<img src='http://www.io.com/~dierdorf/urdu-hindi.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

“We must at present do our best to form a class of persons who may be interpreters between us and the millions we govern; a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect.” Lord Macaulay, 1835

“The language in which we are speaking is his [the Englishman’s] before it is mine. How different are the words home, Christ, ale, master on his lips and on mine! I cannot speak or write these words without unrest of spirit. His language, so familiar and so foreign, will always be for me an acquired speech. I have not made or accepted its words. My voice holds them at bay. My soul frets in the shadow of his language.” James Joyce, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

In my admittedly shite M.Phil dissertation on Progressive Zionist visions for Israel’s future, I argued that the nation was defined above all by language. A nation’s citizens had to speak in the same tongue, for this is how the all important ‘societal culture’ is maintained. If the citizenry has a shared language, all other distinctions cease t matter, and minority will flourish the same as majority.

My argument didn’t take India into account. The Constitution of India recognizes twenty-two languages, and there are thirty-five Indian languages spoken by over a million people. Hindi, the most common language, is understood by only around half the population; its grammar is totally different to the languages spoken in the south or northeast. And then there’s English, powerfully stalking the sidelines, spoken fluently by around 2% of the population, while a further 10-15% understand the basics.

Perhaps nothing sums up India’s linguistic peculiarities more than the following story: In 1996 the Prime Minister, Deve Gowda, delivered the annual Independence Day address in a language he didn’t understand, Hindi. As a southerner, he didn’t speak it, but the law required that he give the address in it. In the months leading up to the address, he promised to master Hindi, and the words were ultimately written out for him in his native Kannadan script.

Amidst the tumult surrounding India’s religious and caste divisions, it is often forgotten that the country is divided on primarily linguistic lines. Language provided the rationale for how the states were carved up after independence, and tensions over the issue occasionally turn violent, as recent events in West Bengal demonstrated. Because of these tensions, there has never been a pan-Indian language. Indian nationalist luminaries – Gandhi and Tagore included, agreed – perhaps surprisingly – that it might be better if Hindi became first among equals, but this has never come to pass.

Is India a dramatic exception to the rule, or a model for others to follow? Whatever the country’s shortcomings may be, one fact is indisputable: there is a shared notion of Indianness, one that has somehow managed to transcend – with occasional violent exceptions – other allegiances. India has been roust and confident enough to remain a broad, pluralist temple.

In language terms, there is one significant flaw to all this – the status of English. Western-educated Indian intellectuals are surprisingly proud about English’s pre-eminence, as a result it goes relatively unchallenged. Shashi Tharoor, for example, writes as follows: “the Indian professional elite is educated in English, so that English has a far more genuine ‘national’ existence: it is the language in which the Indian government officials would naturally converse, in which two teenagers might discuss cricket or music, in which a Madras journalist might instinctively address a Bombay businessman, and in which the ‘national media’ (those publications aiming at a countrywide audience) are published. It is undoubtedly the language of a small minority, but its speakers feel no minority complex at all.” Of course not, for they are the elites.

Is this really something to be proud of? English is the world’s pre-eminent language, for a developing country to produce fluent speakers of it is vital. But it becoming the language of the elites is another matter entirely. Before coming here, people told me with confidence that most Indians speak a little English. Not in my experience. Many may have a smattering of words, but competency is reserved for those in the tourist trade or the middle-classes: speaking English is a sign that marks you out from your less educated and less privileged countrymen.

This is an irony I can’t comprehend. Indian intellectuals will happily condemn the Raj in its entirety (with the possible exception of the trains), while at the same time reveling in the fact that they can communicate their Indianness in English, the language brought to India by the imperialists. There is a famous quote, the words of which unfortunately escape me, about India being able to absorb the best of what its would-be conquerors bring, before spitting them out when the time is right. This implies a wily, cunning national ethos, and Tharoor & Co would no doubt view the absorption of English in the same spirit. I fear, however, that they are missing the wood for the trees.

Take Israel, for example. English is widely spoken – people understand that mastering it is of great importance in getting ahead in the world, a fact reflected in the excellent instruction in school. This has not come, however, at the expense of the societal culture. There are English newspapers and cultural events, yes, but this has not affected the extraordinary revival of Hebrew, purveyors of which are renowned the world over. Because there is no particular reverence for English, there is no threat. It’s just realpolitik – knowledge of English is vital for being part of a globalised world.

In India, as noted, English is a social divider. More than that, it’s accompanied, in elite circles, by values which seem to be left over from the Raj – deference, hierarchy, formality – with English used as the weapon. I witnessed this for myself last week in the 1st Class Waiting Room at Sealdah Train Station in Calcutta, where a woman expressed her exasperation to the attendant asking her to move her luggage in English, a language he didn’t understand. Pavan K Varna argues that these unfortunate aspects of Indian society have far more ancient antecedents, either way India won’t be truly free until it emancipates itself from them.

By all means ensure that your people speak good English, just as you should ensure that they are literate. But don’t let this come at the expense of a national culture. India’s Babel is exciting and genuinely radical. If a Keralan and a Bengali sit down for chai, there surely has to be a better solution than having them speak in English.

http://wanderingsatlan.blogspot.com/2008/0...e-babel-or.html

Hindus have a soft spot for jews, since there is the commonality of enemies

However, keep in mind that Judaism is the root of our problems
with Abraham and his jealous god

I am worried that there are too many jew hindu marriages going on in silicon valley

Just google up Hinjew

Also, consider Swami Dayanand's Hindu-Jew summit

While it is well and good, there is no need to grovel
He said Hinduism in only monotheistic
That is grovelling
Some forms of hinduism is monotheistic and some is polytheistic

The dumb RSS always praises eastern kerala xtians

However, what is not well understood is that when the portuguese first showed up in kerala, the local kerala xtians immediately sided with the invader against the hindu kings
( per portuguese archives )

Later on, they found out the hard way, that unless they became catholic, they would be burnt in the fires of the inquisition

Even today, hindus are more oppressed in eastern xtian russia than in the west

Many hindus foolishly have a soft spot for buddhism

The fact is that buddhists despise us

In 1937, the partition of Myanmar from India was done by the agitation of buddhist monks

In buddhist thailand, they hate Indians and kiss ass of chinese

In post independence Myanmar, 6 million tamil hindus have been forced to declare
themselves as buddhists

The Buddhists of Bhutan have expelled their hindu population

The tibetan buddhists prior to the chinese invasion of 1950, were trying to get back ladakh and arunachal pradesh

In the west, buddhists do everything to disavow their hindu roots

I also seriously question whether dalits were ever buddhists

IMHO, untouchability began with buddhism
In Japan, the butchers became burakumin or untouchable

In thailand, the butchers are of a low caste

The jataka tale puts meat eating communities as low caste

The original inscriptions of the Indus Civilization are now readable for everyone. India was standing on the top of progress 5000 years ago. All texts are for free download at: http://www.indus-civilization.info <!--emo&:ind--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/india.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='india.gif' /><!--endemo-->

As you know, I try to produce multimedia videos in my spare time on behalf of what I view to be nationalist causes.

http://www.youtube.com/channelphor

This year, one very important cause for me is to help the NDA defeat the UPA in the general election and form the next government. If you share that point of view, please read on.

I aim to perform the same service on NDA's behalf, as the 527 groups did for American political candidates during the US Elections. 527s are organizations like the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (on the Republican side) and MoveOn.Org (on the Democratic side)... created to influence the nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates for public office.

As part of this effort I hope to produce several short multimedia video clips, and distribute them over Youtube and other web video outlets. Their message will be succinct: we cannot afford any more UPA misrule. For the sake of the nation, the NDA must form the next government.

However, since the elections are already approaching (no later than May this year), time is running short... so preparing and producing these videos may require more effort than one person alone could make. Hence, I'm making this post asking if any of you are willing to contribute some time and effort for this purpose.


Most of the effort needed would be in the form of internet research: to come up with news sources and citations, as well as to search for photographs, images and sound/music clips that we would want to incorporate into our videos. Also for shareware/freeware programs that can be used for simple file-format conversions etc. Basically the same kind of stuff we do on IF a lot of the time but organized into a concerted effort :-)

If you're interested, please email me at cherenzig AT gmail DAWT com. Please respond as soon as possible, we may not have a lot of time.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Pub_bha...how/4083214.cms


<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Turning the iconic freedom struggle slogan “ jail bharo” on its head, Minister of State for Women and Child Development since Renuka Choudhary on Thursday suggested that the only way to tackle the moral police was to launch a “ pub bharo andolan”. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Renukaji, I would also suggest hookah-bar-bharo-andolan, rojke-5-patiala-peg-piyo-andolan, one-night-stand-andolan, topless-bars-bharo-andolan, PDA-andolan, beef-khao-andolan, pork-mat-khao-andolan, hashish-peeyo-andolan.

Still i dont understand this - who are these statements targetted towards ? Is this politically a big deal in Karnataka ? Or anywhere in India ? Or is this to scare some outsiders ? Or just a storm in teacup ?

Chyetanya Kunte a blogger, published an “Unconditional Withdrawal” of his blog post where he had blasted NDTV and Barkha Dutt.
Original post from cache:

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> Shoddy journalism   New window
Date: Thursday, 27 Nov 2008 20:39

Appalling journalism. Absolute blasphemy! As I watch the news from home, I am dumbfounded to see Barkha Dutt of NDTV break every rule of ethical journalism in reporting the Mumbai mayhem. Take a couple of instances for example:

    * In one instance she asks a husband about his wife being stuck, or held as a hostage. The poor guy adds in the end about where she was last hiding. Aired! My dear friends with AK-47s, our national news is helping you. Go get those still in. And be sure to thank NDTV for not censoring this bit of information.
    * In another instance, a General sort of suggests that there were no hostages in Oberoi Trident. (Clever.) Then, our herione of revelations calls the head of Oberoi, and the idiot confirms a possibility of 100 or more people still in the building. Hello! Guys with guns, you’ve got more goats to slay. But before you do, you’ve got to love NDTV and more precisely Ms. Dutt. She’s your official intelligence from Ground zero.

You do not need to be a journalist to understand the basic premise of ethics, which starts with protecting victims first; and that is done by avoiding key information from being aired publicly—such as but not limited to revealing the number of possible people still in, the hideouts of hostages and people stuck in buildings.

Imagine you’re one of those sorry souls holed-up in one of those bathrooms, or kitchens. A journalist pulls your kin outside and asks about your last contact on national television, and other prying details. In a bout of emotion, if they happen to reveal more details, you are sure going to hell. Remember these are hotels, where in all likelihood, every room has a television. All a terrorist needs to do is listen to Ms. Barkha Dutt’s latest achievement of extracting information from your relative, based on your last phone-call or SMS. And you’re shafted—courtesy NDTV.1

If the terrorists don’t manage to shove you in to your private hell, the journalists on national television will certainly help you get there. One of the criticisms about Barkha Dutt on Wikipedia reads thus:

    During the Kargil conflict, Indian Army sources repeatedly complained to her channel that she was giving away locations in her broadcasts, thus causing Indian casualties.

Looks like the idiot journalist has not learnt anything since then. I join a number of bloggers pleading her to shut the f⋅⋅⋅ up.

Update: In fact, I am willing to believe that Hemant Karkare died because these channels showed him prepare (wear helmet, wear bullet-proof vest.) in excruciating detail live on television. And they in turn targeted him where he was unprotected. The brave officer succumbed to bullets in the neck.

Update 2 [28.Nov.2300hrs]: Better sense appears to have prevailed in the latter half of today—either willfully, or by Government coercion2, and Live broadcasts are now being limited to non-action zones. Telecast of action troops and strategy is now not being aired live. Thank goodness for that.

Update 3 [30.Nov.1900hrs]: DNA India reports about a UK couple ask media to report carefully:

    The terrorists were watching CNN and they came down from where they were in a lift after hearing about us on TV.

    — Lynne Shaw in an interview.

   1. Oh, they have a lame excuse pronouncing that the television connections in the hotel has been cut, and therefore it is okay to broadcast. Like hell!
   2. I’m thinking coercion, since Government has just denied renewing CNN’s rights to air video today; must’ve have surely worked as a rude warning to the Indian domestic channels.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
NDTV's forced this blogger to retract his posts. Threats of lawsuit I believe.
This from the cry-me-a-free-press - NDTV <!--emo&:roll--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ROTFL.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ROTFL.gif' /><!--endemo-->

Other bloggers on this:
http://shripriya.com/blog/2009/01/28/shame...nd-barkha-dutt/
http://www.vmohanty.com/posts/open-letter-to-ndtv/
http://www.blogbharti.com/kuffir/media/ndt...o-the-defiance/
http://unjustly.wordpress.com/2009/01/30/l...for-2009-01-30/
http://naiveindian.in/2009/01/30/ndtv-arm-...into-submission
http://retributions.nationalinterest.in/nd...on-free-speech/
http://www.sandeepweb.com/2009/01/29/barkh...joke-is-on-you/
http://thecapeofgoodhope.blogspot.com/2009...timidation.html
http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/sit...rs_a_price_tag/
http://indianrealist.wordpress.com/2009/01...hey-hate-blogs/
http://www.desipundit.com/2009/01/28/blogg...lenced-by-ndtv/
http://thecapeofgoodhope.blogspot.com/2009...timidation.html
http://thecomicproject.blogspot.com/2009/0...ution-away.html
http://www.gauravonomics.com/blog/indian-b...-terror-attack/
http://www.labnol.org/india/indian-blogger...rkha-dutt/6853/
http://placidfreedom.wordpress.com/2009/01...nged-yet-again/
http://lifeandsomething.blogspot.com/2009/...ng-by-ndtv.html

Gujarat govt to celebrate Republic Day at Godhra
24 Jan 2009, 2300 hrs IST, PTI
Print Email Discuss Share Save Comment Text:
AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat Government will hold official Republic Day celebration and flag hoisting ceremony at Godhra, a government release said.

Gujarat Governor Nawal Kishore Sharma and chief minister Narendra Modi will hoist the flag on January 26 at Godhra, where a slew of programmes and cultural events have been organised by the state government, said the release.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/G...how/4027640.cms

My first post is on Anil Ambani

Ostensibly a devout hindu,
funding the islamist Samajwadi party,
funding the anti-hindu UPA