Musings from Mangaluru

Monday, May 14, 2012

Cartoon Row: Insult to Ambedkar and our Constitution

Kannada version here

It’s indeed an irony of sorts that on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the first meeting of our Parliament, the very same hall of the Lok Sabha where our constitution makers met, witnessed disruption of proceedings in protest against a cartoon depicting Nehru and Baba Saheb Ambedkar. To me, this is nothing but a grave insult to our constitution, considered as one of the best in the world that has given us equality, freedom and all the civilian rights, and also to the great wisdom of Ambedkar, who as the Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee played a stellar role in its drafting.

The cartoon that raised the hackles of some of the members of parliament was created by Shankar, in 1949. If the central characters in the cartoon, Nehru and Ambedkar, were Bharat Ratnas, the creator Shankar Pillai, was a Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honour and was considered as the father of political cartooning in India.

What’s in the controversial cartoon? It has been reproduced in the NCERT text book for political science for class XI, titled Indian Constitution at Work, in the first chapter on page 18.[The book is available for download at http://upscportal.com/civilservices/ncert-books/class-xi-indian-constitution-at-work-political-science]

It appears to be a race, trying to complete the work of constitution drafting, with lots of people around, men, women and children, the people of India, waiting for it to end. While Ambedkar is sitting on the snail, the constitution committee, as its Chairman and Nehru, as Prime Minister, is standing behind. Both Ambedkar and Nehru are trying to whip the snail, prodding it to move faster, to the delight of the crowd around. Is this derogatory to either of them? Instead, I see it as appreciation of their efforts to speed up the process of constitution drafting.

The text book carries the following caption to the cartoon: Cartoonist’s impression of the ‘snail’s pace’ with which the Constitution was made. Making of the Constitution took almost three years. Is the cartoonist commenting on this fact? Why do you think, did the Constituent Assembly take so long to make the Constitution?

The text further elaborates: The Constitution drew its authority from the fact that members of the Constituent Assembly engaged in what one might call public reason. The members of the Assembly placed a great emphasis on discussion and reasoned argument. They did not simply advance their own interests, but gave principled reasons to other members for their positions...The voluminous debates in the Constituent Assembly, where each clause of the Constitution was subjected to scrutiny and debate, is a tribute to public reason at its best. And that took a long time and explained the snail’s pace: The Assembly met for one hundred and sixty six days, spread over two years and eleven months. Its sessions were open to the press and the public alike.

And does the text insult Ambedkar? The Constituent Assembly had eight major Committees on different subjects. Usually, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad or Ambedkar chaired these Committees. These were not men who agreed with each other on many things. Ambedkar had been a bitter critic of the Congress and Gandhi, accusing them of not doing enough for the upliftment of Scheduled Castes. Patel and Nehru disagreed on many issues. Nevertheless, they all worked together.. in each instance every single argument, query or concern was responded to with great care and in writing. It acknowledges Ambedkar’s great vision in safeguarding the interests of the most backward and poorest of the country.

Where is the insult?

Both Ambedkar and Nehru were alive when this cartoon was published and there is no evidence to show that they objected (nor they had reasons to object). Eminent cartoonist of The Hindu depicted this on May 12th, 2012:[http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/article3410468.ece]

Ambedkar lets Shankar’s cartoon to pass, but stops the mob that is objecting.

According to me, objections to Shankar’s cartoon are ill informed, trouble mongering, publicity seeking, intolerant acts that are an insult to not only our Constitution but also the intellect and far sightedness of Baba Saheb Ambedkar.

On the other, the action of the Central Govt., and the HRD minister in particular, in meekly succumbing to a mere shout of opposition has been a big let down of not only our Constitutional guarantees but also of our education system, of our future generation who need to learn to reason as well as all our learned academics who strive to impart the best education to our students. It is a shame.

The same text book has another cartoon on page 7:

Nehru is trying to balance between the groups demanding Jana Gana Mana or Vande mataram to be the national anthem. It depicts Ambedkar and Maulana Azad blowing into pipes in support of Jana gana mana while the right wing leaders are shown to be straining their vocal cords for Vande mataram. Is this not objectionable?

Also See:

Save the classroom from the political class. By Suhas Palshikar, The Hindu, May 16, 2012
Schooled in sanctimony. Satish Deshpande, The Hindu. May 18, 2012.
MPs' protest against cartoon is vote-bank politics: Dalit activists - ‘Episode an affront to freedom of expression and attack on Ambedkar himself'. Sunny Sebastian from Jaipur, The Hindu, May 18, 2012.
Why so much fuss over a cartoon, ask academics. Meera Srinivasan fromChennai, The Hindu, May 18, 2012
Academics slam Sibal for cartoon ban in textbooks. TNN, May 18, 2012
Cartoon row: In this controversy, we are all victims of self-deception. By Mrinal Miri. Times of India, May 17, 2012.

Thursday, September 01, 2011

Is Team Anna's Movement a 'Project' for the Ford Foundation?

Is Team Anna being guided by forces that seek to destabilise India? It is now clear that Kabir, the NGO led by Team Anna's Manish Sisodia and Arvind Kejriwal, has been awarded grants worth $569000 (Rs. 2.73 crores) between 2005 and 2011 by Ford Foundation of the US for projects on legal rights/awareness, Democratic and Accountable Government and Promoting Transparent and Effective Government.[1-6] The goals of Team Anna's movement appear very close to these.
[The link #1 no longer exists. Below is the screen shot from the new info at Ford Foundation Website here]

Further, the Magsaysay award is funded by the Rockfeller Foundation of the US and its Youth Award which Kejriwal won, is funded by the Ford Foundation.

Is this 'Anna Movement' then a part of this 'project' funded by the Ford Foundation? Has it been orchestrated to convince the donor that the project is feasible? Incidentally, Ford Foundation enlists Promoting Electoral Reform and Democratic Participation as one of its projects [3] and Team Anna has already announced that to be the next project on their agenda. Are they eying more grants?

Read Kejriwal's rejoinders about the non-declaration of these grants on their web site and you will find him clearly evasive.[2,6] So much for a movement that is 'fighting' against corruption, for RTI and for transparency! But it is a catch 22 for the Govt. of India now: any action on Kabir and Kejriwal/Sisodia will be branded as vindictiveness.

And the methodology and claims of Team Anna remind us of the Sangh Parivar's. Any criticism is unwelcome. Author Arundhati Roy's observations that Ford Foundation and World Bank funded the NGOs of Sisodia/Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi, and that the Jan Lokpal Bill is regressive [7-11] were vehemently denied. Prashanth Bhashan shot them down as manifestations of jealousy! And he went on to say that mass support is proof enough for the strength of Team Anna's arguments.[12] Ditto Sangh Parivar - no courts, no law, only emotions, beliefs and 'mass support'! Do what we say, or else!!

Thursday, June 09, 2011

Baba Ramdev Debunked

Self appointed National Saint Baba Ramdev Swamiji is all over the media space following the interruption of his so called crusade against corruption and black money. The legacies of Mahatma Gandhi, Shivaji and the Jalianwala bagh massacre have been invoked by the self proclaimed Swami himself to justify his actions.

After preparing to agitate for at least 20 days, he had to end his fast in 9 days, as his body tempered with yoga could not prove any stronger.

Is Ramdev a Saint?

Here are some of his claims, debunked.

Claim 1:

Baba Ramdev claims that he suffered from paralysis of the left side of his body during childhood and that his life changed after he read Rishi Dayanand and autobiographies of many great people. [ See ] Great!

Have a close look at his video.

His right forehead has no wrinkles and his right eye does not wink as much as the left side. (Another video of the same problem is also provided here for comparison)

These findings are suggestive of lower motor neurone paralysis of the right facial nerve, also called Bell's palsy. It varies in severity and in many, it recoveres spontaneously, fully or partly. The lower motor neurone paralysis of the facial nerve is an isolated,. local problem, not associated with paralysis of the other parts of the body. (Paralysis of one half of the body, called hemiplegia, is associated with an upper motor neurone type of facial palsy, wherein the forehead wrinkling and closure of eyelids remain unaffected). In Ramdev's case, the right LMN facial palsy appears to have recovered partially. He DOES NOT have any evidence of left sided paralysis. His claim of a left sided paralysis is a lie and it also shows his total ignorance of simple medical facts.

Claim 2:

Ramdev claims that he luckily met Ācārya Balkrishna, 'a kindred soul and a schoolmate', at the Gangotri caves of lofty Himalayas, where both were on a 'similar quest'. [See 1, 2]

Balakrishna instead is alleged to be a criminal on the run from Nepal and is being investigated for procuring a fake Indian passport and for violating the Arms Act.[See 1, 2]

Claim 3:

While Ramdev claims that he has earned a postgraduate (Ācārya) degree with specialization in Sanskrit Vyākarana, Yoga, Darśana, Vedas and Upanisads, Balakrishna goes further by claiming to be a simple and unassuming versatile genius who is a great scholar of Āyurveda, sanskrit language and grammar, and the Vedas with a postgraduate (Ācārya) degree from Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya, Varanasi.[See 1, 2]

In India, formal education in Ayurveda involves four and a half years of training followed by one year of internship, leading to the award of BAMS degree. Neither Ramdev nor Balakrishna have any such qualification. Yet they have been allowed to prescribe treatments for various ailments and also to manufacture, market and dispense several products which they claim are based on Ayurveda.

The Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya, Varanasi does not offer any post graduate courses in Ayurveda [Sources: SSV and my discussion with the PIO, SSV at +91-9415201031]. It is not clear as to what post graduation did the 'great scholar' Balakrishna do at this institute.

Claim 4:

Ramdev and Balakrishna duo claim of post graduation and such expertise in yoga that they have taken upon themselves the 'onerous responsibility of demystifying and popularizing Patañjali’s yoga and ayurveda' through television channels and camps that are attended by thousands. [See]

But the self proclaimed scholar appears to be clumsy in performing even a simple asana as is evident in this video grab of Vakrasana. [See]

Compare it with another video, showing the correct method of performing the same Vakrasana.[See]

So much for the Gurus' Yoga Vidya Parinati!

Claim 5:

With their self proclaimed genius and scholarly knowledge in Yoga and Ayurveda, they claim to have cured lacs of patients [See Balakrishna's claim] (or crores? See Ramdev's claim) of a 'number of stubborn, chronic and incurable diseases like diabetes, rheumatism, osteo-arthritis, gout (rheumatism and arthritis), migraine, cervical spondylitis, respiratory disorders, asthma, cancer, nervous disorder, heart disease, brain diseases, etc!' It is also claimed that 'these successful treatments have been documented by Ācāryaji in his renowned book: Yoga In Synergy With Medicial Science.'[See] The duo also claim that whatever experiments they have done so far prove that yoga can be a solution for all the problems of the world and that there will be heaven on earth. [See]

But where is the evidence? No where in the above mentioned book or in the lists of the so called research publications of the duo one would find any evidence supporting such grandiose claims..[See 1, 2 ]

And the duo have no respect for numbers: lacs or crores simply do not matter!

Claim 6:

Baba Ramdev claims to have 'a vision to make a disease free world through a scientific approach to Yoga and Ayurveda, to establish a new World Health Organisation, to fulfill the resolution of making a new world order free from disease and medicine, to propagate Pranayam as a "free" medicine for the treatment of diseases round the globe, making the world a peaceful and tranquil place by using Yogic techniques to eradicate fatal effects of medicines' etc. [See]

But his Divya Pharmacy manufactures and sells about 285 drugs and other products at nooks and corners of the country! [See]

The total turnover from these sales, as per his own admission, is about 1100 crores! [See]

And there have been reports of immense suffering and even deaths following the use of his drugs and remedies. [See 1, 2]

Claim 7:

Baba Ramdev claims to tread a path of transparency! [See].

But several allegations of amassing assets worth thousands of crores and grabbing land have been levelled against him [See 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8] and the enforcement directorate and income tax dept. are now probing these issues.[See 1, 2]

Claim 8:

Baba Ramdev claims that non-political life is one of the norms of good conduct.[See].

Yet details of his close association wth RSS/VHP/BJP are fast emerging![Video - Ramdev VHP Secret meeting; Report ].

Claim 9:

Baba Ramdev claims that always staying calm and being devoid of an arrogance as his Work Philosophy[See] and that daily practice of yoga not only gives good health but also develops healthy thoughts, attitude, positive mind and develops good qualities and that a healthy and sensitive mind and body will be free from all kinds of violence, casteism, regionalism, communal differences and gradually there shall be more of harmony, love, peace, humanism, sense of service, empathy and tolerance in this world. [See] Moreover, as a Yoga Guru he is expected to have attained Chittha Vritthi Nirodha as well.

But he has now warned of violence and threatened to train an army of 11,000 followers! [See 1, 2, 3]

And his demand for death penalty for offenders of corruption is also indicative of his violent mindset. [See 1, 2]

Claim 10:

Chittha Vritthi Nirodha with yoga?

Both Ramdev and Balakrishna broke down after being shunted out of Ramlila maidan. [See 1, 2]

The Duo, who swear by Yoga and Pran as the be all and end all of everything that humans do, had booked the Ramlila grounds for 20 days, probably hoping to continue their fast for at least 20 days. But after being evicted from there, Ramdev continued his 'fast' at his Haridwar facility and had to be hospitalised in a modern medical college hospital, as his health deteriorated and had to break his fast after 9 days (for 2 days during this he was supported by intravenous fluids). His yogic power and his special pran were probably not as strong as he thought! [See 1, 2,3]

Monday, February 02, 2009

Moral Terror Turns Ganesha into Elephant!

This is the story of Lord Ganesha beautifully depicted on a kite, his unavoidable loss of face enforced by the moral policing Hindutva Brigade, who, ironically, claimed to protect his image.

Months ago, I had written about the beautifully designed kite depicting Lord Ganesha having been forced out of the sky by the moral policing HIndutva Brigade. The kite with the most lovable visage of Ganesha was painstakingly crafted by the artists of Team Mangalore using the best of cloth and materials, many of which were imported. The moral terrorists who claimed to uphold the ‘dignity’ of Hindu gods and goddesses objected to the trial flight of the kite. Although they did not have any clear answers to how the flying of a kite, prepared with all the love, care and reverence by god fearing Hindus, would insult the dignity of Ganesha, its trial had to be abandoned in the face of the terror tactics of these self proclaimed defenders of Hindu religion and culture. Even Lord Ganesha could not defend himself and had to beat a retreat into the shed.

The Moral terrorists could tie the hands of the artists and kite flyers, but can creativity be cowed down by brute force? The pained artists redesigned the kite. The half broken tusk of Ganesha was replaced with a full one. Ganesha turned into Gajaraja, the elephant. And the kite was hoisted to the skies of Ahmedabad during the International Kite Festival. It won wide applause and also an award, presented by none other than the chief minister Narendra Modi, the icon of the Hindutva brigade!

It is not clear whether the artists of Team Mangalore were happy. It is also not known whether the people of Gujarat or their chief minister were aware of the preceding events in Mangalore that involved the moral terrorists. The fact remained that the most respected and loved image of Lord Ganesha had to be sacrificed to fulfill the foolish demands of the moral police whose claim, ironically, was to defend it.

This episode is just one of the many examples of the counter productive and destructive results of the foolish ideology of Hindutva and the terror tactics that emanate from it. If even after 17 years, Lord Ram has to remain confined in the make shift temple at Ayodhya, what else can be the fate of Hindu Dharma or Hindu Culture or anything else that these morally and ethically bankrupt bigots claim to defend?

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Fury Is Terror, Mr. Gautier!

Gautier's article The Hindu Rate Of Wrath is just another cleverly mixed up defense of the atrocities of the Hindutva Brigade that is being ruthlessly perpetuated on hapless Indians in the name of defending Hindusim. That Francois Gautier is a darling of the Hindutva Brigade for churning out article after article in support of the cause of the RSS/BJP is no wonder at all. The so called nationalists who swear in the name of Hindu nation have no qualms about hiding behind Gautier, gleefully accepting and mass circulating whatever he writes. Hindutva forces thrive on such foreign tonics, be it Gautier or the US patents for cow' urine. No nationalistic fervour there! It is a give-and-take symbiosis and Gautier admittedly longs for it.

That the Hindutva Brigade shamelessly turns to anything to prop up support is clear when one finds them invoking the name of the Mahatma, one of the earliest victims of the Hindutva terror. Murder someone and then use his legacy! Chilling, Mr. Gautier.

What Gautier has written is not only sickening but also dangerous. Gautier is only half correct when he says "I have never been politically correct"; he is factually not correct either.

Gautier seems utterly confused (or its his deliberate ploy) and wants to spread this confusion about the identities of India, Hindu religion and Hindutva and then tries to defend one using the other. That is a leaf straight out of the books of the Sangh Parivar: it not only equates these three but also demonsises anyone criticising its Hindutva agenda as being anti Hindu and anti national. But Gautier should get his facts right. When he writes about the greatness of this country, it is not about Hindus, but about India. The tolerance he is writing about is not of the Hindutva brigade but of the downtrodden, outcasted, banished, untouchable Indians who make up the vast majority of the Indian nation. These tolerant Indians have no access to the temples and the mainstream Hindu religion, a fact Gautier is either unaware of or is feigning ignorance of. And the vast majority of Indians that belong to every religion, caste or other diverse identities silently suffer the exploitation, malnutrition, poverty, hunger and disease, the problems that do not find any space in the schemes of Gautier and his Hindutva votaries. Hindutva, or the many terms that have been assigned to it over the past 7-8 decades under various exigencies, on th eother hand, has always been known for harbouring and spreading intolerance, from Savarkar's support to the two nation theory and the assassination of the Mahatma to the innumerable acts or arson, rapes, murders, mob violence and even bomb attacks on innocents. And this intolerance is not only directed at other religions but also towards the Adivasis, dalits and such other Indians relegated to the lower strata of the society by the Hindu religion. Not surprising then, the Hindutva became more belligerent and more violent following the decision of the Govt. of India to implement the Mandal commission report. So, the intolerant Hindutva has nothing in common with the tolerant India and the Hindu religion: let us be crystal clear - Hindutva of the RSS variety, Hindu religion and India are not synonyms. And in drumming up support for the intolerant Hindutva extremism by invoking Hindu religion and the Indian way of life, Gautier is doing a great disservice to the Indian nation, a country where is now lives as well as himself, a self proclaimed lover of India and Hinduism. If you indeed love India, Mr. Gautier, get your facts right.

Again Gautier deceives himself when he says 'it hurts' but 'it isn't terror'. And he doesn't care to explain how intentional hurt fails to terrorise. Gautier provides his own, self-serving but dangerous definitions for terrorism that is far from the general understanding of terrorism, This is not surprising at all.

Gautier conveniently juxtaposes bomb blasts of the jehadi terror with 'ordinary, angry Hindus burning churches without killing anybody' and then finds fault with those equating these two. He shifts the Hindutva bombings and mass murders to another paragraph and brackets mob violence, rape, arson, burning, desecrating places of worship, destroying mosques and churches, terrifying people in the name of moral policing as mere acts expression of anguish by angry Hindus and not as acts of terror! According to Gautier, it is okay to destroy anything, as long as the crime is committed by an angry Hindu and no one gets murdered. But the right thinking, peace and freedom loving people of this country have a problem: they see the pattern of violence perpetrated by the Hindutva Brigade as a spectrum - from the terror of moral policing to mob terror, rapes, arson, destroying places of worship and also bombing. If the intention is to hurt, to create fear, and to terrorise, then it is terrorism. It can't be anything else. Bomb for bomb, Hindutva terror is no less than the terror of any other brand; in fact, home bred Hindutva terror has been here far too longer than any other. Gautier and the minority Hindutva Brigade are free to disagree.

The mass murders and pogroms by the Hindutva Brigade find a different and safe place in Gautier' scheme of things. No, this is not terrorism, but it is the Hindus erupting in uncontrolled fury and this should be understood as spontaneous revolution on the ground, by ordinary Hindus, without any planning from the political leadership. Should be understood? By Ordinary Hindus? Without any planning from the political leadership? Gautier does not care to tell us as to why it should be understood the way he wants it to be understood and how he came to the conclusion that these are acts by ordinary Hindus and that there was no planning from the political leadership! Should the Trishul wielding, torching and raping and murdering and bombing Hindutva cadres be considered as ordinary Hindus? What about the well planned attacks under the direct supervision of Advani & Co on Babri Masjid, the Gujarat pogrom, Orissa violence and the recent well coordinated attacks on the churches and places of worship in Karnataka? Politically incorrect Gautier or factually misleading Gautier?

And the most dangerous piece of all: However reprehensible the destruction of Babri Masjid, no Muslim was killed in the process; compare this to the 'vengeance' bombings of 1993 in Bombay, which wiped out hundreds of innocents, mostly Hindus. Yet the Babri Masjid destruction is often described by journalists as the more horrible act of the two. Is Gautier trying to tell us that the bombs were designed specially to kill only the Hindus? Did the bombs that exploded kill only the Hindus or killed all human beings, irrespective of age, sex and religion? And why does Gautier bring in only the Babri Masjid here in comparison? Why not Gujarat, where thousands of Muslims were specifically targeted for rape, murder, butchering and looting, or Orissa where thousands of Christians were targeted for similar atrocities? Why does Gautier find the bombs that can kill anyone more dangerous than these targeted mass murders, often committed with the tacit support of the state and its police?

He has a piece of advice for the BJP too (and the BJP probably does not need this): Therefore, the BJP, instead of acting embarrassed, should not disown those who choose other means to let their anguished voices be heard. Does Gautier 'offer' this right to choose the means to let the anguish out to all other Indians? Is letting out the anguish permitted under the constitution or the law of this land? If not, how do such acts of choosing to let out the anguish in whichever way one deems fit become expressions of patriotism? And how can Gautier equate these elements of the Hindutva Brigade who have no respect for the Constitution and the law of the land with what he calls the most successful, law-abiding and integrated communities in the world today? Being politically incorrect, he does not seem to care.

But just who is Gautier to provide this license to the angry Hindus (read Hindutva Brigade) to erupt in uncontrolled fury? Is he the Constitution or the law enforcing agency or the Parliament? This is India, Mr. Gautier, and the law of the land is catching up with the Hindutva terrorists, Sadhwi, Swami, Purohit or any other. And Gautier's definition of terror is yet to find its place. For now, he can find solace with the fact that his angry Hindus enjoy the covert or overt support of the state in Gujarat, Karnataka and Orissa, but hopefully it is only a question of time before the laws of India will catch up even in these states.

So it is time we put Gautier's piece in its right place:

His argument that Hindus are tolerant - cannot be terrorists - but now have erupted - still cannot be called terrorists has a fatal flaw: The tolerant Hindus are entirely different from the ever intolerant Hindutva brigade. Forever forced to be tolerant, the vast majority of Indians suffer more of the tyranny of the upper castes of the Hindu religion than of the atrocities perpetuated by any other religion or anything else. Those who have erupted are the Hindutva Brigade brainwashed and masterminded by the RSS/BJP combine that is blatantly using the name of the Hindu religion and its sentiments to establish a fascist rule in India. And these acts of uncontrolled fury are acts of terror, acts of lawlessness, acts that are against this country. And the recent arrests of Army officers, in service and retired, on charges of bombing the nation are portents of the dangers of this fascist agenda. Gautier should get his facts right.

It probably serves Francois Gautier to sound different. But do we need a Fancois Gautier to show us the greatness of our land? We know better. We proudly sing Iqbal's Saare Jahan Se Achcha Hindustan Hamara just as we take pride in Shah Jahan's Taj Mahal. There is no India without all its children, no matter what religion. This is not tolerance, this is our heritage, our way of life. Sorry Mr. Gautier, get your facts right.

Friday, November 07, 2008

Aravind Adiga's Gesture: A Rebuff To Hindutva Forces!

Aravind Adiga, the winner of the Man Booker Prize for 2008 for his first literary work The White Tiger, has donated almost one third of the Prize money to his alma mater, St. Aloysius High School in Mangalore. [1, 2, 3, 4]

In his own words:
"I have donated a part of my prize money for winning the Man Booker Prize for 2008 to my old school, St. Aloysius College of Mangalore, in gratitude for the fine education I received there. I wish to donate the money in the name of the late Father Victor D'Souza, a great teacher of physics and chemistry, who also always reminded his students of their responsibility to help and defend the poor and underprivileged. St. Aloysius is one of the gems of Mangalore and I hope it will continue to shine brightly in the years to come, as it has done for over 100 years. Lucet et Ardet." [See]

In my view, this is a fitting rebuff to the Sangh Parivar that has been harping about the role of Christian management schools in the conversion of students to Christianity. The activists of the Sangh Parivar had staged protest demonstrations in front of many christian schools, including St. Aloysius College just a few weeks ago and had threatened that they would launch a mass movement urging Hindus to boycott christian institutions. I also remember the occasion when a former MLA belonging to the Sangh Parivar had tried to tell me how St. Aloysius College was in the forefront of attempting conversions, only to be rebuffed by me that most freedom fighters from this place were the students of the same school and had no problem what so ever in pursuing their education, even after being arrested by the British Police. So this gesture of Aravind is a fitting rebuff, vividly illustrating how the school had helped in shaping his personality, inculcating the highest moral values.

It would be interesting to see how the Hindutva Brigade would react to this!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Religious Terrorism in Mangalore

Serial Attacks on Churches in Mangalore

The day after the serial bomb blasts in Delhi, Dakshina Kannada witnessed terror attacks of another kind: co-ordinated, serial attacks on churches and other places of worship of Christians, under the pretext of opposing forceful conversions. Bajrang Dal and VHP, extensions of the party in power in Karnataka, took responsibility for the attacks, even as the Chief Minister blamed the opposition for ‘engineering’ them! The Home Minister, sworn in to protect the life and properties of the citizens without bias, aired his opposition to conversions rather than initiating action against the rioters. And a prominent leader of the Congress Party, asserting her Christian credentials, claimed that youth squads had been formed for self-protection. And there were instances of stabbing, stone throwing and arson. As the parliamentary elections are nearing, Mangalore is once again caught in the cross fire between religious groups.

See:

Situation grim in Mangalore

Karnataka CM visits violence-hit Mangalore

Karnataka churches vandalised

And See How Impartial The Home Minister Is!
His mind highlighted in RED on his OWN Blog!

And he claims that action was initiated only after he personally visited the sites of violence! Wah Home Minister! Safety of the people of Karnataka is ensured as any action would be initiated ONLY after the Home Minister reaches such sites, be it attack on churches or bomb blasts! Expect to have an airport at Udupi soon!
http://drvsacharya.blogspot.com/