Why Indian Government is hiding the hanging of Kasab and Afzal ?
Probably Government assumes that there is a good number of citizens in India, so called Indian muslims or Indian minority, and they do not want this? (Do they have a soft corner for Kasab and Afzal ?)
If not why Indian Government is assuming that the dominant population in Muslims have a soft corner for terrorists!!!
Please ask this question to yourself, what if government have declared Kasab hanging before, If you think that this may create a problem for law and order, you are actually saying that the driving group in muslims have a soft corner for terrorist!
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सोनिया गांधीकश्मीर अलगाववाद के सेब के बाग को सींचती Soniya Gandhi: Kashmir should not be part of India
क्या है फर्क बुखारी, गीलानी, ओवैशी और सोनिया में ? ? ?
http://ekaambhartiya.blogspot.in/2013/01/soniya-gandhi-kashmir-should-not-be.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+VineetKumarSingh+(Vineet+Kumar+Singh)
http://www.nancho.net/fdlap/fdlhome.html#essayarc
http://www.ibtl.in/column/1317/sonia-gandhi-on-kashmir-secession-body/
हम लोग आए दिन कश्मीर मे हुए दंगों, कत्लेयामों को ले कर चिल्लाते रहते हैं साथ ही चिल्लाते हैं कश्मीर को भारत से अलग करने वालों को लेकर। भूषण को भी इसी चलते मार पड़ी थी की वो कश्मीर को या तो आजाद करने या पाकिस्तान को देने की मांग कर रहा है। हम सभी कश्मीरियत को ले कर पता नहीं क्या-क्या सोचते रहते हैं और प्रतिदिन बिना नागा किए उस पर चिंतन और मनन करते रहते हैं।
क्या आपने कभी सोचा है की कश्मीर मे सीमा उल्लंघन की इतनी बड़ी घटनाओं तथा हमारे सैनिकों की आए दिन हो रही शहादतों के उपरांत भी हमारी सरकार कोई भी कदम क्यूँ नहीं उठाती है सिवाय बोल-बच्चन के। अब आइये देखिये हमारे इस सरकार के निकम्मेपन का कारण जिसके कारण हमारे सैनिक आए दिन वीर गति को प्राप्त हो रहे हैं और हमारी सरकार विपक्ष और जनता के कितना भी विरोध करने के बाद भी चुप है।
मौजूदा सरकार की माताश्री माननीय सोनिया गांधी जी "The Forum Of Democratic Leaders in the Asia-Pacific (FDI-AP)" नामक भारत विरोधी और भारत के विघटन को तत्पर संस्था जो की कश्मीर की आजादी की बात करती है, की सह-अध्यक्षा हैं।
अब जब देश की संसद महोदया होने के साथ-साथ सोनिया जी तो कॉंग्रेस की जगत माता के रूप मे जानी जाती हैं तो ऐसे मे क्या किसी कोंग्रेसी की इतनी हिम्मत होगी की वो कश्मीर तो क्या देश के किसी भाग को देश से अलग होने पर उंगली नहीं उठा सकते हैं। क्यूंकी इनकी माता श्री ही कश्मीर को आजाद देखना चाहती है और ऐसा प्रतीत होता है की इन महोदया को तकलीफ होती है कश्मीर को भारत का अंग देख कर। तो ऐसे मे कश्मीर मे हमारे सैनिकों का मरना तो जारी रहेगा ही साथ ही हमारी माताओं की गोद और नवविवाहितों की मांग तथा घर का आँगन सूना होता रहेगा। लेकिन इन माताओं और विधवा बहनों की चीत्कारों से किसी को कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ने वाला है क्यूंकी 10 जनपथ ही चाहता है की कश्मीर भारत से अलग हो जाये इसके लिए चाहे कुछ भी करना हो।
अब ऐसे मे कई सवाल उठते हैं कि:
देश को तोड़ने कि बात करना क्या सोनिया के आगे देशद्रोह नहीं है?
क्यूँ अभी तक सोनिया गांधी पर देशद्रोह का मुकदमा दर्ज नहीं हुआ क्यूंकी वो एक नकली मिश्रित गांधी परिवार कि बेवा हैं?
एक संसद होने के बाद देश को तोड़ने वाले संगठन का साथ देने के बाद किस मुँह से सोनिया गांधी संसद मे बैठती हैं?
जिस संगठन को भारत मे प्रतिबंधित होना चाहिए उसी संगठन कि सह-अध्यक्षा हमारी विधवा संसद महोदया सोनिया गांधी जी हैं फिर भी कोई नहीं बोलता है, ऐसा क्यूँ?
हम गीलानी, बुखारी इत्यादि को गाली देते हैं कि ये सभी कश्मीर को भारत से अलग करने कि बात करते हैं परंतु आज तक कोई भी सोनिया गांधी के इस घिनौने और दोगले कृत्य पर एक शब्द नहीं कहा। ऐसा क्यूँ?
क्या मिश्रित नकली गांधी परिवार कि बेवा होने के चलते इन सोनिया गांधी महोदया को राष्ट्रद्रोह कि खुली छुट होने के साथ-साथ राष्ट्रद्रोह का आरक्षण है?
http://www.nancho.net/fdlap/fdlhome.html#essayarc
क्या आप सभी यूं ही चुप रह कर सोनिया गांधी जैसी राष्ट्रद्रोही के राष्ट्रद्रोह के कार्य को बढ़ावा देने के साथ-साथ उसमे सहभागी बने रहना चाहते हैं?
बग्गा जी ने इस सच के ऊपर से और सोनिया गांधी के राष्ट्रद्रोह के ऊपर से पर्दा उठाया था परंतु किसी भी मीडिया को इसे दिखने कि जहमत तो क्या हिम्मत ही नहीं हुई शायद या कहें तो हो सकता है चुप रहने कि कीमत मिल गई होगी मीडिया कर्मियों को। लेकिन मीडिया कि इस चुप्पी से देश का विघटन तक हो सकता है और जनता यूंही मूर्ख बन राष्ट्रद्रोह मे अपना सहयोग करती रहेगी।
अगर अभी भी आपको मेरी बातों पर विश्वास न हो तो आप निम्नांकित लिंक पर जाएँ और खुद देखें राष्ट्रद्रोही सोनिया गांधी कि सच्चाई और फैसला करें------
check : http://www.ibtl.in/column/1317/sonia-gandhi-on-kashmir-secession-body/
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has unwisely joined a body supporting Kashmir secession because she loves rubbing shoulders with international glitterati. As chairperson, Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, Ms. Gandhi is co-president of the Forum of Democratic Leaders in the Asia-Pacific (FDL-AP), an organization promoting democracy (sic) in this region. Other co-presidents include former Philippines President Corazon Aquino; South Korea leader Kim Dae-Jung; and former Costa Rica president Oscar Arias Sanchez.
Honorary senior advisors include Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi; South Africa Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu; former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev; and former German President Richard von Weizsaecker. As all these leaders are firmly pro-American, it is awkward toUPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has unwisely joined a body supporting Kashmir secession because she loves rubbing shoulders with international glitterati. As chairperson, Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, Ms. Gandhi is co-president of the Forum of Democratic Leaders in the Asia-Pacific (FDL-AP), an organization promoting democracy (sic) in this region. Other co-presidents include former Philippines President Corazon Aquino; South Korea leader Kim Dae-Jung; and former Costa Rica president Oscar Arias Sanchez.
Honorary senior advisors include Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi; South Africa Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu; former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev; and former German President Richard von Weizsaecker. As all these leaders are firmly pro-American, it is awkward to find a politician from a leading non-aligned nation in this league. find a politician from a leading non-aligned nation in this league. .....
हिन्दुत्व ही क्यूँ ?
http://ekaambhartiya.blogspot.in/2013/01/i-am-hindu.html?utm_source=feedburner
पिछले साठ वर्षों से स्कूलों मे जाने वाले हर बालक-बालिका के मुख से तथा जनता के मुख से यही गवाया जाता रहा है - "मजहब नहीं सिखाता, आपस मे बैर रखना", जबकि तथ्य यह है कि पिछले पंद्रह सौ वर्षों मे विश्व मे जितना खून मझाब के नाम पर बहा है, उसकी कोई तुलना ही नहीं है। कत्लेआम, बलात्कार, अत्याचार का तो कोई हिसाब ही नहीं है।
हिन्दू ने प्रत्येक मजहब का स्वागत किया है और इसे भारत मे फलने-फूलने का अवसर दिया है।
अब एक अन्य खतरनाक मझाब 'नास्तिक' एक चुनौती बन कर उभर रहा है। दुनिया मे नास्तिक मत (कम्यूनिज़्म) ने भी हंगरी इत्यादि देशों मे कम रक्त नहीं बहाया। नास्तिक्य और कम्यूनिज़्म भी मजहब के अंतर्गत आते हैं।
अभी बीसवीं शताब्दी पर ही दृष्टि डालें तो देखेंगे कि भारत, जैसे कश्मीर से कन्याकुमारी तक, हिमांचल से पूरी तक एक सूत्र मे बंधे देश को तीन टुकड़ों मे मझाबी आधार पर विभाजित कर दिया गया। यह उस मजहबी जुनून का कमाल है जो "नहीं सिखाता आपस मे बैर रखना।"
एक मात्र हिन्दू धर्म ही ऐसा है जिसने विश्व को मानवता का प्रचार करने के लिए शांति दूत भेजे और बिना युद्ध किए विश्व भर को मानवता का पाठ पढ़ाया और प्रचार किया।
इस पर भी हिन्दू धर्म को सांप्रदायिक कहना या तो मूर्खता ही काही जाएगी अथवा धूर्तता। हिन्दू कोई मजहब नहीं है। यह कुछ मान्यताओं का नाम है। वे मान्यताएं ऐसी हैं जो मानवता का पाठ पढ़ाती हैं।
हिंदुओं कि धर्म पुस्तकों मे मनुस्मृति का नाम सर्वोपरि है और मनुस्मृति धर्म का लक्षण करती है - धुर्ति क्षमा दमोस्तेय शौचम इंद्रिय-निग्रह, धीर्विधा सत्यमक्रोधी दशकम धर्म लक्षणम। कोई बताए इसमे कौन सा लक्षण है जो मानवता के विपरीत है।
स्मृति मे धर्म का सार स्पष्ट शब्दों मे कहा है - श्रूयतां धर्म सर्वस्व, श्रूत्व चैवाव धार्यताम, आत्मनः, प्रतिकूलानि परेणाम न समाचरेत ।। (धर्म का सार सुनो और सुनकर धारण करो, अपने प्रतिकूल व्यवहार किसी से न करो।)
ऐसे लक्षण वाले धर्म को साम्प्रदायिक कहता तो मूर्खता की पराकाष्ठा काही जाएगी।
वास्तव मे हिन्दू धर्म को न समझने के कारण दुनिया मे अशांति मची हुई है। सम्पूर्ण भारत देशवासी हिन्दू ही हैं क्यूंकी वे हिंदुस्तान के नागरिक हैं। इस्लाम, ईसाई, पारसी, बौद्ध इत्यादि जो हिंदुस्तान का नागरिक है वह हिन्दू ही है।
हमारे राजनैतिक नेता तथा आज के कुशिक्षित लोग अंधाधुंध, बिना सोचे समझे लट्ठ लिए हुए हिन्दू के पीछे पड़ जाते हैं।
समस्या का हल तो है परंतु राजनीति में आए स्वार्थी नेता अपना उल्लू कैसे सीधा करेंगे?
बच्चों की पाठ्य पुस्तक मे एक पाठ इस विषय मे हो, कि हिन्दू क्या है, इसके मान्यताएं क्या हैं, और भारत का प्रत्येक नागरिक जो भी भारतवासी है, वह हिन्दू ही है।
हिंदुओं कि मान्यताएं शास्त्रोक्त हैं, बुद्धियुक्त हैं, किसी भी मझाब के विरोध मे नहीं। किसी भी मजहब को मानने वाले यदि वे हिन्दू कि मान्यताओं को जो मानवता ही है, मान लें तो द्वेष का कोई कारण नहीं रहेगा।
संक्षेप मे हिन्दू कि मान्यताएं हैं - जोकि शास्त्रोक्त हैं, युक्तियुक्त हैं, इस परकर हैं -
1॰ जगत के रचयिता परमात्मा पर जो सर्वशक्तिमान है, अजर अमर है, विश्वास;
२. जीवात्मा के अस्तित्व पर विश्वास;
३. कर्म-फल पर विश्वास। इसका स्वाभाविक अभिप्राय है पुनर्जन्म पर विश्वास;
४. धर्म पर विश्वास। धर्म जैसा कि मनुस्मृति मे लिखा है, जिसका सार है -
आत्मनः प्रतिकूलानी परेषाम न समाचरेत । ।
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| हिन्दू जनसंख्या विश्वपटल पर |
हिन्दू के इतिहास पर, हिन्दू राष्ट्र कि विवेचना पर तथा हिन्दू कि मान्यताओं पर श्री गुरुदत्त जी ने तीन पुस्तकें लिखीं हैं - हिन्दुत्व कि यात्रा, वर्तमान दुर्व्यवस्था का समाधान-हिन्दू राष्ट्र तथा मैं हिन्दू हूँ (हिन्दू धर्म कि मान्यताएं), जो प्रत्येक विचारशील व्यक्ति को पढनी चाहिए।
साभार : श्री गुरुदत्त जी
पुस्तक : मैं हिन्दू हूँ (हिन्दू धर्म कि मान्यताएं)
UP Congress Committee General Secretary and UP Congress MLA Hijacked Indian Airlines
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bholanath_and_Devendra_Pandey
Bholanath and Devendra Pandey are two friends who in 1978 hijacked an Indian Airlines plane on a domestic flight. They demanded the release of opposition leader Indira Gandhi (who had been arrested by Indian parliament) and the withdrawal of all the cases against her son Sanjay Gandhi.[1] They carried only toy weapons. After keeping 132 passengers hostage for some hours, they surrendered in the presence of media.
The Indian National Congress party rewarded them with party tickets for 1980 state assembly election.[1] Both won the election and became members of the legislative assembly of Uttar Pradesh. Bhola served as a Congress MLA from 1980 to 1985 while Devendra remained a member of the house for two terms.
Devendra served the party as a general secretary of Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) until recently. He is now nurturing the Sultanpur constituency in the hope of a Congress ticket in the next elections.
Bholanath unsuccessfully contested the 1999 Lok Sabha elections from Salempur as a Congress candidate.
History hijacked by perverse politics
http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/item/52679-history-hijacked-by-perverse-politics.html
What drove Muslim invaders to loot and destroy Hindu temples? Was it greed? Was it hatred of idol worship? Or was it contempt towards a conquered people? Ajmer offers possible answers
First, some trivia for history buffs. James Tod joined the Bengal Army as a cadet in 1799, presumably looking for a life of adventure in the heat and dust of India. He swiftly rose through the ranks and, as a Lieutenant-Colonel, the records of the times tell us, provided valuable service to the East India Company. His uncanny ability to gather information helped the early colonisers smash the Maratha Confederacy. Later, his assistance was sought during the Rajputana campaign.
Colonel Tod, as he was known, was a natural scholar with an eye for detail and a curious mind. He was fascinated by the history of Rajputana and its antiquities as much as by its palace intrigues and the shifting loyalties of its rulers and their factotums. That fascination led to his penning two books that are still considered mandatory reading for anybody interested in the history of the Rajputs, although latter-day scholars of the Marxist variety would disagree with both the contents and the style, neither leavened by ideological predilections. The first volume of Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan was published in 1829 and the second in 1832, nearly a decade after he returned to Britain.
And now to present times. Thousands of people, Indians and foreigners, Muslims and non-Muslims, visit Ajmer every day to offer a chaadar at Dargah Sharif of Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, a shrine where all are welcome and every prayer is answered, or so the pious choose to believe. Many stay on to visit the other antiquities of Ajmer, among them a magnificent mosque complex which bears little or no resemblance to its name: ‘Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra’.
People gawk at the columns and the façade intricately carved with inscriptions from the Quran in Arabic. They pose for photographs or capture the mosque’s ‘beauty’ on video cameras and carry back memories of Islam’s munificence towards its followers. Don’t forget to visit ‘Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra’, they will later tell friends and relatives
visiting Ajmer.
As for Indian Muslims who travel to Ajmer and see ‘Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra’, they would be tempted to wonder why similar mosques are no longer built, a wonderment that is only partially explained by the fact that sultans and badshahs no longer rule India. The crescent had begun to wane long before a derelict Bahadur Shah Zafar was propped up as Badshah of Hindoostan by the mutineers of 1857.
Such speculation as may flit through troubled minds need not detain us, nor is there any need to feel sorry for those who wallow in self-pity or are enraged by the realisation of permanent loss of power. A century and a half is long enough time to reconcile to the changed realities of
today’s Hindustan.
So, let us return to ‘Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra’ in Ajmer. Few who have seen and admired this mosque complex would be aware of Colonel Tod’s description of it in the first volume of Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan: “The entire façade of this noble entrance … is covered with Arabic inscriptions… but in a small frieze over the apex of the arch is contained an inscription in Sanskrit.” And that oddity tells the real story of ‘Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra’.
This is no place of worship built over weeks and months for the faithful to congregate five times a day, it is a monument to honour Shahabuddin Muhammad Ghauri who travelled through Ajmer after defeating, and killing, Prithviraj Chauhan in the second battle of Tarain in 1192 AD. Stunned by the beauty of the
temples of Ajmer and shocked by such idolatory, he ordered
Qutbuddin Aibak to sack the city and build a mosque, a mission to be accomplished in two-and-a-half days, so that he could offer namaz on his way back.
Aibak fulfilled the task given to him: He used the structures of three temples to fashion what now stands as ‘Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra’. Mindful of sensitivities, his men used their swords to disfigure the faces of figures carved into the 70 pillars that still stand. It would seem India’s invaders had a
particular distaste for Indian noses portrayed in stone and plaster.
The story of ‘Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra’ is not unique. Hindustan’s landscape is dotted with mosques built on sites where temples stood, often crafted with material from the destroyed places of worship. Quwwat-ul Islam, the first mosque built in Delhi, bears testimony to the ruthless invader’s smash-and-grab policy, as do the mosques Aurangzeb built in Kashi and Mathura, or the mosque Mir Baqi built at Ayodhya on the site Hindus believe to be, and revere as, Ram Janmasthan.
The pillars and inner walls of Babri Masjid, as the disputed structure was known till it came crashing down on December 6, 1992, were those of a temple that once stood there, a fact proven beyond doubt. Somnath was fortunate: It was sacked repeatedly, but no mosque came to occupy the land where it stood — and still stands — in Gujarat, a coastal sentinel guarding faith, culture, civilisation. The Vishwanath temple at Kashi was less fortunate as was Krishna Janamsthan in Mathura.
Strange as it may seem, such destruction, barring the illegitimate occupation by Muslims of Temple Mount revered by Jews in Jerusalem, never happened in the land considered holiest of all by followers of the three Abrahamic faiths. The Church of Nativity in Bethlehem commemorates (and preserves) the manger where Jesus Christ was born. In the walled city of Jerusalem stands the centuries old Church of the Holy Sepulchre at the spot where Jesus was crucified and the sepulchre where he was buried and from where he rose. These and many other Christian sites have remained untouched. As have Jewish sites.
What then explains the extraordinary destructive trait displayed by Muslim invaders who raided India again and again? It couldn’t just have been the wealthWhat drove Muslim invaders to loot and destroy Hindu temples? Was it greed? Was it hatred of idol worship? Or was it contempt towards a conquered people? Ajmer offers possible answers
First, some trivia for history buffs. James Tod joined the Bengal Army as a cadet in 1799, presumably looking for a life of adventure in the heat and dust of India. He swiftly rose through the ranks and, as a Lieutenant-Colonel, the records of the times tell us, provided valuable service to the East India Company. His uncanny ability to gather information helped the early colonisers smash the Maratha Confederacy. Later, his assistance was sought during the Rajputana campaign.
Colonel Tod, as he was known, was a natural scholar with an eye for detail and a curious mind. He was fascinated by the history of Rajputana and its antiquities as much as by its palace intrigues and the shifting loyalties of its rulers and their factotums. That fascination led to his penning two books that are still considered mandatory reading for anybody interested in the history of the Rajputs, although latter-day scholars of the Marxist variety would disagree with both the contents and the style, neither leavened by ideological predilections. The first volume of Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan was published in 1829 and the second in 1832, nearly a decade after he returned to Britain.
And now to present times. Thousands of people, Indians and foreigners, Muslims and non-Muslims, visit Ajmer every day to offer a chaadar at Dargah Sharif of Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, a shrine where all are welcome and every prayer is answered, or so the pious choose to believe. Many stay on to visit the other antiquities of Ajmer, among them a magnificent mosque complex which bears little or no resemblance to its name: ‘Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra’.
People gawk at the columns and the façade intricately carved with inscriptions from the Quran in Arabic. They pose for photographs or capture the mosque’s ‘beauty’ on video cameras and carry back memories of Islam’s munificence towards its followers. Don’t forget to visit ‘Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra’, they will later tell friends and relatives
visiting Ajmer.
As for Indian Muslims who travel to Ajmer and see ‘Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra’, they would be tempted to wonder why similar mosques are no longer built, a wonderment that is only partially explained by the fact that sultans and badshahs no longer rule India. The crescent had begun to wane long before a derelict Bahadur Shah Zafar was propped up as Badshah of Hindoostan by the mutineers of 1857.
Such speculation as may flit through troubled minds need not detain us, nor is there any need to feel sorry for those who wallow in self-pity or are enraged by the realisation of permanent loss of power. A century and a half is long enough time to reconcile to the changed realities of
today’s Hindustan.
So, let us return to ‘Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra’ in Ajmer. Few who have seen and admired this mosque complex would be aware of Colonel Tod’s description of it in the first volume of Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan: “The entire façade of this noble entrance … is covered with Arabic inscriptions… but in a small frieze over the apex of the arch is contained an inscription in Sanskrit.” And that oddity tells the real story of ‘Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra’.
This is no place of worship built over weeks and months for the faithful to congregate five times a day, it is a monument to honour Shahabuddin Muhammad Ghauri who travelled through Ajmer after defeating, and killing, Prithviraj Chauhan in the second battle of Tarain in 1192 AD. Stunned by the beauty of the
temples of Ajmer and shocked by such idolatory, he ordered
Qutbuddin Aibak to sack the city and build a mosque, a mission to be accomplished in two-and-a-half days, so that he could offer namaz on his way back.
Aibak fulfilled the task given to him: He used the structures of three temples to fashion what now stands as ‘Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra’. Mindful of sensitivities, his men used their swords to disfigure the faces of figures carved into the 70 pillars that still stand. It would seem India’s invaders had a
particular distaste for Indian noses portrayed in stone and plaster.
The story of ‘Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra’ is not unique. Hindustan’s landscape is dotted with mosques built on sites where temples stood, often crafted with material from the destroyed places of worship. Quwwat-ul Islam, the first mosque built in Delhi, bears testimony to the ruthless invader’s smash-and-grab policy, as do the mosques Aurangzeb built in Kashi and Mathura, or the mosque Mir Baqi built at Ayodhya on the site Hindus believe to be, and revere as, Ram Janmasthan.
The pillars and inner walls of Babri Masjid, as the disputed structure was known till it came crashing down on December 6, 1992, were those of a temple that once stood there, a fact proven beyond doubt. Somnath was fortunate: It was sacked repeatedly, but no mosque came to occupy the land where it stood — and still stands — in Gujarat, a coastal sentinel guarding faith, culture, civilisation. The Vishwanath temple at Kashi was less fortunate as was Krishna Janamsthan in Mathura.
Strange as it may seem, such destruction, barring the illegitimate occupation by Muslims of Temple Mount revered by Jews in Jerusalem, never happened in the land considered holiest of all by followers of the three Abrahamic faiths. The Church of Nativity in Bethlehem commemorates (and preserves) the manger where Jesus Christ was born. In the walled city of Jerusalem stands the centuries old Church of the Holy Sepulchre at the spot where Jesus was crucified and the sepulchre where he was buried and from where he rose. These and many other Christian sites have remained untouched. As have Jewish sites.
What then explains the extraordinary destructive trait displayed by Muslim invaders who raided India again and again? It couldn’t just have been the wealth of temples (as Marxist historians who grudgingly concede temples were indeed attacked would forcefully argue in justification of the destruction), there has to be something more. Was it polytheism that upset the early age Islamists? Was it idol worship that enraged them? Or was it simply hate and
contempt towards the conquered that drove the destructive impulse of the conquering invader?
Ironically, to ask these questions would be considered as ‘intolerance’ today. Positing possible answers would be labelled as ‘hate speech’. And those asking the questions and positing possible answers would be described as ‘Islamophobes’. History has truly been hijacked by the perverse politics of our times.
(The writer is a senior journalist based in Delhi)
`~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ of temples (as Marxist historians who grudgingly concede temples were indeed attacked would forcefully argue in justification of the destruction), there has to be something more. Was it polytheism that upset the early age Islamists? Was it idol worship that enraged them? Or was it simply hate and
contempt towards the conquered that drove the destructive impulse of the conquering invader?
Ironically, to ask these questions would be considered as ‘intolerance’ today. Positing possible answers would be labelled as ‘hate speech’. And those asking the questions and positing possible answers would be described as ‘Islamophobes’. History has truly been hijacked by the perverse politics of our times.
(The writer is a senior journalist based in Delhi)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Christianising India Catholic Church’s primary goal?
source :http://www.dailypioneer.com/nation/101687-christianising-india-catholic-churchs-primary-goal.html
Any attempt to derail this goal should be defeated through solidification of faith through spiritual campaigns, says a study document on protection of faith prepared as part of the Year of Faith observance by the Catholic Church
In the particular context of the strengthening of several smaller Christian sects, especially in Kerala, the document says that measures will have to be adopted to avoid the splintered sects, including the Protestants, influencing the faithful belonging to the Syro-Malabar Church. It criticizes some such sects by identifying them by their names.
“It doesn’t have any mysterious connotation,” said a Kochi-based senior priest of the Catholic Church when asked to explain the concept of Christianizing India. “There cannot be different Christs and Christian beliefs for different countries. In that sense, Indianization of Christ is impossible. It would be contrary to faith if anybody is attempting to do this,” he said.
The document, submitted to the Syro-Malabar Synod by the Syro-Malabar Doctrinal Commission under the leadership of Bishop Mar Joseph Kallarangattil, calls for controls on activities that contradict this major goal of the Church, especially in the context of the increasing tendency among the faithful to approach retreats and self-styled spiritualists.
Pointing out that it is the inertia prevalent in the parishes in matters of spiritual missions which is taking the Catholics to the splintered groups and new evangelical sects, the document says that religious teaching is essential to avoid this. It also calls for earmarking a minimum of 25 percent of the Church’s revenues for spiritual training and awareness programmes.
According to Syro-Malabar Church spokesman Father Paul Thelekkat, the Church will have to view seriously the invasion of “superstitions” into the Christian community. By superstitions, he refers to practices like consulting certain people (astrologers and spiritualists) to know of the suitability of particular times for marriage, foundation stone-laying, etc.
“The faithful among the Catholics should not fall prey to commercialization of faith in the new age,” says Fr Thelekkat, while the document admits that conservatism could not be totally neglected in the field of spirituality. However, efforts at commercialization of spiritual life cannot be allowed, says the document.
The document warns that the cultural models - in reference to things Fr Thelekkat describes - that negate Christian characteristics could lead to the loss of the believers’ faith in the Church, adding that the efforts of certain sects to put the Catholic Church in the dock in the name of cultural models.
The Kochi-based senior priest said that the Catholic Church was going through several challenges, both internally and externally. “The Pro-Life Movement was launched some time ago when the growth rate of Catholic population was falling dangerously. That is indeed a challenge. Now it is time to defend and rescue Faith from those who are commercializing it,” he said.
source:http://dawn.com/2012/10/14/smokers-corner-by-the-book/
From the Newspaper | Nadeem F. Paracha | 1 day ago
However, according to renowned scholar and educationist, Professor A. H. Nayyar, the culture and the idioms of Muslim ‘majority-ism’ (after the 1971 East Pakistan debacle) started gaining more currency in the country’s politics and, in turn, also got reflected in the educational process.
Though agreeing with Nayyar, another well known academic, Dr Rubina Saigol, however, suggests that the attempt to mould the minds of the young through textbooks started in earnest in the early 1980s.
The syllabus was redesigned and textbooks were rewritten to create a monolithic image of Pakistan as a theocratic state and Pakistani citizens as Muslim only.
According to Saigol, this clearly tells young non-Muslim students that they are excluded from the national identity.
In an extensive study conducted by Nayyar and Dr Ahmad Salim (in 2002), the following four themes emerge most strongly in history textbooks in Pakistan:
That Pakistan is for Muslims alone; the ideology of Pakistan is deeply interlinked with faith and one should never trust Hindus and India. Students should take the path of jihad and martyrdom.
Scholars like Ayesha Jalal and Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy have argued that the term ‘ideology of Pakistan’ is an after-thought; it was absent at the time of the creation of Pakistan.
According to them Jinnah never used the term ‘ideology of Pakistan’ (especially with respect to Islam).
For 15 years after the establishment of Pakistan, the term was not known to anybody.
The phrase ‘ideology of Pakistan’ has no historical basis in the Pakistan movement. It was coined much later by those political forces that needed it to sanctify their particular brand of politics: especially those religious parties that had earlier been against the creation of Pakistan.
Even though in a 1954 report Justice Munir strongly noted that Jinnah never uttered the words ‘ideology of Pakistan,’ the curriculum documents (ever since the 1980s) insist that the students be taught that the ideology of Pakistan was pronounced by the Quaid.
No textbook has ever been able to cite a single reference to Jinnah using this term.
Jinnah’s speech to the Constituent Assembly on Sept 11, 1947 is completely contrary to the so-called ‘ideology of Pakistan’ as it is presented in school history books. Nayyar, Jalal, Hoodbhoy and Saigol suggest that associated with the ‘ideology of Pakistan’ is an essential component of hate against India and Hindus.
Some time after 1971, the subject of Indo-Pakistan history was replaced with ‘Pakistan Studies,’ whose sole purpose now was to define Pakistan as an Islamic state. The students were deprived of learning about pre-Islamic history of their region. Instead, history books now started with the Arab conquest of Sindh and swiftly jumped to the Muslim conquerors from Central Asia.
Nayyar and Salim have pointed out the following examples of expression of hate in post-1971 history text books:
Hindus have always been enemies of Islam; they worship idols in temples which are very narrow and dark places; they declared the Congress rule as Hindu rule, and started to unleash terror on Muslims. The Hindus always desired to crush the Muslims as a nation and Gandhi was as an extremist.
Though still not part of the mainstream text books, another ‘enemy’ has recently been added in the shape of the ‘modern American (read Christian) crusaders.’
What’s more all history in these books is along religious lines while social, historical, material and economic causes are missing. Pakistanis are not told that the rise of Western powers in the last 500 years was mainly due to the advances made in education, science and culture. This rise was not based on military might alone, and certainly not on any overwhelming religious doctrine.
After 1979, the themes of jihad and martyrdom in textbooks became strong. In this period, history and social studies books openly eulogise jihad and martyrdom.
According to Nayyar, in Pakistan the impression one gets from textbooks on the subjects of Pakistan Studies is that the students don’t learn history, but rather a carefully crafted collection of falsehoods.
For example, in these books, Muhammad bin Qasim is declared the first Pakistani citizen. The story of the Arabs’ arrival in Sindh is recounted as the first moment of Pakistan with the glorious ascendancy of Islam.
Also a widely taught history book insists that, “Although Pakistan was created in August 1947, the present-day Pakistan has existed, as a more or less single entity, for centuries.”
A history book published in 1992 has on its cover a Muslim warrior holding a sword and charging in on a horse; and a chapter called, ‘The Enemies of Islam.’ This chapter is broken into various sections that define these enemies as being Hindus, Christians, Jews and “secularists.”
In their study, both Nayyar and Salim conclude that one should not be surprised at the irrational hate and confusion among Pakistani children after what they learn at school: a state of mind that they can carry well into their adult life as well.
===========================================
… And the abyss stared back
source :http://dawn.com/2012/09/22/and-the-abyss-stared-back/
Nadeem F. Paracha | 22nd September, 2012
It’s official: We are not a nation. We are a mob.
All those ‘think positive’ types waiting for some kind of a ‘moderate Muslim awakening’ in this country are simply deluding themselves.
No amount of your egos, resources and ‘positiveness’ invested in ‘moderatism’ such as interfaith dialogues, Sufi music, lectures by ‘moderate clerics and Islamic scholars’, and your insistence on how peaceful our faith truly is, all this won’t make an iota of a difference.
You are fighting a battle that you have already lost; simply because all the mindless violence in the name of faith in this country has been tolerated for too long, sometimes even rewarded.
Thus, who should the mad mob which loots, burns, plunders and kills in the name of God and his messenger be afraid of? Not the police, not the courts, not the media, not the government and believe me, not even the Almighty himself!
Why should they? How can they when such mobs and those who fire them up have all been playing God themselves – judging, condemning and executing everyone and everything they deem ‘unIslamic’, heretical, blasphemous and infidel, without fear, remorse, or any chance of ever being reprimanded.
This faith-driven madness is not a recent happening. It’s been accumulating for decades.
And every time it has reared its ugly head in the shape of belligerent mob violence, it has not been dealt with the help of the law but with words and gestures that actually end up justifying it.
__________________________
In 1954 the former Chief Minister of Punjab, Mumtaz Daultana, after failing to solve the problem of food shortages and unemployment in the province, encouraged rabid hordes belonging to the Jamat-e-Islami (JI) to instigate anti-Ahmadi violence just to divert the people’s anger from his failing ministership.
Though Daultana was ultimately removed from his post, soon after the commotion all those arrested for instigating the violence, damaging public property and attacking members of the Ahmadi community were released unconditionally.
Then in 1974, the popularly elected Prime Minister, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, capitulated like a man made from jelly when the JI used another round of anti-Ahmadi violence in Punjab as a way to reignite its failing fortunes and ask Bhutto to declare the besieged community as non-Muslim.
Instead of condemning mob violence, Bhutto, the great progressive democrat, did exactly what the mob demanded. As if overnight the Ahmadi community that had played a major role in the creation of Pakistan and was one of the most vigorous contributors to the new country’s economy, was reduced to becoming second-class citizens.
How many Pakistanis questioned Bhutto’s cynical move or JI’s politics of hate? None.
All that the reactionary Ziaul Haq dictatorship (1977-88) had to do was to turn such politics of hate into actual state policy, thus beginning the now consolidated Pakistani tradition of churning out a continuous flow of blood-thirsty sectarian and Islamist outfits.
But more dangerously, these policies eventually generated an ethos that promised material, political and spiritual rewards and benefits for anyone willing to become violent, self-righteous, exhibitionist and hypocritical in matters of faith.
However, once the great tyrant and mastermind of this mindset blew up somewhere over Bhawalpur in August 1988, did the democrats that replaced him reverse the tide?
Not quite.
In 1995, late Benazir Bhutto’s Interior Minister, Naseerullah Babar, was busy sitting with ISI sleuths conceiving the creation of a dreadful and barbaric force that became to be known as the Taliban.
They said they were doing this to ‘end the civil war in Afghanistan and stabilise the region,’ all the while turning a blind eye to all the atrocities being committed by their creations once they took power in Kabul.
It was thus ironic that when Benazir was brutally killed in December 2007, the killers had used the services of Pakistani Islamists who had in turn been inspired by the same Taliban that Benazir Bhutto’s interior ministry had created with the help of Saudi money and ISI expertise.
Meanwhile, the other great democrat of the 1990s, Mian Nawaz Sharif, till even about 1996, was passionately leading emotional processions to Ziaul Haq’s grave site in Islamabad and promising to ‘continue Shaheed Zia’s mission.’
Though he finally faced a few assassination attempts by members of a sectarian organisation in Punjab in the late 1990s, this didn’t stop some of his party members to hold hands with leaders of the same banned organisation in 2009!
The so-called moderates let out a sigh of relief when a military gung-ho, General Pervez Musharraf, toppled Nawaz and positioned himself as a Pakistani Attaturk.
But he would go on to only tweak the Ziaist mindset by adding to it a fresh dose of schizophrenia. Patronising material modernism, he, at the same time, fattened terrorist outfits seen as ‘friendly’ to the Pakistan military’s ‘strategic goals’ in the region, while attacking the less friendly ones so his regime could continue getting and gobbling military and economic aid from the United States in its war on terror.
This schizoid disposition not only furthered the cause and cancer of moral and material hypocrisy already ripe in the society ever since the Zia days, it is exactly the kind of societal, cultural and political schizophrenia that became the grounds on which Pakistan’s newer, freer and louder electronic media actually began building its repertoire on.
It was this media that turned armed thugs who, in 2005, had taken over a mosque and a seminary in Islamabad, into heroes.
Even though the Musharraf dictatorship had taken its sweet time to crack down on the thugs who had been harassing the city for weeks, when the crackdown finally came, TV news reporters and anchormen transformed into becoming angry, foaming mouthpieces of the thugs, enough for the Musharraf regime to not only release most of the arrested men, but to actually provide funds and helicopters to the funeral arrangements of the self-proclaimed soldiers of God.
It is also the same schizoid mindset that has given a sudden raise to the profile of men like Imran Khan. He can sound like an impassioned fusion of Chairman Mao, Z A. Bhutto, Abul Ala Maududi and the myopic mullah of your neighborhood mosque within a span of just a few sentences!
So, whom should a mob setting out to lynch a ‘blasphemer’, or to loot, burn and plunder the city in the fine name of Allah and his last prophet be afraid of? Why should they have any reason to be ashamed of?
Imagine now, after last Friday’s ugly violence when a young member of a mob would have come back home after a day of looting, burning and killing, and he must have switched on his TV.
Do you think he would have done so because he expected to hear blunt condemnation of his actions from the media and the politicians? No.
What he must have seen and heard on the idiot box were TV anchors, talk-show hosts, journalists, religious leaders, ‘experts’ and politicians, all shouting at the top of their voices and simultaneously trying to convince their audience how much more ‘ashiq (lovers) of the prophet’ they were than the next guy.
Our young mob member would have then reclined on his sofa, or chair or whatever, smug in his belief that it was he who was the biggest lover of the prophet. Unlike the talking heads he saw swearing their Ishq for Allah’s last messenger; it was him who went out to express it on the roads. But the only problem was that this raving idiot’s expression in this respect included burning, plundering and even killing.
We as a nation have for long been staring into the abyss. But what many of us believe is a vision of some kind of a Muslim reawakening is in actuality just the abyss staring right back.
As a sad Sufi would observe, in our pursuit to become one with the Almighty, we have instead become one with the abyss.
=========================================
Of Islamic VC Funds and Christian Chambers of Commerce
source :http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/reclaiming-india/entry/of-islamic-vc-funds-and-christian-chambers-of-commerce
Hidden among the news of last few days was an innocuous and brief report which I am certain most of you missed.
It talked about an “Excellence Award” for 2012 that was bestowed upon Dr Augustine F Pinto (Chairman) and Grace Pinto (MD) of the Ryan Group of Institutions by the Governor of Rajasthan, Margaret Alva.
What was interesting was not the award but the body that was honouring Dr Pinto and Grace Pinto. This organisation was the Christian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Now, up until I was alerted to this news-item, I had never heard of the “Christian Chamber of Commerce and Industry” (nor the “Excellence Award&rdquo. But it did remind me of something else I had read more than a year back. Something which I had filed in the hope to dig further when I have more time.
That something was a conference that was held in May 2011 in New Delhi on “Prospects for Islamic Venture Capital Funds in India”
As with the “Christian Chamber of Commerce and Industry”, I had never heard of “Islamic Venture Capital Funds” – either in India or elsewhere.
The news-report on the conference was largely innocuous but a few lines towards the end were revealing. They included (emphasis added):
“The fast and unhindered growth of economic disparities, regular occurrence of banking and financial crises, and stock market crashes, the world over, testify to the fact that the interest-based paradigm of banking and finance has grossly failed to ensure sustainable and inclusive economic growth.”
The article made all the right noises about “”justly inclusive economic growth”, about how the “right of doing business fairly and fearlessly” was a “humanist goal” and “social justice”. Words and phrases like “inclusive”, “humanist” and “social justice” always make me sit up and take notice. They also make me a little nervous.
For most of the time, these are but a cloak for something else – usually some kind of redistribution, or other socialism-inspired ideas. Sometimes there is not even pretence of a cloak. But I digress.
Implicit in both these news-stories was the belief or the assumption that Muslims and Christians in India (which is neither Islamic nor Christian; nor Hindu, for that matter) may need some “special” treatment since they perhaps suffer discrimination living in a non-Islamic or non-Christian country – or get sidelined in some other manner.
The first question that came to my mind when I read about the Christian Chamber of Commerce (as well as the Islamic Venture Finance Conference) was this, “What is Christian about a Chamber of Commerce? And what exactly is Islamic about an “Islamic Venture Capital Fund”?
I wondered whether an Islamic Venture Capital Fund will only invest in companies founded by Muslims. If yes, how about companies founded by Muslims where the majority stake is actually owned by non-Muslims?
Would such an explicit criteria of “selection” fall foul of anti-discrimination laws? Or are such laws only applicable when a majority faith institution or a “secular” institution begins to discriminate among applicants?
And if the Islamic Venture Capital Fund(s) would not discriminate among Muslims and non-Muslims, would they insist on the company adhering to the principles of “Islamic Finance” (whatever they may be)? And if none of this is true, then what exactly is the point of an Islamic Venture Capital Fund?
What about the Christian Chamber of Commerce? Would it welcome non-Christians? Would it charge more fees from them? Would it favour Christians over others? Or none of these?
But the most important question – which also makes me most uncomfortable - is this, “Have things now come to such a pass that each identity-based group and each “minority” in India feels compelled to organise their own narrow lobbying groups to protect their “interests” and their identities?
Where does this stop? And what does this mean for the “Idea of India”?
Questions, questions and more questions…but few answers.
Jai Hind, Jai Bharat!
P.S. In his acknowledgement speech after receiving the award, Dr Pinto “acknowledged God’s constant guidance in building one of India largest chains of privately owned schools”. Which made me wonder how much of the “success” of such minority-institutions (in particular, Catholic-faith based schools and educational groups) is due to the relative “freedom” they enjoy from government interference and controls (e.g. minority-institutions are exempt from the recent RTE legislation), as well as the generous funding they receive from abroad? More questions. Sigh.
The Terrifying Brilliance of Islam
source: http://www.scribd.com/doc/88322391/The-Terrifying-Brilliance-of-Islam
Have you ever wondered...
...why millions of Muslim men are dedicated to killing Americans? Or why so many are willing to blow themselves up to kill Israelis? Or why they are so committed to blowing up random people in Bali, London, Madrid, etc.
Islamic supremacists are doing this allover the world, attacking Westerners and their own fellow Muslims alike.Why?
Because of a doctrine.
A doctrine is a
collection
of ideas
. These could be customs, words, beliefs, etc. A religion is not a single idea; it is a collection of ideas. The collection of ideas that make up Islam makes Muslims behave and feel as they do.
Collections of ideas compete with each other in the same way that collections of cells (organisms) compete with each other. And because idea-collections compete, and because new ideas can often be added or subtracted from the collection, and because some collections gain more believers than others,collections of ideas can actually
evolve.
Let's look at how religious idea-collections evolve and compete. To begin with, let's assume we already have a religion established. It already has a holy book and millions of people are already believers.
And then there is a
slight variation
The original version had a " live and let live" attitude, and never tried to encourage its followers to get converts. But then someone comes up with the idea that if you can persuade a non-believer to become a believer, you earn some sort of spiritual merit. You are saving souls, and your chances of getting into heaven are better.
So now you have two variations on the same religion: One contains the idea that it doesn't really matter if you get any one else to join the religion. The other
motivates
its believers to persuade others to join.
After 1,000 years, which has
More Believers
?
more believers
? I'm betting on the motivated-to-spread-it version.
Let's assume, for the moment, that the motivated version gets far more followers. Does that mean it makes people happier? Or more successful? Or do they have healthier children? No. Just
because a collection of ideas success-fully gains followers does
not
mean it benefits any of the people believing those ideas.
The same is true in genetics. Contrary to common sense, a successful gene doesn't necessarily benefit the organism. It is "successful" in the sense that it has made lots of copies
of itself and is found in many organ-isms. But it may actually be harmful for the organism.
For example, if there is a gene for alcoholism, and if drinking causes someone to start having children younger than someone who doesn't
drink, over thousands of years, the alcoholism gene might be more successful (the gene makes its way into more offspring) than the non-alcoholism gene, even though it might be
bad for every individual person carrying the gene.
PMO’s China fear stalls Mountain Corps
source:http://www.dailypioneer.com/home/online-channel/360-todays-newspaper/92131-pmos-china-fear-stalls-mountain-corps.html
Driven by fear of Chinese aggression, the Army’s proposed plan to raise a mountain strike corps has run into rough weather with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) saying that such a move may send wrong signals to Beijing and escalate tension in the region.
The PMO felt that China in the last few last years has not increased its troop strength along the 4,500 km long Sino-Indian Line of Actual Control (LAC) and any accretions by India will prove counter-productive as both the countries are holding regular dialogue to resolve the vexed boundary dispute.
The rethink came about even as the Government in 2009 had approved raising of two mountain divisions (a division has more than 10,000 men) exclusively for mountain warfare in Arunachal Pradesh. One division is already raised and work is on for the second one. But the strike corps
sanctioned by the Centre last year, which was to amalgamate these two divisions with additional manpower, has been effectively put in cold storage, sources said here on Sunday.
The PMO recent directive to the Defence Ministry came after the proposal for the strike corps was scrutinised by the Finance Ministry. The PMO is always kept in the loop on proposals of such magnitude since the raising of the corps will cost `60,000 crore and have bearing on international relations.
Incidentally, Chinese Defence Minister General Liang Guanglie is in India and will hold talks with Defence Minister AK Antony on the entire gamut of military relations here on Tuesday.
Justifying the need for strike corps, sources said China has improved its military infrastructure all along the LAC and Tibet backed by excellent sensors and radars and therefore, did not need to have troops on the ground to guard its territory. Enjoying this advantage over India, China has not increased its troop strength in the last few years.
However, India lacks infrastructure including roads, rail and airfields and has to maintain its presence in the Ladakh region and Arunachal Pradesh throughout the year. While China has built more than a 10,000 km long rail
network and airports in Tibet region and can rush troops and maintain logistical support in case of an eventuality, India is way behind and troops have to be physically present there.
The Finance Ministry has also asked the Defence Ministry to have a re-look at the proposed strike corps which will have more than 60,000 troops and entail massive expenditure. The strike corps was to have its own dedicated mountain artillery units, troops trained in mountain warfare, helicopters for reconnaissance and the IAF backing the corps during actual combat.
The main objective of the corps is to launch offensive in Tibet if China captured any Indian territory, sources said, adding Indian Army did not want to be forced into a Kargil-type adventure where it had to reclaim Indian territory at great cost. Moreover, the corps would have been a powerful deterrent and a strategic tool in the overall management of war and force China to have second thoughts before launching an offensive.
Having sent back the proposal, the Government asked the three service chiefs to have a joint strategy to counter China instead of one service like the Army seeking a strike corps, sources said.
The chiefs of Staff Committee comprising three service chiefs were asked to redraw a comprehensive plan to meet the growing military might of China and have more synergy between the three Services for this purpose, sources said.
Southeast Asian Muslims Among World’s Most Devout
Southeast Asia’s Muslims can be confident that when it comes to some key beliefs they are among the most devout in the world.
A Pew Research Center survey into the values, rituals and lifestyles of more than 35,000 Muslims around the world showed that the Muslims of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand were often among the most enthusiastic followers of some of the five pillars of Islam: the declaration of faith, prayer, alms giving, fasting during Ramadan and going on a pilgrimage to Mecca.
The survey, which included about 5,000 people from the region, showed that believers in Southeast Asia were more enthusiastic than those in Africa, Asia, Europe and even the Middle East in upholding most of these pillars.
Some 98% of Indonesians said they gave alms annually, followed by 93% of Malaysians and Thais. Those were among the three highest rates for charity in the world. In most other Muslim communities, less than 80% of those surveyed participated in what is called zakat.
“Annual almsgiving, which by custom is supposed to equal approximately 2.5% of a person’s total wealth, is almost as widely observed as fasting during Ramadan,” the report released earlier this month said. “In Southeast Asia and South Asia, the median of roughly nine-in-ten Muslims say they performed zakat.”
This corner of Asia also outperformed when it came to fasting during Ramadan. While most of the Muslim world enthusiastically embraces the ritual of fasting during the holy month, 99% of Malaysians and Indonesians surveyed said they did. In Asia, only Thai Muslims whttp://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2012/08/27/southeast-asian-muslims-among-worlds-most-devout/?WSJASIA_article_outbrain&obref=obnetworkere more devout, with 100% of them saying they fasted.
In Indonesia, mosque attendance is also among the highest in the world. The Pew report said 72% of Indonesians surveyed said they went to a mosque at least once a week. That compares to just 57% in Malaysia, 61% in Egypt and 44% in Turkey.
Southeast Asia ranked a bit lower when it came to daily prayers. More than 75% of those surveyed said they prayed several times a day, which is well above the average for most of Asia and the Middle East, but below most African countries.
Few of the Muslims surveyed had made it to Mecca yet: Only 6% of Southeast Asians, compared to 17% in the Middle East and northern Africa.
Interestingly, belief in angels is highest in Southeast Asia, with 99% of Indonesian Muslims, 98% of Malaysian Muslims and 91% of Thai Muslims believing in them.
Belief in powerful angels may be why few in the region think they need lucky charms. On average, Southeast Asian Muslims were among the biggest believers in witchcraft but at the same time the least likely to believe in using talismans to ward off evil or misfortune.
While around 40% of the Muslims surveyed in Pakistan and Albania believed in the protective power of charms, amulets or precious stones, less than 5% of Southeast Asian Muslims said they would use them.
“In all countries surveyed, a majority of Muslims report that they do not use magical objects to ward off evil or misfortune,” the report said. “Indeed, in 21 of 23 countries where the question was asked, fewer than three-in ten Muslims say they wear talismans or precious stones for protection".
source: http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2012/08/27/southeast-asian-muslims-among-worlds-most-devout/?WSJASIA_article_outbrain&obref=obnetwork
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Memoirs of a Hindu girl
souce:http://dawn.com/2012/08/20/memoirs-of-a-hindu-girl/
I grew up in fear – every face around me depicted nothing but fear. I am sure that the first expression on my parent’s face on my birth as a female child born to Hindu parents living in Kandhkot would have been that of fear also. Why did I bring so much fear into the lives of my parents? I grew up always wondering what is it about me that continues to terrify. But I always drew a blank. How naïve I was.
Before I knew it, the time to attend school had arrived. School was comfortable; however, there were times when I felt like an outsider, finding it difficult to gel in with rest of the majority. Perhaps the snide remarks and incidents of discrimination led me to believe that I am not one of ‘them’. Of those incidents, I still vividly remember no one eating with me and refusing to sip from the cup I drank from.
Home wasn’t very different either. My mother asked questions about my life at school and otherwise looking for answers that would somehow relinquish her from the unknown fear. Afraid to disappoint her, I realised very early in my life that my mother could not be my confidant.
Growing up was not easy.
And then it happened. The fears of my mother and many Hindu mothers like her materialised. I went out to one of the largest markets of Kandhkot and was abducted by a man I knew very well. He was none other than the guard who was responsible for safeguarding our temples.
Knowing his face well prompted me to sit with him in his car without protest, however, instead of taking me to my house he turned to an alley that I wasn’t too familiar with. Scared and unsure about what lay ahead I started screaming just to hear my abductor scream louder and threaten me. Astonished and unable to comprehend the gravity of the situation I sat still until it was time to step out of the car to a small house which looked abandoned.
We entered the house to find a large room devoid of any furniture and other bearings except for a carpet that covered the floor. I was made to sit down on the floor.
Uncertain about what was going to happen to me; my mind raced with thoughts of the recent news of the abductions and forced conversions of Hindu girls. I sat there shuddering. The realisation struck me and I could see my entire life in front of me in kaleidoscope. My mother’s fears, my father’s warnings, the alienation I felt, the yearning to be a part of the circle of friends, the search for a confidant, a friend.
My worst fears were reaffirmed when a man wearing a turban entered the room to teach me about a religion which I grew up hearing about, however, felt no urge to practise or embrace. He kept sermonising me for hours but was unable to get me to listen to him, realising that he left asking me to ponder about the true religion.
His departure did not ignite any fire for eternal glory inside me but only made me wonder why did my parents not relocate to another country when they had the chance to do so? Why did they continue to live in fear waiting for the inevitable to happen instead of making a move to safer pastures? And, what made me think that I am any different from countless girls who are forced to change their faith?
Each passing day appeared to be more and more surreal. The ritual of preaching continued for days, I lost track. Eventually, when preaching did not do the trick, my abductor threatened me.
The routine ranging from threats to persuasion and from glorifying the paradise to the wrath of God for non-believers only made me wonder: Do we not all pray to the same God — a God who is manifested in nature, colours, happiness and love? Why would he punish me for being a Hindu?
Somewhere along this relentless persuasion, came that horrifying threat of harming my family – I gave in. My approval followed a small ceremony in which I was forced to embrace Islam and later married off to the man who will always be remembered as the ‘messiah’ who for saved me from the unknown territory of sin and infidelity I was treading on.
After the ceremony, instead of receiving blessings for a happy and prosperous life ahead, I was immediately escorted to a local court where a Muslim magistrate declared my conversion and marriage in accordance with the law.
The news of my conversion and marriage to a Muslim man spread like wildfire. I dreaded the moment of meeting my parents. I never wanted to see pain and agony on their faces let alone be the reason for all their grief. Sure enough, one look at my mother made me yearn for my own death.
I wanted to tell her that I love her and that her safety was all I had in mind when I converted. I wanted to tell my father to keep my sisters safe. I wanted to tell my brothers to leave the country whilst they still could. I wanted to say much more but their silent pain and suffering made me wish if only I wasn’t born a girl, if only I wasn’t born in Pakistan, if only I had the right to be myself and practise my faith without being herded into a religion that I failed to comprehend, if only I could make them all understand that there is just one God for all, if only I could give us all an identity that we rightly deserve.
Looking at all the faces that once seemed familiar; I wondered: who am I?
I am one but share the pain of many. I am Rachna Kumari, Rinkle Kumari, Manisha Kumari and the many more Hindu girls who will be forced to convert in Pakistan. I am the fear of their families and the agony that they undergo. I am the misery of those girls who die a little every day for the injustices done to them.
I am a minority living in an intolerant society.
The writer is a Reporter at Dawn.com
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source : http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/NE-exodus-Rogue-SMSes-traced-to-HuJI-Kerala-group/Article1-916814.aspx
Cyber security agencies have apparently detected the hand of radical groups, such as the Popular Front of India (PFI) in Kerala and Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jehad al Islami (HuJI), while tracking SMSs that led to the exodus of Northeast people. They have been tracking SMSes — not all troublesome — from all sources. Of them, more than 60 million were sent on August 13 alone.
Cyber experts say it would be difficult to trace the route of these provocative text messages because hackers normally use third-party servers.
They also bounce the SMSs through several countries to avoid detection.
But they have been successful in detecting forwarding of bulk messages going viral from Bangladesh groups and PFI activists.
Some of the messages hold out communal threats of retribution for alleged atrocities on Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, a community in the Arakan state linked with Bangladesh, traditionally backed by Islamist and jihadist groups, such as the HuJI.
The Arakan state, in west Myanmar, lies on the route for supplying guns to Northeast insurgents through Cox's Bazaar, in Chittagong in the past.
The HuJI, formed by former Bangladeshi jihadists who took part in the Afghan civil war, was involved in the attack on Sheikh Hasina, now Bangladesh PM, in 2004.
The agencies, monitoring Facebook and Twitter, are also examining the possible role of the Hindu radical groups and the underworld.
The PFI, under focus with the HuJI, is largely a Kerala-based outfit, and had a role in chopping off the hand of a professor for alleged blasphemy in 2010. It was formed on December 9, 2006, after merging the Karnataka Forum of Dignity and Tamil Nadu-based Manitha Neethi Pasarai.
In February 2009, the Citizen's Forum (Goa), Community Social and Education Society (Rajasthan), Nagrik Adhikar Surakasha Samiti (West Bengal), Lilong Social Forum (Manipur) and Andhra Pradesh-based Association of Social Justice were taken into its fold.
Inheriting the operational core of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India, the PFI has a cadre of 80,000 radicals, spread over Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh West Bengal and Manipur.
Even though home secretary Raj Singh has largely put the blame on Pakistan, experts are equally convinced of internal sabotage and are trying
to find out who gained from the exodus.
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|
Situated on the northern banks of the river Brahmaputra
, Bodoland includes the Bodoland Territorial Areas District (BTAD) , which
is administered by the non-autonomous Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).
The territory consists of four districts , viz. , Kokrajhar , Baksa ,
Chirang and Udalguri , with Kokrajhar serving as the capital.
Tension among immigrants and locals has always
prevailed in the region.
2 Years ago , immigrants wanted to build a toilet for a Madrassa inside the premises
of a Kali temple in a
village named Howriapet, located in Gosaigaon sub-division. The local
people of the region got together to protest against this audacious
decision, when 2 Bengali boys who were a part of the protests, were
brutally murdered by the immigrants.
In another incident from the same area, a Muslim
boy tried to rape a girl , he was
caught by people from the village and thrashed. In the mean time, his
fellow religion arrived and as punishment, they beat him again, which lead
to his death. Now, to save themselves, they blamed the villager for the
boy’s death and ransacked not only
that village but also many adjacent villages. Local people suffered once
again.
3 months ago , again in Gosaigaon , immigrants burnt down Adivasi homes after a minor
quarrel in a bazar.
As a result, an undercurrent of tension always prevails
because of the unjustified aggression of
the immigrants. These immigrants are getting support of various
organizations such as MULTA-(Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam),
AMSU – (All Minority Student’s Union), a new fraction (ABMSU) has been
created to cater to the immigrants in Bodoland region (All Bodoland
Minority Student’s Union). These organizations are also getting government funds
to run their activities.
A few days ago, immigrants
encroached upon forest land in Fakiragram and put up a signboard
calling it an Idgah. The locals, miffed at the illegal possession of forest
land and asked them to give it up. The immigrants backed by the ABMSU,
started large scale agitations against the locals. Meanwhile,
there has also been dissent among the members of the ABMSU and the AMSU.
On 19th July, Mohibul Islam president of the
ABMSU with his colleague Abdul Siddiq Sheikh were shot at by two
unidentified gunmen riding a bike. The incident took place in a village
called Magurmari , located 3 Kms from Kokrajhar town. Amazingly, both Islam
and Sheikh were shot under the kneecap only. This incident indicates that
there was confrontation among the two student’s unions. It is also to be
noted that Mohibul Islam has many impending cases against him, which
includes charges of rape and smuggling.
As expected the
immigrants found another opportunity to blame Locals for their own
problems, and this time the Bodos earned their ire. On the evening of
20th July, a mob of immigrants murdered four persons from the Bodo
community. They were butchered beyond recognition and that
was the trigger for what has now turned into a dangerous riot.
Further, an old
Brahma Mandir , a very revered place of worship for the Bodos was burnt
down in Onthaibari , Gosaigaon. The immigrants have
been exceedingly vicious throughout the entire episode. They even tried to
snatch guns from the police and an OC was hurt during an altercation with a
mob. 400 immigrants had gathered with arms to charge towards Kokrajhar,
despite a curfew being imposed. The police took charge of the situation and
a major disaster was averted.
The violence has spread to Dhubri as well, where
immigrants burnt down a boys hostel. Immigrant’s aggression has
taken a complete anti-local turn and people from all communities are
suffering because of them. People belonging to other religions haven’t been
spared either. A mob even attacked the Rajdhani express train on 24th
July. A lot of trains have been cancelled and thousands of
passengers have been left stranded in various stations.
The violence has spread to over 400 villages in
the BTAD region. Houses have been burnt down and abandoned houses looted.
As of now, 32 people are dead and over 2 lakhs people have been rendered
homeless. To make matters worse, the violence has spread to other
parts of Assam now.
People have to live in Refugee camps in their own
country because of hostiles from a foreign land. The conditions in the
Refugee camps are extremely poor. Food supply is scarce, there are no
medicines available and if that was not enough, the security in the camps
is highly lacking. The centre has deployed 29 companies of Para-Military
forces to take control of the situation, which is turning extremely hapless
by the day.
It is high time that the local people in the region ,
irrespective of their community , come together and make sure that these
illegal immigrants and hostile aliens are put to their original place, so
that such incidents don’t occur again.
It is a gathered information from various sources..
Sayings from Khasi theology.....
"Tip Briew Tip Blei"
(Know man Know God)
"Kamai
ia ka Hok"
(Earn righteousness)
"Im Slem Mei Ri Bharat"
(Long live Bharatmata)
(Earn righteousness)
"Im Slem Mei Ri Bharat"
(Long live Bharatmata)
--
अनिच्च ! अनिच्च !! अनिच्च !!!
अनित्य ही तो है । अनित्य !! अनित्य !!!
=========================================================
Check out the following link.
As per this link, a "white paper" is being developed to prove that many inmates in jails are there because they happen to have been Muslims and thus been unfairly treated. This "white paper", an output of significant intellectual activity, is expected to come out in a 6-month time frame. The paper may have significant policy implications.
What does this group think, which can pose as a counter to this "white paper" in the offing!!
=======================================================
Secrets of RSS
(Demystifying the Sangh)
It is unfortunate that there are misconceptions and confusion in the society about Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), whose work is clean and clear like sunlight. These misconceptions are deliberately propagated by some specific narrow-minded people for their selfish interests. Because of these dogmas, a large section of the society is unaware about the unique work of RSS. There have been a few honest attempts to clear these misconceptions. Recently released book ‘Secrets of RSS (Demystifying the Sangh)’ by Ratan Sharada is one such attempt in the series. The book published by Manas Prakashan, Delhi has 264 pages.
Ratan Sharda, who has been a swayamsevak of RSS since childhood, has worked at many major posts in RSS and also for major organizations of RSS. After doing post-graduation from Mumbai University, he completed the diploma in Textile Chemistry and worked in various companies. For last 15 years, he is working as an expert in Enterprise Resource Planning. Till now, his 14 books have been published in Hindi and English.
Whenever we gather information about any organization, we compare that organization with some another similar organization that we know and on the basis of this comparison, we evaluate that particular organization. But, in the entire world, there is no organization like RSS. Hence it is obvious that comparing RSS with any other organization creates misconceptions and confusion in the mind.
Also, second important aspect of RSS is its method of work. Before taking any decision, there is a detailed discussion in RSS. Brainstorming takes place, but once the decision is taken, everybody accepts that decision as if it is their own and works with the sense of belonging. This is really a strange factor as compared to any other organization. Hence the misconception that there is secrecy in RSS started gathering ground. The third important aspect is that, in this age of gaining more publicity by working less, RSS does not beat its own drums. Because of these three factors which are impossible to be found in present time, RSS cannot be compared with any other organizations at present. RSS is incomparable and that is why some specific people are engaged in spreading misconceptions about RSS and they also have achieved success to some extent.
This has disappointed Ratan Sharada. While travelling across the globe for the sake of his profession, he noticed the brittleness of these misconceptions. In order to root out these misconceptions, the book ‘Secrets of RSS’ has been written. The language of the book is very beautiful and simple. It would prove beneficial for the people who want to clear their misconceptions about RSS.
‘Prologue’ section of the book contains two topics; ‘RSS and fight for democracy during emergency’ and ‘Major defining moments in RSS history.’ ‘The Spirit’ section has three topics viz. ‘What defines India’ ‘Need to organize Hindus’ ‘RSS prayer and its meanings’. ‘The Form’ section contains topics such as ‘RSS shakha’ ‘Supremacy of mission over self’ ‘Human relations and management training’ ‘Organisation’s structure’ ‘Inculcating values and sense of nationhood through festivals’ and ‘Institution of pracharak.’ ‘The manifestation’ part covers ‘Offshoots: Sister and associate organisations’ ‘RSS, nation and society’ ‘Current scenario.’ ‘The epilogue’ section throws light on ‘The ultimate secret’ ‘Secretiveness of the RSS and media’ and ‘Saffron terror.’ At the end of the book, in the appendix, topics such as sarsanghchalaks and their contribution in the development of RSS, ‘Chale jao’ movement of 1942, background of the ban on RSS in 1948, the correspondence with Sardar Patel, Pt Nehru, etc are highlighted.
Today, RSS has become influential in every walk of national life. Because of this, though the number of opponents increased with the false propaganda of the media, the number of people who want to understand RSS has also increased. Ratan Sharda’s book will certainly prove a boon for these people who are wandering to understand RSS.
This book is not only useful for the people who have sympathy for RSS, but it is also beneficial for swayamsevaks, also. On many occasions of discussion or a debate over RSS, swayamsevak lags behind because of incomplete information. He is aware of the falsity of the inference of such discussions, but he cannot put the side of RSS in an accurate and canvassing manner. The content of this book will certainly impart gravity to his propositions. Hence it is a worth reading book all Swayamsevaks.
...
Secrets of RSS (Demystifying the Sangh)
Author: Ratan Sharda
Publisher: Manas Publication, Delhi
Pages: 264
Price: Rs 595
source:http://rssonnet.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=160&Itemid=53
