The forgotten fifty-nine

Tarun Vijay

I stood alone. In that crowd at the railway station. Sabarmati Express, the Indian train connecting Ayodhya, a Hindu pilgrimage centre in UP, with the cosmopolitan urban centre Ahmedabad, passes through it. It had passed that year also and became a horrifying reminder of intolerance, butchery and politics over the dead.


I am least interested in the cases, the lies, the scandalous twists, the influencing of the case makers, the politics and the horrendous behaviour of those who become members of India’s central law-making body, Parliament, by virtue of an adult franchise.


My eyes were searching for an indicator, some information to know what happened to those families whose bread earners, parents, sole supporters and dearest relatives were suddenly brought dead in body bags.


There were little kids like Gayatri Panchal, who lost her two sisters, mother and father in that inferno. Sudha Rawal, an 82-year-old granny, Neelima, Lakhu Bhai, Bhimji Bhai……
Why they have to die a torturous death? And why the stalwarts, the leaders, the conscious keepers of the land never ever tried to approach them to know, how February 27 changed their world view and lives?


The next carnage, equally condemnable and horrifying, never included the dead of February 27. Both were Indians. I thought dead bodies do not have any religious prejudices. But here we saw, dead too can be made victims of the coloured attitudes.


Is there any answer to the question why Godhra is always, necessarily excluded from Gujarat? Why ‘Gujarat’ is simply and essentially a Muslim tragedy? Though one third of the killed were Hindus?


Why can’t we wail and lament for the Indian, whatever the religion, who dies whether in Godhra or ‘Gujarat’? The mental subjugation, the coercive secularism, the aggressive NGO-funded shrill voices, none of them takes into account the human side of the tragedies. Flags, headbands, the famous picture of the tailor with folded hands, half truths and pure lies in the courtyards of justice, nothing could demystify why Godhra occurred. Rather it has been pushed into the blind well of a secular Talibanistic edit that prohibits even an analytical, objective discussion on the February 27 carnage. Which occurred just eight years ago?


When the perpetrators of 1984 still roam free and the protectors are decorated, an Indian analysis and an Indian inference of Godhra may take decades. But it also throws up the same issue of a self-denial, our leaders in media and politics are delving into. Deny that it ever happened. Deny that the hurt was universal.


Indians are targeted today for various reasons — in Kashmir, Jammu, Bastar, Dantewada, Kohima, Pune, Mumbai. The list is growing by the day. Still the missing identity is Indian.


Recently I was in a discussion in Bangalore and the participants, all noble elitist drum beaters of freedom of expression and objectivity, simply focused on communally oriented themes of persecution, backwardness and atrocities. None of them even once spoke of the Indian pain — they would have been forced to talk of inconvenient truths like Kashmiri Hindus’ exile. And of course Godhra.


The exclusion is as painful as was the massacre. An activist, who works among tribals, showed the gathering pictures of dead bodies of people who he claimed were killed by the security forces . He din't show a single picture of the policemen killed by Naxalites or of those more than 10,000 common citizens brutally murdered by the red marauders.


Aren’t the policemen Indians? And those who were targeted by the Naxalites? Why romanticize the brutal murderers and exclude the agony of others? This dishonesty on part of the "secular, peace-loving" tribe is killing and shows off Stalinist traits.


The burning alive of Graham Staines was horrendous. But so was the killing of the octogenarian Swami Lakshmananand. Why exclude Lakshmananand and refuse to look dispassionately at the other side?





Nothing will be discussed and allowed to be printed till the Shahs of the secular Mecca deem it fit to be approved. Why?
Accept Valentine’s day, as if the day is the new constitutional order of the republic, a new national anthem. Otherwise be prepared to be lampooned and declared an uncivilized moron.


Why?


The end of dissent and inclusion is also the end of civility.

For Hindu Zombies, Slavery is freedom

Dr Babu Suseelan


Hindus are indoctrinated/brainwashed into zombies who act without critical thinking and proper evaluation of their precarious conditions. Like slaves who serve their slave masters for few breadcrumbs and a bowl of soup, many Hindus are serving pseudo secular/foreign leaders without properly comprehending their slavery. For them slavery is freedom.

Abusive status/ low self esteem and constant physical/mental abuse is considered proper living for such Hindu zombies. They are in deep denial and addicted to pseudo secularism. Like drug addicts and alcoholics, they think they are free to follow what ever they like to do. But we know that they are in danger and on a destructive path. Friendly counseling, unconditional positive regard and non directive suggestions will not work with such self destructive people. They need to be confronted and the truth shall be told and retold until we change their self destructive behavior. People who are hiding behind a thick wall of denial shall be confronted if need be physical force shall be applied.

A cocaine addict and alcoholics are convinced that their self destructive life style is good for them. We need to liberate them from their self destructive life style by forcefully reminding their dangerous behavior and educate them the right/assertive Hindutva. Hindu zombies shall be forced to freedom.

Are Hindus safe in this country?

Om Parkash Trehan

In Tripura, Naga land, Mizoram Hindu's institutions are under attack. Christians under the guise of Maoists are attacking Sanskrit schools. Open religious functions are not allowed. Media that always remain on focus in Gujarat, never goes there. Parallel Government
by Anti National groups run there. They collect even tax openly and no body dare to defy them. From Pusupati to Tirupati, Naxilites attack on Hindus increasing day by day. In Kashmir Hindus are displaced in their home.

Govt. funds Jamia, Aligarh Muslim University which bears Muslim character but Banaras
Hindu University has been made totally secular. In education, anti-hindu lessons are being
taught to the students. In films, scenes portraying fun of Hindu are made. A famous Muslim Hero can proclaim that "My name is Khan and I not terrorist.

But no body makes " My name is Kaul and I am a displaced person in my country".

A painter declares, "My name is M.F.Hussain and I paint nude pictures of Hindu Devi-davta."

Star T.V., N.D.T.V., and cnnIBN7 strike on all news items which hit Hindus. No political party dare to protect Hindus as they are afraid of loosing the votes of Muslim community. Hindus are in wonderland to vote always for the party which has left its Agenda and Jhanda in Hind Mahasagar( Indian ocean ) just for its lust for power to get the votes of Muslims.
Today, you will find mushroom of Convent Schools, Madrasses on all corner of the city. But through the width and length of this country you will not find even one Hindu School where Hindus could send their wards to learn Hindu way of life. (Article 30 of the constitution forbids this) Although, this is a secular country but it runs on the whims and fancy of Minority i.e. Muslims. Maoists are in one side, Jehadies are on other side with arms in their hands and in between media is there to defame Hindus. Hindus are not allowed to cry. Every day, the security perception is becoming weaker day by day.

Resurrecting “Hindutva Terror” – “The Hindu” style!

HARAN B R

The “People’s Daily” of Chennai has taken the lead and outshone its competitors in the ‘secular brigade’! One of its secular (sic) columnists (Praveen Swami) has tried to resurrect the non-existent “Hindutva Terror”, which could not be proved after it was created with ‘hype and harp’ by the secular brigade in general and Maharashtra ATS in particular, during investigations into the 2008 Malegaon blast.



The evil motive of the columnist, or rather the newspaper, is evident from the fact that the column starts with deliberately linking Lt. Col. Purohit with the huge bombing at a Muslim cemetery near Malegaon Mosque, though he was actually arrested by the ATS for the mediocre blast at a street in Malegaon!



The point here is that the huge blast at Malegaon Mosque happened in September 2006; it saw heavy casualties and injuries - 38 dead and over 100 injured. The other one occurred in September 2008, and resulted in three or four deaths and a few injuries.



Yet the secular columnist has the audacity to call Lt. Col. Purohit a ‘rogue’ military officer, even before allegations against him have been proved!



In the course of his secular rants to bring the ‘ugly’ Abhinav Bharat – perhaps SIMI, LeT, JeM and IM are ‘beauties’ for him – into the limelight again, the columnist cites ‘Hindus sympathetic to the ultra-right’ justifying the moral legitimacy of Purohit in ‘private’, and ‘some community leaders’ arguing that the German bakery attack could just have easily been carried out by a Hindutva group. He cites fugitives of the Malegaon blast, namely Jatin Chatterjee and Ramnarain Kalsangra of Abhinav Bharat, still being at large, as the ‘reason’ why the latest Pune blasts could have been carried out by the ‘Hindutva’ group.



After repeating the stories spun by the Maharashtra ATS and the secular brigade, including the mainstream media, during October-November 2008, the columnist claims that ‘many’ believe Abhinav Bharat carried out many attacks earlier attributed to jihadist groups (really?), most notably the bombing of Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad in May 2007, and a subsequent attack on the famous shrine at Ajmer. Here again the columnist deliberately hides the fact that investigations in both cases point towards Islamic militants.



Even while investigating authorities have mentioned the involvement of Indian Mujahideen in the latest Pune attack and apprehended three suspected militants, the ‘investigative’ columnist gives them a clean chit: “All that investigators have by way of suspects are three men recorded holding brief meetings before the blast by a poor-quality closed-circuit television camera. From the videotape, it is unclear if the men had anything to do with the attack.”



The writer ends his column saying, “The longer the investigation takes, the more time conspiracy theories and speculation will have to proliferate - likely deepening the communal fissures the bombing is already opening up.” What an irony! Praveen Swami and The Hindu are the first to start the proliferation of speculations and conspiracy theories.



On the contrary and in a true expression of concern, ‘The Pioneer’, while appreciating the process of investigation currently on in the German Bakery blast case, has also gently but effectively reminded the authorities about the probable involvement of Jihadis from Kerala, which has turned out to be the most menacing terror breeding ground of India. Pioneer’s Editorial offers arguments with clear information on recent developments which have happened in connection with Kerala; it categorically states investigators must look at Kerala too.



Unlike The Hindu’s OPED piece, which talks about the non-existent “Hindutva Terror”, Pioneer’s Editorial refrains from mentioning “Islamic Terror”, though this predominantly exists across the country. Unlike The Hindu, The Pioneer has not indulged in speculating or spinning conspiracy theories with a motive of proliferation. While The Pioneer’s Editorial is a classic case of responsible writing and journalistic ethics, The Hindu’s OPED piece, which is secular hogwash, smacks of irresponsibility and is sans journalistic ethics.



To continue our analysis, we need to have a look at the following observation made by The Pioneer in its editorial: “…With a security system that had gone totally complacent due to the relative peace in the country since the Mumbai terror attacks …”



Yes, it is not only complacency, but also idiocy, inefficiency and inadequacy, all rolled into it. To understand this ‘multifaceted’ complacency, we must retrospect the sordid record of the UPA-I government with regard to internal security. Starting from the Assam Blasts on 15 August 2004 to the second Guwahati bombing on 6 April 2009, the nation has witnessed 20 major terror attacks at the rate of four attacks per year, apart from innumerable minor attacks, which doesn’t include the perennial terrorism in Kashmir.



As the UPA government was clueless, and also due to its refusal to take stern action against Islamic terrorism to keep its minority votebank intact, it resorted to the unsavoury strategy of ‘creating’ Hindu terror, to dilute the fight against Jihad. The prelude for ‘Hindu Terror’ was written when the ‘secular’ brigade, including the mainstream media, orchestrated the cry of ‘Saffron Terror’ over the incidents in Mangalore and Kandhamal. To create ‘Hindu terror’, a terror attack in a Congress/UPA governed state was needed and the Malegaon blast came in handy. As the victims of Malegaon blast happened to be Muslims, it became conducive to convert ‘Saffron Terror’ into ‘Hindu Terror’.



Immediately an ATS was formed under the leadership of Hemant Karkare; investigation so hasty as the nation had never seen before! The two-dozen Jihadi attacks prior to the Malegaon blast have not seen such ‘meticulous’ operation of such a ‘meritorious’ police squad! Officers in the squad were so efficient & capable that they carried out the instructions of the government then and there, and lived up to its expectations! They were so focused on their job that they didn’t bother to see if the Army stood maligned or the Hindu majority was offended and outraged in the process of their ‘political’ investigations.



The ‘political’ investigation carried out by the ATS on the instructions of its political masters, was for months exposed due to ‘select’ arrests and ‘selective’ leakages of so-called investigations to ‘chosen’ media. The UPA politicians took the message of ‘Hindu Terror’ to all electoral states, and the ‘secular’ mainstream media spread awareness throughout the nation. The attempted picturisation of ‘Hindu Terror’ (Saffron Terror) pointed to a ‘high-level’ conspiracy, a conspiracy to divide Hindu society. The above mentioned OPED piece in The Hindu confirms this fact.



Going back to last year’s Malegaon investigations, we find that at every step and at every leakage of information, the previous ‘findings’ were contradicted or denied or conveniently forgotten! For example, there was no talk about the Sadhvi’s motorcycle after it was proved that she had sold it some four years ago and had no idea of the whereabouts of the bike.



Similarly, the tall claims on Lt Col Purohit pilfering 60 kg of RDX, his involvement in Samjhauta train and other blasts have been proved wrong and the ‘chosen’ media blamed for wrongly interpreting the deliberate leaks!



As nothing concrete was found to fix Swami Dayanand Pandey, his laptop was misused and ‘created and uploaded’ information shown to ‘chosen’ media. When the narco tests conducted on the swami didn’t give helpful results, the ATS found itself clueless in a corner! Finally when the ATS withdrew the MCOCA charges against the accused after torturing them for almost a year without any evidence, it stood totally exposed!



Even while the UPA government, Maharashtra ATS and mainstream media were spinning stories after stories of ‘Hindu terror’, Islamic terrorism hit them straight in the face with the huge Mumbai carnage of 26 November 2008! The mainstream media cleverly deflected public anger against the ‘UPA government’ to the ‘political class’ in general, and BJP stupidly fell into the media’s trap and failed to corner the useless and inefficient UPA.



Though the Home Ministry underwent a change of guard in the aftermath of Mumbai 2008, nothing constructive happened thereafter. The only visible change was the Home Minister’s ‘dress’ (sherwani to mundu)!



The fact that P. Chidambaram is no better than Shivraj Patil is evident from the massacres, violence, and kidnappings perpetrated by Naxalites and Maoists. The long gap between the Mumbai and Pune attack is neither the return of peace nor the government’s handling of internal security, but the deliberate silence of the terrorists. After being continuously busy with more than four attacks annually for five years, the terrorists would have wanted to lie low for awhile to rejuvenate their hundreds of sleeper modules, arrange operational funds and financial assistance, and stabilize the terror network for future operations.



Now after Pune, the UPA is worried that the Jihadis might strike at will, as frequently as before. The government doesn’t have the courage to face terrorism and the nerve to fight Jihad. It is more bothered about votebanks than national security and citizens’ safety. The secular brigade wants to help the government, and what best way than to resurrect the non-existent ‘Hindu Terror’?! The Hindu, the ‘People’s Daily’ of Chennai, has set the ball rolling and soon other secular champions will follow suit.



While Afzal Guru and Ajmal Kasab are enjoying secular hospitality and Abdul Madhani and Sufiya Madhani are freely enjoying their lives, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, Lt Col Purohit and others are languishing under torture inside prison, without even an iota of evidence against them. As the secular brigade is again attempting to resurrect Hindutva terror, it is time to hit them hard by focusing on the earlier acquittal of the Malegaon blast accused. It is the responsibility of the Hindu organisations to seek early acquittal of Sadhvi and others, and defeat the machinations of the secular brigade.

Sindhi conversions in Ulhasnagar, Mumbai raise a storm

DNA


Mumbai: The close-knit Sindhi community in Ulhasnagar, north-east of Mumbai, is undergoing a social upheaval of sorts. Over the last two years, a sizeable number in the township — primarily created for Sindhis who came in as refugees from Pakistan’s Sindh province after partition — have drifted away from Hinduism and embraced Christianity.

The “conversions” have sent shockwaves among the community elders, specially since Indian Sindhis, weighed down by the scars of partition, are known to be staunch followers of Hinduism.

Most of those who are shifting their faith allegiance to Christianity are in their 40s and, in fact, had been devout followers of Hinduism.

Out of four lakh Sindhi-speaking Hindus in Ulhasnagar, around 7,000 (1.75%) have changed their faith in the last two years, according to a rough count. The growing number of “conversions” has scared the Sindhi-speaking Hindus to such an extent that they are contemplating a social boycott of the neo-Christians. Those who are taking to Christianity are not branding it as a conversion; instead, they say they have only changed their faith. Most have not even changed their Hindu names, which is turning out to be a major bone of contention with the Hindus.

“We are not against any religion but if they do not believe in Hinduism and are drawn closer to Christianity, they should adopt Christian names. We have called a meeting of the saints in our community in July. In that meeting, we will take a decision to boycott the converted Sindhis socially if they do not change their names,” said Sai Balram, general secretary of the All India Sindhi Samaj, one of the prominent organisations of the community.

Global recession is to blame, say Hindu leaders in the community. Ulhasnagar is largely a business township, full of small scale industries and traders.

Balram said, “The Christian missionaries helped the small businessmen rebuild their businesses. Since then, there has been a wave of conversion.”

But Ram Budhwani, a resident who follows Christianity, rubbishes the argument. “I started visiting the chapel to get peace of mind. I lost my wife in an accident two years ago. I became an alcoholic. I suffered heavy losses in my business and had to close down my shop. But since I am visiting the prayer house (known as Prarthana Ghar in Ulhasnagar) I am making progress in my business. I set up my shop again and am doing well. I have changed my faith, not the religion,” he said.

The Sindhi-speaking Hindus in Ulhasnagar feel people like Budhwani have betrayed the community. “Sindhis are known for their loyalty to Hinduism. We preferred to leave our places (in Pakistan) during the Partition but refused to convert into Islam. Now, we are confused how to face the situation,” a senior citizen from the community said.

An open letter to Sharukh Khan

Bandyopadhyay Arindam


Dear Mr. Khan,

Your name is a household phenomenon in Indian and even beyond her borders. Your fame has put you in the Newsweek "most powerful people list" recently. However, as you may recall from your recent experience in New Jersey Airport , real life is a little different - it does not always follow the path predicted by a scriptwriter or director.

Of late, we have been reading about your opinions and statements on matters beyond the celluloid world. Nothing is wrong in it. You live in a free, democratic country and are entirely entitled to your opinion. But as a common man, also fom the same soil, I think I have the right too to raise a few points that may not conform to your views of the real world.

I hope you will read it out.

When recently, the Pakistani players were not selected for the IPL, it was almost predictable that NDTV, the award-winning, mouthpiece of our Indian liberal media select you for your views and you certified that "It (Pakistan) is a great neighbour to have. We ( India and Pakistan ) are great neighbours. They are good neighbours."

I have a few words to say about those statements.

One may recall your effort to clarify the Pakistani team captain, Shoaib Malik's apology to the Muslims, living all over the world, for failing to win the final T20 match against India, likely much to the embarrassment of a lot of Indian Muslims, as expressed by Shamin Bano, mother of the man of the match, Irfan Pathan. What was more embarrassing was your effort to try to defend Shoaib in a subsequent interview, "I don"t think he meant to segregate Muslims and Christians and Hindus and say this was a match between Islam and Hinduism. I don"t think that..."

I doubt whether Shoaib talked to you personally about his thought process at that time. You did not really have to respond for somebody else but perhaps you could not resist the temptation to show your brotherhood and solidarity.

This reminds us again of Dr Ambedkar's observation that, "The brotherhood of Islam is not the universal brotherhood of man. It is brotherhood of Muslims for Muslims only."
Partition of India was what Pakistan wanted and got. It was painful to millions but many more millions in present India have been spared. Since then Pakistan has offered us only hatred. It has imposed on us three major wars, the Kargil insurgency, the Kashmir conflict, the series of serial blasts, the routine violation of border ceasefires, attacks on the Parliament House and the recent Mumbai 26/11 attack.

Did you have these in mind when you talked about them being good neighbours?
In another interview you had tried to explain the concept of Islamic Jihad. "I think one needs to understand the meaning of jihad .. Ive understood the essence that jihad is not about killing other people; jihad is about killing the badness in you."

May be you understand jihad better and deeper than the superficial meaning of what we, the rest of the mortal mankind, overburdened and terrorized by the inter-religious, intra-religious and sectarian violence that is plaguing the world in the name of Islam today, do. For we, the less educated, cannot really make a difference between Jihad and Qatl, between Jihad by heart / soul, Jihad by pen and Jihad by sword or between lesser and greater jihad.

We wonder, whatever its meaning may be, does it minimize the significance of the mindless killings that we see today in the name of Islam, across borders, all over the world? Does it change the nature of the killers whether you call them holy warriors, mujahidins, fedayeens or plane suicide bombers?

We agree with you that terrorism has no religion. But hopefully you will also agree with the people who perceive that most terrorist in the world today happen to believe in the scriptures of Islam. They actually believe that they themselves are the true Islamists.

The so called "moderate" Islamist, perhaps does not want to contradict them or may be does not dare to speak out against them. You have probably not forgotten the FIR against you for listing Prophet Mohammed as one of the most unimpressive personalities in history, the threats from which you had to skillfully wriggle out. Others who are not so fortunate, famous or flexible are suffering lifetime, as Tasleema Nasreen or Salman Rushdie would testify. For blasphemy in Islam is punishable with death, even for a believer.

Do I have to spell out the fate if it is a non-believer?

It is due to the inherent intolerance and exclusivity of Islam itself despite your effort to convince us that there is an Islam from Allah and very unfortunately, there is an Islam from the Mullahs.

Here is an historical insight from writer Irfan Hussain, "The Muslim heroes who figure larger than life in our history books committed some dreadful crimes..all have blood-stained hands that the passage of years has not cleansed. Indeed, the presence of Muslim historians on their various campaigns has ensured that the memory of their deeds will live long after they were buried...Seen through Hindu eyes, the Muslim invasion of their homeland was an unmitigated disaster."

So why should the "non-believers" care to accept them? Why should the majority of Indians like to welcome back such disasters again?

Since partition, India has come a long way in progress and development to her current status and is projected as an economic superpower in coming decades while Pakistan is perceived as a failed state on the verge of disintegration.

What does India have to gain by offering neighbourly friendship to such a hostile and failed state?

India has never been an invader and is not in conflict of any other Muslim country. None of the wars and conflicts with Pakistan was instigated by India . In the current geopolitical situation, one can argue for the Muslim worlds grudge and anger against Israel or the west and USA but one fail to fathom why India should also be at the receiving end and why Indians should be the second largest group of people to die from terrorists attacks. Indian majorities do not have anything to do with the Danish cartoon or the death of Saddam Hussain; so why should they suffer from Islamic havoc on those occasions.

In almost all occasions of terrorism, questions are raised about possible role of Pakistan , its terror bases and its terrorist organizations, as either directly or indirectly involved. Be it state sponsored (as recently admitted by President Zardari) or by non-state actors, Pakistan or Pakistani born are prime suspect in terrorist activities all over the world. The ISI has been accused of playing a role in major terrorist attacks including 9/11 in the USA , terrorism in Kashmir, Mumbai Train Bombings, London Bombings, Indian Parliament Attack, Varanasi bombings, Hyderabad bombings, Mumbai terror attacks or the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul .

Do you believe these are marks of a good neighbour? Then what is the reason for your preaching of love towards Pakistan ?

Perhaps, as you said, because it is your ancestor's homeland, you have a soft feeling for Pakistan and cannot see the difference. On the eve of accepting an honorary doctorate from a British university, we heard you say, "I really believe we are the same ..when you come away from India or Pakistan you realize there is no Indian or Pakistani were all together. We are - culturally, as human beings, as friends"

Which Pakistanis are you referring to?

The Pakistanis belonging to the land, admonished as the epicenter of global terrorism, not just by India or USA but even by its friendly allies like Iran or China .

Or is it the self-created, Talibanic Pakistan , who still imposes Jijya on the non believers or finds pleasure in blowing up girl's schools..

Are you talking about its President class like the current Mr. Zardari, vowed to wage a 1,000-year war with India or the late Mrs. Bhutto who started Jihad in Kashmiri that lead to the exodus of Hindu minorities from the Muslim majority state of India , as refugees in their own country?

Are you referring to Pakistanis loyal to the ISI and the military who train their soldiers with only one objective, i.e. to fight Hindu India?

If your mind is concerned about the faceless mass of Pakistanis, does it also include the dwindling minorities?

Or are you just concerned about the celebrities and the social elites?

It is true Mr. Khan that we belong to the same human species but it is hard to stretch the similarities much further between "us" and "them".

We from the same original land of Bharat but we want to keep her intact, they want to break it into thousand pieces.

Our ancestors happen to be the same. We acknowledge and adore the heritage but they abhor and decimate whoever is available in an attempt to wipe out the link.

We are culturally the same. We have created the culture over centuries what they dream to destroy in moments.

Ours is a 10,000 year old civilization, theirs is a 62 years old country undoing whole human civilization.

We extend our hands repeatedly to promote friendship and amity; they give us ISI, Lashkar, Harkat, Kashmir , Kargil and 26/11 in exchange.

Do you think that the Indians nationals who died in all the above wars, the Indian soldiers who lost their lives in cross-border ceasefire violations or the Indian civilians who are killed by the ISI trained Islamic terrorists and their affiliates, in all those serial blasts, all over the country, willfully sacrificed their lives as a friendly neighbourhood gesture?

Can you face the families of the victims of Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus or the martyrs of the Kargil war and try to explain to them that "They are good neighbours. Let us love each other."

Can you explain why the two gunmen at Cama hospital, during the Mumbai carnage, asked the man who gave them water, what his religion was, and shot him dead when he said he was a Hindu?

If you cannot, then perhaps you understand why the majority of India does not consider Pakistan as a good neighbour to have.

Perhaps you believe that the peaceful religious co-existence that you created in your home (and we appreciate that) can be extended to the large world outside. As you rightly said, we Indians trust and do accept everybody but what you did fail to mention was that it is the Indic tradition, essentially coming out of its pre-Islamic Hindu ethos.

If you think otherwise, show us a single Islamic country where the non-believers enjoy the same equality as the believers. Since partition, the Hindus left over in Pakistan and Bangladesh has suffered terribly. Strictly Islamic countries, like Saudi Arabia , do not allow any other religions to exist. Hindus working in the Gulf countries are not allowed to practice their religion in public. Saudi Arabia insists that India sends only a Muslim ambassador. Hindu Muslim unity by and large has generally been a matter of Hindus trying to please or accommodate Muslims. One cannot forget when Vajpayee was extending his hand for peace Musharraf was planning the Kargil insurgency.

Let us remind you, your own statement "I am a Muslim in a country called India .Weve never been made to feel this is a Hindu country."

Can you find me a Hindu in Pakistan who can reciprocate that sentiment?

Some years ago, another Mr. Khan, first name Feroze, from your fraternity was banned from entering Pakistan for saying, " India is secular unlike Pakistan ".

That is the basic difference of the land of "Hindu" India from the Islamic "pure land" of Pakistan .

So please do not ask us to love Pakistan .

Please do not lump the people of India and Pakistan together. We Indians are proud to preserve our separate identity.

And please do not insult the land that gave you your life, name and fame, by claiming that her worst enemy, who wants to break her into 1000 pieces, is a great neighbour.

Otherwise it would be sad if somebody accuses you of putting your religion ahead of your country.

Please give it a thought.

Regards,

Arindam Bandyopadhyay.

The peace makers

Tarun Vijay

I wish I could have the interview of a soldier's mother published in a major newspaper. Who would offer the space in times like these when the bleeding Pune and Jharkhand get no more a space than a movie made for profits and entertainment?



Soldier's mother, because her son fights for us, for India. By any standards, by the example of any country in the world known for civility and great traditions of democracy, a soldier must get precedence over entertainers whose life remains enveloped in glamour, sex and riches.



Hence, when the talks with Pakistan are scheduled for February 25, under the shadow of mocking comments, quite demeaning for those who have a spine, by the foreign minister of the invited country -- "ghutne tek kar hamein baat karne bulaya", or "bending on their knees, they invited us for talks" -- we must ask a question, who are those who invited Pune blasters for dinner and who are those who are asked to defend the country at the cost of their lives?



Here are some gems of brave words uttered by those who are now setting the dialogue table, even after having made to eat humble pie by the country which they very recently called "sponsor of all terror".



A news agency reported this from Sharm-el-Sheikh (Egypt) on July 16, 2009. '"We were quite clear that if acts of terrorism continue to be perpetrated, there is no question of any dialogue, let alone composite dialogue," Manmohan Singh told reporters here after three hours of talks with Gilani on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit.'The darling of all tweeters, minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor said on December 22, 2009: "No talks till Pak acts against 26/11 attackers."



"Our position has been very clear and consistent. We have asked Pakistan to take two steps. One, to bring the perpetrators of Mumbai attacks to justice and two, to ensure that terror structures in Pakistan used against our country should be dismantled," Tharoor told reporters. "But we have not seen progress in either of these two steps. We would like them to take steps on these two fronts."



Another news agency reported on June 6, 2009, India's position thus: "No move for early talks resumption: India." It said home minister P Chidambaram linked an arrested terror suspect to Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed and foreign minister S M Krishna drowned hopes of an early resumption of talks with Pakistan, saying Islamabad must first show tangible measures to stop attacks from its soil on Indian targets.



Chidambaram was earlier quoted by agencies (Feb 23, 2009): "Pakistan is the epicentre of terrorism. Our policy has forced Pakistan to admit that its soil is being used for terrorist attacks on India. They have taken some action. They have promised to take more action. We will watch and see if they take more action to take this case to its logical conclusion." The minister was in Jalandhar to lay the foundation stone of a memorial for the martyr Bhagat Singh.



Krishna was more forthcoming. He told a TV channel on August 24, 2009: "Meaningful dialogue with Pakistan is impossible unless Pakistan stops the cross-border terrorism. All the sources of terrorism, radicalism and nuclear proliferation lead only to Pakistan and it is not even prosecuting terrorists against whom all the evidence has been given."


What has changed now that we are inviting the Pakistanis, for dialogue, dinners and evenings of ghazals capped with prime-time TV interviews?



Have they prosecuted the perpetrators of 26/11? Have they sincerely begun operations against the jihadis targeting Indians? Have they stopped allowing their soil to be used by the jihadis against India? Have they stopped supporting cross-border terrorism and radicalism?



Even Gandhi had said: "I believe that where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence." (Gray and Parekh, p.109)

What has happened since the brave words were uttered by the rulers of this country that has made them invite perpetrators of all criminal-war-like actions against us? Against our citizens? Against our soldiers? Why are we so contemptuous of our soldiers?



Soldiers are not actors. Hence, an entire state government machinery can be put on guard to protect a commercial venture of an individual. At no cost to him. But soldiers must not get prime-time interviews, neither any films be made on how they defend the country amid a hostile environment, or feel ashamed when those who attack them and murder their brothers in arms are invited to dinner by the rulers who are otherwise supposed to safeguard the honour and lives of men in olive green.



Who are the soldiers and who are the filmmakers and actors? The actors are peace-loving people from Mars and the soldiers are mercenaries from Bharat? The actors love social harmony, and the soldiers are hard-boiled violent hate group who hail from Dehradun and Aizawl?



So, even if a graduate from the Indian Military Academy is killed by the neighbour, the cricket and dialogue and movie making with the neighbour must just go on in the name of a third-party God of the seculars? We love peace, at any cost, even if our fellow citizens are maimed and killed?



The soldiers join the forces for the sake of money. The perks and perhaps "izzat" too. We join Bollywood and cricket for the sake of world peace, and no commercial interests. Hence, soldiers must be off-listed and we be decorated with medals.



The one who may ask why no Bharat Ratna has been ever given to a soldier and even an entertainer with suspicious stories and a faith convertor were declared gems of the nation, must be declared a communal, a frustrated soul and a warmonger. Soldiers live and die for money. Politicians live and die for the welfare of the people. Hence, Bharat Ratna must always go to the politician.



Look at Pune and see the coverage 20 policemen killed by Naxalites in Jharkhand got. Foreigners still get more focus and sympathy than Indians.



Nobody likes a war, least of those who dare to send their children to the forces. (Please send me a list of those politicians whose children are serving in the forces). To die unsung? See these lines of a report: "Two foreigners - an Italian woman and an Iranian man - were among the nine people killed. Twelve of the 57 people injured were foreign nationals." Where is the Indian in it? Just waste?



The salt in the eyes of the mothers of Indian or Pakistani soldiers tastes the same. Yet, the armed forces have been a necessity to defend the peace and honour and the lives of the nationals. But at what cost? Give honour and buy peace? A low profile, unmentionable suicide would be better than that.

The Liberal Media ‘s Affair with the Shah Rukh Khan

Dr. Vijaya Rajiva

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan called on the Indian youth to consider Pakistan a ‘great ‘
neighbour and to love them. This was said publicly and loudly on an NDTV program
‘India Questions SRK and Karan Johar: Part 1’

The teenage audience applauded. The Liberal media ,probably asleep at the wheel, did not
comment. The program was anything but question period. One can describe it as a love fest
with the paternalistic Prannoy Roy benevolently presiding over the event.

The entire liberal media seems to have turned its attention to SRK’s earlier statement that
the IPL should have selected Pakistani cricket players also. This incocuous statement received
great attention and much ink was wasted on how right SRK was and so on and so forth, while the ‘fanatical’ Shiv Sena was as usual horribly fanatical and horribly wrong in their condemnation of SRK’s statement. SRK himself played the whole drama to its fullest hilt and asked disingenuously what he had said that was so wrong, referring to the IPL statement. The present writer has written about this(See ‘In The Name of Liberalism : The Shah Rukh Khan Affair’ in Haindava Keralam , 04/02/2010)

The entire confusion caused by this liberal obfuscation needs to be unravelled to point out that
in the opinion of this writer SRK must be judged not on the IPL statement but on his description of Pakistan as a ‘great’ neighbour. Could this be described as an attempt to mislead the general public?And especially the young who may not be aware of the 60 year plus history of the ‘great’ neighbour’s conduct towards India and who clearly do not know about the trials, sacrifices and heroism of the jawans who defended the country against this ‘great’ neighbour, and continue to do. And, ofcourse, they most likely want to also forget
the terror attacks of the past, and even of the recent past. Understandable in the young.

Humankind cannot bear much reality
(T.S. Eliot).

Surely, SRK knows, and so does the liberal media.

It has been pointed out that SRK’s father and grandfather were freedom fighters in the independence struggle against colonial rule and this might explain the liberal media’s tendency to treat him with kid gloves.

But SRK is not his father or grandfather. He has to stand on his own feet and prove his mettle . The recent fiasco is not about his statement about the IPL decision or the muddying of the waters by the Mumbai for Mumbaikars controversy, but about a mature SRK ‘s glib call to consider Pakistan a ‘great’ neighbour . By its silence regarding this issue, the liberal media seems to have conspired with the Shah, to create a smoke and mirrors effect.

The question is why ? A tentative answer can be put forward. Under pressure from the Obama administration, India is being softened up for resumption of talks with Pakistan, talks which were on hold since the Mumbai terror Attack of 2008. Ostensibly, this is to get Pakistan to co operate with the war in Afghanistan. This is evident to all.


This writer has written about the raison de’etre of the Aman ki Asha Project and the Congress sponsored Road Map to Peace ( See ‘ The Road Show : The Aman ki Asha tamasha and its twin The Road Map to Peace’ in Haindava Keralam 21/01/2010). While the Aman ki Asha is basically a project involving NGOs, artists and writers, the Road Map is straight
forwardly political and lists a number of topics which are on the agenda for talks with Pakistan. An agenda that no self respecting Indian would or should agree to.

These two are the main reasons why the liberal media seems to have created a certain confusion as to Shah Rukh Khan conduct. It is useful to remind the reader that the controversy is not about:

The IPL decision not to hire Pakistani cricketers and SRK’s position on that.
The Shiv Sena call of Mumbai for Mumbaikers and the imbroglio surrounding Rahul Gandhi’s
visit to Mumbai.


There have been dissenting voices from the Nationalists. The VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad) has called for a boycott of SRK’s new film ‘My Name Is Khan’ because of their view that he is not being patriotic.Rather than further muddying the waters SRK is well advised to apologise to the Indian public, especially the young, for what can be characterized as a misleading statement.

If he is to live up to the ideals of his father and grandfather, he should not engage in irresponsible rhetoric, and the liberal media should not encourage him in his somewhat erratic behaviour. People who lost near and dear ones in the terror attacks should not be trivialized by treating them as fanatics, buffoons, lumpen proletariat etc. which seems to be the world view of the Shah and certain sections of the liberal media. Nor should the deaths of thousands of jawans be forgotten.


( The writer taught Political Philosophy at a Canadian university).

Say No to Hindu Hatred in Hindustan

Hyderabad: Facing the ire of Judiciary over the move to create divisions in the society in the name of Religious based reservation, Muslim pressure groups are pushing the Government for a constitutional amendment to by pass the law of land.

In AP, even when the case was pending in the court the Government had admitted 30,000 Muslim students into educational institutions and provide 3000 jobs already within a short scale of time. If 30,000 Muslims were given admission into educational institutions of Government that means the government have denied entry to legitimate students who had succeeded in merit but pushed away just because they are not Muslims! 3000 Jobs given illegally means those who had hoping for the jobs after passing all the criteria have denied the same just because they happened to be a Non Muslim.

Here no one is denying Muslim students the place in Educational institutions if they are competent enough. Instead of attending schools are work hard like other Hindu students, Muslim kids are send to Madrassah’s for brain washing and when they fail behind in schools they lament about backwardness. This is nothing but blatant hypocrisy and the Political parties who sing tune to their demands should be shown their place by Hindu voters irrespective of their political ideology believe in.

Apart from BJP and it’s allies in NDA, Major political parties including Congress and Communist parties had always tried to woo Muslim and Christian voters with the promise of providing them reservation in Educational institutions and Jobs.

VHP had already warned about severe repercussions if any of these demands are entertained. It is time for all Hindu organisations to come together and say in unison that ‘Enough is Enough’ and gain the support of Hindu Society by creating awareness against the far reaching effects of Religious based reservation to the Nation and to Hindus in the country.

Reservations to Muslims at the cost of Hindu Taxpayers: Dr. Togadia

Opposing reservations to Muslims, Dr Pravin Togadia VHP Secretary General criticized West Bengal Government for announcing 10% reservation to Muslims despite the fact that only today Andhra HC quashed Andhra Government’s unconstitutional move to give 4% quota to Muslims in Education, jobs & so on. For an eye-wash WB govt has shown that these reservations would be for socially, educationally & economically backward Muslims & OBCs in Muslims. This is all twisting the constitution & exploiting the hard working Hindus. Majority Hindus from middle class, higher middle class & other working / business class work hard & pay taxes. Instead of giving benefit of this money to the poor Hindus, Hindu Scheduled castes, Hindu OBCs & Tribes, government is all out to use this money to subsidize Muslims who do not even limit number of children quoting religion. This is not only unfair to Hindus but also it is a criminal looting of Hindus.

Dr Togadia termed the Sachhar & Rangnath Mishra reports as “Preparation for Criminal Looting of Hindus”. He further added, “Andhra 4% quota, Sachhar & Rangnath reports & now West Bengal giving 10% reservations to Muslims are not sporadic isolated incidents. They are well connected & are a part of a larger conspiracy against Hindus. This criminal conspiracy of looting Hindus is being hatched to please & appease Muslim vote bank. Today Union government also announced that youth from POK would be encouraged to come to J&K & would be given special facilities. At this moment 78% Hindu youth in Bharat are unemployed, 79% Hindu farmers have already lost their lands / crops & most are about to commit suicides, 68% Hindu children are mal nourished. Yet, instead of helping them, governments are showering favours on Muslims. This is not acceptable to Hindus.”

Dr Togadia expressed, “Hindu majority is being exploited in every field like education, employment, bank loans, trade facilities, housing & so on. From Inheritance Act to Marriage Act, all laws are only to trouble Hindus. Essential food costs have gone so high that even well to do middle class families are no more able to feed their children even a cup of milk daily & now there is Muslim reservation burden on the Hindus. Hindus have reached their limit of patience & without waiting for anyone to lead; Hindus would hit the streets any moment against this continued injustice. Muslims claim that they are no more just a simple minority; but they are ‘the second largest majority in India (as Jamait-e-ulema-e-Hind Maulana Madani says) & yet governments are bent on giving them facilities & reservations snatching education, employment, loans & lives of Hindus.”

Dr Togadia termed this move unconstitutional & expressed the concern that this would encourage not just conversions but also Jehadi incidents. He said, “Those who argue that Muslims are poor in Bharat & therefore they turn to Jehad, are living in a fool’s paradise. Pilots, Engineers, professionals from well to do families are following Jehad as a life style based on Madarsa preaching. If they are poor they do Jehad by bomb & when they get rich or educated they use planes, computers against Bharat. Therefore, it will help governments to get all Hindus to avail of education, employment, trade facilities instead of wasting Hindu Tax payer’s money on inspiring Jehad. When majority develops, the nation automatically develops. Those who do not even follow Bharat’s constitution should not be given an opportunity to misuse Bharat’s democracy & constitution for increasing their population to 'minoratize' Hindus.”

Dr Togadia suggested that if Muslim reservation moves continue then VHP would have to seriously look into the option of a democratic nation wide agitation soon.

In The Name of Liberalism : The Shah Rukh Khan Affair

Dr Vijaya Rajiva

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan has managed to stay in the news for the last few days prior to the screening of his film ‘ My Name is Khan’. His comments about the inclusion of the Pakistani cricket team in the IPL series were meant to be a statement on liberalism.

Pakistani players are amongst the best in the world
India should have therefore included them in the IPL.

On the face of it, it all looks quite ‘liberal’ and harmless enough. But is it ? The Shiv Sena predictably reacted very strongly and accused him of being unpatriotic. At a London Press Conference SRK asked quite disingenuously : what should I have said ? what do they want me to say ?

In the opinion of this writer, it is not what he should say, but what he should not have said and here is the entire story. At a program hosted by NDTV’s Prannoy Roy Shah Rukh Khan publicly stated that Pakistan is a great neighbour, let us love them ! SRK’s
body language, facial expressions and the words he used showed insensitivity to the history of Indo Pakistani relations in the last 60 plus years.

The captive audience, mostly of very young people burst into applause. It is not necessary to remind readers that Pakistan is far from being a ‘great’ neighbour. Since Mohammed Ali Jinnah proclaimed Direct Action Day in 1946 and started the massacre of Hindus in Bengal , Pakistan has been a not so great neighbour. Its leaders have openly stated that they intend to administer a thousand cuts to India (Zulfikar Ali Bhutto) and have continued to do so in practice.

Should India ‘ love ‘ such a neighbour ? It is clear that SRK was using his star power to influence a gullible Indian public into indiscretions, just as the Aman ki Asha project has been trying to do. And today’s news is that the Foreign ministers of India and Pakistan are scheduled to meet shortly to discuss ALL issues, including terrorism. This at a time, even as we speak, the very terrorist groups are meeting in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, to plot their strategies. Pakistani officials are blandly stating that they are only discussing Kashmir !

It is time that the Congress came clear as to what it is up to.

Shah Rukh Khan, ofcourse, in not a politician, but in the name of liberalism he is creating a smoke and mirrors effect whose result, intentionally or unintentionally is to disarm the Indian public and help to let down their guard.

(The present writer has already raised some of these issues in the article ‘ The Road Show: The Aman ki Asha tamasha and its twin The Road Map to Peace ‘ ) (Haindavakeralam,Jan.21,2010).

Nothing has changed in the situation.

In 2008, two Bollywood actors Amir Khan and Saif Ali Khan, used the ‘liberal’ argument to justify their participation in the carrying of the Olympic torch to the Olympic games at Beijing. Their basic argument was that the games belonged to everybody, not just China. They were able to sustain this phony ‘liberal’ argument by ignoring the fact that the Chinese were using two prominent Muslim personalities to disguise China’s suppression of minorities, the Uighur Muslims of Xinjiang and the Buddhists of Tibet.

The football player Baichung Bhutia saw through this ploy because he knew that China was engaged in a cultural genocide (and probably more) of the Tibetan Buddhists.


One can think of many such ‘liberal’ arguments, for example the participation in the Olympic games held in Hitler’s Germany, under the argument that the games did not belong only to Germany.

The Shiv Sena often cries ‘ Wolf ‘ but in this instance there is something to be said for their hard line stance against SRK. What is troubling is the report in The Pioneer that even the BJP supports SRK on this question . The Pioneer ran a report which said:
“ The BJP has also come out in support of the star.” (See ‘SRK sad at furore over his IPL statement’, The Pioneer, Wednesday, Feb.3, 2010).

However, a report in The Hindu says a different story. BJP leader Shaina N.C. is reported to have met the state Police Chief seeking protection for SRK. The report also states that she is a good friend of Karan Johar and Shah Rukh Khan.(‘Police protection sought for screening of My Name is Khan, Feb.4,2010).

This might indicate that it is MS. Shaina’s personal interest rather than a political statement by the BJP. It is not clear what the BJP spokesperson’s statement today is. Shri Mohan Bhagawat of the RSS is absolutely right in saying that Mumbai belongs to all Indians and that RSS cadres should look out for all citizens in Mumbai, especially the North Indians and Biharis. And this would include SRK also. Neverthless, it is incumbent on the BJP to explain the difference between protecting SRK and justifying his attempts to effect a rapprochment with a hostile neighbour.

SRK is being targeted not for being Muslim, but for muddying the waters vis a vis Pakistan. And the IPL was right in sending a certain message to Pakistan that cricket and terror cannot be mixed (journalist Shoburi Ganguli in The Pioneer) One can take this further and say : cultural and artistic ambassadors of goodwill should be in sync with the nation’s security. Ganguli made two important points : cricket and terror do no go hand in hand ; the IPL was sending a clear signal to Pakistan.

At present SRK is taking a hardline position and refusing to apologise for certain statements. The stand off can go either way. And if it is a question of being vigilant vis a vis a dangerous and unreliable neighbour, the Indian public must wake up to the facts.


( The writer taught Political Philosophy at a Canadian university).

Hindu temple attacked, idols destroyed in B'desh: Official

DHAKA: Miscreants in Bangladesh's Narayanganj district vandalised an ancient Hindu temple, with assailants destroying six idols, a top official
said.

A gang of 30-35 men attacked the Sonargaon temple and broke six idols, said Md Yunus Ali, the local police chief.

He said the incident took place while the devotees were holding a religious function at the Sree Sree Rakshakali Temple at Ashrafdi village.

The miscreants vandalized the temple and four houses, injuring at least five people, in Narayanganj's Sonargaon subdivision yesterday, the private bdnews24 news agency said.

A case is underway, the police official was quoted as saying in the report. The Sonargaon police chief said religious programme began on February 2.

The gang attacked the temple following an altercation between a devotee and three youths of the village.