Is Kalki the only hope? – S.Gurumurthy

May 24, 2012

With each passing year of the United Progressive Alliance rule, scams are rising in numbers and in the sums looted. According to one compilation, there were seven scams in 2008, nine in 2009, 14 in 2010, 23 in 2011 and 22 so far in 2012. The Indian political landscape had seen scams earlier, but now the scams seem unending, their rapidity unbelievable and monies plundered unprecedented. No one disputes that the coalition headed by Sonia Gandhi, once hailed as a saint, and the government led by Manmohan Singh, once regarded as honest, are the most corrupt ever. The saint-honest duo has produced some 80 big and small scams, involving over `19 lakh-crore! Adding the amount of black money of India said to be stashed abroad, the scams equal half of nation’s GDP in 2011-’12.Â

An active and insistent judiciary uncovered some major scams. It has, at least temporarily, disabled the political power that was harbouring, at times even honouring, the corrupt. It forced the telecom minister to quit, and he was sent to jail. A Congress MP, caught in the CWG scam, had to spend a full summer and winter in jail. A Congress chief minister in Maharashtra, Ashok Chavan, had to resign and with his predecessor, Vilasrao Deshmukh, he is facing a CBI probe in the Adarsh housing fraud. Two former Congress chief ministers are under police lens in the Goa mining case. B S Yeddyurappa, former BJP chief minister in Karnataka, lost his office and is facing criminal charges. Bangaru Laxman, a former BJP president, has been convicted for accepting `1 lakh in a sting operation. The Marans and many more are in the queue. The hope of the corrupt now seems to rest on clever lawyers and crucial retirements in judiciary! A huge fall indeed.

A principal reason for this precipitous fall is the paradigm shift in the political, and even intellectual, class from being shy to becoming shameless. Even a decade earlier, a higher rule of public morality operated on the political class. A political leader accused of bribery or immorality would defend his honour invariably by resigning or suing or volunteering to face the probe. That political class was shy of its integrity being questioned. Today’s political class has become shameless. Now when their integrity is questioned, politicians remain silent or brazenly ask for the case to be proved against them in a court of law. However, the government, which has to probe and prove the case in court, is under their control. They refuse to sue the accuser as suing would land them in the witness box where they would be questioned. Take a telling case of this type.

Schweizer Illustrierte, a popular Swiss magazine, unrelated to politics in India, had reported in 1991 that Rajiv Gandhi had $2.5 billion in secret Swiss bank accounts. It would have now grown to over $10 billion at US treasury rates. Later, Russian journalist Yevgenia Albats, in her research book on the Russian spy agency KGB, uncovered documents that showed that the Gandhi family was receiving, with ‘gratitude’, payoffs from the KGB. These reports have been cited in news items and in columns repeatedly in 1988, 1992, 2002, 2006, 2009 (twice) 2010, and 2011 in The Hindu, Times of India, Statesman, India Today, and repeatedly in The New Indian Express. Yet, the Sonia Gandhi family and the ruling party have been maintaining an intriguing silence on these serious exposes. They did not dare sue the newspapers or the writers. A few weeks back, ‘Business Insider’, a fairly well regarded e-magazine based in US, had listed 23 world’s richest politicians. Sonia Gandhi, with her wealth estimated at between $4-19 billion, stood fourth in the honour list. Only the Saudi king, Sultan of Brunei, and Michael Bloomberg (New York mayor) were above her in the list. Again the Gandhi family and the ruling party are deafeningly silent on this report. Should they not sue them if the reports were false? Intriguing, isn’t it? The government is helpless, understandably. Why is the opposition too silent? More intriguing, isn’t it? Â

A minister in Rajasthan got a young woman he was close to murdered and disposed off the body. A Congress party spokesman, a senior lawyer, was caught on video in a compromising position with a woman lawyer seeking his influence to become a judge. She might well have become one had his driver, angry with him on other counts, not circulated the video. This brings us to judges. The law of contempt once prevented exposing judicial corruption but not any more. K G Balakrishnan, former chief justice of India now heading the human rights commission, stands accused of bribery. His three relatives, including son-in-law, are found to have huge amounts of black money. Justice P D Dinakaran, a chief justice of high court — accused of bribery and land grabbing — had to resign in disgrace. But, the judiciary still looks only outwards. The media, glorified as the fourth estate, stands charged with selling its news space — cash for news. Yet, it still only pontificates. The ruling party has been charged with buying votes in Parliament — cash for votes. Still it rules and loots. Rich men are increasingly and shamelessly ostentatious. A Mukesh Ambani has built a house at over a billion dollars. Still the media celebrates him. There is shamelessness all around. The ordinary people, however, still feel shy to do things wrong. So they looked beyond politics, Parliament, and court for hope towards an Anna Hazare. But with Anna too failing, where would they look for hope?

Srimad Bhagawatham, a great epic, compiled some 1,200 years ago, tellingly describes the ongoing Kali Yuga, the Age of Darkness. It says: “In Kali Yuga, wealth, not virtuous conduct, will determine a man’s worth. Might will decide what is good and bad. Thieves will lead the country. Rulers, greedy and cruel, will degenerate into brigands and plunderers. Business will be tantamount to practising fraud. Cheats will take to trade and business and introduce dishonest practices. Poverty will be regarded as sufficient proof of guilt in courts. Ostentatious show will be the hallmark of character. A master of (abusive) vocabulary will be considered a scholar. Moral values will be observed solely for popularity, not by conviction.” It goes on and on. Is it not a running commentary of the nation today? The text predicts more decline. Finally it gives hope. It says that when the decline is total, the Lord will be born as Kalki to destroy the evil and revive values. So Kalki seems to offer the ultimate hope to the hapless people.

(Views expressed in the column are the author’s own)
S Gurumurthy is a well-known commentator on political and economic issues.


Regional issues should not precede over National interest: Dr Swamy at India Foundation Lecture

May 15, 2012

New Delhi: India Foundation organised a symposium on “India Sri Lanka Relations and New Challenges” at the Indian International Centre at Delhi. The conference was attended by a galaxy of intellectuals and the list of speakers included Dr Subramanian Swamy, President of Janta Party, Shri Balbir Punj, Rajya Sabha MP and D Raja from the CPI. Shri Balbir Punj was the Chairman of a delegation of Indian MPs that had recently visited Sri Lanka. The symposium was held on Wednesday, May 09, 2012,

India-Sri Lanka Relations – New Challenges

Dr Subramanian Swamy said relations between India and Sri Lanka is both cultural and historical. Lord Ram anointed Vibhishan Ji as the King of Sri Lanka after defeating Ravan. In fact, scientific reports have proved that the DNA of people from India and Sri Lanka are the same. Dr Swamy said that in the wake of these facts the government of India should focus its attention on the plight of ordinary Tamils and not on the LTTE. He added that if India spoils its relations with Sri Lanka then yet another neighbouring country would become our enemy and would then be exploited by China and Pakistan. Dr Swamy further said that the issues of Tamil people are regional and regional issues should not be given precedence over national interest. Due to myopic policies of the present UPA government at the Centre, all neighbouring countries are turning hostile towards India which marks a big diplomatic failure of the government, he said.

Shri Balbir Punj said that Sri Lankan Parliament has a statue of Vibhishan Ji, who is revered and acknowledged by Sri Lankans as their first King. Shri Punj added that though Sri Lankan people do not understand much of Hindi yet they love and watch Hindi movies and like listening to Hindi songs. He further said that Lankans are followers of Buddhism and have a deep regard towards India. Yet, Tamil and Sinhalese live in complete separation in Sri Lanka. Sri Punj, further explained that Lankan Army has been imposed in all Tamil dominated areas and the situation is so grim that if any individual from the Tamil community wants to organize a function or a party, he/she needs to first inform the Army. No decision can be taken without Army’s permission, he added. Shri Punj said various associations of Sri Lankan Tamils have told him that they all want and favour an undivided Sri Lanka.

Symposium at India Foundation, NewDelhi

CPI’s D. Raja said that he was the first person who spoke for the rights of Sri Lankan Tamils. Detailing on the ground realities, Shri Raja said Tamils can live in Sri Lanka but cannot be a part of the ruling set up. Preference to Sinhalese language is given across government jobs and other places. The Sri Lankan Army and Police have almost zero percentage of Tamils. He further explained that after independence, India and Sri Lanka had entered into an agreement under which Sri Lanka sent back a few Tamils to India. This was unfortunate. After Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination Tamil movement in Sri Lanka turned into a terrorist movement. Shri Raja further pointed out that today all Tamil monuments are being destroyed in Sri Lanka. Though I am a Communist yet I have to say that Buddhist idols are being put up at the Hindu temples in Sri Lanka. At several places it becomes difficult to distinguish whether the temple is Hindu or a Buddhist. In fact, now the movement has graduated from terror opposition to being a Tamil opposition, said Shri Raja.

The symposium was convened by BJP’s National Spokesperson Smt Nirmala Sitaraman. Shri Chandan Mitra, Shri Tarun Vijay, Smt Jaya Jaitley, Shri R Balashankar, Shri Ram Madhav, Shri NN Jha and several other intellectuals of the society participated in the symposium.

 

Source : Samvada.org


Who named Mahatma Gandhi ‘Father of Nation’?

May 7, 2012

Who named Mahatma Gandhi ‘Father of Nation’? UPA Govt foxed on class VI student’s question

Mohd Arshi Rafique, Hindustan Times

Lucknow: A Lucknow girl’s simple query to know if Mahatma Gandhi was ever conferred the title of ‘The Father of The Nation’ has come a cropper. From the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to the ministry of home affairs (MHA) no one seems to really know the answer to the 10-year-old’s question.

MK Gandhi

They coolly forwarded the RTI plea of class VI student Aishwarya Parashar to the National Archives of India (NAI), the body that claims to be the repository of the non-current records of the Government of India. Surprisingly, the NAI, after a hectic search in their records, was unable to find the desired information and requested Aishwarya to come and search for it in NAI’s public records and library material herself.

Jayaprabha Ravindran, assistant director of archives and chief public information officer (CPIO) wrote back in a letter dated March 26: “As per search among public records in the National Archives of India, there are no specific documents on the information sought by you.”

As a consolation, it has promised to provide Aishwarya all facilities permissible under the rules, if she chooses to visit the national archives.

Aishwarya, expectedly, is amused. “The first piece of history taught to us in school is about Mahatma Gandhi as Father of the Nation. I never knew, I was asking such a difficult question,” she says.

Popular notion, nothing official

According to reports, when a demand to confer the title of ‘Father of the Indian Constitution’ on Dr Ambedkar was made, deputy prime minister LK Advani, in a letter to Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit in 2004, had written: “It is not, however, feasible to formally confer the title of ‘Father of Indian Constitution’ on Dr Ambedkar, since Article 18 (1) of the Constitution specifically provides that “no title, not being a military or academic distinction, shall be conferred by the state.”

Advani further said: “I may clarify that although Mahatma Gandhi is popularly known as “Father of the Nation,” no such title was ever formally conferred on him by the government.”

History has it

Father of the Nation is an honorific title given to a man considered the driving force behind the establishment of a nation. As per Wikipedia, it was Subhas Chandra Bose who used the term for Mahatma Gandhi, in a radio address from Singapore in 1944. Later, it was recognised by the Indian government. When Gandhi was assassinated, India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, in a radio address to the nation, had announced that the Father of the Nation “is no more.”

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Lucknow/Who-named-Mahatma-Gandhi-father-of-nation-Govt-foxed/Article1-834824.aspx


Hindu Girls Forced to Marry Muslims in Pakistan

March 16, 2012

Hindu Girls Forced to Marry Muslims: Zardari’s Sister
March 16: Acknowledging that Hindus face a lot of challenges in Sindh, sister of President Asif Ali Zardari said in Pakistan’s parliament today that Hindu girls are being forcibly kept in madrassas in the province and are forced to marry Muslims.

The remarks by Azra Fazal Pechuho, a lawmaker of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party, came against the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s recent directive to authorities to produce three Hindu women who were allegedly kidnapped in Sindh.

Two of the women – Rinkle Kumari and Lata Kumari – have told magistrates they voluntarily converted.

Speaking in the National Assembly or lower house of parliament on the issue of Rinkle Kumari, Pechuho said Hindus faced a lot of challenges in Sindh.

She stressed the need for laws to protect the rights of minority communities and to end forced conversions.

Nafeesa Shah, another lawmaker from Sindh, endorsed Pechuho’s stand and said parliament should introduce legislation on forced conversions.

Media reports had said that non-Muslims were being forced to accept Islam, she said.

“Protection of the minorities should be ensured as enshrined in the Constitution,” Shah said.

Minority parliamentarians, including Lal Chand and Mahesh Kumar, too expressed concerns at the kidnapping and forced conversion of Hindu women.

They said it was the right of every person to follow any religion but nobody can be forced to convert, they said.

In his statement, Minister of State for Interfaith Harmony Akram Masih Gill, a Christian, said the government has taken several steps to empower minorities.

The steps included a five per cent quota in government jobs and declaration of August 11 as Minorities Day, he said.

PML-N lawmaker Araish Kumar raised the issue of minorities being forced to attend classes on Islamic studies.

“Our students are being forced to study Islamiat in government schools…If they refuse to study Islamic studies, they are struck off by the school administration,” he contended.

The remarks by the lawmakers came at a time when a report said almost three-quarters of women from Pakistan’s minority communities have faced sexual harassment while 43 per cent complained of religious discrimination at workplaces, educational institutions and neighbourhoods.

The report, prepared by the National Commission for Justice and Peace, states that about 74 per cent of the women faced sexual harassment.

—PTI

http://www.siasat.com/english/news/hindu-girls-forced-marry-muslims-zardaris-sister


Atal Behari Vajpayee on the RSS

January 20, 2012

The Sangh is my Soul – Atal Behari Vajpayee
20/01/2012 01:12:01

I came in contact with the RSS in 1939 through Arya Kumar Sabha, a youth branch of Arya Samaj, in Gwalior-then a princely state which was not part of any province. I came from a strong ‘sanatani’ family. But I used to be at the weekly ‘satsang’ of Arya Kumar Sabha. Once Shri Bhoodev Shastri who was a senior worker of Arya kumar Sabha, and a great thinker and an expert organiser, asked us: “What do you do in the evenings?” “Nothing”, we said, because the Arya Kumar Sabha used to meet in the morning on every Sunday. Then he recommended us to go to the shakha. Thus I started going to the Shakha in Gwalior. It was my first association with the RSS. At that time the shakha in Gwalior had just begun. It had only Maharashtrian boys, and naturally all the swayamsevaks used to speak only Marathi. I started going to the shakha regularly. I liked the games played in the shakha as well as the weekly ‘bauddhiks’ (intellectual discourses).

A pracharak, Shri Narayanrao Tarte had come from Nagpur to start the shakha. He was indeed a superb human being; a very simple man, a thinker and an expert organiser. What I am today is the making of Shri Tarte. Next to him I was inspired by Deendayal Upadhyaya and Bhaurao Deoras. Gwalior was then not within the field of Bhauraoji. But once he had come to Gwalior with Shri Balasaheb Apte who was the then Bauddhik Pramukh. Apteji was very soft-spoken. We were soon drawn towards him. I had talked with him for only a few minutes. But the same year (1940) when I went to see the first year Officers’ Training Camp (OTC), I came in close contact with him. I went there just to attend the valedictory function of the camp, not for training. Dr. Hedgewar had also come there for the some time. I first saw him there. When Doctorji was ill I went to see him. In 1941 when I was in High School I did my first year OTC. In 1942 when I was in Intermediate class I did my second year OTC, and I did my third year in 1944 when I was doing my B.A.

When I wrote ‘Hindu Tan-man Hindu Jeevan’ I was a student of class X. After completing my graduation from Gwalior I did my M.A. from the DAV College in Kanpur, because there was no post-graduate college in Gwalior. I then got State Government’s scholarship also. Owing to Partition, I could not complete my Law. And then in 1947, I decided to give up my studies to come out as a whole-time worker of the RSS. Till 1947 I did the RSS work at the shakha level and carried on my studies. I also participated in the Quit India Movement in 1942 and was jailed. I was then studying for my Intermediate examination. I was arrested from my native village Bhateshwar in Agra district. I was then 16.

My father was not attached to the RSS, but my elder brother was. He would go to the shakha. Once he went to the winter camp where he created a problem. He said: “I cannot take my food with the other swayamsevaks. I shall prepare my food myself.” And see how deftly the RSS handled the situation. The ‘sarvadhikari’ (superintendent) of the camp complied with his request and provided him all the necessary thing for preparing his food. After taking his bath and properly adjusting his sacred thread, etc., he started cooking his food. On the first day he prepared the food for himself. the next day, however, he could not prepare it and joined the queue of all swayamsevaks for partaking of the food. Within 44 hours he was changed.

The RSS does not change only individuals. It changes also the collective mind. This is the beauty of the RSS ethos. In our spiritual tradition an individual can attain a great height. Even self-realisation is possible if one undertakes the right ‘sadhana’ and also attain ‘nirvana.’ But what about the society? Nobody thinks about his obligation to the society in general. Now for the first time the RSS thought about it and concluded that by changing individuals we shall change the society. Had the sarvadhikari at the camp scolded him and not allowed him to prepare his food himself his spiritual development would have been thwarted, whereas in the RSS within 44 hours he was a changed boy. This is the “secret method” of the RSS. That is how society is changed. It is true that it is a long process but then there are no short-cuts, no instant recipes.

Gandhiji had praised the RSS for the absence of untouchability in the organisation. Only the RSS organises the society. Other movements only divide the society by emphasising distinct ‘identity’, different ‘interests’, special ‘status’, etc. They only encourage untouchability by constantly reminding the so-called untouchables of their “separateness.” “You are being insulted. You have no place in society.”

The RSS has a two-fold task before it. One is to organise the Hindus. To build a strong Hindu society, well-knit and rising above caste and other artificial differences. Some differences will persist but then variety is the spice of life. Like, we have the differences of the language. We don’t want to destroy this diversity. The other task is to assimilate the non Hindus, like Muslims and Christians in the mainstream. They can follow the faith of their own conviction. No one can object to it. We worship trees, animals, stones, and what not. We have hundreds of ways of worshipping God. They can go where they want. But this country must be looked upon as the Motherland for them. They must have a feeling of patriotism for this country. But the Islamic division of the world into ‘Darul Harab’ and ‘Darul Islam’ comes in the way. Islam has yet to learn the art of existing and flourishing in a country where Muslims are in a minority. They cannot convert the whole of India to Islam. After all, they have to live here. So they have to recognise this fact. And today it has become a matter of grave concern and deep thinking in the Muslim countries. Because Quran offers no guidance in this regard. It only talks of killing kafirs or converting them to Islam. But they cannot do it always and everywhere. How can they do it where they are in a minority? If they try to do it, a major clash will take place and only the members of the minority will be killed. But Muslims themselves have to change this state of affairs. We cannot change it for them.

Congress has not correctly understood the Muslim problem. They continue to carry on their policy of appeasement. But to what effect? The Muslims of this country can be treated in three ways. One is ‘tiraskar’ which means if they will not themselves change leave them alone, reject them as out compatriots. Second is ‘puruskar’ which is appeasement, i.e., bribe them to behave, which is being done by the Congress and others of their ilk. The third way is ‘parishkar’ meaning to change them, that is, restore them to the mainstream by providing them samskaras. We want to change them by offering them the right samskaras. Their religion will not be changed. They can follow their own religion. Mecca can continue to be holy for the Muslims but India should be holier than the holy for them. You can go to a mosque and offer namaz, you can keep the roza. We have no problem. But if you have to choose between Mecca or Islam and India you must choose India. All the muslims should have this feeling: we will live and die only for this country.

I wrote “Hindu Tan-man Hindu Jeevan” when I was studying in the tenth class. I had then said, “koi batlaye Kabul mein jaakar kitni masjiden todin.” I still stand by my words. But we (Hindus) did pull down the structure in Ayodhya. In fact it was a reaction to the Muslim vote-bank. We wanted to solve this problem through negotiation and legislation. But there was no puraskar for burai (evil act). We change burai also with parishkar. Now I think, the Hindu society has been regenerated which was the prime task of the RSS. Earlier Hindus used to bend before an invasion but not now. This change in Hindu society is worthy of welcome. So much change must have come with the new-found self-assertion. This is a question of self preservation. If the Hindu society does not expand itself it will face the crisis of survival. We have to expand ourselves. We have to take others along with. Now the Yadavs and the so-called Harijans are going with us. After all we have to live as Hindus. Once a Yadav leader came to me and said: “Don’t condemn all Yadavs. All Yadavs are not with Mulayam Singh and Laloo Prasad. A ‘samskrit’ (cultured) Yadav does not like them. There can be sections of Rajput, Kurmi and Gujjar Muslims but you cannot find any Yadav Muslim anywhere. The Yadavs never accepted Islam. This talk of “Yadav-Muslim” Unity – MY card – is nothing more than an empty slogan for votes.”

The simple reason for my long association with the RSS is that I like the Sangh. I like its ideology, and above all I like the RSS attitude towards people, towards one another which is found only in the RSS. I remember an incident, when I was in Lucknow. The Socialist movement was its peak. Suddenly a senior socialist activist fell ill. He was lying alone in his house, and nobody went to enquire after his well-being. Then Acharya Narendra Deo came to know and he went to his house to see him. The Acharya then said, “What fraternity is this in the Socialist Party? Nobody has come to see you. It can never happen in the RSS. If a swayamsevak does not go to the shakha only for one day the same day friends will promptly reach his house to enquire about his well-being.”

When I was ill during the Emergency, my family members did not turn up to see me. They were afraid of being arrested for any such action. Only the RSS workers helped me. See, how much living contact and fraternal feeling is in the RSS. Actually the Sangh is our family. We are all one.

In the beginning we could not spread our work in all sections of the society because we did not have enough workers. “Man-making” is the prime job of the RSS. As we now have more workers, we are covering all sections of the society in all fields of life. Changes are taking place in all spheres. But the work of man-making will not be discontinued, it will go on. It must go on. That is what the RSS movement is.


Christian priest’s doctoral thesis on RSS

December 22, 2011

Source : Christian Post.

Kerala, India., Dec. 19 – The name of the research institution is Sorbonne University, Paris, France. The researcher is Dr. (Father) Vincent Kundukulam of St Joseph Pontifical Seminary, Aluva, Kerala. The thesis for the doctoral research is: Le RSS Et L’Eglise En Inde (RSS and Church in India).

To Fr. Kundukulam goes the credit for being the first Christian priest to do a doctoral thesis on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, that too in a foreign university. He is also the first clergyman to author a book on the RSS titled RSS: Enthu? Engott? (What is RSS and Where is it headed for).

In fact, a former clergyman, Anthony Elenjimittam, had published a book titled RSS: Bharathiya Samskruthiyude Kavalsena (RSS: Watchdog of Indian Culture) way back in 1951, but he had ceased to be a priest and had taken to social service when the book was published.

What motivated Fr. Kundukulam to conduct a research on the RSS was his conviction that the Catholic church should closely study the philosophy, organisational structure and working of all the socio-politico-cultural movements in the society in which it operates, imbibe the best in them, and invite a dialogue on their negative aspects.

The phenomenal growth of the RSS in post-Independent India, with its tentacles firmly rooted in all walks of life, all nooks and corners of the country, kindled his curiosity. In Madhya Pradesh, he came across a European who had been doing a doctoral thesis on ‘Hindu nationalism’ in the Sorbonne University.

“When I broached the idea of writing a book on my research findings on the RSS, some of my co-religionists cautioned me that the RSS men would beat me up if I wrote something against them. I have in my assessment of the RSS tried to be as objective as possible. It is of immense satisfaction to me that my book is well-received in the church and RSS circles,” said Fr. Kundukulam in an interview at the Pontifical Seminary.

The conclusion drawn by Fr. Kundukulam is that RSS cannot be considered as a nationalist organisation in the sense in which the term ‘nationalism’ is generally interpreted in India. Nationalism represents the collective consciousness of the people transcending all barriers of caste, religion, etc. A nationalist is one who is primarily indebted to the nation. Religion has no place in nationalism. In this sense, Fr. Kundukulam argues, RSS, whose primary loyalty is to the Hindus, can hardly be called a nationalist organisation. In his view, RSS is a multi-faceted organisation which is political, cultural, religious and voluntary in nature and approach.

Different facets gain upperhand at different times depending on social and political exigencies.

At the same time, Fr. Kundukulam argues against branding the RSS ideology as fascism, Nazism, fundamentalism and communalism. He said the terms fascism, Nazism, and fundamentalism are much abused terms in India. They have a distinct connotation in the European context that can hardly apply to the Indian milieu.

The term fundamentalism was first coined inthe context of the emergence of the Protestant movement in the Christian church in America in the twenties.

The ideology of the RSS and the way in which it is interpreted by the Sangh leaders borrowing modern terminology have no camparison to the sense in which the term fundamentalism was used in America. So also, fascism and Nazism do have distinct meanings in the socio-political contexts that prevailed in Italy and Germany which have no bearing in the Indian context.

Fr. Kundukulam felt that communalism is not at all a part of religion. Communalism is nothing but mobilisation of people on communal lines to serve a specific cause. RSS can, therefore, be said to be communal only in a limited sense. BJP, the political arm of the RSS, during its rule at the Centre has not committed any acts that could truly be described as fundamentalist, fascist, or communal. “In fact, one of the first acts of A B Vajpayee after taking over as Prime Minister last time was to call on Mother Teresa and Delhi Archbishop,” he said.

Fr. Kundukulam felt that the socio-political milieu of India offers a fertile ground for the RSS to grow.

One admirable aspect of the RSS, Fr Kundukulam says, is its flexibility to move with the times and to adopt the best from other socio-cultural-religious movements. It learnt the rudiments of social work from the missionary organisations of the church and mass mobilisation techniques from the communists.

He admires the RSS for the dedication and discipline of its cadres, the simple life style of its pracharaks, the moral teaching it imparts to the younger generation in its daily sakhas, and the voluntary labour put in by its cadres at critical times such as natural calamities.

Indian society, Fr Kundukulam feels, is in a “vicious circle” with the majority Hindu community suffering from a “psychological inferiority complex” on account of its failure to have a proportionate say in the governance of the country in spite of its numerical superiority and the minorities always suspicious of the majority community. The growth of minority fundamentalism would only strengthen the RSS.

“India can prosper only by strengthening the forces of democracy and secularism and ensuring economic justice to the people,” concludes Fr. Kundukulam who is now busy working on the second edition of his book.


Harvard University’s Decision to remove Dr. Swamy’s Summer Courses shocking, hateful, repulsive and totally biased

December 14, 2011

December 12, 2011

In 3000 years of our history people from all over the world have come and invaded us, captured our lands, conquered our minds. From Alexander onwards, the Greeks, the Turks, the Moguls, the Portuguese, the British, the French, the Dutch, all of them came and looted us, took over what was ours. Yet we have not done this to any other nation. We have not conquered anyone. We have not grabbed their lands, their culture, their history and tried to enforce our way of life on them. Why? Because we respect the freedom of others. That is why my first vision is that of FREEDOM. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Former President of India.
It is shocking to read that the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) of Harvard University have voted to remove two courses from the Summer School offerings Dr. Subramanian Swamy was teaching for a number of years. The academic university, which is known for championing the free speech, has become pawn of self-professed liberal academicians who feel that Dr. Swamy’s speech was “hateful.” These academicians appear to have no knowledge about the atrocities committed by the Islamic terrorists, Islamic war on Hinduism, daily infiltration of Bangladeshi Muslims into West Bengal, professed killings of non-believers, and satanic verses demanding the destruction of Temples and Hindu Gods.

Dr. Swamy’s article is a peaceful approach to the most dangerous situation that is wrecking India. He did not advocate terrorism, did not mention about the extermination of any religion, did not advocate the forced conversion, did not call for burning the non-believers of Hinduism, did not advocate the demolition of Mosques, did not espouse the imposition of Jizya tax on non-Hindus, and did not declare fatwa on the haters of Hinduism. Any rational, fair minded, freedom loving, objective, logical, pluralistic persons irrespective of their religious affiliation would appreciate and applaud his article on “How to wipe out Islamic Terrorism?”

These academicians seem to know more than Dr. Abdul Kalam’s assessment of Hindus, their philosophy, their culture, their religion, their tolerance, their mindset, and their respect for freedom. For centuries Hindu have welcomed by almost all the religions with open hands, respected them and allowed them to practice their religion. Jewish people openly declared that the India is the only country that has not discriminated. Like wise Parsees, the descendents of Zoroastrians, were thrown out from their homeland, Persia, to be welcomed by India. Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists, and many others religions lived peacefully. In fact, on December 1, 2011 Sri Dalai Lama proudly announced that “I consider myself as a son of India” and carries the message of ahimsa across the globe and says that the country’s spiritual leaders should promote love and harmony in India and outside. Further he observed “that India has so many languages and dialects, yet remains strongly united because there is the freedom of speech and rule of law.”

Additionally, India welcomed with open hands two other religions – Islam and Christianity. These two religions profess their superiority and exclusivity. One is damned in hell if they do not believe in their God. In the name of God, Islamic invaders caused untold atrocities on Hindus. Suffice to mention the gloomy picture described by Koenraad Elst: “The Muslim conquests, down to the 16th century, were for the Hindus a pure struggle of life and death. Entire cities were burnt down and the populations massacred, with hundreds of thousands killed in every campaign, and similar numbers deported as slaves. Every new invader made (often literally) his hills of Hindus skulls. As a contribution to research on the quantity of the Islamic crimes against humanity, we may mention that the Indian (subcontinent) population decreased by 80 million between 1000 (conquest of Afghanistan) and 1525 (end of Delhi Sultanate).” Goa inquisition is as bloodiest as Islamic onslaught on Hindus. Genocide of Hindus by these two religions is described in greater details if one is objective and rational. No Hindu would ever think of this kind of brutality, cruelty and viciousness even to their worst enemies, let alone do it.

The decision to remove two courses Dr Swamy was teaching for years is blot on the reputation of the university, blotch on the credentials of the faculty, stain on the objectivity of the faculty, blemish on the faculty’s grasp of the nearly eight centuries Islamic terror, spot on the integrity of the faculty, and a show case for the abuse of academic authority. Arrogance of academic power, pure hatred toward Hindus pluralism, alignment with religion that abhors human freedom and dignity, associating with no-productive petro dollars, and negation of the history of Islamic barbarism are unpardonable offenses committed by the pseudo secular scholars at Harvard.

The so-called liberal faculty members at Harvard thought the Dr. Swamy’s article is equal to incitement of violence and a hateful speech.

Amnesia at Harvard

It appears that many of the faculty members seem to experience Islamic amnesia – they experience memory loss, suffer from forgetfulness, and become totally blank when it comes to Islamic terror that reined India and continue to terrorize many countries. They close their eyes, plug their ears and tape their mouths when it comes to talk about the destruction of thousands of Hindu Temples by the Muslims, killing of millions and millions of Hindus, mass raping of untold number of Hindu women, pillage of national treasures and whole sale conversion of Hindus into Islam at gunpoint.

Would they be willing to remove all the Islamic courses because these courses talk about Terror, violence, destruction and mass killings? The faculty members at Harvard appear to either justify or ignore all the atrocities committed by Muslims on Hindus for more than eight centuries.

Are the Harvard Faculty Jaundiced eyed?

Any persons suffering from the medical condition known as jaundice would see everything as yellow. It means the person with jaundiced eye would have a prejudiced view, usually negative, prejudiced, subjective, biased or critical. The blind association with the so-called liberal thinking may have interfered with the objectivity, rationality, and balanced opinion – the hallmark of academicians – causing them to see Dr. Swamy’s article through jaundiced eyes.

Past History: The human beings are relentlessly tortured to make a decision by between two seemingly contrasting areas of human endeavor, namely, the pursuit of livelihood and the reality of existence. No matter how idealistic one may be, one cannot the escape from the past, present and future. Faculty members at Harvard chose to ignore the past history of the Islamic atrocities in India that experienced the untold misery. As many as 80 million Hindus were brutally murdered, millions of women were raped, millions of people were disfigured, thousands of Temples were destroyed, thousands of Hindu Temples were converted to Mosques including Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar & Kaaba in Saudi Arabia, a number of Mosques were built either on the Hindu religious places or built in front of them, and converted Hindus into Islam. Many people keep moaning and whining about the demolition of Babri Masjid forgetting the 14 centuries of destruction of Temples, mass killings, wholesale rape of Hindu women, and forced conversion of Hindus. Sitaram Goel compiled a list of 2000 mosques that were converted from Hindu Temples. He listed them by the present name of the mosques, the earlier name of the Hindu Temples and the location state by state, for any fair minded to read, digest and comprehend. They would not say a word about the horrific history.

Present status: Similarly the Faculty members decided to overlook the present conditions in India and how Muslims are aggressively planning to convert India in to three Muslim countries. At first SIMI, Indian Mujahideen, ISI from Pakistan, and others are relentlessly creating terror in the major cities killing scores of people, blasting Hindu Temples and Hindu pilgrimage centers and declaring fatwa against any body who criticizes Islam, imposing Jizya tax on Hindus in Muslim dominated cities and making India as part of Dar-ul-Islam (world Islam). For all practical purposes, Article 370 excluded Hindus to own any property. Can any of these distinguished professors find any parallels to this kind of provision in any other country? Will it be acceptable for these Faculty members to exclude Muslims from owning land in any one of the states in India? Nearly half a million Kashmiri Pandits were chased out from their homeland and forced to live in tents. Almost all the districts in West Bengal bordering Bangladesh have millions of Muslim infiltrators tilting the balance toward Muslim state. Rampage and terror continues even today forcing Hindus to flee from their villages. Converting many Hindus into Islam through Love Jihad is continuing openly. The Muslim Clerics openly asking their faithfuls to have eight children to make Kerala a Muslim State. The list goes on.

Future outlook: Like wise the Faculty members should also look at what might happen in the future based on the past history and present conditions. One does not have to be an expert in Islamic Expansion to find out what might happen. Just look around, you will see it. There are as many as 52 Islamic countries where other religions are abhorred or barred from practicing their religion. In Saudi Arabia no body can take even Bhagad Gita or any other Hindu scriptures. It is also a known fact that majority of these countries are undemocratic, mostly controlled and ruled by Islamic fundamentalists and Al Qaeda. Individual rights are denied. One has to submit to Allah, because “there is no God but Allah.” That means they do not accept neither Hindu Gods nor Christian Jesus. There would not be any freedom, pluralism and independence left in those countries. Neither the members of FAS nor an average citizen are worth any more. In Pakistan, at the time of Independence in 1947, Hindu population was about 20 percent. Today, not even a fraction of one percent is left. They were either brutally killed or converted to Islam. Out of 428 Hindu temples at the time Independence, not even 25 Temples are functional. Similar story continues in Bangladesh. At the time of Independence, Hindu population was between 28-30 percent. Today, Hindus account for less than 7 percent of the population. Most of them were either killed or forced to convert. In India, Muslim population was about 9 percent at the time of Independence; today their population increased to more than 14 percent. Their fertility rate is much higher than any other religious group.

Coexistence is anathema for Islam and to some extent for Christianity. Wherever they went they either terminated the local population, converted them, conducted inquisitions, imposed jizya tax, destroyed the Hindu Temples, or decimated the local cultures. Hindus accept dialogue, discussions, criticism and debate. Hindus do not believe in conversion by any means to hoist the flag of hegemony in other countries. How many faculty members can talk about these 52 plus countries and examine as to how they were able to make these countries Islamic nations? How come they cannot accept the concept of Hindu Nation and call Dr. Subramanian Swamy’s statement as hateful? Can they also declare the Islamic countries as hateful, vicious, and destructive? Have they ever examined the freedom of speech and freedom of worship of the minorities in these Islamic countries? Is it not their moral responsibility to question the freedom issue in these Islamic countries?

What is expected of Academicians?

Academicians in general are expected to demonstrate honesty, integrity, objectivity, fairness, rationality and professionalism conduct are expected. Their presentation of views and opinions should be couched in scientific evidence. They are also expected to have broad knowledge where they should give both side of the argument, rather than being biased based on affiliation, association, allurement and monetary inducements.

Faculty members have the responsibility of adhering to the Free Speech Guidelines adopted by the faculty. It states that the “Free speech is uniquely important to the University because we are a community committed to reason and rational discourse. Free interchange of ideas is vital for our primary function of discovering and disseminating ideas through research, teaching and learning. Curtailment of free speech undercuts the intellectual freedom…”

When Professor Diana Eck says “Swamy’s op-ed clearly crosses the line by demonizing an entire religious community and calling for violence against their sacred places,” and “Harvard has a moral responsibility not to affiliate itself with anyone who expresses hatred towards a minority group.”

Professor Sugata Bose states that “[Swamy’s position on disenfranchisement] is like saying Jewish Americans and African Americans should not be allowed to vote unless they acknowledge the supremacy of white Anglo Saxon Protestants”

Being a Historian, Dr Bose should know better than that and compare apples with apples. What a tragedy. These are the professors teaching young students and molding them to hate Dr. Swamy’s article but never open their mouths about the hateful, violent, destructive and demeaning verses in Quran. Hiding behind freedom of speech, they are distorting the views of Dr. Swamy. Comparing the statement that Muslims accept their Hindu ancestry to Jewish American and African American accept the supremacy of Anglo Saxon Protestant is nothing but a blatant distortion of Dr. Swamy. One wonders about the competency of these professors in teaching at Harvard.

Now the question is what kind of research they have conducted about Islamic terror in India and the satanic verses in Quran. How many of them know that as many as 3400 people were killed by Islamic terrorists in the last one decade? They have failed to follow the guidelines adopted by the faculty – disseminating ideas through research.

These faculty members are not lay people, uneducated, biased and subjective who express their opinions without any scientific research. They are expected to be authority on the subject they speak about. What kind of research they have done and how many of them have done research on Quran and Islamic open war against Hindus in India?

What happened to the moral responsibility of the faculty members in addressing these issues?

Academic abuse of authority

Based on the controversial decision taken at Harvard with regard to Summer School offerings, every University should look at the standard procedure of a group of faculty members approving the courses for that school. This has been a norm for centuries; it is nothing new. An incident like this opens every body’s eyes and wonder as to “how can it be.”

Decisions are made by the faculty members of a particular School as to whether a course can be offered in a given semester. In each School there may be as many as 10 – 30 departments representing different disciples. That means if the Economics Department would like to offer Economics 101, decision is made by overwhelming majority of non-economists. The faculty members in the field of Sanskrit, Comparative Religion, philosophy, Islamic Studies, History, Sociology, Anthropology, Music, Art, Mathematics, Statistics, English and other fields decide depending on their clicks, associations and / or favors. Traditionally the faculty members would follow the recommendations of the department concerned. They have over stepped their boundaries in removing these courses.

Regarding the two courses Dr. Swamy was teaching over the years, the distinguished professors used their biases, prejudices, hatefulness, narrow-mindedness, and vindictiveness in rejecting the courses. There is nothing wrong with the courses except that these courses were to be taught by Dr. Swamy. Many of these faculty members have no clue as to the ground reality in India. Many of them have no expertise in the field of neither Economics nor Islam. But they can dispose these courses even if the God proposes. They are given that kind of authority. It is time for all Academic Universities to probe the academic abuse of their authority.

Can these Academicians call the following verses in Quran HATEFUL?

If these distinguished faculty members consider Dr. Swamy’s article a hateful speech, what would they call the following verses in Quran. Just for their perusal, we listed only few.

What do Professors Eck, Witzel, Kelly, Bose and others say about these verses?

Quran contains many verses that offend the sentiments of Hindus, their worship practices, and their numerous gods because they are considered kafirs (non-believers). These verses create enmity between the religions, create disharmony, create poisonous climate for the destruction of Hind images, belittle the belief system, and encourage killing of non-believers (Hindus). Hindus believe in peaceful coexistence while the Quran believes in total domination with no rights for non-believers.

Idol worshippers

[31:13] Recall that Luqmaan said to his son, as he enlightened him, “O my son, do not set up any idols beside GOD; idolatry is a gross injustice.”

[12:106] The majority of those who believe in GOD do not do so without committing idol worship.

[4:48] GOD does not forgive idolatry, but He forgives lesser offenses for whomever He wills. Anyone who sets up idols beside GOD, has forged a horrendous offense.

[4:116] GOD does not forgive idol worship (if maintained until death), and He forgives lesser offenses for whomever He wills. Anyone who idolizes any idol beside GOD has strayed far astray.

[39:65] It has been revealed to you, and to those before you that if you ever commit idol worship, all your works will be nullified, and you will be with the losers.

[72:18] The places of worship belong to GOD; do not call on anyone else beside GOD.

Idolaters are unclean just because they are idolater
9.28: O you who believe! The idolaters are nothing but unclean, so they shall not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year; and if you fear poverty then Allah will enrich you out of His grace if He pleases; surely Allah is Knowing Wise.

Forcing non-believers to pay tax
9.29: Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the latter day, nor do they prohibit what Allah and His Apostle have prohibited, nor follow the religion of truth, out of those who have been given the Book, until they pay the tax in acknowledgment of superiority and they are in a state of subjection.

2.62, 5.69 : All except Muslims / Jews/Christians / Sabians will go to hell
Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the Last day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord, and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve.

Smite the neck and cut fingertips of unbelievers
8.12: When your Lord revealed to the angels: I am with you, therefore make firm those who believe. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them.

Smite the neck of unbelievers
47.4: So when you meet in battle those who disbelieve, then smite the necks until when you have overcome them, then make (them) prisoners, and afterwards either set them free as a favor or let them ransom (themselves) until the war terminates. That (shall be so); and if Allah had pleased He would certainly have exacted what is due from them, but that He may try some of you by means of others; and (as for) those who are slain in the way of Allah, He will by no means allow their deeds to perish.

Now, would the Faculty Cancel courses on Islam?

As documented above, these verses openly advocate the killing of non-believers, destruction of the idols, smiting the necks of unbelievers, the imposition of taxes on nonbelievers, and condemning nonbelievers to hell. How many distinguished faculty members would like to vote on these verses as vicious, inciting, hateful, vicious, and evil? If you cannot vote, how many of them are willing to conduct research on these verses? How many of them are willing to discuss each of these and other verses in Quran openly in the University campus? All the faculty members who voted to scrap these courses from the Summer School denying Dr. Swamy to teach should be honest to their consciousness, integrity, and professionalism. Pascal may have Muslims in his mind when he stated that “Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.”

Reinstate Dr. Swamy, restore credibility, and regain the lost prestige

We earnestly request the President of the University, the faculty, the staff and the students to reintroduce these courses and reinstate Dr. Swamy to teach these courses. It is the right thing, a noble thing and an honest thing to do. Freedom of speech cannot be railroaded by select group of non-experts in the field. The reasons for removal of these courses are based on the supposed hatefulness in Dr. Swamy’s article, then the University should apply the same yardstick to all the Islamic courses based on Quran since it contains hundreds of hateful passages about non-believers. University’s reputation cannot be a sacrificial lamb for certain vested interested, anti-Hindus and self-professed secular liberals. University is a citadel for research, investigation and reasoning. The faculty should look at all sides of the issues rather than carried away by personal prejudices, ignorance and associations. It takes courage, guts and nerve to reverse the decision. The faculty and the President have this rare opportunity to correct the wrong. Every body will be a winner. No body will be a looser for doing the right thing.

- Global Hindu Heritage Foundation


Truth Exposed: The reality behind Church attack at Mangalore

November 16, 2011

Truth Exposed: The reality behind Church attack at Mangalore of November-3-2011

http://samvada.org/2011/news/truth-exposed-the-reality-behind-church-attack-at-mangalore-of-november-3-2011/

A Love story and A Church attack!

Mangalore: On November 3rd 2011, there was another incident happened in Mangalore which drew national headlines within an hour after occurrence. After a gap of atleast an year there was an alleged Church attack. This time it was St Alphonse Catholic Church, Kankanady, located in heart of Mangalore City.

Shibu Jalligudde- the lover turned attacker!!
The incident of ‘attack’ took place at 8.30pm, but according to police sources they were informed after an hour, at 9.30pm. There was an intentional delay in informing the police though the Police Station was nearer, the Church being in a city like Mangalore. However a youth by name Shibu, was arrested, sent for judicial custody till November 22.
Few national and local media’s took no time to declare that this is again an attack from Sangh Parivar. Copying these reports few International media too reported the same. Few Irresponsible Media brought name of Sangh Parivar like ‘Taken for granted’. They publicized the report in an exaggerated and often misleading manner beyond the reality.
Now the truth is unfurled by a Weekly ‘Vikrama’ for national resurgence.
According to VIKARAMA report, the truth was shocking!
Shibu, a local person from Jalligudde Mangalore was a bus conductor by profession. He had a love affair with a Nun (Christian Woman Priest) of that church since long time. She used to travel in his bus regularly. Whenever Church’s Father was out of Church, Shibu used to go to Church to meet her. There was an alleged sexual relationship between Shibu and her. To prove that inner-wears from a branded company was obtained on the spot.

Inner-wears obtained on the spot
When few people in Church knew this and opposed about the same. Shibu got angry when he was opposed. Either Shibu damaged Statue of Jesus Christ and Mother Mary or Men in church themselves damaged these and later made this fake allegations. The following question arises here.
The incident of ‘attack’ took place at 8.30pm, but according to police sources they were informed after an hour, at 9.30pm
Church The incident took place in Father’s room. If Father was not there, how Shibu gets the key of the room?
If Shibu, being a representative of Hindu Organisation who purposely attacked Church, why he was caught easily inside the church, even prior to an escape attempt?
Why Shibu’s clothes, including a Jockey Underwear was found inside the room?
On November 7th, few persons from Church called Shibu’s father to a secret place for compromise discussions?
What made Church people to ask Shibu’s father to declare that his son to is ‘mentally diseased’?
What benefit the Church gets if they claim Shibu mentally unfit?
Why still district’s administrations and Police not declared the investigation report even after 12 days? Why there is silence?
Hence still there is an uncertainty. According to Sangh Parivar Sources as told to VSK, the man caught Shibu has not connected to it. He is a ordinary man with emeotins, may did the attack after frustration of love with his woman. Its unfortunate to blame Sangh Parivar for anything and everything, though we have good ties with many Christian leaders, said a Top RSS Functionary from Mangalore. We condemn any attack on any religious sentiments, he said.
People of Mangalore eagerly waiting for the final Police inquiry report.

Damaged statue
ಬೆತ್ತಲಾದ ಚರ್ಚ್ ಪ್ರಕರಣ

ಮಂಗಳೂರು: ನಾಗರಿಕ ಪ್ರಜ್ಞೆ ಇರುವ ಮಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ಮತ್ತು ಮತೀಯ ಶಾಂತಿಗೆ ಧಕ್ಕೆಯಾಗುವ ಘಟನೆಗಳು ಮರುಕಳಿಸಲೇ ಬಾರದು. ಇದನ್ನೇ ಜನ ಬಯಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಜನ ಸೌಹಾರ್ದಯುತ ಬದುಕುನ್ನು ಕಾಣುತ್ತಿರುವಾಗಲೇ ವಿಚಲಿತಗೊಳಿಸುವ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಘಟನೆ ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಕನ್ನಡ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆದಿದೆ.
ದ.ಕ. ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಯಾವುದೇ ಭಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಆರಾಧನಾ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ದಾಳಿಯಾದರೆ ಮೊದಲು ಆರೋಪ ಕೇಳಿ ಬರುವುದು ಸಂಘ ಪರಿವಾರದ ಮೇಲೆಯೇ.. ಇದು ವಿಪರ್ಯಾಸ.
ಗಾಳಿ-ಮಳೆಗೆ ಹಾನಿ ಸಂಭವಿಸಿದರೂ, ಮೂರ್ತಿಗಳು ಭಗ್ನಗೊಂಡರೂ ಅದು ಸಂಘ ಪರಿವಾರದ ಕೆಲಸ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಿಕೆ ನೀಡಲು ಮತ್ತು ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಮಾಧ್ಯಮಗಳಿಗೆ ಸುದ್ದಿ ತಲುಪಿಸಲು ತುದಿಗಾಲಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಂತಿರುವ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಬಳಗವೇ ಮಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿದೆ. ಆ ಬಳಗವನ್ನು ಪೋಷಿಸುವ ಹಿತೈಷಿಗಳೂ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಸದಾ ಕ್ರಿಯಾಶೀಲವಾಗಿರುವುದು ಕೂಡಾ ಅಷ್ಟೇ ಸತ್ಯ.
ನವೆಂಬರ್ 3ರಂದು ಇಲ್ಲಿನ ಕಂಕನಾಡಿಯ ಸೈಂಟ್ ಅಲ್ಫೋನ್ಸಾ ಕ್ಯಾಥೋಲಿಕ್ ಚರ್ಚ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆದ ದಾಂಧಲೆಯ ಸುದ್ದಿಯೂ ಅತಿ ಶೀಘ್ರವಾಗಿ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ- ಅಂತಾರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಸುದ್ದಿ ಮಾಧ್ಯಮಗಳಿಗೆ ತಲುಪಿದೆ. ಮಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಘ ಪರಿವಾರದಿಂದ ನಿರಂತರವಾಗಿ ಚರ್ಚ್‌ಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ದಾಳಿ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿದೆ ಎಂಬ ಅರ್ಥ ಬರುವ ರೀತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅದೇ ರಾತ್ರಿ ಸುದ್ದಿ ಬಿತ್ತರವಾಗಿದೆ.
ಆದರೆ ಗುರುವಾರ ರಾತ್ರಿ ಕಂಕನಾಡಿ ಚರ್ಚ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಜವಾಗಿ ನಡೆದುದಾದರೂ ಏನು? ದಾಂಧಲೆ ನಡೆಸುವ ಉದ್ದೇಶವನ್ನು ಚರ್ಚ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿಬಿದ್ದ ಜಲ್ಲಿಗುಡ್ಡೆಯ ನಿವಾಸಿ ಶಿಬು ಹೊಂದಿದ್ದರೆ ಅಷ್ಟು ಬೇಗನೆ ಅಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಬರುತಿದ್ದನೇ? ರಾತ್ರಿ 8.30 -8.45ಮಧ್ಯೆ ಘಟನೆ ಸಂಭವಿಸಿದೆ. ಪೊಲೀಸರಿಗೆ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ನೀಡಿದ್ದು 9.30ರ ಸುಮಾರಿಗೆ. ಯಾರು, ಯಾಕೆ ವಿಳಂಬ ನೀತಿಯನ್ನು ಅನುಸರಿಸಿದರು? ಚರ್ಚ್‌ನ ಧರ್ಮಗುರುಗಳು ಊರಲ್ಲಿರಲಿಲ್ಲವೆಂದಾದ ಮೇಲೆ ಅವರ ಕೋಣೆಯ ಬೀಗದ ಕೀ ಶಿಬುವಿಗೆ ದೊರೆತುದಾದರೂ ಹೇಗೆ?
ದಾಳಿಗೆಂದು ಬಂದ ದುಷ್ಕರ್ಮಿ ತನ್ನ ಬಟ್ಟೆ ಬರೆಗಳನ್ನು ಹ್ಯಾಂಗರ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ತೂಗು ಹಾಕಿರಲು ಕಾರಣವೇನು?
ಒಳ ಉಡುಪು ಕಳಚಿಡುವುದಕ್ಕೂ ದಾಳಿಗೂ ಏನಾದರೂ ಸಂಬಂಧವಿದೆಯೇ ಎಂಬ ಅಂಶ ಪ್ರಮುಖವಾಗಿ ಕಂಡುಬಂದಿದ್ದು ಪೊಲೀಸರ ದೃಷ್ಟಿಯೂ ಇದರತ್ತಲೇ ನೆಟ್ಟಿದೆ. ತನಿಖೆಯೂ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿದೆ.
ಧರ್ಮಗುರುಗಳ ಕೊಠಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮಹಿಳೆಯರು ಬಳಸುವ ಛತ್ರಿಯೊಂದು ಪತ್ತೆಯಾಗಿರುವುದು ಗೊತ್ತಾಗಿದೆ. ಅದು ಯಾರಿಗೆ ಸೇರಿದ್ದು? ಆ ಛತ್ರಿ ಅಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಹೇಗೆ ಬಂತು ಎಂಬ ಕುರಿತು ಚರ್ಚೆಯಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಹಾಸಿಗೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ‘ವೀ….’ ಬಿದ್ದಿರುವ ವದಂತಿಯೂ ಹಬ್ಬಿದ್ದು ಇದೊಂದು ‘ರಾತ್ರಿಯಾಟ’ ಎಂಬುದನ್ನು ಜನರೇ ಮಾತಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಕೊಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ದೊರೆತ ಒಳಉಡುಪು, ಕೂದಲನ್ನು ಸದ್ಯ ಪ್ರಯೋಗಾಲಯಕ್ಕೆ ಕೊಂಡೊಯ್ಯಲಾಗಿದೆ.
‘ಆರೋಪಿ ಕ್ಯಾಂಡಲ್ ಸ್ಟ್ಯಾಂಡಿನಿಂದ ಹೊಡೆದು ಯೇಸು ಕ್ರಿಸ್ತರ ಮೂರ್ತಿಯ ಪಾದಕ್ಕೆ ಹಾನಿಗೊಳಿಸಿದ್ದಾನೆ. ಮೇರಿ ಮಾತೆಯ ಮೂರ್ತಿಯ ಕಿರೀಟವನ್ನು ಕೆಳಕ್ಕೆ ಎಸೆದಿದ್ದಾನೆ ’ ಎಂದು ಧರ್ಮ ಗುರುಗಳು ಪೋಲೀಸರಿಗೆ ನೀಡಿದ ಹೇಳಿಕೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ತಿಳಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಹಾಗಾದರೆ ಚರ್ಚ್‌ನೊಳಗೆ ಕಲ್ಲುಗಳು ಎಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಬಂದವು? ದಾಂಧಲೆಗೆಂದು ಬಂದವನು ಜನರನ್ನು ಕಂಡಾಗ ತಪ್ಪಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಬದಲಾಗಿ ಇನ್ನಷ್ಟು ಆವಾಂತರ ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಸಿ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿ ಬೀಳಲು ಇಷ್ಟ ಪಡುವುದಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂಬುದು ಬಹಳ ಮುಖ್ಯ.
ಚರ್ಚ್‌ನೊಳಗೆ ನಡೆದ ‘ಅಪವಿತ್ರ’ ಕೆಲಸವನ್ನು ಮರೆಮಾಚಲು ಮೂರ್ತಿ ಭಗ್ನವನ್ನು ಅಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧ ಪಟ್ಟವರೇ ಯಾಕೆ ಮಾಡಿರಬಾರದು? ಈ ಸಿದ್ಧತೆಗಳನ್ನು ಪೂರೈಸಿದ ಬಳಿಕವೇ ಚರ್ಚ್ ಮಂದಿ ಪೊಲೀಸರಿಗೆ ದೂರು ತಲುಪಿಸಿರುವ ಸಾಧ್ಯತೆಗಳಿಲ್ಲವೇ?
ಚರ್ಚ್‌ನ ನನ್‌ನೊಂದಿಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧ?
ಚರ್ಚ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿ ಬಿದ್ದಿರುವ ಶಿಬು ನಾಲ್ಕು ದಿನಗಳ ಪೊಲೀಸ್ ಕಸ್ಟಡಿಯ ಬಳಿಕ ನ.22ರವರೆಗೆ ನ್ಯಾಯಾಂಗ ಬಂಧನದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದಾನೆ. ನಗರದ ಸಿಟಿ ಬಸ್ ಒಂದರಲ್ಲಿ ನಿರ್ವಾಹಕನಾಗಿದ್ದ ಶಿಬು ಚರ್ಚ್‌ನ ನನ್ (ಕ್ರೈಸ್ತ ಸನ್ಯಾಸಿನಿ) ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧ ಹೊಂದಿದ್ದ ಎನ್ನಲಾಗಿದೆ.
ನಿತ್ಯ ಅದೇ ಬಸ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಯಾಣಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ನನ್‌ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಆತನ ಸ್ನೇಹ ಗಾಢವಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಇದೇ ಕಾರಣದಿಂದ ಚರ್ಚ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾರೂ ಇಲ್ಲದ ವೇಳೆ ಆತ ನನ್‌ರನ್ನು ಭೇಟಿ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದ. ನ.೩ರಂದು ಕೂಡ ಅದೇರೀತಿ ತೆರಳಿದ್ದಾನೆ. ಆತನ ದುರಾದೃಷ್ಟಕ್ಕೆ ಚರ್ಚ್‌ನ ಕೆಲವು ಮಂದಿ ಕಂಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಆದರೆ ಪ್ರಾರ್ಥನೆ ಸಲ್ಲಿಸಲು ಬಂದಿಬೇಕೆಂದು ಅವರಂದುಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದರು. ಆದರೆ ಆತ ವಾಪಾಸು ಬರುವ ಸುಳಿವು ಇಲ್ಲವಾದಾಗ ಹುಡುಕುವ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ ಸಾಗಿದೆ.
ಚರ್ಚ್‌ನ ಫಾದರ್ ಇಲ್ಲದ ಸಂದರ್ಭವೇ ಶಿಬು ಬರುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಅನ್ನೋದು ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ವಿಶೇಷ. ಅಂತೆಯೇ ಚರ್ಚ್‌ನವರು ಹುಡುಕಾಟ ಆರಂಭಿಸಿದಾಗ ಫಾದರ್ ಅವರ ಕೊಠಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನನ್ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಶಿಬು ಬೆತ್ತಲೆಯಾಗಿ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿಬಿದ್ದಿದ್ದಾನೆ. ಆತ ಕಳಚಿಟ್ಟ ಒಳ ಉಡುಪು ಸ್ಥಳದಲ್ಲೇ ಪತ್ತೆಯಾಗಿದೆ. ಚರ್ಚ್‌ನ ಮಂದಿಯನ್ನು ಕಂಡಾತ ತಪ್ಪಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಭರದಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆತ್ತಲಾಗಿಯೇ ಓಟಕ್ಕಿತ್ತಿದ್ದಾನೆ. ಆ ಸಂದರ್ಭ ಟೇಬಲ್ ಮೇಲಿದ್ದ ಟೇಬಲ್ ಕ್ಲಾತ್‌ನ್ನು ಸೆಳೆದು ಸೊಂಟಕ್ಕೆ ಸುತ್ತಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ್ನಿಸಿದ್ದು ಆ ಸಂದರ್ಭ ಆತನ ಕೈ ಏಸುವಿನ ಶಿಲುಬೆಗೆ ತಾಗಿ ಹಾನಿಯಾಗಿರಬೇಕು. ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಪವಿತ್ರ ವಸ್ತುಗಳುನ್ನು ಇಟ್ಟಿದ್ದ ಟೇಬಲ್ ಮೇಲಿದ್ದ ವಸ್ತುಗಳು ಕೆಳಗೆ ಬಿದ್ದು ಚೆಲ್ಲಾಪಿಲ್ಲಿಯಾಗಿವೆ ಎಂಬುದು ಕಣ್ಣೆದುರಿರುವ ಸತ್ಯ ಎಂದು ಜನರೇ ಆಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

ಗುಪ್ತಸಭೆ, ಆರೋಪಿ ಮಾನಸಿಕ ಅಸ್ವಸ್ಥನೆಂದು ಬಿಂಬಿಸುವ ಯತ್ನ
ಸತ್ಯ ವಿಷಯ ಬಹಿರಂಗಗೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದಂತೆ ನೈಜ ಪ್ರಕರಣಕ್ಕೆ ತೇಪೆ ಹಚ್ಚಿ ಮುಗಿಸುವ ಯತ್ನ ನಡೆದಿದೆ.
ಶಿಬುನನ್ನು ಮಾನಸಿಕ ಅಸ್ವಸ್ಥ ಎಂದು ಬಿಂಬಿಸಿ ಪ್ರಕರಣವನ್ನು ತಿಳಿಗೊಳಿಸುವ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ ಸಾಗಿದ್ದು ನ.೭ರಂದು ಚರ್ಚ್‌ಗೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದ ಪ್ರಮುಖರೊಬ್ಬರು ಶಿಬುನ ತಂದೆಯನ್ನು ಮಾತುಕತೆ ನಡೆಸಲೆಂದು ಕಂಕನಾಡಿಯ ಕಚೇರಿಯೊಂದಕ್ಕೆ ಕರೆಸಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಗುಪ್ತ ಆಹ್ವಾನದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಶಿಬುನ ಸ್ನೇಹಿತ ಹಿಂದೂ ಸಂಘಟನೆಯೊಂದಕ್ಕೆ ಸುದ್ದಿ ಮುಟ್ಟಿಸಿದ್ದರು. ಸೋಮವಾರ ಮಾತುಕತೆ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದಂತೆ ಸಂಘಟನೆಯ ಕೆಲವರು ಆ ಸ್ಥಳಕ್ಕೆ ಭೇಟಿ ನೀಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಇದನ್ನು ಕಂಡು ದಂಗಾದ ಚರ್ಚ್ ಪ್ರಮುಖರು ವಿಷಯಾಂತರಕ್ಕೆ ಯತ್ನಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅಲ್ಲದೆ ಬಂದವರ ಮೇಲೆಯೇ ರೇಗಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಆದಾಗ್ಯೂ ಚರ್ಚ್‌ನ ನನ್ ಮತ್ತು ಶಿಬು ನಡುವಿನ ಗಾಢ ಸ್ನೇಹದಿಂದಲೇ ಆತ ಗುರುವಾರ ರಾತ್ರಿ ಚರ್ಚ್‌ಗೆ ಬಂದಿದ್ದ ಎಂಬ ಸತ್ಯ ಒಪ್ಪಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಅವರು ಸಿದ್ಧರಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಚರ್ಚ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಆಕಸ್ಮಿಕವಾಗಿ ಈ ಘಟನೆ ನಡೆದಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಪತ್ರಿಕಾ ಹೇಳಿಕೆ ನೀಡುವಂತೆ ಸಂಘಟನೆಯವರು ತಿಳಿಸಿದಾಗ, ಇದನ್ನು ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಪ್ರಮುಖರು ಚರ್ಚಿಸಿ ತೀರ್ಮಾನಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ ಎಂದು ನುಣುಚಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಯತ್ನ ನಡೆಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.
ಆಡಳಿತ ಮಂಡಳಿ ತೀರ್ಮಾನಿಸುವುದಾದರೆ ಗೌಪ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಶಿಬುನ ತಂದೆಯನ್ನು ಮಾತುಕತೆಗೆ ಕರೆಯುವ ಔಚಿತ್ಯವೇನಿತ್ತು? ಎಂಬ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗೆ ಅವರಲ್ಲಿ ಉತ್ತರವಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ.
ಆಮಿಷ ಒಡ್ಡಿ ಪ್ರಕರಣ ತಿರುಚಲು ಯತ್ನ?
ಆಮಿಷ ಒಡ್ಡಿ , ಶಿಬುನನ್ನು ಕುಡುಕ, ಮಾನಸಿಕ ಅಸ್ವಸ್ಥ ಎಂದು ಆತನ ತಂದೆಯ ಮೂಲಕವೇ ಬಹಿರಂಗಪಡಿಸಲು ಅವರನ್ನು ಮಾತುಕತೆಗೆ ಕರೆಸಲಾಗಿತ್ತೆನ್ನಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ಶಾಂತಿ-ಸಾಮರಸ್ಯದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ನೈಜ ಕಾಳಜಿ ಇರುವುದೇ ಆದರೆ ಚರ್ಚ್ ಸತ್ಯವಿಚಾರವನ್ನು ಬಹಿರಂಗಪಡಿಸಬೇಕು. ಪೊಲೀಸರು ಶೀಘ್ರ ತನಿಖೆ ನಡೆಸಿ ಸತ್ಯಾಂಶವನ್ನು ಸಮಾಜದ ಮುಂದಿಡಬೇಕು. ಜನರಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಗೊಂದಲವನ್ನು ನಿವಾರಿಸಬೇಕು. ಚರ್ಚ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಜವಾಗಿಯೂ ನಡೆದಿದ್ದೇನು? ಎಂಬುದು ಪೊಲೀಸರು ಅಥವಾ ಚರ್ಚ್‌ನವರ ಮೂಲಕ ಶೀಘ್ರ ಬಹಿರಂಗಗೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕು ಎಂದು ವಿವಿಧ ಸಂಘಟನೆಗಳು, ನಾಗರಿಕರು ಒತ್ತಾಯಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಇದಕ್ಕೂ ಮುನ್ನ ಚರ್ಚ್ ಮೇಲೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ದಾಳಿ ಎಂದು ಭಾರೀ ಗುಲ್ಲೆಬ್ಬಿಸುವ ಯತ್ನ ನಡೆದಿದ್ದನ್ನು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ಮರಿಸಬಹುದು.
ಪ್ರಕರಣ ತಿರುವು ಪಡೆಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದಂತೆ ಪತ್ರಿಕಾಗೋಷ್ಠಿ ಕರೆದು ತಮ್ಮ ಬೇಳೆ ಬೇಯಿಸಿ ಉರಿವ ಬೆಂಕಿಗೆ ತುಪ್ಪ ಸುರಿಯುವ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡುವ ಮಂದಿ, ಈಗ ತುಟಿಪಿಟಿಕ್ಕೆನ್ನುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ. ಚರ್ಚ್ ದಾಳಿ ಎಂದು ಬಿಂಬಿತವಾದಾಗ ಎಲ್ಲಿಲ್ಲದ ಮುತುವರ್ಜಿಯಿಂದ ಇದು ಹಿಂದೂ ಸಂಘಟನೆಗಳದ್ದೇ ಕೆಲಸ ಎಂಬ ರೀತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಷಯ ಬಿತ್ತರವಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಹೇಳಿಕೆಗಳೂ ಅದೇ ರೀತಿ ಇದ್ದವು. ಒಂದು ವೇಳೆ ಕೋರ್ಟ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಶಿಬು ನನ್‌ನೊಂದಿಗಿನ ಸಂಬಂಧದ ಹಿನ್ನೆಲೆಯಲ್ಲೇ ತಾನು ಚರ್ಚ್‌ಗೆ ಬರುತ್ತಿದ್ದೆ ಎಂಬ ಹೇಳಿಕೆ ನೀಡಿದರೆ ಚರ್ಚ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿರುವ ವಿಷಯಗಳತ್ತ ಜನ ಪ್ರಶ್ನಾರ್ಥಕವಾಗಿ ನೋಡುವುದಂತೂ ಸತ್ಯ.


Communal Violence Bill divides the country- Arif Mohammad Khan

November 14, 2011

Impressive words by Arif Mohammad Khan @ seminar in Hyderabad. He say,” The communal violence bill is a shameful attempt by the Congress to exploit the so-called minority votes by creating the bogey of majoritarian violence. The bill is anti-constitutional and will not stand in the court of law. But the damage on the psyche of the country will be immense. We are one nation and one people and everyone must be equal in the eyes of law”


Let’s talk about Kashmir – Tavleen Singh

October 28, 2011

Let’s talk about Kashmir

Tavleen Singh Posted online: Sun Oct 16 2011, 01:15 hrs

Prashant Bhushan got thrashed by thugs last week. Thugs will be thugs, alas, which is a bore. It would have been better if Bhushan and his Leftist fellow travellers were challenged verbally on their preposterous position on Kashmir. How dare they ask for a plebiscite? Do they not see that regular elections have nullified the need for one? Are they suggesting that all the elections held since 1947 were fraudulent?
Only those who have no idea of Kashmir’s history will say that none of them were. There were many fraudulent elections and this is something that India needs to be eternally ashamed of because it never helped India’s case. But, far too many well-meaning Indians, like Bhushan and his friend the ex-novelist, remain stuck in a time warp and nobody drags them out of it for reasons of political correctness. This lethal disease has become worse since Inquilab-e-Anna because to say anything against a member of Anna Hazare’s exalted team these days invokes charges of being corrupt.

It was only after the thugs did their damage that I first heard what had annoyed them enough to start beating up Bhushan and his pals. After interminable visuals of them being roughed up on all the news channels, I still did not understand what provoked the violence. Finally, on one channel, I spotted a tiny clip of what Bhushan said in Srinagar. I do not know when he said what he did but admit that what he said got on my last nerve. What is his reason for wanting a plebiscite? Now at the end of the most peaceful summer Kashmir has seen in years? Have Bhushan and others of his ilk become accidental victims of a conspiracy to restart the violence? It is beginning to seem that way to me and, in my opinion, that is not just anti-national but evil.

As someone who has covered the Kashmir problem since the days when it was neither fashionable nor safe, I began to detect signs of a conspiracy to make trouble when Mehbooba Mufti started charging Omar Abdullah with murder. I witnessed first hand her father’s role in the creation of the current phase of the Kashmir problem (quite different to the historical problem), so I am continually suspicious of Mehbooba’s political ideas and motives. She may not remember, but I remember with painful clarity, that it was her beloved Daddy who advised Indira Gandhi to topple Farooq Abdullah’s government in 1984.

Mufti Sayeed was at the head of the group that said the 1983 election was rigged when it should have been clear to anyone, except the most blinkered, that the National Conference did not need to rig an election that came just months after Sheikh Abdullah’s death. His son would have won without even needing to campaign but Mrs Gandhi was misled by people who included Mufti Sayeed. The toppling of Farooq’s government was the beginning of the Kashmir problem as we know it today. In my view, the historical problem died with the Indira-Sheikh accord in 1974.

It is now nearly twenty years since the current problem began. And, this is almost the first peaceful summer the Kashmir Valley has seen since then. This seems to infuriate people like Mehbooba. So she took to the streets to protest against the alleged murder of a National Conference worker in the Chief Minister’s back garden. If Omar Abdullah wanted to murder one of his party workers, would he be foolish enough to do it in his own garden?

Mehbooba and her gang of noisy protesters failed to bring the stone-pelters back into the streets of Srinagar but she succeeded in attracting media attention. Self-appointed experts sped off to the Valley and returned to write long, silly pieces based on unsubstantiated charges. And, as usual, the news channels went nuts. The Chief Minister was charged, tried and found guilty on national television with some anchors using tactics that would have put inquisitors in medieval inquisitions to shame. They shamed me as a journalist because when journalists turn interviews into inquisitions they cross a very, very dangerous line.

To return to the plebiscite question. For those Indians who believe that a plebiscite is still the solution to the larger Kashmir problem, may I suggest that they summon up the courage to go further. Let them say loudly and clearly that every election in Jammu & Kashmir has been rigged and let them prove this because it will prove that Indian democracy is a sham. For my part, I am sick to death of educated, intelligent, supposedly informed Indians saying things about the Kashmir situation that are dangerously untrue. If there is ever to be a lasting solution to our most difficult political problem, it will come after many seasons of peace. To disrupt the first such season harms Kashmir and it shames India.

Follow Tavleen Singh on Twitter@tavleen_singh

http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/860418/


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