Hindu-Muslim Animosity Cannot Be Wished Away.

Ignorance is considered bliss. However in case of Hindu-Muslim relations, ignorance is the problem. For a very long time, atrocities committed by Muslims during the Mughal rule, were glossed over by Indian historians who wanted to ensure a peaceful atmosphere in the nation. They portrayed the Mughal kings as benevolent, which of course was not true. Hiding atrocities like the Moplah maasacre and the genocide against the Kashmiri Hindus did not help anyone. Those historians had an agenda. It was definitely not pro Hindu.
In the article below, Mr. Jagannathan makes excellent points. He says that if the idea was protecting the Muslims from a Hindu reprisal, then it was pointless because the Muslim are never the innocent victims. Most probably it is the old divide and rule idea, which the British taught and the Congress learned and learned well. The Historians on the order of their pseudo-secular masters wrote a faulty version of history in a way, which makes it impossible to explain the roots of the Hindu-Muslims animosity. Unless the root causes are addressed, any reconciliation is impossible. The author contends that history, distorted in favor of the Muslims, makes them look like the favored children of Mother India. This has forever sown seeds of distrust between the two communities. Muslims need to accept the historical wrongs. No one can blame the common Muslim for the atrocities committed by Mughal marauders but a mere acceptance will go a long way. A point which has been made on this blog many times is that the Hindus also need to include Muslims in the forward march of the country otherwise the country will not progress.
I cannot do justice to this excellent article, which you must read.

Hindu-Muslim amity can’t be built on the basis of denial.
"A modern example of this is the phony secularist’s approach to Gujarat and Kashmir. For him, Gujarat is the big communal event of independent India, not Kashmir’s ethnic cleansing. So much so that moderate Hindus hesitate to mention the injustice meted out to the Pandits by Muslim separatists for fear of being branded communal. Result: the plight of the Pandits has been erased from the nation’s conscience to protect Muslims from having to face this truth. The Congress will be allowed to forget its massacre of Sikhs in 1984, but Hindus will never be allowed to forget Gujarat by the secularists. "
The article can be read at:

http://www.dnaindia.com/opinion/main-article_hindu-muslim-amity-can-t-be-built-on-the-basis-of-denial_1445386

Pakistan vs Bangladesh And Their Hindu Ancestry

This is an excellent case study comparing Bangladesh and Pakistan by Mr. Sadanand Dhume. Despite of a common history the two countries have many differences. Some of the things he points out are as follows.

1. Since electing Sheikh Hasina, the economy has grown by 6% over three years.

2. Growth rate has gone down from six children per woman in the 1970's to three children now.

3. Since Khaleda Zia's ouster, relations with India are on an all-time high.

4. The Hasina government has curbed Jihadi activity.

5. As a percentage of gross domestic product, Islamabad spends more on its soldiers than on its school teachers; Dhaka does the opposite.

6. Hero of Bangladesh: Economist Muhammad Yunus. Hero of Pakistan: Nuclear weapon smuggler and thief: A Q Khan.

The entire article traces the progress from a "Basket case" (in words of a frustrated Kissinger) to a relative success is succinctly traced in this article. What he does not do is why that is. I will try to do that.

Pakistanis go out of their way to show that they have nothing in common with India or Hindus. All of them claim to be direct descendents of the invading Mughals. The darker skinned obvious converts from Hinduism are discriminated against on a daily basis. An innocuous festival like Basant which entails kite flying and partying in Lahore has now been essentially curtailed. Why? Because it is deemed too "Hindu". Pakistanis have multiple channels of Arabic on their TV (They have Chinese channels as well but that will be another post). In short, they do not want to have anything to do with their Indian past and have or have tried to cut all ties with Indian culture. To them Islam and Indian culture cannot co-exist. Perhaps they are right. Indian culture is Hindu culture. There cannot be any argument to that. You can't be following Indian culture without following the Hindu philosophy to some extent (maybe unknowingly but so it is). I can see how that will be a problem in Pakistan.

Now in Bangladesh, probably because of geography, they do not make tall claims about being descendents of Mughals or Arabs. They are just happy being who they are which is Bengali!! In Bangladesh, people are very proud of their Bengali heritage and culture. They celebrate literature, music, cinema just like the Indian Bengalis. To them, this rich culture CAN and DOES co-exist with their religion. I think that it is the cultural spirit of Bangladesh which has a Hindu hue is what keeps them looking and thinking forward. They do not suffer from an extreme case of hatred for anyone and do not waste time and resources trying to hurt anyone. Other than the fundamentalists (who probably get money from Saudi Arabia and support from Pakistan), no one is trying to go out of their way to denounce their culture and deny their Indian past. Therein lays the difference.

Read the complete article:

Bangladesh, 'Basket Case' No More
Pakistan could learn about economic growth and confronting terrorism from its former eastern province. By SADANAND DHUME

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703882404575519330896471058.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEFTTopOpinion

Muslims Attack Hindus in India

Tapan Ghosh

Where do Indian Muslims get this kind of strength / arrogance? The possible reasons are:
1. A sense of superiority which is instilled in them every Friday by their mullah.
2. Lack of education or any sense of civility.
3. Lack of respect for all things non-muslim.
4. Lack of fear of reprisal from the law (They know the government wants their vote).
5. Lack of fear of reprisal from pusillanimous Hindus.
6. Support from terrorists and other criminal outfits.
7. Support from the media.
8. Support from the Liberals and pseudo-secularists.
9. Support from State and central government.

This why the Hindus in WB, Kerala and J&K are a scared lot. If they do not unite and fight against the machine, they better be prepared to surrender their homes, honor and even lives to Muslims and escape to safer areas in the nation like refugees.

Muslims Attack Hindus in India: A Warning For the West? Part I

"A European colleague of mine lives and works in India. Recently, he came to visit. His story was unbelievable. For the last few years, every day, day after day, he, his wife, and his wife’s family have been harassed and attacked by Muslim marauders. Both his property and his medical clinic have been attacked; his Hindu wife and relatives have had their cows stolen and slaughtered, their outbuildings destroyed, their farm property taken over. The police would not help. He had to hire private security to guard his free clinic. Finally, Muslims attacked the clinic when it was filled with patients (including, of course, Muslim patients). At the last moment, before the clinic was entirely overrun, the police reluctantly came to his aid. He had to pay many bribes, pull many strings—and still, the matter is far from over. "
The interview can be read at:
http://pajamasmedia.com/phyllischesler/2010/09/13/muslims-attack-hindus-in-india-part-i/

Woman’s Jihad vs Islamic Jihad

The Islamic scholars say that the true meaning of Jihad is to struggle. They say that the communal fanatic and fundamentalist forces in Islam have hi-jacked the Jihad term to terrorize the believers and non believers for subjugation. Rayana Khasi a 23 year old engineering graduate from Kerala has stood up and shown the courage rarely seen even in liberal / moderate Muslim men. The nation needs to stand behind her in this struggle. The entire gamut of leaders, the communist, the conservatives and the secularist should come to her aid, without any indulgence in appeasement for political gains.

There needs to be a real uprising in the society in support of these freedom loving educated Muslim women folks to stop these life threatening calls against freedom from fundamentalist organizations. Mere lip service condemnation of such diktats will not be sufficient. Unequivocal support for empowering the Muslim women with education and awareness would be the only solution to eradicate such fanatic anti women and anti-constitutional religious demands.

Nationalist leaders should seize this opportunity to do the right thing and take appropriate steps to protect her and encourage such genuine protests. Because only a true struggle such as this, started by women from within the community for a genuine purpose can liberate the religion from its evil clutches and secure the nation from Islamisation.

She needs better protection against Kerala Taliban
The threats were intermittent at first, warning her to start using a veil and headscarf. She repeatedly refused. The phone calls and letters started coming in faster then warning her that she would be killed. Choosing not to use the burqa does not make her a bad Muslim, she has stressed repeatedly.
Read more at:

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/she-needs-better-protection-against-kerala-taliban-55267?cp

Girl defies burqa diktat for denim
Rayana’s “crime” was that she began wearing jeans and top instead of the burqa. “It is not that I am exposing myself. I don’t do it. But they want me to cover my entire body, including the face, with burqa as other Muslim women do it here, which I don’t want to,’’ the girl told Deccan Herald over the phone. Rayana’s troubles began last month when she began to get threatening letters which said she would be killed before August 26.
Read more at:
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/97499/girl-defies-burqa-diktat-denim.html

MESSAGE FROM SHRI NITIN GADKARI, NATIONAL PRESIDENT OF BJP, INDIA TO OF BJP

The following is a letter from Bhai Nitin Gadkari which I am reproducing verbatim. Here he lays bare the way Congress uses CBI as their attack dogs. It is amazing how the Congress' electoral fortunes match with the CBI action reaction.

THE LETTER:

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is being misused by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government in India as a political tool for its survival and to defame the Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Nareandra Modi. The State of Gujarat is being punished for electing BJP successively in every election. The UPA Government has taken extra ordinary interest to entrust the case of the encounter killing in Gujarat to the CBI even after the Gujarat Police filed charge sheets against several senior police officers. Shri Narendra Modi & his government are targeted misusing the CBI as the congress is unable to win the voters through any other way. The latest by-election win by the BJP in Gujarat is a classic example.The achievements of the Gujarat Government are praised world over. Only the Congress party’s old trick of vote bank politics can help it and therefore they have resorted to such gimmicks.
Let me assure you that the BJP & the overseas friends of BJP will frustrate all such tactics through a strong & collective campaign against the misuse of CBI for political vendetta.
I on my personal behalf and on behalf of the entire BJP fully support the Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi and warn the Manmohan Singh government that any move to target him will boomerang on the Congress.This is not the first time that the CBI, nick-named as The Central Bureau of Intimidation , is being used by the Congress-led government to launch or drop prosecutions against political opponents & get support even from the bitterest of the rivals. We are familiar with the Congress Party instituting false cases against their political opponents during the emergency. I would give you a list of recent seven major CBI-Congress Action-Reaction collaborations.

Action: In May 2004 UPA comes to power for the first time
Reaction: On CBI's plea, on 22nd November 2005, Delhi court closes 15 cases against senior Congress leader Satish Sharma pertaining to irregularities in allotment of petrol pumps

Action: In October 2006, UPA's 1st government completes its half-term
Reaction: In January 2007, the CBI decides against the prosecution of former Chattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi in the cash for MLA scam.

Action: On 22nd July 2008, UPA government passes no-confidence motion in the parliament, with the help of Samajwadi Party MPs.
Reaction: In December 2008, CBI seeks permission to withdraw its application filed against Mulayam Singh before Supreme Court.

Action: On 3rd March 2009, Election Commission announces dates for Lok Sabha Elections
Reaction: In the last week of March 2009, CBI gives clean chit to Jagdish Tytler in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

Action: In May 2009 UPA again comes to power
Reaction: On 3rd October 2009, the CBI seeks court permission to withdraw prosecution against Ottavio Quattrocchi

Action: On 30th March 2010 CBI fails to file an appeal against Lalu Prasad Yadav in corruption case leading to his acquittal.
Reaction: In return on 27th April 2010, RJD MPs refrain from voting against Government in opposition’s cut motions, though they protested against the government outside the parliament.

Action: On 23rd April 2010, CBI tells the Supreme Court that it "will need time to re-look into the disproportionate assets case" against Mayawati
Reaction: In return 21 BSP MPs help the UPA government sail through the opposition's cut-motions on the 27th of April 2010.

On seeing all these incidents, I can conclusively say "The CBI pledges support to Mulayam or Mayawati or Lalu once they pledge support to the ruling Congress"
I can confidently say “CBI KA HATH, CONGRESS KA SWAARTH This is not just the "Politicization of the CBI" but also the "Puppetisation of the CBI". Let us work together to expose it.
NITIN GADKARI
NATIONAL PRESIDENT BJP

The Gandhi Family: Curse on Congress and India

When Rajiv Gandhi won the massive majority, the man could have made real difference to the way India was governed. He did not and a major opportunity was lost. The best performing Congress government was when PV Narsimha Rao was at the helm and Manmohan Singh was the FM. This started to improve economically. Other talented Congress leaders started to climb the ladders of the hierarchy. Then Sitaram Kesri ruined Congress' administration. Also, the BJP started to come on it's own to occupy it's well deserved place in Indian polity to provide a Hindu Conservative option. Congress lost the election and was lost in direction. It is a pity that the leadership did not bring up one of their more capable leaders. Instead they went to Sonia Gandhi. Now for whatever warped reason, Congress seems to rally around the Gandhi family name. Sonia Gandhi started to attract large crowds. That had more to do with curiosity than admiration. She started to believe her own legend and decided to don the Rajmata mantle with Rahul as the Rajkumar. After that the BJP mandarins ran a misguided campaign and Congress came to power. Now as far as net votes were concerned, their vote percentage did not go up. But BJP's mistakes and regional party syndrome gave the power to Congress. Her legend grew. Now the Congress' inner party machinations are as dictatorial as they have ever been. Senior, more capable leaders have been reduced to the role of Gandhi family apologists. The only people in positions of real power are people who do not have any ability or at least any ability to challenge the family (I am sorry if that sounds too much like The Godfather). No talented Congressperson can go anywhere. Since Congress is the only other national party, it seems that the Gandhi family is not just a curse on Congress but also the nation.

The Gandhis’ Double-edged Sword
"But it's clear that the Nehru Gandhi family is not just the strength of the party, but also its weakness. Many sensible people now refrain from joining the party as they know that no matter how talented they are, their whole future would be dependent on the whims and fancies of one family and that they can anyway never think about reaching the top. Most of the young leaders who have joined the party in recent years are from political families, leading to a culture of nepotism that has in turn created disillusionment among those once interested in taking an active role in politics."
The article can be read at:
http://the-diplomat.com/indian-decade/2010/09/21/sonia-gandhis-double-edged-sword/

Muslim Women Can Be Part Of The Solution.

In response to our posts on Women Maoists and Dalit women, a friend of our blog drew my attention to issues in a way only a woman could. There is a reason why so many of our deities are, for lack of a more appropriate word, women. Kanyadaan is deemed grace. Mothers are put on a pedestal. The land that nurtures us is referred to as Motherland. Why is that? It is because our religion instills in our culture the extreme importance of woman in the society. Those hands do rock the cradle of our civilization and it’s future. They deserve a lot more than what the country has done for them.
Another point to be made here is that we in India are all in the same boat. The Muslim dream of converting Bharat into some sort of a dar-ul-Islam is as un-achievable as the Hindu dream of an Akhand Bharat. That is the reality, whether we like it or not. Now if we want to make India achieve her full potential, we all have to work together. Muslims have to decide for themselves if they want to be part of the solution or the problem.
Why am I only talking about Muslims now? It is because the Muslim population has been misled by Muslim leadership, Congress and other pseudo-secular parties into believing that the India of their dream and the real India whose soul is still Hindu are anathema.
In the recent by-election in Gujarat, majority Muslims voted for BJP because they benefit from CM Modi’s policies. This shows that we can all work and prosper together.
It is also my fervent belief that any change in the direction of Islam will be brought about by women. You have to read articles by Taslima Nasreen, Ayan Hirsi Ali and Nonnie Darvish. These brave women are picking up a fight that seems impossible in the face of all the fatwas, Al Qaeda, Taliban and pretty much all of the Islamic world. We need to identify such women in India and help them in any way we can. We have to start engaging women like Najma Heptullah and start ground based programs for educating Muslim girls. Aware and educated Muslims women are not going to control the birth rate and take better care of their children. Maybe they can instill better senses in the heads of their sons. Instead of opening another AMU, which is nothing but a hotbed of Muslim radicalism, we need to open up schools for Muslim girls. This is easier said than done but attention needs to be paid to this angle of the issue as well. Being a Hindu man, I can only talk in general terms. Maybe Ms. Najma Heptuallah, who is now in the BJP can start thinking on these lines.
The following is an old article but it is very relevant.

Muslim Women in India : Seema Kazi
On the other hand, the appropriation of Muslim women's issues by a vocal and politically influential male Muslim constituency for political purposes poses a considerable challenge to Muslim women's legal empowerment. This was highlighted during the Shah Bano case and the passage of the Muslim Women's Bill in 1986. In a context where the Shari'a is used to justify women's subordination, it is imperative for Muslim women in India to enter the discourse on the Shari'a with reference to personal law, and challenge their historic marginalization from religious knowledge. Furthermore, it is crucial for Muslims "women and men" to debate among themselves the possible reasons and remedies for their poor status as citizens of India.

The article can be read at:

www.minorityrights.org/download.php?id=130

MARXIST: TO HELL WITH BENGAL, WE WANT TO STAY IN POWER

All’s is fair in Marxism as long you can hang on to power. At least that is what the Marxist leaders of West Bengal believe. The communist comrades are adopting desperate measures to stay in power; to fall back on their age old tested strategy of vote bank politics. Minority appeasement in exchange for dependable minority votes.

The Hindus need to unite and vote these traitors out. Either that or migrate to Gujarat for their family's safety and well being.

OBC tag for Muslims, 10% quota announced ahead of Assembly poll
In an apparent bid to arrest steady erosion in its minority vote bank, the Marxist Government on Friday came out with an “improved and enhanced” reservation regime that looked like catering to the Other Backward Castes in general but largely covered the Muslims.
The new scheme would directly benefit 56 communities in this category. Of this, 49 communities would come from Muslims, four from Hindus and rest from Buddhists and Christians.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/285582/OBC-tag-for-Muslims-10-quota-announced-ahead-of-Assembly-poll.html

Communist prefer A Beauty over Ability

How low can the Kerala communist party stoop? They humiliatingly discard a dalit women candidate after she completes one round of campaign just because she is not beautiful. Are all the communists’ comrades’ handsome and beautiful people that they cannot tolerate an ordinary woman representing them? This proves the extent of hypocrisy among Kerala leaders where beauty and good looks are preferred over ability of the candidate. Where is BJP when all this drama is unfolding? It should take the lead and offer the ticket to Vijaya Raju as this would be an opportunity to send a clear message to the Kerala masses that BJP stands for uniform treatment to all and supports the right candidates, looks or the family name are not a criteria.

Kerala's Left rates beauty over brains
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A washerwoman picked by the Left to contest Kerala's local bodies polls said Thursday she was told to withdraw from the race because she was "not beautiful".
Vijaya Raju had completed one round of campaign when she was reportedly told to back off.
"I feel like committing suicide because this is a shame for me," said the anguished woman who was to contest from the Shankumughom ward.

http://expressbuzz.com/states/kerala/keralas-left-rates-beauty-over-brains/209396.html

Is it My Fault? Yes!!

The article in this post raises a seemingly minor point which, in my opinion is not minor at all. In all the debacles around the country what is the common factor? Is it the politicians? Yes. What else is common? It is the Indian voter. In democracy we deserve the government we elect. By that argument we are equally culpable for this mess. Why does the Indian voter repeat the mistakes and expects different results each time. People of Bihar kept electing Laloo Yadav expecting that the man would change this time around. People of West Bengal and Kerala keep electing Communists expecting their lives to change. UPA I was as corrupt as UPA II and yet they were brought back with a bigger mandate. It is as if the voter was expecting that the leopard would somehow shed his spots, that the good Lord Bholenath would somehow bestow honesty, integrity and ability on the same bunch of crooks. Are we that gullible or is it the battered spouse syndrome?

Until we tell these crooks in the offices that the Indian public will not put up with them, the politicians have no incentive to change. People of Gujarat elect Narendra Modi and are reaping the benefits of it. People of UP elect Mayawati and are enjoying the numerous statues. I am stumped for reasons!
The Indian voters need to get out of their houses no matter what the temperature is outside and vote for the right people. We have lots of good leaders who do not have the looks and right family names. We need to identify them and vote for their abilities. Unless that happens, Mother India will remain shackled in chains. The only difference is that since we are free, the chains are made in India.
Debacle in New Delhi

"….the quality of governance remains abysmal. Neither the courts nor the electorate punish public servants for amassing private fortunes. In parts of the country, the political and criminal classes are hard to tell apart."

"Larger questions about India's governance capabilities remain. The Indian middle class -- at best, 300 million people out of a population of 1.1 billion -- may not have the numbers to decide elections, but it needs to demand a greater say in the country's governance. This means finding ways to translate its economic muscle into political clout. Until Indian politicians are held to the same standards as their counterparts in advanced democracies, the country will have to continue to suffer the ignominy of collapsing bridges, sub-par apartment complexes, and $80 toilet rolls."

The article can be read at:
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/09/22/debacle_in_new_delhi?page=full

Commonwealth Games: Athletes' village photos

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/commonwealth_games/delhi_2010/9025907.stm

Selfish Leaders

You are already getting bombarded by bad news coming out of the CWG. I will not add to your miseries. Instead, I will focus on the selfishness of our leaders. For a politician, it is all about self preservation and self propagation. Any unfortunate being happens to be on the way, well, too bad for the being. But sometimes, even from this breed of vampires, rises someone who after sating his own thirst does something for the people or the country. Those are what we would like to call, leaders. Fortunate nations have a fair share of those. Even an unscrupulous leader like Vladimir Putin, whom I have come to admire since, has brought back Russia from the abyss and made the country relevant in the world again.
I don't know what sins India and Indians have committed in the past that we have been cursed with the more than our share of bad leaders. Leaders, for whom, the only conviction is winning the election. I am not even going to talk about regional politicians who are a step below a criminal. National leaders are supposed to do the right thing after all the wrongs committed on the campaign trail. These leaders are not supposed to make Faustian pacts to save their "kursi". Sheela Bhatt writes in the following article:

"Before the general election of 2009, Rahul Gandhi's popularity was ascending. He was going to home of Kalawatis and other Dalits as well as many college campuses around India. He was rediscovering India and searching for suitable issues. Then, rediff.com had asked two senior members of the Congress Working Committee why Rahul Gandhi was not taking up the leadership of CWG as his father Rajiv Gandhi, who provided leadership to the Asian Games in 1982? It would have helped the country and would have helped Rahul launch himself as an efficient administrator. The response for the two leaders was similar. They said that CWG was much behind schedule and in a mess. Kalamadi's control over the OC was total and he was difficult to replace. The senior leaders also said that "it's risky to jeopardise Rahul Gandhi's prestige by providing leadership to the CWG."

At the risk of sounding petulant, I am going to refrain from asking "what prestige?” However, I am going to ask is if someone cannot be trusted with CWG which is nothing but a large project with no conflicting interests then how can he be trusted with managing a complex organization like a country?. He should have been able to take on that mess and make a name for himself. It seems that his handlers would rather have him drink tea once in a while with the poor and make him look like the second coming of the Mahatma! Rahul Gandhi has the clout in his party and could have lit fire under incompetent buffoons but he chose to take a safe way out. We know that this man lacks the ability and the intellect. Now we know that he even lacks the spirit. What gives him the right to the PM's kursi?

Let me paraphrase a popular proverb and say that a person who is in position of power who condones corruption IS corrupt even though he himself may be clean. Since the last election, even with as good a mandate as can be won in India, Manmohan Singh has put up with corruption (A Raja), treason (Mamta Bannerjee joining hands with the Maoists), inaction (too many to mention), naïveté (repeated talks with Pakistanis) and cowardice (getting bullied by China). How long is this man going to get a pass?

Even the party I support has selfish and arrogant leaders. How else could they have missed looking at real India where people were suffering and mounted the self-congratulatory "India Shining" campaign? How could they have proposed to hold CWG, knowing full well that the money could have been better spent elsewhere? Even today, they are cutting a Faustian pact to form a government in Jharkhand. Being Hindu Conservatives, better things are expected from them.

An ancient civilization and culture like India can certainly do better than these guys. India and Indians deserve better.

Analysis: Why the CWG has gone horribly wrong
The article can be read at:
http://news.rediff.com/special/2010/sep/22/analysis-why-the-cwg-has-gone-horribly-wrong.htm

Big Scam Involving Congress Bigwigs

The third R, ‘rithmatic has always been my weakness. I use my fingers to count. When it comes to counting the number of major scams (greater than thousand crore) that UPA I and II have been involved in, I am running out of fingers. Just when you think we are done, BOOM, out comes another one! And it’s not quantity. It’s quality as well. You think A Raja was the biggie? You are wrong. The latest one is bigger and badder (to use the vernacular)!!

This one involves this soul called Hassan Ali Khan who has 10 known illegal Swiss Accounts. As per government statements, this man owes Rs. 50,345 crore to tax department as of 31st March 2009. Now take a breath and inhale the number: 50,345 crore in taxes. The actual amount must be breathtaking!
As per Mr. Puri, this man was investigated by the UPA government but only on the surface. Underneath it all, the enquiry was sabotaged. Not to get the details of all this, you must read Mr. Puri’s article below but I am going to point a few things out:

Hassan Ali has mentioned names of Maharashtra CM Vilasrao Deshmukh (of the 26/11 fame), home minister R R Patil and Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary, Ahmed Patel. They were apparently discussing the appointment of Hasan Gafoor as Mumbai Police Commissioner.
Hassan Ali is a money launderer and a Hawala guy. What are the chances that he is in bed with Dawood Ibrahim? This is my question to you and not an allegation. Don’t the terrorists use hawala for funds transfer? Aren’t Dawood Ibrahim and all the hawala operation somehow connected with all the terrorist operation and ISI? This is again my question to to you rather than an allegation. If even part of this is true then the consequences are unimaginable. A major criminal with such deep connection in the Congress. And you thought that Mayawati was corrupt!!

Mr. Puri claims that:Circumstantial evidence reveals therefore that Hassan Ali, the nation’s biggest money launderer, is protected by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. And Hassan Ali has links with senior Congress politicians including Sonia Gandhi’s trusted political secretary, Ahmed Patel. During his interaction with Ali was Ahmed Patel representing himself or his boss, Sonia Gandhi? If he was representing himself why has Sonia Gandhi not sacked him? If he was representing the Congress President how does Sonia Gandhi explain her party’s links with the nation’s biggest money launderer who is being protected by the Finance Minister?

Mr. Puri correctly takes the BJP to task for not publicizing and presenting the Congress’s crimes to the nation. That is the responsibility of the opposition.

Government, Opposition & Corruption
by Rajinder Puri
The article can be read at:
http://www.boloji.com/myword/mw184.html

A Banking System Built for Terrorism
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,178227,00.html

Madrasi Bhaiyya

Though born in south India, I grew up in UP and MP thinking and speaking in Hindi. The reason I say “thinking in Hindi” is because I spoke the slang and cursed like my friends. I was so fluent in Hindi that my friends used to think I am a UP “Bhaiyya”. UP became an integral part of my life. I lived and breathed Lakhnavi culture. The only thing that was odd (if I may use the word) was that after knowing my name sometimes I was referred to as “Madrasi” though I was born in a different part of the south. Other than that, I was treated like anyone else. I did not face any xenophobia during my entire stay of two decades. Of course that does not imply that everyone else goes unscathed as well. Many of my friends have had bad experiences in other metropolitan cities. But my good experience combined with the bad experiences of other tells us that while evil of xenophobia does exist, it is not impossible for us to overcome. If our neighborhood, our society, our city, state and country have to grow and prosper, then defeating xenophobia is not a choice but a stark necessity. We need to unite as Indians rather than stand divided based on caste, language or region.
But my heart aches to see politicians across party lines demanding a caste base census even after 60 years of Independence. Actually over the years we have further divided ourselves beyond the traditional caste system and strengthen the discrimination even more by bringing in the language and region into the mix. When we meet a new person we invariably want to know if that person is a Brahmin, Thakur, Yaday, Baniya or Dalit. Then if that person turns out to be from outside the state we go through the next level of screening that is to find out if one is a UP/ Bihari Bhiyya, a Madarasi, a Bengali, a Punjabi, a Gujju, a Mallu or a Marathi Manus. We are everything but a Bharatie Manus or Indian Manus. It’s a tragedy that many Indians don’t feel nationalistic enough except when there is an international cricket match, worthless English symbol of nationalism.
In our schools we learn English instead of Sanskrit, Shakespeare instead of Kalidas, and world history instead of Indian History. We are not taught about the greatness of our culture or about our great poets, saints and the Mahabharata the epics scripture that would produce generations after generations of true blue Indians. It is a shame even after 60 years of independence we have Mayawati as the Chief Minister in UP who’s mentor Kanshi Ram had this as the slogan for his party; Tilak, taraju aur talwar, unko maro jute char (Brahmins, traders and the warrior caste should be kicked).
Let’s become truly independent from this bondage of racial bigotry. Let’s drop all our petty differences of caste, creed, region and language to unite and save our Ram Janmabhumi, our Kashi and our Ram-Setu.
Here is another great old article from the IIM; Bangalore Prof. Vaidyanathan; where he says, “British-inspired propaganda that education was not available to the so-called backward castes prior to their efforts is not valid. The “secular” education was always a major tool in social transformation prior to British rule”.
Caste discrimination a British invention, bigger than steam engine
The colonizers were part of the Abrahamic tradition, which believes in homogenization, and the heterogeneous and non-conflicting Indian society would not have suited their design. That might have led them to construct a class-based discriminating society out of the multiple sampradayas and castes co-existing peacefully. After all, history is constructed to suit the colonisers and victors.
http://www.dnaindia.com/money/column_caste-discrimination-a-british-invention-bigger-than-steam-engine_1152940

Indian cabinet approves caste-based census for 2011

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11241916

Breach in Fort Congress

A party whose interior machinations have always been dictatorial, is showing signs of a breach. Dissent and bickering have become the order of the day. Are rats jumping the ship? What happened to the famous glue of Gandhi family, the charm and brilliance of Rahul and the organisational skills of Sonia Gandhi. When Manmohan Singh's own press advisor comes out and says that the only conviction the party has is winning elections, then you know that the dysfunction has reached a nadir. How is this party going to govern for the next four years? This is punishment which is not commensurate with the Indian electorate's mistake last year.

PM’s adviser dissects Cong
The Prime Minister’s media adviser, Harish Khare, has described the Congress as “statusquoist” and resistant to social change — a party that “rewarded cynicism, family nepotism and bogus groupism” and thwarted worthy initiatives by pursuing the politics of “cronyism and crony capitalism”.
The article can be read at:
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100921/jsp/frontpage/story_12962526.jsp

SUPREME COURT CORRUPTION: THE LAST STRAW

To put degree of corruption into perspective, I want to talk about Late Dan Rostenkowski. He was a US Congressman from Illinois for close to thirty years and became the chairman of House Ways and Means committee (one who deals with disbursement of funds). He was as established a politician as they come. He was Mr. Washington. He got convicted of corruption. The two of the major charges were a mail order fraud for $50,000, using his influence to help his friends and (what really boggled my mind was) misuse of government vehicles. Think about it! Misuse of government vehicles! If that were imposed in India, every class 1 officer would be in jail. ALL OF THEM! As far as the amount of money is concerned, he could not hold a candle for our politicians. A man like A Raja plays in billions and not thousands. There is corruption in the US but is neither condoned nor does it go unpunished. On the other hand, one trillion dollars of Indian money in Swiss banks says it all about corruption in India.
Democracy is a system which needs time to take roots. Even after it takes roots, people have to have faith in the system. I am talking about non-religious faith, the kind that keeps the wheel and every cog in it moving slowly but surely. If a population does not have that kind of faith, then democracy will never work. Case in point is Muslims countries where non-religious faith is considered blasphemous.
Faith, by and large, means believing is something. What can Indian population believe in? The government and the bureaucratic machinery are rotten to the core. From the peon to the PM, no one is untouched by corruption. In case of a problem, the aam aadmi thinks many times before approaching the police or the bureaucracy or the judiciary for help. The election commissioner who is supposed to execute his duty in a non-partisan fashion is the lap dog of one political party. Someone raises doubts about the electronic voting machines and gets arrested. Then whom should the voter turn to? Did you say Supreme Court? That's what I would have said until I read allegations by former Union Law Minister Shanti Bhushan. He claims that eight out of 16 judges were corrupt. This is like the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. I would like to use the “fox in charge of the hen house” but this is too sanguine a matter to be using frivolous metaphors. Supreme Court judge UC Banerjee was in charge of enquiring into Godhra station massacre. He ruled that the fire was accidental despite all the proofs. He was working at the behest of the champion secularist Laloo Yadav. CJ Rangnath Mishra whose name is on the list was the head of a commission on minority status. What kind of fairness can the majority Hindus expect from this man? Rajkot Police Commissioner Geeta Johri questioned the judicial propriety of Justice Tarun Chatterjee, who headed a Bench, ordering a CBI probe against Gujarat Minister Amit Shah when he himself was under CBI probe in the Ghaziabad Provident Fund scam. These judges are the final adjudicators of our society. If they are not going to do the right thing, who does the aam aadmi turn to? Is there really hope for Democracy in and people of India?

Here are two articles:

8 of the 16 SC Chief Justices of India were Corrupt Says Ex Law Minister

http://expressbuzz.com/topnews/eight-of-16-cjis-were-corrupt-ex-law-minister/207402.html

http://www.dailypioneer.com/283534/8-of-16-CJIs-were-corrupt-Ex-law-Minister.html

J&K: The Root of the Problem

The real reason the world opinion is noticeably indifferent to Kashmir, in spite of a huge number of deaths - 100 + have died in recent disturbances, is that the separatist leaders have openly called for Shariah law in Kashmir and have expressed an "Islamic" rule in Kashmir as the justification for the revolt against India. Mirwaiz Omar Farooq said in an interview that they want to create a society like 7th century Arabia in Kashmir. Geelani too said recently that it is our religious obligation to "free" Kashmir from India and establish Islamic government. On being asked how Islamic government will improve people's lives when all Islamic governments have proved to be cancerous. He simply shrugged and said that it was their duty to try.

The world has noticed and lost sympathy for Kashmiri Muslims in spite of the obvious popularity of revolt amongst Kashmiri Muslims. Even the Indian secularists appear a little deflated. It has finally dawned on them that there is no difference between the Kashmiri revolt and demand for Pakistan. They can see now that there is no political or economic issue in Kashmir. The revolt is founded purely on religious hatred. Another thing not spoken, but felt and sometimes whispered is that since Muslims live freely in Hindu majority India and Hindus were cleansed out of Pakistan, why should Muslim majority Kashmir seek secession purely on religious grounds. What moral right then Muslims have of living in the rest of India.

I think we are not doing badly. We just need to hold our ground and not indulge in gratuitous violence or inflict hardship on the people from our side and this movement will have even less sympathy. This, however, is not to excuse the Congress / secularists' style of handling this and other matters. While the political fundamentals, so to say, of the whole issue favor India; India can certainly make the manner in which we hold the ground more deft and adroit.

The Congress and secularists, led by Nehru to Indira Gandhi to Rajiv and now Rahul Gandhi have a peculiar attitude towards Muslims. On the one hand, they are all love for Muslims, thumping their chests to proclaim their “contributions” to Indian civilization and demanding even special privileges for them (J&K's special status, ironically being one of those privileges). On the other hand, the moment they sense any trouble from Muslims to their power, they start doing down the very same Muslims in a most unfair and unjustified manner.

Nehru, once he sensed Sheikh Abdullah was getting out of control, imprisoned him. Rajiv Gandhi rigged an election with Farooq Abdullah, an atrocity on Kashmiri people to which most commentators trace the start of Kashmiri insurgency, and now Rahul is trying to prop up a hugely unpopular Omar Abdullah. Contrast this with BJP's handling of J&K and managing an alliance with NC that resulted in relative tranquility in the otherwise troubled state.

The root cause, however, is Islam itself that won't let its followers live in peace with the unbelievers. The comments about Congress and BJP's handling of the state are more in the nature of India holding it's ground till that basic issue is resolved globally. And that resolution of the global Muslim problem alone will ultimately solve the problem - when Muslims give up their supremacism and perhaps Islam itself.
All about baba-logs
"Is there hope? Not a chance. If Manmohan Singh had any sense of self, he would have upped and resigned long ago. In the event, expect the situation to worsen in Jammu and Kashmir while the Centre has its hands tied by Rahul Gandhi. To this writer at least, the visit of an all-party delegation to J and K makes no sense now, after Rahul Gandhi has hijacked the agenda. "

The article can be read at:
http://newsinsight.net/archivedebates/nat2.asp?recno=2040

Burning Schools and Quran With It.

Terry Jones, a pastor of a Florida church in the US proposed to Burn-the Qur‘an’ on September 11 but he called it off under a varied pressure. However Islamists all over the world selectively used the news and incited use of violence. A mosque in J&K showed an Iranian TV clip, which eventually resulted in the burning of a 150-year-old Christian run school. Ironically, the school library had many copies of the Quran. Another point to note was that the school had only Muslim students. Needless to say, those copies of Quran were burnt down. Now think about it. The act caused due to a Quran burning rumor, resulted in actual burning of the Quran. It would take a bard of the caliber of Shakespeare to think of such an ironic tragedy.

Every action has equal and opposite reaction", says Newton's third law. In case of the Muslims, every action seems to have multiple times the opposite reaction. The school burning was one such examples. But with the Hindus, the reaction is at the other extreme. Those who draw comparisons between Hindu violence against Christians and extreme Muslims atrocities should remember that even the gruesome murder of 84 years old Swami Laxmanand Saraswati in Orissa only sparked some sporadic riots but NO SCHOOLS WERE BURNT. To compare the two reactions is a futile exercise in extremely wayward political correctness and imbalanced interpretation.
A Harvard human rights journal, under the chapter “Religion as Identity” says “While religion as belief emphasizes doctrines, religion as identity emphasizes affiliation with a group. In this sense, identity religion is experienced as something akin to family, ethnicity, race, or nationality. Identity religion thus is something into which people believe they are born rather than something to which they convert after a process of study, prayer, or reflection”.
Well this burning of the school by the Kashmiri Muslims was definitely akin to that of Pakistani’s. This is not the Indian way!!

Kashmir: principal of fire-ravaged Christian school speaks out

"The crowd grew until 15-20,000 people marched on to the school, which is just one kilometre and half away from where the gathering took place. When they arrived, they began vandalising the building, and then set it on fire. The whole three-storey structure with 26 classrooms, library, and computer labs burnt down to the ground.
Ironically, our library had various copies of the Qur‘an. In half an hour, the building was gone since it was made of wood."

The article can be read at:
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Kashmir:-principal-of-fire-ravaged-Christian-school-speaks-out-19462.html

TRUE NATIONALIST LEADER

Need I say more when the election results of Kathlal constituency in Kheda district of Gujarat speak loud and clear? Here I only wish to share, Honorable chief Minister Bhai Narendra Modi’s old quote;

"They asked me, what do you do for Muslims? I said I do nothing. Please write my words down carefully, I do nothing for Muslims or for Hindus. Whatever I do, I do for 50 million Gujaratis."
Narendra Modi to Sachar Committee

“Figures suggest, 65% of Muslim voters voted for BJP in Kathlal”
Kathlal, 17 September, 2010

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today said, he has been informed with figures that the Bharatiya Janata Party has secured about 65% votes in those Kathlal booths where Muslims have dominating population. “65% votes of Muslim community in favor of BJP means if Ramzan is near, we are benefited from that, because one would do only right thing in Ramzan. Those who malign Gujarat here and there should understand that Gujarat wants peace and Gujarat wants development. And Kathlal people have proved this,”Modi added. Modi said this in his victory speech during a rally held at Kathlal. Meanwhile Kheda district BJP Chief Bimal Shah said that Muslim Youths actively participated in the election in favor of BJP. Shah said, the Muslim youths used to visit the party election office and told that elder Muslims might vote for Congress but the youths would definitely vote for BJP.

http://deshgujarat.com/2010/09/17/figures-suggest-65-muslims-voted-bjp-in-kathlal/

Hardik Badhai, Narendra Bhai

The following article says that; The BJP and the Congress both had put all their resources behind the election. BJP has never won Kathlal constituency in Kheda district which has been a bastion of Congress for the last 60 years. Despite that and all the dirty tricks including unleashing the CBI hounds, Congress bit the dust. As Chief Minister Narendra Modi says;"This victory is a defeat for the CBI and the Congress."

Arjun Modhawadia, state Congress leader, blamed it on Modi's "muscle power and money power." Congress has way more money than BJP (they spent over Rs. 400 crores on the last general election) and the CBI muscle. Another guy's excuse is equally feeble. So why are the Congress apologists sounding so confused? If this election was so important, why did they not bring in Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi and their star power? All the bickering within the party along with the precipitous drop in the popularity of Manmohan Singh tells me that this party is in a panic mode. No one has any idea about running the party let alone the nation. I guess the Indian voter is going to pay dearly for his / her sins from the last election.

The voter in Gujarat sees the result of Narendra Modi's rule everyday. They are not going to buy the CBI lies or fall for the looks of the Rajkumar Rahul Gandhi. The aam aadmi of Gujarat is seeing and experiencing the peace and progress at ground Zero and calling the age old bluff of the congress’s divide and rule policy.

It’s nice to say that this was a sweet gift to Bhai Narendra Modi on his 60th birthday but truly it’s a gift the people of Kathlal constituency have given to themselves. If only the Gujarat experience could be repeated at the national level . Now that would be really great gift the Aam Aadmi would be giving to the Nation!!

Modi strengthened by victory in Congress bastion
http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/sep/17/modi-strengthened-by-victory-in-congress-bastion.htm

Divide and Rule: History of Votebank Politics

A pertinent question in todays India would be; “Are we really free from imperial legacy in the twenty-first century? Is the current Indian politics more true and sympathetic to its own people than the British Raj?”
The answer would be a big, NO. We are living under the specifically created disillusion by the political leaders of India and a cynical world that justifies the means of achieving their strategic interests.
After 63 years of India's independence, it is important to analyze the historical aspects of divide-and-rule policy within the Indian subcontinent and how it has been extended to India’s current votebank politics.

Divide and Rule in Religion

“...there dwell in India seventy millions of Moslem's... While the Hindu elaborates his argument, the Moslem sharpens his sword. Between these two races and creeds...there is no intermarriage…. If you took the antagonisms of France and Germany, and the antagonisms of Catholics and Protestants, and compounded them and multiplied them ten-fold, you would not equal the division which separates these two races….” Winston Churchill (Prime Minister of UK, 1940-45, 1951-55), March 18, 1931, London.

Exploitation and expansion of existing religious divides by the British to rule India is well known. But what is not known is that these divides were eventually deepened by careless and unmindful decisions of the Indian National Congress, leader of the Indian independence movement.

After the first united uprising of 1857 against the British, divide and rule became the foundation of future governance, which avoided further unified resistance. Initially the British policies were pro-Hindu, as most areas were under Muslim rule. The Indian National Congress (INC) was created in 1885, which fielded pro-British, moderate Hindu elites. But by late 19th century growing nationalist sentiments among the Hindus led the British to switch their favoritism towards the Muslims. Muslim loyalty was rewarded by - Bengal partition on communal lines (1905), creation of Muslim League representing Muslim elite (1906), Morley-Minto Reform (1909) which provided separate electorate for the Muslims and extra seats in Provisional Council compared to population.

Over-riding concerns for communal unity and an extreme desire to encourage the nationalist movement, led the INC to sign ‘The Lucknow Pact’ in 1915 with the Muslim league. The pact was like a self-created fissure by Indians, as it for the first time gave acceptance to communal representation and separate electorates. Similarly, INC support was extended to the Khilafat Movement (1919-1924) which was launched to demand British protection of the Ottoman Empire. This further alienated the Indian Muslims from the cause of Indian nationalism. Events like this encouraged separatism that eventually divided India into two states as India and Pakistan, on the basis of religion

After independence, India chose to remain secular, but as it turned out, dangerous ways of playing communal politics were continued for generations by the INC, which enjoyed the exclusive fortune of ruling India for a half century. Religion was heavily engaged with the politics to gain votes in elections. “...the Congress party came to favor the conservative sections of the Muslim community. Before elections, Congress bosses asked heads of mosques to issue fatwas to their flock to vote for the party; after elections, the party increased government grants to religious schools and colleges…” Ramchandra Guha said in an article in the Wall Street Journal (December 6-7, 2008) written in the wake of terrorist attacks in Mumbai. He added that Congress patronage was a “blow to Muslim Liberalism” and that it “consolidated the claims to leadership of priests and theologians.” This patronage of the Muslims is no longer an INC practice. Communists and regional parties have taken a lead on that front. To keep their votebank intact, these parties want the Muslims demagogues in charge of Muslims and Muslims voters ignorant and oblivious. Do you think that these people want the UP or Bihar Muslims to know how prosperous their Gujarati brethren are under Bhai Narendra Modi’s rule?

CASTEISM NOT EXCLUSIVE TO HINDUISM

My firm belief is that two men, equal in all respects, will still find some way of putting each other down. That is human nature. This is a malaise of the human race and not Hindu religion. Hinduism unfortunately provided the term for it. Casteism and related terms have become so ingrained in the language that those terms are abused all over. Elitists from Massachusetts are referred to as “Boston Brahmins”. But calling it a Hindu problem is like calling the West Nile Virus an Egyptian disease. Having said that, it should be emphasized here that this is not an attempt to justify or even defend the practice. Accepting and understanding the evil is necessary to be able to deal with it. As and when our culture became known to outsiders, Indian caste system has often been falsely perceived as an exotic equivalent of the division of society into classes that is prevalent in western countries. Truly there are many essential ideological differences between the two systems of sociological categorization. Therefore, it is not justified to make erroneous criticisms of the Hindu caste system based on direct comparisons with the corresponding events in Christianized countries. Dr. Sripati Chandrasekhar a well-known international demographer, economist, in his work, Caste, Class and Color in India says; “Caste in modern India is an example of social institutions that have developed almost to be the opposite of what they were intended to be.” Caste system is not intended to have any class-consciousness and economic implications.

The secularist may have embraced the outwardly portrayed liberal attitudes by the Christian communities but the reality is ugly. The Hindu dalits need to understand that there will be no respite to their discriminating even after conversion as they are being falsely lured with promises of equality. They will still be a Dalit but in a foreign religion. They need to fight, stop being a lamb and become a tiger. Also the upper caste Hindus cannot absolve themselves from their past and present mistakes either and squarely blame the Christian missionaries and Muslims separatists backed Dalit movements for mass conversions. They have to learn and start treating people with respect and as equals. If we wish to be treated justly, then we must treat others with justice. The Dharmic view of equality and the human person is considerably more sophisticated, compassionate and ethical than the materialist egalitarian approach. For the conscious and sincere follower of Sanatana Dharma, the human person consists of infinitely more than the mere physical appearance. Sanatana Dharma teaches us that the typical human being is actually multi-faceted and multi-dimensional. The human being consists of a) deha (physical body), b) manas (mind substance & memory), c) buddhi (the intellect ), d) ahamkara (the ego), and most important, e) atman (the true, spiritual self). Then from a spiritual perspective, we are all equally the children of God because our true, spiritual self (atman) does not have color, nor dimension, nor race, nor class, nor gender. So let us be worthy of our Superior Spiritual Sanatana Dharmic heritage and end all caste-based bigotry against our fellow Hindus now. This concept of spiritually-inspired equal vision is beautifully explained to us by Lord Sri Krishna in chapter 5, verse 18 of the famous Bhagavad Gita (Song of God).

We had earlier posted on this blog hi-lighting a similar hypocrisy in May where, a Christian family was looking for a Brahmin convert for their son.

Indian Dalits find no refuge from caste in Christianity
By Swaminathan Natarajan BBC Tamil

Many in India have embraced Christianity to escape the age-old caste oppression of the Hindu social order, but Christianity itself in some places is finding it difficult to shrug off the worst of caste discrimination.
In the town of Trichy, situated in the heart of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, a wall built across the Catholic cemetery clearly illustrates how caste-based prejudice persists.
Those who converted to Christianity from the formerly "untouchable" Hindu caste groups known as Dalits are allocated space for burial on one side of the wall, while upper-caste converts are buried on the other side.

Read the complete article;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11229170

Dowry and Divorce: The Banes of Indian Society

Being a woman is tough. In India it's tougher. Time is changing and so is our society. With each change, new concepts are added and old traditions are modified. Dowry and divorce are two such modern day issues, closely related to some of the challenges faced by urban women in Indian that I would like to reflect upon.

Dowry
As I cling to my mother's side, she signed a petition to support prosecution of in-laws of our neighbour's daughter who was recently burnt to death for dowry. I was thirteen years old and this was my first ever encounter with dowry. It shook me inside out. Couple of years later I attended my cousin's wedding. Within a day after bhabhi moved in to my cousin's house, I saw a bunch of people sneaking in TV, VCR, washing machine etc from a van, through backdoor of the house. This further baffled me. My relatives were decent, educated and one of the most reputed families of the town. After college, I came to know a family of two brothers, one of whom opted for love marriage, where the bride did not get any dowry and the other went for arranged marriage where the bride got abundance of dowry. The bahu without dowry was not burnt, but was given biased treatment in every little day to day matter and was psychologically harassed.

These are just few examples out of many that highlight the evils of dowry in our society. Not every dowry related case ends with 'kitchen fire death'. It knowingly and unknowingly translates into surreptitious forms of related abuse - female fetus abortion, female infanticide, psychological harassment, suicide, murders etc. With all its amendments, 1961 Dowry Prohibition Act still fails to dither the abuser. Lot of time it is not difficult to find loophole with this law.

Some people chose to blame religion for this malfunction. Ironically, in Hinduism, dowry in its earliest form was designed for women's safeguard. Known as 'Streedhan', it was girl's share of her parent's property and was exclusively for her disposal. Generations of preposterous lust for power and greed evolved this custom into present day form. Curiously enough this phenomenon is vastly seen in growing middle class with increasingly inflated monetary aspirations. Each added qualification, hyperbolize the groom's price tag. It is interesting to see the failure of modern education to cope with this menace. In fact the more educated groom is, the higher he could fetch a bid for himself. Even a highly educated girl would oblige to such gruesome acts.

Then how do we cope with this problem? Laws failed, education failed. I believe the cultural and value system breakdown of our society is the root cause of such menace. Without underestimating the role of appropriate laws and education, a major cultural rethinking and a complete overhaul of male dominated society would be an effective way to start the revolution.

Divorce
My encounter with a divorce case is rare, probably because in Hinduism divorce is permitted only in extreme conditions or probably because it is still considered as a taboo in our society. Generally speaking, for Hindus marriage is considered sacred and is more like a duty. It is a bond that cannot be broken. It is unlike in other religions, like Christianity and Islam where marriage is considered as a contract that can be broken at will. But as we start to look at the statistics, it is clear that divorce rate is shooting up with a much faster rate. An overall analysis of the reasons of the breakdown of our family system due to increase in divorce rate, revealed some very interesting points.

In our society, as I regrettably noted from last few years, human values have degraded to its lowest levels. Our value system had plunged. Dowry, lack of respect for the females of the house or for the elders, desire to feel powerful through exploitation of weaker are some of the acts resulting from our skewed morals. Also, our society is going through a transition phase where we are shedding past traditions and adapting to modern age acceptable norms. We are in cusp. For a female this is huge. In past females of our society had been very restricted and bound to burdensome traditions. Time is changing and some urban class educated females are more conscious of their existence, independence and value. Even though this is a positive change and a much required one, it is challenging some of the established traditional institutions. While the males in our families are still raised (knowingly and unknowingly) to adopt a dominant role, females are expected to relent and compromise. As a result there is friction that may lead to divorce.

In urban areas people are getting more individualistic, and social interactions are getting lesser. With less interference of society in family matters, it is easier for a women to live alone as a divorcee. For economically independent women it is far easier to take the decision of divorce than a dependent one. It also gets easier for girl's family to take responsibility of their daughter after the divorce, unlike in past.

Though this may sound like a superstition to some, but I think it is true that before marriage we match the horoscope of bride and groom to see the compatibility of both individuals. If done right and with expert advice, this can be beneficial to a happy marriage. These days with trend in love marriage, the art of matching horoscope is denied by the couples themselves or it is just a formality. Sometimes the advisor is not very proficient in this art and sometime it is denied in the name of superstition. Increase in love marriages had also contributed a lot in increased divorce rate. Lot of times couples take decisions in haste, in repulsion to the society, physical lust or without any matured advice, only to find eventually that they are not made for each other.

Another contributing factor could be the influence of western world which is making divorce, more acceptable phenomena. Disposable culture, individual freedom, desire of constant change, extra-marital and pre-marital affairs, lack of compromise and commitment and fear of taking responsibility are some of the traits common to western world divorce epidemic, which are increasingly infiltrating our system.

I think it is time to address this issue even though I can see the difficulty in achieving the desired results. Our society has to make a collective effort and change certain traditions and mindset for good. It might take a while before we see any progress at all. In fact we might see an increase in divorce rate for a while. We need to support single women psychologically, socially, financially (especially if she is not earning) and legally and make remarriage more acceptable.

Does India Want Stable Pakistan?

My favorite fable about human nature is like this: A scorpion requests a frog to carry him across a river. Frog is afraid that he may get bit. The scorpion says that if I bite you then both us will drown. Frog relented. Halfway through the river, the scorpion bit the frog. While drowning, the frog asked: Why did you bite me? Now both of us are going to die. The scorpion said: I can’t help it. This is my nature.
Whether a stable Pakistan is in Indian interest or not, seems to be a trendy topic for discussion. There is a very strong constituency in India which favors helping Pakistan out. It started off with Gandhi and has continued through the decades with the likes of Mulayam Yadav and Achuthanandan. Of course their motives are extremely ignoble.
My strong belief is that the due to decades of brainwashing, the Pakistanis want nothing short of Balkanization of India. Due to centuries of brainwashing they hate everything Hindu. These sentiments are even more pronounced (if that is possible) in the real decision makers i.e. the Army. Now a Pakistan with limited resources is hell bent on destroying us. Imagine what they will do when they have real resources.
In fact it is very arrogant of us to even discuss this. Pakistan’s stability and prosperity is not in Indian hands. Hell even our stability and prosperity is not in our hands (it is in the hands of Bholenath!). With that in mind, I tend to think that our time would be better used if we fortify our security and create economic opportunities across the country so we can move forward as a country rather than regionally.
Following is an article on this topic. I have had the opportunity of communicating with Dr. Ganguly. He does a good job of discussing this rather vacuous topic.

"Indian policymakers are again discussing if a stable Pakistan is a good thing. Pakistan’s internal politics hold the key.In the aftermath of yet another abortive attempt to reach a rapprochement with Pakistan this July, a time-honored debate has again been resurrected in New Delhi’s foreign and security policy circles.The debate revolves around the question of whether or not it’s in India’s interests to have a stable, secure and prosperous Pakistan. Yet the question in its present form misses the point. The real issue isn’t whether or not such an outcome is desirable. Instead, the more pertinent issue for India’s policymakers is to establish how such a Pakistani state would behave toward India. Would it be a benign and fair-minded neighbor willing to cooperate on a host of outstanding differences? Or would it remain truculent as ever, determined to remain at odds with its neighbor? "
The rest of the article can be read at:

http://the-diplomat.com/2010/09/14/does-india-want-a-stable-pakistan/