Hindutva

[Shambhu]

And these people just may be deeper practitioners of SD than you, no? Pls do not assume people here don't know about SD. Look around this forum, read the threads.

Do you think embracing terrorists who want to kill you is a part of Sanatan Dharma?

[Guest]

<!--emo&:thumbsup--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbup.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='thumbup.gif' /><!--endemo--> <span style='font-family:Optima'><span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>Hindus should be united: RSS chief
[ 30 Dec, 2006 1357hrs ISTPTI ]


RSS Feeds| SMS NEWS to 8888 for latest updates

VIJAYAWADA: Stressing the need for unity among Hindus, RSS chief K S Sudarshan has said that they should make efforts to get their voices heard all over the world.

Addressing a meet on the occasion of MS Golwalkar's centenary celebrations here on Friday, Sudarshan said, third world countries were becoming powerful and the Hindus should be identified as an indomitable force in the world scenario.

He said "Hindu religion believes in uniting people, for which Guruji had dedicated his entire life".

Sudarshan said "During 1925, Hindus were afraid to identify themselves as 'Hindus' and were considered to be downtrodden. Only Swami Vivekananda and great people like Guruji made Hindus realise their mistakes and unite".

RSS was not a political party but only believed in serving people in right path, he added.

Sudarshan said Hindu religion believed in Sanatana dharma under which every individual is given duties towards the society, nation and his family. "Dharma sustains the society and binds people as one", he added.

"The Western countries want to dominate the world but they do not have the binding factor. The Western culture can only give rise to conflicts in this world", the RSS chief said. </span></span>

[Guest]

<b>Hindutva</b> <i>V.D. Savarkar</i>
<b>Essentials of Hindutva</b>

[Guest]

Hindus join Muharram rally in MP town
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->In a unique display of solidarity between Hindus and Muslims, a large number of Hindus joined the Muharram rally in Umaria in Madhya Pradesh on Monday night, keeping alive a tradition dating back to 1882.

The rally reportedly included 25,000 Hindus as part of a tradition started by Baba Madhav Singh in 1882.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[acharya]

Yediyurappa defends Virat Hindu Samajotsavas

Author: Special Correspondent
Publication: The Hindu
Date: February 2, 2007
URL: http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/02/stories/...520300.htm

Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa wondered why the Virat Hindu Samajotsavas were being criticised when scores of Muslims and Christians were participating in the event. Speaking to presspersons here on Thursday, in an indirect reference to president of the Janata Dal (Secular) H.D. Deve Gowda's criticism of the Virat Hindu Samajotsava, he said critics should not view the event wearing "political" glasses. He made it clear that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was not organising the samajotsava.

Terming the event being organised to mark the birth centenary of M.S. Golvalkar as "unprecedented", he said nowhere was such an event organised to commemorate his or her contribution to society. "Critics of the samajotsava should take note of this," he said and added that it was for the people to assess why it was being opposed by some. He said several Muslims and Christians in Mangalore and other places had participated in the samajotsava appreciating the fact that they felt secure if the Hindu community was strong.

[acharya]

RSS bid to make US-born Indians ‘confident’
2/21/2007 3:24:26 PM Hindustan Times

KANPUR : The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has embarked on a mission to convert non-resident Indians from ‘American Born Confused Desi’ (ABCD) into ‘American Born Confident Desi’.

Full-time functionaries of the RSS have undertaken the responsibility to imbibe Indian culture and values among NRIs with the help of its 740 international ‘shakhas’ (branches) spanning in more than 40 countries the world over.

Out of the 740 international shakhas, 120 are being convened on daily basis like any other RSS shakha operating in India. All international shakhas are being regulated and controlled by a special cell of the RSS aptly named the ‘foreign affairs cell’.

Hong Kong is the international headquarters of the party’s foreign affairs cell and a full-time functionary of the organisation is regulating it. The international affairs of the RSS, specially the monitoring of shakhas all over Asia, Europe and America, are being controlled from Hong Kong.

Talking to Hindustan Times, head of the cell Ravi Kumar, who was in the city, informed that RSS had undertaken the responsibility to connect the Indian diaspora abroad with the Indian mainstream.

“At present, almost all NRIs are completely cut off from the Indian culture and are not even aware of festivals like Makarsankranti,” said Kumar. On the importance of international RSS shakhas, Kumar stated that an NRI, especially a youth, was a confused person.

No matter how much he tried to identify himself with the culture of the country he lived in, an NRI would always remain an Indian, he added. This confusion led to the ‘American Born Confused Desi’ tag for an NRI. Now RSS is trying to change it into ‘American Born Confident Desi’, Kumar pointed out. On the acceptance of RSS shakha by the respective foreign governments, Kumar stated that impressed by the working of the RSS foreign governments had extended all support.

Impressed by the teachings and moral values the shakhas preach, the Australian government even offered financial assistance to the RSS, Kumar stated. “But, when we refused to take any financial assistance the Australian government issued free travel passes to RSS functionaries who often travel from one city to another for regulating the shakas,” informed Kumar. The British government too offered financial assistance to RSS shakhas, Kumar added.

Impressed by the contribution made by Indians to the Australian society, their government had also asked RSS to name any day of the year that could be dedicated to Indians, especially some Indian festival.

[Bharatvarsh]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->THE HINDU-MUSLIM PROBLEM (1924)

a series of thirteen newspaper articles
by Lala Lajpat Rai

http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritche...atrai_1924.html<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[acharya]

Liberal view of the outside world vital: Manmohan

New Delhi, March 4 (PTI): Decrying the tendency to be suspicious of foreign influences, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday asked people to take a more liberal view of the outside world while deriving confidence from the "greatness of our past."

"Why should we be inward-looking and suspicious of foreign influences when we have so much to offer to the world?" he wondered while releasing the book "Cultural Heritage of India" edited by eminent art historian, Kapila Vatsyayan.

Emphasising the need to defeat forces that believed in an "exclusivist" culture, he asked "people to take a more liberal view of the outside world."

Singh contested remarks in the media by some who thought that China was a closed society with an open mind and held the reverse true for India.

"This should not be the case. We must derive confidence from the greatness of our past to be able to deal more confidently with the present and the challenges of the future," he said.

Singh also spoke about the pluralistic values of Indian culture which, he said, have proved resilient enough to withstand the test of time and impact of change.

Describing Swami Vivekananda and Swami Ranganathananda as leaders with a modern mind and scientific temper, he said they rejected bigotry and ritualism as well as "inward and backward looking views of our destiny on this planet."

"Rather, they looked ahead and sought inspiration from our past in facing the challenges of a changing world," he said.

[acharya]

http://www.esnips.com/web/Hindutva


Hindutva-veer savarkar.doc

hindutva essenitals in word (doc) format

http://www.esnips.com/web/Hindutva?docsPage=1#files

[acharya]

http://news.sulekha.com/nlink.aspx?cid=507229

Secularism to be redefined!
Cybernoon.com
M.V. Kamath
Friday, March 30, 2007 10:9:10 IST
The so called Hindu secular leadership can be held responsible for promoting the most ugly face of Muslim separatism after partition
There is something cowardly about our secularists and there is ample evidence to prove it. For example, 'Deccan Herald' (December 3, 2006) had carried an interview with Arif Mohammad Khan, a distinguished Muslim leader who had resigned from Rajiv Gandhi's cabinet in 1986 protesting against the decision of the government to overturn the Supreme Court's judgement in the Shah Banoo Maintenance Case. In the interview Arif Mohammad Khan said that "secularist" parties always supported "obscurantist Muslims" who opposed modern education in the community.
When he was asked whether it was correct to say that the post-independence political class played a political ball with Ulemas at the expense of the larger Muslim community his reply was clear and to the point. He said: "Yes, this is largely true. In fact the so-called Hindu secular leadership can be held responsible for promoting the most ugly face of Muslim separatism after partition." The interview carried the headline: "Secularists fanned Muslim communalism". And how right it is! Secularists dare not fight Muslim communalism though they feel free to run down 'Hindutva'.
Our leaders- cowards?
Only the other day 'Organiser' carried a story on the number of Hindu temples being pulled down in Malaysia and there was not a single whisper of protest from our secularists much less from the Congress-led UPA government. Okay, there is not much that we can do where a Muslim majority and certified Islamic country is involved. But consider this. 'The Times of India' (March 18, 2007) carried an article that said that a Muslim organization – the All India Ibtehad Council – had offered an award of Rs. 5 lakhs to anyone who would cut off the head of Taslima Nasreen. Its president, one Taqi Raza Khan, has been quoted as saying: "There have been a number of e-mails and telephone calls congratulating me for the bold stance I have taken". Has the government taken any action against Taqi Raza Khan? The man has openly called for the beheading of Taslima Nasreen and he goes scot-free. What kind of government do we have?
'The Times of India' (February 27) carried a report from Karachi which said that Pakistan's main Islamist alliance held demonstrations in different parts of the country against what it termed as government's conspiracy to spread anti-Islamic culture by allowing the celebrations of the "purely Hindu" festival of Basant which left 14 people dead". The report said that "some 14 people, including seven children were killed and over 60 injured in different parts of Punjab province during the festival" quoting Police. Liaquat Baloch, a leader of the Muttahida Majlis Amal is quoted as saying: "Basant is a purely Hindu festival and has no place in an Islamic country. We are holding protest rallies today against what is a conspiracy by this government to spread anti-Islamic culture and values in Pakistan". Is there any word of condemnation either from our UPA government or from our 'secular' leaders? Are they cowards?
But let the BJP speak about the Babri Masjid and then the media comes down heavily on it. Thus 'The Tribune' (December 8, 2006) had advised the BJP to "look beyond Ayodhya to see Bharat" and not make "Ram versus Babar" an issue in the Uttar Pradesh elections. That, said the paper "does not behove a party which aspires to come to power at the Centre". How nice. A Muslim organization in India can publicly demand the head of a Taslima Nasreen and no one comes forward to condemn it. For celebrating Basant, Muslims can kill 14 people including seven innocent children and there is deadly silence. But let the BJP seek to set a historic injustice right and it gets a resounding scolding. We have a brave media. Even Muslim bodies have been quick to condemn the demand for Taslima's head. Thus, Yasoob Abbas, General Secretary of the All India Shia Personal Board has been quoted as saying that "this is 21st century India and not some kind of medieval kingdom" and that "at most, the lady (Taslima Nasreen) needs to be boycotted and driven out of India". Even a noted Lucknow ulema, Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firange is reported to have balked at the idea of inviting someone to kill Taslima. And Shaista Amber, president, All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board is reported to have asked: "Why give so much importance to Nasreen?". But is there a word of condemnation from our secularists? None. That is secularism, Congress brand. Need we say anything more?
The Kashmir solution
Incidentally, 'Times of India' and 'TNN' recently carried out a survey in four major cities in India to find out what people thought of General Musharraf. Question: Has Musharraf helped or harmed the war on terror? Some 59 per cent said that he had harmed the war and only 19 per cent thought that he had helped. Question: Has Musharraf helped or harmed Indo-Pak ties? As many as 62 per cent thought that he had harmed and only 17 per cent felt he had helped. Question: Have India and Pakistan come closest to a solution on Kashmir during Musharraf's tenure? "No" said 80 per cent and only 11 per cent said "Yes". And the most interesting of all questions: "If he's ousted, will it be good or bad for India?" . Surprisingly as many as 65 per cent thought it would be good and only 9 per cent thought it would be bad. Some 23 per cent said 'Neither'.
Incidentally 'The Times of India' (February 12, 2007) has to be congratulated for doing some minor investigations in matters relating to the Central Board of Investigation (CBI). According to 'The Times of India', a total of 2,276 cases are gathering dust for the past ten years. Some 244 cases are awaiting trial for more than 20 years. By the end of 2006 the agency had 8,297 pending cases, while it was 6,898 in 2006. What sort of justice are Indians getting from the government? One does not know whether Mr. Chidambaram's budget has made any attempt to provide justice to his fellow citizens. Where are these 8,297 people accused of some crime or other? In jail? In preventive detention? We do not know and we do not bother to ask. What kind of reporting is this? It would seem that in 438 cases, charges have not been framed by designated courts for over ten years. Does it mean that those believed to be corrupt are freely moving about? Merely quoting CBI sources is not enough. One must be told the fate of those charged. But even to know that over 8,200 cases are awaiting trial shows how sloppy our government is. What we need is the immediate establishment of at least a thousand courts to go into the cases and deliver judgements. But that, apparently, does not come under the Finance Ministry's consideration. We have a great secular government. Justice can wait.

[Guest]

<b>Social aspect of Hindutva Philosophy </b>

http://www.ivarta.com/columns/OL_070429.htm

[Guest]

<!--emo&:ind--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/india.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='india.gif' /><!--endemo--> Zainab Kulkarni
Site:
Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Comments: Ours was a marriage with a recipe for disaster: a Sunni Muslim getting married to a Maharashtrian Brahmin. We were collegues at the office and took an instant attraction to Rohan. The vibes between us transformed into love but there seemed no finality to this love. Marriage seemed out of the question, I mean, a Muslim marrying a Hindu was blasphemy! The opposition was severe with both sets of parents at loggerheads, our relationship seemed doomed. Rohan, however was unfazed - whenever under stress, he used to take out his pocketbook and read a few passages; the calm and tranquil on his face after reading was unimaginable. Even when our relationship was rocky, he kept reading this book and doling out hope and courage to me. Once, out of curiosity, I asked him what the book was and took it from him to find out what ocean of wisdom it contained - I needed to know the source which offered so much strength and fortitude to someone facing such sever odds like Rohan. As it turned out, the pocketbook was none other than the Bhagvad Geeta - Swami Prabhupada's English version. The book had me transfixed - it was a fountainhead of divine knowledge and the supreme guide to the right path. After reading the Geeta more than once, I decided, if at all there was a faith which led to the righteousness, it was Hinduism. The best part was that despite reading the Geeta frequently, Rohan never extolled it virtues in front of me, leave aside compel me to read it. The serenity brought about by reading the book had ignited my interest and I thank God for that. I formally left Islam and became Hindu in Jan. 2006, followed by my marriage to Rohan in Vedic customs. I shed tears of joy, as I circumambulated the sacred fire 7 times with Rohan - it was an incredible experience. Rohan's parents turned out to be the best in-laws anyone could have wished for; in fact, now I am their daughter and Rohan's their son-in-law. My parents have, reluctantly accepted my marriage to Rohan though my conversion to Hinduism has not gone down well with them. They still try to talk me out of it but I am sure, once they read the Geeta with an unbiased mind, they would follow my path. I make sure, my son, Agastya is brought up as a good Hindu by reciting and chanting verses of the Geeta in front of him. My decision of converting to Hinduism was indeed a watershed event in my life - an event which transformed me from a living being to a human being - Tamso ma Jyotirgamaya ("Lead me from darkness to light.").

(Editor’s Note: Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts, your marriage experiences and your clear understanding of the Bhagavad Geeta. As you have correctly pointed out that the Bhagavad Geeta is indeed a fountainhead of divine knowledge and a great source of fortitude and solace to many. Welcome to Hinduism and many blessings to you, your husband and your son. Warm regards).

[Guest]

I wonder how many inter-religious (Hindu-Muslim) marriages in India end up with the non-Muslim spouse converting to Islam.

[acharya]

Dear Scholars/Librarians,

A number of scholars visiting us/in touch with us through mail/email have been asking us to provide lists of books on Hindutva giving both pro as well anti viewpoints. This list was put together in response to the requests received. It is in two parts - in the next one we will list out publications giving the other viewpoint.

Ramesh Jain/Ajay Jain

Advani, L. K: Why Rathayatra. Bangalore: Jagarana Prakashana Trust, 1990, 16p., Rs. 15 (PB)

Aggarwal, S.K: Dr. Ambedkar on Muslim Fundamentalism. Delhi: Suruchi Prakashan, 1993, 56p., Rs.40 (PB)

Arun Shourie and His Christian Critic. Delhi: Voice of India, 1995, 66p., Rs. 20 (PB)

Ayodhya Episode A Turning Point. Delhi: Suruchi Prakashan, 1993, 39p., Rs.25 (PB)

B J P: Foreign Policy and Resolutions. Delhi: BJP, 51p., Rs. 50 (PB)

Baladitya: Kashmir; Disgrace Abounding. Delhi: Voice of India, 1991, 35p., Rs. 15 (PB)

Bhatnagar, V.S: Kanhadade Prabandha of Padmanabha; A Fourteenth Century Saga of Hindu Heroism vis-a-vis Islamic Imperalism, Translated into English and Introduced. Delhi: Voice of India, 1991, 104p., Rs. 30 (PB)

Chande, M.B: Shree Ram Janma Bhoomi. 1992, Nagpur: Shri. M.B. Chande, 70p., Rs. 60 (PB)

Chari, Seshadri :A Fruitful Life. 66p., Rs. 30 (PB)

Chatterjee, Abhas: The Concept of Hindu Nation. Delhi: Voice of India, 1995, 69p., Rs. 20 (PB)

Danino, Michel and Sujata Nahar: The Invasion that Never was. Delhi: Voice of India, 1996, 128p., Rs. 80 (PB)

Dasgupta, Swapan et al: : The Ayodha Reference; Supreme Court Judgement and the Commentaries. Delhi: Voice of India, 1995, 195p., Rs. 75 (PB)

Dubashi, Jay: The Road to Ayodhya. Delhi: Voice of India, 1992, 179p., Rs. 150 Elst, Koenraad: Indigenous Indians; Agastya to Ambedkar. Delhi: Voice of India, 1993, 483p., Rs. 450

Elst, Koenraad: Negationism in India; Concealing the Record of Islam. Delhi: Voice of India, 1993, 196p., Rs. 75 (PB)

Elst, Koenraad: Ram Janmabhoomi Vs. Babri Masjid; A Case Study in Hindu- Muslim Conflict. Delhi: Voice of India, 1990, 173p., Rs. 125

Ever - Vigilant We Have to Be. Delhi: Suruchi Prakashan, 1994, 18p., Rs.20 (PB)

Frawley, David: Arise Arjuna: Hinduism and the Modern World. Delhi: Voice of India, 1997, 228p., Rs. 100 (PB)

Frawley, David: Hinduism; The Eternal Tradition; Sanatana Dharma. Delhi: Voice of India, 1995, 262p., Rs. 150

Frawley, David: The Myth of the Aryan Invasion of India. Delhi: Voice of India, 1995, 58p., Rs. 60

Gautier, Francois: The Wonder That is India. Delhi: Voice of India, 1994, 161p., Rs. 150

Genocide of Hindus in Kashmir. Delhi: Suruchi Prakashan, 1991, 49p., Rs. 40

Goel, Sita Ram: Defence of Hindu Society. Delhi: Voice of India, 1994, 118p., Rs. 45

Goel, Sita Ram: Heroic Hindu Resistance to Muslim Invaders 636 AD to 1206 AD. Delhi: Voice of India, 1994, 58p., Rs. 15 (PB)

Goel, Sita Ram: Hindu Society Under Siege. Delhi: Voice of India, 1994, 45p., Rs. 10 (PB)

Goel, Sita Ram: Hindus and Hinduism; Manipulation of Meanings. Delhi: Voice of India, 1993, 24p., Rs.8 (PB)

Goel, Sita Ram: History of Hindu-Christian Encounters. Delhi: Voice of India, 1996, 530p., Rs. 300

Goel, Sita Ram: Islam vis-a-vis Hindu Temples. Delhi: Voice of India, 1993, 66p., Rs. 15 (PB)

Goel, Sita Ram: Muslim Separatism; Causes and Consequences. Delhi: Voice of India, 1995, 128p., Rs. 25 (PB)

Goel, Sita Ram: Stalinist "Historians" Spread the Big Lie. Delhi: Voice of India, 1993, 38p., Rs. 10 (PB)

Goel, Sita Ram: The Story of Islamic Imperialism. Delhi: Voice of India, 1994, 138p., Rs. 45

Golwalkar, M.S: Bunch of Thoughts. Bangalore: Sahitya Sindhu Prakashan, 1996, 537p., Rs. 120

Golwalkar, M.S: Integral Approach. Delhi: Suruchi Prakashan, 1991, 110p., Rs. 75 (PB)

Gopal, S: Anatomy of a Confrontation; The Babri Masjid - Ram Janmabhumi Issue. Delhi: Penguin, 240p., Rs. 85 (PB)

Graham, Bruce: Hindu Nationalism and Indian Politics. Delhi: Foundation, 1990, 236p., Rs. 145 (PB)

Hindu-Sikh Relationship. Delhi: Voice of India, 1985, 24p., Rs. 5 (PB)

History vs. Casuistry; Evidence of the Ramajanmabhoomi Mandir Presented by the VHP to Government of India in December-January, 1990-91. Delhi: Voice of India, 1991, 144p., Rs. 125

India's Rebirth; Selections from Sri Aurobindo's Writings 1893-1950. Delhi: Voice of India, 1997, 272p., Rs. 90

Indian Muslims; Who Are They. Delhi: Voice of India, 1993, 161p., Rs. 65 (PB)

Jois, M. Rama: Our Fraternity. Delhi: Suruchi Prakashan, 1996, 32p., Rs.30 (PB)

Jois, M. Rama: Supreme Court Judgment on "Hindutva" An Important Landmark. Delhi: Suruchi Prakashan, 1996, 64p., Rs. 50 (PB)

Joshi, G. M. and S.S. Savarkar: Historic Statements; Prophetic Warning. Mumbai: Veer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, 1992, 211p., Rs. 120 (PB)

Kak, Subhash: India at Century's End; Essays in History and Politics. Delhi: Voice of India, 1994, 214p., Rs. 200

Lal, K.S: Growth of Scheduled Tribes and Castes in Medieval India. Delhi: Voice of India, 1995, 183p., Rs. 175

Lal, K.S: Legacy of Muslim Rule in India. Delhi: Voice of India, 1992, 406p., Rs. 350

Lal, K.S: Muslim Slave System in Medieval India. Delhi: Voice of India, 1994, 196p., Rs. 175

Malkani, K.R: The Politics of Ayodhya and Hindu-Muslim Relations. Delhi: Har- Anand, 1993, 207p., Rs. 250

Mathur, Sobhag: Hindu Revivalism and the Indian National Movement; Ideas and Policies of the Hindu Mahasabha, 1939-45. Jodhpur:.Kusumanjali, 1996, 243p., Rs. 350

Narain, Harsh: Myths of Composite Culture and Equality of Religions. Delhi: Voice of India, Rs. 45 (PB)

Oak, P.N: Some Blunders of Indian Historical Research. Delhi: Bharati Sahitya Sadan, 1994, 323p., Rs. 150

Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Ideology and Perception; Part I: An Inquest. Delhi: Suruchi Prakashan, 1991, 152p., Rs. 80 (PB)
Part II: Integral Humanism. Delhi: Suruchi Prakashan, 1991, 99p., Rs. 70 (PB)
Part III: Political Thought. Delhi: Suruchi Prakashan, 1991, 154p., Rs. 80 (PB)
Part IV: Integral Economic Policy. Delhi: Suruchi Prakashan, 1991, 150p., Rs. 70 (PB)
Part V: Concept of the Rashtra. 1991, 190p., Rs. 90 (PB)
Part VI: Politics for Nation's Sake. Delhi: Suruchi Prakashan, 1991, 158p., Rs. 90 (PB)
Part VII: A Profile. Delhi: Suruchi Prakashan, 1991, 107p., Rs. 60 (PB)

Perversion of India's Political Parlance. Delhi: Voice of India, 1995, 65p., Rs. 20 (PB)

Rai, Baljit: Demographic Aggression Against India; Muslim Avalanche from Bangladesh. Delhi: Voice of India, 1993, 246p., Rs. 250

Rai, Baljit: Is India Going Islamic. Delhi: Voice of India, 1994, 128p., Rs. 75 (PB) Swarup, Ram: Hindu View of Christanity and Islam. Delhi: Voice of India, 1995, 136p., Rs. 125 (HB)

Rajaram, Navaratna S and David Frawley: Vedic Aryans and the Origins of Civilizations; A Literary and Scientific Perspective. Delhi: Voice of India, 1997, 328p., Rs. 450

Rajaram, Navaratna S: Secularism; The New Mask of Fundamentalism; Religious Subversion of Secular Affairs. Delhi: Voice of India, 1995, 97p., Rs. 60

Rajaram, Navaratna S: The Politics of History; Aryan Invasion Theory and the Subversion of Scholarship. Delhi: Voice of India, 1995, 244p., Rs. 150

Ram, Swarup: Buddhism vis-a-vis Hinduism. Delhi: Voice of India, 1984, 27p., Rs. 5 (PB)

Ram, Swarup: Pope John Paul II on Eastern Religions and Yoga; A Hindu- Buddhist Rejoinder. Delhi: Voice of India, 1995, 71p., Rs. 100

Ram, Swarup: The World as Revelation; Names of Gods. Delhi: Voice of India, 1980, 160p., Rs. 75

Ram, Swarup: Whither Sikhism. Delhi: Voice of India, 1991, 24p., Rs. 15 (PB)

Ram, Swarup: Woman in Islam. Delhi: Voice of India, 1994, 51p., Rs. 50

Ramakrishna Mission in Search of a New Indentity. Delhi: Voice of India, 1986, 24p., Rs. 5 (PB)

Rastogi, Gaurinath: Our Kashmir. Delhi: Suruchi Prakashan, 104p., Rs. 50 (PB)

RSS Spearheading National Renaissance; 60th Anniversary Year 1985. Bangalore: Prakashan Vibhag, 1985, 62p., Rs. 40 (PB)

Sahasrabuddhe, P. G. and Manik Chandra Vajpayee: The People Versus Emergency; A Saga of Struggle. Delhi: Suruchi Prakashan, 1991, 647p., Rs. 175

Savarkar, V.D: Hindutva. Delhi: Bharti Sahitya Sadan, 1989, 141p., Rs. 50 (PB)

Seshadri, H. V: Dr. Hedgewar the Epoch-Maker; A Biography. Bangalore: Sahitya Sindhu, 1981, 212p., Rs. 150

Seshadri, H. V: Hindus Abroad - The Dilemma; Dollar or Dharma. Delhi: Suruchi Prakashan, 77p., Rs. 45 (PB)

Seshadri, H. V: The Way. Delhi: Suruchi Prakashan, 1991, 119p., Rs.75 (PB)

Sethna, K.D: Ancient India in a New Light. Delhi: Voice of India, 1989, 645p., Rs. 500

Sethna, K.D: The Problems of Aryan Origins. Delhi: Voice of India, 1992, 443p., Rs. 450

Sharan, Ishwar: The Myth of Saint Thomas and the Mylapore Shiva Temple. Delhi: Voice of India, 1991, 290p., Rs. 150

Sharma, Arjan Lal: World Famous Universities of Hindus. Delhi: A L Pub., 48p., Rs. 40

Shourie, Arun: "The Only Fatherland"; Communists, Quit India and the Soviet Union. Delhi: A S A, 1991, 204p., Rs. 150

Shourie, Arun: A Secular Agenda; For Saving our Country, for Welding it. DelhiL:A S A, 1994, 376p., Rs. 250

Shourie, Arun: Indian Controversies; Essays on Religion and Politics. Delhi: A S A, Rs. 400

Shourie, Arun: Missionaries in India; Continuities, Changes, Dilemmas. Delhi: A S A, 1994, 305p., Rs. 250

Shourie, Arun: Worshipping False Gods; Ambedkar, and the Facts Which Have Been Erased. Delhi: A S A, 1997,662p., Rs. 450

Shri Guruji Meets Delhi Newsmen; Threats will not Cow us Down. 30p., Rs. 30 (PB)

Singh, Bhagwan: The Vedic Harappans. Delhi: Voice of India, 1995, 493p., Rs. 850

Srivastava, Harindra: The Epic Sweep of Savarkar, V. D. Delhi: Savarkar Punruthan Sansthan, 174p., Rs. 150

Supreme Court on "Hindutva" & "Hinduism" and L. K. Advani's Statement. Delhi: BJP Pub., 15p., Rs. 30 (PB)

Talib, Gurbachan Singh: Muslim League Attack on Sikhs and Hindus in the Punjab 1947. Delhi: Voice of India, 1991, 453p., Rs. 250

Talageri, Shrikant G: Aryan Invasion Theory and Indian Nationalism. Delhi: Voice of India, 1993, 408p., Rs. 150 (PB)

Talageri, Shrikant G: The Aryan Invasion Theory; A Reappraisal with a Preface by Dr. S. R. Rao. Delhi: Voice of India, 1993, 373p., Rs. 350

Thengadi, Dattopant: Third Way. Delhi: Janaki Prakashan, 1995, 308p., Rs. 130

Tipu Sultan; Villian or Hero? An Anthology. Delhi: Voice of India, 1993, 85p., Rs. 20 (PB)

Upadhyaya, Deendayal: Political Diary. Delhi: Suruchi Prakashan, 1992, 201p., Rs.100 (PB)

Vajpayee, Atal Behari: Hindus Betrayed. Delhi: Suruchi Prakashan, 1993, 62p., Rs. 40 (PB)

Why Hindu Rashtra. Delhi: Suruchi Prakashan, 1996, 52p., Rs. 50


Banu, Zenab: Politics of Communalism. Delhi: Popular, Rs. 200

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[acharya]

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Home > 2007 Issues > July 01, 2007

Agenda
Hindutva is universal love
By Girish Chandra Mishra

IT dates back to the days when I worked as editor of the Panchjanya. In its special issue of January 26, we published about one dozen slokas of Charvak philosophy with elaborate connotations. Those who read through only the introductory slokas and did not bother to look at the closing connotations got furious with the Panch-janya. Would you like to know the cause of their fury? The pious and great ideals of Hindu religion and culture were ridiculed in those slokas of Charvak to tease the theists.

In our editorial, we wrote: “Freedom of thought and expression is the chief component of Hindu philosophy of life and its culture.” Interestingly, this is also the very essence of modern democracy. Curiously enough, Shri Madhavacharya has, in his famous treatise, Sarvadharshan Sangrah, given Charvak philosophy first place of priority. Avaitism, specific avaitism and dualism occupy the second place after that.

We find nowhere else except in Hindu philosophy of life and its culture this sense of benevolence and tolerance. The world has not yet forgotten the ignoble incidents related to Salman Rushdie, the author of the Satanic Verses. Could Charvak, who ridiculed every significant doctrines of Hindu religion and culture, ever survive in fanatical Islamic society? On the contrary, should we not admire the positive aspects of Hindutva? Shri Madhavacharya immortalised Charvak by giving his philosophy first place of priority in his great treatise. The reason is simple; Hindutva declares: Satyamev jayate nanritam—which means that ultimately the truth shall prevail.

Our saints and ascetics believe that there ensues an incessant conflict between truth and falsehood, noble and ignoble, virtue and vice and it is truth that ultimately triumphs. There is no need to suppress forcibly free-thinking just because of the apprehension of the ensuing conflict of ideas. Finally, that is true and eternal will survive. We firmly believe that one can discover ultimate truth just passing through a zigzag process, similar to the movement of various streams that finally fall into the ocean. This particular characteristic of Hindutva completely distinguishes it from both Islam and Christianity and gives it worthy dimensions of tolerance and synthesis of all thoughts.

Even a conscious scholar of history knows that exponents of both Christianity and Islam spread their religious faith forcibly in every nook and corner of the world wielding a sword in one hand and holding their religious book in the other; but the followers of Hindutva never used force to spread their thoughts and ideals. They neither desecrated the holy places of others nor compelled them to follow their ideals by wielding swords. This characteristic of Hindutva is the very basis of Hindu Rashtra. In fact, Hindutva and democracy are complementary to each other. Ekam sadviprah, bahuda vadanti, ekoham bahusyam: Which means: “The truth is one but the sages have expressed it in different ways or the one in many”. These ideals of Hindutva can well be summarised in the phrase: “Unity in diversity”. Hindutva is also distinguished by its spirit of tolerance and harmony. It has the rare capability to establish harmony and co-operation among various ideologies, systems and ways of living. Strangely enough, the modern democracy envisages the same vision and faith. Real democracy, thus, is the part and parcel of Hindutva.

Someone has said with reference to democracy: “I disagree with what you say but I shall fight for your right to disagree with me till I breathe my last.” Those who have faith in the nationalism as propagated by Hindutva justify this statement by their conduct.

The intellectuals of the world look with hope towards India to save humanity from disaster. What Arnold Tonybee, the renowned historian, said of Hindu philosophy of life and its culture is very thought-provoking. Tonybee says: “We witness such unique mental approach and consciousness among Indians as may help humanity progress like a family unit. If we do not wish to perish in this atomic age, we have no other alternative left.

“Today, the western scientific progress has physically united the world. It has not only got rid of the ‘space’ factor, it has also equipped the various countries of the world with deadly arms. But they have not yet learnt the art of knowing and loving one another. If we want to save humanity at this most critical juncture, the only option is the Indian approach.”

Democracy is not merely a way of governance, it is also an art of living. Unless and until such an art of living is developed, a democratic system cannot be completely successful. The west might have adopted the democratic system of governance, yet it has to follow the Hindu culture and philosophy of life, as advocated by Arnold Tonybee, to make democracy a way of living. The present rulers of India, too, have to follow the doctrines of Hindu nationalism based on Hindutva to establish genuine democracy. If we do not do that, all the talk of political, social and economic freedom becomes meaningless.

The great spiritual and cultural tradition of Hindutva that perceives divine presence not only in one single individual but also in the whole scheme of the universe is the very foundation of modern democracy. I would again like to draw the attention of the readers what Arnold Tonybee said in this regard. He said: “India has a perception of life-force and has a vital role to play in the performance of human conduct, which will be beneficial not only to India but to the whole world in the present sorry state of affairs.”

(Translated from the book Kutch Seep Kutch Moti—a collection of thought-provoking essays by the author.)

Hindutva is also distinguished by its spirit of tolerance and harmony. It has the rare capability to establish harmony and co-operation among various ideologies, systems and ways of living.

This particular characteristic of Hindutva completely distinguishes it from both Islam and Christianity and gives it worthy dimensions of tolerance and synthesis of all thoughts.

[acharya]

http://soc.world-journal.net/britishindia.html

http://soc.world-journal.net/makingofrel.html

http://soc.world-journal.net/hindumuslimfund.html

SOmebody has been doing lot of research


<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Dayananda's ideas first took root among Hindus in the Punjab, which has large Muslim and Sikh populations, and it was Punjabi leaders of the Arya Samaj who founded the Punjab Hindu Provincial Sabha (council), the first politically oriented Hindu group, in 1909. By 1921 it had become the All-India Hindu Mahasabha (great council), gone of the best-known institutions of Hindu reaction' . The council actively fostered the growth of the RS S (see p.1 of this series), now a highly professional organization with 25,000 branches throughout the country, the RS S has lent its organizational skills to two political parties, the Jana Sangh and its de facto successor, the BJP. Both L. K. Advani, recent president of the BJP, and the Indian Prime Minister (until 2004) A. B. Vajpayee started their careers as RSS organizers.

The parallels with the Muslim Brotherhood founded in British-dominated Egypt in 1928, just three years after the RSS, are compelling. Both movements adopted something of the style of their colonial masters: the Muslim Brotherhood had affinities with the Boy Scout Movement and Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) organizations that stressed the importance of physical activity, with paramilitary overtones. The khaki shorts worn by RSS volunteers during their drills were modelled on the uniform of the British Indian police. Both organizations discouraged democratic dissent under an authoritarian style of leadership. Both organizations encouraged male bonding by excluding women (though both allowed the creation of smaller all-female organizations). Both opposed the mixing of sexes within the organization as contrary to religious norms.

Like the Muslim Brothers, members of the RSS are organized into groups that transcend or substitute for family ties. Hasan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, grouped his followers into 'families and battalions'; young Palestinians who today volunteer for suicide missions are organized into 'friendship packs' who may act as family substitutes, while holding them to their decision. <b>The organizers of the RSS model themselves on Hindu renunciates. 'Dedicated to a higher goal [they] are supposed to abandon family ties and material wealth.' Like the Palestinian and Lebanese volunteers belonging to the Shia Hezbollah, they are generally young, unmarried men in their twenties. They wear Indian-style dress and are expected to lead an exemplary, ascetic existence, although some may marry and have families after a period of service. </b>Organizers serve without salary, but their material needs are taken care of Some volunteers are provided with motor scooters for getting around town. Both the Brotherhood and the RSS consciously blend elements of modernity with aspects of tradition. Al-Banna sought to infuse his organization with some of the spiritual values of Sufism (Islamic mysticism) without its devotional excesses. As leader he called himself the murshid, or guide, a title usually reserved for the leaders of Sufi orders; his favourite reading, al-Ghazali's Revitalization of the religious sciences, is strongly informed by Sufi mysticism. In a similar manner the RSS leaders blended the prestige of secular learning with spiritual knowledge. The founder K. B. Hedgewarwho ranthe organization from 1925 to 1940 was known to his followers by the honorific Doctoji. His successor, M. S. Golwalkar (1940-73), was called Guruji. Both the Muslim Brotherhood and the RSS blended indigenous ideas of spiritual leadership with organizational techniques borrowed from Western bureaucracy.

The Hindu movement's leading intellectual was V. D. Savarkar (1883-1966), who held the presidency of the Hindu Mahasabha from 1937 to 1942. Like Sayyid Qutb he wrote his most influential work, Hindutva, 'Hindu-ness', in prison, where he spent many years after his detention by the British in 1910. Hindutva is a manifesto for religious nationalism. As Daniel Gold explains, Savarkar's 'idea of Hindu Nation stands in contrast to the idea of a composite, territorially defined political entity that developed among the secular nationalists and would be enshrined in the Indian constitution. The modern western idea of nation, according to Savarkar, does not do justice to the ancient glory of the Hindu people, the indigenous and numerically dominant population of the subcontinent. The people whose culture grew up and developed in greater Indiafrom the Himalayas to the southern seas, by some accounts from Iran to Singapore-this, for Savarkar was the Hindu Nation. The subcontinent is their motherland, and Hinduness is the quality of their national culture. ' Hindutva is not the same as Hindu religious orthodoxy because, according to Savarkar, its spirit is manifest in other South Asian religions, including Jainism, Sikhism, and Indian Buddhism. Muslims and Christians, by con trast, are seen as foreign elements in the subcontinent, which rightly belongs to Hindus. 'Hindus should actively reject any alien dominance: they have done so in the past and should renew their struggle valiantly whenever necessary.' For Savarkar India is both 'Fatherland' and 'Holyland': as Gold points out, this definition deliberately excludes Muslims and Christians for whom India is not a holy land. 'From the viewpoint of Hindu cultural nationalism, Savarkar's formulation effectively isolates the perceived other.

Golwalkar, like his Indian contemporary, the Islamist ideologue Mawdudi, expressed his admiration for the Nazis in Germany, who held similar ideas about national purity. 'Germany has shocked the world by purging the country of the sernitic races-the Jews,' he wrote in 1939 before the full horror of Nazi atrocities had taken place. 'Race pride at its highest has been manifested here. Germany has also shown how well-nigh impossible it is for Races [sic] and cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for us in Hindusthan to learn and profit by.'

As suggested by me (see also my earlier seminar transcript of ‘Reformed Aryans, in East and West, P.1’ next on this website), there is a 'fundamentalistic' element in Dayananda's elevation of the Vedas to the surnmum of human knowledge along with his myth of the golden age of Aryavartic kings. But the predominant tone, and its consequences, are nationalist. Hindutva secularizes Hinduism by sacralizing the nation, bringing the cosmic whole within the realm of human organization. As Gold astutely observes, 'If personal religion entails among other things the identification of the individual with some larger whole, then the Hindu Nation may appear as a whole more immediately visible and attainable than the ritual cosmos of traditional Hinduisrn.' The problem, of course, is that such a sacralization of nationality is explicitly antipluralistic. Both Arya Samaj and the RSS define their religion in contradistinction to other groups. The 'Hinduization` of Indian nationalism generated a reciprocal response among Muslims that led to the traumatic partition of the subcontinent in 1947, with many thousands killed or maimed in communal rioting. The shock of the sainted Mahatma Gandhi's assassination by an RSS member in January 1948 allowed Nehru to ban the RSS and its affiliates, enabling Congress to foist upon India a secular Constitution that lies 'squarely in the best Western tradition'. As Sunil Khilnani observes, 'Constitutional democracy based on universal suffrage did not emerge from popular pressures for it within Indian society, it was not wrested by the people from the state; it was given to them by the political choice of an intellectual elite.'

<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->

Of significance in the Hindutva use of the Bhagavad Gita is not the complex ethical and moral epistemology that it contains, nor, indeed, the dispersed ending of the Mahabharata, but instead the primitive message that any kind of violence, if undertaken for the protection of dharma, is a bounden obligation, regardless of the abhorrence of violence for any individual sensibility. Hence, violence becomes an unavoidable religious duty under dharmic principles for anyone who claims to be a Hindu. Leaving aside the bleak rendering of Hinduism, this is a highly unethical position, containing no moral or ethical principles, only an elementary code of collective narcissism. The sensibility here is singularly about violence and killing and there is a glaring absence of an ethics of collectivism, responsibility, love or care that can include the `other', indeed even include others who may be dissenting Hindus. In the propagation of such self-absorbed, nihilistic ideological positions, the Hindutva movement is unleashing many demons for the future.

<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Guest]

I see nothing novel or new in the above discourse. This is the standard 'explanation' of "Hindootva" by the left and 'socialist' ideologues incl. Amartya Sen. Also are repeated the exactly same old elements -

Hindootvavadi's misguided understanding of Gita,
Their admiration for Nazi, Hitler & Racial puritanism,
Dayanand's distorted explanation of Veda-s , while Veda of Max Muler whom Dayanand challenged, is ofcourse the accepted version,
Savarkar's and Golwalkar's exlusivist nationalism
Hindutva's parallels with muslim nationalistic or ummadi movements and so on.

[Guest]

Banned play, "Me Nathuram Boltoy" on youtube.

Entire play:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJsyiXfHQRQ

[acharya]

LEADER ARTICLE: <b><span style='color:orange'>What BJP Rule Meant</b></span>
21 Aug 2007, 0030 hrs IST,Christophe Jaffrelot

For the first time in post-independence India, Hindu nationalists were in a position to rule the country between 1998 and 2004. The impact of this unique phase has not been assessed yet. The BJP had been voted to power to make a change after decades of Congress rule and two years of the Third Front. The Vajpayee government did make a change a few weeks after taking over by deciding on nuclear tests. Previous Congress governments had contemplated this move, but no prime minister after Indira Gandhi had gone ahead with it. This strategic shift may remain the only irreversible innovation of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Certainly the Vajpayee government introduced new measures but most of them have been undone by the UPA after 2004. Education is a case in point. M M Joshi, as HRD minister, tried hard to saffronise the textbooks and appointed Hindutva-minded ideologues in key committees. But all this is history today.

In the economic domain, the real change had started before, with the Narasimha Rao government. The NDA simply made the evolution deeper and quicker, as evident from the "strategic sales" regarding a few PSUs which amounted to their privatisation. No significant reform of the labour laws took place, for instance. In the realm of diplomacy, the Vajpayee government accelerated the rapprochement with the US and Israel, but they were already on the Congress agenda, as the opening of an Indian embassy in Tel Aviv and an Israeli one in New Delhi showed in 1991.

Six years in office, in fact, might have changed BJP as much as BJP has changed Indian politics. The party was supposed to be allergic to caste politics because it divided India (and the Hindus), but Vajpayee toyed with the reservation issue the same way as his predecessors did - granting quotas to the Jats of Rajasthan who overnight became OBCs and a BJP votebank. The BJP was also supposed to be clean, but party president Bangaru Laxman himself - not to speak of the rest - was caught receiving bribe.

The real gift BJP gave to India was political stability through the setting up of a coalition pattern. Between 1989 and 1999, India had had five general elections and six PMs. Obviously, the old Congress system had gone, and nothing had replaced it. The BJP displayed remarkable flexibility by admitting that it would not be in a position to govern India alone and that it would have to dilute its ideology to make alliances. The creation of the NDA in 1998 will perhaps turn out to be a real milestone in Indian politics.

The BJP then made three major concessions by putting on the back burner Ayodhya, Article 370 and a Uniform Civil Code. As a result, the NDA was in a position to prepare a common election manifesto in 1999 and the Vajpayee government lasted five years, something a non-Congress government had never achieved so far.

The Congress, though reluctantly, has emulated this strategy by shaping the United Progressive Alliance in 2004. Certainly it was not easy for Congress to admit that its decline was irreversible - at least in the short run - but BJP had set a pattern the party had to imitate if it wanted to compete successfully. The BJP, therefore, has helped Indian democracy to cope with the growing fragmentation of the party system - because of regional, communal and caste identities - which might have perpetuated instability at the Centre had not India entered the era of coalitions. Today, India looks like a more modern democracy because of a growing bipolarisation of politics which offers a rather clear choice to voters.

Each time Hindu nationalist leaders have been in office at the Centre, the sangh parivar has, however, been under strain. In 1977-79, 'dual membership' had been a key reason for the abortion of the Janata experiment. During 1999-2004, similar issues resurfaced. On one hand, the BJP was made of swayamsevaks who were supposed to pay allegiance to the RSS and its agenda; on the other, they were partners in the NDA framework who did not share their Hindutva-based ideology.

The RSS acknowledged what came to be known as the compulsions of coalition politics - so long as the organisation found reasons to rejoice in some of the decisions of Vajpayee's government like the nuclear tests and the education policy. Things changed when some of the reforms contradicted the programme of RSS and of some of its other offshoots. Economic liberalisation, for instance, was harshly criticised by staunch advocates of swadeshi.

More importantly, the VHP never understood that no progress could be made regarding its plan to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya though its friends were in office. Gradually, the idea took shape that BJP had used the organisation to mobilise voters, but once in office, it was not willing to pay its debt. The relations between BJP and RSS - as well as VHP - turned really sour after the 2004 defeat that the latter attributed to the dilution of the party's ideology.

Such tensions need not be overemphasised though. The sangh parivar survived similar drama in the late 1970s-early 1980s. It proved then that it was truly resilient and it is showing the same kind of quality today. However, the tenure of the Vajpayee government reconfirmed the deeply ambivalent nature of this movement: it cannot win power alone, but it refuses to share power either.

The writer is director of CERI, Paris.

[Guest]

Source

Disciplining the Saffron Way: Moral Education and the Hindu Rashtra

PEGGY FROERER
Brunel University



Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between Hindu nationalist ideology and the disciplinary practices of the Saraswati Shishu Mandir Primary School. It is an attempt to understand how the rhetoric that revolves around the creation of a ‘Hindu rashtra’ (Hindu nation) is translated and implemented in pedagogical terms and interpreted and articulated by children. Specific focus is on the way that primary school children experience and talk about the School's disciplinary enterprise, which is underpinned by ideas about Hindu superiority and the need to protect the Hindu nation against threatening cultural and religious minorities. With respect to the political end to which this enterprise is geared, it is argued that children interpret and value this enterprise not as a vehicle for the spread of Hindu nationalist ideals, but as a means by which educational success can be ensured.