Home > 2008 Issues > September 28, 2008

Readers? Forum Political power has eluded Hindus for centuries (Organiser, 7-9-2008); My sincere thanks to Dr Gautam Sen for his article. He has also given a broad Hindu agenda. The fact, however, is that during 62 years of their freedom struggle under the Congress and Mahatma Gandhi, Hindus never talked of political power for themselves. All their grievances against the British were centred around economic exploitation by the British and cultural invasion of Europe. So, economic progress became their sole password after the British left. Contrary to it, Muslims under the banner of Muslim League, or the Congress or at their educational institutions focussed on getting political power with their privileged position of the medieval Mughal period. Sensing that the British were leaving India sooner than expected and, with the overwhelming Hindu population, it would be impossible to re-establish Mohammedan rule on the entire Indian subcontinent at one go, Muslim leaders concentrated on first getting the Muslim majority areas solely to themselves to establish Islamic rule and then continue their invasion on Hindu India. So, they fought for Pakistan and got it after a lot of bloodshed. Dr Gautam Sen has rightly stated that without self-conscious political power, Hindus will not be able to address issues concerning them, nor will they be able to carry out reforms or make real progress as honourable members of the comity of nations. The truth is that as a community, Hindus are untouchables in the world body of 205 nations. ?RAM GOPAL, A-2B/94-A, Ekta Apartments, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi Christian outrage in Orissa (Organiser, 7-9-2008); The Maoists are reported to have claimed the responsibility for the assassination of the Hindu religious leader in Orissa. The ostensible reason they have cited is that they cannot remain silent spectators to the ?atrocities? being committed by the majority community on the minorities in Orissa. If one applies the same yardstick for the prevalent situation in Jammu and Kashmir, then the Maoists should also think of taking on the majority community in that state for the incessant targeting of the minorities in J&K, as a result of which around three lakh Kashmiri Pandits have been made refugees in their own homeland. ?ARUN MALANKAR, G-1, St Sebestian Classic, Sunder Nagar Lane 3, Kalina, Mumbai Individual efforts bring Olympics glory (Organiser, 31-8-2008); Abhinav Bindra has brought the most splendid and memorable moment for the country by creating history in Beijing to win the first gold medal. It is creditable that this win is in the individual category for India in the 108-year Olympic history. With his remarkable achievement, India has got a gold medal after 28 years, the last one being in 1980 when Indian hockey team won. The whole country is in a festive mood and celebrating as Abhinav has brought all the festivals like Id, Deepawali, Guruparv and Christmas together on a single day. The country is very proud of its illustrious sportsman. ?DILBAGRAI, Chandigarh *   *   * So finally it has happened. It took more than a century for one of the oldest civilisations and the second most populous nation in the world to achieve its first individual gold medal at the Olympic games. Abhinav Bindra has done India proud like no one else before. And in victory he looked cool, composed and confident, representing more of ancient Bharat than modern India. Achievements of wrestler Sushil Kumar and boxer Vijender Kumar are nothing less, but an Olympic gold medal for an individual item is what has eluded India for so long. India has done far better in group games than in individual sports so far. ?AP RASTOGI, Sankar Colony, Vadodara *   *   * Abhinav Bindra has changed a cricket-crazy nation like India by winning the first individual gold medal for the country in the Olympics. When the nation has witnessed the new Olympic history, the whole India is not only delighted but also proud of Abhinav?s golden performance in India?s Olympic history. I hope Abhinav?s performance will inspire others for various other events and fighting for the country?s honour. I hope after this success, the government, the media and the people treat all other games as equal as cricket. ?BIDYUT KUMAR CHATTERJEE, Faridabad Jammu confronts separatists (Organiser, 24-8-2008); On one hand, it exposes the anti-Hindu character of Jammu and Kashmir government and on the other hand, it shows how helpless Hindus are, as they simply allow any type of injustice or insult to be done to them. It is only the VHP, Bajrang Dal and BJP, which oppose the biased and prejudiced behaviour of the government in each and every case of neglect of Hindus. Now it is the time that every Hindu should rise and condemn and decry the Amarnath land withdrawal case and force the government to reallocate the land to Amarnath Shrine Board and provide all facilities to pilgrims. ?PRAMOD PRABHAKAR VALSANGKAR, H.N0.1-10-8, Dwarakapuram, Dilsukhnagar, Hyderabad India?s standing is at an all-time low (Organiser, 24-8-2008); The debate is about the policies towards terrorists advocated by different parties, the laws available to counter them, the jurisdiction of various central and state agencies, adequacies and capabilities of organisations at centre and states etc. All these are very legitimate issues needing to be debated constructively. Instead of using those arguments to score points against political rivals there is an imperative need for political parties to get into a meaningful dialogue among themselves. Contrast the behavior of Indian political parties with that of parties in other mature democracies such as the US, Britain and European Union countries. In no other country claiming to be a democracy do we see as much acrimony in facing what is recognised as a national threat. This is the situation in a country that has been engaged in fighting terrorism for well over a quarter of a century. ?KPG MENON, Ottapalam, Kerala *   *   * While terrorism is a specific threat in other democracies, in India it is part of our present political culture. In these circumstances it is difficult to expect terrorism of the Jaipur, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Hyderabad type to be overcome before the country is able to cleanse our Parliament of the scourge of criminal elements there and to a significant extent our electoral process. But there is not even adequate awareness in the country about the nature of terrorism that is afflicting the country. ?RAMESH TOMAR, Kaali Bari, Silchar India must revisualise her destiny (Organiser, 24-8-2008); The English media has failed to present the positive side of the Hindutva wave and its related contributions. It has overlooked the RSS and VHP effort for a dialogue with bishops on different issues facing them. It has also failed to discuss how and why in J&K, the only Muslim majority state in India, the Hindu minority of Kashmiri Pundits was totally thrown out as refugees in their own land? Why were no representative voices of Muslims heard against the atrocities in J&K? About 10,000 Kashmiri Pundits have been shot dead over the years, and 3.5 lakhs rendered homeless and uprooted. The English press publicity remained poor, indifferent and insensitive. Even in their reportings, they described it in a routine way. No one used words like genocide, ethnic cleansing, Talibanization, violation of human rights or holocaust, as they are in usual habit of using it against any Hindu reaction. ?S.P. SINGH, Ambala *   *   * The media is expected to adhere to proper norms and standards of reporting. It should not indulge in distorting, exaggerating or employing intemperate, inciting and unrestrained language or phrase deliberately meant to give wrong impressions. The media is a peace-maker and not at all a political backer, a disease the English media badly suffers from. The media is expected to promote peace and harmony and not to present a picture of incitement or create such a trend, which disrupts peace directly or indirectly. If it indulges in this design, will it not be an anti-national act? ?A SARKAR, BELUDUBI, Howrah Terrible message from Kashmir (Organiser, 24-8-2008); The article is very enlightening. During the last two decades innocent and unarmed Hindus are being mercilessly murdered by the Islamic terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. Terrorism breeds a culture of intolerance. It is never revolutionary in content. It is anti-freedom and a crime against humanity. It can?t be legitimised under any pretext. Genocide is its ultimate expression. Peace in Kashmir will remain elusive if the peace initiatives don?t incorporate a comprehensive and permanent reversal of the genocide of Kashmiri Hindus, as its cardinal principle. ?ABHINAV DAYAL, Railway Road, Rishikesh *   *   * Pundits, the original inhabitants of Kashmir, were tortured and driven out of their dwellings in Kashmir by Islamic terrorists trained in Pakistan. The Pundits are now languishing in refugee camps in their own homeland! Nobody considers their plight nor any NGO is ready to take up their cause. They are all busy doing Modi-bashing and eulogising nudity and denigration of Hindu Gods in the name of creative art. ?AKHILESH JHA, Adampura, Bhagalpur UPA fails nation on internal security as well (Organiser, 10-8-2008); The recent powerful ghastly bomb blasts in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad might have brought great delight to pseudo-secular brigade, in which heavy casualties were reported. They might have expressed their gratitude to the culprits, involved in the bomb blasts. Since one readymade issue has easily been given to them by the terrorists to make Karnataka and Gujarat as prime targets, which are governed by the BJP, especially Gujarat CM Shri Narendra Modi, who used to roar and boast himself that post-Godhra riots, his Gujarat state is free from terrorist activities and bomb blasts. He also used to say that terrorism would not be tolerated at any cost. In fact, the pseudo-secular brigade should have come forward to condemn the obnoxious act and to cooperate with state in its rescue operation and also to extend their whole-hearted support to nab the anti-national elements involved in the bomb blasts. But unfortunately their response is very poor. Bomb blasts in BJP-ruled states are a golden opportunity for them to criticise and target the BJP. ?SHRIDHAR KULKARNI, Kalyan (West), Thane Einstein and Aurobindo: Convergence of thoughts (Organiser, 3-8-2008); Shri Donald Wilson has given two beliefs about God and calls them ?childish and superstitious?. That is not the way to enlighten ordinary people. God does answer prayers made from heart but, being supreme, He is not bound by any law or custom. If one is unable to comprehend God, to dismiss the argument as ?childish and superstitious? is being unsympathetic and unreasonable apart from being rude. It is like closing door on enlightenment and revel in spiritual darkness. ?SD LAGHATE, Sankat Mochan Ashram, Ram Krishna Puram-6, New Delhi Ram Katha in Ashok Vatika of Sri Lanka (Organiser, 27-7-2008); The tourism department of Sri Lanka?s invitation to the Hindus to hear eminent religious story-teller Shri Ajay Bhai is a good neighbourly gesture on the part of the Sri Lankan government. Besides enjoying the aforesaid kathavachak?s discourse in respect of Bhagwan Ram, the visiting Hindus devotees would also be able to have the thrill of seeing the Ashok Vatika where the demon king Ravana had kept Sita captive plus other places of Hindu pilgrimage in Sri Lanka. This step of Sri Lanka government is not only praiseworthy but also a boon for the Ram bhaktas enabling them to visit the pious places related to Sri Ram and his consort Sita. ?YS BHASKAR, C-7/67, Sector-15, Rohini, Delhi Shrinking Hindu families? (Organiser, 20-7-2008); Shri R. Balashankar has given detailed data of how Muslims and Christians are being given preference in the matter of education and development. It is pity that the Hindus are treated as second-class citizens in India, which is the only homeland for the Hindus in this otherwise hostile world. At the same time, it is shameful for those Hindus, who still continue to support and vote for anti-Hindu forces, led by Congress and Communists and their allies. After all, it is the voting power that decides the policies of the government. ?ANAND PRAKASH, 72/Sector-8, Panchkula Censoring of Indian history (Organiser, 13-7-2008); Shri Shakil Ahmed asserts that Genghis Khan was infidel. But facts confirm that he was a devoted believer. In his memoirs Tuzuk-i-Tiwuri he wrote: ?About this time, there arose in my heart a desire to lead an expedition against infidels and to become a ghazi, for it has been reached in my ear that slayer of infidels is a ghazi, and if he is slain, he becomes a martyr.? Truth must prevail. ?KSHATRIYA DEOLAL, Ujjain Kutir, Jhumartilaiya, Jharkhand

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