Pseudo-Secularism

A section of media playing double standard, alleges Puri Seer

2009-06-23T00:50:00.001-07:00

A section of media playing double standard, alleges Puri Seer
By Golakha Chandra Das

Bhubaneswar (Visakeo)- Sankaracharya of Puri Gobardan Pitha, Jagadaguru Swami Nischalanand Saraswati has alleged that a section of media, particularly the electronic media is playing double standards on various sensitive issues.

While addressing the media here on June 15, the Puri Seer argued that the whole electronic media kept their concentration on nun rape case in Kandhamal but not a single TV channel showed the brutal muder of Hindu seer Swami Laxmananda Saraswati and the side effects of conversion.

It is vinash and not vikas that is taking place, he observed, while talking to reporters here and said that India has turned directionless. He went on to refer to the Ram Setu controversy and the conversions that are taking place.

“Why is it that conversion is deemed not a problem in our neighborhood, be it due to the influence of Pakistan or China?” he questioned, before announcing that the politics of the ‘vote bank’ is squarely responsible for allowing large scale conversions to take place.

The seer went on to express concern over the onslaught on the Hindu religion and culture as well as the attacks on religious leaders.

Responding to questions on the recent murder of a head of one of the ashrams in Puri, he said it was “a matter of concern” that the State government is unable to protect sadhus.

“A couple of years ago, I used to take pride in telling people across the country about the safety of Puri. I used to say that even at 2.00 a.m. one could walk around Puri without any fear. But I can’t say the same thing now.”

Answering questions on the suspected links between Maoists and a religious group, the Puri seer said it was for the Chief Minister to spell this out. “Ask the CM, why are you asking me?” demanded the seer, before adding that he was not bothered about threat letters being sent to him.

“The CM should say who killed Laxmanananda Saraswati and who was behind the murder. Laxmanananda was attacked on nine previous occasions and he had escaped, but the tenth attack was committed by trained and armed people. This indicates that somebody had conspired and engaged trained people to eliminate Laxmanananda,” he said.

Oppose the visit of United States, Commission for International Religious Freedom to India - Ashok Singhal

2009-06-23T00:49:00.001-07:00

Oppose the visit of United States Commission for International Religious Freedom to India - Ashok Singhal
Press statement issued by Shri Ashok Singhal, International President, Vishwa Hindu Parishad

United States Commission for International Religious Freedom is a self-appointed committee as an expression of the big brother attitude of USA to enquire into the status of religious freedom in other countries. It was set up in 1998.

US has no moral right to set up such a commission poking its nose into the internal affairs of other nations and this commission has no legal sanction from UNO.

This commission is concerned only about the Christians in other countries whenever there is a hue and cry by the Church that the Christians are persecuted in such countries. They never bother about the status of religious and racial discriminations meted out to other religionists in the western countries including the US.

This commission has prepared a list of 13 countries wherein they feel the Christian missionaries have not been allowed to freely proselytise the local non-Christians disrupting the social fabric in those countries.

This list does not include any country wherein atrocities are perpetrated on the Hindus or the Buddhists like Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Afghanistan, etc.

If anyone glances over the pages of the constitutions of the western countries, he will be able to realise that there are many restrictions on the religious freedom of the non-Christians in those countries.

But this so-called Commission for International Religious Freedom would not bother about the religious freedom of non-Christians in those countries. Is there absolute religious freedom for the non-Christians in US?

US is not secular as it proclaims to be. Various court decisions say so. Their laws and institutions are necessarily based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of Mankind.

The operation of judicial system in US is directed by the tenets of Christianity. At least half of the ten commandments are on the statute books in one form or another.

There is a tendency to regard Hindu-based religious movements such as ISKCON, Transcendental Meditation groups, Rajnish groups etc, as cults.

Under the guise of being a cult, a religious organisation can be sued for millions of dollars if even one disgruntled or disappointed former disciple is found who feels he was taken advantage of.

Many Hindu-based and yoga movements in US and other western countries have been sued as cults.

The criticism against cults is that they are outside the cultural religious norms, that they are intolerant of majority religions, that they divide the families and turn individuals against their upbringing.

Precisely this is what the Christian missionaries are doing in India, nay the whole of non-Christian world.

People may believe that in America, all religions are treated equally. But this is not the fact of life.

For example, it is still very difficult for Hindus to build temples in the United States, particularly in areas in which fundamentalist Christians are strong.

To put it in perspective, one would say that it is over ten times harder in America to build a temple where Hindus live in large numbers than it is to build a church.

But in India churches crop up anywhere and everywhere even if there is not even a single Christian living in that area.

There are several restrictions in building temples in US. Temples must not outwardly look like a temple, but should look like a school or Church or the local government would not approve of it.

While there are a few Hindu-style temples in America, these are exceptional and special efforts to be allowed.

The textbooks in the western schools and the western media routinely portray Hinduism as cults, idolatry or even as eroticism.

Booklets and pamphlets denigrating Hindu religion and distorting the Hindu religious literature and epics are frequently distributed hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus in many parts of our country.

To quote Swami Vivekananda in this regard
“...every Christian child is taught to call the Hindus ‘vile’ and ‘wretches’ and the most horrible devils on earth.

“Part of the Sunday school education for children in USA consists of teaching them to hate everybody who is not a Christian and the Hindus especially, so that from their very childhood, they may subscribe their pennies to the Christian missions abroad.

“...Look again at the books published in Madras against the Hindu religion. If a Hindu writes one such line against the Christian religion, the missionaries will cry fire and vengeance.” (Complete Works 1990, Vol. IV; p. 345)

So this commission has never done anything about the prevailing religious freedom in the West with several restrictions.

China has never allowed this commission to visit its country.

This commission has not visited Kashmir, the northeastern provinces and other such areas where the Hindus are a minority and are subjected to atrocities by the non-Hindu majority of those provinces. But it will express its concern over the minor attacks on Christians in Orissa, Gujarat and Karnataka.

We cannot grant any monopoly for the Americans to poke their nose into the internal matters of our country and a government with self-respect should not allow this commission to visit India.

If the government allows this commission to visit India, it would be opposed tooth and nail by Hindus all over the country.

India is a country which gave asylum to the Christians who were persecuted in Syria in Antioch and Damascus even in the 4th century. They have been living here peacefully till this date.

India gave asylum to the Persians when they had to flee Persia fearing forcible conversions by the Arabian invaders. These Zoroastrians who took asylum in Gujarat are all leading prosperous and fearless lives till this date.

When the Jews sought asylum in India after being driven out of their land, they have been taken care of by us. But this was not the case with the countries in the West where the Jews were persecuted.

We don’t need any certificate form the so-called commission about the religions freedom enormously enjoyed by Christians and Muslims in this land. Let US look at its back before poking its nose into our internal affairs.

This US Commission for International Religious Freedom was not allowed to visit India from 1998 to 2008.

But all of a sudden just before the recent elections the Government of India lifted the ban on the visit of this commission probably at the instance of Sonia Gandhi.

One more thing that has to be brought before the world is this—that the C¬¬church is misusing the freedom of religion guaranteed in our Constitution and is indulging in anti-national activities.

The Church has floated several outfits in the name of serving the oppressed and depressed classes in India and fighting for their rights.

In the north-eastern parts of our country alone 18 such outfits are functioning. Several such outfits are operating in the South also. These outfits instigate one community against another resulting in communal clashes.

When a large number of persons of both the clashing communities get displaced from their homes and villages these outfits in the name of setting-up relief camps for them, convert the people. This has been going on systematically for the past sixty years since Independence.

Several Church outfits have been indulging in anti-national activities in the north-eastern areas and tribal areas in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Orissa promoting hatred among different communities and disrupting the social fabric.

This was exposed by the Niyogi Commission appointed by the then Congress government in Madhya Pradesh in the fifties.

As recommended by the Niyogi Commission, the Freedom ¬¬¬ of Religion Act was enacted in Madhya Pradesh to be followed by the Congress-ruled Orissa, Arunachal Pradesh and later on in Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu and Gujarat by the then ruling parties.

The Church has been protesting against these legislations which restrict only the fraudulent and forcible conversions.

Last year Swami Laxmanananda, who was rendering a yeoman’s service for the uplift of the tribals at Kandhamal District in Orissa was murdered by the Christian miscreants fearing that these service activities of Swamiji would block the road for free conversions among the tribals by the Church.

Similarly, Swami Shanti Kali Maharaj, a Hindu saint, was killed in Tripura for the same reason, a few years back.

In the light of the above facts we demand the setting-up of a commission by Government of India at the national level to probe into the nefarious activities carried on by the outfits backed by the Church in several parts of our country. The commission should also inquire into the flow of foreign funds to such organisations and how the funds are misused for conversions and promoting communal hatred among the different Hindu communities.

BJP lost because of hostile media

2009-06-16T05:09:00.000-07:00

BJP lost because of hostile media
By Subhash Bisaria

It was the media that did the BJP more harm with its focused, negative, venomous and malicious onslaughts than anyone else.

How many public meetings did Rahul Gandhi attend—100, 150 or 200? Even if we take 5000 as audience listening to him (of whom many would be party workers) how many people did he reach? Just 10 lakh out of 110 crore. A pittance! But media reached him to all. Contrast this with Shri Advani, Shri Narendra Modi and Shri Rajnath Singh’s much more qualitative and substantive public meetings, how many people did it reach? Media, out of necessity, showed a few glimpses of those portions specially that were unimportant or controversial or quoted out of context. Harm done? Double. Plus it did not fail to hold group discussions, or sought opinion from so-called experts thus establishing the bias deep down in the psyche of the people.

I remember one Jan Jagran Abhiyan held at Balrampur Gardens in Lucknow for which people deliberated, held meetings and month-long preparations were done. The yatra conducted state tour and was received into the city from Hardoi. About ten thousand people attended it, but it was hardly reported by the media though they were all there.

What I mean to say is that nationalist forces fail to get themselves across to people. Similarly, BJP has many issues before it, but it can’t build up the pressure in the absence of media. Neither Shri Modi nor Shri Varun Gandhi are responsible for the debacle of the BJP. In fact, Shri Modi tried to rejuvenate the masses (but his Hindutva was often deflected or communalised by the media) of the Congress and media propelled notions of secularism. Hindus today need mass awakening, awareness and revival and for that a vibrant, honest and fearless media is required. Attitude of 110 crore Indians can’t be changed overnight but it can be done.

What can the BJP’s media do?

Awaken 50 per cent non-voting class
Mitigate the adverse publicity made by the secular media that maligns the Hindu image
Restore the confidence and self esteem of the Hindus through short serials, documentaries etc on our great leaders like Shivaji, Rana Pratap, Vir Savarkar etc
Counter the propaganda against the saints, RSS, VHP or other Hindu bodies. Show the other side of the coin too on issues pending before the nation. For example, Kashmir problem, show the plight of the Pundits in camps repeatedly, how their properties are being seized by the local jehadis in Kashmir. Infiltration by the Bangladeshis and plight of the local Assamese and Bengalis.
Not to report the random cases of terrorism or conversions but to complete the jigsaw picture of converting India into the pockets of Islamic and Christian states and to seize power from the Hindus.
Issues of distortions in the text books
Convince how only swadeshi or India-centric policies can ensure food and employment to all
Pick every opportunity, festivals etc, for talking and discussing the Hindu customs, traditions and scientific values attached to it and removing the doubts created by the opposition and many more.
Teach Sanskrit and scriptures through TV
Importance of cow
Bring awareness to love-jehad where Hindu girls are purposely trapped by the paid Romeos then converted and married.

The nationalist forces have all been painted in black by the media and the secular jamat. The challenge before the new channels would be highly challenging. As the secular brigade and the vested interests from the India and abroad would like to isolate and choke it to death as they do fervently to BJP, VHP or RSS.

Even backward looking and averse to technology, Muslims have launched a channel deceptively called Peace Channel.

India has 5 crore cable network connections and DTH and if there are five members in a family the cable has a direct access to 25 crore people especially in the urban sector and incidently it was in the urban sector where the BJP lost more than in rural or Vanvasi areas.

Media made the poor victims as the perpetrators of crime in the following and created a false public opinion abroad

Violence in Kandhamal
Killing of Swami Laxmanananda
Godhara retaliation

Remedies:

Party workers should be respected and listened to
No compromise on Hindu-centric ideology
Media savvy
Launch of at least two national magazines one in Hindi, the other in English and two TV news channels effectively managed and controlled.

Media has become partner of ruling party

Nothing is more distressing than to hear that corruption has entered the field of journalism. In pre-Independence days, journalism was a mission; now it has become business. And it is becoming increasingly difficult to take some of the more important newspapers as the last word in truth. Writing in the Free Press Journal (April 27) Sushma Ramachandran (described as an economic and corporate analyst) blasted business journalism in no uncertain terms. Here are some of her findings, which are extremely disturbing:

“Many financial dailies publish news items that are blatantly one-sided…
“There should be worries over the fact that puff pieces on the corporate sector seems to have become the order of the day. One leading mainstream English newspaper had a business editor for about a year who specialised in long articles praising one big business house after another.
“There is a view within the media community that despite the huge salaries now being paid to business journalists in the print and electronic media, the incidence of corruption remains the same as when scribes were paid a pittance.”

According to Sushma Ramachandran, as far as the public issues are concerned there has been a pernicious practice of handing out envelopes filled with cash or cash vouchers to reporters at the press conference, so that they could buy “a small gift” for themselves. Some multinationals went to the extent of organising foreign junkets for obliging journalists. According to Sushma, “Rare are the cases where journalists can go on a trip without a clearance from their bosses.”

The Indian Express (May 23) carried a report on the same subject, the occasion being an address delivered by the chairman of the Press Council of India, Justice GN Ray, at a seminar organised by the Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication. Justice Ray in his speech expressed serious concern over “the paid-news syndrome” in the media describing it as the worst form of misinformation or even disinformation. The chairman said that presently journalists are “working on package”, that “editors are being marginalised” and that they themselves have allowed “devaluation of the dignity” of their high and respected office. Or take what Sevanti Ninan writes about journalists in The Hindu (May 24). Asks Ninan: “Should you believe everything you read about a candidate in a newspaper” and she answers her own question by saying: “Not after these elections.” In Madhya Pradesh and in Andhra Pradesh, money was charged for press coverage of candidates which according to Ninan gave “a whole new dimension to the business of media impacting elections”. It would seem that in Andhra Pradesh, especially, every Telugu newspaper and some of the Telugu news channels charged for positive coverage “at the same column centimetre rate as they do for advertisements”.

Apart from misleading the voters, that helped candidates circumvent the limits on election spending. Or take the issue of exit polls. The Hitavada (May 14) provided a list of eleven TV channels that broadcast exit polls and not one of them came anywhere near the truth and they included Headlines Today, Times Now, India TV, Star News, CNN-IBN, Aaj Tak and NDTV. How can so many of them, all run by professionals, go wrong? One can understand a couple of them slipping, but all eleven of them? Many of the so-called professionals went wrong also in 2004. Obviously, an explanation is called for.

One learns that the media earns from an election more so than in a year of no-electioneering. According to a report, one broker offered an independent candidate three weeks of coverage in four newspapers for a sum of Rs 10 lakh. Learning that a certain newspaper was running a bad report on a candidate, the latter is supposed to have paid Rs 4 lakh to stop it. What can we call it: black mail? For many candidates, money apparently is of no great consideration. If Deccan Herald (April 30) is to be believed—and why shouldn’t we?—some 223 millionaires and 258 with criminal record were in the election fray. To such, what is a sum of just four lakh rupees?

In the last Parliament, there were apparently 128 people with a dubious past of whom 55 were allegedly involved in serious crimes. In the new Parliament just elected, according to The Indian Express ( May 25), there has been a 19.15 per cent increase in their numbers with the election of 74 MPs who are accused of grave crimes. Voters may have rejected communism, but they have obviously not been able to differentiate between an honest man and a criminal. Or have the voters also been sufficiently bribed for their tacit support? Who knows? But, after all is said and done, the one painful question remains to be answered: How come all exit polls failed? They were apparently carried out by “professionals” who knew their job. But from what they prophesied, they were anything but professional. Anyone who knows something about exit polls knows what “sampling” means.

Writing in The Hindu (May 24) Sevanti Ninan asks a sensible question: “If reporters talk to candidates more than voters, how can they get their predictions right?” But then there is another question of even greater relevance. Think of the CNN-IBN showing times without number the scene of Varun Gandhi making those remarks that put him in jail. What lay behind this show? Was it necessary to repeat Varun Gandhi’s performance to the point when one felt like throwing up? Then there was that interview that Barkha Dutt had with Priyanka looking all so coy and saying how much she admired both her mother and brother. While Narendra Modi was sounding harsh most of the time, Priyanka was sounding so nice and gentle. Was all that part of a well-organised public relations job? One suspects that the Congress had appointed a better public relations firm than the BJP. But all this is hindsight. One will never know why the voter behaved the way he did though several answers are available and all of them sound very credible. All that we do know is that the voter had foxed the professional twice. That raises an important question: Do our professionals understand the Indian mind? Was the voter interested only in continuity of a government and not so much in who ran it? And in stability of a government and not so much in its ideology? Only time can tell.

NCERT denigrates Hindu Dharma

2009-06-16T05:04:00.000-07:00

NCERT denigrates Hindu Dharma
By Himanshu Shekhar Jha

There is absolutely no doubt that the NCF (National Curriculum Framework) 2005 was designed not to serve the cause of national education for building up the moral character of school-going children and developing their knowledge and skill, but with the sole and sordid motive of dismantling the foundation of India’s culture on which stands the superstructure of her outstandingly excellent educational ideals. This is evident inter alia, from the highly flawed syllabi framed by the NCERT for schools.

Apart from gross grammatical mistakes, the textbooks published by the NCERT contain several statements which are factually wrong and misleading. Let us take, for example, a textbook in history for Class-VI captioned Our Pasts-I.

The said textbook which opens with the chapter entitled What, Where, How and When carries the photograph of a Muslim girl (page-1) which has no connection to a book of history. The last chapter superscribed Buildings, Paintings And Books gives a summary description about Lord Ram and Sita without their pictures which a book of history for children is expected to carry for various reasons. Lord Ram and Sita were not ordinary mortals, but great historical personages whom millions of Hindus and others worship even today as incarnations of God. The NCERT writers have introduced them to our children merely as a prince and his wife respectively (page 129).

A book of history is not only a record of arid facts but comprises anecdotes which enable readers and others to draw invaluable lessons from them. Children can learn a great deal from books like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, but the NCERT has made no effort in this direction. The said textbook has been stuffed with materials which have no bearing on our past erroneously spelt as “pasts” by the NCERT writers.

Instead of telling schoolchildren why Lord Ram and Sita are greatly loved by countless people all over the world even after the lapse of lakhs of years, the NCERT’s so-called historians tell them that “Rama” (Mark the mistake in the name) was “a Prince of Kosala, who was sent into exile.” (page 129). It will be readily noticed that the usual lexical meaning of the word “exile” is enforced absence from one’s country for a long time as a punishment. Thus construed the meaning of the clause “Ram, a Prince of Kosala….. was sent into exile” would be that Ram, the Prince of Kosala, had been banished from his country as an award of punishment for a crime. Can there be anything historically more incorrect and mischievous than this? It is a universally known fact that Lord Ram had gone to the forest for fourteen years on his own accord to enable his father King Dasaratha to carry out a solemn and binding promise he had made to one of his wives named Kaikeyi at a critical moment. Any historian who writes about Lord Ram and his banishment must state the whole truth with utmost honesty expected from the writer of a book of history which has not been done by the writers of the NCERT textbook.

The textbook in question also contains incorrect and misleading statements about Hindu scriptures. It has been written “Like the Mahabharata, this (the Ramayana) was an old story that was now written down”. (page 129)

Firstly, neither the Mahabharata nor the Ramayana is a “story”. Both the voluminous books are authentic historical accounts related to two distinct periods in human history. It is a historically settled fact that the battle of the Mahabharata took place 5,000 years ago and the epic ‘The Mahabharata’ related thereto was composed by a great sage Sri Krishna Dwaipayana Vyas about the same time. The NCERT’s alleged historians have, however, fixed the date of the writing of the Mahabharata as 1500 years before the common Christian era which is palpably false and misleading. It is equally wrong and mischievous to say that “Like the Mahabharata, this (the Ramayana) was now written down (page 129). The word “now” which occurs in the book mentioned in the foregoing paragraphs is extremely vague and does not make out any sense. If explained with a frame of reference to the time of the composition of the Mahabharata it was written about the same time i.e. 1500 years ago. Thus according to the NCERT writers both the Mahabharata and the Ramayana were written during the same period only 1500 years ago.

The images of the famous Ram Sethu, taken by the NASA, on authentic American space agency reveal that it is a man-made bridge and had been built up 17,500,00 years ago. Coincidently that is the time when the Treta Yuga during which Lord Ram was born, existed. Since Valmiki popularly known as Adi Kavi, i.e. the first poet of the world, was Lord Ram’s contemporary and had written the historic epic ‘the Ramayana’ it is a brazen lie to say that “it was now” i.e. 1500 years before written down.”

It is also important to note that while writing about Islam which is in no way related to India’s past, the NCERT writers have expressed the view that it “laid stress on the equality and unity of all before Allah” (page 120)—a statement to which the events of the world history till date do'not testify. The NCERT writers did not forget to use the words “the sacred book of Islam” for the Kur’an (page 120) which is not free from objectionable verses, but they avoided to use the same expression i.e. “the sacred books of Hinduism” before “the Ramayana” and the Mahabharata”.

The National Curriculum Framework 2005 is a flawed instrument and there is an imperative need to alter it for serving the cause of education in the best possible way.

(The writer who is an Advocate in the Supreme Court of India and can be contacted at:A-207, Kalyani Apartments Sector-06, Vasundhara, Ghaziabad(U.P.))

Widespread complaints of EVM tampering in Orissa

2009-06-16T04:57:00.000-07:00

Widespread complaints of EVM tampering in Orissa
Parties unite in condemning BJD manipulation
By Deepak Kumar Rath

The massive mandate in favour of BJD in Orissa has surprised the people of the state, who have raised their eyebrows at the election outcome and are questioning whether it is the people’s mandate or that of the electronic voting machines (EVMs). All predictions and surveys have proved to be wrong including that of the special branch of the government.

The election in Orissa was conducted in two phases—on April 16 and 23. In the first phase, EVM tampering was allegedly done in some selected pockets of Ganjam district. In the second phase, it was reported to have been done on a massive scale. As a result of this, the BJD with its partners was able to capture 64 assembly seats out of 77 seats and seven parliamentary seats out of 11 seats in that phase alone. After the counting was over, it was found that the candidates, who were sure to lose even according to their own estimation, won the election by an unbelievable margin of 30 thousand to 50 thousand votes.

It is learnt from the reliable sources that some BJD MLAs, who had never dreamt of winning the election, are attributing their win to the blessings of the BJD chief and his loyal official machinery, which allegedly helped in tampering the EVMs. Some of the BJD MLAs before the counting of the votes were told by some of the collectors that they would definitely win the election by some definite margin, which was confirmed after the counting.

Senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Shri JB Patnaik alleged that the BJD had won the election by distributing huge amount of black money and tampering with EVMs. He demands an inquiry into the matter so that all the misdeeds of BJD could be exposed. At a press conference, the Congress leaders like Shri Sivananda Ray, state vice president, Shri Lalatendu Bidyadhar Mahapatra, state working president, and Shri Ramakrishna Patnaik also made allegations of tampering with EVMs.

The BJP legislative party leader Shri KV Singhdeo, while talking to Organiser, said: “The issue of EVM tampering cannot be ruled out. This needs to be inquired into by a non-government international agency, involved in software development and electronic. An all-party panel should be formed, which would monitor the inquiry so that the issue could be put to rest for all time to come.” He pointed out that after the polling was over, the EVMs stored in the strong rooms, were not sealed up to 36 to 48 hours under the pretext of segregating and bifurcating votes cast to MPs and MLAs into one envelope. No political party was allowed entry within 100 metres of the strong rooms. What actually happened during that period is anybody’s guess, Shri Singhdeo added.

The BJP state core committee presided by BJP state president Shri Suresh Pujari and attended by Shri BB Harichandan, Shri Jual Oram, Shri Dilip Roy, Shri Bijoy Mahapatra, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan and others made the similar allegations of blatant tampering with EVMs. Orissa state president of Samajwadi Party Shri Kailash Mishra and the Samrudha Orissa state president Shri Jyotish Mahanty also made accusations of tampering with EVMs citing various instances. For instance, take the case of Bhubaneswar, which this correspondent I very closely observed when he toured all over the state to observe the election there. Shri BB Harichandan, who was not only the leader of the BJP legislative party but as a minister had handled many portfolios since 1977 very effectively. In the assembly elections of 2000 and 2004, he won from the same Bhubaneswar constituency by massive margins of 96,000 and 86,000 votes respectively against his nearest rivals. Those were the highest margins in the state in both the elections. In the 2009 election, his rival the BJD candidate who appeared unworthy in the estimation of the people, won from this constituency. This was not the scenario in Bhubaneswar alone, on all the 77 assembly seats and 11 Lok Sabha seats in the second phase of election, all the popular leaders of the opposition, i.e. BJP and Congress, have been defeated, which the people are not prepared to believe.

Tampering with EVMs was allegedly detected at many places in the state. At the Nima Sahi booth in Cuttack it was detected that all votes are recorded on the BJD symbol, though different buttons were pressed by the voters. After this issue was brought to light by the BJP candidate Shri Samir Day, there was public pressure and re-polling was conducted at this booth. Although there were similar complaints from Bhubaneswar and different parts of the state, they were not entertained.

Another surprising factor is that the original Bhubaneswar assembly constituency has now been divided into three constituencies. In all the three constituencies, the BJP candidates including Shri Harichandan got about 11 thousand votes each—in Bhubaneswar (Central) 11,400, Bhubaneswar (Northern) 11,300 and Ekamra, (Bhubaneswar) 11,070. Not only that, in the three adjoining constituencies of Bhubaneswar, the BJP candidates got about 11 thousand votes, i.e. in Delang and Pipili 11,170 votes each and Jayadev 10,800. Is it a mere coincidence or a fishy political propaganda that all BJP candidates in those constituencies could get about votes to a definite figure, i.e., 11,000 votes? Thus, it confirms the belief that EVMs have been very meticulously programmed and tampered with.

There is another astonishing aspect in this election that all the wellknown and reputed leaders of the opposition both BJP and Congress, who were sure to win in the public estimation, have been defeated. BJP leaders like Shri Bijay Mahapatra, Shri Brijkishore Tripathy, Shri Jual Oram, Shri Kharvel Swain and Shri Dhamendra Pradhan, and Congress leaders like Shri Nalinikant Mohanty, Shri Ramakrishna Patnaik, Shri Lalatendu Bidyadhar Mahapatra, Shri Chandrasekhar Sahu, Shri Niranjan Patnaik, Shri Jayadev Jena, and Shri Soumyaranjan Patnaik have been defeated. It appears as if a list of such leaders was prepared and then they have been butchered in a planned manner with the help of EVMs. Therefore, in Orissa the election outcome is now called yantradesh, not janadesh, i.e. it is not the mandate of the people but of the EVMs.

Sudarshanji questions EVMs’ credibility
By Golak Chandra Das

Cuttack (Visakeo): The former RSS Sarsanghachalak Shri KS Sudarshan has questioned the credibility of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) that are being used during polls instead of ballot papers.

“The general elections have become a contempt of democracy as machines playing greater role than the voters,” Shri Sudarshan said while addressing the concluding ceremony of Sangh Shiksha Varga held at OMP Ground here. The Pratham Verga had kicked off on May 15 and concluded on June 4. A total of 219 youth participated in the Varga at Keonjhar and Bhawanipatana.

Second year camp started on May 15 and concluded on June 5. A total of 86 swayamsevaks participated in the second year Varga at Cuttack.

Various political parties have successfully tampered EVMs to keep power, which was witnessed in West Bengal in way back in 2004, he added.

“It was a shock for the democracy,” he said adding that the EVMs are not being used in developed countries like Germany and the USA.

The party with more than 50 per cent of the whole population opposing, is ruling now, Shri Sudarshan said indirectly referring to Congress.

Cuttack Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee secretary Gurudeb Singh, DD Patnaik, HJS national coordinator Harihar Nanda, Sah Kshetra Pracharak, Ajit Prasad Mohapatra, Kshetra Sharirik Pramukha, Ghanshyam Mohapatra, former Sanghachalak Bhupen Basu, Sah-Prant Sanghachalak Hemant Dhir, BMS national organising secretary KC Mishra, senior Pracharak Rangaraje, Sah-Prant Karyavah Durga P Sahoo and Anil Mishra, Prant Pracharak Jagadish P Khadanga, Sah-Prant Pracharak BB Nanda and Prant Sharirik Pramukh Sudarshan Das were also present on the occasion.

The only prescription for all the ills confronting the nation today lies in the philosophy of Hindutva

2009-06-16T04:54:00.000-07:00

Third-Year Sangh Shiksha Varga concludes
It's the popular will, not politics that makes history - Mohan Bhagwat
By Virag Pachpore

“The RSS has been promoting this Hindutva to take the nation to the highest pinnacle of glory without deviating from the culture and heritage of this country.” - Mohan Bhagwat

“When the Constitution was made, there were all-round attempts to make India a secular republic. In fact, some provisions of the Constitution were specially formulated for achieving that end.” - Justice (Retd.) KT Thomas

"The only prescription for all the ills confronting the nation today lies in the philosophy of Hindutva. It is the bedrock of our national and social life. It connotes the way of life and encompasses all the faiths and languages in India”, asserted Shri Mohan Bhagwat, Sarsanghachalak of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Speaking at the concluding function of the third-year Sangh Shiksha Varga (RSS training camp) at the sprawling Reshimbag grounds in Nagpur, Shri Bhagwat made a passionate appeal to all the people to join RSS in order to know and understand the organisation. “Our doors are open for all”, he said. “The RSS has been promoting this Hindutva to take the nation to the highest pinnacle of glory without deviating from the culture and heritage of this country”, Shri Bhagwat said and appealed to all to contribute in this task by joining the RSS.

Shri Bhagwat said that leaders, policies, administration and slogans cannot make the future of any country. It is the popular will that writes the destiny the way they want. Hence, awakening the popular will with full faith in our traditions and cultural ethos and injecting the spirit of selfless dedication to motherland will alone take our nation to the position of the world leader (vishwa guru). This might appear to be the longest way, but this is the only way and hence shortest too, Shri Bhagwat said and added that since last 85 years the RSS has been doing exactly the same.

Explaining that the word Hindu represents our national identity, Shri Bhagwat said that it is wrong to describe Hindu as a religion. “Hindu and Hindutva represent the cultural heritage of every Indian irrespective of his way of worship, religious faith and language. Hindutva encompasses Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Sikhs in India because it is the national identity of all of us,” she stated.

Taking a dig at those who prefer ‘Bharatiya’ to ‘Hindu’, the RSS Sarsanghachalak said that ‘Hindu’ does not connote the mere geographical boundaries of India while Bharatiya has a mere geographical connotation and cannot define the cultural dimensions associated with the word ‘Hindu’.

Giving historical proofs Shri Bhagwat said that those regions where the Hindu population was reduced to minority or converted to other faiths, got separated from India in the recent past. Loss of Hindutva is the main reason behind the recent problems of internal security, regionalism, separatism, etc, being faced by the country, he said.

Unity in diversity is our peculiarity. And this is our true identity also. Hindutva welcomes all good things and thoughts from all the directions and honour all faiths and views. There is no place for conversion. All other countries except India do not believe in this principle of unity in diversity. The concepts of conversion and imperialism often arise from bigotry and hatred of other religions and faiths, which has no place in Hindu culture, tradition and ethos, Shri Bhagwat pointed out.

Quoting Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Dr Verghese Kurien, the Sarsanghachalak said that all great thinkers have said time and again that common people will have to be motivated to achieve the progress, prosperity and peace and to make India a world leader. Owing to the continuous neglect of harnessing the immense capabilities of the common man, the nation has failed to achieve this potential in various walks of life.

India has made progress after Independence but social problems like poverty, unemployment, internal security, terrorism, etc, are also increasing. To overcome these problems the only solution is to sacrifice all our qualities at the altar of our motherland, Shri Bhagwat said and added that the Sangh has been doing precisely this in a silent manner, and urged all to come close to RSS, participate in this task of national reconstruction and become a part of this great movement.

Former Supreme Court judge Justice KT Thomas, who could not make it to the concluding function due to personal problem, strongly advocated the need for bringing uniform civil code. He lamented that even after six decades of Independence no concrete steps were taken by the successive governments in this regard.

In his written speech, which was read out by camp Bouddhik Pramukh Shri Suresh, Justice (Retd.) Thomas said that when the Constitution was made, there were all-round attempts to make India a secular republic. In fact, some provisions of the Constitution were specially formulated for achieving that end. One such provision is Article 44. But the irony today is that anyone who pleads for enforcement of the directive principle enshrined in Article 44 is dubbed a communalist and those who oppose are hailed as secularists, Justice (Retd.) Thomas said in a sarcastic comment on secularism professed in present India.

He was all praise for the wonderful work the RSS is doing. “I have more admiration for the activities of RSS than criticism, unlike some other members of the minority communities who entertain prejudices towards this organisation”, he said adding that he “keeps an open mind in seeing the functions of RSS and hence have no prejudice against it”. He disclosed that he developed this admiration for RSS from the days of Emergency when the RSS suffered a lot for restoration of constitutional democracy in India.

“I have been watching the performance of this organisation and hearing the utterances of its leaders. I often feel that I have larger areas of agreement with this organisation than disagreement”, Justice (Retd.) Thomas stated.

The apex court's former judge credited Sardar Patel with integrating India immediately after Independence and passing of the Constitution. He, however, lamented that the picturisation of Indian nation by Pt Nehru as “unity in diversity” has remained a dream even after 60 years of Independence. Justice (Retd.) Thomas wondered as to how many Indians could proudly proclaim that he is Indian first. He criticised the media for not playing its due role in achieving uniform civil code. There can be no valid argument against bringing the whole nation under a uniform code of laws subject to provincial variations, he said.

Narrating his experience at a seminar on minority rights in one of the universities in Kerala, Justice (Retd.) Thomas said that one of the legal professionals belonging to minority community said that he has a feeling of insecurity with his religious identity. Justice (Retd.) Thomas told the gathering that despite being a member of a still smaller minority community he feels no such insecurity. He advised the member to shun his identity as a member of that religious faith and earn his identity as an Indian citizen and then he would have no reason to entertain this apprehension. Religious faith must be kept as an extremely personal matter and should not be allowed to intertwine with the citizenship identity.

Awaiting changes to a syllabus of hate in Pakistan

2009-06-11T17:17:00.001-07:00

by Nirupama Subramanian

Awaiting changes to a syllabus of hate

All the focus is on madrasa reforms but Pakistan’s schools are also seen as encouraging extremism, while the government has shown little urgency about implementing a revised curriculum.

On a recent weekday afternoon, a small group of youngsters gathered at a meeting hall in Islamabad to discuss how to combat extremism, militancy and terrorism in Pakistan. Listed were top-notch speakers, including two members of Parliament and the well-known physicist, Pervez Hoodbhoy.

Dr. Hoodbhoy, who teaches at the Quaid-e-Azam University in the Pakistan capital, spoke passionately and at length, on a theme that he has worked to highlight for years: the education imparted to Pakistani children is flawed and encourages extremism, intolerance and ignorance. He showed the group, mostly undergraduate students, slides from an illustrated primer for the Urdu alphabet he picked from a shop in Rawalpindi: alif for Allah; bay for bandook (gun); tay for takrao (collision, shown by a plane crashing into the Twin Towers); jeem for jihad; kay for khanjar (dagger); and hay for hijab.

This was not a prescribed textbook, but another set of slides he showed had excerpts from a 1995 government-approved curriculum for Social Studies, which stated that at the end of Class V, the child should be able to acknowledge and identify forces that may be working against Pakistan; demonstrate by actions a belief in the fear of Allah; make speeches on jehad and shahadat (martyrdom); understand Hindu-Muslim differences and the resultant need for Pakistan; India’s evil designs against Pakistan; be safe from rumour-mongers who spread false news; visit police stations; collect pictures of policemen, soldiers, and National Guards; and demonstrate respect for the leaders of Pakistan.

“Instead of teaching our children about the nice things in this world like the colours of flowers, about the wonders of the universe, we are teaching them to hate,” he said. The school curriculum was one reason, he said, why Pakistanis were in denial that the militants and extremists now terrorising the entire country were home-grown products, and why many tended to externalise the problem with conspiracy theories about an “external” hand.

At the end of the discussion, which included a question-and-answer session, the group was asked how many thought Pakistan’s present problems were the consequence of an “Indian hand.” A quarter of the group put up its hands. Next, the students were asked how many thought the problems were the result of an American conspiracy to destabilise Pakistan and deprive it of its nuclear weapons: more than three-fourths of the group sent their hands up without a moment’s hesitation.

The irony was that this was the “youth group” of a non-governmental organisation, the Liberal Forum of Pakistan. The students had reserved their maximum applause for a speaker who projected the widespread line that Pakistan’s problems began only after 2001, and are the fallout of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.

“Was there a single incident of terrorism before that? A single suicide bombing? No.” he said. The speaker was an official of the Ministry of Youth Affairs.

In the search for solutions to the crisis sweeping Pakistan and threatening to tear it apart, the international community has tended to focus on madrasas as “terrorist factories.” But for Dr. Hoodbhoy and others who have been fighting a long battle for urgent changes in Pakistan’s national school curriculum and the prescribed school textbooks, children getting a government-approved education in the public school system are at equal risk.

“Madrasas are not the only institutions breeding hate, intolerance, a distorted world view. The educational material in government-run schools do much more than madrasas. The textbooks tell lies, create hatred, inculcate militancy…” This was the damning conclusion of a landmark research project by the Islamabad-based Sustainable Development Policy Institute.

For three years, 30 scholars commissioned by SDPI pored over textbooks in four subjects taught for Classes 1 to 12: Social Studies/Pakistan Studies, Urdu, English and Civics. The startling findings of their labour came out in a 2004 publication, “The Subtle Subversion: The State of Curricula and Textbooks in Pakistan.”

The much-written about research unleashed a huge debate on what was being taught in Pakistan’s schools, and became the basis for a major revision of the national curriculum undertaken by the Musharraf regime in 2006. The new curriculum has made several big changes. There is a conscious move to teach tolerance and respect for diversity, and the open vilification of India is absent. It also does not insist on imposing Islamic religious teaching on non-Muslim students. Religion is to be taught in focussed courses, rather than being infused in Social Studies, Civics, Urdu and English.

Unfortunately, so far, no move has been made to introduce new textbooks that reflect the changes.

“The revised curriculum is a huge departure from the earlier one. But whether the changes it prescribes will be implemented at all is not clear to us. The more it is delayed, the less and less we are sure it is going to come,” said A.H. Nayyar, research fellow at SDPI and one of the initiators of the project.

The changes in the curriculum are up on the Internet site of the Ministry of Education. For Grades 4 and 5 Social Studies, the curriculum has dropped the learning outcomes prescribed by the 1995 and 2002 curricula, focussing instead on providing an “unbiased” education that aims to build informed citizens equipped with analytical skills and “values such as equality, social justice, fairness, diversity, and respect for self and diverse opinions of others.”

The SDPI recommendation that history be taught as a separate subject instead of being lumped into Pakistan Studies was accepted by the framers of the revised curriculum. So, for the first time, a curriculum has been framed for history as a separate subject from Grades 6 to 8.

In contrast to the earlier approach in the Pakistan Studies curriculum, in which the history of Pakistan begins with the day the first Muslim set foot in India, the revised curriculum includes a study of the Indus valley civilisation, of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, and of the ancient Maurya and Gupta dynasties.

The curriculum appears keen to emphasise a composite South Asian history from which Pakistan took birth including the “joint Hindu-Muslim” efforts in the struggle for independence. The Pakistan Studies curriculum for Grades 9 and 10 wants children to learn about the multicultural heritage of Pakistan and “get used to the idea of unity in diversity,” a big no-no earlier.

The revised curriculum also has a component on “peace studies” and conflict resolution.

One reason new textbooks based on the revised curriculum have not come out yet, Dr. Nayyar speculated, may be that the 1998 national educational policy introduced by the shortlived Nawaz Sharif government, remains in force till 2010. The Pakistan People’s Party-led government could be waiting to introduce its own education policy, and usher in the changes to the curriculum and the textbooks along with this, he said.

Even the draft new education policy is ready, based on a two-year-old White Paper. It too reflects a major shift from the 1998 policy, which laid down that education should enable the citizens to lead their lives as true practising Muslims according to the teachings of Islam as prescribed in the Quran and Sunnah. It also made the teaching of Nazra Quran a compulsory subject from Grades 1 to 8, and the learning of selected verses from the Quran thereafter, in clear violation of the Constitution that Islam will not be imposed on non-Muslims.

By contrast, the draft new policy makes it clear that only Muslim children will be provided instruction in Islamiyat, while minorities will be provided an education in their own religion. The new policy will provide the framework for the implementing the new curriculum and introducing new textbooks.

The bad news is that in April, the federal Cabinet put off approving the draft indefinitely. Only after the Cabinet approves the policy can it be placed before Parliament. A report in Dawn newspaper said the Cabinet wanted the Education Ministry to make the policy “more comprehensive, covering every aspect of education sector which needs improvement along with an implementable work plan.” But no urgency is visible in the Ministry to get cracking on this task. Another concern is that the Education Minister is not known for his progressive views, especially on gender issues.

“My fear,” said Dr. Nayyar, a soft-spoken physicist who retired from teaching at the Quaid-e-Azam University some years ago, “is that the government may not have the political strength to bring in a progressive education policy. They may succumb to pressures of various kinds and end up bringing in a hopelessly muddled policy.”

Yet the need for reforms in education has never been as urgent and necessary as now. As Dr. Hoodbhoy has pointed out in several recent articles, while a physical takeover of Pakistan by the Taliban may be a far cry, extremist ideology has taken root in young minds across the country, thanks to a flawed education system.

Compared to the 1.5 million who study in madrasas, an estimated 20 million children are enrolled in government schools. Dr. Nayyar laments that in the five years since the publication of the SDPI report, children who were 11 years old at the time have completed their matriculation. They read the old textbooks, and learnt a way of thinking about themselves and the world that will prove hard to change.

“Another generation has been lost because the process has taken too long,” he said. And until the new textbooks are introduced, millions of children will continue to learn in their Urdu lessons in schools about the differences between Hindus and Muslims in a hatred-generating way, about “India’s evil designs against Pakistan” in their Social Studies, and that Bangladesh was a result of a conspiracy by India with assistance from “Hindus living in East Pakistan.”

Sena: why this “fond treatment” to Kasab?

2009-05-31T19:15:00.001-07:00

Sena: why this “fond treatment” to Kasab?

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Saturday made a renewed call for hanging the Mumbai gunman, Mohammed Ajmal Amir ‘Kasab’.

While crores were spent on the 26/11 trial, the recently released report absolving the police force of any blame and the media’s obsession with Ajmal were making a mockery of the sacrifice of the martyrs and the plight of the victims of the terror attacks, Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray said in a statement here.

The former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, who resigned in the aftermath of the attacks, was rewarded with a berth in the Union Cabinet. This was like rubbing salt into the wounds of the bereaved people, the statement said.

“Why is Kasab being treated so fondly? By giving him defence, the government is mocking at the victims and the martyrs of the attacks. Lakhs of rupees are being spent on Kasab.”

It was the citizens who had to bear the cost of the Rs. 2-crore tunnel connecting his Arthur Road jail cell and the special court, a Rs. 6-crore van and the fees for his lawyer. But there were bureaucratic delays in providing high-end weapons to the police, whose officers were dying in naxal attacks, the statement said.

A Sena delegation would soon meet President Pratibha Patil with the demand for hanging of Ajmal and Afzal Guru, who was convicted in the Parliament attack case, Mr. Thackeray said.

Victimizing Varun – A case of ‘Secularist’ Vendetta

2009-05-14T19:41:00.001-07:00

Victimizing Varun – A case of ‘Secularist’ Vendetta
By The Editorial Team, on 09-05-2009 23:40
Published in : Editorial, Editorial,

An advisory board of the Allahabad High Court has recommended revocation of the order to book Varun Gandhi under NSA. The advisory court's recommendation is binding on the state government which in effect has now revoked the order. With this the Supreme Court's observation that invoking NSA on Varun was too drastic a step now becomes true. Ironically, the secularist camp which pleaded for justice and justified NSA maintains a studied silence finding it very difficult to swallow the outcome. When NSA was unexpectedly invoked it was not surprising to note the ‘secularist' cam indulging itself in euphorically endorsing this authoritarian step evading any uncomfortable query as communal. Political parties too having displayed their obsession with "competitive secularism" endorsed the move understanding the implicit implications for their highly held vote bank.

Any neutral observer would not have given a second thought in realising the underlying political motives in invoking NSA, a law which is invoked in rarest of the rare case. Common people could have hardly appreciated such a move when many hardened criminals are roaming free and seeking tickets to contest elections. While these hardcore criminals even with proven links with terror network and mafia dons are rewarded by their political masters, a person like Varun Gandhi having not a single case against him was booked under NSA. Had the same kind of ‘speed' displayed by these ‘secularist' political parties India could have been freed from menace of terrorism and criminalization of society and politics - and the money stashed in Swiss Banks would have been recovered and Quattorcchi could have been cooling his heels in Tihar jail. It is an irony that in India law-breakers, terrorists and criminals are shamelessly sought to be defended by persons holding high offices. While the Jamia Vice Chancellor Mushirul Hassan declared legal aid to the SIMI activists arrested from the scene of Batla House encounter, the leaders of BSP, SP and Congress went along with Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid to express solidarity with the arrested SIMI activist Abu Bashir in relation to Ahmedabad blasts.

The ‘secularists' having failed in their bid to rationalize the terrorist attacks especially from jihadi groups through their half baked theories ranging from economic deprivation, lack of education, regional imbalances to attacks on the minorities have been in search of a new rationale. While SIMI was banned and its new avatara Indian Mujahideen went on bombing the Indian cities with serial blasts inflicting heavy casualities, attempts were made to find its Hindu equivalent in Bajrang Dal, Col. Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur. On failing to collect clinching evidence and material proofs against them, the ‘secularist camp' was desperately looking for an escape route. It seems that Varun Gandhi was their new scape goat. While it is considered ‘secular' to hobnob with Madani and Muslim League in India, one refusing to toe this sacrosanct ‘secular' agenda is dealt with vengeance.

Sonia Congress Brand Secularism!

2009-05-14T19:38:00.001-07:00

from hilda raja
date Wed, May 13, 2009 at 4:36 PM
subject Congress secularism

The most bandied word in India by the politicians is SECULARISM. Before one even dissects this word one should shed the biases and prejudices one has. It seems almost impossible to release secularism from its present hijackers and objectively dissect it. Two important prerequisites for this objectivity are:

1) secularism is not the monopoly of any one political party.
2) secularism is not anti-hindutva.

It is ridiculous to note that the Congress party thinks that secularism is its monopoly. It has gone still further in giving itself the power to transform all those who ally with it the tag of secularism.

Any party/person who stands with the Congress is baptized as ‘secular’—and any party/person who stands with the BJP is communal. If the NDA (U) allies with the Congress than it is secular. If it allies with the BJP it becomes communal.

Narayana Rana was communal-but the moment he joined the Congress he became secular. It looks as though secularism is something which only the Congress has and only those who ally with it can be secular.

Against this it becomes extremely an onerous task to even define secularism. But can be understood if we analyze whether the Congress is secular.

Secularism is without bias and prejudice for or against a community, creed and caste. Secularism is objective, scientific in approach and above all stands impartial.

Secularism is not something which a person/party carries as a badge but is revealed only in the works and actions of that person/party. So a political party cannot become secular simply by thumping its own chest and proclaiming that it is secular. It needs to be proved.

As Mr Manmohan Singh said of his governance ‘the test of the pudding is the eating of it’. The test that the Congress is secular must be seen in its secular governance. In its various programs and its openness to all people irrespective of caste creed and region. Parties/persons who are secular will have no vested interest in governance.

If one has to review the performance of the Congress from this angle its mask of secularism will be torn apart and its can be perceived as the most communal party in a parliamentary democracy–be it in the Centre and the States. It is evident that the Congress was far from secular—Its whole approach was based on an appeasement policy labeled as ‘inclusive’ development with the sole objective of garnering the Muslim votes.

So it was sheer vested interest and greed for power that was the guiding and deciding factor in its whole governance. The Congress’ perception was thus jaundiced. It was visually handicapped in its outlook of India. Could not view the people of this country as citizens—as Indians but saw them as Muslims, Christians, and Hindus/north/south. To make it an variable to easily quantify— majority and minority—was inserted and this became the guiding index in its approach.

The basic premise for secularism thus evaporated from the Congress Party when its whole approach to governance is communal—based on religion. No matter its shrill trumpeting that it is the secular party and all those who stand with it are secular. The extension of secularism into politics thus became all pervasive—in spite of the media also tagging it as secular forces the reality picture thus became a ‘maya’.

There can be apologists who feel that the yardstick of Minority is valid because it denotes weakness—less clout, constantly under the threat from the majority etc and hence calls for special protection, and concessions. In the Indian reality this perception is valid as far as the Scheduled castes are concerned. But even that has slowly undergone a change. The Scheduled caste leaders keep the Scheduled castes in oppression and in poverty because they are the barters for their own power. It is in their powerlessness of the large section of the Scheduled caste people that that the SC leaders gain power. And it is in the pauperization of the larger section SCs that the SC leaders gain wealth. This is not a political statement but stating a fact that is very much in evidence. Take for example Mayawati—a simple distribution of all the money she has accrued and the huge amounts she is spending on massive structures with domes and stupas for Kanshi Ram, Ambedkar and herself will just wipe out the poverty of the Schedule caste in UP.

This kind of aggrandizement is not only sheer arrogance but also a negation of the rights of the scheduled castes by their own leaders. So who is sinning against them today—but their own leaders? True they were oppressed and denied equal rights but if under the leaders like Mayawati and Paswan the same situation continues then there is something basically wrong not only in the past but in the present. It seems that these leaders want to keep the Scheduled castes perpetually a downtrodden people.

Yet ours is the only Constitution in the world which has put in black and white our sins of omission and commission against the Scheduled Castes and has urged all the governments to change this situation. But after 59 years we still stand on the same plane and fault the nation as having deprived the Scheduled castes of their rightful share.

One area of empowerment was the Reservation policy—both in education and in employment. This has been hijacked by the creamy layer. The benefit of this policy does not percolate down. Another reason is among the different sub sects of the SCs—the Pallars are mostly landed and educated—while the Pariyars (scavengers) and the Arunthatiyars (cobblers) continue in the same misery and poverty. It is not that the SC leaders are unaware of it but they are least bothered to see that the Reservation policy benefits reach all. The whole process can be superimposed on the Most Backward and Backward castes.

It is communal politics that have kept the country’s population growing in its backwardness. The well of have siphoned all the benefits. Even Mr P Chidambaram in a TV channel accepted that he had benefited from the Reservation policy! Most of the IAS officers have used to benefit their own families.

It is thus a case in study when the same is extended towards the religious minorities and make them a show case for ‘inclusive’ development. Minority concept is not only a numerical concept but it denotes powerlessness, economic, political and social. The size of the community connotes a disadvantaged position against the majority it reveals a helplessness to compete, to face the constant threat from the majority. In certain countries this is true especially in our neighborhood countries. But in India it is not so. Minority is strength. Except for the numerical size the minority concept does not have the other concomitants.

It is interesting to note that a minority group can hold a majority group to ransom. It depends on the empowerment of the people than the numerical head count of the people. For example a single gun touting man can hold to ransom a whole group of people and instill fear in them. Numerical strength is no longer valid.

The power of bargaining—the leverage the minority holds and also the ability to activate global concerns and lobbies counts and we can safely determined that the Muslims and the Christians in India are more powerful in this respect— and do not suffer from any of the disadvantages that impinges on a minority people. Vastness and large numbers in today’s world is no longer a sign of power. At the press of a button the whole globe can be destroyed. Who controls that button –in that single individual all power is concentrated.

Except for the Arts 29 to 30 which granted the Religious Minorities rights to manage and administer their own education institutions the question of reservation on par with the SCs was never mooted by the Founding Fathers. But now Congress has brought in this divisive factor in other areas of employment, and other programs.

It has been a thoroughly communal outlook and communalization of governance that the Congress has been pursuing for the past five years. But had succeeded in projecting itself as the secular party thanks to the support of the electronic and print media.

Starting more Islamic institutions, funding the madrasas, increasing the subsidy of the Haj, setting up of a separate ministry with a separate budget all are not only communal in its inception but in the very process has communalized every aspect of the polity.

Now the line is demarcated in the political scenario. One side stands the Congress and the other side the BJP. All those who line up with the Congress become secular and all those who line up with the BJP become communal. The dance of democracy is over and the finale is being rehearsed. If the BJP is fishing for some catch, the Congress is poaching. That makes no difference for the conversion to secularism and to communalism becomes immediate.

Even a handshake makes a thoroughly secular person as Nitesh communal! But if he joins the Congress who is desperately wooing him he becomes secular. Remember the DMK one whose very political basis was on separatism was with the NDA when Murasoli Maran died and the allurements offered was not enough to appease the DMK it joined the Congress—and was converted as a secular party.

First the branding of Modi as communal and a murderer is a bit stale and will boomerang. If the Gujarat riots has made him communal then the 1984 Sikh genocide has made the Congress doubly communal and a fascist party. But that has to be buried states our Manmohan Singh who is in a permanent state of muddle.

You touch Modi you become communal that’s the litmus test. The big fight gives us insights into this comedy of errors. The bugle has been sounded by the secular captain ‘all those who want a secular government come and stand by me’ (where is Manmohan Singh—a caricature of his is also held aloft behind Mrs Sonia Gandhi).

Of course with the bugle call the allurements will be distributed in the dressing room. Those who are non communal will stand alongside with the ‘secular’ Congress. And one needs to quickly put on the communal spectacles to watch Lalu, Paswan, Mayavati, Karunanidhini, Karat et al as secular.

And there stands the captain of the BJP-LK Advani on the other side—he cannot thumb his chest because already the communal tags have been affixed on him and the whole array of NDA allies. But there is time for ‘conversion’ and it is so easy-step across the line and you become secular. This is the concept of secularism and communalism in India today.

Why dissect further and go to the root of the meaning of secularism. The Congress has a special vocabulary encyclopedia—one should get it and decode. Renunciation, secularism, communalism divine right, and India’s triumvirate (Nehru. Indira and Rajiv) monopoly—all these concepts/words and more one should learn and digest to become relevant to secular INDIA and the dance of democracy.

Dr Mrs Hilda Raja,
Vadodadar

Mr. Secular Indian teaches secularism to his Gullible disciples who are pursuing a political career as a secular politician.

2009-05-10T19:07:00.001-07:00

Elections are continuing till May 13 in several parts of the country...

from Gaurang G. Vaishnav
date Sun, May 10, 2009 at 10:26 AM
subject Election 2009:Secularism Course 101

Secularism Course 101:
by Dr. Jagdish Tummala

As I sit in my home watching all the drama that is unfolding in the General Elections of 2009, I wonder how far the truth can be stretched. I am quite disillusioned by the definition of secularism being proscribed and prescribed to the Indian public. I was wondering what a lesson in secularism would be like if there was one; so, I thought of this fantasy classroom where secularism is being taught by a Mr. Secular Indian to his Gullible disciples who are pursuing a political career as a secular politician . Now tighten your seat belts and start thinking. Think what your definition of secularism is?

Mr. Secular Indian: I welcome you disciples to your first day in class. I know you people are obsessed with the idea of secularism, but I will help you build on this idea today which will benefit you tremendously in your political careers; so, let us start by taking some questions.

A Gullible disciple: I am confused about the idea of secularism. I feel I am a secular person, but when I see some of our English channels and listen to our politicians, I feel I am not - How do I get over this dilemma?

Mr. Secular Indian: What makes you feel as though you are not secular?

A Gullible disciple: I find myself agreeing to some of the views of BJP, especially on terror, international policies and common civil code etc. But the very next moment, when the panelists on these shows call it a farce and communal, I feel I am communal too.

Mr. Secular Indian: First things first. You cannot be called secular, If you agree with the BJP. You have to be a staunch opponent of BJP policies irrespective of whether you feel they are right or wrong. Be careful, you will be tagged as a communal instantaneously if you agree with them. It would not matter what you think about the upliftment of minorities.

A gullible disciple: Some politicians are even called communal if they go to a temple or wear saffron clothes, what do you think of that?

Mr. secular Indian: Well, you cannot wear any identity that could relate you to a majority community. You can go to the temple every now and then but make sure nobody is watching you. This might come to haunt you later in your political career. At the same time make sure you make frequent visits to churches and mosques and also meet some religious leaders, but this time makes sure you do it in front of the full glare of the media.

Meanwhile a Muslim gullible disciple jumps in and asks:

A gullible Muslim disciple: I go to mosques every Friday. Would I have to be careful too ? Also would I have to meet some swami jis in front of the media?

Mr. secular Indian: No, this does not apply to you as you belong to a minority community. In fact, if someone questions you about any aspect of your faith, just call for protection of your rights and your secular friends will take care of the rest. Talking about you meeting swamis, this could severely dent your chances of being a secular politician and your credentials might get questioned, even if you have to do that, do it behind the cameras.

A gullible Muslim disciple: I find myself agreeing with the BJP sometimes, especially about the introduction of a common civil code. I feel a different civil code for the Muslims is only alienating them and I do not agree with some of it’s clauses. How do I express this view?

Mr. Secular Indian: Again, the golden rule is, you cannot agree with the BJP at any cost. Even if the BJP is trying to do some good for the minorities, you will need to portray the evil in it. These are the times when your secular credentials will be tested. Remember, you being a Muslim and finding any of BJP’s comment acceptable, can spell doom to your political career. Common civil code might be necessary for the upliftment of the Muslims, but it is not acceptable to the Muslim masses. You can only take popular decisions in politics irrespective of the consequences.

A gullible disciple: I believe we would need to work hard for the upliftment of the minority masses to be called a secular.

Mr. secular Indian: Not necessarily, as long as you are anti-BJP and are making speeches condemning Hindutva, you need not do anything, just tell the minorities that you will protect them from the Hindutva forces and hope they might vote for you. At the same time, it can be dangerous if you try to bring a lot of development in the minority dominated areas as this would mean land occupations for roads, building, and schools instead of madrasas etc.. It might be popular among few, but the masses would not like it. Always stay away from such controversies in the minority dominated areas. Moreover, educating them might harm you in the long run, as you might not be able to use them as vote banks.

A gullible disciple: What are the advantages of being a secular politician?

Mr. secular Indian: Numerous! Firstly, it negates several ills. You can be a gangster, a rapist or a murderer and you can still be called a good politician with an honest ideology if you are secular. You will be acceptable to all the secular parties and will never be treated as an untouchable in politics. Moreover, if you have any criminal cases or CBI cases pending against you, just lend support to a secular party at the centre and be rest assured that all the CBI cases against you will be withdrawn. Another advantage is you can win elections without doing any public service. Look at all the states which are dominated by these secular parties. They do not have to do any public work or develop anything. These states continue to lag behind in all human development indices. They know that as long as they are secular, their chances of remaining in power are high.

A gullible disciple: How do I tackle riots which are so rampant in our society?

Mr. secular Indian: Wait until the riots have subsided, you need not mobilise any forces to tackle these riots. But make sure you put the entire blame on the hindutva forces for the riots. Also portray the BJP as an accomplice and be very vocal about it in the media. This will exonerate you from being complacent during the riots. Look at the Mumbai riots and Babri demolition for example. A secular government was at the centre on both these occasions. They even agreed to these events tacitly, if not directly involved and let nature take its own course. But they make sure even to this day that they blame the BJP for anything and everything that happened. I am sure they could have done something about it, but they opted not to. Instead, they used it to their advantage and portrayed the BJP as the only evil. This is a great example of how you can maintain your secular credentials by just blaming the BJP, even though you were involved yourself.

A gullible disciple: Can you tackle Jihadi terrorism and maintain your secular credentials?
Mr. secular Indian: You have to be very careful when talking about tackling Jihadi terrorism. This is a condition you should be able to mend to your advantage. You should oppose every law that asks for a strong action against Jihadis. This will win you a lot of secular votes. In fact, if anybody tries to condemn Jihadis, reply to them by talking about Hindutva terrorism and always portray Hindutva terrorism to be a greater threat than the Jihadis. Also, try to magnify every violent incident associated with the Hindutva forces and make them look bigger and more threatening than the Jihadis. You will be surprised to know how many hearts you will win.

A gullible disciple: Muslims are equally affected by Jihadi terrorism. What if they do not agree to our idea of being soft on terror?

Mr. secular Indian: You have to create a fear psychosis among the Muslims and tell them that the fight against Jihadis is actually a fight against Islam. Tell them all the stories about how young Muslims are being tortured in the name of this fight against the Jihadis and that this fight would only create more terrorists.

A gullible disciple: What if the majority community gets angry with us for being soft on terrorism?

Mr. secular Indian: You have to make sure that the majority community is not majority anymore by dividing them into multiple factions in the name of caste or regions or languages and so on. Then select some large but disenchanted groups among them and promise them greater opportunity in every field. Now you will be left with a select few smaller groups which will question you. This is where you have to work like a salesman and try to sell your idea of secularism. If they still question you, threaten them with thoughts that they might be tagged communal if they support the same ideas as those being supported by the BJP. This works wonderfully and helps people soften their stance on terrorism.

A gullible disciple: How can we deal with the symbols of worship and religion and still be secular?

Mr secular Indian: You do not have to worry about the symbols of a majority religion like Ram Sethu etc., but make sure you divide the majority community so much that they start believing that the artificial lines created by you are more important than their religious identity. If they still persist on retaining their identity, then tell them that they could be identified with the communal forces. This helps even hardliners change their stance. Then you can even talk about destroying those symbols to appease the secular forces. At the same time make sure you never do anything to dilute the sentiments of a minority community. Remember, this sentiment is your bread and butter. Your entire survival depends on the minorities retaining their religious identity.

A gullible disciple: How can we tackle the media?

Mr. secular Indian: The media will give you a red carpet welcome. Remember, Indian media is the mouth piece of secular forces. They have been either created by the secular forces or been made to buy our idea of secularism. They cannot exist in this country if they differ from our viewpoint. The fear psychosis we have created helps us to make the media dance to our tunes. When in any TV debates, you can score a lot of points by making anti BJP rhetoric’s. If you find yourself in any trouble, just raise the issue of Gujarat riots and portray Narendra Modi as a devil. You are sure to come out of any troubled situation.

A gullible disciple: If you are tagged as a communal, is there anything we can do to get back to the secular brigade?

Mr. secular Indian: This is very simple. It is like conversion from one religion to the other. The easier we make it, the more it boosts our strength. Even if you are in the communal alliance for sometime for your own political advantage, you can dump these communal forces whenever you feel they are redundant and join the secular brigade. Remember Naveen Patnaik. He was tagged communal and his party was called a principal architect of the Kandhmal violence by the Indian media and the secular forces alike. Though as soon as he dumped the BJP on the question of ‘winnability’, he became the poster boy for secularism and everything that happened in Kandhmal was portrayed as a BJP conspiracy. We made everyone believe that Naveen Patnaik was just having a difficult time dealing with them. Also remember Kalyan Singh, the principle architect of Babri demolition is now trying to jump into the secular bandwagon and the secular forces are trying every bit to find him a place in their bandwagon. You can perpetrate the most heinous communal crime, but you can be secular any time you renegade the BJP. Remember, BJP hatred is the core quality required to become secular and other factors do not matter as much.

I will stop here and hope all of you had a very good understanding of secularism. Now work hard on these principles and you will climb to great heights in your political career. We will discuss some other issues in the next class.

Throw Congress out Lock, Stock & Barrel
HINDU VOTE IS SACRED! USE IT WISELY!

Pak 'sharia' chief wants Islamic law for entire world

2009-05-07T19:37:00.001-07:00

Author: ANI
Publication: ExpressIndia.com
Date: February 19, 2009
URL: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Pak-sharia-chief-wants-Islamic-law-for-entire-world/425126/

After inking a deal with the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) government for implementation of Islamic law in the Swat Valley, the Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat Muhammadi (TNSM) chief Sufi Muhammad, has expressed his desire of implementation of a similar law over the whole world.

Expressing his hatred for people's rule, Muhammad said Islam does not have any mention of democracy or elections.

"From the very beginning, I have viewed democracy as a system imposed on us by the infidels. Islam does not allow democracy or elections," 'The Daily Times' quoted Muhammad, as saying.

He said that the continuous bloodbath in the region was due to the hesitant approach of different regimes in the country to accept the superiority of the Islamic law.

"Had the government accepted our demands in 1994, we would have not seen the violence we are seeing today," he said.

Muhammad said the authorities should have held dialogues with the Taliban before initiating military action against them, as it would have resulted in less violent activities.

He hoped that the new accord signed with the government would help the Taliban in establishing a complete Islamic state.

"I believe the Taliban government formed a complete Islamic state, which was an ideal example for other Muslim countries. Had this government remained intact, it could have led to the establishment of similar Islamic governments in many other countries," Muhammad said.

TALIBAN RADICALS SET TO WALK FREE FOLLOWING 'SHARIA' CAPITULATION

The inking of the so called 'peace deal' between the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) government and Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) would see several of the captured Talibani operatives walk free due to a 'give and take' policy being the cornerstone of the whole deal.

Talking to reporters here, NWFP Law Minister Arshad Abdullah said 'general amnesty' would be offered to the insurgents during the talks between Fazlullah led Taliban and Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) chief Sufi Mohammad.

"Amnesty to the Swat Taliban will be part of the peace talks between Sufi Mohammad and Fazlullah. Without amnesty Taliban would never agree for disarming in the region," 'The Daily Times' quoted Abdullah, as saying.

Stressing on the immediate need of restoring peace in the troubled Swat Valley, Abdullah said the prime objective of the government was to ensure return of routine life in the region, and disarmament of the militants.

Replying to a question, he said that the NWFP government had first taken the army and Pakistan's top spy agency while signing 'sharia' agreement with TNSM for implementation of peace in Malakand division.

Saudi School Textbooks Incite to Hatred and Violence

2009-05-07T19:26:00.001-07:00

Author: Dr. Sami Alrabaa
Publication: Family Security Matters
Date: January 23, 2009
URL: http://www.islam-watch.org/Sami/Saudi-Textbooks-Hatred-Violence.htm

Ahmed Al-Sarraf cited in Al-Qabas (June 2, 2007) some passages from a Kuwaiti school textbook taught at the first secondary grade. Here is an English translation of passages from the book, "Jurisprudence", page 38:

Who is, or who is not, punished in a Muslim society:

A Muslim who kills an apostate or someone who commits adultery against an infidel is not punished.
If a Muslim kills an infidel or a slave, he is not punished.
If a Muslim man, father, or grandfather kills someone from his offspring, he is not punished.

I went through school textbooks taught in Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. Here is an English translation of some passages from these books.

A fourth grade textbook on Monotheism and Religion instructs students:

"Any other religion other than Islam is invalid (false)." (P. 29 )

"Hate (yakrah) the polytheists and the infidels" as a requirement of "true faith." (P. 86)

5th Grade. Book: Monotheism and Religion:

*"Every religion other than Islam is invalid." (P. 33)

*"It is not permitted to be a loyal to non-Muslims, and to those who oppose God and His Prophet." (P. 14)

*"Whoever obeys the Prophet and accepts the oneness of God cannot be loyal to those who oppose God and His Prophet, even if they are his closest relatives." (P. 71)

*"A Muslim, even if he lives far away, is your brother in religion. Someone who opposes God, even if he is your brother by family tie, is your enemy in religion." (P. 73)

*"Just as Muslims were successful in the past when they came together in a sincere endeavor to evict the Christian crusaders from Palestine, so will the Arabs and Muslims emerge victorious, God willing, against the Jews and their allies if they stand together and fight a true jihad for God, for this is within God's power." (P. 75)

*"Jews are the people of the Sabbath, whose young people God turned into apes, and whose old people God turned into swine to punish them." "As cited in Ibn Abbas: The apes are Jews, the keepers of the Sabbath; while the swine are the Christian infidels of the communion of Jesus." (P. 83)

*"The clash between our [Muslim] community (umma) and the Jews and Christians has endured, and it will continue as long as God wills. In this hadith, Muhammad gives us an example of the battle between the Muslims and the Jews." (P. 113)

*"Narrated by Abu Hurayrah: The Prophet said, the hour [of judgment] will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them. [It will not come] until the Jew hides behind rocks and trees. [It will not come] until the rocks or the trees say, 'O Muslim! O servant of God! There is a Jew behind me. Come and kill him.'." (P. 114)

*"Muslims will triumph because they are right. He who is right is always victorious, even if most people are against him." (P. 117)

"A woman who shows in public any part of her body except that of her eyes will be punished by hellfire by almighty Allah." (P. 194)

"The infidels have established Christian hospitals and clinics and send medics all over the world. As one of the Christianizers said, 'Where you find people, you find pain. And where there's pain, there's a need for a doctor. And where there's a need for a doctor, there's an appropriate opportunity for missionary activity [Christianization].'" (P. 163)

"The infidels have founded many schools and universities in the Muslim world at various educational levels. These include: the American Universities of Beirut and Cairo, the Jesuit University, Robert College in Istanbul, Gordon [Memorial] College in Khartoum, and others too numerous to mention. (P. 186)

Teacher's Manual:

Grade 5:

Teach that after their death, non-Muslims will be sent to hell. (P. 30)

Quiz: Is it permissible to love the Jews and Christians? Of course no. Explain why. (P. 15)

Grade 8:

*Command Muslims to "hate" Christians, Jews, polytheists and other "unbelievers," including non-devout Muslims." (P. 14)

*Teach that the Crusades never ended, and identify the American Universities in Beirut and in Cairo, other Western and Christian social service providers, media outlets, centers for academic studies of Orientalism, and campaigns for women's rights as part of the modern phase of the Crusades. (P. 15)

*Teach that "the Jews and the Christians are enemies of the [Muslim] believers" (P. 16) and that "the clash between the two realms "continues until the Day of Resurrection." (P. 18)

*Instruct students not to "greet," "befriend," "imitate," "show loyalty to," "be courteous to", or "respect" non-believers. (P. 24)

Grade 9:

*Define jihad to include "wrestling with the infidels by calling them to the faith and battling against them," (P. 25) and assert that the spread of Islam through jihad is a "religious obligation." (P. 26) [the word qital, translated here as "battle," is derived from the verb qatala, "to kill," and is virtually never used metaphorically.]

*Instruct that "the struggle between Muslims and Jews" will continue "until the hour [of judgment]" and that "Muslims will triumph because they are right" and "he who is right is always victorious." (P. 27)

Grade 10:

*Cite a selective teaching of violence against Jews, while in the same lesson, ignoring the passages of the Quran and hadeeths [narratives of the life of the Prophet, Peace be upon Him, that counsel tolerance. (P. 28)

*Teach the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as historical fact and relate modern events to it. (P. 29)

*Discuss Jews in violent terms, blaming them for virtually all the "subversion" and wars of the modern world. (P. 30)

*"Give examples of false religions, like Judaism, Christianity, paganism, etc." (P. 66)

*"Explain that when someone dies outside of Islam, hellfire is his fate." (P. 67)

By the way, over 20 Saudi schools, each chaired by the local ambassador from Saudi Arabia, are located throughout the world, in Bonn, Berlin, Washington, Algiers, Ankara, Beijing, Djibouti, Islamabad, Istanbul, Jakarta, Karachi, Kuala Lumpur, London, Madrid, Moscow, Paris, Rabat, Rome, and Tunis.

In fact, you can find some of the above stuff in many school textbooks in all the Arab Gulf countries, Egypt, Kuwait, The United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Jordan. Fourteen-year-old boys' and girls' brains are stuffed with intolerance, animosity towards other religions and their followers.

Al Sarraf wonders, what is the point in devoting $150 million of Kuwaiti money to spend on disseminating tolerance and moderation in society when the foundation of society, the youth, are taught religious fanaticism and religio-centricism? Islam is a tolerant and moderate religion, but some zealous Muslims have hijacked it and are determined to interpret it their own way.

I disagree with Al Sarraf over the last point. Islam is partially tolerant and moderate. When you check out the Koran and Hadeeth (the prophet Muhammad's comments), you find out that Islam is also a violent faith. It preaches hatred and violence against non-Muslims and discriminates against women. (Check out "Is Islam a Violent Faith?").

What does all that imply in terms of the war on terror?

The war on Islamic terror will remain futile unless the free world forces Saudi Arabia and the other Arab oil countries on the Persian Gulf to remove hatred and violence from their school textbooks. The root causes of Islamic terror must be rooted out. This is not an internal issue and has nothing to do with freedom of speech. It impacts all of us and the world peace at large. The West must use all its leverage vis-à-vis these states to achieve this goal if it truly wants to gain the war on terror.

I'm also pretty sure that the more and more Muslims around the world who read the Koran thoroughly, many more of them would turn their back to Islam. According to a recent survey by Berlin University, 13% of male Muslims have read the Koran and among women it is only 7%.

Many Muslims around the globe, in particular non-Arabs, do not understand the Koran which is written in an old archaic Arabic. They learn about Islam from what their fanatic imams preach.

- FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Dr. Sami Alrabaa, an ex-Muslim, is a professor of Sociology and an Arab-Muslim culture specialist. Before moving to Germany he taught at Kuwait University, King Saud University, and Michigan State University.

Middle East Mired in a Culture of Hatred

Author: Dr. Sami Alrabaa
Publication: Islam Watch
Date: February 25, 2009
URL: http://www.islam-watch.org/Sami/Middle-East-Mired-in-Culture-of-Hatred.htm

A Palestinian presenter at Hamas's Al-Aqsa Television asks a little girl on a program for kids, "What do you want to become when you grow up?

The girl replies, "I want to become a mujahida [fighter]. I want to liberate Palestine. I want to throw all the Jews out of beloved Palestine. But before I die and join the Palestinian martyrs in paradise, I want to kill as many Israelis as possible like Reem Riyashi."

This is the kind of culture Hamas TV is spreading around amongst young Palestinians and other Arabs in the region. Hamas has its own satellite TV channel, radio station and newspapers and has used them to garner political support during its power struggle with Fatah.

Back in 2007, Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV aired a weekly show featuring a Mickey Mouse look-alike who urged children to support armed resistance against Israel. The character was beaten to death in the show's final episode by a character portraying an Israeli. The Hamas media effort is bankrolled by its leader in exile, Khaled Mashaal, who sends suitcases of cash, filled with money from Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Syria, which are smuggled into Gaza through tunnels from Egypt.

Secular and moderate Palestinians are appalled by the extremist propaganda of Hamas TV. Iyad Barghouthi, the director of the Ramallah Human Rights Center, says Al-Aqsa TV is a disturbing milestone in the rise of Islamist forces. Hamas's practices are reminiscent of those of the Taliban, he said. Barghouthi told Der Spiegel on-line, "Al-Aqsa TV is not only encouraging violence, it is also spreading fanatic Islamism and racism."

Hamas defied widespread criticism among Palestinians for using a young mother as a suicide bomber and even published photographs of her and her two small children, posing with weapons. Reem Riyashi, 22, blew herself up in 2004 and killed four Israelis at a Gaza border crossing after faking a disability to bypass a security check.

The anti-Israel media landscape throughout the Arab world is no better. In particular, the Syrian, the Saudi, and the Egyptian media are hawkish and propagandistic. Fair and objective analysis and information are non-existent.

The Syrian Minister of Tourism, Saadalla Agha al-Qalaa, told the newspaper Tishreen: "The Zionists are spreading bad propaganda about Syria to prevent tourists from visiting our country." That is apparently the main reason why few tourists, especially Westerners, come to Syria to spend their holidays, rather than the bad services which the country offers tourists. When I was in Damascus in 2006, I watched how tourists had to wait at least an hour before their passports were processed at the airport police control. There are only two categories of hotels: either first class or no class at all.

The Ba'ath regime is not interested in tourism. Tourists could infect the local population with ideas about democracy and human rights. Tourists would also tell the Syrians another story about the "decadent" and "unfair" West.

When I visited the southwestern border of Syria with Israel several years ago, I told my companion, a member of the Ba'ath party, "Look how green the Israeli side of the Golan Heights is." He interrupted, "It is all propaganda. With the help of the Americans, the Israelis have made it green, just to show off." I countered, "Why don't you allow the locals who were displaced during the 1973 war to return to their homes and make this part of Syria also green?" He responded, "It's dangerous. The Israelis could attack us any time."

Not just the media blame Israel for all the problems the Arab world has. School text books in all Arab countries depict an aggressive image of Israel. The gist of this image goes like this: Israel is an alien limb in the heart of the Arab nation. Palestine must be liberated from the Zionists as Saladin liberated Jerusalem from the Crusaders.

The culture of hatred must stop. Western governments must pressure Arab countries to introduce genuine freedom of speech, i.e., free media. Arab journalists and writers who deliver balanced articles on the Arab-Israeli conflict are banned from publishing. Arab regimes are suspicious of these people and, more often than not, they are arbitrarily put behind bars and accused of spying for the arch enemy, Israel.

I am one of those who have tried to publish articles in the Arab press about the Arab-Israeli conflict telling readers that the image of Israel as presented in the belligerent Arab discourse is distorted and fabricated. I have also stressed that if the Arab countries were as democratic as Israel, the conflict would disappear, and Israelis and Arabs would live in peace, side by side. If Arabs were objectively informed, they would choose to coexist with their Israeli neighbors. Ethnic and religious minorities are integrated in Israeli society and enjoy the same political rights as Jews. Muslim and Christian Arabs, for example, sit in the Knesset and say whatever they want and a Muslim Arab is a cabinet minister.

My articles have never been published. Arabs are not allowed to know the truth.

Western governments have to re-educate, at least, their Arab allies, as the Allies did with the Germans after World War II. The war on terror does not make any sense unless the root causes of extremism are uprooted in the media and in the schools.

Kashmir's Pandits accuse Election Commission of discrimination against them

2009-05-05T18:59:00.001-07:00

New Delhi, May 4 (ANI): Kashmir's Pandits staged a silent protest here, saying their names were struck off from the voters' list.

Most of Kashmiri Pandits live in Jammu, and the rest who fled the region reside mostly in New Delhi and other cities across the country. Only about 3,000 still reside in the Kashmir valley.

The number of Kashmiri Pandits on the voters' list has dropped from nearly 150,000 in 1996 to just 71,000 during the ongoing parliament polls.

Angry Pandits accused the independent Election Commission of discriminating against them.

Right to vote is the biggest asset in democracy, which the Election Commission of India is depriving us of. Our voting strength has been reduced from two hundred thousand to seventy thousand. Imagine the condition of Narendra Modi in Gujarat if 70,000 Muslim voters were removed from the voters list, but since it is a Hindu issue, therefore nobody is speaking, said Prashnik Kher, a protestor.

According to the National Human Rights Commission, about 300,000 Kashmiri Pandits have been forced to leave Kashmir. But Kashmiri groups peg the number of migrants closer to 500,000. (ANI)

First punish all real murderers of Swamiji and stop conversions to start peace process in Kandhamal

2009-05-05T18:54:00.001-07:00

Source: http://www.orissadiary.com/ShowOriyaColumn.asp?id=12419

By Sai Prasan, Kandhamal: The associates of Swami Laxmananada Saraswati’s Ashram located at Jalaspata in Kandhamal are not convinced with Orissa government’s projection of Maoist theory behind the murder of Hindu reformer last year August. They are furious, agitated as well as depressed that the internationalization of Nun rape case by the global media has slowed down the investigations of Swami’s murder case. They argue that Swami’s constant tussel with Christian leaders on the issues like Cow-slaughter and conversion over the years in Phulbani district is responsible for the brutal murder of Swamiji.

In fact, it is very interesting to witness the route to Jalaspata Ashram which is around 40-KM from Baliguda in Kandhamal. The road leading to Ashram is as good as any national highway, though a very houses are located at both the sides of the road. The entry of any stranger into the Ashram is allowed by the security forces after a through checking. The Ashram has been virtually cordoned off by the central security forces.

After the entry into the Ashram, the Ashramites also ask all kinds of questions to ensure that the visitors are not the representatives of Christian world. In a half-a-day long interaction, Kavichandra Nath, head of Jalaspata Ashram, has narrated how the murderers, a group of 12-15, have entered into the Ashram premises by jumping the boundary wall at 7.30 PM on August 23, 2008. The killers first killed two followers of Swamiji and then attacked Swamiji and pumped rest of the bullets into his body to ensure that he does not survive. The deep bullet marks still remain on the walls of the Ashram.

On the question of why Maoists killed Swamiji, Kavichandra Nath gets emotional and retorted back, “first you should understand the historical perspective of Swamiji’ murder, then you can come to a conclusion who killed him – Maoists or Christian missionaries”.

It is know to the people of Kandhamal that Swamiji had frequent tussles with the Christians leaders since his entry into Kandhamal way back in 1969. He had vehementally opposed conversions of Hindus into Christians. “Christian’s attacked him ten times earlier and he was killed on the eleventh attack”, he said. The previous attack on him was on December 24, 2009 in Darangbadi where Christian leader RK Naik has a strong hold.

Nath alleged that Christian leaders were considering Swami a hurdle to carry their agenda of conversions. He had time and again exposed the fake SC-ST certificates used by the Christians to avail the benefit of the government reservation. This irked Christian leadership including RK Naik and they developed a grudge against Swamiji. “The local police in tandem with the then SP of the district were also responsible for the murder of Swamiji”, he said.

Nath questioned, “why Maoists should murder Swamiji. They never had any clash with him”. The projection of Maoist theory behind Swamiji’s murder is misleading and far away from the truth.

With regards to conversions, “Christian missionaries use foreign funds to lure Hindus to convert. They offer education, medicine, cloths and all other things to convince people to convert”, he said.

Nath said a delegation of Peace Mission approached me to restore peace in Kandhamal. ”I asked them to first ensure to stop conversion of Hindus into Christianity to start peace process in the district. They returned back without commenting anything”, he said.

The Ashramites are yet to get over from the shock of Swamiji’s murder. The Ashram has 191 tribal girls studying from Class 6th to 10th. They study Indian culture and Sanskrit in their course curriculum.

The people of Kandhamal including Ashramites still suspect RK Naik and his associates responsible for the Swamijis murder. But, they get defensive when asked ”why Orissa government, where BJP was also a constituent, had withdrawn security cover just five days before his murder?”.

There appears to be a deep rooted political conspiracy behind Swamiji;s murder. Only an independent enquiry by a better equipped investigating agency like CBI can unearth the truth behind the murder of Swami Laxmanand Saraswati.

The innocent and unarmed Hindu victims of Godhra train massacre have not yet been heard even once in our loaded Courts of Law

2009-05-01T21:17:00.001-07:00

from S. Kalyanaraman
date Fri, May 1, 2009 at 8:10 AM
subject Godhra by Nicole Elfi

GODHRA by Nicole Elfi
http://www.jaia-bharati.org/nicole-elfi/ni-godhra.htm
http://sites.google.com/site/hindunew/gujarat-riots-myth(including English translation)

Godhra, a city of the Indian State of Gujarat, was the lead story in all Indian newspapers on February 27th-28th, 2002. A shattering piece of news: 58 Hindu pilgrims had been burned alive in a train. “57 die in ghastly attack on train” ran the Times of India’s headline; “Mob targets Ramsevaks [Devotees of Rama] returning from Ayodhya”; “58 killed in attack on train with Karsevaks [volunteers]” (The Indian Express); “1500-strong mob butcher 57 Ramsevaks on Sabarmati Express” (The Asian Age). But the BBC’s announcement had a very different tone: “58 Hindu ‘extremists’ burned to death” … or Agence France Press on March 2nd: “A train full of Hindu ‘extremists’ was burnt.”

A deluge of anguished news followed about a “Muslim genocide”: “Mass killings of Muslims in reprisal riots” (NYT, March 5th), “The authorities … share the prejudices of the Hindu gangs who have been busy pulping their Muslim neighbours” (The Observer, March 4th). We were told that Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat, intended to eradicate Muslims from the State — more than 9% of Gujarat’s population, in other words five million people. We read that the police was conniving in the mass slaughter and did nothing to prevent it. Narendra Modi
was compared to Hitler, or Nero. We shuddered reading the reports describing rapes and various horrors, supposedly inflicted on Muslims by Hindus.

Today, six years later, with the noises and cries of the wounds having fallen silent, what emerges from those events? What are the facts?

At 7:43 A.M. on February 27th, 2002, the Sabarmati Express rolled into the Godhra station, fortunately with a four-hour delay, in broad daylight. This train transported more than 2,000 people, mainly karsewaks on their way back to Ahmedabad after participating in the Poorna Ahuti Yagya at Ayodhya, a ritual at the traditional birthplace of Rama.

As it pulled out of the station, the train was pelted with stones and bricks, and passengers from several bogeys were forced to bring down their windows to protect themselves. Someone pulled the emergency chain: the train came to a halt about 100 metres away from the platform, surrounded by a large crowd of Muslims. The railway police managed to disperse the crowd, and the train resumed its journey.

Within minutes, the emergency chain was simultaneously pulled again, from several coaches. It halted at about 700 metres from the station. A crowd of over 1,000 surrounded the train, pelting it with bricks, stones, then burning missiles and acid bulbs, especially on the S-5, S-6 and S-7 coaches.

The vacuum pipe between coaches S-6 and S-7 was cut, thereby preventing any further movement of the train. The doors were locked from outside. A fire started in coach S-7, which the passengers were able to extinguish. But the attack intensified and coach S-6 caught fire and minutes later, was in flames. Passengers who managed to get out of the burning compartment were attacked with sharp weapons, and stoned. They received serious injuries, some were killed. Others got out through the windows and took shelter below the coach.

Fifty eight pilgrims were burned alive, including twenty-seven women and ten children.

The whole attack lasted 20-25 minutes. What transpired then, in the Indian press? Let’s imagine a coach of French pilgrims coming back from Lourdes, burned alive. Strangely, instead of clearly, straightforwardly condemning the act, the Indian English-language press tried to justify it: “Pilgrims provoked by chanting pro-Hindu slogans” (they were not slogans but bhajans, or devotional songs, ending with “Jai Sri Ram” (Victory to Sri Rama). “It’s because they were returning from Ayodhya, where they asked for the reconstruction of a temple at the traditional birth place of Rama; this offends the feelings of the Muslims.” In sum, the victims, roasted alive, were guilty.

Shamelessly communal and biased Indian media

2009-05-01T21:12:00.001-07:00

from Yashwini
date Fri, May 1, 2009 at 9:41 AM
subject MEDIA COMMUNALISM

If the media really believed that Varun Gandhi’s speech would cause unrest among a section of the people, did the repeat telecasts of the speech make any sense? S R RAMANUJAN finds the media’s indignation hypocritical.

In one of his responses to media "interrogation", Jawaharlal Nehru's great grandson and a political debutant Varun Gandhi said that he was being targeted simply because he was a "Gandhi".

What he probably meant was that because he was an "estranged Gandhi", he was on the firing line of his rivals (no prizes for guessing who they are) and specially the English media. The speech that was attributed to him, doctored or otherwise, was certainly not in good taste.

His defence that the fact that his speech did not incite any single individual for nearly 15 days was by itself a pointer that there was no malice on his part, may not wash either.

However, the role of media is certainly open to question. While reporting that it was a "hate speech" "blatantly communal" etc, did the media behave responsibly by telecasting the tape umpteen times a day for the last few days?

If the media really believed that the speech was intended to or likely to cause unrest among a section of the people, do the repeat telecasts of the speech make any sense, or does it show the media as a responsible institution?

When the Election Commission sincerely believes that it was indeed a "hate speech" and might cause communal disturbances, it should have intervened and restrained the media from repeat telecast. They did their job by reporting the event with the CD supplied to all channels by a mysterious source.

Follow up stories need not always be with the same offensive CD. Finding an excuse to repeat the telecast of the CD only exposes the channels' real intentions. It also helps those who charge the mainline channels of being anti-majority.

Though conventional ethics demands that the source need not be disclosed, on instances like this, where the CD is not the result of the efforts put in by the reporting staff, revealing the source might help viewers make up their mind as to the intentions of those behind the CD that is dished out to them at least a dozen times a day, irrespective of the genuineness of the CD. Particularly so when Varun is harbouring a conspiracy theory. This is analogous to the tendency of both print and electronic media to decry obscenity while showing obscene pictures on the pretext of dealing with the subject, in the process titillating readers and viewers.

Varun Gandhi made certain observations relating to the context in which he made objectionable statements. He was citing atrocities, real or imaginary, committed on the majority community in the border constituency of Pilibhit.

Should not the media make its own independent investigation into the charges made by the fresher in politics rather than repeating the telecast of the same CD? Is the media afraid that it will not help its ultra secular image?

When National Conference leader Omar Abdullah made a speech during the Trust Vote in the Lok Sabha stating that he was proud to be a Muslim and an Indian, the fell all over his speech, declaring it the best speech in recent times in Parliament. He was equivocal on the Amarnath issue during the speech and his role during the Amarnath agitation is no secret to the citizens of this country. But the media did not think he was communal or practising divisive politics when he spoke for Muslims.

Take the case of the Majlis-e-Ittehaadul Muslimeen (MIM). Everyone knows how rabidly communal the party is. The MIM was an ally of the UPA in the last elections. Now, the party wants to have the veto power in the appointment of Police Commissioners or Director General of Police in Andhra Pradesh.

MIM President Asaduddin Owaisi petitioned the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of AP against the inclusion of a particular officer in the panel for the top Police post stating that his "communal and high-handed" behaviour had alienated him from "the Muslims of Andhra Pradesh". So, the basic pre-condition for appointment to the top police post, it seems, is that he/she should enjoy the confidence of the minority community. If the majority community makes a similar demand, we know what the reaction of the media will be. The community or its leaders will attract instant criticism that they are divisive and communal. But the national media is silent over the MIM's demand.

Abdul Nassar Madhani's alleged terror links and the Kerala CPI-M's proximity to him is no news for the national media. Interestingly, while the chief minister betrays his helplessness on the issue stating that it takes time for him to get information from his intra-party rival and the state home minister, the latter feels there is no need for an enquiry into Madanis' terror links. The party wants Madani's PDP support to win elections. Never mind the fundamentalist nature of the PDP's policies and programmes. For the uninitiated, Madani was accused of master-minding the Coimbatore blast in the nineties to assassinate L K Advani who, however, had a narrow escape.

(Madani was acquitted of all charges in this case in 2007. Ed.)

The latest is Imran Kidwai's Chandigarh speech. Though he made the "hate speech" on March 15 closer to Delhi and not in far off Pilibhit, and the BJP petitioned the EC on March 19 with the CD which was circulated to the media by the party, the national media do not seem to have picked up the story. Imran Kidwai is a senior Congress leader and he said "I regret not being a mufti. Had I been one, I would have issued just one fatwa that going with the BJP amounts to committing kufr".

AICC in-charge for Punjab Moshina Kidwai and party candidate and Union Minister Pawan Bansal were reportedly present at the public meeting in which Imran is alleged to have made this statement. This seems to be a perfectly secular sermon for our media. Hence, the deafening silence?

In contrast, on the same day, Mallika Sarabhai's decision to take on Advani in Gandhinagar was a great developing story for most of the national channels. There was a "live" debate with her in at least two English channels. While the anchors conceded that there was "negligible" chance of her winning, and that her real intention may be to hog publicity, the debate, nevertheless, continued for quite some time. Of course, in all fairness to her, she maintained that her foray into electoral politics was not to score a point or two on secularism.

An interesting side-show to this secular-communal diatribe is the petition filed by the "Vaishnavites" of Andhra Pradesh before the CEO, Hyderabad, against the CPI-M state secretary B V Raghvulu who asked the state finance minister K Rosaiah to wear "namam" and roam the streets of Andhra Pradesh as a mendicant. Vaishnavites felt that their sentiments were hurt by Raghavulu's statement as he ridiculed their sacred "namam". For the uninitiated, what the Chief Election Commissioner Gopalaswamy wears on his forehead is "namam". Even this story had no takers in the national media.

The lesson, therefore, is that communalism, whether prefixed with the labels like "majority" or " minority", is not confined to men occupying political space in this country. The media is also not untainted by it.

Is "Tamil Eelam" a Christian agenda?

2009-04-29T19:40:00.001-07:00

B R Haran
29 Apr 2009

The White Christian Church has the unique characteristic of gaining entry into non-White, non-Semitic civilizations, by slow infiltration of important establishments to influence them and create unrest by dividing the local populace along communal or linguistic lines, with the sole objective of Christianising those countries.

Several instances in history confirm this. The Church has been partially successful in India, as evidenced by the Christianisation of north-eastern states such as Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, etc., and a few pockets in other States. While interior states have been able to withstand the Christian onslaught, the southern coastal states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have been vulnerable to the evil designs of the Church. This was made possible only because of the help provided by self-serving political leaders in the guise of secularism.

Influencing politics in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka

The Dravidian Movement of Tamil Nadu comprised only such leaders, who even went to the extent of requesting the British to continue their hegemony over Tamil Nadu. Since then, the unholy ‘Christian-Dravidian’ nexus has worked consistently for the cause of ‘Tamil Nation,’ extending it to the north-east of Sri Lanka as well.

Just as it divided the Tamil people through the bogus ‘Aryan (Brahmin) – Dravidian (Non-Brahmin) Theory,’ to alienate non-Brahmins from the ‘Hindu’ fold along linguistic lines (Aryan Sanskrit – Dravidian Tamil), the Church similarly divided the Sri Lankan people along linguistic (Sinhala-Tamil) lines. On the one hand, it backed the LTTE fully against the government, and on the other, it successfully infiltrated the Sri Lankan establishment and influenced the government through Sinhala Christian leadership.

When Sri Lankan Prime Minister Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike introduced the “Sinhala only Act” in 1956, the Island’s first anti-Tamil riots took place. Prior to Solomon Bandaranaike, the Sri Lankan government was headed by leaders like Don Stephen Senanayake and John Kotelawala, and his successors were Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Dudley Senanayake, Junius Richard Jayewardene, Premadasa, Ranil Wickramasinghe, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge (married a Christian), Percy Mahinda Rajapakse, who were all either Christians, or Buddhist converts, or married to Christian spouses.

The first Sri Lankan Tamil leader who started the demand for separatism was a Christian - Samuel James Velupillai Chelvanayakam; he also called for a “Greater Dravida Nadu” on both sides of the Palk Straits.

It can be said that LTTE just followed his footsteps, backed by the Church and missionaries. Ever since ethnic riots took place in 1983, Anton Balasingham, a Roman Catholic, assumed the mantle of LTTE’s political leadership and was second only to Prabhakaran, also a Christian.

Ironically, the 85% Hindu majority of Sri Lankan Tamils came totally under the control of a Christian minority leadership, thanks to the Machiavellian machinations of the Church and missionaries. It is difficult to swallow this bitter truth, especially when recalling the glorious past of Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus under the leadership of great Shaivite scholars like Arumuga Navalar, great men like Ponnambalam Ramanathan and Ponnambalam Arunachalam, and intellectuals like the Coomaraswamys. All were widely respected by the Buddhists in Sri Lanka and Ponnambalam Ramanathan was the one who pushed for “Wesak” or “Buddha Purnima” to be a public holiday in colonial Sri Lanka.

As for Tamil Nadu, though the Church suffered a slight setback when M.G. Ramachandran left DMK and founded the AIADMK, deviating from “Atheism” to “Theism” (moving closer to Hindu religion), and his successor Jayalalithaa followed his footsteps (at least for a while), it seemed to have cleverly moved its coins to influence AIADMK too. Now we have a host of Dravidian parties changing alliances at the drop of a hat and even at each others’ throats, but remaining perennially close to the Church.

So, whichever party is in power, the Church is able to have its say and continue with its agenda of de-Hinduising the state. Similarly, in Sri Lanka, the Church has been able to influence the leadership of both LTTE and the Sri Lankan government, while causing the death of thousands of Hindus and Buddhists in the decades-long conflict. The Church has also been indulging in blatant conversion activities in both Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.

Influencing Jayalalithaa for the greatest assault on Hinduism

At one point, the Church found it difficult in Tamil Nadu, due to the enormous influence of Melmaravathur Adiparasakthi Movement and Sabarimala Pilgrimage on Scheduled Caste Hindus, and the various activities undertaken by Kanchi Mutt to reach out to them, besides the enactment of the anti-conversion law by the Jayalalithaa regime.

But the Church finally succeeded in influencing Jayalalithaa after her party’s rout in the 2004 parliament elections, resulting in two telling actions. First, she repealed the anti-conversion law, enacted by her own government, to appease the Christian community; secondly, she went to the extent of denigrating and destroying the sanctity of a 2500-year-old institution established by Adi Sankara and flawlessly maintained by his order of disciples as ‘Jagath Gurus’ for millions of Hindus.

Not surprisingly, in October 2004, she received the ‘Golden Star for Dignity and Honour’ (Thanga Tharakai) award from a Ukraine-based Christian organisation named International Human Rights Defence Committee, controlled by America and funded by ‘US Agency for International Development’ (USAID).

The Indian representative for IHRDC was Mallavarappu Prakash, Bishop of Vijayawada and later Chairman of Tamil Nadu Minorities Welfare Commission! In February 2005, the ‘India International Society’, USA, proposed a tribute for her together with 'Barath Jyothi' award, after which evangelist K.A. Paul came to Tamil Nadu in a private jet to give thousands of crores of rupees for Tsunami relief.

Jaya pursuing Christian agenda

Since then, Jayalalithaa has clearly sided with the Christian clergy. Last year, while terming the spontaneous ‘retaliatory’ attacks on Christians in Kandhamal, Orissa, as a “disgrace” to the nation, she conveniently ignored the dastardly murder of Swami Laxmanananda and his disciples, and the distribution of blasphemous literature and pamphlets denigrating Hindu Gods and Goddesses, by his opponents. When the Rama Sethu Protection Movement was at its peak, she spoke against the Sethusamudram Project, not with true faith in Sri Rama, but with an eye on the votebank. And while protesting against the Sethu Project, she exhibited her 'secular' credentials by pointing out that ‘Adams Bridge’ (Ramar Sethu) was significant to Muslims and Christians as well, a myth which no Christian or Muslim scholar has so far endorsed!

Even the present election manifesto of her party makes only a passing mention of Rama Sethu! Yet it gives exclusive commitments for Christians, such as Reservation for Dalit Christians (unconstitutional), subsidy for Jerusalem pilgrimage, ‘All Souls Day’ to be made a holiday, hostels with all facilities at nominal charges in towns of minority religious significance, and addressing the ‘security’ concerns of minorities.

But she gave no commitments regarding repeal of the DMK government’s ordinance on Tamil New Year or returning the Chidambaram Temple administration to the Dikshidars, or any issue concerning Hindus. As if to confirm allegiance to the Christian agenda, she deviated from her original stand on the Sri Lankan ethnic issue and sat on a day-long fast on 9 March 2009, condemning the Indian government’s alleged inaction on the issue and addressed the LTTE as “fighters” instead of her usual remark of “terrorists”. Now she has openly supported the Christian agenda of creation of a separate Tamil Eelam, which amounts to supporting the LTTE and nothing else. After all, the Church-backed LTTE leadership is also fighting for the same cause!

Sabotaging the legislation on conversion in Sri Lanka

In 2003, Sri Lankan Buddhist and Hindu leaders joined hands to draft a legislation, at the request of Hindu Affairs Minister T. Maheswaran, to legally stop conversion activities by the Church. Despite the pressure applied by this joint committee which worked for six months to draft the new act for parliament, the Church-influenced Sri Lankan government has been reluctant to enact the law.

As the Church foresaw that Buddhist-Hindu unity - unity between majority (Buddhists) and the largest minority (Tamil Hindus) - could lead to permanent peace in the war-struck Island, it sabotaged the process of legislation by favouring the creation of an inter-religious council to hammer out a solution. This so-called inter-religious council is a typical Christian strategy (much like the Church-backed inter-faith dialogues in non-Christian countries) to thwart all attempts to ban conversions by an act of parliament; the same has been adopted by the Vatican to stop such legislations in India as well. Though organizations such as ‘All Ceylon Hindu Congress’ (though pro-LTTE), ‘Hindu Council of Sri Lanka’ and ‘National Council of Buddhist Clergy’ are dead against conversion activities, the Church has been able to influence the political leadership across the spectrum to sabotage the legislation of the anti-conversion law
(http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=20884 ).

In this context, it must be noted that the former Hindu Affairs Minister in Ranil Wickramasinge’s cabinet T. Maheswaran escaped an assassination attempt in 2004, but was finally assassinated on 1 January 2008 while worshipping in a Shiva Temple. Till date, the government has not completed investigations in to the murder, though it has been blamed for allegedly reducing his security level and for continuing minister Douglas Devananda, widely alleged to be involved in the assassination. The government put the blame squarely on LTTE and Douglas Devananda also denied the allegation of involvement. The BBC Sinhala.com reported, “The DNA samples taken from the murder suspect of a Tamil legislator matched with the blood samples taken from the gun used for the killing, Sri Lankan judiciary said. The legislator’s security guard managed to shoot the suspect, identified as Johnson Collin Wasanthan Valentine
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._Maheswaran and
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sinhala/news/story/2008/02/080201_maheswaran_dna.shtml ).

Importance of Hindu-Buddhist relationship

As early as June 1998, ‘Tamilnet’ reported that an International conference on Hinduism condemned attacks on Hindus and the destruction of Hindu places of worship by Sri Lankan security forces, and urged Colombo to halt such attacks. The report said that, the ‘First International Conference on Hindu Solidarity’ was held in Paris on 27-28 June at the UNESCO auditorium and attended by delegates from several countries, including functionaries from BJP and VHP (http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=1691).

Though this seems like a conflict between Buddhist and Hindu communities, it must be understood that the security forces are controlled by a political leadership owing allegiance to the Church. The centuries-old cultural relationship and largely peaceful existence of both the Sinhala Buddhists and Tamil Hindus can be ascertained from two facts.

First, their coming together to draft a legislation against conversion activities of the Church and missionaries, and second, the statement from the Hindu Council of Sri Lanka that the long-standing cordial relationship between the two religious communities in the Island Nation would go a long way in solving the present crisis and creating peace and harmony.

It is pertinent to note that Buddhists worship Hindu Gods and Goddesses and Hindus worship Buddha as an Avatar of Maha Vishnu, and both communities follow the same calendar and celebrate the same day as New Year. While condemning the politicisation of the ethnic conflict by self-serving politicians of Tamil Nadu, the Hindu Council felt that areas of common interests must be identified and along with religious commonality and cordiality, local capacities built for peace. It opined that furthering political interests and fanning Tamil chauvinism must be discouraged as it would complicate the situation and inhibit the capacity of the Indian government to help find a lasting solution by bringing both the Sri Lankan government and the Tamils to the negotiating table.

BJP-led NDA government’s proactive role in the peace process

Journalist M.R. Narayan Swamy (IANS) reported that the Vajpayee government played a secret but vital proactive role in the peace process between Sri Lanka and LTTE, brokered by Norway: “Overseen by New Delhi, a truce document began to be drafted. Norway was deeply involved in the exercise, roping in some of its veteran diplomats. Eventually, this translated into CFA. India also told Norwegian diplomats to let the LTTE know about the Indian involvement in the entire effort. On Feb 21, 2002, LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran signed the CFA. Wickramasinghe put his signature a day later.”

By sheer coincidence, both Ranil Wickramasinghe and A.B. Vajpayee lost power almost at the same time (April-May 2004) and J.N. Dixit, appointed NSA by Sonia-led UPA regime, passed away within a few months of his appointment, with all the details about India’s role in bringing the CFA, which he learnt from Ranil Wickramasinghe, when the later visited India after demitting office. It is natural for a Hindu nationalist party to be deeply concerned about the well-being of a country who’s Buddhist and Hindu people are both tied to Hindu India by an umbilical cord; hence it is no surprise that it tried to bring peace in the interests of both countries. Why did the CFA fail and whether the Sonia-led government pursued the policy of the Vajpayee government with regard to Sri Lanka remain unknown?
(http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=79&artid=24710 ).

The present scenario

At present, all Dravidian parties are wreaking havoc in the run-up to the general elections, using the inflammatory Eelam issue as an election talking point. Each party is trying to whip up emotions in Tamil Nadu to bring about a ceasefire in Lanka and thereby save Prabhakaran and the LTTE.

When the Father Jagat Gasper Raj-Kanimozhi combine floated the “Chennai Sangamam” cultural extravaganza in 2007, Jaya TV went to town with investigative reports on the LTTE connections of Gasper Raj; Jayalalithaa wasted no time condemning the government’s association with the project. But last year, both Jayalalithaa and her TV channel kept a conspicuous silence during the Chennai Sangamam festival.

During the last week alone, Father Gasper Raj has been promoted by mainstream electronic media as a representative of Sri Lankan Tamils! Participating in debates on electronic news channels, he blatantly supports LTTE in the guise of voicing human rights concerns, criticizes the Indian government, and in one debate on Times Now Channel had the audacity to call Dr. Subramanian Swamy a “paid agent of Rajapakse”! Yet it is unclear if he is a Sri Lankan refugee or an Indian citizen. His antecedents and present activities in India/Tamil Nadu need thorough investigation.

AIADMK leader Jayalaithaa, who condemned Karunanidhi for saying Prabhakaran was not a terrorist, has not reacted to her ally PMK leader Ramadoss’ identical statement! Why does Jayalalithaa, who questioned Sonia’s silence on Karuna’s statement, remain silent on Ramadoss’ statement?

And what has the Italian-Christian-led UPA done for Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus in the last five years? Why didn’t the Sonia-led regime follow the NDA policy with regard to the Sri Lankan Tamil issue? Why was her government silent when the Geneva round of talks failed despite the presence of a live CFA?

Sad irony, and civilisational opportunity

Actually, the West and the Church want to Christianise Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu and form a larger Tamil Christian State. Hence a Sinhala-Tamil divide has been created with the help of the Tamil-Christian leadership of the LTTE and the Sinhala-Christian leadership of Sri Lanka.

Caught in between are the Sinhala Buddhist and Tamil Hindu civil populace. To keep the issue alive without any solution, the Christian leadership of India and the Dravidian, irreligious leadership of Tamil Nadu have been used, just as this diabolic group is using Dravidian politicians and Christian NGOs who have been harvesting souls in both Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. It is a sad irony that the interests of hapless Tamil Hindus of Sri Lanka, who have been persecuted for long by both the Christian leadership of LTTE and the Christian leadership of Sri Lankan government, have been represented by the unholy Christian-Dravidian nexus in Tamil Nadu.

As things stand in Sri Lanka, it looks as though the West might be able to save the LTTE leadership. It will try to send missionaries and NGOs to help the rehabilitation process, so it can clandestinely achieve its evangelical agenda also.

It is said that President Rajapakse instructed setting up of a chapel in the ‘welfare villages’ to look into the spiritual needs of the internally displaced persons and refugees, who number up to 200,000. Sensing the danger of evangelization, the Hindu Council, the Hindu Women’s Society (Saiva Mangaiyar Kazhagam), the Sai Samithi, along with other organizations, swung into action to provide medicines, clothes, soaps, detergents and sanitary napkins and other articles of basic necessity, to augment the shelter, food and water provided by the government. The Hindu Council has also organized singing of Tamil devotional hymns (Thevaram and Thiruvasagam); the Sai Samithi has organized bhajans. These organizations are likely to take care of orphaned children by sending them to orphanages run by the Sri Ramakrishna Mission.

The present situation must be seen as an opportunity to revive Hindu-Buddhist unity and Hindu religious heads from India, especially from Tamil Nadu, would do well to establish contact and communication channels with Buddhist leaders of Sri Lanka. This will go a long way in bringing peace and harmony to the Island Nation. For this to happen, we need a strong “Hindu” political leadership in India. Let us hope it gets ‘elected’ now.

The author is a senior journalist; he lives in Chennai

Cry O my beloved India: look at what Thy children have done to Thee

2009-04-29T19:29:00.003-07:00

While traitors are unhanged, monks suffer
Francois Gautier
New Indian Express
April 26, 2009

When Alan Paton wrote Cry The Beloved Country he was lamenting how the whites could devise, construct and implement race and colourbased social and economic injustices over the blacks in apartheidera South Africa. ‘Cry O my Beloved India’ could be very well applied to our politics, for things have gone to such a pitch of unfair, blatant and outrageousness that it baffles the mind. Yet neither the politicians, nor most of the press find anything wrong in it. Just a few examples: Varun Gandhi spent nearly three weeks in jail under the NSA, just because he said something that might be reprehensible.

But many mullahs spew fire and venom in their Friday discourse in numerous mosques in India — and none ever gets arrested, because riots would erupt immediately.

Sadhvi Pragnya, a Hindu woman monk, has been languishing in jail for months, even though no conclusive proof has been brought forward of her direct involvement in the Malegaon blasts case. Recently she was assaulted by a Muslim inmate at Byculla Jail and sustained injuries to her face, nose and neck. But you have the Islamist leader Abdul Nasser Madani, a prime accused in the Coimbatore bomb blasts, which cost the life of 60 people, who is standing for election in Kerala with the full backing of the CPI-M.

In Orissa, the police arrested the BJP candidate from Kandhamal constituency, Ashok Sahu, because he accused the church of using foreign money to induce innocent tribals to convert — which is a well documented fact, please read Tehelka’s cover story.

Yet terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab, who went on killing people as if he was strolling in a mall, is enjoying a royal life. The entire Arthur jail has been vacated for him. 11.000 pages of his indictment charges are going to be translated in Urdu, just because he has asked for it and the court has even sanctioned the absurdity of DNA tests to determine his age. The entire country wants him judged quickly and hanged, but to please a minority, the Congress is dithering.

In the same way, the President of India, who is pliant to the will of the Congress, will not allow Afzal Guru, who has committed treason against his own country, to be hanged, till elections are over, for fear of alienating the Muslim vote. Yet the Congress keeps telling us Indian Muslims are patriotic. Then, why should it fear losing its votes when it hangs a traitor? Nobody thought two times about hanging Godse.

The LTTE blew up Rajiv Gandhi in a totally senseless and cruel manner, just because he was on the verge of becoming PM again. But today, because of Tamil Nadu votes, Rajiv’s widow, Sonia, sent emissaries to Sri Lanka to pressure the government to effect a ceasefire just as it is about to wipe out the LTTE after 25 years of a bloody civil war. Does it make sense to you?

India is about equality and rising above castes; yet since 1947, politicians of this country, particularly the Congress, and later V P Singh, Mulayam Singh, or Lalu Prasad, have divided India along castes and religious lines.

But Mayawati tops them all: she gave a push to her prime ministerial aspirations, promising Scheduled Caste status to 16 more castes if she takes power at the Centre.

In India, you are supposed to be elected with Rs 10 lakh of white money. But everybody knows that to become an MP today, you need Rs 10 crore, as you have to boast of a hundred-car caravan when you go campaigning, hire private planes, helicopters, gift free saris, dhotis, televisions, cash even, more and more. So where do you get the balance in black money? From corrupt businessmen, from the mafia, from kickbacks.

The tragedy is that the Indian press does not play its role, because not many mainstream newspapers or television channels complained when Varun Gandhi was in jail, while Madani, a criminal who has the lives of 60 innocent people on his hands, was not only scot free, but was standing for MP with the full backing of a political party, whose leader just said that he would not refuse the post of Prime Minister.

The real problem is that India has been colonised for too long, contrary to China whose people remain proud of their culture and intensely nationalistic. It has resulted in a deep-rooted inferiority complex in the Indian psyche, where every intellectual is always looking towards the West for approval and Indians are so obsessed with having the western type of democracy, without adapting it to the Indian conditions.

The system has become so perverted that only radical surgery to remove the diseased parts will start the indispensable cleansing process.

Cry O my beloved India: look at what Thy children have done to Thee…

Over zealous crusader

2009-04-29T19:29:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, 22 April, 2009 , 02:34 PM
By: V Sundaram

In these columns, on 22 February 2008, under the title ‘From Haj Subsidy to Bethlehem Subsidy’, I had observed as follows: ‘Make no mistake. Y Samuel Rajasekara Reddy is a known Seventh Day Adventist Christian committed to the cause of evangelical destruction of Hinduism, Hindu Society and Hindu Culture. First he tried to initiate a process of Evangelical Conversion through devious means by attempting to convert the whole Thirupathi Venkatachalapathy Hill Temple Complex (together with all the sacred Hills surrounding it) into a Seventh Day Adventist Christian Church Complex. This led to massive public protests all over India and the world. And Y Samuel Rajasekara Reddy was forced to withdraw not so much as to protect Lord Venkateshwara of Thirupathi as to protect the temporary seals of his Office as Chief Minister.

Earlier in these very columns on 4 July 2006, I had brought to public view the anti-Hindu maneuveres of this Chief Minister in these telling words:

‘In Andhra Pradesh we have a Congress Government under a Christian Chief Minister who takes instructions from an effete UPA Government in New Delhi. The Andhra Pradesh Government has been using its official Agencies for purposes of State-sponsored, State-aided and State-abetted Proselytism in Andhra Pradesh in a shamelessly flagrant manner during the last two years. Y Samual Shekara Reddy seems to be under the mistaken impression that he behave like Henry VIII (1509-1547) of Tudor England and that he can take Andhra Pradesh back to the 16th century using the International Roman Catholic might of the UPA Government in New Delhi. ....... Y. Samuel Rajasekara Reddy is actively promoting the physical and psychological encroachment upon the sacred spaces of Hinduism in a planned manner through carefully planted Christian Missionary Agencies.’

The legitimate fears expressed by me on 4 July 2006 and later reiterated again on 22 February, 2008, have come true today. I AM GIVING BELOW IN BROAD OUTLINE THE DETAILS OF THE ABOMINABLE AND PREPOSTEROUS SCHEMES OF ANDHRA PRADESH GOVERNMENT TO PROMOTE THE WELFARE OF CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS ONLY, TO THE STRICT EXCLUSION OF ALL THE HINDUS. With an eye on Parliamentary Elections in 2009, Y Samuel Rajashekara Reddy announced at the beginning of 2008 that his Government will ‘extend the Haj pilgrim scheme to Christian minorities also for their religious visits to Christian holy lands in Israel’. No other Roman Catholic Christian country like France or Italy in Europe or any other Roman Catholic Country in South America gives any subsidy to any of its citizens to go on holy pilgrimages to Bethlehem!!

In another article in these columns in March 2008, I stated as follows: ‘It clearly brings out the disgusting state of appalling ignorance that prevails in the higher echelons of the State Government about the underlying principles of a secular state defined under the Indian Constitution. This is nothing but craven and blatantly discriminatory MINORITY APPEASEMENT POLITICS at its worst and this has been done with focus only on the Parliamentary Elections to take place next year. During the last two years, Samuel Rajasekara Reddy has taken a subterranean disingenuous route to introduce job and education quotas for Muslims in order to avoid legal scrutiny. And now through his Christian subsidy for pilgrimages to Bethlehem and Jerusalem by plundering the public exchequer, he earnestly hopes that he will be able to swing the votes of Christians, who comprise 1.5 per cent of the State’s population, in favour of the Congress. Viewed on a larger national canvas, Samuel Rajasekara Reddy’s deplorable ploy is only a logical extension of the Congress game of subsidy politics introduced by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru after our independence on 15 August 1947. India is the only country in the world which gives the subsidy to the Haj Muslim Pilgrims. No Islamic country in the world gives this benefit to the Muslims.’

For those who want documentary evidence regarding the excessive pro-Christian or pro-Islamic zeal of Andhra Pradesh Government, I would say here it is. I have collected all the Government Orders (GO) by the Government of AP allotting funds to various Churches in Andhra Pradesh. My source of information is no secret either. It is the online portal of Govt of Andhra Pradesh listing all the GOs it has issued. The government portals are treasure houses of information; you just have to know how to dig out what you need. I am just giving samples of two GOs below relating to sanction of Government Money for the Construction of Churches!

http://suryassk.googlepages.com/AP_GOs.htm

GRANT-IN-AID SANCTIONED BY GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH TO VARIOUS CHRISTIAN CHURCHES FROM FEB 2008 TO JAN 2009

(DATA COLLECTED FROM OFFICIAL PORTAL FOR GO’S OF GOVT OF ANDHRA PRADESH. PLEASE REFER TO THE SITE FOR THE COMPLETE PDFS OF THE GO’S)

The Christians are the most favoured citizens. Likewise the Muslims are also the favoured Children of the state. I am giving below some samples regarding GRANT-IN-AID to Wakf boards.

GRANT-IN-AID SANCTIONED BY GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH TO VARIOUS WAKF BOARDS FROM FEB 2008 TO JAN 2009

(DATA COLLECTED FROM OFFICIAL PORTAL FOR GO’S OF GOVT OF ANDHRA PRADESH. PLEASE REFER TO THE SITE FOR THE COMPLETE PDFS OF THE GO’S)

The following is the summary of the data I have collected from the GO Portal:

1. The GO portal is active only from February 2008, hence the data I have given relates only to 1 year (i.e., Feb 2008 to Jan 2009). An amount of 263.07 lakh has been shown as aid given to Christian institutions. This amount is the minimum spent on them, not the maximum.2. More than 258 churches benefited from these grants for construction/renovation of churches.3. An amount of 1316.54 lakh was given as aid to various Muslim institutions through Wakf boards. 4. Not a single GO granting any aid to a Hindu temple can be found. This in spite of the fact that in AP, the Hindu temples are managed by the Endowments Ministry (put it simply they take all the money which the temples generate and divert it for the benefit of only the Christians and the Muslims).

5. Govt takes away all the money which Hindu temples generate, but do not grant a single penny to any of its temples. It does not touch the money from Christian and Muslim institutions, but grants them huge amounts of money collected from Hindu temples.

Dr. Hanuman Chowdhry, Chief Editor of ‘BHARATIYA PRAGNA’ and VEER HANUMAN of all the Hindutva forces in Andhra Pradesh has observed: ‘Thus as never before in the history of Andhra Pradesh is there now an organized assault on Hinduism and Hindus and their temples during the last five years in the state. It is seen that this assault is assisted and even masterminded by some chief functionaries of the Government of Andhra Pradesh. A series of measures openly discriminating and discriminatory against Hindus and their places of worship have been launched during the last five years.’ Some serious and most glaring ones are:

A. Giving a subsidy of Rs 25,000 for Christians in state to make pilgrimage to Jerusalem and other places in Israel/Palestine. I am giving below some samples from the Government website:

ANDHRA PRADESH STATE MINORITIES FINANCE CORPORATION

Statement showing the selected list of pilgrimage to Holy land of Jerusalam (2nd Batch)

THUS THE GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH (GOAP) IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE TRAVEL AGENCY FOR CHRISTIAN PILGRIMS IN ANDHRA PRADESH!

B. There is the well established communal practice of over Rs.35,000 subsidy to Muslims for their pilgrimage to Mecca. No such subsidies are given to Hindus. On the other hand, Hindu devotees are required to buy tickets, make payments to see their god in the temples; they don’t get any subsidy for their pilgrimage to their holy places like Tirupati, Amaranth, Kasi, Somnath, Ujjain, Guruvaur, Manasarovar etc.C. A grant of Rs 15,000 grant is made to Muslims and Christians when they get married. No such financial assistance is given to the Hindus from the coffers of the government.D. Now the GOAP is celebrating at its expense SEEMANTHAM of Christian and Muslim couples onlyE. GOAP is implementing 4 per cent reservation for Muslims simply because they happen to be Muslims for admissions to professional colleges. Muslims are running many professional colleges for engineering, medicine, MBA, BCA, Dentistry, etc. This 4% reservation has been contested in the Courts and despite the Court adversely commenting on the grant of this concession; the GOAP is implementing this reservation scheme. Y Samuel Rajasekhara Reddy is waiting for the correct political moment to extend this concession to the Christians as well.

F. GOAP is putting up huge hoardings with the Chief Minister wearing a scull cap, praying to Allah and invoking him for conferring some good to the state during the period of Haj Pilgrimage. Government is spending its money to bid farewell when and welcome to Haj pilgrims while no such thing is forthcoming for Hindus pilgrimages to Amaranth or Manasarovar or Tirupati or Kasi or Ayodhya or Somnath or Vaishnodevi or Rameshwaram or Dakshineswar or Shabarimalai or Kanya Kumari and many other temples.

For GOAP only the Christians and Muslims are the favoured citizens of the State. The Hindus in Andhra Pradesh are being treated worse than the refugees from Bangladesh or Sri Lanka.

Over zealous crusader

2009-04-23T22:44:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, 22 April, 2009 , 02:34 PM
By: V Sundaram

In these columns, on 22 February 2008, under the title ‘From Haj Subsidy to Bethlehem Subsidy’, I had observed as follows: ‘Make no mistake. Y Samuel Rajasekara Reddy is a known Seventh Day Adventist Christian committed to the cause of evangelical destruction of Hinduism, Hindu Society and Hindu Culture. First he tried to initiate a process of Evangelical Conversion through devious means by attempting to convert the whole Thirupathi Venkatachalapathy Hill Temple Complex (together with all the sacred Hills surrounding it) into a Seventh Day Adventist Christian Church Complex. This led to massive public protests all over India and the world. And Y Samuel Rajasekara Reddy was forced to withdraw not so much as to protect Lord Venkateshwara of Thirupathi as to protect the temporary seals of his Office as Chief Minister.

Earlier in these very columns on 4 July 2006, I had brought to public view the anti-Hindu maneuveres of this Chief Minister in these telling words:

‘In Andhra Pradesh we have a Congress Government under a Christian Chief Minister who takes instructions from an effete UPA Government in New Delhi. The Andhra Pradesh Government has been using its official Agencies for purposes of State-sponsored, State-aided and State-abetted Proselytism in Andhra Pradesh in a shamelessly flagrant manner during the last two years. Y Samual Shekara Reddy seems to be under the mistaken impression that he behave like Henry VIII (1509-1547) of Tudor England and that he can take Andhra Pradesh back to the 16th century using the International Roman Catholic might of the UPA Government in New Delhi. ....... Y. Samuel Rajasekara Reddy is actively promoting the physical and psychological encroachment upon the sacred spaces of Hinduism in a planned manner through carefully planted Christian Missionary Agencies.’

The legitimate fears expressed by me on 4 July 2006 and later reiterated again on 22 February, 2008, have come true today. I AM GIVING BELOW IN BROAD OUTLINE THE DETAILS OF THE ABOMINABLE AND PREPOSTEROUS SCHEMES OF ANDHRA PRADESH GOVERNMENT TO PROMOTE THE WELFARE OF CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS ONLY, TO THE STRICT EXCLUSION OF ALL THE HINDUS. With an eye on Parliamentary Elections in 2009, Y Samuel Rajashekara Reddy announced at the beginning of 2008 that his Government will ‘extend the Haj pilgrim scheme to Christian minorities also for their religious visits to Christian holy lands in Israel’. No other Roman Catholic Christian country like France or Italy in Europe or any other Roman Catholic Country in South America gives any subsidy to any of its citizens to go on holy pilgrimages to Bethlehem!!

In another article in these columns in March 2008, I stated as follows: ‘It clearly brings out the disgusting state of appalling ignorance that prevails in the higher echelons of the State Government about the underlying principles of a secular state defined under the Indian Constitution. This is nothing but craven and blatantly discriminatory MINORITY APPEASEMENT POLITICS at its worst and this has been done with focus only on the Parliamentary Elections to take place next year. During the last two years, Samuel Rajasekara Reddy has taken a subterranean disingenuous route to introduce job and education quotas for Muslims in order to avoid legal scrutiny. And now through his Christian subsidy for pilgrimages to Bethlehem and Jerusalem by plundering the public exchequer, he earnestly hopes that he will be able to swing the votes of Christians, who comprise 1.5 per cent of the State’s population, in favour of the Congress. Viewed on a larger national canvas, Samuel Rajasekara Reddy’s deplorable ploy is only a logical extension of the Congress game of subsidy politics introduced by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru after our independence on 15 August 1947. India is the only country in the world which gives the subsidy to the Haj Muslim Pilgrims. No Islamic country in the world gives this benefit to the Muslims.’

For those who want documentary evidence regarding the excessive pro-Christian or pro-Islamic zeal of Andhra Pradesh Government, I would say here it is. I have collected all the Government Orders (GO) by the Government of AP allotting funds to various Churches in Andhra Pradesh. My source of information is no secret either. It is the online portal of Govt of Andhra Pradesh listing all the GOs it has issued. The government portals are treasure houses of information; you just have to know how to dig out what you need. I am just giving samples of two GOs below relating to sanction of Government Money for the Construction of Churches!
http://suryassk.googlepages.com/AP_GOs.htm

GRANT-IN-AID SANCTIONED BY GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH TO VARIOUS CHRISTIAN CHURCHES FROM FEB 2008 TO JAN 2009
(DATA COLLECTED FROM OFFICIAL PORTAL FOR GO’S OF GOVT OF ANDHRA PRADESH. PLEASE REFER TO THE SITE FOR THE COMPLETE PDFS OF THE GO’S)

The Christians are the most favoured citizens. Likewise the Muslims are also the favoured Children of the state. I am giving below some samples regarding GRANT-IN-AID to Wakf boards.

GRANT-IN-AID SANCTIONED BY GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH TO VARIOUS WAKF BOARDS FROM FEB 2008 TO JAN 2009

(DATA COLLECTED FROM OFFICIAL PORTAL FOR GO’S OF GOVT OF ANDHRA PRADESH. PLEASE REFER TO THE SITE FOR THE COMPLETE PDFS OF THE GO’S)

The following is the summary of the data I have collected from the GO Portal:

1. The GO portal is active only from February 2008, hence the data I have given relates only to 1 year (i.e., Feb 2008 to Jan 2009). An amount of 263.07 lakh has been shown as aid given to Christian institutions. This amount is the minimum spent on them, not the maximum.2. More than 258 churches benefited from these grants for construction/renovation of churches.3. An amount of 1316.54 lakh was given as aid to various Muslim institutions through Wakf boards. 4. Not a single GO granting any aid to a Hindu temple can be found. This in spite of the fact that in AP, the Hindu temples are managed by the Endowments Ministry (put it simply they take all the money which the temples generate and divert it for the benefit of only the Christians and the Muslims).

5. Govt takes away all the money which Hindu temples generate, but do not grant a single penny to any of its temples. It does not touch the money from Christian and Muslim institutions, but grants them huge amounts of money collected from Hindu temples.

Dr. Hanuman Chowdhry, Chief Editor of ‘BHARATIYA PRAGNA’ and VEER HANUMAN of all the Hindutva forces in Andhra Pradesh has observed: ‘Thus as never before in the history of Andhra Pradesh is there now an organized assault on Hinduism and Hindus and their temples during the last five years in the state. It is seen that this assault is assisted and even masterminded by some chief functionaries of the Government of Andhra Pradesh. A series of measures openly discriminating and discriminatory against Hindus and their places of worship have been launched during the last five years.’ Some serious and most glaring ones are:

A. Giving a subsidy of Rs 25,000 for Christians in state to make pilgrimage to Jerusalem and other places in Israel/Palestine. I am giving below some samples from the Government website:

ANDHRA PRADESH STATE MINORITIES FINANCE CORPORATION

Statement showing the selected list of pilgrimage to Holy land of Jerusalam (2nd Batch)

THUS THE GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH (GOAP) IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE TRAVEL AGENCY FOR CHRISTIAN PILGRIMS IN ANDHRA PRADESH!

B. There is the well established communal practice of over Rs.35,000 subsidy to Muslims for their pilgrimage to Mecca. No such subsidies are given to Hindus. On the other hand, Hindu devotees are required to buy tickets, make payments to see their god in the temples; they don’t get any subsidy for their pilgrimage to their holy places like Tirupati, Amaranth, Kasi, Somnath, Ujjain, Guruvaur, Manasarovar etc.C. A grant of Rs 15,000 grant is made to Muslims and Christians when they get married. No such financial assistance is given to the Hindus from the coffers of the government.D. Now the GOAP is celebrating at its expense SEEMANTHAM of Christian and Muslim couples onlyE. GOAP is implementing 4 per cent reservation for Muslims simply because they happen to be Muslims for admissions to professional colleges. Muslims are running many professional colleges for engineering, medicine, MBA, BCA, Dentistry, etc. This 4% reservation has been contested in the Courts and despite the Court adversely commenting on the grant of this concession; the GOAP is implementing this reservation scheme. Y Samuel Rajasekhara Reddy is waiting for the correct political moment to extend this concession to the Christians as well.

F. GOAP is putting up huge hoardings with the Chief Minister wearing a scull cap, praying to Allah and invoking him for conferring some good to the state during the period of Haj Pilgrimage. Government is spending its money to bid farewell when and welcome to Haj pilgrims while no such thing is forthcoming for Hindus pilgrimages to Amaranth or Manasarovar or Tirupati or Kasi or Ayodhya or Somnath or Vaishnodevi or Rameshwaram or Dakshineswar or Shabarimalai or Kanya Kumari and many other temples.

For GOAP only the Christians and Muslims are the favoured citizens of the State. The Hindus in Andhra Pradesh are being treated worse than the refugees from Bangladesh or Sri Lanka.

Now it is the turn of the 10 rupee coin!

2009-04-23T22:39:00.001-07:00

Tuesday, 21 April, 2009 , 03:20 PM

Long awaited Rs. 10 Coin is now officially in circulation. Please go through the enclosed notification issued by RBI.

The Central Government has issued a new 10 Rupee Coin with a ‘Christian crusader’s cross’ on side of the coin presented on the right above. Though the year 2006 is inscribed on one side of the coin displayed above, yet the fact that has to be noted is that it has been reported only today that such a coin has just been issued. In 2006, the UPA Government had issued a 2 Rupee Coin with the same Christian Crusader’s Cross on one side. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had taken this issue to the pointed attention of the people of Gujarat during his campaign in December 2007 Gujarat Assembly election rallies. After much popular protest this coin was surreptitiously withdrawn without much ado. I am displaying below the photographs of TWO SIDES of both the 2 Rupee Coin and the 1 Rupee Coin, to illustrate my point.

The Double-Barreled Christian Cross can be seen on 2 Rupee Coin on the left side above. The common and usual market-place Christian Cross can be seen on 1 Rupee Coin on the right side above. Later when there were wide-spread protests, the UPA Government, in the manner of an illicit distiller and dealer in contra-band opium, quietly withdrew those coins from circulation and replaced those coins with the newly designed coins shown below.

Please see the Thumbs Up design of 1 Rupee Coin on the left above. Please also see the 2 finger sign on the 2 Rupee Coin on the right above.

What is the difference between the Christian Cross seen on 2 Rupee Coins minted in 2006 and 1 Rupee Coins minted in 2005? The Christian Cross put into the 2 Rupee Coins issued in 2006 was a calculated and mischievous pseudo-secular experiment deriving its sanction from Suppressio Veri Suggestio Falsi (suppression of truth and suggestion of falsehood) for which the UPA Government in general and the Congress Party in particular own global monopolistic patents. Perhaps there was an element or grain of vagueness about it. Such vagueness or ambiguity or ambivalence as existed about the Christian Cross on the 2 Rupee Coins of 2006, was completely removed in respect of the 1 Rupee Coins of 2005. The Christian Cross inscribed on the 1 Rupee Coins of 2005 makes it loud and clear that it is a routine Christian Cross and the main aim of the UPA Government is the enforced Evangelization of India.

This indeed is unfortunate. Who is behind all this calculated national mischief? Is it the Congress Party and its pseudo-secular anti-Hindu allies? Is it Sonia Gandhi and her caucus with its own convoluted conduit pipes? Is it an over enthusiastic Christian bureaucrat dreaming of a Padma Award or some sinecure post of Governor of a State or Diplomatic post abroad after his retirement? These are the questions that can be asked by every responsible and enlightened patriotic citizen heroically fighting against national subversion and national sabotage in India today.

This nefarious process set in motion in 2004 has been taken to the next definitive stage with the recent notification of the RBI relating to the new 10 Rupee Coins bearing the same Christian Crusader’s Cross which was put on 2 Rupee Coin minted in 2006. Anybody can see that the 2 Rupee Coin minted in 2006 bearing the ‘Christian Crusader’s Cross’ shown above resembles the Gold Coin issued by Louis the Pious (778 AD-840 AD), also known as Louis I, Louis the Fair, and Louis the Debonaire. He was Emperor and King of France from 814 to his death in 840. He issued a coin bearing a Christian Crusader’s Cross which has been copied by the Mint Master who included the same Cross on one side of the new 2 Rupee coin minted in 2006. Now the same Christian Crusader’s Cross has again been minted on one side of the 10 Rupee Coin presented at the top of this article. I am presenting below the photographs of the two sides of the Gold Coin issued by Louis the Pious in 820 AD.

Gold Coin issued by Louis the Pious in 820 AD

Please see the Christian Crusader’s Cross on the Left side of the coin above. The same Crusader’s Cross was minted on one side of the 2 Rupee Coin in 2006 which has also been displayed above. As I have observed earlier, the Government of India used the routine Cross on one side of the 1 Rupee Coin minted in 2005. When there was a massive public outcry against these Christian Coins, the UPA Government quietly withdrew these coins from circulation. After observing a lull period of cultural armistice against the besieged Hindus of India, Sonia led UPA Government has now come out with 10 Rupee Coin bearing the same Christian Crusader’s Cross of Louis the Pious (French Emperor from 814 AD to 840 AD).

I am presenting below the different types of Crosses, including the Crusader’s Cross issued by Louis the Pious in the 9th Century.

The VIII Cross shown above is the Christian Crusader’s Cross which was minted in 2 Rupee Coin in 2006 and has again been minted in 10 Rupee Coin also shown as minted in 2006. Even a casual observer cannot miss noticing the fact that there is usually a planned gestation period of 4 years in the Gorilla cultural assaults on the soul of Bharat Mata launched by the UPA Government!

In VIII Christian Crusader’s Cross shown above, we can see that there are 4 Dots in the Cross, two on either side of the vertical line of the Cross. During the days of the Crusades and the Byzantine Empire, they were known a Besant or Besants. Besant was also called solidus, a gold coin of the Roman Empire used in Europe until the 15th century. Four dots (Besants) on the cross of Louis the Pious (9th century) later evolved into the ‘Jerusalem Cross’ which was used as a coat of arms for the Latin kingdom in Jerusalem. It was also called ‘Crusader’s Cross’ during the Crusades. The four small dots (later small crosses) are symbolic of the four Gospels proclaimed to the four corners of the earth, beginning in Jerusalem. Four canonical gospels are attributed to the Four Evangelists: Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Luke and Gospel of John. The large cross symbolizes the person of Christ. ‘Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned’ (Mk 16:15-16).

Two years back, when the UPA government issued 2 Rupee Coin with the same Christian Crusader’s Cross (Jerusalem Cross) on one side. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi strongly took up this issue to the notice of the people in Gujarat during the December 2007 Gujarat assembly election meetings. After much public protest this coin was withdrawn.

Narendra Modi showing to the people 2 Rupee Coin with Christian Crusader’s Cross

Now again, the central government has come with Rs 10 coin depicting the same Christian Crusader’s Cross (Jerusalem cross). It is same story again as was the case couple of years ago with 2 rupee coin.

In this terrible context of UPA Government’s savage assault on the soul of Bharat Mata (Our Nation) today, I cannot help quoting the immortal words of Shri Aurobindo from his last political speech at Uttarpara on 30 May, 1909: ‘I say it again today, but I put it in another way. I say no longer that nationalism is a creed, a religion, a faith; I say that it is the SANATAN DHARMA WHICH FOR US IS NATIONALISM. This Hindu nation was born with the Sanatan Dharma; with it, it moves; and with it, it grows. When the Sanatan Dharma declines, then the nation declines, and if the Sanatan Dharma were capable of perishing, then along with the Sanatan Dharma, the nation would also perish. The Sanatan Dharma, is indeed nationalism. This is the message that I have to speak to you’. If India is held together, it is because of SANATANA DHARMA’’. The ideology of Sonia Congress Government today is to decimate every trace of Sanatana Dharma on the soil of India.

Chargesheet against Sonia (Maino) Gandhi and Her CongressParty

2009-04-23T22:30:00.001-07:00

Narain Kataria's Chargesheet against Sonia (Maino) Gandhi and her Congress Party.....
Raspal Bhabra

Shocking collection of data:

* In the last five years, Sonia (Antonia Maino) Gandhi, the President of Congress Party, and UPA Chairperson, has emerged as a very powerful woman in India. She is a devout Catholic Christian. To the dismay and disenchantment of Hindus, instead of adopting Hinduismafter her marriage to Rajiv Gandhi, she / her family allegedly made it a pre-condition of her marriage that Rajiv Gandhi convert to Catholicism. Or at least that her children (Raul aka Rahu Gandhi and Bianca aka Priyanka) be raised as Christians.

* Because of her belief rooted in the Christian faith that her religion is superior to the native Hindu Dharma, she feels herself more comfortable in the company of non-Hindus. It is thus natural that she surrounds herself with mostly the Christian and Muslim advisors. For that reason, she is very close to Ahmed Patel, A. K. Anthony, Oscar Fernandes, Abdul Rahman Antulay, E. Ahmed, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy (a Christian), Dr. Shakeel Ahmad, Shafi Qureshi, John Dayal, Mohammad Hamid Ansari, and Ambika Soni (also a Christian).

* During the Congress rule in the last five years, the condition of Hindus has gone from bad to worse. The worst form of repression has been unleashed on Hindus. Hindus today feel helpless, rudderless, leaderless and under an invisible asphyxiating hold. Hindu icons have been arrested (Shankaracharya of Kanchi Sri Jayendra Sarasvati), Hindu saints (Swami Laxmananda Saraswati) murdered, Hindu Sadhvis (Pragya Singh) tortured, patriotic Hindus treated like hard-core criminals (Col. Purohit), armed forces weakened and demoralized (Batla House incident), Hindu Dharma vilified and demonized (Ram Sethu), and the minorities pampered at the cost of national security (Afzal Guru).

* In addition, under the “Muslims-First” program initiated by the robot Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, “sites for Haj houses, waiver of loans to the tune of Rs. 500 crore for Muslims in Andhra Pradesh alone, Rs. 140 crore worth scholarships to Muslim boys and girls in Andhra Pradesh, payment of Rs. 200,000 per year for 20,000 Muslims students studying engineering and Rs. 50,000 per year for several thousand Muslims studying medicine” (Dr. T.H. Chowdhary in Organizer) – even pension to the children of terrorists – have been announced!

* In order to garner the Moslem votes, a staggering sum of Rs. 550 corers has been allocated in the next Five Year Plan for promotion of an Urdu televisionchannel. [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India/Efforts_on_to_promote_Urdu_channel_Govt/articleshow/811680.cms].

* In this connection, it should be noted that during Islamic rule in India, Tipu Sultan had imposed Urdu on Karnataka Hindus and Nizam of Hyderabad had done the same on Telegu speaking Hindus.

* In a step closer to imposing the Islamic legal system, Sharia, in largely Hindu India, the India’s Human Resources and Development (HRD) Ministry is now all set to treat the madrasa certification as being equivalent to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

* In order to further accelerate the Islamization of India, the Ministry of Home Affairs has instructed the Central Para-military Forces to make certain that 20 percent of their recruitment is made from the Muslim community.

* With a clear view to appease Muslims, the Government of India led by the Congress Party has consistently avoided executing the orders of the Supreme Court to hang Mohammed Afzal Guru, the convicted mastermind of the vicious armed attack on Indian Parliament in December 2001.

* “There are approximately 207,000 Hindu temples in Karnataka with a total income of about 72 crores. Out of these, the (Congress) government spends merely 6 crores on the upkeep of temples; the rest, though collected from the Hindu devotees, is recklessly spent on Muslim madrasas and Christian churches; a phenomenal Rs 50 crores on madrassas and Rs 10 crores on churches”. (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, India Today, in 2003)

* The government control of Hindu temples in secular India is a blatant violation of religious freedom in the country. In Andhara Pradesh alone, the 85 percent of the temple revenues from The Tirupati Devasthanam –- a whopping Rs. 3,100 crores –- are transferred into the state exchequer, which then are freely spent on Muslim and Christian causes.

* On encouragement of the local Congress Rajya Sabha member, the converted Christian tribals who recently joined Maoist groups had Swami LakshmanandaSarasvati and his four disciples murdered in the State of Orissa.

* Instead of expelling the Bangladeshi Muslim infiltrators, the Congress government’s anti-Hindu stance came to fore when 1,500 Hindu refugees from Bangladesh, now settled in Kendrapara district of Orissa, were issued the Quit India notices!

* The Congress Party government at the Center made a big blunder by repealing the Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act (POTA). This action emboldened the Islamic terrorists to ravage and batter with impunity the 20 million people of Mumbai on November 26, 2008, thereby killing over 200 Indian citizens and humiliating the entire nation in front of the whole world. What a disgrace!

* Then, as if to sprinkle salt on the wounds of Indians (read Hindus) recovering from the shock of Mumbai massacre, the India’s Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahmed , a fundamentalist Islamist and the President of Indian Union Muslim League, had the temerity to force India’s Consul General Prabhu Dayal in New York to celebrate the Eid festivity at the Consulate within weeks of the terrible carnage.

* Mumbai Police Commissioner admitted on February 12, 2009, that 14 to 16 Indian Muslims too were involved in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, besides the Pakistani attackers. But UPA government led by the Congress party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi keeps misleading the nation by saying that all jihadists were Pakistanis.

* The Central Human Resources and Development Minister, Shri Arjun Singh has concluded an agreement with Saudi Arabia under which a few billion dollars will be given to the Islamic universities in India for the purpose of establishing Islamic Centers. This is a very dangerous development. We firmly believe that this ill-conceived move is not onlyanti-Hindu and anti-India but it also is treacherous activity designed to pull India fast into the vortex of World Pan-Islamic movement.*

* While the Foreign Minister Pranab Mookerjee has been exhorting on Pakistan to shut down the terrorist training centers in their country, no drastic steps are taken in our own country – Azam Garh, in U.P., and in the State of Kerala – to stop the jihadists from transforming India into a trainingground for the home-grown terrorists.

* Most of the newspapers in India are controlled by the Government and are the classic example of suppressio veri or the concealment of truth (e.g. the attack by Muslim goons on Telegraph Newspaper in Kolkata was blacked out) and suggestio falsi or a statement of a falsehood amounting to being a fraud (e.g. negative publicity was given to attack on pubs in Bangaluru with a mal-intent to slander the Hindu groups).

* Now, a few words about Aam Admi, the Sonia Gandhi’s pet political expression to describe the country’s common man…

* According to M.J. Akbar’s article in The Pioneer, when the present Sonia government came to power in year 2004, there were 270 million people in country below the poverty line. The number of the poorpeople, however, has increased by 55 million, or 20% – a horrifying rise.

* In the past India was ruled by Muslims and Christians. It is a matter of shame and disgust that India is still being ruled by the minorities. Hindus cannot count on the UPA government to protect their interests, life and property. Since Hindus make up about 83% of the total population, it is obligatory on them to be more vigilant and circumspect.

* Hindus should galvanize the public distrust of Gandhi dynasty. They should throw out the eminences grise (persons exercising power orinfluence without holding an official position) of India in the next general elections and reclaim political power for the majority population. If

* Hindus shed their centuries old torpor, and work in unison, the artificially assembled UPA government will fall like ninepins.

For the good of India, her civilisation, her immense spirituality and culture, Sonia Gandhi has to go

2009-04-22T19:08:00.001-07:00

Sonia’s presence in Delhi is costing India dearly

Francois Gautier
expressbuzz.com
Dec 02, 2008

In 1898, the French writer Emile Zola wrote an open letter to the then French president in the newspaper L’Aurore, titled j’accuse (‘I accuse’), where he accused the French government of anti- Semitism towards Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer unfairly condemned for treason.

Now it is time for the people of India to say openly that which many, including within the Congress, think secretly and may utter in the privacy of their chambers.

It is not about Manmohan Singh, it is not even about Shivraj Patil, the fall guy; it is about that one person, the Eminence Grise of India. She who pulls all the strings, She whose shadow looms menacingly over so many, She who holds no portfolio, is just a simple elected MP, like 540 others, but rules like an empress.

Sometimes, one’s very physical presence at the top is enough to move things, to influence the course of events. One word from Her, a glance, a frown, are enough to put the whole heavy, inert, unwilling machinery of India’s bureaucracy and political system in full motion. Sometimes She need not say anything: in the true tradition of Bhakti, Her ministers, Her secretaries, interpret Her silences and rush to cater to Her western and Christian identity.

Nevertheless, she has said and acted enough so that one day she may stand accused on the pages of History for what she must have done to India.

I accuse Sonia Gandhi as being responsible for the tragedy of Mumbai, having emasculated India’s intelligence agencies by stopping them from investigating terror attacks in the last four years, including the Mumbai train blasts. She has also neutralised the ATS by ordering them at all costs to ferret out ‘Hindu terrorism’, which if it exists, has wrought minuscule damage compared to what Islamic terror has done since 2004. Did the US send a warning to India that there may be an attack on Mumbai and that the Taj would be one of the targets? Were these ignored because the ATS was too busy chasing Hindu ‘terrorists’ on Sonia’s orders?

I accuse Sonia and her government of having made the NSG the laughing stock of the world. How many times did the NSG (who took ten hours to reach Mumbai) claim that it had “sanitised the Taj and that the operation was over” and how many times did a bomb go off immediately after? For the last 20 years, the NSG has guarded VIPs and has become soft. See the comments of Israeli terror specialists, who said the NSG should have first sanitised the immediate surroundings of the places of conflict, kept the bystanders and press (who gave terrorists watching TV in the Taj rooms a perfect report of the security forces’ whereabouts) out of the place, gathered enough information about the position of the terrorists and hostages before taking action, instead of immediately engaging the terrorists, and ensuring the deaths of so many hostages.

I accuse Sonia of having let her Christian and Western background, in four years, divide India on religious and caste lines in a cynical and methodical manner.

I accuse Sonia of weakening India’s spirit of sacrifice and courage, so that 20 terrorists (or less) held at ransom the financial capital of India for more than three days.

I accuse Sonia Gandhi of always pointing the finger at Pakistan, when terrorism in India is now mostly homegrown, even if it takes help, training, refuge and arms from Pakistan; of not warning Indians of the grave dangers of Islamic terror for cynical election purposes.

I accuse Sonia of being an enemy of the Hindus, who always gave refuge to persecuted minorities, and who are the only people in the world to accept that God may manifest under different names, in different epochs, using different scriptures.

I accuse Sonia Gandhi of taking advantage of India’s respect for women, its undue fascination with the Gandhi name, and its stupid mania for White Skin.

I accuse Sonia of exploiting the Indian Press’ obsession with her. She hardly ever gave interview in 20 years, except scripted ones to NDTV, yet the Press always protects her, never blames her and keeps silent over her covert role.

I accuse Sonia and her government of trying to make heroes of subservient and inefficient men to hide the humiliation of Mumbai 26/11. Before going to his death, Hemant Karkare, the ATS chief, was shown on television clumsily handling his helmet, as someone who uses it very rarely. Why did he die of bullet wounds in the chest when he was wearing a bullet-proof vest? Either Indian vests are inferior quality or he was not wearing one.

How did the terrorists who killed him and his fellow officer escape in the same vehicle used by the ATS chief ? Why did he and his officers go into Cama Hospital without ascertaining where the terrorists were? We honour his death, but these facts say a lot about the ATS’ battle-readiness.

Will someone in the Congress, someone who feels more Indian than faithful to Sonia, stand up and speak the truth? Who said, “Go after Hindu terrorists”? Who insisted on putting pressure on BJP governments in Karnataka or Orissa for so-called persecution of Christians, when Christians have always practised their faith in total freedom here, while their missionaries are converting hundreds of thousands of innocent tribals and Dalits with the billions of dollars given by gullible westerners? Who said, “Go soft on Islamic terrorism”? Who wants to do away with India’s nuclear deterrence in the face of Pakistani and Chinese nuclear threats, by pushing at all costs the one sided Indo-US nuclear deal, which makes no secret of its intention to denuclearise India militarily?

I am sure Sonia Gandhi has good qualities: she probably was a good wife to Rajiv, a good daughter in law to Indira and by all accounts, she is a good mother to her children. One also hears first-hand reports about her concern for smaller people, her dignity in the suffering that befell her when her husband was blown to pieces, and her courtesy with visitors.

Nevertheless, she is a danger to India.

Her very presence, both physical and occult, open the doors to forces inimical to India. Even Indian Christians should understand that she is not a gift to them: her presence at the top has emboldened fanatics like John Dayal or Valson Thampu, who practise an orthodox Christianity prevalent in the West in the early 20th century, but no longer, to radicalise their flock. Indian Christians should recognise that they have a much better deal here than Christians or Hindus have in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia or Saudi Arabia.

Under Sonia’s rule, Indian Muslims, too, have been used as electoral pawns. They have been encouraged to shun the Sufi streak, a blend of the best of Islam and Vedanta, for a hard-line Sunni brand imported from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

For the good of India, her civilisation, her immense spirituality and culture, Sonia Gandhi has to go and a government that thinks Indian, breathes nationalism and will protect its citizens must be voted to power.

UP schools converting to madrassas: Report

2009-04-21T22:47:00.001-07:00

Press Trust of India

Monday, April 20, 2009, (New Delhi)The Centre has sought a status report from the Uttar Pradesh government on media reports that several private schools in the state have converted into madrassas in the last two months to avail of special benefits.

Taking cognisance of reports that scores of private schools converted into madrassas, the Ministry of HRD has asked the state government to conduct an enquiry and submit a report, stating the factual position.

According to reports, schools have been converted with the aim to get benefit from the Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madarassa (SPQEM), launched by the Union government in February this year.

In the letter to the state government, the ministry said they should find out the affiliations and standing of the schools which have been reportedly converted.

“The state government has been asked to state the action taken by it in curbing the trend, if such conversion is happening,” a senior ministry official said in New Delhi.

Reports said most of these schools are run by Muslims and do not have more than one year of standing. However, as per norms madrassas, which have been in existence at least for three years and registered under central or state government Acts or Madrassa Board or with WAKF Boards or NIOS shall be eligible to apply for assistance under this programme.

“Ultimately the state government will recommend the madrassas for consideration under the scheme. So they should be careful while recommending the madrassas,” the official said.
Reports said the schools which have been converted were formal schools and were following syllabus and textbooks of the state education board.

At present, about 3000 madrassas from Uttar Pradesh are getting funding from the government under several schemes, including Madrassa Modernisation Programme.

The government launched the SPQEM scheme in February which aims at improving quality education in madrassas by introducing modern subjects and providing vocational training to students.

The scheme will provide funds to madrassas and maktabs to introduce modern subjects like Science, Mathematics, Social Studies, Hindi and English in their curriculum. The scheme envisages an expenditure of about Rs 325 crore in the Xith Plan.

The financial assistance will be given yearly under the scheme through the state governments/Union Territory Administrations in whose jurisdiction the institution is situated.

Response to John Dayal's statement -- "Christians and the BJP"

2009-04-21T22:45:00.001-07:00

Dr Mrs Hilda Raja,
Vadodara.

Response to John Dayal's statement

“Christians and the BJP” – the Press Statement released by Dr John Dayal, General Secretary, All India Christian Council, calls for a scrutiny and a response. Its premise is based on suspicion, untruths and accusations and a negative attitude for dialogue.

Mr Advani is accused of mixing religion and politics which John Dayal cautions as dangerous to secular India. I wonder if today we have a secular India. Religion and politics was not only mixed but churned as a brew and this decoction has been regularly supplied to the people by the Congress. Mr Dayal finds this ‘dangerous mix’ in the manifesto of the BJP and then in the letters to the heads of Mutts — the ‘arch communal advisors’ of the VHP, which according to Dayal are fraught with dangerous consequences for peace and harmony in secular India. But it is the warped perception and communal mindset of John Dayal and his ilk that is really a threat to secular India. First, both the manifesto and the letter to the Mutt heads are of recent origin and do not pose any dangerous consequences for peace and harmony, when what Dayal has scripted later in the statement goes to show that there has been communal upheavals and disruption of peace much earlier. So, from Dayal’s own statement, it is clear that the manifesto and the letter addressed to the heads of mutts are not going to initiate something which this nation has not already witnessed.

A few examples of this communal decoction served to the people by the brewers, the Congress party, for they have 52 years of experience in injecting divisiveness in the nation. The very concept and understanding of secular and secularism has undergone a sea change. Anything which comes from the BJP side, the VHP and its sister organizations become communal and anything communal which comes from the Congress side and its allies like the RJD, the SP et al become secular.

I would like to cite a few cases for John Dayal to clarify if these are secular or communal. Does subsidizing Haj become secular? Is this not mixing religion with politics? How can the tax payers’ money be utilized to guarantee the salvation of the souls of the Muslims? Not a single Islamic country has done this. Pakistan is closing down Madrasas but India under the Congress is not only encouraging the opening of Madrasas, it is fully financing these and also is giving them CBSE status.Does this not become communal and a mix of religion with politics?

There is no second opinion that those below poverty line should have the first claim to the resources of this country. But can the identification of the Below Poverty line be made on the basis of a religion? Is Manmohan Singh not communal when he stated that the Muslims have the first claim to the resources of this country? Can a survey be undertaken on the basis of a religion to justify that Muslims are the poorest? Use scientific yardsticks, net in the poorest, and extend to them all remedial measures to alleviate their poverty. But this was like putting the cart before the horse. One already decides who are the poorest and then makes a survey to validate this. Is this secular or communal?

Even a head count on the basis of religion was proposed but for the three Services chiefs objections it was scuttled. Is this a mindset of secularism or communalism?

Just recently Manmohan Singh suggested that a committee must be formed in every State of respectable Muslims to look into the allegations of police harassment of Muslim youth. First why only look into the allegations of Muslim youth being harassed—why not any case of harassment looked into and why a committee of respectable Muslims and not a committee formed of respectable citizens? Is this an expression of communalism or secularism?

When it come to temples, they are under the Government control (Hindu Religious endowment Boards). The monies from these go to the government. But the Minorities are allowed to manage their own church, mosque finances. Is this secularism or communalism?

In Andhra Pradesh due to lack of funds many temples have closed down, but the Andhra Pradesh government under its Congress-Christian Chief Minister has allocated Rs. 80,000 for the repairs and renovation of churches and 15 million for the construction of a church. This is an example of the secularism of the Congress ruled state and we are told by John Dayal that the BJP ruled States are communal and discriminate against the minorities.

Discrimination against minority or majority is illegal and sinful. This is the false pictures which are projected about this nation. The appeasement policy followed vigorously by the UPA has furthered and deepened the communalism the Congress had sowed right from the 50s when the Muslim League was recognized as a political party and allied with it. So this accusation that with the manifesto of the BJP and the letter of Mr. Advani to the Mutt heads cannot be the cause of communalism and surely cannot make the minorities apprehensive.

But an unjust allegation made by John Dayal when he brands the VHP and the sister organizations as communal. One should define what communalism and secularism mean. To be a ‘good’ Christian and a ‘good’ Muslim is being secular but to be a devote Hindu is being communal?

To teach Christian doctrine and even force all those in Christians schools to study the bible becomes secular but when one teaches the Hindu scriptures and urge the people to adhere to the Hindu teachings it becomes communal.

What kind of perception is this—Totally jaundiced and biased . Building a mandir becomes communal but building any number of churches and mosques on poorumboke lands become secular.

Ram and all the Hindu gods and goddesses are mythological but Christian god and the Prophet are historical and real.

Processions allowed in public places and roads for the minority people—with no restrictions whatsoever, is upholding Indian secularism in public. Only when the
Hindus take the Vinayaka to be immersed in the sea, then road blocks are put—new routes chalked out and bans are places.

‘Harmony India’ and the so called secularists’ intelligentsia will issue directives and caution. Is it a sin to belong to the majority religion?

In numbers alone the Christians and the Muslims may be minorities but in power and pressure tactics—they wield more power with their vote bank leverage. If on the basis of a religion the majority community is denied their rightful share, then will it not create communal upheavals?

Mr John Dayal has cited instances of violence against minorities in Punjab, Gujarat, Maharastra, Karnataka and Orissa. Are these the only instances of violence, and were the victims only the Minorities?

The media abets communalism in its reporting. A few years ago ‘The Hindu’ reported on its front page ‘Church in Bangalore damaged’. Later it was found that the glass pane of a window was cracked because of the bursting of crackers. This was not put in the front page but in small print in some corner of the newspaper. When one reports of church damaged and destroyed in some places–the church may be just a bamboo shed which with a jostling group within will collapse. But it is made to look as though huge structures of brick and mortar were demolished.

Take this reporting by the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) in reference to Kandhamal—that at least 60 Christians were killed, 18,000 wounded, 252 churches razed or destroyed, 5031 Christian homes burned and more than 50,000 Christians displaced. It is for John Dayal to verify the actual figures and then he will realize the exaggeration of the Christian organizations and the English media ready to lap it all.

The Congress continues to exploit the Gujarat riots and John Dayal also has mentioned it but the SIT ‘s investigation has proved to the contrary—the macabre stories of brutality, the horror tales and the numbers of victims etc all today stand demolished as a pack of falsehood cooked by Teesta Setlavad and her organization for Justice. It is not that there were no rioting—no killings, no human agony and suffering. But the way it was projected and exploited only to stir up more communalism.

Year after year the CDs of the Gujarat riots are played; films are taken to keep alive these communal riots. But, when it came to the Sikh massacre—the supervised genocide, in which 3000 were killed in Delhi—and the hundreds of Sikh girls and women raped—was toned down-figures drastically lowered and no annual reminders were made—even the BJP when it was in power and now when it was in the Opposition did not rake up the issue. It was the boot of a Sikh journalist which brought to centre stage the injustice after 25 years and made the Congress quickly withdraw the candidatures of Tytler and Sajjan. The Congress which allowed this genocide when it was in power—even legitimized the killing of the minority community stands indicted. It is just not Tytler and Sajjan who are the alleged perpetrators—the sin is laid at the door of the CONGRESS and it has to live with it.

It loses the moral right to talk of riots in Gujarat and else where. Why had the Christian community not till date issued even a condemnation against the Congress for this unprecedented Minority carnage? Does the uniqueness of human life depend on the religion of the victim? What is the rationale of exploiting every year the Gujarat riots for Modi-bashing and painting the BJP as communal? Is this an indication of a secular mind or a community bend on arousing communal hatred?

Shashtanga Pranam—used by Advani to address the heads of Mutts has been faulted and even he is accused as being subservient to the communal organizations etc. This is the most respectable form of address to any religious leader. Why do the Christians address Bishop as ‘Your Lordship’ and the Archbishop as Your Grace”? Even to a parent this Shashtnaga Pranam is used. It is the Indian form of profound obeisance. This is the problem with the Christians who cannot understand and appreciate anything Indian and hence they become alien to the Indian culture. This is why they see red when Hindutva is mentioned because they do not understand the Indian nationalism is deeply rooted in Indian culture.

It is no way ‘symptomatic of his party’s capitulating absolutely to the RSS and its daughter organizations’. There seem to be a phobia which the Christians suffer from. After all the RSS and its daughter organizations are not foreign and have no foreign n allegiance and connections. They are of Indian origin, with Indian moorings—no foreign vested interest and are not imported. Their religion is not an imported one but which sprang from this soil. Hence their lives are intricately linked with this culture—this heritage and this nation. There is no vested interest and no foreign hand involved.

John Dayal has mischievously brought in the demolition of the Babri structure (imposed on the Hindu Temple by the invader, Babar). First, it is not a demolition of the whole structure but the damage to two domes— symbols of aggression. Second, this happened during the Congress regime as Lalu stated, and the Congress is equally accountable. But typical of Lalu, he quickly retracted and blamed only Narashima Rao. In fact, it was a shrewd delay tactics used by the Congress party which was then in power, in Delhi. The Central government would have had its intelligence inputs and could have easily prevented it. And the whole episode happened in the backyard of New Delhi. But the Congress cabinet waited for the first dome to fall, and only when the second was about to fall, it sprung up to act. Now, the same Congress uses it throughout for garnering Muslim votes and reminding them that it is the BJP which demolished the disused Babri structure. Well, the Congress misused the opportunity to dismiss the BJP government in the state. But who brought Babri structure to the centre stage of politics? Rajiv Gandhi—when he prodded the people to break open its lock. Till then, the Babri structure built by the invader Babar on the destroyed Hindu temple, was decrepit, weather ravaged and disused.

The faith and belief of a people has to be respected. The Hindus surely cannot have their faith and belief centers in Vatican, England, Geneva or Mecca. This faith and belief needs to be concretized only in India. Apart from that, to now point out at Advani that since he hopes to be a future PM of a secular India he should keep a distance from the heads of Mutts and the Hindu organizations is uncalled for. It is here that John Dayal is putting restrictions and pre-conditions. Advani as a prime ministerial candidate can approach anyone and have any close knit relationships. But when he is the PM then what he does and does not will come under scrutiny. It is the duty and obligation of Advani to carry all along with him—not only the minorities but he has to be just to the majority community also.

The last one is the rejection of the call given by Advani for a dialogue on Minority Rights. Constitution cannot be static—as changes come and people move, the constitution has also to undergo changes. How many times has the Constitution for India been amended? The Constitution is for the people and not the other way around. It was the Congress party which declared Emergency thereby kept in abeyance the whole Constitution; I don’t remember any Christian organization protesting against this highhanded anti-people act. Now when Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, through her moves and counter moves, subverted constitutional norms and institutions, there has been no protests—not even a whimper.

The call to dialogue on the Minority Rights has brought only one reaction from John Dayal—he has shut the doors—they are not negotiable, he asserts. It takes a whole thesis to trace the Minority Rights—its motive to safeguard the ethos of the minorities. But in all educational institutions the majority of the students are from the majority community—so whose ethos is being safeguarded? The right to administer and manage does not give the Minorities the right to mal-administer and mismanage. It does not give them the right to deny justice to those who work in these institutions simply because there is a Cross/Crescent.

One would think that every Indian has the right to equal justice. The Minority Rights issue calls for an open debate and discussion. The majority of the minorities are denied access to the elite Minority institutions. Minority institutions become channels to reach the echelons power. I cite here two examples examples. In the early 80s I had been to Patna to attend the National Advisory Council of the CBCI. The inaugural mass was by then bishop of Patna who gave us a description of his ‘flock’—poor and illiterate etc. He then went on to say that one of his first tasks was to open a college. I wondered why he had not started schools instead of a college. So I went up to him for this clarification. Why a college and not a school I asked him. To this he replied—‘You see, when we start a college all the powerful people will come to us with their children thus we can get things done”.

Similarly, in an elite college in Chennai we found that a number of catholic boys with very good marks were rejected—but non-minority rich boys of top officials with lower marks got admission. When the Principal was countered with the list of Catholic boys with higher marks rejected and boys with lower marks from the majority community admitted, he coolly told us ‘Yes I want my papers to move, I need to get electricity, water etc.

So the rights of the minorities are being used as barters. Dismissal without even giving a notice has been quite common. The lay persons working within these institutions cannot go to court because it is a torturous process and funds are needed .This makes the institutions use highhanded methods. There are any number of cases which I can cite.

The other dimension is the lack of accountability. When injustices lumpen with unaccountability and there are no forums to rectify these, then it is a misuse of Minority Rights against the Minorities, becomes a horrifying experience of violation of human rights.

There is a common impression that minority managed institutions are better managed! Some are good no doubt—then why not extend the same rights to all? It must be finally stated that the Minority Rights are not superior to other rights and cannot negate other rights—nor violate other rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

IT IS relevant to note Minority Rights are also extended to Linguistic minorities. A misuse of this can be illustrated in the following cases in Tamilnadu: The court saw a claim by Naidus claiming minority status for the G.T.N. Arts College in Dindigul,TN, on the ground that they are a linguistic minority. This in spite of the college not doing anything to advance the cause of Telugu and the persons in management being unable to speak a few words in that language—similarly the case of Devanga Chettiars who put forth their claim as Kannada speaking linguistic minority and therefore the institutions run by them (Sowdeswari College, in Salem, TN.) should be declared as linguistic minority.

The cause for claiming such a right by hook or crook was only because under the Minority Rights the teachers and the employees have no voice—the mismanagement and mal-administration will not attract any government punitive measures. The basic rights of the teachers in these institutions are violated with immunity.

The call thus given by Advani for a dialogue must be welcomed by the Minorities if they stand for justice for all. John Dayal must note that Minority rights are community rights. Imagine the number of schools run in parishes—where no one follows rules. With the mushrooming of self-financing institutions, this has become a money spinning venture: the larger the area of functioning, the greater the quantum of injustice, exploitation and violation of basic human rights within the Minority institutions.

The individual right to equal access to education was also emphasized by the framers of the Constitution when they redrafted original Articles 23—present Articles 29 and 30. The Court verdicts on a number of cases clearly indicate that absolutism is not part of the rights of the minorities. It must go along with other rights with the comprehension of the Constitution.

So to shut the door on the call for dialogue saying that Minority rights are not negotiable sounds that one is not prepared to see the other point of view and its merits. Were other fundamental rights not restricted? If the minority right lends itself to violate basic rights of individuals then some safeguards must be built in to prevent it. For, all rights must go hand in hand without violating any basic fundament right of the individual. If Minority rights are used for maladministration and mismanagement then, again, it is the duty of the government to prevent this.

John Dayal: 'Christians and the BJP'

From: John Dayal

All India Christian Council
President: Dr Joseph D Souza
Secretary General Dr John Dayal
PRESS STATEMENT

NEW DELHI 12 April 2009

* Mr Advani’s mixing Religion and Politics is dangerous for secular India
* BJP wants to reopen debate on Minority Rights, negate Statuary rights given after long debate in Constituent Assembly after Independence

The All India Christian Council has refrained from commenting on the Manifestos of various political parties in General Elections 2009, or on statements of their leaders. The Council however can no longer maintain its silence after reading newspaper reports of former Deputy Prime Minister and BJP leader Mr Lal Krishan Advani’s mixing of religion in politics, first in the Election manifesto of the party, and then in his letter to heads of various Mutts, or abbeys of Hindu sects, and arch communal advisors of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. These twin acts are fraught with dangerous consequences for peace and harmony in secular India.

The electoral environment has already been vitiated by hate speeches and communal propaganda. Mr Advani may have made his moves as an electoral strategy. But coming from an important party and its prime-ministerial candidate, they collectively expose the BJP’s appeasing an extreme section of the community, as well as those organisations which have been directly involved in violence against religious minorities in Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra and other states in the past, and Karnataka and Orissa in the present.

This is coupled with the fact that Mr Advani’s BJP, which pilloried the Congress for backing politicians suspected of fomenting violence against Sikhs in 1984, has in 2009 given tickets to people such as persons in Kandhamal, Orissa, as M Pradhan who is in jail in on charges of mass murder of Christians. The Election Commission’s notice to BJP Lok Sabha candidate Ashok Sahu, and an Rs 50 Crore criminal suit against him for spouting hate against Christians which could again trigger mass mob violence against the micro minority, is proof of the party’s playing the communal card in the elections. It is not surprising that neither Mr Advani nor his party manifesto even make a passing reference to Kandhamal carnage and to the trauma suffered by the Christian community. Neither does he offer any hope to Dalit Christians in their long struggle for their just rights.

Mr Advani’s `Shashtang pranam” or greetings from a prostrate position of humility and reverence, may be a figure of speech, but is symptomatic of his party’s capitulating absolutely to the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh and its daughter organisations. As a leader of national stature, a former deputy premier and with hopes of leading s secular nation at a future date, he should have maintained a distance from groups of people whose “advice” and active participation in Dharam sansads, or religious parliaments in the past were major contributory factors to the demolition of the Babri Masjid and subsequent national tragedy of long drawn communal bloodshed.

Once again, in his letter, Mr Advani wants to set up mechanisms to be guided by their advice. As a secular democratic republic and not a theocracy, India has a separation of religion and State, if not in the western sense then certainly in neither government nor religion meddling in each other’s affairs. Mr Advani promises to reverse this trend. Religion has its place not at the levers of power, in State mechanisms or as political engine, but as a conscience keeper on civilisational issues and ethics. The Christian community certainly, even through its own Canon laws and other denominational mechanisms, gives religious heads powers to guide the flock on issues of faith, morality, dogma and doctrine, but leaves it categorically to the lay citizens, the community at large, to take part in national life, ideological issues and political affairs guided by their own reason on matters of security and the welfare of their brothers and sisters. This is why the Christian community does not believe in floating political parties of its own, but banks on democratic processes and forces to protect its rights and Constitutional guarantees.

The All India Christian Council has no comments to offer on the BJP’s right to pack its manifesto’s preamble with its own construct of India’s past. We are also familiar with the thesis of Hindutva. But the Council reads into the BJP’s so called offer of a dialogue with the Christian community nothing short of reopening issues settled in the long and learned debates of the Founding Fathers of modern India in the Constituent Assembly after which they enshrined in the Constitution the fundamental rights of Freedom of Religion, to profess, practice and propagate one’s faith. That is a sacred right, and cannot be negotiated if India is to retain its plural culture and its secular and democratic integrity.

The party’s pillorying of State mechanisms for minority security, including the Ministry for Minority Affairs and national commissions, howsoever impotent they may have been in the past, cannot but beget apprehensions in the community. The party’s own record in subverting Human rights and minority commissions in States that it governs shows the scant respect it has for such institutions.

Released for publication by Dr John Dayal.

The Election Commission is a private enterprise owned, controlled, supervised, directed and ‘politically’ manipulated by Sonia Gandhi

2009-04-21T18:58:00.001-07:00

Election Commission - A star chamber of India?

V SUNDARAM

Mon, 20 Apr, 2009 , 03:25 PM

At last the Sonia cat is out of the bag. As I have observed several times in these columns during the last four years, the Election Commission has again shown that it is a private enterprise owned, controlled, supervised, directed and ‘politically’ manipulated by Sonia Gandhi.

The Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami, who would be demitting office today (Monday, 20 April 2009), is reported to have taken the view that there was need for further enquiry to go into a complaint against Sonia Gandhi receiving the ‘Order of Leopold’, the second highest civilian award in Belgium during her visit there in November, 2006. This reasonable stand taken by an upright civil servant with unquestioned and unimpeachable integrity like N Gopalaswami, has been overruled by the Election Commission (EC) by a majority opinion. By a 2-1 vote, Election Commissioners Navin Chawla and SY Quraishi have overturned Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami’s view that an enquiry is necessary to go into the complaint against Sonia. These two Election Commissioners–known and planted political representatives of Sonia Gandhi and her Congress Party in the Election Commission--are understood to have recommended that the enquiry against Sonia Gandhi was complete and no further action was called for. Thus a divided Election Commission has sent to the President its politically loaded opinion rooted in the carcass of law (devoid of the spirit of law) on whether Congress President Sonia Gandhi should be disqualified as a Member of Parliament for receiving a foreign award, The EC’s view has been sent to President Pratibha Patil for her final decision.

N Gopalaswami has refused to divulge the stand taken by him or the two Commissioners but confirmed the issue was before the President. He has stated: ‘I do not want to say anything on this because this is a case on which the decision will be taken by the President. So until the decision is taken, there can be no discussion on this.’ Asked as to at what stage the case was now, Gopalaswami said, ’The point is that the President has not taken a decision yet. The matter will be finally decided at the appropriate time.’

The controversy regarding the disqualification of Sonia Gandhi arose out of a petition filed by Rajan, a public spirited lawyer from Kochi, who had sought the disqualification of Sonia under Article 102(1) (d) of the Constitution for accepting the 2nd highest Belgian honour from the hands of the Belgian King. This Article clearly states that anybody who owes allegiance to the Constitution of another country should be disqualified from the membership of Parliament. In his petition to the President of India and the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, he had stated that he found to his shock, and dismay, that the Order of Leopold was no ordinary paper but a special title that demanded ‘devotion’ and ‘loyalty’ to the King and the State of Belgium in return from the person honoured with the title. By accepting this award, Sonia Gandhi, as a sitting MP, had violated Article 102(1) (d) of the Constitution, she had compromised with her allegiance and loyalty to India and therefore stood disqualified to function as a Member of Parliament.Thus Rajan concluded that Sonia Gandhi accepting this award amounted to her owing her allegiance to the Constitution of Belgium and not India. Fortunately for our country, the President of India at that time was Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, a man of great integrity imbued with a sense of high nationalism founded on his lofty patriotism, in stark contrast with his Sonia-servile successor in that high office with dubious if not criminal credentials. Dr Kalam promptly sent the complaint of Rajan to the Election Commission for careful consideration in June 2007. Taking note of the complaint Petition of Rajan forwarded to the Election Commission, the Election Commission by a majority of 2:1 had decided to issue a notice to the Congress President Sonia Gandhi asking her as to why she should not be disqualified from acting as a Member of Parliament under Article 102 (1) of the Constitution for her having accepted the Order of Leopold from the King of Belgium. On this aspect of the issue, Gopalaswami and Navin Chawla were on one side and S Y Quraishi was opposed to this step. On the other hand, Commissioners Chawla and Quraishi agreed on seeking further details from the Ministry of External Affairs just to delay the matter, while the CEC Gopalaswami was opposed to this.

I had clearly understood even at that time that it was a sham drama cleverly enacted by both Navin Chawla and S Y Quraishi. This observation of mine can stand the strictest and impartial judicial scrutiny in any Honourable Court of Law in all the civilized countries of the world, excepting, perhaps Sonia’s India. In these very columns on 15 February, 2008, in an Article titled ‘Is this a ‘stale’ or ‘not so stale’ case, please!” I had observed as follows:

‘It is a well-known public fact that both Navin Chawla and S Y Quraishi owe their positions as Election Commissioners to Sonia Gandhi and the Congress Party. Both of them take special pride in functioning as ‘political agents’ of Sonia Gandhi within the Election Commission. Though the Former President of India Dr. Abdul Kalam forwarded the petition of Rajan to the Election Commission as early as in June 2007, yet the Chief Election Commissioner could do nothing because Navin Chawla and S Y Quraishi, owing their total allegiance to Sonia Gandhi and her family, checkmated Chief Election Commissioner Gopal Swamy for nearly 7 months. Navin Chawla seems to be under the mistaken impression that he can cleverly mislead the country by standing alongside Gopal Swamy in the matter of issue of notice to Sonia Gandhi on the Order of Leopold issue and alongside S Y Quraishi on the other aspect of reference to the Ministry of External Affairs. Navin Chawla knows full well that if he does not support Gopal Swamy on this aspect of the issue, then by his own abstention he would be forfeiting his claim to succeed Gopal Swamy as Chief Election Commissioner. On the other aspect of referral to the Ministry of External Affairs, both Navin Chawla and S Y Quraishi are colluding as greyhounds together to hunt down Gopal Swamy. Both these political hunters know that the Ministry of External Affairs under its ever-effeminate Minister Pranab Mukherjee will be waiting in combat-readiness to give a clean chit to Sonia Gandhi.’

My view has also more or less been endorsed by P Rajan, the bold Advocate from Kochi, who had sent a petition to the President of India seeking the disqualification of Sonia Gandhi under Article 102 (1) of the Indian Constitution. Speaking to the press yesterday he has rightly said: ‘I think the EC’s plan was to form a common opinion and reject the demand to disqualify Sonia Gandhi after the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) assumes office.’

Now to come to the stand of Gopalaswami that a further probe into the award of Order of Leopold to Sonia Gandhi is necessary in the larger national interest. The King of Belgium, His Majesty Albert II, paid a ten-day visit to India from 3 November 2008. His Majesty had meetings with President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. India and Belgium share a long history of business relationship, Belgium is an important trading partner for India and is one of the top 5 trading partners in the European Union. Belgium is the third largest trade partner of India in the EU with annual bilateral trade turnover exceeding US$8.6 billion with diamonds, gems and jewellery accounting for a sizable portion of the two-way trade.

The surging hawala trade between Belgium and India has increased manifold in geometric progression after the UPA Government came to power in May 2004. According to many reliable sources, close relations of top politicians in Delhi (enjoying all kinds of security including Z category security and diplomatic immunity) have been treating and visiting Surat as the chosen MECCA for their Hawala Operations in Diamond trade between Surat and Belgium. Against this background, the clinching observations of Dr Kalyanaraman become relevant: ‘An inquiry into Sonia receiving Order of Leopold, an award of shame in the name of a genocide culprit of Zaire, is immediately called for. How did Belgium become the third largest trade partner with India in 2008? Is it because of dredging contracts awarded for billions of rupees to Dredging International of Belgium and increased diamond trade resulting in stashing away illicit funds in tax havens nearby? Whether the infamous award is linked to new trade partnership should certainly be at the top of the agenda for the inquiry team. Yes, Gopalaswami is right. This calls for a high-level inquiry. The first order of business of the next Government is to order this inquiry and facilitate the return of Italian passport holders back to Luciana.’

The Election Commission today—filled with the chosen partisans of the Congress Party—is functioning like the STAR CHAMBER in British history. It was an English Court of Law that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster until 1641. Over time it evolved into a political weapon and became a symbol of the misuse and abuse of power by the English monarchy and courts. In modern usage, legal or administrative bodies with biased, arbitrary rulings and secretive proceedings are sometimes called, metaphorically or poetically, Star Chambers. This is a pejorative term and intended to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the proceedings. The inherent lack of objectivity of any politically motivated charges that were brought up in Star Chambers led to substantial reforms in English law in course of time. In India such reforms are out of the question.

Crimes Against India: and the Need to Protect its Ancient Vedic Tradition

2009-04-21T18:56:00.001-07:00

By Stephen Knapp
Book Review by David Frawley (Vamadeva Shastri)

Hinduism remains the most attacked and under siege of all the major world religions. This is in spite of the fact that Hinduism is the most tolerant, pluralistic and synthetic of the world's major religions. Hindu gurus have more than any other religious teachers in the world tried to find an underlying unity of religion to create peace in humanity. Yet though Hindu gurus have called for respect for all religions, leaders of other religions have not responded in kind by offering any respect for Hinduism. Instead they have continued to promote their missionary agendas and plan the conversion of India to their beliefs.

Why is Hinduism still so much a target of missionaries and the media? It is really very simple. Hinduism is the largest of the non-conversion, non-proselytizing religions and so offers the greatest possibilities for conversion. It is the vulnerability of Hinduism that makes it a target, not the fact that Hindus are trying to convert or conquer the world for some hostile belief.

After Christianity and Islam, Hinduism is the world's largest religion and the largest of the non-Biblical traditions. India, where most Hindus reside, has the most open laws allowing in foreign religious groups. While missionaries are virtually banned in China and in Islamic countries, in India they are often tolerated, respected and given a wide scope of activity. Since Christianity is in decline, particularly in Europe, it has a need to find new converts for which India is one of main potential locations, particularly as a comparatively high percentage of Hindu converts are willing to become priests and nuns. Pope John Paul II in a trip to India some ten years ago spoke directly of looking for a "rich harvest of souls in the third millennium in Asia", specifically India.

Yet most Hindus and groups sympathetic to them are not aware of this "siege on Hinduism" that continues unrelenting as part of the multi-national missionary business. In this context, the book of Stephen Knapp, Crimes Against India: and the Need to Protect its Ancient Vedic Tradition, is very timely, well written and well documented. The siege on Hinduism has been going on since the first Islamic armies and Christian missionaries entered India as he clearly delineates and has continued in various forms, violent, subversive or even charitably based.

While people know the history of the genocide of the Jews by the Nazis, the greater and longer genocide of Hindus by Islamic invaders is hardly noticed. Even the genocide in the Bangladesh War of 1971, in which most of the several million killed were Hindus, is not acknowledged as a religious genocide. While people know the history of the Inquisition and the burning of witches in Europe and the genocide of Native Americans by Christian invaders, they don't realize that India has a similar history in parts of the country like Goa. Knapp fills in these gaps and makes these connections.

More importantly, people don't realize that questionable conversion tactics are still being used in India today, where in the South, the rate offered for conversion is around twenty thousand rupies, going up and down with the economy! They also don't realize that it is now American Evangelicals of the Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson line -- the religious right that brought George Bush to power -- that is spearheading conversion activity and church building in South India, pouring billions into the country.

Yet Knapp's book is not just written to make us aware of this assault on Hinduism and its many dangers. He also provides a way forward, showing how Hindu Dharma can be revived, better taught, better communicated and more widely shared with the global audience, which is becoming progressively more receptive to Hindu teachings of Yoga, Vedanta and respect for nature. He documents the Hindu renaissance and the modern Hindu movement, which though small is growing rapidly as a Hindu response to this denigration of its venerable traditions. He shows that Hindus are not responding in terms of becoming another intolerant, exclusivist missionary cult. They are organizing themselves in terms of teaching, service and spiritual practices.

The book is well worth reading and will show any open minded person the Hindu side of a millennial debate on religion that has so far largely excluded the Hindu point of view. That Knapp is a western born Hindu adds to his credibility and conviction. He is not simply defending a tradition handed down by his family or his culture, but one that he has embraced from deep spiritual conviction and profound inner experience.

One hopes that readers in India will listen to his voice and that those outside of the country will recognize the Hindu plight along with the other forms of oppression going on in the world. Religious minorities at a global level are still under the assault of religious majorities, which have long been armed with petrodollars, high technology and control of the media. Yet as the book demonstrates, the tide is beginning to turn.

[More book info at www.stephen-knapp.com, and available as both paperback and downloadable ebook from www.iuniverse.com, and also through www.Amazon.com.]

New Middle Class Morality

2009-04-21T18:55:00.001-07:00

By Dr. Jai Dubashi

A good Hindu is almost by definition a modern Hindu. Swami Vivekananda was a good Hindu and he was also a modern Hindu. So was Lokmanya Tilak, the man who told haughty Britishers that “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it.” They put him in jail in Mandalay for six years but he did not bend. Tilak was a modern Hindu, and a modern Indian.

Where are all those ladies who used to frequent public drinking places in Mangalore—and maybe Bangalore too—and who thought that pub-crawling was their birth right and no one, certainly not men who did it themselves, would dare deprive them of their right? We haven’t heard much about them lately and also about the Ram Sena, which maintained that pub-crawling by women was un-Indian and wanted to teach them a lesson. Perhaps there has been some kind of truce between them, or maybe the ladies have stopped going to pubs.

I am in two minds about this. That women are within their rights to visit pubs and bars for drinking, just like men, goes without saying. This is a free country and there is no reason why they cannot or shouldn’t do what men do. Ours is a modern society and India is a modern country, and also a democratic one, and you cannot differentiate on the basis of gender. But the question remains: should women do what men do just because they are supposed to be equal? And was the Ram Sena within its rights in objecting to the public manifestation of this right?

It is true that women drink along with men in most public bars in the West. The women who do so or insist on doing so in public bars in India belong mainly to the middle class, for the simple reason that working class women simply cannot afford to do so. The middle class in India imitates the West and suffer from an inferiority complex vis-a-vis their counterpart in the West. Since the West is supposed to be superior to the East in most respects, the Indian middle class believes that it is doing the right thing in imitating westerners, including drinking and kissing in public, watching pornography in public, and going about semi-naked’ in public places because western women do so. If the men also want to do so, good luck to them!

What in fact our middle class women are saying–and they are supported in this by some middle class men—is that modernisation the same thing as westernization, and if you wish to go modern, whatever that means, you have to go western, because otherwise how do you know you are on the right path to ‘modernity?

So you shed your clothes and your bindi, you shed your inhibitions about sex and have several partners—because that’s what Britney Spears does and isn’t she on so many covers in New York and Paris?—and frolic in the nude at Cannes and on the yachts of investment bankers and playboys. It is all part of the game, as far as modernisation is concerned and who is going to stop us? Certainly not the Ram Sena, a smelly little gang of urchins who has never tasted a Martini and do not know what an Oscar is.

I grew up in Goa when it was occupied by the Portuguese. There were, and still are, two distinct communities in Goa, one Roman Catholic, and the other Hindu. The Roman Catholics were the dominant group simply because they were close to the rulers. The Roman Catholic Goans were indistinguishable from the Portuguese in almost everything except one—they were brown. Otherwise, they dressed the same way as the Portuguese, ate more or less the same type of food, and spoke the same language. I am talking here about the middle class Goans.

We Hindus, on the other hand, dressed differently, mostly in dhoti and shirt, prayed in temples, not churches, ate our own type of food, and had traditional Hindu names, which the Portuguese couldn’t even pronounce. All our ceremonies were traditional Hindu ceremonies, for we were very proud that we were Hindus, and when I first started learning Sanskrit, the language of the Hindu Gods, I cried, for I felt I was being carried to heaven.

Although I went to the same schools as the Christians, I rarely went to their churches, or, for that matter, to their houses. We never ate with them. My grandmother, a devout Hindu, was very strict about this.

Does that mean we were not modern? Not a bit. We were as modern as, perhaps even more so than our Christian friends. We learnt several languages—as many as five at the age of ten, including French and Latin—many of which I spoke or wrote fluently. We did scientific experiments and took part in geological expeditions. I had English books and learnt scores of Shakespeare’s poems by heart. I used to go to the Governor’s palace to study with his grandsons who were my classmates though I never touched their food or drank wine. I was always a good Hindu, but a modern Hindu, and when I went to England for further studies, I was even a little bit of an Englishman, though I had not tasted beer or touched bacon. The West is much more than beer and pubs; it is Milton and Shakespeare, Einstein and Newton, Brahms and Bethoven. And you don’t have to drink beer to make their acquaintance.

A good Hindu is almost by definition a modern Hindu. Swami Vivekananda was a good Hindu and he was also a modern Hindu. So was Lokmanya Tilak, the man who told haughty Britishers that “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it.” They put him in jail in Mandalay for six years but he did not bend. Tilak was a modern Hindu, and a modern Indian, who wrote extensively on Indian culture, opened schools for girls and founded modern colleges like Fergusson College in Pune where I now live. It was Tilak who signed the so-called Lucknow Pact with Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who was his friend and his legal adviser. And this happened nearly a hundred years ago.

Our guiding motto should be modernisation yes, westernisation No. We don’t have to copy the West in everything, whether it is drinking in public bars or dancing in clubs. Our women don’t have to expose their limbs to attract viewers. Cinema is an art-form and women, should be enthusiastic participants but they should remember they are Indians. We should be as modern as we can be, but we must also remember that we are Indian, citizens of a proud modern India, and stop imitating the West, and following westerners like slaves.

Exposing the Congress lie on managing public sector

2009-04-21T01:23:00.001-07:00

Exposing the Congress lie on managing public sector
Congress took Aam Aadami for a ride
By Naresh Minocha

The Congress Party is taking Aam Aadami for a ride by flaunting its so-called achievements. Many achievements, mentioned in its Manifesto, are either castles in the air or half-truths.

Take the case of public sector. The Manifesto says Indian economy has shown its resilience amidst the world’s worst economic crisis in 50 years. “This is the direct result of a vibrant public sector that is the legacy of Jawaharlal Nehru,” it adds.

Vibrant some of the public sector undertakings (PSUs) are but for the wrong reasons. And this exemplified by National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL). This national flag carrier, operating under the brand name, Air India, has all the malaises that afflict a typical PSU. It excels in tender manipulations. It turns a blind eye to dog-eat-dog action in the private airliner business. It is gladly creating conditions where a private competitor can fly piggyback on its operations. More of this later. NACIL makes a mockery of corporate governance by not evening uploading on its website the annual reports for last two years. There is hardly any information on the award of its major contracts.

It is small wonder then that Congress Party has not made public any independent study of the compliance of PSUs with the UPA Government’s 99-page Guidelines on Corporate Governance issued in June 2007.

NACIL is not bother about public accountability. An e-mailed questionnaire sent to the company’s Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Raghu Menon on February 23 remains unanswered. NACIL continues to incurring colossal losses in spite of the multiple benefits of synergy flowing from the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines. The merged entity is just hurtling on the tarmac.

The common sense logic would require any merged entity to hire consultant to undertake business process re-engineering (BPR) study to revamp and upgrade its operations. NACIL did exactly that by soliciting preliminary offers called from BPR consultancy firms in the last quarter of 2008. It said: “NACIL wishes to appoint a consultant to advise it in defining/upgrading/revamping of process, systems & organization in various areas of commercial functioning in an airline, including but not limited to: reservation & ticketing, pre & post flight processes, call centre processes and management….”

This enquiry came when the company was already processing separate tenders for call centres referred to as contact centre services (CCS) and for passenger services system. (PSS). The tenders for both CCS and PSS were issued separately several months earlier even though CCS has to be integrated with PSS. The CCS vendor has been selected before the selection of PSS vendor.

NACIL had issued a few other tenders such as the one for consultancy services for Hub Control System in November 2007. Business analysts say that all such tenders should have followed the preparation of a complete and optimal BPR. By pushing ahead with operation-specific tenders, NACIL has put the cart before the horse.

Coming to the issue of tender manipulation, NACIL invited CCS bids in September 2008 through highly restrictive competition. It said the prospective bidders must have call centres in Mumbai and/or Delhi. It thus ruled out participation of CCS providers that have facilities in other cities across the country. This brazen attempt to smother competition is completely at variance with prequalification criteria (PC) guidelines issued by Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).

In May 2004, it advised all government entities to ensure that the PQ criteria are “exhaustive, yet specific and there is fair competition.” In December 2002, CVC took note of discriminatory PQ criteria in several tender documents issued by different entities and observed “this system gives considerable scope for malpractices, favouritism and corruption.”

It is here pertinent to quote a World Bank study titled Bidder’s Entry and Auctioner’s Rejection published in March 2009. It observed: “Infrastructure procurement is still a challenging task for developing country governments. The limited degree of competition remains among the major concerns.”

NACIL has thus intentionally frittered away opportunity to secure highly competitive bids and save crores of rupees in operational expenditure. It has also inflicted a deadly blow to the very concept of globalised, location-free and seamless business of business process outsourcing. NACIL has indeed given a handle to anti-India lobbyist in the West to press their demand for ban on award of contracts to India-based call centres.

The restrictive competition led to submission of bids by only half dozen firms. In January 2009, NACIL selected InterGlobe Technologies (IGT) as CCS provider. IGT’s holding company is InterGlobe Enterprises (IGE), which has diversified business interests that include operating a domestic airline named IndiGo. IGT/IGE group is thus competitor of NACIL.

How is it that the NACIL forgot to keep out its competitors from bidding competition for CCS? The issue appears intriguing because of an identical case of conflict of interest that led to legal and public spat between Air Deccan and IGT. Moreover, the issue of conflict of interest with IGT was raised earlier by an official of Indian Airlines prior to its merger with Air India.

The issue of conflict of interest in aviation sector is so sensitive that Deccan Aviation Limited (DAL) had to make a public disclosure. In its initial public offer in mid-2006, DAL said: “We understand that an associate company of InterGlobe intends to start a low-cost scheduled airline that may compete with Air Deccan. While we have a contract with InterGlobe, we cannot assure you (investors) that, if an associate company of InterGlobe sets up an airline, our relationship with InterGlobe will not disrupt our CRS (centralised reservation system) and our rights in the CRS will not be compromised.”

It also disclosed that Air Deccan is in the process of migrating the CRS servers to an netural hosting service provider. And it did migrate to Radixx Reservation System from IGT in March 2007 and terminated the contract with IGT.

Later, IGT filed a winding petition against DAL in a court for alleged non-payment of about Rs. 5.57 crore. Subsequently, promoters of DAL sold their controlling stake in the company to Kingfisher Airlines. The two companies were finally merged with the merged entity getting the name Kingfisher Airlines.

Air Deccan’s founder and currently a Lok Sabha candidate, Captain GR Gopinath, gave blood-curdling account of its experience with IGT. In an interview with Mumbai-based Daily News & Analysis (DNA) on December 22, 2008, Captain Gopitnath alleged that it was sabotage by IGT that ultimately led him into selling Air Deccan’s controlling stake to Kingfisher.

DNA has quoted him as saying: “The (IGT) owner lied through his teeth that he was not starting an airline…. They (IGT) were supposed to invest in making their IT (information technology) roubust. But the IT collapsed…. Then we realized that this chap, who had given me the IT, had my data. So each time my IT collapsed, passengers migrated to his airline (IndiGo.) So why would he do anything? We then realized it was sabotage.”

It is anybody’s guess whether this account has served as a wake-up call for the Board of Directors of NACIL?

In any case, NACIL management knows that Indian Airlines had grappled with the issue of conflict of interest with IGT in 2005 at the time of award of contract for flexi fare system.

The then Commercial Director Anil Goyal thus cautioned Indian Airlines CMD as “IGT has now announced that they are going to start a domestic airline commencing winter 2005. This would mean a direct conflict of interests with us and it is not in our commercial interest to host and sell our inventory through a direct competitor.”

Indian Airlines thus did not finalise its proposed contract with IGT and the proposal ultimately fizzled out.

Electoral eve compulsions have this time forced NACIL to overlook the writing on the wall and embrace IGT. NACIL is sticking to decision to select IGT as CCS provider in spite of stinging criticism and complaints from different quarters including members of Parliament.

The Chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Castes, Buta Singh, for instance, sought the intervention of the Minister for Civil Aviation Praful Patel on this issue in January 2009. Shri Singh said: “If this contract is indeed unfortunately awarded to InterGlobe, the vital, strategic and revenue-impacting information of NACIL will now be instantly available to InterGlobe (IndiGo Airlines) to a huge disadvantage to NACIL. It will further cripple NACIL which has already booked a loss of more than Rs 2000 crore….”

Compromising Indian citizens’ lives for vote bank

2009-04-21T01:18:00.001-07:00

UPA has failed India on terror
G-20 slams India for going soft on terrorism
By Naresh Minocha

The outgoing UPA government is leaving the aam aadami and the nation highly vulnerable to terrorists, according to irrefutable evidence emerging from both within and outside the country.

What the aam aadami knows is that the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh earlier this month rubbed shoulders with other Heads of State from the world’s most powerful group of 20 countries (G-20) in London.

What the public does not know the UPA government’s shameful record in preventing terrorism as assessed on the G-20 report card titled Measures to Combat the Financing of Terrorism—Summary of Country Measures.

It compares 19 countries and the European Union that collectively constitute the G-20 on 15 parameters. India’s performance on most crucial parameters is nothing but a scandal.

The UPA-led India scored ‘nil’ on three crucial parameters and ‘No’ on two other vital parameters.

The country scored ‘nil’ against the parameter regarding the number of Al-Qaida and Taliban terrorists listed under two United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) 1333/1390 for which assets freeze order has been issued.

It is obvious that the United Progressive Alliance’s (UPA’s) obsession for minority community votes that compels it either go soft or drag feet against terrorism. Islamic countries such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, don’t have such minority fixation. The latter thus reported 503 cases and the former 182 against this parameter.

India again scores ‘nil’ against the parameter titled ‘number of other terrorists under UNSCR 1373 for which a freeze order has been issued’.

The report card assigns India zero on the issue of amount of assets accounts (of terrorists) frozen.

The country has been assigned a big ‘No’ against the query: ‘Can freeze be simultaneously?’

It again gets ‘No’ against the query titled specific risk-based measures in place to ensure that non-profit organisations (NPOs) cannot be abused for the financing of terrorism.

India’s laxity in the area of anti-money laundering (AML) and CFT has also been reported in an international study titled Vulnerabilities of Casinos and Gaming Sector, which was released a few days back.

The study has been prepared jointly by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and a global informal forum named Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which spearheads AML and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) initiatives.

The report says that India’s six casinos operating in Goa are not regulated under AML and CFT.

The implicit message is terrorists can thus easily channel funds through casinos in India as well as Nepal, which have also kept casinos out of the ambit of AML and CFT.

Here it is pertinent to remind aam aadami about UPA’s half-heartedness in implementing recommendations from various government-constituted entities.

The Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC’s) recommendation on (CFT), for instance, has not been acted upon.

In its report submitted in June 2008, ARC recommended incorporation of a separate chapter in the ational Security Act (NSA) to provide legal framework for freezing assets including bank accounts in cases “when there is reasonable suspicion of their intended use in terrorist activities”.

UPA government has to simply issue an ordinance to implement such a sage recommendation and thus avoid hundreds of terrorist-inflicted casualties in a year.

In its report on terrorism, ARC observed: “When faced with the need to protect national security and integrity, there is ample justification for having strong anti-terrorism provisions in the law. In fact, many western countries with strong traditions of democracy and civil liberty have enacted such legislations to deal with the threat of terrorism.”

Similarly, the Law Commission had also recommended a water-tight and comprehensive definition of terrorism that should include raising funds for or fostering activities of the banned organisations. This and several other recommendations to protect the life and limb of aam aadami are contained in the Commission’s 173rd report on Prevention of Terrorism Bill that was submitted in April 2000.

Later, the BJP-led NDA government had enacted Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), 2002 to deal with terrorism, whose legal definition included raising funds for terrorist activities.

As put by a General Manager of Training College, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2003, POTA “seeks to deal with types of heinous crimes like subversion, insurgency and terrorism in place of the existing criminal justice system, which is not designed to deal with such horrific crimes. The Act replaces the Ordinance that was first promulgated on October 24, 2001 and re-promulgated thereafter in December 2001. The Act also meets the requirement of the United Nations resolution calling upon member nations to enact a model deterrent law to curb the growing menace of internal and global terrorism.”

Turning a blind eye to such independent assessment, UPA government repealed POTA due to compulsions of minority politics, thereby giving a major encouragement to terrorism in 2004.

Forget amending NSA, UPA government has not even framed rules under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act 2008, which provides for punishment for raising funds for terrorist activities.

Same is the case with the Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Act (PMLA), which was yet to be notified after its passage by both the houses of Parliament in January 2009. The amended law is supposed to counter financing of terrorism.

Minority vote-bank politics has delayed the enforcement of amended laws as well as amendment of other laws.

The UPA’s lack of political will to take on terrorism is also confirmed from its failure to replace outdated The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976 with a new law, though the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) (FCR) Bill 2006 was prepared in 2006.

India would have won half its war against terrorism had it paid heed to advice from various international entities.

In 2003, Asian Development Bank (ADB), for instance, recommended: “Countries should review the adequacy of laws and regulations that relate to entities that can be abused for the financing of terrorism. Non-profit organisations (NPOs) are particularly vulnerable, and countries should ensure that they cannot be misused by terrorist organisations posing as legitimate entities”

In its policy paper on combating money laundering and terrorist funding, ADB said terrorists can exploit legitimate entities as conduits for terrorist financing, including for the purpose of escaping asset freezing measures; and to conceal the clandestine diversion of funds intended for legitimate purposes to terrorist organisations.

The US Department of State, in its International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), published in March 2009, has also raised alarm bell at the chinks in Indian legal framework in combating terrorism.

INCSR recommends: “Given the number of terrorist attacks in India and the fact that in India hawala is directly linked to terrorist financing, the GOI (Government of India) should prioritize cooperation with international initiatives that provide increased transparency in alternative remittance systems. India should devote more law enforcement and customs resources to curb abuses in the diamond trade.”

Stressing the urgency for passing the FCR Bill 2006 to prevent terrorist financing through NPOs, the report says: “GOI regulations governing charities remain antiquated and the process by which charities are governed at the provincial and regional levels is weak.”

Had the FCR bill been enacted into a law, India would have been to crack down on the channeling of terrorism funds through dubious non-government organisations (NGOs)/NPOs.

Had that been the case, India would have moved a step closer to membership of FATF, whose 40 AML recommendations and 9 CFT recommendations (40 plus 9) have become the global gold standard in tackling money laundering and terrorism funding.

The country at present participates in FATF only as an observer though it was invited to file an application for membership way back in 1998.

India is at present a member of two other regional FATF-type groups – Asia Pacific Group (APG) and Egmont group.

Membership of FATF would not only help India strengthen its capability to take on terrorists but also strengthen its case to access vital data on thousands of crores of rupee of black money stashed away in foreign banks by rich businessmen and politicians in tax havens.

India’s readiness on AML-CFT front would be known only after 2nd independent assessment called ‘mutual evaluation’ jointly by APG and FATF in the fourth quarter of 2009.

The first such assessment by APG in 2005 found India’s non-compliant with several crucial (40 plus 9) recommendations.

As put by a Finance Ministry official, “We had not covered all of what are called 20 serious predicate offences.”

The APG report said: “India has not undertaken any comprehensive threat assessment of money laundering or terrorist financing. Its legislative efforts have been concentrated on fight tax evasion and the large black money component in its economy.”

It is thus not surprising to learn that finance amended the definition of ‘suspicious transaction’ in PMLA rules in May 2007 only to specifically provide for reporting of suspected transactions relating to terrorist financing.

The ministry’s anti-money laundering arm, Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), is also implementing leisurely its information technology project named FINnet, which was conceived in 2006.

It had twice invited bids for selection of system integrator for the project in 2008 and later extended the last date for submission of bids to January 7, 2009.

FINet is crucial for both AML and CFT initiatives. It, for instance, would be capable of automated detection of suspicious patterns using data mining tools. It would also deploy advanced trend analysis using business intelligence tools.

By the time India becomes fully compliant with 40 plus 9 recommendations, terrorists would continue to get funds easily to carry forward their agenda. Thousands of more aam aadamis would perhaps have to pay for UPA’s lack of political will to nip terrorism in the bud.

Bhay (Fear) Ho! Jai Ho!! Jai Ho!!!

Secularists in India have a penchant for spreading lies

2009-04-21T01:16:00.001-07:00

SIT nails the mother of all canards

Fabricated evidence, imaginary incidents, cooked up killings, tutored witnesses, two-dozen template affidavits to support secularism.

Secularists in India have a penchant for spreading lies. Perjury promoters in the façade of NGOs hogged immense publicity and disrepute to the country cooking up macabre riot stories. They did it with the help of tutored witnesses giving imaginary incidents with generous publicity stunt from over-zealous media. First to expose the criminal conspiracy of this pseudo-secular brigade under activist Teesta Setalvad was her most celebrated witness Zahira Shaikh.

Now in a more credible and stinging revelation the Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by former CBI director K Raghavan along with former DGP CB Satpathy and three senior IPS officers—Geetha Johri, Shivanand Jha and Ashish Bhatia—entrusted with the inquiry into post-Godhra riots in Gujarat in 2002 has nailed the NGO claims in the apex court.

The findings of the SIT have exposed the mischief spread by Setalvad who paraded the so-called Gujarat riot victims before the whole world claiming that the state was not giving them justice. The findings of the SIT have come as yet another clinching evidence of the dubious and sinister game being played by the so-called patrons of secularism to tarnish the image of BJP in general and the Gujarat government in particular. Its dynamic leader Narendra Modi, was mercilessly targeted by the media to paint him a villain. The SIT has given sufficient grounds to the Supreme Court to doubt the authenticity of incidents highlighted by Setalvad and her notorious NGO, Citizens for Justice and Peace. Now the evidences have put a question mark on their claims on raping and ripping Kasur Bano’s stomach (Teesta might have picked up the idea from a James Hadley Chase novel The Last Three Digits) killing the foetus. All the affidavits were drafted, typed and printed from the same computer giving the impression that they were prepared at one place and they were tutored. Evidences of 22 witnesses were suspect, according to the SIT, owing to the identical submissions made to the court. The SIT found that these complainants were not even aware of the incidents. The SIT has made it clear that the evidence it acquired established that witnesses were tutored to give evidence about imaginary incidents and the charges levelled against the then Ahmedabad police chief PC Pandey were baseless.

The Supreme Court appointed high power investigating team accused Teesta Setalvad of adding morbidity into the post-Godhra riots in Gujarat by “cooking up macabre tales” of killings. The SIT further noted, “Many incidents were cooked up, false witnesses were tutored to give evidence about imaginary incidents and false charges levelled.”

It is understandable that the UPA found this lady worthy for the Padma award. The SIT has concluded that the alleged grisly incident of dumping dead bodies into a well in Naroda Patiya and the macabre rape and murder incident about Kasur Bano which hit headlines for many days actually never take place. The SIT further concluded that no corroborative evidence has been found to establish any of the allegations the NGO was propagating with vicious ferocity. Same is the conclusion of the SIT on Gulbarga Society, in which police was accused of complicity. These evidences have clearly besmirched whatever little credibility was left of the notorious NGO and its promoters. But what is immediately needed is to charge these Goebbelsian liars with perjury and more stringent punishments. Their cohorts in the media and politics should be asked to apologise to the nation and shut up.

Kandahar issue angers family

2009-04-20T05:44:00.001-07:00

ANANYA SENGUPTA

New Delhi, April 19: The Congress’s Kandahar attack on L.K. Advani has angered a young woman who was on the hijacked flight and whose uncle had stormed Jaswant Singh’s news conference in December 1999 to demand that terrorists be released in lieu of the hostages.

Kanika Naithani Mittal was 18 then and she’s “shocked” the hijack has been made an election issue by the Congress.

“In the past 10 years, I haven’t been free of Kandahar. I just want to tell these politicians to grow up… There are thousands of issues they can use to take digs at one another, why rake up this issue?” she says.

Kanika was one of a family of six on board Flight IC 814 from Kathmandu who walked free when the Vajpayee government took three terrorists to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, where the plane had been taken, and released them.

“I cannot say how relieved we were to see Jaswant Singh when he had come to escort the terrorists out…. it takes a strong person to do what he did. He put his neck on the line,” says Kanika.

Her uncle, surgeon Sanjeev Chibber, had earlier stormed into foreign minister Jaswant’s news conference and shouted that the terrorists must be freed. In the age of 24-hour television, this brought immense pressure on the government, especially as the Taliban foreign minister was publicly counting hours to the release deadline.

Chibber, who in retrospect believes terrorists should not be negotiated with, says: “It was terrible reliving the nightmare. But I believe that the Congress and BJP are the two faces of the same coin. Their ideology is based on opportunism.”

The cancer surgeon says his wife was so traumatised when news of the hijack broke that she didn’t speak a word for two days.

Kanika says: “I want to ask the Congress why they decided to take up this issue on the eve of the elections. Only for political mileage?… I’m disgusted.”

Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul have brought up the Kandahar hijack repeatedly in the election campaign to counter Advani’s claim that he will make a “strong” Prime Minister. One of the three terrorists freed, Masood Azhar, is said to have plotted the terror attack on Parliament in 2001.

Advani, who was home minister at the time of the hijack, had in his autobiography tried to distance himself from the decision to free the terrorists by claiming he was in the dark.

Arun Naithani, who lives in Dehra Dun, echoes daughter Kanika: “It’s just one-upmanship that they are involved in on election-eve. None of them knows what they are talking about. I feel that compulsions that come out of holding power as a government during a crisis like this lead to tough decisions like the one Vajpayee took.

Whether it was the Congress or the BJP, the approach would have been similar. Anyone could have ‘melted’ in that situation. I admire Jaswant Singh for his courage of acting as guarantee for us.”

The father of Rupin Katyal, the 27-year-old honeymooner who was the only passenger to be killed, is more upset than angry.

Chandar Mohan Katyal, who lives in Chandigarh, says it is terrible that political parties were trying to get mileage out of the tragedy now when 10 years ago, none of them thought of his family.

“Political leaders of this country had not even sent a word of consolation or sympathy to me over my personal tragedy at that time,” he said.

Hindus need to join together and break the thick wall of denial

2009-04-15T19:15:00.001-07:00

Overcoming Denial
by Dr. Babu Suseelan

As part of the election campaign, I have traveled the breadth of Bharat. BJP is very strong where RSS and VHP are effective. Christians, Marxists, Muslims and treacherous regional parties like DMK, ADMK, PMK, Telugu Desam, BSP, NDF and PDP have made an unholy alliance against BJP and Hindus. These anarchist groups receive millions of dollar from western Christian and Islamic nations to destabilize India and deconstruct Hindu society. The entire media is in the hands of Christian, Muslim and foreign groups who have determined to spread lies and manufactured news about BJP and Hindus. BJP should have assertively promoted Hindutva and a strong national policy for a vibrant and secure nation that can lead the world. BJP will come out as the largest single party with large number of parliamentary seats.

The bogus secular Hindus are trying to avoid major dangers by exposing Jihadi terrorism, Christian conversion, Corruption, looting of public wealth, black money and Pakistan inspired Islamic violence. And they are making compromises to appease Muslims, Christians and subversive groups. Congress, Marxist and regional political leaders are very hypocritical. They are in denial and easily give in to anti national pressure groups to protect themselves against injury and punishment. However, giving into this attitude leads to a loss of Hindu identity and self-esteem. The danger of assuming hypocritical behavior is a loss of Hindu identity. They wear a mask that pleases Muslims, Christians and their secular slave masters. However, they play the double role too well, compromising Hindu needs too much, and the mask becomes a permanent fixture. Could this election help Hindus to expose these scoundrels and miscreants? These pseudo secularists are in a hurry to surrender to hate and to their slave masters.

During my trip to Mumbai by train, I had the opportunity to speak to a secular journalist about preferential treatment for Muslims and Christians, Indian Black Money in Swiss Banks, Coercive Religious Conversion, Jihadi terrorism, distribution of Pakistan printed Indian counterfeit currency by Muslims, foreign money flowing into India for subversive activities and for conversion, Christian and Muslim domination in government, in education, security and defense. The secular journalist responded: "You know you're making all this up, it isn't true. I certainly don't remember any of the things you are telling now". The speaker was a Congress party member and a journalist and he was telling me in no uncertain terms that he did not believe me. His amnesia is intact and strong protecting him from unpleasant facts. I decided to blast at his denial a little. My remarks made him uncomfortable, but it did not break his thick wall of denial.

In fact, majority Hindus are in deep denial. Denial is an unconscious coping mechanism that grants people to adjust to uncomfortable situations. But when denial goes too far, it can interfere with reality check or create obstacle to moving forward. Like the secular journalist, majority Hindus are not realistic. They are afraid of responsibility and taking bold action. When Hindus are in denial, they appear to be pretending that something is not happening or is not true. This deliberate denial prevent Hindus from effectively dealing with issues such as Jihadi terrorism, Christian inspired Mao mischief, missionary directed Naxalite anarchism, Congress corruption, Marxist subversive activities and regional party inspired separatism that require effective strategies. It is a roadblock to result oriented and goal directed action.

In its strictest sense, denial is considered to be an unconscious process. That is someone does not choose to be in denial. However, In India, educated and secular Hindus and psychopathic political leader's denial may be sometimes having a conscious component-they may deliberately choose to be in denial. In either case, they are in denial and the Indian media amplifies it. Indian secular politicians and the oppressed Hindus want to avoid pressing issues and threatening facts of the situation. They minimize the consequences of Jihadi terrorism, subversive activities, and coercive religious conversion.

During my interaction with common travelers, intellectuals and political leaders I have found that denial is not the only mechanism they use to escape from reality. Alienated intellectuals and phony secular Hindus use other types of defense mechanisms to escape from responsibility. They use rationalization to justify Jihadi terrorism, religious conversion, corruption, and Islamic violence. Irrational rationalization and phony explanations help them to hide the real reasons for Jihadi terrorism, religious conversion, and foreign inspired subversive activities. They justify anti national activities and disastrous Congress policies and deeds with elaborate and incorrect explanations.

It is strange that the media in India resorts to "Repression" in dealing with pressing and problematic situations. By banishing all awareness or painful situations, they enable citizens to avoid problematic issues from their thoughts and feelings-as if they never happened. Media Repression and Suppression confuses the majority about threatening issues and enable them from thinking about the problem.

Hindus need to join together and break the thick wall of denial. Hindus are faced with life threatening issues. When faced with an overwhelming turn of events-Hindus have to face the reality of the situation.

Dr. Babu Suseelan

Modi: What was Congress doing during the Indo-China war, Pakistan occupied Kashmir, 90,000 Pakistani soldiers captured in Bangladesh & Mumbai attack?

2009-04-14T05:24:00.001-07:00

Balasinor (Gujarat): A day after prime minister Manmohan Singh unleashed his sharpest attack against LK Advani, BJP leader Narendra Modi on Tuesday hit back, accusing him of "kneeling down" and the Congress of displaying "helplessness" on security issues whenever in power.

"What was Congress doing during the Indo-China war of 1962. I want to ask the prime minister who is saying that Advani was wringing his hands, what was the Congress doing with their hands then. Today also thousands of thousands of acres of Indian land is with China," Modi said addressing a public rally in Balasinor town of Kheada district here.

"Even today half of Kashmir is occupied by Pakistan, what kind of strength does it show. I want to ask if the prime minister is kneeling down due to helplessness of Congress or is it part of your habit?" Modi asked.

The prime minister had on Monday attacked Advani for his "melting" before terrorists during the Kandahar hijack episode, of "wringing his hands" during the 2002 Gujarat riots and "weeping in a corner" when the Babri Mosque was demolished.

Modi also raised the issues of Charar-e-Sharif seige, the Rubaiyat kidnapping episode and the 26/11 attacks.

"Instead of attacking Pakistan what they did was made a CD of TV footage of Mumbai attack, made a file of newspaper cutting, put them in a box and the home minister took it to the US. There they cried that our neighbour has beaten us please help us," Modi said, adding, "this is perfect example of helplessness of the government."

Modi thanked Singh for starting the debate on 'majboor and majboot' (helpless and strong) prime minister and wished to take it forward.

"Advaniji may not reply on these issues, but I, though am a small man, only a chief minister of a state, I am giving the reply," Modi said.

"When Indian soldiers captured over 90,000 Pakistani soldiers in Bangladesh why were they allowed to go free", Modi asked about the 1975 Indo-Pak war.

"If we (BJP) would have been in power at that time we would have taken half of the Kashmir in exchange of those 90,000 soldiers" Modi said.

"I want to ask the prime minister why Congress had returned villages won by our soldiers during the war with Pakistan on the negotiating table," Modi said.

Modi added, "I today allege that under the Narasimha Rao government, when Manmohan Singh was finance minister, the Congress had given safe passage to five terrorists in Charar-e-Sharif of Kashmir after providing them a feast of 'chiken biryani' for seven days".

The situation was that the army had surrounded the terrorists from all the sides and had ordered to capture them alive or dead. But the terrorists threatened that they would blow off the shrine if the army tried to capture them, he claimed.

"Manmohan Singh who was then the finance minister, took out the money from the government treasury. Narasimha Rao government sent that money to Kashmir, where it was used to feed the terrorists with Chiken biryani," he alleged.

Modi said that Congress had played a vital role in making Mufti Mohammad Saeed the chief minister of Kashmir a few years aback.

"His (Saeed's) daughter, who is also a daughter of Congress 'gharana' was kidnapped by terrorists and they had released eight terrorists including Makbul Bhatt and given them safe passage to Pakistan," he alleged.

He raised questions on the actions taken by the UPA government after the Mumbai attacks in November last year.

"What did the UPA government do. I had then said that there were local people involved in the attack. Even the Mumbai police commissioner, who is a Muslim, said that 15 local people were involved in the attack," Modi said.

"After the commissioner made the statement, your government scolded him for that and as a result he had to change his statement within hours," Modi added.

"If you are strong why are you sitting on the 15 names who were involved in the 26/11 attacks. Why don't you search for them and catch them?" he asked.

Modi said that if the UPA government had gone to Pakistan instead of US, there could have arrived at some solution on the issue of terrorism.

He again raked up the issue of Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin while referring to her comment that India is facing more threat from insiders than outsiders.

"The UPA government has recently said that 30 Taliban terrorists have infiltrated into India. So now I would like to ask Soniaji-- Are these insiders or outsiders?", Modi said.

"Soniaji's mother-in-law late Indira Gandhi always used to say that there was a foreign hand whenever something happened in India. She does not belong to this land. After eating salt of India for the last 30 years, she should have respected the country," Modi said.

"Soniaji should take a hint from Indiraji. At least she should believe in her own mother-in-law," he said.

Modi also raised the issue of Congress-led UPA for giving reservation to minorities especially Muslims.

"As per our constitution, 50 per cent reservation has been sealed. Now, when the Congress wants to give reservations to Muslims, they will have to take some per cent from SC quota, some from ST and some of OBC's," he added.

"They (Congress) will take away from backward castes what was given to them by Babasaheb Ambedkar," Modi claimed.

The English media's hostility towards Hindus

2009-04-14T04:27:00.001-07:00

Arvind Lavakare
The English media's hostility towards Hindus

At long last, thank god, a confession has come from the English media. Reacting to the BJP's grievance that the entire media, particularly the one which communicates in English, has been greatly exaggerating the recent anti-Christian violence, the regular column last week of Shekhar Gupta, Editor-in-Chief of The Indian Express, displayed a rare ethical standard, combining as it did a fair degree of contrition with a healthy commitment to truthfulness --- qualities which are difficult to find these days in our troubled land.

Let's see the facts as outlined by the gracious Gupta himself. His column stated that---

· "First of all in Jhabua, there has indeed been no evidence yet that anybody from the Sangh Parivar was involved in the rape of the nuns."

· "Then, despite all the commotion and outrage in the media and the world, not a single Christian has been killed in Gujarat yet Also, Gujarat has a history of Hindu resentment against the missionaries dating back to Mahatma Gandhi's times."

· "Similarly, Orissa…a state run by the Congress, has a history of indigenous violence against the missionaries. Six persons were killed only last year and since the state has a large tribal population, conversions have been going on there…There is no evidence yet that Dara Singh" (the main suspect in the Stains incineration) "was actively involved with any Sangh Parivar organisation…"

Based on an examination of the above, Gupta came to the conclusion that "On facts, therefore, it would seem that we in the English-language media have something to answer for." Just a few paragraphs later, Gupta's column recanted even more by stating that "Surely, we in the media have much to answer for."

Now it is precisely such irreverence for the vital difference between "something" and "much" that often exhibits itself in a lot of our newspaper copy and misleads millions of readers.

It is the same old imp that springs to action again towards the end of Gupta's column. After admitting that the media has "something" as well as "much" to answer for, he quickly passes the blame on to the Sangh Parivar spokesmen's utterances for causing "self-inflicted wounds." He finds fault with (i) the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's charge of Christian conspiracy in the matter of the Nobel Prize awards to Amartya Sen and Mother Teresa, and with (ii) L K Advani for quickly giving a clean chit to Bajrang Dal for the Stains carnage. Now can any mature media man accept these two utterances as grave enough to warrant the kind of calumny that was repeatedly heaped on the Sangh Parivar by the media? The first reason cited was over in just a couple of days when the VHP withdrew its statement; and, revealingly, the second reason cited occurred weeks after the calumny had already been stuck by the media on the Parivar.

No, Mr Gupta, it is no use finding pretexts for running away from the truth. Just consider the following:

* The lead paragraph of a front-page report of The Hindu appearing in its edition of January 2 stated that "The two-member central team which visited Gujarat to assess the situation there after attacks on Christian missionaries were reported, has pointed out that the situation took an ugly turn after a meeting of the Hindu Jagran Manch was stoned at Ahwa town on Christmas Day and the HJM retaliated."

Towards the end of his report the newspaper's special correspondent mentioned that "In view of the tense atmosphere prevailing in the regions, the judgement exercised by the District Administration in permitting a protest rally on Christmas Day seemed to have been inappropriate and this led to the occurrence of other incidents." Yet the heading of that report proclaimed "Timing of Hindu rally inappropriate: panel." Was that fair? And despite that categorical report of the Central team, (without any such word as "seemed"), Mr Gupta is not willing to buy the Sangh Parivar argument that Christians started the riots in Dangs on Christmas Day.

* Despite the categorical report of its special correspondent, Yogesh Vajpeyi, did The Indian Express loudly announce to its millions of readers that no Hindutva group was involved in the Jhabua rapes? On the other hand, if Vajpeyi's report had even smelt the Hindutva hand in the affair, one can imagine what the paper's headlines would have been.

* Despite the categorical report of Vajpeyi, a veteran correspondent we are told, did The Indian Express and the rest of the media Parivar dub the Christians' national protest day of December 4 last year as being unwarranted, communally acrimonious and a vicious slur on the BJP-led government?

* Based on the information provided by the Congress government of Madhya Pradesh, Home Minister Advani announced that half of the arrested persons in the Jhabua case were Christians. However, one Church forum had the gall to publicly label Advani as being untruthful. Did the media criticise this defamation of the nation's home minister?

* On January 7, Ghelubhai Nayak, a 75-year-old Gandhian settled In Dangs since 1948, sent a fax communication to the Special Bench of the Minorities Commission setting out some disturbing facts of Christian activity in several villages of that district on December 25 and prior to that day. Did any journalist bother with Nayak and that fax of his?

Perhaps the gracious Mr Gupta and his ilk should seriously introspect over the accusation in a rare article published by The Times of India on January 29, 1999 in what seems another welcome instance of transparency tantamount to a confession. The writer of that article, Sultan Shahin, says, "The products of Christian missionary and other English schools that run our media treat everything Indian, particularly Hindu, with contempt. Our intelligentsia, by and large, treats the Hindu leaders as usurpers of power, even though they have come to power in a democratic manner. This is what is leading more and more Hindus to fundamentalism, militancy and violence… Hypocrisy has perhaps become a part of our intelligentsia's bloodstream during the long Congress rule."

This bellicose stance against Hindus and their BJP-led government is not the only affliction of the English-language media. Be it politics, civic affairs, economic issues or sports, the typical working journalist exhibits a flippant-cum-arrogant attitude in the stuff he churns out, oblivious of the rights of the readers. And the award of the by-line status is considered as licence to play around with myth and reality as per the writer's predilection or mood of the moment. The desire to learn, to study, to research, to dissect objectively is being sacrificed at the altar of sensationalism or animosity. Retired journalists of not so long ago will testify to this.

That state of affairs must be why the country's Vice-President, Krishna Kant, was provoked to say what he did at the function last year to give away the B D Goenka awards for excellence in journalism. As quoted in The Indian Express, Mumbai, of July 1, 1998, our vice president observed that "Loaded phrases, attitudinising adjectives, coloured descriptions, one-sided versions, half-truths, twisted statements, distorted quotations --- all of them diminish the truthfulness of reporting" while stating that if the Indian press wants to ensure its credibility, it needs to report faithfully and without bias. Now Krishna Kant is not a Sangh Parivar man, is he?

But then, even the gracious Shekhar Gupta admitted in his column last week that "It's difficult to defend the English media at the best of times. God knows we do commit crimes each day, on each page, including the rape of Queen's English."

It would therefore be of incalculable help to the vast, ocean-like Indian public if our media bothered less about suggesting solutions for preventing the so-called "self-inflicted" wounds of the BJP; the media's more important task ought to be to improve itself by attending to the malignancy taking root within. Instead of advocating transfer of the district magistrate of Dangs or Dhule as "an elementary administrative measure," it should first examine what degrees of punishment it can mete out to those of its own who are a slur on professionalism. And the first action in this regard is for every editor to suspend for a week all those reporters who write the all-too familiar phrase of "pelting stones" at the Church or the temple or the train; punishment alone will drum into all those errant ones that "pelt" means "attack," not "throw," and that the correct thing to is to say "pelt the train with stones."

Yes, it's high time to remember the old, old advice of not throwing stones at others if…

EC must disqualify Congress for promising religion-based reservation -Dr Pravin Togadia

2009-04-13T19:01:00.001-07:00

VHP general secretary Dr Pravin Togadia urged the Election Commission (EC) to disqualify the Congress Party for promising religion-based reservation in its election manifesto. Talking to mediapersons in New Delhi, he said if the Election Commission does not want to be termed as partial it must disqualify the Congress from participating in the elections. Dr Togadia also demanded a ban on Muslim League, which talks only of Muslims and is responsible for the massacre of lakhs of people.

He said the Constituent Assembly, the Constitution and the High Courts of Hyderabad and Allahabad have outrightly rejected religion-based reservation, even than the Congress is seeking votes by promising it in its manifesto. “If it continues the Election Commission would be considered as anti-Hindu. It has failed to stop the people to contest the elections who have even been convicted. Dr Togadia said the VHP and the saints are educating the countrymen to vote only to the parties and the candidates who assure to accept their 11-point agenda.

He said terrorism would not stop till preaching of jehad is not banned like in the US and the UK. “Our police which has been trained to maintain the simple law and order cannot fight against the terrorists who have been trained as army commandos. Therefore, a section of the Police should be trained as the army commandos and they should be empowered with special powers like Army Special Act while dealing with terrorists. Apart from it, the local support of the jehadis should also be eliminated. Only blaming Pakistan will not do any good until the local support of the terrorists is curbed,” he said.

About the Ram temple Dr Togadia said the talks of negotiations and judicial verdicts in this regard is nothing but denying the Ram temple to Hindus. The Parliament should enact a law handing for it, he added.

Hindus have to assert their influence during election time

2009-04-13T18:59:00.001-07:00

Polity should become nation-centric
For this, Hindus have to assert their influence during election time - Sarkaryavah Bhaiyaji Joshi

The Hindus do not believe in building pressure groups or vote-bank. But the influence of Hindu sentiment has to reflect in politics. Hindus should not be discriminated against because they don't assert politically.

Suave, soft-spoken, introspective and scholarly, the new Sarkaryavah of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Shri Bhaiyaji Joshi is essentially an organisation man. His keen interest and involvement with the social service activities of the Sangh is widely appreciated. Today, the Sangh runs the largest number of service activities in the country. His deep knowledge and study of the malaise afflicting the country's political life is reflected in the first interview as Sarkaryavah he gave to Organiser. He spoke about politics, priorities before the Sangh, role of Hindutva in politics, agriculture, food scarcity and developmental issues in this interview with Organiser Editor R Balashankar and Correspondent Pramod Kumar. Excerpts:

There have been reports in a section of the media claiming that the number of Sangh shakhas is declining and the involvement of youth is also decreasing. At the same time the media is ignorant about service activities being undertaken by swayamsevaks even in the remote areas where the government agencies do not wish to go. What do you say?
The claims that the number of Sangh shakhas is declining and the presence of youth is decreasing are baseless. Our experience is totally different. The number of youth joining the Sangh Shiksha Vargas every year is increasing. Many youth also come out as Sangh Pracharaks every year. It is for the media to take a holistic view. Otherwise it will put a question mark on its credibility. The role of media should be to educate the society and not to mislead them. It is a big question whether the media is today discharging its responsibility properly or not.

AS far as the service activities being undertaken by swayamsevaks are concerned, we feel it is not only the Sangh but many other people are also rendering yeoman's service to the needy people of the society. We feel that many social problems can be resolved through service activities. The objective of our service activities is not just to provide materialistic facilities to the people, but to infuse a feeling of self-respect into them. Today, the swayamsevaks run more than 1,50,000 service projects across the country. Still the media hesitate to highlight them. This is a fact that our work is not dependant on publicity. We have to work for the country and for our own needy brethren and we are doing this honestly.

The new Sarsanghachalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat stressed the need for focussing on rural development in his speech in Nagpur. Is there any major planning of rural development on the part of the Sangh in coming days?
The Sangh is engaged in a variety of integrated rural developmental activities for the last 15 years and those activities have now started producing good results. Rural development is not the work to be done in one stroke. It is a long-term mission. Involving the villagers in such initiatives and instilling a feeling of self-respect into them is a very slow process and takes time as well as patience. The Sangh is working for developing at least one model village in every district of the country. Today, there are about 100 villages in the country where the villagers have done remarkable work of development and very good initiatives have been taken in more than 500 villages.

The politics has today become minority-centric and no political party thinks about Hindus. Secondly, ideology also appears to have lost significance in course of alliance politics. What do you feel?
It is not a healthy sign. It is very unfortunate that politics is becoming region based. The dominance of regional parties may prove costly for sovereignty and integrity of the country. The parties with national outlook should be effective and influential at the national level. Otherwise, who will think of national interest? We do not believe in the politics of Hindutva as Hindutva is not the subject matter of politics. It is above all political considerations. But we certainly expect that there should be a government in the country that protects the asmita of the Hindu society. The Hindu society should be vigilant of the challenges before it. The political parties today neglect the interests of the Hindus because they are divided. Uniting this divided Hindu society is the only solution.

The political parties clearly mention in their election manifestos what they will do for minorities but they never talk about Hindus like that. Comment.
It happens because the Hindus do not think of building pressure on political parties for protecting their concerns. The parties will accept it only when they feel that they would not get the support of Hindus if they continue to ignore their concerns. There is a need to build strong, effective and positive pressure of Hindu vote in political outcome. Today, even those who call themselves progressive or communist perform all Hindu karmkands. There is no dearth of ritualism. The CPM government in West Bengal observe Durga Puja. Not only that they give public holiday on Saraswati Puja and Durga Puja and leaders of all political parties participate in such celebrations. They participate in these celebrations because they want to please their voters. They cannot afford to ignore mass sentiment. But these very people oppose Saraswati Vandana and Vande Mataram in Delhi. They made such a ruckus about it when the NDA was in power. This is their double-speak. It is wrong to oppose the traditions of this land just to appease a particular section of the society.

Despite 60 years of Independence the picture of the country is still of an under-developed country. What is the reason?
We cannot say that there is no development. There has been development in many fields. There are achievements like atom bomb, Chandrayaan satellite and modern means of communication, which enhanced connectivity and the prestige of the country worldwide. It is true that the over-all results are not as encouraging as the people had expected. As far as materialistic development is concerned much has been done, but when we think about the security and availability of resources to majority of the people, the picture is unsatisfactory. Crores of rupees are earmarked for education and health care every year but the money is not utilised properly. Apart from formulating good policies, the system of governance should also be people-friendly.

Agriculture sector has been neglected in the country for the last many years. What do you think?
Agriculture has not been neglected rather the Agriculture Policy has been wrong. We have accepted paravalamban (dependence on others) for increasing production of foodgrains. This started in the name of green revolution. Production increased. But the regenerative quality of the soil was compromised. This was the policy flaw. We became dependent on others right from the day we followed the ‘green revolution’. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides followed the crossbreed seeds, which made the soil non-fertile after some time. This method of farming ruined our water resources too. There is a need to adopt ancient methods of farming in modern perspective. Our agriculture should be cattle based. There is a need to change the Agriculture Policy also. Organic farming experiments are now gaining respectability. This will help in changing the picture in agriculture sector.

Do you have any message for the voters for the coming elections?
Pujniya Sarsanghachalakji has said in the Pratinidhi Sabha that there should be hundred per cent polling. We do not think who votes for which party, but all people should exercise their constitutional right to elect a stable government weded to the best national interests.

What is the role of the Sangh in tackling the challanges of social tensions created by terrorism, political opportunism and corruption?
The Sangh has dealt in detail on these issues in the resolutions passed at the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha. The government has to deal with terrorism with an iron hand. For this, effective laws are needed. Though, there are already certain laws, they should effectively and honestly be implemented. We expect there should be no politics while dealing with terrorism as the matter is directly connected with the security of the country. At the same time the people of the country should also be vigilant. There are terrorist attacks one after another in the country but people forget them after some time. We want the people to be alert and help the government agencies in combating this menace.

The politics today is completely power-centric and the feeling of national interest has taken a back seat. Basically the political considerations stand in the way of dealing effectively with terrorism. What should be done?
Politics should not be power-centric. National interest should override all other considerations. The politics of appeasement is very dangerous. There are many manifestations of appeasement and the political parties think only of political gains. Since terrorism is an invasion on the nation it should not be viewed on the scale of vote politics. There should be no question of taking political mileage out of it. All the political parties should take a united stand against terrorism. They should rise above all political considerations. Instead of keeping an eye on vote bank, all political parties, whether small or big, should give preference only to the national interest.

People now-a-days vote under the influence of caste, money and muscle power. As a result many vital issues remain unaddressed. How long will it continue?
Unfortunately, the common man is not aware of the game plan of political parties, who try to entice them with false promises. The problems will continue till the political parties cater to narrow sectarian interests only for votes. Solution will come only when we strengthen the forces of unity and politics with mission.

The Sangh has its own way of working. The situation in the country is fast changing and new challenges emerge everyday. How should swayamsevaks face these challenges?
The method of working of the Sangh has adopted its own pace. The problems, which need solution at political level, have to be resolved at that level itself. The socio-cultural organisations like the RSS cannot take the responsibility. The people sitting in power have to solve them. People or organisations like ours can only help the government agencies. The government should develop a machanism to involve the citizens in these efforts.

Varun Gandhi is the only person from the Nehru-Gandhi family who publicly said that he feels proud of being a Hindu. But he has been charged with all sorts of allegations. Would you like to comment on it?
What Varun Gandhi said is due to the circumstances that have developed in the country today. The issue he raised should be taken seriously. The language he used may be improper, but his feelings are genuine. It also has to be seen in the context of the situation prevailing there.

Insult of Hindu deities in history textbook

2009-04-13T18:47:00.001-07:00

DU Vice Chancellor summoned in Punjab court

Dr Deepak Pental, Vice Chancellor of Delhi University, was summoned by the court of Sub Divisional Magistrate Shri Rakesh Kumar in Dera Bassi, Punjab. Dr Pental has to appear before the court on April 22. He has been summoned for hurting the sentiments of Hindus in an article, ‘Three Hundred Ramayanas’, being taught in Delhi University to the students of BA (Hons) second year as part of a history book Culture in India: Ancient. The article contains highly objectionable contents insulting Sri Ram, Sita, Hanuman, Lakshman and other Hindu gods and goddesses. The complaint in this case had been filed by Shri Anil Bali of Dera Bassi on June 13, 2008.

It is to be noted that Shiksha Bachao Andolan Samiti and some other Hindu social and religious organisations have been protesting against the objectionable textbook being taught in Delhi University and the matter was taken up in Supreme Court also. But Dr Deepak Pental, Vice Chancellor, was not even ready to listen to the grievances of the people. Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s daughter, Dr Upinder Singh, is head of the History Department in the University.

“From the allegations contained in the complaint and the preliminary evidences led by the complaint in support thereof, a prima facie case is made out against the accused (Dr Deepak Pental, Vice Chancellor of Delhi University) for alleged commission of an offence punishable under Section 153-A, 295-A and 298 of the IPC. Accordingly, the accused is ordered to be summoned to face trial for the alleged commission of an offence for April 22, 2009,” the Magistrate said in his order announced on March 7. According to sources, the summon order has been served to Dr Pental.

The controversial book contains very abusive and libellous language used for divine Hindu deities by addressing Lord Hanuman as ‘Henchman’ and ‘Tiny Monkey’, etc. The names of other Hindu deities have also been changed like as humiliated language. The contents were un-authentic, malice and banned under the law. Sita was stated as ‘unfaithful’. “The intention of the article was predetrimental. The complainant was also aggrieved to know that many false stories were quoted under one pretext or the other. This was matter of concern that popular beliefs and prevailing traditions of Hindu culture are projected in distorted manner,” the Magistrate states in his order.

NCERT textbook highlights Macaulay who downgraded India

2009-04-13T18:43:00.001-07:00

By Himanshu Shekhar Jha

Instead of making our children proud of India and its glorious past the NCERT textbook tries to create a suicidal and absolutely false impression in their mind that Indian culture and educational system are inferior to their counterparts in the west. The materials used in the said book tends to make them feel that their ancestors were uncivilised and could be made civilised, truthful and honest through western education.

In this connection an NCERT textbook in History “Our Pasts-III Part 2 for class VIII may be seen.

Before discussing the subject further it is necessary to take a look at the words “our pasts” used in the title of the book. Does any one who know English well ever write or speak “our futures” or “our presents”? But the NCERT writers do not hesitate in distorting historical facts, how can they feel ashamed of grammatical blunder?

The book named above abounds not only in factual errors, but also contains observations which derogatory to the dignity of our motherland. Carrying a photograph of the British clone Macaulay who introduced a flawed educational system here the NCERT textbooks says:

“By 1830s the attack on the orientalists became sharper. One of the most outspoken and influential of such critics of the time was Thomas Babington Macaulay. He saw India as an uncivilised country—that needed to be civilised. No branch of Eastern knowledge, according to him could be compared to what England had produced. Who could deny, declared Macaulay that “a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia. He urged that the British government stop wasting public money in promoting Oriental learning for it was of no practical use.” (Pp 97, 98).

The sinister silence of the NCERT writers about the above objectionable remarks of Macaulay about Indian learning make it abundantly clear that they do not want to controvert them, but rather want the students to regard the educational system introduced by Macaulay as superior to Oriental learning.

How could Macaulay who did not have even elementary knowledge of Sanskrit, much less of Vedic Sanskrit comprehend the vast and variegated literature of India spanning several lakhs of years? This treasure-trove containing rarest gems of spiritual knowledge as well as worldly wisdom which contrary to macaulay’s mischievous remarks, is of immense practical value?

India’s ancient literature which includes the Holy Vedas and Upanishads is far superior to European literature of which Macaulay was boastful. No sensible or civilised person can say about any country’s learning that it has nothing useful in it and the same ought not to be promoted as Macaulay had said about Oriental learning.

There is no epic in English or in any other European language, which can equal the Mahabharata either in magnitude or in spiritual excellence. This great epic which was composed by Srikrishna Dwaipayana Vyas contains more than 1,00,000 verses which leave an indelible imprint upon the mind of those who are fortunate enough to have access to them.

While narrating the story of the Mahabharata to a congregation of holy men in Naimisaranya Ugrashrawa Sauti had said—Vibhetyalpashrutad Yedo mamayam praharasyati (Adi Parva O1: 268). The import of this verse is that the Veda is afraid of a ma of little learning and say “He will attack me”. Undoubtedly Macaulay and the like of him belong to this category of the little learned who make disparaging remarks about other’s Dharma, culture, civilisation and learning without having understood them properly.

Instead of condemning Britisher’s baseless and false observations about our countrymen the NCERT’s so called historians carry them again and again in their textbooks. Here is another example;

“Wood’s despatch argued that European learning would improve the moral character of Indians. It could make them truthful and honest and thus supply the company with civil servants who would be trusted and depended upon”.

The scathing message the NCERT textbook writers want to convey to the school going students is that the Indians are untruthful and dishonest and cannot be depended upon. Should growing children be taught in this perverse manner about their own nation?

Attaching undue importance to Macaulay’s Minute following which the English Education Act of 1835 was introduced in our country the NCERT historians brazenly highlights his objectionable remark, inter alia, about Benaras Sanskrit College which was one of the most important centers of Oriental learning as “a temple of darkness”. Could anyone manufacture a greater and more shameless lie than this and more importantly, could any self-respecting sovereign state spread such lies among its own students as Government of India has been doing through the NCERT textbooks?

The NCERT textbook on two separate pages (98, 99) carries quotes, which ridicule our dialects and praise European language. The first quote is as follows:

“All parties seem to be agreed on one point, that the dialects commonly spoken among the natives... of India, contains neither literary nor scientific information, and are moreover, so poor and rude that, until they are enriched from some other quarter, it will not be easy to translate any valuable work into them.” (p.98)

The subsequent quote reads as follows:-

“Wood’s despatch of 1854 marked the final triumph of those who opposed Oriental learning. It stated: We much emphatically declare that the education which we desire to see extended in India is that which has for its object the diffusion of the improved arts, services philosophy, and literature of Europe, in short European knowledge. (p.99)

What the NCERT writers do not want to say themselves they convey that through others particularly through India’s enemy Macaulay.

The recent reports of violence in educational Institution and other evils like suicide by students and their growing infatuation for wine and other intoxicating drugs bear eloquent testimony to the fact that Macaulay’s educational policy which he imposed on our country during British Raj like his highly flawed penal code is detrimental to our all round development and the sooner it is altered the better it will be.

(The writer is an Advocate in the Supreme Court may be contacted at A-207, Kalyani Apartments, Sector-06, Vasundhara (Ghaziabad), UP)

Secularism is a facade to abuse Hindus

2009-04-13T18:41:00.001-07:00

Who said that secularism marks the distinction between one Indian political party and another? ‘Secularism’ is the most prostituted word in India and it has been most shamelessly exploited by many parties, most notably by the Indian National Congress. The word lost its meaning and significance a long time ago. What prevails in India is casteism, pure and simple. The Congress is casteist and it should be said so in its face. It has been cheating the public for far too long. Parties in India—barring, perhaps, the Bharatiya Janata Party—depend upon caste votes. In Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati depends upon the dalit vote. Yadavs determine who should be in power in Bihar. In Karnataka much depends upon whether one is a Lingayat or a Vokkaligagowda—and ideology be blowed.

In Tamil Nadu, as The Hindu (March 28) has noticed it, it is caste that prevails over political chemistry in the building of alliances. Consider the role of the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), which has now opted out of the UPA alliance. It has now joined hands with Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK. Says The Hindu: “Ideological affinity did not turn out to be a decisive factor in alliance-formation.” Ha, ha! Ideology? What is that? According to the paper, “As a party enjoying support among sections of the Vanniyar community, a most backward class in Tamil Nadu, the PMK has managed to be on the winning side in every general elections.” PMK founder, S Ramadoss is reportedly keen to ensure that there will be no blemish on his track record of winning in every general elections. Blessed be his caste!

If it is not caste, it is language that influences people. In Mumbai, the Shiv Sena wants the “Marathi manoos” to be made the Prime Minister following the elections. The Shiv Sena threw all ideologies to the wind to vote for another Marathi manoos as President of India. If it had the power, it will, no doubt, appoint only Marathi manoos as Chief Justice of India, Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army and every other top post available.

Tamil Nadu has not two but several political parties fighting for power. The Tamil chauvinist Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi is one of them. It was once part of the anti-Brahmin DMK-led alliance. According to The Hindu, “The only significant party still out of the two alliances is the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) led by actor Vijayakant, which secured 8.38 per cent of the votes in the 2006 Assembly elections”. How powerful is DMDK? The Hindu should know. But it says: “Unlike caste-based parties, the DMDK might not be able to transfer its entire vote share to an ally and therefore its value as an alliance partner remains unproven.”

One suspects that one must re-define ‘minorities’ not in terms of religion but more accurately in terms of caste. That would be more honest. The Congress, no matter how brave a face it puts up, is now in real trouble. As The Time of India (March 27) noted, “With many UPA constituents breaking away from the Congress on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections, this is going to be a make-or-break election.” Judging from the newest developments, the elections will probably make the NDA and break the UPA—and just as well. The Congress has no friends. We hardly hear of any top Congress leader doing the election rounds in the country. In Tamil Nadu, according to The Times of India, “The ground is shifting from under Congress feet”, and “The only significant friends the Congress has left appear to be the NCP in Maharashtra, the DMK in Tamil Nadu and the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal”. Some friends, these.

Only those who have served abroad as foreign correspondents know how tough it is to be one, especially in countries like Pakistan where the murder of journalists is now becoming commonplace. That is why all admiration goes to Nirupama Subramaniam, Islamabad correspondent of The Hindu who, along with Vinita Deshmukh of Intelligent Pune, won the Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Woman Mediaperson for 2008. Nirupama has been doing a splendid job in a country that is rapidly going to the dogs. She has a tough job to do. She is probably under around-the-clock surveillance and her telephones must be similarly tapped by the minute. Not even her mobile would be spared. She must be in a constant danger and one only hopes that tight security surrounds her and she is well-guarded. That a woman correspondent has dared to take up the assignment calls for high praise. The jury that gave the award comprised of Prof. Nirija Gopal Jayal of the Centre for Law and Governance at Jawaharlal University, Bhaskar Ghose, former CEO of Lok Sabha TV and Raj Chengappa, associate editor of India Today. Of the several entries Nirupama was selected for her dedication to responsible journalism “in complex and delicate environments”. Well said. Equally praiseworthy is the citation. It says: “Nirupama’s reporting has been consistently first-rate, analytical and offering balanced perspectives. Her coverage has ranged from reclaiming the Pushtun love for music to oppressive blasphemy laws, trade, the sliding economy and PoK’s interest in cross-border trade to stimulate economic progress on its side.” In her acceptance speech read out at the ceremony in absentia by her sister Vasudha Sondhi, Nirupama reminded everyone that on the very day the award was announced, the editor of Aaj newspaper was shot dead. As she put it: “In Pakistan, where I am based, a number of journalists have lost their lives in recent months…I believe there is only one way for journalists to look at India-Pakistan relations, and that is through the prism of peace….”

There are so many journals in India that do good work but largely go unnoticed like Vinita Deshmukh’s Intelligent Pune. Ms Deshmukh was given the award for “her campaigns that have been marked by grit and perseverance in the pursuit of truth and public welfare”. The journal must certainly be an outstanding one for its worth to be recognised. What is significant is that the journal is edited by a woman, one, to be honest, one has never in the past heard of. Which only shows the tremendous number of people who go about their work silently, but hopefully very effectively, for there is so much to achieve in India by way of social and political reform. In the past editors were largely men. The times, obviously are changing and for the better.

Misuse of state power, draconian laws, Mayawati unleashes a reign of terror

2009-04-13T18:33:00.001-07:00

By Shivaji Sarkar

If not terror, it is a terrible sense of fright that rules the minds of the critics of UP Chief Minister Mayawati. The Press is not excluded.

Even after the elections were announced and model code of conduct came into force, UP’s Information Department sent virtual show-cause notices to a number of freelance journalists asking why their accreditation should not be cancelled. They were also told to submit the write-ups that they had written during the past three months.

The step, according to the leader of a journalists’ organisation, had been taken to instil fear among the journalists so that they do not write anything critical of the BSP government. The State government has reportedly found that since freelance journalists are not attached to any organisation, they are not easy to be put on leash.

The leader said that uncomfortable journalists are eased out through a threat to the managements. There are many instances, but he made a request not to mention specific cases because it might lead to further victimisation. “Democratic process in the State has virtually been stalled.” Many journalists have suffered it. The managements do not “sack” the journalists against whom the complaints are received from the government. They are told to resign.

This has a demonstrative effect. Journalists avoid critical writing. The Chief Minister is never criticised.

Asked why journalists do not seek an audience with the Chief Minister, the leader of another journalists’ organisation said she does not meet anybody. She keeps off and functions through the bureaucracy. Even many political leaders are not granted audience.

The political leaders also live in the scare of the mighty Chief Minister. They are harassed on the sly. Nobody criticises her at least in the open. The administration knows how to arm-twist the critics. The Samajwadi Party members and leaders have been the particular targets. Others are also not spared. Even sometime back the mighty MP from Gorakhpur Mahant Aditya Nath was so humiliated that he broke into tears in the Lok Sabha.

That is not an isolated event. It happens every day. Even Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Railway Minister Lalu Yadav had to suffer it as the district administration refused permission to inaugurate a railway project.

Similar incidents happen with impunity. The BSP supremo has struck such a terror that her extravaganza is rarely reported. Neither any one protests against it.

The State is today known for all kinds of wasteful expenditures. These are being made in the name of dalit pride and beautification. The Begum Hazrat Mahal Park, the biggest in Lucknow, has been truncated to create some grotesque architecture. All over the State statues are being erected. It includes her own statues.

The State is now known for demolishing existing stadia and other structures to create structures that suits the whim of the Chief Minister.

In Noida, the picturesque green belt has virtually been destroyed to create tall running walls. Nobody knows the purpose. Flyovers are being built where possibly none is required.

Though not many roads are being laid, but iron grills are put either on the sides or at the centre of roads in the name of beautification.

A political leader said that the State is being dumped with “iron, steel and bricks. Each contract has a cost and creates cut for those who matter”. The political leaders, journalists and all others discuss it in hushed tones but nobody dares challenge it.

Even the so-called Ganga Expressway is said to be created for this purpose and not for the sake of development of the State. The process of development has virtually been stalled in the State. It reels under severe power cut. But the State is not known to have undertaken a new power project.

Industries are finding it difficult to function. The industry and trade complain that even routine jobs are not done unless it is routed through the right quarters. The State government has raised VAT from 4 per cent to 12 per cent on many items. Nobody pays any heed to their representations.

The media in the state never raises the issues. The fear factor and allurement or threat of withdrawing advertisements does the trick.

WHAT CAN ONE HINDU DO?

2009-04-11T20:49:00.001-07:00

Dr. BABU SUSEELAN

Individuals who are concerned about the state of Hindus around the world and want to correct it frequently ask this question. More often than that, it is asked in a form that indicates the cause of their helplessness: "What can one Hindu do?" "How can an individual propagate the ideals of Hinduism on a scale large enough to effect the immense changes which must be made in every walk of life in order to create the kind of ideal society? Some ask the right questions, some feel that some wider scale of action is required. Many others ask the question, but do nothing. Some expect to perform instantaneous miracles; some however paralyze themselves by projecting an impossible goal. Some want to overhaul Hindu society overnight, and they tend to regard knowledge of Hinduism as irrelevant.

CHANGING MINDSETS

If you are a Hindu and are concerned with the present state of affairs, begin by identifying the nature of the problem. The battle is primarily intellectual, political, social and religious. Politics is the practical implementation of the ideas that dominate our culture. One cannot fight or change the consequences without fighting and changing the cause, nor can one attempt any practical implementation without knowing what one want to implement.

In an intellectual battle, one need not convince every one. History is made of minorities, or more precisely, intellectual movements which are created by minorities. They make history. Intellectuals with foresight and commitment can develop abstract and functional strategies to change the society. An intellectual battle is a battle for man's mind, not an attempt to enlist blind followers. Only people who understand them can propagate ideas. An organized movement has to be preceded by an educational campaign, which require active and willing participants. Such trained persons are the necessary precondition of any attempt to change the Hindu society.

The immense changes, which must be made in every walk of life, cannot be made singly, piecemeal or retail. But the factor that underlies and determines every aspect of Hindu life is Hindu ideals. Teach every man the right Hindu ideals and his own mind will do the rest. The starting paoint is the family. Teach your children Panchatantra, Ramayana, Bhagavat Gita, Bhagavatam, Mahabharata, Chanakya Sutra, Vedas, Upanishads and Darsanas. These books contain everything you need to know about moral life, healthy living and spiritual directions. Practice our rituals, protect it and promote it without reservations. Make temple visit a daily routine. Partcipate in temple festivals and pilgrimage.

Hindus cannot exist without practicing and protecting Hinduism. Every Hindu is not intellectual innovators, but they are receptive to the ideas, when and if it is offered. There are also great numbers of Hindus who are indifferent. Such Hindus accept subconsciously dualistic and divisive ideas of other religions and thoughts without critical evaluation. They also accept whatever is offered by the distorted secular culture, and swing blindly with any transient ideas. They are merely oscillators-be they politicians, bureaucrats, businessmen, or educators-and by their own choice, irrelevant to the fate of the world.

Today, most Hindus are acutely aware of cultural pollution, coercive religious conversion, Jihadi terrorism, ideological confusion, distorted secularism, and political turmoil created by the pseudo secularists and alienated intellectuals. But they are anxious, confused and groping for answers. Are we able to enlighten them? Can we answer their questions? Can we offer them a consistent ideology? Do we know how to convince them? Are we immune from the fallout of the constant barrage aimed at the destruction of our Hindu culture? To provide them with clear, consistent, and correct concepts, we need an intellectual, social and political struggle.

If we want to influence a country's intellectual trend, the first step is to bring order to our own ideas and integrate them into a consistent case, to the best of our knowledge and ability. Knowledge necessarily includes the ability to apply abstract principles of Hinduism to concrete problems, to recognize the principles to specific issues, to demonstrate them, and to advocate a consistent course of action. Our Rishis and Acharayas have given us philosophical guidelines in the Vedas, Upanishads and Darshanas.Our Puranas and Ithihasas are replete with examples, illustrations and guidelines to handle any imaginable human problem.

When our convictions and commitment to Hinduism are in our conscious, orderly control, we will be able to communicate them to others. This does not mean one must make philosophical speeches on Hinduism when unnecessary and inappropriate. We need the philosophy of Hinduism to back us up and give us a consistent case when we deal with or discuss specific issues.

How can we propagate our ideals of Hinduism? Do not wait for a national audience. Speak on any scale open to you, large or small---to your friends, your associates, your professional organizations, or any legitimate public forum. You can never tell when your words will reach the right mind at the right time. You will see no immediate results---but it is of such activities that public opinion is made.

Make any issue or problem an ideological issue. An issue of Hindu ideals versus sectarian philosophy (pluralistic, all inclusive, spiritual, open, and systemic philosophy versus pseudo secular, fundamentalist, dualistic, divisive, rigid, all exclusive, mechanical models).

Do not pass up a chance to express your views on important issues affecting Hindus. Whether it is discrimination, prejudice, race relations, international affairs, religious conversion, terrorism, distorted secularism, fundamentalism, personal law, polygamy, or any social, political or religious issues. Write letters to the editors of newspapers and magazines, to TV and radio commentators and, above all, to the political leaders.

Remember, the best democracy is still no guarantee against intolerance and bigotry, and eternal vigilance is an expression that will never become obsolete. The opportunities to speak about Hindu philosophy are all around you. Hindus need to repeatedly examine incidence and issues of prejudice and false propaganda. Hindus should not keep silent when the philosophy of Hinduism and Hindu values are being questioned. Always be vigilant and recognize warning signs of intolerance and its perpetrators, and contribute to efforts to preserve religious freedom to practice and promote Hindu values.

Always explore the nexus of pseudo-secularists and deprogrammers who want to demoralize Hindus. Above all, do not join the wrong ideological groups or movements, in order to do something. By ideological (in this context), I mean group or movements proclaiming anti-Hindu values. Many anti-Hindu groups substitute anarchism for liberal democracy, pluralism for theological fundamentalism, and reason to whims and faith. To join such groups means to reverse the noble philosophy of Hindus, and to sell out pluralistic principles for the sake of some superficial and intolerant ideologies. It means that you help defeat the noble values of Hinduism and the victory of sectarian and exclusive ideas.

FORGE PARTNERSHIP

The groups one may properly join today are organized to achieve a single, specific, clearly defined goal, on which men of differing regions and backgrounds can agree. Actively participate in organizations like RSS, VHP, Bajarang Dal, and Hindu Munnani. These groups have no hidden agenda, selfish motives or sectarian political purpose. These organizations have a mandate, mission and desire to assist those Hindus in difficult circumstances to improve their life. It is important to establish close working relationships with such Hindu organizations to foster coordination, cooperation and coalitions addressing specific Hindu needs. All across the globe thousands of volunteers regularly give their time and talents to make a positive difference in the lives of Hindus. They are proud of their part in a great endeavor. For Hindu society to prosper and survive, we all must live up to our responsibilities as Hindus.

It is a mistake to think that the intellectual movement to propagate Hindu ideals is without difficulties. It requires a profound conviction, that ideas based on Hinduism are important to you and to your own life. If you integrate that conviction to every aspect of your life, you will find many opportunities to enlighten others.

There is no short cut to achieve our objectives. Hindu philosophy is a permanent fuel and ideological powerhouse. So propagate it with activism. If others destroy our identity, and establish a mechanical, all exclusive, narrow minded and rigid political philosophy and life style, it will be the default of those who keep silent. We are still free enough to speak, organize and act. Do we have time? No one can tell. But time is on our side-because we have an indestructible and invincible thought system-Hindu ideals.

Manmohan Singh indulging in shadow boxing

2009-04-11T19:02:00.001-07:00

by Dr Mrs Hilda Raja
date Sat, Apr 11, 2009 at 10:45 AM

Manmohan Singh who thinks he is made of prime minister material because Mrs Sonia Gandhi thinks so is on election campaigning–drawing room style. So carefully selected groups are invited for him to address and use them to amplify his low voice, inability to debate with his sharpest riposte against his opponents-whom he refuses to meet face to face. This is shadow boxing he is indulging in.

Manmohan Singh is a robot-programmed with a remote control, hence he acts the way he acts, talks the way he talks with a perception mechanically fed in. He is functioning according to the inbuilt program module.

He advises the Security Forces to maintain ‘zero tolerance for fundamental human rights violation’ and in the same breathe states that sometimes Muslim youth are harassed.

His audience was a group of senior Urdu journalists. One feels like throwing up one’s hands in utter despair with a PM of this mindset. The solution he holds out will only aggravate communalism—namely the setting up of committees comprising of respected Muslims in every State to look into any case of harassment of innocent members of the community.

Next we will have Muslim police stations manned exclusively by Muslim cops—an army exclusively of Muslims and separate lock—ups for Muslims. It is a betrayal of the people of this country for a PM to speak thus. Harassment of any innocent youth must be looked into, but why by a committee of exclusive respected Muslims? Why not a committee of respected citizens? Why are Muslims suffering from a persecution mania?

At this rate we will end up by setting up communal committees for every communal community which accuses of alleged harassment of its youth. How are the cops to maintain zero tolerance of human rights violation if they are gagged from investigation?

Take for example the latest arrest of a hit man of Chhota Shakeel gang—Rashid Malabari whose arrest blew the lid of a conspiracy to kill Varun Gandhi. Interrogation of Rashid revealed a larger conspiracy.

Chhota Shakeel’s gang had planned to target political leaders of Gujarat as well. This Rashid has committed several offences in south India and Maharastra. In this background where will the police hunt for more information—Will this gang be hiding in Muslim communities or in Hindu communities? Should the police follow secularism–Congress type and pick up four Muslims and four Hindus to ferret out some information? Search one Muslim community and then search another Hindu community area? The ATS is at a loss because they are ignorant of how many Chhota Shakeel’s men are active in Gujarat.

Can the PM enlighten his modus operandi how not to harass Muslim youth? May be he can provide some tips to the police sitting comfortably in his chamber and holding forth—for after all he is a thoroughly communalized prime minister material and we must avoid giving him sleepless nights if even one Muslim youth is harassed?

The Congress has so ruthlessly and efficiently communalized the people and hence it suffers from its own ‘projection’ and faults the BJP for communalism. This again is a common psychological disorder. An indication is its pseudo secularism which it thinks is secularism.

The Congress has demolished the Indian—we have only Muslim Indian, Hindu Indian under minority/majority tags kept in tightly guarded ghettos.

Exclusive and inclusive are the two prong offensive of a communal Congress to communalize the nation for its own vested interest.

Dr Mrs Hilda Raja,
Vadodara

Advani not PM material: Manmohan Singh

2009-04-11T18:59:00.001-07:00

by Dr Mrs Hilda Raja
Sat, Apr 11, 2009 at 3:02 AM

Mr Manmhohan Singh is trying to be a politician though career wise he had been a bureaucrat groomed to sign papers. On the eve of the General Elections he is trying to find his voice and convince people that he has an independent voice and is not an echo. But he fails miserably because—one cannot change the leopard’s spots. Some people like to be led—that’s their personality and Manmohan Singh belongs to such a personality type. Simply talking soft does not make a man correct in his statements and does not hide the arrogance and the self righteousness buried in his soft speech. It is not for him to convey to the people whether his opponent is PM material. Was he PM material and still was he not inflicted on the nation? Had he been elected by the people then there is no grouse because we will get what we deserve. But to be inflicted on the nation by one hand is not democracy and is not fair to the people. But here is a man who is shying to fight the elections and face the electorate but reels out of his success story. This is in lay language is hollow boast and is not befitting of Manmohan Singh to give it an Indiannness and culture sheen.

In his quiet voice he has made snide remarks when he retorted that he will not accord Advani the privilege of being ‘an alternative Prime minister’. It is not for him but for the people of this country to decide who will be the alternate PM. This is the height of pride. What has Advani achieved he queries? What has Rahul achieved for Manmohan Singh to project him as the PM? Any Indian can be an alternative PM. Who is Manmohan Singh the handpicked man of Sonia Gandhi to deny that? This reveals his arrogance and his inability to appreciate democracy. The fact is that even with his success story which he and the Congress boasts of, he is not sure that if he faces the electorate he will win. It is compulsive for the Congress to have one like him back as PM because then Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s hidden agenda can be enacted. Manmohan Singh can be manipulated—Mrs Sonia Gandhi can continue being the puppeteer and when she decides he will on health grounds vacate the seat for Rahul to take over. This can be done only with Manmohan Singh in the gaddi—no other person with some integrity and self respect will be such malleable material and a puppet. For this and this alone it is compulsive for Mrs Sonia Gandhi to usher in Manmohan Singh through the backdoor as the PM. She is not prepared to take risks and hence Manmohan Singh does not want to stand for election but submits himself to be led by the hand to the gaddi hopefully.

Manmohan Singh denies that he was a weak PM. But he had confessed that he was ‘out of the loop” when questioned how without the knowledge of the PMO Quatrocchi was allowed to flee with his loot which was freezed in UK. True Manmohan Singh is not a good speaker—which he accepts but he says he can take decisions. He is no Kamaraj who was a poor speaker but a doer. This is no debating society and the country is not looking for a good debater but a debate with Advani will enable him to narrate his 85 percent success story—his achievements, the people expect the doer to state this doings? The man who claims that he can take decisions to enumerate the decisions he took and to justify these. Manmohan Singh by shying off from facing Advani has proved he is not confident of himself—for that he gives lame excuses.

Have we not experienced his indecisions? Was he not engrossed with the N-deal for full four years of his tenure? Have we not experienced his misleading Parliament?

Talking loudly is not a sign of strength—yes .He should extend that advice to his Congress colleagues who by their throat power stalled the governments of Deva Gowda and Gujral.

Under Rajiv Gandhi a group called the ‘shouting brigade’ was kept ready to shout down the treasury benches and to stall Parliament. To whom is Manmohan Singh now narrating a new story? Parliament witnessed the most acrimonious scenes under the Congress, it not only stalled Parliament but brought bring down a government by sheer throat power. So what’s the new attribute Manmohan Singh is now conferring on the BJP that it did not allow Parliament to function? It is under Manmohan Singh’s tenure that cash for vote was witnessed in Parliament. This was a blot to Parliamentary democracy.

Of course the Congress has expertise when it comes to buying votes, earlier it was in suitcases and Buta Singh was involved, but this time bundles of currency flowed out of bags on the floor of the House for a single vote. It did not agitate this cool, soft PM. He was unperturbed because he is made of PM material! It was again Manmohan Singh who was not even aware where one of his cabinet ministers was?

Manmohan Singh is confused because he is trying to be what he is not and in that projection he nullifies the basic democracy norm –to seek election which makes democracy vibrant. Instead he seeks to justify his backdoor entry by citing Indira Gandhi’s one and half years, Deva Gowda’s 11 months and Gujral’s 10 months. tenures as PMs!! What a shame for a man who was for 5 years the PM opting for the backdoor entrance to Parliament. Is this the culture of Indian democracy or the Indianness-to be led?

We have tasted the pudding once and will not do the mistake of tasting it again—the pudding which is baked by the Italian chef tastes like pasta.

Dr Mrs Hilda Raja
Vadodara

PM creates New Excuses to Refuse TV Debate
Advani not PM material: Manmohan Singh
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/advani-not-pm-material-manmohan/89975-37.html

* * *
PM's latest Excuse to Avoid TV Debate
TV debate: PM says won't privilege Advani
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/TV-debate-PM-says-wont-privilege-Advani/articleshow/4386296.cms

It's time the government shut the foreign-funds tap for NGOs

2009-04-11T18:55:00.001-07:00

Prof R Vaidyanathan
Friday, March 20, 2009 23:59 IST

Mumbai: A non-governmental organisation (NGO) is any voluntary, non-profit, citizens' group which is organised on a local, national or international level. It could be registered as a society, trust or under section 25 -- companies, even though some cooperatives also claim this label.

There are two important criteria: the organisation should not be for making profit and should be independent of the government. However, many NGOs get money from the government.

NGOs are also expected to be value-based organisations. The range of activities they are involved in is mind-boggling and can extend from issues of ageing to waste management.

The funding for these NGOs is substantially international. The international flow of funds is regulated by the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA). Table-1 provides the trends in the number of reporting registered associations and the amount of money received under the Act.

We find that the number of reporting associations has declined (percent wise) over the period and the numbers of those not complying with the laws have increased. For instance, the ministry has placed 8,673 associations under "prior permission" category in 2005 for failure to furnish annual returns for the three previous consecutive years. There exists substantial under-reporting.

We also find that in the last three years, the amount received has shown a phenomenal increase and it was 56% more in 2006-2007 than in the previous year. The report of the home ministry also provides other information regarding the states receiving the largest amount and purpose, etc pertaining to the year 2006-2007.

It suggests that important states or union territories are Tamil Nadu (Rs 2,244 crore), followed by Delhi (Rs 2,187 crore), Andhra Pradesh (Rs 1,211 crore) and Maharashtra (Rs 1,195 crore). Among donor countries, USA leads in the list of donor countries (Rs 2,972 crore), followed by Germany (Rs 1,649 crore), UK (Rs 1,425 crore) and Switzerland (Rs 605 crore).

The leading donor agencies are Misereor Pastfach, Germany (Rs 1,244 crore), World Vision International USA (Rs 469 crore), Foundation Vicente Ferrer Spain (Rs 399 crore) and ASA Switzerland (Rs 302 crore).

The largest recipients are Ranchi Jesuits of Jharkhand (Rs 622 crore), followed by the Santhome Trust of Kalyan, Maharashtra (Rs 333 crore), Sovereign Order of Malta, Delhi (Rs 301 crore), World Vision of India, Tamil Nadu (Rs 256 crore), Jesuit Educational and Charitable Society, Karnataka (Rs 230 crore).

Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are some of the states with a large number of NGOs. It is curious to note that the poorest states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, etc do not have as many numbers. Among the top 15 recipients, each with more than Rs 90 crore receipts from abroad, at least 14 are easily identifiable as Christian charity organisations from their names.

The interesting information is regarding the purpose of the donations (see Table-2). Establishment expenses top the list, followed by relief and rehabilitation, rural development, child welfare and construction and maintenance of schools and colleges. Substantial sums are spent on construction of places of worship and maintenance of priests.

Establishment expenses consist of buying land, buildings, jeeps, setting up fancy offices, mobiles, laptops, expensive cameras, salaries, consultancy fees, honorarium, and importantly, foreign travel etc, which make up 35-70% of the expenses. This goes against the grain of service motto where the ultimate recipient is supposed to get the maximum.

By definition, NGO activity is voluntary and hence one expects that the overheads of the organisations are lean. In financial parlance, the fixed cost is expected to be relatively small.

Contrary to this belief, we find that the establishment expenses are the major reasons for receiving donations from abroad. In other words, NGOs are perhaps becoming like top-heavy government departments wherein a substantial portion of developmental expenses is spent on salary wages and other expenses such as telephone, travel (both domestic and international), etc. Nowadays, they even recruit "executives" from management institutions.

NGOs are active in pointing out the deficiencies in the functioning of the government, be they on human rights or the Right to Information or Tribes Act or dam oustees.

Hence, it is all the more important that their activities are transparent, particularly from the point of view of their sources and uses of funds.

I have tried unsuccessfully to get the annual reports including annual accounts from the website of the top 25 recipients, many of whom are often mentioned or quoted in newspapers and TV channels and stress the importance of "transparency" in the functioning of the government. Many do not have any information in their websites. Some of their websites contain all razzmatazz but nothing on finances.

Physician heal thyself is very much applicable to this body of self-proclaimed saviours of Indian masses and who also claim themselves to be the "civil society." Given the declaration by various Evangelical groups in the USA and Europe that Asia is the next major place to "harvest the Souls "and "plant the churches" India should exercise caution in allowing foreign funding of these groups. They affect social harmony and foment communal disturbances by their conversion activities in small towns and tribal India.

Indian NGOs can and should access funds from domestic sources and there are millions of charity minded Indians. It is not required for Europeans or Americans to send money for our NGOs who spend it on establishment expenses and conversion propaganda to fill up the statistical "soul harvesting" exercise of foreign evangelical groups.

For instance, Russia recently approved a bill that introduces stringent control over the activities of foreign-funded non-government and non-commercial organisations in a move designed to pre-empt any "coloured revolution" in the country.

It says, "The Kremlin has learnt its lessons from a string of "coloured revolutions" in the former Soviet Republics-- the "rose revolution" in Georgia, the "orange revolution" in Ukraine and the 'tulip revolution" in Kyrgyzstan -- all inspired and orchestered by western funded NGOs. The bill allows NGOs to be shut down if they threaten the country's "sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, national unity and originality, cultural heritage and national interests." There are 4,50,000 NGOs in Russia representing religious organisations, charities, think tanks, and professional groups. The US Congress has allocated $85 million for the support of democracy in Russia in 2006."

Incidentally, there is an act in the USA called Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which provides for penalties up to 10 years in jail for any one acting as a foreign agent or getting foreign funds without notification to the Attorney General. FARA was originally passed in 1938 to prevent the spread of Nazi ideas and propaganda.

It would be appropriate that all NGOs insist they be covered under the Right to Information Act, even though as of now it is not applicable to those who do not receive funds from the government. This insistence will go a long way in establishing their credentials as real believers in transparency and right to information.

To enhance their credibility, they need to publish their sources and uses of funds voluntarily on their websites, including the break-up between administrative and other expenses. Last, but not the least, it is important that the government bans foreign funding of our NGOs. We are no more the "white man's burden."

The writer is professor of finance and control, Indian Institute of Management. Views are personal.

How to bring home a trillion?

2009-04-11T18:42:00.001-07:00

BR Lall

The BJP’s manifesto promises to bring to India the ‘Everest of cash’ lying in foreign tax havens while Manmohan Singh fights shy of joining the G-20 campaign to end the evil banking system

Transparency International recently exposed how the Indian government was avoiding asking for information from the German government about the billions of dollars of un-accounted money belonging to the people of India lying in Liechtenstein, a small German county. A number of other countries -- the United States, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Canada, Italy, Britain and Ireland --whose nationals are also included in the same list, are seriously collecting information from the same source about accounts held by their citizens. The German government had issued an open offer to all governments to seek the truth from the records it had come to possess, free of charge.

Unbelievable but true, India is deaf to the offer. I had visualised such a situation long back while dealing with this issue in my book, Who Owns CBI: The Naked Truth, (Manas, 2007). I wrote: "It will not be easy to take any step in this direction, as the first obstacle will come from Indian elites, who are holding such accounts/ assets abroad. They will oppose any such move tooth and nail".

No meaningful fight against corruption, black money and economic offences can be really successful without radical measures. I had attempted the analysis in the context of Switzerland alone and had assessed Indian wealth in that single country at $5 trillion. There are some other, well known slush parks: St. Kitts, Antigua, Bahamas, Isle of Man, etc. that would multiply such holdings manifold .Of course, Switzerland is the jewel in the crown.Needless to say, if the Indian wealth lying there is brought home, we would turn overnight into one of the richest nations in the world.

The countries of the developing world suffer heavily from the drain of resources. They are driven into debt traps. If the outflow of their resources could be checked, some of these countries, like India, may have enough of foreign exchange resources and may not need to avail international borrowings at all. But, what is happening is that other countries are developing and prospering at our cost. No wonder Switzerland has the second highest per capita income in the world, and they have their criminal banking industry to thank.

This drain from the third world will continue unabated unless certain structural changes are brought about. Banking secrecy laws give the Swiss banks undeserved immunity. However, the slush money accruing from the drug trade is treated differently. If it is suspected that the money in a bank has some linkage with narcotics, the secrecy laws stand automatically suspended. This was done on the insistence of the big western powers, as drug abuse is a major problem for their societies. After the attack on the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001 money held by terrorists has been frozen.

For countries like India, all economic offenders, including the corrupt as also the cooperating Swiss-bankers, are financial terrorists or their harbourers. The major problem of the developing world is corruption, and the secrecy laws aid and abet it. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the people of countries like Switzerland are more like receivers of stolen property and are leading a parasitic existence.

This hypocrisy does not go well with their famed high stance on morality. They should abandon such laws and throw their banking business open and transparent. India should take up this question with Swiss banks, the western world and with all possible international organisations, including the UN, OECD, etc. The countries of the third world, and India in particular, should agitate for relaxation of banking secrecy laws.

Apart from bank accounts, another dimension is that property or some other assets that could be purchased abroad. Since the agency of one country cannot conduct investigations in another country, some rules need to be framed so that the particulars of deposits or properties held abroad could be known to the mother country, in the name of whose citizens these may stand.

The following measures are suggested in the Indian context and they hold good for all other countries similarly placed:

a) Whenever a bank account is opened by an Indian citizen abroad, the particulars of such account should be communicated to the Indian authorities, through its embassy/high commission in that country. On receipt, the account number and other details should be fed into the National Property Register (NPR) immediately and could also be compiled in the CBI. National property registered is visualised as a master computer that will store all the assets in the names of all the individuals with each being allotted a unique identity as per finger print classification.

b) If the person is found involved in some crime or a criminal case, particularly of corruption or any other white-collar crime registered against him in India, then the particulars of balances in account and the copy of the account, if asked for authentically by the investigating agency, should be supplied. One such nodal agency will be nominated by each country. In this context, the authorised agency for India should be the CBI. If any state agency or any other agency of the government of India needs some information, it could approach the CBI. The foreign bank/government should have no discretion but to supply duly certified copies of accounts/ information whenever demanded by the nodal agency, in this case the CBI.

c) Whenever an Indian purchases a property abroad, its details should be passed on by the registering authority there to the Indian Embassy/High Commission, which would transmit the same to India. This information could also be fed into the National Property Register and also compiled in CBI and used when required.

d) Details of all the properties and the bank deposits held abroad by the Indian citizens at present should be supplied to Indian Embassy/High Commission in the respective countries.

e) Further, on instructions from the CBI, the accounts should automatically be frozen, the lockers, the properties and other assets sealed and ultimately these assets be disposed of as per directions of the Indian courts.

f) For obtaining/supplying such information, the dual criminality may not be insisted upon, as corruption is a crime everywhere, only some technical details may differ. Similarly, the blanket sovereign guarantee of reciprocity may be executed once at the level of the governments and should not be insisted upon for every case separately as that causes tremendous delays.

Once this happens, hiding black incomes abroad would become very difficult and practically impossible. India will start looking up, immediately. But to get such amendments to their rules, India has to take other countries of the developing world along, build up a powerful lobby and initiate very persuasive and aggressive propaganda underscoring the point that we are also readily helping them in their fight against drug and terrorism.

The country expects action from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who is revered as an economist, an academician and as an honest person. It's another matter that this image of him has been sculpted by the very people who have amassed huge wealth through fraudulent means. It may be argued that any government that tries to tinker with the status quo would fall as the elite of India, which includes the bureaucrats, are benefiting from Switzerland's famous secrecy laws. The moot point is, does the Prime Minister owe his loyalty to such criminals or to the nation?

-- The writer is a former DG of Police and author, Who owns the CBI? (Manas, 2007)

Tax Havens: India should get back its illegal Funds
R. Vaidyanathan (10 April 2009)

Barack Obama is concerned about it, Merkel is furious about it and Sarkozy wants to regulate it but the leaders of one of the most affected country namely India is not saying or doing anything about them. They are the Tax havens or off-shore financial centers where the ill gotten wealth of tax evaders of many countries is hoarded. These tax havens are now in the news since developed economies like USA; Germany ;France etc wants them to return the ill gotten wealth from their citizens.

Tax Havens:

The US Government as well its congress are most concerned about these tax havens due to the severe economic crisis faced by the country and also due to pressure from sections of economists etc to “clean up” the global financial system. There are also concerns regarding the financing of terror groups by some of the tainted money from tax havens.

The detailed discussions on tax havens are provided by Internal Revenue Service of United States Department of Treasury in a paper on “abusive Offshore Tax Avoidance schemes –

We quote from that paper

These are foreign jurisdictions that offer financial secrecy laws in an effort to attract investment from outside their borders. These jurisdictions are commonly referred to as “tax havens”, because in addition to the financial secrecy they provide, they impose little or no tax on income from sources outside these jurisdictions. Tax haven service providers and their clients know their actions are veiled from tax authorities by banking and commercial secrecy laws and by lack of tax treaties or tax information exchange agreements. They create paper entities to disguise the real parties to the transactions, and many are willing to create false documents to disguise the real nature of transactions. At least forty countries aggressively market themselves as tax havens. Some have gone so far as to offer asylum or immunity to criminals who invest sufficient funds. They permit the formation of companies without any proof of identity perhaps even by remote computer connections. Generally though such extremes are found in emerging nations where the stability and security of the financial, legal, political systems is questionable

The largest concentrations of assets are attracted to the stable secure environments of the established tax havens –those that have existed a number of years and enjoy the diplomatic protection of former colonial powers.

These tax havens are estimated more than 70 in numbers but as the IRS discussion reveals around forty of them aggressively market themselves. The popular ones are Switzerland, Luxemburg, Lichtenstein, Channel Islands, and Bahamas etc.

Lichtenstein affair

Recently one of the tax havens namely Liechtenstein was in the news. Liechtenstein is a country as well as a convenient “letter box” for moneyed people all over the world to hide their ill gotten wealth. It is a small principality where if you jog a little longer you may end up in the next country. The crown prince with a difficult to pronounce name like Alois von und Zu Liechtenstein [notice that the Prince’s surname is that of the country!] is angry with Germany for launching a massive tax-evasion investigation involving funds hidden away in his countries vaults. Germany’s intelligence agency seems to have paid an unnamed informer more than USD 6 million for confidential and secret data about clients of LGT group a bank owned by the Prince’s family. The revelations have already led to the resignation of the head of Deutsche Post—the former German mail service---which is currently the world’s largest logistics company in the world. The Lichtenstein leaders are furious and have focused all their ire at the theft of the data rather than on the facts of the case.

The German Government has announced that it would share information on accounts held in the tax haven with any Government that wanted it. The spokesman for the German Finance ministry Thorstein Albig has indicated that they would respond to such requests without charging any fees for the information. Finland, Sweden, and Norway have expressed interest in the data obtained by the Berlin intelligent agency. But our Government has been lukewarm in this issue. It should have despatched immediately senior officials to get the names.

It is common knowledge that trillions of dollars of Indian money is in various tax heavens like Antigua, Switzerland, Bahamas, Liechtenstein, Isle of Man, and St.Kitts etc. Throughout the Nehruvian socialistic period under invoicing of exports and over invoicing of imports was very common and the funds were siphoned off to these tax heavens. In a socialistic way all leaders be they business, political, film, sports or bureaucratic participated in creating what we may call Secular ill gotten Wealth that is cutting across any type of caste or creed distinctions.

Tax Havens and Developed Economies

Under pressure from US federal authorities, the largest Swiss bank UBS is closing the hidden offshore accounts of its well-heeled American clients, potentially allowing their secrets to spill into the open. In a step that would have once been unthinkable in the rarefied world of Swiss banking, UBS will shut about 19,000 accounts that prosecutors suspect have gone undeclared to the Internal Revenue Service.

UBS will transfer the assets to other banks or other divisions within UBS, or will mail checks directly to the account holders, creating paper trails for federal prosecutors who are examining whether UBS clients used such accounts to evade taxes.
The clients now face stark choices: they can cash their checks, and thereby alert the authorities to any potential wrongdoing, or not cash them, effectively losing their money. Or they can transfer the money to new banks, a procedure which, in the case of foreign banks, requires depositors of more than $10,000 to report the new account to the Treasury Department.

UBS has also committed to pay a fine of USD 780 million to settle claims that it has de-frauded US Internal Revenue service. Now US State department is compelling it to disclose about 52000 American accounts kept with UBS.

The sudden explosion of indignation and anger against banking secrecy and the illegitimate money it breeds and protects seem to have shaken the Swiss government. While, in the past, Swiss government used to stress that bank's secrecy was “non-negotiable” it is no more able to maintain that stand. It has now acknowledged that it would have to “compromise”. The foreign and justice ministers of Switzerland have hinted that it would have to give up its protection to foreign tax evaders. Swiss government has also indicated that it would change its present law that regards tax evasion as a 'civil offense' and make it a 'criminal offense'. We in India know; how the Swiss laws were used to manipulate and cover up in the Bofors case.

Read tomorrow - Everything about India’s money in Swiss bank and India’s role....

__________________________________
The author is Professor of Finance and Control, Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore, and can be contacted at vaidya@iimb.ernet.in This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The views are personal and do not reflect that of his organization

Swiss secrecy no longer assured
Jayshree Sengupta
http://www.dailypioneer.com/168747/Swiss-secrecy-no-longer-assured.html

Precision and discretion were the distinguishing features about the Swiss but now, under global pressure, its fortress-like banks are being forced to yield, if only in inches

I am writing this in Geneva, where Saturday Special found me in its search for a writer on the issue of Swiss banks and the Indian gold therein. Knowing the Swiss and their ways rather well, I am extremely doubtful how any government, much less the government of India can succeed in cracking their legendary code of secrecy.

Swiss bankers are sworn to secrecy by a 75-year-old law and their banks look like plush hotel lobbies. For years, this little Alpine country has profited from holding foreign money in secret accounts and has enriched itself profoundly in the process. Seriously, what does Switzerland have to boast of apart from breathtaking scenery, chocolates, watches and cheese?

In India, the concept of 'Swiss bank account' has been a middle-class fantasy for decades. Around one-third of the world's private wealth is kept in Swiss banks and the Swiss Banks and Bankers' Association and Consultants estimate it at $2.2 trillion. It is indeed the world's biggest offshore centre--way ahead of Britain and Luxembourg. The code of secrecy which was laid down in a 1934 Law now faces its toughest challenge because it has been revealed that Switzerland's biggest bank, UBS, had helped Americans hide billions of dollars. The UBS not only had to name the tax defrauders to the American authorities but also agreed to pay $780 million in fines.

This development has brought home to the Swiss the fact that they cannot hide behind their secrecy laws forever. They also realise that Switzerland is too small a country, without leverage in world matters to resist the combined zeal of the US and European Union in ending this regime. The bankers admit that these days they have discarded the no-questions-asked policy on the source of moneys. They are getting strict about money laundering and quiz new customers on their links with terrorist organisations.

Other sectors of Swiss society now put forth the strong conviction that their national image has been tarnished by the banks and their code of silence. This is causing some confrontation with the banking sector because, obviously, the banks would like to cling on to their privileges, at least for some more time. Many Swiss agree that it is immoral for this type of banking to go on as it only means that dishonesty and corruption are being promoted and much of the money that the rich countries invest in the developing countries or give them as aid, ends up in private Swiss bank accounts. Of course they also add 'Why only us and why now?' There are plenty of other tax havens in the world. It is also true that only recently when the industrial countries are in deep financial crisis, they have raised their voices against all offshore tax havens including Switzerland, demanding an end to banking secrecy in order to bring back their tax evading citizens' hidden money.

All said and done, if the US can ask for the names of its nationals holding accounts then others, including India, could also queue up. Provided there is political will.

It is indeed a shame that a country with 450 million poor, there are also a handful of citizens owning $ 1,456 billion in secret accounts. This is more than the combined amounts held by account holders from China, Russia, the US and Britain. There is no denying that if it were indeed possible to transfer all the money held in Swiss accounts held by Indians to India, it would boost our resources immensely. There would be less poverty all around because billions of dollars thus transferred would be able to help build infrastructure, hospitals, factories, schools, homes for the poor and provide safe drinking water in the villages. But unfortunately, it will take a long time because the Swiss, though shaken by the recent incident when they had to reveal the names of Americans who held Swiss bank accounts to the US government, are in no hurry to do so for others. Only when there is a clear and concrete proof of tax evasion by their clients would they reveal the names of persons to the governments seeking such information.

Everybody knows that Indians have a lot of money stashed away in Swiss secret bank accounts and to start a secret bank account, one does not need a million dollars. It can be done with a few hundred Swiss Francs. It is not only the big guys but small traders, bureaucrats and actors who keep their money in Swiss banks. Like the US, India could also offer an amnesty scheme that would reduce penalties and promise no criminal prosecution if account holders themselves come forward and pay taxes at a future date.

In a similar vein, why is it only now that there is so much noise about Indian money in Swiss banks? It should have been done years ago. Why is it following the US example so late in the day? Perhaps it is necessary now to do so and India has also sought membership of the Financial Action Task Force, an inter-governmental body combating money laundering and terror financing. The membership is essential because it is a precondition to access to US banks and markets. India also faces slow growth and a huge budget deficit like the US and Swiss accounts could help.

-- The writer is an author and columnist

Swiss bank to ITO
Hari Sud
http://www.dailypioneer.com/168758/Swiss-bank-to-ITO.html

Saturday Special salutes LK Advani for articulating an old demand for economic justice: but will it come easy?

The hyperbole generated over some alleged anti-Muslim remarks at an election meeting attributed to BJP candidate Varun Gandhi has unfortunately taken public attention away from a more important issue. On Ram Navami day, LK Advani announced that if elected Prime Minister, he would ensure that the black money stashed by rich Indians in tax havens abroad is brought back to the country and spent for developing infrastructure.

Perhaps the Indian media is obsessed with trivia, or its denizens are too ill-educated to grasp the import of the statement. It could also be that the bang and fire is deliberately over 'secularism' is being generated to ensure that people don’t come to know about the Manmohan Singh government's total unwillingness to participate in the global campaign now underway to ensure that banks and their fiduciaries reveal all the accounts held by tax evaders, racketeers and criminals. This campaign now has a personage no less than the United States President as its chief. Yet, the government of India is shying away from joining it. Why? The answer is well known.

The recent G-20 summit in London resolved to crack down on tax heavens worldwide. Yet, the national media of India did not report this. Now it's clear that unless a LK Advani is at the helm, New Delhi would not budge to make this campaign work. Perhaps, at best, an anaemic effort will be made. Then, with the full cooperation of our media divas, the issue will be given a discreet burial.

The Swiss Banking Association reported in 2006 that there are about $1,400 billion of Indian money stashed in Swiss banks alone. That's $1.4 trillion and greater than the national GDP of India, and amounts to more than $ 1,000 per Indian. If even half this money could be brought home (mind you, there may be another trillion in St. Kitts, Cayman Island, Mauritius, etc.), our government would not need to solicit cash for development from foreign banks, private investors and generous donors. Simply put, there is a Mount Everest of cash waiting to be scaled.

Why do rich Indians like the Swiss Banks for depositing their private loot? There is a mythology behind it, which predates the two Word Wars of the last century. Switzerland has been a neutral country for the last 300 years. It set up a banking industry where both the Allied and Axis powers could safely deposit their moneys for later use. Switzerland enacted laws that prohibited banks from making disclosures. Hence, money started to flow in greater amounts behind this secrecy. Some of this was illegal"war loot while some of it was legitimate, sent by individuals and institutions for safe keeping.

When prosperity struck after World War II, the aura of the 'Swiss Bank' was born. Corrupt politicians and bureaucrats, politicians, gun runners, drug cartel operators from every continent began to take advantage of the legendary Swiss secrecy. This led to greater and greater amounts flowing in. At first, wealthy Americans did not use Swiss banks. They had their own tax heavens in the Caribbean. It was only later that they recognised the benefits offered by Switzerland. Moreover money accounting in the US and Canada is very strict. It is hard for anybody to fool the authorities continuously and get away with it. Also for the last 50 years, America is the magnet for other nation's money. Hence, money always pours into America. Only ill-gotten wealth leaves its shores.

Let us not blame wealthy Indians only for stashing money abroad. Take for example the Russians: they are reported to have $470 billion. Besides there are the Brits ($390 billion), Ukrainians ($100 billion) and others. None of this is legal money. Politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen hide away wealth in numbered accounts where the law cannot catch up with them. Each of them is personally responsible for these criminal activities. The reputed international NGO, Tax Justice Network, in a five-year-old study estimated that worldwide close to $11,500 billion is held by individuals in about 70 tax heavens. The irony is that $5,000 billion of this is money from poor countries and Switzerland is prospering from it.

Without going into how did so much money got accumulated abroad in the course of our 62-year-old history, let us deal with what is this money is doing other than gaining some interest for the depositors. For Swiss banks this money is as white as white can be. They do not wish to discuss how they got it. They only want to talk about what do they do with it. Banks usually lend money to other banks or businesses or governments or trade in futures or accumulate assets and become bigger and bigger. A number of Swiss banks are among the world's top ten. Switzerland does not have a large economy other than tourism, specialty watches and chocolate. So, it cannot absorb all this money in its own economy.

Financing international projects is the easiest option. Some of these projects could well be in India. There were hints that some of this money did find their way back to India as Foreign Institutional Investment (FII) and drove our stock markets up before withdrawing at the first sign of uncertainty. Without a doubt this had happened.

For India there are three great problems with money stashed abroad. These are: a) Paying taxes on this money so that it becomes white; b) Bringing it back home so that you have control over it, and, c) Dealing with the corrupt at home. None of all this is possible with the stroke of a pen. You need the cooperation of the individual who is holding the account. Is that likely to happen?

In the United States, Barack Obama has gone to the extent of promising American tax haven account holders an amnesty scheme. They have been assured that they would not be touched by the law if they quietly paid up their outstanding taxes at discounted rates and thereby allowed the money to enter the American mainstream.

Mr Advani would face an uphill task both at home and abroad. It would be far fetched to expect cooperation from the Swiss. They are sworn to secrecy. Still, the US has greater influence than others and could get a foot on the door. At the G-20 meet, France, Briton and Germany joined the US in calling for greater transparency in Swiss bank laws to put an end to tax evasion and bring back their citizens hidden wealth. India also gave lip service. But are the Swiss listening? Apparently not. The hallmark of their prosperity is accumulated foreign loot. And can they be expected to give it all up without a fight?

Courts can be used to force disclosure from the Swiss. Remember all this money has been deposited with deceit with deceitful bankers; they will do their best to stay anonymous as much possible. Courts can try for ten years and still come to a naught.

The nation wishes Mr Advani success in his noble endeavour. At least he has proved to be different from other politicians. One only hopes his party had crafted a campaign which could have promised every Indian $ 1,000 (Rs 50,000) in his pocket. Directly or indirectly.

-- The writer is a Canada-based columnist on South Asian issues

Lalu's challenge to the EC

2009-04-10T19:19:00.001-07:00

Dr Mrs Hilda Raja,

On the 6th April at Kishanganj—Bihar, the railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav‘s hate outburst against Varun Gandhi is not only a violation against the model code of conduct but it is a threat to peace. He has revealed a murderous mind—the intent to murder is obvious and explicit—which calls for booking him under the IPC-threat to murder. Two persons by his side—Ramvilas Paswan and Taslimuddin both Union ministers stood by his side while he held out this threat which means they too are a party to it. Take the reality scenario—This threat to crush Varun Gandhi is a reaction to Varun Gandhi’s violation of the model code. Varun Gandhi only said that if a Hindu is killed he will chop off that hand. This is justice according to Islamic law. He did not say that he would retaliate by killing –but only chopping off the hand which killed a Hindu. He did not specify the hand’s ownership by any creed. On the other hand Lalu Prasad clearly and openly stated that he would crush Varun Gandhi under a roller— and destroy him without caring for the consequences. And Lalu was a chief minister, a cabinet minister and is supposed to be a responsible person. I wonder what the Election Commission is going to do. A hate speech of Varun Gandhi attracted the ire of the EC and he was punished. Still Mayavati thought it befitting to slapped NSA on him and put him behind the bars because he was a threat to National Security. Is that not ridiculous to showcase Varun Gandhi as a threat to national security but allow real terrorists to strut across the country. Now with a responsible person like a Cabinet Minister holding out a threat to murder (crush) Varun and two Union Ministers standing as witnesses to this exposes the whole country’s terror system. Hate speech is condemned but threat to murder is by passed. Lalu is not above the law. It is netas like him for the sake of Muslim votes who have created hatred and disharmony and are the real threats to National security. Are Hindus sacrificial lambs? If they are killed should one bypass it? Does uniqueness and preciousness of life depend on the creed of the person? Are not all Indians irrespective of their religious affiliations equal before the law and are sacred and precious to this land? This is the whole problem with our communal netas.

There is a Godhra and that is bypassed as an accident. No tear was shed for roasting of the poor people within the locked compartments. There is a back lash and the subsequent Gujarat riots of 2002 and the whole nation is rocked with cries for justice. One is reminded of the mob which cried out to free Barabas and crucify Jesus. What we have today is Barabas justice. The judiciary should take note of this—the Election commission cannot become the humble handmaid of the powers and like the ostrich hide its head into the sand. There is no need for even a formal complaint.

The EC must serve the people and not a few individuals after all it is the people who are its paymasters. The cry for justice will reach out and will bring destruction on ourselves if this nation cannot uphold justice. The happenings in Pakistan are an example to us. The likes of Lalu and Paswan live only in division and thrive in communal ghettos. If people are united they will no longer be netas. Whose roller is Lalu going to use to crush Varun Gandhi—the railway departments?

Known to have fleeced Bihar—retarded development in that State after having been in power for 15 years Lalu thinks that he has grown to such heights that he is above the law. To be one up with Nitish he is wooing the Muslim votes by holding out murder threats. His place is within the bars and it is a right case for NSA to be slapped on him because of his murderous outlook and his inciting and arousing communal hatred. Bring Lalu to justice and the two witnesses for abetting the murder threat by their silence. They should have disassociated themselves from such a murder threat. But by standing silently by the side of a potential murderer they have abetted his murder threat.

By his utterance Lalu seems to have specialized in different forms of murder one should say. So the roller threat—if analyzed shows his complete depraved mind. To be crushed by a roller means all bones and flesh made to a pulp. He is fully aware of his intent and the consequences and throws out a challenge that he does not care for the consequences. It is the duty of every right thinking citizen of this country to make persons like Lalu care—care for the consequences and not get away by murder intent. This is the kind of mentality which needs immediate treatment for he is a real danger to the people and threat to the nation. If justice cannot take its rightful course then people will be forced to take justice into their hands.

Lalu’s threat has exposed the whole rotten system of this country. He has sent a powerful signal that he does not care for the consequences because he is fully aware that nobody will dare to touch him. It is a challenged thrown to the Election Commission, to the Judiciary, to the people of this country, “Catch me if you can”. Is the media out there?

Dr Mrs Hilda Raja,
Vadodara