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Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Husky - 02-24-2008
<!--QuoteBegin-acharya+Feb 24 2008, 06:39 PM-->QUOTE(acharya @ Feb 24 2008, 06:39 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Indiaâs litany of protests seen as much ado about nothing</b>
âMost of these protests are not really necessary,â said Delhi University sociologist [COLOR=blue]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.[right][snapback]78926[/snapback][/right]<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->What liberties with the truth! Apparently whoever wrote this report doesn't appear to (want to) know the Indian courts want MFH for entirely different offenses than slighting a religion, and that MFH doesn't want to return as he doesn't want to pay up for crimes against the LAW of the land. But psecularados may be offended by small things like the truth that MFH is a petty criminal rather than a persecuted 'artist'.
Come to that, what's up with that line of " the countryâs most celebrated artist, MF Husain". No one but the elitist psecularados celebrates his ... pseudo-toddler's scrawl anyway, so it's obvious that the psecularados only count their own opinions in pronouncing him the "country's most celebrated...". Well, that certainly doesn't say anything positive about the level of 'understanding' the psecularados celebrating him have, as they are obviously woefully ignorant about art altogether. Rather obvious now that they believe art is defined by the very little <i>they</i> could accomplish, if ever they bothered to grab a brush themselves. Anything more stylistic, tasteful, technically well-executed, imaginative, original - or anything the least bit inspiring - would be too much for their puny petty thoughts to comprehend. MFH is all they can appreciate or even understand. How truly sad they are. Nah nah, no sympathy for the psecularados, their life is a mirror of their taste in art. So they are welcome to MFH; their level of 'art' appreciation deserves no better. Junk attracts junk they say. (At least they haven't called MFH the country's 'greatest' artist - that would only have been the most pathetic and offensive statement about India EVER, besides being ridiculously untrue.)
Continued:
<!--QuoteBegin-acharya+Feb 24 2008, 06:39 PM-->QUOTE(acharya @ Feb 24 2008, 06:39 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->In 2006, one extremist Hindu group offered an 11.5-million-dollar reward for the assassination of the 93-year-old painter.[right][snapback]78926[/snapback][/right]<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->Is this merely more drivel or is there any truth to this? Did anyone (who?) call for the assassination of MFH? (And if any did, I don't know why they didn't call for death to terrorists like Afzal G instead, when this Afzal should long be lawfully dead anyway. I'm no fan of capital punishment - but I'm slowly turning around to considering capital punishment for mass-murdering terrorists.)
Coming back to MFH, wouldn't it be better to wait around for the old loser (93) to pop off? Looks like he won't be around many decades anyway and is likely to disintegrate due to natural causes: first his tiny heart (assuming he had one) will shrivel up, then his innards... oh... someone may be eating. Sorry. What 'Bad Taste' on my part. For those not eating: think 'Brain Dead' (=movie) <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Guest - 02-25-2008
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> In 2006, one extremist Hindu group offered an 11.5-million-dollar reward for the assassination of the 93-year-old painter.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Reward on M F Hussain was offered by
(a) one no name group claiming to speak for Hindus
and the other by
(b) Madhya Pradesh <b>Congress</b> committee minority cell vice-chairman <b>Akthar Baig</b>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->It would be in the 'interest of the nation if a patriot will chop off his hands. I will give that person Rs 11 lakh', he said.
Baig asked the government to take back all the honours bestowed on the noted painter and declare him a 'traitor'.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
http://www.expressindia.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=63306
Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Husky - 02-25-2008
Thanks Viren.
From Acharya's post 279 again: " In 2006, one extremist Hindu group offered an 11.5-million-dollar reward for the assassination of the 93-year-old painter."
So congress is now an "extremist Hindoo group"? Else the 'reporter' who made this up better have his hat for lunch. What losers in the Indian Angelsk-language media. Who allowed them to write anyway. Every time they tell the truth or get a fact right, we should have a cheering panel to say: "Go psecular stooge, you can do it. See how well you did just then?" Maybe that might encourage them to tell the truth more often? Well, not if they're lying deliberately, of course, which I'm almost sure they are. No one can be quite that hopeless without intending to be.
Two adverts for the christoterrorist 'charity' org WorldVision on that expressIndia page (post 281) "Gift life. Gift Hope". There's a banner on the far right and a rectangular one in the center. Yuck. They made sure the featured child victims aren't wearing Pottu/Bindi. Doesn't worldvision have other kids to prey on? Like the ones in western catholic schools who are attacked by pedophile priesties on a regular basis. How about 'gifting' them 'life and hope', they are in dire straits. Oh wait. Those kids are already converted to the True (terrorist) Faith, no one cares about them anymore.
Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Capt M Kumar - 04-04-2008
<!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo--> <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'><span style='color:blue'>Recently, I came across this:Re:Getting into Politics
Dear Pawan,
My appreciation for you to have decided to join politics. You are just 25 and this is the time for you to get ready. I am from IIT and also had similar ambition like yours. But I waited till I was 44. When I went back and found none of the political party to be good since most of their top leaders were incompetent and corrupt.
1. First ensure you have financial security before entering active politics so that you will not be tempted by money and also you need not depend on any one. This is a first condition. Honest politician cannot and should not make money from politics.
2. Do not wait for a long time. You should enter active politics before 35 to get enough exposure and also enough youthful energy to mobilize people power. Till that time, read on past and present history (Guhaâs After Gandhi will be a good one for the history since Independence). Read books on Indiaâs political leaders. Try to meet Indiaâs politicians and also NGO leaders. Get to know about the ground reality and also how elections are fought and won. This is not to adapt their strategy. In fact just to do the opposite. Learn about the activities of Jayaprakash Narayanâs Loksatta party.
3. Please do consider joining a party whose some leaders attract you. If you cannot find any, then contest election as an independent. Wining or losing is secondary. Just taking part in electoral politics itself is your contribution by showing how every citizen should take active interest in politics. Many will discourage you. Most will ask you to adapt the strategy of politicians or discourage you. Do not get influenced by that. They are all well meaning people.
4. Go to colleges, and universities and interact with students. You may have some luck. But do not count on that. But one should try that.
5. Keep good contact with media. Cultivate good relationships with some of the reporters. You will find most of them to be incompetent. But you may get lucky and find one or two good ones. Media is important.
Wish you all the best and do follow your dreams of entering politics. I found to be very rewarding though I lost deposits twice.
Regards
Bhamy Shenoy </span></span>
Pl +/- to it.
Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Guest - 04-11-2008
<b>VHP converts 19 Christians </b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The tribal belt of Malda-Dinajpur has seen many such reconversions by VHP and BJP in recent times. In August 2002, at this same place, <b>six Christian families and one Muslim family were converted to Hinduism</b>.
"We will intensify our programme to bring back people who had been lured into Christianity and Islam," said a VHP leader.
These 19 'reconverts' - including five women and five children of six families - hail from the backward tribal village of Bordanga. Swami Hiranmayananda was brought from Kolkata to conduct the 'purification' yajna in front of a crowd of hundreds, including local BJP leader Asit Sarkar and chief of Hindu Milan Mandir Swami Jibannanda.
The tribals were given new clothes, which they wore after taking a bath. Pulin Mardi, his wife Sanjini and son Tabi were the first to have converted from Christianity back to Hinduism.
<b>"The Fathers and missionaries lured us with amenities. But we were duped. We realized this and decided to come back to Hinduism,"</b> said Pulin.
<b>Hakim Tudu and Babulal Murmu, however, claimed they were Christians by birth as their father took to Christianity years ago. "It is our duty to rectify the mistake," the duo said</b>. All the 19 got their affidavits from Malda court regarding the conversion.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Bharatvarsh - 05-09-2008
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Row erupts as school asks Hindu kids to wear turbans
Times Of India
CHEEMA (SANGRUR, PUNJAB): Even as Sikhs in France and India complain loudly about the turban ban in schools there, a school here has directed all its Hindu students to wear a pagri 'without fail'.
The Akal Academy here, which has branches across the country, started operations in 1993 and has 1,400 students now.
A substantial 20% are Hindus. Not content with forcing the turban on Hindu students, the school has now announced a fine for all "defaulters" and said that the turban is an indispensable part of its dress code.
Anger at this stricture has spread quickly and parents of Hindu students have been protesting through the days, demanding a withdrawal of the decision. They have blocked roads and raised slogans against the management, even as the school defended its diktat.
"What is this," asked Ashok Jindal. "They have said all students not wearing a turban should pay Rs 10 as fine. It is just not fair."
Hindu parents have now got together to write a letter to the Punjab education minister and secretary. "What do the France school protests mean if they do this here," Jindal said.
When contacted, D R Yadav, regional officer, CBSE, said no school can compel any student to wear the turban or any other religious symbol. But Baba Jai Vinder Singh, chief manager at the academy, wasn't moved.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Row_eru...how/3023367.cms<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Why did these idiots send their kids to a minority school in the first place?
Send your kids to a Hindu school, a private school with no religious affiliation or a public school, don't send them to a Catholic mission school and then cry that your kid converted.
Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Guest - 05-10-2008
Why did the 1857 celebration fizzle out?
by Amaresh Misra
--------
The most stunning statement was how the MI6 (the British counterpart of the CIA) trailed S N Sen, the historian commissioned officially by the Government of India and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to write a history of 1857, when the scholar was in England for his research work.
According to Bates, the British government was jittery about 1857 in 1957 -- they sanctioned a certain amount for the British embassies in Pakistan and India to lobby for downplaying the 1857 100 year celebrations. Based on confidential MI6 and British government files opened recently for the public, Bates' papers proves that the ghost of 1857, and its plebian, peasant character haunted the British even 10 years after 1947.
Is it possible that this time too, the British or the American embassies, in alliance with certain Indian corporate houses, had a role to play in downplaying 1857? The American/corporate India angle is possible; this author received calls from the American embassy and a leading corporate house regarding the linkage of the British role in the Bibighar massacre to 9/11 in the conclusion of War of Civilisations.
The calls were polite but the male American speaker in one instance did hint at the fact that such comparisons would imply that some American or Israeli lobby within America allowed 9/11 to happen so that a 'war on terror' can be unleashed on the Muslim world and Asia.
There seems to be something amiss, maybe some mysterious foreign/Indian corporate hand in the way 1857 was suppressed in 2007 and 2008. The Indian liberal elites of the metro do not like to entertain any such thought. But then are they not, with their ultra-Westernised lifestyle as uncomfortable with the desi (indigenous), rugged, peasant character of 1857?
Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - acharya - 06-15-2008
Priest, film director held in sex scandal case
Kochi (Ker) (PTI): A priest, a film director and two others were taken into custody from Kottayam and Thrissur in connection with the 'Thoppumpady sex scandal' of 2002 in the city, police said.
The arrested are Fr Kuriakose, Shibu, Rajan Sithara, a film director and Abdul Khader, police said.
Kuriakose was arrested on Friday from his house at Kanjirappally in Kottayam district while Shibhu was arrested from Kottayam, police said.
Rajan Sithara was arrested from his residence in Thrissur district and Abdul Khader was taken into custory from Aluva, they said.
The case was registered in 2002 following a police raid in a lodge at nearby Thoppumpady where a minor girl was raped by a group of people.
A Special Branch police team led by A V George, SP State Special Branch, had taken the four into custody.
Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - dhu - 07-25-2008
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Shiv Sena activists enter Taj, pray inside
Agra: A group of Shiv Sena activists, including three women, sneaked into the Taj Mahal and performed puja within the precincts on Thursday. They were taken into custody and later released.
Around 10 Shiv Sena activists bought tickets and entered one by one into the Taj Mahal in the afternoon. They performed some kind of puja and 'parikrama' (circling of the monument) of the main structure with folded hands. They were forced to stop the ritual when security personnel noticed them wearing saffron scarves. A minor scuffle ensued after which the police took them to the Taj Ganj thana.
They were released in the evening.
The Shiv Sena, which claims the 17th century monument is actually a Shiva temple, had announced earlier that they would perform puja and aarti on every Monday during the month of Shravan, considered auspicious for the worship of Shiva. On Monday, they had been prevented from entering the Taj premises. They later performed the puja at the Taj corridor.
<b>Vinoo Lavania, Shiv Sena chief in Agra, said they had gone there as ordinary citizens of India and felt like praying. "So, what's wrong with that," he asked. </b>
R K Dixit, Archaeological Society of India's in charge of the Taj Mahal, told IANS: "They came in a group as ordinary citizens and purchased tickets. We were with them all the time along with the Taj Ganj police station in charge. With folded hands they went towards the mosque and went back. How could we have prevented their entry as they did nothing objectionable.
"I don't know why such a hullabaloo is being made about it. They told me their programme is for Mondays and had come today just to see the Taj Mahal."<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Guest - 08-03-2008
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080803/ap_on_...temple_stampede
Stampede in Temple - 68 killed.<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The devotees were attending a nine-day religious festival in the foothills of the Himalayas at the Naina Devi Temple, said district deputy police chief C.P. Verma.
A railing on the mountain path collapsed during the crush, sending dozens of people over the edge, police said.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Our prayers are with the victims and their families.
Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Bodhi - 08-04-2008
number is now 145, incl 30 kids.
Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Husky - 08-04-2008
Poor pups. Not fair to leave us behind for Moksham (or Swargam at the least, it's the Himalayas after all).
Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Guest - 08-06-2008
Cong backs SP, RJD demand to ban RSS
Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Guest - 08-08-2008
Taslima back in India
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Her visa is valid till August 12. She has been requesting for permanent residentship in the country, but the government has not taken any decision on the issue.
Taslima had left India on March 18 for Sweden after she was kept in a safe house in the national capital for more than four months. Taslima, who had not been allowed to see any visitors during the period, had described her confinement as living in "a chamber of death". <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - acharya - 08-14-2008
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Babri Masjid Demolition: Why on December 6?
Babri Masjid Demolition: Why on December 6?
By Ashok Yadav
ashokyadav2007@ gmail.com
Was it a mere coincidence that the Babri mosque was demolished on December 6? Of course, there are strong reasons to believe that the event was not an act of spontaneous mob frenzy but rather an outcome of a high-level conspiracy. No wonder the issue was utilised by the Sangha Parivar to generate communal euphoria across the length and breadth of the country. Moreover, this euphoria was manufactured and nourished sequentially and saw its logical culmination in the ultimate levelling of the mosque. However, the pertinent question is: what drove the saffron forces to chose this particular date for their heinuous act? What was so especial about this particular date that it overrided all other options in the 366 days of that year (1992 being a leap year)? A scrutiny of this question, I posit,would unveil the true character of Hindu communalism or Hindutva completely.
As we are all aware the class struggle between the exploiters and exploited sections continues unceasingly in all human societies. Though at certain critical junctures in history this struggle manifests itself in violent forms most of the time it is fought unabated at the psychological level. This psychological war is fought between the collective/folk memory of the people and the institutionalised memory of the oppressors. The strategy of the ruling classes everwhere and at all times has been to efface this folk memory of the people which is nothing but an historical record of the resistance offered by the people and their heroes to the powers that be. Of course, the oppressors are aware that the oppressed sections get more agitated listening to the tyranny meted out to their ancestors than the fact of actual oppression that they face themselves. Hence the powerful use all the instruments at their disposal to erase this collective memoryââ¬âfrom the organs of the state to all the institutions of indoctrination (education) and propaganda (media/cinema) . They are also often successful at that.
On the other hand the subject classes strive to eternalise this collective memory by bequeathing it to the successive generations through its own literature, culture, art and folk traditions. In our own times the autobiographies being penned by Dalit authors exemplify this best. They also celebrate and observe the decisive dates in their history or those associated with their leaders (their birth and death anniversaries for instance) to keep the flame of their cause alive. How this memory of tyranny unleashed against their ancestors inspires the oppressed to do something remarkable can be glimpsed in one of the statements by Vivian Richards, a reknowned Black cricketer from Antigua in West Indies. Richards, as we all know, was not only a sportsman par excellence but also a vocal crusader against racial injustice. He once said:
Every member of my team is haunted by the memory of white oppression faced by our ancestors for centuries. When we bowl lethally at them or bat explosively it is as if we are extracting revenge from them for those misdeeds and consequently restoring prestige for our race.
Hence, we can see how this collective memory often acts as the chief weapon in the armoury of the oppressed sections. However, there are certain memories which the powerful can never erase despite their best efforts. In such cases they take recourse to adulterating this memory and channelising it for their own nefarious ends. I contend that on December 6, 1992 when the Babri mosque was razed to the ground similar efforts were made. But I will come back to it later. First a few words on the true character of Hindutva.
The paramount feature of the Hindu faith is the caste system. Moreover, the ideology of Hindutva only nurtures and sustains this system. In Gita, which is accorded the highest place in the corpus of Hindu scriptures, God animated as Krishna states that the varna system is His creation. Besides, all the scriptures of Hindu faith unequivocally support the caste system. It can be further asserted that those sitting pretty at the top of the varna hierarchy have their dominance, superiority, privileges, heaven, salvation, or for that matter everything, secure so far as the varna system operates. How the superiority of the twice-born and their social, political, economic and cultural hegemony can be perennially maintained seems to be the primary concern of the sanatana dharma. Otherwise why do proponents of Hindutva go berserk on the question of 27% reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCââ¬â¢s)?
The real history of India is yet to be written. The central role of the struggle against the caste system in the historical development of this land has not yet been rigorously investigated. This will only become a reality once the Dalit-Bahujan masses undergo a process of cultural revolution or, dialectically speaking, it is the very writing of this history that will inaugurate the cultural revolution for Dalit-Bahujan masses.
The history of India is an account of the struggles against the caste system. The emergence of Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism or the influx of Islamic and Christian faiths and their acceptability would not have been possible but for the caste system. One may also propose that it is this very exploitative system which is responsible for the historical stagnation of the productive forces and development of knowledge and science in this country. This historical stagnation was however, consciously or otherwise, arrested by the advent of the British colonial state. In this respect the formulations of Karl Marx, Raja Rammohun Roy and Jotiba Phule bear remarkable similarity. In the mediaeval ages many a dalit-bahujan took a sigh of relief at the demolition of the Hindu temples by the Muslim invaders as these temples were also centres of social power parallel to the state. In these temples the entry of shudra-atishudra was prohibited quite unlike the mosques, churches. gurudwaras or monasteries which were more or less open to general masses and they could pray there collectively without a thought of high and low pervading the sacred premises. Even during the heydays of the struggle against British colonialism the banner of revolt against social imperialism was hurled high by people like Jotiba Phule, Narayana Guru, Periyar, Shahuji Maharaj and Babasaheb Ambedkar. Organisations like Biharââ¬â¢s Triveni Sangha multiplied in all parts of the country.
The developments since Independence also narrate the story of this struggleââ¬âthe protagonists being Dr. Rammanohar Lohia, Karpuri Thakur, Kanshiram, Annadurai, BP Mandal and VP Singh.
The anti-caste proclivities received a great boost when VP Singh government announced its decision to implement the Mandal Commission recommendations. In the wake of this move by VP Singh the challenge posed by Dalit-Bahujan masses to the caste elite multiplied tenfold times. Thus they unleashed the genie of kamandal to counter the politics of Mandal. Advani subsequently stormed the nation on his ââ¬ËRam-rathââ¬â¢ leaving behind a trail of blood whereever the rath crossed. When Laloo Prasad finally arrested him BJP withdrew support from the VP Singh government thereby ââ¬Ëchastisingââ¬â¢ him for attempting the unpardonable. Communal polarisation and galvanisation by the Hindutva forces gained momentum resulting in the ultimate demolition of the Babri mosque. No wonder, the ââ¬ËBrahminââ¬â¢ and Brahminist Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao kept himself busy with an afternoon siesta on a wintry day and by the time he woke up the mosque had been razed to the ground.
There seem to be many reasons behind the demolition of the mosque. First, to counter the influence of Mandal by the valour of demolition. Second, to transform the feeling of defeatism plaguing the Hindu psyche due to repeated defeats at the hands of invaders (a consequence of the divisive caste system one may add) into a feeling of glory. Third, to dilute the social contradictions and varna struggle arising out of the assertion of the dalit-bahujan masses by a wider Hindu resurgence and unity. Fourth, the consolidation of the Hindu vote bank by arousing communal passions for BJP in order to achive the ideal of the so-called Hindu Rashtra and so on. However, when we investigate the reason behind a particular choice of date (December 6) we are informed of at least one more reason.
In the twentieth century the major challenge to Hindutva has been indisputably presented by Dr. BR Ambedkar. This challenge, albeit political at first sight, is largely an ideological one. Along with Ambedkar two other names can be shortlisted for having contested Hindutva effectivelyââ¬ânamely, Ramaswamy Naicker (or Periyar) and Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia. It is unfortunate that Periyarââ¬â¢s influence remained restricted to South India only. Lohiaââ¬â¢s slogan pichda pawe sau mein sath (let the backward bag sixty out of hundred) effectively challenged the political power of the proponents of Hindutva. The process of social change and consciousness we witness in North India today, especially in UP and Bihar, would have been scarcely possible without the contribution of Lohiaite ideology. However, one can surely find grounds to critique the contradictions and inconsistencies in his thought regarding Hindu religion, philosophy and tradition. Despite his powerful slogans this lacuna in his thought severely hampers the march of the caravan of social justice towards any meaningful destination. A harmonious integration of Lohiaite and Ambedkarite ideology is therefore imperative to give the much required edge to the politics of social justice.
The Saffron brigade trembles when it hears the names of Ambedkar or Periyar. Afterall, it is they who have bitterly exposed the reality of Hindu faith and have established beyond doubt that this faith is nothing but Brahmanism or the varna system. Both urged their followers not to stop before the complete destruction of this religion. While Periyar swithched to atheism for this purpose Ambedkar advocated disowning of Hinduism and adoption of Buddhism respectively. It is another matter that even Buddhism is silent on the concept of God.
Despite being a constitutionalist Dr. Ambedkar often finds a pride of place in the league of the worldââ¬â¢d greatest revolutionaries. He stood up to combat a system that had been reigning undeterred in this country for the last three thousand years. He could not have urged the voiceless and powerless untouchables leading a life worse than animals for attempting an armed insurrection. That is why he was a constitutionalist. By investigating meticulously the Hindu religious scriptures and authoring powerful tracts (like Riddles in Hinduism, Annhilation of Caste and Revolution and CounterRevolution in Ancient India), and, also by such powerful symbolic gestures like setting Manusmriti on fire and articulating and voicing the concerns and demands of the untouchables in various round table conferences, he laid bare the hypocrisy, contradictions and inhumanity of the Hindu religion and society in front of the whole world. He did not even deter from engaging in a vitriolic polemic and conflict with a personality like Gandhi in order to secure an independent identity and place for Dalits in the Indian political landscape. On the one hand he managed to pocket a few concessions for the dalits by making his way into the Constituent assembly, on the other he also criticised the Indian Constitution on various counts in no uncertain terms. When he became the first law minister in independent India, he strived and struggled to ameliorate the condition of Hindu society, and especially the pitiable condition of its women, by drafting the ââ¬ËHindu Code Billââ¬â¢ and making efforts to get it passed in the Parliament. However, his efforts came a cropper due to the influence of fanatic Hindus in the Congress party and government which were against modern and radical reforms. Now he saw no point in continuing as a member of Hindu society. During all these years he had been postponing the actualisation of his call to leave Hindu religion that he gave twenty years back. All this time he had been genuinely working at reconciliation with his adversaries. But now he could take it no longer. He converted to Buddhism with lakhs of his followers and reestablished the faith that had been exiled from the country of its origin some fifteen centuries back due to the inexcusable crime of challenging the caste system. In other words, Dr. BR Ambedkar now donned the mantle of a modern Buddha.    Â
Until the day the Indian society liberates itself from the tentacles of the caste system his legacy shall continue to inspire the dalit-bahujan masses. It would be a parochial stance if we recognise Ambedkar only as a champion of shudras-atishudras. He is the leader of all Hindus because his primary concern was to liberate the entire Hindu society by breaking innumerable divisive caste walls. The path of liberation, for a Brahmin as well as a scavenger, from this inhumane caste system is ingrained in the theoretical insights of Ambedkar.
This is the only reason why Dr. Ambedkarââ¬â¢s life, actions, thoughts and struggle pose such a great challenge for Hindutva. His ideology is a guide to action for th dalit-bahujan masses. However, the efforts to destroy his legacy continue to proliferate. It is to meet such sinister objectives that books like Worshipping False Gods are written by Saffron theoreticians like Arun Shourie. Surely, for them a memory which cannot be erased, a legacy which cannot be vanuished can be surely mitigated by aduleration, illusions and sleight of hand pure and simple.
On December 6, 1992 when the nation was observing the death anniversary of Dr. Ambedkar, the Sangha Parivar was engaged in demolishing the Babri mosque with the aid of thousands of its cadres and supporters. A countervailing ââ¬ËHindu gloryââ¬â¢ was being forged opposed to Dr. Ambedkarââ¬â¢s memory. Hindutva was making unholy inroads into the dalit-bahujan psyche generally permeated with Ambedkarââ¬â¢s legacy till then. An intense psychological war was witnessed which was no less lethal or violent than the organised and frequent pogroms against dalits and Muslims.
One may well ask why was Ambedkarââ¬â¢s birth anniversary (14 April) not chosen as a date for demolition? The answer is simple. In comparison to his death anniversary his birth anniversary is widely celebrated with much vitality and grandeur. It would have been a risky proposition because then their anti-Ambedkar ideology would have been brought out into broad daylight. They could not have afforded such a big risk at that time. Babri mosque is afterall not the last mosque to be levelled. There are other mosques on their hit-list as well. Whenever they find themselves powerful enough to take such a risk they will show the temerity to do so. Why only Ambedkar there are many other icons that give sleepless nights to the Hundutva forces.
In the end, the explanation rendered above is purely theoretical. No concrete proof was available for this assumption. However, later I happened to discover a somewhat similar proof in some extracts of Malay Krishna Dharââ¬â¢s book Open Secrets: Indiaââ¬â¢s Intelligence Unveiled published in Outlook (Hindi, 7 Feb 2005):
On 25th December K. N. Govindacharya called me on phone and expressed his desire to come over for dinner to my house along with two of his friendsââ¬Â¦After dinner the conversation continued till midnight. I shivered from what I got to learn from my friends. They gave me sufficient indications that the Sangha Parivar was not obverse to the demolition of the mosque and putting in its place a temple-like structureââ¬Â¦Why only December? I asked. Gurumurthy promptly replied that I should read history once again. Did not Mahmud Gaznavi destroy Somnath temple on December 1025?
It is strange that the author did not ask why only on a particular day in December. It is also possible that the author may have asked the question and would have been promptly replied back that because it is the death anniversary of Dr. Ambedkar, and that he did not share this part of the conversation with his readers for the fear of completely unmasking the mindset of the saffron brigade..Who knows?
Ashok Yadav will be grateful if somebody responds to him on ashokyadav2007@ gmail.com
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Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Shambhu - 08-14-2008
Ashok Yadavji (from the post above) obviously has managed to get his hands on a copy of the insightful booklet
<b>Did you know something of interest happened on every damn day of the calender?</b>
How to hatch your very own conspiracy theory
by Imtiaz K. M. S. Stalin
Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Guest - 08-15-2008
NASDAQ celebrates India's Independence Day
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Indian tricolour fluttered in the backdrop, as Neelam Deo, the country's consul general here rung the closing bell at the world's largest stock exchange NASDAQ, which celebrated India's 62nd independence day today.
<b>This was the first time that a consul general has rung the closing bell at the stock market in a prestigious ceremony, which marks the recognition of a fast growing Indian economy.</b>
Outside the exchange, the huge electronic board, which overlooks the historic Times Square and displays quotations during the day was also lighted in saffron, white and green colours, with the words "India Independence Day".
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Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Guest - 09-29-2008
Nine-year-old brides saved by authorities from being married off in Muslim weddings
From the article I infer that the problem's in muslim communities from Pakistan/Bangladesh.
How accurate is the image of couple's hand with women wearing mehendi? Did they slap a image of Hindu wedding on non-Hindu story?
Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Guest - 09-29-2008
<!--QuoteBegin-Viren+Sep 29 2008, 07:44 PM-->QUOTE(Viren @ Sep 29 2008, 07:44 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Nine-year-old brides saved by authorities from being married off in Muslim weddings
From the article I infer that the problem's in muslim communities from Pakistan/Bangladesh.
How accurate is the image of couple's hand with women wearing mehendi? Did they slap a image of Hindu wedding on non-Hindu story?
[right][snapback]88576[/snapback][/right]
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Red bangles or called Churra in Punjabi is local to Punjab region, it is possible in Pakistan Muslim Punjab. Mehendi is common in both custom.
Sehra is Muslim or Punjab region ritual.
Miscellaneous news and discussion - 2 - Guest - 10-02-2008
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Rs 10-L heist to hoist war on corruption </b>
Pioneer.com
Siddheshwar Shukla | Noida
MBA, Armymen among those arrested for Noida bank robbery
An MBA student and two Army soldiers masterminded the robbery at the State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Sector 12 here on September 12, police said. Aspiring to be a politician, Rajnarayan Singh Chauhan, an MBA student in Noida, motivated the two soldiers- his cousin and cousin's friend -- to execute the bank robbery for floating a political outfit as he was peeved with the rising corruption graph.
<b>"I was very worried about the increasing corruption at high levels in politics and bureaucracy. I wanted to launch a youth party for bringing it down and improving the image of our country in the world. But we could not collect enough money to fund it. The time was running out, so we decided to loot the bank,"</b> said Chauhan in fluent English. <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->Â <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo--> Chauhan, the son of a retired Armyman, hails from district Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh and was residing in Sector 22 at a rented accommodation. He instigated his cousin Vijay Singh; a soldier posted with 121 Light Regiment at Amritsar, and his friend Vivekanand Varma, also a soldier posted with 121 at Nasik. Both were on one-month leave but did not return to their designated post after the time was over. Vijay Singh's leave ended on July 26 and that of Varma on July 15.
"Revolutionaries first collect money by loot and violent activities. After attaining name and fame, they use this money to fight social evils like corruption," Chauhan argued with the soldiers to motivate them to join him in the heist.
The gang, which had robbed Rs 10 lakh from the bank, was busted on Tuesday night with the help of electronic surveillance of their mobile phones. With country-made pistols, they had held bank staff and customers hostage around 4.30 pm. Police have recovered Rs 9.27 lakh, packed in steel boxes, the motorcycle used in the crime and two stolen mobile phones.
According to the police, the accused surveyed several banks in the area and found this bank suitable as it lacked alarm bells and CCTV cameras. Besides, they thought the bank guard was weak of build and could be overpowered easily. While Vijay and Vivekanand were looting the bank, Chauhan was standing among the customers to give them cover in case of emergency. After committing the loot, they abandoned the bike at a secluded place.
Chauhan paid Rs 57,000 to the person who had provided him three county-made pistols, Rs 35,000 to Vijay and Rs 30,000 to Vivekanand. Vivekanand Varma hails from district Raipur in Chhattisgarh. Chauhan, who runs an institute for engineering aspirants, had been working as a contractual teacher in a private institute.
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Here comes stupid commies. <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->Future leaders of India. One among one billion.