RSS, Bomb Blasts & Media credibility

RSS, Bomb Blasts & Media credibility

Posted: 15 Jul 2010 11:11 AM PDT

By arisebharat

The English Electronic media seems to have got into its latest ” Breaking News mode ” by linking the RSS ( Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) to the blasts in Ajmer, Mecca Masjid in Hyd . Channels like CNN-IBN, seem to be dead sure about the RSS involvement in terror attacks citing CBI information..and ofcourse they claim to have “inside information” from CBI & govt.  This is the typical ” spit and run journalism” that the Indian English media employs.

While this is going on, The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday described as “misleading” reports in a section of the media that some members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have been questioned by the agency in connection with bomb blast cases.  CBI Director Ashwani Kumar said they had not questioned any of the RSS leaders in the bomb blast cases.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/269109/No-RSS-leader-questioned-CBI-chief.html

What then is the credibility of the Media ?

The electronic media, by maligning an organisation that inculcates spirit of nationalism  and self pride among the countrymen, is playing  to the tunes of their unseen masters who remote control the media in India.

Who backs these mediamen ?

The strength for the anti Hindu stance of the English media seems to come from the anti Hindu Congress itself. Over the last 85 years, the RSS has been targetted by the Congress governments.

The First Ban of RSS by the Congress – 1948 :The Sangh enjoyed very popularity due to the extensive service to Hindus that it rendered durign the partition. Pt. Nehru perceived the Sangh as a potential political threat, and under the influence of the Left parties was always on the look out for an opportunity to crush the RSS.

So much so that on January 29, 1948, that is just a day before the murder of the Mahatma, he thundered in Amritsar that he would see that the RSS is totally uprooted from the face of India. The assasination of Gandhiji gave him an opportunity to implicate the RSS and he did it. However, the Sangh was honourably acquitted by the Courts after fighting the case for more than 18 months during which time thousands of innocents were tortured by the Congress governments.

Yet the Propaganda continues ..Inspite of this, the Congress leaders and the English media continues to spread the propaganda that Godse killed Gandhi on the behest of the RSS. Once Prof.Rajendra Singh (4th Sarsanghchalak of RSS) remarked during an interview, ” Godse worked in the Congress for many years..Can we then say that he was motivated by the Congress to kill Gandhiji because of his association with Congress.”

2nd Ban of the RSS by Congress – 1975 :
The RSS was once again banned in 1975 by Pt.Nehru’s daughter, Smt.Indira Gandhi during the in”famous” Emergency. The rest is history. More than 80000 sangh swayamsevaks filled the jails and launched a never before seen satyagraha against Emergency  under the leadership of Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan . The Congress government was forced to uplift the ban.

It must be noted that in the history of Independent India, this was the only time when the Free will of the people was suppressed and yet the Congress calls the BJP-RSS as fascist. It is the Congress which has always sought to implement facisit methods  to suppress contradictory voice to its own.

The Third ban on Sangh by the Congress was in 1992 during the Ramajanmabhumi movement when once again the Congress’s anti-Hindu nature came up to the forefront.

The Effort to Malign & thereby ban the organisation continues : 
Once again, now as part of the agenda to “crush” the RSS, the anti Hindu forces have unleashed propaganda with terms like RSS terror and Hindu terror. They believe that by this, the discussion on Islamic terror will be muted and win the Muslim votes.  They would also be able to alieniate a big section of Hindus away from the RSS.

Bhayyaji Joshi’s statement, Sarkaryavah  (General Secretary) of RSS;

The General Secretary of the RSS, Sri Suresh (Bhayyaji) Joshi had issued a clear statement that the RSS opposses terror and terrorists. He insisted that RSS only believed in the Constitutional path. The RSS would not support or protect anyone indulging in violent activities.  The RSS believes in resolving matters by increasing public awareness. He has also indicated that the RSS is willing to co-operate in any investigation if it involves solving the cases of the bomb blasts but asserted that innocent Hindus should not be harassed.

http://vskap.blogspot.com/2010/07/ap-samachar-15-july-2010.html

But, this aspect is coolly ignored by the Media. Sri Ram Madhavji,   also clarified that Sri Devender Gupta was a Vibhag Pracharak in the RSS but moved on from the RSS.  Why then  is media going overboard on the involvement of one person in an alleged terror attack in an organisation in which more than 5-6 Lacs people come together in the shakas every day ? If bomb blasts was on the agenda of the RSS, even a dimwit could imagine what the situation in India would have been ! 

Indians who once believed the media to be the weapon of justice are seeing through the games that these media houses are nothing but business houses who are out to earn some fast TRP ratings. 

Meanwhile the media continues to attempt to entertain the audience by their Breaking News once again.

P.S.:There was a section in the Congress in 1948 that saw through this game of the leftists. Sardar Patel represented this section. On January 7, 1948, in a speech in Lucknow (U.P.) he said, “In the Congress those who are in power feel that by virtue of their authority they will be able to crush the RSS. But you cannot crush an organisation by using the danda. The danda is meant for the thieves and dacoits. After all, the RSS men are not thieves and dacoits. They are patriots who love their country.”

The time has arrived once again for leaders from various fronts to put an end to this Hindu bashing.

Taken from

http://arisebharat.wordpress.com/2010/07/15/rss-bomb-blasts-media-credibility/

Gujarat Muslims flay statements of German MPs

Posted: 25 Apr 2010 02:30 AM PDT

 Sat, Apr 24 07:02 PM

Ahmedabad, Apr 24 (PTI) An organisation floated by eminent Muslims of Gujarat today denounced as "inflammatory and derogatory" the recent statement made by a delegation of MPs from that country about alleged persecution of Muslims in the state. "Their remarks that Muslims in the state are persecuted will widen the split between religious communities in the state," Jafar Sareshwala, CMD of Parsoli Corporation Ltd, who along with some others, has formed The United Force for Peace and Harmony, told reporters here.

A German delegation comprising ruling party MPs, which had visited the state on April 8 charged minorities are persecuted here and that they have no freedom. They had also adversely commented on the Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi.

"Muslim community here is living in harmony. The state government has taken various steps for Muslims like facilitating Haj pilgrimage, dress code of Muslim women `Burkha'' is respected and we follow our religion and celebrate all festivals with dignity," Sareshwala said.

"The German delegation alleged persecution of Muslims in Gujarat without meeting a single Muslim or representatives of NGOs working toward rehabilitation of the 2002 riot victims. Their statements were myopic, inflammatory and derogatory in nature," he said.

"We do not say that there are no issues here. There are issues but India''s democratic process is capable of dealing with them," he further said.

Street Naming Honour For Dr. Sukhadia

Last weekend, one of  our lifelong 'Parivar' swayamsevak - Dr. Jitendra Sukhadia - the legendary Philanthropist in NY/NJ area was posthumously honored for his relentless humanitarian work by the 'Borough of Staten Island, N.Y' by permanently naming a city square after him. His home had always been a home-away-from-home for all RSS dignitaries from India . 
On Sunday, March 21 afternoon, in presence of family, friends, colleagues and members of City Council of Staten Island, N.Y, the intersection of “Arden” & "Amboy" Avenues was named “Dr Jitendra Sukhadia Crossing”, as a tribute to his wide ranging exceptional Humanitarian work. Dr. Jitendra Sukhadia was a past president of New York Chapter of "Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America - VHPA" for several years and locally spearheaded all its charitable activities. He was also a board member of H.H. Swami Dayananda Saraswati's "All India Movement "( 'AIM for Sewa' ) for eradication of illiteracy in tribal areas and recipient of several awards & honors in USA & India. Dr Jitendra Sukhadia, who passed away on March 21’ 2008 was a brilliant Pediatrician, conscientious community leader and a legendary Philanthropist who touched countless lives through his generosity of help, spirit and commitment, especially in Staten Island which was his home for more than three decades. This event was graced by Hon. Councilman Mr. Vincent Ignicio, NJ Assembly Member Mr. Upendra Chivukula and scores of Indian dignitaries from various organizations. In the words of Dr Jitendra’s  Sukhadia’s wife, Dr Ila Sukhadia, the street naming ceremony was a fitting homage by the people of Staten Island to immortalize his 'ideals' and she was grateful and feel humbled. This rare honor was first of its kind for an Indian on the East coast for humanitarian work..
.
Speaking on the occasion, Hon. Councilman Mr. Vincent Ignicio, said, “Dr Sukhadia was not only an exemplary citizen of our community who lived an American Dream but also an inspiration what we all can be”.  Dr Ryan McMahon, Jitendra’s Colleague and President of Medical Staff at ‘Richmand Hill Med Ctr’, while praising Jitendra’s professionalism informed that,”Jitendra was a guide, a mentor to every one at the Hospital and always resorted to long term solutions for Medical complexities rather than short term.” Dr Dharmi kanuga, a family friend of many decades, emotionally lamented that, ” when life gave Jitendrabhai hundred reasons to cry, he always found thousand reasons to smile and touched people’s hearts like very few could”. The most endearing tribute was paid by one of Dr Sukhadi’s patient, Devon Catugno, who after overcoming numerous medical-physical complications, is now a graduate student. His expressed feelings, which were vocalized by his mother, portrayed Dr Jitendra Sukhadia a lifetime friend rather than a care giver, who as a doctor, not only treated and nurtured him overcoming all the obstacles he faced but also encouraged him to strive for the higher goals. He elaborated that,” Dr Sukhadia was not only the healer of my body and the spirit but truly believed in me lot more than I believed in myself”. In concluding remarks, Dr Jitendra Sukhadi’s daughter, Dr Sajani Raman, who coordinated the entire proceedings of this well attended event, wished that her father was there to witness the community's outpouring love and regards for him. After 9/11 tragedy, Jitendra & Ila Sukhadia had visited all the families of Staten Island firefighters, who had perished to extend personal financial help

Senior RSS thinker Dr SRIPATI SHASTRI and SRI NANAJI DESHMUKH are no more

Posted: 27 Feb 2010 06:38 AM PST

Namaste,

We are sad to inform you that two veteran RSS leaders  Dr. SRIPATI SHASTRI of PUNE and Sri NANAJI DESHMUKH of  CHITRAKOOT passed away today.

Dr. SRIPATI SHASTRI was basically from HARIHARA of CHITRADURGA district in Karnataka. A gold medalist from Mysore University in history. He did his Ph. D thesis on "history of constitution of the world". Then he joined department of history at Pune University and worked as professor of history for two decades.
He was an active member of RSS from his student days. Dr. Shastry was a well known intellectual, speaker and thinker. He was a member of national executive committee. his lectures on "Partition of Bharat" and "1857 freedom movement" were highly inspiring. He visited several western countries and participated in many RSS functions. Unmarried, he dedicated much of his life for the cause of society. His famous book on "RSS on Christian activities" was a noted work.He was respected by all spectrum of the society irrespective of political and religious groups. His nature was acceptable to everyone and was a great teacher of history for thousands.RSS pays tributes to the great soul.

Ulhas Latkar (Publisher, Ameya Prakashan, Pune) Manohar Joshi, Ravindra Dani (Translator), Narendra Modi, Gopinath Munde, Dr. Sripati Shastri (extreme right)

Sri. Nanaji Deshmukh 

Sri. Nanaji Deshmukh known for his work on rural development of villages in Madhyapradesh. His work based at Chitrakoot was model in the rural development field and regarded as "a complete laboratory of rural development". He was the founder of 'Deendayal Research institute' at Arogyadham parisar of Chitrakoot, Satna District, Madhyapradesh.

Chitrakoot Project is an integrated and holistic model for the development of rural India, based on the principles outlines in Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya's Integral Humanism to create a society based on the complimentarity of the family, primary school and the local population. The Chitrakoot Project is a self-reliance campaign that was launched on 26th January 2002 and will cover 500 villages around Chitrakoot in 2 phases. The 80 villages taken up in the 1st phase will be self-reliant by 15th August 2005, and the remaining villages will achieve self-reliance by 26th January 2009. The Campaign has also been started in the villages covered by the Institute in Gonda and Beed districts. The self-reliance campaign covers all aspects of individual, family and societal life of the villagers. The key to the campaign is the concept of Samaj Shilpi Dampati (SSD), 'graduate' couples that lives within the villages itself, and are responsible for motivating and guiding a cluster of 5 villages.

Dr. Abdul Kalam on Nanaji Deshmukh and his works : 
"I recently visited Chitrakoot in Madhya Pradesh, where I met Shri Nanaji Deshmukh, 90+ and his team belonging to the Deendayal Research Institute (DRI). The DRI is a unique institution developing and implementing a village development system, which is most suited for India. As a part of integrated rural development, villagers are engaged in water harvesting; effectively using it for cultivation of food grains, medicinal and aromatic and horticulture cultivation. They are transforming herbs into herbal products and marketing them. Apart from all these development activities, the institute is facilitating a cohesive conflict free society. As a result of this, eighty villages around Chitrakoot are almost litigation free. Villagers have unanimously decided that no dispute will find its way to court. Differences will be sorted out amicably in the village itself. The reason given by Nana Deshmukhji is that if the people fight among each other they will have no time for development. This is also true in the life of a nation in every political system. The work of the DRI has enabled the generation of employment for a large number of farmers in the Chitrakoot region. During my visit, I went to a small village called Patni where the villagers talked to me about the progress of their village and their problems. Many women said they have to send their children long distances for studying beyond the 10th Class. They requested up-gradation of the school to the plus 2 level. They also felt the need for a road which would connect multiple villages. The then Chief Minister readily agreed and announced in the meeting itself, that school upgradation and the provision of roads would be implemented immediately. I am sure that would add to the happiness of many village farmers. The DRI understands that people's power is very potent. Social advancement and prosperity are possible only by injecting the spirit of self-reliance and excellence in the younger generation. Using this principle the DRI has plans to develop a hundred clusters of villages having approximately five villages each around Chitrakoot, based on the experience of 80 villages in 16 clusters. All these have been accomplished through the DRIs "samajshilpi dampati" a new concept of counseling and intervention promoted by the DRI as a well conceived societal mission. 
I would like to share a few thoughts with the Honorable Members of this Legislative Assembly on the topic "Missions for Madhya Pradesh's Prosperity" with reference to the core competence of Madhya Pradesh and national vision."
Visit www.chitrakoot.org and www.driindia.org
--

Nanaji Deshmukh: a social entrepreneur par excellence

Nanaji Deshmukh: a social entrepreneur par excellence

Posted: 01 Mar 2010 07:20 PM PST

• A leader, who at the height of his political career, retired from politics and moved to a remote village, dedicating himself to the vision of a strong India through self reliant villages.
• A social activist, who patiently worked and reformed hundreds of villages in the economically backward regions of Central India and rescued lakhs of people from utter poverty.
• An economist, who gave to the world, an egalitarian and self sustaining economic alternative, based on Gandhian economics, when the world was polarized between exploitative Capitalism and dogmatic Communism.

• An educationist who started the first Rural University in India.

• A social entrepreneur, who pioneered the concept of conflict free society through "Litigation free villages", and made the villagers partners in their development.  

• A political activist, who crafted one of the largest pro-democracy movements in Independent India which led to the restoration of democrasy in India after a two year dictatorship.

These points can hardly summarize, even infinitesimally, the life and the work of Shri Nanaji Deshmukh. He passed away yesterday, at 94, after living a long and an inspiring life of a social entrepreneur. Here is a brief on the legendary social worker and the swayamsevak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Early Life and Influences
Nanaji became a swayamsevak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, at an early age. His first important influence that would shape his life as a social activist came from Dr Hedgewar, the founder of RSS, who had close contacts with Nanaji's family and who used to visit them often.
The inspiration he got from the RSS founder and other Sangh leaders would turn his association with RSS into a lifelong one. He became a pracharak (full time worker) of the RSS after his education and was sent to Uttar Pradesh for expanding Sangh work. The young Nanaji, like other pracharaks lived an austere life while facing all kinds of hardships. But the Sangh work steadily grew under his leadership. When Bharatiya Jana Sangh was formed in 1953, he along with a few other pracharaks was sent into it. His initial years in the organizations, where he extensively travelled through the economically backward regions of Uttar Pradesh, helped shape his understanding of the problems of rural India.
Guruji Golwalkar, the second Sarasanghachalak of the RSS, sent a team of volunteers led by Nanaji to help Acharya Vinoba Bhave in the Bhoodan movement - a voluntary land reform movement based on Gadhian principles. This was probably Nanaji's first direct contact with Gandhian thought. The other most important influence of his life would come from another RSS pracharak and his colleague in Bharatiya Jana Sangh - the visionary leader Deendayal Upadhyaya. Nanaji has claimed that the inspiration to his vision and the model of "Self reliant villages" came from 'Integral humanism' of Deendayal as much as it did from the Gandhian thought.
In Pro-Democracy Movements
As a political leader of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, his focus was on the organisation, which grew into a formidable one, especially in Uttar Pradesh which had become his new home. He also made great allies and friends in leaders across the political spectrum, including Gandhian and Socialist leaders. His association with Gandhian leader, Jayaprakash Narayan and other leaders of Opposition would help form a formidable alliance against the Emergency imposed by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. A strong network of pro-democracy activists mostly drawn from the RSS cadres was formed, which worked underground to create public opinion and to unite all opposition leaders. The Economist of London called it "only non-left revolutionary force" dedicated to the restoration of democracy in India. The movement grew in strength and popularity and on a strong Pro-democracy wave, the opposition for the first time defeated the invincible Indira Gandhi and came to power. But Nanaji, who had played a pivotal role in bringing the alliance to power, refused to be part of the Government. He decided to retire from politics and dedicate himself completely to the upliftment of rural India.
The Chitrakoot project

Please watch the video documentary on Chitrakoot project here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azkl6NgaZKs).

In 1977, he moved to Chitrakoot, a remote village in Madhya Pradesh with a mission to create a prototype of self sustaining model of development based on the concept of 'Gram Swaraj'. When the Indian political discourse had been deafened by rhetoric of the Capitalistic free market policies and of urban centric development on one side and the State controlled Socialism on the other, Nanaji's model provided a refreshing alternative. For the first time, there was a model which depended on the civil society than on the Government for development. "Do not wait for the Government to solve your problems" Nanaji used to tell people "we have to find solutions to our problems".
Many of the hundreds of villages that have come under what is now popularly known as "Chitrakoot project", generate their own electricity through the Bio-energy and solar energy plants. The villages which always faced water shortage today have a variety of rain harvesting and water conservation methods. Organic farming is not just for experimentation but a way of life and Chemical fertilizers are no more an inevitability. Women entrepreneurs today, help run many small scale industries which produce quality goods. All of this with very little support from the Government. For all those who thought Gandhian and Indian economic models were too idealistic and unrealistic, here was an answer. Here was an example of holistic development; of the fruits of development reaching the last man. Litigation free model
One more of Nanaji's vision was to form a conflict-free society. He had found to his dismay that lot of energies of the rural people were wasted in litigations, which left them both impoverished and exploited. He had said "If people fight amongst each other, they will have no time for development". He pioneered a method of sorting conflicts and differences between the villagers called the Litigation Free Model, which was based on the ancient Indian principles of consensus making and alternate conflict resolution.
When the President of India, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam visited Chitrakoot, he was amazed by this. He congratulated Nanaji for giving to the nation the litigation-free model of resolving disputes he had devised. Dr Kalam said "In Chitrakoot, I met Nanaji Deshmukh and his team members belonging to the Deendayal Research Institute (DRI). DRI is a unique institution developing and implementing a village development model which is most suited for India,” "Apart from all the development activities, the institute is facilitating a cohesive conflict-free society.”The villagers have unanimously decided that no dispute will find its way to the courts. The differences will be sorted out amicably in the village itself. The reason given by Nanaji Deshmukh is that if the people fight among each other, they have no time for development,” "I consider that this model may be propagated in many parts of the country by societal organisations, judicial organisations and government," Kalam had opined.
Praising Nanaji Deshmukh for his single-minded devotion to the uplift of the people, Kalam said “What the octogenarian leader was doing at Chitrakoot should be an eye-opener for others.”
Recognition
Today, in the milan when I summed up all these points, a swayamsevak drawing a parallel between Nanaji's work and works of other social entrepreneurs like Mohammad Yusuf of Bangladesh Grameen Bank exclaimed "Should such a great man not have got a Noble peace prize too?". Well "yes" I said, Nanaji like other real social workers never got the due recognition, not just because such recognitions are predominantly reserved for the powerful and the influential but also because such social workers have never put themselves in queues for such prizes. Their focus has always been their work.
The tribute to his life is not in prizes but in the smiles of the poorest people of India for whom he worked all his life, in building a strong and a self reliant India.

From (http://aswayamsevaksmusings.blogspot.com/2010/02/leader-who-at-height-of-his-political.html) with the permission of the author. Write your comments to paramavaibhavam@gmail.com

Amnesty international brings human rights a bad name

Amnesty international brings human rights a bad name

Posted: 03 Mar 2010 04:24 AM PST

Gita Sahgal, head of the gender unit at Amnesty’s international secretariat, based out of Britan has publicly criticised Amnesty International for allying with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. She, in an email sent to her bosses in Amensty had  criticised the organisation and said it “fundamentally damages” the organisation’s reputation. Instead of taking heed to her concerns, she was promptly suspended and the organisation chose to continue with its links with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
In a email that is now public, Sahgal, a human rights activist for several years now, charged the Amnesty International of putting the human rights of Al-Qaeda terror suspects above those of their victims. Amnesty had sided with Moazzam Begg, a former British inmate at Guantanamo Bay, and the most vocal supporter of Taliban in Britan. In an email sent to Amnesty’s top bosses, she suggests the group has mistakenly allied itself with Begg and his “jihadi” group, Cageprisoners, out of fear of being branded racist and Islamophobic.
Beg is known to have championed the rights of jailed Al-Qaeda members and hate preachers, including Anwar al-Awlaki, the alleged spiritual mentor of the Christmas Day Detroit plane bomber. He has also been supported and funded by the Amnesty International in his tour around Europe urging countries to offer safe haven to Guantanamo detainees. This is despite concerns about former inmates returning to terrorism.
Sahgal, who has researched religious fundamentalism for 20 years, has decided to go public because she feels Amnesty has ignored her warnings for the past two years about the involvement of Begg in the charity’s Counter Terror With Justice campaign.
“I believe the campaign fundamentally damages Amnesty International’s integrity and, more importantly, constitutes a threat to human rights,” Sahgal wrote in an email to the organisation’s leaders on January 30. “To be appearing on platforms with Britain’s most famous supporter of the Taliban, whom we treat as a human rights defender, is a gross error of judgment.”
Beg has been championing the cause of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Abu Hamza, the hook-handed cleric facing extradition from Britain to America on terror charges, and Abu Qatada, a preacher described as Osama Bin Laden’s “European ambassador”.
A Times UK report said Sahgal, 53, is not the only one who has pointed the misgivings of Amnesty in the name of supporting human rights. In 2008 a board member of its US arm opposed Begg’s appearance, via videolink, at its AGM, but was overruled.
Yesterday Begg dismissed Sahgal’s claims as “ridiculous”. He defended his support for the Taliban and the decision by Cageprisoners to highlight the plight of detainees linked to Al-Qaeda.
Meanwhile, senior journalist and political commentator in India, Swapan Das Gupta, has said that this controversy could be instructive for India too. He,in an artilce published in the Times of India said "To me, this incident involves more than the misjudgment of one reputable human rights body. It is a classic case study of the derailment of the human rights industry — yes, it is an industry — and its takeover by politically-driven activists".

Concluding programme of 'Manparivartan Shibir'

Concluding programme of 'Manparivartan Shibir'

Posted: 08 Mar 2010 09:40 AM PST

In an emotion filled function 10 runaway children were handed over to their parents by "Samatol Foundation", an organisation working with street children.  

A handicapped father had rushed from Delhi to meet his 12 years old son Manoj, who was missing for last 3 months. He could not speak as his throat was choked. He & other parents thanked Samatol Foundation for finding their child & taking pains  to contact them for handing over their child.

Concluding programme of 'Manparivartan Shibir' was organised on 7th March 2010 at Samarth Vyayam Mandir Hall, Dadar (W). Out of 28 children attended 'Manparivartan Shibir'. 10 children were handed over to their parents. It was very emotional reunion of child & its parents. Remaining children will be taken to their homes by Samatol's outreach workers. 

Shri. Sharath Bansal (Executive Director, PwC), Mrs. Prabhune (DGM, Saraswat Bank), Shri. Anna Wani (Hindu Seva Sangh) were present on dais. Mrs. Shubhada Chaukar (Sr. Editor, Loksatta) narrated her experience regarding run away children & appealed everyone to support the great cause. 

Mr. Vijay Jadhav and Mr. Mahesh Rasam introduced their team of activists. Concluding program of children ended with cultural program of children of Manparivartan Shibir. 

Contact and provide "Samatol" your helping hands for future projects.

1/4 , Ahamad umar building, Dr. Disilva Road, Above Darbar Hotel, 

Dadar (West), Mumbai-400028

contact no:- 022-24374316

Email Id:- samatolfoundation@yahoo.com

Hindus condemn the beheading of Sikhs in Pakistan

Posted: 21 Feb 2010 09:01 PM PST

Hindu groups today expressed deep anguish at the beheading of two Sikhs in Pakistan. The condemnation come in the wake of reports that two Sikh businessmen Jaspal Singh and Mahan Singh were kidnapped from Tira Valley, in Khyber agency and Darra Adamkheil, in Orakzai agency. It has been reported that the heads of the two victims have been sent to the Gurudwara.

 "This is inhuman and barbaric. The Sikhs and other religious minorities live in constant fear and intimidation in Pakistan." a Hindu human rights activist in India was quoted as saying.  The miniscule Sikh community in NWFP and Afghanistan has been under pressure from the Taliban to embrace Islam, official sources said. The Taliban, during their reign in Afghanistan, had imposed jiziya -- a religious tax -- on all minorities, mostly Hindus and Sikhs. They were made to wear a piece of yellow cloth on their breast pocket to identify themselves.  

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party, the main opposition in India on Monday strongly condemned the beheading of Sikhs by Taliban in North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan and termed the attitude of Indian government in the matter as "callous" for not putting diplomatic pressure in time to get the abducted Sikhs released.

"BJP strongly condemns this dastardly massacre of minority Sikh community in Pakistan. This shows how minorities are treated with contempt in Pakistan. They were not given any security," BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
He also criticised the Indian government, alleging it was being soft towards Pakistan while dealing with such matters.
"What is truly worrisome is the callous attitude of the Government of India. These Sikhs were abducted for sometime. What kind of diplomatic pressure did India bring on Pakistan to secure their release," Prasad said.

Empty Words

Posted: 21 Feb 2010 03:26 AM PST

Despite Pune bomb blast having caught us napping again, India continues to play chess with Pakistan. 

By Sunita Vakil 

Hope, as they say, is a pathological belief in the occurrence of the impossible. The same can be said of India-Pakistan relations which are caught in the cusp between hope and despair. The decision to press ahead with the Indo-Pak talks even after the dastardly attack in Pune has once again led to the soaring of expectations on both sides of the border. Despite extreme provocation, the Centre has held firm when it comes to continuing talks proving India’s compulsive fascination for a dialogue whose outcome is hopelessly predictable. For over six decades, India has shown patience in dealing with Pakistan, hoping for reciprocatory. But noises coming from across the border have never suggested that Islamabad sincerely wants peace between the two neighbours. With Pakistan rudely mocking India’s security concerns, it surely is a case of misplaced optimism for India to establish good relations with the former. One wonders what is being achieved by such a meaningless, futile exercise when innocent Indians are being sacrificed?

      Regrettably, terrorism is raising its head at periodic intervals reminding us that it is here to stay and had never gone anywhere. Indeed, the Pune bombings did not actually come as a surprise especially when a number of terrorist outfits had recently met in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, reaffirming their commitment to
”Jehad”. It has been a year since the terror attacks on Mumbai stunned India as well as the whole world. The Pune bomb blast which claimed nine lives and injured over 50 people is once again a reminder that the threat of terrorism still looms large over the nation. The attack is a testimony to the fact that Pakistan sponsored terrorism continues to pose a great threat to India. And yet, we do not seem to have learnt any lessons from 26/11. The government’s responses have been far from reassuring. The painful fact is that our inept leadership is clueless about what steps to take next to deal with another terrorist blitzkrieg.

      By relentlessly backing engagement with Pakistan despite repeated terror attacks, the PM Manmohan Singh chose to take a more nuanced view to signal that his regime is keen to appease Islamabad even at the cost of ignoring India’s interests. Despite the fact that his drumbeaters continue to slam BJP for extending the hand of friendship notwithstanding Kargil, Kandahar and Parliament attacks, the UPA government has sent the worst signal to Pakistan that no matter how many times Islamabad stabs us in the back, it will be business as usual with the terror sponsoring country.

      However, this is not the first time that India has capitulated to Pakistan in such a shameful manner. It was, in the first place, crazy to regard India and Pakistan as equal victims of Jehadi terrorism and set up a joint anti-terror mechanism. Till date, our Islamic neighbour has never acted on our evidence against criminals like Dawood Ibraham and others. This was followed by the surrender at Sharam-el-Sheikh. Now, in keeping with its bizzare policy of resuming dialogue at any cost, the congress led UPA government did not desist from pleading with the terror exporting state to go ahead with the talks. Is it any wonder then that Pakistan is crying itself hoarse that it is indeed India which has been forced to bend? Naturally, the message that has gone out is that India always comes around. Even the trial of Azmal Kasab, the lone terrorist caught alive during the Mumbai attack, is still dragging on despite all the evidence. Our government has not initiated any procedure to punish him. On the other hand, it has spent huge amount of money on conducting his trial and keeping him hale and hearty. Terror attacks, meanwhile, continue with alarming regularity. Given Pakistan’s rejection of several volumes of proof that India provided concerning 26/11, it will not serve any purpose to identify the perpetrators of the German bakery blast. In which case, what can India do other than condemn the group or the country that hosts it?

      The German bakery attack in Pune carries a stark message: the security forces have to remain vigilant as the terrorists have proved that they can still strike at will. As Mr Chidambaram announced that the government would take aggressive action in case of another attack, one can only hope that instead of wasting time and effort talking to Pakistan, the government undertakes result oriented action. The terrorist infrastructure on the other side of the border has not yet been dismantled. Nor has Pakistan provided any proof  of having scrapped its policy of using terrorism as an instrument of state policy. Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani’s statement that his country is willing to share intelligence with India to thwart Pune like attacks, can be taken with a pinch of salt. For, if there was even an iota of sincerity in such statements, Islamabad should have shut down terrorist camps operating from its soil by now. It needs no reiteration that the neighbouring country has been always high on rhetoric and low on action. Therefore it would be a fatal miscalculation to trust Pakistan and bank on it to improve relations with India.

      It goes without saying that acts of terror like the recent one have become routine in India with our reactions following predictable patterns. After the initial flurry of activity, there  a constant buzz of pronouncements which range from military threats to Pakistan to intelligence failure to the usual guesswork. After every attack the PM condemns it, opposition starts the blame game and victims are provided ex-gratead. There are also promises to spruce up the intelligence agencies to prevent such attacks in future. We also witness a spate of useless naka-bandis, spot checks etc. as a knee jerk reaction. Soon, the incident is forgotten till the next blast jolts us back to reality.

      Having said that, Pune blast has exposed failures at all levels. It has invariably laid bare the lack of preparation as well as chinks in the country’s intelligence network. Our security agencies do not seem to have learnt any valuable lessons from 26/11. It is very unfortunate that despite intelligence inputs indicating an attack on Pune by Jehadis, the blast took place. This clearly signifies that we need to bring about a radical improvement in our intelligence services. Also, there has to be a proper coordination between central and state security agencies so that such tragedies are never repeated. The almost indefinite trial of terrorists and failure to punish guilty have wrought havoc with the country. The natural outcome of such a flawed process is that criminals are ruling the roost. There is an urgent need to fix a time frame for completing the cases of terrorism.

      Due to our lax attitude to security and frequent intelligence failure, we have become soft targets for terrorists. It was indeed perplexing to hear a Maharashtra Cabinet Minister  State that they received intelligence inputs but they were not specific or actionable. One wonders when will our leaders understand that intelligence is always vague and needs to be filtered to make it more specific. The Government, instead of being in a defensive mode, needs to seriously revisit its policy towards Pakistan and the terrorism sponsored by it.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

      Adding a new twist to UPA’s limp-wristed approach to dealing with Pakistan, J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Home Minister P.Chidambaram are making every effort to facilitate the return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri youth from Pakistan. It is unfortunate that they have not factored in the long term implications of such a move at a time when the country is facing a serious threat of terrorism. All political parties should realize that their divisive politics is giving terrorists ample space to execute their evil agendas. It is high time politicians of all shades stop distracting the Government’s attention with their antics as such issues put a strain on our security apparatus and personnel. The need of the hour is for all parties to unite and formulate a foolproof security policy to prevent terror attacks in future. The PM has to be applauded for calling the Chief Minister’s conference on internal security so that a consensus exists to defeat the challenges of terrorism.   

The author is a Delhi based journalist and can be reached at sampost@nda.vsnl.net.in

Prant Sanghik : Online live telecaste portal launched!

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 07:22 AM PST

God’s own country Kerala is ready to welcome Dr Mohan Bhagwat, the patriarch of the world’s largest cultural organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
He will address the public function held on Feb 24 at the Ashram ground in Kollam. Over one lakh swayam sevaks (RSS volunteers) in uniform are expected to attend the meeting.

 

If you are staying away and can not come for this great function, don't worry, Online live streaming will be available on

    www.rsskerala.com  &  www.pranthasanghik10.com

 

A huge number of overseas Malayalis are expected to be present to view the RSS ‘Pranth Saankhik’. The organizing committee of the 'pranth saankhik’ has been informed that all the NRI Malayali visitors have finalized their travel arrangements. The 'pranth sankhik’ will also be a display of strength of Malayali swayamsevaks spread over many countries. Those arriving for the ‘pranth saankhik’ are Malayalis who had gone abroad in search of employment and who are playing leadership roles in the ‘shakhas’ they run where they live. Reports received until now indicate that a total of 4,000 (four thousand) vehicles are expected to arrive in Kollam for the ‘pranth saankhik’ from all the districts of Kerala and from Bangalore, Mumbai and Chennai.

Auditoriums surrounding the ground, where the ‘pranth saankhik’ is to be held, and about 70 (seventy) nearby houses have already been booked for RSS officials and guests arriving from outside. A team led by A.G. Shreekumar is in charge of arranging accommodation for all visitors. Arrangements for parking vehicles have been made after discussions with police officers.

 

Mohan Bhagwat’s first official visit to Kerala is going to be a crucial one as the state has become a hub of religious extremism. The Sangh Parivar in Kerala is all set to welcome the head of their family.

Is Left-wing Fascism the gravest threat to democrasy in India?

Posted: 16 Feb 2010 09:46 PM PST

The barbaric attack on the security personnel by Maoists in West Bengal has brought to the fore the discussion on the threat of Left-wing extremists to the democracy in India. Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh referring to Maoists in particular, has described the Leftist extremist movements, the  gravest threat to India's internal security[a]. These militant movements are seen to be the single biggest threat to both the democracy and human rights in India. It should be noted that other leaders of the country including Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajapayee, Leader of Opposition L K Advani and RSS Sarasanghachalak Mohan Bhagwat have been constantly warning the Government of the designs of Left-wing extremists in India. In a welcome change in the Government’s approach, the Home Minister P Chidambaram has targeted the hypocrisy of the sympathizers of the Left-wing extremists who otherwise make all the noises about human rights violations but maintain a deafening silence when innocent civilians are massacred by Left-wing extremists. This article provides a brief on the phenomena of Left-wing Fascists movement in India.

An Introduction

Left-wing Fascist groups in India are a set of groups based on Left ideology that have shown militant tendencies and have been part of violent incidents of massacres and sabotage in India.  These groups have been characterized by their authoritarianism, intolerance and terrorism^[1].

The groups can be categorized based on those who have chosen to remain outside the democratic process and have led the armed rebellions and those who although have not actively proclaimed violent methods but have been involved in acts of violent suppressions and other human rights violations such as in Nandigram. Many of the former have been listed as the Anti-revisionist left parties of the world^[2] and include Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), Communist Party of India (Maoist).

Maoists

Incidents of violence by the Leftist groups have often been labeled as "Red terror" or "Red terrorism^"[3]. The Left-wing extremist groups have also been compared with the [[Taliban]] with respect to their violent means^[4], guerilla ideology, anti democratic movements^[5] and kangaroo justice.

Violent Means

Most Leftist groups in India have proclaimed that violent struggles form the core to their ideology^[6]. Prominent among them are the Maoists, who have claimed responsibility for the killings of numerous civilians and security personnel.

 Figures computed by the Ministry of Home Affairs and presented before the Parliament indicate that 4067 civilians had been killed between 2000-07 by the Leftist Extremist violence in India.

 The victims include unarmed civilians, tribal^[7] women, children^[8], senior citizens^[9], security personnel and democratically elected representatives.

     Year              Victims of Left terror

     2000                     550

     2001                      564

     2002                      482

     2003                      513

     2004                      566

     2005                      677

     2006                      678

     2007                        37
(to 31 January 2007)

Source: computed from Ministry of Home affairs (MHA) annual reports (various years), and statement by the union minister for home affairs, Shivraj Patil, in the Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) on 6 March 2007.

Disruption of Democracy

Maoists have been known for boycotting elections and also unleashing violence to disrupt elections in many parts across India.  They have also attacked civilians who have defied the boycott calls given by them ^[10].

 The Maoists have claimed responsibility for killings of prominent political leaders in Central and Southern India, most of them democratically elected. Prominent among the killings are tribal leaders Sunil Mahato^[11] in Jharkhand Anup Marandi^[12] . They have also routinely been involved in massacre of civilians and policemen^[13]

The Asian Center for Human Rights in its report on the Maoists has reported crimes such as kidnapping and extortion by the Maoists. The Left-wing extremists are also known to use "Kangaroo Justice" trials and order the killing of captured politicians and their comrades who surrender to the security personnel^[14].

Marxists

 While the Maoist groups have chosen to remain outside the democratic setup in their attempts to overthrow it, there are many other groups who have transformed into political parties and contested elections. But they too have been part of perpetrators of massacres of innocent civilians and comrades of other Leftist groups. Prominent among them are the Marxists constituted by CPI(M)

Nandigram Massacre

The Nandigram controversy started when the Marxist led Government of West Bengal decided that the Salim Group of Indonesia would set up a chemical hub under the SEZ policy at Nandigram, a rural area in the district of Purba Medinipur. The villagers and farmers whose land was to be acquired for the project resisted these attempts by the West Bengal Government. A massive attack with thousands of policeman and ruling party workers was launched by the Marxist Government to clear off the resistance. Police shooting killed 14 and injured at least 70, which included women and children. This "state sponsored" attack on the "unarmed civilians" came in for criticism as being "Fascist"^[15].  

Gopal Krishna Gandhi, the then Governor of West Bengal and grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, criticized the state government over its handling of the Nandigram incident, speaking of the incident as "cold horror" in a press statement^[16]

After the incident, the Government and the administration were allegedly seen openly supporting the "private army" of the ruling party and the cadre of CPI(M), in leading atrocities on the people who resisted the land acquisition. The ruling party workers are also alleged to have taken the help of local criminals mostly involved in dacoity cases for their "operation".    The Times of India reported "criminals were given money in advance and given a free-hand to bring whatever they could from the empty homes once the operation is complete. Sources said one such group that has returned to Onda came with motorcycles" looted from the resisting villagers.^[17]   

Criticism also has come in from their own colleagues when Dr. Ashok Mitra, long time Finance Minister of the Government of West Bengal (and a veteran CPI(M) leader) criticized the government and his party stating that till death he will remain guilty to his conscience if he keeps mum on the happenings in Nandigram. He stated that the CPI(M) leadership was “blind of hubris and the party has turned into a wide open field of flatterers and court jesters dominated by 'anti-socials'”^[18]

The Intellectual support for the violence

The divisions in the Left-wing with respect to the violence have been reflected in the intellectual circle too. Left intellectuals around the world have been known for their selective criticisms of the violence by different Leftist groups. Some have been seen openly justifying one or other form of violence.

In an article coauthored by Vijay Parshad, the George and Martha Kellner Chair of South Asian History and Director of International Studies at Trinity College, he puts the blame of the incidents squarely on the opposition parties and also calls the protest by the peasants, an  agitation derived from the "neo-rural rich"^[19]

Naom Chomsky's letter

 A letter authored by Naom Chomsky, Vijay Parshad and other Marxist scholars from various Universities in the US, addressed to "Our Friends in Bengal" , at the peak of Nandigram violence read “We hear from people on both sides of this chasm, and we are trying to make some sense of the events and the dynamics. Obviously, our distance prevents us from saying anything definitive. We continue to trust that the people of Bengal will not allow their differences on some issues to tear apart the important experiments in the state (land reforms, local self-government)”.^[20]

Ironically, it never bothered to condemn the massacre and also ended up creating a huge rift between the left factions. The letter was seen by many rival Left factions as a justification of the violence and support to the Neo-liberalism propounded by Buddadeb Bhattacharya. Naom Chomsky among others was criticized for his hypocrisy of not condemning the violence and for siding with its perpetrators. It was also seen by many as an attempt to admonish those who had taken to streets protesting the Left front Government over the Nandigram massacare^[21].

A strong response was issued by Mahashweta Devi, Arundhati Roy, Sumit Sarkar, Uma Chakravarty, Swapan Chakravorty and other Leftists activists based in India belonging to the rival group of Leftists, mostly the sympathizers of Marxists. They felt that Chomsky et al, given "their distance from events in India," had fallen prey "to a CPM public relations coup". After criticism of the letter, one of the signatories of the letter, Susan George, withdrew her signature from the letter ^[22], splitting wide open the divisions within the Left intellectuals.    

Support for Maoists

But ironically, many Leftist academicians and activists who have been critical about the violence in Nandigram have supported the militant movements of the Maoists and other Leftist groups.

 Arundhati Roy, a Leftist intellectual and activist, who has been critical about democracy in India, while admitting that the Maoists have been guilty of "unspeakable atrocities", views the militant movements as leading a protest with popular support and that they are fighting injustice of the Government. She says "''I have no doubt that the Maoists can be agents of terror and coercion too. I have no doubt they have committed unspeakable atrocities. I have no doubt they cannot lay claim to undisputed support from local people — but who can? Still, no guerrilla army can survive without local support. That's a logistical impossibility."^[24]

The author of this white paper can be reached for feedback and comments on paramavaibhavam@gmail.com 

 References

[1]  India's Naxalites: A spectre haunting India, http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7799247. These organizations include the different Maoist groups and some Marxists and the Marxist- Leninist groups.

[2] Leftist Parties of the World: Anti-Revisionists http://www.broadleft.org/antirevi.htm

[3] Red Terror: Six cops killed in Landmine blast in Jharkhand http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Red_terror_Six_cops_killed_in_landmine_blast_in_Jharkhand/articleshow/3994905.cms

[4]  M.S.N. Menon : Maoists deserve Taliban fate http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/blog/eyeonasia/archives/2007/11/indias_communis.html

[5] Manjeet Kripalani : India's Communists and the Nuclear Deal http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20011207/edit.htm

[6] Left-wing Extremist group: Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist)

[7] Massacre of the innocent [http://www.hindu.com/2006/07/19/stories/2006071904991000.htm],

[8] Maoists Kill Eight in Jharkhand http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/maoists-kill-eight-in-jha...

[9] Naxals kill senior citizen in Gadchiroli http://news.indiainfo.com/2009/01/30/0901302034_naxals_kill_senior_citizen_in_gadchiroli.html

[10] Ehtasham Khan, In Chatra, democracy wails under Naxalism http://in.rediff.com/election/2005/feb/03khan.htm

[11] JMM MP Mahato shot dead by naxals http://www.hindu.com/2007/03/05/stories/2007030513330100.htm,

[12] Naxal attack kills Marandi's son http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070030852

[13] Maoists claim responsibility for Chhattisgarh massacre http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/mar/26maoist.htm

[14] The Naxal conflict in India: Killings down, armament up http://www.achrweb.org/Review/2006/135-06.htm

[15] Maoists own responsibility for attack on Buddhadeb http:\\www.ibnlive.in.com/news/maoists-own-responsibility-for-attack-on-buddhadeb/77713-3.html?from=rssfeed

[16] Sense of cold horror: Governor http://www.screenindia.com/news/sense-of-cold-horror-governor/25728/

[17] How CPM recaptured Nandigram  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/How_CPM_recaptured_Nandigram/articleshow/2533801.cms

[18] You are not what you were - Ashok Mitra http://sanhati.com/articles/446/

[19] Sudhanva Deshpande and Vijay Parshad, Communism in Bengal, The Political Economy of a Crisis, [http://www.counterpunch.org/prashad05232007.html

[20]   Chomsky and other intellectuals on Nandigram, http://www.hindu.com/2007/11/22/stories/2007112255861300.htm

[21] The hypocrisy of Chomsky over Nandigram, http://indiainteracts.com/columnist/2007/11/24/The-hypocrisy-of-Chomsky-over-Nandigram/

[22] The Left is Right http://www.tehelka.com/story_main36.asp?filename=Ne081207The_Left_Is.asp

[23]  It's outright war and both sides are choosing their weapons, Arundhati Roy in conversation with Shoma Chaudhury  http://www.tehelka.com/story_main28.asp?filename=Ne310307Its_outright_CS.asp

RSS says no to Bt brinjal

RSS says no to Bt brinjal

Posted: 07 Feb 2010 07:18 PM PST

A PTI news agency report quoted RSS Sarasanghchalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat rejecting "BT Brinjal". The participants of the NGO meet organised by RSS said that Shri Bhagwat raised a strong apperhension to genetically modified foods. He has expressed support to the agitation by environmentalists and farmers against the "BT Brinjal" and has said that the move by the Central Government compromises the independence of the farmers and also the bio-diversity of India.
The RSS chief opposed move to commercialise Bt brinjal likening the genetically modified crops to infiltration of terrorists. He sought to draw a parallel between infiltration of terrorists and entry of Bt brinjal in the country.
"Bt brinjal has to be clearly rejected", RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat told 'Seva Sangama' programme of Rashtriya Seva Bharathi here.
"People are being consulted only now", he said, and alleged that brinjal had been taken out of the bio-diversity list to facilitate introduction of its genetically modified variety.
"Farmers in India have been into traditional farming for 10,000 years", Bhagwat said.
Meanwhile, 'The Business Standard' has reported that the Madhya Pradesh Government has joined the environmentalists in calling for not allowing BT Brinjal. Madhya Pradesh’s Agriculture Minister Ramkrishna Kusumaria today said that there was no place for BT brinjal in Madhya Pradesh. 
In a welcome initiatie by the Government has decided to make Madhya Pradesh "country’s first model organic farming state". Tha Agriculture Minister said that the state government had prepared a detailed organic farming policy and it would be announced in a week or two. Organic farming was being carried out in 425,000 hectares, he said adding that there was a need to increase this area. Kusumaria said the chemical fertilisers and pesticides had affected the agriculture land in the last 30-40 years.

West Bengal announces reservation for Muslims in govt jobs

West Bengal announces reservation for Muslims in govt jobs

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 07:29 AM PST

KOLKATA: On a day when the Andhra Pradesh High Court struck down job reservation for Muslims, the West Bengal government on Monday announced 10 per cent quota in employment for the community under the OBC category.
The state government declared the quota for the Muslims who were educationally, socially and economically backward in the state.
"We have decided to accept the recommendations of the Ranganath Mishra Commission and will take steps to implement it," chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee told newsmen at the state secretariat without waiting for the Centre's decision on the report.
He said like other states there was reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs in the state. The government, he said, had begun the process of identifying Muslims who were educationally, socially and economically backward. There was 7 per cent reservation for OBCs in the state.
"After identification, we will provide reservation to them under the OBC category," the chief minister said.
Earlier in the day, a Constitution bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court struck down a state law providing 4 per cent reservation in educational institutions and jobs to 15 groups belonging to the Muslim community.
Soon after the court's order, Andhra chief minister K Rosaiah directed the state advocate general D S R Murthy to file a special leave petition in the Supreme Court challenging the verdict.

RSS moves with times, goes the Orkut way

RSS moves with times, goes the Orkut way

Posted: 30 Jan 2010 09:57 AM PST

Mumbai: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is changing its ways. Well, on the technology front. Once shy of state-of-the-art technology, the Sangh on Tuesday celebrated its annual Bharat mata pujan function in Lower Parel taking help of the social networking website, Orkut. 

Insiders believe that the organisation has started transforming itself into a technology savvy outfit as a number of IT professionals have associated themselves with it in the past five years or so.
The Bharat mata pujan function is organised on January 26 every year. The swayamsevaks garland a photograph of Bharat mata and then officials deliver bouddhik (lecture).
“We have a community on Orkut. We invited members of the community for the function through the network. A member of this community is not necessarily a swayamsevak. In fact, more than 30 people present for the function came in touch with RSS for the first time on Tuesday,” said Praful Nikam, organiser of the function.
“Traditionally, RSS workers invite the people for its functions personally. But due to shortage of time and with availability of modern communication tools, the tradition has been left out in some way,” said an RSS official.
He added that the Sangh has adopted new technology to cope up with the changing times. “Our pracharaks (full time workers) now carry cell phones and many of them have their personal email addresses. These amenities were far away from their reach till a few years ago,” he said.
According to another official, the young pracharaks are well versed with modern technology. “It helps the organisation in many ways. Now, we are looking to start online shakhas so that we can easily get in touch with the young audience,” he said.
The Orkut community is popularly known in the RSS as Orkut Shakha. The organisation has also developed a website,www.rss.org, to keep the workers updated with the issues before the country and the organisation’s stand.
However, Indresh Kumar, an RSS official, appealed to swayamsevaks not to depend on technology too much. “If we give up our cultural values and go only for development, then such development will destroy us. The rise in pollution, imbalance in the eco system, global warming, corruption, inflation and terrorism is the result of giving up cultural values,” he said.

India has a moral commitment on Tibet-II

India has a moral commitment on Tibet-II

Posted: 09 Oct 2009 11:24 PM PDT

We need a strategic vision.
Leverage on diplomatic relations
By Ram Madhav

For almost one decade the Russia-China talks remained deadlocked over this ‘principle’ issue. But with the Soviets not budging the Chinese had to climb down and in 1983 they finally agreed to not insist on the principle anymore. The US and many others tend to dismiss all this as Chinese propaganda. It may be partly true. But the underlying lesson remains; that you don’t have to acquire same number of naval carriers as your adversary; you should rather have enough capability to disable them.

‘Dialogue is the only solution’, our leaders untiringly exhort when it comes to our relations with the neighbours. Undoubtedly. But what is more important is perseverance.

With countries like China we need to understand that there is no easy solution even if you are ready to talk. The border dispute between our countries is more than six decades old. And the talks too are almost three decades old by now. Not much has been achieved. In fact while the talks are on we concede more and achieve little.
That is the most important lesson that we must learn: while in talks, be firm. Set your goals firmly before going into the talks; and once there, be steadfast.
Maybe we can take a leaf or two out of China’s own history. China resolved a very vexatious border dispute with Russia in 1991. While India has a border stretching to over 4500 kms, Russia too shares a border of almost the same length with China. Interestingly not just the length of the border but the nature of the dispute too is same; China declares that it doesn’t recognise ‘imperial treaties’ as they were ‘unequal’ treaties. It is well-known that China wants everything redone after 1949.
The pattern followed by China in its talks with Soviet Russia is similar to what it does with all other countries; and to what it did with India too. When the talks began between China and Soviet Russia in mid-60s the Chinese insisted that the Russian side should first of all agree ‘on principles’. By ‘principles’ what it meant was that the Russians should agree with its contention that all the historical treaties arrived at between Russia and China prior to 1949 should be considered as ‘unequal treaties’.
Realising the carefully laid trap in the name of ‘principle’ the Russians at once rejected the Chinese argument and insisted that they were not going to negotiate a new boundary and were only willing to discuss ‘minor technical adjustments’. They accused China of "attempting to substantiate its claim to 1.5 million sq kms of land that properly belonged to the Soviet Union by using a far-fetched pretext of righting the ‘injustices’ of past centuries".
Naturally the initial talks in 1964 collapsed. When they resumed in 1969 the Soviets were firm on their position that there is no question of negotiating a new boundary except to talk about a few issues limited to not more that 0.1 million square kilometers. The Chinese side persisted with its demand that the ‘basic principle’ of the unequal nature of the past treaties must be accepted by Russia first.
For almost one decade the Russia-China talks remained deadlocked over this ‘principle’ issue. But with the Soviets not budging the Chinese had to climb down and in 1983 they finally agreed to not insist on the principle anymore. Once that happened the rest of the negotiations went on and a final settlement was arrived at by 1991.
Just to understand the success of Russia and China border settlement we have to understand the mindset of the Russian leaders. One statement of Boris Yeltsin while on his way to Beijing in 1996 would suffice to indicate it: "There are instances in which we agree to no compromises. For example, the issue of to whom the three islands - in the Amur River not far from Khabarovsk and the.... Bolshoy Island in the Argun River in Chita should belong. With regard to this our position remains firm: the border should be where it lies now’.
Can we show that firmness? Have we done that before? China insisted that it wouldn’t recognize McMahon Line since it is an ‘Imperial Line’. Have we come across a Yeltsin in India who would have told them that if McMahon Line is fine for China and Burma to settle their borders why not the same for China and India? Do we have the courage to tell them that barring some ‘minor technicalities’, the border should be where it lied in 1947 or 1949?
So perseverance - the Russian type, is the key. But two more issues played important role in settling Russia-China border dispute. Firstly, both the countries felt a need for ‘coming closer’ for strategic purposes. In early 80s under Deng Xiaoping it became an important part of the Chinese new foreign policy. But more importantly the second factor, the superior military might of Russia, was also a clincher.
No meaningful settlement will be possible between two unequal neighbours. It has been made amply clear by the repeated statements of our military bosses that India lags far behind China in terms of its military capability. Elsewhere the new RSS Sarsanghachalak Sri Mohan Bhagwat also said: "Though frequent wars and border infringements imposed on us after the independence have made us some what less complacent regarding our defense preparedness, we are still less prepared for any potential war as compared to that of China and it is necessary to make more potent arrangement to secure our borders".
Critics may call it war-mongering, but the fact remains that we need to strengthen our preparedness. But what do we understand by defense preparedness? Do we mean parity in terms of weapons, aircraft and ships etc? Is it possible? Someone suggested that since China spends 7 per cent of its GDP on defense we too should spend that much. But 7 per cent of the GDP for China and 7 per cent of the GDP for India are not the same.
Here also the Chinese experience might give us a clue as to what we should do. For China, the US is a bigger rival. Even to this day it spends 14 times more money on its defense than China. That China had to face humiliating situation when a US aircraft carrier the USS Nimitz entered the Taiwan Strait in 1995-96 to force China to stand down from its threats to Taiwan. If China learnt any one lesson from this stand-off, it was that in military terms what is important is capability, not necessarily parity. Through capability one can build deterrents without actually entering into a race for parity. And that is what China did in the last 15 years.
The Chinese leadership has realised that it would be foolhardy to try to take on the US might head on. Instead they started working on the stratagem that would give it an advantage in case of any conflict. The bottomline for China is to raise the costs of war exorbitantly high for the US to think several times before taking the plunge. They call the military capabilities that support this strategy as "assassin’s mace". The ‘mantra’, to quote the Foreign Affairs magazine, is that the ‘assassin’s mace’ will enable ‘the inferior’ (China) to defeat ‘the superior’ (the US).
The Chinese today have ICBMs that can effectively destroy forward US bases like the Kadena Air Base on Okinawa Island in Japan or the Anderson Air Force Base on Guam in South of Japan. The message is clear: in the event of war, China has the capability to the forward bases of the US redundant in no time.
Today, the US is greatly worried about what is described as the "wasted assets". It has forward bases, but China has the capability to strike them with accuracy at will. The US has a huge and most powerful Navy, but the Chinese are deploying UAVs, radars and reconnaissance satellites that can detect warships at progressively greater distances. The Chinese have a large number of submarines with advanced torpedoes and high-speed sea-skimming missiles that can stalk US carriers. It has aircraft that carry high-speed anti-ship ballistic missiles. Thus even the vast US Navy is fast becoming a ‘wasted asset’ for the US.
In other words the East Asian seas are a no-go zone for the US Navy today. It is noteworthy that the Chinese Navy is still at its nascent stage. What China did was to demonstrate capability, not necessarily the parity.
Not just the seas and the sky, even the cyberspace is increasingly being made redundant for the US by China. It is reputed to have launched cyber attacks on the Pentagon that disabled computer systems there. Even the low-earth-orbit satellites of the US, which supply crucial military and commercial data for the US, are well within the reach of the anti-satellite ballistic missiles or ground-based lasers of China. In other words even those are turning out to be a ‘wasted asset’ for the US. Many of the ‘smart weapons’ of the US depend on the GPS constellation. The PLA is working overtime to acquire the capability to destroy this constellation thus making the US military just redundant when it comes to any confrontation in the East.
The US and many others tend to dismiss all this as Chinese propaganda. It may be partly true. But the underlying lesson remains; that you don’t have to acquire same number of naval carriers as your adversary; you should rather have enough capability to disable them. The mute point is: where do we stand in terms of research and production of modern weaponry? Prof. Steve Cohen of the Brookings Institute says that India is the most lethargic country when it comes to indigenous production of weapons. May be our politicians and military bosses are driven by ‘other’ considerations in depending on imports rather than developing indigenously?
Another important lesson that we should learn is to frustrate the enemy. China practices it to the full. It has encircled us from all sides. It has built a ‘listening post’ in Burma’s Coco Islands and upgraded it into a full base later. It has built the Gwadar Port in Sindh, Pakistan. It is building a commercial port in Sri Lanka. It is engaged in building infrastructure in countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. All these will become strategic assets for China. The Gwadar port can function as a base for the nuclear submarines of the Chinese Navy.
Sadly, we are doing nothing on that front too. We have done precious little to help countries like Taiwan. The Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj was in India last month. Despite the fact that we have best of the relations with that country which is very strategically located: land-locked between Russia and China, we hardly thought of leveraging our relations to the strategic advantage of our country. The argument is that such a move would unnecessarily ‘irritate’ China. We have an Air Force base in Kazakhstan but no aircraft.
What is needed is a strategic vision, not just statements. Unfortunately while we seem to lack it we are not even trying to learn a lesson from our own adversary, China.
(Concluded)
(The writer is member of National Executive Council, RSS.)

http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=312&page=11