Newspapers give space to writers like Khushwant Singh mostly for antique value. I read this piece with the same mindset as I approach an antique piece: possibly priceless but I won’t risk buying it. Singh has made no secret of his support for the Congress party and hasn’t protested when he was termed an establishment liberal. Equally, he has been quite open about his distaste for the RSS/BJP “brand of politics” citing the usual “secular” reasons. However, nothing quite explains the hatred that oozes from the piece I linked above.
He singles out L.K. Advani as the choice-target of his hatred and calls him a Nikamma (useless) in a veiled manner. Singh’s glee at Advani’s self-created downfall is almost palpable.
I have no regret over Advani’s discomfiture and imminent fadeout from national politics. He has done grievous harm to our efforts to create a truly secular India. He described Manmohan Singh as nikamma – useless. It so happens, Manmohan is still much in use, while Advani’s own erstwhile colleagues have pronounced him as of no use any longer. It is as comic a tragedy as any we have witnessed in recent times.
But that’s not the focus of this post.
Khushwant Singh speaks in a tone of expert authority on the vast, complex, and multi-chequered topic of Hindu revivalism. His musings on Islamophobia as a defining feature of the RSS is measured only in equal terms by his ignorance of the Hindu revivalism. While the RSS does have some unforgivable shortcomings, the likes of Singh become cleverly blind when you mention their range selfless social service minus the caveat of conversion.
For a person who derides Hindu revivalism, he asks some of the most basic questions over which he is “losing sleep.” Some fine critical analysis without an iota of knowledge of the subject he criticizes! He asks the readers to help him answer something as commonplace as this:
Readers, Please help
For quite some time I have been puzzled by so many of our national holidays having numerals attached to them, e.g., why is it Basant Panchmi ? What is it the fifth (panchmi) of? What is Janam Ashtami, the eighth day of? Or Ram Naumi, the ninth day of? I have asked many scholars and professors but got no answers. I wrote to the publishers of Jiwan Diary which has all religious festivals in Gurmukhi, Hindi, Urdu and English to tell me where they get dates from – and what gundmool of which it records the beginning and the end means. No answer. Can anyone enlighten me? I am losing sleep over it.
This unenlightened senile eminence has gone to scholars and professors to find the answer to something, which a calendar that also prints Hindu equivalent months and dates can provide him! I hate to make assumptions but I’m forced to suspect the knowledge and credibility of these scholars and professors.
Postscript: I leave it to the intelligence of my readers to figure out the answer. 
Take a break Sandeep. Song below has a catchy tune.
Smack dem christians down by Jay Spears -
My mammy baptized me you bet I’m washed in the Blood of the Lamb
But here’s one thing I just don’t get—who baptized Uncle Sam?
Some folks say the USA was Christian from the start.
But was George Washington a Christian?
Was Thomas Jefferson a Christian?
John Adams? Ben Franklin?
Was Abe Lincoln a Christian?
They separated Church and State which makes dem Christians frown,
And on that day I’m glad to say they smaked dem Christians down!
We gotta smak dem Christians down,
Smack dem Christians down,
On that day I’m glad to say they
Smaked dem Christians smaked dem Christians
Smaked dem Christians down.
My daddy hails from Alabam’ so the South is in my soul
I know firsthand about Dixieland and one Christian judge’s role. He said
“God made different races and gave them homes in separate places….”
So Black folk can’t marry white folk, no! Black folk can’t marry white folk!
Colored can’t marry white folk, no! Colored can’t marry white folk!
Nigras can’t marry white folk, no! Nigras can’t marry white folk! No! The Supreme Court heard it all and to their great renown,
On that day I’m glad to say they smaked dem krackers down!
We gotta smack dem Christians down,
Smack dem Christians down,
On that day I’m glad to say they
Smaked dem Christians smaked dem Christians
Smaked dem Christians down.
Roll up the Bill of Rights and wap! wap! wap! ‘em on the head.
Keep your radical Christian agenda away from my gonadicals and my pudenda!
I wish dem whacked-out Christian fools would learn from history
Instead of tryin’ to foist their bonehead rules on ‘mos like me.
If you wanna live in a theocracy maybe ya oughta move to Saudi Arabia.
Is the U.S. Government Islamic?
Is it Buddhist? Hindu?
Jewish? Catholic?
Is the U.S. Government Christian?
So if dem Christians don’t back off we’ll run ‘em outta town
And on that day I’m glad to say we’ll smak dem Christians down!
We gotta Smak dem Christians down,
Smak dem Christians down,
On that day I’m glad to say we’ll
Smak dem Christians Smak dem Christians
Smak dem Christians down.
@The Real Azous D’Pilid,
Yes, we guys are simply hillarious ! Thanks for noticing. And no, you did not get all the adjectives that the “pals” chipped in with to describe the alcoholic author under discussion. And no, this post is not about us, you brainwashed christian cultist. Take ten aspirins if you want to, and cross yourself. Mutter “jesusjesusjesusjesusjesusbejesus” and everything will be okay.
You guys are hillarious! “How the Hatred Oozes” you call this post. Then you call KS an “unenlightened senile eminence”, also your pals chip in with closet muslim, mediocre writer, turd, stupid, idiot – hey did I get them all? Forget KS, its you fellows are oozing the hatred! So wait a minute, this post is really about you, isnt it? I need an aspirin to follow that!
this is a simple query for which the learned ks could not get an answer. either he is bluffing or making fun. the answer is simple. there are 26 navami’s in a lunar calender. Rama was born on chaitra shukla navami. not on ashwayuj shukla navami. each festival is named like that so people do not confuse dates. each tithi comes 26 times in an year. ganesh chaturthi means its bhadrapad shukla chturthi and not any other chaturthi. the lunar calendar is very explicit in these matters for acommon man following that.
Khushwant Singh is a closet Muslim who wears a Sikh turban for decoration.
Sandeep good find.
But wait wait wait, the types of Khushwant Singh will know all that is to be known on an Ekadasi which will fall on Chaturthi when the moon will shine “full bright” in Bhadrapad Krishna paksh in the month of Kartika.
Btw i suspect the other full bright half white “Singh is King” scholar is equally knowledgeable.
Kumar,
K Singh actually started the unravelling of Illustrated Weekly that saw its hey days during M V Kamath’s time. Pritish Nandy completed the process started by K Singh and closed down Illustrated Weekly.
K Singh is a mediocre writer who revels in crude sexual writings and jokes contributed by his readers.It is unbelievable that he has five volumes of Gossip Sweet and Sour, published, most of it contributed by his readers.
While he was busy pinching bottoms of married women, his wife was having an affair on the side. This was disclosed by K Singh himself, during an interview with Karan Thapar, some years back.
His hatred for hindus is legendary as his love for Urdu and the cut pieces
Many times those who express such intense hatred don’t even know why; on close questioning they are unable to give any cogent reply.
Our Singh appeared middle of the road to begin with; the Illustrated Weekly of India was basically embellished with his travelogues and crude sexual stories followed by his servile comments on Mrs.G; and then suddenly the attitude changed. Could it be the effect of 1984 and Operation Bluestar?
This is painful. I mean, hasn’t this guy Kushwant Singh edited Illustrated Weekly of India, and also won many awards? Such an ignorant person has achieved so much?
And going by the comments here, looks like even among the Hindu right, there are people who consider basic awareness about Indian calendar as ‘knowledge’ and some thing that a scholar needs to answer.How did we end up here?
I think we are all wrong in using the word Hindu revival.The very foundational elements of Indian way of life are missing from urban India.We need a revolution.Not a revival.
Wow! Our Sands here actually fell for it! First he speculates, and then pastes from wiki!
What the western education has done unto us! Does anyone know of something called panchang(am) at all these days?
this site gives tithi timings w.r.t. all major cities of the world:
http://www.mypanchang.com/panchang2009.html
@Raghavendra
Well, I forgive you.
@Sandeep.
The first comment was just a speculation. Here you have more details..
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rama_Navami
The day also known as Sri Rama Navami, falls on the Navami, ninth day of the Chaitra month of Hindu lunar year in ‘Shuklapaksha’ or waxing moon, thus named Chaitra Masa Suklapaksha Navami, and marks the end of nine-day Chaitra-Navratri celebrations.
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna_Janmashtami
Krishna Janmashtami is observed on the Ashtami tithi, the eighth day of the dark half or Krishna Paksha of the month of Bhaadra in the Hindu calendar, when the Rohini Nakshatra(called Aldebaran in the West) is ascendant.
“I hate to make assumptions but I’m forced to suspect the knowledge and credibility of these scholars and professors.”
You need not make any assumptions Sandeep. It is obvious this idiot is lying and he has not consulted any scholar or professor.
Forgot to add…
Above mentioned ‘candle marchers @ Wagha (Indo-Pak border)’ have only one to ‘insure’ selves against the ‘piece of mind’ from the ‘Peace full followers of Islam’ and that is:they must abuse ‘Hindus’, question their traditions, insult their leaders, more shrill they go more ‘secular’ they become.
As for the help KS seeks to understand the basics of Hindu Calendar any simple temple priest or an old neighbourhood uncle or aunty would have enlightened him, scholars of his variety are just as stupid or great as him.
I think KS need some very urgent psychiatric help instead.
PI.
Sandeep what else do you expect from the self claimed ‘senile’ dirty old man.:)
Khushwant’s history is very interesting (I claim some authority on that)and this man has soft corners for Muslims not for any love for Islam. No it is simply the ‘Stockholm syndrome’ he shares with the likes of Kuldeep Nayyar, MMS, Vinod Duas and those who/whose families were forced to flee from their ‘house and hearth’ in 1947. These ‘peace nicks’were subjected to such a brutality by the followers of religion of peace their women were ravished on streets, their brothers fathers, neighbors were beheaded in bazaars, streets…such was the impact of all these things on their psyche that these memories still haunt them and this is why these guys are shit scared of followers of ‘religion of peace’. Since these guys can not be seen as ‘whimpering lot’, so they hide behind the facade of ‘secularism’ simply because they want to save their asses.
May be some day I should write on Khushwant in his (KS) own style, promise you, it would be as good a ‘turd’ as this ‘senile’ man keeps serving.
PI.
@sands,
My boy “Rama” was not the ninth child of Dasharatha
, you too, like Singh is ignorant of basics…..
What can be said about the ignorance the so-called scholars?
I wonder what scholarship they hold?
Krishna was the 8th child. Could that be the Janam Ashtami?