Bharat Rakshak

Those who think otherwise - that there are well adjusted individuals too - are speaking the truth too : but again it is based on their own anecdotal experience.. ...

The question that is never explored is that - what are the social realities through which one gains such anecdotal experience? How many non-Muslims have long-term exposure to the inner workings of Muslim society? How many of the deniers are in such great confidence of mullahcracy and the mullahcracy's networks into Muslim society - that what is not meant for non-Muslim eyes and ears - are actually exposed to the deniers?

This is a posting from a timesofindia message board, by one "Raghavendra". Is the description accurate? Are there American talk shows that slight/insult India, and boost China, with even CEO's of multinationals( that operate profitably in India) joining in to poke fun at India? Absolutely appalling, if true.

"Recently there was a Charlie Rose talkshow here in USA. To please the Chinese guest speaker, almost all of the participants insulted India. But when an acdemic told them that India can afford her own comparatively slower space of advancement ebcause INDIA needn't change her DEMOCRACY, POLITICAL SYSTEM, CONSTITUTION, BANKING SYSTEM or CIVIL RIGHTS and has every foundational structure already in place, unlike China. So he is not very much worried about India's slow pace. At that those inimical smiling faces went blank. So take your own time, don't be pressurized by foreigners because they want to make profits immediately. Yes, if you work hard, and your grandchildren will become millionaires. That should be the target. Then if God sees your motivation, he will accelerate the pace and make you a millionaire in your lifetime. IMPORTANT: Remember, in this talkshow the CEO of Yum Brands was poking fun of India despite Indians filling his pocket through 160 KFCs and 215 Pizza Hut restaurants with their hard-earned money. Beware of foreign CEOs who smile at you and then give little worth to your money for the simple reason that you don't look like Chinese."

INDIA needn't change her DEMOCRACY, POLITICAL SYSTEM, CONSTITUTION, BANKING SYSTEM or CIVIL RIGHTS and has every foundational structure already in place, unlike China.

Relative to developed countries and some parts of the developing world, most notably sub-Saharan Africa, there are far fewer women than men in India and China. It has been argued that as many as a 100 million women could be missing. The possibility of gender bias at birth and the mistreatment of young girls are widely regarded as key explanations. We provide a decomposition of these missing women by age and cause of death. While we do not dispute the existence of severe gender bias at young ages, our computations yield some striking new findings: (1) the vast majority of missing women in India and a significant proportion of those in China are of adult age; (2) as a proportion of the total female population, the number of missing women is largest in sub-Saharan Africa, and the absolute numbers are comparable to those for India and China; (3) almost all the missing women stem from disease-by-disease comparisons and not from the changing composition of disease, as described by the epidemiological transition. Finally, using historical data, we argue that a comparable proportion of women was missing at the start of the 20th century in the United States, just as they are in India, China, and sub-Saharan Africa today

India and South Korea have targetted doubling their annual trade to $40 billion by 2015, even as they boosted defence ties and signed a pact to ease visa norms to promote greater business and people-to people to contact.Bilateral trade has risen by 65 percent over the past two years since the implementation of our Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. We have therefore set a new target of $40 billion by 2015," Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said at a joint media interaction with South Korean President Lee Myung Bak after their talks here."We also agreed to accelerate work in progress to upgrade the Agreement and make it more ambitious," added Manmohan Singh, who is on a two-day official visit to South Korea, after which he will attend the March 26-27 Nuclear Security Conference here.The talks, Manmohan Singh said, were "aimed at adding momentum and substance to our Strategic Partnership. Ours is a partnership built on shared values that provide a firm foundation for further development", adding the two leaders "agreed that our strong economic ties are fundamental to our growing interaction".

In a long chat I had with the International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde, the conversation veered around to India as an investment destination. I am now going to tie this up with a session that I moderated at the India Today Conclave, which had an eclectic panel lined up - the opposition in the form of BJP president Nitin Gadkari, the treasury benches represented by petroleum minister Jaipal Reddy, Planning Commission chief Montek Singh Ahluwalia and top-shot industrialist Sanjiv Goenka, who turned the power situation around in West Bengal. What emerged from this debate was clear and simple: there is consensus outside Parliament for getting a move on and form a bipartisan approach to leave aside populism, which has become a bane for the economy. The upshot was that growth in India is despite the government. It might be unpalatable for the politician to read or hear this bit. But this a hard fact. It now needs to be accepted in this country. Seven per cent growth can be achieved with a government on auto pilot. Now nearly eight years of failed governance is a sureshot testimony to this fact. What ails the country's polity.

dangerously rising fiscal deficit has put paid to the best laid plans of aggressive social spending. Now I bring you to Montek Singh's comment at the same conclave. 'The growth genie is out of the bottle irrespective of what the government does or does not do.'Accepting and agreeing with my prognosis, he said the economy will grow rapidly no matter what the government does, it is a private sector economy. This is the sum and substance of what 'socialitis' represents vis-a-vis governance. Socialitis is thus equal to paralysis. It could even at a pinch be a synonym for socialitis. The growth genie is out of the bottle irrespective of what the government does or does not do. Lord Indra, or the rain god, determine the tipping point. How? Well, if agriculture, which now contributes a mere 18-19 per cent to the GDP, despite close to 600 million people living off the agrarian economy, gets a good shower or two and manages to cross 4 per cent growth, then the economy gets a jump start and logs 8.5 per cent-plus. ( River Linking can fix this)Where does that leave the policy mavens and our politicos who sit in judgment on the economy? Twiddling their thumbs. This alignment of political and economic interests is crucial if India is really to get to the next level of competence. India could grow faster, but unfortunately it is satisfied and satiated with whatever it is getting. Nine per cent-plus can easily be achieved on a regular basis; we have done it in the past and this is what will create jobs. Jobless growth is a scary prospect. If India needs to monetise its demographic dividend, then it has to get a leg up by rapidly introducing serious structural reform to widen and deepen the economy. The finance ministry under Pranab Mukherjee needs to shed its socialist inhibitions and confidently bite the bullet on the issues of importWe are nearly a $2 trillion economy and growing at the speed of knots. All this without the government actually doing anything to help it chug along. Christine Lagarde had a simple comment to make on this absence of governmental support for reform. She wants India Inc to raise its voice.

Bhagyanagar (Hyderabad) : MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi of ‘MIM (Majalis Ittehadul Muslimin)’, a Muslim organization, has demanded to impose ban on processions taken out on Hindu festivals viz. ‘Ram-Navami’ and ‘Hanuman-Jayanti’. Hindu organizations are angered due to such demand by Owaisi. (In a country where Hindus are in majority, a Muslim MLA, demanding ban on processions taken out during Hindu festivals, indicates that Hindus are staying in Pakistan and not in India. Today, Muslims are demanding ban on Hindu processions; tomorrow, they will demand for demolition of Hindu temples and will, later, demand that Hindus should become either Muslims or leave their womenfolk behind. Lack of unity among Hindus is responsible for such situation and there is no alternative for Hindus to establish a Hindu Nation to change this situation. – Editor SP)

Owaisi’s anti-Hindu demand has been strongly condemned by Mr. Raja Singh, a councilor from Mangalhat area, Shiv Sena, all India Hindu Mahasabha, Janasangh Party, Ramrajya Parishad, ‘Shatdarshan’ Saints and religious leaders through releasing respective press releases. (Hindu organizations should not just stop at registering protest but they should form a strong expansive unification ! – Editor SP)

On one hand, this anti-Hindu Muslim has made a demand to ban Hindu festivals and on the other hand, he has demanded assistance from the State Congress Government for celebration of ‘Milad-Un- Nabi’, a Muslim festival on large scale. Owaisi’s MIM party is a partner in ruling Congress-led front in A.P. Both the parties jointly rule Municipal Corporation of Bhagyanagar. (Owaisi seems to be quite sure that Congress Govt. in A.P. would take no action against him even if he does anything against Hindus; therefore, he can dare to say such things. In short, Hindus need to remember that under Congress regime, the way in which Hindus genocide took place in North, in the valley of Jammu and Kashmir, similar condition would be faced even in South. Hindus now need to unite for their survival ! – Editor SP)

In old Bhagyanagar area, there is ‘goonda-raj (rule of criminals)’ of MIM. In this ‘goonda-raj’, Congress Govt. is playing equal part. Two years back, action of ‘MIM’ workers was the cause of riots in the old city. Mr. Raja Singh, the councilor of Bhagyanagar Municipal Corporation has stated that trying to create obstacles in processions of Hindus on ‘Ramnavami’ and Hanuman Jayanti by the Government will generate furor among Hindus and the Government would be responsible for the same.

Akbaruddin Owaisi’s statement has been strongly condemned by Shiv Sena, All India Hindu Mahasabha, Janasangh Party and Ramrajya Parishad in a joint meeting. If the Congress Government and MIM tried to cause obstacles, all organizations would take to road; but in any case, the procession would be taken out. No permission is required to be taken from anyone, says the joint circular letter issued by all parties. Mr. B. Mahesh Chander, the area-President of Shiv Sena chaired the meeting. The other participants of the meeting were B. Vishal Toshniwal, Bhagatram Agrawal, D. Devendra, Divyang Singh Lodh of Hindu Mahasabha, Damodar Reddy, Rajbhushan Rao, A. S. Prakash Rao and Pravin Soni etc.

Dr. Binduji Maharaj of ‘Shatdarshan Sant-Mahant Sangh’, a spiritual organization said in a meeting at ‘Nirmal Akhada’ of RSS that the demand made by Akbaruddin Owaisi was spreading venom in society and he should be arrested under National Security Act. Leaving such persons free, who are trying to provoke people, would disturb peace. Even during the program of ‘Milad-un-Nabi’, watch should be kept over Owaisi.

BJP has also protested against the statement made by Owaisi and has said, “Statement made by Owaisi will cause rift between minority and Hindus. The State Government should take stringent action against Owaisi.” (Hindus should note that none of the parties barring Shiv Sena and BJP, has protested against the statement of Owaisi. Congress rulers and Opposition party viz. Telugu Desam are keeping quiet on the issue. Hindus should undertake a strong fight, in lawful manner, for protecting their rights; else their existence will be in danger. – Editor SP)

Akbaruddin Owaisi (Hyderabad MLA) has made a statement that processions taken out on Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanthi should be banned.

Dear Hon. Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (His Excellency Sri. Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy)

Jai Hind and Ugadi Greetings.

We humbly urge you to affirm Hyderabad's Union with India by removing the Ban on Ram Navami Celebrations in 2012.

We request the Hon. Chief Minister to take immediate action to release the festival organiser Sri. Raja Singh (Hon. Corporator, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation) who has been arrested under false charges with the aim of deterring peace-loving citizens from holding the festive Shri Ram Navami procession in the city on April 1, 2012.

We urge the Government of Andhra Pradesh to not suppress the legitimate voice and religious festivities of the peace-loving Hindu community (89% of the state’s population) due to undue political pressure exerted by the fundamentalist Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), whose support-base is limited to only the extremist fringes of the Muslim community (9% of the state’s population).

We also humbly remind the Hon. Chief Minister that in 2011, the “Shobha Yatra” (Sri Ram Navami Procession in Hyderabad), passed off peacefully without any untoward incident. So, there is no excuse to either ban the procession in 2012 or arrest the organisers.

We implore the Hon. Chief Minister to take immediate cognisance of the fact that Andhra Pradesh exists today in its present form as a spiritual legacy of Saint Bhadrachala Ramadas, Poet Tallapaka Annamacharya, Swami Ramananda Teertha and Vijayanagara Emperor “Andhra Bhoja” Sri Krishna Deva Raya. All of our state’s luminous personalities revered Sri Rama as an incarnation of Lord Venkateshwara whose blessings will always be with only those who side with Dharma. Will they condone the banning of festive Shri Ram Navami procession in Hyderabad city on April 1, 2012 ?

We request the Hon. Chief Minister to direct the police officials to stop pandering to extremist Jihadi elements by willfully turning a blind eye towards MIM terror and take immediate steps to prevent the atrocities being committed by these extremist culprits on those Lakhs of Indian citizens and who refuse to kowtow to the Talibanisation of Hyderabad.

We gently remind the Government of Andhra Pradesh to revisit history and remember how these treacherous Razakars of MIM had unleashed a terrorist movement starting in 1947 and killed thousands of civilians and soldiers to prevent Hyderabad from joining India.

For the Government of Andhra Pradesh to be held hostage and to abjectly surrender before the thuggish diktats of the same MIM makes us wonder if Hyderabad is within India or if Hyderabad is a separate country where Indian laws are not applicable.

Banning the Sri Ram Navami Procession is highly blasphemous and is akin to banning the Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi procession (commemorating the birthday of Prophet Mohammad) or banning the Moharram procession (mourning the death of Imam Hussein) – neither of which have been actually banned or obstructed by state officials in Hyderabad. On the other hand, the MIM has demanded state funding of a much grander Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi celebrations this year, which is likely to be officially approved.

So, why are the Telugu-speaking Hindus being officially discriminated against and that too, openly? The Hindus of Hyderabad only demand an equal right to celebrate their sacred festivals and festive processions with the same religious freedom and official protection that the Muslims have. Is that asking for too much, sir?

Therefore, we demand justice for Sri. Raja Singh and official permission for the Shri Ram Navami procession.

We also request that Sri. Raja Singh be released immediately from the jail, where notorious Muslim criminals have also been lodged. It is a conspiracy of the MIM to keep Sri. Raja Singh in jail and to have him tortured and killed by these notorious Muslim criminals, in order to silence the voice of patriotic Indians in Hyderabad.

Given the religious nature of this issue, we do not expect fair-play or professional neutrality from Mr. Jaffer Javed (Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police) whose team is currently interrogating Sri. Raja Singh on a foisted charge. We therefore request that Sri. Raja Singh be given additional security, be it in jail or outside it.

We urge an end to official abetment and collusion with fanatic Razakars of MIM who endanger India's National Security, worsen the Law and Order situation, commit wanton Atrocities on citizens, indulge in illegal possession of guns and openly violate the fundamental Human Rights enshrined in the Indian Constitution, thereby creating an adverse impact on National Security in this vulnerable region.

We request an immediate enquiry into the drastically worsening Law & Order situation in Hyderabad due to the rabid, communally inflammatory speeches of MIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi - whose blasphemous public denigration of Lord Shri Rama can be seen in this shocking video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvjsgp8Mx-I

In 2008, Akbaruddin Owaisi presented Rs 3.5 Lakh as a reward to Abdul Quadeer, the dismissed police constable who is serving life imprisonment for killing his superior officer ACP Sattaiah in Hyderabad during the communal riots of December 1990. This is unacceptable to the people of Andhra Pradesh. Please see the photograph and proof here:

http://twocircles.net/2008oct06/asadudd ... ident.html

His brother and MIM President Asaduddin Owaisi synergised with terrorist group Hezbollah in a secret location in Lebanon. This is unacceptable to the citizens of India. Please see the photographs here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/44526787@N ... otostream/

We urge you to kindly take stringent action against both the Owaisis under National Security Act (NSA) and Section 153A (spreading enmity between communities) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) to stop their repeated transgressions of the law. We wish to respectfully point out that the Government of Andhra Pradesh is duty bound by the Indian Constitution to preserve our country’s security, failing to accomplish which could prove to be quite disgraceful for the Government.

We implore you to please stop these MIM Jihadi monsters while you still can; before they grow more powerful and turn Hyderabad into another Kashmir. This will mark the beginning of a truly meaningful Ugadi or "Yuga Adi" ('the beginning of a new age') - free from MIM terror - for the citizens of Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh.

With great power comes great responsibility. The citizens of Andhra Pradesh have pinned all their hopes on your elected Government to serve the interests of the majority of the people of the state. Please do not fail us.

In conclusion, we would like to respectfully remind Your Excellency that “Dharmo Rakshati Rakshithah” (Dharma, if protected, will indeed protect you).

CC:

Hon. Governor of Andhra Pradesh (Sri. E.S.L. Narasimhan)

Hon. Home Minister, Government of Andhra Pradesh (Smt. Sabitha Indra Reddy)

Hon. Principal Secretary (Home), Government of Andhra Pradesh (Sri P.Goutham kumar, IPS)

Hon. Leader of the Opposition, Andhra Pradesh Assembly (Sri N.Chandrababu Naidu)

Hon. BJP State President and MLA (Sri G.Kishan Reddy)

Hon. Chief Justice, Supreme Court of India (Mr. Sarosh Homi Kapadia)


Thanking you,

Sincerely Yours,

[Your name]

Click Here to Sign the Petition
https://www.change.org/petitions/remove ... lebrations

And what is true of Imran is also true of seminarians of Deoband or any of the other people presenting themselves as spokesmen on Muslims' behalf who seem more interested in highlighting these culture wars than looking at the realities of lives of Muslims in the subcontinent. By the way, The Satanic Verses is a book which I would be willing to place a substantial bet that Imran Khan has not read. Back in the day when he was a playboy in London, the most common nickname for him in the London circles was ‘Im the dim'. The force of intellect which earned him that nickname is now placed at the service of his people, and its enemy, it seems is my book. If Imran really wants to argue about the literary merits of The Satanic Verses, I am happy to meet him in a debate on that subject anywhere and any time. Well, maybe not anywhere.

Now, there is a tendency to say, "That's a Western idea. That's not how we think over here." But the Indian tradition also includes from its very earliest times, very powerful defences of free expression. When Deepa Mehta and I were working on the film of Midnight's Children, one of the things that we often discussed was a text dear to our hearts, the Natya Shastra. In the Natya Shastra we see the Gods being a little bit bored in heaven and deciding they wanted entertainment. And so a play was made, about the war between Indra and the Asuras, telling how Indra used his mighty weapons to defeat the demons. When the play was performed for the Gods, the demons were offended by their portrayal. The demons felt that the work insulted them as demons. That demoness was improperly criticized. And they attacked the actors; whereupon Indra and Brahma came to the actors' defence. Gods were positioned at all four corners of the stage, and Indra declared that the stage would be a space where everything could be said and nothing could be prohibited.

So in one of the most ancient of Indian texts we find as explicit and extreme a defence of freedom of expression as you can find anywhere in the world. This is not alien to India. This is our culture, our history and our tradition which we are in danger of forgetting and we would do well to remember it.There was an article I just read in this week's The Hindu newspaper which reminds us that S. Radhakrishnan would talk about how many of the earliest texts of Hinduism do not contain the idea of the existence of God; and contemporaries of the Buddha, quoted also in this article, would say that there is no other world than this one, and would deny the idea of a divine sphere. So again, in the oldest parts of Indian culture, there is an atheistic tradition in which the ideas of blasphemy and heresy have no meaning because there is no divinity to blaspheme or be heretic against. This is our culture. This is not an imported culture. It's not alien to the Indian tradition. This is the Indian tradition, and those who say it's not are the ones who deform that tradition.
These ancient sages thought, and I think, that God is an idea that men invented to explain things they didn't understand. Or to encapsulate wisdoms that they wanted to capture. That Gods in fact are fictions. So when there's an attack by Gods or their followers on literature it's as if the fans of one work of fiction were to decide to attack another fiction. Fictions should not go to wars. There is room on the bookshelves for all of them. I remember within my living memory, an India in which my parents' generation were very very knowledgeable about the culture of Islam, Hinduism so on; but would nevertheless sit around in the evenings and tell jokes, satirise and poke fun at and debunk certain aspects of religion; and there was no sense that something shocking or wrong was being done. This was just normal, everyday conversation.The people are more sensible than their leaders. India deserves to be led better than it's being led. It deserves leaders who can bring her back to the non-sectarian, non-communal land which the nation's founders envisaged. And here, at the gatherings like this one, the idea of that India can be, not so much forged as renewed. Forged anew. And it can be done only if all of us have the ability to speak our minds. To speak freely without fears of religious or governmental reprisals. The human being, let's remember, is essentially a language animal. We are a creature which has always used language to express our most profound feelings and we are nothing without our language. The attempt to silence our tongue is not only censorship. It's also an existential crime about the kind of species that we are.

When an illustrious Indian dance company performs in New York, as the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble did at the Joyce Theater last week, we can take both pleasure and instruction from it. Music and dance operate in thrilling proximity; the visual sensuousness is in many ways exceptional; the levels of technical achievement and stylistic polish are high. Best of all we’re given a window into a culture far from our own. Dance forms all over Southeast Asia stem from the Natya Shastra, the treatise on the performing arts written between 200 B.C. and A.D. 200; more than 100 of its dance positions are illustrated in a centuries-old bas relief at the temple at Chidambaram, a number of which are precisely the same as those we see in some Indian classical forms today.
When I watched the Nrityagram performance last week, many of these positions fell into place in my mind in a way they had not early in my visit to India, when I saw the same choreography in rehearsal. Henceforth it will be interesting to recognize them with other Indian dancers. What impressed me more, however, was the boys’ youthful mastery of the basics of Odissi style. Hardly had they made their processional entrance, in single file, than in unison they demonstrated a tribhanga — a celebrated Odissi S-bend position in which dancers create a series of upward curves at knee, torso and shoulder — and contrasted it with the sculpturally square position called chowk, all amid a swaying dance of ritual invocation. These and other features make it tempting to declare that the traditions of Indian dance are in good health. When I got off the plane in Bhubaneswar, Orissa’s capital city, I was gratified to see that the main poster image for the state featured Odissi dancing. Dance and religion are still vitally connected. While in Tamil Nadu I attended the celebration of Shivaratri, the night when Shiva, god and dancer, is honored with open-air dance festivals at the temples of both Chidambaram and Thanjavur, each running for five nights. Watching the marathon of dance I felt honored to attend and in awe of a culture where dance and worship fluently interlock.

Mr. Harmeet Singh's adverse reaction to Rajiv Malhotra's book (it is too thick to be called a "review" by any reasonable standard of criticism,) clearly reveals a highly ephemeral degree of familiarity with the source material. Rather than engage with, or even understand the ideas being espoused in "Being Different"... Mr. Harmeet Singh has slipped off the book's surface on the oil slick of his own prejudices and rocketed away on a completely tangential Hindu-bashing rant.

It is therefore difficult to come up with a response to this supposed review beyond mild amusement, but here is an attempt.

Mr. Harmeet Singh gets it wrong when he says that Malhotra is attempting to elevate Dharmic tradition, by virtue of its "sanctimoniousness" (sic), beyond the reach of Western scientific analysis. Malhotra does not subvert science, but in fact welcomes scientific inquiry into Hindu traditions of yoga, ayurveda and adhyatma vidya. Modern experimentation on the biopharmacology of ayurveda, or the physiological effects of yogic practice, have been under way in scientific research institutions for decades.

Malhotra does not object to these traditions becoming the subject of scientific analysis; he does, however, insist that the end product of such analysis should not be a "cultural digestion", where credit for the "discovery" of yogic and ayurvedic benefits goes entirely to the Western scientist, with the Indian vaidya or yogi relegated to the status of a native informant or lab specimen.

The West should not be able to slice up Indian tradition at will, pick and choose what it likes and assimilate only those parts. The West should not be able to claim credit for those aspects of Indian tradition that it finds beneficial while condemning the remainder of Indian tradition as backward, heathen, oppressive, divisive, etc.

In short: Western science should not be able to simply take credit for the benefits of Dharmic Inner Science while disparaging Dharmic tradition in the same breath. Just as the Europeans should not get credit for suddenly creating 40 million square miles of valuable land out of the great blue ocean by "discovering" America one fine day in 1492.
Does Mr. Harmeet Singh disagree with this? Or is it just easier for him to continue regurgitating the standard leftist Hindu-bashing parrot-feed which appears to cloud his view of anything Dharmic? (All in the name of "reason", of course.)

Mr. Harmeet Singh gets it wrong once again, when he says that Malhotra is somehow attempting to place Dharmic tradition beyond the realm of "moral" critique by the West . Interestingly, it also appears that Mr. Harmeet Singh completely subscribes to Western standards of "morality" as the only universal "morality", because these standards apparently form the basis of his own reality-challenged diatribes against Hinduism.

Malhotra is hardly in a position to argue that the deconstruction of India through Western categories of social science and morality must stop; that is a position being spuriously attributed to him by Mr. Harmeet Singh. What Malhotra does argue in "Being Different" is that Western standards of morality are not universal; that Dharmic standards of morality also exist, that they are equally valid as ethical and spiritual tools, and that they should be used to reverse the gaze and deconstruct the West through Dharmic categories. Nowhere in the book does Malhotra claim that the Dharmic point of view is superior to Western ones by virtue of "sacredness" or "sanctity"; only that it is different, and that it deserves as much respect as it accords for being different.

Mr. Harmeet Singh, on the other hand, seems to have been taken hostage by Western universalism to such an extent that the only definitions of "morality", "science" and "reason" he considers valid are Judeo Christian ones. Through the opinions implicitly expressed in his review, he illustrates why Mr. Malhotra's book is in fact a work of dire necessity.

Finally, Mr. Harmeet Singh's assertions about "caste" demonstrate a yawning abyss of ignorance; specifically his assertion that "caste" is a specifically Hindu phenomenon and absent from other Indian religions! Perhaps "caste " is not the reason why dalit Christians must sit on different pews from high-caste Christians in the churches of South India? Maybe "caste" has nothing to do with the the rampant discrimination between Ashraf and Ajlaf Muslims?

Most laughably of all, Mr. Harmeet Singh makes the claim that Sikhism is "caste free!" I have to ask him... why, then, are about 30% of India's Sikhs considered Scheduled Castes, and eligible for affirmative action under the Indian constitution? I have to ask him, has he ever heard of Shri Guru Ravidass, and whether the Ravidassia Sikhs have ever faced any discrimination from other followers of panthic Dharma? What does Mr. Harmeet Singh say about the heinous murder of Dera Sach Khand leader Sant Rama Nand by a mob of savage butchers in an Austrian gurdwara three years ago? If Sikhism is "caste free," then what is Mr. Harmeet Singh's scientific and well-reasoned explanation for this? Just thought I'd ask!

Accommodating the Chinese

The Chinese embassy is not quite happy about the choice of accommodation for visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao, who along with his delegation, is scheduled to stay at the Oberoi Hotel. Considering that the venue of the BRICS summit is Taj Palace Hotel, they have been raising the issue of travelling back and forth and possibility of protests mid-way. They are particularly peeved since the Brazilian delegation is staying at the venue itself. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is staying at the ITC Maurya Hotel next door, and the South African delegation is staying at Taj Mansingh. The Chinese have asked for extra security at the Oberoi Hotel, and even at the Claridges Hotel where a section of their delegation is staying.

Games MPs play

If doodling during budgetary speeches is Mamata Banerjee’s forte, her party MPs are not too far behind. As Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s reply was being heard in respectful silence in the Lok Sabha on Monday, Trinamool MPs generally looked sullen, except Saugata Roy and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who, sitting next to each other, cheerfully went through at least two games of noughts and crosses . Roy looked pleased at the end but it was hard to tell from the press gallery who won.

Dilli Darbar

Even municipal elections in Delhi can have MPs from the farthest corners of the country taking a keen interest. Among the leaders pushing their candidates’ case with the Congress high command was Lakshwadeep MP Hamdullah Sayeed who reportedly was pushing for the candidature of his brother-in-law from Ballimaran. This was one instance of attempted nepotism that the Congress managed to say no to.

BACK TO PMO

THE latest addition to the Prime Minister’s Office’s (PMO) is 1987-batch Chhattisgarh cadre IAS officer B V R Subrahmanyam as Joint Secretary. He will be in-charge of key infrastructure ministries. Subrahmanyam is returning to the PMO after a stint at the World Bank — he was earlier Private Secretary to the Prime Minister in UPA-I. Incidentally, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Pulok Chatterji, who was Joint Secretary in the PMO from 2004 to 2009, also served in the World Bank in between the two postings. Subrahmanyam is replacing Punjab cadre IAS officer Vinni Mahajan, who has been appointed Principal Secretary (Health) in Punjab.

No Admission

HRD Minister Kapil Sibal’s office is almost always inundated with requests related to school admissions and seldom are these entertained. However, when a request comes from the CAG’s office it can hardly be ignored. CAG Vinod Rai is learnt to have requested admission of two students to a Kendriya Vidyalaya and wrote to Sibal to facilitate their applications through the minister’s discretionary quota in KVs. The request, however, could not be entertained. Sibal, it may be recalled, had relinquished the ministerial quota soon after taking over the ministry.

If doodling during budgetary speeches is Mamata Banerjee’s forte, her party MPs are not too far behind. As Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s reply was being heard in respectful silence in the Lok Sabha on Monday, Trinamool MPs generally looked sullen, except Saugata Roy and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who, sitting next to each other, cheerfully went through at least two games of noughts and crosses . Roy looked pleased at the end but it was hard to tell from the press gallery who won.

ATTENTION ALL

AMAZON DISCUSSION BOARD DEBATE

At the recent seminar on BD in Pondy (video yet to be uploaded), an interesting episode occurred when a German lady stood up during Q&A and said: after living in Pondy for 22 years as follower of Sri Aurobindo, she had gone back to Germany and got re-baptized as a Christian.

This was a precious moment for my research and I wanted to capture it on camera with her permission, especially since she was being very candid and explicit. She made a long statement on her experiences and reasons, which will become one of my case studies for uturns. (Somehow, the Indians at the event were embarrassed and wanted to hush up and "move on" but she and I wanted to discuss this at greater length.)

I am glad that she has sent the following message to me via a third party. I want you to understand this as it gives insights into uturners - our gurus and leaders simply have no clue and want to hush up this phenomenon. But I have hundreds of such case studies of which several typical ones representative of the broad spectrum will get featured.

Notice how she argues that digestion is for the "higher good". I have had similar explanations given to me by many "friends of dharma" over 30 years. This included one lady in Princeton who was a very interesting uturn case on digesting dharma into "western science" and who got recognized by Templeton Foundation, and this has led Prof. Mary Evelyn Tucker to produce a highly acclaimed TV series on the cosmos that is having an impact. All Hindu cosmology is removed!

The German uturner wrote as follows:

I'm always amazed, how close Christian perception and Sri Aurobindo's vision of the perfect world are and the description of the evolving divine plan behind it all. Opposed to Advaita (at least Shankara), Islam and Buddhism both these philosophies (to avoid the word 'religion')have their aim neither in a blissful void nor in a promising paradise above, but in the realization of a new earth and a new creation, a new human race as a reflection of the Divine Himself. Different images and terminology, but the core, the 'essence' is the same. Just to mention two examples: take 'Sin' for 'Death' and 'Purgatory' for 'Sadhana', God for Love. Although one should never impose the concept of one belief or ideology on another, as Rajiv put it in his talk, the similarities are striking! Of course, the frame changes according to the particular culture and time. As Richard states in his article on the 'Serenity Prayer':'The prayer stresses the importance of accomodating the vision of perfection to an imperfect world without losing the urge to improve the world with the aim of perfection.'

I entered into a profound discussion on this subject with the local priest of 'Notre Dame des Anges', Pondicherry and now here, in Tiruvannamalai, where I'm staying near the ashram, with the the priest of 'Grace and Compassion'Convent. To my surprise both of them showed great interest in my survey and comparison of Indian spiritual wisdom and Christianity and asked me to come back and continue our conversation. Fr. Savarinmuthu here had spent 4 years at the Vatican and is a doctor of theology. He told me with a cunning smile, that he had always dreamt to explore the life and spiritual wisdom of different ashrams in Tamil Nadu(in disguise of course!), but never had had the time to do so. Both priests are secretly craving for spiritual experiences and a deeper knowledge, the wisdom behind the written word, they confessed. You won't believe, the one in Pondy even admitted quite openly that he sometimes is overwhelmed by doubts(during the eucharist! Ouch!)that what he is doing and preaching is the Truth and that he is battling with contradictions inside himself and the dogma of the CC. Interesting!

I feel deep compassion and sympathy for them, because they are pushing towards a greater Truth, yet are bound by a petrified dogma and stagnant institution. They try to remain loyal , but at the same time wish to break free. And I feel the Truth doesn't lie in the persuit of some higher intellectual knowledge and philosophy, but in the emotional and psychic opening of the being. What is lacking with them and most of the common clergy, no matter of which denomination, is the direct spiritual experience and the vision of the Truth, which is a fact indeed and no illusion. Only then is it no longer a 'belief' but a reality. Maybe deep down they can sense there is something beyond, yet there is nobody to teach them how to get there. Maybe it is the call of this new consciousness that urges them to question the old and proceed to different planes? Anyway, I promised to come back with some books or excerpts, as they have only very little time to read. My priestly friend here would even like to study Rajiv's book. If you still have one spare copy left, he would be truely greatful!

This might develop into a highly exciting project and I wonder where it could lead me to? Maybe to U-turners of the opposite direction: Indian Catholic priests, who discover the wealth of their own eastern wisdom and by this gain deeper insight into the western sacred scriptures?

By the way, maybe not all spiritual U-turners kick their Indian masters but try and introduce something new and more valuable into their own traditional framework of belief in order to widen and transform? Toxic spikes are the weapons of the old world I feel and not necessary at all. There is nothing to defend and nothing to fear, everything is heading for a greater aim. There is a saying 'You are what you eat' - there may occur a subtle up-lifting of the western dogma, from the ferocious tiger to the gentle beauty. Christianity will never be able to devour Indian spirituality here in India, that's for sure, as it is a silent minority. In the West, to the concern of the institutional churches, Christianity is gradually declining, giving way to the interest and followership of Indian scriptures and gurus. Indian wisdom may get twisted, misinterpreted, adapted to western thinking and slowly devoured, but it will never totally disappear: like medicine it will be digested and assimilated of the body ('tiger'), but for its (body's)good and its transformation into something NEW and 'Suprascripture'(my own new creation:). In the end the act of devouring may turn out to be an act of the Divine and nothing of the little ego, its petty fears of extinction and its national pride. Maybe from the (hopefully!)ever remaining fundamental difference between eastern and western culture and spirituality there will rise a third, something new, more powerful but softer, more peaceful but active, more disiplined but open to change and spontaneity. When contrasts meet distinction doesn't necessarily have to dissolve, both elements can exist side by side, like in a child, which is the mixture of both his parents, in genes, looks and character, without his parents having to disappear.

Aggressive federalism

In a special edition on federalism, the RSS weekly Organiser has focused on the resurgence of regional players in the polity, alongside the apparent decline in the Centre’s authority. “The buzz of the season is the assertion of power by regional satraps. The UPA at the Centre was forced to back down on a number of important legislations, policies and diplomatic positions as a consequence of strident and debilitating pressure from regional allies.”

“Will the next government be a coalition of regional aspirations with national parties playing second fiddle,” the Organiser asks.

The Sri Lanka switch

After taking the position last week that India should not back the resolution against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council, the RSS has now turned around to back Sri Lankan Tamils and assert that the government of India should take the right action, which it did by voting for the resolution.

A statement issued in the Organiser by the RSS’s Number Two, Sarkaryavah Bhaiyyaji Joshi, dwelled on large-scale violations of human rights in northern Sri Lanka during the final stages of conflict.

“The RSS had always held that innocent civilians shouldn’t be made to suffer in the conflict of Sri Lanka and the Tamils, as equal citizens of that country, should be able to enjoy all legitimate rights along with the remaining Sinhala people. We call upon the Sri Lanka government to do the utmost to alleviate the sufferings of the Tamils in that country and also ensure proper rehabilitation, security and political rights to them,” the statement said. Only last week, the RSS had said that India should not support the US-backed UNHRC resolution, contending that it would open scope for the US to play a similar role in Kashmir and the Northeast.

Muddied waters

The latest edition of the RSS’s Hindi journal, Panchjanya, focuses on environmental issues.

The cry of the birds, the greenery in the hills and the freshness of springs and waterfalls is slowly vanishing as the pace of urbanisation and industrialisation increases, says the Panchjanya. It says that even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s official Twitter account has raised these concerns.

It draws attention to a recent Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) report, which claims that Delhi’s atmosphere has become so poisonous that 3,000 deaths occur every year. It refers to another report by the Energy Resources Institute, which flags the issue of industrial waste in the Yamuna, making lead, manganese and nickel content rise in the water. As a consequence, vegetables and fruits grown by small farms along a 22 kilometre stretch near Delhi now contain excessive amounts of these elements and are not fit for consumption.

What is more shocking, says the Panchjanya, is that there have been 276 schemes and projects to clean the Yamuna since 1993, in which a total of Rs 1,700 crore has been spent. Yet, the Yamuna waters have become dirtier and more toxic. A fresh budget of Rs 1,656 crore has been allocated by the Centre to clean the Yamuna under the Yamuna Action Plan Phase III, but one should not expect much from this plan, the Panchjanya says, adding that the Ganga suffers a similar fate.

Hundreds of women workers attached to the National Rural Employment Generation Programme Workers’ Union (NREGPWU) have taken out a massive march to the Collectorate here on Wednesday to press their various demands that include wage revision.

Communist Party of India(Marxist) district secretary, K. Ananthagopan, inaugurated the march. The union district president, A. Padmakumar, presided the meeting and secretary, R. Sanalkumar, delivered the keynote address.

Mr Ananthagopan said the wages of NREGP workers should be enhanced to Rs 200, besides providing them employment for 200 days a year.My comment - Most of these schemes no effective work is done except mud moving, so in effect these are freebees, 200 *200, is INR 40K per year for nothing

He has called upon the Government to implement the Ayyankalai Employment Guarantee Programme for urban areas introduced by the previous Left Democratic Front Government.

Mr Sanalkumar said the working hours of NREGP workers should be revised to 9 am to 4 pm and provide them an insurance cover worth Rs 1,00,000.

He said paddy farming should also be brought under the purview of NREGP as part of the food security scheme.

The Government should provide 30 kg rice to all NREGP works at a subsidised rate of one rupee a kilogram, he said.

Work for Akhilesh

The Lucknow-based weekly, Jadeed Markaz (Urdu in Devnagari), in a commentary on March 18 writes: “As soon as the vote counting finished on March 6, one witnessed something like a flood of violence. Partly, the reason for it was that in a fit of enthusiasm, Samajwadi Party (SP) workers raised a furore... Another reason was a conspiracy hatched by some district officials... But the strict posture of the young chief minister brought order among party workers with one stroke that brought a sudden change in the behaviour of the conspiring officials...”

Describing Uttar Pradesh’s new CM Akhilesh Yadav as the “sun of hope” (ummeed ka suraj), Lucknow’s daily, Aag,writes that “the youth have welcomed the announcement about the unemployment allowance. Kanya Vidya Dhan was a very popular move by the previous SP government. The present plan of giving scholarships to Muslim girl students can be taken as an extension of that plan.” The Kolkata-based daily, Azad Hind, in its editorial on March 12 writes: “Now that the son of a secular-minded leader, Mulayam Singh, has come to power, there is every hope he would never let his secularism be wounded and the thousands of young Muslims rotting in the state’s jails for years, without a hearing, would be accorded justice... and given government jobs.” The Delhi-based weekly, Nai Duniya, edited by SP leader Shahid Siddiqui (March 18), draws attention to the fact that “Akhilesh, in the first meeting of his cabinet made it clear that the promises made for Muslims were not merely for securing their votes, as has been done by the Congress for the last 64 years.”

Drama Didi

DESCRIBING West Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee’s response to the railway budget presented by Dinesh Trivedi, as “a drama of the TMC,” the daily Siasat, published from Hyderabad and Bangalore writes: “Instead of emphasising reducing the burden on railway passengers, Mamata Banerjee decided to remove her own party’s leader, Dinesh Trivedi... The people are surprised the Congress went down on its knees (ghutne tek diye) before the TMC...” Another Hyderabad daily, Munsif, in its editorial on March 20 raises a constitutional issue: “The question is whether a decision with regard to the appointment of a minister can be taken in this manner?” The daily Inquilab, published from Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Kanpur and Bareilly, in its editorial on March 20, states Mamata was unhappy with a “self-assertive” Trivedi and was looking for an opportunity get him removed from his ministerial post. Rashtriya Sahara, in its editorial on March 16, hazards a guess regarding the predicament of the prime minister following the TMC drama. It writes: “The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh might now be realising he had lost a reliable ally in the form of the Left Front for a profit-less nuclear treaty and the one with whom he forged an alliance is not letting him sit in peace...”

Budget session

THE Union budget has been criticised by almost all sections of the Urdu press: ‘Sara bojh aam aadmi par’ (the entire burden on the common man, Siasat), ‘Mehangayi barhane wala budget’ (price-raising budget, Munsif), ‘Rookha-pheeka budget’ (dry and tasteless budget, Inquilab), ‘Zindagi ho gayi garaan kuch aur’ (life has become costlier, Rashtriya Sahara), ‘Pranab dada ki mehfooz chaal’ (Pranab dada’s safe move, Rahnuma-e-Deccan), ‘Raahat kum, masaeb zyada’ (less relief, more trouble, Qaumi Tanzeem), ‘Aam budget mein aam aadmi ko hi jhatka’ (jolt to the common man in the general budget, Sahafat).

The “paltry allocation” in the budget for minorities’ welfare has drawn criticism, with some even hinting at political motives. Noted columnist, Naseem Aarfi, writes in Delhi daily, Jadeed Khabar (March 20): “The share of the Ministry of Minority Affairs is only Rs 3,135 crore, a paltry increase of Rs 385 crores (14 per cent) compared to last year’s Rs 2,750 crore. This resulted from the lack of firm decisions for minorities before the budget.” Islamuddin Mujahid, in Munsif (March 23), says: “It seems the Congress has exacted revenge on Indian Muslims following their defeat in the UP.”

If we wish to have a proper assessment of His Holiness's important role in the revival of religion we have to look back to the days of the Freedom Movement.

Being a Sannyasin he did not, he could not, enter active politics. But in his hear of hearts he supported National Freedom in the truest sense, for he wanted not only the foreigners to go, but also the foreign outlook of our people to go. He has been wearing khaddar right from the days of Gandhi's boycott of mill-cloth. Unfortunately, the freedom-fighters relegated religion to the background and made politics their sole concern. His Holiness rightly feared that by the time the freedom-fighter succeeded in getting political independence of our country, India would have heavily lost her spiritual and religious instincts. He actually warned many political leaders to this effect. But, alas, they did not feel the importance of what he said. So His Holiness himself had to work out schemes incessantly for the upkeep of religion at those critical times when politics alone was all in all. But, for his statesman like vision at the time of framing our constitution the very important articles touching religious freedom and the maintenance of religious institutions which are now happily enshrined in our Great Charter could not have been there. I wish in particular to bring to the notice of enlightened people the silent and stead fast work he did in his direction. I wish in particular to bring to the notice of enlightened people the silent and stead fast work he did in this direction. For not less than five full years, I know personally, he was immersed in the one thought of getting constitutional authority for religious freedom and the upkeep of religious institutions. I remember vividly that midnight in Melur near Kumbhakonam when he solemnly and seriously advised and warned us to take the initiative in protecting religion through the Constitution. We failed to grasp his point. Suddenly he electrified us with the stern mandate that it was high time for us to dedicate ourselves to the great task.

What happened within the next few days revealed his prophetic vision. The Parliamentary Delegation of the British Government came to India to negotiate points touching Indian Freedom an din particular to suggest a new Constitution for the nation. Except for the head of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham all other Peethadhipatis seemed to be in utter darkness about the delegation and the need to place before them convincingly our suggestions and the present and future status of religion and religious institutions. We wondered whether at all the delegation would give us an interview. Anyhow according to his instruction we sent a number of telegrams to the delegation, which as we expected wee not all responded to. But somehow His Holiness seemed to be optimistic and his optimism was a enigma to us all. The fools we were! Was he not the author of the Divine Plan?

Quite unexpectedly a telegram called me forth to Madras in connection with a different purpose. When I entered into "The Hindu" Office in Madras on that quite different errand, the late lamented Kasturi Srinivasan, the then Editor of "The Hindu", sprang a surprise over me by telling that the Parliamentary Delegation would be visiting "The Hindu" Office in the next few minutes. A tea party was arranged in honour of the delegation at the Hindu Office. And so, I stood face to face with those eminent people, who did not even reply to our numerous telegrams. The secretary of the delegation entered first and Sri Kasturi Srinivasan introduced me to him. It told him that our telegrams were not responded to. He was kind enough to advise me to place our points personally before Mr. Sorenson (M.P.) who was the most important member of the delegation. As matters were so quickly developing I had no time to prepare any written memorandum. I explained by word of mouth to Sorenson and desperate condition of our religion and religious institutions and drew his attention to His Holiness' ides of getting Constitutional safeguard for these. Sorenson was kind enough to ask me to meet him once again in Delhi.

I returned to His Holiness to break the news of this wonderful turn of events. After a little meditation His Holiness advised to prepare a memorandum touching religion as a fundamental right. Fundamental right! It was a time when not much was thought about fundamental rights in general, and still less about religious belief as a fundamental right I may not be wrong if I say that this was the birth of Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution itself.

I met Mr. Sorenson at Delhi and submitted our memorandum. He was deeply impressed with, nay moved by, His Holiness' concern of our people and for his very practical wisdom.

Of course, the Parliamentary Delegation was not a success. But the idea of enshrining religious belief as a Fundamental Right had unmistakably and unassailably and unassailably struck root, thanks to the foresight of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Paramacharya. The ball has definitely beet set rolling!

Then came the Cabinet Delegation. When we once again moved the Head of the Delegation, Sir Stafford Cripps, to our suggestion, he said that ultimately it was only the leaders of India who were going to frame the constitution, and so advised us to meet them.

Even as I recall those days, I am thrilled to think of the divine power of the Yogi then living in a remote village in the far southern part of the country. We were just instruments. It was his power that revealing itself through us.

It was the peak hour of India's Freedom Movement when nothing but politics seemed to be worth attention. Anyhow we made bold to meet Sardar Patel and spoke to him about religious freedom. He just flared up to say that Hinduism spoke with different tongues and was not fit for survival. It told him about the efforts of His Holiness to bring to the forefront the underlying unity among what seemed to be different tongues. Sardar Patel was highly impressed and said that he simply could not believe that there could be a Mathadhipati in India who did not just think in terms of his own Siddhanta but thought of the generality. he said that something could be done towards what we wished, if only we really made efforts to unify the different sects of Hinduism.

Then started our holy pilgrimage through out India to bring together all the Siddhantins and make concerted efforts. With the miraculous Tapo-sakti of His Holiness we were able to meet all the religious Heads of India, and for the first time in our history were able to bring them together under one label. "The All India Maths Conference". This coming together of religious sects gave a new strength to the plea regarding religious belief as a Fundamental Right and getting constitutional safeguard for religious institutions.

India became independent. The Constituent Assembly was set up to frame our Great Charter. In the great excitement of those days none seemed to pay any attention to religion and religious institutions as subjects to be covered by the Fundamental Rights of the Constitution. The tapasvin of Kanchi was then camping at Ambi village. He called forth eminent lawyers of Madras to suggest suitable clauses concerning religion and religious institution for inclusion in the Constitution. These great lawyers prepared lengthy clauses at great pain, but only to be rejected by the Adviser of the Constituent Assembly. The Adviser suggested a simple clause, but His Holiness's legal knowledge was superior to that of the Adviser and so he found out over subtle defects even in that simple clause. His Holiness himself made a very important change in it. The suggestion of His Holiness was welcomed by Constitutional pandits wholeheartedly with a sense of wonder at His Holiness' astonishing legal acumen.

Anyhow political leaders were not prepared to give unchecked freedom to religion and religious institutions. So this freedom was diluted by the addition of the phrase "in accordance with law'. This would mean that the State could thoroughly interfere in religion and religious institutions, because this condition would bind religious institutions with whatever new law a none-too-religious Government may bring forth. At His Holiness' behest a representation was made to, members to suitably amend the clause at the stage of the second reading. When we met Dr. Ambedkar in this connection, we did not have any hopes, because we knew of his staunch and stern views. But behold the power of Paramacharyas' penance Dr. Ambedkar told in all earnest that he was for religion and religious institutions. He declared that religion and religious institutions was split into four parts by the framers of the Constitution, so that the restrictive phrase "in accordance with law" applies only to fourth part.

Now in final form Article 26 of the Constitution reads as follows:

"...Every religious denomination or any section thereof shall have the right (A) to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes (B) to manage its own affairs in matters of religion (C) to own and acquire moveable and immovable property and (D) to administer such property in accordance with law."

If such a constitutional guarantee has been got for the independent running of religious institutions it is in no small measure due to the initiative of His Holiness Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Paramacharya. Originally the wording was only "Every religious denomination shall have the right" etc. Nobody found any discrepancy in this wording, including the august Constitution-makers. His Holiness alone saw that this was not enough. No Hindu thinks that he is first and foremost a Hindu. He thinks only a terms of his subsect. e.g., that he is a Vaishnavaite, a Saivite, a Smartha or a Saiva Siddhanthin and son on and so forth. Similarly no religious institution in India is running under the label of Hinduism. We only have Vaishnava, Saiva, Smartha, Saiva Siddhantha, etc. etc., Maths and Monasteries. So the word "religious denominations" could not have constitutional application to many of these institutions. Therefore His Holiness felt that the wording should be changed as "every religious denomination or any section thereof shall have the right, etc." His supreme will was ultimately carried out!

In all this His Holiness remained behind the screen. But he was the one moving spirit and great political leaders, eminent lawyers, distinguished parliamentarians and experienced jurists just carried out his prophetic schemes for the maintenance of our religious belief and for the constitutional safeguard for our religious institutions. This aspect which has not seen the light of the day till now deserves to be written in letters of gold in the history of our religious; perhaps also of our Constitution - making.

In particular I want to draw the attending of the public to two great incidents, which will ever remain fresh in my memory.

When we were meeting the Matadhipathis through out India, myself in company with some others, had an unforgettable audience with the then Pontiff of Sri Sringeri Sarads Peetham-Poojya Sri Chandrasekhara Bharathi. He was divine personality. Though the Head of a Math he was very often immersed in deep meditation. He appeared before us as a huge mass of divine consciousness. His very first question to us was, "Where did Shri Kamakoti Acharya perform Vyasa Puja?" We replied that it was at Madhyarjuna (Tiruvidaimarudur). His Holiness Sri Sringeri Sankaracharya made glorious reference about His Holiness. We narrated to him the politico-religious situation and about our Kanchi Kamakoti Paramacharya's efforts to unify all the religious institutions in order to make a concerted move to get constitutional safeguard for our religion. He replied with a beaming face, "Only Sri Kanchi Acharya understands the atmosphere precisely and knows what is fittest to do in the prevalent atmosphere. We all depend on what he does in this regard. We are very grateful to him. If the Hindus are able to maintain Dharma even to this extent it is primarily due to Sri Kanchi Acharya."

Then and there he called one Shri Sangameswara Sastri and ordered him to accompany us to other Maths having connection with Sri Sringeri like Theerthamukthapuri to help us in persuading those Mathadhipathis to join hand in our Paramacharya's schemes.

We returned to Sringeri after visiting these Maths and conveyed our gratitude to His Holiness Sri Sringeri Acharya. In turn His Holiness asked us to convey His gratitude to Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Acharya for his task towards religious revival.

Another incident of great importance. Originally the Drafting Committee has included religion and religious institutions in the "State List" of the Constitution. When His Holiness Sri Kanchi Acharya's attention was drawn to this he said "Religion of India is one. It does not differ on the basis of States. Similarly the religious institutions also belong to the whole of India. Therefore this item should be transferred from the State List". Though His Holiness did not put it in words, it is possible that [b]he also saw prophetically that some day even parties professing ir-religiousness may come to power in some of the States in which case religious institutions would have to suffer very badly[/b].

We conveyed the views of His Holiness to the members of the constituent Assembly, but they were afraid to take up the issue because even then Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was feeling that the Central List was overburdened. Anyhow as the Tapo-shakti of His Holiness would have it, somebody made bold in the party meeting to refer to the amendments we wanted. And the wonder of it! No less a person than Jawaharlal Nehru himself changed his opinion on the spur of the moment, and proposed that religious institutions should be included in the Concurrent List. The proposal was moved all at once. This was a very great gain, but it was a great gain for Hinduism, and for that matter, any religious which has a following in India.

From Facebook

PATNA: In a major policy decision, the Indian Railways has agreed to participate in the Trans-Asian Railway link between Europe and South East Asia via Iran, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia.