section 39 of the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act 1936 and Section
39 of the Special Marriages Act, will be made so that applications to
the court for interim maintenance are disposed of within 60 days of
their filing.
However, once again there is silence on the issue of payment of
maintenance to Muslim women. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on
Divorce) Act, 1986 that became law in the wake of the Shah Bano
judgment, had stirred a debate over its adequacy with regard to
payment of maintenance for Muslim women. The Supreme Court in Mohd
Ahmad Khan v Shah Bano Begam and others held that if a divorced woman
is able to maintain herself, the husband's liability ceases with the
expiry of the period of iddat (three menstrual courses after the date
of divoce, that is, roughly three months), but if she is unable to
maintain herself after the period, she is entitled to have recourse to
Section 125 CrPC. This decision led to a controversy and in order to
dilute the judgment in the Shah Bano case, the Muslim Women's Bill,
later to become the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce)
Act, 1986, was passed. Women's organisations are critical of the Act.
They are opposed to it primarily because it denies Muslim women the
option of exercising their rights under the provisions of secular
legislation, which the CrPC is.
Women's groups and secular-minded people hold the view that it is
unfair to continue to deprive Muslim women the benefits of the secular
provisions of the Acts. The first time around, the Muslim Women's Act
had deprived Muslim women, on grounds of religion, of the rights under
Section 125 CrPC. The Act was seen as violative of the principle of
equality before law. According to "Judgment Call", a document
published by Majlis, a legal advocacy centre based in Mumbai, the Act
provided two sets of remedies depending upon the jurisdiction of the
High Court. While in some States she was entitled to a fair and
reasonable provision, in addition to maintenance during the iddat
period, in others her right to maintenance was confined to the iddat
period. The 1986 Act has been challenged in the Supreme Court. The All
India Muslim Personal Law Board (AMPLB) has, however, defended it.
Given the circumstances under which the Act came into being and the
mixed support it received from members of the Muslim community as well
as organisations of women and advocacy groups, it was evident that the
issue would be resurrected. In fact the debate over a uniform civil
code, reforms in personal laws and the applicability of secular
legislation to everybody never really died down. When minority
politics and issues took firm shape in the 1990s following the
demolition of the Babri Masjid, the issue of providing for fair
maintenance to divorced Muslim women was put on the backburner.
The Centre for Women's Develop-ment Studies (CWSD), while welcoming
the removal of the ceiling on maintenance and other legal reforms,
regretted the continued exclusion of Muslim women from "benefits under
a law that they had enjoyed since 1898, particularly when these
amendments are contemplated to be extended to the Hindu, Parsi, Indian
Divorce and Special Marriages Acts." The Joint Women's Programme (JWP)
and the Muslim Women's Forum wanted the benefits to be extended to
Muslim women. JWP secretary Jyotsana Chat-terjee said that the
organisation would make a representation to the Law Minister on this
issue. The All India Democratic Women's Association has held that
while the space for secular legislation should be expanded, existing
personal laws should undergo reforms so as to become more gender-
just. Indu Agnihotri of AIDWA recalled that a private member's bill in
the Lok Sabha, moved some years ago by Sushila Gopalan of the
Communist Party of India (Marxist), had sought the removal of the
ceiling on maintenance.
AIDWA in a statement welcomed the Law Ministry's initiative and
suggested that the law be strengthened by providing that, in the event
of conflicting claims about a husband's income, the wife's statement
should be accepted and the onus would be on the husband to disprove
it. It suggested changes in the disqualifying norms for receiving
maintenance.
Regretting the exclusion of Muslim women from the purview of the
proposed amendments, Sona Khan, a Supreme Court advocate, questioned
the constitutionality of the 1986 Act. One of the advocates who
appeared in the Shah Bano case, she told Frontline that the denial to
Muslim women of benefits available to other divorced women under
secular provisions was discriminatory. She maintained that Section 127
(3) (b) CrPC ensured that if a woman received any relief after
divorce, under any customary or personal law, "she shall not be
entitled to the benefit of seeking maintenance under Section 125."
Khan claimed that the dower or mehr (a consideration for entering into
the contract of marriage and payable by the husband) that the Muslim
woman had a right to receive either at the time of marriage or anytime
later, has been unfairly equated with the right to maintenance under
Section 125. The Shah Bano judgment had interpreted and justified the
secular provisions by using the provisions under personal and
customary law, and according to Khan the judgment is law even today as
it has not been overruled by the Supreme Court. Even the dower, Khan
held, was most of the time waived by the wife on the first night of
marriage.
DEFENDING the Muslim Women's Act, 1986 is the AIMPLB. Hasina Hashia,
member of the AIMPLB and an associate professor in Jamia Millia
Islamia university, is categorical that Muslim women are not entitled
to maintenance beyond the iddat period and that Section 125 CrPC
cannot apply to them. Section 5 of the 1986 Act lays down that only if
the divorced woman and her former husband exercise their option to be
governed by Sections 125 to 128 of the CrPC will their case be
considered under it.
Hashia told Frontline that accepting maintenance beyond the iddat
period was haraam (illegitimate) under the Shariat as all relationship
between a man and his wife would have ceased. After that she could be
supported either by her relatives or the Wakf Board. She said that the
AIMPLB was demanding a lower ceiling for maintenance for Muslim women
and that if a lump sum could be decided depending upon the income of
the man, it would not go beyond the tenets of Muslim personal law. The
concept of Mata (a parting gift to serve a social purpose) as espoused
by some sections of the Muslim intelligentsia could be explored. The
Board is yet to have a final opinion on this concept, which finds
mention in the Koran.
All solutions, Hashia maintained, are to be found within the
parameters of the Shariat. She recommended the setting up of Dar-ul-
Qaza or Islamic courts to resolve disputes of all kinds.
Sabiha Hussain of the CWDS, who has done a considerable amount of work
relating to issues of Muslim women, said frivolous excuses were often
given for divorcing Muslim women. She quoted a study conducted during
1998-99 involving 10 Muslim women from a mixed socio-economic
background in Bihar. Some had been divorced for not cooking what they
had been asked to cook, yet others were divorced for not possessing
good looks and so on. Some of them did not get maintenance even for
the iddat period and at the time of divorce, no witnesses were
present. Only two got back their mehr after three months of the
divorce.
A seminar in May organised by the CWDS and the Majlis on the issue of
maintenance rights of Muslim women debated the provisions of the
Muslim Women's Act, 1986 vis-a-vis benefits under Section 125 CrPC.
While some like Flavia Agnes of the Majlis felt that a fresh look at
the Act was necessary, others felt that the Act needed to be
interpreted in such a way as to make it more gender-just given the
Indian social realities. The seminar, which witnessed divergent views,
finally recommended that personal laws of all communities be
strengthened in order to make them more gender-just and to weed out
gender discrimination; that the Muslim Women's Act, 1986 be
strengthened to uphold positive and gender-just interpretations and
that the ceiling on the amount of maintenance payable under Section
125 CrPC be removed.
The issue of maintenance for Muslim women has to go beyond any
political considerations and it is the executive's responsibility to
ensure that no community is discriminated against in the formulation
of a legislation. The silence on the issue of Section 125 CrPC vis-a-
vis Muslim women's maintenance points to the fact that considerations
other than respecting the personal laws of a community have been at
play. It reflects the government reluctance to open what it sees as a
veritable Pandora's box. What is surprising is that it does not seem
to care much about the sentiments of the minorities while dealing with
other issues concerning them.
http://www.flonnet.com/fl1814/18140890.htm
Volume 17 - Issue 06, Mar. 18 - 31, 2000
India's National Magazine
from the publishers of THE HINDU
A committed fighter
Geeta Mukherjee, 1924-2000.
T.K. RAJALAKSHMI
THE death of Geeta Mukherjee, veteran parliamentarian and Communist
Party of India (CPI) member, has had two immediate consequences. In
political terms, the CPI has lost a gritty and indefatigable
representative; and for young communists there is one few er of the
old guard to emulate. Geeta Mukherjee had undergone heart surgery in
1990 but that did not deter her from continuing with her party and
parliamentary activities. She was the Deputy Leader of the CPI in the
Lok Sabha.
K. RAMESH BABU
As chairperson of the Joint Select Committee of Parliament on the
Women's Reservation Bill (which provides for the reservation of one-
third of the total number of seats in State Assemblies and Parliament
for women), she was determined to see the bill rea ch its logical
conclusion. On March 3, a day before she succumbed to a heart attack,
Geeta Mukherjee vehemently protested on the floor of the House against
the Bihar Governor's decision to invite the National Democratic
Alliance (NDA) to form the governm ent in the State. She condemned the
action as "undemocratic".
Close friends recalled that though she was unwell, she wanted to
attend Parliament in the wake of the developments in Bihar and the
controversy over the Gujarat government's decision to allow its
employees to take part in the activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh (RSS). Although she was equally committed to other issues, her
chief preoccupation since 1996, when she took over as chairperson of
the Joint Select Committee, was to ensure the passage of the Women's
Reservation Bill. She even reported ly turned down a ministerial berth
in the I.K. Gujral government on the grounds that she wanted to
concentrate fully on the bill. She strived to carry everyone along
with her on the Women's Bill issue, including those who wanted a
separate quota for Othe r Backward Classes (OBCs). With her strong
political convictions and ideological commitment, Geeta Mukherjee was
liked by people across party lines.
Mukherjee, went to school in Jessore, now in Bangladesh, was born as
Geeta Roy Choudhary in a middle class family. Her father was a Rai
Bahadur, a title bestowed upon him by the colonial rulers. As a
student, Geeta Mukherjee joined the Bengal Provincial Students
Federation (BPSF) in 1939. At that time, the BPSF was leading an
agitation demanding the repatriation and release of persons imprisoned
in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. She was the secretary of the
Students Federation from 1947 to 1951. Geeta Mukherjee studied Bengali
literature and graduated from the Ashutosh College in Calcutta. In
1942, she joined the CPI and married Biswanath Mukherjee, who was
already an established student communist leader. Geeta Mukherjee first
came into the limelight during the postal workers' strike of 1945. On
July 29, 1945 she addressed a rally, where she was the only woman
student speaker.
When the Communist Party was banned in 1948, she and Biswanath
Mukherjee were detained without trial for six months in the Presidency
Jail, Calcutta. Geeta Mukherjee was best known for her active role in
the student, peasant and women's movements. For ma ny students of the
1960s, she was a role model. She remained with the CPI after the
Communist Party split in 1964. She was elected to the West Bengal
Assembly, in 1967 and 1972, from Tamluk constituency in Midnapore
district. In 1978, she was elected to the Lok Sabha from Panskura and
represented that constituency since then.
Geeta Mukherjee was elected to the National Council of the party in
1978 and to its National Executive in 1981. She was elected one of the
national secretaries of the CPI at the 17th Congress of the party held
in Chennai in 1998. Geeta Mukherjee thus bec ame the first woman
secretariat member of any Indian communist party. Paying tributes to
her on the occasion of the International Women's Day on March 8,
women's organisations observed that under her chairpersonship the
report of the Joint Select Committ ee of Parliament on the Women's
Reservation Bill was completed in record time.
Geeta Mukherjee participated in various agitations including those
taking up the cause of women beedi workers. However, she took
particularly strong positions on gender issues. Amarjeet Kaur, general
secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women ( NFIW), the
women's wing of the CPI, said that on the dowry issue, Geeta Mukherjee
was keen that CPI cadres practised what they said in public.
An Executive Council member of the NFIW since 1965, Geeta Mukherjee
was also a member of the National Commission for Women in 1988 and of
the National Commission on Rural Labour in 1986. She was also a member
of the Press Council.
Geeta Mukherjee always wanted the mass organisations of the party to
keep her posted on the issues and developments so that she could raise
them in Parliament, Amarjeet Kaur said. Before raising a question, she
ensured that she had a good understanding o f the subject.
In Geeta Mukherjee's life, there was no contradiction between theory
and practice. A diehard optimist, she was a person of humility,
simplicity and absolute ideological conviction. Her colleagues recall
that despite the split in the Communist Party in 19 64, the political
upheavals in Eastern Europe and in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s
and early 1990s, Geeta Mukherjee's commitment to the people's
democratic revolution remained undiluted.
Geeta Mukherjee wrote some books for children. Bharat Upakatha
(Folktales of India) and Chotoder Rabindranath (Tagore for Children)
are two of them. She translated in Bengali Bruno Apitz's classic Naked
Among Wolves. She loved poetry and used to read and recite Kazi Nazrul
Islam and Rabindranath Tagore.
A passionate and compassionate political activist, as described by
President K.R. Narayanan, Geeta Mukherjee has left a void not only in
the communist movement but also in the women's and other democratic
movements in the country.
http://www.flonnet.com/fl1706/17061060.htm
Volume 23 - Issue 25 :: Dec. 16-29, 2006
INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE
from the publishers of THE HINDU
WORLD AFFAIRS
Sex and the state
RAFIA ZAKARIA
The euphoria surrounding Pakistan's new law on "protection of women"
ignores the fact that the Hudood laws are still intact.
ANJUM NAVEED/AP
President Pervez Musharraf with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on
December 5 at a women's conference in Islamabad, where he promised
more legislation to protect the rights of women.
ON November 16, Pakistan's National Assembly passed the patronisingly
titled "Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill 2006". The
Bill, which has since been passed by the Senate, was introduced to the
populace in a televised address by President General Pervez Musharraf,
who called it a "major achievement". International media, continuing
their affair with Pakistan's "enlightened" dictator, also celebrated
the new law as a much-awaited respite for Pakistan's rights-
impoverished female population. In their euphoria for a "good news
story" emerging from an otherwise troubled region of the world, few of
the commentators bothered to look at the concrete provisions of the
Bill. Even fewer bothered to consider whether the celebrated Bill
would assuage the scourge of jurisdictional confusion that exists
between the Sharia and civil courts.
The Bill purports to amend clauses in the controversial Zina and
Hudood Ordinances, which were promulgated by General Zia-ul-Haq in
1979. As per the provisions of the Bill, only sections of which have
been released to the public, rape or zina bil jabr will be tried under
the Pakistan Penal Code instead of under the Zina and Hudood
Ordinances. This change of jurisdiction, politically spun as rescuing
rape victims from the arduous requirement of "producing four adult
male witnesses" to accomplish a prosecution, is meant to draw
attention away from the fact that the Zina and Hudood Ordinances have
not actually been repealed. Adultery continues to remain a crime
punishable by death and minorities and women continue to count as half
witnesses in hadd cases. The celebrations surrounding the passage of
the Bill also ignore the fact that the Council of Islamic Ideology, a
constitutional body set up to review the Zina and Hudood Ordinances,
explicitly stated in its 2006 report that "piecemeal amendments to the
Zina and Hudood Ordinances would not bring them into accord with the
Koran and Sunna".
Furthermore, the effectiveness of the jurisdictional changes
introduced by the Protection of Women Bill is further reduced by the
fact that it introduces the new crime of "lewdness" or "fornication"
to the Pakistan Penal Code. Section 496B, Clause 7, of the Pakistan
Penal Code, now forbids consensual sex outside of marriage and
requires those engaging in it to be punished by five years'
imprisonment and a fine of Rupees 10,000. In a lackadaisical attempt
to deter false charges, lawmakers have also chosen to include a "qazf"
provision in the law that would impose the same punishment on those
making false charges of fornication. Happily citing this provision as
a built-in mechanism against misuse, lawmakers knowingly chose to
ignore the fact that the same provision exists in the Hudood
Ordinances against those bringing false charges of adultery and has
never once in 27 years been used to punish someone making a false
accusation of adultery. Capitalising on the political tractability of
the existing jurisdictional confusion, government proponents of the
Protection of Women Bill also tout its "firewall" provision that will
ostensibly prevent rape victims from being tried under the fornication
clause if they are "unable to prove their rape charges".
In an editorial published in Daily Times, Asma Jehangir of the Human
Rights Commission of Pakistan termed the Bill "a victory for no one".
In her astute discussion of the provisions of the Bill, she pointed
out that the unamended portions of the Zina and Hudood Ordinances
continued to discriminate on the basis of sex and religion and
economic status. Pointing to the law of Qisas and Diyat, which was
also left untouched by the Bill, she says: "Murder can be waived or
compromised but zina can still be punished with stoning to death. A
person who can pay his way out of death penalty or manoeuvre a
compromise can be set free but lesser offences can beget
imprisonment."
Her emphasis on the class dimension of vulnerability to legal abuse at
the hands of the state is an important basis for evaluating this new
Bill. Records of women imprisoned under charges of fornication or
adultery under the Hudood Ordinances reveal that it is Pakistan's poor
women who are most frequently victimised by the state's unchecked
power in legislating morality in the name of Islam. Therefore, while
the promised jurisdictional changes under the Bill may place a
placating Band-Aid on a festering wound, they fail to address the
reality that a poor woman who chooses to file a rape charge still
faces incredible challenges that are rudely ignored by this
politically inspired piece of legislation. The case of Mukhtar Mai,
the courageous gang-rape survivor from Meerwala, is a testament to the
limited utility of the legal changes sought by the law. The very fact
that her rape case was tried not just in a Sharia court or a civil
court but also in a "special terrorism court" shows how jurisdictional
rules can easily be superseded by governmental directive in an
essentially undemocratic system where courts in general have limited
legitimacy.
Judging legal changes in Pakistan by evaluating the legitimacy that
Pakistan's legal institutions actually possess goes against the
predilection of elite Pakistani scholars and their Western
counterparts bent on celebrating General Musharraf as the heaven-sent
liberal scion saving Pakistan from the mullahs. The elite in Pakistan
have little or no reliance on the legal system as a means of dispute
resolution. The poor, intimidated by the jurisdictional morass created
by the hodge-podge of civil courts, federal Sharia courts and special
terrorism courts, lack the material resources and, understandably, the
will to navigate a system whose primary aim seems to be to serve the
objectives of those in power. In the unlikely event that a poor person
is able to secure a conviction from a court, few if any mechanisms
exist for it to be enforced against the other party, particularly if
they happen to be powerful or command material resources. Predictably,
the most high-profile cases ever tried in Pakistani courts are those
brought by those holding the reins of government against former rulers
accused of corruption. Ultimately, Musharraf's rise to power with the
aid of unilateral constitutional amendments sharpens the irony of his
being celebrated as someone responsible for instituting the rule of
law in a militarised state.
The leniency of the Pakistani public to the legal or constitutional
usurpations of power of the Musharraf administration is ultimately
also a product of the self-perpetuating cycle of institutional
weakness that maintains the status quo. In a simplistic yet
illuminating calculus, the Pakistani public, fed up with the slew of
corrupt civilian governments of the past decades, supports the
military administration because it maintains law and order through
force. In turn, the military administration, adept at maintaining its
hold over Pakistani politics, refuses to pour the billions of dollars
of aid money it regularly receives into the court system, which if
truly legitimate and powerful, could check the military's claim to
power. The legal system thus remains impoverished, under-funded and
ultimately powerless, while the current administration can manipulate
world opinion through the pretence of legal changes to gain political
mileage. The hollowness of the legal institutions ultimately enables
them to be symbolically manipulated as agents of change and harbingers
of the rule of law while never actually threatening the omniscient
hegemony of the military. One recent instance that demonstrates the
farcical status of Pakistan's courts in curbing state power is the
imprisonment without charge of dozens of women belonging to the Baloch
Bugti tribe in a government effort designed to force their husbands,
fathers and brothers out of hiding. Of course, the legal basis for
such an action, which no court could possibly sanction, has yet to be
explained.
Even more depressingly, the military is hardly alone in perpetuating
this cycle. Past civilian administrations, led either by Benazir
Bhutto or Nawaz Sharif, have been equally reticent to strengthen a
court system that might ultimately be a check on their own power. In
the context of the Protection of Women Bill, the liberal Pakistan
People's Party(PPP) as well as the Muhajir Qaumi Movement(MQM) has
joined the Musharraf administration in supporting the changes and
heralding the birth of what is being called a new configuration in
Pakistani politics. Indeed, supporting the legislation bears political
rewards for both, since it marks their recognition of the reality that
in the eyes of the aid-giving West, being "enlightened" means
supporting President Musharraf.
The louder the mullah-dominated Muttahida Majlis Amal (MMA) protests
against the Bill, the more resplendent the bounty of dollars of which
the Musharraf administration, and now even the PPP and the MQM, may
partake of. This new coalition of corrupt authoritarian liberals
against religious zealots is particularly worrisome if one remembers
the denouement of the Iranian Revolution which was presaged by just
such a Western-supported political configuration. And what about the
Pakistani women in whose name these reforms are undertaken? Stuck
between Musharraf and the mullahs, they must accept the meagre scraps
of half-hearted changes promised by the Protection of Women Bill, or
shudder in fear of an MMA government that will relegate them to their
houses and force them into burqas.
To keep this fear alive, since it stands to benefit so much from the
ominous threat it represents, the Musharraf administration has done
little to thwart the passage of the Hasba Bill in North West Frontier
Province. This new Bill, which was adopted by the NWFP provincial
government days before the passage of the Protection of Women Bill in
the National Assembly, revives the medieval institution of "mohtasibs"
or "moral police". In yet another parallel system of justice, these
mohtasibs will now patrol the streets of the province to insure that
"society is guided by the Sharia". Vigilante groups have already begun
the process by standing guard outside universities and turning away
women students not covering their heads as well as harassing
minorities under a variety of pretexts.
Human rights organisations in Pakistan and abroad have denounced this
"give and take" attitude of the Musharraf administration that has now
become proficient at maintaining liberal pretences and legitimising
itself as the bastion of anti-extremism, while also appeasing the MMA.
Civil society organisations such as the Aurat Foundation, the Women's
Action Forum, Sungi and ANAA have all protested against the Bill.
Minority rights organisations such as the National Solidarity of Equal
Rights have highlighted the reality that Hudood laws left untouched by
the legislation prevent non-Muslims from being either full witnesses,
judges or even lawyers in cases brought under the Hudood Ordinances.
According to Amna Buttar, president of ANAA, "the new law removes a
noose but fires a bullet" in continuing to retain the many provisions
that may be used to persecute women in the name of regulating sex and
morality. This equivocation, which sees legislating on sex as a means
of ensuring the moral life of society, ignores the reality that moral
wrongs when legislated upon by the state give the latter inordinate
power in making the lives of ordinary citizens completely vulnerable
to unchecked and indiscriminate intrusions and abuses of power.
In the final analyses, the debate surrounding the Women's Protection
Bill must focus on the status of the rule of law in Pakistani society.
The duplicitous rhetoric of curbing extremism by promoting militarism
masks the grotesque mess of parallel jurisdictions and inaccessibility
to justice for both male and female citizens of Pakistan. The Asian
Development Bank reports that Pakistan received $1.1 billion in United
States aid to fight the "war against terror" last year and is
scheduled to receive another $900m this year. A total of $3.7 billion
has been given to Pakistan by the U.S. since January 2002. It is safe
to assume that not a cent of this bounty has been used to revive
Pakistan's weak and failing legal institutions. Unless Western powers
realise that victory in the war against extremism hinges not on
propping up authoritarian regimes but on long-term investment in
strengthening democratic and legal institutions, Pakistani women will
continue to bear the unjust burden of misogyny and discrimination.
http://www.flonnet.com/fl2325/stories/20061229000306200.htm
Volume 24 - Issue 05 :: Mar. 10-23, 2007
INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE
from the publishers of THE HINDU
LEGISLATION
Self-help doubts
T.K. RAJALAKSHMI
Opposition grows to the microfinance Bill on the grounds that it,
among other things, excludes the big players in microfinance.
G. KRISHNASWAMY
In Hyderabad, the office of the Mutually Aided Cooperative Thrift &
Credit Society, which helps members of self-help groups.
THE heightened allocations to the social sector and the rhetoric of
women's empowerment notwithstanding, a Bill meant to guarantee
financial services to women and other disadvantaged sections has run
into rough weather. The Ministries of Women and Child Development and
Rural Development are not in agreement with certain provisions of the
Micro-Financial Sector (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2007, which
they believe has been drafted in haste.
The main objective of the Bill is to provide for the promotion,
development and orderly growth of the microfinance sector in rural and
urban areas so as to offer an enabling environment to ensure that the
people, especially women and certain disadvantaged sections, have
universal access to integrated financial services of banks.
Another objective is to regulate the functioning of microfinance
organisations. In its previous avatar it was known as the National
Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Amendment) Bill, 2006. The
Bill was first drafted in 2000 with the objective of giving a
legalised structure to microcredit and microfinance organisations.
According to a note prepared by the Department of Economic Affairs
(Banking Division) in the Finance Ministry, the Bill was formulated
after consultations with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the National
Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), and the Indian
Banks' Association (IBA).
The logic was that "many microcredit-providing institutions such as
MFIs [microfinance institutions] and SHGs [self-help groups] have been
repeatedly stressing the need for regulation of this sector in view of
its rapid growth and fear of less-than-credible institutions dealing
with the poor and illiterate people." But the main problem with the
Bill is that it excludes the big players in microfinance.
The Bill demonstrates perhaps that the talk of "inter-sectoral"
convergence is just rhetoric. It also brings out the lack of inter-
Ministerial discussion and deliberation.
For instance, the Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK), set up in 1993 under
the Ministry of Women and Child Development to provide credit to poor
rural women, has been left out from the to-be-constituted microfinance
development council (MDC), whose objective is to advise NABARD on
matters relating to microfinance.
The council will have two women nominees, who may not necessarily
represent the Ministry of Women and Child Development. This, said a
senior woman bureaucrat, was ironical as 90 per cent of microcredit
borrowers were women. Women and Child Development Minister Renuka
Choudhary said the Bill was inimical to the interests of poor women.
Excluding the RMK was a big surprise, considering that it has
benefited 5,68,000 women so far. The Bill has also run into trouble
from women's organisations and those closely involved with SHGs.
The All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) believes that
while the microfinance Bill ought to be rejected outright, there is
also a need to look at the working of SHGs over the past two decades.
According to AIDWA, unlike women's and people's science groups, the
Government of India and other high-profile NGOs viewed SHGs as banking
institutions whose savings needed to be mopped up in order to ease the
burden of public investment.
Among the problems facing SHGs, it said, was the exclusion of a great
number of poor people from the formation of SHG federations because of
definitional problems and the lack of representation of women in the
decision-making processes. Said Sudha Sundararaman, general secretary,
AIDWA: "Instead of replacing formal credit institutions, the SHGs are
designed to function as groups to ensure efficient transactions and
repayments on a limited credit-based agenda. This works against the
inclusion of issues such as domestic violence, sexual and reproductive
rights and political participation. Such issues are then addressed by
women `in spite of' rather than as a legitimate agenda of the SHGs."
Main objections
The main objections to the Bill are that it excludes from its purview
non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and companies registered as
not-for-profit under Section 25 of the Companies Act; these two
categories of companies deal with 90 per cent of microfinance. The
Bill, instead, seeks to regulate societies, cooperative societies and
trusts registered under State laws, also called microfinance
organisations (MFOs), which handle only 10 per cent of such services
in the country.
These smaller organisations could also get into trouble, given the
conditionalities such as profitablity, 15 per cent capital adequacy
ratio (that is, the capital base of the organisation should comprise
at least 15 per cent of its outstanding loans), three years'
experience and NABARD certification.
Nevertheless, the Cabinet and the Group of Ministers has cleared the
Bill and it is likely to be tabled in the current session of
Parliament.
The concern among non-governmental organisations (NGOs) involved with
SHGs is that MFIs, profit-oriented as they are, may introduce
practices that might corrupt the SHG model itself. They also feel that
the conditionalities are harsh considering that even commercial banks
were required to have a capital adequacy ratio of only 8 per cent.
Thomas Franco Rajendra Dev of the Mahalir Association for Literacy
Awareness and Rights (MALAR), a federation of SHGs in Kanyakumari
district, said repayment rates were, by and large, very good and that
was one reason why MFIs wanted to enter the picture in a big way and
that too without many regulations.
He said MFIs in Andhra Pradesh used coercive methods to make women
repay their loans and added that he knew of many instances of such
harassment. He said that in the last seven or eight years, a lot of
SHGs and microcredit institutions had been formed with the sole
purpose of obtaining and disbursing loans. Only in some States,
especially Kerala, where linkages had been made between literacy,
political empowerment and economic empowerment within SHGs, the
poorest among the women had benefited and emerged as a force.
Incidentally, estimates of the number of SHGs in the country range
from seven million to more than a crore. The demand for micro-credit
is estimated to be close to Rs.1 lakh crore. Until December 2006,
24.82 lakh SHGs had been credit-linked with a cumulative bank loan of
Rs.13,720.82 crore. As on January 25, 2007, about 24.33 lakh SHGs,
with a bank loan of Rs.10,895 crore, had been formed under the
Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana of the Ministry of Rural
Development. Last year alone, Rs.65,000 crore was disbursed as
microcredit.
V. RAJU
At Sattenapalli in Andhra Pradesh's Guntur district in July 2006, a
victim of harassment by microfinance companies is consoled by National
Commission of Women member Nirmala Venkatesh. The companies wanted the
girl to repay the loan taken by her mother who is no more.
But there are doubts whether it can help rural poverty. Franco
Rajendra Dev said it was an illusion that microfinance alone would
eradicate poverty; it had to be accompanied by other measures,
including land reforms, which was the experience of both Kerala and
West Bengal. The Integrated Rural Development Programme, which began
in 1979, he said, failed to reduce poverty, as it was unconnected with
the other causes of poverty.
He said that within MALAR, which was based on the People's Science
Movement model, nearly 10 per cent of the women had improved their
quality of life; handloom weavers had become owners of looms, pottery
workers had turned owners and women had opened grocery shops and got
into lease cultivation.
While this was a positive outcome, the main problem was the small net
profit in these ventures and the challenges of the market. There was a
lot to learn from the Kudumbashree model in Kerala, where the poorest
of the poor among women were identified under the Asraya scheme and
marketing outlets were provided for their SHG products. In West
Bengal, too, 16 government departments were involved in SHGs in one
way or other. There was a separate Ministry for SHGs as well. The
marketing of the products was allowed through the public distribution
system (PDS).
Critics of the Bill accused the major players of charging high rates
of interest and resorting to other irregularities, including inhuman
methods of recovery, which, in States such as Andhra Pradesh, even
drove women to commit suicide. The majority of the borrowers were
women, organised into SHGs or otherwise. Last year, the Collectors of
East Godavari and Krishna districts submitted a report each to the RMK
about women committing suicide because of harassment by the MFIs. Most
of the suicides were reported from Guntur, East Godavari and Krishna
districts.
In Krishna district, of the 19 unnatural deaths of women in 2005-06,
10 were confirmed to have committed suicide. In general, the district
administration's observations were that MFIs imposed a non-
transparent, flat rate of interest instead of a simple interest on the
diminishing principal amount; the periodicity of repayment was weekly
instead of monthly, the insurance policy of MFIs was such that
premiums were collected without giving any policy; and they used
methods of recovery that were demeaning to women, including making
them stand in the hot sun, locking up their homes and even advising
them to commit suicide.
In raids on the local offices of some of the MFIs operating in the
district, signed cheques, blank, signed plain sheets of paper, and
home-site pattas and land title-deeds were seized.
Contentious proposal
One of the proposals in the Bill is to allow MFOs that have a capital
base of Rs.5 lakh to mobilise thrift. Such a move, critics argued,
would restrict the expansion of the capital that was being created by
SHGs. They said group savings were normally used in an emergency, but
if MFOs were allowed to mop up the thrift, the purpose of SHGs would
be defeated and women would find themselves again at the mercy of
moneylenders.
Sources in the RMK said the word "thrift" was a clever way of defining
"public deposit" as the RBI had not prescribed any "safety norms" for
banks that accepted public deposits. This could allow unscrupulous
MFOs, as also moneylenders who could register as MFOs, a backdoor
entry and accept not only savings from people but also lend at very
high rates of interest. Another worry was that caste and communal
organisations could enter the fray, especially if the Bill allowed
them to collect deposits through thrift.
The Bill does not provide any cap on the rate of interest, especially
when there were known instances of MFIs charging flat rates of 15 to
30 per cent and using unethical means of recovery. On the other hand,
there was a cap of Rs.50,000 on borrowing. There were objections to
NABARD functioning as the regulatory body because it was
insufficiently manned in the districts and there could be a conflict
of interest as it was a promoter of SHGs and NGOs. "A promoter cannot
be a regulator," said Franco.
Yet another criticism has been that State governments were not
consulted during the formulation of the Bill despite the fact that
many of the MFOs were registered under State laws.
The controversy over the Bill also comes in the context of a
widespread SHG movement comprising mainly of poor women in the
villages. The experience of the SHGs has been a mixed one, depending
on the level of political awareness and rate of literacy and social
and political organisation in the States. The possible enactment of
the microfinance Bill has caused consternation among groups working
with SHGs.
A two-day national consultation organised by Nirantar, an organisation
that deals with gender and education issues, debated the implications
of the Bill as well as the role of the SHGs.
More than 40 organisations from 19 States participated. The conference
discussed a study prepared by Nirantar, titled "Examining empowerment,
poverty alleviation, education within self-help groups" and a broad
consensus emerged on the positive and the negative outcomes of the
experiences of women in SHGs.
The study was done among 2,750 SHGs, the majority of them formed under
government programmes, in 16 States. The survey revealed that the
benefits had not percolated equitably to all women and most of them
had not received any capacity-building inputs for the past two years.
The experience differed from State to State and on the level of
political consciousness as well.
At the consultation itself, the consensus was that the microfinance
Bill would do more harm than good to rural women. It sought a wider
consultation with all the stakeholder before the Bill is passed.
http://www.flonnet.com/fl2405/stories/20070323002409700.htm
Women's Reservation Bill
The Women's Reservation Bill is the one subject that has been most
talked about and the least acted upon. Now, one can easily visualise
that the Bill stands the 'brightest' chance of getting drowned in the
din and noise of tehalka.com. But the singular d isservice meted out
to the women's issue has, unfortunately come from no less a person
than Chief Election commissioner, M.S. Gill. (See his interview in
Frontline dated March 16, 2001.)
To quote Gill: "My solution is simple. Instead of amending the
Constitution every other day with all the negative points it involves,
have a simple amendment in the RPA (Representation of Peoples Act)
where all you would say is this: all parties that hav e their
recognition and privileges of the Commission shall retain these only
for so long, at every election they fight in every State they put up X
percentage of women candidates."
With this simple solution, Gill wants us to believe that the
proportion of women which is only '8 per cent in Parliament and
Assemblies over the last 50 years' will overnight jump from 8 to 15 or
20 per cent, even if a little less than 33 per cent of th e ticket is
given to women by the political parties.
The Frontline correspondent who interviewed Mr. Gill has chosen to
describe his solution as 'unique'. Unique indeed - not as a solution
but as a way of scuttling the whole issue.
Gill, at least for the record, asserts that gender justice is
certainly his priority but not higher than his loyalty to the
Constitution. He does not want the fault of political parties to visit
on the Constitution. So he wants the Constitution to be lef t
undisturbed by gender considerations. He ascribes the fact of women
not being given the ticket to an adequate extent to the fault of
political parties. He declares: "The flaw is that women are not
getting space in the political parties. Guaranteed spac e. Assured
space."
Gill's solution can at best only guarantee party ticket for women in
elections. It will certainly not ensure their presence in Parliament
or Assemblies unless a specific number of constituencies are mandated
to return only a woman as the representative.
We have on hand our own experience with regard to the elections to
local bodies. Only the 83rd amendment to the Constitution has given
the women the guaranteed and assured space in the local bodies. Not
before. Not otherwise than by reservation.
The delay over passing of the Bill is of course a matter of serious
concern not only to women, but also to all those who genuinely seek
women to be empowered. But, it cannot be an alibi for pushing through
a non-serious and frivolous proposal, from which ever quarters it may
emanate.
W.R. Varada Rajan
Received on email
http://www.flonnet.com/fl1807/18071290.htm
Volume 24 - Issue 25 :: Dec. 22, 2007-Jan. 04, 2008
INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE
from the publishers of THE HINDU
COVER STORY
Lacunae in law
V. VENKATESAN
India’s legal response to violence against women has by and large been
characterised by the absence of sympathy for the victim.
RAJESH KUMAR SINGH/AP
At a rally in Allahabad on December 8 to create awareness about the
Domestic Violence Act.
The World Human Rights Conference in Vienna recognised gender-based
violence as a human rights violation in 1993. In the same year, the
United Nations, through a declaration, defined violence against women
as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to
result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to a
woman, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary
deprivations of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.
In 1995, the U.N.’s Special Report on Violence Against Women added
“violence perpetrated or condoned by the State” to this definition.
Because of the social group to which she belongs, in times of war,
riots and ethnic, caste or class violence, a woman may be raped or
brutalised as a means of humiliating the community to which she
belongs. Male perception of the female sex and women as the property
of men contributes to this extreme form of gender violence.
It may be worthwhile to look at India’s legal response to the first
two of these three major forms of violence, namely, violence against
women in the private and public domains, and discern what many
observers have noted as the absence of attitudes sympathetic to women
among those enforcing or interpreting these laws.
Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which defines the rape of
a woman by a man, has an important exception: sexual intercourse by a
man with his wife, the wife not being under 15 years of age, is not
rape. Thus “marital rape” as an offence is outside the purview of
Indian criminal law.
The introduction of Section 376A in the IPC somewhat limits this
exception. Under this Section, a man who has sexual intercourse with
his wife who is living separately from him under a decree of
separation or under any custom or usage, without her consent shall be
punished with imprisonment up to two years and shall also be liable to
pay a fine.
Comparison with the punishments prescribed in the IPC for other
categories of rape brings out starkly the bias in the law in favour of
judicially separated men. The IPC prescribes a minimum sentence of
seven years for those convicted in non-custodial rape cases and 10
years in the case of custodial rapes.
The Law Commission has rejected proposals to repeal the marital rape
exception on the grounds that it would amount to “excessive
interference with the marital relationship” (Review of Rape Laws,
172nd Report, 2000, Chapter 3, page 14).
Clearly, some of the ingredients of Section 375 apply also to marital
rape. These include the commission of the offence by the man against
the victim’s will and without her consent. The assumption that a woman
forsakes her right to refuse consent for sexual intercourse with her
husband as long as the marriage persists has been questioned by many
feminist scholars. Such an assumption would inevitably mean that the
law treats women as the property of their husbands.
In R v. R (Rape: Marital Exemption) (1991), the House of Lords widened
the scope of criminal liability by declaring that a husband could be
charged as the principal offender in the rape of his wife. This
decision obliterated the protection of the husband from such
prosecution under the doctrine of marital exemption. The wife was
supposed to have given a general consent to her husband as a natural
implication of the marriage. This has now become an outmoded view of
marriage in the U.K.
Cruelty by husband
Section 498A – inserted into the IPC in 1983 – is a major legislative
measure to tackle cruelty by a husband or relatives of the husband.
Under it the offender could be punished with imprisonment for up to
three years and also be liable to pay a fine. The Amendment Act, which
introduced this Section in the IPC, had the objective of combating the
menace of dowry deaths. Section 498A covers both physical and mental
abuse. It is felt that Section 498A’s scope is limited as it is silent
on other kinds of cruelties involving psychological, economic and
sexual abuses. The Section defines cruelty as any act that drives a
woman to commit suicide or cause grave injury or danger to life.
The same Act also introduced Section 113A to the Indian Evidence Act
to raise a presumption regarding the abetment of suicide by a married
woman, if the suicide took place within seven years of her marriage.
Her husband or such relative of her husband would be presumed to have
abetted her suicide in such a case.
In 1986, the Dowry Prohibition (Amendment) Act introduced Section 304-
B in the IPC to define dowry death. The court shall presume that an
accused person caused a dowry death if the death of the woman is an
unnatural one and it happened within seven years from the date of
marriage. The woman must have been subjected to cruelty, relating to a
demand for dowry, in the immediate period before her death.
The Domestic Violence Act, enacted in October 2006, provides for,
among other significant reliefs, the right to residence in the shared
household, the right to protection orders, and the mandated return of
Stree-dhan (dowry), besides giving courts the power to restrain the
alienation of assets. It defines violence in all its dimensions, from
the physical to the sexual and the economic. This definition was taken
from the U.N. Model Code on domestic violence and from the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence Against Women, to which
India is a party. It applies to not only married women but also women
in live-in relationships and daughters/mothers facing violence in
domestic relationships.
One year on, the Act is not exactly a success story. Lawyers
Collective, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), which was largely
involved with this law in its formative stages, undertook the task of
evaluating enforcement using available data. Its report shows that the
main users of this law are women in matrimonial relationships. A few
widows have used it to prevent dispossession, and some young girls
have prevented forcible marriages by fathers.
The major breakthrough the law achieved was the declaration of the
right to reside in the shared household. The law makes a clear
distinction between the ownership of the shared household and the
right to reside in it. What the law does is to grant the right to
reside and not to be dispossessed, except by authority of law.
Indira Jaising of Lawyers Collective wrote in an article published in
Indian Express on October 26: “This provision suffered a major setback
at the hands of the judiciary. The Supreme Court, even before the ink
on the Act was dry, declared in a judgment (S.R. Batra v. Taruna
Batra) that a woman could claim this right only in relation to a
household owned/rented by her husband. This means that if her husband
lives with his parents and she has her matrimonial residence there,
she cannot claim right to residence there. The judgment not only
overlooks the law itself, it also overlooks the existing social
reality of the joint family, which continues to be the predominant
pattern.”
The report prepared by Lawyers Collective documents how several courts
have refused relief to women on the basis of this judgment. It
demonstrates that in India women have lesser protection than tenants,
who cannot be evicted except by the procedure established by law.
Anti-rape law
Under Section 375 of the IPC, a man is said to commit rape if he has
sexual intercourse with a woman under any of the six specified
circumstances. They are: i) it should be against her will; ii) without
her consent; iii) when her consent has been obtained by putting in
her, or in any person whom she is interested in, the fear of death or
of hurt; iv) when she consents believing that he is her husband,
whereas he is not; v) when she consents by reason of unsoundness of
mind or intoxication or administration of stupefying substance; or,
vi) when she is under 16 years of age. The provision also says that
penetration is sufficient to constitute the sexual intercourse
necessary for the offence of rape.
Researchers have found serious gaps in using this provision to secure
the conviction of alleged rapists. Pratiksha Baxi says in her article
in the book The Violence of Normal Times (edited by Kalpana
Kannabiran, Women Unlimited, New Delhi, 2005), that the popular
perception that women commonly lie about being raped inflects medical
jurisprudence and in the testimony to rape.
She points to one of the medico-legal propositions that acquires an
axiomatic status that an able-bodied adult woman cannot be raped by an
unarmed man. According to her, in the trial courts, the view is that
women have the natural ability to resist rape by crossing their legs.
Here, she says, the male body is not thought of as a weapon, and
women’s ability to resist is seen as given in nature.
When she conducted interviews with experts at the Forensic Science
Laboratory, she found that the practice of using lie-detection tests
on raped women was common. She added that medico-legal textbooks did
not prescribe the use of lie-detection tests on raped women, and to
the best of her knowledge the documentation regarding such tests did
not enter at the trial or appellate level.
For the victim, the process of testifying itself adds to her trauma.
Pratiksha Baxi notes that it makes her relive the rape and humiliates
her. Trial court Judges, she finds, recognise emotional distress
produced by the testimony not as a sign of suffering but as a sign of
complicity in a lie.
She adds: “The cross-examination of the victim itself produces trauma.
It attacks the reputation and veracity of the victim. It makes her
relive the rape and humiliates her. The production of trauma by the
law itself is a serious issue that severely compromises the mental
health of rape survivors.”
Another issue in establishing rape is the ethics of the two-finger
test. The test was evolved as an answer to the medico-legal problem
that in some cases the hymen might remain intact (especially in female
children) despite repeated instances of penile penetration. The answer
was found in partial penetration, which denoted penile penetration of
the vaginal orifice irrespective of whether the hymen was ruptured or
not.
The test is performed by a technique that is in a mimetic relationship
to the act of penile penetration. The test replaces the notion that
the presence or absence of the hymen can by itself signify virginity
or its absence. It is a technique that verifies whether the hymen is
broken or not, and whether it is distensible or not.
The substitution of the erect penis, Baxi points out, rests on the
precarious desexualisation of the clinical practice. She adds:
“The line between the two-finger test (as if it were a surgical
procedure) and assault is a thin one, which is determined by whether
the medical examination is carried out with or without the consent of
the patient. Medical jurists have been aware of the mimesis in their
emphatic recommendation that doctors must secure the patient’s consent
for this test. Consent then converts assault into a medical test.”
Baxi further asks: “The issue of consent is constitutive, for to
refuse the test is interpreted as evidence of a false complaint. It is
not clear what this consent entails. Did it imply consent to allow the
medical jurist to penetrate her with her consent or is it consent
towards allowing the state to produce signs of her own subjection?”
And, how are the results of the test interpreted? When two or more
fingers are easily admissible in the vagina, the patient might be
characterised as being “used to sex” or “habituated to sex”. The word
habituated, Baxi says, lies in the realm of interpretation, deriving
its meaning from the medico-legal domain, for the word does not appear
in any statute. The words “habituated”, “habitual, or “used to sexual
intercourse” continue to appear in appellate judgments and animate the
legal discourse in trial courts.
Baxi argues that if the hymen acts as a sign it does so
retrospectively after the technique is deployed on the victim’s body.
Thus while the “natural” state of the hymen is not reliable, it is a
technique which allows for a verification of the actual by
substituting the penis with two fingers.
The interpretation of the findings of the two-finger test provided in
the medico-legal certificate of the victim is transcribed as
“habituated to sex” or “used to sex”. If a victim is categorised as
habituated, it is assumed that she must have experienced regular
sexual intercourse and this sexual intercourse must have been
consensual.
Baxi quotes a defence lawyer who had been practising criminal law in
the trial court as saying that if doctors give a certificate saying no
sign of injury and write that she is habituated, the advantage of this
goes to the accused.
Thus, medico-legal techniques such as the two-finger test result in
symbolic re-rape of victims. The phallocentric law insists on doing
mimetically to the victim what the accused rapist did to her, in order
to know that rape was real.
Outraging modesty
Section 354 of the IPC provides for a punishment of up to two years
with fine to anyone who assaults or uses criminal force on any woman,
intending to outrage her modesty. But the provision does not define
modesty.
The Supreme Court, in a recent judgment, defined modesty in this
Section as follows: “Modesty is an attribute associated with female
human beings as a class. It is a virtue which attaches to a female
owing to her sex. The act of pulling a woman, removing her sari,
coupled with a request for sexual intercourse, is such as would be an
outrage to the modesty of a woman; and knowledge, that modesty is
likely to be outraged, is sufficient to constitute the offence without
any deliberate intention having such outrage alone for its object.”
As rape is constituted, only penetration is present. In cases where
sexual assault does not lead to penetration, the prosecution is
inclined to invoke Section 354 against the accused, which results in
milder punishment.
Section 511 of the IPC deals with punishment for attempting to commit
offences that are punishable with imprisonment for life or other forms
of imprisonment. It provides that when an offence is attempted to be
committed for which no specific punishment has been provided for in
the code, an offender will be punishable with half the longest term of
punishment that is prescribed for committing the respective offence.
In other words, a court can convict the accused for attempted rape.
Yet courts have in general been reluctant to do so even when the
accused has been caught while attempting rape. Ranjana Kaul, a member
of the Delhi Commission for Women, points out in an article that they
often rely upon the technicality of the absence of penetration to rule
out attempt and have invariably imposed on the accused the relatively
minor punishment of imprisonment up to two years for molestation.
"The emergence of sexual harassment as a wrong and a form of
discrimination against women has been articulated exclusively by the
Indian courts, and has not been enacted into any statute," says Ratna
Kapur, in her book, Erotic Justice.
Sexual harassment
The inability of Section 354 of the IPC to address adequately the
claims of sexual harassment ultimately led to the filing of a class
action petition in 1997 in the Supreme Court. The petition was brought
by certain social activists and NGOs to assist in finding suitable
methods for the realisation of the true concept of “gender equality”
and to prevent sexual harassment of women in all workplaces through
judicial process, to fill the vacuum in the existing legislation.
The Supreme Court held in this case (Visakha v. State of Rajasthan)
that sexual harassment is a clear violation of the rights under
Articles 14, 15 and 21 of Constitution. One of the logical
consequences of such an incident is also the violation of the victim’s
fundamental right under Article 19(1)(g) “to practise any profession
or to carry out any occupation, trade or business”. Such violations
attract the remedy under Article 32 for the enforcement of these
fundamental rights of women.
The court defined sexual harassment to include such unwelcome sexually
determined behaviour (whether directly or by implication) as: a)
physical contact and advances; b) a demand or request for sexual
favours; c) sexually coloured remarks; d) showing pornography; or e)
any other unwelcome physical verbal or non-verbal conduct of a sexual
nature.
The court directed all employers or persons in charge of the
workplace, whether in the public or private sector, to take
appropriate steps to prevent sexual harassment, and create mechanisms
for the settlement or prosecution of complaints. It laid down 12
guidelines in this regard and declared that these would constitute the
law of the land until the legislature took further action.
Ironically, Parliament took almost 10 years after the Vishaka judgment
to prepare a draft Bill on sexual harassment. The draft Bill, the
Protection of Women Against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill, 2007,
is yet to be introduced in Parliament.
REFERENCES
1. Ratna Kapur, `Erotic Justice'; Permanent Black, New Delhi, 2005.
2. Kalpana Kannabiran (ed.), `The Violence of Normal Times'; Women
Unlimited, New Delhi, 2005.
ONLINE
http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=33866
http://www.judis.nic.in/supremecourt/qrydisp.aspx?filename=13856
http://prsindia.org/docs/draft/draft_sexual_harassment_bill.pdf
http://www.flonnet.com/fl2425/stories/20080104242502000.htm
Volume 16 - Issue 17, Aug 14 - 27, 1999
India's National Magazine
from the publishers of THE HINDU
SOCIAL ISSUES
'Dowry deaths' in Bangalore
Investigations by a women's group in Bangalore point to a high
incidence of unnatural deaths among newly married women following
dowry-related incidents, with the persons responsible for them largely
being acquitted.
PARVATHI MENON
in Bangalore
HOARDINGS put up by the traffic police at prominent places along
Bangalore's traffic-congested roads exhort reckless drivers to go
slow. Grim statistics loom over traffic snarls - 704 men and women
died in traffic accidents in the city in 1997, 726 in 1998, and 168
until June 1999. Reckless driving is truly a problem in India's sixth
largest metropolis, and the seriousness with which it is being
addressed is gratifying to the citizens of the city.
There is, however, another category of deaths that occur on a daily
basis in the city, for which no such public recognition or concern is
awarded. These figures far outnumber traffic-related deaths (or indeed
any category of avoidable death). They are exclusively of women -
mainly young, newly married women. In police records they are
classified under three specific categories, which invoke different
sections of the law. They are "dowry murders" (committed by the
woman's husband or members of his family for additional dowry or non-
payment of promised dowry); "suicides" (forced or voluntary, but in
most cases related to dowry demands); and "accidents" (a majority
classed under "stove-burst" or "kitchen-accident"). Deaths under these
three categories add up to an alarming figure. In Bangalore city,
1,133 women died in murders, suicides and accidents in 1997, 1,248 in
1998, and 618 till mid-July 1999.
K. GOPINATHAN
A police officer examines the body of Bhagyamma, a young mother who
hanged herself in Kengeri, near Bangalore. In her suicide note, which
she wrote on her legs in order to avoid its detection until the police
arrived, Bhagyamma blamed her husband for her death.
On an average, therefore, almost one hundred women have been dying
violent deaths every month in the privacy of their homes. And these
are the official figures. When 44 persons died of plague by September
1994 in Surat, the epicentre of the plague outbreak of that year, the
epidemic assumed the proportions of a national crisis. Yet, public
acknowledgement of the unnatural deaths of young women in Bangalore
city is restricted to perfunctory two-line news items in the daily
newspapers, where they are reported as "accidents" or "suicides" over
"dowry harassment". Thereafter, they drop from public consciousness
into the anonymity of a police or court 'case'.
A dowry murder comes under a distinct class of violence. Motivated
mainly by greed, the crime is committed within the four walls of a
home on an unsuspecting wife by her own husband or his family; there
are rarely any eyewitnesses who are prepared to give evidence against
the murderers. The large number of these deaths is an indication that
the law is not a sufficient deterrent for those who commit these
crimes. Nor have these grotesquely violent murders sparked the kind of
social outrage that could pressure the government and its law-
enforcing machinery into acting swiftly and firmly in enforcing the
law. The scale of this problem, its causes and consequences, have not
been adequately acknowledged by the state and its agencies, the media,
or the public at large.
"Such figures certainly impress upon us the need to relook at what we
understand by the police classification of 'unnatural deaths'," says
Donna Fernandes of Vimochana, a women's organisation which first
uncovered the horrifying dimensions of the problem in Bangalore. "Our
investigations have proved that for large numbers of married women,
the right to live in safety and in a climate free from intimidation
and violence is under great threat. Why is there this social unconcern
when women are dying in such large numbers?"
DOWRY-RELATED violence against married women by the families they
marry into is a phenomenon that is on the increase all over the
country, particularly in urban areas where such violence gets reported
on. Women's groups have been engaging with this issue at various
levels in different parts of the country. In the absence of comparable
data from other cities, it may be premature to conclude that the high
incidence of unnatural deaths of young women in Bangalore is, in some
way, a problem specific to this city. What has put Bangalore on the
map of cities with a high incidence of dowry-related atrocities
against women is an exceptional research-cum-social-intervention
project by Vimochana. This study has, for the first time, quantified
this problem and put it firmly in the public realm. Vimochana's
sustained two-and-half-year campaign on the issue of unnatural deaths
of women resulted in the setting up, on April 7, 1999, of a Joint
House Committee on Atrocities against Women to investigate these
deaths and make recommendations for their prevention. The Joint
Committee, which was chaired by BJP MLA Premila Nesargi, presented its
report on July 1.
There are therefore two detailed public documents on the phenomenon of
the high rate of unnatural deaths of women in Bangalore - the
Vimochana documentation and campaign material and the House Committee
Report. There is also detailed, month-wise statistics compiled and
maintained by the State Crime Records Bureau, which Vimochana has
collated and analysed in its study. Together these provide a reliable
database on the numbers of women dying; the classification of their
deaths by the police (whether murder, suicide, accident); the ways by
which they die (burning, hanging, poisoning, and so on); the reasons
for the death; the nature of the police investigation into each of
these cases; the reasons for the slow pace of judicial redress; and
the reasons why so many dowry death cases end in acquittal of the
accused. Vimochana's database, which it began compiling from early
1997, also includes a detailed register of the women who are admitted
into the burns ward of the Victoria Hospital, their ages, marital
status, reasons for death, and case details.
Unnatural deaths and stove-bursts
In the early phase of the study, as it collated police statistics,
Vimochana noted a major anomaly between its figures and those of the
police. It found that a large number of deaths were being classified
in police records as "accidents" under "UDR" (Unnatural Death
Register). The category of "dowry deaths" in a technical sense only
included those cases that had been booked by the police under the
relevant sections of the law . The "accident" cases that were closed
for want of evidence, however, were largely due to "stove-bursts" or
"kitchen accidents". On the basis of its follow-up investigations with
the families of the victims of these so-called accidents, Vimochana
came up with some startling findings that changed the whole perception
of this social problem, the assumptions that underlay it, its causes
and the course that remedial action must take. Vimochana alleged that
a large number of murders and suicides, punishable under law, were
being made to look like "accidents" by the husband and members of his
family. These cases were closed by the investigating police officers
for want of hard evidence of a crime. When a professional eye looked
at the whole category of unnatural deaths (and not just "dowry
deaths"), the number of women dying in suspicious circumstances rose
sharply. Vimochana's contention is that a large number of the cases
simply escape detection and punishment in the prevailing social
conditions.
K. BHAGYA PRAKASH
A burns victim in a Bangalore hospital. There is evidence to suggest
that a large number of murders and suicides of young married women are
made to look like stove-burst "accidents".
Frontline attempted an independent assessment of some of the findings
of the Vimochana study, as well as of the House Committee Report. Data
provided to Frontline by the police department for Karnataka as a
whole show that out of 3,826 deaths recorded as accidents in 1997,
1,715, or around 50 per cent, were connected with fire accidents,
including stove and cooking gas cylinder bursts. V. Gowramma, a
Vimochana activist and the recipient of this year's Neerja Bhanot
award (which was instituted in memory of the 23-year-old Pan Am
airhostess who died showing exemplary courage in helping passengers
escape during a hijack attempt in Karachi in 1986), says: "We found
that of 550 cases reported between January and September 1997, 71 per
cent were closed as 'kitchen/cooking accidents' and 'stove-bursts'
after conducting investigations under Section 174 of the Code of
Criminal Procedures." When the cause of death in a majority of
registered dowry death cases is due to burning, such a high rate of
"stove-burst" accidents involving daughters-in-law can hardly be
regarded as natural or coincidental.
"It is an unfortunate fact that in a strictly legal sense, an
accidental stove-burst is not an offence under the law," Bangalore
City Police Commissioner L. Revannasiddaiah observed to Frontline.
"However, what is the use of an investigation if it does not arrive at
the truth? If there are two or three stove-burst accidents in a day,
in which only daughters-in-law die, we must look behind the formal
facade and take up investigations immediately." Noting that the police
are now trying to do this, he asked: "Have you ever heard of a mother-
in-law or a husband dying in a stove-burst?"
Since September 1997, two Vimochana volunteers have been posted
permanently at the burns ward of the Victoria Hospital, where most of
the serious burns cases in the city are admitted. "About seven cases
are admitted on an average every day, with the numbers going up to ten
following certain traditional festivals, when it is the practice for
women to be sent to their natal homes with additional demands for
dowry," explained Donna Fernandes. "The burnings usually take place
past 1 a.m., well past cooking time, which itself throws the 'stove-
burst' theory into doubt. Women come with burns of 70 per cent and
more, and on their death leave behind babies and small children."
There are several reasons why murders or forced suicides often get
registered as a "stove-burst". "The first reaction of a woman who has
been burnt by her husband or his family is to say it is a stove-
burst," says Rudrappa Hanagavadi, Special Executive Magistrate for
Bangalore, who is reponsible for the conduct of inquests in cases
relating to women who have died under suspicious circumstances. "Her
dying declaration, which is supposed to be taken in private by the
policeman in the presence of a doctor, is invariably a public
procedure, and she is afraid to tell the truth." Members of the
husband's family often threaten to harm her children and her natal
family if she does not say she was injured in a cooking accident.
Often, relatives and friends of the victim are reluctant to raise
doubts about the nature of the death as they fear harassment by the
victim's husband and his family. They also do not want to get involved
in laborious police and legal proceedings. The police, for their part,
do not try to penetrate this community resistance to look for evidence
of what really could have happened.
THERE are pressures on women to conceal the truth about what happened
to them even when they know they are dying. This correspondent visited
the Victoria Hospital burns ward on July 13 . On that day, five women
were admitted. There was Shabrin Begum, 20, who had been married for
one month, and had been admitted with 90 per cent burns; Selvi, 18,
married for two years and admitted with 80 per cent burns; Lalitha,
married for eight years and admitted with 80 per cent burns; Aniyamma,
40, with five children, admitted with 60 per cent burns; and Rehana
Taj, 15, from Kolar district, unmarried, and admitted with 45 to 50
per cent burns.
In her first dying declaration, Shabrin, an articulate PUC student,
said she was injured in a kitchen accident. In her second declaration,
she said her husband and mother-in-law set her on fire; based on this
declaration, the police have filed cases against them under Sections
498(A) and 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) (FIR Crime No. 479/99
filed on July 16, 1999 at the Madivala police station). Selvi gave
three dying declarations: in her first declaration she said she was
injured in an accident; in her second declaration, she said she had
attempted suicide; in her third declaration, she alleged that her
mother-in-law attempted to murder her. A case has been booked under
Section 302 of the IPC (FIR Crime No. 261/99 filed on July 16, 1999 in
the Srirampura police station). Lalitha gave two dying declarations,
the first saying that she was injured in a kitchen accident, the
second that she did it to herself out of "despair". Her relatives did
not wish to file a complaint, and Lalitha herself said nothing about
dowry demands. With tact and persuasiveness, the police could have
elicited the real causes behind Lalitha's despair. But her case (UDR
No. 17/99) was closed as a suicide after her death on July 16, 1999.
K. BHAGYA PRAKASH
At Vimochana's office premises in Bangalore, Donna Fernandes (left)
and V. Gowramma (centre). Vimochana's study has quantified for the
first time the problem of dowry-related atrocities against women in
Bangalore.
Who is dying and why?
* Manjula smiles shyly from out of her marriage photographs. She was
married in May 1998, when she was just 18, to Vruthesh Prasad, a
mechanic in the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation. Her father
gave her a dowry worth almost Rs.2 lakhs. Manjula used to complain to
her mother and sister that she was being harassed by her husband, his
brother and other members of his family for more dowry, but her family
told her she must adjust and that they would try to meet the demand.
On July 7, 1999, more than a year after her marriage, Manjula was
dead. She was found in her brother-in-law's bathroom, a pool of blood
under her head and between her legs, her upper torso and face burnt.
Her husband's family said she had committed suicide (there was a tin
of turpentine and a box of matches lying near her), but her own family
filed a police complaint. A case has been booked against four persons
under Section 498(A) and 304(B) of the IPC (FIR Crime No. 388/99).
* "I never imagined that he would be like this," a shaken B.P.
Krishnaswamy said of his son-in-law, H. Narasimhamurthy, a primary
school teacher at Bapu Palika Mahila Prautha Salai in Yeshwantpur.
Krishnaswamy trades in vegetables. His daughter, B.K. Rojavathi, a
primary school teacher in Seshadripuram Primary School in Yelahanka,
narrowly escaped an attempt on her life by her husband. She was
married in May 1999; her husband was given a dowry of Rs.30,000 in
cash and another lakh of rupees worth of jewellery and household
goods; soon after the marriage, Rojavathi's husband and father-in-law
demanded more dowry from her. On July 16, her husband, under the
pretext of taking her to a temple, took her instead to the isolated
Soldevanahalli forest and tried to strangle her with a chain that she
was wearing. When that was not successful, he returned with a can of
kerosene from his scooter, and poured it over her. A forest guard saw
him just as he tried to light a flame. Narasimhamurthy fled the scene,
the police were informed and Rojavathi was quickly taken to hospital.
Cases have been booked against her husband under Sections 498(A) and
307 of the IPC (FIR Crime No. 446/99 filed on July 16 at the
Nelamangala police station). He is absconding, as is the rest of his
family. Rojavathi, the whites of her eyes suffused with blood owing to
the effects of strangulation, and her body bruised from the blows she
sustained, is slowly recovering from her injuries and shock.
* H.T. Indira, a young wife and mother, died in November 1998; her
husband's family tried to pass it off as suicide by hanging. A charge-
sheet (CC No. 2033/99) was filed within a month of her death under
Sections 498(A) and 304(B) of the IPC; it names four accused - her
husband P.Thyagaraj, brothers-in-law P. Sivakumar and P.
Krishnamurthy, and mother-in-law Padmamma. Says Indira's sister
Chandramma, who has undertaken to fight the case: "My sister suffered
unspeakable torture for more dowry. A week before her death, they
threw her out of the house with the child and she slept on the steps
that night. She told a neighbour that she was leaving as she could
bear it no longer." According to Chandramma, Indra's brother was to
have brought her home but she died before that. "This is not a
suicide, I know," asserts Chandramma. "My sister was forced to commit
suicide."
These three recent incidents share a certain pattern of social
behaviour and individual response. The giving of dowry, an act illegal
in itself, is not perceived by the victim's families as socially
condemnable, or as having made the woman's position vulnerable right
from the day of the marriage. The husband and his family view her
primarily as a money-source and increase their pressure until it
results in her death or suicide. What is also significant is the
absence of support structures for the woman - a counselling centre, a
shelter home, concerned neighbourhoods - which could prevent the worst
from happening. She cannot even turn to her own family when in the
throes of distress.
SOME broad generalisations have been made from the database now
available on unnatural deaths of women. Its victims are generally
young (Vimochana's study, in fact, looks only at the death of married
women between the ages of 18 and 40), and in a large number of cases
the death occurs within the first two years of marriage. A large
number of victims (and perpetrators of the violence) are from poor or
lower middle-class backgrounds, although this is not an issue that
affects poor women alone. In most cases, the woman would have
undergone mental and physical harassment prior to her death. Lastly, a
majority of dowry murders and suicides are by burning. Police figures
made available to Frontline on suicide deaths alone show that more
than 50 per cent of suicides are committed by the woman setting
herself on fire. In one of the several studies that Vimochana
undertook, it found, for example, that out of 711 women who died in
1998 under unnatural circumstances, 454 died of burns. Significantly,
441 were between the ages of 18 and 30.
"In 90 per cent of the cases I deal with, the women are from poor
backgrounds," Hanagavadi told Frontline. "Migrants, like construction
workers and those who live in slums, account for a large number of
those involved in such cases."
The House Committee recommendations
Vimochana and the House Committee concur on one point. The special
laws that are in place to deal with atrocities against women are
undermined at every stage of investigation at both the police and
judicial levels. The House Committee made exhaustive recommendations
covering every stage of the police investigation and judicial
procedure - the registration of the complaint when a death or injury
under suspicious circumstances takes place, the preparing of the First
Information Report (FIR), the recording of a victim's dying
declaration, the inquest proceedings, the post-mortem and forensic
investigations, the framing of the charge-sheet, and the judicial
process after that. The Committee presented five draft bills to the
House dealing with atrocities against women. One of these, the
Karnataka Prevention of Domestic Violence and Atrocities Against Women
Bill, 1999, deals specifically with the issue of marital violence and
dowry-related deaths.
The investigative process
While the reasons for the large number of violent crimes against women
must be sought in a fast-changing social and economic milieu which
reinforces rather than retards patriarchal notions and values,
accountability for the failure to prevent such crimes must be shared
by the institutions of civil society: the legislature, the police, the
judiciary, and, to some extent, the media as well. The death of a
woman in unnatural circumstances has to go through two procedural
tiers. The first is investigation by the police and the inquest
officer (a government official at the level of a district magistrate)
with assistance from doctors who perform the post-mortem as well as
forensic experts. Upon the thoroughness of this investigation depends
the fate of the case once it gets admitted into the courts. This is
the second procedural tier. If the charge-sheet in a particular case
has sound investigative backing, it will have a much better chance of
standing up in a court of law.
Deaths, whether murders or suicides, that are related to the
relentless demand for dowry constitute a special category of crime.
Given the cultural context, tremendous social pressures operate upon
the victim and her family, pressures that seek to obscure truth and
scuttle the investigation. In Bangalore, there is a groundswell of
resentment among the families of victims and activist groups against
the police department for what is perceived as a lack of thoroughness
and integrity in pursuing cases of unnatural deaths among women. The
House Committee was severe in its criticism of police investigations
and set out elaborate recommendations on how the investigative
mechanism could be sensitised, streamlined and improved.
''There is only one institution in this society that is charged by law
to intervene in a situation like this, and that is the police," says
Revannasiddaiah. "But you must understand this institution too is a
product of this society. We have not been structured, resourced,
motivated and kept in readiness to meet this requirement, and we too
proceed on the old track." But he adds that the old mind-set of the
police force is changing and that he is making a conscious effort to
sensitise the force in its perceptions and investigative approach
towards domestic violence against women.
The Vanitha Sahaya Vani was set up seven months ago by the police
department for women in distress to call in for help and counselling.
While this was initially welcomed by women's activists, it has come in
for some criticism as the success of this facility, they say, is now
being measured in terms of the numbers of "reconciled" cases, and not
by the additional number of offences detected. For a woman desperate
enough to call the help-line, advice to "adjust" to the unequal terms
of her marriage closes one more door or escape route.
Under Revannasiddaiah's initiative, the police department worked with
Vimochana and a group of concerned IAS officers to bring out a manual
of guidelines for investigating offences against women. He has also
constituted a new forum, Parihar, under the police department, which
he hopes will meet the needs of women in crisis - in homes or at
workplaces.
Registration of a complaint
The House Committee Report has drawn attention to the need for the
police to register a complaint immediately after receiving information
about grievous injuries sustained by a woman under suspicious
circumstances. "After they receive a complaint the police should go to
the house and seal it off, which they do not always do," notes
Hanagavadi. They tend to wait until the death of the woman, by which
time valuable evidentiary material slips out of their hands. The FIR
must, on the basis of initial investigations, book a case under the
relevant sections of the law. "Who decides whether a death in
suspicious circumstances is a murder or a suicide or caused by a
cooking accident or a stove-burst?" asks Donna Fernandes. "If done by
an incompetent investigating officer, a chance of a cursory
investigation is very high. We believe from our investigations that
the temptation to classify and reduce unnatural deaths as accidents
and suicidal burns is high as it reduces workload and suits the
purposes of reporting." Members of families of victims who testified
before the House Committee had grievances relating to the FIRs and the
carelessness with which they were made. It is mandatory for a Deputy
Superintendent of Police (DSP), and in cities an Assistant
Commissioner of Police, to investigate all cases of attempted suicide
and death, under suspicious circumstances, of young married women
within the first five years of marriage. However, according to
Vimochana activists, the police do not always follow this injunction.
The dying declaration
The recording of the statement of the victim, which often becomes her
dying declaration, is a part of the investigative procedure, but it
often turns into a procedure for absolving the real perpetrator of the
crime. It is quite common to find a burns victim giving more than one
dying declaration. Meant to be recorded in privacy, the dying
declaration is often taken in the presence of the victim's husband and
his relatives. As mentioned earlier in the story, when this
correspondent visited the burns ward of Victoria Hospital, there were
three women who gave more than one dying declaration each. One of
them, Selvi, gave three in the course of one afternoon. "Such a case
is unlikely to stand in court. The defendant lawyer will present it as
conflicting evidence," a Special Public Prosecutor in Bangalore told
Frontline.
The inquest
A crucial part of the investigative process, the inquest, is to be
conducted by an officer of the level of a magistrate. He must visit
the spot of the death, examine the body, collect physical and verbal
evidence, and give a report that indicates the cause of death. Both
Vimochana and the House Committee have recommended that the inquest be
made an independent inquiry accountable to a higher review committee.
The House Committee has also recommended that the magistrate hold a
public hearing within a week of the woman's death, at which all
evidence, including the post-mortem and forensic reports, should be
presented. The final report should be a public document.
"Because of the alarming increase in the incidence of dowry-related
deaths, Assistant Commissioners were appointed to assist Tahsildars in
conducting inquests," explains Special Executive Magistrate Hanagavadi
as we drive to Kengeri where he is to conduct an inquest in the case
of a death by hanging that had been reported. "It is a horrible job,
seeing the deaths of young women every day." As an Assistant
Commissioner, Hanagavadi has three other charges and is on the move
the whole day. The post of Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) was
created in March 1998 to look exclusively into unnatural deaths of
women. A person is appointed to it for a year and this is extendable
by another year. Bangalore has two SEMs.
A large crowd had gathered outside the one-room dwelling where
Bhagyamma, a young wife and mother, had hanged herself from the
ceiling; her four-month-old baby lay in a crib nearby. On examination
of her body, it was found that she had written her suicide note on her
two legs, obviously hoping that it would escape detection until the
police arrived. In it she squarely blamed her husband, a groundsman at
the stadium of the Sports Authority of India, for her death. She could
no longer bear his torture, the suicide note said. She asked that her
child be taken care of by her mother after her death. Bhagyamma's
inquest report (No.42/99-2000) was sent on July 20, 1999 to the
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court.
The judicial process
Once a case enters the courts, it often takes months for it to be
heard and tried. In Bangalore, there used to be only one Special Court
to try cases of atrocities against women. By August 1998, there were
1,600 pending cases in the court, "the highest pendency rate for a
sessions court anywhere in the country," a Special Public Prosecutor
told Frontline. Three new courts were set up that month to clear the
backlog of cases. The average time taken for a case to be disposed of
is six to seven years.
There is a high rate of acquittals in cases of dowry murders or
suicides. The same Special Public Prosecutor told Frontline that of
the 730 cases pending in his court at the end of 1998, 58 resulted in
acquittals and only 11 in convictions. At the end of June 1999, out of
381 cases pending, 51 resulted in acquittals and eight in
convictions.
What are the reasons for this? Families of the victims, ignorant of
the law and its procedure, get demoralised with the long wait before a
case can be decided. "In 90 per cent of the cases, witnesses turn
hostile," the Special Public Prosecutor told Frontline. "Money plays a
major role. Since most of the aggrieved families are poor, they are
willing to make out-of-court settlements. It is common to find that
during the trial, they will suddenly change their story and say that
the victim had a health problem or that her death was an accident. In
fact, in eight of my cases, the parents gave their second daughter in
marriage to the same person after the case was filed!" The second
reason, according to him, is the "perfunctory police investigation"
that spoils the case right from the start. The "half-hearted
presentation of cases by the prosecutors who are burdened with 10 to
12 cases at any given point of time" is yet another reason he cites
for the high rate of acquittal. However, the "most important reason"
according to him "is the liberal view taken by the judiciary in cases
of dowry deaths."
Vimochana, in collaboration with the National Law School University,
proposes to have a public hearing before a Truth Commission from
August 15 to 17, 1999 in Bangalore. The Commission will comprise
representatives of the Law Commission, former judges, lawyers and
women activists. Complaints from parents who have lost daughters in
suspicious circumstances, in which justice was not perceived to have
been done, will be heard. The findings of the Truth Commission will be
made the subject matter of a public interest petition before the
Supreme Court with a view to bringing relief to the aggrieved
families. Geetha Ayappa, a lawyer who has been working with Vimochana
in the campaign, looks ahead to a new stage of pressing for action:
"We will use the evidence we get to invoke the Supreme Court's
intervention to protect a woman's right to life."
http://www.flonnet.com/fl1617/16170640.htm
Volume 24 - Issue 17 :: Aug. 25-Sep. 07, 2007
INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE
from the publishers of THE HINDU • Contents
COLUMN
The shadow of child abuse
R.K. RAGHAVAN
It is debatable whether the law alone can tackle the serious problem
of sexual abuse of children.
S.R. RAGHUNATHAN
Children taking part in a rally in Chennai as part of a campaign
against child abuse. A file picture.
I’m a 37-year-old woman, sexually abused as a 6-year-old by a man now
aged 47; he is still out there, somewhere, living, working, breathing
in a street near you. The experience has haunted me all these years.
Six years ago I star ted confiding in certain people around me (though
not my family members) and it became apparent that three women and
three men in my social circle had been sexually abused as children.
THIS is how a reader responded recently to a Sunday Times (London)
article on the menace of child assault, which is often inexactly
described as paedophilia. Paedophilia also covers even non-assaults in
which a mentally sick person derives immense gratification from merely
looking at pornographic images of children. The evil is definitely not
something unknown to mankind. History is replete with instances of
uninhibited child sexual abuse by those who co mmanded wealth and
wielded authority. These persons were guilty of outrageous practices,
which hardly, however, caused social indignation. Public opinion was
not stirred by these practices because the common belief at that time
was that these were a prerogative of royalty and affluent landholders
and that making a noise about them would only exacerbate the problem.
The prohibition of child marriage in India through the Child Marriage
Restraint Act of 1929 was at least partially motivated by the need to
protect children from being treated as mere sexual toys. The Offences
against Children (Prevention) Bill, 2007, which has been in a state of
limbo with the Ministry of Women and Child Development, is another
example of an endeavour to curb the exploitation of children. The
point that is debatable is whether law alone can tackle the problem.
The global incidence of child abuse is still substantial enough to
cause worry. While sexual abuse of children can encompass an entire
continuum from fondling to rape, according to Crime in India 2005 (the
official publication of t he Union Home Ministry), more than 4,000
girl children were raped during the year (a 13 per cent increase over
2004). Also, there were 145 cases of procuring of minor girls and 28
of buying girls for prostitution, both sharp rises over the previous
year. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
(NSPCC) in the United Kingdom reported that about 16 per cent of all
women and 7 per cent of all men interviewed by it said that they had
been sexually abused before they were 12. Further, more than 90 per
cent of all sex and violent offenders were prone to reoffend,
indicating that sexual assault of children was too serious a matter to
be left solely to the police.
The media undoubtedly gloat over celebrity misbehaviour with children.
Whether it is for commercial gain or pure enlightenment, such coverage
has helped to arouse noticeable public interest in a subject that
normally repels civilised human beings. The British press was until a
few days ago full of the trial of Chris Langham, the award-winning
stage comedian who was accused of having had sex with a teenager years
ago and was also in possession of pornographic child images. While he
has been cleared of the former charge, the jury found him guilty of
downloading pictures of child abuse on to his home computer.
Langham’s case raises several points. First is the ease with which
many in society are able to hide their perversions for a considerable
period of time. They get caught very late in their lives when they
have already caused plenty of damage to their hapless victims, and any
penalty in the form of incarceration means little to them. We must,
however, feel gratified that destiny does catch up with at least a few
who indulge in child sexual abuse. Such instances should deter those
who wrongly believe that their status in society is a guarantee
against exposure. This is why everything needs to be done to ensure
that victims do not suffer in private and are unafraid of the
consequences of going to town against their aggressors. The role of
the media and social action groups in facilitating this process can
hardly be exaggerated.
Secondly, Langham’s exploits confirm the widely held impression that
cyberspace offers alluring opportunities to paedophiles. Those who
protest against policing cyberspace will understand from the Langham
case the hollowness and unreasonableness of their stand. Cyberspace
panders unwittingly to trusted and seemingly respectable people in
society who masquerade as upholders of the rights of children but are
inclined to abuse the latter in the shadow of their private moments.
It is for this reason, if not for anything else, that monitoring of
the Internet by law enforcement agencies has become a sad necessity.
Finally, a major argument that the 58-year-old actor put forward in
court was that his was not a crime but an aberration, the consequence
of his own victimisation when he was a child of eight. When Langham
downloaded questionable images, not only was he researching for one of
his plays – a claim considered facetious by one of his fellow-actors –
but he was also apparently trying to dissect his own childhood
experience.
Whether Langham’s defence is truthful or not, it brings us to the
question, how relevant is one’s childhood experience to one’s conduct
later on in life? While Langham’s deposition to the magistrate in his
defence is more the rule rather than an exception, it is the belief
that the insidious impact of child sexual abuse often does not allow
many child victims to lead optimal lives as adults.
An effective therapy
Eileen Vizard’s research (reported in detail in Newstatesman; August
9) is an eye-opener of sorts. Vizard is a consultant with the NSPCC,
which recently co-authored a major study on “Links between Juvenile
Sexually Abusi ve Behaviour and Emerging Severe Personality Disorder
Traits in Childhood”. This three-year study covered 280 identified
juvenile sexual abusers, 10 per cent of whom were women. Most of their
victims were relatives, friends and acquaintances, which is the usual
relationship proximity for adult child sex abusers as well. While
child-on-child sex abuse is hardly ever considered or even taken
seriously, the stark fact remains that one-third of convicted child
sex offenders reported their sexual interest in children even as young
teenagers, besides also starting their patterns of sexually abusive
behaviour from that age. Vizard’s research, like many others before,
counters the belief that exposure to child pornography is not all that
harmful. The stimulus provided by online images of sexual activity
involving children affirms for most people a hitherto reprehensible
fantasy. Often, the ensuing rationalisation also leads to a repetition
of similar behaviour towards other children.
Andrew Durham, who works for the Warwickshire Council in the U.K.,
affirms this explicitly: “When young people see adults abusing
children on the Net, it normalises what is being done.” What is of
some consolation is Vizard’s view, which is also widely subscribed to
and is the focus of much research, that cognitive behavioural therapy
is effective in “dealing with feelings and impulses in a non-damaging
way”.
The significance of Vizard’s study is its emphasis on the treatment of
child abusers. But then, how do we supervise and manage juvenile sex
offenders in the community once they are sent back to us after serving
their sentences? I tend to agree with Minette Marrin’s (“We need more
than jail for child abuse”, The Sunday Times, June 3) view on the
administration of antiandrogen drugs and antidepressants, even if such
a course is only partially effective.
What is more essential is keeping track of such offenders once they
are out in society so as to prevent them from reoffending. This
requires a good information system and an informant channel. Sex
offender registries, like those that exist in the U.K., have their own
share of failings, even in that far less populous country with a
better overall understanding of sexual violence against children.
Coupled with some counselling, such registration can take reasonable
care of the tendency of some convicts to lapse into delinquency. While
the recent establishment of the Technology Coalition and the Financial
Coalition Against Child Pornography is a welcome initiative, it would
be a cause for a lot more cheer if there were a substantial
involvement from the information technology (IT) and financial
industry in India as well.
In this context, Tulir – Centre for the Prevention and Healing of
Child Sexual Abuse (CPHCSA), Chennai, an organisation that addresses
itself solely to the problem of sexual abuse of children, is indignant
that a proposed Bill to amend the Information Technology Act, 2000,
has dropped an expert committee suggestion that a comprehensive
definition of “child pornography” should find a place in the Act. This
is in spite of India having ratified the Optional Protocol to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child
prostitution and child pornography. It is ironic that the lawmakers of
a country that is synonymous with IT are myopic to the transnational
nature of the crime of possession and distribution of images of child
abuse, a fact that has a huge impact on the rapidly widening contours
of sexual crime against children everywhere.
http://www.flonnet.com/fl2417/stories/20070907506208400.htm
Volume 26 - Issue 24 :: Nov. 21-Dec. 04, 2009
INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE
from the publishers of THE HINDU
COVER STORY
Victims always
VENKITESH RAMAKRISHNAN AND
AJOY ASHIRWAD MAHAPRASHASTA
The S.C. and S.T. (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has failed to make
Dalits any safer.
RANJEET KUMAR
An innocent survivor amidst scattered bodies, a scene after the
Ranveer Sena's carnage of Dalits at Shankarbigha in Jehanabad district
of Bihar on the eve of Republic Day in 1999. Dalit rights activists
say the Ranveer Sena, a private militia of Bhumihar landlords which
terrorised Dalits in the 1990s, is regrouping.
THE ascent of the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to power in
Uttar Pradesh on May 13, 2007, was seen as a defining moment in the
politics of Dalit empowerment in the country. The Scheduled Caste
(S.C.) leader of an avowedly “Dalit assertive” party had been Chief
Minister earlier too, but the difference this time was that her party
came to power on its own, without needing the support of other parties
and independent members.
Thousands of Dalits who gathered in the State capital, Lucknow, on
that day expressed the hope that atrocities against the S.Cs would
decline drastically under the new “single-party” regime. Many social
activists and observers who spoke to Frontline then also hoped that a
single-party government under a Dalit Chief Minister in the country’s
most populous State would have a salutary effect on Dalits’ condition
elsewhere in the country too.
Approximately a year later, papers and documents presented at a two-
day international seminar on Uttar Pradesh, organised by the Observer
Research Foundation (ORF), a Delhi-based think tank, provided an
indication of the situation on the ground. The papers documented that
“within a month of the [Mayawati] government’s assumption of office,
seven Dalits were killed in Muzaffarnagar, while three Dalit women
were raped in the same district”. The papers also revealed that
reports from areas such as Rae Bareli, Mohanlalganj, Lakhimpur Kheri
and Mahoba were of a similar nature and that atrocities against Dalits
continued in spite of the political gains made by the BSP.
The presentations at the seminar pointed out that the political
leadership found it difficult to implement what was perhaps its most
important Dalit empowerment programme – the allotment of patta land to
Dalits – on account of strong anti-Dalit sentiments within the
administration.
A field study presented at the seminar revealed that in scores of
villages in western Uttar Pradesh, in districts such as Baghpat,
Muzaffarnagar and Meerut, Dalits were unable to occupy patta land
allotted to them because of intimidation and in some cases even
physical prevention by upper-caste groups. Not surprisingly, sections
of the police and the administration were hand in glove with the upper-
caste elements. Such was their allegiance to the caste interests that
even repeated orders from the Chief Minister’s Office to the District
Magistrates failed to have any effect in a number of cases.
The National Crime Record Bureau’s (NCRB) statistics for 2007 for
crimes against members of the S.Cs and the Scheduled Tribes (S.Ts)
corroborated the presentations made at the seminar. The figures showed
that Uttar Pradesh topped the list on atrocities against the S.Cs and
the S.Ts, with 2,113 cases out of a total of 9,819. The data also
indicated a 10.2 per cent increase in crimes against the S.Cs and the
S.Ts at the national level. Uttar Pradesh accounted for 20.5 per cent
of all cases in India. The BSP’s argument was that under the
“friendly” Mayawati regime more S.C. members made bold to register
cases against their oppressors.
There was merit in this argument, but the fact remained that Dalits
were at the receiving end in large parts of Uttar Pradesh, where the
politics of empowerment of the S.Cs and the S.Ts, the protection of
their interests, their physical safety and the assertion of their
constitutional rights had acquired, in comparative terms, the highest
political and electoral acceptability.
Social and political observers hark back to an observation made by
B.R. Ambedkar to explain this context. Ambedkar had said: “History
shows that where ethics and economics come in conflict, victory is
always with economics. Vested interests have never been known to have
willingly divested themselves unless there was sufficient force to
compel them.”
Long-standing apartheid
Twenty years after the passage of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, the vociferous advocacy
of the same by almost all political parties and even the rise of the
politics of S.C.-S.T. empowerment across the country, it seems that
the quantum of “sufficient force” visualised by Ambedkar would have
been colossal. As the case of Uttar Pradesh indicates, the effective
implementation of the Act would take a lot more than electoral
victories and increasing political space.
The gaps in the implementation of the Act stand in stark contrast to
the convictions that underlay its enactment. In simple terms, the
legislation aims to prevent the various forms of offences by persons
other than members of the S.C. and the S.T. against members of these
communities. But studies have shown that it has systematically been
prevented from achieving its goal. A number of factors have
contributed to this, but the most important is the caste and class
prejudices in society. These prejudices have got institutionalised,
through religious and social practices, into a unique system of long-
standing apartheid. That they have a class character is also evident;
the Dalit and Adivasi communities that are discriminated against
constitute almost 80 per cent of India’s poor.
The S.C./S.T. Act is seen to be empowering as it is the first
legislation to use and define the term “atrocities” committed against
the S.Cs and the S.Ts. Introducing the Bill, the then Union Law
Minister, B. Shankaranand, said the normal provisions of the existing
laws, such as the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Civil
Rights Act (PCRA), 1955, had been found inadequate to check the
atrocities, gross indignities and offences against the S.Cs and the
S.Ts. Therefore, the Act prescribes harsher punishments than the
punitive measures detailed in the IPC and the PCRA, which used only
the term “offences” vis-À-vis caste-related crimes.
The Act also introduced an executive system specifically to govern
justice for the S.Cs and the S.Ts in cases of 22 broad types of
atrocities relating to socio-economic discriminatory practices, which
are listed in it. This system should comprise special courts, a
special public prosecutor, nodal officers in each State, an S.C. and
S.T. protection cell, and State-level and district-level monitoring
and vigilance committees to identify atrocity-prone areas, and a
special officer appointed by the district head to look after each case
of atrocity. In actuality, in most States the full system has either
not been constituted or has been functioning ineffectively.
Gaps in implementation
ANU PUSHKARNA
Activists of the Dalit Sena staging a demonstration in New Delhi on
July 21 demanding action from the Bihar government to check atrocities
on Dalits.
The gaps in its implementation could be studied at two levels – the
executive and the judiciary. The National Human Rights Commission
(NHRC) noted in its 2002 report: “Under-reporting is a very common
phenomenon and the police resort to various machinations to discourage
S.C./S.T. [persons] from registering their cases, to dilute the
seriousness of the violence, to shield the accused persons from
arrests and prosecution.”
A study done by National Dalit Movement for Justice (NDMJ), part of
the National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), showed that
between 1992 and 2007 only 33 per cent of the atrocity cases were
registered under the S.C./S.T. Act. The majority of the cases were
registered under IPC sections and 1 per cent under the PCRA. It also
showed that the conviction rate of cases under the S.C./S.T. Act was
just 3.3 per cent for the country as a whole.
The figures at the level of the judiciary are equally pathetic.
Between 1992 and 2007, as many as 80 per cent of the cases heard by
the special courts (created under Section 14 of the Act) were not
registered under the Act. In 95.1 per cent of the cases charge sheets
had not been filed. The monitoring advisories set up in States on an
ad hoc basis by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (MSJE)
and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) noted that in many cases the
police wilfully neglected the S.C./S.T. Act and did not register first
information reports (FIRs). Among the recommendations made were the
setting up of special police stations and the launching of awareness
campaigns about the Act.
The Ahmedabad-based Council for Social Justice (CSJ) has collected
documents of 400 cases pertaining to 2004 filed under the S.C./S.T.
Act in Gujarat. There are some startling revelations in them. Despite
Section 18 of the Act restricting anticipatory bail in atrocity cases,
anticipatory bail had been granted in 320 of the 400 cases.
Valjibhai Patel, secretary CSJ, told Frontline: “Rule 4(1) of the Act
says that there should be two panels of advocates in atrocity cases –
a state-appointed public prosecutor and a panel created by the
district head. In most of the cases, we see no such panels. The Act
states that an officer below the rank of DSP [Deputy Superintendent of
Police] cannot investigate the case. Many of the accused have been
acquitted by courts just because the case was investigated by officers
below the rank of DSP. I have seen in Gujarat rape cases of Dalits
being sent to Lok Adalats meant for only compoundable offences.”
Plight of women
Dalit women face the worst atrocities as both women and Dalits. A
seminal study conducted by the NCDHR (“Dalit Women Speak Out”, 2006)
enumerating the experiences of 500 Dalit women from Andhra Pradesh,
Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh presents a shocking picture of the
conditions they live in. The study records the violence – physical,
sexual and mental – inflicted on Dalit women. The study reinforces
calls for comprehensive preventive measures to be put in place to
eradicate caste discrimination and violence against Dalit women, in
conjunction with measures to help Dalit women achieve their rights.
Valjibhai Patel says that though the Act mentions punitive measures
against negligence, to date not a single official in India has been
punished despite serious violations of the Act all over the country.
He says the judiciary should also be made accountable, not just the
police and the district administration. “There are many cases of
atrocities where the accused has been punished under the IPC but has
been acquitted under the S.C./S.T. Act. In Gujarat, one of the
professors who raped his Dalit student got life imprisonment but was
acquitted under the S.C./S.T. Act. The Khairlanji case is a big
example where the people now serving the death penalty were acquitted
under the S.C./S.T. Act. How is this possible? This means there is
some problem in investigation and pursuance of the Act,” he says. The
CSJ has filed a petition in the Supreme Court regarding the violation
of the Act, the first hearing of which will be on December 3.
Budget and policy
The MJSE is responsible for the implementation of the S.C./S.T. Act.
To implement the Act effectively, the MSJE has to provide for special
courts for the trial of offences and for the relief and rehabilitation
of victims of such offences. The Ministry provides financial resources
for the implementation of the Act through the Special Central
Assistance (SCA) from the Union government, which is 50 per cent of
the total expenditure of the States and the total expenditure of the
Union Territories.
However, the allocation of funds every year under the SCA has seen a
steady decline. Under the Act taluk- and mandal-level officers are
responsible for disbursing compensation and this work has to be
monitored by the District Magistrate/Collector and the district
monitoring and vigilance committee. Separate funds have to be given to
police stations/courts towards travelling allowance/dearness allowance
(T.A./D.A.) of victims and witnesses on FIR investigation and it has
to be monitored by the Superintendent of Police (S.P.) and the
District Judge (D.J.). There is also clear direction in the Act that
arrangements should be made for maintenance expenses and reimbursement
of medical costs of victims of atrocity.
In 2008, the Dalit Arthik Adhikar Andolan, also a part of the NCDHR,
looked into the actual budget for the S.C./S.T. Act in each State and
estimated the amount every State actually needed for its proper
implementation. Its calculations have been done on the basis of the
number of compensation cases in each State, the average cost of
running the present number of special courts and special police
stations, and relief and rehabilitation measures for victims specified
in the Act.
The results in all the States reveal that the actual budget allocated
for the Act is much less than what is required. This is despite the
fact that both the Central government and the State governments share
the amount made available for the programme under the special
component plan. Uttar Pradesh ranks the highest in terms of this
deficit, and its figure stands at a staggering Rs.1,640 crore.
Rajasthan, also a State with one of the highest rates of caste crimes,
is second with Rs.1,157 crore, and Bihar follows with Rs.1,085 crore.
According to the actual budget allocated, as shown in the MJSE annual
report, Uttar Pradesh, since 2007, ranks the highest in the allocation
of funds for the Act, with around Rs.950 crore, followed closely by
Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Among the big States, the lowest
allocation is in Bihar, with just Rs.27 crore. Chhattisgarh’s
allocation is Rs.40 crore. In Haryana, which has one of the largest
numbers of caste crimes, the allocation is only Rs.60 crore. In the
South, Tamil Nadu ranks the lowest, granting around Rs.235 crore.
An NCDHR analysis of the qualitative investments of the Central
government shows that in this year’s Budget the amount spent on wage
labour, school education, basic health, shelter, nutrition and primary
necessaries involving Dalits is 62.44 per cent of the total special
assistance funds. In sectors where the upper classes dominate, such as
higher education, entrepreneurial development, and land and asset
building, the allocation is 37.56 per cent. State budgets present a
similar trend. Most of the funds still go to the traditional
occupation of Dalits, such as cleaning, agricultural labour, leather
works, and so on, which is in contrast to the theme of the SCP of
systematic empowerment of Dalits in all sectors of production. It
therefore does not surprise when the S.C./S.T. Act, a tool for legal
empowerment of Dalits, lacks funds for its implementation.
The aggressive pursuit of neoliberal economic policies by governments
at the Centre and in many States over the past decade has also
resulted in an increase in atrocities against the S.Cs and the S.Ts.
Ironically, even the Uttar Pradesh government is not free from such
ventures. The government’s ambitious 1,047-kilometre-long Ganga
Expressway project, connecting Greater Noida near Delhi and Ballia in
eastern Uttar Pradesh, was expected to acquire 64,000 hectares of
land, 70 per cent of which is agricultural land. A number of observers
and social analysts pointed out that this acquisition would militate
against the basic livelihood of a large section of Dalits who were
into share-cropping with upper-caste, land-owning farmers.
According to NCRB data since 2005, Uttar Pradesh ranks the highest in
the number of cases of caste atrocities, followed closely by Madhya
Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat. “Acts like
these empower and help organise Dalits. With greater awareness about
the Act, we have seen a rise in caste atrocities every year,” said
Sirivella Prasad of the NDMJ.
The trend clearly shows that caste atrocities have increased with
greater social and economic mobility of the S.Cs and the S.Ts which
disrupts the exploitative status quo of a feudal society.
Many activists note that atrocity cases happen when Dalits try to
avail themselves of legal resources; assert their right over land,
water, and livelihood; assert their right to choose their occupation;
attempt to participate in the cultural life of the community; assert
their right to vote; and are victimised to satisfy the superstitions
of dominant castes (witchcraft, human sacrifice). With respect to the
S.Ts, activists say most of the atrocities happen when they try to
organise themselves politically against the combined exploitation of
government officials and industrial goons in the hinterland.
However, the Act is not clear about the rules with respect to social
and economic boycott of the S.Cs and the S.Ts and there is an ongoing
advocacy campaign among Dalit groups to seek amendments to certain
provisions of the Act to make it stronger. Said Colin Gonsalves of
Human Rights Law Network: “Unless the institutional caste bias is
systematically done away with at the policy level and proper action is
taken against negligent officials, violations will continue to happen.
The legal system has failed the S.Cs and the S.Ts. The Act is a clear
instance of wonderful legislation but useless implementation. Our
judiciary needs at least 15 per cent reservation for the S.Cs right
from the lower courts to the Supreme Court. The Rajasthan High Court
has not had a single Dalit judge since Independence – absurd for a
State that ranks very high in caste crimes.”
To put it simply, caste is a combined social system of occupation,
endogamy, culture, social class and political power, which has
historically been exploitative for Dalits and Adivasis. In this
context, the S.C./S.T. Act and its status echo Ambedkar’s words: “This
condition obtains even where there is no slavery in the legal sense.
It is found where, as in caste system, some persons are forced to
carry on the prescribed callings which are not their choice.”
http://www.flonnet.com/fl2624/stories/20091204262400400.htm
chhotemianinshallah
NDTV Correspondent, Friday March 19, 2010, New Delhi
Having to contend with both silent sulks and open attack from within
his party, BJP's new president Nitin Gadkari has stoutly defended his
choice of people for his new team of office-bearers.
On the controversial inclusion as Secretary of Varun Gandhi, a man the
party had in the past sought to distance itself from after his hate
speeches, Gadkari said exclusively to NDTV: "Varun Gandhi should be
given a chance, why hold the past against him?"
Gadkari also made clear that, "Those who have complaints about the new
team should speak to me, not the media," a barb at partymen like actor
Shatrughan Sinha, who had criticised the new president for leaving out
"the most deserving people". (Read: Shatrughan slams Gadkari)
The actor had particularly talked about the exclusion from the team of
veteran Yashwant Sinha, saying the team was constituted without
consulting "people who matter like my friend and leader of opposition
Sushma Swaraj and some other top leaders".
Gadkari countered the charges by saying: "It's wrong to say that
Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie were excluded because they are Advani
detractors... It's not possible to include everyone on the team."
The BJP chief, who was reported scrambling for approval from the RSS
for his list of office-bearers hours before he announced the names,
however, maintained that there was no pressure from the RSS on team
selection.
He also sought to clear the air on the inclusion of a number of
celebrities as senior office-bearers by saying, "The celebrities we
included are also committed party workers, they are not just
celebrities." Getting in people like Hema Malini as Vice President and
Navjyot Singh Sindhu and Smriti Irani as Secretaries is seen by many
as a move by Gadkari to use known faces strategically in his bid to
revive and re-popularise the BJP. The Sangh's choice of workers is not
personality-based.
In the broad-based interview, Gadkari talked about the summons to
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi from the Supreme Court-appointed
Special Investigation Team (SIT) looking into 2002 Gujarat riots
cases. "Modi is a big leader of our party, the SIT summons make no
difference", Gadkari said.
Talking exclusively to NDTV in Mumbai, Gadkari also commented on the
issue of partners Shiv Sena targeting non-Maharashtrians in the city.
"We believe Mumbai is for all Indians, but just because we have some
differences with the Shiv Sena, doesn't mean it will impact our
alliance," he said.
Nitin Gadkari's new team for BJP
http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/nitin-gadkaris-new-team-for-bjp-17797.php
Gadkari sheds kilos for a lean makeover
http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/nitin-gadkari-in-youngistan-17791.php
Gadkari, RSS differ over his new team
http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/gadkari-rss-differ-over-his-new-team-17787.php
Gadkari's new team: Comeback for Varun, Raje?
http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/gadkaris-new-team-comeback-for-varun-raje-17713.php
http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/give-varun-gandhi-a-chance-gadkari-18105.php
Shatrughan slams Gadkari's team, says 'new wine in old bottle'
18 Mar 2010, 2122 hrs IST, PTI
MUMBAI: Upset over being ignored by BJP president Nitin Gadkari, actor-
turned-MP Shatrughan Sinha on Thursday became the first party leader
to
publicly criticise the composition of the new team of office bearers,
saying it was "new wine in old bottle".
While there have been reports of unease among some leaders, Sinha was
forthcoming in an interview claiming some of the "most deserving"
people have been left out in the much-awaited team announced on
Tuesday.
The 'Bihari Babu' dubbed Gadkari's team, touted by the party as an
effective blend of youth, experience and women, as "new wine in old
bottle and, if we include bodies like the party's parliamentary board,
old wine in old bottle".
Without naming anyone, he said some of those inducted could have been
avoided.
For the record, Sinha refuted suggestions that he was a contender for
any post. He felt that senior leader and former union minister
Yashwant Sinha should have been included with an eye on Bihar assembly
elections due in October this year.
Yashwant Sinha, a former leader of opposition in the Bihar assembly,
has held key portfolios at the centre including those of Finance and
External Affairs.
"Bihar assembly polls are most crucial for the party in the near
future, yet a leader of the calibre of Yashwant Sinha has been kept
out of the team. Some of the people who could have been avoided have
been taken at the cost of some of the most deserving people," he
said.
"I have always treated Gadkari like a younger brother and friend.
Nevertheless, the composition of the new team, personally speaking, is
unfortunate and I am quite unhappy."
Sinha claimed that the team was constituted without consulting "people
who matter like my friend and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha
Sushma Swaraj and some other top leaders".
"Being a senior and matured leader, I do not want to break party
discipline by making any undesirable comments but I am certainly
worried and to a certain extent unhappy with the composition of the
team," he said and went on to add that "most partymen are unhappy but
there is time and we will wait and watch."
Party insiders said Sinha was unhappy over the appointment as general
secretary of Ravishankar Prasad, a fellow Bihari and Kayastha
casteman.
Sinha, one of the star campaigners for the party in the past several
assembly and parliamentary elections, wanted a greater role for
himself in the Bihar polls, sources said.
Deserving people not in Gadkari team: Shatrughan
19 Mar 2010, 0352 hrs IST, ET Bureau
NEW DELHI: BJP’s perennial dissenter Shatrughan Sinha is at it again.
This time, he has attacked party president Nitin Gadkari for not
including
“deserving” leaders in his team.
Mr Sinha, who has been eyeing a party post, couched his criticism in
his “angst” over the denial of a place in the new team of office-
bearers for former Union minister Yashwant Sinha. “Bihar assembly
polls are most crucial for the party in the near future, yet a leader
of the calibre of Yashwant Sinha has been kept out of the team. Some
of the people who could have been avoided have been taken at the cost
of some of the most deserving people,” he said. Incidentally, Mr
Yashwant Sinha represents Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh in the Lok Sabha.
Mr Shatrughan Sinha also insinuated that the list was prepared without
any consultation. “The team was constituted without consulting people
who matter like my friend and leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj.
Being a senior and mature leader, I do not want to break party
discipline by making any undesirable comments, but I am certainly
worried and to certain extent unhappy with the composition of the
team,” he said.
His attack seemed directed against the BJP president as he dismissed
his team as “new wine in old bottle”. To Mr Sinha, the parliamentary
board was “old wine in old bottle”.
Mr Sinha has been at loggerheads with the BJP leadership for a long
time. He had refused to campaign for the NDA in the 2004 Bihar
assembly polls after Mr Nitish Kumar was named as the alliance’s chief
ministerial candidate.
But he made peace with the JD(U) leader after he was declared as the
BJP’s candidate from the Patna Saheb Lok Sabha constituency in 2009.
But for Mr Kumar’s backing, he would not have made it to the Lok
Sabha. Within his own Kayastha community, he did not have much support
as his candidature came at the cost of another legitimate claimant Mr
Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Sinha stirs up hornet’s nest on Gadkari team, BJP quiet
Express news service
Posted: Friday , Mar 19, 2010 at 2340 hrs
New Delhi:
An embarassed BJP on Thursday refused to react to party leader
Shatrughan Sinha’s criticisim of the newly-constituted team of party
office-bearers.
Earlier in the day, the actor-turned-MP said “some of the most
deserving people” have been left out of Nitin Gadkari’s team.
Specifically referring to the exclusion of former Union Finance
Minister Yashwant Sinha, the Patna Sahib MP stressed that Sinha had
held key portfolios at the Centre and in states, and that he was also
a former leader of opposition in the Bihar Assembly.
“Bihar Assembly polls are most crucial for the party in the near
future, yet a leader of the calibre of Yashwant Sinha has been kept
out of the team. Some of the people who could have been avoided have
been taken at the cost of some of the most deserving people,” Sinha
was quoted as saying.
Shatrughan Sinha is considered close to Yashwant Sinha, but he is not
on the best of terms with Ravi Shankar Prasad, who has been elevated
as a general secretary and chief spokesperson.
Sinha further said the team was constituted “without consulting people
who matter like my friend and leader of opposition Sushma Swaraj and
some other top leaders”.
“Being a senior and matured leader, I do not want to break party
discipline by making any undesirable comments but I am certainly
worried and to a certain extent unhappy with the composition of the
team,” he was quoted as saying. Prasad, however, refused to comment.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Sinha-stirs-up-hornet-s-nest-on-Gadkari-team--BJP-quiet/592738
Old faces dominate new BJP prez’s team
Shekhar Iyer, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, March 17, 2010
First Published: 00:52 IST(17/3/2010)
Last Updated: 01:01 IST(17/3/2010)
The big changes that BJP president Nitin Gadkari promised to bring
when he took over three months ago are still far away, judging by the
new team of office bearers he announced on Tuesday.
Gadkari picked many old hands and a few new faces, leaving many
aspirants disappointed even as he sought to perform a balancing act by
giving ample representation to various factions and social groups.
Rajnath Singh, who had to make way for Gadkari, appeared to have
succeeded in ensuring most of the office bearers close to him when he
was president, remained undisturbed in Gadkari’s reshuffle.
Among the other nine general secretaries, at least four are Rajnath
Singh’s core followers, led by former Jharkhand chief minister Arjun
Munda.
Former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje was also made general
secretary, honouring the commitment made to her in return for her
stepping down as leader of the Rajasthan opposition.
Gadkari’s personal stamp was reflected in the choice of Himachal
Pradesh minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, as a general secretary, whom he
was associated closely with during their days in the Akhil Bharatiya
Vidyarthi Parishad.
The RSS, which pitched strongly for Gadkari being made president, has
reasons to be pleased, with many of its men allotted key positions.
They include Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, Murlidhar Rao and Tarun Vijay,
former editor of RSS mouthpiece Panchajanyaya.
In a bid to show 33 per cent went to women, Gadkari filled the
national executive with leaders like Maharashtra BJP youth wing leader
Shaina N. C., film star Kiron Kher, Poonam Azad (wife of former
cricketer Kirti Azad), and Shobhatai Phadanvis.
Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie, who were critical of the party after
the poll debacle, retained their membership of the national executive.
List of new BJP team
Hindustan Times
New Delhi, March 16, 2010
First Published: 17:10 IST(16/3/2010)
Last Updated: 17:24 IST(16/3/2010)
Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari has announced party's
National Executive. It consists of 121 members, including 13 vice-
presidents, 10 general secretaries, 15 secretaries and one treasurer.
As provided for in the BJP constitution, the office bearers include as
many as 13 women, 33% of the total number. In all, there are 40 women
members. Besides, the president has also constituted BJP's
Parliamentary Board. The names of the members of the Central Election
Committee, Morcha Presidents and Conveners of different cells besides
some other functionaries will be announced later.
Office Bearers
President: Shri. Nitin Gadkari
Vice-Presidents
1. Shri Shanta Kumar
2 Shri Kalraj Mishra
3 Shri Vinay Katiyar
4 Shri Bhagatsingh Koshiyari
5 Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
6 Smt. Karuna Shukla
7 Smt. Najma Heptullah
8 Smt.Hema Malini
9 Smt.Bijoya Chakravarti
10 Shri Purushottam Rupala
11 Smt. Kiran Ghai
12
13
General Secretaries
1 Shri Ananth Kumar
2 Shri Thavarchand Gehlot
3 Smt.Vasundhara Raje
4 Shri Vijay Goyal
5 Shri Arjun Munda
6 Shri Ravishankar Prasad (Chief Spokesperson)
7 Shri Dharmendra Pradhan
8 Shri Narendrasingh Tomar
9 Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda
10 Shri Ram Lal (Organisation)
11 Shri V. Satish (Jt.Gen.Sec.Org)
12 Shri Saudan Singh (Jt.Gen.Sec.Org)
Secretaries
1 Shri Santosh Gangwar
2 Smt.Smriti Irani
3 Smt.Saroj Pande
4 Smt.Kiran Maheshwari
5 Shri Tapir Gao
6 Shri Navjot Singh Siddhu
7 Shri Ashok Pradhan
8 Shri Varun Gandhi
9 Shri Muralidhar Rao
10 Dr. Kirit Somaiyya
11 Dr. Laxman
12 Captain Abhimanyu
13 Smt.Arati Mehra
14 Shri Bhupendra Yadav
15 Kum.Vani Tripathi
Treasurer
Shri Piyush Goyal
Official Spokespersons
Shri Prakash Javdekar
Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy
Shri Shahnawaz Hussain
Shri Ramnath Kovind
Shri Tarun Vijay
Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman
Members
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Shri Lal Krishna Advani
Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi
Shri Bangaru Laxman
Shri Venkaiya Naidu
Shri Rajnath Singh
Smt. Sushma Swaraj
Shri Arun Jaitley
Shri Bal Apte
Shri Yashwant Sinha
Shri Gopinath Munde
Shri S.S.Ahaluwalia
Shri Arun Shouri
Shri Balveer Punj
Shri Chandan Mitra
Smt. Mridula Sinha
Shri Shatrughan Sinha
Shri Kaptansigh Solanki
Smt. Sumitra Mahajan
Smt. Jayavantiben Mehta
Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe
Shri Sheshadri Chari
Smt. Anita Arya
Dr. C. P. Thakur
Shri Dilip Singh Judeo
Smt. Sudha Yadav
Shri Ramtahal Chaudhari
Smt. Maneka Gandhi
Shri Yogi Adityanath
Shri Lalji Tandon
Shri Hukumdev Narayan Yadav
Dr. J. K Jain
Dr. Anil Jain
Shri Arun Singh
Shri Nalin Kohli
Shri Jayprakash Agrawal (Surya)
Smt.Punam Azad
Smt. Rekha Gupta
Smt. Pinki Anand
Shri Hari Babu
Smt. Shanta Reddy
Smt.Sukhada Pande
Shri Bhupendrasingh Chudasama
Shri Balubhai Shukla
Shri Omprakash Dhankad
Shri Vinod Khanna
Smt. Kiran Kher
Shri Arjun Meghwal
Shri Subhash Mehriya
Smt.Suman Shringi
Shri Manavendra Singh
Shri Omkarsingh Lakhawat
Shri H. Raja
Smt. Lalitha Kumar Mangalam
Shri M. T. Ramesh
Shri C. H. Vijayshankar
Smt.Gouri Chaoudhari
Shri Bijoy Mahapatra
Smt. Surama Padhi
Smt. Shobhatai Phadanvis
Shri Mahesh Jethamalani
Smt. Shaina N C
Smt. Manisha Chaudhari
Shri Nana Shamkule
Smt. Kanta Nalavade
Smt. Louis Marandi
Shri Sunil Singh
Shri Faggansingh Kulaste
Shri Virendra Kumar Khatik
Smt. Nirmala Bhuriya
Shri Satpal Malik
Dr. Vijay Sonkar Shastri
Shri Manoj Sinha
Smt.Sarla Singh
Shri Rambux Verma
Shri Hukum Singh
Shri Sudhanshu Trivedi
Shri Sadhvi Niranjana Jyoti
Shri Ajay Tamta
Smt. Shanti Mehra
Smt. Ranjana Sahi
BJP National Executive
Permanent Invitees
Chief Ministers
Shri Narendra Modi
Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan
Dr. Raman Singh
Shri Premkumar Dhumal
Shri B. S. Yediurappa
Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank
Deputy Chief Ministers
Shri Sushil Modi
Shri Raghuvar Das
Ex-Governors
Shri Kedarnath Sahni
Shri Kailashpati Mishra
Shri V. Rama Rao
Ex-Chief Ministers
Shri Sundarlal Patwa
Shri Keshubhai Patel
Shri Madanlal Khurana
Shri B. C. Khanduri
Shri Nityanand Swami
Shri Kailash Joshi
Shri Babulal Gaur
Shri Manohar Parrikar
Legislature Leaders
Shri Ganga Prasad
Dr. V. S. Acharya
Prof. Vijay Kumar Malhotra
Shri Eknath Khadse
Shri Bhausaheb Phundkar
Shri Ghanashyam Tiwari (Officiating)
Shri Om Prakash Singh
Shri Nepal Singh
Shri Mission Ranjan Das
Shri Chaman Lal Gupta
Shri K. V. Singhdev
Shri Manoranjan Kalia
Shri Tamigo Taga, (Arunachal Pradesh)
Shri Anil Viz
Chief Whips in Parliament
Shri Ramesh Bains
Smt. Maya Singh
Parliamentary Party Secretary and Jt.Sec.
Shri Ramkripal Sinha
Shri Shanmuganathan
Others
Shri O.Rajgopal
Dr. Satyanarayan Jatiya
Shri Kesarinath Tripathi
Shri Devdas Apte (Bapu Apte)
Shri Sadanand Gowda
Shri Tanveer Hyder Osmani
Dr. Harsh Vardhan
Shri. Vidyasagar Rao
Shri Bandaru Dattatreya
Shri Vinod Pande
Shri M. Bharot Singh
Shri Rajen Gohain
Shri Ramen Deka
Shri Nilmani Dev
Shri Vishnudeo Sai
Shri Naresh Bansal
Shri Harendra Pratap
Shri Rambilas Sharma
Shri Maheshwar Singh
Dr. Nirmal Singh
Shri Rajendra Bhandari
Shri Stayapal Jain
Shri Gulabchand Katariya
Shri Ramdas Agarwal
Shri L. Ganeshan
Shri C. K. Padmanabhan
Shri Tathagat Roy
Shri Shripad Yesso Naik
Shri Rampyare Pande
Shri Anant Nayak
Shri Prakash Mehta
Shri Vinod Tawde
Shri Amit Thakar
Shri Suresh Pujari
Shri R. Ramkrishna
Shri Om Prakash Kohli
Dr. Ramapati Ram Tripathi
Shri Ashok Khajuriya
Shri Mange Ram Garg
Shri Jagdish Mukhi
BJP National Executive
Special Invitees
Shri Padmanabh Acharya
Shri Sukumar Nambiyar
Shri Baldev Prakash Tandon
Shri Vijay Kapoor
Shri Arun Sathe
Shri Nand Kishor Garg
Dr. Vaman Acharya
Shri Jagdish Shettigar
Shri Alok Kumar
Shri Arun Adsad
Shri S. Sureshkumar
Shri C. S. Parcha
Shri Gajendra Chauhan
Smt. Anandiben Patel
Shri Amit Shah
Shri Kishansingh Sangwan
Shri Govind Karjal
Ramji Rishidev
Shri Banvarilal Purohit
Shri Haribhau Bagde
Shri Chaitanya Kashyap
Shri Hriday Narayan Dixit
Shri Tanveer Ahmed
Shri Rajesh Shah
Shri Rajendra Agrawal
Shri Bhupendra Thakur
Shri Harjit Singh Grewal
Shri Ravikant Garg
Shri Suvarn Saleriya
Col. Bainsala
Shri Siddharthanath Singh
Shri Uday Bhaskar Nayar
Smt. Kavita Khanna
Shri Amitabh Sinha
Shri Ashutosh Varshneya
Shri Ajay Sancheti
BJP Parliamentary Board
Shri Nitin Gadkari, Chairman
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Shri Lal Krishna Advani
Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi
Shri Venkaiya Naidu
Shri Rajnath Singh
Smt. Sushma Swaraj
Shri Arun Jaitley
Shri Bal Apte
Shri Ananth Kumar (Secretary)
Shri Thavarchand Gehlot
Shri Ram Lal
http://www.hindustantimes.com/newdelhi/List-of-new-BJP-team/520507/H1-Article1-519745.aspx
Labouring to keep alive
March 18, 2010
First Published: 23:08 IST(18/3/2010)
Last Updated: 23:10 IST(18/3/2010)
When it comes to infusing our laws with the finest principles
possible, India has no parallel. It’s when we come to implementing
these laws that we find many a slip between the proverbial cup and
the lip. Perhaps most deceptive of them all is India’s labour and
industrial practices. Blessed — or, if one looks at it with a
different perspective, cursed — with large deposits of iron ore,
mining is big business in the district of West Singhbhum in Jharkhand.
With the demand for iron ore increasing to fuel national industrial
development, a negative correlation to the length of people’s lives
and health index has become increasingly noticeable. Thousands of
mineworkers, including young boys and girls, suffer from siderosis, a
lung disorder that is caused by prolonged exposure to red (mining)
dust. The lifespan of these workers, who have no or minimal protective
gear, in this region is a shocking 40-45 years. In the meantime, in
21st century India’s national capital New Delhi, a committee appointed
by the Delhi High Court has found workers at Commonwealth Games-
related construction sites not being paid minimum wages and, in many
cases, being made to work overtime for no extra remuneration. Their
living conditions are appalling and in many cases they are bereft of
any sanitation facilities.
In both semi-urban and urban cases, we are dealing with serf-like
conditions while on paper we are chugging along a First World
trajectory. Laws are being openly flouted with the State turning a
blind eye and seemingly only concerned that ‘the work’ is done. Some,
like Jharkhand deputy chief minister, prefer to put such ‘chalta hai’
issues on the backburner (he has asked for a report). That the working
conditions of miners is appalling in this country, more so if the
mines are illegal and that many of the workers don’t work with
protective gear is an old story. What should be a new story if India
is to protect itself from charges of being uncaring towards its own
people is the implementation of laws.
Whenever Indian workers are mistreated abroad, especially in the Gulf
States, we spare no effort in criticising — and rightly so — foreign
governments. But the conditions here are, in many cases, no better. As
job opportunities shrink in rural India and a construction boom takes
place all across, more labourers will enter the cities. This is a
labour class that needs basic protection and policies relating to
special target groups such as women and child labour. There was a time
when labour unions held the nation’s development to ransom. We can’t
now have a callous State holding the lives and livelihood of our
workers hostage in the name of progress.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/editorial-views-on/edits/Labouring-to-keep-alive/Article1-520657.aspx
Face The Nation: Varun no match for Rahul
CNN-IBN
Published on Wed, Mar 17, 2010 at 23:21, Updated on Thu, Mar 18, 2010
at 00:50 in Politics section
ANALYSIS: Experts discuss the Gandhi vs Gandhi politics on Face The
Nation.
The (Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has unveiled its new list of office
bearers and the list includes Varun Gandhi. Varun Gandhi, first time
MP from Pilibhit, is best known for his inflammatory pro-Hindutva
speeches during the general elections last year, speeches for which he
was jailed under the National Security Act. Now the BJP has ended his
isolation within the BJP and made Varun an office bearer with the rank
of secretary. CNN-IBN on Face The Nation asked: Can Varun Gandhi
compete with Rahul Gandhi?
Congress, BSP trying to trap Varun: Rajnath
IANS
Published on Wed, Apr 01, 2009 at 13:14, Updated on Wed, Apr 01, 2009
at 13:43 in Politics section
RALLYING FOR VARUN: Rajnath Singh said that the BJP was firmly
standing behind Varun Gandhi.
Raipur: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Rajnath Singh on
Wednesday asserted that Varun Gandhi was being "politically and
legally" supported by the party. He accused the Congress and Bahujan
Samaj Party (BSP) of "exploiting" the National Security Act (NSA) to
"trap" the BJP nominee in Pilibhit in the Lok Sabha polls.
"What is happening with Varun Gandhi is unfortunate. He is being
harassed and the BJP condemns it," Rajnath Singh said at a press
conference in Raipur.
The 'other' Gandhi, the BJP nominee from the Utar Pradesh Lok Sabha
seat, is now in jail on charges of vilifying Muslims in his campaign
speeches.
"The information I have been getting from Varun Gandhi's secretary is
very disturbing. The episode is a shame for the nation. The BSP and
Congress are trying to trap him," Rajnath Singh said.
"I wanted to personally meet Varun Gandhi but he is jailed in Uttar
Pradesh and I am campaigning in other states. So I have asked Venkaiah
Naidu to meet him and express the party's support. The BJP is
politically and legally rallying behind Varun Gandhi," the BJP
President said.
Varun on D-gang hitlist, moved to Etah jail
Trailing Varun Gandhi: From Pilibhit to Etah
"His detention under the NSA is shameful. It is the joint act of the
Congress and BSP. Where do they want to lead the country?" asked
Rajnath Singh.
The Uttar Pradesh government had on Sunday invoked the NSA against
Varun Gandhi, the BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from the seat held earlier
by his mother Maneka Gandhi, for his reported hate speeches and mob
violence during his arrest on Saturday.
"The Congress and BSP have created an Emergency-like situation by
exploiting the NSA. Varun Gandhi has no criminal record," said the BJP
President.
For reasons of security, Varun Gandhi was shifted from the prison in
Pilibhit to a jail in Uttar Pradesh's Etah town at around 1:30 hrs IST
on Wednesday.
"There is a threat to Varun Gandhi's life. The centre, Uttar Pradesh
government and Election Commission should take note of this and ensure
foolproof security for him," said Rajnath Singh.
"The Congress and BSP have crossed all limits to gain political
mileage. They are playing with fire. The BJP will not remain quiet,"
he added.
BJP, Cong may stun SP, BSP; due to Gandhis
Pallavi Ghosh / CNN-IBN
Published on Sat, May 02, 2009 at 01:06, Updated on Sat, May 02, 2009
at 09:20 in Politics section
New Delhi: After three phases of polling, it appears the Congress and
the BJP may well be doing better than expected in the key state of
Uttar Pradesh with the potential losers being the SP and the BSP.
So has Rahul Gandhi's “go it alone” policy and BJP’s Hindutva slant
clicked? Ground reports suggest so. Muslims, having turned their back
on the Congress after the Babri demolition, are doing a rethink after
Mulayam embraced Kalyan Singh.
The good news for BJP is that Brahmins are tiring of Mayawati's social
engineering which has now begun targeting the Muslims.
It was Rahul's idea to walk it alone in the crucial state despite
having taken the Samajwadi support during the trust vote. But a bitter
SP thinks Rahul's romance with this idea will be shortlived.
There are smiles on BJP faces, having once boasted of big names from
the state, the party was groping for a foothold. Now, after three
phases of polling, the Hindutva strategy, which was not overplayed
except in Pilibhit, may have clicked.
And as the Congress and the BJP prepare for the last two phases, it
will be Gandhi versus Gandhi as Rahul and Varun take each other on.
The national parties are relying on the same family tree to reap a
harvest in Uttar Pradesh.
Six from state get pride of place in Team Gadkari
Express News Service
Posted: Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 at 0233 hrs
Lucknow:
With six of its leaders being given prominent place in the 121-member
national committee of the BJP, the party’s Uttar Pradesh unit has
certainly managed to find a good place in national president Nitin
Gadkari’s team.
Out of the 13 vice-presidents, three are from the state — Kalraj
Mishra, former national general secretaries Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and
Vinay Katiyar. Among the 15 secretaries in Team Gadkari, three are
again from UP — former Bulandshaher MP Ashok Pradhan, former Bareilly
MP Santosh Gangwar and Pilibhit MP Varun Gandhi. Out of the six
official spokespersons, one is from the state — Ramnath Kovind, who
represents the party’s Dalit face.
While Naqvi is one of the prominent Muslim faces from the state,
Katiyar is a firebrand leader and Mishra a veteran. Among the
secretaries too, Santosh Gangwar is a six-time MP and a former Union
minister. After his defeat in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the party
was said to be looking to suitably place him at the national level.
Ashok Pradhan was one of the primary reasons for former chief minister
Kalyan Singh to leave the BJP and is said to have a good base in
Bulandshahr and surrounding districts. And at a time when Singh is
building the base of his new party in this area, Pradhan being lifted
to secretary’s post is certainly strategic.
Varun Gandhi, a first-time MP from Pilibhit and son of Maneka Gandhi,
is the party’s youth face not just in UP but also, on the national
chart. And together, the trio will represent western UP, where the
party is trying to regain grounds with its ally Rashtriya Lok Dal
drifting away.
Gadkari has also given 33 per cent of the posts to women, thus
becoming the first party in the country to give reservation to women
in their organisation. Here too, Uttar Pradesh has been given a “fair
share” with Aonla MP Maneka Gandhi, Mahila Morcha president Sarla
Singh and Saadhvi Niranjana Jyoti being made members of the national
executive. “It is good that even women leaders from UP have been
inducted in the committee. The state has potential and these women
will prove it,” said Vinay Katiyar.
Apart from these “cream” posts, many other leaders from the state have
also found a place in the team. These include Atal Bihari Vajpayee,
Murli Manohar Joshi, Rajnath Singh, Maneka Gandhi, Hukum Singh, Satpal
Malik, Rajnath Singh, Yogi Adityanath, Keshari Nath Tripathi and Lalji
Tandon as members, Hriday Narain Dixit as special invitee and Om
Prakash Singh and Nepal Singh as legislature leaders.
The party’s state unit has thanked Gadkari for giving representation
to UP. State BJP vice-president H N Dixit, who has also been inducted
as a special invitee, said that by including 34 leaders from UP,
Gadkari has shown his trust in the state unit.
“These leaders will certainly strengthen not just state campaigns, but
also national campaigns,” he added.
It is also expected that more faces from Uttar Pradesh will find a
place in the national scene, as the convenors of different cells and
Morcha presidents will be announced in the days to come.
Comments (1) |
Im-mature Varun
By: Ganesh Singh | 17-Mar-2010
Gadkari ji wants to please every one. But if you want to strengthen
your party, you will have to take some tough decisions. you were gr8
in saying that party and his policies makes people and not vice versa
but at present situation you are again doing the same thing. Including
immature persons like Varun Gandhi in your team shows to which level
you are going to please others. Varun has won because of the gr8 work
done by his mother Manekaji not because of his controversial speeches.
I dont know why RSS is intersted in projecting Varun as youth face.
Did they want to pick someone only from elite people of BJP. Can't
they pick some leaders from ABVP as youth face. If they really lack so
they must work with their ground workers to find out someone instead
of proposing Varun.
Gadkari's inclusive act may open old fissures in BJP
Nistula Hebbar / DNA
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 0:45 IST
New Delhi: Nitin Gadkari was the answer of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh (RSS) to the leadership crisis in the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP), driven listless by debilitating factionalism and ego clashes
not long ago. After three months as BJP president, Gadkari had a task
on hand: To give the party a sense of direction. As he came out with
his list of office-bearers on Tuesday, the jury was still out.
The BJP president’s list of 121 office-bearers is a blend of youth and
experience, Hindutva hardliners and doves, and several other
conflicting strains in the party. However, if a team is supposed to be
a statement of intent, Gadkari’s is not one. At best, it reflects his
inclusive approach and his seriousness to promote third and fourth
generations of leaders.
The new BJP team has 13 vice-presidents, 10 general secretaries, 15
secretaries and one treasurer. The party also announced its 81-member
national executive. While several faces have made their debut — actor
Hema Malini as vice-president, and Varun Gandhi, Vani Tripathi, Smriti
Irani and Arti Mehra as secretaries — there is a feeling that many
older faces have been unduly rewarded.
Gadkari’s new team was being closely watched in the context of
factionalism in the party and the RSS’s demands.
Despite a disastrous record as party president, senior leader Rajnath
Singh has managed to get key posts for his people. Three general
secretaries — Thawarchand Gehlot, Narendra Singh Tomar and Vijay Goel
— owe loyalty to him. This means Singh would continue to have a say
under the new dispensation.
In the parliamentary board, the most important body of the party, LK
Advani holds sway.
Except for Rajnath Singh, Murli Manohar Joshi and Thawarchand Gehlot,
all other members — Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and parliamentary
board secretary Ananth Kumar — are Advani loyalists. The arrangement
might also open a can of worms for Gadkari.
While RSS nominees like Varun Gandhi, Muralidhar Rao and Tarun Vijay
have been accommodated, it was expected that Rao would get a better
position. Gadkari, who is trying to project a soft image of himself,
had to accommodate hardliners like Vinay Katiyar to please the mother
organisation.
The biggest disappointment to those expecting Gadkari’s list to be a
departure from the past was the absence of a Muslim face in any
effective party position. While Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Najma
Heptullah have been made vice-presidents, a largely decorative post,
Bhagalpur MP Shahnawaz Hussain, who was tipped to be general secretary
in this team, was adjusted as one of the spokespersons. No Muslim
finds a place in the party’s parliamentary board either.
The list appeared a little skewed in favour of one state and against
some others. For example, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh appeared very
well represented, with the former getting one vice-president in Hema
Malini, three secretaries and the party treasurer Piyush Goel. Out of
the 10 general secretaries, two — Thawarchand Gehlot and Narendra
Singh Tomar — are from Madhya Pradesh.
“We cannot help but compare this to Karnataka’s case, which is the
party’s first government in the south, and apart from Ananth Kumar,
who has always found space at the centre, only Vijayshankar from the
state has been made a member of the national executive,” said a senior
leader.
Women have found ample space in the new team. With 40 out of 121
members being women, the party has kept its promise of 33% quota for
them in organisational posts.
The party’s chief spokesperson and newly appointed Ravi Shankar
described the team as a blend of the young and the old. What it might,
however, do is end the ceasefire in the party and give fresh impetus
to the party’s many discontented elements.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_gadkari-s-inclusive-act-may-open-old-fissures-in-bjp_1359938
Orissa deploys force to prevent Togadia's Kandhamal visit
PTI
Friday, March 19, 2010 17:18 IST
Phulbani (Orissa): In the face of VHP's international secretary
general, Pravin Togadia's proposed visit to Kandhamal in Orissa this
evening defying ban, the district administration has deployed police
and a magistrate at the entry point to the riot-hit town to prevent
him, official sources said.
The district administration has also imposed prohibitory orders under
section 144 of the CrPC to stop Togadia and other members of the VHP
from visiting the town, additional district magistrate
(ADM),Kandhamal, Arnanchal Das said.
The VHP leader had yesterday challeged the state government to arrest
him as he was all set to defy the ban order. "I will enter to
Kandhamal along with 100 sadhus," Togadia said.
The district administration is also contemplating steps to seal road
at Madhapur, the entry point to Kandhamal district.
Kandhamal witnessed widespread riot from August 2008 till October 2009
following the killing of VHP leader Lakhsmananda Saraswati.
Togadia to defy Orissa govt's ban on his visit to Kandhamal
PTI
Thursday, March 18, 2010 23:10 IST
Bhubaneswar: Defying the Orissa government's ban on his proposed visit
to Kandhamal, VHP leader Pravin Togadia today announced his plan to
forcibly enter into the communally sensitive district tomorrow.
"I will go to Kandhamal along with 100 sadhus as per prior programme,"
Togadia told reporters after addressing a public meeting in Nuapada
district.
The VHP's firebrand leader also challenged the Naveen Patnaik
government to arrest him.
"I am ready to be arrested than succumbing to the state government's
undemocratic decision", he said adding that it was not possible for
him and the VHP to cancel the programme.
"While the state government spread red carpet to welcome the European
diplomats to Kandhamal, it is not proper to clamp ban on the entry of
a Hindu leader," he said.
The administration of Kandhamal imposed prohibitory order under
section 144 of the CrPC at many sensitive places.
"If Togadia or any other person try to defy the ban, action would be
taken in accordance with the law of the land," additional
superintendent of police (ASP), Kandhamal, CR Das said.
Das said the district administration would not tolerate if any one
tried to disturb peace in the area.
BJP cautions Orissa govt over ban on Pravin Togadia's Kandhamal visit
PTI
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 22:39 IST
Bhubaneshwar: Terming the decision to ban the visit of the VHP leader
Pravin Togadia to Kandhamal district as 'whimisical', the BJP today
warned that the Orissa government would be reponsible if communal
harmony was disturbed at any place over the issue.
MF Husain accepting Qatar nationality victory for Hindus: Pravin
Togadia
Nitin Gadkari offers to rebuild Babri Masjid
"Chief minister Naveen Patnaik will be held reponsible if communal
tension Arises in Kandhamal and other parts of the state over the
government's whimisical decision," a statement issued by the state BJP
said.
The saffron party's reaction came a day after the Kandhamal district
administration denied permission to Togadia to enter Kandhamal
district, which had witnessed riots last year and the year before.
"While the government offered a red carpet welcome to diplomats from
nine European countries, there is no point in putting a ban on
Togadia's visit," party's vice-president Ashok Sahu said.
The firebrand VHP leader was scheduled to visit Kandhamal on March 19
and spend a night in Phulbani town.
Togadia's three-day Orissa visit would start from tomorrow, state VHP
general secretary Gouri Prasad Rath said.
Sid Harth
INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE
from the publishers of THE HINDU
BOOKS
Circular reasoning
T. JAYARAMAN
The author loses sight of the possibility that the decline of religion
is indeed the long-term trend in modern industrial societies.
Meera Nanda’s writing occupies a distinctive intellectual niche in the
academic and media discourse on the nature and practice of secularism
in India. In a major book, Prophets Facing Backward, and in a number
of academic papers, essays and media articles (and two short
collections of essays), she has brought to bear a perspective on this
question that distinguishes her work from a wide variety of other
writers and scholars engaged with this theme.
Her work so far has been marked by the special attention she has paid
to the relationship between science and secularism in the Indian
context. Going beyond the limitations of the arguments over the
Nehruvian vision of the link between secularism and scientific temper,
she has drawn attention to the much larger role of science in the
debate between secularists on the one hand and Hindu communalism on
the other. In Meera Nanda’s account, the ideological machinery of
Hindu communalism in the 20th century has drawn sustenance from a more
pervasive and widespread neo-Hinduism, central to whose world view is
the idea that Hinduism provides a uniquely “scientific” perspective in
the spiritual quest. While all fundamentalisms have some form of
exceptionalism as part of their ideological foundations, Hindutva’s
particular brand arises from this allegedly unique “scientific” nature
of Hinduism as compared with all other religions.
Meera Nanda has argued convincingly that it is the widespread
acceptance, overtly or otherwise, of this brand of Hindu
exceptionalism, even by those who were in many other respects in the
secular camp, that rendered Indian secularism vulnerable to attack
even before a full-scale attack was mounted on it by a resurgent
Hindutva in the late 1980s. Meera Nanda has argued, again
convincingly, that all modern trends in Hinduism, given their tendency
for an uncritical acceptance of this notion of Hindu exceptionalism,
render themselves vulnerable to being co-opted into the ranks of
Hindutva. She has provided an engaging account in Prophets Facing
Backward of the different stratagems that neo-Hinduism adopts in the
pursuit of the “scientificity” of Hinduism, often on the basis of
loose pseudo-scientific analogies between the language of science and
the vocabulary of Hinduism. The contemporary brand of Indian pseudo-
science that is actively championed by Hindutva, an Indian parallel as
it were to the well-known link between evangelical Christianity and
the American brand of pseudo-science, is in Meera Nanda’s view rooted
in this aspect of neo-Hinduism. In her short book titled The
Ecological Wrongs of the Religious Right, she has explored the
particular case of the neo-Hindu and Hindutva version of religion-
inspired pseudo-science in the realms of biology and ecology.
In her latest work, The God Market, Meera Nanda turns to explore a
somewhat different aspect of this link between contemporary Hinduism,
the professed secular nature of the Indian state, and Hindutva. The
focus here, in her own words, is on the “changing trends in popular
Hinduism”, and the overall aim is to describe how “modern Hindus are
taking their gods with them into the brave new world and how Hindu
institutions are making use of the new opportunities opened up by
neoliberalism and globalisation”.
The crux of the argument in the book is that there is a causal
connection between economic reforms and the rise of popular Hindu
religiosity. Meera Nanda argues that economic reform, while
encouraging a “neoliberal market economy [sic]”, is also “boosting the
demand and supply for religious services in India’s God market”, and
the progressively greater embedding of a new Hindu religiosity in
everyday life, in both public and private spheres, is aided by the new
political economy. With the withdrawal of the Nehruvian state from the
social sector, a new state-temple-corporate complex is emerging to
fill the space as a consequence of the state actively seeking
partnership with the private sector and the Hindu establishment. The
rising tide of popular religiosity among the Hindu middle classes in
the era of liberalisation is a consequence of this religiosity being
deliberately cultivated by an “emerging state-temple-corporate complex
that is replacing the more secular public institutions of the
Nehruvian era”. This rising tide of popular Hindu religiosity
continues to feed the forces of Hindutva, assisting among other things
in the routine conflation of the domain of the national with the
domain of Hinduism.
The idea that globalisation is in some way intimately connected with,
or is even perhaps one of the drivers of, the many fundamentalisms
that we see in the world today is an idea that has respectable
patronage, including, among others, the eminent historian Romila
Thapar. In the Indian context, it has been widely noted that the
challenge to the Nehruvian vision of secularism and scientific temper
has risen in the same era as the era of economic reform and the right-
ward shift in Indian foreign policy, away from the vision of India as
the leader of the non-aligned world towards a vision of India as a
global player aligned strategically with the United States and the
developed world. In opposition to the view that the Sangh Parivar is
somehow anti-globalisation and that self-reliance is somehow equally a
Parivar slogan (a view aided by the activities and attitudes of the
Swadeshi Jagran Manch, a Parivar outfit), commentators on the Left
have argued that Hindutva is no less pro-economic reform and that it
is equally at home with liberalisation and globalisation.
Nevertheless, few have argued for a causal nexus between globalisation
and the rise of popular Hindu religiosity as closely as Meera Nanda,
or shown the two to be as directly knit as she portrays in this new
book.
OBVIOUS PROPOSITION
Much of the book appears to be actually devoted to arguing the much
weaker proposition that contemporary Hindu institutions are actively
utilising the opportunities provided by the modern world to further
their cause. One may argue that this is a somewhat obvious proposition
with a wealth of examples, which can be picked even from casual
observation, to back it up. Religious preaching or fundamentalist
propaganda can reach out much further in the era of instant
communication. Cable or satellite television broadcasts provide many
opportunities that are utilised by all manner of religious or
fundamentalist organisations. A wide variety of Hindu institutions and
neo-Hindu cults, ranging from the religious trust and administration
associated with the temples at Tirupati and Tirumala to the
organisations associated with religious personalities such as Sai Baba
or Mata Amritanandamayi, run educational institutions and even modern,
officially recognised universities. Hindu organisations and cults
administer a range of charities and organisations dealing with health
and medicine. Hindu organisations have proliferated around the world
and have struck especially strong roots where there is a numerically
significant and well-heeled Indian diaspora. The diaspora followers of
Hindu organisations are also an important source of funds, as well as
prestige and visibility, for Hindu and Hindutva organisations. After
all, what credibility or oomph would a guru or swamiji possess without
at least a small retinue of non-resident Indians and preferably
foreigners?
Meera Nanda covers much of this kind of ground with many apt
illustrations in the second, third and fourth chapters of her book.
One may certainly agree with her in the characterisation that she
offers of the three significant dimensions of contemporary popular
Hindu religiosity, namely the invention of new rituals, the
gentrification of the gods and the booming guru culture. Indeed, much
of the characterisation is based on scholarly work available on the
subject. The existence of a booming guru culture and its links to
Hindutva is of course somewhat obvious.
However, it is arguable whether these examples really lay a basis for
her claims of the emergence of a state-temple-corporate complex. It is
certainly true that the Indian state has increasingly weakened secular
credentials after the rise of Hindutva and the success of Hindutva-
related political forces in being elected to govern both at the Centre
and in the States. Much has been written, including by Meera Nanda
herself, regarding the attempted de-secularisation of government
consequent to the electoral victories of the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP), especially at the Centre. The Sangh Parivar penetration of the
government was a major issue in the period of BJP rule, but a timid
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government refused resolutely to
“detoxify” (to use the late Harkishen Singh Surjeet’s fine phrase)
government institutions, especially in the educational sector, which
was a prime Parivar target.
It is also true that corporate India, despite some initial misgivings,
has learnt to live peaceably with Hindutva. BJP-ruled States have been
no less eager to roll out the red carpet for the captains of industry
both from home and abroad. Several major corporate houses also have a
long record of involvement in charitable work relating to religious
institutions. Corporate houses have demonstrated their willingness to
put secularism on the back burner and prioritise their short-term
economic and financial interests (as with the house of Tatas and the
Modi government).
What is unconvincing is the overarching claim that these examples
point to the emergence of something that merits the rather grand
appellation of a “state-temple-corporate” complex. Indeed, corporate
houses are uncomfortable with a militant Hindutva that disturbs law
and order and stable governance and were certainly more than satisfied
with the return of the UPA to power. Many institutions of the Indian
state are willing to act and do act to protect secular values at
critical moments. The critical issue here is to recognise the
ambivalence of the state and the corporate sector in relation to
secularism and not to one-sidedly use as evidence only their non-
secular or anti-secular actions. Regrettably, in the author’s “take no
prisoners” style of argument, there is little room to understand or
explore this ambivalence. Either the state is secular in full measure
in the classical sense of the term or it must necessarily be
considered entirely anti-secular.
In the event, the author herself can identify only two areas where
this complex [sic] is significant, the first being education and the
second, tourism. Even in these two sectors, the claim that the state
and the private sector are working together to promote Hinduism seems
less than credible. It is certainly true that the increasing
privatisation of education is also utilised by Hindutva-related
organisations to set up their own institutions, like numerous others.
However, Meera Nanda’s claim that what the BJP government could not
establish by way of Hindu-centrism of education is being accomplished
by privatisation requires more evidence than is presented in the
book.
Many would agree with Meera Nanda’s view that secular education is a
public good that the state ought to provide to all its citizens
without throwing them at the mercy of faith-based or cult-based
institutions. But to proceed from the relative absence of state-run
educational institutions and the ideological space that this affords
Hindutva to the claim that “economic globalisation and neoliberal
reforms have created the material and ideological conditions in which
a popular and ritualistic Hindu religiosity is growing” is a leap that
seems unwarranted.
SANDEEP SAXENA
Birla Mandir in New Delhi, illuminated on the occasion of Janmashtami
on August 14.
The argument is even thinner in the case of tourism, where the
author’s argument is based on the state’s, and occasionally corporate
houses’, support for religious tourism. Even this reviewer, who is no
votary of religious pilgrimages, is constrained to point out that
tourism in India, untouched by the religious inclination, is a modern
construct. For the newly rich as well as those of the poor and middle
classes who have small disposable surpluses, religious pilgrimage is
likely to be the first form of tourism. In another direction,
occasions for the mass display of popular religiosity such as the
Kumbh Mela certainly call for the intervention of the government in
the interest of common safety and security. To take all instances of
government regulation of religious tourism uncritically together and
to read into it the emergence of a state-temple-corporate complex does
not seem to aid a critical understanding of the link between popular
religiosity and secularism. It is of course true that religious
pilgrimage sites are happy hunting grounds for Hindutva groups to
further their ideological campaign, and specific issues relating to
some popular pilgrimage sites such as the Amarnath caves can certainly
provide grist to the Hindutva mill.
Popular religiosity is a complex phenomenon, especially in the
presence of many ideological forces and undercurrents in a society in
a state of transition, even if not rapid transformation. It is a
phenomenon that has many layers to it, as activists and scholars on
the issue of communalism have come to recognise across the country.
The book unfortunately displays little inclination to engage carefully
with this literature. Perhaps in the author’s perception such theories
do not belong to the class of “the most cutting-edge social theories
about globalisation and the resurgence of religion” that she promises
the reader in the introductory chapter.
Given the thinness of the author’s evidence relative to the weight of
the theoretical conclusions that she wishes to draw, it is
unsurprising that the theoretical considerations in the book are among
its weakest and most unconvincing sections. The first chapter on
globalisation covers ground that would be quite familiar to most of
the author’s likely audience in India. It is a chapter that leaves one
with the impression that the book is really meant for a non-Indian
audience. But it is in the last chapter that the insufficiency of the
theoretical perspective that Meera Nanda brings to bear on the problem
is most evident as the author showers a series of “cutting-edge social
theories” on an unwary reader.
In substance, the author is in sympathy with the perspective, most
notably espoused by the sociologist Peter L. Berger in his later work,
that the secular project has essentially failed. Berger famously
recanted in 1999 his earlier vision of the inevitable decline of
religion, arguing that the supernatural has not lost its plausibility
in the modern world. While Meera Nanda believes that this is
applicable to India, she disagrees with Berger’s argument that this
persistence of religion lies in the economic fact of the undermining
of life’s certainties for the majority of the population and the
appropriation of secular values by the rich. She, quite correctly,
points to the fact that contrary to what Berger suggests, popular
religiosity in India has also significantly risen among those who have
benefited enormously from economic reform and that popular religiosity
grips both the well-to-do and the poor.
Of course, in transposing Berger’s argument to India, Meera Nanda
(along with Berger) loses sight of the possibility that this
resurgence of religion could well be a short-lived phenomenon and that
the decline of religion is indeed the long-term trend in modern
industrial societies.
NEOLIBERAL PERSPECTIVE
For the subsequent part of her argument the author moves on,
approvingly, to what she calls the “neoliberal” perspective on
religion, the next in her shopping list of theories. This is indeed
curious because while she has always been dismissive of the Marxist
view of religion, labelling it as reductionist, she turns now to a
view that fully merits the label. In this demand-supply view of
religion, espoused by Rodney Stark and his academic collaborators,
there is indeed no room for the notion of secularisation. Religion
always exists, so the argument runs, because there is a need, or a
“demand”, for it. Whether it will be satisfied or not is a question of
the “supply” of appropriate religions that are efficacious in
responding to it. In this view, secularisation is an illusion created
by the lack of appropriate supply to meet the demand for religion over
brief historical periods. Social facts such as the fall of church
attendance and overt religious observance do not mean the progress of
secularisation as the persistence of personal belief points to a
“potential demand” that is not being met by existing religious
institutions.
UNCLEAR RATIONALE
It is from this perspective that the author formulates the proposition
mentioned at the outset of this article, namely, that it is the
neoliberal market economy following globalisation that is boosting the
demand and supply for religious services in India’s God market. The
rationale for this proposition is completely unclear as she appears to
conflate the application of a demand-supply or market perspective on
religion with the nature of religiosity in an era where economic
policy is dominated by the market perspective.
But what is even stranger about the turn that her argument takes is
that, in this demand-supply perspective, the weakly secular character
of the Indian state is indeed a virtue that has led to greater
religious plurality, as evidenced by the wide variety of cults and
sects and religions in India. How then does the author square the
circle, reconciling her use of the neoliberal perspective on religion
after having railed against Hindutva and upbraided the Indian state
for having forsaken secularism? There is indeed no direct answer that
the author provides. All she can offer the curious reader is the
somewhat feeble response that indeed a pure market for religion would
not be problematic, but it is the unfortunate extension of sacrality
to the realm of non-sacral entitites like the nation that is the
source of the problem. The circularity of her reasoning and argument
appears entirely to escape the notice of the author.
The book ends with an appeal for the creation in India of meaningful
secular spaces, where people may interact with each other without
reference to religious identities. Praiseworthy as this statement
undoubtedly is, it is small consolation for the interested reader who,
having followed the author into the blind alley of the demise of
secularisation and its abolition in the neoliberal perspective, is
left wondering where Indian society would find the resources for such
a transformation.
Meera Nanda’s work, as we have remarked earlier, is marked by a strong
tendency to ignore the multi-sided and often contradictory character
of social phenomena. While her perspective has helped shed light on
the social, intellectual and cultural resources that Hindutva can
mobilise, she has rarely been able to throw similar light on the
impulses for secularism in Indian society. One reason for this,
undoubtedly, lies in her resolute unwillingness to consider atheism as
an ally of secularism. She has always been insistent that movements
that are atheist miss the point about the need of the masses for
“meaning” in their lives, which can be met only by religion. That this
“meaning” could also be provided by the advance of a secular
imagination and the retreat of religion is not a prospect that she is
willing to consider.
Another reason lies in her view of ideological transformation purely
as an act of the mind without reference to any social and economic
preconditions for such a transformation. More fundamentally, Meera
Nanda has never reckoned with the possibility that any understanding
of religion in contemporary India needs to grasp the reality of the
incomplete modernisation of Indian society, rooted in the development
of capitalism in an era when it has essentially lost its critical
ideological impulse.
Meera Nanda’s passion for secularism will undoubtedly be shared by
many readers in India and elsewhere, and the many observations that
she has provided on various aspects of the Hindutva communal project
in Indian society are useful and important. Yet, regrettably, she has
little to offer in terms of a way forward from the current scenario
towards a more secular social order except rhetorical calls for a
meaningful, limited secularisation of society.
http://www.flonnet.com/fl2626/stories/20100101262607900.htm
Volume 18 - Issue 01, Jan. 06 - 19, 2001
India's National Magazine
from the publishers of THE HINDU
ANALYSIS
Outsider as enemy
The politics of rewriting history in India.
K.N. PANIKKAR
This is the text of a presentation made at a round table on the topic
of 'The Rewriting of History: Intellectual Freedom and Contemporary
Politics in South Asia', organised as a part of the International
Conference of North African and Asian Scholars (ICANAS) in Montreal
held from August 27 to September 1.
REWRITING of history is a continuous process into which the historian
brings to bear new methodological or ideological insights or employs a
new analytical frame drawn upon hitherto unknown facts. The
historians' craft, the French historian, Marc Bloch, whose work on
feudal society is considered a classic, has reminded us, is rooted in
a method specific to history as a discipline, most of which has
evolved through philosophical engagements and empirical investigations
during the last several centuries. No methodology which the historian
invokes in pursuit of the knowledge of the past is really valid unless
it respects the method of the discipline. Even when methodologies
fundamentally differ, they share certain common grounds, which
constitute the fiel d of the historian's craft. Notwithstanding the
present scepticism about the possible engagement with history, a
strict adherence to the method of the discipline is observed in all
generally accepted forms of reconstruction of the past. A departure
from such norms of the discipline tends to erase the distinction
between myth and history, which the forces of the Hindu rightwing,
actively supported by the present government, are seeking to achieve.
K. PICHUMANI
The makeshift temple that was erected at Ayodhya after the demolition
of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992. The organising principle of
the politics of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple was not only the
privileging of faith over reason, but also the ident ification of an
enemy who acted against the religious interests of Hindus.
The distinction is important, despite the undeniable connection
between history and myth. Although elements which constitute myth are
not verifiable like historical facts, myths do represent reality even
if symbolically and metaphorically. Myths are esse ntially illusory
representations of phenomena and as such do not help discover the
historicity of events and by the very nature of representation they
tend to mask the reality. Yet, there are no myths in which reality is
not embedded in some form, be the y origin, explanatory or
legitimatory myths.1 This integral connection between myth and history
facilitates the transmutation of the latter into the former and
through that change, the existing historical consciousness in society.
The rewritin g of history the Sangh Parivar has undertaken with the
connivance and collaboration of the government is essentially an
attempt at communal mythification, which lends ideological support and
legitimacy to the politics of cultural nationalism.
History as communal ideology
The communal interpretation of history has a fairly long tradition, at
least going back to the colonial times. The history of the subjected
that the colonial administrators and ideologues wrote, either as a
part of their intellectual curiosity or as a po litical mission,
essentially took a religious view of the past. Although James Mill's
periodisation of Indian history into Hindu and Muslim periods is
generally pointed out as an example of this colonial view, almost
every aspect of the social, cultural and political life was
incorporated into this religious schema. This view has had an abiding
influence on Indian historiography, with a large number of Indian
historians of vastly different ideological persuasions rather
uncritically internalising this i nterpretation. Thus the history of
India is seen through a series of stereotypes rooted in religious
identity. No aspect of society or polity has escaped this religious
view, be it social tensions, political battles or cultural
differences. Such an inter pretation of history has been a part of the
textbooks, both of school and college, for a long time, moulding the
historical consciousness of society and in turn the social
perspectives and behaviour of several generations. This divisive
notion of history was one of the several ideological weapons that
colonialism invoked to construct its legitimacy.
In the Hindu communal worldview and politics, the religious
interpretation of history has an entirely different import, even if it
shares much of the colonial assumptions. Unlike the colonial history
which mainly emphasises social divisions, despite invo king the
tyranny of the Yavanas and the Muslims, its focus is more on social
antagonism and political hostility, which differentiates the Hindu
communal from the colonial communal. The antagonism and hostility
encoded in the interpretative structure of t he former, which
identifies the 'outsider' as enemy, turn history into an ideology of
communalism. The politics of Ramjanmabhoomi temple is a good example
of the mediation of such history in the making of popular historical
consciousness. The organising principle of this politics was not only
the privileging of faith over reason, but also the identification of
an enemy who acted against the religious interests of the Hindus.
Among the variety of factors that define the relationship between
communalism and revivalism in India, history plays a central role. The
revivalist ideas were inherent in the social and religious reform
movements of the 19th century, circumscribed as the y were within the
boundaries of caste and religious communities. Yet, revivalism as an
influential tendency emerged only during the second half of the 19th
century. Bankim Chandra Chatterji, Dayananda Saraswathi and Swami
Vivekananda are generally consid ered the early protagonists of this
tendency. Inward looking in their intellectual orientation and engaged
in revitalising Hinduism and Hindu community, they tried to privilege
many ideas and institutions from the ancient past. However, their
perspective was communitarian rather than communal. Antagonism against
other religions and communities was not a part of their perspective.
Even when they were critical of other religions as in the case of
Dayanand, their attempt was to explore religious truth thro ugh a
comparative understanding of different religions. Dayanand after all
was as trenchant a critique of the practices of Sanatani Hinduism as
of other religions. So were Bankim and Vivekananda. These early
articulations of revivalist tendencies were no t rooted in relation to
the 'other' in terms of a community within society.2 It was more in
the nature of internal revitalisation and consolidation in the context
of colonial domination. Communalism, on the other hand, though it
subsumed several elements of revivalism, is firmly anchored on a
hatred of the 'outsider' who, it is held, is mainly responsible for
the distortions and eventual loss of the indigenous civilisational
achievements. Notwithstanding this distinction, revivalism transformed
itself into communalism which, among other things, was made possible
by the m ediation of communal history, which cast the 'outsider' in
the role of the enemy. The inward looking communitarian perspective,
which mainly characterised revivalism, merged with a suspicion
andhostility of 'the other'. This process is facilitated by a r
eligious interpretation of history which by locating the 'outsider' as
the cause of the decline in the fortunes of the community forms the
ideology of communalism.
The concept of the 'outsider', variously described as the Mleccha,
Yavana and Turuska, has been part of the social consciousness for a
long time. They were communities from both within and outside India
and their defining elements were primarily social a nd cultural. The
language, food habits, dress and a variety of other practices
underlined the otherness. The Aryans considered the indigenous
population as Mleccha and at a later stage those who came from
outside, like the Huns and the Muslims, were inco rporated into this
category. Although the otherness was often a source of conflict, both
inter and intra-community, the relationship with the other was not
characterised by continuous hostility and conflict.3 That the
relationship with the out sider in the past was based on
irreconcilable political interests is a construction of communalism
influenced more by political interests rather than by social reality.
Outsider as enemy
The demographic composition of India which reflects the coming
together of a variety of groups - racial, linguistic and ethnic -
during the course of the last two millennia raises the question who
the 'outsider' is in Indian society. According to the Ant hropological
Survey of India there are 4,635 identifiable communities, diverse in
biological traits, dress, language, forms of worship, occupation, food
habits and kinship patterns. Most of these communities have a mixed
ancestry and it is now almost imp ossible to identify their roots.
They could be traced to Proto-Austroloid, Palio-Mediterranean,
Caucasian, Negroid and Mongoloid. The racial component is also quite
varied, drawing from almost every stock in the world. This plurality
is also reflected in the number of languages in use. Apart from
thousands of dialects there are as many as 325 languages and 25
scripts derived from various linguistic families - Indo-Aryan, Tibeto-
Burman, Dravidian, Austro-Asiatic, Andamese, Semitic, Indo-Iranian,
Sino-Tib etan, Indo-European and so on. The Indian society, as a
consequence, is a social and cultural amalgam with many of its
constitutive elements loosing their specific identity, at any rate
none existing in its initial pure form.4
The Hindu communal view of history strives to negate this historical
process by making a distinction between the original inhabitants of
the land and those who settled later. According to this view, all
those who migrated to India and their descendants a re foreigners and
therefore not part of the nation. Thus the Muslims, Christians and
Parsis, who are not indigenous to India and hence outsiders should
either 'Indianise' themselves or live like 'second class citizens
without any rights or privileges'.5 This naturally raises the question
who the original inhabitants were. Were the Aryans, to whom the upper
caste Hindus trace their lineage, indigenous to India? The opinion of
scholars of ancient history, based on archaeological and linguistic
evid ence, has been that Aryans had migrated to India, in all
probability in small groups, over a period of time.6 If this view is
correct, the assumption that the non-Hindu is the only 'outsider'
becomes untenable and the historical rationale for the Hindu nation
basedon Vedic lineage also becomes suspect. The present attempt to
invent the indigenous origins of Aryans, which is supported more by
speculation rather than tangible evidence, is rooted in an anxiety to
overcome this paradox. That the Hindutva historians are not hesitant
to fabricate evidence to prove their contention has been ably
demonstrated by Professor Michael Witzel and Professor Steve Farmer in
their recent article on the Harappan seal.7
The distinction between the indigenous and the 'outsider' is also
sought on the basis of the pure and the impure. The claim to purity,
traced to the idyllic past uncontaminated by the intrusion of the
'outsider', is an essential ideology of religious fun damentalism. One
among the various indicators of this distinction is food habit: those
who ate flesh and those who did not. It is now claimed by the
ideologues of the Sangh Parivar that the Aryans did not partake of
beef, although copious evidence exists , both literary and
archaeological, to the contrary. After a survey of the evidence from
various excavations since 1921, the doyen of Indian archaeologists,
H.D. Sankalia, has opined that "the attitude towards cow slaughter
shows that until the beginning of the Christian era the cow/ox were
regularly slaughtered for food and for the sacrifice etc., in spite of
the preaching of Ahimsa by Mahavira and the Buddha. Beef eating,
however, did decrease owing to these preachings, but never died out
completely". 8 The literary evidence from the Vedic and later periods
are also plenty. Panini, for instance, calls a guest a Goghna, which
means one for whom a cow is killed.9 Even Vivekananda refers to
instances of Rama and Krishna drinking wine and eating meat and Sita
offering meat, rice and wine to the river goddess Ganga in Ramayana
and Mahabharata. In fact, he considered the meat-eating habits of the
Aryans a virtue and attributed the decline of the Hindus in modern
times to the departure from it!10 Yet, the slaughter of cow and eating
beef are now invoked as signs of otherness in a bid to distinguish the
indigenous from the 'outsider'.
Apart from defiling the sacredness and purity of indigenous life, the
communal history also attributes to the 'outsider' a politically
disruptive role. The political history of India, in the account given
by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the progenitor of th e concept of
Hindutva, is a story of foreign invasions and Hindu resistance.
According to him, there were six major invasions of India, which were
successfully met by the Hindus. He characterises them as six 'glorious
epochs' in which the valour and brav ery of the Hindus overcame the
external threat. These 'glorious epochs' are the periods of
Chandragupta and Pushyamitra when the Greek invasions were repelled,
followed by those of Vikramaditya and Yashodharma who defeated the
Shakas and the Huns respect ively. In imagining the Hindu nation as a
historically constituted political entity, this religious view of the
conflict with the 'outsider' is a major factor.11
The consolidation and mobilisation of the Hindus are the main
objectives of the communal construction of history of which Savarkar
set a worthy example. Towards this political end, a systematic
attempt, embracing both the academic and popular histories, has been
on the anvil for quite some time, particularly during the last two
decades. The main thrust of this effort has been to further the
communal consciousness of history. Whenever the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) or its earlier incarnation, the Jan S angh, was able to gain
access to power they have not spared any effort to promote Hinduised
history at the expense of secular history. In 1977, at the instance of
the Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh (RSS) the government of the Janata
Party, of which the Jan S angh was a partner, tried to withdraw the
history books published by the National Council for Educational
Research and Training (NCERT) on the ground that they were not
sufficiently Hindu in their orientation. In more recent times, the BJP
governments in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi have
revised their textbooks to introduce a communal view of the past,
highlighting the achievements and contribution of the Hindus and
undermining or misrepresenting the role of others. The present gov
ernment at the Centre, led by the BJP, has tried to lend support to
this effort by saffronising research institutions such as the Indian
Council for Historical Research (ICHR), Indian Council for Social
Science Research (ICSSR), Centre for Advanced Studi es (CAS) and so
on. Given the tradition of secular historical writing, these state
interventions to further the influence of communal history have
elicited strong resistance from the fraternity of professional
historians, as they have realised the danger the communal
mythification poses to the discipline of history.
Simultaneously, several initiatives have been taken to transform the
popular historical consciousness in favour of the communal. Among them
the setting up of Bharatiya Itihas Sankalan Samiti, with four hundred
branches all over the country, is particular ly significant. Its brief
is to prepare the history of all districts keeping as the ideal the
history written by P.N. Oak, whose main contribution is the
identification of every medieval monument as a Hindu structure.
Incidentally, Oak recently approache d the Supreme Court of India with
a request to declare the Taj Mahal a Hindu building. The Supreme Court
has indeed dismissed the plea stating that Oak seems to have 'a bee in
his bonnet'. But it has not deterred the Archaeological Survey of
India (ASI), under the influence of the Sangh Parivar, to look for a
Hindu temple under every medieval monument! The latest excavation is
at Fatehpur Sikri, a monument constructed by the Mughal Emperor Akbar,
from the vicinity of which Jain idols have been unearthed and promptly
identified as disfigured by Akbar. The present chairman of the ICHR,
B.R. Grover, who has distinguished himself by the statement that the
Babri Masjid had collapsed and not destroyed, saw even the hand of
Auragazeb in this disfigurement! Th e archaeologists of the Sangh
Parivar who are eager to excavate the site of every medieval monument
are totally indifferent to the danger the excavations might spell to
these heritage sites.
The Sangh Parivar, with the support of the government if possible and
without it if necessary, has been engaged in the construction and
dissemination of mythified histories which would help further its
religious politics. Among the innumerable examples o f such
mythification, the 'histories' of Ayodhya circulated during the
Ramjanmabhoomi campaign through political and religious networks,
using audio, video and print materials, are the most instructive. In
fact, mythified histories of Ayodhya considerabl y helped to propel
the campaign. The mythification mainly served two objectives. Firstly,
to prove the deliberate and hostile acts of the 'outsider' and
secondly, to invoke the tradition of resistance and struggle the
Hindus had waged since the 16th cent ury in defence of their faith.
These histories foregrounded many a myth as established 'facts' of
history which later found their way into the textbooks in schools in
BJP-ruled States and those run by the RSS.
In these 'histories' the desecration and demolition of temples by the
medieval Muslim rulers form a central theme, substantiating thereby
the iconoclastic beliefs as well as the religious fanaticism of the
followers of Islam. Such an interpretation, howe ver, overlooks two
significant facts of medieval history. First, as Richard Eaton has
shown in a recent essay, well before the coming of the Muslims to
India temples had been the sites for the contestation of kingly
authority. The early medieval history abounds in instances of
desecration and destruction of temples of their political adversaries
by Hindu rulers. The Cholas, the Pallavas, the Chalukyas, the Palas
and many others had indulged in this 'irreligious' act.12 Secondly,
most of the desecration and destruction took place when "Indo-Muslim
States expanded into the domains of non-Muslim rulers". Once the
territory was conquered and integrated into the kingdom, such
expression of 'fanaticism' rarely occurred. Tipu Sultan, for instance,
desecrated temples during his invasion of Malabar, but after the
conquest he gave generous land grants to several of them. Also he is
not known to have desecrated temples in his own kingdom. On the
contrary, when a Hindu religious institution like the Sringeri Mat was
plundered and destroyed by a Maratha chieftain, Tipu Sultan had met
the expenses for its reconstruction. Similarly the Mughal rulers
generally 'treated the temples lying within their sovereign domain as
state propert y' and 'undertook to protect both the physical
structures and their Brahmin functionaries'.13 Such an attitude
informs even the policy of Aurangazeb, as evident from his orders to
his officials to protect the Brahmins of Benares. The departure from
this general policy, however, occurred either at the time of war or
rebellion as in the case of th e desecration of temples in Orcha by
Shajahan and in Mathura and Benares by Aurangazeb. Thus political
exigencies rather than a 'theology of iconoclasm' were the driving
force behind the destruction and desecration of temples. Yet, the
communal interpret ation of history adopts a purely religious view to
stigmatise the present-day Muslims - described as Baber ke Santan
(children of Baber) - as enemy.
The stigmatisation of the 'outsider' as enemy is not an end in itself.
Its purpose is mainly political: to recall to memory a heroic
tradition of resistance against the 'outsider' and thus to stir the
Hindus out of their lethargy and, in the provocative words of Sadhvi
Ritambara, from their impotence, so that they consolidate and realise
their power. The communal 'histories' of Ayodhya have, therefore,
invented the myth of the heroic resistance to the demolition of the
temple in the birth place of Shri Ramachandra and the later efforts to
reclaim it. A pamphlet entitled, "Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Ka Rakt Ranjit
Itihas" (The Blood Stained History of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi), published
by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) claimed that at the time of the de
molition of the temple, 1,74,000 Hindus sacrificed their lives
fighting against the Muslims. The pamphlet then goes on to record the
77 battles fought thereafter to reclaim the temple in which 3,50,000
Hindus had laid down their lives. The reference to t he exact numbers
involved gives certain historical veracity, which though imaginary
facilitates the social acceptance of myth as history.14
This is not to argue that myths, though lacking historicity, are
'hollow tales' without any element of historical truth.15 The origin
of the myth of 77 battles, for instance, can be traced to an actual
historical incident, even if it was not l inked with the
Ramjanmabhoomi temple: a fight between the Muslims and the Hindus in
1855 over a temple located near the Babri Masjid and dedicated to
Hanuman.16 Interestingly, this battle was waged by a Muslim faqir who
claimed the existence o f a mosque below this temple. During the
course of the inquiry into this incident, conducted by an official of
the Nawab of Awad and the British Resident, the local inhabitants did
not refer either to the existence of the Ramjanmabhoomi temple or
conflic ts in the past between the Hindus and the Muslims over the
possession of the mosque.17 The myths about the Mandir was therefore a
later construction, in all probability an outcome of property disputes
and political interests.
Larger Context
The rewriting of history in which the Sangh Parivar is currently
engaged is not internal to the movements within the discipline of
history. It is integral to a larger and long-term project aimed at
reordering the secular character that informed the educa tional and
cultural policies of independent India. Towards this end, the Sangh
Parivar has already undertaken several initiatives. Prominent among
them are the changes in the content of education, the organisation of
a parallel school system and the cont rol over cultural institutions.
In the field of education the University Grants Commission (UGC) and
the NCERT appear to be pursuing a communal agenda. The UGC is
reportedly working on a uniform syllabus for the country and as a part
of it is preparing to introduce courses on Vedic stu dies, astrology,
palmistry and Hindu rituals. A band of Hindu pandits armed with
university certificates will soon be available, particularly to non-
resident Indians, to conduct the rituals at the time of birth,
marriage and death! The only consolation i s that the Chairman of the
UGC promises to provide such academic service to non-Hindus also. It
appears that the concept of university is undergoing revolutionary
changes inspired by the swadeshi ideas advocated by the Minister for
Human Resource Development. The UGC also insists that all universities
and institutions under them be subjected to the recognition of the
National Accreditation Council. It is feared that such a
standardisation will undermine the autonomy of universities and thus
facil itate the introduction of a 'national' curriculum.
The preparation of a 'national' curriculum framework for school
education is also the urgent task undertaken by the NCERT. The
discussion document released by the NCERT clearly underlines a change
from secular to religious education. Most of the suggesti ons in this
report have a revivalist and chauvinistic ring about them. It
advocates an indigenous curriculum which would 'celebrate the ideas of
native thinkers' among whom non-Hindus are conspicuous by absence. One
of the aims of the new curriculum is ' to inculcate and maintain a
sense of pride in being an Indian through a conscious understanding of
the growth of Indian civilisation and also contributions of India to
the world civilisations in its thoughts, actions and deeds'. The
external influences o n the shaping of the Indian civilisation are
completely overlooked. The concept of secularism itself is sought to
be given a religious meaning by suggesting that sarvadharma samabhava
would facilitate 'the view that religion in its basic form (dev oid of
dogma, myth and ritual) would draw younger generations to basic moral
and spiritual values'.18
Both the UGC and the NCERT appear to draw inspiration from the scheme
prepared by an RSS education outfit, Vidhya Bharati, and presented by
the Human Resource Development Minister to the conference of State
Ministers of Education in 1998. In the name of 'Indianising,
nationalising and spiritualising' education, the attempt then was to
replace secular education with an indigenous system rooted in Hindu
knowledge. To achieve that end, Sanskrit was proposed as a compulsory
subject in schools and the induct ion of the valuable heritage of the
Vedas and Upanishads in the curriculum from the primary to the higher
level, including the vocational stream. Besides these, Indian culture,
conceived in Hindu religious terms, was to form an integral part of
all cours es.19 The incorporation of Sanskrit and Indian culture into
the curriculum is in itself not an undesirable step, but that it
privileged the Hindu system of knowledge to the exclusion of others
amounts to an infringement of the tenets of a secular state. Althou gh
this scheme had to be abandoned due to secular opposition, it gave a
foretaste of the future, if and when the Sangh Parivar gained
sufficient political clout.
The attempt to Hinduise the system of education had, however, begun
much before the BJP gained access to government power. As early as
1942 the RSS had initiated steps to organise its own educational
network. Since then the number of schools run by the P arivar has
steadily increased. It is estimated that now there are about 70,000
schools under its management. And the VHP has recently announced its
intention to further expand its educational activities, particularly
in tribal areas. With the financial a nd administrative assistance
proffered by the present government, a parallel system of Hindu
education is being brought into existence, under the guidance of an
all-India organisation called the Vidya Bharati Shiksha Sanstan, set
up in 1978. It was to he lp this system that the Minister for Human
Resource Development recently mooted the idea of extending the
educational privileges so far enjoyed by the minorities under the
Articles 29 and 30 of the Constitution to all others.20 The rather
well-organised attacks on Christians, who own a fairly large number of
educational institutions, are also rooted, at least partially, in this
interest, as it is not possible to capture the educational sector
without eliminating the Christians.
The curriculum of these schools is unambiguously Hindu and militantly
communal, be it related to history, politics or literature. The
textbooks, particularly of history, prescribed in these schools are so
oriented to lend legitimacy to communal politics by stigmatising the
'outsider' and valorising the Hindu. In the process, history is turned
into myth which tends to inculcate in the young minds a false sense of
religious pride and hostility to the members of other denominations.
Not only the entire cul tural tradition is appropriated as Hindu, the
past is represented as a saga of Hindu valour and bravery. In fact,
the defeat of almost every Hindu ruler at the hands of an 'outsider'
is reinterpreted as a victory. A good example of such mythification is
an account of the war between Muhammad Ghori and Prithviraj Chauhan.
In the second battle of Tarain, which Prithviraj lost, he was captured
and executed by Ghori. This historical event is described in one of
the textbooks as follows: "Muhammad Ghori kill ed lakhs of people and
converted Vishwnath temple and Bhagawan Krishna's birthplace into
mosques. He took Prithviraj to Gazni, but Prithviraj killed him there
with one arrow and Muhammad Ghori's corpse lay on the feet of
Prithviraj as if narrating the ta le of his sins."21
The main objective of the rewriting of history is to impart certain
historical legitimacy to communal politics. The way the Indian
national movement is represented in the textbooks used in RSS-
administered schools and the desperate attempt of the ICHR to suppress
the volumes of Towards Freedom are among the several ongoing efforts
in this direction. It is common knowledge that the RSS hardly had any
role in the national movement, except as active collaborators of
colonialism. Yet, the Sangh Pariv ar is keen on appropriating its
legacy, as it would give a much-needed national legitimacy. The
history of the national movement is therefore being rewritten to
establish that the RSS had indeed played a positive role in the anti-
colonial struggle. This requires the projection of its leaders as
freedom fighters on the one hand and the suppression of their actual
role, on the other. In such rewritten history incorporated in all
textbooks of Vidhya Bharati, the founder of the RSS, Keshav Baliram
Hedgewar, figures as a great leader of the anti-colonial struggle,
much ahead of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.22 In a textbook
prescribed by the Uttar Pradesh government, out of about 20 pages
devoted to the Freedom movement, three pages take up the contribution
of Hedgewar, who is credited with the leadership of the agitation
against the partition of Bengal.23
The successful projection of such a positive image of the RSS and its
leaders would depend upon the suppression or elimination of counter
factual evidence. That appears to be the brief of the ICHR, as evident
from the attempt to withdraw the volumes of < I>Towards Freedom. The
published volumes of Towards Freedom do not credit the RSS with any
role in the anti-colonial struggle. Instead there is evidence in them,
in the form of letters and speeches of its leaders, about its active
collaboratio n with the British colonial rule. The ICHR, now firmly
under the control of the RSS, is understandably eager to prevent the
publication of further volumes and withdraw the existing ones, as
they, being documentary histories, would expose the claims of th e
RSS. The knowledge about the role of the RSS, to which the public will
have access through these volumes, is likely to undermine the
nationalist credentials of the Sangh Parivar. It is this fear of
history, which has prompted the ICHR to make the rathe r desperate
move to withdraw the volumes from the Press. In the process all
institutional procedures have been violated and the academic freedom
of the authors has been infringed.
What the ICHR has tried to do rather clumsily and secretly - the
authors who were commissioned to edit the volumes were not even
informed, let alone consulted - is not an isolated incident, but part
of an anti-secular, anti-democratic rightwing agenda wh ich the
present government with the active participation of various arms of
the Sangh Parivar has been pursuing. Towards this end, secular opinion
has been systematically eliminated from all research institutions and
cultural organisations funded by the government and replaced by the
activists or loyalists of the RSS. There is also well-planned and
systematic vilification of secular intelligentsia, as evident from the
false and malicious accusations recently levelled against historians
by Arun Shourie, an RSS ideologue and a Minister in the present
government.
The freedom of expression is particularly under surveillance in the
cultural field. No effort is spared to suppress the long cherished and
historically evolved plural and secular traditions. The artists and
cultural activists who follow such traditions h ave been under severe
strain, often faced with threats and even physical attacks. Some time
back a panel on Ramayana, based on Jataka tales, displayed in an
exhibition on Ayodhya mounted by a cultural organisation, SAHMAT, was
destroyed by the members of the Sangh Parivar. M.F. Husain's paintings
and Deepa Mehta's films have also aroused the ire of the Sangh Parivar
for alleged disrespect to Indian tradition. On the whole, there is a
tendency to control the intellectual and cultural life in conformity w
ith a fundamentalist view. In the way such a view is implemented,
irrationally and aggressively, there are unmistakable signs of fascist
tendencies.
The instrumentalist role of the rewriting of history currently being
promoted by the government and the Sangh Parivar for defining and
demarcating the nation as Hindu, imparts to it an essentially
political character. The stigmatisation of the 'outsider' as enemy
validated by historical experience lends the rationale for the
communal programme of marginalising, if not externalising, the members
of other denominations. Derivatively, it also legitimises the claim of
the 'indigenous' to the nation. The oth erness of 'outsider' therefore
serves as a signifier for internal consolidation and homogenisation.
To the early ideologues of communalism, such as V.D. Savarkar and M.S.
Golwalkar, the religious interpretation of history was the necessary
ideological gr oundwork for recovering the Hindu nation. The present
engagement of the communal forces with history is with no other intent
which, if succeeds, would unsettle the secular character of the
nation. Therefore the current debate about history in India is as much
about the integrity of the discipline as about the future well-being
of the country.
K.N. Panikkar is Professor of Modern History at the Centre for
Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
1. Maurice Godellier, Perspectives in Marxist Anthropology, Cambridge,
1977, pp.207-09.
2. Tapan Roy Choudhry, Perceptions, Emotions, Sensibilities, New
Delhi, 1999 and John Zavos, The Emergence of Hindu Nationalism in
India, New Delhi, 2000.
3. Romila Thapar, 'The Image of the Barbarian in Early India' in
Ancient Indian Social History, New Delhi, 1998, pp.152-192; Aloka
Parasher, Mlecchas in Early India, New Delhi,1991 and Brajadulal
Chattopadhyaya, Representing the Other? Sanskrit Sources and the
Muslims, New Delhi, 1998.
4. K.S.Singh, People of India: An Introduction, New Delhi, 1995.
5. M.S.Golwalkar, We or our Nationhood Defined, Nagpur, 1947.
6. Romila Thapar, 'The Rgveda: Encapsulating Social Change' in
K.N.Panikkar et.al. (ed) The Making of History, New Delhi, 2000, pp.
11-40; R.S. Sharma, Advent of the Aryans in India, New Delhi, 1999
Shereen Ratnagar, End of the Great Har appan Tradition, New Delhi,
2000.
7. An advocate of this theory is a computer scientist based in North
America, N.S. Rajaram, who has authored two books, Aryan Invasion of
India (1993) and The Politics of History (1995). The arguments and
interpretations in these two books are found to be fictional and
historically unfounded. See Shereen Ratnagar, Revisionist at work: A
chauvinistic Inversion of the Aryan Invasion Theory, Frontline,
February 9,1996. More grievously Rajaram has been found faking
evidence by Michael Witzel, Wales Professor of Sanskrit at Harvard
University. For his findings and criticism see website,
http://www.Safarmer.com/horseseal/update.html (The authoritative
version of Witzel and Farmer's collaborative work on Rajaram's
supposed findings has b een published as a cover story in Frontline,
October 13, 2000.)
8. H.D. Sankalia, 'In History', Seminar, No. 93, May 1967, pp.12-16.
Also see Alan Heston, 'An Approach to the Sacred Cow of India',
Current Anthropology, Vol.12, No.2, April 1971 and Marvin Harris, 'The
Cultural Ecology of India's Sacred Cattle', Cultural Anthropology, Vol.
7, No. 1, February 1966.
9. P.V.Kane, History of the Dharma Shastras, Pune, 1975, Vol.ii, pp.
772-76.
10. Complete Works of Vivekananda, Vol.V, Calcutta, 1966, pp.477-498.
11. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Six Glorious Epochs of Indian History,
Bombay, 1966.
12. Richard M. Eaton, 'Temple Desecration and Indo-Muslim States' in
Essays on Islam and Indian History, New Delhi, 2000.
13. Ibid.
14. K.N. Panikkar (ed.), The Concerned Indian's Guide to Communalism,
'Introduction', New Delhi, 1999, p.xiii.
15. Paul Veyne, Did the Greeks Believe in the Myth?, Chicago,1983.
16. K.N. Panikkar, 'An Overview' in S. Gopal (ed.) Anatomy of a
Confrontation: Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhumi Issue, New Delhi, 1991.
17. The details of this incident and the report of the enquiry are
available in Foreign Political Consultation, No.34, 28 December 1855,
National Archives of India, New Delhi.
18. National Curriculum Framework for School Education - A Discussion
Document, NCERT, New Delhi, 2000, p.24.
19. 'Conference of State Education Ministers and Education
Secretaries, October 22-24, Agenda Papers, Annexure.
20. Ibid.
21. National Steering Committee on Textbook Evaluation:
Recommendations and Report, NCERT, p. 6, New Delhi, 1998.
22. See Sanskar Saurab Series published by the Bharatiya Shiksha
Samiti, Rajasthan.
23. National Steering Committee on Textbook Evaluation:
Recommendations and Report, NCERT, p.14
http://www.flonnet.com/fl1801/18010730.htm
Volume 23 - Issue 01, Jan. 14 - 27, 2006
India's National Magazine
from the publishers of THE HINDU
COMMUNALISM
A saffron assault abroad
NALINI TANEJA
The Hindu Right's attempts to rewrite school textbooks on India and
Hinduism in California meet with stiff resistance from renowned
historians and scholars in the U.S. and abroad.
THE connections between communalist political strategies and textbook
revisions were explored in detail in the media when the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) went about changing the syllabus of the National
Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and getting
school history textbooks rewritten while in government. But few would
imagine that the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS)-linked
organisations were in a position to put their stamp on school
textbooks in California in the United States. The partial success of
the "education" wings of the Hindu Swayamsewak Sangh in getting many
of their revisions approved by the Curriculum Commission (CC) of the
California State Board of Education has caused a virtual
"international scandal".
The State Board of Education, California, is currently engaged in
approving the history/social science textbooks for grades six to eight
in schools, an exercise undertaken periodically. The Hindu Education
Foundation and the Vedic Foundation (based in the U.S.) have used the
occasion to push through "corrections" in the textbooks approved.
Shiva Bajpai, who constituted the one-member ad hoc committee set up
by the Board, succeeded in getting virtually all the changes requested
by these organisations incorporated into the textbooks. Professor
Emeritus at California State University, Northridge, and a Hindutva-
leaning adviser to the Board, Bajpai was proposed as expert by the
Vedic Foundation. That the Hindutva groups have not had a walkover is
thanks to the vigilance and commitment of the many academics involved
in Indian studies all over the world. Intervention by Professors
Michael Witzel and Steve Farmer in the form of a letter, signed by 50
other scholars, presented at a public hearing on November 9, resulted
in the Board reversing its initial approval of the pro-Hindutva
changes. Prof. Witzel is a well-known Indologist and has often taken
up the cudgels against Hindutva ideologues such as David Frawley, N.S.
Rajaram and Konrad Elst in the West.
Witzel's letter, endorsed among others by renowned Indian historians
Romila Thapar, D.N. Jha and Shereen Ratnagar, to Ruth Green,
President, State Board of Education, California, on behalf of "world
specialists on ancient India", voicing "mainstream academic opinion in
India, Pakistan, the United States, Europe, Australia, Taiwan and
Japan" on the issue, is now part of a concerted campaign encompassing
well-known scholars and hundreds of teachers and parents in
California.
These scholars make the important point that the "corrections"
proposed by the Hindu Right in the U.S. reflect political agendas
discriminatory to millions of people in India, especially the
minorities, `lower' castes, and women; and that such revisions have
already been debated thoroughly and rejected by academics and
progressive political opinion in India. Besides, they "do not reflect
the views of majority of the specialists on ancient Indian history,
nor of majority of the Hindus".
Asserting that "the proposed revisions are not of a scholarly, but of
a religious-political nature and are primarily promoted by Hindutva
supporters and non-specialist academics writing about issues far
outside their areas of expertise", the scholars have called on the
Board to "reject the demands by nationalist Hindu (Hindutva) groups".
From India, 12 historians have written to the CC to reject the changes
proposed by the RSS-linked organisations in the U.S.
Signatures opposing the sectarian changes have been pouring in by the
day and the Board, now alert to the issue, has constituted a new
Content Review Committee (among its members are Professors Witzel,
James Heitzman and Stanley Wolpert), which has put together a list of
recommendations that "allow for only such changes as meet the
standards of objective scholarship".
On the other side, the Hindu Education Foundation and the Vedic
Foundation protested the constitution of the Content Review Committee
and the inclusion of Witzel on it. They launched a campaign that the
"corrections" were incorporated through a proper procedure and claimed
that Witzel knew little about Hinduism and ancient Indian history.
They also asserted their right to represent Hindus in the U.S. and
their authority to decide what is the `authentic' depiction of
Hinduism and ancient Indian history.
Frantic mobilisation by Pranawa C. Deshmukh, a professor of physics at
the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, in support of the changes
suggested by the Vedic Foundation and the Hindu Education Foundation,
and the pressure of a host of organisations that constitute the
`parivar' in the U.S. resulted in many of the proposed changes in
textbooks getting the approval despite scholarly opinion being heavily
weighted against it.
The details of how this was achieved remind one of the way in which
RSS-sponsored revisions of textbooks were pushed through during the
BJP's tenure in power at the Centre. During the meeting for the
adoption of the recommendations of the Board by the CC in the course
of a public hearing on December 1 and 2, 2005, the members of the
Commission actually flouted the mandate of the Education Board. Of the
total 156 edits requested, the CC accepted 97 that conformed to what
the Hindutva organisations had proposed.
According to Witzel, "the proceedings of the CC meetings were highly
skewed, irregular and contravened the mandate given by the Board". The
Board had directed that the Commission approve only edits that
"improve the factual accuracy of materials". Instead, matters were so
arranged that several Commissioners had already left in the afternoon
of December 2, by the time this was voted on. Others abstained as they
did not know about the matter at hand (but with stacks of related
papers in front of them which they apparently had not read, including
the letter by more than 100 U.S. professors of Indian background and
others by groups of concerned Indian Americans). All were tired, and
one Commissioner, Stan Metzenberg, Professor of Biology at California
State University, Northridge, took the chance to push through
aggressively the Vedic Foundation's agenda. "The CC redefined their
mandate repeatedly, contravening the mandate of the Board that the
Commission should approve only edits that `improve the factual
accuracy of materials'; they allowed additional changes made from the
floor by Hindutvavadins to be inserted; they pushed through a
sectarian agenda that redefines Indian history and Hinduism," Witzel
said.
The Hindu Education Foundation appreciatively quotes Metzenburg as
saying: "I've read the DNA research and there was no Aryan migration.
I believe the hard evidence of DNA more than I believe historians."
However, finally it had to be agreed as: "Some historians believe in
the theory of an Aryan migration." He insisted that "Hindus should at
least be able to recognise their own religion when they read these
textbooks". In short, the textbooks must reflect popular common sense
rather than strive to mould/challenge popular common sense on the
basis of objective historical facts or the gains of scientific
enquiry.
Witzel puts it thus: "California has been hijacked by a saffron
agenda, worse by a sectarian saffron agenda. In this case, a strident
Vaishnava one that excludes Shaiva, Devi, Tantric, Lingayat and other
forms of Hindu worship and Darshana... The new CA [California] history
textbooks will reflect that."
Going by the "corrections" approved, the word "murti" means "God" (the
CC agreed to the Hindu request to change "statue" to "deity"), the
translation of "brahman" is "God", and all Hindus believe in God whose
name is Bhagwan.
The "corrections" demanded by the Hindutva organisations are integral
to the Sangh Parivar's political agenda in India, and similar to what
the BJP government was trying to do with the NCERT syllabus and
textbooks in social sciences, particularly history.
For example, among the "corrections" suggested is a clear attempt to
deny the integrality of the caste system in ancient India; it was
proposed to delete the reference altogether in one textbook. In
another, it was proposed that the picture of an untouchable be
removed. In yet another book, a reference to caste system as part of
Aryan society was replaced by: "During Vedic times, people were
divided into different social groups (varnas) based on their capacity
to undertake a particular profession." Another reference to caste is
to read as: "A late hymn of the Rg Veda describes the
interrelationship and interdependence of the four social classes."
On women, it was suggested that the references to gender bias in
ancient India were incorrect and insulting to Hindu society. Therefore
the line, "Men had many more rights than women" was to be replaced by,
"Men had different duties (dharma) and rights than women. Many women
were among the sages to whom the Vedas were revealed."
In another textbook, the changes included a specific addition that
"the recent archaeological proofs are negating the Aryan invasion
theory. The new theory suggests that Aryans were not the outsiders".
Elsewhere: "They [Aryans] were part of a larger group of people
historians refer to as the Indo-Europeans" is replaced with the
statement: "Some historians believe the Aryans were part of a larger
group of people known as the Indo-Europeans." "The Vedas came to form
the major beliefs of the religion called Brahmanism" is replaced with:
"The Vedas constitute the source of Hinduism." Early Aryan religion is
to be replaced with references to early Hindu religion.
Still other corrections follow the familiar pattern of ante-dating the
Rg Veda, confusing dates of Indus and Harappa city-based civilisations
with the Vedic civilisation, conflating Brahmanical practices with
Hinduism, describing the Vedas as the source and basic texts of
Hinduism, denying the plurality of gods worshipped through history in
favour of one God in different forms, depicting sudras as "serving all
classes" and doing "labour-intensive work" rather than serving `upper'
castes and so on. The current Hindutva preoccupations such as
asserting the sacredness of cows, vegetarianism and the Saraswati
civilisation myth have also found their way into the textbooks.
Tolerance is shown as "usual" for the time of Asoka in ancient India;
the references to technology, science and mathematics in ancient India
have been modified to enable suitable glorification; and negative
aspects of society are either deleted or presented as cultural
specificities rather than as oppressive ones.
THE moves by the Hindu Right in the U.S. are no flash in the pan. The
web sites of two of the organisations spearheading the Hindutva
campaign - the Hindu Education Foundation and the Vedic Foundation -
expressly state the revision of school textbooks in the U.S. as part
of their political agenda. They regularly "interact" with State
Education Committees that define school curriculum, conduct seminars
and training programmes for teachers and "create resources" for
parents who "wish to provide such opportunities for educators in their
own areas". There are fora of all kinds offering entertainment,
educational services and social support to youth. Alternative social
networks through bhajan mandalis, yoga centres, discussion groups,
special programmes and publications devoted to children, answer the
yearnings for roots and culture among immigrants. The RSS-linked
organisations have penetrated all these and are creating new ones all
the time. The entire effort is part of the RSS' larger goal to
"educate" Hindu children brought up in the U.S. to be "good Hindus"
and to "learn the truth about Indian history and culture", and
ultimately to finance their "social work" in India.
Not long ago, citizens' groups in India and North America exposed the
nexus between funding of charities in the West and the hate campaigns
and the expansion of communal networks of the Sangh Parivar in India.
Infusing hatred directly or through the educational set-up is not as
easy in the U.S. as it is through the Vidya Bharati schools and the
Ekal Vidyalayas in India. The strategy of the Hindu Right is different
in the U.S. It does the next best thing: it creates innumerable social
networks where prejudices are nurtured and fascist solutions to
problems legitimised, and glories of ancient India and Hinduism rule
the roost.
http://www.flonnet.com/fl2301/stories/20060127000807700.htm
Volume 16 - Issue 9, Apr. 24 - May. 07, 1999
India's National Magazine
from the publishers of THE HINDU
COVER STORY
The DMK's turnabout
The circumstances surrounding the fall of the Vajpayee Government may
lead to a realignment of political forces in Tamil Nadu, where the
ruling DMK finds itself politically isolated.
T.S. SUBRAMANIAN
in Chennai
EVEN as All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary
Jayalalitha helped push Vajpayee Government out of power, her
principal political rival in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister and Dravida
Munnetra Kazhagam president M. Karunanidhi, stood politically isolated
from his erstwhile allies. Karunanidhi's gamble in deciding to support
the BJP-led Government in the vote of confidence, breaking ranks with
four allies - the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC), the Communist Party of
India (Marxist), the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Janata Dal
- failed.
Indeed, no party in Tamil Nadu has emerged with a creditable image
from the latest political battle. Clearly, it was not "national
security", as Jayalalitha claimed, but her personal agenda to get the
DMK Government dismissed and extricate herself from the corruption
cases she faces that in the end drove her to desert the BJP-led
Government. On the other hand, the DMK's volte-face and its voting
alongside the BJP made a mockery of its claims to upholding the
Dravidian legacy of combating communalism; Karunanidhi sought to
justify his decision by saying that "Jayalalitha's corruption is more
dangerous than communalism."
The TMC seems to have emerged relatively unscathed; the party made
known its stand opposing in equal measure the BJP's communalism and
the AIADMK's corruption. TMC president G.K. Moopanar did not yield to
pressure from the DMK, some other parties and film actor Rajnikant to
bail out the Vajpayee Government by voting in support of the
confidence motion or abstaining during the vote. Moopanar also
reportedly told Congress(I) president Sonia Gandhi and other
Congress(I) leaders that his party would not support a Congress(I)-led
Government in which the AIADMK was a partner.
Soon after the Vajpayee Government was voted out, Moopanar, in a clear
reference to the AIADMK, said: "Corrupt elements cannot be allowed to
go out of one door and re-enter the government through another door...
The TMC hopes that the Congress(I) will adhere to the principles
contained in the (Pachmarhi) declaration and that the new formation
will fight the twin evils of communalism and corruption."
Sources in the Left parties said that the DMK had placed "personal
interests above national interests" and had lost out eventually.
Informed sources in the TMC and the Left parties said that the DMK had
stood on prestige and that its actions were motivated by a desire to
see that Jayalalitha did not get the "credit" for toppling the
Vajpayee Government. A Left leader said: "If the DMK had joined us,
the credit would not have gone to Jayalalitha. She has accomplished
what she set out to do."
Karunanidhi shrugged off the defeat of the BJP-led Government, saying:
"In a democracy, victories and defeats are common... I do not want to
pretend that I do not feel sad about the defeat." He said the reason
for the defeat was the "magnanimity" of Lok Sabha Speaker G.M.C.
Balayogi in allowing Orissa Chief Minister Giridhar Gamang to vote on
the motion.
THE fall of the Vajpayee Government and the circumstances that led up
to it may lead to a realignment of political parties in Tamil Nadu.
The TMC, the CPI(M) and the CPI may part company with the DMK and
forge a new front, and the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
(MDMK) led by Vaiko, which was a constituent of the BJP-led coalition,
may join it. The Congress(I) and the AIADMK may formalise an alliance
and may be joined by the PMK led by Dr. S. Ramadoss.
When it became clear that the AIADMK was preparing to withdraw support
to the Vajpayee Government, the BJP set in motion efforts to win the
DMK's support. Union Home Minister L.K. Advani and Vajpayee spoke to
Karunanidhi on the phone on April 9 and 10 respectively and sought his
party's support. Informed sources in the BJP and the DMK said that
Karunanidhi told them that the DMK's ideology was opposed to that of
the BJP's Hindutva, and that in any case only the party executive
could take a decision.
The first indication that the DMK might strike out on its own came on
April 11, when newspersons asked Karunanidhi what strategy the DMK
would adopt in the light of the political developments in New Delhi.
Karunanidhi asked: "How can we be in a front in which Jayalalitha is a
part?" The DMK also came under pressure from the BJP, which pointed
out that over the past year the Prime Minister had not yielded to the
AIADMK's repeated demands for the dismissal of the Karunanidhi
Government. Vazhapadi K. Ramamurthi of the Tamizhaga Rajiv Congress
too spoke to Karunanidhi and told him that even if the DMK did not
support the BJP, it should do nothing that would assist Jayalalitha in
her efforts to topple the Government.
Even after the DMK indicated that it would go with the BJP, Moopanar
stuck to his stand. "We will always work against corruption and
communalism," he said. When Moopanar met Congress(I) leaders in the
first week of April, he put forward only one condition: a Congress(I)
government should not include the AIADMK.
DMK leaders Murasoli Maran, MP, and Health Minister Arcot N. Veerasamy
met Moopanar on April 12 in order to explain their party's stand. But
Moopanar made it clear that the TMC would have nothing to do with
either the AIADMK or the BJP and that it expected the DMK to take a
similar stand. No such assurance came from Maran and Veerasamy.
S. THANTHONI
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M. Karunanidhi. His
gamble in deciding to spport the BJP-led Government in the vote of
confidence, breaking ranks with his party's allies in the State,
failed.
Jayalalitha left for New Delhi on April 12, ruling out the possibility
of a rapprochement with the BJP because Vajpayee and Advani had spoken
to Karunanidhi.
On April 13 the DMK executive met and passed a resolution which said
that since Jayalalitha posed "the biggest threat to the State and the
nation, the DMK will not support any formation in which Jayalalitha
found a place directly or indirectly." Karunanidhi summed up his
party's intention when he said: "Jayalalitha's corruption is a bigger
threat than communalism." The resolution added that Jayalalitha was
bent on toppling the Government not because she opposed communalism
but because she wanted to extricate herself from the corruption cases
she was facing. Besides, the "one and only item on her agenda" was to
get the DMK Government dismissed, it said.
The DMK's stand shocked the Left parties. State CPI secretary R.
Nallakannu and State CPI(M) secretary N. Sankariah issued a joint
statement asking the DMK to reconsider its stand and take "a political
position which will be firmly against the BJP Government."
When Frontline met Nallakannu and Sankariah separately, they assailed
the DMK line that "Jayalalitha's corruption is more dangerous than
communalism." They agreed that Jayalalitha was monumentally corrupt
and that she had tried to extricate herself from the corruption cases
against her and that the BJP had aided her in this. But, they noted,
the five parties in the DMK-led front in Tamil Nadu had fought this.
However, when the AIADMK had withdrawn its support to the Vajpayee
Government because of "internal contradictions" and the Government was
about to fall, the five parties should back that move, they said.
Jayalalitha's corruption could be tackled later, after the Government
fell, they reasoned.
N. BALAJI
TMC president G.K. Moopanar. The TMC seemed to have emerged
relatively unscathed from the latest round; the party made known its
stand opposing in equal measure the BJP's communalism and the AIADMK's
corruption.
Sankariah said: "We will not protect anybody who is corrupt. The law
will take its own course."
Both Nallakannu and Sankariah squelched the DMK's fears that if the
Congress(I) formed a coalition government with the AIADMK as a
partner, the DMK Government would again be dismissed. Nallakannu said
that in the absence of a majority, the Congress(I) would not be able
to dismiss the DMK Government, and that in any case the Communist
parties would firmly oppose any such move. Nallakannu said that the
DMK's decision to support the BJP at this juncture "does not behove
Tamil Nadu's political background because the legacy of the Dravidian
parties is to oppose sectarian politics."
Informed sources said that Karunanidhi felt "insulted" that CPI(M)
general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet met Jayalalitha in Delhi on
April 14. CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan too met her the next
day.
Karunanidhi accused the CPI(M) and the CPI of initiating steps that
"certainly fragmented" the Third Front. He said: "I do not know what
prompted Mr. Surjeet to ignore the DMK and talk to Jayalalitha." He
wondered what had become of the assurances from West Bengal Chief
Minister Jyoti Basu and Surjeet that the DMK and the TMC were very
much a part of the Third Front and that a collective decision would be
taken. He accused the CPI(M) and the CPI of not consulting the DMK on
the fast-moving developments in New Delhi. He said he was sure that
the political parties which had lined up behind Jayalalitha now would
see her in her true colours at the appropriate time.
SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY
Jayalalitha with CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan at Ajoy Bhavan,
the CPI headquarters, in New Delhi on April 15. The circumstances that
led up to the fall of the Vajpayee Government may lead to a
realignment of political parties in Tamil Nadu.
CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury refuted Karunanidhi's
allegation that he had not been consulted by the Left parties. He said
the Central and State leadership of the CPI(M) had been in constant
touch with the DMK. If the DMK wanted to change its position, the Left
should "not be used as an excuse," he said.
With the defeat of the Vajpayee Government, the DMK, which is without
friends, may face tough days ahead in the political arena. Karunanidhi
admitted as much when he said that the DMK had been isolated from the
Left parties. "But we will not be isolated from the people," he
added.
http://www.flonnet.com/fl1609/16090210.htm
Volume 27 - Issue 06 :: Mar. 13-26, 2010
INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE
from the publishers of THE HINDU
CONTROVERSY
Artist’s alienation
V. VENKATESAN
Harassment by Hindutva fanatics and law enforcers made M.F. Husain
accept Qatari nationality.
V. GANESAN
THAT India’s pre-eminent artist, Maqbool Fida Husain, 94, had to
accept the citizenship of another country may well be the tragedy of
Indian secularism. On February 25, the Government of Qatar conferred
on him Qatari nationality, without his applying for the same.
Husain’s acquisition of Qatar’s citizenship will, in all probability,
raise questions about whether he can retain his Indian citizenship.
Under Section 9 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, any citizen of India who
voluntarily acquires the citizenship of another country shall, upon
such acquisition, cease to be a citizen of India. The key word here is
“voluntarily”. Therefore, when the Central government seeks to
determine whether he “voluntarily” acquired the citizenship of Qatar,
it may well consider the circumstances that left him with no choice,
apart from the obvious facts.
The story of Husain’s struggle for justice has to be traced to 1996,
when Hindutva forces were on the ascendant following their success in
electoral politics. In September 1996, an article by one Om Nagpal,
titled “Is he [Husain] an artist or a butcher?” appeared in Vichar
Mimansa, a monthly magazine in Hindi published from Bhopal. In the
article Husain’s depiction of the goddess Saraswati in the nude was
reproduced. The magazine’s editor, V.S. Vajpayee, had come across it
in the book Husain - Riding the Lightning by Dnyaneshwar Nadkarni.
Husain had drawn this in 1970.
Maharashtra’s then Minister for Culture and Shiv Sena leader Pramod
Navalkar, who came across newspaper reports of the article, and then
read the article, wrote to the Mumbai Police Commissioner informing
him of the material referred to in the article. The Mumbai Police
treated the letter as a complaint and registered a case on October 8,
1996, against Husain under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between
different groups on account of religion, etc.) and 295A (deliberate
and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any
class) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
These are provisions that cannot be invoked without the sanction of
the State government. The non-application of mind by the State
government, before granting sanction, thus sowed the seeds of bigotry.
Soon after, Bajrang Dal activists barged into the Herwitz gallery in
Ahmedabad’s famous Husain-Doshi Gufa art complex to destroy Husain’s
paintings. They ransacked the place and the damage was estimated at Rs.
1.5 crore. Damage was inflicted on all of Husain’s paintings,
including his depictions of the Buddha, Hanuman and Ganesha. The State
government’s reluctance to apprehend those responsible for the attack
encouraged a culture of impunity.
Artists in Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad came out in a public expression
of solidarity with Husain. Husain, then in London, issued a statement
in which he said it was not his intention to hurt people’s feelings
with his art, but if he had, he regretted it.
Metaphoric art
Husain was born in a working class family of some means in Pandharpur,
Maharashtra. He intermittently attended the local college of arts in
Indore. At 17, he was apprenticed to a tailor; he also trained to
become a prayer leader. He moved to Mumbai in 1937 and lived for many
years in a slum. There he worked as an assistant to a billboard
painter, and then became a painter of signs himself. He also worked as
a furniture designer and as a toy maker. He painted determinedly
through all these phases.
His references to Indian culture are metaphoric. In fact, the
Saraswati sketch was really skeletal, an outline showing a woman as a
muse. It revealed Husain’s deft strokes. There was nothing in it that
could be called grotesque. As Rajeev Dhavan records in his book
Publish and be Damned: Censorship and Intolerance in India (Tulika
Books, 2008), it was the Vichar Mimansa headline calling Husain a
butcher that built up hatred against the painter and his works. In
fact, the publication should have been indicted for hate speech.
Since Vichar Mimansa was published from Madhya Pradesh, the
prosecutions should have been launched in that State. But there is no
legal bar to prosecute from any State where the publication was
distributed. This legal labyrinth prompted Hindutva forces to choose
Maharashtra, where the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party was in power,
rather than Madhya Pradesh, which was then ruled by a Congress
government led by Digvijay Singh.
Artists and historians had then sought to expose the vacuousness of
the protests by the Hindutva fringe groups. They pointed out that the
walls of the Hoysala temples depict a variety of Saraswati images, all
nude. Nudity was never questioned in Indian art. Experiments of early
Indian artists were much more daring than Husain’s.
Hate-mongers
On May 1, 1998, Bajrang Dal activists forced their way into Husain’s
South Mumbai home and created mayhem. They were ostensibly provoked by
one of his works exhibited in New Delhi. They interpreted that the
painting depicted Sita perched on the tail of a flying Hanuman, both
in the nude. Husain had never given a caption to this painting, and
the Hindutvavadis gave a free rein to their imagination.
This time, as in 1996, Husain suggested setting up a three-member
committee – an art critic, a lawyer and a representative of the Vishwa
Hindu Parishad (VHP) – that could go through his entire collection. He
said he was prepared to destroy immediately any work that the
committee found objectionable.
But the VHP-Bajrang Dal combine could not be pacified by these
concessions which, to many of Husain’s admirers, seemed unwarranted.
In 2006, Husain was accused of painting a ‘Naked Bharat Mata’ (nude
Mother India). The painting was put up for auction by Apparao
Galleries of Chennai. The title Bharat Mata was given by the
auctioneer without reference to Husain. Husain again apologised and
withdrew the painting from the charity auction.
SEBASTIAN D'SOUZA/AFP
M.F. Husain at the inauguration of his exhibition "...and not only 88
of Husain" at the National Art Gallery in Mumbai in Janary 2004.
Although Husain apologised to stop the hate campaign, he was innocent
and had no intention of painting something profane.
The hate-mongers remained dissatisfied. It was then that Home Minister
Shivraj Patil instructed the police chiefs of Delhi and Mumbai to take
“appropriate action” against Husain on the basis of an intelligence
input that Husain’s Bharat Mata and other controversial paintings of
Hindu goddesses could spark communal trouble. Newspaper reports about
the May 2006 advisory shocked the artistic community.
The advisory was based on the Law Ministry’s review of about six
paintings by Husain. The Law Ministry had concluded that a sound case
had been made for the prosecution of Husain. The United Progressive
Alliance government, which now swears by its resolve to give
protection to Husain if he returns to India, has no explanation why it
responded the way it did in 2006.
Artists such as Vivan Sundaram, Ram Rahman, Shubha Mudgal, Arjun Dev,
K. Bikram Singh, S. Kalidas, Krishen Khanna and Rajen Prasad wrote to
Shivraj Patil on May 8, 2006, to withdraw immediately the advisory, if
it had been issued, as such an action had never been taken earlier
against a visual artist. “The implications of such a step are very
serious and strike at the very foundations of our democratic polity,”
they wrote. They pointed out to Patil that Husain’s work is a
celebration of the multi-cultural and multi-religious life of
independent India. Though a Muslim, Husain has done a series of
paintings celebrating the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the
mythological traditions of other religions that have taken root in
India – such as Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism as well as
Islam. He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha on this acclaim.
Meanwhile, death threats were issued, putting a price on Husain’s
head. Ashok Pandey, who claimed to be the president of the Hindu Law
Board, offered a Minister from Uttar Pradesh Rs.101 crore to kill
Husain in response to the Minister’s offer of Rs.51 crore to any
person who assassinated the Danish cartoonist who had insulted the
Prophet.
In Gujarat, Jashubhai Patel, who was earlier president of the BJP unit
in Mehsana district, announced that he would pay one kilogram of gold
to anyone who gouged out the eyes of Husain and cut off his right
thumb so that he would never be able to make paintings of Hindu gods
and goddesses. The Congress Minority Cell in Madhya Pradesh offered Rs.
11 lakh to any patriot who would chop off Husain’s hands because he
had hurt Hindu sentiments. The call was issued by Akhtar Baig, who was
vice-president of Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee in Indore.
If these threats dissuaded Husain from returning to India, he could
not be blamed for it. The police in these States did not take any
action against those who issued the threats despite their identity
having been revealed in the media. Such threats are covered under
Section 503 of the IPC (criminal intimidation), and punishment for
this offence under Section 506 is imprisonment up to seven years.
The same month, there was an exhibition of Husain’s paintings at Asia
House in London. A protest was organised by Arjun Malik of the Hindu
Human Rights Campaign against the exhibition and against the Japanese
firm Hitachi that had supplied plasma screens to the gallery for
better viewing. Asia House gallery succumbed to the pressure by
concluding the exhibition much before the scheduled date.
The controversy over the Bharat Mata painting was an invitation to
bigots to use legal means to harass Husain. In a sense, the legal
process itself was a punishment. A social worker filed a complaint
before the Judicial Magistrate, First Class, in Indore, who summoned
Husain. Husain feared that his life would be in danger in Indore if he
appeared before the magistrate. A bailable warrant was then issued
against Husain. Soon other complaints followed.
Typical of these complaints was that neither the complaint nor the
summoning order referred to any sanction granted by the Central or
State governments – a mandatory requirement under Section 196 of the
Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). In a complaint registered in
Pandharpur, a non-existent provision, Section 501B IPC, was invoked on
the basis of which a non-bailable warrant of arrest was issued against
him by a lower court. The court directed the Kerala government to
present him in the Pandharpur court as and when he arrived in Kerala
to receive the Raja Ravi Varma Award for 2007. The basis of the
complaint was that Husain had hurt the sentiments of Hindus through
his painting of Bharat Mata. These multiple proceedings had the
chilling effect of distracting him from his obsession and love for
art. It also dissuaded him from returning to India from his self-
imposed exile in Dubai.
Landmark judgment
In December 2006, the Supreme Court directed transfer of all the
pending cases against him in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar to
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Delhi. When the ACMM issued
a summons to Husain in three such cases, he filed a revision petition
in the Delhi High Court to quash the same.
Despite the ruling of the Delhi High Court on May 8, 2008, quashing
the summons, three cases are pending against him in the Sessions Court
at Patiala House in Delhi on virtually identical charges.
Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul delivered the landmark High Court judgment
in 2008. The essence of the judgment was that Husain’s Bharat Mata
painting is not obscene, as it is not lascivious and nor does it
appeal to prurient interests. The painting depicts India in a human
form, and the naked portrayal of a concept which has no particular
face does not qualify the as obscene, Justice Kaul reasoned. By way of
an abstract expression, Husain tried to elucidate the concept of a
nation in the form of a distressed woman; the aesthetic touch to the
painting dwarfs the so-called obscenity in the form of nudity, he
explained. He also disagreed with the view that the painting could
offend religious feelings.
The Supreme Court dismissed an appeal against this judgment. But three
more cases are yet to be disposed of at the Patiala House District
Court, New Delhi. In one case, a first information report (FIR) was
registered against Husain, and the court ordered a police
investigation, which has not yet been concluded. The remaining two
cases have been transferred from other States to Delhi. It is clear
that after Justice Kaul’s judgment, these cases too needed to be
quashed by the District Court. The Delhi High Court quashed one such
case in 2009. The pendency of these cases made the prospect of his
arrest and harassment real if he returned to India.
Even though Home Minister P. Chidambaram promises full security to
Husain if he returns to India, the threat of vandalism against his
paintings still looms large. Organisers of any exhibition of modern
art, let alone art summits, now tend to exclude Husain’s paintings
from it.
Akhil Sibal, Husain’s advocate in Delhi, said: “The Government of
India has been a silent spectator to his harassment for 15 years. It
has taken neither any clear position nor any unequivocal step to
secure him, and those who support him, a harassment-free environment.
Let the government not be held hostage and paralysed by the shrill
voices of extremists.”
In the case decided by Justice Kaul, the Additional Solicitor General
while assisting the Court promised that he would advise the Central
government to take steps by way of appropriate legislative amendments
to prevent harassment of artists, sculptors, authors, film-makers and
so on in different creative fields. Justice Kaul hoped that this
aspect would get the attention it deserves and the legislature in its
wisdom would examine the feasibility of possible changes in law.
Justice Kaul had made it clear that the criminal justice system should
not be invoked as a convenient recourse to ventilate any and all
objections to an artistic work. The system, he warned, can cause
serious violations of the rights of people in the creative fields, and
this represents a growing intolerance and divisiveness within society
and poses a threat to the democratic fabric of the nation. Therefore,
he said, the magistrates must scrutinise each case in order to prevent
vexatious and frivolous cases from being filed and ensure that it is
not used as a tool to harass the accused. Rather than make empty
promises to Husain to guarantee his security if he returns to India,
the government may well initiate concrete action on the reforms
suggested by Justice Kaul.
http://www.flonnet.com/stories/20100326270611500.htm
Volume 27 - Issue 06 :: Mar. 13-26, 2010
INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE
from the publishers of THE HINDU
CONTROVERSY
Shock and shame
S. ARNEJA
Artist Vivan Sundaram.
IN a recent interview to NDTV, Maqbool Fida Husain, the first global
modernist painter from India, made his decision to accept Qatari
citizenship sound like a practical imperative. He said since he had
found sponsors in London (United Kingdom) and Qatar to complete his
three projects on ancient civilisations, he would have to become a non-
resident Indian (NRI) because of the excessive tax structure
prevailing in India. He justified the decision by saying that even
film directors such as Roman Polanski and Ingmar Bergman had to leave
their countries.
He said: “Had I been 40, I would have fought them [attackers of his
art] tooth and nail but here I want to focus only on my work. I don’t
want any disturbance. I need all comforts and facilities to the
maximum.” He added: “These boundaries are only political boundaries.
The visual arts especially is a universal language; you can be
anywhere in the world but the work that you do has a strong link to
5,000 years of our great Indian culture.”
However, most artists in India expressed shame, sadness and shock at
Husain being pushed to the edge. They recalled Husain’s life and the
implications of his enforced exile.
The renowned Hindustani classical singer Shubha Mudgal says: “It is
tragic that we allowed this to happen. Having gone through what M.F.
Husain has, we are no one to tell him where to go or not. The
government is talking of disaster management now but where was it all
these years? Unfortunately, art does not transcend all boundaries of
prejudices and that prevents the artistic community from taking a
stand together. To top it all, there is no space for artists to get
together to discuss Husain and other issues such as censorship. If
this can happen to Husain, what can happen to many lesser-known
artists?”
The photographer Ram Rahman hesitates to use the word “controversial”
to describe Husain’s paintings. “We have to ask who made these
paintings controversial? Why use a discourse that has been defined by
right-wing militants? And how can we talk of Qatar’s freedom of
expression if Husain and other artists are being attacked in India?”
He is sceptical about the Indian government’s promise of security to
Husain. he said: “He is not a corporate honcho or a political leader.
He is a free bird. Would he be able to work in an environment he knows
is not conducive to work? All because you are letting the RSS
[Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh] and national politics, and not the
Constitution, define citizenry.”
In her recent essay “Modernist Myths and the Exile of Maqbool Fida
Husain”, the art historian Geeta Kapur profiles his exile in its
tragic, political and discursive meanings. She says that Husain faces
multiple exiles. According to her, “if an exiled artist is seen to
radiate a sense of self, an emanation of solitude, crucial to the
creative soul”, it was also crucial for Husain, facing so much apathy,
to impose on himself an exile in order to exercise uncompromised
understanding of ethical issues.
She goes on to write: “Husain is stereotypically a postcolonial artist
and his exile carries the entire burden of the citizenship/community
discourse in India… In post-Independence India, Husain’s visible
identity as a Muslim figured emblematically but was not overplayed,
since the secular was simply a taken-for-granted for all modern
artists. Now, 60 years hence, even as he (so admirably) refuses to
play the opposite role of an embittered Muslim or a national martyr,
he must rely on the modern artist’s sense of singularity to salvage
himself.”
The Husain issue has many political implications. Branding is a
contemporary political reality: someone who is a human rights activist
can be branded as a Maoist or someone speaking for minority rights can
be seen as a terrorist in a security-driven system. All these trends
recoil into suppression of free speech, the most important pillar of a
democratic society.
SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
Film director Shyam Benegal.
In a liberal space, none of the artists discount the right of the
groups protesting against Husain but are critical of violent methods
to assert their point. The film-maker Shyam Benegal, known for his
socially sensitive cinema, says: “There is a convergence of the
politics of intimidation and the politics of identity in these times,
which creates the ‘other’ very easily. How can we just blame the right-
wing groups? It is an organised attitude. The Bhandarkar Oriental
Research Institute in Pune was ransacked in 2004 by the Sambhaji
Brigade, a cultural group of the Nationalist Congress Party.
Similarly, what happened with Shah Rukh Khan is absurd. There are ways
to protest because in a country that guarantees free speech,
sentiments can get hurt. We all have our ways to protest, but to say
you have no right to exist is a matter of concern.”
An important reading of Husain’s ostracism was done by Vivan Sundaram,
painter, sculptor and installation artist: “Visual images can have
many readings, and inbuilt into them are greater ambiguities. But
interpretation in a way that could make way for an attack is being
done by organised right-wing groups and not individuals.” When asked
whether Husain is trying to make a statement by accepting Qatar’s
citizenship, he said, “In a way, he is making some kind of a statement
that if you are insisting I should live in exile, then I will get rid
of this. Vigilance in the public domain is keeping India away from
many progressive thoughts. The government cannot just provide security
but it has to act consistently against fundamentalists. It is a
process, but the political leadership must stand up to it.”
In this polemic, what remains conspicuous is the government’s
emergence as a protector only when the issue of foreign nationality
surfaced. Geeta Kapur gives an explanation. She traces the transition
of an artist from a citizen to an interlocutor in the changed public
discourse. While, she says, the space for artists as citizens began to
be suppressed during the naxalite era of the 1960s and 1970s and then
during the Emergency, it became starker in the 1990s.
“The right-wing swing in Indian politics during the 1990s made the
‘othering’ process at work in the polity fully visible to the more
radical intelligentsia, as it also made visible the alienation of the
minorities and Dalits whose political struggles echoed through and
beyond the public sphere. The artist-interlocutor now undertook to
investigate the fault lines within civil society structures, as well
as to address the conditions of life that fall outside the protocols
of governances,” she writes.
By accepting Qatar’s citizenship, Husain precisely does this. For the
first time, perhaps, with Husain’s issue, citizenry engages with
minority rights and victimisation. These are issues of social
exclusion in terms of caste, gender and religion, which get lost in an
overarching identity of a ‘citizen’. It is in this context that Geeta
Kapur writes: “Husain’s exile is a personal tragedy and a national
shame. It is the exile of a modern artist, of a secular artist and,
more explicitly, a Muslim citizen-artist from secular India. Relayed
into each other, these aspects condense into a logic whereby it is
precisely as a secularist that Husain is accused.”
She goes on to say: “How ironic that antagonists as well as
protagonists should make it mandatory for Husain to publicly embrace
Islam and its metaphysics, endorse a sectarian identity, valorise the
Islamicate legacy, and interpret his present engagement with Arab
civilisation as an endorsement of his ‘originary/ethnic’ identity!
More ironical, that he must thereby shun not only the secular but also
the sovereign status he sought in the embrace of modernity.”
Faced with the empathy within the artistic community for Husain, the
Indian government has woken up to the need to bring Husain back to
India to salvage whatever little goodwill it may have among the
artists and liberal ideologues. But it needs to do more to convince
them about its sincerity.
By Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta
http://www.flonnet.com/stories/20100326270611800.htm
Volume 27 - Issue 06 :: Mar. 13-26, 2010
INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE
from the publishers of THE HINDU
SOCIAL ISSUES
Khap terror
T.K. RAJALAKSHMI
in Rohtak
Haryana’s caste panchayats continue to punish couples, practically
unchecked, for breaking “brotherhood norms”.
BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Azad Singh and Lakshmi, parents of Satish Berwal. The family has been
given police protection.
ON February 12, Meham town in Rohtak district, Haryana, saw a
citizens’ convention that was unusual in more than one sense. First,
it was being held from the ramparts of the Meham Chaubisi Chabootara,
a platform reserved for members of the Meham panchayat (a
conglomeration of 24 villages, better known as the Meham Chaubisi).
Second, the meeting was not dominated by any one caste. Third, it was
a congregation of secular and democratic groups, and a good number of
women participated in it. (Women had never attended meetings at that
venue since all caste and khap panchayats are male-dominated.) Fourth,
it was a meeting where caste and khap panchayats and their
undemocratic ways were roundly criticised. People from neighbouring
villages also attended the meeting and expressed their opposition to
the illegal acts of the panchayats.
The meeting reflected a growing anger against the actions of self-
styled khap panchayats. In early February itself, there were at least
three reported cases of panchayats ordering the expulsion of married
couples for having allegedly violated one community norm or the other.
Meham shot into notoriety 20 years ago following complaints of poll-
rigging and booth-capturing in an Assembly byelection. The election
had to be countermanded twice because of large-scale violence and the
murder of an independent candidate. The Meham Chaubisi has
historically played a crucial role in elections.
Bhaichaara victims
On January 31, Kavita and Satish, a young couple from Kheri Meham with
a nine-month-old child, were told by the khap panchayat that their
marriage three years ago was in violation of the gotra norm of
bhaichaara, or brotherhood. Kavita belongs to the Beniwal gotra and
Satish to the Berwal gotra, and their marriage had seemingly not
violated any caste or gotra norm. However, according to the bhaichaara
norm, girls belonging to a village’s dominant gotra could be accepted
in that village only as sisters, and not as wives. Of late, this has
been used to harass couples who either married out of their own choice
or whose marriages were arranged by their families.
Twenty-one members of the Beniwal gotra convened a meeting and decided
to expel Kavita and Satish from the village. Kavita could not stay in
the village as the wife of Satish, but the child could live with
Satish’s father, Azad Singh, the meeting decreed.
As a punishment for allowing the marriage to take place, the 65-year-
old Azad Singh was paraded around the village with a shoe shoved into
his mouth. Azad Singh’s family is among the poorer ones in the village
and belongs to a minority gotra. “We were told that we could stay on
in the village if we donated whatever land we possessed to the village
dera (a village shelter used by mendicants). As per the ruling, Satish
would become his own child’s uncle while I have to pay Rs.3 lakh for
the upkeep of my grandchild. How will I procure all the money for this
after giving away my land?” said Azad Singh.
Anil Rao, Senior Superintendent of Police, Rohtak, told Frontline that
the couple was now staying in Bhiwani district and that he had sent
word to the police authorities there to provide them security.
Kavita had, with support from her parents, who live in Bhiwani
district, approached the SSP with a detailed complaint, naming the
people who had convened the panchayat and humiliated her father-in-
law. She demanded action against the 21 gotra members involved in the
act. But the police registered a first information report (FIR)
without mentioning any names – reportedly owing to pressure from
influential people. Frontline learnt that at least two revenue
department employees and one panchayat samiti member were involved in
the humiliation of Azad Singh and in the decision to expel the
couple.
The SSP said that the police were doing everything possible to help
the couple and claimed that police intervention had forced the Meham
Chaubisi to reverse its judgment. A joint meeting of the Berwal and
Beniwal khaps resolved that the couple could live as man and wife but
outside their village. The Chaubisi also condemned the humiliation of
Azad Singh.
At Azad Singh’s house, emotions run high. “They have done their worst.
What more can they do?” said Azad Singh, referring to his humiliation.
While he and his wife Lakshmi are relieved to have police protection
against further assaults by members of the dominant gotra, they are
scared to say openly that they will bring their daughter-in-law home.
“What would you do if you are surrounded by the village toughs? But
how can a man and his wife reconvert as brother and sister?” wondered
an elderly relative of Azad Singh. However, she said that the
panchayat was right in its decision but others had influenced it
wrongly. Lakshmi wondered what would be the nature of her relationship
with her grandson, Raunaq, if her son and daughter-in-law were to see
each other as brother and sister.
It was shocking that none of the influential Berwal gotra members was
ready to stand by the family. Dharamraj, a former sarpanch of Kheri
village, said that the khaps’ decision, taken at a joint meeting of
the two khaps, was final. The role of an elected sarpanch, as has been
seen in most cases relating to such issues, is marginal. An older
citizen of the village told Frontline that an elected sarpanch was of
use only if he was influential and “strong”.
The police maintained a studious silence regarding the couple’s desire
to live together in their own village of Kheri. “Mindsets have to
change, and then there is the issue of bhaichaara that cannot be
disturbed,” said a police officer.
It is significant that the Punjab and Haryana High Court took suo motu
notice of the issue and asked the Haryana government to file a reply.
The Director-General of Police told the court that the Unlawful
Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, does not cover the activities of
khap panchayats. Equally significant is the fact that apart from the
Left parties and the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA),
which took up the cudgels on Kavita’s behalf, several individuals,
including veteran Congress leader Shamsher Singh Surjewala, and
organisations such as the All India Lawyers’ Union, the All India
Kisan Sabha and a few youth organisations, denounced the undemocratic
diktats of the caste panchayat.
Apart from the Kheri incident, three other cases of caste panchayat
atrocities were reported in the recent past. A couple in Jind district
came under immense pressure to call off their engagement after a
section of residents of the boy’s village, Budalkhera, claimed that
the gotras of the groom and the bride had brotherly relations. The
Budalkhera panchayat declared that the marriage could not take place
in the village. The families of the couple resisted and finally, on
February 6, the panchayat reversed its order. But it ensured that the
wedding took place outside the village.
Similarly, on November 1 last year, a joint panchayat of the Garhi
Ballam and Sundana villages ordered a couple to leave the village for
violating gotra norms. The couple quietly left. No complaint was
lodged.
Curiously, on February 3, in a village in Hisar district, members of
the Scheduled Caste Dhanak community objected to a wedding and
banished the boy from the village, alleging gotra violations. That was
perhaps the first time that the Dhanak community had targeted one of
its own. Until then, only a section of the Jat community was found
raising vocal and violent objections on the grounds of gotra
violations. It was because of the intervention of some Left and
democratic organisations and the determination of the boy’s mother, a
widow who threatened to commit suicide, that the panchayat finally
relented.
The Bhupinder Singh Hooda government’s record in taking on illegal
actions of caste groups is less than satisfactory. Such incidents are
as common as they were before, but many of them go unreported.
“There are so many more important issues – such as dowry, domestic
violence and livelihood issues. But we spend most of our energy and
time fighting the unconstitutional fiats of these self-styled
panchayats,” said Jagmati Sangwan, president of the State unit of
AIDWA.
She pointed out that though the government had promised to set up
shelters for couples who were being targeted by khap panchayats, to
date not a single one had come up.
The Rohtak SSP told Frontline that harassed couples could stay in the
police lines, sharing accommodation with other families until the
government shelters came up. “We can’t provide independent
accommodation for 2,000 couples overnight,” he said.
http://www.flonnet.com/stories/20100326270604400.htm
Volume 27 - Issue 06 :: Mar. 13-26, 2010
INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE
from the publishers of THE HINDU
THE STATES
Facing flak
S. DORAIRAJ
in Chennai
The National Commission for Scheduled Castes criticises Tamil Nadu for
poor implementation of Dalit welfare measures.
E. LAKSHMI NARAYANAN
A Dalit woman staging a dharna outside the Office of the Special
Tahsildar (Adi Dravidar Welfare) in Salem on June 16, 2008, demanding
a patta for the site of her house.
THE sharp criticism of the State administration by the National
Commission for Scheduled Castes for perceived inadequacies in
enforcing the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act, 1989, and in implementing various welfare measures
aimed at empowering Dalits has put the Tamil Nadu government in a
tight spot. Despite denials by Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, who is
also a top leader of the United Progressive Alliance which is in power
at the Centre, NCSC Vice-Chairman N.M. Kamble’s remarks after a review
meeting in Chennai on February 18 have triggered a fresh debate on a
wide range of Dalit-related issues. These include different forms of
discrimination against Dalits, the lacunae in enforcing the S.Cs and
S.Ts (POA) Act, non-distribution of adequate cultivable land and house
sites to the oppressed sections, non-clearance of the backlog of
promotions, introduction of 3 per cent internal reservation for the
Arunthathiar community, and the lack of political will to end manual
scavenging.
The Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF), led by
functionaries of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and several
Dalit organisations, which participated in the review meeting, made
their submissions to the commission. The NCSC dropped a bombshell by
pointing to the large number of pending cases and the low rate of
conviction in the State under the S.Cs and S.Ts (POA) Act. It did not
take lightly the failure on the part of the police to complete the
investigations in time in many cases. The commission also pointed out
that the details pertaining to the grounds for acquittal in many cases
were not made available to it. It substantiated its claims with a year-
wise break-up of pending cases, disposals and convictions.
The commission pulled up the government for not furnishing district-
wise and ward-wise information regarding the implementation of welfare
schemes for Dalits. The non-appointment of a liaison officer to take
care of the interests of Scheduled Caste government employees
particularly earned the NCSC’s ire. The commission also expressed
anguish over the lack of initiative on the part of the authorities to
retrieve lands that were assigned to the Scheduled Castes but were
still in the possession of non-Dalits. There are as many as 8,000 such
cases.
Top officials of the State government who attended the meeting assured
the NCSC of submitting the information required by it in a month. But
Karunanidhi took issue with the criticism the next day by announcing
that he would apprise the Centre, particularly Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh, of his government’s performance in promoting the welfare of
Dalits.
Refuting the NCSC’s “barbed comments”, Karunanidhi came out with a
detailed statement highlighting the various welfare measures
implemented by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government after he
assumed office as Chief Minister for the first time in 1969. These
include decisions to raise the quantum of reservation for the S.Cs and
the S.Ts from 16 per cent to 18 per cent in 1971 and to earmark a
quota of 1 per cent exclusively for the S.Ts in 1990.
He said the State government had allocated more funds under the
Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCSP) than the earmarked 19 per cent. He
further said the allocations for divisible expenditure out of the
State Plan funds had grown from Rs.567 crore in 2005-2006 to Rs.2,615
crore in 2009-2010. It was his government that named the Law
University in the State after B.R. Ambedkar, he recalled. On the
commission’s contention with regard to the low conviction rate in
cases registered under the S.Cs and S.Ts (POA) Act, Karunanidhi said
just blaming the government counsel and the courts appeared to be the
motive behind the criticism.
Several Dalit organisations in the State, however, do not seem to be
convinced by the Chief Minister’s claims. Addressing a joint press
conference, Dalit leaders including Puthiya Tamizhagam president K.
Krishnasamy and Republican Party of India’s State general secretary
S.K. Tamilarasan accused the DMK government of attempting to find
fault with the NCSC.
They urged the government to come out with a White Paper in three
months giving district-wise and block-wise details on reservation in
jobs and education, distribution of land, and retrieval of ‘panchami’
land to promote the socio-economic conditions of Dalits in the State.
They also wanted the data on the allocation of funds under the SCSP
and development projects executed for Dalits in villages to be
released without delay.
P. Sampath, State convener of the TNUEF, said there was nothing wrong
in the NCSC Vice-Chairman’s observations regarding the manner in which
S.Cs and S.Ts (POA) Act cases were handled in the State. He said
compromises were reached in many cases at the intervention of the
police, who register counter-complaints from the dominant communities
against the Dalit victims. The bail applications of offenders are
seldom objected to by the police, he alleged.
He said State and district panels set up by the government to monitor
the implementation of the Act had become dysfunctional. In many cases,
investigations were not done by deputy superintendents of police as
laid down by the rules, he alleged.
Official data show that the rate of conviction in cases of atrocities
against Dalits is very low. According to information provided by the
Inspector-General of Police (Social Justice and Human Rights), there
were 18,752 cases – 4,445 fresh cases and 14,307 “brought forward”
cases – involving S.Cs before special courts between 2003 and 2009. Of
these, only 412 ended in conviction, whereas there were 3,354
acquittals. In 2009 alone, there were 420 acquittals against 29
convictions; 2,656 cases were pending at the close of the year.
Official sources acknowledged the prevalence of injustices such as
denial of rights to Dalits to worship in temples, bury or burn their
dead in common burial or cremation grounds; denial of passage to
graveyards; and denial of land, water and promotions.
V. GANESAN
N.M. Kamble, Vice-Chairman, National Commission for Scheduled Castes,
addressing the media after a review meeting in Chennai.
An issue that has come to the fore now is the 3 per cent special
reservation in the State for Arunthathiars in education and
employment. Replying to a query at the press conference held after the
review meeting, Kamble held that the sub-quota announced without
consulting the commission was “unconstitutional” and could be
challenged in a court.
However, Karunanidhi strongly defended the internal reservation for
Arunthathiars, who “are still at the lowest rung in terms of socio-
economic and educational status”. Recalling the Chief Secretary’s
letter to NCSC Chairman Buta Singh in this regard on November 25,
2008, he said that though, according to rules, any such proposal
should be brought to the notice of the commission, it was not
mandatory to get its consent. The Tamil Nadu Arunthathiars (Special
Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions including Private
Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in Services
under the State within the Reservation for the Scheduled Castes) Act,
2009, was enacted after consulting a one-man panel, he pointed out.
The TNUEF has welcomed the Tamil Nadu government’s stand on this issue
though some Dalit organisations have threatened to challenge the Act
in court. Referring to the High Court’s direction that the Act must be
implemented with effect from April 29, 2009, when it came into force,
the TNUEF has urged the NCSC to ensure that it is carried out in tune
with Clause (5) of Article 338 of the Constitution. It also wants a
State Commission for S.Cs to be formed. The front has stressed the
need for raising the quota for Dalits by 1 per cent as the Scheduled
Castes constitute 19 per cent of the State’s total population of
624.06 lakhs as per the 2001 Census.
Sampath said the most contentious issue was the redistribution of
surplus land and wastelands to Dalits as land had become a status
symbol and was an important factor in solving livelihood issues.
Official sources say the government is keen to provide house site
pattas to roofless Dalit families.
According to them, 1,74,952 Dalit families were given house site
pattas from April 1, 2006, to May 31, 2009, under the one-time special
scheme to regularise encroachments on government poramboke lands. And
44,522 acres (one acre is 0.4 hectare) was distributed to 41,064 Dalit
families in five phases, from September 17, 2006, as part of
implementing the Chief Minister’s pet scheme of distribution of two
acres of wasteland to families of the landless poor. The government
has also announced that 11,660 house site pattas will be issued during
2009-2010. But Sampath said all these were only on paper and in many
places Dalits found it difficult to take possession of the lands which
were in the hands of dominant communities.
The NCSC’s review in the State has also paved the way for the revival
of the demand for retrieval of several thousands of ‘panchami’ lands
gifted to Dalits during British rule in the 1890s. According to
informed sources, only 1.26 lakh acres of the 12 lakh acres of
panchami lands were available now and most of these were occupied by
non-Dalits and industrial houses.
Significantly, the TNUEF and leaders of some Dalit organisations have
demanded that the Tamil Nadu government give serious consideration to
the Scheduled Castes Sub Plan and other special assistance provided by
the Centre. They say that only by doing so will the government be able
to reduce the gap between Dalits and the rest of society and speed up
the process of integrating them with the mainstream.
The government has been claiming that the allocations are made under
the SCSP as per guidelines. Official data show there has been a steady
rise in the allocations from the earmarked 19 per cent in the last
four financial years. For instance, it was 20.87 per cent in
2008-2009, up from 19.09 per cent in 2005-2006, it says.
However, the TNUEF and the Dalit organisations have been accusing the
government of not allocating funds adequately under the scheme besides
diverting them to other schemes. The Chief Minister time and again has
attempted to allay the apprehensions of the Dalit organisations by
promising them that he would take the responsibility to see that not
even a small portion of the funds allotted for improving the status of
the S.Cs was diverted to other schemes.
But the TNUEF feels that Dalit organisations and political parties
should be vigilant as funds earmarked for Adi Dravidar welfare have
been diverted in the past. They allege that, for example, the
construction of quarters 10 years ago for 44 legislators representing
reserved constituencies was done with funds so earmarked.
http://www.flonnet.com/stories/20100326270603800.htm
Volume 27 - Issue 06 :: Mar. 13-26, 2010
INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE
from the publishers of THE HINDU
COVER STORY
Less for the poor
PRAVEEN JHA
The UPA government seems to have grown complacent about its budgetary
allocations for the social sectors.
WITH clear indications of the economy reviving fast, the Union
government should have taken an expansionary fiscal stance not only to
accelerate growth but also to finance adequately the interventions
that promote social sector development. However, it has chosen to
revert to the path of fiscal conservatism, albeit gradually, with
Budget 2010-11.
A “calibrated exit strategy from the expansionary fiscal stance of
2008-09 and 2009-10”, which the 13th Finance Commission has
recommended strongly, seems to have been given shape to as the
government’s total expenditure is projected to fall from 16.6 per cent
of GDP (gross domestic product) in 2009-10 (Revised Estimates) to 16
per cent of GDP in 2010-11 (Budget Estimates). In tandem with the
compression of public expenditure, the fiscal deficit is projected to
fall from 6.7 per cent of GDP in 2009-10 (R.E.) to 5.5 per cent of GDP
in 2010-11 (B.E.), and the revenue deficit is estimated at 4.0 per
cent of GDP in 2010-11 (B.E.), significantly lower than the 5.3 per
cent figure for 2009-10 (R.E.).
As regards the policy direction suggested by the 13th Finance
Commission, both the Report of the Commission (tabled in Parliament on
February 25) and Budget 2010-11 indicate clearly that the next five
years will witness growing efforts by the government towards
elimination/reduction of deficits through compression of public
expenditure. Consequently, any significant boost to public expenditure
in the social sectors in the last two years of the 11th Five-Year Plan
(2010-11 and 2011-12) seems unlikely.
The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government seems to
have grown complacent about its budgetary policies for the social
sectors. While Budget 2010-11 does pay some attention to a few of the
important sectors/issues such as women and child development,
development of minorities, rural housing and technical education, its
overall allocations and proposals for the social sectors (which
include education, health and family welfare and water and sanitation)
seem to fall far short of expectations.
As shown in Table 1, the allocation for social services (which in the
jargon of budgets in our country refers to social sectors such as
education, health and family welfare, water and sanitation, nutrition,
welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward
Classes, and social security and welfare, among others) in the total
expenditure in the Union Budget has been stepped up from 8.9 per cent
in 2007-08 to 10.4 per cent in 2008-09. However, it remains at 10.4
per cent in the B.E. for 2010-11. As a proportion of GDP, the
government’s total expenditure on social services showed a somewhat
noticeable increase from 1.3 per cent in 2007-08 to 1.6 per cent in
2008-09; but it has been stagnant in the last two Budgets.
State governments continue to bear a significant share of the
country’s total public expenditure on social sectors – as per the
Reserve Bank of India’s document ‘State Finances: A Study of Budgets
2009-10’, the total expenditure from Budgets of all States on social
services and rural development stood at 5.4 per cent of GDP in
2007-08, which increased to 5.8 per cent in 2008-09 (R.E.) and 6 per
cent in 2009-10 (B.E.). If we deduct the expenditure on rural
development from these figures and also exclude the double counting of
the Centre’s grants-in-aid to States in social services (which appear
both in the Union Budget and in the Budgets of States), the total
public expenditure in our country on social services could well be
around 6 per cent of GDP even in 2009-10.
Thus, despite the somewhat noticeable increases in the Union
government’s expenditure on social services, mainly during the UPA-1
regime, the country’s overall public expenditure on social services
continues to be very low. Before one jumps to the conclusion that
State governments are primarily responsible for this, one has to keep
in mind that over the past two decades the federal fiscal architecture
has been altered consistently in favour of the Union government.
The analysis of Budget 2010-11 by the Centre for Budget and Governance
Accountability (CBGA), New Delhi, shows that despite the increase in
the States’ share in Central taxes and duties to 32 per cent (from
30.5 per cent) and a number of specific-purpose grants recommended by
the 13th Finance Commission, the Gross Devolutions and Transfers (GDT)
from the Centre to the States would be 5.4 per cent of GDP in 2010-11,
which is almost the same as that in 2007-08 and 2008-09. This is
unlikely to reverse the disturbing trend of a decline in the share of
GDT in aggregate expenditure in State budgets. Hence, the primary
responsibility for the persistence of low public spending on social
sectors lies with the Union government.
The Union Finance Minister has claimed that his government has adopted
a number of budgetary policies to create entitlements for the poor
(over the past six years). However, it may be argued that the National
Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) is the only Plan scheme of
the Union government rooted in an entitlements-based approach. In
contrast, most of the social sector Plan schemes of the Union
government continue to follow a welfarist approach and provide low-
cost, ad hoc interventions. An entitlements-based approach towards
public provisioning in the social sectors would require a significant
strengthening of the regular and sustained government interventions in
these sectors, which does not yet seem to be on the government’s
policy agenda.
Spending on education
In 1966 the D.S. Kothari Commission had recommended that the total
public spending on education should be raised to the level of 6 per
cent of GNP (gross national product) by 1986. Subsequently, many
political parties reiterated this as a commitment in their election
manifestos; the UPA, too, promised it in the National Common Minimum
Programme (NCMP) in 2004. However, the overall public spending on
education continues to be way below 6 per cent of GDP; even in 2007-08
(B.E.), it was only 3.67 per cent of GDP (including the spending by
Central and State education departments as well as other departments.
The Union government’s total allocation for education in 2010-11
(B.E.) stands at 0.71 per cent of GDP, which is slightly better than
the 0.64 per cent recorded for 2009-10 (R.E.). However, such gradual
and small increases in the Budget outlays for education cannot result
in any visible increase in overall public spending on education in the
country.
In addition to the 0.71 per cent of GDP allocated in Budget 2010-11
for the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), States will be
given access to Rs.3,675 crore for elementary education under the 13th
Finance Commission grants for 2010-11. There has been a significant
stepping up in the outlay for the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan
from Rs.550 crore in 2009-10 (R.E.) to Rs.1,700 crore in 2010-11.
Other areas showing increased outlays in Budget 2010-11 include the
adult education and skill development scheme, educational loan
interest subsidy in university and higher education, scholarship for
college and university students and the upgradation of existing
polytechnics and setting up of new ones.
In the current discourse on planning and government budgeting in the
country, there are very few benchmarks to assess the adequacy of
public spending on development schemes. In this context, the outlays
recommended by the Planning Commission for the 11th Five-Year Plan
period (2007-08 to 2011-12) could be treated as benchmarks, even
though the quality parameters underlying these benchmarks would hardly
be satisfactory. With just one more Union Budget left in the 11th Plan
period, at least 80 per cent of the outlays recommended by the
Planning Commission should have been made for Plan schemes during
2007-08 to 2010-11. However, the analysis by the CBGA (“Union Budget
2010-11: Which Way Now?”, available at www.cbgaindia.org) shows that
the total provisioning in the four Budgets during 2007-08 to 2010-11
has been only 12 per cent of the recommended outlay for the Rashtriya
Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, 36 per cent for teacher training and 46 per
cent for the UGC; the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and the midday meal
scheme have fared better with 76 per cent and 65 per cent
respectively.
However, in the context of education, what is most disconcerting about
Budget 2010-11 is its complete silence on the financing of the Right
to Education Act, which the Union government is reportedly planning to
notify from April 1. There have been reports in the media about the
Union government’s initiative to modify the norms and unit costs under
the SSA so as to make the provisioning under this flagship programme
in line with the Right to Education Act. However, the allocation for
the SSA has been increased only by 14.5 per cent from Rs.13,100 crore
in 2009-10 (R.E.) to Rs.15,000 crore in 2010-11 (B.E.).
Meagre amount for health
The UPA made a commitment in the National Common Minimum Programme
(NCMP) in 2004 that the total public spending on health would be
raised to the level of 2 to 3 per cent of GDP, which was also
reiterated in the 11th Five-Year Plan. However, the combined budgetary
allocation (that is, the total outlays from both Union Budget and
State budgets) for health stands at a meagre 1.06 per cent of GDP in
2009-10 (B.E.). The Union government’s allocation for health (that is,
the budget for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) shows a
negligible increase from 0.35 per cent of GDP in 2009-10 (R.E.) to
0.36 per cent of GDP in 2010-11 (B.E.). Thus, even after Budget
2010-11, the government is far short of the NCMP target of raising the
total public spending on health to 2 to 3 per cent of GDP.
In his Budget speech, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee proposed
to include in the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana all those NREGS
beneficiaries who have worked (in the scheme) for at least 15 days in
the last fiscal year. While this is a welcome development, there are
several concerns pertaining to the implementation of the RSBY
(relating mainly to the role of private health insurance companies and
the private health care institutions), which need to be addressed. The
Budget allocation for the National Rural Heath Mission (NRHM) has been
increased only by 10.8 per cent, from Rs.14,002 crore in 2009-10
(R.E.) to Rs.15,514 crore in 2010-11 (B.E.). Given the huge
infrastructural gaps and the human resource crunch in the health
sector across the country, the budget for the NRHM should have been
increased significantly.
The allocation for the national disease control programmes has gone
down from Rs.1,063 crore in 2009-10 (B.E.) to Rs.1,050 crore in
2010-11 (B.E.), which is disturbing given that a number of diseases
covered under the scheme have witnessed increased prevalence in the
recent past.
The overall allocation for medical education and training has gone
down from Rs.3,256 crore in 2009-10 (B.E.) to Rs.2,679 crore in
2010-11 (B.E.). Within this, the most evident is the fall in
allocation for the establishment of AIIMS-type super specialty
hospitals, where the allocation has declined to the tune of Rs.700
crore. This is happening at a time when the budget allocation for
postgraduate medical education needs to be stepped up significantly to
fulfil the requirement of specialist doctors in the country. The
Finance Minister’s proposal for an annual health survey to prepare a
district health profile for all districts is a welcome step; but the
government would need to allocate adequate funds for this purpose. It
may be noted here that no allocation towards this has been made in
Budget 2010-11.
The persistence of low public spending in the country on social
sectors is also rooted in the small public resource base of the
country. In this context, it is disconcerting to note that with the
latest Budget the tax-GDP ratio for the Centre shows a small increase
from 10.3 per cent in 2009-10 (R.E.) to 10.8 per cent in 2010-11
(B.E.). Moreover, a liberal estimate of the amount of additional tax
revenue the government could have collected in 2009-10 if all
exemptions/incentives/deductions (both in direct and indirect taxes)
had been eliminated stands at a staggering 8.1 per cent of GDP. It is
ironical that exemptions of this magnitude, in fact, do not fit even
with the neoliberal rhetoric of fiscal consolidation, not to speak of
it being out of sync with the oft-repeated mantra of an “inclusive
growth by a caring and enabling government”.
Praveen Jha is on the faculty of the Centre for Economic Studies and
Planning, JNU. He is also the Honorary Economic Adviser to the Centre
for Budget and Governance Accountability, New Delhi. The article draws
substantially on the CBGA’s analysis of Union Budget 2010-11.
http://www.flonnet.com/stories/20100326270602400.htm
Volume 27 - Issue 06 :: Mar. 13-26, 2010
INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE
from the publishers of THE HINDU
EDITORIAL
Not for ‘aam aadmi’
IN the course of his presentation of the Union Budget for 2010-11 to
Parliament, the Finance Minister made a passing reference to his
having presented the Union Budget way back in 1984. One is indeed
inclined to admire the longevity of Pranab Mukherjee’s occupation of
some Cabinet berth or the other through the last 25-plus years (with
some years in the Opposition and a brief period in political
wilderness). However, the ordinary people of our country are unlikely
to admire the Budget he has presented for 2010-11.
Consider the context in which the Budget has been presented. The
Economic Survey 2009-10, while providing a generally self-
congratulatory assessment of the government’s management of the
economy during 2009-10, reminds us that the agricultural economy has
done very poorly. Agricultural output is estimated to decline by 0.2
per cent over the current financial year in comparison with 2008-09.
This is even as industry in general and manufacturing in particular
are estimated to have done exceptionally well in recovering from the
impact of the global economic slowdown. The other disturbing feature
of the current economic context is, of course, the nearly 20 per cent
rise in food prices over the recent period. In fact, the Finance
Minister, in his Budget speech, said: “Since December 2009, there have
been indications of these high food prices, together with the gradual
hardening of the fuel product prices, getting transmitted to other non-
food items as well. The inflation data for January seems to have
confirmed this trend.”
The response of the Budget to these two key concerns, both of which
receive mention in it, has not merely been extremely inadequate. It is
likely to accelerate inflation and do little for agriculture. This is
evident from a look at the Budget proposals on indirect taxes. The
Budget proposes a partial rollback of the rate reduction in Central
Excise duties from 8 per cent to 10 per cent ad valorem on all non-
petroleum products. It restores the basic duty of 5 per cent on crude
petroleum. It also slaps a 7.5 per cent duty on diesel and petrol and
10 per cent on other refined products. In addition, the Budget
proposes enhancement of the Central Excise duty on petrol and diesel
by one rupee a litre each. This is a massive dose of indirect taxation
that will certainly be both highly inflationary and extremely
regressive in its impact, especially considering that incomes of most
working people in India are completely unprotected against inflation.
Besides stoking inflationary fires further, these moves will impact
negatively on agricultural output. Keeping in mind the likelihood that
the move to a “nutrient-based” regime of fertilizer subsidy that has
been announced by the government will result in significant increases
in the prices of fertilizers, one is appalled by the nonchalance with
which these measures have been proposed and defended vigorously
afterwards in and outside Parliament.
There is a certain asymmetry when it comes to the impact that a change
in indirect taxes has on prices in the Indian economy. When they are
raised, the additional burdens are almost invariably passed on to the
consumer. When they are reduced, there is no guarantee that the
benefits are passed on. Thus, while the reduction in excise and
customs duties last year represented a huge tax giveaway in the name
of a fiscal stimulus to the corporate sector, it is far from obvious
that ordinary people benefited by way of moderation in prices. This,
too, needs to be borne in mind in assessing the justifiability of the
reductions made last year and the increases being proposed now.
The regressive character of the Budget is also evident in the doling
out of tax concessions to the well-to-do. The proposals in respect of
direct taxes include the lowering of rates of personal income tax over
certain income slabs, a reduction in surcharge on corporate income tax
from 10 per cent to 7 per cent, and concessions for corporate business
entities in various forms. All these taken together are estimated by
the Finance Minister to result in a revenue loss of Rs.26,000 crore,
while his indirect tax proposals are estimated to bring in additional
revenues of Rs.46,000 crore in the net, taking into account some
concessions in indirect taxes as well.
What can one say about the expenditure proposals in the Budget? First
of all, the overall expenditure of the Union government proposed for
2010-11 constitutes an increase of 8.6 per cent over the corresponding
figure for 2009-10. Given the rate of inflation, this signifies little
increase in real terms, and may even imply a reduction. The proposed
increase in Plan expenditure is 15 per cent, which again would be a
rather modest increase in real terms. The non-Plan expenditure is
slated to decline in real terms, its increase over Budget Estimates
(B.E.) 2009-10 being only 6 per cent.
In terms of sectoral allocations, the rhetoric about agriculture and
rural development, as also the social sector, in the Budget speech is
not reflected in the allocations. The Central Plan outlay for rural
development in 2010-11 is Rs.55,190 crore as against the B.E. of Rs.
51,769 crore in 2009-10. The outlay for agriculture, irrigation and
flood control taken together has been enhanced from Rs.11,068 crore in
B.E. 2009-10 to Rs.12,834 crore in 2010-11, a modest increase in real
terms. Considering the persistence of an agrarian crisis across the
country for over a decade now (though the intensity varies across
States and regions and different social classes in the agrarian
population), this is a very inadequate response.
As for the much-hyped focus on the social sector, the Plan outlay for
all social services does increase by more than 22 per cent, but this
has to be seen against the present abysmal state of health and
education and the low base from which increases in recent years have
occurred. Moreover, if one takes into account the squeeze on the
finances of State governments, which account for the bulk of social
sector expenditures, the picture that emerges is hardly reassuring. In
fact, in education, the combined expenditures of the Central and State
governments still fall far short of the figure of 6 per cent of GDP
promised in the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) of the UPA
government of 2004-09. The same is the case for the health sector. The
current Budget does not even begin to address these concerns.
After having budgeted for a mere Rs.1,120 crore from “other capital
receipts” (read “disinvestment”) in B.E. 2009-10, the government has
gone ahead and disinvested public sector equity to an amount of Rs.
25,958 crore as per the Revised Estimates (R.E.), exceeding even the
proposal in the Economic Survey of 2008-09 that annually Rs.25,000
crore should be the disinvestment target. The B.E. for receipts from
disinvestment for 2010-11 is Rs.40,000 crore. Considering that market
capitalisation of listed Central public sector undertakings (PSUs) has
taken a beating in the stock market, the Finance Minister’s argument
that disinvestment is all about unlocking the values of PSUs hardly
holds water. The other misleading phraseology about “inviting people
to own shares in PSUs”, is, to say the least, disingenuous. Moreover,
the sale of shares of profitable PSUs contradicts the promise made in
the NCMP of the earlier UPA government.
Overall, Budget 2010-11 reflects two important aspects of the current
political context: Parliamentary elections are four years away and the
present UPA government does not need the support of the Left parties
to stay in power.
http://www.flonnet.com/stories/20100326270600800.htm
Volume 27 - Issue 06 :: Mar. 13-26, 2010
INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE
from the publishers of THE HINDU
COVER STORY
The march of neoliberalism
PRABHAT PATNAIK
Union Budget 2010-11 has given a forward thrust to the neoliberal
agenda in all the crucial sectors where "reforms" had been stalled.
KAMAL NARANG
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee addressing the media after the
Economic Survey 2009-10 was tabled in Parliament on February 25.
THE strategy underlying Budget 2010-11 is eerily reminiscent of that
of Margaret Thatcher. In pushing her “market-fundamentalist” agenda
against the working class and the trade unions, Thatcher had enlisted
the support of the affluent middle class. She had wooed the yuppies
and the city slickers of London’s financial district, and to this end
given direct tax concessions to the middle class, even while jacking
up indirect taxes on the poor and the working people in the midst of a
raging inflation.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has done almost exactly the same.
For pushing the neoliberal agenda, he has enlisted the support of the
affluent middle class by giving it direct tax concessions even as he
has jacked up regressive indirect taxes. Until now, neoliberalism in
India had been covered by a patina of concern for the aam aadmi. With
this Budget it has come of age; the patina is off.
The government claims that this Budget, too, is for the aam aadmi; but
that is unsustainable. The suggestion that persons earning in excess
of three lakhs of rupees a year, who are the beneficiaries of direct
tax concessions, constitute the aam aadmi, while the fisherman who
risks his life daily by venturing out to the sea for an annual income
of less than Rs.20,000, and who will be hit hard by the diesel price
hike, does not, can only be ironical.
There was a time when even as the government increased petrol prices,
it would spare diesel prices, since diesel and kerosene prices were
linked for technical reasons, and raising the former would necessarily
raise the latter, to the detriment of the poor. But such restraint no
longer prevails. Diesel prices have been raised and kerosene prices
will follow. Indeed, a whole lot of petro-product prices are going to
be raised as a consequence of the increase in import duty, that is, a
new round of price increases on top of what Pranab Mukherjee has
announced is in the offing. And if the Kirit Parikh Committee’s
recommendations for linking domestic petro-product prices to world
prices are accepted, which is likely, then these prices will be jacked
up even further in the coming months.
Any such linking of domestic petro-prices to world prices makes little
sense, since it would mean importing speculation-induced world oil
price fluctuations, which can be quite massive, into the domestic
economy, and hence making the domestic price-level as a whole a
plaything in the hands of international speculators. But the
government’s commitment to neoliberalism appears to outweigh any
concern over this.
Specious argument
This lack of concern is manifest even in Mukherjee’s argument for
raising the import duty on petroleum and the Central excise duty on
petrol and diesel, which is quite specious. Since domestic petrol
prices had not been raised adequately even when world crude prices had
crossed $130 a barrel, the government, he argues, has earned the right
to raise prices now, that is, the current price hike is a reward for
the government’s earlier abstinence. This is untenable since it is not
as if petrol prices had been lowered earlier and are now being
restored to pre-lowering levels. Besides, the biggest component of
petrol and diesel prices in the country consists of government taxes;
there is no logical compulsion therefore about raising taxes on this
commodity any further.
The “cascading effect” of the higher taxes on petrol and diesel, which
would raise the prices of these commodities by close to Rs.3 a litre,
has been much discussed. The government’s lack of concern, however, is
not just about the inflationary implications of this move but about
inflation in general. Since the food price rise, by the government’s
own admission, is because of supply shortages (even if these shortages
are artificially compounded by hoarding and speculation), the strategy
must be to throw government-owned surplus foodgrain stocks (that is,
actual stocks minus the minimum buffer stocks), which exceed 27
million tonnes as on January 2010, on the market. These stocks cannot
obviously be thrown on the open market, since speculators would then
buy them up gleefully, as had happened in 1972-73, and blunt their
anti-inflationary impact; they have to be released through the public
distribution system. But, going by the Budget figures, the government
has no intention of doing so.
The fact that the food subsidy is lower than that for 2009-10 by over
Rs.400 crore, suggests that the government does not intend to sell
these stocks through the PDS or merely hold on to them (for either of
these options would have raised the food subsidy, the latter because
of higher interest payments). It intends to do precisely what it
should not do, namely, sell them in the open market, which means that
it is not too concerned about inflation.
In fact, Mukherjee said as much in his post-Budget television
interview. He claimed that his way of combating inflation was by
augmenting supplies in the long run, for which he had taken steps in
the Budget, such as earmarking Rs.300 crore for 60,000 “pulses and
oilseeds villages”, Rs.400 crore for extending the “Green Revolution”
to the eastern region of the country, and Rs.200 crore for sustaining
the gains made in Green Revolution areas through “conservative
farming”. As for short-run measures, these, according to him, were
unnecessary since the inflation rate was coming down anyway.
Self-limiting phenomenon
The fallacy behind the argument about inflation coming down is often
not appreciated. Inflation, precisely when it hurts the people, is a
self-limiting phenomenon. It can be categorised into two kinds: one
caused by excess demand and the other by “cost-push”. Cost-push
inflation arises when some input cost (or excise duty as in the
present case) rises, which is “passed on” in the form of higher
prices; in response to this initial price rise, money wages rise,
which, in turn, is passed on in the form of still higher prices, and
so on. As long as each component of price keeps rising with the rise
in the price, to ensure that its share in total value does not
decline, the price rise continues ad infinitum. But if some cost
element, typically the wage cost, does not rise in tandem with the
price, then inflation eventually comes to a halt. But this also means
that the real wage rate comes down because of a cost-push inflation,
and this coming down is the reason for the end of cost-push inflation.
Much the same can be said of excess-demand-caused inflation. Such
inflation gets eliminated when someone’s demand is curtailed, and
typically the demand curtailed is of that group whose money income
does not go up as prices rise, that is, whose money income is not
indexed to prices. This is typically true of the working people,
especially of the vast mass of unorganised workers. Precisely because
their incomes are not indexed to prices, inflation hurts them, and
eventually comes to an end by squeezing them.
S. THANTHONI
The suggestion that persons earning in excess of Rs.3 lakh a year
constitute the `aam aadmi', while fishermen who risk their lives daily
by venturing out to sea (in the picture, a group of them in Chennai)
for an average annual income of less than Rs.20,000 and who will be
hit hard by the diesel price hike do not, can only be ironical.
In Latin American countries where inflation rates in the past have
quite often been quite phenomenal, the reason lies in the fact that
wages in such cases have been indexed to prices. In India, by
contrast, where wages are not indexed, inflation will necessarily
always come down, but it will do so precisely by hurting the poor. The
whole purpose of government action should be to prevent the
elimination of inflation through this odious mechanism, by attempting
its elimination in some other way, for example, by de-hoarding (which
adds to supply), imports (which do the same), and using the PDS (which
insulates the poor against a squeeze on their demand). But if none of
these things is done, inflation will still come down, but by squeezing
the consumption of the poor.
An example will make this last point clear. Let us start from a
situation where the supply of foodgrains is, say, 100 units and equals
the demand at a price of Re.1 a unit. The wage bill in the economy is
Rs.80, all of which is spent on foodgrains. Now, suppose supply falls
to 95, so that there is an excess demand of 5 units at the old price.
The price will rise, that is, inflation will set in. If all incomes
are indexed to the price-level, then this excess demand will never get
eliminated and hence inflation will continue ad infinitum. But if
wages are not indexed but other incomes are, then inflation will come
to an end when the price has climbed up to Rs.16/15 (or Rs.1.07), for,
at that price, the workers can buy only 75 units of foodgrains from
their total wage bill of Rs.80, which means five units fewer than
before; and this eliminates excess demand. So, inflation is self-
limiting precisely because the poor get squeezed by it.
Hence, when Mukherjee derives satisfaction from the fact that
inflation is coming down, even without the government’s doing anything
about it, that satisfaction is totally misplaced; the inflation coming
down in this way shows precisely that the people are being squeezed by
it. Likewise, when Mukherjee claims that the effect of petrol and
diesel price increases “will get absorbed” over time, he omits to
mention that this absorption can occur only by squeezing the poor (as
in the above example of cost-push inflation). Inflation’s coming down
does not mean that the world returns to its pristine state of
happiness. This coming down itself, far from being a source of
satisfaction, should rather be a cause for concern, because it is
necessarily at the expense of the poor.
Coming to Mukherjee’s “long term measures” for raising food supplies,
what exactly these are becomes an intriguing question. The proposed
expenditures on the “pulses and oilseeds villages” and the extension
of the Green Revolution are too trivial to matter. The reduction in
fertilizer subsidy, which will raise fertilizer prices, will, if
anything, have a negative effect on output. The thing he must be
pinning his hopes on, therefore, is the opening up of retail trade,
which allegedly will help in “bringing down the considerable
difference between farm-gate, wholesale and retail prices”. This view
is attributed to the Prime Minister, who believes that opening up
retail trade will increase competition.
“Opening up” retail trade necessarily means the induction of corporate
capital, including multinational corporations (MNCs), into this
sector, for which they have been clamouring for some time. We are,
therefore, being asked to swallow the argument that bringing in
monopolists to drive out myriad petty traders will increase
competition! Anyone who believes that bringing in monopolies reduces
the gap between farm-gate and retail prices should ask the coffee
producers of Kerala: they get a pittance for their crop even when
retail coffee prices are soaring. If the government genuinely wants
the gap between retail and farm-gate prices to close, it should get
the public sector to take on a larger role in the marketing of crops,
as the various commodity boards used to do before neoliberalism
prevented them from doing so.
Corporate hegemony
SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
Since the food price rise is because of supply shortages, the strategy
must be to throw government-owned surplus foodgrain stocks, which now
exceed 27 million tonnes, on the market through the PDS. But the
Budget figures indicate that the government has no intention of doing
so. Here, at the mandi at Najafgarh, New Delhi, a file picture.
Besides opening up retail business, Budget 2010-11 announced a number
of other steps, such as private participation in storage, setting up
of private cold storage and cold room facility for agricultural and
marine products and meat, and the accessing of external commercial
borrowing for this latter purpose, all of which entail corporate
hegemony over peasant and petty production. And since finance for
setting up godowns and cold storage will be counted as agricultural
credit, and hence come under priority sector lending, much of the
ambitious target for credit support to “farmers” will actually go to
large corporate houses, and even to MNCs.
This Budget gives a thrust to the neoliberal agenda in other ways as
well. Disinvestment is to proceed apace, and is a major contributor to
the so-called “Miscellaneous Capital receipts” of Rs.40,000 crore,
even though there is no valid argument for it. Disinvestment is
theoretically no different from a fiscal deficit: the latter puts
government bonds into non-government hands, while the former puts
government equity into non-government hands; they are only different
forms of raising finance but with identical macroeconomic effects.
A Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission is to be set up to
“rewrite and clean up the financial sector laws to bring them in line
with the requirements of the sector”, a euphemism for “financial
sector liberalisation”. And there is an additional instrument for this
particular purpose: a Financial Stability and Development Council,
which is to be set up “to strengthen and institutionalise the
mechanism for maintaining financial stability”. Add to all this the
allocation of coal blocks for captive mining, and you find that in all
the crucial sectors where the “reforms” had been stalled, that is,
public sector, financial liberalisation and retail trade, this Budget
has given a forward thrust to the neoliberal agenda. But then what
about the increase in social sector and rural development outlays that
the Budget promises? This is a chimera. Central plan outlay on rural
development (all comparisons are Budget Estimate to Budget Estimate)
is slated to increase by a mere 6.6 per cent over 2009-10, which means
a real absolute decline; and the National Rural Employment Guarantee
Scheme (NREGS) outlay is to rise by only 2.5 per cent.
As for Central Plan outlay on social services, the increase provided
under the Plan is significantly counterbalanced by a decline in non-
Plan expenditure in this sector. If we take the sum of Central Plan
outlay and non-Plan expenditure on social services, then the nominal
increase in 2010-11 over 2009-10 is only 12.5 per cent, which in real
terms means very little.
This is hardly surprising. After all, the total expenditure of the
Central government is expected to rise in nominal terms by a mere 8.6
per cent, which means stagnation in real terms. Within this overall
stagnation, large apparent increases on specific items are more likely
to be results of statistical jugglery or reallocation, rather than
matters of any substance.
The pushing of the neoliberal agenda requires inter alia a
neutralisation of opposition from State governments, and this can be
ensured only if their mendicant status is perpetuated. The 13th
Finance Commission, by keeping States’ share of taxes under Article
270 at 32 per cent (up marginally from the 30.5 per cent under the
previous Commission), compared with the 50 per cent demanded by most
State governments, has not helped matters. And the Central government
can be relied upon to compress its loans and grants to States, to
offset even such increases in revenue transfers that it is statutorily
required to make. In Budget 2010-11, for instance, while its statutory
transfers increase by 26 per cent over the current year, its loans and
advances rise by a mere 8.9 per cent. With such compression, one can
be sure that the States will continue to retain their mendicant
status.
Neoliberalism is clearly resuming its stalled march, adopting a
Thatcherite strategy for doing so. But the United Progressive Alliance
(UPA) government miscalculates by ignoring the fact that, unlike in
Thatcher’s Britain, the affluent middle class it is wooing is a
minuscule segment of our society, while those squeezed by
neoliberalism, the workers, peasants, agricultural labourers, and
petty producers, constitute its overwhelming majority.
http://www.flonnet.com/stories/20100326270600400.htm
Volume 27 - Issue 06 :: Mar. 13-26, 2010
INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE
from the publishers of THE HINDU
COVER STORY
Enabling whom?
JAYATI GHOSH
In keeping with the overall approach of an “enabling” state, the
Economic Survey has proposed to do away with food procurement and
distribution.
R. RAGU
At a fair price shop in Chennai. States with successful public
distribution systems are those that have such large numbers of BPL
households that their lists are close to being universal. But the
Economic Survey seeks to replace this system with food coupons for
targeted households.
THIS year’s Economic Survey contains a new and unusual chapter
entitled “Microfoundations of inclusive growth”. It is unusual because
it is largely theoretical, thereby providing an addition to the
generally descriptive review of the Indian economy over the past year
according to the government’s own perception. It also contains,
possibly for the first time in an Economic Survey, an explicit
statement of what might be described as the present government’s
economic philosophy and its approach to certain crucial questions of
economic policy. The fact that some statements in it found an echo in
the Finance Minister’s Budget speech confirmed that this was indeed
the case.
It is certainly welcome that the basic goal of economic policy is
identified as inclusive growth, recognising that “growth must not be
treated as an end in itself but as an instrument for spreading
prosperity to all” (page 22). Inclusive growth in turn is given a more
precise definition than is usual, as growth that improves the incomes
and other measures of conditions of life of the bottom 20 per cent of
the population.
This inclusive growth is to be delivered by a change in focus to
enabling government, which is seen as “a government that does not try
to directly deliver to its citizens everything that they need. Instead
it (1) creates an enabling ethos for the market so that individual
enterprise can flourish and citizens can, for the most part, provide
for the needs of one another, and (2) steps in to help those who do
not manage to do well for themselves”, for example by “directly
helping the poor by ensuring that they get basic education and health
services and receive adequate nutrition and food” (page 23).
It is immediately clear that this is a vision of the economy in which
it is taken for granted that the market mechanism generally delivers
the economically desired outcomes for most citizens, and the role of
the government is therefore mainly to ensure that such markets
function smoothly and to take care of the stragglers, “for there will
always be individuals, no matter what the system, who need support and
help”. This vision excludes the possibility of the process of market-
driven economic growth itself generating greater material insecurity
and impoverishment for a significant section. Trickle-down is seen to
operate for most of the population; for the bottom fifth, the
government has to step in.
Obviously, in such a framework, public delivery of essential goods and
services will necessarily be targeted to those that are defined as
poor. The chapter contains an eloquent argument in favour of
redefining the nature of public delivery to minimise direct
involvement of the state in favour of market-based mechanisms such as
coupons and vouchers targeted to the poor. This is what allows for the
claim that more can be achieved with less fiscal resources, by
eliminating the administrative costs of running large public schemes.
This would be a major departure from the current practice, with
potentially far-reaching implications in a very wide range of goods
and services that are seen to constitute essential socio-economic
rights. It is impossible to discuss all the different implications
here, so I shall briefly consider only the interventions proposed for
the food economy. The arguments have wide applicability with reference
to other sectors as well.
Managing the food economy
There is an extended discussion on how to manage the food economy,
which is only to be expected given that food price inflation is
clearly the most significant economic problem in the country at
present. Yet the discussion presents several different arguments which
turn out to be mutually inconsistent. In keeping with the overall
approach of an “enabling” state rather than an actively
interventionist one, it is proposed to do away with the existing
system of government food procurement and distribution. It is argued
that this is prone to corruption, adulteration and similar flaws, and
that it is necessary to craft policy that takes into account that
people are the way they are (not always ethically sound) and craft
incentive-compatible policies accordingly. So this is to be replaced
with a system of food coupons (of a certain value of money) given
directly to targeted households and which can be exchanged for wheat
or rice at market prices, giving the freedom of choice to households
about the shop from which to purchase.
This proposal betrays some ignorance about the background of the
current food subsidy and the purposes of the public system of food
procurement and distribution in India. These were (and fundamentally
remain) to provide farmers with a minimum price that covers their
costs, to ensure that basic foodgrain is transported from surplus to
deficit areas of the country, and to build up a system of buffer
stocks that protects the country from international price volatility
and external dependence. It is because the market mechanism was found
wanting in achieving any of these goals that such measures were deemed
necessary – and the persistence of such measures not only in India but
in many countries across the world (including most developed ones)
suggests that this is still the case. Food security within a nation as
large as India is not possible without ensuring the viability of food
production by domestic farmers and the existence of a national
distribution system that tries to reach deficit areas quickly. There
is no way that replacing this with a system of food coupons to
selected households can achieve these basic aims.
There is of course the further question of how to ensure that the
public at large – and the poor in particular - get access to
affordable food. This too is a current function of the public
distribution system (PDS), but it has been less than successful in
meeting it for a variety of reasons. The Economic Survey correctly
recognises the many problems in the existing system but tends to treat
the entire system as homogenous across the country.
There are States in the country (such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and to
a lesser extent Andhra Pradesh) where the PDS is a strong, functioning
and largely non-corrupt system, and there are other States where the
opposite is true. Surely, policymakers need to study and understand
these differences if they actually want to make the system work.
What is clear is that targeting tends to add to the problems, not only
because of the significant administrative costs associated with
identifying the poor and monitoring them but because of well-known
errors such as unfair exclusion from and unjustified inclusion in the
list of poor households. That is why the States with more successful
public distribution systems are those that have such large numbers of
declared below-poverty-line (BPL) households that their lists are
close to being universal. The Survey argues that the Unique
Identification System (UID) will solve that problem, but that is
believing that there can be a technological fix to what is essentially
a socio-economic problem. The UID card only identifies a person; the
description of that person as belonging to a poor or non-poor
household remains as cumbersome, problematic, politically charged and
administratively challenging as ever.
The Survey does provide some useful and interesting proposals with
respect to managing the foodgrain stocks and correctly argues for a
more flexible approach in releasing stocks that not only is responsive
to market pressures but also anticipates them. Indeed, the need to
prevent foodgrain allocation from becoming a political tool in the
hands of the Centre vis-a-vis the State governments is all the more
pressing in the light of recent experience. However, it should be
obvious that such a proactive role of the state in preventing food
price increases will not be possible at all if the entire system is
replaced with a system of food coupons!
There is another comment with direct relevance to the food economy
that deserves to be noted. In keeping with the overall perspective
that markets generally know best, the Survey argues for erring on the
side of less control whenever there is some doubt on the matter. This
is then used to suggest that a ban on futures trading in essential
commodities is unwarranted. “An enabling government takes the view
that if we cannot establish a connection between the existence of
futures trading and inflation in spot prices, we should allow futures
trade” (page 24). Yet there are at least two flaws in this argument.
First, as any econometrician would know, it is generally possible to
question any link between two economic phenomena, and so the argument
about whether future trading has been associated with significant spot
price changes will definitely continue well after all the cows have
come home. Yet globally, the existence of contango in commodity
markets (when prices in the futures markets are higher than the spot
prices, instead of lower as they would be if the market was only for
hedging against risk) has been seen as a sign that speculation has
driven changes even in spot prices. It is next to impossible to
provide a clear and explicit link that will satisfy those determined
not to see it.
Second, and perhaps more significantly, there are important conceptual
reasons to be wary of allowing futures trading in any commodity in
which there is significant public intervention in the form of minimum
support prices and so on because these provide an easy floor for
speculators. So this is not a case of allowing something because we do
not have enough information on either side of the argument, but
preventing speculative activity that can cause great harm even as its
possible benefits are minimal.
Enabling markets and empowering the citizenry
There are several other issues that are discussed for which similar
arguments could be made. But it is the broader perspective underlying
this chapter which deserves more careful consideration. The goal is
clearly benevolent: improving the economic conditions of the bottom
quintile of the population. Yet the means that have been proposed
suggest a lack of awareness of the political economy of both markets
and government in India and the social and economic context within
which policies are implemented. This is somewhat surprising because
within the chapter there is a discussion of the need to recognise
extant social realities even though it is more concerned with culture
and social norms.
The point is essentially this: both markets and government policies do
not function in a socio-political vacuum but within complex social
realities in which power relations are deeply entrenched. So it is not
that there are individuals all operating on level-playing fields, with
some having a few disadvantages such as lower income and assets and
less education. Rather, the processes of striving for power, and
keeping it, unfold through the medium of markets. The impact of
government policies depends upon the extent to which they enable
different sets of actors with different power positions to fight for
their rights or advance their own positions.
That is why “free” market functioning tends to accentuate existing
inequalities, both social and economic. To the extent that government
policies are aware of this and are designed to reduce this effect,
they are more successful. All economic policies therefore have
distributive implications, whether or not these are officially
recognised. A government that is genuinely enabling for the citizenry
as a whole and for the poorest citizens has to act decisively in their
favour, and also has to provide good quality public services that the
poor are not excluded from.
In such a context, it is worth stepping back and examining how much of
the declared goal of inclusive growth in the Economic Survey actually
informs the most recent policy statement of the government, the Union
Budget. Surprisingly, the most important initiatives constitute direct
attacks on the incomes of the bottom quintile of the population: the
hike in fuel prices and indirect taxes, which will definitely increase
the price of necessities; the reduction in food subsidy; the
embarrassingly small increases in funds for agricultural schemes,
especially in the most devastated regions; the paltry amounts
allocated to education and health, which cannot possibly ensure good
quality public provision that reaches the poorest. Conversely, the
enabling aspect of government is very clearly evident with respect to
big business, in the form of tax breaks, subsidies for agribusiness
and the like.
The problem is that enabling markets does not always translate into
empowering people: often the reverse is the case. Clearly, whatever be
the more sensitive statements made in the Economic Survey, the basic
philosophy of the government has not changed from an obsessive focus
on growth at any cost.
http://www.flonnet.com/stories/20100326270603000.htm
bademiyansubhanallah
STAFF WRITER 15:59 HRS IST
Shimla, Mar 18 (PTI) Newly-appointed BJP general secretary Jagat
Prakash Nadda today resigned as cabinet minister in Himachal Pradesh
to take up his new assignment at the national level.
Nadda met Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in assembly and submitted
his resignation which was accepted.
"Yes I have submitted by resignation to the chief minister," Nadda
told PTI.
"I have asked him (Nadda) to continue till the ongoing budget session
of the assembly," Dhumal said.
Nadda in his letter to the CM said that since he has been appointed as
national general secretary of the BJP he was resigning from HP cabinet
in accordance with the party's policy of 'one man one post'.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/570541_Nadda-resigns-as-HP-minister-to-take-up-natl-assignment
JP Nadda resigns as Himachal cabinet minister
Posted by Ravinder Makhaik on Mar 18th, 2010
Shimla: Forest minister Jagat Prakash Nadda on being appointed as BJP
general secretary today submitted his resignation as a cabinet
minister in the Prem Kumar Dhumal ministry to take up his new
assignment at the national level.
Nadda met Dhumal in assembly today and submitted his resignation which
has been accepted.
“I have submitted by resignation to the chief minister,” Nadda
confirmed to My Himachal News.
“I have asked the forest minister to continue till the ongoing budget
session,” said the chief minister.
Nadda in his letter to the CM cited that since he had been appointed
national general secretary of party he was resigning from HP cabinet
in accordance with the party’s declared policy of ‘one man one post’.
http://himachal.us/2010/03/18/jp-nadda-resigns-as-himachal-cabinet-minister/19150/news/ravinder
Day curfew lifted in Bareilly
STAFF WRITER 12:37 HRS IST
Bareilly, Mar 20 (PTI) With the situation improving in riot-hit areas,
day curfew has been lifted in the city.
"The situation is completely normal and day curfew in five police
areas - Prem Nagar, Qila, Baradari, Kotwali and Subhash Nagar - has
been lifted between 5 am to 10 pm," officials said.
The situation had become a bit tense yesterday after six statues were
allegedly stolen from the ancient Jagganath Puri temple in Bada Bazar
area.
Protesting against the theft, members of a community blocked road,
which was later lifted on the assurance that the guilty would be
arrested soon.
Curfew was clamped in four of the six police areas of the city on
March 2 in the wake of communal clashes over a barawafat procession.It
was later extended to one more police area after fresh violence on
March 11.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/573674_Day-curfew-lifted-in-Bareilly
BJP demands Raj Home Minister's resignation
STAFF WRITER 23:7 HRS IST
Jaipur, Mar 19 (PTI) Holding statewide protests, BJP today demanded
the resignation of Rajasthan Home Minister Shanti Dhariwal, alleging
he had threatened its MLAs in the legislative assembly.
"Besides Dhariwal's resignation, the Congress government should revoke
the suspension of two MLAs -- R S Rathore (whip) and Hanuman Beniwal
-- who were suspended in previous two sittings of the House," Arun
Chaturvedi, its state president, told a press conference here.
The Leader of the House and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has not been
present in the House for the last two days and should attempt to break
the deadlock, Chaturvedi said.
"If this is not done on March 22, the BJP will hold 'Jail Bharo' in
all district headquarters," he said.
Meanwhile, BJP general secretary Vasundhara Raje alleged the state
government's repressive tactics in the assembly were a reminder of the
British period.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/573450_BJP-demands-Raj-Home-Minister-s-resignation
Praveen Togadia held for trying to walk into Kandhamal
STAFF WRITER 0:22 HRS IST
Bhubaneswar, Mar 19 (PTI) Firebrand VHP leader Praveen Togadia was
tonight arrested alongwith his supporters by the Orissa Police as they
tried to enter riot-hit Kandhamal district, defying a ban on their
visit.
Togadia, who arrived at Charichowk in Boudh district, neighbouring
Kandhamal, was held under Section 151 of the CrPc when they tried to
walk into Kandhamal district despite a ban, police said.
After they were asked not to proceed to the district, they initially
held a sit-in protest at Charichowk.
The VHP leader is now lodged at the forest inspection bungalow at
Charichowk, Lambodar Buda, Inspector-in-charge of Boudh police
station, said.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/573518_Praveen-Togadia-held-for-trying-to-walk-into-Kandhamal
Togadia released by Orissa Police
STAFF WRITER 12:11 HRS IST
Phulbani (Orissa), Mar 20 (PTI) Fireband VHP leader Praveen Togadia,
who was arrested while trying to enter riot-hit Kandhamal district
despite prohibitory orders, was today released by Orissa Police.
"Togadia was released on a bond and he left for Bhanjanagar in Ganjam
district," Kandhamal SP Pravin Kumar said.
The VHP leader was arrested last night under Section 151 of the CrPC
when he tried to walk into Kandhamal, along with supporters.
Earlier the state government had put a ban on Togadia's visit in view
of the communally-fragile nature of the district, which had seen
largescale communal violence in the wake of killing of VHP leader
Lakhsmananda Saraswati in August 2008.
Meanwhile, the district VHP unit of Kandhamal organised a 12-hour
bandh protesting Togadia's arrest.
While all shops and business establishments were closed, educational
institutions and government offices functioned as usual, police said.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/573641_Togadia-released-by-Orissa-Police
Shahnawaz not to attend BJP spokespersons' meet
STAFF WRITER 14:12 HRS IST
New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI) BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain, who is
reportedly sulking after he was overlooked for the post of general
secretary by party president Nitin Gadkari, is likely to keep away
from a meeting of new spokespersons convened today by Leader of
Opposition Sushma Swaraj.
Swaraj is holding a meeting of the seven BJP spokespersons to decide
allocation of work and brief them about their new job.
Sources said the meeting was being held at the behest of Chief
Spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad who is keen on getting his new team
cracking without any delay.
Sources close to Hussain said he is likely to keep away from the
meeting but insisted that this is due to his ill-health.
"He is a disciplined soldier of the party and will go with whatever
the party decides.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/572096_Shahnawaz-not-to-attend-BJP-spokespersons--meet
Dissent in BJP over Gadkari\’s new team – IBNLive.com
Published by admin on March 19, 2010 filed under Asian News
Headlines · Comments (0) The Hindu Dissent in BJP over Gadkari’s
new team IBNLive.com BJP’s latest worries- party President Nitin
Gadkari’s honeymoon period is over. His first challange will be Bihar-
and state party leaders anger might cost the party dearly as Bihar
will be going to polls later this year. Shatrughan Sinha and CP Thakur
… Everyone can’t be satisfied: Gadkari about dissent over his team
Economic Times Shatrughan vents ire at not being included in Nitin
Gadkari’s team Daily News & Analysis Dissent in BJP over Gadkari’s new
team India Today NDTV.com
http://asia.getsomenews.com/2010/03/19/dissent-in-bjp-over-gadkaris-new-team-ibnlive-com/
Raise complaints with me, not media: Gadkari
on March 19th, 2010
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari Friday asked
party leaders to raise any complaints about his choice of a new team
with him and not with the media.
“Those who have complaints about the new team should speak to me, not
the media,” Gadkari told the NDTV news channel, a day after actor-
turned-party MP Shatrughan Sinha’s remarks on the composition of the
new team of office-bearers announced Tuesday.
Sinha Thursday recited the lyrics of an old Hindi film song in answer
to a question about the new team. “Uff na karenge, lab see lenge,
aansu pee lenge (I will not sigh, will seal my lips and swallow my
tears),” he said, expressing disappointment that leaders like Yashwant
Sinha had been left out and the team had not been able to give a
message of dynamism.
“It’s wrong to say that Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie were excluded
because they are Advani detractors… It’s not possible to include
everyone on the team,” Gadkari said.
The BJP president also justified the appointment of Nehru-Gandhi
family member Varun Gandhi as party secretary, saying: “Varun Gandhi
should be given a chance, why hold the past against him?”
The party had sought to distance itself from Varun Gandhi after he
allegedly made inflammatory remarks during the Lok Sabha election
campaign last year.
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http://way2online.com/?p=28794
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Aryan race
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with "Arianism" which was an early non-trinitarian
form of Christianity.
This article is about the racial theory. For the full range of
meanings of "Aryan", see Aryan. For Hindu, Buddhist, Zoroastrian and
Jain spiritual interpretations, see Arya. For other uses, see Aryan
(disambiguation).
The Aryan race is a concept historically influential in European
culture in the period of the late 19th century and early 20th century.
It derives from the idea that the original speakers of the Indo-
European languages and their descendants up to the present day
constitute a distinctive race or subrace of the larger Caucasian race.
[1]
While originally meant simply as a neutral ethnic classification, it
was later used for political racism in Nazi and neo-Nazi ideological
form. It became a concept of scientific racism, and hence also in
other currents such as occultism and white supremacism.
Belief in the existence of an Aryan race is sometimes referred to as
Aryanism.
Origin of the term
Main article: Aryan
See also: Arya
The earliest epigraphically-attested reference to the word arya occurs
in the 6th century Behistun inscription, which describes itself to
have been composed "in arya [language or script]" (§ 70). As is also
the case for all other Old Iranian language usage, the arya of the
inscription does not signify anything but "Iranian".[2]
The region Aria as depicted by Waldseemuller in 1507The term Aryan
originates from the Sanskrit word arya, attested in the ancient texts
of Hinduism such as the Rigveda. Arya in Sanskrit holds the meaning
civilized or simply referring to an individual of higher
consciousness.
In the 18th century, the most ancient known Indo-European languages
were those of the Indo-Iranians' ancestors. The word Aryan was adopted
to refer not only to the Indo-Iranian people, but also to native Indo-
European speakers as a whole, including the Albanians, Kurds,
Armenians, Greeks, Latins, and Germans. It was soon recognised that
Balts, Celts, and Slavs also belonged to the same group. It was argued
that all of these languages originated from a common root—now known as
Proto-Indo-European—spoken by an ancient people who must have been the
original ancestors of the European, Iranian, and Indo-Aryan peoples.
The ethnic group composed of the Proto-Indo-Europeans and their modern
descendants was termed the Aryans.
This usage was common in the late 19th and early 20th century. An
example of an influential best-selling book that reflects this usage
is the 1920 book The Outline of History by H. G. Wells.[3] In it he
wrote of the accomplishments of the Aryan people, stating how they
"learned methods of civilization" while "Sargon II and Sardanapalus
were ruling in Assyria and fighting with Babylonia and Syria and
Egypt". As such, Wells suggested that the Aryans had eventually
"subjugated the whole ancient world, Semitic, Aegean and Egyptian
alike".[4] In the 1944 edition of Rand McNally’s World Atlas, the
Aryan race is depicted as being one of the ten major racial groupings
of mankind.[5] The science fiction author Poul Anderson (1926–2001),
an anti-racist Libertarian of Scandinavian ancestry, in his many
novels, novellas, and short stories, consistently used the term Aryan
as a synonym for Indo-Europeans. He spoke of the Aryan bird of prey
which impelled those of the Aryan race to take the lead in developing
interstellar travel, colonize habitable planets in other planetary
systems and become leading business entrepreneurs on the newly
colonized planets.[6]
The use of "Aryan" as a synonym for "Indo-European" or to a lesser
extent for "Indo-Iranian", is regarded today by many as obsolete and
politically incorrect, but may still occasionally appear in material
based on older scholarship, or written by persons accustomed to older
usage, such as in a 1989 article in Scientific American by Colin
Renfrew in which he uses the word "Aryan" in its traditional meaning
as a synonym for "Indo-European".[7]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arya
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigveda
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languages
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Iranian_peoples
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Indo-European_language
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_American
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Renfrew
19th-century physical anthropology
Main article: Caucasian race
See also: scientific racism
The 4th edition of Meyers Konversationslexikon (Leipzig, 1885-1890)
shows the Caucasian race (in blue) as comprising Aryans, Semites and
Hamites. Aryans are further subdivided into European Aryans and Indo-
Aryans (the latter corresponding to the group now designated Indo-
Iranians).In 19th century physical anthropology, represented by some
as being scientific racism, the "Aryan race" was considered a subgroup
of the Caucasian (or Europid) race, essentially corresponding to the
speakers of Indo-European languages native to Europe, Persia and the
Indo-Gangetic plain in South Asia.
The original 19th-century and early 20th-century use of the term Aryan
referred to "the early speakers of Proto-Indo European and their
descendents".[8][9] Max Müller is often identified as the first writer
to speak of an Aryan "race" in English. In his Lectures on the Science
of Language in 1861[10] he referred to Aryans as a "race of people".
At the time, the term race had the meaning of "a group of tribes or
peoples, an ethnic group".[11]
When Müller's statement was interpreted to imply a biologically
distinct sub-group of humanity, he soon clarified that he simply meant
a line of descent, insisting that it was very dangerous to mix
linguistics and anthropology. "The Science of Language and the Science
of Man cannot be kept too much asunder ... I must repeat what I have
said many times before, it would be wrong to speak of Aryan blood as
of dolichocephalic grammar".[12] He restated his opposition to this
method in 1888 in his essay Biographies of words and the home of the
Aryas.[10]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_M%C3%BCller
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cephalic_index
Müller was responding to the development of racial anthropology, and
the influence of the work of Arthur de Gobineau who argued that the
Indo-Europeans represented a superior branch of humanity. A number of
later writers, such as the French anthropologist Vacher de Lapouge in
his book L'Aryen, argued that this superior branch could be identified
biologically by using the cephalic index (a measure of head shape) and
other indicators. He argued that the long-headed "dolichocephalic-
blond" Europeans, characteristically found in northern Europe, were
natural leaders, destined to rule over more "brachiocephalic" (short
headed) peoples.[13].
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_de_Gobineau
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacher_de_Lapouge
The division of the Caucasian race into Aryans, Semites and Hamites is
in origin linguistic, not based on physical anthropology, the division
in physical anthropology being that into Nordic, Alpine and
Mediterranean. However, the linguistic classification of "Aryan"
became closely associated, and conflated, with the classification of
"Nordic".
This claim became increasingly important during the 19th century. In
the mid-19th century, it was commonly believed that the Aryans
originated in the southwestern steppes of present-day Russia. However,
by the late 19th century the steppe theory of Aryan origins was
challenged by the view that the Aryans originated in ancient Germany
or Scandinavia, or at least that in those countries the original Aryan
ethnicity had been preserved. The German origin of the Aryans was
especially promoted by the archaeologist Gustaf Kossinna, who claimed
that the Proto-Indo-European peoples were identical to the Corded Ware
culture of Neolithic Germany. This idea was widely circulated in both
intellectual and popular culture by the early twentieth century,[14]
and is reflected in the concept of "Corded-Nordics" in Carleton S.
Coon's 1939 The Races of Europe.
Other anthropologists contested such claims. In Germany, Rudolf
Virchow launched a study of craniometry, which prompted him to
denounce "Nordic mysticism" in the 1885 Anthropology Congress in
Karlsruhe, while Josef Kollmann, a collaborator of Virchow, stated in
the same congress that the people of Europe, be they English, German,
French, and Spaniard belonged to a "mixture of various races,"
furthermore declaring that the "results of craniology...[are] against
any theory concerning the superiority of this or that European race"
to others.[10]
Virchow's contribution to the debate sparked a controversy. Houston
Stewart Chamberlain, a strong supporter of the theory of a superior
Aryan race, attacked Josef Kollmann arguments in detail. While the
"Aryan race" theory remained popular, particularly in Germany, some
authors defended Virchow's perspective, in particular Otto Schrader,
Rudolph von Jhering and the ethnologist Robert Hartmann (1831–1893),
who proposed to ban the notion of "Aryan" from anthropology.[10]
Indo-Aryan migration
Main article: Indo-Aryan migration
See also: Out of India theory
Models of the Indo-Aryan migration discuss scenarios of prehistoric
migrations of the early Indo-Aryans to their historically attested
areas of settlement in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent and
from there further across all of North India. Claims of Indo-Aryan
migration are primarily drawn from linguistic[15] evidence but also
from a multitude of data stemming from genetics,[16] Vedic religion,
rituals, poetics as well as some aspects of social organization and
chariot technology.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_language
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedic_period
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedas
All discussion of historical Indo-Aryan migrations or Aryan and
Dravidian races remains highly controversial in India to this day, and
continues to affect political and religious debate. Some Dravidians,
and supporters of the Dalit movement, most commonly Tamils, claim that
the worship of Shiva is a distinct Dravidian religion going back to
the Indus Civilization,[17] to be distinguished from Brahminical
"Aryan" Hinduism. In contrast, the Indian nationalist Hindutva
movement argues that no Aryan invasion or migration ever occurred,
asserting that Vedic beliefs emerged from the Indus Valley
Civilisation,[18] which pre-dated the supposed advent of the Indo-
Aryans in India, and is identified as a likely candidate for a Proto-
Dravidian culture.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dravidian
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalitstan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_people
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Valley_Civilization
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindutva
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Valley_Civilisation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Dravidian
Some Indians were also influenced by the debate about the Aryan race
during the British Raj. The Indian nationalist V. D. Savarkar believed
in the theory that an "Aryan race" migrated to India,[19] but he
didn't find much value in a racialized interpretation of the "Aryan
race".[20] Some Indian nationalists supported the British version of
the theory because it gave them the prestige of common descent with
the ruling British class.[21]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V._D._Savarkar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racialized
Genetic studies
A genetic study in the year 2000 in Andhra Pradesh state of India
found that the upper caste Hindus were closer relatives to Eastern-
Europeans than to Hindus from lower castes.[22] However, a study
conducted by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in 2009 (in
collaboration with Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public
Health and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT) analyzed half a
million genetic markers across the genomes of 132 individuals from 25
ethnic groups from 13 states in India across multiple caste groups.
[23] The study asserts, based on the impossibility of identifying any
genetic indicators across caste lines, that castes in South Asia grew
out of traditional tribal organizations during the formation of Indian
society, and was not the product of any Aryan invasion and
"subjugation" of Dravidian people.[24]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_for_Cellular_and_Molecular_Biology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Medical_School
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_School_of_Public_Health
Occultism
Theosophy
Mme. Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott, a lawyer, agricultural expert,
and journalist who covered the Spiritualist phenomena.Main article:
Root race
These debates were addressed within the Theosophical movement founded
by Helena Blavatsky and Henry Olcott at the end of the nineteenth
century. This philosophy took inspiration from Indian culture, in this
case, perhaps, from the Hindu reform movement the Arya Samaj founded
by Swami Dayananda.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theosophy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madame_Blavatsky
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Steel_Olcott
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arya_Samaj
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swami_Dayananda
Blavatsky argued that humanity had descended from a series of "Root
Races", naming the fifth root race (out of seven) the Aryan Race. She
thought that the Aryans originally came from Atlantis and described
the Aryan races with the following words:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_Race
"The Aryan races, for instance, now varying from dark brown, almost
black, red-brown-yellow, down to the whitest creamy colour, are yet
all of one and the same stock -- the Fifth Root-Race -- and spring
from one single progenitor, (...) who is said to have lived over
18,000,000 years ago, and also 850,000 years ago -- at the time of the
sinking of the last remnants of the great continent of Atlantis."[25]
Blavatsky used "Root Race" as a technical term to describe human
evolution over the large time periods in her cosmology. However, she
also claimed that there were modern non-Aryan peoples who were
inferior to Aryans. She regularly contrasts "Aryan" with "Semitic"
culture, to the detriment of the latter, asserting that Semitic
peoples are an offshoot of Aryans who have become "degenerate in
spirituality and perfected in materiality."[26] She also states that
some peoples are "semi-animal creatures". These latter include "the
Tasmanians, a portion of the Australians and a mountain tribe in
China." There are also "considerable numbers of the mixed Lemuro-
Atlantean peoples produced by various crossings with such semi-human
stocks -- e.g., the wild men of Borneo, the Veddhas of Ceylon, classed
by Prof. Flower among Aryans (!), most of the remaining Australians,
Bushmen, Negritos, Andaman Islanders, etc."[27]
Despite this, Blavatsky's admirers claim that her thinking was not
connected to fascist or racialist ideas, asserting that she believed
in a Universal Brotherhood of humanity and wrote that "all men have
spiritually and physically the same origin" and that "mankind is
essentially of one and the same essence".[28] On the other hand, in
The Secret Doctrine, Blavatsky states: "Verily mankind is 'of one
blood,' but not of the same essence."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Brotherhood
Blavatsky connects physical race with spiritual attributes constantly
throughout her works:
"Esoteric history teaches that idols and their worship died out with
the Fourth Race, until the survivors of the hybrid races of the latter
(Chinamen, African Negroes, &c.) gradually brought the worship back.
The Vedas countenance no idols; all the modern Hindu writings do".
[29]
"The intellectual difference between the Aryan and other civilized
nations and such savages as the South Sea Islanders, is inexplicable
on any other grounds. No amount of culture, nor generations of
training amid civilization, could raise such human specimens as the
Bushmen, the Veddhas of Ceylon, and some African tribes, to the same
intellectual level as the Aryans, the Semites, and the Turanians so
called. The 'sacred spark' is missing in them and it is they who are
the only inferior races on the globe, now happily -- owing to the wise
adjustment of nature which ever works in that direction -- fast dying
out. Verily mankind is 'of one blood,' but not of the same essence. We
are the hot-house, artificially quickened plants in nature, having in
us a spark, which in them is latent".[30]
According to Blavatsky, "the MONADS of the lowest specimens of
humanity (the "narrow-brained" savage South-Sea Islander, the African,
the Australian) had no Karma to work out when first born as men, as
their more favoured brethren in intelligence had".[31]
She also prophecies of the destruction of the racial "failures of
nature" as the future "higher race" ascends:
"Thus will mankind, race after race, perform its appointed cycle-
pilgrimage. Climates will, and have already begun, to change, each
tropical year after the other dropping one sub-race, but only to beget
another higher race on the ascending cycle; while a series of other
less favoured groups -- the failures of nature -- will, like some
individual men, vanish from the human family without even leaving a
trace behind".[32]
It is interesting to note that the second subrace of the Fifth or
Aryan root race, the Arabian, is regarded by Theosophists as one of
the Aryan subraces. It is believed by Theosophists that the Arabians,
although asserted in traditional Theosophy to be of Aryan (i.e., Indo-
European) ancestry, adopted the Semitic language of the people around
them who had migrated earlier from Atlantis (the fifth or (original)
Semite subrace of the Atlantean root race). Theosophists assert that
the Jews originated as an offshoot of the Arabian subrace in what is
now Yemen about 30,000 BC. They migrated first to Somalia and then
later to Egypt where they lived until the time of Moses. Thus,
according to the teachings of Theosophy, the Jews are part of the
Aryan race.[33]
Ariosophy
Main article: Ariosophy
Guido von List (and his followers such as Lanz von Liebenfels) later
took up some of Blavatsky's ideas, mixing her ideology with
nationalistic and fascist ideas; this system of thought became known
as Ariosophy. It was believed in Ariosophy that the Teutonics were
superior to all other peoples because according to Theosophy the
Teutonics or Nordics were the most recent subrace of the Aryan root
race to have evolved.[34] Such views also fed into the development of
Nazi ideology. Theosophical publications such as The Aryan Path were
strongly opposed to the Nazi usage, attacking racialism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guido_von_List
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanz_von_Liebenfels
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariosophy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_languages
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Aryan_Path
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racialism
The idea of the Northern origins of the Aryans was particularly
influential in Germany. It was widely believed that the "Vedic Aryans"
were ethnically identical to the Goths, Vandals and other ancient
Germanic peoples of the Völkerwanderung. This idea was often
intertwined with anti-Semitic ideas. The distinctions between the
"Aryan" and "Semitic" peoples were based on the aforementioned
linguistic and ethnic history.
Semitic peoples came to be seen as a foreign presence within Aryan
societies, and the Semitic peoples were often pointed to as the cause
of conversion and destruction of social order and values leading to
culture and civilization's downfall by proto-Nazi and Nazi theorists
such as Houston Stewart Chamberlain and Alfred Rosenberg.
According to the adherents to Ariosophy, the Aryan was a "master race"
that built a civilization that dominated the world from Atlantis about
ten thousand years ago. This alleged civilization declined when other
parts of the world were colonized after the 8,000 BC destruction of
Atlantis because the inferior races mixed with the Aryans but it left
traces of their civilization in Tibet (via Buddhism), and even in
Central America, South America, and Ancient Egypt. (The date of 8,000
BC for the destruction of Atlantis in Ariosophy is 2,000 years later
than the date of 10,000 BC given for this event in Theosophy.) These
theories affected the more esotericist strand of Nazism.
A complete, highly speculative theory of Aryan and anti-Semitic
history can be found in Alfred Rosenberg's major work, The Myth of the
Twentieth Century. Rosenberg's well-researched account of ancient
history, melded with his racial speculations, proved to be very
effective in spreading racialism among German intellectuals in the
early twentieth century, especially after the First World War.
These and other ideas evolved into the Nazi use of the term "Aryan
race" to refer to what they saw as being a master race of people of
northern European descent. They worked to maintain the purity of this
race through eugenics programs (including anti-miscegenation
legislation, compulsory sterilization of the mentally ill and the
mentally deficient, the execution of the institutionalized mentally
ill as part of a euthanasia program).
Heinrich Himmler (the Reichsführer of the SS), the person ordered by
Adolf Hitler to implement the final solution (Holocaust), told his
personal masseur Felix Kersten that he always carried with him a copy
of the ancient Aryan scripture, the Bhagavad Gita because it relieved
him of guilt about what he was doing — he felt that like the warrior
Arjuna, he was simply doing his duty without attachment to his actions.
[35]
Himmler was also interested in Buddhism and his institute Ahnenerbe
sought to mix some traditions from Hinduism and Buddhism.[36] Himmler
sent a 1939 German expedition to Tibet as part of his research into
Aryan origins.
Neo-Nazism
The Sun wheel is used as the symbol of the Aryan raceSince the
military defeat of Nazi Germany by the Allies in 1945, some neo-Nazis
have expanded their concept of the Aryan race, moving from the Nazi
concept that the purest Aryans were the Teutonics or Nordics of
Northern Europe to the idea that the true Aryans are everyone
descended from the Western or European branch of the Indo-European
peoples.[citation needed] "Moderate" "white nationalists" who embrace
what is called pan-Aryanism want to establish a democratically
governed Aryan Federation.[37] On the other hand, according to
Nicholas Goodrick-Clark, many neo-Nazis want to establish an
autocratic state modeled after Nazi Germany to be called the Western
Imperium.[38]
This proposed state would be led by a Führer-like figure called the
Vindex, and would include all areas inhabited by the Aryan race
(defined as non-Jews of European ancestry), i.e. Europe (includes all
of Russia), Anglo-America, South Africa (may include Rhodesia (now
called Zimbabwe)) with its white minority, Australia, New Zealand, and
southern South America (that is Chile, Argentina, eastern Bolivia,
southern Brazil, Uruguay, and possibly Paraguay.) Only those of the
Aryan race would be full citizens of the state. The Western Imperium
would embark on a vigorous and dynamic program of space exploration.
The concept of the Western Imperium as outlined in the previous three
sentences is based on the original concept of the Imperium as outlined
in the 1947 book Imperium: The Philosophy of History and Politics by
Francis Parker Yockey as further updated, extended and refined in the
early 1990s in pamphlets published by David Myatt. [39][40][41]
Various concepts of Aryanism and how they should be implemented are
debated on the Stormfront website.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Parker_Yockey
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Myatt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stormfront_(website)
Tempelhofgesellschaft
A neo-Nazi esoteric Nazi Gnostic sect headquartered in Vienna, Austria
called the Tempelhofgesellschaft, founded in the early 1990s, teaches
a form of what it calls Marcionism. They distribute pamphlets claiming
that the Aryan race originally came to Atlantis from the star
Aldebaran.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Nazi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esoteric_Nazism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnostic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-volkisch_movements#Tempelhofgesellschaft_.28Gnostic_sect.29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcionism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_race#The_civilization_of_Atlantis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldebaran
See also
Anatolian hypothesis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatolian_hypothesis
Aryan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryan
Germanic peoples
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_peoples
Indo-Aryan migrations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Aryan_migrations
Nordic theory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_theory
Nordic race
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_race
Proto-Indo-Europeans
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Indo-Europeans
Indo-European language family
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_language_family
Kurgan hypothesis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurgan_hypothesis
Race Life of the Aryan Peoples
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_Life_of_the_Aryan_Peoples
Scandinavism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandinavism
White nationalism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_nationalism
White supremacy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_supremacy
Philosophical:
Esotericism in Germany and Austria
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esotericism_in_Germany_and_Austria
Thule Society
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thule_Society
Germanic Neopaganism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_Neopaganism
Neo-völkisch movements
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-v%C3%B6lkisch_movements
Third Reich specific:
Aryanization
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryanization
Aryan paragraph
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryan_paragraph
Honorary Aryan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honorary_Aryan
Ahnenpass
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahnenpass
Aryan Games
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryan_Games
Contemporaneous concepts of race:
Alpine race
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpine_race
Armenoid race
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenoid_race
Dinaric race
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinaric_race
East Baltic race
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Baltic_race
Iranid race
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranid_race
Mediterranean race
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_race
References
Constructs such as ibid., op. cit. and loc. cit. are discouraged by
Wikipedia's style guide for footnotes as they are easily broken.
Please improve this article by replacing them with named references
(quick guide), or an abbreviated title.
^ Mish, Frederic C., Editor in Chief Webster's Tenth New Collegiate
Dictionary Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.A.:1994--Merriam-Webster
See original definition (definition #1) of "Aryan" in English--Page
66
^ cf. Gershevitch, Ilya (1968), "Old Iranian Literature", Handbuch der
Orientalistik, Literatur I, Leiden: Brill, pp. 1–31 , p. 2.
^ Wells, H.G. The Outline of History New York:1920 Doubleday & Co.
Chapter 19 The Aryan Speaking Peoples in Pre-Historic Times Pages
271-285
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Outline_of_History
^ H.G. Wells describes the origin of the Aryans (Proto-Indo
Europeans):
http://www.bartleby.com/86/19.html
^ Rand McNally’s World Atlas International Edition Chicago:1944 Rand
McNally Map: "Races of Mankind" Pages 278–279--In the explanatory
section below the map, the Aryan race (the word “Aryan” being defined
in the description below the map as a synonym for “Indo-Europeans”) is
described as being one of the ten major racial groupings of mankind.
Each of the ten racial groupings is depicted in a different color on
the map and the estimated populations in 1944 of the larger racial
groups except the Dravidians are given (the Dravidian population in
1944 would have been about 70,000,000). The other nine groups are
depicted as being the Semitic race (the Aryans (850,000,000) and the
Semites (70,000,000) are described as being the two main branches of
the Caucasian race), the Dravidian race, the Mongolian race
(700,000,000), the Malayan race (Correct population given on page
413--64,000,000 including half of the Malay States, Micronesia, and
Polynesia), the American Indian race (10,000,000), the Negro race
(140,000,000), the Native Australians, the Papuans, and the Hottentots
and Bushmen.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semitic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasian_race
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dravidian_race
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongoloid_race
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malayan_race
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_people_of_the_Americas
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_people
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australoid_race
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australoid_race
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capoid_race
^ See, for example, the Poul Anderson short stories in the 1964
collection Time and Stars and the Polesotechnic League stories
featuring Nicholas van Rijn
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_and_Stars
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_van_Rijn
^ Renfrew, Colin. (1989). The Origins of Indo-European Languages. /
Scientific American/, 261(4), 82-90.
^ Mish, Frederic C., Editor in Chief Webster's Tenth New Collegiate
Dictionary Springfield, Massachuetts, U.S.A.:1994--Merriam-Webster
Page 66
^ Widney, Joseph P Race Life of the Aryan Peoples New York: Funk &
Wagnalls. 1907 In Two Volumes: Volume One--The Old World Volume Two--
The New World ISBN B000859S6O
http://books.google.com/books?id=s9UKAAAAIAAJ&printsec=titlepage#v=onepage&q=&f=false
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Pomeroy_Widney
^ a b c d Andrea Orsucci, "Ariani, indogermani, stirpi mediterranee:
aspetti del dibattito sulle razze europee (1870-1914)", in Cromohs,
1998 (Italian)
http://www.cromohs.unifi.it/3_98/orsucci.html
^ OED under race, n.6 I.1.c has "A group of several tribes or peoples,
regarded as forming a distinct ethnic set. Esp. used in 19th-cent.
anthropological classification, sometimes in conjunction with
linguistic groupings."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OED
^ Speech before the University of Stassbourg, 1872, Chaudhuri, Nirad,
Scholar Extraordinary: The Life of Professor the Rt. Hon. Freidrich
Max Muller, Chatto and Windus, 1974, p.313
^ Vacher de Lapouge (trans Clossen, C), Georges (1899). "Old and New
Aspects of the Aryan Question". The American Journal of Sociology 5
(3): 329–346. .
^ Arvidsson, Stefan (2006). Aryan Idols. USA: University of Chicago
Press, 143. ISBN 0-226-02860-7.
^ The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture: The Indo-Aryan Migration
Debate, Edwin Bryant, 2001
^ Trivedi, Bijal P (2001-05-14). [http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/
articles/05_01/Indo-European.shtml "Genetic evidence suggests European
migrants may have influenced the origins of India's caste system"].
Genome News Network (J. Craig Venter Institute).
http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/05_01/Indo-European.shtml.
Retrieved 2005-01-27.
^ It is claimed that the Pashupati seal represents Shiva. J. Marshall
1931: Vol. 1, 52-55. Mohenjo-Daro and the IVC. London: Arthur
Probsthain.
^ Although most pro-Aryan migration theory scholars also agree that a
part of the IVC culture has influenced Hinduism. Renfrew says: "it is
difficult to see what is particularly non-Aryan about the Indus Valley
Civilization. Renfrew 1988:188-190. Archaeology and Language. New
York: Cambridge University Press
^ Bryant 2001:271, Talageri 2000. The Rigveda.
^ After all there is throughout this world so far as man is concerned
but a single race - the human race, kept alive by one common blood,
the human blood. All other talk is at best provisional, a makeshift
and only relatively true. (...) Even as it is, not even the aborigines
of the Andamans are without some sprinkling of the so-called Aryan
blood in their veins and vice-versa. Truly speaking all that one can
claim is that one has the blood of all mankind in one’s veins. The
fundamental unity of man from pole to pole is true, all else only
relatively so. Savarkar: "Hindutva". Vinayak Damodar Savarkar,
Savarkar Samagra: Complete Works of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 10
volumes, ISBN 81-7315-331-0
^ Erdosy 1995:21, The Indo-Aryans of ancient South Asia.
^ http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=11381027
^ Indians are one people descended from two tribes
http://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/report_indians-are-one-people-descended-from-two-tribes_1292864
^ Aryan-Dravidian divide a myth: Study, Times of India
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/india/Aryan-Dravidian-divide-a-myth-Study/articleshow/5053274.cms
^ The Secret Doctrine, the Synthesis of Science, Religion and
Philosophy, Vol.II, p.249
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_Doctrine
^ Ibid., p.200
^ Ibid., pp.195-6
^ The Key to Theosophy, Section 3
^ The Secret Doctrine, the Synthesis of Science, Religion and
Philosophy, Vol. II, p.723
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_Doctrine
^ Ibid., p 421
^ Ibid., p.168
^ Ibid., p.446
^ Powell, A.E. The Solar System: A Complete Outline of the
Theosophical Scheme of Evolution London:1930 The Theosophical
Publishing House Pages 298-299
^ Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas The Occult Roots of Nazism: Secret Aryan
Cults and Their Influence on Nazi Ideology New York:1992 New York
University Press Chapter 13 "Herbert Reichstein and Ariosophy" Pages
164-176
^ Padfield, Peter Himmler New York:1990--Henry Holt Page 402
^ P.7, New Religions and the Nazis, By Karla Powne
^ Fundamentals of Pan-Aryanism:
http://forums.skadi.net/showthread.php?p=940600
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herrenvolk
^ Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas (2003). Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric
Nazism and the Politics of Identity. New York: New York University
Press. pp. 221. ISBN 0-8147-3155-4.
^ Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism,
and The Politics of Identity New York: 2002--N.Y. University Press,
See Chapters 4 and 11 for extensive information about the proposed
"Western Imperium"
^ “Vindex—The Destiny of the West—Imperium of the West” by David
Myatt:
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=423609919&blogId=497426085
^ [http://www.natvan.com/national-vanguard/130/index.html
"Space Exploration: An Expression of the Aryan Soul" by John Clarke
National Vanguard magazine Issue 130, January-February 2006:]
Further reading
The Arctic Home in the Vedas by Bal Gangadhar Tilak
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Arctic_Home_in_the_Vedas
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bal_Gangadhar_Tilak
Arvidsson, Stefan. Aryan Idols. The Indo-European Mythology as Science
and Ideology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 2006 ISBN
0-226-02860-7
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefan_Arvidsson
Poliakov, Leon. The Aryan Myth: A History of Racist and Nationalistic
Ideas In Europe New York: Barnes & Noble Books. 1996 ISBN
0-7607-0034-6
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Poliakov
Widney, Joseph P. Google Books edition of Race Life of the Aryan
Peoples Race Life of the Aryan Peoples New York: Funk & Wagnalls. 1907
In Two Volumes: Volume One--The Old World Volume Two--The New World
ISBN B000859S6O
http://books.google.com/books?id=s9UKAAAAIAAJ&printsec=titlepage#v=onepage&q=&f=false
External links
The Aryan race
http://www.wisdomworld.org/additional/ListOfCollatedArticles/TheAryanRace.html
Indo-European Languages
http://www.bookrags.com/Indo-European_languages
Aryan by Kim Pearson
http://kpearson.faculty.tcnj.edu/Dictionary/aryan.htm
Iranian Branch of the Indo-European Family
http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/february/IranianBranch.html
Races and Ethnic Groups of Iran
http://www.farhangsara.com/races.htm
Forensic Anthropology
http://www.port.ac.uk/departments/academic/biology/research/forensicanthropology/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryan_race
...and I am Std Harth
chhotemianinshallah
Sharad Pawar is not new to verbal abuse. Before Bal Thackeray cosied
up to him in recent times, he was wont to call the Maratha warlord the
most colourful names. Among the more mentionable of them were
`maidyancha pota ’ (a sack of flour) and a dog (I would rather not
repeat the Marathi as that sounds worse).He also continuously poked
fun at Pawar’s ample girth, saying he might be getting stuck in his
commode each morning. To be noted: Thackeray himself preferred Indian
toilets. Hotels he stayed at in Maharashtra had to modify their rooms
for the purpose and when he thought he might be thrown into jail by
Chhagan Bhujbal his primary concern, ahead of other comforts, was if
he would get an Indian toilet in his cell — though Michael Jackson did
use a Western one when he came calling at Matoshree in 1997!
Pawar was so sickened by all such politically irrelevant comments that
he warned Thackeray about the consequences: “I am from the rural areas
and a rural rustic can get more colourful abuse out of his mouth than
someone like Thackeray, city born and bred can ever fathom. So don’t
tempt me.’’ That shut Thackeray up quite adequately because he could
not be sure about how insulting Pawar could get or even if he could
match the latter’s vocabulary, word for word.
I guess Thackeray had reason to run scared. Because he knew Pawar
could say the worst possible things about somebody and still keep the
language parliamentary. Like the time in the Eighties — I recall I
was shocked out of my wits when he referred to then opposition leader
Mrinal Gore as `Pootna Maushi’.
Gore was a well-known socialist and she was very adept at her job as
an opposition leader. She was one of the primary persons who had
exposed Pawar’s alleged involvement in what we then referred to as the
`dereservation scam’. Decoded, this was simply that soon after he
became Chief Minister in 1988, Pawar decided that more than 250 plots
in Bombay which had been reserved for schools, gardens, hospitals and
other public spaces would be, well, dereserved and handed over to
private builders for commercial constructions. Pawar had overruled the
objections of both bureaucrats and municipal authorities about the
advisability of turning Bombay into more of a concrete jungle thus.
Gore tabled the whole list of the plots, along with a minute by minute
account of how they were dereserved, in the Maharashtra Assembly —
leading Chhagan Bhujbal, then the Shiv Sena’s lone legislator in the
House, to stick another unforgettable tag on Pawa: Bhookhandanche
Shrikhand Khalle (he has eaten shrikhand out of plots of land).
But while Pawar could brush aside such labels, what he could not get
over was the complete exposure of his integrity (since then wherever
Pawar goes, land scams, true or not, follow).
Why I believe Pawar’s abuse of Gore was unforgivable was because of
the choice of his words — which were not unparliamentary by themselves
but the circumstances under which they were uttered were downright
vicious. Pootna was the rakshasi who had been assigned by Lord
Krishna’s maternal uncle Kansa to poison the baby God through her
milk. Everyone knows the legend: how Baby Krishna bit her breasts and
destroyed both her and her evil purpose.
Gore had, at the time, been recovering from breast cancer and I
thought it was particularly nasty, downright mean and very hurtful of
Sharad Pawar to allude to a worthy opponent in such unpleasant and
personally painful terms. I was little more than a rookie at the time
and I recall rushing to Gore’s party office at the Vidhan Bhavan soon
after Pawar’s volley – I wanted to sympathise more than get a reaction
out of her to that insult.
However, Gore spoke of everything else but that abuse. And when I
asked her for a reaction, she said she had not heard anything at all
and there was no point reacting to something she did not know about.
Since Gore had very much been present during Pawar’s outburst, I
realised that she was either very hurt or very forgiving. In either
case, her response was very dignified and, in the absence of
television channels in that era, the whole episode was put to rest
almost immediately.
So, if an eon later, Satyavrat Chaturvedi now calls Sharad Pawar
another colourful name, I am not surprised that the Maratha strongman
should not find it too hard to forget and forgive. For Chaturvedi’s
terms of reference were neither personal nor could be too hurtful
(except to the extent that he chose to abuse at all) – those are
terms used almost like punctuation in many North Indian tongues. But
while MCs and BCs might be lingua franca in the North, I agree with
Pawar that it was quite unparliamentary language to have been used at
all.
Perhaps Chaturvedi should have taken lessons from Pawar before he got
abusive: on how to be parliamentary and unpleasant at one and the
same time!
Comments
One Response to “Whose abuse is it anyway?”
Rajen Kaushal says:
March 20, 2010 at 7:10 am
By far, conclusion is that unparliamentary language has no place on
high seats like CM. Thackerays comments are given more weightage by
Media otherwise, going by their political stature, they do not deserve
much weightage.
After exorbitant rise in food prices and sugar, Sharad Pawar’s
response was poor but going by Congress rules after independendence,
Congress, a party of capitalist never contained inflation and many
fold increase in food prices after independence is evident. Moreover,
while appointing ministers, Govt. must ensure that a person does not
become minister for industry from his home state. Maharastra houses
major sugar mills and Sharad Pawar should not have been Agricultural
Minister. What better or clean administration Manmohan Singh,
projected and perceived as honest man by Indians, provide?
http://blogs.hindustantimes.com/singly-political/2010/03/19/whose-abuse-is-it-anyway/
Beat men fair and square
IF THE BILL DOES BECOME LAW, THOUGH,
I AM SURE AT LEAST THE YADAVS, WHO
ARE NOW OPPOSING IT VOCIFEROUSLY,
WILL BE AMONG THE FIRST TO BRING OUT
THEIR WIVES AND DAUGHTERS-IN-LAW TO
OCCUPY HIGH POSITIONS
Ihave always been agnostic when it comes to women’s
reservation: I am not against it per se, but I am not for
it either. My reservations about, well, reservation for
women is based on observation of how it has played out
in Maharashtra, which was among the first states to introduce
a 33 per cent quota for women in local self-government
bodies.
When I travelled to the villages, I noticed that most of
the women sarpanchs were wives of powerful men of the
area. Though it is getting slightly better these days, most
of these women did not take decisions on their own —
and if they did, their husbands would still beat them up.
In the cities, it was only somewhat better — the men
might not beat up women but the latter were certainly
puppets in the hands of their husbands.
I recall one particular woman corporator who had a
fairly bad reputation for just being who she was: the conservative
wife of a local party boss. Her husband took to
threatening people in her name and her mother-in-law
set up a desk right at her front door to rake in the earnings
— she personally counted the cash all day long!
It drove even members of her own party crazy. One of
them told me wryly, “I am against women’s reservation
only for this. Give a man a ticket and only he is corrupt,
give a woman a ticket and her whole family becomes
extortionists.’’
Of course, I did not agree with that perception and
ticked him off quite soundly.
I notice, though, that at least the Brihanmumbai
Municipal Corporation (BMC) has got better over the
years. But several years ago former Chief Minister
Manohar Joshi had told us, after fielding women relatives
of Shiv Sainiks, quite unabashedly, “We are a purushi
(male) party. Electable women are very difficult to find.’’
However, when Bombay Mayor Shraddha Jadhav gave
away awards on International Women’s Day this year, all
top officials on the dais were women: Shailaja Girkar is
the Deputy Mayor, Mridula Joshi is the Municipal
Secretary and Manisha Mhaiskar is the Additional
Municipal Commissioner. One half was there on account
of the benefit of reservation; the other half had got there
on their own steam, perhaps pipping several worthy men
at the post.
So while I saluted all those women, my ambivalence
towards women’s quota continued, even as the UPA government
failed to have the Bill passed in Parliament on
Monday.
If the Bill does become law, though, I am sure at least
the Yadavs, who are now opposing it vociferously, will be
among the first to bring out their wives and daughtersin-
law to occupy high positions — yes, even the ‘par kati’
ones — remember Sharad Yadav’s obnoxious remark
about women with short hair? His wife has (or at least
had at the time he made that remark) short hair.
Next would be the girlfriends, as we have seen many politicians
promote their paramours even without the benefit
of reservations. I wonder how long it will be before the
common woman, without the benefit of a Godfather in
politics, gets an opportunity to enter a legislative body
on her own merit.
But if she did, I am not so sure it would be fair to restrict
women to constituencies for just five or ten years. Former
Speaker Somnath Chatterjee had represented his constituency
in the Lok Sabha for ten terms — if not 50 years,
given several mid-term polls, this meant at least 40 years
at a stretch. Why should women not have similar right
to continue for as long as the voters want them?
If I were into electoral politics, I certainly would be
highly resentful at the injustice and unfairness of it all.
Yet, there is really no other way out of the situation. Which
once again reinforces my ambivalence about a quota for
women.
So it is just as well that I am not a politician with parliamentary
ambitions. I prefer to best the men at their
own game and beat them in their own backyards. As
Pratibha Patil did. And as many other exemplary women
are doing. ■ sana...@hindustantimes.com
http://www.hindustantimes.com/images/HTPopups/120310/10_03_M_MTR_16.pdf
How does she do it?
I have said all I wanted to say about my reservations about the
women’s reservation bill in my column anandan on Wednesday this week.
Like I said in the column, I am agnostic about the bill – I neither
believe in it nor do I knock it. I simply doubt that it will help at
all (help the common woman, that is).
But whatever my reservations, I am amazed at how Sonia Gandhi managed
to have the bill passed in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, March 9. That
morning it looked as though not just the fate of the bill but also her
authority over her party was at risk. For, I know as a matter of fact
that many men in her party were as determined as Lalu and Mulayam
Yadav to ensure that it never became law and I thought they would
surreptitiously pitch in to scuttle the bill. But now I do not think
too many of them will dare voice their opposition.
I wonder what makes Sonia Gandhi take all the right calls and achieve
miracle after miracle in such quick succession. This particular bill
had been hanging in the balance for 14 years and when several more
stable governments could not manage to get it through, it really did
require a great deal of political will to push it at the risk of so
much endangerment of the UPA’s future.
I have heard people say quite often that we cannot find one single
Indian to rule this country and follow it up with the query: why
should Indians have to kowtow to the Italian bahu of Mrs Indira
Gandhi? In fact, I am looking to all those critics for an answer: yes,
really, why?
But I think I have a clue. And that came from a British diplomat to
quite another question. We were discussing how the Indian diaspora was
among the highest wage earners everywhere else in the world (and thus,
not surprisingly, they incurred the wrath of the locals in their
adopted countries for beating them to and keeping their jobs by sheer
dint of hard work). Yet, when it came to our own country, we were
among the poorest, most backward and taking too long getting anywhere.
The diplomat said, “Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that Indians
follow the rules to the `t’ wherever they live abroad. In India they
break the law all the time and so make it difficult for both
themselves and others to get along.’’
Then a Congress worker told me why he preferred Sonia Gandhi to her
husband, Rajiv. “She has a very European outlook on rules and honour.
She keeps her word and will not allow any violations. For example, if
the maximum age for a youth congress leader is 35, she will not allow
any one older to be elected to that post. No other considerations like
caste et al except what is stated in the rulebook. That is heartening
for the rest of us: we know we will eventually get there if we fit the
bill and no one can bring any untoward influence to bear upon her to
push us off the ladder. Even Rajivji was not so correct, he would
allow the occasional jugaad. ’’
That was a eulogy of his party president, of course, but I now wonder
if that is true. Perhaps she does bring a sense of honour and follows
the rules in everything she does and so succeeds more than others who
believe in, well, jugaad (manoeuvring people and situations to suit
their needs).
But on Tuesday, as she gave interviews to women journalists on
television, I was impressed by Sonia’s tone and pitch – happy but
thanking all the men for having made it possible. Gracious for their
support to both the Left parties and the BJP which have knocked her
endlessly over various issues but not gloating about it at all a la
the Yadavs, keeping a door open for the allies and, of course, very
self-effacing.
I say `self-effacing’ because when I first met her in Nasik several
years ago, after she first took over the party’s reigns in the middle
of an election in 1998 and miraculously helped a losing Congress win
45 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats from Maharashtra, she was quick to give
the credit to Sharad Pawar. And when we asked her about her role as
the Congress president, she said, “I am only the latest in a long
series of Congress presidents. Other Congress leaders have been around
longer than I have been and it is they who have done things for the
party, not me. I am still learning.’’
I guess she has learnt well by now and I remark upon another thing: in
the decade at the start of which even her own party men took her with
several fistfuls of salt to now, she seems to have muted the criticism
about her being a misfit in Indian politics and put their uncertainty
about her ability to deliver to rest.
The Congress is the most indisciplined, chaotic and irreverent party I
know. Yet they revere their party president more than the Shiv Sainiks
do Bal Thackeray or the BJP does its own succession of party chiefs.
Perhaps that is because she delivers to them nine times out of ten,
while others do not. But I continue to wonder: did Sonia Gandhi learn
it all at the feet of her mother-in-law or is she bringing a European
sense of commitment to her party that helps her defeat the might of
the BJP and its formidable allies in 2004 and return with an even
greater majority in 2009? And now give to Indian women what no man (or
even woman — most notably Indira Gandhi) has dared or cared to before?
(9 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
Posted by Sujata Anandan on Friday, March 12, 2010 at 9:05 pm
28 Responses to “How does she do it?”
vijai lugani says:
March 13, 2010 at 3:25 am
she leaenedrned the political process in india under the leader ship
of mrs. indra gandhi and of cousrse from rajiv gandhi. she knows upto
this time how to bring together different political shades under one
umberala when requied, she does not believe in cast and creed.she is
hard worker and of couse haverahul and pryanka and some faithful
polrical advisers. the author of this artical is absoultely right in
every aspect and more ever she is not power hungry. if she does not
like some people she can show them door to get out.
Nikhil Reply:
March 14th, 2010 at 3:13 am
Vijay Lugani,
If I write about the good qualities of my dhobi they’re not too far
from the ones that you wrote – hardworking, honest, faithful,
relatively selfless and mostly fair. For that matter these qualities
are universal and necessary to succeed in any profession. What makes
Sonia different from us is she finds herself married in to the most
politically influential family in our country where political power is
hereditary and party members are expected to bow to the whips of party
leaders.
Ajay says:
March 13, 2010 at 5:16 am
Interesting thoughts… However, I think many Europeans may feel that
Italian background is bit different from that of Western European one…
Ed says:
March 13, 2010 at 5:53 am
Take a dig on this topic at
[ http://pages.rediff.com/we-evolve/21809#allfeeds ]
The bill is only useful when it break the poverty lines, dynasty lines
…
It should be 35% (poor women), 35%(poor men), 30% (talented)
70% should be representative of poor.
It should be 35% (poor women), 35%(poor men), 30% (talented –
scientist, economist, etc)
THE BIG QUESTION IS how do we qualify to be
1 )Identify 70% – Poor & most popular 10 candiate representing Poor
People from certain region (MP/MLA area) to whom the Election
commision will fund campaign money
2 )To keep tap on Rich person whose campaign funds/money has to be
capped by Election commision and made almost equal to 1).
3 )Criteria to identify 30% (talented people)
Ways to find the list 1) and 2) and 3) is something ruling party needs
to think and debate instead of wasting time.
To gauge 1), we need to count the strongest of the following points by
Election Commision and more can be added by debates
A) Years of work
B) Have an open debate at ONE or TWO cantenders preferred location
agreed by each contenders,
let contenders speak what they have done and want to do.
Make people/choser stand in different locations on the debate ground
to exibit their support.
The count done to choose the top 10.
C) Ensure rotation between Male and Female, thus women whose work and
popularity is on her own rather than backing of GOONDAS should be
preferred for qualifying 1)
People backed by money and goonda power cannot qualify for 1)
D) Every term, Election commision can choose certain region by Gender,
thus they can choose between the women & men that qualify for 1) or
term when both women & men qualify for 1)
Debate should be there to decide if 2)candiates should be allowed to
contest irrespective of gender.
Cap/restriction of number of time(2 times max) a candiate can stand
for elections in a sequence.
Debate on how election commsion will enforce 1) on all parties and in
all regions.
Debate on how to lessen the dynasty and family business and bring
democracy by Election Commission criteria in 1).
Nikhil Reply:
March 14th, 2010 at 4:11 am
Ed,
Because you write of so many different, often contradictory,
qualifications for running for office may be you should be our next
Election Commission.
Vijay Saini says:
March 13, 2010 at 6:36 am
Meekly following Sonia Gandhi is the slave mentallity. Although India
is a free country now, it would take us a very long time to get over
the slave mindframe. I think we are ripe and ready for foreign rule by
proxy. Any country can capture us in reality.
AB says:
March 13, 2010 at 7:56 am
Funny article, then lets elect Silvio Berlusconi as president of
India.Problem solved
Jitendra says:
March 13, 2010 at 9:18 am
I have never read such a degrading article. It is a shame that we
still have white man’s lackey amongst us. It is achivement of Mcaulays
education aystem that country continues to create such people even
after 62 years. She can do it because congis are a party of chamchas
and nincompoops including PM. Not a single congi has any moral, ethics
and no one is ready to stand up for the good of country. They only
stand up to save their chair and that depends of congi president. This
article talks of European values and commitment. Is author trying to
say that India does not have people with values and commitments. We
have plenty of people but stupid system of election where masses of
Idiots vote on the basis of caste, religion and personal loyalties.
What a stupid assumption on the part of author that Eurpeons are
better then us. In western coutries it is the system that works but
people are no different from us.
This bill is wrong because it will create rabris. Every from of
reservation and quota should be removed if country has to make any
progress. Otherwise mediocres will continue to stuff this country and
we will reamin a third world country forever. Singapore, Japan and
Malayasia are better than us without importing any whity. Have you
ever thought why we are still joke of the world after 62 years.
Reservation is an indication of failures of Govt economic and social
policies, and majority of the time Congi traitors have been in rule.
Wake up and get rid of banana spine and start believing in yourself
and it is shame that congis have imposed a whity on us. It hurts my
self respect.
LAKSHMANAN says:
March 13, 2010 at 9:32 am
Any type of reservations, on a permanent basis, is a threat to
liberty, standard of life, freedom and finally to democracy. See what
is happening in government due to reservations, especially reservation
policy in promotions. Merit is sidelined and in the name of social
justice many people occupy posts which they would not have got but for
reservations. It is not their fault and no one is worried about the
declining standard of Administration which is directly affecting the
generl public.
The introduction of reservation for women may be an eye opener in the
years to come and after 10 or 15 years every all shall join together
to undo reservations of any kind, I hope.
Nikhil says:
March 13, 2010 at 10:11 am
Oh god! When will journos stop sucking toes of the Nehru-Gandhi
family? Perhaps, never.
Bhukkal Reply:
March 13th, 2010 at 10:21 am
Thats the best summarisation of this article, Nikhil. Well the journos
are on fat pay packets….there is no responsible and honest journalism
left, they have to also buy flats in posh areas, salaries will cater
to their chai paani only… Shameless Creed, I wish there were Kiran
Bedis in Journalism as well.
Ekta B says:
March 13, 2010 at 11:07 am
Although an expat now, this is definitely the way I see things under
Sonia Gandhi in India, a very well written article indeed.
I have now lived overseas for the last 14 years and as someone who has
been given their fair share in an adopted and foreign land and made to
feel so at home, I must say it feels good to read that Sonia has
achieved in India (not from a political but recognition stand-point)
what we hope to achieve overseas as immigrant Indians.
I hope there are more people like her from different political
persuasions for it would make for a better and stronger India.
Nikhil Reply:
March 14th, 2010 at 3:01 am
Ekta B,
To be where Sonia is in politics today, one has to first marry in to
the most politically influential family in a country where dynastic
politics reigns supreme. This privilege is found only in India and not
in the West. After looking at the success of political heirs in India,
I’m convinced humans are capable of being reasonably successful if
they’re thrown in any job.
As far as success of foreigners in India is concerned, we already do
it well in many different spheres.
Anil says:
March 13, 2010 at 2:29 pm
Basically I am against any kind of reservations. The historic bill
however was a necessity because of our historic suppression of the
female gender over thousands of centuries. The real necessity is the
empowerment to the women. The glaring example is in the way women are
treated in Army. The strangest thing is that people have totally
forgotten the most maligned PM Mr H D Devegowda (the humble farmer)
and his Law Minister Ram Das Khalap who tabled the bill for the first
time.
Anil Reply:
March 13th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
One more point about our Constitution. India gave voting rights to
women since its independence. USA gave voting rights to women almost
80 years after the blacks got to vote in 1870 !
Gopi Thomas says:
March 13, 2010 at 6:30 pm
Although I do not care about congress party and its politics, I do
admire and respect Mrs Gandhi. Like many, I was questioning her
selection, her “foreign” status, her commitment etc. I have come 180
degrees around, she is an exemplary leader, good disciplinarian. I
firmly believe now, that she at the core, is 100% “Indian”, much much
more than many of her followers or other Indians. I do believe she
wants to create a better and new India on the foundation of our
ancient and rich heritage. Originally it was the call of her husband;
now I truly believe, to her, it is now the call of the country.
Atul8 says:
March 13, 2010 at 8:52 pm
In all my years of international travel, I learnt a valuable lesson
about myslef and my countrymen…. we lack accountability & discipline.
Of course, controlling the congress coffers does help, but Sonia’
foreign roots are really an advantage in this Jugaad ridden society
Most important, normally europeans are not given to visions of
grandeur when in power, unlike in our case where the lust for that red
light on the car is more important than perforing their gievn jobs.
It has to be the European sense of commitment….all the way!!
Nikhil Reply:
March 14th, 2010 at 4:02 am
Atul8,
If you think Sonia’s european heritage makes her special in Indian
politics, too bad we let the British go, is it not?
The European sense of commitment and discipline were not achieved
overnight by passing bills for quotas in European governments. If
you’re suggesting to overcome lack of accountability and discipline in
India through more political quotas, perhaps, you should continue with
your international travel till you see clear.
Atul8 Reply:
March 14th, 2010 at 10:19 am
Nikhil,
My response in one line -
Too bad we did not embrace and carry forward the sense of discipline &
accountability when we let the British go.
You need to do something about your aggression – it is colouring your
usual objectivity
Nikhil Reply:
March 14th, 2010 at 4:44 pm
Atul8,
The sense of discipline & accountability is not a British – or should
I say Italian – USP. Such characteristics are universal and cultivated
in societies where merit and systems are valued more than quotas and
personalities. We could not develop that sense because of intellectual
lethargy and we let ’some’ leaders off the hook when they dilute
democractic processes.
What you may see as aggression, I see it as a natural response to the
perfidy of the mainstream media. Happy international traveling, for
you.
Atul8 Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 5:46 pm
Nikhil,
Whatever we are, we have done unto ourselves – good or bad.
But when a discussion veers away from the issue to personalities, then
it becomes a clear indication that objectivity is losing out.
Musnt let that happen in the interest of a healthy debate.
Nikhil Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 1:14 am
Atul8,
Dear, the article revolves around hollow personality and not
substance. The comments will not be too far off, would they? I
fundamentally disagree with your point of view and I had to express it
in a sharp way.
Atul8 Reply:
March 18th, 2010 at 12:43 am
Nikhil,
You were not being sharp. You were being obtuse.
However, enough has been exchanged on this topic, and we should move
on.
Nikhil Reply:
March 18th, 2010 at 5:31 am
Atul8,
It provoked you, that’s all I wanted. Enough said!
Harish says:
March 15, 2010 at 3:31 pm
Is ambika soni ghost writing these articles
You did hit it out of the park with the European honour bit maam…
stupid and rash…but..takes guts..the right wing is sort of like the
australian team in the early part of last decade on the internet…and
they are still reeling in shock and have not attacked this piece in
earnest even after two days…
Rajeev says:
March 16, 2010 at 1:07 am
This article truly reflects dark skinned Indians’ mentality…eternal
slaves
Anil says:
March 16, 2010 at 2:17 am
The Congress is the most indisciplined, chaotic and irreverent party I
know. Yet they revere their party president more than the Shiv Sainiks
do Bal Thackeray or the BJP does its own succession of party chiefs.
The first sentence is unadultyerated lie.. i have never seen any
congress man being anythgin beyond yesman to the nehru family figure..
Somehow this is being presented as virtue which it is not.
BJP is nto family rule Shiv sena could be another matetr altogether
but to ask BJP men to be supine and fawning liek congressmen towards
their leader is negating the intra party democracy of BJP. Everyone is
free to express hsi/per opninon noone need fawn like congressmen do to
the later of 10 janpath.
Rajeev says:
March 16, 2010 at 9:53 pm
I get a feeling that Anandan may be dreaming for Congress ticket in
2014..Good going..Why don’t you start licking feet of Sonia like
Barkha did recently.
http://blogs.hindustantimes.com/singly-political/2010/03/12/how-does-she-do-it/
Kill Bill, for men’s and women’s sake
Amid riotous scenes, India’s upper house passed a controversial
legislation to reserve a third of seats in federal and state
legislatures for women. The constitutional amendment “one that changes
the scope of India’s Constitution” is likely to scrape through the
powerful lower house, too. Despite overreaching itself, the government
of the day will probably survive.
In principle, empowering women is the way to go. Yet this triumph is a
zero-sum game. One participant’s gains can come only from another’s
equivalent losses. It seeks to pay Paul by robbing Peter.
This bill is deeply flawed because collateral damages have not been
addressed. Since it will be a zero-sum game, it will have a direct
bearing on representations of minority communities, backward castes
and marginalized women themselves. The Bill is anti-minority, anti-
backwards, and both anti-women and anti-men.
In a largely risk-averse political system, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi
can take the credit for pulling out a Bill that previous governments
“including those run by her own party” had abandoned, and for driving
it past dissenters whom she may in future need.
Imposing a 33 per cent quota seems momentous in a country where female
foetuses are aborted, wives spanked and women are paid less than a
third the male average in unorganized jobs. In reality, the quota can
add to the sort of disequilibrium current legislatures are made of.
Even setting aside the fact that some male MPs will naturally have to
step down for women, the proposed law fundamentally changes the basic
nature of India’s electoral representation.
With a 15-year shelf-life, 33 per cent of the seats will be blocked in
rotation and will be done in a way that a seat shall be reserved once
in three back-to-back elections. The revolving quota is the Bill’s
most serious flaw.
Two-thirds of candidates, men and women, will be unseated every time
and one-thirds will have no chance of being re-elected from the same
seat. This one-third will be left wondering if they will get to retain
their seats, depending on the outcome of the lottery.
On the whole, it will set off largescale churning “every single time”
that will make elections farcical. Electors will vote in, rather than
vote out incompetent representatives. With frequently changing
representatives, what would voters go by in deciding whom to elect?
The role of past performance in deciding a candidate’s fate will be
further lessened, thereby blunting the only weapon the common man has.
Constituencies will cease to matter for candidates. The veterans and
more guile among candidates will resettle themselves, pushing out less
iconic politicians.
Accountability will suffer because a candidate will less likely go to
the same voter every time. The voters’ powers to rate a candidate’s
performance will diminish, paving the way for a greater role of money
in deciding electoral outcomes.
A “sense of belonging” is part and parcel of Indian politics.
Constituencies are nursed by politicians who invest time, efforts and
money into the place they hope to get elected from.
Can we have compelling women leaders if they do not have strong
permanent political bases? The current Bill is paternalistic; it seeks
to make rolling-stone politicians of women, or “one-time players”, to
use women activist Madhu Kishwar’ words.
Several women’s rights organisations have highlighted these fault
lines. NGO Manushi advocates an alternative Bill, requiring political
parties to reserve nominations (tickets) for women, not seats.
Feminist fundamentalists, however, in their zeal, have failed to
appreciate the serious weaknesses hidden in the proposed amendment.
Though it will not exactly result in separate electorates, the women’s
reservation Bill, in spirit, moves towards that direction. But
proponents of the Bill deny such a possibility. Separate electorates,
theoretically, are those where electors and the elected belong to the
same community, sex or caste.
The Constituent Assembly “which served as India’s first Parliament
until it framed the Constitution” had overturned separate electorates
granted by the British government to minorities, especially Muslims
and Sikhs.,
Framers of the Constitution opted to keep the highest elected
institution free from preferential treatment, preferring the “first
past the post system”over proportional representation, save for time-
bound reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to enable
them to overcome disadvantages.
The Constituent Assembly initially included minority safeguards in its
Report on Minority Rights adopted in August 1947 and in the Draft
Constitution’s Part XIV. However, subsequent nationalist arguments
“situated in the immediate past history of Partition” paved the way
for a reversal of minority safeguards.
The principal arguments against it were that such rights were based on
caste and religion, and religion-based separate electorates had been
the immediate trigger for Partition. With the Muslim League and the
Sikh Panthic Party in disarray, Muslim and Sikh acquiescence on
reversing minority safeguards was ultimately secured.
The reversal was done by a close vote in the Constituent Assembly
Advisory Committee meeting, but key Muslim leaders, including Congress
leader Maulana Azad, abstained. (R. Retzlaff points out in “The
Problem of Communal Minorities in the Drafting of the Indian
Constitution” that the Constitution would have included political
safeguards for religious minorities had framing been completed during
the initial timetable fixed for it. Also see Rochana Bajpai’s Minority
Rights in Indian Constitution, Working Paper 30).
If the women’s Bill is passed in its current form, then a clear case
emerges for compensatory minority safeguards to be reactivated, not
separate electorates but reserved seats.
In fact, parties like Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Samajwadi Party and
Muslim organizations have demanded a quota-within-quota in women’s
reservation.
Muslim representation in the federal legislature is dwindling: from 48
in 1985, it is 29 at present. In all 15 Lok Sabha elections, only 14
Muslim women have been elected. Kerala has two Muslim federal
lawmakers, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have 1 each. States such as
Mahrashtra, Gujarat, Haryana and Rajasthan have none..
The women’s reservation Bill is based on the presumption of
homogeneity in the status of women. Homogeneity is a stupid idea when
applied to assess communities horizontally. Not all women, like
Muslims, are equally disadvantaged or privileged.
Since privileged groups are always in a better position to leverage
concessions, the proposed amendment will help privileged women gain at
the expense of less-privileged ones. Though ideally, the highest
elected forum should be able to be free from all reservations, a quota
that specifically addresses maginalised women would have been
pragmatic.
The Congress, at his stage, clearly has not thought of the jigsaw
puzzle that awaits it. It is simply basking in the glory of a
political stunt. The BJP has eyes set on inroads through upper-caste
women. The Left’s euphoria matches Abdullah’s in this Urdu
proverb: begaani shaadi me Abdullah diwana (Abdullah is rejoicing at
an uninvited wedding).
(10 votes, average: 2.7 out of 5)
Posted by Zia Haq on Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 8:04 pm
Filed under India · Tagged collateral damages, Congress chief Sonia
Gandhi, elections, India’s Constitution, legislation, Madhu Kishwar,
Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes
36 Responses to “Kill Bill, for men’s and women’s sake”
Gopi Thomas says:
March 14, 2010 at 9:48 pm
Churning, short terms etc are good; and an increased representation
for women is even better. Democracy works through elected
representatives voting on changes and issues. I do hope Lok Sabha
votes for this; and if they do, I hope people like Zia will shut up.
These are the same people who want reservation for this group of
people and that group of people; what is wrong with having seats
reserved for women?
Panchayaths, municipality, and Corporation elections (and mayoral
slots) in Kerala have been reserved for women in the last 15 years,
and it ahs produced real grass roots level progress. A bigger
representation by women in Parliamenta nd aswemblies will only do
good.
Vijay Bhatia Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 2:53 am
Gopi, you are arguing in favor of increased representation of women in
Parliament and Assemblies. That of course is very much desirable. But
this bill, in its current form is a sure prescription of political
chaos.
What this bill means is that no male leader can represent same
constituency more than twice! And this will do no long term good for
women politicians either. Because, before they can gain ground and
experience, they will have to move on, since in next election cycle
the seat won’t be reserved!
Here is a very Rational take on this important issue (feel free to
comment):-
http://rationalopinion.blogspot.com/2010/03/no-good-womens-reservation-bill.html
[Reply]
Vijay Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 8:09 am
No one is arguing against a bigger representation by omen in
Parliament and assemblies will be good. The debate is about how to
achieve it.
The bill in its current form is sure recipe for political chaos.
Here is another rational opinion on this important issue:-
http://rationalopinion.blogspot.com/2010/03/no-good-womens-reservation-bill.html
Bell Bajao Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 8:17 pm
“Panchayaths, municipality, and Corporation elections (and mayoral
slots) in Kerala have been reserved for women in the last 15 years,
and it ahs produced real grass roots level progress. A bigger
representation by women in Parliamenta nd aswemblies will only do
good.”
Indeed! We’ve seen this happen in other parts of the company as well.
Reservation in panchayat has actually empowered women in villages and
has helped a lot in their upliftment.
VARUN SAXENA says:
March 15, 2010 at 1:53 am
Mr.Zia, the bill has certain Issues and to a certain the bill proposed
by Madhu Kishwar is in someways better.
But what I cannot understand is this. You said “The Bill is anti-
minority, anti-backward”. Can you pls explain How ?
How can women reservation bill be Anti Muslim ? How come just about
everything becomes Anti Muslim ?
I hope this bill passes with some modifications and not the
modifications which Mulayam and Laloo are suggesting but the ones
suggested by Learned People.
The only reason Mulayam and Laloo are against this Bill is that most
of the MPs’ of these 2 parties are big goons and only through these
goondaism of these goons alongwith folling Muslims and Lower Castes by
pitting them against Upper Castes do they win elections.
Now it can be safely said that more than 95% goons in INDIA would be
men. Henceforth with Women having 33% reservations the chances of
these parties winning Elections will be inversely affected
Ashish says:
March 15, 2010 at 2:21 am
I agree that while the objective is laudable, the bill as it stands
today is deeply flawed. I am not comfortable with the idea of having
no power over my MP (man or woman) who knows that he/ she will not
need my vote next time.
I liked the arguments put forward by Karan Thapar favouring changes to
the bill in his column earlier today.
Am I against reserving seats for women? No, I am not. But, this bill
in its present form; no, it does not appeal to me. MPs are not IAS
officers that they can serve one constituency (district) for 2 terms
and then move to another one for the next terms.
However, trust Zia to use the Women’s reservation bill to ask for
reservations for Muslims.
Way to go Zia; suck up to Mulayam now. Who knows, he might make you an
MLA/ MP from Delhi.
Vini says:
March 15, 2010 at 2:27 am
The headline of this post should be: Kill Bill, for men’s sake. After
all, all the rhetoric we have heard in recent days about the bill
being a threat to parliamentary democracy, equality… blah, blah,
blah…. including this blogpost… is simply a smokescreen to hide the
truth that no man wants to be caught admitting: That men, don’t want
to share power with women. Ever.
Yes the Bill has flaws, but those flaws can be addressed without
killing the Bill.
What I want to say here first is that I take extreme offense at the
use of the word ‘spanking’ to trivialize a serious issue like domestic
violence. Do you have any idea what domestic violence is? Perhaps not.
That’s why you treat it so flippantly.
As for the rest of the blog, it is all conjecture. You and all the
doomsayers don’t know if this bill will work till it is implemented.
It might just. And forget that old argument that it will be taken over
by elite women. So far it’s been elite men in charge.. so what’s wrong
with elite women having a go?
As for the problems of revolving quota that you bring up as the Bill’s
most serious flaw, I think you can argue the other way too. That is,
MPs from reserved constituencies will work extra hard in the reserved
constituency to ensure that they get a ticket when the seat is not
reserved any more because of the good work they would have hopefully
done.
Ashish Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 6:02 pm
@Vini,
Mr Zia can’t just win, can he ?
For the first time, Zia tried arguing for the majority (men!). And,
still, he finds very few supporters!
Not speaking for Zia here; just speaking for myself.
I support the objectives behind the bill; as a man. I see in India a
huge need to balance the power structure which is so tilted in favour
of men. Also, as others have pointed out in comments, an increased
representation for women is inversely correlated (or so we hope) to
the criminality quotient of our legislatures.
I do not wish this bill to be killed. I do however wish this bill to
be amended to somehow handle the rotation issue. Like I had said,
Karan Thapar made some excellent suggestions. So did the legal cell
head of the Shiv Sena on TV.
Ma’am, most men on this blog are not against the bill; please do not
make the mistake of thinking men oppose the bill. Far from it.
Certainly not because we will lose a chance to be an MP/ MLA… I doubt
any of us commenting here have realistically ever thought of
contesting elections.
All men are not Laloo Yadav/ Sharad Yadav/ Mulayam Yadav.. luckily all
women are not Mayawati, Mamata or Jayalalitha either who promote
women even less than men do.
May I also mention that I have a vested interest? As one with two
daughters, at least one of whom is seriously disinclined to study
(admittedly early days, she is just 6), I love the new career options
this bill opens up for her.
Vijay Bhatia says:
March 15, 2010 at 2:55 am
“I am not comfortable with the idea of having no power over my MP (man
or woman) who knows that he/ she will not need my vote next time.”
Excellent point Ashish!
Here is my take on this important issue, if you like:-
http://rationalopinion.blogspot.com/2010/03/no-good-womens-reservation-bill.html
K says:
March 15, 2010 at 4:09 am
I dont understand what makes the women reservation bad but all those
other reservations (BC,SC,OBC etc.) good ? Both types are aimed at the
‘marginalized’ and both actually lower the quality of politicians we
elect and even more importantly, both a against the constitution which
lets the people decide who should represent them.
Quota has only helped influential sections of SC,BC,OBC. This is not
like a ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ where an unknown, marginalized dalit or
lady can make it to the parliament, no matter how much quota is
introduced.
As Sonia shockingly and sadly commented, people like Lalu will have
greater control over parliament and greater share of black money
because he has seven daughters and the power to field them in
elections.
peshori ahuja says:
March 15, 2010 at 5:41 am
Reservation itself means that the comunity, the religion, the class,
or any groupthat asks or gets reservation is not capable of attaining
the efficiency of the level that is attained by those for whom there
is no reservation.
Not only that but by asking or getting the reservation makes the
reserveds a second class citizens and it makes the clever politicians
more manipolative and powerful.
Vijay says:
March 15, 2010 at 8:14 am
For most parts I agree with Zia’s reasoning. This bill in it’s current
form is a sure recipe for political chaos. Political commitment by
parties is way to go.
Why political parties have to be coerced by laws? Where did the days
go, when parties used to organize “aandolans” for social cause? Why
not even congress want to field more women candidates, unless coerced
by the law?
This is anything but LEADERSHIP.
Here is another rational opinion on this important issue:-
http://rationalopinion.blogspot.com/2010/03/no-good-womens-reservation-bill.html
Joseph James says:
March 15, 2010 at 8:20 am
The writer bases his arguments against the women’s bill on the false
premise that the retention of a constituency by a sitting member is
the be-all and end-all of democracy. In an advanced stage of
democracy, every election will bring in new candidates as it is
happening in the southern states. In fact, a constituency must be
nursed by a party and not by individuals. At any rate, going by the
arguments of bill’s opponents like Zia, the candidates displaced by
the reservation are going to promote women from their families. This
will mean that, certain constituencies which were individual pocket
boroughs earlier will now become family pocket boroughs. Or ingenious
candidates will now start nursing two constituencies instead of one.
In short the electorate, now, stand to receive more attention from the
politicians, which isn’t a bad thing after all. Moreover, rotational
unseating is applicable only to men, not to women. So, performing
women members can continue to represent their constituencies even when
they become unreserved. This will push the female strength in the
parliament beyond the mandatory 33%. The argument that the bill
doesn’t address the grievances of marginalized women doesn’t hold
water either. As of today all women are marginalized. The quota within
quota can come in the second stage. After all this is a mere
beginning. Amendments can be introduced later to make it foolproof. It
must be given time to evolve like the anti-defection law. What’s most
worrying about the anti-bill movement is that it seems to be centred
around the Muslim interests. Even the socialist parties are
purportedly doing it please the Muslim minority. I do not think Islam
is as anti-women and anti-progress as it is usually made out to be.
Dr. P.K. Jha says:
March 15, 2010 at 8:43 am
Reservation in any form is bad, be it caste-based or gender-based or
religion-based. As Karan Thapar says, the whole issue of reservation
is an offense, for it leads to severe discrimination. The proposed
bill for women is no exception.
The women in favor of this bill are virtually projecting themselves as
handicapped. Strangely, they are the ones who also insist on gender
equality.
Every policy of reservation is initially deemed to end after a period
of ten to fifteen years, and this one is no exception. However, we
know from our experience that this kind of promise is basically a
hogwash.
There is still time for good sense to prevail. For heaven’s sake,
withdraw the bill.
sks says:
March 15, 2010 at 9:05 am
The fact is that a woman might actually do very well in 5 years to be
re-elected again. Why should anyone presume that they will not get
reelected! It might be the best strategy to break the current fiefdom
without performance!
By the way, which sane person uses the word spanked for abuse!
Shrinivas says:
March 15, 2010 at 9:22 am
Some of the objections to the bill are valid, but since for 60 years
the disparity, marginalization and backwardness of women is not
addressed by the the political system, only quota is the solution.
Though this is meant for 15 years, we can imagine this not going away
after that.
The people who suggest that let parties reserve % of candidacy to
women is not going to work, as we all know that just to satisfy the %
the parties will give tickets where they don’t stand a chance to win.
Now, about quota within quota, I believe being women, representing
women and fighting for women is a bigger cause than representing a
cast, community or a section of society. So let’s fight for the the
right cause first. These parties who are making hoopla about quota in
quota, did not bother to give tickets neither to women nor minorities
in the same %.
Sid says:
March 15, 2010 at 9:26 am
First of All welcome change from Zia Haq – atleast instead of calling
for Fatwa – he is trying to engage in a debate! However, it is NOT an
intellectual debate because:
1. For Muslims there are many forums & 80% our media is in FOREFRONT
to project their interests & represent their view points.
2. For OBC & SC, 63 years have gone by, except for their leaders
becoming Zillionaires, NO REAL improvements have been seen in their
lives. Many CMs ruled for long time (Laloo, Karunanadhi, Mulayam,
Mayawathi etc). Same is true of Muslims (all Bollywood big guns are
Muslims – do they donate any charity to good Muslim organizations?)
Money also comes from Gulf employed Muslims.
3. My wife should be writing this – but she is BUSY listening to
Bollywood songs, so SPIRITED men like me have to take up the cause of
WOMEN!
4. Most important – Laloo has commented – women’s bill OVER his dead
body – such GOLDEN oppertunity may NEVER again come in our life times,
so why NOT KILL TWO wonderful birds with one STONE. Don’t even THINK –
JUST go for the KILL by voting BLINDLY for women’s bill!
n s parameswaran says:
March 15, 2010 at 9:54 am
The people who call themselves secular, liberal and progressive are
the people who ask for communal reservation for Muslims under the garb
of ‘Monorities’. . When they practice ‘Communalism’ it is called
‘Progressive Politics’, and when Hindus object to it they are labelled
‘Communal’.
If muslims are backward then the reason is they want to be backward.
They never started or took admission in schools and colleges and
instead started “madarassa’, learnt Quaran by rote. Now how can they
get jobs which such ‘UN”Qualifications. Then they blackmail the
majority with cries of injustice and opression. Spineless parties like
Congress, Left and Opportunistic and unprincipled parties like RJD,
SP, DMK, AIADMK, JD(Secular), Left and the whole bandwagon of seculars
have fallen for this blackmail and ruined India.
MUSLIMS SHOULD NEVER EVER BE GIVEN RESERVATION UNDER ANY
CIRCUMSTANCES.
Tanuj says:
March 15, 2010 at 12:07 pm
The britishers used seperate electorate to divide & rule. By giving
reservation based on religion we would be doing the same. Who stops a
party to give a ticket to a muslim lady from one of the reserved
seats?
I think it is a landmark bill and should be supported by all.
Gurmeet says:
March 15, 2010 at 1:15 pm
I think this bill will prove to be a boon for all women, but
especially for Muslim women. Representation of Muslim women has so far
been very weak. When one-third of the seats are reserved for women, a
substantial number of muslim majority constituency will have to elect
a woman. There is an excellent chance that those constituencies shall
be represented by Muslim women. It is also likely that these women
will not be the burka or naquab clad women, who are oppressed by the
fundamentalists in the Muslim society, but would be more socially
progressive and liberated from the dogmas. This is likely because the
arduous task of reaching and engaging with the electorate will be so
much easier for the progressive Muslim women. These women will serve
as the role model of rest of the young women in Muslim society, which
will ultimately be a good thing both for the Muslims and therefore for
India.
Vini says:
March 15, 2010 at 2:57 pm
The headline of this post should be: Kill Bill, for men’s sake. After
all, all the rhetoric we have heard in recent days about the bill
being a threat to parliamentary democracy, equality… blah, blah,
blah…. including this blogpost… is simply a smokescreen to hide the
truth that no man wants to be caught admitting: That men, don’t want
to share power with women.
Yes the Bill has flaws, but those flaws can be addressed without
killing the Bill.
What I want to say here is that I take extreme offense at the use of
the word ‘spanking’ to trivialize a serious issue like domestic
violence. Do you have any idea what domestic violence is? Perhaps not.
That’s why you treat it so flippantly.
As for the rest of the blog, it is all conjecture. You and all the
doomsayers don’t know if this bill will work till it is implemented.
It might just. And forget that old argument that it will be taken over
by elite women. So far it’s been elite men in charge.. so what’s wrong
with elite women having a go?
As for the problems of revolving quota that you bring up as the Bill’s
most serious flaw, I think you can argue the other way too. That is,
MPs from reserved constituencies will work extra hard in the reserved
constituency to ensure that they get a ticket when the seat is not
reserved any more because of the good work they would have hopefully
done.
Ziauddin Shafi says:
March 15, 2010 at 6:59 pm
The simple fact is that, if you want to prevent a civil war in our
country, you will have to simply amend it and incorporate all the
demands that are being raised here. No, this is not a threat – nobody
can threaten a civil war damn it, this is just a forecast of shape of
things to come. Maoists on the rampage, Yadavs fully agitated, Muslims
further discriminated against and lesser represented in the power
share, Dalits more oppressed than before – and the high caste hindus
more getting more power in the process. This is a sure formula of
inciting a civil war – thank you congress, bjp and cpim – you are
about to do something which china, usa, europe & pakistan would have
loved to do – have a great civil war in india so that it receds back
to the middle ages – then it would be easier for the buccanneers of
the khyber to get in and set up shop. India had always suffered due to
the high caste hindus throughout its history – and alas would continue
to do so because of them.
S Singh Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
Ziauddin
Nice “hope”!
Believe me, your hope will not happen. India is beyond that.
Skirmishes will be there, appeasing politicians will continue to
appease, country will progress at a rate less than what it could have.
A growing India uplifts all; the huge spending govt does on
disadvantaged will only grow.
If 10% of so called high caste Hindus control the whole India, one
should congratulate them on their skills.
Have you tabulated the “classification” of the top 100 richest
Indians ? Do you know how many Brahmins are in the richest 100? It is
4.
sanjeev says:
March 15, 2010 at 7:06 pm
@ Zia
i could guess that Zia will ultimately turn to his muslim
reservation.
You need a serious therapy of “reverse brainwashing”
I f these skull caps and three quarter pyajama’s got reservation then
this will be step towards another Pakistan in the making. Remember the
process started this way in 1909…Morley Minto Reforms
SKS Mumbai says:
March 15, 2010 at 9:31 pm
‘The Bill is anti-minority, anti-backwards, and both anti-women and
anti-men’
If we exclude the women and men, it would read like a pre-partition
Muslim League’s pamphlet.
‘Framers of the Constitution — —- —– save for time-bound reservation
for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to enable them to overcome
disadvantages.’
Except for the rotation part (clearly a problem), how is current bill
different from above?
‘The principal arguments against it were that such rights were based
on caste and religion and religion-based separate electorates had been
the immediate trigger for Partition’
Just immediate trigger? Or the whole basis?
Zia sahab, are you suggesting that proportional representation was the
way to go? We thought that all those wanted proportional (actually
more than proportinal with a veto as well) representation crossed over
in 1947.
‘With the Muslim League and the Sikh Panthic Party in disarray, Muslim
and Sikh acquiescence on reversing minority safeguards was ultimately
secured’
Indeed, after Mr Jinnah and Muslim League left India in 1947, Muslims
of India had nobody to represent them, exactly as Mr Jinnah had
insisted all along. Our Hindu Communal Leaders foolishly questioned Mr
Jinnah’s premise. (For Mr Jinnah and ML, Hindu communalism was
represented by Gandhi, Nehru and congress, rarely did they talk of
Hindu Mahasabha)
‘In fact, parties like Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Samajwadi Party and
Muslim organizations have demanded a quota-within-quota in the women’s
reservation’
Yup, the ‘Strongest Argument’ against the bill.
Mr Zia’s Final Conclusions:
Congress acted dumb, Left dumber.
The Bill is a victory for Hindutva driven Bramhin-Bania combine!!
Do we need any other reason to oppose the Bill?
Rajeev says:
March 16, 2010 at 1:17 am
The best thing will be to merge India with pakistan and name is
Greater pakistan. Gives muslims like Zia 100% reservation with right
to kill or convert non-muslims especially hindus.
Anil says:
March 16, 2010 at 1:45 am
One participant’s gains can come only from another’s equivalent
losses. It seeks to pay Paul by robbing Peter
Do you have same sentiments in matters of reservation for muslims..
Hypocricy at its very best
Zia Haq Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
Unfortunately, of late, I haven’t been able to read up on the comments/
invectives that follow because of lack of time.
On your charge of hypocricy: What I said is up here for you to read
again. But Here’s what I didn’t say anywhere: that Muslims should get
separate electorates (something simply out of question) or political
reservation. On the contrary, I said: “Though ideally, the highest
elected forum should be able to be free from all reservations, a quota
that specifically addresses maginalised women would have been
pragmatic.” What does this tell you?
Even so, I am not against political reservation for women per se, but
not in the current form. I would much rather have political parties
give nomination to the extent of 33 per cent. Who or what stops them.
And please understand, I do not advcoate any quota on the basis of
homogeneity. I said so: “Homogeneity is a stupid idea when applied to
assess communities horizontally. Not all women, like Muslims, are
equally disadvantaged or privileged.” Therefore, I will never advocate
quota for all Muslims.
Understand that before I decide to write or take a position, I do
consider all relevant issues before arriving at an informed decision
and not simply think with a Muslim hat on. The Bill, in its current
form, suffers from inherent flaws. Its bearing on representations of
minority is one such flaw, among others. It is a given that Muslim
representation will be severely affected. And therefore it is a
legitimate concern. Moreover, blocking such a huge number of seats for
women in this way — I have argued — legitimises the demand for a quota
within quota for backward women, which will include Muslims, OBCs etc.
Nobody is even talking about Muslim political reservation. it’s not
required, not recommended and not demanded. The demand is for
political representation, not reservation.
Anil says:
March 16, 2010 at 1:48 am
NO muslim reservation in legislation.. we do not want start of another
pakistan movemenet.. this is how it all started in past..
Anil says:
March 16, 2010 at 2:08 am
See the thuggery of parties sekeing quota withitn quota.. these people
will make you belive as if they have bene emporing the women i within
their community caste only the general category women have faced
dicrmination. But fact is noone acroos the party caste creed lines
have bene empowering women. There is a common threat fo discrimantion
against women by their respective male folks.. Who stops these idiots
shouting for quota within quota from giving tickets to more and more
muslim and backward and sc/st and what nto women.
One fo the guy was saying woman; reseervation will dilute sc/st
reservation as if sc/st woman are nto sc/st.
These thuigs who support reservation when it’s conveneint to them are
suddenly parooting reservation pays peter by robbing paul..
Pahle ye akal nahin aai thi
ramesh says:
March 16, 2010 at 10:43 am
The mother of all the resavations is the resv. the muslims are allowed
tobe the resident non indians,
Rajeev Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 9:47 pm
Good one. We have 150 million pakistanis living in India barring
handful.
SKS Mumbai says:
March 17, 2010 at 9:14 pm
@Zia
@Zia
‘I didn’t say anywhere: that Muslims should get separate electorates
(something simply out of question) or political reservation’
What you said was this: Constituent Assembly would have approved
separate electorates (is that same as Minority safeguards?) but for:
1. fresh memory of partition, which made the nationalist arguments;
particularly effective, and/or
2. a weakened Muslim League (I omit Sikh part here); and/or
3. abstention by key Muslim leaders.
Of course, that does not mean that you wanted ’separate electorates’
or ‘political reservation’ for Muslims?
Nor does your following statement mean so:
‘If the women’s Bill is passed in its current form, then a clear case
emerges for compensatory minority safeguards to be reactivated, not
’separate electorates’ but ‘reserved seats’
Am I missing something?
For e.g. the difference between ‘reserved seats’ and ‘political
reservation’?
Or the similarity between
‘compensatory’ and ‘only for marginalised’?
Ashish Reply:
March 18th, 2010 at 10:30 am
@SKS
It has been established before that Zia resorts to generalities when
specifics are called for.. at any rate, he has his own idioms and
syntaxes. Deliberately vague or vaguely deliberate, a compendium of
Zia-isms will be a best-seller.
As for your question: am I missing something? well, yes. You are. You
are missing the point of this blog. The sole function of this blog is
to generate controversy by ill-advised and poorly researched comments
and boost eyeballs.. the visit stats look good on account of Zia,
Vinod Sharma et al.. they are stars.
Rajeev says:
March 18, 2010 at 1:33 am
All the muslims who are asking for reservation on caste basis should
revert back to Hinduism.
The reservation for SC/ST/OBC was introduced to fight casteism in
HINDU society. It was for HINDUS who were at the bottom of their
SOCIETY. There were many who chose to become muslims/xtians to escape
HINDU casteism. Now if they want to come out of caste opression, they
need to revert back to hinduism.
In the word of Shri Kancha Illiah “islam and xtianity are democratic
religion” so there is no chance of casteism being part of muslim/xtian
socities.
Rajeev says:
March 18, 2010 at 9:24 pm
Simple solutions-
1. If you are muslim and want reservation on caste, come back to caste
system in Hinduism and avail the reservation.
2. If you are muslim and want reservation on caste but don’t want to
revert to Hinduism, please pack your bags and go back to pakistan
where you guys have 100% reservation.
Budgeting for minorities
Although historically aware of its disadvantaged sections and their
special needs, India has decisively switched from ‘appeasing’ Muslims
— its largest minority — to budgeting for them.
Two things in recent years have helped institutionalise minority
budgeting. One is the creation of a minority affairs ministry by the
Congress-led UPA government in 2004 and, as a result, yearly budgetary
allocations made to it.Two, a high-level government survey in November
2006 that proved disadvantages faced by Muslims, followed up with
another one that recommended reservations.
Till now, an unproductive Hajj subsidy worth Rs 390 crore — which goes
in bankrolling the pilgrimage through discounted airfare — had been
the flagship largesse.
Even though government-funded religious travel is not unique to
Muslims, the Hajj subsidy has often been singled out as unfair.
The Centre underwrites a part of the travel costs of the annual Hindu
pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet, the abode of the Hindu god
Shiva.
Karnataka’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government proposes
concessional Hindu pilgrimages to the temples of Udupi, Dharmasthala
and Saudatti in the southern Indian state.
In neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, the Congress party-led government
subsidises the cost of travel for Christians visiting Jerusalem in
Israel and Bethlehem in Palestinian Authority. A subsidy is also being
planned, according to media reports, for Manasarovar Yatra in China.
Why should government fund religious jaunts? Either because we are a
welfare state unlike any other or it is a game of votes. Perhaps,
both.
Deploying tax revenues for affordable healthcare, education and
employment may be good economics but in an ancient holy land,
spiritual well being seems to deserve importance too. But competing
populism has definitely crept into it.
Show me an economically underprivileged Hindu who will find fault with
government help to make a dip in the holy Ganges a reality? Or a
Muslim quibbling over a lifetime visit to Mecca, courtesy government
help?
However, there is a growing demand from Muslims themselves for the
Hajj subsidy to be scrapped. While it gives Air India 150,000 assured
passengers every year (that’s the total number of seats on all Indian
carriers criss-crossing the country on any given day), helping it keep
afloat, the grant has been turned into a stick to beat Muslims with.
No Muslim asked for it in the first place.
Muslims are now calling for global and national open bids: whoever
offers the cheapest tickets gets to fly away with 150,000 prize
passengers. Fair enough.
“If the Hajj subsidy is withdrawn, it won’t hurt us. If scholarship
are cut, that would,” Asaduddin Owaisi, Hyderabad MP from the All
India Majlis-eIttehadul Muslimeen party, told the Hindustan Times last
year.
There is a less obvious side to the Hajj subsidy. The subsidy itself
seems responsible for Muslim backwardness, given that it has enabled
governments to use it as a signature grant and avoid more basic
financial interventions.
However, the recognition that minorities can be predisposed to
experiencing disadvantages due to their numerical inferiority itself
has made planning and budgeting for them an integral part of most
developed countries.
Almost all of Europe and the US make special allocations of one type
or the other for their minorities.
Why do Indian Muslims need a helping hand?
The country’s Muslim population is 150 millions, making it the state
with the second-largest Muslim population, after Indonesia. Indian
Muslims experience serious disadvantages, low literacy and high
poverty rates.
Their literacy rates are well below the national average, while
poverty rates are only slightly higher than low-caste Hindus,
according to the November 2006 Sachar Committee report.
Muslims, mostly Sunnis, make up 13.4% of India’s population, yet hold
fewer than 5% of government posts and make up only 4% of
undergraduates in universities. The report also found that, despite
being self-employed at a far higher rate, Muslims trail other groups
in terms of access to credit.
Yet, they can influence elections, using their voting power to extract
concessions from parties who woo them.
Muslims are not uniformly disadvantaged. Those in south and west India
have been historically wealthier. In the north, Muslims were thrust
into abject poverty at once when their wealthier counterparts left for
Pakistan during the 1947 Partition.
Muslims in rural areas are less poor than in urban areas, where their
poverty rate of 38 percent is higher than any other population’s,
including low-caste Hindus.
Although no formal Muslim caste system exists, three groups of Indian
Muslims –ashraf, ajlaf, and arzal — indeed function as such. More
correctly, there is definitely a Muslim class system, if not a caste
system.
The ashrafs, thought to be of Arab ancestry, form the upper class
among Muslims, while the ajlafs are thought to be previously Hindus
who converted to Islam to escape the Hindu caste system. A third
group, the arzals, correlates to the lowest caste among Hindus.
The Sachar Report has provided exhaustive data on socio-economic
conditions of Muslims.
The Sachar report has been controversial, not just for highlighting
Muslim marginalisation but also because of its very mandate. Hindu
nationalists — led by the BJP — criticized the report, tainting it
with an old brush –- that of appeasement.
While it offers clear proof of Muslim marginalisation, there have been
debates about how to combat Muslim unemployment rates. The BJP is
averse to solutions focusing directly on Muslims but would prefer
general poverty alleviation.
All government outlays to pull a community out of backwardness can
look like appeasement, given the zeal for competing interests of
political leaders vying for power.
Has budgeting helped?
India’s 2010-11 budget has given 50% higher allocation to the minority
affairs ministry — up from Rs 1,740 crore to Rs 2,600 crore.
Cash flow to minorities — from bank loans to scholarships — peaked
during 2008-09, according to government data, as Muslims appeared to
be slowly overcoming a strong bias of banks in lending.
Public sector banks, which would turn down Muslim loan applicants
because they were considered “credit risk groups”, have disbursed a
staggering Rs 82,864 crore in loans to minorities during 2008-09.
Since the Reserve Bank has now turned its focus to 121 backward
minority districts with high Muslim population, as identified by the
minority affairs ministry, Muslims got a chunky pie of the credit
share.
Banks now have to compulsorily service Muslims in backward areas after
the Reserve Bank added minorities to its list of other priority
lending sectors, like agriculture and small-scale businesses in July
2007.
“We will be able to see the results shortly if not immediately,”
Planning Commission member Syeda Saiyidain Hameed, who heads the
minority sector, says.
Cash constraints are now easing, with banks achieving lending targets
set for minorities. In 2008-09, the Reserve Bank’s target was that 13%
of loans under priority sector lending should go to minorities and
banks were able to lend 12.4%. This was better than 2007-08, when the
target was 10.6% and actual sanctions 9.6%. Priority sector lending
accounts for 40 per cent of total loans, according to the federal
Reserve Bank of India norms.
Banks also opened 524 branches in minority concentration districts in
2009 and nearly 6-lakh minority students got scholarships. In 2008,
523 branches were set up.
The UPA government has earmarked a whopping Rs 7,000 crore for
minority welfare under the 11th Five Year Plan that concludes in 2012.
The government now plans to install national-level independent
monitors to track back how Rs 3,780 are being spent for minority
welfare under the “flagship multi-sectoral development programme”, in
which lawmakers will have a say for the first time.
The multi-sectoral programme, which helps set up anything from a
school to a water pump, applies to 90 districts countrywide where
minorities make up more than 25 per cent of the population and lag
behind significantly on crucial socio-economic parameters.
The government’s approach is such that creation of assets in these
districts should also benefit the majority communities as well. UP,
Assam and Bihar have the largest number of minority districts, with
21, 12 and 6 districts respectively.
These districts were selected on the basis of 10 indicators, ranging
from literacy to the number of inoculated children.
The government hopes evaluating schemes with a fine-toothed comb and
involving area MPs, an idea of minority affairs minister Salman
Khurshid, are moves that would customise the multi-sectoral scheme.
The government feels a quick appraisal is important to ensure rapid
implementation of schemes. “These national-level independent monitors
will report back two things: are schemes being implemented in the
right way and right place, according to Khrushid.
The scheme, in its second stage now, is also called being called a top-
up phase because money from the minority affairs will be now poured
into schemes of other ministries so that minorities benefit.
The Planning Commission is also evaluating massive spending on
minority welfare as it prepares for mid-term appraisal of the 11th
Five-Year Plan.
Planning Commission member Hameed is set to personally travel to five
regions for first-hand feedback from beneficiaries.
Lessons from Congressional Black Caucus
Some historic measures for minority welfare, including an exclusive
ministry, helped the Congress sail through the last general elections
for a second term in power.
However, Muslim lawmakers, whose numbers are dwindling over time, have
seldom used parliamentary mechanisms creatively to ensure Muslims get
a fair deal. A problem with Muslim leadership is that political
leadership has often overlapped with religious leadership.
Divided along sharp party lines, India’s Muslim lawmakers seldom get a
chance to work in unison. However, they could take a leaf out of the
Congressional Black Caucus.
The Caucus helped highlight the plight of US minorities with a two-
step process: by the congressional budget process called the Humphrey-
Hawkins debate and by moving alternate budget resolutions.
The struggle of minorities in the US helped them integrate into
society and as their clout grew, Congress became more responsive to
their needs. Geographical concentrations of some minorities in the US
have led to their greater representation, though it is far behind
their share of the population.
In the 2001-2003 Congress, for instance, African-Americans comprised
12 percent of the population, but just 8.3% of the House members;
Hispanics made up 13 % of the population and just 4.4 % of the House;
and women represented 51 % of the population but just 13.6% of the
House, and 13% of the Senate.
America’s annual budget project to thrash out budgetary solutions to
address backwardness of minorities is a lesson for both Indian
minority lawmakers and those opposed to minority-specific solutions,
like the BJP.
A beginning has been made but just a fraction achieved. After all,
every change for the better begins with a small minority.
(9 votes, average: 4.11 out of 5)
Posted by Zia Haq on Sunday, February 28, 2010 at 11:09 pm
102 Responses to “Budgeting for minorities”
sanjeev says:
March 1, 2010 at 1:40 am
Mullah Zia
“The Centre underwrites a part of the travel costs of the annual Hindu
pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet, the abode of the Hindu god
Shiva ”
This is less of a pilgrimage and more of india’s strategic and
geopolitical game plan to counter the chinese arguments of Arunachal
being historically part of China. and more imporatantly a tradition
which has been part ofindian civilzation.
Further this is a trekking expedition and not any luxury trip by an
aeroplane.which your ilk makes at taxpayers money.
I hope brainwashed mullahs like you might be aware that govt of India
also promote trekking to high altitude areas…through Indian
Mountaineering Federation (IMF). I myself has been part of some IMF
funded trekking expeditions to himalayas.
So in that way its not any exclusive and out of turn activity.
Further this yatra is open to all Indian citizens cutting across
religious lines…but Haj is not.
So don’t show your ignorance…rather write something about islamophobia
Mitra Reply:
March 1st, 2010 at 11:10 am
Hey Sanjeev,
Whatever excuses and arguments you come up with, it is a fact that
Govt. of India subsidizes a Hindu pilgrimage just as it does for
Mulsims and Christians. Nowhere does the Govt. say they do it for
strategic reasons- and it is a rather absurd argument. So cool down
and try to control your hatred. Aren’t you guys always shouting about
how tolerant Hindus and Hinduism are? There is no way to infer that
from your churlish behavior! Learn to give respect to people and
debate like a civilized educated man- even when you keep making stupid
arguments. Jai Hind!
RE Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 3:30 pm
How can you expect an uncivilized Hindu terrorist to react when
confronted with facts? All I’ve seen on this blog, is people preaching
hatred and violence bypassing all logic and sense. None of their
comments make sense and I repeat NONE. But rhetoric is what helps them
feel superior, else they are cowed down by the uneducated minority so
easily. Let them have the comfort of the rhetoric and shameless
ignorance. Ignorance is bliss ya know?
RE Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
@Pandit sanjeev
“The Centre underwrites a part of the travel costs of the annual Hindu
pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet, the abode of the Hindu god
Shiva ” ~~~> FACT
“This is less of a pilgrimage and more of india’s strategic and
geopolitical game plan to counter the chinese arguments of Arunachal
being historically part of China” ~~~~>FICTION …
“…and more imporatantly a tradition which has been part ofindian
civilzation” ~~~> Is that all you think about your own culture and
religion? Hang your head in shame. I pity you.
“Further this is a trekking expedition and not any luxury trip by an
aeroplane.which your ilk makes at taxpayers money.”
Does that make it a FREE expedition? The Government employs choppers
for your “safety” in the mountains, massive policing arrangements for
the crowd and at times they even arrange for fake shivlings (LMAO)
when you “God” fails to appear Will you please tell me who funds
these costs? IMO It is the taxpayers money and that includes Muslims
of this country. If you are so averse to Muslims, why don’t you shun
government spending? Lets just take an example – India’s third largest
software exporter Wipro is held by a Muslim billionaire. Over a lakh
of people are employed by the company and they pay huge taxes to this
government every year. Why don’t you ask your Hindu brethren to stop
taking up jobs in Wipro and making a living out of it? The tax they
pay is also funded by that very same Muslim -held company. Do you need
more examples? OK have you heard of the companies – Cipla, Wockhardt ,
Himalaya heath Care are only to name a few of them. What about the
crores of taxes, the “Khans’ of Bollywood pay to this Government and
the revenue that their movies generate directly or indirectly ( though
people employed and associated with the movies) Why would you like to
go on a “holy” trip on Muslim money? Should’nt you shun the Government
subsidy?
“I hope brainwashed mullahs like you might be aware that govt of India
also promote trekking to high altitude areas…through Indian
Mountaineering Federation (IMF). I myself has been part of some IMF
funded trekking expeditions to himalayas. So in that way its not any
exclusive and out f turn activity.”
So ? Doesn’t make sense honey! Try harder next time and come up with
some logic, not brain-dead arguments.
“Further this yatra is open to all Indian citizens cutting across
religious lines…but Haj is not.”
LMAO I pity you now!!
“So don’t show your ignorance…rather write something about
islamophobia”
Internet Hindus have time and again proudly proved their blissful
ignorance. I’m glad you are just another one of them!
raman says:
March 1, 2010 at 8:24 am
So, they need special budget for them , they need special care from
government otherwise they warn that some of them will turn into
terrorist or help them…..what kind of logic is this………
RE Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
No one has argued that they will turn into terrorists if the
government doesn’t provide them with a separate budget. After all what
have all the subsequent governments done over all these years? They
have only pushed the minorities ( read Muslims ) to impoverishment and
under-representation without a voice. Anyone who dares speak for
Muslims is labeled a traitor or at best a supporter of Muslim League.
Anything that anyone even promises for Muslims ( let alone fulfill
them) is termed as Muslim Appeasement. How wonderfully naive.
Muslims have lived in ghettos with discrimination over the years in
this country and we don’t need any one to make nonsense announcements
for Muslims. We have lived with deprivation and can survive in our own
mumbling ways.
RE Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Oh BTW look what poverty has done to people in the rural areas. Will
you dare call the Maoists terrorists and traitors? The argument
against it is that they are our very own civilians although they can
murder people at will,kill innocents, behead people they hate and rape
and maim women. So what? after all they are Hindu civilians, they’ve
got every right to be protected in this country. A Muslim on the other
hand is picked up by the police at random without evidence or even
gunned down in cold blood is quickly labeled a terrorist by everyone.
Why make a distinction?
raman Reply:
March 8th, 2010 at 12:51 am
Did I say I sympathize with Maoists, do not assume things…..
RE Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 3:07 am
No, I never said that. I am only putting across my point.
Ashish Reply:
March 8th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
Dear RE,
the Maoists do not fight on religious grounds; the Indian state’s
“war” against them is also “secular”.
There is tremendous amount of blood-letting going on in the names of
protecting the rights of the economic underprivileged and the rights
of the state. I have not heard any Maoist (or any CPIML member) make
any invocation to religion.
I am not sure why you think the State treats the Maoists as “Hindu
civilians”. Care to explain?
SP Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 3:34 am
Maoists justify terror as a means of pursuing their goal of
overthrowing the Indian state just because they are poor and the
deprived citizens of this country? Common a very sizable population of
this country is below the poverty line. But the Government won’t fight
a war against them because these ‘Adivasis’ happen to be our ‘own’
people although they can engage the armed forces of this
coutry,massacre them at will, abduct ,kill and behead people at will.
A 20 something Muslim guy on the other hand is picked up at random/
even better shot in broad daylight, by the police and branded a
terrorist without even a shred of evidence The News channels hail the
police and the government and all we read is “20 something Islamic
Terrorist has been nabbed who has confessed to all the bombings that
ever happened in the country over the last 10 years”. How lame is
that!
Why is there such a discrimination in the treatment between the two? A
terrorist is a terrorist! Be it a Maoist or a certain Pragya Singh
Devi. Why does the mainstream political party come up in defense of
HINDU terror accused or label any muslim ACCUSED to be a terrorist?
The same goes with the Maoists – the Government won’t wage a war
against them just because they happen to be Hindus.
Anyone who challenges the state should be an enemy of the
state .Unfortunately that is not true for the Hindus of this country.
They can get away with mass orchestrated murders and live under state
protection. (‘92 ‘02 anyone?) And so is the case with the Maoists.
They are Hindus and by default saintly and hence cannot be treated as
terrorists.
Ashish Reply:
March 10th, 2010 at 12:46 pm
@SP
I will again quote from my post “there is a tremendous amount of
bloodletting going on in the names of protecting the rights of the
economic underprivileged and the rights of the state.” I think I make
it clear that Maoists are fighting only in the name of protecting the
rights of the underprivileged.
And, what gives you the idea that the Government is not fighting them?
We can differ on whether it is a “war” or not. But the human rights
activists will certainly not agree with you that the government is
going easy on the Maoists. Unless of course you say that the likes of
Arundhati Roy are basically Hindu zealots and speak for the Maoists
only because they are Hindus.
Let me quote from your reply:
“A 20 something Muslim guy on the other hand is picked up at random/
even better shot in broad daylight, by the police and branded a
terrorist without even a shred of evidence The News channels hail the
police and the government and all we read is “20 something Islamic
Terrorist has been nabbed who has confessed to all the bombings that
ever happened in the country over the last 10 years”. How lame is
that!”
You know, this seems to be straight from the alleged situation in the
North-East; where the “war” between the state and the ultras have
resulted in several cases of human rights abuses that should be the
concern of any civilized society. The state of Manipur is a case in
point. May I however point out that the affected populace is not
Muslim in Manipur.
The Indian state is not perfect; far from it. Nor is the Indian
society. But, it is a worthwhile experiment is creating a multi-hued
culture. Thanks to our founding fathers and thanks to the economic
progress unleashed in the last 20 years, the benefits of modern living
are reaching many. If you argue that Muslims face systematic and
systemic discrimination, then you must be prepared to look within and
ask why is it that no other religion in India, including the Sikhs
(even after 1984) have a problem sharing space and prospering in this
country.
Looking at everything through the religious prism makes for noisy
debates but, makes you hostage to “benefactors” like Mamata Banerjee
and Laloo Yadav.
Mitra says:
March 1, 2010 at 11:05 am
Very interesting and informative discussion! Hope you keep monitoring
how well the minority welfare schemes are progressing- this is really
important. It is good we have a decent, honest man Salman Khursheed as
the Minister- politicians like him are relatively rare in India.
sanjeev Reply:
March 1st, 2010 at 5:43 pm
@ Mitra
I can expect such sort of logic from naxal sympathisers like you….
Hope you forgot your bengali ilk got kicked by these so called
discriminated lots on 16 july 1946 (direct action day ).
Wait for some more decades another Pakistan will be demanded from your
home state. The demand will arise from your so called secular and left
ruled state.
Or else i can imagine you have admitted to dhimmi status or else burqa
clad.
Rajeev Reply:
March 2nd, 2010 at 8:05 am
This guy is muslim with hindu last name..just like Bhowmik (saba naqvi
bhaowmik).
sanjeev Reply:
March 2nd, 2010 at 1:54 pm
@ Rajeev
I M sure she is a girl and so brainwashed by so called leftist of
Students Federation of India (SFI).
She haven’t been able to come out of the vote bank politics of naxal
sypmathizers of JNU.
Mitra Reply:
March 4th, 2010 at 5:20 pm
I am Hindu and I am not a woman. I won’t give you my first name as I
teach in an university and I have a website- I am afraid Hindu
nationalist vandals will try to bother me. I am not a Naxal
sympathizer and thats not what we are discussing. The Naxals are left-
wing extremists and you guys are right-wing extremists- every
patriotic Indian should condemn both equally. The day you guys will
learn to make an actual argument instead of spewing vile hatred and
prejudice, I will be happy to have a discussion.
sanjeev Reply:
March 4th, 2010 at 5:36 pm
@ Mitra
It is you who started labelling someone as sangh parivar or bajrang
bal member
Its welcome that you want positive debate..
Btw other people like me also work for govt organizations.
Nobody has time to bother except those with whom you empathise…hope
you remember the recent karnataka episode over Taslima nasreen article
episode. who resorted to rioting ?
RE Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
@Sanjeev pandit.
1. I hope you are not a disgruntled shudra who is not even allowed to
enter the temple by The Brahmins or you did not marry in the same
gotra and were hounded by your own goons. You sound very irked and
disgruntled so can I assume that someone in your family decided to
kill a female child or maybe your wife does not want to put on a
ghoonghat? Is there any reason why you are so pissed off with life?
2. Regarding rioting in Karnataka :
Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8544657.stm
“Police say Hindu groups joined the unrest in both places after
Muslims took to the streets. About 50 arrests have been made in
connection with the violence. ”
Muslims taking to streets to voice protest against something does not
mean they were rioting but as usual, people don’t have the guts to
accept the truth in this country. I am sure they did not pull you out
of you house and mob you down like the goons at RSS do under state
protection. Every citizen has the legitimate right to voice his/her
opinion but the fact of the matter is Hindu cowards started a riot.
Television images on “Times Now” , a clearly pro- hindutva ,pro- BJP ,
pro- right wing channel showed images of people with ORANGE flags with
“OM” inscribed on them. Now I can bet they were not Muslims. Secondly,
the Ram Sene called a bandh the very next day! WOW how did the entire
protest affect those cowards? Karnataka is BJP ruled so people have
the liberty to start a riot and get away with it just like Gujarat.
The Muslims are the ones who will be labeled terrorists any which way.
At least have the guts to accept the truth in public MORON
perpetual.dilettante says:
March 1, 2010 at 2:29 pm
Since you cite the government subsidies for the pilgrimage to Kailash
Mansorovar as a point to counter the annual Haj subsidies, numbers
around what the total outlay for the project is would have been
interesting for a fair comparison. Do not quite agree with your point
that the Muslims had not asked for the subsidies. The fact remains
that there were demands from certain quarters from within the
community for this step. Obviously the point whether or not they
represented the true sentiments of the community can well be debated.
However, your point around the government not subsidizing religious
pursuits is well taken. It needs to be applied irrespective of
religious affiliations of the vote banks, pressure groups, etc.
However, there is a bigger question here around the value of
affirmative action, specially in context of religious segments. That
is a point worth debating as well
Gopi Thomas says:
March 1, 2010 at 2:35 pm
If money would have solved Muslim “backwardness” , countries like KSA
would be producing qualified engineers and journalists and teachers
leave alone world class scientists. They recently opened a “world
class” university; minister E Ahmed represented India in the
inauguration ceremony – 80% of the student body was foreign students
whom they had ‘bought” with lucrative scholarships. A student from
Minnesota stated that he will have to spend $20,000 in a state Univ in
Minnesota; now he gets paid $20,000 affter all the expenses; he did
not know how long he could last there in KSA because the public
outside the walls of the Univ do not want a Univ there.
Why is Pakistan so backward with madrasites killing left and right,
with nosystem to speak of other than a rot corrupt military system,
if, as the author says “elite’ Muslims migrated to Pakistan.
Hyderabad (Telengana) was under Nizam rule for yearsa nd years. Why
are Muslims educationally so backward there?
Why iin Kerala they are still backward educationally (although they
are significantly better compared to all India Muslim average)? And a
smaller minority there, Christians, excelled in education,
industriousness, contributions..
The author talks about bank loans. Muslims are promoting “Islamic
Bank” as the right way of banking. I have seen Muslim students being
advised on some of their “exclusive” sites not to seek student loan,
and to take lower level job rather than pursuing higher studies with
student loans.
We have to bring all up to participate in a vibrant, growing India.
Money, if at all, is only a very small part of the equation. It is
attitudes, entrenched belief systems, uncompromising stickiness to a
set of rules formed in 650 when conditions were different, learning
Arabic (instead of English) etc etc. If these do not change, whatever
money is allocated, we will still have this dialogue of backwardness
fifty years from now, 100 years from now.
RE Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 4:17 pm
Your arguments are best very naive and you obviously know that. If you
still need an explanation, I’m ready to debate
sanjeev says:
March 1, 2010 at 5:55 pm
@ Gopi
Govt should resort to following Measures for development of muslims
1. Sharia laws
2. Islamic banking
3 Education only through madrasa: this should include courses on
geography and hisory of saudi arabia, science based on quran, arabic
language
4. Compulsory pilgrimage for all muslims to Haj
5. Freedom to kill as many as infidels as they wish so that they can
achieve ultimate aim: jannat with hooris
I think then they can have proper development of their personality as
well as material progress
Ziauddin Shafi says:
March 1, 2010 at 6:57 pm
Muslims of Hyderabad were never backward during the Nizam’s rule.
Since the last 30 years or so, the criminal nexus between MIM and the
Congress, who treat the Hyderabadi Muslims as their vote bank, have
deliberately worked against the education of Muslims in the city. So
much so that government schols functioning there do not have teaching
staff, water, electricity and toilets – forcing poor students to drop
out. Government-funded Urdu medium schools are in the worst possible
conditions – unbelievable is the word. Despite all these Muslim
traitors and “secular congress” traitors, the Muslims of Hyderabad and
Telangana are struggling to find their feet. The northern Indian
Muslims are comparatively better off – they have leaders like Salman
Khursheed and Sayyida who are sincere, honest and hard-working. Hope
they also come down to Telangana & Hderabad to look into the affairs
here.
Shoeb K Reply:
March 1st, 2010 at 11:19 pm
@Shafi
Are you implying that there was a “conspiracy” to deprive Hyderabad
Muslim students of education? Are you saying that Muslims in Hyd were
highly educated during Nizam rule and 30 years after independence, and
then due to misadministration or stupidity or conspiracy of leaders,
the education started going down???
How do other people (including the so called most backward DAaits
among us) get educated? Sam Pitroda, the telecom architect of India,
came from a Dalit background. Modern india has lakhs of stories like
that.
You may be right that some Muslim eladers and congress leaders
coluded. At the end of the day, our community has to look into
ourselves — are we doing right? Are we giving emphasis to education,
like other communities are giving? Or, are we satisfied iwth menial
trading jobs? Do w e want our daughters get educated and working and
standing on their feet? Do we give emphasis to readinga nd writing (at
a basic level as well as at a literary level)? Arent most of our
people victims of mullahs and maulavis, this way or no way? Do many of
us really interact with otehr religious members in an intimate way?
Unless we sort out these, we will always be blaming some others and
not doing the right thing.
Ashish Reply:
March 2nd, 2010 at 3:50 pm
@ Shoeb K,
till today I did not know that Sam Pitroda came from a Dalit family; I
suspect very few others on this blog did either.
The great thing is, we don’t know and we don’t care. It is enough for
us that Sam Pitroda is what he is, a visionary with the gumption to
get things done.
Is Azim Premji a Muslim? Well, yes. Is he an example? Of course. Is he
an example only for Muslims?
” Modern india has lakhs of stories like that.” .. yes, and thank you
for making this simple statement.
Let’s worry about evolving a “post-religious” identity. We must.
The questions you raise are not limited to Muslims; I think the
Muslims as a community can benefit by making common cause with the
poor Hindus/ Jains/ Christians and demand that the government deliver
on education, women’s rights and childrens’ health and nutrition. Of
course, the community must play its part in ensuring that religion is
quoted as an argument to stymie those initiatives.
@Ziauddin Shafi I think you are not informed about the sorry state of
affairs in the northern part of the country. The lack of leadership
that you talk about, is even more pronounced in North and it shows up
in all the indices.
UI Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 4:37 pm
@Shoeb K Reply:
“Are you implying that there was a “conspiracy” to deprive Hyderabad
Muslim students of education? ”
Why only in Hyderabad, look at the vitriol everyone spewed when there
was a proposal to set up a branch of AMU in Murshidabad, West Bengal.
AMU may not be an Oxford but education surely will help the most
deprived and the backward. Do you think it was fair to unnecessarily
criticize the setting up of a branch of AMU? You know what, you need
to get out of you comfort zone to see what people have done to Muslims
in this country. I am an engineer and I’ve seen the nasty face of
educators at every stage of my school/university. I was always singled
out because I was the only Muslim in the class who topped exams year
after year. It is exactly things like these that make people cringe
and say that they do. Accept the fact that there has been a targetted
marginalization of Muslim in this country
“How do other people (including the so called most backward DAaits
among us) get educated? Sam Pitroda, the telecom architect of India,
came from a Dalit background. Modern india has lakhs of stories like
that.”
Have you ever heard of something called reservations? When the most un-
deserving candidates are given preferences in places that matter, what
do you expect in this country? Abolish all forms of reservations or
apply them equally for ALL economically backward sections of the
society. Only then you will get a clear idea of what the reality is.
“You may be right that some Muslim eladers and congress leaders
coluded. At the end of the day, our community has to look into
ourselves — are we doing right? Are we giving emphasis to education,
like other communities are giving? Or, are we satisfied iwth menial
trading jobs? Do w e want our daughters get educated and working and
standing on their feet? Do we give emphasis to readinga nd writing (at
a basic level as well as at a literary level)? Arent most of our
people victims of mullahs and maulavis, this way or no way? Do many of
us really interact with otehr religious members in an intimate way?
Unless we sort out these, we will always be blaming some others and
not doing the right thing.”
You must be kidding my dear! You seriously must be kidding me! Talking
about things from the comfort of your home with a laptop in front of
you is something different than the stark poverty and alienation that
Muslims face in this country. Get out of the 5-6 Urban cities for
God’s sake. You cannot expect anyone to get a decent education unless
he is lucky like me or you, when there is abject poverty , when people
can hardly make ends meet if at all. I’ve seen most Muslims living in
ghettos even in so called urban cities where there is hardly a decent
school in the vicinity and you talk about education? Have you ever
wondered why Muslims are discriminated when it comes to getting a
rented house in a Hindu locality?
You talk about the status of women in our society( are you seriously a
Muslim or just using a Muslim name? )
“Do w e want our daughters get educated and working and standing on
their feet?”
Seriously? Any and every educated family that I know of and some very
poor families insist on their daughters going to school to get an
education. Esp when it comes to urban areas, people are more open to
allowing women to work. You seriously must be kidding me or you are
very detached from the society !!
“Arent most of our people victims of mullahs and maulavis, this way or
no way?”
Again you are making sweeping generalizations.
“Do many of us really interact with otehr religious members in an
intimate way?”
What do you mean by an Intimate way? Of course where the majority are
people from other communities, you mingle with them , at school , at
work , in your neighborhood. Living in ghettos does not mean that you
never interact with anyone!
A Banerjee says:
March 1, 2010 at 8:50 pm
The biggest enemy of the muslim community is the muslim himself. There
is an intersting article comparing muslims and jews. Although jews
consist of only 0.02 % of the world’s population, they have won 130
Nobel Prizes. Muslims are 20% of the world’s population, but have won
only 7 Nobels. I think that Muslims must stop this tirade of being
‘minorities’ and start working for themselves.
What has number to do with progress? If that be so the case then how
doyou explain the parsis who are doing so well for themselves?
The trouble with Mr Zia and other ’secular’ people is that they waste
their time and energy (please see that I am not mentioning ‘brains’)
brooding over some conspiracy theory or some ’sachar’ report instead
of using their time productively. This imacts the minds of young and
gullible muslim youth who start thinking that the entire nation is
against them.
Their was a very nice ad campaign by Idea in which Abhishek Bachhan
says that their will be no community, only mobile numbers. That’s the
way it should be…..
UI Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 4:38 pm
BS
Anil Kumar says:
March 1, 2010 at 10:04 pm
All the religious pilgrimage subsisdy given to non-muslim you have
rehashed is the progeny of haz subsidy.> So muichy noise was made that
various state govts hand have bene forced..
No hindu no chrstian wnats thatsubsisdy only muslims are the one who
always need crutch for anything and everything..
They insisst that they will nto join mainstream education but they
must eb given job..
State of those hindus who confine themselves withitn the scriptute
study are not different we don;t see them cribbing..
If you want job start learnign physics chemistry math those Quran and
hadith reading is nto going to give you job..
RE Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 4:39 pm
“No hindu no chrstian wnats thatsubsisdy only muslims are the one who
always need crutch for anything and everything..
They insisst that they will nto join mainstream education but they
must eb given job..”
BS
Raju Kurien says:
March 2, 2010 at 6:51 am
The problem with Muslims is that they do not have a proper perspective
or they refuse to accept the reality. For example, This Javed Naqvi, a
reporter for DAwn, (a Pakistani based newspaper) always writes about
how bad it is for Muslims in india; how the goovernment goes on
destroying Muslims.. This guy is a Pakistani, living in and enjoying
Delhi, and he is always venomous about India– May be it is jealousy………
Muslims acn be a “suppressed moinority” (as they think) or an
aggressive contributor to national progress; they have to make that
choice..Government can go on pouring tax payers’ money for the so-
called upliftment; but the desire for upliftment and work towards
upliftment has to come from muslims themselves,a nd not througha ny
government programs.
sanjeev Reply:
March 2nd, 2010 at 2:04 pm
@ Raju
This so called peace activist Javed Naqv is no less than Taliban. I
don’t know whether he is Indian national ?
Regarding the much admired masiha of muslims Justice Rajendra sachar’s
credentials…let me highlight one of high ideological fact : He is so
called human right and civil rights activists of Arundhati Roy gang.
We can seriously doubt his credentials as a judge of supreme court or
distinguished jurist. I thibk this sachar committee is all a game plan
of congress left combine.
Although i personally support the govt should do efforts to educate
and elevate living standard of all deprived citizens irrespective of
minority or majority.
But why only the special emphasis on muslims ?
Why can’t they start some programme for all poor people of india and
allocate separate budget targets for this group ?
RE Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 4:40 pm
Now comes conspiracy theory LMAO
shiuli says:
March 2, 2010 at 2:47 pm
Budgeting for minorities is a much required factor, coz if the gov’t
does not we have big brain drain like MF Husain, escaping to Qatar,
taking Citizen-ship there. We have violent clashes over Taslima
Nasreen’s outcry; also The Great Khan who has already been awarded
Dato-ship in Malaysia, by calling Pakistan, Our Friendly Neighbour,
may condemn Indian Citizenship one fine day.
RE Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
BS
ramesh says:
March 2, 2010 at 3:36 pm
What is holding back the muslims, is their literalism in
religion ,which is evident in all their aspects.Why arent the Parsees,
christians or sikh held back.Because they have opend their minds.
Muslims consider everyone else as jews only, their born enemy.They
should see the broader sense of the message.
RE Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
Because all the hatred,vile and discrimination is directed towards the
Muslims , not towards the Parsees , Christians and Sikhs
S Singh Reply:
March 8th, 2010 at 11:41 pm
So, there is no animosity to anybody except Muslims.. Could it be that
something is wrong with Muslism?
Why do Muslims have problem everywhere? Be Philippines, thailand, US,
UK, germanty. denmark, Switzerland — why even in the so called Islamic
countries ((OIC)? Oh why!
SP Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 3:36 am
The Problem is that you have become so ignorant that you cannot
comprehend History or Geography or Geo-Politics OR probably you don’t
wish to. At least don’t sound such a moron on the internet.
Ashish Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 12:07 am
@RE
“Because all the hatred,vile and discrimination is directed towards
the Muslims , not towards the Parsees , Christians and Sikhs”
poor souls! Muslims! No one loves them! Boo, hoo, hoo!
Rajeev says:
March 2, 2010 at 10:35 pm
I think instead of budgeting for minority (read MUSLIMS, MUSLIMS and
MUSLIMS), why don’t we send them to their land which we allocated for
them in 1947. The pakistan was meant for muslims of south asia. If you
muslims think, you are not getting fair deal, migrate to the land that
was created for giving muslims fair deal.
Jinnah also demanded same kind of things before partition to safegaurd
the interests of muslims. The then-congress decided not to give in to
Jinnah’s loony demands and agreed for partition. Now after 62 years,
we are being forced to agree to Jinnah’s demand or face terror ending
into another partition of country. How long can this blackmail go on?
Pl. show me a single country in the world where muslim minority has
outperformed other communities…None… Are all these non-muslims country
guilty of this or is the in the muslims gene to stay and ghetto and be
backward? Do you want Sachar to go in all those countries and then
produce a report implying that muslims are denied opportunities.
There is something very wrong with muslim mindset. They are
themseleves to blame for their misery. Why is that Hindus, jews,
chinese are doing so well in USA? Why is that non-muslims do better
than muslims in almost every country?
These muslims have to come out to their eternal victimhood syndrome.
L Mirza Reply:
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:12 am
@Rajeev
Many things you mention are right. For our country to propel, we need
to bring all into the equation. Youa re absolutely right that the
backwardness of msulims can eb squarely attributed to teh community
itself -its religiosu leaders, political leaders etce tc. A
fundamental aspect of Islam as oppsoed to various other “movements” ,
is that the role of the individual or individuality is suppressed;
hence no major innovations, initiatives, pathbreaking inventions,
methosds etc etc.
Government money will do only little. The mindset has to eb changed;
it ahs to come from within; and lot of forces work against that. It is
a real problem; as Zia mentioned in an earlier blog, muslims have to
handle it themselves.. They should know that the world would not wait
for this, and they will be left further behind if they do not acvt.
The sorry situation is that whether we like it or not, we have to
somehow solve this…
RE Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
Why don’t you leave this country instead if you hate the people living
in this country? Or is is that you have no place on this earth to call
a Hindu State? haha India is NOT a Hindu country. If you cannot live
here, go and find a place for yourself
Rajeev says:
March 2, 2010 at 10:39 pm
The Sachar report is not an extensive survey but a SAMPLE survey. We
have all seen how surveys have been proved wrong time and again.
The need of the hour for muslims is to shun excessive religiousity,
waste less time curing non-muslims and concentrate on education
followed by search for jobs. You can not be employed on high position
(IPS, IAS, Army etc.) till you get proper education. Even a police
constable in maharashtra police is graduate.
sanjeev Reply:
March 3rd, 2010 at 6:00 pm
@ Rajeev
I seriously doubt credentials of Rajendra sachar. he is an
ideologically indoctrinated person and not neutral, unbiased
researcher.
Just google his name..he has association with People’s Union for Civil
Liberties (PUCL)
In the recently arrested Kobad ghandy case his organisation has been
mentioned by delhi police among the naxal sympathisers.
I have personally attended many of the debates and discussions
frequented by this gang of naxal sympathisers like Gautam Navlakha,
Achin Vinayak, DSU, etc. their views clealry state that they are
chinese protege and they aim to bring china type revolution in india.
I seriously doubt how can such a person was appointed chairman of such
a committee.
RE Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 4:44 pm
You need some money for education which they have been deprived of
over the years
Shoeb K Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 6:20 pm
RE
So you are saying that somehow government “deprived ” them of
education, and now have to give them money for education??
Do you believe that our people (I assume you are a muslim) give utmost
importance to education like other commun ities? Even Baniya children
grow up reciting “vidya dhan sarv dhanal pradhan”.. What is our
children taught in Madrasi??
RE Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 4:05 am
No one is begging for alms here. It’s only the Hindus who beg for
Money & Jobs and you will keep begging for your lives. Don’t worry the
Government won’t take away your reservations any soon. You can
obviously beg for even more.
If you are going to tell me that ^%$^% like Mulayam Shi% and people
like him demand BS for Muslims, I pity you and your ignorance of the
reality of this country.
Secondly, you must be naive to think that people think in terms of
community when it comes to education. You must be so out of this world
my HINDU brother! (Using a Muslim name does not make you one) The fact
of the matter is, yes people want education for their children and the
fact of the matter is that a majority of the Muslim population in
India is living foot-to-mouth. I have grown up in a poor Muslim
neighborhood and you can bet a very good number of children went to
proper schools. They may not have been the DPS’s of this country but
yes everyone valued education.Economics is the major concern my dear,
not community based ignorance. When you cannot even earn Rs20 a day,
you cannot possibly dream of sending your child to a regular school.
I come from a Naxal affected place so you very well imagine the state
of affairs and to add to that I grew up in a Muslim neighborhood with
a couple of Madarsas. I can tell you, even people who have studied in
these very madarsas completed their education and then took up
respectable and decent government jobs ,quite unlike your Hindu naxal
brothers just 40-50 kms away from my place. A few of us were lucky
ones who grew up in middle class families, who could study in English
medium schools and landed up with jobs with MNCs. Unfortunately most
are not so lucky. You know what, either you have never seen poverty in
and around you so it’s very comfortable to pass sweeping remarks or
you are just another prejudiced and ignorant Hindu on the internet. If
you are the former (n I doubt it ) all I would ask you is to leave the
comfort of your house to visit a Madarsa .If you are the later, I can
only pity you
sanjeev says:
March 3, 2010 at 5:51 pm
@ Rajeev
Here is an interesting article from Tavleen Singh (who i think can’t
be labelled as sangh parivar member as she happens to be a sikh and
married to muslim
http://www.indianexpress.com/storyOld.php?storyId=59288
I hope ignorant persons like mitra and other so called secularists
accept the true reality after going through this article or else they
will label Tavleen as sanghi.
sanjeev
Rajeev says:
March 4, 2010 at 2:45 am
Sanjeev,
Did you compare debate done on NDTV/CNN-IBN on MF Hussain and Taslima
Nasreen? It exposed the hypocrisy of Indian secualrism. I could not
control my laughter listening to arguements from Shabnam hashmi.
I have come to the conclusion that soft terrorist (ideological) from
muslim community are oxygen for all the terror activities in the
world. These are the people who should be arrested and may be
eliminated Isarael style.
RE Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
Yes people like you must be singled out Israeli style
[Reply]
sanjeev says:
March 4, 2010 at 5:43 pm
Here is another article exposing the hypocrisy of the so called
secular gang of india:
Its by Pratap Bhanu Mehta, from centre for policy research, new delhi
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/freedoms-our-defence/586662/
sanjeev says:
March 4, 2010 at 5:51 pm
@ Rajeev
sorry rajeev,
i have given up watching news on these sensationlist channels..i only
watch DD news or r news on FM gold radio.
i know this Indian secularism is a biggest joke in the world
Anything can happen in india in the name of secularism and freedom of
speech for the sake of minority (read muslim )
RE Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Two Losers in this country Pandit Rajeev and Pandit Sanjeev have got
HT Blog as the only place to vent their frustration. Is it something
else?
Ashish says:
March 6, 2010 at 11:24 am
After all these serious comments, I think we all need a comic break..
quoting from an email just received:
A public school teacher was arrested today at John F. Kennedy
International Airport as he attempted to board a flight while in
possession of a ruler, a protractor, a compass, a slide-rule and a
calculator.
At a morning press conference, the Attorney General said he believes
the man is a member of the notorious Al-Gebra movement. He did not
identify the man, who has been charged by the FBI with carrying
weapons of maths instruction.
“Al-Gebra is a problem for us”, the Attorney General said. “They
derive solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on
tangents in search of absolute values. They use secret code names like
‘X’ and ‘Y’ and refer to themselves as ‘unknowns’, but we have
determined that they belong to a common denominator of the axis of
medieval with co-ordinates in every country.
As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, “There are 3 sides to
every triangle”.
When asked to comment on the arrest, President Obama said, “If God had
wanted us to have better weapons of maths instruction, he would have
given us more fingers and toes.’
White House aides told reporters they could not recall a more
intelligent or profound statement by the President. It is believed
that the Nobel Prize for Physics will follow.
Paritosh Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
ha ha ha ha . nice!!!
sanjeev says:
March 6, 2010 at 11:56 am
hilarious !!!
SKS Mumbai says:
March 6, 2010 at 1:44 pm
Why Physics?
They don’t award nobles for Maths or Philosophy? Time they did
Gopi Thomas Reply:
March 6th, 2010 at 5:37 pm
@SKS
And these must be reserved for Muslims because of the historical
sidelining Westerners have done to them..
So far Muslims have not stated theat the nobels Jews received were
undeserving; so you have to give them credit!
Ashish says:
March 6, 2010 at 2:39 pm
when they run out of existing Nobels; one for each year Obama is in
office..
There is probably no rule against multiple Nobel awards for multiple
disciplines in the same year to the same person; while so far such a
rule would have been largely academic, I think with Obama, this rule
will soon be tested.
Literature Nobel is his for the taking .. with all the fiction in his
speeches (even if he has to share the Nobel with his speechwriters)..
Raju Kurien says:
March 6, 2010 at 10:02 pm
Mosab hasan Yousef, an ex Hamas leader, who later became a Mosad spy,
and converted to Christianity, has written a book titled “Son of
Hamas”. Wall Street journal interviewed him on his opinions,
perspectives….His father is also a leader of Hamas..
Do you consider your father as a fanatic? “he is not a fanatic; he is
a very moderate, logical person. What matters is not whether my father
is fanatic or not; he is doing the will of a fanatic God. It does not
mind whether he is a terrorist or a traditional muslim. At the end of
the day a traditional Muslim is doing the will of a fanatic,
fundamentalist, terrorist God. I know this is harsh to say. Most
governments avoid this subject..
“the problem is not in Muslims. the problem is with their God. They
need to be liberated from their God. He is the biggest enemy. It has
been 1400 years they have been lied to.
SKS Mumbai says:
March 7, 2010 at 10:08 am
So ‘Government funded religious travel’ (let’s call it GFRT) isn’t
‘Unique’ but only Haj subsidy has been targeted! So unfair!
Research does help, even if, of ‘directed’ kind, to pick facts, as
might be necessary for the ‘conclusion’ one has chosen to present. But
’secular’ journalism, at least here in India, is easier than that. For
facts aren’t needed nor is their careful selection and for those on
the cutting edge of secular journalism, fact invention is routine.
Certainly, by those standards, Mr Zia is struggling.
To come up with ‘govt funded religious travel’ or GFRT for questioning
the criticism of Haj subsidy, suggests that research was involved.
Instead of limiting himself to any one of either GFRT or subsidy, he
uses both and implied smartly, that only Haj subsidy is criticized,
without ever saying that both are/aren’t the same. But there may be
’small’ differences between the two:
Subsidy of course is subsidy.
GFRT does not seem to be a well defined concept, but Mr Zia must be
referring to the costs involved in provision of various facilities and
services provided by Govt. for the pilgrims. These costs include a
part for the services rendered in India and another for outside India.
For e.g. in case of Kailash Mansarovar, these are free medical
inspection, security, escort cover, insurance cover and communication
links and 4 days acco. provided by Govt of Delhi (at Delhi) etc, most
of these within India. Then there is also a Rs 3250/pilgrim payment
made by Govt to Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) for arranging
boarding and lodging on the Indian side.
Indian side expenses for Haj, include cost of Haj houses, built in a
number of state capitals (including a capital cost for the facility,
often funded by the concerned state govt. There is a dedicated Haj
terminal at Delhi Airport (can’t say for others), again involving a
capital cost. I am not sure if medical tests, security etc is involved
or not. There is also a fully dedicated Haj department maintained by
Air India throughout the year.
For expenses outside India:
In case of Mansarovar, nothing much is known. Possibly, the escort,
security and medical facilities continue to be provided on the chinese
side as well. Interestingly, complaints regarding poor facilities on
Chinese side are brushed aside by MEA, saying Chinese want a revision
in the rates (last set in 1995) for better facilities.
Foreign component of Haj expenses: expenditure on a contingent of
seasonal local staff, supervisors, data entry operators, drivers and
messengers, appointed in SA, a contingent of more than 600 personnel
(incl. about 135 doctors, nurses and paramedics) on short-term
deputation to SA, hospital facilities (about 100 beds) at Makkah,
Madinah, medicines, ambulances, facilitation and coordination centres
at Jeddah, Makkah probably, Madinah also.
What is also interesting to note, is the kind of answers MEA gives for
questions raised in LS or RS:
1. Whenever there is a broad query (broad as in, about ’subsidy’ and
‘other facilities’) the answer, in case of Haj; includes a number for
subsidy and another for expenses, while for Mansarovar, it is only one
figure.
2. When there is a precise question such as: ‘ whether the Union
Government has been extending ’subsidy’ ( no mention of facilities)
for pilgrimage of Indians abroad’, the answer never goes beyond Haj
( e.g. LS Unstarred Question no 3086 http://meaindia.nic.in/parliament/ls/2006/08/23ls07.html)
3. When a specific question was asked : whether Govt
would also consider providing any subsidy on the lines of subsidy
being provided for Haj Pilgrimage, the smart state minister for MEA
repeats the same Rs 3250 story (of course never uses the word subsidy
for this) and concludes with : ‘Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and Haj are
essentially different so far as the number of pilgrims (not enough
devotees? ) , mode of travel and the nature of terrain are involved.
Therefore, there may not be a direct comparison between the two!
http://meaindia.nic.in/parliament/rs/2006/05/11rs27.htm
Thus for some ’strange’ reason, Govt. has consistently failed to apply
the word ‘Subsidy’ in case of Mansarovar costs. This could mean either
a ‘consistent error’ or most likely an accounting conspiracy designed
to discriminate against the poor minority, and worst of all, signed
off by CAG as well!
For the sharper but unfortunately oppressed beings, another ’small’
difference :
- the total amount paid for 2002, 03, 04 for Mansarovar was around Rs.
0.43 Crs (or Rs 43 lacs), while for HaJ 2007 and 2008, it was more
than Rs. 44.00 crs.
-Haj subsidy that Mr Zia shows at Rs 390 crs is over and above that.
Not just that, it seems that subsidy figures for Haj continue to be
presented as ‘provisional’ for last 4-5 years. (i.e. besides the
subsidy).
Mr Zia could have checked a bit of History as well, as he has so
carefully listed out the ‘proposed’ subsidy in Karnataka and the one
announced in AP a ‘couple’ of years ago.
Clearly then, there isn’t ANY VALID reason to target Haj subsidy
alone!! Except the Discriminatory approach, what say Zia?
SKS Mumbai says:
March 7, 2010 at 10:26 am
Can someone tell me whether, there is some difference between the
Kailash Mansarovar, Tibet (for which Govt ‘underwrites’ a part of the
cost, as indicated by Zia) and the Mansarovar, China (for which a
’subsidy’ is under consideration (as Zia says quoting media reports)
Ashish Reply:
March 10th, 2010 at 11:35 am
@SKS,
“Can someone tell me whether, there is some difference between the
Kailash Mansarovar, Tibet (for which Govt ‘underwrites’ a part of the
cost, as indicated by Zia) and the Mansarovar, China (for which a
’subsidy’ is under consideration (as Zia says quoting media reports)”
Only Zia can answer this.. but, on past performance, even if he deigns
to, it is likely to decry your tendency to split hairs..
SKS Mumbai Reply:
March 10th, 2010 at 2:15 pm
@Ashish
You mean just tendency?
That is all we do, apart from full time hate mongering, that is
Ashish Reply:
March 10th, 2010 at 4:03 pm
aha.. but, Mr Zia is a gentleman, not given to invectives
SKS Mumbai says:
March 7, 2010 at 11:34 am
‘Show me an economically underprivileged Hindu who will find fault
with government help to make a dip in the holy Ganges a reality? Or a
Muslim quibbling over a lifetime visit to Mecca, courtesy government
help?’
Now that is a profound question. Perhaps Zia can show us an
‘economically privileged’ Hindu who will find fault with government
help to make a trip to switzerland a reality, or riding a chauffeur
driven BMW (all expense paid) for that matter?
First of all what difference does it make, whether you are talking
about an economically privileged or underprivileged person here,
unless that bounty is meant for reducing that economic gap?
(BTW, I am not sure if Haj susbsidy is only for underpriveleged ones,
and even if, it is, the validity of above question does not change)
Secondly, on what basis does a secular Government decide that my all-
expense trip to swiss alps, is spiritually less important than
someone’s dip in Ganges and more importantly, why should a secular
govt be even required to measure spirituality quotient?
Gopi Thomas Reply:
March 8th, 2010 at 4:51 pm
@SKS
I read somewhere that Haj subsidies were never requested by the
community. I believe it was instituted during the oil shock of early
1970s and institutionalized ever since. This may be one situation
where one smart politician created a permanent vote bank through this
master stroke.
ajay says:
March 8, 2010 at 10:10 am
those politicians who are using vote bank politics must be dealt with
severely.other people who easily get caugt by words of these soundrels
should apply there common sense
S Singh says:
March 8, 2010 at 5:29 pm
There is no dispute that everything possible should be done to uplift
ALL., to make all contributors to a great country and humanity.
Money should be spent wisely; it also should be spent on all who need,
not just Muslims.
Money is only one, and may be even a lesser part, as far as upliftment
of Muslims are concerned. Unlike Hindus, Christians, jews, budhists
etc they do not give much emphasis to education. It simply is not
their “core” belief. When Hindu and kids belonging to other religions
right from early ages are inculcated “Vidya dhan sarva dhanal
pradhan” , the focus of Muslim kids is memorizing Quran. After that,
they get into petty trades.
Unless education is considered as the most important factor and
embraced by the family and community, nothing will happen; complaints
will remain.
SKS Mumbai says:
March 8, 2010 at 8:20 pm
@Gopi
I don’t know, but it can’t be that simple.
SKS Mumbai says:
March 8, 2010 at 8:22 pm
Quote:
‘While it gives Air India 150,000 assured passengers every year
(that’s the total number of seats on all Indian carriers criss-
crossing the country on any given day), helping it KEEP AFLOAT, the
grant has been turned into a stick to beat Muslims with’
This is really all that it takes!
One article by a non-entity, (he/she could be anything, journalist,
activist, third rate self proclaimed intellectual, rabble rouser,
dancer, singer, whatever. Even if he wasn’t, that article alone will
make him a front ranking secular warrior), asserting that Haj subsidy
is really a subsidy for Air India.
Watch that dumb ‘assertion’ turn into a foundational truth for the
Indian secularrazzi, to be repeated so many times that, Hitler would
have them rather Goebbels.
It just does not matter that the fraudulent claim is immediately
thrashed to pieces by precise facts and irrefutable documentary
evidence, the ‘Truth’ once revealed, is the Divine Law for our secular
believers. To question the law is apostasy or a communal propaganda by
Hindutva forces, or as Mr Zia claims, a ’stick’ to beat poor Muslims
with.
For a moment, even if we accept that fraudulent claim, what changes
Mr. Zia? Muslims are still getting a subsidy, aren’t they? Or can you
book a return ticket for Patna-Delhi-Jeddah for Rs.12000 (or Rs 16000
for last year only)? Bulk discounts? Yes why not, we will see later
how much difference your direct chartering can make. Unfortunately
facts happen to be facts and if they are communal so be it (in the
meanwhile Mr Zia could check whether direct charter negotiations were
attempted at some point of time or not and what went wrong). Here are
the facts:
1. It isn’t 150,000 prize customers in the first place, the number for
2010 is more like 120,000 and that after annual increases of the order
of 10,000-15,000. approximately 50% of that is carried by Saudi
airlines.
2. Spare/standby aircrafts are a part of any commercial airlines
fleet, but they are primarily used when regular aircrafts are sent for
scheduled or unscheduled maintenance. Haj means 2-3 months of a steep
peak forcing most of the commercial airlines to opt for short term
leases, called wet lease. Being short-term, they are by definition
much more expensive than longer leases. It does not take an Einstein
to understand that the capital cost of the wet leased aircrafts will
have to be recovered from the passengers who fly during that peak
window. For e.g. If you look at the state electricity boards, their
normal procurement costs (for the pool) will rarely exceed Rs 4-5/
unit. But during peak months, the incremental power is often purchased
at Rs. 10-15/unit range. It matters, but little, that your requirement
for those few months constitutes a huge volume, the annual fixed cost
will still be recovered during those two months. Further, it seems
that many of the aircrafts have to undertake one trip without
passengers (i.e. no backhaul)
3. If AIR INDIA was really saving itself by grabbing the prized Haj
Service, why does it keep on requesting the Govt to allow other
airlines in the space? Isn’t that Monopolistic, Mr Zia ? Last publicly
known attempt was around 2008. http://www.financialexpress.com/news/haj-subsidy-has-air-india-fuming/360651/0
4. BTW Muslims anyway have the option of not going through Haj
committee and a large number of Muslims actually go through private
tour operators (~ 40,000 or so), so why are suffering the tyranny of
AI? Why? Especially when it also gives the so-unfair-stick to Hindutva
Guys ?
But all these are lies, a hindutva propaganda, sanghi hate mongering,
the only Truth and what we need to remember for ever is that, it is
not the ‘Poor Hajis’ but AI who is being subsidized. (soon we will
discover it wasn’t even AI, it were the vile Bramhins-Bania who were
fattening themselevs)
You know what, some 100 years down the line, secular historian will
cite these and assert Haj subsidy was a myth and contrary evidence
will be subjected to secular tools called contextualizing History and
presenting multiple perspectives and another 100 years Haj subsidy
won’t even be a subject.
S Singh Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Muslims will go on itching, bitching, scratching…
The only solution is dictatorship (why do you think almost all Muslim
countries are dictatorships?) or someother way of controlling, because
they respect power; they just cannot operate independently in a
democracy. Time and again it ahs been demonstrated that they cannot
form, suatain a democracy.
India will remain a democracy, meaning the scratching and bitching
will be with us for a long time, unless a region is converted to
another Pakistan and round up ALL Muslims to that region.
Rajeev Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 9:06 pm
No all muslims should be packed up and sent to pakistan. No more
divisions for these ungrateful people.
Rajeev says:
March 8, 2010 at 9:07 pm
Is this RE another avatar of Soft-terrorits Bobby?
sanjeev Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 6:59 pm
@ Rajeev
Tonight i will get to meet biggest anti national..Javed Naqvi (dawn
reporter from delhi )
I want to ask him some tough questions ..
If any knowledge u can share about this nut ?
Rajeev Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
Ask him just one thing. Is he Indian or Pakistani?
If he is Indian and beleives in secularism, why is he with Pakistan on
Kashmir.
Secondly ask him what happened to 20% hindu population of pakistans.
How many guharat massacre took place in Pakistan?
SKS Mumbai says:
March 8, 2010 at 10:12 pm
Aah Rs 390 crs isn’t it.
Last statement by Dr Tharoor pegs it at some Rs 826 crs for 2009!and
still counting all these numbers continue to be Provisional.
Rajeev says:
March 9, 2010 at 1:30 am
I have always wondered if Hajj performed on khairat of infidel nation
(India) is haram or Halal.
I am pretty sure that all the muslims perforing Hajj on donations
doled out by hindu-dominated India are commiting shirk and their hajj
is invalid according to Islam.
I guess most of the muslims are destined for jahannum.
S Singh Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Does not matter, as long as it is free.
It is the government we should blame; and by that voters like us. what
the politicians have done is one more way of institutionalizing
“minority” , this time with huge allocation. Now the bar of spending
is set high, and every following year it will be higher than the prior
year.
Like any government spending schemes, only 10% will go to the purpose;
other 90% will go to the b ureaucracy and contractors!
sanjeev Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 6:50 pm
ha ha ha ha !
where else they can go ?
mulleh ki dor masjid tak
RE Reply:
March 20th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
arey pandit ki langot apni dhoti sambhalo yaar
SKS Mumbai says:
March 9, 2010 at 9:35 pm
@Ashish
In RE, you have one of the original ones. His views on Premjee’s
Billions and stuff are part of the original curriculum. Don’t be
surprised, when you are told:
1. It is Indian Muslims living in the gulf whose earnings drive the
larger part of Indian economy.
2. That Indira Gandhi used her charm to get cheap oil from the house
of Sauds and thus Hindus have been living off Muslim charity for ages.
3.That there is a conspiracy under which muslim intellectuals are
being murdered and this has gone for many decades now.
4. That “Urdu” was eliminated as a language to prevent muslim
advancement.
5. Some more that I came across recently: the conspiracy against
Muslims also include: introducing “gate-keeper” mentality-type service
commission exams and entrance exams for professional courses .That a
scientist was picked to become a Muslim President of India, to
diminish OR extinguish his contribution to science.
That (hold your breath) Shahrukh Khan and Amir Khan have Hindu wives,
because they are rich and famous – and their wives will inherit their
crores.
6. Of course we all know about 9/11, 26/11, Karkare, Batla and types.
Recent violence in Karnataka on Tasleema’s article was also a Hindutva
conspiracy.(Confirmed already as I see)
7. Upper caste Hindus joined hands with British in a conspiracy to
weaken Islamic Kings, freedom fight was mainly a Muslim venture, but
Gandhi and Nehru forged another conspiracy to divide India, so that
Muslims were weakened.
8. His views on how state is dealing with Maoists because they are
Hindus shouldn’t surprise anyone. The difference lies, not in
perceptions but in definitions itself.
Reasoned debate is useless and anyway impossible. Facts must adhere to
’secular’ requirement else they are conspiracies. When even fairly
well ensconced people, from the core of mainstream, do not hesitate in
asserting nonsense like Haj subsidy is for Air India, never miss the
opportunity to impress you with Quranic wisdom, or to offer Quranic
justification while urging Muslims to seek education or to not hate
the jews, we know it isn’t just another problem.
This combined with the values our politicians operate on, will ensure
that we just have to live with it the way it is and just hope it does
not get worse during our or our children’s lifetime.
Gopi Thomas Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 10:45 pm
@SKS
There is more; especially with the advent of ex SIMI turned into PFI/
SDPI as a political party for the disadvantaged, “not just Muslims”:
1)Brahmins are colluding with USA/UK to make India a Jesustan
2)Reservations etc are farce; Brahmins control everything (i am still
looking for those powerful Brahmins!)
3) Muslims did well in the first 30 years of independence; then a
coordinated conspiracy started to marginalize them, to exterminate
their intellectuals
4)The elite Muslims migrated to Pakistan (we know how that has helped
PAkistan) and the real backward Muslims stayed back in India
5) Gandhiji was in collusion with Brahmins to marginalize Muslims
6)Lodhi and Gazni are not Muslims,a nd Somnath temple destruction
should not be attributed to Muslims
7)Babur loved all and did not destroy any places of worship
8)Auragazeb is maligned by Brahmins; he was a great king who cared for
all equally (and Akbar was not a great king)
9)Shivaji looted neighboring kingdoms, and have done more damage to
india than any Moghul or other foreign invaders have done
10)”Mapilla rebellion” in Kerala that happened with Khilafet was an
agrarian revolution and not one where muslims targeted and raped and
killed Hindus and destroyed their palces of worship
11) tipu Sultan was a benevolent king who did not destroy palces of
worship of Hindus and Christians (although history of Kerala clearly
traces his “patayottam” (rapid fight ) for the massive conversions in
Malabar area, including naming Calicut as Islamabad for a while
12)All the communal troubles are started by Brahmins to further
marginalize Muslims
List goes on
Ashish Reply:
March 10th, 2010 at 1:28 am
@SKS @Gopi Thomas
great compilations; SKS, great summary of the core arguments we have
heard on this blog over the last few months.
This blog has run out of ideas.. tired, tiresome and repetitive..
poorly researched and lately even without a central idea.
I can sense the next blog coming.. on why Ranganath Mishra
recommendations must be adopted. Stealing from a well known poster,
first seen in London, “Sachar spotted the cancer, Mishra has the
answer”.
Trying to remember some Muslim Maoist name; honestly can’t. By the
way, SP/RE/UI.. whoever/ whatever, I was in Lalbazar (Calcutta police
HQ) .. staying with a certain doctor employed with the police the day
Charu Mazumdar was brought in. I have heard enough stories of how
Naxals used to be handled by the Calcutta Police; suffice it to say
KPS Gill was really tame in comparison. Honestly speaking, I have
never ever thought about the religion of the Naxals; now that I do,
yes, you are right. All of these guys I heard of were Hindus-excepting
Jangal Santhal – even though I am sure they will be quite amused to be
called such. But, the brutality on both sides (Naxals and the state)
was totally secular. I hope I am not told next that Maoists and the
Government are in cahoots to rid the world of Muslims.
Hindus become Maoists because they just like to kill and are afforded
protection by the state; and Muslims do not- inspite of all the
discrimination, because they follow the religion of peace. Hmmm…..
Talking about KPS Gill; so, his forces killed Muslims and then dressed
them up as Khalistanis, correct? Just checking…
MMM’s (Much Maligned Modi) goons killed Muslims while his police shot
dead 400 Hindus .. inconvenient, but true.
Gopi, great item 4 on your list. Precisely..
SKS Mumbai Reply:
March 10th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
@Ashish
‘Honestly speaking, I have never ever thought about the religion of
the Naxals’
Hmm that shows your communal mindset, Bhai sahab.
Ashish Reply:
March 10th, 2010 at 3:56 pm
@SKS
my communal mindset is well established on this blog.. garv se kaho…
RE Reply:
March 20th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
Arey bhai then stop living off Muslim money and Muslim oil. Dead
simple as that. You hate us like anything and yet want to live off our
money! hahaha great
RE Reply:
March 20th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
You didn’t answer my post cuz you DON”T have an answer . Stop being a
MORON for a change. You sound like a joker
SKS Mumbai says:
March 10, 2010 at 2:13 pm
Sorry guys, I underestimated the power of contextualisation and
perspectivasation and the time it might take to secularise the
history. It is faster.
See what India’s great son, Mr Kuldip Nair has to say about 26/11 and
Karkare:
Quote: More worrisome are the Hindu extremists rearing their head. The
murder of police officer Hemant Karkare, who was probing the Malegaon
blasts, was the doing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad or Bajrang Dal”
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/columnists/16-kuldip-nayar-politics-of-terrorism-hs-01
See how simple it is to present TRUTH. If you want first mover
advantage, it is time to write a Book :
November 26th 2008, Mumbai : Revolt of the oppressed against the vile
Hindu Elite.
You can try a Bharat Ratna for yourself and freedom fighter’s pension
for Mr Kasab
Ashish Reply:
March 10th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
@SKS
for a few pieces of silver.. Mr Nayar can be made to say anything..
He does not find a publisher on this side of the border anymore; don’t
judge him too harshly.. he needs to earn a living somehow.
Gopi Thomas Reply:
March 10th, 2010 at 6:12 pm
@Ashish
I will take Kuldip against Naqvi (who also writes for Dawn) anytime!
SKS Mumbai says:
March 10, 2010 at 4:11 pm
@Ashish
the latest seems to be “garv se kaho hum internet hindu hain”
Rajeev Reply:
March 10th, 2010 at 9:21 pm
Nice one…
Indian says:
March 11, 2010 at 9:59 am
Victim Swami Laxmanananda portrayed as a villain by biased media
Alarming 5 fold increase in Kandhamal Christian population from six
per cent in 1971 to 27 per cent in 2001 ,It began with the arrival of
Christian missionaries in the area who found the remote region very
conducive to conduct prosetylization amongst the poor tribals. The
conversions continued unhindered until the arrival of Swami
Laxmanananda who put strenuous efforts to stop conversions and help
reconversion to Hindouism as well. If not for his effort Kandhamal
would have been another Nagaland in the making where the separatist
movement has wrecked havoc in the state. The aggressive Christian
proselytization in Orissa today pitched previously peaceful tribals
into warring camps of Christians and non-Christian. This has has
vitiated the peace that has existed with various communities for
millenia. Next target is KARNATAKA and they are facing stiff
resistance from Hindus here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SKS Mumbai says:
March 12, 2010 at 10:25 pm
Another TRAIL BLAZING Research!!
Truth behind Sachin’s 200 runs Innings. Must Read
http://altnews.asia/content/2010/03/11/who-controls-fanatic-india-xi-dr-abdul-ruff-colachal-0
Author is one more feather in the crowded cap of our JN University of
Secular Research Sciences.
Ashish Reply:
March 12th, 2010 at 11:42 pm
@SKS,
does the JNU reserve seats for the mentally challenged?
sanjeev Reply:
March 14th, 2010 at 7:54 pm
@ ashish
Infact it has become fashionable to criticize govt and hindus in JNU.
There is whole lot a generation mostly elite bengali who tretas it
fashionable to be politically correct and being anti national.
Unfortunately the leftist brigade have penetarted deeply in JNU
faculty where it has become fashionable to criticise anything indian,
Infact JNU has proved to be a factory of producing traitors in the
garb of liberal thinkers
sanjeev Reply:
March 14th, 2010 at 7:58 pm
@ Ashish
Yes there is reservation for such elements like Rauff in centres of
JNU in schools of languages and international relations. These centres
are for Urdu, Arabic, Persian, west asian studiess, etc.
In fact these centres are reserved exclusively of urdu-persian- arabi
speaking intellectuals.
Hence we used to call these departments as UPA
Gopi Thomas Reply:
March 13th, 2010 at 1:52 pm
It also shows people live in different planets. Also, it is like
Newton’s law. The more appeasement and more give aways, the more
demand for more and cries of discrimination. The person’s last name
sounds like a typical Kerala “house” name; and if he is from there, it
is an even “bigger” problem. Because whatever may be the issue in
other parts of India, they were part of the ruling coalition from
almost day 1; they got their district formed, they are one of the
richest groups etc etc.
SKS Mumbai says:
March 13, 2010 at 6:29 pm
@Ashish
Reservations for mentally challenged?
Interesting question , but for which levele admission or for faculty.
http://blogs.hindustantimes.com/they-call-me-muslim/2010/02/28/budgeting-for-minorities/
My Name Is Bal Thackeray
In the middle of the Shiv Sena’s rampage against Shah Rukh Khan’s My
Name Is Khan in Bombay, came the delightful news that someone had
blackened Pramod Muthalik’s face in Bangalore just as he was preparing
to oppose Valentine’s Day celebrations on Sunday.
I think it is rich that he should describe the act as “undemocratic”
and against freedom of expression – as though such freedoms are the
prerogative of just the bigots of this country and the rest of us have
no democratic rights or freedom to do as we please, at all!
But that also brought to mind the fact that perhaps the Shiv Sena in
Bombay has been the biggest loser this Valentine season. They are the
original party poopers of Valentine’s Day celebrations – there was a
time when Bal Thackeray had become synonymous with the term. I recall
a friend in a raging fight with her husband who would not take her out
to dinner one Valentine’s day one year. When this musty and old-
fashioned gent started a spiel on Indian culture and traditions, my
friend walked off in a huff, muttering, “There is no fun in asking Bal
Thackeray out to dinner, anyway!”
Now the sainiks have no time to mount an attack as of yore on card and
gift companies who might want to make a killing as people celebrate
their love for each other. In any case, they have no reason. The Shiv
Sena is now in the hands of Thackeray’s son Uddhav and he has no love
lost for his divorced sister-in-law, Smita.
According to my information from inside Matoshree, the Sena only ever
took up the anti-Valentine’s Day cause purely for reasons of personal
pique. When they started the campaign sometime in the late Nineties,
Smita was very thick with her father-in-law Bal Thackeray. And
Thackeray Sr was pretty miffed one December when a very well-known
card and gift company –which puts up huge Valentines Day hearts and
arches all across urban India — refused to sponsor his daughter-in-
law’s Mukti Foundation event in the battle against AIDS.
I am told that they had burnt their fingers the previous year – they
were not paid their share of the dues even after several reminders and
appeals and so decided to cut their losses by determining never to
sponsor such an event ever again. None of Thackeray’s cajoling,
pleading or threatening would budge this company.
So when Valentine’s Day came around a few weeks later in February,
Thackeray decided to get even. For years after that the Sena
vandalised all card shops and gift outlets on Valentine’s Day – and
then, one year, it abruptly ceased. It must have been a coincidence
surely that by then the reins had been handed over to Uddhav and his
brother divorced that year. I believe Uddhav saw no point in opposing
something that had caught on like fire, particularly for someone he
considered no longer a member of the Thackeray household; indeed for
someone he felt had no claim to the Thackeray name any longer.
It is also significant that Raj Thackeray actually encouraged the
celebration of love soon after he formed his Maharashtra Navnirman
Sena –he put up posters encouraging youths to learn ball room dancing
(though that stopped after the first year when he received flak for
encouraging westernisation among Indian youth).
Today, the whole world has seen how Shah Rukh Khan has stood up to Bal
Thackeray and refused to pay up – yes, at the end of the day, that is
what, I believe, this was all about. The Sena targeted Shah Rukh only
because he had a film coming up and knew that producers and
distributors would rather buy off the trouble than risk vandalisation
and block crores of rupees riding on their films (that’s what Karan
Johar did after all vis-à-vis Wake Up, Sid and Raj Thackeray). I
salute Shah Rukh for keeping producers and distributors, too, from
giving in to such low blackmailing tactics.
However, very few people know that much before Shah Rukh, one card
company in India had silently determined not to give in to cheap arm-
twisting and risked – even suffered – vandalisation and monetary
losses for years before the Sena got off its back and the celebration
of love began to happen in Bombay in right earnest.
Of course, the individual for whom these obstructionist activities
were undertaken was herself organising highly expensive celebratory
dinners for couples at her various restaurants across the city much
before the vandalisation ceased, quite exposing the duplicity of the
Shiv Sena in its campaigns – a point that has now been underscored by
Raj Thackeray. For the first time I agree with Raj – if the Sena can
allow cultural exchanges between India and Pakistan to go forward
unfettered, then they have an ulterior motive in targeting Shah Rukh
Khan.
And that is not because he is Muslim or supported Pakistani cricket
players. It is because he had a film coming up which had nearly a
billion rupees riding on it. And opportunities like these are not
something to let go of — if Your Name Is Bal Thackeray.
(38 votes, average: 4.53 out of 5)
Posted by Sujata Anandan on Friday, February 12, 2010 at 4:58 pm
Filed under India · Tagged Bal Thackeray, Bangalore, blackened Pramod
Muthalik, Bombay, My Name Is Khan, rampage, Shahrukh Khan, Shiv Sena,
Valentine’s Day celebrations
102 Responses to “My Name Is Bal Thackeray”
Kushal says:
February 13, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Great piece, Sujata. But I’m with Manish – not only the Sena(s) but
ALL political parties have ulterior motives behind their causes.
Kushal Reply:
February 13th, 2010 at 3:19 pm
Btw, do you suppose the Sena will demand a cut of MNIK’s takings since
they have practically driven the whole nation to watch it, just to
take a stand?
Sujata Anandan Reply:
February 15th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Ha, ha, ha! Tht will take some gall!
Anurav Reply:
February 14th, 2010 at 10:55 am
True. ALL political parties have ulterior motives but only a handful
like Sena keeps the city as hostage.
Sujata Anandan Reply:
February 15th, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Agree, Bunny. But like Anurav says all political parties have their
agenda but only ones like the Sena hold the city to ransom
Kushal Reply:
February 16th, 2010 at 6:17 pm
I’m no advocate for the Sena(s), Sujata and Anurav. But I wonder how a
government can allow things to reach such a state that a party CAN
hold a city to ransom.
What about THOSE ulterior motives?
Harry says:
February 13, 2010 at 1:22 pm
Hi sujata, why didn’t u publish my comment.
Sujata Anandan Reply:
February 15th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
Have no control over this , Harry
Anil says:
February 13, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Not much debate when Nilesh Rane a congress MP held Maharashtra to
ransom on the film Zhenda. He even managed to have the film release
postponed. Nice government sponsored promotion for MNIK. 24 hours
prime time coverage. Great going. Keep it up
Mohin says:
February 13, 2010 at 6:33 pm
Bal Thackare is a ordinary Man,is a not God,He is using ordinary
Peoples to him as Powerful
Certainly he fails.If i am CM of Maharastra Surely He will be
furnished.
Anil Kumar says:
February 13, 2010 at 10:13 pm
In the middle of the Shiv Sena’s rampage against Shah Rukh Khan’s My
Name Is Khan in Bombay, came the “delightful” news ..
See this is the problme with socalled educated class of India.. Here
this madam found that news delightful.
As much as I disapprove the nonsense of valentine’s day protest it’s
equally disturbing that people midn you educated one at that find this
vandalism when the recepient is their object of hate find it
delightful..
What is the difference between Muthalik’s army spreading nonsense and
these idiots who blackend his face that too in a panel debate..
Sane people shold be the last oen to endorse these behavious otherwise
you lose the right to complain when army of muthaliksfo the world go
on rampage
Rajeev says:
February 13, 2010 at 10:46 pm
I think it is SRK desperate attempt to equal 3 idiots collections by
any means…what a chichora khan!!!
Rajeev says:
February 14, 2010 at 12:20 am
This controversy started by SRK is just to promote MNIK so that his
movie can beat collections for 3 Idiot.
What a Chichora loser SRK is!!!
What fools we Indians are!!! This mediocre actor has taken this nation
for a ride with Congress in arms and media in his shoes.
By the way our Maharashtra police was so busy gaurding SRK’s movie
that they forgot to gaurd common people of pune (who have stood up to
Thackrey but forgot to stand up to terrorist sympathisers).
Rajeev says:
February 14, 2010 at 12:56 am
Let us see who gained and lost out of this controversy-
1. Congress – Gained political mileage in UP and Bihar by showing sham
sympathy towards north Indians in Mumbai. Gained political mileage
among muslim voters by supporting Shahrukh Khan and his pro-pakistani
stance (Pakistan is a great neighbor to have).
2. Rahul Gandhi – Has become a hero for UP and Bihar voters. By
supporting SRK, he has become hero of communal muslim voters and now
is going to Azamgarh to consolidate those gains.
3. Shiv Sena- After becoming irrelevant after MNS (Raj Thackrey)
hijacked its plank ably supported by congress led chavan govt., they
got an opportunity to get noticed. They miscalcuated big time because
they should know that India has moved on. We have now become immuned
to terrorism and are now more interested in making money. For us
escapist routes like movies are more important than lives of 200
Indians. As long as VIPs are not hurt, we don’t care and so does our
Media.
4. Media- Media got great TRP out of this controversy..loads of ads
and big money. The media under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi has also
started propaganda that rahul is next KING of India (Times of India).
This is the first time in the history of private television that
doordarshan stands ashamed in front of media’s pro-congress bias.
5. Aam Admi urf Ullu ka Pattha – Aam admi lost money on mediocre film
like MNIK, lost valuable time following useless pro-SRK and pro-Rahul
Baba story.
Nikhil says:
February 14, 2010 at 1:49 pm
Sujata,
UNHOLY NEXUS BETN BOLLYWOOD AND NEWS MEDIA IN INDIA:
Please read the article in Indian express today. They say it’s unique
in India where movie producers and stars own or have stake in the
content providers or business groups that own TV channels. This
furthers the deep suspicion in the MNIK controversy. SRK and Karan
Johar, most likely, are laughing their way to the bank. Shiv Sena
perhaps may’ve got a small share of it too. Who knows?
arvind says:
February 17, 2010 at 10:56 am
Thakray family jo khud mumbai ka nahi hai aur apne aap ko asli
mumbaikar batata hai , mumbai uski hai jo mumbai se sachha pyar karta
hai ,uske bare me sochta hai , ye logo ke bhawnao ko bhadkakar apne
roti ka intjam karte hai aur pure mumbai ke logo ke paise ko lutte
hai, pahle party banakar party fund ke paise se apna ghar chalate hai.
Agar thakray me himmat hai to north india jane wali kisi bhi train ke
genral compartment me baith kar dikhai, aur wo train non stopage ho to
shayad destintion tak pahunchte pahunchte wo history ke ek joker ban
kar rah jayenge . thakrey hosh me aao , nafrat ki aandhi mat failao ,
nahi to usi me mit jaoge .
Rajeev Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 10:07 pm
It looks like a typical nautanki congressi speech.
shiuli says:
February 17, 2010 at 1:29 pm
Ms.Sujata, great insight. Enjoyed the subtle wit in your writing also
the way you put across your point, by not badgering it down the neck.
Ashish Kolarkar says:
February 17, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Thanks Sujata for revealing interesting secret motive of Thackeray’s
in public domain. I’m sure you have lot of such secrets to offer in
near future. Enjoyed your blog.
arvind says:
February 18, 2010 at 10:20 am
It’s real voice of truth indian , agar dam hai to thkray family ko
train me bitha kar dekh lo saath me tum bhi aa jana
AKshay_Marathi says:
February 21, 2010 at 6:39 pm
Hi..,
THIS IS REALLY DISAPPOINTING TO READ THAT , U ARE PORPOSEFULLY USIN
WORD BOMBAY.
U HATE THAKRE O.K. BUT WHY R U INSULTING WHOLE MARATHI BY REPEATNG
BOMBAY.
MAY BE ONE TO GET OUR LOST PRIDE AND TO SAVE FROM HUMILIATION FROM
INDIAN WE HAVE TO SUPPORT THAKRE.
PLZ. DO’T CALL IT BAMBAY IT IS MUMBAI.
Rajeev Reply:
February 23rd, 2010 at 10:47 pm
These jouranlist are extremist fascist who impose their ideologies on
others.
Arpit says:
February 24, 2010 at 1:36 am
Its was only the the publicity stunt by Bal Thackeray. He only wants a
topic every time to be in limelite, as he did when he was delivering
comments on north Indians in Mumbai……..nothing else…I think this type
of political party should be banned in India…I think they people wanna
run country as what they want………………
Earthling says:
March 11, 2010 at 7:28 pm
thakeray is a very bad boy…never will he do good in the face of
indians….corrupting mind sets of people and talking as if he is doing
all good for india…
http://blogs.hindustantimes.com/singly-political/2010/02/12/my-name-is-bal-thackeray/#more-135
Happy Birthday, Netaji
As Bal Thackeray turns 83 on Saturday (January 23), I cannot help
recalling the politics of birthdays that I have witnessed over the
years.
The first political birthday party that I ever attended was that of S
B Chavan (father of Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Ashok Chavan),
sometime in the late Eighties.Sharad pawar had just merged his
Congress(S) with the Congress(I) and become Chief Minister the
previous year. And though Chavan Sr was inducted into the union
cabinet as Home Minister, I think he was mighty miffed at having been
summarily displaced to accommodate the Maratha warlord.
The move opened up a chasm between the so-called `loyalists’ in the
Congress and those who were Pawar’s acolytes. The bickering and
nitpicking went on for months, until Chavan’s birthday arrived on July
14 the next year. Without making any overt moves that might seem as a
campaign against the party high command (it was still Rajiv Gandhi
then), Congress loyalists thought they would use Chavan Sr’s birthday
to put Pawar in his place.
The party was held at a star hotel in South Bombay and a huge
chocolate cake was rolled in to stand under the chandelier in the main
ballroom of that hotel. The hosts had invited all and sundry,
including journalists, except for one very important person – Chief
Minister Sharad Pawar. They were full of glee as Chavan was
fashionably late at his own birthday party and crowed at how awful
Pawar might feel when he read about it in the papers the next day.
The birthday boy arrived an hour after he was scheduled to cut the
cake and we all gathered round him as he held the ribboned knife in
his hand and prepared to set the ball rolling. Even as those around
him clapped and sang the birthday tune, I turned round to see why
there was an unusual hush around the edges of that room.
Sharad Pawar was standing at the door and, even as Chavan cut a slice,
Pawar moved slowly towards the centre of the room. And before Chavan
could lift the slice and feed it to the person nearest him (I forget
who), Pawar was standing with an extended hand to greet Chavan a happy
birthday. A chagrined Chavan had to feed the cake to Pawar, instead;
they hugged and exchanged pleasantries even as many of the Congress
workers stood around in consternation..
Chavan graciously invited him to join the party but Pawar demurely
declined. He had another important meeting to attend, he said by way
of explanation, but had just dropped in as he was passing by the hotel
en route to this other function. He left in minutes but it took
several more for the others to regain their composure and continue
with the now subdued celebrations.
Next day, as I and another colleague nosed round Pawar’s office, we
were told in confidence by a close confidante that Pawar had heard
about the plan to cut him out of the party and was damned if he would
be defeated by a bunch of `upstarts’ or provide a lot of grist to the
mill of journalists who would have a blast the next morning. So he
decided to play party pooper-of-sorts (because that is what he had
turned out to be the previous night).
We were told that Pawar had arrived at the time given out for the cake-
cutting ceremony but sent a sniffer upstairs to find out how things
stood. He decided he would not be kept waiting for Chavan inside the
hotel and asked his cavalcade to circle round the locality of the
hotel several times until Chavan himself had rolled in (he had posted
some cops as lookouts). Pawar then timed his entry perfectly to
nonplus Chavan and his supporters with, “I heard you were having a
party for your birthday. So I decided to drop in myself and greet you
in person.’’
And then he went home. Satisfied that he had nipped any mischief in
the bud. Chavan never had another birthday party like that one again,
though his constituents would celebrate the day in his hometown off
and on over the years.
And as far as I remember, Pawar has only ever had one birthday party –
when he turned 60 nearly a decade ago. There was a five-star event
with the who’s who of India represented the previous evening. But it
was his public rally the next day that saddened me the most. For, even
then it was no secret that he was dying to be Prime Minister. Atal
Behari Vajpayee was in office at the time and Pawar was at pains to
explain to his supporters that it was still not too late for him. “In
this country no one becomes Prime Minister before they are 70,’’ he
said, though that was not strictly true – Indira and Rajiv Gandhi each
had been much younger. “Look at P V Narasimha Rao, he was half way
through his seventies before he became PM; even Vajpayee now is past
75. I am yet only 60. There is still plenty of time.’’
I wondered if his support base was shrinking and he needed to say that
to stop them from abandoning him altogether. Ten years later he is
still not PM and I wonder how much more time he would now need to get
to that high office.
But it is not just Congressmen who are fond of birthdays. Manohar
Joshi had had himself presented with a 60-diamond necklace on – what
else? – his 60th birthday in a very public ceremony in Bombay wherein
he laid claim to a flawless career stating proudly that no one could
find a breath of scandal against him. Bal Thackeray, then about to
turn 75, was at the time besieged with allegations that his nephew Raj
Thackeray had murdered middle-class professional Ramesh Kini and he
did not take that comment kindly. Joshi was out of office within weeks
and Thackeray barred anyone from going to town on his own birthday.
Joshi has never had another party again.
Nearly a decade later, Thackeray is still off a public celebration of
his birthday. Shiv Sainiks, though, have organised blood donation
camps, free distribution of grains et al to mark the event but the
Sena patriarch has decided to remain out of public view.
I think he is the wisest of them all. I am told he is superstitious –
kahin nazar naa lag jaye!
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
Posted by Sujata Anandan on Friday, January 22, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Filed under India · Tagged Bal Thackeray, Maratha warlord, political
birthday party, Rajiv Gandhi, S B Chavan, Sharad Pawar
6 Responses to “Happy Birthday, Netaji!”
Dev says:
January 22, 2010 at 11:03 pm
And we’ll never know what became of Netaji.
Anil says:
January 23, 2010 at 11:36 am
Wish Pawar had used the same cunningness to improve agriculture sector
and bring down prices. He is just incapable of thinking big for the
country. The only person who really knew how to celebrate birthday in
a manner beffiting his personality was Chach Nehru. He really spent
quality time with children. Others have just aped him.
Ashish Kolarkar says:
January 23, 2010 at 8:35 pm
Due to such shrewdness and intelligence Pawar is in the limelight for
such a long time. He is too ambitious and believes in playing long
innings. Who knows one day this Maratha Sardar would hoist flag from
Lal Kila?
But it seems that Pawar is losing his popularity for his foot in mouth
comments recently. He seems to have all the problems but no soultions
to Offer to common man. He is bent on taking his role too casually.
Good that Thackeray Sr has finally realised that birthday bashes are
meant for sycophancy only and don’t serve any good purpose.
vipin malik says:
January 24, 2010 at 12:03 am
you remeber for netaji all indian popel it was great man
vipin malik says:
January 24, 2010 at 12:10 am
i am a fan of Netaji
Anil Kumar says:
January 24, 2010 at 3:51 am
These leaders who set goal in terms of this or that chair make me
cringe..
All these leader needs a plenary session with Narendra Modi..
Everytime anyone asks him about chairs his reply is I never lust for
chair I lost for work to be done target to be achieved with or without
chair.. Chair is not the destination and that’s how it should be..
http://blogs.hindustantimes.com/singly-political/2010/01/22/happy-birthday-netaji/#more-131
Jhenda ooncha rahe…
14 Comments
Ram Gopal Verma’s Sarkar and Sarkar Raj are broadly thought to be
based on the life of Bal Thackeray. In large portions, the theme might
be taken from episodes from the Sena tiger’s life but the intelligence
and dexterity of managing politics that has characterised Amitabh
Bachchan’s portrayal of Sarkar in the two films have never been Bal
Thackeray’s forte.
Thackeray is an instinctive politician whose reactions have always
been spontaneous rather than well-thought out. Moreover, he has
thrived not on his programmes or issues of his making but on the
mistakes of other parties (in large measure, the Congress). For
example, the one and only time that the Shiv Sena came to power in
Maharashtra in alliance with the BJP was in 1995, soon after the 1992
riots and the 1993 bomb blasts when people thought and believed that
the Congress was playing far too many games and still remembered the
protectionist campaign of Shiv Sainiks through those burning weeks.
If the Sena was unable to return in 1999, 2004 and 2009 again, it is
because in these years, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress
Party, in alliance in Maharashtra, have largely done little wrong and
Thackeray has found no gap in the fabric to tear it apart.
But the Shiv Sena’s massive defeat at both the Lok Sabha and the
Assembly elections can be largely attributed to art — or at least
politics posing as art. Just before the Lok Sabha polls, Raj Thackeray
had helped to produce a film titled Mee Chhatrapati Shivaji Raje
Bhosale Boltoy (I, Chhatrapati Shivaji Raje Bhosale, speak), with
Mahesh Manjrekar playing the title role, that was an indictment of the
complacence and laid-back attitudes of Maharastrians. It portrayed,
through film, the political point that Raj had been hammering at for
months: that the Maharashtrian is content with just a table, khurchi
ani pankha (a table, a chair and a fan). That he did not strive for
much more and allowed others to walk all over him. The film exhorted
Maharashtrians to become more combative in their own interest and,
like Oliver, never stop asking for more
It released in Maharashtra’s cinemas just before the producers-
multiplex imbroglio and so ran for weeks and weeks and had a great
hand in influencing a large number of Maharashtrian youth who went
right out and voted for Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.
Now the Shiv Sena has come out with its counter to that film – benami
again, like Raj’s production of Chhatrapati, but with no kid gloves on
this time. It appears to be a real-life account of the war between the
two cousins – indeed, from the stills released so far, it is very
difficult to spot the differences between the actors who play Raj and
Uddhav and the original cousins.
Titled Jhenda (Flag), it seems to be a mixture of truth and
exaggeration and some of the alleged falsehoods have already compelled
the producer to make some cuts and changes and promise to re-release
the film without the offending portions.
But while everyone — from Narayan Rane’s son to sundry Sena leaders —
are objecting to their unfair portrayals, the one man it lampoons the
most – Raj Thackeray – is uncharacteristically silent.
I haven’t seen Jhenda yet but I am told that there is a scene where
Raj’s character dons a skullcap and attends an Iftaar party. I don’t
know how true that portrayal is, for in all my years I at least have
not seen Raj Thackeray in a skull cap at an Iftaar party. When Raj
launched his MNS he did mean to be all inclusive and there are many
Muslims in his party who are devoted to Bal Thackeray’s nephew. Yet
they have all taken a so-called `mature’ decision not to agitate or
protest.
It could be because Raj well realises that any protest will only help
the film at the box office and more people will end up seeing his
portrayal in an unflattering light than they would if he just gives it
the royal ignore. But, a little bird tells me, Raj has also been cut
down to size and is no longer sure what his protests will lead to.
At the constitution of the current Assembly in Maharashtra, he
protested against Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi taking his oath in
Hindi. That has led to another non-bailable warrant from a court in
Madhya Pradesh (in addition to cases pending against him in courts in
Bihar and Jharkhand, just transferred to Delhi by the Supreme Court))
and suddenly he has no Godfathers.
It is largely believed that the previous Congress government egged him
on against the Shiv Sena but the Assembly elections proved that Raj
was eating into even the Congress and the NCP voter base. So they have
no reason to nurture a Frankenstein’s Monster. But it may also be
true, as I have heard, that the Congress is also squeezing his
business interests to gag him into submission. Moreover, he needs to
keep is silence, again, to buy freedom for those of his MLAs who were
suspended for four years from the Maharashtra Assembly for beating up
Azmi for taking his oath in Hindi.
When I asked a top functionary in the government why those MLAs were
not expelled outright, he said, “If we had done that, it would have
led to by-elections and Raj Thackeray might have come back with a bang
and got more arrogant. This is our version of suspended animation; he
cannot now afford to create more trouble out of fear that there might
be more action that will actually pinch.’’
Without the alleged protection offered by the previous government, I
think Raj is now truly feeling that pinch. And the Sena is not far
behind in hoisting him with his own petard and, in addition, hoisting
its own flag — both the party standard and the celluloid variety.
But, still, I believe Chhatrapati …. was a far more intelligent film –
for one, it needed no cuts, for another it touched a chord with
Maharashtra’s youth — than Jhenda could ever be.
(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)
Posted by Sujata Anandan on Friday, January 8, 2010 at 6:33 pm
Filed under India · Tagged Amitabh Bachchan, Bal Thackeray, bjp,
Congress, Lok Sabha polls, Mahesh Manjrekar, Raj Thackeray, Raj
Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Ram Gopal Verma’s Sarkar,
sarkar raj, Shiv Sainiks
14 Responses to “Jhenda ooncha rahe…”
Ashish Kolarkar says:
January 8, 2010 at 8:08 pm
Thanks Sujata for telling us about “Chhatrapati….” and its impact in
recent elections. I think so much has come in print/visual media about
Thackeray family that people have started losing interest in it. With
the desertion of Smita Thackeray the things have become too
intriguing. How come daughter-in-law basking under the glory of father-
in-law could leave the later at this stage for greater political
aspiration?
I’ve read a research paper which said that there is great similarity
in genes of nephew and Uncle. I think the Raj and Bal Thackeray prove
the theory. Raj has got cartooning and same eccentric nature from his
uncle. He is too unpredictable. He is on the threshold of finding his
identity after initial euphoria. It is time for him to invent more
tricks to be in the market with due help from ruling party.
Sujata Anandan Reply:
January 11th, 2010 at 6:15 pm
Yes, there is great similarity — and even in terms of events history
is repeating itself vis-a-vis Rraj Thackeray. Will write about those
by and by
Anil Kumar says:
January 8, 2010 at 9:39 pm
Congress will keep him alive.> he need not woory.> Congress always
creates fransktein .
Punjab was gifted Bhindarwale in order to check Akali Dal. Congressi
have no scruples when it coems to snatchign power they care two hoot
about even national interest.
Maharashtra was first gifted Baal thackrey to check labour uninsit and
communist’s rise. now we haevRaj Thackrey to check Baal thackreey
Assam have ben figted crores of illegal bangaldeshi
List goes on and on.
Country can go to dogs as long as these gimmciks insure perpetuation
fo power of congress they are fair game for anythign and everything
Pankaj Reply:
January 9th, 2010 at 11:08 am
country is with dogs and *******!
Sujata Anandan Reply:
January 11th, 2010 at 6:16 pm
You are right on all counts
bobby says:
January 9, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Raj may be silent also because there are no elections round the
corner.
Sujata Anandan Reply:
January 11th, 2010 at 6:17 pm
Well, the municipal elections are due next year which are crucila to
him in terms of his business interests across Bombay
Anil says:
January 9, 2010 at 11:31 pm
Narayan Rane and his son are doing more goonda giri than the entire
Thackrey clan put together. There is absolutely no unfair portrayal of
the the former. They should not crib. Any portrayal of their character
will be a milder version of their true self. Ranes have been the most
unscrupulous turncoats in Maharashtra politics. No fan of Shiv Sena
but Congress have won in Maratha land becuase of the infighting in
Sena. Haven’t seen ‘Zhenda’ but ‘ Mee Chhatrapati Boltoye’ by Mahesh
Manjrekar is a classic Marathi film
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BmqdU0tpRk
Sujata Anandan Reply:
January 11th, 2010 at 6:19 pm
However, the producer of jhenda has given in and agreed to delete the
offending scenes — that’s muscle power for you!
Sujata Anandan says:
January 11, 2010 at 6:18 pm
Well, the municipal elections are due next year which are crucial to
him in terms of his business interests…
Joe Zachs says:
January 18, 2010 at 1:43 pm
After watching Sarkar, I admire Ram Gopal Verma for how he hoodwinked
the vested interest into believing that it is a film about “His life”
A real master move Varma.
Dev says:
January 22, 2010 at 11:08 pm
I am reminded of a dialogue in a popular Hindi movie – Jhanda jish
desh ke bhi ho, danda Indian hona chahiye.
Mob rules OK.
Praveen Saxena says:
January 28, 2010 at 12:05 pm
The fact of the matter is that Raj Thakeray is a creation of the
Congress Party and a beneficiary of the mad rush 24×7 news channels.
The Congress has played these tricks in all states Maharashtra,
Punjab, Assam etc. The Kashmir mess is a result of the negligence
shown by the Congress govt at a crucial time.
The country ends paying the price for the dirty politics of the
Congress Party
Ashwatthama says:
February 6, 2010 at 11:20 am
Well Jhenda is way far superior film than Mi Shivaji…
I found MSRBB very stereotype and melodramatic and on the other side
Jhenda is extremely realistic and brilliant.
http://blogs.hindustantimes.com/singly-political/2010/01/08/jhenda-ooncha-rahe%e2%80%a6/#more-126
‘Wrong of Pawar to seek Sena nod’
HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times
Mumbai, March 20, 2010
First Published: 00:51 IST(20/3/2010)
Last Updated: 00:53 IST(20/3/2010)
Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has said it was wrong of people to go to
parties like the Shiv Sena to seek permission to screen a film or hold
cricket matches.
Chavan was referring to Union Agriculture Minister and NCP chief
Sharad Pawar’s meeting with Sena chief Bal Thackeray before the IPL
started to get an assurance from the Sena that the matches in Mumbai
pass peacefully.
This was soon after the Sena, protesting the attacks on Indians in
Australia, said it would not allow Australian cricketers to play in
the IPL.
“Yes, it is wrong,” Chavan said in an interview to Vir Sanghvi for
CNBC-TV18’s programme Off the Record with Vir Sanghvi.
Sanghvi had asked Chavan if he approved of people going to the likes
of Thackeray for permission for holding matches or screening movies.
“Sharad Pawarji is a senior leader. He is in the Union
government and they say he went to discuss the IPL matches and issues
like that….Yes, there were a lot of eyebrows raised and asking why did
he go?” Chavan said.
Chavan, in reply to another query, also said the Sena was losing
ground and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena will probably be the main
opposition.
Chavan also talked about the trouble he was having with alliance
partner NCP in handling the Mumbai police. “There have been political
problems,” he said. “I don’t deny that…”
The CM also admitted that there was “politicisation” of the police
force. “We have to select people with integrity…,” he said.
“Looking at the situation during 26/11, we have been cautious. We have
to put a stop to all this and see that proper people handle jobs of
equal importance and men of integrity and people with strength and
courage and the determination to fight, take charge.”
On factionalism in the Mumbai police, Chavan said there have been
differences but they have been sorted out.
Tune in to Off the Record with Vir Sanghvi on CNBC-TV18 at 8 pm on
Saturday and 9 pm on Sunday.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/mumbai/Wrong-of-Pawar-to-seek-Sena-nod/Article1-521102.aspx
Goondas, mind your own business
By Khushwant Singh
Did Shah Rukh Khan and the Maharashtra government score a decisive
victory over the Shiv Sena by showing ‘My Name Is Khan’ in Mumbai’s
cinemas?
Did liberal elements in Karnataka score over Rama Sene by blackening
the face of Pramod Muthalik? Many of us think so and hope both senas
have been dumped on the garbage heap. Unfortunately that is not so.
Shiv Sena’s balloon has no doubt been somewhat deflated but not burst.
It was the same when Rahul Gandhi travelled by suburban train, walking
down streets of Mumbai — a one time performance. And Muthalik has
wiped that soot off his face and is leading his storm troopers to
impose his will on people who do not agree with him.
My reasoning is simple: you cannot put down subversive elements
without having a strong government, which can effectively deal with
bullies. Their strength is their ability to damage property and rough
up people: No one wants to lose his property and get beaten up. The
most vulnerable are mill owners, cinema hall proprietors, eateries and
film people.
They will be eager to patch up with the Thackerays and the Muthaliks.
Take it from me that soon SRK will come to an understanding with the
Thackerays. It has been done before. Sunil Dutt and his daughter Priya
Dutt of the Congress sought Bal Thackeray’s blessings before the
elections. So did Pritish Nandi to become Sena’s nominee to the Rajya
Sabha.
Bal Thackeray is happy to receive important people at his residence,
Matoshree. They kowtow to him and touch his feet while he sits on his
throne draped in saffron robes and rudraksh malas, looking like a
patriarch of all he surveys. He aches to be loved to and is as liberal
in his blessings as he is in offering visitors chilled beer.
I have never met his recalcitrant nephew Raj Thackeray but his modus
operandi is much the same as his uncle’s. So I fear the present
euphoria generated by the release of ‘My Name Is Khan’ is going to be
short-lived. We have yet to build up a mass support of those who can
confront these senas’s goondas and teach them how to mind their own
business.
Bharatrihari
Almora-born Ramesh Chandra Shah was a professor of English in Hamidia
College, Bhopal, till 1997. However, he won acclaim as a Hindi poet
and novelist and was honoured with several awards. He stumbled on
Bharatrihari’s poems in Sanskrit and decided to learn the language; to
be able to translate them into English. I published some selections in
‘Yojana’ and ‘The Illustrated Weekly of India’. It is a privilege to
publish some more a third time. The translations are in rubai form and
read as well as Fitzgarald’s translations of Omar Khayyam.
‘Thus Spoke Bharatrihari’ is divided into three sections: Niti
(polity), Sringar (erotica) and Vairagya (asceticism). First I give
examples of Sringar:
You are so lucky if you can admire The lineaments of satisfied desire
In your young bride; suck at her honey’s mouth And let her languor in
your arms retire And:
The bookful blockheads preaching self-restraint Do not consider what’s
really at stake Love’s play on passionate breasts and thighs once
known Such amorous raptures who can ever forsake.
In the third verse he rues the futility of life spent in making love:
The joy companionship of women brings Ends in despair and
disillusionment
Self-knowledge is the only certain good Leading to calm of mind, all
passions spent.
Finally the search for salvation:
Blest are the saints who from all passions free Possess their souls
and live in ecstasy With boundless space as garment and a bowl Of rice
as food and woods as company.
And:
Drunk with delusion’s ever tempting wine We mortals fail to see the
spark Divine
Caught in the vicious whirls of nights and days Our soul ne’er stops
to think of its decline Dress Code
Henry Ford II, son of Henry Ford I, who felt that his father was
generally improperly dressed and did not adhere to the correct dress
code, had the following conversation with him:
Henry Ford II: Dad, you are the biggest manufacturer of cars and a
very renowned person in America. Then why do you dress so shabbily?
Henry Ford I: Yes. I dress the way I like, as everyone in America
knows me as Henry Ford.
Henry Ford II: But, when you go abroad, there also you dress in the
same way, even in poshest of places.
Henry Ford I: Yes, of course, abroad also I dress the same way,
because there no one knows me as Henry Ford.
(Contributed by Colonel Trilok Mehrotra, Noida)
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/58941/goondas-mind-your-own-business.html
Sid Harth
Following are various stats, facts and figures on crime in India and
judicial data , picked out of newspapers (mainly Hindustan Times),
magazines (mainly India Today), the BBC and various sources on the
web. These figures are not meant to be comprehensive lists, but rather
statistical trivia or factual snippets. For basic general facts and
figures about India as well as several Indian states, please see the
Quick Reference popups on the right hand side of this page, or go to
the main page of India statistics, facts and figures . For a full list
of links to our statistics pages, see the About India index or the
bottom of the right navigation bar on this page.
Lines marked with an asterisk (*) are recently added entries.
stats on court cases, murder and jails in India
- pending court cases country wide: more than 20 million (end of
2002)
- persons in jail waiting for trial: over 1 million (end of 2002)
- conviction rate of court cases: around 1 percent (according to Prem
Shankar Jha)
- number of murders in India between 1998 and 2000: 37,170
- murders committed in Uttar Pradesh: 7,200 to 7,500 per year [HT Jun
04]
- occupancy of Muzzafarnagar district jail in UP: 1,155 prisoners
(oct 03)
- capacity of Muzzafarnagar district jail in UP: 530 prisoners (oct
03)
- number of prisoners jailed in 60 prisons in Uttar Pradesh: 50,939
(oct 03)
various crime statistics and data
- people who died instantly in Bhopal on 2-3 Dec 1984 from the Union
Carbide gas
leak: 1,700 [HT May 04]
- people who have died since Dec 1984 from after effects from the
Union Carbide
gas leak in Bhopal: 22,000 [HT May 04]
- people who continue to suffer from varied diseases affecting
respiratory,
reproductive systems as a result of the 1984 Union Carbide gas leak
in Bhopal:
570,000 [HT May 04]
- * number of persons reported missing in Nithari (impoverished area
in Noida, Delhi): 41 within 2 years [REU Jan 07]
- * number of cases of kidnapping, murder and rape registered by the
CBI in
Noida relating to suspected serial killers Moninder Singh Pandher
and
Surendra Koli: 19 (CBI: (Central Bureau of Investigation) [REU Jan
07]
- * number of polythene bags containing body parts found in drains
near the
suspect: 40 [REU Jan 07]
- number of policemen in Delhi: 59,077 [HT Jun 04]
- number of finials missing at the Red Fort Delhi Gate: 10 (originals
could fetch each
about 33,600 Euro on black market)
- drop in crime in Delhi Nov 2003 (compared to Nov 2002): murder: -36
% --
robbery: -23 % -- extortion: -73 % -- rioting: -70 %
- number of crimes in the Chambal ravines (UP) within past 5 years:
approx 4,000
kidnappings & 180 murders (The UP government has proposed to combat
crimes and
bandits in the Chambal ravines by setting up a 371 acre lion safari
park with 5 lions to
attract tourists) [BBC, Aug 2005]
crime in Government / corruption
- candidates facing criminal charges in the Oct 2004 Maharashtra
election: 91 out
of 163 Shiv Sena party candidates -- 45 out of 111 BJP candidates
-- 31 out of 124
Nationalist Congress party candidates -- 30 out of 157 Congress
candidates [BBC Oct 04]
- number of UP candidates with a criminal record who made it to the
14th Lok
Sabha: at least 12 [HT May 04]
- number of Uttar Pradesh's MLAs who have been through processes of
the law
reserved for criminals: 205 (of a total of 403 MLAs - Member of the
Legislative
Assembly) [HT beginning 2004]
- amount of money taken by MPs in recent "cash for questions"
scandal:
232 - 10,000 US Dollars in bribes for asking questions in
parliament [BBC, Dec 2005]
- number of MPs suspended by India's main political parties for
taking bribes,
end 2005: 9 (Congress: 1 -- BJP: 5 -- BSP: 3) [BBC, Dec 2005]
some facts on laws, sentences & Court rules
- legal sentence for homosexuality: 10 years prison [BBC, Jan 2006]
- age of the colonial Indian Penal Code dealing with homosexuality:
145 years
[BBC, Jan 2006]
- year in which a petition for legalising homosexuality was dismissed
by the High
Court in Delhi: 2004 [BBC, Jan 2006]
- year in which the High Court in Delhi overturned the 1914
legislation and ruled
that women should be allowed to serve alcohol in public: 2005 [BBC,
Jan 2006]
"missing person" tourist stats
- number of registered "person gone missing" in the Kulu Valley (HP)
since 1992: 15
- estimated foreigners disappearance in the Kulu Valley (HP) for the
past decade: 50
(estimate by UK based pressure group Fair Trials Abroad)
- "mysterious" tourist deaths in Goa (jan 2003 - apr 2004): 59
data on crime against women
- official punishment for sex selection (i.e. abortion if child is
female): 3 years jail +
50,000 Rupees fine (equiv to 960 Euro)
- loss of female births within past 2 decades caused by abortion and
sex selection:
estimate of more than 10 million [BBC, Jan 2006]
- annual 'girl deficit' due to prenatal sex selection and selective
abortion: 500,000
according to researchers for the Lancet Journal [BBC, Jan 2006]
- rape cases pending in courts across the country: 56,000 [Oct 2003]
- * registered cases of rape in Delhi 2004: 550 [BBC, Aug 2005]
- rape cases in Delhi 2002: convicted: 98 -- acquitted: 344
- age of rape victims in Delhi: 75% are minors, and of those 25 % are
below 12 years
- registered cases of eve-teasing for Mar - Aug 2003 in Indian
metropoles: Delhi: 744
-- Mumbai:27 -- Kolkata:30 -- Chennai:143
- cases of rape for Mar - Aug 2003 in Indian metropoles: Delhi: 262
-- Mumbai: 40
-- Kolkata: 18 -- Chennai: 21
- officially recorded dowry deaths in major cities combined (Delhi,
Mumbai, Calcutta,
Chennai): 2002: 181 -- 2001: 121
- cases of crimes against women registered with the police in
Himachal Pradesh
2002: 920 (including 137 for rape, 138 for kidnap, 6 for dowry)
- Haryana cost of buffalo: 18,000 - 24,000 Rs (approx 345 - 460 Euro)
- Haryana cost of girl (human trafficking): 4000 Rs (approx 77 Euro)
some crime statistics of Himachal Pradesh
- number of cases of crime in HP from Apr 2003 to May 2004: 1,617
registered cases
- top on the Human Rights violators' list in Himachal Pradesh: Police
(HP Human
Rights Commission received 148 complaints involving police, that is
43 percent of the
complaints)
- cases registered under the NDPS Act in HP: 2002: 312 -- 2003:310
(NDPS: Narcotics, Drugs & Psychotropic Substances) [HT Mar 04]
- amount of drugs recovered by police in HP: 2002: 720 kg charas, 35
kg opium
-- 2003: 420 kg charas, 35 kg opium, 1.5 kg brown sugar
- number of police personnel involved in the annual "Destroy
Cannabis" operation
in the village of Malana in HP Sep 2004: team of 200 people from
Narcotics Control
Bureau, Kullu police and Home Guards [HT Sep 04]
stats on "Destroy Cannabis" operation in Malana Sep 2003 in HP
- cannabis growing area destroyed in Malana and surrounding: 1,100
bigha
(1 hectare = 12 bigha)
- duration of operation "Destroy Cannabis": 8 days (15 - 23
september)
- number of police or soldiers or helpers: 250 or more
- longest cannabis plant found: 15 feet 7 inches
- possible production from destroyed area: 300 kg charas
- area of destruction of cannabis fields in previous years: 1998: 939
bighas
-- 1999: 224 bighas -- 2000: 1,200 bighas -- 2002: 676 bighas (1
hectare = 12 bigha)
data sources & key:
AT: Asia Times, BBC: BBC online, BRIT: Britannica 2002, BSNL: BSNL
Telecom Trends, BSt: Business Standard, CIA: CIA Factbook India, CIN:
censusindia.net, CNEI: Chandigarh Newsline, c/net: c/net news, ConSu:
Content Sutra DI: Daily India, DNA: DNA India, EB: EquityBull, EI:
ExpressIndia, EW: EconomyWatch, FE: Financial Express, FL: Frontline,
GG: Gujarat Global, GTF: Global Technology Forum, GBoWR: Guinness Book
of World Records, HT: Hindustan Times, ID: IndiaDaily, IInfoLine:
India InfoLine IND: The Independent, ITo: India Today, NPBS: Nature
PBS, PhO: PhysOrg, RED: Rediff, REU: Reuters, Sify: Sify Broadband,
TH: The Hindu, TNJ: The News (Jang), ToI: Times of India, TT: The
Tribune,
http://www.neoncarrot.co.uk/h_aboutindia/india_crime_stats.html
Specimen Data Tables : Crime and Law
Cognizable Crimes Registered in India
(1995 to 2001)
Year Num.of Offences Ratio (IPC : SLL) Rate/100000 Inhab. Total
1995 1695696 4297476 1:2.53 5993172 -
1996 1709576 4586986 1:2.68 6296562 675.6
1997 1719820 4691439 1:2.73 6411259 671.2
1998 1778815 4403288 1:2.47 6182103 636.7
1999 1764629 3198902 1:1.78 4911730 497.8
2000 1771084 3396666 1:1.92 5167750 515.7
2001 1769308 3575230 1:02:02 5344538 520.4
Abbr.: IPC : Indian Penal Code.
SLL : Special and Local Laws.
Crime against Women
Figures at All-India / State level : (Currently showing India with
State Level consolidated figures) Andaman & Nicobar Islands |
Arunachal Pradesh | Assam | Chhattisgarh | Delhi | Goa | Himachal
Pradesh | Jharkhand | Kerala | Madhya Pradesh | Maharashtra | Manipur
| Orissa | Punjab | Rajasthan | Tamil Nadu | Tripura | Uttar Pradesh |
Uttaranchal | West Bengal |
(Data table headings are shown Year-wise in descending order)
Number of Cases Registered at National Commission for Women (NCW)
Related to Alleged Attacks on Women/Girl by Nature of Complaints in
India (01.11.2008 to 31.10.2009)
State/Age-Group-wise Victims of Total Rape Cases in India (2007)
Crime Head-wise Incidents of Crime Against Women in India (2001 to
2006)
Incidents of Custodial Rape in Police Custody in India (1995 to
2006)
Proportion of Crime Against Woman (Indian Penal Code) toward total
Indian Penal Code Crimes in India (1996 to 2006)
State-wise Number of Cases Registered (Women and Children) under
Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 in India (2004 to 2006)
State-wise Number of Cases Registered for Atrocities against Women
and their Status in India (2006)
State-wise Number of Missing and Traced Men, Women and Children in
India (2006)
Number of Cases Detected and Persons Arrested in Flesh Trade in
India (2003 to 2005)
Selected City-wise Number of Crime Committed Against Women in India
(2005)
State/Selected City/Age-Group-wise Victims of Other (Rape) Cases in
India (2005)
State-wise Cases Registered and Case Charge Sheeted under Cruelty
by Husband and Relatives against Women in India (2001 to 2005)
State-wise Number of Cases of Procuration of Minor Girls, Selling/
Buying of Girls for Prostitution in India (2001 to 2005)
State-wise Number of Cases Registered for Atrocities against Women
and their Status in India (2005)
State-wise Number of Cases Registered of Harassment (Molestation)
and Sexual Harassment of Women in India (2002 to 2005)
State-wise Number of Cases Registered Under Procuration of Minor
Girls in India (2003 to 2005)
State-wise Number of Cases Registered under Rape, Molestation and
Sexual Harassment in India (2005)
State-wise Number of Complaints for Harassment of Women at Work
Place Received and Disposed by National Commission for Women in India
(2002 to 2005)
State-wise Number of Complaints for Harassment of Women at Work
Place Received and Disposed of by Department of Women and Child
Development in India (2002 to 2005)
State-wise Number of Dowry Deaths Reported in India (1999 to
2005)
State-wise Number of Missing and Traced Men, Women and Children in
India (2005)
Cases Filed Against Clinics/Doctors for Communication of Sex of
Foetus in Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Punjab (As on
31.3.2004)
Different Types of Crimes Committed Against Women in India (2001 to
2004)
Month-wise Number of Complaints Received by National Commission for
Women in India (April 2003 to March 2004)
Number of Complaints of Sexual Harassment Received in Prasar
Bharati in India (2001-2002 to 2003-2004)
State/Month-wise Atrocities Complaints Received Against Women by
National Commission for Women in India (2004)
State/Month-wise Atrocities Complaints Received Against Women by
National Commission for Women in India (2004)
State-wise Number of Cases Registered for Atrocities against Women
and their Status in India (2004)
State-wise Number of Cases Registered under Rape, Molestation and
Sexual Harassment in India (2002 to 2004)
State-wise Number of Complaints for Harassment of Women at Work
Place Received by National Commission for Women and Department of
Women and Child Development in India (2002 to 2004)
State-wise Number of Missing and Traced Men, Women and Children in
India (2004)
Number of Cases of Eve-Teasing and Rape Reported in Metropolitan
Cities of India (As on 1st March 2003 to 31st August, 2003)
Category/Month-wise Complaints Received in National Commission for
Women in India (2001-2002)
City-wise Number of Rapes and Rapes with Murders in India
(2000-2002)
Different Type of Crimes Committed Against Women in India (1998 to
2002)
Nature and Number of Complaints Received Against Women in India
(January 2000 to March 2002)
State-wise Cases Reported, Persons Arrested, Charge-Sheeted and
Convicted in Custodial Rape in India (2001 and 2002)
State-wise Number of Complaints Received regarding Crime against
Women in India (1997 to 2002)
State-wise Number of Missing Girls (14-18 Years) in India (2000 to
2002)
Category/Month-wise Complaints Received in National Commission of
Women in India (April, 2000 to March, 2001)
Missing Women Registered and Percentage of Women Recovered in Six
Metropolition Cities in India (1999 to 2001)
Number of Dowry Death Cases Reported in India (During 2000-2001)
State-wise Cases Disposal of Cruelty (Husband and Relatives) by
Police and Court in India (1999 to 2001)
State-wise Disposal of Dowry Prohibition Act Cases by Police and
Court in India (1999 to 2001)
State-wise Incidence of Incest Rape Cases Registered in India (1999
to 2001)
State-wise Incidence of Molestation and Percentage Variation Over
Previous Year in India (1999-2001)
State-wise Incidence of Procuration of Minor Girls, Selling/Buying
of Girls for Prostitution in India (During 2000 to 2001)
State-wise Incidence of Total Crime Committed Against Women in
India (1999 to 2001)
Crime Head-wise Incidents of Crime Against Women in India (1990 to
2000)
Different Types of Crimes Committed Against Women in India (1990 to
2000)
Disposal of Custodial Rape Cases by Courts in India (1995 to
2000)
Disposal of Custodial Rape Cases by Police in India (1995 to
2000)
State-wise Cases Reported, Persons Arrested, Charge-Sheeted and
Convicted in Custodial Rape in India (1998 to 2000)
State-wise Incidence of Rape (upto Available Month) in India (1998
to 2000)
State-wise Incidence of Sexual Harassment and Total Crime Committed
Against Women in India (1998 to 2000)
State-wise Number of Complaints handled by the National Commission
for Women in India (1998 to 2000)
State-wise Rape Cases Reported, Chargesheeted and Convicted in
India (During 1999-2000)
State-wise Trade of Girls for Prostitution in India (1999 and
2000)
Disposal of Crimes Against Women Cases by Courts in India (1997 to
1999)
Disposal of Crimes Against Women Cases by Police in India (1997 to
1999)
State-wise Incidence of Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, Indecent
Representation of Women (Pre.) Act, Dowry Prohibition Act Committed
Against Women in India (1999) - Part III
State-wise Incidence of Molestation, Sexual Harassment (Eve-
Teasing), Importing of Girls Committed Against Women in India (1999) -
Part II
State-wise Incidence of Procuration of Minor Girls, Selling/Buying
of Girls for Prostitution in India (During 1998 to 1999)
State-wise Incidence of Rape, Kidnapping and Abduction, Dowry
Deaths and Cruelty by Husband and Relatives Committed Against Women in
India (1999) - Part I
Percentage Distribution of Various Crimes against Women in India
(1998)
State/Cities-wise Motives of Murder and Culpable Homicide Not
Amounting to Murder (C.H.) in India (1998) - Part I
State/Cities-wise Motives of Murder and Culpable Homicide Not
Amounting to Murder (C.H.) in India (1998) - Part II
State-wise Incidence of Immoral Traffic (P) Act, Indecent Rep. Of
Women (P) Act, Dowry Proh. Act Committed Against Women in India (1998)
- Part III
State-wise Incidence of Molestation, Eve-Teasing, Importing of
Girls and Sati-Prevention Act Committed Against Women in India (1998)
- Part II
State-wise Incidence of Rape, Kidnapping and Abduction, Dowry
Deaths and Cruelty by Husband and Relatives Committed Against Women in
India (1998) - Part I
Incidence and Rate of Crime Committed Against Women
Offenders Relation and Proximity to Rape Victims
Victims of Rape under Different Age Group
Releted Links
Indicators on Other Attainment
http://www.indiastat.com/crimeandlaw/6/incidenceofcrime/130/crimeagainstwomen/17911/stats.aspx
Foetiside
Figures at All-India / State level : (Currently showing India with
State Level consolidated figures) Rajasthan |
(Data table headings are shown Year-wise in descending order)
Selected State-wise Number of Ultra-Sound Machines Sealed for Non-
Maintenance of Records/Non-Registration under Pre-Conception and Pre-
Natal Determination Techniques Act (PC & PNDT) in India (2005 and
2006)
State-wise Incidence of Female Foeticide in India (1994 to 2007)
State-wise Incidence of Female Infanticide in India (1999 to
2007)
State-wise Number of Bodies Registered, Court/Police Cases and
Machines Seized/Sealed under Pre-conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic
Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act 1994, in India (2005)
State-wise Number of Complaints Filed in Courts against Violators
of PC and PNDT Act/Rules in India (As on 31.7.2005)
State-wise Number of Bodies Registered, Court/Police Cases and
Machines Seized/Sealed under Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic
Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act 1994, in India (As on
31.3.2004)
State-wise Cases of Foeticide/Female Infanticide in India (2001 to
2003)
http://www.indiastat.com/crimeandlaw/6/incidenceofcrime/130/foetiside/207039/stats.aspx
State/City-wise Incidence and Rate of Crime Committed
Against Women in India
(2000)
1 State/City
2 Incidence
3 % of Contrib.to All-India Total
4 Est.Mid -Year Pop.(In Lakh)
5 Rate of Cognizable Crimes
6 Rank*
7 Rank**
Andhra Pradesh
1 2 3 4 5 6
14299 10.1 758.5 18.9 4 3
Arunachal Pradesh
143 0.1 12.0 11.9 16 21
Assam
3732 2.6 263.0 14.2 11 13
Bihar
6299 4.5 1005.6 6.3 25 8
Goa
100 0.1 16.1 6.2 26 24
Gujarat
6140 4.3 484.9 12.7 14 9
Haryana 2.3 199.3 16.6 7 14
Himachal Pradesh
842 0.6 67.4 12.5 15 18
Jammu & Kashmir
1634 1.2 99.9 16.4 8 17
Karnataka
5852 4.1 523.0 11.2 19 10
Kerala 3.5 323.5 15.4 9 11
Madhya Pradesh
17902 12.7 802.3 22.3 2 2
Maharashtra
13177 9.3 914.3 14.4 10 5
Manipur
74 0.1 25.4 2.9 29 25
Meghalya
69 0.0 24.5 2.8 30 26
Mizoram
133 0.1 9.6 13.9 12 22
Nagaland
22 0.0 17.0 1.3 32 28
Orissa
4717 3.3 359 6 13.1 13 12
Punjab
2156 1.5 236.2 9.1 21 16
Rajasthan
12942 9.2 538 7 24.0 1 6
Sikkim
21 0.0 5.6 3.7 28 29
Tamil Nadu
13732 9.7 619 3 22.2 3 4
Tripura
330 0.2 38.1 8.7 24 19
Uttar Pradesh
18920 13.4 1715.4 11.0 20 1
West Bengal
7043 5.0 793.3 8.9 22 7
Total States
138572 98.0 9852 4 14.1 - -
Total (All-India)
141373 100.0 10021.4 14.1 - -
Cities
Ahmedabad
510
3.0
42.8
11.9
18
10
Bangalore
1255
7.5
57.1
22.0
7
3
Bhopal
320
1.9
16.9
19.0
10
15
Chennai
4037
24.0
67.5
59.8
1
1
Coimbatore
283
1.7
13.0
21.8
8
17
Delhi (City)
2122
12.6
120.6
17.6
11
2
Hyderabad
1227
7.3
71.5
17.2
12
4
Indore
372
2.2
14.6
25.6
5
13
Jaipur
804
4.8
22.1
36.4
3
7
Kanpur
956
5.7
24.8
38.6
2
5
Kochi
125
0.7
18.3
6.8
21
23
Kolkata
558
3.3
130.6
4.3
23
9
Lucknow
683
4.1
26.7
25.5
6
8
Ludhiana
289
1.7
17.3
16.7
13
16
Madurai
380
2.3
12.8
29.6
4
12
Mumbai
888
5.3
187.1
4.7
22
6
Nagpur
443
2.6
20.9
21.2
9
11
Patna
212
1.3
13.0
16.3
14
21
Pune
352
2.1
35.9
9.8
20
14
Surat
243
1.4
24.4
10.0
19
19
Vadodara
240
1.4
16.6
14.5
17
20
Varanasi
206
1.2
13.1
15.7
16
22
Vishakhapatnam
282
1.7
17.8
15.8
15
18
Total (Cities)
16787
100.0
985.4
17.0
-
-
Note : * : Rank on the basis of rate of total cognizable crime.
** : Rank on the basis of Percentage share.
http://www.indiastat.com/6/specimen.aspx
Crime against SC/ST
Figures at All-India / State level : (Currently showing India with
State Level consolidated figures) | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | Andhra
Pradesh | Arunachal Pradesh | Assam | Bihar | Chandigarh |
Chhattisgarh | Dadra & Nagar Haveli | Daman & Diu | Delhi | Goa |
Gujarat | Haryana | Himachal Pradesh | Jammu & Kashmir | Jharkhand |
Karnataka | Kerala | Lakshadweep | Madhya Pradesh | Maharashtra |
Manipur | Meghalaya | Mizoram | Nagaland | Orissa | Pondicherry |
Punjab | Rajasthan | Sikkim | Tamil Nadu | Tripura | Uttar Pradesh |
Uttaranchal | West Bengal |
(Data table headings are shown Year-wise in descending order)
Selected State-wise Central Assistance Released and Utilised under
Provision of Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 and Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989) in India
(2005-2006 to 2007-2008)
Crime-wise Disposal of Persons Arrested for Committing Crimes
Against Scheduled Tribes by Court in India (2006)
State-wise Incidence (I), Rate (R) and Percentage Contribution (P)
of Crime Committed Against Scheduled Tribes in India (2006) - Part I
State-wise Number of Cases Ending Conviction under Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act. 1989) in India
(2004 to 2006)
State-wise Number of Cases Registered under Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 in India (1998
to 2006)
Crime-wise Disposal of Persons Arrested for Committing Crimes
Against Scheduled Tribes by Court in India (2005)
State-wise Funds Released Under Protection of Civil Rights Act,
1955 and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of
Atrocities Act, 1989) in India (1997-1998 to 2004-2005)
State-wise Number of Cases Registered (CR), Persons Arrested (PA),
Persons Chargesheeted (PC), Total Persons Tried (PT), Persons
Convicted (PV) and Persons Acquitted (PQ) under Hurt of Scheduled
Castes (SC) (In Conjunction with SC/ST (P) of Atrocities Act) and PCR
Act in India (2005)
State-wise Number of Cases Registered (CR), Persons Arrested (PA),
Persons Chargesheeted (PC), Total Persons Tried (PT), Persons
Convicted (PV) and Persons Acquitted (PQ) under Hurt of Scheduled
Tribe (ST) (In Conjunction with SC/ST (P) of Atrocities Act) and PCR
Act in India (2005)
State-wise Number of Cases Registered (CR), Persons Arrested (PA),
Persons Chargesheeted (PC), Total Persons Tried (PT), Persons
Convicted (PV) and Persons Acquitted (PQ) under Kidnapping and
Abduction and Dacoity of Scheduled Tribe (ST) (In Conjunction with SC/
ST (P) of Atrocities Act) in India (2005)
State-wise Number of Cases Registered (CR), Persons Arrested (PA),
Persons Chargesheeted (PC), Total Persons Tried (PT), Persons
Convicted (PV) and Persons Acquitted (PQ) under Murder and Rape of
Scheduled Tribe (ST) (In Conjunction with SC/ST (P) of Atrocities Act)
in India (2005)
State-wise Number of Cases Registered (CR), Persons Arrested (PA),
Persons Chargesheeted (PC), Total Persons Tried (PT), Persons
Convicted (PV) and Persons Acquitted (PQ) under Robbery and Arson of
Scheduled Castes (SC) (In Conjunction with SC/ST (P) of Atrocities
Act) in India (2005)
State-wise Number of Cases Registered (CR), Persons Arrested (PA),
Persons Chargesheeted (PC), Total Persons Tried (PT), Persons
Convicted (PV) and Persons Acquitted (PQ) under Robbery and Arson of
Scheduled Tribe (ST) (In Conjunction with SC/ST (P) of Atrocities Act)
in India (2005)
State-wise Number of Cases Registered (CR), Persons Arrested (PA),
Persons Chargesheeted (PC), Total Persons Tried (PT), Persons
Convicted (PV) and Persons Acquitted (PQ) under SC/ST (P) of
Atrocities Act Only and Other Crimes Against Scheduled Castes (SC) in
India (2005)
State-wise Number of Cases Registered (CR), Persons Arrested (PA),
Persons Chargesheeted (PC), Total Persons Tried (PT), Persons
Convicted (PV) and Persons Acquitted (PQ) under SC/ST (P) of
Atrocities Act Only and Other Crimes against Scheduled Tribe (ST) in
India (2005)
State-wise Number of Cases Registered , Persons Arrested , Persons
Chargesheeted , Total Persons Tried , Persons Convicted and Persons
Acquitted under Kidnapping and Abduction and Dacoity of SC (In
Conjunction with SC/ST (P) of Atrocities Act) in India (2005)
State-wise Number of Cases Registered, Persons Arrested, Persons
Chargesheeted, Total Persons Tried, Persons Convicted and Persons
Acquitted under Murder and Rape of SC (In Conjunction with SC/ST (P)
of Atrocities Act) in India (2005)
State-wise Number of Murder Cases Registered Against Scheduled
Caste and Scheduled Tribe in India (2005)
Crime-wise Disposal of Persons Arrested for Committing Crimes
Against Scheduled Tribes by Court in India (2004)
State-wise Number of Atrocities Cases Registered under Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 in
India (2002 to 2004)
Crime-wise Disposal of Persons Arrested for Committing Crimes
Against Scheduled Tribes by Court in India (2003)
Number of Cases Registered under SC/ST (POA Act 1989 and PCR Act,
1955) in India (1997 to 2003)
State-wise Cases under Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
(Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 in Regard to Disposal of Cases by
Courts, Cases Ending in Conviction and Cases Pending in Courts in
India (1999 to 2003)
State-wise Number of Cases Registered by Police, Charge Sheeted in
Courts and Cases Disposed Off by Courts under Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 in India
(2003)
Crime-wise Disposal of Persons Arrested for Committing Crimes
Against Scheduled Tribes by Court in India (2002)
Selected State-wise Showing Disposal of Cases by Exclusive Special
Courts Booked Under Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention
of Atrocities) Act, 1989 in India (31.12.2002)
State-wise Number of Cases Registered by Police, Charge Sheeted in
Courts and Cases Disposed Off by Courts under Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 in India
(2002)
State-wise Police Atrocities Against Tribals in India (2000 to
2002)
State-wise Murder Committed Against SC/ST by Non-SC and ST in India
(2001 Upto available Months)
State-wise Number of Cases Registered by Police, Charge Sheeted in
the Courts and Cases Disposed off by Courts Under the Scheduled Castes
and the Secheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) in India Act,
1989 (2001)
Number of Crimes Against Scheduled Castes in India (1991 to 2000)
Percentage Share and Variation in IPC Crimes Against Scheduled
Castes in Total IPC Crimes in India (1992 to 2000)
State/UT with Maximum Percentage Contribution to Crimes against
Scheduled Caste in India (2000)
States with Maximum Percentage Contribution towards Various forms
of Crimes Committed against Scheduled Tribes (2000)
State-wise Number of Cases Acquital under Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 in India (During
1998 to 2000)
State-wise Number of Cases Chargesheeted in Courts under Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 in
India (During 1998 to 2000)
State-wise Number of Cases Conviction under Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 in India (During
1998 to 2000)
State-wise Number of Cases Registered, Charge Sheeted in the Courts
and Cases Disposed off by Courts Under the Scheduled Castes and the
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) in India Act, 1989 in
India (2000)
State-wise Number of Cases Registered, Charge Sheeted in the Courts
and Cases Disposed off by Courts Under the Scheduled Castes and the
Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) in India Act, 1989 (1999)
Cases Registered with Police under Different Crimes Head and
Atrocities on Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) in India
(1995 to 1997)
Disposal of Cases for Committed Crimes Against Scheduled Castes by
Courts/Police
Disposal of Cases for Committed Crimes Against Scheduled Tribes by
Courts/Police
Disposal of Persons Arrested for Committing Crimes Against
Scheduled Castes by Courts/Police
Disposal of Persons Arrested for Committing Crimes Against
Scheduled Tribes by Courts/Police
Incidence of Crimes Against Scheduled Castes
Incidence of Crimes Against Scheduled Tribes
http://www.indiastat.com/crimeandlaw/6/incidenceofcrime/130/crimeagainstscst/17913/stats.aspx
Juvenile Courts
Figures at All-India / State level : (Currently showing India with
State Level consolidated figures) Gujarat | Maharashtra | Meghalaya
|
(Data table headings are shown Year-wise in descending order)
Crime Head-wise Juveniles Apprehended under IPC and SLL Crimes by
Age-Group and Sex in India (2007)
Incidence and Rate of Juvenile Delinquency under IPC in India (1988
to 2007)
Juveniles Apprehended Under IPC and SLL Crimes By Age Groups in
India (1993 to 2007)
Crime Head-wise Juveniles Apprehended under IPC and SLL Crimes by
Age Groups and Sex in India (2006)
Crime-wise Juvenile Delinquency IPC Cases in India (1995, 2000 to
2006)
Juvenile Delinquency (SLL) Under Different Crime Heads in India
(2000 to 2006)
Juveniles Apprehended by Age Group and Sex in India (1971, 1981,
1986, 1987, 1988 and 1991 to 2006)
State-wise Number of Juvenile Justice Boards and Homes Setup under
Provisions of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act,
2000 in India (2006)
State-wise Number of Juveniles Staying in Observation Homes Set up
under Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 in
India (August, 2006)
Crime Head-wise Juveniles Apprehended under IPC and SLL Crimes by
Age Groups and Sex in India (2005)
Disposal of Juveniles Arrested under IPC and LSL Crimes in India
(1988 to 2005)
Juveniles Apprehended under Congnizable Crime in India (1971, 1981,
1986, 1987, 1988 and 1991 to 2005)
Juveniles Arrested under IPC Cognizable Crime and Offences under
Local and Special Laws in India (1968, 1971, 1981, 1986, 1988 and 1991
to 2005) - Part I
Juveniles Arrested under IPC Cognizable Crime and Offences under
Local and Special Laws in India (1968, 1971, 1981, 1986, 1988 and 1991
to 2005) - Part II
Crime Head-wise Juveniles Apprehended under IPC and SLL Crimes by
Age Groups and Sex in India (2004)
Juvenile Delinquency in India (1971 to 2004)
Crime Head-wise Juveniles Apprehended under IPC and SLL Crimes by
Age Groups and Sex in India (2003)
Crime-wise Juveniles Apprehended by Age Group and Sex in India
(2003)
Juvenile Delinquency under Local and Special Laws (Cases Reported)
in India (1971, 1981, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1991 to 2003)
State-wise Central Assistance Released under Programme for Juvenile
Justice in India (1997-1998 to 2002-2003)
Crime-wise Juveniles Apprehended by Age Group and Sex in India
(2001)
State-wise Number of Juvenile Courts and Junvenile Welfare Boards
in India (2000-2001)
Crime-wise Juvenile Delinquency IPC Cases in India (1991 to 2000)
Juveniles Apprehended by Age Group and Sex in India (2000)
State/City-wise Disposal of Juveniles Arrested under IPC and LSL
Crimes in India (2000)
State/City-wise Juvenile Delinquency IPC Cases in India (2000)
State/City-wise Juvenile Delinquency under Local and Special Laws
(Cases Reported) in India (2000)
State/City-wise Juveniles Delinquency Under Different Crime Heads
(IPC) in India (2000) - Part I
State/City-wise Juveniles Apprehended Under Congnizable Crime in
India (2000)
State/City-wise Juveniles Arrested under IPC Cognizable Crime and
Offences under Local and Special Laws in India (2000) - Part I
State/City-wise Juveniles Arrested under IPC Cognizable Crime and
Offences Under Local and Special Laws in India (2000) - Part II
State/City-wise Juveniles Delinquency Under Different Crime Heads
(IPC) in India (2000) - Part II
State/City-wise Juveniles Delinquency Under Different Crime Heads
(IPC) in India (2000) - Part III
State/City-wise Juveniles Delinquency Under Different Crime Heads
(SLL) in India (2000) - Part I
State/City-wise Juveniles Delinquency Under Different Crime Heads
(SLL) in India (2000) - Part II
State-wise Juvenile Delinquency under IPC in India (During 1998 to
2000)
Juveniles Apprehended by Age Group and Sex in India (1999)
State/City-wise Juveniles Apprehended under Different Crime Heads
(IPC) in India (During 1999) - Part I
State/City-wise Juveniles Apprehended under Different Crime Heads
(IPC) in India (During 1999) - Part II
State/City-wise Juveniles Apprehended under Different Crime Heads
(IPC) in India (During 1999) - Part III
States/City-wise Juvenile Delinquency under Different Crime Heads
(IPC) in India (During 1999) - Part I
States/City-wise Juvenile Delinquency under Different Crime Heads
(IPC) in India (During 1999) - Part II
States/City-wise Juvenile Delinquency under Different Crime Heads
(IPC) in India (During 1999) - Part III
States/City-wise Juvenile Delinquency under Different Crime Heads
(SLL) in India (During 1999) - Part I
States/City-wise Juvenile Delinquency under Different Crime Heads
(SLL) in India (During 1999) - Part II
States/City-wise Juveniles Apprehended under Different Crime Heads
(SLL) in India (During 1999) - Part I
States/City-wise Juveniles Apprehended under Different Crime Heads
(SLL) in India (During 1999) - Part II
States/UTs/Citywise Classification of Juveniles Arrested under IPC
and SLL Crimes by Economic-Setup and Recidivism in India (During
1999)
States/UTs/Citywise Classification of Juveniles Arrested under IPC
and SLL Crimes by Education and Family Background in India (During
1999)
States/UTs/Citywise Juveniles Apprehended under IPC Crimes by Age
Group and Sex in India (1999)
States/UTs/Citywise Juveniles Apprehended under SLL Crimes by Age
Group and Sex in India (1999)
State-wise Disposal of Juveniles Arrested under IPC and SLL Crimes
and Sent to Courts in India (1999)
State-wise Number of Juvenile Homes/Observation Homes/Special Homes/
Aftercare Institutions in India (1997-1998)
Crime Head-wise Juveniles Apprehended under IPC and SLL Crimes by
Age Groups and Sex in India (1996)
State-wise Juveniles Apprehended by Sex for Committing Crime under
IPC and SLL in India (During 1996)
State-wise Juveniles Apprehended under Different SLL Crimes in
India (1996) - Part I
State-wise Juveniles Apprehended under Different SLL Crimes in
India (1996) - Part II
State-wise Juveniles Apprehended under SLL Crimes by Age Group and
Sex in India (1996)
Crime Head-wise Juveniles Apprehended by Age Groups and Sex in
India (1995)
Juveniles Arrested under IPC Cognizable Crime and Offences under
Local and Special Laws in India (1968, 1971, 1981, 1986, 1988, 1991 to
1995) - Part III
State-wise Institution under the Juvenile Justice Act in India
(1994-1995)
Crime-wise Juvenile Delinquency IPC Cases in India (1968, 1971,
1981, 1986 and 1988)
State-wise Institutions for Neglected and Delinquent Children under
the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 in India
State-wise Welfare Boards and Juvenile Courts under the Juvenile
Justice Act, 1986 in India
http://www.indiastat.com/crimeandlaw/6/juvenilecourts/148/stats.aspx
Crime against Child
Figures at All-India / State level : (Currently showing India with
State Level consolidated figures) Andaman & Nicobar Islands | Andhra
Pradesh | Arunachal Pradesh | Assam | Bihar | Chandigarh |
Chhattisgarh | Dadra & Nagar Haveli | Daman & Diu | Delhi | Goa |
Gujarat | Haryana | Himachal Pradesh | Jammu & Kashmir | Jharkhand |
Karnataka | Kerala | Madhya Pradesh | Maharashtra | Manipur |
Meghalaya | Mizoram | Nagaland | Orissa | Pondicherry | Punjab |
Rajasthan | Sikkim | Tamil Nadu | Tripura | Uttar Pradesh |
Uttaranchal | West Bengal |
(Data table headings are shown Year-wise in descending order)
State/Sex-wise Number of Children Traced in India (2005 to 2007)
State-wise Number of Children Missing (upto Age of 0-18 Years) in
India (2004 to 2007)
State-wise Persons Arrested under Kidnapping and Abduction in India
(2007)
Crime-wise Disposal of Persons Arrested for Committed Crimes
Against Children by Court in India (2006)
Number of Cases of Murder, Rape and Kidnapping of Abduction of
Children in (NCR Regions of Delhi) India (2004 to 2006)
State-wise Cases Registered Under Child Marriage Restraint Act in
India (March to June, 2006)
Crime-wise Disposal of Persons Arrested for Committed Crimes
Against Children by Court in India (2005)
State-wise Cases Registered, Charged sheeted, Trial Completed,
Convicted and Person Convicted Under Child Marriage Restraint Act in
India (2003 to 2005)
Crime-wise Disposal of Persons Arrested for Committed Crimes
Against Children by Court in India (2004)
Crime-wise Disposal of Persons Arrested for Committing Crimes
Against Children by Court in India (2003)
State-wise Cases Registered, Charged sheeted, Trial Completed,
Convicted and Person Convicted Under Child Marriage Restraint Act in
India (2001 to 2003)
Crime-wise Disposal of Persons Arrested for Committing Crimes
Against Children by Court in India (2002)
Victims of Child Rape in India (1992-2002)
Crime-wise Disposal of Persons Arrested for Committed Crimes
Against Children by Court in India (2001)
State-wise Child Rape Victims (upto 14 years) in India (2001)
State-wise Disposal of Persons Arrested for Committing Crimes
Against Children by Court in India (2001)
State-wise Disposal of Persons Arrested for Crimes Committed
Against Children by Police in India (2001)
State-wise Number of Cases Reported under Child Marriage Restraint
Act, 1929 in India (1999 to 2001)
Disposal of Cases for Committed Crimes Against Children by Courts/
Police
Disposal of Persons Arrested for Committed Crimes Against Children
by Courts/Police
Incidence and Rate of Committed Crimes Against Children
http://www.indiastat.com/crimeandlaw/6/incidenceofcrime/130/crimeagainstchild/17912/stats.aspx
Violent Crimes
Figures at All-India / State level : (Currently showing India with
State Level consolidated figures) Delhi | Punjab | Tamil Nadu |
(Data table headings are shown Year-wise in descending order)
State/Age Group-wise Victims of Culpable Homicide Not Amounting to
Murder in India (2007) - Part I
State/Age Group-wise Victims of Culpable Homicide Not Amounting to
Murder in India (2007) - Part II
State/Age Group-wise Victims of Murder in India (2007) - Part I
State/Age Group-wise Victims of Murder in India (2007) - Part II
State/City-wise Number of Unidentified Dead Bodies Recovered and
Inquest Conducted in India (2000 to 2007)
State-wise Disposal of Violent Crimes by Courts in India (2007) -
Part I
State-wise Disposal of Violent Crimes by Courts in India (2007) -
Part II
State-wise Disposal of Violent Crimes by Courts in India (2007) -
Part III
State-wise Disposal of Violent Crimes by Courts in India (2007) -
Part IV
State-wise Disposal of Violent Crimes by Courts in India (2007) -
Part V
State-wise Disposal of Violent Crimes by Courts in India (2007) -
Part VI
State-wise Incidence and Rate of Violent Crimes in India (2007) -
Part I
State-wise Incidence and Rate of Violent Crimes in India (2007) -
Part II
State-wise Motives of Murder and Culpable Homicide Not Amounting to
Murder (C. H.) in India (2007) - Part I
State-wise Motives of Murder and Culpable Homicide Not Amounting to
Murder (C. H.) in India (2007) - Part II
State-wise Motives of Murder and Culpable Homicide Not Amounting to
Murder (C. H.) in India (2007) - Part III
State-wise Number of Cases Registered /Disposed under Violation of
Human Rights in India (2004-2005 to 2006-2007)
State-wise Number of Victims Murdered by Use of Fire Arms in India
(2007)
State/Age Group-wise Victims of Culpable Homicide Not Amounting to
Murder in India (2006 ) - Part I
State/Age Group-wise Victims of Culpable Homicide Not Amounting to
Murder in India (2006 ) - Part II
State/Age Group-wise Victims of Murder in India (2006) - Part I
State/Age Group-wise Victims of Murder in India (2006) - Part II
State-wise Disposal of Violent Crimes by Courts in India (2006) -
Part I
State-wise Disposal of Violent Crimes by Courts in India (2006) -
Part II
State-wise Disposal of Violent Crimes by Courts in India (2006) -
Part III
State-wise Incidence and Rate of Violent Crimes in India (2006) -
Part I
State-wise Incidence and Rate of Violent Crimes in India (2006) -
Part II
State-wise Motives of Murder and Culpable Homicide not Amounting to
Murder (C.H.) in India (2006) - Part I
State-wise Motives of Murder and Culpable Homicide not Amounting to
Murder (C.H.) in India (2006) - Part II
State-wise Motives of Murder and Culpable Homicide not Amounting to
Murder (C.H.) in India (2006) - Part III
State-wise Number of Victims Murdered by Use of Fire Arms in India
(2006)
State-wise Number of Victims Murdered by Use of Fire Arms in India
(2003 to 2005)
Violent Crime (2004 and 2005)
Age Group/Gender-wise Victims of Culpable Homicide not Amounting to
Murder in India (2002 to 2004)
Age Group/Gender-wise Victims of Murder in India (2002 to 2004)
Age Group-wise Victims of Kidnapping and Abduction in India (2001
to 2004)
Crime Rate for Violent Crimes under IPC in India (1996 to 2004)
State/Age Group/Sex-wise Victims of Culpable Homicide Not Amounting
to Murder in India (2004) - Part I
State-wise Percentage Share of Violent Crimes to Total IPC Crimes
in India (2000 to 2004)
Victims of Murder by Fire-Arms in India (1999 to 2004)
Violent Crimes Reported in India (1996 to 2004)
State-wise Murder Cases Pending Investigation in India (1991 to
2003)
Violent Crime (2002 and 2003)
State-wise Number of Victims Murdered by Use of Fire Arms in India
(2001 and 2002)
Age/Gender-wise Profile of Victims of Murder in India (1999 to
2001)
Age/Gender-wise Victims of C.H. not amounting to Murder in India
(1999 to 2001)
State-wise Left Wing Extremist Violence in India (During 2000 and
2001)
Violent Crime (2000 and 2001)
Age-wise Victims of Kidnapping and Abduction in India ( 1999 and
2000)
Violent Crimes (1999)
http://www.indiastat.com/crimeandlaw/6/incidenceofcrime/130/violentcrimes/17910/stats.aspx
http://www.indiastat.com/crimeandlaw/6/incidenceofcrime/130/stats.aspx
http://www.indiastat.com/crimeandlaw/6/stats.aspx
...and I am Sid harth
bademiyansubhanallah
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Crime is present in various forms in India. Organized crime include
drug trafficking, gunrunning, money laundering, extortion, murder for
hire, fraud, human trafficking and poaching. Many criminal operations
engage in black marketeering, political violence, religiously
motivated violence, terrorism, and abduction. Other crimes are
homicide, robbery, assault etc. Property crimes include burglary,
theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. Corruption is a significant
problem.
Crimes against women
Main article: Women in India
Police records show high incidence of crimes against women in India.
The National Crime Records Bureau reported in 1998 that the growth
rate of crimes against women would be higher than the population
growth rate by 2010.[1] Earlier, many cases were not registered with
the police due to the social stigma attached to rape and molestation
cases. Official statistics show that there has been a dramatic
increase in the number of reported crimes against women.[1]
Sexual Harassment
Half of the total number of crimes against women reported in 1990
related to molestation and harassment at the workplace.[1] Eve teasing
is a euphemism used for sexual harassment or molestation of women by
men. Many activists blame the rising incidents of sexual harassment
against women on the influence of "Western culture". In 1987, The
Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act was passed[2] to
prohibit indecent representation of women through advertisements or in
publications, writings, paintings, figures or in any other manner.
In 1997, in a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court of India took a
strong stand against sexual harassment of women in the workplace. The
Court also laid down detailed guidelines for prevention and redressal
of grievances. The National Commission for Women subsequently
elaborated these guidelines into a Code of Conduct for employers.[1]
While public urination is not practised by men of all ages in India,
it is socially unacceptable for girls and women to publicly urinate
when restrooms are unavailable. In other countries such as Laos,
Cambodia, and Vietnam public urination is practised by women when
there are no toilets. This leads to harassment and UTI in women.
[3] [4] [5] [6]
Dowry
Main articles: Dowry and Dowry law in India
In 1961, the Government of India passed the Dowry Prohibition Act,[7]
making the dowry demands in wedding arrangements illegal. However,
many cases of dowry-related domestic violence, suicides and murders
have been reported. In the 1980s, numerous such cases were reported.
However, recent reports show that the number of these crimes have
reduced drastically.[8]
In 1985, the Dowry Prohibition (maintenance of lists of presents to
the bride and bridegroom) rules were framed.[9]
According to these rules, a signed list of presents given at the time
of the marriage to the bride and the bridegroom should be maintained.
The list should contain a brief description of each present, its
approximate value, the name of whoever has given the present and his/
her relationship to the person.
A 1997 report[10]
claimed that at least 5,000 women die each year because of dowry
deaths, and at least a dozen die each day in 'kitchen fires' thought
to be intentional. The term for this is "bride burning" and is
criticized within India itself. Amongst the urban educated, such dowry
abuse has reduced dramatically.
Child Marriage
Child marriage has been traditionally prevalent in India and continues
to this day. Young girls live with their parents until they reach
puberty. In the past, the child widows were condemned to a life of
great agony, shaving heads, living in isolation, and shunned by the
society.[11]
Although child marriage was outlawed in 1860, it is still a common
practice.[12]
According to UNICEF’s “State of the World’s Children-2009” report, 47%
of India's women aged 20–24 were married before the legal age of 18,
with 56% in rural areas.[13]
The report also showed that 40% of the world's child marriages occur
in India.[14]
Female infanticides and sex selective abortions
India has a highly masculine sex ratio, the chief reason being that
many women die before reaching adulthood.[1]
Tribal societies in India have a less masculine sex ratio than all
other caste groups. This, in spite of the fact that tribal communities
have far lower levels of income, literacy and health facilities.[1]
It is therefore suggested by many experts, that the highly masculine
sex ratio in India can be attributed to female infanticides and sex-
selective abortions.
All medical tests that can be used to determine the sex of the child
have been banned in India, due to incidents of these tests being used
to get rid of unwanted female children before birth. Female
infanticide (killing of girl infants) is still prevalent in some rural
areas.[1]
The abuse of the dowry tradition has been one of the main reasons for
sex-selective abortions and female infanticides in India.
Domestic violence
The incidents of domestive violence are higher among the lower Socio-
Economic Classes (SECs). There are various instances of an inebriated
husband beating up the wife often leading to severe injuries. Domestic
violence is also seen in the form of physical abuse. The Protection of
Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 came into force on October 26,
2006.
Trafficking
The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act was passed in 1956.[15]
However many cases of trafficking of young girls and women have been
reported. These women are either forced into prostitution, domestic
work or child labor.
Illegal drug trade
India is located between two major illicit opium producing centres in
Asia - the Golden Crescent comprising Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran
and the Golden Triangle comprising Burma, Thailand and Laos.[16]
Because of such geographical location, India experiences large amount
of drug trafficking through the borders.[17]
India is the world's largest producer of licit opium.[18]
But opium is diverted to illicit international drug markets.[18]
India is a transshipment point for heroin from Southwest Asian
countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan and from Southeast Asian
countries like Burma, Laos, and Thailand.[19]
Heroin is smuggled from Pakistan and Burma, with some quantities
transshipped through Nepal.[19]
Most heroin shipped from India are destined for Europe.[19]
There have been reports of heroin smuggled from Mumbai to Nigeria for
further export.[19]
In Maharashtra, Mumbai is an important centre for distribution of drug.
[20] The most commonly used drug in Mumbai is Indian heroin (called
desi mal by the local population).[20]
Both public transportation (road and rail transportation) and private
transportation are used for this drug trade.[20]
Drug trafficking affects the country in many ways.
Drug abuse: Cultivation of illicit narcotic substances and drug
trafficking affects the health of the individuals and destroy the
economic structure of the family and society.[21]
Organized crime: Drug trafficking results in growth of organized crime
which affects social security. Organised crime connects drug
trafficking with corruption and money laundering.[21]
Political instability: Drug trafficking also aggravate the political
instability in North-West and North-East India.[22]
A survey conducted in 2003-2004 by Narcotics Control Bureau found that
India has at least four million drug addicts.[23]
The most common drugs used in India are cannabis, hashish, opium and
heroin.[23]
In 2006 alone, India's law enforcing agencies recovered 230 kg heroin
and 203 kg of cocaine.[24]
In an annual government report in 2007, the United States named India
among 20 major hubs for trafficking of illegal drugs along with
Pakistan, Afghanistan and Burma. However, studies reveal that most of
the criminals caught in this crime are either Nigerian or US nationals.
[25]
Several measures have been taken by the Government of India to combat
drug trafficking in the country. India is a party of the Single
Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961), the Convention on Psychotropic
Substances (1971), the Protocol Amending the Single Convention on
Narcotic Drugs (1972) and the United Nations Convention Against
Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988).
[26]
An Indo-Pakistani committee was set up in 1986 to prevent trafficking
in narcotic drugs.[27]
India signed a convention with the United Arab Emirates in 1994 to
control drug trafficking.[27]
In 1995, India signed an agreement with Egypt for investigation of
drug cases and exchange of information and a Memorandum of
Understanding of the Prevention of Illicit Trafficking in Drugs with
Iran.[27]
Arms trafficking
According to a joint report published by Oxfam, Amnesty International
and the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) in 2006,
there are around 40 million illegal small arms in India out of
approximately 75 million in worldwide circulation.[28]
Majority of the illegal small arms make its way into the states of
Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Orissa and Madhya
Pradesh.[28]
In India, a used AK-47 costs $3,800 in black market.[29]
Large amount of illegal small arms are manufactured in various illegal
arms factories in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and sold on the black market
for as little as $5.08.[28]
Chinese pistols are in demand in the illegal small arms market in
India because they are easily available and cheaper.[28]
This trend poses a significant problem for the states of Bihar, Uttar
Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Maharashtra, West Bengal,
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh which have influence of Naxalism.[28]
The porous Indo-Nepal border is an entry point for Chinese pistols,
AK-47 and M-16 rifles into India as these arms are used by the
Naxalites who have ties to Maoists in Nepal.[28]
In North-East India, there is a huge influx of small arms due to the
insurgent groups operating there.[30]
The small arms in North-East India come from insurgent groups in
Burma, black market in South-East Asian countries like Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, black market in Cambodia, the
People's Republic of China, insurgent groups like the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the Communist Party of India (Maoist), the
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), Indian states like Uttar Pradesh
and pilferages from legal gun factories, criminal organizations
operating in India and South Asian countries and other international
markets like Romania, Germany etc.[30]
The small arms found in North-East India are M14 rifle, M16 rifle,
AK-47, AK-56, AK-74, light machine guns, Chinese hand grenades, mines,
rocket-propelled grenades, submachine guns etc.[30]
The Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs drafted
a joint proposal to the United Nations, seeking a global ban on small-
arms sales to non-state users.[28]
Poaching and wildlife trafficking
Illegal wildlife trade in India has increased.[31]
According to a report published by the Environmental Investigation
Agency (EIA) in 2004, India is the chief target for the traders of
wildlife skin.[32] Between 1994 and 2003, there have been 784 cases
where the skins of tiger, leopard or otter have been seized.[32]
Leopards, rhinoceros, reptiles, birds, insects, rare species of plants
are being smuggled into the countries in Southeast Asia and the
People's Republic of China.[31]
Between 1994 and 2003, poaching and seizure of 698 otters have been
documented in India.[32]
Kathmandu is a key staging point for illegal skins smuggled from India
bound for Tibet and PRC.[32]
The report by EIA noted there has been a lack of cross-border
cooperation between India, Nepal and the People's Republic of China to
coordinate enforcement operations and lack of political will to treat
wildlife crime effectively.[32]
The poaching of the elephants is a significant problem in Southern
India[33]
and in the North-Eastern states of Nagaland and Mizoram.[34]
The majority of tiger poaching happen in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar
Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.[35]
Following is a comparison of reported cases of tiger and leopard
poaching from 1998 to 2003:
Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Reported cases of tiger poaching[36] 14 38 39 35 47 8
Reported cases of leopard poaching[36] 28 80 201 69 87 15
Samir Sinha, head of TRAFFIC India, the wildlife trade monitoring arm
of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the World Conservation
Union (IUCN), told Reuters in an interview "The situation regarding
the illegal trade in wildlife parts in India is very grim. It is a
vast, a varied trade ranging from smuggling of rare medicinal plants
to butterflies to peafowls to tigers and it is difficult to predict
how big it is, but the threats and dimensions suggest that the trade
is increasing".[31]
Project Tiger, a wildlife conservation project, was initiated in 1972
and was launched by Indira Gandhi on April 1, 1973.[37]
With 23 tiger reserves, Project Tiger claimed to have succeeded.[37]
But according to critics like conservationist Billy Arjan Singh,
temporary increases in tiger population were caused by immigration due
to destruction of habitat in Nepal, not because of the widely
acclaimed success of wildlife policy in India.[37]
Cyber crime
Cases of spam, computer hacking, cyber stalking and email fraud are
rampant in India.[38]
The Information Technology Act 2000 was passed by the Parliament of
India in May 2000, aiming to curb cyber crimes and provide a legal
framework for e-commerce transactions.[39]
However Pavan Duggal, lawyer of Supreme Court of India and cyber law
expert, viewed "The IT Act, 2000, is primarily meant to be a
legislation to promote e-commerce. It is not very effective in dealing
with several emerging cyber crimes like cyber harassment, defamation,
stalking and so on".[38]
Although cyber crime cells have been set up in major cities, Duggal
noted the problem is that most cases remain unreported due to a lack
of awareness.[38]
In 2001, India and United States had set up an India-US cyber security
forum as part of a counter-terrorism dialogue.[40]
In 2006, India and the US agreed to enhance cooperation between law
enforcement agencies of the two countries in tackling cyber crimes as
part of counter-terrorism efforts.[40]
A joint US-India statement released in 2006 after talks between US
President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
stressed that in view of the importance of cyber security and cyber
forensic research, the two countries are also carrying out discussions
on a draft protocol on cyber security.[40]
Corruption and police misconduct
Main article: Corruption in India
Corruption is widespread in India. It is prevalent within every
section and every level of the society.[41]
Corruption has taken the role of a pervasive aspect of Indian politics.
[42]
In India, corruption takes the form of bribes, evasion of tax and
exchange controls, embezzlement, etc.
Despite state prohibitions against torture and custodial misconduct by
the police, torture is widespread in police custody, which is a major
reason behind deaths in custody.[43][44]
The police often torture innocent people until a 'confession' is
obtained to save influential and wealthy offenders.[45]
G.P. Joshi, the programme coordinator of the Indian branch of the
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative in New Delhi comments that the
main issue at hand concerning police violence is a lack of
accountability of the police.[46]
In 2006, the Supreme Court of India in a judgment in the Prakash Singh
vs. Union of India case, ordered central and state governments with
seven directives to begin the process of police reform. The main
objectives of this set of directives was twofold, providing tenure to
and streamlining the appointment/transfer processes of policemen, and
increasing the accountability of the police.[47]
In 2006, seven policemen were charge sheeted and eleven were
convicted[48]
for custodial misconduct.
Crime over time
Incidence of cognizable crimes in India 1953-2007[49]
A report published by the National Crime Records Bureau compared crime
rate from 1953 to 2006. The report noted that burglary declined over a
period of 53 years by 38% (from 1,47,379 in 1953 to 91,666 in 2006),
whereas murder has increased by 231% (from 9,803 in 1953 to 32,481 in
2006).[50]
Kidnapping has increased by 356% (from 5,261 in 1953 to 23,991 in
2006), robbery by 120% (from 8,407 in 1953 to 18,456 in 2006) and
riots by 176% (from 20,529 in 1953 to 56,641 in 2006).[50]
In 2006, 51,02,460 cognizable crimes were committed including
18,78,293 Indian Penal Code (IPC) crimes and 32,24,167 Special & Local
Laws (SLL) crimes, with an increase of 1.5% over 2005 (50,26,337).
[48]
IPC crime rate in 2006 was 167.7 compared to 165.3 in 2005 showing an
increase of 1.5% in 2006 over 2005.[48]
SLL crime rate in 2006 was 287.9 compared to 290.5 in 2005 showing a
decline of 0.9% in 2006 over 2005.[48]
Year[50] Total cog. crimes under IPC Murder Kidnapping Robbery
Burglary Riots
1953 6, 01, 964 9,802 5,261 8,407 147,
379 20, 529
2006 18, 78, 293 32,481 23,991 18,456 91,
666 56, 641
% Change in 2006 over 1953
212.0 231.0 356.0
120.0 -38.0 176.0
SOURCE: National Crime Records Bureau[50]
Crime by locale
Location has a significant impact on crime in India. In 2006, the
highest crime rate was reported in Pondicherry (447.7%) for crimes
under Indian Penal Code which is 2.7 times the national crime rate of
167.7%.[48]
Kerala reported the highest crime rate at 312.5% among states.[48]
Kolkata (71.0%) and Madurai (206.2%) were the only two mega cities
which reported less crime rate than their domain states West Bengal
(79.0%) and Tamil Nadu (227.6%).[48] Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore have
accounted for 16.2%, 9.5% and 8.1% respectively of the total IPC
crimes reported from 35 mega cities.[48]
Indore reported the highest crime rate (769.1%) among the mega cities
in India followed by Bhopal (719.5%) and Jaipur (597.1%).[48]
Jammu & Kashmir (33.7%), Manipur (33.0%), Assam (30.4%) and Daman and
Diu and Pondicherry (29.4%) reported higher violent crime rate
compared to 18.4% at national level.[48]
Uttar Pradesh reported the highest incidence of violent crimes
accounting for 12.1% of total violent crimes in India (24,851 out of
2,05,656) followed by Bihar with 11.8% (24,271 out of 2,05,6556).[48]
Among 35 mega cities, Delhi reported 31.2% (533 out of 1,706) of total
rape cases.[48]
Madhya Pradesh has reported the highest number of rape cases (2,900)
accounting for 15.0% of total such cases reported in the country.[48]
Uttar Pradesh reported 16.9% (5,480 out of 32,481) of total murder
cases in the country and 18.4% (4,997 out of 27,230) total attempt to
murder cases.[48]
Crimes against foreigners in India
There are several instances of violent crime against foreigners in
India.[51]
Many of the crimes occur against foreigners only. Scams involving
export of jewels occur in India, which target foreign citizens.[51]
Political demonstrations are common in India. These demonstrations
often turn violent and routinely cause disruption of transportation
services, causing great inconvenience to foreign tourists in India.
Traveling alone in remote areas after dark is of particular risk to
foreigners.[52]
Because U.S. citizens' purchasing power is relatively large compared
to the general Indian population, they the preferred target for
robbery and other serious crime.[53]
In April 1999, Swaraj Damree, a tourist from Mauritius was befriended
by a group of Indians who later held him in 25 days of captivity. They
robbed him of cash amounting to US $1,500, took his travellers'
cheques, wrist watch, gold chain, bracelet, two bags and suitcase.
[54]
In 2000, two German trekkers were shot in Himachal Pradesh. A few
weeks later, two Spanish tourists were killed in Himachal Pradesh by
robbers.[55]
Many foreign tourists are victims of violent crime in Kolkata.[56]
In September 2006, criminals robbed the wallet of a British woman in
Kolkata.[56] The same month, a Japanese tourist was robbed on his way
to Sudder Street.[56] In October 2006, a foreigner was robbed in
daylight on Park Street.[56]
Petty crime
Petty crime, like pickpocketing, bag snatching etc. are widespread in
India. Theft of valuables of foreigners from luggage on trains and
buses is common. Travelers who are not in groups become easy victims
of pickpockets and purse snatchers. Purse snatchers work in crowded
areas.[57]
Passport theft
In India, stealing passports of foreigners from their luggage on
trains and buses is widespread.[51]
Theft of U.S. passports is very common, especially in major tourist
areas.[53][58]
Scam incidents
Many scams are perpetrated against foreign travelers, especially in
Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan.[53]
Scams usually target younger foreign tourists and suggest them that
money can be made by privately transporting gems or gold or by taking
delivery abroad of expensive carpets avoiding customs duties.[53]
Such incidents pull the traveler over the course of several days and
begin with a new scam artist who offers to show the foreign traveler
the sights. They also offer cheap lodgings and meals to foreign
travellers so that they can place the traveler in the physical custody
of the scam artist and can leave the foreigner with threats and
physical coercion. In the due process, the foreigner loses his
passport.[53]
Taxi scam
There are also taxi scams present in India, whereby a foreign
traveler, who is not aware of the locations around Indian airports, is
taken for a ride round the whole airport and charged for full-fare
taxi ride while the terminal is only few hundred yards away.[57]
Overseas Security Advisory Council in a report mentioned the process
about how to avoid taxi-scam.[57]
Rape and sexual assault against foreigners
Incidents of rape and sexual assault against foreign tourists at
popular tourist spots is increasing in India. Many of the alleged
perpetrators are children of senior government officials or
politicians.[59][60]
In September 1994, Gurkirat Singh, grandson of the then CM Beant
Singh, was accused of abducting and molesting a French tourist Katia
Darnand in Chandigarh[61][62].
In March 2006, Biti Mohanty, son of a senior police official in
Orissa, raped a German tourist in Alwar, Rajasthan.[63][64]
A Japanese woman was raped in Pushkar, Rajasthan on April 2, 2006.[65]
[66] In June 2007, a South Korean was raped near Manali.[63]
In September 2007, two Japanese women were gang-raped in Agra,[63]
a popular tourist-spot in India where the Taj Mahal is situated. The
Indian state of Rajasthan, which is a popular destination among
foreign tourists with one out of every three foreign travellers
visiting the state, have been rattled by rape cases of foreign
tourists.[67]
On December 5, 2009, a Russian woman was raped in Goa by a local
politician John Fernandes. In February 2008, Scarlett Keeling, a
British national aged 15 was raped and killed in Goa [68].
In January 2010, a Russian girl aged 9 was raped in Goa [69];
referring to this and earlier cases, Russia threatened to issue an
advisory asking its citizens not to travel to the coastal state [70].
The US Bureau of Consular Affairs has warned women not to travel alone
in India.[58]
However in contrast the British Foreign office only advise women to
take normal precautions.[71]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Consular_Affairs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Foreign_office
See also
Caste-related violence in India
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste-related_violence_in_India
Corruption in India
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_in_India
Indian mafia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_mafia
Indian political scandals
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_political_scandals
Law enforcement in India
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_enforcement_in_India
Mafia Raj
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafia_Raj
Religious violence in India
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_violence_in_India
Kala Kaccha Gang
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kala_Kaccha_Gang
Notes
^ a b c d e f g Kalyani Menon-Sen, A. K. Shiva Kumar (2001). "Women in
India: How Free? How Equal?". United Nations. http://www.un.org.in/wii.htm.
Retrieved 2006-12-24.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._K._Shiva_Kumar http://www.un.org.in/wii.htm
^ "The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1987".
http://www.wcd.nic.in/dowryprohibitionrules.htm. Retrieved
2006-12-24.
^ http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/node/255611
^ http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Battambang/blog-325432.html
^ http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=149258&go=tasha
^ http://radicalchange.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/cambodia-a-wayfarers-journey/
^ "The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961".
http://www.wcd.nic.in/dowryprohibitionact.htm. Retrieved 2006-12-24.
^ (2006-12-19)"Women of India: Frequently Asked Questions".
2006-12-19.
http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/women/faq.htm. Retrieved 2006-12-24.
^ "The Dowry Prohibition (maintenance of lists of presents to the
bride and bridegroom) rules, 1985".
http://www.wcd.nic.in/dowryprohibitionrules.htm. Retrieved
2006-12-24.
^ Kitchen fires Kill Indian Brides with Inadequate Dowry, July 23,
1997, New Delhi, UPI
^ Jyotsna Kamat (2006-12-19). "Gandhi and Status of Women".
http://www.kamat.com/mmgandhi/gwomen.htm. Retrieved 2006-12-24.
^ BBC News | SOUTH ASIA | Child marriages targeted in India
^ http://www.unicef.org/sowc09/docs/SOWC09_Table_9.pdf
^ http://www.hindu.com/2009/01/18/stories/2009011855981100.htm
^ "The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956".
http://www.wcd.nic.in/act/itpa1956.htm. Retrieved 2006-12-24.
^ P. J. Alexander (2002). Policing India in the New Millennium. Allied
Publishers. pp. p658. ISBN 8177642073.
^ Caterina Gouvis Roman, Heather Ahn-Redding, Rita James Simon (2007).
Illicit Drug Policies, Trafficking, and Use the World Over. Lexington
Books. pp. p183. ISBN 0739120883.
^ a b "CIA World Factbook - India". CIA World Factbook.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html.
Retrieved 2007-12-01.
^ a b c d India
^ a b c "Drug trade dynamics in India".
http://laniel.free.fr/INDEXES/PapersIndex/INDIAMOLLY/DRUGSDYNAMICSININDIA.htm.
^ a b P. J. Alexander (2002). Policing India in the New Millennium.
Allied Publishers. pp. p659. ISBN 8177642073.
^ Alain Labrousse, Laurent Laniel (2002). The World Geopolitics of
Drugs, 1998/1999. Springer. pp. p53. ISBN 1402001401.
^ a b "Mechanism in States".
http://narcoticsindia.nic.in/Mechinstates.htm.
^ Airports get scanners to check drug trafficking
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1680312.cms
^ "US names India among 20 major hubs for drug trafficking".
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=5f7ed0c7-60a5-40fc-bbf1-7e9b4c070f59&&Headline=India+among+20+major+drug+hubs%3a+US.
^ Daniel J. Koenig (2001). International Police Cooperation: A World
Perspective. Lexington Books. pp. p172. ISBN 0739102265.
^ a b c Daniel J. Koenig (2001). International Police Cooperation: A
World Perspective. Lexington Books. pp. p173. ISBN 0739102265.
^ a b c d e f g India home to 40 million illegal small-arms
^ "Small Arms Trafficking".
http://www.havocscope.com/trafficking/smallarms.htm.
^ a b c A Narrative of Armed Ethnic Conflict, Narcotics and Small Arms
Trafficking in India's North East
^ a b c Illegal wildlife trade grows in India
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSDEL8332720070817?sp=true
^ a b c d e The Tiger Skin Trail
http://www.eia-international.org/files/reports85-1.pdf
^ R. Sukumar (1989). The Asian Elephant: Ecology and Management.
Cambridge University Press. pp. p210. ISBN 052143758X.
^ Charles Santiapillai, Peter Jackson (1990). The Asian Elephant: An
Action Plan for Its Conservation. pp. p30. ISBN 2880329973.
^ The situation in India
http://www.internatyearofthetiger.org/india.htm
^ a b Poaching & Seizure Cases
http://projecttiger.nic.in/poaching.asp#
^ a b c At least one tiger is killed by poachers every day
http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/oct/02tiger.htm
^ a b c Byte by Byte
http://www.rediff.com/netguide/2003/feb/18crime.htm
^ India cyber law comes into force
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/978231.stm
^ a b c India-US to counter cyber crime
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/978231.stm
^ Where will corruption take India? People's Union for Civil Liberties
http://www.pucl.org/Topics/Human-rights/2002/corruption.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Union_for_Civil_Liberties
^ Corruption in India
http://www.indianchild.com/corruption_in_india.htm
^ Torture main reason of death in police custody The Tribune
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070313/punjab1.htm#7
^ Custodial deaths in West Bengal and India's refusal to ratify the
Convention against Torture Asian Human Rights Commission 26 February
2004
http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2004statement/146/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Human_Rights_Commission
^ Custodial deaths and torture in India Asian Legal Resource Centre
http://www.alrc.net/pr/mainfile.php/2004pr/41/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Legal_Resource_Centre
^ Police Accountability in India: Policing Contaminated by Politics
http://www.hrsolidarity.net/mainfile.php/2005vol15no05/2448/
^ The Supreme Court takes the lead on police reform: Prakash Singh vs.
Union of India, CHRI
http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/programs/aj/police/india/initiatives/writ_petition.htm
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Snapshots – 2006 National Crime Records
Bureau
^ "Incidence of cognizable crimes (IPC) under different crime heads
during 1953-2007". National Crime Records Bureau.
http://ncrb.nic.in/cii2007/cii-2007/1953-2007.pdf. Retrieved
2009-11-08.
^ a b c d Snapshots (1953—2006) National Crime Records Bureau
http://ncrb.nic.in/cii2006/cii-2006/Snapshots.pdf
^ a b c "TRAVEL REPORT India".
http://www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/report-en.asp?country=128000.
^ "India". http://www.canadiancontent.net/profiles/India.html.
^ a b c d e "India 2007 Crime & Safety Report: New Delhi".
https://www.osac.gov/Reports/report.cfm?contentID=62883.
^ Foreign tourist drugged, robbed, tortured, released after 25 days
http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19990420/ige20118.html
^ India's valley of death
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/south_asia/909877.stm
^ a b c d "Shudder street".
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070218/asp/calcutta/story_7406290.asp.
The Telegraph
^ a b c "Crime & Safety Report: Chennai".
https://www.osac.gov/Reports/report.cfm?contentID=62882.
^ a b "Consular Information Sheet: India".
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1139.html. Bureau of
Consular Affairs
^ Handle foreign tourists with care, DNA
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_handle-foreign-tourists-with-care_1124186
^ Crimes against tourists alarm tour operators, DNA
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_crimes-against-tourists-alarm-tour-operators_1123611
^ <http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?207483
^ http://www.indianexpress.com/oldStory/34517/
^ a b c "Main accused arrested in Agra tourist rape case".
http://in.news.yahoo.com/070924/211/6l4pp.html.
^ Biti Mohanty's father gets showcause notice, DNA
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_biti-mohanty-s-father-gets-showcause-notice_1075743
^ Another foreign tourist cries rape, The Times of India
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1497108.cms
^ Japanese tourist alleges rape, The Hindu
http://www.hindu.com/2006/04/20/stories/2006042006481000.htm
^ West India state troubled by rape case of foreign tourist
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-04/20/content_4451686.htm
^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3529865.ece
^ http://www.hindustantimes.com/goa/Russian-rape-case-Goa-women-s-panel-to-seek-details/502950/H1-Article1-502942.aspx
^ http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100128/jsp/nation/story_12036988.jsp
^ (15 February 2010)"India travel advice". British Foreign Office. 15
February 2010. http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/asia-oceania/india.
Retrieved 22 February 2010.
References
New trends in drug trafficking
http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/19/stories/2008011956120300.htm
India becoming hot bed for drug trafficking: Expert
http://expressbuzz.com/edition/default.aspx
http://www.cyberlawsindia.net Cyber Crime in India
Mumbai mafia is using more sophisticated weapons then police
Further reading
Edwardes, S M (2007), Crime in India, READ BOOKS, ISBN 1406761265 .
Broadhurst, Roderic G.; Grabosky, Peter N. (2005), Cyber-Crime: The
Challenge in Asia, Hong Kong University Press, ISBN 9622097243 .
Menon, Vivek (1996), Under Siege: Poaching and Protection of Greater
One-Horned Rhinoceroses in India, TRAFFIC International, ISBN
1858501024 .
Vittal, N. (2003), Corruption in India: The Roadblock to National
Prosperity, Academic Foundation, ISBN 8171882870 .
Gupta, K. N. (2001), Corruption in India, Anmol Publications Pvt Ltd,
ISBN 8126109734 .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_India
chhotemianinshallah
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Article 370 of the Indian constitution, which is of a temporary
nature, grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
Text of Article 370
In view of its importance the text of the article 370 (Without
amendments) is reproduced below:
Article 370 of the Constitution of India (Temporary provisions with
respect of the State of Jammu and Kashmir)
1. Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution:
a. the provisions of article 238 shall not apply in relation to the
State of Jammu and Kashmir,
b. the power of Parliament to make laws for the said State shall be
limited to;
i. those matters in the Union List and the Concurrent List which, in
consultation with the Government of the State, are declared by the
President to correspond to matters specified in the Instrument of
Accession governing the accession of the State to the Dominion of
India as the matters with respect to which the Dominion Legislature
may make laws for that State; and
ii. such other matters in the said Lists, as, with the concurrence of
the Government of the State, the President may by order specify.
Explanation—For the purpose of this article, the Government of the
State means the person for the time being recognised by the President
as the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir acting on the advice of the
Council of Ministers for the time being in office under the Maharaja’s
Proclamation dated the fifth day of March, 1948;
c.the provisions of article 1 and of this article shall apply in
relation to this State;
d.such of the other provisions of this Constitution shall apply in
relation to that State subject to such exceptions and modifications as
the President may by order specify
i. Provided that no such order which relates to the matters specified
in the Instrument of Accession of the State referred to in paragraph
(i) of sub-clause (b) shall be issued except in consultation with the
Government of the State:
ii. Provided further that no such order which relates to matters other
than those referred to in the last preceding proviso shall be issued
except with the concurrence of the Government.
2. If the concurrence of the Government of the State referred to in
paragraph
(ii) of sub-clause (b) of clause
(1) or in second proviso to sub-clause
(d) of that clause be given before the Constituent Assembly for the
purpose of framing the Constitution of the State is convened, it shall
be placed before such Assembly for such decision as it may take
thereon.
3. Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of the
article, the President may, by public notification, declare that this
article shall cease to be operative or shall be operative only with
such exceptions and modifications and from such date as he may notify:
Provided that the recommendation of the Constituent Assembly of the
State referred to in clause (2) shall be necessary before the
President issues such a notification.
4. In exercise of the powers conferred by this article the President,
on the recommendation of the Constituent Assembly of the State of
Jammu and Kashmir, declared that, as from the 17th day of November,
1952, the said art. 370 shall be operative with the modification that
for the explanation in cl.(1) thereof the following Explanation is
substituted namely:
Explanation—For the purpose of this Article, the Government of the
State means the person for the time being recognised by the President
on the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly of the State as the
*Sadar-I-Riyasat of Jammu and Kashmir, acting on the advice of Council
of Ministers of the State for the time being in office.
Implications of Article 370
This article specifies that except for Defence, Foreign Affairs,
Finance and Communications,(matters specified in the instrument of
accession) the Indian Parliament needs the State Government's
concurrence for applying all other laws. Thus the state's residents
lived under a separate set of laws, including those related to
citizenship, ownership of property, and fundamental rights, as
compared to other Indians.
Similar protections for unique status exist in tribal areas of India
including those in Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland
however it is only for the state of Jammu and Kashmir that the
accession of the state to India is still a matter of dispute between
India and Pakistan still on the agenda of the U.N.Security Council and
where the Government of India vide 1974 Indira-Sheikh accord committed
itself to keeping the relationship between the Union and Jammu and
Kashmir State within the ambit of this article .
The 1974 Indira-Sheikh accord mentions that " The State of Jammu and
Kashmir which is a constituent unit of the Union of India, shall, in
its relation with the Union, continue to be governed by Article 370 of
the Constitution of India " .
Indian citizens from other states and Kashmiri women who marry men
from other states can not purchase land or property in Jammu & Kashmir.
[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1974_Indira-Sheikh_accord
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jammu_%26_Kashmir
See also
Article 356
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_356
PART XXI of Indian constitution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PART_Twenty_One_of_the_Constitution_of_India
References
Full text of the articlePDF (387 KiB)
http://lawmin.nic.in/coi/PARTXXI.pdf
Article 370 text from wikisource
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_India/Part_XXI
^ Vasudha Dhagamwar (May 04, 2004). "The price of a Bill".
http://www.indianexpress.com/oldStory/46240/. Retrieved 24 March
2009.
External links
Background of article 370
http://rashtraman.blogspot.com/2008/08/article-370.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_370
Indian Opinion
A real Indian view of current affairs
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Article 370
article 370 was introduced to abide by the terms of J&K's accession.
The accession of J&K was conditional.
India desperately wanted to prove 2-nation theory wrong and wanted a
muslim majority region under its fold, also the strategic significance
of Kashmir and willingness of Kashmiri leaders to have separate state
for themselves (under protection of India) were the main reasons why
India went ahead for accession of J&K.
When Instrument of Accession was signed, constitution of India was not
ready. As per clause 7 of the Instrument of Accession, J&K was not
committed to accept the future Constitution of India.
In 1949 november when all the princely state heads and provincial
heads of Indian dominion were supposed to issue proclaimations making
Constitution of India operative in their respective states and
provinces, J&K refused such proclaimation refering to the clause 7 of
Instrument of Accession. This is because the draft form of
constitution refused separate constitutions for the states and J&K
always wanted their own separate constitution.
There was a legal imbroglio in this situation, the accession issue was
already with united nations and in such situations India has to abide
by its promise. This lead to Article 306-A of the draft Constitution
of India (which became article 370 in the actaul constitution).
Considering the overall situation prevalent, Article 370 was a major
step forward at that time. The Article at least paved the way for the
Republic of India to make several laws and provisions of the
Constitution of India applicable to Jammu & Kashmir State beyond the
strait jacket of the Instrument of Accession. Besides, Article 370 was
conceived as a temporary arrangement, with hopes of a full integration
in time to come.
Posted by Shailendra at 1:25 AM
Labels: article 370, India, J K, kashmir
2 comments:
kavi deependra said...
thank you very much ..for such valuable information...
kavi deependra
December 25, 2009 10:26 AM
Acme Consultants said...
This information cannot be considered as full information. Please give
the actual reason
February 27, 2010 4:11 AM
Post a Comment
http://rashtraman.blogspot.com/2008/08/article-370.html
SP, RJD pipe down, Govt not in a hurry for Women's Bill in LS
PTI
New Delhi, March 10, 2010
UPA allies SP and RJD on Wednesday piped down on their threat to
withdraw support to the government and the ruling coalition appeared
not to be in a hurry to press ahead with the Women's reservation bill
in the Lok Sabha.
A day after the Rajya Sabha passed the historic legislation, Trinamool
Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, whose party boycotted the voting, on
Wednesday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi who reportedly addressed
her concerns and assured her all parties would be consulted before the
historic legislation is brought before the Lok Sabha.
However, Banerjee continued to sulk over Congress attitude when she
walked away from the Rajya Sabha during the discussion on the Railway
budget after a Congress leader made a veiled attack on her suggesting
she was not following "Cabinet discipline".
The timing of tabling the bill in the Lok Sabha was a matter of
speculation amid reports that the Government does not want to take any
chance with the crucial money bills to be voted before the House
adjourns for a recess on March 16.
However, Law Minister Veerappa Moily dismissed any fears of threat to
the government on the issue of financial business saying government
had the numbers and there was no deliberate strategy to delay the
Bill.
Parliamentary Affairs minister P K Bansal gave no indication of the
Bill being brought before March 16, saying "We want everyone on board.
We will certainly try for a congenial atmosphere."
On the other side, the Bill's strong opponents SP chief Mulayam Singh
Yadav and RJD chief Lalu Prasad, who had threatened to withdraw
support over its passage, did not execute their threat today.
Women's Bill to be in place in two years
It will be more than two years after the Women's Reservation Bill is
passed in Lok Sabha for it to be implemented because of the long
subsequent legislative and other processes associated with it.
"It will take a minimum of two years. Just like the delimitation
process...a commission or a committee it will take two to two-and-a-
half years from now. The process is such," Moily told PTI.
However, he expressed confidence that the reservation of seats and the
identification of 181 of the 543 seats for women in Lok Sabha will be
in place "definitely" before the next Lok Sabha elections due in 2014.
Apart from reserving seats in Lok Sabha, the Constitution Amendment
Bill, which was passed by Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, seeks to provide
reservation for women in 1,370 out of a total of 4,109 seats in 28
assemblies.
The principle of reservation of seats for women will also apply to
seats reserved for SC/ST candidates.
The Bill also provides for rotation of seats reserved for women every
Lok Sabha.
Explaining the process, Moily said once Lok Sabha passes the Bill and
the President signs it it will be sent to all the states for
ratification.
At least 14 of the 28 states will have to ratify the legislation for
it to become a law. This process, Moily said, may take about nine
months.
Women's bill in LS likely on March 15
The Women's Reservation Bill, which has been passed by Rajya Sabha,
may be tabled in Lok Sabha on March 15 or 16 but a final decision on
it will be taken by the Business Advisory Committee which meets on
Friday.
"The BAC is meeting on Friday. It will have to decide the date," Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily told reporters when asked when the
Constitution (108th Amendment) bill would be tabled in the Lower
House.
Replying to questions, Moily said the bill could be tabled on March 15
or March 16.
He expressed confidence that the bill that provides for 33 per cent
reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies would have a
smooth sailing in the Lower House of Parliament too.
The bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha yesterday with overwhelming
majority, with 191 voting in favour and only one against among those
present in the House.
Moily said the government has some other agenda like the Finance bill
and some legislations to replace ordinances that are needed to be
taken up urgently.
Asked whether there was any plan to revoke suspension of the seven
Rajya Sabha members considering demands for the same, the Law Minister
evaded a direct reply and merely said, "The Congress and UPA
government are not interested in keeping out members of either Lok
Sabha or Rajya Sabha. That is not our legacy. Our legacy is to involve
everybody.
No quotas within quota, no threat to Govt: Moily
Government ruled out providing 'quota within quota' for OBCs and
Muslims in the Women's Reservation Bill and said there was no
deliberate delay in bringing the measure to Lok Sabha on perceived
threat to its stability.
Unfazed by threats of withdrawl of support by allies like SP and RJD,
the Government is absolutely confident and has no worries about
numbers in Lok Sabha or about passage of the money bills in the lower
house.
"There is no provision for sub quota for OBCs or minorities under the
present scheme of things in Constitution and also because there is no
data available even today on communities and castes under the census,"
Moily said.
BPCC suspends Lalu's relative, Tytler says no
Congress in Bihar suspended RJD chief Lalu Prasad's relative Anirudh
Prasad alias Sadhu Yadav for reportedly speaking against Women's
Reservation Bill, but AICC general secretary in-charge of state
affairs, Jagdish Tytler, said no such measure was taken against him.
"He does not stand suspended as announced by BPCC president Anil
Sharma earlier in the day," Tytler told reporters in Patna.
Yadav had personally explained his position to him stating that he
believed in the policies and programmes of the Congress, Tytler said.
"Yadav has explained to me that he was not averse to the party line on
the Women's Reservation Bill. "I have asked Yadav to explain his
position in writing to which he has agreed," Tytler said.
Yadav, brother-in-law of Lalu, said, "I have not said anything on the
issue. Since the assembly elections are around the corner, some vested
interests in the party are playing dirty politics to malign me."
Earlier in the day, the BPCC chief said, "We have taken a serious note
of Yadav going to the extreme step of violating the party lines on the
bill and suspended him with immediate effect."
According to reports, Yadav had threatened to resign from the Congress
to protest against its stand on the Bill. He had switched over to
Congress following differences with Lalu on allotment of party ticket
before the last Lok Sabha election.
AP Cong demands Bharat Ratna for Sonia Gandhi
Hailing AICC president Sonia Gandhi for getting the Women's
Reservation Bill passed in the Rajya Sabha, women wing of the Andhra
Pradesh Congress demanded that she be awarded Bharat Ratna for her
valuable contribution for the empowerment of women in the country.
"We have faxed our demand to President Pratibha Patil already. We will
meet her soon and request her to confer Bharat Ratna on madam
Soniaji," state Mahila Congress president K Ganga Bhavani said in
Hyderabad.
She said a resolution has also been passed in this regard by the
Congress' women wing.
Gandhi Bhavan, the headquarters of the state Congress Committee, wore
a festive look with party members distributing sweets, bursting
crackers, lighting sparklers and dancing with joy over the passage of
the women's reservation bill in the Rajya Sabha.
The party members hit out at RJD chief Lalu Prasad, Samajwadi Party
supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and Janata Dal (U) president Sharad Yadav
for opposing the bill.
"The behaviour of MPs who tried to snatch away and tear the papers was
abominable. If Lalu has so much love for dalits, then why had he made
his wife (Rabri Devi) chief minister. He could had made a dalit leader
the chief minister," T Venkata Ratnam, a woman Congress leader, said.
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ASK PRABHU
India Today ASK PRABHU Story If the Congress starts supporting Common
Civil Code, eliminates Article 370, terminates all the casts/religion-
based reservations, where would you be?
March 3, 2010
None of these changes would affect my life. I trust democracy and
nationalist secularism.
-Asked by Shivram Gopal Vaidya
vaidyas...@gmail.com
More stories from ASK PRABHU
Why do you avoid answering the question that might put Muslim
hooligans and Congressmen in tight spot? Are you afraid of them? Do
they hamper your channels' day-to-day work?
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/89191/ASK%20PRABHU/Why+do+you+avoid+answering+the+question+that+might+put+Muslim+hooligans+and+Congressmen+in+tight+spot+Are+you+afraid+of+them+Do+they+hamper+your+channels'+day-to-day+work.html
Pakistan plays with our govt, like cat plays with a mouse, bleeding us
regularly. Yet our ministers run to defend tapori like pro-Pak
statements of some celebrities. What message does Pakistan get out of
this?
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/89190/ASK%20PRABHU/Pakistan+plays+with+our+govt,+like+cat+plays+with+a+mouse,+bleeding+us+regularly.+Yet+our+ministers+run+to+defend+tapori+like+pro-Pak+statements+of+some+celebrities.+What+message+does+Pakistan+get+out+of+this.html
How to elect honest politician where elections are based on money
power?
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/89189/ASK%20PRABHU/How+to+elect+honest+politician+where+elections+are+based+on+money+power.html
I take extra care of my children studying in convent as I see so many
improper tricks are applied to make them deviate religiously. Everyday
after school I force them into Quransharif. Am I communal to defend
our beliefs?
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/89188/ASK%20PRABHU/I+take+extra+care+of+my+children+studying+in+convent+as+I+see+so+many+improper+tricks+are+applied+to+make+them+deviate+religiously.+Everyday+after+school+I+force+them+into+Quransharif.+Am+I+communal+to+defend+our+beliefs.html
Sir, recently, I heard that India was rebuffed and snubbed in Tehran
and in Istanbul. Is this true? Why were we treated like this
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/89187/ASK%20PRABHU/Sir,+recently,+I+heard+that+India+was+rebuffed+and+snubbed+in+Tehran+and+in+Istanbul.+Is+this+true+Why+were+we+treated+like+this.html
ASK PRABHU
India Today ASK PRABHU Story Mumbai is a part of India. Any Indian
can settle there. What about Kashmir? Do you and your channel support
the scrapping of article 370?
February 20, 2010
Why don't you read the Constitution of India? Many of us can't buy
land in many states in North East and even in Himachal. Article 370 is
part of our Constitution and it can be changed only by the state
assembly.
AIMPLB begins a new journey from Lucknow
Farzand Ahmed
March 21, 2010
The 38-year-old All India Muslim Personal Law Board [AIMPLB] that
stands for the protection of Shariat and Muslim Personal Laws seemed
to be rewriting its own history on the banks of Gomti in Lucknow when
it elected when it elected four new female members to the 51-member
executive committee. With this number of elected members of Board
increased to five. [There were 25 nominated women members in the 201-
member general body].
The AIMPLB representing all Muslim sects and schools of thought is
currently in session for the first time in Lucknow which once
threatened its existence.
It was on the ground of gender bias within the Ulema-dominated
organisation and deliberate neglect of growing plight of women that a
parallel all-women All India Muslim Women Personal Board [AIMWPLB]
headed by Shaishta Ambar was set up in Lucknow some five years ago.
Later Hazrat Tauquir Raza Khan, the spiritual head of powerful Barelvi
school of Sunni Muslims split the Board and floated AIMPLB [Jadeed].
It was followed by third split in January 2005 in Lucknow when well-
known Shia cleric Khateeb e-Akbar Maulana Mirza Athar set up a
separate All India Shia Muslim Personal Law Board. The founders had
alleged that AIMPLB had been neglecting views of Shia community and
not doing much for the Indian Muslims as a whole.
Despite splits and criticism AIMPLB stood firmly. However, many
members viewed the direct election of four women members---Rukhsana
Lari, Safia Naseem [both from Lucknow], Noorjehan Shakeel [Kolkata)
and Asma Zehra [Hyderabad] was seen as sign of Board's acceptance of
the fact it could no longer ignore the growing pressure from Women.
Naseem Iqtidar Ali Khan was till now the sole woman member in the
executive committee. She continues to be on the panel.
Earlier in January this year AIMPLB Secretary Maulana Wali Rahmani had
held the first ever direct dialogue with women in Lucknow and faced
their anger over various issues including the issue of Talaq
[divorce].
Expands to NE States
Maulana Rabey Hasni Nadwi, head of the Dar-ul-Uloom Nadavat-ul-Ulema,
the Lucknow-based Islamic Seminary, was unanimously elected the
president of the Muslim Law Board for the third successive term.
According Board Spokesperson Zafaryab Jilani another significant
feature of elections was the Board's attempt to expand its
representation in the north-eastern States and Ladakh. The
representatives from these regions were elected as term members.
While, Maulana Bilal was elected from Meghalaya and Syed Ahmed from
Tripura, the Independent MP from Ladakh (Jammu and Kashmir), Ghulam
Hussain and Maulana Ata-ur- Rehman, AUDF (Assam United Democratic
Front ) MLA from Badarpur in Assam were elected term members from
Ladakh and Assam.
Announcing the results of the elections, the AIMPLB spokesperson,
Zafaryab Jilani said the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, K. Rahman
Khan and retired justice, Mohammad Qadri were made the life members of
the board. Jilani said these appointments were made against the eight
vacancies among the 102 founder members of the Law Board.
Kamal Farooqui, Qasim Rasool Ilyas, Saifullah Rahmani, Maulana Atiqur
Rehman Bastavi and Syed Athar Ali of Mumbai were the new faces elected
as term members. Besides, 10 members would be nominated by the Board
chairman.
History
All India Muslim Personal Law Board was established at a time when
"the then Government of India was trying to subvert Shariah law"
applicable to Indian Muslims through parallel legislation. Adoption
Bill had been tabled in the Parliament. Mr. H.R.Gokhle, then Union Law
Minister had termed this Bill as the first step towards Uniform Civil
Code. Ulema, leaders and various Muslim organisations convinced the
Indian Muslim community that the risk of losing applicability of
Shariah laws was real and concerted move by the community was needed
to defeat the conspiracy.
"It was a historic moment" claims Board adding "this was the first
time in the history of India after Khilafat Movement that people and
organisations of Indian Muslim community belonging to various schools
of thought came together on a common platform to defend Muslim
Personal Law.
First such meeting was convened at the famous Islamic Seminary at
Deoband on the initiative of Hazrat Maulana Syed Shah Minnatullah
Rahmani, Ameer Shariat, [Bihar & Orissa] and Hakeemul Islam Hazrat
Maulana Qari Mohammad Taiyab, Muhtamim, Darul Uloom, Deoband. The
meeting held a convention in Mumbai on December 27-28, 1972. "The
Convention was unprecedented. It showed unity, determination and
resolve of the Indian Muslim community to protect the Muslim Personal
Law".
All India Muslim Personal Law Board was born
The Board came into limelight for the first time when it intervened in
the Shah Bano case and pressured the Rajiv Gandhi government to blunt
the Supreme Court rule. The government had asked AIMPLB then headed by
highly revered Maulana Abul Hasan Ali Nadvi, then Chief of Darul Uloom
Nadvatul Ulema [Lucknow] to come out with the amendment in sections in
the Criminal Procedure Code [Cr PC] relating to the issue of alimony
[that was against Shariat]. And the law was changed which the Sangh
Parivar took up as an example of Muslim appeasement. Later Board
intervened in the Babri Masjid movement too. But so far the Board has
confined itself to the cause of Shariat. It also launched movement to
reform the Muslim Society in 1986 against misuse of Talaq, vulgar
display of wealth in functions like marriage, dowry, female foeticide,
illiteracy among women and also to spread the understanding of Shariat
[Quoranic laws] among men and women.
Its campaign includes revival and strengthening of Dar-ul-Qaza [the
court of Qazi] to deal with the disputes relating to Muslim Personal
laws.
Failure
Critics say that the male & cleric dominated organisation has
neglected the plight of women and failed to take any effective steps
to protect the women from the curse of Triple Talaq [uttering Talaq
thrice in one sitting verbally]. However, Senior Board member Zafaryab
Jilani [also Board's legal advisor] said though the Board was aware of
misuse of Triple Talaq, the question was how to abolish it. He said
different sects and schools have different practices but all the main
four Schools among Sunni sect were almost unanimous in favour of
Triple Talaq. Scholars, he said, also quote numerous Hadis [rulings
and sayings of the Prophet] on this.
Its role in the Imrana case was criticised everywhere. Imarana of
Muzaffarnagar was allegedly sexually assaulted by her father-in-law
but when the issue was highlighted a Fatwa had declared her husband as
her "son". This had led to hue and cry by women groups. The Board had
sent an investigation team but it tried to cover up the issue.
It also failed to bring out an effective Model Nikahnama that could be
acceptable to women groups too. Yet this time again it evaded the
Women Reservation Bill which was being projected by a section of
Muslim political leadership that it was against Muslim women. The
Lucknow session focused on Librehan Commission report stressing that
all the people found guilty of destroying the Babri Masjid should be
prosecuted and punished. It has also opposed the proposed Communal
Violence Bill. The Board was of the view that the proposed Communal
violence Bill was 'most harmful' for Muslims as it would not fix
responsibility of the police and administration. AIMPLB spokesperson
Mohammad Abdur Rahim Qureshi told mediapersons "Muslims have been the
sufferers be it riots in Bhiwandi, Meerut, Nalanda, Bhagalpur or
anywhere". Qureshi said the proposed legislation would be discussed in
detail. The Board has also opposed the setting up of a Central Madarsa
Board.
Having done this, scholars attending the 21st Session in Lucknow would
spell out the future plans at public meeting on Sunday evening.
Abolish 370, says Bhagwat, Advani
Arvind Chhabra
Madhopur (Pathankot), March 20, 2010
Different leaders including RSS chief Mohan Rao Bhagwat and former
deputy prime minister L.K. Advani today raised demand to abolish
Article 370 from the constitution as they paid glorious tributes to Dr
Shyama Prasad Mookherjee, described as the first martyr of independent
India, who laid down his life for the principle of one nation, one
flag and one constitution. Various leaders had splurged in Madhopur in
Pathankot on the occasion.
Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, BJP president Nitin
Gadkari and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal were
among thousands who had gathered at the border point of Punjab-Jammu
and Kashmir (J&K) as it was here in 1953 he had started his campaign
to make J&K integral part of India and to make it possible for every
Indian citizen to visit J&K without permit. His life size statue was
unveiled and the place was named as Ekta Sathal.
Mohan Bhagwat gave a call to launch a second struggle to abolish
Article 370, the "last remaining symbol of disintegration." He also
demanded respectable rehabilitation of 3.5 lakh Kashmiri Hindu
migrants back in Valley, who are suffering in different parts of the
country.
Advani said that the struggle of Dr. Shayamal Prasad would be complete
only if Article 370 was repealed from the constitution. He said that
we became victim of British policy of disintegrating India even after
partition.
Gadkari, who also demanded repealing of Article 370 said that talks
with Pakistan would be futile till Pakistan continue to foment
terrorism from its soil.
More stories from North
'Thank God, we don't have a Thackeray'
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/86961/LATEST%20HEADLINES/Thackeray+targets+Maha+governor+over+'Mumbai+for+all'+remark.html
Bhilai: Principal sends lewd SMSes to students; thrashed
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/89030/India/Bhilai:+Principal+sends+lewd+SMSes+to+students;+thrashed.html
India ok with life term for Headley: Govt
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/89024/India/India+ok+with+life+sentence+for+David+Headley:+Govt.html
Getting official access to Headley will help India: BJP
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/89000/India/Getting+official+access+to+Headley+will+help+India:+BJP.html
Batla autopsy: Police in the dock
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/88969/India/Damning+Batla+autopsy+findings.html
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/89176/India/Abolish+370,+says+Bhagwat,+Advani.html
Courtesy: Mail Today
Damning Batla autopsy findings
Aman Sharma
New Delhi, March 19, 2010
Eighteen months after the controversial Batla House 'encounter'in the
aftermath of the Delhi serial blasts, the post-mortem reports of the
victims are out and are drilling gaping holes in the police version of
the incident.
The post-mortem reports reveal that both the slain suspected
terrorists, Atif Ameen and Mohd Sajid, had injuries inflicted by a
blunt object, other than the numerous gunshot wounds on their bodies.
Sajid's post-mortem report also confirms he was shot three times in
the head with the bullets travelling vertically downwards, which was
visible in the photographs of Sajid's body published by MAIL TODAY
earlier.
The report says these three bullets having their entry wounds in the
scalp led to cranio-cerebral damage to the brain, causing Sajid's
death.
One of these bullets fired in the head exited from the back of his
chest, another came out near his jaw and the third one exited from the
back of his right shoulder.
There was another bullet shot behind his head.
How the police managed to shoot Sajid from above during an encounter
remains unexplained.
The report also confirms that Sajid has another bullet entry wound on
his right shoulder, which went vertically down and lodged in his
chest.
There were two more injuries on Sajid's body, which are non-firearm
wounds. How these wounds could be inflicted when bullets were being
fired from both sides, according to the police version, remains
unanswered.
These are injury numbers 13 and 14 specified in the post-mortem report
- the former is a four by two cm abrasion over the midline on Sajid's
back while the latter is a muscle-deep laceration wound of 3.5 by two
cm on the right leg. It is unexplained how Sajid could have got such
wounds before his death in a shootout.
The post-mortem report of Atif reveals his body was riddled with 10
bullets in the chest, abdomen, thighs, shoulder, neck and lower back.
He also has a nonfirearm injury - specified as injury number seven
which is an abrasion on his right knee.
The post-mortem reports have been furnished by the National Human
Rights Commission (NHRC) in response to an application filed under the
Right to Information (RTI) Act by a Jamia Millia Islamia student Afroz
Alam.
The Delhi Police had persistently refused to share these reports over
the last 18 months. Even the NHRC had skirted the issue initially in
their report on the Batla House encounter though it went to great
lengths to explain the fire-arm injuries to Delhi Police inspector
Mohan Chand Sharma that caused his death.
The NHRC, in its report, had merely said that the post-mortem reports
of the two suspected terrorists mentioned injuries other than fire-arm
injuries but did not disclose more or investigate how injuries by a
blunt object could have been inflicted in a shootout. The autopsies of
Atif and Sajid were done three days after the encounter by a panel of
three AIIMS doctors of forensic medicine.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who had been fighting to get the post-
mortem reports made public, said the autopsy reports reveal what the
Delhi Police have been desperately trying to hide.
"Blunt injuries mentioned in the autopsy could not have been caused in
a shootout. Obviously, there was some scuffle or the two boys were
beaten up before they were shot.
How can anyone explain the top of the head bullet injuries or the one
in the top of his (Sajid) right shoulder - with all bullets going
vertically down in the body?" Bhushan asked.
He added: "Pictures of the bodies had exposed these injuries. The
police were hence desperately trying to hide these post-mortem
reports.
The non-firearm injuries on both the back and leg of Sajid cannot be
explained. That is why we have been demanding an independent
investigation into the alleged encounter." A senior doctor at AIIMS,
who was associated with the autopsies, said he could not explain the
nonfirearm injuries on Sajid's body.
"But the other three or four gunshot wounds on Sajid's head and
shoulder is possible in a shootout… for example, the terrorist may
have fallen after taking a bullet in his leg and could have been
firing at the police lying down. So, such a pattern of injuries is
possible in such a volley of fire," he said.
But Bhushan rubbished the explanation.
"If Sajid was lying down and firing, there should be a hail of police
bullet marks on the walls of the room. But there was none in the room
where the shootout happened," he said.
The Jamia Teachers Solidarity Association also reacted strongly to the
contents of the autopsies. "Almost all entry wounds on Atif's body are
in the region below the shoulders and at the back of the chest, which
point to the fact that he was repeatedly shot from behind. In Sajid's
case, the entry points of the gunshots and the fact that all but one
bullet travelled downward suggests he was held down by force (which
also explain the injuries on the back and leg), while he was shot in
the back and head," said Manisha Sethi of the association.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/88969/India/Damning+Batla+autopsy+findings.html
Getting official access to Headley will help India: BJP
PTI
New Delhi, March 19, 2010
With extradition of Pakistani- American David Coleman Headley now
ruled out after he pleaded guilty to terror charges, BJP today said
this was a loss but official access to India to question him would
help prove to the world about Pakistan's involvement in the Mumbai
strikes.
"It (consequences of his pleading guilty before a US court) is a mixed
bag. As we cannot get extradition, it is a loss. But, at the same
time, we can get official access and can officially question him so
our dossiers (against Pakistan) will be more weighty," BJP
spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.
He asserted that though Pakistan may ultimately dismiss Headley's
confessions as "mere papers" and not evidences, the involvement of the
neighbouring country in the 26/11 terror attacks would be established
more firmly and be "very clear" to the world community.
"Now the trial of Ajmal Kasab (lone surviving terrorist in the 26/11
case) is winding up. So, I think we can expect the result in that case
also," he said.
Javadekar took a dig at the UPA government for making a "unilateral
offer" of foreign secretary-level talks to Pakistan inspite of its
continued support to terror.
"The real test of India lies in how it deals with Pakistan because
Pakistan has not changed a bit. It has not done anything, not taken
any credible steps....Terror continues, infiltration is growing. Still
government did a sudden U-turn and unilaterally offered talks," he
said.
This move had emboldened the Pakistani establishment, especially the
ISI, to simultaneously do business with India and plot terror,
Javadekar alleged.
He said it was ISI's policy to inflict a thousand cuts and wound
India.
Bhilai: Principal sends lewd SMSes to students; thrashed
Raghunandan Panda & Sunil Namdeo
Bhilai/Raipur, March 19, 2010
Parents of a Bhilai school students beat up its principal after he
allegedly sent lewd messages on their mobiles.
K.S. Chhabra, principal of famous school Maharishi Vidya Mandir, a
well known school in Chhattisgarh's steel city Bhilai, has been
accused of making obscene phone calls and sending lewd short messages
(SMSes) on some of his students' mobiles.
Chhabra even called them to his office in the school and at home, the
parents alleged. A victim recorded her principal's sickening demands
on her mobile and reported to the parents.
Enraged over the principal's gesture, the parents beat him black and
blue. They alleged that Chhabra's disgusting behaviour was going on
for a few years. They thrashed him all the way to the police station
until the policemen rescued him.
The police have started an enquiry into the matter and have recorded
calls by Chhabra as proof.
Bahadur, one of the parents of such students, said, "The principal
used to say that your children are failing. If you want them to pass
you will have to do everything I say."
Thank God, we don't have a Thackeray here: Dikshit
PTI
New Delhi, March 20, 2010
"Thank God, we don't have a Bal Thackeray," said Chief Minister Sheila
Dikshit on Saturday while calling Delhi a unique city where people
from across the country can live comfortably.
"We have varied culture and true cosmopolitan people. People from
Kerala to Jammu and Kashmir and to those from the North-East can live
here comfortably.
"Everyone knows what is happening in Mumbai (anti-north Indian
campaign). It certainly does not happen here. Thank God, we don't have
a Bal Thackeray here," she said about the anti-North Indian campaign
by the Shiv Sena and MNS.
Dikshit was speaking at an interactive session at a summit organised
by CII and the Wall Street Journal.
The chief minister also spoke about the uniqueness of Delhi, where
everything including its weather, is imported and the number of
heritage structures it has.
Related Stories
Mumbai: Sena chief targets Guv
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/86961/LATEST%20HEADLINES/Thackeray+targets+Maha+governor+over+'Mumbai+for+all'+remark.html
Bal Thackeray lashes out at IPL
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Video/28488/42/Bal+Thackeray+lashes+out+at+IPL.html
Bal Thackeray flays Tendulkar
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Video/71045/42/Balasaheb+flays+Sachin+on+Marathi+remark.html
Sena chief attacks Chavan, Rahul
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Video/82646/42/Bal+Thackeray+attacks+Chavan,+Rahul.html
ASK PRABHU
India Today ASK PRABHU Story As per our Constitution, an Indian can
stay or live in any part of India except Jammu and Kashmir. But some
political leaders, for their political gains, are opposing this. Is it
correct? I think the electronic media is more powerful to spread this
message.
March 3, 2010
The state of J&K enjoys a special status under Article 370 of the
Constitution. It doesn't permit people from other parts of India to
buy property in J&K. The BJP has been agitating for scrapping Article
370 but all other parties are opposed to such a move unless it is
proposed by the state assembly itself.
-Asked by Anil Kumar
anilkuma...@gmail.com
BJP believes in one nation one constitution: Nitin Gadkari
PTI
Saturday, March 20, 2010 21:37 IST
Madhopur (Punjab): Asserting it stands for "one nation one
constitution", the BJP today said the party is firm in its resolve to
scrap article 370 of the Constitution providing special status to
Jammu and Kashmir.
"The party stands for one nation one constitution slogan given by
Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee," BJP president
Nitin Gadkari said here on the occasion of unveiling of a statue of
the late leader.
He said the BJP will not dilute its stand on abrogation of Article 370
and there is a need to emulate Mukherjee, who "fought for scrapping of
permit system prevalent in those days which debarred people to enter
and move freely in Jammu and Kashmir".
Gadkari said his party is opposed to the Centre's policy on Kashmir,
which is mere appeasement to those who pose a threat to the nation,
and its mild approach to tackle Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.
Addressing the gathering, he said Pakistan continues to wage a proxy
war against India by sponsoring terrorism in J-K, while Naxalism is
posing an internal threat to the country.
The Centre has not yet come out with adequate measures to meet these
threats. The Government seems to be softening its stand on Pakistan
due to pressure of some foreign powers, Gadkari alleged.
"Kashmir is an integral issue and no talks with Pakistan can be
resumed unless it gives ample proof of striking hard on militants
operating from its soil.
"Pakistan should stop aiding and abetting terrorism in India," Gadkari
said.
Former deputy prime minister L K Advani in his address said while
Vallabh Bhai Patel and Mukherjee had a common resolve to see a strong
India, the British gave independence but with a rider that the rulers
of the erstwhile princely states could use their discretion on staying
with India.
Apparently referring to the "Mumbai for maharashtrians' issue, RSS
chief Mohan Bhagwat, who unveiled the statue, said Hindus were forced
to migrate from Jammu and Kashmir but the country belongs to all
Indians and regional chauvinism does not hold any place.
Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, who was also present
there, said Mukherjee's photographs would be put up in the gallery
here.
Himachal Pradesh chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, state BJP president
Shanta Kumar, Punjab industry and local bodies minister Manoranjan
Kalia, Amritsar BJP MP, Navjot Singh Sidhu
were among those present on the occasion.
The place where the life-size statue of Mukherjee was erected was
named as 'Ekta Sthal'.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
A possible deconvolution for the convoluted logic of RSS: What Mohan
Bhagwat could have said ....
In a recent blog entry the chief of RSS, Mr. Mohan Bhagwat (MB) was
criticised for saying: He who is an Indian is a Hindu and he who is
not a Hindu is not an Indian.
A long and winding debate ensued. It was desirable to retain the
informal notions related to the words Hindu and Indian, and yet
certain specificity was needed for precision, unambiguousness and
substantiveness.
Mr. Thammayya, in one of his comments, had asked: Hey, I have another
suggestion. What do you think, MB should have told? Interesting to
know this.
I have recently outlined an abstract version of Hindu-WOL (Hindu Way
of Life), terming it, for various reasons, Sanatana Dharma. In light
of this article, here is my take on what MB could have said:
One of the essential underpinnings of an open and free mind regarding
religious truths is: There can be points of view regarding the Truth
and the ways of attaining the Truth which are seemingly quite
different from the ones I uphold but are equally valid.
Hindus pursue and practice such openness and freedom.
A belief in exclusive monopoly regarding religious truths and/or
insistence on one's concrete details regarding the same, is
inconsistent with this notion of freedom.
India, in our view, is a home-nation for Hindus. Those who are not
Hindus are not legitimately Indian.
Remarks:
0. The term Hindu is not defined comprehensively here. And yet,
whatever is essential for for the political debate is captured in
terms of the concepts of openness and freedom.
For example:
a. The term Hindu is free from geographical, racial, linguistic,
regional connotations and overtones.
b. So there can be Hindus residing as citizens of other nations.
1. Similarly, India, although not defined comprehensively, is hinted
in the last sentence, to be the current geopolitical entity, whose
citizens we are. This suffices for the political debate.
For example:
a. The term India is free from racial, linguistic, and regional
connotations and overtones.
b. Those, who are currently residing in India as citizens but do not
honor this openness and freedom are termed illegitimate citizens.
This allows us to use the terms "Hindu" and "India" with specificity
necessary for the relevant aspects of political debate, while
retaining the same informal notions regarding these words, which most
of us may entertain.
Nonetheless, this is still a tentative version, and is open to be
improved upon. Readers' suggestions are welcome.
Interestingly, a Dutch Politician, Geert Wilders has said many things
which RSS could have, and should have articulated long long ago. Some
of these are, I have provided links obtained from the same wikipedia
page: "not tolerate the intolerant", "Ban Koran like Mein Kampf", and
"There might be moderate muslims, but there is no moderate Islam".
However, as I have repeatedly alleged, owing to intellectual lethargy,
among those who are supposed to provide India with political
leadership, these things have not happened here in India.
Posted by samAlochaka
http://medsyn.blogspot.com/2010/03/possible-deconvolution-for-convoluted.html
Sid Harth
from Delhi University
Religious conversion has become the subject of passionate debate in
contemporary India. From the early 20th century onwards, it has
surfaced again and again in the political realm, in the media and in
the courts. During the last few decades the dispute has attained a new
climax in the plethora of newspapers, journals, and books whose pages
have been devoted to the question of conversion. Apparently, a large
group of Indians considers this to be an issue of crucial import to
the future of their country.
Generally Speaking, Religion is s system of faith and worship of
supernatural force which ordains regulates and control the destiny of
human kinds.
The Merrian Webster Dictionary defined , Religion as an organized
system of faith and worship, a personal set of religious belief and
practice, a cause, principle or belief held to with faith and order.
The Oxford Dictionary defined, Religion the belief in a super human
controlling power, especially in personal God or Gods entitled to
obedience and worship.
Swami Vivekananda perceives religion as - it is based upon faith and
belief and in most cases consist only of different sect of theories
that is the reason why we find all religion quarreling with each other.
1
According to Sage Aurobindo, The quest of man for God is the
foundation for religion & its essential function is the search for God
and the finding of the God. 2
Hinduism in the view of Dr. Radhakrishan is The main aim of the Hindu
faith is to permit image worship as the means to the development of
the religious spirit to the recognition of the Supreme who has his
temples in all beings.3
We can conclude from the above discussion that no universally
acceptable definition as to what exactly "religion" is. There appears
to be near unanimity that religion, generally, is a belief or faith in
the existence of a Supernatural Being and the precepts which people
follow for attaining salvation.
Religion may be regarded as belief and patterns of behaviors by which
human try to deal with what they view as important problems that can
not be solved through the application of known technologies and
techniques of organization. To overcome these limitations people turn
to the manipulation of supernatural beings and powers.
Religion consist of various rituals, prayers, songs, dances, offerings
and sacrifices, through which people try to manipulate supernatural
beings and powers to their advantages. These being and power may
consist of Gods and Goddesses, ancestral and other spirits or
impersonal power either by themselves or in various combinations . In
all societies there are certain individuals especially skilled at
dealing with these beings and powers and who assist other members of
society in their ritual activities. A body of myths rationalizes or
explains the system in a manner consistent with peoples experience in
the world in which they live.
Every individual has a natural entitlement of religious faith and
freedom of conscience , a right to adopt or abandoned any faith of his
own choice. In this sense freedom of religion and freedom of
conscience is fundamental right both constitutionally and
conventionally.
The freedom of religion and freedom of conscience has been recognized
under the international law. The General Assembly of united nations
adopted without dissenting vote on 10th December,1948 the Universal
Declaration on Human Rights recognizing fact that the entire humanity
enjoys certain alienable rights which constitute the foundation of
freedom, justice and piece in the world.
In order to give effect to the Universal Declaration of human rights
the members of the united nations of also adopted the two conventions
in 1966 in this concern:-
1. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
2. International covenant on Civil and Political rights.
The Government of India by its declaration dated 10.4.1979 had
accepted Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the two
international covenants with certain reservations which do not cover
the right to freedom of religion. Apart from this the Constitution of
India also enshrines the freedom of religion and freedom of conscience
as fundamental rights under Article 25,26,27,28,30.
Religious Conversion is multifaceted and multi dimensional phenomenon.
Indian society is a pluralist and heterogeneous society with
multiplicity of races, religious cultural, castes and languages etc.
Religious Conversion has always been a problematic issue in India.
Every incident of conversion causes lot of hue and cry in society;
especially it causes nostalgic feelings to Hindu organization because
of its inherent socio- political. Rigid and Stringent caste system
prevailing in Hindu Religion is one of the most significant factors
behind the religious conversion. This is because of this caste system
Dalits ( in most comprehensive and inclusive sense the word Dalit
includes Untouchables, Shudras and Adivasis) are the most susceptible
section of the society to religious conversion . The other causes of
conversion are
1. Polygamy which is prevailing in Islam
2. To get rid of unwanted matrimonial ties.
3. To get reservation benefits.
Polygamy is a system wherein a male person his authorized to keep more
than one wife/wives where all the other wife/wives are still alive, or
where a male person is authorized to solemnize more than one marriage.
Polygamy is just opposite to the system of monogamy. In the past
almost all the societies in the world have been either polygamous or
polyandrous. Monogamy was never a rule but an exception. Amongst all
the religions resourceful persons were allowed to keep as many wives
as he can afforded. But Islam has been exception to his general rule.
The Prophet Mohd. ( 571 AD-632 AD) the last messenger according to
Quaran laid down the principle for his followers that a person may
keep as many as four wives only and that too only in exceptional
circumstances prevailing in those days. The Prophet had allowed the
followers of Islam to keep four wives at one time because of the
contemporary reasons. During the life of Prophet the Arabian society
was the society of innumerable tribal communities and war was constant
phenomenon of those days in Islam. Hundreds of wars were fought
amongst those tribals can themselves, sometimes in the name of Jehad,
sometimes in the name of religion, sometimes for the sake of
established political hegemony. Only men were allowed to participate
in the wars and not the women. One of the obvious consequences of
these wars was that innumerable women became widows. One of the most
burning problem before the prophet was that how to manage the lives f
these destitute widows and the children. Nobody was there take care
for these helpless widows and children. So the prophet evolved out a
workable solution of the problem. He permitted the men that every man
would keep as many as four wives along with their children. So that no
widow or child would die out hunger starvation or illness. Through the
system every widow and her children were taken care of.
Here two important points are worth mentioning that:
1. The permission given by the prophet to keep more than one wives was
not a permanent prescription for all the times to come. But it was
only a temporary provision just to manage the cotemporary problems.
Along with the provision of keeping for wives the prophet imposed a
mandatory conditions upon the persons who might keep more that 1 wife
that if a person keeps more than one wife he must have an equal eye
upon all the wives. That is the principle of equality which was to be
observed and not to discriminate on any grounds whatsoever.
2. Keeping more than one wife was not prescribed as general rule. But
only an exception and that is only to deal with the above mention
contemporary problem. But after the life of the profit, the Muslim
leaders especially in India have misinterpreted the dictates of the
prophet in his concern and started receiving undue advantage of this
dictate of the prophet. Muslim religious leader and Ulemas have
maintained that the dictate of the prophet to keep four wives was not
a temporary provision rather it was a permanent dictate for all time
to come. This is how they have misconceived the dictates of the
prophet and justified and legitimized polygamy almost 1500 years after
the life of the prophet.
It is significant to mention that the practice of polygamy has been
abolished even in the constitutionally declared Islamic states long
ago but in India this practice is still valid under the Muslim
personal law. It is also pertinent to mention that the practice of
polygamy is anti feminist and it is discriminatory against Muslims
women because polygamy is a unilateral right provided only to Muslim
men. Therefore, it is suggested that the privilege of polygamy should
not be given Muslim community under their personal laws and uniform
civil code is the need of the hour.
The Impact Of Religious Conversion
The religious conversion into Islam by a person from non Islamic faith
is not valid if the conversion is done for the purpose of polygamy.
Neither Islam nor the law recognizing any such conversion in India. In
the case of Sarla Mudgal vs Union of India4 a married Hindu male
converted in to Islam for the sake of solemninising another marriage
as polygamy is permitted in Islam. The Hon’ble SC held that conversion
in to another faith Ipso-facto does not dissolve the first marriage
because no one is allowed to take the benefit of his own wrong.
Moreover the court held that the married person converting into Islam
is not entitle to marry another woman after conversion. It was held to
be an act of bigamy prohibited U/S 17 of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and
punishable U/S 494 of IPC and it was further observed that the second
marriage is void.
In Vilayat Raj vs Smt. Sunita 5 it was observed by the court that if
both the parties to the marriage were Hindu at the time of marriage ,
pre-nupital law i.e. Hindu Marriage Act applied even after conversion
in Islam.
In Lilly Thomas vs Union of India 6 it was observed that an apostate
husband is guilty of bigamy U/S 494 of IPC if he marriage another
woman after converting into Islam. It was observed that holding such
person guilty of bigamy is not violation of freedom of religion U/
Article 25 of the Constitution, hence, Section 17 of H.M.A. 1955 is
applicable.
From the above it is clear that after the pronouncement of the
aforesaid judicial verdicts, polygamy is no more a valued person for
religious conversion into Islam.
A person does not ceases to be Hindu nearly because he declares that
he has no faith in his religion. A person will not cease to be Hindu
even if he does not practice his religion till he does not renounces
his religion or starts living and behaving like an atheist or agnostic
or starts eating beef or insulting God or Goddesses. He does not
ceases to be member of the religion even if he starts expressing his
faith in any other religion , he continuous to be a Hindu Chandra
Shekharan vs Kulundurivalu7
If a person converts from Hindu religion to Sikh , Budhism or Jainism
he does not cease to be Hindu since all these religions do not fall
beyond the definition of ‘Hindu’ in the relevant section of Hindu
Marriage Act . He ceases to be Hindu if he converts into Islam
Christianity or Jews or Zoroastrain, conversion into these religion is
a ground for desolation of marriage for the other spouse and not for
the spouse who converts into any such religion ( U/S 13 H.M.A)
Under Section 80 of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 if
the husband gets converted into Non-Hindu faith wife is entitled to
live Separately without forfeiting her right of maintenance but if she
herself also ceases to be Hindu, she looses her claim of maintenance
under the section, But she is entitled under section 24 of H.M.A in
1955 for pedente-lite and permanent alimony.
Special Marriage Act 1954 reflects the true sprit of Indian Secularism
as it is in consonance with India ‘s heterogeneity and multiplicity of
religious faith. Conversion does not make any effect on matrimonial
ties as the Act is the secular legislations and itself contemplate
inter caste and inter religious marriages.
The Indian Divorce Act, 1869- If the husband gets converted into non
Christian faith, wife is entitled for divorce but vice versa is not
possible. If wife gets converted into non Christian faith husband can
not apply for divorce. NANG vs LABYA8
Under Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act, 1939 Section 4 says if a
wife renounces Islam, the marriage does not Ipso-facto dissolve unless
the circumstances warrant otherwise.
The picture is complete if we account for the fact that most of these
laws are aimed to keep the low caste Hindus within the fold of
Hinduism. And so while law prohibits conversion, 're-conversion' of
low caste Hindus is permissible. If a low caste Hindu who had
converted to another faith or any of his descendants reconverts to
Hinduism, he might get back his original caste In Kailash Sonkar. 9
Major Events Of Conversion
Major events of conversion are not reported unless they are
highlighted by media or a hue and cry is made by Hindu Organization.
Following are the major incidents of religious conversion in post
independence.
Nagpur:- The Ist and the biggest mass conversion which the country has
ever witnessed, took placed on the 14th day of October 1956. Place
Nagpur, Maharashtra, the city where the headquarter of Rastriya
Swayamsewak Sangh is situated. About a half a million Dalits said good
bye to Hinduism from their life and embraced Budhism under the
leadership of the greatest social reformer, the great visionary and
the prophet of Dalit emancipation Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
Meenakshipuram:- The significant event of religious conversion took
place on Feb 19th 1981 at Meenakshipuram of Kanyakumari District in
Tamil Nadu. Where 280 families got converted to Islam. All of these
280 families cited social reasons behind their conversion. These
reasons were persecution, ill treatment and humiliation they
constantly had to face at the hands of upper caste of Hindus which
made their lives miserable and worst than animals.
Dulina :- Another significant even t of religious conversion which
created a lot of hue and cry in the society took place at Gurgaon,
Haryana 2002. This all had happened after a very pathetic incident of
burning Five Dalits Alive by a mob of upper caste people in a police
station at Dulina in Jhajjar District in Haryana. Police remain silent
spectator. Now nothing was left for the families of these massacred
Dalits to remain in such a violent and hatred preaching system of
faith, where in Dalit have no place. All the five families of
massacred Dalits got converted in to Buddhism at Rabidas Mandir,
Gurgaon, Haryana on 28th October 2002 under the banner of All India
Confederation of SC/ST organization and the Lord Buddha club in the
presence of famous film director, All India Christian Council , Jamait
Ulma-I Hind and in the presence of Media Persons.
Another dimension of this event of conversion is that after these
event of conversion all the Saffron Hindu Organizations rushed to
these families and threatened them to face dire consequences on
account of the above said conversion. Due to assaults and threats and
under the pressure of these Hindu Organization, ultimately, these
sacred Dalit Families broke down and had to make a public statement
that we did not leave Hindu religion , we did not convert.
In July 2002 another incident of religious conversion took place
Guntur distt. Andhra Pardesh were 70 Dalits converted in to
Christianity.
Delhi:- In the year 2002 Udit Raj the Chairman of All India
Confederation of SC/ST Organizations and the Lord Buddha Club give a
national wide call for conversion. This conversion ceremony was
supposed to be performed at Ram Leela Maidan of Delhi . Around one
million Dalits were supposed to get convert into Buddhism.
The preparation regarding the conversion programme were on . This
nation wide call for the conversion got an unprecedented coverage in
national and international media. Dehydration to saffron Hindu
organization regarding such a massive programme of conversion, was
oblivious. These organization resorted all means to shut of the mouth
of media , so that this call may not reach the public at large. The
Ram Leela Maidan , where the programme was supposed to be organized ,
declared as prohibited area and Section 144 of Crpc was imposed in and
around the area, all borders of Delhi where from influx of Dalits, to
take Diksha, was possible were sealed. The Government was determined
to ensure by hook or by crook let the programme may not be organized.
Finally, the organizer had to change the spot for the proposed
programme . The Government could not succeed to curb the enthusiasm of
dalits and ultimately more than 10,000 Dalits succeeded to say good
bye to Hinduism and embraced Buddhism.
Right to freedom of faith is not a conferred right but a natural
entitlement of every human being. In fact law does not assign it but
it asserts, protect and insurers its entitlement. Indian Society has
nourished and nurtured almost all the established religion of the
world like Hinduism , Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism
etc. from it s time immemorial. Article 25 incorporates right to
practice, profess and propagation of faith not only this , the Article
guarantees the freedom of conscience. Right to possess adopt abandoned
faith is ascribed by a person since his birth. India is a
heterogeneous and pluralist society with multiplicity of faith and
cultures. India most fundamental code of governance. i.e. The
constitution of India also asserts, protects and ensures this right to
all individuals irrespective of their religions, under its various
provisions especially Art. 25.
Every human being has a natural entitlement of religious faith and
freedom of conscience and right to adopt or abandon any faith of his
own choice. This being so , the freedom of conscience has been
recognized as a basic human right both constitutionally and
conventionally.
The Constitution of India aims at securing freedom of religion and
freedom of conscience under Article 25 ,26,27,28,30 and at the same
time it seeks to create a harmony among all religions. Being suitable
to the pluralistic society and historical lineage . Such freedom needs
to continued. Any other policy will not be unconstitutional but also
extremely harmful and suffocative for the public. It. However, need to
be realized that an incessant process of transformation and change is
also going on as change is the rule of nature. The ideas , faith,
psyche, behavior and attitude of people have always been subject to
change, though, the factors of change are spatial and temporal. An
important aspect with respect to change of faith is the state of One’s
awareness and ignorance. More awareness and enlightenment does
definitely have an impact on the thought, belief and action of a
person, faith and elements of conscience. Thus as regards conscience ,
state of knowledge is itself under a constant process of change and
every human being is undergoing a metamorphosis of understanding with
continuing with continuing process of experience of life and
learning . Therefore , it is advisable to tie up someone to a
particular faith for all the times.
But in Indian perspective , an aspect of freedom of conscience which
has attained a problematic dimension , is the right to propagate
faith. The meaning of propagation is to promote , spread and publicize
one’s relating to his own faith for the edification of others. The
term propagation implies persuasion and exposition without any element
of fraud, coercion and allurement. The right to propagate one’s
religion does not give a right to convert any other person to one’s
own religious faith. It may be pointed out that the right to convert
other person to one’s own religion is distinct from and individual
right to get convert to any other religion on his own choice. The
later is undisputedly is in conformity with the freedom of religion
and freedom of conscience under Article 25 of the constitution while
the former is the subject of long prevailing controversy with
reference to propagation of faith.
Religious conversion has always been a very sensitive social issue not
only because of the reasons that it has psychological concerns of
religious faith but also because it has wider socio-legal and socio-
political implications. It has also been revealed by the recent
incident of conversion in Haryana, Madhya pardesh , Tamil Nadu,
Gujarat , Orissa and in Delhi ( in Delhi according to official sources
around 20,000 dalits got converted in to Buddhism in the year 2002
under the nation a wide call for conversion by Udit Raj , the leader
of Justice party). On the one hand due to these recent incidents of
conversion the Hindu Safforn Organizations like R.S.S., V.H.P., Shiv
Sena , Bajrang Dal. etc. have made a lot of hub-bub and not only this
Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the former prime minister call for a nation
wide debate on conversion
The legislative history relating to the issue of conversion in India
underscores the point that the authorities concerned were never
favorably disposed towards conversion. While British India had no anti-
conversion laws, many Princely States enacted anti-conversion
legislation: the Raigarh State Conversion Act 1936, the Patna Freedom
of Religion Act of 1942, the Sarguja State Apostasy Act 1945 and the
Udaipur State Anti-Conversion Act 1946. Similar laws were enacted in
Bikaner, Jodhpur, Kalahandi and Kota and many more were specifically
against conversion to Christianity. In the post-independence era,
Parliament took up for consideration in 1954 the Indian Conversion
(Regulation and Registration) Bill and later in 1960 the Backward
Communities (Religious Protection) Bill, both of which had to be
dropped for lack of support. The proposed Freedom of Religion Bill of
1979 was opposed by the Minorities Commission due to the Bill's
evident bias.
However, in 1967-68, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh enacted local laws
called the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act 1967 and the Madhya Pradesh
Dharma Swatantraya Adhiniyam 1968. Along similar lines, the Arunachal
Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 1978 was enacted to provide for
prohibition of conversion from one religious faith to any other by use
of force or inducement or by fraudulent means and for matters
connected therewith. The latest addition to this was the Tamil Nadu
Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of Religion Ordinance promulgated
by the Governor on October 5, 2002 and subsequently adopted by the
State Assembly. Each of these Acts provides definitions of
`Government', `conversion', `indigenous faith', `force', `fraud',
`inducement' (and in the case of Arunachal, that of `prescribed and
religious faith'). These laws made forced conversion a cognizable
offence under sections 295 A and 298 of the Indian Penal Code that
stipulate that malice and deliberate intention to hurt the sentiments
of others is a penal offence punishable by varying durations of
imprisonment and fines.
As early as 1967, it became evident that the concern was not just with
forced conversion, but with conversion to any religion other than
Hinduism and especially Christianity and Islam. In the Orissa and
Madhya Pradesh Acts, the punishment was to be doubled if the offence
had been committed in respect of a minor, a woman or a person
belonging to the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe community. 10
Moreover, Jayalalitha government in Tamil Nadu has gone to the extent
of enacting ant-conversion legislation (Tamil Nadu prohibition of
forcible conversion ordinance 2003) to put a check on the incidence of
religious conversion. In April 2006 The Rajasthan Dharma Swatantrata
(religious freedom) Bill, introduced by the BJP government, was passed
by a voice vote. The Chattisgarh Government passed an anti-conversion
bill in form of Chattisgarh Religion Freedom (Amendment) Act, 2006
providing for a three-year jail term and a fine of Rs.20,000 for those
indulging in religious conversion by force or allurement. The Madhya
Pradesh Government also passed a controversial bill to amend the
state's Freedom of Religion Act of 1968 to prevent religious
conversion by force or allurement.
The contention of the Hindu organization is that most of the minority
religious organization, especially, Christian Missionaries are
actively involved in the activities of mass religious conversion in
the name of social service. According to them the target groups of
these Christian missionaries are generally illiterate and poor Dalits
and Poor tribes.
On the other hand many dalit organizations and Dalit thinkers have
perceived these recurrent incidents of religious conversions as great
events of Dalit emancipation from the clutches of the vicious Hindu
Caste System which is and has been a constant stigma on the face of
Indian society. According to them, Hindu Caste System is founded on
rigid and the stringent Caste hierarchy . Due to this inhuman and hate
worthy Caste system Dalits and Shudras (Untouchables) have always been
treated inhumanly, they have been subjugated, oppressed and persecuted
by the so called upper caste Hindus or Manu vadis in the name of
caste. Dalit thinkers also allege that Hindu Soceity could not make a
adequate reforms in Hindu religion during last more than 3000 years ,
so that a lower caste Hindu could not live with human dignity in Hindu
religion. According to them majority of Dalits and shudras
(untouchable) are illiterate deplorably poverty stricken and living in
sub- human conditions. They have been denied basic human rights even
after 59 years of independence, Moreover, in day today life they often
to face atrocities and exploitation at the hands of upper caste Hindus
in the name of caste. Hindu religion does not treat its all follower
alike, Hinduism discriminates against one segment of its followers vis-
à-vis the other and does not treat all of them equally. It has failed
to provide social dignity to dalit and shudras. Therefore, they think
that it is better to kick our such an obnoxious and suffocating
religion from one’s life and to convert in a religious which does not
discriminate against them in the name of caste and which given them
equal treatment and dignified human life. That is why Dalits and other
progressive minds have supported the incidence of mass religious
conversion and consideration them to great events.
We can conclude from the above discussion that any protest against
religious conversion is always branded as persecution, because it is
maintained that people are not allowed to practice their religion,
that their religious freedom is curbed. The truth is entirely
different. The other person also has the freedom to practice his or
her religion without interference. That is his/her birthright.
Religious freedom does not extent (sic) to having a planned programme
of conversion. Such a programme is to be construed as aggression
against the religious freedom of others.
Finally, as far as Hinduism is concerned, besides it being vindicated
as a way of life, efforts must be made to augment its role as a form
of religion, that is, Hinduism must be practiced as a religion that
upholds the principles of personal freedom, self-dignity, social
equality and economic security. This will reduce the chances of
transgression by way of conversion in any manner. Scriptures like the
Vedas, Upanishads and the Gita should gather larger weight age and
reach the necessary quarters for sufficient lobbying to match the
access and emotional respect gained by the Bible and the Koran. The
image of a Hindu will go up not by blaming others for conversion but
by creating conditions that will make conversion by and large
unnecessary for the fellow members of his religion.
Foot Note:-
1. The Complete Words of Vivekananda, (1),P. 127
2. Shri Aurobindo-The Life Divine , P. 699
3. Dr. Radhakrishnan-Religion and Society, P. 103
4. AIR 1995 SC
5. AIR 1983 SC
6. AIR 2000 SC
7. AIR 1963 SC 185
8. AIR 1924 , Rangoon , 263
9. (1984) 2 SCC 91
10. http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2002121700110200.htm&date=2002/12/17/&prd=op&
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Anti Superstition Law
Pritha Jha - IVth year law student - ILS law college, Pune
I
Introduction:
The history of the anti superstition bill began in 2003, when the
first draft of the anti superstition bill was tabled. It was called
the Jadu Tona Andhshradha Virodhi bill of 2003. This was the first
bill of its kind ever to be tabled anywhere across the country.
However, the bill was met with strong opposition by most parties as
the definition of superstition was considered too vast. What was
superstition and blind faith to one could possibly be belief and faith
to another. Amidst these arguments, the bill was finally passed with
some amendments. Although the bill was pending before the central
government for its approval for almost seven months, problems arose
when the elections began. The governor was of the view that since the
government was going to change, it would not be appropriate to put a
new law in place. Hence, as fate would have it, the bill did not come
into force. That however, was not the end of the journey and 2 years
later a new draft was tabled in March 2005 much like the one that was
tabled in 2003 with subtle differences and an amended version was
finally passed on the 16th of December 2005. This review examines both
the bills of 2005. The bill of 2003 was unavailable. Whereas the bill
of 2003 had been drafted by Mr. Narendra Dabholkar of the Andhashradha
Samiti, the bill of 2005 was drafted by Mr. Shyam Manav.
The Bills:
A first reading of both the bills gives one the feeling that the new
draft has included a lot more people in its purview and has also made
mild, some of the provisions of the older draft. The March draft uses
the words to protect the poor and ignorant people in the society
Against blind faith, ignorance and customs born out of blind faith in
the name of god...black magic by so called god’s men. The December
draft however uses the terminology of application to common people
customs thriving on ignorance and completely removes the usage of the
words blind faith...in the name of God and so called God’s men. It is
thus quite clear that the present bill recognizes the fact that it is
not just the poor and the ignorant who can be victims of tantriks and
babas but also the people of the upper classes that may be affected.
It also wishes to avoid opposition over the usage of the words God’s
men and in the name of God because practices and rituals practiced in
the name of God may be an expression of faith to some.
Short Title, Extent and Commencement:
The March draft of the bill was called the Maharashtra Eradication of
Black Magic and Evil Practices and Customs Act, 2005 whereas, the
final draft is called the Maharashtra Eradication of Black Magic and
Evil and aghori Practices Act, 2005.
The word Customs has been removed from the title and the word aghori
has been inserted possibly because of the difficulty in defining the
word Custom as would cater to the needs of this bill.
Definitions:
The definition clause has been severely shortened in the December
bill. The earlier bill included definitions of Black Magic. Magical
remedy. However, this has now all been covered in one clause. All the
words have the same meaning as they have been defined in The Drugs and
Magic Remedies (objectionable advertisements) Act, 1954 and the
criminal procedure code, unless, they have been expressly defined in
the bill. However, there are still certain terms such as Aghori, jaran-
maran, buvabaaji, devi mata or dev devaski which find no definition in
the Bill.
A rather large definition had been provided for in the March bill for
practice of Black Magic or blind faith. It included practice by a
person or through another by claiming to possess supernatural powers
or divine powers or power of the spirit for treatment or for curing or
for healing physical and mental ailments thereby causing material or
financial loss to a human being. This definition would have thus
included other varied practices such as Voodoo, Wicca and Reiki. This
however has completely been removed from the present bill. This is
probably one of the biggest reasons why the present bill was labeled
as anti-hindu, because it does not seem to cover the practices of
other religions such as Islam and Christianity.
A noticeable change is that of the inclusion of Doctors and medical
practitioners in the present bill. The earlier bill expressly excluded
this class of people. This would have given a license to doctors to
practice black magic; hence it has rightly been included.
Registered medical practitioner as defined under the Drugs and Magic
Remedies Act 1954, means any person, -
(i) who holds a qualification granted by an authority specified in, or
notified under Section 3 of the Indian Medical Degrees Act, 1916 (7 of
1916) specified in the Schedules to the Indian Medical Council Act
1956 (102 of 1956); or
(ii) who is entitled to be registered as a medical practitioner under
any law for the time being in force ;in any State to which this Act
extends relating to the registration of medical practitioner;
Prohibition of Black Magic:
Both the bills prohibit the promotion, propagation and the practice of
Black Magic. The December Bill also prohibits the promotion, practice
and propagation of aghori practices. This also included people who
abet or attempt to commit any act punishable under this Act.
The March Bill provided that any person who contravenes the provisions
of the Act would be punishable with a term extending to seven years or
with a fine extending to fifty thousand rupees or with both. The
revised version of the bill however provides a minimum sentence of six
months extending to seven months along with a fine, the minimum limit
of which is provided at fifty thousand rupees. Hence the amended bill
comprehensively necessitates the imposition of both imprisonment and
fine.
Jurisdiction to try offences:
Both bills declare the offences punishable under the Act as cognizable
and non-bailable. No court inferior to that of a Metropolitan
Magistrate or a Magistrate of the First Class is permitted to try any
offence under the Act.
Offences by companies:
Both bills provide that if any offence is committed by a company then
every person in charge of and responsible to the company at the time
of commission of the offence for the conduct of its business would be
deemed guilty. It however, expressly excludes people who did not have
knowledge of the commission or people who had exercised all diligence
to prevent its commission. It also provides that if such an act is
committed with the consent or due to the neglect of any director or
manager or secretary or any other officer of the company who is
responsible for the exercise of due care then such a person would also
be deemed to be guilty under the Act.
A separate definition has been provided for a company under both the
bills which includes firms, an association of persons or body of
individuals, whether incorporated or not. Where the March Bill
includes trusts in the definition of a company, the December bill does
not. The reason for the exclusion of the same is unclear.
Vigilance officer:
There is a slight difference in the manner of defining the vigilance
officer in both the bills. The March draft provided that the vigilance
officer, who would be one or more police officers of the rank of an
inspector of Police, would be appointed for the whole State or such
part of the State as may be specified. However, the December draft now
changes this to one or more police officers for one or more police
stations as may be specified. The December bill thus does away with
the ambiguity of appointed police officers for parts of the State.
Where the duties of the Vigilance officer are concerned, most of the
duties remain the same. The earlier bill however, empowered the
officer to detect and prevent the contravention of the Act and to
report cases to the nearest police station within his jurisdiction.
However, the present bill lays a greater duty on the vigilance officer
because it requires him to take quick and speedy action in case a
complaint is filed at the police station by a victim. It also requires
him to give necessary advice, guidance and help to the concerned
police station. The rest of the duties such as collection of evidence,
performance of other duties as notified from time to time remain the
same under both the bills.
The March bill however, provided that the Vigilance officer shall
associate himself with the members of recognized organizations within
the area of his jurisdiction and co-ordinate with such organizations.
It further goes on to state what these recognized organizations would
be and what their duties would be. The bill stated that any social
organization which had been established and registered for not less
than two years under the provisions of the Bombay trusts Act, 1950 or
the societies registration Act, 1860 may apply to the state government
for recognition. It further provided that the government may accord
such recognition after due enquiries. It appears that the
Andhasharadha Samiti, being an organization which would fit in this
category wanted to be at the forefront of such activities while
drafting the bill. Being a recognized organization, the Vigilance
officer would then be forced to work in co-ordination with the
organization by virtue of section 6(3). This provision has been
deleted from the December Bill.
Power of Entry, Search etc:
The Act will give tremendous powers to the Vigilance officer as he
will have the power to enter and search any premises in which he has
reason to believe that an offence has been or is being committed. He
will also have the power to seize any instruments or material or
advertisements which he has reason to believe were being used for the
commission of the crime. It also gives him the power to seize any
other objects which according to him would help prove the crime. The
provisions of the criminal procedure code would apply to any search or
seizure under the Act as would apply to any search or seizure made
under the authority of the warrant issued under section 94 of the
Criminal Procedure Code.
Protection of action taken in good faith:
Common to both bills
The provisions of section 159 and 160 of the Bombay Police Act, 1951
shall apply to acts done in good faith by the Vigilance Officer as if
he were a police officer within the meaning of that Act.
Application of the provisions of the Code:
Common to both bills
The provisions of the Code shall apply to the investigation and trial
of the offences under this Act. Both the bills also go on to state
that this Act shall be in addition to and not in derogation of any
other law for the time being in force.
Publication of the fact of conviction:
Both bills make provisions for convicting courts to order the
publication of the name and the place of residence of the person
convicted in the local newspaper where the offence has been committed.
No such publication however, may be allowed until the appeal has
finally been disposed of.
Rules:
Both bills also make provisions for the making of rules to carry out
the purposes of the Act by notification in the official gazette. The
procedure for the making, modification and the annulment of such rules
has also been provided for under the Bill.
Power to remove difficulty:
This is an extremely ambiguous provision that had been put forth in
the bill of March which was removed in the new bill. It provides that
in case the State government encounters any difficulty in giving
effect to the provisions of the Act then the Government may take such
steps by notification in the official gazette as it may deem necessary
to remove such difficulty. Such an order, however, could not be given
before the passing of two years of the commencement of the Act.
Savings:
The bill of December 2005 provides for a provision which clarifies
that the Act would not apply to acts involving religious rites and
rituals which do not affect any person mentally or physically. This
has been done in order to avoid a religious uproar. It at the same
time however, also creates certain ambiguities as many acts can be
committed under the guise of being a religious act or a religious
ritual.
Schedules:
The schedule to the bill of March specified the acts which were
considered as offences. This has almost completely been changed in the
new bill and very little of the old bill has been retained. Whereas
the first bill listed out 27 practices, the new bill lists only 12.
The schedule to the March Bill included:
1) Under the pretext of expelling the ghost, assaulting by tying a
person with rope or chain, beating by stick or whip, to make the
person drink footwear soaked water, giving chili smoke, hanging a
person to the roof, fixing him with rope or by hair or plucking his
hair causing pain by way of touching heated object to organs or body
of a person, forcing a person to perform a sexual act in the open,
practicing aghori acts by chanting mantras, putting urine or human
excretion forcibly in the mouth of a person.
This clause has completely been retained. Only the words by chanting
mantras have been removed from the new bill in order to avoid
religious opposition. Chanting mantras need not necessarily be in
connection of aghori practices and is also used for religious
practices and to connect it with aghori would have caused religious
uproar.
2) Display of so called miracles by trying to create an impression of
existence of the things beyond or contrary to proven scientific rules
and to deceive, cheat or terrorize any person by propagation and
circulation of such practices. The wording of this section has
completely been changed and it now reads as follows:
Display of so called miracles by a person and thereby earning money
and to deceive, defraud and terrorize people by propagation and
circulation of so called miracles.
The intention of the legislators here appears to be that it is not the
belief of the people that should be attacked but only the people who
want to derive monetary gain out of display of miracles who should be
attacked. Even God is beyond scientific proof but the impression of
His existence cannot be challenged. Beliefs such as these cannot be
challenged under the guise of deception or terrorism. Another question
which arises is would magicians now be allowed to display their magic
for entertaining people? Although magic is not used always to
terrorize people, it does have that effect during the performance of
certain tricks.
3) Doing any inhuman act for search of precious things, bounty, water
resource in the form of karni, bhanmati and making or trying to make
human sacrifice by making jaran-maran, buvabaaji, devi mata or dev
devaski.
The following clause has been more appropriately drafted in the latest
bill and it now reads as follows: Doing any inhuman act in search of
precious things, bounty, water resource or for similar reasons in the
name of karni, bhanamati and making or trying to make human sacrifice
in the name of jaran-maran, or dev-devaski or to advice, instigate or
encourage committing of such inhuman acts.
The words buvabaaji and devi mata have been excluded and the other
words highlighted have been included. Thus not only the act itself but
also the instigation or the propagation of the act would comprise the
offence.
4) In case of dog bite, knowingly committing the act of giving
unscientific treatment of mantra tantra, gandadora and herbs, etc. to
a person infected with rabies instead of modern medical treatment or
preventing him from accepting the same.
Only a part of this clause has been retained and other bites such as
those of a scorpion and a snake have been included. A separate clause
had been put for snake bites in the earlier bill. This has now been
included in the same clause. Thus if a person is bitten by any of
these and such a person is treated by mantra tantra and ganda dora, it
would be an offence. The usage of herbs has been excluded. It is a
proven fact that herbs have medicinal value and hence its usage has
been allowed under the present bill unlike its prohibition in the
earlier one.
5) Piercing needle, and nails or other such objects in the arm,
tongue, chicks or any other part of the body, pricking pointed objects
in the body, whipping oneself, to bang oneself on the wall of temple
with intention of fulfilling the prayer made before God or commitment,
cutting oneself with a sharp instrument on one’s forehead and on any
other part of the body or to inflict self injury or committing any act
in public place which causes pain to normal human being in the name of
religious customs or traditions. This provision has completely been
removed from the present bill.
These acts need not be committed in religious faith. People pierce
their tongues even in the name of fashion. Again, a practice which may
not make sense to a person may make sense to another because he has
faith in it. Hence, such exhaustive provisions cannot be put into the
Bill.
6) Defrauding people, in the name of God and faith to have illicit
sexual relationship with women or men either natural or unnatural,
with or without consent of the person involved.
This provision has been deleted from the present bill because these
acts have already been declared to be illegal under the Indian Penal
Code and hence they are not necessary.
Instead, the following provisions have been included:
To create an impression that oneself is having special supernatural
powers, incarnation of another person or holy spirit, or that the
devotee was his wife, husband or paramour in past birth thereby
indulging in sexual activity with such person.
To keep sexual relations with a woman who is unable to conceive
assuring her of motherhood through supernatural powers.
7) Create or to propagate of inviting spirit of God or Goddess through
any person as a medium. This has been removed from the present bill
and the following has been included:
To create an impression by declaring that a divine spirit has
influenced one’s body or that a person has possessed such divine
spirit and thereby create fear in the mind of others or to threaten
others of evil consequences for not following the advice of such
person.
This provision makes clear that it is not merely the practice of
inviting a spirit that is causing harm but the fact that it is being
propagated in society causing fear in the minds of the people. This
needs to be stopped.
8) Assuring any woman to perform gopala santan ritual in the fourth
month of her pregnancy for birth of a male child, operating stomach by
fingers, diagnosing disease by placing stone, farshi (tile) on the
head, making use of improper and harmful methods to diagnose and treat
diseases and illness; claim to have divine remedies for abortion,
contraception, enhancement of physical satisfaction in the sexual act
for men and women, increasing their sexual powers, menstruation
problems, conceiving, etc.
In the disguise of offering motherhood by performing some divine act
or magical remedy keeping sexual relations with women who are unable
to conceive, deflowering them, keeping illicit sexual relations with
them.
This has now been removed and a short provision stating that claiming
to perform surgery by fingers or claiming to change the sex of a
foetus in the womb of a woman, has been put in place.
9) To spread threat amongst the people by way of invoking by mantras,
putting up a false show to make a person free from poisonous
infection, creating an impression that there is ghostly or divine
wrath causing physical injuries and stopping a person from taking
medical treatment and instead diverting him to practice aghori acts or
deeds.
The following provision in this regard has been included instead:
To create panic in the mind of public in general by way of invoking
ghosts by mantras, or threaten to invoke ghost, putting up a false
show to make a person free from poisonous infection by invoking
mantras or similar things, creating an impression that there is
ghostly or divine wrath causing physical injuries and preventing a
person from taking medical treatment and instead diverting him to
practice aghori acts or treatment, threatening a person with death or
causing physical pains or causing financial or psychological harm by
practicing or tend to practice mantra-tantra (chetuk), black magic or
aghori act.
10) In the name of jaran maran, karni or witchcraft (chetuk),
assaulting any person, parading him naked, excommunicating or
declaring any person as outcast or to expel a person from society or
put a ban on his activities, declaring such person as possessed by
evil spirit or incarnation.
To appear in the state of complete nakedness in the public place and
misbehaving with women by treating oneself as awaliya baba or baba
with divine power.
This has now been substituted by the following two acts:
By declaring that a particular person practices karni, black magic or
brings under the influence of ghost, or diminishes the milching
capacity of a cattle by mantra tantra, or create suspicion about such
person, or similarly accusing a particular person that he brings
misfortune to others or is responsible for spread of diseases and
thereby making the living of such person miserable, troublesome or
difficult, to declare a person as Satan or incarnation of Satan.
In the name of jaran maran, karni, or witchcraft assaulting any
person, parading him naked or put a ban on his daily activities.
11) To create an impression that insanity has been caused to a person
due to influence of ghost or divine power and to conduct mantra tantra
to cure him by way of sacrifice of hen or goat or any other animal.
Cheating people in the false hope of providing freedom from madness,
offering treatment to patients of serious or terminal illnesses by
offering stones with the powers of mantras, finger ring, bangle,
jogstick or thread, tait, ganda dora, etc, with such false hope.
This has now been replaced by: To create an impression that a mentally
retarded person is having super natural power and utilizing such
person for business or occupation.
The following provisions have also been removed:
Causing disturbance in society in general or creating panic or cause
intimidation by way of chanting Mantra or Tantrik action in the name
of exorcising a ghost or to free a person from the influence of ghost
or evil spirit.
By declaring that Devi, a spirit has influenced one’s body, create
disturbance by shouting and thereby spreading threat and disturbing
the general peace, declaring the names of the persons who has done
karni, etc, thereby making the living of such a person miserable of
difficult, to provide unscientific cure to psycho somatic conditions
such as giving angara, pendant, etc. to the people. Haunting a person
with an influence of ghost by practicing witchcraft which cannot be
proved with the help of modern science. Treating any disease with the
help of mantra tantra without authorized or recognized medical degree
under the law for the time being in force. Threatening a person with
death or causing physical pains or causing financial or psychological
harm by mantra tantra (witchcraft), Black Magic or by practicing
aghori treatment.
Trying to make believe burning of things, vanishing of things,
appearance of cross marks on the body, etc, as effect of bhanamati and
claiming treatment for the same. Claiming to perform miracle by
burying oneself in the ground. Under disguise of offering God’s
blessings, cheating people by way of accepting money or any other
belongings, by unlawful means. In the name of religion, Holy
Scriptures, God and Goddesses, display of false extraordinary powers,
indulgence in free sexual relations, adopting unethical and corrupt
means for cheating and duping people. Compelling women to enter into
prostitution and committing atrocities against them, by cheating them
under blind faith.
The following other provisions have been included:
With a view to receive blessings of super natural power to follow the
evil and aghori practices which cause danger to life or grievous hurt;
and to instigate, encourage or compel others to follow such practices.
Conclusion:
This is a noble effort of the legislators to put an end to the
atrocities being committed in the name of religion. Throwing people in
burning flames to cure people of Chicken Pocks, writing Ram on the
doors of the house to prevent the unholy ghost from entering the house
is becoming increasingly common these days. Although the intentions
are good, as has been seen in the past, not all legislations score
high marks where implementation is concerned. Some fail more so
because people refuse to follow them and because it appears to be
against the customs and traditions of the people. Literacy drives
would have been more appropriate for such a personal subject. No
committee has been put in place under this bill that would go around
educating people about the evil effects of these practices. Another
thing that comes across is that most of the acts named in the bill
would be offences in itself, the only difference is that their
commission under the guise of religious practice would henceforth also
be termed as an offence. Nevertheless, the success of the bill still
remains to be seen.
The author can be reached at :prit...@legalserviceindia.com
http://www.legalserviceindia.com/articles/statl.htm
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(*) Principles of Jermy Bentham and S.C of India
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(*) Repeal Of POTA - Justified
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(*) Politics Of Constitutional Amendments In India
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http://www.legalserviceindia.com/constitution/const_home.htm
Written By : Deepika Bansal - Student Law
The Constitution of India is the supreme law of the land, which is
fundamental in the governance of India. The Constitution of India was
enacted on 26th November, 1949 and was adopted on 26th January, 1950.
The Draftsmen of the Indian Constitution took inspiration from
Constitutions all over the world and incorporated their attributes
into the Indian Constitution. For example Part III on Fundamental
Rights is partly derived from the American Constitution and Part 1V on
Directive Principles of State Policy from the Irish Constitution.
A Constitution should be a dynamic document. It should be able to
adapt itself to the changing needs of the society. Sometimes under the
impact of new powerful social and economic forces, the pattern of
government will require major changes. Keeping this factor in mind the
Draftsmen of the Indian Constitution incorporated Article 368 in the
Constitution which dealt with the procedure of amendment. Due to
Article 368 the Indian Constitution can neither be called rigid nor
flexible but in fact it is partly rigid and partly flexible. Articles
of the Indian Constitution can be amended by a simple majority in the
Parliament (Second Schedule, Article 100(3), 105, 11, 124, 135, 81,
137), or by special majority that is majority of the total membership
of each house and by majority of not less than two thirds of the
members of each house present and voting , or by Ratification by the
State Legislatures after special majority (Article 57, 73, 162,
Chapter 1V of Part V, Chapter V of P!
art V1, Seventh Schedule, representation of the State in Parliament
and provisions dealing with amendment of the Constitution).
During the 50 years of the Constitution, more than 80 amendments have
taken place. The founding fathers of the Indian constitution who
granted more rights to the people without balancing them with their
duties, perhaps did not foresee the emergence of present political
environment, wherein the political players of various segments in the
country are more interested in fulfilling their individual aspirations
than the aspirations of the people. There is an element of truth in
this
criticism. The fact is that the ease in the amending process of the
Indian Constitution is due to the one party dominance both at the
Centre and the State .Yet, on close examination it will be seen that
there were compelling circumstances which led to the constitutional
amendments. While some amendments were a natural product of the
eventual evolution of the new political system established under the
Constitution in 1950, there were others necessitated by practical
difficulties. The first amendment! took place in June, 1950.
The question whether Fundamental Rights can be amended under Article
368 came for consideration of the Supreme Court in Shankari Prasad v.
Union of India . It challenged the validity of the 1st amendent to the
Constitution. In this case it was held that a constitution amendment
will also be held valid even it abridges or takes away any of the
fundamental rights. A similar decision was given my the honble Supreme
Court in Sajjan Singh v. State of Rajasthan which challenged the
validity of the 17th amendent. In Golaknath v. State of Punjab , the
validity of the Constitution (17th Amendment) Act, 1964 was again
challenged, which inserted certain State Acts in Ninth Schedule. The
Supreme Court in its landmark decision overruled the decision given in
the Shankari Prasads and Sajjan Singhs case. It held that the
Parliament had no power from the date of this decision to amend Part
III of the Constitution so as to take away or abridge the Fundamental
rights. Eleven judges participated in this decision with the ratio
being 6 : 5. The judges were worried about the numerous amendments
made to abridge the fundamental rights since 1950. It apprehended that
if the courts were to hold that the Parliament had power to take away
fundamental rights, a time might come when these rights are completely
eroded. The Chief Justice applied the doctrine of Prospective
Overruling and held that this decision will have only prospective
operation and, therefore, the 1st, 4th and 17th amendment will conti!
nue to be valid.
It means that all cases decided before the Golaknaths case shall
remain valid. In order to remove difficulties created by Golaknaths
decision parliament enacted the 24th Amendment.
The amendment has made the following amendments :
(1) it added a new clause (4) to Article 13 which provides that
nothing in this Article shall apply to any amendment of this
constitution made under Article 368 .
(2) it submitted a new heading to Article 368 power of Parliament to
amend the Constitution and Procedure therefore. Instead of Procedure
for amendment of the Constitution.
(3) It inserted a new sub section (1) in Article 368 which provides
that notwithstanding anything in the Constitution, Parliament may, in
exercise of its constituent power may amend by way of addition,
variation, or repeal any provision of this Constitution in accordance
with the procedure laid down in the Article. Thus the 24th amendment
restored the amending power of the Parliament. The validity of the
24th amendment was challenged in the case of Keshavnand Bharati v.
State of Kerala . It challenged the validity of the Kerala Reforms
Act, 1963. but during the pendency of the petition the Kerala Act was
placed in the Ninth Schedule by the 29th Amendment. The question
involved was the extent of the amending power conferred by Article 368
of the Constitution. A Special bench of 13 judges was constituted to
hear the case. The Court by majority overruled the Golaknaths case
which denied Parliament the power to amend fundamental rights of
citizens. It held that the 24th amendment merely made explicit which
was implicit in the unamended Article 368. The Court held that under
the Article 368 Parliament is not empowered to amend the basic
structure or framework of the Constitution. After the decisions of the
Supreme Court in Keshavnand Bharati and Indira Gandhi cases the
Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976, was passed which added two
new clauses , namely, clauses (4) provided that no constitutional
amendment (including the provision of Part III) or purporting to have
been made under Article 368 whether before or after the commencement
of the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976 shall be called in any
court on any ground. Clause (5) removed any doubts about the scope of
the amending power. It declared that there shall be no limitation
whatever on the constituent power of Parliament to amend by way of
addition ,variation or repeal of the provisions of the Constitution
under this Article. Thus by inserting this clause it was made clear
that the basic structure of the Constitution could be amended. In
Minerva Mills v. Union of India the Supreme Court by 4 to 1 majority
struck down clauses (4) and (5) of Article 368 inserted by the 42nd
amendment, on the ground that these clauses destroyed the essential
feature of the basic structure of the Constitution. Since these
clauses removed all limitations on the amending power and thereby!
conferred an unlimited amending power, it was destructive of the basic
structure of the Constitution. The judgment of the Supreme Court thus
makes it clear that the Constitution not the Parliament is supreme in
India. The Parliament owes its existence to the Constitution and it
cannot take priority over the Constitution. Therefore this landmark
decision ended the long controversy between the Courts and the
Executive.
The amendment process was incorporated in the Constitution by the
Draftsmen of the Constitution to help India adapt itself to the
changing circumstances. Society is never stagnant. It is ever-
changing. Therefore the amending procedure was made partly flexible so
as to make it easy for the Legislature. But the Parliament started
thinking that it has unlimited amending power. It assumed itself to be
the supreme law when the Constitution is the supreme law of the land.
The Parliament started making amendments which were destroying the
basic structure of the Indian Constitution. But after the landmark
decisions of Keshavnand Bharati and Minerva Mills the Court by its
power of judicial review has curtailed the amending power of the
Parliament. The amendments made by the Parliament can no more affect
the basic structure of the Constitution. But, looking at the ease with
amendments can take place depending on the whims and fancies of the
ruling government and the POLITICS IN THE POLITICS OF INDIA we cannot
say how long the rights of the citizens are safe and unobstructed.
http://www.legalservicesindia.com/articles/pol.htm
Written By : Sachin Mehta
On 26 March 2002, the controversial anti-terror law, the Prevention of
Terrorism Act (POTA) was passed with 425 votes for the Act and 296
against, after a 10-hour debate in the parliament. The intensity of
the effects of the bill could be seen very clearly by the rejection of
the bill by the upper house of the Indian Parliament leading to a
Joint Session of Parliament, a measure that had taken place only the
third time in the past. The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs justified
the initial Ordinance after the September 11,2001 terror attacks by
claiming an upsurge of terrorist activities, intensification of cross
border terrorism, and insurgent groups in different parts of the
country, despite the fact that the state of Jammu and Kashmir
witnessed a decrease in the terrorist incidents taking place in that
state.
POTA, though now has been repealed, lives as an example showing the
bold step taken by India in its fight against terrorism. The POTA had
during its days and even after its downfall, has made India a silent
spectator to serous ongoing debates between political parties, the
media, social activists and NGOs on certain provisions seen to be
draconian, within POTA.
Two years from the enactment of the POTA, a number of issues as to the
possibilities of misuse of the provisions of the anti terror law
including the targeting of minorities and using it against political
opponents had arisen. In Gujarat, all except one of the POTA detainees
are from the Muslim minority and in Tamil Nadu and UP too the
ostensible anti-terror law has been abused to book, without lucidity
and accountability, political opponents and underprivileged
communities respectively.
A decade long experience with a previous national anti-terror law, the
infamous Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Prevention (TADA) that
was in force between 1985-1995 gives legitimacy to the fear that the
misuse of such laws evoke among human rights activists, political
dissenters and minorities. Under the TADA, the conviction rate was
less than 1%, despite the fact that the confessions made to the
police, even though being given under torture, were admissible as
evidence.
The developments after the enactment of the POTA, including the
responses received by the POTA review committee show that the POTA is
worse then TADA. POTA provides for criminal liability for mere
association or communication with suspected terrorists without the
possession of criminal intent (Section 3(5) of the POTA). Section 4 of
POTA is similar to Section 5 of TADA in laying out a legal presumption
that if a person is found in unauthorized possession of arms in a
notified area, he/she is automatically linked with terrorist activity.
Section 48(2) provides for the option of pre-trial police detention
for up to 180 days. As under the TADA, where 98% of the cases never
reached the trial stage, this Section 48(2) could also be misused by
the police by keeping an accused for long periods of detention without
charge or trial. Special courts for trials are established under POTA
which are given the discretion to hold trials in non-public places,
like prisons, and to withhold ! trial records from public scrutiny,
thus preventing the independent monitoring of special court sessions.
Section 32 provides that confessions made to police officers are to be
admissible in trial, which has increased the possibility of coercion
and torture in securing confessions.
The provisions contained under the POTA were mostly contained in
existing laws, except those, which were contained in the Criminal
Procedure Code, the Indian Penal Code, the Evidence Act or the
Constitution of India. The Act effectively undermines the fundamental
tenet of the criminal justice system by putting the burden of proof on
the accused. But the Act also had some provisions, which were not
attacked for being against human rights. These provisions stated that
Confessions must be recorded within 48 hours before a magistrate, who
will send the accused for a medical examination if there is a
complaint of torture. Further a legal representative of the accused
can be present for part of the interrogation. Moreover police officers
can be prosecuted for abusing their authority. The POTA also provided
that victims could be paid compensation.
But these provisions could not act as an effective shield to protect
the Act from the criticism it received for its other provisions
abusing human rights. Those opposed to POTA had argued that existing
laws were sufficient to deal with terrorism. Within a year POTA had
already built up a dubious record and in some states it was already
dreaded as its predecessor. State governments, including opposition-
ruled ones, had not hesitated to use POTA to fix political opponents.
At the Peoples Tribunal on POTA and Other Security Legislation at the
Press Club in New Delhi on July 16,2004 a 629-page report based on
depositions made before the Tribunal by victims and their families
from ten states in India, as well as expert depositions by lawyers and
activists, showed that such security legislations grant sweeping
powers to authorities, which has led to misuse of these powers and
severe restriction of basic rights. At the same time, such
legislations do not address the political, social and economic roots
of the problem.
The tribunal concluded that the review of victim and expert testimony
showed that the misuse of the Act is inseparable from its normal use.
The tribunal stated that the statute meant to terrorise not so much
the terrorists as ordinary civiliansand particularly the poor and
disadvantaged such as dalits, religious minorities, adivasis, and
working people. Thus the tribunal recommended that POTA be repealed
and that too in such a manner that the POTA charges are deleted from
all existing investigations and trials. But, if the state so desires,
these may continue under other laws and charges.
Finally on September 17, 2004 the Union Cabinet in keeping with the
UPA government's Common Minimum Programme, approved ordinances to
repeal the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 (POTA) and
amend the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. Home Minister
Shivraj Patil said that the government would provide a sunset period
of one year during which all cases pertaining to POTA would be
reviewed by the Central POTA Review Committee. He added, There would
be no arrests made after the ordinance is promulgated. To fill the
lacuna that have been created due to the repeal of the Act, adequate
amendments were being brought to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention)
Act, 1967 to define a terrorist act and provide for banning of
terrorist organisations and their support systems, including funding
of terrorism, attachment and forfeiture of proceeds of terrorism, etc.
All terrorist organisations banned under POTA would continue to remain
banned, under the Unlawful Activities Act, after the repeal of the
Act. Some of the clauses contained in POTA, which will be completely
dropped in the amended Unlawful Activities Act, are: the onus on the
accused to prove his innocence, compulsory denial of bail to accused
and admission as evidence in the court of law the confession made by
the accused before the police officer.
The BJP government has slammed the Cabinet decision to repeal POTA as
politically motivated and compromising of the essentials of national
security. BJP spokesperson and former Law Minister Arun Jaitley said
if the amendments brought out under the existing laws after the repeal
of POTA are found to be inadequate, the BJP-ruled states would be
asked to come out with their own legislations filling up the lacuna.
But till such a step is taken many innocent victims of the POTA can
take a sign of relief and thank their stars that the reign of terror
under the stringent anti terror law POTA has come to an end.
http://www.legalservicesindia.com/articles/pota.htm
Written By : Sandeep Pathak, III year B.B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) National Law
University, Jodhpur
Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation (herein after referred as
Olga Tellis) was decided in 1985 by the five Judges Bench of the
Supreme Court of India. The Hon'ble bench comprised of C.J., Y.V.
Chandrachud, J., A.V. Varadarajan, J., O. Chinnappa Reddy, J., S.
Murtaza Fazal Ali and J., V.D. Tulzapurkar. This case came before the
Supreme Court as a writ petition by persons who live on pavements and
in slums in the city of Bombay. It was prayed by the petitioners to
allow them to stay on the pavements against their order of eviction.
The majority judgment (concurring by all the five Judges) was
delivered by Hon'ble Chief Justice Y.V.Chandrachud.
Factual Score of Olga Tellis
The writ petitions were filed by the slum dwellers and pavement
dwellers before the Supreme Court of India. This class of people
constituted nearly half the population of the city of Bombay. The
respondents - State of Maharashtra and Bombay Municipal Corporation
took a decision that all pavement dwellers and the slum or bust
dwellers in the city of Bombay will be evicted forcibly and deported
to their respective places of origin or removed to places outside the
city of Bombay section 314 of the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act,
1888. Pursuant to that decision, the pavement dwellings of some of the
petitioners were in fact demolished by the Bombay Municipal
Corporation. The petitioners challenge the order of the Bombay
Municipal Corporation of eviction as being unreasonable and unjust
without providing with alternative living facility. The petitioners
claimed right to livelihood as a part of their right under Article 21
of the Constitution that is right to life under Article 32. Moreover,
petitioners contended that sections 312, 313 and 314 of the Bombay
Municipal Corporation Act are invalid as violating Articles 14, 19 and
21.
Issues Considered by the Apex Court
1. That the order for the eviction of the pavement is the infringement
of their right to livelihood and in turn the encroachment over their
right guaranteed under article 21 of the Constitution.
2. That the impugned action of the State Government and the Bombay
Municipal Corporation is violative of the provisions contained in
Article 19(1) (3), 19(1) (g) and 21 of the Constitution.
3. That the procedure prescribed by section 314 of the Bombay
Municipal Corporation Act, 1888 for the removal of encroachments from
pavements is arbitrary and unreasonable.
Decision of Supreme Court
The decision of the Supreme Court in this case was based on the
humanistic approach of the judges and the Apex Court stepped into the
activist role. The Hon'ble Supreme Court held that the slum dwellers
must get the alternative shelter if they are evicted from the
pavements.Although, the eviction orders were held to be valid under
article 14 and 19 of the Constitution. Infact, the right to life was
once again enlarged to engulf the right to livelihood as being a part
of liberty of an individual. The decision of the Court also focused on
the concept of the welfare state and reliance though not expressly but
impliedly was placed on the Directive Principles of the State Policies
under the Constitution.
Rationale, Reason and Jurisprudence of Olga Tellis
The decision of this case essentially falls back on the premise of the
positivism. The judgment delivered by C.J., YV.Chandrachud is solely
based on the concept of the analytical positivism of Britain. The
letter of law was considered to be paramount. The Supreme Court
focused on both the premises, that is, reformation and superiority of
the law. In Para 28, Justice Chandrachud took the approach propounded
by Hans Kelson, where he considers constitution as a highest norm or
the Grundnorm. According to Kelson, Grundnorm is the basic norm which
determines the content and gives validity to other norms derived from
it. On this basis, Justice Chandrachud, observes in Para 28 that,
There can be no estoppel against the Constitution. The Constitution is
not only the paramount law of the land but, it is the source and
sustenance of all laws. Its provisions are conceived in public
interest and are intended to serve public purpose.
Furthermore, it is the theory of the "Father of the English
Jurisprudence" - Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) that was reiterated by
the Apex Court in true sense. Bentham talked about the reform of the
substantive law by the way of reforming the structure of law.
1. Law in the Reformative Process
This case can be said to be a decision that leads to the reformation
of the substantive law. Bentham divided the jurisprudence into two
parts, that is, expositorial (what law is) and censorial (what law
ought to be) .Olga Tellis has shifted the focus from censorial
jurisprudence to the expositorial jurisprudence by enlarging the scope
of article 21 of the Constitution and including right to livelihood
and right to shelter as a part of right to life. Justice Chandrachud
in Para 32 of his judgment states,
An equally important facet of that right is the right to livelihood
because, no person can live without the means of living, that is, the
means of livelihood. If the right to livelihood is not treated as a
part of the constitutional right to life, the easiest way of depriving
a person of his right to life would be to deprive him of his means of
livelihood to the point of abrogation.
This view of the Hon'ble Court clearly indicates the follow up of the
Bentam's philosophy of reforming the law through its structure. The
law as defined by Bentham is, an assemblage of signs, declarative of
violation, conceived or adopted by the sovereign in a state,
concerning the conduct to be observed in a certain case by a certain
person or class of persons, who in the case in question are or are
supposed to be subject to his power .Therefore, this although focuses
on the aspect that law is certain and laid down that is, positum, but
at the same time this definition is flexible enough to be cover a set
of objectives so intimately allied and to which there would be such
continual occasion to apply the same proposition . Therefore in the
present case when Justice Chandrachud states that ,"no person can live
without means of living" ,he is applying the Bentamite jurisprudence
to reform the law laid down under article 21 and at the same time also
utilizing the flexibility of his definition of law to equate the
intimately allied occasions of life, liberty and livelihood.
2. Hedonist Utilitarianism
Olga Tellis brought the concept of Benthamite philosophy of the
Hedonist Utilitarianism. Justice Chandrachud in Para 1 states that the
petitioners form almost half the population of the city. The fact of
such a large number of pavement dwellers in question caused the
decision to fall in their favour.The principle of utility by Bentham
stated that, out of various possibilities in a given case, one must
choose that option that gives the greatest happiness to the greatest
number .
The Bombay Municipal Corporation Act, 1888 laid down the law relating
to the pavement dwellers under section 312-314. It stated many
prohibitions on the housing and depositions of various items on the
pavements by the dwellers. Justice Chandrachud while deciding this
case entirely followed the PRINCIPLE OF UTILITY as given by Bentham
and held that the end aim of the legislator should be HAPPINESS of the
people and the GENERAL UTILITY must be the guiding principle. Apex
Court by making a balance sheet between the happiness or the utility
of the slum dwellers with the aim and object of the particular
legislation came to a conclusion that justice must be done only by
giving the redressal to the poor and needy pavement dwellers. Justice
Chandarchud in Para 49 states that,
Hearing to be given to trespassers who have encroached on public
properties? To persons who commit crime? There is no doubt that the
petitioners are using pavements and other public properties for an
unauthorised purpose. But, their intention or object in doing so is
not to "commit an offence or intimidate, insult or annoy any person",
which is the gist of the offence of 'Criminal trespass' under Section
441 of the Penal Code. They manage to find a habitat in places which
are mostly filthy or marshy, out of sheet helplessness. It is not as
if they have a free choice to exercise as to whether to commit an
encroachment and if so, where. The encroachments committed by these
persons are involuntary acts in the sense that those acts are
compelled by inevitable circumstances and are not guided by choice.
Here, as elsewhere in the law of Torts, a balance has to be struck
between competing sets of values.....
Therefore, the Apex Court had drawn a balance sheet and analysed the
Happiness and utility of the petitioners and the respondents. The
Court relied upon the Pelican book in Para 56 and states,
Malnourished babies, wasted mothers, emaciated corpses in the streets
of Asia have definite and definable reasons for existing. Hunger may
have been the human race's constant companion, and 'the poor may
always be with us', but in the twentieth century, one cannot take this
fatalistic view of the destiny of millions of fellow creatures. Their
condition is not inevitable but is caused by identifiable forces
within the province of rational human control.
In the above-mentioned finding by the Hon'ble Supreme Court it is
evidently clear that the reliance was placed on the "destiny of
millions of fellow creatures". It signifies the application of the
Bentham principle of utility in the outcome of the judgment of Olga
Tellis.
Bentham's justification of his utilitarianism is founded upon four
propositions. These are as follows,
1. All agents (as agents) seek a personal good.
2. Ultimately, all self-conscious agents aim at the same goal
(irrespective of the particular context in which the particular action
is performed).
3. That same ultimate goal is always the maximization of personal
pleasure (and the avoidance of personal pain).
4. The proper role of the state is to promote the greatest aggregate
pleasure within its community.
The four commands of utility for civic society in the Bentham's
Utilitarianism, upon which the aggregate happiness depends are
security, subsistence, abundance and equality. Out of the above,
security was the most important. Subsistence, abundance and equality,
however, all depended, in Bentham's view, on the paramount directive
of security. The decision given by the Supreme Court heavily relies on
the entire four propositions given by Bentham (above-mentioned).
Justice Chandrachud in the Para 2 of the judgment lays down the
emphasis on the slum dwellers right to life and reside in any part of
the country with dignity as other citizens of the nation. He stated
that an individual can live without security but cannot live without
"subsistence" the Supreme Court in the instant case holding that the
Right to livelihood and shelter as being an important component of the
Right to Life again establishes a nexus between subsistence and right
to livelihood once again confirming the abidance of the Benthamite
principle of utility. Moreover when the court established that if the
petitioners were evicted from their dwellings, they would be deprived
of their livelihood.
The due recognition is given to the fact that the number of the
pavement dwellers was huge and it constituted almost half of the
city's population. Therefore, the test greatest aggregate happiness
for the greatest number is also fulfilled. According to Jullias
Stone , by happiness of the community Bentham meant simply the
aggregate of individual surpluses of pleasure over pain. The greatest
happiness of the greatest number states that the pleasure and the
pains of the society are to be weighed at same plane. In this case
also the pleasure of the society was upheld and also the pain of
another section of the society (slum dwellers) was brought down.
Then Bentham's principle of utility becomes the principle that we are
always to act in such a way as to give as many people as possible as
much as possible of whatever it is that they want. I think that the
interpretation in Olga Tellis preserves the essence of Bentham's
doctrine, and it has the advantage of making it independent of any
special psychological theory.
Conclusion
To conclude, the whole Benthamite principle applied by Justice
Chandrachud on behalf of all the brother Justices can be summarized in
one sentence stated in Para 46 of the judgment, Human compassion
(happiness) must soften the rough edges of justice in all situations.
Thus, it can be concluded the Supreme Court adopted the Utilitarian
Principle in terms of the pleasure and pain calculus or the hedonistic
calculus of Jermy Betham.
Authored by Sandeep Pathak and can be reached at :
pathaksa...@rediffmail.com
http://www.legalserviceindia.com/articles/case.htm
"Uniform Civil Code"
Written By : Gauri Kulkarni - Vth year law - Symbiosis Society's law
college, Pune
Introduction:
The mere three words and the nation breaks into hysterical jubilation
and frantic wailing. These three words are enough to divide the nation
into two categories - politically, socially and religiously.
Politically, the nation is divided as BJP, which propagates
implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (hereinafter referred to as
the UCC) and the non BJP including the Congress party, Samajwadi
party, who are against the implementation of the UCC. Socially, the
intelligentsia of the country, who analyse logically the pros and cons
of the UCC and the illiterate who have no opinion of their own and
succumb to the political pressure are at opposite poles. And,
religiously, there is a dangerous widening schism between the majority
Hindus and the minority community mostly the Muslims. Being a law
student, I would like to consider the legal implications of UCC.
I strongly support the crusade for the implementation of UCC and
homogenising the personal laws. I support it, not because of any bias,
but because it is the need of the hour. It is high time that India had
a uniform law dealing with marriage, divorce, succession, inheritance
and maintenance.
Indian case law:
Recently, the Supreme Court of India again called for a UCC. The
Supreme Court first directed the Parliament to frame a UCC in the year
1985 in the case of Mohammad Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum[1],
popularly known as the Shah Bano case. In this case, a penurious
Muslim woman claimed for maintenance from her husband under Section
125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure[2] after she was given triple
talaq from him. The Supreme Court held that the Muslim woman have a
right to get maintenance from her husband under Section 125. The Court
also held that Article 44[3] of the Constitution has remained a dead
letter. The then Chief Justice of India Y.V. Chandrachud observed
that,
"A common civil code will help the cause of national integration by
removing disparate loyalties to law which have conflicting ideologies"
After this decision, nationwide discussions, meetings, and agitation
were held. The then Rajiv Gandhi led Government overturned the Shah
Bano case decision by way of Muslim Women (Right to Protection on
Divorce) Act, 1986 which curtailed the right of a Muslim woman for
maintenance under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The
explanation given for implementing this Act was that the Supreme Court
had merely made an observation for enacting the UCC, not binding on
the government or the Parliament and that there should be no
interference with the personal laws unless the demand comes from
within.
The second instance in which the Supreme Court again directed the
government of Article 44 was in the case of Sarla Mudgal v. Union of
India[4]. In this case, the question was whether a Hindu husband,
married under the Hindu law, by embracing Islam, can solemnise second
marriage The Court held that a Hindu marriage solemnised under the
Hindu law can only be dissolved on any of the grounds specified under
the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. Conversion to Islam and Marrying again
would not, by itself, dissolve the Hindu marriage under the Act. And,
thus, a second marriage solemnised after converting to Islam would be
an offence under Section 494[5] of the Indian Penal Code.
Justice Kuldip Singh also opined that Article 44 has to be retrieved
from the cold storage where it is lying since 1949. The Hon’ble
Justice referred to the codification of the Hindu personal law and
held,
"Where more then 80 percent of the citizens have already been brought
under the codified personal law there is no justification whatsoever
to keep in abeyance, any more, the introduction of the ‘uniform civil
code’ for all the citizens in the territory of India."
The Supreme Court’s latest reminder to the government of its
Constitutional obligations to enact a UCC came in July 2003[6] when a
Christian priest knocked the doors of the Court challenging the
Constitutional validity of Section 118[7] of the Indian Succession
Act. The priest from Kerala, John Vallamatton filed a writ petition in
the year 1997 stating that Section 118 of the said Act was
discriminatory against the Christians as it impose unreasonable
restrictions on their donation of property for religious or charitable
purpose by will. The bench comprising of Chief Justice of India V.N.
Khare, Justice S.B. Sinha and Justice A.R. Lakshamanan struck down the
Section declaring it to be unconstitutional. Chief Justice Khare
stated that,
"We would like to State that Article 44 provides that the State shall
endeavour to secure for all citizens a uniform civil code throughout
the territory of India It is a matter of great regrets that Article 44
of the Constitution has not been given effect to. Parliament is still
to step in for framing a common civil code in the country. A common
civil code will help the cause of national integration by removing the
contradictions based on ideologies."
Thus, as seen above, the apex court has on several instances directed
the government to realise the directive principle enshrined in our
Constitution and the urgency to do so can be inferred from the same.
Secularism v/s UCC:
The spine of controversy revolving around UCC has been secularism and
the freedom of religion enumerated in the Constitution of India. The
preamble of the Constitution states that India is a "secular
democratic republic" This means that there is no State religion. A
secular State shall not discriminate against anyone on the ground of
religion. A State is only concerned with the relation between man and
man. It is not concerned with the relation of man with God. It does
not mean allowing all religions to be practiced. It means that
religion should not interfere with the mundane life of an individual.
In S.R. Bommai v. Union of India[8], as per Justice Jeevan Reddy, it
was held that religion is the matter of individual faith and cannot be
mixed with secular activities. Secular activities can be regulated by
the State by enacting a law.
In India, there exist a concept of "positive secularism" as
distinguished from doctrine of secularism accepted by America and some
European states i.e. there is a wall of separation between religion
and State. In India, positive secularism separates spiritualism with
individual faith. The reason is that America and the European
countries went through the stages of renaissance, reformation and
enlightenment and thus they can enact a law stating that State shall
not interfere with religion. On the contrary, India has not gone
through these stages and thus the responsibility lies on the State to
interfere in the matters of religion so as to remove the impediments
in the governance of the State.
Articles 25[9] and 26[10] guarantee right to freedom of religion.
Article 25 guarantees to every person the freedom of conscience and
the right to profess, practice and propagate religion. But this right
is subject to public order, morality and health and to the other
provisions of Part III of the Constitution. Article 25 also empowers
the State to regulate or restrict any economic, financial, political
or other secular activity, which may be associated with religious
practice and also to provide for social welfare and reforms. The
protection of Articles 25 and 26 is not limited to matters of doctrine
of belief. It extends to acts done in pursuance of religion and,
therefore, contains a guarantee for ritual and observations,
ceremonies and modes of worship, which are the integral parts of
religion.[11]
UCC is not opposed to secularism or will not violate Article 25 and
26. Article 44 is based on the concept that there is no necessary
connection between religion and personal law in a civilised society.
Marriage, succession and like matters are of secular nature and,
therefore, law can regulate them. No religion permits deliberate
distortion[12]. The UCC will not and shall not result in interference
of one’s religious beliefs relating, mainly to maintenance, succession
and inheritance. This means that under the UCC a Hindu will not be
compelled to perform a nikah or a Muslim be forced to carry out
saptapadi. But in matters of inheritance, right to property,
maintenance and succession, there will be a common law.
Justice Khare, in the recent case[13], said,
"It is no matter of doubt that marriage, succession and the like
matters of secular character cannot be brought within the guarantee
enshrined under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution."
The Chief Justice also cautioned that any legislations which brought
succession and like matters of secular character within the ambit of
Articles 25 and 26 is a suspect legislation. Article 25 confers right
to practice and profess religion, while Article 44 divests religion
from social relations and personal law.
The whole debate can be summed up by the judgement given by Justice
R.M. Sahai. He said,
"Ours is a secular democratic republic. Freedom of religion is the
core of our culture. Even the slightest of deviation shakes the social
fibre. But religious practices, violative of human rights and dignity
and sacerdotal suffocation of essentially civil and material freedoms
are not autonomy but oppression. Therefore, a unified code is
imperative, both, for protection of the oppressed and for promotion of
national unity and solidarity."[14]
Codification:
The biggest obstacle in implementing the UCC, apart from obtaining a
consensus, is the drafting. Should UCC be a blend of all the personal
laws or should it be a new law adhering to the constitutional mandate?
There is a lot of literature churned out on UCC but there is no model
law drafted. Many think that under the guise of UCC, the Hindu law
will be imposed on all. The possibility of UCC being only a repackaged
Hindu law was ruled out by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee when he
said that there will be a new code based on gender equality and
comprising the best elements in all the personal laws.
The UCC should carve a balance between protection of fundamental
rights and religious dogmas of individuals. It should be a code, which
is just and proper according to a man of ordinary prudence, without
any bias with regards to religious or political considerations.
Here is an overview of the essentials of the UCC:
Marriage and divorce:
The personal laws of each religion contain different essentials of a
valid marriage. The new code should have the basic essentials of valid
marriage which shall include:
(i) The new code should impose monogamy banning multiple marriages
under any religion. Polygamy discriminates against the women and
violates their basic human rights. Thus, monogamy should be imposed,
not because it is the Hindu law, but because it adheres to Article 21
of the Constitution[15] and basic human values.
(ii) The minimum age limit for a male should be 21 years and for a
female should be 18 years. This would help in curbing child marriages.
Punishment should be prescribed for any person violating this
provision. Also, punishment for other persons involved in such an act,
like the relatives, should be prescribed which would have a deterrent
effect on the society.
(iii) Registration of marriage should be made compulsory. A valid
marriage will be said to have solemnised when the man and the woman
sign their declaration of eligibility before a registrar. This will do
away with all the confusion regarding the validity of the marriage.
(iv) The grounds and procedure for divorce should be specifically laid
down. The grounds enumerated in the code should be reasonable and the
procedure prescribed should be according to the principles of natural
justice. Also, there should be a provision for divorce by mutual
consent.
Succession and inheritance: This area throws up even more intractable
problems. In Hindu law, there is a distinction between a joint family
property and self acquired property which is not so under the Muslim
law. The Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), formed under the Hindu law, run
businesses and own agricultural lands. Under the UCC, this institution
of HUF, peculiar to the Hindus, has to be abolished. There are also
fetters imposed on the extent to which one can bequeath property by
will under the Muslim law. Considering all these, the UCC should
include:
(i) Equal shares to son and daughter from the property of the father,
whether self acquired or joint family property. There should be no
discrimination based on sex in the matters of inheritance. The
provisions of the Hindu Succession (Maharashtra Amendment) Act, 1994
can be taken as guiding principles wherein the daughter of a
coparcener shall by birth become the coparcener in her own right in
the same manner as a son and have the same rights in the coparcenary
property as she would have had if she had been a son, inclusive the
right to claim by survivorship and shall be subject to same
liabilities and disabilities as the son.
(ii) Provisions for inheritance of the property of mother, which she
has self acquired or acquired through her father or relatives.
(iii) The provisions relating to will should be in consonance with the
principles of equity. There should be no limitations imposed on the
extent to which the property can be bequeathed, the persons to whom
such property can be bequeath and the donation of the property by will
for religious and charitable purpose.
(iv) The essentials of valid will, the procedure for registration and
execution of the will should be provided for.
(v) Provisions for gifts should not contain any limitations, though
essential of valid gift and gift deed should be specified.
Maintenance: The maintenance laws for the Hindus and Muslims are very
different. Apart from personal laws, a non-Muslim woman can claim
maintenance under Section 125 of Code of Criminal Procedure. A Muslim
woman can claim maintenance under the Muslim Women (Right to
Protection on Divorce) Act, 1986. Apart from maintenance of wife,
there are also provisions for maintenance of mother, father, son and
unmarried daughter under the Hindu law. The UCC should contain the
following with regards to maintenance:
(i) A husband should maintain the wife during the marriage and also
after they have divorced till the wife remarries.
(ii) The amount of alimony should be decided on basis of the income of
the husband, the status and the lifestyle of the wife.
(iii) The son and daughter should be equally responsible to maintain
the parents. The reason for this being that if she claims equal share
of the property of her parents, she should share the duty to maintain
her parents equally.
(iv) The parents should maintain their children - son till he is
capable of earning on his own and daughter, till she gets married.
Thus based on these fundamental principles, an unbiased and fair UCC
can be framed which will be in consonance with the Constitution.
Working of UCC and the Indian scenario:
How foolproof will be the UCC? Will there be more abuse and less
obedience of UCC? Will UCC have negative effect on the society? Such
questions are bound to be raised after the implementation of the UCC.
All laws are formulated to be obeyed, but they are abused. This
doesnot mean that law should not be implemented. Similarly, there is a
great possibility of the UCC being abused, but this should not eschew
the Parliament from enacting the UCC; the social welfare and benefits
resulting from the implementation of UCC are far greater.
While explaining the reason for including Article 44 in the Directives
Principles, it was observed,
"When you want to consolidate a community, you have to take into
consideration the benefits which may accrue to the whole community and
not to the customs of a part of it. If you look at the countries in
Europe, which have a Civil Code, everyone who goes there forms a part
of the world and every minority has to submit to that Civil Code. It
is not felt to be tyrannical to the minorities."[16]
Some legal experts argue that progressive law is welcomed but a
suitable atmosphere must be created in which all sections feel secure
enough to sit together and cull out the most progressive of their
personal laws. But this can be answered by an example of Hindu law.
When the Hindu Code Bill, which covers Buddhist, Sikhs, Jains as well
as different religious denominations of Hindus, was notified, there
was a lot of protest. And the then Law Minister, Dr. Ambedkar, had
said that for India’s unity, the country needs a codified law. In a
similar fashion, the UCC can be implemented, which will cover all the
religions, whether major or minor, practiced in India and any person
who comes to India has to abide by the Code.
Not many know that a UCC exists in the small state of Goa accepted by
all communities. The Goa Civil Code collectively called Family Laws,
was framed and enforced by the Portuguese colonial rulers through
various legislations in the 19th and 20th centuries. After the
liberation of Goa in 1961, the Indian State scrapped all the colonial
laws and extended the central laws to the territory but made the
exception of retaining the Family Laws because all the communities in
Goa wanted it. The most significant provision in this law is the pre
nuptial Public Deed regarding the disposal of immovable and movable
property in the event of divorce or death. During matrimony, both
parents have a common right over the estate, but on dissolution, the
property has to be divided equally; son and daughters have the equal
right on the property. As the procedure involves compulsory
registration of marriage, this effectively checks child and bigamous
marriage.
The philosophy behind the Portuguese Civil Code was to strengthen the
family as the backbone of society by inculcating a spirit of tolerance
between husband and wife and providing for inbuilt safeguard against
injustice by one spouse against the other.
Commenting that the dream of a UCC in the country finds its
realisation in Goa, former Chief Justice of India Y.V. Chandrachud had
once expressed hope that it would one day "awaken the rest of bigoted
India."[17]
Conclusion:
The section of the nation against the implementation of UCC contends
that in ideal times, in an ideal State, a UCC would be an ideal
safeguard of citizens’ rights. But India has moved much further from
ideal than when the Constitution was written 50 years ago.
But to conclude, I would like to say that citizens belonging to
different religions and denominations follow different property and
matrimonial laws which is not only an affront to the nation’s unity,
but also makes one wonder whether we are a sovereign secular republic
or a loose confederation of feudal states, where people live at the
whims and fancies of mullahs, bishops and pundits.
[1] AIR 1985 SC 945
[2] "(1) If any person having a sufficient means neglects or refuses
to maintain- a) his wife, unable to maintain herself, or b) his
legitimate or illegitimate minor child, whether married or not, unable
to maintain itself, or c) His legitimate or illegitimate child (not
being a married daughter) who has attained majority, where such child
is, by reason of any physical or mental abnormality or injury unable
to maintain itself, or d) his father or mother, unable to maintain
himself or herself, a magistrate of the first class may, upon proof of
such neglect or refusal, order such person to make a monthly allowance
for the maintenance of his wife or such child, father or mother, at
such monthly rate not exceeding five hundred rupees in the whole, as
such Magistrate thinks fit, and to pay the same to such person as the
Magistrate mat from time to time direct: Provided that the Magistrate
may order the father of a minor female child refereed to in clause (b)
to make such allowance, until she attains her majority, if the
Magistrate is satisfied that the husband of such minor female child,
if married, is not possessed of sufficient means."
[3] "The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform
civil code throughout the territory of India."
[4] AIR 1995 SC 153
[5] "Whoever, having a husband or wife living, marries in any case in
which such marriage is void by reason of its taking place during the
life of such husband or wife, shall be punished with imprisonment of
either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and
shall also be liable to fine."
[6] John Vallamattom v. Union of India AIR 2003 SC 2902
[7] "No man having a nephew or a niece or any nearer relative shall
have power to bequeath any property to religious or charitable uses,
except by a Will executed not less than twelve months before his
death, and deposited within six months from its execution in some
place provided by law for sak\fe custody of the Will of living
persons."
[8] (1994)3 SCC 1
[9] "(1) Subject to public order, morality and health and to the other
provisions of this part, all persons are equally entitled to freedom
of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate
religion. (2) Nothing in this Article shall affect the operation of
any existing law or prevent the State from making any law - a)
regulating or restricting any economic, financial, political or other
secular activities which may be associated with religious practice; b)
providing for social welfare and reform or the throwing open of Hindu
religious institutions of a public character to all classes and
sections of Hindus."
[10] "Subject to public order, morality and health, every religious
denomination or any section thereof shall have a right- a) to
establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable
purposes; b) to manage its own affairs in matters of religion; c) to
own and acquire movable and immovable property; and d) to administer
such property in accordance with law."
[11] Acharya Jagdishwaranand Avadhut v. Commissioner of Police,
Calcutta (1984)4 SCC 522
[12] Sarla Mudgal v. Union of India AIR 1995 SC 1531
[13] John Vallamattom v. Union of India AIR 2003 SC 2902
[14] Sarla Mudgal v. Union of India AIR 1995 SC 1531
[15]"No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty
except according to procedure established by law"
[16] Constitutional Assembly Debates Volume VII pg. 547
[17] Mohammad Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum AIR 1985 SC 945
Authored by Gauri Kulkarni and can be reached at :
miss...@hotmail.com
http://www.legalserviceindia.com/articles/ucc.htm
chhotemianinshallah
By Kanchan Lakhani
A state-level function was organised here today to pay homage to Dr
Shyama Prasad Mookherjee. Addressing a mammoth gathering, former
deputy Prime Minister LK Advani said: “Dr Mookherjee laid down his
life for the unity and integrity of the nation. He not only opposed
the permit system introduced for the people from outside J&K, but also
defied the permit restriction by entering the state on May 11, 1953.
The system itself was instrumental in creating differences among the
citizens of independent India.”
Stating Article 370 as dangerous for the unity and integrity of India,
Mohan Bhagwat of the RSS said the Article should be scrapped at
earliest to ensure safety of the people of Jammu and Kashmir from the
evil designs of terrorist outfits functioning from across the border.
He also dedicated the samarak of Dr Shyama Prasad Mookherjee, named as
Ekta Sathal, at Madhopur bridge on the Punjab-J&K border, near here.
BJP national president Nitin Gadkari also rued the fact that India had
failed to settle the J&K issue even after 62 years of Independence. He
alleged that the appeasement policies of the UPA government were
encouraging terrorism in the country. Demanding immediate repealing of
Article 370, he said Dr Mookherjee’s sacrifice would not go in vein.
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, in his brief address, said
martyrs belonged to the nation and not to any religion, cast or
region. Also present on the occasion were Himachal Pradesh CM PK
Dhumal, former CM Shanta Kumar, MP Navjot Sidhu, MP Avinash Rai
Khanna, BJP state chief Ashwani Sharma, BJP in charge (Punjab affairs)
Balbir Punj, and state ministers like Manoranjan Kalia, Master Mohan
Lal, Tikshan Sud, Luxmi Kanta Chawla and Swarna Ram.
via The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Main News.
http://amritsarmetro.com/2010/03/21/scrap-article-370-bjp-rss/
Researcher in new BJP vanguard
Poornima Joshi
New Delhi, March 21, 2010
BJP leaders aren't known to be "overqualified". But Nirmala
Seetharaman seems to have changed that image when she set foot in the
party headquarters on Saturday afternoon.
The saffron camp's media cell acquired a new profile with
Seetharaman's inclusion as spokesperson in BJP president Nitin
Gadkari's new team of officebearers.
An international trade expert with an MPhil from Jawaharlal Nehru
University's (JNU) Centre for Economic Studies and Planning,
Seetharaman was a researcher in the world's largest professional
services firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, in the UK.
Since she came back to India and settled in Hyderabad, the BJP's new
spokesperson has been engaged in research work in health, education
and rural employment. She is also part of running a model school
called Pranava in Hyderabad, and was a member of the National
Commission for Women. "I had finished PhD as well on textile trade
between India and Europe under the GATT regime, but could not submit
it," said Seetharaman.
So how did someone from JNU, known as the fourth bastion of the CPM
after West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura, end up in the BJP? "I was anti-
Left and part of the free thinkers in JNU. But I never joined any
political party. In fact, till 2006, I was engaged in research. But
when the chance came, I signed up with the BJP," she said.
At a time when Gadkari is facing criticism about sacrificing quality
in favour of the glamour quotient in his team, Seetharaman was propped
up by the party to parry queries in this regard. "What is wrong if
women from the film world or any other profession join politics?
It will only add fresh ideas so essential for the growth.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/89207/India/Researcher+in+new+BJP+vanguard.html
Cong has defied Nehru in its RS nominations: BJP
22 Mar 2010, 0726 hrs IST, ET Bureau
NEW DELHI: BJP on Sunday kept up its attack on Congress for nominating
two of its defeated Lok Sabha candidates — Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar and
Ram
Dayal Munda — to the Rajya Sabha. BJP said the action amounted to
defying Jawaharlal Nehru’s stand on the issue.
“Pandit Nehru, in his speech in the House of the People on May 13,
1953, had categorically stated that such nominees (to Rajya Sabha)
should not represent political parties. There should be a high water
mark of literature, art or culture,” BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap
Rudy said.
“By nominating two active party members, Congress has defied the stand
taken by their guiding leader,” he said. Both Mr Aiyar and Mr Munda
had lost the 2009 Lok Sabha polls while contesting from their
constituencies in Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand, respectively.
“It seems the RS has become a refuge for defeated Congress candidates.
Congress is making a mockery of the nomination category,” he said. He
quoted Gopalswamy Iyengar, a Constituent Assembly member, to drive
home his party’s point. “Iyengar in his speech in the Constituent
Assembly on July 28, 1947, said that those seasoned people who may not
be in the thickest of political fray, but who might be willing to
participate from art and culture should be given an opportunity
through such nominations.”
IANS
BJP leader calls for Hindu state again in Nepal
2010-03-22 17:20:00
A little-known Hindu organisation's call for reinstatement of a Hindu
state in Nepal received an unexpected support here from a visiting top
leader of India's Bharatiya Janata Party.
Former BJP president Rajnath Singh, who had arrived in Nepal Sunday to
attend the last rites of former Nepali prime minister Girija Prasad
Koirala, who was also the architect of a secular Nepal, said at a
press conference in Kathmandu Monday that he supported a Hindu state
in the Himalayan republic.
'We used to feel proud that Nepal was the only Hindu kingdom in the
world,' Singh said. 'I will be happy when Nepal is a Hindu state
again.'
The Indian leader said that there were other theocratic countries in
the world - including in the European Union and in South Asia.
'But no one is opposed to them,' Singh said. 'No one is appealing to
(the Islamic states of) Pakistan and Bangladesh to become secular. But
it was done in Nepal.'
Singh, who met Nepal's Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and President
Ram Baran Yadav Monday prior to his departure, said Hinduism was a way
of life and tolerant of other religions.
'That is why India is secular,' he said. '(But) Pakistan separated
(from India) to become theocratic and look at the state of the country
today.'
Asked about the sectarian riots in western India's Gujarat state under
a BJP government, the BJP leader said his party condemned violence.
Singh also made a veiled attack against Nepal's former Maoist
guerrillas, who waged a 10-year war for a secular state and are now
the biggest party in Nepal following the election in 2008.
'Weapons belong to defenders of the state, not the masses,' he said,
obliquely referring to the allegation against the Maoists that they
have still retained weapons.
'In a healthy democracy, there shouldn't be arms in people's hands.'
The Indian leader said he had urged Nepal's leaders to implement the
new constitution on the basis of consensus within the May deadline.
Singh's remarks are likely to fuel a controversy in Nepal at a time
when several Hindu organisations are calling for a Hindu state.
A little-known group called the Vishwa Ekata Parishad set two buses
and a motorcycle on fire in Kailali district in farwestern Nepal
during a general strike called by them in western Nepal Monday.
The group is seeking to reinstate Hinduism as the state religion. An
anti-monarchy campaign led to parliament declaring the country secular
in 2006.
The new constitution is expected to consolidate the nature of the
secular republic.
However, ahead of the new constitution, Hindu groups have begun
raising demands for a Hindu state.
Last week, a National Religious Revival Campaign kicked off in
Kathmandu, attended by lawmakers and veteran politicians, making the
same demand.
There has also been a series of visits by Hindu preachers, including
controversial Indian Chandraswamy, who have been attending rituals
calling for a Hindu state.
The last of them, a nine-day ritual, was attended by three former
prime ministers of Nepal and deposed Hindu king Gyanendra himself.
Nepal's only openly royalist party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party
(Nepal), is demanding a Hindu kingdom.
Kamal Thapa, who was home minister in king Gyanendra's regime and
heads the royalist party, has warned of protests against the new
constitution unless the government holds a referendum ahead of it.
Thapa says people should be allowed to decide if they want a king and
a Hindu state through the referendum.
In the past, the party called a general strike in Kathmandu valley to
show its clout and also blockaded major ministries.
SEARCH http://sify.com/topics/Nepal.html
Advani blogs against Kashmir's autonomy
2010-03-22 15:20:00
Opposing autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir and restoration of the
pre-1953 status to the troubled state, senior Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) leader L.K. Advani has said the party won't allow the
constitutional clock to be turned back and vowed to get Article 370
completely abrogated.
'All that the country wants is to move forward to the complete
abrogation of Article 370,' Advani said, referring to the
constitutional provision that gives special status to Jammu and
Kashmir in India.
'The nation will not allow the constitutional clock to be turned back
in respect to the state's integration with India,' the veteran BJP
leader blogged.
Before 1953, Jammu and Kashmir had a separate head called prime
minister. The Supreme Court, the Election Commission of India, and the
comptroller and auditor general had no jurisdiction over the state.
Only three departments, defence, currency and foreign affairs were
controlled by the Indian government.
Any Indian citizen wanting to visit the state had to acquire a special
permit to enter Jammu and Kashmir.
However, the permit system was later abolished and gradually the
clauses, which Advani called 'separatist provisions', were changed and
the article diluted.
This, Advani wrote, 'brought (Jammu and Kashmir) at par with other
states in these matters'.
'When in the name of Kashmir's autonomy, it is nowadays said that the
dilution of Article 370 that took place post-1953 must be undone, it
is all these wholesome provisions of the Indian constitution which are
sought to be once again scrapped in their application to the state of
Jammu and Kashmir,' he said.
'The nation's clarion call to the powers-that-be is that India will
never forget Shyama Prasad Mookerji's sacrifice,' he said remembering
the Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder who entered Jammu and Kashmir in 1953
defying the permit system. Mookerji was taken to a prison where he
fell ill after a hunger strike. He later died.
http://sify.com/news/advani-blogs-against-kashmir-s-autonomy-news-national-kdwpubjefbh.html
BJP leader weighed in blood
NDTV Correspondent, Monday March 22, 2010, Ahmedabad
Weighing your leader in gold and silver is passé. How innovative can
your welcome be after Mayawati's money garland caught the eye of
everyone in the country?
A silver chair for Haryana Chief Minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda. A gun
salute for BJP general secretary Narendra Singh Tomar. Now try this.
The new state BJP chief in Gujarat, RC Faldu, was weighed in blood, 75
litres of it for his 75 kg of body weight. All that blood has been
kept in Vadodara for donation "to the needy".
The leader looked quite happy at the innovation as he sat on the giant
weighing scale. For the more conventional, he was also weighed in
coins.
Tomar, the BJP MP from Madhya Pradesh and general secretary, was
felicitated over the weekend with followers firing gunshots in the air
in Morena and a district-level office-bearer ended up injured.
Chief Minister Hooda said no to the silver throne and, it is reported,
a golden crown. But then Hooda belongs to the party that is taking its
austerity drive very seriously. In neighbouring UP, Chief Minister
Mayawati shall soon be accepting her third garland made of money.
Watch Video
http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/bjp-leader-weighed-in-blood-18227.php
BJP general secretary’s show of gun power injures partyman
22 Mar 2010, 1010 hrs IST, ET Bureau
NEW DELHI: Even as BJP president Nitin Gadkari battles to contain the
fall-out of a fresh burst of dissidence within his party following
the
announcement of his team of office-bearers, one of his chosen few
decided to exhibit his clout by a brazen show of gun power and might
at Shivpuri in his home constituency.
Mr Narendra Singh Tomar’s first visit to his Lok Sabha constituency —
Morena in Madhya Pradesh — after being named a national general
secretary of BJP left at least one party activist injured during the
101-gun salute given by his followers. In a brazen show of strength
and muscle power, Mr Tomar, who’s also the outgoing state BJP
president, chose to exhibit his might by parading 101 gun-totting
supporters on the occasion. This act clearly violated the law, but no
could dare taking any action against him for the fear of inviting the
state government’s wrath. MP is ruled by BJP.
What is more shocking is that the incident took place in the very
presence of police and district officials who were there during the
controversial ceremony . Most of the arms used in the ceremony were
said to be illegal.
Mr Tomar’s action has added to the woes of the BJP president, who is
already facing a lot of flak for his non-application of mind in the
selection of his team of office-bearers and the members of national
executive. The process flew in the face of his opt-repeated assertion
that he would go strictly by performance-audit while naming persons to
head important organisational posts. It now turns out that allegiance
to party satraps played an important role in team-selection exercise .
Factors such as regional and castebalancing were completely
jettisoned.
With Mr Gadkari faltering in his first big test, doubts are already
being raised about his next major hurdle — that of appointing
presidents to head the party in politically crucial states of UP,
Bihar, MP and Maharashtra. With a rejuvenated Congress gearing up to
challenge BSP in Uttar Pradesh and the JD(U)- BJP combine in Bihar, it
remains to be seen whether Mr Gadkari goes purely by merit in
appointing leaders to head the party in these states, or falls victim
once again to the pulls and pressures being exerted by powerful
chieftains.
Madhya Pradesh: Gun salute goes wrong, BJP leader injured
Press Trust of India, Sunday March 21, 2010, Morena (Madhya Pradesh)
A BJP leader was seriously injured on Sunday after he was accidentally
hit by a bullet fired to welcome party's newly-appointed general
secretary Narendra Singh Tomar at a town near Morena in Madhya
Pradesh.
Tomar was being given a gun salute by party workers on his arrival at
Ambah town when one of the bullets accidentally hit BJP's divisional
unit vice president Subhash Sharma in the leg causing serious
injuries, police said.
Sharma was rushed to primary health centre and then to Morena district
hospital, which finally referred him to Gwalior Medical College
Hospital.
Watch Video
BJP dreams big for Bangalore
Express News Service
First Published : 22 Mar 2010 06:18:17 AM IST
Last Updated : 22 Mar 2010 08:58:03 AM IST
BANGALORE: There was confusion in the run -up to the BBMP elections.
Ticket distribution was chaotic and there were allegations that
candidate selection was not transparent.
There was no confusion. We had been discussing ticket distribution for
three months and finalised the candidates based on the suggestions of
the party workers. There may be minor differences but no major
problems.
Despite your promise of not letting it happen, people with criminal
background have gotten into the fray from the BJP.
There is no such instance. We have not given ticket to any such
elements.
What are the issues that the BJP feels could fetch votes? i) The
incomparable development work our party has done in Bangalore in the
last two years.
ii) The party is committed towards the development of Bangalore, well
reflected by the allocation of Rs 3,500 crore in the state budget.
iii) Our decisions have pleased Bangalore voters. For instance, take
our decision to bring in a legislation banning cow slaughter.
iv) People know that JD(S) and Congress have been playing a drama over
NICE, they have been shedding crocodile tears.
All international airports or important industries were all built by
acquiring land. Why oppose only NICE? BJP has been an urban party for
a long time, but you still have no single leader who can claim to
represent Bangalore.
Why such a void? There is no such void. We have many leaders. Such
problems exist in the Congress, which is why they had to go away from
Bangalore to decide on ticket distribution. We did it sitting in
Bangalore.
Mention five things you will do on a priority basis if you are voted
to power.
Ensuring drinking water in all the areas; laying underground
draianage, roads and necessary infrastructure in the newly-included
areas under the BBMP; developing and conserving lakes; making
rainwater harvesting compulsory; making Bangalore greener.
How many seats do you hope to bag? I am confident of getting a clear
majority.
What would the BJP do if it falls short of majority? Will it sit in
the opposition or engineer another ‘Operation lotus’? The first
question does not arise because we are confident of getting a clear
majority. If the Congress and the JD(S) make any political conspiracy
we are ready to counter them by manoeuvring the situation.
BJP, Bollywood Ishtyle13 Comments | Post Comment
Tavleen Singh
Posted: Sunday , Mar 21, 2010 at 0140 hrs
This has been a most depressing week when seen from the perspective of
a political columnist. The new president of our main Opposition party
announced his new ‘dream team’ to revive the BJP and his list would be
hugely funny if it were not so pathetic. There are three actresses, a
cricketer, a fashion designer, a sprinkling of ‘youth’ leaders and a
former chief minister who is a misfit among the actresses.
Vasundhara Raje is the BJP’s only leader in Rajasthan and instead of a
desk job in Delhi, should have been left as a formidable Opposition
leader in Jaipur. She lost the election by inches. But, it seems as if
the BJP has decided not to be a real Opposition party, only a
Bollywood version of one. It has to be said in Nitin Gadkari’s defence
that from day one, when he burst into song at that first convention in
Indore, he indicated that despite his ample girth, he is a
lightweight. Not a bad singer but pointless since we have enough real
musicians; what we need desperately is a real Opposition party.
If we had a real Opposition party, six million tonnes of food grain
would not be rotting in Punjab while Parliament is in session. In a
country in which nearly half our children are malnourished, it is
beyond sickening that the Government of India can get away with stupid
excuses like ‘not having enough warehouses’. Just put the wretched
grain in trucks and send it to organisations like Akshay Patra or just
give it free to village shops. Our TV channels did an excellent job
last week in emphasising that the grain is being eaten by rats while
children starve, but there is only so much the media can do. The rest
is in the hands of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet and why should
they do anything as long as there is no Opposition party to rub their
nose in the dirt?
If we had a real Opposition party, we would not be putting another Rs
30,000 crore of taxpayers money into ‘cleaning’ the Ganga and the
Yamuna until we know why twenty years of expensive effort failed to
clean our most sacred rivers. Before throwing more of our money down
the drain, should we not first be given some answers? One example. Why
was our money spent on building sewage treatment plants that do not
work when everyone knows that the only solution is to not allow any
sewage into these rivers in the first place?
But, what is the point in my depressing myself further with these
questions when I know that it is futile asking them until we have a
real Opposition party? If you need proof that we do not have one you
only need to have watched this last session of Parliament. In neither
the Lok Sabha nor the Rajya Sabha did we see the BJP raise any real
issues. Sushma Swaraj’s interventions have been heavy on elocution and
low on content. She ends up sounding like someone trying to win first
prize in a college debate. Arun Jaitley supported the Women’s
Reservation Bill as if his heart was really not in it. There is no
reason why it should have been. The Bill, as I pointed out in this
space last week, undermines the fundamental principles of Indian
democracy and should be strenuously opposed.
Even as I write those words, I slip further into gloom as the face of
Shri Lal Krishna Advani floats before my eyes. Not in the form of the
Hindutva hawk on that chariot to Ayodhya that left so much death and
hatred in its wake. But, as the tired, old man he now is. A tired, old
man who has nothing new to say, no future prospects, but who clings
shamelessly to the few crumbs of power that remain with him. In doing
so he destroys any chance the BJP has of renewal or even survival.
What was the point of him giving up his job as Leader of the
Opposition in the Lok Sabha if he refuses to give up control of the
parliamentary party?
The reality is that he has given up nothing. Mr Gadkari can take his
‘dream team’ of actresses and sportsmen and sing all the way back to
Mumbai and it would make no difference. There remains only one leader
in the BJP. He is a worn-out, jaded old man who appears determined to
destroy what remains of the party he once helped build. With only the
Commies on the Opposition benches, the Government can lapse safely
into complacent non-activity while we the people rely on our own
efforts to withstand a certain decline. Forgive me if I sound
seriously gloomy but it is a seriously gloomy time.
Follow Tavleen Singh on Twitter at tavleens
13 Comments |
Rotting Grain
By: K.C.Sharma | Monday , 22 Mar '10 16:51:07 PM
Rotting grain is really a shame when so many starvation deaths are
happening.But if the real figures can somehow, may be through RTI be
extracted from the Govt it will be found that so much money has been
spent on construction of go-downs and on the Food Corporation of India
that if the same money was spent by private traders there would be no
shortage of storage space.And grain would be available where required
through cash coupons distributed to the really needy. But the Govt
babu's and the socialistic politicians would have even then found a
way to pocket that money and the grain meant for the poor. You have
every right to rubbish the BJP but most of the blame lies at the door
of the socialistic dreams of our great leaders of fifties and sixties
who still control the mindset of our present leaders of the GOP.
Will BJP bounce back?
By: Neetu Banga | Monday , 22 Mar '10 12:16:43 PM
The party needs to stop talk on hard-line Hindutva and focus on
emerging as a true secular party.By inducting educated and positive
attitude people does not mean party will come back to power, it still
have long way to go to win the hearts of the people.
UNBALANCED CRITICISM
By: B.V.SHENOY | Monday , 22 Mar '10 11:56:56 AM
Tavleen Singh seems to have written this article with the editor
holding the secular gun to her head. The criticism of Gadkari and his
new team seems to be pointless and cheap. If Sunil Dutt can be a
politician, and the congress government can honour a dead actor
(M.G.Ramachandran) with Bharat Ratna (nothing less!), what is wrong
when Gadkari selects intelligent actors like Kiran kher for his
youthful team? Sidhu is a world reknown cricketer, a good human being,
a witty orator and a successful parliamentarian. Any party would feel
proud to have him in its national management team, But Tavleen has
nothing but derisive words for these young, politically savvy public
figures. By using vile language for Advani, you are only be exposing
your own lack of balance. Once in a way you may attempt writing about
the lady who runs the country from behind closed doors of 10 Janpath,
who doesn't know the A,B, C or D of Indian politics but lords over the
country. And please mind your language.
Corrupt Officers of FCI
By: Shiv M | Monday , 22 Mar '10 11:06:07 AM
FCI and its ministry has been making mockery of food storage System.
Dont they see how developed world store their grains in sylos and not
even a piece of grain goes waste and they can export same wheat to we
Indians with cheap prices with their so high labour cost. FCI
officials show these food grains as gone waste but at the same time
sell them to black market and pocket in 1000s of crores rs. this must
come to an end and no government agency should be allowed to buy and
misappropriate tha tax money of we common Indians. it's high time we
must stop these unchecked corruption or we and out chilren will die
out of malnutrition while these thugs and rats will get fatter and
fatter day after day.
TRUE OPPOSITION
By: NIRANJAN | Monday , 22 Mar '10 8:54:44 AM
OPPOSITION IN OUR COUNTRY IS ALWAYS TOO BUSY PULLING DOWN THE RULING
GOVT. BUT IT IS ALSO BUSY TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN THE RULING
GOVT. COMES DOWN THEY HAVE THE BIGGEST BOWL TO COLLECT THE FALLOUT! I
WISH THE PARLIAMENTARIANS WOULD LOOK AT SOME DECENT COUNTRY'S SYSTEM
AND TRY NOT EMULATE POORLY RULED DICTATORSHIP LIKE COUNTRIES! ATRUE
OPPOSITION WOULD THINK FIRST OF THE COUNTRY AND THEN OF THE PARTY AND
THEN FOR INDIVIDUALS. IN OUR COUNTRY THE ORDER IS REVERSED.
How
By: Neelima Choahan | Monday , 22 Mar '10 7:53:38 AM
Dear Ms Singh, I am a great a admirer of yours. I have read you since
I was a child. I think you are the byword in Indian politics
commentary but what I cannot understand is how is that you manage to
criticize BJP even when you are berating the Congress. Or is it the
other way around? I hope we get rid of this useless government and of
course that cannot be done without a strong Opposition.
Professor Emeritus
By: DR. D. Prithipaul | Monday , 22 Mar '10 5:40:51 AM
Mrs. Tavleen Singh does not seem to get it. With the Prime Minister's
office sponsoring a third rate Bollywood actor with a Padma, it is
proof that the Government acquires its understanding of social
realities from Bollywood fillums. This being so Mrs. Singh's laments
function like mere whispers in the wind - however much she may be
right, as she always is. Is there a debate on the nature of the
reasons, for example, which she marshals against the allotment of a
third of parliamentary seats to women? How will the rural electorate
field its women candidates and what will be the criteria for the
selection of the latter?
STANGE TRUTH
By: V.K.CHAWLA | Sunday , 21 Mar '10 23:11:43 PM
IF THE BJP TAKES A ISSUE & MAKE RUCKUS IN PARLIAMENT , THE SO CALLED
MEDIA CRTICISE IT . EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT UPA GOVT. IS NOT WORRIED &
THEIR LEADERS ARE SAYING IT OPENELY THAT THEY GIVE TWO HOOTS TO ALL
THOSE WHO ARE CRYING - MEHANGAI - PRICE RISE, BECAUSE THEY KNOW HOW
THE THE POOR PEOPLE ARE FORCED TO VOTE FOR THEM BY CLAIMING ONLY THEY
ARE SECULAR
Nitin Gadkari is not an outstanding leader at any stretch of
imagination.
By: Jay | Sunday , 21 Mar '10 20:15:55 PM
When the top level of any organization is occupied by mediocre people
they tend to choose mediocre or below people to work under him/her.
With more efficient and talented people they feel threatened. Nitin
Gadkari is not an outstanding leader at any stretch of imagination. He
is neither a good orator like Vajpayee-Advani nor have we read good
scholarly article from him unlike many other BJP leaders like Arun
Shourie. He may be a points man for RSS within BJP, but he can never
re-invent or re-energize the fast declining BJP party organization and
establish it as the main viable opposition.
Bashing BJP
By: R. Kapoor | Sunday , 21 Mar '10 19:15:41 PM
Only yesterday a Bollywood person, Shatrugan Sinha, a BJP stalwart and
a cabinet minister in NDA bashed Gadkari for neglecting some senior
members in the 'dream' team. Bollywood influence in BJP goes back many
years and is nothing new, however, recently it has become fashionable
for parties to exploit its presence. Didn't MNIK score one over the SS
and MNS in Maharashtra recently? We should not forget how SP tried to
enrope Sanjay Dutt, while already having Jaya Prada and Jaya Bahaduri
Bachachan being MPs. Why should we not forget Raj Babbar winning in
general elections as a Congress party candidate. Bollywood or in other
words the cinema world in India has been very prominent in politics,
especially in the South. So, it is wrong to criticise BJP vis-a-vis
Bollywood influence. I do agree with Tavleen, however, that BJP is in
'gloomy time.' Was Gadkari a racehorse that is expected to win the
Derby? With all the pessimism around BJP, can these dark clouds
disappear. I think they would.
bitter truth
By: savita | Sunday , 21 Mar '10 18:45:38 PM
very well said tavleenji
Nitin Gadkari is not an outstanding leader at any stretch of
imagination.
By: Jay | Sunday , 21 Mar '10 18:25:03 PM
When the top level of any organization is occupied by mediocre people
they tend to choose mediocre or below people to work under him/her.
With more efficient and talented people they feel threatened. Nitin
Gadkari is not an outstanding leader at any stretch of imagination. He
is neither a good orator like Vajpayee-Advani nor have we read good
scholarly article from him unlike many other BJP leaders like Arun
Shourie. He may be a points man for RSS within BJP, but he can never
re-invent or re-energize the fast declining BJP party organization and
establish it as the main viable opposition.
bitter truth
By: vikram | Sunday , 21 Mar '10 3:17:46 AM
Bitter truth. Tavleenji, you are great.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bjp-bollywood-ishtyle/593498/0
Not summoned by SIT on March 21: Modi
Agencies
Posted: Monday , Mar 22, 2010 at 1813 hrs
Gandhinagar:
Modi's letter came following reports that he had boycotted the SIT
summons.
In an open letter, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said
he shall respond to the SIT probing the 2002 Gujarat riots ‘fully
respecting’ the law, as he refuted reports that he had skipped
appearance before the panel on Sunday.
"SIT had not fixed March 21, 2010 for my appearance. To say that I was
summoned on March 21 is completely false. I shall respond to the SIT
fully respecting the law and keeping in view the dignity of a body
appointed by the Supreme Court," he said in an open letter.
Modi's letter came following reports that he had boycotted the SIT
summons. He said, "Truth cannot be suppressed. It is now my duty to
place before you the facts that brings out the importance of
understanding what the truth really is."
Elaborating his stand, he said, "After the 2002 Godhra incidents, I
had categorically said in the Vidhan Sabha and in public that no one
is above the Indian Constitution and the law, even if he happens to be
the chief minister of a state.
These are not mere words. My actions have reflected this statement in
its true spirit. I assure you that this would be my stand in the
future."
However, sources in the government said that Modi was seeking legal
help for which senior party leader and BJP MP in the Rajya Sabha from
Gujarat Arun Jaitley, who is a senior lawyer of the Supreme Court, has
arrived in the city.
BJP sources claimed that Jaitley would be looking into the summons
issued to Modi and give his legal opinion on what steps should be
taken. On Sunday, when Modi was summoned, SIT office was kept open
during the office hours from 1030 hrs to 1810 hrs.
In connection with Zakia's complaint, SIT has already recorded
statements of a number of persons named in her complaint which
include, former minister of state for Home Gordhan Zadafia, BJP leader
I K Jadeja, former BJP MLA from Lunawada Kalu Malivad and sitting MLA
from Mehsana Anil Patel, former IPS officer R B Sreekumar, social
activist Teesta Setalvad, IG Shivanand Jha, some other senior police
officers and political leaders.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/not-summoned-by-sit-on-march-21-modi/594116/0
'Marathi vs non-Marathi' narrow political agenda: Chavan
Agencies
Posted: Monday , Mar 22, 2010 at 1636 hrs
Mumbai:
Ashok Chavan reiterated that his govt was committed to the welfare of
all people who live in the state.
Describing the "Marathi versus non-Marathi" issue as the narrow
political agenda of few politicians, Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok
Chavan on Monday said a placement agency owned by one such leader had
recruited 150 non-Maharashtrians.
"Their party's public stand says something and the leaders act
otherwise. I am not complaining," Chavan said without naming any party
during his reply to the motion of thanks to the Governor for his
address to the joint sitting of the state Legislature.
When the opposition benches asked Chavan to name the party and the
leader concerned, he said, "I would reveal the names at an appropriate
time."
Chavan said his government had an all-inclusive approach in its vision
for developing the state.
"Maharashtra belongs to all. My government is committed to the welfare
of all people who live here," he said.
Opposition members staged a walkout at the end of the Chief Minister's
speech criticising him for not spelling out the government's stand on
extension of statutory development boards whose term expires next
month.
He said his government was committed to the development of Marathi
language, art and culture.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/marathi-vs-nonmarathi-narrow-political-agenda-chavan/594098/
RSS feed: New BJP chief spikes journalists
21 March 2010
Coomi Kapoor in the Indian Express on the journalists’ contingent in
the new team of BJP office-bearers.
This entry was posted on 21 March 2010 at 10:07 am and is filed under
A bit of fun, Magazines, Newspapers, People, Television.
http://wearethebest.wordpress.com/2010/03/21/rss-feed-new-bjp-chief-spikes-journalists/
Sunday, September 13, 2009
BJP laments stab by ‘insider journalists’
PNS | New Delhi
It may still be trying to recover from the jolt dealt by insiders, but
the BJP believes that it has got another problem: ‘friendly
journalists’, who cannot remain ‘insider’ for too long.
An editorial in the latest issue of the party’s organ Kamal Sandesh
has dwelt on the issue. It says, “There are journalists who wish that
BJP should run as per their whims. Any person — journalist included —
has a right to offer advice and opinion but how can it be that a
political party should follow, without exception, the diktats of some
journalists. If that doesn’t happen, the political organisation turns
bad in their considered opinion.”
That is not the only complaint of the party. “A scenario in which
journalists should turn a tool in the hands of an individual
politician does not augur well for either of the two. Our effort
should be to create a healthy balance in which neither the journalist
is a weapon in the hands of a politician nor should the latter have to
act as a shield for journalists.”
Rajya Sabha MP Prabhat Jha, who is a former journalist and editor of
the party’s magazine, stops short of taking names. “This write-up is
not against an individual. This is what an aam karyakarta (normal
workers) of the BJP feels.”
The BJP has already made its displeasure widely known over some of the
articles and TV interviews by journalists and former journalists, who
had been closely associated with the party but later started behaving
like an ‘independent entity’.
Jha says, “Even while working in a political party, they (friendly
journalists) wish to maintain their separate identity, something
special and different from the rest of the lot. An impression also
gains ground among karyakartas that these people originally from
journalism are senior karyakartas.”
The BJP leaders would admit that this impression is not wrong too,
because they (friendly journalists) move about and communicate only
with higher echelons in the leadership and not with the lower rung of
political workers. “The respect and attention they get subject of envy
to others,” the editorial in Kamal Sandesh reads.
The same write-up adds, “It is true that it is their duty to report
but the questions remains: how, when and where. This is a matter that
these wielders of the pen should ponder over. They have to ensure that
in the process of the performance this onerous duty to present the
ideology to the nation, mutual confidence, faith and respect does not
fall a casualty.” And, the last word from the party organ: “We do
understand that journalism cannot be a synonym for bosom friendship
between a journalist and a politician. Yet, we have to stand firm at
our respective post of duty.”
http://dailypioneer.com/202162/BJP-laments-stab-by-‘insider-journalists’.html
Who are the journos ‘running & ruining’ the BJP?
25 August 2009
PRITAM SENGUPTA writes from New Delhi: Former Indian Express editor
Arun Shourie’s explosive interview with the paper’s current editor,
Shekhar Gupta, while revealing the deep schisms within India’s
principal oppostion party, the BJP, has also once again thrown light
on the less-than-professional role political journalists have been
playing.
For the second time in two months, Shourie targetted “The Gang of Six”—
a pack of half-of-dozen journalists who, says the Magsaysay Award
winning investigative journalist, have been used (abused? misused?) by
various different sections of the BJP.
On Gupta’s Walk the Talk interview for NDTV on Monday, Shourie said
his letter to the BJP president Rajnath Singh demanding accountability
in running the party had been dubbed as an act of indiscipline even
though that letter had remained confidential.
There were leaders, he says:
“…who had been planting stories against L.K. Advani, Rajnath Singh and
others through six journalists (and yet it’s not called
indiscipline)”.
At the BJP’s national executive meeting in mid-June, shortly after the
party suffered a “nasty jolt” in the general elections, Shourie had
gone so far as to say that “the BJP was being run by six journalists”
who were “damaging the party interest“.
On both occasions, Shourie hasn’t named “The Gang of Six”, but by
repeatedly talking about them has set tongues wagging.
However, the questions remain: is the BJP so feeble a party to be
felled by mere pen-pushers? If BJP leaders are using them to “plant”
stories against one another, are the journalists exceeding their brief
by allowing themselves to be used?
Is ex-editor Shourie sanctimoniously crying wolf or is this par for
the course in other parties too? Are editors and publishers of the
publications where the “Gang of Six” work aware of their journalists
being so used?
And if so, is it OK?
http://wearethebest.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/who-are-the-journos-running-ruining-the-bjp/
The sad and pathetic decline of Arun Shourie
16 February 2009
SHARANYA KANVILKAR writes from Bombay: Arun Shourie is one of the
strangest cases on the Indian intellectual landscape if not its most
disappointing. A living, walking, moving advertisement of how rabid
ideology can addle even the most riveting of minds, stripping it of
all its nuance and pretence; its very soul and humanity.
***
Once a fiery critic of Reliance Industries as editor of the Indian
Express, he was happy to deliver a eulogy at Dhirubhai Ambani’s first
death anniversary; even changing the law as minister to benefit
Reliance Industries, as alleged by the son of Girilal Jain, the former
Times of India editor who held shares in the company, no less.
Once a symbol of middle-class integrity and probity for various scams
unearthed his watch, his stint as disinvestment minister was
pockmarked with allegation after allegation (although an unattributed
Wikipedia entry claims he was ranked “the most outstanding minister of
the Atal Behari Vajpayee government” by 100 CEOs).
A slow, scholarly, Chaplinesque demeanour hides a cold, clinical mind
that piles the rhetoric and the stereotypes on the poor, the
marginalised and the disenfranchised while taking up high faluting
positions on terrorism, governance, internal security and such like,
through long, meandering essays whose opacity could put cub
journalists to shame.
And, as always, selectively twisting and turning the facts to fit his
preconceived conclusion, and hoping no one will notice.
To paraphrase Ramachandra Guha, Shourie has become the Arundhati Roy
of the right:
“The super-patriot and the anti-patriot use much the same methods.
Both think exclusively in black and white. Both choose to use a 100
words when 10 will do. Both arrogate to themselves the right to hand
out moral certificates. Those who criticise Shourie are characterised
as anti-national, those who dare take on Roy are made out to be agents
of the State. In either case, an excess of emotion and indignation
drowns out the facts.”
But what should disappoint even his most ardent fans, and there are
many young journalists, is how easily and effortlessly a pacifist
penman has regressed from “a concerned citizen employing his pen as an
effective adversary of corruption, inequality and injustice” (as his
Magsaysay Award citation read) to a hate-spewing ideological warrior
with fire blazing through his nostrils.
A son of a Gandhian who now openly advocates “two eyes for an eye and
a whole jaw for one tooth” with barely any qualms.
***
At a series of lectures in Ahmedabad on Saturday, Shourie bared his
fangs some more:
“India is still a passive country when it comes to taking a stand
against terrorism….
“It should, in fact, take an extremist stance and must prove that it
can also create a Kashmir-like situation in Pakistan.
“There are many places like Baluchistan, where a Kashmir-like
situation can be created but, “hum abhi bhi Panchsheel ke pujari hain
(We still worship the tenets of Panchsheel)”….
“Pakistan has been successfully carrying out destruction in India for
the last two decades and has still managed to escape problems, while
India on every occasion has failed to present a unified response to
terrorism and has suffered as a consequence….”
Really?
An eye for an eye? Two eyes for an eye? A jaw for a tooth?
In the name of Vivekananda, should India do unto Pakistan what
Pakistan has done to us? Is this a sign of vision on the part of a man
who some believe should be the next prime minister, or tunnel vision?
Is such barely disguised hatred and vengeance, hiding behind vedas and
upanishads, going to make the subcontinent a better place to live in?
Should the people of Pakistan, the poor, the marginalised, the
disenfranchised, pay the price for the sins of the generals?
Should a great, ancient civilisation become a cheap, third-rate,
neighbourhood bully?
Has Arun Shourie lost more than his soul and humanity?
Has Arun Shourie just lost it?
Photograph: courtesy The Hindu Business Line
http://wearethebest.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/the-sad-and-pathetic-decline-of-arun-shourie/
bademiyansubhanallah
Post by Sachhidanand on Jul 6th, 2006, 4:20pm
http://www.gujaratsamachar.com/gsa/20060707/guj/gujarat/news1_02.html
Trivedi must have been sanctioned by Didi
Post by Mahesh shah on Jul 6th, 2006, 4:21pm
http://www.gujaratsamachar.com/gsa/20060707/guj/gujarat/news2.html
Main points of disagreement
Post by Lets talk in open on Jul 6th, 2006, 4:21pm
http://www.gujaratsamachar.com/gsa/20060707/guj/gujarat/news4.html
Five areas of contention between Pankaj Trivedi and Didi.
According to Mahesh shah old Swadhyayee and good friend of Pankajbhai
there were five main areas of disagreement.
1. If Swadhyay claims to rebuild 40,000 houses, where are this houses.
Only 4-5,000 houses were rebuild.
2. Bhav Nirzar is a temple and should be accessible to any devotee.
3. Accounting of various trusts that hold funds from Swadhyay
activities. What is the purpose of accumulating wealth?
4. Dada had promised all the money received from Templeton Award to
use of Swadhyay activities, why it was diverted to family?
5. Love letters between Ashok Joshi and Didi - both were married at
the time of letters.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Archana on Jul 6th, 2006, 4:23pm
http://www.gujaratsamachar.com/gsa/20060707/guj/gujarat/news7.html
another foreign trip for Jayshree T ? Let us see if she goes to
Gujarat or runs away?
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Ranjeet on Jul 6th, 2006, 4:25pm
http://www.gujaratsamachar.com/gsa/20060707/guj/gujarat/news15.html
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Dear Vijaybhai on Jul 6th, 2006, 4:26pm
FYI ... The "BAHURUPIA" person who assumed more than half a dozen
names on YAHOO PUBLIC GROUPS for SWADHYAY is compalining about someone
else using his name...
Herambuster=Trueswadhyayi1=HIRDIP=MukundM=mptshah=Janmohammed2003 just
to name a few.
Nilesh, do you want me to post the threatening messages you had posted
on YAHOO PUBLIC GROUPS?
Review of last 50 posts have revealed that
Post # 384, 408, 413 posted under "Paying tribute to Pankajbhai'
Post # 389, 403, 407, 410 posted under Mukesh,
Post # 391 posted under "Indian Citizen"
Post # 385 posted under "Asheet
are likely to be one and the same person according to my webmaster.
Please refrain from posting under different names. I am sure others
are doing the same thing. - Vijay Mehta
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by The swadhyayee on Jul 6th, 2006, 4:28pm
Dear Brother A SWADHYAYEE(Brain Washed),
Still you want to say police will catch the culprits; police already
declared they caught hands and they are looking for Brains....Iam
sorry yours already washed out
next she want to face it calmly coz now she cant be able to give
threaten or what?
next you cant do whatever you want just see what's happening around.
Bahurupia..
Post by Roma on Jul 6th, 2006, 4:29pm
on Jul 6th, 2006, 4:26pm, Guest-Dear Vijaybhai wrote:FYI ... The
"BAHURUPIA" person who assumed more than half a dozen names on YAHOO
PUBLIC GROUPS for SWADHYAY is compalining about someone else using his
name...
Herambuster=Trueswadhyayi1=HIRDIP=MukundM=mptshah=Janmohammed2003 just
to name a few.
Nilesh, do you want me to post the threatening messages you had posted
on YAHOO PUBLIC GROUPS?
Please post those messages and let people know how nilesh has adopted
to swadhyay thoery in real life. Let people know how swadhyay
represntative talk to others.
You are also posting under Roma # 445, Ajay Doshi # 446; Rakesh # 447
and Rajesh Parikh # 448!
Why can't you post all that in one post?
- Vijay Mehta,
Jayshree's love letters were not a script
Post by Ajay Doshi on Jul 6th, 2006, 4:35pm
http://www.gujaratsamachar.com/gsa/20060707/guj/gujarat/news13.html
Bhagawanano Bhag used for helping criminals
Post by Rakesh on Jul 6th, 2006, 4:38pm
http://www.gujaratsamachar.com/gsa/20060707/guj/gujarat/news20.html
Swadhyay now fighting in court to save thier people. Kona baap ni
diwali? Who will pay to fight the case? They could not use the trust
funds for earthquake relief but now to protect Jayshree from going to
jail the Swadhyay is spending money like there is no to morrow.
Hitesh Chudasama goes underground
Post by Rajesh Parikh on Jul 6th, 2006, 4:42pm
http://www.gujaratsamachar.com/gsa/20060707/guj/gujarat/news6.html
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Guest on Jul 6th, 2006, 5:13pm
Dear Vijaybhai,
Why two of my last messges were deleted?
Sorry, I can not tell you out of many that were deleted what post urs
was. Please send to me at vija...@aol.com or post it again. Please
make sure to avoid name calling and discussing topics not related to
Pankajbhai. Remeber one man is dead and his family and friends do
visit this frequently. - Vijay Mehta
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Paying Tribute to Pankajbhai on Jul 6th, 2006, 5:57pm
Is there any internet savvy person who can make sure that articles
published by Gujarati Newspapers on "Pankaj Trivedi Murder" comes in
search engines, Google, Yahoo, MSN.
There are lot of non-Gujaratis interested in these articles.
Link to Information In English:
http://www.swadhyayee.org/download/EnglishDocs/
http://www.gujaratglobal.com/nextSub.php?id=808&cattype=NEWS
http://www.gujaratglobal.com/nextSub.php?id=809&cattype=NEWS
http://www.gujaratglobal.com/nextSub.php?id=814&cattype=NEWS
http://www.gujaratglobal.com/nextSub.php?id=804&cattype=NEWS
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Swadhyayee on Jul 6th, 2006, 7:01pm
I
Re: Bahurupia..
Post by Swadhyayee on Jul 6th, 2006, 7:05pm
Vijaybhai - thanks for exposing these Bahrupia who has posted messages
under different names in your forum.
on Jul 6th, 2006, 4:29pm, Guest-Roma wrote:Please post those messages
and let people know how nilesh has adopted to swadhyay thoery in real
life. Let people know how swadhyay represntative talk to others.
You are also posting under Roma # 445, Ajay Doshi # 446; Rakesh # 447
and Rajesh Parikh # 448!
Why can't you post all that in one post?
- Vijay Mehta,
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Nilesh Sahita on Jul 6th, 2006, 7:12pm
Vijaybhai,
Yes - indeed it was a nice conversation that we had a while ago.
Yes, please send me IP addresses of messages that were posted under my
name (I will email you my email address separately).
I will arrange to speak with a US Attorney to see what action I can
and should take.
I appreciate your prompt and firm action with respect to this.
To all who are posting messages under my name:
We all live in post 9/11 era and do not think you can not be found
out. You have committed act of "Identity Theft" which is a crime and
you may have landed yourself into a legal mess without realizing it.
Just remember ignorance is not an excuse and Prison has no broadband
service
Regards,- Nilesh
on Jul 6th, 2006, 2:49pm, Guest-Nilesh Sahita wrote:Dear Vijaybhai,
Someone has been using my name to post article like below to defame
me.
As the owner of the forum I trust you will take necessary action to
act on it and remove from your forum immediately.
Regards,
- Nilesh
Dear Nileshbhai,
I have posted a clarifying message on that post. Obviously you feel
totally differently than the post under your name. If you need we may
be able to give you the IP address of that person using your name.
Thank you for nice conversation. - Vijay Mehta
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Unbelievable on Jul 6th, 2006, 7:39pm
Vijay...you have been doing a great job moderating this discussion
board..keep up the good work.
Nilesh, you're quite a tough guy. Threatening lawsuits sometimes works
just fine, but remember, the USA is the land of litigation. You're
going to contact and pay a US based lawyer to file suit against
somebody who posted a single message on an anonymous message board, a
message that was nowhere near dangerous? Good luck...
If you have something to say, then say it without making empty
threats....oh wait, you probably have already using one of your many
alias usernames, since I highly doubt you just started monitoring this
thread.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Ravi Patel on Jul 6th, 2006, 7:50pm
Here are few illegal doing of one of the swadhyayi MOTABHAI Chandrashi
Jadeja involved in kiling of Pankaj Trivedi. Can some one translate
the into english Please?? Are all so called Motabhai in real
Khotabhai?? Where did they learn to snatch land from others? Is this
topic included into swadhyay Parivar 101 teachings, or are they doing
the same what KAVRAV did 5000 years ago!
As I understand back in June, 1992 There was a prime land in
Padadhari. There was 750 Sq ft of prime land. Panchayat voted for
15x10 size cabins. Chandrasinh Jadeja, a Motabhai and Swadhyayi (who
now in jail for Pankajbhai’s murder), applied under different names
and got the land for 11 months. Now many years later he owns a complex
valued at 40 Lakh Rupees!
Ravi Patel
ravi_pa...@yahoo.com
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Nilesh Sahita on Jul 6th, 2006, 7:50pm
Dear Unbelievable,
Identity Theft is a crime.
Whoever is committing this crime - stop it or be prepared to face the
music.
Let me repeat - post 9/11 - there is no such thing as 'anonymous'.
Every thing can be tracked.
My suggestion to Vijaybhai is - please do not allow anonymous posting
on this forum. Let people who are willing to write their name and who
are willing to stand by what they write participate in this forum.
It will make this forum truly useful and beneficial to everyone.
- Nilesh
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Unbelievable on Jul 6th, 2006, 8:11pm
Nilesh,
The only reason most people are posting anonymously is that they don't
want the same fate (for themselves and their families) as Pankaj
Trivedi or the 10 others.
If the threat of physical or emotional backlash towards my family was
not there, I would be the first to use my real name.
P.S Someone posting a message on an anonymous board using your name is
not identity theft. Who says there aren't other Nilesh Sahita's out
there?
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Ravi Patel on Jul 6th, 2006, 8:35pm
Can we list all trust that were and are operated under "swadyay
Parivar" those currently in operation and those closed after filing
bankruptcy (in this case the money or land was transfered to another
trust owned by the owners of swadhyay parivar main trust or sold for
profit). I want the location or the town name where the trust were
registered or were just run.
Thanks
Ravi Patel
ravi_pa...@yahoo.com
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Nilesh Sahita on Jul 6th, 2006, 8:46pm
Brother Unbelievable,
I will be more than happy if you can find another Nilesh Sahita in the
world
Seriously speaking - posting message on my name is a serious matter
and once again I request all indulging in such acts to think carefully
before what they do.
on Jul 6th, 2006, 8:11pm, Guest-Unbelievable wrote:Nilesh,
The only reason most people are posting anonymously is that they don't
want the same fate (for themselves and their families) as Pankaj
Trivedi or the 10 others.
If the threat of physical or emotional backlash towards my family was
not there, I would be the first to use my real name.
P.S Someone posting a message on an anonymous board using your name is
not identity theft. Who says there aren't other Nilesh Sahita's out
there?
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Paying Tribute to Pankajbhai on Jul 6th, 2006, 9:28pm
1.How about all the false cases filed against Pankajbhai which your so
called 'Parivar' lost and got a stricture from High Court Judge for
misusing the system? Any apology or slightest of remorse will show
that you have some 'swadhyay' quality left.
2. For moral matters-Dadaji has more standing than anyone else. You
are entitled to your opinion. However this is again a characteristic
of a typical cult memeber who does not want to see any evil of a
person for whom he has been brain-washed.
3.I have spoken to many villagers myself who go to swadhyay and they
speak good about everybody who go to them with any religious pretext.
That type of ignorance is what makes business of religion thrive in my
beloved Gujarat. I have also spoken to villagers who go to
Swaminarayan in Gujarat and they do not speak well about Swadhyay.
Today it will be your worth before you open your mouth and go to
villages in Gujarat and find out what villagers are talking about Didi
and her brand of Swadhyay.
I am only hoping that Gujarat Government does not succumb to greed(as
some media have reported that crores of rupees bribes are offered to
remove Didi's name from chargesheet) as I am sure that by now they
have realized that there is nothing to fear from Didi and her blind
faith follower like you.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Paying Tribute to Pankajbhai on Jul 6th, 2006, 9:45pm
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Nilesh Sahita on Jul 6th, 2006, 9:59pm
1.How about all the false cases filed against Pankajbhai which your so
called 'Parivar' lost and got a stricture from High Court Judge for
misusing the system? Any apology or slightest of remorse will show
that you have some 'swadhyay' quality left.
Please refer to the statements issued by Swadhyay Parivar in this
matter.
2. For moral matters-Dadaji has more standing than anyone else. You
are entitled to your opinion. However this is again a characteristic
of a typical cult memeber who does not want to see any evil of a
person for whom he has been brain-washed.
As I said before you are entitled to your opinion and so are we.
3. I have spoken to many villagers myself who go to swadhyay and they
speak good about everybody who go to them with any religious pretext.
That type of ignorance is what makes business of religion thrive in my
beloved Gujarat. I have also spoken to villagers who go to
Swaminarayan in Gujarat and they do not speak well about Swadhyay.
I do not want to go in to Swadhyay v/s Swaminarayan war here. They do
what they think is best and we do what we think is best. This may not
be zero sum game - may be society needs both.
It is clear to me that you have never put a foot in any Gujarat
village in your lifetime. Let me tell you this - Swadhyay message has
reached each and every village in Gujarat. Obviously some part of the
population has picked it up and some part has not. For those people
who are part of Swadhyay Parivar - this latest crisis has not affected
them. For those who were not part of Parivar (for whatever reason and
we respect their choice) - obviously this has given them one more
reason to do so and that is fine with us.
4. Today it will be your worth before you open your mouth and go to
villages in Gujarat and find out what villagers are talking about Didi
and her brand of Swadhyay.
Do not give me Bull!$#@ of what villagers are talking about, OK?
Instead of relying on cheapo Gujju media, it will be worthwhile for
you to go to villages and check the situation yourself.
In any case - Swadhyay has never been afraid of what some section of
society is talking about.
I remember that even back in 80's also there were Swadhyay Critics and
there will always be sections of society which doesn't find Swadhyay
acceptable because Swadhyay doesn't allow them to fulfill their
personal ego. For e.g. if one goes to Swadhyay and do Swadhyay work
for 10/20 years - no where his/her name is mentioned on the stage but
even if someone give $1,000/- to local community, they are happy to
announce his/her name on the stage. To some people this (prestige)
gives more gratification than path that Dadaji has shown - and they
should follow the path according to their level of development/
understanding.
In Swadhyay one has to sublime their ego and work with everyone in the
Yagniya spirit which is not everyone's cup of tea.
5. I am only hoping that Gujarat Government does not succumb to
greed(as some media have reported that crores of rupees bribes are
offered to remove Didi's name from chargesheet) as I am sure that by
now they have realized that there is nothing to fear from Didi and her
blind faith follower like you.
Hmmm.... crores of rupees bribes offered to remove Didi's name from
chargesheet? Are you nuts? Do you think Indian state machinery and
judiciary is Timbuktu state?
You can call me blind faith follower and I can call you blind faith
critic and we can keep doing this namecalling until cows come home. I
suspect you have not met many people who are in Swadhyay and you like
to believe all of us in Swadhyay are because of blind faith follower.
Well... I leave it for your wisdom to decide and in any case I and our
Swadhyayees do not care about your certificate anyway.
I have said enough about what I wanted to stay and I am going to be
away for few days. If time permitting I may revisit this forum after
few days / weeks.
Thank you and May God bless us all.
Jay Yogeshwar.
PS - Vijaybhai once again thanks for your help. I have emailed you
separately.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Paying Tribute to Pankajbhai on Jul 6th, 2006, 10:06pm
Nileshbhai,
How about all the false cases filed against Pankajbhai which your so
called 'Parivar' lost and got a stricture from High Court Judge for
misusing the system? Any apology or slightest of remorse will show
that you have some 'swadhyay' quality left.
Please refer to the statements issued by Swadhyay Parivar in this
matter.
Before you go away for few days/weeks, Pl. post these statements by
Swadhyay Parivar.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by OO7 on Jul 6th, 2006, 10:39pm
Does anyone know where is Jayshree Talwarkar? She was in Tamilnadu and
supoosed to go to Gujarat. Is she going? It is raining hard here so I
feel she may not come. I think she should make another foreign
trip
you Dont know anything
Post by Kamal on Jul 7th, 2006, 12:37am
dear Vijaybhai,
Just read below whatever you have posted......
Five areas of contention between Pankaj Trivedi and Didi.
According to Mahesh shah old Swadhyayee and good friend of Pankajbhai
there were five main areas of disagreement.
1. If Swadhyay claims to rebuild 40,000 houses, where are this houses.
Only 4-5,000 houses were rebuild.
2. Bhav Nirzar is a temple and should be accessible to any devotee.
3. Accounting of various trusts that hold funds from Swadhyay
activities. What is the purpose of accumulating wealth?
4. Dada had promised all the money received from Templeton Award to
use of Swadhyay activities, why it was diverted to family?
5. Love letters between Ashok Joshi and Didi - both were married at
the time of letters
This is the proof that you dont know about Swadhyay. Why are wasting
your time here. (see No.5)
Here, 99 % men (?) are against swadhyay. only 1% used to read you
'Bakvas' forum. and by your forum , 'Kai tuti sakvana nathi' (nothing
will break). We have no any effects by your 'bakvas' . Anybody can
understand You are all FAKE swadhyayee. Everybody from you tries to
draw out Ego.
Brothers, Just stop this 'bakvas' and go to Indian Village and see the
spirit of swadhyay, result of the swadhyay.
The aim of this forum is only to show Ego.
By your all post anybody can understand you are most egotistic.
You are only barking. and remember barking dog never hurt you.
Dear Kamal,
The five contention I have listed is from that article for those who
can not read Gujarati.
This is the forum to discuss the Murder of Pankajbhai and assult
(beating up) of more than 12 people. If you think this is Bakwas than
we hope you wont come here anymore.
This 'ego' line is getting old as is the 'asking the people from
village.' Ask the people from Padadhari who found out that one of the
murder has a 40 lacs complex on land obtained illegally and he was a
motabhai close to Didi.
Even if you have done everything you claim to do, that does not
justify killing of maiming anyone disagreeing with you.
Many years ago, there were more than 700 people killed by Jim Jones in
Guana, and few years ago 87 people burned to death in Waco. Texas. All
these followers had what they thought God leading them. Of course he
lead them to death. History is full of people who thought they had a
Godly leader only to find out the truth later on. Sometimes too late!
We are simply curious - just as any good God loving Swadhyayee would
be - what happened to 40,000 new houses that were to be built. Can
anyone give us the address?
Why with every passing day more and more motabhai in India are found
to be corrupt and using public land and money for their own purpose?
If the Swadhyay was as strong and pious as you guys claim why it did
not stop Motabhai's (Khotabhai) from committing fraud, theft, assult
and violence?
We are not interested in harming Swadhyayee movement but we are
interested in giving a voice to those who want to speak up. Apprently
speaking up in Swadhyay has dire consequenses.
'Kai Tuti Sakawana Nathi" line was used by Manishbhai who is enjoying
the hospitality of prison system for past two weeks, it was used by
these five goons who thought they had to commit murder to protect
Swadhyay. If the movement is good it does not need any Gujdagiri to
protect it. It should not need any Dhamaki and Dadagiri. It should not
be afraid to listen to dissenting voices. Unfortunately, so far anyone
speaking against party line has been threatened and punished.
Like it or not .. Pap no Dhado Futi Gayo Chhe. There comes a time when
your sin catches up with you.
Good Bye and go find another forum where you can sing virtues of Didi
and others - Vijay Mehta
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by You Have Got to Be Kidding on Jul 7th, 2006, 03:38am
Kamal, are you serious?
The truth doesn't really matter anymore - ego would drive one to prove
that they are right. Do you really think it matters whether Pankaj
Trivedi was correct or whether Didi is guilty of conspiring to kill
him?
The damage is done. Over done.
Didi is hiding, Swadhyay is telling everyone around the world what to
say, people are relating the situation with other religious wars
likening Swadhyay to Krishna and Ram, the Pankaj Trivedi crowd is
saying everything negative about Didi and Dada that they can come up
with.
We are just going to sit around and whine that "you are a barking dog"
or that "you don't know the truth" or that "Didi must be innocent"
WHY? so that we can feel like we didn't waste our life by going to
Swadhyay?
Yes, Swadhyay has been a tremendous influence in villages. By
recognizing that the Swadhyay organization isn't perfect and that Didi
may have flaws in her ability to lead, we are not reducing the value
of Swadhyay.
This is not "all or nothing"
But the very fact that intelligent people are not willing to look at
facts that suggest how desperate Swadhyay is to be in control shows us
exactly how ridiculous Swadhyay is becoming.
Don't be a loyalist to the people, be a loyalist to the idea.
Respecting free speech is important, and the only 'bakvas' around here
are those who believe everything they hear from Swadhyay as something
that cannot be questioned.
I agree. If there is gangrene of the foot and you realize that foot is
beyond repair. You must amputate the foot to save the rest of the
body. Vast majority of Swadhyay is great. But if the gangrene is
allowed to spread the bacteria and poison to rest of the body the
whole body may suffer.
This forum is to encourage everyone who loves Swadhyay to
constructively think and speak as to what are the different option the
gangrene can be cured. What can be done so that few bad apples do not
use name, fame and power of Swadhyay for their selfish reason. The way
many of motabhai (khotabhai) have used their connection to Swadhyay
will open eyes of many. Only thru ope dialogue a new more powerful
movement will emerge. - Vijay Mehta
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Ravi Patel on Jul 7th, 2006, 05:57am
True Believers or so called brain washed swadhyayi,
There is no way to educate true believers. They judge information by
whether it agrees with what they already believe. (And this of course
is by definition prejudice.) The right-wing of conservatism continues
to provide true believers, and Political Correctness has given us a
new generation of true believers. Islam is another prime example of
true believers.....
None of these people want anyone to know what prejudice is. This is
why prejudice is no longer talked about or taught to swadhyayee
although they hear ad nauseum about racism. And since students are
taught to reject the concept of evidence, and fooled in the name of
GOD.
I was born and raised in a small village in Gujarat, so I know the
psychology of poor and uneducated villagers. Most of them dont even
know the meaning of psychology, their brains are been hijacked by
mastermind Sadhu's and Dadaji's (grandfather's or big brother's) or
Bhai's. Even if we get rid of dadaji's(grandfather's or big brother's)
ideas off their mind there is another Didi(sister) or kaka(uncle)
ready to take his place.
Read the Paragraph below its from swadhyay.org
http://swadhyay.org/krishi.htm
"It is the practice of collective farming of a single field (normally
of three to five acres taken from poor villagers in the name of GOD
transfered the land into trusts name and sold later, most of the farms
used for "yogeshwar krishi" are sold, and poor villagers dont even
know where the money has gone to) in a village by the villagers who
each offer devotional labour, possibly for one or two days per
cropping season. The resulting crop belongs to no one except God."
Which GOD?? Who is GOD?? Where the money goes?? and above all you
canot ask questions to GOD, let him do whatever he wants to.
Ravi Patel
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Unbelievable on Jul 7th, 2006, 06:24am
on Jul 7th, 2006, 03:38am, Guest-You Have Got to Be Kidding
wrote:Kamal, are you serious?
Yes, Swadhyay has been a tremendous influence in villages. By
recognizing that the Swadhyay organization isn't perfect and that Didi
may have flaws in her ability to lead, we are not reducing the value
of Swadhyay.
This is not "all or nothing"
But the very fact that intelligent people are not willing to look at
facts that suggest how desperate Swadhyay is to be in control shows us
exactly how ridiculous Swadhyay is becoming.
Don't be a loyalist to the people, be a loyalist to the idea.
Wow...I cannot agree with you more..these paragraphs probably are the
best written and to the point of any other message that exists in this
thread. Again....Wow.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by RAVI PATEL on Jul 7th, 2006, 06:28am
GUYS I WANT YOU TO DISCUSS IT HERE TOO, LET THE WORLD KNOW THE SINS...
http://discussions.pbs.org/viewforum.pbs?f=152
RAVI PATEL
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by the irish robin hood on Jul 7th, 2006, 06:48am
on Jul 7th, 2006, 06:28am, Guest-RAVI PATEL wrote:GUYS I WANT YOU TO
DISCUSS IT HERE TOO, LET THE WORLD KNOW THE SINS...
http://discussions.pbs.org/viewforum.pbs?f=152
RAVI PATEL
I think you have what is termed an unhealthy fixation. Where you not
even good enough to become a krutishil ? was bhavpheri too daunting
for you ?
Its not even about pankajbhai for you is it ?
Its more to do with pushing your own personnel crusade. Its all to
abudnatley clear theres some thing missing in your life.
May you find peace if not in this life than the next.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by reality on Jul 7th, 2006, 07:11am
Hi,
It is not like that nobody know about Didi.
But, Lac of people still in Swadhyay. Why ?
They are not blind follower.
The reality is, Everybody from Swadhyay is Selffish.
Everybody sees their developement under swadhyay.
They dont care about your coments, they dont care about DIDI, they
want to remain in swadhyay.
We know what is the foundation of this quarral, Two love letter.
TJust a few minutes ago you posted as Kamal and thought this forum is
a Bakwas and now you can not keep away form it? Come and write here
again? Why dont you go back to your prayers?
No you do not see anything. Foundation of quarrel is that many people
dedicated their Tan Man and Dhan for a very long time thinking that
Dada & Didi were embodiment of virtues and knowledge and decent human
beings. They started suspecting otherwise, they started asking
questions. That lead to "How dare you ask any question."
So same Pankajbhai who was addressed as a captain by Dada lovingly
became a Rakshash.
Pankajbhai was not to be intimidated. He knew that there might be
danger pursueing truth. He kept questioning, kept wanting Bhav Nirzar
Mandir for all devotees. He must be getting close to the nerve center
so after five years few people decided to kill him. He became such a
big threat from nuisance.
Now that there is so much light on every aspect of Swadhyay, many of
facts are coming out such as the Hitesh had illegally seized prime
land in Padadhri and made a complex there worth 40 Lacs. You think his
position as Motabhai helped him get this?
I hope you would not waste your time with all this Bakwas and people
with ego!!!
Jai Yogeswar - Vijay Mehta
Then what ??????
Post by Kamal on Jul 7th, 2006, 07:29am
Yes, You are right and Didi may be wrong, then what ?
you u believe Didi is killer and must be arrested and send to jail.
Then what
Re: Then what ??????
Post by the irish robin hood on Jul 7th, 2006, 07:34am
on Jul 7th, 2006, 07:29am, Guest-Kamal wrote:Yes, You are right and
Didi may be wrong, then what ?
you u believe Didi is killer and must be arrested and send to jail.
Then what
then the healing begins, by looking back at what is wrong on a
national and kendra level. What the key elements that worked and which
were good what they were and going back to them and refocusing on
them.
The only way forward now is for Mrs talwaker to resign and then let
people answer the finacial questions. Before moving forward. If that
happens the parviar will be in a much stronger place in years to come.
As long as Mrs Talwaker is the head, these matters will keep cropping
up and taking focus away from the actual good that the parivar does.
Didi must step down or come to terms that she is holding back the
parivar. Resign resign resign......
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Paying Tribute to Pankajbhai on Jul 7th, 2006, 08:08am
Dear Nileshbhai,
Before you go away for few days/weeks, Pl. post these statements by
Swadhyay Parivar.
I believe your motabhai ( in a typical cult style) have asked you to
stay away for few weeks as from whatI read in Akila, Didi and her 27
cronies are in big trouble.
Honestly, I think, Nileshbhai you are a good person but like many
others still in Swadhyay you are too shocked at the turn of events on
Pankajbhai's killing and finding Parivar members involved in it.
Jayshree finds out being a 'Don' has downside
Post by Ramki on Jul 7th, 2006, 08:41am
Jayshree loses sleep.. Will she be spending time in big house? Would
government have guts to put noose around her neck?
DADA was a 'Don' too but no one knew it!
Post by Ravi Patel on Jul 7th, 2006, 08:41am
Dada was a smart manipulator and he spared no effort to crash any
opposition during his life time. He had perfected the technique of
Sham - Dam -Dand - Bhed and anyone trying to question him was swiftly
given punishment that no one else would even dare repeat the mistake.
JAY YOGESHAR
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by GUEST on Jul 7th, 2006, 08:46am
We all should be focusing on the THE REAL ISSUES here.
Lets make sure that Late Pankajbhai's sacrifice does not go in vein.
I know that Swadhyayi people will not answer any questions in an
HONEST and STARIGH FORWARD manner but they always try to use tactics
such as "personal attacks", "character assasination", "lies",
"abusive language" etc to derail the discussion so these questions can
be avoided.
Can you prove it to me that 100% of the money collected in USA for
earthquake victims were sent to INDIA and used to BUILD houses?
Can you deny the FACT that the cash balance on DAY's books had been
consistently inceasing for over a decade? What is DAY's current cash
balance?
Can you tell us who gets the profits made by selling books, picture
frames, audio cassetts and CDs?
Can you deny the FACT that "SHRADHDHA" trust exists and only Athvale
family members are sole trustees in this trust?
Can you tell us how many different trusts Swadhyay has and who are the
trustees?
Can you tell us how many crores Swadhyay has accumulated in different
trusts?
Can you tell us the total value of land, including Bhav-Nirzar land
that Swadhyay acquired?
Can you deny the FACT that questions are not allowed in any meetings
and if someone dare to ask questions, he or she is intimidated to set
an examples so other people do not even dare to ask questions in
future?
Can you deny the FACT that brainwashing, manipulation and exploitation
have been going on for years?
Can you deny the FACT that fabricated stories are feed to the innocent
followers to potray Athvale as an "AVATAR"?
Can you deny the FACT that DAY's financial books were NEVER opened for
the followers for inspection?
Can you deny the FACT that if someone writes a letter to DAY asking
for the detailed information on earthquake donation issue, DAY's
attorney replies and denies the request for information?
Can you deny the FACT that Shibirs and camps are used mainly for
brainwashing and recruit more volunteers?
Can you deny the FACT that Dada's Putri-Moha is the same as
DRUTRASHTRA's Putra-Moha and Dada's act of GADI-PRATHA establishment
is fundamentally wrong and is betrayal of trust of unsuspecting
followers?
Who pays for Didi's frequent trips overseas every year in summer when
it is hot in INDIA?
Can you ADMIT that it is inappropriate that you use poor swadhyayis
for FREE MARKETING, I mean LAV-FERI and Didi spends charity money
collected as a result of hard work, dedication and bhav-samarpan of
poor fellow swadhyayees?
Has Dada ever worked in his life? How did he managed his finances?
Has Didi or her husnabd ever worked? How do they manage their finance?
What kind of business Didi's husband is in?
Can you prove it to us that the drama "TUMHARI-AMRITA" was ever played
by swadhyay?
Please answer these questions FIRST in CLEAR TERMS and a STRAIGHT
FORWARD manner before I ask many more questions.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by motabha on Jul 7th, 2006, 08:54am
on Jul 7th, 2006, 08:51am, Guest-the irish robin hood wrote:so whats
the point of asking ? . unless you happen to like the sound of your
own voice, like some sort of broken record.
Great reply. As per swadhyay policy, we do not answer real questions
but confuse people by telling rubbish.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by RAVI PATEL on Jul 7th, 2006, 08:59am
Can you deny the FACT that swadhyay Motabhai's in Gujarat and
Maharashtra were bain washed by Dada and Didi, who filed false cases
in court against Pankaj Trivedi and others trying to expose the Land/
Money making scandal Dadaji started in the name of GOD. Ultimately,
resulted into death of Mr. Pankaj Trivedi by few swadhyayi's who were
made to think they were doing God's deed. Whats different between
Islamic Jihad and swadhyayi Jihad??
If the killers of Mr. Pankaj Trivedi are compared to Mohmmad Atta (and
others) who flew into WTC in new York, Swadhyayi leaders are no less
then Osama Bin Ladin.
Ravi Patel
ravi_pa...@yahoo.com
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Hindustani on Jul 7th, 2006, 09:01am
I agree with you. I hope swadhyay leaders will get punished by law.
Lets see.
cover up to protect Bharat Bhatt
Post by RAVI PATELS DADA on Jul 7th, 2006, 09:02am
Murderers are hiding their whereabouts to protect big wigs in
Swadhyay. Now that they have already admitted to committing murder why
are they not telling the truth as to where exactly they all were in
hours preceding the murder. Police strongly suspect they are trying to
cover up big wigs in Swadhyay who apparently met them to give final
instructions.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by the irish robin hood on Jul 7th, 2006, 09:13am
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by the irish robin hood on Jul 7th, 2006, 09:15am
on Jul 6th, 2006, 2:25pm, Guest-Come ON Guys wrote:I am detecting lots
of messages from USA and also from India.
Where are the guys from UK
Have they worn 'BANGLES' & SAREES so that they are shy/frightened to
come out and express their anger/view/opinion??
Or they think what's happening is all fine as long as it does not
affect them.
Come on gyus..........at least ......be brave enough, to expree your
solidarity.....
Didi will not kill you by doing so.
Well if they are wearing bangals and sarees, they are alsready
expressing themselves you muppet
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Ravi Patel on Jul 7th, 2006, 09:24am
Who are Yatin Oza and Reshmi jani? trying to defend the killers of Mr.
Pankaj Trivedi. Are they Brain wahed swadhyayi or mean lawyers wanting
more money? See what the killers have to say "we are innocent, we are
into police's trap only because of our negative image from the media"
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Ravi Patel on Jul 7th, 2006, 09:30am
Yatin Oza is lawyer by profession and a politician by brain. I guess
he is trying to defend the killers in order to get voted from
swadhyayi's. He has already shown his way of politics by jumping from
BJP to Congress...
http://www.rediff.com/election/2002/nov/28guj.htm
Also he is known as "Giant Killer" How appropriate for a lawyer to be
known as Giant Killer and defend most famous murderers! - Vijay Mehta
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by the irish robin hood on Jul 7th, 2006, 09:31am
on Jul 7th, 2006, 09:24am, Guest-Ravi Patel wrote:Who are Yatin Oza
and Reshmi jani? trying to defend the killers of Mr. Pankaj Trivedi.
Are they Brain wahed swadhyayi or mean lawyers wanting more money? See
what the killers have to say "we are innocent, we are into police's
trap only because of our negative image from the media"
[img]http://www.akilaindia.com/daily/news_img/main019.gif[/mg]
Well the police caving into solving a crime as quickly as they can due
to media pressure never ever happens. Well not in your world. As long
as the mob gets justice ..who cares about civil liberties....damn
human rights....just put someone in jail and make us feel safe in our
homes.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Hindustani on Jul 7th, 2006, 09:33am
on Jul 7th, 2006, 09:30am, Guest-Ravi Patel wrote:Yatin Oza is lawyer
by profession and a politician by brain. I guess he is trying to
defend the killers in order to get voted from swadhyayi's. He has
already shown his way of politics by jumping from BJP to Congress...
http://www.rediff.com/election/2002/nov/28guj.htm
I thought killers of Pankaj Trivedi already admitted crime. I saw it
on TV. Now what happened?
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by the irish robin hood on Jul 7th, 2006, 09:39am
on Jul 7th, 2006, 09:33am, Guest-Hindustani wrote:I thought killers of
Pankaj Trivedi already admitted crime. I saw it on TV. Now what
happened?
they admitted to the crime under duress
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Ravi Patel on Jul 7th, 2006, 09:40am
on Today at 09:30am, Guest-Ravi Patel wrote:Yatin Oza is lawyer by
profession and a politician by brain. I guess he is trying to defend
the killers in order to get voted from swadhyayi's. He has already
shown his way of politics by jumping from BJP to Congress...
http://www.rediff.com/election/2002/nov/28guj.htm
I thought killers of Pankaj Trivedi already admitted crime. I saw it
on TV. Now what happened?
May be the lawyer defend them did not see it!
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by ravi patel on Jul 7th, 2006, 09:49am
"they admitted to the crime under Pressure"
May be they Murdered Mr. Pankaj Trivedi under Pressure, they might
have not even knew that they were actually killing him.
Thanks
-Ravi
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Hindustani on Jul 7th, 2006, 09:52am
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by the irish robin hood on Jul 7th, 2006, 10:00am
on Jul 7th, 2006, 09:52am, Guest-Hindustani wrote:May be killers
realised mistake they made and now talking as lawyer told them. Lets
wait and watch now what happen next. I am sure Jayshree is keeping
close watch on this case.
Well lets see the next time your beaten into a making a confession,
lets see how strong your resolve is. The police through their own
incompetnace may have screwed up the case big time.
Dhongi ko Gujarat Bhalo
Post by Ravi Patel on Jul 7th, 2006, 10:01am
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Chitralekha on Jul 7th, 2006, 10:07am
I read inChitralekha too about corruption and misuse of power in
swadhyay. Now atleast follwing media has written about swadhyay case
and exposed them
1> Aarpar
2> Gujarat Samachar
3> Akila
4> mumbai Samachar
5> sandesh
6> Times Of India
7> Divya Bhaskar
8> Zee TV
Lets see if swadhyay leaders decide to take any action against them.
Root cause of this evil was the greatman himself
Post by Chitralekha on Jul 7th, 2006, 10:13am
Chitralekha did an expose of Swadhyay back in July 2002. Documenting
as to what was going on behind the closed doors, how Dada transferred
millions of rupees to his adopted daughter and suddenly all those long
time dedicated Swadhyayees like Mahesh Shah and Rudhani etc became a
target of 'hate campaign' Even Chitralekha took a big risk of standing
up to the big bully. Link may not work, please see the images posted
http://www.chitralekha.com/content/Friday1.asp#3
http://www.chitralekha.com/content/Friday1.asp#4
http://www.chitralekha.com/content/Friday1.asp#1
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by An Observer on Jul 7th, 2006, 11:09am
1. People listed by Pankajbhai as potential killers are banned by
court, not to leave India. Is this true?
2. Manish Savsani is in Jail. Does anybody have his photo behind the
bars in Jail uniform?
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Sunil on Jul 7th, 2006, 11:28am
Check all the preachings of DADA & analyse his acts you will find them
exactly opposite.So there are no opponents of DADA as he himself is
his biggest opponent.
All the procedures of funds collection are devised ,applied & followed
up by DADA why to blame DIDI only
Before this present crises in DADA's reggime people like Haribhai
Kothari,Dayhabhai Jani,Manibhai Amin etc. were tortured, threatened &
excommunicated.They were called asuras & were also beaten by the then
blind followers of DADA.
DADA is the mastermind behind all false stories like Japan
Conference,Invitation of Mr.Compton,Vinoba etc.
He had copied other's books (Hindunche Samajrachna Shastra,Gita Tatwa
Vimarsh,Geeta Purusharthprabhodini,Geeta Pravachans by Vinoba,Kuransar
etc.He copied it To To but never mentioned their Names (Krudanyata?)
but the blind swadhyayi is forced to say after the Chintanika that all
the thoughts are of DADA & nothing is mine.
So dear open your eyes, study the history, find out why all the old
vetrens have left Swadhyaya.
If you want to continue Swadhaya nobody can stop you because Swadhyaya
is Study of self & is not owened by greedy Athawales.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Ravi Patel on Jul 7th, 2006, 12:28pm
Sunil says.. "DADA is the mastermind behind all false stories like
Japan Conference,Invitation of Mr.Compton,Vinoba etc."
I Truely agree with Sunil, not only that but some followers say that
his leg was 300 years old and he is Avtar of Krishna.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by You Have Got to Be Kidding on Jul 7th, 2006, 12:49pm
Let us all take a step back for a second and wonder what we are out to
do:
(1) Do we want Didi to admit to all of these things? Would that make
everything better?
(2) Do we want all of the Swadhyay leadership to resign? Is that
possible? All of these years we beamed about Swadhyay's structure-less
structure and now that we don't like the way it works we scream
treason?
(3) Do we want Swadhyay to disappear? Would that make us feel like we
succeeded in bringing something down that was making us feel down?
Trying to make everyone believe that Didi is awful and she has cronies
(who are intelligent people) is just as ignorant as what you fight.
Trying to make it seem like Pankaj Trivedi and crew are ideal martyrs
is also just as ignorant - they don't have a spotless record of
integrity in the language or methods they use.
Is it true that things in Swadhyay's operations and governance should
be better? Absolutely.
Whether directly responsible or not, is Didi responsible? If a good
leader, she should feel so (even if she has nothing to do with it).
Is all of Swadhyay a big hoax? Of course not. Use your own brain, you
weren't duped by going to Swadhyay - you just feel like it now.
It is our philosophy as much as it is Didis or anyone else. Step and
say something useful that we keep the best of Swadhyay intact and the
worst of Swadhyay less damaging.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by An Observer on Jul 7th, 2006, 12:51pm
Avtar Of Krishna?
I think people should know the facts re" Kusumbahen" and "Kum kum
Pagla"
Lord Krishna was known for paltonic love and not..
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by You Have Got To be Kidding on Jul 7th, 2006, 12:58pm
Irish Robin Hood:
All confessions in India come with a beating; police brutality is
tolerated and acceptable, it is not an excuse for a technicality to
make it seem like this was a conspiracy.
Would a technicality vindicate Swadhyay/Swadhyayees from being party
to the conflict with Pankaj Trivedi?
It doesn't matter whether they killed him or not. Say he was still
alive: Is it acceptable to you that Swadhyayees wanted him dead?
Is it acceptable to you that die hard Swadhyayees will do anything
(including deferring their own intellect) to prove Swadhyay's
innocence? Are we puppets?
The problem isn't his murder, it is the escalation and obsession with
this conflict that is ruining the essence of Swadhyay.
One more kendra is closed
Post by Paying Tribute to Pankajbhai on Jul 7th, 2006, 1:53pm
Aaradhana School in Amadawad shuts down the Swadhyay at their
property. They had given permission to conduct Swadhyay meeting under
impression that it was for a good cause but after the arrest of
several of prominent leaders they have decided not to allow Swadhyay
meeting at their place. Article in Gujarati.
http://www.gujaratsamachar.com/gsa/20060708/guj/gujarat/news3.html
Shocking report by auditors..
Post by Paying Tribute to Pankajbhai on Jul 7th, 2006, 1:55pm
Suryakant Mehta Institute of Charter Accounting has revealed
sensational and damaging information.
They were auditors for project "Matsya Gandha" Basically there are
four trusts under this project - Arnav Mandir, Agasti Pujan, Ratnakar
Pujan, Arnan Pujan.
Matsya Gandha Project was started with a vision of upliftment of
fisherman community. Expert fisherman and women were to work on
fishing boat and the income generated was to be used for loan and
scholarship of fisherman community. It was said that there will be 100
boats for this purpose.
But the real fact is..
There is not a SINGLE fishing boat under the name of any of these
trusts. All fishing boats are under the name of one person (Swadhyay
leader) and he is using them as his personal property. Not a single
instance of loan or scholarship is evident in any of the four trusts.
All these fishing boats are being used as commercial properteis but
they have not paid any income tax.
They found no evidence of any prior audit of any of these trusts and
if it was audited there is no evidence of any publication of it.
On Feb 27, 2004 it was announced at Tatognan Vidyapith after the Aarti
that " We have 100 boats in Arabian sea in Gujarat and Maharashtra, in
one more year we shall have 100 more."
Not a single trust has shown any income from fishing.
Charity commissioner, tax authorities and general public are entitled
to know
Whose name are all these boats under?
What is the registration numbers?
Where is the office?
Who if anyone has audited accounts and where has it been filed?
Partial translation of sensation article in Gujarati. - Vijay Mehta
So it seems like poor fisherman thought they were helping community by
fishing to help scholarship for their community but they were helping
some Motabhai?
For full article in Gujarati go to:
http://www.gujaratsamachar.com/gsa/20060708/guj/national/anu.html
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Paying Tribute to Pankajbhai on Jul 7th, 2006, 3:56pm
http://www.aarpar.com/web%20246/pdf/c1.pdf
http://www.aarpar.com/web%20246/pdf/marinajare.pdf
http://www.aarpar.com/web%20246/pdf/c2.pdf
http://www.aarpar.com/web%20246/pdf/c3.pdf
http://www.aarpar.com/web%20246/pdf/c4.pdf
http://www.aarpar.com/web%20246/pdf/kankarichalo.pdf
http://www.aarpar.com/web%20246/pdf/newsium.pdf
Shrutiben's Interview
Post by Paying Tribute to Pankajbhai on Jul 7th, 2006, 4:11pm
Pl. read Shrutiben's interview on Sandesh. When you are a victim of
Mafia, victims often choose to stay quiet rather than seek justice.
Same way Shrutiben and Himanshu did not have the courage to stand up
and ask for justice. How much fear they must have to control their
anger and frustration. This gives you some idea of what Swadhyay is as
seen by those who really know it.
Didi is the mastermind behind the murder - Shah
Post by Paying Tribute to Pankajbhai on Jul 7th, 2006, 4:24pm
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Amit on Jul 7th, 2006, 6:05pm
Does any one have recorded interview of Didi which was aired on Star/
DirecTV? I was asked by one swadhyayi to record today but I don't have
STAR/DirecTV.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Paying Tribute to Pankajbhai on Jul 7th, 2006, 6:47pm
Translation of Didi's ( with two D's) interview on Star TV as given on
Akila:
1. Me and Swadhyay Parivar is sorrowed by Pankaj Trivedi's death!
However as matter is in court she refused to say anything more!
It is a brutal murder and we all know you ordered it.
2. Love letters are part of drama script.
Sure! You must be a very relaxed person to write drama script than to
worry about how to instill 'sanskars' in millions of people.
3. Swadhyay Parivar have not lost its cool in spite of many incidents.
Sure! You never expected such a back-lash from Society and Media. It
is not coolness! You have become speechless.
4. All our accounts are audited and hence there is no financial
irregularities.
Sounds like audited accounts of 'Enron' to me!
5. I am not President of Parivar. I am part of it.
Sure. The same way Dawood is part of 'D' gang.
6. Swadhyayees are showing tremondous patience and unity.
They all are so shell -shocked. Because of her they are branded Goonda-
Parivar by Sacchidanand. What unity she is talking about? That
Swadhyayees are not talking against her? It is a false assumption.
The way she has spoken smells of 'understanding' between Gujarat
Government and her.
Well, she can escape Gujarat Government but she will not escape God's
anger for killing an innocent man.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Unbelievable on Jul 7th, 2006, 6:55pm
So true...karma's a b**ch, as they say...
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Ravi Patel on Jul 7th, 2006, 7:52pm
The way she has spoken smells of 'understanding' between Gujarat
Government and her.
Well, she can escape Gujarat Government but she will not escape God's
anger for killing an innocent man.
Aagee agee deekho hota hain kya.....
I cheated on you,
YOU cheated on me
I can't believe we are still together,
how can this be?
I suppose to leave you,
you suppose to leave me.
But cheating on eachother didn't set us free.
Now we are here, screwing everybody.
No it doesn't hurt and we don't mind,
cuz that what they say, Beliving is blind.
So you honestly think this is true SWADHYAY or
just a MASS MOVEMENT? Beacause cheating on
eachother really proves alot.
-PUJYA DIDIJI
Heat is on!!!
Post by Vijay Mehta on Jul 7th, 2006, 8:02pm
27 Motabhai's have been served summons. They had filed identical
wrongful cases against Pankajbhai. Police is suspecting higher up in
Swadhyay behind the murder.
Amadawad: Ex Swadhyay member Bhupendra Patel has written a letter to
Chief High Court Judge and demanded justice. If not on Aug 1e has sent
a copy of this letter to President of India, The prime minister, Ch he
will start "fast until death" at Income Tax Circle.
Hief minister of Gujarat, Chief justice of supreme court of India and
Governer of Gujarat.
Based on the sensational information obtained from five people so far
arrested f
or Pankajbhai's murder Police commissioner and DCP has met with Home
Minister of Gujarat. On other hand rumors are flying that Didi might
be on verge of getting a notice. Didi was said to have given a speech
at Madhav Baugh in Mumbai on Friday July 7th.
27 Motabhai's in Gujarat have been told not to leave the country.
(partial translation)
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by RAVI PATEL on Jul 7th, 2006, 8:20pm
Mukhda Dekh Le DIDI jara darpan main..
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/pVm7Q6IxUt.As1NMvHdW/
The Greatest swadhyayi of all time.... Every swadhyayi musty listen
this.
God Bless Us all..
Ravi Patel
ravi_pa...@yahoo.com
To listen more songs from this great swadhyayi click this...
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/l/29/s/album.5581/
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Paying Tribute to Pankajbhai on Jul 7th, 2006, 8:46pm
http://www.divyabhaskar.co.in/newsfromgujarat/newsfromahmedabad/ahmedabadnews_03.asp
Didi's show of Power. Will Gujarat Government be scared?
Didi said 'We need to continue Manushya Gaurav Work'.
Is she planning to make more people 'Krantikari' and 'Shahid' like
Pankajbhai?
When will Police take action?
US Based Swadhyayee speaks...
Post by Vijay Mehta on Jul 7th, 2006, 8:54pm
US based swadhyayi blasts Gujarat Global in defense of Parivar
2006-06-27 23:50:54
Gujarat Global News Network, Ahmedabad
For last couple of days we have been receiving number of e mails and
telephone calls about the activities of Swadhyay Parivar, both for and
against. A day before, we received a letter which shows the approach
of those who claim that there is nothing wrong with the Parivar and it
is being wrongly dragged into a controversy involving the murder of a
swadhyayi, Pankaj Trivedi.
We have nothing to say since the tone and tenor of the letter shows
prejudiced and parochial approach which is very characteristic of
followers of sects. What we have reported is already on our website.
But to claim that only loyalists know the truth is to give a go by
progressive and open minded outlook which is necessary for the healthy
growth of anyone whether an individual or an organization.
We would like to quote Osho to describe the situation of the followers
"In thousands of years we have made Gautam Buddha, the Buddha, Christ
a Christian, but we have remained same!" Deification of a person or
organization leads only to hypocrisy and all other associated evils.
Here is an e mail Shreyas Patel of Bank of America Charlotte NC USA
has sent to me the editor ofwww.gujaratglobal.com.
Since the death of Mr. Pankaj Trivedi you have published articles
blaming and defaming the entire Swadhyaya Parivaar. You have not tried
to verify your information or print it objectively. One would expect a
newspaper to print only facts and not unduly prejudge. You have not
taken into account a clean track record of Swadhyaya work and its
service to people. Your articles have hurt all the members of
Swadhyaya Parivaar and we are pained to understand the motive behind
this. I am submitting this response aimed at answering some of the
questions and clarifying facts.
Swadhyaya is a spiritual movement founded by Rev. Pandurang Shastri
Athavale, fondly known as "Dadaji", which means elder brother. Born in
1920, Dadaji took a resolve to uplift human life through the means of
self-introspection ('Swadhyaya'). He looked deeply into the problems
that plague humanity. He noted that these problems were the result of
alienation of man from his creator. His solution to these inherent
issues, therefore, included the concept that we are all sons and
daughters of the same god. Hence the Swadhyaya philosophy and work are
based upon the belief that god is present in each of us and we are, as
a result, related by this divine relationship. Dadaji has coined this
concept as "the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God"; hence
it is indeed a parivaar, a family, which now includes tens of
millions.
It strongly emphasizes dignity of all human beings. It transcends the
boundaries of caste, creed, and religion. It welcomes anyone to join
unconditionally, without any membership requirements, and it allows
any member the total freedom to leave at any time. It has brought
about a multifaceted revolution encompassing all aspects of human
life; these include spiritual, social, economical, emotional, and
political elements. Dadaji calls this the five-colored revolution.
This is a peaceful revolution that has been described by a prominent
educator as "a silent yet singing revolution". It does not support,
encourage or condone any violence. It has never solicited any money
nor has it accepted funds from anyone who is not an active member.
Dadaji and Didiji have always preached and practiced love and unity of
all. They have never sought any recognition, prestige or awards.
Swadhyaya work has been studied by many research scholars, economists,
politicians, and social thinkers. The United Nations (UN) has also
taken a keen interest in this work. Many laurels and awards have been
given to Dadaji and Didiji from around the globe, including the Sir
John Templeton Award for Progress in Religion, the Ramon Magsaysay
Award from the Phillipines, and the noteworthy Padma Vibhushan title
from the government of India.
Dadaji single-handedly started his work by visiting the entire Indian
subcontinent, along with many other areas of the world. It has
transformed countless lives in tens of thousands of villages in India.
Dadaji worked incessantly through his demise, which occurred in late
2003. During all these years of work, as Dadaji went from "heart-to-
heart" and "hut-to-hut" in thousands of villages of India, Mrs.
Dhanashree Talwalkar, Dadaji's daughter, was his constant companion.
With her own efforts, love, and dedication, she has become the heart
and soul of the "Swadhyaya parivaar". In his later years, Dadaji
delegated the full responsibility of his work to Mrs. Talwalkar,
affectionately known as "Didiji", which means "elder sister".
Unfortunately, when Dadaji delegated Didiji to take on the
responsibility of the massive Swadhyaya work, there were a few members
of the Swadhyaya family who did not accept this decision. Because of
their longstanding relationship with Dadaji, they felt a sense of
entitlement to this responsibility. Begrudged by the appointment of
Didiji to take the responsibility, they and a few of their cohorts
began a concerted effort to destroy Didiji's image and tarnish
Dadaji's life.
The main purpose of these people, the "anti-Swadhyayees", was to usurp
the control of the work. Once it was clear that this purpose would not
be served, persons like Mr. Pankaj Trivedi set out to destroy the
verywork they were once a part of.
Mr. Trivedi and a few others chose to engage in antagonistic activity
and false accusations against Didiji and the Swadhyaya parivaar. They
alleged that the Swadhyaya parivaar and Didiji asked for funds during
the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat (a state in India). This is an entirely
false statement. To begin with, Dadaji and Didiji have never solicited
funds from anyone, directly or indirectly. They have also instilled
this mentality in the entire Parivaar. In the aftermath of the
earthquake in 2001, a total of 5058 houses were built through the
efforts of 76 non-government organizations (NGOs). Of these, 4534
houses were built by the Swadhyaya Parivaar alone, according to a
report by the United Nations Development Board. In addition,
accusations that have been leveled at the management of trust funds of
Swadhyaya Parivaar are completely unfounded.
Further efforts to damage Swadhyaya work led a few anti-Swadhyayees to
allege to the home ministry of India's central government in 2002 that
"Swadhyaya is a terrorist activity". In response, the Indian
government's intelligence bureau conducted a thorough investigation in
Swadhyayee villages throughout India. This investigation revealed
absolutely no basis for the accusation. Other facet of anti-Swadhyaya
propaganda has included the repeatedfiling of police cases against
many devoted Swadhayees over the last five years. Police
investigations have found each and every one of these complaints to be
completely untrue and without merits.
The media has reported that Mr. Trivedi was a prominent Swadhyayee,
that he donated 1.5 crore (15 million) rupees, and that Pujya Dadaji
used to visit him at hishome often. All these reports are completely
untrue. At the current time, it is the media's responsibility to
report only the truth, instead of reporting and sensationalizing
completely baseless allegations in an attempt to tarnish the image of
Dadaji, Didiji, and Swadhyaya work. It is important to consider who
benefits by misleading the police and by harassing the Swadhyaya
Parivaar. In the end, it is society and devoted Swadhyayees who are
hurt when attempts are made to tarnish the image of holy work such as
Swadhyaya.
Link to lots of articles in English
Post by Vijay Mehta on Jul 7th, 2006, 9:03pm
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=swadhyay&btnG=Search+News
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Guest on Jul 7th, 2006, 9:10pm
Aaj to Brahmin ki bhi hatya hoti hai........
Dur Kahin Kone mein Majhab Rota hain.............
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Guest on Jul 7th, 2006, 9:19pm
Daes Liya (bite) Sare Desh Ko Jahrili Nagin (poisonous snake) Ne...
Ghar Ko laga di Aag Ghar Ke Chirago ne...
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Guest on Jul 7th, 2006, 9:37pm
It is very important that future generations remember Pankajbhai's
sacrifice and learn a lesson of not falling in a trap of any organized
religion.
Please write to Government of Gujarat to dedicate a monumnet in the
memory of "Krantikari Pankajbhai".
May be rename Ellisbridge to "Pankajbhai Trivedi Bridge."
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Guest on Jul 7th, 2006, 9:53pm
I believe Swadhyay should start " Krantikari Pankajbhai Trivedi"
Scholarship for needy students and open up a college and dedicate it
to " Krantikari Pankajbhai Trivedi".
I am sure that even after doing that, crores of rupees will be
available which can be used to build a charitabl hospital dedicated to
Pankajbhai.
Shri Satya Sai Baba had been doing noble humanatarian work for decades
and its time that Swadhyay learn some lessons on humanity and charity
from this organization.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Paying Tribute to Pankajbhai on Jul 7th, 2006, 9:56pm
I think it will be a great disservice to soul of Pankajbhai if we go
the route of naming any bridge or other monument after him.
All we know is that he wanted Society to know true face of Didi's
brand of Swadhyay.
When Government of Gujarat does not listen to person of Swamiji's
stature, I doubt if they will ever pursue justice for Pankajbhai's
killer.
May be some investigative Journalist can find out real story behind
tall claims of Didi's brand of Swadhyay, and issues which Pankajbhai
have raised and reported elsewhere in this forum.
Only 'fourth Jagir (Press)' can take up this challenge and show the
true face of Didi's brand of Swadhyay to Society.
Didini Diary
Post by Vijay Mehta on Jul 7th, 2006, 9:57pm
Gunawant Shah on Pankajbhai's Sahidi
Post by Unbelievable on Jul 7th, 2006, 11:10pm
Renowned philosopher and writer Gunawantbhai Shah appeals public to
wake up. The degree of blind following in Swadhyay is a black mark
against Hinduism. Back in 1992 he wrote "Blind faith manufacturing
company unlimited is Swadhyay" Dada had put his image between Shiva
and yogeswar and everyone would offer Aarti to DADA. He was the one to
criticise this deification of Pandurang Athawale. How lacks of
Swadhyayees can not see the difference between God and Pandurang and
now Didi? No wonder this has given Didi an opportunity to do anything
she pleases.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Karan on Jul 8th, 2006, 05:25am
Aaj yeh shehar kaisee sanwar aayee hai,
Har taraf bikeree ek khaak nazar aayee hai!
rang lagee hai ye khoon-e-jiger (pankaj bhai)ki taaseer,
yaad jab aati hai to aankhe bhar aayee hai!!
ye aag har khafan ko jalaakar rakh karegi,
dhuvaan ek din teri galee(madhav bagh) me aayegi!
ek ek saans me yahaa behroopiya (khota bhai)mile hai,
ye sholey lipte rahee saneeha ka khabhar aayee hai!!
tumharee nakse-kadam ne sab ko gumraah kardiya,
kitna behtar ye kaary tha usko mitti me milaadiya!
kaise maafi milega bhagwan ko bhee parwaa na kiyaa,
sang-e-lehad pe tumne jhootee aansu bahaadiya!!
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by An Observer on Jul 8th, 2006, 06:54am
I hear that Gujrat Govt is in the process of changing the name of
A'bad to either Pandurang Sastri Nagar or Pandurang Sastri Dham (as in
Gnadhi Nagar / Gandhi Dham).
Is it true??
Prime reason given is that it is a tribute to DADA & its present
leader. They have worked tremendously hard to uplift the communities
of Gujarat and the whole state of Gujrat. and have succeeded in doing
so.
After Gandhiji, its now DADA, the only person who can be said to
deserve this tribute!
Although Gujrat has so many prominent Kathakars and is home to one of
the most famous religious sect - Swaminarayan, but so far they have
failed to match the sort of upliftment DADA gave to this state.
It is for this reason Ahmedabad will now have a new name.
Please share your hearsay here.
You have a great sense of humor or imagination! - Vijay Mehta
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Unbelievable on Jul 8th, 2006, 07:43am
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Karan on Jul 8th, 2006, 08:14am
Sunil posted a nice msg
Swadhyaya is not just to follow some one blindly
Swadhyaya's literal meaning is study, self-study
But at the same time a Swadhyayee should be cautious
Instrumental Devotion means .... its not anybody can use him atleast
he should know that he is not getting victimised in an organised trap.
Now its the time to have a kind of transperancy in all trusts, The
governement should work on it atleast Gujarat government.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Paying Tribute to Pankajbhai on Jul 8th, 2006, 08:44am
Gujarat Global News Network, Ahmedabad
Jayshree Talwalkar 'Didi' suddenly surfaced on Friday night in a TV
News Channel where she spoke about some controversies and Swadhyay
Parivar but refused to speak about the famous Pankaj Trivedi murder.
She said that she was pained by the murder but avoided questions on
the issue saying that the matter was sub-judicious.
Describing media reports as her character assassination she said that
people who are against her and wanted to remove her were indulging in
such activities. Didi who spoke for the first time 24 days after
murder of Trivedi said that she was not the head of Swadhyay Parivar
"I am a member of the Parivar. I, my family and the entire Swadhyay
Parivar is sad over Trivedi's murder and we protest the incident. No
individual has the power in Parivar but all the members work in co-
operation", she said.
About funds in Pariver she said that the accounts of Parivar are
audited regularly. People asking about Rs.2,000 crore should first ask
NRIs where they have sent this money, Didi said in an irritating
tone.
About her alleged love letters Didi said that they were letters about
a project and her opponents had misused them. "I have not written any
love letter to anyone", she said.
Furious over media reports Didi said that they are hammering
Swadhyayis. They are misleading people. She appealed Swadhyayis to be
tolerant and spread the message of peace. "Parivar members are
brothers and sisters and I am one of them. I am not a saint", Didi
reiterated
Parivar members are brothers and sisters and I am one of them. I am
not a saint", Didi reiterated.
'We all know you are not a saint but you are not even a good human
being'.
You shall be with 5 Parivar memebers in Jail for killing Pankajbhai.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Ravi Patel on Jul 8th, 2006, 09:08am
"After Gandhiji, its now DADA, the only person who can be said to
deserve this tribute!"
If Gandhiji is BAPU is he was DADA (most of Gujarati's following him
blindly dont even know y he is called DADA) It means Big Brother in
Marathi, they think it ment Grandfather.... lol
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Ravi Patel on Jul 8th, 2006, 09:16am
"Swadhyaya is not just to follow some one blindly
Swadhyaya's literal meaning is study, self-study"
If it means self study! selfstudy could be done in the corner of ur
room, bringing 10000 or 15000 people together for selfstudy!
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Paying Tribute to Pankajbhai on Jul 8th, 2006, 09:23am
It is a known fact in Madhav Baug Pathshala since 2001 that people are
called from distance so when Didi gives her 'Bakwas' hall looks full.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by An Observer on Jul 8th, 2006, 09:47am
I think Ravibahi & Unbelivable have missed my point.
Gujrat Govt is considering changing name of A'BAD.
No other state Govt is even thinking of doing this & why should they?
On of the reasons given is that the mass upliftmnet has taken place in
Gujrat, not in Mumbai.
Therefore Guj Govt feels that this is the best tribute they can bestow
on DADA.
This is what I have heard and may not be true.
Maharashtra state has not seen the so caled upliftment in its state.
Its the Gujratis who have benefited from this movement and therefroe I
think modi govt (sarkar) may be correct in thinking on this changes.
May be DIDI has MADE some FINANCIAL (or otherwise (promised to use her
VOTE Bank) as part of POLITICAL deal to change the
name.............who knows!
This is wild speculations.
I am simply asking if anyone has heard about this.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Ravi Patel on Jul 8th, 2006, 10:13am
WE ARE AL EQUAL IN SWADHYAY, DO I NEED EYE CHECKUP?
-Ravi Patel
ravi_pa...@yahoo.com
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Paying Tribute to Pankajbhai on Jul 8th, 2006, 10:18am
I think Didi is in the process of doing something like Sonia Gandhi,
Bal Thackeray etc.
Denounce that she is dictator of Parivar. Appoint group of cronies
till controversy dies down and control every thing from behind the
curtain.
These group of cronies will later day come out and tell that since
Dada have appointed you, you must take it over again!
This way she can fool her blind faith followers that she is Tyag ni
Murti.
I hope before she succeds in doing so, Gujarat Government does
something rather than renaming Ahemadabad as 'Andheri nagari' and CM
as 'Gandu Raja'.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Guest on Jul 8th, 2006, 10:20am
I have heard that all khotabhais are considering changing their last
name to "Athvale".......
How many khotabhais call their REAL elder sister "Didi"?
How many khotabhais from US went to India for their parents "ASTHI-
VISARJAN"?
How many khotabhais helped their needy relatives in India?
How many khotabhais who worked for FREE at MADHAV KENDRA farm had
helped their relatives on their farms in India?
How many khotabhais went to see their relatives when they were in
Hospital?
How many khotabhais went to attend a Birthday Party of their relatives
in India?
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Ravi Patel on Jul 8th, 2006, 10:23am
DADAJI SAID
"BETI MAIN BHI INKA DADA HU, KAISA ULLU BANAYYA DEKH, KAHA DEKHNA AANA
WALLA HAIN YEAH GORA INDIA MAIN ......JO LEKHKER DIYA INHONA MAAN
LIYA"
DADA EK NUMBERI TO BETI DUS NUMBARI..
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Guest on Jul 8th, 2006, 10:31am
Lies, Lies and more Lies...
Most of the khotabhais had been feeding lies and fabricated stories to
potray Athvale into an " AVATAR" for YEARS.
Some of the stories are so ridiculous that even any one with a half
brain can tell that it is an outright lie.
One person told me a story about the Murti of Yogeshwar. Read this
funny story.
Once, Yogeshwar Bhagavan appeared in Dada's dream and talked to him.
The way Yogeshwar Bhagvan was standing in Dad's dream is exactly the
same as the Murti of YOGESHWAR is made. Dada had called an expert
artist to make the MURTI and described the pose that he saw in his
dream.
While the artist was making the MURTI, Dada stopped him many times and
corrected his mistakes. After so many iterations and trials, the final
shape of the Murti was developed.
This person also claimed that no one in this world has an exact
imagination of Yogeshwar as Dada had as he had seen Yogeshwar Bhagvan
in his dream.
Propaganda is so powerful that any one can take an ordinary Pandu and
trnsform him into an "AVATAR".
Like Mirza Galib said,
"Murkhon kin Kami Nahi Galib,
Ek dhundho Hajar Milte Hein.........."
We shall rape you in front of ur Sasara - Swadhyay
Post by Vijay Mehta on Jul 8th, 2006, 11:59am
Jalgaon,
Retired professor S. K. Joshi shared terror on his family during a
visit with Gujarat Samachar.
S. K. Joshi had worked with Dada and Swadhyay for more than two
decades. Back in 1995 several tall and heavy men entered his house. In
front of everyone including women in the house they told my daughter
in law, "We shall rape you in front of your husband and your father in
law. Tell your father in law to keep his mouth shut about Swadhyay."
One time Mr. Joshi was travelling in his car with his son and suddenly
at one stop they found themselves surrounded by 8-10 men. Luckily his
son used his quick judgement and steered his car away from this
goons.
Article in Gujarati.
Jagruti - staunch Swadhyayee are wondering
Post by Vijay Mehta on Jul 8th, 2006, 12:17pm
Last night Didi finally gave an interview to media- setting was
interview by a private channel at an undisclosed location.
She said that there is a conspiracy against Swadhyay. She has nothing
to do with murder of Pankajbhai.
There is no financial irregularities in Swadhyay.
She is just another member of Swadhyay and everyone is equal in
Swadhyay.
She is saddened by the death of Pankajbhai but she can not talk about
it due to the legal process.
She appealed to all the Swadhyayees to stay focused.
Some of staunch Swadhyayees were totally disappointed that:
1. Interview was from an undisclosed location. Why?
2. If she is innocent, why she does not come out and say that she &
other members of Swadhayay are willing to co-operate with poilice
investigation in any way they can.
3. Why it took so long to come out and make a statement.
4. Why interview was given to a private channel.
It seems that many Swadhyayees are disappointed and now wondering as
to what is being hidden? There is a possibility that of current
members there will be two groups, one supporting current stratagy to
"keep quiet and it will go away" and the other group supporting "those
who do not have any thing to hide - hide nothing!"
Jagruti continues. Biggest challenge will come not from police and
outsiders but from true Swadhyayees within.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Guest on Jul 8th, 2006, 12:31pm
http://www.gujaratglobal.com/nextSub.php?id=814&cattype=NEWS
Swadhyay parivar has become goonda parivar: Sacchidanand
2006-07-06 10:05:42
Gujarat Global News Network, Ahmedabad
At a meeting held in the city on "Religion Terrorism" number of
leading personalities launched a scathing attack on Swadhyay Parivar
and described its head, Didi, with a variety of adjectives like a
tigress donning the skin of cow. These persons were of the view that
the mafia of religious leaders was more dreadful than the underworld
of Dawood.
Referring to the murder of NRI swadhyayi Pankaj Trivedi, Swami
Sacchidanand said that Swadhyay Parivar had become goonda parivar. The
fear of terror created by it can never be tolerated, he added. Pankaj
Trivedi, a staunch critic of Didi , was murdered on June 15 and police
have arrested five swadhyayis in this connection.
He said that the fault of Trivedi was just that he had sought details
of account of the Parivar, a multi billion rupee voluntary
organization founded by Pandurang Shastri. He also blasted the Modi
government for not responding to the requests of Trivedi for
protection though he had feared attack from members of Swadhyay
parivar. He said people worshipped Didi as a holy cow, but in the skin
of cow she is a tigress.
Noted activist Prakash N Shah said that the activity of spreading
terror in the name of religion should be checked. He suggested that
there should be a social audit of such organizations. Writer Rajnikant
Joshi said Dada, founder of Parivar, was a good man but not a straight
man.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Karan on Jul 8th, 2006, 12:33pm
Dear Vijay Bhai
Jagruthi will be there, atleast some "Yuwan" will think and an in-side
revolt will be there. But what do you say this Khota Bhai will
realise?
They may be forgot The Virtues which (said) will acquires by Swadhyay
1) Gratitude (Kritaznata) : Told to appreciate saints but they are
busy in appreciating ****
2) Asmita (self-awareness): but unfortunatly they are not aware of
their own ability, it was told in last shibir that you are a
donkey ,who is carrying statue.
3)Brilliance (Tejaswita): He should not be a puppet but they feel
Chamchagiri is not puppetism.
4)Boundless love: in this situation we dont want to talk about any
Love!!!!
5)Samarpan(offering); yah its going on
so i think they wont change
Unlike you, I think there will be radical changes in Swadhyay. It may
come by design or default. Now that more and more stories come out,
true swadhyayee (majority of them) will suddenly wonder. This may
prompt them to do one of two things. 1. Move away from Parivar and
join some other group. 2. Be bold enough to address the irregularity
and make parivar stronger.
At least in USA Parivar I have found that this bond and sense of
common goal is extremely strong. How can one walk away from the
family? I shall venture to predict that most of them will be in group
2 here. Currently they are behaving as if nothing has happened. But in
their head and conscious the debate has started. Next, they will feel
comfortable with discussing their feeling to nearest Swadhyayee
friends followed by discussion with rest of them. Process will take
time but it shall happen.
Of course now after being duped before the flow of money will slow
down tremendously and when it start they shall demand voice in it.
For the Khotabhai's back home this was like Mafia. Too much power just
by having the title. They will have to be thrown out by others to save
the movement. I think process will take 1-2 years but it will bring
accountability and Samaj seva back in the focus.
Unlike India, I shall venture to predict that it is much less likely
that the Motabhai's abusing power here. With very small tight neat
community, people do know who you really are. There are lot more ways
for people to earn then to resort to deceit in this country.
I am sure other sampraday's are also looking at this and doing some
introspection as how they can avoid same fate. I think devotees of
other Sampraday's might develop courage to ask, what is being done
with the money.
Sahid Sri Pankajbhai has served Hinduism as very few people in recent
history has. - Vijay Mehta
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Guest on Jul 8th, 2006, 12:58pm
I agree with Karan. The puppets WILL NOT CHANGE.
They choose to poke in their own eyes and became BLIND FOLLOWERS, they
are beyond repair.
If they were to wake up, they would have done so in past when
countless newspapers and magazines published countless articles on all
wrongdoings and when Justice B.J.Diwan resigned. But no, they THINK
know Athvale more than Justice Diwan and Pankajbhai Trivedi.
The funny thing is that most of the swadhyayis have not even spent
five minutes with Athvale, then how can they know him that well? The
false image of an AVATAR in their BHAVUK mind is the result of years
of Brainwashing, propaganda and manipulation.
We can only help people who are starting to develope "cataract" (Not
blind yet) and have their cataract surgically (thru open discussion).
It is much easier to be an Avatar by minimizing contact. Human being
has weakness. It is much easier to hype someone up by edited videos
and managed exposure to general public. Only the inner group knows
real person. And you can keep inner group quiet because they have a
vested interest in Avatar. I am impressed with how many staunch
Swadhyayees are now asking questions, not openly of course. I think
this is defininig moment in the life of Swadhyay. - Vijay Mehta
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Guest on Jul 8th, 2006, 1:06pm
Maheshbhai Shah consoling Shrutiben Trivedi. Maheshbhai is concerned
he might be next on the list.
How to tell a spiritual movement from cult?
Post by Vijay Mehta on Jul 8th, 2006, 1:38pm
Here is an issue of Aar Paar. This may offend you if you are not able
to handle the truth. Your motabhai may say 'they' are jealous of our
success - the fact is no one has to be jealous of your success, if
Swadhyay is indeed the movement of uplifting the human spirits we all
are beneficiary of it being one of you. The motabhai may tell you not
to pay attention to media - you need to wonder why all the media have
tried to expose the wrongdoings or more important you may tell your
motabhai -why not we publish our point by point rebuttal of all these
concerns. If we have built houses why not make a website with the
pictures of all those houses, roads, schools and hospitals. In this
day and age it is not too expensive to put your information on network
(and they have crores rupees sitting in several trust accounts) for
everyone to see and decide for your self. Remember, the way mind
control works is to avoid answering question and tell followers to
have faith or shradhha in Dada. That is your cue to run out of that
movement no matter how good it may feel you to belong to it at
present. -Vijay Mehta
http://vmehta.conforums3.com/index.cgi?board=Religions&action=print&num=1150555879
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Mailesh on Jul 8th, 2006, 1:46pm
Vijaybhai,
First off, you have done a commendable job of creating and moderating
this board.
This unfortunate event has exposed pariwar internals big time and am
optimistic that this WILL trigger a change
First thing that comes to mind is the fact that now media and public
in general know more and have more questions than the so called
motabhai's actually know
Due to their blind follower mentality, they have never questioned
their superiors and so on and now they will feel awkward facing
members and outsiders. Once this questioning starts, the ball starts
rolling
I doubt if someone in US can think, plan and pull off a criminal act
against someone who asks questions as easily as it may be possible in
India
Simple questions like
1. why the focus on 'others' and not 'me'
2. why the focus on numbers
3. why are some members more previlaged to inside information than
others
4. what happened t the norm of taking joint decisions
5. why huge gatherings for events
6. Does a local motabhai ever question their superiors?
7. Who makes those large sankalps? Sankalps should be from within -
when someone else tells me to achieve some number it is called target
not sankalp
8. how can I access local financial accounts?
Answers:
1. Focus on others and not me: If there is not much good about me, I
can distract you by talking bad about others like Pankajbhai, they are
out to destroy us etc. It keeps focus away from me.
2. For some of them it was all about the numbers. Problem is that more
they got more they wanted. Had they only taken out 10% of Bhagawanano
Bhag no one would have ever been able to prove anything.
3. Motabhai's have invested more and are williing to do more for
Swadhyay than Chhotabhai. They are willing to maime or kill anyone for
parivar. If you are not that loyal why should you have the same
privilege?
4. Joint decision: Trust me they are taking joint decision. But you
and I are not at that level to be part of decision making. Remember
humility is a virtue.
5. Large gatherings are good for morale and publicity. It impresses
people in thinking - if so many people believe in it ... it must be
great.
6. If you start questioning the superiors you are not right material
to be a Motabhai in first place. And if you do, we need to make Asura
out of you, You can not go back to Chhotabhai from Motabhai because
now you know too much. Many of victims of violence had to suffer
because they knew too much. Had they been ordinary Swadhyayee they
could have been easily ignored as common ashuras. Loyalty and ability
to understand without asking anyone is important qualifying
characteristics for Motabhai.
7. There are some chosen devine among us and they help us by making
Sankalps on our behalf. The mere fact that we joined the group without
ever asking or questioning shows that we are not capable to making
independent decision. They are just being helpful.
8. Forget asking for local accounts. They were simply forwarded to
head quarter. Once you offer coconut to God you do not inquire what
happens to it, do you?
I have a feeling that Swadhyayees from USA eventhough in numbers we
may be miniscule compared to those in India, will be instrumental in
providing leadership.
Living in this open society does change who we are. There is more
courage to ask questions. We have learnt that open society is
strength. We have witnessed Jim Jones and David Kuresh. We have seen
financial or sexual scandals destroying prominent churches. Hopefully
we have learned that you can not suppress disinformation too long once
it starts coming.
I think at this time asking financial account will be taken as you
being a traitor or Swadhyay destroyer (Ashura).
What you can do is to generate discussion as how in future we can
establish credibility? What checks and balance do we place to prevent
abuse by select few? At the end of the day, your future depends on
credibility among young Swadhyayees. With all the horror stories that
has come out and likely to come out let me tell you, your younger
generation is confused and concerned. Their loyalty to what we fed
them so far can only last so long.
Good luck. Keep us posted if you have any ideas or how your attempts
are received by others. Remember, the spirit should be one of "I love
Swadhyay there for I am willing to speak up" - Vijay Mehta
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Guest on Jul 8th, 2006, 1:56pm
Now people have all kind of question...
look at this
I think now police have to open them eye..
I have heard this theory too and it may make sense.
Dadaji worked all his life to start his projects. People show a man
with ability to interpret Gita at the same time man with passion to
uplift the poor and backward communities. Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga
to gather is a strong combination. No acquisition of real estate in
terms of Mandir basically made the expense side of balance sheet very
small. Money grew, fame grew. He must have thought for a long time
that this all can be turned over to some one with same passion.
Then came the aging, failiing health and amputation left him in hands
of his daughter. She suddenly realizes the opportunity to step into
his chair. She has to remove all good Swadhyayees surrounding him. The
access to Dada is limited. Basically he is in "Nazar Ked" so only
message Dada can get is what is approved by Didi. Tai would also like
the power go to someone in family than outsider. Only the inner core
can see the change. Because for millions of them all they see is the
video that comes in mail.
Dada behaves in un-Dada like fashion and suddenly claims that
Swadhayay belongs to him. Now all loyal Swadhyayees needs to be thrown
out one by one. Some of them knew too much. So they became threat. One
by one they were disgraced and thrown out. If they kept posing threat,
they were threatened and to teach a lesson bones were broken.
Earthquake in Gujart proves to be a windfall. Large amount of
donations flowing from all over, no need to account for it. Everyone
at the top could get a piece of the pie as long as they keep the mouth
shut. Few trouble makers need to be silenced.
Arrogance lead to mistakes. We can get away with anything. Police or
Government and Media will think ten times before doing anything
against us. Few people with broken bones became a lesson for many
others who were thinking of speaking their mind. Well it all went well
until...
Until one fateful day.. Pankajbhai Trivedi was brutally murdered. And
suddenly 'Jan Prakop' is beyond anyone's expectation. Police was lucky
to find a strong clue by one cell phone, he opens his mouth and now
the amount of information that out is too much to cover it all up.
Daily headlines exposing more and more stories. Many Swadhyayees start
seeing a pattern. As much as they do not want to believe all these
they have to admit that there are some problems.
The question is how this moves on from this point...
-Vijay Mehta
Would Didi run to USA if noose comes closer?
Post by Guest on Jul 8th, 2006, 2:01pm
Didi might have avoided being questioned or arrested for this crime
more than three years. But there is no statute of limitation on
murder. So all her life she will have to worry, what if some evidence
pops up? What if someone talks? There are many many crimes in history
books where years after the crime the law catches up with you. Let us
be patient and pray to God at the end justice may prevail and
sacrifice of Panjakbhai does not go in vein.
Na Muh Chhupake Jityo...
Post by Guest on Jul 8th, 2006, 2:04pm
Didi has paid a price for Pankajbhai murder. Now she avoids limelight
and media.
Na Muh Chhupake Jiyo
No Sar jhukake Jiyo
Jo paap kiye hai tumne
woh Karmoki Kimat chukake Jiyo..
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by sunil on Jul 8th, 2006, 2:16pm
Dear NRI Swadhyayees,
Please listen to what DIDItold to SAHARA SAMAY TV
She said we recd.Rs.1 crore & spent 1.5 crores for Kutch EQ relief.( I
have seen this twice)
Now isn't this a lie? They have collected alltogether 37 crores
+cash(only Yogeshwar knows the amount)
You still want to call her a Satyanishtha?
who siphoned the money?
Will you dare to ask your motabhais about this?
In an another reply on this forum today these blind fellows are still
saying that the pariwar constructed 4534 concrete houses in Kutch when
it is very clear to everybody (exceot their Blind counterparts in
India)
that the pariwar has not constructed even a single house is this
another example of Satyam Vada?
The Pariwar has become so proficient in lieing & so shameless that
even after the murder of Pankajbhai they published a nivedan is all
gujarati news papers on
19th June stating that they have constructed 5058 houses if this is
Swadhyay then why someone should join or if has joined stay?
Earthquake Relief by Swadhyay Gujarati Article
Post by Vijay Mehta on Jul 8th, 2006, 4:34pm
http://www.gujaratsamachar.com/gsa/20060625/guj/national/anu.html
How much money was collected by Swadhyay and how much was used for
actual house building in Kutch area has been the biggest point of
argument. Swadhyayees will point that they have built 4500 plus
houses. While others will say that there is not a single house by
Swadhyay! This Article looks at what could be the explanation.
Gujarati article.
Partial translation to follow;
According to the letter by Pankajbhai Trivedi to Chief Minister of
Gujarat DAY Trust, Chicago had deposited 2,4000,000 (2.4 Million
Dollars( between 1978 to 2000. Due to the Gujarat Earthquake 3,890,000
(3.89 Million Dollars were collected from Swadhyay in USA) While Vinoo
Sachania (Who was later beaten up) sent Two Crores from England.
On 6/24/2006 Dr. Rajesh Parikh said in response to a question that
"Swadhyay Parivar has built 4534 houses in Kutch, and there is no
doubt about it." When asked if he had seen personally this houses
being built he said he has not. Than based on what is he making this
statemet? In response Dr Parikh showed a report by UNDP and 2003
report by ILO (International Labor Organization), where it was
mentioned that Swadhyay Parivar had built 4534 houses. Dr. Parikh was
asked if Swadhayay has their report of all these houses? He responded
that Swadhyay Parivar has a report of work performed at 112 villages
and that report is in Mumbai and we are getting in Amadawad. But in
this report we do not have details of work performed, just which
village had how many houses is mentioned.
Sri Mansi Anand fron Navnirman office in Kutchchh, Bhuj explained that
ILO report has no value since it is a copy of UNDP report. He
explained that in June of 2001 when Prime Minister came to visit
Kutchchh we asked all the organization to report of relief work. We
put an ad in the paper asking everyone to supply the information.
Based on what they reported we published those figures. We DID NOT
CHECK ACCURACY OF ANY OF THESE FIGURES!
Based on the information received (that was never varified by anyone)
we published reports. Few months later we published updated report
again based on the information received. This way by 2003 we had
published five reports.
September 2001 report had 75 organizations reporting. All of them
combined reported 4272 houses while Swadhyay ALONE REPORTED 4534
HOUSES!
When questioned in this regard Bhav Sarjan Trust informed that they
merely provided 'MATERIAL FOR CONSTRUCTION"
Abhiyan felt that if only material was provided than how many houses
were built? were they earth quake proof? In contrast to all other
organization Bhav Sarjan trust did not have any M U (? Memorandum of
understanding) with GSDMA of Gujarat Government.
Based on all these facts mention of Bhav Sarjan Trusts was taken out
of alphabetical order and placed last. And it was noted that this
organization is working independently (polite way of saying that we
can not varify facts)
Kutchchh Navnirman Abhiyan had asked for detail report from all the
organization but Swadhyay did not provide this list. (I guess they
believe that when right hand donates left should not know!). They had
also asked them to provide with financial report of earth quake
related activities (how much received and how much spent) but that was
not provided.
Of note is the fact that In any Government report there is no mention
of a SINGLE HOUSE BUILT BY BHAV SARJAN! COLLECTOR AND MAMLATDAR IN
KUTCHCHH HAS REPORTED THAT BHAV SARJAN TRUST - SWADHYAY PARIVAR HAS
NOT BUILT A SINGLE HOME.
According to Dr. Ramesh Parikh after the earthquake all the
responsibility was managed by Sri Vasanbhai Aahir. According to
Kutchchh Nirman Abhiyan Mr Aahir has been supplying all the
information.
When Mr Aahir was asked on 6/24 he said all the Parivar had provided
all the roofing material, wood, cement etc and laborers came from
Maharashtra. When he was asked to give specifics he answered from
moral high ground When a brother helps another brother in times of
need, do we need to keep an account? When he was asked as to how come
Swadhyay was able to build more houses than all other 75 combined in
such a short period of time? He said "DADA" wanted us to build quickly
so we did!!!
Basically what he is saying is trust me, if we say we built than we
built. Of course we can not tell you which particular house we have
built.
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Fabricated Stoies about Dadaji on Jul 8th, 2006, 7:09pm
1)Dada had once gone to USA. Dada used shaving soap and brush to
shave. During this visit, Dada forgot to take along with him, his
shaving soap and brush. Dada was habituated to use shaving soap and
brush and so he was un-comfortable. He mentioned it to one of the
Motabhais of USA while they were driving on a trip to Ohio. They
started looking for shaving soap and brush. They tried about 15 stores
but could not find it. When they were passing through a small town,
Dada pointed to a store and asked to inquire there for shaving soap
and brush. Fortunately this time, it was available in the store.
The whole story seems like fabricated and this common incident was
glorified and told to all swadhyayees of USA as and when chance came
by one of this Motabhai. He used to tell, he did not believe in
miracles, but narrated the story driving the point that Dada was
Avatar - incarnation of Lord and hence he could tell where the shaving
soap and brush was available?
Question: when followers were trying to find the brush at different
places and if an AVATAR knew that they were not going to find it
there, why he didn’t stop them in first place? An AVATAR can not
adjust with the situation and use shaving cream instead?
2) The second incident is related to Anuts
I-VANDANA program in BHARUCH. One of the motabhai told fellow
swadhyayees in a meeting that we don’t believe in miracles but since
we are a FAMILY (What a Joke), he would like to share this incident.
At the end of the program, NARMADA Maata changed the flow direction,
the water level raised up to the stage where Dada was sitting, NARMADA
Matta touched Dada’s feet and then slowly water level came down. I am
sure you should have a video to prove this as you take video of every
little thing and won’t forget to capture this “miracle”, right?
(Swajan Re Juth Mat Bolo, Khuda Ke pas Jana Hein)
If you were an Avatar, would you choose failing health, amputation of
leg because it was not treated in time and your followers in disarry
after your death?
Re: Krantikari Pankajbhai pays ultimate price
Post by Ravi Patel on Jul 8th, 2006, 7:12pm
"Last night Didi finally gave an interview to media- setting was
interview by a private channel at an undisclosed location.
She said that there is a conspiracy against Swadhyay. She has nothing
to do with murder of Pankajbhai."
DADI HAS BEEN TELIN HER FOLLOWERS TO STAY AWAY FROM THE MEDIA BECAUSE
THEY LIE, IS SHE LYING TOO?
http://vmehta.conforums3.com/index.cgi?board=Religions&action=print&num=1150555879
This material presented is but one/tenth of what is presented in the
link above. Most is in Gujarati and some in Hindi. It is a sad saga of
Hindu morality breakdown under the very haughty noses of Gujarati,
Marathi Hindu hoodlums parading under a panoply of real and phony
nomenclatures. Hindutva brigade led by self styled protectors of
mytholoy based religion keeps a close score of who is an "Un-Indian,"
" A Traitor," "A Terrorist," "A Pseudo-Secular," "A Secular," and by
bunch of other pet-names these Hindu hound dogs give to anyone and
everyone who speaks, writes and expresses their opinions, truthfully
and with all the evidence under the sun, yours truly included.
These bastards don't want the truth to be told. Not privately, not in
words or actions.
"Viswa Hindu Parishad" and their paid and unpaid co-conspirators fish
out all the dirt that they can find on other religions and spill all
over the creation, especially, on the internet newsgroups such as this
one. These concerted efforts on the part of such idiots as Dr Jai
Maharaj, and especially him has put the free speech in jeopardy.
This low-level skunk, a slum-dog, takes words from Ashok Chowgule, an
industrialist from Goa. A very rich man and very vicious man indeed.
This man is a Vice-President of the "Vishwa Hindu Parishad." The
another is S. Kalyanraman. This hoodlum is portrayed as a former
director of the World Bank.
There are many who are either of high ranking "RSS" members or their
famous "Parivar." It is not necessary to make a list of who they
affiliate with. Their venom is deadly and dangerous. Why would Hindu
religion or the religious beliefs of almost eighty-three million
people be defended? If they are as good as they claim to be, why, all
the sane people of the world would want to be Hindu in a jiffy.
The lies these fake Hindus tell may become their coffins.
chhotemianinshallah
PTI, Mar 8, 2010, 06.55pm IST
Article Comments (14)
Sex video: Ashram defends NityanandaBANGALORE: Rejecting rape charge
and doubts raised over death of a foreign devotee of self-styled
godman Paramahamsa Nityananda, his ashram on Monday said he would make
a public appearance soon and answer all allegations.
The charges were part of a "conspiracy to malign the image of the
swami and impede ashram's social activities," the ashram spokesperson
Nitya Sachidananda told reporters at the Nityananda Ashram near
Bidadi, about 40 km from here.
A 23-year-old woman, an inmate of the Bidadi ashram, had alleged that
Nithyananda had raped and sexually harassed dozens of women in the
ashram.
Chennai police have registered a rape and cheating case against
Nityananda, days after video footage of his alleged sleazy acts were
telecast by TV channels.
Sachidananda also denied a charge that mystery shrouded the death of
foreign national Melvyan Boyd Diamond, a Yoga teacher in the ashram.
"Diamond had family history of cardiac problems and he died following
an accidental fall from the second floor of the building he lived in,"
he said, adding that the ashram had arranged for his cremation.
The operation to malign Nityananda had been done in "a surgical
precision" and "Swamiji himself will come and comment on all the
issues. As his "personal security" was at risk "we have advised him to
come after some days," the spokesperson said.
The ashram, which faced violent protests after telecast of the video,
has so far not lodged any police complaint.
Nityananda ashram rejects charge of rape
Article Comments 14
Bidadi ashram
Mohan USA 09 Mar, 2010 07:48 AM
All these guys disguised con people. Any basterd who still defends him
should be throiwn in jail as well. Why don't people check such idiots'
background before follow them. The laws should be strict so that such
crooks must ne hanged in public to make an example.revin malaysia 09
Mar, 2010 02:37 PM
Relax My dear friend..... if you dont know about him plz dont put such
commen. He teaching has transform many ppl life. thounds of ppl is
alive bcoz of his helling do u now haw many cancer patient has cured
and thy are alive 2day..... plz dont throw words will regret
ltr.Mansoor Dubai 09 Mar, 2010 01:53 PM
There are two type of godmenMark Canada 09 Mar, 2010 06:53 AM
Thank You Swami for all your help. You have been the greatest blessing
in my life. Mark.Arun Bangalore 09 Mar, 2010 04:44 AM
I find it curious that Sachitananda cites safety and security as being
the reason for Nithyananda's absence, while claiming that he is at the
Kumbha Mela. I would imagine an ashram with police protection is much
safer than mingling with lakhs of people in public.musing us 09 Mar,
2010 01:22 AM
The whole case against the swami seems manufactured. I would not be
surprised if the govt. is behind all this. At least the state govt. I
would also not be surprised if TOI takes perverse pleasure in
splashing this news all over their front pages for the next month. How
boring and predictable.Indian India 09 Mar, 2010 12:49 AM
India is fit only for Jihadi, Communists,Christian missionaries and
DMK Goons and their contribution for Indian Independence is NIL. Now
they are running the country by proxy for their foreign masters.aaa
bangalore 09 Mar, 2010 12:10 AM
As it is we live in a very cunning world.No one can believe anyone
henceforth.Natarajan Canada 08 Mar, 2010 08:30 PM
We need to monitor cases of sexual abuse at religious places. There
are several cases worse than this, involving children. Unfortunately
the cases involving children's sex abuse happen mostly at churches and
hence cannot be touched by our secular government.Shyam USA 08 Mar,
2010 08:19 PM
Is this framed by the Christian missions and the SUN TV who are PRO-
christians?Anand UAE 08 Mar, 2010 07:47 PM
If the swami could proove that the whole scandal is a conspiracy with
active connivance of some inmates like Lenin Karuppan, will the media
apologise to the public for the sensation created thru their column?
Medias should restrain from sensational journalism and should ensure
fair play.Jeevan Dubai 08 Mar, 2010 07:42 PM
Watch out.This fraud swami might use his power using the Politicial
parties and the top guys that he had in his list of followers.There is
no doubt that he is not involved in all the wrong things and he should
be given the severest of punishment so that the other fraud swami's
should learn a lesson.Daljit kuwait 08 Mar, 2010 07:26 PM
its our problem that we are treating these so called godman as
GOD .its time to show that they cannot play more with the sentiments
of people.Ashwani Hyderabad 10 Mar, 2010 05:03 PM
Like these ashrams/swamis, in many life saving institutions
(hospitals) these scandles do take place. Particularly super
speciality hospitals need to be monitored,
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/opinions/5659498.cms
Quepem man held for raping daughter
TNN, Mar 22, 2010, 12.49am IST
MARGAO: In a macabre incident, the Quepem police on Sunday arrested
one Agnelo Pedro D'Costa, 48, from Catemol, Quepem, on charges of
raping his 17-year-old daughter.
What makes the crime ghastlier is the fact that the accused had
recently fathered a child through incestuous relations with the same
victim-his eldest daughter. Police sources said that the accused had
raped his daughter in April 2009, after threatening her with dire
consequences, following which she became pregnant and delivered a male
child on January 6, 2010.
"The victim, along with her newborn baby, was staying at Mother Tereza
Ashram, Panaji. Her father, meanwhile, would coerce his wife into
inviting their daughter home," Quepem PI Sudesh Narvekar said.
She finally came home on Saturday, only to be raped again by her
father.
The accused's wife is learnt to be working as a domestic help in
another village. "On Sunday, ensuring that his wife had gone to work
and her daughter was home alone, the accused raped her," Narvekar
added.
Based on the complaint lodged by the victim, the Quepem police
arrested the accused. Both the accused and the victim have been sent
for a medical examination, police sources added.
Significantly, the accused is the father of three sons and three
daughters. The victim had not reported the matter to the police when
her father had raped her earlier, police sources added.
Give regard to rape victim's wish to marry rapist: CJI
IANS, Mar 7, 2010, 03.33pm IST
Article Comments (1)
NEW DELHI: In a radical suggestion, India's Chief Justice K G
Balakrishnan on Sunday said that judges, lawyers and social activists
should give "due regard" to the wishes of a rape victim if she chooses
to marry the rapist or have the baby conceived from the crime.
"Judges, lawyers and social activists should also ensure that they do
not take an overtly paternalistic approach when they have to make
decisions for the welfare of rape victims," he said at a seminar.
"Due regard must be given to their personal autonomy since in some
cases the victim may choose to marry the perpetrator or choose to give
birth to a child conceived through forced intercourse," he said.
He was speaking at the seminar on "Access to Justice, Relief and
Rehabilitation of Rape Victims" organised by the ministry of women and
child development.
Others who addressed it included Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily and
Minister of State for Women and Child Development Krishna Tirath.
"We must also keep in mind that the interests of the victim are not
protected by punishing the offenders alone," said Balakrishnan,
referring to a law ministry move to enact a law to set up fast-track
courts to try sex-related offences.
"Adequate attention should also be drawn to suggestions for
compensatory remedies and the rehabilitation of rape victims through
the provision of shelter, counselling services, medical and legal
aid."
He also referred to the "secondary victimisation", which a rape victim
often has to suffer during the trial of the accused due to
inconvenient, probing and often indecent questions by the defence
counsel.
"There is a very real phenomenon described as ‘secondary
victimisation' wherein the victim of a crime faces additional
harassment and humiliation in the course of investigation and trial.
Especially when the perpetrators are in a position of power over the
victims, there is a strong distrust of the credibility of the
investigation itself," pointed out Balakrishnan.
"Some recent cases highlighted in the press have shown how the
investigative machinery can often be manipulated to protect
influential persons, howsoever reprehensible their crimes may be," he
said without naming the Ruchika Girhotra molestation and suicide case
involving former Haryana police chief S P S Rathore.
"The investigators, prosecutors and defence counsels must exhibit an
appropriate degree of sensitivity to the victims," he said.
"Especially during the trial proceedings, judges need to be proactive
in order to restrain the aggressive cross-examination of rape
victims."
The CJI also highlighted recent changes in law, which provides that
the past sexual history of victims must be ignored.
"The Indian Evidence Act was amended some years ago and a provision
was inserted to ensure that the past sexual history of a victim cannot
be given weightage in a trial for the offence of rape," pointed out
the CJI.
"What is needed now is for judges and lawyers to internalise the
principle that facts relating to the past sexual history of a victim
should not even be brought up in the first place, since the purpose of
a trial is to decide whether or not an offence took place as alleged,"
said Balakrishnan.
Rituparna’s marital rape trauma
TNN, Feb 28, 2010, 12.00am IST
Rituparna SenguptaRituparna Sengupta says that getting under the skin
of the character can sometimes cause a lot of trauma. That is
precisely what the light eyed actress realised recently, while
shooting for Karan Razdan’s Mittal Versus Mittal.
Playing a marital rape victim in the film, Rituparna got so involved
with her character that she felt it was really happening to her. After
shooting the marital rape sequence, she not only burst into cold
sweat, but continued to shiver for days after that. “It was
terrifying,” admits Rituparna and says, “I kept seeing the sequence
for days in my sleep and woke up startled.”
Such dedication is really impressive. Wonder after all this why
Rituparna hasn’t got very far in her career, here in Bollywood? Can
you tell us why please?
Girl set on fire for resisting rape attempt
TNN, Mar 18, 2010, 03.48am IST
Article Comments (37)
HYDERABAD: A 15-year-old girl was set on fire allegedly by three men
who attempted to rape her at a house in Sai Nagar near Kushaiguda on
Wednesday. The victim, a class VI dropout, suffered 60 per cent burns
and is battling for life at Gandhi Hospital.
Malkajgiri assistant commissioner of police (ACP) P V Padmaja said:
“As per the statement of the girl, three persons (all bachelors) tried
to rape her at a house in Sai Nagar and when she resisted their
attempt they set her ablaze. The incident took place around 11 am.”
Locals informed the Kushaiguda police about the incident and she was
shifted to Gandhi Hospital.
The victim stays at Padmaraonagar with her parents. Her father is an
auto driver, while her mother is a domestic help.
The girl and her friend used to frequent a tea joint near a three-
storied building in Padmaraonagar when two bachelors staying in the
building befriended them, the ACP said.
“On March 9, the victim left home without informing her parents. A
missing case was registered at the Chilkalguda police station by her
father on the same day. The girl said she had gone to Vijayawada on
March 9 along with three persons. The trio used to frequent their two
friends residing in the three-storied multi building at
Padmaraonagar.” the assistant commissioner of police said.
The victim refused to reveal information on when they returned to the
city and the whereabouts of the three persons. Special teams have been
pressed into service to arrest the culprits, the ACP said.
A case was registered under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 342
(wrongfully confining a person), 363 (kidnapping) and 376 (rape) r/w
511 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Kushaiguda inspector A Muthyam
Reddy said.
Girl set on fire for resisting rape attempt
Article Comments 37
girl set on fire
Ajay US 18 Mar, 2010 04:49 AM
I pray that this 3 culprit gets caught soon and get enough punishment.
Atleast for 15 years each.Kalpana Chennai 18 Mar, 2010 04:34 AMOh My
God!zenith coimbatore 18 Mar, 2010 03:54 PM
so sadkavita hyderabad 18 Mar, 2010 03:40 PM
why this girl has gone with that person its her mistake as well,
without telling her parents see what happen she is the only
sufferingsohail hyderabad 18 Mar, 2010 07:46 PM
she is just a childrox fiji 18 Mar, 2010 02:02 PMevery one want to
have sexMohan-US USA 18 Mar, 2010 05:59 PM
No wastage of money and time.... this should be closed in 15
minutes... drag them to a public place and get the crowd to throw one
stone each.... end of the story and a GREAT "case study"Anmol
Bangalore 18 Mar, 2010 05:29 PM
The punishment should be more seviour for rapists, and those who
attempt to rape.Kiran USA 18 Mar, 2010 05:29 PM
This is nothing new in India. Basically, a way of life. It's always
girls from the poor families get raped by the better offs. Rarely,
perpetrators of the crime get punished. Police are more than willing
to bungle the report for bribe. This is our great culture. I'm glad to
be out of jungle rajChandan Bangalore 19 Mar, 2010 02:11 PM
Pls don't comment if you can't resist/rectify. Kindly pls don't come
back to India again.sai bang 18 Mar, 2010 05:06 PM
there is no way of punishing just by killing the three guys infront of
all is the solution ...so next time no guy should repeat such kind of
attemptsfahad Pakistan 18 Mar, 2010 04:56 PM
They should be hanged till death in the middle of the townvishal pune
18 Mar, 2010 04:45 PM
where is the so called education of Indian Parents these days,gaurang
US 18 Mar, 2010 04:39 PM
i dont think there are chances of them not being caught,but i would
pray that they are brought to justice and given a life term for
attempt to rape and attempt to murder. i fear they may end up free
considering the fact that the victim comes from a poor family and our
legal system favors rich oneskavita hyderabad 18 Mar, 2010 03:50 PM
its a girls mistake as well y she has gone with that person without
telling her parents and now see who is suffering feels so sad for
her.Nadeem Amsterdam 18 Mar, 2010 03:46 PM
There should be an "Eye for an Eye"norbert ksa 18 Mar, 2010 03:23 PM
they must hangDeepak Vizag 18 Mar, 2010 03:21 PM
This again tells us that India is not safe for women. I pray that
justice is done to the girl though chances are bleak.Vishal Beijing 18
Mar, 2010 02:56 PM
Its absolutely horrible and shameful to hear such stories in today's
day and age. Who should we blame? Men, women, society, or the govt.?
anita bangalore 18 Mar, 2010 02:31 PM
going to vijayawada from hyderabad without informing her parents.
hm...this is how kids get into trouble. the people who put her on
flames needs to be punished.Ravi hyderabad 18 Mar, 2010 01:57 PM
Culprits should be punished severely.Aslam Dubai 18 Mar, 2010 01:35 PM
I pray to god that this 3 culprit, Get punishment for the Law as well
as from the God too..Prakash Bangalore 18 Mar, 2010 01:31 PM
Kill those people ........david singapore 18 Mar, 2010 01:29 PM
Really these 3 culprits should be hangedPrafull mumbai 18 Mar, 2010
01:19 PM
I wonder why the girl has,or by whom the names of the 3 have been
witheld.SURESH Mumbai 18 Mar, 2010 01:00 PM“On March 9, the
victim left home without informing her parentsjgkmfmb dutidfgjk 18
Mar, 2010 12:53 PM
give the culprits death sentence. Life for life - they should give
their life for taking the victim's life.jadeja India 18 Mar, 2010
12:38 PMthis only happens in india jay hindMurali-Devavrata Bengaluru
18 Mar, 2010 12:37 PM
While culprits should be brought to justice and given death penalty,
there is no doubt that our cultural values are being degraded due to
Western influence. Girls are taking too much liberty with their
freedom and are suffering. Freedom comes with a price. We should think
about this.nitu hyd 18 Mar, 2010 12:31 PM
what the hell is going on in hyd? law should be so strict dat such
cases would never repeat. god know why such people think of raping a
child(doesn't mean that they can have in view of adults)samuel london
18 Mar, 2010 12:30 PM
I hope the three idiots don't have any political connections nor are
they from influential families otherwise such cases are swept under
the carpet and police would call it an cooking stove accident or even
suicide attempt.Vincent Thailand 18 Mar, 2010 12:02 PM
Since the victims is surviving, the culprits will soon be caught and
here-in lies a chance for the guardians of law and order to set an
example. The three perpetrators should be castrated and their
photographs published in newspapers. Let us remove the blindfold over
the eyes of Statue of Law !Vikrant Melbourne 18 Mar, 2010 11:46 AM
Why girls born in India?Sana Mumbai 18 Mar, 2010 11:02 AM
It's sad that this happened but what amazes me the most is that its
still happening. If not in Hyderabad then probably in some other
city.rahul Pune 18 Mar, 2010 09:45 AM
castrate the culprits and parade them naked to be stoned...javeri
mumbai 18 Mar, 2010 09:28 AM
Our Indian legal system has not generated any fear in the minds of the
offenders. they can do anything they want and walk free. By the time
our law takes its cource they might die their natural death. Go back
to the law of the jungle.Tooth for a tooth and eye for an eye. No FIR,
No Report. Burn themhari india 18 Mar, 2010 09:09 AM
kill them
Rape Ruckus
Mar 9, 2010, 12.00am IST
Article Comments (3)
On the eve of International Women's Day, Chief Justice of India K G
Balakrishnan came up with a strange suggestion. Addressing a meet on
justice for rape victims, the CJI said that "due regard" must be given
to the wishes of a rape victim if she wants to marry the rapist or
give birth to a child conceived following the crime. The CJI's
statement sends out mixed signals. It almost makes it appear that
marriage is an alternative to punishment for perpetrators of rape.
Indeed, it could have the unfortunate effect of minimising the
seriousness of rape which is a fundamental violation of a woman's
body. Besides, it does not take into account that rapes can occur
within marriages too.
The courts or the state shouldn't have any say on the course of action
that a rape victim intends to take. It is paternalism - something that
the CJI has accused activists and lawyers of - to decide on behalf of
rape victims. What should be of utmost importance for law-enforcing
agencies is to ensure that rapists are convicted and handed the
maximum possible punishment. At present, rape figures in India tell a
sorry story. According to some statistics, only one in 69 rapes is
reported, and out of these the conviction rate is a pathetic 20 per
cent. Law enforcement agencies should be looking at ways to increase
the conviction rates as well and put in place conditions where victims
feel comfortable to report rapes. This is a big ask. Let's not deflect
from the real task at hand by suggesting marriage between a rape
victim and the perpetrator.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/Rape-Ruckus/articleshow/5659944.cms
Uttar Pradesh tops list of child rape cases
PTI, Mar 4, 2010, 05.04pm IST
NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh tops the list of States and Union territories
with the highest number of 900 child rape cases in 2008 followed by
Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
According to the latest data by the Ministry of Home Affairs for three
years, cases of child rape continue to rise as a total of 4,721 cases
were registered during 2006, 5,045 in 2007 and 5,446 in 2008 across
the country.
Police have arrested 5,489 people in 2006 for their involvement in
such crimes, 5,756 in 2007 and 6,363 in 2008.
Madhya Pradesh registered 892 such cases, Maharashtra (690), Rajasthan
(420) and Andhra Pradesh (412) in 2008, the data said.
A total of 411 such cases were registered in Chhattisgarh, 301 in
Delhi, 215 in Kerala, 187 in Tamil Nadu, 129 in West Bengal, 106 in
Punjab and 104 in Tripura, it said.
Whereas, Gujarat has registered 99 cases, Karnataka 97, Bihar 91,
Haryana 70, Himachal Pradesh 68, Orissa 65 and Goa 18.
Teen girl, who alleges rape by Maoist, shot at
IANS, Mar 5, 2010, 12.04pm IST
Article Comments (21)
RANCHI: A teenage girl was shot by Maoist rebels in Jharkhand's
Latehar district for slapping rape charges on a Maoist leader, police
said Friday. The victim is struggling for life in a hospital here.
Maoist guerrillas shot three bullets into 17-year-old Anju Kumari on
Thursday. She was injured critically and has been admitted to the
Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Rajendra Institute of Medical Science
(RIMS).
"Anju sustained three bullets in her stomach. Her condition is
critical," a doctor said.
Anju was shot when she was riding her bicycle in an area close to
Latehar railway station. She was stopped by three motorcycle-borne
Maoist rebels including the Maoist commander Pappu Lohra, who
allegedly pumped three bullets into Anju's stomach and then fled,
police said.
According to police, Anju was shot because she was bold enough to
lodge a first information report (FIR) against Lohra for abducting and
raping her.
"Anju was shot because she dared to raise a voice against Maoists. She
had lodged an FIR against Pappu Lohra. Anju had accused Pappu of
raping her for two days in a jungle after abducting her," a police
official told IANS.
According to local journalists, Maoist rebels alleged it was the
handiwork of the police to lodge fake rape charges against Lohra.
Teen girl, who alleges rape by Maoist, shot at
Article Comments 21
rape maoist
Rajagopal Delhi 05 Mar, 2010 03:37 PM
Dont arrests maoists criminals just shot dead them immediately on
seeing. Thee is no sin doing so. The Government shold try aerial
survey of maoists and bombard their hide outs without hesitation to
prevent further strikes.R india 05 Mar, 2010 03:36 PM
If it was a fake charge, why did this goonda shoot the girl? Maoists
might have started off as rebels for a true cause, but now they are
nothing but terrorists. I hope these rapists and murderers get their
just desserts from the police and para military forces.Raj Mumbai 05
Mar, 2010 03:27 PM
But its a handiwork of Maoist Rebles to Kill a 17 Year
female...Doesn;t he feel anything kill a Teenage Girl..Aks USA 05 Mar,
2010 03:15 PM
Now a days there are far too many pseudo naxals and all are fake and
they intimidate the tribals into submission and loot the police and
others. They do not have ideologies but only money minded looters.She
was a stumbling block and fear of getting exposed made them to stop
the voice, so was shotBrijendra Russia 05 Mar, 2010 03:05 PM
What is going on in India? Is it a jungle raaj or some law exist
there.After reading this story u realy feel shame being an Indian. A
young girl shot three times by so called mesihah of poor and dalits
started raping their daughters and sisters.These same people will take
arms against them.vishnu satara 05 Mar, 2010 03:04 PM
No commnets here...... Indian are busy cursingNarendra Singapore 05
Mar, 2010 02:39 PM
Well this news shows without doubt that at the end maoist does not
follow any philosophy. In the beginning they like others are
pretending to protect and be voice of poors. Now they are aiming their
gun to them. It makes me wonder Pappu Lohra is, a coward who tried to
kill innocent girl.rkr459 rkr...@yahoo.com.au 05 Mar, 2010 01:43 PM
It is high time ,the national Government take military action to get
rid of this radical elements for once and all.P.R.S.Bhasker Hyderabad
05 Mar, 2010 07:18 PM
I fully agree with the comment of sri Rajagopal of Delhimlechha
timbuctoo 05 Mar, 2010 06:59 PM
... that PCAPA leader Lalmohan Tudu had led an attack on their camp @
Silda, with a Maoist dalam. Later, the police claimed there had been
no attack on Silda, that Tudu was most probably killed in a false
encounter. Ironically, Tudu was the person who had fought for
elections to be held in Lalgarh.Siva TN 05 Mar, 2010 06:03 PMI
s this maoism,Very sad,these group appear like terrorist and criminals
without any causeAnant Nigeria 05 Mar, 2010 06:02 PM
Maoists stand against oppression of the weak by others.faisal dhahran
05 Mar, 2010 05:49 PM
The maoista are nothing but criminals and hoodlums out killing and
stealing. They are thugs terrorising the local populations. They MUST
be destroyed without any mercy for they are only killers and murderers
of the worst kind.Nitin Belgium 05 Mar, 2010 05:46 PM
What is the goverment doing? They cant even ensure the security of a
victim from indian terrorists, how can anybody trust them with
security of the country???Vivek NY 05 Mar, 2010 09:28 PM
Now the so called human activisits will not utter a word. India should
extensively use army againsts these murderers and these hyppocrate
human activist in jail. With the army strenght we have shouldn't take
more than a week to clean up India from these people.aa del 05 Mar,
2010 10:01 PM
Jaago Bharat Jaago.jeff Australia 06 Mar, 2010 06:05 AM
This is shocking to the whole world when india is looked upon as
developing emerging economy gettinon par with the world. It is truly
shockingren bhopal 06 Mar, 2010 11:15 AM
shoot thiose murderers and rapists right at their head!!! no need for
enquiries to police....kill those bastards immediately!!!Anil Delhi 06
Mar, 2010 12:34 AM
I won't name names here but this has been going on around my village
since decade.. Maoist just to slight people's respect kidnap unmarried
girls do whatever they like with her and send them back to their
parents.sajan dub 06 Mar, 2010 12:20 AM
How you can tell the rape alligation is right. Now a days it is a
passion of women to make false complaint to molestation and rape also
IPc 498 for looting money from man.Anant Nigeria 05 Mar, 2010 11:36 PM
Maoists stand against oppression of weak by others.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/opinions/5645977.cms
Father, daughter gun down 2 over incest taint
Pervez Iqbal Siddiqui, TNN, Oct 6, 2009, 12.06am IST
LUCKNOW: For once, panchayat members of a western UP village were
thrown on the defensive. On Monday, a man and his daughter — cleared
of charges of having incestuous relationship — picked up a gun and
fired at the panchayat members, killing two persons, one of them being
the accuser.
According to the police, they did so to ‘‘punish the panchayat members
for their failure to act against the real culprits.’’
The drama was reported from the Kambhore village, Bijnor. The village
panchayat had earlier ordered ‘expulsion’ of the father-daughter duo
following charges of incest against the man, which reportedly turned
out to be baseless. Agitated that the panchayat did not give them a
chance to defend themselves, the two reportedly reached the panchayat
gathering and opened fire after the members refused to initiate action
against those who had levelled false charges against them.
According to reports reaching the police headquarters in Lucknow,
about a month back, Haseenuddin, a resident of Kambhore village under
Kotwali police station of Bijnor approached the village panchayat and
accused a local resident Akhtar of sexually abusing his daughter
Fatima alias Fato for the past several years. Haseen maintained that
he was an eye-witness to the crime along with another local resident,
Afzal.
The panchayat then summoned the duo and questioned them in public.
Though the two said they were innocent, the panchayat ordered them to
leave the village forever.
As a result, Akhtar sold off his house and shifted to a relative’s
place in an adjacent district. On September 23, Akhtar happened to
meet Afzal and enquired about the charges that he and Haseenuddin had
levelled. When Afzal denied that he was even aware of any such
accusations, the latter forcibly took him to the house of the
‘panchas’ to testify before them.
According to the police, on the request of Akhtar, a panchayat meeting
was convened on Friday last where he and his daughter were absolved of
the charges. However, when the panchayat members announced that there
was no need for action against Haseenuddin, Akhtar whipped out a gun
and fired indiscriminately.
Father, daughter gun down 2 over incest taint
Article Comments 19
Manoj India 06 Oct, 2009 12:37 AM
Think the whole article is quite confusing.Bobby Dayton 06 Oct, 2009
12:48 AM
very good. very great act. The panchs should have acted against
Haseenuddin, but if they did not, then Akhtar didnt do anything by
taking law in his hand. I hate all those preaching about not taking
law in ones hand, just because there would be no difference between
accuser and accusee. But if its once moral at stake, one should do
such things. Bravo.Sajid USA 06 Oct, 2009 12:50 AM
The man should not have taken the law in his hands. But there is great
need in India to do something about those who accuse others falsely.
Many times, police accuse someone and when that man is found innocent
after many years, the police officers who framed the charges are left
alone without any charges against them. There are serious errors in
Indian laws.Shalin Agrawal Ahmedabad 06 Oct, 2009 01:07 AM
I agree with what Akhtar did. If justice is denied then the person may
have the right to take such action if the allegations are of these
level. Panchayat members should take rational decision and law should
be equal for all. VD US 06 Oct, 2009 01:17 AM
This is eerily similar to 'A time to Kill' movie though victims are
different. The 2 should not charged with any crime and should be set
free. The Panchayats other members should be kept in prison. What
agony thefather and daughter must have gone thru when these charges
were leveled against them. Thankfully they were all muslims otherwise
who knows what would have happened on the name of religion.SVR Chennai
06 Oct, 2009 01:20 AM
I don't see anything wrong in it. Failure to give justice, will result
in these kind off actions. Pradeep Bangalore 06 Oct, 2009 01:23 AM
For once, the justice is done. Kudos to the father for taking the
action.Vivek Mumbai 06 Oct, 2009 01:53 AM
It is shocking that the Panchayat acted in a haste on such a sensitive
matter. The report can be true or false but if true then the panchayat
seems to have done a grave mistake by not correcting the 2nd
time,which needed punishment. The sad part is our law doesnot permit
normal humans to do justice and the law would not take action too. The
honest man is suffering today and a collusion of evil minds are
striving. A shock treatement is the only solution that can bring
balance to this crude world but at what cost is for us to judge.
Nilesh California, US 06 Oct, 2009 02:08 AM
Older "Panchayat" judiciary system should be abandoned and must be
taken over by court. It's very must needed as foolish, biased and non
democratic people make the decisions lives of innocent people.Rajendra
Boston 06 Oct, 2009 02:35 AM
Good job by Mr. Akhtar. These Panchayat people should learn to behave
more responsibly.Sanjana Blore 06 Oct, 2009 03:25 AM
Guess this is something our Judges need to be reading for not
supporting Justice rather being baiased.CoolStuff Delhi 06 Oct, 2009
04:30 AMGreat job! Same way we need punish dirty politicians as
well...Umesh USA 06 Oct, 2009 06:12 AM
That is what happens when you don't have redress to your grivences.
Indian government and politicians need to wake up - they are cheating
Indian people for so long and Indian people are running out of
patience. Before people take law in hand for speedy settlement and it
becomes wild west, Indian courts need to hand out speedy
justice.Sharad US 06 Oct, 2009 06:26 AM
The panchas deserved to die. Who gave them the right to punish a
family with an evidence thats so flaky and how come when time comes to
make the family get even by just some punishment to the perpetrators
they step back. This is just a clear case of victimising one family
and though killing in righteous civil society is bad, in this case, I
would say it was the best choice. The art of living in a community is
something we all think is leanrt naturally. We focus on learning
english, science, maths. Nagrik shartra and laws of living in the
society and rights in the society and duties of the society to its
members are things that need to be taught. In villages (and even in
cities) these kind of bitching keeps happening, any family needs to
lean on how to keep their weight and still be responsible. Well, that
would be a start towards creating a utopian soceity.Prashant Dhiman
USA 06 Oct, 2009 06:50 AM
What is wrong about picking a gun when nobody listens to the reason?
he did a great thing, I would have done the same in those
circumstances.shyamal Missouri, USA 06 Oct, 2009 07:23 AM
Well done. If you bring false charges, you deserve bullets. I also
think that if an innocent person is incarcerated and later the real
criminals are found, the innocent person must be compensated Rs 1
Crore for every year of incarceration from the state budget. This is a
penalty for the state government and the police authorities who got
him imprisoned. Today the person just gets a dry apology from the
state.Manoj Delhi 06 Oct, 2009 09:27 AM
I think he did the right thing to take the law on his own hands as the
panchayat's law was already denied for him. This man is innocent and
actions must be taken against 'so-called-panchs' in this case!vimal
noida 06 Oct, 2009 10:48 AM
Bravo, Kudos all words are small in front of there brave act. This is
the true definition of save owns pride. Hats of to you.Joseph Dubai 06
Oct, 2009 11:39 AM
Compliments to the Duo - Father and the daughter, when the Law does
not protect them what other choice you have ?..The panchyat system
does not function, so doesn't Indian Democracy. It is a Mafia System !
Sixty years have passed since our independence and aren't we still
convinced ? Our politicians in Delhi are sleeping and filling their
pockets ! They care a damn about you and me - the common poor guys.See
where China has gone in 60 years. They are the 3rd World Economy from
nothing. And we Indians ? We talk about 10% growth but where is it
reflected, for the Politicians and for the rich of course ? Children
are being raped and burnt (latest moda) and the culprits behind the
political heavyweights are walking free. Where is justice, where is
the law to protect you,me our defenceless children and where are the
bloody netas ? It is time we woke up Indians and do away with all
these useless systems and traitors of the country. We fought for
freedom from British and our leaders died in vain. At least we were
not that bad under the foreigh rule I guess ! India needs a Hitler -
one man one rule. If you don't deliver you perish. Even dictatorship
is bad, but at least we would have punished those bastards and brought
them to book. With this system at least 60 years hence, we will have
advanced much more. Otherwise with the present system of governance we
will see other nations passiing by us, injustice will prevail in walks
of life and our own government will walk on us as it is happening.
Will I say "jai ho" or "Jai no?"
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/opinions/5091724.cms
3 Indian-origin men in UK jailed for raping kin
PTI, Oct 18, 2009, 01.20am IST
Article Comments (3)
LONDON: Three Indian-origin men, residents of Cardiff, who repeatedly
raped a woman in their family for several years have been convicted
and sentenced to long years in prison.
The three persons sentenced by the Cardiff Crown Court are the 27-year-
old victim's step-father, step-uncle and brother-in-law. The step-
uncle and step-father are illegal immigrants, and will deported at the
end of their sentences.
The 55-year-old step-uncle, and 50-year-old step-father were jailed
with minimum recommended terms of 20 and 15 years respectively, while
her 27-year-old brother-in-law was jailed for 12 years.
The step-uncle admitted before the court that he was the father of the
child conceived when the victim was 14 years old. He was convicted of
seven counts of rape, three of indecency with a child, and one of
indecent assault.
During the hearing, the court was told that the victim's ordeal began
at the age of five when she was raped by her step-uncle. She became
pregnant at 14, but was locked in a wardrobe so that visitors would
not see her condition.
Prosecuting lawyer Marion Lewis told: "The girl was already seven
months pregnant when she first saw a doctor about her condition. When
the baby was born, the girl's parents told friends and neighbours it
was their own, before flying their daughter to India for an arranged
marriage."
Judge Patrick Curran told the step-uncle: "Not content with your own
sexual abuse on her, you encouraged the others to treat her like an
unpaid and unwilling prostitute. You all then involved yourselves in a
group rape on her."
The judge said the continued presence of the two older men in the UK
was "detrimental to public interest."
The prosecuting lawyer said the girl was frightened and also believed
her mother knew what was going on.
"When aged 14 and still a pupil at school, her stomach was expanding
and a scan revealed she was seven months pregnant," Lewis said.
"Her mother beat her all over her body apart from the face with a
curtain pole. She was hidden, sometimes in a wardrobe and visitors
were told she'd gone back to India."
The victim later told the jury that her mother beat her when it was
found out that she was seven months pregnant. She said her mother had
not believed her when she had tried to tell her that she was pregnant
by a member of her own family.
"When she went to the doctors, checked me out, she realised I was
seven months pregnant, she still didn't believe me. She hit me with a
rod and stuff like that so she never believed me".
"She always said to me 'they can't do that to you, they're your
family, they can't do it' but unfortunately they did," the victim
said.
The step-uncle admitted in court he was the father of her child, but
told the jury he had not found out until much later once DNA tests
were carried out.
After the sentence was pronounced yesterday, detective inspector Chris
Mullane of South Wales Police said the victim had been "extremely
courageous" in approaching the police.
Reader's opinions (3)
Praful R Shah Houston, Texas USA 20/10/2009 at 10:55 am
What type of animals are they. They should be hanged.
uma shankar vajpeyi london 20/10/2009 at 08:47 pm
SEND THEM FOR 27 YEARS PLUS IN JAIL AT LEAST ...THIS IS AFTER THE TORY
LEADER RECENTLY INDIANS IN UK ARE LEAST PRESENT IN JAILS
Pamela Weber Quinn England United Jingdom 20/10/2009 at 10:05 pm
Thank goodness this young lady had the courage and support from her
fellow Britains to report this dreadful crime. I think her mother
should have also received a custodial sentance, for beating her
daughter abusing her. The trauma this young lady has endured will be
with her for a very long time. I know she will recieve help and I wish
her all the best from hence forth.
NRI held for raping minor daughter in Punjab
IANS, Mar 28, 2009, 09.32pm IST
JALANDHAR: In a third shocking case of its kind in the country in the
last two weeks, an NRI father was arrested by the Punjab police on
Saturday for allegedly raping his 13-year-old daughter.
A medical examination has confirmed the rape of the minor who lives in
a village in Phillaur town, 40 km from here.
Surinder Singh, who works in Dubai and has three children, was
arrested following a complaint by the victim and her mother. The
victim, the eldest among her siblings, later recorded her statement
before a magistrate, accusing her father of raping her.
Police officials said the father raped his daughter on Thursday night
in an inebriated state. He had come to his village on annual leave.
Earlier this week, a 20-year-old girl from Ajnala town near Amritsar
complained to the police that her father, who is a Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) leader, had raped her for the last eight years.
The father, Ashok Taneja, was arrested by the police after registering
a rape case against him.
Last week, the Mumbai police arrested a 49-year-old businessman who
allegedly raped his daughter for over nine years on the advice of a
black magic practitioner to get "rich quickly".
Reader's opinions (1)
mohammed waseem uae 29/03/2009 at 01:47 pm
i have no words.no need to show in public this kind os cases.just take
them in silent place and encounter to all.
AMRITSAR: Emboldened by the story of the Mumbai sisters who went
public against their rapist father, a 21-year-old college student in
Amritsar has gone to the police with her own horror story about her
father, a local BJP leader, who she accused of raping her for eight
years.
The man, arrested on Wednesday night, was on Thursday sent to 14-day
judicial custody. Police booked the accused, also a well-off
businessman, under section 376 (rape) of IPC. Medical examination of
the girl confirmed sexual abuse.
A student of Guru Nanak Dev University, the ravaged girl drew courage
from the Mumbai victims and spoke of her trauma to relatives from her
mother's family. They then took her mother into confidence.
"I want this man to be put behind bars or shot," the girl said, crying
bitterly. "My father, for that's what I have to call him, has crossed
all limits of human behaviour. He started sexually abusing me since
childhood. Whenever I resisted or refused to bow down to his wishes,
he would threaten to burn me with acid or kerosene."
Wiping tears with her black dupatta wrapped around her face, she said,
"I told my mother that if they (Mumbai victims) can, so can I. All my
relatives have supported me in this. After all, it can't get more
sinful than this, can it?"
The traumatised mother said, "My husband would always find a pretext
to send me away so he could be alone with our daughter. He never
allowed both of us to leave home together. In fact, I am forced to say
that my husband had physical relations with other girls in the family
as well."
The accused, who complained of failing health and admitted himself to
a hospital, in his defence, labelled his daughter and wife
"degenerates with bad character.
"My daughter had good character till two years ago but ever since she
joined university she fell in bad company and got full support of my
wife. They just want me sorted out because they're after my property,"
he said, his face covered by the blanket on his hospital bed. "I am
hurt at the allegation. I would not have minded had they blamed me for
beating them but this is something I cannot do in my wildest dreams."
BJP spokesperson Som Dutt Sharma blamed the Congress for defaming them
"during election time."
"To make matters worse for the victim, the whole family, including her
younger brother, slept in the same room. Day in and day out the girl
would have her rapist by her side, she said. Can you imagine that?"
said a neighbour.
Another rapist dad exposed, this time in Amritsar
Article Comments 68
Praveen Bangalore 26 Mar, 2009 10:52 AM
If the Girl is saying true then kill these kind of persons is the good
judgement for this case.Swapnil Bangalore 26 Mar, 2009 10:59 AM
Party with difference. It certainly has different stance on
incest.Manoj Delhi 26 Mar, 2009 11:01 AM
Shame on you TOI. This is a pathetic attempt from you to please your
masters in Congress. Where did BJP figure in all this? Were his deeds
known to the world so that BJP could sense that this is what he was
doing to his daughter? He is a normal criminal and should be treated
as such. Somebody occupying a block level position in BJP is being
highlighted by you as if the whole BJP is involved in this crime.
Journalism at its worst... selective sensationalization is the worst
kind of yellow journalism that can be perpetuated. Seems, in this
election not only political parties, even media is going to scale new
depths of irresponsible journalism. Dare you to publish this
comment.shakti singh chundawat bangalore 26 Mar, 2009 11:06 AM
incest is in vogue! :-)Ram Bangalore 26 Mar, 2009 11:08 AM
An individual person is doing rape and why is the news dragging his
party here. DO you want to communicate that BJP leaders are like this
raping their daughters? Please communicate responsibly as it is one of
the core principles of journalism. The title is misleading and
irresponsible.hashimi chennai 26 Mar, 2009 11:09 AM
india has become the incest capital of world... shame..!!San Delhi 26
Mar, 2009 11:18 AM
What is the cause for all these nuisances happening these days. We are
so detoriating that In some cases Father(s) are raping these own
daughters ??? Hell or worst than Hell... Who is to blame ??? Do not
you think TOI or so called Media, Films, TV Serials are not
responsibile for instigating or provoking our Lust... Whenever you
open any site (even News Sites like TOI), so many articles to boost
your SEX life or blah, blah... you find on screen. What is all these,
We want to know the news of world. Not how to enjoy our sex or boost
our sex. Are you (TOI) a sex boosting magzine or a nice newspaper.
Shame on you.. Kindly think judiciously and act accordingly. Do not
sell sex just to Be No 1. Peter Vaz Oman 26 Mar, 2009 11:24 AM
Shame after fame is disgusting and the sermons of these top leaders
must by exposed to a great lengths beyond borders by TOI.Are these
people barbarians or monsters of the stone age? SC must create a
stringent laws or life imprisonment or stoned to death by the public
for these cases. Nupur Pune 26 Mar, 2009 11:33 AM
Now is this Indian Culture?? Are these men out of their minds!! Dont
they have any conscience!! 8 years, 9 years...its disgusting!! We go
aorund telling the world that we are a culturally rich country...and
we have cases in Mangalore where men are hitting women..n now this!!
Totally horrifyingsabir bangalore 26 Mar, 2009 11:34 AM
Whats happening, what is moral policing doing now. Is this the
religion teaches. Come-on wake up. Come-on learn the basics of family.
a n k | t az, usa 26 Mar, 2009 11:35 AM
Its a DISGRACE, I am totally DISGUSTED!!!! We Indians speak highly of
our family and cultural values and this just goes to shows how
misinformed and clueless we are. Its a shame. bloreboy bangalore 26
Mar, 2009 11:40 AM
where was the mother all the while...she was a passive participant in
this crime & needs to get her share of the punishment.. also...these
stories if exploited for 8 years are coming up now...why not 8 years
back...the victim needs to provide proper details as to why they were
party to the game till nowRam Bangalore 26 Mar, 2009 11:40 AM
The title needs to be changed immediately. Do not name the political
party the person is affiliated to. The political party is not
preaching the person to do rape his daughter. What is the neccessity
of this news in the front page. Please act responsible.Harshal India
26 Mar, 2009 11:45 AM
This can be congress conspiracy as its just Election time, Election
commisioner should take a note of this.Ram Bangalore 26 Mar, 2009
11:48 AM
Are the COngressmen raping their mothers ? WHy drag the party's name
when an Individual is doing a criminal act. IRRESPONSIBLE reporting.
STOP THIS NEWS channel first.Naresh Dhiman Kuwait 26 Mar, 2009 11:51
AM
He and other such fathers should be punished with extreme limits so
that this becomes a examplary punishment which will deter others from
commiting such crime.Sasi Muscat 26 Mar, 2009 11:54 AM
Its disparagement!!!!!!!!! The civic should be heedful. This is
utterly deplorable.Nirmal Jain Bhopal 26 Mar, 2009 11:55 AM
Shame on these people, who talk of sanskars to others claiming
themselves as the sole preserver of Indian Sanskriti (Culture), by
vandalising pubs and terrorising the lovers on Valentine's Day. Will
not be surprised if he is also supported as Varun Gandhi was for his
wrongdoings.Vishal D'Souza Bangalore 26 Mar, 2009 11:58 AM
Each & every small incidents of BJP leaders are highlighted on
National Media, but it's a great achivement by the BJP to win
elections even after all media houses are writing against them. Really
BJP a great performer, shame on media which is tarnishing natinal
partiotic party BJP's image in each & every aspect. But BJP's
popularity growing day by day throughout the country.Vishal D'Souza
Bangalore 26 Mar, 2009 12:00 PM
Each & every small incidents of BJP leaders are highlighted on
National Media, but it's a great achievement by the BJP to win
elections even after all media houses are writing against them. Really
BJP a great performer, shame on media which is tarnishing national
patriotic party BJP's image in each & every aspect. But BJP's
popularity growing day by day throughout the country.Vaibhav S Pune 26
Mar, 2009 12:00 PM
Sick....Anonym Bangalore 26 Mar, 2009 12:01 PM
I do not think BJP endorses this too as part of their agenda like you
people say BJP endorses communal or whatever. This is a criminal case
and should not be related to any political party while referring. The
headline is quite flashy and diverged. Nikesh Kumar Shukla Delhi 26
Mar, 2009 12:02 PM
Yes!!! This is only possible in the BJP the party with the difference.
They are so called and self declared custodian of Indian culture and
the hinduism.Bindu Bangalore 26 Mar, 2009 12:07 PM
It is absolutely revolting to read these stories, which one gets to
read too often now a days. Where is the world headed to; why is it
that the daughters are not being spared by their own fathers; where
will they find comfort and safety if not their own homes? At least one
positive aspect is that the girl had the courage to come out in the
open - women/girls have to raise their voices...so much that the
judiciary takes some strict measures against such dastardly
crimes.Rammy Sydney, Australia 26 Mar, 2009 12:10 PM
Amazing what the other readers are saying: the girl has to prove why
she kept silent? Why bring up the political party the member is
associated with? Must be election ploy? Simply amazing! Its takes a
great amount of courage to report rape, let alone incest. That is even
more so in a country like India. What will happen to this girl? Who
will marry her? Despite all these she still had the courage to tell
her relatives and all we can give her is suspicion and disdain. Where
are our morals and compassion? We should be ashamed to treat this news
this way!Riz Sydney 26 Mar, 2009 12:11 PM
funny, TOI is pro-BJP ; pls dont be mislead..SRG Mumbai 26 Mar, 2009
12:12 PM
Can't expect better from a BJP leader! All of them are either rapist
or provoke rape and murder!KRRamesh Chennai 26 Mar, 2009 12:13 PM
All this cultural damage is happening in India after the Invaders
occupied Indian Land and dominating with the Political clout. Original
Indians are now suffering! The foreign elements to be thrown out of
Our Country!ckg bangalore 26 Mar, 2009 12:15 PM
If there is anything which can be called as National Shame then it is
such news which make us hang our head. Earlier we used to eulogise our
family culture and tradition and criticise the western about there
nuclear mind, when i read such stories i feel that we are no better in
our moral degradation than others. As far as naming a political party,
it is true that one single person can not be equated with the party as
a whole, but it is necessary for the party involved to immediately
initiate action and come clean. Indian USA 26 Mar, 2009 12:17 PM
Everybody has got something to do in their day to day life. Does that
mean whatever he/she will do in their personal life will be the
resposibility of the organization he/she i working for? I am a
congress supporter but ,where is BJP involved in this shameful
incident and what they are suppsed to do in this case? Sivaram S
Pondicherry 26 Mar, 2009 12:19 PM
In continuum to the comment from manoj, delhi :: Mr. Manoj - what do
you mean by he is a normal criminal ? and you seem more bothered about
the mentioning of the party than the degree of crime involved.
However, I agree that such articles should not be featured on the
first page as it would corrupt innocent minds (if any). Though am an
atheist, I hate it when such fellows (the accused) blame it on
astrology or religion.G S wagle bangalore 26 Mar, 2009 12:22 PM
It looks like there is a well knitted propaganda to show BJP in poor
light. No need to say that all in congresswallahs are "Mahatmas".
Poeple have not forgotten the infamous Tandoori Murder episode in the
heart of the capital of the country.All the electronic media now a
days showing nothing but BJP Hatred.Is there an end for this?I find
the journalism at its worst.meeran singh ahluwal Patiala 26 Mar, 2009
12:22 PM
why you are taking only one instance of BJP leader raping his own
daughter, almost 65% of BJP leaders and workers are regularly doing
this insane thing since years but so far no one of them has been
arrested why coz of politicalconnections as every body is aware
of..the govt and public should bring this to show the world thier
cheap and vulgar mentality and they claim to rule the nation.....ha !
ha ! aks USA 26 Mar, 2009 10:16 PM
Thats very sickening to say the least. If daughters are not protected
by their own fathers who else will. Where does it leave the poor girl?
Why is the mother quiet on this? Castrate all this people who cannot
control their urges..Rape is a beastly act and that too on their own
daughter..man this guy must be sick and insane and should be treated
and put behind bars and asked to work for social welfare organisation
or home for the aged but do not leave this man on the roads for God's
sake. As it is there are so many criminals in many disguises roaming
around and we can ill afford another.vishwas india 27 Mar, 2009 12:37
AM
this is nothing but a propaganda againstt BJP, earlier it was Ramsene,
then Varun and now this case which has nothing to do with BJP. voters
should not be misled with such news.Vishal Agrawal Mumbai 27 Mar, 2009
12:48 AM
It is really sad that girls are treated so badly in our country. More
girls should come out to these victims. India needs a women revolution
but of course not legally like reservation etc because that would only
empower them to do injustice. Something like misuse of dowry act by
girls. India is in a very interesting times.Salim usa 27 Mar, 2009
01:06 AM
Hang Him nowLucas Podolski Chennai 27 Mar, 2009 01:06 AMTOI has just
put a word mentioning BJP. Instead of talking about the main topic,
most of you are talking about TOI or politics. This only shows the
narrow mindedness of most of our people.Tally World 27 Mar, 2009 01:08
AM
Sad to see that people are more worried about BJP rather than the
girl. Are you all out of your minds ? A young girl has been physically
tortured by her own father for years. Think about what she must be
going through. These kind of crimes go beyond party lines, castes and
nationalities. Go look up human rights and dignity in a dictionary.Raj
Delhi 27 Mar, 2009 01:09 AM
The act is reprehensible and the man deserves a severe punishment.
However, I think the act is completely personal and BJP should not be
dragged into it. At the same time, if BJP were smart, it would
immediately issue their own condemnation of the act. That they have
not done so shows how poor the party's PR is. I am a Congress
supporter (simply because it seems to offer better leaders and it
doesn't invoke the Hindutva message again and again). But I am a
bigger believer in democracy and for any democracy to function, we
need more than one competitive party at the national level. BJP has
failed miserably in being that party (more so post Mahajan-Vajpayee
era). I sure hope they get their act together and offer us a thriving
alternative to the Congress. Somnath New York 27 Mar, 2009 01:17 AM
Why doesnot TOI ever print the Accused side of the story? TOI should
start making another section for Rapist dads, women's newspaper,
domestic abuse. The media, people, laws every one beleives women are
innocent in this world and men are the only culprits, in fact women
drive men to do the crime.Emanuel D. Samuel Toronto, On. Canada 27
Mar, 2009 01:29 AM
Child molestation is a common phenomenon all over the world. The weak
preyed on by the strong; betrayal of trust; misplaced affection. In my
experience, it is a sickness based on a deviant love and will not stop
regardless. The main reason is the closeness of the parties and the
high percentage probability it will never be exposed. It is not
considered wicked, immoral, rather rationalized by the existence of an
immense, albeit misplaced, love.Dinkar London 27 Mar, 2009 01:37 AM
what's wrong with this world? An Indian London 27 Mar, 2009 02:04 AM
My heart goes out to this young girl and the other victims in her
family . As a nation we should support her , applaud her incredible
courage for speaking out , give her and the other victims all the
support we can and make sure the monster who perpetrated these crimes
is brought to justice . Anyone who seeks to support this monster who
dares to call himself a '' father '' on this site or any other form of
media should be condemned by right minded viewers . This is a horific
crime that deserves punishment of the stiffest kind although no
punishment would ever be enough for what this man has done . Amit
California 27 Mar, 2009 02:04 AM
As sad as the story is, I am glad that women are finally speaking up
about the abuses that they have to live with. Bravo for getting this
matter out. I share the daughters sentiment that this rapist should be
either jailed or shot. Also, Dear Editor, it is laudable that you are
printing these stories, I would however be wary or partisan politics.
In my opinion, it was completely unnecessary to state the rapists
Party Allegiance - this will only help more with vote-bank
politics...just my 2 cents..Rajkumar Patil Toronto 27 Mar, 2009 02:05
AM
What the hell you guys are talking about? A monster father raped her
daughter for a decade, and instead of pressuring the govt for harsh
punishment for such crimes, you people are takling and playing
polytics here. If allowed and encouraged, many thousands of such
victims will come forward, who were pressured and threatened by their
own family members for years. Such criminals do not belong to any
religion, party or country. They do that hinious crime with all their
conscious and do it repeatedly, to those who are most weak and
vulnerable elements of the society:the children. I hate the so called
Sharia law, but when i read such stories, i really feel that these
criminlas should be treated and punished unhumanly;Jatin London 27
Mar, 2009 02:06 AM
I am shocked after this news in India we are finding new ones
everyday, our law should set very tight punishment for this kind of
crime so it can be a learning lesson for all Fritzl's growing in India
& anywhere in the world, Its shame we have got 2 of same kind in our
own country. Its a shame people are still talking this as Congree v/s
BJP war guys please grow up and is this what we are going to leave for
our future generations....Pls all should get together and do sumthing
about victims and help them in every way to restabilise thier life, if
they are not safe in their own houses then we can forget about
everything else..We need to first look at the core of the problems why
are people turning to their daughters as a sex object and I would say
their other family members are equally responsible for this crime who
knew about it.Jasbir Singh Sydney 27 Mar, 2009 02:10 AM
It is a normal Indian psyche, everything they do have link with
politics. Criminals can use any platform. Shankaracharia was charged,
many swamis went to jail, things happened in Aasa Ram's Ashram, Many
Mullahs or Granthis were also found engaging in immoral activities.
The real thing is getting corruption out of Police and court so that
people feel free to approach them. A website should be started where
anyone can list their problems and seek help. Pedophiles are using
everything in India including SMS, internet etc but they are going
undetected.Prasad Gowda London 27 Mar, 2009 02:17 AM
Dear editor, I am ashamed by the way your reporter has reported this
incident. There is no need to mention ones political inclination to
their personal life and the sins commited at a personal level. I am
sure a corrupt politician is as bad as this sinful man and surely you
can find many in every political party in the country!RK B'lore 27
Mar, 2009 02:27 AM
This is rediculos. There is not much to do with BJP in this case.
There are lots of MLA/MPs are horrible things including raping kids of
things. This is the part of thier culture. You go and investigate the
poltical leaders, you will find much more worst than these. There
stupid ppl here they just go on BJP. I would say, only BJP will do
better govt in the current situation for India. Rest all the parties
are hopelessinderjit U.S.A. 27 Mar, 2009 02:27 AM
Per story, the father is a FAMOUS LEADER, the obvious question will be
of what PARTY, so,the media was bound to name the party,same is with
VARUN GANDHI, he shot the lime light because of BJP, otherwise such
speeches of communal hatred are the ORDER OF THE DAY in India and WHO
CARES without the name of the party. This incident should be condemned
by all including sitting MP from Amritsar who belongs to BJP. Margo
Russia 27 Mar, 2009 02:43 AM
The burning question is MENTALITY and it has nothing to do with any
political party. Lack of openess leads to crime. In school teachers
should explain about child abuse and how kids should react. Education!
Education! Education!Thats sad .... Switzerland 27 Mar, 2009 03:04 AM
Small girls being raped by their fathers uncles or grandfathers. Its
happening since ages and its very hard to control. Small girls are
afraid to come out in public and make noise. Mothers wants to keep
their family name.. In India its happening more then we think. Shame
on you all.ae india 27 Mar, 2009 03:05 AM
It seems Indian culture died long back. What a pity thing happening in
our society. Where is human rights group? parents should see that no
tears in his /her daughter. It is very urgent for the govt to form
commission to take the task. where is relation, what relation. now
everything is dissappearing .It is difficult to express anything about
this ghastly incidents.Vikram Bangalore 27 Mar, 2009 03:23 AM
India should become the first country to award death sentence for
raping minors.Raghu Prabhu melbourne 27 Mar, 2009 03:25 AMKeep
politics out of it. Let the police do their job with out any
interference. If the man has done the worng thing, let him be tried in
the proper manner. Does not matter if he is BJP or
Congress.P.M.G.,pillai Mannar, AllaPUZHA KERALA 27 Mar, 2009 03:43 AM
Because no one care for any basic ethic principles.Male memebers in
home must maintain a distance between thefemale members to prevent
these unwanted relations being developed unknowningly.Code of
behaviour for homes also is very essential to maintain proper
relationship. Original Indian India 27 Mar, 2009 03:43 AM
This is no lies, as it were a lie this man would have not complained
of chest pains. Chest pain complaints are only made by the guilty who
know its imminent of them going to jail. This man is a monster and a
threat to public safety, imagine how could someone ever do this to a
minor and keep doing it. He will surely rot in hell but the big
question is will he rot in life or get away with it? This is indeed a
rarestr of rare cases and the punishment should be rare and extreme;
Gallows or bullet (his daughter or should I say victims wish).on the
fence canada 27 Mar, 2009 04:05 AM
Well I truly sympathize with the girl and accused should be hanged to
death if proven so....but we should also spare a thought that the
accused could well be a victim of conspiracy till it is not proved.
This girl and mother may not be getting along well with this
man....could be family dispute or whatever and they could have got a
perfect plot from Mumbai event to settle the score with him....in
India, we seem to take woman's word over man pretty easily....this
social attitude can easily be exploited by some. Just a thought. Umesh
Korea 27 Mar, 2009 04:08 AM
For last few times these type of news are becoming common in developed
cities like mumbai etc....But I heard same news earlier many times
from Punjab only.......Even in 1999 I heard such type of case first
time the place was Punjab & I was shocked even I did not believe for
sometime..but the truth...Ranjan Singh Noida 27 Mar, 2009 04:16 AM
I hope this is one of the rarest incident ever heard. I am also of the
opinion that it haas nothing to do with the party but then why every
time BJP leadres blames other's for such incidents.. Take on the
example of Mr Varun Gandhi..Who other than Varun would have courage
and guts to challenge that whatever that is being shown on news
channels have been docotred..Insane...the party stand by him. Isn't
that shows the kind of ideology these political parties have...I think
these incidents are coming in otice at the right time because you know
whom you are choosing for next 5 years...atleast you know the one you
have voted for is a rapist who raped his own daughter so atleast you
need to take extra care for your relatives..nick sharma melbourne 27
Mar, 2009 04:30 AM
Everyone over here is think from political aspect. And nearly 70%of
the messages are related to politics. what about that girl who has
been in great pain bcoz of this in human behaviors. Think like a human
being not like insane. J.S. North America 27 Mar, 2009 04:47 AM
Hold your breath mothers of India, there are more rapist fathers
hiding under a screen of pretense of being good fathers. There is a
need for mothers to talk and discuss confidential matters with their
daughters. Do not be afraid to ask if their Dads have made seductive
approaches or even rape them. Do not say it cannot happen to my
daughter and do not blame your daughter if such an incident happen. It
is all the fathers' fault and lack of disrespcet. India I believe, has
become the rape capital of the world. It is a shame to learn that
another father who should have known better raped his daughter for 8
years. There are a lot more incidents in India, which have not been
exposed because mothers and daughters depend on fathers to take care
of them. I storngly urge the government to set up shelters to take of
abused women and children. So much young lives are being destroyed and
so much of innocense and purity are being lost. People who commit such
crimes against the young should be severely punished. ABC Mumbai 27
Mar, 2009 07:28 AM
Related to this incident, I want to express one incident happened. To
one girl (my relative girl) after her marriage, her father in-law
asked her husband (ie his son) to go abroad soon after marriage. After
he (son) went abroad, one day (that time her mother-in law went to
market)that father-in-law asked her to obey for him. When she denied,
suddenly he removed her dress and touched her private part of the body
and told her that he arranged marriage for his son with her, only for
he liked her and loved her. she shouted and cried. Finally he left and
told her, "if you tell this to my son or to my wife, I will separate
you from my son. My son believe whatever I tell him". After that he
did not allow any of her relatives to talk with her in person (its
like house arrest). After one year, his son (that girls husband) came
from gulf country. The girl told all this incident to him. He was
shocked and he did not take any action. Just asked her a promise not
to tell this to anybody. Because all their property is in his fathers
name. If he go aganist his father, he may not give any property to
him. In India many girls are suffering like this. God only can save
the pity girls...... KS INDIA 27 Mar, 2009 08:23 AM
Now the man has become like an animal. Because of these few animal
men, the whole men will be looked with doubt. THEY SHOULD BE BOOKED,
TRIED IN A COURT OF LAW AND PUNISHED VERY FAST AND NOT TAKING EVEN FEW
MONTHS. What a shame to the country?A Ray Burdwan, WB 27 Mar, 2009
08:29 AM
Such incidents give us a glimpse as to how many other weak-willed
humans are hiding. And even worse, there are definitely some mothers,
too, who rape their sons and are under cover. The latter are very
rarely exposed because of the inability of the man to speak out. Men
can never be accepted in society as victims to women. Just imagine
their dolour.Abdullah Malaysia 27 Mar, 2009 09:10 AM
The role of mother is very crucial in preventing this kind of
incidents. After a certain age, mother should keep their daugthers
away from unwanted mingling with males.madhulika hyderabad 27 Mar,
2009 09:50 AM
This is the most heinous act did by a father.It is really shameful
that these types of father do exist in our society...............There
is not a single place on earth which is really safe for girls untill
unless they will come out on their own and onus the responsibility of
themselves and their siblings.This is the only possible solution of
this great ever existing problem..........So girls come out of your
limitations and bondages and be ready to make this world feel that
girls are really capable and competent enough to face all these
problems.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/opinions/4317364.cms
Businessman raped daughter for 9 years
Sandhya Nair , TNN, Mar 20, 2009, 02.34am IST
Article Comments (179)
MUMBAI: The sprawling township of Mira Road on the outskirts of the
metropolis woke up to the bizarre news of the arrest of a businessman
for allegedly raping his daughter over nine years, drawing macabre
parallels with Joseph Fritzl of Austria who raped his daughter over 24
years.
Ashok Chore (name changed), aged 60, was arrested by the Mira Road
police on Wednesday night from his apartment for sexually abusing his
daughter over nine years on the advice of a `tantrik' who promised
that doing so would make him prosperous.
Arrested along with Chore was the tantrik, Hasmukh Rathod (60), who
posed as an astrologer, and Chore's 47-year-old wife, who has been
charged with abetting the heinous crime. The three were remanded to
two-day police custody by the Thane sessions court on Thursday whereas
the cops had sought a 14-day remand.
The traumatised girl, now 21, had been silent about her ordeal all
these years but mustered the courage to approach the police after her
father, she alleged, attempted to rape her 15-year-old younger sister
on the advice of the same tantrik.
The elder sister, who works for a private firm in Mumbai, had become
the target of sexual abuse at the age of 12 'when Rathod had advised
Chore to have sex with her in order to prosper. Chore and Rathod were
neighbours in Vile Parle. The maternal uncle of the young girls, who
helped them lodge a complaint, said his sister had been brainwashed by
Rathod.
Chore first sexually abused his elder daughter in 2000 when his
interior designing business failed. According to police, Chore used to
undress his daughter in front of his wife and have sex with her.
The fact that his business did not flourish did not prevent Chore from
continuing with his depraved act. Rathod apparently had great
influence on the Chores. He had, in 2002, managed to get the couple's
consent for sex with the elder daughter.
Chore is believed to have borrowed large amounts of money for his
business. Last November, when Chore once again confided in Rathod
about his failing business, he was advised to have sex with his
younger daughter, a class 10th student. The couple is believed to have
even taken her to Rathod's Vile Parle home for sexual encounters to
avoid the elder daughter's wrath. But when the elder daughter learnt
about it last week, she told her maternal uncle. Both the girls are
currently with their maternal uncle and grandmother.
Chore's advocate Edgar Braganza alleged that his clients were being
framed by the two siblings. ``The elder of the two daughters has
complained that she was threatened and sexually exploited by her
parents and Rathod since 2000. This girl is 21 and till date there has
been no complaint or resistance by her. Is it possible for a father to
rape a daughter for nine years and live under the same roof? Where is
the question of medical examination of the accused since it's not a
recent incident?'' Braganza argued in the court.
The police told the court that they would require a 14-day remand as
there is a possibility that the accused may be connected to a gang
involved in prostitution. (With inputs from Nitin Yeshwantrao)
Dev Kumar Dutta Mumbai 19 Mar, 2009 11:37 AM
Why're you hiding the bastard's name? Publish his picture and name
ASAP...we want to see him gaurav mubai 19 Mar, 2009 11:42 AM
This is psycho cause, people doing and thinking like this are mentally
ill. The main cause of this type scenario is arisen due to illegal
porn sites and movies which not make us mentally ill but also produce
adverse effect on our social life gaurav mumbai 19 Mar, 2009 11:43 AM
This is psycho cause, people doing and thinking like this are mentally
ill. The main cause of this type scenario is arisen due to illegal
porn sites and movies which not make us mentally ill but also produce
adverse effect on our social life vaidya pune 19 Mar, 2009 11:44 AM
kill them in public...sudhir Ahmedabad 19 Mar, 2009 11:44 AM
It would be of interest to see the opinion of the self appinted
protectors of Hinduism know about the Tantrik. Would they oppose it or
would their blind love for anything remotely hindu make them shy away
from even uttering a few words against such incidents.pramod nagpur 19
Mar, 2009 11:45 AM
aise father ko zinda rahne ka koi adhikar nahi hai aur jo 'tantrik'
aise suggestions deta ho use to beech churahe par zinda jala dena
chahiye.Mehrunnisa Farooq Qatar 19 Mar, 2009 11:48 AM
Is our Indian Culture Slowly dying ? Betiyan to baap ki Izzat thi, aab
baap hi izzat se khilwad kare. This is the worst of human crimes, on
daughters fathered by himself, the parents should be punished
severly.ilyas bharuch 19 Mar, 2009 11:49 AM
Just kill this bastered in publicS W Kamath Secunderabad 19 Mar, 2009
11:54 AM
These type of cases should not be considered as isolated ones
involving depraved individuals, if we really hope to think of India as
a modern nation in the 21st century. Why can't we have the will, at
least in such cases, for demanding the death penalty for the rapist.
Imagine if this is the scenario in Mumbai, one shudders to think of
what would be happening in rural areas. Mr.Rationality USA 19 Mar,
2009 11:55 AM
If the tantrik would have told the father to parade his daughters in
the nude, he would have done that too!. That is why I always say
"DON'T FOLLOW ANY GURUS" AS 99% OF THEM ARE FAKE!Aks USA 19 Mar, 2009
11:56 AM
Stupid belief. These may be an excuse for that fellow also, who knows.
Really some of the absurd stories are slowly coming out due to media
coverage etc. Put them all the accused behind the bars for lifetime
without parole or leninency including the 'tantrik'. Shruti Ggn 19
Mar, 2009 11:59 AM
What a shame!!! These people should be hanged.Mark India 19 Mar, 2009
12:02 PM
He should be hanged to death..this is devil's job,there could be
several such cases in India,but going undercover...due to fear of
shame and disjust.puvathi pukuvathi ksa 19 Mar, 2009 12:04 PM
send this bastard also to Austria,his very own elder brother
JosefFritzl it seems both has come out from the same tunnel, shoot
them from guns from point blank range so that thier parts get blown
out , send them to the gallows,they will spoil the younger
generation ...... or dont publish such reports please!!!!!!Anuj U.P 19
Mar, 2009 12:05 PM
what a shame.... these animals should be hanged to death in public ..
they defy all morals that any society is biult on... if girls aren't
safe in thier own homes.. where else will they be safe. ?J.Mukund
Hyderabad. 19 Mar, 2009 12:07 PMSuch type of persons should be given
capital punishment. Hang them untill death.naro delhi 19 Mar, 2009
12:09 PM
This extremely appalling behaviour is surely comparable to the hedious
josep fritzl crime,send them,both husband & wife to life
imprisonment.No sane person would have an incestuous relationship
wether at the advice of a 'tantrik'or not.It defies nature and only
extremely sick minded people would resort to this kind of behaviour.I
do hope that the courts will mete out the same punishment to both
husband/wife duo as she is equally gulity of abatting this heinous
crime against her daughters.Deb Kolkata 19 Mar, 2009 12:11 PM
This types of most hatred crimes are increasing every day and it can
break the social bonding and trust and thus can result in complete
failure of a state very soon. These filthy criminals should be
punished in a way that others do not dare to think about these in
future.harees dubai 19 Mar, 2009 12:12 PM
i wonder why didnt u guys put the names of the parents n the
tantrikAsh USA 19 Mar, 2009 12:22 PM
This so sick, as bad as it can get. How can a parent do this to his
own flesh and blood just for the sake of money. He should get life in
prison.RK India 19 Mar, 2009 12:22 PMPlease Plublicly trash this
bastard and kill him...Thameem Nairobi 19 Mar, 2009 12:23 PM
Why still we are believing the astrology? If you want to get rid off
your problems, work hard and pray to god. Not to individuals like Sai
Baba, these are thieves, we are living in 21st century, they are just
spiritual guys they can't do anything. can they live for ever? why we
need to trust them? Stop. Believe yourself. Jyoti Sunnyvale, CA 19
Mar, 2009 12:25 PM
How disgusting! We need to spread more awareness among young children
in schools about matters such as incest. Maybe each school can have a
special cell which helps students who face such problems in their own
homes and escalates the case to the police if necessary.Theresa Dubai
19 Mar, 2009 12:25 PM
I was traumatized this last few days hearing the details of incest
case in Austria. Hearing of a similar story in my own city really
makes me sad. I'm sure there are many more cases which are not
reported due to social stigma. I pray that reading about these stories
other kids will break their silence and expose these evil deeds of
their parentsCapt. Brian Fernandez Bandra, Mumbai 19 Mar, 2009 12:29
PM
This is what happens when we make wealth and money the one and only
principle in our lives!RG Mumbai 19 Mar, 2009 12:30 PM
Found guilty, hang this guy..this is really bad.Kamal Gurgaon 19 Mar,
2009 12:31 PM
Totally Disgusting, This old businessman of 60 years should be hanged
for this heinous crime. Zaheer Australia 19 Mar, 2009 12:33 PM
hard to swollow..some tantrik say something and this dumbhead spoils
the whole meaning of fatherhood. its a shame that todays women has no
burrow left to hide. whom do they trust now?shabana Bangalore 19 Mar,
2009 12:33 PM
It is even more revolting and diabolic than Josef Fritzl's case.
Fritzl is diagnosed as psychotic and a pervert and he did all that in
a secret way till he was caught. Unbelievable greed and perversion is
evident in this case than just superstition.Any adjective will fall
short to explain this heinous act. Both the parents are a classic
example of inhumanity and a shame for term "parent".we can only
imagine the mental state of the child in this case whose trust and
faith in her parent as well as life is so ruthlessly breached. There
is no punishment which is enough for such a crime...capital punishment
is perhaps the easiest way out for the accused shabana Bangalore 19
Mar, 2009 12:33 PM
It is even more revolting and diabolic than Josef Fritzl's case.
Fritzl is diagnosed as psychotic and a pervert and he did all that in
a secret way till he was caught. Unbelievable greed and perversion is
evident in this case than just superstition.Any adjective will fall
short to explain this heinous act. Both the parents are a classic
example of inhumanity and a shame for term "parent".we can only
imagine the mental state of the child in this case whose trust and
faith in her parent as well as life is so ruthlessly breached. There
is no punishment which is enough for such a crime...capital punishment
is perhaps the easiest way out for the accused vicky uae 19 Mar, 2009
12:34 PM
how come he raped his own daughter .this guys hast to punished with
sex torture to them.jalaluddin palekar. UAE. 19 Mar, 2009 12:37 PM
Have islamic Laws to protect the society from such Evil acts.
Jalaluddin Palekar. UAE.mmalbari Kochi 19 Mar, 2009 12:37 PM
When there is a question of Rape and Molestation, We Indians cannot be
behindPinaki Sengupta Rishra 19 Mar, 2009 12:37 PM
A law should now be framed and exemplary punishment to be given to all
the accused so nobody will even dare to do such a crime ever.santosh
sinha beijing 19 Mar, 2009 12:38 PM
It can happen only in mumbai in Indiasaj thomas dubai 19 Mar, 2009
12:39 PM
crime against women are increasing ,,,,and there is no one to voice
against it ,,,,,,,its the poor and the oppressed who are left to the
fate... no one.. is there to raise voice where are the moral police
who raised so many issues ....about culture ,,,, i have decided not to
vote ...anyone ...who are good for nothingGaurav Delhi 19 Mar, 2009
12:40 PM
Before any thing is done to the father i want that bloody, Tantrik to
be punished. And also the father must be given as harsh punishment as
any one could ever getKobita Bangalore 19 Mar, 2009 12:44 PM
How disgusting can one get. Really pains me to note the extent one can
go to gain wealth. The culprits should be punished appropriately.Avi
Australia 19 Mar, 2009 12:45 PM
Highly obnoxious act. Shame on such dads.ajaz bangalore 19 Mar, 2009
12:47 PM
This is totally inhuman the father and the tantrik should be burnt
alive ...............it is totally inhuman JJJJJ Pak 19 Mar, 2009
12:48 PM
This is what you are indians..anne India 19 Mar, 2009 12:49 PMGive him
sever punishment so that in futher no father can do this. This is
really a shame. How can a father do this to his own flesh. I request
and appeal all the girls come forwards when this things start
happenning with them.dont keep quite, it is shame, but instead of
suffering, better to complain and get rid of this devil fathers. It is
big shame when mother who support her husband.We read this all
happening in foreign country, but this thing happening India. Now no
one will come to protect this types of issues which is against our
culture.Sabeera Mumbai 19 Mar, 2009 12:53 PM
This rapist dad should be hanged along with his wife. Severe
punishment should be given to both. In Mumbai all this sort of things
happens. Even many daughter in-law's are suffering from issues like
this. I am one person from Mumbai faced by father in-law (but somehow
saved myself), but my husband did not believe. Many pity girls are
living in the world. dr.anupam rajasthan 19 Mar, 2009 12:57 PM
that tantrik and father must be hang on,how anybody can even think
just for moneydr.anupam rajasthan 19 Mar, 2009 12:57 PM
that tantrik and father must be hang on,how anybody can even think
just for moneydr.anupam rajasthan 19 Mar, 2009 12:57 PM
that tantrik and father must be hang on,how anybody can even think
just for moneyshoukat firfiray NRI 19 Mar, 2009 12:57 PM
both (culprit and tantrik should be given capital punishment (hang to
death in public) for lesson to masses. There should not be any lapses
in passing the verdict from judiciary. Rajehs Chennai 19 Mar, 2009
12:58 PM
He is not a human being.....I think may be an animal..Only animals do
see such a difference in sexfaisal dhahran 19 Mar, 2009 01:01 PM
What if this is NOT true? What if the girls wanted money or something
from their parents, like to marry someone they did not like, etc? Why
are people being areested just on the word of someone without any
evidence???? If this is another case of lying, like so many are in
India, then the parents should use every legal means to sue the
government and the police.Nikit Mumbai 19 Mar, 2009 01:01 PM
This sought of people humiliates our society and even the man kind,
they should be sentenced to death and especially the tantrik in
public. These guys are humiliating all of us.dr.anupam rajasthan 19
Mar, 2009 01:01 PM
that tantrik and father must be hang on,how anybody can even think
just for moneydr.anupam rajasthan 19 Mar, 2009 01:01 PM
that tantrik and father must be hang on,how anybody can even think
just for moneyRaj Chennai 19 Mar, 2009 01:05 PM
Those men should be cut downAN INDIAN Abroad 19 Mar, 2009 01:05 PMT
his person his wife and the "TANTRIK" all are animals, they should be
punished severely. Shame on him for committing such a heinous crime.
No lawyer shoudl help these people and no police officer should
support them. Shame on them for bringing disgrace on India and Indian
people.s. wadhwa new delhi 19 Mar, 2009 01:06 PM
The laws in our country need to be flexible enough to warrant instant
punishment in such heinous cases.Ramanpreet Delhi, India 19 Mar, 2009
01:09 PM
such a shame full incident. it appears we indians have lost our
cultural values which is always being cherished by others. i am so
disappoited with this factRaj USA 19 Mar, 2009 01:11 PMSick.R.KUMAR
NCR 19 Mar, 2009 01:14 PM
photographs of such crimnals should be published prominantly in the
media and then the punishment should be --hanging them upside down in
a public place till they die and their dead bodies thrown to dogs &
vultures.DONALD ALMAS DUBAI 19 Mar, 2009 01:17 PM
THE FATHER AND THE TANTRIK SHOULD BE CASTRATED AND THE MOTHER
IMPRISONED FOR LIFE.IT SURE WOULD BE THE PUNISHMENT IF THIS WOULD
HAPPEN IN SAUDI ARABIA.NOW THAT THE FATHER IS A BUSINESS MAN HE WOULD
SQUASH THE MATTER PAYING MONEY.SHAME ON THE INDIAN LAW AND ORDER AND
THE CORRUPTION INVOLVED. H K Bhargava Bangkok Thailand 19 Mar, 2009
01:18 PM
Do not bring religion into this. The Girl's Father needs to be
executed as he actually performed the crime. Tantric comes next and
also needs a VERY HARSH punishment.S.L.J.Gallyot Mumbai 19 Mar, 2009
01:19 PM
No leniency should be shown to such a pervert. The crime is worse
because it has violated the safety and security that a father brings
to his family. the tantrik is equally guilty and should face the same
life imprisonment.We have perverts masquerading as tantrics and
swamis. The Parivar has been obstructing the introduction of the
Superstitious practices bill for obvious reasonsNitin Valecha Delhi 19
Mar, 2009 01:21 PM
The case presents the levels of superstition(s) that are still
embedded in our society and the influence of it on even the educated
masses. The culprit(s)(Father & Tantrik) should be given the severest
punishment as it defames and clobbers the "Parent-child" relationship
and falls inot the "rarest of rare" category.Dr. M M Tiwari Raipur 19
Mar, 2009 01:28 PM
No words to condemn the henious crime.How can one even think such
inhuman acts that too from literate persons.Where our society is
leading to?There may be many other cases which are not reported.This
is just superstition,no Tantrik can ever do anything except befooling
persons to make his money.Exemplary punishment must be given to
Father,Mother and the Tantrik. Qaari Mumbai 19 Mar, 2009 01:29 PM
The problem here is two fold. Tantrik or occultist can not be banned
because many people have faith in them. These people may feel deprived
of the gain if there is ban on practices based on supernatural powers.
All the money spent on CHANDRAYAN project is waste if the BABAS can
bring moon on palm of your hand. But the BABAS can be watched for
criminal acts. Second problem is INCEST. This can be controlled simply
if the police support is guarunteed which is for what ever reason
absent in many cases. The victims in many cases may not have sense,
mental or physical strentgh to oppose the criminal act. Neighbours
surely become aware of such acts if it continues for long time. They
don't intervene for not buying trouble in case there is no
administrative support to them. To have sympathy for victim may cost
dear and that is the reason no one comes near. Kunal Pune 19 Mar, 2009
01:29 PM
Horrible! Put aside culture stuff, it just shows to what extent a
human mind can go for some selfish benefitssahil india 19 Mar, 2009
01:34 PM
please let us know the name of that criminalAlihusain Mira Road 19
Mar, 2009 01:34 PM
It is a shame for Mira road residents to have such type of acts. As a
resident of Mira Road I feel that these people should be punished in
public by the people. Abdul Azeez Ullal Mangalore, Karnataka 19 Mar,
2009 01:35 PMOnly animals can do like this. Hang this bitch as soon as
possibleamer hyd 19 Mar, 2009 01:36 PM
The case has to be interogated as soon as possible Courts should not
delay such a things for long periods. Which can give rise to such a
criminals as per the tantriks this are very foolish people spoiling
lifes of innocent people for their sake and livelibood if they found
guilty their heads must be cut in public. so that any body with
thoughts of gaining powers or wealth should not believe such a
tantriks who are ready to murder the humanity.Ghanav sydney 19 Mar,
2009 01:41 PM
its funny hw a freakkin antrik can mislead a father to rape his own
daughters... to hell with him n da couple. dese guys hav no right 2
livekasmur hyderabad 19 Mar, 2009 01:41 PM
he should be fired in front of the public.he is not a father he is a
mad dog and mad dogs should not be left kill himSanjit Bal Gurgaon 19
Mar, 2009 01:42 PM
Such a person does not deserve a trail or has any right to recourse of
law. This person deserves the death penalty for completely depraving
the image of a parent and runining the life of his own daughters.
Callous, self centered and depraved people like him and his wife have
no right to live in civilized society.Tauseef Ahmed Delhi 19 Mar, 2009
01:43 PM
Such a shameful incident like this not only put a dent in our culture
but also made mockery of father child relation. A person like him
should be hanged in public so that nobody else could even dare to
think about such henious thing.Rajesh Qatar 19 Mar, 2009 01:43 PM
These crimnals must be punished as per Islamic Law (Shariyah). stone
them and cut the head publically for the lesson of people like Saudi
Arabia. Saudi Arabia has the lowest crime (tend to zero) in the world
due to Islamic Law. Thanks to all om US 19 Mar, 2009 01:44 PMhow some
one can rape some one for 7 years....is this possibleAbhishek MEERUT
19 Mar, 2009 01:50 PM
Ofcourse such a man should be hanged to death if he has committed such
a heinous crime. But, addition to this, Common man has his/her mind
set to believe such incidence to be absolutely truth without any
proofs and evidences and at once get sympathesised with the victim.
Truth must be Explored first!!vinod pune 19 Mar, 2009 01:51 PM
the father should be shot at sight..Samad Khan Bangalore 19 Mar, 2009
01:53 PM
This is sick!! Rape your own child for greed of money. Indian society
was known for its modesty, principals and values.Somewhere along the
recent way, we Indians have lost it all and have become a very
greedy,insensitive and a shallow society. Why take the man to court??
Hang him at Ghandi chowk along with the tantrik.SMF Dubai,UAE 19 Mar,
2009 01:52 PM
India should adopt the Sharia law(Islamic law).This is the only answer
to such henious crimes.People will think twice even before they think
of such evil acts. Think about it India.It will make difference.This
is the true Law.Neel Gagan New Delhi 19 Mar, 2009 01:53 PM
This is just rubbish...they have not done it just becoz Tantrik has
told..or for money...root cause may be non-fullfillment of sexual
desires. It is shameful that Mother was knowing all about it....and
she did nothing to stop it... Bose Delhi 19 Mar, 2009 02:02 PM
If this comes out to be true ultimately, then the only punishment for
these beasts is a single shot at the back of their
head....PERIOD.....Its sickening to the stomach...SMF Dubai,UAE 19
Mar, 2009 01:52 PM
India should adopt the Sharia law(Islamic law).This is the only answer
to such henious crimes.People will think twice even before they think
of such evil acts. Think about it India.It will make difference.This
is the true Law.Neel Gagan New Delhi 19 Mar, 2009 01:53 PM
This is just rubbish...they have not done it just becoz Tantrik has
told..or for money...root cause may be non-fullfillment of sexual
desires. It is shameful that Mother was knowing all about it....and
she did nothing to stop it... lenna kanpur 19 Mar, 2009 01:55 PM
for everything..ranging from terrorism to lack of morality...we
Indians tend to blame the west...now this episode of a father raping
his daughters...let us blame western countries
again.....ha..ha........ha...zh7272 south africa 19 Mar, 2009 02:04 PM
Apply sharia law to correct these greedy and crook so that we can be a
good example to the whole world.neha india 19 Mar, 2009 02:05 PMdnt
knw hw a father can do this to his own daughters.. Amol Bangalore 19
Mar, 2009 02:09 PM
This is an example of what these tantriks are doing to our society.
Why not pass on a law to make this illegal, so these practices can not
be carried out. There are thousands of tantriks today in any city of
India. Also, another thing that happens is astrology, although not
this bad, but it definately influence people to take decisions based
on some stupid stars, we should come out and ban these things once and
forever from our country. People are openly allowed to offer advise
without any scientif support. This is stupid and if we tolerate this,
its going to make us look like real stupid society. I am sure there
are thousands of such cases in various forms hiding throughout India.
Time to pass a law to make this illegal.Peter Oman 19 Mar, 2009 02:10
PM
Signs of our times and deeds of these parents are difficult for us to
digest in reading this article.Life for those kids will be deplorable
and unthinkable.It's a crime before God and Humanity and TOI must
publish the photos of these culprits.Money is still God for many until
this day.How come are these fraudsters caught by the media during the
Global recession period?Nanoti S.K. Nasik 19 Mar, 2009 02:12 PM
It is really shamful that father is raping his own daughters.
Undoudtebly, only punishment for the father should be hanged to death.
In the same time, all sympathy should be extended to the victims, who
have suffered such a crime in their early childhood from their own
father.Rashmi Bangalore 19 Mar, 2009 02:12 PM
This is a ridiculous thing , how one can even think of doing this. he
should be punished as hang till death that also in front of
public.Girish Delhi 19 Mar, 2009 02:13 PM
We should not let this guy die simply by hanging or shooting him. We
should first break his 2-3 bone here and there and then cut his flesh
at multiple places. Remember, do not let this guy. Keep breaking his
bones but keep him alive so that he beg for death.J D Barman India 19
Mar, 2009 02:13 PM
is he a father and most astonishing that is he a human being or a wild
animal. He and his associates should not be forgiven and should be
rewarded with an appropriate punishment.INDIAN INDIA 19 Mar, 2009
02:15 PM
GUYS PLS STOP DISCUSSING, N MAKE A SOLUTIONS.. WE HAV TO WAKE UP TO
WORK ON IT. ITS NOT THE FIRST TIME, IF U GO THROUGH VILLAGES U WILL
FIND SUCH SIMILAR CASES.. GOVRNMENT IS NOT GOING TO ACT ANY THING, END
OF THE DAY THEY WILL GET BAIL, THATS FOR SURE.. SO LETS TAKE EACH OF
US A RESPONSIBALITY TO SAVE OUR COUNTRY OUR CULTURE TO GET RID OF THIS
SMAMEFULL ACTS. isar mumbai 19 Mar, 2009 02:16 PM
Mulsim law is great on this count. India should adpot the mulsim law
against all such crimes for every such criminal irrespective of
religionR C SHAH MUMBAI 19 Mar, 2009 02:16 PM
HE SHALL BE HANGED UNTIL DEATHR C SHAH MUMBAI 19 Mar, 2009 02:16 PM
HE SHALL BE HANGED UNTIL DEATHRahul Mumbai 19 Mar, 2009 02:16 PM
What a shame. Madhukar Bengaluru 19 Mar, 2009 02:17 PMBoth the father
as well as the mother should be hanged.Soumitra Noida 19 Mar, 2009
02:19 PM
burn his whole body with cigarette... give him antibiotics ... let
those wounds heal ... burn him again ... repeat it for the rest of his
life. Prakasam Bharat 19 Mar, 2009 02:21 PMHang that father, mother
and Tantrik, after whipping them for 90 days.sorry4victims Kolkata 19
Mar, 2009 02:24 PM
i m really sorry for the victims of such heinous crimes. Joseph Fritzl
in Austria can now at least hold his head high knowing that he is not
the only person committing such crimes. May God Help the world. May
Peace prevail.joson mumbai 19 Mar, 2009 02:27 PM
Only solution for Humanity .. An end to evil acts, an end to crime ,
and for a peace all over the world . , implement Islamic law.. Today
Saudi Arabia has the lowest crime rate .. owing to Islamic law
onlyIndian Dubai 19 Mar, 2009 02:29 PM
Sickening act. All the three deserve a killing by throwing stones at a
public place. No lawyer should take their case. TAHER EBRAHIM JEDDAH
19 Mar, 2009 02:29 PM
First collect hard evidence and proof him as he did this heinous crime
against his own daughters then only hang him along with his "TANTRIK".
Kumar UAE 19 Mar, 2009 02:31 PM
Why produce in court and creat tension in everybody. Please kill the
husband and wife.Indian Mumbai 19 Mar, 2009 02:33 PM
Error!!! this happened in Mumbai as says the headlines.. but the
article is begin with NEW DELHI: .. delhi is on tis reporter's mind
too much for such stuff?? Suman Kashyap Hong Kong 19 Mar, 2009 02:39
PM
To, those advocating Sharia law, as per Sharia they need four eye
witnesses to prove a rape, which is very difficult to get. Hence if
Sharia is applied the beats will be more encouraged as there will
almost never be 4 people watching a rape.Surendran Middle East 19 Mar,
2009 02:40 PM
Extremely shameful for every Indian. This men-shaped animal must be
hanged until death alongwith his wife and tantrik. Government must
concentrate on finding such tantrik working throughout the country
which badly damage a community altogether.seema chembur 19 Mar, 2009
02:40 PM
Its realy horrible incident to see Father raping his own daughters
with his better half help How can mother of 2 tell her husband to have
sex with their daughter They both father and mother of the sibling
should be hanged Thats the best punishmentRafeeq London 19 Mar, 2009
02:48 PM
How long will tantriks and religious extremistis hijack us? Its ironic
and pathetic that even the educated people get trapped by these
senseless people. Give them a punishment no one ever can dare to even
think of commiting such crimes. Tabi Dubai 19 Mar, 2009 02:52 PM
Father, Mother & all other persons involved in this crime, should be
hanged till death that too in some public area. This will give a great
message to the other criminals.....Vijay Hyderabad 19 Mar, 2009 02:56
PM
this kind of acts should be condemned and the culprits should be
punished. Our laws has to be changed so that people will not hide
behind the loopholes and escape from punishment. I request the
concerned authorities to wake up and take action againist them without
wasting much time.rene fernandez bahrain 19 Mar, 2009 02:58 PM
with reference to the rape of women in India, what has L.K.Advani/
Sonia Gandhi done to change the law ? Advani wanted to bring in
tougher punishments to the rapists. Why did he not push for life
imprisnment ? This issue must be raised in this elections and vote
ONLY for the candidates promise to support this legislation. We must
try to stop crimes against women/children AJAY BADIYAL NOIDA 19 Mar,
2009 03:09 PM
incedences like this will destroy relationship of father and
daughter.hussain mumbai 19 Mar, 2009 03:09 PM
three of them should be hanged till death....but other than this our
police should start strict action/investigation against such type of
tantrik ; there are lots in india...Ahmed Sharif Dubai 19 Mar, 2009
03:12 PM
These joseph fritzls must be awarded deaths. what kind of world we are
living in, ladies please beware of outsiders as well as insiders. THE
WORLD HAS CHANGED A LOT. In the name of faith it is an insult to
religion by these creepy TANTRICS.Shabu Dubai 19 Mar, 2009 03:13 PM
This is relly Shamefull for all indians and we are sorry for the
victims and we want immidiate actian agains this bastard no need to
put him in jail for years. he should kill by stones in front of people
and should be live telecast on all chanells then in future any body
even don't think like this . He want more money for whome ???? and
it's my requset to indian Govt give Authority to Victim Girls for
giving punishment to that bloody Tantrik .Shabu Dubai 19 Mar, 2009
03:14 PM
This is really Shamefull for all indians and we are sorry for the
victims and we want immidiate action against this bastard no need to
put him in jail for years. he should be killed by stones in front of
people and should be live telecast on all chanells then in future any
body even don't think like this . He want more money for whome? and
it's my requset to indian Govt give Authority to Victim Girls for
giving punishment to that bloody Tantrik .AH Syndey 19 Mar, 2009 03:14
PM
I too have been dreaming of becoming wealthy for a long time. Does
this Tantrik also offer his daughter (or wife, depending upon who can
take it) for such services? When will people give up superstition in
India?sadeq Duabi 19 Mar, 2009 03:24 PM
Now we need to stop this type of crimes in our society, only possible
by beheading these criminals in front of public to make society aware
what'll happen before committing this type crimesAnonymously_Yours
Europe 19 Mar, 2009 03:28 PM
It is stunning that everyone seems to comment on how the accused party
should be dealt with. People have suggested overtly sadist cruelties
too, providing an insight into the natural mindset of the human
community. Oddly, no one seems to have mentioned any sort of monetary
help, psychological counseling or shelter and future support
commitment for the victims, one of whom happens to be at a tender age
below 18. Once again, it's exciting to note how frustrated and
carnally active the society is, given a chance to vent our anger, most
of us would turn into savage beasts to punish the guilty...yet few or
none would stand to help the deceasedShyam Noida 19 Mar, 2009 03:32 PM
The tantrik stuff has been added just to save the man from his crime.
It seems to be a ploy by his lawyer. I a sure there was no outsider to
instigate the accused.GSM MUMBAI 19 Mar, 2009 03:32 PM
Kill this man and tantrik. There is no other punishment for guys like
these. DEEPAK GHOSH FARIDABAD 19 Mar, 2009 03:41 PM
ALL THE THREE, THE TANTRIK,BUSINESSMAN AND HIS WIFE BE LINED UP IN
PUBLIC AND MUST BE ORDERED TO A FIRING SQUAD TO SHOOT THEM IN ONE GO
OR MUST BE HANGED IN PUBLIC.THIS MUST BE THE LAW OF OUR COUNTRY NOW.
EVEN RAPIST MUST BE HANGED,SHOT OR THEIR PRIVATE PART SHOULD BE CUT
OFF. THIS MUST BE THE LAW NOW.Illur Iqbal Bangalore 19 Mar, 2009 03:42
PM
Please do Insert a Burning Rod to the beloved Parents for doing this
CrimeRubi London 19 Mar, 2009 03:51 PM
What a shame!!I really feel sorry for the girl,this man should be
given such a punishment by law,that the whole world eyes will be open
and no one will dare to do this again after seeing the
punishment.sharda goregaon 19 Mar, 2009 03:56 PMcut his private part
completelyAnita Dsilva Dubai 19 Mar, 2009 04:06 PM
This is really a VERY SHAMEFUL act. Have we human beings lost our
moral values? to top it all, a Mother encouraging such an act gives me
goosebumps, a I am a mother of 2 girls myself but in my sane head I
would give up my life but save my children from such ordeal. This is
actually a SORRY state of today's world. GOD HELP US!!!SJ dubai 19
Mar, 2009 04:09 PM
I can only say that this is the result of getting in love with western
civilization...progress and modernization does not mean that we leave
our values & culture..incest is a normal thing in west as we all know
and sadly it is entering into our society just coz we feel that
whatever west does is good..we need soul searchingAmrit Lal Toppo
Ahmedabad 19 Mar, 2009 04:20 PM
This is absolutely shamful to the society,father is raping his own
daughters more than 3000 thousand time. he is not worthy to be called
father by his daughters. he should be punished. he has turned satan he
is no more human being. Amrit Lal Toppo Ahmedabad 19 Mar, 2009 04:20
PM
This is absolutely shamful to the society,father is raping his own
daughters more than 3000 thousand time. he is not worthy to be called
father by his daughters. he should be punished. he has turned satan he
is no more human being. rajeev gurgaon 19 Mar, 2009 04:43 PM
This kind of crimes should be dealt with only one kind of punishment.
Take them in full public view, cut the pvt part of this man and the
tantrik into pieces and offer it to the dogs!! Hang the lady! The
entire activity should be lively telecast to prevail deterrent for any
prospective criminal!!!Mohammed bombay 19 Mar, 2009 04:49 PM
Tantrik said and father raped his own daughter for 9 long years..WOW.
even hollywood can't make this kind of sense less Movie it could
happen only in indiaReader Pune 19 Mar, 2009 04:51
PMSHAMEFUL.........Asim Ali Khan Jeddah 19 Mar, 2009 04:54 PM
No need to produce them before the court. Straight hang them. Dont
give time to investigate. Both the parents should be hanged till
death.Clive Kuwait 19 Mar, 2009 05:02 PM
I agree that the faces of Such criminals have to be shown in the media
as soon as their crime is established. Even their names should be
shown in bold. And they should not be hanged immediately. They have to
be tortured for years so that they repent for their crimeSrikanth Bhat
Chennai 19 Mar, 2009 05:03 PM
Rape, molestation, child abuse and many such in-humane acts have been
hitting the headlines of late. The legal proceedings get dragged for
years owing to the loop holes in our legal system. Why doesn't our
judicial come out with a ruthless punishment as a reply to this
devilish act. Amputate hands, legs & organ and hang till death. Human
Rights may have their reservations on this, but HR is for Humans
(victims) and not for the devils (criminals).Srikanth Bhat Chennai 19
Mar, 2009 05:04 PM
Rape, molestation, child abuse and many such in-humane acts have been
hitting the headlines of late. The legal proceedings get dragged for
years owing to the loop holes in our legal system. Why doesn't our
judicial come out with a ruthless punishment as a reply to this
devilish act. Amputate hands, legs & organ and hang till death. Human
Rights may have their reservations on this, but HR is for Humans
(victims) and not for the devils (criminals).Blank India 19 Mar, 2009
05:15 PM
I am at loss of words...on how to condemn this ...this what...my mind
goes blank on hearing acts like this what's wrong man...where is this
going...even if one person is doing this, -what are the reasons, how
can someone stoop so low -Is there something that can be done
here...punishing/killing them is just a reaction..how can it solve the
problem - Are they mentally so sick?? Manasakanthi, Konanakunte,
Bangalore 19 Mar, 2009 05:16 PM
Its disgraceful to the indian community and we feel sorry for the poor
girl who when thru this commotion all these years. People of strange
attitude are still in existence.Both the father and mother should be
punished and the punishment should be viewed in all the TV channels
(Breaking news). A new law should be framed for such people. There
might be still more People who are behaving similar to this and it
will teach them a lesson that they cant escape the law. Shaindil
bangalore 19 Mar, 2009 05:20 PM
The daughter and mother should have murdered this opportunistic and
dirty guy long back. If the tantric tells this guy to eat shit, will
he do that? This is the truth India 19 Mar, 2009 05:28 PM
Incest-raping your own kids- is rampant in India, rural and urban. It
has always been a 'family secret' where the mother actually provides
the daughter to her husband. Please do not blame the West, instead
praise them. They widely publicize any incest, whereas Indian
politicians and goons silence the victims. No one hears of their
cries, all pretend that everything is hunky dory in our nation. Wake
up, look around, there will always be examples right under your nose.
Why else to praise the West? because they teach our kids to have guts
to speak up. Ask any older gynecologist, they have been seeing this
for decades.GE Australia 19 Mar, 2009 05:56 PM
India is truly the rape capital of the world.sanjay dubai 19 Mar, 2009
06:01 PM
i am totally in favour of what rajeev from gurgaon has mentioned. it
will be a lesson for those cases which are not out in public
yet.jahangir houlader maldives 19 Mar, 2009 06:06 PM
I think the man should be handed over to the people and tell the mob o
do whatever they like to do.Muhammad MN 19 Mar, 2009 06:11 PM
This is shameful.Adnan Oman 19 Mar, 2009 06:35 PM
Isn't this unbelievable? The heinous act depicts the greed of an
mentally ill individual & to what extent he can fall for the sake of
his worldly desires. All three should be tortured to death for
resorting to one of the worst crime. They have not only ruined their
daughters life but also defamed the father - daughter relationship.
kumar mumbai 19 Mar, 2009 06:37 PM
Even the judiciary would shed tears for the innocent girls. The so
called business man and his wife have no place to live in the human
habituate and so is the tantrik. all this three should get the capital
punishment with no right to appeal. God knows how many people this
tantrik must have brain washed. The police should investigate this
angle too.GANI AHMED SHAIKH DUBAI 19 Mar, 2009 07:27 PM
this kind of people should be hanged in public, this so called
tantriks take people for a ride. COMMON FOLKS WE ARE IN MODERN WORLD
DON'T BELIEVE IN THIS THINGS.Sule Paritosh Plano 19 Mar, 2009 07:28 PM
please try to understand that Merely Beating a Single person wont stop
such activities from happening in future. A businessman has no
religion / ethics. His only intention is money. I also feel that his
Wife is equally responsible for the Crime. Please dont publish the
name of the culprit, as people can Backtrace to their daughters and
make their life miserable Agniyah Shaikh Sharjah 19 Mar, 2009 08:12 PM
International Women's Day was celebrated all over the world recently
with great pomp and show! In the heart of Mumbai these two girls
suffered meanwhile. And how many suffer daily in the same manner!
Girls must be given the courage to openly protest any wrong done to
them. The mother seem to be an impossible person- She should be given
the toughest sentence for her 'silence' and approval for this criminal
act.Abu Abdullah USA 19 Mar, 2009 08:35 PM
Absolutely appalling. What were these middle-aged "adults" thinking?
The Austrian "incest dad" was enough as a pervert in this
world.Tanveer London 19 Mar, 2009 08:37 PM
stupid comment from SJ, Dubai 'incest is a normal thing in west as we
all know and sadly it is entering into our society'. One must be an
idiot to thing incest is 'normal' in any society. In no society incest
is normal. Stop this hatred for west. By that logic, the 60 yr old and
the tantrik was influenced by the west to do such thing!!!!!! what a
laugh!!!! stop blaming the west. this things happens in any society
and we must admint that our indian society also has such incest,
though its not common. Most of the cases are suppressed because of
loss of family honor (the so-called izzat), reputation to the society/
comminuty/country etc.Somnath New York 19 Mar, 2009 09:02 PM
There is no real upliftment of women, such issues would have never
occurred if govt provided more jobs and education than making laws in
favour of women. The laws need to be gender neutral and govt should
promote more jobs and education for women and make them independent.
Govt's policies are just eye wash and at the ground level it never
reaches the general public.Raj Orlando, Florida 19 Mar, 2009 10:01 PM
Media is more active nowadays and due to which more cases will come
out like this incidence. There may be many more incidences like this
in India but victim do not come out. My suggestion : every school must
be visited by two to three psycratist, once in 3 months where all the
students are being checked for any personal problems. These problems
could be rape, bitting by parents, torture, children are having lack
of attention in class, poor health effecting their school activities.
Such psychartist prepare report on each student with all facts and
suggest right remedy or if necessary police complain. This kind of
routine check will encourage children to come out with the fact of any
kind of personal suffering or any kind of psychological problems
disturbing them. Prevention is better for children and for their
natural growth. Nitasha Chennai 19 Mar, 2009 10:33 PM
The lack of education causes people to behave in such a hienous
way.Can you imagine any sane,sensible family consulting a 'tantrik' &
not straight away delivering him to the nearest police station when he
comes up with this vile remedy?I salute the girl for having the
courage in going against her parents & protecting her
sister.Unfortunately,it will leave severe scars on her mind which no
punishment to the parents & the great tanrik can cure.Abhay Dang
Delhi, India 19 Mar, 2009 10:35 PM
Religion does destroy common sense.Abhay Dang Delhi, India 19 Mar,
2009 10:38 PM
One day a woman commits suicide because her daughter refused to study.
And now this. Really, Indians have lost their brains!!Manoj Gupta
Bangalore 19 Mar, 2009 10:52 PM
Oh My God!!! It has happened in India also!!!Shame shame.kg india 20
Mar, 2009 12:18 AM
Another Fritzel!!!kg india 20 Mar, 2009 12:20 AM
Another Fritzel!!!SUMIT DELHI 20 Mar, 2009 12:21 AMwell this is
disturbing thing but do not over highlight this story otherwise that
will give a big impact on father and daughter relationship
universal.amit california 20 Mar, 2009 12:23 AM
Incest laws in the west are more stringent that in the East. In the
west - marrying a first cousin in illegal, it happens in India all the
time. As far as this case - it is a shameful act. The government
should do something about this quick, hopefully they are able to get
the case to hearing before the girl dies of old age...pathetic..monika
glasgow 20 Mar, 2009 12:47 AM
The real culprits in cases like these are indian wives cum
mothers,they have only one mission in their lives which is to keep
evil husbands happy,he might be an addict,a convict,an abuser,but she
will always protect his image and think she will go to heaven if she
does his seva,such women can sacrifice anything even children ,and
because of them india now has a land of courageous abusers who take
pride in their sins, I am a women and I am ashamed of what happened
just because of a coward mother,perhaps time has come to teach all
wives,bhaus,daughters,the real meaning of seva and sacrifice.We have
to stop blaming literacy for everything, our values are corrupted, and
noone can change values,only parents can. So lets be honest with
eachother and be brave enough to stop men when they do wrong not
support them when they speak ,behave,act,wrong and abuse defenceless
children. Sandeep London 20 Mar, 2009 12:58 AM
I have no words...people are so greedy for money & sex that they dont
even see if that's outsider or their own daughter. Religion got
nothing to do with this nor education its an individual and not about
a country, city, religion nor eastern or western countries. People
like them should not be hanged coz that would be too easy...cut their
private part that's the best option & that should be enforced as
global law...shame what a sick human being.Raghunathan Sharjah, UAE 20
Mar, 2009 01:12 AM
I read all the comments. I have no words to say. I am feeling so
shameful and angered by the act of these three bastards. Even a
punishment of death will not solve this issue. This man (father)
should witness his wife being raped by the Tantric. Tantric should
witness his wife being raped by the businessman and the businessman
should pay him 1 Rupee as the cost of the action. Only this could be
the worst of unimaginable punishment to all the three. In India??????
which taught the value of Astrology and all the other remedial
measures to cure the problems by prayers?????????? Where is God?????
Where are these insane people???? All my friends and my family are
very upset and sad. What will happen to these girls? Will anyone marry
them? Can they live a moderate genuine life hereafter? God only can
answer and save their lives. I and my family and all my friends prayed
for them this evening. May God show them a better life from this
evening. Raghunathan, Sharjah.SALMAN RIYADH 20 Mar, 2009 02:15 AM
PRAY TO ONE GOD''ALLAH"WHO CREATE WORLD AND HUMAN NATURE.....ASK HELP
FROM ALLAHsaad uddin saudi arabia 20 Mar, 2009 02:15 AM
dear sir, through your esteemed daily i want to convey my feeling like
any other value loving indians. India is known for its cultural and
religious values across the world but the reality is,as the Mumbai
businessman's case shows that we are deviating very fast to an unknown
limit of moral devastation for which unbridled media is responsible to
a large extent.Sexual harassmment has become regular appearences in
the news papers.And I believe the cases behind the screen are
certainly larger than the noticed ones.So to give a halt or at least
to minimise this kind of heinious crimes the law making agencies
should amend the existing laws towards some tougher ones and convicts
are to be punished puclicly. yours smartindian US 20 Mar, 2009 02:51
AM
Parents and Tantrik must to be killed in public. Freddie Pereira
Sydney 20 Mar, 2009 04:41 AM
This is Insane, After Slum Dog's success all over the world...this
story is very shocking. What has happened to all the so called "Indain
Traditional Culture" which is always Portrayed as a Big Strength
compared to the rest of the world. I am ashamed to call myself an
Indian after this devestating act by the Indian Parents ! Kishore
California, USA 20 Mar, 2009 05:56 AM
The father, mother and Tantrik trio should be shot dead on the
spot. .Derek Canada 20 Mar, 2009 06:34 AM
Surprising none has written that it is the influence of western
culture that is the cause of this heinous crime. Are you guys
surprised that this happens in India too?Suhail USA 20 Mar, 2009 06:34
AM
what a narrow minded and stupid guy. No wonder his business failed,
thomson Abudhabi 20 Mar, 2009 07:19 AMshoot the both stupid husband
and stupid mother&tanric in the public.Crescentman Assam 20 Mar, 2009
09:37 AM
People believe in fast bucks rather than hard work. This mindset has
been taken advantage by jothids and tantriks which needs to be
arrested immediately. Behind everything, the economic considerations
are the root cause. I appeal to the Govt. to come up with
comprehensive, transparent and inclusive 33% reservations to women
immediately without any delay.pankaj khatwani china 20 Mar, 2009 09:37
AM
india police should be very hard with this type of tantrik!!!! and
this type of parents if they dont know meaning of children ,why were
they born , she is so great she geve birth to her doughter and felt
pain for 9 monthskiran pune 20 Mar, 2009 09:54 AM
Dear folk why dont u see whats going under your skin . recently there
was a news of a female australian teacher who torchered their male
student for having sex for marks ?? where r u staying ????archana
delhi 20 Mar, 2009 10:05 AM
It is shame on us ..such an incident is happening in India now.Shame
on such fathers and the co-supporters.He should be punished and
sentenced to death so that others learn.Vipin Chennai 20 Mar, 2009
11:01 AM
The only way to stop rape crimes in India is not by just bringing
those case into light and imprision them that to for how many years
4-6 max.They wont pay nor such crimes can ever be stopped. If the
government and judicial system is realy looking for an answer to stop
then Death sentence have to be imposed for this crime. I tell you
there will be more than 100 case which will fall under this but even
if it becomes 1000 justice must be served. DEATH CAN ONLY DEAL WITH
RAPE CHARGES. People fighting for human rights must understand for
what they are fighting for and most importantly for whom.I hope some
day the judical system of our country will pass with LAW without
debating in our parliment.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/opinions/4285650.cms
chhotemianinshallah
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the Hindu demon. For other uses, see Kali
(disambiguation).
Not to be confused with the goddess Kali.
Kali
In Hinduism, Kali (IAST: káli; Devnāgari: कलि; from a root kad
"suffer, grieve, hurt; confound, confuse") is the reigning lord of
Kali Yuga and nemesis of Kalki, the 10th and final avatar of the Hindu
god Vishnu. According to the Vishnu Purana, he is a negative
manifestation of Vishnu, who along with his extended evil family,
perpetually operates as a cause of the destruction of this world.[1]
In the Kalki Purana, he is portrayed as a demon and the source of all
evil. In the Mahabharata, he was a gandharva who possessed Nala,
forcing him to lose his Kingdom in a game of dice to his brother
Pushkara. His most famous incarnation is the Kaurava King Duryodhana.
Kali is the prototype for the demon Kroni and his incarnation Kaliyan
of Ayyavazhi mythology.
Mahabharata
See also: The Gandharvas mentioned in Mahabharata
Damayanti speaking with a celestial swan.According to the Mahabharata,
the gandharva Kali became jealous when he was late to Princess
Damayanti's marriage ceremony and discovered she had overlooked the
deities Indra, Agni, Varun, and Yama (and ultimately himself) to
choose Nala as her husband. In anger, Kali spoke to his companion
Dvapara, the personification of Dwapara Yuga:
"I am ill able, O Dwapara, to suppress my anger. I shall possess Nala,
deprive him of his kingdom, and he shall no more sport with Bhima's
daughter. Entering the dice, it behoveth thee to help me." [2]
Kali traveled to Nala’s kingdom of Nishadhas and waited twelve long
years for the right moment to strike. Because Nala had rendered
himself impure by not washing his feet before his prayers, Kali was
able to bewitch his soul. Kali then appeared before Pushkara and
invited him to play a game of dice with his brother, guaranteeing
Nala’s downfall. Dwarpa took the form of the Vrisha die that would be
used in the fixed game. Kali forced Nala to lose and, each time, he
would raise the stakes higher despite the protest of his advisors and
wife. Finally, Nala lost his kingdom to Pushkara. Both he and
Damayanti were exiled to the forest.
Duryodhana as depicted in Yakshagana popular drama from
KarnatakaDuring their exile, Kali drove Nala to abandon Damayanti, who
later enacted a curse against everyone that had caused the downfall of
her husband. She eventually returned home after a short time as a hand-
maiden to the Princess of Chedi. Nala, meanwhile, saved the Naga
Karkotaka from fire (where he was cursed to suffer by sage Narada).
Intending to exorcize the devil within him, the serpent bit Nala,
injecting him with deadly poisons that forever tortured Kali. The
venom also changed Nala into an ugly dwarf named Bahuka. He later
became the charioteer of the Ayodhya King Rituparna, who was a master
mathematician and dice player.
Years later, King Rituparna revealed to Bahuka the supreme skill of
controlling the dice in exchange for horsemanship lessons. This skill
awakened Nala from Kali’s control and allowed him (with the help of
Damayanti’s curse and Karkotaka's venom) to exorcise the demon;
vomiting him in the form of poison from his mouth. Nala forced the
Kali’s trembling spirit into a Vibhitaka tree. He then counted the
fruits of the tree and left in search of his wife and later regained
his true form. Kali returned to his abode as well.
Kali was later incarnated as king Duryodhana, eldest of the one
hundred Kaurava brothers. His companion Dvapara became his uncle
Sakuni. The day Duryodhana was born, he unleashed a donkey-like scream
which the donkeys outside the home replied to. Despite the advise from
Vidura to discard the evil baby, Duryodhana's father Dhritarashtra
kept the child because demons had received a boon from Shiva that the
future king would be invincible.[3][4]
Puranic accounts
The Kalki Purana describes him as a huge being, the color of “soot,”
with a large tongue, and a terrible stench. From his birth, he carried
an Upaasthi (worship) bone. The Kalki Purana says this demon "chose
gambling, liquor, women and gold as his permanent abodes."[5] The
Sanskrit-English Dictionary states Kali is "of a class of mythic
beings (related to the Gandharvas, and supposed by some to be fond of
gambling)".[6] The Bhagavata Purana describes him as a sudra wearing
the garments of a king.[7] An early 20th century anti-beef eating
pamphlet protesting the slaughter of the sacred cow in India portrays
Kali as a brownish-skinned demon with a dog-like face, protruding
fangs, pointed ears, long green bushy hair and wearing a red loin
cloth and golden jewelry. (See Religion and politics)
The names of the four yugas of time—Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali—are
named after “dice throws” from a game of dice popular during the Vedic
period. Their order coincides with the favorability of each throw:
Satya is the best throw, whereas Kali is considered the worst.[8][9]
During the Mahabharata, king Nala exorcises the disembodied spirit of
Kali to a vibhitaka tree,[10] the nuts of which were used to create
the dice for the vedic dice game.[11] Therefore, not only Kali’s name,
but his penchant for gambling and reputation as being evil comes from
this dice game.
The churning of the ocean of milk
According to a lesser known Madhva version of the legend, during the
churning of the ocean of milk, a great poison known as halahala was
produced, which Vayu, the god of wind, rubbed in his hands to reduce
its potency. Then a small portion was given to god Shiva, turning his
throat blue. The rest was collected in a golden vessel and digested by
Vayu. (One source states he drank the Kalakuta poison of Vasuki nāga.
[12] Still others more commonly state that Shiva drank alone.[13]) A
little portion of poison that wasn't swallowed by Shiva became the
body of Kali. From this poison also came, "cruel objects like snakes,
wolves, and tigers."[3]
Later, when the asura Rahu was decapitated by Vishnu's Mohini avatar,
the demon’s allies attacked her and all except Kali were killed.
Having the power to possess the bodies of immortal and mortal beings,
he entered the hearts of man and escaped death.[14] He occasionally
entered Shiva and caused him to write evil scriptures, which created
great confusion and misconceptions. Because Kali was “invisible,
unimaginable, and present in all” the only way to correct the chaos
born from the miswritten texts was to completely renew the sacred
scriptures entirely. Thus Vishnu descended to earth as Vedavyasa, the
compiler of the sacred scriptures Vedas and the writer of the Puranas.
[3]
Markandeya Purana
According to Markandeya Purana, the Brahmin Pravara was given a
magical ointment that allowed him to fly. But when he flew to the
Himalayas, the ointment was washed away from the bottoms of his feet
keeping him from returning home to his wife. During this time, the
nymph Varuthini fell madly in love with him and begged the Brahmin to
stay with her forever. But eventually, he rejected her. He prayed to
Agni who returned him home safely.
The gandharva Kali was in love with Varuthini and had been rejected by
her in the past. He saw how she hungered for the Brahmin, so he took
on the appearance of Pravara and came before the courtesan. He led her
into the bedchamber and told her to close her eyes during their shared
pleasure [sambhoga]. (Another version of this tale explains the reason
he told her to shut her eyes was because gods revert to their true
forms whenever they do the basest of things, such as eating, sleeping,
and making love (including dying for demons).) As they made love,
Varuthini noticed that his body became flaming hot and believed it was
because his Brahmin spirit was infused with the sacrificial fire.
After climax, Kali, still-as-Pravara, left the apsara and returned to
his abode. Varuthini soon became pregnant and nine months later gave
birth to a human child that not only looked like the Brahmin but
possessed his soul as well.[15] The authors of the book Science in
Culture comment this was an example of the Sanskrit phrase "from his
semen and from her thinking," meaning the child was indeed Pravara's
child because she believed it was his.[16]
In another version, Kali stipulates he will only marry the apsara if
she keeps her eyes closed while they are in the forest (presumably
making love). However, Kali leaves after their marriage and the birth
of their son Svarocisa. Svarocisa grows up to become a very learned
scholar of the Vedas and learns to speak the languages of all
creatures from one of his three wives. He later marries a goddess and
fathers Svarocisa Manu, one of the progenitors of mankind.[17] (See
Progeny)
Bhagavata Purana
The Bhagavata Purana states the very day and moment god Krishna left
this earth, Kali, "who promotes all kinds of irreligious activities,
came into this world.”[18] Thus, Kali simply came into being because
the prosperity brought by Krishna left after his death.
After setting off to wage war against the evils of the world with his
armies, Emperor Parikshit, the grandson of Arjuna, came across a Sudra
dressed as a king who was beating a cow and an ox with a club.
Parikshit immediately lead his chariot over to the scene and angrily
berated the sudra for abusing the sacred cow and her mate. However,
this was no ordinary sudra and these were no ordinary bovine, for the
sudra was Kali and the cow and ox were embodiments of the earth
goddess and Dharma. The Emperor noticed the ox was standing on one of
his legs because the other three had been broken by Kali. Dharma
explained his four legs represented "austerity, cleanliness, mercy and
truthfulness", but he had only the leg of “truth” to stand on since
the other three had been broken by kali over the preceding yugas.[7]
Kali was intent on breaking all the legs that supported the reign of
dharma so he could effect the expansion of his own dark reign on
earth. The earth goddess cried for she had once been plentiful, but
when Krishna died and ascended to heaven, she was forsaken and all of
the prosperity left from the world. She feared evil kings like Kali
would continue to lay waste to the earth.
When Parikshit raised his sword to kill Kali, the sudra stripped
himself of his royal garments and prostrated himself at the emperor’s
feet. The emperor knew Kali tainted the world with his evil and so had
no place in it and raised his sword once more. But Kali interceded
again and begged the emperor to spare his life and allow him a place
to live within his empire. Parikshit decided that Kali would live in
“gambling houses, in taverns, in women of unchaste lives, in
slaughtering places and in gold”.[19] And as long as Parikshit ruled
India, Kali stayed within the confines of these five places. This act
allowed Dharma to regain his legs and the earth to be relieved of much
burden. However, Parikshit was later cursed to die by snake bite after
hunting in the forest and throwing a dead snake on an unresponsive
sage practicing austerities. Upon the emperor’s death, “Kali made his
way to other places like wild fire and established his power
throughout the length and breadth of the whole world.”[19][20]
In another version of the tale, Kali enters into the Emperor’s crown
when Parikshit gives him permission to reside wherever there is gold.
Upon returning home after offending the sage, Parikshit says to
himself, "Kali-yug’s abode is in gold; this was on my head; hence I
had so evil a thought that, having taken a dead snake cast it on the
sage’s neck. Therefore, I now understand that Kali-yug has taken his
revenge on me. How shall I escape this grievous sin?"[21][22]
Kalki Purana
KalkiMain article: Kalki Purana
The beginning of the Kalki Purana describes Kali’s lineage starting
with the creator-god Brahma, his great-great grandfather, and ending
with the birth of his children’s children. Instead of being born of
poison from the churning of the ocean of milk, he is the product of a
long line of incestuous monsters born from Brahma's back. (See Family
Lineage below) Kali and his family were created by Brahma to hurry the
dissolution of the cosmos after the pralaya period was over. When his
family takes human form on earth, they further taint the hearts and
minds of mankind to bring about the end of Dvapara Yuga and the
beginning of Kali Yuga. During the first stage of Kali-Yuga, the
Indian caste system breaks down and god-worship is forsaken by man.
All through the second, third, and fourth stages, man forgets the name
of god and no longer offers Yagya (offerings) to the Devas. It is at
this point when god Vishnu reincarnates as Kalki in the name of the
Devas and all of mankind to rid the cosmos of Kali's dark influence.
The remainder of the tale describes Kalki's childhood, military
training under the immortal Parashurama, his marriage, his preparation
for war against Kali, and the decisive war between the two. Kalki
kicks off his campaign by performing the Ashvamedha sacrifice and
leading his armies behind the horse as it runs freely from kingdom to
kingdom. If any evil king tries to stop the horse, Kalki engages them
in combat. After defeating them, he continues to follow the horse
until all evil kingdoms are vanquished. When Kali finally faces
Kalki's forces, his entire family blood line is wiped out by the
avatar's generals and he presumably dies from wounds inflicted by
Dharma and Satya Yuga personified. Kalki, meanwhile, battles and
simultaneously kills the demon's most powerful generals, Koka and
Vikoka, twin devils adept in the dark arts.[5]
Death
Kali dies one-third of the way through the Kalki Purana. During the
decisive battle between Kali and Kalki’s armies, Kali tried to face
both Dharma and Satya Yuga personified, but was overwhelmed and fled
on his donkey because his chariot had been destroyed, leaving his owl-
crested war flag to be trampled on the battlefield. Kali retreated to
the citadel of his capital city of Vishasha where he discovered his
body had been mortally stabbed and burned during his battle with the
two devas. The stench of his blood billowed out and filled the
atmosphere with a foul odor. When Dharma and Satya burst into the
city, Kali tried to run away, but, knowing his family had been
destroyed, coupled with his grevious wounds, he "entered his
unmanifested years".[5] This might lead some to believe he died, but
one version of the Kalki Purana in the book The Origins of Evil in
Hindu Mythology states Kali does not die but, instead, escapes through
time and space to live in the Kali Yuga of the next Kalpa. The author
comments, "Unlike most battles between gods and demons, however, this
apparent victory is immediately undercut, for Kali escapes to reappear
in 'another age'—in our age, or the next Kali Age."[23] Since he had
the power to manifest himself in human form on earth, he was able to
forsake his dying corporal form to escape in spirit.
Family lineage
Kali is the great-great grandson of Lord Brahma. He is the son of
Krodha (Anger) and his sister-turned-wife Himsa (Violence). He is the
grandson of Dambha (Vanity) and his sister-turned-wife, Maya
(Illusion). He is the great-grandson of Adharma (Impropriety) and his
wife, Mithya (Falsehood). Adharma was originally created from Lord
Brahma's back as a Maleen Pataka (a very dark and deadly sinful
object).
B.K. Chaturvedi, a modern translator of the Kalki Purana, states in a
foot note that the growth of this dark sinful object into Adharma
seems to, "convey the growth of Kaliyuga and its obnoxious
offshoots."[5]
Vishnu Purana
Kali's family lineage is told differently in the Vishnu Purana, which
is a father purana to the Kalki Purana:
The wife of Adharma (vice) was Himsá (violence), on whom he begot a
son Anrita (falsehood), and a daughter Nikriti (immorality): they
intermarried, and had two sons, Bhaya (fear) and Naraka (hell); and
twins to them, two daughters, Maya (deceit) and Vedaná (torture), who
became their wives. The son of Bhaya and Máyá was the destroyer of
living creatures, or Mrityu (death); and Dukha (pain) was the
offspring of Naraka and Vedaná. The children of Mrityu were Vyádhi
(disease), Jará (decay), Soka (sorrow), Trishńa (greediness), and
Krodha (wrath). These are all called the inflictors of misery, and are
characterised as the progeny of Vice (Adharma). They are all without
wives, without posterity, without the faculty to procreate; they are
the terrific forms of Vishńu, and perpetually operate as causes of the
destruction of this world. On the contrary, Daksha and the other
Rishis, the elders of mankind, tend perpetually to influence its
renovation: whilst the Manus and their sons, the heroes endowed with
mighty power, and treading in the path of truth, as constantly
contribute to its preservation.
In this version, Himsa is Adharma's wife instead of his granddaughter.
[1]
Bhagavata Purana
According to the Bhagavata Purana, Adharma is the husband of Mrishá
(falsehood), and the father of Dambha (hypocrisy) and Máyá (deceit),
who were adopted by Nirritti (Hindu god/dess of misery). The series of
their descendants is also somewhat varied from our text; being in each
descent, however, twins which intermarry, or Lobha (covetousness) and
Nikriti, who produce Krodha (wrath) and Hinsá: their children are,
Kali (wickedness) and Durukti (evil speech): their progeny are, Mrityu
and Bhí (fear); whose offspring are, Niraya (hell) and Yátaná
(torment).[24]
In this version, Mrisha is the wife of Adharma and not Himsa or
Mithya.
Linga Purana
The Linga Purana enumerates Adharma among the Prajapatis (Lords of
Creatures).[24]
Dharma Personified
Since Dharma is one of the major antagonists of Kali, it is important
to note this personified deity has his own line of offspring that work
against the demon and his family to bring balance to the world. The
following comes from the Vishnu Purana:
The progeny of Dharma by the daughters of Daksha were as follows: by
Sraddha he had Kama (desire); by Lakshmi, Darpa (pride); by Dhriti,
Niyama (precept); by Tushti, Santosha (content); by Pushti, Lobha
(cupidity); by Medhá, Sruta (sacred tradition); by Kriya, Danda, Naya,
and Vinaya (correction, polity, and prudence); by Buddhi, Bodha
(understanding); by Lajj, Vinaya (good behaviour); by Vapu, Vyavasaya
(perseverance). Santi gave birth to Kshema (prosperity); Siddhi to
Sukha (enjoyment); and Kírtti to Yasas. These were the sons of Dharma;
one of whom, Kama, had Hersha (joy) by his wife Nandi (delight).
Again, the Bhagavata Purana gives a different account of his
children's names.[25]
Progeny
Kali’s sister-turned-wife, Durukti (Calumny), gave him two offspring:
a son named Bhayanak (Fear) and a daughter named Mrityu (Death). His
son and daughter gave him two grandchildren: a boy named Naraka (Hell)
and a girl named Yatana (Torture).[5] Again, there are some
discrepancies here. The Vishnu Purana says Mrityu and Bhayanak are his
brother and sister. Mrityu is even represented as male instead of
female.[5]
Kali is the grandfather of Svarocisa Manu, one of the progenitors of
mankind.[17] As previously mentioned, Kali had a son named Svarocisa
with the Apsara Varuthini. Svarocisa once traveld to Mt. Mandara and
was met by Manorama, a cursed-woman being chased by a demon. In the
past, she had made fun of a sage practicing Tapasya austerities on Mt.
Kailas and was cursed to be captured by a demon. When her friends
Vibhavari and Kalavati berated the sage for enacting a curse for such
a minor offence, he cursed one to be a leper and the other a carrier
of diseases. Manorama had knowledge of a powerful spiritual weapon,
but did not know how to wield it, so she taught it to Svarocisa. When
the demon leaped out of the forest and grabbed a hold of the woman,
Svarocis called forth the weapon. But the demon stayed his hand and
explained he was actually Manorama’s father, Indivara. He had also
been cursed to become a demon by the sage Brahmamitra because he tried
to covertly obtain the secrets of Ayurveda medicine without the sage’s
knowledge. The sage told him that the curse would end when he was
about to eat his own daughter. Once he regained his true form,
Indivara taught Svarocisa the Ayurveda medication, which he used to
cure Manorama’s friends. He later married the three and had three sons
with them. He learned the languages of all creatures from Vibhavari
and the Padmini vidya from Kalavati.
Despite his prosperity, Svarocis was unhappy in his life and could
hear the ducks and deer talking about him behind his back. One day he
went hunting and took aim at a boar, but a deer came through the
clearing and asked to be shot in its place. When he enquired why, the
deer told him that she was really the goddess of the forest and wished
to marry Svarocisa. So he embraced the deer and she turned into a
beautiful woman. Together, they had a son named Dyutiman, who later
became the Svarocisa Manu.[17]
One source states, "Kali's wife Alakshmi and her sons who supervise
evil also came from Kshirasagara [the ocean of milk]."[3] Alakshmi is
the elder sister of the goddess Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu.[26]
Since the Kalki Purana states his wife Durukti is his sister, Alakshmi
would be a second wife because she is not directly related to him.
There are a number of connections and similarities between Kali and
Alakshmi. First and foremost, Alakshmi’s sister is the consort of Lord
Vishnu, who sent his Kalki avatar to earth to defeat Kali.[26] Second,
legends say she was born either from the churning of the ocean of
milk, the poison from Vasuki (who helped churn the ocean) or the back
of Prajapati.[26][27] As previously mentioned, Kali is said to have
been born from the halahala poison created from churning the ocean or
from a lineage created from Lord Brahma’s back.[3][5] Third, Alakshmi
takes the form of an owl.[26] Kali's emblem on his war flag is of an
owl.[5] Fourth, whenever Alakshmi enters a house, families fight and
turn on one another.[28] The presence of Kali and his family on earth
causes mankind to fight and turn on one another. Finally, Alakshmi is
said to ride a donkey.[26] Kali also rides a donkey in the Kalki
Purana.[5]
Role in modern communalism
Further information: Communalism (South Asia) and Religious violence
in India
Anti-beef eating pamphlet (1890 CE) showing Kali (far right)
attempting to slaughter a sacred cow.
The color version ran by the Ravi Varma Press (c. 1912).Kali’s image
was used in several pamphlets circulated by various Agorakshanasabh
(“cow protection leagues”) and “wandering ascetics” as a protest
against the Muslim practice of beef-eating during the British raj.[29]
[30] These pamphlets were produced in a time when Hindu-Muslim riots
over cow slaughter occurred in several areas of India; including
Azamgarh district (1893), when a total of 100 people died in similar
conflagrations throughout the empire; Ayodhya (1912-1913); and
Shahabad (1917).[31] One such pamphlet entitled “The Present State”
showed a cow being slaughtered by a trio of "Muhammadan" butchers.[29]
[30] Another portrayed Kali raising a sword above the head of a sacred
cow, whose body was illustrated to be a microcosmic paradise in which
all the Hindu gods resided. There were many different editions of this
version. For instance, one showed a woman labeled "The Hindu" waiting
with bowl-in-hand for the cow's calf to finish suckling before she
could get milk. A form of Krishna labeled Darmaraj ("Ruler of Dharma")
stood behind the cow and Kali was, again, harassing her with his
sword. Still, a different one deleted the woman and calf and instead
portrayed Dharmaraj in front of the cow pleading mat maro gay sarv ka
jivan hai ("don’t kill the cow, everyone is dependent on it"), while
Kali rebuts he manusyaho! Kaliyugi Mansahari jivom ko dekho ("mankind,
look at the meat-eating souls of the kaligyug").[29]
Some Hindus considered Kali’s presence in the picture to be a
representation of the Muslim community.[29][30] When one of the
versions of these pamphlets came into the possession of a state
official in 1893, he commented that the image “contained a
representation of a Musalman [Muslim] advancing to slay the cow ...”.
[29] One book states, “The Magistrate [at Deoria] found Muhammadans
excited because they heard a picture was in circulation representing a
Muhammadan with a sword drawn sacrificing a cow, and this they
considered an insult.”[29] In 1915, a color version of this picture
ran by the Ravi Varma Press[32] caught the attention of the colonial
censors and was presumably censored in some way.[29]
In popular culture
Nala Damayanti (1921): This big-budget film depicts a famous episode
from the Mahabharata, starting with Narada's ascent of Mount Meru. It
shows Swarga, the Heaven of Indra, the Transformation in the Clouds of
the Four Gods into impersonations of King Nala, Swan Messengers of
Love, the Transformation of Kali into a Serpent, the Meeting of Kali
and Dwarpa and the Four Gods amidst the Blue Air.[33]
Notes
^ a b CHAP. VII http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/vp/vp041.htm#fr_212
^ SECTION LVIII http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/index.htm
^ a b c d e Chapter X Samudra mathana
^ SECTION XXXI
^ a b c d e f g h i Chaturvedi, B.K. Kalki Purana. New Delhi: Diamond
Books, 2004 (ISBN 81-288-0588-6)
^ Monier-Williams, Monier, Sir.Sanskrit-English Dictionary ISBN
0-19-864308-X
^ a b Canto 1: Creation, Chapter 17 http://vedabase.net/sb/1/17/en1
^ CYCLICAL TIME AND ASTRONOMY IN HINDUISM (See page. 3)
http://www.achaloza.com/docs/AchalOza_CyclicalTime.pdf
^ Glass, Marty. YUGA: An Anatomy of Our Fate. Sophia Perennis, 2004
(ISBN 0900588292)
^ "Terminalia belerica (Combretaceae) is a large deciduous tree
growing to a height of 25 – 30 meters, occurring throughout India up
to 1000 meters elevation, except in the dry regions of western
India ..." [1]
^ Smith, Frederick M. The Self Possessed: Deity And Spirit Possession
in South Asian Literature And Civilization. Columbia University Press,
2006 (ISBN 0231137486)
^ Mutalik, Keshav M. Jagannath Dasa’s Harikathamrutasara (Quintessence
of Hari’s Saga). Bombay: Focus (ISBN 81-7154-787-7)
^ In another version given by Shaivites, Shiva alone drank the deadly
poison, but his consort Parvati squeezed his neck to keep it from
reaching his stomach.[2] Still, some traditions state Vayu drank first
and Shiva last and that Vayu himself is an aspect of Shiva.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaivites
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parvati
http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/series/11_names_of_shiva/11_names_of_shiva_bhagawan-1.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vayu
^ The same source says Kali can never enter the bodies of Vishnu, his
consort Lakshmi, or Vayu.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakshmi
^ Doniger, Wendy. The Bedtrick: Tales of Sex and Masquerade.
University Of Chicago Press, 2000 (ISBN 0226156427)
^ Graubard, Stephen R. and Everett Mendelsohn. Science in Culture. Ed.
Peter Galison and Stephen Graubard. Transaction Publishers, 2001 (ISBN
0765806738)
^ a b c Prasad, Ramanuj. Know The Puranas. Pustak Mahal, 2005 (ISBN
81-223-0912-7)
^ Canto 1: Creation, Chapter 18 http://vedabase.net/sb/1/18/en1
^ a b Sastri, Natesa S. M. Hindu Feasts: Fasts And Ceremonies: Fasts
and Ceremonies. Laurier Books Ltd., 2003 (ISBN 8120604024)
^ See chapters 16, 17, and 18
^ The Prema-Sagara: Or the Ocean of Love (PDF ONLY)
^ Bahadur, S.P. Gitavali: Complete Works of Goswami Tulsidas (Volume
III). India: Prachya Prakashan, 1979 (ISBN 8121506697)
^ O'Flaherty, Wendy Doniger. The Origins of Evil in Hindu Mythology.
University of California Press, 1980 (ISBN 0520040988)
^ a b See 55:14 http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/vp/vp041.htm#fn_212
^ See 55:13 http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/vp/vp041.htm#fn_211
^ a b c d e Pattanaik, Devdutt. Lakshmi: The Goddess of Wealth and
Fortune-An Introduction. Vakils Feffer & Simons Ltd, 2003 (ISBN
8187111585)
^ Krishna, Nanditha. The Book of Vishnu. Penguin Global, 2001 (ISBN
0670049077)
^ Chakrabarty, Dipesh. Provincializing Europe. Princeton University
Press, 2000 (ISBN 0691049092)
^ a b c d e f g Pinney, Christopher. Photos of the Gods: The Printed
Image and Political Struggle in India. Reaktion Books, 2004 (ISBN
1861891849)
^ a b c Gupta, Charu. Sexuality, Obscenity, And Community: Women,
Muslims, and the Hindu Public in Colonial India. Palgrave Macmillan,
2006 (ISBN 0312295855)
^ Paradox of the Indian Cow: Attitudes to Beef Eating in Early India
http://www.indowindow.net/sad/article.php?child=17&article=11
^ A lithograph press founded by Indian artist Ravi Varma in 1894.[3]
^ Plot Summary for Nala Damayanti (1921)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0154931/plotsummary
External links
Look up Kali in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Places of Kali – Podcast of Kali’s tale from the Bhagavata Purana.
કલિયુગનાં ચાર આશ્રયસ્થાન (Kaliyuga's mainstay) – The tale of Kali and
Parikshit in Gujarati.
http://www.swargarohan.org/Bhagavata/Chapter01/09.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavata_Purana
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gujar%C4%81ti_script
Srimad Bhagavatam: Cant 1 – See chapters 16 and 17.
http://www.srimadbhagavatam.org/canto1/c1-contents.html
A very large detailed painting of King Parikshit about to kill Kali.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali_(demon)
/ History / Myths of Origins /
Paradox of the Indian Cow:
Attitudes to Beef Eating in Early India
By DN Jha
Renowned historian writes on beef eating in ancient India and
associated issues
An average Indian of today rooted in what appears to him as his
traditional Hindu religious heritage carries the load of the
misconception that his ancestors, especially the Vedic Aryans,
attached great importance to the cow on account of its inherent
sacredness. The ‘sacred’ cow has come to be considered a symbol of
community identity of the Hindus whose cultural tradition is often
imagined as threatened by the Muslims who are thought of as
beefeaters. The sanctity of the cow has, therefore, been announced
with the flourish of trumpets and has been wrongly traced back to the
Vedas, which are supposedly of divine origin and fountainhead of all
knowledge and wisdom. In other words, some sections of Indian society
have traced back the concept of sacred cow to the very period when it
was sacrificed and its flesh was eaten.
More importantly, the cow has tended to become a political instrument
at the hand of rulers over time. The Mughal emperors (e.g. Babar,
Akbar, Jahangir and Aurangzeb etc) are said to have imposed a
restricted ban on cow slaughter to accommodate the Jaina or
Brahmanical feeling of respect and veneration of the cow[1].
Similarly Shivaji, sometimes viewed as an incarnation of God who
descended on earth for the deliverance of the cow and brahmin, is
described as proclaiming: “We are Hindus and the rightful lords of the
realm. It is not proper for us to witness cow slaughter and the
oppression of brahmanas”[2].
But the cow became a tool of mass political mobilization when the
organized Hindu cow protection movement, beginning with the Sikh Kuka
(or Namdhari) sect in the Punjab around 1870 and later strengthened by
the foundation of the first Gorakshini Sabha in 1882 by Dayanananda
Saraswati, made this animal a symbol to unite a wide ranging people,
challenged the Muslim practice of its slaughter and provoked a series
of serious communal riots in the 1880s and 1890s. Although attitudes
to cow killing had been hardening even earlier, there was undoubtedly
a ‘dramatic intensification’ of the cow protection movement when in
1888 the North-Western Provinces High Court decreed that a cow was not
a sacred object.[3] Not surprisingly cow slaughter very often became
the pretext of many Hindu-Muslim riots, especially those in Azamgarh
district in the year 1893 when more than one hundred people were
killed in different parts of the country. Similarly in 1912-1913
violence rocked Ayodhya and a few years later, in 1917, Shahabad
witnessed a disastrous communal conflagration.[4]
The killing of the kine seems to have emerged again and again as a
troublesome issue on the Indian political scene even in independent
India despite legislation by several state legislatures prohibiting
cow slaughter and the Directive Principles of State Policy in the
Indian Constitution which directs the Indian state to “…to take steps
for… prohibiting the slaughter of cows and calves and other milch and
draught cattle”. For instance, in 1966, nearly two decades after
Indian independence, almost all the Indian communal political parties
and organizations joined hands in masterminding a massive
demonstration by several hundred thousand people in favour of a
national ban on cow slaughter which culminated in a violent rioting in
front of the Indian Parliament resulting in the death of at least
eight persons and injury to many more. In April 1979, Acharya Vinoba
Bhave, often supposed to be a spiritual heir to Mahatma Gandhi, went
on a hunger strike to pressurize the central government to prohibit
cow slaughter throughout the country and ended it after five days when
he succeeded in getting the Prime Minister Morarji Desai’s vague
assurance that his government would expedite anti-slaughter
legislation. Since then the cow ceased to remain much of an issue in
the Indian political arena for many years, though the management of
cattle resources has been a matter of academic debate among
sociologists, anthropologists, economists and different categories of
policy framers.
The veneration of cow has been, however, converted into a symbol of
communal identity of the Hindus and the obscurantist and
fundamentalist forces obdurately refuse to appreciate that the
‘sacred’ cow was not always all that sacred in the Vedic and
subsequent Brahmanical and non-Brahmanical traditions and that its
flesh, along with other varieties of meat, was quite often a part of
the haute cuisine in early India. Although the Shin, Muslims of
Dardistan in Pakistan, look on the cow as other Muslims do the pig,
avoid direct contact with cows, refuse to drink cow’s milk or use cow
dung as fuel and reject beef as food,[5] the self-styled custodians of
non-existent ‘monolithic’ Hinduism assert that the practice of beef
eating was first introduced in India by the followers of Islam who
came from outside and are foreigners in this country, little realising
that their Vedic ancestors were also foreigners who ate the flesh of
the cow and various other animals. Fanaticism getting precedence over
fact, it is not surprising that the Rashtriya Svayamsevak Sangha
(RSS), the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Bajrang Dal and their numerous
outfits have a national ban on cow slaughter on their agenda and the
Chief Minister of Gujarat (Keshubhai Patel) announced some time ago,
as a pre-election gimmick, the setting up of a separate department to
preserve cow breeds and manage Hindu temples.[6] More recently, a
Bajrang Dal leader has threatened to enroll 30 lakh volunteers to
agitate against cow slaughter during the month of Bakrid in 2002.[7]
So high-geared has been the propaganda about abstention from beef
eating as a characteristic trait of ‘Hinduism’ that when the RSS
tried to claim Sikhs as Hindus, it led to vehement opposition from
them and one of the Sikh youth leaders proposed, ”Why not slaughter a
cow and serve beef in a gurudwara langar?”[8]
The communalists who have been raising a hullabaloo over the cow in
the political arena do not realise that beef eating remained a fairly
common practice for a long time in India and that the arguments for
its prevalence are based on the evidence drawn from our own scriptures
and religious texts. The response of historical scholarship to the
communal perception of Indian food culture, however, has been sober
and scholars have drawn attention to the textual evidence of beef
eating which, in fact, begins to be available from the oldest Indian
religious text Rgveda, supposedly of divine origin. H.H. Wilson,
writing in the first half of the nineteenth century, had asserted:
“the sacrifice of the horse or of the cow, the gomedha or asvamedha,
appears to have been common in the earliest periods of the Hindu
ritual”. The view that the practice of killing of cattle at sacrifices
and eating their flesh prevailed among the Indo-Aryans was put forth
most convincingly by Rajendra Lal Mitra in an article which first
appeared in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal and
subsequently formed a chapter of his book The Indo-Aryans published in
1891. In 1894 William Crooke, a British civil servant, collected an
impressive amount of ethnographic data on popular religious beliefs
and practices in his two-volume book and devoted one whole chapter to
the respect shown to animals including the cow[9]. Later in 1912, he
published an informative piece on the sanctity of cow in India. But he
also drew attention to the old practice of eating beef and its
survival in his own times.[10] In 1927, L. L. Sundara Ram made a
strong case for cow protection for which he sought justification from
the scriptures of different religions including Hinduism. However he
did not deny that the Vedic people ate beef, [11] though he blamed the
Muslims for cow slaughter. Later in the early forties P. V. Kane in
his monumental work History of Dharmasastra referred to some Vedic and
early Dharmasastric passages which speak of cow killing and beef
eating. H.D. Sankalia drew attention to literary as well as
archaeological evidence of eating cattle flesh in ancient India.[12]
Similarly, Laxman Shastri Joshi, a Sanskritist of unquestionable
scholarship, drew attention to the Dharmasastra works, which
unequivocally support the prevalence of the practice of flesh eating
including beef eating in early India.[13]
Needless to say that the scholarship of all of the scholars mentioned
above was unimpeachable, and that none of them seems to have anything
to do with any anti- Hindu ideology. H.H. Wilson, for example, was the
first occupant of the Chair of Sanskrit at Oxford in 1832 and was not
as avowedly anti-Indian as many other imperialist scholars. Rajendra
Lal Mitra, a product of the Bengal renaissance and a close associate
of Rabindranath’s elder brother Jyotindranath Tagore, made significant
contribution to India’s intellectual life, and was described by Max
Mueller as the ‘best living Indologist’ of his time and by
Rabindranath Tagore as “the most beloved child of the muse”.[14]
William Crooke was a well-known colonial ethnograher who wrote
extensively on peasant life and popular religion without any marked
prejudice against Hinduism.[15] L. L. Sundara Ram, despite his
somewhat anti-Muslim feeling, was inspired by humanitarian
considerations. Mahamahopadhyaya P.V. Kane was a conservative Marathi
brahmin and the only Sanskritist to be honoured with the title of
Bharatratna. H.D. Sankalia combined his unrivalled archaeological
activity with a profound knowledge of Sanskrit. Besides these scholars
several other Indian Sanskritists and Indologists, not to mention a
number of western scholars, have repeatedly drawn our attention to the
textual evidence of eating beef and other types of animal flesh in
early India. Curious though it may seem, the Sangh Parivar, which
carries a heavy burden of “civilisational illiteracy”, has never
turned its guns towards them but against historians who have mostly
relied on the researches of the above-mentioned distinguished
scholars.
While the contribution of the scholars mentioned above cannot be
minimised, the limitation of their work lies in the fact that they
have referred to isolated bits of information on beef eating
concentrating mainly on the Vedic texts without treating it as part of
the flesh eating tradition prevalent in India. Unlike their works,
therefore, the present paper seeks to draw attention to the Indian
textual evidence of cattle killing and beef eating widely dispersed
over time so as to indicate its continuity for a long time in the
Brahmanical society and to suggest that the idea of cow’s supposed
holiness does not tie up with practices current in Indian society.
II
The early Aryans, who migrated to India from outside,
brought along with them their earlier cultural traits. Therefore, even
after their migration into the Indian subcontinent, for several
centuries, pastoralism, nomadism and animal sacrifice remained
characteristic features of their life till sedentary field agriculture
became the mainstay of their livelihood. Animal sacrifices were very
common, and in the agnadheya, which was a preparatory rite preceding
all public sacrifices, a cow was required to be killed.[16] In the
asvamedha, the most important of public sacrifices, first mentioned in
the Rgveda and discussed in the Brahmanas, more than 600 animals
(including wild ones like boars) and birds were killed and its finale
was marked by the sacrifice of 21 cows, which, according to the
dominant opinion were sterile ones.[17] In the gosava, an important
component of the public sacrifices like the rajasuya and vajapeya, a
sterile spotted cow was offered to Maruts and seventeen ‘dwarf heifers
under three’ were done to death in the pancasaradiyasava.[18] The
killing of animals including the cattle figures in several other
yajnas including caturmasya, sautramani and independent animal
sacrifice called pasubandha or nirudhapasubandha.[19] These and
several other major sacrifices involved killing of animals including
the cattle, which constituted the chief form of the wealth of the
early Aryans. They, not surprisingly, prayed for cattle and sacrificed
them to propitiate their gods.
The Vedic gods, for whom the various sacrifices were performed, had no
fixed menu of food. Milk, butter, barley, oxen, goats and sheep were
offered to them and these were their usual food, though some of them
seem to have had their special preferences. Indra had a special liking
for bulls (RV, V.29.7ab; VI.17.11b; VIII.12.8ab X.27.2c; X. 28. 3c;X.
86.14ab). Agni was not a tippler like Indra, but was fond of animal
food including the flesh of horses, bulls and cows (RV, VIII. 43.11;
X. 91.14ab). The toothless Pusan, the guardian of the roads, ate mush
as a Hobson’s choice. Soma was the name of a heady drink but, equally
importantly, of a god and killing of animals including cattle for him
(RV, X.91.14ab) was basic to most of the Rgvedic yajnas. The Maruts
and the Asvins were also offered cows. The Vedas mention about 250
animals out of which at least 50 were deemed fit for sacrifice and by
implication for divine as well as human consumption. The animal food
occupied a place of importance in the Vedic sacrifices and dietetics
and the general preference for the flesh of the cow is undeniable. The
Taittiriya Brahmana (III.9.8) categorically tells us: “Verily the cow
is food” (atho annam vai gauh) and the Satapatha Brahmana (III.1.2.21)
refers to Yajnavalkya’s stubborn insistence on eating the tender
(amsala) flesh of the cow.
According to the subsequent Brahmanical texts (e.g. Grhyasutras and
Dharmasutras) the killing of animals and eating of beef was very much
de rigeur. The ceremony of guest-reception (known as arghya in the
Rgveda but generally as madhuparka in subsequent texts) consisted not
only of a meal of a mixture of curds and honey but also of the flesh
of a cow or bull. Early lawgivers go to the extent of making flesh
food mandatory in madhuparka --- an injunction more or less dittoed
by several later legal texts (AsGS, I.24.33; KathaGS, 24,20; SankhGS,
II.15.2; ParGS, I.3.29). A guest therefore came to be described by
Panini as a goghna (one for whom the cow is slain). The sacred thread
ceremony was not all that sacred; for it was necessary for a snataka
to wear an upper garment of the cowhide (ParGS, II.5.17-20).
The slaughter of animals formed an important component of the cult of
the dead in the Vedic texts as well as in later Dharmasastra works.
The thick fat of the cow was used to cover the dead body (RV, X.14-18)
and a bull was burnt along with the corpse to enable the departed to
ride with in the nether world. The funerary rites included feeding of
the brahmins after the prescribed period and quite often the flesh of
the cow/ ox was offered to the dead (AV, XII.2, 48). The textual
prescriptions indicate the degree of satisfaction obtained by the
Manes depending upon the animal offered---- the cow’s flesh could keep
them contented for at least a year! The Vedic and the post-Vedic
texts also often mention the killing of animals including the kine in
several other ritual contexts. The gavamayana, a sessional sacrifice
performed by the brahmins was, for example, marked by animal slaughter
culminating in an extravagant bacchanalian communal festival
(mahavrata) in which cattle were slaughtered. There was, therefore, a
relationship between the sacrifice and sustenance. But this need not
necessarily mean that different meat types were eaten only if offered
in a sacrifice. Thus in the grhamedha, which has been discussed in
several Srautasutras, an unspecified number of cows were slain not in
the strict ritual manner but in the crude and profane manner.[20]
Archaeological evidence also suggests non-ritual killing of cattle.
This is indicative of the fact that beef and other animal flesh formed
part of the dietary habits of the people and that the edible flesh was
not always ritually consecrated, though some scholars have argued to
the contrary.[21] Despite the overwhelming evidence of cattle killing,
several scholars have obdurately held that the Vedic cow was sacred
and inviolable on the basis of the occurrence of the word aghnya/
aghnya in the Atharvaveda and the use of words for cow as epithet or
in simile and metaphor with reference to entities of highest religious
significance. But it has been convincingly proved that if the Vedic
cow was at all inviolable, it was so only when it belonged to a
brahmin who received cows as sacrificial fee (daksina).[22] But this
cannot be taken to be an index of the animal’s inherent sanctity and
inviolability in the Vedic period or even later.
Nor can one make too much of the doctrine of non-killing (ahimsa) in
relation to the cow. Gautama Buddha and Mahavira emphasized the idea
of non-violence, which seems to have made its first appearance in the
Upanisadic thought and literature. But despite their vehement
opposition of the Vedic animal sacrifice, neither they nor their
followers were averse to eating of meat. The Buddha is known to have
eaten beef and pork and the texts amply indicate that flesh meat very
well suited the Buddhist palate. Asoka, whose compassion for animals
is undeniable, allowed certain specified animals to be killed for his
kitchen. In fact, neither Asoka’s list of animals exempted from
slaughter nor the Arthasastra of Kautilya specifically mentions cow as
unslayable. The cattle were killed for food throughout the Mauryan
period.
Like Buddhism, Jainism also enthusiastically took up cudgels for non-
violence. But meat eating was so common in Vedic and post-Vedic times
that even Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, is said to have eaten the
meat of a cockerel. Perhaps the early Jainas were not strict
vegetarians. A great Jaina logician of the eighth century,
Haribhadrasuri, tells us that the monks did not have objection to
eating flesh and fish, which were given to them by householders,
though there is irrefutable textual evidence to show that meat eating
became a strong taboo among the followers of Jainism. The
inflexibility of the Jaina attitude to meat eating is deeply rooted in
the basic tenets of Jaina philosophy, which, at least in theory, is
impartial in its respect for all forms of life without according any
special status to the cow. Thus, although both Buddhism, and, to a
greater extent, Jainism contributed to the growth of ahimsa doctrine,
neither seems to have developed the sacred cow concept
independently.
III
Despite the Upanisadic, Buddhist and Jaina advocacy of ahimsa, the
practice of ritual and random of killing animals including the cattle
continued in the post-Mauryan centuries. The law book of Manu (200 BC-
AD 200), which is the most representative of the legal texts and has
much to say on the lawful and forbidden food, contains several
passages on flesh eating, which have much in common with earlier and
later Brahmanical juridical works. Like the earlier law books, it
mentions the animals whose flesh could be eaten. Manu’s list includes
the porcupine, hedgehog, iguana, rhinoceros, tortoise and the hare and
all those domestic animals having teeth in one jaw only, the only
exception being the camel (V.18); and, it is significant that the cow
is not excluded from the list of edible animals. Eating meat on
sacrificial occasions, Manu tells us, is a divine rule (daivo vidhih
smrtah), but doing so on other occasions is a demoniac practice (V.
31). Accordingly one does not do any wrong by eating meat while
honouring the gods, the Manes and guests (madhuparka ca yajne ca
pitrdaivatakarmani), irrespective of the way in which the meat was
procured (V.32, 41). Manu asserts that animals were created for the
sake of sacrifice, that killing on ritual occasions is non-killing (V.
39) and injury (himsa) as enjoined by the Veda (vedavihitahimsa) is
known to be non-injury (V.44). In the section dealing with rules for
times of distress, Manu recalls the legendary examples of the most
virtuous brahmins of the days of yore who ate ox-meat and dog-meat to
escape death from starvation (X.105-9). Manu’s latitudinarian attitude
is clear from his recognition of the natural human tendency of eating
meat, drinking spirituous liquor and indulging in sexual intercourse,
even if abstention brings great rewards (V.56). He further breaks
loose the constraints when he says: “the Lord of creatures (Prajapati)
created this whole world to be the sustenance of the vital spirit;
both the immovable and the movable (creation is) the food of the vital
spirit. What is destitute of motion is the food of those endowed with
locomotion; (animals) without fangs (are the food) of those with
fangs, those without hands of those who possess hands, and the timid
of the bold. The eater who daily even devours those destined to be his
food, commits no sin; for the creator himself created both the eaters
and those who are to be eaten” (V.28-30). This injunction removes all
restrictions on flesh eating and gives an unlimited freedom to all
desiring to eat animal flesh and since Manu does not mention beef
eating as taboo one can infer that he did not treat cow as sacrosanct.
Manu contradicts his own statements by extolling ahimsa (X.63), but
there is no doubt that he permitted meat eating at least on ritual
occasions (madhuparka, sraddha etc) when the killing of the cow and
other cattle, according to his commentator Medhatithi (9th century),
was in keeping with the Vedic and post- Vedic practice
(govyajamamsamaproksitambhaksyed… madhuparkovyakhyatah tatra
govadhovihitah).[23]
Yajnavalkya (AD 100-300), like Manu, discusses the rules regarding
lawful and forbidden food. Although his treatment of the subject is
less detailed, he does not differ radically from him. Yajnavalkya
mentions the specific animals (deer, sheep, goat, boar, rhinoceros
etc) and birds (e.g. partridge) whose flesh could satisfy the Manes (I.
258-61). According to him a student, teacher, king, close friend and
son-in-law should be offered arghya every year and a priest should be
offered madhuparka on all ritual occasions (I.110). He further enjoins
that a learned brahmin (srotriya) should be welcomed with a big ox or
goat (mahoksam va mahajam va srotriyayopakalpayet) delicious food and
sweet words. This indicates his endorsement of the earlier practice of
killing cattle at the reception of illustrious guests. Yajnavalkya,
like Manu, permits eating of meat when life is in danger, or when it
is offered in sacrifices and funerary rites (i.179). But unconsecrated
meat (vrthamamsam, anupakrtamamsani), according to him, is a taboo (I.
167, 171) and any one killing animals solely for his own food and not
in accordance with the Vedic practice is doomed to go to hell for as
many days as the number of hair on the body of the victim (I.180).
Similarly Brhaspati (AD 300-500), like Manu, recommends abstention
from liquor (madya), flesh (mamsa) and sexual intercourse only if they
are not lawfully ordained[24] which implies that whatever was lawful
was permitted. The lawgivers generally accept as lawful all those
sacrifices, which, according to them, have Vedic sanction. The
sacrificial slaughter of animals and domesticated bovines, as we have
seen, was a Vedic practice and therefore may have been fairly common
among the Brahmanical circles during the early Christian centuries and
even well into the later half of the first millennium AD. It would be,
however, unrealistic to assume that the dharmic precept of restricting
animal slaughter to ritual occasions was always taken seriously either
by brahmins for whom the legal injunctions were meant or by other
sections of society.[25] It is not surprising, therefore, that
Brhaspati, while discussing the importance of local customs, says that
in Madhyadesa the artisans eat cows (madhyadese karmakarah silpinasca
gavasinah).[26]
The evidence from the epics is quite eloquent. Most of the characters
in the Mahabharata are meat eaters and it makes a laudatory reference
to the king Rantideva in whose kitchen two thousand cows were
butchered everyday, their flesh, along with grains, being distributed
among the brahmins (III.208.8-9)[27]. Similarly the Ramayana of
Valmiki makes frequent reference to the killing of animals including
the cow for sacrifice as well as food. Rama was born after his father
Dasaratha performed a big sacrifice involving the slaughter of a large
number of animals declared edible by the Dharmasastras, which, as we
have seen, sanction ritual killing of the kine. Sita, while crossing
the Yamuna, assures her that she would worship her with thousand cows
and a hundred jars of wine when Rama accomplishes his vow. Her
fondness for deer meat drives her husband crazy enough to kill Marici,
a deer in disguise. Bharadvaja welcomes Rama by slaughtering a fatted
calf in his honour.[28]
The non-vegetarian dietary practices find an important place in the
early Indian medical treatises, whose chronology broadly coincides
with that of the law books of Manu and Yajnavalkya, and the two epics.
Caraka (1st-2nd century), Susruta (3rd –4th century) and Vagbhata (7th
century) provide an impressive list of the variety of fish and flesh
and all three of them speak of the therapeutic uses of beef[29]. The
continuity of the tradition of eating flesh including that of the
cattle is also echoed in early Indian secular literature till late
times. In the Gupta period, Kalidasa alludes to the story of Rantideva
who killed numerous cows every day in his kitchen.[30] More than two
centuries later, Bhavabhuti (AD 700) refers to two instances of guest
reception, which included the killing of a heifer[31]. In the 10th
century Rajasekhara mentions the practice of killing an ox or a goat
in honour of a guest[32]. In the 12th century Sriharsa mentions a
variety of non-vegetarian delicacies served at a dazzling marriage
feast and refers to two interesting instances of cow killing[33],
though, in the same century Somesvara shows clear preference for pig
flesh over other meat types and does not mention beef at all.
IV
While the above references, albeit limited in number, indicate that
the ancient practice of killing the kine for food continued till about
the 12th century, there is considerable evidence in the commentaries
on the kavya literature and the earlier Dharmasastra texts to show
that the Brahmanical writers retained its memory till very late times.
Among the commentators on the secular literature, Candupandita (late
13th century) from Gujarat, Narahari[34] (14th century) from Telengana
in Andhra Pradesh, and Mallinatha[35] (14th-15th century), who is
associated with the king Devaraya II of Vidyanagara (Vijayanagara),
clearly indicate that, in earlier times, the cow was done to death for
rituals and hence for food. As late as the 18th century Ghanasyama, a
minister of a Tanjore ruler, states that the killing of cow in honour
of a guest was the ancient rule.[36]
Similarly the authors of Dharmasastra commentaries and religious
digests from the 9th century onwards keep alive the memory of the
archaic practice of beef eating and some of them even go so far as to
permit eating beef in specific circumstances. For example, Medhatithi
(9th century), probably a Kashmirian brahmin, says that a bull or ox
was killed in honour of a ruler or any one deserving to be honoured
and unambiguously allows eating the flesh of cow (govyajamamsam) on
ritual occasions[37]. Several other writers of exegetical works seem
to lend support to this view, though some times indirectly.
Visvarupa[38] (9th century), a brahmin from Malwa and probably a pupil
of Sankara, Vijnanesvara[39] (11th century), who may have lived not
far from Kalyana in modern Karnataka, Haradatta[40] (12th century),
also a southerner (daksinatya), Laksmidhara[41] (12th century), a
minister of the Gahadwala king, Hemadri[42] (late 13th century), a
minister of the Yadavas of Devagiri, Narasimha/ Nrsimha[43] (14th
century), possibly from southern India, and Mitra Misra[44] (17th
century) from Gopacala (Gwalior) support the practice of killing a cow
on occasions like guest-reception and sraddha in ancient times. As
recently as the early 20th century, Madana Upadhyaya from Mithila
refers to the ritual slaughter of milch cattle in the days of yore.
[45] Thus even when the Dharmasastra commentators view cow killing
with disfavour, they generally admit that it was an ancient practice
and that it was to be avoided in the kali age.
V
While the above evidence is indicative of the continuity of the
practice of beef eating, the lawgivers had already begun to discourage
it around the middle of the first millennium when the Indian society
began to be gradually feudalized leading to major socio-cultural
transformation. This phase of transition, first described in the epic
and Puranic passages as kaliyuga, saw many changes and modification in
social norms and customs. The Brahmanical religious texts now begin to
speak of many earlier practices as forbidden in the kaliyuga –
practices which came to be known as kalivarjyas. While the number of
kalivarjyas swelled up over time, most of the relevant texts mention
cow killing as forbidden in the kali. According to some early medieval
lawgivers a cow killer was an untouchable and one incurred sin even by
talking to him. They increasingly associated cow slaughter and beef
eating with the proliferating number of untouchable castes. It is,
however, interesting that some of them consider these acts as no more
than minor behavioural aberrations like cleaning one’s teeth with
one’s fingers and eating only salt or soil.[46]
Equally interesting is the fact that almost all the prescriptive texts
enumerate cow killing as a minor sin (upapataka) and none of them
describe it as a major offence (mahapataka). Moreover the Smrti texts
provide easy escape routes by laying down expiatory procedures for
intentional as well as inadvertent killing of the cow. This may imply
that that cattle killing may not have been uncommon in society and the
atonements were prescribed merely to discourage eating of cattle
flesh. To what extent the Dharmasastric injunctions were effective,
however, remains a matter of speculation; for the possibility of at
least some members eating beef on the sly cannot be ruled out. As
recently as the late 19th century Swami Vivekananda was alleged to
have eaten beef during his stay in America, though he vehemently
defended his action.[47] Similarly in early twentieth century Mahatma
Gandhi spoke of the hypocrisy of the orthodox Hindus who “do not so
much as hesitate or inquire when during illness the doctor …
prescribes them beef tea.”[48] Even today 72 communities in Kerala--
not all of them untouchable perhaps--- prefer beef to the expensive
mutton and the Hindutva forces are persuading them to go easy on it.
[49]
VI
Although cow killing and beef eating gradually came to be viewed as a
sin and a source of pollution from the early medieval period, the cow
and its products (milk, curds, clarified butter, dung and urine) or
their mixture called pancagavya had been assuming a purificatory role
from much earlier times. The Vedic texts attest to the ritual use of
cow’s milk and milk products, but the term pancagavya occurs for the
first time in the Baudhayana Dharmasutra. The law books of Manu,
Visnu, Vasistha, Yajnavalkya and those of several later lawgivers like
Atri, Devala and Parasara mention the use of the mixture of the five
products of the cow for both purification and expiation. The
commentaries and religious digests, most of which belong to the
medieval period, abound in references to the purificatory role of the
pancagavya. The underlying assumption in all these cases is that the
pancagavya is pure. But several Dharmasastra texts forbid its use by
women and the lower castes. If a sudra drinks pancagavya, we are told,
he goes to hell.[50]
It is curious that the prescriptive texts, which repeatedly refer to
the purificatory role of the cow, also provide much evidence of the
notion of pollution and impurity associated with this animal.
According to Manu (V.125) the food smelt by the cow has to be
purified. Other early lawgivers like Visnu (XXIII.38) and Yajnavalkya
(I.189) also express similar views. The latter in fact says that while
the mouth of the goat and horse is pure that of the cow is not. Among
the later juridical texts, those of Angirasa, Parasara, Vyasa and so
on, support the idea of the cow’s mouth being impure. The lawgiver
Sankha categorically states that all limbs of the cow are pure except
her mouth. The commentaries on different Dharmasastra texts reinforce
the notion of impurity of the cow’s mouth. All this runs counter to
the ideas about the purificatory role of the cow.
Needless to say, then, that the image of the cow projected by Indian
textual traditions, especially the Brahmanical- Dharmasastric works,
over the centuries is polymorphic. Its story through the millennia is
full of inconsistencies and has not always been in conformity with
dietary practices prevalent in society. It was killed and yet the
killing was not killing. When it was not slain, mere remembering the
old practice of butchery satisfied the brahmins. Its five products
including faeces and urine have been pure but its mouth has not been
so. Yet through these incongruous attitudes and puzzling paradoxes the
Indian cow has struggled its way to sanctity. But its holiness is
elusive. For, there is no cow- goddess, nor any temple in her honour.
[51] Nevertheless the veneration of this animal has come to be viewed
as a characteristic trait of modern day non-existent monolithic
‘Hinduism’ bandied about by the Hindutva forces.
[1] L.L. Sundara Ram, Cow Protection in India, The South Indian
Humanitarian League, George Town, Madras, 1027, pp.122-123, 179-190.
[2] Siva Digvijaya quoted in Sundara Ram, op. cit. p.191.
[3] Sandria B. Freitag, “Contesting in Public: Colonial Legacies and
Contemporary Communalism”, in David Ludden, ed., Making India Hindu,
Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1996, p.217.
[4] Idem, Collective Action and Community: Public Arena and the
Emergence of Communalism in North India, Delhi: Oxford University
Press, 1990, Chapter 6; Gyan Pandey, ‘Rallying round the Cow’, in
Subaltern Studies, Vol.. II, Ranajit Guha, (ed.), Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 1983, pp. 60- 129.
[5] Frederick J. Simoons, “Questions in the Sacred-Cow Controversy”,
Current Anthropology, 20(3), September 1979, p.468.
[6] The Times of India, 28 May 1999, p.12.
[7] Frontline, 13 April 2001.
[8] Rajesh Ramachandran, “A Crisis of Identity”, The Hindustan Times,
7 May 2000.
[9] W. Crooke, The Popular Religion and Folklore of Northern India, 2
Vols, Delhi: 4th reprint, Munshiram Manoharlal, 1978.
[10] W. Crooke, ‘The Veneration of the Cow in India’, Folklore, 13
(1912), pp.275-306.
[11] Sundara Ram, Cow Protection in India, Madras: The South Indian
Humanitarian League, 1927, p.8, passim.
[12] H.D. Sankalia, “ (The Cow) In History”, Seminar No. 93, May 1967.
[13] “Was the Cow Killed in Ancient India?” Quest, (75), March-
April 1972, pp. 83-87.
[16] J.C. Heesterman translates a passage of the Kathaka Samhita
(8.7:90.10) relating to the agnadheya as: ‘they kill a cow, they play
a dice for [shares in] her, they serve her up to those seated in the
assembly hall’: Broken World of Sacrifice, Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1993, p.283, note 33.
[17] Louis Renou, Vedic India, Varanasi, reprint, Indological Book
House, 1971 p.109.
[18] R.L. Mitra, Indo-Aryans: Contributions to the Elucidation of
Ancient and Medieval History, 2 Vols, Varanasi: reprint, Indological
Book House, 1969, p.363.
[19] A.B. Keith, Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanisads,
Delhi: Indian reprint, Motilal Banarsidass, 1970, p.324; P.V. Kane,
History of Dharmasastra, II, pt.2, Chapter
XXXII.
[20] J. C. Heesterman, op.cit., pp. 190-93, 200-02.
[21] For different views see Hanns-Peter Schmidt, ‘Ahimsa and
Rebirth’ in Inside The Texts Beyond The Texts: New Approaches to the
Study of the Vedas, M. Witzel (ed.), Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1997,
pp. 209-10; Cf. J.C. Heesterman, ‘Vratya and Sacrifice’, Indo-Iranian
Journal, 6 (1962), pp. 1-37.
[22] William Norman Brown, ‘The Sanctity of Cow in Hinduism’, Madras
University Journal, 27.2 (1957), pp. 29-49.
[23] Medhatithi on Manu, V.27, 41 see Manava-Dharma-Sastra, ed., V.N.
Mandalik, Bombay, 1886, pp.604, 613.
[24] Brhaspatismrti cited in Krtyakalpataru of Laksmidhara,
trtiyabhaga, ed., K.V. Rangaswami Aiyangar, Baroda Oriental Institute,
Baroda,1950, p.326
[25] Contra Francis Zimmermann (The Jungle and the Aroma of Meats,
Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987, p.180ff) asserts that
only consecrated meat was eaten and Hanns Peter Schmidt seems to be in
agreement with him
(‘Ahimsa and Rebirth’, op.cit., p.209). But the evidence from the
Buddhist Jatakas, Kautilya’s Arthasastra, and Asokan inscriptions etc
does not support this view.
[26] Brhaspatismrti, 128b, Gaekwad Oriental Series, Baroda, 1941.
[27] For further references see S. Sorensen, An Index to the Names in
the Mahabharata, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas, 1963, pp.593-94.
[28] R. L. Mitra, op.cit., vol.I, p. 396.
[29] Caraka Samhita: Sutrasthanam, II.31, XXVII.79: Susruta Samhita:
Sarirasthanam, III.25; Astanga Hrdayam: Sutrasthanam, VI.65.
[30] Meghaduta, with the commentary of Mallinatha, ed. and tr., M. R.
Kale (ed. & tr.), Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1979, I.48.
[31] Mahaviracarita, Rampratap Tripathi Shastri (ed. with Hindi tr.),
Allahabad: Lok Bharati Prakashan, 1973. III.2. Uttararamacarita, with
notes and the commentary of Ghanasyama, P.V. Kane and C. N. Joshi (ed.
and tr.), Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1962, Act IV.
[32] Balaramayana, of Rajasekhara, Ganagasagar Rai (ed.) Varanasi:
Chowkhamba, 1984. I.38a
[33] Naisadhamahakavyam, with the commentary of Mallinatha, Haragovind
Shastri (ed.) Varanasi, Chowkhamba, 1981 XVII.173, 197.
[34] Naisadhacarita of Sri Harsa, K.K. Handiqui (tr. with
commentaries), Poona, Deccan College, 1965, p.472.
[35] Naisadhamahakavyam, p. 1137.
[36] Meghaduta, Kale’s edn, p.83.
[37] Medhatithi on Manu, V.26-7,41. See Manava-Dharma-Sastra (with the
commentaries of Medhatithi, Sarvajnanarayana, Kulluka, Nandana and
Ramacandra), V. N. Mandalika (ed.), Bombay: Ganpat Krishnaji’s Press,
1886, pp.604, 613.
[38] Visvarupa on Yajnavalkya, I. 108. See Yajnavalkyasmrti (with
the commentary Balakrida of Visvarupacarya), Mahamahopadhyaya T.
Ganapati Sastri (ed.), Delhi: 2nd edn, Munshiram Manoharlal, 1982, p.
97.
[39] Mitaksara on Yajnavalkya, I. 108. See Yajnavalkyasmrti with
Vijnanesvara’s Mitaksara, Gangasagar Rai (ed.), Delhi; Chowkhamba
Sanskrit Pratisthan, 1998, p.54.
[40] Haradatta on Gautama, XVII.30.
[41] Krtyakalpataru, Niyatakalakandam, trtiyabhagam, K.V. Rangaswami
Aiyangar (ed.), Baroda: Oriental Research Institute, 1950, p.190
[42] P. V. Kane, History of Dharmasastra, III, Poona: Bhandarkar
Oriental Research Institute, 1973, p.929.
[43] R. L. Mitra, op.cit., p.384.
[44] Mitra Misra on Yajnavalkya, I. 108.
[45] Palapiyusalata Gourisayantralaya, Darbhanga, Samvat 1951.
[46] Atrismrti, verse 314 in Astadasasmrtyah (with Hindi tr by
Sundarlal Tripathi, Khemraj Shrikrishnadas, Venkateshwar Steam Press,
Bombay, Saka 1846.
[47] Romain Rolland, The Life of Vivekanada and the Universal Gospel,
Advaita Ashrama, Calcutta, Eleventh Impression, August 1988, p.44 fn.
3.
[48] M. K. Gandhi, An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments
with Truth, Navajivan Trust, Ahmedabad, 1927, reprint 2000, p.324.
Gandhi saw a five-footed “miraculous” cow at the Kumbha Mela at
Allahabad in 1915, the fifth foot being nothing but “a foot cut off
from a live calf and grafted upon the shoulder of the cow” which
attracted the lavish charity of the ignorant Hindu (ibid., p.325).
[49] India Today, 15 April 1993, p.72.
[50] Visnusmrti, LIV.7; Atrismriti, verse 297, etc.
[51] A.L. Basham, The Wonder That Was India, Delhi, Rupa & Co., 27th
Impression, 1996, p.319.
http://www.indowindow.net/sad/article.php?child=17&article=11
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with
Bhadrakali. (Discuss)
For other uses, see Kali (disambiguation).
"Kalika" redirects here. For other uses, see Kalika (disambiguation).
"The black one" redirects here. For the 2005 drone metal album, see
Black One. For the male choral group, see The Black Ones.
Kali
Kali (Sanskrit: काली, Bengali: কালী, both Kālī), also known as Kalika
(Bengali: কালিকা, Kālikā), is the Hindu goddess associated with
eternal energy. The name Kali comes from Kāla which means black, time,
death, lord of death, shiva etc. kAli means "the black one". Since
Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal Time, Kālī, his consort, also means
"the Time" or "Death" (as in time has come). Hence, Kali is considered
the goddess of time and change. Although sometimes presented as dark
and violent, her earliest incarnation as a figure of annihilation
still has some influence. More complex Tantric beliefs sometimes
extend her role so far as to be the "ultimate reality" or Brahman. She
is also revered as Bhavatarini (literally "redeemer of the universe").
Comparatively recent devotional movements largely conceive Kali as a
benevolent mother goddess.
Kali is represented as the consort of god Shiva, on whose body she is
often seen standing. She is associated with many other Hindu goddesses
like Durga, Bhadrakali, Sati, Rudrani, Parvati and Chamunda. She is
the foremost among the Dasa-Mahavidyas, ten fierce Tantric goddesses.
[1]
Etymology
Kālī is the feminine of kāla "black, dark coloured" (per Pāṇini
4.1.42). In the Mundaka Upanishad Kali is mentioned as one of the
seven tongues of Agni, the Rigvedic God of Fire (Mundaka Upanishad
2:4), thus giving rise to Kali's tongue, seen in images. It appears as
the name of a form of Durga in the Mahabharata 4.195, and as the name
of an evil female spirit in Harivamsa 11552.
Kāla means black and also time, death, lord of death, shiva etc. kAli
means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal Time,
Kālī, his consort also means "the Time" or "Death" (as in time has
come). "कालः शिवः । तस्य पत्नीति - काली । kālaḥ śivaḥ । tasya patnīti
- kālī" - [from Shabdakalpadrum]. The association is seen in a passage
from the Mahābhārata, depicting a female figure who carries away the
spirits of slain warriors and animals. She is called kālarātri (which
Thomas Coburn, a historian of Sanskrit Goddess literature, translates
as "night of death") and also kālī (which, as Coburn notes, can be
read here either as a proper name or as a description "the black one").
[2]
Kali's association with blackness stands in contrast to her consort,
Shiva, whose body is covered by the white ashes of the cremation
ground (Sanskrit: śmaśāna) in which he meditates, and with which Kali
is also associated, as śmaśāna-kālī.
Origins
According to David Kinsley, Kali is first mentioned in Hinduism as a
distinct goddess, related to war, around 600 CE. Scriptures like Agni
Purana and Garuda Purana describe her terrible appearance and
associate her with corpses and war. The oldest mention of Kali dates
back to Rigvedic age. The 'Ratri Sookta' in Rigveda actually calls her
as Goddess 'Ratri' and regards Ratri as the Supreme force in the
universe. In the Tantras, she is regarded as the Shakti (Power) of The
Great Mahākāla (a form of Lord Shiva). Her portrayal on dead bodies in
crematorium symbolizes her presence in the hearts of devotees who have
killed their Earthly desires and want Supreme Consciousness in the lap
of the Ultimate Mother, Kali. In another form, she is regarded as the
destroyer, the Mahakali as Kali Tantra says-"kāli kālanāt" meaning
Kali is the one who finishes. Kalika Purana depicts her as the "Adi
Shakti" (Fundamental Power) and "Para Prakriti" or beyond nature.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agni_Purana
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garuda_Purana
In Tantra
Kali Yantra
Goddesses play an important role in the study and practice of Tantra
Yoga, and are affirmed to be as central to discerning the nature of
reality as are the male deities. Although Parvati is often said to be
the recipient and student of Shiva's wisdom in the form of Tantras, it
is Kali who seems to dominate much of the Tantric iconography, texts,
and rituals.[3] In many sources Kali is praised as the highest reality
or greatest of all deities. The Nirvana-tantra says the gods Brahma,
Vishnu, and Shiva all arise from her like bubbles in the sea,
ceaselessly arising and passing away, leaving their original source
unchanged. The Niruttara-tantra and the Picchila-tantra declare all of
Kali's mantras to be the greatest and the Yogini-tantra, Kamakhya-
tantra and the Niruttara-tantra all proclaim Kali vidyas
(manifestations of Mahadevi, or "divinity itself"). They declare her
to be an essence of her own form (svarupa) of the Mahadevi.[4]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantra
In the Mahanirvana-tantra, Kali is one of the epithets for the
primordial sakti, and in one passage Shiva praises her:
At the dissolution of things, it is Kala [Time] Who will devour all,
and by reason of this He is called Mahakala [an epithet of Lord
Shiva], and since Thou devourest Mahakala Himself, it is Thou who art
the Supreme Primordial Kalika. Because Thou devourest Kala, Thou art
Kali, the original form of all things, and because Thou art the Origin
of and devourest all things Thou art called the Adya [primordial
Kali]. Resuming after Dissolution Thine own form, dark and formless,
Thou alone remainest as One ineffable and inconceivable. Though having
a form, yet art Thou formless; though Thyself without beginning,
multiform by the power of Maya, Thou art the Beginning of all,
Creatrix, Protectress, and Destructress that Thou art.[3]
The figure of Kali conveys death, destruction, and the consuming
aspects of reality. As such, she is also a "forbidden thing", or even
death itself. In the Pancatattva ritual, the sadhaka boldly seeks to
confront Kali, and thereby assimilates and transforms her into a
vehicle of salvation.[5] This is clear in the work of the Karpuradi-
stotra[6], a short praise to Kali describing the Pancatattva ritual
unto her, performed on cremation grounds. (Samahana-sadhana)
He, O Mahakali who in the cremation-ground, naked, and with
dishevelled hair, intently meditates upon Thee and recites Thy mantra,
and with each recitation makes offering to Thee of a thousand Akanda
flowers with seed, becomes without any effort a Lord of the earth. 0
Kali, whoever on Tuesday at midnight, having uttered Thy mantra, makes
offering even but once with devotion to Thee of a hair of his Sakti
[his female companion] in the cremation-ground, becomes a great poet,
a Lord of the earth, and ever goes mounted upon an elephant.[5]
The Karpuradi-stotra clearly indicates that Kali is more than a
terrible, vicious, slayer of demons who serves Durga or Shiva. Here,
she is identified as the supreme mistress of the universe, associated
with the five elements. In union with Lord Shiva, who is said to be
her spouse, she creates and destroys worlds. Her appearance also takes
a different turn, befitting her role as ruler of the world and object
of meditation.[7] In contrast to her terrible aspects, she takes on
hints of a more benign dimension. She is described as young and
beautiful, has a gentle smile, and makes gestures with her two right
hands to dispel any fear and offer boons. The more positive features
exposed offer the distillation of divine wrath into a goddess of
salvation, who rids the sadhaka of fear. Here, Kali appears as a
symbol of triumph over death.[8]
[edit] In Bengali tradition
Kali Puja festivalKali is also a central figure in late medieval
Bengali devotional literature, with such devotees as Ramprasad Sen
(1718–75). With the exception of being associated with Parvati as
Shiva's consort, Kali is rarely pictured in Hindu mythology and
iconography as a motherly figure until Bengali devotions beginning in
the early eighteenth century. Even in Bengali tradition her appearance
and habits change little, if at all.[9]
The Tantric approach to Kali is to display courage by confronting her
on cremation grounds in the dead of night, despite her terrible
appearance. In contrast, the Bengali devotee appropriates Kali's
teachings, adopting the attitude of a child. In both cases, the goal
of the devotee is to become reconciled with death and to learn
acceptance of the way that things are. These themes are well addressed
in Ramprasad's work.[10]
Ramprasad comments in many of his other songs that Kali is indifferent
to his wellbeing, causes him to suffer, brings his worldly desires to
nothing and his worldly goods to ruin. He also states that she does
not behave like a mother should and that she ignores his pleas:
Can mercy be found in the heart of her who was born of the stone? [a
reference to Kali as the daughter of Himalaya]
Were she not merciless, would she kick the breast of her lord?
Men call you merciful, but there is no trace of mercy in you, Mother.
You have cut off the heads of the children of others, and these you
wear as a garland around your neck.
It matters not how much I call you "Mother, Mother." You hear me, but
you will not listen.[11]
To be a child of Kali, Ramprasad asserts, is to be denied of earthly
delights and pleasures. Kali is said to not give what is expected. To
the devotee, it is perhaps her very refusal to do so that enables her
devotees to reflect on dimensions of themselves and of reality that go
beyond the material world.[11][12]
A significant portion of Bengali devotional music features Kali as its
central theme and is known as Shyama Sangeet. Mostly sung by male
vocalists, today even women have taken to this form of music. One of
the finest singers of Shyama Sangeet is Pannalal Bhattacharya.
In Bengal, Kali is venerated in the festival Kali Puja - the new moon
day of Ashwin month which coincides with Diwali festival.
Mythology
Slayer of Raktabija
In Kali's most famous myth, Durga and her assistants, Matrikas, wound
the demon Raktabija, in various ways and with a variety of weapons, in
an attempt to destroy him. They soon find that they have worsened the
situation, as for every drop of blood that is spilt from Raktabija,
the demon reproduces a clone of himself. The battlefield becomes
increasingly filled with his duplicates.[13] Durga, in dire need of
help, summons Kali to combat the demons. It is also said that Goddess
Durga takes the form of Goddess Kali at this time.
The Devi Mahatmyam describes:
Out of the surface of her (Durga's) forehead, fierce with frown,
issued suddenly Kali of terrible countenance, armed with a sword and
noose. Bearing the strange khatvanga (skull-topped staff ), decorated
with a garland of skulls, clad in a tiger's skin, very appalling owing
to her emaciated flesh, with gaping mouth, fearful with her tongue
lolling out, having deep reddish eyes, filling the regions of the sky
with her roars, falling upon impetuously and slaughtering the great
asuras in that army, she devoured those hordes of the foes of the
devas.[14]
Kali destroys Raktabija by sucking the blood from his body and putting
the many Raktabija duplicates in her gaping mouth. Pleased with her
victory, Kali then dances on the field of battle, stepping on the
corpses of the slain. Her consort Shiva lies among the dead beneath
her feet, a representation of Kali commonly seen in her iconography as
Daksinakali.[15]
In the Devi Mahatmya version of this story, Kali is also described as
a Matrika and as a Shakti or power of Devi. She is given the epithet
Cāṃuṇḍā (Chamunda), i.e. the slayer of the demons Chanda and Munda.
[16] Chamunda is very often identified with Kali and is very much like
her in appearance and habit.[17]
Daksinakali
Bhadrakali (A gentle form of Kali), circa 1675.
Painting; made in India, Himachal Pradesh, Basohli,
now placed in LACMA.In her most famous pose as Daksinakali, it is said
that Kali, becoming drunk on the blood of her victims on the
battlefield, dances with destructive frenzy. In her fury she fails to
see the body of her husband, Shiva, who lies among the corpses on the
battlefield.[18] Ultimately the cries of Shiva attract Kali's
attention, calming her fury. As a sign of her shame at having
disrespected her husband in such a fashion, Kali sticks out her
tongue. However, some sources state that this interpretation is a
later version of the symbolism of the tongue: in tantric contexts, the
tongue is seen to denote the element (guna) of rajas (energy and
action) controlled by sattva, spiritual and godly creatures who served
as assassins.[19]
One South Indian tradition tells of a dance contest between Shiva and
Kali. After defeating the two demons Sumbha and Nisumbha, Kali takes
up residence in a forest. With fierce companions she terrorizes the
surrounding area. One of Shiva's devotees becomes distracted while
performing austerities, and asks Shiva to rid the forest of the
destructive goddess. When Shiva arrives, Kali threatens him, claiming
the territory as her own. Shiva challenges Kali to a dance contest,
and defeats her when she is unable to perform the energetic Tandava
dance. Although in this case Kali is defeated, and is forced to
control her disruptive habits, there are very few other images or
other myths depicting her in such a manner.[20]
Maternal Kali
Another myth depicts the infant Shiva calming Kali. In this similar
story, Kali again defeated her enemies on the battlefield and began to
dance out of control, drunk on the blood of the slain. To calm her
down and to protect the stability of the world, Shiva is sent to the
battlefield, as an infant, crying aloud. Seeing the child's distress,
Kali ceases dancing to take care of the helpless infant. She picks him
up, kisses his head, and proceeds to breast feed the infant Shiva.[21]
This myth depicts Kali in her benevolent, maternal aspect; something
that is revered in Hinduism, but not often recognized in the West.
Ekamukhi or "One-Faced" Murti of Mahakali displaying ten hands holding
the signifiers of various Devas
Mahakali
Main article: Mahakali
Mahakali (Sanskrit: Mahākālī, Devanagari: महाकाली), literally
translated as Great Kali, is sometimes considered as a greater form of
Kali, identified with the Ultimate reality of Brahman. It can also
simply be used as an honorific of the Goddess Kali,[22] signifying her
greatness by the prefix "Mahā-". Mahakali, in Sanskrit, is
etymologically the feminized variant of Mahakala or Great Time (which
is interpreted also as Death), an epithet of the God Shiva in
Hinduism. Mahakali is the presiding Goddess of the first episode of
the Devi Mahatmya. Here she is depicted as Devi in her universal form
as Shakti. Here Devi serves as the agent who allows the cosmic order
to be restored.
Iconography
Statue from Dakshineswar Kali Temple, West Bengal, India; along with
her Yantra.Kali is portrayed mostly in two forms: the popular four-
armed form and the ten-armed Mahakali form. In both of her forms, she
is described as being black in color but is most often depicted as
blue in popular Indian art. Her eyes are described as red with
intoxication, and in absolute rage, her hair is shown disheveled,
small fangs sometimes protrude out of her mouth, and her tongue is
lolling. She is often shown naked or just wearing a skirt made of
human arms and a garland of human heads. She is also accompanied by
serpents and a jackal while standing on a seemingly dead Shiva,
usually right foot forward to symbolize the more popular Dakshinamarga
or right-handed path, as opposed to the more infamous and
transgressive Vamamarga or left-handed path.[23]
In the ten-armed form of Mahakali she is depicted as shining like a
blue stone. She has ten faces and ten feet and three eyes. She has
ornaments decked on all her limbs. There is no association with Shiva.
[24]
The Kalika Purana describes Kali as possessing a soothing dark
complexion, as perfectly beautiful, riding a lion, four-armed, holding
a sword and blue lotuses, her hair unrestrained, body firm and
youthful.[25]
In spite of her seemingly terrible form, Kali Ma is often considered
the kindest and most loving of all the Hindu goddesses, as she is
regarded by her devotees as the Mother of the whole Universe. And,
because of her terrible form she is also often seen as a great
protector. When the Bengali saint Ramakrishna once asked a devotee why
one would prefer to worship Mother over him, this devotee rhetorically
replied, "Maharaj, when they are in trouble your devotees come running
to you. But, where do you run when you are in trouble?"[26]
According to Ramakrishna, darkness is the Ultimate Mother, or Kali:
My Mother is the principle of consciousness. She is Akhanda
Satchidananda; indivisible Reality, Awareness, and Bliss. The night
sky between the stars is perfectly black. The waters of the ocean
depths are the same; The infinite is always mysteriously dark. This
inebriating darkness is my beloved Kali.
-Sri Ramakrishna
Throughout her history artists the world over have portrayed Kali in
myriad poses and settings, some of which stray far from the popular
description, and are sometimes even graphically sexual in nature.
Given the popularity of this Goddess, artists everywhere will continue
to explore the magnificence of Kali's iconography. This is clear in
the work of such contemporary artists as Charles Wish, and Tyeb Mehta,
who sometimes take great liberties with the traditional, accepted
symbolism, but still demonstrate a true reverence for the Shakta sect.
Popular form
Classic depictions of Kali share several features, as follows:
Kali's most common four armed iconographic image shows each hand
carrying variously a sword, a trishul (trident), a severed head and a
bowl or skull-cup (kapala) catching the blood of the severed head.
Two of these hands (usually the left) are holding a sword and a
severed head. The Sword signifies Divine Knowledge and the Human Head
signifies human Ego which must be slain by Divine Knowledge in order
to attain Moksha. The other two hands (usually the right) are in the
abhaya (fearlessness) and varada (blessing) mudras, which means her
initiated devotees (or anyone worshiping her with a true heart) will
be saved as she will guide them here and in the hereafter.[27]
She has a garland consisting of human heads, variously enumerated at
108 (an auspicious number in Hinduism and the number of countable
beads on a Japa Mala or rosary for repetition of Mantras) or 51, which
represents Varnamala or the Garland of letters of the Sanskrit
alphabet, Devanagari. Hindus believe Sanskrit is a language of
dynamism, and each of these letters represents a form of energy, or a
form of Kali. Therefore she is generally seen as the mother of
language, and all mantras.[28]
She is often depicted naked which symbolizes her being beyond the
covering of Maya since she is pure (nirguna) being-consciousness-bliss
and far above prakriti. She is shown as very dark as she is brahman in
its supreme unmanifest state. She has no permanent qualities — she
will continue to exist even when the universe ends. It is therefore
believed that the concepts of color, light, good, bad do not apply to
her — she is the pure, un-manifested energy, the Adi-shakti.[29]
[edit] Mahakali form
The Dasamukhi MahakaliKali is depicted in the Mahakali form as having
ten heads, ten arms, and ten legs. Each of her ten hands is carrying a
various implement which vary in different accounts, but each of these
represent the power of one of the Devas or Hindu Gods and are often
the identifying weapon or ritual item of a given Deva. The implication
is that Mahakali subsumes and is responsible for the powers that these
deities possess and this is in line with the interpretation that
Mahakali is identical with Brahman. While not displaying ten heads, an
"ekamukhi" or one headed image may be displayed with ten arms,
signifying the same concept: the powers of the various Gods come only
through Her grace.
Shiva in Kali iconography
In both these images she is shown standing on the prone, inert or dead
body of Shiva. There is a mythological story for the reason behind her
standing on what appears to be Shiva's corpse, which translates as
follows:
Once Kali had destroyed all the demons in battle, she began a terrific
dance out of the sheer joy of victory. All the worlds or lokas began
to tremble and sway under the impact of her dance. So, at the request
of all the Gods, Shiva himself asked her to desist from this behavior.
However, she was too intoxicated to listen. Hence, Shiva lay like a
corpse among the slain demons in order to absorb the shock of the
dance into himself. When Kali eventually stepped upon her husband she
realized her mistake and bit her tongue in shame.[30]
The Tantric interpretation of Kali standing on top of her husband is
as follows:
The Shiv tattava (Divine Consciousness as Shiva) is inactive, while
the Shakti tattava (Divine Energy as Kali) is active. Shiva, or
Mahadeva represents Brahman, the Absolute pure consciousness which is
beyond all names, forms and activities. Kali, on the other hand,
represents the potential (and manifested) energy responsible for all
names, forms and activities. She is his Shakti, or creative power, and
is seen as the substance behind the entire content of all
consciousness. She can never exist apart from Shiva or act
independently of him, i.e., Shakti, all the matter/energy of the
universe, is not distinct from Shiva, or Brahman, but is rather the
dynamic power of Brahman.[31]
Kali in Traditional Form, standing on Shiva's chest.While this is an
advanced concept in monistic Shaktism, it also agrees with the Nondual
Trika philosophy of Kashmir, popularly known as Kashmir Shaivism and
associated most famously with Abhinavagupta. There is a colloquial
saying that "Shiva without Shakti is Shava" which means that without
the power of action (Shakti) that is Mahakali (represented as the
short "i" in Devanagari) Shiva (or consciousness itself) is inactive;
Shava means corpse in Sanskrit and the play on words is that all
Sanskrit consonants are assumed to be followed by a short letter "a"
unless otherwise noted. The short letter "i" represents the female
power or Shakti that activates Creation. This is often the explanation
for why She is standing on Shiva, who is either Her husband and
complement in Shaktism or the Supreme Godhead in Shaivism.
To properly understand this complex Tantric symbolism it is important
to remember that the meaning behind Shiva and Kali does not stray from
the non-dualistic parlance of Shankara or the Upanisads. According to
both the Mahanirvana and Kularnava Tantras, there are two distinct
ways of perceiving the same absolute reality. The first is a
transcendental plane which is often described as static, yet infinite.
It is here that there is no matter, there is no universe and only
consciousness exists. This form of reality is known as Shiva, the
absolute Sat-Chit-Ananda — existence, knowledge and bliss. The second
is an active plane, an immanent plane, the plane of matter, of Maya,
i.e., where the illusion of space-time and the appearance of an actual
universe does exist. This form of reality is known as Kali or Shakti,
and (in its entirety) is still specified as the same Absolute Sat-Chit-
Ananda. It is here in this second plane that the universe (as we
commonly know it) is experienced and is described by the Tantric seer
as the play of Shakti, or God as Mother Kali.[32]
Kali and Bhairava (the terrible form of Shiva) in Union, 18th century,
NepalFrom a Tantric perspective, when one meditates on reality at
rest, as absolute pure consciousness (without the activities of
creation, preservation or dissolution) one refers to this as Shiva or
Brahman. When one meditates on reality as dynamic and creative, as the
Absolute content of pure consciousness (with all the activities of
creation, preservation or dissolution) one refers to it as Kali or
Shakti. However, in either case the yogini or yogi is interested in
one and the same reality — the only difference being in name and
fluctuating aspects of appearance. It is this which is generally
accepted as the meaning of Kali standing on the chest of Shiva.[31]
Although there is often controversy surrounding the images of divine
copulation, the general consensus is benign and free from any carnal
impurities in its substance. In Tantra the human body is a symbol for
the microcosm of the universe; therefore sexual process is responsible
for the creation of the world. Although theoretically Shiva and Kali
(or Shakti) are inseparable, like fire and its power to burn, in the
case of creation they are often seen as having separate roles. With
Shiva as male and Kali as female it is only by their union that
creation may transpire. This reminds us of the prakrti and purusa
doctrine of Samkhya wherein prakāśa- vimarśa has no practical value,
just as without prakrti, purusa is quite inactive. This (once again)
stresses the interdependencies of Shiva and Shakti and the vitality of
their union.[33]
Gopi Krishna proposed that Kali standing on the dead Shiva or Shava
(Sanskrit for dead body) symbolised the helplessness of a person
undergoing the changing process (psychologically and physiologically)
in the body conducted by the Kundalini Shakti.[34]
Development
In the later traditions, Kali has become inextricably linked with
Shiva. The unleashed form of Kali often becomes wild and
uncontrollable, and only Shiva is able to tame her. This is both
because she is often a transformed version of one of his consorts and
because he is able to match her wildness. The ancient text of Kali
Kautuvam describes her competition with Shiva in dance, from which the
sacred 108 Karanas appeared. Shiva won the competition by acting the
urdva tandava, one of the Karanas, by raising his feet to his head.
Other texts describe Shiva appearing as a crying infant and appealing
to her maternal instincts. While Shiva is said to be able to tame her,
the iconography often presents her dancing on his fallen body, and
there are accounts of the two of them dancing together, and driving
each other to such wildness that the world comes close to unravelling.
Shiva's involvement with Tantra and Kali's dark nature have led to her
becoming an important Tantric figure. To the Tantric worshippers, it
was essential to face her Curse, the terror of death, as willingly as
they accepted Blessings from her beautiful, nurturing, maternal
aspect. For them, wisdom meant learning that no coin has only one
side: as death cannot exist without life, so life cannot exist without
death. Kali's role sometimes grew beyond that of a chaos — which could
be confronted — to that of one who could bring wisdom, and she is
given great metaphysical significance by some Tantric texts. The
Nirvāna-tantra clearly presents her uncontrolled nature as the
Ultimate Reality, claiming that the trimurti of Brahma, Visnu and
Rudra arise and disappear from her like bubbles from the sea. Although
this is an extreme case, the Yogini-tantra, Kamakhya-tantra and the
Niruttara-tantra declare her the svarupa (own-being) of the Mahadevi
(the great Goddess, who is in this case seen as the combination of all
devis).
The final stage of development is the worshipping of Kali as the Great
Mother, devoid of her usual violence. This practice is a break from
the more traditional depictions. The pioneers of this tradition are
the 18th century Shakta poets such as Ramprasad Sen, who show an
awareness of Kali's ambivalent nature. Ramakrishna, the 19th century
Bengali saint, was also a great devotee of Kali; the western
popularity of whom may have contributed to the more modern, equivocal
interpretations of this Goddess. Rachel McDermott's work, however,
suggests that for the common, modern worshipper, Kali is not seen as
fearful, and only those educated in old traditions see her as having a
wrathful component. Some credit to the development of Devi must also
be given to Samkhya. Commonly referred to as the Devi of delusion,
Mahamaya, acting in the confines of (but not being bound by) the
nature of the three gunas, takes three forms: Maha-Kali, Maha-Lakshmi
and Maha-Saraswati, being her tamas-ika, rajas-ika and sattva-ika
forms. In this sense, Kali is simply part of a larger whole.
1947 TIME Magazine cover by Boris Artzybasheff depicting a self-
hurting Kālī as a symbol of the partition of IndiaLike Sir John
Woodroffe and Georg Feuerstein, many Tantric scholars (as well as
sincere practitioners) agree that, no matter how propitious or
appalling you describe them, Shiva and Devi are simply recognizable
symbols for everyday, abstract (yet tangible) concepts such as
perception, knowledge, space-time, causation and the process of
liberating oneself from the confines of such things. Shiva,
symbolizing pure, absolute consciousness, and Devi, symbolizing the
entire content of that consciousness, are ultimately one and the same
— totality incarnate, a micro-macro-cosmic amalgamation of all
subjects, all objects and all phenomenal relations between the "two."
Like man and woman who both share many common, human traits yet at the
same time they are still different and, therefore, may also be seen as
complementary.[35]
Worshippers prescribe various benign and horrific qualities to Devi
simply out of practicality. They do this so they may have a variety of
symbols to choose from, symbols which they can identify and relate
with from the perspective of their own, ever-changing time, place and
personal level of unfolding. Just like modern chemists or physicists
use a variety of molecular and atomic models to describe what is
unperceivable through rudimentary, sensory input, the scientists of
ontology and epistemology must do the same. One of the underlying
distinctions of Tantra, in comparison to other religions, is that it
allows the devotee the liberty to choose from a vast array of
complementary symbols and rhetoric that which suits one's evolving
needs and tastes. From an aesthetic standpoint, nothing is interdict
and nothing is orthodox. In this sense, the projection of some of
Devi's more gentle qualities onto Kali is not sacrilege and the
development of Kali really lies in the practitioner, not the murthi.
A TIME magazine article of October 27, 1947, used Kālī as a symbol and
metaphor for the human suffering in British India during its partition
that year.[36]
In New Age and Neopaganism
An academic study of Western Kali enthusiasts noted that, "as shown in
the histories of all cross-cultural religious transplants, Kali
devotionalism in the West must take on its own indigenous forms if it
is to adapt to its new environment."[37] The adoption of Kali by the
West has raised accusations of cultural misappropriation:
"A variety of writers and thinkers [...] have found Kali an exciting
figure for reflection and exploration, notably feminists and
participants in New Age spirituality who are attracted to goddess
worship. [For them], Kali is a symbol of wholeness and healing,
associated especially with repressed female power and sexuality.
[However, such interpretations often exhibit] confusion and
misrepresentation, stemming from a lack of knowledge of Hindu history
among these authors, [who only rarely] draw upon materials written by
scholars of the Hindu religious tradition. The majority instead rely
chiefly on other popular feminist sources, almost none of which base
their interpretations on a close reading of Kali's Indian background.
[...] The most important issue arising from this discussion – even
more important than the question of 'correct' interpretation –
concerns the adoption of other people's religious symbols. [...] It is
hard to import the worship of a goddess from another culture:
religious associations and connotations have to be learned, imagined
or intuited when the deep symbolic meanings embedded in the native
culture are not available."[38]
Gerald Gardner was reportedly particularly interested in Kali whilst
he was in the far east, before returning to England to write his
seminal works on Wicca[citation needed].
References
^ Encyclopedia International, by Grolier Incorporated Copyright in
Canada 1974. AE5.E447 1974 031 73-11206 ISBN 0-7172-0705-6 page 95
^ Mahābhārata 10.8.64-69, cited in Coburn, Thomas; Devī-Māhātmya —
Crystallization of the Goddess Tradition; Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi,
1984; ISBN 81-208-0557-7 pages 111–112.
^ a b D. Kinsley p. 122.
^ D. Kinsley p. 122–123.
^ a b D. Kinsley p. 124.
^ Karpuradi Stotra, Tantrik Texts Vol IX, Arthur Avalon (Sir John
Woodroffe), Calcutta Agamanusandhana Samiti, 1922.
^ D. Kinsley p. 124–125.
^ D. Kinsley p. 125.
^ D. Kinsley p. 126.
^ D. Kinsley p.125–126.
^ a b D. Kinsley p. 128.
^ MantraOnNet.com:Text & Images of Kali
^ D. Kinsley p. 118.
^ Devi Mahatmyam, Swami Jagadiswarananda, Ramakrishna Math, 1953.
^ D. Kinsley p. 118–119.
^ Wangu p. 72.
^ Kinsley p. 241 Footnotes.
^ D. Kinsley pp. 119, 130.
^ McDermott 2003.
^ D. Kinsley p. 119.
^ D. Kinsley p. 131.
^ Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls By June McDaniel p.257
^ The Art of Tantra, Philip Rawson, Thames & Hudson, 1973.
^ Sankaranarayanan. S. Devi Mahatmya. p 127.
^ David Gordon White (ed.), Tantra in Practice, ISBN 81-208-1778-8
p466.
^ Sri Ramakrishna (The Great Master), Swami Saradananda, Ramakrishna
Math, 1952, page 624, Sri Ramakrishna: The Spiritual Glow, Kamalpada
Hati, P.K. Pramanik, Orient Book Co., 1985, pages 17–18.
^ Tantra in Practice, David Gordon White, Princeton Press, 2000, page
477.
^ Tantra in Practice, David Gordon White, Princeton Press, 2000, page
475.
^ Tantra in Practice, David Gordon White, Princeton Press, 2000, page
463–488.
^ Hindu Gods & Goddesses, Swami Harshananda, Ramakrishna Math, 1981,
pages 116–117.
^ a b Tantra (The Path of Ecstasy), Georg Feuerstein, Shambhala, 1998,
pages 70–84, Shakti and Shâkta, Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe),
Oxford Press/Ganesha & Co., 1918.
^ Tantra in Practice, David Gordon White, Princeton Press, 2000, page
463–488, Shakti and Shâkta, Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe), Oxford
Press/Ganesha & Co., 1918.
^ Impact of Tantra on Religion & Art, T. N. Mishra, D.K. Print World,
1997, V.
^ Krishna, Gopi (1993)Living with Kundalini: (Shambhala, 1993 ISBN
0877739471).
^ Tantra (The Path of Ecstasy), Georg Feuerstein, Shambhala, 1998,
Shakti and Shâkta, Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe), Oxford Press/
Ganesha & Co., 1918.
^ The Trial of Kali, TIME Magazine, October 27, 1947.
^ McDermott, Rachel Fell, "The Western Kali", in Hawley, John Stratton
& Wulff, Donna M., Devi: The Goddess in India, p. 305.
^ McDermott, Rachel Fell, "The Western Kali", in Hawley, John Stratton
& Wulff, Donna M., Devi: The Goddess in India, pp. 281–305.
Shakti and Shâkta, Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe), Oxford Press/
Ganesha & Co., 1918
Sri Ramakrishna (The Great Master), Swami Saradananda, Ramakrishna
Math,1952
Devi Mahatmyam, Swami Jagadiswarananda, Ramakrishna Math, 1953
The Art of Tantra, Philip Rawson, Thames & Hudson, 1973
Hindu Gods & Goddesses, Swami Harshananda, Ramakrishna Math, 1981
Sri Ramakrishna: The Spiritual Glow, Kamalpada Hati, P.K. Pramanik,
Orient Book Co., 1985
Hindu Goddesses, David R. Kinsley, University of California Press,
1988
Kali (The Black Goddess of Dakshineswar) Elizabeth U. Harding, Nicolas
Hays, 1993
Impact of Tantra on Religion & Art, T. N. Mishra, D.K. Print World,
1997
Indian Art (revised), Roy C. Craven, Thames & Hudson, 1997
A Dictionary of Buddhist & Hindu Iconography (Illustrated), Frederick
W. Bunce, D.K. Print World, 1997
Tantra (The Path of Ecstasy), Georg Feuerstein, Shambhala, 1998
Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Religions, John Bowker, Oxford
Press, 2000
Tantra in Practice, David Gordon White, Princeton Press, 2000
Encountering Kali (In the margins, at the center, in the west), Rachel
Fell McDermott, Berkeley : University of California Press, 2003
[edit] Further reading
Shanmukha Anantha Natha and Shri Ma Kristina Baird, Divine Initiation
Shri Kali Publications (2001) ISBN 0-9582324-0-7 - Has a chapter on
Mahadevi with a commentary on the Devi Mahatmyam from the Markandeya
Purana.
Swami Jagadiswarananda, tr., Devi Mahatmyam Chennai, Ramakrishna Math.
ISBN 81-7120-139-3
Elizabeth Usha Harding, Kali: The Black Goddess of Dakshineswar ISBN
0-89254-025-7
Devadatta Kali, In Praise of The Goddess, The Devimahatmyam and Its
Meaning ISBN 0-89254-080-X
David Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses: Vision of the Divine Feminine in the
Hindu Religious Traditions ISBN 81-208-0379-5
Rachel Fell McDermott, Encountering Kali: In the Margins, at the
Center, in the West (ISBN 0-520-23240-2)
Ajit Mookerjee, Kali: The Feminine Force ISBN 0-89281-212-5
Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Kali Puja ISBN 1-887472-64-9
Ramprasad Sen, Grace and Mercy in Her Wild Hair: Selected Poems to the
Mother Goddess ISBN 0-934252-94-7
Sir John Woodroffe (aka Arthur Avalon)Hymns to the Goddess and Hymn to
Kali ISBN 81-85988-16-1
Robert E. Svoboda, Aghora, at the left hand of God ISBN 0-914732-21-8
Dimitri Kitsikis, L'Orocc, dans l'âge de Kali ISBN 2-89040-359-9
Lex Hixon, Mother of the Universe: Visions of the Goddess and Tantric
Hymns of Enlightenment ISBN 0-8356-0702-X
Neela Bhattacharya Saxena, In the Beginning is Desire: Tracing Kali's
Footprints in Indian Literature ISBN 818798161X
The Goddess Kali of Kolkata (ISBN 81-7476-514-X) by Shoma A.
Chatterji
Encountering The Goddess: A Translation of the Devi-Mahatmya and a
Study of Its Interpretation (ISBN 0-7914-0446-3) by Thomas B. Coburn
Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend (ISBN 0-500-51088-1) by Anna
Dallapiccola
Kali: The Black Goddess of Dakshineswar (ISBN 0-89254-025-7) by
Elizabeth Usha Harding
In Praise of The Goddess: The Devimahatmyam and Its Meaning (ISBN
0-89254-080-X) by Devadatta Kali
Hindu Goddesses: Vision of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious
Traditions (ISBN 81-208-0379-5) by David Kinsley
Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine (ISBN 0-520-20499-9) by David
Kinsley
Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls: Popular Goddess Worship in West
Bengal (ISBN 0-195-16791-0) by June McDaniel
Encountering Kali: In the Margins, at the Center, in the West (ISBN
0-520-23240-2) by Rachel Fell McDermott
Mother of My Heart, Daughter of My Dreams: Kali and Uma in the
Devotional Poetry of Bengal (ISBN 0-19-513435-4) by Rachel Fell
McDermott
Kali: The Feminine Force (ISBN 0-89281-212-5) by Ajit Mookerjee
Seeking Mahadevi: Constructing the Identities of the Hindu Great
Goddess (ISBN 0-791-45008-2) Edited by Tracy Pintchman
The Rise of the Goddess in the Hindu Tradition (ISBN 0-7914-2112-0) by
Tracy Pintchman
External links
Hinduism portal
Find more about Kali on Wikipedia's sister projects:
Definitions from Wiktionary
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Quotations from Wikiquote
Source texts from Wikisource
Images and media from Commons
News stories from Wikinews
Learning resources from Wikiversity
Kali at the Open Directory Project
http://www.dmoz.org/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Hinduism/Gods_and_Goddesses/Kali/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Directory_Project
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali
Goddess as Kali - The Feminine Force in Indian Art
Article of the Month - August 2000 Printer Friendly Version
PDF (Acrobat) - 382 kb
Share this Page with a friend The worship of a mother goddess as the
source of life and fertility has prehistoric roots, but the
transformation of that deity into a Great goddess of cosmic powers was
achieved with the composition of the Devi Mahatmya (Glory of the
goddess), a text of the fifth to sixth century, when worship of the
female principle took on dramatic new dimensions. The goddess is not
only the mysterious source of life, she is the very soil, all-creating
and all consuming.
Kali makes her 'official' debut in the Devi-Mahatmya, where she is
said to have emanated from the brow of Goddess Durga (slayer of
demons) during one of the battles between the divine and anti-divine
forces. Etymologically Durga's name means "Beyond Reach". She is thus
an echo of the woman warrior's fierce virginal autonomy. In this
context Kali is considered the 'forceful' form of the great goddess
Durga.
Kali is represented as a Black woman with four arms; in one hand she
has a sword, in another the head of the demon she has slain, with the
other two she is encouraging her worshippers. For earrings she has two
dead bodies and wears a necklace of skulls ; her only clothing is a
girdle made of dead men's hands, and her tongue protrudes from her
mouth. Her eyes are red, and her face and breasts are besmeared with
blood. She stands with one foot on the thigh, and another on the
breast of her husband.
Kali's fierce appearances have been the subject of extensive
descriptions in several earlier and modern works. Though her fierce
form is filled with awe- inspiring symbols, their real meaning is not
what it first appears- they have equivocal significance:
Kali's blackness symbolizes her all-embracing, comprehensive nature,
because black is the color in which all other colors merge; black
absorbs and dissolves them. 'Just as all colors disappear in black, so
all names and forms disappear in her' (Mahanirvana Tantra). Or black
is said to represent the total absence of color, again signifying the
nature of Kali as ultimate reality. This in Sanskrit is named as
nirguna (beyond all quality and form). Either way, Kali's black color
symbolizes her transcendence of all form.
A devotee poet says:
"Is Kali, my Divine Mother, of a black complexion?
She appears black because She is viewed from a distance;
but when intimately known She is no longer so.
The sky appears blue at a distance, but look at it close by
and you will find that it has no colour.
The water of the ocean looks blue at a distance,
but when you go near and take it in your hand,
you find that it is colourless."
... Ramakrishna Paramhansa (1836-86)
Kali's nudity has a similar meaning. In many instances she is
described as garbed in space or sky clad. In her absolute, primordial
nakedness she is free from all covering of illusion. She is Nature
(Prakriti in Sanskrit), stripped of 'clothes'. It symbolizes that she
is completely beyond name and form, completely beyond the illusory
effects of maya (false consciousness). Her nudity is said to represent
totally illumined consciousness, unaffected by maya. Kali is the
bright fire of truth, which cannot be hidden by the clothes of
ignorance. Such truth simply burns them away.
She is full-breasted; her motherhood is a ceaseless creation. Her
disheveled hair forms a curtain of illusion, the fabric of space -
time which organizes matter out of the chaotic sea of quantum-foam.
Her garland of fifty human heads, each representing one of the fifty
letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, symbolizes the repository of
knowledge and wisdom. She wears a girdle of severed human hands- hands
that are the principal instruments of work and so signify the action
of karma. Thus the binding effects of this karma have been overcome,
severed, as it were, by devotion to Kali. She has blessed the devotee
by cutting him free from the cycle of karma. Her white teeth are
symbolic of purity (Sans. Sattva), and her lolling tongue which is red
dramatically depicts the fact that she consumes all things and denotes
the act of tasting or enjoying what society regards as forbidden, i.e.
her indiscriminate enjoyment of all the world's "flavors".
Kali's four arms represent the complete circle of creation and
destruction, which is contained within her. She represents the
inherent creative and destructive rhythms of the cosmos. Her right
hands, making the mudras of "fear not" and conferring boons, represent
the creative aspect of Kali, while the left hands, holding a bloodied
sword and a severed head represent her destructive aspect. The
bloodied sword and severed head symbolize the destruction of ignorance
and the dawning of knowledge. The sword is the sword of knowledge,
that cuts the knots of ignorance and destroys false consciousness (the
severed head). Kali opens the gates of freedom with this sword, having
cut the eight bonds that bind human beings. Finally her three eyes
represent the sun, moon, and fire, with which she is able to observe
the three modes of time: past, present and future. This attribute is
also the origin of the name Kali, which is the feminine form of
'Kala', the Sanskrit term for Time.
Another symbolic but controversial aspect of Kali is her proximity to
the cremation ground:
O Kali, Thou art fond of cremation grounds;
so I have turned my heart into one
That thou, a resident of cremation grounds,
may dance there unceasingly.
O Mother! I have no other fond desire in my heart;
fire of a funeral pyre is burning there;
O Mother! I have preserved the ashes of dead bodies all around
that Thou may come.
O Mother! Keeping Shiva, conqueror of Death, under Thy feet,
Come, dancing to the tune of music;
Prasada waits With his eyes closed
... Ramprasad (1718-75)
Kali's dwelling place, the cremation ground denotes a place where the
five elements (Sanskrit: pancha mahabhuta) are dissolved. Kali dwells
where dissolution takes place. In terms of devotion and worship, this
denotes the dissolving of attachments, anger, lust, and other binding
emotions, feelings, and ideas. The heart of the devotee is where this
burning takes place, and it is in the heart that Kali dwells. The
devotee makes her image in his heart and under her influence burns
away all limitations and ignorance in the cremation fires. This inner
cremation fire in the heart is the fire of knowledge, (Sanskrit:
gyanagni), which Kali bestows.
The image of a recumbent Shiva lying under the feet of Kali represents
Shiva as the passive potential of creation and Kali as his Shakti. The
generic term Shakti denotes the Universal feminine creative principle
and the energizing force behind all male divinity including Shiva.
Shakti is known by the general name Devi, from the root 'div', meaning
to shine. She is the Shining One, who is given different names in
different places and in different appearances, as the symbol of the
life-giving powers of the Universe. It is she that powers him. This
Shakti is expressed as the i in Shiva's name. Without this i, Shiva
becomes Shva, which in Sanskrit means a corpse. Thus suggesting that
without his Shakti, Shiva is powerless or inert.
Kali is a particularly appropriate image for conveying the idea of the
world as the play of the gods. The spontaneous, effortless, dizzying
creativity of the divine reflex is conveyed in her wild appearance.
Insofar as kali is identified with the phenomenal world, she presents
a picture of that world that underlies its ephemeral and unpredictable
nature. In her mad dancing, disheveled hair, and eerie howl there is
made present the hint of a world reeling, careening out of control.
The world is created and destroyed in Kali's wild dancing, and the
truth of redemption lies in man's awareness that he is invited to take
part in that dance, to yield to the frenzied beat of the Mother's
dance of life and death.
O Kali, my Mother full of Bliss! Enchantress of the almighty Shiva!
In Thy delirious joy Thou dancest, clapping Thy hands together!
Thou art the Mover of all that move, and we are but Thy helpless toys
...Ramakrishna Paramhans
Kali and her attendants dance to rhythms pounded out by Shiva (Lord of
destruction) and his animal-headed attendants who dwell in the
Himalayas. Associated with chaos and uncontrollable destruction,
Kali's own retinue brandishes swords and holds aloft skull cups from
which they drink the blood that intoxicates them. Kali, like Shiva,
has a third eye, but in all other respects the two are distinguished
from one another. In contrast to Shiva's sweet expression, plump body,
and ash white complexion, dark kali's emaciated limbs, angular
gestures, and fierce grimace convey a wild intensity. Her loose hair,
skull garland, and tiger wrap whip around her body as she stomps and
claps to the rhythm of the dance.
Many stories describe Kali's dance with Shiva as one that "threatens
to destroy the world" by its savage power. Art historian Stella
Kramrisch has noted that the image of kali dancing with Shiva follows
closely the myth of the demon Daruka. When Shiva asks his wife Parvati
to destroy this demon, she enters Shiva's body and transforms herself
from the poison that is stored in his throat. She emerges from Shiva
as Kali, ferocious in appearance, and with the help of her flesh
eating retinue attacks and defeats the demon. Kali however became so
intoxicated by the blood lust of battle that her aroused fury and wild
hunger threatened to destroy the whole world. She continued her
ferocious rampage until Shiva manifested himself as an infant and lay
crying in the midst of the corpse-strewn field. Kali, deceived by
Shiva's power of illusion, became calm as she suckled the baby. When
evening approached, Shiva performed the dance of creation (tandava) to
please the goddess. Delighted with the dance, Kali and her attendants
joined in.
This terrific and poignant imagery starkly reveals the nature of Kali
as the Divine Mother. Ramaprasad expresses his feelings thus:
Behold my Mother playing with Shiva,
lost in an ecstasy of joy!
Drunk with a draught of celestial wine,
She reels, and yet does not fall.
Erect She stands on Shiva's bosom,
and the earth Trembles under Her tread;
She and Her Lord are mad with frenzy,
casting Aside all fear and shame.
... Ramprasad (1718-75)
Kali's human and maternal qualities continue to define the goddess for
most of her devotees to this day. In human relationships, the love
between mother and child is usually considered the purest and
strongest. In the same way, the love between the Mother Goddess and
her human children is considered the closest and tenderest
relationship with divinity. Accordingly, Kali's devotees form a
particularly intimate and loving bond with her. But the devotee never
forgets Kali's demonic, frightening aspects. He does not distort
Kali's nature and the truths she reveals; he does not refuse to
meditate on her terrifying features. He mentions these repeatedly in
his songs but is never put off or repelled by them. Kali may be
frightening, the mad, forgetful mistress of a world spinning out of
control, but she is, after all, the Mother of all. As such, she must
be accepted by her children- accepted in wonder and awe, perhaps, but
accepted nevertheless. The poet in an intimate and lighter tone
addresses the Mother thus:
O Kali! Why dost Thou roam about nude?
Art Thou not ashamed, Mother!
Garb and ornaments Thou hast none;
yet Thou Pridest in being King's daughter.
O Mother! Is it a virtue of Thy family that Thou
Placest thy feet on Thy husband?
Thou art nude; Thy husband is nude; you both roam cremation grounds.
O Mother! We are all ashamed of you; do put on thy garb.
Thou hast cast away Thy necklace of jewels, Mother,
And worn a garland of human heads.
Prasada says, "Mother! Thy fierce beauty has frightened
Thy nude consort.
... Ramaprasad
The soul that worships becomes always a little child: the soul that
becomes a child finds God oftenest as mother. In a meditation before
the Blessed Sacrament, some pen has written the exquisite assurance:
"My child, you need not know much in order to please Me. Only Love Me
dearly. Speak to me, as you would talk to your mother, if she had
taken you in her arms."
Kali's boon is won when man confronts or accepts her and the realities
she dramatically conveys to him. The image of Kali, in a variety of
ways, teaches man that pain, sorrow, decay, death, and destruction are
not to be overcome or conquered by denying them or explaining them
away. Pain and sorrow are woven into the texture of man's life so
thoroughly that to deny them is ultimately futile. For man to realize
the fullness of his being, for man to exploit his potential as a human
being, he must finally accept this dimension of existence. Kali's boon
is freedom, the freedom of the child to revel in the moment, and it is
won only after confrontation or acceptance of death. To ignore death,
to pretend that one is physically immortal, to pretend that one's ego
is the center of things, is to provoke Kali's mocking laughter. To
confront or accept death, on the contrary, is to realize a mode of
being that can delight and revel in the play of the gods. To accept
one's mortality is to be able to let go, to be able to sing, dance,
and shout. Kali is Mother to her devotees not because she protects
them from the way things really are but because she reveals to them
their mortality and thus releases them to act fully and freely,
releases them from the incredible, binding web of "adult" pretense,
practicality, and rationality.
We hope you have enjoyed reading the article. Any comments or feedback
that you may have will be greatly appreciated. Please send your
feedback to feed...@exoticindia.com.
http://www.exoticindiaart.com/kali.htm
bademiyansubhanallah
Vikas Pathak, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, March 23, 2010
First Published: 00:47 IST(23/3/2010)
Last Updated: 00:48 IST(23/3/2010)
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue MG Vaidya hinted on Monday
that the BJP, which had been drifting away from Hindutva, was back on
track under Nitin Gadkari, the RSS choice for BJP president.
However, the gesture is being seen more as an approval for greater RSS
control over the BJP under Gadkari.
For Gadkari’s idea of a corporate or NGO-type BJP is not too different
from the hi-tech politics L.K. Advani and his aides espoused. However,
while Advani wanted an autonomous BJP, Gadkari, the RSS hopes, will be
more pliable.
Gadkari in turn pledged allegiance to Hindutva, the Sangh's favourite
theme. Welcoming 100 young professionals as BJP volunteers, he said
that while the "language" of each generation changed, Hindutva
remained "the soul" for the BJP.
Vaidya contrasted BJP under Gadkari with the party in 2009. “When
Sudheendra Kulkarni said the BJP should break with the RSS, I said
they should break with Hindutva, and the chord with the RSS will
automatically snap,” Vaidya said, referring to Advani's former aide.
"After 2009, they say Hindutva is their soul. The soul is invisible
but gives urja (energy). It's good that the same urja is being
remembered in 2010,” Vaidya added.
He said Hindutva was not religion but the essence of Indian values and
all those who upheld these were Hindus.
On the Babri mosque demolition, he said, "A sign of sampradyik
gundagardi (communal rowdy-ism) has been obliterated. There can be a
mosque nearby, but only a temple will come up at the spot."
Sangh young band swings to jazz
RADHIKA RAMASESHAN
THEN
NOW
(From top) Anuradha Paudwal, Anup Jalota, Louis Armstrong, Duke
Ellington
New Delhi, March 22: Anuradha Paudwal, Narendra Chanchal and Anup
Jalota are passe. The Sangh’s young guns would rather sway to Louis
Armstrong and Duke Ellington.
The bhajan singers are a generation removed from the jazz greats and
could, therefore, qualify as more “contemporary”. But someone in the
RSS or the BJP decided it was time to stack away the Jai Siya Ram and
Prabhu Tero Naam CDs and play What A Wonderful World and When The
Saints Go Marching In.
But Armstrong’s gravelly voice and Ellington’s ragtime blues for the
RSS-BJP?
The disconnect would seem unbridgeable if you imagined swayamsevaks in
over-sized khaki shorts swinging to jazz instead of intoning mantras
on patriotism.
But when 50-odd youths got together to pledge allegiance to the RSS
and the BJP in Delhi, they chose jazz as the background score.
The new band calls itself the United Volunteer Association, or UVA. Or
better still, Yuva.
Yes, it is the BJP’s answer to the Congress’s effort to foreground
Rahul Gandhi and his youth brigade.
Gone with the bhajans are the khaki shorts. The UVAs wear saffron T-
shirts and black trousers.
They are not 50-year-olds with paunches but young IT professionals,
entrepreneurs and students with less ample waistlines and a general
look of fitness.
Nitin Gadkari, the 52- year-old BJP president, whose girth is not
exactly an advertisement for health freaks, was the guest of honour at
the launch of UVA in New Delhi’s Mavlankar Hall today.
He played to the gallery, unmindful of the fact that on the dais with
him was M.G. Vaidya, an 80-year old RSS pracharak who often defies the
official line on policies and issues. “I belong to a new generation
that recognises the difference between the letter and spirit (of
Hindutva). Hindutva’s spirit will not change. But it cannot be an
agenda for any political party,” he said.
He invoked lines from a Supreme Court judgment that described Hindutva
as a “way of life of people in the sub-continent”.
Terrorists have no religion: Nitin Gadkari
By ANIMarch 23rd, 2010 NEW DELHI - Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
president Nitin Gadkari has said that a terrorist has no religion and
can’t be classified as a Hindu or a Muslim.
“It is unfortunate that we identify people involved with certain
terrorist activities according to their religious affiliations,” said
Gadkari, adding that a terrorist has no caste, creed or religion.
Gadkari further said, “A god fearing Hindu will not kill an innocent
Muslim and similarly, a god fearing Muslim will not kill an innocent
Hindu, and if he is doing so, then he is a terrorist who does not
belong to any religion.”
The BJP president on Monday stressed on the need for a modern idiom to
articulate ‘Hindutva’ for the youth, adding that the Supreme Court’s
1995 description of Hindutva must be the standard.
“Hindutva cannot become any political party’s agenda. It was more a
way of life,” said Gadkari.
The Supreme Court of India in a judgement ruled that ‘no precise
meaning can be ascribed to the terms ‘Hindu’, ‘Hindutva’ and
‘Hinduism’; and no meaning in the abstract can confine it to the
narrow limits of religion alone, excluding the content of Indian
culture and heritage.
The Court also ruled that ‘Hindutva’ is understood as a way of life or
a state of mind and is not to be equated with or understood as
religious Hindu fundamentalism. (ANI)
http://blog.taragana.com/politics/2010/03/23/terrorists-have-no-religion-nitin-gadkari-24894/
Gadkari at the launch of UVA in Delhi. (PTI)
“No true Muslim can kill a Hindu, no true Hindu can kill a Muslim. Yet
the pseudo-secularists insist on identifying terrorists with religion.
The state should be secular, the government should be secular but an
individual cannot be secular,” Gadkari said. “Why then were Indira
Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi cremated according to Hindu rites?”
He emphasised how important it was to drive home the message that the
BJP was for “parliamentary democracy and not theocracy”.
“Youths should see Hindutva in a larger perspective, as a way of life
that is related to tolerance of all people,” Gadkari said.
But UVA convener Sanjay Kaul drove home the message of change. At the
end of his speech, the BJP activist who was part of the India Shining
ad campaign, simply said: “Hey guys, if you are interested, you know
who to call.”
A generation, it seemed, had been phased out.
A source said youth outreach would become possible only “when we start
looking, thinking and speaking like Kaul”.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100323/jsp/nation/story_12250823.jsp
Bihar BJP leaders flay Gadkari team
NALIN VERMA
Shahnawaz Hussein and Shatrughan Sinha have shown resentment against
Nitin Gadkari
Patna, March 21: Mere months before the state goes to Assembly polls,
resentment against BJP president Nitin Gadkari is rising fast among
party members, especially after some senior leaders from the region
were “ignored” in the national executive.
The leaders have also started pouring venom against the high command.
Former Union civil aviation minister Shahnawaz Hussein did not attend
a meeting called by the newly appointed BJP chief spokesman
Ravishankar Prasad on Friday and got admitted to a Delhi hospital
yesterday complaining of chest pain.
“I will go to Mecca and Medina to know my gunah (mistake) and pray
that Allah punishes me for the same,” the Bhagalpur MP said, sulking
for being “demoted” as a junior spokesman under Prasad.
“Our leader is more pained by the treatment from Gadkari than the
chest pain,” said an aide of Hussein.
Probably, God appears to have heard Shahnawaz’s prayers, as Gadkari
called him telling: “You should speak to me if you have complaints and
not to the media. I will try to address your issues if you keep
yourself confined to party forum.”
Apparently, sensing resentment among the election-bound Bihar leaders,
Gadkari has revised his list of office-bearers. Yesterday, he included
two more “sulking” leaders — state party chief Radhamohan Singh and
state health minister Nandkishore Yadav — in the list of the special
invitees to the national executive.
But Gadkari’s damage-control exercise seems futile, as many senior
leaders, including Shatrughan Sinha, C.P. Thakur and Yahswant Sinha,
are feeling ignored.
Many of these disgruntled leaders are openly speaking to the media for
ignoring the “meritorious party workers” from Bihar by Gadkari whom
they alleged even biased towards Maharashtra.
Thakur, before leaving for Geneva to attend a convention of the World
Health Organisation, said: “Senior leaders from Bihar have been
ignored. There is a dominance of Marathis in Gadkari’s team.” Thakur,
who represented the Patna Lok Sabha seat thrice and is currently Rajya
Sabha MP, went on saying: “My contribution to the party is no less
than anyone in the BJP.”
Shatrughan, who represents Patna Saheb in the Lok Sabha and billed to
be the star campaigner in the coming Assembly elections, said:
“Leaders like Thakur, Udai Singh and Yashwant have been ignored. I
have apprised the Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj about how Gadkari
has made mistakes in making his team.”
The disgruntled leaders said around 15 leaders from Bihar had found
places in Gadkari’s team against over 40 from Maharashtra. Gadkari is
yet to select the Bihar BJP president to replace Singh, who had
completed his tenure.
All these senior leaders, including Hussein, Thakur and Shatrughan,
are apparently opposed to the elevation of a relatively junior leader,
Prasad, as the party’s general secretary and chief spokesman at their
cost. “Experience and merit have not been taken into consideration,
while forming the team. The winners and mass leaders have been ignored
while those who have not won a single election have been promoted,”
said Shatrughan.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100322/jsp/nation/story_12244879.jsp
Nitish stamp in party panel
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Patna, March 24: Nitish Kumar’s mantra of “inclusive growth and
development” finds an echo in his party as well with the JD(U)
accommodating the dissidents besides a large number of women and
minorities in the jumbo executive committee of poll-bound Bihar.
While BJP chief Nitin Gadkari faces revolt in his party for leaving
out senior leaders from the region, dissident leaders like former
JD(U) state chief Rajiv Ranjan Singh, alias Lallan Singh, and
Prabhunath Singh have found place in the 262-member executive
committee.
State JD(U) chief Vijay Choudhary said: “We have given representation
to all with ignoring none.”
Choudhary said: “The executive committee has 42 vice-presidents, 87
general secretaries, 58 secretaries and 75 members with women and
party workers from the Muslim community given a very large
representation.”
“The executive committee has highest ever number of women this time,”
Choudhary said, indicating the panel’s support to Nitish, who has been
spearheading the women’s reservation bill against the wishes of JD(U)
chief Sharad Yadav, who along with Lalu Prasad and Mulayam Singh
Yadav, have been opposing it.
The women’s reservation bill has split the JD(U) with Nitish taking a
line quite opposed to Sharad Yadav. Nitish’s stand, however,
embarrassed Sharad Yadav for all the five MPs in the Rajya Sabha on
the day of voting supported in favour of the bill.
Hari Prasad Sah, Nitish’s close confidant, has been made chairman of
the state parliamentary board and former MLC Vinay Kumar Sinha its
treasurer.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100325/jsp/nation/story_12259063.jsp
Shatrughan finds vacuum at the top in the party
STAFF WRITER 17:28 HRS IST
Lucknow Mar 23 (PTI) Days after he vent his frustration over selection
of the new team of BJP office bearers, Shatrughan Sinha today said
that there is a vacuum at the top in the absence of Atal Bihari
Vajpayee coupled with certain other factors.
In an informal interaction with reporters here, Sinha said the BJP
leadership was weakened after the retirement of Vajpayee from active
politics.
He said there were also certain other factors but declined to
elaborate.
The BJP leader, however, sought to put a lid on the controversy
following his outburst against party President Nitin Gadkari that
deserving candidates had been ignored in the new team announced last
week.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/578197_Shatrughan-finds-vacuum-at-the-top-in-the-party
I'l quit if Gadkariji says so: Shatrughan
Rakesh Verma, Hindustan Times
Patna, March 21, 2010
First Published: 23:16 IST(21/3/2010)
Last Updated: 23:17 IST(21/3/2010)
Even as the BJP mulls disciplinary action against Patna Sahib MP
Shatrughan Sinha, the party veteran in Patna on Sunday was his usual
cool and confident self.
“Why threaten me with a show cause at all? All that my friend and
party chief needs to do is tell me to quit and I would gladly do so.
My image is hardly dependent on my being a BJP member. There are a
number of options that are far more rewarding, options with more
responsibility that I would be glad to fulfill,” Sinha said.
“Nevertheless, doing so will hardly put an end to the discontent that
Gadkariji’s handpicked team has inspired among certain party seniors
whose contributions the BJP can ill-afford to ignore.”
Senior leaders such as Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha, B.C. Khanduri,
C.P. Thakur, Uday Singh, Madan Lal Khurana have been left out, said
Sinha. And to rub salt on their wounds, leaders such as Radha Mohan
Singh and Nand Kishore Yadav, whose political stock Bihar’s people are
well aware of, have been inducted, he added.
“I am not upset because of my non-inclusion in Nitin Gadkari’s team.
What I am upset about is that leaders who could have played stellar
roles in the impending elections in Bihar and elsewhere have been
sidelined at the behest of self-seekers,” Sinha said.
I have never sought any position in party:Shatrughan
STAFF WRITER 13:34 HRS IST
New Delhi, Mar 24 (PTI) Actor-turned politician Shatrughan Sinha has
said he voiced his reservations over the selection of the new BJP team
because he wanted the welfare of the party and not because he was
hankering for any post.
"I never asked, never got and never sought any position for me. As far
as who got what, I can say I have got my 'Kad' (height), which
sometimes becomes a matter of concern for others," the 6-feet-2-inch
tall BJP leader said, evading a direct reply.
He was asked why he was cold shouldered by the BJP leadership in the
new team of party office-bearers announced by party chief Nitin
Gadkari on March 18.
Sinha was in the city last night to promote his son's debut film
'Sadiyaan', which stars Rekha, Rishi Kapoor and Hema Malini in the
lead.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/579299_I-have-never-sought-any-position-in-party-Shatrughan
'I am endorsing Gujarat's glory, not present govt'
STAFF WRITER 11:10 HRS IST
Mumbai, Mar 25 (PTI) Under attack for his role as brand ambassador of
Gujarat, megastar Amitabh Bachchan has hit out at his critics, saying
no politics is involved in his promoting tourism in the BJP-ruled
state.
Bachchan said as the brand ambassador, he would talk about the Somnath
Temple, the white sands of the Rann of Kutch, old civilisations of
Harrappa, the Gir lions and try to entice as many visitors as he could
to that glorious land.
"Where is the connect with the glorification of the present
Government?" he wrote on his blog yesterday, the day when some
Maharashtra Congressmen objected to his presence at a state government
function citing his strained ties with Gandhi family and his role as
Gujarat brand ambassador.
"You want to stop me from promoting tourism in a state because you
have reason to believe that there are political connotations to the
event.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/580329_-I-am-endorsing-Gujarat-s-glory--not-present-govt-
Invite to Amitabh, section of Mumbai Cong upset
STAFF WRITER 0:44 HRS IST
Mumbai/ New Delhi, Mar 24 (PTI) Resentment brewed tonight in a section
of Mumbai's Congress over the invite to megastar Amitabh Bachchan to a
function where Chief Minister Ashok Chavan innaugurated the second
phase of Worli-Bandra sealink.
Chavan himself indicated the unhappiness in PCC over the invite to
Bachchan, a friend-turned-foe of the party, and exclusion of some
Congress leaders from the function.
"The Mumbai Congress President (Kripashankar Singh) has given some
reaction in the evening about invitations not being given to
them....", Chavan told NDTV.
Congress' coalition partner NCP is heading the ministry concerned with
the sealnik.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/580206_Invite-to-Amitabh--section-of-Mumbai-Cong-upset
India second most spam originator worldwide: study
STAFF WRITER 8:16 HRS IST
Houston, Mar 25 (PTI) Indian is the second most spam originator
worldwide, with 10.98 per cent of spam being sent globally from Indian
IP addresses, according to a study.
Brazil, Vietnam, Korea and US are among the top five countries from
which most spam was sent during the first two months of 2010, said the
study by PandaLabs, Panda Security's malware analysis and detection
laboratory.
The five million emails analysed by PandaLabs came from nearly one
million different IP addresses, meaning that on average, each address
was responsible for five spam messages.
And, the cities from which spam was being sent, Seoul topped the list,
followed by Hanoi, New Delhi, Bogota, Sao Paulo and Bangkok.
The spam messages themselves are used primarily to distribute malware
or sell illicit products, such as videos or photos of Brazilian girls.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/580253_India-second-most-spam-originator-worldwide--study
'Row over presence at sea link event manufactured'
STAFF WRITER 10:10 HRS IST
Mumbai, Mar 25 (PTI) Megastar Amitabh Bachchan today said the
controversy over his presence at a function here for the inauguration
of the second phase of the Bandra-Worli sea link has been
"manufactured".
"A fresh controversy has been rapidly manufactured on my
involvement... The media has been hounding me since the event at the
sea link has got over, through incessant SMSes and the electronic
(media) has followed me even to the theatre where we were seeing
Arshad's film," Bachchan wrote in a midnight post on his blog. Actor
Arshad Warsi's film 'Hum Tum Aur Ghost' will be released this week.
Resentment brewed in a section of Mumbai Congress over the invite to
Bachchan to the function where Chief Minister Ashok Chavan inaugurated
the sea link yesterday.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/580296_-Row-over-presence-at-sea-link-event-manufactured-
Modi warms up for date with riot probe team
OUR BUREAU
Ahmedabad/Mumbai, March 24: Narendra Modi is set to make an appearance
before the Supreme Court-monitored special investigation team on the
Gujarat riots on March 27 or any other mutually acceptable date.
Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, among the battery of legal eagles
advising Modi, today confirmed that the Gujarat chief minister was
willing to appear before the SIT on March 27 or any other day, but
prior to that he would like a clarification with regard to a related
case pending in the Supreme Court.
The SIT has asked Modi to appear before it in connection with the
Gulbarg Housing Society carnage of February 28, 2002, in which
Congress leader Ahsan Jafri was killed along with 68 others, many of
whose bodies were never recovered as they had been burnt beyond
recognition.
The SIT was asked by the Supreme Court to look into a complaint filed
by Zakia Jafri, widow of the leader, in which she named Modi as the
first accused in her husband’s murder.
The SIT has to report to the Supreme Court by April 30 on Zakia’s
complaint. Of the 63 people named, most have already been questioned
by the SIT.
On March 11, the SIT, headed by former CBI chief R.K. Raghavan, said
it had asked the chief minister to appear before it for questioning on
March 21, a date which Modi disputed, saying it was a “lie” planted by
“vested interests”.
The Telegraph has learnt that the SIT had asked Modi to appear before
it in the week beginning March 21.
Advocate Jethmalani today said Modi had written a letter to Raghavan,
pointing out that the Supreme Court was scheduled to hear a petition
seeking to recall its earlier order referring Zakia’s complaint to the
SIT. The plea is scheduled to be heard in the week beginning April 5.
The petition was filed by Kalubhai Maliwad, a former legislator of the
BJP who was named with Modi and 61 others in Zakia’s complaint.
“Moreover, Teesta Setalvad and other NGOs have also challenged the
composition of the SIT. Modi has said that propriety demands that
unless these pending matters are resolved, it may not be appropriate
to call him. He (Modi) said if the SIT still wants to go ahead, he is
willing to appear before it on March 27 or any other day it wishes
to,” Jethmalani said.
Asked if the SIT had responded to the letter, Jethmalani said: “No, it
hasn’t. The letter was sent either on Monday or Tuesday.”
Raghavan could not be reached for comment. He, however, told PTI that
“it (the missive) is a privilege communication between the SIT and the
witness (Modi)” and he could not comment on it.
The Gujarat government continued to be cautious. Home minister Amit
Shah said the “date and time” of Modi’s appearance had not been fixed
as yet.
Asked whether the chief minister would appear before March 27, a staff
member at the chief minister’s office said: “As of now, we have not
decided.”
Legal experts said Modi, who is also being advised by BJP leader and
legal luminary Arun Jaitley, cannot avoid appearing before the SIT
since it has all the powers of an investigative agency under the
Criminal Procedure Code of 1973.
The chief minister, sources said, is likely to comply with the summons
since he would prefer to be seen as a responsible, law-abiding citizen
who welcomes the investigation instead of running shy of it.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100325/jsp/nation/story_12259787.jsp
SIT summons: Modi gives a new twist but says will respond
STAFF WRITER 18:50 HRS IST
Gandhinagar, Mar 22 (PTI) Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today
said he shall respond to the SIT probing the 2002 Gujarat riots "fully
respecting" the law, as he refuted reports that he had skipped
appearance before the panel on Sunday.
"SIT had not fixed March 21, 2010 for my appearance.
To say that I was summoned on March 21 is completely false. I shall
respond to the SIT fully respecting the law and keeping in view the
dignity of a body appointed by the Supreme Court," he said in an open
letter.
Modi's letter came following reports that he had boycotted the SIT
summons.
He said, "Truth cannot be suppressed. It is now my duty to place
before you the facts that brings out the importance of understanding
what the truth really is.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/576786_SIT-summons--Modi-gives-a-new-twist-but-says-will-respond
Gujarat CM likely to appear before SIT on March 27
STAFF WRITER 9:35 HRS IST
Ahmedabad, Mar 24 (PTI) Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is likely
to be questioned by the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation
Team, probing the 2002 riots, on March 27, SIT sources said today.
Confusion prevailed over the appearance of Modi before the SIT with
the panel chief saying he would appear on March 21. But Modi, in an
open letter, claimed he was not summoned on the date.
Sources today said he is likely to be questioned on March 27. However,
SIT Chief R K Raghavan refused to comment on the date.
"It is a privilege communication between the SIT and the witness and I
cannot comment on this," he said.
SIT has summoned Modi to depose in connection with a complaint of
Zakia Jaffery, widow of former Congress MP Eshan Jaffery who was
killed in Gulburg society riot case of 2002 along with 69 others.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/579097_Gujarat-CM-likely-to-appear-before-SIT-on-March-27
SIT up and take notice
Hindustan Times
March 15, 2010
First Published: 22:40 IST(15/3/2010)
Last Updated: 22:45 IST(15/3/2010)
The hysteria that normally accompanies any move to bring about
political accountability has been refreshingly absent following the
Special Investigation Team’s (SIT) summons to Gujarat Chief Minister
Narendra Modi to depose before it. This is the first time ever that
the CM of any state has been asked to appear before an SIT. The SIT
step is in response to charges against Mr Modi and his administration
by Zakia Jaffrey whose husband and former Congress MP Ehsan Jaffrey
was murdered in the Gulberg housing society during the cataclysmic
riots of 2002. Mr Modi has signalled his compliance and the new BJP
President Nitin Gadkari has taken the stand that the law must take its
course.
The law has indeed taken a tortuous course in the Gujarat case with
various rulings indicting the administration being overturned by lower
courts. Now that the action has moved to the Supreme Court, we are
hopefully moving closer to a conclusion. The SIT seems intent on
completing its task in a professional manner, heeding neither pressure
from the establishment nor from activists who have been at loggerheads
ever since those fateful events took place. In all the mudslinging, we
have still not fixed accountability for the violence in which over
1,500 people died. That there was complicity, at least from sections
of Mr Modi’s administration, is established. The SIT has made it clear
that it has prima facie cases against then minister Maya Kodnani and
various VHP leaders. It has also left no one in doubt that the events
were not a spontaneous reaction after the Godhra train arson, but very
much ordered to a pattern.
Mr Modi is in a difficult situation. If he professes ignorance of the
reasons for and perpetrators of the violence, his administration could
be held accountable for negligence. However, given the maturity with
which the situation has been handled so far, it must be hoped that the
SIT hearings will give Mr Modi a platform to answer many questions
which are still hanging in the air. The 2002 riots proved to be one of
the most divisive and painful in independent India and threatened the
very secular ethos of the country. So, unlike the investigations into
past riots, it becomes imperative that the issue is resolved in order
that both Gujarat and India can move forward. Mr Modi has crafted the
economic success story of Gujarat. Today everyone wants a stake in the
growth of the state. Mr Modi has eventual ambitions for a greater role
at the Centre. In this context, it makes sense to wipe the slate clean
and bring a closure to a painful chapter in our history.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/edits/SIT-up-and-take-notice/Article1-519421.aspx
Communal harmony marks Ram Navami in Ayodhya
STAFF WRITER 21:9 HRS IST
Ayodhya, Mar 24 (PTI) In an example of communal harmony in this
pilgrim town, members of the Muslim community today made arrangements
for Hindu pilgrims who arrived here in large numbers to celebrate Ram
Navami.
The festivities, which were celebrated without any perceptible terror
threat, saw about ten lakh devotees take a dip in the Saryu river,
with many of them offering prayers at different temples including
Kanak Bhawan, Hanumangarhi and Nageshwarnaath temples.
Senior Superintendent of Police R K S Rathore said, "There was no
extremist threat to the religious gathering of Ram Navami Mela, but we
made all possible arrangements to ensure the security of devotees.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/580071_Communal-harmony-marks-Ram-Navami-in-Ayodhya
Mulayam's remarks on women sexist, Talibani: Amar
STAFF WRITER 19:30 HRS IST
Raising the Batla House encounter issue, Amar said that when he had
demanded a judicial inquiry into it, everybody had distanced
themselves from him.
"I spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the then National
Security Advisor M K Narayanan on initiating a judicial inquiry into
the encounter at that time, but only Congress President Sonia Gandhi
supported my views. After two years, AICC general secretary Digvijay
Singh recently visited Azamgarh and while raising doubts on the
encounter demanded a judicial inquiry into it and then backtracked
from his statement," he said.
The former SP leader maintained that he did not play politics over the
issue and said what he felt was right.
Asked whether he was trying to send feelers to Congress while praising
Sonia Gandhi for supporting his views on the Batla House encounter
issue, Singh said, "I have only said the truth.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/579926_Mulayam-s-remarks-on-women-sexist--Talibani--Amar
Former Goa beach shack waiter sentenced for murder
STAFF WRITER 0:55 HRS IST
Panaji, March 23 (PTI) A former beach shack waiter was sentenced to
life imprisonment by a local court today for killing a British woman
in Margao town two years ago.
Additional district and sessions judge P V Sawaikar sentenced Anand
Kambli to life imprisonment and fined him Rs 25,000 for killing Denis
Higgins.
Higgins, 54, was brutally killed by Kambli by slitting open her throat
with a knife over a petty dispute in her rented apartment at Margao
town on April 27, 2007.
Incidently, Kambli?s wife and minor son were sleeping in the adjacent
room when the incident happened.
Higgins died on the spot and Kambli fled from the scene, only to be
arrested a couple of days later.
Police said the accused had made an acquaintance with British lady
through his friend, who had helped her in getting a rented apartment.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/579026_Former-Goa-beach-shack-waiter-sentenced-for-murder
Nityananda Swami files writ in Karnataka High Court
STAFF WRITER 0:50 HRS IST
Bangalore, Mar 22 (PTI) Self-styled godman Nityananda Swami, facing
allegations of involvement in sleazy activities, today filed a writ
petition before Karnataka High Court seeking quashing of cases filed
against him by the Ramanagar district police.
Nityananda, who is at large ever since the video clippings of his
alleged sleaze activities involving an actress were telecast by
private channels on May two, in his petition contended that he was
innocent.
The 32-year-old Nityananda, alias Rajasekharan, charged that one of
his former discipline and driver Kurup Lenin had conspired to defame
him and his Ashram by levelling such allegations.
The whereabouts of Nityananda remained a mystery so far.
However, the followers of Nityananda at his Ashram at Bidadi on the
city outskirts claim that he has been in Haridwar attending the Kumbh
Mela.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/577398_Nityananda-Swami-files-writ-in-Karnataka-High-Court
A temple where upper castes bow to Dalits
Asit Srivastava, Indo-Asian News Service
Lucknow, March 25, 2010
First Published: 11:15 IST(25/3/2010)
Last Updated: 11:16 IST(25/3/2010)
Stories of socially marginalised people not being allowed into places
of worship are common in India. In such a scenario, a Dalit family
presiding over an Uttar Pradesh temple for ages is nothing short of
exemplary.
It's only Dalits who have been priests of the Kali Mata temple,
dedicated to goddess Durga, in Lakhna town in Etawah, some 300 km from
Lucknow, ever since the shrine came up around 200 years ago.
"Caste divisions and discrimination may not have given Dalits a place
of respectability in society, but here as priests they are revered,"
Ram Dular Rajbhar, who owns a grocery store in the town, told IANS on
phone.
"Be it Brahmins, Thakurs or people from any of the other higher
castes, after coming inside the temple, all have to bow before the
Dalit priests and touch their feet. For others it may be surprising,
but it has become a custom for us," he added.
Situated along the banks of the Yamuna river, the temple is sought
after by the residents of Lakhna town for holding marriages,
'mundan' (tonsure ceremony of Hindu children) or other rituals
particularly performed by Brahmins or members of the upper caste.
"It's not just a temple. It's a place that is an example of social
equality," said Umesh Dixit, who owns several garment shops in Lakhna
town.
"People in Lakhna also approach the priests to name their babies as it
is believed that names given by Dalit priests would bring good luck
and prosperity to the children and their families," he added.
According to locals, there's a story behind the custom of Dalit
priests. They say King Jaipal Singh, who got the temple constructed,
made it mandatory that the priest of the temple would only be a Dalit.
"While the construction of the temple was under way, Jaipal Singh
noticed a Dalit labourer, Chhotelal, was being assaulted by a group of
upper caste people for touching the idol that was to be placed inside
the temple," said another resident Ram Raksha Pandey, who owns an
eating joint in Lakhna.
"Jaipalji soon intervened in the matter and said only Chhotelal and
his family would be taking care of the temple after its construction.
Since then, the practice has been alive," he added.
At present two brothers, Ashok Kumar, 43, and Akhilesh Kumar, 45, who
are fourth generation descendants of Chhotelal are the priests at the
temple.
Nitin Gadkari
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This biographical article needs additional citations for
verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious
material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must
be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful.
(October 2009)
Nitin Gadkari
Maharashtra Legislative Council
Incumbent
Assumed office
1989
Minister for PWD, Maharashtra
In office
27th May, 1995 – 1998
National President of Bharatiya Janata Party
Incumbent
Assumed office
25th December, 2009
Preceded by Rajnath Singh
Born May 27, 1957 (1957-05-27) (age 52)
Nagpur, India
Political party Bharatiya Janata Party
Spouse(s) Kanchan Gadkari
Children Nikhil, Sarang and Ketki
Alma mater Nagpur University
Occupation Lawyer, Industrialist
Religion Hindu
Website nitingadkari.in
Nitin Jayaram Gadkari (Marathi: नितीन जयराम गडकरी) (born 27 May 1957)
is an Indian industrialist, agriculturist, politician and the current
President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).[1] He is best known for
the works during his tenure as a Public Works Department Minister in
the state of Maharashtra when he constructed a series of roads,
highways and flyovers across the state including the Mumbai–Pune
Expressway.[2]
Background, family and education
Nitin Gadkari was born in Nagpur, India to a middle class
Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu family hailing from Nagpur district.
During his teens, he worked for Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha and
student union wing of ABVP.
He started his political career as a grass root worker who laid down
red carpets prior to party programmes.[3] He prefers to maintains a
low profile in the media. He did his M.Com, L.L.B., D.B.M. from
Maharashtra, India.
Gadkari was elected unanimously as the President of BJP by its
members. The induction ceremony was held on 19 December 2009 and
resumed work on 25 December 2009.
Nitin Gadkari is married to Kanchan Gadkari and they have three
children, Nikhil, Sarang and Ketki. He currently resides in Nagpur
close to the head office of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.[4]
Political career
Nitin Gadkari served as the Minister of Public Works Department of
Government of Maharashtra from 1995 to 1999 and restructured it from
top to bottom.[5].Though Gadkari did a decent job as a minister ,His
Party lost badly in assembly elections in Maharashtra for three
consecutive terms.
Up-gradation of PWD
He undertook the project to computerize all activities in the
department of PWD. He ordered complete replacement of furniture,
fixtures and office equipments with trendy ones and imposed MNC
similar codes for the department and its employees.[citation needed]
Support for privatization
He showed strong support for privatization when he campaigned for
investment in the infrastructure areas from private firms. He
addressed several meetings between private investors, contractors,
builders and various trade organizations and diverted large amounts of
budgeted projects towards privatization. He managed to convince the
state to allocate Rs. 700 Crores for rural connectivity. In the next
four years, 98% of the total population of Maharashtra achieved all-
weather road connectivity. It also helped to solve the malnutrition
problems prevailing in remote Melghat-Dharni area of Amravati district
which previously had no access to medical aid, ration or educational
facilities. The project aimed to connect 13736 remote villages which
remained unconnected since independence by road.
Establishment of MSRDC
Gadkari pushed for time bound completion of projects. He established
Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), a fully
government-owned company which undertook construction of 55 flyovers
in Mumbai alone costing 1500 crores. Mumbai-Pune Expressway was
another project constructed by MSRDC during his tenure.
For the first time MSRDC a Govt. owned company went to the capital
market and raised Rs. 1180 crores which was the largest collection in
the Capital Market history of India. CRISIL gave an AAA rating to
MSRDC.
He appointed a committee to help adopt and acquire technology and
tools of international standards in construction of buildings and
bridges and changed the existing bridge codes. The contractors thus
imported computerized machinery worth 400 Crores like Vibrating
rollers, electronic sensors, Paving machines, Pilling rigs, Pre-fab
technique, etc. which were commissioned to be used for the first time
in India.
Chairman of NRRDC
Union Government appointed him as Chairman of National Rural Road
Development Committee. After series of meetings and study, Shri
Gadkari submitted the report to central Govt. and gave the
presentation to Hon. Prime Minister of India. His report was accepted
and a new rural road connecting scheme now popularly known as Pradhan
Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana was launched. The ambitious scheme is of Rs.
60,000 Crores.
Other works during his tenure
He appointed a committee to study the accident-prone spots on the
roads of Maharashtra and implemented committee suggestions with the
budgetary provision of 20 crores.
Gadkari promised and completed the pledge of completing the Sagri Marg
which was a long awaited dream of the people of Konkan region in four
years of his regime.
Gadkari formulated the scientific methodology of BOT projects,
initiated traffic surveys, worked out IRR (Internal rate of return)
and made the govt. of maharashtra change the concession period of toll
policy.
During recession, he channeled 5000 crore into infrastructural
projects which strengthened the cement, steel and bitumen industry of
India.
Gadkari implemented self-employment scheme for civil Engineers which
enabled 18,000 Engineers to work independently.
He organized the great plantation drive in Nagpur which planted 40
lakh trees in 2 years. He aimed to make Nagpur the Greenest City in
India.
He has visited countries like Israel, Italy, France, Germany, United
Kingdom, Switzerland, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia,
United States, Canada, Brazil and Srilanka as part of the Indian
Delegation for MSSIDC, MSRDC, Govt. of Maharashtra and Govt. of
India.
Positions served in the past and serving
Nitin Gadkari in NagpurEx Minister, Govt of Maharashtra
Chairman, Purti Group of Companies
President, Bharatiya Janata Party, Maharashtra State[6]
Ex-Leader of Opposition, Maharashtra Legislative Council
Former Minister for Public Works Department, Maharashtra State
Member of Legislative Council, Maharashtra State
Elected to the Maharashtra Govt. Legislative Council in 1989 from
graduates constituency, Nagpur Region.
Re-elected in 1990.
Re-elected in 1996 and elected unopposed in 2002.
Inducted in the Maharashtra State Government Cabinet as the Minister
for Public Works on May 27, 1995.
Ex-Member of the High Power Committee for Privatisation, Government of
Maharashtra.
Ex-Chairman, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, India.
Ex-Guardian Minister for Nagpur District, Govt. of Maharashtra.
Ex-Chairman, Mining policy Implementation Committee, Govt. of
Maharashtra.
Ex-Chairman, Metropolis Beautification Committee, Govt. of
Maharashtra.
Ex-Leader of Opposition, Maharashtra Legislative Council, Chairman
National Rural Road Development Committee
Chairman, Review Committee of CPWD, Govt. of India.
State President of Bhartiya Janata Party, Maharashtra.
After a successful stint as PWD Minister, Gadkari took over as
President of the Maharashtra State Unit of the BJP in 2004. In 2009,
when the BJP National President Rajnath Singh's term ended in
December, Gadkari succeeded him as the youngest ever President of BJP.
Industrial career
Nitin Gadkari is an industrialist first and then a politician.[7] He
is known to control these establishments in the following way.
Poly sack Industrial Society Ltd - Founder and Chairman. Nikhil
Furniture and Appliances Pvt. Ltd - Promoter and Director. Antyodaya
Trust - Founder and Member. Empress Employees Co-operative Paper Mills
Ltd - Founder and Chairman.
Gadkari is also an agriculturist. He has promoted and has interests in
the fields of water management, solar energy Projects and use of
modern tools in agriculture. Recently, he started exporting fruits to
various countries under the banner Ketaki overseas Trading Company.
Awards
He was honoured by Mumbai Bhushan Award and was felicitated by various
organizations in Mumbai.
References
^ Rajnath steps down, Gadkari takes over as BJP president
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Rajnath-steps-down-Gadkari-takes-over-as-BJP-president/articleshow/5356182.cms
^ BJP's new chief seen as moderniser http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/bjps_new_chief_seen_as_moderniser.php
^ Former carpet boy as new ‘carpetbagger’ - Indian Express
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/former-carpet-boy-as-new-carpetbagger/541881/0
^ http://www.nagpuronline.com/news/news.asp?nsr=42 Kanchan Gadkari,
wife of State President BJP Nitin Gadkari
^ Gadkari emerges as front-runner for post
^ BJP official site http://www.bjp.org/content/view/2613/463/
^ Gadkari views politics as an instrument of reforms to change the
lives of poor
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Rajnath-steps-down-Gadkari-takes-over-as-BJP-president/articleshow/5356182.cms
External links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitin_Gadkari
Former carpet boy as new ‘carpetbagger’
Vivek Deshpande
Posted: Monday , Nov 16, 2009 at 0236 hrs
Nagpur:
OpportunityDon’t Glorify NaxalismRole-Model MPs, MLAs!Vehicle called
Life In a deeply divided party, Nitin Gadkari stands out for his
relative youth, administrative and organisational skills, networking
abilities, non-controversial image and, most importantly, his
proximity to the RSS. As the likelihood of his taking over as BJP
president grows stronger, an introduction to the man who few, until
now, had known outside Maharashtra
Twenty-five years ago, a young man living a stone’s throw away from
the RSS headquarters in Nagpur’s old-fashioned Mahal locality would
ride his Lambretta scooter to the city’s newspaper offices, handing
over press statements and meeting journalist friends. He was among the
ordinary workers who would actually lay down carpets at what was then
the Jan Sangh party’s programmes.
Much water has flown down Nagpur’s Nag river since. Now 52, Nitin
Jairam Gadkari, MCom, LLB, has long ceased to courier press
statements. He issues them now. His journalist friends call on him at
his residence or office. And as it now appears more and more certain,
the man who once laid carpets at party functions could possibly find
himself walking the red carpet as the BJP’s new president next month.
Even as the BJP struggles to cope with its political downslide and
intra-party chaos, Gadkari’s sudden foray to the party’s top echelons
has surprised many. In fact, many in the party here had until two
months ago dismissed the reports as baseless. But as the weak
possibility has turned into a strong probability, party leaders have
started admitting that Gadkari’s ‘qualifications’ for the party post
are not to be scoffed at, including his age, administrative and
organisational skills, his non-controversial image and most
importantly his proximity to the RSS, which is intervening like never
before to revamp the crisis-ridden BJP.
“He fulfils all that and also has dynamism required for the top post,”
says Devendra Fadnavis, the party’s South-West Nagpur MLA and a highly
respected legislator. “Also, he is a good orator and is comfortable
with all three languages — Marathi, Hindi and English,” he adds.
Another senior party leader Madhav Bhandari echoes similar views. “He
has proved his organisational and administrative skills beyond doubt.
His performance as PWD minister during which he built 55 flyovers in
Mumbai and roads all over the state, as also his stint as chief of the
infrastructure committee appointed by then prime minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee have made him known across the country,” Bhandari says.
Gadkari’s performance as PWD minister during the Sena-BJP’s 1995-99
regime won him plenty of kudos, with people as diverse as Amitabh
Bachchan and Ratan Tata showering lavish praise. As minister, Gadkari
was known to favour quick results rather than going strictly by the
book, often telling his officers to get cracking and not to cite rules
and regulations as excuses. One of the main architects of the Pradhan
Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana, he was also the first minister to initiate
PWD works on Build-Operate-Transfer basis — then criticised as a sell-
off to private contractors and later adopted by his own critics in the
Opposition as the ideal model of development.
Bhandari also lists his urban, middle-class appeal as one of his
strengths. “Today, more than 40 per cent of India is urban and more
than 50 per cent is middle-class. So, it is important to appeal to
them,” he adds.
The huge crowds Gadkari pulled across Vidarbha for his academic
presentations last year on Vidarbha’s development plans would even put
election rallies to shame. Over 50,000 people had turned up in Nagpur.
Gadkari’s organisational skills cut across various parties, something
Gadkari often praises NCP supremo Sharad Pawar for. No wonder then if
he has tried to model his political career on that of Pawar — building
on BJP workers’ networks, running a sugar mill and having friends in
every party.
He also befriended Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray,
looking at the possibility of MNS support being needed in the post-
election scenario in Maharashtra recently. But this is not frowned
upon by the RSS. “In fact, it’s good to be politically smart. We don’t
consider it as a bad thing,” said a senior RSS leader.
It was this quality that helped Gadkari to get some prominent
Republican Party leaders like Jogendra Kawade and Sulekha Kumbhare to
support BJP early this year. His political openness led him to attempt
a compromise between two Thackeray cousins — Raj and Uddhav —to avert
the electoral disaster and even develop ties with Raj Thackeray for
possible post-election support.
However, not everyone approves. “Friendships across parties often
impede his campaigns. Be it Telgi, wheat import or his diatribe
against Vilasrao Deshmukh for giving some contracts, many of his
campaigns have finally petered out,” said a party leader who spoke on
condition of anonymity.
Gadkari has often been accused of hobnobbing with Opposition leaders
during elections, particularly the Congress’s Satish Chaturvedi in
Central Nagpur, which houses the all-important RSS headquarters. The
saffron alliance never won a battle there before the 2009 Assembly
elections. But with the party’s lesser-known Krishna Khopde
registering a massive win over Chaturvedi, Gadkari stands vindicated.
His friendships have also helped cocoon Gadkari from possible crises.
In the ongoing Yogita Thakre case — the seven-year old girl found dead
in a car in the courtyard of Gadkari’s Gadkariwada residence here —
the entire Opposition has been surprisingly silent and has shied away
from taking political advantage. Even before anything could be proved
either way, then home minister Jayant Patil gave him a clean chit in
the Assembly.
His admirers may be calling him “non-controversial”, but Gadkari has
been through his share of sticky situations. His Purti Sugar
Industries was embroiled in a controversy for not selling power to the
state electricity board as is obligatory. Gadkari preferred selling it
to private companies.
Eyebrows were also raised a few years ago when his journalist-turned-
advisor friend Prakash Deshpande died mysteriously after falling from
a train compartment while on his way from Mumbai to Nagpur.
Speculation that linked the incident to the large amounts of party
funds Deshpande was allegedly carrying, subsided eventually.
And for all his effective networking, Gadkari has detractors within
the BJP too. His uncomfortable relationship with party general
secretary Gopinath Munde is no secret. How will Munde respond if and
when Gadkari dons the mantle of party leadership? “What choice does he
have than to fall in line? In politics, you can’t throw tantrums too
often,” said a senior Congress leader known for his understanding of
political undercurrents in Maharashtra.
But Gadkari has been compared unfavourably with Munde, particularly in
terms of mass appeal. “Today Gadkari is taking over as state party
president, but Munde is our mass leader and he will stage a comeback,”
late Pramod Mahajan had openly declared in Yavatmal three years ago
when Gadkari took over as state party chief from Munde, Mahajan’s
brother-in-law.
Today, Gadkari has not only stabilised as state chief but is now being
viewed as the top contender to head the party at the national level.
“He has proved the post-Mahajan fear that the BJP will be in tatters
in Maharashtra wrong. The BJP has gained an edge over Sena by winning
more seats in these elections,” Bhandari says.
Over the years, Gadkari has successfully put his Maharashtrian Brahmin
tag behind. The only election he has till date fought, and has always
won, is that of Nagpur Graduate constituency seat for Legislative
Council. It has led to sneers that he isn’t a mass leader who could
win direct elections. Gadkari always laughs it off.
For now, however, he is said to be the RSS’s chosen one for the top
BJP job. So, how will he deliver when he suddenly finds himself above
a battery of senior party leaders? For this Gadkari’s cryptic reply
is: “I am ready deliver whatever the party wants me to.”
Where Gadkari scores points
Is regarded as being an effective, politically astute performer in his
stint as the BJP’s state unit chief.
His performance as PWD minister during which he built 55 flyovers in
Mumbai and roads all over the state, as also his stint as chief of the
infrastructure committee appointed by the then prime minister Atal
Bihari Vajpayee cemented his reputation of having excellent
administrative and organisational skills.
Gadkari has the implicit support of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, whose
views he has echoed on a number of issues. His age, 52, is also in
keeping with the RSS sarsanghchalak’s call for younger leadership.
His urban, middle-class appeal is viewed as one of his major
strengths, as are his oratorical skills.
His ability to nurture friendships across party lines has worked to
his advantage, despite criticism from a section of the party’s
leaders.
Comments (3) |
Wrong choice?
By: Aditya | 20-Dec-2009
Nitin Gadkari might be a poor choice, what with the cloud of the
Yogita Thakre case over him. What will it mean for the BJP? A non
controversial candidate, who is respected by all should have been
chosen. Perhaps Advani should have been elevated to the post again.
carpet-ignorance
By: midas | 16-Nov-2009
Agree with Sumir Sharma. Both author and the editorial staff seem
unaware of the meaning of the word "carpetbeggar".
Carpetbaggers carry wrong connotation and historically not fits
here.
By: Sumir Sharma | 16-Nov-2009
I am sorry to say that the Carpetbagger reference if it is taken from
American History does not convey any relevance. Carpetbaggers during
the reconstruction period in post Civil War period in America were
from North States who shifted to South States to take the benefit of
the new right of franchise to black to again access to legislatures in
South States. I do not how Deshpande has found the relevance for
Gadkari. It is hostrically wrong use of a term. Carpetbaggers carries
negative connotation. The people who helped Carpetbaggers to run
elections in South and they were from South, were called Scalawags
which is another derogatory and abusive term. Carpetbaggers are
accused of increasing corruption. They represented Radicals as well as
Abolitionists. Therefore, the term carries negative connotation
whereas the article presents Gadkari in positive colour. Are to
praising him or decrying him ?
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/former-carpet-boy-as-new-carpetbagger/541881/0
bademiyansubhanallah
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http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Shatrughan-treads-cautiously-on-Gadkari-issue/595567
Shatrughan treads cautiously on Gadkari issue
Agencies
Posted: Thursday , Mar 25, 2010 at 1341 hrs
Indore:
After pointing a figure at the BJP President Nitin Gadkari over the
composition of his team, actor-turned-politician and party MP
Shatrughan Sinha has now chosen to tread cautiously over this issue.
The Bollywood Shotgun, in his typical thunderous voice, said "Khamosh"
but added that he calls a "spade a spade" when the scribes asked him a
question in connection with Gadkari here last night.
The Patna Saheb MP, who was here to promote his son Luv Sinha's film
`Sadiyaan', said self-confidence was the key to his success in films
and politics.
To a question on BJP, the 64-year-old former Union Minister said he
was talking to the media in capacity of a father not a politician.
On March 20, Sinha had said it was unfortunate that senior leaders
like C P Thakur and Yashwant Sinha have been left out of Gadkari's
team, and that all was not well in the BJP.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Shatrughan-treads-cautiously-on-Gadkari-issue/595567
Kishenji might be injured or even dead, say police
Kolkata, March 26, 2010
First Published: 08:34 IST(26/3/2010)
Last Updated: 08:37 IST(26/3/2010)
Kishenji, the elusive Maoist leader, might have been injured in a 12-
hour-long gunbattle between the rebels and the security forces near
Lalgarh, around 160 Km southwest of Kolkata.
Kishenji, the elusive Maoist leader, might have been injured in a 12-
hour-long gunbattle between the rebels and the security forces near
Lalgarh, around 160 Km southwest of Kolkata.
A senior police official of West Midnapore, not willing to be quoted,
informed that Koteswara Rao alias Kishenji, was likely to be seriously
injured in the exchange of fire that took place at the Hatishol forest
close to Lakhanpur village, around 8 Km east of Lalgarh, since 6 am on
Thursday.
"Our ground level sources at Lakhanpur have informed us that around 15
Maoists have died in the battle. While a section of informers said
Kishenji suffered a bullet injury to his leg, another group said he
might be dead. We can't be sure till we find the bodies," the officer
said.
The 51-year-old Rao, CPI (Maoist) Politburo and Central Military
Commission member, better known as Kishenji, is in charge of the
eastern regional bureau for the Maoists.
The gunbattle started after the security forces were tipped off that a
group of PLGA guerrillas and Maoist leaders had convened at the
Hatishol forest, adjacent to Lakhanpur.
"The security forces reached the spot around 6 am and the gun battle
started. It went on for nearly 12 hours," the senior cop said.
Lakhanpur, where the gunbattle took place on Thursday, was the place
where Kishenji was reportedly cornered on October 22, when the rebel
leader was to release Atindranath Dutta, the abducted Officer-in-
Charge of Sankrail police station. It was at the same Hatishol forest
where he met with media persons and formally released Dutta the same
day.
2 comments
S.N.Singh 27 minutes ago
If Kishenji is killed, it will be serious setback for naxalites.This
will considerably help security force in tackling this problem.The
shooting of naxalites on spot is only solution left with the govt.All
out offensive against them must continue till this problem is finished
since trial & error method adopted in past has caused heavy
casualities on security forces & wastage of public money. State &
Central govt. must take speedy development works in backward areas to
eradicate poverty & other problems faced by rural people.The
corruption in all walks of life must be curbed to achieve rapid
development otherwise the needy will remain poor. This is need of hour
and no laxity in any respect should be done.The stringent punishment
for corruption must be given to culprits specially to unscrupulous
politicians.
Ivan 3 hours ago
3 people liked this.
Another good riddance...let this moron rot in hell
http://karmicsoliloquy.blogspot.com
Whistling comment not a slip of tongue, says Mulayam
Lucknow, March 26, 2010
First Published: 00:53 IST(26/3/2010)
Last Updated: 00:55 IST(26/3/2010)
Far from expressing regrets, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav
on Thursday defended his sexist remark about the kind of women the Lok
Sabha would see as members if they enter it through a quota.
Yadav had recently been criticised by parties across the political
spectrum for saying that the quota would enable elite women coming
into Parliament – the kind who are "whistled at by youths".
At a meeting of party MPs, MLAs and office bearers in Lucknow, Yadav
said he had made the remark deliberately and it was no slip of the
tongue.
Yadav said his statement "achieved its purpose of triggering a
controversy and leading to a discussion on the subject".
He said he was ready to hold more discussions on the issue.
The Samajwadi Party chief also propounded a convoluted theory that if
the bill is enacted into law, there would be no men in the Lok Sabha
after 11 years.
Advocating reservation for women within political parties instead,
Yadav said it should be made mandatory for parties to give 15 to 20
per cent tickets to women to contest elections. A resolution to this
effect was passed at Thursday’s meeting.
Asking the gathering to begin preparations for the assembly elections
in Uttar Pradesh in 2012, Yadav said the Samajwadi Party has a list of
250 people engaging in anti-party activities. But he chose not to
expel them.
Mohan Singh, Samajwadi national general secretary said it was most
likely that Chief Minister Mayawati would recommend elections well
before her term ends.
"Don’t think elections are far away. The way Mayawati has begun
holding rallies and sit-ins indicate that she has begun preparing for
elections and will not wait for the full term," he said.
1 comments
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majorretdvirendrasharma 45 minutes ago
If not the "Slip of tongue", then more the reason for Mulayam to tell
the country did he want his daughter-in-law to be whistled at by
becoming a MP?
Indian scriptures bar pre-marital sex: former CJ
Bangalore, March 25, 2010
First Published: 22:01 IST(25/3/2010)
Last Updated: 22:31 IST(25/3/2010)
Former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court and BJP MP Rama
Jois on Thursday said Indian scriptures bar premarital sex and Indian
society still consider pre-marital sexual relationship not good.
Jois, also a former Governor, in a statement said "the oral
observations made by one of the judges of the three-judge bench of the
Supreme Court in the context of male and female having sexual
intercourse prior to marraige and question posed by the learned judge
Who says it is bad? has given rise to counter question: who says it is
good".
Quoting from scriptures, he said one of the nine directives of dhrama
prescribed by Mahabharata was "Prajanseveshu dareshu" one should
procure children only under wedlock which by necessary implication
bars pre-marital sexual activity between man and woman, he said.
"The object and purpose of marriage as declared by the Dharmasastras
was not merely to satisfy the mutual carnal desire of man and a woman,
though it did constitute the basis of the desire for marriage", he
said.
Jois also refers to various Indian scriptures that upholds fidelity
between spouses, mutual trust and discourages the 'discarding
attitude' of a spouse to pursue other gains.
An unequal burden
Sitaram Yechury
March 25, 2010
First Published: 20:38 IST(25/3/2010)
Last Updated: 20:41 IST(25/3/2010)
The Delhi government has brazenly announced an across-the-board hike
in the prices of essential commodities including fuel and cooking gas.
The message is clear: the burden of financing this year’s Commonwealth
Games is to be borne by the aam aadmi. This comes on top of the
inflationary content of the Union Budget, attested by the finance
minister when he informed the Rajya Sabha, “I will not be surprised if
it (inflation) reaches double digits in March itself.” He then went on
to justify that India has lived with higher rates of inflation in the
past and, therefore, this was no big deal.
This is not only a reflection of the audacity that accompanies a
government in its first (honeymoon) year. This, in fact, reflects the
international pattern of neo-liberal prescriptions that seek to emerge
from the global recession by burdening the vast mass of the people and
benefiting the corporates and the rich with the hope that the latter
through their spending will rejuvenate the economy. This year’s Union
budget reflects this philosophy when it doled out concessions to the
rich and hiked indirect taxes for the poor.
While we in India are being asked to prepare for a fiscal
consolidation to reduce our 6.5 per cent deficit, the 2009 US budget
sent by President Obama to its Congress has a $1.75 trillion deficit
or 12.3 per cent of its GDP. This comes on top of the over $10
trillion of bailout packages that were given last year in the name of
recovering from the crisis. The consequence of such a global trend has
increased the number of billionaires in the world by over 200 and
their aggregate capital has expanded by over 50 per cent. Recently,
Forbes reported that as of late 2009 the number of billionaires soared
from 793 to 1,011 and their total fortunes from $2.4 trillion to $3.6
trillion.
Given the global recession such massive accumulation in the hands of
the wealthy can only be put to good use on stock and raw material
markets leading to the creation of new financial bubbles that neo-
liberalism hopes will trigger growth-based on speculation. The seeds
of fresh crises are being sown by replicating the process, which in
the first place, created the current crisis. It is not surprising,
therefore, that oil prices that had hit an all-time low of $47-a-
barrel in December 2008 now stands over $80. Global financial indices
are also climbing steadily. A classic case is that of Russia which saw
a GDP decline of 7.9 per cent in 2009 but had double the number of
billionaires as its stock market grew by over 100 per cent. The result
is that the very same financial giants which caused the present crisis
are now announcing super profits. JPMorgan Chase announced a record
$2.7 billion profit in the second quarter of 2009.
As the bankruptcy crisis in Greece shows, much of this largesse to
make the wealthy wealthier is being done at the expense of massive
cuts in social security expenditures. In late January, the Greek
government adopted an austerity package worth $6.8 billion. In March,
it announced an additional package of saving an additional $6.5
billion. This has been financed by raising taxes, slashing social
security expenditures, increasing the retirement age, cutting the pay
of civil servants etc. This has naturally led to four successful
general strikes in the space of one month.
Many raised an eyebrow at the rise in the sensex post-budget. As India
is following these very neo-liberal prescriptions, this is not
surprising. In addition to tax concessions announced this year, the
budget documents show that nearly Rs 80,000 crore was ‘uncollected’
from the corporates and Rs 4,000 crore from high-end income-tax payers
last year. Instead, if this was collected and utilised for hiking
public investments in building our much-needed infrastructure, it
would have generated high levels of employment. The consequent
expansion of domestic demand could have spiralled the cycle of
sustained growth. This latter course, however, would have denied the
rich from making further quick super-profits.
This process is already feeding speculation in India. The total value
of trade in agricultural commodities in the commodity exchanges during
the fortnight ending January 31 increased by a huge 64.14 per cent.
The cumulative value of trade in agricultural commodities during the
year from April 1, 2009 to January 31, 2010, grew by a whopping 102.59
per cent, in absolute terms valuing over Rs 10.13 crore. Now any
forward trading can make profits only when the prices of these
commodities are higher than what they were when the trading initially
took place.
The aam aadmi is, therefore, faced with a double whammy attack — rise
in prices through official hikes and speculation. Like the spate of
general strikes and protests across Europe, India is bound to see the
rise in popular actions demanding that the government reverse these
policies. The jail bharo call given by the Left parties on April 8
will only be the beginning.
Sitaram Yechury is CPI(M) Politburo member and Rajya Sabha MP
The views expressed by the author are personal
12-hr firefight in forest hunt for Kishenji: 2 dead, 3 held
Madhuparna Das
Posted: Friday , Mar 26, 2010 at 0327 hrs
Kolkata:
A CRPF commando was injured and two Maoists were believed killed in a
gunbattle that raged for over 12 hours today in a forest near
Lakkhanpur in West Midnapore where security forces suspect top Maoist
leader Kishenji was present. Three persons were detained from the spot
but identities were not disclosed.
A senior police officer said that intercepts of Maoist phone calls
suggested that Kishenji could have sustained injuries in the gunbattle
from 6 am to 7 pm.
As night fell, the CRPF personnel withdrew from the encounter site.
Maoist ideologue Varavara Rao called The Indian Express to check for
“news on Kishenji.”
CRPF Special Director General Vijay Raman said: “We had specific
intelligence input that Kishenji was present in the forest in
Lakkhanpur. Based on that input, our forces moved. A Maoist shelter
was spotted in the wee hours and we surrounded it. They started firing
and our forces retaliated. The intensity of the firing indicated that
a very senior leader was present at the spot who, as per the
intelligence input, could have been Kishenji.”
“We picked up three Maoists from the spot. We have handed them over to
police,” Raman said.
West Bengal DGP Bhupinder Singh, too, said a top Maoist leader was
present at Lakkhanpur.
“Based on the intensity of the firing, it can be presumed that a
leader of the stature of Kishenji was present there. We have arrested
some people from the spot,” he said.
Comments (2) |
Put Varavara Rao in jail
By: sunny | 26-Mar-2010
Varavara Rao is a animal not fit for our society. Its only in India
that he is allowed to roam free. He should be questioned deeply.
FIGHTING NAXALS
By: amitabh | 26-Mar-2010
THIS FIGHT ON BEHALF OF CORPORATE WORLD ONLY INTERESTED IN MILKING THE
POOR WOULD RESULT IN SOMETHING SO MESSY THAT INDIA WONT BE ABLE TO
COME OUT OF IT.AAM ADMI GOVT FIGHTING AAM ADMI. OR THESE CORPORATES
ARE AAM ADMI FOR CONG?
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/12hrfirefightinforesthuntforkishenji2dead-3held/595912/
Bachchan row exposes chink in ‘link’
Express news service
Posted: Friday , Mar 26, 2010 at 0305 hrs
New Delhi:
Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan along with Amitabh Bachchan during the
commissioning ceremony sea link in Mumbai.
The Congress and its coalition partner, the NCP on Thursday took
different stands on the invite to Amitabh Bachchan to attend a
function to inaugurate the second phase of Bandra-Worli Sea Link on
Wednesday. While the Congress gave up its usual reticence to comment
on the actor and justified party leaders’ criticism of him, the NCP
saw nothing wrong in extending invitation to Bachchan.
CM Ashok Chavan, who has maintained that he was not aware of the
invitation to the actor, was learnt to have taken the same stance in
his clarification to the high command.
“The party is aware of what happened there. The CM has clarified the
situation. The question is not about Bachchan as a person or an actor.
There is resentment against him among party workers, but the reason is
not personal. Their anger is because of the fact that Bachchan is seen
standing by the side of Narendra Modi. In such a situation, Congress
workers have the moral right to do so (criticise),” said AICC media
cell head Janardan Dwivedi.
Senior NCP leader Tariq Anwar, however, justified the presence of
Bachchan at the function saying that even Opposition parties are
invited to official functions. “As far as Bachchan is concerned, he is
a celebrity. Such official functions are not of any political party.
Even the Shiv Sena and BJP are invited. Sachin Tendulkar was
contacted, but he was not available. It was not a Congress function.
There was no intention to create a controversy,” he said.
The controversy is being seen as having its roots in the groupism
within the Congress and the ambition of Mumbai Region Congress
Committee president Kripashankar Singh to become a minister in the
Chavan Cabinet. The invitation cards issued by the Maharashtra State
Road Development Corporation did not mention Bachchan as an invitee,
but advertisements mentioned him as a special invitee. NCP leaders
like Minister for Public Works Jaidutt Kshirsagar, who also heads
MSRDC, justified Bachchan being invited to the function on grounds
that he was a Mumbai icon. Singh, who did not attend the function,
said Congress leaders such as Vilasrao Deshmukh and Sushilkumar Shinde
should have been invited for the function, hosted by the MSRDC which
is controlled by the NCP.
Actor criticises manufactured rows
Express News Service
Thiruvananthapuram/ Mumbai
ENRAGED over the Kerala government’s decision to abandon the idea of
making him the state’s tourism ambassador, Amitabh Bachchan has
reacted sharply. The central leadership of the CPM had shot down the
state’s plan to rope in Bachchan, citing that the actor was doing the
same job for BJP-ruled Gujarat.
Bachchan also said the controversy over his presence at the
inauguration of the second phase of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link has been
“manufactured”. “A fresh controversy has been rapidly manufactured on
my involvement,” he wrote in a midnight post on his blog.
In response to Kerala decision, Bachchan wrote in his blog: “You want
to stop me from promoting tourism in a state because you have reason
to believe that there are political connotations to the event. This is
such rubbish. All I shall be doing will be working in a short film
that shall highlight the various places of interest in the state
(Gujarat) so that it encourages more tourists to visit the region. And
that is what I would precisely do when I would be asked to similar
acts in Kerala. It is a petty act of cheap convenience to prevent me
from doing that, and by pitting me against political connotations and
manoeuvres without paying any respect for the actual work that would
be done. Fair enough! I shall abide by the judgment of the state
government. I did not ask them for it, they came forward with the
invitation, I accepted. Now they want to decline it, fine. Not the
first time such incident has happened. Invitation to be the chief
guest at Goa International Film Festival and when I get there, they
decline it.”
Bachchan did not spare the media either. “It is a common Indian media
trait — finding fault at any cost to any act or event. Merit for the
moment and the work not interesting enough to sell and so de-merit the
moment. And in such matters if you could highlight a celebrity,
preferably from the film world, into the matter, you would have
discovered a way and means to keep the story rolling for a few weeks.
You take umbrage at my association with Gujarat, but never have the
guts or courage to stop a Ratan Tata, or an Ambani from investing in
the state and running successful factories and ventures there.
WITH PTI INPUTS
Comments (5) |
Amitabh Bachhan
By: Sharma | 26-Mar-2010
Dear Mr Bachhan: It is enough of you now. Please fade off and let
someone else come to centre stage. Since last half a centuary, there
is not a day when you were not mentioned in the News Papers. This had
made you very egoist and as if you are never going to go away. All you
should be doing now is social work and meditation. Instead, you have
become more hungry for praise and recognition, jealous of others being
popular.(like khans) Please do not ruin your own image.
The Bachhan heartburn
By: Kishore Karnad | 26-Mar-2010
How at all can Bachhan compare himself with Ratan Tata or Ambani? Both
have invested a lot of money and created hundreds of jobs bringing
properity to the State while Bachhan has only exploited the State and
pocketed a hefty fee for promoting tourism. And now he is upset at the
prospect of losing some money he could have made by selling Kerala.
This man will do anything for money. I pity India's rich- the
bachhankind!
Imaginary accusations..
By: Vikas | 26-Mar-2010
Kishore doesnt even know that Amitabh did not charge a paisa for being
the Brand Ambassador for Gujrat Tourism.This came out clealy in the
inteview by Pronoy Roy on NDTV. But Kishore has imagined Amitabh
"pocketing hefty money". Biased views can cause hallucinations.
BACHCHAN INVITED !
By: M S VAISHNAV M | 26-Mar-2010
THE ROW OVER INVITATION (and presence) OF AMITABH BACHCHAN AT 'SEA
LINK' FUNCTION SHOWS HOW POLITICS HAS HIT THE NADIR IN OUR COUNTRY !!
IT HAS BECOME A ROUTINE TO POLITICALISE EVERY EVENT/ISSUE WHETHER IT
IS PUBLIC FUNCTION, BOLLYWOOD SHOW OR A SPORTS EVENT !CLEARANCE FROM
POLITICAL MASTERS CONCERNED IS A MUST FOR THE SUCCESS OF EVENT !! THIS
HAPPENS ONLY IN MY COUNTRY. WE DO NOT READ ABOUT 'INAUGARATION
FUNCTIONS' /NAMING OF ANY PUBLIC PROJECT BY POLITICIANS/LEADERS IN ANY
OTHER COUNTRY !
Fuss rather than a furore....
By: Roy | 26-Mar-2010
over a has been trying ever so much to get into the limelight
again....yes we the right wing elements in these columns going all out
to justify an ICON status for this...a mere actor. The fact that he is
a so called brand ambassador for the extreme right wing polity in
Gujarat is why these elements want the nondescript individual in the
newz whilst sensible folks in Kerala....literate in every
sense...asked him to go to hell..rather be damned.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bachchanrowexposeschinkinlink/595899/0
Maya was buzzed, SPG won't let Rahul bee
Maulshree Seth
Posted: Friday , Mar 26, 2010 at 0320 hrs
Lucknow:
OpportunityDon’t Glorify NaxalismRole-Model MPs, MLAs!Vehicle called
Life The honeybees that swarmed Mayawati’s public meeting 10 days ago
created a buzz that seems to have affected the Special Protection
Group (SPG). Officers in charge of Rahul Gandhi’s security have asked
the Sultanpur district administration to remove beehives outside the
venue of a meeting the Congress general secretary is scheduled to
attend on Friday.
Several beehives outside Vikas Bhawan in Sultanpur were destroyed last
night. However, the bees returned during the day. A second operation
was planned for Thursday night.
Sultanpur District Magistrate S L Pande said SPG officers who came to
oversee security arrangements for Rahul’s visit asked for the removal
of the beehives.
District Chief Development Officer G Ram, who is supervising the work,
said, “Beehives are not new to any rural setup. There were four or
five beehives outside Vikas Bhawan; some have been removed. The
situation is being closely monitored along with the SPG. I cannot say
anything more.”
Amethi, Rahul’s Lok Sabha constituency, is part of Sultanpur district.
As local MP, Rahul presides over the meetings of the district
vigilance and monitoring committee which reviews development works.
Other MPs and MLAs from the district, and district-level officials are
members of the committee.
The meetings are held at Vikas Bhawan, a three-storey building which
is
the office of the Chief Development Officer. There are beehives on the
walls outside and on nearby trees.
Officials said the last meeting of the committee was held about a year
ago. “Then too there were beehives, but no one bothered,” said an
official. He said beehives on the building had been removed, but those
on the trees had not been disturbed.
A swarm of large honeybees invaded Mayawati’s rally in Lucknow’s
Ramabai Ambedkar ground on March 15. The BSP alleged a “conspiracy” by
Mayawati’s opponents, and the government ordered an inquiry. The
investigation, which was initially led by a DIG and DM of Lucknow, has
so far produced no results.
Maqsood Alam, Sultanpur district Congress president, said, “Like
others, we are concerned about the security of our leader, especially
after a big swarm hovered around the dais from where Mayawati was
addressing her rally. I went to Vikas Bhawan today and was happy to
see that the beehives were being cleared”.
Comments (1) |
Bee Hating
By: BG Subhash | 26-Mar-2010
It is a tragedy of Indian Democracy which gives opportunity to Bee
Hating Mayawati Aka Notewati Aka Malawati
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/mayawasbuzzed-spgwontletrahulbee/595909/0
Bachchan a victim of 'fear' of Gandhi family in Cong: BJP
Agencies
Posted: Thursday , Mar 25, 2010 at 1346 hrs
New Delhi:
Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan and Amitabh Bachchan interact during
inaugural ceremony of north carriage way of sea link.
In the wake of the controversy over the presence of Amitabh Bachchan
at the inauguration of Bandra-Worli sea-link, BJP on Thursday batted
for the filmstar saying he has become a victim of the "feud" in
Congress and "fear" of the Gandhi family in the party.
"The Bandra-Worli sea-link is a national property and certainly not a
property of the Congress party. Every Indian has a right to be there.
Undoubtedly, Amitabh Bachchan is the nation's pride and a
distinguished Mumbaikar who has full credentials to be the chief guest
there," BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.
The Rajya Sabha MP criticised the Congress for "generating a
controversy" over invitation to Bachchan.
Resentment brewed in a section of Mumbai Congress over the invite to
Bachchan to the function where Chief Minister Ashok Chavan inaugurated
the sea link yesterday.
"It is beyond Indian tradition to invite and then insult. Bachchan
cannot be a victim of internal feud in Congress party, in particular
in Maharashtra and in general at the national level," Rudy said.
The BJP claimed that though the invitation to Bachchan had been sent
by the NCP minister in-charge of the department concerned, the "fear"
of the Gandhi family also played a role in the behaviour of the
Congress leaders.
"The fear of the Gandhi family and their likes and dislikes loom so
large that no sooner it would become a threat to democracy. This is
narrow-minded bigotry of the Congress party," Rudy alleged.
Bachchan, who is close to the Samajwadi Party, has not been on the
best of terms with the first family of Congress after Rajiv Gandhi's
death.
BJP also noted the reference made to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra
Modi in regard to the affair.
"Bachchan's mere association as brand ambassador of Gujarat is being
vilified by the Congress. A national icon is being derided for petty
political gains," Rudy said.
Comments (2) |
big B
By: KASIM | 26-Mar-2010
THIS EVER MONEY HIUNGRY BACCHHAN IS ALWAYS OVERACTING AND THIS TIME IT
IS TO HELP AMAR SINGH`S POLITICAL PROSPECTS,ISNT HE THE SAME BACHHAN
WHO WAS ACCUSED OF MAKING MONEY ON FILMS PASSING BY CENSORBOARD IN
INDIRA`S TIME,HE ALSO USED TO GO ON JAUNTS OF DYNASTY WITH PARAMOR
QUATTROCHHI,A MAN BECOMES SIMILAR TO THE COMPANY HE KEEPS,HE HAS
ALWAYS BECAUSE OF HIS PROFESSION BEEN WITH GREED AND MEDIA IS ALSO
REPAYING AMARSINGH THRU HIM,AS JOKERS AND MORONS LIKE AMAR AND LALLU
ARE GOOD FOR TV RATINGS.
True....
By: Roy | 26-Mar-2010
India nor Mumbai for that matter anywhere in India is just for any
political party but then your party...with its extreme right view
point...make Indians other than Hindus sans the poorer sections of
your community the right to be an Indian. This nondescript aging
individual gets mention & sympathy form the RSS controlle BJP simply
coz he chose to be the brand ambassador for the right
flag...ownership...of the state of Gujarat. Spread this canard amongst
your chaddiwallahs...the rest of India cares a damn about the
individual & the party you represent.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bachchanavictimoffearofgandhifamilyincongbjp/595569/0
Will take all steps to implement Muslim quota: Rosaiah
Agencies
Posted: Thursday , Mar 25, 2010 at 1409 hrs
Hyderabad:
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah has promised that his
government would take "all required legal steps" for implementing four
per cent reservation in jobs and education for backward class
Muslims.
"With all seriousness and sincerity, we shall take all required legal
steps to ensure that the benefit of reservation is extended to
Muslims.
Our ultimate goal is to protect the reservation for backward class
Muslims," Rosaiah assured the state Assembly even as the Special Leave
Petition filed by the state against the High Court judgment was being
heard in the Supreme Court today.
The Assembly discussed the issue at length today with all parties,
barring the lone BJP MLA, favouring the reservation. In fact, Leader
of Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu and CPM MLA J Ranga Reddy wanted 10
per cent reservation for Muslims as per the recommendations made by
Sachar and Ranganath Misra committees.
"The government should lead an all-party delegation to the Prime
Minister to press for a Constitutional amendment for providing
reservation to backward class Muslims.
The state Assembly should also pass a resolution in this regard,"
Chandrababu said. Majlis Ittehadul-e-Muslimeen floor leader Akbaruddin
Owaisi too requested the same. Responding, the Chief Minister said the
government has no objection to this.
"Let me reassure you that we shall take required legal measures to
ensure four per cent reservation for Muslims by all means," Rosaiah
reiterated.
Earlier, replying to the debate on the issue, Minister for BC Welfare
M Mukesh Goud said 10,935 backward Muslim students availed of the
reservation benefits to pursue higher and professional education in
the last two years. Similarly, 83 candidates secured jobs in
government, he added.
10 Comments |
Muslim Reservation
By: A SINGHAM | Friday , 26 Mar '10 9:57:23 AM
DIVIDING THE PEOPLE ON RELIGION VERY SAD INDEED; BACKWARNESS CAN BE A
CRITERION IRRESPECTIVE OF FAITH, SO THAT UNDER PRIVILEGED CAN GET
CHANCE TO COME UP. THIS SHOULD NEVER BE TIED WITH RELIGION OR CASTES;
FOR YOU WILL FIND CREAMY LAYER TAKING ADVANTAGE OF IT, LEAVING THE
REALLY NEEDY BEHIND; AS IN CASE OF SC/CT, WITH FATHER IN IAS,
GRANDFATHER JUDGE, USING INFLUENCE SON GETS PRIORITY; RIDICULOUS AND
RETROGADE STEP, SURE. ALL PARTIES ARE OUT TO APPEASE MINORITY FOR VOTE
BANKS. MUST PUT FULL STOP TO THIS; MUSLIMS GOT A FULL COUNTRY BASED ON
(R)FIGHT, EH! AND ALL KNOW MUSLIM IN INDIA IS THE HAPPIEST PERSON,
COMPARED TO HIS OWN FATHERLAND NATIONS.
QUOTA TO MUSLIMS
By: M S VAISHNAV | Friday , 26 Mar '10 7:58:32 AM
EVERY RIGHT THINKING PERSON WILL AGREE THAT QUOTA SHOULD ONLY BE ON
BASIS OF ECONOMICAL POOR PEOPLE ANDNOT BASED ON RELIGION -THAT TOO NOT
FOR A'PARTICULAR' RELIGION ! IT SMELLS OF 'VOTEBANK' ORIENTED
GOVERNANCE !!
it should be there
By: krishna | Friday , 26 Mar '10 7:37:10 AM
Reservations have been a curse in our civilisations. We started with
100% reservations for brahmins for more than 2000 years and now we
have reservations for everybody with varying degrees
Muslim Quota-Damm the quotas
By: RAM | Friday , 26 Mar '10 6:56:04 AM
The Congress is all set to balkanise our country by pandering to this
quota . All right thinking citizens should unite to throw Congress out
of India.
Playing to the gallery
By: Shamefaced Indian | Friday , 26 Mar '10 6:06:16 AM
This is the worst kind of politics. Play upto all the backward classes
so that you can get votes. Such a shame!!
Stop robbing Peter
By: Deepa | Friday , 26 Mar '10 5:53:28 AM
When Ramvilas Paswan and Arjun Singh foisted a scheduled caste as
Chief Justice of India in the Supreme Court the eight bells began
tolling. So far only the Muslims seemed undivided, thanks to their
religious fervour. This was anathema to the Congress. With the help of
supreme court the Congress has successfully broken the Muslims to
divide and rule them. Only Nemesis has to wipe this evil Congress
Party which has become a curse for us.
Quota
By: manav | Thursday , 25 Mar '10 18:55:13 PM
What a shame.
Most Communal
By: Ram | Thursday , 25 Mar '10 16:36:43 PM
Using religion for votes, Congress is the most communal and of-course
they are trying to beat the Kolkatta CPI-M. If you have an idea to
uplift economically weaker sections, do that without checking which
God he prays to or which country he is affiliated to. Give
reservations to the economically weaker sections of the society
irrespective of caste, creed or religious faith. Even in Hinduism, the
castes were to perform one's duty and all the works are considered
equally important for the society, but this one was distorted by the
missionaries for their self interest.
Indian
By: Indian | Thursday , 25 Mar '10 16:36:15 PM
I think there should not be any quota on the basis of religion.
Initially the concept of reservation came for the Poor people. There
are many Rich people in Muslims also. How can a rich can get
reservation in Education Jobs etc... We need Reservation Review
By: Prabhjot Juneja | Thursday , 25 Mar '10 15:39:01 PM
He have reservation since 50 year. Its high time to look at loopholes
in the present system and also to review the benefits of present
reservation. It should be improved. Nobody denies that their is need
of reservation but at the same time nobody can deny the present system
is flawed and need to big time changes. It would be good to keep out
religion from all of this...histroy teached us the affect of religion
based reservations.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/willtakeallstepstoimplementmuslimquotarosaiah/595578/
BSP demo turns felicitation ceremony for bee-tamer Maya
Express News Service
Posted: Friday , Mar 26, 2010 at 0433 hrs
Lucknow:
Naseemuddin Siddiqui displays photographs of Sonia Gandhi with a
garland of currency notes at the party’s pardafaash protest in Lucknow
on Thursday.
OpportunityDon’t Glorify NaxalismRole-Model MPs, MLAs!Vehicle called
Life Sycophancy was the flavour of the day at the BSP demonstration
held in the state capital on Thursday to protest against the
“opposition conspiracies” against party chief and UP Chief Minister
Mayawati.
Successive speakers showered praise on Mayawati for her bravery in
carrying on with her speech in spite of the honeybees, which were
allegedly let loose to disrupt the March 15 rally.
A minister went so far as to proclaim that the bees did not sting
anyone because they accepted Mayawati’s supremacy. Another said the
Opposition conspiracy to cause a stampede at the rally fell flat when
the bees, instead of stinging anyone, simply welcomed Mayawati and
settled on the rooftop.
The other highpoint of the rally was PWD Minister Naseemuddin
Siddiqui’s display of photographs of Opposition leaders accepting
currency garlands and expensive items, purportedly downloaded from the
internet.
Among these was a photo of Sonia Gandhi purportedly wearing a garland
of 1,000-rupee currency notes, of L K Advani being offered a crown and
of Mulayam Singh Yadav being presented with a silver sword.
Mayawati had asked her partymen to organise protests across the state
on three issues — the sudden appearance of honeybees at the party
rally, the controversy over the currency garland and filing of two
PILs in the Allahabad High Court to stop the rally — as evidence of
the Opposition conspiracy to derail the celebration of 25 years of the
party’s foundation.
As the protests were held, she hopped into a helicopter for an aerial
view of the hotspots — including Lucknow, where all important party
leaders had gathered.
On the ground, meanwhile, Urban Development Minister Nakul Dube said
the honeybees accepted Mayawati’s supremacy and did not harm anyone at
the rally. The Opposition should also accept it and reconcile to the
fact that Mayawati is going to be the prime minister.
“People like you and me would have got scared after watching that huge
swarm arrive before us, but not Mayawati,” he said.
Likewise, party MLC Gopal Narayan Mishra blamed the “cheap tactics” of
the Opposition and praised Mayawati for keeping her composure in face
of the bees.
Rajya Sabha member Akhilesh Das exhorted the gathering to just think
of the consequences “had they (the opposition) succeeded in their
tactics” to cause a stampede.
The last word was left to Siddiqui, who said the conspiracy fell flat
when the honeybees “welcomed her (the CM)”. “They flew to the dais and
then took shelter on the roof,” he said.
Opposition bristles at Maya counter-sting
LUCKNOW: Opposition parties lashed out at the BSP for releasing
photographs of its leaders donning currency garlands and gold crowns,
describing it as a “futile bid” to justify the presentation of a multi-
crore garland to Mayawati at the party’s ‘maharally’ here. “Sonia
Gandhi does not require anyone’s certificate as all are aware that she
is in public life neither for power nor money,” said Congress leader
Akhilesh Pratap Singh. BJP
state unit president Hriday Narain Dixit said the two things (crown
for L K Advani and Mayawati’s currency garland) cannot be compared. SP
spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary said people know that through the
garland, BSP leaders had tried to convert their black money into
white. PTI
Comments (2) |
No more tainted leaders, please.
By: Adv.Alby Raymond Parackal | 26-Mar-2010
People of India need rulers to be Scot-free from corruption in all
forms.It is quite unfortunate to blame another political leader and
try to belittle the tainted act which currently a Chief Minister has
done.
DALIT KI BETI
By: NIRANJAN | 26-Mar-2010
AGREED. BUT SONIA GANDHI HAS NEVER PROFESSED TO BE A POOR, DALIT
PERSON. SHE DOES NOT CLAIM TO BE MESSIAH OF THE POOR AND DOWNTRODDEN
PEOPLE. SHE DOES NOT INAUGURATE HER OWN STATUES! SO, MAYAWATI, PLEASE
DON'T COMPARE YOURSELF WITH ANYBODY. THERE ARE NOT TOO MANY
POLITICIANS WHO STOOPED AS LOW AS YOU HAVE!
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bspdemoturnsfelicitationceremonyforbeetamermaya/595957/0
Living together a part of right to life, not an offence: SC
Krishnadas Rajagopal
Posted: Mar 24, 2010 at 0243 hrs IST
New Delhi The Supreme Court threw its weight behind live-in
relationships on Tuesday, observing that for a man and a woman in
love, to live together is part of the right to life, and not a
“criminal offence”.
“If two people, man and woman, want to live together, who can oppose
them? What is the offence they commit here? This happens because of
the cultural exchange between people,” a special three-judge bench of
Chief Justice of India (CJI) K G Balakrishnan and Justices Deepak
Verma and B S Chauhan observed.
The court was hearing a batch of petitions filed by actress Khusboo to
quash 22 FIRs filed against her by Tamil activist groups and forums
for her alleged comments on pre-marital sex in interviews five years
ago.
“If living together is an offence, then the first complaint should be
filed against the Supreme Court, because we have permitted living
together,” the court said. It was referring to a 2006 judgment in
which the Supreme Court directed the administration and police across
the country to protect runaway couples from harassment, and to
initiate action against those resorting to violence.
“It is part of right to life to go away with someone you love,” the
bench said. The Supreme Court had earlier stayed a Madras High Court
order of April 2008, which allowed criminal proceedings against the
actress.
Khusboo was alleged to have said there was nothing wrong in “sex
before marriage”, provided girls were careful about pregnancy and
sexually-transmitted diseases. Her detractors argued that the implied
advice to the educated male to not expect virginity from modern girls
was “offensive” and a source of “public nuisance”.
To an argument that Khusboo’s comments on pre-marital sex would
mislead gullible youths and minors, the court said: “The scenario is
highly unlikely in this age of the Internet where we do not know what
our children are doing or where they are going or what pornography
site they are watching.”
To this, the lawyer appearing for one of the complainants, Miniammal,
a lawyer in Tamil Nadu, responded that “there should be some morality
in the comments made by people of prominence like Khusboo, who has a
temple in Tamil Nadu where she is worshipped as a goddess”.
“And this is how you revere your goddess, by dragging her to court?”
retorted Justice Verma.
The bench made it clear that Khusboo’s comments could at best be
termed as “personal opinions”, and did not amount to a cognizable
offence.
But the lawyer persisted that Khusboo’s comments on pre-marital sex
would lead to the “spoiling of the entire institution of marriage.
Statements like this can result in chaos in the society.”
Even as the CJI at this moment responded that people were better off
listening to themselves than to others, Justice Verma asked the
counsel to point out how many marriages were “spoilt” or how many
instances of chaos happened in the past five years because of her
comments on pre-marital sex.
The court said it cannot stop anyone from expressing their opinions
before reserving the petitions for final verdict.
Besides, the court said, Khusboo (who was present during the day-long
hearing) had said “nothing new” about the concept of living together.
Justice Chauhan pointed out that even the “ceiling limit” for the
construction of temples for twin deities like Radha and Krishna or Ram
and Sita were calculated under the consideration that they were
“husband and wife”.
Comments - 34
Need of the hour
by Dr. Vidyacharan Shukla on 26 Mar 2010
Indian culture is changing dramatically but in different colors.
Intrinsically, we are plagued with double standard that manifests time
to time in the form of litigation, complaints and blames just to hide
our own lusts. Premarital relationship was prevailed in everywhere
around the globe but Indian society preferred to suppress the facts,
instead face the truth. Philosophically, even we dream about the
physical relationship before marriage or after marriage, both are
considered to be sin if we follow any religions. No religions stops
anyone not living together and law of nature supports Khusboo bold
stand. It is sad that Supreme court has to intervene in this case but
giving decision in the favor of Khusboo shows the faith on the
judiciary. Supreme court judge cited beautiful example of Lord Krishna
and Goddess Radha, but the best example could have been Kanyakumari
with Lord Shiva, Droupdi with 5 Pandavas, and many more who are our
Ideals in Indian society.
Reply | Forward
Unwarrented Comments
by Varun on 25 Mar 2010
That the esteemed judges of The S.C impulsively brought in the example
of Radha and Krishna is totally uncalled for.People at such high posts
are not expected to make statements on a subject on which they
themselves are not clear.Shrimati Radharani had a single pointed
devotion towards Lord Krishna, an example of unconditional love in its
purest form.To bring in such pure relationships to justify the modern
generation's uncontrolled infatuation and their total unconcern to
moral principles shows their ignorance about their own scriptures and
even lack of common sense.It is requested to the judges not to make
such irresponsible comments ,and certainly not relating to any
religion,while dealing in cases in future.Please maintain the high
values and the standards of the supreme court.
Reply | Forward
Bring in Appropriate Legislation
by K.Suresh on 25 Mar 2010
The comment -%u201CAnd this is how you revere your goddess, by
dragging her to court?%u201D - is inappropriate. The concerned lawyer
never submitted that Kushboo is HIS goddess. And there was no need to
bring in Rama,Sita, etc into the comments. The court could have simply
said that as per existing laws, living-in does not constitute an
offense. It is for the legislature to bring in appropriate
legislation. And such laws always are always rooted in the cultural
and moral values practiced in society at that point of time. I can not
quote my ancestors in caves to justify using a club (wooden or stone)
on a woman.
Reply | Forward
bravo
by chandidas mishra on 25 Mar 2010
love the statements of the justices. bravo supreme court.
Reply | Forward
It is against Indian cultural values
by MAHARASHTRA TOP NEWS on 25 Mar 2010
Sir, I am Masumkhan, Chief Editor..MAHARASHTRA TOP NEWS, LATUR. Pre-
marital sex is not accepted in Indian culture. Supreme court wants to
examine current social and cultural status of Indian family, male and
female. If supreme court gives us God krishnas example it is very
different situation ....this is kalyug sir.
immoral decision
by k.k.jaitley on 24 Mar 2010
SC decision may have adverse impact on the institution of
marriage.this is also very shoking to find that decision maker find no
other way but to cite the the example of living together of Lord
Krisna and Radha to justify their vedict.I don't know from where they
find out that Krisna and Radha used to live together separately. Both
man and woman living together separately are vunerable to each other
and their living together without marriage will break the social
fabric. limitation on the freedom is as imporant as the freedom is.
some day the woman may approach the court alleging rap by the person
with whom she has live in relationship on one or the other pretex i.e
false promise of marriage by the partner.
LIVING TOGETHER
by Jason on 24 Mar 2010
Diverse suggestions and comments. Well freedom of expression.Morality
is judged by the society.India lost her moral values long time ago.
Equality for men and women. No. The corrupt arrogant old aged
'man'still in the view that he is in the nomadic 18th century 'as the
king' and women and children treated as 'salable property' - denying
their human rights as an individual..Look at the practice of marriage.
Indians in general still believe - to have a girl is a curse and must
give 'dowry'to have er married and the 'groom' and his parents demand
huge amounts of cash,gold in lakhs/crores.. Shame. What happended to
what these corrupt system of soceity preaches. Please try to correct
the wrongs.While the courts are to uphold the rights for each
citizen,justice is not granted to the poor and the less educated by
creation of such a group by the'rich-upper class'.One father sold
everything to get her well educated engineering daughter to a school
teacher paying ranson to the groo's parents
DISGUSTING DECISSION OF SC
by AFTAB ARIZVI on 24 Mar 2010
I disagree with the decision of the Supreme Court. Morality should be
the guiding principles for governance. If you have no morality, what
is the difference between human beings and animals/birds. The Court
was asking for sections of statutes for imposing morality. If there
are no enabling dstatutes, the Court should have asked the Government
to bring in suitable legislation. If living together is acceptable,
why not prostitution. The body of a woman is her property and if she
decides to give it on rent for a small period (which is what
prostitution is), why should we object? Tomorrow, I might abuse my
neighbour saying that it is part of my right to live my life the way I
want, why should anybody object. Similarly, if my neighbour decides to
retaliate physically, again why should you object as he has a right to
react the way he wants as part of his right to life.
Degeneration of social values
by Swapan Lodh on 24 Mar 2010
Apex court`s verdict will certainly shatter the fabric of the society
which has so fondly been built by our ancestors to guard against
degeneration.Steps had been taken by elders time and need based
decisions which became rituals and later custom on which based concept
of laws.Radha-Krishna and Ram-Sita could perhaps should better not be
brought in this case as these are epics and poetic imagination played
more significantly than anecdotes.
Great descision
by Shrey on 24 Mar 2010
I totally disagree with the comments that are given above. I am
surprised by the mentality of "Indian Citizens" that have posted
comments against apex court in which these people relate live-in
relation with sex and prostitution. If a boy and a girl are living
together under a single roof, it does not mean that they have sexual
relationship. And even if they have that sex-relationship than what is
wrong in that if both are adult and agree. You can't relate this
situation with prostitution as it is completely different thing.
Prostitution is business and not the love. Above people are like those
who can't come out of the pit which they have dug and hence they pull
others in to the same. Supreme court has done a great moral thing
which should persist. They didn't even tried to insult indian god as
they illustrated pure love between radha and krishna!
Indian Traditional Culture affected by this judgement? Really?????
by Married Indian Woman on 24 Mar 2010
First of all, Kudos to the counsel for giving a sensible judgement.
For all those true Indian culture protectors out there, the counsel
did not say that all couples should live-in and not marry. They have
mentioned that living together and pre-marital sex is not an offence!
If you think about it,most couples who live-in together usually are
very independent and are capable of thinking clearly. Also, someone
has spoken about AIDS... Come-on, most victims are from the lowest
strata of society, mostly due to senseless extra marital affairs.
Whether or not to marry someone is someone's personal opinion, it is
not upto anyone to force it upon them. All you fathers who have
daughters, if you want to raise your voice against something, raise it
against female infanticide, dowry system, women empowerment and
corruption. Jai Hind!
another undesirable import
by sakthiman on 24 Mar 2010
Such useless thoughts fit only rich and filth. Not for common people
who die for their values. I don't think Supreme court judgement in any
way influences the common man except that the institution has fallen
from grace.
Larger Picture
by R.Ramachandran on 24 Mar 2010
The SC has posed the question %u201CIf two people, man and woman, want
to live together, who can oppose them? What is the offence they commit
here?" In fact this question though put to the Counsel for the
Complainants, is to be directed against the Trial Court / High Court
Judges who did not ask this question in the first place and have
created a situation where the accused has to travel all the way to the
Supreme Court! If this is the kind of justice system that we have, we
shudder to think the recent lament of the SC that "it has limited time
at its disposal and it cannot be expected to hear every kind of
dispute.%u201D The SC also has conveniently discontinued hearing
petitions under Art. 32 which is a fundamental right of every citizen,
and asking the citizen to first approach the HC and then to come to SC
under Art.136. Now the SC says that the discretionary jurisdiction
cannot be invoked by every individual! Actions of SC are clearly
violative of the Constitutional provisions.
Pious to Evil
by Iquebal Ahmed on 24 Mar 2010
One more import of western filth into our pious culture! One more
attack on our pious culture after legalization of gay marriage by our
own judicial system!!
Evil and Immoral----
by romesh.sharma on 24 Mar 2010
These few words from Mr Ahmed speak volumes that one can write and
say.This move is the worst kind of immoral act of judiciary which is
time and again meddling into the absolute private,cultural and
religious affairs of the people.This all may be of some help/interest
of the socalled High-Society which is already deeply dyed in the
western colours.This malady will soon spread and the most ancient
beautiful culture and its traditions will diminish for-ever.Moreover
most westerns are fed-up and tired of such unions and discarding fast.
Right or wrong ?
by Gaurav Kaushish on 24 Mar 2010
RIGHT OR WRONG?? TIME WILL TELL. NORMS ARE SET FOR SMOOTH FUNCTIONING
OF THE SOCIETY AT LARGE BY THE SOCIETY ITSELF. EACH AND EVERY CASE CAN
NOT BE BROUGHT UNDER THE GARB OF LEGAL PROVISIONS.OFFENCES KEEP TAKING
PLACE EVEN WHEN THEY ARE DEFINED, AS SUCH, IN THE LAW OF THE
LAND.ALLOWING SOMETHING AS A MATTER OF RIGHT DOES NOT GUARANTEE ITS
EXERCISE BY THE INDIVIDUALS. SIMILARLY IMPOSING RESTRICTIONS TOO IS NO
CALIBRE FOR STRICT COMPLIANCE THEREOF. MADHYAM MARG (PAH OF
MODERATION) MAY BE OF SOME GUIDANCE. THE DEBATE IS OPEN,,,,,
God save Incredible India
by Raaj on 24 Mar 2010
What a great verdict.Today the world looks at India as a country with
a great culture, Spiritual heritage and tradition in which people live
with great family values. We should be proud about it as we have
preserved our culture and tradition against various invasions. If our
kids were to live like the western kids ignoring the Indian values, as
per the Supreme Court Judgement, God save India.
Whether bigamy is legalised now ?
by R Krishnamurthy on 24 Mar 2010
If a married man has a live-in relationship with another woman is it
perfectly correct under law. Supreme Court judgement is pointing
towards that.
sc on relationship
by kamal on 24 Mar 2010
SC HAS HURT MANY RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS BY QUOTING RAMA SITA KRISHNA AND
RADHA,THIS CERTAINLY IMPLIES THAT ONLY HINDUS HAVE OR FOLLOWERS OF
THESE DEITIES HAVE OBJECTIONS TO SUCH RELATIONSHIPS AND ANY OTHER
RELIGION DOES NOT OR WAS IT FEAR OF JEHADIS SO THAT NO ISLAMIC REVERED
ONES WERE MENTIONED IN THIS COURT CASE.SC JUDGES HAVE HURT THE
FEELINGS OF A RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY AND THERE ARE LAWS AGAINST SUCH
ACTION,ONLY THEY CAN SUGGEST HOW THEY WILL OVERCOME THIS BLUNDER AND
THAT ALSO DURING THE SITTING OF THE HIGHEST COURT OF THE LAND.ALSO FOR
SC INFO ALL HINDU SECTS DONT WORSHIP RADHA ND KRISHNA,WHY ALWAYS DRAG
ALL HINDU SECTS INTO THIS CASE LIKE MEDIA.
Live-in Relationship
by Vaid S C K on 24 Mar 2010
Legal sanction granted by Apex court shall now bring forth many
problems specially for police and others who always look for
exploitation. If man and woman have been living togather for few years
without marriage then woman one day lodges complaint with police for
having been sexually exploited for number of years, what courts are
going to decide?
SC remarks subjudice
by drabc on 24 Mar 2010
Blissfully unawares the SC might have shown a contempt of court should
any other of such cases are before a judge anywhere in India! To
comment recklessly a can of worms might be marching onto the Supreme
Court.This was a most unhelpful intervention from the SC in a Civil
court matter
SC remarks subjudice
by drabc on 24 Mar 2010
Blissfully unawares the SC might have shown a contempt of court should
any other of such cases are before a judge anywhere in India! To
comment recklessly a can of worms might be marching onto the Supreme
Court.This was a most unhelpful intervention from the SC in a Civil
court matter
Living Together As Part Of Right To Life
by C.R. Panicker on 24 Mar 2010
I disagree with the decision of the Supreme Court. Morality should be
the guiding principles for governance. If you have no morality, what
is the difference between human beings and animals/birds. The Court
was asking for sections of statutes for imposing morality. If there
are no enabling dstatutes, the Court should have asked the Government
to bring in suitable legislation. If living together is acceptable,
why not prostitution. The body of a woman is her property and if she
decides to give it on rent for a small period (which is what
prostitution is), why should we object? Tomorrow, I might abuse my
neighbour saying that it is part of my right to live my life the way I
want, why should anybody object. Similarly, if my neighbour decides to
retaliate physically, again why should you object as he has a right to
react the way he wants as part of his right to life.
Is the nation going bohemian way ?
by K.Suresh on 24 Mar 2010
This is a ridiculous argument from the judiciary. In that case, the
same argument can be used to justify adultery. illicit relations,
extra-marital relations etc. Then why have laws against pornography,
exhibitionism. immoral traffic ? Does the SC want the whole nation to
resemble Goan seaside? BTW, when such an arrangement ends, is the
female partner entitled to alimony/compensation?
the nation going bohemian way ?
by CTZWORLD on 24 Mar 2010
Mr. Suresh, Kindly get a copy of the Immoral traffic(Prevention) act
1956. Pornography, exhibitionism. immoral traffic etc.. you described
are something different than cohabitation. Cohabitation is allowed
between persons who do not have legal spouses and they earn no benifit
by way of money or something else
the nation going bohemian way ?
by CTZWORLD on 24 Mar 2010
Mr. Suresh, Kindly get a copy of the Immoral traffic(Prevention) act
1956. Pornography, exhibitionism. immoral traffic etc.. you described
are something different than cohabitation. Cohabitation is allowed
between persons who do not have legal spouses and they earn no benifit
by way of money or something else
Someone finally has some brains
by Madhav on 24 Mar 2010
Awesome judgement especially about Khusbhu's case. Instead of wasting
their time, why don't these lawyers fight for the common man instead
of pursuing useless cases.
LIVING TOGETHER
by KRISHNAN.S on 24 Mar 2010
Shocking observations by the Highest Court.What would have been the
answer of the Supreme Court if only the counsel had a daughter.The
counsel replied to the judges that he has no daughter.So in future if
a minister/chief minister has no problem then he need not address that
issue.Let Supreme Court rethink on morality and answer so as to
advance the society in the right direction.Already the politicians
especially down South have more than 2 wives.Now even marriages may
not be required.Already one popular Tamil actor who has international
fame is reported to have said that he does not believe in marriages.Le
God save this country.
Hypocricy
by Mathew on 24 Mar 2010
Though I do not support pre marital sex or sex outside marriage, I
support the supreme court statement. If young people is going to be
mis guided by a statement of one person then these people are fools.
God has given every ones brains and most educated people can think
what is right and what id wrong. There are many in or midst who wear
the mask of morality and behind the scene are np worse than the people
they despise. Its high time we put an end to this hypocrisy.
Living togethr as part of Right to Life
by ashok bhatnagar on 24 Mar 2010
If law says living together is a way of life & not an offence what was
the crime of Swami Nityanand. Why media made such a big story & police
lodged complaints in a matter that was between the Swami & his
disciples. I think both the print & electronic media should apologise
to Swami Nityanand.
Re: Nithyananda
by Vinod Kumar Pavanghat on 24 Mar 2010
In the case of Nithyananda, media exposed only a lie. If he had openly
propounded a living in relationship, no body would have had any
objection. Use your brain....
LIVING TOGETHER AS PART OF RIGHT TO LIFE
by ashok bhatnagar on 24 Mar 2010
If law allow says living together is a way of life & not an offence
what was the crime of Swami Nityanand. Why media made such a big story
& police lodged complaints in a matter that was between the Swami &
his disciples. I think media should apologise to Swami Nityanand.
An unnecessary link
March 25, 2010
First Published: 20:52 IST(25/3/2010)
Last Updated: 20:53 IST(25/3/2010)
Who owns the Bandra-Worli sealink in Mumbai? We know who constructed
it. We know who inaugurated the first phase. We know who it is named
after. But who owns it? Who can legitimately claim that this sea link
belongs to them? The guys who built it and collect toll? The
governmentwalas for clearing permissions? The labourers who built it?
Can we dare to say that this piece of architecture belongs to the
people of Mumbai, those who can afford to travel on it to save commute
time as well as to those who cannot; who have to be content to just
look?
Now that that question is out of the way, here’s the next one. Who
owns Amitabh Bachchan? Clearly, his immediate family has an interest.
Clearly his friends, political and otherwise, have an interest. But
could you stretch it and say he belongs to lakhs of his fans, not just
in Mumbai or Allahabad but all over the world?
When Raj Thackeray huffs and puffs and calls for a boycott of Amitabh
Bachchan films in response to Jaya Bachchan’s insistence at a film
function to speak in Hindi because she is from Uttar Pradesh, we
denounce him as a thug. Bachchan points out that the Indian
Constitution has granted him the right to live in whichever part of
the country he chooses to. But, he also clarifies, his wife meant no
disrespect at all.
Raj’s uncle, Bal Thackeray, writes in Saamna that Amitabh Bachchan
belongs to the entire nation. So, that should settle the question of
ownership. But then he moves his sights onto another national figure,
Shah Rukh Khan. Bachchan belongs to India. Shah Rukh is a ‘Dilliwala’
who should pack his bags and go home, decrees senior Thackeray. Let’s
just say that logic doesn’t run deep in the Thackeray genes.
But — question three — what does one make of Maharashtra Chief
Minister Ashok Chavan, who is fast turning out to be a doppelganger
for the Thackeray parivar?
First comes Chavan’s astounding statement that taxi- drivers
(routinely bashed up by Raj and his goons for coming from Bihar and
Uttar Pradesh) must speak in Marathi — a statement that he later tries
to clarify is a requirement of some law in some statute book.
Now, saying it was a mistake to invite Amitabh Bachchan, arguably
India’s biggest film star, to the opening of the Worli-Bandra sealink
is — what? — plain stupid.
Chavan who shared the dais with Bachchan at the inauguration says in
hindsight that it was a mistake to have invited Bachchan because he is
the ‘brand ambassador’ of Gujarat. Had he known that he would be
sharing the dais with Bachchan, he would have stayed home, he says.
Mumbai Congress president Kripashankar Singh, meanwhile, sparks off a
whodunit by saying he was not consulted about the invitation.
So, was it the NCP, the Congress party’s uneasy allies in the state?
Is there truth in the claim that the NCP wanted to inject a bit of
‘glamour’ into what would have undoubtedly been a dreary inauguration?
Sachin Tendulkar, another national icon who also happens to be a son
of the soil, was not available, so Amitabh Bachchan was sent a card.
What remains really now that the coconuts have been broken and the
sealink extension officially opened is the unedifying smallness of the
Maharashtra Congress. Bachchan is a national icon, he belongs to the
people who have a rightful claim to the sealink.
Inviting a man of the people, whoever invited him, was appropriate and
correct. Bickering about it after the event is ridiculous. Even more
ridiculous is Ashok Chavan’s attempts to claim the loony space so far
occupied by the Thackerays.
Namita Bhandare is a Delhi-based writer
The views expressed by the author are personal
Swati 1 hour ago
1 person liked this.
Maharashtra Congress and also the national Congress party is fast
losing credibility. I'm totally disgusted at the way they are treating
infrastructure development as their private property and insulting a
great icon, Amitabh Bachchan.
Sid 3 hours ago
It is HUGE conspiracy by Congress - they must have siphoned so much
money from the contractors of the project that they very well know
this Bridge may NOT stand long - as it is, it is built over the sea
and it has to face a furious Monsoon sea and very corrosive water all
other times! So, they asked Sonia to NOT attend the inaguration and
wanted NCP to get the blame. So conveniently they have found Amitabh's
shoulder to fire at NCP because Congres (Sonia & PM) are still
smarting under famous Pawar's meeting with Bal Thackery reagarding the
security of Australian players in IPL. Congres never forgets insults
suffered by it!
Sachin 4 hours ago
Sorry to say Namita , but you have not nalysed whole situation
clearly .
You have not viewed it from angle of Bachchan being Brand Ambassodar
of Gujarat. Is it not bad that some narrow minded politicians cites
reasons that some person should not be invited if he is brand
ambassador of a state whose CM is accused of riots. What baout
congress itself ? They are associated with Sajjan Kumar , Tytler.
So please analyse it from all angles and show your research work
instead of penning down emotions . HT columns were not that excellent
but now they are going off the track.
FlagLikeReplyReply
kush 6 hours ago
1 person liked this.
For inagurations of completed projects, we should stop inviting
politicians as they have no role in developments - it is rather that
despite of their best efforts to delay / scuttle the projects, we
still manage to complete the projects. Worli sea link took ten years
to complete - w/o political interference, it may have been completed
in 3-4 years - so what we need is no congressi neta or NCP - these are
all nincompoops we saw what happended in Mumbai on 26/11. Rather call
icon like Amitabh, Sridaran of Metro, Narayanmurthy of Infosys to be
present for ribbon cutings.
Ravin 6 hours ago
SHAME on Congress ! They have nothing better to do.
Get rid of them to save the country.
nachiket 8 hours ago
All Delhi based writers are talking about Mumbai & Maharashtra. They
talk little about Bihar/UP/MP and other states where real development
is stalled because of in-efficient politician. Raj Thackeray has done
fairly well in stopping 'HINDI-fication' of Maharashtra.
I am Pune Based IT-Professional
The views expressed by me are Public
RP 12 hours ago
Author claims that Chavan dictated that Taxi drivers in Mumbai must
SPEAK Marathi, not true, he said all the taxi drivers in Mumbai must
KNOW Marathi as Marathi is official language of Maharashtra and
Marathi is prerequisite as per Motor Vehicle Act 1989. But I guess we
should not be nit picking .....bash the Thakreys, lampoon the CM with
them and get away with any thing.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/An-unnecessary-link/H1-Article1-523248.aspx
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/f9b738e079fef9fb#
Sid Harth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve the article or
discuss these issues on the talk page.
The Conversion of Saint Paul, a 1600 painting by Italian artist
Caravaggio (1571–1610).Part of a series on the
Religious conversion is the adoption of new religious beliefs that
differ from the convert's previous beliefs. It involves a new
religious identity, or a change from one religious identity to
another. Conversion requires internalization of the new belief system.
It implies a new reference point for one's self identity and is a
matter of belief and social structure—of both faith and affiliation.
[1] This typically entails the sincere avowal of a new belief system,
but may also present itself in other ways, such as adoption into an
identity group or spiritual lineage. Conversion refers to changes from
one religion to another, not to be confused with religious
reaffiliation which refers to changes from one denomination to another
within the same faith.[2] Examples of religious reaffiliation include
switching from being Southern Baptist to Methodist (within
Christianity) or from Sunni to Shiite (within Islam).
There are different types of religion conversion which include, active
conversion which is the free agency, volitional choice to acquire new
beliefs and religious identity,[3] marital conversion, Secondary
conversion, Deathbed conversion, and Forced conversion.
Proselytism is the act of attempting to convert another individual
from a specific religion or belief system. (See proselyte).
Apostate (n.) is a term with pejorative connotations used by members
of one church or religion to refer to someone who has left that church
or religion.
Christianity
Main articles: Conversion to Christianity and Christianization
Main article: List of converts to Christianity
Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously
non-Christian person to some form of Christianity. The exact
understanding of what it means to attain salvation varies somewhat
among churches and denominations. It primarily involves confession and
repentance of sin and a decision to live a life that is holy and
acceptable to God through faith in Jesus Christ. Converts are almost
always expected to be baptized.
Baptism
Main article: Baptism
Catholics, Orthodox and many Protestant denominations encourage infant
baptism, welcoming children into the Christian faith before they are
aware of their status. Baptized children are expected to participate
in confirmation classes as pre-teens and affirm their faith by
personal choice.
The method of baptism varies among immersion, sprinkling (aspersion)
and pouring (affusion).[4] Baptism received by adults or younger
people who have reached the age of accountability where they can make
a personal religious decision is referred to as believer's baptism
among conservative or evangelical Protestant groups. It is intended as
a public confession of one's prior decision to become a believer in
and follower of Jesus Christ.[5] Some Christian groups such as
Catholics, Churches of Christ, and Christadelphians believe baptism is
essential to salvation.
[edit] Accepting Christ and renouncing sin
The Augsburg Confession divides repentance into two parts: "One is
contrition, that is, terrors smiting the conscience through the
knowledge of sin; the other is faith, which is born of the Gospel, or
of absolution, and believes that for Christ's sake, sins are forgiven,
comforts the conscience, and delivers it from terrors."[6]Conversion
involves more than a simple change in religious identity. It is a
change in nature (regeneration), evidenced by a change in values. In
fact, the Latin word conversio, translating the Greek metanoia,
literally means "going the other way" or "changing one's mind". A
convert, therefore, is one who renounces sin as worthless and
treasures instead the supreme worth of Jesus Christ. The convert sees
the worth of Christ in Jesus' sacrificial death and resurrection and
believes that sin is utterly unsatisfying and that Christ is
everything he or she needs.[7]
In contrast to other religions that seek God's acceptance through good
deeds and living a moral life, the Christian convert acknowledges that
his or her unrighteousness cannot be removed by good deeds and accepts
the death of Jesus Christ in his or her place as the grounds for the
forgiveness of sins and the righteousness of Jesus Christ as the basis
for God's acceptance and delight in the convert.[8] Because conversion
is a change in values that embraces God and rejects sin, it includes a
personal commitment to a life of righteousness as described by Paul of
Tarsus and exemplified by Jesus. In some Protestant traditions, this
is called "accepting Christ as one's Savior and following him as
Lord."[9]
In another variation, the 1910 Catholic Dictionary defines
"conversion" as "One who turns or changes from a state of sin to
repentance, from a lax to a more earnest and serious way of life, from
unbelief to faith, from heresy to the true faith."[10]
Responsibilities
According to most branches of Christianity, sharing the message or
good news of Jesus Christ and his gospel is a responsibility of all
followers of Jesus. According to the New Testament, Jesus commanded
his disciples to "go and make disciples of all nations," [Matthew
28:19] generally known as the Great Commission. Evangelism, or
"spreading the good news," has been a central part of the life of
Christians since that time.
Transfers
Transferring from one Christian denomination to another may consist of
a relatively simple transfer of membership, especially if moving from
one Trinitarian denomination to another, and if the person has
received water baptism in the name of the Trinity. If not, then the
person may need to be baptized or rebaptized to become incorporated
into the new church. Some denominations, such as those in the
Anabaptist tradition, require previously-baptized Christians to be re-
baptized before being accepted into their respective religious
community.
The process of conversion to Christianity varies somewhat among
Christian denominations. Most Protestants believe in conversion by
faith to attain salvation. According to this understanding, the person
professes faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. While an individual may
make such a decision privately, usually it entails being baptized and
becoming a member of a denomination or church. In these traditions,
one is considered to become a Christian by publicly acknowledging the
reality of the death, burial and resurrection Jesus for the remission
of sins, and thereby receiving Jesus as their personal Savior.
Comparison among Protestants
This table summarizes the classical views of three different
Protestant beliefs.[11]
Topic Lutheranism Calvinism Arminianism
Conversion Through the means of grace, resistible Without means,
irresistible Involves free will and is resistible
Hinduism
See also: List of converts to Hinduism
Labels of distinct religions would imply division of identity, which
is in contradiction to the Vedas and Upanishads, that conceives whole
world as a single family that deifies the one truth.[12][13] Revival
of faith in Hinduism began way back in the 8th century in the times of
Shankaracharya. In more recent times, due to the conversion of Hindus
to other religions, it was found necessary by some Hindu thinkers such
as Dayananda Saraswati to bring back people into the Hindu fold,
practices such as "Shuddhi" (purification) were introduced. This is
not to be confused with "Diksha" or initiation which was given to
serious seekers, as initiation into a yogic life (life of ascetism and
pranayama).
The modern view of conversions into Hinduism is influenced by the
demise of caste system combined with the persistence of age old ideas
of Sanatana Dharma. Hindus today continue to be influenced by
historical ideas of acceptability of conversion. Hence, many Hindus
continue to believe that Hinduism is an identity that can only be had
from birth, while many others continue to believe that anyone who
follows Hindu beliefs and practices is a Hindu, and many believe in
some form of both theories. However, as a reaction to the threat of
evangelization, proselytism, and conversion activities of other major
religions many modern Hindus are opposed to the idea of conversion
from their religion to (any) other.[14]
Reconversion among people who were formerly Hindus or whose ancestors
were formerly Hindus has picked up pace with the growth of Hindu
revivalist movements.[15] National organizations such as Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (India) and Parisada Hindu Dharma (Indonesia)
actively facilitate such reconversions. Reconversions, in general, are
well accepted within Hindu society since conversion out of Hinduism is
not considered valid in the first place. Conversion through marriage
is well accepted within Hinduism and often expected in order to enable
the non-Hindu partner to fully participate in their spiritual,
religious, and cultural roles within the larger Hindu family and
society.
Conversion by Hindus have taken place as well, in Southeast Asia the
merchant, sailor, and priestly class accounted for much of the spread
of the religion.[16] Many foreign groups including Gujjars, Ahoms, and
Hunas converted to Hinduism after generations of Sanskritization.[17]
In the 18th century, Manipur was evanglelized by Hindu priests. In
India and Indonesia today many groups still convert to Hinduism on a
large basis.[18]
American-born Hindu guru, Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami wrote a book
entitled How to Become a Hindu - A Guide for Seekers and Born Hindus.
In it, Subramuniyaswami offers a systematical approach to, what he
calls, "ethical conversion to Hinduism," testimonials of converts to
Hinduism, ques and clues of Hinduism, definitions of Hindu authorities
on what a Hindu truly is, etc.
Islam
Further information: Spread of Islam, List of converts to Islam,
Hanif, and Islamic Missionary Activity
This section may contain original research. Please improve it by
verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting
only of original research may be removed. More details may be
available on the talk page. (September 2007)
This section needs attention from an expert on the subject. See the
talk page for details. WikiProject Islam or the Islam Portal may be
able to help recruit an expert. (July 2007)
A newly-converted Muslim is called a Muallaf. There are five pillars,
or foundations, of Islam but the primary, and most important is by
believing that there is only one God and creator, referred to as Allah
(the word for the name of God in Arabic) and that the Islamic prophet,
Muhammad, is his messenger. A person is considered to have converted
to Islam from the moment he or she sincerely makes this declaration of
faith, called the shahadah.[19]
It is common belief among Muslims that everyone is Muslim at
birth[citation needed] [derived from a single source and brought into
being by the single entity] but sometimes chooses to take steps to
revert back to their origins. While conversion to Islam is among its
most supported tenets, conversion from Islam to another religion,
apostasy, is considered to be a sin.
According to Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar
at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Canada, it is highly recommended
that one's conversion be documented. New converts should obtain a
certificate of conversion from a reputable Islamic centre,
organization or mosque, which has been registered for this purpose.
Sheikh Kutty writes that such a certificate might be absolutely
necessary for the purposes of pilgrimage, marriage, etc.[citation
needed]
In Islam, circumcision is a Sunnah custom not mentioned in the Qur'an.
The primary opinion is that it is not obligatory and is not a
condition for entering into Islam. The Shafi`i and Hanbali schools
regard it as wajib or fard, while the Maliki and Hanafi schools regard
it as only recommended. However, it is not a precondition for the
acceptance of one's Islamic practices nor does one sin if choosing to
forego circumcision. It is neither one of the Five Pillars of Islam
nor the Six Fundamentals of Belief.
A new Muslim is expected to become familiar with the practices of
Islam. It is a personal process; acceptance of all of that is taken to
follow from the original statement, since all of Islam is considered
to derive from either divine inspiration, in the form of the Qur'an,
or for prophetic example, in the form of the hadith and sunnah of
Muhammad.[citation needed]
"Al Mu'allafun kulubuhum" means those whose hearts need company or
affection. So they receive a part of the zakat (due religious alms)
and friendship from already and well established Muslims. The aim was
to help these new converts to restart a new life as they were banned
from their families and tribes, not only in the early times of Islam,
but also in contemporary times.[citation needed]
Judaism
This section may contain original research. Please improve it by
verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting
only of original research may be removed. More details may be
available on the talk page. (September 2007)
This section needs attention from an expert on the subject. See the
talk page for details. WikiProject Judaism or the Judaism Portal may
be able to help recruit an expert. (July 2007)
Main article: Conversion to Judaism
Procedure
Jewish law guidelines for accepting new converts to Judaism are called
"giyur." Potential converts should desire conversion to Judaism for
its own sake, and for no other motives. A male convert needs to
undergo a ritual circumcision conducted according to Jewish law (if
already circumcised, a needle is used to draw a symbolic drop of blood
while the appropriate blessings are said), and there has to be a
commitment to observe the 613 mitzvot and Jewish law. A convert must
join the Jewish community, and reject the previous theology he or she
had prior to the conversion. Ritual immersion in a small pool of water
known as a mikvah is required.
The Reform and Conservative movements are lenient in their acceptance
of converts[citation needed]. Many of their members are married to
gentiles and these movements make an effort to welcome spouses who
seek conversion[citation needed]. This issue is contentious in modern
Israel as many immigrants from the former Soviet Union are not
considered Jewish.
Orthodox Jews tend to discourage conversion,[citation needed] urging
the person to find their path to God through being a righteous Gentile
and observing the Noahide laws and living a life of kindness, but they
will accept conversion if they insist. Controversially, some Syrian
Jewish communities are reluctant to accept the validity of new
conversions.
History
Main article: List of converts to Judaism
In Hellenistic and Roman times, some Pharisees were eager
proselytizers, and had at least some success throughout the empire.
Some Jews are also descended from converts to Judaism outside the
Mediterranean world. It is known that some Khazars, Edomites, and
Ethiopians, as well as many Arabs, particularly in Yemen before,
converted to Judaism in the past; today people all over the world
convert to Judaism. In fact, there is a greater tradition of
conversion to Judaism than many people realize. The word "proselyte"
originally meant a Greek who had converted to Judaism. As late as the
6th century the Eastern Roman empire (i.e., the Byzantine empire) was
issuing decrees against conversion to Judaism, implying that
conversion to Judaism was still occurring.
In recent times, members of the Reform Judaism movement began a
program to convert to Judaism the non-Jewish spouses of its
intermarried members and non-Jews who have an interest in Judaism.
Their rationale is that so many Jews were lost during the Holocaust
that newcomers must be sought out and welcomed. This approach has been
repudiated by Orthodox and Conservative Jews as unrealistic and posing
a danger. They say that these efforts make Judaism seem an easy
religion to join and observe when in reality being Jewish entails many
difficulties and sacrifices.
Dharmic religions
Sikhism
Sikhism is not known to openly proselytize, but accepts converts.
Jainism
Jainism accepts anyone who wants to embrace the religion. Any person
who wants to convert to Jainism must be a strict vegetarian and accept
Arhats and Siddhas as their deities. According to Indian law one has
the right to become a follower of Jainism.
Buddhism
Buddhism rarely engages in proselytism. The current Dalai Lama
discourages conversion without ruling it out altogether.[20][21] New
Buddhists traditionally "take Refuge" (express faith in the Three
Jewels — Buddha, Dharma, Sangha) before a monk, nun, or similar
representative. Buddhists often hold multiple religious identities,
combining the religion with Shinto (in Japan) or Taoism and
Confucianism (in China; cf. Chinese traditional religion). Some
Himalayan groups are ambiguous as to their status as Hindus or
Buddhists.
According to Gampopa's Jewel Ornament of Liberation, taking refuge in
the Buddha precludes one from worshiping gods and nature spirits.
Other traditions take the position that a lay Buddhist can pay
respects to, and give gifts to, gods or spirits, but should not regard
them as a refuge. This position is generally practiced in the
Theravada Buddhist tradition.
Bahá'í Faith
Though it actively seeks converts, the Bahá'í Faith prohibits
proselytism and does not pursue "missionary" work. In sharing their
faith with others, Bahá'ís are cautioned to "obtain a hearing" –
meaning to make sure the person they're proposing to teach is open to
hearing what they have to say. "Bahá'í pioneers," rather than
attempting to supplant the cultural underpinnings of the people in
their adopted communities, are encouraged to integrate into the
society and apply Bahá'í principles in living and working with their
neighbors.
Bahá'ís recognize the divine origins of all revealed religion, and
believe that these religions occurred sequentially as part of a Divine
plan (see Progressive revelation), with each new revelation
superseding and fulfilling that of its predecessors. Bahá'ís regard
their own faith as the most recent (but not the last), and believe its
teachings – which are centered around the principle of the oneness of
humanity – are most suited to meeting the needs of a global community.
In most countries conversion is a simple matter of filling out a card
stating a declaration of belief. This includes acknowledgement of
Bahá'u'llah – the Founder of the Faith – as the Messenger of God for
this age, awareness and acceptance of His teachings, and intention to
be obedient to the institutions and laws He established.
Conversion to the Bahá'í Faith carries with it an explicit belief in
the common foundation of all revealed religion, a commitment to the
unity of mankind, and active service to the community at large,
especially in areas that will foster unity and concord. Since the
Bahá'í Faith has no clergy, converts to this Faith are encouraged to
be active in all aspects of community life. Indeed, even a recent
convert may be elected to serve on a Local Spiritual Assembly – the
guiding Bahá'í institution at the community level.[22][23]
Other religions and sects
Conversion to new religious movements (NRMs) is riddled with
controversies. The anti-cult movement sometimes uses the term thought
reform or even brainwashing. Often they will call certain NRMs cults.
There are many different definitions for the word cult. NRMs are very
diverse and it is not clear whether conversion to NRMs differs from
conversion to mainstream religions. See also Brainwashing controversy
in new religious movements
Research both in the USA and the Netherlands has shown there is a
positive correlation between lack of involvement in mainstream
churches in certain areas and provinces and the percentage of people
who are a member of a new religious movement. This applies also for
the presence of New Age centres.[24][25] The Dutch research included
Jehovah's Witnesses(Though most JW's were previously Religious
including a number of former Ministers,Deacons,Priests and Nuns) and
the Latter Day Saint movement/Mormonism to the NRMs ( Which was more
indicative of the research).
The Church of Scientology attempts to gain converts by offering "free
stress tests" (see picture at auditing). In contrast to other
religions, which ask everyone to sign a card or membership book (e.g.
Unitarian Universalism) or be baptised (e.g. Roman Catholic Church),
Scientology requires converts to sign contracts before attending
church.
On the other end of the scale are religions that do not accept any
converts, or do so only very rarely. Often these are relatively small,
closely-knit minority religions, like the Yazidis, Druze, and
Mandaeans.
Chinese traditional religion lacks clear criteria for membership, and
hence for conversion. Several ethnic religions — including the
Yazidis, Druze, and Mandaeans — appear to refuse all applicants for
conversion. The Shakers and some Indian eunuch brotherhoods do not
allow procreation, so that every member is a convert.
International law
The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights defines
religious conversion as a human right: "Everyone has the right to
freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes
freedom to change his religion or belief...." (Article 18). Though
this is controversial because some groups either forbid or restrict
religious conversion (see below).
Based on the declaration the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
(UNCHR) drafted the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, a legally binding treaty. It states that "Everyone shall have
the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right
shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his
choice..." (Article 18.1). "No one shall be subject to coercion which
would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of
his choice" (Article 18.2).
The UNCHR issued a General Comment on this Article in 1993: "The
Committee observes that the freedom to 'have or to adopt' a religion
or belief necessarily entails the freedom to choose a religion or
belief, including the right to replace one's current religion or
belief with another or to adopt atheistic views [...] Article 18.2
bars coercion that would impair the right to have or adopt a religion
or belief, including the use of threat of physical force or penal
sanctions to compel believers or non-believers to adhere to their
religious beliefs and congregations, to recant their religion or
belief or to convert." (CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.4, General Comment No.
22.; emphasis added)
Some countries distinguish voluntary, motivated conversion from
organized proselytism, attempting to restrict the latter. The boundary
between them is not easily defined. What one person considers
legitimate evangelizing, or witness bearing, another may consider
intrusive and improper. Illustrating the problems that can arise from
such subjective viewpoints is this extract from an article by Dr. C.
Davis, published in Cleveland State University's 'Journal of Law and
Health': "According to the Union of American Hebrew Congregations,
Jews for Jesus and Hebrew Christians constitute two of the most
dangerous cults, and its members are appropriate candidates for
deprogramming. Anti-cult evangelicals ... protest that 'aggressiveness
and proselytizing ... are basic to authentic Christianity,' and that
Jews for Jesus and Campus Crusade for Christ are not to be labeled as
cults. Furthermore, certain Hassidic groups who physically attacked a
meeting of the Hebrew Christian 'cult' have themselves been labeled a
'cult' and equated with the followers of Reverend Moon, by none other
than the President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis."[26]
Views on the propriety of proselytism, or even evangelism, differ
radically. Some feel that freedom of speech should have no limits and
that virtually anyone, anywhere should have the right to talk about
anything they see fit. Others see all sorts of evangelism as a
nuisance and an intrusion and would like to see them proscribed. Thus,
Natan Lerner observes that the issue is one of a clash of rights — the
right of a person to express his views versus the right of a person
not to be exposed to views that he does not wish to hear.
From a legal standpoint, certain criteria are often mentioned in
distinguishing legitimate evangelization from illicit proselytism:
All humans have the right to have religious beliefs, and to change
these beliefs, even repeatedly, if they so wish. (Freedom of
Religion)
They have the right to form religious organizations for the purpose of
worship, as well as for promoting their cause (Freedom of
Association)
They have the right to speak to others about their convictions, with
the purpose of influencing the others. (Freedom of Speech).
By the same token, these very rights exercise a limiting influence on
the freedoms of others. For instance, the right to have one's
religious beliefs presumably includes the right not to be coerced into
changing these beliefs by threats, discrimination, or similar
inducements.
Hence a category of improper proselytizing can be discerned:
It would not be proper to use coercion, threats, the weight of
authority of the educational system, access to health care or similar
facilities in order to induce people to change their religion.
It would be improper to try to impose one's beliefs on a 'captive
audience', where the listeners have no choice but to be present. This
would presumably require restraint in the exercise of their right to
free speech, by teachers in the classroom, army officers to their
inferiors, prison officers in prison, medical staff in hospitals, so
as to avoid impinging on the rights of others.
It would not be proper to offer money, work, housing or other material
inducements as a means of persuading people to adopt another religion.
Since the collapse of the former Soviet Union and the rise of
democracy in the Eastern Bloc, the Russian Orthodox Church has enjoyed
a revival. However, it takes exception to what it considers
illegitimate proselytizing by the Roman Catholic Church, the Salvation
Army, Jehovah's Witnesses and other religious movements[27] in what it
refers to as its canonical territory.
Greece has a long history of conflict, mostly with Jehovah's Witnesses
but also with some Pentecostals over its laws on proselytism. This
situation stems from a law passed in the 1930s by the dictator Ioannis
Metaxas. A Jehovah's Witness, Minos Kokkinakis, won the equivalent of
US $14,400 in damages from the Greek state after being arrested for
trying to preach his faith from door to door. In another case,
Larissis vs. Greece, a member of the Pentecostal church also won a
case in the European Court of Human Rights.
Some Islamic countries with Islamic law outlaw and carry strict
sentences for proselytizing. Several Islamic countries under Islamic
law, Saudi Arabia,[28][29] Yemen,[30] Afghanistan and Pakistan,[31]
Egypt,[32] Iran,[33][34] and Maldives[35] outlaw apostasy and carry
imprisonment or the death penalty for those leaving Islam and those
enticing Muslims to leave Islam.
See also
Apostasy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostasy
Deathbed conversion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathbed_conversion
Forced conversion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_conversion
Safavid conversion of Iran from Sunnism to Shiism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safavid_conversion_of_Iran_from_Sunnism_to_Shiism
List of converts to Christianity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_converts_to_Christianity
List of converts to Hinduism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_converts_to_Hinduism
List of converts to Judaism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_converts_to_Judaism
Missionary
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missionary
Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rite_of_Christian_Initiation_for_Adults
Secondary conversion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_conversion
Islam:
Conversion to Islam in prisons
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversion_to_Islam_in_prisons
Islamic Missionary Activity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Missionary_Activity
List of converts to Islam
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_converts_to_Islam
Love Jihad
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Jihad
References
^ Hefner, Robert W. Conversion to Christianity."
University of California Press, 1993. ISBN 0520078365
^ Stark, Rodney and Roger Finke. "Acts of Faith: Explaning the Human
Side of Religion." University of California Press, 2000. ISBN
9780520222021
^ Falkenberg, Steve. "Psychological Explanations of Religious
Socialization." Religious Conversion. Eastern Kentucky University.
August 31, 2009.
^ Bromiley, Geoffrey W. "Baptism." The International Standard Bible
Encyclopedia: A-D (p. 419). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1995. ISBN
0802837816
^ "The Purpose of Baptism." http://gospelway.com/salvation/baptism_purpose.php
^ Augsburg Confession, Article XII: Of Repentance
^ Conversion to Christ: The Making of a Christian Hedonist[unreliable
source?]
^ What is the GOSPEL Journey?[unreliable source?]
^ BibleGateway.com- Commentaries » Matthew 16 » The Cost of the
Kingdom
^ New Catholic Dictionary: conversion
http://saints.sqpn.com/conversion/
^ Table drawn from, though not copied, from Lange, Lyle W. God So
Loved the Word: A Study of Christian Doctrine. Milwaukee: Northwestern
Publishing House, 2006. p. 448.
^ (Rigveda 1:164:46) “Ekam sat vipra bahudha vadanti” - Truth is one;
sages call it many names
^ (Maha Upanishad: Chapter 6, Verse 72) "Vasudhaiva kutumbakam" - The
entire world is a one big family
^ Omar, Rashid (August 2006) (PDF). The Right to Religious Conversion:
Between Apostasy and Proselytization. Kroc Institute, University of
Notre Dame. pp. 3. http://kroc.nd.edu/ocpapers/op_27_1.pdf.
http://kroc.nd.edu/ocpapers/op_27_1.pdf
^ Java's Hinduism Revivial.
http://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=1308
^ Curtin 101
^ Rawat 106
^ Ramstedt 275
^ Converts to Islam
http://www.convertstoislam.org/
^ http://www.tibet.ca/en/wtnarchive/2001/1/26_2.html
^ Dalai Lama opposed to practice of conversion
http://www.cephas-library.com/na/buddhism_dalai_lama_against_prosylitizing.html
^ Smith, P. (1999). A Concise Encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith.
Oxford, UK: Oneworld Publications. ISBN 1851681841.
^ Momen, M. (1997). A Short Introduction to the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford,
UK: One World Publications. ISBN 1851682090.
http://bahai-library.com/?file=momen_short_introduction_bahais.
^ Schepens, T. (Dutch) Religieuze bewegingen in Nederland volume 29,
Sekten Ontkerkelijking en religieuze vitaliteit: nieuwe religieuze
bewegingen en New Age-centra in Nederland (1994) VU uitgeverij ISBN 90–
5383–341–2
^ Stark, R & W.S. Bainbridge The future of religion: secularization,
revival and cult formation (1985) Berkeley/Los Angeles/London:
University of California press
^ Joining a Cult: Religious Choice or Psychological Aberration?
http://www.religioustolerance.org/cult_art.htm
^ http://www.russian-orthodox-church.org.ru:83/ne207011.htm
^ Saudi Arabia-Christian Persecution in Saudi Arabia
http://www.persecution.org/suffering//countryinfodetail.php?countrycode=23
^ Currently undergoing maintenance Amnesty International
^ Yemen: Torture/prisoner of conscience/death penalty: Mohamed Omar
Haji Amnesty International
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE31/005/2000
^ Document Information Amnesty International
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA33/008/1994
^ Document Information Amnesty International
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE12/009/1997
^ http://www.mcjonline.com/news/04a/20040811b.shtml/
^ http://usinfo.state.gov/dhr/Archive/2005/Dec/27–622911.html/
^ http://www.leaderu.com/common/maldives.html/
Further reading
Barker, Eileen The Making of a Moonie: Choice or Brainwashing? (1984)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Making_of_a_Moonie:_Choice_or_Brainwashing%3F
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eileen_Barker
Barrett, D. V. The New Believers — A survey of sects, cults and
alternative religions (2001) UK, Cassell & Co ISBN 0-304-35592-5
Cooper, Richard S. "The Assessment and Collection of Kharaj Tax in
Medieval Egypt" (Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 96,
No. 3. (Jul – Sep., 1976), pp. 365–382.
Curtin, Phillip D. Cross-Cultural Trade in World History. Cambridge
University Press, 1984.
Hoiberg, Dale, and Indu Ramachandran. Students' Britannica India.
Popular Prakashan, 2000.
Ramstedt, Martin. Hinduism in Modern Indonesia: A Minority Religion
Between Local, National, and Global Interests. Routledge, 2004.
Rawat, Ajay S. StudentMan and Forests: The Khatta and Gujjar
Settlements of Sub-Himalayan Tarai. Indus Publishing, 1993.
External links
Testimony of a Hindu Convert to Christianity - Br. Ram Babu
http://www.loudio.com/Podcasts/Society/Religion/Br-Ram-Babu---Testimony-of-a-Hindu-Convert-to-Christianity.388591
Islamic Information Centre: Site aimed at those interested in Islam or
converting to Islam.
http://www15.redstation.co.uk/masj174242/iic/index.asp
Religious Conversions in India – Right or Wrong
http://sniffindia.com/religious-conversions-in-india-right-or-wrong/
Online Book on conversion to Hinduism
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/books/hbh/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_conversion
Volume 4 Number 2 : July - Dec 2001
Contents
Carlos Barros The Humanization of Nature in the Middle Age
Mischa Meier Perceptions and Interpretations of Natural Disasters
during the Transition from the East Roman to the Byzantine Empire
Monica Juneja On the Margins of Utopia - One more Look at Mughal
Painting
Stephen Morillo Cultures of Death: Warrior Suicide in Medieval Europe
and Japan
Paul Freedman Georges Duby and the Medieval Peasantry
Book Reviews
Andr Vauchez (ed.) Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages, by Harald
Kleinschmidt
Shama Mitra Chenoy Shahjabanabad.- A City of Delhi, 1638 - 1857, by
Urvashi Dalal
Rattan Lai Hangloo The State in Medieval Kashmir, by Mohamad Ishaq
Khan
Denis Renevey and Christiania Whitehead (eds) Writing Religious Women:
Female Spiritual and Textual Practices in Late Medieval England, by
E. Ann Matter
Muzaffar Alam, Francolse 'Nalini' Delvoye, Marc Gaborieau (eds) The
Making of Indo-Persian Culture - Indian and French Studies, by Meena
Bhargava
http://www.medievalhistory.org.in/vol4no2.html
Volume 4 Number 1 : Jan - June 2001
Contents
Gabrielle M. Spiegel Foucault and the Problem of Genealogy
Maurizio Peleggi Shifting Alterity :The Mongol in the Visual and
Litterary Culture of the Late Middle ages
Noburu Karashima The Family of Mallapa Nayaka:Transferalability of
vijayanagar Nayakas in Tamil Nadu
Ruby Lal The Domestic world of Peripatetic Kings : Babur and Humayun,
c 1494-1556
Heike Uffmann Inside and Outside the Convent Walls The Norms and
Practice of Enclosure in the Reformed Nunneries of Late Medieval
Germany
Edward Peters Omnia permixta sunt: Where's the Border?
Book Reviews
Richard H Davis Lives of Indian Images by Monica Juneja
Romila Thapar Sakuntala: Texts, Readings, Histories by Philippe
Benot
D N Marshall Mughals in India: A Bibliographical Survey
Mansura Haidar Mukatabat-i-Allami by Harbans Mukhia
Rajat Datta Society, Economy and the Market by Richard M Eaton
http://www.medievalhistory.org.in/vol4no1.html
Volume 2 Number 2 : July - December 1999
Contents
Ross Bazaretti Theodelinda: 'Most Glorious Queen' Gender and Power in
Lombard Italy
Simona Slanicka Male Markings: Uniforms in the Parisian Civil War as a
Blurring of the Gender Order (A.D.1410- 1420)
Mohamad Tarvakoli Targhi Contested Memories of Pre-Islamic Iran
Urvashi Dalal Women's Time in the Havelis of North India
Najaf Haider The Quantity Theory and Mughal Monetary History
André Vauchez
Between Virginity and Spiritual Espousals: Models of Feminine
Sainthood in the Christian West in the Middle Ages
Eugenia Vanina Russian Studies in Medieval Indian History and
Society: an Insiders View
Discussion
Peter O'Brien
Islamic Civilisation's role in the Waning of the European Middle
Ages
Book Reviews
Susan W Friedman Marc Bloch, Sociology and Geography: Encountering
Changing Disciplines by Jacques Le Goff
Dina Rizk Khoury
State and Provincial Society in the Ottoman Empire : Mosul 1540-1834
by Sunil Kumar
Francois Piponnier and Perrine Mane Dress in the Middle Ages by Thomas
Lttenberg
Anirudha Ray Adventurers, Landowners and Rebels, Bengal. 1575 c 1775
by Rajat Datta
K.K. Trivedi Agra: Economic and Political Profile of a Mughal Suba,
1580-1707 by Stephen P. Blake
http://www.medievalhistory.org.in/vol2no2.html
Muslim History : Reflections on Preordination and Categorisation
Iris Grtecke Representing the Last Judgement: Social Hierarchy,Gender
and Sin
Yogesh Sharma A Life of Many Parts : Kasi Viranna A Seventeenth
Century South Indian Merchant Magnate
Ivo Smits Poets in Their Place: Reflections on Poetic Salons in
Early Medieval Japan
Guy Bois
On the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages
Book Reviews
Marius B. Jansen (ed.)
Warrior Rule in Japan by Brij Tanaka
Shaun Marmon
Enunuchs and Sacred Boundaries in Islamic Society, by Meenakshi
Khanna
Vijaya Ramaswamy
Walking Naked: Woman Society, Spiritualty in South India Ranu
Bhattacharya
Bhairabi Prasad Sahu (ed)
Land System and Rural Society in Early India by Meena Bhargava
Gary Michael Tartakov The Durga Temple at Aihole ; A Historigraphical
Study by Nayanjot Lahiri
http://www.medievalhistory.org.in/vol1no2.html
Volume 11 Number 1 : January-June 2008
Contents
• Introduction •
António João Cruz and Luís Urbano Afonso On the Date and Contents of a
Portugese Medieval Technical Book on Illumination: O livro de como se
fazem as cores 1
Samira Sheikh Alliance, Genealogy and Political Power: The Cudasamas
of Junagadh and the Sultans of Gujarat Page 29
R.L. Hangloo Agricuitural Technology in Kashmir (A.D. 1600 to 1900)
Page 63
Chun-chieh Huang On the Relationship between Interpretations of the
Confucian Classics and Political Power in East Asia: An Inquiry
Focusing upon the Analects and Mencius
Page 101
• Book Reviews •
Ronald Inden Text and Practice, Essays on South Asian History, by
Romila Thapar
Page 123
Scott C. Levi (ed.) India and Central Asia: Commerce and Culture,
1500-1800, by G.D. Gulati
Page 128
Pashaura Singh Life and Work of Guru Arjan: History, Memory and
Biography in the Sikh Tradition, by Himadri BaneIjee
Page 138
William Jackson Vijayanagara Visions: Religious Experience and
Cultural Creativity in a South Indian Empire, by Vijaya Ramaswamy
Page 141
R.S. Sangwan Jodhpur and the Later Mughals, AD 1707-1752, by Nandita
Prasad Sahai
Page 146
J.B. Owens 'By My Absolute Royal Authority', Justice and the Castilian
Commonwealth at the Beginnings of the First Global Age, by Rila
Mukherjee
Page 150
Vijaya Ramaswamy Textiles and Weavers in South India, 2nd Edn., by
Eugenia Vanina Page 153
A.R. Kulkarni Explorations in Deccan History, by Sumit Guha Page 158
http://www.medievalhistory.org.in/vol11no1.html
Aims and Scope
The Medieval History Journal was launched at the turn of the twenty-
first century when the world of history was in a ferment, radically
seeking a redefinition of the discipline. The MHJ derives its
distinctive profile from encompassing the entire medieval world in
scope and its multi-disciplinary foci. For the MHJ, 'Medieval History'
signifies open chronological and thematic boundaries to honour
historical plurality. Its frequent special issue investigating a
particular theme across regions have provided a space for comparative
and transcultural conversations within scholarship
Publishing frequency: Bi-annual: April, October © Medieval History
Society, New Delhi
Published By Sage Publications Pvt. Ltd
http://www.medievalhistory.org.in/vol12no2.html
Volume 11 Number 2 : July-December 2008
Contents
• Introduction •
Anne Gerritsen The Tale of Lady Tan: Negotiating Place between Central
and Local in Song-Yuan-Ming China Page 161
B. Arunachalam Technology of Indian Sea Navigation (c. 1200—c. 1800)
Page 187
Ranabir Chakravarti Agricultural Technology in Early Medieval India
(c. A.D. 500—1300) Page 189
Sabine Müller Asceticism, Gallantry, or Polygamy? Alexander’s
Relationship with Women as a Topos in Medieval Romance Traditions
Page 259
• Book Reviews •
Michael C. Brose Subjects and Masters: Uygurs
in the Mongol Empire, by D.O. Morgan
Page 289
Tansen Sen Buddhism, Diplomacy and Trade:
The Realignment of Sino—Indian Relations,
600—1400, by Ranabir Chakravarti
Page 292
Maria Hayward Dress at the Court of Henry VIII,
by Ulinka Rublack
Page 298
Raziuddin Aquil Sufism, Culture, and Politics: Afghans
and Islam in Medieval North India, by Najaf Haider
Page 300
http://www.medievalhistory.org.in/vol11no2.html
Introduction
Monica Juneja
Karl Jaspers Centre for Advanced Transcultural Studies, University of
Heidelberg, Germany. E-mail: jun...@asia-europe.uni-heidelberg.de
Kim Siebenhüner
Historisches Seminar, University of Basel, Switzerland. E-mail:
kim.sieb...@unibas.ch
Research on religious conversion has grown into an extraordinarily
dynamic field in the course of the past decade. While the subject was
never absent from the agenda of an earlier historiography, the
mid-1990s witnessed a fresh resurgence of interest across the world in
the phenomenon of conversion. The explanation for this might lie in
the fact that recent approaches to conversion intersect with the
concerns of a culturally-oriented historiography, thereby affording
fresh perspectives and modes of coming to grips with the centrality of
religion as an analytical category of pre-modern history. Religious
faith is indeed an important constitutive factor that shapes our
understanding of pre-modern societies within and beyond Europe.
Investigating the process of a change of faith can provide new entry
points into the domain of religious transformation and can help map
the shifting boundaries of religious communities and identities. Such
identities are a site of contention in most modern multi-cultural
societies, where a dominant community wields overwhelming power.
Historiography in young post-colonial nations tends to either project
present-day conflicts on to a pre-colonial past or else, seeks
resolution of these tangled issues through suggesting an overweening
cultural commonality that transcends religious difference.
Historicising the study of religious conversion then becomes an
important exercise that might help to find a way of accommodating
conflict and rupture within the process of negotiating religious
plurality.
The Medieval History Journal, Vol. 12, No. 2, 169-189 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/097194580901200201
http://intl-mhj.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/12/2/169
Shrines, Cultivators, and Muslim ‘Conversion’ in Punjab and Bengal,
1300–1700
Richard M. Eaton
Department of History, University of Arizona, Tucson. E-mail:
rea...@u.arizoona.edu
This article discusses the growth of predominantly Muslim populations
in two regions of South Asia—western Punjab and eastern Bengal. No
evidence supports conventional understandings that Islamisation in
these areas resulted from a desire for social liberation on the part
of the lower orders of the Hindu caste system. Nor should Islamisation
in these regions be characterised as instances of ‘conversion’, a term
embedded in the nineteenth century Protestant missionary movement and
thus, inappropriate for reconstructing religious processes in medieval
Bengal and Punjab. Rather, transformations of religious identity in
these two regions appear to have been gradual and unselfconscious in
nature. They also appear to have been part of larger socio-political
and economic changes that were occurring in the regions, in particular
the diffusion of settled peasant agriculture.
The Medieval History Journal, Vol. 12, No. 2, 191-220 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/097194580901200202
http://intl-mhj.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/12/2/191
Conversion Historiography in South Asia
Alternative Indian Christian Counter-histories in Eighteenth Century
Goa
Ines G. upanov
CNRS/CEIAS, 54 Boulevard Raspail, Paris, France. E-mail:
zup...@ehess.fr
Conversion as a historical process is discussed in South Asian post-
independence historiography mostly following the demands of the
political present. In the present article, I first try to trace a
fragmentary and in-complete history of what I will call conversion
historiography in and about South Asia, referring mostly to conversion
to Christianity from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. Then, I
discuss a particular case of religious and cultural conversion, in
which the descendants of the early converts to Christianity in Goa re-
appropriated conversion histories as an analytical and
historiographical tool in order to reconfigure their relation with the
past and the present and thus, shore up their cultural authority. In
the process, they created their own communal history and
historiography that fed directly into Portuguese and Catholic
Orientalism. This particular historical example should help us see to
what extent the act of conversion is a self-transforming work in
progress, a communicational project without teleological guarantees,
capable of empowering alternative historical readings.
The Medieval History Journal, Vol. 12, No. 2, 303-325 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/097194580901200206
http://mhj.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/12/2/303?rss=1
Volume 5 Number 1 : Jan - Jun 2002
Contents
Peter Raedts Representations of the Middle Ages in Enlightenment
Historiography
Manuel Alejandro Rodrguez de la Pena Rex scholaribus impendebant.- The
King's Image as Patron of Learning in Thirteenth Century French and
Spanish Chronicles : A Comparative Approach
Devika Rangachari Kalhana's Rjataragin : A Gender Perspective
Nandita Prasad Sahai Collaboration and Conflict : Artisanal Jati
Panchayats and the Eighteenth Century Jodhpur State
Stphane Mund Travel Accounts as Early Sources of Knowledge about
Russia in Medieval Western Europe from the mid - thirteeenth to the
early Fifteenth Centuries
Shalini Shah In the Business of Kama : Prostitution in Classical
Sanskrit Literature from the Seventh to the Thirteenth Centuries
Book Reviews
R.S. Sharma Early Medieval Indian Society. A Study in Feudalisation,
by Hermann Kulke
D.N. Jha (ed.) The Feudal Order - State, Society and Ideology
in Early Medieval India, by Ranabir Chakravarti
Catherine Weinberger-Thomas Ashes of lmmortality ; Widow-Burning in
India, by Monika Horstmann
Hugh Kennedy The Armies of the Caliphs. Military and Society in the
Early Islamic State, by Aziz Al-Azmeh
Ebba Koch Mughal Art and Imperial Ideology - Collected Essays, by
Catherine Asher
http://www.medievalhistory.org.in/vol5no1.html
Volume 7 Number 1: Jan - June 2004
Contents
Sally K. Church The Giraffe of Bengal: A Medieval Encounter in Ming
China
Bernd Roeck The Enchantment of the Alien: Metaphysics and Marginality
in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe
N.R. Farooqi Diplomacy and Diplomatic Procedure under the Mughals
Ramya Sreenivasan The 'Marriage' of 'Hindu' and 'Turak': Medieval
Rajput Histories of Jalor
Sarah Khan Ave Eva-- Views of Women: Social and Gendered Instruction
in Medieval and Early Modern European Preaching
Book Review
Aziz Al-Azmeh Ibn Khaldun: An Essay in Reinterpretation, by Paul M.
Cobb
Arvind Sinha The Politics of Trade: Anglo-French Commerce on the
Coromandel Coast 1763-1793, by Prasannan Parthasarathi
Christian W. Troll (ed.) Muslim Shrines in India, by Denis Matringe
Indira Viswanathan Peterson Design and Rhetoric in a Sanskrit Court
Epic: The Kiratarjuniya of Bharavi, by Kumkum Roy
Jean-Marie Lafont Indika: Essays in Indo-French Relations 1630-1976,
by Yogesh Sharma
Syed Ejaz Hussain The Bengal Sultanate: Politics, Economy and Coins
(AD 1205-1576), by Aniruddha Ray
Satish Chandra Essays on Medieval Indian History, by Michael H.
Fisher
http://www.medievalhistory.org.in/vol7no1.html
Volume 8 Number 2: July - December 2005
Contents
Jörn Rüsen A Comment on Professor Chun-chieh Huang's 'Salient Features
of Chinese Historical Thinking' Page 267
Enrique Rodríguez-Picavea The Frontier and Royal Power in Medieval
Spain: A Developmental Hypothesis Page 273
Reva Berman Brown and Sean McCartney The Exchequer of the Jews
Revisited: The Operation and Effect of the Scaccarium Judeorum Page
303
Mehrdad Shokoohy and Natalie H. Shokoohy A History of Bayana Part II:
From the Rise of the Auhadis to the Early Mughal Period (Fifteenth -
Seventeenth Centuries) Page 323
Book Reviews
Rodney H. Hilton Bond Men Made Free: Medieval Peasant Movements and
the English Rising of 1381, by Guy Bois Page 401
Sarah Ferber Demonic Possession and Exorcism in Early Modern France,
by Thomas A. Fudge Page 404
Iqtidar Husain Siddiqui (ed.) and Thomas William Beale An Eighteenth
Century History of North India: An Account of the Rise and Fall of the
Rohilla Chiefs in Janbhasha, by Rustam Ali Bijnori, and Thomas William
Beale, An Oriental Biographical Dictionary, by Shaukatullah Khan Page
410
Madhu Tandon Sethia Rajput Polity: Warriors, Peasants and Merchants
(1700-1800), by Dirk H.A. Kolff Page 414
Eugenia Vanina Ideas and Society. India between the Sixteenth and
Eighteenth Centuries, by Najaf Haider Page 416
Guy Halsall Warfare and Society in the Barbarian West, 450-900, by
Peter Hoppenbrouwers Page 420
Conor McCarthy (ed.) Love, sex and Marriage in the Middle Ages. A
Sourcebook, by Perter Hoppenbrouwers Page 426
Laura Napran and Elizabeth van Houts (eds) Exile in the Middle Ages -
Selected Proceedings from the International Medieval Congress,
University of Leeds, 8-11 July 2002, by Reva Berman Brown Page429
Pashaura Singh The Bhagats of the Guru Granth Sahib: Sikh Self -
Definition and the Bhagat Bani, by Himadri Banerjee Page 433
http://www.medievalhistory.org.in/vol8no2.html
Horseplay in Harappa: Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/f9b738e079fef9fb/29e89ff9c3ac525d
Troubled Tribal: Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/e728acc31e0d52d7#
Indian Morality Meltdown: Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/ec479835613abd41#
Hindus'Tantrum: Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/8a1efe054a3bf157#
I Write, Therefore I am: Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/4cb1ce65c9d8f4c5#
Indian Morality Meltdown: Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/37334fb34fbe6d7c#
Sex and CD Scandal: Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/3f5e2a3be4798e7d#
Not Required Indian, NRI: Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/672c3ae8cc9b567c#
Why 'Marathi'?
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/4be9d2a2e20ab43f#
Telangana Tempest: Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/b7da74ebd932a5fa#
Of States and Statesmanship: Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/73c89074ecfe9966#
Sa for Sanskrit Pop: Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/9f6d369c7793990f#
Black Money Monster: Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/109aa8a66442ca6d#
Superpower Syndrome: Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/85f8a222fd275c15#
Indian Power-Pow-Wow, Wow!: Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/54cba427083f4e4f#
26/11 Saga Continues: Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/20d42cd9546b852b#
Superpower Syndrome: Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/008ed3e81dbcd9cc#
Of Justice and Injustice: Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/dc3ba7935f641e60#
Sangh Parivar Pageant: Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/a91a817395e54639#
Stop this terroristic activities of Shiv Sena
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/93908482518b9228#
BJP RIP: Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/20def0d930fc511f#
Superpower Syndrome: Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/b6aa5a8a1b675046#
Sangh Parivar Pageant: Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/9c4ff65e38c4b924#
Sudharma, Sanskrit Newspaper: Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/51f22c78acbc72b1#
Hindu Worldview: Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/c8a515cc34f18a5a#
Shimla Shenanigans: Sid Harth
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.indian.marathi/browse_thread/thread/64bddaf4fb04bac5#
bademiyansubhanallah
Friday, March 26, 2010, 11:57 [IST]
By: Joginder Tuteja, Bollywood Hungama
He's known as King Khan of Bollywood and is one of India's hottest
actors and producers. Shahrukh Khan, the global superstar explains why
the time has come for developing nations like India to assert
themselves internationally, discusses the furore surrounding the
premiere of his film My Name is Khan and talks about his hopes for his
Kolkata Knight Riders team in this season's Indian Premier League.
up!It's fantastic to have you on the show, you are easily Bollywood's
biggest star these days. For those watching it might have seemed easy.
You are so big they call you King Khan. Is this the way you saw you
life panning when you started off as an actor?
Not at all, I still don't believe it. I still think it's like a dream.
But when I started off, I never thought I would do anything else but
wake up in the morning and work. But the only thing that's added to
it, and I tell this to everyone, is that I still wake up in the
morning and work but the only odd thing my kids find is that I'm a man
and I wear make-up.
We're doing this interview at your house and there are often throngs
of fans waiting outside trying to get a glimpse of you. As they wait
to see what crumb you might throw them, is that kind of a weird
feeling - the immense scrutiny that you get.
I feel very embarrassed and odd. I don't even call them fans. I think
they are people who appreciate what I do. My wife tells me on the
weekends, especially because there's a crowd - a thousand people
outside. So I go for five minutes and wave, then the cops get very
angry because the traffic stops so they shout at me. So I'm really
embarrassed. I feel really odd but I think when people come to visit
me at house then I should be sort of kind to them and say hello to
them. The scrutiny part, there was a time, I have a sense of humour
and my family feels I should stop it because it's gets me into
trouble. I say things and maybe people don't understand it or they
give me more importance than to think, I am flippant. I should not be
flippant. I should be more serious. But I feel I've never been like
that and I just want to have fun and say things that are easy going
but many a time, it's not taken like this and everything is
scrutinized.
One of things that got you a lot of headlines recently was that as
Muslims it was shame that the IPL hadn't picked up any Pakistani
players for this season and you own an IPL team, The Kolkata Knight
Riders. Your comments caused an absolute firestorm particularly with
Hindu Nationalists, did you anticipate the furore those words would
cause.
You know I did say in the interview, you know I do hope I don't get
into trouble for saying this before I said that. But I didn't think it
would go to this extent. It became strange. Strange things were said.
And I said "the bottom line in my country is that, there is a certain
amount of freedom of speech which we also restrain unto. We are not
completely outspoken, we don't do strange things - at least I don't
and most of the people I know, don't. So there's freedom of speech.
This was my point of view.
They were burning effigies of you in the streets, some people I mean,
people are absolutely going nuts about you.
Some guy had a slipper in his hands and was hitting poster. I want to
find him. I want to meet up with him. He should try it when I'm
standing in front. Not on a piece of paper.
The main Hindu Nationalist party, Shiv Sena, obviously took what you
had to say extremely badly, they were the ones who campaigned against
at this time and threatened to disrupt the premiere of your movie My
Name Is Khan. Were you worried at all about the safety of yourself and
you family and your fans?
I'll be honest. I know Balasaheb Thackeray very well. He's also been
very gracious to me. I know Uddhav Thackeray, he's been very helpful.
I know them very well. We've never had ... and I've said this many
times...
The top level of the Shiv Sena...
They meet me, I go over to their house, they're really gracious and
wonderful with me, and we've never had ideological discussions, maybe
they have a different ideology for the party that they run, but I'm
not a political person so we've never sat down and "so, why is it
like..", so we've never had this discussion. If there was genuinely a
misunderstanding about what I said, which is quite possible, pick up
the phone and I'd explain it, it would have been "oh, okay, that's
what you meant? Sorry. We thought you meant this. You don't mean
that." That's the way it should have been but I just think it became
bigger than the personal relationship we share.
Your team the Kolkata Knight Riders hasn't had a terrible successful
track record in the past couple of years, what do you think are the
prospects for it to do better this time around?
The thing that I say, you've been very kind when you say they haven't
been doing very well. The first thing - and I'm a little philosophical
about this - is that I have to accept and the team has to accept, the
truth is we haven't done well at all. We've accepted that. The second
part is, it's very easy to do better when you're in the eighth
position with only eight teams you can't go worse than this. So we are
going to do better. I think what we tried to do is get the Indian part
of the team stronger. I think the senior guys like Ishant and Ganguly,
they just need to get into the groove. I think the main thing the
coach and Dada have brought in this time is the fact we training the
young guys just to make them enjoy themselves. 20/20 needs to be
enjoyed, when you see a Matthew Hayden play, he's enjoying himself. I
sense that. You have to enjoy it. You can't just have the test match
pressure on your head. Or the one-day pressure on your head. You need
to go and enjoy yourself. Have a good time. So yesterday when the team
was leaving, somebody turned around, one of the managers and said we
have to win only seven or eight and if we only lose five. And I said
we can't lose anymore. We've lost too many. We've lost for the next
four years. So I think we'll do better. I think we will do much better
this year.
Let's discuss movies now, and specifically My Name Is Khan in which
you play an autistic Muslim in America post 9/11. The film's done
great and particularly well in Islamic countries, is that your
intention. Were you trying to appeal to most of the Muslim audience?
The fact that, you said it so well and it was a convoluted plot, an
autistic Muslim man in America post 9/11, when you put it so simply it
sounds so complicated. No, you make a film, normally for a universal
audience, the kind of films that I do especially I would like everyone
to see them. Within them, I'll try to put in something different that
appeals maybe, if you do hockey, maybe the hockey guys and girls will
like it more. You do it about a bad guy recently, so when you do that
thing and the youngsters like all the bad stuff, cool stuff. So, they
like it. But the intention was never like that. I do remember the
wonderful distributor Fox, they were going to say we'll release in
UAE, and we'll release it in Morocco like this, and Indonesia and
Malaysia and I said "why are they doing it so specifically". Maybe
they understood the spot much better than we did because yes, it's
record breaking in the Muslim countries, I never thought it would have
been like that. I really thought the film was about humanity.
Yeah, this was the latest collaboration between you and director Karan
Johar, you've worked together on countless movies but you're also best
mates away from the set. What is it do you think that some sort of
magic formula you have seems that helps you two work together so well?
I think the first thing is that's trust. I gave him a book the
"Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night" and I said you should make
a film with a little kid who's autistic and a story of a father and a
son. Obviously assuming if you took me as a father and a little child
who's autistic. And then he came up with the script with me as
autistic with this whole plot. And I'm like "this is a little strange"
because when you make a film with me, as far as Karan and me are
concerned, we normally make a little more commercially viable films.
But he said no, this is what I want to do. So I trust him, I trust him
completely.
One of the things that got a lot of publicity for the movie was when
you were detained by US immigration which in a way which mirrors a
scene in My Name Is Khan when you say "my name is Khan and I'm not a
terrorist" to have it play out like that in real life, there was a lot
of press on it, what was it like from your standpoint?
It happens to me every month, whenever I travel to the western world
because of the name. But it's not only me. There are another 75 people
in that line. It happens to my kids. And I say this again and again. I
have no issue. I have no issue with it personally because this is the
world that we have created. This is how it is. I think what happened
that day was that it took a little longer. This was at the immigration
for the first time - normally it happens at the security. I think the
processes just went wrong and it took a couple of hours. I had to call
the Indian Consulate because I had a meeting in Atlantic City, if I
got caught up here, there was no point me going all the way to
America. So I asked "can you get me out of here", so I think it just
went out to the press and we have reached a stage in India and I think
rightly so, when a developing nation is on the threshold on coming out
and Inshallah taking over the whole world - in terms of economics, in
terms of politics, in terms of business, I think certainly we have a
voice. We've been pushed, all developing nations, I'm not just saying
India and suddenly we have a voice in the world which matters and
sometimes that voice is a little louder than it should be. So anytime
anything goes wrong with Indians anywhere in the world, you notice all
Indians get up. Not on the outside. It happened when the Shiv Sena
thing happened - all the Indians came and said "no, this is wrong".
I'm really glad we have a voice like that, and that's what happened
"they stopped Shah Rukh, how dare they" and I was joking about it
until about half a day actually, and I even joked that when the
American Hollywood actresses come that I should be given the right to
frisk them in India. I want to be the first guy. It's only fair.
You did say you wanted My Name is Khan to be a global hit like Slumdog
Millionaire. You could have been in Slumdog Millionaire. You got
offered the role of the quiz show host but you turned it down and Anil
Kapoor got it. Do you beat yourself over that decision?
No, I really wanted that film to be made. I'd read the Indian novel.
I'd bought it. I wanted to make it myself but an Indian film. When I
read the script, I knew they'd made a much better film than I could
ever.
Why didn't you want part of that fantastic film then?
One, I'm not offered many great films; honestly, I don't have an agent
for stuff in the west. Also, I'd hosted "Who Wants To Be A
Millionaire". Here the host was a bit of a fixer. I only fixed "Who
Wants to be a Millionaire" in a way that I felt bad for the people and
I'll like "listen why don't you retire now, don't don't, this looks
like a difficult question. So you've got half a million dollars, go
back relax" then they say "no we want to play" and I'm like "can we go
for a break". I used to feel really bad and I'm not allowed to say
anything but I know this question's a little difficult young man. So,
I just felt that I had so much fun doing it personally that I didn't
want to be on the side where I take the guy into the loo and say "I
can fix this for you". I didn't want to be the bad guy because I won't
do it like that.
http://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/interviews/2010/shahrukh-khan-interview-260310.html
C paves way for Muslim quota
25/03/2010 12:15:02 Pioneer News Service | New Delhi
Upholds 4% reservation in AP, for now
Constitution Bench to take final call
Paving the way for religion-based reservation, the Supreme Court on
Thursday upheld a decision by the Andhra Pradesh Government giving
four per cent reservation in jobs and educational institutions to 14
Muslim groups coming under socially and educationally backward
classes.
The legislation under challenge — the Andhra Pradesh Reservation — in
favour of Socially and Educationally Backward Classes of Muslims Act,
2007, was struck down by the AP High Court on February 8 this year
following which the State Government had rushed to the apex court for
stay of the order.
In the first 14 categories, names of specific Muslim groups were added
as beneficiaries under the Act but the last item on the list for
reservation included “Other Muslim Groups” excluding Saiyed, Mughal,
Pathans, Irani, Arab, Bohara, Shia Imami Ismaili, Khoja, Cutchi-Memon,
Jamayat, and Navayat.
Suggesting a middle path, the Bench of Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan,
Justices JM Panchal and BS Chauhan allowed the Act to continue with
regard to 14 groups while withdrawing benefit to the last category
comprising “any other” Muslim groups. The Bench posted the State’s
appeal along with related petitions for further hearing in August
before a Constitution Bench. In providing this interim concession, the
Bench maintained that the creamy layer among the 14 groups would be
excluded.
For the State Government, the decision has come as a partial relief.
Attorney General Goolam E Vahanvati, who appeared for the AP
Government, had sought stay of the high court order in whole to ensure
the Act was implemented with regard to all 15 categories. Vahanvati
sought to clear the apprehension that only Muslims would be benefited
since the Act specifically excluded 10 categories of Muslims from the
ambit of reservation. At the same time, he pointed out the example of
Kerala and Karnataka where Muslim community as a whole was considered
as a backward class.
Senior advocate K Parasaran, also appearing for the State Government,
stated that just because the groups belong to the Muslim community,
they do not cease to be backward. For 60 years, he added, the benefits
of reservation did not reach them and it was time to correct the
situation now, or keep them in the same backward state for years to
come.
Prior to passing the legislation in 2007, the Government constituted
an independent commission headed by retired IAS officer PS Krishnan on
whose recommendations the 14 categories of Muslims were identified as
socially and educationally backward.
But senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the petitioners,
submitted that the legislation was nothing but a “thinly disguised
form of religion-based reservation.” He wondered the need for the
State to include “any other Muslims” as a separate category when 14
categories were found eligible as backward classes.
The Bench, impressed by Salve’s contentions, said, “There is no
denying that backwards are not there among Muslims. If we allow this
to continue they will be denied of benefits due to them.” Passing its
order, the Bench noted that in the meantime the State Backwards
Commission could continue their exercise of identification.
Salve, however, reminded the court that on previous occasions, the
Supreme Court and High Court had consistently maintained the stand to
deny reservation to Muslims. The first occasion was in the year 2004
when the State Government issued a Government Order dated July 12,
2004 providing five per cent reservation to the entire Muslim
community in the State. It was struck down by a larger Bench of the AP
High Court in the absence of any criteria laid down for ascertaining
backwardness. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court order.
Almost a year later, the State Government brought out an ordinance
providing five per cent reservation to the entire Muslim community
treating them as a backward class. A five-judge Bench of the AP High
Court struck down the law as unconstitutional since the same was
treated to benefit the Muslim community as a whole, without there
being any identification by the Backward Classes Commission. The apex
court is still seized of the appeal challenging this order, when the
AP Government chose to enact the 2007 legislation presently under
challenge.
Sunil
26/03/2010 12:22:43 It is very sad !!.
why is the opposition BJP sitting quite..??i just saw one small
statement by BJP spokeperson after the verdict was announced....where
is the RSS and VHP and other Hindu organisation..??are they
sleeping..??why are they not protesting..??why are they not asking for
reservation for MINORITY Hindus in Kashmir..??If we dont react
now...very soon we'll be in minority in rest of the states as
well..next in the list will be Kerala, Assam,and other north eastern
states...we should be very much aware of things that is happening
around us..for eg..how many of us know that in Kerala 12% of jobs are
reserved for Muslims..??(talking abt the youger generation who doesn
know what all are happening)...now we take it so lightly...once the
muslims become a majority does anyone think that they will return the
favour..???Does anyone think that muslims will give reservation to
Hindus..??If anyone thinks like that..they are absolutely wrong...I'm
sure many Hindu brothers will be thinking like that...why wait for
that..??Dont you all think Prevention is better than cure..??So lets
attack it now..else later it will attack us..
skg
26/03/2010 11:39:27 It is very sad !!.
It is very sad and depressing to see the judgement of the Supreme
court. First of all, the ruling by Supreme court has ignored major
facts. How can they just find ground facts in just 3 hours of
discussion ?. Why was there a haste in allowing 4% reservations ?. Who
will lead the constitutional bench ?. Will take into consideration all
the facts before giving the final verdit ?. Why are these 14 groups
not added to the BC commission ?. Who suppressed the voice of BC
commission ?.
Suresh Iyer
26/03/2010 10:13:57 Shortlived euphoria
Just two weeks back, HK readers rejoiced over the AP HC decision to
overturn the communal reservation.Now the same bogus constitution is
interpreted differently by a higher court.It reminds one of the
various interpretation of Koran.Court verdicts are becoming a lottery
for the public.This is antoher proof of this country being a banana
republic.Generally our courts are famous for delays in giving
verdicts.But just the see the speed at which the SC gave a hearing for
this case. It clearly shows the hidden hands.
M.N.S.Nampoothiripad
26/03/2010 04:36:06 Communal Bench decides before the Constitution
Bench is constituted
This is ridiculous. The pertinent issues involved are to be decided by
the constitution bench. Then why should a communal bench hurry to
declare the Andhra Act valid? In another case relating to M.F.Hussain,
the chief justice remarked that Hussain is free to come to India at
any time and nobody can prevent him. Hussain is Qatari citizen now and
he needs a valid India visa to visit this country. K.G. Balakrishnan
is fooling millions of law abiding citizens of this nation by
rendering such perverted remarks and judgements.
Abhilash Nambiar
26/03/2010 02:02:03 Lost respect
Today I have lost respect for the Supreme Court of India.
Ram
25/03/2010 21:50:18 Self imposed backwardness
If the Muslims let their womenfolk go for higher education, then it
would be good for the country. It will help good new generation of
Muslim children who have a balanced view of the world. The
backwardness of Muslims is mostly "self imposed". For the women
reservation bill, the opposition came from the orthodox muslims as
they want to continue the saudi arabian system of preventing women
from knowing worldly things. Education alone can remove the
fundamentalist mindset of Muslims, who don't encourage rational
questions and accept whatever that is imposed on them.
Narendran
25/03/2010 21:47:35 Clever Ploy?
This case was argued by:
1.Adv. Vhanavati- Solicitor Genereal for AP Govt
2. Adv. K Parasaran- For a party suppporting the reservation
3. Adv. Harish Salve- Lawyer for those opposed the reservation.
There is a clear ploy in this case. This is a ground work for
extending resevations for the so callled Dalit Christians. It is clear
strategy to make India a Christian majority by 2050. It will be
impossible for India to remain as a united country by 2030. With the
current religious strife, there is every chance that the country will
be split into many independent nations unless it get an impartial
leader to govern.
Vijayalakshmi
25/03/2010 21:01:54 SCpaves way for muslim quota.
Whatever may be the arguments, religion and caste-based reservations
are discriminatory against the rest of the Indians, and will encourage
conversions.We need better lawyers to argue our case effectively. Only
economic criterion and merit should be considered for
reservation.Otherwise India will disintegrate.This is the agenda of
the anti-national mafia which is pressing for such discriminatory
reservations.
Karthik
25/03/2010 20:26:22 Akhand Pakistan dream becoming true ?
In making this Akhand Pakistan dream of Muslims come true, traitors
with Hindu names are playing an important role. Retd. IAS officer PS
Krishnan , Goolam E Vahanvati, K Parasaran etc. are all Pakistanis and
not Hidustanis anymore. Let patriotic Hindus identify such traitors
within the Hindu community. Francois Gautier is right when he says
'The greatest enemy of a Hindu is a Hindu'. Hey Alert Hindus, please
stop giving alms to Muslim beggars. Sachar and Ranganath Mishra will
take care of them. Reservations on the basis of the religion is
unconstitutional and the Supreme Court has acted unconstitutionally by
upholding 4% reservations for Muslims. Whats wrong if the common Hindu
unconstitutionally practices untouchability towards the Muslim
community ? Afterall Muslims are doing the same to Hindus by calling
them Kafirs, right? So one of my Hindu friend gave me a chocolate made
in Dubai. After he left I threw that into Dustbin!
mgd
25/03/2010 20:40:56 every Hindu caste is a minority
This kind of thing will go on forever. The definition of minority
should include every hindu caste which is a minority vis-a-vis the
entire Hindu religion.
Ganesh
25/03/2010 20:21:24 free for all laws
The mention of 14'groups' is a euphemism for castes in the muslim
community.It is now clear that muslims in india were converts and are
carrying the caste tag even now. This system is against the very
tenets of islam.Can any Islamic cleric or leader define what this
'group 'means?.All those utopian idea of casteless relegion is a
farce.I think the khangress must have offered some relief from
declaration of assets by the SC judges in return for this minority
appeasement verdict.I only hope that there is now a thin streak of
light at the end of the tunnel.The hindus must try and cause
infighting between muslims who are granted reservation and those who
are outside it.
vinu
25/03/2010 19:58:58 ppl who deserves never gets, others always gets
ppl who deserves never gets reservation.crores of ppl below the
poverty line still dont have access to basic needs, ruling authorities
make sure that they remain like that.The affluent vote bank based
communities get all that is needed in the name of vote bank. Happens
only in our country..!!
skg
25/03/2010 17:58:34 Congress party will misuse these reservations !!.
God knows how the backwardness is identified in the Muslim community.
Clearly there is no transparency on how they identified the
Backwardness in the Mulsim community. Also, no body know why other
Muslim category was present in the Bill. Intelligent Hindus and
attorneys dig into this bill and expose Congress government and bring
to attention to the supreme court of the consequences of extending
resrervations to Muslim community. Don't know why Dr.Ambedkar had
excluded them from reservations . There must be a reason why Ambedkar
must have excluded them. It is pathetic that sufficient arguments and
awareness is missing about this in the Hindu community.
http://www.haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx?PageID=10711&SKIN=B
Anti Hindu Hate Groups in America
12/12/2008 12:57:33
Dr. BABU SUSEELAN
Opposition to Hindus is nothing new in America. For several years
Hindus were denied immigration by American law. Despite the obstacles
posed by Christian Missionaries, Hindus were able to immigrate to
America during the presidency of Kennedy and Johnson. Hindu
organizations sprang up across the continent and slowly took root in
American society. It is significant that Hindu immigrants have worked
tirelessly and convinced American thinkers that spirituality is
essential for peace, freedom, harmony and coexistence.
Hindu Contribution to science, technology, economics, life sciences,
spirituality and freedom are innumerable. Devout Hindus have
strengthened the theories of pluralism, yoga, meditation, and the
management of human affairs in several ways. It represents a systemic
perspective against the naturally limited, historically conditioned
efforts of dogmatic ideology to conceive one model of living.
Hindu values keep Indians strong by binding us together. By committing
and
recommitting ourselves to our Dharma, we have forged a common Hindu
identity. It is what makes a Pluribus Unum “out of one"
possible?
Now several Hindu hate groups have appeared in different parts of
America
in new forms and with different disguises. India has never suffered
from a shortage of enemies in America. Recently, Fundamentalist
Evangelist groups, Indian Converted Christian Organizations, Fanatic
Indian Islamo Fascists, Indian Marxists anarchists posing as liberals,
and pseudo secular bigots have made an unholy alliance against India
and Hindus in America.
They have joined with anti Hindu fundamentalist groups to wage a
psychological warfare against peace loving, tolerant, spiritual,
pluralistic Hindus. Several anti Hindu fanatic groups such as American
Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin (AFMI), Association of Indian
Muslims of America (AIM), Campaign to Stop Funding Hate (CSFH),
Coalition Against Communalism (CAC), Federation of Indian American
Christian Organization of North America (FIACONA), Forum of Inquilabi
Leftists (FOIL), Indian Christian Forum (ICF), Indian Muslim
Educational Foundation of North America (IMEFNA), Indian Muslim
Council-USA (IMC-USA), Indian Muslim Relief and Charities (IMRC),
Muslim Youth Awareness Alliance (MYAA), South Asian
Collectives (SAC), South Asia Forum (SAF), and Supporters of Human
Rights in India (SHRI) are busy vulgarizing Hinduism. (The List is not
exhaustive).
These hate groups’ goal is unmistakably been Hindu bashing. They are
not honest critics working toward peace and positive values for
America. They are peddling lies,
half-truths, and false accusations in the guise of secularism.
What is going on? Why are Indian Converted Christians, fanatic Indian
Muslims and Communists betraying India? Instead of creating a positive
image, educating
Americans, promoting pluralistic, all inclusive Indian values, why are
they turning against Hindus and India? These converted Indian
Christians, Indian Muslims and Marxists have surrendered themselves to
rigid, non-compromising, reductionist, divisive, fundamentalist anti
Hindu ideology.
These sloppy anti-Hindu bigots suffer from thinking errors and take no
responsibility for their nefarious and erroneous actions. They behave
without moral conscience, guilt or remorse and they don’t want the
consequences of their action
known, and if it becomes known, they don’t want to take
responsibility.
They are well trained to do what they are told.
These Hindu bashers’ language, values, culture, and thinking have been
polluted through a denial of traditional Indian culture. In the mad
dash to escape from their all inclusive, open ended, universal
spiritual philosophy and freedom, that make up Indian heritage, these
converted Christians, Muslims and Marxists scoff at Indian cultural
values and ethics and become paranoid and psychotic in their attempt
to deal with their roots.
These anti Indian groups simply do not understand the result of their
own actions and do not stick around long enough to bear consequences.
These mischief mongers and miscreants in our midst seldom advocate
pluralism, tolerance, universalism or harmony or trying to move the
American society in that direction because they are slaves to
tyrannical, fundamentalist and conflicting ideologies.
It seems that a slow poison is running the veins of these people and
the anti-Hindu crap is just a small part of it. These Hindu bashers
are always seemed ready with excuses for Islamic terrorists,
missionary culture vultures and Marxist anarchists.
Every positive Social service by Hindu organizations is horrifying in
their eyes, a sign of bad conduct, and moral decay. It is as if Hindu
bashers of Indian origin have arrived at a kind of intellectual truth
with Islamic terrorists and the conversion gangs. It is as if they
have made accommodation with them.
Hindu bashers actually welcome news that makes Hindus and India bad.
They find pleasure and delight in vilifying India and Hindus. There
is no outrage from these Hindu bashers about Jihadi terrorism,
missionary mischief or Marxist violence.
While hiding behind tyrannical ideologies, these Hindu bashers in
America are playing with betrayal, denial, diversion, falsehood and
sophistry.
Are they aware of the social and political damage they have already
inflicted on India? Their actions against India and Hindus have no
moral sense, logic or common sense. Their recent letter to President
elect Obama exposes the fallacious and demeaning logic.
The unprecedented and recklessness of their letter is an alarmist
tactics of intimidation.
How did they get this way? Mindless missionaries have used deceptive
strategies to lure low
class, uneducated and poor Indians and freed them from their spiritual
tradition and enslaved them in rigid, fundamentalist and parochial
Christian dogma. Christian schools have indoctrinated them with closed
channel thinking and hostility towards Hindu pluralism, tolerance and
transcendental philosophy. They were brought to this country to serve
their slave masters. Islamo fascists and Marxists and the anti Hindu
pseudo secularists have made an unholy alliance against tolerant
Hindus and sacred Indian heritage.
These closed channel Hindu hate groups have a goal to insult, ridicule
and subvert American religious freedom. These Hindu hate groups are
mired in hostility and tyrannical ideologies. They will always see
India as immoral and dishonorable.
No matter how much Hindus and India do today, these hate groups prey
on American insecurities, ignorance and the gaps in their knowledge.
These Indian born maroons exploit American hopes and fears. In short,
these anti Hindu hate groups represent the ultimate in vanity and
betrayal.
true hindu
20/11/2009 02:50:10 put a blanket ban
Congrats to Dr Babu Suseelan for his excellent article. Let me tell
you that first of all Americans are excellent, kind , peace loving and
tolerant people . That is the reason , they allow all people across
the globe allowing to migrate and settle on their land. Be they from
Iraq, iran , Bangla desh .Pakistan ,Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan .
First of all why these hate mongers and pseudo secular bigots are
allowed to US or UK? .
One fellow here wrote that Islam is fastest spreading religion in USA.
Why is US Govt sleeping?. If Islam is allowed to take over in USA, I
think 2012 dooms day as said will happen to USA in nearest time. Why
are these mulsims not able to live in their own country ? Why are they
after US Visa and like to settle in US? Because they are
kicked ,caned , hanged , stoned like animals in their country as per
sharia law.
They are forbidden drinks, sex , free dom etc.,.In USA , you can do
any thing. But what these people are doing in a democratic country
like US? Building mosques , preaching hate religion, dividing people,
converting all innocent US citizens to islam and still doing all dirty
things which are forbidden in their religion. They are not faithful to
their host country.
Enjoying all facilities in london or Newyork, planning how to bomb or
kill kaffirs.India is also facing the same problem from centuries with
these cunning guys.Now Indian converted christians and muslims are
real culprits to malign our peace loving religion and India.USA must
put blanket ban on giving VISAs to Indian converted christians and
Muslims .
Raghavan V Nair
13/12/2008 09:29:37 ARE WE DESTINED TO BE LIKE THIS ?
Dear Dr.Babu Suseelan, You have brought forward yet another matter of
greater concern to Hindus. It is not surprising that the commies have
joined hands with Christian and Muslim groups in the US to malign the
Hindus. After over 61 years also, they could not be of any
significance in the country except the 4.5 years they lavished by
courtesy of Madam Gandhi. The situation in Gulf countries is in fact
the worst. In countries like Saudi Arabia, most jobs are reserved for
Muslims alone giving absolute leverage to them. On top of that, they
try their best to keep us aside and put in all efforts to project the
Hindus as enemies and Pakistanis as brothers. Babri Masjid demolition
and events in Gujarat they magnified and presented there in most
damaging way to project Hindus as brutes.
Undoutedly, the glaring examples of Hindu tolerance has been that even
after being subjected to such humiliation in Gulf, we are destined to
live with them in this country and accept that as fate and remain
content. But what are they doing? Earlier we suffered in the hands of
Muslim invaders who ruled this country until the British came in and
now they come in as terrorists. Earlier they divided this country in
the name of religion, and now they wish to further divide it into
pieces. Who is to be blamed for all these ? Only we!!
Sujit
13/12/2008 01:20:53 Plan positive actions to counter negativities
Dear Dr. Babu, You have inventoried the negative energies at play
against Hinduism. It is good to be aware of who are the ones working
against Hinduism. However, what is required is a set of positive
communication and social education strategies, coordinated by
different Hindu organisations, to counter these negativities. These
should include identifying (non-ethnic Indian) scholars of Hinduism,
Yoga, Ayurveda etc., to become spokespersons, dispelling
misconceptions about Hinduism, briefings about the essence of Hindu
view of life etc. Unless positive and non-competitive energies are
displayed, Hindus will not be able to gain the social/theological
acceptance of non-Hindus; particularly in a nation such as the US,
where very little about the outside world is known to the common
American.
Mohan
12/12/2008 23:16:07 Hindu haiter
Respected Babuji, I go through ur article from this site along with
various article posted by you on www.faithfreedom.org/com. No doubt
you are excellent writer like Francis Guitar of Frnace. It u are
absolutely right that, these fantic chrstians and muslim they never
treat this nation belongs to them. They always indulge all sort of
anti hindu bashing in every forum. Now a days it becames a trend under
this UPA govt. all most all important position held by the chrstians
and muslim. Take the example of Mrs.Ambica Soni( Chrstian), Jamir
(Chrstian), Samuel Reddy (CM of AP- 7th day avendist chrstian, Mr.Ajit
Jogi (Converted Chrstian), Ms.Jaya Prada, Jaya Sudha (Chrstians), I
dont have any idea about Mr.Amra Sing (he may be christian). Eminet
hindu haiter Sakel Ahemad (Home minister-State charges), Jai Prakash
Jaiswal-Hindu haiter from kanpur, Mr.Ahemad-IUML from Kerala, enire
Communist thugs. Apart from these hindus haiter our so clled beloved
CNN-IBN, NDTV, Star News and other english chenel. There must be total
ban on these english chennel. U see there reporting about mumbai
incident, now they are telling terroriesm have no relegion. But it has
relegion that is ISlam. Firther I would like to request Respected
Suselanji kindly expose Dr.Zakir Naik, torch bearer of Quran in every
forum. Since you are regular writer in the faithfreedom. Bande
Mataram.
Sakthi
12/12/2008 15:06:34 We all can help Please use this website..
Make Barack Obama aware of these things.. we dont have to wait for any
organisation each Hindu rather Indian visiting this website. Please
write their opinion at this website which directly accessed by The
President-elect..Next President of United States Sri Barack Obama!
Please do it immediately.
Register and have your views heard.. especially click on Join the
discussion.
http://change.gov/
and another website is
http://www.barackobama.com/index.php
menon
12/12/2008 11:30:45 Well explained
Awesome article. This is 100% treu. This is quite visible in America
these days. When the converted christians think west is their home
land, muslims think gulf is their home land.
Especially in USA according to an American web site, there are around
1 million Hindus and another 2 million is waiting to embrace Hindu.
This is alarmingly frustrating for the pseudo secularists.
When India is mentioned, Hindu is the first thing an American think. I
personally know americans who literally hate the converted christians
from India. There are many churches in USA which wouldn't even let
them come in. The christian groups were always have this feeling that
india's problems are not their problems.
Very unfortunate. But there seems to be a HIndu unity in USA and lots
of people working on this too.
Vijayan
12/12/2008 08:26:05 hindu hate groups
Excellent observations by Dr. Babu Suseelan.
If the hate groups can make it to actions, the Hindus have to react
too. Pleuralism has been the strength and the same time, made Hindus
less fanatic !!!!
Why cant the Hindus react and do the " fact finding" and " truth
exposing" missions ? If the hate groups are trying to influence the
administration in disguise, the Hindus should try to expose the truth
in open.
If we cannot do that, then we deserve all the humiliation and the
consequences
vijay
SeaLion
12/12/2008 05:04:23 These same evil
Vile, tyrannical, savage and barbaric inhuman Xian fascistic death
cult asuras, the worst of the evil , ARE NOW IN CAHOOTS IN INDIA WITH
OTHER EVILEST VILE FORCES LIKE THE ASURIC ISLAMOFASCISM AND COMMUNIST
DEMON BASTARDS, UNDER DEMENTED, NERO REGIME OF THE FOREIGN XIAN
MINDLESS. LOWLY IMPOSTER FROM ITALY AND HER XIAN BED....
IF IT IS CLOSELY OBSERVED THESE HATE GROUPS, SPECIALLY THE JIHADI AND
XIAN BARBARIAN ANIMALS ARE BEING FINANCED BY HINDU TAX MONEY OR LOOTER
XIAN MNC BUSINESSES, WITH TACIT SUPPORT OF EVIL MAINO XIAN BARBARIANS
ARE KNOWN DEMENTED DEBAUCHERS, THEY DO THE SAME TO ALL WHETHER JEWS,
RED INDIANS, MAORIS, ETC, BECAUSE OF THE EVIL BEAST, CMD OF MURDER INC
SITTING IN VATICAN.
WE "HAVE TO" HAVE TO" HAVE TO" REACT LIKE MUSLIMS, THESE XIANS AND
PSEUDOS DESRVE NO MERCY, WE HAVE TO TELL THEM INDIA IS FOR HINDUS AND
FOR THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE A NICE, GOOD EXAMPLE OF THIS MOST EVIL,
DEMENTED CHURCHOCRAZY MAFIA OF THE ITALIAN
"The devotee who forgoes the life-experiences of marriage and family,
and exchanges the problems of a small household and limited activities
for the larger responsibilities of service to society in general, is
undertaking a task which is often accompanied by persecution from a
misunderstanding world, but also by a divine inner contentment."
Paramahansa Yogananda
http://www.haindavakeralam.com/hkpage.aspx?PageID=7782&SKIN=W
Gomata protection gains momentum
26/03/2010 19:41:57 HARAN B R - Daily Pioneer
If success in banning cow slaughter is the litmus test of any BJP
regime’s commitment to Hindutva, the Yeddyurappa dispensation in
Karnataka has done well — but what would be its effect on the BJP’s
national image?
In its session, which ended last week, the Karnataka Assembly passed
the “Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill
2010” by voice vote amidst chaotic protests by the Opposition. It may
be recalled that the BJP government withdrew the already existing
“Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act
1964” days before introducing this new Bill. Though the government
didn’t cite any reasons for its withdrawal at the time, the Opposition
objected to in the anticipation that a new Bill would be introduced
with changes making it more stringent.
Under the new Bill, cow slaughter and transportation would attract
imprisonment ranging from one year to seven years and fine from Rs
25,000 to Rs 1,00,000, depending on the nature of the offence. Under
the previous Act of 1964, the slaughter of bulls, bullocks and adult
buffaloes was permitted on the basis of ‘fit-for-slaughter’
certificates, which were given only when the animals were over 12
years of age or permanently incapacitated for breeding, draught or
milk due to injury, deformity or other causes. Transportation for
slaughter outside the state was not permitted and sale, purchase or
disposal of cow or calf for slaughter was also banned. The offence was
considered cognizable and the penal provision was imprisonment up to
maximum of 6 months or fine of up to Rs 1,000 or both.
Karnataka has been ruled by the Congress and the Janata Dal for years
and their failure to prevent slaughter of cattle despite the 1964 Act
shows the ineffectiveness of the Bill as well as the incompetence of
those governments. In an era of corruption and inefficiency, it
becomes imperative to deal with offenders and criminals in a more
stringent manner to bring down the rate of crime and maintain law and
order.
The problem with the present Congress leadership is that it
deliberately disregards its own predecessors’ opinions. This aspect
was pointed out by chief minister Yeddyurappa, who recalled that
Indira Gandhi had written to the chief ministers in 1982 asking them
to ban cow slaughter and that
Jawaharlal Nehru had also advocated a ban on cow slaughter. Gandhiji,
in whose name the Congress does its political business, venerated,
worshipped and defended the cow calling it the
‘Mother of millions of mankind’. Gandhi termed cow protection as the
central fact of Hinduism.
Moreover, Article 48 (Organisation of Agriculture and Animal
Husbandry) of the Constitution says: “The State shall endeavour to
organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific
lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and
improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter of cows and other
milch and draught cattle.”
Even as recently as October 2005, the Supreme Court upheld the
Constitutional validity of a Gujarat law imposing a complete ban on
slaughtering of bulls and bullocks, often misused to get around the
ban on slaughter of cows. Hence, the Bill introduced by the BJP
government and passed by the Assembly is constitutionally valid and
the Congress party’s comment that it is ‘unconstitutional’ is at the
most self-deception.
There is a tendency among ‘secular’ political parties and a section of
the mainstream media to project this issue as BJP’s ‘hidden’ and
‘communal’ agenda, while in fact this law is prevailing in almost all
the states except Kerala, West Bengal, Meghalaya and Nagaland. The
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 also plays a significant
role in this issue and the amendment brought in by Central Act 26 of
1982 has paved the way for the establishment of the ‘Animal Welfare
Board of India’, which does a decent job despite corruption, nepotism
and political interference.
The Congress has also harped on other phony issues saying that the act
will render thousands jobless, affect leather trade, etc. But, the
Congress failed to understand that the preservation of cattle will
improve agriculture, animal husbandry, dairy farms, and ecology and
socio-religious affairs. Cow protection as a policy would go a long
way in agricultural development, resulting in a flourishing village
economy. As India’s economy revolves around agriculture, cattle
welfare is fundamental to it. Cow-dung and cow-urine have medicinal
properties and they also act as manure helping the growth of crops as
well as preserving the richness of soil. It can also be used in the
production of electricity through gobar gas.
The protection of cow as a ‘Movement’ has been there for years and the
movement gained momentum during the time of Swami Dayananda Saraswati,
founder of Arya Samaj and took roots across the country. Most of the
freedom fighters wanted the cow slaughter banned. That is why the
Constituent Assembly made a separate Article (48) for this while
framing the Constitution.
Recently, the “Vishwa Mangal Gau Gram Yatra”, organised by the RSS and
affiliated organisations, toured the whole country in 108 days and
over 10,000 upyatras exhorted each and every village, city and street
of the country. Along with Hindus, Christians and Muslims too have
extended their support to the cause of cow protection. Thousands of
social organisations of the country participated in various functions
of the yatra. The signature campaign conducted during the yatra proved
the biggest signature campaign ever conducted in the world. Crores of
people extended their support to the cause of cow protection through
this campaign. The success of the yatra and the signature campaign
underline the necessity of a blanket ban on cow slaughter throughout
the country.
http://www.haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx?PageID=10723&SKIN=B
India Vision Nitish Kumar strikes again
26/03/2010 19:36:49 HK
Nikesh Kumar, head of Islamic TV channel India Vision once again
strikes against Hindu society. Today, the issue was one of the Police
officer Anju Gupta’s statement against L.K. Advani. While the whole
channel in Kerala chooses this story in their 5th or 6th position,
anti Hindu Nikesh Kumar selected this story first in his News Night
and conducted a big discussion something like a ‘hot story’. Few
comments about his discussion in News Night today.
· He invited few selected people to discuss this matter, as usual no
strong Hindutva supported leaders were invited for this discussion
purposely. But he lost his mental balance when few of them responded
positively towards Advani.
· Nikesh very eagerly asked his first question to one Shri. Unni, a
political analyst, “Shri. Unni you are among one presented during
Babri Masjid was demolished, please tell us something about that day”.
Shri. Unni replied simply “I was not presented at Ayodhya on 6th
December”.
Nikesh got angry because he called Shri. Unni for this discussion
thinking he was presented on 6th December and will say something hot
against Advani & BJP.
· Then he asked question to well known Jihadi and right hand of
terrorist Madani – Abdul Aziz. As usual he blasted Advani and Hindu
society. So no comments.
· The next question to a well known Lawyer Adv. Govinda Bharathan.
Nikesh lost his mental balance while discussing with him, he thought
Adv. Govinda Bharatan will appreciate the statement of Anju Gupta and
some strong criticism against BJP and Hindu society. Adv. Govinda
Bharatan replied “Advani is a dynamic and strong leader in India and
he proofed his professionalism in politics in many times. Tell me to
whom people of India would trust – a retired Police officer’s
statement or a professional political leader in India. If I am a judge
I will trust Mr. Advani only”. It was really a shock to Nikesh and he
suddenly tried to divert his question in different style but Adv.
Govinda Bharatan’s reply was very firm and clear.
During the whole discussion Nikesh was worried and was in tense while
discussing that Advani was encouraging to demolish the Masjid, he
looks very happy and after the Masjid was demolished Advani and other
leaders were distributing sweets.
Nikesh even said Advani is lying and blasted RSS & Sangh Parivar many
times.
Whatever Nitish Kumar said was true, it was Lal Krishna Advaniji who
encouraged to demolish a Babri building which was build by the Islamic
invaders after demolishing a temple. L.K. Advaniji was the mastermind
behind the agitation. He was presented just 100 meters away from the
Babri building while it was demolished, he looks really happy after
the complete Babri building was demolished, then he was distributed
sweets to others leaders who was presented the site. Now
Nikesh can do whatever he want along with his Jihadi friends in India
Vision. But please remind your father Shri. M.V. Raghavan that , don’t
beg RSS vote (Karsevaks) through backdoor, which your father & other
CMP leaders are doing for the last many years.
We appeal to all BJP & other nationalist leaders in Kerala not to
participate any discussion with India Vision as long as anti Hindu
Nikesh Kumar exist in this channel. In case of any leaders are
participating, they should be prepared well to handle Nikesh
skg
26/03/2010 13:21:12 let us not be afraid of truth and run away !!.
It is now time to embrace the truth and die like a Martyr instead of
showing the back and hiding against the truth. I pledge to the Hindu
community to be not ashamed of the Babri Masjid demolition. It is an
alien structure constructed by an alien invader Babur. Indians need to
understand this thoroughly.
http://www.haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx?PageID=10722&SKIN=M
Government cannot withdraw criminal cases against M Hussein - SC
26/03/2010 11:39:54
Husain can't be compelled to return:SC
PTI | New Delhi
Self-exiled painter MF Husain, who has taken up Qatar citizenship,
cannot be compelled to return to India by the courts or the Prime
Minister, the Supreme Court observed on Thursday refusing to direct
dropping of criminal cases against him.
"What can the Prime Minister do if a person decides to live in Doha
(capital of Qatar). They are international citizens they can live
anywhere in the world," the apex court observed while refusing to
entertain a public interest litigation filed by Bhim Singh, chief of
the J&K Panthers Party and senior advocate.
Singh, in his petition, said he has written a letter to Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh urging him to take steps to bring 95-year old Husain
back to India and sought the apex court's direction to the PM for
ensuring his return.
He has given up his Indian passport and accepted Qatar citizenship in
February this year. He has been living in self-exile for nearly four
years following a spate of cases in India over his controversial
paintings of Hindu goddesses in the nude.
A bench of Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan-- Justices J M Panchal and
Deepak Verma also refused direction to the Union Government to
withdraw the 95-odd criminal cases registered against him for alleged
obscene paintings as they were all lodged by private individuals.
"How can the Union of India be directed to withdraw the cases when
they are all private complaints, If he is in Doha, what is the
problem ?" the apex court observed, asking Singh to withdraw the
petition failing which it would be dismissed.
Sensing the court's mood, Singh withdrew the PIL.
The bench also pointed out that it had already transferred all the
cases registered against Husain in different parts of the country for
adjudication in Delhi.
Singh, a former MP, had claimed that Husain's fundamental rights stood
violated as he was unable to return to India due to the cases slapped
against him for his alleged blasphemous paintings.
The PIL referred to an earlier Supreme Court observation in connection
with one of the cases against Husain that no exception should be taken
to artistic expressions.
Singh later said he would file another writ petition before the apex
court on the ground that Husain was forced to surrender his Indian
passport and obtain Qatar citizenship out of "coercion" and fear of
being victimised by a series of criminal cases.
http://www.haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx?PageID=10721&SKIN=B
http://www.haindavakeralam.com/Annadanam.pdf
Jihadi riot in Thodupuzha, Srikrishna Swamy Temple attacked
26/03/2010 11:45:02 HK
Thodupuzha: Idukki district’s trade centre Thodupuzha plunged into
tension on Friday following the violent protests of Muslim
organizations over the mention in a question paper that allegedly
humiliated the Prophet and Allah issued at Newman’s College in the
town. Several police personnel and media workers suffered injuries in
stone-pelting by the protestors and the District Administration was
forced to impose prohibitory orders in the college area.
Jihadis destroyed the Stone Lamp infront of Thodupuzha Srikrishna
Swamy temple.
Thousands of Jihadis rioted in Thodupuzha and destroyed public
properties in response to their protest against a College over a
controversial question in their question paper. The protest marches
were taken out alleging that the Malayalam question paper for B.Com
examination had insulting references to the Prophet and God.
Many vehicles and shops were destroyed by the Jihadis. Buses were
blocked and passengers including ladies and students going for SSLC
Examination were left alone in between this rioting crowd.
Jihadis attacked journalists and cameramen, Special instructions were
aired through Microphones to attack the media perssonels who came to
cover the Jihadi riot. Even Medical colleges and Hospitals in the area
were not spared by the violent mob.
Police registered criminal case against the professor T J Joseph who
prepared the question paper. He was also suspended but other teachers
said he alone could not be held responsible for the mistake. “Joseph
could have prepared the question paper but it had been passed by
others after scrutiny. What has happened is that he has been made a
scapegoat,” said a teacher.
Ganesh
26/03/2010 13:23:55 Dirty beard pays
I happened to see the video footage of the police lathi charge to
disperse the miscreants.One striking feature was that all the dirty
Dhadiwallas were exempted from caning while the others were running
for cover. It was the dhadiwallas who were leading the packs.Who says
Dhadi is bad?
R.Sajan
26/03/2010 13:20:36 Publish the disputed section of the Question
paper.
Please obtain and publish the disputed sections of the Question Paper
here.
How wonderful that the University has cancelled all the examinations!
How can this be allowed or done?
I hail Prof. P. J. Joseph who prepared the Paper.
sanjeevuae
26/03/2010 12:44:12 vanaprastam
what mr.arun said is correct.the christian organisations constantly on
the look out for opportunity to pit hindus against muslims.So hindus
should not fall in their trap.See what congrss is trying to do?if the
SC ruling is favorite ,they are trying to bring reservation for all
religions which is not justifyiable under the constitution.
Sunil
26/03/2010 12:01:03 Hindu temple attacked
Death to Jihadis...Death to muslims...Death to Islam...
when will we react..??what are the Hindus in Thodupuzha waiting for..??
kill those terrorists...before they wound us...
Arun C K
26/03/2010 11:31:05 Let's be careful this time!
Newman College was established in 1964 by the Diocese of
Kothamangalam, and named after Cardinal Newman. Todays issue is
between Christians and Muslims. The issue was brought up by a
Christian tecaher. However as usual, there is a clever ploy to convert
this to an issue between Hindu and Muslim by some vested interests
(read church and some UDF parties). Hindu organisation in Kerala
should be extremely careful not to be a party to this dispute. Like in
Love Jihad issue, Christians will fled the scene after converting this
as an issue between Hindus and Muslim or between State Government and
Muslim.
Standards of moral judgement have increasingly tended to become
universal, and no statement of faith can escape scrutiny simply
because it is made in a book hailed as holy by some people.
Sita Ram Goel
http://www.haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx?PageID=10720&SKIN=K
Jinnah decorates PFI Terrorists procession in Chennai
26/03/2010 11:12:22 Aron
Dinamalar malar reports 26/3/2010-
A procession was lead by the leader of Popular Front of India in
chennai, demanding communal representation recommended by Ranganathan
Misra commission. A big photo was published, and a small
crowd.Shockingly,the leader's name is given Mohamad Ali Jinnah.
It was muslim League that began its steps towards Pakistan with
Communal Representation that was opposed by Gandhi and Congress in the
beginning.
We have come in full circle, that a motley band of communal muslims
openly put up Mr Mohamad Ali Jinnah for the same demand, and it gets
reported without a word added in criticism.
The secualrists are nourishing tendencies and edging on Muslims
towards that direction and Muslims too seem to have no scruples in
picking up the clue.
Note that Jinnah is not a Muslim name but a Hindu surname of a caste
in Gujarat, from which Jinnah's grandfather converted to Islam.
For a muslim to bear that name can only mean an admiration for the
idea of Pakistan, the methodology of 'Direct Action Day' of
terrorizing through a Hindu Muslim bloodbath, and unabashed display of
hostility and high treason.
Objecting to Amitabh for his association with Modi and encouragement
to Neo-Jinnahs to lead his crowd to the streets, is what is secularism
is.
It is hard to understand the hate of this 'People's "Front"-when India
had given them so much and the Mujahirs who went there to Pakistan
behind the real Jinnah have a sorry tale to tell of discrimination,
human rights violation and constant bombings in Karachi.
Yet, they wants to call himself Mohamad Ali Jinnah and restart on the
Muslim League original program of communal representation.
Our media finds it very normal and natural that this should
happen.India is surely sliding towards another demand for Pakistan,
before repetition of all the horrors which would compel us to concede.
The secularists are pitching for jihadis and preparing us
psychologically for that.
http://www.haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx?PageID=10719&SKIN=B
NSS to go ahead with legal action against the Devaswom Bill
26/03/2010 00:27:28 HK Correspondent
Changanachery : NSS made it very clear that they would pursue legal
action against the Devaswom bill that the government has placed in the
assembly and passed to the subject committee to seek the President’s
approval. NSS reiterated that the government should have held prior
discussion with all Hindu organizations before presenting the bill in
the assembly. In a press release the NSS Leaders asserted that only
the High Court has the powers to control the Devaswom board in
accordance with the Hindu Religious Institutions Act 1950. Thereby,
the LDF Government’s move to hurriedly present such a bill without
even having any consultation with various Hindu organization affected
by the contents of the bill is not at all acceptable. It has been
interesting notice that some of the Christian and Muslim leaders also
opinioned that the government should not have presented such a bill.
Interestingly, SNDP General Secretary Vellappally Natesan supported
the bill and went to the extent of telling that SNDP would stage
Dharna at the gates of those MLAs opposing the bill in the assembly.
Meanwhile Hindu Aykyavedi is holding a meeting on 27 March at
Trivandrum to chart out the action plan by various Hindu
organizations. The meeting will be inaugurated by Travancore Maharaja
Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Verma. It is understood that Mr.Subramanya
Swami also will attend the meeting.
Sunil
26/03/2010 12:11:58 Petition to President
The Petition by overseas Indians against Wendy Doniger's book last
month became a huge success thanks to thousands of faithful Hindus all
around the world..we can make this also a gr8 success only if we stand
together...lets all unite for a common cause..lets all understand 1
thing..."What right do the people who call themself Atheists have in
controlling a religious place"..they cant answer this..and if we cant
save our temples from these people..even God cant save us..so this is
our last oppurtunity...I wish Hindu aykyavedi and other Hindu
organisation take a very strong action so that the govt takes back the
bill..give your support to Hindu aykyavedi and RSS..I hope these
organisation start some kind of campaign so that we all can contribute
for this cause...as suggested by Mr Raghav Rao we can start a massive
signature campaign n force to withdraw the bill..
Ganesh
26/03/2010 10:35:21 Reading vedas to the charging bull
I think democratic means like mass petition to president etc rarely
work in this banana republic.This is not USA Or EU,where true
democracy exists.What one learns from our minorities ,is that being
street smart is the only language our leadership respects.One live
example is the Hussain issue, another is the Bareily riots.Virtually
all newspaper blogs are full of adverse reactions from the readers
against MFH and yet the media does not seem to understand the public
mood.They may argue that bloggers are not representative of the public
mood. But it is only the bloggers who read the crap that they publish
in the name of news.General public neither know who MFH is nor the
newspaper itself.
satheesh
26/03/2010 10:23:35 vellapally
what this guy vellapally is doing.I think he is an agent of
christians.In none of the issues he is cooperating,recently in Hindu
parliment.
Dr Vijaya Rajiva
26/03/2010 09:05:47 To Mr.Rao
Good idea ! But it requires careful monitoring and someone to be in
charge.
Recently there was a Petition by overseas Indians against Wendy
Doniger's book. Some 10,000 signatures were gathered in a few days,
maybe many more now.
Here it will be an all Kerala effort and the numbers hopefully will be
much larger.
And legally speaking you will be in the right.
Raghav Rao
26/03/2010 03:06:59
http://www.haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx?PageID=10717&SKIN=K
Yet another Rebuttal to 'Secular Hypocrite' Jug Suraiya
25/03/2010 22:05:27
Response to Jug Suraiya(second Opinion)
Times of India - 24 mar 2010
Jug Suriaya has baptized MF Husain as ‘Hindu’ Husain?’(TOI 24th
march).
It fails my comprehension why the ‘secularists’ are laboring to prove
the point that Husain is secular and had no evil design to denigrate
Hindu gods and Goddesses. The author picks up a new line of defense
for
the artist. ‘The basis of Hinduism of what has been labeled as
Hinduism
is the opposite of zero tolerance: it is infinite tolerance. There are
almost as many Hinduisms as there are Hindus; it is a designer
religion..’ So we are reminded that in its infinite tolerance Husain
can and must be allowed to express his perverted sexual expressions
using Gods and Goddesses that is the litmus test of infinite tolerance
according to Jug Suriya. MF Husain’s parampara is one Book, one faith,
one path, one congregation, one god and Islam forbids any pictorial
depiction of the Prophet . So the parampara of Husain does not believe
in artists and their freedom or for that matter any kind of personal
freedom. Does that mean that he needs to operate the freedoms denied
to
him by his own religion on the ‘designer religion’ –Hinduism thus
qualifying to becoming Hindu Husian? Simply because Hinduism is a
travesty of a myriad threaded fabric woven and rewoven for thousands
of
years by the waft and the woof of rites and rituals of conventions and
norms, of cults and god experiences of thousands of rishis it can be
stretched to accommodate Husain’s vulgarization of what is held holy
and sacred by the Hindus of all the Hinduisms? A person from zero
tolerance faith and belief -one will expect to have some restraint in
beholding this fabric so artistical and religiously and patiently
woven
for centuries. Can he so carelessly and ruthlessly tear it asunder?
What is blasphemy according to his religion becomes infinite tolerance
and hence valid namely to caricature and paint Hindu gods and
goddesses. The Freedom gagged and denied to him by his own religion
which he religiously abides by does not stop him from painting God and
Goddesses in the nude but leads him with his brush to vulgarization
and denigrate them. No matter what Jug Suraiya accedes to as
‘strength’
of Hinduism –the designer religion will not and cannot accommodate
such
perversity.
Jug Suraiya very artfully tries to tell us that the ‘strength’ in
Hinduism is its infinite tolerance and by protesting Hinduism becomes
weak. There are two aspects to this:-He wants us to accommodate
Husain’s perversion under the ‘infinitely tolerant religion of
Hinduism-.Husain the firm believer of zero tolerance cannot function
to
give full expression to his artistic freedom in his religion. The
restraints of which he abides by to make him a good Muslim. Here there
is no written restraints-Hinduism does not go by the Book rules but
calls upon each individual to a self imposed discipline does not mean
there is no discipline. Freedom to perceive and experience god in
one’s
own way is entirely different kind of infinite tolerance. One does not
have to look to god though another’s eyes-nor does one’s experience be
limited to another’s god experience. This is the infinite tolerance of
Hinduism-the many paths that lead to the Ultimate. Such an infinite
tolerance is on a different plane. It is not operational in allowing
freedom to maine, brutalize and denigrate the Hindu gods and
goddesses.
For example the UK has no written Constitution, does it mean there are
no rights and no Parliamentary democracy-when compared to those which
have written constitutions I would say that UK’s parliamentary
democracy is more disciplined and vibrant.
Similarly, Jug Suraiya cannot use the absence of a Book-of written
rules and regulations as to what amounts to blasphemy as a license for
unrestraint freedom of expression-freedom to hurt the religious
sentiments of the Hindus. And all the secularists brand this
infinitely
tolerant Hindus as bigots, and Husain has an array of ‘secular’
apologists who are vociferously, through the media-both electronic and
print, holding out the view that it is almost the duty of this
infinitely tolerant Hinduisms to allow Husain to brandish his brush
and
disfigure that tapestry of a myriad threads woven beautifully
depicting
the facets of the One omni presence as Gods and Goddesses-of this
‘designer religion.
And to allow such jihadi by brush under the Right to Freedom of
Expression.. Jug Suraiya goes one step further-he wants the travesty
of
a myriad threads fabric to be shredded and torn apart when he warns
that a militant Hinduism will rob Hinduism of its breath of tolerance.
So what? If militant religions like Islam and Christianity can
flourish
be appreciated as ‘secular’and pampered to I do not see the need to
continue this infinitely tolerant Hinduism in the face of zero
tolerance and be branded as bigotry and communal. If the Kashmiri
pandits were killed and driven out of their homes till date not
rehabilitated what is the use of this infinite tolerance. Using this
infinite tolerance to block and blotch human rights and community
rights is no way of making a case to uphold this breath of Hinduism
–tolerance. When zero tolerance cannot allow infinitely tolerant
Hindus
of Hinduisms their own homes and hearths? So Jug Suraiya’s premise to
test the strength of Hinduism by allowing anything and anyone to do
anything and everything under the garb of its infinite tolerance is a
bad case. It cannot co-exist.
And the brief for Husain does not end here-Jug Suriaya has elevated
his
client as an example-his testimony to the capacity of tolerance of
Hinduism-that in it there can be no scandalous liberties to be
censored-MF Husain becomes a Hindu and a good one too-by his adherence
to the zero tolerance of his own religion Islam he becomes a good
Muslim also. Eat the cake and have it too-policy. Do to others what
you
expect others to do to you-is also a Book faith diktat is conveniently
overlooked. How very succinctly Jug Suraiya has led us down the path
with such carrots.. and full praise for ‘Hinduisms’ and its strength.
In its strength lies the message not to fight-not to face the
challenge-look the other way no matter what is done to you and your
gods and goddesses. No matter the insults and the injuries your
strength is to allow such things. This is a strange advice and message
to uphold Freedoms. It is an aberration of Freedom. Too long this
infinite tolerance has been exploited and too long the Hindus have
thought that ‘strength’ means to look the way. It is time to stem the
rot and it is time to face the challenge and expect everyone, artist
or
no artist to abide by the law of the land-irrespective of religion and
age. We are a secular society and religious rules must be subsumed in
civil law and civil liberties. You cannot use one’s religious laws for
some and civil laws for others, All Indian citizens must and should
fall under one law and thus will Justice and Truth be upheld.
Dr Mrs Hilda Raja,
Vadodara
skg
26/03/2010 16:44:52 Hindus are hurting Hinduism !!.
It is Hindus like Jug Suraiya who are responsible for the abuse of
Hinduism by Pseudo-secular Media. They are giving enough material for
Islamists and evangelists to attack Hinduism. Hindus should teach
these rascals/Pseudo-Hindus a lesson .
Archpagan
26/03/2010 08:59:56 Practise what you preach.
Jug Suraiya should get her own mother's nude picture drawn by 'Hindu
Hussain' before making such pontification.
seadog4227
26/03/2010 06:58:31 MFH
Again--why bother with a known commie?
Numerous Slimes writers have shown their colours before. Bachi
Karkaria talked about the "boyish good looks" of Abu Salem when he
faced trial. From an economist, Swaminathan Iyer has now become a
avowed "secularist" Jug Suraiya has talked nonsense under the guise of
humour on several occasions. Dileep Padgoankar is mostly a fence
sitter. As for Gautam Adhikari, the less said the better. Ditch
them!
Ram
26/03/2010 04:28:10 Vatican RC in deep trouble
God is punishing the church establishment. See the link below :
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100325/ap_on_re_eu/church_abuse_wisconsin#mwpphu-container
Please publish this article. More than 2400 comments on this
particular article. US and Europe are dropping RC.
Sam
26/03/2010 02:36:38 Hinduism is changing because of pseudo secular
media
Hinduism has seen many 'holocausts' duing barbaric Islamic invations
and continued for 1100 years.According to Francois Gautier "The
massacres perpetuated by Muslims in India are unparalleled in history,
bigger than the Holocaust of the Jews by the Nazis; or the massacre of
the Armenians by the Turks; more extensive even than the slaughter of
the South American native populations by the invading Spanish and
Portuguese."
Hinduism still survived. But the current situation is very dangerous.
The anti-hindu media (funded by outside agents of West, Saudi and
China) is insulting hinduism and supporting conversion to other
religions. The UPA government run by Sonia (Christian) and her puppet
PM (Sikh) and coterie (christians with Hindu names) are misusing tax
payers money for minority appeasement and trying to distory hinduism.
Communists, DMK, Yadav parties, Muslim and Christian political parties
are working together to make sure that Hindu temples will be taken
over by government use the temple income against hindu interests.
Devaswam Boards are under non-believing communists so that the income
from temples will never be used for the benefit of hindu relion. Vaqaf
Board use the income for Muslim student loan without interest. While
Devaswam income is never used for hindus. Hindu students pay 10%
interest for student loans. Billions or dollars are flowing to India
every year for conversion and money is effectively used for harvest of
souls or training anti-indian jihadies through Saudi funded Madrasas.
Unreported secret convesion has already made hindus minority in many
parts of India. The converts keep their hindu name and schedule caste
status. Hatred of new converts who got rich with newly earned money to
hindu neighbouts mame stuggle for survivla. While Missionaries pay
Maoists to kill anybody work against conversion like in Kadhmal
(Orisssa). Since they have media and political support nothing get
reported. Probably 2% Hindus know about all these.
Rajaraman
26/03/2010 02:53:11 Two questions only from a 'Sanathana Dharmi'
1. Can I produce a movie in which Prophet Muhamamd, Sonia Gandhi,
Jesus Christ depicted as nude....?
2.why did u ban NEHRU-EDWINA MOVIE?
M Balachandran
26/03/2010 02:35:33 Supporters of Hussain also can go to Qatar
Because of expressing his "ART" ,our pseudo secular friends beloved MF
Hussain required to settle in Qatar, due to Court cases by "fanatic"
Hindus of Hindusthan. In the near future these supporters also require
to face the trials by such Hindu "fanatics" since their strength &
knowledge are getting increased day by day. It will be better for them
to try for Qatar Nationality immly which is the Paradise for Hussain.
I dont think 99.999...% of Indian citizens will miss anything if these
pseudos get out of Hindusthan
Ramamurhty.N
25/03/2010 23:28:59 Jug Suraiya true pesudo secular
This refers to second opinion coloumn "Hindu Husain " by Jug Suraiya
Times of India dt 24th March, 2010.The author cleaverly and
selectively quoted , to her convenience, Islamic religious ditict,
libaralism/ tolarence of Hiduism, and the freedom of expression
gauranteeded in our secular constitution to justify Mr.Husain's action
and confirmed she belongs to same pesudo secularit group.While
Mr.Husain painted nude the dictator Hitler but dare not do the same
with other dictators namely Sadam Husan, Idi amin and Yahyah Khan a
few muslim dictators who massacared their own people of differnt
enthinity. Ms.Jug Suriya like Mr.Husain whom she tried to defend,
confirm what Islam says " Religion is the first and last for Muslims"
other things matter little.
Dear Sir,
This refers to second opinion (the word second aptly printed in
reverse) coloumn "Hindu Husain " by Jug Suraiya Times of India dt 24th
March, 2010.The author cleaverly and selectively quoted , to her
convenience, Islamic religious ditict, libaralism/ tolarence of
Hiduism, and the freedom of expression gauranteeded in our secular
constitution to justify Mr.Husain's action and confirmed she belongs
to same pesudo secularit group.While Mr.Husain painted nude the
dictator Hitler but dare not do the sama with other dictators namely
Sdam Husan, Idi amin and Yahyah Khan a few muslim dictators who
massacared their own people of differnt enthinity. Ms.Jug Suriya like
Mr.Husain whom she tried to defend, confirm what Islam says " Religion
is the first and last for Muslims" other things matter little.
N.Ramamurthy,
A1 Alankar aptsmaste all,
I am glad to forward my letter addressed to the Edito Times Of India
on Jug Suraiy's coloumn "Hindu Husain"
Regards,
N.Rama
Vijayalakshmi
25/03/2010 22:16:51
http://www.haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx?PageID=10716&SKIN=M
Murder of RSS Seva Pramukh - Life Term to Four CPM thugs
25/03/2010 22:00:16
Four CPM men get life term
www.expressbuzz.com
KOLLAM: Kollam Second Additional Sessions Court sentenced four CPM
workers to life term rigorous imprisonment in the case of murdering
RSS worker Santhosh.
Additional Sessions Judge K.K. Balakrishnan also ordered the four to
pay a fine of Rs 45,000 each, failing which they have to undergo
imprisonment for a further period.
Sajeev (40) of Ayathil , Anthikannan alias Anil (30) of
Kochammannada, Gopi (38) of Kottamkara and Pramod (32) of Ayathil
were those have been convicted in the case. Two other accused Sajeev
of Pattathanam and Jayaprakash are still absconding. The fourth
accused Santhosh died during the trial of the case.
Noushad and Anilkumar who were CPM members of Vadakkevila grama
panchayat had been excluded from the list of the accused.
The murder was committed on November 24, 1997. Santhosh, who was the
mandal seva pramukh of the RSS, was returning on a cycle after
attending a meet of the RSS.
The accused, who were travelling in a car, hit his cycle and then
hacked Santhosh to death.
Vijayakumar, who was riding pillion on the cycle, was also injured and
he informed the police about the murder. The accused have been
sentenced under Sections 302,143,147,148 and 324 of the IPC. Public
Prosecutor Ratnakaran appeared for the prosecution.
satheesh
26/03/2010 10:16:25 Shame for Hindus
All those got convicted are Hindus.we are facing problems within our
religion itself.when will these guys understand the real problems.we
should stop fighting within ourself.
Prasad Pandit
26/03/2010 04:17:44 CPM Thugs
It is sad to note that all the sentenced are having hindu names. The
CPM with its anti-hindu ideology uses its thugs to murder Sangh
workers.
Vijayalakshmi
25/03/2010 22:19:57 Murder of RSS Seva Pramukh
It is very heartening news-this conviction of the murderers by the
honourable Court!So many of our disciplined sevaks have fallen prey to
the murderous politics of the marxist party.Something concrete has to
be done against this trend.But atleast we have some good,
conscientious judges in Kerala! Thank God for that!
http://www.haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx?PageID=10715&SKIN=K
Big B blasts Reds, media over Kerala row
25/03/2010 12:18:46 PNS | Kochi
Amitabh Bachchan has termed “as petty act of cheap convenience” the
CPI(M) decision not to allow the Kerala Government to appoint him as
God’s Own Country’s tourism brand ambassador because of his
connections with Gujarat and its Chief Minister Narendra Modi. In his
701st entry in the bigadda blog, the star said he would abide by the
judgement of the Kerala Government in whatever decision it would take.
“You want to stop me from promoting tourism in a State, because you
have reason to believe that there are political connotations to the
event. This is such rubbish,” he wrote in the blog obviously in
reference to the CPI(M) decision to disallow Kerala to make him brand
ambassador. He also criticized the media in connection with the
development saying that finding fault at any cost to any act or event
was a common Indian media trait.
Big B’s criticism of the CPI(M) intolerance coincided with the
decision of the CPI(M) Politbureau, meeting in Delhi, not to revoke
the central party leadership’s earlier decision to disallow the Kerala
Government to make the star its brand ambassador. Politbureau member
had on March 19 told the media that the Kerala Government would not
make Bachchan the State’s tourism ambassador.
Yechuri’s statement came after Bachchan wrote to Kerala Tourism
Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, himself a PB member, accepting his
invitation to represent Kerala Tourism. Kodiyeri’s act of inviting
Bachchan without consulting the party and the ruling coalition and the
central CPI(M) leadership’s act of unilaterally shooting down a
decision taken by the State Government have already created dissent in
the LDF.
Bachchan wrote in his blog: “All I shall be doing (as brand
ambassador) will be working in a short film that shall highlight the
various places of interest in the State…. And that is what I would
precisely do when I would be asked to similar acts in Kerala… It (the
objection) is a petty act of cheap convenience to prevent me from
doing that.”
He said he did not ask for the position but the Kerala Government had
invited him. “I shall abide by the judgement of the State Government.
I did not ask them for it, they came forward with the invitation, I
accepted, now they want to decline it, fine. Not the first time such
incidents have happened,” he wrote in the blog, referring to the
incident that took place in Goa during the International Film
Festival.
He also criticized his critics for projecting him as an untouchable
for his relations with the State of Gujarat, which had made him its
brand ambassador. “You take umbrage at my association with Gujarat,
but never have the guts or courage to stop a Ratan Tata or an Ambani
from investing in the state…. Would you have the guts to tell them to
not associate with the State, to pull out all their investment and man
power they build through years and years of their ‘association’? I
guess not,” he writes in the blog.
Responding to questions in connection with Bachchan’s blog, Minister
Kodiyeri said he had nothing more to say about the matter than what he
had said in the State Assembly the other day. He had told the Kerala
Assembly that some sections had raised some objections to making
Bachchan Kerala’s brand ambassador. He said the Government had not
taken any formal decision to make him brand ambassador but had only
extended an informal invitation.
Ganesh
26/03/2010 10:27:19 opportunities
Most of the PB members are unfit to even win a panchayat election.The
commies do not miss any opportunity to lick the minority a**se.Recall
how Somnath chatterji refused to preside over the LS when George BUsh
was to address the joint session.Shaking hands with Ariel SHaron was
held against K.V.Thomas to impress Jihadis.Then the Abdulla Kutty
episode.Saddam Hussain's death mourning bandh .I pity the so called
Hindu communities of this Allah's own country.
shiv
26/03/2010 03:22:40 Pathetic BJP/sangh leadership
Big B knows that he has counter allegations or reply to detractors.
But BJP and sangh parivar leaders dont even bother to counter/attack
the allegations/maligning like this.
They end up giving statements.
Pathetic./
Balasundar S
26/03/2010 01:10:32 Why Big B for Kodiyeri, Black "P" is OK !
Joining Issue with the Yechuri faction of CPM, I suggest the PB of
Communists make Black "P"(Part Secy,) from their ranks as Brand
Ambassador and help siphon off some funds to His account from Tourism
Ministry of Kodiyeri!
Balasundar S
26/03/2010 01:10:32 Why Big B for Kodiyeri, Black "P" is OK !
Joining Issue with the Yechuri faction of CPM, I suggest the PB of
Communists make Black "P"(Part Secy,) from their ranks as Brand
Ambassador and help siphon off some funds to His account from Tourism
Ministry of Kodiyeri!
manoj
25/03/2010 23:51:20 The reason why CPM objects Bachan
Dear friends
Did anybody knows why cpm opposit to promote kerala tourism?? Suppose
Bachan became the brand ambassider of kerala, definitely kerala
tourism will boost. It would be benift for the state as forign money
will pump to our state, this will benifit for the Kerala people(a
large number among them are cpm supporters), once they start earning
money their life style will change, they will built good house, buy
car, will provide higher eduction to their childen ... then...
then...one day cpm will ask these people to come for a secretrate
march or a some other protest march.. none of them will go becuase
they prefer more importance to their family and taking care of their
children and finally they will prefer to leave this party.. so dear
friends,...its not because of modi or Bachan but the cpm dont want any
kind of progress in the state to keep their poor commerds in their
platform always
Nishant
25/03/2010 19:45:02 THE DON
The Don finally delivered what was due!
Amit bhadhuri,Ex-Officer,CISF
25/03/2010 17:25:33 Show Courage Mr B
Amitabh has by now realized what the congress and CPI(M) are like, as
their only gmae is to please Musslamans at any cost of the nation.
Amitabh is a mega-wealthy person and what he has to loose at 67? He
should overcome his search for more wealth and should reject congress
and communists boldly and openly declare his appreciations for Gujrat
and Narendra Modi. By doing so he will come out as a real hero not
just a plastic hero what he has been so far.
http://www.haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx?PageID=10714&SKIN=B
Al Badr hand in Kerala blasts revealed
25/03/2010 12:17:35 VR Jayaraj | Kozhikode - Daily Pioneer
The international terror links of the March 3, 2006 twin blasts at
Kozhikode, in which South India’s LeT commander Thadiyantavide Nazeer
is the prime accused, has become more obvious with the revelation that
he had got training under Pakistani national and Al Badr coordinator
Muhammad Fahad (30). Fahad, arrested from Mysore on October 17, 2006
as he was preparing for an attack on Vidhan Soudha, the Karantaka
Legislative Assembly building in Bangalore, was in Kozhikode when the
blasts took place.
Local residents and Malayalee farmers in Coorg, Karnataka, identified
Fahad from a photograph shown to them by the officials of the
Intelligence wing of the Kerala Police the other day as the one who
was with Nazeer when he was running a camp there. With this, the
investigations into the LeT terror operations in the State have
reached a crucial turning point, officials say.
Local residents told the Intelligence officials headed by P Raju,
Superintendent of Police (Intelligence), Thrissur Range, when they
reached Coorg as part of the probe, that they had seen Fahad with
Nazeer on several occasions. Fahad, whose father Abdullakoya was a
Malayalee who had migrated to Pakistan decades ago, had given training
to Nazeer and other LeT operatives from Kerala for several days at the
Coorg camp.
The Kerala Police Intelligence team has already handed over the
information regarding Nazeer’s connections with Fahad and the training
camp at Coorg to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which is
investigating the terror-related cases in Kerala. According to
sources, the new revelations are a surprise even to the NIA
considering the magnitude of the Kerala terror network’s Pak
connections.
The Intelligence wing has learned that Fahad had held several night-
long training sessions and classes for Nazeer and the LeT recruits in
Coorg towards the end of 2005. They assume that his visit to Kozhikode
in February, 2006 was part of the continued operations. He had left
Kozhikode on March 18. Sources said that Fahad, a Master’s degree-
holder in Chemistry, could have assisted Nazeer and his group in
carrying out the first live blasts of their terror career in
Kozhikode. This meant that Fahad was in Kozhikode when the twin blasts
were carried out in the city.
When he was arrested from Mysore in October, 2006, the police had
seized from him and his associate weapons including AK-47 rifles and
components of highly improvised explosives. The police had earlier
learned that Fahad was a member of terror outfit Al Badr which was
getting training from the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence. In
this context, the Intelligence officials think that the LeT operations
in Kerala under Nazeer were being directly controlled from Pakistan.
Al Badr coordinator Fahad, son of Abdullakoya who had left Iringalloor
in Kozhikode district for Pakistan decades ago, used to frequently
visit his relatives in Kerala. He was a regular visitor at the homes
of Abdullakoya’s first wife at Kappad and his sister at Peruvayal,
both in Kozhikode district. After his arrest in 2006, the police had
leaned that Fahad’s mission here was to spread the terror network in
the region using his family connections.
It was amidst his efforts to get a passport using the Kerala address
from the Regional Passport Office in Kozhikode that Fahad and his
associate Muhammad Ali Hussein were arrested from Mysore. Though Fahad
was arrested by the Karnataka Police, the Kerala Police had enquired
about his bid to get a passport from Kozhikode. Unfortunately, the
police had not then thought of extending its probe beyond the passport
case.
Vivek
26/03/2010 01:52:27 CNR
When will the Hindus in Kerala learn from these lessons.
No wonder BJP is yet to get a single seat in Kerala. Things will never
change unless some one like N. Modi is born in Kerala.
http://www.haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx?PageID=10713&SKIN=K
bademiyansubhanallah
Sid Harth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thuggee (or tuggee, ठग्गी ṭhagī) (from Hindi ठग ṭhag ‘thief’, from
Sanskrit स्थग sthaga ‘cunning’, ‘sly’, ‘fraudulent’, ‘dishonest’,
‘scoundrel’, from स्थगति sthagati ‘he conceals’)[1] is the term for a
particular kind of murder and robbery of travellers in India.
Thuggery
The English word "thug" comes from the Hindi word "thag", meaning
"conman". It is one of many Indian words borrowed into English during
the British colonial period. The English connotation of 'thug' is
synonymous with terms like hoodlum and hooligan, indicating a person
(who may or may not be anti-social) who harasses others, usually for
hire.[citation needed] People regarded as thugs might commit assault
(or 'menace'), battery, even robbery and grievous bodily harm, but
they usually stop short of murder. Additionally, "thugs" usually
travel in pairs, though they can work alone or in groups of four to
six members, and are typically open about their presence (except to
law enforcement officials); while "Thuggee" were covert and operated
as members of a group, often called a "Thuggee cult" by the British.
Hence, the word "Thuggee" is capitalised while the word "thug" usually
is not; which enables distinction of a "Thug" (here, a short form of
"Thuggee") from a "thug".
In the heyday of Thuggee activity, travellers were typically part of a
travelling group, so the term Thuggee typically referred to killing of
a large number of people in a single operation. This aspect
distinguishes Thuggee from similar concept of dacoity, which means
simple armed robbery.
Dacoity has similarities with the terms brigand and bandit from
European and Latin American experience, but there appear to be no
exact Western parallels for Thuggee. Perhaps the closest concepts
would be the format of piracy, though this is solely maritime robbery
(usually with murder), and the earlier, but similar, format of raids
on coastal settlements by Viking seafarers. Some aspects, however, are
reminiscent of the Mafia group of organisations.
Between them, these classes of criminal activity illustrate some of
the mystique that attached to the Thugs and the complex mixture of
fear and dread of these murderous men that was felt by the ordinary
people who might well be their victims.
There is some question as to the extent of the religious dimension of
Thuggee. Most contemporary sources described Thuggee as being a
religious cult, but some modern sources feel it was merely a
specialized form of organized crime or paramilitary activity, with no
particular religious dimension beyond the normal piety of the
villagers from whom its members were recruited.
Time period
The concept of Thuggee is known from the 17th century, though the term
and/or activity possibly dates back as early as the 13th century.
Thuggee was actively practiced at least through the end of the 19th
century. If remnants of the Thuggee tradition survived into the 20th
and 21st centuries, they did so very covertly. The film Indiana Jones
and the Temple of Doom is based on the premise that Thuggee cults
survived covertly into the early 20th century.
Stern suppression by the British was important in reducing Thuggee
activity but more significant was the introduction of modern methods
of travel, in particular the displacement of travelling on foot or by
horse in groups by the railway, which effectively rendered Thuggee
obsolete.
The nature
The particular groups, as well as the general concept, were often
equally durable and would outlive the 'careers' of individual members
to develop into a crime family lasting generations. These groups
progressed from being simple gangs into becoming 'fraternities' or
even 'cults', featuring the initiation of new members, either through
the heredity of a criminal underclass, or through an apprenticeship,
such as normally associated with skilled or learned professions or the
training programs of elite military units. Other sources describe the
Thugs as a criminal 'tribe' or caste. Over the course of generations,
the secrets must be kept within the 'family'. The marriage of
offspring within the group both safeguards the secret knowledge,
allowing it to be imparted steadily to the children without the risk
of uninitiated neighbours overhearing, and reinforces the exclusive
and selective nature of the organisation. This preserves the mystique,
which is in itself part of the formula of success, and creates an
elite aura around it. At the moment of attack, the sudden revelation
of the identity of the assailants produces a shock that disables
defensive manoeuvres, at least for a few, vital moments, while the
reputation for invincibility engenders a defeatism that results in a
fait accompli.
The practice
Thugs were active all over the Bengal region of the Indian
subcontinent. Maps showing the possessions of the British East India
Company in 1765 and 1805Thuggee is described as a cult of people
engaged in the multiple murder and robbery of travelers. At the time,
most travelers in India would travel in caravan for mutual support and
security, since travel meant the crossing of difficult terrain before
the coming of metalled roads, the passing among different races,
religions and castes, at a period before police forces were formed. In
order to attempt the massacre of an entire caravan, the Thugs needed
to be numerous and well-coordinated. They also needed to be
sufficiently stealthy, at least in the early stages, to begin their
slaughter without rousing all at once. This required a high degree of
planning, organization – including props and patter – timing, teamwork
and discipline. With anything less than complete success a survivor
could escape to raise a hue and cry. These horrendous but
sophisticated operations lay somewhere between organized crime and
paramilitary activity and were far removed from the ordinary criminal
in the audacity, magnitude, and ruthlessness of the enterprise.
The modus operandi was to join a caravan and become accepted as bona-
fide travelers themselves. The Thugs would need to delay any attack
until their fellow travelers had dropped the initial wariness of the
newcomers and had been lulled into a false sense of security. The
Thugs first needed to befriend the travelers and win their trust. Once
the travelers had allowed the Thugs to join them and disperse amongst
them (a task which might sometimes, depending on the size of the
target group, require accompaniment for hundreds of miles), the Thugs
would wait for a suitable place and time before killing and robbing
them.
There were obviously variations on a theme. When tackling a large
group, a Thuggee band might disperse along a route and join a group in
stages, concealing their acquaintanceship, such that they could come
to outnumber their intended victims by small, non-threatening
increments. If the travelers had doubts about any one party, they
might confide their worries to another party of the same Thuggee band.
The trusted band would thus be the best placed to deal with these
members of the caravan at the appropriate time, but might also be able
to advise their colleagues to 'back off' or otherwise modify their
behavior, to allay suspicion.
The killing place would need to be remote from local observers and
suitable to prevent escape (e.g., backed against a river). Thugs
tended to develop favored places of execution, called beles. They knew
the geography of these places well—better than their victims. They
needed to, if they were to anticipate the likely escape routes and
hiding-places of the quicker-witted and more determined of the
travelers.
The timing might be at night or during a rest-break, when the
travelers would be busy with chores and when the background cries and
noise would mask any sounds of alarm. A quick and quiet method, which
left no stains and required no special weapons, was strangulation.
This method is particularly associated with Thuggee and led to the
Thugs also being referred to as the Phansigars, or "noose-operators",
and simply as "stranglers" by British troops. Usually two or three
Thugs would strangle one traveller. The Thugs would then need to
dispose of the bodies: they might bury them or might throw them into a
nearby well.[2].
The leader of a gang was called the 'jemadar': this is an ordinary
Indian word and is now used as the rank of an Army officer
(Lieutenant), who would command a similar number of men to a Thuggee
gang-leader. An English equivalent term might be 'the Boss' or 'the
Guv'nor' (Governor).
As with modern criminal gangs, each member of the group had his own
function: the equivalent of the 'hit-man,' 'the lookout,' and the
'getaway driver' would be those Thugs tasked with luring travelers
with charming words or acting as guardian to prevent escape of victims
while the killing took place.
They usually killed their victims in darkness while the thugs made
music or noise to escape discovery. If burying bodies close to a well-
traveled trade-route, they would need to disguise the 'earthworks' of
their graveyard as a camp-site, tamping down the covering mounds and
leaving some items of rubbish or remnants of a fire to 'explain' the
disturbances and obscure the burials.
One reason given for the Thuggee success in avoiding detection and
capture so often and over such long periods of time is a self-
discipline and restraint in avoiding groups of travelers on shorter
journeys, even if they seemed laden with suitable plunder. Choosing
only travelers far from home gave more time until the alarm was raised
and the distance made it less likely that colleagues would follow on
to investigate the disappearances. Another reason given is the high
degree of teamwork and co-ordination both during the infiltration
phase and at the moment of attack. This was a sophisticated criminal
elite that knew its business well and approached each 'operation' like
a military mission.
Use of garotte
The garotte is often depicted as the common weapon of the Thuggee. It
is sometimes described as a rumal (head covering or kerchief), or
translated as "yellow scarf". "Yellow" in this case may refer to a
natural cream or khaki colour rather than bright yellow. Most Indian
males in Central India or Hindustan would have a puggaree or head-
scarf, worn either as a turban or worn around a kullah and draped to
protect the back of the neck. Types of scarves were also worn as
cummerbunds, in place of a belt. Any of these items could have served
as strangling ligatures.
Religion and Thuggee
Thuggee groups might be Hindu, Sikh or Muslim, but Thuggee is
particularly associated with followers of the Hindu Goddess Kali (or
Durga), whom they often called Bhavani.[3][4][5] It was noted, even at
the time, that only a very small minority of the followers of Kali
were Thuggees. Many Thuggees worshipped Kali but most supporters of
Kali did not practise Thuggee.
Some Thuggee groups claimed descent from seven Muslim tribes[citation
needed], but the majority of Hindu followers only seem to be related
during the early periods of Islamic development through their
religious creed and staunch worship of Kali, one of the Hindu Tantric
Goddesses. At a time of political unrest, with changes from Hindu
Rajput rulers to Muslim Moghul emperors and viceroys, and possibly
back again, a wise group would display allegiance to both creeds, but
its ultimate loyalty was probably only to itself.
"There seem to have been very few Sikh Thugs. But Sahib Khan, the
Deccan strangler, 'knew Ram Sing Siek: he was a noted Thug leader - a
very shrewd man,' who also served with the Pindaris for a while and
was responsible for the assassination of the notorious Pindari leader
Sheikh Dulloo." Sleeman, Ramaseeana I, 239-40.
Some sources view the Thugs as a cult or sect. Given the extent of the
problem, in geographical scale and in the duration of time, it is
likely that many groups would wish to keep their secrets from betrayal
from within and from intrusion by outsiders and would have evolved
into secret criminal fraternities. It also follows that if they were
repeatedly successful, then they must have 'divine blessing' and would
wish to give thanks to, and worship, the deity to whom they ascribed
their support. In the West, as well, criminality and religious
observance are not always mutually incompatible.
Origin and recruitment
A group of thugs, ca. 1863The earliest recorded mention of the Thugs
as a special band or fraternity, rather than as ordinary thieves, is
found in the following passage of Ziau-d din Barni's History of Firoz
Shah (written about 1356):
In the reign of that sultan (about 1290), some Thugs were taken in
Delhi, and a man belonging to that fraternity was the means of about a
thousand being captured. But not one of these did the sultan have
killed. He gave orders for them to be put into boats and to be
conveyed into the lower country, to the neighbourhood of Lakhnauti,
where they were to be set free. The Thugs would thus have to dwell
about Lakhnauti and would not trouble the neighbourhood of Delhi any
more." (Sir HM Elliot's History of India, iii. 141).
Membership was sometimes passed from father to son, in what would now
be termed a criminal underclass. The leaders of long-established Thug
groups tended to come from these hereditary lines, as the gang
developed into a criminal 'tribe'. Other men would get to know a Thug
band and would hope to be recruited, in the way that one might aspire
to join an elite regiment or university: they were the best operators
in "the business" and, like a regiment or college fraternity, once in
the group, there was a camaraderie of numbers and shared experience.
The robbery became less a question of solving problems of poverty and
more a profession, like soldiering.
Sometimes the young children of the travelers would be spared and
groomed to become Thugs themselves, as the presence of children would
help allay suspicion. A fourth way of becoming a Thug was by training
with a guru, similar to an apprenticeship for a guild or profession,
during which the candidate could be assessed for reliability, courage,
discretion and discipline.[2]
The magnitude of the problem
Estimates of the total number of victims vary widely, depending on the
author's idea of the length of existence of the Thugs (for which there
are no reliable sources). According to the Guinness Book of Records
the Thuggee cult was responsible for approximately 2,000,000 deaths,
while British historian Dr. Mike Dash estimates that they killed
50,000 persons in total, based on his assumption that they only
started to exist 150 years before their eradication in the 1830s.
Yearly figures for the early 19th century are better documented, but
even they are inaccurate estimates. For example, gang leader Behram
has often been considered the world's most prolific serial killer,
blamed for 931 killings between 1790 and 1830. Reference to
contemporary manuscript sources, however, shows that Behram actually
gave inconsistent statements regarding the number of murders he had
committed. While he did state that he had "been present at" 931
killings committed by his gang of 25 to 50 men, elsewhere he admitted
that he had personally strangled "only" around 125 people. Having
turned King's Evidence and agreed to inform on his former companions,
furthermore, Behram never stood trial for any of the killings
attributed to him, the total of which must thus remain a matter of
dispute.[6]
Suppression
The Thuggee cult was suppressed by the British rulers of India in the
1830s.[2] The arrival of the British and their development of a
methodology to tackle crime meant the techniques of the Thugs had met
their match. Suddenly, the mysterious disappearances were mysteries no
longer and it became clear how even large caravans could be
infiltrated by apparently small groups, that were in fact acting in
concert. Once the techniques were known to all travellers, the element
of surprise was gone and the attacks became botched, until the hunters
became the hunted.
Civil servant William Henry Sleeman, superintendent, 'Thuggee and
Dacoity Dept.' in 1835, and later its Commissioner in 1839.Reasons for
British success included:
the dissemination of reports regarding Thuggee developments across
territorial borders, so that each administrator was made aware of new
techniques as soon as they were put in practice, so that travellers
could be warned and advised on possible counter-measures.
the use of King's evidence programmes gave an incentive for gang
members to inform on their peers to save their own lives. This
undermined the code of silence that protected members.
at a time when, even in Britain, policing was in its infancy, the
British set up a dedicated police force, the Thuggee Department, and
special tribunals that prevented local influence from affecting
criminal proceedings.
the police force applied the new detective methodologies to record the
locations of attacks, the time of day or circumstances of the attack,
the size of group, the approach to the victims and the behaviours
after the attacks. In this way, a single informant, belonging to one
gang in one region, might yield details that would be applicable to
most, or all, gangs in a region or indeed across all India.
The initiative of suppression was due largely to the efforts of the
civil servant William Sleeman, who started an extensive campaign
involving profiling and intelligence. A police organisation known as
the 'Thuggee and Dacoity Department' was established within the
Government of India, with William Sleeman appointed Superintendent of
the department in 1835. Thousands of men were either put in prison,
executed, or expelled from British India.[2] The campaign was heavily
based on informants recruited from captured thugs who were offered
protection on the condition that they told everything that they knew.
By the 1870s, the Thug cult was extinct, but it led to the
promulgation of the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871. Although it was
repealed upon independence of India, the concept of 'criminal tribes'
and 'criminal castes' is still prevalent in India.[7][8] The
Department remained in existence until 1904, when it was replaced by
the Central Criminal Intelligence Department (CID).
Possible misinterpretation by the British and scepticism about the
existence
In her book The Strangled Traveler: Colonial Imaginings and the Thugs
of India (2002), Martine van Woerkens suggests that evidence for the
existence of a Thuggee cult in the 19th century was in part the
product of "colonial imaginings" — British fear of the little-known
interior of India and limited understanding of the religious and
social practices of its inhabitants. For a comparison, see Juggernaut
and the Black Hole of Calcutta.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juggernaut
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hole_of_Calcutta
Krishna Dutta, while reviewing the book Thug: the true story of
India's murderous cult by the British historian Dr. Mike Dash in The
Independent, argues:[9]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Independent
"In recent years, the revisionist view that thuggee was a British
invention, a means to tighten their hold in the country, has been
given credence in India, France and the US, but this well-researched
book objectively questions that assertion."
In his book, Dash rejects scepticism about the existence of a secret
network of groups with a modus operandi that was different from
highwaymen, such as dacoits. To prove his point Dash refers to the
excavated corpses in graves, of which the hidden locations were
revealed to Sleeman's team by thug informants. In addition, Dash
treats the extensive and thorough documentation that Sleeman made.
Dash rejects the colonial emphasis on the religious motivation for
robbing, but instead asserts that monetary gain was the main
motivation for Thuggee and that men sometimes became Thugs due to
extreme poverty. He further asserts that the Thugs were highly
superstitious and that they worshipped the Hindu goddess Kali, but
that their faith was not very different from their contemporary non-
thugs. He admits, though, that the thugs had certain group-specific
superstitions and rituals.
Aftermath
The discovery of the thuggee was one of the main reason why the
Criminal Tribes Act was created.
In popular culture
This "In popular culture" section may contain minor or trivial
references. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's
impact on popular culture rather than simply listing appearances, and
remove trivial references. (November 2009)
In literature
The story of Thuggee was popularised by books such as Philip Meadows
Taylor's novel Confessions of a Thug, 1839, leading to the word "thug"
entering the English language. Ameer Ali, the protagonist of
Confessions of a Thug was said to be based on a real Thug called Syeed
Amir Ali.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Meadows_Taylor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessions_of_a_Thug_(novel)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protagonist
John Masters' novel The Deceivers also deals with the subject. A more
recent book is George Bruce's The Stranglers: The cult of Thuggee and
its overthrow in British India (1968). Dan Simmons's Song of Kali,
1985, features a Thuggee cult.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Masters
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Simmons
The 19th century American writer Mark Twain discusses the Thuggee
fairly extensively in chapters 9 and 10 of "Following the Equator:
Volume II", 1897, THE ECCO PRESS, ISBN 0-88001-519-5.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Twain
Christopher Moore's novel, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff,
Christ's Childhood Pal, describes a Thuggee ritual.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamb:_The_Gospel_According_to_Biff,_Christ%27s_Childhood_Pal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Moore_(author)
The 1976 science fiction novel Strangler's Moon by E.E. "Doc" Smith
and Stephen Goldin is based on the Thuggee (book #2 in the Family
D'Alembert series).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strangler%27s_Moon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._E._Smith
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Goldin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_D%27Alembert
Sci-Fi/Fantasy author Glen Cook uses an India-like setting and Thuggee
as a plot vehicle in his books Shadow Games (June 1989), and Dreams of
Steel (April 1990). The books and later ones that continue the
storyline form part of Cook's Black Company series.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Cook
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_Games
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreams_of_Steel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Company
The Serpent's Shadow by Mercedes Lackey has a Hindu villain, whose
minions are Thuggee, almost without exception.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes_Lackey
Author William T. Vollmann draws upon Sleeman in his story The Yellow
Sugar, which is one of two tales in his collection The Rainbow Stories
dealing with the colour yellow.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_T._Vollmann
In the pre-Holmes short story "The Mystery of Uncle Jeremy's
Household" (1887), Arthur Conan Doyle centres the narrative on a
beautiful female Thuggee in England who has "occasional fits of
fanaticism" and "horrible conceptions of religion".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Conan_Doyle
Italian writer Emilio Salgari (1862–1911) wrote about thugs in I
Misteri della Jungla Nera (1895) and Le Due Tigri (1904) and other
short stories.
George Macdonald Fraser's novel Flashman in the Great Game (1975)
makes references to the "cult" of Thuggee, while the phrase: "pass the
tobacco" is used as a verbal signal for the killing to begin.
The DC Comics character Ravan is a Thuggee assassin who kills to delay
the return of Kali. He is the enemy of Kobra who seeks to bring about
her return.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_Comics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravan_(comics)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobra_(comics)
In the novel The Thirteenth Manifestation: the Song of Kali Ma (2006)
by Josephine Dunne, thuggees appear as assassins who operate from an
ancient subterranean Kali temple under the mountains between the
Pakistan and Indian line of control in Kashmir.
In film
The two most popular depictions of the cult in film are the 1939 film,
Gunga Din, and the 1984 film, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
The Indiana Jones movie is notable for Amrish Puri's villain, who is
shown chanting lines such as "maaro maaro sooar ko, chamdi nocho pee
lo khoon" - literally "Kill, Kill the pig, flay his skin, drink his
blood". Temple of Doom was temporarily banned in India for an
allegedly racist portrayal of Indians. Both films have the heroes
fighting secret revivals of the cult to prevent them from resuming
their reigns of terror, although Temple of Doom included features that
were never part of the Thuggee, such as cardiectomy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Jones_and_the_Temple_of_Doom
In the 1956 film Around the World in Eighty Days, starring David
Niven, Passepartout rescues a princess captured by the Thuggee and
sentenced to burn to death in the funeral pyre with her deceased
husband. (In the original Jules Verne novel, Thuggee are mentioned
only briefly, and not directly in connection with this princess.)[10]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Around_the_World_in_Eighty_Days_(1956_film)
In 1960 British horror studio Hammer Film Productions released The
Stranglers of Bombay. In the film, Guy Rolfe portrays an heroic
British officer battling institutional mismanagement by the British
East India Company, as well as Thuggee infiltration of Indian society,
in an attempt to bring the cultists to justice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_East_India_Company
The 1968 Bollywood film Sangharsh, based on a story by Jnanpith Award
winner, Mahasweta Devi, presented a fictionalised account of vendetta
within a Thuggee cult in the holy Indian town of Varanasi.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunghursh_(1968_film)
The 1988 film version of The Deceivers, produced by Ismail Merchant
and starring Pierce Brosnan, is a fictionalised account of the initial
discovery and infiltration of the Thuggee sect by an imperial British
administrator.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Deceivers
The 1954 film I Misteri della Giungla Nera directed by Gian Paolo
Callegari and starring Lex Barker, where a group of religious fanatics
in India, the Thugs, prey upon European and natives alike by capturing
and offering them up in sacrifice to their frightful goddess, Kali
(from imdb.) Adapted from Emilio Salgari's book by the same name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilio_Salgari
The 1965 film Help! directed by Richard Lester and featuring The
Beatles parodies the thuggee as the cult that tries to steal Ringo's
sacrificial ring.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help!_(film)
In television
In an episode of Highlander: The Series, "The Wrath of Kali", Duncan
MacLeod deals with immortal Kamir (played by Indian actor Kabir Bedi),
last of the Thuggee.
The fifth episode of the short-lived Clerks: The Animated Series
featured a plot twist where the Little League World Champions were
kidnapped by the Thuggee, where they were forced to chip rock away
from walls (much like the Thuggee in Temple of Doom).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_League
In the episode "The Yellow Scarf Affair" of the series The Man from
U.N.C.L.E., Agent Napoleon Solo uncovers a revival of the Thuggee cult
while investigating a plane crash in India.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_from_U.N.C.L.E.
On It Ain't Half Hot Mum series 2, episode 8, "The Night of the
Thugs", the concert party take refuge from a rainstorm in a ruined
Thuggee temple. NB - Rare unscripted "giggle" from Captain Ashwood
when Colonel Reynolds discuss stealing the ruby from the statue
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Episodes_of_Highlander_(season_4)#The_Wrath_of_Kali
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Ain%27t_Half_Hot_Mum
See also
Highwayman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highwayman
Notes and references
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica,
Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
http://www.1902encyclopedia.com/T/THU/thugs.html
^ Thugs 1902 Encyclopædia Britannica'.Pali-sthag.
^ a b c d Dash, Mike Thug: the true story of India's murderous cult
ISBN 1-86207-604-9, 2005
^ Dash, pp. 284-286 in the Dutch translation of the book
^ Dash, pp. 247 in the Dutch translation of the book
^ Dash, page 329 of the UK edition - notes to Chapter 16
^ James Paton, 'Collections on Thuggee and Dacoitee', British Library
Add. Mss. 41300
^ "Thugs Traditional View" (shtml). BBC.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/history/thugs.shtml.
Retrieved 2007-09-17.
^ Sinister sects: Thug, Mike Dash's investigation into the gangs who
preyed on travellers in 19th-century India by Kevin Rushby, The
Guardian, Saturday, June 11, 2005.
^ Dutta, Krishna (2005) The sacred slaughterers. Book review of Thug:
the true story of India's murderous cult by Mike Dash. In the
Independent (Published: 8 July 2005)text
^ Verne, Jules (August 18, 2005). Around The World in Eighty Days.
http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=34998. See
page 38, where the Thuggee chief is mentioned, and page 46, where the
bride is referred to as a suttee.
Bibliography
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica,
Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition
Dash, Mike Thug: the true story of India's murderous cult ISBN
1-86207-604-9, 2005
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Dash
Dutta, Krishna (2005) The sacred slaughterers. Book review of Thug:
the true story of India's murderous cult by Mike Dash. In The
Independent (Published: 8 July 2005) text
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/thug-the-true-story-of-indias-murderous-cult-by-mike-dash-497902.html
Paton, James 'Collections on Thuggee and Dacoitee', British Library
Add. Mss. 41300
Woerkens, Martine van The Strangled Traveler: Colonial Imaginings and
the Thugs of India (2002),
External links
Acting in the "Theatre of Anarchy": 'The Anti-Thug Campaign' and
Elaborations of Colonial Rule in Early-Nineteenth Century India by Tom
Lloyd (2006) in PDF file format
http://www.csas.ed.ac.uk/fichiers/LLOYD.pdf
Parama Roy: Discovering India, Imagining Thuggee. In: idem, Indian
Traffic. Identities in Question in Colonial and Postcolonial India.
University of California Press 1998. (in html format)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuggee"
Discovering India, Imagining Thuggee
Acknowledgments
This book owes a great deal to the critical perspicacity and
generosity of friends, colleagues, mentors, and institutions, whom I
am grateful to be able to name and thank. These pages would have been
impossible to bring to fruition without the encouragement and
intellectual support of Sandhya Shetty and Carole-Anne Tyler, who
consistently asked the difficult questions and who taught me through
the inspiration of their own scholarship. I am also grateful to
Lalitha Gopalan, who so often told me what I was thinking before I
knew it myself. I am grateful too to the many other friends and
colleagues who read the manuscript, either in full or in part, or who
responded to my work at conferences: Katherine Kinney, Joe Childers,
R. Radhakrishnan, Inderpal Grewal, Vincent Cheng, Daniel Boyarin, Kim
Devlin, Kalpana Seshadri-Crooks, Bette London, Ron Inden, Robert
Goldman, Aditya Behl, Gayatri Spivak, Jennifer Brody, George Haggerty,
Lawrence Cohen, Sue-Ellen Case, Philip Brett, and Susan Foster. I am
indebted to the readers for the University of California Press,
especially Caren Kaplan and Sangeeta Ray, for their meticulous,
constructive, and sympathetic evaluation of the project. My editor,
Doris Kretschmer, has been unfailingly helpful and patient. I am also
grateful to Dore Brown and Diane Jagusiak of the University of
California Press, and to Sarah Myers, for their scrupulous editing. I
am indebted above all to my parents, Amalendu and Ramola Roy, as well
as to Bharat Trehan for (among other things) his recall of a youth
productively spent watching Bombay films.
This project has been funded by a University of California President’s
Research Fellowship in the Humanities in 1991–1992, a fellowship in
the University of California, Riverside’s Center for Ideas and Society
in the spring of 1994, and by two pretenure faculty-development awards
from the University of California, Riverside. I am grateful for this
support.
2. Discovering India, Imagining Thuggee
I am a Thug, my father and grandfather were Thugs, and I have thugged
with many. Let the government employ me and I will do its work.
He had met hundreds of other Deceivers, and the notes were a complete
tale of all he had seen and heard and done; of all the Deceivers who
had engaged in any action, with their descriptions, habits, and homes;
of each murder, and how it had gone, and how it might have been
prevented—or improved upon. The words could be read for either
purpose, according to the spirit of the reader.
At the time that Burton was impersonating Mirza Abdullah in the
bazaars of Sind, another important narrative of disguise,
surveillance, and racial crossing was being written in the
subcontinent, this one under the auspices of the Thuggee and Dacoity
Department of the East India Company’s government. This was the
narrative of the exposure and extirpation of a form of hereditary
criminality called thuggee; it was to form a significant constitutive
component of the authoritarian and interventionary reform of the 1830s
and 1840s and to contribute to the still-emerging project of
“discovering India.” “It was with the flourish of mystery unveiled and
mastered,” writes a contemporary historian, “that a group of officers
of the Political Department had lobbied for special operations against
[a] ‘murderous fraternity’ and for special laws to deal with it.” [1]
It is that tale of thuggee that this chapter will take up, at least in
part as a counterpoint to the Burtonian record of the Englishman as
native. It examines the phenomenon designated thuggee by colonial
authority in nineteenth-century India, a phenomenon whose emergence,
codification, and overthrow was to become perhaps the founding moment
for the study of indigenous criminality, as a problem of
impersonation, visibility, and the transactions of reading. I use the
example of thuggee to explore one of the various and often mutually
discontinuous kinds of identities that were created, fixed, or
rendered ambivalent for Indian colonial subjects. In approaching the
problematic of thuggee in the colonial context through the optic of
identity formation and subjection, I broach a nexus of concerns that
cohere around the epistemes of representation and knowledge: the
problematic of the formation of colonial knowledge, the contested,
changing, and uneven definitions of law, order, criminality, and
reform in early-nineteenth-century India, the theorization of colonial
identities (Indian and British), and the discursive problems
associated with generating the moral subject of the civilizing mission
of British colonialism.
This chapter has three sections, with significant amounts of overlap.
The first examines the official records of the Thuggee and Dacoity
Department (first established in the 1830s), a cluster of documents
that I have perhaps rather arbitrarily designated the thuggee archive.
This includes first and foremost the files on thuggee and dacoity in
the India Office Library and the National Archives of India. Also
incorporated in this thuggee archive are the works (Ramaseeana, or a
Vocabulary of the Peculiar Language Used by the Thugs [1836]; Report
on Budhuk Alias Bagree Dacoits and Other Gang Robbers by Hereditary
Profession [1849]; Report on the Depredations Committed by the Thug
Gangs [1840]) of William Henry Sleeman of thuggee fame, as well as of
other officials associated directly or indirectly with the antithug
campaign: James Sleeman, Thug, or A Million Murders (1920); Charles
Hervey, Some Records of Crime (1892); Edward Thornton, Illustrations
of the History and Practices of the Thugs (1837); and the anonymously
authored The Thugs or Phansigars of India (1839), an abridged version
of the Ramaseeana for an American audience. This inventory of thuggee
materials also includes a number of biographies, fictionalizations,
and nonofficial accounts of the “discovery” of the phenomenon and its
eradication: James Hutton, A Popular Account of the Thugs and Dacoits,
the Hereditary Garroters and Gang-Robbers of India (1857); A. J.
Wightman, No Friend for Travellers (1959); George Bruce, The
Stranglers: The Cult of Thuggee and Its Overthrow in British India
(1968); Francis Tuker, The Yellow Scarf (1961); and Philip Meadows
Taylor, Confessions of a Thug (1839). These are collectively
designated the archive in this chapter, despite the incommensurability
in their generic status; this has been done because there appears to
be very little significant difference between one text and another in
this collection. Each seems to repeat the others in an uncanny
fashion; each narrates the same incidents in almost exactly the same
rhetorical mode; and each looks to W. H. Sleeman’s productions as the
founding texts of the thuggee narrative. (Meadows Taylor’s novel
differs from these only in its focus on a single thug and its
accumulation of additional [fictional] detail.)
The second section focuses on the special juridical procedures that
had to be instituted in order to deal with some of the most
intractable problems associated with a bizarre and enigmatic variety
of criminality. The final section provides a reading of the 1952 work
on the thugs by John Masters, The Deceivers, a novel that was
popularized in the 1980s in a film of that name by Merchant Ivory.
What sets this novel apart from the rest of the archive is the turn it
gives to the always already familiar narrative of thuggee through its
focus on the tensions of the investigating subject and its interest in
the English impersonation of Indianness and Englishness. It allows us
a way of (re)visiting and (re)inflecting the thuggee archive through
its stress on the colonizing male’s desires and identifications, and
thus forms an apposite corollary to the accent on Indian impersonation
that informs the discourse of criminal law.
At this point I should add a note about the limits of the enterprise
undertaken in this chapter. In the first place, I do not wish to
furnish another account of thuggee or to enter the traffic in
competing narratives of what might have constituted a material thug
organization or practice. Nor am I interested in reinscribing the
practices of the thugs in the register of subaltern insurgency,
though, given that subalternity is most properly construed as a
relational rather than an essential category,[2] I am not unwilling to
grant the thugs’ subaltern status. I am certainly sympathetic to
Ranajit Guha’s model of reading subaltern insurgency (as a “turning
things upside down”) through the texts of counterinsurgency.[3] But,
given the exclusions listed earlier in this paragraph, for me to read
thuggee as resistive, anticolonial, protonationalist, or even
antistate may be philosophically not discontinuous with the reading
practices that produced the thug as a demonized and completely
irrational entity. My object here is not to recuperate a subaltern
consciousness, even one that is acknowledged to be ineluctably
discursive, “a theoretical fiction to entitle the project of
reading,” [4] though I concede that the question of “subaltern
consciousness” cannot be completely bypassed.
I shall confine myself instead to examining the performative
subjectivity of the thug, as it is constructed in the discourse of
thuggee, as a way of teasing out, extending, and transforming some of
the implications of representation, mimicry, and visibility in the
colonial context. What I will engage are the models of reading that
are provided by the thuggee archives—how they are formed,
consolidated, or (partially) interrupted. And what I do argue is that
the reading of the uncovering of thuggee as an enabling moment for the
colonial state in its quest for the consolidation of judicial power
needs to be, if not displaced, at least complicated, by the
acknowledgment that thuggee forms an especially intransigent moment
within the colonial construction of criminality; it is a moment that
confounds and unsettles the received wisdom about identity formation,
truth production, and meliorative possibilities in early-nineteenth-
century India. What I also argue is that the discourse on and around
thuggee can be instrumental in opening up our present understanding of
the theorization of colonial identity, especially as it engages
questions of familiarity, visibility, and reproducibility. The text of
thuggee provides, for instance, a point of entry into a wider range of
mimic desires, identifications, and positions than someone like Bhabha
explicitly engages[5]—for instance, the colonizer’s fascination with
going native, the English miming of Englishness, or the indigenous
miming of indigenous subject positions—as well as foregrounding
questions of class, gender, and sexuality.
• • •
The Thug
The first thugs were not arrested by the British until 1799, after the
defeat at Seringapatam of Tipu Sultan, one of the most potent threats
to the expansionist ambitions of the East India Company; it was not
evident to the British at the time, though, that the stranglers were
thugs or hereditary killers. The first mention of the law-and-order
problem posed by thugs occurs in 1810, in the commander-in-chief’s
instructions to sepoys proceeding on leave about the dangers of
traveling at night and carrying large sums of cash instead of bills of
exchange;[6] but thuggee as a significant social arrangement or
discursive formation does not feature in this caution to the sepoys.
Thornton reproduces some correspondence between British magistrates
and police officials of the Western Provinces in the years 1814–1816
on the subject of thugs; at this point knowledge about them appears
very fragmentary, with no reference to shared religious rituals or
language or an idiosyncratic form of murder. It appears that the
notion of thuggee as a system rather than a disarticulated set of
violent acts was first broached in 1816 by Dr. Richard Sherwood, who
wrote an essay detailing its genealogy, organization, and argot for
the Madras Literary Gazette.[7] It proved, however, enormously
difficult to compel belief in the existence of such a fraternity (this
was to remain a problem in the decades to come), even among British
political officers, magistrates, and law-enforcement officials.
Meadows Taylor describes the capture of large numbers of thugs in
Bundelkhand and Malwa in the 1820s, an event that failed to “[excite]
more than a passing share of public attention.” [8] It was not until
Captain W. H. Sleeman undertook the exercise of decoding and exposing
thuggee in 1830, after the unexpected confession of the captured
bandit Feringheea, that a grand narrative of thuggee began to emerge.
Despite this relatively recent discovery, however, thuggee as praxis
and as identity was always represented as being of almost
inconceivable antiquity, conceived in the precolonial past and
sanctioned by long duration and popular Hindu mythology, if not
textual doctrine. A. J. Wightman, echoing his nineteenth-century
predecessors, asserts that though evidence of the existence of thuggee
is first found in records of the late thirteenth century, “it is
obvious that they must have been well-established at a much earlier
date.” [9] Some writers, like Sherwood, traced its origins to the
Arab, Afghan, and Mughal conquests of India of several centuries
earlier; James Sleeman and others traced the thugs back to the times
of Herodotus. The thug Feringheea is said to have claimed that the
sculptures at Ellora, which included representations of all the
professions on earth, featured a depiction of a thug plying his deadly
trade.[10] All the reports without exception demonstrate a tenacious
need to generate a creation myth, to locate not just a point of
discovery but a point of origin, and to establish a precolonial
genealogy. But at the beginning, as Geoff Bennington has said about
national histories, is also the myth of a beginning; and the origins
of thuggee keep receding into a more and more distant historical/
mythological point of inauguration.[11] In fact, several of the
accounts end up locating its beginning in a Hindu myth of creation.
The thugs, as they are represented in nineteenth- and twentieth-
century colonial representations, were a cult of professional
stranglers who preyed on travelers—though never on Englishmen—as an
act of worship to the popular Hindu goddess Kali. They were
represented as hereditary killers drawn from all regions, religions,
classes, and castes, united by their devotion to Kali and the act of
strangulation, which was, in this reading, quite literally sacralized.
The thugs were bound to their calling—and to each other—by shared
signifying systems: a language, a belief in the divine origin of the
practice, and a dizzying array of minutely observed rituals,
prohibitions, and superstitions. The thuggee system functioned as a
quasi-religious fraternity that, paradoxically, would accommodate just
about every Indian. It was defined as a compelling and
characteristically Indian form of social (ir)rationality, and the
practice was represented as resting upon an interlocking network of
constitutive contradictions.
Though the thugs robbed their victims and the confessions usually
demonstrate a very lucid recall of the division of the plunder,
thuggee was not conceived as having any economic base, particularly
because those involved in it appeared to have fixed abodes, peaceful
occupations, and a respectable place in the social and caste
hierarchies during those times when they were not engaged in killing
and plunder. While Sherwood does speculate, albeit briefly and
unevenly, on the proximate material causes of thuggee, the question
becomes progressively leached out of subsequent, and more hegemonic,
exegeses of thuggee. All the writers on the subject are insistent, to
greater or lesser degrees, that the thugs must not be regarded as
exigent, dispossessed, or rebellious subjects; they are unlike the
bandits of folk myth in being devious, unmartial (“cowardly” is the
adjective most often used), and almost obscenely respectable.[12] They
are characterized instead as hereditary killers whose “joyous
occupation” was, paradoxically, not only a matter of caste duty and
therefore ontological necessity but also a prime instance of
unalienated labor. By the time we come to James Sleeman’s hagiographic
account of his grandfather’s exploits, the act of strangulation has
not only been uncoupled from the usual motives for murder but has
acquired a quasi-libidinal charge: “The taking of human life for the
sheer lust of killing was the Thugs’ main object: the plunder, however
pleasant, being a secondary consideration.…Here was no body of amateur
assassins, driven to crime by force of circumstance, but men of
seeming respectability and high intelligence, often occupying
positions of importance and responsibility in their normal lives,
secretly trained from boyhood to the highest degree of skill in
strangulation.” [13] Sleeman is not alone in this reading of the
combined erotic and religious investment in murder. Taylor, in
Confessions of a Thug, hints at the homoerotic subtext of a thug’s
murder of a handsome lad; and George MacMunn explicitly couples the
left-hand Tantrism (including exorbitant and unauthorized sexual acts)
of Kali worshipers with behaviors like thuggee and nationalist
violence:
The murder trials that have followed on the sedition and secret murder
cult in Bengal, and indeed throughout India, show in their records how
the Hindu student depraved and often injured by too early eroticism,
turns to the suggestiveness of the murder-monger, and worships the
nitro-glycerine bomb as the apotheosis of his goddess [Kali].…The
student and the assistant editor of the rag, that but exists to
inflame students and pays its way by advertising the potent
aphrodisiacs among them, are the nidus of the bomb-cult.[14]
Katherine Mayo also locates the worship of Kali, premature and
excessive sexual activity, and acts of anticolonial terrorism within a
single perceptual grid.[15] This confluence of violence, illegitimacy,
and homoerotic desire is to resurface in The Deceivers.
Some twentieth-century scholars of colonial history have sought to
posit alternative, materialist histories of the phenomenon called
thuggee. Hiralal Gupta traces the development of thuggee or banditry
in the early nineteenth century to the success of the East India
Company’s expansionist policy, speculating that a significant number
of people captured as thugs by the Thuggee and Dacoity Department in
the 1830s and 1840s were erstwhile soldiers or officials in the employ
of rulers whose states had recently come under British control. These
people were among those who had lost their employment or fallen from
favor as a result of the annexation or reconfiguration of the Indian
princely states.[16] Sandria Freitag on the other hand points to the
displacement of peripatetic groups as a result of the ousting of local
settled rulers who had traditionally provided some protection to such
groups and to the establishment of the land-revenue-based state as a
possible explanation for the instances of collective acts of violence.
She also glosses the violence of dacoits—as of similar groups—as bids
for power and upward social mobility that would have been acknowledged
as such and accommodated by precolonial Indian state formations.[17]
Stewart Gordon argues that the large number of marauding groups that
were jockeying for political power in Malwa (where most of the thugs
seemed to be based) in the late eighteenth century posed a threat to
the stable sources of revenue in the region and necessitated the
creation of external sources of revenue. Those designated thugs were
“locally recruited, locally based” marauders hired to plunder outside
the neighborhood, as it were, in order to make up for revenue that
might have been lost to larger marauding groups.[18]
As I have already mentioned, Englishmen were never targeted by the
thugs; a few of the written accounts attribute the unsolved murder of
a Lieutenant Maunsell (or Monsell) in 1812 to thugs (as does the film
version of The Deceivers [1987], which opens with that killing), but
most of the thuggee texts point to the fact that the British had no
personal investment in the problem. Almost unfailingly these accounts
point to the antithug campaigns as exemplary instances of the active
benevolence of British rule, so often unjustly maligned or compared
unfavorably with indigenous rule. James Sleeman, who is particularly
apoplectic on this issue, argues that twentieth-century Indian demands
for independence were in effect a call for a return to the days of
thuggee: “Had this small handful of British officials, scattered like
poppies in a corn-field, shown the slightest timidity in grappling
with this gigantic task, they would surely have fallen victims to the
Thugs at the outset, in which case millions of Indians alive to-day
would never have been born, including possibly those who now agitate
for a restoration of the conditions under which Thuggee thrived and
battened.” [19]
Colonial accounts thus represent thuggee as outside a realm of
political and economic rationality (since it is religiously
sanctioned, grounded in caste, and linked to exorbitant pleasures).
Nonetheless, as the obsessive invocations of the Mutiny of 1857 and of
the Bengal revolutionaries of the twentieth century indicate, thuggee
was simultaneously addressed (even if not overtly acknowledged) as a
peculiarly potent threat to the authority and benevolence of the
empire in India. “To the colonial regime,” writes David Arnold, “crime
and politics were almost inseparable: serious crime was an implicit
defiance of state authority and a possible prelude to rebellion;
political resistance was either a ‘crime’ or the likely occasion for
it.” [20] Freitag points to the departures of British police action
from those of their Mughal predecessors; while the Mughals delegated
responsibility for containing collective crime to local functionaries,
the British felt such corporate criminal behaviors were nothing other
than a defiance of the state itself.[21] She points to the fundamental
distinctions, in terms of both the allocation of resources and the
formulation of legal procedures, that the Raj made between crimes
committed by individuals (“ordinary crime”) and those committed by
collectivities (“extraordinary crime”):
Elaboration of legal codes and police establishments to deal with
individual crime conveyed the impression that “the rule of law” had
been introduced into British India; yet the annual compilation of
crime and police statistics makes clear the minimal state resources
committed to policing individual crime. Unless such crime grew
alarmingly in a short period, or its policing fell significantly short
of what came to be seen as the norms of efficiency (for an inefficient
force), the state did not reckon individual crime to be of great
importance. By contrast, however, the British perceived collectively
criminal actions to be either directed against, or weakening, the
authority of the state. As a consequence, the British repeatedly felt
the need to launch centralized police forces against “extraordinary”
crime and viewed their inefficacy as a measure of the Raj’s impotence.
[22]
The thuggee records (including the confessions of thug approvers)
endeavor to provide—through the dominant tropes of ritualized,
religiously ratified, and libidinally charged slaughter—a tightly
knit, seamless, and self-validating account of an exceptional Indian
criminal practice. Yet, even as the record invokes the unvarying
trademarks of thug practice, it inescapably registers the
provisionality of its own categorization. The thug’s signature—murder
by strangulation, using a (silk) handkerchief—does not appear in every
act labeled thuggee; swords and poison feature as agents of
destruction quite as much as the talismanic rumal (handkerchief). Such
wide variations along a continuum of criminal activity were to lead,
after the 1830s, to an expansion of the provenance of thuggee: the
term came to include all kinds of organized and corporate criminal
activity (including poisoning and the kidnapping of children) that was
understood to be hereditary and/or itinerant. The confessions also
seem to demonstrate that at least some thugs were initiated into
professional practice not in adolescence or early manhood by older
male family members but later in life, most typically in response to a
situation of financial exigency.
Not only was it difficult to isolate certain crimes as the acts of
thugs, it was never easy either to establish the exceptional and
profoundly aberrant character of thuggee. The common complaint in all
the thuggee accounts without exception is that the activity of the
thugs seemed to mesh with exasperating ease into existing indigenous
networks of wealth and power, since they were supported by zamindars
(landowners), Indian princes, law-enforcement officials, merchants,
and even ordinary people. As Freitag suggests, “among organized
criminals the thags may have been the group most thoroughly embedded
in local society.” [23] The worship of Kali (also called Devi, or
Bhawani) could not easily be coded as an eccentric religious practice
either. Though some narratives do interpret the thugs’ invocation of
the goddess on the scaffold as proof positive of guilt (“Their
invocation of Bhawani at the drop was a confession of their guilt, for
no one in such a situation invokes Bhawani but a Thug, and he invokes
no other deity in any situation, whatever may be his religion or sect”)
[24], they also point to the widespread adoration of Kali across
regions and religions, among those identified as law-abiding as well
as those constituted as criminal.[25] Finally, while Thug beliefs and
rituals, especially those enacted at the start of an expedition, were
elaborately detailed, it was also asserted that in India expeditions
in quest of plunder were qualitatively no different from expeditions
undertaken for territorial aggrandizement; rulers and robbers alike
took the auspices after the Dasehra festival, before setting out on
their badshashi kam (kingly work).
Hence at least two contesting readings emerge: one defines the thugs
as a community apart, existing in enmity against law-abiding,
scrutable, and locally anchored subjects; the other identifies them as
natural to indigenous society, aided and abetted by all, and mirroring
and reproducing that society’s values. The uneasy fit between the
contextualizing move and the essentializing one was productive of an
aporia, which could only be resolved by invoking that most powerful of
all Indological epistemes—that of caste.[26] All the contradictions
and the seemingly endless heterogeneity of the subject category of the
thug are subsumed within that category, which is reified as coherent
and inflexible and emptied of any possibility of subjective freedom.
Once thuggee as social alliance was taxonomized as homologous to, if
not identical with (and the slippage from homology to identity occurs
without any apparent discursive strain), a caste, the thug could
simultaneously inhabit what had earlier been discrepant subject
positions: he could simultaneously be an exceptional criminal and a
representative Hindu, or Indian, since in the colonial imaginary the
territory of Hinduism is often coextensive with that of India.[27]
Even this reconciliation was not without its tensions, of course,
since thuggee as a philosophical system and a social formation seemed
to work strongly against the grain of the received colonial view of
India as irrevocably fractured along the fault lines of caste and
religion.
Nor was the caste explanation completely adequate to the great and, as
it seemed, illogical hybridity of thuggee. As a socioreligious
formation thuggee seemed to colonial investigators to be aligned with
popular, indeed demotic, forms of Hinduism in its reverence for Kali,
except that it attracted a large number of Muslim adherents, who
seemed to pay homage quite unproblematically both to the goddess and
to the strictures of the Koran. Here it is important to point to the
varied, contingent, and often irreconcilable constructions of Hindu
tradition in colonial discourse; the representation of Hinduism in the
discourse of thuggee is, for instance, quite discontinuous with that
which is operative in the discourse on sati, which was formulated in a
roughly contemporaneous moment. In the case of sati, as Lata Mani has
argued, colonial officials made energetic and systematic attempts to
establish Hinduism as a religion of the book; and Brahmanical readings
and textual authorities were privileged over custom and local
religious and social practice.[28] But in the instance of thuggee,
Hinduism is defined entirely as and by custom. Moreover, at the
popular or subaltern level, Hindu and Muslim forms of worship and
systems of belief may well have been less distinct than they were to
become (especially for more elevated castes and classes) later in the
century. The whole question in fact of Hindu doctrine and praxis and
its relation to thug identity is notoriously murky and ill defined.
Further complicating this discursive construction of thuggee was the
fact that professional thugs cultivated the appearance of the most
civic-minded of citizens and were conscientious about the discharge of
familial, social, and religious obligations. The very characteristics
that made them successful con men—their polish, their social and
rhetorical skills, their extraordinary capacity for duplicating
identities—also ensured their immense respectability in civil society.
But what rendered thuggee particularly elusive and frustrating to
British observers was its relative invisibility, its skill at
camouflage, and the difficulty of establishing it as a pervasive yet
eccentric form of lawlessness. Thug murders were typically performed
without shedding blood and without using identifiable offensive
weapons of any kind: they were performed far from the victims’ homes,
and the bodies were carefully buried. Because of the care exercised in
the killing and the disposal of the corpses (victims were buried with
great dispatch, and their graves were filled with rocks to keep out
any marauding animals) and the hazards attendant upon travel in
nineteenth-century India, these murders generally failed to register
as murders. Local landowners, rulers, and policemen connived at these
murders for their own benefit, or because they were prompted, it was
argued, by the heavy demands of superstition; and the peasantry, we
are told, simply ignored the bodies that occasionally appeared in
fields and wells. This raised the question of how far the circuit of
criminality actually extended: if local officials and the police
tolerated and even encouraged thuggee and ordinary folk made no
complaint about it, who could be said to remain unimplicated in it?
Under the circumstances, everything and everyone was liable to
suspicion, since the system of thuggee was both remarkably inclusive
and remarkably discreet in its operations. Hence British thuggee
inspectors were in the discomfiting position of focusing on crimes
that no one else acknowledged, certainly not (from the evidence of
these writers) most Indian princes or zamindars or even common folk
and generally not even the majority of the British magistracy or the
civil service. British scholars of thuggee were thus involved in a
detective project hobbled by an almost-fatal lack of empirical detail.
All natives were potentially thugs, since the system of thuggee was
remarkably inclusive; and the most seemingly innocent objects, like
handkerchiefs or gur (unrefined sugar, ritually consumed at the
commencement of an expedition), could participate in a diabolical
signifying system. And while British ignorance of thuggee (at least
until the 1830s) might contrast favorably with Indian knowledge—and
therefore complicity—it was susceptible of more objectionable
interpretations; in Masters’s novel, there is the danger that British
“ignorance” of thuggee can be read by the natives in a particularly
unflattering light: “In the nine years of the English Company’s rule
nothing had been done against the Deceivers. But William realized now
that most Indians knew at least of the existence of the Deceivers;
and, knowing, they could not believe the English did not also know;
therefore the English officials too were sharing in the spoils; so
what was the use of informing?” [29] (In the film version, the Indians
have good reason to be suspicious: George Angelsmith, the exemplary
servant of the East India Company, has full knowledge of the
activities of the thugs and profits from it.) Here it is not simply
the natives who are the object of investigation, codification, and
supervision; an alternative modality of interpretation is imaginable,
in which colonial authority is itself open to variant readings,
including those it has not authorized.
All these factors made the retrieval of information and the policing
of thuggee particularly vexing. And creating an archive and
standardizing reader response was not easy either. Though each thuggee
expedition and each act of thuggee was performed by the book, attended
by minutely detailed rituals and scrupulously observed omens, and was
immediately identifiable as such to those who could read the signs, it
was not immediately visible as such to those who could not or did not
see thuggee as a semiosis. Even in the 1860s, when knowledge about
thuggee had been codified, circulated, and reproduced and was
underwritten by wide-ranging institutional and legal support, Charles
Hervey complained that his subordinates were yet imperfect readers of
the complex and mysterious text of thuggee,
some correctly recognizing Thuggee in instances which were palpably
the deed of experts, although death should not have taken place;
others only doing so where death had resulted; some classing certain
murders as cases of “Thuggee” without reference to the means resorted
to in the perpetration thereof; others who wholly pass by cases of
poisoning whether followed by death or not, although they bore
evidence of being the acts of class criminals; some who restrict their
notice to selected cases only of its occurrence, passing by other
similar instances; some who endeavour to distinguish between different
degrees of poisoning, some calling “murder by poison” Thugee [sic],
others not doing so[;]…others who lump all such kindred offences under
round numbers without any narration of the attendant circumstances,
contented only with quoting against them the sections of the Penal
Code under which they were triable or were tried.[30]
With all the discrepant valences of this discourse, one factor
remained crucial in the determination of thuggee: the idea of
hereditary criminality. This was not a particularly novel reading of
corporate criminal activity in colonial India; as far back as 1772,
the dacoits of Bengal were strenuously and repeatedly characterized
not as individual or collective subjects responding to socioeconomic
transformations engendered by the sudden ascendancy of the East India
Company or indeed to any other material circumstance, or even to
chance, but as fulfilling a hereditary calling, if not a genetic
predisposition.[31] And, as Sanjay Nigam has convincingly
demonstrated, the colonial reification of caste as coherent and
inflexible, combined with the received notion of hereditary
criminality (most fully exemplified in the instance of thuggee), was
to have a long and ominous history in colonial and postcolonial India;
the Criminal Tribes and Castes Act of 1872 was to designate (without
any possibility of appeal) a number of vagrant and impoverished
“communities” as “criminal by birth” and thus subject to surveillance,
control, and attempted rehabilitation.[32] I am struck here by the
considerable (though not complete) overlap of this discourse with
Michel Foucault’s description of the emergence of the homosexual as a
distinct ontological category in the nineteenth century:
The nineteenth-century homosexual became a personage, a past, a case
history, and a childhood, in addition to being a type of life, a life
form, and a morphology, with an indiscreet anatomy and a mysterious
physiology. Nothing that went into his total composition was
unaffected by his sexuality. It was everywhere present in him: at the
root of all his actions because it was their insidious and
indefinitely active principle; written immodestly on his face and body
because it was a secret that always gave itself away. It was
cosubstantial with him, less as a habitual sin than as a singular
nature.…The sodomite had been a temporary aberration; the homosexual
was now a species.[33]
Because thuggee was such a slippery issue, a kind of legal,
disciplinary, and discursive apparatus was brought to bear on it that
did not occur in the case for instance of sati, another retrograde and
horrific practice apparently authorized by Hinduism. This is not of
course to assert that sati as a discursive formation was unproblematic
for colonial administrators and reformers; Lata Mani has pointed that
the abolition of sati in colonial India was preceded by its
legalization and has drawn attention to the valorization of the
“voluntary” sati in colonial and nationalist discourses. But thuggee
was not so much spectacular—as sati was (at least until 1829)—as
invisible. As a result it was much more difficult to discursively
track its trajectory and to determine the success of the pacification.
Sati was abolished in 1829, and there are no official records after
that date of the practice; it was presumed that it had simply been
legislated out of existence. But in the instance of thuggee, such
faith in the efficacy of legislative sanction is much more uncertain.
In the juridical domain, thuggee was defined as an “exceptional case”
in the name of a colonial contingency, since thuggee by definition was
exorbitant to standard law-and-order discourse and marked at all
points by immoderation.[34] This enabled the establishment of a
discursive and juridical system that was entirely self-referential and
self-validating, in which it was sufficient to be identified as a thug
or “hereditary criminal” through an approver’s testimony, without
actually being convicted of a specific crime, to be liable to arrest,
trial, and, almost inevitably, conviction. I will return to this
shortly.
Knowledge of thuggee as an essence then had to be constructed,
crucially, around an absence; and all the confessions, all the subject
effects produced by the testimony of approvers, were a strenuous
effort to recover a “consciousness,” a consciousness that would
provide the foundation for the revelations that ratified the antithug
campaign. But if thuggee was as far-reaching and as subtle as W. H.
Sleeman and his associates insisted, and if thug ontology and practice
was determined by birth, how could an Englishman ever hope to know the
whole truth and nothing but the truth? How could one verify the
confessions of the approvers and establish checks over their control
of the official record? Thornton registers exasperation at the
contaminated nature of the confessions: “Few things are more difficult
to a native of India than to tell the truth, under any circumstances;
and the confessions of criminals, in all countries, may be expected to
contain a mixture of truth and falsehood. The deposition of Moklal is
not consistent with the rest; nor even with another statement made by
himself, made in conversation with Captain Sleeman.” [35] He also
cites (as do other accounts of thuggee) the instance of an approver
who functioned as a double agent, beguiling his English employer into
believing him committed to the capture of thugs while providing
information and English passes [documents authorizing unimpeded travel
within, and between, designated territories] to his criminal comrades.
[36]
While James Sleeman claims that W. H. Sleeman and his colleagues, in
the 1830s, “resolved that this trade of Thuggee should no longer be
any more a mystery than tailoring or carpentering, began to initiate
themselves into all the secrets of the craft, and were soon, in their
knowledge of the theory of the profession, little behind the
professors themselves,” [37] the “secrecy” of thuggee never
disappeared as a threat. W. H. Sleeman—speaking of course with the
superior wisdom of his newfound knowledge—records a state preceding
revelation with combined horror and incredulity:
While I was in the Civil charge of the district of Nursingpore…no
ordinary robbery or theft could be committed without my being
acquainted with it; nor was there a robber or a thief of the ordinary
kind in the district, with whose character I had not become acquainted
in the discharge of my duty as magistrate; and if any man had then
told me, that a gang of assassins by profession resided in the village
of Kandelee, not four hundred yards from my court, and that [in the]
extensive groves of the village of Mandesur, only one stage from me…
was one of the largest Beles, or places of murder in all India; and
that large gangs from Hindustan and the Deccan used to rendezvous in
these groves, remain in them for many days altogether every year, and
carry their dreadful trade along all the lines of road that pass by
and branch off them, with the knowledge and connivance of the two
landholders by whose ancestors these groves had been planted, I should
have thought him a fool or a mad man; and yet nothing could have been
more true.[38]
Indeed, the entire discourse of thuggee is troped by figures of
darkness, mystery, inscrutability, unpredictability, and unexpected
menace, even as W. H. Sleeman and his assistants are inserted into a
heroic narrative of battle against evil. “Secrecy is indispensable”
for thug ceremonies, and “[a]n impenetrable veil of darkness is thrown
over their atrocities”;[39] “danger was everywhere, unseen and
unexpected” [40] for the Englishmen involved in the anti-thuggee
enterprise (even though Englishmen were known never to be attacked by
thugs); they were like “men isolated in the midst of a dangerous,
trackless and gloomy jungle, without map or compass”;[41] and “[the]
old Thug Associations, which have been now effectually put down in all
parts of India,…would assuredly rise up again, and flourish under the
assurance of religious sanction,…were the strength of the special
police, employed in the suppression, hastily reduced, or its vigilance
relaxed.” [42] Once again, Foucault on the discourse of sex and
sexuality is apropos: “What is peculiar to modern societies, in fact,
is not that they consigned sex to a shadow existence, but that they
dedicated themselves to speaking of it ad infinitum, while exploiting
it as the secret.” [43]
This very obscurity, this elusiveness that characterizes the thug as
discursive object, could and did function as an enabling moment for
the colonial law-and-order machine. Since it could never be decisively
established—given the terms of the discourse—that thuggee had been
extirpated, the need for endless vigilance was ratified. The moral
viability of the civilizing mission, indeed the very ground of its
possibility, is the never-satisfied, endlessly proliferating need for
reform. In the case of thuggee, colonial officials were confirmed in
their belief that the work of civilizing is never done. Thus many
writers warn repeatedly of the dangers of celebrating the demise of
thuggee prematurely; in 1893, Charles Hervey, successor to Colonel W.
H. Sleeman of thuggee fame, was still chasing after thugs. These
officers point not only to the hypnotic lure of thuggee for its
practitioners but also to the fact that native policemen and landlords
are only too anxious to conceal evidence of thug crimes from credulous
British officials overeager to congratulate themselves on the
cessation of this practice and overoptimistic about the all-
encompassing vigilance of colonial power. Thuggee never really goes
away as a present problem as sati might be said to do; it may almost
be said to function as a trope for all that is uncontrollable in the
law-and-order situation. In fact, the construction of hereditary,
pervasive, and socially or religiously sanctioned criminality
inaugurated in the discourse on thuggee reappears throughout the
nineteenth century in the discourse on dacoits, buddhuks, dhatoora
poisoners (all of whom came to occupy the same criminal category as
the thug), and specifically designated criminal tribes and castes.
How else might we understand this absence or unknowability that tropes
the discourse of thuggee? Certainly this simultaneous fear of and
pleasure in the duplicity and omnipresence of the thug deserves some
consideration, especially in light of the questions it raises about
the status of knowledge, subject positions, and representation in the
colonial state. Bhabha’s model of the emergence of shifty civil
subject of the colonial polity through mimicry can be extended here,
it seems to me, to some of the other possibilities of mimicry in the
colonial theater.[44] The situation of the thug is analogous to but
certainly not identical to that of the not quite/not white native—the
thug after all is not mimicking colonial ontology—though his capacity
for traffic in identities and positions is staggering. The instance of
thuggee intimates, I think, that the colonized subject’s mimicry need
not necessarily have the colonizer as its focus in order to function
as menace; mimicry, even if it is mimicry of indigenous subject
positions, frustrates the colonial desire for homogenized, duplicable,
and knowable native subjects in whom subalternity is sought to be
reproduced through the authorized version of mimicry. If there is one
thing that characterizes the thug of the archives, it is the
multiplicity and unpredictability of his manifestations. As we have
seen, it was what was perceived as this faculty for disguise and
invisibility that had to be criminalized by the laws designed to
convict thugs; theoretically there was no such entity as an honest
thug, and many so-called thugs were convicted who were, according to
the official records, engaged in “honest labour.” There is an ongoing
and strenuous endeavor in the discourse of thuggee to interpellate the
thug as an essence, a move which attests to the anxiety of rupture
that subtends the totalizing epistemologies of colonialism. Yet the
thug as discursive object is strikingly resistant to such fixity; he
is all things to all people. If native identity can be staged, can be
plural, then what are the implications for colonial authority and
colonialism’s project of information retrieval? Thuggee, I would
suggest, introduces a disturbance in the paradigm of information
retrieval that often seems dominant in texts like Kim and A Personal
Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah, as well as the
notion of native authenticity and ontological purity that is a
governing trope of colonial discourse. The thug, through his capacity
for disguise and impersonation and his skill at negotiating multiple
and competing identities, usurps the colonizer’s privilege of complex
subjectivity and of movement between subject positions and thus can be
read to assume some control over both the construction and flow of
colonial knowledge. So he never becomes fully naturalized as the
disciplinary subject or, in other words, the knowable subject, of the
colonial polity. And thuggee, later rewritten as dacoity, continues to
function within the law-and-order context in the colonial and
postcolonial state formations as a trope for the unruly and
unreformable energies that cannot easily be accommodated to the needs
of the civilizing mission.[45]
• • •
The Law
The writings and reports of W. H. Sleeman, which form the core texts
around which the tale of thuggee is orchestrated, represent a
concerted and monumental effort to illuminate and classify the
obscurity of thuggee. Sleeman emerges, in both nineteenth- and
twentieth-century accounts of thuggee, as the hero of his own story.
Even those works, like George Bruce’s The Stranglers and James
Sleeman’s Thug, or A Million Murders, that purport to be histories of
the thugs rather than biographies, present the account of thuggee as
coextensive with the life of Sleeman. Sleeman emerges from these texts
(and his own, of course) as an exemplary figure in nineteenth-century
criminal and judicial procedures, who undertakes a self-appointed
messianic task of uncovering and reading. Nothing in his story happens
by chance. The discovery of the scope of thuggee as a result of
Feringheea’s confession is (re)written as an inevitability in the task
of reconstructing thuggee, and Sleeman’s anti-thuggee efforts traced
back to the moment of his arrival in India in 1809. All of Sleeman’s
life and work before 1830 is thus written as a prelude to the
climactic scenes of thug hunting and as a preparation for reading the
mysteries of this esoteric Indian cult. Sleeman above all is
transformed in this telling into an almost Saidean figure of
knowledge; he is the shikari (hunter) who, with his gift of languages,
long residence in India without being “Orientalized,” and experience
in war and in settling newly conquered territories, can present an
ideal model of the exegete. Though a crime like thuggee is quite
literally inconceivable to those “living under an efficient
government,” Sleeman is no Inspector Clouseau, no naive Englishman who
stumbles unaware upon a vast organized conspiracy. He knows what he is
looking for; indeed, Tuker’s biography imagines Sleeman becoming the
butt of his colleagues’ jokes during his early years in India because
of his eagerness to “discover” thuggee.[46] In this telling, thuggee
predates Sleeman; indeed, it is as old as India itself. Yet the text
of thuggee remains unread until Sleeman, the reader-as-savior,
provides the hermeneutic key to the mystery. He establishes the
exceptional quality of thuggee, distinguishing it from outlawry,
banditry, and other illegalities necessitated by privation; he
establishes the story of thuggee as a moral narrative and embeds it in
the culture of an Orientalist India.
The man whose ideal was, like that of a Sherlock Holmes, “to be
everywhere, and to see everything,” [47] proved phenomenally successful
—in his own terms—at cracking the code of thuggee. He showed a
remarkable capacity—far greater than that of Sherwood or even that of
the few officers who had harassed the thugs in the early decades of
the century—to globalize and codify discrete accounts of crimes in
different times and places into a metanarrative of hereditary crime.
On the evidence of approvers, he created gigantic and detailed “family
trees” of captured and uncaptured thugs that provided copious details
of each man’s crimes, place of origin, place in the caste hierarchy,
and personal and professional antecedents; he also mapped out all the
bhils (places of slaughter and burial) in central India. Every thug
could then be located on Sleeman’s gigantic grid, and information and
operations were centralized. The local knowledge of the approvers now
became part of a giant signifying chain. For the thug, there was no
escape: his history and his nature were always already known to the
all-seeing eyes of the colonial bureaucracy and criminal-justice
system; his experience formed a narrative even before he made his
confession and was in no way dependent on it. As Ameer Ali says in
Confessions of a Thug, “The man unfolded a roll of paper written in
Persian, and read a catalogue of crime, of murders, every one of which
I knew to be true; a faithful record it was of my past life, with but
few omissions.” [48] Sleeman also prepared a dictionary of Ramasee,
the secret language of the criminal fraternity, with a vocabulary made
up entirely of descriptions of criminal actions. This linguistic,
geographic, and genealogical grid left out little that was germane to
the needs of criminal justice in colonial India:
I have, I believe, entered in this vocabulary every thing to which
Thugs in any part of India have thought it necessary to assign a
peculiar term; and every term peculiar to their associations with
which I have yet become acquainted. I am satisfied that there is no
term, no rite, no ceremony, no opinion, no omen or usage that they
have intentionally concealed from me; and if any have been
accidentally omitted after the numerous narratives that I have had to
record, and cases to investigate, they can be but comparatively very
few and unimportant.[49]
The doctrine of thuggee was not simply a novel yet apposite way of
reading Indian criminality at a moment when the pressures to reform
the East India Company by reforming India were particularly marked.
The consequences of the discovery of thuggee were, in other words, not
simply a philosophical reconstellation of Indian criminality. Thuggee
also gave rise to a veritable cottage industry of policing and
surveillance techniques, as well as ethnographic documentation. Like
the system it purported to study, the discourse on thuggee was
totalizing in its scope. In the juridical domain, thuggee was defined
as an “exceptional case”; this enabled the establishment of a
radically new machinery of arrest, conviction, and punishment in thug
trials. The production of penal truth in thug trials proved, as we
have seen, notoriously difficult. Since thugs were peripatetic
operatives, who always committed their crimes far from home and
disposed of their plunder quickly, evidence was not only destroyed but
questions were raised about jurisdictional authority. Local
functionaries were not just uncooperative; many were allegedly bound
by a utilitarian calculus to thug gangs. In addition, the relatives of
the putative victims displayed no zeal in the punishment of crime or
the redress of wrongs; the vast majority refused to identify those
missing as murdered at all. This uncooperative behavior was attributed
to their fatalistic acceptance of all disasters (including,
apparently, cholera, poisonous snakes, and sudden death). Even when
thugs were captured, convicting them was rendered even more
troublesome by the fact that Muslim criminal law disallowed the
testimony of approvers.
The lack of independent witnesses, the unavailability in many cases of
both bodies and booty—the sheer paucity of positivist evidence, in
other words—could only be resolved in one way. The most important
criminal conspiracy of the century (of all time, some of the authors
claimed) could be adequately engaged only by a new conception of law.
Many of the tactics adopted by those spearheading the antithug drive
were not novel but had been pioneered earlier in Bengal; however, it
was the Thuggee and Dacoity Department’s use of these tactics that
proved not only successful but replicable.[50] Since the law as
currently defined made the complicity of individuals in particular
crimes almost impossible to establish, specific criminal acts were no
longer punishable as such. Instead, it was a subject position, or
rather, an ontology, that was criminalized. It was enough to be a
thug, without actually being convicted of a specific act of thuggee,
to be liable to the exorbitant measures of the Thuggee and Dacoity
Department. As Radhika Singha wrote, “The strangest feature of this
enactment was the use of a cant term ‘Thugs’ without explaining what
precisely the offence of ‘Thuggee’ was. That such a term was
acceptable at a time when a penal code upholding precision and
exactness was on the agenda is an indication of the success of a
publicist campaign in official circles.” [51] Act XXX of 1836 directed
that any person who was convicted of “having belonged to a gang of
Thugs, [was] liable to the penalty of imprisonment for life; and
[that] any person, accused of the offence, made punishable by the Act,
[was] liable to be tried by any Court, which would have been competent
to try him, if his offence had been committed within the district
where that Court sits.” [52] (Act XXIV of 1843 extended the punitive
sanctions of the thuggee laws to those found guilty of belonging to
dacoit gangs.) Act XXX also dispensed with the last vestiges of Muslim
criminal law (which is said to have provided greater protections for
the accused and greater clemency for the convicted than the Thuggee
and Dacoity Department thought advisable for those standing trial as
thugs) by doing away with the necessity for the fatwa (formal legal
opinion) of the Muslim law officer. It applied with retrospective
effect, and it established special courts for the trial of thugs—
including those captured outside company territory, within the
kingdoms of the Indian princes—often with special magistrates
appointed by the governor-general. It permitted the arrest of entire
families, including women and children, as legitimate means of
entrapping active (male) thugs; since thuggee was supposed to be a
family affair anyway, transmitted in the genes and passed on from
father to son, wives and children were also fit targets for the
colonial state’s punitive and corrective measures. The act admitted
the testimony of approvers in lieu of the testimony of independent
witnesses (which had been disallowed under Islamic law), a move which
created a remarkable mechanics of truth production and conviction.
(Act XIX of 1837, under the direction of Macaulay, did away with this
“dual standard of evidence” in criminal law by making the testimony of
approvers admissible in all courts of law, not just those prosecuting
cases of thuggee.)[53] Yet it is by no means to be assumed that
empiricism and observation were peripheral to the process, though it
was observation of a very carefully demarcated kind; there is in the
colonial archive an overwhelming weight given to the experiential
dimension of the knowledge of such canonical figures as Sleeman. All
disagreements encountered on the British side are attributed to
inexperience, to the lack of a proper interpretive framework within
which to place certain kinds of discoveries, or to a willful
ingenuousness about the success of British rule.
The definition of thuggee as a form of hereditary, corporate, and
religiously sanctioned identity allowed for no appeal by a thug
convicted under its special decrees; in theory—and in practice—there
was no such entity as an innocent thug. All those identified as thugs
by approvers’ testimony were automatically guilty, even if no specific
crimes could be proved against them and even if there was no (other)
evidence of their ever having associated with other thugs. Once the
thug hunts began, criminal activity was not always necessary for
arrest and conviction; even those “thugs” engaged in “honest
labour” (a theoretical impossibility, given the terms of the
discourse) were rounded up, tried, convicted, and imprisoned since the
compelling, hereditary lure of thuggee was always latent in the thug.
An overwhelmingly high proportion of those arrested were convicted, a
fact which validated, the Thuggee and Dacoity Department believed, the
thoroughness of its efforts and the justice of its cause.
Confessions were key to the discursive constitution of thuggee; not so
much at the actual thug trials as in the manifold accounts of thuggee
that were produced in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Meadows
Taylor’s novel, as far as structural organization is concerned, reads
not very differently from the nonfictional official accounts of
thuggee: a brief introduction followed by hundreds of pages of
confession, interspersed more and more intermittently by the
narrator’s moral commentary. The confessional mode lent itself nicely
to the narrative conventions and imperatives of the nineteenth-century
English novel, which encompassed both the Newgate novel and the
spiritual autobiography.
One of the best approvers, Bukhtawar, provided a confession (which I
quoted at the beginning of this chapter) that was a model for all thug
confessions: “I am a Thug, my father and grandfather were Thugs, and I
have thugged with many. Let the government employ me and I will do its
work.” [54] The confessions serve not to elicit what is not already
known but to authenticate and authorize official knowledge of thuggee
in general and specific crimes in particular, as well as to produce
the thug as (colonial) criminal subject. For Foucault, the confession
“transcend[s] all other evidence; an element in the calculation of the
truth, it [is] also the act by which the accused accept[s] the charge
and recognize[s] its truth; it transform[s] an investigation carried
out without him into a voluntary affirmation. Through the confession,
the accused himself [takes] part in the ritual of producing penal
truth.” [55] In the eyes of the Thuggee and Dacoity Department, a
failure to confess was evidence less of innocence than of hardihood
and an acquaintance with the byzantine ramifications of Indian
criminal law.
And yet these confessions that dominate and drive all accounts of
thuggee are not confessions as such, but approver’s testimonies; the
two, as Shahid Amin so appositely reminds us, are not identical. For
while the confession proper seeks to dilute the guilt of the
confessing subject, the approver’s testimony, to be fully credible in
the eyes of the law, must implicate its speaker as fully as possible
in the illegality being described.[56]
The fact that approvers’ testimony was “tainted” and that they might
either wittingly or unwittingly implicate the innocent was undeniably
an issue, though anxiety on the score was aired only to be promptly
shown up as unfounded. The thuggee records continually stress the ways
in which the truth of each approver’s testimony was tested against all
the others. But even in these official accounts, it does not escape
remark that the approvers’ testimony regarding dates and other details
do not always match,[57] though all discursive contradictions are
always sought to be smoothed away. Bruce, who is the only one to raise
overtly the possibility of the conviction of the innocent, blames not
the system but its most visible instruments, the approvers: “Were
innocent men convicted upon the evidence of revengeful informers?.…
Those Thugs who were no longer free to strangle on the roads may have
conspired together to send victims to the gallows instead, for by
killing in this way they could at once show Kali their continued
devotion and save their own lives.” [58] These testimonies were not
required, under Act XXX, to be matched against the reports of
independent witnesses or against the weight of circumstantial
evidence; and none of the accused had the benefit of counsel, so the
approvers were never cross-examined by anyone other than the officers
of the Thuggee and Dacoity Department.
Even though the approvers were indispensable for forming the text of
thuggee and for prosecuting thugs, their own status remained somewhat
nebulous. On making “a full and ingenuous confession,” an approver
would be eligible to have his sentence of hanging or transportation
commuted. But an approver could never be released, since the lure of
the rumal made him irreclaimable for honest society. It was also
necessary that all approvers be convicted (not just arrested) thugs,
since it was contrary to the nature of British justice to hold its
subjects indefinitely without trial. How, though, could the government
convict approvers when it had no evidence except for what they
provided? The solution was to advise approvers to plead guilty to the
general charge of being thugs, under the provisions of Act XXX, rather
than to plead guilty to the charge of committing specific capital
crimes (which could result in the death penalty); this would ensure
their conviction, and then they could be held for life without
questioning the authority that held them.[59] It was easier and more
useful to hold approvers than to hang them; and they needed to be held
forever in order to ensure the uninterrupted production of truths
about thuggee. The above proceeding did away with the necessity of a
regular trial (that is to say, one conducted under the special courts
established by Act XXX) by having one whose outcome was known in
advance; and it guaranteed that there would be no escape from the
government’s mercy.
Truth production and conviction was only part of the job of the
Thuggee and Dacoity Department. Rehabilitation was also part of the
program, though the official wisdom on rehabilitation was marked by
considerable ambivalence. To be a part of a moral narrative, the
antithug campaign could not be purely punitive in nature, especially
in the instance of those prisoners who had not been convicted of
particular capital crimes. At the same time, if thugs were hereditary
murderers who found the call to blood irresistible, they were not
reformable subjects. The government’s response to the problem of
identity and rehabilitation was, even in its own terms, a markedly
uneven and patently hierarchized one. Some of the most distinguished
among the thugs were recruited into the police force. Some others were
rewarded by W. H. Sleeman by being allowed to live near him with their
families and followers in his compound, an arrangement about which
Freitag observes: “The similarity between the spatial and
psychological configurations of his compound and those of thag-
landlord relations in a village is not coincidental.” [60] Other thug
approvers and prisoners and their families were settled in colonies
and put to manual labor; from being dishonest and itinerant, they were
compelled to be poor and settled. The focus of reform was the children
of the thugs: they were taught various skills, though not taught to
read and write (because it would make them dissatisfied with their
condition). The sexuality of the sons of the thugs was strictly
regulated; they were not allowed to marry and breed a new generation
of thugs. (A female thug was a rarity and was, presumably, a less
potent conduit of the genetic material of hereditary criminality than
was a male.)
Mature thugs, however, were less easily assimilable into a regime of
morality and normalcy. Even captured thugs and informers emerge in the
reports as notoriously impervious to all efforts at moral
transformation. They repudiate repentance and reform, ascribing their
cooperation entirely to pragmatic motives and describing their
activities in professional terms, without the obligatory change of
heart normally central to the confessional narrative. Not only that,
they understand their present circumstances in terms of their failure
to observe omens and follow proscriptions and to be fully professional
about their work; the official success against themselves is simply
the result of the East India Company’s iqbal (good fortune), not its
moral or religious superiority or even its greater strategic skill.
They seem to refuse in other words to be drawn into the moral
narrative of the civilizing mission (though it must always be
remembered that the production of the thug as unreformable subject was
not necessarily contrary to the aims of the discourse on thuggee). The
following is a typical exchange; the questioner is presumably W. H.
Sleeman, the respondents thug informers:
Q:
If Davey’s displeasure visits all who punish Thugs, how is it that you
all escape so well?
Moradun:
Davey’s anger visited us when we were seized. That was the effect of
her resentment; she cast us off then and takes no notice of us now.
Q:
And if you were to return to Thuggee, she would still guide and
protect you?
Moradun:
Yes, but what gang would now receive us?
Q:
And are you not afraid to assist in suppressing Thuggee?
Moradun:
No; we see God is assisting you, and that Davey has withdrawn her
protection on account of our transgressions. We have sadly neglected
her worship. God knows in what it will all end.
Q:
True, God only knows; but we hope it will end in the entire
suppression of this wicked and foolish system; and in the conviction
on your part that Davey has really nothing to do with it.
Nasir:
That Davey instituted Thuggee, and supported it as long as we attended
to her omens, and observed the rules framed by the wisdom of our
ancestors, nothing in the world can ever make us doubt.[61]
• • •
The Englishman
This section, on The Deceivers, John Masters’s novel about thuggee,
serves as a (deconstructive) supplement to the official narrative of
the thug, in taking up some of the questions and figures that occupy a
recessive status in that account. Here we see that if the thug of the
archive provides one (admittedly slippery and fixed at the same time)
model of staging identities, there is another model that is crucial
for a comprehension of the thug-English engagement. This model is the
obverse of the process that generates the mimic man of colonial
discourse; it is the lure of going native. The term here both
resonates with and fails to correspond to the mimetic model provided
by Burton in the last chapter.[62] The will to mimicry governs
(Indian) thug and Englishman alike, as we shall see in The Deceivers,
where the plot is driven—as is the thug archive—by a fascination with
the absent and never fully recuperable thug. In engaging this
scenario, the novel also recasts the paradigmatic narrative of
mimicry, in which the native may mimic the colonizer but without any
access to essential Englishness, while the colonizer can trade
identities freely, with no strings attached, without actually being
interpellated as a colonized subject. The Deceivers makes manifest the
precariousness of such self-possession.
The dialectical dependence of the fantasy of complete knowledge on the
paranoid fear of native inscrutability is staged in this novel, where
there is a suturing of the ostensibly antithetical figures of the
English policeman and the thug approver. This novel allows for an
examination of the tension between the received wisdom about thuggee
and some of the marginal issues located at the pressure points of the
official discourse. This novel tells the story of William Savage, a
mediocre and distinctly unheroic English magistrate. Wracked by sexual
and professional anxieties, an alienated subject of the British
colonial machine in India, and sneakingly sympathetic to such Indian
customs as sati, he transforms himself into the exemplary colonial
officer by taking on—albeit temporarily—the calling of the thug. At
the urging of his young wife, Mary, he initially takes on the persona
of the absent Gopal the weaver in order to save Gopal’s wife from
sati; he, however, meets the renegade thug Hussein and decides to
continue as Gopal in order to track down the thugs. Once he assumes
the role, he finds himself powerfully drawn to the practice and goes
on to become a noted thug leader. He does not continue as a thug, of
course—even though at one point Hussein suggests to Savage that the
East India Company become a sponsor of thugs, like the other rulers of
the land; with a little help from his newly (re)constructed
Englishness and his friends, he returns to propriety at the end. (The
Merchant Ivory film production is even more skeptical than the novel
is of the progressivist teleology of the civilizing mission, as well
as of its “success”: in the film, George Angelsmith is led off in
chains, but Savage, estranged from his wife and his Christian god and
unable to prevent the sati that he has actually made possible, is
destined to be perpetually haunted by Kali.)
The Deceivers considers the unspoken and unspeakable possibility that
subtends so much of colonial discourse: what if identity can be
unhinged from race and national origin? And if (racial/national)
identity is unstable and subject to negotiation with each crossing of
a frontier, then in the name of what telos or destiny does Englishness
speak? What if, as R. Radhakrishnan so compellingly asks, on the
subject of diasporic, transnational culture, “identities and
ethnicities are not a matter of fixed and stable selves but rather the
results and products of fortuitous travels and recontextualizations?…
Is ethnicity nothing but, to use the familiar formula, what ethnicity
does?” [63] In the more lurid enactments of this alternative history,
a Kurtz, representing the loftiest intellectual and ethical
possibilities of the Enlightenment, can “go native” in the Dark
Continent. But, closer to “home,” there were, as Arnold has revealed,
more troubling English subjects—those poor white orphans and vagrants
(who were to have their own moment of glory in Kim) who lived lives
not often distinguishable from those of lower-class Indians.[64]
William Savage, the protagonist of The Deceivers, is located somewhere
between these two subject positions.
Despite the putative restoration to wholeness, Englishness, and
legality of William Savage at the close of the story, the narrative
nonetheless opens up a space for investigating the “double and split
subject” of the colonial enunciation, for what Bhabha calls—in the
context of the nation’s fissured enunciation—“dissemi-nation”: “a
space that is internally marked by cultural difference and the
heterogeneous histories of contending peoples, antagonistic
authorities, and tense cultural locations.” [65] As in the case of so
many other Englishmen, Savage will have to turn to Indianness in order
to return to or consolidate or improve his English self; in doing so,
he will come back as a new and more English Englishman, but he will
also, temporarily at least, be transformed into a border subject,
changed by his experience of Indianness, surrendering illusions of
full autonomy and Englishness in the crossing of boundaries. Here I
invoke Burton again as a point of reference. Burton had an
occasionally vexed relationship with national identity: his ancestry
was partly Irish and Welsh, and he grew up on the Continent, only
coming to live in England in his late teens. Yet for him identity,
whatever guises it might assume and however far it might roam, is
usually more persuasively anchored than is that of Masters’s
protagonist in an imperial Englishness. Burton can be, at different
times, a West Asian merchant or a Muslim hajji, but his identities are
clearly hierarchized and more manipulable than Savage’s. While the
success of his passing is always, in a sense, conditional upon his
being a man from elsewhere/nowhere, he can also claim nativeness as
his own production, wrenching an (imaginary) autonomy from the
dominion of necessity. Savage passes through Indianness en route to
Englishness, but, unlike Burton, he cannot pass in and out without
constraint. Indianness, while indispensable to Englishness, must also
be violently cast out if Englishness is to be secure(d). In The
Deceivers, identity is the locus of strain and contradiction. For
Savage, identity cannot be expansive, assimilationist, and pluralist;
each new identity competes with and displaces the last. That is why
Savage can at the end afford to take no prisoners or recruit any
approvers from among his erstwhile comrades; the thugs whom he has led
and who are now pursuing him must be wiped out in an act of punitive
and frenzied brutality that not only precludes the need for approvers
but also does away with any witnesses against, and rem(a)inders of,
his own thug self.
The Deceivers stages, indeed foregrounds, the positionality and
politics of that ordinarily self-effacing hero of thug narration, the
investigator, and the plurality of determinations that produces him.
In this context, Gayatri Spivak’s cautionary reminders about the
urgent necessity of disallowing the neutrality of the intellectual or
investigator should be borne in mind. In “Can the Subaltern Speak?”
she proffers a critique of the sanctioned myopia of the Foucault and
Deleuze of “Intellectuals and Power,” who are unable or unwilling to
acknowledge the complicity of the intellectual in the mechanisms that
produce representations of subaltern subjects and groups and who fail
to recognize that subaltern subjects are constrained to fashion
themselves in terms of already scripted epistemologies.[66] Her
introduction to Mahasweta Devi’s “Draupadi” resonates with, and
provides another useful point of entry into, this problematic of
reading and engagement; the usefulness of deconstruction, she tells
us, lies in “the recognition,…of provisional and intractable starting
points in any investigative effort; its disclosure of complicities
where a will to knowledge would create oppositions; its insistence
that in disclosing complicities the critic-as-subject is herself
complicit with the object of her critique; its emphasis upon ‘history’
and upon the ethico-political as the ‘trace’ of that complicity—the
proof that we do not inhabit a clearly defined critical space free of
such traces.” [67] Where in the archives the English scribe was
progressively effaced from the scene of the crime as well as the scene
of writing, no such modesty is permitted the protagonist of Masters’s
novel. The novel accents above all his position of enunciation. He
cannot be, as in the normative thug account, the neutral conduit of
something clearly identified as a thug consciousness: the thug’s voice
cannot but inscribe Savage as both subject and object of his own
discourse.
The central aspect of Savage’s mission is not merely to bear witness;
he must above all produce a record, transform that irreducible
obscurity, that absence that is Indian corporate criminal activity,
into what Spivak terms an “interpretable text.” This of course was the
primary gift of Sleeman and his associates to the criminal justice
system in colonial India—to synthesize various and discrepant
occurrences as a semiosis under centralized control; against thuggee—
conceived of as a vast, well-articulated, and centralized conspiracy—
could be opposed the concentrated power/knowledge of the state. What
is required is a text and a model of reading that is reproducible in
the different temporalities and contexts of the colonial polity in
India. However, the novel intimates the limitations and complexities
of authorial intention. Savage produces his account in a condition of
profound subjective instability, opening his text up to multiple and
mutually contentious readings: “He had met hundreds of other
Deceivers, and the notes were a complete tale of all he had seen and
heard and done; of all the Deceivers who had engaged in any action,
with their descriptions, habits, and homes; of each murder, and how it
had gone, and how it might have been prevented—or improved upon. The
words could be read for either purpose, according to the spirit of the
reader” (p. 223). Above all, Savage’s account draws attention to the
transactional nature of reading. What ought to be a classic of
information retrieval and a master text on thuggee for colonial
authority is also a text for other thugs, a manual for reproducing
thug practice. Savage’s text (within the text of the Masters novel),
even though cast in the model of strict representational realism, is
susceptible of an Other reading; its meanings are ambushed, deflected,
and augmented en route to a destination it can never reach. The
Thuggee and Dacoity Department strove to produce, in its extensive
records on thug affiliation and activity, a text without nuances or
fissures, something that was not susceptible of any misreadings or
contesting interpretations. It sought, in its meticulous record
keeping and its attempts to square all the approvers’ testimonies with
each other and make them speak with one voice, to produce a record
that would have what was presumed to be the authority of material
fact. But for Savage, at least, it is impossible to engage in such an
enterprise without also inscribing his own complicity in his
testimonial. In this respect, he does approximate the classic approver
of the Thuggee and Dacoity Department, who cannot bear witness against
others without simultaneously bearing witness against himself.
While the novel insists that only impersonation can yield the truth,
it also illuminates the heterodox desires that underlie the exercise
of going native. Moreover, this impersonation is quite detached from
any agency on the part of William Savage and from any sense of
originary identity. Forced into the disguise of the Indian weaver
Gopal (by the patel [village headman] Chandra Sen) in an unwilling and
ultimately fruitless attempt to save a would-be sati, he is recognized
as an impostor by Hussein. Hussein is ideal material for an approver:
he has brains, courage, and resourcefulness, and he is remarkably
eager to undo the institution of thuggee, but his testimony alone is
not enough to compel belief in the practice. So he recruits an
Englishman to the anti-thuggee cause, knowing that only he can be
fully convincing as a figure of knowledge. And this knowledge can only
be acquired experientially, and by going outside the law as currently
constituted, as Savage learns when he follows the more conventional
methods of information retrieval. As Hussein says,
Several times some English official or other has got hold of
information about us. Then he has chased us out of his district, and
reported, I suppose. But they’ve never worked together, and it always
blew over. They’ll never destroy us until one of them finds out
everything, and forces the Lat Sahib [the governor-general] to believe
everything, and plans a campaign to cover all India. And that one who
finds out must fear Kali, or he will not understand her. But he must
not love her. (p. 208)
Unable to ignore the thugs as the other English functionaries are
ready to do, eager to discard the Englishness he so uncomfortably
inhabits, and pressured by Hussein and Mary, Savage decides to
continue as Gopal the weaver, who, as it turns out, is also Gopal the
thug. For an unsuccessful and insecure man like Savage, wracked by
anxieties about (heterosexual) masculinity and Englishness, it is the
very abdication of authority involved in playing a thug that is
peculiarly attractive; inhabiting the subject position of the most
criminalized and most scrutinized indigenous subject holds out the
promise of psychic satisfactions not ordinarily available to colonial
authority.
The novel dallies with the idea (as many crime fictions often do,
though less explicitly) of the fragility of the barriers that separate
the custodian of law and morality from the criminal. It actually makes
available the proposition (though it has to drop it at the end) that
Savage is at heart a thug and that his initiation into thuggee by
Hussein is no accident. He takes naturally to the trade, is attended
by good omens, and enjoys a facility of thought, speech, and action
that is alien to his English self. The idea of mimicry itself is
transformed in his performance of it and begins to assume to assume
the contours of possession, if not those of originary identity. There
is no difference for him between the mimicry of an identity and the
identity itself.
In order to pass for an Indian or a thug (ultimately these two
categories are collapsed, as we have seen in the other narratives of
thuggee) Savage must slough off certain normative aspects of
Englishness in the tropics—the militant Christianity, the revulsion
against disease and cruelty, the reforming impulse. He must instead
embrace what is described as the nondualistic moral economy of
Hinduism that sees both creation and destruction as suffused with the
divine. Needless to say, the psychic territory of “India” is always
coextensive with Hinduism, despite the fact that Muslims as well as
other religious groups are shown to practice thuggee as much as do
Hindus; and this Hinduism is consistently and exclusively fetishized
as blood lust and hyperbolic sexuality. As an Indian, and Hindu, and
thug, Savage must participate in a series of paradoxes. He must be
Indian, and thug, to return more securely to Englishness, and
legitimacy; he must allow evil to be done in order to do good; and,
since the contexts of legality are always shifting and are
particularly in need of redefinition in India, he must go outside the
law in order to uphold the law. Always relatively indifferent to the
finer points of legal procedure and defendants’ rights (here written
as an inaptitude for “paperwork”), the antithug drive allows him to
rethink the concepts of justice and legality in the colonial context,
where it is notoriously difficult to punish crime anyway:
“What does justice mean?”…“Fair trial, the rules of evidence, no
double hazard, no hearsay, and so on and so on? Or protection against
injustice, against violence? The means, or the end?.…Oh, I know we
have no evidence about them yet. That’s just what I mean. I tell you,
sir, they cannot be run down within our rule of law. Indians aren’t
English. “No man dies by the hand of man,” they think, so they won’t
give evidence because they are not angry with the murderers. They
think men who kill are driven by God to kill. And there are too many
jurisdictions, too far to go to give evidence, too long to wait. We’ve
got to go outside the law to catch them, to prevent more
murders.” (pp. 128–29)
Caught between a colonial government and an Indian populace unwilling,
for different reasons, to do what is necessary to end thuggee and
pressured, moreover, by Hussein, Savage becomes Gopal again, only more
completely in earnest this time. In his new role Savage discovers that
passing for a thug involves a radical (re)contextualization of his
once and future Englishness. Moreover, as Gopal he has to inhabit a
role and a history that is already in place. Impersonation involves
not freedom but strict adherence to a scripted identity; he cannot
start afresh, or make himself up as he goes along. He discovers that
as Gopal, he is already an expert strangler and strategist, destined
to be “the greatest the Deceivers have ever known” (p. 218). And once
he participates in the sacramental ritual of gur-sharing and tastes
the transubstantiated body of the goddess, his allegiance and destiny
are fixed. Savage is born to thuggee, as his comfort in his role of
thug demonstrates; indeed, his story undoes the usual weighting of
“self” and “role” in the Englishman’s subjectivity, since he is more
convincing (to himself, and apparently to Indians and Englishmen
alike) and comfortable as Indian and thug than as Englishman and
Christian. Hussein, who is more percipient than he about the
complexities of subject formation, reminds him that “free will” is an
adjunct (or an illusion) of Englishness alone. Savage must find out
that intentions guarantee nothing; not even the Englishman, once he
has decided to play the Indian, can escape the formulaic constraints
of Indian/thug ontology: “You are a Deceiver, from this dawn on for
ever. A strangler. Only stranglers may stand on the blanket: you stood
on it. Only stranglers may take the consecrated sugar of communion:
you took it. It doesn’t matter what a man thinks he is. When he eats
consecrated sugar, on the blanket, in front of the pick-axe, he is a
strangler, because Kali enters into him.” (p. 182)
Such a script also demands of course that he confront his double, the
original Gopal. In order to protect himself and in order to wrest some
autonomy for himself, Savage strangles Gopal and thus becomes Gopal
himself. But strangling the “real Gopal” only makes him more fully
Gopal, for he can now develop into his predestined role. From this
point on, all paradoxes are held in abeyance. From being complicit in
murder through inaction Savage proceeds to strangulation himself and
becomes, in an extraordinary take on the man-who-would-be-king vision
that tropes so much colonial discourse, a noted leader of thugs. Like
Burton the Muslim, Savage the thug is characterized not simply by
mastery but by an extraordinary surplus of subject effects. (Unlike
Burton, though, he is tempted, and he is corrupted—although not
irredeemably.)
The desire for Gopal, which is closely articulated with the desire to
be Gopal, is mediated, interestingly enough, through the figure of the
sati who frames the novel and who foregrounds the question of gender
that has been bypassed or placed under erasure in the thuggee
archives. I find the entry into thuggee through sati to be a
particularly productive conjuncture for the problematic of mimicry,
identity, and the colonizer’s desire. The sati, most obviously,
provides an occasion for access to Gopal. The sati has to be set up in
the beginning so that Savage can play Gopal; and then it has to be
deferred so that he can continue to play Gopal and go in search of
Gopal. Her presence in the novel displaces homoerotic desire and
returns Savage to heterosexuality. It also ensures his successful
miming of Indianness and Englishness. But the consolidation of
heterosexuality, masculinity, and Englishness demands not simply her
presence but her death. She is insistently narrativized as a voluntary
sati; she is a romanticized figure, whose sacrifice Savage has no
desire to thwart. He desires her, and his desire for her takes the
form of wanting her to die for him, which he ensures by killing Gopal.
In this way, he can enjoy the satisfactions of Indian as well as
English masculinity. As an Indian, he can have the woman die for him
(and deliver him of his sexual anxieties); but being fully Indian also
means that he himself must die, for the sati requires a dead husband.
As an Englishman, therefore, he can distance himself from the violent
implications of Indianness. The sati’s death releases him from the
exigent identity of the Indianness into which he had temporarily
descended and frees him to enact the rituals of Englishness with
greater plausibility. The most convincing Englishman—as indeed the
most expert thug—turns out to be the mimic man after all.
• • •
Afterword
Masters’s novel serves in many ways as the most apt of epilogues to
the colonial accounts of thuggee, given its excavation of the erotic/
affective and metaphysical seductions of that institution—and of the
thug—for English masculinity in the tropics and given its suggestion
that the lure of the thug for the Englishman may be as compelling as
that of thuggee for the (Indian) thug. It charges the project of
unveiling and chastisement with a profusion of guilty, even delirious,
appetites and obsessions that call for continual incitement and
consummation. It does not, of course, fail to play upon the received
colonial narrative of thuggee as timeless Indian duplicity; but it
also reconfigures it as an erotic tale of the fraternal, closeted, and
homicidal desire that drives Indian and English impersonation. Perhaps
most remarkably, it showcases the seamless self-referentiality of the
discourse on thuggee (as evidenced in an archive composed of
biographies, histories, novels, legal records, and rumors) by
collapsing the thug and the thug hunter into a single figure; with a
literalism quite unprecedented in any of the other texts it confirms
that wherever there is an Englishman there is a thug.
Notes
1. Radhika Singha, “‘Providential’ Circumstances: The Thuggee Campaign
of the 1830s and Legal Innovation,” Modern Asian Studies 27 (February
1993): 83.
2. Guha, “Historiography of Colonial India.”
3. Ranajit Guha, “The Prose of Counter-Insurgency,” in Subaltern
Studies II: Writings on South Asian History and Society, ed. Ranajit
Guha (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1983). Also see Ranajit
Guha, Elementary Aspects of Peasant Insurgency in Colonial India
(Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1983).
4. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, “Deconstructing Historiography,” in In
Other Worlds: Essays in Cultural Politics (New York and London:
Routledge, 1987), 204.
5. This is not to suggest that Bhabha forecloses on any of these other
possibilities.
6. James Hutton, A Popular Account of the Thugs and Dacoits, the
Hereditary Garroters and Gang-Robbers of India (London: W. H. Allen,
1857), 90–91.
7. Reproduced in George Bruce, The Stranglers: The Cult of Thuggee and
Its Overthrow in British India (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World,
1968), 13–26.
8. Philip Meadows Taylor, “Introduction,” in Confessions of a Thug
(London: Richard Bentley, 1858 [1839]), 5.
9. A. J. Wightman, No Friend for Travellers (London: Robert Hale,
1959), 15.
10. See Francis C. Tuker, The Yellow Scarf: The Story of the Life of
Thuggee Sleeman (London: J. M. Dent & Sons, 1961), 197–98.
11. Geoff Bennington, “Postal Politics and the Institution of the
Nation,” in Nation and Narration, ed. Homi K. Bhabha (London and New
York: Routledge, 1990).
12. Sandria Freitag argues that thugs were—in contrast to members of
criminal castes and tribes—regarded as “admirable and awesome
opponents.” See her “Crime in the Social Order of Colonial North
India,” Modern Asian Studies 25, no. 2 (1991): 227–61. While some of
this horrified admiration does inform Wightman and Meadows Taylor’s
representations, such admiration is more usually carefully repressed;
there is, in fact, an interesting tension between the awe-inspiring
(if damnable) thug of these texts and the contemptible figure that the
other texts strenuously accentuate.
13. James Sleeman, Thug, or A Million Murders (London: Sampson Low,
Marston, 1933 [1920]), 5.
14. Sir George MacMunn, The Religions and Hidden Cults of India
(London: Sampson Low, Marston, 1931), 172–73. See, too, Meadows
Taylor, “Introduction,” i:
At the present time it [the novel] may deserve a more attentive study;
recent events will have too well prepared the Reader’s mind for
implicit belief in all the systematic atrocities narrated.…It will
scarcely fail to be remarked, with what consummate art such numerous
bodies of men were organized, and for a long time kept absolutely
unknown, while committing acts of cruelty and rapine hardly
conceivable;…Captain Taylor’s Introduction…may…furnish some clue to
the successful concealment of a rebellion, in the existence of which
many of our oldest and most experienced officers, and men high in
authority, absolutely withheld belief, till too late and too cruelly
convinced of their fatal error.
15. Katherine Mayo, Mother India (New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1927).
16. Hiralal Gupta, “A Critical Study of the Thugs and Their
Activities,” Journal of Indian History, 37, part 2 (August 1959),
serial no. 110: 169–77.
17. Sandria B. Freitag, “Collective Crime and Authority in North
India,” in Crime and Criminality in British India, ed. Anand Yang
(Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1985), 158–61.
18. Stewart N. Gordon, “Scarf and Sword: Thugs, Marauders, and State-
Formation in 18th Century Malwa,” Indian Economic and Social History
Review 6 (December 1969): 403–29. It should be noted that Gordon does
not ascribe the activities of the marauding groups to “Oriental
anarchy” or oppose “marauders” to “states,” arguing that both entities
had the same ends in view and were using the same methods of
legitimation, though with differing degrees of success.
19. J. Sleeman, Thug, 108.
20. David Arnold, Police Power and Colonial Rule: Madras 1859–1947
(Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1986), 3. He notes the transformation
of the Thuggee and Dacoity Department into the Central Intelligence
Department in 1904; this body shifted its initial focus on wandering
gangs and criminals to “the collation of political intelligence,
relaying information about political leaders and organizations to the
various provinces concerned” (p. 187).
21. Freitag, “Collective Crime and Authority,” 142.
22. Freitag, “Crime in the Social Order,” 230.
23. Ibid., 234.
24. Fanny Parks, Wanderings of a Pilgrim in Search of the Picturesque
(Karachi and London: Oxford University Press, 1975 [1850]), 1: 153.
25. Kali became a figure of increasing respectability in the
nineteenth century; before this she was a deity adored (in Bengal at
least) largely though not exclusively by tribal and other subaltern
subjects, including thugs and dacoits. It is not clear if Kali was
identical with other female deities addressed as Devi or Bhawani.
26. See, for instance, Nicholas B. Dirks, “Castes of Mind,”
Representations 37 (Winter 1992): 59: “It is increasingly clear that
colonialism in India produced new forms of society that have been
taken to be traditional, and that caste itself as we now know it is
not a residual survival of ancient India but a specifically colonial
form of civil society. As such it both justifies and maintains the
colonial vision of an India where religion transcends politics,
society resists change, and the state awaits its virgin birth in the
postcolonial era.”
27. This had not, of course, been entirely true for Burton, perhaps
because of his sojourn in Sind or his early studies in Arabic. As
might be expected, the particular discourse being engaged would
determine the Hinduness, or otherwise, of the territory designated
“India.”
28. Lata Mani, “Contentious Traditions,” in The Nature and Context of
Minority Discourse, ed. Abdul JanMohamed and David Lloyd (New York:
Oxford University Press, 1990).
29. John Masters, The Deceivers (New York: Carroll and Graf, 1952),
240. All further references to this novel will be incorporated
parenthetically into the text.
30. Charles Hervey, Some Records of Crime (Being the Diary of a Year,
Official and Particular, of an Officer of the Thuggee and Dacoitie
Police) (London: Sampson Low, Marston, 1892), 1: 50–51.
31. Ranjit Sen, Social Banditry in Bengal: A Study in Primary
Resistance, 1757–1793 (Calcutta: Ratna Prakashan, 1988), 2–3.
32. Sanjay Nigam, “Disciplining and Policing the ‘Criminals by
Birth,’” Indian Economic and Social History Review 27, no. 2 (1990):
131–64; 27, no. 3 (1990): 259–87.
33. Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality, trans. Robert Hurley
(New York: Vintage Books, 1978), 1: 43.
34. Radhika Singha argues that “the introduction of laws dealing with
ill-defined ‘criminal communities’ introduced certain fissures into
the ideology of the equal, abstract and universal legal
subject” (“‘Providential’ Circumstances,” 86, n. 10).
35. Edward Thornton, Illustrations of the History and Practices of the
Thugs (London: W. H. Allen, 1837), 145–46. This frankness is
relatively rare in the writings on thuggee; the issue of the
genuineness of the confessions, though, is an issue in all, judging
from the unfailing vehemence with which the method of conviction
through approvers’ testimony is defended as just, if not
unexceptionable.
36. Ibid., 374.
37. J. Sleeman, Thug, 120.
38. William H. Sleeman, Ramaseeana, or a Vocabulary of the Peculiar
Language Used by the Thugs (Calcutta: G. H. Huttmann, Military Orphan
Press, 1836), 32–33.
39. Thornton, Illustrations, 70, 11.
40. Wightman, No Friend for Travellers, 112.
41. J. Sleeman, Thug, 106.
42. William H. Sleeman, Report on Budhuk Alias Bagree Dacoits and
Other Gang Robbers by Hereditary Profession (Calcutta: J. C. Sherriff,
Bengal Military Orphan Press, 1849), 2–3.
43. Foucault, History of Sexuality, 1: 35.
44. Homi Bhabha, “Sly Civility” and “Of Mimicry and Man,” in The
Location of Culture.
45. See Mala Sen, India’s Bandit Queen: The True Story of Phoolan Devi
(New Delhi: Indus/HarperCollins, 1991) for an example of the way in
which the colonial discourse of thuggee (in this instance, Tukar’s
Yellow Scarf) continues, in contemporary India, to frame the way in
which certain forms of collective violence are understood by the law-
and-order machinery of the state.
46. Tuker, Yellow Scarf, 38.
47. William H. Sleeman, Rambles and Recollections of an Indian
Official, ed. Vincent A. Smith (London: Humphrey Milford, Oxford
University Press, 1915), 555.
48. Taylor, Confessions of a Thug, 330.
49. W. H. Sleeman, Ramaseeana, 3.
50. Freitag, “Collective Crime and Authority,” 146.
51. Singha, “‘Providential’ Circumstances,” 84.
52. W. H. Sleeman, Report on Budhuk, 173. The thuggee act had the
following provisions:
1.Whoever shall be proved to have belonged, either before or after the
passing of this Act, to any gang of Thugs, either within or without
the Territories of the East India Company, shall be punished with
imprisonment for life, with hard labour.
2.And…every person accused of the offence…may be tried by any court,
which would have been competent to try him, if his offence had been
committed within the Zillah where that Court sits, any thing to the
contrary, in any Regulation contained, notwithstanding.
3.And…no Court shall, on a trial of any person accused of the offence…
require any Futwa from any Law Officer.
53. Singha, “‘Providential’ Circumstances,” 136–37.
54. J. Sleeman, Thug, 117.
55. Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish, trans. Alan Sheridan (New
York: Vintage Books, 1979), 38.
56. Shahid Amin, “Approver’s Testimony, Judicial Discourse: The Case
of Chauri Chaura,” in Subaltern Studies V: Writings on South Asian
History and Society, ed. Ranajit Guha (Delhi: Oxford University Press,
1987).
57. William H. Sleeman, Report on the Depredations Committed by the
Thug Gangs of Upper and Central India (Calcutta: G. H. Huttmann,
Bengal Military Orphan Press, 1840). [BACK]
58. Bruce, Stranglers, 154.
59. W. H. Sleeman, Report on Budhuk, 303–5.
60. Freitag, “Crime in the Social Order,” 236. It is said that thugs
had routinely existed in a symbiotic relationship with landlords,
providing military protection and supplying booty from expeditions in
return for land and respectability. [BACK]
61. W. H. Sleeman, Ramaseeana, 186–87.
62. I should add here that the phrase going native is vested in my
paper with a multiplicity of valences; for instance, it encompasses
both the colonialist desire to “pass for” the native and the condition
that signifies racial regression.
63. R. Radhakrishnan, “Ethnicity in an Age of Diaspora,” Transition 54
(1991): 106.
64. David Arnold, “European Orphans and Vagrants in India in the
Nineteenth Century,” Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History 7,
no. 2 (1979): 104–27.
65. Homi K. Bhabha, “DissemiNation: Time, Narrative, and the Margins
of the Modern Nations,” in Nation and Narration, 299.
66. Spivak, “Can the Subaltern Speak?” See Michel Foucault,
“Intellectuals and Power: A Conversation between Michel Foucault and
Gilles Deleuze,” in Language, Counter-Memory, Practice: Selected
Essays and Interviews, by Michel Foucault, trans. Donald F. Bouchard
and Sherry Simon (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1977), 205–
17.
67. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, “Translator’s Foreword to ‘Draupadi,’
by Mahasweta Devi,” in In Other Worlds: Essays in Cultural Politics
(New York and London: Routledge, 1987), 180.
http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft8s20097j&chunk.id=ch2
turn of the century, is a highly unusual diary of one disciple’s
encounters with his guru and with other disciples over the last four
years (1882–1886) of Ramakrishna’s life. In this text, which is
written in Bengali, Ramakrishna is referred to as thakur, which is
both a common way of designating a Brahman as well as a word meaning
god; “M,” who was a schoolteacher, is called “master” in this work. In
the English translation of 1942 by Swami Nikhilananda, The Gospel of
Sri Ramakrishna (New York: Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, 1973
[1942]), “the Master” is the standard appellation for Ramakrishna;
this usage may have been popularized by Vivekananda.
3. Partha Chatterjee, “A Religion of Urban Domesticity: Sri
Ramakrishna and the Calcutta Middle Class,” Subaltern Studies VII:
Writings on South Asian History and Society, ed. Partha Chatterjee and
Gyanendra Pandey (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1992), 65.
4. Tapan Raychaudhuri, Europe Reconsidered: Perceptions of the West in
Nineteenth Century Bengal (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1988),
219.
5. Quoted in ibid., 231. For further details, see Swami Saradananda,
Sri Ramakrishna: The Great Master, trans. Swami Jagadananda, 2 vols.
(Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1978 [1952]).
6. There were many references to the Paramhansa in Keshab’s journal,
the New Dispensation, and in the late 1870s Keshab published
Paramhanser Ukti, a ten-page Bengali booklet of Ramakrishna’s sayings.
7. Christopher Isherwood, Ramakrishna and His Disciples (London:
Methuen, 1965), 141. [BACK]
8. Quoted in ibid., 124.
9. Cited in Brian K. Smith, “How Not to Be a Hindu: The Case of the
Ramakrishna Mission,” in Religion and Law in Independent India, ed.
Robert P. Baird (New Delhi: Manohar, 1993), 343–44.
10. Sumit Sarkar, “The Kathamrita as Text: Towards an Understanding of
Ramakrishna Paramhamsa,” Occasional Paper 22 (New Delhi: Nehru
Memorial Museum and Library, 1985), 21 and passim. Also, see Sumit
Sarkar, “‘Kaliyuga,’ ‘Chakri’ and ‘Bhakti’: Ramakrishna and His
Times,” Economic and Political Weekly, 18 July 1992, 1543–66.
Ramakrishna’s disciples claimed that he had gone through his “Muslim”
and “Christian” phases before he met Keshab; please note that all the
dates in Ramakrishna’s life are culled from accounts by devotees and
admirers.
11. The term heterosexuality is here used catachrestically, since
Ramakrishna seems to be obviously outside the formations within which
we would situate “modern” Indian subjects, including Vivekananda. The
very terms homosexuality/heterosexuality (and, indeed, transsexuality,
which may also be said to resonate for Ramakrishna) are too western
and modern to be completely adequate to the task of analysis. I use
them very provisionally, in the absence of another vocabulary and
epistemology that might enable me to understand premodern, Indian/
Hindu conceptualizations of sexuality. In this context, I am reminded
of Diana Fuss’s generous and sensitive reading of Fanon’s claim (in
Black Skin, White Masks) that there is no (male) homosexuality in the
Antilles (“Interior Colonies,” 33):
Fanon’s insistence that there is no homosexuality in the Antilles may
convey a more trenchant meaning than the one he in fact intended: if
by ‘homosexuality’ one understands the culturally specific social
formations of same-sex desire as they are articulated in the West,
then they are indeed foreign to the Antilles.…Can one generalize from
the particular forms sexuality takes under Western capitalism to
sexuality as such? What kinds of colonizations do such discursive
translations perform on ‘other’ traditions of sexual differences?
Such a caution must be borne in mind, even as one cannot but deploy,
however hesitantly, the idioms of modern western sexualities. See
Jeffrey Kripal, Kali’s Child: The Mystical and the Erotic in the Life
and Teachings of Ramakrishna (Chicago and London: University of
Chicago Press, 1995) for a careful and fascinating reading of the
relationship of Ramakrishna’s “homosexuality” to his mysticism. I
regret that I have not been able to make fuller use of the Kripal
text, which was published after this chapter was written.
12. Chatterjee, “Religion of Urban Domesticity”, 60–61.
13. S. Sarkar, “Kathamrita as Text,” 50–71.
14. Chatterjee, “Religion of Urban Domesticity”, 45. Sumit Sarkar
claims, moreover, that the period of Ramakrishna’s popularity
coincided with a “kind of hiatus in bhadralok history,” when dreams of
social reform had been frustrated, official racism was marked, and
liberation through the overthrow of British rule not really
conceivable (“‘Kaliyuga,’ ‘Chakri’ and ‘Bhakti,’” 1547).
15. It is interesting to note that the disciples of Ramakrishna,
notably Vivekananda, preferred the term kamkanchan, “lust-and-gold,”
over the Master’s kaminikanchan and went to great lengths to explain
that the sage’s “symbolic” use of the term did not imply any
misogyny.
16. Nikhilananda, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, 701. All subsequent
references will be incorporated parenthetically into the text.
17. This insight derives in a general way from Carole-Anne Tyler’s
reading of the ambivalent politics of gay drag (“Boys Will Be Girls:
The Politics of Gay Drag,” in Inside/Out: Lesbian Theories, Gay
Theories, ed. Diana Fuss [New York: Routledge, 1990]) as well from
Kaja Silverman’s account of the mastery permitted by T. E. Lawrence’s
reflexive masochism (“White Skin, Brown Masks”). In The Inner World: A
Psychoanalytic Study of Childhood and Society in India (Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 1978), 103, Sudhir Kakar characterizes Hindu
transvestism thus: “Rituals such as these represent not only the boy’s
attempt to identify with his mother but also the man’s effort to free
himself from her domination. By trying to be like women—wearing their
clothes, acquiring their organs, giving birth—these men are also
saying that they do not need women (mothers) any longer.” For a
sympathetic psychoanalytic reading of Ramakrishna’s assumption of
femininity, see Kakar, “Ramakrishna and the Mystical Experience,” in
The Analyst and the Mystic: Psychoanalytic Reflections on Religion and
Mysticism (New Delhi: Viking, 1991), 1–40.
18. Cited in S. Sarkar, “Kathamrita as Text,” 9.
19. D. S. Sarma, Studies in the Renaissance of Hinduism in the
Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (Benares: Benares Hindu University,
1944), 237.
20. I am grateful to Gayatri Spivak for pointing out to me the
numerous, and discontinuous, ways in which the English term woman
translates into Bengali (and/or Sanskrit). Even so, it is interesting
to note how often other forms of femininity threaten for Ramakrishna
to collapse into the figure of the kamini. Hence his warning to one of
his young male disciples to beware of women who claim to be actuated
by maternal feelings towards him.
21. Isherwood, Ramakrishna and His Disciples, 113.
22. I put this term in quotation marks to indicate that is placed
under erasure. One cannot assume that transvestism was inflected in
the same way for a nineteenth-century (straight?) Hindu male as it
might be for, say, a contemporary straight North American male. One
has to concede that his masculinity might have been constituted
differently, and in a different relationship to femininity, than might
be the case for our hypothetical North American male.
23. I am thinking here of N. T. Rama Rao’s assumption of feminine
attire, makeup, and jewelry, on one-half of his body in the days of
his chief ministership of Andhra Pradesh, apparently in a bid to
consolidate his political/spiritual power. Philip Spratt also provides
detailed anthropological evidence of religious transvestic ceremonies
all over India (Hindu Culture and Personality [Bombay: Manaktalas,
1966]). See, too, Kathryn Hansen’s splendid essay, “Making Women
Visible: Female Impersonators and Actresses on the Parsi Stage and in
Silent Cinema” (unpublished manuscript).
24. Ashis Nandy, At the Edge of Psychology: Essays in Politics and
Culture (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1990), 38.
25. Wendy Doniger, Women, Androgynes, and Other Mythical Beasts
(Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1980), 319.
26. Ibid., 331.
27. Women could, on occasion, function as gurus; the Bhairavi
Brahmani, for instance, was Ramakrishna’s first guru. Other historical
and contemporary figures like Andal, Mahadeviakka, Mirabai, and
Anandamoyi Ma come to mind as well. Sharada Devi (Ramakrishna’s wife)
herself had several (female and male) disciples. I do not think,
however, that this militates against my understanding of the guru-
disciple relationship as functioning for the most part for and among
males nor against my reading of its gendered significance in early
nationalism.
28. I am obliged to Sandhya Shetty for pointing this out to me. The
gurudakshina (the gift to the guru) is situated outside (economic)
exchange and functions in a symbolic capacity only. The instance of
Drona the archer and his low-caste disciple Eklavya, who had to
sacrifice his thumb to ensure the superiority of the guru’s favorite
pupil Arjuna, only demonstrates that in the guru-shishya configuration
what is offered by the disciple is incommensurable with what is given
by the guru.
29. Life of Sri Ramakrishna, Compiled from Various Authentic Sources
(Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1964), 296.
30. Swami Vivekananda. Vivekananda: The Yogas and Other Works, ed.
Swami Nikhilananda (New York: Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, 1953),
13.
31. There is no “secular,” critical biography of Ramakrishna except
that by Max Mueller, Ramakrishna: His Life and Sayings (New York:
Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1899). While this inveighs against the
miraculizing tendencies of Ramakrishna’s disciples, not excepting
Vivekananda, and refuses to take Ramakrishna’s avatarhood seriously,
it is nonetheless entirely reverential about the man himself.
32. Life of Sri Ramakrishna, 117.
33. Ibid., 144–45.
34. Ibid., 294.
35. Swami Chetanananda, ed. Ramakrishna as We Saw Him (St. Louis, Mo.:
Vedanta Society of St. Louis, 1990), 110.
36. Sumit Sarkar notes: “Girish Ghosh confessed that seeing
Ramakrishna ‘playing’ with a young disciple made him recall a
‘terrible canard’ that he had once heard about the saint” (“Kathamrita
as Text,” 103).
37. Sister Nivedita [Margaret E. Noble], The Master as I Saw Him
(Calcutta: Udbodhan Office, 1910), 64.
38. Isherwood, Ramakrishna and His Disciples, 204.
39. This is not, of course, to assert that the conflicts were unique
to Naren; as we have seen, in terms of class position and intellectual
training he appears to have been no different from the majority of the
disciples. The others, however, appear to have been less outspoken in
their skepticism than he was. I hardly need add that the memory and
the narrative of these conflicts is overdetermined; if Naren had not
become Vivekananda, we would probably have heard far less of his
interactions with his guru. As it is, in The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
his iconoclasticism is not as evident as that of, say, Bankim or Dr.
Mahendralal Sarkar (neither of whom was a disciple). Nonetheless, he
does seem to have been the unequivocal favorite of Ramakrishna. And it
also seems clear that he was accorded a degree of freedom of speech
and behavior not permitted most of the other disciples. (Girish Ghosh,
who was notorious for his drinking, patronage of prostitutes, and
occasional foul-mouthed invectives against the guru, was one of the
very few others who was granted such a license.)
40. Chatterjee, “Religion of Urban Domesticity.” Sumit Sarkar
emphasizes the saint’s determined pursuit of bhadralok disciples as
well as his reticence about religious practices (of the Baul,
Kartabhaja, and vamachari Tantric varieties) that might have offended
their sensibilities (“The Kathamrita as Text,” 36).
41. Chetanananda, Ramakrishna as We Saw Him, 385–90.
42. My thanks to Inderpal Grewal for suggesting this possibility to
me.
43. Hervey De Witt Griswold, Insights into Modern Hinduism (New York:
Henry Holt, 1934), 58.
44. Nationalism’s dependence on colonialism has been extensively
documented, to some degree by Nandy, Intimate Enemy, but most notably
by Chatterjee, Nationalist Thought. Certainly nationalism-and-
colonialism seems to function as one category for Vivekananda.
45. Not all Brahmos were as skeptical as Shibnath Shastri, who, much
though he admired Ramakrishna, believed that the saint’s austerities
at the beginning of his spiritual career had had deleterious effects
on his mental state; Keshab for one seems to have been less
incredulous of the spiritual nature of the saint’s trances. Sumit
Sarkar points out, interestingly, that while Ramakrishna’s family and
neighbors in Kamarpukur and Dakshineshwar attributed the trances to
madness or “possession,” his bhadralok disciples and admirers
described them as the samadhi state extolled by high Hindu doctrine.
46. Ramakrishna himself made conflicting assertions about his own
avatarhood; at points he dismissed the possibility derisively, while
at other times he claimed to be an avatar of Krishna, Chaitanya, and/
or Kali.
47. Swami Nikhilananda, Vivekananda: A Biography (New York:
Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, 1953), 42.
48. It is not possible to establish whether any of the swami’s
supporters were simply admirers or actually disciples. It is not
inconceivable that they may have become disciples retroactively,
following Vivekananda’s success in the west.
49. Sankari Prasad Basu and Sunil Bihari Ghosh, eds., Vivekananda in
Indian Newspapers 1893–1902 (Calcutta: Dineshchandra Basu
Bhattacharya, 1969), 9.
50. It should be noted that the swami’s Indian reputation was—to some
degree, at least—induced by himself, as a defensive measure no doubt
against the criticisms he encountered not only from Christian
ministers in the United States but also from members of the Brahmo
Samaj and perhaps the Theosophical Society as well. His early letters
to his disciples in Madras were full of exhortations to them to hold a
meeting in his honor and to proclaim him to the west as a true
spokesperson of Hinduism. He was also careful to keep them informed
about favorable reviews in the U.S. press.
51. Rakhal Chandra Nath, The New Hindu Movement 1886–1911 (Calcutta:
Minerva, 1982), 126.
52. Ibid., 129.
53. Chatterjee, “Religion of Urban Domesticity.”
54. Nath, New Hindu Movement, 115.
55. Vivekananda was rarely consistent in this view; this was typical
of him. At times he deployed the rhetoric of free trade to imply
mutual and equal advantage to east and west; at other times he
insisted that Indians were superior to the west in their indifference
to material things and that in fact the west called out for spiritual
conquest by an “aggressive Hinduism.” In this vacillation Vivekananda
was not untypical of the bourgeois neo-Hindu nationalists of his time.
[BACK]
56. He also enjoined his brother monks in India not to insist on the
acceptance of Ramakrishna’s avatarhood in would-be devotees and
disciples of the new order.
57. Harold W. French, The Swan’s Wide Waters: Ramakrishna and Western
Culture (Port Washington, N.Y.: Kennikat Press, 1974), 58.
58. Raychaudhuri, Europe Reconsidered, 230.
59. Chatterjee, “Religion of Urban Domesticity.”
60. Nath, New Hindu Movement, 114.
61. Ibid., 17. Note that Bankim’s novel was undoubtedly the product of
a distinctly westward-looking nationalism. Nath describes Aurobindo’s
“Bhawani Mandir” as derived from Anandmath (and remarkably similar to
Vivekananda’s own cult of the warlike monk) in its emphasis on
manliness and in its devotion to Kali. [BACK]
62. Chatterjee, “Religion of Urban Domesticity,” 61.
63. Vivekananda, Vivekananda: The Yogas and Other Works, 151.
64. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s cult of physical fitness and
martial arts training has a great deal in common with Vivekananda’s
endorsement of “beef, biceps, and Bhagavad-Gita.”
65. Reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda, by His Eastern and Western
Admirers (Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1964 [1961]), 347.
66. At this point in Indian history, bourgeois and Hindu nationalisms—
the first represented by “moderates” in the Congress Party calling for
secular and constitutional reforms, the latter by Tilak, Bankim, and
others—have assumed the status of two distinct categories, though
quite often they function as one. I bear in mind also Sudipta
Kaviraj’s important caveat against the conflation of distinct
nationalisms (his own concern is with “early” and “mature”
nationalisms), which must be seen as disjunct rather than articulated
phenomena in Indian history; see Sudipta Kaviraj, “The Imaginary
Institution of India,” in Subaltern Studies VII: Writings on South
Asian History and Society, ed. Partha Chatterjee and Gyanendra Pandey
(New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1991).
67. Basu and Ghosh, Vivekananda in Indian Newspapers, 27.
68. Nivedita, The Master as I Saw Him, 231.
69. Ibid., 388 (emphases in the original). [
70. Reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda, 252. The speaker in this
instance was a woman, Constance Towne.
71. Marie Louise Burke, Swami Vivekananda in America: New Discoveries
(Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1958), 16.
72. Reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda, 14.
73. Swami Vivekananda and His Guru (London and Madras: Christian
Literature Society for India, 1897), iv.
74. There is, to the uninstructed viewer, little if anything of the
disarrangement of limbs or clothing that normally marked the sage’s
experience of samadhi.
75. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, “A Literary Representation of the
Subaltern,” in In Other Worlds (London and New York: Routledge, 1987),
264.
76. Nivedita functions here as a type of the western female disciple.
77. Mary Ann Doane, “Dark Continents: Epistemologies of Racial and
Sexual Difference in Psychoanalysis and the Cinema,” in Femmes
Fatales: Feminism, Film Theory, Psychoanalysis (New York and London:
Routledge, 1991), 244.
78. Marie Louise Burke, Swami Vivekananda: His Second Visit to the
West; New Discoveries (Calcutta: Advaita Ashram, 1973).
79. Kakar, Inner World, 160.
80. See, for instance, Romila Thapar: “[The ascetic] is celibate and
yet, at the same time, the most virile of men. The ascetic’s
demonstration of sexual prowess is not a contradiction in terms: it is
in fact a demonstration of his complete control over body functions,
since ideally the emission of semen is prohibited to
him” (“Renunciation: The Making of a Counter-Culture?” in Ancient
Indian Social History: Some Interpretations [Delhi: n.p., 1978], 94).
Also see Joseph Alter: “The whole purpose of brahmacharya [celibacy]
is to build up a resilient store of semen so that the body—in a
holistic, psychosomatic sense—radiates an aura of vitality and
strength” (“Celibacy, Sexuality, and the Transformation of Gender into
Nationalism in North India,” Journal of Asian Studies 53, no. 1
[1994]: 51).
81. Steve Neale, “Masculinity as Spectacle,” in The Sexual Subject: A
Screen Reader in Sexuality (London and New York: Routledge, 1992), 277–
87.
82. Ibid., 286.
83. Swami Vivekananda, “The Future of India,” in Lectures from Colombo
to Almora (Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1956), 267.
84. Reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda, 196. Sister Christine
(Christine Greenstidel) goes on to remark on the companionship of
Sadananda and Vivekananda on their North Indian pilgrimage: “Both were
artistic, both were poets by nature, both were attractive in
appearance. Artists raved about them.”
Nivedita also confesses, though far more discreetly, that she was
drawn to the swami by his “personality” rather his philosophy, which
she initially found unoriginal. Her “biography” of him, The Master as
I Saw Him, is remarkable for its reticence about his corporeality.
85. That such a construction of femininity was not necessarily
exclusive to Hindu reformers/revivalists is borne out by Faisal
Fatehali Devji: “[Muslim] reformist literature replaces the aggressive
sexual woman with the pathetic or suffering woman-as-mother” (“Gender
and the Politics of Space: The Movement for Women’s Reform in Muslim
India, 1857–1900,” South Asia, 14, no. 1 [1991], 151).
86. Partha Chatterjee, “The Nationalist Resolution of the Women’s
Question,” in Recasting Women: Essays in Indian Colonial History, ed.
Kumkum Sangari and Sudesh Vaid (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers
University Press, 1990), 237.
87. Sister Nivedita, The Web of Indian Life (London: William
Heinemann, 1904), 32–45.
88. See, among others, Lata Mani, “Contentious Traditions: The Debate
on Sati in Colonial India,” in The Nature and Context of Minority
Discourse, ed. Abdul JanMohamed and David Lloyd (Oxford and New York:
Oxford University Press, 1990); Kumkum Sangari and Sudesh Vaid, eds.,
Recasting Women: Essays in Indian Colonial History (New Brunswick,
N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1990); Chatterjee, Nation and Its
Fragments; and Madhu Kishwar, “Gandhi on Women,” Economic and
Political Weekly, 5 October 1985, 1691–1702.
89. Monier Monier-Williams, Religious Thought and Life in India (New
Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint Corporation, 1974 [1883]), 184–85. Also
see David R. Kinsley, “Kali: Blood and Death Out of Place,” in Devi:
Goddesses of India, ed. John S. Hawley and Donna M. Wulff (Berkeley
and London: University of California Press, 1996); and Ajit Mookerjee,
Kali: The Feminine Force (New York: Destiny Books, 1988).
90. Sumanta Banerjee, “Marginalization of Women’s Popular Culture in
Nineteenth Century Bengal,” in Recasting Women: Essays in Indian
Colonial History, ed. Kumkum Sangari and Sudesh Vaid (New Brunswick,
N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1990), 158.
91. Ramakrishna was married at the age of twenty-three to Sharadamoni
Debi, a child-bride of five. According to custom, she remained in her
natal home, while Ramakrishna continued his spiritual disciplines at
Dakshineshwar, forgetful of her existence. At eighteen she sought him
out at Dakshineshwar and acceded to his request that their marriage
remain unconsummated. Over the remaining decade and a half of
Ramakrishna’s life, she spent extended periods at Dakshineshwar, doing
his housekeeping and cooking and (usually) living in a separate
building in the temple complex. [BACK]
92. Nivedita, The Master as I Saw Him, 65.
93. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, “A Literary Representation of the
Subaltern,” in In Other Worlds: Essays in Cultural Politics (New York
and London: Routledge, 1987), 244. [BACK]
94. Nivedita, The Master as I Saw Him, 83.
95. Raychaudhuri, Europe Reconsidered, 242.
96. Swami Vivekananda, Letters of Swami Vivekananda (Calcutta: Advaita
Ashrama, 1964), 167–68.
97. Pandita Ramabai Saraswati (1858–1922) was a notable scholar and a
Hindu widow who converted to Christianity during a visit to England
and dedicated her life to the uplift of young Hindu widows. Her book,
The High-Caste Hindu Woman (London: George Bell and Sons, 1888), as
well as her travels in England and the United States, gained her
sympathy from feminists as well as Christian missionaries abroad and
censure from Hindu conservatives at home. Her shelter for widows, the
Sharda Sadan in Pune, was supported in large part by funds raised by
Ramabai Circles in the United States and England. Her travels in the
United States in the 1880s received extensive coverage in the U.S.
press.
98. Basu and Ghosh, Vivekananda in Indian Newspapers, 421–68.
99. This is necessarily a simplification of Vivekananda’s very
complicated responses to the issues of (gender and other) reform,
nationalism, and colonialism. The split was not simply between
“home” (where reform had to endorsed) and abroad (where Hinduism had
to be defended); even at “home” he had decidedly mixed responses to
reform and (religious and social) orthodoxy.
100. The phrase is Nivedita’s (The Master as I Saw Him, 124). In an
interesting departure from the hagiographical tradition in which
accounts of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda are produced (and in which
tradition Nivedita’s own work uneasily belongs), she emphasizes not
the continuity of their respective “gospels” but their distinctness
from each other. She does this, besides, in a fashion that highlights
the swami’s struggles and doubts: “Sri Ramakrishna had been, as the
Swami himself said once of him, ‘like a flower,’ living apart in the
garden of a temple, simple, half-naked, orthodox, the ideal of the old
time in India, suddenly burst into bloom, in a world that had thought
to dismiss its very memory. It was at one the greatness and the
tragedy of my own Master’s life that he was not of this type. His was
the modern mind in its completeness.…His hope could not pass by
unheeded,…the hope of men of the nineteenth century” (The Master as I
Saw Him, 124–25).
101. Chatterjee, “Nationalist Resolution,” 237–38.
102. She was not, however, recognizably a nineteenth-century British
feminist—at least from the evidence of her early writings—even though
much has been made in the biographies of her feminism and other
“excesses.” Apparently Vivekananda himself made fun of her putative
feminism.
103. Quoted in Barbara Foxe, Long Journey Home: A Biography of
Margaret Noble (Nivedita) (London: Rider, 1975), 32–33.
104. Quoted in Vron Ware, Beyond the Pale: White Women, Racism and
History (London and New York: Verso, 1992), 121.
105. Sharada Devi seems to have been a figure who was not
unequivocally reverenced by the followers of Ramakrishna. Many
devotees visited her at Jayrambati and Kamarpukur, and she initiated
several people into discipleship. She was sometimes spoken of as an
avatar—like her husband—and the heiress to his spiritual kingdom. But
she was also often accused of being excessively worldly. Ramakrishna’s
most prominent disciples visited her only rarely; Swami Nikhilananda
says that this was because they hesitated to “[make] a display of
their spiritual fervour.” See his Holy Mother: Being the Life of Sri
Sarada Devi, Wife of Sri Ramakrishna and Helpmate in His Mission
(London: George Allen & Unwin, 1962). Spivak speaks of the way in
which her official biographer, Swami Gambhirananda, staged her as “a
counter-echo to what he perceived as the strong voice of the Western
Narcissus” (“Asked to Talk about Myself…,” Third Text 19 [Summer
1992]: 17). I would argue that this could only happen retrospectively,
and at a later moment from the one that Vivekananda inhabits.
106. See, for instance, Meredith Borthwick, The Changing Role of Women
in Bengal, 1849–1905 (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press,
1984), esp. chaps. 8 and 9; Ghulam Murshid, Reluctant Debutante:
Response of Bengali Women to Modernization, 1849–1905 (Rajshashi,
Bangladesh: Sahitya Samsad, 1983); and Kumar, History of Doing, esp.
chaps. 2 and 3.
107. The Indian woman was, obviously, recast in the nationalist moment—
as was the Indian man; but recast and fixed, with little room for
negotiation after the recasting had been effected. For an analysis of
a nationalist woman’s struggles with gendered identities in
nationalism, see chapter 5.
108. Romain Rolland, The Life of Vivekananda and the Universal Gospel,
trans. E. F. Malcolm-Smith (Mayavati, India: Advaita Ashrama, 1947),
152, n. 2.
109. Nivedita, The Master as I Saw Him, 136–37.
110. Quoted in Pravrajika Atmaprana, Sister Nivedita of Ramakrishna-
Vivekananda (Calcutta: Sister Nivedita Girls’ School, 1961), 30.
111. Foxe, Long Journey Home, 128.
112. Rakhal Nath maintains that the Ramakrishna Mission was the only
non-political body to come out of the “New Hindu” or Hindu revivalist
movement (Nath, New Hindu Movement). [BACK]
113. Foxe, Long Journey Home, 136.
114. Ibid., 150–51.
115. Barbara N. Ramusack, “Cultural Missionaries, Maternal
Imperialists, Feminist Allies: British Women Activists in India, 1865–
1945,” in Western Women and Imperialism: Complicity and Resistance,
ed. Nupur Chaudhuri and Margaret Strobel (Bloomington and
Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1992), 130.
116. S. B. Mookherjee, “Nivedita and Indian Womanhood,” in Nivedita
Commemoration Volume, ed. Amiya Kumar Majumdar (Calcutta: Dhiraj Basu,
1968), 244.
117. She met Gandhi briefly in Calcutta, in the early years of the
century. Gandhi (who in so many ways would grow to resemble the figure
of Ramakrishna) admired her Hindu partisanship but was unable to agree
with her on nationalist politics. The Congress Party under Gandhi had
a profoundly uneasy relationship with militant nationalist women like
Nivedita and the Rani of Jhansi.
118. Lizelle Reymond’s The Dedicated: A Biography of Nivedita (New
York: John Day, 1953) also helped disseminate this image, though its
factual claims have since been contested. Kumari Jayawardena’s chapter
on Nivedita (“Irish Rebellion and ‘Muscular Hinduism,’” in White
Woman’s Other Burden) describes the contradictory ways in which the
disciple of Vivekananda is remembered.
119. My thanks to Carole-Anne Tyler for sensitizing me to this
possibility. [BACK]
120. Foxe’s biography, Long Journey Home, is particularly derisive in
this regard. What had been admirable “manliness” in Vivekananda was
forwardness in the female disciple. [BACK]
121. Ibid., 205. [BACK]
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chhotemianinshallah
Hiroshi KUMAMOTO
University of Tokyo
January 21, 1998
These files are based on the DOS text on the diskette accompanying RIG
VEDA, A METRICALLY RESTORED TEXT, edited by Barend A. van Nooten and
Gary B. Holland, Harvard Oriental Series, Vol. 50, Harvard UP, 1994.
The only difference is that the character 160 (A0h) for "a acute" is
replaced by 225 (E1h) throughout. This is necessary because A0h is
reserved by MS-WORD for "Nonbreaking space".
In order to use these WORD files, the truetype font SANSKR.TTF must be
installed. This font is designed according to the "International
Codepage for Sanskrit diacritics (including the special characters
used in the metrical version of the RV). See the last page of the
"Contents of the diskette" by van Nooten. Here again for the reason
stated above "a acute" appears at 225 (E1h).
Since the lower part of this Codepage is the DOS codepage 437, and not
the "Windows Character Set" (thus "n tilde" is 164, not 241), the
Windows users will have to reassign most of the shortcut keys for the
accented and umlauted characters when using this font.
The main reason for preparing these WORD files and SANSKR.TTF has been
to facilitate the use of the important electronic text on the
computers running the Japanese OS. The original DOS text of van Nooten
and Holland has been practically unusable for the average users (of
DOS, WINDOWS or MAC) here because much of the upper half of the
codepage is reserved for the Japanese characters. The text with font
attribute can be an answer to the problem.
It is hoped that italic, bold, bold-italic styles of SANSKR.TTF will
be ready in the near future.
Needless to say, these files are for non-commercial use only. Users
are allowed to download and use the text for their personal use,
provided that refrence is made to the HOS edition.
At the suggestion of Professor Michael Witzel, the editor of the
Series, I have withdrawn "for the moment" the new metrical text, and
replaced it by the Samhita Text, which is traditionally used and still
of use.
Click HERE to download. ftp://gengo.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/pub/Rigveda/
FTP directory /pub/Rigveda/ at gengo.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp
To view this FTP site in Windows Explorer, click Page, and then click
Open FTP Site in Windows Explorer.
Welcome to the Department of Linguistics FTP Server.
Up to higher level directory
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01/22/1998 12:00AM 808,927 samhita.zip
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Full text of "Faust im Bilde von den ersten Anfängen bis zum
Erscheinen des goetheschen Fragments"
Rudolf Payer von Thum
Faust im Bilde von den
ersten Anfängen bis zum Erscheinen
des Goetheschen Fragments.
FAUST IM BILDE
von den ersten Anfangen bis zum Er-
scheinen des Goetheschen Fragments
von Dr. Rudolf Payer von Thurn.,
Mit 22 Tafeln in Folio.
Ais XXX, XXXI. und XXXII, Band der »Chronik des Witner Go.the-
Vereins*.
Wien 1919.
Verlag des Wiener Goethe -Vereins.
Zur Einführung.
Die vorliegende Arbeit, die zum erstenmal im Juni 1917 als
Vereinsgabe
der Wiener Bibliophilen-Gesellschaft für das Jahr 1916 zur Ausgabe
gelangt und
von der Kritik durchwegs zustimmend aufgenommen worden ist, [Berliner
Tage-
blatt V. 11. Juli 1917, Morgen-Ausg. — Wiener Abendpost v. 24. Juli
1917
(Alex. V. Weilen) — Kunstchronik N. F , XXVIII. Jahrg., Nr. 40, Sp.
469 (Hans
Hetze) — X. Fr. Pr. Nr. 19046 v 30. Aug. 1917 (Hermine Cloeter) —
Zeit-
schrift für Bücherfreunde, Nov.-Dez. 1917, Sp. 427 (Georg Witkowski) —
Studien
u Skizzen zur Gemäkiekunde, III. Band, S. 115 (Th. v. Frimmel) —
Mitteilungen
der Gesellschaft für vervielfältigende Kunst, Beilage der ,,
Graphischen Künste"
1918, Nr. 4, S 61 (Arpäd Weixelgärtner)] erscheint nun auf Grund einer
sciner-
zeitigen Vereinbarung mit dem Vorstande der genannten Gesellschaft
zum
zweitenmal in äußerlich etwas weniger prächtigem Gewände, inhaltlich
aber
erweiterter Form, um den Mitsliedern des Wiener Goethe-Vereins die
bisher nicht
erschienenen Bände XXX, XXXI und XXXII der „Chronik des Wiener
Goelhe-
X'ereins" zu ersetzen.
An den Ergebnissen der Untersuchung brauchte nichts geändert zu
werden.
Abgesehen von einigen kleinen, durch die geänderten Verhältnisse
notwendig
j;ewordenen stilistischen Änderungen wurde zunächst die Anzahl der
aufgezählten
Klätter aus den besprochenen Porträtserien durch einige inzwischen neu
auf-
L^etauchte Bilder vermehrt. Zwei wichtige Ergänzungen, und zwar den
Hinweis
auf das Bild von Rembrandts Vater »bei Bredius im Haag (S. 8) und auf
den
Zusammenhang des van Sichemschen Stiches mit dem Titelholzschnitt des
Volks-
buches von 1588 (S. 13) verdanke ich unserem um die Ikonographie des
Goethe-
schen Faust hochverdienten Obmann-Stellvertreter Professor Dr. R. F.
Arnold.
Neu hinzugekommen ist ferner das mit dem „Faust'' des Moncornet
identische
Bild von Archimedes (Rückseite von Tafel 22 unten, Text S. 12) und die
lustige
Zusammenstellung des Faustkopfes aus Steyr mit den beiden Bischöfen
(Rückseite
von Tafel 22, Text S. 14). Da das Papier für die Lichtdrucke nicht
mehr zu be-
schaffen war, konnte die Anzahl der Tafeln nicht vermehrt werden, es
mußte
zu dem Auskunftsmittel gegriffen werden, die Rückseiten der Tafein 2,
3, 15 u.
-2 zu bedrucken.
Unserer Graphischen Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt, ihrem hochverdienten
Direktor
Hofrat Prof. Dr. L M. Eder und den bewährten Lehrkräften, vor allem
den Herren
Professoren .A.ugust Albert und Karl Broum sowie Herrn Fachlehrer
Alois Pillarz,
die das Zustandekommen auch dieser zweiten Ausgabe in selbstlosester
Weise
ermöglicht haben, gebührt auch diesmal wieder unser wärmster Dank.
Wien, im April 1919.
Dr. Rudoll Payer von Thurn.
Verzeichnis dor Tafeln.
Doctor FaVstvs. Stich nus dem Verla{>c von Fran^oi^
I^ngloit dit de Ciartre». Paris, zwischen 1633 und
1647. Or. : \X*icn, Familien-FideikomiuiU-Bibliothck.
Bfiste eines niederblickenden Greises.
Rail. v.in Jan Joris van Vlict. Bartsch 25. Or. : Wien.
AV
Rück
Unten: i' h i 1 o n le J u i f . !• . I . I» < uirtrcs
excndit. K. H. van Kyn tnv.
Hat über tKembrandts Vater. Ölbild im Fer-
dinandcura in Innsbruck (verkleinert), daneben
Radierung van Vliets nach diesem Bilde.
Baste eines Offiziers. Radierung von Jan
Joriü van Viiet: Bartsch 26. Or. : Wien, Albertina.
Rückseite :
Unten : Rembrandts Vate r.ölb. v.Rembrandt,
im Bes. von Dr. A. Bredius im Haag.
Dat über : Radierung Rembrandts nach
diesem Bilde und (zum Vergleiche von Tafel 2
wiederholt Büste eines niederbückenden Alten (verkl.).
Ruhe der heiligen Familie auf der
Flucht nach Ägypten. Ölbild von Rembrandt.
(Or. : Downton-Castle. England. A . R. Boughton
Knight.) Nach einer Heliogravüre von Fillon et Hcuse.
Judas bringt die Silberlinge zurück.
Ölbild von Rembrandt. Or. : Faiis. Baron A. von
Schickler. Nach einer Heliogravüre von Braun. Cle-
ment et Co. Dabei : „Heraclit* aus dem Verlage :
a; von l*ierre Aubiy in Stratiburg ; b) Remondini in
bassano. Or. : Wien, Familien-Fideikommiß-Bibliothek.
Doctor Faustus. Stich aus dem Verlage von Aubry.
Or.: Wien, Familien-Fideikommiß-Bibliothek.
Faustbuch des Christlich Meynenden.
Frankfurt u. Leipzig. 1725. Or. : Erlangen, Univ.-Bibl.
Doctor Faustus. Titclkupfer zum Fünften Stück der
Bibliothcca, Acta et Scripta Magica, Lemgo, 1739.
a« Doctor Faustus. Steindruck, Titelbild zu:
Doktor Faustos. Tragödie von Christoph Marlowe.
Aus dem Englischen übersetzt von Wilhelm Müller.
Mit einer Vorrede von Ludwig Achim von Arnim.
Berlin, l8i8.0r.: Wien, Sammlung Hofrat Hugo Thimig.
Doctor Faustus nach Rembrandt. Steindruck.
Titelbild: Das Kloster. Von J. Scheible. 2. Band,
Stattgart. 1846.
10. a> Doktor Faust. (Nach Rembrandt.) Holz-
schnitt aus J. J. Webers xyl. Anstalt in Leipzig.
(Deutfche Männer. Bilder aus der Geschichte des
deutschen Volkes von Hermann dem Cherusker bis
auf unsere Tage von Manuel Rascbke, Leipzig und
Tcüchen, 1868, S. 41.) Or. : Wien, Hofbibliothek.
Doctor Johann Faust. I'ortriit nach
Rembrandt. Anon. Holzschnitt aus: Carl
Engel, Das Volksscbauspiel Doctor Johann Faust,
Oldenburg, 1874.
Zenon I'hilosophe. Stich von Daamont in Paris.
18. Jahrb. Or.: Wien, Familien-Fideikommiß-Bibliothek.
Faust, ölminiatur der Ambraser Sammlung. Or. : Wien,
Knnsthistorische Sammlungen.
l.e Doctevr Favste Philosophe Alcinand etc. .Such
von B. Moncoroet. Or. : Wien, Familien- Kideikom-
miü-Bibliothek.
b) Büste eines bartlosen Mannes. Rad. von
Rembrandt. 16 jl, Bartsch 307. Or.: Wien. Hufbibl.
c) N i e d e r b 1 i c k e n d e r K a h 1 k t> p f. R adicruog
von Rembrandt, 1631. Bartsch 296. Or. : Ebenda.
d) Marc Agripe Philosophe Alcmand. Stich von B.
Moncornet. Or.: Wien, Familien-Fideikommiü-Uibl.
14. a) Greis in weitem Samtmantcl. Radierung
von Rembrandt, um 1632. Bartsch 262. (Verkleinert.)
b) J)ivinus Plato. Stich aus dem Verlage von F. Lang-
lois. (Verkl.) Or.: Wien, Familien-Fidcikommiß-Bibl.
Faust in seinem Laboratorium. Rad. von
Rembrandt. 2. Plattenzustand. Bartsch 270. Or. :
Wien, Hof|)ib iothck.
Rückseite: Fran^ois Langlois dit de Char-
t r e s. Marchand Libraire-Imager ä Paris en I645.
Ant. van Dyck Pinxit, J. Pesne Sculp.
Faust in seinem Laboratorium. Stich von
J. H. Lips nach Rembrandt. Or. : Wien, Samm-
lung Felix Schwab.
17. a) Mcphostü phi les-Joan Faustus. Stich von
Christoph van Sichern 1066. Or. : Wien. Albertina,
b) D a s s e 1 b e. Nachstich aus Arnims Zeitung für Ein-
siedler (Trösteinsamkeit), Nr. 3 vom 6. April 1808
18 De Historie van Doctor Johannes Faustus. 1747. Or. :
Wien. Sammlung A. J..ÖW, Bibliothek der Stadt Wien.
IQ. De Historie van Docter Johannes Faustus o. 1. Or. :
Wien, Sammlung A. i.,öw, Bibliothek der Stadt Wien.
20. a) Histoire Prodigicuse et Lamentable de Jean Faust.
Cologne, Chez les Hi-ritiers de Pierre Marteau. 1712:
Or.: Sammlung A. Low, Bibliothek der Stadt Wien.
b) Histor e van Doctor Jan Faustus, Amsterdam, By
Hismanius van de Rumpel, o. I. Or. : Ebenda:
21. a) Doct. Faust, berühmter Schwarzkünstler.
Holz.schnitt einer undatierten Ausgabe des Faust-
buches des Christlich Meynenden. Or. : Wien, Samm-
lung A. Low. Bibliothek der Stadt Witn.
Desgleichen: Or. : Frankfurt a. M., Fr. D. Hocbstitt.
Jakob Herbrand. Professor der Theologie in
Tübingen 1578. Or. : Wien, Familien-Fideikommiß-
Bibliothek.
d) Georg W einrieb, Professor der Theologie in
Leipzig, f 1617. Or. : Ebenda.
Bemalte Terracotta- Büste des 16. Jahrh.
Or. : Wien. Kunsthist. Sammlungen.
Rückseite :
Oben : D o k t o r Faust. Gedruckt in diesem Jahr.
Or. : Histor. Museum der Stadt Steyr; links:
Melchior Otto Voit von Salzburg,
Bischof von Bamberg (1642- 1653); rechts:
Johann Philipp, Freih. v. Schönborn,
Erzbischof von Mainz, f 1673.
Unten: links: Archimedes Siracus, rechts:
Le Docteur FAUSTE PHILOSOPHE Alemaod
(zum Vergleiche wiederholt von Tafel 13 a!.
22.
Sämlli
Alilnlitiinpcii inii Ausnalimp lier Tafeln 4. t. 14 ?1 I) iincl 22
Sind in ( )rli'rM.-ili>Tip|',p «•iit)crjjcRct>cn.
» A^'^ denen bekannten elenden Tragoedien von
*'^* Ihm. hat es Gott lob! ein Ende, da man end-
lich solche einfältige Vorurtheile abgelegt hat, und ver-
nünftigere Vorstellungen liebt. Faust hat es nunmehr
lediglich Rembrandten zu danken, daß seiner noch ge-
dacht wird« — mit diesen Worten schloß einer der
berühmtesten Ärzte des Aufklärungszeitalters, der
spätere Leibarzt Friedrich des Großen Johann Carl
Wilhelm M o e h s e n, das Kapitel >Faust« in seinem
Buch, das im Geschmacke der Zeit den umständlichen
Titel führt: »Verzeichnis einer Sammlung von Bild-
nissen, größtentheils berühmter Ärzte; so wohl in
Kupferstichen, schwarzer Kunst und Holzschnitten, als
auch in einigen Handzeichnungen: diesem sind ver-
schiedene Nachrichten und Anmerkungen vorgesetzt,
die so wohl zur Geschichte der Arzneygelahrtheit, als
vornehmlich zur Geschichte der Künste gehören.«
Gerade über dieser Stelle des verdienstvollen
Buches hat das Schicksal die volle Schale der Ironie
ausgegossen: das Buch ist erschienen bei Christian
Friedrich Himburg in Berlin, demselben Himburg, der
ein paar Jahre später als der erste deutsche Verleger
auf den Gedanken gekommen ist. Alles, was bis dahin
von dem rasch berühmt gewordenen Verfasser des Götz
und des Werther im Druck erschienen war. in drei
Bänden gesammelt dem deutschen Publikum vorzu-
legen. Und zwei Jahre nach dem Erscheinen dieses
Buches konnte Gotter seine poetische Antwort auf
eine derb-lustige Epistel, mit der Goethe ihm im
Juni 1773 den eben erschienenen »Götz« übersendet,
mit den Worten schließen:
»Schick mir dafür den .Doctor Faust*
Sobald Dein Kopf ihn ausgebraust!«'
In der Tat hat sich für den Helden der deutschen
Volksbücher und der Puppenspiele ein ganz bestimmter,
eigenartiger Porträt-Typus herausgebildet, der um die
Mitte des siebzehnten Jahrhunderts — merkwürdig
genug in Paris — entstanden und bis über die Mitte
des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts hinaus in Geltung ge-
blieben ist.
Wie aber kam Rembrandt zu Faust?
Von den großen Malern und Stechern seiner Zeit,
den Dürer und Holbein, den Lukas Cranach und Lucas
von Leyden ebenso wie von ihren minder hervor-
ragenden Kunstverwandten hat uns keiner das Bild
des landfahrenden Gauklers überliefert, dazu schien
er seinen Zeitgenossen viel zu unbedeutend. Erst in
der Zeit von 1634 bis 1647 tauchte in dem damals so
blühenden Kupferstichhandel ein Porträt auf, das über
dem Kopfe des Dargestellten die Bezeichnung »Doctor
Favslvs«, in der linken oberen Ecke vom Beschauer)
die Künstler-Signatur »HRinbrandt Inuentor«, in der
rechten die Verleger-Adresse »F. L. D. Ciartres e.xcudJt«
trägt (Tafel V . Mit diesem Blatte hat sich die Forschung
in den letzten drei Jahrzehnten oft und eingehend be-
schäftigt-). Wenn es ihr trotzdem nicht gelungen ist,
das Dunkel völlig aufzuhellen, das über der Entstehung
desselben lagert, so ist die Ursache darin zu suchen,
daß offenbar allen Abdrücken des sehr seltenen Blattes,
die zum Vergleiche herangezogen worden sind, ein
Merkmal fehlte, das in dem vorzüglich erhaltenen
Exemplar der Habsburg-Lothringischen Familien-Fidei-
kommiß-Bibliothek, das unserer Reproduktion zu
Grunde liegt, zum Ausdruck kommt.
Es ist dies die Nummer 36, die rechts oben dicht
über der Verleger-Adresse mit der kalten Nadel leicht
eingerissen ist. Sie macht uns darauf aufmerksam,
daß wir das Blatt nicht für sich allein, wie dies bis-
her geschehen ist, zu betrachten haben, sondern als
einzelnes Glied einer größeren Serie. Erst wenn es
uns gelungen sein wird, diese Serie ganz oder wenig-
stens zum größeren Teile wieder zusammenzustellen
und die einzelnen Bildnisse mit ihren Urbildern zu
vergleichen, wird auch ein Licht auf unseren Faustkopf
fallen.
Das war nur möglich in der Porträtsammlung der
Familien-Fideikommiß-Bibliothek mit ihrer hier und da
belächelten, etwas altvaterischen Einteilung in »Stände«.
Zu unserem Blatte, das wie die übrigen später zu be-
sprechenden Faust-Bilder in der Abteilung »Ärzte« lag,
vermerkt der Katalog als Stecher den Namen H. David.
Unter den Arbeiten des um 1605 in Paris gebornen
und bis 1670 tätigen Zeichners und Kupferstechers
J^röme (Hieronymus) David verzeichnet nun Le Blanc*^
eine Folge von 36 Blättern: ttTetes de Phihiopha*.
Unser »Faust« trägt eben die Nummer 36! Ich ging
also die Abteilung »Philosophen» durch und fand in
ganz gleicher Plattengröße und Ausführung mit der
Verlegerfirma F. L. D. Ciartres e.xcudit versehen noch
folgende Blätter:
EwpedocUi Philo^ophti^ . . . \'r /S
.■Irchimtdes Siracus
Diogenes .... -/
Divinus Plato .'2
Socrates i"*
-' •
Thomas Morus . j'i
Philon le Juij .
Democritus \' ;
_2 Chronik des Wiener Goethe -Vereins XXX., XXXI. u. XXXII. Bd.
Außerdem ohne Nummer: sich nun eine Reihe von Radierungen, die die \
I'/iunufH* ii* la h' V lagen für folgende Porträts der Serie des
Ciat ,
J/trtiittttis. bildet haben: Fol. 89 {i: llunuqut ,it la Ktyi.
Makffmtt. Jates), Fol. 90 (Philon), Fol. 91 {.X/ahomef), Fe
Ammaeus StHfta mios. Stntiti {Arisfottlo), Fol. 93 {//eraililus), Fol.
94 {Dtn4o, .
und In der Hofbibliothek : Keines dieser Blätter, die durchwegs aus
den Jahren 1 u ^
Aristoteles. Und 1634 datiert sind, trägt jedoch den Namen des Dirge
Diese Folge von 36 Porträtköpfen scheint aber stellten. Auf
RembrandtischeOriglnal-RadierunKcn
doch keineswegs auf »Philosophen« beschränkt ge- gehen nur zwei
Blätter zurück: »Plato« auf den Un-
wesen zu sein, denn in ganz gleicher Plattengroße im weiten
Sammtmantel (Klassiker der Kunst VII:
und Ausführung fanden sich unter den »Königen«: S. 136) und »Thomas
Morus« auf den ersten Orier:
Geoffroy a la Grand Dent de Lusignan . . Nr. 2 talenkopf (Ebenda S.
238). Für die vier restliche;
Dionisius Tirannus Siracusa [sie] »6 Blätter läßt sich nicht eine R a
d i er u n g Rembrandt
Barbaroussa Rex Algerii Insignis Pirata . . » 8 oder van Vliets,
sondern je ein Ölbild Remhrandts
Magnus Tamerlanus »9 als Vorlage nachweisen, und zwar für »Diogenes«
das
Cirus Pers. Rex »13 Bildnis eines alten Mannes (König Saul?) im
Besitze
Atabalipa Rex Peruviae . » 16 von Quincy A. Shaw in Boston (Klassiker
der Kunst
II Re de Fez et Marocco . » 17 II. S. 363), für »Gaston de Foix« das
Bildnis eines
Solimannus Turcarum Imperator »24 jungen Mannes bei Charles Sedelmeyer
in Paris. (Eben-
Saladinus Suitanus »25 da S. 145). für »Democrit« das Selbstbildnis im
Haager
Scandrebec Roy d'albanie »29 Museum (Ebenda S. 26) und für den
Kämmerer der
Gasto Foisseivs »30 Königin Candace die Selbstbildnisse in Cassel und
und ohne Nummer: Gotha. (Ebenda S. 27). Lediglich bei unserem »Faus'
Athila Flagellum Dei, und bei »Heraclit« gestaltet sich das Verhältnis
zum
II Gran Mogor, und Rembrandtischen Original ein wenig anders, wie wir
Paracouissi Rex Plattae. weiter unten sehen werden.
Auf diese Weise wäre es uns gelungen, von den Die Platten der Vorlagen
sind durchwegs größer,
36 Blättern, aus denen die Serie bestehen soll, 27 zu- als das
einheitliche Format der Platten in der Serie
sammenzubringen. des Ciartres. Diese wieder verhalten sich zu ihren
Fünf: Geoffroy de Lusignan, Barbaroussa, Ata- Vorlagen »en contre-
partie«, d. h., der Stecher, der die
balipa, Socrates und Saladlnus weisen die Stecher- van Vlietischen
Vorlagen kopierte, hatte natürlich einen
Signatur I David F. auf. Abdruck vor sich; wenn er denselben Strich
für
Genau ein Dutzend davon geht in letzter Linie Strich auf der unter
seiner Hand liegenden Kupfer-
auf Remb-andtische Originale zurück. Dieser Umstand platte
nachbildete, kam der Abdrock von seiner
ist — mit einer einzigen Ausnahme (bei »Plato«) — P'a^te natürlich
verkehrt heraus. Wenn ein Kopf bei
in der linken oberen Ecke des Blattes durch die Sig- van Vliet nach
rechts sah, so sah er in der Nach-
natur IRinbrandt Inuentot, oder IR inuent. ausgedrückt, blldung nach
links und umgekehrt.
Es sind dies: Aristoteles, Dioi^enes, Plato, Thomas Monis. Die Serie
des Ciartres scheint bei den Zeitgenossen
Philan. Demochhu, L'Eunuqiu de la Keyne de Candaces, Beifall gefunden
ZU haben, denn sie wurde bald in Italien
lleracliius, Mahomet . Scatidrebeg. Gasto Foisseins und nachgedruckt.
Vor mir Hegt eine Reihe von Blättern
/•atut. Die Hälfte davon ist jedoch nicht direkt nach in etwas
abweichender Plattengröße (237:170 mm)
Rembrandtischen Originalen hergestellt, sondern nach und bedeutend
roherer Ausführung des Kupferstiches
Blättern, die Rembrandts Schüler van Vliet nach Origi- mit
italienischer Namensform und einigen italienischen
naien seines Meisters radiert hat. Jan Georg üoris) Versen unter dem
Bilde, welche die Persönlichkeit des
van Vliet ist angeblich um 1610 zu Delft geboren. Dargestellten zu
charakterisieren suchen. Einzelne der-
arbeitete 1631 noch in Leiden in Rembrandts Atelier selben tragen am
unteren Plattenrande die Stecher-
nach dessen Zeichnungen, und seine Blätter sind, so Signatur Cio :
Suiuro /uit und die Verleger-Adresse
lange er unter Rembrandts Leitung stand, von größter »/« Passano per
il Rtmondiui.*'')
Feinheit und kaum von den Radierungen des Meisters Von dieser
Italienischen Serie besitzt die Familien-
zu unterscheiden. Seine späteren Arbeiten tragen jedoch Fideikommiß-
Bibliothek eine größere Anzahl von
eine Brutalität zur Schau, die eine vollständige künst- Blättern.
Außer den auch bei Ciartres vorkommenden
leiische und psychische Dekadenz vermuten läßt«) »Philosophen«
Democritus, Heraclitus, Mahomet
In dem Bande »van Vliet« der Hofbibliothek findet und den Königen und
Feldherren Dionisius. Gasi
Chronik des Wiener Goethe -Vereins XXX., XXXI. u. XXXII. Bd.
Fosseio (dieser sogar von zwei verschiedenen Platten),
Barbaroussa, Cirus, Atabatipa und Paracou-
issi finden sich hier noch die in unserem offenbar
unvollständigen Exemplar der Ciartres-Serie nicht ver-
tretenen, in vollständigen E.xemplaren aber doch wohl
vorhandenen »Philosophen« Crate Filosofo, Deme-
trlo Falereo, Esopo Frigio, Pytagoras und die
Könige« Gotofridus Bullionius Rex Jerusalem.
Nangazachi Rex Japo"', II GRN Nogay di
Persia, M. Cham Rex Tartarie und schließlich
ein Blatt mit der etwas rätselhaft klingenden Über-
schrift Josef Justs, das aber, wie aus den Versen
darunter hervorgeht, offenbar niemanden anderen als
den ägyptischen Josef darstellen soll. Dadurch erhöht
sich die Zahl der aus der französischen Serie festge-
stellten Porträts auf 36. Dasjenige Porträt aber, das
uns hier am meisten interessieren würde, unser »Faust«,
findet sich, wenigstens in unserer Sammlung, leider
nicht darunter. Den Weg über die Alpen scheint der
nordische Wanderer nicht gefunden zu haben.
Diese italienischen Blätter verhalten sich zu ihren
Vorlagen, den Blättern des Ciartres, naturgemäß wieder
»en contre-partie«, sehen also wieder nach derselben
Richtung, wie die van Vlietischen Originale,
Außerdem sind mir noch einzelne Blätter, z. B.
Scanderbec und Thomas Morus — wieder von anderen
Platten — mit lateinischer Legende untergekommen,
ja sogar zwei der Köpfe iDemocrit und Heradit) auf
einer Platte vereinigt mit englischen Versen darunter
und der Stecher-Signatur ly. Hollar sc. und der Ver-
leger-Adresse 'Sou/J hy John Querton, Newgate.^
Bevor wir nun auf dasjenige Blatt näher ein-
gehen, um dessen Willen wir die ganze Serie wieder-
herzustellen versucht haben, müssen wir die Person
des Verlegers, dem die ursprüngliche Serie ihre Ent-
stehung und Benennung verdankt, etwas näher ins
Auge fassen.
Fran^ois Langlois dit Ciartres war am
12. Mai 1588 zu Chartres, der Hauptstadt des Herzog-
tums Orleans geboren. Er reiste in Frankreich, Eng-
land, Italien, etablierte sich 1633 in Paris und war
bald ein vielbeschäftigter Kunsthändler und Agent
König Karl I. Auch als ausübender Musiker scheint
er sich einen Namen erworben zu haben '^^). Am
14. Jänner 1647 verzeichnet die Pfarr-Matrik von
St. Benoit in Paris: »Fran^ois Langlois, dit de Chartres,
inourut en son logis rue St. Jacques, pr^s le Mathurins,
vivant marchand de taille douce«^). Kein Geringerer
als Anton van Dyk hat uns sein Porträt, und zwar
in der Verkleidung eines dudelsackspielenden Savo-
yarden überliefert*). (Vgl. die Rückseite von Tafel 15).
Die Renaissance mit ihrem Ku't der Persönlichkeit
hat im Laufe des sechzehnten Jahrhunderts, begünstigt
durch die fortschreitende Entwicklung und Verbreitung
des Kupferstiches, eine Reihe von Porttätwerken ge-
schaffen. In deren Mittelpunkt naturgemäß die viel-
bewunderten und nachgeahmten griechischen Philo-
sophen standen. Diesen angereiht zu werden, war eine
der größten Auszeichnungen, die einem Zeitgenossen
widerfahren konnte. Welche Verbreitung und welche
Bedeutung die Faustsage im Bewußtsein der mittel-
europäischen Kulturwelt innerhalb eines Jahrhunderts
gewonnen hat, geht wohl am besten daraus hervor,
daß der landfahrende Geselle, über den seine Zeit-
genossen in Deutschland sich durchwegs mit unver-
hohlener Geringschätzung äußern, etwa ein Jahrhundert
nach seinem Tode in die Gesellschaft von Königen
und Weisen Eingang gefunden hat. Und daß dies
weit über den Grenzen seines deutschen Vaterlandes,
im tonangebenden Paris, geschehen ist, erhöht die
Bedeutung dieser Auszeichnung.
Woher aber nahm der rührige Pariser Verleger
ein Bild des deutschen Doktors?
An Stelle der veralteten und vergriffenen Porträt-
serien des sechzehnten Jahrhunderts wollte Langlois
dem Publikum seiner Zeit eine neue vorlegen, die
sowohl in Bezug auf die künstlerische Ausführung
wie auf die Wahl der darzustellenden Persönlichkeiten
dem veränderten Zeitgeschmacke entgegenkommen
sollte. Wie ging er zu diesem Zwecke bei der Aus-
wahl seiner Originale vor? Merkwürdig genug! Er
nahm einfach eine Anzahl jener radierten Studienköpfe,
die ihm damals der Kunsthandel aus den Niederlanden
zuführte, und ließ sie durch seinen Stecher auf ein
einheitliches Plattenformat übertragen. Eine Reihe von
ehrwürdigen Greisenköpfen mit langen Barten konnte
ganz gut für die griechischen Weltweisen passieren
Ohne Bedenken schrieb unser Mann also flott über
den einen Kopf den Namen Empedocles, über einen
anderen Socrates, Plato, usw. Ein Kopf der — aller-
dings recht widerlich — lachte, war natürlich der
lachende Democrit, und mit Grazie so fort. Wenn wir
unserem rührigen Verleger auf dem van Dykschen
Porträt in sein schalkhaft blinzelndes Mephisto-Gesicht
sehen, möchten wir ihm solch eine kecke Mystifikation
seiner Zeitgenossen ganz wohl zutrauen.
Und doch war das, was er getan hat, im letzten
Grunde eigentlich nichts als ein allerdings recht ver-
späteter Ausläufer mittelalterlicher Geschichtsauffab-
sung, die das Individuelle vollständig übersah und
nur auf das Typische ausging. Ein klassisches Beispiel
hiefür bietet uns Harlmann Schedels >Buch der Croniken
und geschichten mit figuren und pildnussen von anbegin
der weit bis auf dise unsere zeit«, Nürnberg 1493, das
Dürers Lehrer Michael Wohlgemuth mit prächtigen
Holzschnitten geziert hat, und aus dem noch ein Jahr-
Chronik des Wiener Goeme-vereins XXX-, XXXI. u. XXXII. Bd.
hundert später der Verfasser des Spiesischen Faust-
buches seine historischen und geographischen Kennt-
nisse geschöpft hat. Der Herausgeber bringt, seinem
weitausgreifenden Programm gemäß, eine zahllose
Menge von historischen Porträts aus allen Epochen
der Weltgeschichte, verfügt aber nur über eine ganz
beschränkte Anzahl von Holzstöcken. Wie hilft er sich
nun aus dieser Klemme? Er verwendet einfach ein
und dasselbe Klischee für alle möglichen Leute: Das-
selbe Bild, das auf S. XXXVI! als Paris von Troja
bezeichnet ist, begegnet uns auf S. XLIX als der
Prophet Micheas, auf S. LX als Epimenides. auf S.LXIX
als Neemias, und so fort, ein anderes Klischee muß
für Agamemnon, Blas, Sokrates, Demosthenes und
Graf Albrecht zu Babenberg gelten. Nicht anders geht
noch fast ein Jahrhundert später Heinrich Pantaleon
in seinen >Teutscher Nation Warhafften Helden«,
Basel 1568-1578, vor.
^ Die Vorlagen, die Ciartres sich für seine Portät-
köpfe wählte, tragen keinerlei Bezeichnung der dar-
gestellten Person, sie sind lediglich Studienköpfe. Sie
sind, wie eingangs erwähnt, durchwegs größer als die
Nachstiche des Ciartres mit zwei Ausnahmen: den
Vorlagen für »Stan,/tyfieg Kay if Albaniet (Tafel 3) und
für unseren »Faust« (Tafel 2). Diese beiden Blätter
stehen einander in jeder Beziehung am nächsten. Sie
sind von genau gleicher Plattengröße und weisen auch
in der Technik die innigste Verwandtschaft auf. In
den Katalogen wurden sie seit jeher unmittelbar neben
einander angeführt'), aber nur der älteste Katalog von
Amade de Burgy (1755) bezeichnet p. 24 unser Blatt
unter Nr. 178 als >Het Portret van Doctor /'aiistus met
<fn kanl Hoofj eii een Mantel om*. Pierre Yver beschreibt
"S in selneni ^Supplement Au Catalogue Raisonn'. de J/_
' Gersaint, Helle et Ghmy, De Toutes Les Pieces Qti
prment r Oeuvre de Rimbrandtn (Amsterdam 1756), 5.123
mit folgenden Worten : »^v. idQ. 'Ute de l'iuilard en
BmsU, vu* de face et rega*dent vers le bat. E'le est chaitve
"f ptrtie, tt Porte une grande moustacke sur la levre sii-
rieure, avec un fetit tollet h ftntour du ctl. Set deux
oreillts sont dicouvtrttt , et le corps est enveloppe d'un
mamleau. ouvert par devamt. Presque dans la haut de la
•^oitt de FEstampe, on voit ecrit Rt, in. Ce Morceau parte
Nmees 6 tignes de haut^ sur 4 pouces lO lignes de large ■
■ OH prittnd en Hollande, que c'est le Portrait du Dictiur
Faustus. Pour moi Je eroit que M. de Burgy s'est tromp:,
lorsqu'il a plate ce Moreeau au rang des Ouvrages de la
main de Rembrandt, parct qu'il me paroit gravi par van
Vliet. Jl y a une Ccpie de ce Morceau en contre partie de
rOrginal, matt heaueoup plus grande, oü Fon voit icrit
au dessus de la tite, Doctor Faustus, Dans le coin
du htut de la droite om lit Remhrandt inventor , et a
gauche F. L. D. Ciartres exeud. Sa hauteur est de ~ pouces
sn hrnri ft <a iargeur de 6 pouces Q tignes.*
Die Bezeichnung dieses Blattes als Doktor Faustus
beruht also, wie schon Szamat<')lski, S. XXllI, Anm. 2,
ausgesprochen hat, auf einer Rückwirkung des Nach-
stiches von Ciartres. Später verschwindet sie aus den
Katalogen volständig'").
Die ausführlichste Beschreibung der einzelnen
Plattenzustände dieser beiden van Vlietischen Studien-
köpfe enthält ein Aufsatz von J. F. Linck in Robert
Naumanns Archiv für die zeichnenden Künste, 5. Jahr-
gang, 1859: Bemerkungen und Zusätze zu dem Ver-
zeichnisse von Bartsch über die Radierungen des Jan
Georg van Vliet, S. 289:
»B. 25. Brustbild eines niederblickenden Alten [d. i.
das Urbild unseres , Faust-]. Nach Rembrandt
I. Weniger bearbeitet und vor der Adresse. Selten.
II. Ebenfalls vor der Adresse, aber in den Haaren,
den beiden Ohren, sowie der rechten Seite des
Gesichtes und des Mantels bedeutend mit dem
Grabstichel retuschiert.
III. Mit der Adresse des J. de Ram.
B. 26. Brustbild eines Offiziers [d. i. .Scanderbeg' des
Ciartres]. Nach Rembrandt.
I. Vor aller Adresse. Selten.
II. Mit der Adresse von J. de Ram.
III. Die Künstlernamen und die Adresse sind be-
seitigt und die Platte retuschiert worden. Man
liest außerhalb derselben, 9 Linien vom unteren
Rande entfernt, den mit großen lateinischen
Lettern gedruckten Namen: Georgius Ragocy.
Selten.
IV. Die gedruckte Unterschrift ist der Platte näher
und nur 4 Linien von derselben entfernt; man
liest jetzt: Georgius Ragocy, Dei gratiae Prin-
ceps Transilvaniae, Partium Regni Hungariae
Dominum, et Siculorum Comes etc. t'Amster-
dam. Gedruckt by Hugo Allardt, in de Kalver-
straet in de Werelt-Kaert. Die Abdrücke der
Kupferplatte sind sehr schwach.^
Der Verfasser unterläßt es leider anzugeben, w o
er die einzelnen Abdrücke gesehen hat. Aus anderen
Quellen wissen wir, daß sich solche in Wien (Alber-
tina, Hofbibliothek, 1. Zustand), Berlin i'Kgl. Kupfer-
stichkabinett), Amsterdam und im Britischen Museum "i
finden. Ob die Pariser Nationalbibliothek das Blatt
besitzt, läßt sich bei den unzulänglichen Angaben im
Kataloge von Georges Duplessis (Teil III, S. 350: -En
buste, de face. Grav. au burin anonyme«) nicht ent-
scheiden. Außerdem dürfte es noch in anderen öffent-
lichen und Privatsammlungen vorkommen '-). Ein Ab-
druck unseres Faustkopfes mit" der Adresse von J. de
Ram (um 1680 in Holland geboren) ist mir nicht be-
kannt geworden.
Aus den Angaben Lincks sehen wir, daß ein und
dasselbe Original von dem einen Verleger als eine
Chronik des Wiener Goethe -Vereins XXX., XXXI. u. XXXII. Bd.
ganz bestimmte historische Persönlichkeit ausgegeben
wird, was aber einen andern durchaus nicht hindert,
demselben Blatte eine ganz andere Bezeichnung bei-
zulegen. Den zwei Bezeichnungen als »Ragocy« stehen
drei als »Scanderbeg« (bei Ciartres, in der italienischen
Serie des Remondini und in einer Serie mit lateinischem
Te.xt) gegenüber. Der von der ungarischen Akademie
der Wissenschaften in der Sammlung Magyar Törteneti
Eletrajzok »Ungarische historische Lebensbeschrei-
bunger.) herausgegebenen Biographie Georg I. Rdköczys
von Ale.xander Szilägyi (Budapest 1893 ist unsere
Radierung als wirkungsvolles Titelbild beigegeben.
Im Anhange auf S. 421 findet sich ein kleiner Exkurs
Qber das Bild, in welchem nicht der leiseste Zweifel
an der Identität der dargestellten Person laut wird.
So ausgerüstet, können wir nun an die einge-
hendere Befrachtung unseres Faustbildes, und zwar
zunächst in dem Archetypus der van Viietischen Ra-
dierung, herantreten.
In dem umfangreichen Werke Rembrandts, das
der Russe Dmitri Rovinski mit großer Sorgfalt ge-
sammelt und verzeichnet hat, finden sich mehrere
kleine radierte Skizzen, die niederblickende Greisen-
köpfe mit schütterem Haupt- und Barthaar darstellen,
keiner darunter aber kann als die Vorlage unseres
Faustbildes angesprochen werden"). Erweckt dieser
Umstand schon von Haus aus ein gewisses Mißtrauen
gegen die Signatur Rt. in., so wird dieses noch ver-
stärkt, wenn wir den unbeholfenen Zug der Buch-
staben schärfer ins Auge fassen und mit der charakte-
ristischen eigenhändigen Signatur van Vliets auf der
Ragocy^- oder »Scanderbeg«-Platte vergleichen, die
in gleicher oder ähnlicher Form auf allen Blättern des
Künstlers wiederkehrt. Diese Beobachtung zwingt uns
zur Annahme, daß die ursprüngliche Signatur von der
Platte abgeschliffen und viel später durch die gegen-
wärtige ersetzt worden ist, ein Vorgang, den Linck ja
auch an der »Ragocyc-Platte festgestellt hat.
Daß das Blatt von der Hand van Vliets herrührt,
dafür haben wir, solange nicht ein Abdruck mit der
Signatur auftaucht, keinen anderen Beweis als die
genaue Übereinstimmung mit der deutlich signierten
»Ragocy«-Platte.
Was wir bisher von der Entstehung der ganzen
Serie und der Art, wie die einzelnen Köpfe zu ihren
Benennungen gekommen sind, ermitteln konnten,
mahnt uns also von vornherein zur äußersten Vorsicht,
und doch treffen gerade auf unseren Faustkopf einige
Merkmale zu, die eine gewisse Verbindung mit dem
Volksbuche herzustellen scheinen.
Von dem Titanengeiste, der da >name an sich
Adlers Flügel, wolte alle Grund am Himmel vnd Erden
erforschen«, ist in dem verhärmten Gesichte allerdings
nicht eine Spur zu entdecken. »Der tief zwischen den
abfallenden Schultern sitzende rundliche Kopf, das
runzlige Gesicht und die hoffnungslos, ausdruckslos
starrenden Augen, der spärliche Schnurrbart, kurz das
ganze kleinliche Alltagsgesicht, der schlichte Radmantel
und die kümmerliche, gefältelte Halskrause, das alles
stimmt eher zum Mitleid mit der traurigen Gestalt als
zur Bewunderung oder auch nur zur Teilnahme für
ihren Kummer. Das spärliche Haar, das schon fast
ganz kahle Vorderhaupt verstärken den Eindruck eher
noch. An einem Übermaß an Freuden leidet dieser
Griesgram sicher nicht; aber diese Furchen sind nicht
beim verzweifelten Grübeln über die Lösung des
Weltenrätsels entstanden. Vielleicht entstammen sie
einer wüsten Jugend, vielleicht jahrelangem Verdruß
über das Mißgeschick des Lebens.« ")
»Dieser Mann mit dem furchtsamen Ausdruck
auf der Oberlippe würde nie mit dem Bösen einen
Pakt geschlossen haben oder doch fünf Minuten spätem
von der Abmachung zurückgetreten sein, und mit
dieser dünnen, heiseren Stimme gesprochen, wären
die Worte, welche die Pforten der Hölle zu erschüttern
vermögen, nicht sehr eindrucksvoll gewesen'*).«
Steht somit der Gesamteindruck des Bildes ge-
radezu im direkten Widerspruch gegen die Vorstellung
von dem verwegenen Abenteurer, die uns das Volks-
buch vermittelt, so erfordert doch die folgende Tat-
sache eine ernste Erwägung:
Über die äußere Erscheinung Fausts enthalten
die Volksbücher keine Andeutung, mit einer einzigen
Ausnahme: In der Bearbeitung des Spiesischen Volks-
buches durch den Schwaben Rudolf Widmann (1599)
lautet eine Stelle im 21. Kapitel, »Doctor Faustus
erscheint nach seinem Tode*, folgendermaßen:
»So sahen auch die Nachbarn herumb den Geist des
Doct. Fausti bey nacht offtmals in seiner behausung
an dem fenster liegen, vnd sonderlich wann der Mond
schien. Er gieng in seiner behausung gantz leibhafftig.
wie er auff Erden gegangen war, mit allerley gestaldt
vnd kleydung. Dann Doctor Faustus war ein hock-
ruckerigs Männlein, eine dürre Person, habend ein
kleines grauwes bärtlein . . .**)«.
Interessant ist, daß diese Stelle n u r in der ver-
hältnismäßig sehr seltenen Widmannischen Bearbeitung,
und weder früher in der ursprünglichen Spiesischen
Ausgabe, noch später in der Pfitzerischen Bearbeitung,
durch die Widmanns Buch bald abgelöst wurde, mehr
vorkommt. Sie wurde zuerst von Erich Schmidt mit
unserem Bilde in Verbindung gebracht in der weite
kultur- und literaturgeschichtliche Ausblicke eröff-
nenden Abhandlung >Faust und das 16. Jahrhundert«^
die seither in die »Charakteristiken« aufgenommen
worden ist.
Chronik des Wiener Goethe- Vereins XXX, XXXI. u. XXXU. Bd.
»Anders«, heilit es dort, »gibt sich das zweite
Blatt, und so mag der historische Faust (der nach
Widmans Schiußcapitel dem Famulus Waiger als ein
.hochruckerigs Männlein, eine dürre Person, habend
ein kleines grawes Bärtlein' erschien) wohl ungefähr
ausgesehen haben: eine derbe, untersetzte Figur^
deren Kopf in den Schultern steckt, denn dei kurze
Hals wird ganz von dem Spitzenkragen verdeckt, mit
spärlichem getirgelten Haar, Schnurr- und Knebelbart
und einem confiscirten Gesicht, aus welchem ein
paar schelmische Augen gar durchtrieben in die Welt
gucken*. Sowet Erich Schmidt. Man könnte sogar
noch einen Schritt weiter gehen und behaupten, der
etwas sonderbar anmutende dreieckige Umriß und der
gesenkte Kopf sei dadurch entstanden, daß Faust
dargestellt ist, wie er nach der Angabe Widmanns^
mit beiden Ellbogen auf das Fensterbrett gestützt (an
dem Fenster liegend), auf die Straße hinabsieht.
Die schelmischen Augen, die gar durchtrieben in
die Welt gucken, finden sich allerdings auf unserem
Bilde rieht, es iit e4ier ein melancholischer Blick, mit
dem Urs dieser armselige Wicht anglotzt. Als Erich
Schmidt diesen Salz niederschrieb (1882 im 3. Bande
des Goethe-Jahrbuches, S. 96), hatte noch kein Faust-
Forscher dieses angeblich Rembrandtische Original
gesehen, das Szamatölski erst 1891 ans Licht gezogen
hat. Schmidts Bemerkung kann sich also nur auf eine
der zahlreichen Nachbildungen des neunzehnten Jahr-
hunderts, etwa die zu Karikaturen verzerrten Kopien
bei Scheible oder Engel beziehen (Tafel 9 und 10).
Außer dieser Stelle findet sich aber bei Widmann,
und wieder n u r bei ihm, noch eine zweite indirekte
Schilderung des äußeren Menschen Fausts. die die
früher angezogene btelle ergänzt tnd bestätigt. Au
diese hat zuerst Kiesewetter in seinem seltsamen Buche
»Faust in der Geschichte und Tradition«, Leipzig 1893,
S. 60, aufmerksam gemacht. Ich zitiere sie hier voll-
ständiger als Kiesewetter, und zwar nach dem Ab-
drucke in Scheibles »Kloster«, II, S. 521 f., weil sie noch
ein zweites Moment enthält, das hier in Betracht kommt:
»Als er nun auff solchem platz [in der Reichs-
stadt Schwäbisch Hall] auff vnd nieder spatzieren
gieng, sein etliche Sieder fürOber gangen, vnd sint
auff das gehengk, so vber das wasser gemacht worden,
gestiegen, vnd atda Stil gestanden, den Faustum an-
gesehen vnd jhr gespött getrieben, denn es ist vmb
die Sieder ein solches voick, wie in solcher Stadt ein
sprichwordt ist, das, wenn Christus Selbsten solt durch
das Hall gehen, er ohn gespött oder unbeschissen
nicht daruon kommen würd, also wiederfuhr es dem
D. Fausto auch, denn einer sagt, wer jst dieser klein
hockendt Mann, der ander antwortet, es ist der Esopus,
der dritte sagt, es ist der Bandelstrobel . . .«
Die Vorstellung des Buckeligen wird hier noch
verstärkt durch den Vergleich mit dem griechischen
Fabeldichter Aesop, dessen Werk durch die Bearbei-
tungen des Ulmer Stadtarztes Heinrich Stainhoewel
1 1475^1 und des ehemaligen Franziskaners Burkhard
Waldis (1548") im sechzehnten Jahrhundert In Deutsch-
land verbreitet war. Auf dem Titelholzschnitte des
»Buch und Leben des hochberühmten Fabeldichters
Aesop« von Stainhoewel (Ulm, Johannes Zainer, 1475 ,
ist der Dichter nach der mittelalterlichen, auf Maximus
Planudes zurückgehenden Überlieferung als buckliger
Zwerg dargestellt").
Wenn wir diese allerdings etwas dürftigen An-
deutungen über Fausts äußere Erscheinung zusammen-
fassen und auf unser radiertes Blältchen zu über-
tragen suchen, möchte es uns fast bedünken, als ob
gerade in diesem Falle der gute Ciartre's etwas ge-
wissenhafter als bei den übrigen Blättern seiner Serie
zu Werke gegangen wäre und etwas wie eine wirk-
liche Charakteristik der darzustellenden Persönlichkeit
angestrebt hätte. Freilich steht dieser Annahme ent-
gegen, daß zu seiner Zeit wohl das Spiesische Volks-
buch, nicht aber die Widmannische Bearbeitung des-
selben in französischer und holländischer Übersetzung
vorlag.
Ein ganz anderes Ansehen erhält die Sache je-
doch, wenn wir die Berechtigung der Signatur *Rt in.^
eingehender prüfen und das Rembrandtische Original
festzustellen suchen, das Joris van Vliet als Vorlage für
seine Radierung benutzt hat. Unter den selbständigen
Porträt- und Studienköpfen Rembrandts in Öl oder in
Radierung findet sich kein einziger, der ohneweiters
als identisch mit unserem »Faust« bezeichnet werden
könnte, dagegen stimmt Form und Ausdruck des
Gesichtes, vor allem aber die merkwürdige, unver-
ständliche Haltung des Körpers genau mit der Gestalt
des Närrvaters Joseph auf dem in englischem Privat-
besitz befindlichen, auf Eichenholz gemalten, 0765 m
hohen und 0*640 m breiten Bilde Rembrandts »Ruhe
der heiligen Familie auf der Flucht nach Ägypten«
überein. Leider kann ich das Bild auf Tafel 4 nur
nach der Heliogravüre von Fillon et Heuse in Wilhelm
Bodes und C. Hofstede de Groots großem Rembrandt-
Werk in Lichtdruck vorlegen und den van Vtietischen
Studienkopf in entsprechender Verkleinerung und Um-
kehrung danebenstelien'*). Wäre heute nicht jede Ver-
bindung mit England abgeschnitten, würde ich gern
einen Ausschnitt aus dem Bilde, nämlich die Büste
des heiligen Joseph, in Originalgröße wiedergeben.
Vielleicht ist übrigens die Zeit doch nicht mehr gar zu
ferne, in der ein Austausch geistiger Interessen unter
den Völkern, die sich noch bis vor kurzem auf Tod
und Leben bekämpften, wieder möglich sein wird.
Chronik des Wiener Goethe -Vereins XXX., XXXI. u. XXXII. Bd
Dann soll der Versuch gemacht werden, den Besitzern
der vorliegenden Mappe diese Tafel nachzuliefern. Aus
ihr würde sich höchstwahrscheinlich ergeben, was sich
vorläufig nur durch eine auf ur zu verlässige Messungen
an der Reproduktion gegründete Proportion erschließen
läßt: daß der van Vlietische Studienkopf mit dem
Kopf'des heiligen Joseph auf dem Bilde sogar in der
Gröüe übereinstimmt. Daß er nach links gewendet ist,
während er auf dem Bilde nach rechts sieht, kann nach
dem, was wir auf S. 2 über die Nachbildungen in
Kupferstich erfahren haben, die Annahme der Ab-
hängigkeit nur bekräftigen.
Auch die Zeitfolge bietet keine Schwierigkeit,
denn die Flucht nach Ägypten ist nach Bode um 1630
entstanden, während der angebliche »Ragocy« oder
»Scanderbeg« van Vliets, der das Gegenstück zu dem
undatierten »Faust« bildet und also doch wohl gleich-
zeitig entstanden ist, auf der Originalplatte Tafel 3)
die Jahreszahl 1632 trägt.
Jetzt wird auf den ersten Blick so manches klar,
was bis dahin unerklärlich schien: das kummervolle
Antlitz des Nährvaters, der die Seinigen nur durch
rasche Flucht dem drohenden Verderben zu entziehen
vermag, der gesenkte Blick, denn er liest in einem
Buche, und die einseitige Haltung, denn er stützt seinen
linken Arm auf einen Felsblock, der gleichzeitig der
Gottesmutter zum Sitze dient.
Wenn ungeachtet der zahlreichen Obereinstim-
mungen noch ein Zweifel übrigbleiben sollte, ob Joseph
wirklich das Urbild des sogenannten »Faust« abge-
geben hat, so wird dieser Zweifel durch die Tatsache
zerstreut, daß der sonderbare Vorgang, den wir hier
beobachtet haben, durchaus nicht ganz vereinzelt da-
steht, sondern sich zur selben Zeit unter ganz gleichen
Verhältnissen wiederholt hat: aus demRembrandtischen
Bilde »Judas bringt die Silberlinge zurück« ist die
Gestalt des Judas in ihrer ungemein charakteristischen
Körperhaltung auf dem Umwege über van Vliet in die
Porträtserie des Ciartres und in jene des Aubry über-
gegangen. Hier aber muß sie den »weinenden Philo-
sophen« Heraklit (im Gegensatze zum »lachenden«
Demokrit' darstellen (Tafel 5)!")
In dem dritten Falle dagegen, in welchem ein
einzelner Kopf aus einem größeren Bilde Rembrandts
herauskopiert wurde, ist die Bezeichnung der darge-
stellten Person beibehalten worden: aus dem Bilde:
Joseph, seine Träume erzählend (in der Galerie Six
zu Amsterdam, Klassiker der Kunst, II, S. 175) Ist der
Kopf des Joseph in seiner vornübergehängten Haltung
in die Serie des Ciartres und von da in die italienische
des Romandini übergegangen.
Nun wird uns erst ein Ausspruch Goethes in der
Abhandlung »Über Leonard da Vincis Abendmahl«")
in seiner vollen Bedeutung klar: »Man bediente sich
mancher Figuren zu ganz anderm Zweck, als sie der
erste Urheber bestimmt hatte. Weltliche Gegenstände
wurden durch einige Zutaten in geistliche verwandelt;
heidnische Götter und Helden mußten sich bequemen,
Märtyrer und Evangelisten zu sein. Oft auch hatte der
Künstler zu eigner Belehrung und Übung irgend eine
Figur aus einem berühmten Werk kopiert und setzte
nun etwas von seiner Erfindung hinzu, um ein ver-
käufliches Bild daraus zu machen. Zuletzt darf man
auch wohl der Entdeckung und dem Mißbrauch der
Kupferstiche einenTeil des Kunstverderbens zuschreiben,
welche den Dutzendmalern fremde Erfindungen häufig
zubrachten, so daß niemand mehr studierte und die
Malerei zuletzt so weit verfiel, daß sie mit mechanischen
Arbeiten vermischt ward. Waren doch die Kupferstiche
selbst schon von den Originalen verschieden, und wer
sie kopierte, vervielfachte die Veränderung nach eigener
und fremder Überzeugung oder Grille.« Was dabei
für unser Faustbild herauskam, werden die folgenden
Tafeln zeigen.
Wenn wir den Nachstich aus dem Verlage des
Ciartres (Tafel 1) neben seine Vorlage, die van
Vlietische Radierung (Tafel 2), legen, springen die
Abweichungen sofort in die Augen: »Der Kupferstich
verändert die Radierung an sich nicht unbedeutend
aber die Abweichungen gehen über das Technische
hinaus. Die sorgfältigere Ausführung läßt den Stoff
des Mantels feiner erscheinen. Da das Licht von
einem etwas tieferen Punkte einfällt, so erscheint der
Kopf nicht ganz so gebückt. Die Züge sind etwas
verjüngt, das Gesicht hat einen fast schlauen Ausdruck
bekommen und besitzt in seiner Seibstbescheidung
etwas Entschlossenes. Dieser geriebene Herr nimmt
es schon eher mit dem Teufel auf. Seine Stimme mag
dünn sein, aber sie mag dabei etwas scharf Durch-
dringendes haben. Beim Abschließen des Vertrages
wird er sich schon vorsehen, daß er nicht zu kurz
kommt. Aus dem Fünfundsechzigjährigen ist ein
Fünfziger geworden ").«
Nachdem es uns auf diese Weise gelungen ist,
die bildliche Abstammung des Faust-Bildnisses
bis in dritte Generation zurückzuverfolgen, wollen
wir uns nun mit der gebotenen Vorsicht an den Ver-
such heranwagen, ob es nicht vielleicht möglich wäre,
einen Schritt weiter zu gelangen und bis zu dem
lebenden Urbilde vorzudringen.
Der Kopf des grämlichen Greises, der auf so
seltsamen Wegen und Umwegen zum Doktor Faust
geworden ist, blickt uns nämlich in verändertem KostOfh
und veränderter Haltung, aber mit denselben Gesichto-
zügen aus mehreren Bildern Rembrandt's entgegen,
Chronik des Wiener Goethe- Vereins XXX , XXXI. u. XXXII. Bd.
er ist also nicht frei erfunden, sondern einem lebenden
Modelle nachgebildet, das in unzähligen Variationer.
auf den Bildern Rembrandt's und seines Schülers
Gerard Dou wiederkehrt. Vor allem in einer Form und
Haltung, die ganz auffallend an unser Blatt erinnert,
und zwar so sehr, daß die Radierung van Vliet's
nach diesem Bilde im Kunsthandel des achtzehnten
Jahrhunderts ohneweiters als »Faust« bezeichnet
wurde. Lediglich das Kostüm ist verändert : den
kahlen Scheitel bedeckt eine turbanartig von einem
Tuche umwundene Pelzmütze, die uns auch auf
anderen Bildern Rembrandt's und Dou's begegnet,
und an die Stelle des dürftigen, geflickten Bettler-
mantels ist ein üppiger Pelzkragen getreten. Diesmal
liegt aber nicht ein Ausschnitt aus einem größeren
Bilde Rembrandt's zu Grunde, sondern ein selb-
ständiger Porträt- oder Studienkopf, dessen Original
sich Im Ferdinandeum zu Innsbruck befindet (Rück-
seite von Tafel 2, oben». Eine gute alte Kopie dieses
Bildes — früher Gerard Dou zugeschrieben — findet
sich auf Schloß Pommersfelden bei Bamberg
Klassiker der Kunst, XXIV, S. 26, 1801 Der ein-
gangs zitierte Moehsen beschreibt die Radierung,
die das kleine Bild in Originalgröße wiedergibt,
S. 14 folgendermaßen: >Man hat ein Blatt von van
Vliet, so einen Mann vorstellt, der in der Gesichts-
bildung mit diesem [d. i. dem Faust des Ciartres]
übereinkommt, außer daß er ein wenig älter aussieht
Den Kopf bedeckt eine ungeheure rauhe Mütze, die-
unterwärts mit einem gestreiften Tuche, zweimal um-
gebunden ist. Er ist hier in einem Pelze mit einem
breiten rauhen Ausschlag bekleidet, anstatt daß jener
einen offen stehenden Mantel, und einen weißen
Halskragen um hat. Zur rechten des Kopfes ist:
Ht ran Ryn in. Gleich darunter in einem Mono-
gramme: IG. van Vliet fuit /ög^. Ich habe dieses
Blatt sowohl neulich aus einer holländischen Ver-
steigerung unter dem Titel des Doctor Faust, als auch
1760 aus der Frobesischen Auktion zu Helmstädt er-
halten, woselbst es im Catalogo P. 2. p. 3%. n. 579
unter eben diesem Titel vorgekommen "). Gersaint
und Yver haben zwar, ersterer S. 291 u. f. und
letzterer S. 176 einige Blätter angeführet, die van Vliet
nach Rembrandt radirt hat, es kommt aber dieses
Blatt mit keinem der daselbst beschriebenen überein,
es müßte denn das zweyte bey dem Gersaint seyn,
welches er, ich weiß nicht warum, le Porträt de
Philo le Juif nennet.« Warum, w ird uns sofort
klar, wenn wir die Zusammenstellung auf der Rück-
seite von Tafel 2 überblicken und mit Tafel 1 ver-
gleichen: dieses Bild hat nämlich genau denselben
Weg wie der »Faust« zurückgelegt vom Rem-
brandtischen Ölbilde über die Radierung van Vliefs
in die Serie des Ciartres, wo es genau unter den -
selben Umständen wie der heilige Joseph zum
»Faust«, zu dem Namen »Philon le Juif« gekommen
jst. Zug um Zu^, Linie für Linie stimmt hier das
Gesicht mit dem »Faust« überein. Man beachte vor
allem die offenbar durch Hautfalten stufenweise ge-
gliederte Backenlinie mit den hohen Bartstoppeln,
dann Form und Lage der Ohren, besonders aber
die Mundpartie. Lediglich der spitzbübische Ausdruck
der Augen, der recht gat zu dem Bilde des durch-
triebenen Erz-Zauberers paßt, ist — gewollt oder un-
gewollt — durch tiefere Ausarbeitung der Augenpartie
ernster geworden und hat sich so unwillkürlich mehr
der Vorstellung von dem tiefen Denker genähert, der,
ein Zeitgenosse Christi, den Begriff des Logos als
Vermittlers zwischen dem Menschen und der Gottheit
philosophisch begründet hat.
In dasselbe kummerdurchfurchte Antlitz
blicken wir auf dem Rembrandt-Bilde auf der Rück-
seite von Tafel 3, auf das mich Professor Dr.
R. F. Arnold aufmerksam macht (Bode I Nr. 30,
Original in der Sammlung Dr. A. Bredius im Haag).
Wenn wir dieses Bild neben die van Vliet'sche Ra-
dierung, die hier zum Vergleiche wiederholt ist, legen,
wird wohl kaum ein Zweifel daran aufkommen, daß
es ein und derselbe Mensch ist, der auf diesen
beiden Blättern dargestellt ist. Er ist nur noch um
einige Jahre älter geworden, und Kummer und Sorge
haben noch tiefere Runen in sein Gesicht gegraben.
Der Blick ist nach aufwärts gerichtet, aber es sind
dieselben melancholischen Augen, mit denen unse;
»Faust« nach abwärts blickt.
In derselben Wendung, mit demselben Pelz und
demselben niederen Käppchen bekleidet ist dieser
Kopf dann nach dem Ö. bilde Rembrandt's (Klassiker
der Kunst II S. 40, 43), und der nach dem-
selben ausgeführten eigenhändigen Radierung des
Meisters (Klassiker der Kunst VIII S. 238. hier als
»erster Orientalenkopf bezeichnet) in die Serie des
Ciartres, und, wie ich vjrausgreifend erwähnen muß,
in jene des Peter Aubry übergegangen. Weil er aber
eine goldene Halskette mit einem Medaillon daran
trägt (die wir auf manchem anderen Rembrandt-
Bilde wieder erkennen), hat er hier den Namen
Thomas Morus erhalten.
Philo, der jüdische Philosoph aus der Zeit
Christi, der »weitbeschreite Zauberer und Schwarz-
künstler«, D. Johann Faust, und Thomas Moore, der
Großkanzler von England, der berühmte Verfasser
der »Utopia«, drei Persönlichkeiten, wie sie ver-
schiedener kaum gedacht werden können, finden wir
also in unserer Porträt-Serie durch drei Bilder Rem-
brandt's dargestellt, die alle drei auf ein und dasselbe
Chronik des Wiener Goethe -Vereins XXX., XXXI. u. XXXII. Bd.
lebende Modell zurückgehen. Dieses Modell aber, das
uns auch auf noch zahlreichen anderen Studien-
kOpfen Rembrandl's begegnet, ist, wie die neuere
Forschung annimmt und in der Benennung der Bilder
zum Ausdruck bringt, niemand anderer als — Rem-
brandl's Vater, der Leydener MQIIermeister Härmen
Geritszoon van Rijn.
♦ * *
Und nun gilt es, die zahlreiche, zum Teil recht
entartete Nachkommenschaft zu verfolgen, die dieses
unter so seltsamen Umständen zum Doktor Faust
gewordene Bild von Rembrandt's Vater im Laufe von
zwei Jahrhunderten gezeugt hat.
Das folgende Blatt, das auf Tafel 6 nach dem
Originale der Familien-Fideikommiß-Bibliothek wieder-
gegeben ist, war bisher gänzlich UQbekannt. Es rührt
von einem Landsmann und Zeitgenossen des Ciartres
her, der ihn um zwanzig Jahre überlebt hat. Pierre
Aubry (1596-1667) stammte aus der Champagne und
ließ sich in dem damals noch deutschen Straßburg
nieder, wo er ein paar hundert Porträts berühmter
Zeitgenossen in Kupfer stach, mit denen er ganz
Europa überschwemmte"». Außer dem -Doktor
Faust< finden sich in ganz gleichem ovalen Rahmen
In unserer Sammlung noch folgende »Porträts« nach
denselben van Vlietischen Studienköpfen, die auch
Ciartres benützt hat: Heradites, Democritus, Thomas
Morus. Keines dieser Blätter trägt eine Stecher-
Signatur oder Verleger-Adresse. Sollte Aubry vielleicht
doch Bedenken getragen haben, diese kühnen Be-
nennungen mit seinem Namen zu decken und auf
diese Weise die Glaubwürdigkeit seiner übr gen
historischen Porträts in Frage zu stellen ? Unsere
Abdrücke sind allerdings so stark zugeschnitten, daß
kein Plattenrand zu erkennen ist, aber die Oberein-
stimmung in dem Format und vor allem die Gleich-
heit der Buchstabenformen der Unterschriften mit
jenen auf Blättern, die ausdrücklich die Firma des
Pierre Aubry tragen, lassen keinen Zweifel daran
aufkommen, daß auch diese vier Porträts aus seiner
Fabrik stammen.
Dieses Blatt scheint die Vorlage für eine spätere
Zeichnung gebildet zu haben, die Alexander Tille
a. a. O., S. 548, folgendermaßen beschreibt: »Ein
Tuschblatt, dessen Vorbild und Entstehung' noch
nicht bekannt geworden ist, macht den Kopf noch
jünger, noch runder und gibt der Gestalt eine Art
Gürtel, .^us dem Fünfziger ist ein Vierziger geworden,
der das Leben mit Wein utid Weib genossen hat.
Die Falten der Stirn und der untern rechten Wange
sind geblieben. Aus dem Gesicht spricht die Be-
kümmernis, daß der Bauch nich' mehr fähig ist, noch
etwas aufzunehmen. Das Blatt ist unterzeichnet
Doctor Faustus und darunter steht von einer Hand
um 17(j0 vermerkt : Natus in comitatu anhaltino etc.
Aus der Vorlage dieses Blattes ist das Titelblatt des
dritten deutschen Volksbuches von Faust abgeleitet.
des sogenannten Faustbuches des Christlich
Meynenden. dessen älteste bisher bekannt gewordene
Ausgabe aus dem Jahre 1725 stammt. Es macht auf
seinem vergröbernden Holzschnitt den Doktor zum
Dreißiger. Das Haar ergänzt es ihm freilich nicht,
'.ber die Runzeln tilgt es ihm. Seine feisten Backen
und glotzigen Augen verraten, daß sein Gott der
Bauch ist. Für sein Lieblingsmahl oder den Wein
seines Herzens möchte et sich doch wohl dem Teufel
übergeben, für so wenig mutig man ihn auch sonst
hält. Es ist Faust der Fresser, der Schlemmer, nicht
mehr der Faust, der aus Wissensdurst wider Gott
kriegen wollte.«
Dieses Titelbild ist auf Tafel 7 wiedergegeben.
Den geistreichen Schlußfolgerungen Tilles vermag ich
aber nicht unbedingt zuzustimmen. Wer je in einer
größeren Sammlung von Kupferstich- und Holzschnitt-
Porträts gearbeitet und dabei in einzelnen Fällen die
Veränderungen verfolgt hat. die das Bild ein und der-
selben Persönlichkeit erleidet, wenn jedes folgende
vom vorausgehenden kopiert wird, der wird in den
Veränderungen nicht eine ^energisch durchgeführte
Charakteristik^ *•), sondern nur das Unvermögen des
reproduzierenden »Künstlers« erblicken. Alle Stiche
und Holzschnitte aus dritter und vierter Hand weisen
rundere, vollere Gesichter auf, denen in der Regel
jede Modellierung mangelt.
Während dieser Holzschnitt vor der Editio
princeps des »Christlich Meynenden« sich mit den
verschiedenen Auflagen des Volksbuches fast bis gegen
Ende des achtzehnten Jahrhunderts erhalten hat, ist
eine neue Nachbildung in Kupferstich entstanden, auf
die fast alle Wiederholungen des Bildes im neun-
zehnten Jahrhundert zurückgehen (Tafel 8). Sie findet
sich als Titelbild vor dem fünften Stück der »Biblio-
theca. Acta et Scripta Magica. Gründliche Nachrichten
und Urtheile von solchen Büchern und Handlungen,
Welche die Macht des Teufels in leiblichen Dingen
betreffen. Zur Ehre Gottes, und dem Dienst der
Menschen heraus gegeben von D. Erhard David
Hauber, Hochgräfl. Schauenburg- und Lippischen Super-
intendenten, der Kayserlichen Leopold-Carolinischen
Academie und der Königl. Preuss. Gesellschaft der
Wissenschaften Mit-Genossen.« Lemgo 1739.
Eberhard David Hauber ,1695— 1765\ ein
Pfarrersohn aus Hohenhaßloch in Württemberg, wurde
1725 Superintendent zu Stadthagen und 1746 Pastor«
der deutschen St. Petrigemeinde in Kopenhagen.
Neben rein theologischen Arbeiten hat er sich vie
10
Chronik des Wiener Goethe-Vereins XXX., XXXI. u. XXXII. Bd.
mit geographischen Studien und mit biblischer
Archäologie beschäftigt • ). Seine Bibliotheca Magica,
die im großen und ganzen auf einem freisinnigen
Standpunkte steht, wurde begonnen in einer Zeit,
da der unter dem Namen der Jenaischen Christnacnts-
Tragödie bekannte Versuch einer Teufelsbeschwörung,
bei der mehrere Teilnehmer durch Kohlenoxydgas-
vergiftung ums Leben kamen, noch immer die Gemüter
erregte und die Federn der Gelehrten beschäftigte *")
Sogar der berühmteste Arzt jener Zeit, der Hallenser
Professor Friedrich Hoff mann, der schon 1706 in einer Ab-
handlung >De potentia diaboli in corpora« durchaus
nicht jeden Einfluß des Teufels schlechtweg geleugnet
hatte, und sein Schüler Johann Heinrich Schulze
haben damals in aufklärendem Sinne in den Streit
eingegriffen.
Auf einer Studienreise nach Holland, die er 1728
mit Unterstützung des Grafen Friedrich Christian
zu Schaumburg-Lippe unternahm, dürfte Hauber die
van Vlietische Radierung kennen gelernt oder er-
woiben haben. Zu dem unbeholfenen Nachstich, der
geradezu eine Karrikatur des holländischen Studien-
kopfes darstellt, gibt er auf S. 356 *") folgende : »An-
merkung zu dem Titul-Kupffer. Doctor Faust ist in
der Historie der Würckungen des Teufels, und der
Zauberey, ein so berühmter Name, daß sein Bildniß
auch billig einen Platz in unserer Bibliothec fordert.
Da mir nun schon vor geraumer Zelt ein von einem
guten Meister gezeichnetes, und in Kupffer gestochenes
Bild desselben zu Händen gekommen, so habe ich
solches diesem Stück vorsetzen wollen. Nun kann
ich zwar nicht sagen, daß Doctor Faust würcklich
also, wie das Bild zeiget, ausgesehen habe ; Da aber
doch solches Bild würcklich und schon vor vielen
Jahren in Kupffer gestochen worden, so wird es
unsern Lesern vermuthlich angenehm seyn, eine copie
davon zu sehen und zu haben.«
Der Rezensent der Allgemeinen Deutschen Biblio-
thek, 107, S. 529»';. urteilt über dieses Bild : »Das
mag nun acht seyn oder nicht, so hat es doch so
viel dem vermuthlichen Charakter eines solchen
Menschen entsprechendes, daß sich selbst mit Lavatern
ein paar Worte darüber jeden ließen, denn obgleich
die Physiognomie, eben keine Schwarzkünstlerische
Bosheit bezeichnet, so hat sie doch viel taschen-
spielerische Schalkheit und schadenfrohe Lauer-
samkeit«
Auf diesen Hauberischen Stich gehen die Nach-
bildungen zurück, die der Faustkopf in der ersten
Hälfte des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts gefunden hat
(Tafel 9). Mit einer gewissen Selbständigkeit und
nicht ohne Geschick ist die Steinzeichnung behandelt,
die Wilhelm Müller und Ludwig Achim von Arnim 1818
hrer Übersetzung des Marloweschen Doktor Faustus
als Titelbild vorangestellt haben. Störend wirkt nui
die ganz unmotivierte Fältelung des Mantels. Wie
armselig nimmt sich daneben der Steindruck im fünften
Bande von Scheibie's »Kloster«, 1845, aus! Das wirre
Haar vermag der ungeschickte Zeichner nicht anders
darzustellen als dadurch, daß er den einen Teil sich
nach vorne, den andern nach rückwärts kräuseln läßt,
wodurch der Umriß des Schädels in Form einer scharf
gezeichneten Linie zum Ausdruck kommt, ein Vor-
gang, der schon an dem Hauberischen Stich zu be-
obachten ist.
Tafel 10 bringt zwei Nachbildungen aus der
zweiten Hälfte des vorigen Jahrhunderts. Die erste
ein Holzschnitt aus »Deutsche Männer. Bilder aus der
Geschichte des deutschen Volkes von Hermann dem
Cherusker bis auf unsere Tage von Manuel Raschke«
(Leipzig 1868), S, 41, geht, wie der Vergleich mit den
vorausgehenden Tafeln zeigt, offenbar direkt auf das
sehr selten gewordene Blatt des Ciartres zurück und
sucht diese Vorlage möglichst getreu wiederzugeben.
Die zweite dagegen, das Titelbild zu Karl Engels
ominösem »Volksschauspiel« ^Oldenburg 1876;, nimmt
sich wieder allerlei Freiheiten heraus: der ganz leicht
gefältelte Leinerkragen des Originals wird zu einer
Art Mühlsteinkragen, wie er zu Anfang des siebzehnten
Jahrhunderts getragen wurde, und die besonders scharf
gezeichneten und kühn geschwungenen Brauen machen
aus dem Faust einen Mephisto.
Und nun noch einmal aus Deutschland zurück
nach Paris, aus dem neunzehnten Jahrhundert zurück
ins achtzehnte !
Mit Erstaunen erkennen wir auf Tafel 11 unseren
Faustkopf wieder. Aber welche Veränderung ist mit
ihm vor sich gegangen ! Er scheint bereits den Hexen-
trank im Leibe zu haben, denn die zahllosen Runzeln
und Fältchen, die Zeugen kummervoll durchwachter
Nächte, sind geglättet, das dünne, wirre Haar ist
durch einen üppigen, in der Mitte ein wenig kokett
gescheitelten Schopf ersetzt, aber Schnurrbart, Kragen
und Mantel ist derselbe, kein Zweifel, daß wir ein
Abbild von demselben Urbild vor uns haben. Unser
Erstaunen wird nicht geringer, weim wir auf dem
Rahmen, der das Porträt umgibt, lesen: »Zenon Philo-
sophe Natif de l'lsle de Cypre mort a 98 ans.« Das
Blatt stammt wieder aus einer Serie von Philosophen,
der Pariser Verleger derselben aber, »Daumont rue
St. Martin«, ist derselbe, der sich innerhalb dieser
Serie das Stückchen geleistet hat, ein historisch be-
glaubigtes Porträt Rene I. von Anjou, Königs von
Neapel, geboren 1409, gestorben 1480, der nach einem
wechselreichen Leben sich den schönen Künsten
widmete, die Dichtungen der Troubadours sammelte
Chronik des Wiener Goethe-Vereins XXX., XXXI. u. XXXU. Bd.
11
und selbst dichterisch tätig war, seinen Zeitgenossen
als »Benoist Spinoza fameux Philosophe« vor-
zulegen "" .
Während die bisher besprochenen Nachbildungen
in Kupferstich und Steindruck im großen und ganzen
doch immer das Bestreben gezeigt haben, die Vorlage
getreu wiederzugeben, nimmt das auf Tafel 12 in der
Größe und in der unwahrscheinlich grellen Farben -
Wirkung des Orignals getreu wiedergegebene Ö 1-
bildchen, das bisher völlig unbekannt war, in Bezug
auf Technik, Auffassung und vor allem Herkunft^
eine ganz besondere Stellung ein. Im Gegensatze zu
den bisher besprochenen Nachbildungen weist es
eine starke Umbildung ins Dämonische auf, und was
das MerkwQdigste daran ist, es stammt vom Hofe in
Innsbruck und aus einer Sammlung, deren Grund-
stock aus Bildnissen von Personen des sechzehnten
Jahrhunderts besteht.
Faust am Hofe zu Innsbruck! Als ich zum
erstenmale in der erst seit wenigen Jahren der
öffentlichen Besichtigung zugänglichen Porträtsamm-
lung, die gegenwärtig die Wände der Münz- und
Medaillen-Sammlung im kunsthistorischen Museum
ziert, meinen Faust erkannte, da schien sich mir
plötzlich ein unendlich weiter Ausblick zu eröffnen.
Meine Freude wurde jedoch bald herabgestimmt, als
ich mich mit der Geschichte des sogenannten Rem-
brandtischen Faust-Bildes einerseits und mit der Ge-
schichte der Ambraser Porträtsammlung andererseits
eingehender zu beschäftigen begann.
»Den am wenigsten bekannten Bestandteil des
großen Kunstbesitzes, der vormals im Schlosse Ambras
vereinigt war, bildet eine Sammlung kleiner Bildnisse
von regierenden Fürsten des fünfzehnten und
sechzehnten Jahrhunderts und ihren Ahnen, von Feld-
herren, Staatsmännern, Gelehrten, Künstlern und
Dichtern derselben Zeit und aus verschiedenen Ländern
Europas, unter denen Deutschland und Italien obenan
stehen. Man pflegt sie als Porträt-Sammlung des
Erzherzogs Ferdinand von Tirol (f 1595) zu be-
zeichnen, was in der Hauptsacha richtig ist. Doch
finden sich in ihr auch Bildnisse aus dem siebzehnten
Jahrhunderte bis zum Ende desselben. Diese zeigen,
daß deren auch noch später in einer, wenngleich
nicht großen Zahl, nach Ambras gekommen sind,
also zwischen einem alten Bestände und späteren
Erwerbungen unterschieden werden muß« *°). Die
Gruppe, welcher unser »Faust« angehört, schildert
Kenner mit folgenden Worten : »Die andere Reihe (41
dagegen ist wohl älter, (als die im vorausgehenden
Abschnitte besprochene Serie von Miniaturen des
siebzehnten Jahrhunderts), a'^er auch sehr unter-
geordnet. Sie umfaßt 46 gleich große, auf Leinwand
skizzenhaft gemalte, wohl meist erfundene Porträte
die durch den braunen Ton, der fast wie Untermalung
aussieht, und durch ein gelbliches, mit Weiß gehöhtes
Inkarnat auffallen. Als eine geschlossene Folge für
sich, scheinen sie von jeher wie ein Anhang der
Sammlung betrachtet und, was sie in der Tat ver-
dienen, wenig gewürdigt worden zu sein.«
Wenn wir die ganze Reihe sorgfältig durch-
gehen, können wir feststellen, daß unser »Faust« In
dieser Umgebung nicht allein steht, sondern einen
guten Teil der illustren Gesellschaft, in die ihn Ciarlres
seinerzeit gestellt, mit sich genommen hat. Bei ge-
nauem Zusehen erkennen wir unter Nummer 43
Herodes, 45 Dionysius, 48 Mahomet, 49 II Gran
Nogaj, 50Cirus, 52Archrimedes,53Esop, 54 Pythagoras.
56 Aristoteles, 57 Thomas Morus, 59 Chaireddin Barba-
rossa, 63 Mahomet, 67 den ägyptischen Josef.
Die Entstehung dieser Bilder läßt sich wohl nur so
erklären, daß der Maier, der den Auftrag erhielt, die
Sam.mlung zu vervollständigen, sich allerdings die
Blätter der Ciartres-Serie oder jener von Pierre Aubry
zum Vorbild genommen, die einzelnen Bildnisse aber
absichtlich aus seiner Phantasie heraus umgestaltet
hat, um die Abhängigkeit von seinen Vorlagen
weniger deutlich in die Augen springen zu lassen.
* *
Mehr als zwei Jahrhunderte haben wir in unserer
bisherigen Betrachtung durchmessen. Diesen langen
Zeitraum hindurch hat sich der aus holländischem
Boden hervorgewachsene, in der windigen Pariser
Großstadtluft umgetaufte Studienkopf als das be-
glaubigte Bildnis des geschichtlichen Faust mit merk-
würdiger Zähigkeit gerade in Deutschland am Leben
erhalten. Aber welche Wandlungen hat er durch-
machen müssen 1 Der Rembrandtische Lichtstrahl, der
von rechts oben über das Gesicht fällt, ist allmählich
verglommen, der gebeugte Kopf hat sich immer mehr
aufgerichtet, der gesenkte Blick gehoben, die Züge
haben sich von Stufe zu Stufe vergröbert, bis uns
schließlich das gramdurchfurchte Antlitz des Nähr-
vaters, zur mephistophelischen Fratze verzerrt, aus
der Bildfläche entgegenstarrt.
Daneben ist allerdings wiederholt der Versuch
unternommen worden, den einen oder anderen künst-
lerisch zum mindesten gleich hochstehenden Typus
als Faust einzuführen, keiner dieser Versuche hat
jedoch durchzudringen vermocht. Wir können uns
daher im folgenden darauf beschränken, die um der
Vollständigkeit willen gebrachten Abbildungen mit
kurzen Erläuterungen zu begleiten.
Tafel 13 bringt zunächst ein bartloses Gesichf
mit formloser Mütze in ovalem Rahmen mit der
Unterschrift : LE DOCTEVR FAVSTE PHILOSOPHE
12
Chronik des Wiener Goethe -Vereins XXX., XXXI. u. XXXII. Bd.
ALEMAND etc. Es geht zurQck auf einen kleinen
radierten Studienkopf von Rembrandt, der, wie ich
glaube, das Modell zu einer Figur des sogenannten
großen Ecce Homo (Ölbild : Klassiker der Kunst, II,
S. 157, Radierung, ebenda, VIII, S. 195) darstellt, und
zwar zu jenem bartlosen Gesicht, das — hier von
Leidenschaft verzerrt — der abwehrend ausgestreckten
Hand des Pilatus gerade gegenübersteht. Das Porträt
stammt aus dem Verlage des Kupferstechers Balthasar
Moncornet, der, um 1615 zu Rouen geboren und nach
1670 gestorben, in seiner »boutique au fauburg Saint*
Marcel. dans la rue des Gobelins« zu Paris eine ähn-
liche Fabrik historischer Porträts betrieben hat, wie
seine älteren Zeitgenossen Langlois und Aubry **)■
Sein Faust-Porträt ist offenbar auf genau dieselbe
Weise zustandegekommen, wie das seines Zeit-
genossen Ciartres. Das ergibt sich am besten aus der
Zusammenstellung mit dem angeblichen Porträt des
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim, Fausl's
ungleich höher stehendem Zeitgenossen, der als
Doktor alier vier Fakultäten das berühmte Buch
Dt $miertttudin( et vanita/e omnitim SiUntiaiutn (t
artinm, das das Gehirn des Knaben Wolfgang Goethe
eine Zeitlang in ziemliche Verwirrung setzte »*), ge-
schrieben und gar manchen Charakterzug zum Bilde
des Goethischen Faust beigesteuert hat^')-
Auf Tafel 14 erkennen wir zunächst in ver-
kleinerter Nachbildung denselben Kopf in der Serie
des Ciartres, hier trägt er aber zur Abwechslung die
Bezeichnung Divinus Plato und überdies in der
linken oberen Ecke die Künstler-Signatur hPadoanus
Inuentor ! Durch die Gegenüberstellung mit der Rem-
brandtischen Originalradierung, die einen Amster-
damer Rabbiner darstellt, wird die völlige Halt-
losigkeit beider Benennungen offenbar. Das Bild des
Agrippa, wie es vor den älteren Ausgaben seiner
Schriften steht, sieht ganz anders aus.
Diese beiden Bildnisse stammen gleichfalls aus
einer Serie, deren Titel ich hier nur aus sekundärer
Quelle wiedergeben kann : Tabitau historiijue, ou nombre
tit I>i.'XLIlJ plamkes ou sont gravis en tailU-Joute Us
illtistrtt Francois tt Strängen de tun et Fautre text,
remar^uahUs far Itur naissante ou leur Jot tum, doctriue,
////«', (hargt tt iniflois; avtt leurs ihges et leurs
armoiries gravits far Pietre Daret, Louis ßoissevin (f
B. Montcrnet. Paris /fJSy2 — 56 **>,
Derselbe Rembrandtische Sludienkopf, der bei
Moncornet als »Le Doctevr Favste Philo-
so phe A II e m a n d etc.« bezeichnet ist, begegnet
uns in der Serie des Pietre Aubry, der, wie wir er-
fahren haben, seinen Faust schon hatte, als Archi-
medes Siracus (Tafel 22. Daß dieses Blatt zur selben
Serie gehört, wie der Doctor Faustus auf Tafel 6,
ergibt sich aus der übereinstimmenden Größe des
Ovals, der gleichen horizontalen Schraffierung des
Hintergrundes und dem gleichen Buchstabencharakter
der Unterschrift. Ein genauer Vergleich mit dem zu
diesem Zwecke hier wiederholten Docteur Favste des
Moncornet zeigt, daß der Kopf in dem Oval viel
weiter nach rechts geschoben ist, daß die Falten der
Mütze und der Pelzkragen viel schärfer heraus-
gearbeitet, die Züge des Gesichte« stark vergröbert
sind und die Mundpartie im tiefschwarzen Schatten
der sich kreuzenden Strichlagen nahezu völlig unter-
gegangen ist.
Vielleicht war eine gewisse Ähnlichkeit mit dem
bekanntesten und berühmtesten Faust-Bilde, Faust in
seinem Laboratorium (Tafel 15), dafür ausschlag-
gebend, daß man gerade diesen Rembrandtischen
Studienkopf für Faust ausgegeben hat. Aber auch bei
dieser größeren Radierung steht es durchaus nicht
einwandfrei fest, daß Rembrandt selbst hier einen
Faust darstellen wollte. »Nicht Erstaunen, nicht Ent-
setzen steht auf diesem runden, glattrasierten Gesicht,
sondern die Behaglichkeit im Beschauen des Selbst-
verständlichen. Die ganze Gestalt macht einen selbst-
sicheren, behäbigen und wohlgenährten Eindruck.
Seelische Erregungen sind ihr ganz fremd. Sie scheint
sich eher die Einzelheiten der Erscheinung einprägen
zu wollen, als daß sie darüber entsetzt wäre.^*) Ver-
hältnismäßig spät wird in der Literatur die Be-
zeichnung > Faust« - überdies durch einen garstigen
Druckfehler entstellt — zuni ersten Male auf dieses
Blatt angewendet in dem 1751 zu Paris erschienenen
Rembrandt-Katalog von Gersaint, Helle und Glomy-
Dort beginnt S. 195, Nr. 250, der diesem Blatt ge-
widmete Abschnitt unter der Überschrift J'autrieui
mit den Worten : J-t Portrait tfun PhHoso/he, ou Aleiecin,
coritiu en I/ollaniie sous to nont i/u /)octeur Fautrieus.
Diesen Katalog hat Goethe gekannt; am 3. Juli
1780 schreibt er an Merck, der selbst ein gründlicher
Rembrandt-Kenner und -Sammler war: >wenn du die
schöne Jahreszeit über den Gersaint entbehren kanst
mit dem Supplemente, so schick mir ihn mit.« Wozu
er ihn brauchte, geht aus einer späteren Briefstelle
(ll. Oktober 1780) hervor: >Sei doch so gut und
schreib mir, wie man es am gescheutsten macht,
eine Kupferstichsammlung zu rangiren ... Es ist dies
ein Auftrag, den mir der Herzog gegeben hat, und an
dem ihm viel gelegen ist.« Goethes Interesse für
Rembrandt ist jedoch keineswegs erst durch Merck
angeregt worden, er brachte es schon aus dem Vater-
hause nach Weimar mit Unter den Frankfurter
Malern, die Rat Goethe beschäftigte, war auch Johann
Georg Trautmann (1713—1769), »der sich den Rem-
brandt zum Muster genommen und es in ein-
Chronik des Wiener Goethe -Vereins XXX, XXXI. u. XXXII. Bd.
13
geschlossenen Lichtern und Widerscheinen, nicht
weniger in effectvollen Feuersbrünsten weit gebracht
hatte, so daß er einstens aufgefordert wurde, einen
Pendant zu einem Rembrandtischen Bilde zu
malen«" . Ende August 1775, unmittelbar vor seinem
Abgang nach Weimar, schreibt Goethe an Johanna
Fahimer: »ich zeichne, künstle p. Und lebe ganz
mit Rembiandt« Dieses
Interesse für Rembrandt
hat ihn bis in das späteste
Alter begleitet : Am 23.
März 1829, drei Jahre vor
seinem Tode, schreibt er
an Rauch: »Vor einiger
Zeit erhielt ich unver-
muthet eine Capitalzeich-
nung von Rembrandt, wo-
ran ich schon einige
Wochen zehre, bey dieser
Gelegenheit andere Werke
dieses unvergleichlichen
Meisters hervorsuche und
in sein Verdienst einzu-
dringen mirzurAngelegen-
heit mache.' Von diesem
Blatte besaß ereinen guten
Abdruck^ .Als es sich bei
Veranstaltung der ersten
rechtmäßigen Gesamtaus-
gabe seiner Schriften im
Jahrel788darum handelte,
ein Titelkupfer für den 7.
Band, der das Faust-Frag-
ment enthalten sollte, aus-
zuwählen, ließ er noch in
Rom^*) durch den Kupfer-
stecher Joh. Heinrich Lips
diese Rembrandtische Ra-
dierung in Kupfer stechen
(Tafel 16 . Weiche Verän-
derungen Lips beim Nach-
stich vorgenommen hat,
ergibt sich aus einem Ver-
gleich der beiden Blätter. Die ältesten Ausgaben des
Volksbuches sind noch ohne jeden bildlichen Schmuck-
Erst ein 1588 ohne Angabe des Ortes erschienener Nach-
druck von Zarncke, Goethe-Schriften, S. 261 als a' be-
zeichnet), dessen Titelblatt hier nach dem Katalog der
Frankfurter Faust-Ausstellung wiedergegeben ist, weist
einen kleinen Holzschnitt iu\, der gewissermaßen das
Ende des Faust-Romans an den Anfang anknüpft, in-
dem er im Vordergrunde den Abschluß des Paktes, im
Hintergrunde die Höllenfahrt Fausts darstellt. Dem
yaubcrcr t)n ©c^ivarl^f ütifKcr / ® ie
er (ic^ gegen txm Xtu^d niiff eine bmanbtc
ytlt vetfd^titben I XOas tt {yU^wi^düttx für frl^^C
Äbcnrbf »rr g^fc^jen/frlbÄ an^ttiitnl vnx> grrvUt
btnibi^tttntU^ frfncn ooloerDUtM
cen t,9\)n empfangco.
5J?c^rcrtci(^ au£^ fcttieti cfgcticn l^ixu
Den/f6ttt>tt5fg<n rnö ©ottloff n inrnpl?«« jijm fdijercf«
Kf^ert ^ey fpid/ obrd^i»?l(c^rn (Srrmprl/vnD rtCQ»(^
OfgecXP^cnunct jufamrmn gebogen / xa^
in JDcucf vrrferrrgrr.
II.D. ixxxviii;
Zeichner hat dabei offenbar der Anfang des 5. Kapitels
vorgeschwebt, wo Faust dem Mephistopheles auf-
erlegt, >daß, so oft er jn forderte, er jm in gestalt
und Kleydung eines Franciscaner Münchs, mit einem
Glöcklin erscheinen solte. vnd zuvor etliche Zeichen
geben, damit er am Geläut könnte wissen, wenn er
daher komme.« Diese primitive Darstellung hat, wie
Professor Dr. F. Arnold zu-
erst bemerkt hat, zweifel-
los auf den künstlerisch
bedeutenden Kupferstich
eingewirkt, der auf Tafel
17 wiedergegeben ist. Man
beachte vor allem die Lage
des Glöckleins und des
Rosenkranzes bei Mephi-
stopheles, und die Haltung
der Hände der beiden Fi-
guren. Der Stich rührt von
Christoph vanSichem
her, dem II. dieses Namens,
einem Schüler des H. Golt-
zius, angeblich um 1580
zu Delft geboren und 1648
noch tätig, der hauptsäch-
lich biblische Stoffe nach
Dürer, Lukas von Leyden,
Holbein, Heremskerk und
H. Goltzius in Holz ge-
schnitten und in Kupfer ge-
stochen hat").Auch dieses
Blatt stammt aus einer
Serie von Bildnissen, aber
die Gesellschaft, in der
Faust hier auftritt, ist von
jener, in der ihn Ciartres
zum ersten Male einge-
führt hat, von Grund auf
verschieden. Im Jahre 1608
war in Amsterdam zum
1 . Male eineSammlung von
18 Bildnissen berühmter
Ketzer von Christoph van
Sichern erschienen. Sie enthält u. a. die Bildnisse
von Johann Beuckels von Leyden, Diederick Snyder,
Johann Mathys von Harleem, Bernhard Knipper-
dollinck, Cornelis van Dordrecht. Als im Jahre 1666
bei Wilhelm Goeree in Middelburgh eine neue Auflage
unter dem Titel »Het Tooneel der Hooft-Ketteren, Be-
stände in verscheyde Afbeeltsels van Valsche Pro-
pheten, Naeckt-Ioopers, Geest-dryvt rs, Sectarisen ei»
Duyvels-konstenaren. By een vergadert, en in't
Coper gesneeden, Door C V. Sichem« erschien, wurde
14
Chronik des Wiener Goethe-Vereins XXX., XXXI u. XXXII. Bd.
Faust und Wagnar als Tafel 19 und 20 hinzugefügt**).
Gegenübergestellt ist auf derselben Tafel ein Nachstich
aus Arnims Zeitung für Einsiedler vom April 1808.
Das Bild gehört hier zu einer Anmerkung des Heraus-
gebers zu den »Denksprüchen aus einer Friedens-
predigt an Deutschland von Jean Paul Fr. Richter«,
die heute niemand ohne Bewegung wird lesen können .
Die beiden folgenden Tafeln geben eine Aus-
wahl aus den rohen Holzschnitt-B Idern zweier
holländischer Obersetzungen des Spiesischsn Volks-
buches. In der Faust-Gestalt des einen (Tafel 18)
glaube ich den Einfluß van Sichems erkennen zu
können. Tafel 20 zeigt als Titelkupfer zu der von
Victor Palma Cayet herrührenden französischen Über-
setzung des Spiesischen Faust-Buches einen Faust
mit baltlosem Gesicht im Talar und Barett eines
französischen Baccalaureus während derBeschwörungs-
szene im Walde, umgeben von den Gestalten der
Teufel. In stark vergröberndem Holzschnitt erscheint
dasselbe Bild vor der undatierten holländischen Aus-
gabe von Hismans van di Rumpel in Amsterdam.
Tafel 21 gibt die beiden Faust-Bilder einer Gruppe
von undatierten Ausgaben des »Christich-Meynen-
den« wieder, deren Eigenheit, abgesehen von der
Neigung zur Verdeutschung der vielen Fremdwörter,
hauptsächlich in der Ausmerzung konfessionell an-
stößiger Motive besteht"). In dem ersten — Faust
neben einem Tische mit brennender Kerze stehend,
einen Brief in der Hand — glauben wir trotz der
Haarfülle noch immer die Züge des Rembrandt-
Vlietischen Typus wieder zu erkennen. Ganz anders
gestaltet sich dagegen die Auffassung in dem zweiten
Bilde. Offenbar beeinflußt durch die Darstellungen im
Puppenspiel, wählte der Zeichner das Bild eines
»greisen Dutzendgelehrten mit pedantischen Zügen,
Sein Haar ist ebenso sorgfältig gebürstet, wie die
Schubfächer seines Geistes in Ordnung gehalten
werden . . . auf seinen bebenden Lippen scheint
eher eine Genusregel als ein Zauberbann zu
schweben . . .« *'). Wie in den früheren Fällen ist
jedoch auch hier keine Spur einer gewollten
Charakteristik zu entdecken: Der Formschneider hat-
wie der Vergleich mit dem aufs Geratewohl heraus-
gegriffenen Bilde des Tübinger Professors Jakob
Heerbrand aus dem Jahre 1578 zeigt, einfach das
typische Porträt eines protestantischen Theologen des
sechzehnten Jahrhunderts, das ihm der Zufall in die
Hand spielte, für seine Zwecke umgestaltet, indem
er die ornamentale Umrahmung aus dem Renaissance-
in den Rokoko-Stil übersetzte und den ovalen
Rahmen, der in seiner Vorlage durch eine Umschrift
ausgefüllt ist, schraffierte. »So geht es durch nahezu
all die Ausgaben des vierten Faust-Buches, mehrfach
neu in Holz geschnitten, aber in seinen Wsentlichen
Zügen unverändert.«
Das Lustigste an der ganzen Sache aber ist, daß
es durchaus nicht der einzige Fall war, in dem ein
ehrwürdiger Gottesgelahrter sich in den verrufenen
Erz-Schwarzkünstler und TeufelsbQndler verwandeln
mußte: In Auerbachs Keller in L-ipzig hing eingerahmt
am Mittelpfeiler des oberen Kellers ein Holzschnitt,
unter dem die Namansunterschrift offenbar wegge-
schnitten ist, dafür ist auf das Blatt, auf dem das
Bild aufgeklebt ist (von alter Hand?) geschrieben
»Faust 1713«. -Tief sitzt der Kopf drin im Pelzmantel J.
und in der Halskrause. Spitzbart und Schnurrbart sind T
arg struppig. Die Muskelpartien des Gesichts verraten
große Tatkraft.« Wenn nun Tille angesichts dieses
Bildes den Zweifel nicht unterdrücken kann: »Aber
ein echter Faust ist auch er nicht« '■'), so können wir
darauf erwidern: Allerdings nicht, denn waswirhier
vor uns haben, ist das authentische Porträt des Leip-
ziger Theologen Georg Weinrich (1554—1617), der seit
1586 an der Thomaskirche tätig war, im Jahre 1600
als Rektor der Universität fungierte, sechsmal Dekan
seiner Fakultät war und eine stattliche Reihe theolo-
gischer Schriften und Predigten hinterlassen hat ** .
Hatte man auf diese Weise in dem protestan
tischen Sachsen das typische Porträt eines evange
lischen Theologen des 16. Jahrhunderts kurzerhand
jn einen »Faust« verwandelt, so griff mm in dem
katholischen Oesterreich ohne Bedenken zu dem
Bilde eines katholischen Kirchenfürsten aus dem
17. Jahrhundert. »Im Jahre 17S1«, berichtet Tille, a.
a. O. S. 551, »hatte der preußische Referendar Hcr-
klots in der „Preußischen Blumenlese" ein Gedicht
Doktor Faust veröffentlicht, das, unter dem Einfluß
der Hölty-Bürgerschen Balladendichtung und der über
den Teufelsglauben hinausgewachsenen Zeitanschauung
stehend, in freiem, schalkhaftem Tone den Schwank
behandelt, wie Faust die Nasen seiner Gäste scheinbar
in Trauben verwandelt. Ein steirischer Verleger griff
das Lied auf und sandte es stark verkürzt als fliegendes
Blatt hinaus in die Welt, nicht ohne ihm ein Faust-
bild mit auf den Weg zu geben. Er benutzte dazu
einen alten Druckstock des 17. Jahrhunderts.« Dieser
Druckstock kann nun ganz gut, wie unsere Zusammen-
stellung auf der Rückseite von Tafel 22 zeigt, das
Bild eines katholischen Kirchenfürsten des 17. Jahr-
hunderts sein, er kann aber ebensogut von einem
fliegenden Blatt aus der Zeit des oberösterreichischen
Bauernkrieges herrühren und etwa den »Studenten«
oder Stefan Fadinger darstellen.
So sehr verschieden die bisher besprochenen
Faustbilder sich erwiesen haben, so haben sie doch
eines gemeinsam: daß es durchwegs graphische Dar-
Chronik des Wiener Goelhe-Vereins XXX , XXXi. u. XXXII. Od.
15
Stellungen sind. Unbekannt war bisher, daß es auch
ein plastisches Werk gibt, das offenbar auf die-
selbe Weise wie die übrigen zu der Bezeichnung »Faust«
gekommen Ist. Es wurde gelegentlich einer Ausstellung
von Potträtbüsten im Oesterreichischen Museum von
der »Kunst-Chronik« (2. Jahrgang, 1867, S.8) als Faust-
Zum Schlüsse mag hK-r noch das Bild einer
Teufelsbeschwörung Platz finden aus der Zeit, da
der leibhaftige Johann oder Georg Faust noch auf
Erden sein Wesen trieb. Es stammt aus einer deut-
schen Übersetzung von Petrarcas aszetischer Schrift
,De remediis utriusque fortunae (1358— 1366', die unter
^6 LV.Capüci/^ottcrfmbungctncefc^at^*
CoHigeihcfäuros quosnuIU erugo pcrtdU, Nee tinc£^cc quos für nuhin
äbnpict.
Xhnh {unfl i(?cu>rtr fd>äQ gtrtbcn/ t>a Ißem bkh ff tlt/tdn fdjob
tfetbcthtf
6u4?( 646 it |c^Q im bymcl babm» tEbo boe/fo baf? bn gtoiß gut orcrbr.
bOste bezeichnet. Die Provenienz dieser Büste Ist eben-
so unbekannt wie der Künstler, der sie gemacht hat.
Die Entstehungszeit möchte etwa 1520 — 30 zu setzen
sein, *') Im Jahre 1909 ist sie von der Hofbibliothek
an das Kunsthistorische Museum abgegeben worden
(Tafel 22). Der dreieckige Umriß, der auseinander-
fallende Mantel hat offenbar die Anregung zu dieser
Benennung gegeben. Die Charakteristik, die der Re-
ferent der Kunst-Chronik aus der Büste herausliest»
würde eher auf einen Mephis^opheles als auf einen
Faust zutreffen.
dem Titel „Das Glücksbuch" zuerst 1532 bei Heinrich
Steiner in Augsburg erschienen ist. Die „viel zierlichen
und wunderlustparlichen Figuren, so nach visirlicher
Angebung des Hochgelehrten Doctors Sebastiani
Brandt seeligen auf jegliches Capitel gestellt sind'*,
rühren von Hans Weiditz her*"). Dieses Bild hat
Goethe kennen gelernt, freilich erst zu einer Zeit, als
das Faust-Fragment längst erschienen war. Es hat
sich aber in anderer Weise für sein Schaffen frucht-*
bar erwiesen, denn es bildet, wie Düntzer zuerst nach-
gewiesen hat, die Quelle zum „Schatzgräbei"«*).
16
Chronik des Wiener Goethe -Vereins XXX., XXXI. u. XXXIl. BJ
*) Gr&f H. G.. Goethe über te
II. Te«, 2. Band. S. 12.
') Szamat61»ki Siegfried, Das Fanstbuch
de« Christlich Mcynrnden nach dem Druck von 1725
[= Deutsche IJteraturdenkmale des 18. und IQ. Jahrhun-
derts, Nr. 39] Stuttgart, i81>l, S. XIX— XXVI. —
Kiese Wetter Carl, Kaust in der Geschichte und
Tradition, Leipzif». 1893, S. 60. — Tille Alexander,
The arlistic treatment of tbe Faust legend. Publications of
ihe English (ioethr Society No. VII. London, 1893, S. l65f.
— Derselbe, Doktor Faust auf alten Bildem. Vom
Fels zaro Meer, 18. Jahrgang. 26. Heft (i. September 1899),
S. 542 — 551. — Derselbe, Bilderverzeichnis der Bode-
Tilleschen Faust-Galerie. Köln, 1899, S. XV— XIX.
*) L e B 1 a n c M. Gh., Mannel de L'Amiteur d'Est-
anspes, Paris, 1856, II, 490.
*)"Wurrbach Alfred von, Niederländisches
Künstlei-L'xikon, Wien, I910, II, 805.
*) Vgl. Giuseppe Jacopo Ferrazzi, Di Bassano e
dei Bassanesi illustii, Bassano 1847, S. 164fr. — Der
Kupferstecher Johann Schweizer (Schwyzer), nach Naglcr 16,
136 aus Zürich, nach anderen ein Hesse von Geburt, ar-
beitete uiti 1645 und starb 1679.
•) Wurzbach, III, 56.
', Herluison H, Actes d'dtat civil d'aitistes
fran9ais OrUan«, 1873,8. 208. Na hweis Dr. Ulrich T h i e m e.
•)Schaeffer Emil. Van Dyck, S. 2I<).
•) Tille Alex., Die Faustsplit er in der Literatur
des 16. bis 18. Jahrhunderts, Weimar, 1898, S. 610 f.,
Splitter 2C6, S. 614 f., Spliiter 270, S. 673, Splitter 282.
'**) Bartsch Adam. Catalogue Kaisono^ Wien,
• 797, II. S. 78, Nr. 25. — Dutuit Eugene, Manuel
de r amateur d' estampes. £coles Flamaude et Hollandaise,
III, 547. — Le B 1 a n c. Manuel, IV, 145, Nr. 26. —
Kovinski Dmitri, L'ccuvre grav^ des ^l(^ves de
Rembrandt et des maittes qui out gravc dans son goüt,
St. Petersbarg, 1894, Spalte 46.
") Szamatölski, S. XXI. — Rovinski, Sp. 46.
'*) K i e s e w e 1 1 e r, S. 60.
") Einer derselben auf Tafel 13 zur Raumausfüllang.
") T i 1 1 e, Faust auf alten Bildern. S. 548.
•'') Tille, The aitistic treatement. S. 165.
'*) Ich zitiere nach dem (bisher einzigen) Neudru<k
in Scbeiblcs Kloster. II. Band. S. 795. — Der Original-
drock bat, wie mir Prof. Dr. Otto Heuer mitteilt,
hockruckerigs. während Frich Schmidt (Goethe-
Jahrbu. h, III, 96) hochruckerigs zitiert.
'■) K. k. Hofbibliothek. Katalog der Buchkunsl-
Antttellong, Wien, 1916, S. 31, Nr. 99.
'•) Rembrandt von Wilhelm Bode. Paris.
1879, I, Fand, S. I9. Beschreibendes Verzeichnis der Ge-
mälde I, Nr. 37 (S. 106). In einem Buche lesend hat Rem-
brandt den Nährvater noch zweimal dargestellt. (Klassiker der
Kunst, VIII. S. 80. 138). Vgl. darüber Goethe, ,,Nach
Falconet und über Falconet" (Jub.-Ausg. 33. Band, S. 40) :
„es ist alles düster, außer einem Lümpchen, das dem Vater
leuchtet, der mit einem Büchelchcn dasitzt un<l Matien
einige Gebete vorzulesen scheint." An einer anderen Stelle
,Der Sammler und die Seinigen", Ebenda, S. 192; läßt
er es einen Pedanten als Anachronismus vermerken, ,,daQ
der heilige Joseph in einem gebundenen Buche lese". Der
Ausdiuck der Verdrossenheit, den Alexander Tilles scharfer
Blick ans dem van Vlietischen Sludienkopf richtig heraus-
gelesen hat, bildet einen charakteristischen Ztig an der
Gestalt des Nährvaters: Goethe hat das zweimal ausgespro-
chtn. einmal scherzhaft in dem Epigramm ,,Heilige Familie"
Anmerkungen.
Dichtungen, (Jub.-Ausg., i. Band. S. 252), das andere Mal in „Kunst
und Altertum" (Jub- Au.sg., 3f;. Ban<l, S. 304): „Auf den
heiligen Joseph überhaupt haben es die Künsll^jr abgesehen.
Die Byzantiner, denen man nicht nachsagen kann daü
sie überflüssigen Humor anbrächten, stellen bei der Geburt
den Heiligen immer verdrießlich vor."
'») Eben la, Text T. 6 f.. Beschreibendes Verzeichnis
Nr. IG, S. 52 - Das Modell des Judas glaube ich i»
dem Studienkopf in der Kgl. Galerie in Kassel (Kla.ssikei
der Kunst, IT, S. 356) zu erkennen.
*••) J u b. - A usgabe, 35. Band S. 44.
") Tille, Faust auf alten Bildern, S. 548.
") Bibliotheca Jo Nicolai Frobesii Matheniat. A(
Physices Professoris Quondam Helnnsfadiensis Pars II Bibüo-
thccam Pbysicam, Medicam, Mathemathicam Et Litterariam
Compleclcüs. Publicx Auctionis Lege Distrahelur Helmstadii
Die XV. M. Septembris es sqq. A. MDCCLX p. 396
Tille, Faustsplitter, No. 282, S. 673)
*') S i t z m a n n Ed., Dictionnaire de biographie des
hommes celcbrts de l'Alsace, Rixheim, I909, I, 66. Über
seine Beziehungen zu Moscherosch vgl. Artur Bechtold
Zeitschr. f. Bücherfreunde, N. F., 6., S. 270 f., 8., S. 230 ff.
*') Szamatölski, a. o. O., S. XXIV.
**) Allg. Deutsche B i o g r., Ji. Bd , S. 36 1.
»«) Tille, Faustsplitter, S. 189 ff.
") Die aber in der Tat S. 348 ist.
'") Nach C. B 1 ü m 1 e i n. Faustanalekten, in den Be-
richten des Fr. Deutschen Hochstiftes in Frankfurt a. M.,
N. F., Xn. (1896), S. 190. In der Allg. Deutschen Bibliothek
ist diese Stelle am angegebenen Orte nicht zu fmden.
") A 1 1 k i r c h Spinoza im Porträt, Jena. I913, 72 f.
'**) Kenner F., Die Porträtsammlung des Erzherzogs
Ferdinand von Tirol : Jahrbuch der Kunsthistor. Samm-
lungen des AI erh. Kaiserhauses, XIV. Band (1893). S. 37 ff,
") NouvelleBiogr. g^n^rale, 35.Bd.,S 953.
") Dichtung und Wahrheit, Jub.-Ausg..
22. Band, S. 190, 289.
*') R e i c h 1 A.. Euphorion, 4. Band (1897), S. 287 ff.
— Ritter G., Preuß. Jahrb , 141. Bd. (1910), S. 300 ff.|
'♦) Aberlc Carl, Grabdenkmal, Schädel und Ab-
bildungen des Theophrastus Paracelsus, Salzburg, 1891.
S. 292. Faust stehen in dieser Serie am nächsten dif
gleichfalls auf Rembrandt zurückgehenden Bildnisse von
Raimundus Lullus und Nicolas Favel.
»*) Tille, Faust auf alten Bildern, S. 547.
") Dichtung und Wahrheit, a. a. O., S. 29 f. — Vgl
auch Brandt Hermann, Goethe und die graphischen
Künste Heidelberg, 1913, S. 66 f.
*') Schuchardt Chr. Goethes Kunstsammlungen ,
Jena, 1848, I. Teil. S. 177, Nr. 322.
'*• An Göschen am 6. Februar 1788.
•p Wurzbach, a. a. O., I, 620.
*') Ausstellung von Handschriften, Druckwerken-,
Bildern und Tonwerken zur Faustsage und Faustdichtung
veranstaltet vom Freien Deutschen Hochstift. 28. Augus».
— 10. November 1893. Frankfurt a. M.. 1893, S. 107.
♦») Szamatölski, a. «>. O., S. XV. XXV (Klasss i).
") Tille, Bilderverzeichnis, S. XVIH.
**) Ebenda, S. XIX.
**) Allg. Deutsche B i o g r. 41. Band, S. 514 ff.
•*> Nachweis meines Kollegen Johann Jureczek.
**) R ö 1 1 i n ge r, Hans Weiditz, der Petrarkameister
Strasburg, 1904. Nr. 24 (S. 27 — 75).
*^Düntzer Heinrich, Goethos lyrische Ge-
dichte. Erläutert. 3. Anfl., Leipzig, X896, .S. 248.
Verlan des Wiener Goeihe-\'erein>. — Druck von Josef Roller & Co.
(unter verantw. Leitung von Josef VokD in Wita
In Kommiastoo bei Alfred llAlde'', Hol- und Universilltsbuciihindler
1., RoihenihurmfiraSe 2t.
Dniveriity of Torooto
Library
Acme Llbraiy Card Pocket
Und« Pau "Ref. lad« FU«**
Mad«l7 LIBRARY TIUREAU
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