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ASSEMBLY POLL '98
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'Too bad Mother Teresa isn't around, else we could have torched her too!'
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 00:03:11 -0600 Agree with your points. Hindus don't go preaching their religious beliefs in other nations to woo people from other religion into Hinduism. Likewise, there should be no Christian missionaries sent to bribe Indian citizens and convert them into Christianity. If Christian missionaries want to help Indian tribals, they should improve their attitude and not be selfish. Let those missionaries worry about problems facing their countries. We have had enough problems from Muslim aggressors and rulers in the past who raped, butchered and forcefully converted tons of our people into Islam. Partition was a direct result of these heinous acts by Muslim aggressors like Sikander Lodhi, Mohammad Ghauri, Mohammad Gazni, Allauddin Khilji, Sher Khan, Babur and his successors. The remains of over 30,000 of our ancient temples destroyed by these Muslims are the best examples. Any time a foreign religion is forced on Indians, the end result is such violence. It is always better that Christians remain minorities in our nation and Hindus as minorities in Christian dominant countries. We don't mess with their religious belief and let them not mess with ours. My sister and I went to a Catholic convent school in Karnataka. The Christian teachers and nuns there did not permit my sister to go to her class with her bindi or bangles or even with flowers in her hair.
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1999 23:29:56 PST I have been an avid reader of Rediff news and find that this particular report which is also being widely discussed needs a second glance. 1. The reports are being systematically written in a manner to show a caste bias against the majority community -- the Hindus, particularly in the international news. Don't get me wrong, the Jhabua rape case was tom-tomed as if the entire Hindu community was watching and clapping their hands. C'mon this is an isolated incident, which the entire male gender should be ashamed off, not a ticket for seeking more rights for the Christians. Speaking of rape and debasement of women, New York will have a more sordid tale to tell than the entire subcontinent. 2. The manner in which the Christian community reacted was also a joke, particularly seeking Vajpayee's resignation etc. All speaks only of a political backing rather than a fight for justice. All right, before you guys think I am a spokesman for the BJP, let me make it clear, yes I supported the BJP in the elections but I can also be critical of their budget. Even a half baked idiot should have foreseen the petrol hike fiasco, which our respected finance minister failed to notice. Also the manner in which the party buckled and is still buckling to the whims and fancies of the regional parties is a shame to all its supporters, but a bad government has been the bane of the Indian subcontinent. Just look at the past -- Nehru -- the supreme freedom fighter, but today recognised by everybody as the architect of India's misdirected policies. Mrs Indira Gandhi who continued her father's policies and also brought about confusion in all non-Congress states by supporting militant elements like Bhindranwale which ultimately cost her dearly. Morarji Desai who set back all economic development by at least 15 years. Rajiv Gandhi: at least the Nehrus were consistent, they were three in a row. V P Singh: the only PM to stoop so low that in order to gain political mileage, he revived a report that has split the Indians to so many sub sects. Divide and rule was his by-word I suppose. Manmohan Singh and P Chidambaram -- but for these two I doubt we would have survived, but unfortunately they aligned with the wrong parties. 3. Freedom of religion is something even Mother Teresa opposed and I doubt people are converting out of free will, they are being bought. Do you know how many foreign goods are being imported by missionaries and why? They were even importing beer and wine. If they require food and clothing, let them force the government to assist them -- after all minority communities are getting so many privileges in a country where all men are supposed to be equal. 4.What prompted the villagers to set fire to small children and a missionary, is never clearly reported. His work is being talked about, his religious activities are being talked about, but no news about why and who all have been arrested. So if you folks want to really report on communal issues, please ensure there is no bias or is Rediff also bought... Rediff On The NeT is neither bought or affiliated to any political or religious group. It brings news as it is seen by its correspondents, and attempts to project a rounded view by carrying reports, analysis and opinions from diverse sources.
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 19:01:05 +0500 (IST) I am an Indian. I love my country and the traditions of tolerance, forbearance and humane values that is stands for. Today, I am ashamed and angry at the actions and statements of a certain group of people, who clothe them in the garb of patriotism and nationalism. I speak of the Shiv Sena and their supporters -- who have willy-nilly appointed themselves our moral and national guardians. Uncultured, untutored in the practice or democracy or civility, strangers to the meaning of the word patriotism, these thuggish, loutish people are the worst spokespersons my country could have hoped for. I am aghast at the way my country and society has been passively watching the flagrant violation and desecration of all the values my country stands for. Contempt for the law and its institutions, targeting specific communities with violent acts of communal and parochial barbarism, repressions against those who raise their voice in a civilised fashion -- the Sena has imposed their own peculiar code of morals on Bombay, and are trying it on the entire country. I wonder at the kind of morality that casts slurs on the "morals" of women who wear Western clothing in public, but does not feel outraged when gangland killings erupt on the streets of Bombay, or travellers lose life and limb on the suburban trains; what kind of "morality" sees a danger to our nation in the lyrics of rock songs, but none in the culture of violence, intolerance nepotism and corruption that it fosters and breeds? As an Indian, born into the independent, secular, democratic Republic of India, I hang my head in shame. A person who has not been elected by due process of law, to any public post in this country, commands an army of rabble, and is the de facto ruler of Maharashtra. He incites pogroms and riots, parading as a patriot, secure in the knowledge that the machinery of the state and the police are thoroughly perverted and corrupted to his cause. His whims, prejudices and bigotries are dressed up as nationalism, and I am asked to subscribe to them in the name of nationalism. I refuse. I refuse to condone the violence and mayhem in the name of "protecting" me from films that offend the narrow world-view of the Sena and its leader -- I am mature enough to not heed their dubious judgements. I refuse to condone the vulgarity of underpants-clad goons harassing one of Indian cinema's most distinguished figures, who has the moral fibre to stand up for his values, while so many of his colleagues cosy up to these ruffians. I refuse to believe the Sena or their minions should be able to dictate who my country's sportsmen should play in hockey, cricket or any sport at all. I refuse to stomach the insult to my country's sporting pride as thugs and vandals smash the trophies that our country's teams battled to win on the cricket field. I refuse to take quietly the insult to all my democratic instincts that is committed when I see policemen chatting with vandals who dig up a cricket pitch, and powerless to stop crimes committed in broad daylight, but show their might by roughing up and manhandling protesters who still have the courage of their convictions. I refuse to concede that I need to be told what patriotism is, from a bunch of unprincipled hooligans, who have never ever contributed a single thing of which the country could be proud -- on the contrary, they are tarnishing its image beyond repair. I refuse to let my silence be taken for assent, my patience taken for cowardice and my voice thought inconsequential. I refuse to let it be thought that these hoodlums represent me or speak on my behalf. This is my voice, and this I what I have to say. I THINK BAL THACKERAY AND GANG ARE ONE GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO ARE SMART AT GOONDAISM AND DUMB AT ANYTHING THAT HAS A POSITIVE AND PRACTICAL SIDE TO IT. I AM ASHAMED THAT THEY ARE INDIANS AND WORSE THEY ARE THE PEOPLE WHO DECIDE OUR FUTURE. Bharat Pardasani
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 10:33:06 -0800 (PST) I agree with Mr Saisuresh Sivaswamy's call for the prime minister's resignation in his column "Mr Vajpayee, please go!" over the horrific incident in Manoharpur. But I find it impossible to comply with his pronouncement that it is "too late in the day for wringing hands." Even during the most wretched phases of human history one would be hard pressed to find singular moments that defined the pathology of the times as starkly as the incident in Manoharpur does for our time. Hundreds of years of evolution of the Hindu philosophy and culture, that has at various times in history appealed to the finest of human instincts -- such as tolerance, nonviolence, and universal acceptance -- have amounted to a disgusting and distressing naught in this situation. The country was doomed to this fate when it set out on a political path that was based on exclusion. We have learned yet again that an exclusionary regime, no matter how vile and corrupt the regime it sought to replace was, invariably ends up lending credibility to a grotesque logic that demands the charred remains of an eight year old and a ten year old as an affirmation of faith. In the midst of all this, Mr Vajpayee, wants to have a "dialogue" about conversion -- therapy sessions for cold-blooded murderers! The real discussion should be about the abysmal record Hindus have in reaching out to the poorest and the most disadvantaged of people. Is it surprising that religious converters have their greatest success among people who would forever remain anonymous if it were not for news of their conversion. It will take a long time for contemporary Hinduism to redeem itself from this atrocity by returning to its basic tenets. The sort of cold calculus that Mr Sivaswamy engages in an earlier column of his ("The international loneliness of the Hindu") tallying Hindu, Christian, and Muslim bodies will not do it. Neither will taking refuge in the notion that such acts are solely attributable to the fringe elements. After all, Hinduism is unique in advocating a belief in, and an aspiration toward a higher and collective conscience. So ask not for whom the bell in Manoharpur tolls, it tolls for thee. Krishna Kumar
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999 17:42:40 -0500 When I was growing up in a village in Karnataka, we used to have persistent Christian missionaries who told us how we will rot in hell because we are not Christians. They would not go away till somebody forcibly let a dog free or heaped verbal abuse on them and ordered them to leave. Mr Nayar, it is easy for you to sit in your office and write on your typewriter about how Hindus should behave. Have you given a thought why a religion so tolerant over decades and centuries is becoming restless? I think it is because other religions have taken Hindus for granted and think that every Hindu can be converted. I think journalists like you should go into the depth of the incident.
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1999 12:12:59 -0500 The attack on minorities is becoming a regular routine rather than an exception nowadays, which is very very unfortunate! I am a Hindu by birth and I think the people who claim themselves to be protectors of the majority religion in India are a grossly disturbed lot and if not the government, the people should take it upon themselves to stop them! I am currently working in Boston, USA and let me tell you this -- though all Indians know how secular our people really are, surviving in harmony for so long amidst diversity in all walks of life -- only such incidents are highlighted in the Western world about India and that's not too good. I hope people with similar thoughts come forward and demonstrate what nationalism actually is. That it's not a property of some fundamentalist groups, who have nothing better to do other than partitioning the very soul on which our great nation has been built. PS: I am against any form of conversion too, but would like a more sensible solution to the problem! Easwar Sarangapani
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1999 19:37:41 PST I am surprised why such importance is given to attacks on Christians, perhaps it reveals the innermost fears of the Leftists/Secularists/Mono-ists tribe that with the spread of Hindutva, it is only a question of time before they are finished. The common thread of thought that runs through these sick minds is that common people should never get a questioning mind, as this will mean an end to their lies and damned lies. Why do you not show equal importance to the denigration of the oldest religion all around by the lunatic fringe of Leftists/ Secularists not exceeding 0.002% (mostly journalists)? Recently a local newspaper in Chennai reported a murderous attack on a temple priest in the heart of Chennai by a group of Christians. Why was this not reported by the national press? Where was the NCM? How is it that when a Christian priest or Church is attacked the victims are portrayed as if they only oozed goodness and the alleged perpetrators are shown as barbaric? But when the victims are Hindus/ Hindu priests, they are portrayed as villains and the one who perpetrates it is some poor hapless Mosie or Peter. In spite of your protestations your columns and your site is more of the "lie" brigade variety. Browsing through your archives, you have removed e-mail pages critical of the minority writers (pages I have read before). You hide the responses to rabid minority writers like George Iype. Why? Is it pressure from the church? -- The oldest and the longest perpetrators of organised crime against peaceful civilisations under the garb of service. Krishnan Rediff On The NeT retains all responses on its site, be they Dilip D'Souza, Varsha Bhosle or George Iype.
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 00:22:21 -0500 Thanks to people like Jayalalitha, Vajpayee, Advani and Bal Thackeray etc, we can now be proud Indians who go around torching people who just come to help some lepers. Too bad Mother Teresa isn't around, else we could have torched her too!! Well, I guess you will not care to pay half the attention this message requires, but well if you can ever think -- please do whatever it takes to remove these people out of office. India, the land of the great Mahatma Gandhi long believed in nonviolence. Well now... Sam
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 13:23:30 +0800 I feel very sad this crime can happen in India and people can get away with it. And all the government can do is just order an enquiry, sit back and do nothing. After a few days, this matter becomes old and will lose its importance. This has been happening in India since ages -- innocent people die and there is nothing much that is done by the government. I feel angry, annoyed and sorry for Stains' wife. Minorities in India have not been safe since ages. First it was Muslims who were attacked, and now it is Christians who are attacked. I am proud that I have studied in a Christian missionary school, and in my schooling days I never felt that they made any attempts to force their religion on us. It is up to your belief that you accept another religion or convert to another religion. If you are taking up another religion, then it has nothing to do with the person under the influence of whom you are converting. It is because you don't trust your religion. I know that I can never take up another religion as I have full faith in my religion. I am a firm believer of my religion. I am proud to be a Muslim and no one on earth can make me convert into other religion. That's all I have to say.
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 09:24:53 +0200 After what happened in Orissa, India, does it mean Christians are safe? Parliament, President, Opposition parties must review the above statement given by the PM and assure the world that minor communities in India are not under threat from fundamentalists. Dr S Panigrahi
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 11:25:47 -0700 The recent brouhaha, the ascendancy of Hindutva, and the activities of both Christian missionaries and the VHP have had me thinking for a while. I have come to the conclusion that the VHP's approach is completely wrong-headed with respect to how Hinduism has evolved over the years. Many Indians, no doubt parroting what Westerners have told us, claim that Hinduism is tolerant of other religions. This is completely wrong. First, Hinduism is not a religion but a meta-religion: a grand, evolving umbrella that incorporates many separate religions. Secondly, Hinduism doesn't tolerate other religions -- it absorbs and assimilates them. A key reason why Buddhism isn't the dominant religion it once was in India is because many of the key principles of Buddhism, such as ahimsa, have become part and parcel of Hinduism. Further, Gautama Buddha is revered as a saint or avatar by most Hindus. The VHP's approach -- if the VHP needs to exist at all -- should be similar. Try to identify the best of what Christianity has to offer -- and there can be no doubt that Christianity does have much to offer -- and absorb that into Hinduism. Further, Jesus Christ can become an avatar or Saint (eg, Adi Yesu). After this, we don't need missionaries peddling their Christ any more -- we will have our very own Adi Yesu, worshipped by Hindus. This is sure to provoke the ire of the missionaries, for they want you to worship Jesus exclusively. But at this point, Western nations would have no voice left, and can no longer point accusing fingers at India and Hindus. Note that Christian missionaries are routinely attacked in "Christian" countries such as Russia, but this never creates more than a ripple in the Western press. And the fact that missionaries are not allowed to operate in Islamic nations (and in communist China) causes little or no concern, at least internationally.
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 17:59:17 -0500 I am extremely saddened to hear of the monstrous acts on humanity. Every individual has a right to practise the religion of his choice. Most of us are born into the religions we currently profess. If at some point, we are disillusioned by that religion, cannot we change to another that respects us as a human being. Christians in India have long since been recognised by their contributions to society, to the upliftment of social classes. Why are they then being targeted? Suppose we refused admission to Hindus in our schools, colleges, hospitals, then where would these so-called protectors of the country go. It is in our religion that there be no division of mankind on the basis of caste, creed, sex. We believe that all men and women are equal. So why should some people be persecuted? We also believe that we should provide our services in terms of education, basic health services to all irrespective of race or religion. We have always been a peace loving people. It is truly saddening to hear of such events happening in India -- a country I love. I have never believed that the people I care about could stoop to such monstrous acts...
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