Delhi Assembly Elections 2008

What I think about Delhi assembly elections - 2008:

People voted the Congress back to power, and didn't grant the BJP a term to prove themselves and make a change.

Delhi voted for the development work done by the Govt... And they didn't see any difference between the development work being done by the Centre and the state govt. A lot has been done for Commonwealth Games, using special funds, and people gave credit for that to Sheila Dixit.

Above all, people have become so numb that they just don't care for what the BJP promised:

1. Sending out illegal Bangladeshi migrants: who cares if they are there or not: unless they attack me home while I am away, it is just fine.


2. Execution to Afjal: Who cares if this terrorist lives or dies? We are fine and safe, all that matters.


3. Terror free Delhi: Well, we just don’t believe that it is possible for any Govt to make our city terror free. We are pessimists.


4. Rape Capital of India: Well, until my daughter gets raped, I don’t bother.


5. VK Malhotra or Shiela Dixit: What if newspapers bring out pictures of old lady Sheila Dixit taking a sound nap on the dais? She is a lady, very learned, she must be good!


6. Scrapping bus-corridor: Well, it doesn’t pass through whole Delhi, you know? ..

Now imagine what the Congress promised? Of course you won’t remember much! Because they don’t promise! They have the public in the soup, and they know you can’t go out of it. It is a symbiotic relationship; you just can’t get rid of the Congress. Let there be 50 bomb blasts each month, let there be 80% caste based reservations even in the private sector, let them rape every woman on the street (and Sheila Dixit justify it), let there be 90 year old ministers rule over India, we just don’t care! Because we love the feeling of nostalgia: Gandhi – Nehru family is good for ever…

First Indian Woman Saint?

'Timing' has been everything in politics and business. Now 'timing' has become so important in religion also! But who said religion was not politics and business? Read the bold fonts also.

‘India’ ‘gets’ ‘first’ ‘woman’ ‘saint’

Vatican City, Oct 12: India got its first woman saint when Pope Benedict XVI canonised Kerala nun Sister Alphonsa at a special ceremony at St Peter's Square in the Vatican City on Sunday. Watched by over 5,000 Indian Christians who came here for the historic ceremony from India and other parts of the world, the Pope declared Sister Alphonsa a saint.

Sister Alphonsa had been "an exceptional woman, who today is offered to the people of India as their first canonised (woman) saint," the Pope said.

The Pope also used the occasion to express his concern over the violence against Christians in states like Orissa and Karnataka.

"I urge the perpetrators of violence to renounce these acts and join with their brothers and sisters to work together in building a civilisation of love," the Pope said in his concluding speech after canonising Sister Alphonsa and three others -- Maria Bernarda Butler from Switzerland, Narcisa de Jesus Marlillo Moran from Ecuador and Father Gaetano Errico from Italy.

"As the Christian faithful of India give thanks to God for their first native daughter to be presented for public veneration, I wish to assure them of my prayers during this difficult time," he said in his speech which was televised internationally.

A 15-member official Indian delegation, led by Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes, attended the ceremony.

Other members included Kerala Public Works Department minister Mons Joseph, P C Thomas MP, former Kerala Finance Minister K M Mani, MLAs P C George and K V Thomas, former Meghalaya Governor M M Jacob and Mahatma Gandhi University Vice-Chancellor Jancy James.

Church sources say that elevation of Sister Alphonsa as a saint is of special significance to Indian Christians as she is a 'home-grown' person.

Sister Alphonsa, who lived a quiet religious life helping people around her place in Kerala, was hailed for a number of miracles, including two which were officially put up to the Pope.

One of the miracles attributed to her related to the healing of a young boy's twisted feet after his family prayed at her tomb at the Alphonsa Chapel at Bharananganam near Kottayam.

The canonisation ceremony was telecast live from the Vatican.

"It's a matter of immense pride for us since one of our believers is being bestowed with the sainthood. It will strengthen the church in the country," Father Dominic Vechoor, chancellor of Palai diocese, said prior to the canonisation.

The Central government announced yesterday that it will issue a commemorative coin in honour of Sister Alphonsa.

Some comments:

1. “India gets first female saint” is the headline everywhere and I don’t understand why don’t they say “Christian saint”? India has had many saints and sadhvis who were females…

2. Realise how no one questions our government’s ‘secular’ credentials if they sent a 15 member ‘official delegation’ to attend the ceremony in a foreign country and then is coming out with a coin in the memory…

3. Now you don’t feel ashamed of the ‘miracles’ that the local “dhongi” Hindu saadhu claims to do to you; see, even those who practice and teach ‘civilisation of love’ believe in all that!

4. One more reason to be ‘proud to be an Indian’! This time, no one can ‘challenge’ the reason, since it is ‘certified’.

Terrorism & Kashmir

Now get it from the horse’s mouth… About a nation done wrong with, and anti-nationals being coddled and fed at our cost. Every paragraph is a wake up call.

Terrorism & Kashmir

Joginder Singh, IPS (Retd.)

A CRPF Inspector General was transferred from Srinagar, on 13th August, 2008 after an uproar in the Kashmir valley, led by the terrorists and their supporters, against alleged excesses by the central paramilitary force. He was also allegedly denied a Police medal, for fear of controversy and likely protests in the valley.

There is nothing new, in this kind of approach, as the decisions makers are safe in air conditioned atmosphere somewhere else. The people facing dire situation of life and death and standing between chaos and order, are on the spot. The former judge and some times pan-der to the local sentiments by sacrificing the people on the spot, hoping, that it will buy them peace and retrieve the situation. It is, simple application of band aid, where a surgical operation is called for it.

A Former Governor of J&K had lost his job, in 1990, for taking a tough stand against the anti Indian and anti national elements. Neither his transfer did, and nor the transfer of the IGP CRPF is going to normalise the situation and convert the anti national elements and terrorists into normal citizens. On the contrary, it will encourage, such elements, that they can do any-thing and get away.

Wherever the Government of the day, has fallen for appeasement and compromise on the basic values, it has invited more and more trouble. Terrorism in valley flourishes and thrives or remains under check, in direct proportion, to the political will and strength to deal with the same effectively.

It commenced, with the kidnapping of the daughter of a former Home Minister, who is also a former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. To get her released, the Government of the day released five dreaded terrorists. It emboldened them, leading to their much applauded freedom, possibly with some ransom, money, though there is no confirmation of this report. It was enough, to start a series of chain reactions in valley from 1988. I am an eye witness to that part of the history, as I was working at that time as Inspector General of the Central Reserve Police Force, in Srinagar.

The tendency to under play, has led, to the terrorists to openly dictating the people , about using of Purdaha by the women, closure of beauty parlours and cinemas houses, and raising pro Pakistan slogans.

The Prime Minister has given a laudable call, from the ramparts of red fort on 15th August, 2008 to shed communalism. But unfortunately, the whole agitation, in valley is based on the communal lines. However and how much we may wish, communalism of one community generates communalism in others, in accordance with the Newton’s law, which enunciates, that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Otherwise, how hordes of people led by the terrorists, could start a march towards Pakistan for crossing the border. The Government should have come out, with the statement, that those who cross illegally, would not be allowed, entry back into India, without the Indian Passports, as is applicable to all Indians going abroad and returning home.

A series of misconceived policies, or so called people to people contact, have brought about this situation. Otherwise, how could a partner in coalition plead for the Pakistan currency to be allowed to be used in J&K. Lack of clear policy and molly coddling, has cause the present chaos.

It would be wrong to say that transferring 39.88 hectares of forest land to Amarnath shrine board and its reaction in Jammu has led to the present situation.

The terrorists have been going, all out, to create disturbances and problems as per the following report of J& K Government which says; “A total of 42,147 people, including 20,647 militants and 5,024 security personnel, were killed in the state between January 1990 and the middle of February 2007… Violence left 33,885 people, including 12,124 security personnel and 21,659 civilians, injured during the same period in the state.. 11,221 civilians were killed by militants and another 1,678 lost their lives in grenade and Improvised Explosive Device explosions, while 173 civilians were killed when they were caught in clashes between militants. A total of 3,404 civilians were killed in cross-firing incidents between security forces and militants…

The highest number of 1,438 civilians were killed in 1996, the year elections were held after a gap of seven year. While the highest number of 3,602 army and other paramilitary personnel lost their lives fighting militants, Jammu and Kashmir police lost 537 personnel since January 1990. As many as 438 Special Police Officers engaged by police in the counter-insurgency operations were killed. 127 Village Defence Committee members were killed fighting militants in the state.

The highest number of 613 security personnel were killed in a single year in 2001.” Now the question arises, as to what can be done. Also whether what is being done is sufficient. In 1990, the midnight protests were sparked off, by the calls given by given 1100 Mosques, which had installed loud speakers to call the faithful to prayers. Loudspeakers in mosques, then and even now are being employed, to give calls for anti national activities and asking the people to gather in the streets or at a particular spot. The then Governor had ordered the disconnection of the loud speakers, which itself led to protests.

It is a fact that many terrorists take shelter in the religious places of their respective religion. During my recent visit to the USA, I was told that the police had installed CCTV cam-eras in mosques to monitor any such possible activity, with the cooperation of the Muslim community and their religious leaders. This is to prevent any allegation of forcible entry of the Police, which may cause desecration.

In a situation like this, which has been highly communalized, it is impossible to get any kind of evidence to prove anybody’s anti national activities, as no witness would be willing to come forth to depose, even if a witness protection act, is there. In fact, at present there is no witness protection act available. Margret Thatcher used to say the publicity is the oxygen of terrorism. Any kind of publicity, which eulogizes terrorism, should be discouraged, if not exactly banned.

Terrorist leaders, their supporters and sympathizers should be immobilized by using the present laws and detained outside J&K. The Government has announced pension scheme for the families of the terrorists, on the grounds that it is not their fault, if their children have become terrorists. This approach is fraught with danger and sooner it is given up, the better it is. Why only Kashmiris should be selected for this government munificence. Such people in Punjab, Chattisgarh, Assam and other North Eastern States, have similar claims. It should not become a scheme to help the anti national and traitorous elements.

Many so called intellectual talk about referendum in valley. With Pakistan having hijacked the anti national elements, any referendum or election will be irrelevant at present. The first priority is to drive the Pakistani terrorists out of the valley and send them to the country of their origin. The Government should stop all talks of dialogue, with so called militants, who are nothing more than front men of Pakistan. Only a tough approach will send the right signal that Government means business. The Government is spending much more on Kashmir than on other States.

A Kashmiri gets eight times more money from the Centre than citizens from other states. While per capita Central assistance to other states moved from Rs 576.24 in 1992-93 to Rs 1,137 in 2000-1, that of the Kashmiri spiralled from Rs 3,197 to Rs 8,092. To get a perspective, translate the numbers: this cash, managed by the state Government, were to be dispatched by money order, each Kashmiri family (with five members on an average) would get Rs 40,460 every year.

In 2001-2, the state spent Rs 7,516.6 crore of which Rs 4,577 crore-or 60 paise of every rupee spent-came from the Centre. The state's non-development expenditure was Rs 2,829 crore including a salary bill of Rs 1,193 crore while its own revenues were barely Rs 1,095 crore. The state could not have paid even the wages of its employees without the Centre's help.

It is reported that the benefits of central funds have remained confined only to about 150 families in Kashmir and the rest of the money has disappeared or not spent or improperly spent or drained off. The benefits of Central aid have not reached the common man, who has not developed a stake in India. The Government priority number one should be to root out corruption. With these steps, it should be possible to send a right message both to Pakistan and its henchmen and people in the valley.

(The Author is former Director Central Bureau Of Investigation, INDIA)

Source: YFE Crusader, Issue 2, Sep 2008. You can download the e-zine from http://www.yfemovement.com/

Coverage of Orissa, Karnataka trouble

As we read this, one top Maoist leader has taken responsibility of killing Swami Laxmananda Saraswati [Link]. It can’t go more interesting than this: they don’t want government to do any investigation and are sending scapegoats to accept all the blames! Think how much exposed and globally embarrassed the missionaries will be if government carries out an honest investigation and finds out the role of Christian missionaries in his murder? And hence the acceptance…

Just when I wondered why only a single voice of condemnation is coming from all quarters and no one is caring to think about the root causes, I got to read this article. A very balanced one, asking us to think fairly at the times when we are busy being politically correct:

Coverage of Orissa, Karnataka trouble: Balanced approach wanting

All the reports and commentaries on the attacks in Orissa and Karnataka sidestep the original sin of extreme provocation and the consequential long-simmering discontent among the Hindus. Would such scurrilous observations about what is regarded as holy and sacred be tolerated by any community anywhere else in the world?

B. S. Raghavan; The Hindu Business Line, Sep 3, 2008

It is a hallowed principle of jurisprudence that justice should be even-handed, and both sides to a dispute must be given a full hearing before conclusions are drawn. The media coverage of the disturbances in both Orissa and Karnataka and the action taken by the Centre are so one-sided as to make any fair-minded person feel extremely worried.

I am not a practising Hindu, perform no rituals and have no religious hang-ups. Further, having worked directly under Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi for nine years (1961-9) as the secretary of the National Integration Council from its very inception, (besides my other duties in the Political Division of the Union Home Ministry), I have savoured from close quarters the spirit that animated the heroes of pre-Independence era. Hence, in sharing my uneasiness with readers, I have tried my best to rise above prejudices or preconceptions, and appraise events on the touchstone of fairplay and freedom from bias.

To anyone for whom the print and electronic media were the only sources of information, it would seem that Hindu fanatics, behaving like dreaded terrorists, had been making killing fields of both Orissa and Karnataka, by indulging in murderous attacks on Christian minorities, and the destruction of sacred religious places.

The emerging picture of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal (BD) — all subsumed under the pejorative rubric Sangh Parivar, or the Saffron Brigade (why not, by the same token, call the Congress the Quattrochi Brigade or the Left the Hammer-and-Sickle Brigade?) — is that, encouraged from behind the scenes by the communal ‘monster’, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), they are going on a ruthlessly violent spree, just to vent their hatred of minorities.

In short, the impression given is that swarms of totally insane thugs are on a rampage, without any provocation whatsoever, holding both States to ransom, and the State Governments, in open sympathy with them, have done little to prevent their excesses.

Not the best way

God knows there have been condemnable incidents, making innocent Christians fear for their lives. There can be no wishing away of the despicable and wilful desecration and destruction of places of worship in Kandhamal in Orissa and in some places, including Bangalore, in Karnataka. Certainly, any wanton resort to violence should be put down with an iron hand and peace and harmony among all sections of the people restored at all costs.

Only a dispassionate and disinterested inquiry can credibly establish whether in the particular cases of attacks on churches, the respective State Governments acted with due sense of urgency and concern for the well-being of the affected communities. Sending on a hurried visit some functionaries from the Home Ministry toeing the official line, unfamiliar with local conditions and listening to only the slanted version is not the best way of getting at the truth. Also, it must be remembered that it is, and will always be, a matter of judgment whether more or less could or should have been done by the State or Central authorities to enforce the law, round up the ruffians and quell the disturbances in any particular set of circumstances.

Such cases cannot be weighed on a fine scale. I say this having dealt with a number of instances of violent outbreaks and insurgency during my nine years in the Home Ministry and two years as Chief Secretary of a north-eastern State.

Journalists and columnists, enjoying the good fortune of never having to manage crisis situations, should, therefore, think many times before showering their verdicts on the happenings, and especially guard against saying or writing anything approaching character assassination. All the reports and commentaries on the disturbances in Orissa and Karnataka neatly sidestep the original sin and the consequential long-simmering discontent among the Hindus. They make it look as if the attackers, who were readily assumed to be members of the ‘Saffron Brigade’, were madly running amok without any justification.

Real cause ignored

Reams have been written and billions of sound bytes have gone on air describing in lurid detail all that has happened to the churches and the Christian community, with no equal space given for the real cause of all the trouble.

Swami Lakshmananda was a revered figure in Orissa who was engaged in service to the weaker and vulnerable sections of the population. Allegedly, the local Christian votaries of conversion saw him as a thorn in their flesh. Whatever that be, the fact was that some time ago, he was the victim of attack by a gang bent on doing away with him. Luckily, he escaped at that time, but his enemies had their way the second time.

The Centre could have set all speculation at rest if, with all the mighty and extensive intelligence and investigative machinery at its disposal, it had ascertained the truth behind the murders of the Swami and his associates and unhesitatingly named the desperadoes. Its own inability, or unwillingness, to expose the forces that were behind the killing should be taken to have contributed to the flare-up that followed in Kandhamal.

Extreme provocation

Similarly, as regards Mangalore and Bangalore, those who are quick to castigate the State Government gloss over the extreme provocation contained in an obnoxious pamphlet, Satya Darshini, in Kannada language, circulated in the name of an outfit called the New Life Church, scathingly denigrating Hindu gods and goddesses in the foulest of language.

Since all the manifestations of anger from the side of the so-called Saffron Brigade have been set out in graphic detail day after day, fairness in maintaining balance calls for revealing a few samples from the pamphlet to illustrate the revolting nature of its vilification of Hinduism:

“When the Trinity of Hinduism (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) are consumed by lust and anger, how can they liberate others? Their projection as Gods is nothing but a joke. (page 39).

“When Vishnu asked Brahma to commit a sin, he immediately did so. How can such an ‘evil Brahma’ be a Creator of this Universe? How is it possible for both the sinner and the entity that provoked the sin to be gods? (Page 39)

“God, please liberate the sinful people of India who are worshipping false Gods that believe in the pleasures of illicit relationships (Page 39).”

Perversity

I want to ask the holier-than-thou commentators to place their hands on their hearts and tell me whether such scurrilous observations about what is regarded as holy and sacred would be tolerated by any community anywhere in the world?

One need not even go as far as gods and goddesses: Suppose one’s wife or parents are the targets of such scatological stuff distributed far and wide? Would one smile it away? Or, suppose one exhibits in a public forum paintings of particular individuals and their kith and kin in the nude, will those individuals celebrate it as an ex-pression of artistic freedom?

Why, then, show this perverse support to sacrilege perpetrated against Hinduism alone and work overtime lambasting the spontaneous reaction of largely simple and pious people who are sustained in their quotidian hardships by their faith in their gods and goddesses? To me, somehow, it does not stand to reason or common sense.

There is yet another aspect of this perversity. It gives a handle to foreign governments and busybodies to bad-mouth India as a den of fanatical Hindus who love nothing better than being at the throats of persons of other faiths.

A country which rained death and destruction on Iraq by flaunting a tissue of lies, indulged in unspeakable atrocities in Abu Ghraib and for the last eight years, has kept Muslim detenus in Guantanamo Bay without trial, treating them worse than vermin, denies a visa to Narendra Modi to the resounding applause of self-styled secularists who do not realise the egregious nature of the insult to the entire nation.

In sum, the secularism as practised in the country is letting it down, besides polarising the population. It is time a body of persons reputed for their objectivity and erudition went into the meaning and implications of secularism and communalism.

Nehru set up a Committee in 1961 for this purpose under the chairmanship of Asoka Mehta, of which Indira Gandhi, Atal Behari Vajpayee and Prof Mujeeb were among the members.

Unfortunately, its labours were interrupted by the Chinese invasion of 1962, and it was wound up. Getting going from where it left off is eminently worthwhile.

Ref: The Hindu Business Line [Link]

Ramayana

An interesting article:

A real life hero, not figment of a poet’s imagination

(Saroj Bala, The Tribune, Sunday, October 12, 2003)

THE story of Shri Ram’s life was first narrated by Maharishi Valmiki in The Ramayana, written after he was crowned as the king of Ayodhya. Valmiki was a great astronomer because he made sequential astronomical references on important dates related to the life of Shri Ram indicating the location of planets vis-a-vis zodiac constellations and the other visible stars (nakshatras). A similar position of planets and nakshatras vis-a-vis zodiac constellations has not been repeated in thousands of years. By entering the precise details of the planetary configuration of the important events in the life of Shri Ram, as given in the Valmiki Ramayana, in the software named Planetarium corresponding exact dates of these events according to English calendar can be known.

Pushkar Bhatnagar, of the Indian Revenue Service, had acquired Planetarium from the USA. It is used to predict the solar/lunar eclipses and distance and location of other planets from the earth by the scientists and astronomers. He entered the relevant details about the planetary positions vis-a-vis zodiac constellations narrated by Valmiki and obtained convincing results, thus almost determining the important dates starting from the birth of Shri Ram to the date of his coming back to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile.

Valmiki has recorded in Bal Kaand Sarga 19 and shloka 8 and 9 (1/18/8,9) that Shri Ram was born on the ninth tithi of Chaitra month when the position of different planets vis-a-vis zodiac constellations and nakshatras (visible stars) was as under :- 1 Sun in Aries ii) Saturn in Libra iii) Jupiter in Cancer iv) Venus in Pisces v) Mars in Capricorn vi) Lunar month of Chaitra vii) Ninth day after no moon viii) Lagna as Cancer (Cancer was rising in the east) ix) Moon on the Punarvasu (Gemini constellation & Pollux star) x) Day time (around noon)

This data was fed into the Planetarium software. The results indicated that this was exactly the location of planets/stars vis-a-vis zodiac constellations on January10, noon time in the year 5114 BC. As per the Indian calendar, it was the ninth day of Shukla Paksha in Chaitra month and the time was around 12 to 1 noontime. This is exactly the time and date when Ram Navmi is celebrated all over India till date.

Shri Ram was born in Ayodhya: This fact can be ascertained from several books written by Indian and foreign authors before and after the birth of Christ e.g. Valmiki Ramayana, Tulsi Ramayana, Kalidasa’s Raghuvansam, Bodh and Jain literature etc. These books have narrated in great detail the location, the rich architecture and the beauty of Ayodhya which had many palaces and temples built all over the vast kingdom. Ayodhya was located over the banks of Saryu River with Ganga and Panchal Pradesh on one side and Mithila on the other side. Normally 7,000 years is a very long period during which earthquakes, storms, floods and foreign invasions change the course of rivers, destroy towns and buildings and alter the territories. Therefore, the task of unearthing facts is monumental. The present Ayodhya is shrunken in size and the rivers have changed their course about 40 km north/south.

Shri Ram went out of Ayodhya in his childhood (13th year as per Valmiki Ramayana with Rishi Vishwamitra who lived in Tapovan (Sidhhashram) and from there he went to Mithila, the kingdom of King Janaka. Here, he married Sita after breaking the Shiv dhanusha. Researchers have gone along the route adopted by Shri Ram as narrated in Valmiki Ramayana and found 23 places which have memorials existing even as on date to commemorate the events related to his life.

These include Shringi Ashram, Ramghat, Tadka Van, Sidhhashram, Gautamashram, Janakpur (now in Nepal) and Sita Kund etc. Memorials are built for great human beings and not for fictitious characters.

Date of exile of Shri Ram: In Valmiki Ramayana it is mentioned in Ayodhya Kand (2/4/18) that Dashratha wanted to make Shri Ram the king because Sun, Mars and Rahu had surrounded his nakshatra and normally under such planetary configuration the king dies/or becomes a victim of conspiracies. The zodiac sign of king Dashratha was Pisces and his nakshatra was Rewati. This planetary configuration was prevailing on the January 5, 5089 BC. It was on this day that Shri Ram had to leave Ayodhya for living in the forests for 14 years. He was 25 years old at that time (5114-5089) and there are several shlokas in the Valmiki Ramayana which indicate that Shri Ram was 25 years old when he left Ayodhya for 14 years of exile.

Valmiki Ramayana refers to the solar eclipse at the time of war with Khardushan in latter half of 13th year of Shri Ram’s living in forests. Valmiki has also mentioned that it was Amavasya that day and planet Mars was in the middle. When this data was entered, the computer software indicated that there was a solar eclipse on October 7, 5077 BC (Amavasya day) which could be seen from Panchvati. On that date, the planetary configuration was the same as has been described by Valmiki i.e. Mars was in the middle, on one side were Venus and Mercury and on the other side were Sun and Saturn. On the basis of planetary configurations described in various other chapters, the date on which Ravana was killed works out to December 4, 5076 BC. Shri Ram completed 14 years of exile on January 2, 5075 BC. That day was also Navami of Shukla Paksha in Chaitra month. Thus, Shri Ram had come back to Ayodhya when he was 39 years old (5114-5075).

Ram Avtar, who had done research on places visited by Shri Ram during 14 years of exile and sequentially moved to the places stated as visited by Shri Ram in the Valmiki Ramayana, started from Ayodhya and went right upto Rameshwaram. He found 195 places which still have the memorials connected to the events narrated in the Ramayana relating to the life of Shri Ram and Sita. These places include: Tamsa Tal (Mandah), Shringverpur (Singraur), Bhardwaj Ashram (situated near Allahabad), Atri Ashram, Markandeya Ashram (Markundi), Chitrakoot, Parnakuti (on banks of Godavari), Panchvati, Sita Sarovar, Ram Kund in Triambakeshwar near Nasik, Shabari Ashram, Kishkindha (village Annagorai), Dhanushkoti and Rameshwar temple.

Recently, the Sri Lankan government had expressed a desire to develop Sita Vatika as a tourist spot. Sri Lankans believe that this was Ashok Vatika where Ravana had kept Sita as a prisoner (that was year 5076 BC). An American company engaged in exploring the oceans had put pictures on the Internet of a curved bridge, the ruins of which are lying submerged in Gulf of Mannar between Rameshwaram and Sri Lanka. The age of the stones used has been estimated at 17 million years, though the period of the construction of the bridge has still not been estimated.

Indian history has recorded that Shri Ram belonged to the Surya Vansh and was the 64th ruler of this dynasty. The names and other relevant particulars of previous 63 kings are listed on in Ayodhya Ka Itihas written about 80 years back by Rai Bahadur Sita Ram and the ancestors of Shri Ram have been traced out as under: Shri Ram, S/o King Dashratha, S/o King Aja, S/o King Raghu, S/o King Dilip and so on ——-)

From Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Bengal to Gujarat, everywhere people believe in the reality of Shri Ram’s existence, particularly in the tribal areas of Himachal, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and the North-East. Most of the festivals celebrated in these tribal areas revolve around the events in the life of Shri Ram and Shri Krishna.

During Ram Rajya, the evils of caste system based on birth were non-existent. Valmiki is stated to be a Shudra. Sita lived with him as his adopted daughter after she was banished from Ayodhya and Shri Ram’s children Luv and Kush grew in his ashram as his disciples. Valmiki was, perhaps, the first great astronomer and that his study of planetary configurations has stood the test of time. Even the latest computer software corroborated his astronomical calculations, proving that he did not commit any error. Shabari is stated to be belonging to Bheel tribe and the army of Shri Ram, which succeeded in defeating Ravana was also formed by various tribals from Central and South India. Facts, events and other relevant details relating to the life of Shri Ram are the common heritage of all the Indians.

Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20031012/spectrum/main6.htm

Idol worship

Why do we worship idols?

First, I would like to make it clear that this is my personal view and there may be conflicts from the popular beliefs. Also, I am a Hindu and hence my views are like what a Hindu would think about idol worship; this may not be in congruent with other religions’ idol worship.

We worship nature. We worship rivers, mountains, trees, plants, sun, moon and all the natural forces. Because we know that we can’t survive without and hence are indebted to the nature for its mercy shown to us. We know our goal – to rise and become God like, and are clear about that. We are humble people who accept and acknowledge the help of natural forces in our attempts to achieve our goals.

We love nature. We can’t live without them. It shows in our day to day customs and behaviour. This is not one-way taking or collectivist attitude. We give water to plant and trees, we protect them, nurture them. We worship the Sun like our God. We feel humble at the powers of natural forces, we worship the wind also.

Idols are visual representations of what we see and feel. Idols are made up of rocks, clay, they part of our nature. They are not created in some imaginative shapes and sizes to threaten and create an awe feeling in some tribe. We believe in education and enlightenment. We believe in reasoning and no matter how much we are able to decode, we always remain amused with the complexity and simplicity of nature.

When we worship nature and natural forces, we also see God everywhere. God is omnipresent. We give the idols the shapes and human like characteristics and hence we acknowledge that there is a God inside all of us. We all can become united with Gods. This couldn’t have become greater than this. We see God in you, him, her, and them. And hence our idols look like humans, because our love, our worship, our and our dear God does come to us in human forms. He came to us in the form of Ram, in the form of Krishna and He does come to us in human form each and every day. If only we could see and recognise Him….

Our idols are parts of the nature; they are human like, they are like us! We take care of our idols. We keep the area around them clean, we take care of them and we bend down in front of them……. Because we salute our God – we thank him for giving us this birth, for giving us this chance to live the single moment that we are alive. We bend down to show our gratitude and our love for Him.

When we love someone, we see him/her everywhere: in flowers, in birds, in moon and in the sun. Our love for God is above any singular feeling in this world. For that we don’t complain. That He made us poor or didn’t give us the riches that some others enjoy. For we took birth in this world that our God created, that we lived even a single moment, that our mothers held us close to their breasts, we are privileged.

We believe in Karma – that we do good and will get good. We do good and that makes Him happy. We don’t hurt others and don’t make others suffer. Not because there is a God watching us, but because there is a God in the other person also.

We worship idols – because we see God in them. If we saw God only in idols and not anywhere else, that would be very different. To say that we ‘need’ idols to see God is foolish. God is everywhere and in every form. Even in that bird and in that plant. Idols are one form of Him and Him only.

God is our love, our worship and also our friend. We talk to Him. And we take care of and love Him in the form of idols. Serving and taking care of the idols also represent the way our dear God takes care of us… and we also see that as the way in which we should take care of others…
What if someone attacks and hurts our idols? We will fight in defence and our religion doesn’t prevent us from fighting for dharma. We will do whatever in our capacity to prevent our idols from being troubled. But if something happened, we know that He allows us to learn many lessons from sufferings and problems. There is a right time for everything and He has plans for all. If we did our karma honestly and our hands didn’t shake, then we accept things and don’t worry too much about results. Because we believe in Him.

And hence we worship idols.

Business of Conversions

It was one of those summer evenings of late 90s when there won’t be power in our town and all of our family members would sit together and have a chat. Mother would have finished cooking, father would have come back after meeting friends, and we would have finished the homework… We had given our upper floor on rent. At that time, two of the elder sons in the family had come to home and they were chatting. Suddenly we found the peaceful evening interrupted by a big argument broken between them. It came out that the younger brother was saying that India’s new-generation Hindus would become very intolerant because of government’s minority appeasement policies. While the elder brother shrugged him off saying, “Who has the time to think about religions?”

Today, the elder brother is well settled abroad and didn’t even invite his parents when he married there. Younger one had his own learning curve and after much struggle and a personal disaster, he survived all and is now well settled and lives in peace.

Should we think about religion then?

The recent attack on Churches in Orissa and then Karnataka should not be seen in isolation. First, taking law in hands and attacking any place of worship is wrong – not tolerable by any means. But it would be madness if we try to douse the fire cause by electrical short-circuit by throwing water over it. We would get hit in return and fire will spread more…

At one time I was that innocent kid who used to think that Christian Missionaries were like Mother Teresa – helping the poor, educating them and in turn doing a service to our society. And then, I grew up. Diverse non-political literature tells the tales of how Christian missionaries lured the poor unsatisfied Hindus by showing them dreams and then booking them in their rolls…

Whenever I go visit the Siddhivinayak Temple in the evenings, I reach there taking a shortcut. The temple is mostly crowded, where people compete with each other to take a glimpse of the idol, to touch the idol for maximum number of times and this competition gets frustrating in peak hours. On the way back, I get to see a small gathering around a small temple-like structure. That structure is made on a land encroached from a playground – looks very much like the small temple that people make in order to grab government lands. People gather there, mostly ladies in sarees and they all pray as if they were singing aartis. They also burn incense sticks. The whole atmosphere looks exactly like as if happening in a Hindu temple, except that the idol is of Jesus Christ and not of Lord Krishna. This is just a small example.

The level to which the original practices of Christianity have been altered and customised to suit the local needs of India is amusing. It is said that at one point the missionaries were very frustrated, because there were no parallel to the Indian and Hindu mythology in their original religion. Indians grow up learning moral lessons from Ram and Krishna. From Hanuman to Goddess Kali – the diversification and the scope – the ambit and the touch points – of Hinduism are totally unparalleled. And when they realised this, then started the customisation of Christianity for India.

And hence on one hand, articles were written how Jesus may be an Avatar just like Krishna was, and on the other hand, attempts were made to prove to the younger generation that Hindu symbols and icons were nothing but pieces of fiction. The religion and philosophy which won the world over – by just one man – Swami Vivekananda – was shown as if it was confusing and not cultured enough. The younger generation, which is anyway going the Western way of life, has started seeing the world from a different angle. And hence, when asked to imagine a wedding – it is highly likely that a kid will think of “now you may kiss the bride” kind of ceremony. Kissing is cool, saat-phere is not so! Anyways ladies have started not using sindoor – lady Clinton never applies that! Innumerable websites have propped up – with conflicting views on Hinduism – with a hidden agendum of creating confusions among the younger generations.

On the other hand, the business is still business. So, all the missionaries will always work in states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa – where the untapped recruits lie. The argument is that – the adivasis don’t practice Hinduism formally anyway, so when they would accept Christianity, it won’t be called conversion! So, the record books get filled up.

In order to make the numbers they don’t focus on ‘quality’ – and hence there is a separate section called ‘Dalit Christians’ made up from the discriminated castes from Hindus. I won’t quote many articles here, but a small article will tell you the status: [Link]:

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As churchgoers dwindle in Europe—according to pollster Gallup International, attendance declined from 60-65% in 1980 to 20% in 2000—countries such as India with its enormous potential for conversion have become more important for the Vatican.

In the district of Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, P.B Lomiyo, editor of the magazine, Christian Restoration, says, “The clergy raise funds for schools for Dalits, but don’t give admission to them. When Dalits demand their rights, they react and encourage the parish to boycott the Dalits.”

R.L. Francis, president of the Poor Christian Liberation Movement says that it is because the Vatican has one lone interest in India: conversion. “They have only set up a business enterprise here,” he said, “... solely for promoting conversions, none for Dalit upliftment. We are asking the Vatican to stop all conversion in India for the next 100 years and spend the money on healing those who have already come to the faith.”

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The exact way in which petro-dollars are funding the global terrorist activities in the name of Islamic Jihad, the funds raised in the Western countries are spent in India in the name of carrying out the business of conversions.

And then there is also a growing breed of Christians in India who say that the Hindus who convert to Christianity shouldn’t be allowed into the faith because: when they couldn’t stick to their religion to birth, they won’t do great in the new religion also. First, this mentality is the same mentality where some of us close the door when we get inside the train. Second, it again is a sort of casteism, frowning at that poor adivasi becoming the same Christian that the learned professor is. And third, such persons forget that somewhere, one of their own ancestors had converted into Christianity! Jesus was neither born into India, nor did the Indian soil need him to be born here! A foreign religion brought in and spread with pounds and guns – is a ‘push’ process rather than ‘pull’ one.

Coming back to the incidents of attacks on Churches in India, given the historical background, there is much mess within the surface, as much blood flows over it. Unrestricted conversions don’t only change the religions and places of worship, but also changes attitudes, creates group formations, sows seeds of disharmony in the village system, and results in hatred on both sides: nothing that Jesus wanted.

It is historically proven that India has suffered whenever the Hindus have become weak from inside. Attacks on Somnath were not only because the invaders Muslims had better ammunitions – it was also because the Hindus were not united and had become too custom-oriented. I wonder if today, the same case is being repeated: this time the invaders are not outsiders: it is our own elected governments who would act in great loss to the country by not acting up.

Our governments have proven that unless people protest and do violence, they won’t hear them. This happened recently in Jammu when young Hindu men committed suicides and families spent days on the roads protesting, and then only the government listened to their demands. This sets a bad example and it is sad that we are all loving towards that direction.

Today, we all remember the religious riots in Gujarat as attacks on Muslims – and we don’t remember how it all started – Hindus being burnt alive enclosed in a train. Why? Because it makes us better ‘intellectuals’ if we speak like ‘true’ seculars. Even our scriptures told us: "satyam bruyat priyam bruyat na bruyat satyam apriyam"! So we all choose to speak the lovely truth. And we keep the bitter truths in the closet. And then one day the closet gets opened and such incidents happen...

Orissa violence started when a Hindu saint was murdered whose influence on the tribal people was causing resistance to the conversion drives of Christian missionaries. What happened afterwards was sad. No one has the right to burn any place of worship. The government should act fast and stop all the violence that is going on: no one can justify the violence against Christians or burning of the Churches.

But even then, some one will have to take bold steps to stop this business of conversions.

But even after all said and done, one brother will shrug it off and go settle abroad – may be he will also become a ‘true’ Christian one day…

Politics, religion and protests

A very good article by Salil Tripathi:

Admiring a flawed Gandhi

I am glad many Indians whose pride trumps their sense of humour don’t read advertisements for Danish newspapers. Otherwise they’d be out protesting an ad of the daily Morgenavisen Jyllands Posten. That newspaper became famous for publishing controversial cartoons of Mohammed in September 2005. Its recent campaign reminds us of what makes it unique.

The ad says: Life is easier, if you don’t speak up. The ads show the Dalai Lama admiring the Himalayas while preparing to ski down a slope; Nelson Mandela relaxing on a beach, carrying a surf board; and Mohandas Gandhi, smiling with a beer bottle in one hand, with the other, he is barbecuing sausages, empty beer bottles at his feet.

This is admirable chutzpah, for these ads are meant to make us think. They challenge the self-righteous among us — South Africans (and others who opposed apartheid), Tibetans (and their global supporters), and Indians (and Gandhi fans worldwide), telling them not to rush to judgement, but to reflect on the message. Far from ridiculing these exceptional men, the ads show how Mandela, the Dalai Lama and Gandhi could have led cushy, comfortable lives if they had not stood up for what they believed in.

The ads also challenge the world’s Muslims — and those who believe that one must treat Muslims, and Islam, as distinct from other faiths or cultures, needing special protection (because their reaction can turn violent). If Indians, Tibetans and South Africans don’t go berserk and demand apologies, bans, or attack Danish embassies, what lesson should the Muslims draw? That the others are cowards? Or that their visceral response is wrong?

We will learn soon, but I am not sanguine. The ads are already on the Internet — on Amit Varma’s blog, India Uncut, he has observed: “I suspect that if the Gandhi ad was seen in India, there would certainly be so-called Gandhians getting upset by such a portrayal and demanding an apology from Jyllands-Posten — thereby missing the point entirely.”

When Sir Richard Attenborough was filming Gandhi, some historians quibbled — rightly — over liberties taken with historical sequencing. But there were other protests against portraying Gandhi on screen, with one suggestion that Gandhi be shown as a shining light, or halo, instead. Sir Richard said his film wasn’t about Tinkerbell. I was a student then, and for our college magazine, with a classmate (now a distinguished banker), we interviewed noted Gandhian Usha Mehta at Mani Bhavan, Gandhi’s home on Laburnum Road in Bombay. She said: “We are not prepared to give our Gandhi to anyone.” To her credit, after the film was released, she praised it, agreeing it would introduce Gandhi to a new generation. She was right.

But there was a halo around him, something a Telecom Italia ad reaffirmed in the mid-1990s, showing people using different communication gadgets, listening transfixed as Gandhi spoke.

That was a legitimate concern about Sir Richard’s film: It made Gandhi into a saint, and in so doing, it made Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad and Muhammad Ali Jinnah seem inadequate. Subhash Chandra Bose, who challenged Gandhian notions of non-violence, did not even feature.

Indian directors responded in a fascinating way. Jabbar Patel showed us what made Babasaheb Ambedkar unique, Ketan Mehta highlighted Patel by focusing on his South African years, Shyam Benegal showed us what made Gandhi mahatma, and he later turned to Bose’s life. More recently, Feroze Khan’s Gandhi, My Father explores Gandhi’s role within his family. In his play, Mi Nathuram Godse Boltoy (It is me, Nathuram Godse speaking) Pradip Dalvi gave voice to Gandhi’s assassin. (For years, Godse’s defence statement in courts was not accessible in India, because it justified the assassination). When Ashok Row Kavi made critical remarks about Gandhi tangentially, the cable network had to end that popular show following widespread protests. I’m not suggesting that those comments were right, or that I approve Godse’s statement, or his foul deed.

But we understand our leaders more if we explore them in all dimensions. That is why Rajmohan Gandhi’s biography, Gandhi: The Man, His People and the Empire, matters. It shows Gandhi without the halo, and we learn why we admire him more without getting blindsighted by the floodlights. The Dalai Lama is imperfect, too: Pico Iyer’s thoughtful The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama shows us the limits of his activism. While Mandela has championed progressive causes before and after his presidency, when he ruled South Africa, he often acquiesced with others’ tyranny.

The flaws don’t diminish these men, they make them more interesting, revealing their complexities. Ignoring that and seeing them only as icons is our flaw. That turns men into idols — ironically, that’s the effect of Muslim protests against the cartoons.

The Jyllands-Posten ads make us think differently. That’s the point: remember Apple’s remarkable campaign, Think Different, from the 1990s, a take-off on IBM’s slogan, Think. One of the memorable posters in that campaign showed — Gandhi.

Mint article: [Link]

The Godmother of India

Thanks a lot to all the members of the UPA, especially to Sonia Gandhi and Man Mohan Singh; now we have Shibu Soren as the Chief Minister of an Indian state.

Shibu Soren, held guilty of conspiracy, kidnapping and murder, was sentenced to life imprisonment and he was to give a fine of Rs 5 lakh as compensation to the widow and daughters of the diseased.

This is just the beginning of execution of the 'deals' that the government had to make in order to avoid an election year in 2008.

Wonderful days ahead...

[Link]

Three Men – Three Destinies…

One man standing who became the Tank Man…

Do you know who Tank Man was? Tank Man, or the Unknown Rebel, is the nickname of an anonymous man who became internationally famous when he was photographed during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in China.

Students were protesting against the authoritarian rule of the Chinese Communist Party and wanted democratic reforms. Govt had sent tanks to suppress the students’ movement. At that time, a fleet of tanks were moving towards the square where students were protesting. This man simply walked up to them, and stood in front of a column of 5 Chinese tanks and thus prevented their advance!

What happened to this Tank Man? He could have been one of the hundreds of students, workers, physicians, and children later found dead, shot in the back…

One man is enough… And one tank is not…

One man’s speech – and the after effects…

We all know about the famous speech of Omar Abdullah in the parliament during the trust vote for UPA. He had spoken about how he regreted once being part of the communal NDA/BJP and now he had decided to be with the secular force Congress. He also talked about how the Left parties who were against NDA/BJP then were now joining hands with the BJP.

There, along with wise words, he had also said this, referring to Amarnath land controversy: “Woh hamari zameen ka muddha tha. Hum apni zameen ke liye lade. Aur hum marte dum tak apni zameen ke liye ladhenge!” (That was an issue about our land. We fought for our land. And we will fight for our land till our death.)

(Meaning that the land of J&K is the land of the locals and any Govt of India has no right to take or use the land for any purpose like giving shelter to the outsider (non-Kashmiri) Indians who come there to visit the shrine)

After the speech, Mr. Abdullah says:
“Frankly, my speech was neither rehearsed nor designed to appease anyone. I just spoke what I felt. But to tell you the truth, I was very angry at not being given a chance to speak. I thought to myself that while people were openly talking about an MP being worth Rs 20-25 crore, here I was, not getting even 20 seconds to speak. It was a speech that I almost missed.

After that, I have been flooded with phone calls, letters and requests for interviews. Everyone in Kashmir, including some hard-liners in my own party, appreciated my speech. Yes, it was a moment that one cannot get even in a million years.”

“The National Conference took a stand that the land cannot be given away.” “My party is hoping that the people are fed up with six years of coalition rule and will give us a clear mandate. I am not even thinking of pre-election tie-ups right now.”

Latest: The video of his speech has been watched a record number of times and Mr. Abdullah plans to write a book on the events around his speech!

Politicians will make speeches. And will fall in love with them. And we Indians still think that those who speak well are good leaders. Like kabootars kept repeating: Shikari aayega, jaal bichhayega, dana dalega, usme fassna mat. But do we still keep getting trapped?

One man’s poem and the after effects…

Kuldeep Raj Dogra, in his mid-30s, was participating in a hunger strike at Jammu's Parade Ground. He decided to do something tragically dramatic: He consumed poison, stood up to read out a passionately patriotic poem he had penned, faltered and fell dead.

It was his way of registering his protest against Omar Abdullah's speech in Parliament... he was incensed by the National Conference leader's duplicity.

The police panicked. They forcibly took away Dogra's body to his hometown, Bisnah, 15 km from Jammu, and tried to cremate it using old tyres, kerosene oil and liquor. His widow Shilpi tried to prevent the cremation and raised a hue and cry. The police have been accused of insulting, abusing and assaulting Shilpi to silence her. But a huge crowd gathered and snatched Dogra's body from the police. It was taken to Jammu and the situation subsequently just went out of control. Since then, the Hindu intifada has gathered both force and speed.

Don’t you think we Indians can do it better than the Chinese? And in the mess of Kashmirs and Maharastras, can we still recognize our India?

Three Men – Three Destinies

Three men and three different destinies… The Man walking up to the Tanks – got a bullet in his back and is still anonymous, The Man talking his speech got a million appreciations and is a youth icon, and The Man who was a poet, got to drink poison…

Note: This piece quotes some portions from the following pages, with due acknowledgement and credit to the original articles: One man standing: Link1, Link2, One man’s speech: Link, One man’s poem Link.