Outlook Magazine - Oct 18, 2004
<b>RSS - HURRICANE RAM</b>
RSS man Ram Madhav's US talk tour sparks a debate: should he have been invited?
Seema Sirohi
In the end, Ram Madhav, national spokesman of the RSS, simply self-destructed in front of his university audiences with incoherent tumbles and bizarre leaps of mind. But the anti-Muslim message was clear in his narrative that careened from laments about high birth rates to rants about two theocracies pushing into India's borders from the east and west. Profusion and invasion were threatening democracy itself in India. He threw in Hitlerian terminology and regressive pronouncements about women to complete the montage. And, you didn't have to be a 'pseudo-secularist' or a 'Commie' to be outraged by the casual manner in which he joked about Gujarat.
Last week, Madhav spoke at Johns Hopkins University (JHU), accompanied by a band of bodyguards. The Madhav brigade intimidated, abused and hissed at student protesters handing out flyers saying "Stop Helping Hate. Stop RSS"-a perfectly normal activity on American streets and campuses. But apparently not for the RSS. A Madhav supporter snatched the flyers, crumpled them and threw them in a student's face. Another threatened to unleash the full power of the dreaded US immigration office and the Patriot Act-empowered police. During the talk, Madhav's brigade sat opposite him, including a man who had assaulted a student in the past for simply asking a tough question of the RSS ideologue. The intimidation tactics came to the notice of university officials later. Madhav's presence on two prestigious university campuses has left a thick trail of controversy and rage, a war of petitions and many questions about what exactly he is up to in this month-long 'America darshan'. Should he have been allowed to speak at JHU and the University of Pennsylvania (U Penn) and wash off the blood of the Gujarat riots with a mere "it was an unfortunate event and we passed a resolution about it"? Should an audience of graduate students have been subjected to the mishmash Madhav grandly called historical facts without the benefit of context and counterpoints?
No, said more than 150 academics teaching South Asian studies around the US.
They signed a petition questioning the decision to invite Madhav in the first place. The petition zoomed through email boxes, getting weightier before Madhav travelled from one campus to another. The critics stressed that giving him a platform was akin to providing the Ku Klux Klan a free ride to spread hate. Surely, the history departments would not invite a KKK spokesman to learn about lynching. Madhav's 'talks' at universities would legitimise the RSS, gild his resume and give him a US stamp of approval, the critics said. Itty Abraham, a professor at George Washington University, asked what the "net advantage was of having someone like him speak? You humanise him and he puts layer upon layer of evilness on Muslims. We are lucky that he was unsophisticated. But what if a slick guy came?" Sunil Khilnani, director of the South Asia program at JHU, stressed that he invited the RSS spokesperson because it was important to expose his students to the various "currents in Indian politics". Distancing himself from the speaker he had invited, Khilnani read a statement before the talk, clarifying that he and the department in "no way endorse the views" of the RSS. The RSS and its ideology are "dangerous and potentially destructive of the constitutional identity of the Indian republic." Since it is a "secretive organisation, it was all the more important that we hold it and its office-bearers up to the light of public debate." For this statement, Khilnani was assaulted with hate mail. "Hi Suniluddin," an obscene rant began, jumping quickly into the gutter of bile unfit for print. Khilnani, who got brickbats from both sides, says he finds it problematic that there is "an unwillingness on either side to engage in an argument".His view is the academics who criticised him speak from a safe perch. "It is all very well to sit in academic campuses, publish in arcane journals, and keep one's hands clean. But it is not a political way of looking at the world. People have to engage in the battle of ideas and win," says Khilnani, whose book, The Idea of India, presents a nuanced appraisal of rightwing Hindu politics in India, among other things.
Francine Frankel, director of the Center for the Advanced Study of India, said she invited Madhav to U Penn to get some answers. "The RSS, which as a social organisation not subject to political accountability is, in reality, the ideological guide of the BJP, and its strongest source of grassroots political workers-an arrangement not present in any other democracy," she said.
Questions about where Hindutva stands after Gujarat and the 2004 elections are pertinent and best addressed to the RSS spokesman, she added. Determined to control the event, she allowed only about 35 academics and graduate students to attend. No protesters, few tough questions-not the kind of temper one tends to associate with US campuses. And Madhav walked away sanguine. He simply didn't address the big questions on the grand alignment and ferment in the rightwing forces that Frankel posed. Instead, he gave his stock recitation against minorities.
By his own admission, Madhav was on a mission to clear the "concerns about Gujarat" in the Indian American community. Perhaps, funds from rich NRIs were drying up because Gujarat was just too difficult to rationalise. But he rallied the faithful while dipping deliriously into a society where anti-Muslim sentiment bubbles just below the surface. Three more university talks are scheduled. In the end he will have raked up a measure of credibility, and some legitimacy despite Gujarat and despite a hundred mutinies under way against the Christians. S. Akbar Zaidi, a visiting professor from Pakistan who was at the JHU event, was surprised at the similarities between Madhav and the rabble-rousers back home. "One hears exactly the same type of vile stuff against Hindus and Indians from many Pakistani groups. I thought he would give a far more nuanced and intelligent presentation."
David Ludden, a South Asia expert who heard Madhav at U Penn, wrote: "The RSS is moving to spin into the media mainstream and they might get people in the US to believe, little by little, that Hindutva is democratic and secular. (That) Muslims are intolerant." Even among American liberals, this message may go down smoothly, he warned. But he found the whole talk redundant because everything Madhav said is in the books. "So why listen to him? The RSS actions are sickening, its ideas are inane, its history is insane."
Madhav certainly seems to have got more from the universities than they got from him.
Presence of Christianity in India is marked from AD1 and AD52 is the so called
year Christianity started spreading in Kerala This AD 1858 King of Rajadharma
have to do nothing to Keralas Secular structure and the growth of different
religions.
Kerala was a place rich with Buddhism and Buddhist worship; and Buddhist Temples
by the time of your Kind King these temples converted to Hinduism; this is what
happened to Buddhism in Kerala (Sabarimala Temple is the biggest example for
this - The millions of devotees who come from the entire south India say Swami
Saranam instead of Buddha Saranam - then tell me please if you are kind enough
how Christianity can be tolerated by kings and rajadharma who sabotage, hijacked
somebody's religious, worship places.
KERALA was a place under the rajadharma; Sudra ladies do not have the right to
cover breast. Sudras are in the modern Keralas Uppercast known as all sects of
Nairs (this was the situation of Sudras in Kerala do I need to describe the
plight of Dalits of that time). is it the reason Pioneers is saying Travancor
king was so kind and generous. Converted Christians always cover their
breast.According to your article all today's Upper cast Nairs should be
Christians by that time of merciful and kindhearted kings Kerala.
And for Leaders like AKG it was not necessary to lead a struggle for the right
of Hindus entry in the temple.
NB : BY SEEING ALL THESE SWAMI VIVEKANANDA CALLED KERALA THE HOUSE OF MADNESS
AND WICKED! today (If I am not wrong) pioneer which come from Vivekanandas
Bengal is the right media to correct him.
regi
A Hindu al-Qaeda, religious fundamentalism as a political tool by Bernardo Cervellera
Asia News, Italy 20 October, 2004
http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=1731
We want the government to condemn fanatical organisations and provide minorities much needed legal protection, Catholic leader John Dayal says.
New Delhi (AsiaNews) â Violence against Christians and other religious minorities continues unabated five months after Congress Party won the Indian federal elections and Prime Minister Manmohan Singhâs government took office.
AsiaNews reports regularly stories of attacks and forced reconversion, especially in the most vulnerable states of Orissa, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand.
John Dayal, president of the All India Catholic Union, an umbrella organisation representing Indiaâs Catholic associations (who organised the countryâs 16 million believers), is among the most committed defenders of religious freedom and minority rights. From his New Delhi office he answered our questions.
Dr Dayal, how do you explain the increase in violence after Congressâ election victory?
Violence against religious minorities is quite in keeping with the modus operandi of the right-wing, Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), its ally Shiv Sena and the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), its neo Fascist front organisation. The strategy is simple. Where the BJP is in power it uses minimal physical violence; where it is out of power, it uses as much as necessary.
Violence serves two main political purposes: it keeps minorities terrified and the ruling party engaged. This way the BJP and RSS can widen the religious divide and politicise religion. Hence, every time the BJP loses a wave of violence follows. This happened in 1979 when it walked out of the governing coalition. Even if the BJP is not in power at the federal levels, it is still in power in many states where it can cover and protect killers and attackers.
Is the Singh government doing all that is needed to stop the violence?
Singhâs government is a Congress-led coalition made up of parties committed to religious equality and an end to communal and religious violence. Yet, I am not full satisfied. I have met the Union Home Minister Mr. Shivraj Patil. He assured me that the government was doing its best, but they have not fully dismantled
the apparatus the BJP set up the Minorities Commission and other ministries. For instance, the Chairman of the Minorities Commission is a BJP ally.
Your organization is working so that freedom of religion is fully achieved. What do you want from the government?
We have demanded strong anti-hate laws on the pattern of those of the European Union. We want equal opportunity in employment for all minorities, especially in the government bureaucracy and the police. Muslims who are over 12 per cent of the population represent less than 1 per cent in government. Above all, we want
the RSS to be brought to justice. It must be internationally investigated as a Hindu al-Qaeda.
Are there any problems between Christians and Muslims?
Minorities support each other. I work very closely with Buddhist, Sikh and Muslim groups. There are, however, some fundamentalist Muslim organisations, especially in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, who do create problems for Christians.
Do you think India is moving towards a religious war or coexistence?
We are more than one billion people in India and all of us will make sure that there never is a clash of civilisation or a religious war. Even during the partition when over a million Hindus and Muslims died, the tragedy was quickly contained.
India has historically been home to all sorts of religions, and despite the worst propaganda and violence by Hindutva* gangs, it will remain so. We are working towards co-existence, not mere tolerance. Both the All India Catholic Union and the (Protestant) All India Christian Council are in the forefront of
this civil society movement.
*Hindutva means Hinduness and inspires Hindu fundamentalism.
Home > 2004 Issues > October 24, 2004
A letter from the Editor
Dear Reader,
Namaste,
Politics, it is said, is the art of the possible. The life of a nation builder is to make the impossible possible. Shri Dattopant Thengadi was a nation builder. Like many other great Sangh leaders, Thengadiji worked in the most inhospitable areas, taking the message of Hindu unity and nationalism, for the total rejuvenation of the country´s social life.
In a famous speech at Deendayal Research Institute New Delhi, many years ago, Thengadiji made a distinction between a politician, a statesman and a nation builder. The politician, he said, thinks of the next election, the statesman of the next generation and the nation builder of many future
generations. For a nation builder, he said, there is nothing called compulsion. He does not make compromises, deals are not struck at the altar of principles, he chooses the difficult path.
A book Karyakartha that Thengadiji wrote a few years ago, is a must read for any man in public life.
It is an understatement to say that Thengadiji was great. Once I asked Shri P. Parameshwaran, Director of the Bharatiya Vichara Kendram, Kerala, if he could describe a jeevanmukta, as in the Gita. He said Thengadiji is a living example.
Thengadiji had a long and intimate association with Kerala. It was he who practically took the Sangh work to Kerala and nursed it into an organized force there. He could even speak Malayalam. He used to be very fond of the Kerala food. Hundreds of families there consider him a member, their own. Elders used to call him by his first nameâhe had inspired thousands of karyakartas.
He worked in West Bengal also. There too, he laid the foundation for the Sangh work. He could fluently speak Bengali. Here he came in touch with Radical Humanism and M.N. Roy. Later, he went to work in the labour field. He built the Number One labour movement in the country. Working in the labour front he saw to it that the trade unions did not become a tail of political parties. He did not mix either politics or religion in the trade union field.
This was one of the uniqueness of Thengadiji. He never mixed things. All his life he worked for the Hindu social renaissance. But I have not seen him ever visiting a temple, or doing any pooja, other than the Vishwakarma pooja.
He always remembered his mother. Next to Guruji Golwalkar, she was his philosopher and spiritual guide. He used to say, âmy mother is always with me. She guides me. She inspired me to join the Sangh. She asked me to follow Guruji and help complete his mission.â I have a feeling that Thengadiji used to meditate on Shiva.
His knowledge was phenomenal. His reading was so wide, there was no area of information that did not interest him. His memory, if one may say was elephantine. He could quote verses and stanzas from anywhere and everywhere. He was equally at ease in English, Hindi and Marathi. His command over English literature and thought made it easy for him to relate things and contexts in a world perspective.
Any moment with him was an intellectual feast. Every time he would recommend new books, which he had read and enjoyed. Here I thought he was a little partial to English, may be knowing my inadequacy. Foundations of Indian Culture and Essays on the Gita by Sri Aurobindo he recommended. He was much interested in biographies, especially those of Napoleon, Henry the Great and Bismarck by Emil Ludwig.
Few years ago he asked me to read The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, New Realities and Lincoln on Leadership.
Thengadiji was both a romantic and a practical idealist. He had an irresistible charm about him. He was so free, unaffected and simple. He could develop easy friendship with a person of any category and status, age and gender. I have seen him spending hours listening to stories from toddlers. In a barber shop in South Avenue, New Delhi, there is a photograph of Thengadiji with his barber. The only other photo on the wall is that of the barber Raju with former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar. Raju says he had taken the picture of Thengadiji 30 years ago, when he was a Rajya Sabha member and used to live in the area. In the South Avenue taxi stand, every taxiwalla knew him and he was familiar with their names, and their families.
He could really walk with kings and never lose the common touch, as Rudyard Kipling would say. Thengadiji was in the Rajya Sabha for 12 years. During this period, he developed such friendship with the Communist leaders that he was chiefly responsible for the building of the National Campaign Committee of Central Trade Unions, which became a very effective instrument in collective trade union actions, during the hey years of Congress.
His interactions went beyond party lines. There used to be regular exchange of ideas with Communist leaders like S A Dange, Hirenda, Chaturanan Mishra, P. Ramamurti, Bhupesh Gupta, Jyotirmoy Basu, Beni and Roza Deshpande and CITU leader Dr M.K. Pandhe. He appreciated the idealism of A.K.Gopalan, E.M.S. Namboo-dripad and Pramod Dasgupta. One of the early builders of Communism in Kerala K. Damodaran was a regular visitor to Thengadiji.
Damodaran had almost become his follower. Thengadiji was happy that outside the Sangh also there were people committed to social causes.
Thengadiji played a major role in the formation of Janata Party during Emergency. He was one of the few underground leaders of the peoples´ movement during 1975-77 who could not be arrested under MISA. He in disguise led the underground movement. Here he was in regular touch with the Lok Dal, Congress (O), Socialist and Akali leaders. His closeness with Ch. Charan Singh, N.G.Gore, Madhu Limaye, Morarji Desai, Subhramanya Swamy, Chandrashekhar, Madhu Dandavate, Mohan Dharia, V.M. Tarkunde, George Fernandes, Krishna Kant, Ravindra Verma and Surendra Mohan helped a great deal in the formation of a unified fight against Emergency. The ground work he had done was instrumental in the swift formation of the Janata Party when Smt. Indira Gandhi suddenly declared elections in 1977.
Once the Janata Party was in power, Thengadiji moved away from politics, concentrating more on widening the BMS base and the formation of the Kisan movement. Before the formation of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, for many months, he lived in interior villages with farmers studying the peasant problems, the vagaries of Indian agriculture sector. There he also developed his Swadeshi philo-sophy. Before starting the BMS too, Thengadiji under-went a similar drill with the INTUC. Here he came close to people like D.P. Mishra and Ravishankar Shukla. In Congress also Thengadiji had many personal friends.
Thengadiji was closely associated with Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. He was very keen to present Ambedkar in true light, from his own personal experience. He was pained by Arun Shourie´s book on Ambedkar, for, Thengadiji knew from his intimate contact with the great Dalit leader, how much he loved India and Hinduism. A book on Ambedkar was for long maturing in his mind. The spark came when, according to him, Sarsanghachalak Sudarshanji asked him to complete the work, fully concentrating on it. Inspite of his failing health, for over two years he worked on it. The writing was completed in July 2004. He was keen to make it an authoritative magnum opus.
Thengadiji could never say ânoâ to people who showed their love for him with food. He would say that they would feel hurt. Once he went to Shri Arif Beigâs house in Prasad Nagar, few days after the wedding of his daughter. Beig, being a very generous host kept on ordering many glasses of sherbet. After two glasses I could take no more. Later Thengadiji chided me, âwhy are you so fussy about food. It is not because they are afraid of you, but because of their love, this is the way they express their affection. Never say no to food.â
The lessons in Loksangraha (networking with people) one has to learn from Thengadiji. He by-hearted all the lessons from Dr. Hedgewar. Whenever he was in Delhi after a long gap, he would make it a point to visit all the families in the city he personally knew. He would take a taxi and make a complete round of the city till late in the night. Once, the BMS decided to buy an Ambassador car for him. He refused and asked them to deposit the money in the trade union fund, saying, I am a worker. If I start traveling by car others will also start doing the same. He was always cautious. He would say an individual and a political organization should never take goodwill for granted.
Anybody could go to him. And for hours cry on his shoulders. People used to repeat their stories, the same stories, he was a patient listener. One could never see him in haste. He would take long walks, miles together, sharing his views, narrating incidents, listening to other´s pathos. He was a man of action and thought. It was a very fulfilling life, as Sarsanghachalak observed. He never complained. I have never seen him in anger, irritated, annoyed, impatient, desperate or frustrated. He was a positive man, who possessed a large heart and a bottomless wealth of love. The beauty is that lakhs of families knew him personally, intimately, much more than each one of us who believed to be close to him. And that was the mark of the man.
A line he used to quote comes to mind. Nature would stand up and say, Here was a Man.
Yours sincerely,
R. Balashankar
Hanukkah and its history
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Tonight is the fourth night of Armed Jews Week, or as it is more popularly known, Hanukkah. Hanukkah is an eight-day celebration of the Jewish revolution against Syria in the second century B.C. The Syrian government (a remnant of Alexander the Greatâs empire) attempted to wipe out the Jewish religion by forcing the Jews to conform to Greek culture. Some of them refused, and a tiny militia, led by Judah the Maccabee (âthe hammerâ) began a guerilla war.
The Jewish militia grew in force, and repeatedly destroyed much larger Syrian armies which were sent to smash the revolution. Syriaâs King Antiochus decided that the Jewish people were so much trouble that he would just get rid of them entirelyâslaughtering as many as necessary, and selling all the rest into slavery. But his wicked plans failed, and after years of war, the Jews won their independence.
During the years of Syrian tyranny, Syrian officers enjoyed the droit du seigneurâthe authority to deflower virgin Jewish brides on their wedding nights, before they could join their husbands. So some stories which Jewish families retell at Hanukkah, such as the Book of Judith,extol brave Jewish women who went to the tent of enemy officers who were expecting sexâbut who instead met their deaths as the hands of lone Jewish women.
During centuries of oppression in Christian and Moslem lands, many Jews adopted attitudes of passivity and helplessness. Those attitudes began to change in the late nineteenth century, with the growth of the Zionist movement.
Zionists believed that Jews had become disconnected from the physical world. That the Jews had no homeland was the most extreme manifestation of the disconnection, but the disconnect could be seen on many levels. Often pale and weak, Jewish boys were easy targets for bullies. Usually passive and timid, Jewish communities were easy targets for mobs. <b>The root cause of Jewish physical weakness and of disrespect by gentiles was the Jewish lack of self-respect.</b>
The Zionists set out to restore a Jewish homeland, and they recognized that such a project would require a widespread change in Jewish consciousness.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
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BJP bid to create communal discord will fail, says Vaiko
By Our Staff Reporter
ERODE, DEC. 10. Asserting that an "ideological crisis" is still raging in the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam founder, Vaiko, today charged it with trying to create communal discord in Tamil Nadu.
Talking to the media here, he said the BJP was trying to "use the Kanchi Acharya arrest issue" to win sympathy and strengthen its vote-bank. "But it is only a dream." For, people in Tamil Nadu wanted communal harmony.
Criticising the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Uma Bharti, for dragging the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, in the controversy over the arrest of the Acharya, Mr. Vaiko said she was surviving only with the help of the Sangh Parivar.
On the Prevention of Terrorism Act, he said. "It is repealed but not with retrospective effect, so we are still are POTA accused before the designated court".
On the Sethusamudram project, he said the State administration was ``trying to block it'', but he was confident that the scheme would be implemented.
The MDMK's conference of agriculturists and agricultural labourers would be held at Vedasandur in Dindigul district in February.
Mr. Vaiko later visited Kodumudi, Kangeyam and Dharapuram, where workers' meetings were conducted.
Vaiko is so true.
Here we had a article which said "It is good that hindus have started to believe in violence" and it talked of Togadia coming to chennai et all.
Many poster here also , were quite sad , that people were keeping "quiet" in tamil nadu and had it been north india , it would be bad.
This is exactly how the hindu organisations give space for dravidianists and p-secs.They i am afraid will never learn.
<!--QuoteBegin-samudra_gupta+Dec 11 2004, 11:12 AM-->QUOTE(samudra_gupta @ Dec 11 2004, 11:12 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin--> This is exactly how the hindu organisations give space for dravidianists and p-secs.They i am afraid will never learn. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Just the opposite is true. This is the way Psecs and Dravidianists giving space to Hindutva by harrassing Hindus while keeping quiet about crimes committed by people of other communities.
If psecs kept neutrality towards all religions nobody would have heard about BJP by this time. You are right, they will never learn.
A small nit pick on Vaiko.
I believe he donated his theatre complex (must be a small one , like in villages) to a church , but wont accept hindu religious symbols offered during his recent march from somewhere to chennai.
Check this out
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Shimla institute was used to implement RSS agenda: report
By Anita Joshua
NEW DELHI, DEC. 11. The ongoing review of a project of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS), Shimla, has thrown up evidence which suggest that the research centre, under the previous NDA Government, was used to further the RSS agenda, be it the foreign origin issue of the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, or the "single foundational vision of India's composite dynamic and pluralistic rainbow civilisation."
Since 1999, the IIAS showed a "single-minded commitment" to inventing the "non-existent single `foundational vision' of our composite... civilisation," says an interim report submitted by D. Bandopadhyaya on the institute's "Project on the Study of Indian Civilisation."
Though the review, ordered by the Human Resource Development Ministry in October, is far from complete, Mr. Bandopadhyaya put the IIAS project under the scanner as it was the most expensive at Rs. 1.38 crores. In his covering letter to the Ministry, he said: "An analysis of the implementation of this project clearly exposed the infirmities and weaknesses of the institute."
Questioning the academic credentials of some of the "scholars" associated with the project and with a view to ensuring that the material to be published as part of the project did not have any communal tinge, the review committee recommended that "all the manuscripts under different stages of publication be put on hold forthwith till they are evaluated and reviewed by competent scholars."
`Foundational vision'
Mr. Bandopadhyaya said the search for "foundational vision" was based almost entirely on antiquity and religion, practically excluding other relevant historical factors. Such being the case, "one is at a loss to give any rational finding about the progress of the project. The initial attempt was to convert myths into realities, fiction into facts, folklore into history and rituals into scientific practises. Such an approach would tend to justify the savage rituals of human sacrifice, sati, female infanticide, rigidity of the caste system, including untouchability, and other obscurantist rituals..."
Basing his conclusions on the annual reports of the institute, Mr. Bandopadhyaya informed the Ministry that the progress of the project was "far from satisfactory and the manner it is being executed clearly shows evidence of academic cronyism verging on malfeasance."
While seeing no rationale in continuing with the project in its present shape, he suggested salvaging it since Rs. 80 lakhs had been spent.
The annual reports also showed that the institute had organised a national seminar on who could govern the country in the midst of the debate on Ms. Gandhi's foreign origin. As per the Annual Report (2001-02), a seminar on "Religion, Nationalism and Literature" was organised in February 2002 where one of the issues discussed was whether a "non-native can take over the governance of his/her adopted country."
While there was nothing in the annual report to suggest the political overtones of the seminar, the issue caught the review committee's eye primarily because the IIAS did not list it among the seminars organised by it.
NATION: RSS
Sangh Makeover
The new generation in the RSS leadership is trying to achieve the impossible task of reviving a stagnant organisation that is steeped in medieval ideas about India and its culture
By Bhavdeep Kang
The obituary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has been written many times. On the eve of its 80th anniversary (in March 2005), doomsayers maintain the organisation in period costume and with rusty ideas is heading towards obsolescence; and the shenanigans of the "four old men" from Nagpur are dismissed as being of no moment. Some even insist the hydra-headed Sangh is drifting, like the dodo, towards extinction and the sooner the BJP gets shot of it, the better its chances of survival. Peripatetic sarsanghchalak K.S. Sudershan loves meeting people but prefers to busy himself with matters academic and philosophical; the RSS interface with the BJP, Madan Das Devi, is under treatment following a stroke he suffered and veteran H.V. Seshadri has been ailing for several years.
Take a closer look at the RSS core group and the stereotype vanishes. Unlike the faded faces that crowd public life, the RSS leadership is relatively young, educated and articulate. At the regional level, the leadership is in its 40s. And at the central level, the key members of the 40-strong national team are in their 40s or 50s. Going by the Sangh's own figures, its geographical spread is widening, its numbers increasing, its social base expanding and its pool of talent deepening.
However, the generational shift and the organisational expansion have not been matched by a change in its medieval mindset. The Sangh now faces the mammoth challenge of changing the way it looks at caste, community, gender and the global environment. For that the thinking too has to be young.
A section of the leadership seems to realise that. Though it is a little late in the day, a review has been undertaken of the RSS' approach to political and social issues. Its archaic stance on gender issues was discussed to death during a meeting late last year, with a general-if reluctant-consensus that women would be given greater prominence. "Our approach cannot be static, it must evolve," says an RSS functionary. However, you are not likely to see a woman pracharak in Jhandewalan anytime soon.
The question of Dalit aspirations and how best to accommodate them is under discussion. If there has been a palpable change, it is in the approach to the minority question. But that hasn't stopped its search for the enemy. Of late, the RSS has taken a somewhat more liberal approach, by its standard, toning down the rhetoric on Mathura and Kashi and talking of resolving the Ayodhya tangle through dialogue.
The RSS' relationship with the BJP is also changing, with the balance of power shifting towards the Sangh. During the BJP's years in power, the RSS' efforts to exert its moral authority over the party had failed miserably. Sudershan had restricted himself to oblique criticism of certain officials in the PMO. The late Dattopant Thengadi had made no secret of his unhappiness over the economic policies of the government.
It was difficult for Sudershan to pressure A.B. Vajpayee and L.K. Advani because of their seniority (both had joined the RSS in the early 1940s). In 1989, Sudershan who was then ideologue-in-chief had forced the two to toe the Hindutva line with the backing of sarsanghchalak Balasaheb Deoras. The Atal-Advani duo did not defer to Sudershan as they did to Deoras.
The problem is with the BJP second rung. Unlike the Atal-Advani generation, it is not rooted in the Sangh ideology or tradition, which explains why Advani had to take over for a fifth term. Ideologue K.N. Govindacharya's absence is being felt now. With Devi unwell, Suresh Soni may interact with the BJP now. The BJP Gen Next does not have an easy equation with the RSS stalwarts. Uma Bharati may be an exception. Some are making concerted efforts now, well aware that the blessings of the Sangh are a pre-requisite for the top job. If Advani steps down after the Bihar elections, the BJP will be in a bind. And so will the RSS.
At various meetings, ranging from the core group of 25 to largish gatherings of 300, pracharaks have already called for a review of the RSS-BJP relationship. The ostensible reason: given the fragmented nature of Hindu society, over-identification with any political party can hurt the RSS. Those who favour a new political arm are in a minority but the very fact that the issue is being discussed is significant. RSS General Secretary Mohan Rao Bhagwat is seen as a tough customer who cannot be taken lightly. He has put the BJP on probation.
Functionally, the RSS has adapted to the information age. Its website is regularly updated and professionally managed. In a couple of years, the Sangh is expected to have its own network of servers supporting a multi-directional news portal. All its tech-friendliness hasn't helped speed up the Sangh's delayed responses. All issues, no matter how urgent, are deferred to "baithaks" which could be held after months. The painfully slow pace of the "Hindu Rashtra" has become an inside joke. Maybe because India has gone far beyond them.
There have been some other changes as well. International activism is in overdrive, with several of its top leaders going on frequent trips abroad to strengthen the network. The Sangh is less insular today. Since 2001, the RSS brass has held periodic meetings of non-Sangh intellectuals.
The generational shift first mooted by the late Morapant Pingle was engineered in the 1990s by general secretary Seshadri, ensuring that the 38 zones (pranths) into which the country was divided were headed by mature rather than over-the-hill activists. "The number of zones was increased to make them easier to handle besides allowing younger pracharaks to prove themselves," says an RSS functionary.
The shakha (unit) network is headed by relatively young men. Like Sethu Madhavan (sah-kshetriya pracharak or regional head) in Kerala, who has been able to take on the Marxist cadres; R. Chakradhar from Chhattisgarh has helped in the expansion of the Sangh in the tribal belt; Anil Dave is credited with the BJP success in Madhya Pradesh. There is Krishna Gopal in the Northeast, Dinesh Kamath in Karnataka, Suresh Chandra in Chittaur and Ajit Mahapatra in Utkal.
Most of the pracharaks are well-educated. A graduate degree is no longer a benchmark; the Sangh boasts of qualified professionals at all levels. Andhra Pradesh's K. Sukumar is an MD, Jharkhand's Ashok Varshney is a PhD, Maharashtra's Jayantrao Saharebudhhe is an IITian and Gujarat's Manmohan Vaidya has a doctorate.
The number of shakhas is increasing countrywide, with 50,000 today, against half that number 15 years ago. With the average age of the Sangh leadership having come down, dress codes become hard to maintain. It is not unusual to see young pracharaks buzzing about in trousers and shirts and dark glasses-like the RSS spokesman Ram Madhav. In shakhas, swayamsevaks can be seen even in Bermudas. But that does not mean the RSS is prepared for a sartorial makeover. Swayamsevaks are unlikely to trade their floppy khakis for denim. The ganvesh (uniform) stays-khakis, black topi, lathi.
The social composition too has changed. RSS is no longer dominated by scions of middle-class Brahmin families, who formed its backbone in the 1960s and '70s. Today, it counts Jats, Yadavs, Rajputs and OBCs among its pracharaks.
A parallel development has been the expansion of the "non-shakha" Sangh. It is these affiliates which have been most critical of the BJP. Among them, the Swadeshi Jagran Manch has a young leader in B. Murlidhar Rao, while the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram has Gunwant S. Kothari. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh has Udai Patwardhan and the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh has Dinesh Kulkarni.
The younger swayamsevaks, in the true Sangh tradition, avoid the limelight. Media anonymity, though, does not make them lesser warriors of Hindu nationalism, whose return to the mainstream is what the volunteers with a difference hope to achieve. For that they have to first abandon their redundant ideas about the rashtra.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
THE NEW FACE OF BROTHERHOOD
SURESH SONI, 54, SAH-SARKARYAVAHA: He is a post-graduate in philosophy and well-versed in the Hindu scriptures, a subject on which he has written a book. Soni is known for the high intellectual content of his baudhik (sermons). He was attracted to the Sangh very early in life and started his career as a pracharak from Indore. Earlier, he was sah-prachar pramukh.
DATTATREYA HOSABALE, 49, SAH-BAUDHIK PRAMUKH: He was at the helm of the ABVP for 15 years. He is seen as a team-builder and commands a strong following in the student community. An MA in English Literature, he has travelled widely abroad and is fluent in both English and Hindi. An effective orator, he is well-read and has a special interest in foreign affairs.
ADHEESH KUMAR, 48, PRACHAR PRAMUKH: Was elevated to prachar pramukh at the Hardwar baithak last month. Earlier, he had set up the Sangh's media centre in Lucknow. Well-informed on a variety of subjects, he also has good oratorical skills. A native of Agra, he first shot into prominence during the Emergency, when he was with the ABVP.
INDRESH KUMAR, 55, SAH-SAMPARK PRAMUKH: The jovial, high-profile and media-savvy Kumar came into prominence as pranth pracharak of Jammu. He survived-and ensured that the Sangh thrived-during the height of terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir. Known for his sharp intellect, networking and organisational skills, he has the ability to win over hostile audiences.
SURESH JOSHI, 57, SAH-SARKARYAVAHA: Originally from Madhya Pradesh, he became a pracharak after he moved to Mumbai where he worked in a bank. He was long associated with the Seva Bharti. A low-profile pracharak, he has focused on the social service aspect of the Sangh's work-he gave impetus to the model village scheme. He also served as seva pramukh in the RSS national team.
RAM MADHAV, 40, SPOKESPERSON: A bal swayamsevak in Andhra Pradesh during the Emergency (when he acted as a courier), he came to Delhi five years ago, making a splash as joint spokesperson with the venerable M.G. Vaidya. His cell phones, his Wagon-R and hip attire initially excited comment but his sharp intelligence earned respect. He maintains a wide network.
B. MURLIDHAR RAO, 40, SJM CONVENER: The youthful head of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch started with the ABVP. In 1993, he became organising secretary of the SJM. Influenced by the late Dattopant Thengadi, he has always toed the stalwart's anti-globalisation line. He believes in team work, an attribute highly appreciated in the RSS. He is its spokesperson on economic issues.
PROFILE | MOHAN RAO BHAGWAT
The Shy Warrior
Seated under a portrait of Keshav Baliram Hedgewar at Keshav Kunj, the RSS headquarters in Delhi, Mohan Rao Bhagwat is the very likeness of the RSS founder. The same snowy moustache and hair, arresting eyes and avuncular aspect. A curious combination of calmness and intensity. "When I first saw him, I knew he was a true successor to Hedgewar, that he would lead the Sangh to glorious heights," confides a pracharak.
Bhagwat is regarded as K.S. Sudershan's most likely successor, not that he has been formally or informally anointed. But the sarsanghchalak's fondness for and reliance on Bhagwat has been evident since 2000 and the day-to-day business of the Sangh has increasingly been left to him. As general secretary, the 54-year-old veterinary sciences graduate works closely with Sudershan. Sudershan's faith in Bhagwat is evident from the fact that he was elevated directly from the post of shareerik pramukh (physical training in-charge).
After his elevation, the Sangh lost three veterans in Dattopant Thengadi, Rajju Bhaiyya and Morapant Pingle in recent years. Robust but for a tendency to high blood sugar, Bhagwat maintains a gruelling travel schedule, parallel to Sudershan's. He does not carry a cell phone on the premise that his programme is fixed.
In conversation, Bhagwat comes across as clear-headed and focused, a man agreeable to accommodation but not compromise. His disenchantment with the BJP was evident as early as 2000, when it was in power. At the Agra shivir (meet), he observed that the change of government, leaders, parties and slogans had not brought about the desired results. Leaders, he said, "are engaged in a rampant power struggle". As a result of economic and cultural deterioration, he maintained, the common man was suffering from a feeling of "alienation".
Bhagwat does not see the Sangh and its mission and ideology in isolation. Hence his concern over the portrayal of the RSS in the media and its interactions with the outside world. His holistic view enabled him to anticipate the anti-Sangh campaign launched by the UPA Government post-general elections. Regardless of his programme, Bhagwat makes it a point to attend the one-hour early morning shakha, a practice that ensures bonding with swayamsevaks. He has a strong grip over the RSS organisation and its 40-odd affiliates. He directly coordinates with the VHP. A third-generation swayamsevak (his father was a pranth pracharak in Gujarat), he is a Maharashtrian Brahmin like many RSS stalwarts and is seen in the Sangh as the quintessential pracharak, groomed in the soil of Nagpur.
Non-controversial and affable, Bhagwat is no pushover, say insiders. If anything, he catalysed the BJP's swift return to Hindutva with his remark at the recent Hardwar baithak, "Hum kuchh din aur dekhenge (We will observe their conduct for a while longer)." A gentle warning that was first issued to the BJP brass after the debacle in the Lok Sabha polls.
Defining Hindutva
Prafull Goradia
The championing by the BJP of the Hindu ethos at its Ranchi meeting
would be welcomed by all supporters of Hindutva. It is appropriate
at this juncture to recount what the concept encapsulates especially
since, over the years, Hindutva has been used more as a slogan and
less as an ideology. In essence, it is a political cloth woven out
of the sliver and yarn comprising the tenets of the Sanatan Dharma.
The Hindu universe includes all living beings including animals,
birds and reptiles. Their souls transmigrate and in due course,
attain mukti. The paths to this salvation are several like jnana,
karma or bhakti yoga.
Many a policy even for the contemporary world can be drawn from the
sliver of Hinduism. Ecology and environment are important to enable
all living beings to survive. A free market economy would be the
corollary of the freedom to choose any path of salvation. The
foreign policy would be essentially non-aggressive because a Hindu
is reluctant to attack unprovoked anyone as aliens might be carrying
the souls of former Hindus. This theory of transmigration explains
why Hindu rulers have generally been non-imperialist.
The Semitic world divides human beings into two-Jews and gentiles,
Christians and infidels, Muslims and kafirs. The Marxists too divide
humanity between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. The presence
of these communities makes it necessary for the devotee of Hindutva
to seek the establishment of a Hindu rashtra (ramrajya). Its
foremost principles would be impartiality in the same spirit as
justice is blind. Recall how Lord Ram was anxious to not appear
partial to his family members even in matters as dear to him as his
beloved wife Sita.
Unfortunately, the present Indian polity is littered with
discrimination. To begin with, in the course of 1947/48, 565 princes
were dethroned and their states integrated with the rest of India.
The zamindaris were abolished. But the wakfs, which are the biggest
urban landlords in the country, were allowed to perpetuate. The
Caliph nationalised wakfs in the Ottoman empire way back in 1914.
Articles 29 and 30 of the Constitution clearly discriminate against
the Hindus. Billions of rupees are spent on the upkeep of the
madarsas and other minority institutions. The Haj subsidy, which
this year will go to some 82,000 Muslims at the rate of Rs 20,000
each, is yet another act of partiality. The Minorities Commission is
now being made into a statutory body, and the establishment of two
more minorities commissions has been proposed. The Andhra Pradesh
Government announced reservations for Muslims in Government jobs.
Besides, the Muslim League, the chief culprit of the Partition, is
represented in the central ministry.
Either the polity considers Kashmir to be an integral part of India
or not. What is the sanctity of the Parliament unanimously passing a
resolution stating that J&K is an inalienable part of India, if the
Government negotiates with the separatist Hurriyat and also allows
their meetings with the Pakistan Government? All this is being done
to placate Muslims and to protect their locus standi as citizens of
India. To a Hindu rashtra all citizens would be equal. An
outstanding example of a Hindu rashtra in practice was the princely
State of Travancore until 1947. The Maharajah ruled the State as a
trustee of Lord Padmanabh. Read the history of the State to find out
how citizens belonging to other faiths were treated.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/indexn12.asp?
main_variable=EDITS&file_name=edit4%2Etxt&counter_img=4
Re: Savarkar DVD
You may or may not have a chance to see this movie at the NY convention last
year or any time later when the screenings were organized throughout the USA
and Canada. Now you can have your own show in the comfort of your home by
purchasing a DVD of this epic film Veer Savarkar (in Hindi with English
subtitles). This DVD is for $15 (includes shipping) and you can order it by
visiting our web site www.neelam.com and ordering through its SECURED order
form.
Mohan Ranade
Neelam Audio & Video, Inc.
www.neelam.com
Send this Article to a Friend
<b>Hindu unity is need of the hour: Natesan</b>
By Our Staff Reporter
KOTTAYAM, JAN. 2. Unity among the various castes in the Hindu community is the need of the hour, the Sree Naryana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam general secretary, Vellappally Natesan, has said.
Delivering the keynote address at the Mannam Jayanthy celebrations at Perunna near here today, Mr. Natesan said that social justice was nothing but justice for different communities.
He held the political leadership, who according to him had resorted to the appeasement of organised communities, responsible for ruining secularism and creating communal tension in the State.
<b>``The situation is such that the minorities could swallow the majority. We have only two options â either succumb to conversion or commit suicide,'' he said.</b>
Nair-Ezhava unity
Mr. Natesan said that the issue of Nair-Ezhava unity or Hindu unity was nothing new. Leaders of both communities had strived towards achieving the goal, but could not realise it on account of the changed political scenario. Often it was a slip between the cup and the lip, he said. Making it clear that the present unity efforts had nothing to do with Hindutva ideology, he said the efforts were not targeted against any community. ``If we are able to do away with the differences within the Hindu community, then there will be no communal and religious tension,'' he said.
<b>Time not ripe
He admitted that time was not ripe for the unity efforts to attain fruition in one stroke.</b> But that did not mean that we should accept defeat, Mr. Natesan said and added that efforts should be continued to find areas where the two organisations could work together. Accepting that the two organisations had a love-hate relationship, he said that time was ripe to initiate such an effort, he said.
Mannathu Padmanabhan's effort was to transform Nair community into a modern society, he said.
The founding fathers of the NSS had actively participated in the reform movements launched by the SNDP Yogam, he said.
This "Ra Ravishankar" dude wrote a stupid piece in frontline faithfully copied by tippu sultan chamchas. Here is a reply to that article..
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> V.D. Savarkar
I am not an admirer of Hindutva. I agree that the Cellular Jail at Port Blair is a sacred space that should invoke in us the memory of all the revolutionaries who were incarcerated there and not that of Savarkar alone. However, this does not mean that one should vilify Savarkar to glorify other patriots, which is what Ra. Ravishankar's suppurating article "The real Savarkar" (August 2) does.
Savarkar was sentenced to 50 years' imprisonment. He spent 16 years in the Cellular Jail and, if I am not mistaken, another 10 years under house arrest in Ratnagiri. He had many faults. Cowardice was not one of them. Had the British got even a hint that he had this trait, they would not have kept him under custody for 26 years. Barring perhaps Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, no other national leader spent as many years in jail as Savarkar did. Moreover, compared to the Cellular Jail, the prisons where Gandhi and Nehru spent their days were cozy retreats. Thus, if Savarkar had made certain friendly overtures to the British government, they should be analysed in the right perspective and not in the supercilious way the author does. His logic is no different from that of those who accuse communists of betraying the Quit India movement.
He derides Savarkar for making a statement during his meeting with Lord Linlinthgow that Hinduism and Great Britain would be friends. This he considers to be a volte-face. October 1939 was the second month of the Second World War and such protestations of friendship were flying around thick and fast. Nehru, for instance, wrote to the same Viceroy how much he desired "that the long conflict of India and England should be ended and that they should cooperate together". He added: "It was a pleasure to meet you for a second time, and whenever chance offers an opportunity for this again, I shall avail myself of it." Laithwaite, the Viceroy's private secretary, assured Devdas Gandhi that "nothing will alter the great mutual understanding between H.E. and your father". Had Gandhi and Nehru committed a volte-face? And how is it that accepting Dominion Status for India makes Savarkar pro-British?
We must not forget that the inter-War years were the laboratory of grand ideologies. Thus we have Subhas Bose suggesting this blend: "In spite of the antithesis between Communism and Fascism, there are certain traits common to both. Both Communism and Fascism believe in the supremacy of the state over the individual. Both denounce parliamentary democracy. Both believe in party rule. Both believe in the dictatorship of the party and in the ruthless suppression of all dissenting minorities... These common traits will form the basis of the new synthesis... It will be India's task to work out this synthesis."
Indian leaders were also confounded by the Hindu-Muslim issue. Savarkar's views on Muslims are of course indefensible. But if he has to be ostracised for this, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar has to accompany him. This is what Dr. Ambedkar says about Muslims: "The dominating influence of Muslims is not democracy. The predominant interest of Muslims is Islam, their politics being essentially clerical.
"Among the tenets one that calls notice is the tenet of Islam which says that in a country which is not under Muslim rule wherever there is conflict between Muslim law and the law of the land, the former must prevail over the latter and a Muslim will be justified in obeying the Muslim law and defying the law of the land.
"The third thing that is noticeable is the adoption by the Muslims of the gangster's method in politics. The riots are a sufficient indication that gangsterism has become a settled part of their strategy in politics. They seem to be consciously and deliberately imitating the Sudeten Germans in the means employed by them against the Czechs. So long as the Muslims were the aggressors, the Hindus were passive, and in the conflict they suffered more than the Muslims did. But this is no longer true. The Hindus have learned to retaliate and no longer feel any compunction in knifing a Musalman. This spirit of retaliation bids fair to produce the ugly spectacle of gangsterism against gangsterism."
How does the author say that Savarkar supported the Holocaust? According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, the definition of Holocaust is the mass murder of Jews by the Nazis in the years 1939-45. Does Ravishankar possess any evidence that Savarkar supported the Nazi butchery?
There is no doubt that Savarkar had weird ideas of the Indian polity and these ideas are to be stoutly opposed. But to oppose his ideas one need not question his patriotic credentials. Ravishankar speaks of Bhagat Singh's life. Bhagat Singh it was who brought out the third edition of Savarkar's book on 1857. And, if I am not wrong, he also went to Ratnagiri to meet Savarkar. He did not have any doubt about Savarkar's patriotism.
To summarise, the Indian freedom movement was a labyrinth of gigantic proportions. A few, like Gandhi and Nehru, came out of it bloodied and fractured, but come out they did. Many floundered and could not find the way out. Savarkar was one of them. That does not make him a stooge of the British.
P.A. Krishnan
New Delhi <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Letter posted on sulekha newshopper by user Pinky.
<!--emo&  --><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> True Hinduttva's loss-full text of the letter:
An irreparable loss
SirâThe name Pradeep Goel is known to only few people. Yet, not even they know he is no more. This is a telling indicator of Hindu apathy, disunity and ignorance. Apathy to socio-political-historical realities; disunity to the extent of being repeatedly humiliated and exploited at the hands of an organised minority. Finally, ignorance of not only the diabolic nexus of internal-external forces hell-bent to destroy the very existence of Hindu civilisation but also common facts of everyday life affecting its present and future. This is why the passing away of Pradeep Goel is a greater loss than would it have appeared initially. The son of an erudite scholar and intellectual warrior, late Sita Ram Goel, he was managing the unique publications of the Voice of India/Bharat-Bharti. These are one of the rare publications in India that deal with subjects considered taboo by the reigning Nehruvian secularists. All through the last 50 years they have conceived and practiced secularism as nothing but an anti-Hindu intellectual-political offensive. Being a disciple of Ram Swarup and Sita Ram Goel for decades Pradeep Goel was acutely aware of the crisis plaguing Hindu society. In conversations with friends he frequently lamented the passing away of the most articulate Hindu scholars in quick succession. Little did we know that he himself would join the list causing yet another irreparable loss. May God grant peace to his soul, courage to the bereaved family and bless the worthy enterprise began by his indefatigable father.
S Shankar
Vasant Kunj, New Delhi <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/artic...012532.cms
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Dump Angrezi plan: RSS to CM
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 2005 09:59:21 PM ]
Sign into earnIndiatimes points
GANDHINAGAR: The Narendra Modi government's plan to introduce English as a subject right from class I in primary schools across Gujarat is coming up against stiff resistance from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). With the project slated for launch in 2005-06 academic year, a senior RSS functionary threw a spanner in the works by stating that this would "undermine Gujarati and Indian culture".
Harshad Shah, head of Vidya Bharati - RSS's educational wing - said that the RSS had decided to hold awareness campaign to stall the introduction of English at "such an early level".
"The government has decided to introduce teaching of English as a pilot project in 3,000 state-run primary schools from next academic year. The coming Budget session of the state Assembly will formalise the decision. We have told Chief Minister Narendra Modi that the move is ill-advised.We think this would make children feel inferior and subservient to a foreign language," Shah argued.
RSS sources said that during recent meetings Modi stood firm on his ground and told the RSS bosses that they were "living in an 18th century atmosphere, away from realities". He argued that for the sake of Gujarat's development, it was necessary that the next generation learnt English at an early age. The CM even cited his own example, saying he had to suffer because he did not learn English early at school.
The RSS leaders, however, say that teaching of English should start from class VIII. Last year, Vidya Bharati's primary teachers and students had taken out rallies to protest against the government's decision.Vidya Bharati even brought out pamphlets which said, "Early introduction of English would adversely impact social, cultural, educational and psychological atmosphere in the long term."
Now, the RSS plans to distribute a 41-point memorandum among the people, asking them to sign and send it to Modi.
Claiming that just four per cent of Gujaratis know English, the RSS says, "The remaining 96 per cent should not be at a disadvantage." State education secretary P Panneervel told TOI,"We have so far left it to schools to take a decision. Already, there are some who are favourably inclined. A final decision is awaited."
In fact, Modi has found support from Opposition leader Arjun Modhvadia. Modhvadia said, "Teaching of English and computers are the requirements of modern age and they must start as early as possible. Those who oppose it live in the dark ages
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Joining sangh parivar shortly: A new univ
Siddhartha S Bose
Jaipur, February 24, 2005
http://hindustantimes.com/news/181_12564...010008.htm
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Hindutva will soon get a mega sales counter.
The RSS is establishing its first university in the country at Jamdoli, on the outskirts of Jaipur. The university has been granted a letter of intent by the state government.
Spread on 1,000 bighas (over 2,300 acres), the university will be called <b>Keshav Vidyapeeth Vishwavidyalaya </b>and will offer postgraduate courses.
Yoga sadhana, ayurveda and medical sciences and courses in culture will be offered alongside the core subjects of post graduation.
An RSS official said the outfit wanted to propagate "our culture and sciences through the syllabi".
Leader of the Opposition, B.D. Kalla, however, said the university should strictly serve the purpose of academics. "Educational institutions should be kept free of religion, caste and politics," he said.
KVV is being billed as a model university in Rajasthan. After three years, the university would be replicated in other states.
KVV was slated for a 2005-06 opening but a Supreme Court verdict on private universities changed that plan.
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