Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2

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Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Guest - 11-11-2007

INSIDE TRACK
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Ministering angel

Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav bumped into some labourers from Bihar hired for construction work in Delhiâs Rail Bhavan. Realising that the workmen transporting building material in the lift were from his home state, he turned on the famous Lalu charm. After chatting with them for a while, Lalu finally left, but not before ordering an accompanying official to take down the names of the workers and ensure that the cashier paid the 20-odd men Rs 1,000 each. That posed a dilemma for the railway authorities, who were not sure under what head such a grant could be made. Nevertheless, the men were indeed handed over the money by the afternoon.

Word of Laluâs generosity spread among the construction workers of Delhi, and by the next day a large number were thronging the entrance of Rail Bhawan to meet the minister. Lalu had to sneak into the building from another gate. 
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Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Guest - 11-26-2007

Ministry rally could create Rs 100-cr mess
26 Nov 2007, 0002 hrs IST,Subodh Ghildiyal,TNN
NEW DELHI: The cost of this nightmare could be at least Rs 100 crore.

A national rally of panchayats, planned in Delhi by panchayati raj ministry headed by Mani Shankar Aiyar, has babudom tied up in knots.

The ministryâs finance wing has raised objections to the initial estimate of Rs 165 crore proposed as expenditure for the rally. While officials and Aiyar are working frenetically to revise the budget, sceptics within wonder if it would make much of a difference. Even the revised estimate has been put at Rs 102 crore.

The mega expenditure is for a massive rally to celebrate the 15th year of the advent of panchayati raj in the country by bringing to the Capital panchayat functionaries from every corner. The 73rd and 74th constitutional amendment Acts were passed by Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on December 22 and 23, 1992.

Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Guest - 11-28-2007

âOrthodox Russians see red over plans for 'Hindu âVatican' in Moscowâ

by Nick Paton Walsh (âGuardian,â October 22, 2003)

Alfred Ford, a great-grandson of the motoring legend, Henry, has outraged the conservative Russian Orthodox Church with his plans to build a huge centre for Hare Krishna and Vedic religion worshippers in the centre of Moscow.

The Orthodox Church, whose influence in Russia is rocketing since the fall of Communism eased religious worship, is furious at the prospect that a building big enough to hold 8,000 Hindu worshippers would be built, a few miles from Red Square. The first stone was supposed to be laid in November when the Indian prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, visits Moscow. However, that ceremony is in doubt because of the outcry over the centre.

Prominent Russian Orthodox figures have called the church "open religious expansion".

Valentin Lebedev, head of the Union of Orthodox Citizens of Russia, said: "We know that in India, Christianity is persecuted.

"According to the teaching of the Orthodox Church, Hinduism is considered one of the most anti-Christian cults and we do not understand why such an enormous church and cultural centre is necessary in Moscow."

He said the Vedic religion already had one centre in Moscow and that was enough.

Yesterday the union wrote to the Moscow mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, demanding that plans for the centre be scrapped. Mr Lebedev launched a personal attack on the centre's financier, Mr Ford, who is expected to spend about $10m (Â£6m) on the domed structure, which would be the largest of its kind in Europe and has already been nick-named by some the "Hindu Vatican".

Father Mikhail Dudko, secretary of the Commission for Church and Society for the Orthodox Church, said the church did not react to "declarations of intent". But he added that the union's position would closely resemble that of the public, and that the church "always takes into account the positions of the public".

The head of the executive committee of the Krishna Consciousness of Russia, Sergei Zuyev, said Mr Ford had lobbied for the project with Moscow government officials. "He told us that he would like to support the building of such a cultural centre in Moscow." Yet Mr Zuyev said as soon as Mr Ford had made his intentions known, "the Orthodox groups made a fuss".

He added: "The Orthodox Church, from our point of view, is one of the most totalitarian sects in the world which in Russia disguises itself as a state religion.

"It is the source of intolerance and mixing the Orthodox belief with nationalism is a really explosive and dangerous mixture."

Vedic believers say they are 90,000 strong in Russia.

Mr Ford, during a visit to Moscow last week, said: "For me the most important thing is to spread the Hindu knowledge about the soul. This is more important than any other knowledge and is my main priority".
http://www.wwrn.org/article.php?idd=664&sec=28&con=42

Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Guest - 11-30-2007

Cursed Indian gem on display in UK

Nov 26, 2007

London The Delhi Purple Sapphire, a gem that is believed by many to be "cursed", will go on public display at the vault in the Natural History Museum in London, on Wednesday.

A spokesman of the museum said today that the Sapphire was brought to the UK by a Bengal cavalryman, Colonel W Ferris, after being looted from the Temple of Indra in Kanpur during the war of 1857.

The soldier thereafter lost money and health, and his son who inherited whatever was left subsequently lost it, too.

A family friend who possessed it for a short time committed suicide.

Edward Heron-Allen, a scientist and friend of wit and playwright Oscar Wilde, was the last owner of gem.

He was given the stone in 1890 and was immediately beset by misfortunes. He twice gave the stone to friends who had asked for it; one "was thereupon overwhelmed by every possible disaster", and the other, a singer, found "her voice was dead and gone and she has never sung since."

Heron-Allen even claimed to have thrown the gem into Regent's Canal only for it to be returned to him three months later by a dealer who had bought it from a dredger.

By 1904, Heron-Allen had had enough.

Declaring, "I feel that it is exerting a baleful influence over my newborn daughter", he had it shipped to his bankers with instructions that it be locked away till after his death.

At the risk of sounding far-fetched, even scientists are not immune to the power of the story of the Delhi Purple Sapphire.

Seven years ago, John Whittaker, former head of micropalaeontology at the Natural History Museum, took the amethyst to the first annual symposium of the Heron-Allen Society, an organisation founded to discuss the man's life.

On the way home, "the sky turned black and we were overtaken by the most horrific thunderstorm I've ever experienced," Whittaker said.

It was so bad "we considered abandoning the car and my wife was shouting, 'Why did you bring that damned thing?'"

Whittaker was taken violently ill with a stomach bug the night before the second symposium of the society and he missed the third when he developed a kidney stone.

The fourth symposium in 2004, was held at the museum. "We were all a bit apprehensive on the eve of the meeting," he said.

Heron-Allen was one of the most multi-faceted individuals ever associated with the Natural History Museum. He trained as a solicitor while simultaneously learning the art of violin-making -- his book on the history of the instrument, published in 1884, is still in print. He studied Persian and wrote a popular prose translation of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.

But it was as a scientist that he forged the strong bond with the Natural History museum that would ultimately see the "cursed" amethyst wind up in South Kensington.

**********

Even the kohinoor that is encrusted in the queen of england's crown was stolen from india. The british family is also facing tragedies regularly.
ANY COINCIDENCE?

It would be nice if a thread could be opened to list all the wealth that was looted from India like the peacock throne, kohinoor,etc. and that which will have to be eventually recovered.

Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Guest - 12-01-2007

Geet, all the famous cursed diamonds turn out to be those stolen from temples (from our Gods). Gee I wonder why they became cursed...
(Meanwhile, the story of the cursed lance/spear of the cursed Longinus turns out to be no more than a story - see Dhu's post in The History Of Christianism thread, thus making the Longinus fraud more proof that jeebus is a myth.)

Anyway, let's have a look. Two things: First the Hope Diamond, then an online version of a book at some Jewellery store that discusses some of the famous Diamonds stolen from India.

The famous blue diamond which happens to be blamed for such small things as the execution of Le Roi Louis et sa Reine Antoinette and even La Revolution Francaise:
http://www.mapsofworld.com/referrals/metal...pe-diamond.html
QUOTEHope Diamond is presently housed at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. The origin of the gemstone has an interesting tale - it is believed to have been excavated from the Kollur mine in Golconda, India. The worldâs largest diamond was once owned by Louis XIV who designed it into a 67 1/8 carat (13.4 g) stone and officially designated the stone as the âblue diamond of the crownâ as it was set in the golden crown for the King to wear on ceremonial occasions. The diamond was stolen during the French Revolution in 1792 but was again found in 1830 and was bought by Henry Philip Hope of London for $90,000. The diamond got its name after the new owner.

The Blue Hope Diamond is believed to carry a curse as the discovery of the stone was the outcome of a theft. It is believed that several centuries ago, a French jeweler named Tavernier made a trip to India. From a temple in India, he stole a large blue diamond from the forehead of the statue of the Hindu goddess, Sita. The first horrible consequence of the curse was that Tavernier was tattered apart by wild dogs on a trip to Russia. The second victims of the curse were the King Louis XVI and the Queen Marie Antoinette who were beheaded during the French Revolution. There are evidences of sudden deaths of most of the owners of the Hope Diamond that are believed to be the consequences of the curse that the diamond carried.

The exquisite Hope Diamond is placed in the National Gem Collection in the Smithsonian Institution, in the National Museum of Natural History. The diamond has an estimated value of $200,000,000 - $250,000,000.Smithsonian doesn't need to pay us money for it. And we'll be kinder still: we won't charge any interest or smack any fines. They just need to return the diamond to Hindus who'll put it back on Sita.

http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/2005..._diaspora.shtml
QUOTESearching for Hope's Origins
US experts' computer models of the 45.52 carat Hope diamond "very much support the theory that it was cut from the French Blue diamond, " said Jeffrey Post, a Smithsonian institution museum curator. The 112-carat French Blue was purchased by Jean Baptist Tavernier, a 17th-century merchant, probably from the Kollur mine in India. It was sold to King Louis XIV of France in 1668, later recut to 67 carats and stolen in 1792. In 1812, a 44-carat deep blue diamond appeared in the collection of Henry Philip Hope. Changing hands several more times, it was finally donated to the Smithsonian. Research into the Tavernier stone, the French Blue and the Hope, showed that two smaller "versions " could fit into the Tavernier stone. Legend says the diamond is cursed because Tavernier stole it from the eye of a statue of the Hindu Goddess Sita. Many of its owners suffered grave misfortunes.The more PC version (in christocolonial times) is that the christoterrorist from Europa (Tavernier) 'bought' it. From somewhere. From the air apparently.
Hey, they even have stories of a 'slave' offering it to the christoterrorist! How sweet. Poor Hindu slave who was soooo moved by christoterrorism he thought he'd steal the jewel from a Vigraham and give it to a christoterrorist.
Of course this version is rather too much like a convenient lie. Every thief makes up a story about how he came by his loot legitimately - so too this Tavernier. ("It's mine! My Preciousssss. Gollum. We didn't steal it, no Precious! Nasty Hobbitses. What has it got in its pocketses?")
http://www.gemstonedeva.com/famousstones.php
QUOTENow that I have mentioned the four largest Diamonds I would like to continue with perhaps the most infamous Diamond of all times, the blue Hope Diamond. Even though this Diamond is much smaller than the Diamonds mentioned above, it is one of the most well known Diamonds and it didn't get its reputation from its beauty. The Hope Diamond was discovered in India in the 17th century, although the stone had been around in this country before this time. The French world traveller Jean Baptiste Tavernier was approached by a slave in India who offered him this stone.Â <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ROTFL.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ROTFL.gif' /> At first Tavernier thought he had a beautiful blue Sapphire in his hands, but he discovered rather quickly that this blue gemstone was indeed a Diamond, the largest blue Diamond in the world. Tavernier purchased the stone from the slave and smuggled it to Paris, where he sold it to Louis the Fourteenth later on.

According to legend The Hope once was a part of an Indian temple idol, and was one of its eyes.
However the second 'eye' has never been found. The latter makes the legend incredible, but the fact that this stone brings ill luck to its owner may be considered proof of a temple desecration.
(Actually, it need not be an "incredible legend. Several explanations possible:
(1) The second eye could well have been stolen simultaneously and sold separately: looters have always done this to keep from being traced. They do this even today. ADDED: IIRC, the famous French necklace that Antoinette got into trouble about ("L'Affaire d'eclat/The Necklace Affair" or something) was also broken up into pieces - Jeanne and accomplice tried to sell the jewels in it separately from what I remember. This was about the same time, so it was probably Standard Practise in France and Europe where jewel theft was concerned.
(2) Elsewhere the diamond is actually said to be from the forehead of the Vigraham, in which case there would be no need to search for a second diamond
(3) Devis, including Lakshmi's Sita are often described in shlokas that try to explain their beauty as having "one eye bright like the sun and the other like the moon". It's entirely possible that the other eye of the Vigraham of the Devi need not be a diamond then, but some other precious stone/jewel.)

After Louis XIV had gotten a hold of the Hope Diamond, then called the Tavernier Bleu, the Sun King was followed by ill luck. He gave the stone to Madame de Montespan, and she fell into the court's disgrace soon after. The French minister of Finances, Nicholas Fouquet, decided to borrow the stone to get on the good side of the king, but Louis XIV had him arrested and convicted of embezzlement. Thus the Tavernier Bleu fell into the Sun King's lap again. But not only Louis XIV was a victim of this beautiful blue stone's 'wrath', all others that possessed the Hope Diamond after him were subject to ill luck. Marie Antoinette, the queen of the French, was killed by the guillotine. The Diamond disappeared, just like the French Royalty, until a steel blue Diamond appeared in 1830 in the United Kingdom. The shape of this stone was different and it weighed about 20 carats less than the Tavernier Bleu, but soon it would become apparent that this stone attracted the same ill luck as the Tavernier Bleu once did. And it was assumed that this stone was the Tavernier Blue. The Diamond was purchased by the British banker Henry Thomas Hope, and from then forward the stone has been known under the name the Hope Diamond. A descendant of Hope found out what this stone could do, his wife, a well-known actress at the time, left him and he applied for bankruptcy, which caused the stone to change hands and disappear from the public's eye for a while.

The stone resurfaced in the possession of Sultan Abdul Hamid II of Turkey, he gave the beautiful Diamond to one of the 237 women in his harem. Subaya, the wife in question, began conspiring against the Sultan and she had to pay for it with her life. One day Evalyn Walsh McLean came to the Sultan's court and she immediately fell for the beauty of this magnificent gem, the Hope Diamond. Se convinced Sultan Abcul to sell the stone to her and eventually succeeded in obtaining the gem. Abdul never received any moneys from the sale of the stone to Mrs. McLean, he was dethroned during the secret sale of the Diamond. In 1911 the Hope Diamond came in Mrs. McLean hands and two years after her death in 1946 the stone was sold to Harry Winston. Winston sold the stone to the American State and the Hope Diamond now can be seen on permanent display in the Smithsonian Institute of Washington D.C.

The name of the next Diamond is known to all over the world, the Koh-I-Noor, this name literally stands for 'Mountain of Light' and it is said that this gem from India has had many owners. The history of this gem has been recorded since 1304 and from this age the belief that whomever possesses the Koh-I-Noor will also rule the world. Because of this belief many battles were fought to obtain this Diamond. According to legend a Sultan had safely hidden the stone underneath his turban, but once he had been defeated in battle he had to give up the gem. He started to take off his turban and the stone fell to the ground. The new owner yelled out 'Koh-I-Noor!' when he saw the stone and hence the gem was named. The Koh-I-Noor can now be seen at the Tower of London and is part of the British Crown Jewels.
But not to be outdone by the ridiculous story above of how Tavernier 'chanced' upon it, another site goes one step further in blaming "one of the savage natives of Hindoostan". In this christoversion - from a poorly researched site on 'the supernatural' - they blame a priest for the theft of the Hope, thus trying to keep suspicion away from the christothief Tavernier:
http://library.thinkquest.org/C007461/hope.htm
QUOTEIt once was set in the brow of an Indian temple idol, but a thieving priest stole it. His punishment was a slow and painful death.However, we can easily forget that confused site, and look at a more reliable source, the book "Bahadur. A Handbook Of Precious Stones."
It mentions several of the famous diamonds that christoterrorists stole from India. AND indeed, there's even a most interesting mention of "a brahmin" just like above but to do with ANOTHER diamond altogether which is mentioned in point (4) below, while the Hope - confirmed as stolen by Tavernier from a temple - is mentioned in (9).

http://www.farlang.com/gemstones/bahadur_h...stones/page_094
(This here book "Bahadur. A Handbook Of Precious Stones" is hosted at what appears to be a jewellery store. In any case, this outlet or whatever it is, is called "Farlang, Gem and Diamond Foundation" and states that it has a library of "historical and reference material" about jewels)
QUOTESome famous Indian diamonds
No account of diamonds will be complete without an account of some of the large and famous Indian diamonds, which earned a world wide fame and possessing a special interest. The following are the most important stones:â

1. Koh-i-noor.âSome legends are in vogue about its great antiquity even 5,000 years ago. But for the period up till 1304 A.D. no information is available. It is said that in 1304 A.D. Alauddin took it from the king of Malwa. It remained with the Moghuls till 1526, when Ranjit Singh got it from Ahmed Shaw at Lahore. When the Punjab was annexed by the British all the State jewels of Lahore were confiscated by the East India Co. On 3rd June, 1850, it reached Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, the weight being 186 carats. When it was with Aurangzeb, it had a weight of 793 carats. This reducÂtion was due to the unskilfulness of Hortensio Borgio, a Venetian lapidary who had been entrusted with its cutting. This enraged the emperor so much that Borgio was disÂpossessed of all his property and with great difficulty escaped with his life. The atone had the form of an irregular rosette. It was again recut in 1852. The present weight is 106 1/16 carats and the stone is of considerable beauty. It is supposed to have been found at Kollur.

2.Â Â The Great Moghul.âTavernier states that he saw this stone at the court of Aurangzeb and it weighed at that time 787-1/2 carats, and also .got confounded with Koh-i-noor. Tavernier has recorded two large stones, and hence it is thought that the two are only convertible names. Another theory refers the stpne to be cut into three by Borgio: (i) the Koh-i-noor, (ii) the Great Moghul and the third went to some petty chief. When cut it came to 240 carats. The subsequent history of the Great Moghul is a complete blank, and is supposed to have been lost or destroyed. It is presumed'to have been found at Kollur about 1650.

3.Â Â Pitt or Regent.âThough not the largest, it is conÂsidered to be the most perfect and beautiful diamond in existence, remarkable alike for its shape, proportion and fine water. Its original weight was 410 carats. It is supposed to have been found at Partial in 1701. The stone pame into the hands of William Pitt, Governor of Madras. It was cut to a perfect brilliant, weighing 163-7/8 carats. Subsequently it was purchased by the Duke of Orleans, Regent of France, for Â£135,000. It has been treasured as one of the most beautiful and valuable of the jewels belonging to the French nation. This diamond was stolen from the Garde-Meuble in 1792, but came back in a mysterious fashion. The republic then pledged it to a Berlin merchant from whom it was again redeemed. The Emperor Napolean I used to wear it in the pommel of his sword and always considered it to be the key-stone to all his future greatness. It was shown in the French Exhibition of 1855.

4. The Orloff or Amsterdam diamond.âThis stone is reported to have formed one of the eyes of a Hindu God, and was stolen away by a French Grenadier-of Pondicherry, who passed as an incognito Brahmin. It was first sold to an English sea-captain for Rs.20,000 who in turn sold it to a Jew for Rs. 1,20,000. It passed again to another hand from whom in or about 1772, it was bought by Prince Orloff for presentation to Catherine II for Rs.9 lakhs, and a life annuity of Rs.40,000 and the grant of a Russian nobility to the seller. There is also a legend that it was one of the stones taken away by Nadir Shaw from the Moghuls.
The stone in its outlines resembles Tavernier's Great Moghul, but there is the difference in weight. Another story says that it was brought to Russia and placed in the Russian Imperial sceptre weighing 194-1/4 carats. Like the
Koh-i-noor, it has the underside flat, and is rose cut. Water is of any yellowish tinge. Its size is that of a pigeon's egg. It is the largest of diamond in the Russian crown jewels. It is a stone of the finest water, pure and has a brilliant lustre.
(The above is obviously where the previous link got its confused story from "of a Frenchman obtaining the Hope Diamond that was stolen by a 'temple priest'" . Instead the one they meant to refer to was the Orloff, stolen by a christo Frenchman who was able to commit the crime by dressing up as a priest/Brahmin. Rather like that christoterrorist - 'Father De Nobili' - who also tried to dupe people by dressing like a Brahmin.)

5.Â Â The Sancy.âIts early history is not traceable. It was sold by the King of Portugal to Baron de Sancy, and hence known as the Sancy. It was in his family for more than a century, then with James II of England and afterÂwards with Louis XIV. It was lost in the French Revolution of 1792 and found again. It was bought by Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy of Bombay for Rs.2 lakhs. It is almond shaped, of very fine water, and weighs 53-1/2 carats. The cut is evidently Indian and the stone is covered all over with tiny facets.

6.Â Â The Nizam.âThis stone was found at Golconda and weighed 340 carats (afterwards 277 carats). It was broken in the year of the Indian Mutiny. It is now presumed to be in the possession of the Nizam.

7.Â Â The Florentine Brilliant.âThe Grand Duke of Tuscany. The Austrian Yellow was valued at Rs. 10-1/2 lakhs. It was double rose cut and weighed 139-1/2 carats. Charles the Bold had three diamonds of great beauty and value. The history of the two is confused with one another, and the third is the Sancy already referred to. After passing

8. The Pigott diamond.âThis stone was taken away from India by Lord Pigott about 1775 and passed through several hands. It is brilliant cut and weighed 82-1/4 carats. It was once sold for Rs 3-1/4 lakhs.

9. The Hope diamond.âThis beautiful diamond was believed to have been taken from India. It has a steely or greenish blue colour, an extremely rare tint in diamonds, a brilliant lustre and a fine play of colours. It has been known since 1830, and its original weight was 112-3/16 carats, but the present weight is only 44-1/4 carats. It was found at the Kollur mines, stolen from an Indian temple by Tavernier in 1642 and sold by him to Louis XIV in 1668. It finally came into the hands of Thomas Phillip Hope. The stone is supposed to have brought ill-luck in its train. It figured a great deal in the Great Exhibition of 1851.

10. The Great table of Tavernier.âIt was seen by him in 1642. According to him it weighed 242-3/16 carats and that it was the largest diamond he had seen in India in the hands of dealers. His offer of Bs.4 lakhs for this stone was rejected.
(He probably tried to steal it first but that didn't work. Then he offered the money and after the rejection, still couldn't get his claws on it, I want to bet...)

11. Dariya-i-noor.â'River of Light'âIt was rose cut and weighed 186 carats. It appears to have been captured by Nadir Shaw at Delhi and now is the largest diamond in the Persian collection.
India had a huge number of diamond mines. A vast fortune. (Books written by christos in colonial times about our country - even novels - will confirm this.) It was the main source of diamonds in the world until they exhausted it. And practically every bit of loot is now in the hands of christoterrorists. Yes, the same whose colonialism MMS praised not too long back. Christoterrorism dried up India's well of diamonds. But that's only part of the vast amount of plunder the christians and islamis made off with. There were lots of other precious items they stole as well.

Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Guest - 12-01-2007

QUOTECursed Indian gem on display in UK

I believe that every time Western nations start ranting about issues like trade intellectual property violatio, software/music piracy to China, it merely responds by asking as to when's their property stolen by colonial masters being returned?

Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - ramana - 12-02-2007

Most of these famous diamonds from India are from Panna in Madhya Pradesh. The blue diamond is from India. In mid 1870s Kimberly in South Africa was found to have diamonds and started the move from India.

Occasionally the India press has stories of diamonds found in Krishna river beds.

Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Guest - 12-03-2007

QUOTE(Husky @ Dec 1 2007, 01:04 PM)Geet, all the famous cursed diamonds turn out to be those stolen from temples (from our Gods). Gee I wonder why they became cursed...
(Meanwhile, the story of the cursed lance/spear of the cursed Longinus turns out to be no more than a story - see Dhu's post in The History Of Christianism thread, thus making the Longinus fraud more proof that jeebus is a myth.)
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Huskyji thanks for the detailed reply.

Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Guest - 12-11-2007

Navyshastra blog
QUOTEPlease take the two polls on the Navyshastra page and help our apology
campaign succeed.

Yours truly,
Team Navyshastra

Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Guest - 12-12-2007

Linked from the above:
http://rajeev2004.blogspot.com/2007/12/rot...s-to-bitch.html
QUOTEnavyashastra is a group of communist buffoons in the midwest who just looooove mohammedans and christists. sort of like the kaaangressi impostor who goes around claiming to be the sankaracharya of puri.Wish they'd tell that to the satyameva-jayate.org blog which promotes a link to the navishasters on the side.

But then again, many of the regular posters at that blog - in spite of appearing pro-Hindu in other respescts - like nothing better than repeating the now-famous slogan "brahmins are evil" and "they are the ones who are keeping Hindus down" <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='blink.gif' /> (Apparently it's no longer the 'Oryans and the Dravidoids', now its the 'Brahmins and the Hindus'.)
The lies never end. Sigh.
Ah whatever. Those Hindus also tend to be the kind that argue that "Hinduism is Monotheism and Not Polytheism" (not realising they're talking the christoislamic lingo there and dealing with specifically christoislamic constructs that are not applicable to us). So perhaps they've been brainwashed for far too long by the centuries of lying missionary talk and some of it has still stuck.

Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Shambhu - 12-13-2007

Hmm! I just got this from my contacts at RealIndiaNews:

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

RIN (Mumbai): Today we had the privilege of interviewing Professor Romila Macaulay-Matthew, adjunct scholarly advisor to the Indian Harvest Organization, associate dean of Takht-e-Aurangzeb University, retained chairperson of the South Asians for South Asia Trust; and recently Knighted by Her Majesty the Queen of England for her "invaluable and reassuring contributions to reconstructing Indian history", as the Royal Committee for Knighting put it.

RIN: Professor Macaulay-Matthew, it is an honour to meet you. I should be addressing you as Lady Professor Macaulay-Matthew, actually..
Professor Macaulay-Matthew: Actually I prefer Professor Lady Macaulay-Matthew..

RIN: Absloutely. Professor Lady Macaulay-Matthew, I know your time is precious. Let me start by asking you about your most recent project: the Brown Natives Upliftment Initiative..
PLMM: Yes. You see, being born of an Indian mother and an English Father has put me in a unique situation. I can understand the Hindoo Natives' plight from a civilized perspective. I feel a pull, a deep yearning, a subtle sense of obligation, a moral responsibility, and a heartfelt, gut-wrenching, agonizing..

RIN: In the interests of your time, Professor Lady, I would like to ask you to summarize your thoughts for the readers..
PLMM: Ah! How can I encapsulate the unencapsulable? Well, let me try: I want to lift up the brown natives. The ignorant idolators. The wretched waifs. The superstitious sub-humans. The..

RIN: Yes, we get the picture..
PLMM: The BNUI..

RIN: BNUI?
PLMM: Brown Natives Upliftment Initiative..

RIN: Yes, of course. Sorry..
PLMM: As I was saying, the BNUI is a serious effort to give every Brown person the upliftment he or she deserves. Uplift the untouchables. Save the Satis. Warm the hearts of the poor snake charmers. Cool the brow of the burdened coolie. Show the..Yes, Wellesley?

My butler is gesticulating animatedly from the parlour..What is it, Wellesley?

Wellesley (apologetically): Ma'm your speaking engagement at the Aluminium
Industry..
PLMM: Well, thank you, Wellesley! I must run; I promised to talk at the anniversary celebrations of the SA-FOIL, the south asian aluminium conglomerate..well, we simply must meet again, dear..

RIN: We will, Lady Professor..
PLMM: Professor Lady..

RIN: Um..sorry, that was what I meant to say. Goodbye, Professor Lady Macaulay-Matthew.
PLMM: Well, ta-ta. Is the Sumo ready, Wellesley?

Wellesley: Waiting for you downstairs, Ma'm.

This is RIN.

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RealIndiaNews
We attempt to enlighten. Ourselves, mostly.
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Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Guest - 01-15-2008

Tired of waiting for VIP, people throw flyover open for publicQUOTETraffic jams, chaos on the streets and heartburn for the common man meant nothing to the authorities and the construction company heads, who were not willing to open the flyover for public use till a VIP came to inaugurate it.

However, that was till Monday evening â till people's patience wore thin and they decided to take matters in their own hands.

Taking the initiative, a crowd of over 100 people got together, chanted shlokas, performed a small puja, broke coconuts and cut a ribbon, inaugurating the flyover for their own use.Â <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ROTFL.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ROTFL.gif' />Â <!--emo& Big Grin

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' />

People said that they had been tired of the congestion that was being caused simply because the flyover was not being open for public use â the people for whom it was actually made.

A similar inicident had taken place in Goa in 1983, when super cop Kiran Bedi had insisted that the Zuari bridge â which was to be inaugurated by then prime minister Indira Gandhi â be opened for public use, to ease the congestion. She took the step after Indira Gandhi cancelled her visit to open the bridge four times

this can only happen in Delhi. They know how to show <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/f*(k.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='f*(k.gif' /> to politican, no Sonia no dixit for ribbon cutting nonsense.

Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Shambhu - 01-15-2008

http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/jan/15dow.htm

Dharma based Dow index

Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Guest - 01-17-2008

QUOTEHighway scar 
The Pioneer Edit Desk
For want of a VIP...
Reports that the opening of a crucial flyover that will near-complete the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway and ensure snarl-free journeys for an estimated 160,000 vehicles every day has been held up for want of a VIP are as ludicrous as they are shameful. It is believed that the illness of the UPA chairperson and the busy schedule of the Prime Minister have come in the way of their presence. Lesser VIPs and Ministers will not do. Now, after a group of intrepid and harassed commuters cut a ribbon and 'liberated' the flyover, in a symbolic gesture, Ministers and public officials may not want to come anywhere near the flyover in any case. It would be unfair to put the blame on just this Government of a few chosen functionaries. The truth is India's VIP culture is so deep-rooted that even an ordinary flyover connecting a city road to an inter-State highway requires the presence of a bigwig usually driven around in a Government car. India must be the only country in the world where tennis and football matches are regularly 'inaugurated' by Ministers and even Prime Ministers. Â <!--emo& Big Grin

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /> In one infamous case, the politician in question threw the ball in the air and proceeded to, with a double-fisted grip on the racket, 'smash it for six' -- unable or unwilling to distinguish tennis from cricket. From primary schools to housing projects, from new roads to re-built bridges, a VIP at the inauguration -- and, of course, the foundation stone ceremony as well -- is considered the norm. It is a particularly extreme, and comic, manifestation of Indian statism, a legacy that has not really gone away, despite a decade-and-a-half of fitful liberalisation.

It is not difficult to consider the impact of the unopened flyover. At peak hour, a journey from downtown Delhi to Gurgaon can take close to two hours. The flyover will cut time and allow crucial access to an expressway that is a 16-lane wonder and, for the moment, should take in all the traffic and more. It is possible senior politicians don't realise this. In Delhi, few of them travel outside the Lutyens' zone. For the lucky elite, a rigorous and sometimes overdone security protocol ensures quick, obstacle-free travel through the central arteries of the city. This would be largely true for State capitals, too. Till well after World War II, Clement Atlee was taking public transport to work, the last British Prime Minister to do so. When he relinquished office in the summer of 2007, Mr Tony Blair took the Tube as he left 10 Downing Street for the last time. Such instances would be unheard of in India. Living in a state-sponsored, taxpayer-subsidised bubble, Ministers and former Ministers have no idea about how people go about their business. Specifically, the torture that an urban commute makes for is completely alien to them. It has come in the way of overdue investment in mass transit networks and in the nonchalance with which the authorities have approached the Gurgaon flyover. They don't care, because they simply don't know better. It would be best if the flyover is opened at once, without fuss or drama. At least the ordinary car/truck owners will pay the highway toll. The VIPs will probably ask for an exemption anyway 

DO we know name of that fool?

Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - acharya - 01-21-2008

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200801211140.htm

Where is the same effort for Taslima

Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - acharya - 02-03-2008

This award winning book makes a major contribution to scholarship about religion and society. By carefully examining the local and regional causes and the national consequences of ex-untouchables' conversion to Islam in South India, the author has deepened our understanding of the beliefs and actions associated with the pursuit of social justice and equality in India."

Winner of the Outstanding Academic Book of the Year Award, from the American Library Association.

"One of the most sensational events in recent Indian history was the mass conversion of several thousand untouchables to Islam, in the South Indian village of Meenakshipuram in 1981-82. The resulting backlash on the part of Hindu fundamentalist groups was one of the most important ingredients in the formation of current Hindu religious nationalism. This book is a careful sociological study of the nature and motivation of untouchable conversion to Islam. Mujahid emphasizes the ongoing massive discrimination and official persecution still leveled against untouchables, and he describes the motivation behind conversion as a search for social equality in which foreign funding played no part. The painstaking use of official statistics on untouchables and the capable research on the status of Tamil Muslims maintain an impersonal and profesional tone despite the controversial nature of the subject.

The author raises convincing objections regarding accepted sociological dogmas, such as the use of caste categories (ashra/ajlaf) to analyse Indian Muslim society. The book will be a valuable corrective for students and scholars in Indian studies, history of religions, and sociology. The bibliography, glossary, and index are usefull aids. Recommended for college and university libraries..." C.W. Ernst, American Library Association

AuthorBio: Abdul Malik Mujahid is an author, producer, and imam in the Chicagoland area. He is also the president of Sound Vision.

http://www.soundvision.com/Shop/pview.asp?Item=4316-001

The author does not talk about discrimination by the higher caste Muslims against the
lower caste Muslims and against dalits by the Muslims from the Mughal period to the present times.

Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Guest - 02-05-2008

Has this Raj Thackeray gone crazy. First he supported some hooligans who were eve-teasing at Juhu on New Years Eve. Now he's formetting racist behaviour against North Indians in Mumbai.
And Maharastra govt's been pretty wish-washy dealing with this hate-mongering nitwit.

Raj party threatens to block trains from North!!

Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Bodhi - 02-06-2008

his provocation (he says) is why Amitabh Bachchan signed for a Bhojpuri film recently. Incidentally as reported by Star, this Bhojpuri film is being produced by not a Bihari but a Marathi person. Besides AB has done a role in Marathi movie 'Akka' tto, at a time when nobody worth mention does any Marathi movie any more. He has also signed up for the films of other languages including one in Tamil lately.

Raj Thakeray's family has produced several Hindi movies too. How many Marathi movies did they care to make?

Such idiots like him! His uncle Bal Thakeray is any far behind? He supported a corrupt Marathi - Pratibha Patil as President but not an honest non-marathi APJAK. He is also ready to support Sharad Pawar for PM is situation comes!

today he has turned his ire to the south indians.

If the guy was really serious he should turn his anger to the underworld. Where was Raj Thakeray when no one came forward to make a bid for the high court directed auction of the property of dawood ibrahim kaskar (a gujarati muslim) some time back?

Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Guest - 02-06-2008

Bodhiji,

Raj's latest beef is with Jaya and Amitabh opening a school in their native UP. Perhaps the real reason is that he wasn't invited to Ash-Abhi marriage or Big B doesn't toe his line. Who knows. His uncle Bal's obiviously loosing it in his old age and Raj's had a falling out with Bal and Bal's kiddo Uday and seems to be desperate to take control of the local politics. Won't be surprised if Congress is supporting Raj in this proxy battle. His ire against South Indians is nothing new, Bal did it in 60s/70s till his own sister(or cousin) married a South Indian.

QUOTEdawood ibrahim kaskar (a gujarati muslim)
Dawood's from Maharashtra's Konkan (Ratnagiri) region and not Gujarat.

Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - acharya - 02-24-2008

Indiaâs litany of protests seen as much ado about nothing

* Supreme Court is beginning to worry that legal complaints are adding to a massive backlog for overburdened courts

NEW DELHI: Lawyer Raj Kumar Pandey says he has filed at least 200 court cases in the past 10 years accusing people of disrespecting the national flag - a crime in India.

Pandey is always on the watch for infractions and his latest target is top Indian tennis star Sania Mirza, whose feet were shown on a table near the flag at the Australian Open. The lawyer said this âinsulted national honour.â But Mirza is not the only one facing legal headaches, as an increasing amount of litigation and street protests have led to a flurry of bans on films and books and court cases against celebrities. âThere is increasing evidence that the pluralist foundations of this country ... are being subverted by narrow-minded, sectarian zealots,â journalist Jug Suraiya wrote in a column for The Times of India. For Mirza, who has been criticised for wearing short tennis skirts, shooting a TV commercial in a mosque and for remarks seen as endorsing premarital sex, the flag row was the last straw. She responded by refusing to play in India. âThe controversies have been going on for a long time. It is not easy to deal with such stuff,â she said, announcing her decision this month. On the cultural front, a mega Bollywood production was banned in central Madhya Pradesh state this week after protesters said the historical romance between a Hindu princess and a Mughal king showed their women in a poor light. Last week, Indiaâs most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, banned the book âRaniâ (Queen) after protesters objected to a fictionalised romance between the heroine who fought against British rule and a British official. They said the tale besmirched her memory.

Legal complaints: Indiaâs Supreme Court is also beginning to worry that legal complaints - which anyone in India has the right to file - are adding to a massive backlog for the countryâs overburdened courts. There are 30 million cases pending.

âWe are engaged in doing frivolous work. We are unable to do regular work,â Justice Markandey Katju said this month in the Supreme Court, expressing frustration at the growing number of such complaints. For instance, a court in Bhopal in central India is hearing 76 cases, all filed by Mirzaâs accuser Pandey, involving alleged violations of Indiaâs Flag Code which forbids, for instance, hoisting a grubby flag or using it in ads. But Pandey, who has also filed a case against cricket ace Sachin Tendulkar for cutting a cake with the flagâs saffron-white-and-green colours, said he will continue his crusade to protect the flagâs sanctity even if it overloads the courts.

âI salute the flag every time I see it. I stand up every time I hear the national anthem. I feel very strongly about it,â Pandey said. Meanwhile, Hollywood star Richard Gere is still battling to clear his name on charges of obscenity after he kissed actress Shilpa Shetty on the cheek at an AIDS fundraising event. âMost of these protests are not really necessary,â said Delhi University sociologist Patricia Oberoi. âBut there seems to be anxiety about Westernisation and changing lifestylesâ as Indiaâs economy booms. In addition, the countryâs most celebrated artist, MF Husain, has been in self-imposed exile in Dubai and London for two years following protests by hardline Hindu groups opposed to his paintings of nude goddesses. In 2006, one extremist Hindu group offered an 11.5-million-dollar reward for the assassination of the 93-year-old painter.

And Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen has been in hiding in New Delhi since last November after radical Muslims in Kolkata, where she had been living, protested against âanti-Islamicâ passages in her works. In many cases, commentators believe people are seeking electoral mileage. âPoliticians gain by playing one group against another,â said Dipankar Gupta, a sociology professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, adding the âlaw needs to come down hard on these protests.â afp