02-07-2007, 09:19 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Dravid attends RSS function; Left unhappy
*Sutirtho Patranobis*
New Delhi, February 6, 2007
The Left parties have expressed their displeasure over Indian cricket team
captain Rahul Dravid attending a function organised by an RSS-affiliated
body in Nagpur in January.
On January 20, Dravid inaugurated a "*surya * *namaskar*" (a yoga-based
ritual to worship the sun) programme organised on the occasion of Makar
Sankranti by Vidya Bharati, an RSS-affiliated organisation that runs a chain
of schools. After lighting the lamp at a gathering in the Ramnagar area of
Nagpur, Dravid went on to give a speech and asked the attending children to
do '*surya* *namaskar'* daily. It keeps the body fit, Dravid added.
Following the event, RSS mouthpiece *Panchjanya * carried an article on the
event complete with a picture of Dravid, flanked by RSS members, addressing
the audience. The article was carried in the February 4 issue of the weekly
magazine. In the issue, dated February 11, *Panchjanya * again made a
reference to Dravid, saying that after his participation in the January 20
programme, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh followed suit and
organised a similar event.
The Left said on Tuesday that what Dravid played at the Ramnagar Maidan in
Nagpur on January 20 was not cricket. Both CPIM and CPI raised objections to
the fact that one of the most famous cricketers in the country is rubbing
shoulders with an organisation that spreads "sectarian politics" and is
"fascist in nature".
"He (Dravid) might be the Indian cricket captain but he is also an
individual and an adult. In the end, it is his choice. And if his choice of
company is the RSS, good luck to him. Everyone knows, that RSS promotes an
ideology that is sectarian. It is his choice if he wants to be made use of
by the RSS," CPIM politburo member, Brinda Karat, told *HT*. She added that
the '*surya* *namaskar'* is not a monopoly of the RSS and millions of
Indians go through the ritual everyday.
CPI's National Secretary D Raja was more direct and said that Dravid should
not have taken part in an RSS function. "Why should he take part in a
function organised by RSS, which believes in a fascist and communal
ideology? Why should he allow himself to be identified with RSS," Raja
asked.
"I was asked to got to a function where a lot of school children were coming
to talk on the benefits of yoga. I have no political leanings. Yoga is
something where even the Indian cricket team does. I had no idea that this
could be used for political purposes,'' Rahul Dravid told HT from Calcutta
on Tuesday evening.
http://hindustantimes.com/news/181_1921185,0008.htm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Oops I guess "Muslim League" which the commies were in alliance with back in the day in Kerala was "secular".
*Sutirtho Patranobis*
New Delhi, February 6, 2007
The Left parties have expressed their displeasure over Indian cricket team
captain Rahul Dravid attending a function organised by an RSS-affiliated
body in Nagpur in January.
On January 20, Dravid inaugurated a "*surya * *namaskar*" (a yoga-based
ritual to worship the sun) programme organised on the occasion of Makar
Sankranti by Vidya Bharati, an RSS-affiliated organisation that runs a chain
of schools. After lighting the lamp at a gathering in the Ramnagar area of
Nagpur, Dravid went on to give a speech and asked the attending children to
do '*surya* *namaskar'* daily. It keeps the body fit, Dravid added.
Following the event, RSS mouthpiece *Panchjanya * carried an article on the
event complete with a picture of Dravid, flanked by RSS members, addressing
the audience. The article was carried in the February 4 issue of the weekly
magazine. In the issue, dated February 11, *Panchjanya * again made a
reference to Dravid, saying that after his participation in the January 20
programme, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh followed suit and
organised a similar event.
The Left said on Tuesday that what Dravid played at the Ramnagar Maidan in
Nagpur on January 20 was not cricket. Both CPIM and CPI raised objections to
the fact that one of the most famous cricketers in the country is rubbing
shoulders with an organisation that spreads "sectarian politics" and is
"fascist in nature".
"He (Dravid) might be the Indian cricket captain but he is also an
individual and an adult. In the end, it is his choice. And if his choice of
company is the RSS, good luck to him. Everyone knows, that RSS promotes an
ideology that is sectarian. It is his choice if he wants to be made use of
by the RSS," CPIM politburo member, Brinda Karat, told *HT*. She added that
the '*surya* *namaskar'* is not a monopoly of the RSS and millions of
Indians go through the ritual everyday.
CPI's National Secretary D Raja was more direct and said that Dravid should
not have taken part in an RSS function. "Why should he take part in a
function organised by RSS, which believes in a fascist and communal
ideology? Why should he allow himself to be identified with RSS," Raja
asked.
"I was asked to got to a function where a lot of school children were coming
to talk on the benefits of yoga. I have no political leanings. Yoga is
something where even the Indian cricket team does. I had no idea that this
could be used for political purposes,'' Rahul Dravid told HT from Calcutta
on Tuesday evening.
http://hindustantimes.com/news/181_1921185,0008.htm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Oops I guess "Muslim League" which the commies were in alliance with back in the day in Kerala was "secular".