Peace for all!

Aarakshan: ignored an important issue of reservations

2011-08-29T17:06:00.001-07:00

The movie Aarakshan conveniently ignored IMO the most important issue plaguing reservations, since it was inconvenient to the narrative & to the conclusion.

In my experience, wealthy reserved candidates were the beneficiaries of the quota. There was the odd struggling candidate with whom everyone sympathized & helped and no one grudged their getting in.

The wealthy candidates get a great deal. They have great resources at their disposal: tutorials & study books. They have a much lower cut-off for prime institutions & courses. They went through the IITs & IIMs with lesser cut-off marks & are very well placed & successful in their careers. And no, they don't give up their benefit for the really deserving brethren.

The govt keeps trying to avoid implementation of the creamy layer. Fake certificates to avoid the creamy layer tag are easily obtainable by paying a bribe. While the pro-reservation organizations are more vigilant about tracking down fake caste certificates, they choose to ignore the creamy layer violations.

I have a simple solution. Implement & enforce economic criteria. The really poor & struggling people across the board, who are desperate, will benefit. And the really backward castes who really struggle for a living, such as the kids of cobblers, maids etc will form the majority of the economically deprived class & they will benefit the most.

It is absolutely a travesty of justice when the economically & socially advantageous get all their benefits at the cost of their brethren who really deserve it.

Ratlam communal riots

2010-09-27T11:02:00.000-07:00

...
6. The mob torched about 40 vehicles, including those of the police and presspersons. A small temple was also set on fire.
...

Why is there no hue & cry about the religious structure of one community being set on fire?
In a world with equal rights for everyone, there should be the same coverage for all atrocities on all faiths.

Double standards in favor of Islam and against Hinduism

2010-09-14T08:44:00.000-07:00

Communal riots in Deganga: Hindu temples desecrated
http://www.dailypioneer.com/282399/Anatomy-of-a-riot-foretold.html
http://hindusamhati.blogspot.com/2010/09/deganga-riot-pics-september-2010.html

Global outrage at the proposed burning by Terry Jones

Why is there global outrage at the burning of the religious book of one religion but no global outrage for the actual desecration of Hindu temples?

Double standards.

Double standards for mainstream media vs bloggers

2009-01-31T14:57:00.000-08:00

http://shripriya.com/blog/tag/chyetanya-kunte/

A nice critique on NDTV & Barkha Dutt.

Kanchan Gupta on Slumdog Millionaire

2009-01-24T10:42:00.000-08:00

http://www.dailypioneer.com/152164/Slumdog-is-about-defaming-Hindus.html

An analysis on the Economist article

2008-11-30T02:05:00.000-08:00

http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12701072

My comments on the article below.

"Although there is a general impression that the
two-decade-long insurgency in Indian-administered Kashmir--the
country's only Muslim-majority state--is in remission, it still
festers. Last year the conflict killed more than 800 people. This year
more than 30 unarmed demonstrators were killed in mass protests against
Indian rule. Tension there is again high as a state election, which
separatist leaders want boycotted, is under way."

Note that there is absolutely no mention of the Kashmir Pandits. And info on the Amarnath land transfer. Neutral articles will talk about both sides of a story, and they can tilt towards one opinion based on analysis.

Kashmir's crisis is in remission, at least till PDP & NC played politics with Amarnath. Note how there are no statistics on the killings in previous years. To be neutral, all the way till 1987, when it started.

"Elsewhere in India,
the Muslim minority is economically disadvantaged. A report the
government commissioned in 2006 found Muslims across the country
faring, on average, worse than the Hindu majority in education, jobs
and income."

I can't fault the author here, he is quoting Justice Sachar. However, there are other arguments against Sachar's analysis & methodologies. For instance, lack of comparison with minorities in other countries.

http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=163&page=8
For comparison with say, Pakistan, check: http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=163&page=11

Check out some details on our budget for 2008, after the report, which goes unmentioned:
http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/feb/29budget38.htm

===Budget===

"SC, ST, OBC and Minorities

42. Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, socially and educationally backward classes, and minorities will continue to receive special attention.

Development and Finance Corporations

43. Development and Finance Corporations have been set up for certain disadvantaged groups. I propose to contribute additional equity to these corporations in the following manner:

Rs. Crore1
National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation 75.00
2
Three National Finance and Development Corporations for Weaker Sections comprising

(i) Safai Karamcharis

(ii) Scheduled Castes

(iii) Backward Classes 106.50
3
National/State Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporations 50.00
4
National Handicapped Development Corporation 9.00

Scholarships

44. In previous Budgets, we had announced a slew of pre- and post-matric scholarship programmes for SC, ST, OBC and minorities. All of them will be continued in 2008-09 with adequate funds as summarised below:

Scheduled Castes Rs.804 crore

Scheduled Tribes Rs.195 crore

Other Backward Classes Rs.164 crore

Minorities (post-matric) Rs.100 crore

45. I propose to allocate a sum of Rs.75 crore in 2008-09 to the Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Programme. As Honourable Members are aware, this programme supports SC and ST students pursuing M.Phil and PhD courses.

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

46. Following the practice initiated in 2005-06, I have included in the Budget documents a statement on the schemes for the welfare of SCs and STs. I have provided Rs.3,966 crore for schemes benefiting SCs and STs exclusively and Rs.18,983 crore for schemes where at least 20 per cent of the benefits are earmarked for SCs and STs.

Minorities

47. The allocation to the Ministry of Minority Affairs will be increased from Rs.500 crore in 2007-08 to Rs.1,000 crore in 2008-09. Government has taken up the report of the Justice Rajindar Sachar Committee for speedy implementation. Apart from the schemes commenced in 2007-08, it is proposed to implement the following schemes/measures in 2008-09:

� a multi-sectoral development plan for each of the 90 minority concentration districts will be drawn up at a cost of Rs.3,780 crore. The allocation in 2008-09 will be Rs.540 crore;

� a pre-matric scholarship scheme with an allocation of Rs.80 crore next year;

� a scheme for modernising Madrassa education for which a provision of Rs.45.45 crore has been made in 2008-09;

� 256 branches of public sector banks have been opened this year until December 2007 in districts with substantial minority population. 288 more will be opened by March 2008 and many more in
2008-09; and

� continuing the exercise started this year, more candidates belonging to the minority communities will be recruited to the Central Para-Military Forces.

48. I also propose to provide Rs.60 crore to enhance the corpus fund of the Maulana Azad Education Foundation.

=== Budget Ends ===

Some Kerala specific articles here on whether minorities have been oppressed:
http://rajeev2004.blogspot.com/2008/03/anatomy-of-crime-how-they-destroyed_02.html
http://rajeev2004.blogspot.com/2008/05/facts-about-those-oppressed-mohammedans.html

"And Muslims have occasionally been subject to hideous
communal slaughter. More than 2,000 died in a pogrom in the state of
Gujarat in 2002, for which the perpetrators have never been brought to
justice.

That pogrom followed allegations that a Muslim mob had been responsible
for the deaths of Hindu activists. This highlights one of the dangers
facing India now: of a rise in communal tension and tit-for-tat
violence."

The official figures for Gujarat, I believe, are around 800. The rioting consumed approx 30% Hindus & 70% Muslims. By Goebellian speak: "truth by repeated assertion",this figure has increased to 2000, and nowadays, I see 3000. Mostly Muslim has changed to 100% Muslim.This makes the article no longer neutral & truthful. The author used the Sachar report earlier published by the govt, but doesn't use the official figures published by the govt in this case.

"In this it may now be constrained by the
recent arrest of alleged Hindu bombers, seeking to avenge the attacks
by the Indian Mujahideen. But the emergence of that new
phenomenon--Hindu terrorism--is scarcely a comfort."

The state should be neutral. Punish anyone regardless of religion. However,look at the article.When dealing with Islamists, the author, like other currently accused 'pseudo-secular' authors such as Somini Sengupta of NYT, uses the term: militant or extremist instead of terrorist. Check out some reader comments: http://community.nytimes.com/article/comments/2008/11/29/world/asia/29mumbai.html

"Islamist extremists"

"He has annoyed jihadists by
describing Kashmiri militants as "terrorists" (as India has long wanted
them to be known)." Note the total lack of reference to what the 'militants' did to Kashmiri Pandits. http://www.kashmiri-pandit.org/sundry/genocide.html

"where since the Bali bombings
in 2002 the extremists have been in retreat; or in Iraq, where the
Sunni "awakening" illuminated the resentment many Iraqis felt for the
terrorists. Killing fellow Muslims has been the group's biggest
mistake. But countries where Muslims are in a minority may offer
terrorists a better target."

I do agree with the conclusion of the article. Indian muslims follow a mosque called the Barelvi mosque. Some mosques actually have signs (published in India Today) that fundamentalists aren't allowed to pray there. Saudi Arabia has been trying to convert the entire world to a 'purer' form of Islam called Deobandi Wahhabbi, which is fanatical. A lot of muslims also get 'radicalized' during their Haj pilgrimage. I have no idea why India is the only country in the world that actually sponsors this, in spite of being secular.

However, Britain has managed to cultivate an intelligence network among the Muslim moderates, who have provided sufficient intelligence to avoid a repeat of London & Heathrow.Even in India, the recent string of arrests including the Yahoo principal engineer, Peerboy, was acknowledged as good intelligence inputs from moderate Muslims.

I'm not completely sure about Pakistan's long-term & strategic gameplan in the Mumbai attacks though.

Let off on religion

2008-11-27T20:36:00.000-08:00

All the hostages were asked to reveal their religion. When the Muezzinoglus said they were Muslims, their captors told them that they would not be harmed. The other three Caucasian women were removed from the room next day, and the terrorists informed the Muezzinoglus that they had been shot.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Turkish_couple_let_off_by_terrorists_for_being_Muslims/articleshow/3766609.cms

A Muslim excommunicated for buying a Laddoo

2008-09-25T23:44:00.000-07:00

Very sad... When will intolerance end...

Bitter ladoo for Muslim Ganesh fan

A carpenter had to apologise to his community leaders to be “re-admitted” to his faith from which he was “excommunicated” for participating in an auction for a ladoo during the Ganesh Utsav.

Mohammed Yusuf, who lives in Borabanda locality of Hyderabad, has been participating in the Ganesh Utsav for years with his friends and co-workers. This year, he wanted to make a contribution for the Ganesh Puja.

During an open auction for the ladoo held in the hand of an idol of Ganesha, he outbid his rivals by paying Rs 12,000 for the sweetmeat. The money collected through auction goes to the Ganesh Utsav fund.

The Radhakrishna Ganesh Utsav Samiti, the organisers of the puja in Borabanda, felicitated Yusuf, presenting him with a garland and shawl. Next day, the city paper of a local daily carried his picture with a small write-up on the auction.

It didn't go down well with the local members of the community. A meeting was called and Yusuf excommunicated—they used the word kharij. He was told that he was no more a Muslim and should move out of the locality with his family.

Yusuf, who is the only earning member of the family, called on community elders and begged for mercy. He was “accepted” back in the fold after he read the Kalma several times.

“I did not know that my action was shirk (prohibited) in Islam. I purchased the ladoo in the auction as it is said to bestow one with good fortune. I decided to follow elders' advise and put an end to the controversy, " Yusuf said.

“It is not permissible in Islam. He should not have done that. Now that he has accepted his mistake, we have taken him back in the community,” a community elder, Yakub, said.

Fatwa for celebrating Ganesh Utsav

2008-09-12T15:35:00.000-07:00

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/fatwa-against-salman-for-attending-ganesh-puja/49007-8.html?from=search-relatedstories

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/salmans-father-fumes-against-fatwa-warned-again/73455-8.html?from=rssfeed

Per Islam, if a Mohammedan man marries a Kaffir (in this case, a Hindu), the sons are de-facto Mohammedans, bound to follow Islam or be penalized, not members of both religions, or a person of choice.

Mehbooba Sayeed calls for murder

2008-08-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

akin Jinnah in Direct Action.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/aug/24amar1.htm
"The only way temperatures can be brought down is to open the Muzzafarbad-Srinagar road. If the army could be withdrawan from the state of Punjab after the militancy there was under control, why can't we do the same in Jammu and Kashmir [Images] in an honourable manner. Many nationals leaders wanted to catch me by my throat for making that statement at the all-party meet called by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images]," she said.

Raising her voice she accused the members of the shrine board of being the most corrupt persons who should be shot dead.

"The need of the hour is that an amicable solution should be found to the Kashmir problem. Do not go by the statements of politicians as they say one thing while in Delhi and another while in Srinagar [Images]. In case of the National Conference, Omar Abdullah says he would resign from Parliament if force is used against the people of Kashmir while Farooq Sahib says that greater autonomy would satisfy the people. But the truth is that no leader is in control of what is happening on the ground," Mehbooba countered the stiff and pointed questions flung in her face by the national media.

She conceded that the gun culture had failed to yield desired results. The people, according to her are peaceful. "Our party is against violence from either side whether it comes from across the border or Indian side. We will stand against the violence. I floated the theory of double currency as it does not post a threat to the unity and integrity of India," she said.

China re-educates & detains people for applying to protest

2008-08-24T10:48:00.000-07:00

http://www.rediff.com/sports/2008/aug/24close.htm
US ADMONITION

Rogge said the IOC could not force change on a state "or solve all the ills of the world", but that the Games had promoted a heightened awareness of the environment in China and left an array of venues to nurture future champions.

He had less to say though when confronted with the tale of two women in their seventies, who were sentenced to a year's re-education for applying to stage a protest during the Games.

"The IOC is not a sovereign organisation and we have to respect Chinese law," he said.

The United States took a tougher line, pressing for the immediate release of eight Americans detained for staging protests in favour of Tibetan independence during the Games.

"We are disappointed that China has not used the occasion of the Olympics to demonstrate greater tolerance and openness," the US embassy said in a statement.

FACT USA on ethnic cleansing of Hindus

2008-08-09T12:02:00.000-07:00

http://www.factusa.org/

Kashmiri Pandits, don't return to your homeland

2008-08-09T12:01:00.001-07:00

Ethnic cleansing continues as always.
http://www.telegraphindia.com//1080804/jsp/nation/story_9643825.jsp
“I will advise Kashmiri Pandits not to take a foolish step to return to the Valley. And those leaders who have sympathy with the Pandits’ return, leave Kashmir and stay with them in Jammu,” Dar said.
Dar had founded the Hizb in 1989 but was dislodged a year later by Syed Salahuddin and forced to set up a new militant group by the name of Muslim Mujahideen.

Ethnic cleansing of Hindus=ok, Amarnath land transfer=bad

2008-08-06T09:48:00.000-07:00

Let us take a hard look at the arguments presented by the locals who opposed the transfer of land:

1. The allotment would have adversely affected the environment around the area. One wonders where these tree-hugging environmentalists were when the same government allowed the felling of 10,000 forest trees to build the 89 km-long Mughal road.

40 hectares of land that was going to be used to provide temporary shelters and night-time facilities to pilgrims was in fact going to help in proper maintenance of the current day waste that actually pollutes the environment. But who can argue with senseless politicians who instigate people to come out on the streets?

2. The allotment is the government's ploy to settle Hindus from outside the state to change the demographics of the valley. Look, who is talking! One has to only go back 18 years in the history and check who changed the demographics of the valley.

Islamic terrorists changed the demographics of the valley by ethnically cleansing Kashmiri Hindus from the valley. I wonder where these we-do-not-want-to-change-demographics-folks were when Kashmiri Hindus were slaughtered and the valley's demographics were altered.

One would like to ask a few questions: a. Is 40 hectares of land enough to settle so many Hindus that it would change the demographics of the valley?
b. By putting this argument of demographic change, are the valley's Muslims implying that Hindus are not welcome in the valley anymore? And I do not mean the Hindus from outside Kashmir. I mean the Hindus from the state of Jammu & Kashmir itself.

What if the Hindus, who hold the state subject certificate of J&K state and are legally allowed to purchase land in any part of the state want to purchase land in the area around the Holy Amarnath? Are the valley's Muslims saying that those Hindus cannot buy the land there and settle down? Is that what they are implying? Are they trying to protect the environment by preventing the Hindus from settling in the valley?

Another argument Kashmiri Muslims present is that the land cannot be allotted to the Shrine Board because Article 370 does not allow anyone outside of J&K to own land. Their argument is that since the J&K governor is the chairman of the board and he is an outsider, this transfer of land is illegal.

How dumb does one have to be to understand that the land is transferred to the Shrine Board which is an institution based in the state of J&K and created by the J&K government. The land is not transferred to the chairman or the CEO of the board per se.

Having touched upon the outlandish arguments of those who oppose the allotment of land, let us look at some facts and the real story:

It was during the first three years of the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed-Ghulam Nabi Azad coalition government that the original proposal of land transfer was initiated and cleared. It was under Mufti Sayeed's leadership that his forest minister Qazi Mohammad Afzal and law minister Muzzafar Hussain Baig originally cleared the proposal. It just so happened that due to red tape, the proposal was finally approved by the cabinet when Azad had taken over as chief minister during the second three-year part of the six-year term.

The same PDP led by Mufti Sayeed was originally okay with this proposal. But as soon as the PDP smelt that terrorist outfits like the Hizbul Mujahideen [Images] were not in favour of the allotment of land and realised that it could become a polarising issue to whip up sentiments to garner votes in the upcoming assembly election, it backtracked.

Since it is an election year, the National Conference and other smaller political parties would not let the PDP cash in on this opportunity alone. They jumped into the fray and whipped up sentiments by fooling the local Kashmiri Muslims. And that leaves the Congress. How could the Congress not try to cash in on this polarising issue in an election year?

Azad did not waste any time and revoked his cabinet's decision to appease the Kashmiri Muslim vote bank. He did not just stop there. In addition to revoking his own order, he also effectively disbanded the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board. Now that is some level of appeasement! That is the real story behind the story.

It is an issue created by Mufti Sayeed to polarise the vote banks. It is his design of playing politics with the religious sentiments of lakhs of Hindus from all over the country.

Now that we know the real story behind the story, how about the Hindu pilgrims who want to visit the shrine and what about their fundamental rights to practice their religion with complete security, dignity and honour?

Isn't it a shame that Hindus living in India, where 80 per cent of population is Hindu, cannot freely visit the shrine and expect better facilities? It is only in India that the majority community has to make all the sacrifices in favour of minorities because our politicians believe in appeasing Muslims at the cost of Hindus.

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on a television debate on this issue asked why there is a need for land and new facilities when the pilgrimage has been going on for many years.

Does Omar Abdullah mean to say that there is no need to improve the facilities provided during the treacherous pilgrimage? Is he implying that if the yatris were okay for so many hundred years, then why change and improve the facilities?

I have never heard him say such things with regards to the Haj pilgrimage. Every year Muslims from Kashmir and the rest of the country want better facilities and subsidies for Haj pilgrims. But when it comes to providing better facilities to Shri Amarnath pilgrims, it becomes a sore point for Kashmiri Muslims and their leaders.

Heavy rains, snowstorms, landslides and hostile environment took away 256 lives during the yatra in 1996. And Omar Abdullah has the audacity to promote the status quo!

Some of you might argue that it was not the valley's Muslims, but the political parties and terrorists who opposed the land transfer order and forced people to come out on the streets.

I can buy that argument, but that does not absolve the valley's people from their responsibility? They cannot always support these fundamentalist forces and then at the same time claim innocence.

They did the same in 1989 and in the early 1990s when they either stood as mute spectators or as vocal supporters while Kashmiri Hindus were ethnically cleansed. As a good citizen, it is incumbent upon them to raise their voice against these dreaded forces and stop this madness.

Hindu Man set on fire for marrying Muslim girl

2008-08-02T16:55:00.000-07:00

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=&id=d8485384-7a2a-4dba-abef-70e289861a52&MatchID1=4736&TeamID1=8&TeamID2=6&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1194&PrimaryID=4736&Headline=Man+set+on+fire+for+marrying+Muslim+girl&strParent=strParentID

About Bangladeshi Hindus

2008-07-30T19:17:00.001-07:00

BABRI MASJID DEMOLITION IN INDIA - WHAT HAPPENED IN BANGLADESH IN RETALIATION

----------------------------------------------------------------------

It is astonishing that in our country, the Congress and other secular parties, including communists, are in the forefront, in observing Babri Divas - a ploy to please the muslims - sheer vote bank politics. What happened to hindus and hindu-temples in Bangladesh when Babri masjid was demolished in India. The following is the brief report:

"almost every public temple in entire Bangladesh and many thousands of private shrines inside the Hindu houses were damaaged and many completely destroyed. Even the shrine of the holy mother of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His consort in His ancestral home of Dhaka Dakshin near the Sylhet town were destroyed. The library of the Indian information office and the Indian airlines office in Mattijheel in Dhaka were attacked by muslim mobs and set on fire.

About 25000 houses, 3600 places of worship and 2500 commercial establihments were destroyed in Bangladesh due to severe mob attack in different districts of Bangladesh on December 6, 1992 and onwards. During this holocaust many people were killed, 1925 injured and 2600 women were raped and abducted. MANY OF THE ABDUCTED YOUNG GIRLS ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN SHIPPED AND SOLD IN MUSLIMS COUNTRIES IN MIDDLE EAST FOR PROSTITUTION AND SLAVERY. Property worth nearly 200 crore takkas was either destroyed or looted.

Bhola district had majority of hinduj population. Till 1992, practically no hindu family had migrataed to India. The hindus mastered the art of growing good crops on marshy lands. Nearly 50000 hindu families were victims of genocide in this district. The muslim mobs, mostly composed of Jammat e Islam goondas and members of the Awami League Party violently looted, damaged and set fire to the houses and commercial centres and temples in the entire district towns and villages. Practically, everything was either looted or destroyed. The condition of women and children was pitiable as there was no food, no shelter and no clothes.Three hundred young girls, mostly minors, were raped, even gang-raped, in front of their parents and families. In one village alone, more than 200 women were abducted and have never been heard of again.

All political parties in India and the pseudo-secular media, have been apologising to the muslims for the destruction of Babri Masjid. Their stupid secular action, provided justification and fuel for the muslims for rioting and resulting in the genocide of hindus in Bangladesh.

See, for the demolition of a dilapitated structure in India, how the hindus in Bangladesh had suffered. Jyoti Basu, Somenath Chattrjee, Buddhadheb Bhattacharjee, Siddarth Sankarray, all kept quiet - mind you, they are all refugees from East Pakistan.

Taslima Nasrin in her boojk LOJJA had remarked that HINDUS SEEM TO HAVE THE HIDE OF A RHINOCEROS - meaning Hindus are so thick-skinned that they could not help their own brethren. What a shame for Hindus!

I request the learned Editor to bring these facts to the notice of esteemed readers.

Thanking you,

Yours sincerely

N.Mohan

42-4 canal road, thiruvanmiyur,chennai41 29/7/08

P.S all the gruesome details are available in the following books:

A SUPPRESSED CHAPTER IN HISTORY - THE EXODUS OF HINDUS FROM EAST PAKISTAN AND BANGLADESH 1947-2006 BY TATHAGATA ROY

THE PROLONGED PARTILTION AND ITS POGROMS - TESTIMONIES ON VIOLENCE AGAISNT

HINDUS IN EAST BENGL 1946-64:

p.s.s DEAL ALL - PLEASE BRING THIS INFORMATION TO THE NOTICE OF MAXIMUM NUMBER OF PEOPLE - THANKS

Mizoram: Conversion to Catholic=good; Conversion to Judaism=bad

2008-07-10T14:56:00.001-07:00

Hundreds of newly-converted tribal Jews in India's northeastern state of Mizoram feel devastated after New Delhi refused them permission to migrate to Israel following protests by Christian groups, community leaders said Wednesday.

Original article: http://www.newkerala.com/one.php?action=fullnews&id=83145
Blog reference: http://conversionagenda.blogspot.com/2008/07/church-demands-ban-on-conversion-to.html

Inequality=equality in Communist Nepal

2008-07-10T14:53:00.000-07:00

"Kathmandu, July 9: The Nepal Maoists, who played a key role in abolishing the 240-year-old Hindu monarchy and turning the country into a secular state, have vowed to ensure special rights to the minority Muslim community in the Himalayan nation.
“It is not enough to provide equal rights to the Muslims but they should be given special rights as compensation for having been suppressed,” CPN-Maoist Chairman Prachanda told a gathering of the Muslim

Prachanda, who is poised to lead the new government in Nepal, promised to form a ‘Muslim Commission’ for the welfare of the minority community and develop historically important pilgrimage sites of the community as tourist destinations.

In the past, the Maoist cadres were known to slaughter cows in remote villages and even punish people for celebrating Hindu festivals like Dussera and Diwali."

Equality for Hindus & Kashmir-TOI article on Syamaprasad Mukherjee

2008-07-09T00:33:00.000-07:00

Amarnath Pilgrimage land transfer stopped=secular

2008-06-29T09:49:00.001-07:00

"Azad said while the state government will look after all the logistics including security, lodging, boarding, temporary shelters on way to cave shrine, the shrine board will look after the religious rituals associated with the annual yatra.

Asked if the controversial order transferring the land to the board would be rescinded, the chief minister said the state cabinet will take action based on the governor's letter.

"When the shrine board does not need the land what is the importance of the order (transferring the land to shrine board)?" Azad asked when persistently queried about it.

Azad again sought to clarify that the land in question had not been transferred to the shrine board as formalities for the same had not been completed.

For the transfer of land, the money had to be deposited (by the board) with the government and the land had to be demarcated. None of these things have happened. The order just remains on paper, the chief minister added.

In his letter to Azad, the governor said: "I appeal to the leaders of all sections of the society to urgently call upon their followers to halt the ongoing protests with immediate effect so that peace and normalcy are restored and the Amarnath Yatra, which is a shining symbol of the deeply secular traditions of Kashmir people can go on." ."

Amarnath pilgrim facilities-communal; Haj facilities secular

2008-06-27T18:59:00.000-07:00

Can you spot the classic 'double-speak' in this article?

A snipped article follows:
"The specious grounds for the the Peoples Democratic Party's objections are that the implementation of the decision of the state government would change the "eco-cultural character" of the state. What is the nature of this eco-cultural character of Jammu and Kashmir that is so fragile that it cannot survive the transfer of a small tract of land? Does the Kashmir valley have only a "Muslim" character? What happened to the much-touted Kashmiriyat? Or is that a politically correct platitude that has become an inconvenience to be ignored now that most of the Kashmiri Pandits have been hounded out of their homes in the Valley to Jammu, Delhi and elsewhere in India? Kashmiri politicians owe it to the rest of India to clarify their position on this issue.

To my mind, whether or not the land in question should be transferred to the SASB is only a technical question, not the heart of the issue. The more important thing is whether the state government feels that it has an obligation to improve the facilities that would make the pilgrimage of thousands of Hindu devotees more secure and more comfortable. For centuries pilgrims have been making the arduous trip to Amarnath cave without the benefit of any facilitation by the state. They relied on the local people for food, accommodation and other facilities. They lived in tents. But a caring State in independent India can and should do more.

It would be instructive to see what the Government of India does for Haj pilgrims visiting Mecca and Medina. The government is, in the words of External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, "committed to ensure that the best possible arrangements are put in place for the comfort and well-being of Indian pilgrims to facilitate their sacred pilgrimage." The "welfare and well-being of Haj pilgrims," he says, "is always a matter of utmost concern to the government."

In keeping with these public policy statements, the Government of India makes elaborate arrangements for the welfare of Haj pilgrims and strives to improve the facilities provided to them every year. That is how it should be. The Government of India, and the ministry of external affairs in particular, deserves credit for providing perhaps the best arrangements that any government makes for their Haj pilgrims.

And what exactly does the Government of India do? For starters, it provides an airfare subsidy to about 100,000 pilgrims selected by the Haj Committee of India who go for Haj annually. Pilgrims pay only Rs 12,000 for their air travel. This figure has remained unchanged for at least a decade or more.

According to official figures, this subsidy was Rs 280 crores in 2006, or about Rs 28,000 per pilgrim. Today, with rising fuel prices, this figure would have gone up to Rs 350-400 crores. Although there is a 2006 Allahabad high court judgment ruling against this subsidy, it continues to be given because the government got the Supreme Court to pass a stay order.

Add to this the losses suffered by Air India, and the inconvenience to passengers because its planes are diverted to carry Haj pilgrims. For the convenience of pilgrims, charter flights are operated directly from 16 airports in India to Saudi Arabia. Returning pilgrims can transport 10 litres of holy Zam Zam water with them free of cost. At Delhi airport there is a separate Haj terminal. To improve the comfort of pilgrims, Air India has been advised to use wide-body jets in future for their Haj flights.

Great attention and care to Haj matters is given at the highest levels of government. The United Progressive Alliance government has successfully lobbied with the Saudi government to increase the quota for pilgrims from India, as a result of which the annual quota has increased by 38,000 over the last four years. It will go up by a further 3,000 or so this year because of the exertions of External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee during his visit to Saudi Arabia in April this year.

There is a separate Haj cell in the ministry of external affairs. The Haj Committee of India has its own premises in Mumbai. Similarly the State Haj Committees have their own premises in various other Indian cities. These facilities have been built on land provided by the state governments.

Very high priority is given to Haj matters in the mandate given by the government to both the Indian ambassador in Riyadh and the Indian consul general in Jeddah. Every government in Delhi has ensured that only Muslims are appointed to these posts, a practical decision intended to facilitate their travel to Mecca and Medina, where non-Muslims are not allowed. There is also a separate consul for Haj matters in the Indian consulate general in Jeddah.

Accommodation in Mecca and Medina is decided keeping in mind the need to provide maximum convenience and comfort to the pilgrims. Typically, all accommodation has lifts, telephones, running water, electricity and telephone at the minimum. There is total computerisation of pilgrim location and movement. During Haj, a large contingent of seasonal local staff, supervisors, data entry operators, as well as drivers and messengers (whose job is to round up and bring home safely elderly pilgrims who may have got lost) is appointed by the consulate general of India, Jeddah, during the Haj period.

For Haj 2007, a contingent of 115 doctors (including 63 specialists with post-graduate degrees) and 141 nurses and other para-medical staff, 3 coordinators, 46 assistant Haj officers, 165 Haj assistants and 186 Khadimul Hujjaj were sent from India on short-term deputation to Saudi Arabia. Special attention is given to medical facilities for the pilgrims.

Some of the facilities provided by the government are: arrangements for polio, meningitis and influenza vaccinations for pilgrims before departure; a 75-bed hospital and 12 branch offices-cum-dispensaries in Mecca; a 15-bed hospital and 6 branch offices-cum-dispensaries in Medina; three medical teams at Jeddah airport to provide medical care round the clock to Haj pilgrims; 17 ambulances in Mecca and Medina; supply of medicines, medical supplies and critical medical equipment from India. All this adds up to the total money spent by the government to facilitate a hassle-free Haj pilgrimage each year for tens of thousands of Muslims from India.

Perhaps our self-righteous and petty Kashmiri politicians in India's only Muslim-majority state should reflect over these facts and tell us whether they think it is at least their moral if not political obligation to be more caring and sensitive to Hindu pilgrims visiting Amarnath. If we can do so much for Indians going on a pilgrimage abroad, should we not be able to do as much if not better for pilgrims at home?

For a start, should not the Jammu and Kashmir government at least try to match the facilities given to pilgrims to Vaishno Devi shrine, which is located in the same state? And is it too much to expect our politicians and other "secular" leaders to be a bit more courageous and vocal in trying to knock some sense into the heads of shortsighted and irresponsible Kashmiri politicians?"

Nepal: 'Democratic' Prachanda warns media

2008-06-01T17:28:00.000-07:00

The history of communist totalitarianism repeats itself!

http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/may/31nepal.htm
"Now we will no longer tolerate criticism as we have already been elected by the people," he said, adding that the other newspapers criticising the Maoist will also meet the same fate.

I am convinced that AID is communist

2008-05-29T12:37:00.000-07:00

I saw posters from AID supporting Binayak Sen, and wanting to march to the Indian Consulate demanding his release. Binayak Sen has close ties to Maoists.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Editorial/In_defence_of_Salwa_Judum/articleshow/3071720.cms

AID also trashes Salwa Judum, while remaining completely mum on Maoist & Naxalite violence.

In Maryland, I saw a lot of dedicated individuals working with AID, because they wanted to help India. I also liked that AID was 'founded' on Gandian ideals and claimed to be 'secular'.

With a bunch of subsequent events, with Sandeep Pandey's junket peace march to Pakistan, reports on AID speeches praising Pakistan trashing India, while remaining completely mum on Islamic terrorism raised doubts in my mind.

With the latest episode, I have come to the unfortunate conclusion that AID is communist.

330 cr for Godhra riot hit, what about other victims?

2008-05-27T11:31:00.000-07:00

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: K B
Subject: Rs 330 cr package for Godhra riot-hit

Here is a package for the post Godhra riot victims - mostly Muslims - following the Policy of priority for Muslims on national resources by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh !

Why not such a package for all victims of riots and Jihadi terrorism, Maoist and Naxalite terrorism, and particularly for the 300,000 Kashmiri Hindus who have been violently thrown out of their homes by the Islamic terrorists and lived under pathetic conditions during the last 20 years?

KB
=====================

Rs 330 cr package for Godhra riot-hit
May 22, 2008
http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=444504&sid=nat

New Delhi : In a significant decision, the Centre on Thursday announced an over Rs 330 crore relief package for the victims of the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat.

A meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh approved a proposal for payment of additional ex-gratia to the victims as also towards damaged residential properties and uninsured commercial property.

The compensation package for Gujarat riot victims will keep them on par with the measures taken in respect of victims of the anti-Sikh riots in 1984.

The next of kin of 1,169 people killed in the riots would be paid Rs 3.5 lakh ex-gratia in addition to the amount paid by the state government, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said after the cabinet meeting in the capital.

This would amount to an additional liability of Rs 40.91 crore to the exchequer, he said.

A sum of Rs 1.25 lakh would also be paid to each of the 2,548 people injured after deducting the amount already paid to them by the state government, Chidambaram said, adding this would cost the central exchequer Rs 29.64 crore.

The victims, whose residential properties had been damaged, would get an additional ex-gratia of ten times the amount given by the state government after excluding the amount already paid by the state. The additional liability on this count would come to Rs 262.44 crore, he said.

The Gujarat government had paid Rs 30.10 crore for damage to residential properties.

The Cabinet also gave its approval for grant of additional ex-gratia for damage to uninsured commercial and industrial properties, Chidambaram said.

In these cases, the ex-gratia would be ten times the amount given by the state government, deducting the amount already paid, he said.

"Data on uninsured commercial properties are being collected and it may not be possible to give the quantum of funds required. But the intention is to give some compensation to the uninsured commercial properties which were damaged," the Minister said.

Replying to questions on the list of victims, Chidambaram said "these are the agreed figures. The list is in respect of which compensation has been paid by the state government."

"Bangladeshi" Mohammedans persecuting Hindus in Assam

2008-05-26T17:33:00.000-07:00

http://rajeev2004.blogspot.com/2008/05/bangladeshi-mohammedans-persecuting.html
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080050574&ch=5/21/2008+8:45:00+PM

Bangladeshis pose a threat to Vaishnavas

Wednesday, May 21, 2008 (Guwahati)

Illegal Bangladeshi migrants in Assam were encroaching land of nearly 900 Vaishnava monasteries across the state threatening the existence and safety of the people there, a former director general of museums claimed.

The 16th century monasteries set up with land provided by the Ahom and Koch kings now had most of their huge estates encroached upon by the migrants resorting to forcible taking away of idols and valuable antiquities, dacoity, molestation and other criminal activities, said former director general of museums Rabin Choudhury.

He added that even some religious heads had been killed by them who has been engaged in the protection work of the monasteries since 1984.

Quoting a report, he said that about 32 monasteries land were under encroachment threatening the past glory of these Vaishnava institutions of culture, literature, music and religion.
In another judgement of the Board of Revenue, Choudhury said that land belonging to a particular religious institution and people belonging to another religion cannot encroach upon people belonging to other religions.

Despite this, he asserted that the government ignoring all these directions was yet to take any measures or issue instructions for the monasteries protection.

Himalaya Convener Shiladitya Dev also asserted that recently some churches had been built on monasteries land in the world's largest river island and Vaishnavite centre Majuli in Jorhat district

Jawaharlal Nehru on reservations & 2nd class

2008-05-21T16:12:00.000-07:00

In a letter addressed to all Chief Ministers on June 27, 1961,

Jawaharlal Nehru said,

"…I have referred above to efficiency and to our getting out of our traditional ruts. This necessitates our getting out of the old habit of reservations and particular privileges being given to this caste or that group…I dislike any kind of reservation, more particularly in services. I react strongly against anything which leads to inefficiency and second-rate standards….If we go in for reservations on communal and caste basis, we swamp the bright and able people and remain second-rate or third-rate. I want my country to be a first class country in everything. The moment we encourage the second-rate, we are lost. I am grieved to learn how far this business of reservation has gone based on communal considerations… .This way lies not only folly but disaster."

Respecting differences

2008-05-19T13:18:00.000-07:00

"Honest differences are often a healthy sign of progress"-Gandhi

Salt, Pepper and the Spices of Life

You're sitting at a table, having a meal with some friends. Bowls of soup are served to everyone at the table. Before tasting the soup, the person next to you reaches for the salt and pepper, and for the next 20 seconds vigorously shakes into the soup more salt and pepper than you would use in a month.

You have a pained look on your face. These thoughts immediately go through your mind: "Why would you put salt and pepper in soup, or on any dish, BEFORE you taste it? How do you know how much to add?" You might also think, "How can someone put so much salt and pepper in their food?"

Of course, the roles could be reversed. You might be the one who loves to put a lot of salt and pepper on your food and the person next to you eats the soup without adding salt or pepper. In that case, you think, "How can she eat this bland soup without putting any seasoning in it?"

When it comes to salt, pepper, onions, garlic, curry or just about any type of seasoning, we tend to see things only one way - OUR way. It's hard for us to understand how someone could enjoy food when it is not seasoned as we think is appropriate. We cringe when we see someone "overdoing" or "under-doing" the spices.

How we season our food is a matter of preference and personal taste. There is no right or wrong way to use seasonings.
Furthermore, the way in which another applies salt and pepper does not affect us in any way. They're not putting the salt and pepper in YOUR soup. They are putting the spices in their own soup.

Our world is so diverse, and yet it is difficult for us to accept each other's preferences. Often, when we see people doing things we wouldn't do, our mind says:

Why aren't they thinking as I think?

Why aren't they acting as I would act?

Your mind would often have you believe that your way is superior. Your beliefs and habits are shaped by your genetics and your environment. Each person has different genetics and has grown up in an environment that is different than yours.
Why expect everyone to come to the same conclusion?

Our spiritual growth comes when we learn to accept that others have different preferences, and we honor those preferences.
There is no universal religion that everyone will agree to practice. There is no universal political viewpoint that all will accept. There is no one way of raising children that all cultures will agree upon. Marriage customs will vary from culture to culture.

Getting people to agree on these issues is like trying to get everyone to use the same amount of salt and pepper on their food. It's not going to happen.

The diversity in this world is beautiful and we can open our hearts to it. Within our own country and in our relations with people in other countries, we need to continually remind ourselves that it's perfectly acceptable for people to have preferences. If the other person is not harming us, why can't we just smile and get on with life?

The next time you're tempted to judge or criticize the way other people think or act, realize that in most cases, they're just using a different amount of salt or pepper than you would use. Allow them to have their preferences, and there is no need to even consider what YOU would do.

To know more about Himgiri’s Objective of giving “Healing to Feeling” visit http://www.himgirispiritual.org/spiritualhealing.html

The one billion+ cannon-fodder

2008-05-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

The one billion+ cannon-fodder: "I am not sure how much of the Internet-savvy generation knows anything about the Sikh insurgency that almost sundered India in the 1980s. Punjab was more or less out of India's grasp, newspapers daily told horror tales of Hindus being singled out and shot dead, and the name of a putative sant struck terror all around, ably fanned by his cross-border friends in Pakistan. (Aside: Plus ca change, Plus c'est la meme chose [the more things change, the more they remain the same]) New Delhi then was a city under siege, with roadside bunkers being the most common scenery."

Fight the war on New Terrorism to the finish

2008-05-14T11:34:00.000-07:00

Fight the war on New Terrorism to the finish: "It is their type which springs to the instant defence of Muslims when they take to violence over the Danish cartoons and to the instant attack of Hindus for criticising M F Husain's depiction of Hindu goddesses in the nude. It is their type that exhibits outrageous solicitude to Abdul Nasser Madhani's health."

Canada to apologise for Komagata Maru

2008-05-13T20:01:00.000-07:00

" VANCOUVER: Finally, Canada will formally apologise to the Indians here for the Komagata Maru tragedy of 1914 and acknowledge the hurt caused to the community. The Komagata Maru ship brought 376 Indians to Canada in 1914 in violation of the racist immigration laws of that time. But it was not allowed to anchor here and forcibly sent back to India after two months. On its return to India, many passengers were shot dead by British India police in Calcutta."

It will be good if the British did the same for Jalianwallah Bagh, Portugal & Rome for the Goan inquisition & demolishing the Kapaleeshwarar temple, France for its atrocities in Pondicherry, Iran for the Jizya tax and Hindu temple demolition by the Shia Deccan sultanate, and Saudi Arabia for the Jizya tax & temple demolition during the Sunni Mughal rule.

Malaysia Woman Scores Rare Legal Win to Quit Islam

2008-05-08T21:11:00.000-07:00

Which current day faiths/religions makes it hard to leave?

Malaysia Woman Scores Rare Legal Win to Quit Islam
By REUTERS

Filed at 2:17 a.m. ET

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A Malaysian religious court granted a woman's wish
to formally renounce Islam on Thursday, a decision described by her lawyer
as a landmark case that could enable many others to leave the faith.

Islamic courts in the mainly Muslim nation rarely allow Muslims to convert
to other religions. Often, they prescribe counseling or sometimes even fine
them for apostasy.

"It's a landmark case," said lawyer Ahmad Jailani Abdul Ghani, who
represented Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah, 38, in her two-year court battle to
convert back to Buddhism from Islam.

Siti Fatimah, an ethnic Chinese woman formerly known as Tan Ean Huang, had
converted to Islam in 1998 in order to marry her Muslim lover at the time.
In Malaysia, non-Muslims must convert to Islam before they can legally
marry a Muslim.

But Siti Fatimah later broke up with her husband and in 2006 sought to have
her conversion to Islam annulled, Ahmad Jailani said, adding that she had
never practiced as a Muslim and had only adopted Islam in name to ensure
her marriage was recognized.

The lawyer said the ruling was important because it accepted that Muslims
could renounce Islam on the grounds that they had never really practiced
the faith.

"We brought in two witnesses from her family to say that (because of) the
way she prays and way she lives in her house, she is not a Muslim," Ahmad
Jailani said.

Islam is Malaysia's official religion, but a big minority of around 40
percent of Malaysians profess other faiths such as Buddhism, Hinduism and
Christianity.

Islamic affairs are governed at state level, so Thursday's ruling by the
Penang Sharia High Court does not necessarily form a precedent for sharia
courts in Malaysia's 12 other states.

Ahmad Jailani said the Penang state religious council, which had opposed
Siti's renunciation of Islam, had signaled it was likely to appeal the
ruling.

(Reporting by Mark Bendeich; Editing by John Chalmers)

CPI-M rape in Nandigram

2008-04-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

How the comrades treat womenfolk when in power.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/apr/19nandi.htm

A nice comment on the state of India

2008-04-16T16:53:00.000-07:00

http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/apr/17tibetrow1.htm

RE:1962 war pact
by Vijay B on Apr 17, 2008 03:12 AM

Forget it Arjun. India is doomed. The people are greedy and lazy now. They don't want to study but they want seats. They don't want to work but want high salaries and free jobs.

They don't respect merit. They encourage corruption. They have no sense of nationality or integration. They don't feel for their brethren's difficulties.

Even Lord Rama doesn't exist anymore for them. They pander to Muslim fundamentalists all the time. They drive away people like Taslima from the country.

Nobody cares for the poor people. Nobody cares for the alienated north east countrymen. Nobody thinks about the growing Naxal problem.

All they want to do is watch dirty people on NDTV or other channels foul mouthing each other. All they want is Hinduism to get destroyed. All they want to do is "doesn't hurt us so lets keep quiet".

For everything they blame "Upper castes", especially Brahmins.

Day by day the situation is worsening. Latest this week are that reservation has been hiked again, Rahul Gandhi is next PM in waiting, issues are always kept at boiling point.

With such a mentality it is still a wonder that India still exists as a country. All these days it stood firm because of a semblence of atleast some values among the people. Now, with the advent of a little money, the people have lost their minds and self control, sense of discretion and wisdom.

Where are the poor Hindus?

2008-03-22T20:54:00.000-07:00

Chidambaram-Hymns in the sanctum sanctorium

2008-03-11T11:10:00.000-07:00

Classic doublespeak by the English media.
In general, in temple tradition, only the priests are allowed entry into the sanctum sanctorium. The articles allude that Brahmins are allowed entry while non-Brahmins are not. That's not true. Brahmins are also not allowed entry.
Tamil hymns are always welcome, and lots of people sing it with great reverence outside the sanctum sanctorium.
In classic political moves, the issue was distorted into "Tamil hymns not being sung" and "Brahmins not allowing non-Brahmins". And the government and the police used this opportunity to promptly incarcarate the Dikshitars.
I'm very interested in the output of the fact-finding mission sent by Hindu organizations to Chidambaram.

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IET20080306231935&Page=T&Title=Southern+News+-+Tamil+Nadu&Topic=0
http://newstodaynet.com/newsindex.php?id=5584%20&%20section=6
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IET20080305222857&Page=T&Title=Southern+News+-+Tamil+Nadu&Topic=0
http://newspostindia.com/report-40731

The trouble with India or Businessweek?

2008-03-03T21:55:00.000-08:00

http://greatbong.net/2007/03/11/the-trouble-with-businessweek/

Businessweek, in its cover issue, “The Trouble with India” (cover picture of the stereotypical Indian elephant to the left ) paints, in my opinion, a predominantly bleak picture of the country’s infrastructure and dabs it up with terror tales of companies knee-deep in the Indian quagmire.

Infrastructure is one of India’s biggest problems and in that respect the cover piece is “on the ball”. No problems there. However in its haste to spell out all that is wrong with India as an investment center, the author resorts to what should now be known as Western “Sominism” (after New York Times’ Somini Sengupta).

At one place, the article says:

In December, a bridge in eastern India collapsed, killing 34 passengers in a train rumbling underneath.

Right. However this omits a very important fact, a fact present in the BBC report of the same accident.

The bridge, built 150 years ago, was being dismantled when it crashed onto a carriage at Bhagalpur station in the eastern state of Bihar.

In other words, the accident was caused by criminal negligence of the demolishing crew and not because of poor infrastructure (the fact that an old bridge was being demolished shows that there is at least someone doing something about the problem).

At another place, the article says:

In the late 1990s, Enron, GE, and Bechtel spent a total of $2.8 billion building a huge complex near Mumbai capable of producing more than 2,000 megawatts of electricity. But a government power authority set prices so low that it was uneconomical for Dabhol to operate, and the whole deal fell apart.

Which would have been fine had it not be for the fact that it is strictly not correct. The truth is that the government of Maharashtra, no doubt influenced by the $20 million that it got as “educational gifts” from Dabhol, entered into a contract in which it promised to buy the high-priced power produced by Enron, irrespective of whether there was any demand for it and even if cheaper power was available from its own power stations, thus guaranteeing DPC (by contract) an estimated 32% after-tax return. [For a more detailed deconstruction of the deal, please read this]. So tipped were the scales in favour of Enron were things that the deal was determined to be “one sided” in favour of DPC by that doyen of capitalism, the World Bank.

So it was not really the government power authority ripping off Dabhol but the other way round.

But Businessweek couldn’t be bothered by that evidently.

There are tales of businesses whose shipments were held up for 5 days due to an “epic storm” —things that we presume would not happen in more advanced parts of the world like say New Orleans —but let’s not harp on these.

At least, there was no tone poetry in this piece of this form: (original article here by Somini Sengupta) [an excellent analysis of her word-smithing here]

In the belly of this island city, the textile mills are overrun by weeds and their chimneys point at the sky like so many sooty elephant snouts.

And thank the serpent God and the elephant King for that.

Equal taxation for men & women

2008-02-29T18:11:00.000-08:00

In today's society, if you ask for equality, it is branded unfair & communal. Check out this link: http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/feb/29budget48.htm

Women have exemption upto Rs.1,80,000 while men upto Rs.1,50,000. Why the discrepancy?

Wouldn't men in a lower income in today's Indian society have much greater responsibilities to fulfill in terms of raising a family.

Equality please, for men & women everywhere... Even in taxes...

Jizya tax again

2008-02-29T18:04:00.000-08:00

We Indians/Hindus have payed Jizya tax for a long time under the Mughals & the Deccan Sultanate. For the uninitiated, the Jizya tax is money paid by non-Muslims to Muslims under the Shariat.
Jalauddin Akbar briefly abolished the tax in his later years, but his son, Jehangir alias Salim prompty reinstated it when he came to power.

http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/feb/29budget38.htm

Details of 'communal' budgeting and the Jizya tax in doublespeak below, from the above link:

SC, ST, OBC and Minorities

42. Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, socially and educationally backward classes, and minorities will continue to receive special attention.

Development and Finance Corporations

43. Development and Finance Corporations have been set up for certain disadvantaged groups. I propose to contribute additional equity to these corporations in the following manner:

Rs. Crore1
National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation 75.00
2
Three National Finance and Development Corporations for Weaker Sections comprising

(i) Safai Karamcharis

(ii) Scheduled Castes

(iii) Backward Classes 106.50
3
National/State Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporations 50.00
4
National Handicapped Development Corporation 9.00

Scholarships

44. In previous Budgets, we had announced a slew of pre- and post-matric scholarship programmes for SC, ST, OBC and minorities. All of them will be continued in 2008-09 with adequate funds as summarised below:

Scheduled Castes Rs.804 crore

Scheduled Tribes Rs.195 crore

Other Backward Classes Rs.164 crore

Minorities (post-matric) Rs.100 crore

45. I propose to allocate a sum of Rs.75 crore in 2008-09 to the Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Programme. As Honourable Members are aware, this programme supports SC and ST students pursuing M.Phil and PhD courses.

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

46. Following the practice initiated in 2005-06, I have included in the Budget documents a statement on the schemes for the welfare of SCs and STs. I have provided Rs.3,966 crore for schemes benefiting SCs and STs exclusively and Rs.18,983 crore for schemes where at least 20 per cent of the benefits are earmarked for SCs and STs.

Minorities

47. The allocation to the Ministry of Minority Affairs will be increased from Rs.500 crore in 2007-08 to Rs.1,000 crore in 2008-09. Government has taken up the report of the Justice Rajindar Sachar Committee for speedy implementation. Apart from the schemes commenced in 2007-08, it is proposed to implement the following schemes/measures in 2008-09:

� a multi-sectoral development plan for each of the 90 minority concentration districts will be drawn up at a cost of Rs.3,780 crore. The allocation in 2008-09 will be Rs.540 crore;

� a pre-matric scholarship scheme with an allocation of Rs.80 crore next year;

� a scheme for modernising Madrassa education for which a provision of Rs.45.45 crore has been made in 2008-09;

� 256 branches of public sector banks have been opened this year until December 2007 in districts with substantial minority population. 288 more will be opened by March 2008 and many more in
2008-09; and

� continuing the exercise started this year, more candidates belonging to the minority communities will be recruited to the Central Para-Military Forces.

48. I also propose to provide Rs.60 crore to enhance the corpus fund of the Maulana Azad Education Foundation.

Saffron Surge

2007-12-25T11:14:00.000-08:00

A Modi win has also put in perspective the issue of leadership India wants. On one side are those who are pusillanimous, can’t even keep their offices and airports clean and citizen-friendly, provide security to the patriotic, have stinking personal riches but remain unconcerned to the public services, institutions and peoples' woes, who won’t touch a dilapidated footpath dargah but take enormous pride in demolishing an icon of faith and Hindu heritage like Ram Sethu, provide communal budget and reservations for a vote bank and look apologetic when Supreme Court confirms capital punishment to a traitor.

Leaders with these attributes make a solid block of Ayodhya haters, Godhra erasers and mechanical silencers to the cries of Kashmiri Hindu refugees. They are popularly known as seculars. Powerful people in media and governance.

On the other side, the Saffron ones want equal rights and duties of all citizens without considering or discriminating on the basis of their ways of worship, elimination of the majority-minority syndrome, ensuring none is appeased, honourable and safe return of Kashmiri Hindus and deleting the divisive provision of 370 from Constitution, taking up the ruthless elimination of terrorists and their protective modules, paving way to prosperity and an invincible security. In the nutshell, the fight that has been unleashed is between Saffronites and the Sohrabuddinites.

Indian style secularism

2007-12-24T11:30:00.000-08:00

All these are factors, which influence their favourable perception of him, and which have already been highlighted and analysed in the articles on his impressive election victory.

But there is one factor, which is more important than these and which has not found mention in the analyses.

That is, for large sections of the Hindus -- young and old, even more among the young than among the old -- he gave them a sense of pride in their identity as Hindus.

They feel that he removed from their minds long habits of defensiveness as Hindus carefully nurtured by the self-styled secularists.

As if to proclaim one's Hindu identity and to assert one's rights as Hindus in their own homeland in which they are in a vast majority (80 per cent of the population) is to be communal, is to become an ugly Indian.

For these self-styled secularists, a pretty Indian is a Hindu, who is all the time on the defensive, fights shy of proclaiming his Hindu personality and asserting his rights as a member of the majority community.

These self-styled secularists would not address their sermons of secularism to the Islamic countries, where for a Muslim to convert a non-Muslim into Islam is an act blessed by Allah, but for a non-Muslim to convert a Muslim into his religion is a crime calling for the death penalty.

For them, secularism is a virtue which a Hindu should practise towards others, but not others towards him.

It is Modi's rejection of this hypocrisy of the self-styled secularists, which makes him stand apart as a Hindu leader with a difference in the eyes of his admirers.

Chinkara > Kashmiri Hindu

2007-12-19T12:47:00.000-08:00

A Chinkara gazelle is killed in Rajasthan in 1998. The alleged killer, actor Salman Khan, is charged and the prosecution is under process.

Many Kashmiri Pandits are killed in Jammu and Kashmir [Images] in the late 1980s and 1990s. The killers, who have admitted the killings, roam free and have not even been charged yet.

Anything wrong with this picture?

Not if you ask the ministry of home affairs (Kashmir division), government of India.

Using the privilege available under the Right to Information Act, Kashmiri Hindu youth filed a petition (click here to see the petition) to get the status of the pending cases against Farooq Ahmed Dar alias Bitta Karate.

Bitta Karate started his terror career as a Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front member. During the early days of terrorism in the Kashmir valley, he killed many innocent Kashmiri Hindus.

After waiting for two weeks, these youth got a reply from the director and central public information officer at the ministry of home affairs (Kashmir division), government of India (click here to see the official response).

The following was the stock response:

'...The information you have asked for is not available in the Kashmir Division of Ministry of Home Affairs...'

Not only are terrorists not charged and prosecuted, but the Kashmir division of the ministry of home affairs actually claims not to have any records about these killers and killings.

Am I convinced? Hell, No! Should you be convinced? Hell, No!

This ministry of home affairs has a separate Kashmir division within its ministry and it does not have any information about these merciless killers? Who is fooling whom?

Bitta Karate admitted the to the killings in a television interview. Please click here to see for yourself.

Common people like me have access to these videos and transcripts but the Kashmir division of the ministry of home affairs does not. What a shame!

Bitta Karate spent many years in Indian jails but was eventually released by a TADA court on bail on October 23, 2006. While granting bail, the presiding officer of the TADA court, N D Wani, observed that the court was aware of the fact that the allegations leveled against Bitta Karate are of a serious nature and could carry punishments of death or life imprisonment. The fact is that the prosecution (read the government of Jammu & Kashmir and India) has shown total disinterest in arguing the case, which is in complete violation of Article 21 of the Constitution.

And now Bitta Karate, who admitted killing scores of Kashmiri Hindus, is not only roaming free but is now playing the role of a politician on the Kashmir political scene. It is not inconceivable that there soon might be a day when he will become a state minister in the government of J&K, maybe even chief minister.

Do you feel it is okay for government agencies to let these terrorists roam free and be more concerned about Chinkara gazelles? Please do not get me wrong. I don't have anything against Chinkara gazelles and I do not advocate the killing of these endangered animals. But if I am ever given a choice between saving a human being and a Chinkara gazelle, you know what my choice will be. So where are the government's priorities?

How come terrorists are not being prosecuted as per the laws of the land? What is preventing the law enforcement agencies from implementing the laws and putting these killers behind bars so that they cannot harm any more innocent civilians? Isn't providing security to its citizens the first and foremost responsibility of any government? Am I missing something here?

While pseudo-secular human rights activists continue to scream about the Gujarat riots and clamour for face time on Indian 'progressive' media outlets, they have their lips sealed and pens dry about the horrendous ethnic cleansing of 400,000+ Kashmiri Hindus from Kashmir.

I guess gone are the days when journalists used to stand up against injustice and fight for the rights of ALL human beings, irrespective of the religion they belonged to. These days, it seems they get their stories handed over to them by their politician masters who only care about their kursi and 'votes' that get them that kursi. After all, it is a kissa kursi ka.

All I can say is that if there is life after death, I wish to be reborn as a Chinkara gazelle. At least, I will be assured that I am protected by the Indian Wildlife Act and wildlife activists who will fight for my survival.

Glass ceiling for men

2007-09-18T15:35:00.000-07:00

Does the "Reverse Glass Ceiling" Exist?

by Jennifer Merritt

We've all heard about the trials and tribulations of women rising through the ranks of male-dominated fields such as technology and finance. The successful ones are celebrated for having "broken through the glass ceiling," meaning they've maneuvered through gender-based workplace limitations.

In fact, the idea of the glass ceiling is such a phenomenon that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) formed a "Glass Ceiling" commission in 1991. But what about the men who succeed in what tend to be female-dominated careers, including nursing, travel, marketing, and childcare? Is there such a thing as a reverse glass ceiling for men?

Licensed psychotherapist Stacy Kaiser--who has offered her professional opinion for both MSNBC and CNN--says she sees more men popping up in female-dominated careers. "I don't know if it's a trend yet, because it's a more recent development, but it's definitely something that's happening and people are becoming more and more aware of it," she says.

It may seem like a strange concept to grasp, considering that men are rarely cast as being victims of discrimination. An examination of why women tend to gravitate toward certain fields more so than men is a good starting point for exploring whether a glass ceiling exists for men.

Psychologist Warren Farrell, Ph.D., the San Francisco-based author of such books as Why Men Earn More and The Liberated Man, has a specific take on the equation. "Women enter into those areas because they are the most fulfilling," he says. "Men don't because they feel they need to take on the responsibility of providing for the family, and the way they earn love is to earn money."

That's not to say careers in nursing, travel, marketing, and childcare can't be lucrative, but more often than not, they are far surpassed by salaries in male-dominated fields such as finance and technology.

Plus, in today's world of double incomes, men are free to pursue career paths they find interesting rather than ones they solely see as financially viable, Kaiser says. "In the past decade, more careers have opened up to women," she notes. "They're becoming lawyers and doctors and scientists, and leaving openings in other areas that men are now filling."

Men face a different set of challenges than women in choosing to pursue a career dominated by the opposite sex, since for men, passion for the work is often not as powerful a motivator as the bottom line: salary. What many men in traditionally female careers find, however, is that it is possible to have the best of both worlds.

A novelty in the nursing world

Take, for example, how pursuing a career in nursing allows Mark Liwoch the best way to provide for his family and feel satisfied in his job. Liwoch admittedly was a bit of a drifter after high school graduation, taking on odd jobs in restaurants, landscaping, and even a chicken farm.

He eventually found himself intrigued by a career in nursing because "it was a hot career that guaranteed a livable wage upon graduation once you passed the boards," he says. So he pursued a bachelor's degree in nursing from Stockton University in Pomona, New Jersey, and a master's degree in health administration from St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Liwoch now feels he has found the job satisfaction he had been pursuing all those years working odd jobs. "Nursing is a very high-satisfaction job as far as knowing that you're doing good for others," he says, "and it also helps that you realize you're going to have job security and a good wage."

And while nursing staffs may mostly consist of women, that is starting to change, says Liwoch's colleague, Tom Keating, director of the emergency room at Shore Memorial Hospital in Atlantic County, New Jersey. "Some men probably at first felt embarrassed doing something that is considered a female-oriented job," Keating says. "But I think you're starting to see more guys get into it because they see the opportunities."

Statistics indicate Keating's instinct is right, though the progression of men into the field has been slow. Since 1983, the percentage of men employed as registered nurses has risen from just under 5 percent to over 8 percent in 2003, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Liwoch certainly did. He now has a high-level job as administrative director at Shore Memorial Hospital.

While Liwoch admits to being a novelty in the nursing world, he says his gender was never an issue as he rose through the ranks. "My organization is such that they promote education, so within three months of graduating with my bachelor's degree, I was approached by my nurse manager to become a clinical supervisor, which is a front-line manager role where you're still in scrubs," Liwoch says. "At that time, I became the sole provider for my children, so I knew the 9-to-5, Monday-to-Friday role would fit my lifestyle as a single dad."

More and more men would love to have a fulfilling career that also allows ample family time, says Farrell. "When I ask men in my workshops to fantasize about what they would do if they didn't have to worry about money, about 95 percent of them come up with things like spending more time with their children, and doing something in art, music, or literature," he says. "They would love to do something that involves interacting with people more so than formulas, machines, or technology."

Traveling the world

From the start, John Clifford knew he wanted to work with people rather than machines. Even so, he wasn't sure what his calling was, so at the age of 18, he took a career- and life-planning course at a local community college in Santa Fe, New Mexico. "The one that kept landing at the top of the list was travel agent. It was puzzling, because I didn't have a real understanding of it, but I thought it would be a great way to make some money, see the world, and get out of Santa Fe," Clifford says.

He took a travel agent course in Albuquerque and graduated at the top of a class filled mostly with women. He worked at various agencies before striking out on his own, catering to upscale clients like Giorgio Armani Corporation and Fortune 500 executives. Clifford even landed on Traveler+Leisure's "A-list of Agents," becoming the youngest man to get on the magazine's "A-list All Stars" in 2004--a list that, to this day, comprises mostly women.

"The agency I affiliated with is 90 percent women," Clifford says, "and sometimes I feel it's hard to get the recognition and respect I feel I deserve and have earned, just as women in the corporate world may feel it is hard to break into the old boy's club. I face that every day in the travel trade. Whether or not we like to say a 'women's club' exists, it does. It's just as hard for a man to break through that."

Interesting 'Orwellian' thinking on Christian missionaries

2007-08-26T13:40:00.000-07:00

"Dear Friends, Namaskar and Hari Om!
Whether Mother Theresa was genuine or not, what disturbs me is the seriously warped perspective of Christians.
When they have a "crisis of faith", they are being tested by God himself and if they continue on their path, they are showing their courage.
When "others" go through a "night of the spirit", it is God that is showing them they are on the wrong path, and if they continue they are just stubborn and foolish in their heathens' ways.
When they face problems, disasters or losses, it means they are being blessed and tested.
When "others" face similar situations, they are being punished by God for their sins and unfaithfulness.
When they commit a crime, it's a temporary and unimportant falldown and they must immediately be forgiven by the victims and by the government, and not only by God and the Church.
When others commit the same crime or even a lesser crime, it is a demonstration of their viciousness, immorality, and intrinsic sinfulness.
To the others, they preach poverty, renunciation, nonviolence, celibacy and humility.
Yet, they possess and use (and misuse) immense properties and funds often to the point of extravagant luxury and criminal pursuits, they demand absolute power on all their congregation and considerable (if not absolute) power or influence on governments, they have a horrible record of violence (torture, genocide, wars etc) since their very origin, and of horrible sexual scandals (in spite of all their efforts in covering up).
I read that Teresa was known for refusing painkillers to her patients, telling them that "their sufferings were the kiss of Jesus", but when she fell ill she demanded all possible cures and a total coverage of painkillers.
I think we can do much better than that – even without the prospect of Nobel Prizes. :-)
PKD"

"Mythical Indian Golden Age, always starving India, destroy the nation"

2007-08-23T13:02:00.001-07:00

"Karl Marx took a dim view of India and its heritage.

Writing in the New York Tribune dated June 25, 1853 (quoted in Lewis S Feuer edited Marx and Engels Basic Writings, Anchor Books, NY 1959, pp. 474-481) he claimed that the ‘Golden Age’ of India was all myth and India was always a poor starving country. He further went on to admire and appreciate the British for destroying the Indian village industry and economy so that India could ‘modernise’.

But to the Indian communists, the words of Marx are like commandments from God. Their devotion to the dead communism can be seen on the walls of Calcutta, possibly the only city in the world where you can find pictures of Marx, Lenin and Stalin displayed with pride.

Following the footsteps of Marx, the Indian communists have deep hatred of anything Indian and are opponents of any kind of pride in Indian heritage. The communists also hold that India is not one nation but a ‘collection of nationalities’.

Another major tenet of Indian Marxist’s orthodoxy is that for national reconstruction you have to first destroy the existing nation."

It's turn of upper caste to suffer, TN Govt tells SC

2007-08-16T20:21:00.000-07:00

http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=90921
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/its-turn-of-upper-caste-to-suffer-tn-govt-tells-sc/46965-3.html?xml

While Salve had strong opposition to the Central Educational Institution (Reservation for Admission) Act, 2006, senior advocate K Parasaran, appearing for the Tamil Nadu Government said: "They (upper caste) dominated for centuries and now they should suffer."

Corruption expose: Ficitious character gets Indian citizenship, driving license, residency permit etc.

2007-08-10T10:55:00.003-07:00

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/indian-citizenship-on-sale-and-its-for-cheap/46601-3-p0.html

Corrupt judges above law?

2007-08-04T11:38:00.000-07:00

"A bench headed by the CJI the other day asked two television journalists to tender unconditional apology for the sting operation carried out back in 2004 which had exposed wrong-doing at the lower level of the judiciary. The two journalists of the Zee TV in their sting operation had shown how easy it was to get warrants from magistrates.

In this case, the two had got bailable warrants issued against the then President of India and the then Chief Justice of India on the basis of fictitious complaints filed with the help of local advocates whom they had paid hefty fees in advance. The television channel had duly shown the footage with the tell-tale warrants to underscore the malaise of corruption at the lower level of judiciary. It was a sting operation like any other, the only difference being that this time those exposed belonged to the judiciary and not the political world.

Following the public outcry, the errant magistrate was suspended and an inquiry ordered into the issuance of warrants. Indeed, when the matter first came up for hearing Balakrishnan’s predecessors not only had a good word or two for the journalists in question but they openly expressed concern at the deteriorating standards in sections of the lower echelons of the judiciary. This was as it should have been."

"The second case is no less serious. Here a quo warranto petition filed in the Supreme Court by two lawyers, including Shanti Bhushan, has called into question the unilateral decision of the CJI to recommend the confirmation of an additional judge of the Madras High Court as a permanent judge. Because the matter involved established procedures and precedents, the two-member SC bench considered it right and proper to issue notices to the Government of India and others concerned.

Notably, the case of the said additional judge for confirmation had come up twice earlier for confirmation but for want of proper credentials both times the then CJI and the two other senior-most judges who constitute the collegium for the purpose had rejected the proposal. But the present CJI without consulting the brother-judges in the collegium recently recommended the confirmation of the said additional judge as permanent judge of the Madras High Court.

Now it has been argued that the CJI was not obliged to consult other judges. But even if it was so, he ought to have consulted other members of the collegium in the present case for the simple reason that his confirmation was withheld by former CJI R. C. Lahoti on the basis of inputs received from the usual sources."

Gutsy Hindu Malay woman resisting forcible Islamic 'rehab'

2007-07-21T11:05:00.000-07:00

http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=89170
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/198694.asp

Book: Invading the Sacred

2007-07-11T09:10:00.000-07:00

Product Description

This book is an important and scholarly historical narrative regarding an ongoing debate about the portrayal of Indian culture in the American academia. With contributions from over a dozen scholars from around the world, it examines how poor standards of scholarship and peer-review in India studies and Hinduism studies have lead to narrow, distorted and essentialized interpretations of Indian religions and their icons and ideas. Adopting a politically impartial stance, this book, the product of an intensive multi-year research project, uncovers the invisible networks behind biased and sub-standard scholarship. It narrates the Indian Diaspora's challenges to such scholarship, and documents how those who dared to speak up - including academic scholars critical of such scholarship - have been branded as “dangerous”. The book hopes to provoke serious debate. For example:

· How do Hinduphobic works resemble earlier American literature depicting non-whites as dangerous savages needing to be civilized by the West?

· Are India's internal social problems going to be managed by foreign interventions in the name of human rights?

· How do power imbalances and systemic biases affect the objectivity and quality of scholarship?

· What are the rights of practitioner-experts in “talking back” to academicians?

· What is the role of India's intellectuals, universities and policymakers in fashioning an authentic and enduring response?

Had the groom hit the bride?!

2007-07-10T15:04:00.001-07:00

Just imagine if the groom had hit the bride instead. Would the treatment have been different?
And in India, even in this case, the groom would have been put in jail under 498a & DV for 'provoking' the girl and indulging in 'mental cruelty and torture'.

Read on...

Bride strikes groom with shoe during reception

Tuesday, 10 July , 2007, 23:23

London: A Scottish bride attacked her new husband with her stiletto shoe, striking the groom in the head in an upstairs hotel room while their wedding reception went on below, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

Teresa Brown, 33, told police she and her husband had "been accusing each other of different things," prosecutor Alan Townsend said. Brown said she hit him on the head after their April wedding because he grabbed her, Townsend added.

The distraught groom, Mark Allerton, 40, staggered to the front desk, clutching a bloody towel to his head.

"He indicated that his wife had struck him over the head with a stiletto heel," the prosecutor said.

Police found Brown sitting on the hotel room bed, surrounded by broken glass. She spent the rest of her wedding weekend in a cell.

Brown's lawyer Stuart Beveridge said the newlyweds began throwing things at each other after an argument in their room turned physical. He said Brown was on antidepressants at the time and had been drinking.

"She and her husband are still together although this incident has not helped," he said, adding she was receiving counseling.

Sheriff James Tierney dropped the assault charge against Brown by issuing a warning and fining her $505 for damaging the hotel room. He also ordered her to pay the hotel $1,150 in compensation.

7/11: Why didn't PM lose sleep?-Tavleen Singh

2007-07-09T18:15:00.000-07:00

'7/11: Why didn't PM lose sleep?'

Tavleen Singh

July 9: The prime minister’s timing couldn’t have been worse. In the week we discovered that al-Qaeda could have found recruits in Bangalore, in the week we saw Islam’s fanatical face on full display in the battle for Lal Masjid, and in the week that Ayman al-Zawahiri reappeared on our television screens to urge all Muslims to join the jihad to destroy the West, the prime minister announced that he is losing sleep over Muslims being “labelled”. As a Sikh, he said sadly, he understood well the horrors of being labelled. And, as prime minister of India, he could not sleep after seeing the face of the mother of the alleged bombers from Bangalore. “We should not fix labels like Muslims or non-Muslims. It won’t help us in understanding the situation or dealing with it.” This week marks the first anniversary of Mumbai’s train bombings and my first question to our prime minister is, why has he never lost sleep over that ghastly event? My second question is, why can he become so eloquent over the suffering of the mothers of alleged terrorists and so sanguine over the suffering of nearly 200 Mumbai mothers who lost their children for no reason? When he made his visit to Mumbai after the July 11 bombings last year, many noticed that he exhibited no emotion. “He could have been taking a walk in Lodhi Gardens for all the emotion he showed,” a friend from Mumbai commented bitterly. There have been other ghastly acts of terrorism on his watch and he has reacted without emotion, which makes his comments this time seem even more inappropriate. More worrying is his failure to see that what the world faces today is not just another terrorist movement, but a global jihad whose stated aim is to convert us infidels to the true faith or wipe us out. The true faith is not the Islam that we have lived with in India, in relative harmony for centuries, but a disagreeable Arab version that expects women to dress like black crows and men to beat them if they show a hint of skin. In Saudi Arabia women cannot go shopping unless accompanied by a male relation. It is not an Islam we can accept in India because it is antipathetic to our civilisation and the opposite of what we stand for as a nation. It is totalitarian, intolerant of the fundamental right of women to live and dress as they choose, rigid, tribal and unpleasant. In India we are particularly vulnerable to it, because we have the second largest Muslim population in the world, and thanks to the perfidy of our political class, it is a population that has been bred on grievances. What is worse is, funds from Arabia are being used to set up schools to spread Islamist thought across our Dar-ul-Harb. This new, globalised Islam tolerates Christianity and Judaism because they are religions of the book, but us idol-worshippers are doomed to hellfire. As for ideas like secularism, pluralism, and freedom of worship, or no worship at all, such ideas are anathema to Wahhabi Islam. So can we allow it to grow and flourish? No. We must fight it and there is no sign that anyone in Manmohan Singh’s government understands this. Every time they are confronted with a ‘Muslim issue’ they have responded with appeasement and groveling. This has to stop if we are to revive Indian Islam and there was once such a religion. It was a religion that had imbibed from India the right to ask questions and even, dare it be said, question the very existence of God and heaven. It gave us poets like Mir and Ghalib, who expressed these questions in some of the most beautiful poetry ever written. Ghalib warned against lifting the veil from the Ka’aba, in case there, too, we found only this same heathen god, and Mir wrote in one of his most famous poems of sitting in a temple, putting a tilak on his forehead and giving up Islam altogether. Today, Ghalib and Mir would be beheaded for such talk. The new Islam allows no questioning. It is a totalitarian idea that can only produce fanatics. Maybe the three doctors from Bangalore are not involved in the plots to blow up London nightclubs and Glasgow airport. If so, they will prove their innocence, because Britain has a justice system that accepts that you are innocent till proved guilty. Does any Islamic country? It is too early for the prime minister to be shedding tears on their behalf. It is also embarrassing that he should offer Gordon Brown India’s help in the investigation. When we cannot catch our own jihadis, what possible help can we give anyone else?

URL: http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=89247

Islamic Rehab fails in Malay for Hindu Woman

2007-07-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

M'sian woman still insists she wants to be Hindu after 6 months in Islamic rehab

SHAH ALAM — A Muslim-born Malaysian woman who was held at an Islamic rehabilitation center for six months because she tried to live as a Hindu after marrying man of that faith insisted on Friday she will never return to being a Muslim.

The Islamic Religious Department in southern Malacca state detained Revathi Masoosai, an ethnic Indian, in January and sent her for religious counselling after officials discovered that she had married a Hindu.

Ms Revathi, 29, was born to Indian Muslim parents who gave her a Muslim name. Her official identification documents state she is a Muslim. Malaysians who are born as Muslims are legally barred from changing religion. But she claims she was raised as a Hindu by her grandmother and changed her name in 2001.

Three years later, Ms Revathi married Mr Suresh Veerappan according to Hindu rites and gave birth to a daughter in December 2005. But the marriage was not legally registered because under Malaysian law, Mr Suresh would have had to convert to Islam first.

Ms Revathi was released from the rehabilitation centre on Thursday. A day later, she appeared in a High Court in an attempt to have her detention declared illegal.

Ms Revathi, 29, claimed officials at the centre tried to make her pray as a Muslim and wear a head scarf. She refused to eat food which she feared contained beef.

"They say it's a school, but it's actually a prison," she told reporters.

Mr Tuah Atan, a lawyer representing the Islamic department, said Ms Revathi seemed to have become "so obsessed with love" after meeting her husband. But he said officials remain hopeful that she might still return to Islam.

Islamic officials seized the couple's 18-month-old daughter in March and handed the child to Ms Revathi's Muslim mother.

Ms Revathi said officials have ordered her to live with her mother and her baby for now and to continue undergoing counselling.

Her case highlights an increasing number of conflicts affecting the religious rights of the ethnic Indian and Chinese minorities.

Indians, who form about 8 per cent of Malaysia's 26 million people, are mostly Hindus while some are Christians, Muslims and Sikhs.

Mr Lim Kit Siang, chairman of the opposition Democratic Action Party, said on Friday that Ms Revathi's case and other religious disputes could hurt Malaysia's image, saying they showed "a narrow and intolerant face of Islam which must be of increasing concern to progressive and moderate Muslims". — AP