Kumbh Mela at stake

Kumbh Mela at stake -- RM

When Harvard University created a major new initiative called the Harvard Kumbh Mela Project, Hindus naturally became impressed and proud. After all, it brought global importance to our heritage. However, it is my nature to cross check such foreign interventions, and, therefore, I decided to study the project more closely. I also decided to take a look at various other international interventions on the Kumbh Mela besides those by Harvard. What I found has disconcerted me on several counts.

I have organized my concerns into the following categories, in increasing order of seriousness:

1. Dilution as exotic tourism
2. Source of research for appropriation and digestion
3. Distortion and secularization of the mela itself
4. Infiltration and hijacking by Christian and Islamic groups
5. Condemnation as another “human rights violation” to be exposed through atrocity literature.
6. This is the destructive stage.

To put it bluntly, I am suspicious of Harvard’s involvement, even if those directly involved in it might be innocent at this stage. Nor is my concern entirely focused on Harvard. There is a long history of Western interventions that have benign and noble beginnings, but that later take a dangerous turn. There is still time to investigate the risks discussed below, and I will offer some concrete recommendations to prevent the hijacking and destruction of the Kumbh Mela.

Kumbhmela (Photo: Yosarian)

Professor Diana Eck, Harvard’s renowned professor of Hinduism studies, made a telling remark in the official video by Harvard’s Kumbh Mela project team. In a sense, she inadvertently gave away the hidden agenda. She said that she missed seeing feminist NGOs at the mela (1). This is exactly how Ford Foundation started its interventions in India several decades back: by training, funding and empowering several feminist NGOs in India, and then using them to dish out atrocity literature on Indian society, along with the large-scale training of a whole generation of Indian women in Western feminist ideology. The goal was to make Western feminist ideologies fashionable among the bright, young women of India by constantly encouraging them to do studies on women’s oppression in Indian society. I certainly want our society’s serious gender issues to be studied and remedied; however, there ought to be balanced research on the pros and cons of importing Western feminism into Indian society in such an aggressive manner.

The resources for gender studies within Indian traditions should also be brought into play in such analyses.

We should not be surprised to find Harvard and other influential institutions starting to bring in feminist groups to look for issues at the Kumbh Mela, such as the following: Is the mela dominated by males? Are women being exploited by the events? Are there rapes and harassment? These are some of the standard templates used by such institutions to kick-start their programme. Women are incentivized to speak up as “victims of culture”, leading them to exaggerate or even outright fabricate complaints. Such investigations feed copious databases riding on the back of which eventually we will face interventions in the name of women’s rights.

In other words, if one looks at the themes and results produced by the hundreds of anthropology and social sciences projects on India, the same list of research investigations can easily be applied to the Kumbh Mela. This would make the mela a new “site for research” in South Asian studies. Thus far, the mela has been almost entirely ignored by Western researchers, and so far their “sites” for such research have been in poor villages, in “Hindu chauvinism” organizations, in episodes of violence where Hinduism can be blamed, etc. I fear that this mela is about to turn into the latest playground for such mischief.

In the same way, demographic studies will soon be commissioned on caste exploitation at the mela. The façade will be to position these as diversity studies. The real goal of these will be to look for inequalities in the facilities available to caste groups. As in all sociological research, Indian NGOs and political groups representing various fragments will get roped in to politicize the mela. Once unleashed, this trend will get out of hand and fuel a dangerous fragmentation among mela attendees. There will be fights instigated by caste groups, among north/south constituencies, and among various ideological streams and social groups. For thousands of years, all this diversity has co-existed in mutual harmony and respect, and this is what the foreign interventions will try to disrupt in the name of modernization.

If the other trajectories of Western research interventions are any indicator, one may expect Western-sponsored research to look for crime against sadhvis and lower caste participants. There will be dissertations written with juicy allegations concerning women being victims of rape, tantric sex orgies, etc. Case studies will get published in National Geographic magazine, and Western television documentaries will be produced on dowry, sati, idolatry, some naked sadhus allegedly eating human flesh, etc.

The mela will turn into the biggest unexplored frontier of the exotic, “uncivilized and dangerous” others. It is far too open, and this offers huge opportunities for Western frontiersmen seeking adventure, fame, and fortune. Already, there were media reporters at the Nasik Kumbh Mela saying that there ought to be large scale distribution of condoms at the Kumbh Mela. Times of India set the ball rolling on this sensation (2) with India Today and Britain’s Daily Mail quickly picking up the hot story (3).

A blog by the Harvard Kumbh Mela team reported: “One of the major outcomes of this group’s research was observing the concern many people at the Kumbh had about the pollution produced throughout the course of this festival.”  (4) In other words, we can expect future research on how the mela causes pollution, and just as Divali, Ganesh festival, and some other Hindu festivals have already become targeted as environmental hazards, so will the Kumbh Mela be added to the list of primitive nuisance practices. Students from Harvard and other places will be assigned projects to document the health hazard being caused by immersing ash and other ritualistic objects into the Ganga and by the cremation of dead bodies and disposal in the rivers all year long, etc. In other words, apart from the feminist and sociological lens explained above, the environmentalism lens will also get applied to “study” the mela. This will be presented (and appreciated by many Indians) as Western “assistance” to help upgrade and modernize the mela.

Making an offering at the Kumbh. (AFP PHOTO/ Andrew Caballero-Reynolds)

The atrocity literature production about the mela is bound to explode with the help of camera crews that are everywhere. One enterprising Westerner bragged that he participated in the tradition of kite flying on the river bank, as this allowed him to hide a camera on his kite, thereby turning it into a drone for filming from the sky: imagine the treasure trove of scandalous and sensational video footage he could collect this way!

There are already attempts by Christian missionaries to infiltrate the mela for proselytizing. Any restrictions against this are likely to be challenged by missionaries with the help of their Western and Indian supporters. Arguments will be made that since “nobody owns the mela” or the Ganga (or any other public place where the mela is held), every citizen should have an equal right to go for a dip in the river. Such infiltrations will start in a small and passive way to get inside the door, and then gradually become entrenched and expand in size, scope, and level of assertiveness. Missionaries are experienced in entering as good guests using sama (friendship) and dana (charity). They will undoubtedly bring lots of free things to give away, and this will be a big hit among the villagers who comprise most of the attendees at the mela.

I anticipate that many confused Hindu groups who teach that all religions are the same will become facilitators to help such penetration by Abrahamic religions. How would one object to a so-called Hindu organization wanting to put up pictures of Jesus depicted as a yogi, or Mother Mary in a saree wearing a bindi? How would one stop prasad being given away by a missionary school wanting to feed the poor children at the mela? There are plenty of confused Hindu groups seeking the international limelight and money who will be glad to facilitate in opening such doors.

Harvard’s Pluralism Project (also run by Diana Eck) could easily open the door in the name of studying and nurturing “pluralism”. To disarm naïve Hindu leaders, it will offer patronizing praise for “Hindu tolerance” that would stir pride among these leaders. All this would make it difficult for anyone to deny them free access for their strategic intrusions.
Secularization of the Kumbh Mela is another shift that is not far away, either. Nothing stops Pepsi, Reliance, Airtel, Amazon or Flipkart, or any other consumer brand, to put up its large tent at the mela, show some spiritual movies to qualify as a religious pavilion, and then openly market its products and services. If not outright selling, this could be a place for soft sales to bring new clients into the door. In other words, seen from their viewpoint, the Kumbh Mela is a great brand marketing event. Some enterprising corporate houses will start a sales distribution channel catering specifically to religious festivals. Given the prestige of being “secularized”, many people will find nothing wrong with this “modernization” of the mela.

The first mela intervention by Harvard has already succeeded in its goal to secure a buy-in from many kinds of elites in India. Unfortunately, these elites lack far sightedness and are easily bought off, in exchange for prestigious association with Harvard and other international institutions. Harvard’s special book on its Kumbh Mela Project was launched in New York with the prestigious sponsorship of Asia Society (5). The India launch of the book was held at Oberoi Hotel, one of Delhi’s most prestigious locations. The chief guest at this event was none other than the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, who was given the limelight to secure his support. He was so grateful for the honor that “Harvard has arrived” in his town or state, or rather, that he has arrived on the world stage thanks to Harvard (6).

Scholars of the colonization process must take note that Harvard refers to its work as “mapping” the Kumbh Mela (7). One has to read Benedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities to understand how the British colonialists were obsessed with the mapping (in a broad sense of organizing databases) of the geography, population, religious practices, social and political structures, all for the purpose of developing a template for better negotiation and control. The same kind of mapping had earlier been done in North America by the European settlers, which helped their systematic aggression against the natives. Some of the best socio-religious databases on India at the district and village level are the ones developed by the Church and CIA.

This initial stage in the Kumbh Mela intervention is to become established as some “good guys” who are wanting to help. To establish those “good guy” credentials, they are now busy making inroads with politicians, leaders of various Hindu sampradayas and sants, by inviting them into their documentaries and visits to the USA. Unfortunately, many of these Indians are totally clueless, with insufficient competence at doing the purva-paksha of a sophisticated opponent. They have no idea of how the game is being played. They do not seem to appreciate that short-term benefits are often at the cost of long-term control.

Harvard refers to its Kumbh Mela project as an interdisciplinary one, combining many departments each with its own separate lens. The departments already participating include: urban planning, logistics, public health, religious studies, business school, anthropology, design school, etc. Each lens is highly secularized, lacking even an iota of shraddha for our traditions. They are looking for “interesting specimens” to study. This is a perfect example of a synthetic unity framework being used to study (and distort) the integral unity.

None of the materials produced by Harvard’s team have discussed the metaphysical meaning of the yajna being carried out at the Kumbh Mela. When they did discuss the “myth” behind the mela, it was presented as some exotic, primitive story along the lines of a Hollywood movie like Lord of the Rings. They do not have the embodied knowing experience, or even the interest, to appreciate the metaphysics of ritam and yajna, and how these manifest in every aspect of the world including in our lives. Such a profound insight into the integral unity lacks because there is no shraddha in the top leadership of the project. None of the project experts interviewed on camera mentioned anything about the metaphysics of re-enacting the cosmic yajna as the purpose of the mela. It is the latest hunting ground for the anthropology of the exotica and erotica.

Harvard’s team has announced that in the next phase they will move from descriptions/modeling to prescriptions and interventions. This will make it more dangerous in my opinion. The purpose of their interventions, they said, will be to “solve issues” and bring better “architecture/public health policies and assistance.” In other words, they make no secret that having “mapped” the Kumbh Mela within their framework, now it’s time to intervene in various ways. Sadly, we have quite a few clueless swamis, sadhus and gurus already eagerly waiting to serve them as functionaries for “reforming” the Kumbh Mela.

We are well along the following trajectory of Western interventions in the Kumbh Mela:

1. It starts out as curiosity-seeking field trips to bring back exotic reports, mostly benign and respectful at this stage.

2. More formally trained anthropologists and social scientists enter the arena and develop frameworks into which mappings are made. This privileges certain ways to see and understand the phenomena. It is a technique to make the strange look familiar (and safe) in terms that Westerners can deal with. Of course, the new framework is alien to the insiders of the tradition.

3. Elitist Westernized Indians, as well as some naïve traditional Hindus, buy into this new framework to understand the mela. This is when their drishti gets reprogrammed with the Western (whitened) gaze. Such Indians become very important in the spread of the Western mind set into the mainstream.

4. Many useful things learned get digested into Western knowledge systems.

5. Christian groups (followed by Muslims as well), initially seen as champions and as our friends, take over the greater share of the mental space of the mela participants.

6. The result is the rejection of many elements that have been important in the tradition, and this rejection is postured as a sort of “reform movement”. In fact, it is a distortion and relies upon one-sided facts and flawed analyses.

I am not saying all these stages will necessarily happen. I predict this as the likely trajectory if things continue in a present manner. The grand effect of all this will be a sweeping shift in the adhikar to interpret our traditions.

I find the Western interventionists making multi-year strategic plans with the benefit of having similar experiences in their other interventions. But I do not find any prominent Hindu leaders taking note of this syndrome, much less offering a counter-discourse.

My recommendations to Hindu leaders are as follows:

1. We should remain open to outsiders but not lose control to them.

2. Kumbh Mela should remain anchored primarily as a sacred yajna to re-enact the cosmic processes. It must not turn into a tourism spectacle or grand circus of weirdness for outsiders to enjoy. Even though there is money to be made from such a large gathering, that agenda should not take control over the mela.
The group of akhadas (sadhu organizations) that have run the mela since time immemorial must assert its authority firmly. This means that it must bring in advisors who know how these dangerous forces operate, especially those who have done the requisite purva-paksha on such forces.

3. Under the leadership of the akhadas, the state governments involved must develop risk assessment and risk management strategies to pre-empt the kinds of threats I am raising here.

4. Those firmly established as insiders (practitioners with shraddha) should retain control to evaluate the issues that do exist, and that need to be addressed from within. This includes making all kinds of studies ourselves, rather than abandoning that responsibility and letting outsiders take control over the data gathering and analysis about the mela. Issues like pollution and any form of social oppression must be taken seriously and dealt with by our leaders. Changes must be discussed and implemented, to move with the times. Our smritis are not meant to be frozen and do need constant debate and change in the face of new developments. Scientific validation of traditional practices must be done by our organizations and not be granted on a platter to outsiders.

5. Since 90% of the participants are traditional Hindus from villages and small towns, these innocent and humble persons must be given the utmost respect; they are the last remaining true practitioners of our heritage. They come from faraway places at great cost and effort because for them this is a very special spiritual experience.

6. Our leaders must develop poison pills to protect against digestion. These include respect for living gurus, sacred places, non-translatables, sacred sounds and mantras, sacred objects and symbols.

नरेंद्र दुबे रचनात्मक कार्यों के पितामह

रचनात्मक कार्यों के पितामह नरेंद्र दुबे का निधन

 इन्दौर 18 नवंबर। प्रख्यात सर्वोदय कार्यकर्ता श्री नरेंद्र दुबे का 80 वर्ष की आयु में निधन हो गया। वे कुछ दिनों से बीमार थे। श्री दुबे संत विनोबा के विचारों से प्रेरित थे। युवावस्था में उन्होंने खादी धारण करने का संकल्प लिया और उसे जीवनभर निभाया। उनकी दृष्टि सदैव गरीबों के उत्थान की ओर रही। उन्होंने भूदान आंदोलन, ग्रामदान आंदोलन और गोरक्षा सत्याग्रह तथा खादी आंदोलन में सक्रिय भाग लिया। वे खादी ग्रामोद्योग आयोग प्रमाण पत्र समिति के अध्यक्ष और खादी ग्रामोद्योग आयोग के सदस्य भी रहे। अंतिम संस्कार 19 नवंबर को प्रातः 11 बजे पंचकुइया मोक्षधाम पर किया जाएगा।

श्री नरेंद्र दुबे का जीवन कार्य

जीवन में उनके लिए कुछ भी पाना कठिन नहीं था। उनका परिवार इन्दौर के राजपरिवार से जुड़ा था। उनके काका सुरेंद्रनाथ दुबे मध्यभारत के विकास आयुक्त थे और चचेरे भाई शरदचंद्र्र दुबे भारत सरकार में रक्षा सचिव थे। लेकिन उन्होंने बाल्यकाल में ही तय कर लिया था कि सरकारी नौकरी में नहीं जाना और व्यापारी के यहां नौकरी नहीं करना। उनकी योग्यता और दक्षता को देखते हुए स्वयं प्रधानमंत्री इंदिरा गांधी ने श्री वसंत साठे के माध्यम से उन्हें अखिल भारत खादी तथा ग्रामोद्योग आयोग का अध्यक्ष मनोनीत करने का निमंत्रण भेजा, परंतु संत विनोबा की सलाह को मानकर उन्होंने विनम्रतापूर्वक उस पद को अपनाने से इनकार कर दिया। दूसरी ओर संपूर्ण क्रांति के प्रणेता लोकनायक जयप्रकाष नारायण के विचारों से सार्वजनिक रूप से असहमति जताने वाले नरों में इंद्र श्री नरेंद्र दुबे का 18 नवंबर 2015 को 80 वर्ष की आयु में निधन हो गया।
त्यागी और तपस्वी सर्वोदय विचार के पथिक श्री नरेंद्र दुबे के मन पर महात्मा गांधी और  खादी की छाप बाल्यकाल में ही पड़ गयी थी जब वे अपनी मां गंगादेवी के साथ वर्धा स्थित सेवाग्राम आश्रम गए थे। काॅलेज में अध्ययन के दौरान उन्होंने प्रो.जमनालाल जैन और श्यामसुंदर झंवर को खादी पहने पाया तो श्री दुबे को भी खादी पहनने की प्रेरणा हुई। वे गांधी विचार के गहन अध्ययन में जुट गए। प्रो.अंबाराम मुनीम काॅलेज की नौकरी छोड़कर भूदान आंदोलन में चले गए। उनके साथ उन्होंने इन्दौर नगर में सम्पत्तिदान पदयात्रा प्रारंभ की। जब परिवार वालों को उनके अध्ययन की चिंता सताने लगी, तब उन्हें एम.काॅम. करने के लिए ग्वालियर भेज दिया गया। लेकिन श्री दुबे कहां मानने वाले थे। उनके सार्वजनिक जीवन को वहां और विस्तार मिला और उन्होंने काॅलेज में काॅमनवील पार्टी बनायी और वे काॅलेज की संसद में प्रधानमंत्री बने। अब परिवार वालों ने उन्हें वापस इन्दौर बुला लिया। श्री दुबे अन्य साथियों के समान कस्तूरबाग्राम में रहकर सेवा कार्य और अध्ययन करने लगे। अच्छे अंकों से एम.काॅम. की परीक्षा उत्तीर्ण करने के बाद भी उन्होंने सेवा का मार्ग ही चुना। लेकिन सर्वोदय अर्थव्यवस्था के अध्ययन के लिए उन्होंने स्वयं को शोधाथर््ीा के रूप में पंजीकृत कराया और ट्र्स्टीषिप विषय चुना। अध्ययन पूरा किया लेकिन पीएचडी की उपाधि के लिए उसे जमा नहीं कराया। बाद में उसकी पुस्तक प्रकाषित हुई, जिसकी भूमिका सुप्रसिद्ध अर्थषास्त्री श्रीमन्नारायण ने लिखी। कस्तूरबाग्राम में रहकर उन्होंने कस्तूरबा दर्षन त्रैमासिक पत्रिका का संपादन किया। विनोबाजी के इन्दौर आगमन पर उन्होंने अपनी पत्नी के साथ मिलकर नगर में सर्वोदय पात्र अभियान चलाया। इसके बाद दुबे जी ग्रामसेवा करने इन्दौर के निकट स्थित ग्राम माचला चले गए। वहां चलने वाले विद्यालय के वे प्राचार्य मनोनीत हुए। जब विनोबा जी ने ग्रामदान तूफान शुरू किया, तब वे माचला की सेवा से मुक्त होकर ग्रामदान आंदोलन मेें जुट गए। उनकी कुषल संगठन योग्यता से प्रभावित होकर उन्हें मध्यप्रदेष सर्वोदय मंडल का मंत्री बनाया गया।
खादी ग्रामोद्योग आयोग की पहल पर मध्यप्रदेष खादी संस्था संघ की स्थापना की गई। खादी कार्य को नयी दिषा देने के लिए श्री दुबे जी को इसका अध्यक्ष बनाया गया। उन्होंने बीस वर्ष तक निरंतर संस्था संघ की सेवा की और प्रदेष के खादी कार्य को आगे बढ़ाया। केंद्रीय गांधी स्मारक निधि दिल्ली ने श्री दुबे जी को मध्यप्रदेष गांधी स्मारक निधि का मंत्री मनोनीत किया। सांप्रदायिक दंगों के शमन के लिए कस्तूरबा शांति सेना विद्यालय बनाया गया। इसने इन्दौर में अषांति की रोकथाम में खूब काम किया। फलस्वरूप इसे दिल्ली का स्वामी प्रणवानंद शांति पुरस्कार दिया गया।
श्री नरेंद्र भाई की संगठन कुषलता से प्रभावित होकर श्री जयप्रकाष नारायण ने उन्हें सर्व सेवा संघ में संयुक्त मंत्री पद पर मनोनीति किया। इस दौरान उनका विनोबा जी से निकट संपर्क आया और उनकी पहचान विनोबा जी के विचारो के प्रवक्ता के रूप में बनी। बिहार स्थित सहरसा में उन्होंने ग्रामदान पुष्टि का सघन कार्य किया। चम्बल के बागियों के समर्पण का संयोजन कार्य श्री दुबे जी ने ही किया।
जयप्रकाष नारायण के संघर्ष आंदोलन से श्री दुबे जी हमेषा असहमत रहे। उनका स्पष्ट मत है कि रचनात्मक कार्यकर्ताओं को राजनीति में नहीं जाना चाहिए। वे देष में आपातकाल जैसी परिस्थिति निर्मित करने के लिए जयप्रकाष नारायण को जिम्मेदार मानते हैं। मतभेदों को चलते श्री दुबे जी ने सर्व सेवा संघ से त्यागपत्र दे दिया। इसके बाद उन्हें भूदान-रजत जयंत समिति का संयोजक बनाया गया। उनके आग्रह पर तत्कालीन राष्ट्र्पति श्री फखरुद्दीन अली अहमद ने बंगलोर में पदयात्रा कर अभियान का शुभारंभ किया। इस दौरान एक साल में 30 लाख एकड़ भूमि का वितरण हुआ।
जब प्रधानमंत्री इंदिरा गांधी पवनार में विनोबाजी से मिलने गईं, तब उनका परिचय भी दिया गया। इंदिरा गांधी ने श्री दुबे जी को खादी ग्रामोद्योग आयोग के सदस्य के रूप में मनोनीत किया। जब खादी आयोग की सदस्यता से मुक्त हुए तब विनोबा जी के आदेष से उन्होंने पवनार गांव में वस्त्र-स्वावलंबन का कार्य हाथ में लिया। श्री नरेंद्र दुबे ने खादी को पहली बार आधुनिक तकनीक से जोड़ा और गोपुरी वर्धा में पूनी संयंत्र लगाया, जो आज भी काम कर रहा है। इसके बाद तो देष की अनेक संस्थाओं ने खादी में इस तकनीक को अपना लिया। इसके बाद वे खादी ग्रामोद्योग आयोग की प्रमाण पत्र समिति के अध्यक्ष नियुक्त हुए। इस बीच विनोबा जी ने मुम्बई के देवनार कतलखाने पर सत्याग्रह का आदेष दिया। इसके चलते श्री दुबे जी ने मर्यादा का ध्यान रखते हुए कोई भी सरकारी पद धारण नहीं किया। गोवंष केा वैज्ञानिक आधार प्रदान करने के लिए गोविज्ञान भारती की स्थापना की और गोविभा मासिक पत्रिका निकालना प्रारंभ किया। यह आज भी प्रकाषित हो रही है। सेवा कार्यो के दौरान उन्हें इंग्लैंड जाने का मौका मिला, जहां उन्होंने गांधी-विनोबा विचारों का प्रचार किया। विनोबा जी द्वारा स्थापित खादी मिषन के वे सह-संयोजक रहे।
डाॅ.पुष्पेंद्र दुबे
फोन: 9754220781

CRY-CRY MY BELOVED COUNTRY MOTHER INDIA

Also read http://swarajyamag.com/politics/the-rise-of-fascism-from-indias-tv-studios/
by Tufail Ahmad Director, South Asia Studies Project at the Middle East Media Research Institute, Washington DC.

recd from devasamaroo@hotmail.com

CRY-CRY MY BELOVED COUNTRY MOTHER INDIA
- Dr. Mrs. Hilda Raja hilda raja pachake@yahoo.com

I an in a reminiscent mood I think of the sad plight of my beloved country.-my motherland. This reminiscence takes me to the reasons that make me sad. There is a narration in the Bible which says that a father had two sons. The younger one demanded his share and left the father’s house. He squandered and wasted and was forced to live in pigs styles and eat the food of the pigs. He was remorseful and thought of his father and the rich life and the abundance of food. He then regretted and decided to go back to his father’s house. His father who was every day looking out for his son who had left him was filled with joy when his son returned. The son fell at his feet and begged pardon. The father embraced him and called the older son and ordered him to slaughter the fattest hog and prepare a feast. The older son was flabbergasted. This son who took his inheritance and wasted everything- you want to welcome him and feast his return he queried. The father told him, ‘Son you were always with me. But this son I lost but has come back. He is remorseful of what he did’. It is but in the fitness of things that we celebrate the return of this lost son. This does not quite reveal the Partition of my country. But it does have significance because the two sons are one and lived peacefully with their father. India’s partition is entirely the opposite. Here it is the demand to have the cake and eat it too. The Muslims who are in India and who stayed back want more than the share of the Hindu brethren. In fact they refuse to accept  this country as a Hindu Rastra while welcoming the Muslims to live in India the Hindus cannot and will not allow their rights to be trampled.

I was wondering if this would in any way be an analogy for the partition of my beloved country. In a way yes, and in many ways no.  The Muslim leaders convinced the Indian leaders like Gandhi and Nehru that the Muslims will not be able to integrate with the Hindus hence they demanded  a separate country to live according to their religion. It was then that they were given a part of the country. It is then legally and politically compulsory that all Muslims should take their inheritance share and leave Hindustan. But it is in this aspect that Gandhi and Nehru failed the Indian people and betrayed this country’s interest. They generously allowed the Muslims who wanted to stay back to remain in India. In the case of the prodigal son which I narrated above, he returned with remorse. But here the Muslims wanted the cake and eat it too. And those who stayed back now make it evident that the Hindus cannot live according to their beliefs and finds it hurtful. Even that can be taken in our stride but they fail to respect the beliefs and the ethos of this country. Nobody forced them to stay back-nobody asked them to accept the rites and rituals of the Hindus. But on no basis can they have any objection if these are public manifestations and/ or private way of life. It is the duty of the Muslims  not only to  accept to these but to show sensitivity to the religious sentiments and expressions of the Hindus.. They surely have no right to object .But on the other hand they find it irksome and disturbing if the Hindus make public their way of life. One would think that the Muslims would respect the Hindus and their beliefs. Would not in any way find it hurtful because in this Hindu rastra it is their right of the Hindus to uphold their culture and their beliefs.This may be in the forms of worship or any other aspect .Can the Hindus or the Christians go to any one of the Islamic country and fulfill their religious duties-worship and uphold the demands of their religions? Then why are the Muslims so intolerant to the Hindus and hurt their religious sentiments? I have in mind the cow .It is sacred to the Hindus. Hence the ban on slaughtering the cow.If one needs to stay in this Hindu rastra then one has to peacefully co-exist respect the and not hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindus. Take for example depicting Allah. Will the Muslims allow it or tolerate it? Depiction of Allah even in the best form is forbidden. The Hindus are called upon to respect this. But does it not follow that the Muslims should also extend the same to the Hindus? Can they demean and denigrate the Hindu gods and goddesses? It is civil and necessary to respect the sentiments and the feelings of other religions. Why does this not be followed by the Muslims in India? It is this that has many a time troubled and angered the Hindus. Who in their turn wanted to retaliate?

The Muslims are also called upon to respect the laws of the land-the Constitution of India and uphold it. They cannot be under the Sharia law for civil matters and adapt the Indian penal code for criminal offences. If a Hindu/Christian defies the Koranic law in any Islamic country the culprit is not judged according to the offender’s law but by the Koranic law.Hence an eye for an eye-beheading-lashing in public etc.But here in India the Muslims want their double law system.-they   refuse to come under one Uniform Civil code-to demand more than what is their due and worse to demand that they have more rights and the Hindus cannot assert their rights-built their Ram temple for example is a bit pushing the Hindus to a corner. May I then ask where must Ram temple be built?

Of course all the politicians of every hue will proclaim that all have same rights. This for the vote bank purpose .Towards this vote bank strategy the Hindus are reminded that this is a secular country. So what is the meaning of secular may I ask? If the different religious people cannot integrate-cannot accept the ethos of the Hindus? What is wrong if one calls this country a Hindu country? Do we not have ‘Christian’ countries Do we not have ‘Islamic’ countries-why only India must not call itself a Hindu country. Even the restriction of the rites and rituals of the Hindus are enforced. Take for example the Ganesh idol immersion- the routes must not be in the vicinity of any mosque. The temple lands come under the government supervision which has the Hindu religious Endowment Board. Then why not the Wafk Board lands and the church lands also come under government control? If one has to be fair then at least let the Hindu temple lands be governed by the Hindus. That is secularism. But to pamper only the Christians and the Muslims and allowing then to manage/mismanage their assets and lands does not indicate ‘secularism’. The same goes for the Minority Rights.If education institutions can be administered and managed by the Muslims and the Christians why not extend the same to the Hindus. Let them manage or mismanage-it is their business. Education is a powerful tool and today it is only a money making enterprise. Allowing the Christians and Muslims to mismanage with no control or supervision does not make this country secular. Either you treat all the same but to prove the secularism of this country does not call in for unequal rights and more rights to the minorities. Let every one be equal-that is a Fundamental right. Look at the effect of this Minority Rights. The Madrassas are government financed-why so? The Muslim children are groomed in ghettos and not allowed to learn and grow with others. No wonder the Muslim leaders plainly told Gandhi and Nehru that they cannot integrate with the Hindus. But why should the people’s tax money go towards this fundamentalism and this pampering at the cost of great risks to the nation? One can go on pointing out the discrimination and the mismanagement of the Minority Institutions-All with the tax money of the people. The salaries and pensions are paid by the government. The admission policy is their own.

 It is relevant in this context to note that Justice Sachar and other Muslim leaders pointed out to the Muslims’ backwardness-both economically and educationally. They seem to blame India and its leaders for it. This is far from truth. The Muslims want to live in ghettos. It must be also noted that Justice Sachar’s survey was not very scientific .If one goes to the by lanes and the shanties it will be only poverty that one will see. The same can be said of the other communities. But Sachar forgets that the Muslims in the Film world-the leather industry, in marketing etc have enormous wealth. They too have a Azim Premji and many like him. Did Justice Sachar reckon with this? If so then the spread of wealth will negate the poverty that the Muslims are in. You can find what you want in a survey .Have they not education institutions in which they can admit all their own irrespective of the marks. So why should they be illiterate and uneducated. Having got more than their share why now exhibit the poor condition-the unemployment, the poverty etc in which they are seeped. Is it not their own making? They beget large families. Recently an English paper gave the story of a couple having 16 children and still looking forward to beget more till they get a male! So what do they want from the rest of the people? Why do they want the Hindu majority’s tax money to go down the drain for Justice Sachar to lament how they are neglected?

 It has become the fashion of political leaders to state that we have more Muslims in India than in Pakistan.Is that a great achievement? But it is true. Where does the resource come from for all the subsidies? Why have they not accepted Family Planning? When I visited Mallapuram in Kerala as a Consultant I asked the women why they have not restricted the size of the families.Most of the men  were working in the Middle East and they have cash and jewels and land.Their priorities are different. Yet Mallapuram has been declared a Backward district-thus eligible for all the development programs. When I asked the women’s groups why they have not adopted the FP the reply I got was, ‘Our ‘Palli’ authorites will not allow it’. Then ask your mosque authorities to finance you I stated at a public meeting.This large family size has repercussions on development and is definitely not secular. Mercy to some will be injustice to all. Now the demand is for reservation for the Muslims.I would blame the political leaders. For the sake of the vote bank politics they mortgage the country and its development. All said and done the Muslims in India are better off in Human Resource Index than in Pakistan.Then why scream oneself hoarse that Muslims are neglected and even justify terrorism on poverty and unemployment? Does all the other communities youth who are unemployed become terrorists. I am actually fed up with the utterance that all Muslims are not terrorists. That is true, but all terrorists are Muslims. Exceptions do not make the rule. So the UPA government was all out to detect ‘Saffron’ terror. As though that will justify the horror of terrorism both from within and cross border. So by giving part of my motherland-by trying to share the inheritance what have we bargained for? Coming to Partition we have brought this terrorism by the creation of Pakistan. It is going to be a constant risk and worry for India. Look how that country shelters Dawood Ibrahim.Look at its constant violation of the LOC? Look at its perception of the Kashmir issue. See how Kashmir has been populated and by whom. Hence it is with a purpose they demand along with some other countries for a Referendum. Can any one political leader of any one party vouch that Pakistan will cease to be a threat to India….How will the Muslims here in India react to Pakistan and its aggressive violations? Why have the Muslims on many occasions raised the Pakistani flag? Will this be tolerated in any other country? What do you call such an act?

Upholding the truth and speaking out will amount today to ‘instigation’ and causing unrest. Is it not fair and just to demand Equal Rights-Is it not fair and just to demand that all communities be subject to the rules and regulations of the country. Why does religion come in the picture? Why this ‘Minority’ and why this differential treatment for minorities. Let all be citizens of this country and be treated so. Let the Minority Rights be deleted from the Constitution and let there be Equality as the supreme yardstick for all.

It is but reasonable to take extra care and concern and be sensitive to the economically backward-but not on religious basis and not on caste basis. After 67 years if we still hold on to Reservation then one must accept the simple truth that Reservation has not benefited the down trodden. Who uses the reservation? This is like free electricity for the farmers-Who benefits from this- those who have land.But not the rural laborers and the marginal farmers. This is one example to show how the government’s schemes are highjacked. Does it not mean that Lalu Prasad Yadav‘s children are eligible for reservation. Once P.Chidambaram did confess that he used the reservation quota….Similarly former President KR Narayanan’s daughter got her posting using the SC tag. How fair are these. I know a family in Chennai-with father and brothers all IAS and doctors-using the reservation quota for jobs and admissions. Should we not put a stop to this plunder of the exchequer?

Coming to secularism-The political leaders cannot and should not use this against the Hindus. Because secularism is the very intrinsic makeup of the Hindu dharma .Hence Sanatana Dharma-Vasudeva kudumbum etc.It is the secular inbuilt of Hinduism that allowed all religions to flourish in India.Hinduism welcomed all religions-Is it not a fact that world religions evolved, flourished and spread in India. If the Hindu religion had not secularism at its core then it could have easily vanquished the others.Did it ever resort to violence for conversion and then like Pope Francis now ask forgiveness and get applause! Whose ‘ parampara’ is conversion through violence –Were the Hindus not persecuted –butchered and converted. Were their temples not destroyed? It is easy to say that it is the past. What you reap what you sow. Yes, it is the past but the history of a country is linked to its past and along with the present moves to the future. It has an impact. Why now call for banning ghar wapsi? One has to go to Tamilnadu and witness the scale of conversions.

So let us stop blaming the Hindus-calling them the ‘fringe groups’ and making it look that they are intolerant and fundamentalists. Are the other religions not Fundamentalists? How long can the Hindus be subjected to this insult and abuse of their ethos and their culture and suppression. So it is not for the political class to preach down to the Hindus of secularism because the kind of secularism which is being upheld by the Netas are vote bank garnering strategy. In the name of secularism one cannot and should not deny Hindus their legitimate rights in this Hindu rastra.I wish some of the NGOs and Human Rights activists try their brand of secularism in any one of the Islamic countries. Nay even in other countries the world over. Here religion takes priority and Christians have their headquarters outside India-either in Germany,Rome and England. While Muslims have their own fatwas.What has religions to do with headquarters outside the country to appeal to the Indian voters for whom to vote and for whom not to…One must learn from China. The fact is that the children of the Book have divided loyalties-one to their religious headquarters and directions and the other here in India. This often clashes and the people (read minorities) are at a loss ….I am not saying this from hear say but was present in a church when the pulpit was used to direct the congregation whom to vote for…..Why has the Muslim religion to ensure fatwas .Is this secularism? What if all the temples regularly congregate and give such instructions .But the point is Hindu religion is not ordered and disciplined that way. Each one is free to make his/her choice. Now when pushed to a corner it also reacts then the hackles are raised and the saffron and fringe groups are blamed. Modi is asked to rein in them. What about reining in the Christian funded NGOs? It must be noted that every action has a reaction. How long can the Hindus be at the receiving end? Is it not time to assert their own rights in their own country? Can they do this in Islamic countries and no Human Rights groups-no world organizations take note of the human rights violation in these countries. Is there freedom of religion in any Islamic country? Why then this silence. Now look at the film writers, the Sahitya Akademic award winners-the scientists have joined them against the intolerance that is showing its head in India…Who is instigating them? Which political power and vested interest are behind all this? One has only to watch the English TV channels and then even if one’s IQ is low it will be easy to identify the bias and the jaundiced visions.It is clear that most of these channels are owned by church and foreign persons. It is time that the government steps in. China would not allow this. If the BJP government steps in then it will be said that the voice of the people are being throttled. But the people are being throttled by these channels. One has only to listen to Arnab Goswami and now Zakk Jacob is following his example.   Can we not detect the tone and tenor and the bias.If it is Bakhra Dutt it is so evident her bias and her carefully crafted queries. We can easily notice that the group she assembles as viewers is carefully selected and the answers are what the anchor wants to hear. This is brain washing. Should this not be stopped? So it is again shutting the voice of the people-freedom of expression at stake. It was fine when the Emergency was imposed. The party which imposed Emergency today pretends to be the great freedom of expression champion. What with the likes of Mani Shankar Iyer who went to the extent of saying that Modi will never win the elections-if he wants he can come and serve tea in the AICC. Such arrogance he has. And this is the man who cannot and will not win a single election.But must stay put in New Delhi for this he must speak of the Nehru-Gandhi Family . So these people cannot stomach the idea of Modi being at the helm of affairs and still worse cannot relish the fact that he is doing well. It is Nehru-Gandhi family alone which they think has the Divine Right to rule this country. That much for democracy, secularism and pluralism. Cry my Beloved Country

 Dr Mrs Hilda Raja,