There's more to Kamasutra than sex

The ancient (Indian) manual to love-making is not restricted to only the physical aspect of your relationship. It also holds the key to a healthy emotional bond with your partner.

The notion that Kamasutra speaks solely of the physical aspect of sex is extremely skewed. The purpose of Kamasutra was not merely to educate masses about different sexual techniques, but promote a healthy relationship between the partners and constructively use sexual energy. Several Western (and even some Indian) authors, interpreters and commentators have paid attention only to the sexual / physicality aspect, leading to the scripture's misrepresentation. However, look deeper and the teachings of Kamasutra go far beyond sex

The purpose of Kamasutra was not merely to educate masses about different sexual techniques, but promote a healthy relationship between the partners and constructively use sexual energy. Several Western (and even some Indian) authors, interpreters and commentators have paid attention only to the sexual / physicality aspect, leading to the scripture's misrepresentation. However, look deeper and the teachings of Kamasutra go far beyond sex

Participation
Many positions (Asanaas) depicted in the Kamasutra call for active and equal participation of the woman. Rather than sticking to the monotonous / boring missionary position where the woman is a rather passive receiver, the scripture encourages more pro-active positions. Only when there's an equal contribution from both ends will the session truly be fulfilling and fruitful. There's no posture that's meant exclusively for the man, or the woman.

The message: Be it sex or any other matter; ensure that you equally involve your partner. Participation is the key word. When you seek an active role from your partner, (in and out of bed) he/she feels wanted and the synergy between the two leads to greater fulfilment. That's what samabhog (equal pleasure) is all about.

Body image Vs. the body
The varied techniques depicted in the scriptures make sex pleasurable for anyone irrespective of his/her body type and body shape. The person may be muscular, obese, or thin, body issues and pleasure are best not mixed, says Kamasutra.

The message: Work on your body image. You can still make the best of your body provided you stop having unrealistic expectations of how it should look. Acceptance is the word. Magazine covers may be flooded with images of perfect bodies, but don't let them sway you away from realism. Don't let negative body image play spoilsport in your life, sex

Touch matters
The Kamasutra lays a lot of importance on touch, and not only during intercourse. Going by the texts, touch is of varied forms, each designated to arouse a unique sensation from the partner depending on his/her liking. However, the role of touch starts from the foreplay stage itself (at times, the foreplay lasting for hours together) and continues till the very end.

The message: Do not undermine the power of small. That casual hug or the loving caress (initiated much before sex can say a lot more about your feelings than the act itself. The touch may not even lead to anything, but is a very potent method of conveying your emotions. It will do more good to your relationship than most other things.

Dress to impress
The scriptures' emphasis on shringaar cannot be undermined. Almost every character shown in the act in Kamasutra is embellished with elaborate ornaments. This includes men.

The message: While it does depict the culture and traditions of the time when these texts were written, the underlying idea is that of looking good and dressing up for your partner. Many couples after a few years of courting lose the urge to look good (for each other).

However, that's wrong. Just like you take the effort to dress up for a certain occasion, it is important to look at least presentable (if not great) for your partner. Do not undermine the importance of how you look. Get rid of the complacent attitude. It communicates that your partner is not important any more.

Go play
The scriptures pay a lot of importance on the fun element of sex. That is what converts a rather boring, mechanical session to something that a couple looks forward to. Try all the experimenting you want. If the fun element is missing, there's little that you can do.

The message: Learn to have fun with each other. Start by non-sexual activities and build a rapport. Play games, travel together, discuss movies, and find stimulating conversations. When fun becomes easy, no matter what the occasion, the joy will by default be communicated to other aspects of the relationship as well.

The Kamasutra also has advice on ways of making money and renewing friendship with a former lover

(Dr Rajan Bhonsle is a consultant in sexual medicine and counsellor) 


Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/relationships/man-woman/Theres-more-to-Kamasutra-than-sex/articleshow/6129753.cms 

Kasab: From barbaric killer to state-funded 'martyr'

 Rajesh Kalra
29 August 2012, 12:33 PM IST                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
I know I am in a minority, perhaps a hopeless one, but I am not rejoicing at the prospect of Kasab being hanged, now that the Supreme Court has upheld his death sentence. Please don't get me wrong. I am not for a moment suggesting that this barbarian, who has feasted for years on the Indian taxpayers' money, deserves any mercy. I am simply worried about how a poorly handled case has put us at the risk of making a huge martyr of a man who snuffed out innocent lives as if he were playing a video game.

I remember participating in a debate on Times Now when the high court had delivered the death penalty over a year ago. I had argued that this man had been brainwashed into killing innocent people, for a misplaced cause and that he had come prepared to die. If he had died during the operation, it would have meant nothing. He would be considered one among the many attackers who were killed. But now that he has been kept in custody and his handlers and other fundamentalists have started politicking over him, they are waiting for his hanging. Why? Because they want to milk the occasion to fan more fundamentalism. Kasab would be made a martyr, someone who gave his life for the cause.

Needless to say, despite not showing any mercy, I was still the odd man out.

I honestly don't know how this should be handled, but I am pretty certain that the day he is hanged would be yet another day the innocent citizens of this country have to worry about. Worry about venturing out of their homes into crowded marketplace. Worried about getting into a public transport. Worried about whether the lunch boxes they see under the seats in front of them are bombs.

Couldn't we have handled it differently? Why did we need Kasab alive? Because we needed him to reveal the names of the perpetrators behind the dastardly attacks in Mumbai. If that was the intention, couldn't we have simply let the law take its course in a quiet manner rather than making such a big tamasha of it?

But finesse has never been a part of our security system. Remember the siege over Rajiv Gandhi's killers over a decade ago as they were holed up in a flat in South India. What should have been handled quietly and discreetly was done with live cameras as if a Bollywood film was being shot. The result was a foregone conclusion. When the commandos finally entered the flat, all those who were sought to be captured alive had consumed cyanide capsules and were dead.

Clearly we didn't learn a lesson then and won't now. As I said, the common man who is living a frightened life even otherwise, would have to reconcile to yet another day to worry about. Of course, those who mismanage would continue to enjoy security, all paid for by us, just as we are doing for Kasab!

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Source: http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/randomaccess/entry/kasab_from_barbaric_killer_to_state_funded_martyr

Swamy’s grievance against SC in Chidu case looks valid

By Kartikeya Tanna


Late last week, on Friday, the Supreme Court gave its judgment dismissing all grounds against P Chidambaram in the much-awaited battle between him and Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy.
To many of Swamy’s supporters, his relentless fight against Chidambaram culminated in some sort of an anti-climax, giving the UPA something to cheer about despite the muck it finds itself in.

Given this reprieve of sorts from the nation’s highest court, Chidambaram is now de facto leading the UPA’s defence in the Coalgate allegations postulating “zero-loss” theories (even though not using those words) and qualifying them the next day. Swamy has, in the meanwhile, vowed to fight back  by filing a petition to review this judgment on the grounds that it did not address the arguments he had made.

Many supporters and sympathisers of the UPA have seen this move from Swamy as some sort of a struggle by a stubborn man. His supporters, incensed upon seeing Chidambaram go scot-free, are fully backing him. Is it his unwillingness to accept defeat that has prompted his move? Or is his move based on a genuine grievance against the Supreme Court’s half-baked judgment?

Subramanian Swamy.

In my view, it is the latter. Whether or not Swamy’s case has any legal strength depends on the court examining his arguments and the existing case-law and pronouncing its opinion. But what when the Supreme Court does not even examine his arguments?

That is exactly what happened with Swamy’s petition against Chidambaram. Swamy was in Supreme Court appealing against the decision of Special CBI Judge OP Saini who had rejected Swamy’s plea to make Chidambaram a co-accused along with A Raja. The Supreme Court clubbed Swamy’s petition with Prashant Bhusan’s petition which asked for a CBI inquiry against Chidambaram.
In a way, this clubbing of petitions was a plea for alternative remedies: either make Chidambaram a co-accused in A Raja’s trial, or order a CBI probe.

In order to determine whether Chidambaram could be made co-accused, the Supreme Court had to assure itself of the existence of a prima facie case against Chidambaram. In simpler words, the Supreme Court must be convinced that there is some material which makes it more likely than not that Chidambaram can be guilty under the grounds alleged.

Since both petitions were clubbed, it is uncertain who argued what. Speaking to IBNLive, Swamy said that the SC gave its opinion on grounds he did not argue.

According to the Supreme Court, however, arguments made by Swamy and Bhushan led to issues of (i) criminal conspiracy with A Raja; (ii) obtaining for self or for Raja any monetary benefit by corrupt and illegal means; (iii) deliberately allowing dilution of equity by Swan and Unitech; and (iv) abusing his position as the finance minister to obtain benefit for self or anyone else.

Each issue had some element of mens rea or, in other words, a ‘guilty mind’. However, as Swamy had given periodic indications via media interviews and on his Twitter account, he was focusing on a specific category of criminal misconduct under the Prevention of Corruption Act: whether, as finance minister, Chidambaram obtained benefit for anyone else without any public interest (Section 13(1)(d)(iii) of POCA).

This ground does not contain the element of mens rea. All it requires is (a) whether anyone benefited; (b) due to a decision which was without any public interest whatsoever. Lack of public interest in the decision is the main crux of this ground.

In fact, the Supreme Court, in Para 6 of its judgment, even mentioned that this ground was one of the arguments made by Swamy. Yet, the Supreme Court did not even consider adding this ground as one of the main issues which arise for consideration. Readers may check Para 18 of the judgment which contains a list of questions for SC’s consideration. It does not contain Section 13(1)(d)(iii) at all!
Given that the Supreme Court took so much time in arriving at this judgment, how could it totally skip pronouncing its views on a ground which was purportedly Swamy’s trump card? If the Supreme Court did not find any merit in it, it should have at least given a reasoned decision rejecting it. Why ignore it altogether?

Why did the Supreme Court not consider it worthwhile to allow Swamy to complete his arguments in a case of such importance?

These nagging questions will remain unanswered unless the Supreme Court elaborately deals with them in the review petition Swamy intends to file. It is important to point out here that under Supreme Court Rules 1966, a review petition, as far as practicable, is circulated to the same judges whose decision one is seeking a review against. In all likelihood, therefore, the review petition will be filed before the same two judges who presided over this judgment. Unfortunately, however, there cannot be any oral arguments in a review petition.

Hopefully, the Supreme Court will exhaustively deal with these unanswered questions instead of ignoring the plea for a review. Swamy, and the nation, deserves an answer.

(Note: Another ground which Swamy raised in his plea both before Judge OP Saini and the Supreme Court is whether Chidambaram was guilty of breach of trust by not disclosing that Etisalat and Telenor were black-listed by the home ministry. Neither Judge OP Saini nor the Supreme Court dealt with this ground. Hopefully, the Supreme Court will answer this charge as well.)


Source: http://www.firstpost.com/india/swamys-grievance-against-sc-in-chidu-case-looks-valid-433864.html#.UD0TspOTOrZ.twitter

Kalam writes of flowers and rockets, but not about the Sonia problem

By T J S George

26th August 2012 01:18 AM 

As an author, APJ Abdul Kalam is lucky. Only he can get away with the “Dear reader” tone and child-like style of writing and still sell a million copies. It must be his never-say-die optimism and the innocence he carries on his sleeves that make him the most popular President ever.
But don’t underestimate him. He knows where to be tough and where to act like a politician. These aspects of his persona are usually hidden behind his perennial smile. But a lifetime spent hobnobbing with Indian politicians, the wiliest in the business, has taught him a trick or two.

His latest, Turning Points, came out at a time when nominations for the presidential election were up in the air with Kalam’s name prominently figuring in them. Mamata Banerjee and Mulayam Singh Yadav proposing Kalam’s name (along with Somnath Chatterjee’s and Manmohan Singh’s) to Sonia Gandhi was one of the factors that forced Sonia to formally announce Pranab Mukherjee’s choice as the Congress candidate. It was known that Sonia did not want Pranab to be President because he had a tendency to be independent.

The politicking over the presidential candidates had revived memories of Sonia’s widely believed ill-will for Kalam. From the time Sonia opted out of the prime ministership following the 2004 election, there were reports that she had turned resentful of Kalam. Some reports mentioned that Kalam had advised her that her foreign origin might create problems for her becoming prime minister. No confirmation of this came from any side, but the story of Sonia falling out with Kalam had gained enough ground for the American embassy in Delhi to report it to Washington as WikiLeaks revealed.

Since it was publicised that Turning Points would deal with the on-appointment of Sonia, there was considerable interest in the book. But those expecting any information on the controversial topic will be disappointed. For one thing, Kalam reaches the topic leisurely, on the 134th page of a 176-page book. Twelve chapters test the reader’s patience, with Kalam talking about his lectures, his talks with children, his suggestions on governance, his poems, his list of good deeds, his visits abroad, his improvements to the Mughal Gardens, the virtues of medicinal plants, rejuvenating the heart of India, etcetera.

Finally, he came to “the three situations” that engaged his personal feelings. Actually he listed four. The first was the Cabinet decision to dissolve the Bihar Assembly, a crisis that almost made him resign. The second was the Office of Profits Bill which he returned for reconsideration. The third was capital punishment cases on which he found many unfair assumptions. And the fourth—at last—was inviting the Congress to form the government in 2004.

Kalam writes on the subject without saying anything. He merely says that he was ready to appoint Sonia as prime minister and that, to his surprise, she put up Manmohan Singh for the job. So what about all the circumstantial evidence supporting Sonia’s hostility to Kalam, what about the Congress cold-shouldering him, what about those American diplomatic cables? Not a word. In fact, his account is so cheerful, about pleasantries being exchanged and so on, that we would think the two were buddies. This is Kalam the politician at his best.

Readers of the book have to be satisfied with the few points he makes elsewhere with firmness. When politics degrades into adventurism, he says, ruination would follow. We must graduate from political politics to developmental politics, he says. He also criticises  Parliament for not debating seriously practices that cannot meet the standards of public probity.

In the course of all this, Kalam gives unstinted praise to P V Narasimha Rao. “I found Rao very perceptive on defence issues... He had a longterm vision of building robust systems of defence application.” This is about a man who is a non-person in Sonia Gandhi’s book and is denied mention in official Congress records. So now we can guess at least one reason for Sonia’s dislike of Kalam.

tjsoffice@newindianexpress.com

Source: newindianexpress.com/opinion/article595868.ece

Women feared kidnap, rape while in Pakistan

The women say that their life in Pakistan was nothing short of hell and they can live freely now that they have arrived in India. OUR CORRESPONDENT  New Delhi | 19th Aug The women refugees are currently staying in Ambedkar Colony. Photograph: ABHISHEK SHUKLA he Hindu women refugees who arrived in India last week are happy to be here. Jamuna, a 20-year-old woman, who bears a stark resemblance to actress Freida Pinto, said that she had spent most of her teenage years confined inside her home as she was afraid that she would be abducted like other Hindu women. "I am happy to be in India as here I can live freely without the fear of being kidnapped and raped because I am a Hindu woman," Jamuna told this newspaper. Her mother, Sheela Das (55), said that Jamuna's beauty had made her life miserable. "Muslim men had started eyeing her even when she was 13. We were not able to send her to school because of this. Whatever she has learnt has been taught at home by her grandfather," Sheela said. Naina, who has two children, Gayatri and Kailash, said it was a difficult choice to leave her birthplace but the conditions had worsened to the extent that this exodus was the only way out. "The status of women in our region has deteriorated a lot in the last three-four years. We used to live in the constant fear of being raped or converted," she said. Almost all the women refugees whom this correspondent met at a house in Ambedkar Colony in Delhi's Bijwasan area described their life in Pakistan as nothing short of hell. "My parents had stayed back during the time of Partition as they were well settled there. But look at Hyderabad in Sindh now. The incidence of Hindu teenage girls being raped is increasing. This did not happen earlier," said Sheela. Although the men expressed their willingness to return if they are promised protection, the women were determined in their resistance to the idea. They interrupted the conversation several times to put across their point strongly. "The condition of men may be acceptable, but we as women cannot go there. The freedom that we are feeling here is hard to express. Right now I am talking to you, but that could not have been possible in Pakistan," Jamuna said. Jamuna, the most vocal of the lot, added that her home in Sindh was now occupied by her Muslim neighbours. "Our relatives who are still there said that our house was taken over by a Muslim family, who like us are into managing gardens. But I have no regrets. We will start a new life here." Source: http://www.sunday-guardian.com/investigation/women-feared-kidnap-rape-while-in-pakistan

Final solution: Disaster named Rahul

ETHICS & POWER RAM JETHMALANI www.sunday-guardian.com/profile/ram-jethmalani

Ram Jethmalani is a senior politician and eminent lawyer.

Khurshid stated the sordid truth by highlighting that Rahul has failed to provide ‘ideological direction’.

Rahul Gandhi leaves after the filing of nomination papers by UPA’s Vice Presidential candidate Hamid Ansari at Parliament House in New Delhi on Wednesday. PTI he theatre of the absurd around Rahul Gandhi is stretching itself so intensely that even the cliché is breaking down. The theatrics have started again with breakneck speed. The same dramatis personae, the same sequences, the same denials, but this time the finale appears full of possibilities. I am talking about the periodic Rahul alerts, directed, I presume towards the sitting and notional Prime Minister. Since the last four years or so, the nation has witnessed what appears to be a determined and orchestrated campaign by Sonia Gandhi and her dedicated sycophants and mouthpieces, such as Digvijay Singh, Salman Khurshid, Janardan Dwivedi, to build up a sustained momentum of pressure within the Congress party and government to get Rahul Gandhi closer to the Prime Ministerial throne of India. I say throne, because that is how the nouveau royale of the Nehru-Gandhi-Maino famiglia perceive themselves in India. They cannot, for obvious reasons, claim this privilege among the nobility in Europe, even Italian. So India, with its white worship, is the best bet to fantasize and propagate their illusory royalty. And the trained and tested sycophants in our country, adept at this skill for centuries, do everything possible to reaffirm their fantasy, while extracting their own pound of flesh in the transaction. Spare us, oh, please spare us from having to endure the repetitiveness and boredom of the stale old script inflicted upon us for the last four years. It predictably runs like this. First, the privileged and specially anointed sycophants/mouthpieces articulate to some branch of the media that Rahul Gandhi must move closer to the Big Chair. Then there is a farcical scolding meted to these sycophants by some other chosen spokespersons of the Congress, who state their disassociation from the remarks, and pretend to distance the party from them. Oftentimes, as witnessed during the last four years, these periodic alerts are followed by the Prime Minister stating in his most gratuitous tone that the time is indeed ripe for Rahul Gandhi to move into higher political responsibilities. And then, the curtain falls to get the props ready for the next act. This time the script had a slight difference. To begin with, Salman Khurshid, the Anglicised and Oxford educated Law Minister, uttered some strange language. One would not only expect him to have considerable mastery over English vocabulary and its appropriate usage, but would also expect him to know the comfort levels of English that the aam politician can absorb with clarity, instead of hurling mysterious metaphors or complex words of Italian origin. He stated that the root of the problems plaguing the Congress was the lack of "ideological direction" from its next generation leader Rahul Gandhi. "Until now," he said, "we have only seen cameos of his thought and ideas like democratising elections to the Youth Congress. But he has not weaved all of this into a grand announcement. This is a period of waiting." He continued that "we need a new ideology to meet contemporary challenges ... to be given by our next generation leader Rahul Gandhi to move forward. We have to be clear about what we want to go ahead with in the next elections... The fact is that he is undoubtedly and unquestionably the number two leader in the party. Yet he has not taken up the mantle or accepted a functional responsibility. He is so far not willing to accept the number two position. In such a situation, we have to wait. This is a waiting time." He continued with rather supercilious judgment, which undoubtedly must have had the right blessings, that "In UPA II, governance and politics have all got intermingled. The political props have got mixed up. It's a scattered situation. The stage has to be set up again and only the Congress president can do it. She is the one who has the stature. The Prime Minister can then run the government, but he cannot set the stage." Bravo, Mr Khurshid, you've explained it all to us with complete honesty — all that is contradictory and dysfunctional in your government leading it to nowhere, as well as your sycophancy and your slavishness to dynastic rule. You don't need an Opposition to tear you down. You've done it yourself. You can say whatever you like to deny your statements, that you were quoted out of context, or that they were misquoted — two tired clichés that have also become an integral part of the theatre of the absurd — but you have stated the sordid truth. I realise that you got trapped in your use of the rather pretentious word "cameo", and had to spend considerable time to wriggle out of it before your own party and the media. The dictionary suggests that the word "cameo" has several meanings, namely, a medallion, as on a brooch or ring, with a profile head carver in relief (you couldn't have meant this); or a single brief dramatic scene played by a well known actor in a film or TV show (did you mean this?); or a short literary work or dramatic sketch (not likely that you meant this). It also says that "cameo" is from Italian "cameo", of uncertain origin (surely, you couldn't have meant this). Anyhow, this time the Prime Minister, a significant dramatis persona in this theatre of the absurd, has not yet spoken his usual script, that he is waiting anxiously for Rahul to join the government, words that have the unmistakable and sinister overtones of the classic children's poem, "Will you walk into my parlour, said the spider to the fly." This time it was Rahul's mother Sonia Gandhi, the president of the Congress, with her nouveau royale fantasies who spoke out and enlightened our country that Rahul Gandhi alone will decide on whether he will play a larger role in the party. Digvijay Singh, who had retreated into the wilderness for a while after the great UP dream was shattered, decided that he must not be beaten by Salman Khurshid at what was hitherto his monopoly. He made it a point to pipe up and say, "I am absolutely sure that Rahul will play a much more proactive role in mainstream of Congress party. Let the Presidential and Vice Presidential polls get over." Mr Khurshid, you are a wealthy gentleman and a fairly successful member of the Bar. Why are you trying to surpass Digvijay Singh in this squalid competition of sycophancy? I feel ashamed of you. And finally, the failed prince has reiterated on 19 July, that he would "play (a) more proactive role in the party and the government. The decision has been taken, the timing is up to the leadership." The dying Congress party has found its Final Solution, but the Prime Minister has not yet spoken. In my next piece, I will discuss Rahul's qualifications for his hereditary entitlement to being India's Prime Minister. Source: http://www.sunday-guardian.com/analysis/final-solution-disaster-named-rahul

An unsolicited advice to the President

ETHICS & POWER RAM JETHMALANI www.sunday-guardian.com/profile/ram-jethmalani

Ram Jethmalani is a senior politician and eminent lawyer.

Rashtrapati Bhavan is too sacred a place for issuing statements such as ‘endemic protest may lead to chaos’.

Pranab Mukherjee at the Amar Jawan Jyoti on the 66th Independence Day at the India Gate in New Delhi on Wednesday. PTI nna Hazare may have disbanded his team of close comrades whose guidance and help were available to him ever since he decided that a strong Lokpal is one of the most urgent solutions for the ubiquitous political and bureaucratic corruption prevailing in our country. His sudden decision did intrigue me, as it must have intrigued many others too. I do not believe that he did it like a whimsical dictator. The disbanded team must have so decided with his complete concurrence. Soon, I am sure, the rationale will surface, but there is nothing to be dismayed by it. Anna has quickened the national conscience and made the people of this country aware of the root cause of poverty, destitution, disease and crime that make the life of at least half our population hell on earth. The silent sufferers will speak in 2014, if not earlier, and will expel the looters occupying the lush and lucrative seats of power and send them where they deserve to be — I mean inside the not so enjoyable jails of India. Swami Ramdev and his countless admirers and supporters have already taken up the mantle from the disbanded Team Anna. Their high tension energy reflects the undiminished anger of the people of India against relentless corruption and a remorseless government. I hope the happenings of the last few days at Ramlila Maidan and Ambedkar Stadium are not wholly lost on the Sonia, Rahul, Pranab, Manmohan foursome. The fire will spread to every nook and corner of the country and scorch all poisonous predators that fall in its way. Former Army Chief, General V.K. Singh has lent his support and threatened tough action if immediate steps are not taken to check corruption. "Ex-servicemen should come forward and take over the mantle," he pleaded. He compared the government with real estate agents acquiring land for wealthy corporates, while farmers are committing suicide in large numbers. It is ironic that Indian Express was worried only about long traffic snarls caused by Ramdev and his supporters choking the city roads. Even the Supreme Court has recognised that public roads are legitimate areas for political processions and even meetings in poor India. Poor people cannot buy accommodation in five star hotels. What causes anguish and anger is the Independence Day response of the Honourable President of India. Pontificating from the inaccessible altitude of Rashtrapati Bhavan, he uttered what he must have imagined to be "a rarest gem of purest ray serene" his following piece of advice: "People have the right to express their discontent, but you cannot take away legislation from Parliament and justice from the Judiciary. When protest becomes endemic we are flirting with chaos." Mr President, I had thought that you would show some humility expected of you after your elevation, and refrain from making partisan, provocative and non sequitur statements of this kind, as if you were still the Leader of the House. You compel me to examine the wisdom and truth of your statement. But I regret that I do not see much of either. If there are endemic protests, it indicates that there is something seriously wrong with your governance that should be urgently addressed. Simply shooting messengers by saying they are creating chaos is not a solution — something that has been proved quite universally, over the last few centuries. May I request you to please recapitulate how the anti-corruption movement has grown in India. It is not Baba Ramdev, but the UPA government that created the black money scandal. Please recall how attempts to have a meaningful discussion on the subject in Parliament were frustrated. Everyone is aware of how the Lokpal Bill was sabotaged in the Rajya Sabha, during debate one late evening. When I narrated some inconvenient facts that have never been denied, the proceedings were interrupted, and after secret parleys the House was adjourned. The repatriation of Indian wealth stashed in tax havens abroad is the national duty of all stakeholders, but particularly of the ruling government, of which you were a prominent member and the relevant minister. You and your government deliberately and dishonestly reneged on that duty. It is a fair inference from this conduct that this was done to protect those who are controlling the government. The only way the government can rebut the almost conclusive evidence of its guilt is to open up for public inspection the evidence oral and documentary of any steps it has taken in the direction of repatriating black money laundered abroad. I will be able to prove to any impartial tribunal that every step that government has taken is clearly intended to make the task more and more difficult, if not impossible. Government has paralysed Parliament by its perfidy with complete cooperation of its sycophantic friends. No honest man can blame Hazare or Ramdev or any of their supporters for having destroyed the principal institution of democracy. It is the UPA government of which you were an important member, the trouble shooter, to put it precisely, that has destroyed it. When Parliament stubbornly refuses to legislate for public good, particularly of an issue pertaining to economic terrorism of such a humongous scale, the demise of democracy commences, and people are left with no alternative except protest. Now let me turn to the judiciary. It is true that Hazare and Ramdev have not knocked at the doors of the judiciary. But I have, along with a small group calling itself "Citizen India". We narrated to the Supreme Court the story of our frustration and the government's deceit and obstructionism. The court delivered its judgment on 4 July 2011. Most people may not have read it, because the loyal mainstream media did not find it important or relevant enough to publicise its damning conclusions to the people of India. Any government possessed of minimal democratic values and an iota of shame would have resigned. But this government cannot even claim to fulfil these minimal criteria. The conduct of your government and the finance ministry headed by you after the judgment was atrocious. But in a way, it confirmed all that had been published before. Let me start by referring to the prestigious Swiss magazine Schweitzer Illustrate, which soon after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi included him in the list of 14 international thugs with a secret bank balance of more than $2 billion. Following this, the Russian book KGB State Within a State carries this at page 223: "A letter signed by Viktor Chebrikov, who replaced Andropov as head of the KGB in 1982, noted: 'The USSR KGB maintains contact with the son of Premier Minister Rajiv Gandhi [of India]... R. Gandhi expresses deep gratitude for benefits accruing to the Prime Minister's family from the commercial dealings of an Indian firm he controls in cooperation with Soviet foreign trade organisations. R. Gandhi reports confidentially that a substantial portion of the funds obtained through this channel are used to support the party of R. Gandhi." These publications have never been contradicted. Coupled with other circumstantial evidence, the corruption of la famiglia reale of India, that holds the Congress party in its vicious grip, is more than what lawyers call "grave suspicion" enough for framing of charges in a criminal trial. By contemptuously refusing to comply with the Supreme Court orders with no stay obtained, the grave suspicion is now irrefutable and conclusive. To be continued... Source: http://www.sunday-guardian.com/analysis/an-unsolicited-advice-to-the-president-2

Unpleasant truths about Rahul

ETHICS & POWER RAM JETHMALANI www.sunday-guardian.com/profile/ram-jethmalani

Ram Jethmalani is a senior politician and eminent lawyer.

Rahul is around the age when John F. Kennedy was already running the world in those hard times of the Cold War.

Rahul Gandhi t's official now. Rahul Gandhi has finally declared that he is ready to take the plunge — to fulfil his destiny as heir to the monarchic democracy of India. His statement of 19 July that he would play a more proactive role in the party and the government, though its timing would be decided by the leadership (meaning his mother and her advisors), smacked of an attitude that he had decided to make this great sacrifice for the greater good of his party and of the Indian people. Much like the sacrifice his mother made by self-abnegation of the Prime Ministership of India in 2004. Salman Khurshid, a spokesman and confidant of the Gandhi family, has bluntly and quite authoritatively stated that Rahul Gandhi will under no circumstances play Number Two — a message for the nth time clearly meant for the Prime Minister, who appears to have shrugged it off with calculated detachment. Frenzied proclamations during the last two weeks from the usual Congress interlocutors suggest a strong degree of panic within the famiglia and coterie, that the succession cannot be deferred much longer. The interlocutors are showing great commitment, even at the cost of their own tenability, to project Rahul Gandhi as their Prime Ministerial candidate for the next election, in complete faithfulness to the searing desire of the Congress party president. For some mysterious reason, Rahul avoids the subject as much as he can, unless pushed to the wall, as he was on 19 July. The latest addition to the litany is that Rahul be made Leader of the House in place of Pranab Mukherjee. The Opposition cannot ask for better, and of course, there is not a word from Rahul on this. There was speculation for the last few years that the game plan was to coronate Rahul Gandhi as Prime Minister soon after the anticipated grand victory at the Uttar Pradesh elections led by him. But that did not happen. Hence, the "now or never" attempts, especially as we hear of the Congress president's failing health, and as the general election draws closer. In this piece, I would like to discuss and share with readers Rahul Gandhi's qualifications for his hereditary entitlement to being India's Prime Minister. I am not prejudiced or old fashioned about the value of college degrees. I am also aware that sometimes, formal education stymies achievement of the gifted. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are eminent examples of this in the contemporary world. I believe even Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison, whose achievements transformed modern pure and applied science, were also college dropouts. But it did not take them long to make their seminal contribution to the advancement of mankind. And I don't think on any occasion these famous college dropouts ever fudged their academic qualifications. Putting aside Rahul Gandhi's academic achievements, about which enough has been written already, I am trying to think hard of any contribution he has made to the political, economic, social or cultural life of India in the years between his turbulent academic career spanning across several continents, and the present time. Note that he is around the age when President John F. Kennedy was already running the world in those hard times of the Cold War, and Barack Obama faced the challenge of becoming the first non-WASP President of the United States. Undoubtedly, Rahul's strongest asset is his descent, and this in the fast evolving ethos of dynastic democracy in India, ipso facto provides him a natural entitlement to the Prime Ministership of India. However, it is apparent that despite the determined efforts of his mother and acceleration by the hired spokespersons to push his case, he remains somewhat reluctant, and that his heart is really not in it. Why else would he not have taken up some ministry or other, which would have been his for the asking, as did his peers, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot, or Omar Abdullah? Coming back to his contribution, I read in the newspapers that he has done much to bring about democratisation in the Youth Congress, a place where, as an unquestioned monarch, I presume he finds himself comfortable. This might keep him occupied and amused for the time being, but surely he realises that one day he would have to upscale the same democratisation device to the main Congress party, which he is destined to head. Is that what is called an oxymoron? Poor boy, the contradictions and injustices of his life, and the varied conflicts of interest implicit in his political destiny must make him disoriented. Perhaps, this is the reason why he disappears from the Indian scene for long periods of time — presumably to reconcile the great conflicts that he must confront, by the political role irrevocably destined and forced upon him. I have tried to think hard of some substantive contribution from him in the last few years to solve the major problems facing India — from a speech in Parliament on any subject; or regarding alleviation of poverty that dehumanises at least a third of our population; or about inflation and rising prices that are making their lives even more miserable; or about corruption and black money that is devouring our country and perpetuating its poverty; or about Naxalism or fundamentalist terrorism that seriously threatens internal security; or about our relations with China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, or the US and Russia. I must say that despite my best efforts, I draw a blank. Not even on the ongoing tragedy of Assam has he said or done anything yet. But I do recall Rahul reading out a sheet of paper in Parliament that the Lokpal should have constitutional status. I am not sure whether he was even aware that his government did not have the necessary strength to pull through the amendment required for his suggestion. There is also a murky side to Rahul's history that is in the public domain. Alas, it is inescapable that along with his dynastic Prime Ministerial entitlement, he must also inherit the sins of his dynasty. KGB archives after the fall of the Soviet Union reveal that since 1982, when Indira Gandhi was still the Prime Minister, Soviet trading agencies were channelling funds into a company controlled by her son and Rahul's father, the future Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Harvard Russian scholar Yevgenia Albats has clearly narrated this in her book, The State Within A State: The KGB and Its Hold on Russia. The Swiss news-magazine Schweizer Illustrierte (11 November 1991) provided more details. Citing newly opened KGB records, it reported that Sonia Gandhi, widow of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, was controlling a secret account worth 2.5 billion Swiss francs in a Swiss bank in her minor son's name. Ms Albats had full access to secret files of the KGB, and disclosed in her book that KGB chief Victor Chebrikov in December 1985 had sought in writing from the central committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), "authorization to make payments in US dollars to the family members of Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, namely Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Ms Paola Maino, mother of Sonia Gandhi." CPSU payments were authorised by a resolution, CPSU/CC/No 11228/3 dated 20 December, 1985; and endorsed by the USSR Council of Ministers. These payments had been coming since 1971, as payments received by Sonia Gandhi's family, and "have been audited in CPSU/CC resolution No. 11187/22 OP dated October 12, 1984". These facts have been published in the national and international media, and have not been contradicted by anyone in the Gandhi family, nor has any defamation suit been filed. Rahul Gandhi, do you have anything to say about this? This piece raises questions which our Prime Minister in waiting must answer to the people of India to set at rest serious misgivings about his credentials and qualifications. I had invited his answers to nine questions raised by me in my letter of 27.11.2008. He has never been able to furnish them or make them public. I reiterate them again and request him to refresh his memory. There is a Right to Information Act in this country. People are entitled to know all they want to know about our imminent ruler to be. Rahul Gandhi must also realise that he is not an eternal minor, and Manmohan Singh is no eternal Prince Regent. Source: http://www.sunday-guardian.com/analysis/unpleasant-truths-about-rahul

Assam’s tragedy has roots in history

ETHICS & POWER  RAM JETHMALANI www.sunday-guardian.com/profile/ram-jethmalani

Ram Jethmalani is a senior politician and eminent lawyer.

The issue is of foreign infiltrators inundating the land that for centuries has belonged to the Assamese and tribals.

Riot-affected women at a relief camp in Kokrajhar district of Assam last week. PTI ssam, the old Kamarupa, has a long and proud history of remarkable continuity, until its internal governance, demography and society were irreversibly dislocated by the imperial and colonial compulsions of the Raj. Powerful dynasties and clans, such as the Khen, Koch, Bhuyan and Ahoms were able to retain their power and kingdoms, in spite of internal feuds and frequent incursions by the Mughals and Burmese during the last four centuries. The Burmese invaded Assam three times between 1817 and 1819, politically weakening the Ahom rulers of Assam, and bleeding and decimating the population. This set the stage for the British campaign against the Burmese whom they defeated, leading to the Treaty of Yandaboo in 1825. By 1839, Assam was completely annexed by the British, who included it as a part of the Bengal Presidency. The colonial government then established its monopoly over tea, in addition to the opium trade monopoly that it already held. Protests were suppressed by execution, and there was acute social unrest. In 1874, Assam was separated from the Bengal Presidency, and with Sylhet, it became a Chief Commissioner's Province, with its capital at Shillong. Oil was discovered in 1889 at Digboi, and with this, colonialism received further stimulus to entrench itself in Assam. The tea, oil and coal-mining industries put increasing pressure on agriculture, placing peasants into hardship and starvation. From 1905 onwards, the demographic invasion from East Bengal had started for cheap labour, encouraged by the colonial government, and continues unabated even today, encouraged by subsequent governments, for different reasons. It is recorded that between 1905 and 1921, the immigrant population from East Bengal increased four times over. Assam has had the highest rate of population growth in India since the beginning of this century. Between 1961 and 1971, the proportion of Assamese declined for the first time and that of Bengali speakers increased; between 1971 and 1981, 1.2 million migrants were added to a population of 14.6 million in 1971, and the number of registered voters increased inexplicably from 6.5 million in 1972 to 8.7 million in 1979. Clearly, the demographic invasion and its electoral returns, and the inevitable conflict for livelihoods, land and political power had begun. The year 1979 saw Assam explode into a massive agitation against illegal immigration, with an agenda of compelling the government to identify and expel illegal immigrants and prevent new immigration. Though the agitation was mostly non-violent, there was also the dreadful Nellie massacre that left 3,000 dead after the controversial 1983 state elections. The agitation ended in 1985 following the Assam Accord that was signed by the agitation leaders and the Government of India. The agitation leaders formed a political party, Asom Gana Parishad, which came to power after the Assembly elections of 1985. But the simmering anger and discontent amongst Bodos, Rabhas, Tiwas, and other indigenous tribes, that the government was not preventing illegal migration from Bangladesh, was not extinguished. Electoral politics and its lust for minority votes, in addition to the ongoing conflict for jobs and control over land in which Assamese, Bengalis and the tribals are caught, has deepened the fault lines. This is not a communal or Hindu Muslim issue, but an issue of foreign infiltrators who are inundating the land that for centuries has belonged to the Assamese and tribals. We are informed that the latest violence in Assam was fuelled by the killing of four Bengali-speaking Muslim settlers in early July. On 20 July, four former Bodo Liberation Tigers men were killed in Kokrajhar. This resulted in Bodo retaliation against Bengali-speaking settlers, after which the ethnic clashes began, resulting in large scale violence and loss of life in Kokrajhar district, immeasurable destruction of public and private property, and a complete dislocation of public services. The ethnic violence has reportedly caused displacement of around 400,000 people. Assam, its demographic invasion, and its ethnic, primarily Bodo cleansing, is no sudden development that has taken the state and Central governments by surprise. I am sure that the Prime Minister as an eminent Rajya Sabha member from Assam would have been in full knowledge of the ticking ethnic time bomb. His visit to Assam, his announcements of compensation are the cosmetic bit. But has he or his government seriously thought about a sustainable preventive and curative remedy? From their statements that I read, I can only conclude that the government continues to be in a state of perfect denial regarding the root cause of the conflict, namely, the uncontrolled illegal migration of Bangladeshis, that is nothing short of a demographic invasion of our country. I repeat, this is not a religious or minority issue, and no political party with national interest as paramount, should subvert it into one. It is purely an Indian versus foreign illegal migrant issue, and an issue of deliberate encouragement of continuous and unchecked waves of illegal immigrants from across the border, at the cost of the native inhabitants, presumably for the sake of electoral security, as against national security. L.K. Advani, president of the BJP has stated the right words of caution that the root cause of the unfortunate violence was the large scale immigration from Bangladesh, and it was government's inaction that gave rise to insecurity and threat to the indigenous communities. "Today's situation has arisen firstly because of criminal delay in dealing with the situation when symptoms were already there. But introspection must lead to the identification of the root cause which is the issue of illegal migration from Bangladesh of which serious note has been taken even by the Supreme Court... I don't attribute this issue to any communal or ethnic factors alone. They contribute in their own way. But the basic issue is the feeling that indigenous Assamese people have about being squeezed out and they are being deprived of rightful ownership of land by illegal immigration," he said. Advani also questioned the Centre and Assam government regarding what action they had taken to detect and deport illegal immigrants even seven years after the Supreme Court had stuck down the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act in July 2005. "Indigenous communities are losing control of their land while illegal Bangladeshi immigrants have embarked on a large-scale land grab policy," Advani observed. "This has also given rise to ethnic problems faced by the Bodos. They feel threatened that they would be marginalised in their own region and in their own lands." He added that "the problem of immigration is also leading to change in demography in the state, and a serious threat to the unity, integrity and security of India." Advani sums up a solution that stands the test of international propriety, legal validity, and national security: * Treat the Assam problem as an Indian versus foreigner issue, and not as a Hindu versus Muslim issue. * Prepare an updated National Register of Citizens, by deleting the names of non-citizens from the voters' list in Assam. * Uphold the non-violability of the tribal belts and blocks in Bodo areas. * Save Assam to save India's unity and integrity in the Northeast. A fence on the international border was supposed to have been built, but has not yet been completed. The Government of Assam and the Government of India continue to remain in a state of denial, and refuse to even discuss the root of the ethnic strife. Will mere statements and compensation packages of the Prime Minister find a lasting solution to the tragedy that has occurred and prevent it from being repeated again? I leave the readers to judge and draw their own conclusions about the real intent of the government. To be continued Source: http://www.sunday-guardian.com/analysis/assams-tragedy-has-roots-in-history

सावरकर, स्वामी और मोदी का भारत - हमको क्यों नहीं स्वीकार?

 

कहा जाता हैं कि भारत विविधताओं का देश है। बात सच भी है। संस्कृति की समरसता के छत्र में वैविध्य की वाटिका यहाँ सुरम्य दृष्टिगत होती है। परन्तु आज वही भारत विडंबनाओं का देश बनने की ओर अग्रसर है। कारण वह मानसिकता है जो भारतीय न होते हुए भी भारतीयों को घेरे जा रही है। मर्यादा पुरुषोत्तम की जन्मभूमि भारत में मर्यादा ऐसी अन्तर्निहित थी कि उसे ऊपर से थोपने की आवश्यकता नहीं थी। परन्तु आज ऐसा नहीं होता तो उसका कारण इन्हीं अन्तर्निहित मर्यादाओं का क्षय है जिस कारण आज मर्यादाएँ ऊपर से थोपने की आवश्यकता आन पड़ी है। वैलेंटाईन डे आदि पर दक्षिणपंथी संगठनों द्वारा मर्यादा स्थापित करने के प्रयास अन्तर्निहित मर्यादा के उसी अपरदन के कारण जन्म लेते हैं। मर्यादा का उल्लंघन होगा, तो अपवाद रूप में ये भारत एम एफ हुसैन को बाहर निकलवाने और भारत तोड़ने के षड्यंत्रकारी प्रशांत भूषण को ‘बग्गा-पाठ’ पढ़ाने की भी क्षमता रखता है।

सदैव से आध्यात्म को भौतिकवाद से ऊपर रखने वाले इसी भारत ने "ऋणं कृत्वा घृतं पिबेत" (अर्थात, उधार लो, मौज करो) की अवधारणा देने वाले चार्वाक को भी 'महर्षि' कहा, उन्हें ऋषि परंपरा में शामिल होने का गौरव दिया। वस्तुतः अपने से अलग को भी अपनाने की भावना, हमारी भारतीय संस्कृति का एक अभिन्न अंग है। एक सिंधु के समान कितनी ही नदियाँ यहाँ मिलती आई हैं और समय के साथ साथ वे सब इसी का अंग हो गयी। किन्तु भारतीयता ने अपना मूल अर्थ नहीं खोया। और यह भी प्रमाणित सत्य है कि जो जो इस भारतीयता से ओत प्रोत रहा, उसने इसी संस्कृति को आगे बढ़ाया। आधुनिक युग की बात करें तो स्वामी विवेकानन्द का स्मरण होता है। थोड़ा और आगे सावरकर दिखलाई पड़ते हैं। और अभी की बात करें तो सुब्रमनियन स्वामी और नरेन्द्र मोदी जैसे उदाहरण हैं।

पाठक कहेंगे कि सावरकर, मोदी और स्वामी समरसता के नहीं अलगाववाद के प्रतीक हैं। परन्तु परछाई देख कर वस्तु के रंग को काला समझ लेने की भूल तो मूर्ख ही किया करते हैं। यही आज की समस्या है। अपनी भारतीयता की अन्तर्निहित स्वीकरण की भावना को छोड़ जब हम पाश्चात्य मापदंड अपनाते हैं, तब हमें नैसर्गिकता भी विकृति लगने लगती है। ये उन मापदंडों का दोष है कि परछाई देख कर एक शुभ्र वस्तु भी काली समझ ली जाती है। बात उदाहरण से स्पष्ट हो पायेगी।

समरसता और स्वीकरण, जो अपने नहीं, उन्हें भी अपना लेने का उदाहरण सावरकर जैसा अनोखा शायद ही मिले। हिंदू मुस्लिम वामनस्य के उस दौर में सावरकर ने 'हिंदू' शब्द को ऐसा परिभाषित किया कि भारत-भक्त मुस्लिम उस परिभाषा में हिंदू समाज, हिंदू राष्ट्र की अवधारणा के अंग बन गए। सावरकर के अनुसार, "जो भी इस भारत भूमि को अपनी पितृभूमि एवं अपनी पुण्यभूमि मानता है, वह हिंदू है"। अब इस परिभाषा के अनुसार प्रत्येक राष्ट्रभक्त भारतीय, उसका पंथ कुछ भी हो, उसका पूजा स्थल मन्दिर हो, अथवा मस्जिद, अथवा चर्च अथवा कुछ और, वह हिंदू हो जाता है। सावरकर के हिंदुत्व की परिभाषा को भारत के सर्वोच्च न्यायालय ने अपने निर्णय में अपनाया। सावरकर ने कहा था, "भारत के मुस्लिमों, ये देश आपका है। इसके टुकड़े करने के षड़यंत्र में न फँसो। आप साथ हो तो आपके साथ, आप साथ नहीं हो तो आपके बिना, और आप विरोध में हो तो आपने विरोध के बावजूद, हम भारत को स्वतंत्र करवाएँगे।" विभाजन के लिए उत्तरदायी राजनैतिक दल के कुछ लोग ऐसा कहने वाले सावरकर को उलटे विभाजन का उत्तरदायी ठहराते हैं। उन्हें 'हिंदू जिन्ना' तक कह डालते हैं। फ़्रांस की सरकार सावरकर पर स्मारक बनना चाहती है परन्तु वोटबैंक की राजनीति में जकड़ी भारत की सरकारें लगभग १५-१६ साल से फ़्रांस को अनुमति नहीं दे रही हैं। यदि इस परिभाषा पर अमल किया जाये, तो 'अल्पसंख्यक' जैसे कपटपूर्ण शब्द की आवश्यकता ही न रहे।

कुछ ऐसी ही बात की भ्रष्टाचार के विरुद्ध लड़ाई लड़ रहे डॉ. सुब्रमनियन स्वामी ने। उन्होंने अपनी पुस्तकों में एवं कुछ मास पहले प्रकाशित अपने लेख में भी इसी प्रकार के विचार व्यक्त किए। 'जो भी भारत की प्राचीन संस्कृति में आस्था रखता है, मानता है कि वह भी इसी मिट्टी की संतान है, उसके पूर्वज यहीं के थे, कहीं बाहर से नहीं आये, आज उसका पूजा-स्थल कोई भी हो, वह हमारे 'विराट हिंदू समाज' का अंग है। हाँ, यदि ऐसा नहीं है, तो वह विरोध, विध्वंस एवं विनाश के बीज बोएगा, और उसे ऐसा करने से रोकने की आवश्यकता है।' तथाकथित 'अल्पसंख्यक' जिन्हें स्वयं को छाती पीट पीट कर धर्मनिरपेक्षता का ढोंग करके तुष्टिकरण कर अपनी राजनैतिक रोटियाँ सेंकने वाले राजनैतिक दलों ने इतने वर्षों से उस अखबार की तरह प्रयोग किया जिसपे खाना खा कर उसे कूड़े में फेंक दिया जाता है, वे सभी केवल इस अपनत्व को स्वीकार लें, तो वे इस प्रकार प्रयोग होने से बच जाएँ। परन्तु, उसी लेख के कारण सुब्रमनियन स्वामी पर अनर्गल आरोप लगाये गए।

अब आते हैं नरेन्द्र मोदी पर। मोदी ने सदैव "मेरे ५ करोड़ गुजराती" कह कर अपनी प्रजा को संबोधित किया। शायद हमारे प्रधानमंत्री मनमोहन सिंह जी को उनसे सीख लेने की आवश्यकता है जो वे उर्दू में लिखा अपना भाषण पढ़ते हुए लाल किले की प्राचीर से भी भारतवासियों को नहीं, "हिंदुओं, मुस्लिमों, सिखों, ईसाईयों" को संबोधित करते हैं। सबका साथ, सबका विकास, समरसता, सद्भावना को जीवंत करके दिखलाने वाले मोदी के गुजरात में विगत ९.५ वर्ष अभूतपूर्व सांप्रदायिक सौहार्द के वर्ष रहे हैं। दंगों का लंबा इतिहास रखने वाले गुजरात में २००२ के दंगों के बाद से वहाँ साम्प्रदायिकता का एक पत्ता नहीं खड़का। स्वयं भारत सरकार द्वारा मनोनीत समितियों की रिपोर्ट कहती है कि गुजरात में मुस्लिम भारत के किसी अन्य राज्य की अपेक्षा अधिक सुखी, अधिक संपन्न हैं। और विकास की अभूतपूर्व आँधी में मोदी ने संस्कृति सभ्यता का हनन नहीं होने दिया। गुजरात के सांस्कृतिक गौरव को जीवंत रखा। परन्तु मोदी की छवि उसके बिलकुल विपरीत बनाने के प्रयास किए गए। वस्तुतः मोदी के चरित्र हनन के जितने प्रयास हुए हैं, उन्हें देख कर कंस द्वारा कृष्ण की हत्या के लिए भेजे गए तमाम राक्षसों का स्मरण हो आता है। परन्तु जग जानता है, कंस कृष्ण का कुछ बिगाड़ न सका था, और समय आने पर, कंस का वध भी कृष्ण के ही हाथों हुआ। और ऐसा भी नहीं कि केवल कंस वध ही कृष्ण के होने का कारण हो, वह तो प्रारंभ था। मथुरा को कंस के अत्याचारों से मुक्त करवाने के बाद कृष्ण ने धर्मयुद्ध करवा कर पूरे भारत को एकीकृत कर सम्राट युधिष्ठिर के शासन में धर्म की संस्थापना की थी।

अब प्रश्न उठता है कि वे लोग किस मानसिकता का विष लिए घूम रहे हैं जिन्हें सावरकर, मोदी और स्वामी अपनाने के नहीं, ठुकराने के, जोड़ने के नहीं, तोड़ने के पैरोकार दिखाई देते हैं। ध्यान रहे ये वही लोग हैं, जिन्हें सच को सच कहने में मृत्यु आती है। ये वो लोग हैं जो अन्ना हजारे द्वारा गुजरात के विकास की प्रशंसा करने पर ऐसा विधवा-प्रलाप करते हैं कि अपने आन्दोलन के निष्फल हो जाने के भय से घबराए अन्ना को विवश हो कर प्रशंसा वापिस लेनी पड़ती है। महबूबा मुफ्ती मोदी की प्रशंसा करके मुकर जाती हैं और उनका झूठ बैठक के प्रतिलेखों से सामने आता है। डेढ़ दशक से अधिक समय से प्रत्यक्ष समाज सेवा में लगी, अनेक अनाथ बच्चों, विधवा स्त्रियों एवं असहाय वृद्धों के लिए वात्सल्यग्राम चलाने वाली पूजनीया साध्वी ऋतंभरा के भ्रष्टाचार विरोधी आन्दोलन में शामिल होने पर इस मानसिकता के लोग ऐसा हंगामा खड़ा करते हैं, जैसे आसमान टूट पड़ा हो। कारण, उनके विरुद्ध रामजन्मभूमि विवाद से सम्बंधित एक अभियोग न्यायालय में लंबित है। परन्तु, उन्हीं लोगों को कभी भी भारत विरोधी भाषण देने वाले शाही इमाम के आगे मत्था टेकने में कोई खोट दिखाई नहीं देता। और इस मानसिकता के विकृत रूप की पराकाष्ठा तो तब हुई जब ८ दशकों से इस देश की अस्मिता एवं अखंडता की रक्षा एवं सेवा में लगे राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ को भ्रष्टाचार विरोधी आन्दोलन से अलग दिखलाने के लिए अन्ना और उनकी टीम ने धरती आकाश एक कर दिए। १० वर्षों से संघ के स्वयंसेवकों द्वारा स्थापित मुस्लिम राष्ट्रीय मंच पहले कश्मीर और अब सम्पूर्ण भारत के मुस्लिमों को विद्वेष एवं तुष्टिकरण की राजनीति खेलने वाले दलों के दुष्प्रचार के चक्रव्यूह से बाहर निकालने में लगा हुआ है। पर जो लोग सावरकर, मोदी और स्वामी के तत्व को न देख, उनकी परछाई को ही देख उन्हें गलत समझने की भूल करते हैं, अथवा सब कुछ जान बूझ कर उनके विरुद्ध दुष्प्रचार करते हैं, वहीं लोग संघ को भी लांछित करने में सबसे आगे होते हैं।

सम्बंधित लेख - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
जयप्रकाश नारायण के साथ मेरे अनुभव : डा. सुब्रमणियन स्वामी
जिस देश को बरबाद करना हो सबसे पहले उसकी संस्कृति पर हमला करो
मैकॉले का अभियान सौ वर्ष के अंदर इंडिया के कोने-कोने तक पहुंचा
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परछाई तो केवल उस प्रकाश की अनुपस्थिति का प्रमाण है जो व्यक्ति ने सोख लिया ताकि वह जग को प्रकाशित कर सके। परछाई देख मंतव्य बना लेना तो भारतीय संस्कृति नहीं। कैसी विडम्बना है कि मोदी के विकास की प्रशंसा करना भी पाप है, और संघ या साध्वी ऋतंभरा भ्रष्टाचार के विरुद्ध लड़ने आएँ तो उनसे अछूतों जैसा व्यवहार करने की संस्तुति की जाती है। क्या 'सत्यमेव जयते' के देश में सच कहना प्रतिबंधित हो गया है ? हमें सावरकर, मोदी, स्वामी और संघ जैसे उदाहरणों से सीखने की आवश्यकता है। वही हमारी संस्कृति के आधुनिक प्रतिनिधि हैं, और संरक्षक भी, और हमारे स्वर्णिम भविष्य के स्वप्न को साकार करने के दायित्व के उत्तराधिकारी भी। सनातन राष्ट्रवाद को समझने और अपनाने की आवश्यकता है। भारत को विडंबनाओं का नहीं, पुनः गौरवपूर्ण विविधताओं का राष्ट्र बना पुनः विश्वगुरु पद पर आसीन करवाने के मार्ग में यह एक महती योगदान होगा।

अभिषेक टंडन (ये लेखक के निजी विचार हैं) | लेखक से ट्विट्टर पर जुडें
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Source: http://hindi.ibtl.in/news/rashtra-vandana/1869/article.ibtl

Hinduism, the hidden inspiration behind Hollywood blockbusters

Matrix Trilogy and Yoga Vasistha

Anand Mathur

The core philosophy of Hollywood’s super hit trilogy “Matrix” is inspired by the philosophy of the ancient Indian text “Yoga Vasistha”. The Yoga Vasistha is the knowledge portion of the Ramayana just like The Bhagwad Gita is the knowledge portion of the “Itihas” Mahabharata.

Yoga Vasistha is a discussion between “The One” – Rama with Sage Vasistha. In it Vasistha explains the nature and reasons of Creation, of its Existence and Dissolution. It explains the indivisible relationship of the individual to the Cosmos.

There are several similarities between the text and the movie. Let us examine some of them below.

The meeting of the “ONE” – Neo, with the child prodigy at The Oracle’s residence reminds one of the dialogues between the Prince Rama and Sage Vasistha. The child says “it is not the spoon that is bending….”. Vasistha tells Rama “the Universe is but an extension of that One Self, which is you.”

Similarly the Architect tells Neo that this was the 6th time this Matrix had been created and each time Neo has been the challenge, while in the Yoga Vasistha, Vasistha says “Rama this creation has been re-created for the 76th time exactly the same way albeit with minor changes and you have been born as Lord Rama the 76th time”!!! Reminds one of the quaint statement of the Architect, “this time the experience is far more specific.”

Similarly The Frenchman tells Neo that they both have been here before and he has had the better of him each time! His speech on cause and effect are lectures on the theory of Karma.

The dialogue between Neo and Morpheus during the former’s training in the simulated Matrix is familiar too. Morpheus repeatedly exhorts Neo to overcome the conditioning of his mind in the imaginary Matrix leading Neo to perform extraordinary feats such as flying, dodging bullets, bringing Trinity to life and even stopping the machines outside the matrix!

Similarly in Yoga Vasistha, Vasistha explains to Rama that the Creation is nothing but imagination. He narrates several stories to drive home his point wherein the protagonists have created entire Universes and cities in their minds and perform extra-ordinary feats even while experiencing pain and pleasure therein! Ironically Morpheus is Neo’s teacher but only Neo is destined to break the mould, to be the One, just like Rama.

Neo gets flashes of what he has to do in the future to stop Mr. Smith and the war. The Architect tells Neo, “but we know what you will do.” The Oracle asks him, “You dream of it don’t you?” Similarly Vasistha tells Rama that the future is known; that there is no choice but to do what one will be impelled to do. He tells Rama that it is his destiny to fight Ravana and to destroy him in battle.

Neo masters his mind becoming the chosen One. It is the concept of Avatar in India. He becomes one with nature within and without the Matrix, mastering it by merging his consciousness in it. Similarly Rama too understands the Unity in the Cosmos and rejoins with his pristine ancient consciousness thereby becoming the Avatar that Vasistha has already told him he is.

Finally we should discuss the scene where Neo is blinded by Mr. Smith but can see all objects and people in golden forms. This is the classical description of the Hiranyagarbha, The Golden Cosmic Egg, in ancient Indian texts including Yoga Vasistha. This golden material is the substratum of the Cosmos, the ultimate and unbroken particle; Neo uses his complete Oneness with the Universe before the final battle to his advantage.

Introduction of characters with Indian names like Sita etc and their discussion with Neo on Karma in Matrix Reloaded also show a strong Indian influence. The chanting at the beginning of the credits of the third part, i.e. Matrix Revolutions is the ancient Indian Sanskrit salutation to the Guru…

ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय ।
तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय ।
मृत्योर्माऽमृतं गमय ।
ॐ शान्ति: शान्ति: शान्ति: ॥

Lead us from the Unreal to the Real.
From darkness to light.
From death to immortality.
Om Peace! Om Peace! Om Peace.


Source: http://dharmanext.blogspot.in/2012/08/hinduism-hidden-inspiration-behind.html
 

Supreme Court order should shame UPA

ETHICS & POWER RAM JETHMALANI www.sunday-guardian.com/profile/ram-jethmalani Ram Jethmalani is a senior politician and eminent lawyer. The Supreme Court verdict in the black money case proves that the government is infested with brigands. reproduce below some excerpts from the Supreme Court Order of 4 July 2011, in a case filed by me, Ram Jethmalani and Others vs Union of India and Others, popularly known as the Black Money Case. The Court applied its mind over a broad canvas covering all direct and indirect repercussions of the black money issue, including national security. The excerpts: "(i) The worries of this Court relate not merely to the quantum of monies said to have been secreted away in foreign banks, but also the manner in which they may have been taken away from the country, and with the nature of activities that may have engendered the accumulation of such monies ... both in terms of the concentration of economic power, and also the fact that such monies may be transferred to groups and individuals who may use them for unlawful activities that are extremely dangerous to the nation, including actions against the State. "(ii) The worries of this Court also relate to the manner, and the extent to which such cycles are damaging to both national and international attempts to combat the extent, nature and intensity of cross-border criminal activity. "(iii) Unaccounted for monies, especially large sums held by nationals and entities with a legal presence in the nation, in banks abroad, especially in tax havens or in jurisdictions with a known history of silence about sources of monies, clearly indicate a compromise of the ability of the State to manage its affairs in consonance with what is required from a constitutional perspective. "(iv) Beyond a particular point, the State may spin into a vicious cycle of declining moral authority. "(v) The issue of unaccounted for monies held by nationals, and other legal entities, in foreign banks, is of primordial importance to the welfare of the citizens. "(vi) It may very well reveal the degree of 'softness of the State'. "(vii) International criminal networks that extend support to home-grown terror or extremist groups, or those that have been nurtured and sustained in hostile countries, depend on networks of formal and informal, lawful and unlawful mechanisms of transfer of monies across boundaries of nation-States. "(viii) The State provides violent support to those who benefit from such predatory capitalism, often violating the human rights of its citizens, particularly its poor. The market begins to function like a bureaucratic machine dominated by big business; and the State begins to function like the market, where everything is available for sale at a price. "Ethical compromises, by the elite — those who wield the powers of the State, and those who fatten themselves in an ever more exploitative economic sphere — can be expected to thrive in an environment marked by such a permissive attitude, of weakened laws, and of weakened law enforcement machineries and attitudes. "(ix) If the State is soft to a large extent, especially in terms of the unholy nexus between the law makers, the law keepers, and the law breakers, the moral authority, and also the moral incentives, to exercise suitable control over the economy and the society would vanish. Large unaccounted for monies are generally an indication of that. "(x) Consequently we have to express our serious concerns from a constitutional perspective. The amount of unaccounted for monies, as alleged by the Government of India itself is massive. "(xi) Yet, for unknown, and possibly unknowable, though easily surmisable, reasons the investigations into the matter proceeded at a laggardly pace. Even the named individuals had not yet been questioned with any degree of seriousness. These are serious lapses, especially when viewed from the perspective of larger issues of security, both internal and external, of the country. Including but not limited to evasion of taxes. "(xii) The petitioners also further contend that a significant part of such large unaccounted for monies include the monies of powerful persons in India, including leaders of many political parties. It was also contended that the Government of India, and its agencies, have been very lax in terms of keeping an eye on the various unlawful activities generating unaccounted for monies, the consequent tax evasion; and that such laxity extends to efforts to curtail the flow of such funds out of, and into, India. Governments efforts have been weak or non-existent. "(xiii) Enforcement Directorate, in 2007, disclosed that Hassan Ali Khan had "dealings amounting to 1.6 billion US dollars" in the period 2001-2005. He had amassed 8.04 billion dollars with UBS Bank in Zurich. "(xiv) Contrasting the relative alacrity, and vigour, with which the United States Government had pursued the matters, the petitioners contend that the inaction of the Union of India is shocking. "The petitioners further allege that in 2007, Reserve Bank of India had obtained some 'knowledge of the dubious character' of UBS Security India Private Limited, a branch of UBS, and consequently stopped this Bank from extending its business in India by refusing to approve its takeover of Standard Chartered Mutual Funds business in India. It was also claimed by the petitioners that SEBI had alleged that UBS played a role in the stock market crash of 2004. The said UBS Bank has apparently applied for a retail banking licence in India, which was approved in principle by RBI initially. In 2008, this licence was withheld on the ground that 'investigation of its unsavoury role in Hassan Ali Khan's case was pending investigation in the Enforcement Directorate'. However, it seems that RBI reversed its decision in 2009, and no good reasons seem to be forthcoming for the reversal of the decision of 2008. The petitioners contend that such a reversal of decision could only have been accomplished through high level intervention, and that it is further evidence of linkages between members of the political class, and possibly even members of the bureaucracy, and such banking operations, and the illegal activities of Hassan Ali Khan and the Tapurias. Hence, the petitioners argued, in the circumstances it would have to be necessarily concluded that the investigations into the affairs of Hassan Ali Khan and the Tapurias, would be severely compromised if the Court does not intervene, and monitor the investigative processes by appointing a Special Investigation Team reporting directly to the Court. "Hence, the petitioners argued, in the circumstances it would have to be necessarily concluded that the investigations into the affairs of Hassan Ali Khan and the Tapurias, would be severely compromised if the Court does not intervene, and monitor the investigative processes by appointing a Special Investigation Team reporting directly to the Court. "Counsel for the Union of India expressed his willingness for a Court-monitored investigation. He also further submitted that the respondents, in principle, have no objections whatsoever against the main submissions of the petitioners. "(xv) That the lack of seriousness in the efforts of the respondents are contrary to the requirements of laws and constitutional obligations of the Union of India. It was only upon the insistence and intervention of Court that the Enforcement Directorate initiated and secured custodial interrogation of Hassan Ali Khan. "(xviii) The Union of India has explicitly acknowledged that there was much to be desired with the manner in which the investigation had proceeded prior to the intervention of this Court. From the more recent reports, it would appear that the Union of India, on account of its more recent efforts to conduct the investigation with seriousness, on account of the gravitas brought by this Court, has led to the securing of additional information, and leads, which could aid in further investigation. For instance, during the continuing interrogation of Hassan Ali Khan and the Tapurias, undertaken for the first time at the behest of this Court, many names of important persons, including leaders of some corporate giants, politically powerful people, and international arms dealers have cropped up. So far, no significant attempt has been made to investigate and verify the same. This is a further cause for the grave concerns of this Court, and points to the need for continued, effective and day-to-day monitoring by an SIT constituted by this Court, and acting on behalf, behest and direction of this Court. "(xix) For instance, during the continuing interrogation of Hassan Ali Khan and the Tapurias, undertaken for the first time at the behest of this Court, many names of important persons, including leaders of some corporate giants, politically powerful people, and international arms dealers have cropped up. So far, no significant attempt has been made to investigate and verify the same." In the above excerpts, the Supreme Court has in polite judicial language, found that the ruling government is either infested with black money brigands or is controlled by them. It cannot be trusted to investigate, prosecute or recover the stolen assets, and the Court is therefore compelled to act. To be continued...

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