Karbi Anglong

This is not 'ethnic violence' as being portrayed by the administration and the media. Rather, this is engineered violence. Two armed militant groups United People's Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) and Dima Halom Daggah (DHD), which enjoy the patronage of the Assam government and the Union government, are behind this violence.

Times of India insults Hindu Gods!

The very secular paper, The Times of India, published an article, "He's hot, he's cool, he's Indian Idol No.1" by Ms. Bachi Karkaria on 8th March which incidentally was a Shivratri Day. The article was about Lord Shiva and it was so offensive and hurting that by their own admission they received numerous protesting letters from readers.

Some gems from the article are - "Yes, Mahadev is maha-dude", "The Skanda Puran tells us of his rampant libido, not thinking twice before seducing even the wives of rishis, and with no great subtlety either" and "Shiva is the original radical."

And what was the editor's response? "The intention was to put Shiva in a contemporary context, and portray him as an approachable deity". Then the editor went on to say, "We apologize for any hurt or offence caused". Is it a sincere and an honest apology? Instead of honestly apologizing, TOI had the audacity to publish one Prashanth's letter (24th March) on the subject justifying the vulgar contents of the original article. It only shows that TOI is neither repentant nor sorrowful for the foul deed it committed.

One reader, Bharath Sairam, pointedly asked the TOI a question - "...Would you display the same chutzpah in printing articles on the greater 'dudeness' of the founders of Christianity and Islam?" 

Seer runs empire worth 5,000 cr : TOI

The TOI has once again stooped down to the lowest grade of journalism. While writing about the social work done by the Kanchi Mutt and the expanse of its followers, TOI writes that it "controls a network of assets which is estimated to be over Rs 5,000 crore". These assets comprise of schools, colleges, hospitals, etc. The Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam runs through its various trusts over 200 schools, several hospitals including the Shanakara Netralaya and Childs Trust Hospital in Chennai and at Guwahati apart from various other cities, about 25 colleges including the deemed university at Kancheepuram - Chandrashekarendra Saraswathi Vishwamahavidyalaya which runs colleges for MCA, an Engineering college, degree colleges and a management school. The deemed university has an international library which has material to do research on all religions.

The TOI could not think of a heading which would reflect the social work undertaken by the Seer. Instead this very positive news item has been given such a distasteful heading. It gives the impression that the Seer had made lot of property for himself while on the contrary all the assets of the Mutt are for social work. Of course, the TOI cannot dare to talk of the Pope or Imams who run empires much bigger than the Seer's, which would make the Seer look like a petty peasant.

This once again proves that TOI is anti-Hindu and would not a waste a single opportunity to hurt and insult the Hindus.

Times of India justifies infiltrations from Bangladesh

When every nation is trying to tighten immigration laws with a view to restrict unwanted entries, here is a national daily, preaching to the contrary. The editorial in The Times of India, Mumbai, dated 29th July 2004, titled "Bangla Bogey" justifies the infiltration from Bangladesh. 

"Bangladeshi Indians, for that is the status they deserve, perform the least-paid jobs in urban India with minimum fuss. As domestic helps, fish sellers and ragpickers, they are crucial to India's 'service sector' economy as professionals in software and banking sectors," says the editorial. In a country where millions are jobless and go to bed without food, can we spare even these less paid jobs to the foreigners?

It says that "the migration is simply a result of the economic crisis in Bangladesh" and that "India should help Bangladesh revive its economy without playing big brother". There are many countries in the world which are facing economic crisis. Does the TOI agree to extending the same hospitality to all? Would the US or UK or any other country allow our fellow Indians to live on their land and make a livelihood without merit? Will Pakistan allow their own brothers from the east to come and stay? Then, why should we allow the Bangladeshis to overburden our resources?

TOI writes "A globalised world is meant to be a liberal, humane place......" Yes, this is exactly what we are concerned about. If TOI wants Bangladesh to be a "human place", it should ask the country as to what happened to its 30% Hindu population which has come down to less than 10% now. TOI should at least report the human rights violation that is taking place almost every day in that country against the minority Hindus.

It talks of adhering to Geneva Convention, which accords to refugees virtually all the rights of naturalised citizens. When Rohingya Muslims because of rape, abduction, outright murder, fled Burma and crossed over to Bangladesh, Bangladesh was determined to throw out each one of them. That is how Bangladesh protects its borders. But we in India are expected to welcome the illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators. Would Bangladesh give the same welcome if Indians lived there illegally?

One can understand political parties supporting infiltrators as they become their vote bank, but what are the compulsions of the TOI that make it unpatriotic and anti-national? 

Hindu Waging War for Islam

"UK terrorist: Born a Hindu, waging war for Islam" - This is the heading of Timesofindia.com dated 6th August, Friday. The news reads:

"London: Abu Musa al-Hindi, whose arrest sparked off terror alerts in the US last week, was born into a Hindu family in India, according to reports. Al-Hindi, who later converted to Islam, is believed to have written surveillance reports for al-Qaeeda, the discovery of which set US intelligence agencies scrambling last week, MSNBC.com reports."

It should be noted how the Times of India twists the heading to demean Hindus and Hinduism. A man is converted to Islam and becomes a terrorist. Islam taught him to be a terrorist, then why bring Hindu here, and that too in the headline? Why doesn't the Times of India admit that as long as Al-Hindi was a Hindu he was not a terrorist and Islam made him that? Why call him a Hindu when he no longer is one?

Amulya Ganguli's Secular Sermon

Amulya Ganguli in his column in Asian Age gives a secular sermon to the BJP and the Sangh Parivar. Who needs this secular sermon? A party and people who hoisted the national flag on a public ground which was used by a minority community for their prayers on two occasions every year or a party and the community it supports which had banished the national flag claiming that it would hurt the sentiments of the minorities? Is such a minority which gets hurt by the hoisting of the national flag secular? And is such a party which supports such a minority secular?

In his "Secular Sermon" on "the saffron tricolour" Amulya Ganguli exposes his preconceived bias when he writes "To Uma Bharti, the raising of the tricolour at Idgah Maidan on Aug. 15 was not so much an assertion of her seemingly boundless patriotic fervour, as an announcement of a renewed battle against Muslims. However, if she had the courage of her conviction, she should have raised the bhagwa dhwaj, the flag of the Sangh Parivar, and not indulged in the ruse of using the national flag to advance a partisan cause."

When we are talking of the national flag and its rightful place, from where does the question of "bhagwa dhwaj" arise? Why is Amulya Ganguli, who is supposedly "secular" trying to deliberately communalise an issue of national respect. It seems that Amulya Ganguli himself is the one who is in dire need of the "secular sermon".

British Press & Amnesty International Turn Blind Eye to the Miseries of Kashmiri Hindus

Recently FACT, the Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism, organised an exhibition and screened a film on the plight of Kashmiri Hindus called 'Terrorism Unleashed' at one of the most prestigious venues in London, the Commonwealth Club, Northumberland Avenue, just off Trafalgar Square. Earlier, the exhibition was also held at Brent Town hall, Wembley, on June 27, 2004 and at the Clyde hall, Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre, Glasgow three days earlier.

Why is the Media Silent about Ishrat now?

When Ishrat Jahan, the 19 year old college student was shot dead by the Gujarat police at 4.30 a.m. on 15th May in the company of three terrorists carrying arms, the "secular" media, human rights organisations and the Congress leaders were fast in making the public believe that an innocent girl had been brutally murdered by the fanatic Hindus. Now when it is established that Ishrat was indeed involved with the terrorists why is the media and the human rights commission silent? 

"Maharashtra gives clean chit to Ishrat" read the headlines in the "secular" media which was actually a lie. The very next day, the Maharashtra CM's statement "no clean chit to Ishrat" got buried in small letters on an inside page.

"Gujarat Police abducted Ishrat" said a prominent headline. This was a charge made by a rank communal Muslim leader, a complete lie which even Ishrat's family did not dare to make. And right below that, but in fine print in the same media was the statement of the Thane deputy police commissioner that "she left the house on her own". Even though police statement should have been the main headline, the printed headline carried the communal Muslim's charge almost as a fact.

The Gujarat government is the target of "secular" media's intellectual jehad by lies. They feel justified to do what they are doing for the noble cause of secularism. But do they realise the harm they are causing to India? What the world, the Muslim world, will think of India and Hindus? Will they not think we are a barbaric society and a tribal state like many Muslim states? The ISI spends millions to convince the Muslims in Pakistan, in India and elsewhere that Hindus are violent and India is anti-Muslim. The "secular" media is doing the ISI work more credibly.

Difference between Stains and Daliya

Aadikanta Daliya, a 45 year old political worker, was burnt and turned into a ball of fire in the presence of his wife, and children, a girl aged 16 and a boy aged 14. It happened on May 22, 2004. The place was Birsa Munda Chowk, part of Sasra Gram Panchayat in West Midnapore district in Bengal. Daliya a resident of Jhargram, a village nearby, was a dalit and a BJP worker.

Daliya was eating by a wayside food shop when a violent group testified by witnesses to be CPM workers set upon him. He ran and sought shelter in a cloth shop. The attackers soon swelled into a mob, baying for Daliya's blood. It began to loot, set fire to the shops numbering some 50. They pulled Daliya out of the shop, brought him to the street, and set fire to him. Soon he was a ball of flame and ashes amid harrowing cries in front of his horrified and sobbing wife and children, and in the presence of his villagers and the people of the Chowk.

Who were among the spectators to this cruel drama? The Bengal Police! In front of them Daliya became a heap of ashes. Daliya's wife had to struggle for a week with the authorities to secure the charred remains of Daliya. The original sin of the people of Sarsa Gram Panchayat was that they had elected the BJP between 1998 and 2003.

Ardhendu Satpathy, a well-known extortionist of the area and a CPM activist, was found murdered that very morning. So the CPM got the chance they had been waiting for. Did the Marxist-controlled police, who had come to investigate the murder of Satpathy, feel justified in allowing the gruesome torching as an inevitable retaliation? Did any one in the country ever hear of this gruesome news? The local newspapers did carry it. Not a word in any national newspaper. For the multitude of TV channels it was of course a non-event. At that very moment the media was full of news on West Midnapore. About whether there were hunger deaths in the district or not, with the CPM vehemently denying any. Why did a national media fully aware that Daliya was reduced to ashes in the presence of his wife and children and with the Bengal police as eye witness turn a blind eye to it? What would the media have done had Aadikanta Daliya not been a Hindu? This is the clue to the media's silence. Recall Graham Stains being burnt in Orissa five years back? Rightly the media highlighted and condemned this gruesome murder, even though the way they over did that destroyed the image of India in the western world.

Even now the media keeps the nation reminded about the shameful crime. But what is the difference between Stains and Daliya? Graham Stains was not a Hindu and more, he was a Whiteman. In contrast Daliya, though a dalit, was still a Hindu, and worse still 'a communal Hindu' in the eyes of the media.

That is why it makes no news even if Daliya was burnt most cruelly in broad daylight? Or is it because such news would hurt the image of CPM, the guardian of secularism in India? Why did the media black out torching Daliya? Will they explain?

Minister Ashamed to be a Hindu

Union shipping minister T.R. Balu has very unashamedly declared at a Christian ceremony recently that he felt ashamed being born a Hindu. The minister belongs to the DMK, whose leaders, including president M. Karunanidhi, take pride in denouncing Hinduism and terming its rituals retrograde and barbaric, which is one of the main reasons the BJP, its ally in the last Parliament, shifted to the AIADMK headed by Ms Jayalalitha, a staunch believer and regular temple visitor.

And the Asian Age even more unashamedly made it its front page news item. Had a Christian or Muslim Minister said that he was ashamed of his religion, the newspaper would not have dared to print the news item at all, fearing the minorities' sentiments. But when it comes to the majority's sentiments, nobody cares. In fact, the media takes pleasure in denigrating Hinduism and Hindus. The resulting unrest and disharmony is none of their concerns.

Conspiracy of International Media

Amy Waldman writes "Among India's Tribes, Nationalist Hindus Push Their Agenda" in The New York Times dated 24th April, 2004.

Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram which has earned praise for its excellent work of educating and making the tribals self-reliant, has been portrayed by The New York Times writer as a weapon to capture votes for the BJP. In the writer's words, "The tribal belt, which stretches through central and eastern India, provides a window into how the Sangh Parivar has worked as a stealth electoral weapon."

When the Christian Missionaries do so-called social work to lure the tribals and convert them at any cost, alienating them from their own culture in their own land and inculcating separatist tendencies, they are praised. When the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram educates these tribals and inculcates in them the feeling of pride and respect for their own culture and religion and makes them a homogeneous part of the society, it is seen as a political weapon. Such articles expose the double-standards of the international media.  

Moreover, the writer sites an example of re-conversion. A thirty-eight year old farmer Anoop Lal became a Catholic four years ago after visiting a missionary clinic. The writer doesn't fail to mention that he said that no one there had pressed him to convert. But a year or two ago villagers and outsiders began threatening a social boycott if he continued going to the church. As the pressure intensified, he got re-converted, but in Mr. Lal's tiny home two Christian calendars remained. When asked whether he is a Hindu or a Christian, he is confused and starts weeping and says, "They forced me." Vowing of the Christianity he had publicly forsaken he says, "My God knows - I will not leave even if I die."

Such fabricated stories force us to think about the falling standards of the international media. Instead of portraying the truth, the foreign media is out with an agenda with sound financial backing from the Church. The malicious activities of the Christian Missionaries are known to all. Their means of conversions - fraud, malice, bribe, coercion etc. are common knowledge. Yet the writer specifically mentions that nobody had forced Mr. Lal to convert to Christianity. On the other hand, when he is welcomed back to his faith, he is pressurised to do so.

The media has to show India and Hindus in poor light. They are paid for that. The facts can go for a toss. Who cares?

Times of India Sold

It's official: the world's largest-circulated English daily has been involved in some shady business. Exposing a long-known trade fact, a leading Mumbai English tabloid, Mid-Day, published the "rates" for purchasing editorial features in the Times of India. The Times has not issued a denial, and the rogue rate card seems to be the latest indicator of rotting media ethics and tolerance in India for corruption.

For sums ranging from US $45,000 to $66,000, the Mid-Day story alleged, one could buy a news feature plugging their business, get interviewed (the business owner supplies the questions and answers themselves) and have their picture published on the much-scorned Page 3 of the Bombay Times, the city supplement of the Times of India.

In the United States or the United Kingdom, uproar would have erupted after the expose. But the Times of India (TOI) was not even pressed to explain the allegation to its 4.5 million estimated readers, or to any regulatory body. Instead, some attempted to defend the indefensible. Shobhaa De, novelist and acidic columnist, incredibly called the TOI move "brave" and the "future of journalism", never mind the reader being taken for a ride, if not criminal fraud, with no distinct boundaries marked between news and advertisements.

In a brazen display of contempt for the basic tenets of journalism, the "service"' meant that the clear divide between advertisement and editorial was blurred for a negotiable price. The Times of India is already infamous for often plugging its own businesses, such as its search engine and web portal, in its news pages.

The Times of India, once called the "Old Lady of Boribunder", can now be called the "Sold Lady of Boribunder".

Sonia & Media

When India was faced with the shameful prospect of being ruled by a foreigner, none of our newspapers or media persons, barring one or two, had anything to say against it. The anguish and humiliation felt by millions of countrymen was also none of their concern. They kept projecting the Congress supporters who were ready to die at Sonia's feet and made fun of the few leaders from the opposition who raised their voice and tried to revert the shameful inevitable.

When Sonia stepped back, the media went berserk comparing her with Mother Teresa and Annie Besant and turning her into a demy-goddess. One TV channel even went on to say that her sacrifice was next only to Mahatma Gandhi's. The Times of India had Dileep Padgaonkar saying that her becoming prime minister would be in tune 'with the highest Vedantic ideals'. Vir Sanghvi of Hindustan Times talked of 'amazing grace' saying that Sonia had fought till the last just to prove herself and then opted out showing that the battle was important not the prize.

None of them cared to ask why the inner voice could be heard only after meeting the President and not before while being unanimously elected as the president of the Congress Parliamentary Party and why was she tearful while stepping down, but all prominently displayed the Rashtrapati Bhawan's denial of having raised the issue of Sonia's foreign origin.

All the news channels and newspapers failed to mention that the spectacle on the night of May 18, of all the Congress leaders, many of them intelligent men and women, debasing themselves in front of Sonia Gandhi, pleading with her to lead the country, was sickening.

The sense of national dignity, serving in the best interest of the nation, bringing out the voice of the masses of the country are all concepts alien to our media. All they are concerned about is the heavy packages they carry home, courtesy the heavy advertising expenditure of the MNCs. 

Hindi - The Cause of Partition???

Akhilesh Mithal of Asian Age has lost his mind. This fact is evident from his weekly column "Itihaas" published on 18th January 2004. Mithal writes, "Urdu, closer to Persian, a language used in the courts and also as the medium of cultural exchange amongst the social elite aroused the envy of Hindi. The Hindi waalaas began life with a great inferiority complex which has persisted through the late 19th and the 20th century. It caused the Partition of India in 1947."

Mithal's perception of "Itihaas" is so perverted that it doesn't deserve to be commented upon. Apart from distorting history Mithal also exposes his lack of knowledge when he writes, "Banning conversion, like banning divorce, only compels individuals to live in a state they find irksome if not totally unbearable." Hasn't anybody told Mithal that the anti-conversion laws are against conversions by force, fraud, threat, coercion, bribe, etc. and that willful conversion is not objected to?

His lack of awareness is further exposed when he writes, "The RSS are playing a dangerous game of fracturing India along religious and caste lines.....Making the caste Hindus fear and hate others and develop a persecuted community complex may win the RSS power. It does nothing but harm to the country." Mithal needs to be told that it is the RSS which, through its various wings, is doing tremendous work for the education and the upliftment of the vanvasis and the backward classes.

It is high time that Mithal and his editor M.J.Akbar be taught the real history of India before they write and publish spurious history. If it is a history writer's moral responsibility to present the correct picture of our past, it is also the editor's responsibility to ensure that the "Itihaas" published by him is not distorted. The way "Itihaas" is going really makes one wonder, what incentives are so lucrative which lead the writer-publisher duo to present such matter?  

Human Rights or Anti-Hindu Propaganda?

Human Rights Watch (HRW) is a prominent New York based organisation wielding considerable influence on American policymakers and on western perceptions of India. After the Godhra incident of February 2002, HRW in a widely publicized report titled, “We Have No Orders to Save You: State Complicity and Communal Violence in Gujarat,” published in April 30, 2002, claimed that the post-Godhra violence was planned even before the Godhra incident occurred and the attacks on Muslims in Gujarat were “state sponsored.” HRW has authored many reports on communal violence and human rights in India such as a 1999 report on anti-Christian violence and two reports on the Mumbai riots of 1992-1993 in addition to its annual reports on human rights practices worldwide.  

Upon closer examination, it is seen that extensive and systematic bias exists in these reports. Their most glaring defect is the lack of concern for the rights and lives of the majority community- the Hindus. Incidents of communal violence in which both the Hindu majority and a particular minority community were involved in and share the blame for are portrayed as one-sided attacks by Hindus against “innocent minorities.” Human rights abuses against Hindus are either ignored or downplayed as compared to abuses suffered by minority groups.  

In the 1995 report on the Mumbai riots, HRW sought to place the blame for the violent events exclusively on the Hindu community and completely ignored the role of Muslim communalism in the riots. This should be compared with a more objective report on the occurrences by the Srikrishna Commission. There was not a single eyewitness account of attacks on Hindus in the HRW report even though Hindus had also suffered many casualties!  

Again, the 1999 HRW report on attacks on Christians in India blamed Hindu nationalists for all the violence, totally ignoring news reports and individual testimonies which go against such generalizations. Even more disturbing, this report demonstrated hostility towards the Hindu religion itself. It also attributed the 1984 anti-Sikh riots following the assassination of Indira Gandhi to the right-wing Hindu groups, while it is common knowledge that the riots were instigated by Congress Party goons!  

HRW’s most extensive publication on India was its 2002 report on the Gujarat violence. The report claimed that the attacks on Muslims were all state sponsored and planned in advance of the Godhra incident. Virtually all the blame for the violence is placed on the Sangh Parivar and BJP government. HRW, however, did not provide one iota of evidence in the report to back up its assertion of the state having planned the violence in advance. It also dramatically distorted the role of the police in the Gujarat violence.  

The bias is further confirmed when the report titled the chapter on attacks on Hindus as “Retaliatory Attacks on Hindus” while the chapter on attacks on Muslims was titled, “Overview of the Attacks Against Muslims.” While the Hindu mobs were said to have chanted “Jai Sri Ram” when attacking Muslims, the report conveniently avoided incidents where the Muslim mobs shouted “Kill Hindus. Allah is with us” when attacking Hindus.  

Biggest Joke of the Decade !

The web of lies which so-called secularists in India wove over a period of time has its echo in its wordings not only in US media but has found its way in US policy, as dished out again by Seema Mustafa of Asian Age on the 20th December 2003. Bush administration's unconcealed attempt to rest on crutches of the church has as if found a new dimension. It is as unbelievable as it is disgusting.

The US state department in its annual report on International Religious Freedom has painted a dismal picture of secular India, noting an institutionalisation of Hindutva through anti-conversion laws, rewriting of history text books and illegal surveys of Christians by the police in Gujarat. The report has expressed specific concern about the anti-conversion laws passed by Tamil Nadu and Gujarat during the year under review by the US state department.

While Indian secularists have already scripted their anti-Hindu role and have fed international media regularly and spat on their own face, an openly anti-Muslim and pro-Christian US now attempts to sermonise India on secularism which should be the biggest joke of the decade.

The US, blind while indulging in the worst line of Muslim-baiting today, ignores the fact that thousands of Islamic seminaries which have sprung up across the length and breadth of this country are spewing venom and turning out into Jehadi factories. The double-faced policy of the US has one definition of terrorism for itself and another for India. With screaming headlines and loud protestations in favour of their brand of secularism is hypocritical. This assertion is of course the exact opposite of the truth.

Is America not able to see what French President Jaques Chiract says about its six million Muslim citizens? Will it teach him something about secularism? Or to England's former Prime Minister Mrs. Margaret Thatcher or Italian President Burlusconi who swear to drive away their own Muslim citizens? Yet US chooses to remain blind.

The western world's intellectual decline is nowhere so manifest as in its total duplicity on secularism and terrorism. We in India can seek consolation from the fact that its own Muslim problem has gradually tended to become a problem for the whole western world. 

Fate of Secularist Scribes - Spitting on his own face!

There is a very good book published recently on Hinduism, "A to Z of Hinduism" written by Bruce M. Sullivan. But those who have seen the book and indeed appreciated it were shocked to read the review of the same by C. P. Bhambri published recently in the 'Business Standard'. The reviewer gives vent to his personal views, using vicious language against Sangh and other Hindu organisations, which is not relevant at all to the contents of the book itself.

It is unbelievable that while the author refers to the rich streams of multiple traditions which merged to create Hinduism, the reviewer writes out of context about the Sangh Parivar which is "promoting a Brahmanical version of the religion" and trying to "homogenise a religion that has a million internal diversities".

Our faith has given itself a wonderful array of ideas and practices. Its plurality has many faces, shapes and forms. It shows the creativity of Hindu thinkers and for this Hinduism has been called unique, more as a lifestyle unlike semitic religions who believe in commandments. The author pays glowing tribute to the various facets of this 5000-year old religion which is still vibrant and retains its intrinsic dynamics.

However, the reviewer implants his silly comments using intemperate and often crude language. In sheer provocation, the reviewer bares his own slimy mind which is politically motivated. What he adds on his own without bothering about the context tells upon not only his credibility but causes disaffection and disharmony amongst readers. It is unabashed expression of his hatred for the majority community. A few gems are quoted below :

• This rich dictionary (book) serves as a sharp reminder to the self-appointed guardians of political Hinduism that a religious tradition that has evolved over 5000 years should never lose sight of historical context of a tradition.
• The Mahabharata and Ramayana or Tulsidas's Ram Charit Manas are great imaginative works of poets and representative of the social history of specific periods and they have to be rescued from Brahmans and priests who at the behest of self-appointed guardians of Hindu religion are trying to convert literature into the Bible and the Quran.
• It is a fraud on history to present Brahmanical Hinduism as the Hinduism of India.

Sullivan, the author might not have dreamt that the review of his excellent book will have such crude interpolations of the reviewer's prejudices while publishing in the newspaper. Such mindset as shown by Shri Bhambri, the reviewer shows how hollow have been so-called intellectuals in their writings. This is an example which shows that those who choose to spit on their own face get liberal space for vomitting venom against the faith of our forefathers.

The Toronto Star

The Toronto Star made an offensive depiction of Goddess Durga. On October 4, 2003 the star published a photo of an unfinished depiction of the Durga which stirred strong protests from some Hindu readers who said that the undraped frontal view was at least disrespectful, at worst blasphemous. The representation of the Goddess so offended Hindus that the paper had to tender an 'apology to readers'. When the first apology was found qualified, the newspaper apologised again to minimize the hurt caused to the community. About 2000 Hindus had earlier staged a demonstration outside the newspaper's office at Young Street in Toronto. 

Ramkrishna Revisited

Swami Gautamanand, President of the Ramkrishna Mission has complained that the moot recommended book listed on the Britannica's website section on Ramkrishna suggests that the savant was a homosexual. The accusation is appalling and has rung as false as the saint's life was an open book. The recommended book's name is "Kali's Child" which was written by Jeffrey J. Kripal.

Another book by Narasingha Sil, "Ramkrishna Revisited", which is also recommended by Britannica's website is also quite offending to Hindus and a false representation of the Saint. The allegation is as wild as unfounded. The author has a juandiced eye seeing sex several aspects of Hinduism. Ramkrishna is highly revered in India and this denigration is quite unpardonable and reveals the author as a sex maniac.

Foreign Correspondents

India's image in the west has never been so bad. Foreign correspondents have been propagating a picture of an intolerant Hindu majority, ruthlessly hunting down the Muslim minority.

There were 400,000 Hindus in Kashmir in 1947 - and only a few hundreds today. All the rest have been made to flee through terror in the late eighties and early nineties. When Muslim militants stopped buses all over Kashmir and killed all the Hindus - men, women and children - none of the foreign correspondents and diplomats protested about human rights the way they protested after the Gujarat riots. There are 400,000 Hindus who are refugees in their own land, an ethnic cleansing without parallel in the world. Why were none of the foreign correspondents interested in highlighting this fact?

The foreign media does not care to balance its articles : they take an isolated incident such as the murder of Graham Staines or the riots against Muslims in Gujarat, and make it look as it is a whole, telling readers abroad that Christians and Muslims are persecuted in India. When the Babri Masjid mosque was brought down, it was as if eternal shame had descended upon India : 'death of secularism, Hindu fundamentalists have taken over the country, a Black Day in the history of our democracy' screamed the media ad infinitum. However unfortunate the Ayodhya episode was, nobody was killed there; but the terrible Bombay blasts which followed, orchestrated by Indian Muslims, with the active help of Pakistan and the silent approval of Saudi Arabia, which took lives of hundreds of innocent Hindus, never warranted the kind of moral indignation which followed the Gujarat riots.

Does the foreign media know that Hindus themselves have been for centuries the targets of a genocide at the hands of Muslim invaders and that today in Bangladesh or Pakistan they are still at risk? In Assam, Tripura and Nagaland Hindus are being outnumbered by Bangladeshi illegal immigrants and terrorised by pro-Christian separatist groups. Why does nobody bother to say that the tolerant, easygoing middle-class Hindu is so fed-up with being made fun of, hated, targeted, killed, bombed, that he is ready to take to the streets?  

Irresponsible Attitude

The zenith of the vilification of the BJP government of Narendra Modi, of the VHP and of the Hindu community in Gujrat was an article by Harsh Mander, IAS, published by The Times of India on its edit page of 20th March, 2002 under the title 'Hindustan Hamara - I can never sing that song again'. The article was then circulated over the web under the title 'Cry My Beloved Country'. The Indian nation was once again portrayed as being ruled by fanatic Hindus who thought nothing of a pogrom against the Muslims.

One Krishen Kak, IAS (retired) of New Delhi, complained to the Press Council of India that Mander's article was highly irresponsible, inflammatory, blatantly biased and damaging to public morale, and that there was nothing in it to show that the author had verified the stories that he had passed off as facts. 

The Press Council, in its decision on 30th June 2003, recorded that "the Inquiry Committee expressed its deep concern over the indifferent and irresponsible attitude of The Times of India in not filing its comments in response to the Council's letter and in not being represented before the Inquiry Committee to present its defence in a matter of grave public importance'.

On the merits of the case, the Council's Inquiry Committee noted, 'the article at several points reiterated rumours that were being circulated at the relevant time. The truthfulness of the facts mentioned therein had not been established at any point of time till then but Sri Mander had chosen to base his views and sentiments on them, and put pen to the opinion thus formed by him.....it was expected of the author as a responsible serving officer as well as of the respondent paper of repute like The Times of India to be more restrained and circumspect in pronouncing a denouement of the whole system in a communally surcharged atmosphere.' 

Worse was that though the Press Council's guidelines require the publication concerned to publish the Council's decision, The Times of India has not done so till now. The unkindest cut was that Krishen Kak's press note incorporating the Press Council's decision on his complaint was universally ignored by the free press of India.

'Express' Campaign

Hearty congratulations to Indian Express for launching the 'Express' campaign against the Sangh Parivar in general and the BJP in particular.

It's claim in it's editorial of 17th November, 2003, 'It's in tune with our commitment to keeping a watch on those who misuse power' was perhaps true when late Mr. Ramnath Goenka, the founder of the group, was in charge. It is no longer true. The 'Express' has become the vehicle for the propaganda of spurious secularism since Mr. Shekhar Gupta assumed its editorship.

The entire secular brigade was let loose against Hindus. Editor-in-Chief was of course in the forefront! Pakistan and its three-in-one dictator became its 'darling'! 'Express' is obviously not against corruption per se but rather against the alleged corruption charges against the BJP leaders. The 'Telgi' scam may be the biggest ever scandal but if we have to go by the 'Express' route, Telgi is as good as Robin Hood! 'Express' has not taken chief minister of Maharashtra to task for not handing over the investigation to the CBI. But the 'bold' and the systematic way in which it has taken over the Congress campaign in the case of Judeo's alleged corruption would convince any impartial observer that the 'Express' is not what it claims to be.

Surely, there were more than enough grounds to justify the dismissal of the Maharashtra Government in the wake of 'Telgi' affair but the 'Express' observed studious silence! Indeed, the 'Express' is now 'bold' - see the frontpage of 17th and 18th November - blatant and biased!  

Sarmila Bose : In Praise of Pakistan

Sarmila Bose, Assistant editor and columnist at Ananda Bazar Patrika and The Telegraph newspapers in India (and a Scholar according to Pakistani newspaper) has crossed all limits in her efforts to please Pakistan. Glorifying the 1971 genocide in Bangladesh by the Pakistani army, Bose in her article tries to credit the "bravery" of the perpetrators of one of the worst genocide in the last fifty years - a genocide that killed 3 million civilians in less than 9 months. She writes about the Pakistani army of 1971: "the fighting men seem to have performed remarkably well against overwhelming odds. It is shocking therefore to discover that they were not received with honour by their nation on their return...the answers don’t lie in unthinking vilification of the fighting men performed so well in the war" 

Ms. Sarmila Bose, who never fails to point out that her grand-uncle was Subhash Chandra Bose, is one amongst the Indian anarchist-Marxist press - known for her open bigotry and hatred for Hindus and her fetid fetish for Islamic terrorists who kill Indians in the thousands. In her writings on "Willing executioners", she draws parallels between present-day Hindus and Germans during the Nazi holocaust. Data, truth and statistics do not concern her and she follows the statistically "irrelevant" practice of generalizing based on singular personal experiences or point incidents. 

In her column - "tale of two shahs" - she passionately argues on behalf of Syed Salhuddin - the leader of Hizbul Mujahideen - whose men have been killing hundreds of Indians every year for over a decade. Continuing her tendency to not present any facts that dispute her pro-balkanization agenda, she also wrote a paean to Musharraf. Her propaganda-puff piece about Musharraf, was timed to appear right during Musharraf's visit to DC. After all, what could be more desirous to the Pakistani terrorist elite than an Indian denigrating India and praising Pakistan.

Akhilesh Mithal of Asian Age : A Vicious and Shameless Scribe

It is indeed unbelievable that Akhilesh Mithal in his weekly column 'Itihaas' published in the Asian Age has been pouring on venom on Hindus and Hindu organisations week after week with calculated irresponsibility.

His column published on 26th October, 2003 was titled 'Rakshasas were Hindus'. In that he writes, "One VHP demonstrator in the procession holding up traffic in New Delhi on 15th October 2003 was made up to look like the rakshasa king, Ravana. Perhaps the VHP did not realise how appropriate his impersonation was in the context of the outrages committed by the parivaar in Gujarat in March 2002".

Very often his provocative comments are extremely churlish because writing on several facets of history, he is sometimes making vicious comments on Hindus, unrelated and out of place, solely with a view to cause disharmony in the society. The headings of his columns themselves unravel his prejudiced mindset which are aimed to denigrate the Hindu society sometimes by magnifying its diversity, sometimes by playing Muslim point of view using most unedifying adjectives and epithets about national heroes like Shivaji and several Rajput warriors.

However, overuse of abusive language expresses his mindset which takes vicarious pleasure every time he spews poison against Hindus in his columns. There are obvious limits of media power, when denigration of a 3000 year old culture is shamelessly resorted to with premeditated irreverence and irresponsibility.

A fake and half-baked historian like Mithal unsuccessfully to prove, in a questionable and gutter language that Hindus' hegemonic prejudices deny or restrict the basic rights of minorities which is quite shameful. The headings of his various columns as given below express his tainted, mini and petty objectives, which is only to throw mud on the majority community.

Is anybody listening ?

Headings of Akhilesh Mithal's column 'Itihaas' published in the Asian Age:

2^nd November, 2003     ANNALS & HISTORY

26^th October, 2003       RAKSHASAS WERE HINDUS

5^th October, 2003         SHIVAJI IN AGRA

28^th September, 2003   HINDUTVA AT AGRA RED FORT

14^th September, 2003   THE ANGLO RSS NEXUS

22^nd June, 2003           THE MUGHALS & THE RAJPUTS

23^rd February, 2003      FROM HUMILITY TO HUBRIS

5^th January, 2003         THE BIRTH OF KHURRAM

Differing Standards

“Punish rioters or quit”; this is what has been told by the Supreme Court to the Gujarat Government.

Supreme Court's judgement, which was welcomed overwhelmingly by our biased media, would have been redeemed and widely welcomed by the masses too if it would have declared at the same time - “Punish arsonists of Godhra or quit”.

The Chief Justice's observation said, “Get the Guilty or Get Out”. To punish the guilty, perpetrators of Godhra crime should be punished with the equal enthusiasm and sincerity. This is what is widely felt in the country.

The main issue, which our media missed to take note of, is that whether the Supreme Court has the powers to suggest a change in the government as it has done in the case of Modi Government.

Unrepentant on ASI Findings

“ASI fails to shed light on site’s links to Lord Ram” – a three column banner adorns a report in The Times of India recently. The same paper the other day while writing on excavation findings writes that ASI claimed that it found temple-like structure existed beneath Ayodhya site which pre-dated Babri Masjid.

While the excavation, according to ASI report gave conclusive proof of remnants of 10^th to 12^th century temple, yielding stones and mutilated sculptures and fifty broken octagonal shafts of black pillar with lotus motif, the comments of so-called experts as published subsequently in The Times of India ridicule the existence of ancient temples. 

TOI itself says, ‘Let us drop the charade’ advising the protagonists of temple to have negotiated settlement as the findings have no force of law. It also expects to honour the self-respect and dignity of Muslims while finding a solution to temple issue. The paper is irked that ASI has given a green signal to saffron which will seize the opportunity to vitiate the atmosphere. Almost all the English papers, without some exception, as if writing elegies on the ASI finding and airing concern about the future welfare of the Muslims.

Obviously a section of media has gone berserk and tries to belittle the ASI report by obliquely attacking the decision of the judiciary. The same newspapers who claim that they have inalienable right to criticise and condemn all and sundry but when its news are challenged it often tends to sulk. They do not want to share this right to criticise. When they themselves are recipients of such comments of partiality which disrupts harmony in society. The newspapers like TOI, with their ego-centric anti-Hindu scribes, who are adept in disguising news as editorials will hardly own mistakes and publish corrections. To refuse to do so is not only editorial discourtesy but journalistic bad manners. It has been far too long that they have been found guilty of anti-Hindu stance, and that too unashamedly.  

Defaming National Heroes

Akhilesh Mithal's column 'Itihaas' published in Asian Age dated 7^th September, 2003 gives evidence of his lack of knowledge and the editor's indifference (or should we call it deliberate mischief?) where Mithal writes that 'Hegdewar and Golwalkar never fought for freedom' (please note that he has even spelt Dr. Hedgewar wrongly). He writes that they and Savarkar after 1911 'were busy plotting and executing communal riots when Gandhi, Nehru, Badshah Khan and Maulana Azad were fighting the British for India's freedom'.

He further writes that 'Prithviraj Chauhan, Maha Rana Pratap and Chatrapati Shivaji Bhosle have been given this honoured mummy treatment earlier and it has not added to national integration, gender equality or any of the other national goals'.

Such distortion of history and defamation of national heroes only shows that our media is neither concerned about the facts of history nor the sentiments of millions of people. The sentiment of national pride is completely alien to our English media. It appears that the media will mislead an entire generation by distorting historical facts and stoop down to any level to fill their coffers.

The Times of India plays up Anti-Hindu angle in the World Golf 

Events

Vijay Singh, a celebrity in the World Golf Events, a Fijian of Indian ancestry and by faith Hindu, was reviled for his Hindu roots recently when he casually commented that Swedish female golfer Sorenstam should not enter the men’s circuit.

The press including our own like The Times of India cried fowl  with a front page headline “ India gets rap for Vijay Singh’s sexist swing ”.

“Vijay Singh is a racist; he is a sexist and it comes to him naturally as he is Indian and that too a Hindu.”

Quoting extensively from US newspapers, The Times of India also revelled in accusing his Hindu background. Sorenstam is from Sweden, a liberal, open society : Singh being influenced by Hindu ancestry is a female-basher due to the institutionalised subordination, exploitation and brutalisation of women still remaining ingrained in the Hindu society.

The Times of India, imitating a section of western press has seized on the anti-Hindu angle and played up on its front page. A good piece of journalism!

“Hindu - Taliban”

The same national English daily The Times of India had published an article on 24^th March, 2003 by Teesta Seetalvad with a heading “Hindu Taliban” which was not only offending to Hindus but also in bad taste. In the same newspaper in April 2003 in an interview of British punk rocker Mick Jagger, who visited India, without rhyme and reason, unconnected with his profession, interviewers Malvika Singhvi and Nayare Ali threw up a question:  What does he think of Indian Government’s oppressive policies against Muslim minority ?

The British celebrity from the music world was amazed at the question as it was unconnected with his field of music. However, it does show the mischief of the interviewers, which only aimed to tarnish the image of the majority community in India.

Gujarat Riots and Double Standards

The Times of India in its bid to keep Gujarat riots issue alive has still been demonising Narendra Modi i n particular and Hindu organisations of the country in general. It recently published about 1500 words report from Ahmedabad with a headline : “Lobbying Abroad Keeps Gujarat Riots Issue Alive”.

The report mentions in detail that a team of top lawyers from the US (no doubt mostly from Muslim and Christian communities in US) was scheduled to visit Ahmedabad shortly to discuss how religious fanaticism had tempered democracy after Gujarat riots. Arundhati Roy, noted social activist and author and Cedric Prakash, Chief of United Christian Forum for human rights have already set the agenda howling against human rights violations in India.

It is a great irony that The Times of India news item refers to debate in the Dutch Parliament earlier this year where a group of MPs called for the suspension of aid to India because of the “politics of hatred” in Gujarat. But, it is shocking that the Times News Report did not mention that the same Dutch Parliament was keen to pass a legislation after 9/11 that all its citizens of Muslim faith should be expelled from the country because their faith engenders terrorism. What a double standard!

Our media should be aware of what is happening in the US after 9/11 and the feverish propaganda over Afghanistan and Iraq have turned Muslims into an oddity, exciting interest and deep prejudice. The stereotype of the veiled Muslim woman, the sword carrying, bearded and turbaned Muslim has overtaken reason and commonsense in US. And they are not apologetic about this new stereotype created by their media.

"Young Lords"

The editorial "Young Lords" (TOI - July 15, 2002), on India's most memorable win in a one-day cricket match at Lords contained the statement, "When man-of-the- match Mohammed Kaif and Zaheer Khan - Hindutva brigade, please note - scampered a quick two, they gave India its first tournament victory since July 1998." 

What was the necessity of the words "Hindutva brigade" in the editorial on cricket? Was it not to spew venom against Hindus and Hindu leaders and encourage communalism? The fact is that cricket lovers do not recognise cricketers by their religions. But to the TOI, it is the religion which is important everywhere, even in sports, not to speak of its mixing religion in politics. The TOI, thus, made a mockery of secularism enshrined in the Constitution. Many readers had protested, but the newspaper had little space for them in its readers' views.