Will Hinduism Survive?
Tuesday, 31. January 2006 - 12:33 PM
Gautam Sen’s scathing piece in the Pioneer, reproduced in full because Pioneer’s links don’t work the next day. Dire and unnerving as the piece is, it is another wake up call, one among the thousands that we continue to ignore at our peril.
India’s long defining moment
Remember the Nineties as the decade that signalled the end of Hindu civilisation, says Gautam Sen
The decade on the eve of the 21st century was a momentous one for India. This was the decade in which the true political consequences of the fragmentation of Indian society became firmly entrenched. The political protagonists of supposed Hindu interests unexpectedly came to the fore and just as quickly decided there was no such constituency and espoused the politics of being in power for the sake of power alone. Just as jihadis resplendently speak of dying for their faith, contemporary Hindus overwhelmingly seek personal advancement and also apparently crave vacuous entertainment.
The nuclear tests in May 1998 marked an apparent fresh beginning of India’s quest for a place in the high table of the international arena. But it proved a chimera in retrospect since it mainly managed to instil fear in Indian policy makers and hobbled their ability to act. The economy began to grow rapidly, but much of this advance was insubstantial because it has primarily been clever Indians hawking their intellectual skills and the rest remitting foreign exchange by skivvying abroad.
The real hard economy remained in the mendacious thrall of politicians and bureaucratic pilferers and trade union thuggery. The rapid advance of the crucial manufacturing component of the economy that has accompanied success elsewhere remains hostage to the socialism of the few, squeezing a sore udder at the expense of the disorganised many.
Yet, this is clearly the decade in which the final denouement of Hinduism began, accelerating unprecedentedly. The clock ticking ominously for 12 centuries since the conquest of Sindh suddenly sounds fearfully audible. The deeply rooted self-doubt and self-destructive impulse of Hinduism has joined hands with the opportunistic Semitic paws that had been stroking their kill since time immemorial. They conjoined malignantly with the mundane imperatives of venal business greed that Indian politics unequivocally incarnates now. In this denuded world, children and grandparents, any country’s future and the past, cease to matter. The melancholy historical fate of womenfolk being bartered in foreign bazars becomes a resigned metaphor.
The rapid advance of centrifugal political forces in India is loosening central authority, now in constant negotiation with diverse explicit separatist demands. India’s separatists have invariably formed relationships with India’s external foes in the expectation of a fleeting moment of political power and, as always, the prospect of personal enrichment. These foreign enemies of India are likely come to the aid of separatists by interceding directly at a moment when internal dissent rises to a crescendo, pointing to Indian help in creating Bangladesh for justification.
The likeliest scenario is the loss of domestic political legitimacy that incites individual states to declare sovereign independence. Tamil Nadu may be an unexpected candidate for this dubious honour since it’s in the hands of the most wilful and depraved politicians, exhibiting vaulting self-regard. Others likely to follow the clamour too include Punjab, Assam, Bihar and West Bengal. Such an awesome scenario is most likely in the context of prophylactic intervention by the armed forces during a growing phase of national collapse at the Centre. The moment that happens, all political legitimacy will evaporate.The fiction of electoral politics binds India together, though in reality only serves to justify personal and parochial political ambition.
Alas, the historic Hindu world has long been a vale of tears, untold stories of countless enslaved women and children walking across desolate mountain passes to faraway places. It is this tragedy that is being celebrated with scornful glee by the enemies of the Hindu people. The single accusatory word, communal, demolishes all Hindu entreaties in the contemporary world. It turns them into utterly friendless creatures, much like the medieval auto da fe that almost invariably led to burning at the stake.
Yet it is Hindus themselves who have made material greed their predominant impulse, above all else. Even their worship of the divine is a mockery to facilitate material acquisitions while tragedy unfolds all around them. No Hindus, with the sole extraordinary exception of Sri Lanka’s Tamils, have shown willingness to die for their beliefs. Of course, Tamil militants perish exclusively for their ethnic community and only incidentally as Hindus.
Perhaps this is why Hindus are accused of lacking historical sensibility, a misfortune now surfacing as grim amnesia, though fortified by wilful self-denial. This is the fate of slaves since they do not possess legal personality and autonomy, consigned to an anonymous footnote in the history of their masters. Hindus like having masters, otherwise so many would not be serving them so earnestly.
At every juncture Hindus are fighting each other on behalf of imperialist intruders. In comparison, the discord between the Latin and Orthodox churches that facilitated the Ottoman conquest of Byzantium seems a household infraction. The nominally Hindu intellectual class is in virtual unison in their wish to crucify their past, embracing Christian and Islamic imperialism instead. The loathing to utter a single word in defence of their own heritage is surely remarkable on sociological grounds alone. Is there any other people, who find nothing in their history to celebrate, recalling it only as suffocating and oppressive?
The recent near-unanimous chorus of a virtual who’s who of Indian academics around the world, led without self-respect by the nose by Harvard’s Michael Witzel, against changes to the curriculum on Hinduism for California’s schoolchildren is an apposite illustration. Many who signed the petition’s scathing denunciation remained unfamiliar with the requested changes when they signed it, suggesting a classic instance of self-hatred. In stark contrast, there was not a single protest voiced from any quarter against the many more tendentious changes demanded by other religious groups, some of them truly outrageous.
In comparison, the changes sought by Hindu parents and their supporters were on the whole innocuous, at worst, prone to give a slightly positive spin on minor issues. But they provoked the vehement ire of hundreds from the world’s leading universities and all religious affiliations, including Muslims and evangelical Christians. It is an astonishing testament to the piranha-like feeding frenzy at the smell of blood. The serried ranks of evangelists and jihadis are truly lining up to deliver the coup de grâce.
This is surely the decade that will be remembered in generations to come, if anyone remains to write its history, as the one that signalled the final demise of the Hindu civilisation. Like many rich polytheistic cultures before them, from Greece to Persia, the monotheists will have terminated them. The ostensible defenders of Hindu interests turned out to be traders looking to make a fast buck while they chanted sacred hymns in feigned religiosity to divert attention. The treacherous intellectual tradition within it hoisted a banner to dwarf the skies, while senselessly proclaiming their own moral excellence.
It will not last, since the celebration of ultimate triumph will be reserved for their victorious masters alone. Their temporary havens and rewards will be withdrawn and they too will find themselves kneeling before the enemy they served only too well. A small band of the defeated will make their lonely passage to oblivion though they knew what was in the making, but could not bring their community along to do battle.
I’ve read and heard several intelligent, educated people talking about the innate strength of Hinduism that has enabled it to survive so long and will continue to, on the basis of that strength. I can only laugh. These people claim to have read the Gita but they are either lying it or they haven’t understood its essence for one of the very first things that Krishna does is to chastise Arjuna to “cast away his meek-heartedness and fight for his duty.” A majority of us have no clue of what duty faces us and our meek-heartedness forbids us to even think about it. And we therefore sit happily in our self-imposed stupor, chanting the “strength of Hinduism” Mantra.
1. February 2006 - 12:47 AM
Wow ! what an essay by Sen ! I sometimes feel, and this is straight from the heart, that i should leave everything, dump all my material and fight for Hinduism. But then within seconds i realize that who will i be fighting for ? When i look at our generation, 90% of us (Hindus) don’t care. They are least bothered if Kanchi Shankaracharya is arrested or three hundred thousand Hindus are rendered homeless or 60 Hindus are roasted alive in a train. On the other hand these very Hindus , for whom i ever thought of fighting, rejoice at US denyig Visa to Modi or Sonia Manio leading the nation.
Since long i have ceased to start a conversation with a fellow Indian of my generation about the sorry state of affairs. Most do not know whats happening and even if they know they are as apathetic as one can get.
Clearly we need to re-define who does the word “Hindu” really represent and may be give a nice name to it. We, as in the ones who really feel emotionally about Hindu culture and India as a nation, should call ourselves something else. Or may be name those “Hindus” on the other side of the “fence” something else.
We cannot talk for all Hindus , i mean people who were born with a Hindu name, now. We need to redraw the lines and clarify a few things before we even think of representing the “Hindu” view point. For me George Fernandes is bigger Hindu than lets say Somnath Chatterjee or Mani Shankar Iyer. APJ Abdul Kalam is a bigger man than all the “Hindus” of the communist hue.
I am cynical and bitter man. And no, Islam or Christianity is not the reason for that. The reason is the very “Hindu” i ever thought i would raise a banner for.
1. February 2006 - 12:34 PM
Parimal,
One first step would be to perhaps re-indigenize the religion – i.e. to go back to the fields and coastal communities – and re-invigorate the folk Hinduism of the farmer, the fisherman and the artisan. Too much emphasis has been on the elite underpinnings of our religion. The real life blood of the nation is in the field and that is where one starts. The dharma shastras were specific that local custom preceded formal law. The texts of Indian classical music mentioned that the ragas drew from folk melodies. Panini explained that Sanskrit itself took from the rural idiom but perfected it! So the roots of Hinduism lie in the folk tradition. Its a bottom-up approach, not top-down.
Too much emphasis to date has been on high Hindu culture and philosophy. The world of thought is key but practice is more relevant. How do we make a difference as urban elites? Well, we get back to practice in our own lives which will make a difference to those around us. This much is in our hands and we can unleash positive energies that gather a momentum of its own.
And also comment on blogs such as this one on issues of Hindu interest
Best regards
1. February 2006 - 6:24 PM
Hindu intellectuals don’t seem to believe in political process and media power. I was watching Man Mohan Singh’s press conference just now. There was not a single question about Hindu interests. Out of the dozens of press correspondents, if none feels like asking a question about the fate of Hindus, it is clear to me that Hindus have no future.
Second point, LTTE might not have anything to do with Hindu interests. Is the author sure LTTE chief Prabhakaran is a Hindu? Is it at all likely that LTTE is dominated by Christians?
2. February 2006 - 1:42 AM
Jaffna,
Your point of re-indigenizing the religion is well taken. But i would say, that is a long term strategy. Really, the only Hindus speaking out today are the urban ones, even if they form the minority.
Let’s just say that we (Hindus) are at war. The enemy is strong and ruthless. We need to re-define our strategy. When at war, a team has both short term and long term plans.
Currently Hindus are like Jews or probably worse. We are dhimmis of our own nation. Atleast technically Jews did not belong to Germany or Italy.
Jews probably erred in their imagination to fight oppression. I just cannot fathom how 6 million of them could be killed. And to think that the Jews unlike Hindus constitute a monolithic block; sans any cast or ethnicity.
But ya i agree. The real Hindu power – if at all there is one – exists in it’s folk tradition or rural makeup.
26. October 2006 - 1:58 AM
Reading these comments was sort of therapeutic for me. The reason is because I have felt exactly like Parimal (oh my God, Parimal’s experience and emotions are so remarkably similar to mine) for a long time. For a while, I used to engage in discussions about the perils faced by Hinduism with my so-called “Hindu” friends. All it would result in was unanimous condemnation of me as some sort of fundamentalist. Yeah, I don’t mind being labelled fundamentalist if speaking for a peaceful, and one of the world’s oldest philosophies is going to incur the label of fundamentalism. So be it. I completely agree with Parimal. I gave up a while back precisely because of the same deep sense of betrayal by my fellow Indians. I have come to the conlusion there is no monolithic Hindu society. I have resigned myself to the inevitable end of Hinduism as our ancestors knew it. I will practice it deep within my heart and in my home till the day I die but I have given up faith in a Macro Hindu cause because I am convinced none exists. This leads me to the conviction that the philosophy will die a sure death at least on the macro level, never mind individual adherents. – A deeply anguished Hindu.
6. November 2006 - 9:47 AM
The problem is the “assumption” about hindu definition? Whenever someone defines hindu, invaribly he is assosciated with a certain political party (guess which?) Thats not true , i dont need to belong to certain political party to be a hindu. Invaribly if only a hindu cares about a hindu all the problems will be solved. Think of all these “students’ demonstrating for replacement of displaced kashimiri people?
24. February 2007 - 10:35 PM
The greatness of Hinduism is is ability to assimlilate different types of beleifs and reinvent itself continuously…..
But if there is one thing lacking, it is a comprehensive encyclopaedia of Indian
philosophy and teachings…. it would serve as some sort of a practitioners
guide to the best of Indian philopophy… the best of the Upanishads / Bhagavad gita/
local traditions (even Budhist / Jain teachings/ Thirukural) etc etc … Why doesn’t someone take this up as a project ?
So that we have a complete guide to what is best in Hinduism? I personally think this
is a must ..Any comments ?
Sujay Rao Mandavilli
27. July 2007 - 2:20 AM
Budhism made us forget how and Mahabharta was fought and How Porus had fought with Alexander. Brahminism axed our society further with castism. We became a weak and meek community waiting to be plundered–Islam arrived and raped our bodies, religion and soul–we became cowards and frieghtened–waiting to be conqured by anyone–Briish arrived and looted whatever we had left-our gold and money– we somehow managed to fight back and got independence–Gandhi and Nehru screwed up everything again and we have an India whose command is in hands of a Sikh, who is a boot licker of an Italian christian, we just had first citizen a muslim and Hindus meekly and proudly (?) declare as an achievement! What a shame ! I am a Hindu, and deeply wounded. Where is a conutry I can call my own, what will happen to my great religion and philosophy? I only Hope Hindus will wake up some day.
13. December 2007 - 11:24 PM
Every hindu should illume the flame of self belief and should always remember the sacrifice of their ancestors i.e. Our Ancient Hindu Warriors who flew their blood for the mother land ‘Bharat Varsha’, and their resistance towards the evils who kept trying to annihilate Hindus for last many thousands years. We all should pledge to sustain the same resistance to keep alive our Great Hindu Dharma till the last drop of blood remains in us.
14. December 2007 - 5:40 PM
i dream of the day we take inspiration from the jews and establish Bharat as our fatherland and sanskrit as our national language. If the jews could revive hebrew, which was “dead” for four hundred years, I dont see the difficulty in doing the same with sanskrit which is more alive.
15. December 2007 - 8:06 PM
In the last 4 years since my visit to Qutub-Minar(where the ASI plaque says the pillars and stones adorning the structure with Hindu deities came from 57 demolished temples.) and `Mathura(where a big mosque’s wall runs through the chamber considered to be the birth place of Lord Krishna. Courtesy Aurangazeb) there has been an extrordinary metamorphosis in me. It is not the shock that made me think but the treachery of Congress in hiding all these facts and showning as if only muslims have been at the receiving end in India.
I have also been the by-product of Congress propounded secularism. Even when Sonia was touted the Prime Ministerial candiate I didn’t find anything wrong with it. Today i hold entirely opposite views and do not think that is going to change. To me Hinduism wasn’t important as it is today. Today it is my identity. While working in the UK one of my colleagues from India had an English sounding name (he is a christian from India). The locals were amused at his name because he had two surnames together that wasn’t an English tradition. Infact that combination had a euphemism and it jocularly refered to the male genital. That is when I realised how significantly my name represents my identity.
To me the problems confronting Hinduism today are because we haven’t begun doing what Christians and Muslims are doing: proseletysation. We might want to be proud of our open mindedness but the political situation in the world isn’t favouring us. Yes I am worried and concerned about the survivability of Hinduism. In past the attack was from outside and hence though we were meek we just survived by being slaves. Today we are attacked not from outside but by our own people who have taken to other religions namely Chrisitanity, Islam and of course the communists. If we have to survive this we need a good leader who can unite us. A leader who can help Hindus unite cutting accross caste barriers. We need someone who can fight throug the machinations of Secularists and communists.
I recently reaslised that world stability rests on India. Not an exaggeration by any means. Please have a look at the world map : http://btw.imb.org/news_map.asp . The region stretching from Turkey on the west all through Africa Libya, Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia, middle east, sub continent to Indo-China upto Malaysia is the muslim world. The only country that stands beetween complete islamisation of this world and freedom is India. And it remaining a stable and powerful country is of paramount importance to the survival of human kind. With Saudi Arabian money that is being poured into various parts of the world for political control, India is still considered to be an unfinished business in so far as islamisation is concerned. We need to protect not only our culture and religion but would have to fight for our lives. The way we have been made passive by Congress for the last 60 years I doubt if we presently have the will to do that. We need a leader who can instill confidence and pride amongst Hindus.
Muslims have a problem not only with Hindus(also includces Sikhs, Buddists and Jains) but aslo with Chrisians (Russians, Americans, Brits, Europeans) and Jews. I think what Samuel Hutington postulated is going to happen : The Clash of Civilisations.
The question is will Hindus fight for their rights in their own country.
Shanth…
30. March 2008 - 1:34 PM
I BEG YOU SANDEEP, DO SOMETHING TO SAVE HINDUISM.WE NEED ANOTHER CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI MAHARAJ TO SAVE US FROM the monotheists.
6. May 2008 - 10:19 PM
Please watch “BAD MANNA” (3 parts) on youtube. The video highlights xtian missionary misdeeds in India.
14. May 2008 - 3:29 AM
Sandeep. What u r saying is 100% truth. Already the muslims started attacking hindu women west bengal on the lines of bangladeshi model. We ned hardcore hindu leaders like Modi who can be tough to atrocities against hindus. Also we need to convert people from other religions into our religion. Also we need to catch up with the alarmingly rising muslim population. Hindus should have 4 to 5 kids otherwise we will become minority in india in next 50 years. The situation is looking dangerous with lot of political parties are looking for 15% muslim votes rather than hindus. We need to improve our population and expand into other countries. First of all pakisthan should be disintegrated. Already baloochisthan is on the verge of seperation from pakisthan. Sindh is prefering to have independent country. Then pakisthan will be left with west punjab which the fertile land. In the cIA and pentagon archives, i have read an article where USA is preparing blueprint to disintegrate pakisthan and unite iwth india by parts to counter china as china is posing severe threat to them. One thing i can say is we are saved from muslims by the british conquest. I am not supporting british but it’s true otherwise by 16th century india was having many hindu women under the grip of muslim kings. Akbar abducted more than 300 rajput princesses. horrible things happened.
5. July 2008 - 3:00 AM
Fact: Hindus are in majority in India.Heavy weight Hindu priests and Sadhus have to unite the hindu population and through the electoral process pressurise prospective MLAS to act on behalf of hindus and their policies. There should be diversification from apeasing the ideas and policies of other religions. The hindus themselves should rise and never yield to any threats from any individuals or any group made up of other religions. Device constructive ideas and plans to reconvert Indians of other religions to hindus.
Beat them at their own game.
25. July 2008 - 3:29 PM
Do not worry.Believe in God.Leave castism,follow the example of Guru Teg Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh,and fight like Banda Bahadar for the real Dharma . Then you will be blessed by the power of the Akal Purakh and you shall be out of any danger what so ever.
6. October 2008 - 2:51 PM
According to census hindus are losing 1.5% every decade in India since indipendance, a very grave situation.In Bangladesh hindus are down from 33% to 10%,in Assam 89%to 65% ,in West Bengal 92% to 73%,in Kashmir 24% to 0% ,in Kerala 70% to 55%,in UP 91% to81%.BUT YOU SEE HOW MUSLIM POPULATION IS ROCKETING IN BANGLADESH FROM 65%TO 88%,IN INDIA 8% TO 15%,IN ASSAM 11% TO 35%,IN WEST BENGAL 7%TO 26%,IN KASHMIR 75%TO 1OO%,IN KERALA 16% TO 26% ,IN UP 9% TO 19% SINCE LAST 50 YEARS.YOU TELL, WHAT HINDUS MUST DO SOON TO PREVENT THEM FROM PERISHING 100% SO THAT YOU CAN LEAVE BEHIND A TOLERANT LEGACY TO YOUR KIDS AND DESCENDANTS AND THE WHOLE WORLD, WHERE CLASH OF CIVILISATION IS GOING ON ACCORDING TO HUNTINGTON.YOU POOR HINDUS PROVE THAT YOUR POPULATION GOES FROM THE PRESENT DAY 80.5% TO 82% ie,1.5% UP ,BY THE NEXT CENSUS IN INDIA .THEN ONLY YOU HAVE SOME HOPES,OTHERWISE HINDUS WILL PERISH IN NEXT 50 YEARS IN THE LAND OF THEIR ORIGIN.
8. October 2008 - 2:20 PM
there is no need to worry. Hinduism can never be wiped out. Wnenever Hinduism came on brink of extinction great people like shankaracharya were born.so just pray and try to be a true hindu
9. October 2008 - 2:20 AM
Things the overwhelming majority of Indians do not know:
India was the world’s richest, most cultured, most educated country before the British came to rule it.
Most of the discoveries the West claims for itself were stolen from Hindus through Western jesuit missionaries who visited India.
The scale of the killing, torture, and rape of Hindus by muslim invaders and the British raj is monumentally massive. No group of people in the world has come close to suffering as much as the Hindus have.
There was no Aryan invasion. None.
“Bramhins were bad” is a myth concocted by the British to splinter India.
“The caste system” is alien to Hindu Dharma. The British, when they first arrived, themselves remarked how happy Indians of all social strata were. The true meaning of varnashrama was twisted beyond recognition by the Bristish to keep India locked in perpetual social war.
The British loot of India made India one of the poorest countries in the world by 1947.
(Details for the assertions above can be found on the web. Just google around. Please do not fall prey to this disease called pseudosecularitis, the symptoms of which are not looking at a website just because it is about Hindu Dharma and Hindu civilization; and pretending to be well-informed about India and the world because you read the opinions and “analysis” of established Hindu-haters.
To start you off:
http://www.hinduwisdom.info/index_new.htm
http://www.maanojrakhit.com/)
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What are the goals of the “Hindutvawadis” ?
The so-called Hindutvawadis have had one goal: to make India respect all religions alike. That is, to not have systems and laws which favour one religion over the other, and to punish criminality stemming from any religion. Today’s India is a place where Islam and Christianity receive special status, while Hindu Dharma is relegated to the dustbin. However, the Hindutvawadis are called “communal” by our so-called “secularists”.
What are the goals of the “secularists” like the UPA?
The so-caled secularists want to create an India which is deeply communal, with Islam and Christianity getting special status, and where Hindu Dharma has to subsist on leftovers tossed out to it by a government eternally in awe of these two minority religions. However, please note, India is to be termed a “staunchly secular” nation when all this happens.
One only has to follow the daily news to see the truth behind what I have written.
2. March 2009 - 2:09 AM
The biggest tragedy and risk to Hinduism is that Christians and Muslims have convinced us that Hinduism is just another religion. If so our beliefs can be supplanted by their beliefs in an open market of ideas.
What we have to do is remind ourselves that to be Indian is to be Hindu. Hinduism is the people, the culture and the history of India. It includes the philosophies of the Jains, Seikhs, Buddhists, Vedas and others but not that of Mohammad or Paul (Christianity). These two religions have destroyed the culture of millions of people already. They are currently on our doorstep.
To combat the onslaught of these predatory religions we need to fight with our strengths.
—First we need to be inclusive. We need to call all Indians Hindus. We need to re-associate the word with the people and the culture. If they insist they are Muslim or Christian just say they are Hindus who have forgotten or abandoned their culture which is literally true.
—Admit openly that there are some antiquated or just bad ideas in our culture but emphasize that it is OUR culture and OUR bad ideas to fix and that we are up to the challenge. These ideas are the legacy of our ancestors and Hinduism is open to reform. Our history shows this. Sorry Christianity and Islam but replacing our ideas with your bad ideas is not reform.
—Openly accept “reconverts” since you can’t change who you are you can’t ever not be a Hindu.
—Record our stories and make them available. Open ourselves up to reform with care to preserving and cherishing our history.
8. March 2009 - 10:06 AM
If you want to save Hinduism. Do the following
1. Open the temple Priest Job to all caste People. In christianity any one can become Pope. In islam any one can become Imam.
In Hinduism only bramins can be priest. Hindusim is hijacked by Bramins
2. Stop sanskrit poojas / mantras in temples. Translate Mantras to local language. Let people understand what is told to God during poojas.
When Christian missionaries landed in India they translated Bible to local language. People saw the new religion in their language they converted.
3. Why sankrachariyas are always from Bramin community. why cant we have Dalit Sankarachaya ?
4. Drop Ram Temple issue, Anti Sethu Samuthram Concentrate on uplifiting the life of Hindu Dalits.
10. March 2009 - 3:39 AM
“In christianity any one can become Pope.”
Only if he is a White Male.
17. March 2009 - 10:45 PM
Hindus today in India don’t care about Hinduism. Those who call themselves Hindus don’t even know what Hinduism teaches. They are just blindly following some rituals, customs without caring about spiritual or philosophical aspects of the religion. Most hindus I know are relegios but not spiritual. That is such a tragedy. Infact most hindus feel embarassed to even defend their relegion. Hinduism is great because of it’s beliefs and philosophy. But hindus today have forgotten those teachings. So Hinduism will not survive because Hindus don’t deserve Hinduism.
19. March 2009 - 2:34 AM
This is the time of awareness and if we dont…. we will lose everything which we have at least left now….. go and disscuss all the things to each and every indian(hindu)in real world.
and always keep it in mind
“yada yada hi dharmasya glanirbhavti barata abhutathanaam dharmasaya tadatmanam srija maham”
19. March 2009 - 2:41 AM
well it means……..
Whenever there is a withering of the law
and an uprising of lawlessness on all sides,
then I manifest Myself.
For the salvation of the righteous
and the destruction of such as do evil,
for the firm establishing of the Law,
I come to birth, age after age.
2. April 2009 - 5:38 PM
so called hindus which r in majority like to stay blissfuly unaware of hinduism &anything that says bout being a hindu &deals with their interests, just bcos they dont want to look like ugly sectarians.
by the way these sectarian rednecks of christianity & islam &the congress r everywhere &they have been aggresively targetting us hindus.
hinduism to me looks like a lotus flower in a mudpit.hinduism is as beautiful as a lotus flower at the same time it is stuck in the mud of the evils of the world like christianity,islam, pseudo secularism,congress,illiteracy & all sorts of nonsense u can imagine who like to throw sh*T on the lotus while the flower cant even defend itself
2. April 2009 - 8:39 PM
seeing the trend of the decline in practice of hinduism & denouncing of hindu culture by culprits(christian,muslim terroists,congress,so called seculars), a layman is ought to believe that the days of hinduism r over
maybe the 21st century-hinduism..is the last bit of gas left in our tank.is it that evangelists will make illiterate hindus stamp on the photos of our dieties & muslims will keep on slaughtering hindus?,why shud this tyranny continue with india? oppressors cannot reign supreme over good..Or can we say that our worst days r just over!!this is a bit logical.
hinduism is a wealth of vast scientific knowledge along with rich religious philosophy & not a sectarian manual of a faith cult like christianity or islam
the world just cannot ignore the scientific facts mentioned in the vedas,they just cannot keep dethroning hinduism of its credits.the outside world had manipulated a lot from the vedas
there will be a time when the matter bound science will run out of gas.the western civilization will look like a rusty cage.there will be a need for science(vedas) which is both matter &spirit based &also serves as a manual for those who forgot to live life. at that time hinduism will rise reign supreme
scientists have started to know that if they want to travel in space &explore the universe they need to dump the idea of travelling with spacecraft…they need to innovate traveling with the speed of mind,that is fastest.for that u need to know how ancient mystics did it thru yoga
and for that u need to learn the vedas,come to india &accept hinduism as a scientific fact,there is no way otherwise.there will be a time when western science has to crave for approval from our ancient science &ideology …….ppl dont know when they understand an ideology & discover it to be spiritual which later comes out to be a religion(hinduism).
so why cant the west accept hinduism in the future,they r used to know things with reasoning,hinduism can provide them with facts,reasoning with perfect philosphy &knowledge of god, everything what they deserve to know as a religion…everything what christianity &islam cant provide them with.so more ppl r leaving the church in europe,
as far as hindus r concerned today,they only need to come out of the shell of narrow mindedness &cowardice. ofcourse! who can blame them afterall they have been tormented with slavery &oppresion frm all corners.
the brilliant sun of hinduism was always blocked with dark clouds of outside evils,indians r never used to see the sun &feel superior.hindu youths do need effective leadership & some honest story telling of our ancient history regarding grotesque muslim history & british.
hindu training institutions &universities shud be cultivated.we shud pray to our dieties to make the cosmic forces work in favour of hinduism. it is high time god shud make hindus realize this fact since today’s hindu never used to realize anything without a foreign hand
2. April 2009 - 9:06 PM
Hindus are non-proselytizing. Muslims and Christians are not. Hindus (and all the other native religions of India Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains) have to think of how to deal with agressive religions backed by $$$ and focused on conversion–they have to win over people marginalized in history and lost lose them to Christians or Buddhists–this is the only way.
2. April 2009 - 9:07 PM
I mean not lose them to Christianity and Islam: correction above
Hindus are non-proselytizing. Muslims and Christians are not. Hindus (and all the other native religions of India Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains) have to think of how to deal with agressive religions backed by $$$ and focused on conversion–they have to win over people marginalized in history and lost lose them to Christians or Muslims–this is the only way.
2. April 2009 - 10:14 PM
“I’ve read and heard several intelligent, educated people talking about the innate strength of Hinduism that has enabled it to survive so long and will continue to, on the basis of that strength. I can only laugh. These people claim to have read the Gita but they are either lying it or they haven’t understood its essence for one of the very first things that Krishna does is to chastise Arjuna to “cast away his meek-heartedness and fight for his duty.” A majority of us have no clue of what duty faces us and our meek-heartedness forbids us to even think about it. And we therefore sit happily in our self-imposed stupor, chanting the “strength of Hinduism” Mantra.”
Yes. India is facing grave threats–Hindus are not united against their enemies. This is their chief weakness. Let the Hindu help his poor and marginalized country man first, so they do not have to be so wretched as to need the help of Missionaries, whose help comes with strings attached.
Hindus are very callous to the plight of their fellow Hindus, and I say this as a Hindus–When a nation is weak, anyone can pounce and destroy the little self-repect it has.
19. May 2009 - 1:52 AM
Hinduism will not survive that is for sure, first of all the alarming speed the islamic population is growing in India and any one who defend Hinduism is consider as a worst criminial and above all UPA won the election as majority ” indian media ” was guessing even before the elections right ?
Sorry people please start looking for land that will be for Hindus if you could.
19. May 2009 - 2:24 PM
With the present Hindu mindset, Hinduism will not survive for long, as someone pointed out.
The so-called secularists want to create an India which is deeply communal, with Islam and Christianity getting special status, and where Hindu Dharma has to subsist on leftovers tossed out to it by a government eternally in awe of these two minority religions.
20. August 2009 - 2:15 AM
Hinduism will survive as long as the humanity will .It has history of 10000 years or above.It has faced many up and down , exploitation and many causalities throughout over history , but it is still in existence and flourishing. so there is no sense of immediate threat but yes there is a need of time to educate the mass population of Hindu about their cultural values.This is possible if we start to teach our children from their childhood, for this nothing can be better than our family itself.beside this , there is a need of time to remove the dogma that we r facing for long.Hindu should know that we r only spread across India, our world wide presence is marginal as compare to Christianity or Islam . wish a wish it is also necessary to persuade Indian Muslims or Christians that we r not threat for them and they are first an Indian than anything else.Hey Hinduism is really a nice religion, it is mother of every religion, whether its Buddhism, Jainism or christianity or else, save this old mother religion .This is the duty of every Hindu, but in purified form. let give every Hindu an equal right , let treat every Hindu equal and let stand our hand to uplift poor Hindu for their better lively hood. i wish if i could do thats all, YES I WILL , I WILL DO .Let come together please, sarvo bhawantu sukhinah sarvo bhawantu niramaya, Jai shri ram. God bless everyone
7. October 2009 - 1:30 PM
Most comments on this site are from people who are ignorant about Christianity or Islam. Both religions originated in East and have been accepted in the West becasue of many reasons. Their roots are in Judaism which is very old.
I do not understand the quarrel about religion. Our lives are different from the lives of our ancestors who lived in this part of the world. Our children will also have a different life in future. If they find life in Islam or Christianity or any other religion no one can stop it. They will live according to the times. If Hinduism is strong enough it will survive. One thing is sure: INDIA WILL SUVIVE ANY DIFFICULT TIMES. I cannot say the same thing about about any religious ideas. Let us build strong India irrespective of the religious past.
Rajan Menon
7. October 2009 - 7:45 PM
“Rajan Menon says:
Most comments on this site are from people who are ignorant about Christianity or Islam.”
So should we presume that you have read the history of jihad and how it annihilated the Persian civilization and Byzantium, also the empires of Kubha Gandhar Kshetra ? You must also be familiar with the 500 year old jihad in Europe and the presence of muslims in European mainland until they were thrown out by the crusaders ? Coming to the present, since obviously you cannot be bothered by history – you must also be familiar with the situation in the Balkans, and the creation of an islamic state, Kosovo, from Serbia ? You must have read the book “Londonistan” by Melanie Phillips and you must know what the situation in Britain is like ? You must also be familiar with SIOE (this stands for Stop the Islamisation of Europe). Below is their site. Do visit and see how ignorant these people also are of the religion of peace, islam.
http://sioe.wordpress.com/
Now for that other religion that originated in the “East”, as you put it. The cult of christianity, though it borrowed heavily from Judaism, was not born in the East or even the Middle East. It started in Pagan Rome and it absorbed the religious and cultural practices of the pre-christian European Pagans and hijacked them for its own (for example, Easter is named after the Pagan goddess Eostre, and christmas is Winter Solstice) in order to get more followers. When this cult had a substantial following, it wrecked havoc on Europe for starters, and then exported its inquisitions to North America, South America, Asia and Australia.
It is hard to estimate the number of innocent victims of both the religion of peace and the religion of love, but conservative estimates put them at about 250 million. Each. Below is the history (as well as the present) of the religion of the dead jew on a stick (jesus was a jew).
http://freetruth.50webs.org/
Some additional info -
“Catholic inquisition and the torture tools”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx8PdvOELvY
“Missionaries or murderers ? The christianising of Europe.”
http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/murderers.htm
7. October 2009 - 11:29 PM
Rajan, with due respect, may be you should first start with a primer on “understanding the quarrel about religion”, no? And don’t think of religion as a commodity like clothes, TV, fridge in your quest.
8. October 2009 - 8:04 AM
Gautam Sen, riveting. as usual.
But the sentiments expressed and many of the comments seems to have given up on indian civilisation.
Posted following two comments on vijayvaani.
“Indians have been steadily losing their spiritual wealth, their heritage, through the ages and have been diverging from the spiritual purpose that characterised the lives of their anscestors. Perhaps the Kali Yuga effect.
This gradual descend accelerated after some time, notably with Ashoka and his version of state promoted buddhism. Later various outsiders came in as refugees bringing their divergent belief systems such as jews, syrian christians, parsis etc., but unfortunately continued to hold on to their materialistic religions. Which had its effect on indian society.
When the greedy muslims like Khilji and Ghazni came to india, the society was sufficiently diverged from Dharma and Kshetriya principles that they could get a foothold. Which, they continued to exploit. However such intrusions stimulated the society and it produced Kshetriya resistance such as in the form of Vijayanagar empire.
Later the ingenious Akbar managed to establish roots of the mughal empire through various tactics. But when his great grandson Aurangazeb let go of the ingenuity of Akbar and behaved like a brute muslim, the indian society revolted and Khsetriyas lead by Shivaji repulsed him.
But the Kshetriya power that rose with Shivaji slackened after achieving its aim of repelling the muslim onslaught. Into the breach stepped the wily british who went on to impose further cruelties on indian society.
Following the british came the british moulded gandhians and secularists and marxists who went on to further destroy the cultural heritage of india. Until this internet age.
The point of this narrative is that, it is as if indians are being told repeatedly to go back to their spiritual roots, to recognise and reclaim their heritage, through the various attacks down the ages by the muslims, christians, marxists, secularists, westerners and globalising capitalists. It is like a wound when ignored, tends to aggravate in pain , then pus starts to form, then that area becomes difficult to move, and so on until it is properly treated and health restored.
The wound in the psyche of indian society as a result of having diverged from the spiritual purposes that characterised the lives of their anscestors repeatedly calls attention to the need for rectification through appalling events and in the form of external attacks.
Gandhi in this regard was a specimen, one among the many of his times, of how indians could be moulded and twisted and deformed to serve the interest of greedy forces. Such specimens abound today in the form of Thapars and N Rams and Roys and Sens and yes, the dhimmi regent too. Through these caricatures of creatures, Indians are being given repeated opportunities to recognise the difference of the life their anscetors led, to the lives the greedy abrahamic religionists and their offsprings-capitalism and communism are live. To realise that when the driving purpose of life is spiritual, life is divergent from that when it is greed. That the twain never meets. To realise that it is time to stop looking outside for guidance. It is time and experience enough to rediscover ourselves. To understand and live a life with spiritual purpose. Taking guidance from the wealth of spiritual material left by our anscestors, notably the Srutis.”
and
“ It would seem that indians will keep debating on this subject called ‘hinduism’, trying to define it correctly. It may be time to examine the premise itself whether we need to define ourselves.
Definitions are actually restrictive and inaccurate and probably that is why ancient indians did not use words such as ‘hindus’ or any thing else to define them. Definitions are actually the hallmark of western world view, which has a fetish for defining and classifying people and other living and non-living beings in a wholly self-serving manner.
By trying to get defined as ‘hindu’ indians may be revealing the effect of colonial imposition on indian psyche. And unconsciously adopting western ways of approach to life.
It emerges that there is no way there can be a dialogue between the ancient indian approach to life, which was wholly spiritual in purpose and the western approach to life which is wholly materialistic in purpose- even on those occasions when it professes to be spiritual or religious.
Dialogue can occur between equals. Not when the two are on different planes altogether. You abandon one when you live in the other plane. ”
Standing on the plane of western world view, there is no way to reclaim the spiritual wealth of ancient india.
The aspiration will be there. the flailing of arms will be there. The urge to act will be there. The disappointments will be there.
But there it will remain.
One cannot get dry so long as he remains standing in water. However much he may want to dry himself in water, he will remain wet.
The solution is to abandon the western world view. The western approach to life. Western definitions.
And to reclaim the original indian approach to life.
To step up to a different plane altogether.
8. October 2009 - 10:32 PM
Please read foll. article on LTTE:
Is ‘Tamil Eelam’ a Christian agenda?
B R Haran
29 Apr 2009
The White Christian Church has the unique characteristic of gaining entry into non-White, non-Semitic civilizations, by slow infiltration of important establishments to influence them and create unrest by dividing the local populace along communal or linguistic lines, with the sole objective of Christianising those countries.
Several instances in history confirm this. The Church has been partially successful in India, as evidenced by the Christianisation of north-eastern states such as Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, etc., and a few pockets in other States. While interior states have been able to withstand the Christian onslaught, the southern coastal states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have been vulnerable to the evil designs of the Church. This was made possible only because of the help provided by self-serving political leaders in the guise of secularism.
Influencing politics in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka
The Dravidian Movement of Tamil Nadu comprised only such leaders, who even went to the extent of requesting the British to continue their hegemony over Tamil Nadu. Since then, the unholy ‘Christian-Dravidian’ nexus has worked consistently for the cause of ‘Tamil Nation,’ extending it to the north-east of Sri Lanka as well.
Just as it divided the Tamil people through the bogus ‘Aryan (Brahmin) – Dravidian (Non-Brahmin) Theory,’ to alienate non-Brahmins from the ‘Hindu’ fold along linguistic lines (Aryan Sanskrit – Dravidian Tamil), the Church similarly divided the Sri Lankan people along linguistic (Sinhala-Tamil) lines. On the one hand, it backed the LTTE fully against the government, and on the other, it successfully infiltrated the Sri Lankan establishment and influenced the government through Sinhala Christian leadership.
When Sri Lankan Prime Minister Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike introduced the “Sinhala only Act” in 1956, the Island’s first anti-Tamil riots took place. Prior to Solomon Bandaranaike, the Sri Lankan government was headed by leaders like Don Stephen Senanayake and John Kotelawala, and his successors were Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Dudley Senanayake, Junius Richard Jayewardene, Premadasa, Ranil Wickramasinghe, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge (married a Christian), Percy Mahinda Rajapakse, who were all either Christians, or Buddhist converts, or married to Christian spouses.
The first Sri Lankan Tamil leader who started the demand for separatism was a Christian – Samuel James Velupillai Chelvanayakam; he also called for a “Greater Dravida Nadu” on both sides of the Palk Straits.
It can be said that LTTE just followed his footsteps, backed by the Church and missionaries. Ever since ethnic riots took place in 1983, Anton Balasingham, a Roman Catholic, assumed the mantle of LTTE’s political leadership and was second only to Prabhakaran, also a Christian.
Ironically, the 85% Hindu majority of Sri Lankan Tamils came totally under the control of a Christian minority leadership, thanks to the Machiavellian machinations of the Church and missionaries. It is difficult to swallow this bitter truth, especially when recalling the glorious past of Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus under the leadership of great Shaivite scholars like Arumuga Navalar, great men like Ponnambalam Ramanathan and Ponnambalam Arunachalam, and intellectuals like the Coomaraswamys. All were widely respected by the Buddhists in Sri Lanka and Ponnambalam Ramanathan was the one who pushed for “Wesak” or “Buddha Purnima” to be a public holiday in colonial Sri Lanka.
As for Tamil Nadu, though the Church suffered a slight setback when M.G. Ramachandran left DMK and founded the AIADMK, deviating from “Atheism” to “Theism” (moving closer to Hindu religion), and his successor Jayalalithaa followed his footsteps (at least for a while), it seemed to have cleverly moved its coins to influence AIADMK too. Now we have a host of Dravidian parties changing alliances at the drop of a hat and even at each others’ throats, but remaining perennially close to the Church.
So, whichever party is in power, the Church is able to have its say and continue with its agenda of de-Hinduising the state. Similarly, in Sri Lanka, the Church has been able to influence the leadership of both LTTE and the Sri Lankan government, while causing the death of thousands of Hindus and Buddhists in the decades-long conflict. The Church has also been indulging in blatant conversion activities in both Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.
Influencing Jayalalithaa for the greatest assault on Hinduism
At one point, the Church found it difficult in Tamil Nadu, due to the enormous influence of Melmaravathur Adiparasakthi Movement and Sabarimala Pilgrimage on Scheduled Caste Hindus, and the various activities undertaken by Kanchi Mutt to reach out to them, besides the enactment of the anti-conversion law by the Jayalalithaa regime.
But the Church finally succeeded in influencing Jayalalithaa after her party’s rout in the 2004 parliament elections, resulting in two telling actions. First, she repealed the anti-conversion law, enacted by her own government, to appease the Christian community; secondly, she went to the extent of denigrating and destroying the sanctity of a 2500-year-old institution established by Adi Sankara and flawlessly maintained by his order of disciples as ‘Jagath Gurus’ for millions of Hindus.
Not surprisingly, in October 2004, she received the ‘Golden Star for Dignity and Honour’ (Thanga Tharakai) award from a Ukraine-based Christian organisation named International Human Rights Defence Committee, controlled by America and funded by ‘US Agency for International Development’ (USAID).
The Indian representative for IHRDC was Mallavarappu Prakash, Bishop of Vijayawada and later Chairman of Tamil Nadu Minorities Welfare Commission! In February 2005, the ‘India International Society’, USA, proposed a tribute for her together with ‘Barath Jyothi’ award, after which evangelist K.A. Paul came to Tamil Nadu in a private jet to give thousands of crores of rupees for Tsunami relief.
Jaya pursuing Christian agenda
Since then, Jayalalithaa has clearly sided with the Christian clergy. Last year, while terming the spontaneous ‘retaliatory’ attacks on Christians in Kandhamal, Orissa, as a “disgrace” to the nation, she conveniently ignored the dastardly murder of Swami Laxmanananda and his disciples, and the distribution of blasphemous literature and pamphlets denigrating Hindu Gods and Goddesses, by his opponents. When the Rama Sethu Protection Movement was at its peak, she spoke against the Sethusamudram Project, not with true faith in Sri Rama, but with an eye on the votebank. And while protesting against the Sethu Project, she exhibited her ’secular’ credentials by pointing out that ‘Adams Bridge’ (Ramar Sethu) was significant to Muslims and Christians as well, a myth which no Christian or Muslim scholar has so far endorsed!
Even the present election manifesto of her party makes only a passing mention of Rama Sethu! Yet it gives exclusive commitments for Christians, such as Reservation for Dalit Christians (unconstitutional), subsidy for Jerusalem pilgrimage, ‘All Souls Day’ to be made a holiday, hostels with all facilities at nominal charges in towns of minority religious significance, and addressing the ‘security’ concerns of minorities.
But she gave no commitments regarding repeal of the DMK government’s ordinance on Tamil New Year or returning the Chidambaram Temple administration to the Dikshidars, or any issue concerning Hindus. As if to confirm allegiance to the Christian agenda, she deviated from her original stand on the Sri Lankan ethnic issue and sat on a day-long fast on 9 March 2009, condemning the Indian government’s alleged inaction on the issue and addressed the LTTE as “fighters” instead of her usual remark of “terrorists”. Now she has openly supported the Christian agenda of creation of a separate Tamil Eelam, which amounts to supporting the LTTE and nothing else. After all, the Church-backed LTTE leadership is also fighting for the same cause!
Sabotaging the legislation on conversion in Sri Lanka
In 2003, Sri Lankan Buddhist and Hindu leaders joined hands to draft a legislation, at the request of Hindu Affairs Minister T. Maheswaran, to legally stop conversion activities by the Church. Despite the pressure applied by this joint committee which worked for six months to draft the new act for parliament, the Church-influenced Sri Lankan government has been reluctant to enact the law.
As the Church foresaw that Buddhist-Hindu unity – unity between majority (Buddhists) and the largest minority (Tamil Hindus) – could lead to permanent peace in the war-struck Island, it sabotaged the process of legislation by favouring the creation of an inter-religious council to hammer out a solution. This so-called inter-religious council is a typical Christian strategy (much like the Church-backed inter-faith dialogues in non-Christian countries) to thwart all attempts to ban conversions by an act of parliament; the same has been adopted by the Vatican to stop such legislations in India as well. Though organizations such as ‘All Ceylon Hindu Congress’ (though pro-LTTE), ‘Hindu Council of Sri Lanka’ and ‘National Council of Buddhist Clergy’ are dead against conversion activities, the Church has been able to influence the political leadership across the spectrum to sabotage the legislation of the anti-conversion law
(http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=20884 ).
In this context, it must be noted that the former Hindu Affairs Minister in Ranil Wickramasinge’s cabinet T. Maheswaran escaped an assassination attempt in 2004, but was finally assassinated on 1 January 2008 while worshipping in a Shiva Temple. Till date, the government has not completed investigations in to the murder, though it has been blamed for allegedly reducing his security level and for continuing minister Douglas Devananda, widely alleged to be involved in the assassination. The government put the blame squarely on LTTE and Douglas Devananda also denied the allegation of involvement. The BBC Sinhala.com reported, “The DNA samples taken from the murder suspect of a Tamil legislator matched with the blood samples taken from the gun used for the killing, Sri Lankan judiciary said. The legislator’s security guard managed to shoot the suspect, identified as Johnson Collin Wasanthan Valentine
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._Maheswaran and
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sinhala/news/story/2008/02/080201_maheswaran_dna.shtml ).
Importance of Hindu-Buddhist relationship
As early as June 1998, ‘Tamilnet’ reported that an International conference on Hinduism condemned attacks on Hindus and the destruction of Hindu places of worship by Sri Lankan security forces, and urged Colombo to halt such attacks. The report said that, the ‘First International Conference on Hindu Solidarity’ was held in Paris on 27-28 June at the UNESCO auditorium and attended by delegates from several countries, including functionaries from BJP and VHP (http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=1691).
Though this seems like a conflict between Buddhist and Hindu communities, it must be understood that the security forces are controlled by a political leadership owing allegiance to the Church. The centuries-old cultural relationship and largely peaceful existence of both the Sinhala Buddhists and Tamil Hindus can be ascertained from two facts.
First, their coming together to draft a legislation against conversion activities of the Church and missionaries, and second, the statement from the Hindu Council of Sri Lanka that the long-standing cordial relationship between the two religious communities in the Island Nation would go a long way in solving the present crisis and creating peace and harmony.
It is pertinent to note that Buddhists worship Hindu Gods and Goddesses and Hindus worship Buddha as an Avatar of Maha Vishnu, and both communities follow the same calendar and celebrate the same day as New Year. While condemning the politicisation of the ethnic conflict by self-serving politicians of Tamil Nadu, the Hindu Council felt that areas of common interests must be identified and along with religious commonality and cordiality, local capacities built for peace. It opined that furthering political interests and fanning Tamil chauvinism must be discouraged as it would complicate the situation and inhibit the capacity of the Indian government to help find a lasting solution by bringing both the Sri Lankan government and the Tamils to the negotiating table.
BJP-led NDA government’s proactive role in the peace process
Journalist M.R. Narayan Swamy (IANS) reported that the Vajpayee government played a secret but vital proactive role in the peace process between Sri Lanka and LTTE, brokered by Norway: “Overseen by New Delhi, a truce document began to be drafted. Norway was deeply involved in the exercise, roping in some of its veteran diplomats. Eventually, this translated into CFA. India also told Norwegian diplomats to let the LTTE know about the Indian involvement in the entire effort. On Feb 21, 2002, LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran signed the CFA. Wickramasinghe put his signature a day later.”
By sheer coincidence, both Ranil Wickramasinghe and A.B. Vajpayee lost power almost at the same time (April-May 2004) and J.N. Dixit, appointed NSA by Sonia-led UPA regime, passed away within a few months of his appointment, with all the details about India’s role in bringing the CFA, which he learnt from Ranil Wickramasinghe, when the later visited India after demitting office. It is natural for a Hindu nationalist party to be deeply concerned about the well-being of a country who’s Buddhist and Hindu people are both tied to Hindu India by an umbilical cord; hence it is no surprise that it tried to bring peace in the interests of both countries. Why did the CFA fail and whether the Sonia-led government pursued the policy of the Vajpayee government with regard to Sri Lanka remain unknown?
(http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=79&artid=24710 ).
The present scenario
At present, all Dravidian parties are wreaking havoc in the run-up to the general elections, using the inflammatory Eelam issue as an election talking point. Each party is trying to whip up emotions in Tamil Nadu to bring about a ceasefire in Lanka and thereby save Prabhakaran and the LTTE.
When the Father Jagat Gasper Raj-Kanimozhi combine floated the “Chennai Sangamam” cultural extravaganza in 2007, Jaya TV went to town with investigative reports on the LTTE connections of Gasper Raj; Jayalalithaa wasted no time condemning the government’s association with the project. But last year, both Jayalalithaa and her TV channel kept a conspicuous silence during the Chennai Sangamam festival.
During the last week alone, Father Gasper Raj has been promoted by mainstream electronic media as a representative of Sri Lankan Tamils! Participating in debates on electronic news channels, he blatantly supports LTTE in the guise of voicing human rights concerns, criticizes the Indian government, and in one debate on Times Now Channel had the audacity to call Dr. Subramanian Swamy a “paid agent of Rajapakse”! Yet it is unclear if he is a Sri Lankan refugee or an Indian citizen. His antecedents and present activities in India/Tamil Nadu need thorough investigation.
AIADMK leader Jayalaithaa, who condemned Karunanidhi for saying Prabhakaran was not a terrorist, has not reacted to her ally PMK leader Ramadoss’ identical statement! Why does Jayalalithaa, who questioned Sonia’s silence on Karuna’s statement, remain silent on Ramadoss’ statement?
And what has the Italian-Christian-led UPA done for Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus in the last five years? Why didn’t the Sonia-led regime follow the NDA policy with regard to the Sri Lankan Tamil issue? Why was her government silent when the Geneva round of talks failed despite the presence of a live CFA?
Sad irony, and civilisational opportunity
Actually, the West and the Church want to Christianise Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu and form a larger Tamil Christian State. Hence a Sinhala-Tamil divide has been created with the help of the Tamil-Christian leadership of the LTTE and the Sinhala-Christian leadership of Sri Lanka.
Caught in between are the Sinhala Buddhist and Tamil Hindu civil populace. To keep the issue alive without any solution, the Christian leadership of India and the Dravidian, irreligious leadership of Tamil Nadu have been used, just as this diabolic group is using Dravidian politicians and Christian NGOs who have been harvesting souls in both Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. It is a sad irony that the interests of hapless Tamil Hindus of Sri Lanka, who have been persecuted for long by both the Christian leadership of LTTE and the Christian leadership of Sri Lankan government, have been represented by the unholy Christian-Dravidian nexus in Tamil Nadu.
As things stand in Sri Lanka, it looks as though the West might be able to save the LTTE leadership. It will try to send missionaries and NGOs to help the rehabilitation process, so it can clandestinely achieve its evangelical agenda also.
It is said that President Rajapakse instructed setting up of a chapel in the ‘welfare villages’ to look into the spiritual needs of the internally displaced persons and refugees, who number up to 200,000. Sensing the danger of evangelization, the Hindu Council, the Hindu Women’s Society (Saiva Mangaiyar Kazhagam), the Sai Samithi, along with other organizations, swung into action to provide medicines, clothes, soaps, detergents and sanitary napkins and other articles of basic necessity, to augment the shelter, food and water provided by the government. The Hindu Council has also organized singing of Tamil devotional hymns (Thevaram and Thiruvasagam); the Sai Samithi has organized bhajans. These organizations are likely to take care of orphaned children by sending them to orphanages run by the Sri Ramakrishna Mission.
The present situation must be seen as an opportunity to revive Hindu-Buddhist unity and Hindu religious heads from India, especially from Tamil Nadu, would do well to establish contact and communication channels with Buddhist leaders of Sri Lanka. This will go a long way in bringing peace and harmony to the Island Nation. For this to happen, we need a strong “Hindu” political leadership in India. Let us hope it gets ‘elected’ now.
The author is a senior journalist; he lives in Chennai