Does India Needs Secularism? - Tapan Ghosh

Does India Needs Secularism?

A passionate but logical speech delivered by Shri Tapan Ghosh of Hindu Samhati, Kolkata.

Shri Tapan Ghosh cogently argues that since Bharat was divided in 1947 on the basis of two nation theory how come Hindus are still being insulted and treated like second class citizens in their own country and Muslims are pampered by the Government of India.

Shri Tapan Ghosh firmly believes and cautions Hindus that Secularism as practiced in India will obliterate Hinduism from Indian soil and will pave the way for Islamization of Bharat.

Out of the box - Dr. Subramanian Swamy - Organiser Weekly

Out of the box - By Dr. Subramanian Swamy
Organiser Weekly, December 21, 2008

The India of today would not have been in existence had the attempts to divide Hindus succeeded.

In the 20th century, a sinister attempt to divide the Hindu community on caste basis was made in 1932 when the British imperialists offered the scheduled castes a separate electorate.

What does the despicable terror and mayhem in Mumbai on November 26 signify for India? Shorn of the human tragedy, wanton destruction, and obnoxious audacity of the terrorists, it signifies a challenge to the identity of India from radical Islam.

Cinema actor Shahrukh Khan may wax eloquent about the "true Islam" on TV, but it is clear that he and other such Muslims have not read any authoritative translations of the Koran, Sira and Hadith which three together constitute Islam as a theology, and which is a complete menu of intolerance of peoples of other faiths derisively labeled as kafirs. Hence, instead of talking about the "correct interpretation" of Islam they ought instead be urging for a new Islamic theology consistent with democratic principles.

In 2003, two years after the 9/11 murderous and perfidious Islamic assault on USA, resulting in killing of more than 3000 persons within two hours, and which was perpetrated by leveraging the democratic freedoms in USA, the Saudi Arabian Embassy in the website of its Islamic Affairs Department [www.iad.org] laid down what a "good" Muslim is expected to do.

Dr. Steven Stalinsky of the Middle East Media Research Institute[MEMRI] based in Washington DC accessed it and published it in issue No.23, of the Institute newsletter, dated November 26[what irony!] 2003. I have to thank a NRI in US, Dr. Muthuswamy for this reference. In that site it is stated:

"The Muslims are required to raise the banner of Jihad in order to make the Word of Allah supreme in this world, to remove all forms of injustice and oppression, and to defend the Muslims. If Muslims do not take up the sword, the evil tyrants of this earth will be able to continue oppressing the weak and helpless"

Now who is more authoritative—Sharukh Khan or Saudi Arabia ? Obviously the latter. The above quote is what in substance is being taught in every madrassa in India, and can be traced back to the sayings of Prophet Mohammed.

I can quote a plethora of verses from a Saudi Arabian translated Koran [e.g., verses 8:12, 8:60, and 33:26] which verses justify brutal violence against non-believers. If I delved into Sira and Hadith for more quotes, then I could risk generating much hatred, so it will suffice to say that Islam is not only a theology, but it spans a brutal political ideology which we have to combat sooner or later in realm of ideas.

Some may quote back at me verses from Manusmriti about brutality to women and scheduled castes. But as a Hindu I have the liberty to disown these verses [since it is a Smriti] and even to seek to re-write a new Smriti as many, for example, Yajnavalkya have done to date. Reform and renaissance is thus inbuilt into Hinduism.

But in Islam, the word of the Prophet is final. Sharukh Khan and other gloss artists cannot disown these verses, or say that they would re-write the offensive verses of the Koran. If they do, then they would have to run for their lives as Rushdie and Taslima have had to do.

Leave alone re-writing, if anyone draws a cartoon of Prophet Mohammed, there will follow world-wide violent rioting. But if Hussein draws Durga in the most pornographic posture, the Hindus will only groan but not violently rampage.

We Hindus have a long recognised tradition of being religious liberals by nature. We have already proved it enough by welcoming to our country and nurturing Parsis, Jews, Syrian Christians, and Moplah Muslim Arabs who were persecuted elsewhere, when we were 100 per cent Hindu country.

Moreover, despite a 1000 years of most savage brutalisation of Hindus by Islamic invaders and self-demeaning brain washing by the Christians, even then, Hindus as a majority have adopted secularism as a creed. We have not asked for an apology and compensation for these atrocities.


But the position of Hindus in this land of Bharatmata, where Muslims and Christians locally are in majority, in pockets—such as in Kashmir and Nagaland, or in small enclaves such as town panchayats of Tamil Nadu, is terrible and despicable. Even in Kerala where Hindus are 52 per cent of the population, they have only 25 per cent of all the prime jobs in the state, and are silently suffering their plight at the hands of 48 per cent who vote as a vote bank.

The 26/11 Mumbai slaughter therefore should teach us Hindus that the time has come to wake up and stand up—it is now or never. If we do not stand up now to Islamic terrorism, then India will end up like Beirut, a permanent battlefield of international terrorists, buccaneers, pirates and missionaries.

What does it mean in the 21st century for Hindus to stand up ? I mean by that a mental clarity of the Hindus to defend themselves by effective deterrent retaliation, and also an intelligent co-option of other religious groups into the Hindu cultural continuum.

Mental clarity can only come if we are clear about the identity of the nation. What is India? An ancient but continuing civilisation or is it a geographical entity incorporated in 1947 by the Indian Independence Act of the British Parliament ?


What then does it mean to say "I am an Indian"? A mere passport holder of the Republic of India or a descendent of the great seers and visionaries of more than 10,000 years ? Obviously our identity should be of a nation of an ancient and continuing Hindu civilisation, legatees of great rishis and munis, and a highly sophisticated sanatana philosophy.

If Hindu culture is our defining identity then how can we co-opt non-Hindus, especially Muslims and Christians ? By persuading them by saam, dhaam, bheda and dand that they acknowledge with pride the truth that their ancestors are Hindus. If they do, it means that they accept Hindu culture and enlightened mores. That is, change of religion does not mean change of culture. Then we should treat such Muslims and Christians as part of our Brihad Hindu family.

Noted author and editor M.J. Akbar calls this identity as of "Blood Brothers". It is an undeniable fact that Muslims and Christians in India are descendents of Hindus. In a recent article in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, an analysis of genetic samples [DNA] show that Muslims in north India are overwhelmingly of the same DNA as Hindus proving that Muslims here are descendents of Hindus who had been converted to Islam, rather repositories of foreign DNA deposited by waves of invaders.

Akbar thus asks rhetorically: "When have the Muslims of India gone wrong?" and answers: "When they have forgotten their Indian roots". How apt !


Enlightened Muslims like Akbar therefore must rise to the occasion and challenge the reactionary religious fundamentalists. That is India is not Darul Harab to be trifled with.


In a conciliatory atmosphere the minorities would willingly accept this. It is also in their interest to accept this reality. Hindus must persuade by the time honoured methods Muslims and Christians to accept this and its logical consequences.

This identity was not understood by us earlier because of the distorted outlook of Jawaharlal Nehru who occupied the Prime Minister's chair for seventeen formative years after 1947 and for narrow political ends, had fanned a separatist outlook in Muslims and Christians.

The failure to date, to resolve this Nehru created crisis, has not only confused the majority but confounded the minorities as well in India. This confusion has deepened with winter migratory birds such as Amartya Sen descending on the campus of the India International Centre to preach inane taxonomies such as "multiple identities".

There has to be an over-riding identity called national identity, and hence we should not be derailed by pedestrian concepts of multiple or sub-identities.

"Without a resolution of the identity crisis today, which requires an explicit clear answer to this question of who we are, the majority will never understand how to relate to the legacy of the nation and in turn to the minorities.


Minorities would not understand how to adjust with the majority if this identity crisis is not resolved.


In other words, the present dysfunctional perceptional mismatch in understanding who we are as a people, is behind most of the communal tension and inter-community distrust in the country.

"In India, the majority is the conglomerate or Brihad Hindu community which represents about 81 per cent of the total Indian population, while minorities are constituted by Muslims [13 per cent] and Christians [3 per cent]. Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, and some other microscopic religious groups, represent the remaining three per cent.


Though also considered minorities, but really are so close to the majority community in culture that they are considered as a part of Hindu society. Unlike Islam and Christianity, these minority religions were founded as dissenting theologies of Hinduism. Even Zoroaster can be traced to leader of Vahikas in Mahabharata who migrated to Persia. Kaikeyi in Ramayana was from Persia when that country was hundred per cent Hindu. Thus these religions share the core concepts with Hindus such as re-incarnation, equality of all religions, and ability to meet God in this life.


That they feel increasingly alienated from Hindu society nowadays is also the consequence of India's identity crisis caused by British historians and their Indian tutees in JNU.

The India of today would not have been in existence had the attempts to divide Hindus succeeded.


In the 20th century, a sinister attempt to divide the Hindu community on caste basis was made in 1932 when the British imperialists offered the scheduled castes a separate electorate. But shrewdly understanding the conspiracy to divide India, Mahatma Gandhi by his fast unto death and Dr. Ambedkar by his visionary rejection of separate electorate, foiled the attempt by signing the Poona Pact.

But the possibility that such attempts at dividing India socially may be made again in the future, a possibility that cannot be ruled out. Indian patriots will have to watch such attempts very carefully.


Segmentation, fragmentation, and finally balkanisation have been part of the historical process in many countries to destroy national identity and thereby cause the political division of the nation itself. Yugoslavia is a recent example of this, which has now been divided into four countries, largely due to Islamic separatism and Serbian over-reaction.

Virat Hindutva can be achieved in the first stage by Hindu consolidation, that is achieved by Hindus holding that they are Hindus first and last, by disowning primacy to their caste and regional loyalties.


This would require a renaissance in thinking and outlook, that can be fostered only by patient advocacy and intellectual ferment.

For this we need a new History text, and a proper understanding of the distinction between the four varnas [not birth based but by codes of behavior for devolution of power in society] and jati [which is birth based and mostly for marriages].


Just as Valmiki and Vyasa are regarded as Maharshis despite being of different jati from Parasuram, hence Dr. Ambedkar should be called a Maharishi for his sheer depth of knowledge of Indian history.


That he had become bitter because of Nehru systematically sidelining him is no reason not to do so.

India thus needs a Hindu renaissance today that incorporates modern principles, e.g., of the irrelevance of birth antecedents, fostering gender equality, ensuring equality before law, and accountability for all. It is also essential to integrate the entire Indian society on those principles, irrespective of religion.


Uniform Civil Code for example, is something that the vast majority of Muslim women want, but because this demand has been usurped by those who deny the equality of nationality to the Muslims, hence comes the resistance to a eminently reasonable value.


The Muslims think that this is the first step in several to subjugate them or wipe out their identity. But Muslims have quietly accepted Uniform Criminal Code [the IPC] despite that it contradicts the Sharia.

In other words, Hindutva has two components—one that Hindus can accept [such as caste abolition, eradication of dowry etc.] without any other religion's interests to consider. The other is the embracing by minorities of the core secular Indian values which have Hindu roots.


This would require, particularly Muslims and Christians, to acknowledge that their ancestry is Hindu, and thus own the entire Hindu past as their own legacy, and to thus tailor their outlook on that basis. This would integrate Indian society and make the concept of an inclusive[Brihad] Hindutva and rooted in India's continuing civilisation.

Thus, if India has to decide to have or not have good relations with Israel, Pakistan, Iran or US, it cannot be on the basis how it will impact on India's Muslims and Christians, but on what India's national interests require. If India has to dispatch troops to Afghanistan, Iraq, Sri Lanka or Nepal to combat terrorism, that policy too has to be decided on what is good for India, and not what any religious or linguistic group identifies as it's interest.

Thus such an Hindutva is positive in outlook, while raw Hindu xenophobia is negative and based on Hindu hegemony which will frighten all. Such a Hindutva will resolve our current energy-sapping identity crisis, which otherwise will completely emasculate India in the long run.
The choice for the patriotic Indian is thus clear: We need a clear and positive view of our national identity based on our Hindu past and a Hindu renaissance to unite the Hindus with constructive mind-set as well as persuade the minorities to be co-opted culturally with Hindu society.

Once being Indian means Virat Brihad Hindutva, we can tackle terrorism by an effective strategy of defence. What are the components of that strategy is the subject matter of my next column here.

हिंदुत्व क्या है? / What is Hindutva?

हिंदुत्व क्या है? / What is Hindutva?

Before we try to understand the definition of Hindutva, we should understand another much misunderstood terminology: "What is Secularism?"

Now since we know "What is Secularism?" between us, let us try and understand "What is Hindutva?".

Following is the speech on Hindutva by current Sarsanghachalak Shri Mohan ji Bhagwat of world's biggest non-profit selfless volunteer organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

Part 1/6:


Part 2/6:


Part 3/6:


Part 4/6:


Part 5/6:


Part 6/6:

What is Secularism?

What is Secularism?

Secularism means पंथनिरपेक्ष/Panthnirpeksh. Panthnirpeksh means "No preference" to any Sect or Group. It absolutely and categorically does NOT mean that all religions are equal. It literally means indifference to, or rejection or exclusion of religion and religious considerations in public life and government policies. This is also validated as per 42nd amendment to the Preamble of the Constitution of Bharat (misnomer: India) in 1976 by then despotic Prime Minister Indira Nehru Gandhi. Unfortunately, this amendment was passed without any debate when opposition was in jail during the dark days of emergency, which remains a blot on Indian Democracy and was enforced on India by dictatorial Indira Gandhi.

Secularism ≠ धर्मनिरपेक्ष/Dharmnirpeksh

Secularism means पंथनिरपेक्ष/Panthnirpeksh and does NOT mean धर्मनिरपेक्ष/Dharmnirpeksh. Let me say it again, Secularism ≠ धर्मनिरपेक्ष/Dharmnirpeksh AND Secularism ≠ बिनसाम्प्रदाय/Bin-Sampradaya. Those who say this are fools and may be unintentionally calling themselves as fascists. To understand this, we have to understand what does Dharm means?

What is Dharma?

Sanatan Dharm is too vast and deep to be defined in one line. Its a popular misconception that Religion equals Dharma. It is a misconception because Religion is only a minuscule part of Dharma. Its a misnomer that they are exactly same and it is inappropriate to loosely use them interchangeably.

Here are few attempts to define Dharma in Bharatiya (misnomer: Indian) history:

तादृशोऽयमनुप्रश्नो यत्र धर्मः सुदुर्वचः
दुष्करः प्रतिसंख्यातुं तर्केणात्र व्यवस्यति ९
प्रभावार्थाय भूतानां धर्मप्रवचनं कृतम्
यत्स्यादहिंसासंयुक्तं स धर्म इति निश्चयः १०
- भीष्म उवाच दशाधिक शततमोऽध्यायः शान्तिपर्व महाभारत

"Dharma" is that which upholds, nourishes or supports the stability of society, maintains social order and secures the general well-being and progress of mankind.
- Supreme Court of India

As India has recognised national flag, national bird, national anthem and national flower, the Bhagwad Gita may also be considered as the Rashtriya Dharma Shastra. The Gita inspired our national struggle for freedom and all walks of life,. It is the duty of every citizen of India under Article 51A of the Constitution of India irrespective of caste, creed or religion to follow the dharma propounded by the Bhagwad Gita,.
- Prayagraj High Court

Dharma is not just mere Religion as latter is minuscule part of ones Dharm (righteous duties). Religion is a sect or group of people following certain beliefs or ideology which can be truly defined by a Sanskrit word "Panth" and not "Dharm". Hence, if Dharm is "that which upholds, nourishes or supports the stability of society, maintains social order and secures the general well-being and progress of mankind" and "Nirpekshta" means "no adherence to" then "Dharm-Nirpekshta" means "no adherence to Dharm". Which means those who claim themselves to be Dharm-Nirpeksh, as do most of the Bharatiya (misnomer: Indian) politicians especially from Indian National Congress, RJD, DMK, BSP, SP, etc political parties, are actually saying that they have no adherence to upholding Dharm (upholds, nourishes or supports the stability of society, maintains social order and secures the general well-being and progress of mankind).

Which means they are proudly claiming themselves to be Adharmi & may be unintentionally calling themselves as fascists.

Are Hindus secular?

Heck Yeah! Hindus are inherently pluralistic in nature & believe in secular value of not giving preference to anyone sect or group. Certainly, allot more Pluralist & Secular than those who follow Abrahamic mythologies which are all based on intolerant concept of "Holier than thou" or "أشهد أن لا إله إلاَّ الله و أشهد أن محمدا رسول الله / ašhadu ʾan laa ilāha illa (A)llāh, wa ʾašhadu ʾanna Muḥammada(n) rasūlo (A)llāh / Allah is the ONLY God & Mohamed is his messenger, no one before them" (shahadah). It amazes me when Leftist bigots or self-righteous Westerners out of their Dhimmitude accuse Hindus of not being "secular" but conveniently ignore intolerance of these totalitarian ideologies like Islam & Christianity.

Leftist bigots or self-righteous Westerners should teach these supremacist cults to Mutually Respect us non-believer/infidel/kuffar Hindus rather than "tolerating" us.

Has any other sect or group of people, like Hindus, been so religiously tolerant and mutually respectful to any other sect in the history of Humanity? No. We have survived over 20000 years with natural & man made calamities, atrocities and genocide led by Muslims, Mongols, Alexander, Evangelic Christians missionary conversions, British et al and we are still over 800 Million Hindus in the world.

It's been possible to be the longest surviving civilization in the world only because of the strong fundamentals and ground work of Sanatan Vedic Dharm done by our Rishi Munis (seers), our Gods avtar (incarnation on Earth) like Baman ji, Shri Ram ji, Shri Krishna ji and it's Sanatan Vedic Dharm Anuyayi's (misnomers: Hindus) big heart to still let at least 4 other religions (Jain, Buddhist, Sikh, et al) to originate and also assimilate other fellow sect of most oppressed people in the world, the Jews, Parsi, Zohrashtrians et al, by letting them settle with peace and honor in Bharat. So don't tell us Hindus, if we are "Secular" or not. We don't need your certificate.

Following is a debate on "Is Secularism the Solution to Communal Conflict in India?" at Rethinking Religion in India in 2009. Its a nine part series but I am posting only two important parts in which Prof. S.N. Balagangadhara and Dr. Jakob De Roover of Ghent University, Belgium presented their views on how to define Secularism.

Dr. Ali Sina calls India a Banana Republic

Dr. Ali Sina during his debate with two Pakistani Muslims, Mr. Javed Ahmad Ghamidi and Mr. Khalid Zaheer, referred to the death threats that he is receiving from Indian Muslims who live in the so-called "Democratic" and "Secular" India. He called India, a banana republic where radical fundamentalist goons roam around freely, suppressing freedom of speech and giving death threats to whosoever doesn't agree with their fanaticism.

If you look at his website, there is a section where he posts all the general comments and hate mail that he receives. Interestingly, most of the hate mail that he receives is not from some theocratic Islamic state but from "Secular" India and "Secular" Indians.

Please read the complete debate here: Probing Islam

I have received words that according to a Hyderabad (India) local news magazine “Muslim Jagaran”, Syed Yousaf Bin, the chief patron of the Ulema Board, in Hyderabad has issued a fatwa against my person. According to the sources he has decreed, “if anybody kills Dr. Ali Sina, he will be rewarded with Rs.1,000,000 (Indian rupees one million)”. Syed Yousaf Bin was the person behind the fatwa against Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza.

Haseeb-ul-hasan Siddiqui, a leading cleric of the Muslim organization, the Sunni Ulema Board has also warned me and others behind faithfreedom.org of the consequences that we would have to face if we don’t close our website. “According to Islam, the criticisers of Islam should be stoned to death,” he is reported to have said.

Safdar Nagori who was the secretary-general of the extremist Islamic outfit S.I.M.I (Students Islamic Movement of India) till the organization was proscribed under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 has been reported to have said, “Dr. Ali Sina would be killed within a month, irrespective of wherever his hideout is.”

This is happening in the secular India. If anyone issues such blatant death threats and solicit murder in a real democracy, he would have to spend years in jail. India, the largest “democracy” of the world is obviously a banana republic. Muslim goons roam around freely issuing fatwas and offering rewards for the assassination of the critics of Islam and no one dares to call them to account.

How poorly this reflects on India and Indians who bend backwards to appease Muslims in their country! Now Muslims in India constitute only 12% of the population. But they are procreating faster than the Hindus. What they would demand when they become 20%? Another partition?

This is happening in India, which is allegedly a democracy. What they would do to you in Pakistan, which prides itself to be a fanatical Islamic country and a dictatorship if you agree with anything I say?

One million rupees are just $21,893 US dollars in today’s rate. I thought I was wroth more. But I am not complaining. Jesus was worth only thirty pieces of silver. This is way more. However, why kill me? I am offering $50,000 US dollars (more than twice what these mullahs are offering) to anyone who can disprove me with the promise to remove the content of this site and publish in each existing page one message saying, “I stand corrected on Islam. Islam is a true religion. Allahu Akbar.”

Dr. Subramanian Swamy on Secular extremism

Noted Economist, Historian, Harvard Faculty, former Union Commerce Minister and a great Hindu Warrior Dr. Subramanian Swamy short speech in Chandigarh on Secular extremism.

Please also watch,

1. Deceptive world and the Pizza effect


2. श्री राम सेतु / Shri Ram Setu Case


3. Bharatiya Hindu Americans -vs- Sonia Gandhi

Congress's fake Secularism Propaganda busted

Please read BIASED MEDIA —Why Media is anti-Hindu?.

Bihar's Chief Minister Mr. Nitish Kumar of Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) showed Dhimmi Regent Mr. Manmohan Singh his rightful place. Congress with the help of biased section of media has been jumping guns shouting and blaming people to be communal or secular as per its convenience. Ulta chor Kotwal ko daate! (Its like thief accusing the police of theft)




'Don't need PM's 'secular certificate'

This one is funny. Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad says "Now the left overs of Indian Politics the Left are also making overtures. Very surprising?!" when asked that Left parties are also trying to woo Nitish Kumar away from BJP led NDA.



Manmohan Singh is no VC of 'university of secularism': Nitish Kumar

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar... chose to hit back when PM Manmohan Singh on Monday said in Ludhiana although Nitish professed secularism, the "handshake with Modi" did lead to doubts in his (PM's) mind.

"The Prime Minister should not behave like the vice-chancellor of the `university of secularism'," Nitish told reporters here on Monday. "Secularism is a thing of perception and no one should claim a monopoly over it," he added.

"The secular face of any government is reflected in its programmes, and the NDA government of Bihar has established its secular credentials by its performance during the last three and a half years of its rule in the state," said Nitish.

------------deleted-------------

Nitish once again clarified that there was no question of his party changing sides after the LS polls. "I am in NDA and would be very much a part of the alliance even in future," he said.

Congress is speaking in two voices on Nitish

General Secretary of the BJP, Ravi Shankar Prasad, criticised the Congress and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for not tackling the issue of price rise. He said that the PM is looking dejected, pessimistic and defeated in the press conference that he addressed in Ludhiana. Speaking on Nitish's praise by the Congress, he said that Congress is speaking in two voices on the JD(U) leader. He said, "While Rahul praised Nitish, their Prime Ministerial candidate is criticising him."

Criticising the UPA, he said that unlike UPA its allies have stood by them. The BJP leader said that the Congress cannot run coalition politics since it is family centric, while BJP has emerged as a front-runner with optimism and hope.

'Spurned' Lalu slams Rahul over Nitish

Also watch the following video in which The Daily Pioneer's Editor-in-Chief Mr. Chandan Mitra pwned Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi. He teared apart Congress's false propaganda of fake secularism that the latter professes.

Caution: Following video contains news report from a known Anti-Hindu biased news channel, viewer discretion is advised.



In the following video from the same Pro-Congress biased channel, Sudhanshu Mittal shows the right chaal, charitr, chehra of Anti-Hindu Congress worker Salman Khursheed.

VHP Ashok Singhal's views on fake Secularism

Mr. Ashok Singhal of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) gives his views on Secularism, inappropriately translated as Dharmnirpekshta which means "no adherence to Dharm i.e. Morality, Ethics and Righteousness". He also talks about why BJP could not make God Shri Ram Mandir, Anti-Hindu Cow Slaughter, Anti-Hindu Congress led UPA and destruction of Historic World Heritage God Shri Ram Sethu.

Swami Chidanand Saraswati endorses Advani as PM

Please also read, "Manmohan Singh agrees with Indian Mujahideen terrorists?".

In appreciation of Mr. Advani’s letter, His Holiness Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji (President, Parmarth Niketan) has said that he "appreciates specific commitments to Ganga and other rivers, Ram Sethu, mother cow and all the religious, pilgrimage sites in India.". Also that he is "glad about the Ladli Laxmi Yojana for the upliftment and betterment of girls in India.".

Bharat's (misnomer: India) next prospective Prime Minister Mr. Lal Krishna Advani has sent a letter to all the Religious Leaders of all different religions, faiths, cults and groups. It's a very Raaj Dharmochit, very neutral, very positive, very inclusive, and very secular letter.

Please read the letter here: "LK Advani's secular letter to all Religious Leaders"

Please also read Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji's reply to Mr. Advani's letter.

Here is Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji's response to Mr. Advani's letter,

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar endorses Advani as PM

Please also read, "Manmohan Singh agrees with Indian Mujahideen terrorists?".

In appreciation of Mr. Advani’s letter, His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (Founder, Art of Living) has said that religious and spiritual leaders are in touch with the grass-root populace on a daily basis and it is wise to take their advice on things concerning people.

Bharat's (misnomer: India) next prospective Prime Minister Mr. Lal Krishna Advani has sent a letter to all the Religious Leaders of all different religions, faiths, cults and groups. It's a very Raaj Dharmochit, very neutral, very positive, very inclusive, and very secular letter.

Please read the letter here: "LK Advani's secular letter to all Religious Leaders"

Please also read Swami Chidanand Saraswati ji's reply to Mr. Advani's letter.

Here is Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji's response to Mr. Advani's letter: 'काला धन वापसी की पहल सराहनीय'

भाजपा नेता लालकृष्ण आडवाणी के पत्र की सराहना करते हुए आर्ट ऑफ लिविंग के संस्थापक श्री श्री रविशंकर ने कहा है कि धार्मिक और आध्यात्मिक गुरू साधारण जनसमुदाय के संपर्क में रहते हैं और उन लोगों की समस्याओं के विषय में सलाह लेना विवेकपूर्ण है। श्री श्री के अनुसार आध्यात्मिक और धर्मगुरू ही सिर्फ राजनीति में भ्रष्टाचार और अपराधीकरण को नियंत्रित कर सकते हैं। श्री श्री ने आडवाणी की स्विस बैंकों में हिन्दुस्तान का ७४ लाख करोड़ रूपये के काले धन को स्वदेश लाने की पहल की सराहना की है। उन्होंने पत्र के जवाब में लिखा है कि आध्यात्मिक गुरूओं का हिन्दुस्तान के पड़ोसी देशों से द्वितीय राजनैतिक कौशल का आकलन कम नहीं आंका जा सकता है। वे विपत्ति के समय दो देशों के बीच के सम्बन्धों में मधुरता ला सकते हैं और स्वयंसेवियों को सहायता के लिए संगठित कर सकते हैं। अब वह समय आ गया है जब धार्मिक और आध्यात्मिक गुरूओं के कथनों को सुनना होगा। श्री श्री ने विशेष रूप से आडवाणी के सर्वधर्म के नेतृत्व को सम्मिलित करने की पहल को सराहा है जिससे हमारे देश का धर्मनिरपेक्ष और आध्यात्मिक स्वरूप यथावत दृढ़ रह सकेगा।

Sri Sri responds to Advani's letter

In appreciation of Advani’s letter, His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has said that religious and spiritual leaders are in touch with the grass-root populace on a daily basis and it is wise to take their advice on things concerning people. It is only spiritual and religious leaders who can put a check on corruption and criminalization of politics. Sri Sri has lauded Advani’s move to bring back 74 lakh crore rupees of Indian black money from Swiss banks.

The role of spiritual leaders in track-two diplomacy with India’s neighboring countries cannot be under-estimated. They can help ease tense relations between countries and during times of disaster can mobilise volunteers for relief work. It is time the voice of religious and spiritual leaders is heard. Sri Sri particularly appreciated Advani’s initiative to include leaders of all faiths to keep the secular & spiritual character of our country intact.

LK Advani's secular letter to all Religious Leaders

Bharat's (misnomer: India) next prospective Prime Minister Mr. Lal Krishna Advani has released a letter through a press release to reach out to all the Religious Leaders of all different religions, faiths, cults and groups. It's a very Raaj Dharmochit, very neutral, very positive, very inclusive, and very secular letter. Especially, the point to be noted is the following,

We shall end governmental neglect of the multi-faith spiritual heritage of India. The advocacy and practice of secularism, which unfortunately has come to acquire an anti-religious or religion-neutral connotation in the past five years, will be restored to its true meaning — Sarva Panth Samaadar (equal respect for all faiths). We would like religious establishments to play an important role in inculcating spiritual and patriotic values in our people, thereby creating a society of enlightened citizens.

In this message, Mr. Advani has interpreted the definition of Secularism appropriately as per the Constitution of Bharat. Secularism as per the constitution does not mean "Dharm Nirpekshta" as communal pseudo-secular divisive political parties like Congress, RJD, LJP, SP, NCP, CPI(M), CPM, etc. and the biased media would have us believe but it means "Panth Nirpekshta". Which means no preference or appeasement or discrimination to any group of faith, religion, cult, etc. It definitely does not mean to be Religion Neutral or that all Religions are Equal.

Dharm (or Dharma as they say thanks to Nehruvian English) is too vast and deep to be defined in one line but if we have to then it means Righteousness, Ethics and Morality. It does not mean Religion. Religion is only a minuscule part of one's Dharm. So now you know when all these pseudo-secular parties proudly call themselves "Dharm Nirpeksh" they are actually saying that they don't believe in Righteousness, Ethics and Morality. Should we be surprised that most of them are so corrupt and dividing the society for their vote banks.

The shocking thing is that Secularism i.e. "Panth Nirpekshta" was never part of original Constitution of Bharat drafted after 1947. It was amended to the Preamble through the Forty-second Amendment Act in 1976 by then Prime Minister Indira Feroz Nehru-Ghandi. Amazingly during the Emergency when all the civil rights were abolished, opposition was in jail and freedom of press was censored. What is more flabbergasting is that Congress party misleads the people by diluting the definition of Secularism by translating it as "Dharm Nirpeksh" even though it was Prime Minister from their Monarchic political party who correctly translated it as "Panth Nirpeksh". No wonder they call themselves "Dharm Nirpeksh" because they have no morality or righteousness left anymore.

Kudos to Mr. Advani for reaching out to all the Religious Leaders of all the faiths without any discrimination unlike communal Manmohan Singh who thinks that only Muslims have first right on India and it's now scarce resources. It's unfortunate that the Prime Minister, irrespective of being a regent, of such a large and diverse country like Bharat discriminates like this between his subjects.

Educating Dr Manmohan Singh

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The letter has been released both in Hindi and English languages. Please read it below in the language of your choice.

हिन्दी / Hindi


अंग्रेज़ी / English

Letter in English is also available in PDF here.

Letter by Shri L.K. Advaniji, Leader of the Opposition (Lok Sabha) to religious leaders

Most Revered

Kindly accept my namaskar on behalf of my party and self.

I am writing this to seek your blessings as the Bharatiya Janata Party and the National Democratic Alliance gear up for the elections to the 15th Lok Sabha. My party and our alliance are seeking the mandate of the people of India to form the next government on the promise of Good Governance, Development and Security. Should we win the mandate, it would be our endeavour to provide an honest and corruption-free government, committed to protecting the vital interests of the nation and dedicated to promoting the welfare of the people, especially those who are underprivileged.

You are well aware of the state of the nation today. National security has been threatened by cross-border terrorism, which claimed more innocent lives in India in the past five years than the combined terrorism-related toll in the entire world, except Iraq. Unchecked infiltration from Bangladesh has, as warned by the Supreme Court itself, assumed the proportions of an “external aggression”. India’s neighbourhood is in turmoil, with anti-India forces raising their heads everywhere. The developments in Pakistan, in particular, portend ill for India. Our country’s traditional friendship with Nepal and Sri Lanka is under stress.

Mismanagement of the economy in the past five years has brought enormous misery to the common people. The unprecedented rise in the prices of essential commodities has affected all sections of society. The bubble of the stock market-oriented economic growth has burst and the country finds itself in a deep economic crisis. In addition to the existing problem of widespread unemployment, our country is now witnessing a new problem of job losses on a massive scale. Uncertainty and insecurity have gripped the lives of our young people. What has pained me the most is suicide by thousands of debt-ridden kisans, the anna-daatas who feed the nation. I have rarely seen such despair in India as I do now.

It will be my sincere endeavour, and the first priority of a future NDA government if it is elected by the people, to replace this mood of despair with hope and confidence.

India is a deeply religious country. Our people have unshakeable faith in religion, and seek the guidance of religious leaders like you in matters both worldly and other-worldly. This is because religion in India has always cared for the well-being of the nation and its people, and striven for strengthening the ethical edifice of both the state and society. I am sure that you will give the right guidance in the present circumstances.

Our promises to the people will be presented in the NDA’s Agenda of Governance. But I would like to take this opportunity to mention a few specific assurances that are relevant to religious establishments in the country.

• It will be my endeavor to seek on a regular basis the guidance of spiritual leaders of all denominations on major challenges and issues facing the nation. For this, we shall evolve a suitable consultative mechanism.

• We shall end governmental neglect of the multi-faith spiritual heritage of India. The advocacy and practice of secularism, which unfortunately has come to acquire an anti-religious or religion-neutral connotation in the past five years, will be restored to its true meaning — Sarva Panth Samaadar (equal respect for all faiths). We would like religious establishments to play an important role in inculcating spiritual and patriotic values in our people, thereby creating a society of enlightened citizens.

• We shall launch a National Mission for the beautification and development of all major pilgrimage centres of all faith-communities, providing good amenities to pilgrims on the lines of what has been achieved at Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine and Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam. The National Mission will be chaired by the Prime Minister. Given a series of mishaps in recent years, ensuring safety and security of pilgrims will be accorded high priority.

• Cleaning up of the Ganga and other rivers will be a matter of high priority.

• Ram Sethu will be protected.

• Controversies like the one that arose over the allotment of land to the Amarnath Shrine Board in Jammu & Kashmir will not be repeated.

• Protection of cow and her progeny will be our solemn commitment.

• All foreign funds will be regulated as per government norms to ensure that they are used solely for the purpose for which they are received. Religious conversions using fraudulent and unethical means will be outlawed.

• I am aware that religious organizations often face a lot of difficulties in government-related matters, especially while getting their IT exemptions renewed. Hence, our government will create a special cell to facilitate the works of all religious institutions.

• All social welfare and nation-building activities of religious institutions (mid-day meal schemes, environment protection, value- based education, care of orphans, etc.) will be duly supported by the central government.

• Spiritual tourism will be promoted in a big way.

• Government will take major steps to promote India’s spiritual heritage worldwide.

As Dharam Guru, your good self has always worked for peace, harmony, unity, well-being and brotherhood without boundaries in society. These are also the values that I believe in. It has been my lifelong conviction that politics, governance and other national affairs should be guided by lofty ideals as enshrined in the concept of Ram Rajya (Ideal State), popularized by Mahatma Gandhi.

At the present crucial juncture in our nation’s life, when people are looking for a decisive change, I seek your blessings, guidance and support.

With Sashtang Namaskar,

L.K. Advani

Anti-Hindu Karunanidhi spews venom again

Karunanidhi criticises Hindu practice of sporting 'tilaks'

Karuna does it again, flays Hindus for sporting tilaks

Oh these fake secular fundamentalist are out to abuse Hindus again. His venomous demand means nothing because he will never ask muslims to not wear skull caps and spread noise pollution by shouting on those loud speakers. Or christians from putting those huge jesus statues in public spaces, one being erected right outside chennai station. Why? I thought they didn't believe in idol worship. Secularism meant Religion and State are separate, favor to no religion, and appeasement to none, but now it means bash the Hindus and make all religions equal. If all religions were equal then what is the reason to have so many religions. Let us just have one Sanatan Dharm. But this bigot will not understand this. Save Shri Ram Setu, Save world heritage.

Eye opening articles

1. Hajj and Qurbani: Their Impact on Poor Muslim Countries


2. http://www.newsanalysisindia.com/articles.htm


3. The media-politician anti-Hindu nexus has to stop immediately, if we really don’t want another 26/11 by Arindam Chaudhuri, Editor-in-Chief, The Sunday Indian on December 7, 2008


4. Why we must lose sleep over Hindu terror by mrv@mrv.net.in


5. Secular Protocol deciphered by Tarun Vijay


6. The case against banning outfits by Tavleen Singh, Indian Express on October 12, 2008



The only thing that worries me is the circumstances under which the demand for banning the Bajrang Dal is being made. The politicians who currently demand the ban do so in the context of our problems with jihadi terrorism. These ‘secular’ gentlemen appear to believe that it is not possible to ban SIMI and other groups spreading Islamist ideology in our idol-worshipping land unless we make some kind of Hindu sacrifice. This not only makes no sense, it is also dangerous.
May I put on record that I think those who believe that the Jamia Nagar encounter was fake should be ashamed of themselves? They should apologise to the family of Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma for making such a charge.
If in Pune they have arrested the right men, then we face a problem that both our secular and communal politicians are refusing to address. If young men in their early twenties earning Rs 19 lakh a year are being lured by jihad, we need to start admitting that the battle for India’s values of secularism and religious tolerance is already lost. At least let us admit we have failed to convince Muslims that these are real values.
If looked at in reverse, we could say that organisations like SIMI and the Darul Uloom in Deoband have been infinitely more successful at making their case than those who are supposed to defend the values of India. We can ban SIMI in one fell swoop and they will only return in some uglier, more insidious guise as long as the ideas that create them are compelling. When SIMI was set up in 1977, the stated idea behind its creation was to ‘liberate’ India by making it an Islamic society. In 1986, SIMI organised a national convention whose slogan was ‘liberation of India through Islam’. This was long before Osama bin Laden began the worldwide jihad against the West and us ‘idol-worshipping infidels’.
What we need is a police force that is manifestly fair in its behaviour and political leaders who genuinely believe in the values that define India as a nation. Since both are in short supply, what we get from the jackals who constitute the bulk of our political class are howls in the name of secularism and communalism. Meaningless sloganeers all.
Islamism is the antithesis of the idea of India and must be fought but is banning SIMI and closing down the mother ship, the Darul Uloom, the solution? Personally, I do not think so.



7. Debating the right to convert by Sudheendra Kulkarni, Indian Express on October 5, 2008



Does my religious freedom also mean that I should have the freedom to belittle or denigrate other faiths, their puja paddhatis and their devi-devatas, as New Life, an evangelical organisation in Karnataka, had been doing? One of New Life’s publications, Satya Darshini, says: “Urvashi, the daughter of Lord Vishnu, is a prostitute. Vashitha is the son of this prostitute. He in turn married his own mother. Such a degraded person is the Guru of the Hindu God Rama. When Krishna himself is wallowing in darkness of hell, how can he enlighten others? When the Trinity of Hinduism (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) are consumed by lust and anger, how can they liberate others? Their projection as Gods is nothing but a joke.” Isn’t this kind of profanity provocative?



8. Scrap article 370 in J&K: VHP general secretary Praveen Togadia by Hindustan Times on October 6, 2008


9. Why do we need a National Commission for Minorities? by Offstumped on October 5, 2008



Offstumped Bottomline: Tax Payer Funded Consicence Keepers reflect our Nation’s lack of faith on our own values and Institutions. By misusing them to further politics of Muslim Appeasement neither helps the average Muslim feel secure enough to discard the Ghetto in favor of mainstream inclusion nor does it help safeguard the Constitution and Secular Values. The case for an Equal Opportunity Commission must be made on secular reasons of discrimination and not to appease Muslims.



10. Narendra Modi's bureaucrats learn about climate change by IANS, Times of India on September 20, 2008

He is the first Bharatiya Chief Minister to take an initiative on this. Modi ji's innovation and will to do for country is unparalleled today.

11. Failure to the power of 3 by Shekhar Gupta on September 20, 2008



Even half a success like New Delhi’s Jamia Nagar encounter may win Shivraj Patil, arguably the most disastrous Union home minister in living memory (or, in fairness, next to Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and probably level with P.C. Sethi), a reprieve of sorts. Now, having defended his waffling, covered up for the most lily-livered handling of our internal security in our history and ducked in embarrassment each time he — and his Sancho Panza — opened their mouths after a Terror attack, the leadership of the Congress cannot suddenly say they were wrong all along.
It’s about high politics as practised by India’s largest and oldest political party and how it has shot itself in the foot three times over, in three key areas. And for none of these will it have an alibi. No Left pressure, no blackmail by allies. The party’s internal balance of power took precedence over the demands of governance and, amazingly, also of re-electability.
The three areas of self-inflicted failure are internal security, HRD and Power. On each the UPA won’t even be rated one out of ten by even its staunchest supporters. Each was manned by one of its own senior leaders, so there are no allies to blame. All three to have been given these key jobs were veterans, in fact the senior-most Congress figures in this cabinet. Then what went wrong?
Simply, that each one was a man most unsuited for his charge.
This kind of woolly-headedness from a party which fought terrorism as no other, which gave India the image of being a tough state behind a soft exterior. Under the UPA and Patil, India became a sheep in sheep’s clothing. Nothing will salvage the UPA’s record on internal security now, not the sacrifice of any more brave policemen like Delhi’s Mohan Chand Sharma, not even if its home minister junks his bandhgalas for some crumpled dhoti-kurta.
As failures began to pile up soon enough, Patil should have been moved some place safer — for him, and for the rest of us. He rode his luck for sure. He was first all dressed up for Rashtrapati Bhavan until the Left vetoed him, expressing doubts on his secularism because of his devotion to Sai Baba. And once they had questioned his secularism, the Congress felt it had no choice but to keep him in the job, or it would sound like it accepted the charge that it had a non-secular Hindu in charge of politically the most sensitive ministry.



12. Selfish politicians are impeding India's growth by Ashok Jha on September 18, 2008


13. ‘Can’t counter hi-tech terrror with 19th-century laws’ by Suman K Jha, Indian Express on September 19, 2008



You have taken some measures in Gujarat too in this regard?
We have plans wherein a dedicated university would train students for five years after their twelfth. This vast pool of human resources then could be used in a number of areas related to internal security. The university is called Raksha Shakti University. Then a forensics science university is on the anvil where the accent would be on technology and its varied applications in fighting terror.



14. UPA's soft stance: Slow poison for country by Dina Nath Mishra on August 31, 2008



The Government is practically defrauding the nation.



15. Only iron fist will work by G Parthsarthy on September 4, 2008



For the past four years Mr Manmohan Singh's Government has pampered separatist outfits and leaders in the Kashmir Valley in the mistaken belief that they can be made to see reason by sweet words and magnanimous gestures. The country is today paying the price for such misguided beliefs. One hopes New Delhi now realises that soft words are no substitute for an iron fist in dealing with separatism.
Mr Vladimir Putin crushed separatism in Chechnya not by plaintive appeals for understanding to Chechen separatists and militants, but by firm, decisive action. Abraham Lincoln acted no differently in safeguarding the unity and territorial integrity of the US, even not hesitating to have the separatist stronghold of Atlanta reduced to ashes as his forces ended separatist challenges.



16. Fight terror with determination by Joginder Singh on September 8, 2008



Since 2000, there have been 1,120 deaths in 69 jihadi terrorist attacks in our country. In July 2008, 56 persons were killed in terrorist bombings on consecutive days in Bangalore and Ahmedabad. A day after the massive killings, 28 unexploded bombs were defused in Surat. In the last few years, there have been bomb attacks in Mumbai, Coimbatore, Srinagar, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Varanasi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Jaipur. In some of these places there was more than one attack. The United States' National Institute of Counterterrorism says that between January 2004 and March 2007, the death toll in India from terrorist attacks was 3,674, second only to Iraq during the same period. In most of the major terrorist bombings, the name of one particular organisation, that is SIMI, has surfaced with definite consistency.



17. PM a k a 'Lucky' Singh? by Chandan Mitra on September 14, 2008



But how much longer will the stars bale out Manmohan Singh? Finally, the triumph or tragedy of politicians is not scripted in South Block but in the heat and dust of electoral politics. Thanks to a largely subservient media, "Lucky" Manmohan is being feted wildly for having bartered away national prestige at Vienna. It speaks of a particularly perverted mindset, which gloats over a single gold medal at the Olympics (as against China's 53) and is overwhelmed by any kind of certification from the West. By his single-minded obsession with the nuclear deal, Manmohan Singh has made it an election issue.
Regardless of the abjectly fawning writings of so-called right-wing thinkers, I believe the people of India will scrutinise the deal with a fine toothcomb. When it sinks in that after sinking a staggering Rs 80 lakh crores in purchasing reactors from the US, France and Russia, nuclear energy will contribute a mere 7 percent of India's energy requirement by 2020, and the Congress's much touted 'nuclear bijli for aam aadmi' will cost Rs 9 per unit at today's prices, the alleged urban middle class exultation will evaporate.
Manmohan Singh has been really lucky in the short run. After the election results, the sneering smile on his face is almost certain to evaporate.



18. Anatomy of servitude by Chandan Mitra on September 8, 2008



Either Manmohan Singh believes Indians are the most gullible people on the face of the Earth or his spin doctors have convinced him that repeating a lie a thousand times over will metamorphose into truth. There can be no other explanations for the orchestrated claim of India having wrested a "historic" deal at Vienna, a waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers Group that will allegedly end the country's 34-year-long nuclear isolation, permit unrestricted flow of dual-use technology and also enable import of unlimited quantities of uranium to fuel nuclear power plants. If the Congress Party's propagandists are to be believed, all this will happen even as India retains its right to test nuclear devices and develop its strategic weapons programme. Admittedly, the Government has succeeded in propagating this package of lies through servile sections of the media, thereby sowing seeds of doubt even among those who are convinced that India has supinely pawned its nuclear sovereignty at the altar of non-proliferation Ayatollahs. In return for surrendering its claim to being a nuclear weapons state, all the country has been granted are a few paltry tonnes of uranium, which can be used only under strict international supervision.
The nuclear deal has become a saga of deceit and perjury. The world must be wondering what drove the UPA regime to such abject desperation. Even before the murky deal becomes law, India's national prestige has been irreparably compromised. We believed the 21st Century would be India's Century. Having throttled this dream of a billion people and a resurgent nation, the Government is making a mockery of whatever is left of India's honour by claiming the deal marks a "new dawn". Can the forces of deceit and darkness ever herald the dawn, any kind of dawn?



19. Response to HT article "Who's the real Hindu?" by Dr. Arindam Bandyopadhyay


20. संप्रग सरकार पर जमकर बरसी भाजपा - जागरण द्वारा सितम्बर १३, २००८ को


21. Political power has eluded Hindus for centuriesManifesto for saving Hindu India by Dr Gautam Sen on September 7, 2008



The bogus secularism adopted by the political and intellectual elites essentially amounted to pandering to sectarian Islam and has ended with a total surrender to minority sectarianism, accompanied by vicious State-sponsored assaults on Hindus. The imperative and painstaking task of nation building was sacrificed to Deoband and Wahabi sentiment that sullenly asserted its rejection of India in favour of the Ummah.



22. Britain dumps its garbage on Indian soil by Times News Network & Agencies, Times Of India on September 9, 2008


23. What lies beyond the Deal by Swapan Dasgupta, Times Of India on September 7, 2008


24. The Totalitarians by Tarun Vijay, Times Of India on September 7, 2008



So what if you expose and warn about the grave fallout of continuing with the special status to Kashmir, that strengthens feelings of separation, we will go ahead with it.
So what if Mahatma Gandhi and Vivekananda had opposed vehemently the proselytization campaigns of the Christian aggressive 'harvesters', we will support them.
So what if the RSS guys were amongst the first to rush to help Bihar flood victims; we shall continue to paint them as barbaric goons busy burning down faith places, who had no time to help the poor, deluged fellow citizens.
So what if a Hindu monk and three others, including a woman monk, were killed brutally by Christian assailants using AK47, we shall put the victims in the category of unmentionables and keep on repeating, 'Hindus attack churches.'
So what if a Google search on Vatican's scandals produces 1.5 million results in less than 0.37 seconds and that includes how a Pope turned his palace into a whorehouse and how their bank swindled millions and the papal authority helped the disintegration of the Soviet Union, not to say apologies on gay scandals. We shall continue to reward those Vatican's protégés who use derogatory terms against Hindu monks and testify against their country in a foreign senate.
The icons of hate and barbarism look good and acceptable if made of saffron headbands and tridents. It looks photogenic. Have you ever, even in the passing, saw an icon of hate created out of green flag Jihadis who kill five- year-old girls in the thick of night (Wandhama and Doda) or the Christian rifle wielders who kill an 84-year-old monk and an ochre-robed lady celebrating Krishna's birthday? Have you ever heard or read the agony and pains of those who just want to remain what they are religiously and get killed for that alone?



25. For Christ's sake by Chandan Mitra on September 7, 2008



A parent told me about the following exchange with his school-going daughter: "Why is your school closed tomorrow?" he had asked. Pat came the reply, "Because Hindus are killing innocent Christians in Orissa." When he persisted and queried why Hindus are supposedly doing that, his daughter looked nonplussed and confessed she had no idea, but after some thought added, "They did that to Muslims in Gujarat also, No?" The brainwashing of children, especially in urban India, has acquired a new dimension.



26. Circumscribing nuclear sovereignty by Sudheendra Kulkarni, Indian Express on September 7, 2008


27. Congress led UPA lies to the Nation
    
    
    • US lobby uses "Bush secret letter" to torpedo deal by Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN, Times of India on September 3, 2008
    
    
    • You have brought shame to the nation: BJP, Left by PTI, Times of India on September 3, 2008
    
    
    • Secret letter fallout: UPA govt must go, says BJP by PTI, Times of India on September 4, 2008
    
    


28. Can we have our Obama, please? by Tavleen Singh on August 31, 2008
    


29. Hindus in US fight for defamation case filed by Sonia supporters by Lalit K Jha on June 27, 2008
    


30. India interrupted: Who is to blame for infiltration? by P R Ramesh, ET Bureau, Times of India on August 26, 2008
    

    In the mid-90's, PV Narasimha Rao chose of all places Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso to reiterate that the "sky is the limit" as far as autonomy to Kashmir was concerned. No single statement has done as much damage for the Valley and those four words became the benchmark for negotiations with secessionist mobs for successive Central governments.
    We would have expected politicians to learn a lesson or two from Rao's folly. But perhaps encouraged by the Wagah border candle light brigade and other bleeding heart liberals, Manmohan Singh actually has gone a step further. He recently decreed that borders have become irrelevant.
    If that indeed were the case, the prime minister needs to tell us why so many of our young men are getting killed every day while defending our borders? Some months ago, newspapers breathlessly reported that the prime minister was moved to tears after watching the visuals of a distraught mother of a Bangalore boy allegedly involved in a UK terror plot.
    It would of course be foolhardy to expect him to shed tears at the sight of the grieving young wife and and daughter of Colonel JJ Joseph, commanding officer of the 45 Rastriya Rifles, who died on last Friday defending our borders. If anything, Singh's statement is like fodder for the cross -border activists.
    The result of this approach is magnanimous approach towards illegal over-stayers, porous borders and a non-existent deportation system. The BSF chief AK Mitra sized up the problem on Monday: he said there was no data on the exact number of illegal migrants from Bangladesh.
    Through last year, the BSF had intercepted 807 Bangladeshis trying to illegally cross over to our side (the actual infiltration is roughly estimated to be double the numbers intercepted), the BSF chief said the figure was almost 10000-12000 till a few years back. In other words, what he could be saying is at least 24,000 Bangladeshis have been infiltrating every year.
    Even more shocking is the number of Bangladeshis who entered on valid papers but disappeared subsequently. The cumulative figure of Bangladeshi arrivals since 1972 -most come never to go back, is a whopping 12 lakh.

    
    


31. Monumental folly by Swapan Dasgupta, Times of India on August 24, 2008
    

    The past few weeks have seen the most vile assaults on Indian nationhood. In the Kashmir Valley, emboldened separatists have desecrated the Indian tricolour with glee. The hitherto ambivalent slogan of azadi has become a defiant, full-throated acceptance of Pakistan. "We are Pakistanis and Pakistan is us because we are tied with the country through Islam," the Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani told a mass rally in Srinagar on August 18, adding, "Hum Pakistani hain, Pakistan hamara hai." Simultaneously, the assumptions on which Indian democracy rests have been challenged by a Taliban-like advocacy of Nizam-e-Mustafa (state based on divine law).
    Made up of educated, lower-middle class Muslims, these ideologically-driven fanatics have made it their life's mission to wage a bloody jihad against non-believers. They too, have openly debunked the principles on which the Indian political order rests. According to the boastful email the IM sent minutes before the Ahmedabad blasts on July 26, "The terms democracy, secularism, equality, integrity, peace, freedom, voting, elections are yet another fraud with us." The group has also directed its ire at the "faithless infidels and their hypocrite allies from amongst the so-called Muslims...who have bartered their faith in return of just one seat in the Parliament."
    A striking feature of these threats is the resulting disarray in the liberal establishment. While the more weak-kneed and cosmopolitan intellectuals have advocated total surrender, others have fallen back on denial. The ruling Congress Party, for example, has equated demonstrators waving the national tricolour with those flaunting the Pakistan flag. Cabinet ministers have defended the terrorist SIMI and new-found allies of the UPA have rushed to console the family of the man the police believes was responsible for the murder of some 150 innocent Indians. Most important, homilies apart, there has been no meaningful intervention by those who felt that the Nehruvian ideal was the last word in India's political evolution.



32. Oranges won't work anymore by Joginder Singh on August 25, 2008
    

    The CRPF Inspector-General was transferred from Srinagar on August 13 after an uproar in the Kashmir Valley, led by terrorists and their supporters, who alleged excesses by the Central paramilitary force. He was also denied the President's police medal for fear of controversy and wider protests. There is nothing new in this kind of approach as the decision-makers are far removed from reality. Meanwhile, it is the police and the security forces that continue to face life-and-death situations, standing between chaos and order.

    
    


33. The right view: Son of Devaki by Tarun Vijay, Times of India on August 23, 2008
    

    I am filing this column from Jammu where people are showing the Indian way of patriotism to the valley. Every street and road is empty unless there is a demonstration. Traders have shuttered down their shops continuously for more than a month. Small entrepreneurs, auto rickshaw drivers, labourers are all off the work. Schools have not opened since last three months as immediately at the fag end of summer vacations the Amarnath Movement began. Banks are closed, sms's are prohibited, no public transport is available, it’s an unimaginable nightmare during any emergency. But who cares?
    To feed the citizens city is having free meals (langars) organized at more than fifty points where at an average one lakh people take meals twice a day costing ten lakh rupees per day. Every house hold is giving donations to run such langars without complaint.
    But strangely enough, the divide we see between valley and Jammu is reflected between media of Jammu and Delhi too. What Jammu's mainline papers are reporting doesn't get reflected in Delhi's papers and channels who have become self appointed guardians of secularism and peace of their own variety and think if they suppress the factual position on Jammu, peace will be restored soon and communalism will not spread. So when the patriots agitate, its communalism and needs to be suppressed. But when Pakistani flags are hoisted atop Lal Chowk and tricolor burnt amidst chants of Allah O Akbar and Pakistan Paindabad, it has to be reported 'objectively' and with full focus so that the sentiments of separatists are not hurt or suppressed! Strange media ethics these seculars follow.
    What son of Devaki won't have tolerated is being allowed by his followers. Isn't it the time to revive his spirit of Geeta and win a war of righteousness? The body alone perishes; the spirit remains immortal, so why fear O Arjuna?

    
    


34. Better Mush than traitors by Chandan Mitra on August 24, 2008
    

    Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Jamaat leader, is reported to have openly declared his loyalty to Pakistan. Even Omar Abdullah, toasted by the secularist Indian media for his fraudulent double-speak in Parliament during the Trust vote last month, has begun talking of the Azadi option.
    And why not? Reinforcing the well-known fact that many Hindus have no stomach for a fight and would rather live in subjugation than valiantly defend their honour, celebrity writers and publicity-seeking showgirls have been harping on the Kashmiris' right to Azadi. Last weekend two prominent newspaper columnists wrote about the need to think out-of-the-box (a Musharraf copyright in this context) urging us to seriously consider if it is morally right to hold "unwilling" Kashmiris back in this country. I agree with them. As a matter of policy, the Government must encourage all those who have no loyalty to this country to leave, migrating across the Line of Control to the country of their dreams.
    Once they step over the de facto border, possessions they leave behind should be declared Enemy Property, reviving the provisions that existed on the statute books at least till after the 1965 Indo-Pak war. But under no circumstances can Indian citizens be allowed to promote secession. Advocating the right of Kashmiris to secede, as a professional female agitator (who believes the Vajpayee Government staged the December 13, 2001 attack on Parliament) reportedly did in Srinagar, is tantamount to treason and must invite provisions contained in the law relating to waging war against the State. Personally, I feel that even publicising such treasonable views, leave alone using dedicated columns to indulge in secessionist propaganda, should invite the charge of promoting terrorism and anti-national activity.
    No true Indian can forget the way 300,000 Kashmiri Pandits were turfed out of the Valley by secessionists in a horrific instance of ethnic cleansing.
    The secularists bay for Radovan Milosevic's blood, but not a word is uttered against the butchers who masterminded the elimination of Pandits and the systematic targeting of thousands of patriotic security personnel who laid down their lives so that the tricolour could continue to flutter atop Government buildings in Srinagar. Traitors are cowards by choice. Like all cowards, they will die many times before their death. But the average Indian -- people like you and me -- will die but once, defending the nation's integrity and honour. Jai Hind!

    
    


35. If only Arundhati would quit India by Kanchan Gupta on August 24, 2008
    

    There can be nothing more pathetic than a middle-aged 'radical' preaching treason and penning seditious pamphlets. I read about Arundhati Roy's seditious comments after attending a rally organised by Muslim separatists of the Kashmir Valley on August 19. She was clearly impressed by the turnout, as were Mohammed Ali Jinnah and his cohorts when they saw the first train carrying future Pakistanis trundling into what was supposed to be the 'land of the pure' but has turned out to be a sinful Jihadistan. Jinnah, the 'sole spokesman', and his Muslim League were equally delighted by the bloodletting on Direct Action Day, August 16, 1946, and held it up as evidence of the impossibility of Muslims cohabiting with Hindus in Hindustan. Six decades later, more Muslims live peacefully with Hindus in Hindustan than Muslims live with Muslims in Pakistan. But we digress.
    There is understandable anger over her remarks, although the Congress need not have tried to distance itself from Arundhati Roy's new age sedition: It's the appalling denigration of nationalism and faith in the nation, which the Congress unabashedly indulges in to proclaim its 'secular' credentials, that encourages Arundhati Roy and her tribe to ridicule India, repudiate our national identity and revile our democracy. Curiously, it's rather strange that having declared some years ago that she was "seceding from India", Arundhati Roy continues to foul this land for which she has nothing but contempt. Or else she would not have used her invitation to a book-reading session in the US to declare that "there is no democracy in India".
    A pity. If only we were not democratic to a fault with a quisling for Prime Minister and a dissolute Congress in power, Arundhati Roy would have been hauled up under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967, amended in 2004-05.



36. J&K divide: diplomacy versus democracy by Tavleen Singh, Indian Express on August 24, 2008
    

    
    Ten years ago I wrote a book that blamed the Government of India squarely for denying Kashmiris their democratic rights, thereby driving them towards armed insurgency. I believe this gives me the right to say that this time the Kashmiris have no cause. No country could have dealt with a secessionist movement more gently than India has after those initial mistakes in the early nineties. The movement for azadi turned into Islamist terrorism and India did nothing. Kashmiri Hindus were ethnically cleansed from the Valley and India did nothing. Jihadis came across our borders and turned Kashmiri Islam into a Saudi facsimile and India did nothing.
    This is why when something as absurd as the Amarnath land row should have brought thousands of Kashmiris into the streets carrying Pakistani flags and shouting jihadi slogans the reaction from Indians has been: get out. Enough is enough. In Delhi’s liberal drawing rooms they put it diplomatically. We should have a referendum, they say, and if the Kashmiris want to go to Pakistan then it’s time to let them go because, poor dears, they have suffered so much for their azadi.
    As a reporter who prefers to listen to what ordinary people say let me tell you what I hear when I put my ear to the ground. I hear people say that anyone who wants to go to Pakistan must be allowed to leave and never allowed back into Kashmir. I hear people say that they are not prepared to surrender another inch of Indian territory. If Kashmiri Muslims have a problem living with us let them emigrate to that Islamic country across the border. Whoever wants to go must be helped to go. But, there will be no more changing of India’s borders. The more belligerent say let the Kashmir Valley go to Pakistan but then there will be no room in India for Muslims.
    What I also hear is huge support for the movement in Jammu. So when our political leaders and politically correct TV anchors equate the two agitations they make a serious mistake. The way ordinary Indians see it is that we have one set of protesters who carry Indian flags and are ready to die for Bharat Mata and they cannot be equated with those who openly state their allegiance to Pakistan.
    

    
    


37. Haridwar ashram receives SIMI threat to blow up religious places by by PTI, Times of India on August 25, 2008
    


38. J&K: Tricolour at 8am, flags of separatists at 4pm by Avijit Ghosh, TNN, Times of India
    

    At exactly 8am, CRPF hoisted the Indian Tricolour at Lal Chowk in the heart of Srinagar on Independence Day. At 3.45pm, Lal Chowk wore a totally different look. Hundreds of slogan-shouting protesters swarmed the area and at 4pm and planted the flags of Jamaat-e-Islami (which looks like the Pakistani flag) and the terrorist outfit, Hizb-ul Mujahideen, on top of the same tower where the Indian flag had been hoisted. One of the slogans of the protesters drove the message home - Jiyo, jiyo Pakistan, hum hain Pakistani. Other slogans included Islam Zindabad, Lad ke lenge azadi and Allah-u-Akbar. Around 1pm in the Safa Kadal area, loudspeakers blared out from mosques, humko chahiye azadi. A procession on Maulana Azad Road around 3.30pm had at least 5,000 people. Around 2.45pm, before the namaz at Jamia Masjid in old Srinagar town was over, a bunch of 15 women in burqas burned the Tricolour.

    
    These people deserve democracy? You call this civility by civil society? You call this intolerance epitomized by showing Bharatiyata (Indianess)? You call this secularism? You call this nationalist movement? You call this Bhaichara (Brotherhood)?
    
39. Suspect SIMI? Of course by Javed Anand
    
40. Sports minister to Bindra: Visit Sonia, not Advani by TNN, Times of India
    Good job Abhinav Bindra for defying the diktat of a dictator and not following chamcha of Antonia Maino alias Antonio Maino alias Sonia blindly. This shows how much hatred congress is carrying for the democratically elected opposition and possibly next Indian prime minister Advani ji. Refrences:- 1, 2
    


41. Amarnath and Congress legacy in J&K by Sudheendra Kulkarni
    

    Gen (retd) S K Sinha, who until recently served as the Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, is being blamed for the controversy surrounding the Amarnath Yatra. The charge is false and malicious. If anybody deserves the blame, it is the leadership of the Congress party and the UPA Government.
    That was then. Now, 61 years later, we have a situation in which separatist forces have the audacity to take out a pro-Pakistan march to Muzaffarabad by raising the bogey of a non-existent economic blockade by the people of Jammu. On Independence Day, they pulled down the tricolour at Srinagar’s Lal Chowk and hoisted their own green-coloured flag.
    The best time to resolve the issue of Jammu & Kashmir once and for all was in 1947 itself, at the time of India’s partition. Sadly, Jawarharlal Nehru’s lack of firmness and farsightedness at the time is extracting a heavy price from India even today. What a stark contrast there was between Nehru’s messing up of J&K’s integration with India and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s clean success in integrating all the remaining 562 princely states!

    
    


42. Seven sutras: the PM’s biggest failures by Tavleen Singh
    

    As always I woke early on Independence Day to hear the Prime Minister speak. I listened carefully as he reiterated that the priorities of his government in the past four years, its ‘seven sutras’, had been agriculture, water, education, healthcare, employment, urban renewal and infrastructure. I wondered if he noticed that this could be a list of his biggest failures.

    
    


43. Demagoguery apart by Shazia Ilmi
    

    Amidst Lalu’s stinging banter, Mohammed Salim’s moral rhetoric, and Rahul Gandhi’s Kalawati, Omar Abdullah’s speech was hailed as the high point of the political debate, the “stirring speech” that had the public and the media in raptures.
    Carpe diem - that Latin phrase means ‘seize the day’. Omar, like a sharp politician did just that. He seized his last national opportunity to reach out to his political constituency at the time when elections loom large and when the hangover of clashes over Amarnath ceases to abate. The short speech managed to press the right hot buttons -- Muslim identity, Gujarat riots and Amarnath shrine land transfer debacle. Bingo — the speech was sharp and smart just like the much-focussed politics of Omar Abdullah and National Conference (NC). Nothing noble or lofty about it, as some would have us believe.
    "We are not against the yatra but against the land transfer" is Omar's clever stand. The yatra has been going on for hundreds of years and Omar need not take an undertaking to keep it going. His remark in Parliament sounds patronising - almost a favour he and his Muslim brethren dole out to the ‘Hindu others’. It’s a clever political posture aimed at reaching out to his constituency.
    In the days of quicksilver equations, instant heroes and easy-fix solutions, let’s not blur the boundaries of spoken words and actions taken and let the smallness of politics engulf the larger purpose. Dalit woman, Muslim man - our contemporary political debate is being reduced to a charade of nomenclature, the packaging more important than the product, the identity superseding the cause. Or do we in our lethargy, do away with sifting and sieving, and stick to slick sound bites alone to salvage our politics?

    
    


44. Modi versus chalta hai by Swapan Dasgupta
    


45. Modi bashing any which way by Swapan Dasgupta
    


46. Secularist assault on idea of India by Swapan Dasgupta
    

    The most intriguing feature of the ongoing turmoil in Maharashtra provoked by Raj Thackeray's posturing against North Indian migrants was the silence of those professing to be the watchdogs of amity. In the face of a calculated assault by an interloper on the traditional vote base of the country's most enduring saffron alliance, both the BJP and Shiv Sena reacted with exemplary patriotic maturity. Less exemplary was the conduct of those who go around shrieking "merchants of death" and pontificating about a Holocaust that never happened.
    

    
    


47. People love emotive appeal by Swapan Dasgupta
    


48. Masters of doublespeak by Swapan Dasgupta
    

    There is, however, another earthy side to separatism which is manifested when its leadership talks to fellow activists. The more extreme Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani was an unlikely picture of obsequiousness to the Art of Living mediator. But read his unexpurgated version of the Amarnath Yatra to the 'faithful': "Indian Government... flooded Kashmir with yatris and tourists, purpose of this artificial pilgrimage tourism was to strengthen occupation and lay same type of claim to Kashmir as is made by Jews to the territory of Palestine. They also wanted to establish settlements within the occupied territory of Kashmir. For this purpose Amarnath Shrine Board was constituted. Kashmiris never had a problem with Yatra but once Yatra became a tool of strengthening occupation, Kashmiris got alarmed."
    Imagine if some ridiculous Togadia-like figure were to say that the Haj pilgrimage had become an instrument of terrorist indoctrination and must be stopped. Imagine if someone was to say that our congested airports could not cope with the traffic of Hajis any longer; and that building special Haj terminals would alter Indian identity. Or if some ecological wizard was to claim that excessive pilgrimage traffic to Saudi Arabia results in too much carbon emission and increases global warming? Let's say that these people wouldn't have been given the time of day by People Like Us.
    The agitation in the Kashmir Valley isn't really about Kashmiri identity or Geelani's quest for an elusive Kashmiriyat. It is a plain and simple secessionist movement based on the belief that a Muslim-majority region must have a separate Islamic State.



49. Jammu stands up to Kashmir by Sandhya Jain
    

    Jammu continues to burn as Hindu nationalists struggle alone but undaunted against sabre-toothed partisans of Allah who seek to efface all vestiges of civilisational heritage from the land of Rishi Kashyap. Backed by a de-nationalised media and a shameless political dispensation at the Centre, the events in Jammu & Kashmir must be seen in the context of a perverse drama enacted in Parliament on 21-22 July 2008, when the UPA won a tainted trust vote to pursue a subordinate alliance with Washington.
    This set the tone for the unwholesome projection that the Muslim community alone could legitimately endorse or oppose Government policy. Ms Mehbooba Mufti's shrill ranting about the Babri Masjid and Gujarat riots, and demand that Jammu & Kashmir be treated with extra sensitivity, augmented the view that the UPA needed to pamper Muslim leaders alone.
    But it was Mr Omar Abdullah -- much celebrated since by the anti-Hindu media as the 'star' of the trust vote -- who took the cake, raging against the aggrieved Amarnath pilgrims and claiming to speak as a "Muslim and an Indian". Now, the first thing a bona fide Indian would know is that Hindustan has a hoary Hindu ancestry, and that it is impossible to be truly Indian without having some kind of 'Hindu face'. Interestingly, Mr Farooq Abdullah takes care to make nominal obeisance to Bharat Mata, Sri Ram, and often visits Tirupati Balaji.

    
    


50. Amar Singh was napping during discussions: Shri Amarnathji Sangarsh Samiti by PTI, The Hindu
    


51. Jammu has suffered more loss than Kashmir: Amarnath Samiti by PTI, NDTV
    

    "Jammu suffered a loss of at least Rs 1,500 crore due to the curfew clamped for last 50 days. Our agricultural produce is completely destroyed," Rajendra Mishra, one of the members of the Samiti said. "People from Kashmir have used the issue of economic blockade to mislead and blackmail the Government," he said. Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil had announced an aid of Rs 200 crore for Kashmiri apple growers as they claimed that their tonnes of fruits were rotten due to the blockade. "But this is not apple season," Mishra said adding, people of Jammu have not received any help from the government.

    
    


52. Terrorism Watch


53. Bharat's Hall of SHAME / Corruption Watch


54. India's addled version of Secularism

Views expressed are personal of the writers of the articles.