Monitoring Indian Communists - 2

01-07-2006, 01:17 AM

I first thought Sw. Ramdev episode will go even worse than the Shankarachrya episode, with unabated character assassination in a gloating media. In most of the media initial reports were as worthy of yellow journalism as the shankaracharya reports. But slowly the colour of reporting is changing in some newspapers. The real surprise was HT's article about its readers views.

More surprises are there too. Mulayam, Laloo , CM of Uttaranchal, kisan leader Tikait besides the VHP and BJP have supported him. Also Marxists don't enjoy the state powers that Jayalalitha had over the Shankaracharya.

All in all it appears Brinda Karat's gambit hasn't paid off as well as she might have expected.

Uttaranchal Minister gives clean chit to Ramdev
QUOTEUttaranchal Minister gives clean chit to Ramdev

Pioneer News Service / New Delhi

...seeks CBI probe against Karat------ After refusing to take sides in the clash between yoga guru Ramdev and CPI-M leader Brinda Karat, the Uttaranchal Government not only rubbished the Left leader's claim but also demanded a CBI probe to find out whether she had manipulated the samples before giving these to the Health Ministry.

Earlier giving a clean chit to Swami Ramdev, Minister of State Dhirendra Pratap said, "The State Health Ministry had conducted an inquiry last year when the issue first came to light and no irregularities were found."

Mr Pratap also raised doubts about the samples presented by Ms Karat and sought a CBI inquiry to ascertain whether the CPM leader had committed any "foul play." "We need to find out whether or not Karat had adulterated the samples before giving them for tests," he added.

Heaping praise on the yoga guru and terming him the pride of Uttaranchal, Mr Pratap said the CPM was trying to destroy the centuries' old tradition of Ayurvedic medicines and trust on religions by levelling such allegations. He urged Congress president Sonia Gandhi not to succumb to Left pressure.

As the CPM leader had hurt the sentiments of the people of Uttaranchal and followers of the spiritual leader, he demanded a public apology from Ms Karat for also levelling baseless allegation against Chief Minister N D Tiwari.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Kisan Union president Mahendra Singh Tikait also joined the chorus in support of Swami Ramdev and warned that his organisation would launch an agitation.

"This attack (on Ramdev) would adversely affect the farming community which grows ayurvedic crops in the country," Mr Tikait said. "The union would raise stir against this conspiracy of the MNCs," he told reporters. 

Meanwhile, students of Government Ayurvedic College staged protests by burning the effigy of Karat and held demonstrations on the Delhi-Dehradun highway.

The Swadeshi Jagaran Manch also joined in the protest saying people belonging to all sects and religions had tremendously benefited by the yoga camps organised by Swami Ramdev.

Shambhu · 01-07-2006, 02:10 AM

Brinda Karat gets her dinner served to her. Angry comments by readers over her anti-Ramdev remarks. I hope this is just the beginning.
HT page
Maa Durga kill Communism!!
Sarvamangala maangalye shiva sarvaarthasaadhike
sharanye trayambike Devi Naarayi namo stute

01-07-2006, 02:13 AM

I read somewhere in the morning that the reason why Mulayam and Laloo supported Baba Ramdevji is because he is also a Yadav. Also Brinda Karat probably underestimated his popularity. Where not a lot of people knew about the Shankracharya of Kanchi before the Shankar Raman case. Millions of people watch Ramdevji's program religiously on television everyday.

01-07-2006, 05:17 AM

Sw. Ramdev being born a yadav probably was a big factor in Laloo and Mulayam's support. Other could be his growing popularity with the masses.

Even a CPI(M) senior leader in Calcutta now supports him! Brinda Karat surely didn't expect that!

<img src='http://www.indianexpress.com/ieimages/pics/ramdev-60.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
Brinda Karatâs battle gets lonely
QUOTEAfter Laloo Prasad Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav, Subhas Chakraborty, a senior member of the CPI(M) West Bengal state committee, has stood up for the yoga guru. 
...
Meanwhile, more politicians lined up to back Ramdevâwho was born Ram Kishan Yadav in village Alipur of Mahendragarh district of Haryana. Bharatiya Kisan Union President Mahendra Singh Tikait today warned that his outfit would launch an agitation to muster support for the yoga guru. He said the attack on Ramdev would have an impact on the countryâs farming community and called the controversy a ââconspiracy of multinational companies.ââ

01-07-2006, 05:37 AM

Also compare the Swami Ramdev's image that BBC etc posted with some others. BBC always shows Indian leaders in their worst possible photos, while Mushy is always shown in his best suits smiling nicely!

BBC image:
<img src='http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41181000/jpg/_41181360_ramdev203.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

Pioneer:
<img src='http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/7473/ramdev3rj.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

IndianExpress:
<img src='http://www.indianexpress.com/ieimages/pics/ramdev-60.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

Bhootnath · 01-07-2006, 10:02 PM

QUOTE(Sid @ Jan 7 2006, 03:13 AM)I read somewhere in the morning that the reason why Mulayam and Laloo supported Baba Ramdevji is because he is also a Yadav. Also Brinda Karat probably underestimated his popularity. Where not a lot of people knew about the Shankracharya of Kanchi before the Shankar Raman case. Millions of people watch Ramdevji's program religiously on television everyday.
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Somewhere ?

That was Islamabad Express and write up was by "Christian" George
Varghese ..

If Christian George Varghese can generalise issue , so can aam Hindu too that Muslims are terrorist and Muslim will support Osma Bin Laden because he is Muslim ... that shld be okay ....

Shambhu · 01-08-2006, 05:08 AM

Boss Boss Boss <!--emo& Tongue

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tongue.gif' />

Swami Ramdev is on ZNews denouncing lefties (among other things). Says "In the war with China they stood with the Chinese" etc.

Pranaam Ramdevji!!

satyameva jayate.

Meanwhile Brinda Corrupt is busy doing damage control telling people that she is in favour of "yogaaaa". Comrade Brinda, what is Yogaaa? Is it Yog?

01-08-2006, 07:09 AM

QUOTEHow Brinda went wrong 
Pioneer.com
Navin Upadhyay/New Delhi
For the left, any saffron-clad swami is like a red rag to a bull. But when Ms Brinda Karat, high-flying CPI(M) politburo member, took on Swami Ramdev, it was not seen as another standoff between a Marxists and a Godman.Â Â

After all, Baba Ramdev never mixed religion with preaching of Yoga and pranayam, and the takers of his Ayurveda medicines were not confined to any particular caste or creed.

Unlike many modern gurus who went on TV channels to preach about religion and God, Baba Ramdev used the reach of the medium to rekindle popular interest in Yoga, particularly pranayam. The number of his followers swelled, his appeal cut across boundaries of caste and faith and high and mighties from different walks of life sought his help to overcome stress and ailments.

Some of Baba Ramdev's prominent followers are Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, Uttaranchal Chief Minister Narayan Dutt Tiwari, Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje Scindia, former UP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Babulal Gaur, NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, Congress leader Ahmad Patel, superstar Amitabh Bachchan and SP leader Amar Singh, among others. The list goes on and on.

Ms Karat did not understand the nature of support Baba Ramdev enjoys among the Indian middle class either. For hundreds of thousands of people, who have got inspiration from his teaching, he is a much-awaited messiah, who has brought for them the blessing of peace and health.

For many others who are battling with some incurable afflictions, he is their last hope. An attack against Baba Ramdev was an attack against not only his followers, but against all those who subscribe to the belief that there is serious need to rediscover the treasure trove of India's lost tradition of healing and cure. The spontaneous protests that spilled over into the streets were only expected.

If the controversy drags on, the CPI(M) could end up paying a heavy political price in north India. Baba Ramdev may be an apolitical swami, but not his followers. Someone like RJD chief Lalu Prasad and Mulayam Singh Yadav, who shared the left's allergy against Godman, broke rank with the Communists and were quick to defend Baba Ramdev. After all, Baba Ramdev is a symbol of Yadav pride. Actually, not just the two Yadavs but also OBC stalwarts like Kalyan Singh swear by him.

The powerful OBC lobby is aware that Baba Ramdev has a huge constituency, and they want to stand by him to reap a good political harvest. Not surprisingly, even the Congress leaders are openly backing the Baba while Ms Karat stands isolated within the Left.

Baba Ramdev's charge that MNCs are behind Ms Karat's campaign, may or may not be true, but it has left the Communists red-faced. Here was someone effectively using their own ammunition against them. Ms Karat and Co may find it difficult to carry on their campaign against Baba Ramdev for too long lest they are ready to lose more ground in the caste-ridden emotive landscape of North Indian politics.

But Ms Karat seemed determined to carry on her battle against Ramdev. Talking to reporters on Saturday she said the charge of animal and human remains in the medicines is based on what employees at the pharmacy have said.

"The statement has come from employees at the pharmacy. Those who work at the basic level, those who have transported bones and ground them. I believe their statement," said Ms Karat.

Ms Karat also took pains to clarify that the Left has nothing against Ayurveda per se. "The Left is not against Ayurveda. In fact, it is with our support that Ayurvedic establishments in Kerala are thriving. We have never said anything against Ayurveda or homeopathy. All this talk is misleading," she said.

Even though Ms Karat is trying to look undaunted, there are clear indications that even among the CPI(M) the support for her on this issue is limited. Perhaps, the crisis will teach the Marxists a lesson or two about the essence of Indian ethos, that surpasses appeal of caste and religion, and which looks fondly at ancient India and its traditions.


Monday Brinda was saying AYUSH lab had tested samples now she is saying some ex employee told her.
What a big liar she is?

01-08-2006, 09:58 PM

QUOTEhttp://cpmterror.blogspot.com/ Multiple ID cards to CPM supporters.

No Marx for this! (The Statesman, Dec 29, 2005)

Karl Marx would have turned in his grave had he seen his followers here continuing a three-decade long legal battle over possession of a temple. The comrades, who confess to having got eventually "tired" of judicial procrastination and unfavourable verdicts, chose to up a "kangaroo" court to hand out their brand of justice. And, the "ruling" has brought an 86-year-old priest and his 14-member family to the brink of starvation.

Mr Subol Acharya was not allowed to harvest the paddy, jute and mustard crop growing on his 15-bigha holding that adjoins the temple of contention. This shrine to the deities Radha and Gobinda is a property of the Acharya family and the octogenarian had incurred the wrath of his neighbours when he refused to give in to their demand for a transfer of ownership. The villagers, led by CPI-M members, were arguing that the temple had been a public property for ages since the entire village had been praying there. Mr Acharya eventually moved court in 1972.

Mr Duryodhan Mondal, a villager, said: "The priest is a miser. The matter would be settled if he handed over the temple to us along with a one-bigha plot. Otherwise, we would not let him touch his crop. This year, we had to raise Rs 22,000 to pay the lawyers' fees. He took us to the court. We will make him suffer."
...
The Acharya family is entirely dependent on the land for a living. Penury has compelled Mr Acharya's eldest son Mr Sushil Acharya to pull out his two children from Paharpur Union High School. The family is now selling its cattle to make both ends meet.

01-08-2006, 11:16 PM

QUOTEââThe major issue is of violation of labour laws in Divya Pharmacy and attention should not be diverted from this issue,ââ she said. The primary problem, she reiterated, was that the Hardwar Pharmacy had not honoured a tripartite agreement between the state government, the pharmacy and the agitating workers in May last year relating to the retrenchment of 113 workers.

www.expressindia.com/full...wsid=61040

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 7 CPI(M) Politburo member Brinda Karatâs campaign against Swami Ramdev was back to square one today as she said her main issue was with the flouting of labour laws at the ashram, not the presence of animal parts in his medicine.

Her statement came a day after West Bengal CPI(M) leader Subhas Chakraborty said he saw nothing wrong in the presence of animal bones in medicines. This was followed by CPI(M) patriarch Jyoti Basu wondering why an essentially labour issue had taken a different turn. Another top Politburo member had added that the issue had turned into a ââBrinda versus Ramdevââ affair.

Though Swami Ramdevji has said so many times that he is connected with Divya Yog Pharmacy in Khankal and not Divya Pharmacy in Haridwar, Karat keeps attacking Divya Pharmacy of Haridwar.

01-09-2006, 10:14 AM

QUOTEwww.deccan.com/Nation/Nat...%20support
CPM fumes as Ramdev finds support
New Delhi, Jan. 7: Exploitation of women workers by Swami Ramdevâs Divya Yog Mandir Trust attracted the CPI(M) to Hardwar to fight for minimum wages and workersâ rights. It was during the course of this struggle that Rajya Sabha MP Brinda Karat discovered that the women were being made to powder bones for use in ayurvedic medicines and as a side measure obtained samples of the medicines and gave these to the Union health ministry for testing.

The results confirmed that human and animal bones had been used in the medicine and Ms Karat, who announced this, was surprised to find herself in the midst of a political controversy with Swami Ramdev himself in the lead. His supporters attacked the CPI(M) office in New Delhi while railway minister and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav came out in support of Ramdev.

The Congress, meanwhile, criticised the CPI(M) for trying to seek political mileage out of the issue. A stunned CPI(M) refused to react, and on Saturday the workers who had petitioned the party arrived in New Delhi with fresh statements insisting that they were made to break the bones or to ferry these in rickshaws. Swami Ramdev, who has workers at his ayurvedic pharmacy up in arms over having to carry and break bones, burst on to the national scene only three years ago when he was promoted by a major business house in Uttar Pradesh.

The swami, reportedly a Yadav from Haryana who had set up base in Hardwar about 15 years ago, held a major camp in Lucknow in which he had women testifying to a weight loss of 26 kg in 15 days thanks to his efforts. He promised people that he could cure a variety of ailments with his medicines, now the centre of a political controversy.

Speaking to this correspondent, Ms Karat said she had taken up the issue only after being asked to do so by 70 workers of the pharmacy, mostly women, who complained that they were being denied appointment letters, minimum wages and other rights. The workers had lodged complaint under the Industrial Disputes Act with the deputy labour commissioner of Uttaranchal.

The management of the trust had agreed to follow the rules, and not take disciplinary action against them, but then refused to allow the workers to resume work and filed cases against them. Several workers arrived here on Saturday to plead their case with the CPI(M), worried about a possible coverup with Swami Ramdev having emerged as a politically influential person. Interestingly, his recent press conference was held at the residence of a senior member of the UP business house.

The CPI(M)âs trade union arm, Citu, in a statement deplored the âdiversionary tactics of the Divya Yog Mandir Trust to deflect the attention of the people from gross violation of the laws of the land by the trust management.â It said that 113 workers had been denied their jobs till date.


Now Karkat is for women workers, Her facts and fiction are still not clear to me. Please help me to understand what this madam Zero want or fighting for?

01-09-2006, 07:10 PM

QUOTECOMMUNIST BLAME GAME
Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Dr. Babu Suseelan
Why has anti-Hindutva become the mantle of the communist politicians? Anti-Hindutva is a very old social disease of the Communists. It has been a permanent feature of Islam and Christianity for thousands of years and the Hindu hatred has obviously morphed and metastasized into many forms. Christian and Islamic hatred is rooted in their irrational dislike, fear, envy and mistrust of Hindus who do not subscribe to their closed, rigid, dualistic, all exclusive dogma.

Now the Communists have joined their bandwagon to blame and scapegoat Hindus as followers of primitive traditions and irrational spiritual and temple practices. The Hindu hatred of the Leftists, pseudo liberals and phony secularists has different dimensions. As a form of irrational hatred, it has expressed itself in many ways. At first, it was mostly hatred against Hindu Darsanas, and spiritual Sadhanas. Nowadays Hindu hatreds main _expression is political and couched in confusing jargons to denigrate Hindu unity movement. It is found in actions and ideologies that call for the destruction of Hindu temples, spiritual movements, yoga, meditation, Ayurveda, Hindu educational institutions and Hindu cultural practices. Communist hatred of Hindu Darsnana includes the rejection of Hindu spiritual tradition and their right to live and flourish individually and collectively. It has taken religious, pseudo-scientific, pseudo-liberal and political forms. Most often Hindu hatred is used by Communists to deflect criticism against Jihadi terrorism, coercive religious conversion and political corruption.

Leftists and pseudo liberals may find complex reality of Jihadi terrorism and Christian fundamentalism too tragic to grapple and prefer to deny the clear and present danger we are currently facing. The Communists have deliberately failed to recognize that Islam and Christianity practice religious apartheid-always have-and still practice it.

In their latest diatribe and blame game, the Communists have collaborated with Muslim Jihadis and Christian fundamentalists in scapegoat Hindus for not allowing non-Hindus to enter our sacred Guruvayorappan Temple. The latest salvo is the Communists inchoate anger directed at Hindus who refuse to assimilate to the Communist agenda. Denial of entry for non-Hindus at Guruvayoor temple, we are told (falsely) is caused by general discrimination practiced by Hindus against non-Hindus. What we are never told is that practice of Hinduism is required for entry at the sacred Guruvayoor temple.Â Over the last few years, the Communists and phony liberals have portrayed non-entry of non-Hindus at Guruvayoor Temple, as a major threat to pluralism.

There are many reasons, why temples cannot become a tourist center. First and foremost that the temple is a spiritual center. The temple is a place where GOD may be approached and where divine knowledge can be discovered. The dedication of the body of the worshipper to the deity is necessary preclude to ceremonial worship. In this rite the worshipper purifies and consecrates each part of his person that he may become fit to appear before a GOD. No man should enter a temple as long as he himself has not become a deity. To worship a deity, a man must become the self of that deity through dedication, breadth control, and concentration until his body becomes the deitys abode (Gandharva Tantra).

Commercial film producers and play back singers belonging to Christian and Islamic faiths, who produce, market and profit Guruvayoorappan films and songs do not qualify to enter Guruvayoor temple unless they practice Hindu spiritual sadhanas. Atheists, moral agnostics, anti-Hindu communists have no reason to enter Guruvayoor temple and desecrate the spiritual sanctity.

It is a classic, brutal Communist blame game masquerading as a progressive campaign to help ant-Hindu forces. It is a deceptive game at both preserving and protecting the privileged statuesque of Islam and Christianity while at the same time making leftists feel progressive. Communist blame game is part of the Christian, Muslim, Communist plan to oppress Hindus and prepare them for conversion. The point here is that Christians, Muslims and Communists are soul mates and their blaming the victim is very old game that takes an especially obnoxious quality when buttressed by smug liberal platitudes. Sadly, much of our public swallows it whole. And there is no end of it in sight.

Communist Hindu hatred precludes them from questioning brutal, discriminatory practices of Islam and Christianity. Leftist liberals prefer to blame Hindus for Jihadi terrorism, coercive religious conversion and subversive activities by anti-national forces.Â By aligning with Islamic and Christian forces and ignoring their discriminating practices, Communists benefit greatly themselves from the way things are. Only the Hindu unity movement disturbs communists. What they do not want is any sort of fundamental change, which might result in reduction of privilege for Christians and Muslims.

It is one of the characteristics of Communist Hindu bashing that restrict them from exposing the evil practices of Islam and Christianity. Jihadi terrorism today poses the greatest threat to Indian civilization. In our left-wing dominated political climate we are told that terrorism arises from Hindu activism. Jihadi terrorism including bombing, beheading, bus burning, and temple attacks, torture and hijacking are simply a reaction to Hindu assertiveness. The twisted logic of the Communists earns them applause from the Jihadi terrorists and their sponsors.Â Communists never support for the inclusion of women as members of the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church. In Islam, women have fewer rights than men with regard to marriage, divorce, civil rights, legal status, dress code and education. Muslims feel that the Koran and Sunnah mandate these restrictions as explicated by Sharia, or Islamic law. Islam is deeply anti-woman. Islam has always considered woman as creatures inferior in every way physically, intellectually, and morally. Communists are aware that Islam is deeply anti-woman. We hear daily about Islamic oppression and misogyny (female illiteracy, honor killing, female genital mutilation, forced marriages, physical abuse). Communists are eager to join with Muslim clergy to justify these atrocities with supposed religious dictates and self-serving interpretations of scripture. Saudi Arabia restricts entry of non-Muslims to Mecca. Catholics never allow a third world Bishop to become a Pope. The obsessive neutrality of Communists on such apartheid practices suggests their irrational reality orientation, and their eagerness to identify with the aggressors.

The Catholic Church does not allow married and women priests. They protect orthodoxy and not cave in to modern social mores.Â The Communist response on these oppressive practices is silence. Phony liberals and leftists are unable to acknowledge their own shortcomings, and present danger of Jihadi Islam and Catholic apartheid. The present predicament of the leftists indicates their Hindu hatred; blindness and stupidity are crippled by a real inability to think clearly and rationally.

It is patriotic to criticize ones country in order to improve it-but it is foolish and dangerous to focus on the majority Hindus who are tolerant, peace loving. Ignoring human rights violation of Islamic and Christian nations and Jihadi terrorism is the betrayal of truth and the denial of the danger. Hindu hatred may function as a way for the Communist to feel powerful-not by really solving their own problems but by finding a sacred scapegoat to blame and ritually sacrifice.

01-09-2006, 10:32 PM

Shouldn't Brinda concentrate on bogus voters issue instead of parading her ignorance based on what a pharmacy employee said?

Left Front admits existence of bogus voters
Here's CPI Politburo member admitting voter fraud:
QUOTE"There are many bogus voters in voters lists. It is hurting the image of West Bengal. There are also bogus electoral ID cards and ration cards in the state. The Election Commission should take steps to find out who are behind this," CPI(M) Politburo member, Biman Bose who is also Left Front chairman, told reporters.

"The state administration should have detected the existence of bogus voters, ration cards and voter ID cards. Let the Election Commission find the forces behind such operations," Bose said.

.......

The NDA has alleged that the Left Front regime had perfected scientific rigging by tampering with electoral rolls.

Bharatvarsh · 01-09-2006, 11:18 PM

QUOTEYogi and the desi commissar
Marx is dead, I'm not too well, and God, by god, is alive and kicking! Heaven help us, for the heavens have fallen upon our humble heads. Refugee commissars of an aborted Soviet Eden, hoping against hope to share the fruits of the October Revolution with the world's only twice-born nation, we have been ground to dust by rabble roused by a saffron-clad half-naked fakir.

Father Marx, your dialectic has crumbled before the spiritual materialism of a humble sadhu. This son of a poor Haryana farmer is guilty of one of India's million mutinies. Born Ram Kishen, paralysed at the age of two-plus, he was admitted to the gurukul of one Swami Baldev at the age of four, and decided then itself to be a swami. It's not fair; how could Hindus permit a poor little boy to breach the caste hierarchy?

At least we know why no one trusts Brahmins - they always break the rules. This Ram Kishen (he now calls himself Swami Ramdev and bewitches Hindus with his yogic powers by rolling his one good eye), was taught the holy scriptures, including Patanjali's sacred asthanga yoga. Daily he preaches the Hindu way of a healthy life before incredulous multitudes in colloquial Hindi and a smattering of English. Great Commissar, you can see that under the guise of Ayurveda, this yogi is peddling a potent cocktail of Hindu-Hindi-Hindustan, which we have had such a hard time squashing from the time of Bharatendu Harishchandra.

Dear Karl, we realised that if we did not respond with our own Molotovs, we would never again see a Red Star in the East. Our desi commissar Brinda Karat picked up the gauntlet by despatching medicines from the guru's pharmacy to the Union Health Minister.

Unfortunately, he proved a duplicitous bourgeois, possibly an admirer of the Baba. So while our family-owned television channel showed large pieces of animal and human material found in the samples, Doordarshan quoted contradictory findings from two separate laboratories, and the Minister said he did not know where our samples came from. What cheek, when we are supporting this Government to keep the brotherhood of saffron at bay.

We need Engles to intercede with the Angels. The Minister passed the buck to the Chief Minister of Uttaranchal, a wily Brahmin even by the standards of that cunning caste. He flushed our hopes down the cold waters of the Gangotri, which is partial of this Ramdev, because he once lived in its caves. I tell you, nepotism is built into the landscape of India!

The situation is hopeless. For 15 years we earned public odium for supporting that Bihari cowherd; we remained loyal even after he lost support of both nar and Narayan. He repaid us by ridiculing the dictatorship of the proletariat and its bhadralok vanguard, and prostrating himself before that sweaty sanyasi.

Even before the saffron party could feel the pulse of the people (remember their wimpish response to the arrest of Kanchi Acharya?), the Yadav cowboy started shouting about "indigenous causes" and "foreign multinationals." Doesn't he know the Communist Party is one of the great multinational corporations? And we are doing so well in India - our real estate rivals the evangelical churches.

But the cowboy hit us bad, telling those idiotic television reporters that so long as herbal medicines added life to one's years (it should be years to one's life, but you can see how naughty he is), it hardly mattered if they contained the bones of "manav ya danav" (human beings or devils). Where does that leave us? Comrades preaching vegetarianism are a blot on the Gulag archipelago.

Worse, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh also jumped into the fray, saying the Baba is being victimised at the behest of multinational drug companies, to hurt the "swadeshi" concept of medicine, particularly the idea of yoga as a counter to the culture of imbibing pills for every ailment. Now swadeshi is simply Hindu (it can hardly mean Mecca or Rome), and yoga goes back to the Vedas, so you can see where Mulayam Singh Yadav is heading. It is said the yogi is his caste fellow; this could explain the behaviour of the Yadav twins.

It beats me that Hindu upper castes genuflect before this bairagi. They are the ones who guzzle the colas that Ramdev says are fit only to clean toilets. I must admit colas make economical cleaners, and Andhra farmers have proved they are cheap and effective pesticides. Actually, Ramdev has been smart to link us with cola multinationals -they have a bad product and a high public profile - and are easy to target. In fact, I think we made a mistake when we decided to pick a quarrel with Ramdev for the sake of a handful of retrenched workers in Haridwar, because the swami is a smart cookie and the dismissed workers are fools - they took us for a ride and we came off worst.

Look at the guts of a yogi who says he is willing to teach Comrade Karat pranayam, the Hindu science of breathing for a sound mind and body, and adds in the same breath that he is not a pushover like the Kanchi Shankaracharya. If only we had known this before; if only we could have foreseen that the storm that did not rise when the Shankaracharya was incarcerated would not abate when a smooth-talking fakir was at the receiving end.

You will wonder, Great Commissar, why the tsunami of public anger broke out for the latter, while God alone wept for the former. Since the dharma of both men is the same, I think the answer lies in their karmic responses to life's challenges - one is contemplative, the other combative.

But our real problem is that this swami is a mayavi, like his kinsman, Krishna. He spins his web around society gently, with yogic aerobics and loads of sweet talk, which he claims can cure all serious and even "incurable" diseases. His gullible admirers rush to buy his medicines on their own; he accuses us of links with foreign drug companies, and we are speechless.

Worse, in this era of intensified capitalism which is somehow called liberalisation, his programme boosts the TRPs of his host television channels and earns them fabulous revenues. The secular media is bourgeois, and ditches us for this reason. As for the Government media, it is a fact that all these good-for-nothing politicians line up at the ashram after dark for special life-enhancing medicaments. Haven't you noticed that the lifespan of a politician far exceeds the national average?

Sadly, the Ramdev episode has given a new lease of life to the hitherto dormant Hindu atma; Hindus will no longer be content to live as dhimmis in their own country. We chose the wrong target and attacked with the wrong weapon. With hindsight, it appears that a protective Hindu sentiment enveloped the yogi when that idiotic group, SIMI, told him to close shop because some Muslims were deriving medical benefits from the Hindu asanas. It did not help that a reputed Muslim classical singer derided the Astha channel, which Hindus revere, but was silent about Q TV. By the time our desi commissar jumped into the fray, the scales were already tilted against us.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnist1.asp...txt&writer=jain

01-10-2006, 09:33 PM

Some things never change..

http://www.hindu.com/2006/01/10/stories/...041000.htm

01-10-2006, 10:07 PM

January 15, 2006

Swami Ramdev has the Reds on the run
By Sunita Govind

After distorting history textbooks and manipulating academic and cultural institutions, the anti-national Leftists have now set their evil eye on the most potent symbols of Bharatiya cultureâYoga and Ayurveda.

The latest offensive has come from Brinda Karat, the wife of CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat and Rajya Sabha Member.

Using the specious argument of alleged retrenchment in one of the medicine manufacturing units, Karat stunned believers and beneficiaries of the eternal Yoga and Ayurveda by alleging that the medicines prepared by internationally acclaimed Yoga Guru Swami Ramdev contained animal material and human bones.

She claimed that the Union Health Ministry has endorsed her charges.

She claimed in a press release issued in the capital on January 3, "On December 29, 2005, I have received a letter from the Ministry of Health and Welfare confirming that there is prima facie evidence that there were animal parts in the samples in Ayurvedic medicines produced by Divya Yoga Pharmacy, Uttaranchal, owned by Swami Ramdev."

But the letter written by Joint Secretary in the Department of AYUSH, Shiv Basant, nowhere mentions the presence of animal material or human bones in the samples analysed by reputed laboratories in the country. It only refers to a violation of licensing and labelling provisions of the Indian Drugs and Cosmetics Act. Thus, her first lie stood nailed.

The Joint Secretary in his letter also maintained that there was "no Divya Pharmacy in Rishikesh" as alleged by her.

Karat, perhaps, did not realise that by making the accusations, she was not merely denigrating popular symbols of Bharatiya culture but hurting the deep-rooted, centuries-old faith of millions of people in this country. So much so that even the pseudo-secular allies of the UPA including the Congress, who have always kowtowed before the whims and fancies of the Reds, found it difficult to support her, fearing a backlash, which could lead to a resurgence of nationalist forces.

The reactions to her statements reflected the anger and anguish of the nationalists, who have closed their ranks when it comes to open aggression against their territory or religion and culture.

In tradition of Sage Parashurama, who took up arms in defence of truth and justice, Baba Ramdev too reminded Karat that he was ready for war as he inherited the legacy of Maharana Pratap and Chhatrapati Shivaji. "I am ready for a probe by any government agency. Since I have launched a campaign against multinational drug companies and weapons mafia, they have used Karat", he said in a prompt response to the CPM charges.

"I have specific information that Karat met MNC representatives on December 29," Swami Ramdev said exposing the Communists, who practice different and mutually contradictory yardsticks in Delhi, West Bengal and Kerala.

Even pseudo-secularists forced to rubbish Karat's charges against Baba Ramdev.

Samples of medicines prepared by Divya Yog Pharmacy had never been collected officially and, therefore, no testing was carried out to ascertain whether it contained animal parts and human bones, he said and added that the medicines prepared at the Pharmacy were in keeping with Ayurvedic standards and were certified by the government.

In a hard-hitting reaction, RSS Spokesman, Ram Madhav said: "The allegation levelled by Karat against Swami Ramdev is a conspiracy hatched by the retrograde Leftists to demean reputed persons of Bharatiya culture."

Rebutting Health Minister A. Ramadoss charges, the Congress government in Uttaranchal rubbished Karat's allegations against Baba Ramdev and even demanded a CBI probe to find out whether there was any foul play by her in the whole episode.

Enraged activists of Hindu and patriotic organisations went on the rampage across the country in protest. Arya Samaj workers gheraoed the CPI(M) headquarters in Delhi and burnt an effigy of Karat as hooligans of the party pelted stones on the peaceful demonstrators.

Activists of the All India Anti-Terrorist Front and BJP staged separate demonstrations in Ludhiana and charged Karat with hurting the feeling of nationalist and patriotism, of which Swamiji is an ardent preacher.

The highly respected Vaid Devendra Trig-una, President of All India Ayurveda Congress said, "In classical formulations, crushed antlers of deer and musk were used but these are now banned. There is no use of bone or body parts and certainly not human body parts."

Allies dump CPM on Swami

Â· Ramdev, credited with an evangelical zeal that has brought about a democratisation of Yoga has been known for pro-Swadeshi views; particularly his campaign against the Cola giants."

âThe Times of India

Â· The allegation levelled by Karat against Swami Ramdev is a conspiracy hatched by the retrograde Leftists to demean reputed persons of Bharatiya culture. They are experts in dirty tricks department, which they have employed in Baba Ramdev case also. Brinda Karat has no authority to take samples. She has violated the sampling norms stipulated by the government, and the Health Ministry has colluded with her in this conspiracy. The country should rise in protest against the sinister campaign launched by the anti-national Left forces led by Karat."

âRam Madhav, RSS Spokesman

Â· Karat is absolutely wrong in attacking Swami Ramdev. The Communists were getting unnerved by his growing popularity, love for Hindutva and the spread of Hindutva through his medicines. The multinational companies do not want traditional Indian medicines to become popular as India is a big market for them. This is an international conspiracy against him."

â Acharya Giriraj Kishore, VHP Senior Vice-President

Â· Karat's allegations have hurt the sentiments of the people of Uttaranchal and the followers of the spiritual leader. She should tender a public apology. The State Health Ministry had conducted an inquiry last year when the issue first came to light and no irregularities were found. We need to find out whether or not Karat had adulterated the samples before giving them for tests. Swami Ramdev is the pride of Uttaranchal. The CPI(M) is trying to destroy the centuries-old tradition of Ayurvedic medicines and trust on religion by levelling such allegations."

âDhirendra Pratap, Uttaranchal Minister and state Congress leader

Â· Swamiji's medicines have proved effective and one should not make utterances which hurt the faith and sentiments of the people."

âAmbika Soni, Senior Congress leader <!--emo& Tongue

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tongue.gif' />

Â· Medicines should not be given in blind faith. It is now widely accepted that Yoga and meditation are complementary to therapy. It reduces the secretions of catecolamines (adrenaline and noradrenaline) and helps in the relaxation of the body. This lowers blood pressure and also helps in stopping the progression of coronary artery disease."

âDr Purshotam Lal, director, Interventional Cardiology, Metro Hospital, Delhi

Â· People need to look up to someone, like a guru. In India, there has been a long tradition of following holy men. Our society is, at heart, very emotional. Gurus are not teaching people anything wrong."

âDr Mohan Agashe, psychiatrist and actor

Â· He has popularised Uttaranchal and Haridwar abroad with his panacea."

âN.D. Tiwari, Chief Minister of Uttaranchal

Â· Ramdev cures through Yoga and Ayurveda, which vindicates that our traditional science is still effective."

âMulayam Singh Yadav, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh

Â· As a doctor, I thought what he taught was rubbish. I just followed the exercises. And it was fantastic."

âDr Anuj Bhatnagar

Baba reacts:

Â· I am a Hindu in the true traditions of Maharana Pratap and Chhatrapati Shivaji. I will hit back at anyone trying to demean Indian cultureâ¦ I am ready for a probe by any government agency. Since I have launched a campaign against multinational drug companies and weapons mafia, they have used Karat. I have specific information that Karat met MNC representatives on December 29."

Â· "Yoga is the natural remedy to cure all this. I have neither revived nor established it, it already existed. I just take it to the people. There are four facets of my programmeâa healthy India, a spiritual India , a national India and a swadeshi India . The philosophy of my teaching revolves around them."

Â· "MNCs loot people. If the price of potato is Rs 10 a kg, its end-product is sold for Rs 300 a kg. The money we should spend on nation building goes into MNCs' pockets. I oppose their 'zero technology' attitudeâthey sell us their products at exorbitant prices but do not part with their technology."

Â· "I have neither a bank account nor property in my name. I take money from people for a sacred cause and for nation building. Didn't Acharya Vinoba Bhave take land from the people for a pious cause? Didn't Pundit Madan Mohan Malaviya take money and alms from the people to build a university? Didn't Gandhiji receive money for his fight against the British? I have to build Patanjali Yog Peeth, a massive project which will benefit the people of our country."

Â· "Whatever knowledge I give to people is not taught in a university or school. These are traditional sciences practised by our great hermits. I learnt these in gurukuls. There are 1,127 branches of Vedasâa vast knowledge bankâand I am a product of that tradition."

Â· They do not understand that an ashram is not an industry and they are not workers but volunteers. Do they have proof that they are employees? If they complain of being exploited, let me tell you that I, Ramdev, am the most exploited person in the ashram because I work 18 hours a day and do not take a single paisa. So who is being exploited, I or they?"

Â· "Those who have a myopic approach to religion see the growing popularity of Yoga as a threat. There are certain internal forcesâsome MNCsâwhich do not like my work and create trouble for me. They have threatened to eliminate me."

Â· "Broadly speaking, those who will get hurt by my efforts in spreading Yoga want to remove me from their path."

http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.p...&pid=113&page=2

01-11-2006, 07:20 AM

This is wild stuff. What other kinds of haftas do the commies collect ?

http://www.sulekha.com/blogs/blogdisplay.aspx?cid=41229

QUOTEThe enigma called CPI(M)
by:Â Â BRISHTI SENGUPTA on Jan 10 2006 3:10AM in Business

West Bengal shall soon enter in the Guiness Book of World Records for âdemocraticallyâ electing a Communist Government for its state for so many terms consecutively. West Bengal is going to election in 2006 to elect its Assembly members. West Bengal does not require any psephologist to analyse and predict its election results. We have seen elections and how they are won. It is quite amazing in finding how every election was won, beside usage of absolutely total Government system of state Police, with personal accountability on each Police Super and parallel usage of party cadres, like a fully endorsed Mafia State.

CPI(M) came to power by ousting inefficient Congress Govt in the year 1977, riding on the election manifesto of providing âBekar Bhataâ (Unemployment allowance) to every unemployed youth of West Bengal, on monthly basis. They won the election and paid Rs50/- per month to a few unemployed youths whose name was found for at least five years in the register of Employment Exchange and had Party membership. This âBekar Bhataâ was stopped few years after, when Party stressed on engaging Party Wholetimers.

Next election manifesto was jehad against World Bank Loans. CPI(M) leaders shouted ââ¦the baby who is born today is coming with a loan tag of Rs1500/- on his head. Govt of India has sold our Motherland to World Bank.â etc. etc. In another election CPI(M) collected blood from the citizens of State with a view to sell it to collect fund and build Bakreswar Thermal Power Project, because Govt of India refused to provide money for a State owned Power Plant. That time a Bengali Newspaper wrote in its editorial, ââ¦bangali bachchar rakter tezâ¦â (power of bengalee blood). People still mock the power plant is run on blood-turbine.

Sri Jyoti Bose, erstwhile Chief Minister â cum â destroyer of West Bengal did everything to spread, not education, not development, but Unions at every stage of life and at everywhere. Total machinery of West Bengal Govt was utilized with single agenda of spreading and forming Unions, identifying â terrorizing â eliminating persons of anti-CPI(M) base, similar to Italian Mafia agencies. From then CPI(M) runs a Party System whose only work is individually identifying contrary thinking in every area and then isolating the person to terrorise every family member of the person, so that he or she never can stand up to ventilate his or her free opinion. Sri Jyoti Basu killed the main instrument of Democracy in West Bengal, Freedom of Opinion. It ensured almost zero formation of opposition in vast areas. Media praised after every election as victory of CPI(M) on the strength of its organizing capabilities. Alas, Mafia organizations maintain their strength this way only. Token money as monthly subscription is collected from a majority population of West Bengal, regularly, to ensure their peace. Every auto-rickshaw has to pay Rs2/- everyday to CPI(M), if it has to run on the road. The party receipt has to be prominently displayed on the auto rickshaw alongside Govt. Road Tax Token. <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='blink.gif' />

Any parallel organization, however miniscule it might be, can only run in West Bengal, if it has authorization from CPI(M) Party. In this process Ramkrishna Mission Institute was also challenged by CPI(M) few years back, fearing their large following might become point of worry in future. They are under close watch at local levels. So are other religious and other outfits.

Smt. Vrinda Karatâs shouting against Swami Ramdev is only a replica of the West Bengal scenario. CPI(M) noticed that Swami Ramdevâs influence was getting increased, everyday, even within some of their cadres, hence Swami Ramdev had to be challenged. Smt Karat is least bothered about doing good for Nation, by testing and standardizing ayurvedic medicines, that is only a frontal posture, her main interest is only to demean Swami Ramdev and such other organizations so that they are effectively neutralized and cannot influence large section of population. Smt. Karat is only doing what her Party has told her to initiate. THERE CANNOT BE ANY OTHER ORGANISATION HAVING MASS FOLLOWING. HENCE IDENTIFY AND DISMANTLE SUCH ORGANISATIONS.

It should be noted that all over the world Communists have killed maximum people to impose their dictum. Russia, China, Cambodiaâ¦. List is endless. Hitler killed millionsâ¦. count the killings of Communists, Hitlerâs are dwarfed to them.

When Smt. Vrinda Karat, Sri Somnath, Sri Prakash Karat, Sri Harkishen tells you that they are doing it for the good of Nationâ¦think again before believing them. WITH ALL ITS SHORTCOMINGS, THERE IS STILL NO ALTERNATIVE TO DEMOCRACY. West Bengal has gone into comatose during the last 28years rule of CPI(M), it has shown what a Communist outfit can do, even within a Democratic Environment. Pray that does not happen to our entire Nation.

01-11-2006, 07:23 AM

Rudra's comments on the above blog..

QUOTEEffects ofÂ Communism and the CPI (M) of India are very obvious to those who have relatives that live in WB (especially Kolkata). I have had an uncle whoÂ endured a company lockdown (He worked for the British company called Metal Box)Â in 1984 (at which stage it had dragged on it's crushed hindlegs for about a decade). He finally managed to get a portion of his dues (as a voluntary retiree) in 2004.Â I have seen his fall from a decent mode of life (having toÂ settle forÂ mediocre labor) because he didn't want to leave Kolkata. My father, who worked in Kolkata till the late 70s, moved to Karnataka when he company offered a chance (and soon after wound up all of their WB operations) -- he used to see dead bodies and decapitated heads hanging from the entrance gates of Diamond Harbor in the heydays of CommieÂ "Revolution" in the 70s. He didn't want to go back to the muck and sleaze of commie Calcutta ever again!

If you are a bengali with family still living in calcutta -- and a few of them are unemployed youth, you'll know the effects of Communism. For that gentleman who said the Indian Commies were just "Socialist Democrats" -- you don't know what Democracy means -- really!Â If you consider "party contributions" (extortion) during a real estate transactionÂ (legal mind you) as democratic then the commies are Democrats.
If you consider theÂ reign of terror that is employed by these scum to terrorize and subjugate the average citizen of WB democracy, then the Commies are Democrats!

In all, a very revealing article -- and I was initially drawn to lambast the author (based on the title). I was pleasantly surprised and my commendations on a good effort.

01-12-2006, 01:59 AM

QUOTEBrinda's workers engineered unrest at my unit: Ramdev 
Pioneer.com
Apurv Pandit/ Mumbai
Back from the yoga camp in Nashik, controversial yoga evangelist Swami Ramdev on Wednesday took the battle to the enemy camp. He singled out CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat for a vicious attack. The swami accused Brinda Karat of planting party workers disguised as labourers to engineer labour unrest in his Hardwar-based ayurveda pharmacy under a 'long term conspiracy'.Â Â

"Two of those men, Dara and Deepu are already in jail. Another man mischievously tried to sell crab and tortoise parts as my medicines in Hardwar but was taken on by the locals," he told Mumbai reporters in a Press conference after the storm over alleged animal and human body parts in his medicines erupted on January 2.

"West Bengal Transport Minister Subhash Charkraborty and several other CPI(M) leaders have supported me in public over the issue. Some Communist leaders even called on me in Nashik and asked me to shift the focus of my target from the party to the individual as more than 50 pc of the party sympathised with me," he claimed.

"I cure people's heads with medicines but don't use their heads to make my medicines," he declared, repeating his earlier stand that Ms Karat and Co were acting at the behest of multinational companies who felt threatened by his brand of yoga and ayurveda therapies."My next big campaign is to bring down the sales of multinational company products in India completely and propound the use of Swadeshi products, he said, while claiming that over 25 crore people after being influenced by his yoga lessons on cable television had stopped having colas and junk food.

"Harmful cold drinks and fast food sales have gone down by 60 to 70 pc since the past two years. This has caused huge losses to multinational companies so they are trying to get back at me," he said.

Taking another dig at the Central Government for allocating 97 pc of health budget only on allopathic cures, the swami informed that his Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust had sent proposals to the Central Government seeking funds for research in ayurvedic treatment.

"Yoga is a holistic treatment as opposed to allopathy which only provides temporary cure. Ayurveda and yoga has lagged behind over time because its practitioners failed to apply the methods of modern medical science to help its progress," he commented.

He asserted that his 7-day yoga camps in various cities had resulted in several people losing between 2 to 20 kgs of weight besides getting cured of blood pressure, ailments of the kidney, heart and liver, asthma, diabetes and cancer.

Asked about the effect of his treatment procedures on AIDS, he said, "I would rather this chapter is not touched at this point of time."

01-13-2006, 12:45 AM

YOGI AND COMMIE STARQUOTEWriting on the wall / Ashok V. Desai
Brinda Karat is suing a Trivandrum publisher who published a photo of hers together with a quotation from an interview of hers to the effect that yoga was the secret behind health and beauty â although he published an apology the next day. I would stressfully clarify that nothing in this column purports to be a comment either on Brindaâs appearance or views on yoga. The word âstarâ is strenuously dissociated from the sense in which it is applied to film stars; it only refers to a rising member of the CPM leadership with bright prospects. Nor is there any intention, notwithstanding anything said below, to compare the subject to a shooting star.

In a column I wrote last January, I tackled Calcuttaâs problem â that all too often, trade unionists disrupt traffic at its centre with demonstrations. My solution was that the West Bengal government should move to a hill station, and should locate itself on top of a steep hill, so that left-wing processionists would arrive breathless and exhausted. Little did I realize that I was giving ideas to the agitators. For hill stations have a paucity of roads; some of them are just settlements along a single road. So it is much easier for trade unionists to disrupt day-to-day life in a hill station than in a big city. They do not even have to march; all they have to do is to sit down in the main square, and all traffic will come to a halt.

To prove this theory, CPM held a conference on January 15 and 16 last year in Rishikesh, the point of entry to a string of holy towns, and the home of Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals, which a militant trade union had helped along into bankruptcy. CPM bussed in âstudentsâ from ten districts. Slowly, they crawled along Hardwar Road and Lakshman Jhula Road, shouting death to sundry oppressors. Then 108 delegates â 45 from the middle class, 38 from the peasantry, 12 from the working class, and five agricultural labourers â gathered together. Amongst those who spoke, Brinda Karat attacked the BJP for having passed the UP Reorganization Bill in 2000, which created Uttarakhand but discriminated against it, and the Congress for not having implemented the common minimum programme despite having been in power at the Centre for eight months. The âruling class partyâ â read the Congress â was no different from the BJP. The solution? The people of Uttarakhand must vote CPM next time. Meanwhile, whenever the situation demanded, the CPM would support peopleâs struggles. It would become the champion of the regional aspirations of the working class and socially oppressed people. The local branch was set targets to raise membership to 15,000 workers, 15,000 women, 30,000 farm workers, 10,000 students and 15,000 other youth.

Then all was quiet till the end of winter. On April 18, CPM held its 18th congress in Delhi; there the strategy to be followed in Uttaranchal was honed. On May 5, workers in the ayurvedic pharmacy of the Divya Yog Mandir Trust in Hardwar, refused to take their salaries. Instead, they started shouting. On a cue, local CPM agitators came and joined them. Since they were not prepared to work, the workers were terminated. Others took their place; but no one has come forward yet to champion their cause.

The dismissed workers said the pharmacy used powdered human skulls and animal organs. Promptly Brinda Karat called for a high-level probe â and also that the pharmacy should be brought under the Factories Act, so that it could not dismiss workers. In June, she went to Hardwar and shouted slogans outside the ashram with her cohorts for a day. Acharya Balkrishan, who runs the pharmacy, invited her to go and visit it, but that did not suit her purpose.

Over the next three months, CPM activists went around eight districts and plotted the next move. On September 19, Brinda Karat arrived in Kathgodam, and proceeded up the hills. In Haldwani and Gair Sen she gave press conferences, in which she said the hill people had been discriminated against in every way. In Rudrapur, Almora, Gopeshwar and Rudraprayag she marched about with protestors shouting slogans. She took delegations with long lists of complaints to the district magistrates of Almora and Chamola.

In Dehra Dun and Hardwar, she repeated noisy obstructions. Then on September 29, the party struck all over Uttarakhand; suddenly, CPM brought the state to a halt by occupying highways and road junctions in Pauri, Hardwar, Rishikesh, Lansdowne, Kotdwara, Shaktinagar, Rudrapur, Sitaganj, Haldwani, Bageshwar and Almora. That was a busy day, a successful day, an inspiring day for party leaders; they were ecstatic that they had disrupted the lives of so many.

Although Brinda Karat went repeatedly to Uttaranchal and raised mayhem, hardly anyone outside the state noticed. I certainly did not know about it. Then at the end of December she repeated the charges against the Divya Yog Mandir pharmacy â that it used powdered human skulls and animal bones; this time she added animal fat too.

Then I got interested. I am not keen on yoga or sadhus; nor am I an early riser. So I had missed Swami Ram Dev, whose empire the pharmacy belongs to. Then I read the little piece by Paul Zakaria in the year-end issue of Tehelka, that sprightly secular magazine, saying how Ram Dev broke down Zakariaâs allergy to Hindi nationalism and improved his health, and I took notice.

This man wears a mini-dhoti, and instead of a shirt, drapes himself in a kind of scarf. What struck me was his face. He has long hair, and a flowing, lopsided black beard. His left eye is a bit unruly. Altogether, he is quite unlike a dour sadhu. He is lively and human. He speaks simple, unfussy Hindi, unlike the pidgin Sanskrit the Hindutwits speak. Before the TV camera he does some dozen yogic asanas from time to time. They are not elaborate exercises; most of them are movements of the arms, the torso or the stomach. They do not interrupt his flow at all; he talks all the time. His is do-it-yourself, anytime-anywhere yoga; watching him, one can build the basic movements into oneâs daily life. Many people say that he has made them better, and seeing the crowds he draws, many people believe he does. So therefore do I.

Some of what he says is nonsense. He calls colas toilet water; he tells people to give up fast food. He goes on against multinationals. But he also talks a lot of common sense. If I were capable of being a devotee and a practitioner, I would find him quite a paragon.

So my conclusion is that Brinda Karat is a pracharak, bent on spreading trouble and unrest across India at the CPMâs behest. Ram Dev, on the other hand, is leading people by example, and leaving them happier and healthier. She is bent on making his life difficult; he has asked her repeatedly to verify the truth herself. Between the two, I would rather watch and listen to Ram Dev and his asanas than Brinda and her speeches. If that makes me a male chauvinist, so be it.

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