Huge protest against communal violence bill in Mangalore

Mangalore today witnessed a huge protest against proposed bill Communal and Targeted violence prevention act 2011. A number of Hindu organizations, under the banner of the Hindu Hitarakshana Vedike protested on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. at Kendra Maidan. A huge procession was organized from Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Circle to the protest venue before the protest.

Addressing the gathering numbered in around 50 thousand, Vibhag Sampark Pramukh of RSS Dr Kalladka Prabhakara Bhat told that peace cannot be achieved by targeting Hindus.

“The National Advisory Council is trying to bring a law which not even the worst dictators in the history of the world could come up with. The law is completely “uncivilized”, Dr Bhat said. He described the bill as an assault to the peace-loving Hindu society of our nation. He added that Sonia Gandhi cannot to fool the nation, like she had lured Rajiv Gandhi in the past.

P Vaamana Shenoy, Vibhaga Sangha Chalak of RSS, Harish Achar, General Secretary of Hindu Hitharakshana Vedike, Ramesh S, President of HHV and other Sangh Parivar leaders and Swamyjis were present.

FDI in retail will lead to unemployment - K.N. Govindacharya

Union cabinet has cleared 51% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Multi-brand retail sector. Even though a minimum limit of 100 million US Dollars has been recommended by the committee of secretaries, it doesn't alleviate the risk on retail sector due to this decision. The government is claiming that this move will create employment opportunities, but anyone with some understanding and knowledge of how FDI or the arrival of corporate houses in retail sector has affected employment in other countries, can judge how false this claim is. It'll only raise the unemployment rate. 

Is is a mere coincidence that when US' Foreign Minister Hillary Clinton came on her India visit, then only the committee of secretaries approved this proposal of FDI is multi-brand retail. Wallmart is the biggest company in this field and Hillary has served on the Board of Directors of this company for long years, since when her husband Bill Clinton used to be the governor of a state. Wallmart has exploited its relations with Hillary to make India allow this FDI. Wallmart has been known to sabotage the retail business in so many countries, but Hillary praised it in 2004 while addressing National Retail Federation saying that she learnt a lot from her association with Wallmart.It is noteworthy that Mrs. Clinton got financially benefited from Wallmart. She used to get 18000 USD annually as fixed sum and additional USD 1500 per meeting that Hillary attended. Till 1993, Hillary had in possession of shares worth USD 100,000, as per the reports published in US media. This proves the point that the relations of Hillary and Wallmart have paved the way to this decision by Indian government so that the interest of US companies are secured no matter if Indian small retailers suffer due to it. 

This decision will potentially create unemployment as many small scale retailers will have to shut down their business due to not being able to compete with the prices offered by these foreign big retailers. Once their monopoly is established, these foreign companies will do as they desire and will hurt the economic structure of the country. The fact that the retail business is worth Rs. 400 billion USD is India and is growing at an annual rate of 13%, is the reason why Wallmart and other foreign players are interested in India. 

Now, how is Wallmart a threat? Because Wallmart's own business is worth USD 400 billion, i.e. equal to the business of entire Indian retail market. Wallmart employs 2.1 million people worldwide. No wonder, its coming to India will pose a direct threat to the 40 million Indians who are employed in retail sector. They'll potentially go unemployed. Not only that, even the micro, small and medium scale enterprises of India will suffer due to this decision. They currently have a good growth rate but with the arrival of FDI, it will become a challenge for them to secure their survival. 

When organised retail was allowed in retail sector, even at that time government had made tall claims of benefiting farmers and consumers, but the truth is there for all to see. Indians rejected the move largely. Some players had to wind up their business. Even then the government wants the foreign players to come here to serve US interests. Undoubtedly, this move is not only insulting the opinion of a majority of Indians, but also creating fresh troubles for a large number of people. It must be opposed at every level. 

Article courtesy: K N Govindacharya

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Max Müller. A paid employee, who translated the Rigved in a demeaning style. The hidden secrets of his life.

1. Max Müller was a British agent, especially employed (in 1847) to write the translations of the Vedas in such a demeaning way so that the Hindus should lose faith in them. His personal letter to his wife dated December 9, 1867 reveals this fact.

2. He was highly paid for this job. According to the statistical information given on page 214 of the “English Education, 1798-1902” by John William Adamson, printed by Cambridge University Press in 1930, the revised scale of a male teacher was £90 per year and for a woman, £60 in 1853. The present salary of a teacher in London is £14,000 to £36,000 per year, which averages a minimum of at least 200 times increase in the last 146 years. Max Müller was paid £4 per sheet of his writing which comes to £800 of today (1999). This is an incredibly high price for only one sheet of writing. But it’s the general law of business, that the price of a commodity increases with its demand. The British were in such an imperative need to get someone to do this job and Max Müller was the right person, so they paid whatever Max Müller asked for. His enthusiastic letter to his mother dated April 15, 1847 reveals this fact.

3. Max Müller’s letters dated August 25, 1856 and December 16, 1868 reveal the fact that he was desperate to bring Christianity into India so that the religion of the Hindus should be doomed.

His letters also reveal that:

4. He lived in poverty before he was employed by the British, (5) his duplicity in translation was praised by his superiors, and (6) in London, where he lived, there were a lot of orientalists working for the British.

Letters of Max Müller.

“The Life and Letters of Friedrich Max Müller.” First published in 1902 (London and N.Y.). Reprint in 1976 (USA).

1. TO HIS WIFE, OXFORD, December 9, 1867.

“…I feel convinced, though I shall not live to see it, that this edition of mine and the translation of the Veda will hereafter tell to a great extent on the fate of India, and on the growth of millions of souls in that country. It is the root of their religion, and to show them what that root is, I feel sure, the only way of uprooting all that has sprung from it during the last 3,000 years.”

2. TO HIS MOTHER, 5 NEWMAN'S ROW, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS, April 15, 1847.

“I can yet hardly believe that I have at last got what I have struggled for so long… I am to hand over to the Company, ready for press, fifty sheets each year; for this I have asked £200 a year, £4 a sheet. They have been considering the matter since December, and it was only yesterday that it was officially settled.”

“…In fact, I spent a delightful time, and when I reached London yesterday I found all settled, and I could say and feel, Thank God! Now I must at once send my thanks, andset to work to earn the first £100.”

3. TO CHEVALIER BUNSEN. 55 ST. JOHN STREET, OXFORD, August 25, 1856.

“India is much riper for Christianity than Rome or Greece were at the time of St. Paul. The rotten tree has for some time had artificial supports… For the good of this struggle I should like to lay down my life, or at least to lend my hand to bring about this struggle. Dhulip Singh is much at Court, and is evidently destined to play a political part in India.”

TO THE DUKE OF ARGYLL. OXFORD, December 16, 1868.

“India has been conquered once, but India must be conquered again, and that second conquest should be a conquest by education. Much has been done for education of late, but if the funds were tripled and quadrupled, that would hardly be enough… A new national literature may spring up, impregnated with western ideas, yet retaining its native spirit and character… A new national literature will bring with it a new national life, and new moral vigour. As to religion, that will take care of itself. The missionaries have done far more than they themselves seem to be aware of.”
“The ancient religion of India is doomed, and if Christianity does not step in, whose fault will it be?”

4. (a) FROM THE DIARY OF MAX MÜLLER. PARIS. April 10, 1845.

“I get up early, have breakfast, i.e. bread and butter, no coffee. I stay at home and work till seven, go out and have dinner, come back in an hour and stay at home and work till I go to bed. I must live most economically and avoid every expense not actually necessary. The free lodging is an immense help, for unless one lives in a perfect hole… I have not been to any theatre, except one evening, when I had to pay 2 francs for a cup of chocolate, I thought ‘Never again’.”

(b) TO HIS MOTHER. PARIS, December 23, 1845.

“…instead of taking money from you, my dearest mother, I could have given you some little pleasure. But it was impossible, unless I sacrificed my whole future… I have again had to get 200 francs from Lederhose, and with the money you have just sent shall manage till January or February.”




5. On April 17, 1855, Bunsen wrote to thank Max Müller for an article on his

Outlines.

“You have so thoroughly adopted the English disguise that it will not be easy for any one to suspect you of having written this ‘curious article.’ It especially delights me to see how ingeniously you contrive to say what you announce you do not wish to discuss, i.e. the purport of the theology. In short, we are all of opinion that your cousin was right when she said of you in Paris to Neukomm, that you ought to be in the diplomatic service!”

6. TO HIS MOTHER. September 1, 1847.

“My rooms in London are delightful. In the same house lives Dr. Trithen, an orientalist, whom I knew in Paris, and who was once employed in the Office for Foreign Affairs in St. Petersburg. Then there are a great many other orientalists in London, who are mostly living near me, and we form an oriental colony from all parts of the world… We have a good deal of fun at our cosmopolitan tea-evenings.”

http://www.encyclopediaofauthentichinduism.org/articles/35_max_muller.htm

How media mislead public about the recently killed Gujarati RTI activist Nadim Saiyad

A news site of Gujarat reported this news about an RTI activist who got murdered in Gujarat couple of days ago.It reads as below.

Nadim Saiyad, a friend of media persons and police, a cow protector, an outspoken reveler with great knowledge about inside activities of Ahmedabad’s Muslim ghetto Juhapura, a sincere ground worker was killed today morning brutally in Juhapura when he was going to buy newspapers.

Though larger portion of media is highlighting Saiyad’s murder as murder of 2002 riot case witness, the fact according to initial probe and version of Saiyad’s father – who has lodged complaint – is that the murder is in connection with Saiyad’s activity of protecting cows.

Saiyad’s father has given specific names of local Muslims likely to be responsible for Saiyad’s murder in his police complaint. Police believe that Kalu Gardan can be behind Saiyad’s murder. Police have held five in this case.

Nadim’s murder could be in connection with recent incident in which local butchers burnt police jeep and injured couple of policemen who were doing duty of rescuing cows illegally kept for slaughter. Police arrested six butchers in this case. While a local group of butchers and their supporters was against police, Nadim Saiyad on the other side was pro-police and opposed illegal transportation and slaughter of cows.

While Nadim Saiyad was active in Juhapura for last many years against illegal activities, it is understood that his last campaign against butchers and illegal cow slaughter caused his brutal murder today.

Ahmedabad police’s Crime branch is investigating the case.

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We can argue that the above news may be from a pro Modi(RSS, Hindu, etc…) daily, but let us read what TOI tell us in connection to this incident.

Nadeem Saiyed, a witness in one of the most gruesome post-Godhra massacres of Naroda Patia in 2002 and an RTI activist, was brutally murdered in Juhapura area of Ahmedabad on Saturday morning. He was stabbed 28 times by four men in broad daylight, allegedly for providing information on illegal slaughter of cattle to the police.

Saiyed was rushed to V S Hospital where he was declared brought dead.

Also in yet another news bashing Modi, TOI reports the incident, with more clarity.

Hindus feel Modi is playing vote-bank politics. And Muslims feel let down because of the police crackdown on slaughterhouses ahead of Bakr Eid. Many believe that the killing of Nadeem Saiyed, an Ahmedabad-based RTI activist was indirectly linked with strict government action on butchers. Saiyed was killed by butchers who allegedly attacked police during a raid on a slaughterhouse in Juhapura, the largest Muslim ghetto in Gujarat.

So TOI and almost many of them report the news as so, so we can safely conclude that the it is not a digvijaya logic to connect his murder with the recent anti cow slaughter crusade by him. So what is the issue ?

TOI and other main stream media , though they mention the cow slaughter lobby connection to the murder, has a misleading Headline. When we report a murder event, we should not mislead the public, most of them who do not read details, but only glance through the headlines or news tickers. Almost all of the main stream media, highlighted Nadeeems activism in connection to 2002 riot case, and hides the real cause that lead to his death, in a few sentences.



The DNA gives a somewhat impartial reporting on the issue.

The biggest Muslim ghetto in Gujarat, Juhapura has emerged as a hub of illegal cow slaughter over the past decades. With police protection, dozens of dreaded criminals have also come up in this locality housing more than five lakh Muslims.

Behind the killing of social activist Nadeem Saiyed, the illicit business of cow slaughter is said to be the main reason. Nadeem paid the price for exposing several big names involved in this illegal trade.

He had told the police that the arrest of 10 people in connection with torching the police vehicle after police rescued around a dozen cows on October 29 inJuhapura, was wrong. According to sources, Nadeem had told the cops that the real culprits were Firdos Mulla and his brother Mushir Bachcha.

The information is said to have been leaked and thus a plan to eliminate him was conspired. According to sources in crime branch which is investigating the case, Firdos Mulla and his brother Mushir Bachcha are the main accused on whose behalf Mohammad Sharif aka Kalu Gardan murdered Nadeem with his three aides.

In the illicit trade of cow slaughter, Gardan is a mere pawn. Although a dreaded criminal who earned the nickname ‘Gardan’ for slicing his victims’ necks, Gardan is said to have acted on the behalf of Firdos Mulla and Mushir.

Gardan who started as a small-time gambler turned into a dreaded criminal after he was booked in a murder case by Vejalpur police. According to sources, 30-year-old Gardan, who claims to be into real estate, works for Firdos and Mushir and calls them as Seths.

Sources said that Firdos and Mushir also ventured into the world of criminals from their initial stint in gambling and bootlegging. Apart from these, three other notorious names — Sultan, Alam Khan, Fazal Mukran — are involved in cow slaughter.

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Another news which media suppress about him is this, as reported by Dainik Bhaskar.

Ahmedabad: Nadim Saiyad, a Naroda Patia riot witness, has alleged receiving threatening calls from Mehboob Baig alias Mehboob Senior, an accused in the Kalupur building collapse case.

In a letter written to the city commissioner of police (CP) on Sunday, Saiyad claimed that he was threatened by Mehboob Senior to change his statement in favour of the accused. He also stated that he was terrified because Senior allegedly has links with the underworld and enjoys good relations with local top cops.

Saiyad had not only informed his friends about the alleged threat call but also the government advocate dealing with the riots case about it.

“Mehboob Senior called from his mobile number 9537776637 to me on my cell phone at 2:02pm on July 3, 2011,” Nadim Saiyad’s letter to the CP reads. The letter further says, “Mehboob Senior spoke politely, but asked me not to repeat my earlier statement made in connection with the Naroda Patia riot case before the special court. The court is investigating the case under direct supervision of the Supreme Court, which was to be heard on July 4, 2011.”

The Great Indian loot by Britishers : GDP Record speaks for itself

GDP CHART OF INDIA, CHINA, EUROPE & USA SINCE 0001 - 2001

When we look at scientists who are credited with the most important ideas of our time we find mainly Greeks, Europeans, Americans listed. Yet western history seems to have been arbitrarily begun during the Greek era. In fact, when we extend the boundaries of history to view the longer span of history we find some amazing developments predating "modern" history originating in India more than 5,000 years ago.

The ancient thinkers of India were not only scientists and mathematicians, but also deeply religious, esteemed saints of their time. While it may surprise some to think of religious sages as mundane scientists, the Indian view is that religion (universal) and science are but two sides of the same coin - in short…semantics. Whether one calls a natural phenomena wind or the wind god - Vayu - one is speaking of the same thing.

Yet it seems that having a spiritual foundation not only brought out important discoveries still in use today, but these discoveries also were helpful without causing harm or destruction.

Swami Sadashiva Tirtha is an American Hindu monk, author, Ayurveda practitioner and a lifelong devotee, who lives in 'sacred solitude' in the state of New York and counsels the needy...

Rules Do Not Make Ram

If there were no rules, would we be corrupt? Do rules make us corrupt? After all, only when there are rules can rules be broken or bent. Only when there are rules, do we have need for regulators and courts and auditors to keep watch over society. What would the world be without rules? The world without rules is the jungle – where might is right and only the fit survive. Humans made rules so that the meek can also inherit the earth, so that even the unfit can thrive. That is why rules exist. That is how human society came into being.

Both Ramayana and Mahabharata are about human society and about rules. In the Ramayana, Ram follows the rules but in the Mahabharata, Krishna breaks the rules. We are told both are righteous. Both uphold dharma. Both are forms of God. Both fight corruption. How can that be?

In the Ramayana, the villain breaks rules. Neither Surpanaka nor Ravan respect the laws of marriage. Surpanakha uses force to get rid of competition and get herself a desirable mate. Ravan uses cunning to steal another man’s only wife, despite having many of his own. In contrast, in the Mahabharata, the villain does not break a single rule. No one – neither Bhisma nor Drona nor Karna nor the Pandavas – cry foul when a woman is dragged and disrobed in public, as technically Duryodhan has not broken a single rule in the gambling hall. A rule-following Ram can combat a rule-breaking Ravan. But would he succeed against a rule-following villain like Duryodhan? That is why even God had to change his avatar, and become Krishna, who bends the laws of nature, and gets cloth to materialize to rescue Draupadi from her shame.

Corruption is not about breaking the rules: corruption is about rejecting our human side, embracing our animal side, and reserving resources for the mighty and dominating the meek. Corruption is about becoming the territorial alpha male who excludes competition and includes no one except those who surrender to him.

In India, every politician follows the rules, and every bureaucrat follows the rules, and every judge follows the rules. There are many rules to follow! Despite this, land is grabbed but no one is arrested or punished. Riots take place, hundreds are killed but despite enquiry commissions, no one is convicted. Rapes take place but rapists are released on technicalities. There are never enough witnesses and not enough evidence. Even a terrorist who murders people in front of rolling cameras remains an ‘alleged’ criminal, and perhaps a political pawn, for months and years.

So the rage of the common man is understandable. So the outrage when Anna is put in jail is understandable. The Government seems to be full of Bhismas and Dronas and Karnas and Pandavas – all rules are being followed while India is being disrobed. Expression of outrage gets you to Tihar jail.

Within Tihar jail, you find criminals: ‘alleged’ criminals as far as the court is concerned. These are high profile politicians who have broken the law: small fish, who everyone knows, will in time, be honorably discharged because there will not be any evidence and not enough witnesses and because our complex laws can be read in myriad ways by brilliant lawyers.

In this scenario, Lokpal bill is yet another set of laws and rules and auditors hoping to cleanse the country. Will it really stop Ravans? Or will it create many smarter Duryodhans? Will it create Rams or will it hinder Krishnas?

The point is not about the absence of suitable laws; it is about the absence of integrity. Let us not forget, we have the best Constitution in the world. This has been changed over 80 times in the past 60 years! What does it say about us?

Every person who follows the rule, imagines himself to be Ram, but his enemies see him as Duryodhan. Everybody who breaks the rules, imagines himself to be Krishna, but his enemies see him as Ravan. For the Government, Team Anna is a rule-breaker while for Team Anna, the Government is the rule-breaker. Team Anna imagines itself as rule-keeper and so does the Government. Who is being objective, I wonder?

The courts can only tell us if rules are broken or not broken. But the question today is about intent. Intent is invisible, intangible and subjective. Yes, as humans we may have moved out of the jungle but clearly the jungle has not moved out of humans. That is why our streets and jails and governments are full of stubborn alpha-males, each one smug and self-righteous and highly territorial wanting to dominate the other. Stripped and abused, India weeps in the gambling hall, while her adults point fingers at each other like children in a playground.

Maharashtra has spent Rs 16 crore on Kasab so far

MUMBAI: Ajmal Amir Kasab, the Pakistani gunman who unleashed terror in the city along with his nine associates, is still bleeding state coffers three years after he killed more than 100 people on November 26, 2008.

The state home department has since spent Rs 16.17 crore on accommodating the terrorist at the Arthur Road jail, including constructing a special cell, deploying forces from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and on his safety, food and medical treatment.

The expenditure does not include legal fees paid to the special public prosecutor and his team. The state is taking a stock of Kasab's expenses in the wake of the third anniversary of the 26/11 attacks.

"So far, there are no changes in the way we are going to treat him in the future. We continue to spend on Kasab since his security is a prime concern. To ensure adequate healthcare, we incurred a treatment cost of Rs 26,953 since 2008," said an official from the state home department.

5.3 crore spent on Kasab's special cell

Ten terrorists had attacked various locations in the city on 26/11, killing more than 100 people and injuring several more. While Kasab was caught alive, the others were gunned down by the police. After the trial in a special court, sessions court judge M L Tahilyani sentenced Kasab to death.

The order was upheld by the high court on February 21, 2011. Since then, the state has been ensuring that in the process of giving him a fair trial, Kasab gets food, accommodation and adequate medical facility.

So far, Rs 5.29 crore has been spent on setting up a special cell for Kasab. The expenditure on the deployment of ITBP has been Rs 10.87 crore; Rs 27,520 has been spent on food and Rs 26,953 on medicines. "The cost of food has been steadily rising but we are able to keep it roughly about Rs 25 per day," said the official.

State Department cable cited ISI links with militants

A diplomatic cable sent under the name of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton states that despite public disavowals, “some officials of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI) continue to maintain ties with a wide array of extremist organizations,” in particular the Taliban and the Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The cable, dated December 30, 2009 (242073: secret), was sent to five U.S. Embassies, including that of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. It says these organisations exploit Pakistan's network of charities, non-governmental organisations and madrassas, which provide them with “recruits, funding and infrastructure to plan new attacks.”

Ms. Clinton accuses Pakistan of seeking to block the listing of Pakistan-based terrorists as well as “affiliated” terrorists nominated for blocking by India under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267. Under this resolution, countries are obliged to impose an economic sanctions regime against listed individuals and entities. She notes that Pakistan tries to block listings by requesting China, a member of the UNSC, to place a hold on such nominations. However, the cable notes that Beijing did not prevent the most recent Pakistan-related terrorist nomination made by the U.S.

Ms. Clinton's action request cable urges the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad to engage the Pakistan government on a number of specific “talking points.” These include urging Islamabad to:

Strictly enforce existing sanctions against all individuals and entities on the UNSCR 1267 consolidated list;

View listing requests under UNSCR 1267 on merit and not on the basis on politics;

Enforce sanctions on UN-proscribed NGOs that funnel money and other forms of support to the Taliban and the LeT;

Act against the Haqqani network, “which is funneling weapons and fighters across the border to fight U.S. and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan.”

The cable, the larger focus of which was to check illegal finance flows into Pakistan and Afghanistan from some Gulf countries, was also marked to American Embassies in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. It states that “donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide.” The country is described as a “critical financial support base for al-Qaida, the Taliban, LeT, and other terrorist groups, including Hamas, which probably raises millions of dollars annually from Saudi sources, often during Hajj and Ramadan.”

At the same time, it acknowledges that Saudi Arabia has enacted important reforms to criminalise terrorist financing and restrict the overseas flow of funds from Saudi-based charities.

Catholic church making money by producing and selling porn

One of Germany's largest publishing companies, Weltbild, that has over 2,500 erotic novels in its online catalogue, is owned 100 percent by the German Catholic Church. Weltbild has an annual turnover of €1.7 billion ($2.4 billion), 6400 employees and has a 20 percent market share when it comes to selling books. That makes it the second largest online retailer of books behind Amazon. Weltbild has a reach over 20 million customers. They are indeed advertised openly no porn, but the catalog shows often frighteningly touts books that speak to the other side of the Catholic Catechism scorn. Among the erotic novels are books of the publishing house Blue Panther Books with prose of his sex series "Anwaltshure", "Vögelbar" and "Schlampen-Internat".

German newspaper Die Welt has published a detailed report that says that the company has been owned by the church for over 30 years. Few Catholics have raised the issue for long, but to no avail. The situation came to light after a report mentioned the erotica distributed by Weltbild. The high point of this opposition came in 2008, when a 70-page report on the book sales was sent to bishops. But over half of the bishops who were sent the report, failed to acknowledge receipt of the document. The response from the Archdiocese of Munich was cynical. The response to the complaints from Archbishop's finance director, Dr. Sebastian Anneser has left little doubt that bishops have own interest in not taking corrective action. The response said that "not every weed can be rooted out".

Church has invested over 182 million Euroes in the company. For 30 years, the flirtation with money and power has gone on. In defiance of ethical and moral theological commitments, the Church has highly pushed up with its own company as a major player in the media business.

The already difficult situation aggravated when the business-minded church people in 1998 went on a merger, after which Church became 50 percent stake holder in the publishing company 'Droemer Knaur', which produces pornographic books, among others, thus itself becoming a producer of porn literature. The bishops are thus indirectly the publishers of pornographic articles. One wonders why media Bishop Gebhard Fürst, who stays out of the controversial public debate, takes no objection, if the Catholic Church co-produced the work 'Sündige Spiele' "meaning 'Sinful Games', or for that matter, titles which in English mean, "Take me here and take me now", "Sex for Experts", "Manual for sex goddesses", "Dirty Stories", "The perfect seducer", "Tell me, bitch!", "Why do men come so fast and women do just as if" etc.

The devout catholics are dismayed because their decade long protest has turned to deaf ears. The church's credibility is at stake. Translated to the current situation: preaching chastity and sell porn, if what the Catholic church is unabashedly engaged in.

Why Godhra only ? Read the history of RIOTS since 1715-1969

If we take the history of Ahmedabad for last five centuries, the city was ruled by Muslims and Mughals for about 340 years the rest by Marathas & The British coming to the incidents of communal riots during this era of five centuries, the major incidences are:

(1) 1714: Holi Riots: A Hindu named Hari Ram while celebrating Holi with his friends at his residence sprinkled ‘Gulal’ a red powder on one muslim, which was strongly protested by Muslims. A mob got assembled near Jumma Masjid under the leadership of Sunni Bohra Mulla Abdul Aziz. Afghan soldiers of the Muslim viceroy also joined the mob seeing the situation. A Kazi interfered for cooling down the angry mob. But the mob set on fire the house of this Kazi. The rioteers thereafter looted the shops of Hindu Mohalla, Shops and set their houses to fire. The rioters could be controlled only by armed guards of a Hindu, Kapurchand Bhanshali.

(2) 1715: Another Communal Riot: The 1715 communal riots were due to looting of shops of Hindus by Muslim soldiers. The riot came to an end with replacement of Muslim viceroy Daudkhan.

(3) 1716: Id riots: Consequently during the third year also, communal disturbances broke out during id in 1716. Bohra community Muslims gathered cows and buffallows for id celebration. A Muslim Havaldar just out of pity released one of such gathered cows. The Muslim protested before the Kazi Khairullakhan seeing no outcome to their expectation, the Muslims resorted to riots arson and mass looting of Hindu establishments. The situation could come to normally with Hindu viceroy Ajitsinh’s concerted efforts.

(4) 1750: Temple Demolition: 1750 riots by Muslims were provoked simply with an excuse that their Namaz was being disturbed due to noise of ringing of bell in the adjoining temple. The Muslims while returning from Masjid after Namaz, totally destroyed the temple and thus played with the Hindu sentiments.

(5) 1941: Riots: Communal disturbances broke out on 18th April 1941. The Muslims diverted to Muslim legue programmes after incidence of these riots.

(6) 1946: Rath Yatra Riots: 1st July, 1946, was a Rath Yatra day. Rath Yatra as usual was passing through Shaher Kotda Police Station Area, on this auspicious day. There took a hut exchange between a Hindu Akhada man and a Muslim watching the procession. The incidence turned into breaking out of communal violence, viz. arson, stone throwing, stabbing etc. There was also a police firing and curfew was finally imposed, to control the situation.

(7) 1965: Sikh incidence: The 1965 riots were resulted out of murder of two Shikh Rickshaw drivers by Muslims. The angrieved Shikhs took out funeral procession of both these dead bodies. The situation got disturbed at Delhi Darwaja and got converted into a communal riot soon.

(8) 1969: Historic Communal Riots: These riots were biggest of its type having taken lives of about 560 persons. It was 18th Sept. 1969, the last day of Urs. The violence crept up in the evening time on the ground that Jagannath Mandir cows going back to temple premises disturbed the URS. It may be mentioned that movement of cows was a daily routine irrespective of URS celebration taking place simultaneously. A hot discussion took place which provoked communal tension with a series of violent, incidences killing, linking, and soon in various parts of the city.

Time to return to Ayurved? Indians becoming poorer due to expense on medicines, says WHO

As per a report published by the Times of India, the World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed concerns about Indians' high out-of-pocket expenses on medicines. According to WHO, 3.2% Indians are set to fall below the poverty line because of their high medical bills. Also, it said that about 70% of Indians spend their entire income on healthcare and purchasing drugs, while this figure is 30-40% in other Asian countries. Despite that Indians are still suffering from infected diseases due to lack of best quality drugs and healthcare facilities.

Regional advisor of WHO, Dr. Katheline stressed the need for effective monitoring system in India, while expressing concern about the lack of Drugs and Therapeutics Committee (DTC) and Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee (PTC) to provide patients more efficient and rational use of medicines. WHO has been urging to set these panels for a decade.

According to India's Planning Commission, 3.9 crore Indians are pushed to poverty because of ill health every year. The percentage of untreated ailing patients because of financial constaints is around 30% in rural India and 20% in urban. Moreover, of the hospital admits, about 47% take loans or sell assets in rural India. This number is 31% for the urban sector. On top of it, the governments are cutting down expenses on health sector. Compared to a decade ago, Maharashtra's expenses are down from 11.3% to 5.2%, Kerala down from 17% to 12.5% and similar trends for Tamilnadu, Rajasthan, Haryana, Karnataka and MP.

A report of the Planning Commission's recommends ensuring availability of free essential medicines by increasing public spending on drug procurement from 0.1% to 0.5% of the GDP as low public spending on drugs and non-availability of free medicines in government healthcare facilities discourages people from accessing public sector health units.

Kerala govt gives subsidy to Christians and Muslims by en cashing it from Hindu Temples

In a season SHABARIMALA DEVASWAM BOARD gives kerala Govnt:

Rs.75 lakh for police service, Rs.3 lakh for Health service, Rs.20 lakh for pollution control board,

but

In MALAYATHUR CHURCH season...ALL services Free by Govt..!

And

KSEB charges Rs.17/- per unit from DEVASWAM while the Churches & Madrasas pays Rs.4/- only....!

Extra ticket charges paid by each ayappa to KSRTC sometimes, taxes in every border checkposts, dozens of toll gates...

while the the same Govnt gives Rs.225 crores for Hujj Trip..!!

SEE THE INJUSTICE BETWEEN GODS..... only for votes

Ishrat Jahan encounter case : Obnoxious face of a section of Media

The SIT probing the encounter case of the 19 year old girl Ishrat Jahaan has claimed that the encounter was a fake and that she alongwith 3 of her male colleagues was killed before the encounter. The court is still to deliver its verdict on the issue. But the kind of attitude a section of media has exhibited in reporting this development betrays their sympathy for terroritsts, or their vested interests. Quite many newspapers and TV Channels' websites are carrying a version of the news that delibeately and with malafide intent attempts at hiding the fact that Lashkar-e-toiba man David Colman Headly himself had admitted to NIA that Ishart was associated with LeT. 

They have even blacked out any mention of the fact that the other 3 killed, Javed Sheikh, Amzad Ali and Jeeshan Johar also had links with LeT with one of them being a Pakistani citizen. These newspapers had themselves published detailed news regarding their being terrorist in July last year. Even more recently, just last month, a newspaper (links provided below) had published the statement of an SIT member that Ishrat was confirmed to be an LeT member. In fact, as per the claim of Gujarat police, and Hedley's revealations, they were conspiring to kill Narendra Modi and had even set up meetings at a hotel in Ahmedabad.

All these facts have been blacked out while reporting this news today. Instead, many leading newspapers have made the statements of Ishrat's mother, father, brother and uncle calling her a 'martyr', asking to 'bring their daughter back', and asking 'What did Modi get by killing Ishrat', as if Modi himself went and shot at her. The "sacred duty" of a section of media towards maligning Modi is no secret, but in the process, they've become so blind that they are sympathising with terrorists and portraying them as innocents. If a Congress General Secretary refers to Osama Bin Laden as "Osama Ji", that's understandable for that's how appeasement politics works. 

If a resolution to 'forgive' Afzal Guru is attempted at J & K assembly, even that is understandable for the same reason. But, has our media also got into these political compulsions, for certain vested interests, or is this section of our media catering to a wide-spread, more dangerous conspiracy against nation? Indeed, a fake encounter is an offense and the law will take its course to punish the offenders if their guilt is proven, but at whose behest is this section of media operating to malign Modi and offering tributes to an "innocent" terrorist? Is misleading the nation not an act that characterizes this section of our media as a traitor? If yes, any punishment is small for this malafide act.

News relating to Ishrat's being associated with LeT (July 2010) : Click to Read : NDTV . Times of India . Indian Express . Outlook India 

SIT member's statement on Ishrat's being a terrorist (October 2011) : Click to read : Times of India

Today's stories portraying Ishrat as an innocent victim, attempting to generate sympathy for her family : Click to read : DNA India . IBN Live . Indian Express

इशरत जहाँ एनकाउंटर केस : सामने आया मीडिया के एक वर्ग का घृणित चेहरा

गुजरात दंगों एवं सम्बंधित मामलो की जाँच कर रहे विशेष जाँच दल ने अपनी रिपोर्ट में दावा किया है कि इशरत जहाँ नामक १९ वर्षीय मुंबई की छात्रा की पुलिस मुठभेड़ झूठी थी | मुठभेड़ से पहले ही इशरत जहाँ और उसके तीन साथियों को मारा जा चुका था |  इस विषय पर न्यायालय बुधवार को अपना निर्णय सुनाएगा | परन्तु भारत के मीडिया के एक वर्ग ने इस समाचार का प्रकाशन करने में पत्रकारिता के मूल्यों का निरादर किया है | 

अधिकाँश पत्रों एवं वेबसाइट पर समाचार को इस प्रकार से प्रकाशित किया गया है जिससे यह सन्देश जाता है कि इशरत जहाँ एक मासूम छात्रा थी | ध्यान रहे कि गुजरात पुलिस ने १५ जून २००४ को किये गए इस एनकाउन्टर का कारण ये बताया था कि इशरत जहाँ और उसके तीनो साथी मुख्यमंत्री मोदी की हत्या की फिराक में थे | इशरत के साथ जो तीन लोग मारे गए उनमें जावेद शेख, और पाकिस्तानी नागरिक अमज़द अली रना व जीशान जौहर शामिल थे | पुलिस ने कहा था कि ये चारों पाकिस्तानी आतंकी संगठन लश्कर-इ-तोइबा से जुड़े हुए हैं | स्वयं लश्कर के ही आतंकी डेविड कोलमन हेडली ने भी इशरत और जावेद के लश्कर का सदस्य होने की पुष्टि की थी | यह बात भी सामने आई थी कि मई, 2004 में जावेद व इशरत अहमदाबाद के एक होटल में रुके थे और उन्होंने कई अहम स्थलों की रेकी की थी।

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In English : Ishrat Jahan encounter case : Obnoxious face of a section of Media
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परन्तु इशरत के लश्कर का आतंकी होने की बात आज कुछ समाचार पत्रों ने न जाने अपने किन स्वार्थों के चलते छुपायी है| इशरत की माँ के आंसुओं की याद पाठकों को दिलवा कर, इशरत के माता पिता के "हमारी बेटी हमें लौटा दो" वाले वक्तव्यों और "मोदी को मेरी बेटी को मार के क्या मिला" इस प्रकार की हेडलाइन प्रकाशित करके क्या ये समाचार पत्र आतंकवादियों को सहानुभूति देना चाहते हैं? एक राजनैतिक दल के नेता द्वारा "ओसामा जी" कहना अथवा एक विधायक द्वारा जम्मू कश्मीर विधान सभा में अफजाल गूरु को क्षमा करना सम्बन्धी प्रस्ताव रखना समझ में आता है, क्योंकि ये उनकी तुष्टिकरण की राजनीति के लिए आवश्यक है, परन्तु भारत की पत्रकारिता को भी अब ये दीमक लग गयी है, यह गंभीर चिंता का विषय है |

क्या मोदी कि निंदा करने के अपने 'कर्त्तव्य' अथवा 'आदेश' के प्रभाव में मीडिया इतना अँधा हो गया है कि उसे उन जानों की भी चिंता नहीं जो मोदी पर हमला होने की स्थिति में उनके साथ जाती ? निश्चित रूप से झूठी मुठभेड़ करना अवैधानिक है और इसके लिए दोषी पुलिस कर्मियों को जाँच पूरी होने पर अपराध सिद्ध होने पर उचित दंड भी मिलेगा, परन्तु क्या झूठी मुठभेड़ में मारे जाने से आतंकी 'निरपराध' सिद्ध हो जाता है? क्या देश की जनता को जान बूझ कर अपने तुच्छ स्वार्थों के चलते अथवा किसी व्यापक षड़यंत्र के अंतर्गत भ्रमित करना राष्ट्रद्रोह नहीं है? और यदि है, तो सम्पूर्ण मीडिया तंत्र विशेषकर अंग्रेजी मीडिया, इस अपराध के दंड का अधिकारी क्यों नहीं?

Puranas gave us the name HINDU not Muslim Invaders

It is not Muslim Invaders who gave us the name 'Hindu', we were mentioned 'Hindu' by puranas several thousands years ago-proof!

Several thousand years ago, also called central India Hindustan, and the people who lived there Hindus. The following verse, said to be from the Vishnu Purana, Padma Purana and the Bruhaspati Samhita, is provided as proof, yet I am still waiting to learn the exact location where we can find this verse:

Aaasindo Sindhu Paryantham Yasyabharatha Bhoomikah

Mathrubhuh Pithrubhoochaiva sah Vai Hindurithismrithaah

Another verse reads as:

Sapta sindhu muthal Sindhu maha samudhram vareyulla Bharatha bhoomi aarkkellamaano Mathru bhoomiyum Pithru bhoomiyumayittullathu, avaraanu hindukkalaayi ariyappedunnathu.

Both of these verses more or less indicate that whoever considers the land of Bharatha Bhoomi between Sapta Sindu and the Indian Ocean as his or her motherland and fatherland is known as Hindu. However, here we also have the real and ancient name of India mentioned, which is Bharata Bhoomi. “Bhoomi” (or Bhumi) means Mother Earth, but Bharata is the land of Bharata or Bharata-varsha, which is the land of India. In numerous Vedic references in the Puranas, Mahabharata and other Vedic texts, the area of India is referred to as Bharata-varsha or the land of Bharata and not as Hindustan. The name Bharata-varsha certainly helps capture the roots and glorious past of the country and its people.

Another couple of references that are used, though the exact location of which I am not sure, includes the following:

Himalayam Samaarafya Yaavat Hindu Sarovaram

Tham Devanirmmitham desham Hindustanam Prachakshathe

Himalyam muthal Indian maha samudhram vareyulla

devanirmmithamaya deshaththe Hindustanam ennu parayunnu

These again indicate that the region between the Himalayas and the Indian Ocean is called Hindustan. Thus, the conclusion of this is that all Indians are Hindus regardless of their caste and religion. Of course, not everyone is going to agree with that.

Others say that in the Rig Veda, Bharata is referred to as the country of “Sapta Sindhu”, i.e. the country of seven great rivers. This is, of course, acceptable. However, exactly which book and chapter this verse comes from needs to be clarified. Nonetheless, some say that the word “Sindhu” refers to rivers and sea, and not merely to the specific river called “Sindhu”. Furthermore, it is said that in Vedic Sanskrit, according to ancient dictionaries, “sa” was pronounced as “ha”. Thus “Sapta Sindhu” was pronounced as “Hapta Hindu”. So this is how the word “Hindu” is supposed to have come into being. It is also said that the ancient Persians referred to Bharat as “Hapta Hind”, as recorded in their ancient classic “Bem Riyadh”. So this is another reason why some scholars came to believe that the word “Hindu” had its origin in Persia.

Another theory is that the name “Hindu” does not even come from the name Sindhu. Mr. A. Krishna Kumar of Hyderabad, India explains. “This [Sindhu/Hindu] view is untenable since Indians at that time enviably ranked highest in the world in terms of civilization and wealth would not have been without a name. They were not the unknown aborigines waiting to be discovered, identified and Christened by foreigners.” He cites an argument from the book Self-Government in India by N. B. Pavgee, published in 1912. The author tells of an old Swami and Sanskrit scholar Mangal Nathji, who found an ancient Purana known as Brihannaradi in the Sham village, Hoshiarpur, Punjab. It contained this verse:

himalayam samarabhya yavat bindusarovaram

hindusthanamiti qyatam hi antaraksharayogatah

Again the exact location of this verse in the Purana is missing, but Kumar translates it as: “The country lying between the Himalayan mountains and Bindu Sarovara (Cape Comorin sea) is known as Hindusthan by combination of the first letter ‘hi’ of ‘Himalaya’ and the last compound letter 'ndu' of the word 'Bindu.'"

This, of course, is supposed to have given rise to the name “Hindu”, indicating an indigenous origin. The conclusion of which is that people living in this area are thus known as “Hindus”.

25000 Indians travel to Switzerland very frequently, Why ?

Swiss bank revealed India has more money than rest of the world The second best Russia has 4 times lesser deposit. U.S. is not even there in the counting in top five! India has more money in Swiss banks than all the other countries combined!

Due to international pressure, the Swiss government agreed to disclose the names of the account holders only if the respective governments formally asked for it. Indian government is not asking for the details. We need to start a movement to pressurize the government to do so! This is perhaps the only way, and a golden opportunity, to expose the high and mighty and weed out corruption!

With personal account deposit bank of $1,500 billion in foreign reserve which have been misappropriated, an amount 13 times larger than the country’s foreign debt, one needs to rethink if India is a poor country? With this amount 45 crore poor people canget Rs 1,00,000 each.

After paying the entire foreign debt, we will have surplus amount, almost 12 times larger than the foreign debt. If this surplus amount is invested in earning interest, the amount of interest will be more than the annual budget of the Central government. So even if all the taxes are abolished, then also the Central government will be able to maintain the country very comfortably.

Some 80,000 people travel to Switzerland every year, of which 25,000 travel very frequently. ‘Obviously, these people won’t be tourists. They must be travelling there for some other reason,’ believes an official involved in tracking illegal money.. And, clearly he isn’t referring to the commerce ministry bureaucrats who’ve been flitting in and out of Geneva ever since the World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations went into a tailspin!

Black money in Swiss banks- Swiss Banking Association report, 2006 details bank deposits in the territory of Switzerland by nationals of following countries: TOP FIVE— India ($1,456 billion), Russia ($470 billion), U.K. ($390 billion), UKRAINE ($100 billion), China ($96 billion). 

Now do the math’s - India with $1,456 billion or $1.4 trillion has more money in Swiss banks than rest of the world combined. Public loot since 1947: Can we bring back our money ? It is one of the biggest loots witnessed by mankind - the loot of the Aam Aadmi (common man) since 1947, by his brethren occupying public office. It has been orchestrated by politicians, bureaucrats and some businessmen.

The list is almost all-encompassing. No wonder, everyone in India loots with impunity and without any fear. What is even more depressing in that this ill-gotten wealth of ours has been stashed away abroad into secret bank accounts located in some of the world’s best known tax havens. And to that extent the Indian economy has been stripped of its wealth. Ordinary Indians may not be exactly aware of how such secret accounts operate and what are the rules and regulations that go on to govern such tax havens. However, one may well be aware of ‘Swiss bank accounts,’ the shorthand for murky dealings, secrecy and of course pilferage from developing countries into rich developed ones.

Modern India : 30 minutes of fun for a mere Rs 20

Couples pay the measly amount to the beat cops who catch them in the act so they may carry on; With over five cases of 'misbehaving couples' being filed on a daily basis, cops now plan special patrols to book lovebirds making out in the city's 'hot' spots

The city cops appear to be at their wits end as the number of cases of couples misbehaving in dark bylanes, atop cars and in public places in the dead of night hits an all-time high. With over five cases being registered against 'misbehaving couples' on a daily basis and a total of 100 cases in a month, the city cops are finding it difficult to tackle the lovebird issue as well as regular cases.

MiD DAY visited all the hot hook-up spots in the city and listed out five areas with lax security and lighting where the problem has reached a peak. Statistics obtained from various police stations reveal that such instances have risen in five important locations.

"Couples often head to popular parks like the Lal Bagh Botanical Garden and Cubbon Park, or just chose to get it going up dark alleys. During regular night patrolling, we have realised that Residency Road (Behind TNT), Sadashiv Nagar (Opposite the club house) and Koramangala (Opposite Forum, near Monday to Sunday) are the most popular hook up spots," explained a regular night-beat cop.

'Right to love'

The Law and Order cops, whose main task is to maintain peace and to secure the city are now resorting to lifting blankets and shawls off couples making out in parks. "Obscene acts in public are punishable under law. We file cases on grounds of the public nuisance that they create. Most of these couples are either college students or BPO employees fooling around in public places, which could prove to be dangerous for the couple. Sometimes, we escort the couples to their homes and complain to their parents," said Sunil Kumar, Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order).

Free to express?

Meanwhile, when this reporter approached a few couples necking in parks, they revealed some shockers. They complained that the cops had no right to curb their 'freedom to express love' and that they would continue to indulge in such acts. "We come here because we like the ambience. What we do in our personal space is our business. The cops have no right to torture us like this," said J Arvind, a techie who was cozying up with his girlfriend at Cubbon Park.

Pay for peace?

Another couple sprawled over a car at Koramangala was rather surprised when questioned about their 'public display of affection'. "We live very close by and this is the only time we get for ourselves. Usually we just pay the beat cop around Rs 20 and he lets us free for half an hour. Other times, we just finish our business and leave the place," claimed H Girish, a software engineer.

Shocked by their response and the increasing number of such cases, the police department has now ordered special patrolling in these areas. "We understand that rooms at hotels and lodges are costly, but we don't feel happy about catching semi-naked couples exploiting public places. There is a time and place to do certain things, and roads are not that place," said Kumar.

35 Muslim groups benefit from OBC quota in Gujarat, compared to 24 Muslim groups in Bihar

                                                       Left-liberal media’s myth-making by Shashi Shekhar 

In this age of 24x7 electronic media reinforced urban legends, truth is often what anchors want us to believe. A case in point is the stark contrast with which Bihar is made out to be a haven of Muslim inclusivity and Gujarat a hell. Yet, according to the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs, 35 Muslim groups benefit from OBC quota in Gujarat, compared to 24 Muslim groups in Bihar.

On September 20, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India, put out a Press release on OBC reservation for Muslims. The Press release listed instances where reservations to some Muslim groups had already been provided under the OBC category. The Press release had a detailed table listing the State-wise break up as of August 24, 2010. While many States like West Bengal had provided no OBC quota for Muslims, only six States had at least one or two Muslim groups benefiting from OBC reservation. Of those six States Uttar Pradesh was providing OBC reservation to just two Muslim groups while Congress-ruled Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Maharashtra made up the rest of that list, providing OBC reservation to just one Muslim group.

Only five States had provided reservations to more than two Muslim groups within the OBC quota of which just one State, Kerala, has been ruled by the Congress or the Communist parties. All the other four States providing a long list of Muslim groups with OBC quota were BJP/NDA-ruled States, including Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.

But that is not the end of this startling Press release. Only one other State rivals Bihar in designating the highest number of Muslim groups to benefit from OBC quota — Gujarat. Where Bihar had 24 different Muslim groups benefiting from OBC reservation, Gujarat had a staggering 35 different Muslim groups listed in that Press release.

In this age of 24x7 electronic media reinforced urban legends and media myths, it would seem truth is what the anchors want you to believe. A case in point is the stark contrast with which Bihar is made out to be a haven of Muslim inclusivity and Gujarat a hell by the media. A contrast that is deliberately sought to be amplified by these same media pundits who hold upthe Bihar Chief Minister as an ideal of tolerance, inclusivity and secularism while running down the Gujarat Chief Minister on the same issues. Small wonder we see little debate in the Delhi-based media over the Bihar Chief Minister’s conscious political visits to temples during pre-election yatras where the line between the political and the administrative was fuzzy. It is also no surprise that we see practically no outrage on alleged acts of intolerance of dissent by the Bihar Chief Minister over some negative remarks in Facebook by Government servants who were recently suspended.

It would, however, be a disservice to the efforts of both Mr Narendra Modi and Mr Nitish Kumar, who remain two of the most performing Chief Ministers in India, if we were to reduce this public debate on Muslim empowerment or inclusivity to a false polemic over personalities. It was with great distress this columnist noted an open letter from Aijaz Ilmi to Chetan Bhagat earlier this week fall prey to the same false polemic over personalities. Aijaz Ilmi was responding to a column by Chetan Bhagat earlier in the week on Muslim vote-bank politics.

Aijaz Ilmi incidentally was one of the few bold Muslim commentators who saw the Allahabad High Court judgement on the Ayodhya title dispute as an opportunity to solve that intractable problem. Aijaz Ilmi’s open letter makes extensive references to the Sachar Committee report on the economic and social backwardness of Muslims while lamenting the lack of what he calls “an honest chance for a decent living and equitable opportunities” for Muslims.

It would be a mistake to dismiss Aijaz Ilmi’s open letter as a stereotypical response. A debate needs to be forced on who has the best policies and ideas in general to meet rising aspirations and more specifically in the Muslim context and which ideas are creating opportunities to empower the Muslim spirit of enterprise within a level playing field.

This is a debate nobody in the media wants to have and proof of this comes from the speed with which the media has buried the story over the reported remarks by PDP’s Mehbooba Mufti on the efforts of a Muslim entrepreneur to set up shop in Gujarat. It should surprise nobody that the Left-liberal bias in the media has ensured not one media outlet has even attempted to seek out who that Muslim entrepreneur was or bothered to elaborate on what exactly was his experience.

In fact, for all the talk of Muslim backwardness and consequent need for inclusive policies even the Sachar Committee report that Aijaz Ilmi quotes from extensively in his open letter, is also stunningly silent on the needs and challenges of Muslim entrepreneurs in seeking a level-playing field. While the report dedicates an entire chapter on access to financial credit and financial inclusion, it barely goes into specific issues and challenges of an aspiring Muslim looking to expand opportunities beyond self-employment through entrepreneurship.

Despite recognising the fact that many Muslims are self-employed the entire thrust of the Sachar Committee report, it would seem, was more focussed on how Muslims must remain employed within public or private sectors as opposed to how self-employed Muslims could be empowered to expand their enterprise. One sees the same refrain of dependency on others’ for employment in Aijaz Ilmi’s open letter as well with little advocacy on advancement from self-employment to entrepreneurship.

The tragedy for the Muslim community in India is that much of the debate on its socio-economic fate is conducted with politically prejudiced blinkers on. Be it on entitlements with the OBC quota as a case in point or on opportunities with the Sachar report as a case in point, false polemics between Gujarat and Bihar, Mr Modi and Mr Kumar have taken precedence over facts and reality.

One hears of a Dalit entrepreneurs conference to be held in Delhi later this year premised on the idea of ‘fighting caste with capital’. Perhaps it is not a bad idea for a similar Muslim entrepreneurs conference to debunk some commonly held myths on the kind of political environment that ensures a level-playing field for them. If not anything else, such a conference might give Aijaz Ilmi something more than a Left-liberal Sachar Committee report to quote from in a future open letter.