India’s dubious Secularists

by S. Gurumurthy

Maqbool Fida Husain and Salman Rushdie are a telling comparison and contrast to capture the true character of secular India. Both are Muslims by birth. Both were born in colonial India’s Bombay Presidency. Husain, some 32 years when Rushdie was a child, died last year. Husain was an artist. Rushdie is a writer. Both had become famous, globally — Husain through his paintings and Rushdie through his writings. Husain lived all his life in India before he exiled and became a Qatari in 2006. But Rushdie lives in the UK as a British citizen. While Rushdie excited the highly sensitive Muslims to turn against him, Husain managed to irritate the not-so-sensitive Hindus. Take Husain first.

This is how Husain annoyed the soft Hindus. He used his fertile imagination and painting skills to undress all well-dressed Hindu gods, goddesses, depict them naked and used his popularity to market them. He drew a naked Goddess Lakshmi sitting on Lord Ganesha’s head. He painted Durga in sexual union with a tiger. He portrayed a naked Goddess Saraswati holding a veena. He painted a naked Parvati with her son Ganesha. He depicted a naked Hanuman, seeing a naked Sita sitting on the thigh of naked Ravana. He painted a naked Bharatmata twice — once in the shape of India with names of the states of India on her naked body, alongside a naked sadhu in the Bay of Bengal. But his art on Muslims was a telling contrast. He drew a fully clad Muslim king alongside a naked Brahmin. He completely covered, even with purdah, the Muslim women he drew, which of course included his mother and daughter. He fully attired the Muslim poets he painted.

Some Hindus, who saw his perverted art demeaning the Hindu divinities, began protesting at his exhibitions and filing criminal cases. Seeing mounting protests and cases, Husain moved out of India. The government of India, judiciary, political parties and, of course, the media, all rushed to defend Husain’s right to freedom — his right to offend Hindus and demean their gods. There were protests against Husain. But no one issued an order to kill him. No one was injured, no one was hurt and none was killed. Yet, the protests were labelled by ‘seculars’ as ‘saffron terror’.

Now come to Rushdie, a contrast. His life is living hell since he wrote his controversial book The Satanic Verses. Though living, he has, by now, died a million times since February 4, 1989 when Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fiat (fatwa) to Muslims to kill him. But, why should Khomeini order the killing of a fellow Muslim? With almost a generation gone since 1988 when Rushdie wrote the infamous book, it is time to recall some history. Rushdie’s book was about a disputed tradition in Islam. According to it, Mohammed (depicted in Rushdie’s book as Mahound) had first added three verses (Sura) in the Quran, accepting three goddesses that used to be worshipped in Mecca as divine beings, but later revoked the verses saying that Devil (Satan) had tempted him to utter the verses to appease the Meccans — so the title ‘Satanic Verses’ for the disputed verses. The Rushdie book set off violent reaction from Muslims.

Mustafa Mahmoud Mazeh blew himself up in a central London hotel while making a bomb intended to kill Rushdie in 1989. Hitoshi Igarashi, the Japanese translator of Rushdie’s book was stabbed to death in July 1991. Ettore Capriolo, the Italian translator, was stabbed and seriously injured in the same month. And Aziz Nesin, the Turkish language translator, was the target in the events that led to massacre of 37 people in July 1993. William Nygaard, a Norway publisher, was almost killed in Oslo in October 1993. In Belgium, two Muslim leaders who had opposed Khomeini’s ‘Kill Rushdie’ fiat, were killed. Two bookstores in California, and five in England, were fire-bombed. Twelve people died during rioting in Mumbai. This list does not exhaust the violence.

Starting from then and till now, Rushdie has been hitting headlines for the wrong reasons. Now again Rushdie is in the news. Rushdie had been invited to the Jaipur Literature Festival 2012, Asia’s largest, a week back. Muslims threatened agitations and Rushdie’s presence would have meant violence. So the Indian Intelligence Bureau invented an input saying that four hired assassins were roaming around to kill Rushdie. This was proved fake, calculated to prevent Rushdie from coming to India. The four participants who had read out from The Satanic Verses at the meet ran away from India to escape arrest. William Dalrymple, the festival director, got death threats. Finally, Rushdie’s video address to the Jaipur festival was dropped as, according to organisers, it risked the lives of the participants from the Muslim protesters outside.

The contrast is self-evident. Rushdie, who just wrote about a disputed tradition in Islam, was hounded for decades and is on a death threat even now, and people who had nothing to do with either the book or Rushdie have been butchered. Even today the fear of slaughter in his name haunts the world, as the Jaipur meet shows. But, all that Husain, who, in the name of freedom hurt the Hindus — “considered as the gentlest and most civilised on the earth” according to Mahatma Gandhi — faced were normal protests. The protests by Hindus against Husain were ant-bite compared to the scale of violence against Rushdie’s book, even though the hurt to the Hindu sentiments by the perverted paintings of Husain were explicit and undeniably monumental. But what is distressingly shameful is the politics of contrast. See how the secular media, parties, leaders and state glorified Husain’s right to abuse Hindu gods and goddesses to wound Hindus and how the same secular actors repeatedly decried Rushdie’s similar right to hurt Muslims. Now something even more shameful. The ‘seculars’, including the media, had ceaselessly condemned the normal protests against shows displaying Husain’s painting and pontificated to Hindus about the need for tolerance. But they wouldn’t utter a word against the violence by Muslims nor ask them to be tolerant. The reason is obvious. They are dishonest.

Muslims rightly felt offended by Rushdie’s reckless literary work. And Hindus were justly hurt by Husain’s perverted art. Muslims, highly excitable, however reacted violently. Instead of holding both Rushdie and Husain wrong, the seculars faulted Rushdie and praised Husain. Why? Because, being insensitive to Hindus and pretending to be sensitive to Muslims is enough to make one secular. QED: Such secularism is perversion — and a dangerous one.

Foiled Bangladesh Coup: Many Targets To A Single Goal – Analysis

Bhaskar Roy

Neither the investigations of nor the debates on the December, 2011 foiled coup by a group of religiously misdirected middle level army officers are over. Nor should they be. Reverting to complacency in either case can result in unmitigated disaster for the country in not too distant a future.

Although the founding father of Pakistan Mohammad Ali Jinnah had the vision of a liberal, democratic, secular and Islamic Pakistan, it never happened. Mr. Jinnah’s vision had inherent contradictions as seen from the view point of the growing Wahabi Islam promoted by an oil rich Saudi Arabia. Gradually, religion was used in Pakistan as an instrument of politics.

 In East Pakistan (Bangladesh since 1971), Islam as practiced was more liberal than that in the western wing. It had historical roots. In several sections of life, Islam and Hinduism, in their basic philosophy had many commonalities. For example, in the Mafrati (Muslim) and Baul (Hindu) devotional songs, the worship of Satya Pir and Satya Narayan or in Lalan fakir’s soul rending songs which transcended religious barriers. But over the decades since 1947, many of these societal values receded in Bangladesh.

Jinnah wanted cordial relations with India. It was a very conscious decision. India was a much larger country. He had full knowledge of India, having been a leading independence leader. And he possessed no religious bigotry. But things changed rapidly.

East Pakistan and West Pakistan started with cultural and linguistic incompatibility. Punjabi arrogance and domination did not sit well with the Bengalis of East Pakistan. And when West Pakistan did away with the fiery Bengali leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s claim to Prime Ministership of Pakistan, it pioneered the Bengalis’ fight for freedom. Bangladesh won its independence in 1971 with some assistance from India. But it was basically a movement started, owned and delivered by the people of Bangladesh.

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first Prime Minister of Bangladesh introduced a secular constitution in 1973. He created a special relationship with India. But little did he know that people close to him were plotting against him. They resented his pro-India tilt and his secular philosophy. These were time servers with Sk. Mujib, and they turned Bangladesh step by step into a country that the Sheikh did not believe in.

There have been comments in the Bangladesh media in connection with the recent coup attempt that this was an act by a few middle level officers driven by their faith, and that top level officers were not involved. Hence, it is not a matter of great concern.

This view may be simplistic and dangerous, glossing over a threat that is yet to be investigated fully. It was a group of young army officers, no one senior that a Lt. Colonel that assassinated Prime Minister Sk. Mujibur Rahman and his extended family in the early hours of August 15, 1975. Most senior army officers were not involved. In fact, the army Chief, Lt. Gen. Khaled Musharraf was also killed subsequently.

As the developments continued, it was evident that senior political leaders were involved. Top Awami League leader Khondokar Mustaq, became President in a hastily formed government. A series of killings continued, both judicial and extra-judicial. Zia-ur-Rehman, who as a major fought in the liberation war, swiftly moved up the ranks through these machinations, became army chief and the President of Bangladesh. He rehabilitated the Jamaat-e-Islami as a political party. The JEI was banned by Sk. Mujibur Rahman because of their collaboration with the Pakistani army in 1971, for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The clock was turned back 360 degrees. Pakistan became the No.1 friend – India the No.1 enemy. And the religious extremists owing full allegiance to Pakistan, returned to the political centre stage. During the BNP-JEI rule (2001-2006), it was evident to everyone that the government went out of the way to execute an acrimonious relationship with India. It was the worst period in India-Bangladesh relations. Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh took a very sagacious position. This policy was – be good to Bangladesh and hope they will reciprocate. India’s positivity went to the extent of not retaliating to the abduction and brutal killing of BSF officers by the BDR personnel. India refused to bite the bait.

Two trends of discussions noticed among BNP and JEI leaders and officials were important in the 2001–2006 period. One was to establish a federal relationship with Pakistan. Under this premise, the BNP-JEI government opened up its territory for the ISI to launch terrorist operations in India. The ISI reared and sponsored Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) and its ally the HUJI (BD), were the main instruments for this strategy.

At that time, the JEI had claimed that by 2011-12, they hoped to win majority in the parliament and establish Sharia law. To succeed, they not only spread their indoctrination work far and wide, but also began to penetrate the armed forces. JEI Amir Matiur Rahman Nizami is on record having said that 30 percent of the forces were JEI member or supporters.

The second trend was that both the JEI and the BNP concentrated on making the armed forces political. This was basically concentrated on new entrants from soldiers to officers level. Assessment of influence of political parties in the armed forces was JEI 30%, BNP 30%, Awami League 15-20%, others non-political. The only saving grace was the presence of middle to senior levels who were mainly apolitical, but maintained a low profile.

The set-back for the BNP and JEI came with the exposure of their links with and support to terrorist organizations. The country was shaken when the Jamatul Mujahidin Bangladesh (JMB) detonated synchronized explosions in August 2005 in 63 out of 64 districts in the country. From there on, the BNP-JEI’s down hill journey started. This government was close to being declared a sponsor of terrorism. The BNP was proved to be the most corrupt government ever in Bangladesh. There was no way that the BNP-JEI combine could win the December 2008 elections. The backlash from the people was too strong.

Returning to the recent coup attempt, the Hizbut Tehrir (HUT) propaganda literature emphasizes the following (i) Khilafat rule in Bangladesh (ii) anti-India propaganda calling for restoration of Islamic rule in the India (iii) to protect Muslims, urging army personnel to topple sheikh Hasina’s government which they perceive to be backed by India and the US, (iv) overseas connections. India comes out as the most prominent target. The targets are almost exactly that of the ISI in Bangladesh and India.

Most intriguing and important is the disclosure by Bangladeshi investigators that like minded terrorist organizations are co-operating with HUT to carry forward terrorist activities, and HUJI was named as one of as the partners. Has HUT, which was banned in Bangladesh only in 2009, made some readjustment in their operations doctrine in Bangladesh?

Compared to other terrorist organizations fighting for Islamic rule and cleansing western and Zionist influence and ideas in Muslim countries, HUT can be considered quite unique. Founded in 1953 in a Palestinian village in Jerusalem by Islamic scholar Taquiddin al-Nabahani, it has spread legally to many countries in the west especially the UK, US and Germany among others. It is also active in several Arab and Central Asian countries and came to Bangladesh in 2000.

HUT’s open stance avows non-violence. But at the same time it does not rule out violence in the long run as central to its goal of Caliphate (Khilafat). It sees the Hamas movement against Israel as basically misconceived, because a poorly armed movement cannot match the might of Israel. HUT would rather wait for a strong Caliphate to defeat Israel.

HUT’s philosophy may sound somewhat simple, but it is realistic. Their political advancement is based on creating a mass opinion among Muslims as a first step. The next or even concurrent step is to penetrate officers in the armed forces, political and social leaders, educated youth and professionals. The final step is to move to establish the Caliphate. With indoctrination of these sections of society who hold power and have influence over the people, success is inevitable. This strategy can be best described as a “creeping coup”.

What intrigues this observer is that while the HUT generally maintains a distance from Islamic terrorist tanzims who immediately attract the wrath of the powers that be, why are they associating with terrorist group like the HUJI, and others in Bangladesh?

The HUT strategy in Bangladesh, as reported in the local media and from briefing given to the media by the security organizations, does not reflect its established principles.

So what is it? Do the HUT’s main leaders find that Bangladesh is ripe to transit to a Caliphate? Or, are there powers inside and outside the country who have convinced them in this direction?

It may be remembered that the HUT leaders in Bangladesh are not Arabs of the Middle East, but Bangladeshis with their native characteristics and idiosyncrasies. The issue is India, Indian influence in Bangladesh, and those in Bangladesh who favour good relations with India, and secularism. It boils down to the premise laid down earlier in this article.

It is reasonable to ask how seriously is this threat being taken in Bangladesh? At a seminar addressed by army Chief, Lt. Gen. Mainul Islam in Dhaka on January 23 on the issue, it was regrettable that there was no representation from the Navy and the Air Force. Are they certain that these two arms of the Bangladeshi armed forces have not been infiltrated? Or, is no importance being given to the development?

The aim is to create chaos in the country in one way or another. Prime Minister Sk. Hasina and her government stand in the way primarily. Next, India is a sensitive issue, and can be used to provoke some people. Putting the two together can divert the people’s focus from main issues and in course, derail the war crimes trial. Importantly, after the coup attempt, internet postings have come up to foil the 1971 war crimes trials. Because, if the trials were to conclude, the top level of JEI and some from the BNP would be eliminated. Pakistan, especially the ISI, would lose their Trojan Horses in Bangladesh. It would be a major defeat for them after 1971.

Certainly, Bangladesh has suffered a series of coups and attempted coups, and still survived to pursue its original goals. The new threat is very different. It aims primarily at a genetic change among the people of Bangladesh. This is neither stated lightly, nor should it be taken lightly. The future of Bangladesh is at stake.

Courtesy: SAAG (South Asia Analysis Group) 

Practice Yoga, become a better Hindu

Yoga can wreck your body and make you fat -- at least according to New York Times science writer William Broad. Between Maureen Dowd's column back in October, "How Garbo Learned to Stand on Her Head," on Broad's upcoming book, "The Science of Yoga: The Myths and the Rewards," and Broad's own piece last week, "How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body," Broad has taken up prime journalistic real estate to grind his axe with yoga. His conclusions about yoga, however, are premised on anecdotes about asana, not yoga, and the only thing really getting fat is the gap between the popular understanding of yoga and what yoga really is.

Yoga is a combination of both physical and spiritual exercises, the key word being "combination" with an emphasis on the spiritual. Yoga is the practice of preparing oneself to yoke, unite or experience the Divine within (i.e. the individual self with the Cosmic Self). Yoga is about attaining moksha, or liberation, from worldly suffering and the cycle of birth and rebirth. Yoga is a holistic and spiritual system of living that is essential to the understanding and practice of Hinduism. What yoga is not is asana alone.

There are eight limbs of yoga:

Yama (restraints)

Niyama (observances)

Asana (posture)

Pranayama (mastery of breath)

Pratyahara (withdrawal)

Dharana (concentration)

Dhyana (meditation)

Samadhi (higher levels of meditation)

Thousands of years of sage experience have revealed that there is a rhyme and reason to the limbs and the order in which aspiring yogis are to incorporate them into their lives. But before even stepping onto the mat, it is abundantly clear that the contortion circus many yoga magazines and classes appear to be, as well as the instances from which Broad draws his conclusions, are in direct opposition to key principles of the first two limbs of yoga -- the yama of ahimsa, meaning the practice of non-hurting, including oneself, and the niyama of brahmacharya, or the exercise of moderation and self-control (not just sexual).

Analyzing yoga as only exercise and then labeling it as hazardous to one's health is a false equation because yoga doesn't equal asana. And therein lies the crux of the problem of not only Broad's theses, but the secular and physical fixation in which the West -- and sometimes the East in mimicking the West -- has cloaked this ancient spiritual tradition. As a result, we are now bombarded with Naked Yoga, Hip Hop Yoga, Hot Yoga, Antigravity Yoga, Christian Yoga ... the list is long and just as ludicrous. The truth is that none of these are yoga simply because they incorporate some form of asana and say they are. What's the saying? "You can put lipstick on a pig..."

Almost three years ago, the Hindu American Foundation launched its Take Back Yoga Project (TBY). The initial aim was simple: to bring about acknowledgement of yoga's Hindu roots by highlighting not only the delinking of yoga from its spiritual framework by the yoga industry, but also the erroneous idea that yoga is primarily a physical practice based on asana. But as more than 20 million Americans dabble in "yoga" and the $6 billion yoga industry continues to bloat, the importance and scope of TBY has evolved from one of identity to that of filling in the public knowledge gap.

Just as equating yoga with only asana is a half-truth (more like a 1/8th-truth), so too is ignoring the spiritual, metaphysical Truths upon which yoga rests. Ever been to a studio which displays an Aum(Om) on its walls or a class which begins with the chanting of it? Aum, according to the Vedas (Hinduism's most sacred texts), is the primordial sound that resonated at the creation of our Universe and continues to resonate in each of us and all of existence. Ever close a session with hands at your heart and the utterance of "Namaste -- the Divine/Light in me bows to the Divine/Light in you"? Namaste encompasses the essential teachings of Hinduism that God is both immanent and transcendent and we all are inherently Divine. How about a class focused on sun salutations or Surya namaskar? Prostration to the sun was central to ancient Hindu worship and continues to be relevant. Chakras out of sync? Chakras are first mentioned in the Vedas and detailed throughout the Upanishads.

It is also problematic to approach the path of raja yoga, of which hatha and kriya yoga are a part, as a stand-alone practice. The full benefits of yoga cannot be experienced without also treading the sister paths of jnana yoga (path of knowledge), bhakti yoga (path of devotion to God) and karma yoga (path of selfess action) or the sister tradition of Ayurveda.

TBY's quest to educate the public requires being truthful about all of the aspects of yoga, even if it means that many people might steer clear of yoga or miss out on its universal physical, mental and spiritual benefits because it is rooted in "religion." But as HAF states in the position paper that formed the basis of TBY, "Hinduism, as a non-proselytizing religion, never compels practitioners of yoga to profess allegiance to the faith or convert. Yoga is a means of spiritual attainment for any and all seekers."

Ironically, while much of the yoga industry and mainstream media perpetuate the yoga is asana formula with an occasional nod to pranayama, the leadership of a number of the world's religions, such as the Vatican, warn their flock that yoga may lead one into exploring and experiencing Hindu belief and practice. I have to say, I concur. True yoga will not wreck your body or make you fat, but it may just open your heart, increase your capacity to see and be divine, and lead you towards a more pluralistic, Hindu view of life.

Minority Community in Bangladesh not safe

All over the world the minority communities are considered vulnerable. They are known to be tortured, persecuted in many ways. In addition, conservative and fundamentalist members of the majority community always show negligence, even hatred towards them.

On the other hand minority communities suffer from a kind of lack of confidence. So a group of people of minority community cannot walk with the mainstream of the society or the country. Its result is very miserable. Members of the minority community steps downwards gradually in all over the world if the government and society do not take care properly. It is also happening in Bangladesh.

The ratio of the minority community member is decreasing from the administration and business and other professions gradually. Besides that, there is another phenomenon in Bangladesh. The minority of Bangladesh cannot resist any type of discrimination and they are not organized in a positive mode; that is why if they face any trouble they leave the country and most of them go to India.

From 1947 to till date, this migrating flow is an ongoing process, especially that there are people of same religion and ethnicity in other side of the border such as in Indian province of West Bengal and parts of Assam and Tripura. So, the population of minority community basically those who belong to Hindu in religion are continuously leaving the country illegally.

But if we go through the history, we can find that, there is a glorious participation of this Hindu community member in every historical movement of Bangladesh. They are the pioneer of the freedom movement at the British regime. In fact it was Surraya Sen who first flew the Indian flag for the first time in this Indian subcontinent. Later though Indian subcontinent won the freedom struggle together, it was divided into India and Pakistan with Bangladesh remaining as a part of Pakistan. But from the very inception of Pakistan the Pakistan started treating this region as a colony. In addition, they tried to change the language of the people by declaring Urdu as a state language. Dhrendranth Dutt, the leader of a congress of the then east Bengal, and the parliament member of Pakistan protested it first and demanded that, Bengali should be the state language of East-Pakistan. So, it is historically proved that, Mr. Dutt is the leader who started the language movement first.

The father of the nation of Bangladesh, Bangabandu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman also recognized that, Mr. Dutt was the first leader who demanded Bengali as the state language of East Pakistan. From then, people of this soil started language movement which formed the basis of the freedom movement of Bangladesh.

Not only that but in the freedom movement and the freedom fight of 1971, involvement of the minority community was very high. They never thought that they were Hindu in religion and they were minority. They fought as a citizen of Bengal and they uphold the Bengali nationality. Bangladesh was created to uphold Bengali nationalism and the first constitution of Bangladesh was created to avoid all kinds of discrimination, such as religion, race and sex etc. However, Bangladesh did not run a long under this constitution. A group of military killed the founder father of the country and they imposed military rule. That military ruler changed the constitution by the military regulation and they added in the constitution discrimination of religion minority.

At a stage one of the military rulers Hussein Mohamad Earsed added to the constitution that, Islam is the state religion of Bangladesh. After this action Hindu, Buddhist and Christian of Bangladesh are declared officially minority of this country. Not only they are minority but also they face many kind of discrimination from the government. Besides that, any military government cannot establish good governance in the country. They destroy administration and judiciary. When a country suffers from the lack of good governance then vulnerable community of that country face thousands of problems. It is obvious. So after the death of Sheik Mujibur Rahman the minority community of Bangladesh is started facing many problems. But they fell in a man-made big deserter in 2001. It was a caretaker government regime.

Bangladesh had introduced a caretaker government system to hold an election. That government had only duty to hold an election and to carry out day to day works. In 2001 an election was held in Bangladesh by a caretaker government. A large number of people of Bangladesh thought that caretaker government was purchased by the international fundamentalist groups. The chief of that government, Justice Latifur Rahaman and most of his adviser, those who are in the rank of a minister worked in favor of Islamic fundamentalist. Having taken the power, Mr. Latifur Rahaman addressed to the nation as the government chief. In that speech, he mentioned very tactfully that, Hindu community in Bangladesh is 2^nd class citizen. From his speech the government official and the Islamic fundamental group understood the message. In March 1971, the Pakistan authority gave same type of signal to the Pakistani government official and the pro Pakistani elements of that soil.

After the address to nation of Latifur Rahaman, a heavy persecution came down on the Hindu community. After that, the large scale minority persecution took place on the minority community, in 2001. At that time, one of the main minority community leaders of Bangladesh said to the Prothom Alo, a vernacular daily of Bangladesh that, extremist group has started looting , raping, arson and killing the minority community all over the country but the caretaker government is not taking any steps to stop it. They are totally overlooking it. The present government of Bangladesh had setup a probe committee. They have given the report of it. That report does not express the whole picture of that incident because probe committee did not have that strength as it was just one member committee. But still according to that committee report, 18,000 thousand incidents took place that time. They killed 355 people, besides many gang rapes done.

The present government of Bangladesh has thrown out the caretaker government from constitution. They introduce that election will be held under a political government. But the Islamic Fundamental front led by Bangladesh National party (BNP) is demanding the caretaker government. Some intellectuals are in favor of this. Even then the leader of the Islamic fundamental front Khaleda Zia has appealed to the United Nation Secretary general Mr. Ban Kin Moon, to give pressure to Bangladesh government to establish a caretaker government system in Bangladesh.

So now it is a big question to the politicians, intellectual and the United Nation- do they think about the protection of the minority community in Bangladesh? Is the minority community safe under any type of caretaker government? A vulnerable community like minority is only safe under a liberal democratic government.

Courtesy: http://www.timesofassam.com/headlines/minority-community-in-bangladesh-not-safe/

Goal of COMMUNAL VIOLENCE BILL 2011- destruction of Hinduism

The bill titled “Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence Bill – 2011” has been drafted under the leadership of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. It will soon be tabled in Parliament for approval.

The bill divides Indian society in two parts: “Group” (minority community comprised of Christians and Muslims) and “Others” (majority community, meaning Hindus). This bill assumes that “Others”, the majority community of India (Hindus) are habitual perpetrators of violence and the ”Group” (Muslims and Christians) are the victims.

On the contrary, study after study has proven that Muslims have instigated many of the communal violence incidents in India. Several of these studies have been by independent and renowned juridical authorities of unimpeachable integrity. To cite an instance, Justice Tewatia’s “indisputable” report clearly states the attacks on Sabarmati Express at Godhra station on February 27, 2002 were pre-planned by a Muslim mob in which 58 Hindu women and children were roasted alive. (http://www.jaia-bharati.org/nicole-elfi/ni-godhra-ang.htm).

This bill has been drafted by National Advisory Council (NAC). The Advisory committee is a nominated body and has no constitutional status. The stated purpose of the Bill is to address the question of communal violence in the country but the extremely insidious agenda is to communalize Indian polity, create hatred against Hindus, destroy communal harmony, demonize Hindus and convert Hindus either to Christianity or Islam.

This bill seeks to perpetuate a fraud on the majority Hindu community of India. The bill’s target is implicit and sub rosa the Hindu community of India. The bill subliminally propagates abhorrence against Hindus.

Amongst the exceptionally biased and one-sided provisions of the bill are:

· If a case is registered against a Hindu, he has to prove his innocence.

· This law is applicable only when the victim is the “Group” that is, a Muslim or a Christian.

· During the trial, the court may issue orders to attach the property of the accused Hindu.

· The victim will be granted financial compensation within 30 days.

· If a Hindu loses property, is humiliated or boycotted, this law would not apply.

· If any Hindu publishes, communicates, disseminates, broadcasts, advertises by words, either spoken or written, news about communal violence he would be prosecuted for hate propaganda.

· Under this bill, if a Muslim or a Christian complains against any Hindu leader or organization that his/her feelings have been offended, that person/organization would be hauled up.

· Hindus would be prosecuted by “Communal Harmony Authority” to be set up at the state and central levels with seven members each, of which four including chairman and deputy chairman should be from the minority communities.

· All the crimes mentioned under this law are non-bailable.

High Court Advocate, P.P. Hegde has termed the bill as “dreadful”. Mr. Hegde has compared this bill to the imposition of jaziya (tax on infidels) on Hindus and Sikhs during Islamic rule in India. BJP has described it as “dangerous”. Jaya Lalitha, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu finds this bill as “Fascist”. Mamta Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal; Mayawati, Chief Minister of U.P.; and several other Chief Ministers have vehemently criticized it. None of the Opposition Parties or Hindu leaders have been consulted in this regard.

The names of the principal members of the drafting and advisory committee are as under:

I. · Najmi Waziri,

II. · P.I.Jose,

III. · Teesta Setalvad,

IV. · Farah Naqvi,

V. · Abusaleh Shariff,

VI. · Asgar Ali Engineer,

VII. · John Dayal,

VIII. · Justice Hosbet Suresh,

IX. · Kamal Faruqui,

X. · Manzoor Alam,

XI. · Maulana Niaz Farooqui,

XII. · Ram Puniyani,

XIII. · Shabnam Hashmi,

XIV. · Sister Mary Scaria,

XV. · Syed Shahabuddin,

XVI. · Aruna Roy,

XVII. · Anu Aga,

XVIII. · Farah Naqvi,

XIX. · Harsh Mander, and

XX. · Maja Daruwala

Almost all of them are either Christians, Muslims or rabid anti-Hindu Leftists. From their past actions, most of them seem to have been born with an animus against the Hindu ethos. They are notorious for their hate mongering proclivity against Hindus. They are either explicit or closet supporters of violence and discrimination against peaceable and tolerant Hindus.

In India, the Hindu population is more than 80%. Hinduism is renowned in the world as a religion of tolerance and benevolence towards other religious faiths for thousands of years. It is a part of the central doctrines of Sanatana Dharma aka Hinduism. As a testament, we can point out that minorities are today governingIndia.

UPA Chairperson Sonia (Antonia Maino) Gandhi is a devout, professing Catholic. She is of Italian origin and she is a naturalized citizen of India. At marriage, she insisted that her husband Rajiv Gandhi convert to Christianity and that her children be raised as a Christian/Catholic. Unfortunately, Sonia Gandhi has understood little of the Hindu culture of amity, tolerance, and ecumenism. Her son Rahul Gandhi is reported to have told the American ambassador Timothy Roemer in 2009 that India is facing a greater terror threat from radical Hindu groups than from Muslim militant 5^th columnists. Both, Sonia and Rahul seem to suffer from an acute case of Hindu phobia; their mindset is unwavering in trying to suffocate and suppress Hindus legally in India. The aim of this draconian bill is to achieve that goal.

It is interesting to note that Sonia Maino Gandhi’s advisors and ministers are almost all either Christians or Muslims. A.K. Anthony, Defense Minister; Salman Khurshid, Law Minister; Gulam Nabi Azad, Health Minister; Ahmed Patel, Seniormost Political Advisor; Margaret Alva, Governor of Uttarakhand; and Anil Kumar Brown, also known as "Charlie" Browne, Chief of Air Staff are amongst the most notables. According tohttp://www.hinduwisdom.info/Glimpses_XVI7.htm, even Ambika Soni, the current Information and Broadcasting Minister of India who sports a big tilak on her forehead like Sonia and Rahul, and whose name sounds like a Hindu is also a Christian. “She is also widely crticized for arm-twisting the media, and trying to gag it”. Five chief ministers in Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Kerala and Arunachal Pradesh are also devout Christians.

The noose is being tightened on Hindus. The situation for Hindus in India, in short, can be described as abysmally apocalyptic even though it is the majority religion of India. Once this bill is enacted in Parliament, a precariously perilous situation will arise for Hindus. Hindus must scrutinize and examine the threat emanating from this fraudulent bill. This bill is downright dangerous for the unity and integrity of India.

It is essential that we should immediately unleash a propaganda blitz in print and electronic media, highlighting the disastrous and deleterious impact the Communal Violence Bill will have on the body politic of India and its majority Hindu civilization.

The survival of Hindus is at stake. Our future generation will not forgive us if we just succumb under pressure and keep watching from sidelines as a spectator or act like a referee. We should wake up from the deep slumber, stop internal squabbles, learn to work in unison, and come up with a solid strategy to get rid of anti-Hindu UPA government.

Rs 318 ticket to terror?

All it takes for a cross-border terrorist to travel from Bangladesh to Sealdah railway station in the heart of Kolkata is Rs 318.

According to recent state government Intelligence reports accessed by The Statesman, illegal immigrants, including certain suspected terrorists named in the report, pay a mere Rs 18 to enter Bongaon, a border village in India, through Benapole in Bangladesh. In Bongaon, the illegal immigrants pay another Rs 300 to reach Sealdah station.

Suspected terrorists from the Pakistan-based militant group Harkat-ul-Mujahiddin are using this "safe route" to enter India, paying the fee to touts who safely transport them to their destinations. From Sealdah, these individuals can easily travel anywhere else in the country.

"They disperse to various parts, including Rajasthan, Punjab and Assam," says the report. "But most of these trespassers prefer to go to Malda town first." A senior intelligence official said: "Before venturing out to the rest of the country it is easy for the suspected terrorists to find a hideout in Malda. Also, it is easy to enter rural Malda via Kolkata after carrying out terrorist activities elsewhere in the country."

Reports that terrorists use Kolkata as a transit route are nothing new. Back in 2010, Calcutta High Court, worried about the security of the general public in West Bengal, expressed concerns that the state was becoming a "safe haven for terrorists."

According to Intelligence experts, more than 74 "terror masterminds” from Bangladesh are hiding in and operate from various Indian cities. Interpol has already issued arrest warrants for most of them.

Central Intelligence agencies have received specific information, the official said, that absconding Bangladesh terrorists, including Fateh Ali, Kamrul Hassan, Kala Jahangir and Jabbar Munna, have established links with separatist and jihadist groups in Jammu and Kashmir.

Courtesy: http://thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=390625&catid=35

Muslims can practice Yoga but “OM” is blasphemous!

Every day at 7.30 am in Sardar Baug, a public garden in the Walled City area of Lal Darwaja in Ahmedabad, Muslim women in burqas and men in kurta pyjamas practise yoga. As their instructor, Chandrika Kansara, begins the session with the chanting of aum, her trainees, almost all of them Muslims, follow her with the sound of all…aah…ou.

It is an improvisation of the sound that accompanies pranayam — the breathing exercise that starts and ends a yoga session — disassociating it from religious symbolism and opening it to all.

It all began in 2004 when Naresh Patel, then additional commissioner of police (Traffic), started yoga sessions for his personnel in the Children’s Park in Sardar Baug. “Around eight to 10 Muslim women would come for morning walk. One day, they asked if they could join,” Patel, who retired in 2008, said.

Soon the number went up to 40, with Muslim men also joining the yoga classes. When they decided to say all…aah..ou instead of aum as the exhaling sound in the yogic breathing exercise, Patel saw nothing wrong.

Haji Fakiramma, a Mirzapur resident who has been attending the sessions from the beginning, says religion does not come in her way. “I see no difference between the two dhwanis as both start with a. I am a diabetic and practising yoga helps me keep my sugar level and blood pressure under control,” says the 70-year-old.

“This is above religion. I produce sound of all…aah…ou because it is like invoking Allah. It gives me more strength,” says Mehrun Patel of Shahpur.

Yoga and Islam have had a complex relationship. In 2008, top Muslim clerics in Indonesia and Malaysia decreed it “un-Islamic”.

But in India, with the recent rise in Yoga gurus, it is packaged as part of a non-allopathic cure for diseases. With Swami Ramdev and other gurus holding out Yoga for Muslims and Christians as an ‘Indian’ way of addressing — and even claiming to cure — certain lifestyle ailments, Yoga has seen a huge rise in popularity.

In 2008, Swami Ramdev even addressed imams at an all-India conference organised by Jamiat Ulema e-Hind. Then, a fatwa issued by Dar-ul-Uloom clearly stated that there was no harm in adoption of Yoga by Muslims, especially if words like Aum were substituted by ‘Allah’.

Not saying aum does not hinder the breathing practice, instructor Chandrika Kansara says. “It is an exercise to inhale more oxygen. If sound of all…aah…ou does that, so be it!” says the 54-year-old.

Courtesy:

http://www.timesofummah.com/2011/11/04/ahmedabad-muslims-find-way-around-aum-for-yoga/