Not In My Name

A common tenet of Hinduism is "Sarva Dharma Sambhava", which literally means that all Dharmas (truths) are equal to or harmonious with each other. Unfortunately , this basic tenet seems to be lost on the self proclaimed leaders of the modern day Hindus.

A friend pointed this documentary out to me.Titled "The Final Solution", this was a real eyeopener. You read and hear in the news about 10 people killed at such and such a place and yet are unable to quite grasp the gravity of the situation. This documentary is worth a watch. There is the infamous "Hanuman ki poonch" dialogue by Praveen Togadia, where he compares the Godhra train burning to lighting Hanuman's tail. He jestfully continues the tale reeling out the names of places Hanuman ji touched after his tail was burnt. The horror of the situation strikes you when you realize that these are the places where the most Muslims were killed during the riots. More chilling is the reaction of the crowd - there is clapping , whistling ,laughter .

There are those who would argue, yours truly included till recently, that Togadia , Ashok Singhal are fringe lunatics who should be treated with the contempt they deserve. But the truth of the matter is that however honest your intentions be, your support will be shown as support for the actions of the same lunatic fringe. The recent Mumbai municipal elections are a case in point.

Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray made an unprecedented personal attack on the President regarding the Afzal case. Days after this, the Shiv Sena emerged victorious in the elections. This victory was used by Thackeray to claim the people supported his comments on the President. And that is the same elsewhere.

"But who lit the fire?" - was Vajpayee's reaction , trying to imply the Gujarat riots were a logical conclusion to the Godhra train burning. This from a person known to be a "moderate" but more frighteningly , the Prime Minister at the time. With such certificates , does it come as any surprise when you watch videos of Gujarat policemen firing at houses containing Muslim women and children , while a murderous Hindu mob waits in full view of these same valiant protectors.

When you realize that Gujarat is considered by the BJP to be its "political laboratory", you realize the full meaning of the "Ram Rajya" , the BJP has in store for all of us.

maalik ne har insaan ko, insaan banaaya
ham ne use hindu ya musalamaan banaaya
qudarat ne bakshi thi hamen ek hi dharati
ham ne kahin bhaarat, kahin iraan banaaya
jo tod de har band, wo toofaan banega
insaan ki aulaad hai, insaan banega
tu hindu banega na musalamaan banega
insaan ki aulaad hai, insaan banega

nafarat jo sikhaaye, wo dharam tera nahin hai
insaaf jo ronde,wo qadam tera nahin hai
qura'an na ho jisame wo mandeer nahin tera
geeta na ho jisame wo haram tera nahin hai
tu amn ka aur sulah ka aramaan banega
insaan ki aulaad hai, insaan banega
tu hindu banega na musalamaan banega
insaan ki aulaad hai, insaan banega

Careful Whom You Quote

Its been amusing to watch the Congress' new found love for the Mahatma.Trapped as they are between the Left and the BJP , both of which have strong ideological moorings, the Congress has tried to resurrect the Mahatma's name in an attempt to gain electoral dividend among today's youth. But it may be a fallacy to miss the particular for the general. The Mahatma's opinions on various subjects may come as an unwelcome surprise to his topiwala followers.

"If I had the power and could legislate, I should stop all proselytising.... It is the deadliest poison that ever sapped the fountain of truth." No, this opinion on religious conversion was not expressed by Hegdewar , nor by Guru Golwalker.These words carry some weight, for they were written by the Father of the Nation.

In recent times, a figure who has historically been identified with the Hindutva movement has been sought to be appropiated by the Indian Left .Iam talking of none other than Swami Vivekananda. Sample this."Of course, Hindus who became Muslims must be taken back into the Hindu fold. Otherwise our numbers will keep dwindling -- we used to be around 600 million by the reckoning of Ferishta, the oldest Muslim historian, now we are just 200 million. And then every man going out of the Hindu pale is not only a man less, but an enemy the more."
This is Swami Vivekananda, answering questions put to him by the editor of Prabuddha Bharat.