An Appeal to Spiritual Hindus

Namaste,

I seek your kind attention. You might be busy with Yoga, Pranayama, Meditation, Temple
Visit, listening to Spiritual Discourses etc. Now it is time to take a rapid fire test on your Spiritual Progress so far. Let’s begin:

1) Do you believe in ‘Spirituality’?

2) Spirit, Self or ‘Atman’ has no death. Death is only for the body. Will you dare committing a suicide then?

3) Do you take food for a variety of reasons?

4) At office/workplace when your boss gives you a problem to be solved, will you not try solving it rather than advising ‘Nothing can be done and whatever is bound to happen will happen’?

5) What will you write your religion as when you apply for a job, passport or visa?
‘Hindu’ or ‘I am pure spirit’?

6) Do you care for your family, friends, community, society, nation and humanity at large?

7) When you don’t stand up and fight for the rights of your Hindu brethren, don’t you think what happened to Kashmiri Pandits may happen to you one day?

8) Are you fit to pass comments on Pujya Sri Shankaracharya of Kanchi when you
yourself don’t do three times ‘Sandhya Vandhan’ / recite the Vedas daily?

9) Whenever narrated with a problem that the Hindu Society is facing, you say - ‘It is
Kali Yuga. Nothing can be done.' But when your dearest friend is suffering from a
disease say Swine Flu, will you not rush him to the hospital?

10)You say ‘Good and evil exist together. Even in the days of Ramayana and
Mahabharatha, there were demons and wicked men.’ Did not Lord Rama fight
Ravana? Did not Lord Krishna help Pancha Pandavas?

11) Sri Adi Shankara, who preached the philosophy of ‘Advaita’ or Non Duality, himself debated many scholars and established mutts to propagate the message of ‘Vedas’. Do you have a lesson to learn here?

12) When Thirugnanasamandhar questioned Jainism, Sri Kumarila Bhatta was critical on Budhism and Sri Adi Shankara questioned even beautiful philosophies ike ‘Mimamsa’ within the Hindu Fold, don’t you think that it is high time to introspect
religions like Islam and Christianity before uttering ‘All religions are equal’? If you
are not that knowledgeable, cannot our Gurus do that?

13) All religions may have some common messages (Brotherhood, Love & Affection). But, they may also have some uncommon messages (Jihad & Judgment Day). Sanathana Dharma or Hinduism itself is like an ocean – 4 Vedas, 108 Upanishads, 18 Puranas, Ramayana, Mahabharatha and hundreds of literary and poetic works like Thirukkural, Raghuvamsam etc. One's life span won’t be enough to read and understand these sacred scriptures (forget about Quran, Hadith and Bible). Is it because of this lack of knowledge that you say, ‘All religions are equal’? Are all
numbers equal?

14)Bhagavat Gita says, “Whatever has happened has happened for good.” You use this verse when Hindu Society confronts a problem. The same Lord Krishna asked
Arjuna to fight the battle or 'Dharma Yudh'. Are you not selective and opportunistic
in choosing / ignoring this advice?

15)When Bhagavat Gita has turned out to be a modern management guide, don’t you think that you have restricted it only to four walls of your Pooja Room?

16)Brahma Rishi Vishvamitra sought Rama's and Lakshmana's help to destroy the
demons Marichan and Subahu who were a hindrance in his Yagas. Don’t you think
there is nothing wrong in our Gurus harnessing the potential of Hindu parties,
organizations and people to cleanse the administration in 'Bharat'? Do they have
the liberty to do this if Churches and Mosques can instruct their followers on which
party to vote for in an election?

17) Sri Vidyaranya (one of the heads of Sringeri mutt) reconverted the brothers
Harihara and Pukha from Islam to Hinduism and guided them in establishing the
mighty Vijayanagaram Empire. Don’t you now pray for the soul of Swami
Lakshmanananda Saraswati to rest in peace?

18)Our ancestors were accommodative even though they didn’t know the word
‘Secularism’. Today in the name of ‘Secularism’ anything Hindu is dismissed as
Saffron. Don’t you think that India should be made a ‘Hindu Dharmic Republic’ instead
of remaining blurred with the alien word, ‘Secularism’? Don’t we need a Hindu
Renaissance now? If not now, when?

19)Is not Nationalism and Spirituality interrelated? Do you think that you can freely
practice your Yoga and celebrate festivals openly in the day light of Saudi or
Afghanistan?

20)God forbid! If ‘Bharat’ is say attacked and captured by China, will not the fate of our ‘Sadhus’ be that of the present Dalai Lama’s?

21)Do you think that your nation ‘Bharat’ is facing problems like '26/11', 'Kashmir'?

22)You proudly boast about Indian spirituality and culture. You give advice and
lectures on Karma Yoga. Today the Varna System is no more existent. The Indian
Armed Forces and Government have taken the place of 'Kshatriyas'. Don’t you think
that you should henceforth be concerned about issues like national security and
politics?

23) Indian soldiers suffer in the biting cold of Siachen Glacier thus protecting the nation (like the brave Lakshmana) so that you sleep well in the night. Does your conscience prompt you to say boldly that they deserve a better treatment?

24)When Indian government rejected the demand for ‘One Rank One Pension’,
disappointed Army veterans returned back their hard earned medals to the
president’s office this year (2009). Is this the way you treat these brave soldiers?

25)Though you don’t interfere in politics, it doesn’t need a seer to say that politics
(Congress & Secular Bandwagon) has always interfered and humiliated Hindu
sentiments continually (if not continuously). You didn’t care when the Kanchi Mutt's
reputation was harmed. Slowly the Chidambaram temple has come under siege. You
say that you are not from Kashmir when 4,00,000 Kashmiri Pandits are ethnically
cleansed. Don’t you think that the devil will knock your door one day?

I beg your Pardon for hurting any of your Spiritual sentiments. I am not Karunanidhi! But when terrorist attacks took place unabated with innocent people losing lives, the country needed a change in governance. I felt sad when BJP lost in the general elections (2009), but hurt when you joined the ‘24 x 7’ TV Channels in saying ‘It is a victory of Secularism over Communalism’ & ‘we now have a strong Government’. What is the use, if it always takes an anti - Hindu stance and is incapable of taking strong decisions? It is hoped here that you will unite and now onwards vote en block for a political party which has a Hindu agenda so that spirituality and Dharma survives and wins over the secular onslaught. Please spread this humble message to all your Hindu friends and relatives so that year 2014 finds us all in peace, good health and spiritual ecstasy.

With warm regards,

Yours Spiritual Hindu Brother!

….. Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu …..

The anti Hindu Professoriate: Dalrymple,Nanda,Thapar

Dr Vijaya Rajiva


What do these 3 academics have in common ? To begin with, they are pseudo secularists (O happy phrase !) And they have a deep dislike/hatred of Hinduism which they try to disguise by pretending to be merely academics in pursuit of higher learning ! They are also united in their lack of familiarity with Hinduism, and pass this off by presenting to the world that they ‘know’ popular Hinduism as opposed to ‘ Brahmanic ‘ Hinduism (their own creation) and more recently the Rama-fication, word used by Dalrymple (whatever that might mean !) of Hinduism. In reality all three share a deep desire to attack the heart of Hinduism (its Vedic centre) and have tried to enlist the everyday Hindu in this ignominous enterprise.

The fact that everyday Hindus have rejected them and continue to worship their gods and goddesses is testimony to the reality of Hinduism, which since its Vedic beginnings has a long history of worship among the masses, and has continued to this day. Much to their chagrin Hinduism will not go away ! And the everyday Hindu has no time for the fine distinctions they have created for political reasons.

By now, the ruses are commonplace: we are not attacking Hinduism, we are attacking only Hindu nationalism; this is about rational inquiry ; this is about neo liberalism and the prevalence of poverty etc. Eeerily reminiscent of Arundhati Roy who when asked why with all her concern about India’s poverty she continues to publish with the multinationals, (unlike Vandana Shiva, a true stalwart on behalf of the masses, who publishes with small town publishers) is reported to have airily replied : sometimes one has to compromise !

The target is always the same.

William Dalrymple (author of The White Moghuls) is an historian and writer who has traveled extensively in India but still doesn’t get it. Meera Nanda is an academician at the JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University) who clings to the orthodoxy of an outdated philosophy of science. The last of the die hard philosophers of science from the Vienna Circle, Sir Karl Popper, has passed on (1994). So has Herbert Feigl (1988). Both, especially Sir Karl, modified their earlier dogmas. And the orthodox claim that philosophy should limit itself to be the handmaiden of science, should only study and propagate scientific method has long since fallen by the wayside. Both the enormous advances in the hard core sciences and mathematics have entered into the nebulous realm of field theory etc. which defy oversimplifications. Today, philosophers of science make only modest claims about their enterprise. Neverthless, armed with this orthodoxy Nanda has criticized Hindu ‘superstition’ in previous writings.

She continues to work within this dogmatic framework and with a hodge podge of Left theory added for good measure, has pronounced on various topics, the most recent being her book The God Market : How Globalisation is Making India More Hindu .

Indeed, a tragedy from her own perspective !

Nanda’s stats. are somewhat dubious and her methodology is flawed since she seems to have neglected the various South Indian states, especially Kerala where her state-temple-corporate template does not work. Here, the Hindu temple and devotional sites are used by the state against the Hindu population and the temple. Her main argument that the state-temple-corporate nexus has produced god caplitalism simply does not fit the facts of the case.

It is this book that Dalrymple reviews in Outlookindia.com (Jan.10, 2009).


He on his part, takes a detour into his own concern with present day Hinduism : “ the homogenizing tendencies of modern Hinduism and the way local cults and variants are falling out of favour as faith becomes more centralized. Small deities and devi cults giving way instead to the national hyper-masculine hero deities, especially Lord Krishna and Lord Rama, a process scholars call the ‘Rama- fication’ of Hinduism. “ (Review )


What on earth is the man talking about ? Both Rama and Krishna have been worshipped by Hindus since time immemorial. And Devi worship has been with the Hindus since time immemorial ! And continues to this day. Hindu worship has not waited around until Mr.Dalrymple or some social scientist from nowhere came along to pronounce : Rama and Krishna are now worshipped by Hindus !


Along the way, he invokes the support of the dean of anti Hindu sentiment, the historian Romila Thapar, whose article ‘ Somanatha and Mahmud ‘ (Frontline, 1999) and her book Somanatha , the Many Voices of History (2005) are good examples of the politicization of academic research. They are ostensibly well researched, but then she attempts to argue (flying in the face of evidence) that Mohammed Ghazni’s destruction and plunder of the famed Somnath temple was merely an act of conquest and had nothing to do with the Muslim conquest of Hindu infidels (this despite the contemporaneous evidence, where the Muslim writers extolled Ghazni as a defender of the faith). Her History of India (1990) and the Penguin History of early India till 1300 (2003) both have some curious omissions and distortions. She has also taken to making sociological observations about Hindu nationalism and the Hindu religion, some of which Dalrymple quotes in his review.

William Dalrymple, ofcourse has no qualms about confidently asserting that the worship of Devi has been neglected in present day India in favour of worship of the male gods, notably Rama. The misguided political implications of this statement need not be elaborated upon since Ramajanma bhoomi is only one aspect of Hindu nationalism and Hinduism.

And Devi worship, notwithstanding Dalrymple, continues unabated as can be seen in the millions that throng to the Vaishnavo Devi temple , despite great odds. And in every nook and corner of India, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from east to west, the Devi is worshipped with deep devotion in her various manifestations. The famed Madura Meenakshi temple is another example. The number of Devi temples big and small in India count by the thousands. The everyday Hindu is loyal and devoted to his/her tradition which is several millennia old. Mr.Dalrymple simply cannot understand this, nor the reasons why Devi worship is so predominant in Hinduism, unlike any other religion. And every village temple has its own Devi ( Read my article ‘ The Hindu Struggle for Survival ‘ in www.haindavakeralam.com) which details the struggle of the everyday Hindu to carry their traditional procession for the Devi in Kanyakumari , in spite of opposition from the small Christian community living in that village, and in spite of police brutality.

The worship of Devi is a Vedic heritage and indeed the reason why Dalrymple does not recognize this (apart from his erroneous observations about contemporary Hindu life) is that from earliest times Western scholars, Sanskritists, Orientalists and so on have seen the Veda through a certain prism. They saw what they wanted to see : a male dominated Aryan set of texts where female deities were virtually non existent. This is an astonishing purblindness on the part of these scholars, as is evidenced by the text of the Rig Veda !

There are two errors here , first the myth of the Aryan invasion of India has been exploded by Indian scholars in the last two decades, especially after the discovery of the ancient river Sarasvati, mentioned some 75 times in the Rig Veda and which disappeared subsequently. Satellite photography and related scientific disciplines have established that the ancient river existed and that it was the centre of the Sarasvati Sindhu civilization (until recently called the Indus Valley Civilisation). The results of these studies have been presented at the Vedic Sarasvati Conference in 2008 held in New Delhi (see my presentation of the main issues in Sarasvati Regained ,in www.haindavakeralam.com). Today, in 2010 the government of India recognizes the validity of these findings.

Since there was no Aryan invasion and since the Vedic tradition is an indigenous one inextricably mingled with the Sarasvati Sindhu civilization it is natural to conclude that the worship of female deities is also to be found in the Rig Veda. At any rate, the internal evidence from the Rig Veda itself is overwhelming. The female deities are mentioned and invoked in the 1008 plus hymns of the Rig Veda : Ushas, Prithvi, Aditi, Sarasvati, Vac, Ratri, Aranyani, Purandhi, Parendi, Raka, Dhisana, Ila, Bharati, Mahi and Hotra, Bhu, Bhumi.

This raises the question once again as to why eminent Western scholars, not only of the 19th century but even at present , continue to propagate the theory that there was no worship of female deities in the Rig Veda. Two examples will suffice. Venerated British Orientalist and Sanskritist A. L. Basham, author of the well known book The Wonder That Was India ( 1953, 1964 ) maintains that the Rig Veda just barely mentions two or three minor female deities. Astonishing statement coming from such an eminent source !

Daniel H.Ingalls in his Preface (1982) to Thomas Coburn’s work The Crystallisation of the Goddess Tradition (1984) makes similar observations.

( It may be of interest to the reader that A.L.Basham was Romila Thapar’s professor in England. Much of her knowledge of Hinduism is coloured by those early perceptions ).

Not only does the Rig Veda invoke female deities but the entire ethos of the text is the celebration of the conjuncture of cosmic, atmospheric and terrestrial deities. Vedic environmentalism is closely linked to the idea of the sacred as manifested in Nature.
Hence, the idea of Punya Bhumi (sacred land) which all Hindus associate with the Indian subcontinent. Down the centuries the sacred powers became personified and were worshipped both in their masculine form and their feminine form and as well both masculine-feminine forms.

Sacred centres are scattered all over India but the most important ones associated with the Devi are to be found in 52 centres. Both men and women worship the Devi throughout the year and at special times such as Navaratri. Every village has its own chosen deity. And every town and city has its Devi temple.

The existence of centres of sacred power became linked to the notion of Bharat Mata as the personification of the divine female principle as the presiding deity of the subcontinent.

Hence, also the song Vande Mataram, greetings to the Mother, is basically a greeting to that sacred power, Bharat Mata. Today, out of deference to the sentiments of minorities, this National Song is restricted to the invocation of the natural phenomena associated with the motherland, its rivers, streams, forests, mountains etc. Neverthless, for the Hindu the association of Vande Mataram with the most ancient of the texts of Hinduism , the Rig Veda, cannot be forgotten.


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

A cultural Taliban in secular India

www.newstodaynet.com

By V Sundaram

I proudly assert my inalienable, indivisible, immutable, and inexorable constitutional right to be a practicing Hindu. Yet, seeing the conduct of E Ahmed, Union Minister of State for Railways, at a recent public function organised by the Indo-Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Chennai, I am constrained to raise these questions. Are we living in Islamic Pakistan? Are we living in Islamic Bangladesh? Or are we living in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan? Let me move from this macrocosm to the microcosm. Are we living in the Muslim-majority Malappuram District in Kerala, rightly described by some journalists as a mini-Pakistan in India?

I am raising these issues because the Union Minister of State for Railways, Ahmed who recently participated at a public seminar on ‘Status of Infrastructure’, organized by the Indo- Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Chennai refused to light the Kuthuvilakku as a traditional and well-established part of the inaugural ceremony. The Union Minister caught the other dignitaries and the organisers of the function off guard when he declined to accept the candle offered to him to light the kuthuvilakku on the podium. It is reliably understood that one of the organisers told the press that the Minister refused to light the lamp because it is an un-Islamic action. It is understood that the Minister told some of the helpless and totally clueless organizers; ‘The Muslim community does not light lamps. It is against Shariah, the code which governs Islam’.

I understand that some time back, P K Kunha-likutty, a Muslim League leader who was Kerala’s Industries Minister, courted controversy when he refused to light the lamp while inaugurating a state function at Thiruvanan-thapuram. The famous playback singer K J Yesudas who was also one of the guests at the same function, walked out protesting against it.

The Cheraman Mosque, Kodungallur in Kerala has an ancient oil lamp which always burns and whichis believed to be more than a thousand years old. Every day people of all religions bring oil for the lamp as offering. This is one of the few mosques in Kerala which allow entry for people of other religions. In recent years, the mosque has observed vidyarambham, a Hindu initiation ritual marking the beginning of a child’s learning. I am mentioning this so that Union Minister E Ahmed can use his authority for getting a fatwa issued against the managers of this ancient Mosque for violating the tenets of Islam!!

The anti-Hindu ways of Ahmed were very well known in Kerala even before he became the Union Minister of State for Railways. After becoming the Union Minister of State for Railways, he is functioning like a Mughal chieftain. Many organisations like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad have already publicly condemned this Hindu-hating Minister for having issued instructions to Railways officers not to do Ganesha Puja, breaking of coconut, etc before starting of new trains, inauguration of tracks, bridges, etc. He has banned lighting of traditional oil lamps during inaugurations. Likewise, garlanding of trains, anointing them with sandal paste, sindoor, etc. have also been banned. Railway stations have been discouraged against doing puja to electronic panels etc. during ‘Vijayadasami’ and ‘Durga puja’.

Finally, he has ordered the closure of temples in Railway compounds and is planning their demolition. This anti-Hindu move of Ahmed has caused deep religious resentment and intense anger among the 25 lakh strong railway staff and Hindus at large. I am presenting below the shining symbols of Hinduism and Sanatana Dharma which have been deliberately denigrated by Ahmed!!




While crores are being spent on ‘Haj’ even basic amenities are not being provided to the eight crore plus Sabarimala pilgrims, by the Indian Railways. These Hindu pilgrim are treated as stateless persons by the Ministry of Railways! VHP leader Kummanam Rajasekharan has described this anti-Hindu attitude of this despicable anti-Hindu Union Minister as a threat and challenge to Hinduism. He has rightly charged E Ahmed of communalising a national asset like Railways. He called for immediate restoration of the withdrawn ancient Indian customs and traditions, failing which RSS and VHP will launch nationwide massive agitations. I spoke to a very important VHP leader from Kerala to know more about the blatently anti-Hindu ways of E Ahmed. He said: ‘What more can be expected from Ahmed whose close relative is a jehadi suspect in the Bengaluru blasts and who is hiding in Gulf, thanks to Ahmed and the UPA Government!’

Seeing the conduct and opposition of this Union Minister to the lighting of Kuthuvilakku at a public function in Chennai, I am reminded of this savage manner in which the Talibans of Afghanistan destroyed the two 6th century statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamyan valley in the Hazarajat region of Central Afghanistan.

Ahmed once spoke about the Bombay blasts of November 2008, he took special care to avoid any reference to the fact that a Jewish Rabbi and his wife were also killed by his beloved Islamic terrorists from Pakistan!!

(The writer is a retired IAS officer)

Defeating Jihadi Terrorism

Dr Babu Suseelan


(Summary of speech at the anti Terrorism conference held at Pittsburgh.USA)

Recent media reports indicate imminent Mumbai type Jihadi attack in major cities of the world. Nowhere is the tension and fear from Jihadi attack more evident than in major cities of New York, London, Zurich, Madrid, Rome, Mumbai and New Delhi.

Since Jihadis have an exclusive patent for terrorism, citizens are worried, fearful and scared. Jihadi terrorists could strike at any moment at any city at any time at their choice. No democratic country is safe from Islamists who are dead against democracy, modernism, coexistence, religious tolerance, and secularism. Islamists who fight against infidels and the modern civilization in the name of Islamic past fight with modern weapons of every kind against innocent people without fear, guilt, or shame.

In this context, citizens are traumatized and they are changing their behavior, life style and their hopes for a peaceful life are shattered. What can one do to feel safe again in our own country? Secular political leaders and security officials warn us against terrorist attacks. They are only dimly aware of who the people behind terrorism are, and why they are terrorizing us and the motivating ideology of these terrorists. The lack of their clarity and deliberate failure to inform the public about terrorists and their deadly ideology make us more anxious and cautious.

It is time for citizens to study the ideology behind those who terrorize us. What makes these terrorists make us tremble and unable to make us live for our dreams and on our faith? The greatest shame is that why our liberal politicians and leftist intellectuals and pro-Islamist media are silent on Jihadi terrorism. Their silence or open support for Jihadi terrorists with phony root cause theories is deceptive. Why these deceptive politicians and liberal intellectuals fail to stand up and fight for our constitution, liberty, life and values? Why are they colluding with our tormenters? Why are they not demanding that hatred from the Koran be expunged? By colluding with Jihadis and keeping silence on their deadly ideology, they put our life at risk.

It is difficult for citizens who want to live in peace to swallow Jihadi hatred and their death defying criminal acts. Our values, freedom, life as well as our civilization hang in the balance. We cannot depend on phony secularists and leftist intellectuals to save us. Their views are quite pathetic. They are not going to guide us or ready to provide us any solution. Marxist intellectuals and bogus secularists have become a tool in the hands of Islamic terrorists in advancing their political agenda and Islamo fascism in which the terrorism is perpetuated.



What One Should Do?

What one should do? Citizens are part of the solution. Despite the fact that Jihadi terrorist assault on our country, individuals are reluctant to take realistic responses. It is a paradox. People have acquired “banner blindness”, “denial”, apathy and indifference. After many jihadi terrorist attacks, people are habituated to terrorism. Jihadis kill innocent people; destroy our property and spread hatred and fear. But citizens have become inoculated against the terrorists. And these habituated citizens who are inoculated and who are hiding behind a thick wall of denial no longer react.

It is time for us to get out of the sand and fight the great fight. The crooks, the degenerates and bogus secularists who run away from freedom and responsibility are ripping our value system, our freedom and our future.

Commonsense suggests that citizens have the right to identify people trying to ferment violence, spread hatred and terror in our country. With unlimited petro dollars, Jihadi terrorists are gathered to oppress us, terrorize us, scare us, and impose the tyranny of Islam.

Time has come that the public should take appropriate action. Jihadis are trying to instill fear in us. If we are united and stand up, we will become more powerful and Jihadis cannot put us in psychological trauma. We can fight back with determination. A strong determines assault on Islamists will preclude them to undermine the sense of our security and disrupt our everyday life.

We cannot prevail tomorrow; live in peace and tranquility without courageous action today. If we don’t meet the challenges today with strength, will power and determination, our future will be at stake. By acting today against our enemies who are willing to die for their past, we are choosing our future and the future of children and our grand children yet to be born. Let us stand together and make our country great, preserve our freedom and security.

My name is not Khan, I am Mr Kaul

Tarun Vijay

I am not Khan. My name bears a different set of four letters: K A U L. Kaul. As those who know Indian names would understand I happened to be born in a family which was called Hindu by others. Hence, we were sure, we would never get a friend like KJ to make a movie on our humiliations, and the contemptuous and forced exile from our homeland. It's not fashionable. It's fashionable to get a Khan as a friend and portray his agony and pains and sufferings when he is asked by a US private to take off his shoes and show his socks. Natural and quite justifiable that Khan must feel insulted and enraged. Enough Masala to make a movie.

But unfortunately I am a Kaul. I am not a Khan.

Hence when my sisters and mothers were raped and killed, when six-year-old Seema was witness to the brutal slaughtering of her brother, mother and father with a butcher's knife by a Khan, nobody ever came to make a movie on my agony, pain and anguish, and tears.

No KJ would make a movie on Kashmiri Hindus. Because we are not Khans. We are Kauls.

When we look at our own selves as Kauls, we also see a macabre dance of leaders who people Parliament. Some of them were really concerned about us. They got the bungalows and acres of greenery and had their portraits were worshipped by the gullible devotees of patriotism.

They made reservations in schools and colleges for us. In many many other states. But never did they try that we go back to our homes. They have other priorities and 'love your jihadi neighborhood' programmes. They get flabbier and flabbier with the passing of each year, sit on sacks of sermons; issue instructions to live simply and follow moral principles delivered by ancestors and kept in documents treated with time-tested preservatives.

They could play with me because my name is Kaul. And not Mr Khan. I saw the trailer to this fabulous movie, which must do good business at the box office.

There was not even a hint that terror is bad and it is worse if it is perpetuated in the name of a religion that means Peace. Peace be upon all its followers and all other the creatures too.

So you make a movie on the humiliation of taking off shoes to a foreign police force which has decided not to allow another 9/11.

The humiliation of taking off the shoes and the urge to show that you are innocent is really too deep. But what about the humiliation of leaving your home and hearth and the world and the relatives and wife and mother and father? And being forced to live in shabby tents, at the mercy of nincompoop leaders encashing your misery and bribe-seeking babus? And seeing your daughters growing up too sudden and finding no place to hide your shame?

No KJ would ever come forward to make a movie, a telling, spine-chilling narration on the celluloid, of five-year-old Seema, who saw her parents and brother being slaughtered by a butcher's knife in Doda. Because her dad was not Mr Khan. He was one Mr Kaul.

Sorry, Mr Kaul and your entire ilk. I can't help you.

It's not fashionable to side with those who are Kauls. And Rainas. And Bhatts. Dismissively called KPs. KPs means Kashmiri Pandits. They are a bunch of communalists. They were the agents of one Mr Jagmohan who planned their exodus so that Khans can be blamed falsely. In fact, a movie can be made on how these KPs conspired their own exile to give a bad name to the loving and affectionate Khan brothers of the valley.

To voice the woes of Kauls is sinful. The right course to get counted in the lists of the Prime Minister's banquets and the President's parties is to announce from the roof top: hey, men and ladies, I am Mr Khan.

The biggest apartheid the state observes is to exclude those who cry for Kauls, wear the colours of Ayodhya, love the wisdom of the civilisational heritage, dare to assert as Hindus in a land which is known as Hindustan too and struggle to live with dignity as Kauls. They are out and exiled. You can see any list of honours and invites to summits and late-evening gala parties to toast a new brand. All that the Kauls are allowed is a space at Jantar Mantar: shout, weep and go back to your tents after a tiring demonstration. Mr Kaul, you have got a wrong name.

A dozen KJs would fly to take you atop the glory - posts and gardens of sympathies if you accept to wear a Khan name and love a Sunita, Pranita, Komal or a Kamini. Well, here you have a sweetheart in Mandira. That goes well with the story.

And you pegged the movie plot on autism.

I wept. It was too much. I wept as a father of a son who needed a story as an Indian. Who cares for his autistic son, his relationship with the western world, his love affair with a young sweet something as a human, as someone whose heart goes beyond being a Hindu, a Muslim or a proselytizing Vatican-centric aggressive soul. Not the one who would declare in newspaper interviews: "I think I am an ambassador for Islam". Shah Rukh is Shah Rukh, not because he is an ambassador for Islam. If that was true, he could have found a room in Deoband. Fine enough. But he became a heartthrob and a famousl star because he is a great actor. He owes everything he has to Indians and not just to Muslims. We love him not because he is some Mr Khan. We love him because he has portrayed the dreams, aspirations, pains, anguish and ups and downs of our daily life. As an Indian. As one of us.

If he wants to use our goodwill and love for strengthening his image as an ambassador for Islam, will we have to think to put up an ambassador for Hindus? That, at least to me, would be unacceptable because I trust everyone: a Khan or a Kaul or a Singh or a Victor. Who represents India represents us all too, including Hindus. My best ambassadorship would be an ambassadorship for the tricolour and not for anything else because I see my Ram and Dharma in that. I don't think even an Amitabh or a Hritik would ever think in terms Shah Rukh has chosen for himself. But shouldn't these big, tall, successful Indians who wear Hindu names make a movie on why Kauls were ousted? Why Godhra occurred in the first place? Why nobody, yes, not a single Muslim, comes forward to take up the cause of the exiled and killed and contemptuously marginalized Kauls whereas every Muslim complainant would have essentially a Hindu advocate to take on Hindus as fiercely as he can?

If you are Mr Khan and found dead on the railway tracks, the entire nation would be shaken. And he was also a Rizwan. May be just a coincidence that our Mr Khan in the movie is also a Rizwan.

Rizwan's death saw the police commissioner punished and cover stories written by missionary writers. But if you are a Sharma or a Kaul and happened to love an Ameena Yusuf in Srinagar, you would soon find your corpse inside the police thana and NONE, not even a small-time local paper would find it worthwhile to waste a column on you. No police constable would be asked to explain how a wrongly detained person was found dead in police custody?

Because the lover found dead inside a police thana was not Mr Khan. No KJ would ever come forward to make a movie on 'My name is Kaul. And I am terror-struck by Khans'.

Give me back my identity as an Indian, Mr. Khan and I would have no problem even wearing your name and appreciating the tender love of an autistic son.

Most Loathsome People of India 2009

By Sandeep

It’s that time of the year again. You might want to check where and how it all started or simply scan the awardees that made it to the 2008 list. Presenting the Most Loathsome People of India circa 2009. Truth be told, the folks who made it this year fiercely vied with each other in loathsomeness and except in very few cases, it was hard to award a rightful place to those who made to the list.

Another pain point was there were just too many contenders, each outclassing the other. To avoid the risk of expanding the list beyond managable proportions, I’ve restricted it to just 12. There was so much loathsomeness this year that lots of people ranked pretty much equally on all parameters of loathsomeness. I had to use a new parameter: uniqueness, or that one factor that put a certain person over and above his/her contender. From this perspective, it is unsurprising that this year’s list of the Most Loathsome People of India consists almost entirely of new people.

Here you go.


Vishnu Som: A real gatecrasher. With exactly one comment regarding the fundamental threat to Indian Muslims. To his credit, he did try to explain at great length how his “fundamental threat” comment was justified but we wish he applied logic instead of psychology, various mindbends, and an inexplicable concern for the tender feelings of Muslims.

Sentence: Mandatory reading of Logic 101 till he scores 100/100.


Vir Sanghvi: My new-found Guru, and mentor for dishing out an unwelcome dose of nauseating secular sanctimony. Not that he hasn’t done this before but there’s a difference in this piece: he explicitly targets a generation of “young readers . mystified by the fuss and annoyed by the refusal of journos to tell them what it was all about.” An open proclamation that the idea is to brainwash these young readers with secular falsehood. His choice of words is equally revealing: the Ayodhya issue is a fuss. He’s right in a way…to a person engrossed in culinary explorations, issues of long term civilizational impact do sound like a “fuss.”

Sentence: Eat until death.


USCIRF: The pontificating–in many ways, literally–quidnunc for displaying exemplary shamelessness in its “report.” For the last time, set your house in order first. At the moment, nothing is going right for you. We’ve survived greater challenges over a few thousand years. We don’t need your idea of religious freedom and related nonsense. Plus, we know the exact nature of the dung that you were fed with.

Sentence: Replace the existing members of the USCIRF with the members of the Saudi royal family.


Mahesh Bhatt: For his successful debut as an actor in real life. Looks like his insanehistrionics worked. There’s no trace of news of this Rahul Bhatt guy now. When reports last came in, Mahesh Bhatt was using every trick in the book–including pressurizing senior police officers to nudge-nudge wink-wink. And this is from the same filmmaker whose movies contain elaborate sermonizing on ethics and crime and “human nature” and society and religion and secularism. Ok the last word explains why Mahesh Bhatt made it to this list.

Sentence: Lock him up in a room and make him watch Saatwaan Aasmaan on endless loop at gunpoint.

Nisha Susan: For pushing an already-dirty public morality deeper into the gutters that our urban youth revel in confusing it for paradise courtesy the Pink Panties “campaign.” Hypothetically, we’d like to know if she’d send pink panties to her parents if they objected to her going to a pub. But then she works amidst a certain brand of liberal people who hold different standards for panties and burqas.

Sentence: Compulsory washing of other people’s underwear for a year wearing a burqa while she’s washing the underwear.


Y S Rajashekhara Reddy: For showing what he’d exactly done to Andhra Pradesh. His chronicles of misdeeds is as gory as it is voluminous. That his death was an eye-opener is an understatement. In a way, it’s a pity that it required his death to open the lid off the murky dealings of the Congress “YSR” party in Andhra Pradesh. An email that was doing rounds a few months ago showed that his combined worth is upwards a few thousand crores.

Sentence: You can’t sentence a dead man.


Kancha Ilaiah: Another gatecrasher who suddenly soared to popularity thanks to our braindead media, which thinks it’s ok to pit a pig against Hindu causes as long as the pig emits appropriate amounts of anti-Hindu stink. This parasite has mooched taxpayer money throughout his despicable career as an academic among other things, and his capacity for harm, given a chance, is incredible.

Sentence: Compulsory reading of the Bhagavad Gita for the rest of his life.

Wendy Doniger: Strictly speaking, she’s not an Indian but she rammed her way through to this Hall of Shame with her latest sex fantasy-fiction about the lurid lives of the Hindus. Her Freudian sex-obsession is equally matched by a variant of McCarthyism. In her sex-fantasy world, the only job of Hindu Gods and Goddesses and sages is to have sex and more sex and more and more sex in different forms and with different men and women. And we only have her word as the proof of that. Anybody who questions her word is a deadly right-wing Hindutva communalist. We only need to figure out what she was deprived of in childhood to understand her “writing.” Welcome, Prof Wendy.

Sentence: Psychoanalyzed by Steve Farmer and Michael Witzel.


Sudheendra Kulkarni: For singlehandedly shoving the BJP’s electoral fortunes down the drain. You only need one man of his calibre to make sure that you’re decimated without a trace. His election “strategy” is a study in stupidity. Equally, his desertion of the party to don a plush job is study in charlatanism.

Sentence: Sculpt a statue of Mamta Banerjee or lose your job.


Rahul Gandhi: For giving us regular Glimpses of the Future History of India under his reins. From performing repeated faux pas and scoring self goals at the hands of the media and university students who’ve been led to believe in the prowess of this dynamic, sexy young leader, Rahul Gandhi has accomplished tremendously. As only a functionary of the Congress party, the Crown Prince is giving us a foretaste of where he’ll take us if he becomes the Prime Minister. “Discovering” that Arunachal Pradesh is actually somewhere on the Indian map ranks as one of those accomplishments I mentioned.

Sentence: Draw a map of India and point the exact location of Arunachal Pradesh. Organize a Fake the Nation show on Congress News Network-Islamic Broadcasting Network and show the cute map to the nation.


Manmohan Singh: Who is he?

Sentence: Nothing. Really. Because he doesn’t exist.


Burkha Dutt: Zooms up from #13 to #1 this year. Her stellar performance in covering 26/11, her courageous battle with the Naval chief, and her consistent criticism of, and sending legal notices to intimidate helpless bloggers have contributed in a huge way to her success in this Hall of Shame. Not the one to rest content on past laurels, she continues to assault her yeowoman contributions to maintaining the health of Indian democracy week after week in She the People. We strongly suspect she’ll retain her #1 position when this list is drawn in 2010.

Sentence: Mute her mike each time she speaks.

Love Jihad- Jihadi Romeo remanded

TIMES NEWS NETWORK



Kolar: A Hindu girl was kidnapped and forced into marriage by a youth belonging to a minority community in Kolar, though police are not too sure if it is a case of love jihad.

Preethi, 19, from the Vysya community, was missing for the past 10 days. Her father filed a missing complaint with the Kolar police, who found that a lot of calls were made to Preethi’s mobile from a particular number. Later, it was found that Imran, resident of KGF who was running a mobile shop in Kolar, had made the calls.

The police finally traced the couple to Gulbarga, when they were about to board a Hyderabad-bound bus.

According to circle inspector Renuka Prasad, Preethi told the police that Imran, son of Syed Hyder, a reserve police sub-inspector at KGF, had forcibly taken her away from her house. After taking her to Bangalore, he had snatched her mobile and threatened her. He had married her in a ‘nikah’ ceremony at a mosque, and got her signatures on a few papers. Preethi said she was not aware what she was doing, as she was in a “disturbed state of mind”. She also told police that Imran forced her to wear a burqa.

Renuka Prasad said the police brought them to Kolar late on Saturday evening. Based on Preethi’s statement, the police took up a case of kidnap against Imran. He confessed he was in love with Preethi. Police are investigating Imran’s antecedents. He was remanded to judicial custody till January 2