The Great Indian Political Debate - 2

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The Great Indian Political Debate - 2 - Guest - 04-16-2005

QUOTETHE LIMITS OF TOLERANCE

Â Â Â Â Â Dr.Babu Suseelan

Kierkegaard, the existential philosopher, once wrote the story of an
absent-minded man so abstracted from his own life that he hardly knows
he exists until, one fine morning, he wakes up to find himself dead.
This story has a special relevance to Hindus; we could wake up
one-morning dead, without ever knowing the menacingly urgent problems
that threaten our existence. In India, the very fabric of our value
system, freedom, democracy and spiritual tradition that sustained the
nation are unraveling quickly, dangerously and perhaps irrevocably.
The decayed conditions are accumulating freely in the social systems
and the majority Hindus are demoralized by the lack of coherent
remedies. Corruption, media manipulation, coercive religious
conversion, terrorism, and subversive activities permeate every
aspects of life. There is public skepticism and cynicism that the
legislative, executive and judiciary have become addicted to the
artful charade of pseudo secularism, irrational tolerance and moral
agnosticism. We talk about secularism, tolerance, coexistence,
minority rights, and world vision; but do not ask or see the dangers
we face. Current events provide abundant evidence that Hindus are well
aware of the scale and magnitude of evil forces that threaten their
existence, and they simply choose to evade them.

The extraordinary preoccupation with tolerance and secularism
encourage political leaders to peddle self-deception and self-delusion
as realistic. The westernized media, leftist intellectuals and
alienated academicians seek refuge in pseudo secularism and irrational
tolerance and use institutionalized tolerance as a recipe for moral
uncertainty. They peddle tolerance, pseudo secularism and minority
rights as labels for political racket, and parade it as a sign of
philosophical depth. They use their political power for presenting
fraudulent Christian evangelical preachers and jihadi terrorists as a
healthy sign of a tolerant, culturally pluralistic society. The
concept of tolerance is used to brainwash innocent Hindus to believe
that they exist to serve fanatic Muslims and subversive Christian
missionaries.

The educational system subordinate or degrade the spiritual heritage
and is promoting obnoxious alien ideas. As a result, innocent people
adapt to the psychosocial, political environments imposed on them by
corrupt political leaders. This kind of unhealthy adaptation often
distorts reality and makes it difficult for people to assess dangerous
situations. People undergo unhealthy behavioral changes in response to
their grossly altered psychosocial environments. There is also an
erosion of the public's social conscience within a macroeconomic
society. People become estranged from their life sustaining culture
and react cynically. A cognitive dissonance occurs in the minds of
people. Cognitive dissonance occurs most often when people are forced
to choose between two incompatible beliefs. This brings in distorted
concepts and unsuitable ideologies that destroy old certainties. It
bewilders and makes people anxious and confused. In such a state,
rational thoughts and actions are replaced by meaningless slogans.
People bring distorted alien concepts, which obscure basic questions
of culture, values and purpose.Â They substitute meaningless,
abstract, harmful ideas like secularism, tolerance, minority rights,
world vision, etc for native religious heritage. The ethos, spiritual
values and Hindu rituals that connect people together undergo a
grotesque distortion. The majority Hindus ultimately loses their
identity, purpose and unity.

The tardy secularism, irrational tolerance and denial cloud the real
menace threatening the existence of Hindus. Irrational tolerance has
resulted in the blunting of immediate reactions, assertiveness, and
creative responses to imminent dangers. The psychological warefare,
jihadi terrorism, Christian fundamentalism, coercive religious
conversion, and communist menace that threaten the survival of the
nations is ignored or tolerated. People are mired in silence and
complacency. Some runaway from the painful reality and substitute
unrestrained tolerance as a virtue. Irrational tolerance act as
psychic blinders that make the whole aspects of life threatening
problem utterly invisible to them. People act like clowns pretending
to be happy, tolerant, secular and content as a way of surviving. They
hide their true selves, needs and aspirations behind masks. Eventually
they become the masks they put on and lose connections with Hindu
culture, values and social needs. In this strange setting, Hindus lose
touch with hard realities, distort the problem they face and turn away
from responsibilities. When the majority Hindus organizes them to
confront the deception, appeasement and power grab of Muslims and
Christians, they are oppressed with brute force by the pseudo secular
government.

The unrestrained tolerance encourages degeneration and apathy because
tolerance in itself does not logically represent a positive virtue.
Clear thinking and renewal are possible only when Hindus understand
the limits of tolerance. They need to break the wall of denial and
irrational tolerance. The first step toward freedom is to free from
the colonial mindset and to reassert faith in Hindutva without
hesitation or apology. Innocent Hindus should not simply choose to
evade serious problems in the name of tolerance and secularism.
Coexistnce, equality and justice are possible only when the majority
devotes itself just to challenge the statusquo, disrupting the perils
of tolerance and pseudo secularisim. The revival, if it occurs will
not come by peddling irrational tolerance, moral neutrality or denial.
It will happen when the majority Hindus questions the conflict between
what they are told and what they see and experience. Unrestrained
tolerance is running away from history, running away from truth.
Irrational tolerance blinds the issues and encourages degeneration,
thought disorder, immorality and social decay. It incapacitates one's
ability to assert his /her individuality in situations of adversity.
Hindus by nature are tolerant, but tolerance as a virtue is not a
priority for Muslims and Christians. We should not tolerate what is
intolerable and what is evil, but should dedicate ourselves to the
values of our spiritual culture to which we belong. Peace, prosperity,
and civilization itself, can be achieved only by the refusal to
tolerate evil. One should tolerate different religious beliefs. But if
such religious beliefs encourage smashing skyscrapers, killing
innocent people, and fraudulently convert poor people, we should not
tolerate such dangerous belief system.

To regain the glory of our past and to ensure our future, Hindus
should realize the perils of tolerance. In the name of tolerance,
Hindus should not allow Jihadi terrorists, communist fascists and
Christian missionaries to impose their intolerant ideology on our
throat. It is time to rethink, is tolerance practiced in India working
for us or are we becoming slaves to irrational tolerant system that
blind our minds, destroy our culture and turn us into submissive
people we never wanted to be? It's time to start rethinking things
from the ground up. It's time to realize the limits of tolerance and
move away from moral paralysis.Â When we think of the attitude shift
necessary to regain our strength, we should remember the message of
Voltaire" We must cultivate the spirit of tolerance in our hearts, but
we should not allow the policy of toleration to be exploited and
abused by fanatical sectarian groups which are subversive political
movements in ecclesiastical disguise".

The Great Indian Political Debate - 2 - Guest - 04-16-2005

Read Arvind Sharma on the role of tolerance in India today, especially tolerating what should not be tolerated. This dogma of tolerating dubious modes of behavior , such as denigrating Hindu icons (secularism) has now been elevated to the status of a religion and is pursued for its own sake. Nowhere is it asked why secularism whould be regarded as a fundamental principle. Even less is it asked whether such a dogma has any relevance or usefulness for India where the main votaries of intolerance are not Hindus but the minorities (especially the Muslims and the Xtians) who are constantly denigrating the HIndu belief system in their zeal to evangelize the majority of the population. They get away with it simply because their belief system does not allow secularism as a permissible belief.Nowhere in the debate have the movers and shakers in the Congress Party the guts to point out that Islam and secularism are a contradiction in terms.

One forumite has accused others in the forum of wanting to drive the Muslims into the sea. Never mind that the only person to bring up such a course of action was himself. So, the double standard and the Goebellian lie lives on and thrives in India today. Tolerate the intolerant and dub the truly tolerant as being communal.

The Great Indian Political Debate - 2 - Guest - 04-21-2005

Delhi High Court fines two protesting pope mourning

From Yahoo News

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The High Court in New Delhi has fined two men 10,000 rupees for legally challenging the mainly Hindu country's official three days of mourning for the death of Pope John Paul, a newspaper reported on Thursday.

The court said the petition urging the government not to declare official mourning for people "less significant for our country" and complaining of lost working days was a publicity-seeking "abuse of process".

It was not clear if the two men, one of them a college lecturer, must pay 10,000 rupees each or the combined amount together.

The Great Indian Political Debate - 2 - Guest - 04-25-2005

Need to forge a political instrument
April 25, 2005
http://www.indiaright.org/storyd.asp?id=54

The seminar, âThreats to Indiaâs Integrity,â organized by the Centre for
National Renaissance (CNR), has called for all patriotic forces to forge a
political instrument to challenge the forces threatening our national
integrity.

The seminar was organized in New Delhi on April 23. In his welcome address, CNR
chairman Subramanian Swamy said that the threats to Indiaâs integrity are
multi-dimensional in nature, sapping the nationâs salience and eroding its
substance. He listed four threats to India: those arising out of the erosion of
constitutional norms, especially the devaluation of the office of the Prime
Minister, as witnessed recently in Goa and Jharkhand, and the increasing
subservience to the extra-constitutional force; the threats arising from the
spread and coordination of terrorist activities within and from outside the
country; the destabilization because of the changing communal demographic
patterns; and the targeting by the state and foreign fraudulent organizations
of renowned religious institutions, as exemplified by the audaciously fake
murder case foisted on one of the revered Hindu Mutts, the Kanchi Kamakoti
Shankaracharya Mutt.

In his inaugural address, former Defence Minister George Fernandes quoted from
his interview to the Time magazine in 1959, in which he had said, âLook at what
holds the country together. It is Hinduism; and as long as Hinduism lives, this
country will remain united.â 

He came down heavily on the secular-liberal intellectual establishment. âIn the
58th year of freedom, India faces more dangers than it has ever faced since
Partition. The most dangerous among these is the so-called secular-communal
divide, imposed on the country by a combine of Congress and Marxists, with the
RJD playing the role of the supporting actor.

âThe secular dispensation believes that the secular chant gives them the licence
to create situations which can and will create fissures in our polity which
will be exploited by the nationâs enemies to their advantage. There will be
more cleavages in the making and every soft opening will become an open gate
for infiltration which has already overwhelmed the local population in several
border areas.â 

He lambasted the hypocrisy of the secular elite: âIn the aftermath of Indira
Gandhiâs assassination by her Sikh bodyguards, Rajiv Gandhi, who had now been
sworn in as Prime Minister, exhorted his party men to kill every Sikh in sight
with his belief that when a big tree falls, the earth is bound to shake. The
result was a pogrom that claimed nearly 4,000 lives of innocent SikhsÂmen,
women, and children. This was a secular pogrom, while what happened in Godhra was a communal killing.â 

The next greatest danger is âfrom those who are illiterate on matters of
security and defence of the country and those who have an agenda to weaken the
nationâs security and to demoralize the armed forces.â He alleged that the
Tehelka scandal and the coffin scam were masterminded by the Congress
president.

In fact, he questioned the Congressâ belief in democracy. âFor all his
much-publicized belief in democracy, Nehru groomed his daughter to be his
successor and set up a dynasty. He referred his father as a prince among men to
give an aura and awe around the family. It was Indira Gandhi who gave the worst
blow to our democracy b imposing an Emergency and denying the fundamental
rights enshrined in the Constitution for the citizens and finally having the
Supreme Court to declare that even the right to life cannot be claimed as long
as Indira Gandhiâs dictatorship survives. What the Congress did in Goa and
Jharkhand is but the tip of what is due to follow.â

In his valedictory address, former Human Resource Development Minister Murli
Manohar Joshi spoke about the threat of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. He
lamented that any such discussion is immediately labeled as communal, bigoted,
etc. âSpeaking the truth is communal and saying lies is secular!â he commented angrily. 

Dr Joshi bemoaned that the state of India is at war with the Indian nation. He
also expressed dismay over the fact that an extra-constitutional authority is
running the country.

In an important observation, he said that the need of the hour is to define
India, its core valuesÂin the same fashion as US conservative philosopher
Samuel Huntington has defined the salience of America. âWe, in India, realize
that we are Indians only when there is a war or there is an external threat. Do
we need an external threat to define our identity?â Joshi asked.

In his talk, âSubversion of the Constitution,â former Lok Sabha secretary
general Subhash Kashyap traced the history of subversion and offered incisive
comments. He said that the Indian Constitution is the most amended constitution
of the world, having seen 72 amendments. He specifically mentioned Article 356,
which was expected to be a âdead letterâ and to be used in the rarest of rare
circumstances, but has been used more than 100 times.

He exploded the myth that BR Ambedkar was the âarchitect of the Constitution.â
In fact, Ambedkar had himself said that he was merely a âhack,â Kashyap
informed the seminar. Kashyap questioned the validity of the words âsocialismâ
and âsecularismâ which were added in the preamble of the Constitution by an
amendment. Since economic policies in the post-liberalization era are the
antithesis of socialism, the Constitution gets subverted on a regular basis, he
said. 

He also derided those who glorify Congress president Sonia Gandhi for her âgreat
sacrifice,â for renouncing prime ministership. âThere is not even an iota of
evidence to suggest that she was ever offered the office of Prime Minister. So,
where is the question of renunciation?â he asked.

In his paper on the rising terrorist threat, Lt Gen JFK Jacob (Retd), former
Punjab Governor, said that the armed forces can help the government by goading
the terrorists to come to the negotiating table. But, he said, this is possible
only by destroying the bases of terrorists and by cutting off their supply
lines. The armed forces have done that in the past, and they can still do it.
This helps the government to negotiate with terrorists from a position of
strength.

However, military solution is like surgery, which should be applied only when
medication has failed. In most cases of insurgency in India, this solution is
applicable, Gen Jacob said.

J Bajaj of the Chennai-based Centre for Policy Studies presented the threat to
national integrity from the demographic angle. The population of Indian
religions ÂHinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, etcÂ is declining, especially in the
border areas, he said. He mentioned several districts of western UP where the
Muslim population increased from 29 per cent to 39 per cent in the last 50
years. Then there are many districts bordering Bangladesh where the Muslim
population is already in the majority. âWhenever there are changes in ethnic
composition, tensions rise. And when the changes are as sudden as in many parts
of India, the situation becomes uncontrollable,â Bajaj said.

Swadeshi Jagran Manch convener S Gurumoorthy highlighted the fakeness of the
Shankaracharya case, the vindictiveness of the state government, and the hand
of New Delhi behind the outrage in Tamil Nadu. âNo other Chief Minister than
Jayalalitha could have done what was done. No other Central government could
have tolerated what it did tolerate. And a leader of no other religion could
have suffered in such a manner. To have a peaceful following is a
disqualification for a religious leader, as also for a political leader.â

He blasted the secular dogma that all religions are equal and so they shall be
treated. 

Gurumoorthy also exposed the double-speak of the intellectual class. Most of the
media and great liberals took the police version at its face value. Yet, the
same people are extremely skeptical of the policeâs version on encounters of
terrorists, he said. 

The seminar concluded with a call âupon all patriotic forces to set aside all
differences as in 1975-77 and forge together a political instrument to
challenge the forces behind the threat to our national integrity.â

The Great Indian Political Debate - 2 - Guest - 04-25-2005

Hinduism is a way of life: SCQUOTEThe power vested in the Cabinet to nominate members to the managing committee of a temple is a statutory power to promote a secular act of managing the temple.

The managing committee must consist of members who believe in idol worship and all religious practices, which are practiced in a Hindu temple.

Both the powers draw support from the Constitution, which is secular in character
When Hindus will be play same role in Chruch and Madarasa management?

The Great Indian Political Debate - 2 - Guest - 04-25-2005

QUOTENeed to forge a political instrument
April 25, 2005
http://www.indiaright.org/storyd.asp?id=54

The seminar, âThreats to Indiaâs Integrity,â organized by the Centre for National Renaissance (CNR), has called for all patriotic forces to forge a political instrument to challenge the forces threatening our national integrity.

The seminar was organized in New Delhi on April 23. In his welcome address, CNR chairman Subramanian Swamy said that the threats to Indiaâs integrity are multi-dimensional in nature, sapping the nationâs salience and eroding its substance. He listed four threats to India: those arising out of the erosion of constitutional norms, especially the devaluation of the office of the Prime Minister, as witnessed recently in Goa and Jharkhand, and the increasing subservience to the extra-constitutional force; the threats arising from the spread and coordination of terrorist activities within and from outside the country; the destabilization because of the changing communal demographic patterns; and the targeting by the state and foreign fraudulent organizations of renowned religious institutions, as exemplified by the audaciously fake murder case foisted on one of the revered Hindu Mutts, the Kanchi Kamakoti Shankaracharya Mutt.

In his inaugural address, former Defence Minister George Fernandes quoted from his interview to the Time magazine in 1959, in which he had said, âLook at what holds the country together. It is Hinduism; and as long as Hinduism lives, this country will remain united.â

He came down heavily on the secular-liberal intellectual establishment. âIn the 58th year of freedom, India faces more dangers than it has ever faced since Partition. The most dangerous among these is the so-called secular-communal divide, imposed on the country by a combine of Congress and Marxists, with the RJD playing the role of the supporting actor.

âThe secular dispensation believes that the secular chant gives them the licence to create situations which can and will create fissures in our polity which will be exploited by the nationâs enemies to their advantage. There will be more cleavages in the making and every soft opening will become an open gate for infiltration which has already overwhelmed the local population in several border areas.â

He lambasted the hypocrisy of the secular elite: âIn the aftermath of Indira Gandhiâs assassination by her Sikh bodyguards, Rajiv Gandhi, who had now been sworn in as Prime Minister, exhorted his party men to kill every Sikh in sight with his belief that when a big tree falls, the earth is bound to shake. The result was a pogrom that claimed nearly 4,000 lives of innocent SikhsÂmen, women, and children. This was a secular pogrom, while what happened in Godhra was a communal killing.â

The next greatest danger is âfrom those who are illiterate on matters of security and defence of the country and those who have an agenda to weaken the nationâs security and to demoralize the armed forces.â He alleged that the Tehelka scandal and the coffin scam were masterminded by the Congress president.

In fact, he questioned the Congressâ belief in democracy. âFor all his much-publicized belief in democracy, Nehru groomed his daughter to be his successor and set up a dynasty. He referred his father as a prince among men to give an aura and awe around the family. It was Indira Gandhi who gave the worst blow to our democracy b imposing an Emergency and denying the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution for the citizens and finally having the Supreme Court to declare that even the right to life cannot be claimed as long as Indira Gandhiâs dictatorship survives. What the Congress did in Goa and Jharkhand is but the tip of what is due to follow.â

In his valedictory address, former Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi spoke about the threat of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. He lamented that any such discussion is immediately labeled as communal, bigoted, etc. âSpeaking the truth is communal and saying lies is secular!â he commented angrily.

Dr Joshi bemoaned that the state of India is at war with the Indian nation. He also expressed dismay over the fact that an extra-constitutional authority is running the country.

In an important observation, he said that the need of the hour is to define India, its core valuesÂin the same fashion as US conservative philosopher Samuel Huntington has defined the salience of America. âWe, in India, realize that we are Indians only when there is a war or there is an external threat. Do we need an external threat to define our identity?â Joshi asked.

In his talk, âSubversion of the Constitution,â former Lok Sabha secretary general Subhash Kashyap traced the history of subversion and offered incisive comments. He said that the Indian Constitution is the most amended constitution of the world, having seen 72 amendments. He specifically mentioned Article 356, which was expected to be a âdead letterâ and to be used in the rarest of rare circumstances, but has been used more than 100 times.

He exploded the myth that BR Ambedkar was the âarchitect of the Constitution.â In fact, Ambedkar had himself said that he was merely a âhack,â Kashyap informed the seminar.Kashyap questioned the validity of the words âsocialismâ and âsecularismâ which were added in the preamble of the Constitution by an amendment. Since economic policies in the post-liberalization era are the antithesis of socialism, the Constitution gets subverted on a regular basis, he said.

He also derided those who glorify Congress president Sonia Gandhi for her âgreat sacrifice,â for renouncing prime ministership. âThere is not even an iota of evidence to suggest that she was ever offered the office of Prime Minister. So, where is the question of renunciation?â he asked.

In his paper on the rising terrorist threat, Lt Gen JFK Jacob (Retd), former Punjab Governor, said that the armed forces can help the government by goading the terrorists to come to the negotiating table. But, he said, this is possible only by destroying the bases of terrorists and by cutting off their supply lines. The armed forces have done that in the past, and they can still do it. This helps the government to negotiate with terrorists from a position of strength.

However, military solution is like surgery, which should be applied only when medication has failed. In most cases of insurgency in India, this solution is applicable, Gen Jacob said. 

J Bajaj of the Chennai-based Centre for Policy Studies presented the threat to national integrity from the demographic angle. The population of Indian religionsÂHinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, etcÂis declining, especially in the border areas, he said. He mentioned several districts of western UP where the Muslim population increased from 29 per cent to 39 per cent in the last 50 years. Then there are many districts bordering Bangladesh where the Muslim population is already in the majority. âWhenever there are changes in ethnic composition, tensions rise. And when the changes are as sudden as in many parts of India, the situation becomes uncontrollable,â Bajaj said.

Swadeshi Jagran Manch convener S Gurumoorthy highlighted the fakeness of the Shankaracharya case, the vindictiveness of the state government, and the hand of New Delhi behind the outrage in Tamil Nadu. âNo other Chief Minister than Jayalalitha could have done what was done. No other Central government could have tolerated what it did tolerate. And a leader of no other religion could have suffered in such a manner. To have a peaceful following is a disqualification for a religious leader, as also for a political leader.â

He blasted the secular dogma that all religions are equal and so they shall be treated.

Gurumoorthy also exposed the double-speak of the intellectual class. Most of the media and great liberals took the police version at its face value. Yet, the same people are extremely skeptical of the policeâs version on encounters of terrorists, he said.

The seminar concluded with a call âupon all patriotic forces to set aside all differences as in 1975-77 and forge together a political instrument to challenge the forces behind the threat to our national integrity.â

The Great Indian Political Debate - 2 - Guest - 04-26-2005

NDA's perfidy on foreigner issue 
A Surya Prakash
A fortnight ago, leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party were stunned by the caustic remarks of Mr KS Sudarshan, the sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh about the party and the quality of Government provided by the BJP when it was in power. While senior leaders of the BJP including Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Mr LK Advani have preferred silence to a slanging match with the RSS chief, Mr Brajesh Mishra, who was then, the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, has chosen to take on Mr Sudarshan.

Mr Mishra was particularly piqued by the RSS chief's accusation that he (Mr Mishra) was aligned to both Ms Gandhi and the BJP. Stung by these remarks, Mr Mishra hit back saying that Mr Sudarshan's comments were inane and absurd. He told The Indian Express that Mr Sudarshan was prone to making wild, fictitious allegations.

Is Mr Sudarshan completely off the mark or is there some basis for his accusations against the BJP's top leadership and the NDA Government? Given the raging controversy within the Sangh parivar on these issues, there is need to sift fact from fiction.

The BJP raised the foreigner issue many years ago and made it a key campaign point in the run-up to the 1994 as well as the 2004 elections. Meeting after meeting, leaders of this party told voters that for the sake of national pride and national security, they must ensure that only a natural-born Indian headed the Union Government. Ms Swonia Gandhi, by virtue of her Italian origin, was unfit to be the prime minister, they said. Given these assertions, the general perception was that the party was committed to the position that naturalised citizens should be kept out of constitutional offices. Available evidence suggests that this is more fiction than fact.

It may surprise readers to know that despite this public posturing, the BJP-led Government took deliberate steps to clear the way for foreigners. Further, while the people were made to believe that the party was fighting a political battle with Ms Sownia Gandhi and people around her, elements in that Government were shielding some of her friends.

There are three reasons why I say this: (i) The cunningly executed amendment of the Citizenship Act to remove a major obstacle in the path of naturalised citizens seeking political office in India; (ii) the NDA Government's preposterous assertions in an affidavit before the Delhi High Court in a case pertaining to Ms Gandhi's citizenship; and (iii) the NDA Government's refusal to grant permission to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to prosecute Mr Satish Sharma in respect of cases pertaining to petrol pump allotments made by him.

While the world at large believed that the BJP leadership stood committed to barring naturalised citizens from constitutional offices, the Government led by it pushed through the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2003, in the Rajya Sabha on December 18, 2003. It was introduced in the Lok Sabha the very next day and passed by that House on December 22. Thereafter, the Government acted hastily to obtain the President's assent on January 7, 2004.

The Statement of Objects and Reasons appended to the Bill claimed that it had two main purposes: Creation of a new category of citizens called Overseas Citizens, to grant dual citizenship to the Indian diaspora, and introduction of a scheme for compulsory registration of every citizen of India and issuance of national identity cards. These objectives were indeed laudable, but embedded in these provisions was a politically significant pro-foreigner provision, which the Statement of Objects made no mention of!

The amendment, which had the effect of weakening the case against naturalised citizens like Ms Swonia Gandhi, was that relating to Section 5 of the Act. The section refers to a category of citizens called Citizens by Registration, which includes foreigners who marry Indian citizens. Section 5 said that subject to such conditions and restrictions as may be prescribed, such persons could be granted citizenship. This Section also had a proviso which was most inconvenient for Citizens by Registration. It said: "Provided that in prescribing the conditions and restrictions subject to which persons of any such country may be registered as citizens of India under this clause, the Central Government shall have due regard to the conditions subject to which citizens of India may, by law or practice of that country, become citizens of that country by registration."

Deciphering this mumbo-jumbo: With such a law coming into force, if a foreigner marries an Indian citizen and applies for Indian citizenship, the Government should, while granting citizenship to that person, impose such conditions and restrictions as may be imposed on an Indian seeking citizenship under similar circumstances in the applicant's country of origin. In other words, this proviso makes it incumbent on the Government to ensure reciprocity to ensure that a Citizen by Registration does not acquire civil and political rights which are not available to Indians seeking citizenship in the applicant's country. Strange but true, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill deleted this important proviso removing the biggest legal impediment faced by foreigners nurturing political ambitions. The NDA could not have given a better gift to Ms Gandhi! Why did the NDA Government remove this provision? Why was it done in stealth? Who in the Government was batting for Ms Gandhi?

That the Government's intentions were not sanguine are obvious from the Statement of Objects and Reasons that was appended to that Bill. Apart from the fact that it made no reference to the deletion of this important proviso, it actually tried to mislead Members of Parliament and citizens by saying that the purpose of the amending bill was to make acquisition of Indian citizenship by registration and naturalisation more stringent!

The other act of the BJP-led Government which ran contrary to its public utterances vis-Ã -vis the foreigner issue, was the Counter Affidavit filed by the Central Government before the Delhi High Court on September 5, 2001, in the Rashtriya Mukti Morcha Case. In this affidavit, the Government repeatedly asserted that there was only one class of citizens in the country. Once citizenship is acquired, there remained no distinction in the citizens thereafter, it said. This assertion, which is blatantly false, was made 17 times in the said Affidavit.

Anyone who reads 'The Citizenship Act, 1955' can see the distinction between Citizens by Birth and other category of citizens. While citizenship is permanent for Citizens by Birth, it is impermanent in respect of Citizens by Registration and Citizens by Naturalisation. No Government has the power to interfere with the citizenship of a Citizen by Birth.

However, the citizenship of those who come under the other categories is subject to conditions and restrictions. These citizens have to comply with the conditions stipulated in Section 10 of the Act at all times. Should citizens falling under these categories violate these provisions, their citizenship can be cancelled. Further, this affidavit was filed on September 5, 2001, when the proviso to Section 5 of the Act (reciprocity clause) was still intact. Therefore, the argument, "There is no distinction among different categories of citizens," was, to say the least, preposterous.

Finally, a word on the NDA Government's kindness towards Ms Gandhi's friends. The most glaring example was the Government's refusal to grant permission to the CBI to prosecute Mr Satish Sharma. While its own minister Mr Ram Naik was pilloried by the Congress party for favouring friends in the allotment of petrol pumps, the BJP was unwilling to permit the CBI to proceed against former Petroleum Minister Satish Sharma, who faced similar charges.

Who in the NDA Government had put a protective shield around Satish Sharma? Who was behind the hidden agenda in the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2003 and the affidavit? There are obviously some embedded Swonia-men in the BJP. The BJP cannot hope to retrieve its lost ground unless its top leadership is ready to identify those who betrayed the cause, and weed them out.
www.dailypioneer.com/inde...nter_img=3

The Great Indian Political Debate - 2 - Guest - 04-29-2005

QUOTEJammed Masjid 
The Pioneer Edit Desk
The reservation of the Prime Minister's Office regarding Jama Masjid being declared a protected monument beats sound reason. First, the Culture Ministry wrote to the PMO expressing its disapproval of the historical site slipping out of the hands of the Delhi Wakf Board. Then, the PMO assured Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari that the monument will remain Wakf property. Footprints of history such as Jama Masjid are heritage sites that need to be protected from time and tide. Indeed, the Archaeological Survey of India has been gainfully engaged in precisely such preservation, and has wide experience of this.

The ASI's direct involvement has ensured the longevity of numerous national and world heritage sites through the country. With such a time-honoured convention on the ownership of historical sites already in place, the PMO's letter to the Imam is baffling. In fact, it lays bare the Government's propensity to propitiate the so-called guardians of the Muslim community. What the Government fails to comprehend is that the Jama Masjid, just like the Taj Mahal or other historic places of religious worship, cenotaph or mausoleum, constitute national heritage. They need to be reclaimed from various Wakf or other boards and new claims on such monuments deserve to be rebuffed.

It is as a result of this laxity by the authorities that successive Shahi Imams have been able to commercialise various parts of the Jama Masjid's sprawling premises with impunity. Today, even the plinth area stands sold out to pavement squatters. The refuse left behind by vendors and visitors after the day's business is already giving the place the look of a massive dumpyard. To divert people's attention from this gross neglect for which it is itself responsible, the Wakf has time and again accused the Government of neglecting national heritage! Thus, the monument is being alternately defined as "heritage" and "private property" to suit the Wakf's convenience. 

Besides, complaints of misappropriation of the Wakf's funds and other financial irregularities too have arisen. Over the years these have become so rampant that it is time the Government took measures to subject the religious body to periodic audits as is the practice in the West. In no other country can a private body claim ownership of a part of the nation's cultural history.

The Wakf needs to realise that the Jama Masjid's status as a "protected monument" is not intended to prevent the faithful from offering prayers there. In that sense, the High Court's proposal that the Wakf continue to discharge its function within the inner periphery of the Jama Masjid, while giving ASI the right to maintain the surrounding areas, makes eminent sense. Such an arrangement, if formalised, will only increase tourist interest in the monument and add significantly to the local economy. The Wakf ought to shed its minority complex and instead be seen as a participant in the preservation of a national heritage in all its glory. The Congress-led UPA Government too, instead of further increasing this sense of insecurity in pursuit of crass vote-bank politics, must make the necessary correctives.

The Great Indian Political Debate - 2 - acharya - 04-29-2005

New mosques to come up in Secretariat
Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: Two brand new mosques will come up in the Secretariat replacing the existing ones. The first will be built near the Chief Minister's office in C-block and the other at one end of D-block.

The foundation stone for the Hashmi mosque near D-block was laid on Thursday by Moulana Abdullah Qureshi, Imam of Mecca Masjid, in the presence of the two Ministers, Mohd Shabbir Ali and Mohd Fareeduddin. Some religious leaders protested against the ceremony, fearing the second mosque might not be taken up but relented after the Ministers assured them both mosques would be constructed. The Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, has sanctioned Rs. 10 lakhs for the mosques.

The Great Indian Political Debate - 2 - Guest - 05-04-2005

QUOTESecular? That's a laugh 
Kanchan Gupta
Every time secular India has demanded that the system of personal laws based on religious injunctions should be done away with, that Article 44 of the Constitution which enjoins upon the Government to adopt a Uniform Civil Code should be taken for what it was meant to be, a cornerstone of state policy in a modern nation state, a countervailing cry has gone up, alleging that it is an assault on the identity of minority communities.

That, of course, is a misnomer; what those opposed to a Uniform Civil Code mean is that the state should not interfere with retrograde personal laws that discriminate on grounds of gender, laws which are not in tune with the social realities of the 21st century. The best example of such laws is Muslim personal law that remains unaltered in sum and substance despite vacuous words of assurance by leading lights of the ulema.

The All-India Muslim Personal Law Board, which has vested itself with full and absolute powers, though it enjoys neither legal sanctity nor official approval, to implement personal law, at its recent conference in Bhopal has presented what is being described as a "model nikahnama".

While self-proclaimed progressives, who have never had to suffer the inequities of personal laws, have been quick off the mark to hail this 14-page document as a big leap forward, Muslim women who have been agitating against the discrimination they face have denounced it as nothing more than cosmetic tinkering.

Lost in the debate is the crucial fact that the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board is nothing more than the personal enterprise of ulema and alim, apart from maulanas who teach at seminaries. By its own admission, the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board was established in 1972-73 "at a time when then Government of India was trying to subvert shariah law applicable to Indian Muslims through parallel legislation".

The immediate backdrop was the introduction of the Adoption Bill in Parliament by HR Gokhale, then Union Law Minister. While introducing the Bill he had described it as "the first step towards Uniform Civil Code".

This triggered an alert among the ulema, which immediately went on the offensive, decrying the Bill as an attempt to dilute, to quote the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board, the separate identity of Indian Muslims. The "risk of losing applicability of shariah laws was real and a concerted move by the community was needed to defeat the conspiracy," the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board says of its history.

This is what the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board website says: "It was a historic moment. This was the first time in the history of India after Khilafat Movement that people and organisations of Indian Muslim community belonging to various schools of thought came together on a common platform to defend Muslim Personal Law."

The first meeting to "save shariah" was convened at Deoband at the initiative of Hazrat Maulana Syed Shah Minnatullah Rahmani, Ameer Shariat, Bihar and Orissa, and Hakeem-ul Islam Hazrat Maulana Qari Mohammad Taiyab, Muhtamim, Dar-ul Uloom, Deoband. At the meeting it was decided to hold a convention at Mumbai on December 27-28, 1972.

The website provides further details: "The convention was unprecedented. It showed unity, determination and resolve of the Indian Muslim community to protect the Muslim Personal Law. The Convention unanimously decided to form All India Muslim Personal Law Board. As per the decision of the Mumbai Convention, the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board was formally established at a meeting held at Hyderabad on April 7, 1973." The purpose: "To adopt suitable strategies for protection and continued applicability of Muslim Personal Law, ie, Shariat Application Act, in India".

Since then, the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board has consistently insisted that "sharia" is beyond reach and scope of India's courts of law. The Supreme Court's judgement ordering maintenance for Shah Bano, an old, indigent woman thrown out of her home and hearth by her husband who had taken recourse to the expedient, sharia sanctioned means of pronouncing "talak" thrice, led to nationwide violent protests engineered by the ulema and backed by the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board.

The Congress Government, headed by Rajiv Gandhi, instead of seizing upon the judgement to push ahead with a Uniform Civil Code, chose to pander to the ulema. The All-India Muslim Personal Law Board scored a huge victory when Rajiv Gandhi used his brute parliamentary majority to steamroll the Muslim Women's Bill in 1986. This strengthened the case for sharia more than the 1937 Act.

The All-India Muslim Personal Law Board has been quietly consolidating its position as the only arbiter of Muslim destiny in secular, republican India. Under the guise of bringing about "reform" - the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board believes that the official age of consent is bunkum and that girls should be herded into marriage the moment they attain puberty - it has been surreptitiously working towards the setting up of "sharia courts".

The logic is simple: Secular courts do not have the authority to either interpret or apply sharia, which is based on the Quran and the Hadith. That right belongs to "sharia courts" alone. As much was stated at the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board's conference in Bhopal when the members encouraged Muslims to take their differences to "sharia courts" - as distinct from going to the local ulema or alim as was the practice till now.

According to a report, "sharia courts" set up by the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board are already functioning in Gujarat, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Orissa, albeit silently and without publicising their activities.

When "Dar-ul Qaza", the first sharia court was set up in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, late last year, it was billed as an institution to "end woes of Muslim litigants" in the State. "It promises to help bring down backlog of court cases, save money, time and effort of parties. To top it all, ensure justice without causing heartburn to the losing party," one spokesperson was quoted as saying.

"Dar-ul Qaza here (in Gujarat) will decide matters in the light of Islamic tenets on various issues of day-to-day living like marriage, divorce, inheritance, maintenance," he added. In brief, Muslims should no longer seek justice in secular courts of law. According to Mufti Ahmed Devalvi of Jamia Uloomul Quran, Jambusar, "Being believers of the faith, Muslims must accept the sharia tenets in resolving their disputes irrespective of the outcome of the disputes."

Convener of the Dar-ul Qaza Committee of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board, Maulana Ateeq Ahmed Bastvi, who teaches at Nadwatul Ulema, Lucknow, administered the "oath of office" to Mufti Abdul Qayyum Jaipuri as "Shahr Qazi" of Ahmedabad. "A Muslim is a Muslim wherever he lives in the world and there are certain things about which he has no escaping. Following sharia is one of them," he was quoted as saying.

So, we have a fast-unfolding situation where the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board is setting up sharia courts as a parallel system of justice. By the time authority in secular India wakes up to this reality, the Government will be presented with a fait accompli - accept it, or be damned as anti-Muslim. And let there be no doubt: Government will accept the sharia courts lest it upsets India's progressive, secular activists.

The Great Indian Political Debate - 2 - acharya - 05-07-2005

`Unity not part of Hindutva agenda'

UNITED WE STAND: The SNDP Yogam general secretary, Vellappally Natesan, and the NSS general secretary, P. K. Narayana Panicker, leading a rally taken out by the SNDP Yogam in connection with the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Sree Narayana G uru in North Paravur on Friday.

KOCHI: The SNDP, NSS unity is not part of any Hindutva agenda, said the SNDP Yogam general secretary, Vellappally Natesan.

Speaking at a meeting organised in connection with the district level rally taken out by the SNDP as part of `Guruvarsham - 150,' at the Government Boys' Higher Secondary School, North Paravur, Mr. Natesan said that the unity was forged as a resistance from the sections of people who were denied their rights for long.

He refuted the campaigns that the SNDP- NSS unity had failed. There was no question of any disagreement between the two organisations. He charged that the politicians were showing allegiance to certain communities as all the money was congregated in those communities.

Inaugurating the rally, the NSS general secretary, P. K. Narayana Panicker, said that appeasing of minorities carried on by the political parties for the past 40 years will not be allowed to continue. He said that this situation was caused by the indifference shown by organisations like the NSS and the SNDP.

Mr. Panicker said that the Hindu communities started to lose their strength following the Land Act of 1964.

Mr. Natesan presided over the meeting. The SNDP Yogam vice-president, V. Ponnan, and the SNDP Devaswom secretary, M. B. Sreekumar, offered felicitations.

The Great Indian Political Debate - 2 - Guest - 05-07-2005

Take them out of seventh century

QUOTEBalbir K Punj

The Malegaon 'scandal' involving a lady Muslim lawyer and a Hindu
Magistrate that made six-column front page news in a national daily (The
Indian Express, May 5, 2005) is a presage of doom, should Islam prevail
over other parts of India. Such an incident occurring in an otherwise
predominantly Hindu State like Maharashtra makes one apprehensive about
the state of affairs in Muslim-dominated parts of Assam, West Bengal,
Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, etc.

On March 7, a 24-year-old lady Muslim lawyer Noorjehan Ansari and Class
I Judicial Magistrate Balasaheb Hiralal Bharaskar-who were then
recently posted at Malegaon-were dragged out of a State rest house by four
Muslim youth who had allegedly "caught them in a compromising position".
They took them not to the Police but to the mufti (Muslim jurist or
counsel, popularly known as Qazi), Mohammed Ismail of the local madarsa for
'justice'.

Noorjehan had initially accused Magistrate Bharaskar of rape, which led
to his imprisonment and termination of service. But now the truth has
come out as the accused, driven by scruples of conscience (one assumes),
has decided to spill the beans. She now says that she had accused the
Magistrate, a complete stranger to her, under duress by the police and
the mufti. The Magistrate, far from harming her was actually trying to
help her. On that fateful day, when she was taking a walk, some young
men chased her and tried to outrage her modesty. She took shelter in the
rest house for safety. But soon four of those men barged into the rest
house and took the woman along with the Magistrate to the mufti with an
ulterior motive.

She also informed that the mufti had told Bharaskar to convert to Islam
and marry her, and only then he could be spared. The Qazi now denies
the allegation of coercion for conversion. But those familiar with
Islamic history have reason to feel otherwise. All through the Islamic era,
Kings and Qazis offered Hindu subjects guilty of offending Muslims,
absolution from offence on condition of accepting Islam. Such torment was
meted out to Guru Teg Bahadur, Bhai Mati Das, Vir Hakikat Rai before
they preferred Martyrdom.

So after all tall claims of post-modernism and progressiveness, are we
moving towards a medieval India, bedevilled by increasing aggressions
of Islam? The model nikahnamah (marriage code) released by All India
Personal Law Board was recently in news. I am not going into the
nitty-gritty of the nikahnamah which might be one and a half step forward for
those who lag by hundreds of miles. But it underlines the prominent role
of Qazis in Muslim divorce cases.

In 'secular' India, none except a Muslim can practice polygamy. A
marriage can be solemnised by a priest but can be annulled by a court of
law, in a process that is often protracted, acrimonious and expensive. But
for Muslims, not even a cleric is necessary to dissolve a marriage.
Mere utterance of the word talaq thrice would do. The model nikahnamah has
chosen to retain triple talaq as an integral part of the sharia, though
simultaneous utterance is now counselled against.

In matters of criminal law, Indian Muslims have conveniently parted
ways with the sharia and accepted being governed by the law of the land.
Otherwise, a Muslim might lose his right arm for stealing, or be
publicly stoned to death for committing a rape. Such medieval barbaric
penalties are still prevalent in some Arab countries. But they have kept
personal laws out of the purview of the state's law. When Allahabad High
Court in 1994 denounced the power of a Muslim husband to throw his wife
out by uttering talaq-talaq-talaq as contrary in spirit to the Indian
Constitution, the highly agitated ulema said that no attempt to interfere
with the sharia would be allowed. Independent India has tolerated all
these under the name of 'secularism'.

The Shah Bano Case (1985) exemplified the extent to which 'secular'
India could buckle under pressure of the ulemas. The Rajiv Gandhi
Government that enjoyed three-fourth majority in the Parliament got the Supreme
Court's order abrogated through Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on
Divorce) Act, 1986. The Supreme Court had held that a divorced Muslim
woman was entitled to get maintenance from her husband under 125 CPC.
Shah Bano's husband Mohammed Ahmed Khan had argued that marriage under the
sharia being a contract, he was not liable to give her maintenance.

I shall not dwell on the legal merit and inadequacy of the MW (PRD)
Act, 1986. But it is a fact that Congress buckled under the ulema who
deemed Supreme Court's verdict an attack on Islam. The fundamentalists'
muscle flexing was evident -there would be some direct action if the law
were to prevail in place of the sharia.

In days of the British rule, a counsel of the Muslim offender who
killed a Hindu (Kafir) used to argue that the accused had done no wrong
according to the precepts of the sharia. Lawyers as eminent as Asif Ali had
reasoned so. The British judges who had established the modern legal
system in India, of course rejected such arguments. Today we hear of
Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind openly raising the demand for establishment of sharia
courts throughout the country.

While there is dishonesty in the Indian establishment's approach, the
AIMPLB modus operandi smells of conspiracy. Population control, for the
umpteenth time now, has been repudiated as counter-Islamic. Maulana
Rabey Hasni Nadwi, Chairman, AIMPLB had categorically declared so after
Census 2001 became public. How is it that several self-assured Muslim
countries in the world have long done away with polygamy, Wakf, whilst
also implementing family planning? Family planning seems Islamic when a
Muslim is the absolute master and Islam prevails. But it seems
blasphemous in a Dar-ul-Harb (enemy territory or non-Islamic land) which is yet
to be converted into a Dar-ul-Islam (land of Islam). In a democracy
where each individual has just one vote, the most effective strategy to
gain back India as Dar-ul-Islam is to procreate more.

It is naive of 'secularists' to argue that the desire for reform must
come from within the society. Sadly, they display no interest to
understand Islam, the only religion that has defied any change for the last
1400 years. There can be no reformer in Islam since Allah says in the
Qur'an, "This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My
favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion." (sura-5
ayat-3). So there can be innovation in religion. Its latest craze is to
take the world back to seventh century Arabia. Indeed there are some
moderate and progressive Muslim countries that were influenced by the
West in the 19th and 20th century. But things are regressing now.

The Indian 'welfare state', in the name of 'secularism', has allowed
two sets of laws, education system and women's rights to exist. This has
kept mullah-bound Muslims poor, unhygienic, uneducated and
unemancipated. Mullahs only concern is to spread the sway of Islam, without really
improving the daily lives of its folks. This 'secularism' has now
become a nuisance widening the chasms between Muslims and the remaining
society. A society bereft of reforms becomes ntolerant and aggressive.
India will paradoxically do the biggest disservice to its pluralist ethos
if it allows such orthodoxy to flourish and impinge upon others' lives.
We cannot prove our love for Muslims by feigning a predilection for its
orthodoxy. To love the patient is not to love his disease.

(The writer, a Rajya Sabha MP and Convener of BJP's Think Tank can be
contacted at bpunj@email.com)

The Great Indian Political Debate - 2 - Guest - 05-10-2005

Came via email
QUOTECan Hinduism survive such an onslaught?
ByÂ J.G. Arora
--Author is the former Chief Commissioner of Income Tax.

A unilateral war against Hinduism is being waged by anti-Hindu forces to wipe out Hinduism from the face of the earth the way other native cultures and religions have been obliterated from the world.

It is tragic that Hinduism, the faith proclaiming universal brotherhood and one-ness of humanity is the target of vexatious attacks, and is threatened with extinction.Â

Indian sub-continent including the present day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan and even Zabol in Iran was Hindu land till Muslims attacked the sub-continent in 8th century. Hindus lost Afghanistan to Muslims in 987 in a fiercely fought battle. After many centuries, Muslims got Pakistan in 1947.

In 1971, East Pakistan became Bangladesh.Â Though India is a Secular Republic, Pakistan and Bangladesh are Islamic Republics and have driven out most of the Hindus and Sikhs from their land.

And in independent India, Hindus have undergone genocide and eviction from Kashmir to become refugees in their own country. And even this tragedy has not stirred Indiaâs secular souls.

Besides, Pakistanâs ISI and Bangladesh are determined to create one more Islamic country on Indian soil for which they have sent many terrorists, Pakistanis and crores of Bangladeshis into India. Moreover, ISI has planted numerous Madrassas on Indiaâs border with Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan.

Missionariesâ target
Â If Pakistan and Bangladesh are focussed to Islamize India, missionaries are determined to Christianize India. While addressing Bishops and priests in New Delhi on 7th November, 1999 (which happened to be Diwali, an important Hindu festival), Pope John Paul II gave a call to convert Asia to Christianity as follows:-

âJust as the first millennium saw the Cross firmly planted in the soil of Europe, and the second in that of America and Africa, so may the Third Christian Millennium witness a great harvest of faith on this vast and vital continent.â

Hindus and India are favourite targets for this harvest of faith. Missionaries have already conquered North-East India.Â Every where else in India, missionaries and their Non Government Organizations (N.G.O.s) having large funds at their disposal are aggressively busy converting poorer Hindus to Christianity under pretence of charitable social service.

Reinhard Bonnke, the global evangelist famous for his crusades in Africa, is reported to have stated that during 20 years of his activity in Africa, Christian population rose from 2 percent to 40 percent, and now India tops his conversion agenda.

With each passing day, India is becoming more Islamic and more Christian; and less Hindu.

The only solution
Though for several centuries, Hindus fought the invaders bravely to defend their faith and motherland, Macaulayâs education has made Hindus ignorant of their religion, heritage and history; and indifferent to attacks on Hinduism.

Hindus have to re-invent themselves, become pro-active, and tackle this attack at political, social and religious levels.

Â Following steps must be taken immediately if Hinduism is to survive the ceaseless onslaught.

Genuine secularism
Though a sublime concept, âsecularismâ has been wrongly equated with anti-Hinduism in India.Â Since in the name of secularism, sectarian and anti-Hindu agenda is being followed, Hindus and their organizations have to assert themselves and force the government to act as follows.

Article 30 of the Indian Constitution giving special privileges to minorities regarding educational institutions is fragmenting Hindu society since various Hindu sects claim non-Hindu status to get benefit of Article 30. Vide the Supreme Courtâs judgement reported as Bramchari Sidheswar Shai & Others versus State of West Bengal (AIR 1995 Supreme Court 2089), even Ramakrishna Mission, a leading Hindu organization, unsuccessfully claimed a minority (non-Hindu) status to fall under Article 30.Â Justice demands that fundamental right under Article 30 must be extended to every community, whether majority or minority.

Government control over Hindu temples is another aberration. Since secularism implies separation of State and religion, government control over Hindu temples is anti-secular, and deprives temples of their income. Besides, it is discriminatory since only Hindu places of worship have been brought under government control.

Â Â In a truly secular country, all religious communities must have identical rights. Accordingly, Constitutional direction as per Article 44 regarding Uniform Civil Code has to be implemented urgently. And none can have any objection to Hindus being treated at par with other communities.Â

Conferring a special status on Muslim majority Jammu and Kashmir, Article 370 has led to genocide of Hindus and their eviction from Kashmir. To bring Jammu and Kashmir at par with other States, Article 370 has to be abrogated.

And instead of having passport and visa free Muzaffarabad-Srinagar bus which would open floodgates for Pakistani infiltrators, all steps to deport Bangladeshi and Pakistani infiltrators have to be taken immediately. Besides, terrorist training camps in Pakistan and Bangladesh have to be smashed; and if necessary, an all out war with these nations to make them see reason has to be undertaken.
Anti-Hindu media

In India, many of print and electronic media are indulging in blatant anti-Hindu propaganda. They are denigrating Hinduism, spreading misinformation about Hindu scriptures, dividing Hindu society and hurting Hindu sentiments. Though deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings of any community is a non-bailable offence punishable with imprisonment of upto three years and/or fine under Section 295-A of the Indian Penal Code, Hindu reluctance for legal action has emboldened anti-Hindus to continue their tirade.

Besides taking legal action against malicious propaganda, and boycotting anti-Hindu media, Hindus must have unbiased daily news papers and television channels in various languages to defend Hinduism, and to enlighten the readers about Hindu religion, heritage and history.

Why conversions?
Any attempt at conversion from one religion to another by fraud, inducement or coercion is horrible, and must be defeated.

Apart from helping needy sections of society, Hindus and their organizations have to confront and thwart those who are bent upon converting Hindus to Christianity by deception, enticement or force.Â Inflow of foreign funds meant for subversion and conversion has to be barred. Conversion by fraud, allurement or coercion must be banned. Besides thwarting questionable conversion, all efforts to welcome the converts back to Hindu fold have to be made.

Hindu unity 
And only a united Hindu society can tackle anti-Hindu forces.

There is a misconception in some minds that Hindu scriptures sanction the caste system.Â Vedas, the foundation of Hinduism, are all-embracing and stipulate a casteless and classless society.Â Innumerable Mantras of Vedas emphasize one-ness, universal brotherhood, harmony, happiness, affection and commonality of entire humanity. All-embracing message of Vedas has to be practised and propagated to foster unity in Hindu society.

Besides, there is an urgent need for a strong global Hindu Forum covering all Hindu sects.

Four Vedas containing 20,416 verses, many Upanishads, Ramayana with 24,000 stanzas, Mahabharata with 1,00,000 stanzas, and several other holy books are the sources of Hinduism.Â Codification of Hinduism in one book is indispensable to widen its reach.Â For this codification, appropriate Vedic Mantras and Shlokas of Ramayana, Mahabharata (which contains Bhagvad Gita), and Tirukkural etc. will provide basic material.Â

Â Â Â Â Â As per Mahabharata, Samvibhaga (sharing of wealth) is an important attribute of Dharma.Â Many Vedic Mantras direct humans to share their wealth with others.Â Rig Veda (1-15-8) stipulates, âLet us become Godâs instruments and distribute fortune to the poor and needy.âÂ Similarly, Atharva Veda (3-30-7) commands humans to share their comforts with others.Â Apart from helping the needy, practice of Samvibhaga will unite Hindu society. If affluent Hindus utilize one per cent of their income to help vulnerable sections, expansionist religions will be unable to prey upon Hindu society.

Besides, every Hindu family has to devote time to defend Hinduism. As per Mahabharata, Dharmo rakshiti rakshitaha (Dharma protects those who protect Dharma).

Remember your history 
Hindus need to remember valour of Dahir, Lalitaditya, Bappa Rawal, Raja Bhoja, Jayapala, Vidyadhar Chandel, Bhimadeva, Govindachandra, Prithiviraj Chauhan, Lakshman Sen, Pratap Rudra, Hakka (Harihara), Bukka (Bukkaraya), Kota Rani, Rana Pratap, Chhatrapati Shiva Ji, Hari Singh Nalwa and many others who defended their faith and every inch of motherland.

Now or never
Lulled into complacence, many Hindus feel that since Hinduism has survived for thousands of years, it will continue to flourish for ever. But they overlook the worst ever attack threatening Hinduism now.

Situation is deteriorating very fast. Hindus are growing weaker day by day. History shows that unchallenged aggressors become more aggressive.
Today, Hindus in India can fight and defeat the invaders. But tomorrow it will be too late, and Hindus will be crushed in India as they have been crushed in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh which too used to be Hindu lands.

Unless Hindus confront their tormentors, and take the above-mentioned measures immediately, Hinduism, also known as eternal religion (Sanatan Dharma) will vanish from this earth just in a few decades.

Any further delay or reluctance in fighting the attack will hasten disappearance of Hinduism from the world.

The Great Indian Political Debate - 2 - Guest - 05-17-2005

Full text of the article:
No God but (my) God
Sandhya Jain
QUOTEThough it is nearly two decades since the agitation for the Ram Janmabhoomi questioned the meaning of secularism, there has since been little serious discussion of the concept. Growing Hindu unease over heightened pro-missionary activism by Congress-led regimes in various States, however, demands that the community's views be articulated to facilitate mature public discourse on the subject.

Secularism originated in the Christian West as a truce offered by a denominational State to sister denominations, whereby they could coexist in peace for the larger good of the nation.

With time, the State ceased to be denominational (though Britain formally remains so), and the offer of coexistence was extended to other faiths that entered Christian lands as immigrants. The rise of immigrant groups in Western countries gave rise to the doctrine of multi-culturalism, whereby non-Christian, non-European peoples were permitted to live a separate existence within the host culture. The rising tide of Islamic fundamentalism, however, is tearing this tolerance apart and voices are being raised in favour of the coercive assimilation that was once the hallmark of the American way.

Hindus, therefore, are not the only people in the world to question the attitude of forbearance towards the abuse of native kindness. Hindus are aware that while Islam openly professes the unity of mosque and State, Christianity detests the separation of church and State and has, from the time the cleavage was forced upon it, continued to use the state to secure its ends. The Western reality, therefore, is that the State is Christian at some level and the church in turn serves as a political arm of the State. Hence the active interest in evangelical activities by Western regimes.

India's secular State extends undue patronage to the Church; as a result Hindu patience is beginning to wear thin. The situation has deteriorated with the rise of the Sonia Gandhi-led Congress in some states. So we have a situation in which BJP-ruled Rajasthan has to change the name of a colony named after the Goddess Sati, but Maharashtra sanctions a Christian township!

Press reports suggest that former Australia cricket captain, Steve Waugh, wishes to set up a 100-400 acre "Christian township" in Mumbai. A rabid evangelist, Waugh recently donated millions for the conversion of tsunami victims. Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has already appointed State Industry Secretary as nodal agency for the proposal, no doubt scoring points with his party chief.

In Karnataka, Congress Chief Minister Dharam Singh shamelessly facilitated Benny Hinn's evangelical blitzkrieg, which mercifully fell flat, causing embarrassment even to the official church. Dharam Singh's predecessor, SM Krishna, patronized HT Sangliana, Director General of Police (Prisons), who openly supports missionaries. A 1969-batch IAS officer from Meghalaya, Sangliana became famous in November 2001 when he ordered the arrest of Hindu activists protesting against mass conversions in Doddabalapur (Bangalore Rural).

Sangliana and some senior police officers openly lecture on the Bible at Bible College of India, Bangalore, at weekends. While this is by no means a contraband activity, one does wonder if the State administration's tolerance of this display of religious freedom would extend to a Hindu officer indulging in weekly Ram kathas. Even if not openly victimised, such an officer would be sidelined and derided as a bit of a 'crank.' Sangliana however, suffers no such disability; he openly sided with missionaries when the Ma Bhagavati temple in Devanahalli (Bangalore Rural) and Sri Durgamba Temple in Banaswadi (Bangalore) were demolished and churches erected in their place in 2002. In both cases, the Chief Minister and important Congress leaders supported the evangelicals. It is hardly surprising to learn, therefore, that as many as 84 Churches have sprung up in this area in just the last two years.

But the Chief Minister who takes the cake is Y Samuel Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR) of Andhra Pradesh. A practicing Seventh Day Adventist, Reddy reportedly had 350 farmhands converted by the Adventists on his own farm, and is now building a church for them. Reddy is openly pro-missionary. Recently, when it was found that a church is being constructed on lands belonging to the famous Bhadrachalam Rama Temple, given to a Christian organisation for setting up a school, the chief minister prevented restoration of the land to the temple. So now the church is coming up and conversion activity is in full swing at an exceedingly sacred Hindu site. 

Mandir lands are also being freely distributed in Naxal-infested areas; a sub-inspector who opposed this was done to death, allegedly by Maoist Naxalites. YSR has handed over the distribution of mid-day meals to government school students to Christian bodies and NGOs, who make the children recite "yesu nama" before giving them the food. This is not only tantamount to forced conversion but also involves the psychological abuse of minors.

The worst offence, however, is the gifting of the contract for procurement of materials for prasadam at Tirupati Balaji to a Kochi Syrian Christian, GB Mathew and his firm, the JRG Wealth Management Limited, three weeks ago. Hindu activists suspect that Christians are being smuggled into crucial areas of decision-making at Tirupathi. For instance, some time ago YSR laid the foundation stones for the construction of Vasantha Mandapam in Tirumala, and construction of a new building for Sri Venkateshwara Oriental College in Tirupati. It is feared that the contracts for these Rs 109-crore projects may be awarded exclusively to Christian firms, thereby making mandir funds available for proselytisation activities.

One week ago, YSR engineered a deal between the Sri Venkateshwara Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital (SVIMS, which is owned and run by the TTD) and Dr Cherian's Frontier Lifeline and Dr KM Cherian Heart Foundation for a telemedicine facility. Dr Cherian is the founder of Madras Medical Mission, a true missionary hospital based in Chennai, and YSR inaugurated the telemedicine facility through video-conference.

Personally, I have little doubt that Dr Cherian is a thorough professional. But given the scale and audacity of missionary activity in the southern states, Hindus feel alarmed that a premier institution owned by one of the most sacred Mandirs of the Hindus (the funds for which come from ordinary Hindu bhaktas) should be made to tie-up with a missionary organization by the State Government. It is well known in Andhra Pradesh that there are more than a dozen Hindu institutions that can match and even surpass the facilities offered by Dr Cherian and his team. In the unlikely event that YSR is not aware of them, they include hospitals of the stature of Apollo Hospitals; Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Hospitals; Sri Sai Baba's hospital at Puttaparthi; Mata Amritanandamayi's Hospital at Kochi; Narayana Hridayalaya of Bangalore; Escorts Hospital, and many other super-speciality hospitals in Hyderabad.

YSR has been equally generous to the State's other monotheistic community. It is well-known that the Andhra Government owes nearly Rs 100 crores to Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam as compensation for Mandir lands acquired for the construction of bus stands and bus depots. Though it has failed to remit even one rupee of this amount, the Government recently demanded property tax dues from TTD and on receipt of rupees six crores, instantly diverted the sum to create an Idgah Maidan on railway lands next to the Sri Venkateshwara University lands owned by TTD. This, then, is secularism in one country.

The Great Indian Political Debate - 2 - acharya - 05-19-2005

Centre stops grants to `one-teacher schools'
Anita Joshua

"Funds used to create hatred"

NEW DELHI: The Union Human Resource Development Ministry has stopped grants to `Ekal Vidyalayas' (one-teacher schools) run by the Friends of Tribal Society (FTS) in tribal belts of the country in collaboration with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

This follows a study which revealed that the FTS was ``misusing these funds, and using the grants for creating disharmony amongst religious groups and creating a political cadre''.

Since 1999-2000, the FTS was being provided assistance for its `One Teacher Schools' project â better known as Ekal Vidyalayas â under the Innovative & Experimental Education component of the Education Guarantee Scheme and Alternative & Innovative Education.

Acting on complaints that Government funds were being used to support ``institutions â some of which masqueraded as non-governmental organisations â that promote perverted ideologies,'' the UPA Government ordered an enquiry into the functioning of the FTS soon after it took office last year.

Pending enquiry, the Government did not release grants to the FTS in the last fiscal and now that the report has come in the Ministry has decided to stop funding completely.

As per funding details available for last three fiscals, the FTS in West Bengal got a grant of Rs. 49.97 lakhs in 2002-03, and three units of the organisation â West Bengal, Assam and Jharkhand â were allocated a total of Rs. 1.04 crores in 2003-04. While the West Bengal unit got one of the largest allocations under the scheme in 2002-03, the FTS cornered nearly half the amount sanctioned across the country the following year.

"Funds diverted"

According to the enquiry committee, funds sanctioned by not only the HRD Ministry but also the Ministries of Rural Development, Tribal Welfare, Science and Technology and Women & Child Development were being diverted to generate hatred toward minorities, and condition the minds of children. As a case in point, the report cited the use of `Jai Shri Ram' as response to roll call in the classroom, and use of Hindu Gods to teach the English alphabet.

The committee visited Singhbum district in Jharkhand, and Tinsukhia and Dibrugarh districts of Assam, and found that the FTS worked under numerous names and identities. Besides trying to condition minds, the committee found that names of many students ``enrolled'' in the Ekal Vidyalaya registers were copied from government-run schools. Neither was reading and learning material provided to students despite specific allocations to the FTS. And, where they were provided, it was through the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and not the FTS.

Acknowledging the role of non-formal education for universalisation of elementary education, the committee called for a review of the schemes to support such endeavours. It recommended that alternative schooling be allowed only in places without formal schools. Also, noting that the FTS and the Bharatiya Janata Party got foreign funds in the name of tribal education, the committee suggested that these sources of funding, too, be put under the scanner as they were being used for a divisive agenda.

The Great Indian Political Debate - 2 - Guest - 05-19-2005

QUOTE(Viren @ May 17 2005, 02:07 AM) Full text of the article:
No God but (my) God
Sandhya Jain

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE

Though it is nearly two decades since the agitation for the Ram Janmabhoomi questioned the meaning of secularism, there has since been little serious discussion of the concept. Growing Hindu unease over heightened pro-missionary activism by Congress-led regimes in various States, however, demands that the community's views be articulated to facilitate mature public discourse on the subject.
......................
 </div>
Friends

THis is exactly why I wanted BJP/NDA in power. They don't need to force any pro-Hindu agenda. They just need to curtail the unbelievable abuse of authority by vested minorties including SONIA to destroy the nation, culture and Hinduism. It was always anti-Hindu CONgress until Advani's Rath yatra and VP Singh's mandal woke up th emasses. Unfortunetly, VHP, RSS don't get it. They attacked BJP so vehemently and undermined them so much that now when UPA, LEFY and minorty CMs, CMs sucking upto SONIA are openly attacking and manipulating Hindu interests, we simply sit there bewildered. Would a BJP Govt. aloow this? I don't need pro-Hindutva policies. I want to make sure there is no anti-Hindutva policies. Is it too much to ask?

The Great Indian Political Debate - 2 - Guest - 05-22-2005

SRKrishnan post on IC.. Link is worth reading.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndianCivili...n/message/75282

QUOTEDr. Elst has indicated that the hero of secularists, Ashoka the
Buddhist, was a king who was intolerant of other beliefs.
http://koenraadelst.voiceofdharma.com/arti...ushyamitra.html
First of all, a look at the critical edition of the Ashokavadana
("Illustrious Acts of Ashoka") tells a story of its own concerning
the idealization of Buddhism in modern India. This is how Sujitkumar
Mukhopadhyaya, the editor of the Ashokavadana, relates this work's
testimony about Ashoka doing with a rival sect that very thing of
which Pushyamitra is accused later on:

"At that time, an incident occurred which greatly enraged the king.
A follower of the Nirgrantha (Mahavira) painted a picture, showing
Buddha prostrating himself at the feet of the Nirgrantha. Ashoka
ordered all the Ajivikas of Pundravardhana (North Bengal) to be
killed. In one day, eighteen thousand Ajivikas lost their lives. A
similar kind of incident took place in the town of Pataliputra. A
man who painted such a picture was burnt alive with his family. It
was announced that whoever would bring the king the head of a
Nirgrantha would be rewarded with a dinara (a gold coin). As a
result of this, thousands of Nirgranthas lost their lives." (S.
Mukhopadhyaya: The Ashokavadana, Sahitya Akademi, Delhi 1963,
p.xxxvii; in footnote, Mukhopadhyaya correctly notes that the
author "seems to have confused the Nirgranthas with the Ajivikas", a
similar ascetic sect; Nirgrantha, "freed from fetters", meaning
Jain) Only when Vitashoka, Ashoka's favourite Arhat (an enlightened
monk, a Theravada-Buddhist saint), was mistaken for a Nirgrantha and
killed by a man desirous of the reward, did Ashoka revoke the order.

The Great Indian Political Debate - 2 - acharya - 05-24-2005

Act repealed to woo minorities, says Hindu Munnani

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: The Hindu Munnani on Monday criticised Chief Minister Jayalalithaa for her clarification on the repeal of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of Religion (TNPFCR) Act.

In a statement, Rama Gopalan, state organiser, said the Act was repealed with an eye on the votes of minorities.

Calling upon leaders of different Mutts to rise against the "danger of religious conversion," he said, "We do not despise other religions. But we will not compromise on safeguarding ourselves."

The Great Indian Political Debate - 2 - acharya - 05-30-2005

`Secularism facing threat in the West too'

Special Correspondent

Speakers at atheists' meet advocate scientific education

VISAKHAPATNAM: Many harbour the notion that industrialised nations in Europe are secular, but it is not so, said noted psychoanalyst, Fritz Eric Hoevels, and psychologist, Simone Mosch, from Germany.

Addressing a media conference organised by the Atheist Society of India (ASI) here on Saturday, the duo recalled how Adolf Hitler, signed a pact with the Pope of Vatican in 1933 by which the church was granted many privileges, particularly economic ones like the church tax, "which is still valid as law in Germany and Austria''.

Expenses

Till date, the Germans, irrespective of their religious affiliations, are contributing to the Christian churches about 65 per cent of the latter's expenses.

Only about 35 per cent of churches' actual income was paid by their members as a fee, and even this fee was compulsorily collected by the German State, they stated.

Dr. Hoevels of Freiburg in Germany also noted that Islam was being encouraged by the European media to pave way for the re-introduction of Christianity and medieval church privileges which were lost in the French Revolution when the church had become silent.

"But by Islam, the Pope can come back with the Catholic church. And both Islam and Christianity are keen on persecuting their enemies,'' he said.

In this context, he cited the murder of the Dutch film maker, Theo van Gogh, by Islamist fanatics because of his very moderate movie criticising Islam as a religion, and the movie glorifying Hamas suicide attacks on Israelis that were fully paid by the European Union institutions and hailed by EU culture officials. Even the life of the scriptwriter of the movie, Ian Hirgi Ali, a woman Labour Minister, was now under threat, he stated.

No action

Ms. Mosch gave another example of the murder of a Turkish girl, Hacun Suruchi, in Berlin by her own brother last month, when she wanted to escape arranged marriage and similar humiliations, with impunity as the police did not take any action. France, the Netherlands and Italy were the three countries worst affected by religious fanaticism at present, she said.

The visitors from Germany said that the only way to counter the threat to secularism was to enlighten the people on the latest developments and fight religious fundamentalism. Scientific education would be the best thing under the circumstances, they observed.

The duo also praised the Tamil Nadu Government on its move to ban forcible religious conversions (since backtracked).

The chairman of the ASI in Andhra Pradesh, Jaya Gopal, spoke.

The Great Indian Political Debate - 2 - Guest - 06-06-2005

The Santa of Secularism By Talveen Singh

QUOTEThe week in which we commemorate the 21st anniversary of Operation Blue Star is a good one to discuss the evils of mixing religion with politics. It is something we discussed ad nauseum when Atal Behari Vajpayee was prime minister but ever since the advent of Santa Sonia of Secularism the subject has been so neglected that only one newspaper noticed that Madame attended a rally of the Jamaat-e-Ulema-e-Hind last Sunday. Every time BJP leaders meet Hindu priests it makes headlines but the leader of the Congress party attends a gathering of mullahs and not even her Marxist friends see anything amiss. 

To this nice, secular gathering Madame reportedly said, ââThe former government was a communal government. It tried to damage the (sic) history. The freedom struggle of the country was also distorted.ââ Madame then told them proudly that the first thing her government did was to repeal POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act) and that all their ââgenuine demandsââ would be addressed.

What do terrorism and secularism have in common? Well, our anti-terrorism laws have been used mostly against Sikhs and Muslims which does not surprise me personally since terrorism in the past twenty years has come mostly from these two religious groups but as with much else in our benighted land even terrorism has become a religious issue. As with gurudwaras in the time of Sikh terrorism, mosques are being used these days to shelter Islamic terrorists and Soniaâs new best friends, the mullahs, routinely abuse America from their pulpits and almost never condemn Islamic terrorism. But, nobody will disturb their activities or examine what goes on in their madrassas because under the new secular dispensation in Delhi the only fanatics in India are Hindu. They see no threat from minority communalism even in these days when radical Islam is responsible for most acts of terrorism in the world.

It was this kind of Congress secularism that allowed the patronage of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale until he became a monster. Remember how it was a Congress government in Punjab that allowed him to thrive and spread his wings?

Remember how it was a Congress Home Minister who allowed him and his followers safe passage across the country so that he could go home to Punjab and ensconce himself in the Golden Temple? As someone who spent much time covering the Golden Temple, let me say that it would have been the easiest thing in the world to arrest him and charge him with the crimes he allegedly committed. The Punjab problem may have ended there. But, ââsecularââ Congress ideals prevented this till the Sikh community as a whole could be blamed for the hatred and poison Bhindranwale alone was responsible for spreading. Once every Sikh came to be regarded as a killer and a fanatic it was easy to justify the massacre of thousands in 1984.

Now itâs the turn of Muslims. Santa Sonia of Secularism will fraternise with the mullahs, allow her close ally, Ram Vilas Paswan, to announce publicly that he wants a Muslim chief minister of Bihar and encourage her protege, Arjun Singh, to introduce a law that will make the Aligarh Muslim University into an institution of sectarianism rather than education and then when there is a reaction against Muslims she will blame Hindu ââcommunal forcesââ.

Hindutva at the moment lies in the garbage bin of history because its proponents talk rubbish most of the time. Last week, while switching channels, I came upon that most repugnant of Hindutvaâs fanatics, Ashok Singhal, speaking against the World Health Organization for ââlyingââ about HIV-AIDS figures. Everyone knows, he said, that Hindus have less sex than anybody else. But someone should ask him how 80 million Hindus came to populate this Earth. With men like him leading the Hindutva movement there is every likelihood that it will die a natural death unless we return to old fashioned Congress secularism of the kind that led to Muslims being given permission to consider themselves above Indian law. It was only when Rajiv Gandhiâs government gave Muslim men the right not to pay maintenance to their divorced wives on the ground that maintenance was not permitted under the Sharia that ordinary Hindus realised there was something wrong and joined the Hindutva movement. Incidentally, ââsecularismââ is such a fundamental of Indian journalism that few people asked then why Shariat punishments should not also apply to Muslims and those who did were immediately labelled communal.

Journalistic secularism is almost as dangerous as the Congress variety so there has been insufficient condemnation of the Sikh gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) attack on that film. Jo bole so nihal is the Sikh war cry and has nothing to do with religion but Jagir Kaur of the SGPC managed to stir passions up enough for bombs to go off in cinemas and people to be killed. If we were truly secular, she would have been arrested.

If Santa Sonia was truly the patron saint of secularism she would not have allowed Sanjay Nirupam to join her party. Or does she believe that even the Shiv Sena can become secular as long as it agrees to join the Congress party. If she does she would be doing India an enormous favour by persuading Bal Thackeray to join because then the absurdity of what is going on would be clear enough for us to seriously debate where we are going with this secularism nonsense. At the moment there are far too many fine, bleeding-hearted liberals who genuinely believe that with the change in government we have traded in sectarianism for secularism when all we have got is sectarianism of a more insidious and dangerous kind.