Indian Interests

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 02 Sep 2013 11:43

The Naxals already control the heartland of several states.The urban revolution is on the cards.The asinine POA by "Oily-Moily" to close the petrol bunks at night has sparked off demos.The demand is now going to increase as people will wonder whether the GOI will close bunks on alternate days as a next step! Sorry folks for giving Oily-Moily another great asinine idea,but you heard it first from moi!

PS:And then cars with odd and even numbers to ply on alternate days.It didn't work in another country where people had two cars with odd and even number plates.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 03 Sep 2013 06:29

Thanks to Austin.

Unreal times satire on Indian Movies, Politicans, and crime lords come together!!!

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/sati ... 04700.html

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 04 Sep 2013 02:51

X-post..

A summary of actions being taken by Brazil in wkae of US monitoring their communications....

Rony wrote:Brazil Angered Over Report N.S.A. Spied on President

Brazil’s government summoned the United States ambassador on Monday to respond to new revelations of American surveillance of President Dilma Rousseff and her top aides, complicating relations between the countries ahead of Ms. Rousseff’s state visit to Washington next month.

Washington has been seeking to enhance its ties with Brazil, Latin America’s largest country, by reaching out to Ms. Rousseff. Her government was already angered by previous revelations that Brazil ranked among the N.S.A.’s most spied-upon countries.

While Brazil maintains generally warm ties with the United States, resentment lingers over the repressive eavesdropping by the military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985 and the support of the United States for the coup that brought the military to power.

American officials here were put on the defensive just weeks after Secretary of State John Kerry briefly visited Brazil in August in an effort to ease tension over earlier reports describing how the N.S.A. had established a data collection center in Brasília, among the strategies the N.S.A. is said to have used to delve into Brazil’s large telecommunications hubs.

Beyond condemning American spying practices, Brazil is taking other steps. For instance, Gen. Sinclair Mayer, who runs the Brazilian Army’s science and technology department, recently told lawmakers of a plan to establish underwater Internet cables linking Brazil to Europe and Africa, reflecting an effort to reroute Internet traffic now going through the United States.

Brazil also said in August that it had chosen a French-Italian venture to build a satellite for military and civilian use, part of a bid to ensure sovereignty of important communications.

The Brazilian authorities have also ordered Brazil’s Postal Service to develop a national e-mail system allowing users to exchange encrypted messages that would presumably be harder for intelligence agencies to monitor. The new system, scheduled to begin in 2014, is intended as an alternative to American services like Gmail and Hotmail.

Cybersecurity experts have expressed skepticism, pointing to how even hackers have found ways to penetrate seemingly secure satellites and porous parts of the Internet, but Brazil is still moving ahead with the programs.

Cyber security will always be broken but no point in making it easy no? Most likely the experts are from US!

Now contrast the steps Brazil is taking versus the UPA govt in India where the NSA SS Menon on down have gmail accounts. Earlier they had hotmail accounts!!!!

Atri · Post by **Atri** » 04 Sep 2013 12:11

Fantastic lecture by Dr. subbu Swamy. Explaining the vision document of BJP.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 05 Sep 2013 21:33

We are talking more using fewer words’

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/w ... epage=true

The exhaustive, community-based work to bring all languages on record in the People’s Linguistic Survey of India also revealed the fate of the country’s multilingualism, says the project's chairperson

four years we have documented 780 languages. There are 22 Scheduled languages, 480 tribal and nomadic languages, 80 coastal languages, major regional languages not yet in the 8th Schedule (Tulu, Kutchhi, Mewati), and international languages spoken in India. The survey will be published in 50 volumes by Orient Blackswan in over a year’s time. There are State-specific volumes and volumes with national overviews on themes like Scheduled, tribal, and coastal languages; Indian languages in the diaspora and international languages in India; and, kinship, time and space, among others.
This is India’s first baseline survey through a quick, non-hierarchical, public consultation and appraisal. Unlike George Grierson’s focus on language genealogies in his pre-Independence Linguistic Survey of India, our focus was on language groups in each State to know their perceptions about their languages. Acknowledging the self-respect of all, especially fragile speech communities, as enshrined in the Constitution, was an important objective.
How many of these languages are endangered? Officially India does not acknowledge endangered languages. The 1961 Census recorded 1,652 languages. Since the 1971 Census — following the Bangladesh war when East Pakistan cited language as a reason to break away from West Pakistan — languages spoken by less than 10,000 people have been lumped as “others”. We deserve to know how many languages our country has.
What does the survey indicate about the state of Indian society?
Kinship terms are shrinking in most languages — ‘mummy’ has replaced amma, and papa, bapu. Terms for distant relations are losing ground, reflecting kinship erosion. Weakening ecological bonds are reflected in people’s inability to name surrounding trees or birds. Terms for forms of prayer are also shrinking. Interestingly, while migrations are encouraging a growing multilingualism, we are talking more using fewer words.
How fragile are India’s tribal speech communities?
In Jharkhand, where Hindi is understood by all, 16 major tribal languages are thriving. Across Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, Bhili language varieties are in ascendance, a pointer to the Bhils’ economic betterment and greater self-confidence about their language not being useless. Unlike Santhals, Mundas and Gonds, Bhils have not experienced Naxal activity. Due to some links to land-related activity, tribal languages seem reasonably intact.
Have any communities suffered a dramatic loss of language?
For coastal communities, hit adversely by changing sea farming technology, a wonderfully abundant terminology for fish and waves is of no use in inland areas. Similarly, nomadic people, formerly stigmatised as criminal tribes, try to conceal their language to get away from their stigmatised identity

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 05 Sep 2013 22:01

Atri wrote:Fantastic lecture by Dr. subbu Swamy. Explaining the vision document of BJP.

[youtube]yQdrebTcuhM[youtube]

Clear, well-articulated and well connected to current issues.

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 06 Sep 2013 02:58

^^^
Wow ! Excellent oration by Subramanyam Swami ji !

Agnimitra · Post by **Agnimitra** » 06 Sep 2013 11:25

Atri wrote:Fantastic lecture by Dr. subbu Swamy. Explaining the vision document of BJP.

Sometimes SS can lie through his teeth.

Arjun · Post by **Arjun** » 06 Sep 2013 12:11

Swamy probably meant other conditionalities on top of security/ collateral for the loan....

Agnimitra · Post by **Agnimitra** » 06 Sep 2013 12:14

Probably. But didn't sound like it.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 06 Sep 2013 22:29

Surely the title of the article,"Chidambaram saving the economy all by himself" should really read,
"Chidambaram saving the economy for himself"?

Here is a truly blasphemous statement from the CBI,has the worm -the "Congress Bureau of Investigation" really turned ?

CBI launches a bid for freedom: Agency accuses Centre of 'blasphemy' over claims it needs approval to probe babus
By Gyanant Singh and Abhishek Bhalla

PUBLISHED: 22:50 GMT, 5 September 2013

If a word can start a war, then it was uttered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Supreme Court on Thursday.

The CBI - called a "caged parrot" by the Supreme Court in May this year - launched a bold offensive against the government, describing as "blasphemous" the Centre's argument that it needed to retain the power to approve investigation against senior bureaucrats even in court-monitored cases.

The Supreme Court is monitoring the CBI probe into the coal block allocation scam that stretches from 2004 to 2009.

"The members of the Constituent Assembly said while introducing Article 32 that this court would be the guardian of the rights of people. When a constitutional court is monitoring investigation, is there a question of frivolous or vexatious probe against any person?... I think the argument is blasphemous," CBI counsel Amarendra Sharan submitted before a bench presided over by Justice R.M. Lodha.

The CBI had informed the court that the government in May turned down a request for probing a secretary-level officer in connection with the coal scam. The request was, however, later granted the next month after the bureau sought it once more.

The court therefore decided to examine the question of whether approval was at all required in court-monitored cases.

Sharan was responding to Attorney General G.E. Vahanvati's argument that the CBI needed prior sanction from the government before probing any officer of the level of Joint Secretary and above, even in court-monitored cases, to ensure that no honest officer is harassed.

Justifying the requirement of Section 6A of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act even in court-monitored cases, Vahanvati said the state had to protect honest officers against vexatious probes, and was concerned about the morale of its officers.

"State is concerned about the morale of officers… It has to see that no honest officer is unnecessarily harassed," he said.
The Supreme Court is probing whether Government permission should be required for the CBI to investigate officers above the level of Joint Secretary, even in court-monitored cases

The Supreme Court is probing whether Government permission should be required for the CBI to investigate officers above the level of Joint Secretary, even in court-monitored cases

Section 6A mandates prior approval from the government before any officer of the level of Joint Secretary and above is investigated. The bench stated that the issue was whether approval under Section 6A was required even in cases monitored by high courts and the Supreme Court.

"Are high courts and the Supreme Court not guardians of rights of people? Will they fail in their duty to protect an honest public servant?" Justice Lodha observed, while questioning the assumption drawn by Vahanvati.

"You are concerned about harassment of honest officers and the morale of officers… The question is: are these concerns not taken care of by courts?" Justice Lodha said.

More...

Forget Coalgate... Filegate is here! CBI forced to hunt for missing coal scam files while case goes unsolved
'Is this an attempt to destroy records?': Supreme Court demands answers on missing Coalgate files
As the hunt for the Coalgate files turns desperate, won't someone call the Hardy Boys?

The battle that the CBI has joined is far bigger than simply getting the freedom to probe government officials. Files crucial to the CBI probe have gone missing, and the bureau is looking at other options to access some of these crucial documents.

Sources said the CBI is looking at the possibility of approaching Coal India, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and Central Mine Planning and Design Institute (CMPDI).

"The coal ministry has not provided the documents we asked for. The investigation is stalled in cases where documents are missing. We are looking at the possibility of approaching other agencies to finish the probe and file charge sheets," said a CBI officer.

Sources indicate that the CBI might also have to register an FIR as directed by the Supreme Court if the files are not made available.

"As per the Supreme Court's direction, if the files are not found the coal ministry must file a complaint and get an FIR registered," the officer added.
ALL OUT WAR BETWEEN CENTRE AND CBI

'Other ministries join hunt for files'

By Mail Today Bureau

The coal ministry on Thursday asked other ministries to constitute search teams to facilitate probe into the missing files on coal block allocations.

"Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal on Thursday had a detailed review of availability of coal blocks allocation files in a meeting with officials of ministries of coal, power, steel, department of industrial policy and promotion and chairman of Coal India Limited and CMD of Central Mine Planning and Design Institute limited," a statement released by the ministry said.

The minister even asked the departments to utilise "weekend holidays" for the purpose of locating files sought by CBI.

The matter will be reviewed again by Coal Secretary S.K. Srivastava on September 10.

What lies ahead

Hearing on the requirement of mandatory authorisation for probe will continue on Sept 10.

CBI counsel Amarendra Sharan as well as CPIL counsel Prashant Bhushan will also make their submissions then.

The court will consider probe status after the conclusion of arguments on the issue.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/in ... z2e8Ol7qE3

vishvak · Post by **vishvak** » 06 Sep 2013 22:44

Does this sound like CBI pleading no scrutiny from the government?

This government has passed amendment against SC ruling-explicit ruling if I am not mistaken- against election of criminals. What can anyone expect?

KrishnaK · Post by **KrishnaK** » 07 Sep 2013 00:08

Subhramanyam Swamy is mostly good entertainment.

gakakkad · Post by **gakakkad** » 07 Sep 2013 09:14

swamy's probably correct...he was the commerce minister in 1991..

judging by his present performance ,i doubt mms had the intellectual calibre to get India though in 1991..

an nytimes article from 1991..

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/08/busin ... -loan.html

i can't find other articles from that era as they were the pre-internet days...

judging by his publications both, textbook and journal swamy probably could have been the architect..

harbans · Post by **harbans** » 07 Sep 2013 16:32

K. C. Singh ‏@ambkcsingh 1h

As Chief Passport Offr,1996-8, I issued, under IK Gujral orders, 2 Zubin Mehta Ind diplomatic passport. He never gave up Ind citizenship.

Also ref Geelani letter to Merkel:

http://kashmirwatch.com/news.php/2013/0 ... erkel.html

harbans · Post by **harbans** » 07 Sep 2013 17:05

Bibek Debroy ‏@bibekdebroy 6h

Have been sent these rates from Indian Parliament canteen. Tea at 1 Re, daal 1.50, chapati 1.50, dosa 4.00, biryani 8.00, fish 13.00..

harbans · Post by **harbans** » 07 Sep 2013 17:27

Excerpt from Gautiers forthcoming book: (Worth reading)

http://francoisgautier.me/2013/09/07/ch ... s-part-ii/

harbans · Post by **harbans** » 08 Sep 2013 13:42

ashutosh ‏@ashutoshibn7 17m
I repeat those who are writing anti Muslim tweets should be arrested. Unless they are put behind bars they will not change. Harmony is must.

ashutosh ‏@ashutoshibn7 39m
Great number of people on twitter claim themselves to be pro Hindutwa,write anti Muslim tweets.As per law they should be arrested.
Expand

And who posts this Fascist crap?

ashutosh
@ashutoshibn7
Managing Editor-IBN7, Anchor, Columnist . Author of Book-Anna 13 Days That Awakened India.Views personal,retweets not endorsement.
DELHI

harbans · Post by **harbans** » 08 Sep 2013 14:12

A very interesting site: Accounts by victims on 1947 Partition..site inspired by Hiroshima survivors accounts:

http://www.1947partitionarchive.org/

Varoon Shekhar · Post by **Varoon Shekhar** » 08 Sep 2013 18:36

Very good and very necessary. And more victims of terrorist violence and their family members, need to come out and describe their experiences, and let India and the rest of the world know about it. By now, there would be thousands of victims of Naxal, Islamic, Khalistani, ULFA, NNSC, assorted Manipuri outfits etc. We need to hear their stories, and how they have coped with the aftermath. If it were the US, it would be huge, and the Americans would ensure the rest of the world were aware.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 12 Sep 2013 04:10

And Bose was refused "Permit" to Build factor in india

Bose’s lesson for the ages

Likewise for Framingham’s Bose Corp., whose legendary leader, Amar Bose, 83, died earlier this month.But Bose’s son, Vanu Bose, and current and past employees and shareholders are confident that Bose Corp., once a small acoustics company that eventually grew into a $3 billion electronics powerhouse, will not only survive following the death of its founder. It may end up even surprising observers with both its longevity and future success, they say.“My father used to say that (the current) executive leadership was the best he had ever seen. It has a great culture. It will continue to innovate,” said Vanu Bose, 48, CEO of his own company, Vanu Inc. in Cambridge. “There is no doubt in my mind it will continue on.”As a private company, Bose Corp. has traditionally been secretive about its operations and ownership; Vanu Bose declined to comment on such matters.But a few things are known.In 2011, Amar Bose donated to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he taught for decades, a majority of the company’s nonvoting shares, the value of which are unknown. Under the terms of the gift, dividends from those shares will be used by MIT to advance its mission, and they cannot be sold. The school also has agreed not to participate in the company’s

harbans · Post by **harbans** » 12 Sep 2013 11:07

Need of the hour is to counter the clamor in ESL/ MSM against so called Hate Speech. The clamor for harsher laws is just a back door entry for an Anti Blashphemy law introduction in India..People hate the Truth, does that mean Truth should be subject to censureship, ban or imprisonment? Hatred is due to Cognitive dissonance in many cases, and the dissonance is removed by Truth. Next time you post that a Fatwa issued by XYZ is in consononace to Islamic tenet you will be called as inciting HAte speech even if you sepak the Truth. One cannot point out aberrations in the HK/ Hadith and enlighten people of dangers. Oppose it every step every way folks! Remember Barkha, Ashutosh, Sagarika and folks are baying for controls on SM because they get gaali's galore for the stupidity of their view points. They have a personal ego factor for them to push this thing. But in the larger picture they fail to realize this that banning Hate speech is the most stupid thing one can do. Hate speech remember is different from yelling Fire in the theater or dircetly inciting violence.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 12 Sep 2013 19:05

How can CBI accuse UPA run GOI of blashphemy? Which religion is being blashphemied?

Psecularism?

Yayavar · Post by **Yayavar** » 12 Sep 2013 22:27

harbans wrote:
Bibek Debroy ‏@bibekdebroy 6h

Have been sent these rates from Indian Parliament canteen. Tea at 1 Re, daal 1.50, chapati 1.50, dosa 4.00, biryani 8.00, fish 13.00..

Ah! maybe that was the basis of the non-sensical comments by the ministers a couple of months back. Their 'reality' was based on the Parliament canteen rates.

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 12 Sep 2013 23:05

While I cant vouch for Dr Swamys assertions on loans from IMF,he was not referring to PVNR Govts times,but to the Chandrashekhar Govt when according to Dr Swamy he persuaded US Ambassador to do heavy lifting for an IMF loan as collateral for allowing refuelling of US planes in Gulf War.

Couldnt help notice the 'needle' and banter between Dr SSwamy and Gurumurthy.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 12 Sep 2013 23:05

( Aquifers Discovered in Kenya)rajeev srinivasan ‏@RajeevSrinivasa 52m
Paleowater carbon dated to before 2000bce similarly found under dry riverbed of sarasvati on rajasthan too | http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24049800 …

Agnimitra · Post by **Agnimitra** » 12 Sep 2013 23:39

svenkat wrote:While I cant vouch for Dr Swamys assertions on loans from IMF,he was not referring to PVNR Govts times,but to the Chandrashekhar Govt when according to Dr Swamy he persuaded US Ambassador to do heavy lifting for an IMF loan as collateral for allowing refuelling of US planes in Gulf War.

Couldnt help notice the 'needle' and banter between Dr SSwamy and Gurumurthy.

I feel a little uncomfortable about SS sometimes because he has no problem going overboard with stories and conspiracy theories. Years ago after the Coimbatore blasts he had claimed that RSS people were becoming Muslims and doing this just to create a reaction and polarize.

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 13 Sep 2013 00:27

Dr Swamy has very little support in TN.His views on LTTE,tamizh chauvinist groups do not make him very popular in TN.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 13 Sep 2013 09:54

Gadfly SS is still at his best.His latest.The anointing of Mr.Modi is now just a "fromality" says a senior BJP leader.SS says,
"Om vs Rome"!

gakakkad · Post by **gakakkad** » 14 Sep 2013 09:07

SS is a mysterious character..he has somehow been present at most major landmarks in Indian History in the last 3 or 4 decades..he is extremely intelligent with advanced skills of mathematics and economics..and somehow has connections with various foreign governments ...he has demonstrated that he can play psy ops brilliantly... he has had academically brilliant publications in decent economics journals ... he singlehandedly caused more damage to UPA 2 than the entire opposition combined. and he did so without apparently having any political powers...and he did so without getting killed...con party has demonstrated ,time and again that they don't have problems in killing off enemies...and he seems to know a lot about various intelligence events that occurred following the collapse of SU...

and how the hell does he know so much ? how did he know about the 2g scam ...we know he used the RTI extensively ..but how the hell he was informed about something fishy in first place...what are his sources?

Who could the guy possibly be ? take your pick

1) a truly well meaning guy,who just happened to be at the right places at right times .

2) a crony politician who has his ways, and joins the victor..peddles half truths and conspiracy theories occasionally. a lot of what he says/knows has however been demonstrated as true..

3) a spook of a foreign intelligence agency..

4)

member of some secret underground pro/anti India group....

5) An avatar of god..

6) An avatar of asur..

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 14 Sep 2013 09:54

SS is Narad Muni , making round to check every Devta, Asura and Manushya .
Narayan, Narayan!

harbans · Post by **harbans** » 16 Sep 2013 20:27

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 16 Sep 2013 21:09

Aligarh DM mocks the sacrifice of our soldiers

Aligarh DM Rajiv Rautela mocked the sacrifice of our martyrs and called the country a nation of mourners. He also humiliated their families and implyed that they are greedy and they only look for compesation after the death of a soldier.

Hear the clip, it is far more offensive compared to what the blurb says,

With filth such as this in amongst Indians, no wonder the country is in such a state.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 17 Sep 2013 08:53

Who Milks This Cow? Tracking that species of Hindutvawadi, obsessively trolling the Net, looking for slights to the faith

Ramachandra Guha
Poor Gudha is in Pain

When, in 1984, I got my first job, at the Centre for Social Studies in Calcutta, I had to fill in a questionnaire which, among other things, asked me to denote my religion. I wrote ‘Hindu’, immediately attracting the ire of a friend who worked at the same centre. He felt that a secular state had no business asking for a person’s religion, and thus I should have left the answer blank. This friend was a Marxist, so (although he would not then recognise or admit it) he actually subscribed to a faith of his own.As I saw it, I was brought up, if loosely, in the Hindu tradition. One could still be a Hindu and not believe in—indeed, militantly oppose—caste discrimination and the subjection of women. One could be a Hindu and still be respectful of other faiths and traditions. That is what my reading of Gandhi had taught me. And if Gandhi, who in adult life did not enter a temple, and who was vilified by sants and sankaracharyas, could yet call himself a Hindu, so—when pushed—could I.Five years after this debate with a Marxist, I encountered a rather more direct challenge to my Hindu faith. I had been with a team of scholars to investigate a communal conflict in and around the town of Bhagalpur, in Bihar. The riot was sparked off by the brick worship ceremonies connected with the plans to build a Ram temple on the site of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. The ceremonies clashed with a Muslim festival, and violence broke out between young men of the two religions. The conflict spread outwards from the town into the countryside.
It’s brought me into contact with a certain kind of Indian who gets up before dawn, has a glass of cow’s milk, prays to the sun god, and begins scanning cyberspace for the day’s secular heresies.
In the 1990s and beyond, as the religious right gained in strength and importance across the country, I was making the move from academics to becoming a full-time writer. I now published fortnightly columns in two different newspapers. My brief, in each case, was very broad; I could, and did, write on history and sport apart from politics. But since these were the years in which the Sangh parivar moved from the margins to the centre of public life in India, naturally I wrote about their activities as well.
In the past two decades, I must have published some forty articles that have dealt with the politics or policies of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, or of state and central governments led or directed by them. This constitutes somewhat less than 10 per cent of my total output—that is to say, at least nine in ten of my articles have dealt with other subjects. However, it is always articles that touch on the philosophy and practice of Hindutva that attract the most attention (and anger). They have brought me into contact with a certain kind of Indian who gets up before dawn, has a glass of cow’s milk, prays to the sun god, and begins scanning cyberspace for that day’s secular heresies. If a column I write touches in any way on faith, Hinduism, Hindutva, Guru Golwalkar, Gujarat, or Ayodhya, by breakfast I have had deposited, in my inbox—or perhaps in the ‘Comments’ section of the newspaper’s own website—mails which are hurt, complaining, angry, or downright abusive. A representative sample follows:
IIt would be to your advantage if you get mentally treated before it is too late if you are suffering from a mental problem of distortions and if it is treatable and can be cured. Good luck. When muslims got a land to live out of the land that belongs to hindus of india since 2000 BC where is the need for muslims to continue to live in India and if they cannot go to there to the land given to them they should keep quiet and vote in Pakisthan elections not in India. You too can go with them to pakisthan and live there...I will be the most happiest man if a poison like you is not exist in this world. If so our country will be more safe with less one enemy.
Sometimes the mails are sent as letters to the editor of the journals where I write, with a copy mailed to me. These ostensibly impersonal rejoinders tend to be rather forceful as well. Consider these examples, where the historian is characterised as, respectively, a Naxalite sympathiser (but simultaneously a Nehru-Gandhi family loyalist), a newspaper sales agent, a covert Christian missionary, and as akin to a Swiss bank:India has been one country not in the westophilian sense but in a dharmic sense for the last thousands of years. He might not have heard about Adi Sankara who was born in Kaladi but established Mutts in the four corners of India. For him Indian spiritual unity does not exist. Guha who is a Naxalite sympathiser has got permission from Sonia (Gandhi) to use the archives at Nehru Museum to write his book and so sing the songs of the Sonia Dynasty.
Not all letters are angry or abusive. Some are written in a civil tone, yet reflect the same anxieties and (dare one say) paranoias of a certain kind of modern Hindu. A letter I received from an elderly gentleman now based in El Cerrito, California, feared that India was becoming a Muslim nation. In the 1940s, the leaders of what this man called a ‘rogue religion’ had intrigued with the British to create Pakistan; now, they sought by demographic means to convert the already balkanised motherland into another Islamic state. “Afghanistan,” wrote my Californian correspondent, “was once a 100 per cent Bodth (Buddhist) Country and entire poplation was converted to Islam by the terroristic tactics in the past many centuries. Now, the Madarsas of India are too churning out terrorists like Pakistan at the expense of Hindu taxpayers. ...Soon the population explosion of Muslims will make them in Majority and the fate of Indian Temples will be the same as Bamyan Budha had faced.... You may not be able to give such thoughts to the Indian Press because of certain reasons but these fears are real and felt thousands of miles away by Hindus who are living in United States....”
Sometimes, the chastisement is gentle, offered in sorrow rather than anger, and outlining the hope that, despite my past errors and misdemeanours, I might yet come to respect and even represent the cause of the vulnerable and aggrieved Hindu. A correspondent with whom I had an extended exchange, asked:

I beg, please do a favour. Do not use every single opportunity to offend those who speak for Hindus. We have no where to go. This is our fatherland/motherland our spiritual land. The land of our gods. And we have only welcomed every persecuted race on earth and given space here. Helped them to flourish and now we are paying the price. There are bigger monsters to fight. Please use your energy there. We need bright intellectuals like you there, sir. For our great nation and its great civilisation. And like it or not, the Hindu Civiilsation is the only glue that keeps our great nation together. And if it dies we have no identity and India would not exist.

The young profess to detest the West too. But for all this love of the motherland and the ancestral faith, it is striking how, while this particular heretic lives in India, so many of his orthodox opponents are based overseas, in the prosperous and decidedly un-Hindu nations of Europe and North America. One of my regular mailers writes from his home in 1650 Voyager Avenue, Simi Valley, CA, USA. A second, who chooses rather to address the editors of the journals I write for, signs his name and then adds, by way of further identification, ‘Out West, USA’. A third (the only woman in the pile) writes from Canada and always reminds me that she is a ‘Ph D, Western Ontario’. A fourth, who likewise combines an admiration of indigenous culture with an almost unreasoning hatred of the modern West, nonetheless never fails to mention that he is the possessor of those very Western certifications, ‘M. D., Ph D’. A fifth ended a long and very angry mail with these oddly defensive sentences: “I risk of being dismissed as a unemployed ‘Hindu fundamentalist’ and would not be surprised at all if this mail is put in trash can. Hence I think it is appropriate that I introduce to you that I am a experienced Senior Management professional working with a MNC in India’s sunshine industry.” A sixth first asked: “Who cares about your opinion, man? You speak as if you are representing a billion plus Hindus! Dimwits and slaves like you sit in a corner of your dimly lit houses and pontificate to others”; and then offered his own, rather, better qualifications for speaking about the subject at hand: “I am educated, young, well read (with 3 masters degrees) and residing in the west. Yet I have great pride and respect for my country, its culture, my Hindu religion, its Heroes, God and philosophies.”

The sociological background of the Hindutva hate-mailer can be partially reconstructed from his name and background. His ideology is more directly manifested in his mails. This rests on a deep suspicion of and hostility towards those Indians who are not Hindus by religious background. Christians and especially Muslims come in for special animosity. And yet, as the historian Dharma Kumar once pointed out, the philosophy of Hindutva only mimics and reproduces the ideology of its major adversary. Its unacknowledged model is the Islamic state, where those who do not belong to the ruling faith are tolerated if they are obedient and subservient, but attacked if they seek to assert the rights of equal citizenship.

Narendra Modi is the Chief Minster of my great state Gujarat. He is without doubt the greatest Chief Minster in the history of India. One day in the near future he may become the Prime Minster of India. You all third rate parasitical dhimmi toads who do nothing all your lives except lecture others and contribute not an ioata to the Indian economy can then take a permenant sabbitical to your natural abode Paki Stan. You can bark you can rant and you can use every conceviable weapon to villify and demonise Narendra Modi and us Gujaratis and every time we will show you envious scums of the earth two fingers and treat you like one treats sewage. We Gujus are no 1 and will always remain no 1 whether you like it or not and continue to contribute the highest to the Indian economy. ...You third rate filth we Gujus have nothing but contempt and disdain for your types. you can continue barking and ranting against my State, its Chief Minster and her people and everytime we will say Up yours!

The article was published in a paper that does not have an edition in Bangalore. Downloading it the morning it appeared, I noticed that the boys weaned on cow’s milk had come sniffing already. One mailer complained that “the ‘Southern Hilltop’ the journalist so callously refers to here is the much revered Lord Balaji’s temple. Where do these people get the nerve?? Will he say ‘People running to middle eastern desert’ for Haj pilgrimage?? This is called ‘Proving one’s secular credentials’ by putting down the most revered Lord in India.” Another angrily asked: “Would Mr. Guha have taken a swipe at a Muslim person, worthy or worthless in her own right, for praying five times a day or for doing Haz? Why this step-motherly treatment for visiting temples?”ive overseas and I am not a danger to them like journalists and people like you who immediately declare Hindus “anti-Muslim”, “anti-secular”, “[/b]chauvinists” etc and also let police and Congress goons let on them....
Nehru was a loafer, thug and a ruffian, he was only interested in Lady Mountbatten, can’t you see the damage done by Nehru? Kashmir, Tibet, Aksai Chin and decimation of Hindu society? About Gandhi, less said the better.
But coming back to my two question, do you have the courage, guts, IQ to detach yourself from white skinned lady and answer truthfully, not your general doble-de-gook....The third example illustrates the hectoring and bullying typical of a certain strain of Hindutva. It was written from Maharashtra, after I had published an article in The Telegraph of Calcutta on the Maoist threat to Indian democracy. I here recalled a similar threat from the extreme right in the early days of Indian independence, and mentioned in passing that Gandhi’s murderer, Nathuram Godse, had once been a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. An angry mailer claimed that my article “has nothing to do with facts and history also equating RSS with Maoist is sheer lie and hence court suit is inevitable against you if you doesn’t tenders straightaway apology to RSS.
Of all the hate mails that, over the years, have popped into my inbox, my personal favourite came from a man (with a resoundingly Brahmin name, as it happens), living in the town of Ghaziabad, in Uttar Pradesh. This, in one single sentence, encapsulated the sentiments of his fellow fanatics and ideologues. “It is suspected,” said my correspondent, “that you are getting money through Hawala (the black market) from antiIndia forces or your mindset is communist or you are psychologically weak requiring treatment or modern time ‘Asura’ (demon) wishing to destroy motherland.” I think of myself as a patriot, who loves his country, and lives and works in it. I also think of myself as a moderate, middle-of-the-road, liberal democrat. But by the definitions of right-wing Hindus I was something else altogether. Since I found flaws in Hindutva thought, it was self-evident that I could not be a patriot. Since I criticised the practice of Hindu fundamentalist groups, I must be an extremist on the other side, that is to say, a communist. Since I made these criticisms repeatedly, it was overwhelmingly likely that I was in the pay of foreign powers. And since I was published in a well-circulated Indian newspaper I was probably a demon in disguise, too. To be fair, the criticisms also allowed for a more benign interpretation of the words that appeared under my name—namely, that I was suffering from some kind of mental illness. If only I could see the right doctor, who would then prescribe me the correct medicines, the motherland would be saved.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 17 Sep 2013 09:03

as the historian Dharma Kumar once pointed out, the philosophy of Hindutva only mimics and reproduces the ideology of its major adversary. Its unacknowledged model is the Islamic state, where those who do not belong to the ruling faith are tolerated ~~if they are obedient and subservient, but attacked if they seek to assert the rights of equal citizenship.~~ as long as they keep their faith to their person. Even undermining the human rights of their family members also gets suitable punishment under Dharmic law.

When Asuras seek specific boons, the God-consciousness (Vishnu/Shiva/Durga etc) fulfills their desire to be dissolved as per their asuric wishes.

That is the fundamental aspect of Dharma, your actions/karma will get the consequences you intended.

Anindya · Post by **Anindya** » 17 Sep 2013 09:27

Jhujar ji

The data, which folks like Ramachandra Guha want to ignore is a actually overwhelming, including:
- the track record of consistent ethnic cleansing across countries in North Africa through to Indonesia
- the overwhelming presence of Muslims in prison, far in excess of their populations (non muslim countries)
- the track record of consistent violence against women in non muslim countries
- the record of rioting in countries that are non muslim
- the percentage of total terrorist attacks in the globe
- the free loading that happens in non muslim countries that tend to provide social benefits
- others....

it does not take much to put together a consistent picture, but there will always be people who want to consistently whitewash

nawabs · Post by **nawabs** » 17 Sep 2013 20:25

Self Deception : India's China Policies Origins, Premises, Lessons

By Arun Shourie

On what assumptions was Pandit Nehru confident that China would not invade India in 1962? Why and on what basis did he scotch all warnings in Tibet and our entire border? What did he do when those assumptions proved wrong? What eventually led to the debacle of 1962? Are the same delusions and mistakes not being repeated now? Why will the consequences be any different? This is a devastating analysis and warning on India's policy and approach regarding China, based on Nehru's notes to his officers, his correspondence, including letters to chief ministers and his speeches in and out of Parliament.

Arun Shourie will speak about the unnerving facts he found while writing his book on India’s China policies: ‘Self Deception: India’s China Policies: Origins, Premises, Lessons’ which has just been released by HarperCollins.

Register here : https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1wbzVZz ... 0/viewform

Atri · Post by **Atri** » 17 Sep 2013 20:57

Indian Foreign Policy for Dummies – I

so true...

Non-Alignment: You were once rich and naïve. You were travelling in a train with all your riches. A classy and rich looking dude comes and sits next to you. You like him; he is white. He offers you a biscuit, you eat it, but the biscuit’s drugged; he loots you, makes you his slave; tells others that you are his prettiest slave. Every day, you wish you hadn’t eaten that biscuit; then he lets you go. You hate biscuits now. You hate strangers now. You are scared of strangers now. You close the doors, shut the curtains, stay home and tell everyone to leave you alone. You make tea and convince yourself that you are good enough to be anything you want and it is your choice to sit at home and watch TV.

Panchsheel: Basically five pricinples, (1) Don’t trust strangers. (2) Don’t take biscuits from strangers. (3) Make your own biscuits. (4) Be nice to everyone but don’t make friends. (5) Dream of a world where biscuits are not drugged

China: The class bully; was your best friend in nursery; you cried when teacher beat him, but he saw you as the teacher’s pet. He pretended to be your best friend, but one day pulled your shorts down in front of girls. You were humiliated but could do nothing about it. You want to build muscles and one day take revenge, but you were too poor to buy protein for muscle; and too afraid to ask others (remember the drugged biscuit?)

C was also poor. C saved and almost starved himself to death so he can eat full meals later, but realized his folly. He is more pragmatic and cunning, so he went to richer people and did their work in return for chicken and eggs. He bulked up; he did more work and ate more eggs. Then he owned poultry. He traded eggs for iPods, became the cool and popular rich kid. Your stomach hurts because of jealousy, and also because you haven’t eaten in many days. You give him a condescending look and feel superior. Now he makes cheaper iPods, buys guns, bullies you. You reach out to your senior A in school, upload a picture with him on FB (in return for doing his homework) to show you are friends.

America: That guy in the senior class who only likes you because you do his homework. You like him because he is popular, rich, a hit with the ladies, has a pretty sister, lives in a big house and lets you in sometimes. You wish you were him; you also like him because he can bully any other bully. Lately, you started wanting to be friends with him because drugging biscuits is sort of illegal now.

But now he has more juniors who can do his homework; and he plays with C on the school cricket team. They are starting to hang out together, but A is in a run of bad form, while C is the new star of the team. C might be made captain soon. A is starting to get worried. He offers to pay for your coaching so you can become a better player, and displace C as the star of the team. But you are too fat, and too lazy. You blame it on your extra toe, and climate change and what not. You don’t mind being friends with A but you don’t want to trouble C, so you play cricket on the computer.

Russia: Another senior in school; once the philosopher and guide of C but later parted ways. Likes you a little because you once praised him at a party in front of all the parents and teachers; hates A. You love him. He gave you new pencils when no one else did; he sold you his old pencils for cheap. He once bullied both C and A. You love him also because he is selling you a fancy refurbished compass box. You want to become best friends but he finds you boring. Enjoys hating A; loves making A look like a fool.

Pakistan: The pretty girl you love to hate to love to hate. Once joined at the hips, both of you parted ways on a very bitter and acrimonious note. She harbours a grudge against you for keeping one of the crown jewels but as with all failed relationships, it goes beyond that. You still have feelings for her of a very complex sort, and take her abuse in your stride. She flirts with others, including C, as if to spite you, and has just come out of a very passionate and tempestuous, if not abusive, relationship with A. She always spurns your well-intentioned offers to let bygones be bygones and start afresh. The last time you offered to kiss and make up, she poured salad on your face in front of everyone and stabbed your feet with her sharp stiletto. Maybe, she will come around eventually, you hope. With women, you can never tell. Meanwhile, you just grin and bear it, sadly shaking your head as you watch her make a mess of her life.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 17 Sep 2013 21:32

From Bharat Karnad's blog. Posted by a reader....

dated 1 May, 2012

^
This is linked in the comments section of Shri BK's blog post -

FWIW, posting in full -

http://voiceofrussia.com/2012_05_01/73456303/

Interview with Gennady Yevstafiev, retired Lieutenant General of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.

Mr. Yevstafiev, thank you so much for joining us now. So, the way I’m looking at various reactions of the successful Agni-V Indian intercontinental…

The first test launch was basically successful. It is a great achievement of the Indian research technology and we have to admit that India has become one of the major missile countries in this world. And it was developed for a number of years. Initially the idea was to develop Agni-III into number IV and number V, but then number IV somehow has not been tested yet and now we have Agni-V. This is a formidable missile with the range of, some people say it is 5000 kilometers, but I’m afraid they are misleading the public opinion because there are people who believe that it has a potential of 8000 kilometers. And of course the range of throw is a classified information but nevertheless between 5000 and 8000, this makes it intercontinental strategic missile.

The missile was coming under the Strategic Forces command. So, it is in a proper hands and it has been launched from a traditional place, there is a Wheeler Island where Defense Research and Development Organization of India has its sights. And it would take a number of test flights, not less than four or five, before a missile itself will become operational. Now it is a success but it is not yet operational and it will also take three or four years before they really develop what they say. They want to have at top of this missile MIRV system – Multiple Independently Targeted Vehicles with a number of, between two and ten, separately targeted nuclear bombs. And it will take some time, this technology is not yet ready.

And what we have of course it is a huge missile, it is almost 18 meters, and its diameter is 2 meters, it is really a robust and solid mechanism. It can carry about 1500 kilos of weight of load and it is enough to carry a vessel with a nuclear bomb or to have four or five MIRV bombs which could present a very serious difficulty for missile defense. And we have to give credit to Indians, they have mastered, which has taken more time in bigger countries like the United States and Russia, they right from the beginning have put the missile into a canister which is sealed and the missile could be kept for quite some time before it is being thrown out from a canister and after that it starts moving. Of course we know the Indians have serious successes in navigational systems, in GPS systems that’s why as far as guidance is concerned that’s quite a reliable thing because the standard of Indian electronics and space technology evokes respect.

So, having fired this missile Indians have stated by the firing test that they have joined the club of the great missile powers. Being the nuclear state they have declared that they have a very universal weapon for the future developments because of course they have their own threats perceptions and risks. And that’s why it has been done according to their view of developing situation. If you have a look on how far it can fly – it covers all China and it can come up to Europe. I wonder if these people in Europe, would they think about a threat from a third world country and what do they think about their missile defense system because it is much more developed than anything we have in Korea or in Iran for that matter.

Indian researcher Bahukutumbi Raman says that Agni-V is, like he put it, a Chinese centric missile. And he says that once it is put on operation, it can reach those parts of Eastern China on which its economic prosperity depends. Now, if that is really so? Are we going to see something like arms race between China and India?

The arms race between China and India is going on for the last 15-20 years. The range of Agni-V covers the whole of China, not only the areas on which the Chinese prosperity depends.

In terms of Indian perception of threats of course in the Indian General Headquarters, among the military China is the major threat and that’s why they have found now, say by 2015 they will have a reliable weapon to respond to Chinese threat. But on the other hand I think it will make the whole situation, as far as stability is concerned, more predictable and both sides, I would say, would be very cautious about playing with muscles.

But it is a certain warning to other countries around India, in the Indian Ocean and in other places that India has a potential and they have to deal with India very cautiously, they should not irritate India and it has Indian Ocean at her disposal because with this kind of missiles, they will have a number of them, they would control the whole area. And it happens, interestingly enough, it happens in times when Americans are trying to develop their assets and potential in Australia. And America is preparing for some sort of a showdown with China sooner or later. In this situation we have a new player, very important player who has got something to say.

And is the player going to take sides in that situation?

No, I don’t think India will take any sides in this because Indian policy is very mature. Indians know the border of their national interests and they won’t go a step over this border. They know the Chinese points of aim, so to say, which they should not step on. But in a long run I think it would play well in containing the United States.

Containing the United States?

Yes, in the long run, especially if China and India would agree among themselves and would really divide the spheres of interests, it could be a very serious reminder to the United States that they have to behave in this area because they are not the only one country which possesses this kind of formidable arsenal of weapons.

But interestingly enough India has close cooperation with the United States in nuclear matters. So, do you think that could be a leverage for the United States to apply some pressure to India?
No, I don’t think so. You know, the agreement with Bush Administration signed with India about scientific cooperation, but mainly in a nuclear field, in 2007 is of the particular interest to the United States because they know the Indians have a huge energy program which is based mostly on, due to rather poor energy resources, it is based mostly on the development of the nuclear industry. We benefit from this idea of Indians develop nuclear industry, Kudankulam which we are going to convert into something very spectacular.

But the Indian request is huge because Indians are planning within 20-25 years to build about 50 nuclear energy reactors and American industry which is not producing nuclear reactors now for the use in the United States, they have stopped producing them to the United States industry, they badly need some market for the advanced technologies in that. By the way, French are in the same boat, though of course French industry is of a much smaller size. That’s why the fight for Indian market in nuclear technology is basically a commercial fight for the share of Indian market. But the market is going to be so big that for the next 15 years there will be enough space for everybody to work on this market.

Mind you that Indians are very serious customers and they demand a lot of set benefits when they sign agreements and these set benefits would of course sponsor the Indian industry in developing their own technologies. And sooner or later they will produce more than 50% of what they need for themselves.

And now of course the final question based on your assessment. Just how good are the chances, the way you see, that eventually India and China might come to terms? Because now we’ve got more than half a century standing conflict between the two. And on the other hand there are so many forces which would be trying to prevent the two countries reaching any kind of agreement.

That’s true. And for example America very cautiously but they do have the share of really provoking the rift between the two countries, but very carefully. They don’t want to be caught red handed.

This is very difficult to predict but both countries are quite mature in their diplomacy and foreign policy. Both countries understand the level of their pretensions over the influence in this world and that’s why unless there is something very special, and very special in this case might be Pakistan which is an ally of China. But Indians are cautious with Pakistan, they don’t want to take upon themselves the burden of handling the affairs of this almost fail state and they really don’t mind the Chinese working there and having their share of influence in Pakistan.

But on the other hand there is no serious problem of fighting for resources up to now between China and India because China is trying to master the situation in the Pacific Ocean zone, and especially on those islands like Paracel or on other kinds of isles, and these are the priorities for the Chinese. They don’t show much their flag in the Indian Ocean. From time to time they come but just to show that there is the Chinese Fleet and so on. But they understand and they see that the Indian Ocean is the zone of influence of India, and they don’t provoke India for all kinds of responses.

The same thing with India, it is quite far from this Pacific Ocean area. It has a lot of things to do around the Indian Ocean and that’s why they are not a competitor for Chinese in the area. Whereas the United States, Japan, maybe even Indonesia, Vietnam, these countries are more anti-Chinese in a sense that they are afraid of Chinese, they don’t want to have the increased Chinese influence. And that brings me to some sort of a hope that understanding this Chinese and Indians, especially in times of possible Chinese-American tensions, they would keep quite good relationships among themselves.

Well, let’s hope so. Though there is the painful issue of Tibet.

Tibet of course is a point of disagreement but with the course, the way things develop, Indians will soon be deprived of their hope to have something in Tibet which would be more favourable to their heart then what is now. Chinese are moving there slowly but I would say resolutely and I don’t think Tibet is having some chance of independence.

And what about the new port which the Chinese are building in Pakistan?

Pakistan is a different thing. And Pakistan basically strategically is surviving on the strategic partner agreement with China. But times change. I believe that Pakistan in many respects is a fail state. And Indians do understand this and they don’t want to touch Pakistan in terms of military invasion.

But still, are the Chinese interested in getting the port and getting access into the Indian Ocean ultimately?

Not now. Time will come but now they have different priorities. I think they have a priority of China Sea oil resources and in the surrounding countries. In American opposition to this, they have the priority of Taiwan, deciding the future of Taiwan in some way which would be acceptable and they are very flexible on the way how to decide. So, for the next 15-29 China has enough to do in this area and if it is not going to provoke anybody on the other side of their borders, and they would prefer to have some sort of détente with India, this will work.

Mr. Yevstafiev thank you so much. Our guest speaker was Gennady Yevstafiev, retired Lieutenant General of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.
Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/2012_05_01/73456303/

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 17 Sep 2013 21:33

http://jezebel.com/13-year-old-india-ch ... 1327536561
13-Year-Old India Child Prodigy Is Your New Role Model

13-year-old Sushma Verma's father sold his land in north India so Sushma could afford to go to school. Not just any school — she finished high school at 7 and earned her undergraduate degree at age 13. What's next? Her master's in microbiology, obviously.Sushma told the AP her parents "allowed me to do what I wanted to do" and said she "hoped that other parents don't impose their choices on their children." (Her choice would've been to go straight to medical school, but she can't take qualifying tests until she's 18, which is why she's getting a master's in the meantime.)
Her family made her education their primary goal:In another family, Sushma might not have been able to follow him into higher education. Millions of Indian children are still not enrolled in grade school, and many of them are girls whose parents choose to hold them back in favor of advancing their sons. Some from conservative village cultures are expected only to get married, for which their families will go into debt to pay exorbitant dowry payments, even though they are illegal.For Sushma, her father sold his only pieces of land — 10,000 square feet (930 square meters) in a village in Uttar Pradesh — for the cut-rate price of 25,000 rupees (about $400) to cover some of her school fees."There was opposition from my family and friends, but I did not have any option," said her father, Tej Bahadur Verma.Her father also drives her to school every day on his bicycle.