From Ravan Lila to TV9 : The Target is Hinduism

Dr. Vijaya Rajiva


On the night of June 4, 2011 the infamous duo of Sonia Gandhi and Digvijay Singh ordered an attack (so it is alleged) on the peaceful non violent devotees of yoga guru Baba Ramdev and the guru himself ,who were assembled and sleeping on the Ramlila grounds in New Delhi, after a day of prayer and yoga and listening to the speeches against corruption in high places in India, specifically the question of black money. The mainstream media, did their job for once at least, and reported candidly on this infamous event. While many channels did some intermittent reporting CNNIBN must be commended for an all night and early morning continuous coverage, where the nation witnessed the brutal lathi charge (from which several were injured and one elderly woman had her spine broken and lay paralysed in hospital with all four limbs paralysed). It must be duly recorded that at least one intrepid journalist from Tehelka magazine ( the first to do so in the English media) reported on the conditions of these victims in the hospital.


Subsequent to this horrific destruction of democracy on the night of June 4, the police reportedly confiscated reporters’ cameras etc. but not before the nation saw the brutality of the event. The police justifications sounded hollow as were the Congress Party’s excuses. It is noteworthy that even that Congress loyalist Mani Shankar Iyer pointed out that the whole exercise was not necessary as the peaceful crowd on the Ram Lila grounds showed no signs of violence. Furthermore, the Ram Lila grounds were built to accommodate large crowds.He said this publicly on an NDTV program.


The liberal media for once did rise, albeit intermittently, to condemn the attack as a violation of citizens’ rights. The UPA government (and the liberal voices) have since then fallen silent. A curtain of silence has fallen over the entire incident. But Hindu India will never forget and nor should they. This was indeed the night of Ravan Lila.And the target was nothing less than Hinduism.


That this was a show of strength against Hinduism is not to be doubted. While that shady character Digvijay Singh tried to bolster his appeal among the minority communities by calling Baba Ramdev a thug and a fraud, there were some TV channels busily attacking the morality of some of the leading figures among Hindu gurus, such as Baba Ramdev, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Satya Sai Baba and Mata Amritanandamayi. One such channel is TV9 a creation of Associated Broadcasting Company Ltd. (ABCL). This cannot be a mere coincidence.


Each of these religious figures was attacked in the four programs of TV9 called ‘Spiritual Leaders are millionaires’. They were accused of everything from pedophilia, murder, illegal acquisition of wealth etc. As the majority of Hindus know, Baba Ramdev cannot be accused of any personal misconduct and his assets have been declared. The same applies to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Mata Amritanandamayi. The Satya Sai Baba Trust has declared that it has no objection to any investigation into their assets. The accusation of pedophilia against Satya Sai Baba and the lawsuits filed against him were shown to be fraudulent. At any rate, the reader is invited to read the comprehensive account of the false charges and their refutation in ‘Satya Sai Baba – Smear Campaign Against Bhagavan Satya Sai Baba’ (www.saisathyasai.com).


Needless to say, all of the above religious figures have shown exemplary service to the poor and disadvantaged population of India. The present writer has written about all this in earlier articles : providing water, assistance to farmers, free medical treatment in the state of the art hospitals, first class free educational institutions for the poor , teaching villagers the basics of yoga and organic farming and so on. The social and philanthropic work done by these leaders is unparalleled in the world of private charity.


And yet TV9 spoke of these Hindu religious figures without verifying any of the false charges against them and has made blanket generalizations based on what is called ‘yellow journalism’.


What is it that motivated TV9 to engage in this orgy of attacks ( and Hindus should not doubt that this sinister barrage is exactly what it is ) against Hindu religious figures ? The parent organization Associated Broadcasting Company Ltd. (ACBL) has a lengthy mission statement which includes fair and impartial reporting. And yet TV9 proceeded, it seems, to violate these very principles. A detailed critique of these violations has been provided by Shri V.V.Prakasa Rao in his letter to Sri Ravi Prakash, Founder and CEO of Associated Broadcasting Company. One commentator has pointed out that TV9 is thought to be controlled/clandestinely funded by the Christian convert Jaganmohan Reddy, son of YSR Reddy (former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh and close ally of Sonia Maino). It is not surprising too that TV9 airs a lot of Christian church advertisements in between.


While Shri Prakasha has been unduly charitable enough to merely slap TV9 on its wrists for sensationalism and violation of journalistic ethics, it is the present writer’s opinion that there is more to all this than meets the eye. Along with the general silence post the Ram Lila attack on Baba Ramdev by the Congress Party and the concomitant attacks via the electronic and print media on the integrity of Hindu religious figures such as those mentioned above, there is a pattern. If investigated it is entirely possible that the self same evangelical anti Hindu forces are trying to clear the decks for their ongoing persistent onslaught against Hinduism. The enormous funds provided by these organizations must surely be the topic of discussion and investigation. Clearing the decks for the Christianisation of India.


This is the ancient dream of the Christian West, even as far back as the 19th century when the famed Sankritist Max Mueller confided in private correspondence to his wife that he hoped that pagan Hindu India would be brought finally into the Christian fold. That ancient dream continues and is discernable in the Italian Catholic’s concerted effort to diminish the hold of Hinduism in India. Many alert Hindus such as Radha Rajan have pointed this out. So has Dr. Subramania Swamy, although his focus is currently on the corruption of Sonia Maino and her links with black money.


But the reader is advised to also consult the most recent and well researched and well documented book Breaking India (Jan. 2011) by authors Rajiv Malhotra and Aravindan Neelakandan. Here, the influx of the monies from evangelical sources and the various other stratagems used by these forces to balkanize India are graphically explained. The use of the electronic media is indispensable to this project.


Will these asuric forces (happy phrase coined by a Hindu in the diaspora) succeed ? An ancient and great civilization that has lasted for several millennia and is the only one still standing may yet produce enough creativity and vigilant self defence to defeat them. In that sense every self respecting Hindu must become intellectual /spiritual warriors to defend this ancient land and drive out the asuric forces.





(The writer is a Political Philosopher who taught at a Canadian university)