Amarnath outrage shocks the nation

By Pramod Kumar

Hindus once again came to the streets on July 3 to register their protest against cancellation of land allotment to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board at Baltal in Kashmir by the Jammu & Kashmir government. Responding to the Bharat Bandh call given by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), people observed complete bandh across the country. Barring some violent incidents in Indore and Satna in Madhya Pradesh where some anti-social elements tried to sabotage the peaceful bandh, the bandh passed peacefully across the country.

According to VHP general secretary Dr Pravin Togadia, from Jammu to Jharkhand, from Pune to Patna and from Gujarat to Goa, Hindus observed spontaneous bandh. This shows that Bharat will not tolerate any injustice to Hindus and will protest any such move democratically. The VHP had appealed to its activists to demonstrate peacefully and democratically. It had also advised all to exempt medical, school and essential commodities vehicles and services from the bandh and ensure no inconvenience to the old, disabled, sick, children etc.

Commenting on the incidents of Indore and Satna Dr Togadia said during the Rameshwaram Ram Sethu agitation and today’s ‘Save Amarnath Land from Jehadis’ agitation, the VHP has noticed that some anti-social elements in some states like MP, Gujarat, Punjab etc misguided media by using VHP, Bajrang Dal names for doing their own violence and for settling their personal enmity. VHP denies any reasonability of any criminal activities during the spontaneous Bharat Bandh that may have been done by the people not from VHP. Any such misreporting pertaining to the bandh amounts to criminal defamation, he added.

Dr Togadia made it clear that their agitation does not stop with the success of Bharat Bandh and it would continue till the land is returned to the Board. He announced to launch a Protest Week beginning from July 5 and made it clear that if the government fails to return the land to the Board the whole country would be made Ayodhya. “Now this agitation has reached every village of the country and every Hindu is now involved in it. The VHP unit in Jammu has decided to continue bandh for another 72 hours. The Jammu-Srinagar national highway is completely blocked and would not be opened till the government accepts the demand of Hindus. During our week-long agitation the stains and VHP activists would organise dharna, demonstration, etc. across the country. Memorandums would be presented to President, Prime Minister and Governors through the authorities concerned. The saints and VHP leaders would meet on July 8 and if the land was not returned to Baba Amarnath the agitation would be intensified,” he told Organiser in New Delhi.

The impact of the bandh in Delhi was seen everywhere. Even the tea and beetle shops remained closed voluntarily by the people to show their acrimony against the government. The VHP, Bajrang Dal, BJP and other organisation workers came to the streets at 9 am. They made the bandh successful in a peaceful manner. Police in Sultanpuri arrested 566 workers. In most parts the people shut down their establishments voluntarily. The local residents were also raised slogans against the government along with the demonstrating workers.

Meanwhile, former BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu said if BJP comes to power at the Centre it would make all arrangements for Amarnath pilgrimage in Kashmir. Addressing the protesters in Delhi, he said it is a national shame that the UPA government has not been able to provide 100 acres of land for making arrangements for the pilgrims of Lord Amarnath, the symbol of the belief of crores of Hindus of the country. “Today the Hindus are feeling offended and insulted in their own country. This is the reason why there has been worldwide reaction to the decision of the Congress to cancel the allotment of land to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board. BJP is not going to sit silently. It will not tolerate any injustice against the Hindus,” he added.

Delhi BJP chief Dr Harsh Vardhan said the question is not only of 100 acres of land. The issue is connected with the belief, honour and prestige of the Hindus. The Congress government is insulting the Hindus again and again deliberately. By the arrest of Shankaracharya, demolition of Ram Sethu, questioning the existence of Lord Rama and now the cancellation of land allotted to Amarnath Shrine Board the Congress has proved that it would play the game of appeasement although the majority community may feel insulted. He warned the Congress would have to face the consequences of dividing the society.

Reports received from Jammu point out that curfew continued for the second day on July 3. However, angry residents came out on the roads at some places in Jammu city, defying curfew restrictions and staged protests against the land order cancellations. Banks, educational institutions and government offices remained closed for the third day in view of the strike and curfew. The Jammu-Srinagar highway, which is the supply lifeline to the valley, was also blocked by protestors at several places. Police had placed BJP state president Ashok Khajuria under house arrest in Jammu to prevent his participation in the protests.

Thousands of VHP workers blocked important arterial roads at Vakola, Malad and Borivili in northwest Mumbai and in the northeastern suburb of Ghatkopar. The shops and business establishments in several parts of Karnataka were also remained closed. There are reports of bandh from Kerala, Karantaka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Harayana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa.

Abject surrender to Islamic separatists

By Shyam Khosla

If one were to talk of demographic change in the valley, it was brought about two decades ago when hundreds of thousands of Hindus were forced to flee from their homes by the terrorists and secessionists. There is almost complete ethnic cleansing of the valley. Since then Kashmiri Pandits are forced to live as refugees in their own country.

Congress Government has shamelessly surrendered to the Islamist and secessionist elements by rescinding the order that granted permission to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) to put up temporary shelters on forest land for the pilgrims to the holy cave. Anti-national elements and secessionists indulged in street violence and even stoned buses carrying pilgrims. They have vitiated the atmosphere and sharpened communal polarisation by spreading canards and hurting Hindu sentiments. The chilling message to Hindus is that their presence— even for the short duration of the yatra—is unacceptable to people in the valley.

Instead of curbing the mindless violence perpetrated by highly inflamed mobs, the State Government bet a hasty retreat and announced that the autonomous Shrine Board that was set up in the year 2000 to manage the pilgrimage would no longer be involved in the exercise. The task was taken over by the “secular” government. No effort was made to disabuse the public mind of falsehood spread by interested parties and jehadis. Baseless and provocative allegations went unchallenged by the Government. Nothing could be more absurd and stupid than the assertion that ‘transfer” of forest land to the Shrine Board was part of the hidden agenda to settle Hindus in the valley to bring about a demographic change in Muslim majority Kashmir. An innocuous plan to provide some resting places to Hindu pilgrims has been mischievously portrayed as a conspiracy. The fact is that State Government order had merely granted permission to SASB to raise “pre-fabricated structures only for camping purposes of pilgrims without going in for construction of permanent structures” on forest land and went on to clearly state that “proprietary status of forest land shall remain unchanged”.

If one were to talk of demographic change in the valley, it was brought about two decades ago when hundreds of thousands of Hindus were forced to flee from their homes by the terrorists and secessionists. There is almost complete ethnic cleansing of the valley. Since then Kashmiri Pandits are forced to live as refugees in their own country. The Government miserably failed to ensure security and create a reasonably congenial atmosphere so that Kashmiri Hindus could return to their ancestral land. More than 20,000 Hindu refugees from Pakistan who settled in the state in 1947 have been denied state citizenship rights. Under the circumstances, how can any non-state Hindu even think of settling in the valley? Blatant lies were spread by fanatics to incite anti-Hindu and anti-national feelings among the people in the valley. Instead of calling a spade a spade, Lt. General (retd.) S.K. Sinha, who was till recently Governor of J&K, and Hindu outfits are being blamed for the trouble in the valley by the Congress and the “secular” crowd.

So-called mainline political parties in J&K are no less guilty. PDP has all along drawn strength from separatist elements. In the last elections, the party emerged as the third largest party in the assembly with the clandestine support from secessionists. The party led by former Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and his daughter Mahbooba Mufti is unfolding its vicious “self-rule” plan that aims at weakening state’s links with the rest of the country and ultimately realising the dream of an “independent Kashmir ”. The PDP by withdrawing support from the Government sent a strong signal to separatists and secessionists that it is playing their game in the political arena.

Transfer of management of the Amarnath Yatra to an autonomous board in 2000 has never been smooth. Besides separatists, several other elements were irked by the decision. The Board regulated the money charged by porters and pony-owners to ensure that pilgrims were not exploited. Sections of civil servants who indulged in corruption and pocketed money allocated for providing facilities to pilgrims also resented the Shrine Board. At the political level too there was resistance. In the year 2004, SASB demanded that the period of yatra may be extended to two months and that the Board be allowed to use forest land to set up seven rest sites so that pilgrims could have access to sanitation, shelter and security. The then Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed opposed the demands tooth and nail. The J&K High Court gave a landmark judgment in 2005. It held that the duration of the yatra would be decided by the Board and not by the Govenrment and ordered that the State should immediately permit the use of forest land to provide shelter to pilgrims. So, the permission to use forest land for providing facilities for pilgrims has judicial sanction. How can they call the permission “illegal”? On the contrary, rescinding the permission is against the orders of the High Court and, therefore, illegal. Those who wish to pamper Muslims are not impressed. For them, Muslim sentiments based on falsehood are sacred while Hindu sentiments and safety is secondary.

While Muslim fundamentalists are celebrating their victory, Jammu is burning. Curfew was imposed and police resorted to firing on Hindus protesting against the Government capitulation to jehadi elements. Nationalist forces are observing bandh and strikes not only in Jammu but also all over the country. Demands for pulling down Haj complexes and Haj terminals are being raised by enraged citizens. They want Haj subsidies to be withdrawn. Providing countless amenities to Muslim pilgrims and denying minimum facilities to Hindu pilgrims is gross injustice and is totally unacceptable. The Congress party will have to pay a heavy political price for its anti-Hindu policies. Governor N.N. Vohra, who is ex-officio chairman of the SASB, has deeply hurt Hindu sentiments by handing over the management of the yatra to the State Government. His action, obviously taken at the instance of his political masters, has undermined his credibility he had so assiduously built over decades as an able and honest civil servant.

Amarnath issue exposes Congress' convoluted secularism facade: BJP

New Delhi, Jul 4: The Bharatiya Janata Party today said the Sri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) land transfer issue had exposed the convoluted secularism facade of the ruling Congress with people across the country wondering how it sacrificed the faith of millions to stay back in power.

The incident had opened the eyes of people of all communities all over India against the 'convoluted secularism' being propagated and followed by the ruling party, said party general secretary Sushma Swaraj.

Speaking at the party induction ceremony of Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) national women wing head Latika Sharma, she said people were wondering how in a country of 100 million people, 100 acres of land could not be alloted for a deity, who was dear to millions across the nation.

Ms Swaraj also said people would no longer accept this policy of appeasement where the government succumbed to outside pressures while reiterating the party's commitment to stand for ''all in the country'' and dispelling the perception that it was anti-Muslim.

The general belief that the BJP was anti-Muslim was a false notion and was unfounded, baseless and part of a misinformation campaign by people with vested interests, she said.

''The party was not against any community or sect, but certainly opposed to those who spoke against the country's national ethos and cultural heritage'' she added.

Stressing that the BJP was against the negative mentality which opposed anything that was rooted to the nation's culture and heritage, Ms Swaraj said the notion of the saffron party being anti-Muslim was convolution of facts.

''The BJP was against the mentality which did not accept singing of 'Vande Mataram', which advocated human rights of terrorists, and which violently protested transfering of land to SASB and it is not against Muslims.'' Party general secretary Vijay Goel also said in unequivocal terms that the Sri Amarnath Shrine Board would immediately be alloted 100 acres of land as soon as the BJP came to power at the Centre and Lal Krishna Advani became the Prime Minister.

PDP, NC, Cong leaders, including Muslims, quit on SASB land row

Jammu, Jul 4 : In growing resentment against Kashmiri leadership on Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) land row, senior leaders of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), National Conference (NC) and Congress in Udhampur today tendered their resignations to show solidarity with the saffron parties on the issue.

Exhibiting secularism, the district president of People's Democratic Party (PDP) and three Muslim leaders of National Conference and Congress resigned from their parties, along with their supporters at a joint press conference in Udhampur this afternoon.

Prominent among those who resigned included PDP district president Surinder Singh 'Fauji', NC leaders Nassir Hussain and Anwar Chandel 'Raju' and Congress leader Syed Peer Gulzar Shah.

With the resignation of Surinder Singh, who was accompanied by hundreds of his supporters and PDP workers, sources said, the PDP has lost base in entire district.

According to sources, all the leaders and workers had expressed solidarity with the ongoing agitation sponsored by saffron parties and showed willingness to join BJP.

BJP state president Ashok Khajuria, when contacted on phone, said ''People of Jammu, particularly those who follow Muslim faith, have come to undershand the fact that how they were being used as vote bank.'' ''The inclination of leaders following different faiths to join BJP shows that our party was never communal on any issue,'' he added.

--- UNI

Insight into Minoritism

Minoritism
By Muzaffer Hussain

In almost all countries in the world, a certain segment -ethnic, religious linguistic or ideological would be in the majority and some others would be in a minority. That is inevitable. A multi-cultural national like the United States has its majority and minorities as well, but one seldom talks about them. The biggest minority would be the Blacks, but whoever would think of providing reservation for them in the Senate or Congress or in government service?

Indeed in older textbooks on political science there would hardly be any reference to majoritarianism and minoritarianism. These are recently-coined words. But India is different. Here we constantly talk of minorities as if they are a plague and we even have a Minority Commission! It is a carry over from British colonialism. Nobody in India talked of a majority or a minority in the days of Tipu Sultan or during hayed of Mogul rule. Hindus were even then in a majority but they were often treated as if they were non-existent. Hindus were made aware of their majority status during the time of the British, as were Muslims of their minority place in society.

That may have been a display - and a distorted one at that - of British sense of Justice, but the consequences were severe, resulting, for one thing, in partition of the country. Reference has been made to this in Muzaffer Hussain's well-argued book Insight into Minoritism, which goes into the subject in different contexts and in some detail. Minorities have been dealt with very poorly in Pakistan and Bangladesh, India's immediate neighbours. Hussain draws pointed attention to that.

Says Hussain: "There is a sizeable population of Hindus in the Gulf countries but those countries are not ready to give any facility to them in the name of minority or Human Rights. The Hindus are not allowed there to cremate their kith and kin as per their belief. They can't construct places for worship nor can they celebrate their festivals at public places. During the Ramzan, non-Muslims can't eat anything at daytime in public places. The Muslims expect to get everything as minorities in the countries of Hindus, Buddhists and Christians but in Islamic countries the minorities don't have such privilege.."

We have to blame history for that. In India, minorities like Jews, Parsis and Christians have full freedom. No Christian missionary dare try in an Islamic country, but in India every citizen, especially if he is a tribal or one from the lower caste, is fair game to Christian missionaries. In India propagation of religion is not a crime. The freedom given is often interpreted to mean that one can resort to conversion, which is frequently resorted to in tribal areas. It started under the British when missionaries flooded the northeast and converted large number of tribals to Christianity. Unconsciously this has caused problems for free India.

Hussain damns minoritism as a "menace" which it has indeed become. Hussain maintains that Christians and Muslims in India can't be dubbed as minorities because they are very much Indian. As he puts it: When all are born and brought up in the Indian context, the question of 'alien' and 'indigenous' people don't arise". Hussain's argument is that all over the world, a minority status is granted only to those classes, which have migrated from abroad. So he says: "Hence it is not proper to designate Muslims and Christians (of India) as aliens since they, too are very much Indian".

All are one in this country where there is one citizenship for all and everyone is a part of this nation. The word 'minority' Hussain asserts, weakens the unity of the country and draws a dividing line between individuals". How right he is. Hussain is critical of Muslims in India who, he says, haven't accepted democracy. Inevitably the Islamic world has been gripped by fanaticism and narrow thinking. The point indeed was well made by Justice Chandrashekhar Dharmadhikari in his preface. Writes Mr Dharmadhikari: "India as a nation has suffered continuous tussles between the religious and orthodox religious fanaticism even after the creation of Pakistan. How many Muslim mohallas or Madarassas hoist the national flag and sing the national anthem collectively on the occasion of Independence Day!"

How many indeed. The former Justice adds: "To accept special rights for any community along with the provisions of equal human rights are mutually contradictory principles. This creates a controversy and the majority class begins to feel unprotected and adopts a defensive mechanism". Hussain in his treatise goes into this subject in a special and separate chapter entitled "How to tackle minoritism", He notes that there are three distinct approaches in handling minoritism". In the Arab world minorities like Christians and Hindus have no political or religious rights. The second category belongs to western countries where religion is recognized but the country comes first. Religion has no role in framing laws and rule. National interest alone is taken into account. In the US, 18 per cent of the people are blacks but they are not given any minority status. Britain and France solved the problem by enforcing a uniform civil code. What should India do in the circumstances?

Hussain has his answer ready. He says: A uniform civil code is the only answer." He points out that the Fundamental Rights as enumerated in the Constitution ensure religious freedom for all. As Hussain sees it, minorities will continue to exist in one from or another anywhere in the world. That is only but natural. The term 'Minority' Hussain concedes, is not in itself bad, but problems arise when it is used by vested interests, As he sees it, minoritism is a 'deception' practiced on human civilization of which one should be aware of. And majority communalism is a myth.

In a democracy, Hussain insists, it is essential to respect the opinion of the majority in day-today life. There haven't been many treatises on this subject and Muzaffer Hussain's attempt, almost the first of its kind, is highly praiseworthy. He has no hesitation in asking inconvenient questions. For example he asks: "How can Muslims who form between 15 to 20 per cent of India's population consider themselves a minority?" Not many have dared to raise this question. Hussain has. All praise to him. This is a book that our policy-makers and politicians would do well to read. It may not necessarily have all the right answers, but it certainly raises all the right questions. And isn't that what a good study should be all about?

-- Book review by M. V. Kamath, Free Press Journal,155pp, Delhi: India First Foundation, Price Rs.250

Aurangzebs Of Today

An exhibition on Mughal emperor Aurangzeb at the Lalit Kala Akademi in Chennai was abruptly closed down and the paintings taken away by the police, ostensibly to avoid a law and order problem. What gives? ...

B. Raman

In a statement made after the July, 2005, blasts in London organised by suicide terrorists of Pakistani origin, Mr.Tony Blair, the then British Prime Minister, spoke of the need to counter jihadi terrorism not only operationally through better intelligence, better physical security, better counter-terrorism operations etc, but also ideologically in order to draw the attention of the public to the pernicious ideas being spread by Al Qaeda and pro-Al Qaeda jihadi organisations and counter them energetically.

Amongst such pernicious ideas are that there was no civilisation in the world before the advent of Islam, that the Muslims have a right to re-capture all lands which historically belonged to them, that the Muslims do not recognise national frontiers and ,therefore, have a right to wage a jihad anywhere in the world where Islam is in danger and that the Muslims have the religious right and obligation to acquire weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and use them to protect their religion, if necessary.

The Pakistani jihadi organisations such as the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET), the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI), the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM), the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HUM) and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LEJ), which are members of Osama bin Laden's International Islamic Front (IIF), project Aurangzeb as the greatest ruler in the history of the Indian sub-continent and describe their aim as the "liberation" of the Muslims of India and restoration of what they view as the golden era of Aurangzeb in the sub-continent.

This glorification of Aurangzeb was actually started by the Pakistan government after the birth of Pakistan in 1947. The text-books got written and prescribed in schools by different Pakistan governments depicted that there was no civilisation or culture in India before the Muslims came to the sub-continent and glorified Aurangzeb. In September 1996, Murtaza Ali Bhutto, the younger brother of Benazir Bhutto, was allegedly killed by the police of Karachi after he had returned from Islamabad, where he allegedly had a fierce quarrel with Benazir and her husband Mr.Asif Ali Zardari over his demand that he should be appointed as the Vice-Chairman of the Pakistan People's Party. In a piece on the rule of Benazir, the Economist of London compared her to Aurangzeb.

This created a lot of interest among analysts over the influence of the Aurangzeb model on the minds of Pakistani rulers--political and military-- who grew up after its independence and studied the text-books, which glorified him. It is now recognised by imany that one of the reasons for the spreading prairie fire of jihadi terrorism in Pakistan is the pernicious influence of the Aurangzeb model on the mind-set of the Pakistani youth. Many of them, who are spreading havoc across Pakistan, see themselves as the Aurangzebs of today. Aurangzeb as well as bin Laden are their role models.

The overwhelming majority of the Indian Muslim youth, who remain intensely patriotic, have not let themselves be influenced by this pernicious veneration of bin Laden and Aurangzeb and their ideas, but recent events such as the involvement of one or two Indian Muslims in the UK with Al Qaeda, the role of two Indian Muslim youth in the attempted terrorist strikes in London and Glasgow in June last and the recent arrests of some Muslim youth of the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) in Karnataka indicate that some of these pernicious ideas might have started winning adherents in the India Muslim community too-- in India as well as in the diaspora in the Gulf and the West.

Before this spreads further, it is important to counter this phenomenon ideologically. This is what some respected Muslim clerics and scholars, who had met recently at Deoband, have done.

One must welcome their initiative in condemning terrorism. That is also what some activists against terrorism under Mr Francois Gautier, a well-known French journalist living in India for many years, have been doing. Whereas the appeal of the Deobandi congregation was addressed to the Muslim community specifically, the anti-terrorism campaign of Gautier and his small, but devoted band of associates is addressed to all people--whatever be their nationality, religion, ethnicity etc. It seeks to educate them not only on the evils of terrorism, but also on the mental origin of it.

To understand the mental origin of the jihadi terrorism emanating from Pakistan, it is important to identify not only their present-day mentors such as bin Laden, the Pakistani jihadi leaders and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), but also their historical idols. Aurangzeb is one of their topmost historical idols. It is important to educate the people of India on the real nature of Aurangzeb, his policies and actions so that they do not get easily carried away by the way Aurangzeb's rule is depicted by the jihadi terrorists.

An exhibition organised by Gautier and his associates as part of this education process had a successful run in New Delhi, Pune and Bangalore. In Pune, over 100,000 people visited it. In none of these places, did the members of the local Muslim community view the exhibition as anti-Muslim or anti-Islam. Unfortunately, some members of the community in Chennai viewed it as anti-Muslim and demanded that the exhibition be discontinued. This has reportedly been done on the advice of the Police.

[As we post this, the exhibition in Chennai was abruptly closed down and the paintings taken away by the police--" to avoid a law and order problem" -- after protests that some of the depictions were objectionable and a distortion of history--Ed]

I had attended the inauguration of the exhibition on the opening day (March 3, 2008) and spoke on the importance of understanding the pernicious ideas about Aurangzeb being spread by Pakistani jihadi organisations. I had seen all the exhibits before the inauguration and did not find any of them of a provocative nature. More than the paintings, what was so eloquent in the exhibition was the collection of scanned copies of the various orders issued by Aurangzeb during his rule. These documents were authentic and the scanned copies were made over a period of three years from a Mughul Archive in Rajasthan which, I was told, contain a wealth of documents relating to the Mughul period.

One of the contentions of those, who protested against the exhibition, was that raking up the past would create a communal divide in Tamil Nadu, which has been relatively free of it. One of the lessons of history has been that remaining silent on unpleasant periods in history leads to a repetition of such unpleasant experiences. That is why Western school children are taught about the evils of rulers like Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin etc. That is why the Jewish people keep reminding themselves and the rest of the world about the holocaust. That was why some years ago Jean-Marie Le Pen, the French rightist leader, was severely criticised for denying the reality of the holocaust.

When we deny harsh truths of history, we are only playing into the hands of jihadi terrorists, who see themselves as the Aurangzebs of today.

The links below show what foreign scholars, including scholars in Pakistan itself, have been saying on this subject of what a Pakistani scholar described as a creation of myths regarding the real nature of Muslim rule. When Pakistanis have themselves started realising the damage done to their society and country by this myth-making, leaders of our Muslim community should refrain from starting a similar myth-making exercise in India about the past.

B.Rman is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai.


ALSO SEE:

1. From: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | Date: 2007

"Aurangzeb or Aurangzib , 1618-1707, Mughal emperor of India (1658-1707), son and successor of Shah Jahan . He served (1636-44, 1653-58) as viceroy of the Deccan but was constantly at odds with his father and his eldest brother, Dara Shikoh, the heir apparent. When Shah Jahan fell ill in 1658, Aurangzeb seized the opportunity to fight and defeat Dara and two other brothers in a battle for succession. He imprisoned his father for life and ascended the throne at Agra with the reign title Alamgir [world-shaker]. A scholarly, austere man, devoted to Islam, he persecuted the Hindus, destroying their temples and monuments. He executed the guru of the Sikhs (see Sikhism ) when he refused to embrace Islam. Although the Mughal empire reached its greatest extent under Aurangzeb, it was also fatally weakened by revolts of the Sikhs, Rajputs, and Jats in the north and the rebellion of the Marathas in the Deccan. From 1682, Aurangzeb concentrated all his energies on crushing the Marathas, but his costly campaigns were only temporarily successful and further weakened his authority in the north. The Mughal empire fell apart soon after his death."

2. Pakistan Studies

3. BBC on Pakistan's missile symbolism -- commentary by Zaffar Abbas, BBC correspondent in Islamabad

4.An article carried by the Dawn of Karachi on March 27, 2005: The myth of history by Prof Shahida Kazi

Artistic freedom yes, but not with Aurangzeb

by Kanchan Gupta

Artistic freedom in increasingly 'secular' India has come to mean the right to denigrate Jesus Christ and Goddess Shakti, as was done by a callow student of the fine arts faculty of Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda last year. But permission to exhibit exquisite miniatures and firmans related to Aurangzeb has been denied, because 15 Muslims and a bogus nawab have demanded so.

French journalist Francois Gautier's Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism (FACT) has painstakingly -- and at great expense -- put together a collection of 40 miniatures and firmans that tell the story of Aurangzeb's rule. The exhibition is called Aurangzeb as he was according to Mughal records. "We have taken care to present all facets of Aurangzeb, including his piety," says Gautier.

The collection was first exhibited to critical acclaim at the Habitat Centre in New Delhi. It next travelled to Pune where one lakh people visited the show. It was equally well received in Bangalore where the popular Gallery G hosted the exhibition. FACT then decided to take the collection to Chennai where it was supposed to be exhibited at the Lalit Kala Akademi from March 3 to 9.

The exhibition was inaugurated by N Vittal, former Chief Vigilance Commissioner, and B Raman, security expert and former R&AW official, March 3 at 5 pm. Some 100 people attended the inauguration. Since March 4, a continuous stream of people came to see the exhibits.

On March 5, a group of 15 Muslims (Gautier says "they were no more than six") affiliated to the Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam, Manitha Neethi Paasarai and other Muslim organisations, entered the exhibition hall and confronted FACT volunteers who were present there. Raising their voice, they rubbished the show and alleged that it did not portray the right image of 'their' Aurangzeb.

"They threatened they wouldn't allow the show to go on, that they would send hundreds of protesters after Friday prayers from a nearby mosque," says Gautier. The organisers lodged a complaint with the local police station and the next day policemen were posted at Lalit Kala Akademi.

Meanwhile, RM Palaniappan, manager of Lalit Kala Akademi, rattled by the protest by 15 men, asked FACT to pack up and leave. He panicked after Assistant Commissioner of Police KN Murali visited the exhibition hall, had a cursory look at the miniatures and firmans (written in Persian and hence unintelligible to him), worked himself into a rage and shouted at the organisers, lacing his diatribe with expletives, before stomping off, threatening to return.

On March 6, Prince of Arcot Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali made a surprise visit to the exhibition at 3 pm. After spending some time looking at the miniatures and the firmans, he lashed out at FACT volunteers and accused them of "misrepresenting facts". He was particularly enraged by two miniatures -- the first depicted Aurangzeb's army destroying the Somnath temple and the second showed the destruction of the Kesava Rai temple in Mathura.

He insisted that the paintings amounted to "fabrication and distortion of history" and that Aurangzeb had never done anything to harm the Hindus. He demanded that the exhibition be immediately shut down and said he would take up the issue with "higher authorities" in the State Government. Later, the 'Prince of Arcot' issued a Press statement, claiming, "the exhibition seemed to dwell only on Aurangazeb's alleged misdeeds and not a word about his munificent contribution. The exhibition would only promote enmity between various groups."

By Thursday, March 7, "higher authorities" in Tamil Nadu Government had issued instructions to the police to shut down the exhibition. Murali, along with his men, stormed into the exhibition hall on Thursday evening and began taking down the paintings. "He was looking for the paintings showing the destruction of Somnath and Kesava Rai temples. He threw them to the floor," said a FACT volunteer.

The police say they acted after receiving "three complaints that the show would disturb communal harmony". They wanted the exhibition to be shut down immediately as the next day was Friday. The police also forcibly took into custody three FACT volunteers -- Saraswathi (65), D Vijayalakshmi (62) and Malathi (47) -- although women cannot be detained after sunset in police stations. They were not allowed to contact their families.

The hall has been sealed and FACT has no idea about the fate of the paintings and other exhibits, including the priceless firmans. "I am told some of the paintings have been damaged beyond repair. This is shocking, especially because what we have witnessed is vandalism by the police," says Gautier.

Ire, indifference after closure of 'objectionable exhibition'

Chennai, March 7 : Anger and indifference are the two main reactions expressed here Friday following Thursday's closure of an "objectionable exhibition" organised by French journalist and political commentator Francois Gautier at the Lalit Kala Akademi (LKA).

The exhibition claimed to "expose the misdeeds against Hinduism during the Mughal period".

Following Muslim protests, the exhibition of paintings and reproductions of Arabic and Persian documents alluding to destruction of Hindu shrines at the LKA here since Monday was closed down to "prevent a law and order situation".

"We had no other option but to close it down. Some Muslims objected to it citing wrong inferences drawn from Arabic texts which could not be independently deciphered by anyone here," Rm Palaniappan, the secretary of the Chennai LKA told IANS.

"We requested the removal of some objectionable materials - including a few illustrations of temples being pulled down during the era of Mughal emperor Aurangazeb - thrice as their display is against our rules.

"Our facility is purely meant for showcasing contemporary art. When the representatives of Francois Gautier refused to heed our requests, we had no other option but to close it down after a police complaint.

"Since we wanted to prevent a law and order situation here developing out of an objectionable exhibition, we had to pull the shutters down," Palaniappan said.

A furious Hindu Front leader Rama Gopalan has a different version.

"The incident makes it clear that we are being prevented from publicly exhibiting historically documented facts. The exhibition of Gautier - which had been shown successfully elsewhere in India earlier - was vandalised by Islamic goons and closed down by the LKA officials with police protection to pander to the crude tastes of the minority community.

"If persons like M.F. Hussain can be allowed to openly denigrate Hindu deities in the name or art in similar institutions in India, can't an impartial foreign commentator be permitted to depict facts per se? In a nutshell, this is simple and straight fascism," Gopalan told IANS.

"The press has twisted facts to fit into a pattern that suits saffron apologists," said Commissioner of Police Nanchil Kumaran.

Director General of Police P. Rajendiran said: "Notwithstanding what my colleague (Kumaran) said, the simple fact is that a law and order situation has been averted. No news, in our opinion, is good news."

Artists view the matter differently.

"It is a very sad thing to happen. Art is something where there is total freedom of expression. Why are they making religion such a big issue? It is totally unfair.

"There is nothing obscene in exhibiting Mughal paintings. Look at the west, which has given artists complete freedom. If such things happen in a democratic country like ours, what can you say," said leading contemporary artist Kanchan Chander.

"There have been protests. We protested against politicians who targeted M.F. Husain branding his works anti-national, but nothing really came of them. I am a Hindu, but I respect every religion," Chander added.

Gautier was unavailable for comment.

Sonia making selective condemnation

BJP says Sonia making selective condemnation
PTI
Monday, September 24, 2007 18:54 IST

NEW DELHI: The BJP on Monday charged Congress President Sonia Gandhi with making "selective condemnation" in the wake of 'Vedanti fatwa' controversy and blamed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for "keeping quiet" on such an important issue.

"Sonia Gandhi has condemned the statement made by former BJP MP Ram Vilas Vedanti against DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi. But, she is making selective condemnation," senior BJP leader M Venkiah Naidu told a press conference here.

He said while Gandhi spoke about Vedanti's statement, she had not made any remark against former Samajwadi Party leader Yakub Qureshi who had said that anyone beheading a Danish cartoonist for hurting the religious feelings of Muslims would be given cash reward.

"Selective condemnation and double standards on communal lines are root cause of social tension in the country," he said.

Naidu showed a re-printed version of the original Constitution of India, published by Parliament, to show that it contained pictures of Lord Rama and Lord Krishna.

"They (DMK) swear by the Constitution and now raise all types of questions," he said referring to DMK supremo M Karunanidhi's remarks on Lord Rama, "hurting the religious sentiments of the

Naidu said while Congress party and the Prime Minister should apologise to the nation, the DMK chief should withdraw
his remarks "otherwise the people's anger will continue and
Congress will have to pay a heavy price".

He said Gandhi should spell out UPA's stand whether she was in agreement with Karunanidhi, otherwise she should ask DMK to withdraw from the alliance. "If they don't withdraw, DMK ministers should be dropped from the Government," he said.

Naidu accused the UPA of destroying the basic culture and heritage of the country.

He said different ministers and different allies were speaking in different voices "and the Prime Minister is keeping quiet on such an important issue".

Referring to the attack on BJP offices in Tamil Nadu, he alleged that the demonstrations were led by DMK Ministers "and still the Centre is keeping silent".

"Unless Congress apologises and the Prime Minister clarifies, the issue will remain," he added.

An assault on the soul of the nation

V SUNDARAM
newstodaynet.com

In these columns I have already written about the savage blitzkrieg operation of the super-Sonia directed UPA government for the evangelisation of India through the surreptitious inscription of the Christian Cross on 2 Rupee and 1 Rupee Coins. I have called it AN ASSAULT ON THE SOUL OF OUR NATION. Close on the heels of this politically criminal operation, undermining the fundamental secular spirit of our Constitution, comes the recent announcement of M A Baby, Education and Culture Minister of Kerala to the effect that the government of Kerala have decided to award the prestigious Raja Ravi Varma Award this year to M F Hussain, one of the most decorated and politically influential and cultural criminals in the field of debased pornographic art, for his 'outstanding' contributions in the field of art.

MF Hussain would not have been selected for the award by any other civilised government in India excepting perhaps the Government of West Bengal and the Sonia-owned anti-Hindu Government of India. Unfortunately we have a Marxist government in Kerala which is hell bent on destroying Hinduism and all things Hindu in that State with Stalinist cruelty.

M A Baby has announced that the Raja Ravi Verma Award would be presented to MF Hussain on his birthday on 17 September, 2007. This award carries a cash prize of Rs 1.25 lakh, besides a citation and a plaque. The Marxist Government of Kerala saw to it that the jury for the selection of the awardee was specially filled with known anti-Hindu baiters like Ajayakumar, CN Karunakaran and Razia Soni and presided over by the well-known pseudo-secular artist Vivan Sundram. As most of the nude paintings of MF Hussain on Bharath Mata and Hindu Gods and Goddesses are deliberately calculated to hurt the time-honoured religious feelings of more than 800 millions of Hindus in majority in India and millions of Hindus abroad, these members of the jury shamelessly gave the award to Hussain.

If Hussain wants to have unlimited freedom for his creative expression to depict sacred Hindu Gods and Goddesses in a vulgar and beastly manner, I too must be given the same intellectual and journalistic freedom to describe Hussain in the 'same artistic manner.'

Beauty and sublimity of Raja Ravi Varma versus the beastly vulgarity M F Hussain

Hussain is a known Hindu-baiter who is guilty of every conceivable offence under Section 153 A of the Indian Penal Code. Section 153 A IPC which states:

Whoever

a) by words, either spoken or written or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise promotes or attempts to promote on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill will between different religions, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities shall be punished with imprisonment..........

Likewise by his positively disgusting and pornographic portrayal of Hindu Gods and Goddesses, M F Hussain has caused a grievous hurt to the religious feelings, emotions, sentiments and sensibilities of more than one billion Hindus (800 millions of them in majority in India) in the whole world. He is guilty of premeditated offence under Sections 295 and 295 A of the Indian Penal Code. Any object which is held sacred by any class of persons, can be the object of an insult within the meaning of Section 295. All that is necessary is that an object is held sacred and that the act of the accused is done with the intention of insulting religion. It is not necessary for the purpose of Section 295 that the object must be actually worshipped.

Who is Raja Ravi Varma of Raja Ravi Varma Award? Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906) was an Indian painter from the Princely State of Travancore of British India (now a part of Kerala) who achieved recognition for his beautifully sensitive and evocative depiction of scenes from the epics of the Mahabharata and Ramayana. His paintings are considered to be among the best examples of the fusion of Indian traditions with the techniques of European academic art. Raja Ravi Varma is most remembered for his paintings of beautiful sari clad women, who were portrayed as very shapely and graceful. His exposure in the west came when he won the first prize in Vienna Art Exhibition in 1873. After a successful career as a painter, Raja Ravi Varma died in (1906) at the age of 58. He is generally considered as one of the greatest painters in the history of Indian art.

By conferring the RAJA RAVI VARMA AWARD upon Hussain, the government of Kerala have given a DEATH BLOW TO THE SACRED AND REVERED MEMORY OF RAJA RAVI VARMA as one of the greatest exponents of modern Hindu art. People all over the country are really enraged to hear the news of the Kerala government conferring this wholly undeserved distinction upon Hussain.

The fact is that Hussain is facing several criminal cases in different parts of India. Many criminal complaints have been lodged against him for deliberately hurting the religious feelings of Hindus in various parts of the country through his callously barbarous and savagely uncivilized portrayal of Bharat Mata and Hindu Gods and Goddesses. For example a Haridwar court issued a non-bailable warrant and order in 2006 for the seizure of property against the painter in connection with a case arising from his obscene paintings of Hindu Gods and Goddesses. This order was passed taking judicial note of a private complaint case filed by a local advocate Arvind Srivastav legally blaming Hussain for hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus in his two paintings titled Bharat Mata and Krishna.

The greatest public tragedy in the India of today is that the pseudo-secular mafia of mass media is the stoutest champion of Hussain's paintings. Against this pseudo-secular background, I request all the above champions of Artistic Freedom divorced from communal Hindu Fundamentalism, to kindly answer the following questions:

* Why not these great artists like Hussain, Vivan Sundaram and others in the grand jury who selected him for the Raja Ravi Varma Award, paint their own Mothers, Sisters and the self-styled activists and liberal columnists of different shades in such an artistic fashion?

* What is the need for including Hindu Deities in their perverted show called creative art?

* What were these hypocritical activists and writers doing when the Mullahs were taking the streets of India for a ransom in the guise of protests against the 'Danish Cartoons' on Mohammed the Prophet?

* The main point to be noted is that, unlike Hussain, the Danish artist never attempted to paint Mohammed the Prophet in the nude.

These talks about creativity of art, freedom of expression, human rights and secularism are all fraudulent methods adopted by Leftist liberals, Communists and pseudo-secular political parties.

(The writer is a retired IAS officer)

e-mail the writer at vsundaram@newstodaynet.com

Lord Ram & Ramayana - Science cannot explain everything

Its very very sad
by Pritish Nagaraj, Sep 13, 2007 08:17 AN

Very disappointing day in my life, I'd never thought people can go so cheap for petty politics.

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BE INVOLVED
by Jeffrey Mittal, Sep 13, 2007 08:45 AM

Never just sit and wach this happen. Think globally and act locally. As Swami Vivekanada said " arise and awake" my fellow Hindus. Would any other faith tolerate this. The Indian Media is filled with Hindu Bashers, including this site. So, what can you do?

First BE INVOLVED - not only in posting messages but at the local level, including politics, which has been hijcaked by these pseudo-seculars (read anti Hindu or anti Snatan Dharma) You can sit by, watch and get rolled over or you can stand up for your rights and take back waht is rightfully yours. There will be dangers and challenges. Are you upto it?

2. Instead of following usual (money making) careers such as software, get into jouranlism, even the Indian Beaurocracy to make true cj=hanges, which make Indian cutlure as grat as it is. Tolerance is NOT weakness NOR allowing ourselves to be bullied.

3. Further, as some one mentioned, at least get a basic understanding of the philosohical basis of Sanatana Dharma. There are plenty of resources on the web.

I want to warn you, it does take some effort and time. Above all, take the energy you have built up from reading this and help your fellow man, who believes in the same faith.

* * *

These trators will never succeed. Vedic Civilization can never be destroyed
Sep 13, 2007 08:28 AM

ASI atheists, other atheist politicians, other unwanted religious faiths are bent upon wiping out our ancient Vedic culture from the surface of the earth. One should ask these idiots if they remember or have any scientific proof of the existence of their forefathers. Photos are not proofs. If they dont, we can easily say that all these idiots dont have forefathers, and they were all mythology. Haha!!

Mythology is again a term coined by British to make us believe that our culture and history are unreal. It was a conspiracy to shake our faith and destroy our Vedic civilization just to convert us all. Now, these traitors are exceptionally following British rules being born in thisholy land. What a shame! Ravana and his army of asuras were even more powerful than these stupid atheists. We all know what happened to them.
They were blown away!

So, these traitors also will never succeed. These idiots will be taught a lesson one day!

As people born in this very sacred land of Bharath (I hate to call it India - a name given to us by the mleccha British), it is our duty to rise and smash these irreligious, atheistic traitors and teach them a lesson. Shame on us if we dont!

Let us all also pray sincerely to Lord Sri Rama to eject such unwanted people from the surface of the earth and protect our pure, spiritually powerful Vedic civilization. HE will definitely come! Let there be no doubt about it!

Jai Sri Ram! Jai Jai Sri Ram!

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No evidence to prove existence of Ram, Centre to SC
by sumerendra chauhan, Sep 13, 2007 08:22 AM

The reason why Lord Rama and the Ramayana is so easily dismissed is because no one fears the Hindus. Hindus are seen as cowards because the majority of Hindus will do nothing if something is done against their religion. Most Indians claim to be Hindus but are not in fact Hindus, they go to temples, do their puja but never defend their faith and when other Hindus do stand up to defend Hinduism they are labelled fanatics.

Thus even in India, where the majority is supposed to be Hindu, people can easily stand up and insult Hinduism because they know they can get away with it. Had the Hindus had the same attitude and faith in their religion the way the Muslims have, then no one would dare insult their faith that easily, they would think twice, especially in India. But only in India, so many impotent Hindus live and allow for such insults to take place including MF Hussain's paintings depicting Hindu Gods and Goddesses as naked and having sex.

Shame on the Hindus for allowing such insults to go unavenged! Shame on them for not following the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita which cleary states what is to be done to those who attack your religion!

Shame on India!!! Shame on Indians!!!

* * *

ram sethu bridge
by Mr Abhay Ekbote, Sep 13, 2007 08:30 AM

How can they find evidence of Ram when Ravana's are looking for the evidence. In a country of Hindus, the Ravana's are ruling the roost and causing the greatest harm to the hindus. Appeasement of Minorities at any Cost appears to be their motto to keep their bums on the seats. Lets fight such anti Hindu Pro minorities Ravana's each one in his own way.

This is how Hinduism is systematically being destroyed by the Congis.

* * *

This is how Hinduism is systematically being destroyed by the Congis.

by Ganapati Hegde, Sep 13, 2007 08:47 AM

Through the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Act, Hindu temples and Maths are taken over by state Governments in the name of better administration, while mosques and churches are completely autonomous. This Act allowed the state governments and politicians complete control over the temples and their property. Many abuses are committed by multiple state governments using the power accorded through this Act.

In Andhra Pradesh under Chief Minister Y. Samuel Rajasekar Reddy, tens of thousands of acres of temple lands are sold away leaving temples with little economic basis. This is done without the permission of the local Hindu community. The state government and the endowments department whose duty is to safeguard the temple properties have turned a blind eye to such encroachments or take overs of temple properties. The state government recently went to the extent of regularizing encroachments at nominal prices. These encroachments are often found to be closely associated to various political parties.

In Andhra Pradesh, Hindu temples, institutions and Hinduism itself are illegally targeted by the crusade of the government. Under the Temple Empowerment Act, about 34,000 temples are under government control. Only 18% of the revenue of these temples is said to be given back for temple purposes, while the remaining 82% is used for other things by the government at their discretion.

Vote for BJP and preserve your religion and Cultute.

Jai Shri Ram !!!

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The so called secular organizations are trying to argue based on distorted scientific & historical bases
Kool, Sunday , September 16, 2007

The issue of ASI filing affidavit in SC that there is no proof of existence of Lord Ram & Ram-Setu, shows how in-sensitive the government is. I don't think, any department of this government has guts to even verbally say the similar remarks about other religions like Muslim or Christians. This gives the impression to common Hindu man that the Hindus are soft target by so called secular political parties & government departments working under their rule, which results in Hindus taking extremist view to register their views & provokes them. So, I urge all those political organizations that please do not ignite Hindus in their own country. It is enough now & the water is going over heads. Please stop it for the shake of GOD in which we all believe in form of Ram, Allah or Jesus.

The so called secular organizations are trying to argue based on distorted scientific & historical bases. I wish to ask them, why they are not consistent in arguing for the issues related to other religions also? Just to give an example (please do not take this as an offense to any religion in specific) that Supreme Court has banned the use loud speakers for making daily 'Azans' in Mosque. Why none of government department act and take corrective actions to stop this? This is just an example to give. There are so many issues like that. Why we are so in-sensitive to only Hindus? Why they are soft target? Please stop this discrimination. Please stand up with Hindus which has given so many good things to this globe & try to wipe out the hatred from society.

Regarding Setu-samundram project, My personal opinion is to stop this project. Even if the bridge is not made by Ram, this is having geo-ecological importance. As a common man like me can understand this, why those people who are supposed to have technical brains can not understand this? There are various other issues for developments like connecting the rivers & create water network across country to prevent water shortage.

Thanks

* * *

I see minority rule the majority
Aswathy Nair, Sunday , September 16, 2007

When you say religion is a private matter, true it is, But in the country do you think only BJP is playing politics. Congress is the biggest religious card player than BJP, in Kerala Kerala-congress is the biggest Christian card player, what about Muslim-leeg . So why only target BJP. I am not at all a supporter of BJP but when I see Kashmir and other place I am sure very soon Hindus will become a minority and then we will see if India will remain a democratic country, and how many of you and your children will sit and talk like this in your TV channel. I always want to come back to that beautiful country , but when I see minority rule the majority and the way our politicians conduct and rule the country as if India is there private property, especially congress and Sonia Gandhi , I feel pity of the people in that country. Only God can save that country.

* * *

Lord Ram & Ramayana - Belief beyond India
R.S.Kannan, Sunday , September 16, 2007
Singapore

May I point to my fellow Indians that Ramayana's historical spiritual influence extends way beyond India? The influence of Ramayana can be seen Cambodia. Amongst the many temples there, the Angkor Wat, a very ancient temple, has the times of Lord Ram etched on the walls. Similarly, many countries in S.E. Asia have temples or palaces where the time of Lord Ram has been documented. Thailand is another country where there is abundance of information in Lord Ram’s times.

The ASI has done a bad job. In addition to the resignation of the 2 officials, Ms. Ambika Soni should also resign. Further, the Congress government should make tangible amends to their approach to the majority religion. Their ally, the DMK, is known anti-Hindu party. Mr. T.R. Balu should be asked to step down as well, as he is the primary driver of this insensitive and crude court case.

Instead of staging a road rokos in India, Hindu organisations should quickly document the influence of Lord Ram in Asia and keep the interest alive through cultural and religious programs.

It is pity that parties like Dravidar Kazhagam and its off-shoot, the DMK, are making Hindus in India feel ashamed of being a Hindu.

Thanks

* * *

Science cannot explain everything
Sunday , September 16, 2007

Science cannot explain everything. What if tomorrow, after the project is over, you get enough evidence to show that the setu could have been a man-made one? Can you get it back? Why, for the sake of few crores of rupees, should we dent the faiths of crores of people? Is our society so backward that we fail to respect faiths?

* * *

The war for renaissance of Vedic society is not over
v_raja_ram, Sep 15, 2007 1:19 AM

The GOI has agreed to re-alignment because of fear of losing Hindu votes enmasse and losing the battle in the court. Though it is a battle for protection of Ramar Setu may be won, the war for renaissance of Vedic society is not over. Attack on Ramar Setu is only one of the battles in the war by pseudo-secular, anti-Hindu, Indian terrorists to destroy the vedic fabric of our society. The fact that the war is still on is indicated by the fact that the PM and Sonia have not tendered apologies for hurting the faith of Hindus. After admitting error, what is holding them from apologizing? What non-sense it is that GOI says that to err is human but realize it is divine. They did not realize it when people petitioned but the legal and political reality forced them to. The arrogance and high-handedness of the PM and Sonia in not apologizing for the great affront to Hindu society cannot be forgiven.

We need to understand that Sonia and PM are trying to flee the scene because of the tremendous volume of work done Dr. Kalayanaraman et al in proving the historicity of Ramar Setu, the legal battle by Dr. Subramaniam Swamy et al and the convergence of Hindutva forces on the issue. When beating a retreat to avoid a legal and political debacle, those who terrorized the Hindus are trying to walk the moral high road by talking about Communal Harmony and true secularism. They are trying lick up some of the Hindu votes by exploiting the pacifist tendencies by treating the issue as over.

The war on terror by pseudo-secular, anti-Hindu forces is far from over. We don’t want GOI to honour our sentiments "though there is no scientific evidence". Vedic society is not driven by sentiments but by the synergy of faith, reason and unrelenting pursuit of truth. We don’t want Ramar Setu to be protected if there is no historical evidence of it being a place of worship for Hindus over centuries. We have ample evidence to show that Dwaraka, Saraswati, Ramar Setu etc. have sufficient historical and metaphysical reality. And that is precisely why we ask for protection. And there is enough evidence to show that the GOI intentionally terrorized the Hindus by attempting to destroy the place of worship. They tried to turn a blind eye to truth and carried on mispropaganda that there is no evidence for the Setu. Even now, they are preventing the exploration of truth by trying to close this issue out of fear of legal and political debacle.

If we publicly debate the erroneous beliefs of Muslims or Christians either scientifically, philosophically or historically, we would be arrested on the grounds of disturbing communal harmony. But the GOI officially makes statements such as lack of evidence for existence of Rama or Ramar Setu. They have continuously terrorized Hindus by publishing on their web site the progress of the project when Hindus were fighting it through peaceful means legally, socially and politically. We first need to demand an unconditional apology for this act of state terrorism against Hindus by trying to destroy a historical place of worship. We need assurance that Hindu places of worship will not be destroyed by any State or Central Government. What if the GOI tomorrow undertakes a road project cutting through Govardhan Hill? Do we have to prove to ASI that it was "manually" placed there or that there are human bones.

Second, we should call for freedom of speech to rationally analyze all the religions including Christianity and Islam just as the GOI made "pseudo-scientific" statements about Hinduism.

* * *

It is an act of state terrorism against Hindus to destroy Ramar Setu
v_raja_ram, Sep 14, 2007 12:03 PM

There is ample evidence to show that Ramar Setu was worshipped through Indian history by Hindus and especially Tamils. So it is an act of state terrorism against Hindus to destroy Ramar Setu. This is as violent as attack on Bamiyan Buddha Statues by Taliban and we should project it as such to international community if the GOI does not stop terrorism.

Now, there is no historical evidence what so ever for the existence of Biblical Jesus and there is evidence to the contrary. There is no historical evidence that Quran is a revealed text and there is evidence to the contrary. Let the GOI answer if it is okay to offend their icons on this basis. Just because they are a vote bank, they get all support and reservation to top it. And just because the Hindus are introspective, their icons of worship get destroyed and their systems ridiculed.

Just because ASI says, the issue is not closed that Rama is a mythological personality. They offer three reasons:

1. Argument: There are no human bones / fossils in that area. Response: That actually proves that Ramayana is accurate because there was no deaths in that area. Even in places where there were human settlements, we dont see fossils proportionate to population density.

2. Argument: There are no man made artefacts. Response:That actually proves that Ramayana is accurate because there was no deaths in that area. Even in places where there were human settlements, we dont see fossils proportionate to population density. How does ASI expect to see human remains or fossils?

3. Argument: There is no evidence in the structures to show that it is not natural. Response: This is simply not true and ASI cannot say this because it have not done detailed archaelogical study of the place. There is enough evidence to show that it is not a natural structure which has been discussed in adequate detail in the bok on Ramar Setu.

We can do a computer simulation to show that it is not a natural formation but it would be too costly and it is not even the core point. Does the GOI recognize that it has a duty to protect our historical tradition irrespective of whether it believes in Rama or not?

* * *

There is surely something more to it
rkohri, Sep 14, 2007 12:24 PM

As a rule any affidavit before it is filed in the court is carefully read and re-read by at least 8 to 10 government functionaries.

I have been a government officer and know from my personal that an affidavit to be filed in the Supreme Court is read, re-read and vetted by the Law Department and the Head of the Department -sometime even by the Law Minister.

I do not think this gratuitous insult to millions of Hindus by pouring ridicule on their faith and religious ethos is the fault of some simpleton wisecrack. There is surely something more to it than what meets the eye.

It is also being rumoured that some high level government official had sidelined he objectionable paras and suggested that these should be deleted.

Still the power-that-be decided not to delete the objectionable paragraphs.

What do you make of it?

* * *

Pardon me, but is not secularism about Govt not interfering in Religious affairs?
goodjoke, Sunday , September 16, 2007

Ramachandra Guha,

You have said what other left leaning intellectuals have always said - Religion should be left in private domain and not brought into public domain. Fully agreed. But the problem is that the Non Rightist politicians never practice what they preach.

When you have a entire group of politicians and intellectuals, demanding reservation based on religion , is it not violating this principle? Look at the case of TN, where religious reservation has been introduced for Muslims (yes they may be not so well off) and Christians(who are actually doing much better than rest of population in every social parameter). Why is this not critiqued? Likewise, do politicians who believe in leaving religious debates in private domain, have the right to announce themselves as atheists and publicly ridicule the Gods and Godesses of Hindu Religion in public?

And not to mention Government running of Hindu Temples. Pardon me, but is not secularism about Govt not interfering in Religious affairs? Why should religious institutions be run by people who profess themselves to be secular, irreligious or atheist?

I would like an honest answer from you or your colleagues.It is these kind of contradictions and blatant hypocrisies that aid the Hindu Right to gain more mileage and more popularity. People expect fair treatment and consistency and not hypocrisy. If you really believe that religion and governance should be separated 100% (and I too believe that), let us show it in action. Starting from freeing Temples from Govt control.

* * *

The new Ravana of our times
raj yashwant, Sunday , September 16, 2007

Karunadhi is the new Ravana of our times. He denies the existence of Ram which is what the actual Ravana did when his atrocities reached maximum proportion. That is what is happening In Tamil Nadu today. The demonic forces in the form of DMK and left are ruling Tamilnadu and perpetrating autrocities on the brahmins and weak forward sections of society and creating a litteral hell for nice people to live in Tamil Nadu. All the brahmins and other forward casts are fleeing tamilnadu to save their lives. But one should not fear as Lord Ram will be born again to take destroy DMK and it's demonic forces in the state.

* * *

As long as the present government led by the Congress remains in power, with their appeasement of minorities and vote Bank politics, the truth regarding Ram Stehu would never see the light of the day
J.N. Kini, Sunday , September 16, 2007

Ramachandra Guha, makes a good TV savy " historian " but unfortunately does not make any sense when commenting on matters of the Hindu Gods and the faith. His conclusion that Ram is not acknowledged in South India takes the cake. The historian should have gone into the details of names of Rameswaram, Dhanushkodi, Ramapadam etc., But then again, what is there in a name, one might ask. Most of the names of places in India, are derived from either events local to the place or topography. The Ram Sethu in the interest of the majority of Hindus should remain just that as a matter of faith of the over eight hundred millions of Hindus.Apart from being the majority, Hinduism is what binds India together inspite of being a multilateral society. It is only in recent years (comparatively) thanks to the Dravidian Political movement, where in people were misinformed regarding Ram, specially in Tamil Nadu. To suit them, the DMK made Shri Ram a subject of aryan invasion over the dravidians. As long as the present government led by the Congress remains in power, with their appeasement of minorities and vote Bank politics, the truth regarding Ram Stehu would never see the light of the day. It would meet the same fate as Dwarka and Ayodhya.

* * *

Your historian got it all wrong.
Mohan Nair, Sunday , September 16, 2007

It is factually incorrect to say that Sr Ram is not revered in South India . Your historian got it all wrong. It will be better if the participants stick to truth while discussing sensitive topics.

* * *

Don't think that the science we have today can explain everything.
MPReddy on Sunday , September 16, 2007

For those Scientifically Einsteins and politically Sardarjis who were denying the existence of Rama sethu... First of all do you have scientific evidence to deny it? Don't think that the science we have today can explain everything. Through the ages humanity have lost many ancient arts and sciences. To name a few, we lost ancient metallurgy, pottery, weaponry etc.. Can you bring them back with your so called science? These mentally retarded & corrupted people cannot mutilate truth into a 'false' by shouting loud. Rama is God and his creations are much above the understanding of human beings.

* * *

It is not uncommon to see archeological "evidences" being tempered, tampered and manipulated beyond recognition to suit the thinking of present rulers
Sunday , September 16, 2007

Forward looking intellectuals and journalists" are exceedingly keen to suggest that the past glories and pains should not in any way come to the present material existence and growth and emotions should give way to plain rationalism. Nothing can be more foolish than this. You can carry this logic only to some extent. After all human beings are not made up of just flesh and bone. What you call as "negative emotions" that hinder the present material existence and growth are just the opposite side of the coin i.e. "positive emotions" like intense human relationsships, respect for others and relaionship between humans and environment which Hinduism has ardently stood for. To detach emotions fully from human beings is stupid and impractical idea. If the idea of plain rationalism is to be adhered to, then all the elderly people who do not contribute to the society and sick people with no hope of recovery with the existing medical facilities should be done away with like what Hitle did.

And stories of yesterday's "scientific theories" becoming unscientific after a few years is not uncommon. This is not to deride the scientific advancements in toto. Further it is not uncommon to see archeological "evidences" being tempered, tampered and manipulated beyond recognition to suit the thinking of present rulers.

Every one knows who the real culprits are in offending affidavit drama. But the ruling UPA political establishment is too shy to admit this.It is not Ambika Soni or the law Minister. The two culprits are M.Karunanidhi and T.R.Balu Minister for Shipping and transportation.

* * *

Let us have a RAMRAJYA
sethuraman, Sunday , September 16, 2007

This govt. which is backed by the left, DMK (a minority govt. at the state), RJD, and other parties which really do not represent the real majority, since they totally represent only about 40%, of the votes cast decide the fate of our country.we have seen how MR Karunanidhi -the CM, only interested in advancing his family interest, which was throughly exposed very recently and who does not care for the interest of the hindu population and their sentiments.i only wish these irrelevant parties vanish.how can these people play with the sentiments of a vast majority of poor Hindus, a majority have been silent spectators.let us awake and throw these people, and let us have a RAMRAJYA

* * *

Stop copying west and find out our soul.
Dr Vinod, Tuesday , September 18, 2007

When we stop copying west and find out our soul.

Real Gandhi was not a secularist he declared you cannot take the soul and keep the body alive. That is what exactly todays congress is doing. For vote share and to hung in power under the proud leadership of a foreign person cong lost the right to exist. Cong is expired.

Quota law will perpetuate caste system

Legal Correspondent

A disaster to say caste will be starting point to identify SEBCs: Nariman

New Delhi: The OBC quota law “which says the starting point for identification of socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs) is through caste, will result in perpetuation of the caste system in the country,” senior advocate Fali Nariman argued in the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

The importance of Article 15 (1) (non-discrimination on grounds only of caste) “is that we must strive towards the ideal of a casteless society.” But the quota law would perpetuate something which Article 15 (1) “expressly forbids,” he told a Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan.

The Bench is hearing petitions questioning the 93rd Constitution Amendment and the OBC quota law enacted under it.

Appearing for P.V. Indiresan and others, Mr. Nariman said, “It will be a disaster to say that caste will be the starting point to identify the SEBCs. The phrase ‘special provision’ in Article 15 (5), not found in Article 16 (4) [providing reservation], needs to be given its due importance. The ‘special provision’ may include a provision for reservation but not necessarily so — the absence of the word ‘reservation’ in Article 15 (5) and its inclusion in Article 16 (4) are significant.”

Counsel said, “The ‘special provision’ has to be reasonable as not being excessive if there be reservation, and should be limited for a defined period — not for all time to come: must not be unreasonable, excessive or extravagant.”
Identification criteria

The assumption that the SEBCs had to be identified from some readily available data such as caste was not well founded. “It is not as if caste has always been the starting point for determination of the SEBCs. There are other criteria sufficient to identify backward groups or communities, for example, income of the family — below the poverty line; educational status; location of residence — rural or urban area; type of living accommodation —kutcha house or no house/rented — urban/rural; occupation or profession of father/guardian — landless, unskilled labourer, etc.”

The backward classes would have to be identified with reference to one or more of these criteria. When so identified, those grouped together would then (and not until then) form a class of citizens “who are socially and educationally backward.” And “you [government] give them free education, scholarship, free books and some other inducements,” counsel said. The ‘special provision’ was not one which could be applied exclusively to certain categories from among Hindus alone. “There are a whole lot of people in other religions who are equally backward. What do you do with those backward classes in other religions?”

Mr. Nariman said the state could not justify ignoring altogether the advancement of the rest of society. Reasonableness was the touchstone of a ‘special provision.’

When the 27 per cent quota law specifically provided for identification of backward classes after proper determination, not doing so would render it unconstitutional. “It is sheer hypocrisy to say that caste will be the starting point for identification of class but, at the same time, you don’t want to have a caste census.”

Mr. Nariman told the judges, “This is not one more case for the Supreme Court to decide. The future of this country is in your hands and you have to lay down guidelines to ensure a casteless society.”

Arguments will continue on Thursday.

Violation of Human Rights - Need for a Hindu nation

by V SUNDARAM

I

'True human feelings, passions and emotions are indeed the gastric juices of the soul' - Swami Vivekananda.

Patriots Forum in New Delhi and Infinity Foundation (USA) are organizing a one-day long Seminar on 'Violation of Human Rights of Hindu in India' on Tuesday (11 September, 2007) at New Delhi. This subject has been completely ignored by the Pseudo Secular Mafia of Mass Media for too long, and this has led to the build-up of a helpless feeling among members of the majority Hindu Community that they have been reduced to the status of children of a LESSER GOD in their own ancient Homeland. While the 'Secular' political class, mainstream media, the National Human Rights Commission and multiple NGOs are often seen clamouring at the drop of a hat for protection of the Human Rights of Minorities, no tears are shed or any concern ever expressed about the pitiable plight of the members of the shattered and battered majority Hindu Community in different parts of India. The most glaring example relates to the callous disregard of the plight of lakhs of Hindus ethnically cleansed from Jammu and Kashmir with the tacit political consent of the pseudo-secular Government of India and the anti-Hindu Government of Jammu and Kashmir. A similar silent campaign of ethnic cleansing of Hindus (euphemistically called 'Hindi Speaking') living in Assam and certain parts of North East, has also gathered momentum in recent times. No one, however, seems to be bothered about such abominable violation of Hindu Human Rights. There is a longstanding complaint about the misuse of the funds and lands of Hindu temples by Islam-embracing, Christianity-coveting and Hindu-hating avaricious State governments.

We have to only read the daily Newspapers like The Hindu, The New Indian Express, The Times of India, Hindustan Times, Deccan Herald, etc. on the one hand and TV Channels like NDTV, CNN-IBN, Headlines Today, Times Now, etc on the other to understand how the Islam-embracing, Christianity-coveting and Hindu-hating Pseudo Secular Mafia of Mass Media are hand in glove with the International Mafia controlling the Government of Hindu today in their combined onslaught on the fundamental human rights of Hindus who are in absolute majority in India. The Hindus in India, numbering more than 850 millions, are facing the worst form of Government-sponsored, Government-abetted, Government-financed blatant discrimination, deriving its ideological and political sanction from the Deadly Demon of Secularism rooted in communal vote-bank politics, and resting on two monotheistic faiths "Islam and Christianity" in short Minority Appeasement.

The vicious circle of Government - designed political elimination of Hindus, social debasement of Hindus, cultural devaluation of Hindus, religious decimation of Hindus and above all the national de-recognition of Hindus as the main pith and core of our nation have thus become total and complete. Behind this bizarre and lurid drama of organized political crime, looms large the figure of a super and super-incumbent Catholic lady from Italy, who in her capacity as de facto Indian Prime Minister has a stranglehold on the apparatus of the Indian State. She has absolute contempt for the letter and spirit of the Indian Constitution and more so for the poor people of India, deriving her unconstitutional authority from her allegiance to the Pope in Rome whose philosophy is to convert the whole of India into a Christian Nation through an organized programme of what he calls "Massive and unprecedented harvesting of pagan souls".

Against this background, it should be clear that a solid foundation has been laid by the fleeting and unscrupulous political alliance between the anti-Hindu Congress Party and the Communist Parties for letting loose some of the worst and most soul-destroying forms of Hindu discrimination and blatant violations of Hindu Human Rights in an organized manner, in ever-expanding swells on a continuing basis, in the future. They are determined to destroy Hindu Religion, Hindu Culture, Hindu Society in the next decade and thus 'pack off' all the living Hindu Gods of India like Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Durga, Hanuman, Rama, Krishna, and several other Gods into dead artifacts of history like the dead pagan Gods of Greece and Rome. Many of the routine and known Hindu human rights violations in Pakistan and Bangladesh are being adopted as a matter of deliberate state policy in India as well. Nominal Hindus wielding unbridled political power in India, being totally beholden to Muslims and Christians, especially US Christian multinational business houses, are quietly practicing cultural genocide against the Hindus of India. This is the most diabolical situation Hindus have ever encountered since the fall of Sindh to the Arab invaders in 712 AD. As a matter of high State policy, Hindus are being excluded from educational opportunities under various spurious guises. Their places of worship are being attacked (with the connivance of State security agencies) or gifted to Christian Proselytizers. Hindus are being forced out of their traditional homes within India, with the Government of India and the State Governments, either approving or applauding such events / episodes as delighted spectators. The most dramatic example of this catastrophe of genocide is the extermination and expulsion of Hindus from Jammu and Kashmir, particularly the Pundits of Jammu and Kashmir.

A nation is a soul, a spiritual principle. Two things, which in truth are but one, constitute this soul or spiritual principle. One lies in the past, one in the present. One is the possession in common of a rich legacy of memories; the other is present-day consent, the desire to live together, the will to perpetuate the value of the heritage that one has received in an undivided form.

Man does not improvise. The nation, like the individual, is the culmination of a long past of endeavours, sacrifices, and devotion. Of all cults, that of the ancestors is the most legitimate, for the ancestors have made us what we are. A heroic past, great men, glory (by which I understand genuine glory), this is the social capital upon which one bases a national idea. To have common glories in the past and to have a common will in the present; to have performed great deeds together, to wish to perform still more with greater intensity and fervour - these are the essential conditions for being a people. One loves in proportion to the sacrifices to which one has consented, and in proportion to the ills that one has suffered. One loves the house that one has built and that one has handed down. The Spartan song - 'We are what you were; we will be what you are' - is, in its simplicity, the abridged hymn of HINDUTVA today.

The tide of Hindutva was inaugurated in undivided Bengal in the second half of the 19th century by Raj Narain Bose and Nav Gopal Mitra. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee offered the next milestone for those marching on the road of Hindutva when he came out with his beautiful national song of BANDE MATARAM which inspired millions of our countrymen in the days of our struggle for freedom. Swami Vivekananda awakened the Indians and the Western world to the glorious wisdom of Hindutva. Swami Dayananda Saraswathi made us aware of our glorious Vedic heritage. Sri Aurobindo was another sage whose thinking enriched the philosophy of Hindutva. In 1909 he wrote:

A Hindu Nationalism, largely Hindu in its spirit and traditions, because the Hindu made the land and the people and persists, by the greatness of his past, his civilization and his culture, and his invincible virility. The 'Nation Idea' Hindus never had. By this I mean the political idea of the Nation. It is a modern growth. But we had among the Hindus the cultural and spiritual idea of the Nation.

This in my view is the quintessence of Hindutva. Bal Gangadar Tilak, Vir Savarkar, Dr. Hegdewar, Guruji Golwalkar have all built up this great edifice of Hindutva. Hindutva is not a mere word but a history with a great soul. Hinduism is only a derivative, a fraction or a part of Hindutva or Hinduness.

Why should Hindus become helpless refugees in their own ancestral HOMELAND? It is my inalienable, indivisible, inexorable and immutable birth right to demand the creation of a Hindu Nation. I am not ashamed or afraid of declaring from the housetop that I am a political Hindu, a cultural Hindu, a spiritual Hindu, an economic Hindu, a nationalist Hindu, an internationalist Hindu and above all a cosmopolitan Hindu. I am forced to assert on these lines because Sanatana Dharma, Hindu Religion, Hindu Society, Hindu culture and Hindu ethos are under the siege of certain lethal international (!) forces, enjoying the full official support of the Government of India today. It will not be too much to say that the whole of India is getting converted into a 'Nazi Land' of pseudo-secularism, with a clearly defined and declared agenda for the decimation and destruction of Sanatana Dharma, Hindu Society and Hindu culture. In Nazi Germany, there was only one criminal gang consisting of one 'Herr' Hitler, one Goebbels, one Goering, one Ribbentrop, one Von Papen, and one Himmler. But in the wretched India of today, we have more than half a dozen similar gangsters in each political party, all united in their collective resolve to destroy all remnants of Sanatana Dharma and Hindu culture in order to gain a few short-term cheap political advantages for themselves.

II

I am in full agreement with Sita Ram Goel (1921-2003), a great 'Intellectual Kshatriya,' when he says that Hindu society is the only significant society in the world today which presents a continuity of cultural existence, consciousness and functioning for countless centuries. Most of the other societies known to human history - East and West, North and South - have suffered a sudden extinction or interruption or undergone a traumatic transformation due to the invasion and victory of some latter day monotheistic ideologies like Christianity, Islam and Communism. The pre-Christian, pre-Islamic and pre-Communist cultural creations and artifacts of these societies are now to be seen or met with only in libraries and museums, thanks to the unremitting labours of archaeologists and antiquarian scholars. Hindu culture can meet the same frightful fate if there is going to be no Hindu society to sustain it. This is the point which is not always remembered even by those who take pride in Hindu culture.

There are many Hindus who cherish the great spiritual heritage of Hinduism and also the scriptures like the Bhagawad Gita and the Upanishads in which this glorious tradition lies enshrined. But they do not cherish with an equal conviction, much less enthusiasm, the Hindu society which has honoured and preserved these traditions and scriptures against the onslaughts of external invaders and alien influences down the ages. Again, there are many Hindu who proclaim with great confidence that Sanatana Dharma or Hinduism can never die. In this context the sharp words of Sita Ram Goel are very relevant:

'This is true in a sense. There will always be individuals in 'Non-Hindu Societies' who will recover the mystique of Sanatana Dharma through their efforts at self-discovery. But 'Sanatana Dharma' will surely suffer an eclipse and no more inform mankind at large with its message, if there is no Hindu society to sustain it.'

There are many Hindu who are legitimately proud of Hindu art, architecture, sculpture, music, painting, dance, drama, literature, linguistics, lexicography and so on. But all of them fail to notice the fact that this great wealth of artistic, literary and scientific heritage will die if the Hindu society which created it is no more there to preserve, protect and perpetuate it.

The sudden death of Hindu society is thus no longer a theoretical possibility or eventuality which is either remote or improbable. This great society is now besieged by the same dark and deadly forces which have overwhelmed and obliterated many ancient societies in World History. Suffering from a loss of its 'élan,' Hindu society has become a house divided within itself. Its beneficiaries seem to be impotent in taking necessary steps for ensuring its survival because they themselves have fallen victims to hostile propaganda emanating from the anti-Hindu forces of Islam, Christianity, Nehruvian Secularism, menacing Marxism, and above all Hindu-baiting Macaulayism. Presiding over all these forces with a determined agenda for destroying all things Hindu, we have the Hindu-embracing, Christianity-coveting and Hindu-hating UPA government in New Delhi under the triangular stranglehold of Roman Catholicism, Pan-Islamism and Communism and wedded to the ideology of 'pseudo-secularism' which is just another convenient political word for Anti-Hinduism.

Hindu society which has survived the onslaught of Islamic marauders and Western freebooters for centuries should indeed be regarded as one of the great wonders of world history. In the normal course, Hindus should have come into their own after 1947 and created a new era of social and cultural renaissance in free Hindu. Thanks to the politically motivated policy of Nehruvian Secularism, Hindus have become third class citizens in our own country. They are no longer the honoured citizens of our land. Like leprosy in British India, a permanent stigma seems to have stuck to the terms 'Hindu' and 'Hinduism' in today's India. They have become terms of abuse in the mouth of that very 'elite' which the dumb Hindu millions have raised to the pinnacle of power and prestige with their own blood, toil, sweat and tears.

I cannot help coming to the conclusion that the Islamic and British invasions of India, though defeated and dispersed, have yet managed to 'crystallize' certain 'residues,' psychological and intellectual, which a battered Hindu society is finding it very difficult to digest. It is now well-known that these 'residues' in the monopoly control of the Congress party are now in active collusion with powerful international forces of Christianity, Islam and Marxism and which are being aided and abetted by the government of India on a scale which an impoverished Hindu Society can never hope to match. Although at loggerheads among themselves till 2004, these residues have forged a 'United Front' which is holding Hindu Society under a Pseudo-Secular siege today. This grave mortal danger is as much promoted 'from within' as 'from without.'

It is against this background it has become necessary for all the Hindus of India, whether living in India or abroad, to become firmly resolved in their collective will to declare to the world: 'We Hindus are a nation.' In 1946 when the Muslim League's demand for partition of India and creation of a separate State of Pakistan were being seriously debated, someone asked M A Jinnah: 'You keep talking of Pakistan. Could you explain what is your concept of this Pakistan? What do you really mean by it?' Jinnah replied: 'Of course. In just five words.' Then Jinnah uttered those five famous words: 'We Muslims are a nation' and he went on to elaborate his thesis of unbridgeable cultural difference between Muslims and Hindus, their incompatibility and the impossibility of co-existence of the Muslims with the Hindus, and so on.

An outstanding intellectual and brilliant scholar who paid a heavy price for his unimpeachable integrity in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) to which he belonged, Abhas Chatterjee, wrote a seminal book 'THE CONCEPT OF Hindu NATION' in 1995, a few years before his death.

According to Abhas Chatterjee, our misconception regarding Hindu Nation, Hindutva and Hindu Rashtra has arisen from the fact that we have not tried to comprehend the definition of a Nation. We normally take a nation to stand for a country, a land mass, a specific portion of the globe. But a nation never means a land as such. A nation indicates a group or community of people which has been traditionally living in a particular land, which has its own distinctive culture, and which has an identity separate from other peoples of the world by virtue of the distinctiveness of its culture. The cultural distinctiveness of a nation may be based on its race, or religion, or language, or a combination of some or all of these factors, but all-in-all there has to be a distinct culture which will mark out that nation from peoples belonging to other lands. In the light of this analysis, Abhas Chatterjee, concludes that:

'Once we start looking at things from this point of view, we immediately see not only that we Hindus are a 'Nation unto ourselves, but also we are the oldest surviving NATION on earth.'

We Hindus are not just a religious community like the Hindus and the Christians, but a NATION unto ourselves. The term 'Hindus' is the name of our nationality. We Hindus are a Nation. This is a basic, simple and indisputable truth. Unfortunately, even this simple cardinal truth, most of the Hindus - more particularly the educated Hindus - are unable to appreciate in letter and spirit and this fatal failure lies at the root of all our misconceptions and miseries.

No one can dispute that the traditional homeland of Hindus is the Bharatavarsha. It is a distinct geographical entity. When I say Bharatavarasha in the sense of the Motherland of the Hindus, I do not refer to the boundaries of the truncated India created by Jinnah, and Nehru in 1947, but to those of our traditional homeland which extends continuously from Gandhara to Kamrup and from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. This basically has been the concept of Hindu Nationhood or what we call Hindutva or Hindu Rashtra from times immemorial.

We remained subjugated for more than 1000 years when foreign rulers ruled over our country. By barbaric persecution or economic inducements, they compelled certain segments of our nation to abandon their ancestral culture and adopt the culture of those foreign invaders. These segments of our population forgot that the culture they had adopted was a foreign culture, a culture that belonged to another nation and had been forced on them.

Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950) wrote in Bande Mataram on 7 October, 1907: '

This great and ancient Nation was once the fountain of human light, the apex of civilisation, the exemplar of courage and humanity, the perfection of good government and settled society, the mother of all religions, the teacher of all wisdom and philosophy. It has suffered much at the hands of inferior civilisations and more savage peoples; it has gone down into the shadow of night and tasted often of the bitterness of death. Its pride has been trampled into the dust and its glory has departed.'

But subjugation cannot by itself destroy the nationhood of a nation. Nor can the nature of the nation, the basic characteristics and disposition of the nation, get altered or changed by the fact of enslavement. Nations do not get destroyed. We Hindus are a nation just as the Germans are a nation, the Armenians are a nation, the Kurds are a nation, the Jews are a nation. Germany was divided into two after the II World War. But this did not abate their nationhood. Within 50 years, they achieved reunification of their motherland and the nation has been restored to its original character and complexion. Alas!! Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and their political slaves have destroyed the identity of India as an Ancient Hindu Nation. They have created the lifeless and spiritless carcass of an Anti-Hindu Pseudo-Secular Nation.

III

The fact that 'WE HINDUS ARE A NATION' is by no means a new idea. This idea has been with us from the dawn of history. The saint, sage and seer Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) made the most powerful pronouncement of this idea in 1893. In his brief 5-minute first address, Swami Vivekananda declared at the inaugural session of the Parliament of Religions at Chicago in 1893: 'I thank you in the name of the millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects'. Then he spoke THREE SENTENCES which were most significant. First, he said: 'I am proud to belong to a RELIGION which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance.' In the second sentence he said: 'I am proud to belong to a NATION which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth'. In this context, he cited an example, namely, that when the sacred temple of the Jews was demolished by the Romans, we Hindus gave shelter to the Jewish refugees and took care of them in India. In the third sentence, Swamiji said: 'I am proud to belong to a RELIGION which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnants of the grand Zoroastrian nation'. In these three consecutive sentences, Swami Vivekananda proclaimed his pride of belonging first 'to a religion', then second 'to a nation' and third again 'to a religion'.

It will be clear that Swami Vivekananda used the words 'Religion' and 'Nation' as synonymous terms. No pseudo-secularist in India today can have any doubt about what religion or nation SWAMIJI was talking about and what his perception of nationhood was. Swami Vivekananda was emphatically clear that the essential feature of Hindu Nationhood was the Hindu religion, the 'Sanatana Dharma'. He was only declaring 'We Hindus are a Nation'.

The cardinal fact that 'We Hindus are a Nation' unto ourselves and not just a religious community formed the crucial plank of our first national movement in 1905, viz. the 'Swadeshi Movement' in undivided Bengal. When Bengal was partitioned by Lord Curzon in 1905, the entire society rose up as one MAN with solid determination at a moment of great and unprecedented national upsurge. No one at that time had the slightest doubt that 'We Hindus are a Nation'. That is why in Calcutta city, on the first day of the agitation 50,000 people took a collective oath before Goddess Kali in the Holy Kalighat Temple to the effect that 'we shall throw the British out of our homeland'. The famous historian R.C. Majumdar rightly concluded that he saw no difference in those days between Sanatana Dharma and Indian Nationalism.

When Lord Minto conspired and plotted against the Hindu freedom fighters of Bengal in 1906, he roped in the Muslims under Agah Khan to create the Muslim League in order to divide the country. The era of Muslim appeasement started by Lord Minto, reached its climax in 1920 when Mahatma Gandhi became the Chairman of the Kilafat Movement for the restoration of the Turkish Monarchy and Empire. Thereafter, at every stage in our struggle for freedom, Muslims were appeased by Congress Leaders and Mahatma Gandhi for the next 25 years. The sad fact is that despite this deferential attitude towards the Muslims, the Congress and Mahatma Gandhi miserably failed to convince Mohammed Ali Jinnah about the need for the continued existence of a United India even after the British withdrawal from India. It has to be sadly borne in mind that after 1933, Jinnah was continuously proclaiming 'We Muslims are a Nation' till the birth of Pakistan on 14 August, 1947.

After Indian independence, Jawaharlal Nehru promoted his concept of false nationhood under the label of 'secularism'. According to this concept, all the people who happen to reside on the soil of India form a Nation, whether he follows the culture of this country or not, whether he is loyal to this country or not. It does not matter if the state-aided minorities dismiss the time-honoured culture of this country 'Sanatana Dharma' as abominable and as a path of the Devil. Thus in a mischievous way Nehru turned the concept of 'Nationhood' into a geographic entity and bade good-bye to the established principles of 'Nationhood' founded on emotional and cultural unity and all that it implies. According to this Nehru's notion, Hindus of India in majority have to lose the inheritance of their traditional homeland. Nehru used his transitory political might to propagate this philosophy and this became the corner stone of all his policies and proved disastrous for the Hindus. Tragically for the Hindu Nation, Jawaharlal Nehru shamelessly declared:

'To talk of Hindu culture would injure India's interests. By education I am an Englishman, by views an internationalist, by culture a Muslim, and I am a Hindu only by accident of birth. The ideology of Hindu Dharma is completely out of tune with the present times and if it took root in India, it would smash the country to pieces'.

Nehru dismissed the Hindus of India as a mere religious community without any cultural traditions going back to the dawn of history. Thus Nehru had total contempt for Hindu religion, for Hindu culture, for Hindu society and above all for the average Hindu.

This alternate concept of perverted 'Nehruvian Nationhood' as opposed to 'Sanatana Dharma', meant State-engineered opposition to the Hindus in all walks of life. ANTAGONISM TO HINDUS EMERGED AS THE CORNER STONE OF STATE POLICY. The ideology of Nehruism came to be lauded, acclaimed, promoted and propagated under the name 'Secularism' till it came to be treated beyond reproach, beyond debate and beyond discussion. In short, all the Hindus of India became second class citizens depending upon the sufferance - even patronage - of the minority. Dressed in brief mortal authority, Nehru's purblind audacity reached its climax when he wrote to Kailash Nath Katju in 1953:

'In practice the individual Hindu is more intolerant and more narrow-minded than almost any person in any other country'.

Thus we have before us two alternate perceptions of our 'Nation' and 'Nationhood'; one of Swami Vivekananda and the other of Jawaharlal Nehru. Swami Vivekananda represented the time-defying sources and forces of truth; Jawaharlal Nehru represented the sources and forces of falsehood, fraud and ignorance based upon communal votebank politics. Swami Vivekananda says that Hindu Dharma is the quintessence of our national life, hold fast to it if you want your country to survive, or else you would be wiped out in three generations. Jawaharlal Nehru, a mere 50 years later, tells us that if the Hindu Dharma thrives, the country will smash to pieces. To quote the telling words of Abhas Chatterjee: '

Swami Vivekananda says that Hindu culture is the life-current of our nation, Jawaharlal Nehru says it would injure the nation even to talk of Hindu culture. One was supremely proud of being a Hindu, the other so ashamed of it that he rejected it as an accident of birth'.

The greatest tragedy in our national life after 1947, much more disastrous than the invasion of India by Muslim Marauders like Timur in 1398, Babar in 1526, Nadir Shah in 1739 and Ahmed Shah Abdali in 1761, has been the invasion of Nehruvian Secularism which started on August 15, 1947 and is still continuing unabated and unchallenged, clothed in the aura of official authority of the Government of India, now institutionalized into a hereditary Nehru family heirloom in perpetuity.

Nehru's viciously political concept of a geographical or composite nation, Nehruism or secularism, whichever way you call it, was nothing but a pernicious anti-Hindu ideology, which came to be lauded, acclaimed, promoted and propagated by most political parties after 1950 and the mafia of mass media in India and abroad, under the name of 'Secularism' till it came to be treated as something beyond any reproach, beyond any public debate and discussion. Nehru and his family used the might of their public offices for three generations to implant this poisonous weed of 'Secularism' in the national psyche. This has led to some disastrous socio-political consequences for the very survival of Hindus, Hindu Culture, Hindu Society, Hindu Religion and above all Sanatana Dharma.

To sum up, after our independence, we were taught to look at the history of Bharatvarsha from a new angle of State-sponsored distorted vision. We were asked to regard Indian history as one of pseudo-secular synthesis. To quote Abhas Chatterjee once again:

'We were asked to overlook the barbaric tyranny that was perpetrated on us in order to force Islam down our throats from 1025 AD till 1707 AD. The horrible persecution, the blunder, the vandalism, and the massacres should all be forgotten. Or we should assume these acts of Islamic compassion to have been the personal aberrations of a few Rulers. In order to project the history of India as a history of synthesis, an imaginary course of events was constructed, viz. that from olden days foreigners kept on coming to India and settling down by and by, so that they kept getting mingled with one another and a new 'Nation' was formed, a new 'Culture' was thus created. So, we don't really have a 'National Culture' of our own but only a 'Hybrid Composite Culture' politically manufactured by the Government.'

IV

Anationalistic and patriotic Hindu of post-independent India, who derives his inspiration and nationalistic idealism from the teachings of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, Bipin Chandra Pal, Bal Gangadar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Vir Savarkar, and such other incomparable patriots, has great difficulty in feeling himself to be a part of the 'imaginary Nation' (a Pseudo Secular Anti-Hindu Nation!!) for which the whole national system today is being operated by the all the Governments in Inda. He is unable to identify himself emotionally with this imaginary, artificial, 'composite' national entity which the Indian State has been representing. An 'enormous gulf' has been created between the 'NATION' and the 'STATE', between the national society and the ruling class. It is this gulf which is causing disintegration and decimation of the national society, organised disappearance of collective consciousness and sensitivity, debasement, debauchment and degeneration of social conscience. It is because of this politically motivated and criminally perpetrated hiatus between a false Nation (Notion!!) and a truly blood-sucking State that there is a continuous proliferation of selfishness, corruption and moral degradation in all walks of our national life today. The larger 'Hindu National Society' has been totally alienated from the State and the national will to boldly face all the problems confronting our nation today has all but vanished.

THUS, I AM OF THE CONSIDERED VIEW THAT THERE IS GROSS VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS OF HINDUS IN INDIA. What are Human Rights? 'Human Rights' mean 'the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled, often held to include the right to life and liberty, freedom of thought and expression, and equality before the law.' The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, 'All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.'

Hindu Human Rights must commonly include the following Cluster of Rights:

• Security rights that prohibit crimes such as murder/enforced involuntary suicide, massacre, torture and rape
  
  
• Liberty rights that protect freedoms in areas such as belief and religion, association, assembling and movement
  
  
• Political rights that protect the liberty to participate in politics by expressing themselves, protesting, participating in a republic
  
  
• Due process rights that protect against abuses of the legal system such as imprisonment without trial, secret trials and excessive punishments
  
  
• Equality rights that guarantee equal citizenship, equality before the law and nondiscrimination
  
  
• Welfare rights (also known as economic rights) that require the provision of, eg, education, paid holidays, and protections against severe poverty and starvation
  
  
• Group rights

Security Rights of Hindus are being denied by the Government and the State. Liberty Rights are being abridged by the anti-Hindu Government on the one hand and denied by the pseudo-secular (in effect anti-Hindu) political parties on the other. Political Rights are being denied by the Government, State and all the political parties acting under the ideological umbrella of 'Perverted Secularism'. Due process rights are being denied by the Judiciary at all levels, acting as self-proclaiming cultural and legal spokesmen for upholding only 'Minority Rights'. Equality rights are being denied by the Government, the State and the Judiciary, diabolically acting together in concert, apart from all the political parties directly involved in a collective conspiracy against the Hindus of India. Welfare rights and Group rights of only the minorities "The Muslims and the Christians" are the concern of the Government and the State. Those of Hindus are irrelevant, anti-national and anti-social - in short, 'Communal'. Thus the Vicious Circle of Denial of Hindu Human Rights is comprehensive, universal, total and all-pervasive.

All these rights are being denied to the Hindus who are in absolute numerical majority in India. I shall prove this thesis by posing some simple and direct questions at the end of this paper.

The significant point that merits attention today is that though we Hindus are a Nation, we are not yet an independent Nation. We are still a subjugated Nation. If we analyze carefully, we can see that the Hindu Nation did not actually gain freedom on August 15, 1947. The Hindus of India only underwent a change of the Master, a change of rulers from Vilayathi Anti-Indian Rulers to Desi Anti-Hindu Rulers. Thanks to the honest commitment of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the Muslim Nation of undivided India gained their own geographic space and freedom on 14 August, 1947 but not the battered Hindus of India. The Muslims established their own State in that territory called Pakistan and that State is still conducting its affairs by holding the cultural aspirations, honour and interests of the Muslims of Bharath Varsha also as its responsibility. But Hindus neither gained recognition as a Nation, nor their own State nor control over their National Homeland or destiny.

Thus there is no STATE today, certainly not in India, to protect Hindu interests in the international arena, to raise an effective voice for the Hindus. If Jews are unjustly treated in any part of the world, the State of Israel, supreme representative of an independent Jewish Nation, immediately raises its voice. Our disgusting Prime Minister would spend sleepless nights only for Hanif in Australia and not for the peaceful Hindus who get killed in Afghanistan or the Middle East.

The sole and supreme task before us Hindus now is that we rescue ourselves from the suicidal stranglehold of the alternate anti-Hindu Nation-Perception of Gandhi and Nehru, and awaken National Consciousness in ourselves. We have to develop a clear National Vision. Such a vision should show us that

1. We Hindus are a NATION, not a religious community. Our national identity is Hindu. We would declare the name of our nationality to be Hindu, and no other name would be acceptable to us.
   
   
2. The distinctive feature of our NATION is 'Sanatana Dharma'. We shall not accept any other alien ideology as the heritage of our country. We cannot regard any alien creed as our religion.
   
   
3. Undivided India is our Motherland. Even though parts of India have seceded today, we do not accept this division. Our goal is to reunite the whole of our ancestral Homeland into our Motherland, regardless of all terror and, however long and hard the road may be.
   
   
4. Hindu Culture is our national culture. Hindu Society is our national society. Hindu Art is our national art. Hindu Literature is our national literature. Hindu History is our national history. There is no Muslim Period or British Period in this history; it is only the history of continuous Hindu struggle against Muslim invaders and British colonialists. The struggle against the Perverted Secularists is still continuing. Without victory in this struggle, there is no survival - no survival for Hindus and Sanatana Dharma, no survival for the urge and impulse of the Ages.
   
   
5. People subscribing the theologies of alien religion are minorities in our country, not a part of our nation. We consider these alien ideologies to be enemies of our nation. The goal is to bring our minorities back into our nation.
   
   
6. Sanskrit is our national mother tongue, with its sister languages and many off- springs.
   
   
7. We are still a subjugated, enslaved nation. Perverted Nehru Secularists are not our own people. Their regime is nor our regime. We have to liberate Mother India from their stranglehold and earn our freedom. To secure our freedom, the Hindu Nation has to gain its independence. After securing freedom, we have to set up our own Nation State - The Hindu Nation State. We have to discard the present Indian Constitution and give ourselves a new Constitution of our own rooted in our own national, cultural, spiritual and religious ethos.
   

In order to understand and know the extent to which there is a gross violation of Human Rights of Hindus in India, we have only to pose the following simple questions:

• There are nearly 52 Muslim countries. Which Muslim country provides Haj subsidy?

• Which is the Muslim country where Hindus are extended the same special rights that Muslims are accorded in India?

• Which is the country where the 85% majority craves for the indulgence of the 15 per cent minority under its own Constitution?

• Which is the Muslim country that has a non-Muslim as its President or Vice President or Prime Minister?

• Has any Mullah or Maulvi ever issued a 'fatwa' against the terrorists?

• When Christian and Muslim Schools can teach the Bible and the Quran respectively, why cannot the Hindus teach the Bhagavad Gita or the Ramayana in their schools?

• Why are temple funds spent for the welfare of Muslims and Christians, even when they have all the freedom to spend their money in any way they like only - and only for themselves?

• Why does the Government of India consider Sanskrit as communal and Urdu as secular, Mandir as communal and Masjid as secular, Sadhu as communal and Imam as secular, BJP as communal and Muslim League as secular, Vande Mataram as communal and Allah as secular?

...to be continued.

(The writer is a retired IAS officer)
e-mail the writer at vsundaram@newstodaynet.com