<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->National Convention on Census 2001: Emerging Challenges
Programme
An Overview
Data on the religious profile of Indian population as observed in
Census 2001 raises several issues of great national concern. During
1991-2001, unusually large changes have taken place in the religious
demography of India. The changes are especially drastic in the areas
lying to the east of the Purnia region of Bihar. Indian Religionists
have now turned into a minority in a wide belt comprising of Purnia
region of Bihar, parts of Santhal Pargana region of Jharkhand,
northern districts of West Bengal, and most of lower Assam and
Cachar. <b>Muslims now constitute 46 percent of the population of this
belt that passes through the exclusively Muslim territory of
Bangladesh. The region further east of this belt, comprising of the
northeastern states excluding Assam, now has 46 percent Christians
in its population; Indian Religionists form a minority in these
states also. </b>
This phenomenon of Indian Religionists being turned into a minority
in the whole of eastern India, starting from Purnia region of Bihar
to the easternmost tip of Arunachal Pradesh, is the culmination of a
process that had started in the earlier half of the twentieth
century, but which seems to have gained renewed momentum during the
last two decades.
Indian Religionists are under great pressure in the other border
regions of India also. In Kashmir valley in the north they have a
miniscule presence now; and in the western coastal strip starting
from Kanniyakumari of Tamilnadu and running up to Goa, Indian
Religionists are in a minority in several districts, and are rapidly
losing in their share of the population to either the Christians or
Muslims. The coastal belt of southern Karnataka seems to be rapidly
joining with the northern districts of Karnataka, Hyderabad region
of Andhra Pradesh and Marathawada of Maharashtra to form a large
belt of high Muslim presence and growth that runs all the way from
northern Kerala to central India.
Census data of the last two decades, and especially of 1991-2001,
indicate that the changes are not confined to the border regions
alone; proportion of Christians and Muslims is rising almost
everywhere.
When we look at the Indian region as a whole, including Indian
Union, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the change in the religious profile
seems even more drastic. The trends of the last about 120 years
indicate that Indian Religionists in the Indian region are almost
certainly going to be reduced to a minority in the latter half of
the twenty-first century.
Such sharp changes in the religious profile of a nation have varied
socio-economic and strategic implications. It is in our national
interest to honestly and seriously discuss the data on changing
religious profile of India, its multidimensional implications, and
to explore ways of modulating and controlling this process, which
has the potential of tearing apart this ancient nation.
"National Convention on Census 2001: The Emerging Challenges" has
been called with this purpose in mind. It is expected that about 200
concerned citizens, scholars and activists representing different
states of India shall attend the Convention; and, several well-known
observers and analysts of the changing religious demographic trends
shall discuss different aspects of the issue.
<b>Programme</b>
Dates: April 26-27, 2005; Tuesday and Wednesday.
Venue: V. K. Krishna Menon Hall, Bhagwan Das Road, Opp. Supreme
Court Complex, New Delhi â 110 001
April 26, 2005, Tuesday
Inaugural Session
10.00-11.15 a.m.
Session I: Demographic Imbalance in India
11.30 a.m.-1.00 p.m.
Session 2: Socio-cultural and Economic Impact of Demographic
Imbalance
02.00 p.m.-3.30 p.m.
Session 3: Demographic Imbalance and National Security
04.00 p.m.-5.30 p.m.
Session 4: Panel Discussion on Changing Religious Demography of India
April 27, 2005
Session 5: Global Trends in Religious Demography
9.30 a.m. to 10.30 a.m.
Session 6: Sharing of Experiences and Possible Solutions concerning
Demographic Change
11.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.
Session 7: Facing the Challenges/ Steps towards a Solution
02.00 p.m. to 4.00 p.m.
Concluding Session
04.30 p.m. to 6.00 p.m.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
G.Subramaniam those ppl who are not even willing to have 3 kids (even after being told about this problem) will suffer. This foolish family planning if continued will bring doom to Hindus in the near future (a good example is Kerala). Goa is a good example of what happens when Hindus outbreeded other's, in 1901 Xtians were about 51% (I think) but they did family planning and now Hindus are more than 70%. As for Hindutva women not willing to have more kids, what can we do, maybe they wish to suffer in future, I think there are 2 methods to solve the Muslim problem and both should be used, they are:
1) Counterbreeding
2) Economic boycott of Muslims as much as possible (a good example is how Hindu Gujaratis economically boycotted Muslims after the riots)
Hindus & Sikhs Population came down: Minority Commission
In the world only Hindus are liable to follow family planning and tolerate conversion. Few newspapers such as âThe Hinduâ and Chennaionline publish news heading to misguide the! facts. Their news meant there is more need to increase the growth rate of population of Muslims and Christians?
Raising alaram bells, L.K. Advani warned, this development was a threat not only to the normal democratic process, but also to the security and integrity of India. Demographer Bose said their concentration at a single place could lead to a demand for a separate state or an administrative unit in future likes Bodoland, Gorkhaland etc.
Now Chairperson of National Commission for Minorities said that has reported that the growth rate of Muslims in the country is higher than that of other communities. Before few days the Minority Commission has said that there is a tremendous increase in the Christian population of North East States of India. http://www.indiadaily.com/breaking_news/33547.asp
Bangladeshi infiltrators, Family Planning not followers, Christian Missionaries, Muslim League, Terrorists and Insurgent organizations are secular a! nd Hindus are communal. Patrick French, author of âLiberty or Deathâ, highlighted Gandhiâs allegiance to Hindu Dharma and Jinnahâs âsecularismâ.( ".the founder of the homeland for Muslims remained a secularist of sorts to the end" page 27).
RSS Sarsaghchalak Sudarshanji is called a hardliner because he is questioning the missionary process! A very statement asking the Pope to affirm religious tolerance is itself styled intolerant! In other words Hindus should tolerate the effort to convert them but it is intolerant for Hindus to question the motives or ideas of those who denigrate their religion. That such statements are accepted in the modern media shows how deep-seated the anti-Hindu and pro-missionary bias is.
The challenges of our times are so great that we are called to move beyond our personal awakening to our collective awakeningâas communities, as nations, and as a species.
Our Collective awakening is n! ecessary. Today majority feels like a minority. Conversion and infiltration of Bangladeshies is going on. There is continuous decrease in the population of Hindus. Family planning is only for Hindus as commented by K.S Sudarshan.
In fact, conversion is taking place on a mass-scale in large parts of the Northeast where poor, backward tribal fall easy prey to the lure of money and other inducements to embrace Christianity. But if they don't, the job is taken over by the militant groups, most of which are operating in the region only to convert people to Christianity under the guise of insurgent outfits. There are a couple of such outfits operate!
While nobody should have any objection to such a development in a secular country, what every secularist must object to is the fact that, while the Muslim population is rising alarmingly due to illegal influx from Bangladesh, the Christian population is rising due to conversion, both forced and induced, of mostly the! gullible Hindus who do not have any means to defend themselves. Almost 19 districts in three Border States of Assam, West Bengal and Bihar have recorded a "disproportionate" growth of Muslims over past one decade. The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) in a report here claimed that the 10 districts of Assam bordering Bangladesh have now substantive Muslim population as high as 51 per cent. The Commission had set up a four-member expert panel of eminent demographers to analyse the 2001 census statistics of religious minorities including Muslims. The panel reported that the intercensal growth of Muslim population during 1991-2001 was 29.5 per cent, higher than the overall growth rate of 21.5 per cent.
"Either this type of growth is due to large number of conversions or due to migration of population from across Bangladesh," Country's leading demographer Prof. Ashis Bose stated.
In the News story titled âSuicide by Secularismâ of Washington Post ! dated April 17, 2005, Columnist George F.Will wrote: âEurope itself is withering. On the day of John Paul II's funeral, the European Union's statistics agency reported that the decline of birthrates means that within five years deaths will exceed births in the European Union. By 2013 Italy's population will begin to decline; the next year Germany's will begin to drop. After 2010 Europe's population growth will be entirely from immigration. By 2025 not even immigration will prevent declining fertility from accelerating what one historian calls the largest âsustained reduction in European population since the Black Death of the 14th century.â
In his new book "The Cube and the Cathedral: Europe, America, and Politics Without God," George Weigel, biographer of John Paul II, argues that Europe's âdemographic suicideâ will cause its welfare states to buckle and is creating a âvacuum into which Islamic immigrants are flowing.â Sinc! e 1970 the 20 million legal Islamic immigrants equal the combined populations of Ireland, Denmark and Belgium.â http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2005Apr15.html
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Deshmukh in the dock
Anita Katyal
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 7
After Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, it is now the turn of Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh to fall from grace.
Mr Deshmukh wants to drop a few ministers and reshuffle his Cabinet. But despite his repeated entreaties to the Congress leadership, he has failed to get the green signal from New Delhi. As of now, he has only been permitted to fill the three vacancies in the Cabinet and that, too, has been delayed till after the ongoing Parliament session.
This is a clear snub to Mr Deshmukh, who has made innumerable trips to Delhi in the last two weeks to persuade the party high command that he needed to drop some ministers on account of their poor performance. In fact, the Chief Minister had to camp here for several days before he was granted an audience with Congress President Sonia Gandhi.
But despite this meeting and several rounds of discussions with Mrs Gandhiâs Political Secretary Ahmed Patel and AICC General Secretary Margaret Alva, he has failed to have his way. The AICC leadership has told him that since the government was formed only six months ago, it is still too early to affect a large-scale reshuffle as the move could prove counter-productive and end up fuelling dissensions in the state unit.
This is, however, only the tip of the iceberg. Mr Deshmukh has earned the Congress leadershipâs ire on several counts. The Maharashtra governmentâs handling of the ongoing power crisis is the latest in the long list of complaints against him. With the BJP-Shiv Sena launching a frontal attack against prolonged power cuts, an angry Congress leadership has asked the Chief Minister to take immediate corrective measures. A harried Mr Deshmukh has subsequently had two meetings with Power Minister P.M. Sayeed in this connection and is expected to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his return from Russia.
Mr Deshmukh first found himself in the dock when he ordered a slum demolition drive in Mumbai. Having touted itself as a party for the âaam aadmiâ, this move proved to be a huge embarrassment for the Congress leadership. Mr Deshmukh was summoned by Mrs Sonia Gandhi and told to call off the drive. Mr Deshmukhâs subsequent statement that âoutsidersâ were not welcome in Mumbai further enraged his own party members who felt the Chief Minister was âspeaking the language of Shiv Sena.â The AICC sought an explanation from him to which Mr Deshmukh insisted he had been misquoted. However, the damage was already done.
Similarly, the state governmentâs ban on dance bars and the new water irrigation laws which have led to a huge public outcry, have not gone down well with the party leadership here. The first decision has rendered nearly 80,000 dance girls unemployed while the UPA government has come under attack for following the BJP-Shiv Senaâs agenda of âcultural policing.â
Like the state governmentâs slum demolition drive,<b> its new water irrigation law could cost the party dear as it seeks to increase water tariffs for farmers while those with more than two children will be required to pay one and half times more than the others.</b>
This could well prove suicidal for a party, which is purported to be sympathetic to the poor farmer. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Will illegal migrants outnumber the people of North-east India in 20 years?
By Oken Jeet Sandham
If Assam Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Ajay Singh's statement that about 6000
illegal Bangladeshis are entering Assam daily is correct, then the fate of the
north-east people are terribly at stake.
If 6000 illegal Bangladeshis infiltrate into Assam daily, it will be 1, 80,000 Bangladeshis in a month and 21.6 lakh annually. The State will have 21.6 million illegal Bangladeshis by 2015, outnumbering the entire population of the region excluding Assam and the whole northeast will be reduced to a minority in 20 years time.
The complexity involved here is that this country has over 100 million genuine Indian Muslims, about one-fifth of the whole population. Besides the Government has earlier estimated 20 million illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in India.
Though there are no official figures of actual numbers of Bangladeshis in Assam, locals say their population could be 6 million of the State's 26 million people. This means a little over one-fourth of the State's population is Bangladeshi immigrants. And the State alone produces over one-third Bangladeshi immigrants in the country.
Although Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi rejects the Governor's seemingly inflated claim, the fact is the illegal immigrants from across the international border have been infiltrating into the State unabated over the years. The Chief Minister while talking to press in Guwahati however admitted that infiltration from Bangladesh had not stopped.
"Effective steps have been taken to check infiltration," Gogoi said. "Anybody found crossing the border is pushed back and those entered after March 25, 1971, as per the Assam Accord would be detected and deported."
It may be mentioned that the powerful All Assam Students Union (ASSU) had launched a bloody campaign to push Bangladeshis back to their land. Indigenous people who feared they would be reduced to a minority in their own land massacred thousands of Bangladeshis, including women and children, across the State.
The Government and the Students' Union signed a pact in 1985, but clauses on the deportation of foreigners have still not been implemented.
Though there are genuine Assamese Muslims and mainland Muslims, the present influx of illegal Bangladeshis in the State has not only affected the demography of the State but also the entire region, leading to serious threat to the survival of the region's people and the country's internal security as well.
Tripura is a gone case and Nagaland is the next target because large number of these Muslims has been swarming the State. In the last few years, there is a dramatic change in the socio-economic feature of the State. The lack of work culture, easy money, easy life style, etc are the main causes that these Muslims mostly coming from Assam have taken opportunities to stay in Nagaland. All the manual works, construction of houses, taxi driving, rickshaw pulling and cultivation are mostly done by these Muslims today. They also run almost half of the shops in Dimapur, the biggest commercial hub of the State and the capital, Kohima. But historically speaking, the people of Nagaland do not have any connection whatsoever with the Muslim community---be it mainland Muslim or Bangladeshi Muslim and Assamese Muslims.
However, Manipur has its Muslim communities who had come there in the middle of the 16th century. It was recorded in the history that large number of Muslims started entering Manipur from Sylhet in the 17th century during the reign of King Khagemba (1597-1652) at the invitation of Prince Sadongba. Prince Sadongba had planned to dethrone his brother King Khagenmba with the help of these Muslims.
In many wars in the past, Manipur Kings used the services of Muslim soldiers who were considered skilled fighters. In King Pamheiba's period in 18th century, Muslim soldiers in Manipur defended the combined attacked of Burma and Tripura. Many Muslim soldiers also lost their lives when Manipur suffered in the hands of the Burmese in 1758 Burmese-Manipur war. In the famous "Seven-year-devastation" of Manipur from 1819 to 1826, the Burmese soldiers had taken many Muslims to Burma while many escaped to Assam and Bangladesh. Even when the British defeated Manipur in 1891, many Muslim soldiers were also killed and some were deported to Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
But the Bangladesh Muslims mostly coming via Assam in recent times could not attempt to settle in Manipur despite Manipur Muslims are there. Because these illegal Bangladeshis are mostly economic-driven people and will have least chance to do the lowest paid jobs in Manipur. One will find how all the odd manual works are done by the Manipuris in Imphal city. One will find hardly any Bangladeshi Muslim used for any job in the State.
However, the logic in argument is that most of the Muslims in Nagaland or Assam or Arunachal Pradesh or Tripura or Meghalya are not mostly from mainland India. 95% of Muslims in Nagaland are coming from Assam claiming to be the banafide citizens of that State (Assam). If the size of the Muslim population in Nagaland is from Assam and not from mainland India, then the matter is questionable. How can Assam have such a huge Muslim population spilling over into other parts of the region unless coming from across the international border?
The long stretch of Assam forest bordering Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh has over the years disappeared and been systematically occupied by the illegal immigrants. The trouble is most of these illegal settlers are well equipped with valid land holding documents issued by the Assam administrations. Sources say most of the State's reserved forest in the border areas has vanished and its now settled by the illegal immigrants and not by the real Assamese people. The Nagaland Government often alleges that these illegal immigrants have even occupied the Disputed Area Belt (DAB) that leads to frequent border skirmishes.
Various intelligent agencies have been warning of serious consequences if immediate attention is not paid. Unfortunately, these illegal migrants have been given legal protection with resident certificates, pattas, etc for narrow political mileage. As a result, the real Assamese people have been reduced to minority in most of the border districts and they are now voiceless.
The recent exodus of Bangladeshi suspects from upper Assam following threats through SMS and leaflets by some unidentified people is evident of the illegal Bangladeshis' presence.
Region's economic underdevelopment coupled with Center's prolonged negligence and the continuous insurgency and the chasm that existed between the people of the region and the mainland people are some of the reasons that have given room to the illegal immigrants and outside elements to exploit maximum advantages.
There is certainly genuine mainland Muslims in the region like Tamils, Keralites, Bengalis, Punjabis, Marwaris, etc. But the mainland Muslims will have least interest to come and settle in the region and their influx is out of question.
Whether the Assam Governor's statement on the infiltration of illegal Bangladeshis into Assam is exaggerated or not, the Chief Minister has also admitted that there is still infiltration of illegal Bangladeshis into the State.
The illegal Bangladeshi infiltration into Assam and elsewhere in the region has changed its (region) demography and now it has become a serious threat to the future survival of the region's people and also the internal security problem for the nation.
To identify the illegal Bangladeshis will not be very difficult once the citizens are properly educated about their natures. Assam has larger role to solve the illegal immigrant issues and the actions taken there will have maximum impact in other parts of the region.
So long, illegal immigrant issue of Assam remains unresolved; there is no point for other States in the region to think of. Because most of these supposed to be illegal migrants who are coming to other States of the region are well equipped with domicile certificates issued by Assam administrations.
The following book titled "The Demographic Siege" by Koenraad Elst has a detailed analysis of the Muslim demographic problem, I think everyone should read it:
As per the book Muslims might become a majority by 2150, the solutions he proposes in my opinion are unrealistic. The idea of reconversion is good but by the time u convert 1 Muslim they will make 100 more, so the only solution is to match their birth rate.
I lived in Hyderabad till I was 14 (now i am 16) and trust me u would never want to live in the Old City area of Hyderabad, it is the most backward and criminal area of the city, if u go through necklace road near Hussain Sagar and then go to old city u would think u r in a diff country, it's Muslim majority where they babble in Urdu with no word of Telugu.
You can solve the problem with violence but it will need partition type violence which Hindus anyway are never capable of so the only way is to match Muslim birth rate.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Expressindia.com
<b>Centre to ask states to scrap two-child rule</b>
TOUFIQ RASHID
Posted online: Sunday, July 24, 2005 at 0142 hours IST
NEW DELHI, JULY 23: Stating that it is "coercive", the Health Ministry plans to ask the states to scrap the policy which "penalises" those who have more than two children.
The decision was taken at the first meeting of the National Population Commission in Delhi today. It was attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, health minister Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, HRD minister Arjun Singh, rural development minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, urban development minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and NCP's Sharad Pawar.
While the Health Minister claimed there was a general consensus against the policy, sources said Pawar opposed the decision.
Seven states - Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, MP, Rajasthan, Orissa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh - had implemented the policy. Himachal scrapped it while MP Chief Minister Babulal Gaur pledged to do it at today's meeting.
"The Health Ministry has always maintained that there should be no coercion as far as population stabilisation is concerned,'' said Dr Ramadoss.
Earlier, addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said stabilising population was one of the key challenges the country faced. He said stabilisation should not be confused with control. <b>"There is a consensus that population stabilisation entails a holistic approach towards education and health care, particularly of women and children.''</b>
The Left has supported today's decision. "It has been shown to strengthen caste hierarchy by differentiating between those who have access to health care from those who do not. <b>It is anti-poor,''</b> said Brinda Karat of the CPI(M) Politburo<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->'Tamil Nadu is infested with Bangladeshis'
Wednesday August 17 2005 00:00 IST
PTI
COIMBATORE: The BJP�s Tamil Nadu unit on Tuesday alleged a large number of Bangladeshi nationals were residing illegally and asked the state government to take immediate steps to identify such persons and deport them.
As per an estimate, about 20,000 Bangladeshis reside in and around Coimbatore posing a security threat, BJP state president C.P. Radhakrishnan said.
A majority of them also have ration cards, he claimed.
Urging the government to deal with the issue with an iron hand, he said the BJP would soon submit a memorandum to the district collector demanding that steps be taken to identify the illegal residents and take action against them.
When it was pointed out that infiltration of Bangladeshis into India was also causing concern at the national level, he said the issue pertained to national security. But Tamil Nadu was witnessing �such large infiltration� for the first time.
Alleging that extremist forces had started raising their heads again in Tamil Nadu, particularly in Coimbatore and Madurai, he said the recent murder of Hindu Munnani activist Kalidas at Madurai was a �clear evidence� to this.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->From Pioneer 18 Aug., 2005
<b>NCW blames two-child norm for rise in female foeticide </b>
Pioneer News Service / New Delhi
The national Commission for Women (NCW) has criticised the two-child norm introduced by some states saying that the practice has aggravated the social evil of female foeticide. The commission has further recommended a six monthly or annual monitoring of birth-related statistics for formulating strategies.
Addressing the concern of declining sex ratio in the country, the NCW member Malini Bhattacharya said, <b>"A few states, in their zeal to control population, have introduced the two-child norm and formulated certain population policies which are encouraging female foeticide." </b>
Complaining against the political disincentives she noted that the exclusion of people having more than two children from the panchayat was working against the implementation of the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technologies (PNDT) Act which aims at stopping sex selection and elimination of the foetus.
Describing the infrastructure put in place by the state governments to prevent female foeticide as "not very active," she added that the committees formed at the state level to implement the PNDT Act hardly meet or if they did, it was only to give out licences to ultrasound clinics.
She also raised her apprehensions over such clinics observing that the records of ultrasound clinics had to be studied and further strengthened.
Loveleen Kacker, Joint Secretary in the Department of Women and Child Welfare said that <b>"female literacy, maternal mortality rate and statistics on the age at which women are getting married" should decide the development levels of the country.</b>
To this Ms Bhattacharya said,<b> "instead of waiting for the census to formulate strategies, an annual check of birth-related statistics should be carried out."Â </b>
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The current decision by Israel to withdraw from Gaza at the cost of irritating the 9000 settlers is not some altruistic charity. There are over a million Palestinians who would become voters if Israel absorbed them. Israel âs dilemma is between to continue being a democratic but Jewish state or expanding its territory to include a majority of Palestinians deprived of vote and power and thus become a slave state. It hd hoped that the return of the Jewish diaspora would be sufficient to swamp the statistically increasing growth of the predominantly Muslim Palestinian population. Individuals unfortunately vote with their feet primarily for economic security which trumps freedom, civic rights, ethnic and religious identity, as the migrations of Muslims to Europe, division of British India and the further fissions and turmoil of Pakistan demonstrate.. The example of African-Americans choosing to stay on in racially segregated America of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries an! d the clinging of discriminated Indians to dishonorable second class citizenship in apartheid South Africa in the twentieth century, clearly prove that freedom and civil rights take a subsidiary position to economic security. As the Sanskrit adage states, "Bubhukshitam kim na karoti papam". What sin will a hungry person not commit? What it implies is not fully appreciated by literal translation, like much deliberately ambiguous dual meaning wisdom, that is the charm of Sanskrit. For in defining a hungry person, it reflects superficially on the fullness of the contents of the stomach, while implying metaphorically the insatiable nature of the appetite of desire, often never satisfied.
There are other factors about demographics that determine far more important aspects of nation states and their foreign policies. One of the lesser known examples is Mexico âs encouragement of white migrants into its territory of Texas in the earlier part of the nineteenth century. This led to a majority of American whites in the region, with their eventually increased economic power and the inevitable desire for political power. Texas , then became an independent republic and eventually a state of the US , together with Arizona , New Mexico , Utah , Arizona and California to the detriment of Mexico and loss of half its territory. The current legal and illegal immigration by Mexicans is a major worry for the US to prevent reversal of this past serendipitous good fortune.
The need for cheap labor and jobs that natives are unwilling to do, creates a conflict between economics and politics. The rise of vigilante groups to extra judicially police the borders of America with Mexico , is a direct consequence of this conflict. There is another legitimate worry that the demographic rise of a Latino minority will force the proverbially unprincipled politicians to pander to them for the vote banks and thus weaken the political and economic power of the dominant Anglos. The overwhelming economic and media power of a numerically insignificant Jewish lobby in America has tilted its foreign policy towards Israel . An equally important factor is the need to dominate and control the energy rich Arab states with the collusion of their corrupt leaders and the complete absence of a significant economically and politically powerful Arab or Muslim voting power bloc in America . Thus, minorities with power can guide the foreign policies of a nation to its long term detriment due to the willingness of elected officials and their lust for perpetuation of their power.
This conundrum is what Europe faces. France with a nearly 10% Muslim population has significantly moderated its foreign policy to be pro-Arab to prevent domestic unrest and terrorism. India âs pro-Palestinian foreign policy for nearly fifty years was based on preventing unrest in its large Muslim minority and to prevent domestic unrest, rather than some high moral standards or an unflinching commitment to them. It was the failure of this policy to win any fairness or reciprocity from the Organization of Islamic States committed to blindly backing the Islamic Ummah and their refusal of participatory or observer status to India at Pakistanâs behest, that led to final disillusionment and re-evaluation of reflexive and failing policies.
There is however, another long term time bomb that Europe is beginning to face and worry about. It is a fact of life that economically and educationally disadvantaged persons tend to have higher birthrates and because of its backward and orthodox nature, Islam fits the bill. This means that Muslim populations in all countries have far higher growth rates. In democratic countries this inevitably leads to greater political influence and a temptation for politicians who are almost universally scum buckets to sell out ideals, future and country to cater and pander to these captive vote banks. India which has suffered prior partition should be acutely aware of this problem, but still suffers from this malady with resultant winking at illegal migration from Bangladesh for economic reasons. It provides venal office seekers with a captive vote bank and election victory, translated into individual personal gain by politicians who are almost uniformly vermin. It is immaterial to the power hungry that this is a major threat to the integrity and security of the nation.
Denmark , Britain and Netherlands , formerly liberal countries have taken the Draconian step of restricting or making immigration for new spouses of immigrants. While marriage between Indian and Pakistani Muslims is not a significant problem, the flooding of Bangladeshi immigrants is a dangerous demographic disaster to the detriment of a secular India . No intelligent liberal wants to take the Israeli position of religious discrimination. The militant antipathy of those converted by bribery and the constricted nature of Abrahamic religions with their arrogant certitude, proselytizing philosophy and narrow minded derogatory and hostile attitudes to native religions, is a worrisome danger difficult to counter by a secular or tolerant Hindu majority. There are Indian Christians, Muslims and leftist Hindus in America who make a concerted effort to condemn India and sabotage any co-operation between the United States and India to the point of national harm. While they pontificate! their high ideals, most are either stupidly impractical, misguided idealists or self-loathing zealots like male chauvinists willing to commit suicide to make their wives discriminated and socially handicapped widows. Earlier, I had rejoiced that India did not have immigrants in the West who hated their own country like Cubans, Iranians or Vietnamese, whose reasons are more economic than political, but there are a growing number of such zealots who receive funding and encouragement from vested interests and local partisan American zealots. One must give credit to Ashley Tellis and his similar cohorts of first generation Indian immigrants who have switched allegiance without severing emotional ties or a sense of fairness, but there are a lot of Amichands and Mir Jaffars willing to betray for instant benefits, a few minutes of limelight or a religious hostility for no rational reasons.
While it is important to be vigilant and counter their false propaganda, <b>it is of greater importance for India and Indians to be inclusive, eliminate discrimination, uplift the masses to prevent conversion by bribery, which could lead to further partition or dismemberment of India . </b>This is the aim of our enemies, some of whom are wolves in sheepâs clothing, masquerading as do-gooders and well-wishers. <b>The intent is not to become paranoid or conspiracy theorists like some of our own Hindu fanatics, but to be consistently cognizant, perennially vigilant and skeptically analytic, without becoming obsessively suspicious, destructively cynical, pathologically xenophobic or incurably bigoted.</b>
(The author is a retired neurophysician and an occasional writer. The views expressed are his own. Email- gpbhatt1@yahoo.com .)
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> There are Indian Christians, Muslims and leftist Hindus in America who make a concerted effort to condemn India and sabotage any co-operation between the United States and India to the point of national harm.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->A stitch in time brings Diwali cheer
Gurpreet Singh Nibber
Patiala, October 26, 2005
Whatâs hot this Diwali in Punjab? Definitely not gifts. Any guess? Vasectomy â if the state health department statistics are anything to go by.
The Punjab Health Department's male sterilisation drive currently on is a runaway hit. And it has nothing to do with family planning. The government is offering Rs 1,000 to those who undergo non-scalpel vasectomy (NSV). And it has found several takers â especially among the poor, looking for an easy way to make a few grands on the eve of the festival. Patiala witnessed 120 surgeries on Wednesday itself. Reports from Ludhiana, Bathinda and Amritsar also indicated a surge.
"Compensation is the chief attraction. It will allow my family to celebrate the festival this year," says Amar Singh of Rasoolpur village near Patiala. Singh, with brother-in-law in tow, went under the surgeon's knife. Initially, the health department was not too sure about launching the project in October because of the festival season. "But we decided to give it a try and it clicked," says Director, Family Planning, Harinder Rana.
The figures are astounding. Jalandhar alone has seen 800 surgeries, Bathinda 900 and Amritsar around 800. The rush was such in Ludhiana and Bathinda that additional medical staff had to be called in from the neighbouring districts.
Looks like Punjab is sending the right message this Diwali.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Congress ridicules RSS call to procreate more
DH News Service New Delhi
The Congress on Friday launched a strident attack on RSS chief K Sudarshan saying that the latterâs advice to Hindus to have as many children as possible would make India a laughing stock before the whole world.
AICC spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said Sudarshanâs advice was part of RSSâ âobscurantistâ and âobsoleteâ ideology, and stated, âWe have parties and organisations like the BJP and RSS exhorting us to practice runaway population explosion.â
They want to make India the laughing stock of the world by preaching such things, he said.
Mr Singhvi also attacked the RSS for carrying out a demographic analysis along communal lines, saying that it would provoke âantagonismâ and âenmityâ among communities and groups.
Mr Singhvi said,âThe RSS enjoys power without responsibility and authority without accountability.â
The demographic analysis along communal lines is condemnable and spurious, he said.
Mr Singhvi also attacked Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Babulal Gaur for asking cooperative milk booths in the state to sell cow urine.
However, asked whether the Congress would ask the government to take legal action against RSS for the âanti-nationalâ and âcommunalâ demographic analysis, Singhvi sidestepped the question saying in a democratic country like India everybody had the right to express his or her views.
âEverything cannot be legally acted upon, some things have to be tested through peopleâs opinion making,â he said.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
