dharma next

Vande Mataram issue: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar & Deoband clerics find middle ground

2009-11-10T15:04:00.008+05:30

Above: Sri Sri with clerics from Darul Uloom Deoband

Samay Live, 9th November, 2009

In a bid to tone down the row over its fatwa against the singing of 'Vande Mataram', clerics from the Deoband Islamic seminary have said they won't stop Muslims from singing the national song but the fatwa would stay.

The climbdown comes after some clerics from Darul Uloom Deoband met Hindu spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

"The clerics have changed their stand on 'Vande Mataram' to bring the Hindu-Muslim communities closer," said a press statement from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

The clerics, according to the press release, said they "do not have any objection to the national song" and have left it to the "conscience" of Muslims who should decide for themselves whether they want to sing it or not.

The press statement quoted Maulana Khalik Madrasi of the Darul Uloom as saying the fatwa on 'Vande Mataram' cannot be recalled now, but the Darul Uloom will not stop anyone from singing it.

Present at the meeting with Sri Sri were "Maulana Margubur Rehman of the Darul Uloom, Darul Iftah (fatwa section) in-charge Mufti Habibur Rehman, who issued the (decree), Mufti Ehsaan Qasmi and Usman Mansoorpuri of the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind", the statement said.

Sri Sri told them that 'Vande Mantaram' is not a prayer but a means of thanksgiving.

"The first lines of 'Vande Mataram' are not objectionable in any way. This issue should not be given more importance. The country is above all and there should be no rift between the Hindu and Muslims," he said.

Quoting a Supreme Court judgment, Sri Sri also said that no one should be pressurised to sing 'Vande Mataram'.

Source

Baba Ramdev's Yoga steals the show at Islamic conference in UP

2009-11-03T19:00:00.010+05:30

DNA, 3rd November, 2009

In a rare confluence, Yoga guru Baba Ramdev performed Pranayam while a Hindu Priest recited Vedic hymns at the largest congregation of Muslim clerics of the country here today.

The 30th General Assembly organised by Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind at the Darul Uloom Islamic seminary was the first occasion when a Hindu religious figure addressed the audience, primarily comprising Muslim clerics.

The jam-packed pandal of the seminary, which is the seat of Sunni Muslims in Asia, fell silent as Pandit NK Sharma started reciting sacred Sanskrit texts at the dias.

More than two lakh clerics and students first listened attentively to Hindu religious texts which dealt with peace, unity and brotherhood and then watched the Yoga performance of Baba Ramdev.

Ramdev, in his signature style, started with a brief introduction about unity, health and well being followed by demonstrating Anulom-Vilom, Pranayam, Kapaal Bhati and other Yogasans to the gathering.

"I teach people Yoga. I speak of well being, healthy life and haven't changed anyone's religion," a beaming Baba Ramdev said. Incidentally, the 143-year-old influential seminary had in the past issued a fatwa in favour of yoga after some clerics banned Muslims from practising it.

Stressing on the need to promote yoga, Ramdev sought to dispel misconceptions about the activity by saying, "These yogas were like exercise to keep the body fit and do not violate any tenets of Islam since one is not required to recite any shlokas."

As the Baba who is the founder of Patanjali Yaogapeeth in Hardwar exhibited some fine points about breath control, concentration, meditation, the audience was seen following him in the acts. He emphasised the need for promoting communal harmony satying the unity between Hindus and Muslims was the strength of the nation.

Source

Hiding from the massacre: 1984 remembered

2009-11-02T00:01:00.013+05:30

Above: A young Harmeet Shah Singh pictured at the wedding of one of his older sisters

By Harmeet Shah Singh, CNN, 1st November, 2009

The school bell rang and along with my sixth-grade friends, I climbed down the stairs. My teenage sister was in the hallway waiting for me. Her being there was unusual.

"Indira Gandhi has died," she whispered in Punjabi. Kukki, as we called her, hung my bag on her shoulder, clasped my hand and whisked me out. We jumped onto a cycle rickshaw outside. In about 15 minutes, Kukki had brought me home.

It was the afternoon of October 31, 1984. I was 10, but I could sense some unease in the air as strong rumors persisted that then-Prime Minister Gandhi had fallen to the bullets of her Sikh bodyguards. There were no private TV networks in those days in India and confirmation of her death on state-run television and radio came late.

By evening, we did hear rumors of some stray attacks on Sikhs, but I don't remember seeing anything on our television about the assaults that night.

My parents didn't send me to school the next day. By now, we knew attacks were not sporadic. Ours was the first Sikh home - and the tallest - in our lane. Curious, I darted to our roof. I remember seeing plumes of dark smoke rising on the horizon.

Sikh properties were on fire in the commercial and industrial belt that ringed our locality in New Delhi. On November 2, our neighborhood, largely Hindu, decided to begin building defenses. A makeshift barricade of bamboo was put up right at the entry to our lane and residents were on night patrol like watchmen for at least the next month. I still remember a night when I heard young boys issuing what would be a false alert about mobs being close - perhaps to keep everybody awake. It worked.

In the first week of November of 1984, we secretly shifted what we regarded as our most expensive belongings to the home of one of our Hindu neighbors. A double-deck tape recorder, which my father had bought from London, was one thing that I carried to the neighboring house.

Attacks went on until November 3. Our locality was spared, but in the aftermath my parents would ponder the future. A challenge was how to take me to Punjab, where most of my maternal family lived.

Sikhs had been singled out and killed in trains and buses. Like other children from the community, I would wear a "patka," a small under-turban or a scarf, as headgear.

It was decided my mother would dress me up as a girl. I was unwilling, but my mom told me that was a good safety precaution.

I think it was most of December that I spent in Punjab. My father - maybe many other parents like him - in New Delhi had already submitted a leave application with my school, a Sikh school.

I began feeling terribly homesick in Punjab, so for me perhaps the happiest moment from that time came when I stepped into my home again. When I rejoined my school, a teacher circulated some "chits" to our class, a sacred Sikh verse asking for God's help in difficult times.

I remember we all sang it in chorus.

Source

Blindsight: Yoga and Islam

2009-10-30T01:07:00.004+05:30

Sunday Indian, 1st November, 2009

Rajaque Rahman, a devout Muslim, is a former journalist now engaged in teaching yoga-based spiritual programmes, as part of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 's Art of Living Foundation. To him, both - Yoga and Islam - have common goals…

Recent fatwas forbidding Muslims from doing yoga have left many confused about what Islam really says about it. Malaysia’s National Fatwa Council and Indonesian Ulema Council’s edicts on the ground that yoga will erode their faith in the religion reflect a complete ignorance about the discipline of yoga.

As the Quran and Hadith have nothing specific that deign the practice of yoga haram, the ulemas based the ruling on their own concocted fear of supposedly ‘Hindu’ elements of yoga destroying the faith of a Muslim. The best way to allay their fear is to look at the Hindu philosophy on yoga and see how and where it contradicts the tenets of Islam.

Yoga simply means uniting with the self. Maharishi Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras starts by calling itself an enunciation in union. The asanas, the practice of which is the focal point of these fatwas, are just one way of attaining that union. Is striving for such a union with the self against Islam? It cannot be. For, Prophet Muhammad has said, “He who knows his own self knows his Lord.” So anything done in pursuit of knowing the Lord will count as a meritorious act of following the Prophet. So yoga as a spiritual pursuit is very much permissible in Islam.

The best explanation of why yoga is not just permissible, but also desirable for Muslims is to be found in the second sutra of the Yoga Sutras. Yogas Chitta Vritti Nirodhah. It means yoga is stopping all the modulations of the mind. Ceasing all the outward activities of the mind and reposing in Allah is the ultimate goal of Islam. Prophet Muhammad said, “I have a time with God to which even Gabriel, who is pure spirit, is not admitted.” Hence, the soul of prayer is a complete absorption, a state without room for any outward thoughts which is also the ultimate purpose of yoga. So doing yoga asanas as a means of attaining a thoughtless state will qualify as the highest form of ibadat (prayer).

This leaves only one ground for orthodox mullahs to frown at yoga: that yoga stems from polytheist beliefs of Hinduism. But when yoga means union, how can it be linked to polytheist beliefs? In fact, yoga takes one away from polytheism and leads to Advaita, which is in perfect agreement with the Islamic doctrine of tauhid (oneness of God).

It’s universally proven that yoga brings peace of mind, and on that count yoga is almost obligatory for Muslims. For the Quran says, “The only religion with Allah is Islam.” As Islam means peace, peace of mind is a prerequisite for one to be truly following Allah’s only religion.

Outweighing all these synergies of yoga is the discomfort among Muslims in chanting certain sounds, particularly Om which generally forms a part of yoga. This uneasiness is caused again by lack of knowledge about what Om signifies and why it’s chanted. Contrary to the general misconception, Om isn’t a name of a God or a prayer to a particular God. Om is a universal sound that is chanted for its effect in harmonising one’s being and creating peace within and without. The vibration the sound creates has the power to take one to that state of complete absorption which Prophet Muhammad mentioned as his time with God. That’s why Om and other similar sacred sounds such as Aameen and Amen are normally chanted at the time of supplicating before God. Hindus chant Om before praying for peace, Muslims and Christians chant Aameen and Amen respectively after seeking blessings from God. This proves that the accent is on the resulting state of harmony which helps one connect with God easily.

So doing yoga with the sole intention of attaining a thoughtless state so that one can connect with Allah wouldn’t make one a bad Muslim.

Polytheism in the name of Allah

Chairman of National Fatwa Council of Malaysia, Abdul Shukor Husin, while passing a fatwa against yoga last year stated, “Many Muslims fail to understand that yoga’s ultimate aim is to be one with a God of a different religion. When one has affirmed to ‘La Ilaaha Illallaah’, how can a Muslim think of another “God of a different religion?"

‘La Ilaaha Illallaah’ (literal translation: ‘there is no god but God’) establishes beyond argument that there is only one God. If a Muslim thinks there are different Gods for different religions, he is negating the essence of Islam and unwittingly subscribing to polytheist beliefs. However, differently we may pray and by whatever name we may call, it goes to that one source. Further, the Quran clearly states that God can be invoked in different names. “Invoke God, or invoke the Most Gracious by whichever name you invoke Him. He is always the One, for His are all the attributes of perfection [Al Isra 17:110]. Another verse [Al Hashr 59:22] proves that God is beyond even the 99 names mentioned in the Quran. “Glory be to God, beyond any associations. He is Allah, the Creator, the Evolver, the Bestower of Form. To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names.” This means that God can be addressed by anything that’s uttered in reverence and with a sense of beauty.

The time has come for religious leaders to go to the basics of tauhid and reinterpret it to present the real essence of Islam to the world. Such a correction will go a long way in stopping many atrocities against humanity committed in the name of cleansing the world of infidels.

Source

The Family Tree of Rama

2009-10-09T17:50:00.005+05:30

Also visit Historical Rama

How Quattrocchi walked free

2009-10-03T13:48:00.013+05:30

Indian Express, 1st October, 2009

The manner in which investigations and prosecutions in the Bofors case were consistently and spectacularly bungled is proof enough that whoever took the Bofors money is supremely powerful.

Over the last two decades, there was always someone in the CBI, the courts, the law ministry who was batting for the accused rather than the government. Somehow, Ottavio Quattrocchi always managed to be a step ahead of our law enforcement agencies. And despite the sound and fury in the media and in the Parliament, the suave Italian businessman has ended up laughing all the way to the bank.

Quattrocchi's final triumph came on Tuesday when the Solicitor General announced that the Indian government planned to withdraw all cases against him. Quattrocchi has been let off even though many legal experts considered his involvement in the Bofors scam to be an open and shut case. Not because of the investigative skills of our CBI but because the Swedish government, the Swiss courts and investigative journalist Chitra Subramaniam had provided a wealth of documentary evidence against him. In how many corruption cases can you actually succeed in finding out the number and name of the owner of the bank account into which the money was paid? All this evidence was sufficient for Interpol and the Swiss and British courts, but not the Indian authorities.

Here is a brief run-down of the cover-up:

Though the scam came to light in 1987, no FIR was registered as long as Rajiv Gandhi's government was in power. The FIR was registered only in 1990 during the Janata Dal regime and a letter rogatory sent to Swiss and Swedish authorities.

In November 1990 during the Congress-supported Chandrashekhar government, the CBI moved court to quash the FIR on the ground that it did not disclose any offence.

In 1993, then foreign minister Madhav Sinh Solanki wrote an aide memoir to the Swiss authorities urging that the case be closed and no documents sent to India. Solanki had to resign following the leak of the memoir.

In 1993, the Swiss authorities confirmed Quattrocchi's name as the beneficiary of the kickbacks from Bofors, but the CBI did not seize his passport immediately. Instead it waited 72 hours by which time Quattrocchi had fled India.

The Delhi High Court held that the Swiss documents were not properly authenticated, on the ground that they were not original documents but photocopies. The court took the curious position that because of this no offence against the accused could not be made out. During Manmohan Singh's first tenure, the law ministry advised the CBI not to appeal against the court's erroneous order.

In 2004, the Delhi High Court held in another judgment that no allegations could be proved against public servants accused in the case. The High Court came to this conclusion without a trial. The law ministry once again advised the CBI not to appeal in the Supreme Court.

In 2006, the law ministry secretly dispatched an officer to UK to inform the Crown Prosecution that no case was made out against Quattrocchi and the two erroneous High Court orders were cited to establish this. The law ministry's move was to facilitate Quattrocchi to defreeze his bank accounts and withdraw the alleged Bofors bribe money. By the time the news leaked and the Supreme Court ordered that efforts be made to re-freeze Quattrocchi's bank accounts, the Rs 23 crore in bank account had been spirited away.

In 2007, Quattrocchi was detained in Argentina because of an Interpol Red Corner Notice pending against him. The CBI flew to Argentina, brandishing the judgments of the High Court, which the government had declined to appeal against, to facilitate his release from prison. Incidentally, the automatic appeal was also withdrawn by the law ministry, without even the token formality of consulting the CBI.

The Bofors story has been popping up in the media at regular intervals for over 20 years. The rights and wrongs of the case are lost on the new generation, some of whom were born after the Swedish Radio first broke the story back in April 1987. With the matter dragging on endlessly, indignation over bribery in the Bofors purchase has somewhat eroded. One defence put forward is that during Kargil conflict it was established that the Bofors gun at any rate was first class. Others try to deflect the issue by pointing out that the total amount of the bribes, Rs 64 crore, was chicken feed by today's standards of corruption. Some even argue, falsely, that more money was in fact probably spent on investigations in the case. A few of those who have been at the forefront in pressing the Bofors corruption charges, such as V P Singh and Ram Jethmalani, did a volte face when it suited their political interests.

The Bofors case illustrates that Indian democracy has yet to mature to the level where the law is blind and applies in the same manner to one and all. In India those in high places know how to work the system to their advantage, even if it takes more than two decades to complete the process.

Source

The Truth behind 26/11 - Mumbai

2009-10-01T15:40:00.002+05:30

Mumbai attack: Terrorists spoke Marathi Read story

"I am sure there were more than three terrorists in the Taj - we ourselves saw quite a few" - Erika Mann, Member of European Parliament Read story

"Sixteen persons are wanted in the terror attack" - Hasan Gafoor, Commissioner of Police Read story

"Local LeT cell played crucial role in 26/11" - BBC Read story

"Over 40 terrorists involved in Mumbai attacks" - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Art of Living Founder Watch video

"26/11 could not have happened sans local support" - slain NSG commando’s father Read story

Aurangzeb 's Farman: Demolition of Kashi Vishwanath Temple

2009-10-01T00:05:00.002+05:30

Exhibit No. 11: Demolition of the temple of Viswanath (Banaras). August 1669 A.D.

It was reported that, “according to the Emperor’s command, his officers had demolished the temple of Viswanath at Kashi”. (Maasiri-i-Alamgiri, 88)

Source: Aurangzeb, as he was according to Mughal Records

450 Government Schemes, Programmes named after Nehru Gandhi Family

2009-09-12T10:29:00.015+05:30

By A. Surya Prakash

Most of the central and state government programmes and schemes and national and state-level institutions which run on public money have been named after three members of the Nehru-Gandhi family. The Congress Party's desire to credit every social sector programme, every national institution and every national achievement to these three individuals - Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru - has reached vulgar proportions, especially after 2004.

I am one among the millions of citizens who has felt distressed at this gross attempt by a single family to usurp credit for all the good that has happened in India. The complete exclusion of great Indians in all walks of life-politics, social reform, science, armed forces, academia, sports etc - and even persons like Mahatma Gandhi, Dr.Ambedkar, Sardar Patel, Ravindranath Tagore - is a matter of concern for citizens across India. Apart from the gracelessness displayed by India's oldest political party, there are also legal and constitutional issues involving free and fair elections and a level playing field for all political parties. If every scheme is named after icons of the Congress Party, where is the level playing field that the Election Commission says it wants to ensure?

I have compiled the list of government schemes, projects, institutions etc and lodged a formal complaint with the Chief Election Commissioner in this regard on March 13, 2009.1 have urged him to issue a direction to the Union Government and all the state governments to remove the names of these individuals from all government schemes and to ensure that all programmes have politically neutral names like the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana started by the National Democratic Alliance government. The entire list of 450 government schemes, programmes etc is given as an Annexure to my complaint to the CEC.The main points raised in the complaint have been discussed in a two-part series published in several newspapers. It has also been reproduced in my website asuryaprakash.com. Those who want a soft copy of the entire list will find it on this website. In the following pages I have reproduced the two-part series, the letter to the CEC and the Annexure to my complaint containing the entire list. I feel that there is need for a national campaign to reverse this process and to honour the real Mahatmas and heroes of India.

Read A. Surya Prakash's complete report by clicking All in the Name of the Nehru Gandhi Family

Pakistani Hindus flee Taliban by train

2009-09-10T11:19:00.008+05:30

The Times of India, 10th September, 2009

In the past four years, some 5,000 Hindus may have crossed over from Pakistan, never to return. It has not been easy abandoning their homes, sometimes even their families, but they say they had no choice: they had to flee the Taliban.

It started as a trickle in 2006, the year the Thar Express was flagged off. The weekly train starts from Karachi, enters India at Munabao, a border town in Barmer, and runs up to Jodhpur. In the first year, 392 Hindus crossed over.

This grew to 880 in 2007. The next year, the number was 1,240, and this year, till August, over 1,000 have crossed over. They just keep extending their visas and hope to become Indian citizens.

Incidentally, these are official figures. Sources say there are many more who cross over and melt in the local milieu. And officials have a soft corner for these people, most of whom have harrowing stories to tell.

Ranaram, who used to live in the Rahimyar district of Pakistan's Punjab, says he fell prey to the Taliban. His wife was kidnapped, raped and forcibly converted to Islam. His two daughters were also forcibly converted. Ranaram, too, had to accept Islam for fear of his life. He thought it best to flee with his two daughters; his wife was untraceable.

Dungaram, another migrant, says atrocities against Hindus in Pakistan have increased in the past two years after the ouster of Musharraf. "We won't get permanent jobs unless we convert to Islam."

Hindu Singh Sodha, president of Seemant Lok Sangathan, a group working for the refugees in Barmer and Jaisalmer, says there's unfortunately no proper refugee policy in India even though people from Pakistan reach here in large numbers.

He said in 2004-05, over 135 families were given Indian citizenship but the rest are still living illegally in the country and are often tortured by police because they don't have proper citizenship certificates. "In December 2008, over 200 Hindus were converted to Islam in Mirpur Khas town of Pakistan. But there are several others who want to stick to their religion but there's no safety for them in Pakistan."

Immigration officer at Munabao railway station, Hetudan Charan, says the arrival of Hindu migrants had suddenly increased as over 15 to 16 families were reaching India every week. "None of them admit they are to settle here but seeing their baggage, we easily understand," he said.

Ravi Kumar, who was Barmer collector till his transfer two days back, said the government in 2007 had given permanent citizenship to a few Pakistani immigrants.

Source: The Times of India

Arundhati Roy & Human Rights Watch spiced up Gujarat riot incidents

2009-09-10T00:00:00.014+05:30

Nicole Elfi

One major event which received a great deal of attention from the media was the conflagration at the Gulbarg Society in Ahmedabad, home of a former Member of Parliament, Ehsan Jaffri. This man, rather refined and usually respected, did not feel threatened. But on February 28th morning, a crowd surrounded his house, in which a number of Muslims had taken refuge. Jaffri made a number of panic-stricken phone calls for help to authorities and to his colleagues, journalists and friends. The crowd was growing … (from 200 to 20,000, figures vary in the reports). The Indian Express (March 1st, 2002), as well as police records, reported that “eventually, in panic, he fired at the 5,000-strong mob … 2 were killed and 13 injured ... That incensed the mob …” which at 1:30 P.M. set the bungalow ablaze by exploding a gas cylinder. Final toll: 42 (March 11th edition).

Human Rights Watch, an NGO based in New York, published a dossier (on April 30th, 2002) about the Gujarat events which caused a sensation and fed a large number of articles in the international press.

In this report, Smita Narula had an unnamed “witness” at hand, to relate the attack on Jaffri’s house. First “a 200 to 500-strong mob threw stones; refugees in the house (also 200-250 people — sic!) also threw stones in self-defence.” Then the crowd set the place on fire at about 1:30 P.M. Our witness then jumped from the third floor where he was hiding — and from where he had been observing in minute detail all that was going on in the ground floor, even the theft of jewels (it would seem the floors between the third and the ground floor were transparent). At that point we jump into the sensational. Narula’s witness sees that “four or five girls were raped, cut, and burned …; two married women were also raped and cut. Some on the hand, some on the neck” …; “Sixty-five to seventy people were killed.” Those rapes and hackings are said to have started at 3:30 P.M. ... when the house was already on fire. Was the mob waiting for everything to be reduced to cinders to commit its crimes?

Among the most morbid canards, the novelist Arundhati Roy’s vitriolic article (Outlook magazine, May 6th, 2002). She describes the event which precedes Ehsan Jaffri’s death (extract):

...A mob surrounded the house of former Congress MP Iqbal Ehsan Jaffri. His phone calls to the Director-General of Police, the Police Commissioner, the Chief Secretary, the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) were ignored. The mobile police vans around his house did not intervene. The mob broke into the house. They stripped his daughters and burned them alive. Then they beheaded Ehsan Jaffri and dismembered him...

Wait a minute. Jaffri was burned alive in the house, true — is it not awful enough? Along with some other 41 people. Not enough? But his daughters were neither “stripped” nor “burnt alive.” T. A. Jafri, his son, in a front-page interview titled “Nobody knew my father’s house was the target” (Asian Age, May 2nd, Delhi ed.), felt obliged to rectify:

Among my brothers and sisters, I am the only one living in India. And I am the eldest in the family. My sister and brother live in the US. I am 40 years old and I have been born and brought up in Ahmedabad.

There we are, reassured as regards Ehsan Jaffri’s children. He had only one daughter, who was living abroad. No one was raped in the course of this tragedy, and no evidence was given to the police to that effect.

The Gujarat Government sued Outlook magazine. In its May 27th issue, Outlook published an apology to save its face. But in the course of its apology, the magazine’s editors quoted a “clarification” from Roy, who withdrew her lie by planting an even bigger one: the MP’s daughters “were not among the 10 women who were raped and killed in Chamanpura that day”! From Smita Narula to Arundhati Roy, “four or five girls” had swollen to “ten women,” equally anonymous and elusive.

Roy begins theatrically:

Last night a friend from Baroda called. Weeping. It took her fifteen minutes to tell me what the matter was. It wasn’t very complicated. Only that Sayeeda, a friend of hers, had been caught by a mob. Only that her stomach had been ripped open and stuffed with burning rags. Only that after she died, someone carved ‘OM’ on her forehead.

Balbir Punj, Rajya Sabha MP and journalist, shocked by this “despicable incident” which allegedly occurred in Baroda, decided to investigate it. He got in touch with the Gujarat government.

The police investigations revealed that no such case, involving someone called Sayeeda, had been reported either in urban or rural Baroda. Subsequently, the police sought Roy’s help to identify the victim and seek access to witnesses who could lead them to those guilty of this crime. But the police got no cooperation. Instead, Roy, through her lawyer, replied that the police had no power to issue summons.

This redefines the term “fiction writer.”

Read Nicole Elfi's complete report by clicking Godhra, The True Story

Hindu Muslim Unity: Is Sri Sri Ravi Shankar the New Gandhi?

2009-09-02T12:17:00.000+05:30

Above: Poojya Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji, Chief Guest at the 29th General Session of Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind in Hyderabad, India

1947 Partition: Unhealed Wounds

2009-08-14T10:47:00.009+05:30

105-year-old Ishar Singh, whose family was separated during the Partition of Punjab and India in 1947, has had a life-long wish: to see his daughters before he closes his eyes forever.

Prior to the Partition, Ishar Singh, who now lives in Jammu - in 1947, part of a united Punjab - had a happy family living in what is now in West Punjab (Pakistan), but the line of separation that bisected the sub-continent, also divided his family.

On the fateful day, Ishar Singh, a transporter, was on the Indian side and his wife - along with their seven children, including four sons and three daughters - was still on the Pakistani side of the border.

"I tried to locate them and get them back but all my efforts turned futile, as now they had become citizens of Pakistan," said Ishar Singh.

It was not an uncommon story - those left behind became hostages and were forced to convert to Islam.

His family in Pakistan ,too, had no choice but to convert to Islam. Later, his sons immigrated to the United States where Ishar Singh was able to meet them many years later.

His three daughters still live in Faisalabad, in Pakistan.

In 1975, after 28 years of struggle, he got a chance to visit Lahore, Pakistan, where he met his daughters.

Thirty-four years have passed since then, but because of visa restrictions, he could not visit them again.

"We lost so many people and so many families were separated by the partition. For the past six decades, I have not been able to sleep comfortably, as I miss my family," said Ishar Singh.

Not only Ishar Singh himself, but also his daughters in Pakistan have been struggling hard to meet their father. Every time they apply for a visa, their request has been turned down.

"They, too, want to meet their father. They tried hard to get visas but whenever they applied, they were refused," said Satwant Kaur, daughter-in-law of Ishar Singh.

Though the relations between the two nations were strained, this father still has a hope that before he closes his eyes, he will get a chance to meet his daughters.

People like Ishar Singh who live by such hope have been praying every day of their lives for the improvement of relations between the two nations.

Courtesy: TNS

Also visit Partition of 1947

How Sikhs saved their women from Muslim Mobs during Partition of 1947

2009-08-13T12:27:00.008+05:30

Also visit Partition of 1947

Is Zakir Naik responsible for Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks ?

2009-08-10T08:27:00.018+05:30

Also visit Zakir Naik - The King of Logic

Police complaint filed against Emran Hashmi

2009-08-02T16:01:00.006+05:30

Times Now, 2nd August, 2009

In a new twist to the episode of alleged religious profiling involving Emran Hashmi, a police complaint has been filed against the actor, who had claimed that he was denied a house because he was a Muslim, accusing him of promoting enmity between different communities.

The complaint, filed by a social activist and the executive member of National Youth Committee of BJP leader Sanjay Bedia with D B Marg police station here last night, has accused Hashmi and noted filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt of various offences under IPC, Bedia's lawyer Ketan Mehta said.

Bedia claimed that Hashmi had not entered into any agreement with the house owner or even paid a token amount to him. The actor had "unnecessary" raked up the issue of NOC saying it was refused by the housing society only because he was a Muslim, the BJP leader said.

"We are upset over his allegations which have been denied by the housing society," said Bedia.

Hashmi has been accused of promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion by his acts under Sections 153-A and of deliberate and malicious acts with an intention to outrage the religious feelings (Section 295-A).

He has also been accused of giving false information to authorities to initiate legal action under Section 177 and for lodging false complaint to initiate the authorities to take action under Section 182. Mahesh Bhatt has been charged with section 120-b (conspiracy) and 34 (common intention).

The complaint was also lodged against him because he had supported Hashmi by issuing statements in the media, Mehta said.

URL:

http://www.timesnow.tv/Police-complaint-filed-against-Emran-Hashmi/articleshow/4323811.cms

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 's healing touch to the victims of war in Sri Lanka

2009-07-19T16:28:00.007+05:30

Govt should clear the mystery about Shastri's death: family

2009-07-12T12:22:00.007+05:30

Press Trust of India, 11th July, 2009

With the government refusing to share classified information under RTI about former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri's death, his family has demanded that all doubts be cleared on the mystery shrouding it.

"His death was a very big shock to us and the entire nation. I was just 16 years old then. But I remember his body had darkish blue spots on the chest, abdomen and back. My mother and we suspected he died under mysterious circumstances," Shastri's son Sunil elaborated.

He said doubts about Shastri's death persists in the minds of millions across the country.

"I personally feel Shastri was not just a great leader but a national treasure. He was a lovable person who many feel was the best Prime Minister India had. The government should come out with the facts about his death and close the chapter once and for all," Sunil added.

After Shastri's death in Tashkent, USSR, on January 11, 1966 soon after signing the Tashkent Pact with Pakistan, his wife Lalita had alleged that he was poisoned to death.

A query was posed under the Right to Information Act(RTI) about his death but the government has refused to part with classified information on the issue.

Sunil Shastri said there was no reason for the government to hide facts about his father's death.

"There is a doubt in our minds about his death. Wherever I go, people ask me about his mysterious death. The government should not hesitate in sharing the information about his death," he added.

Recalling the day when his father's body was brought to India, Sunil said the family's reaction was that the death was "mysterious and raised doubts".

The Prime Minister's Office, while refusing information under the RTI Act on the cause and circumstances of Shastri's death, has said revealing these details could harm India's foreign relations and would violate Parliamentary Privilege.

Anuj Dhar, author of 'CIA's Eye on South Asia' had filed the RTI plea on the issue.

The government has admitted that no post-mortem was conducted on Shastri. However, his personal doctor R N Chugh and some Russian doctors conducted a medical examination.

The Russian butler attending on Shastri at the time of his death was arrested for suspected poisoning but released later.

It was maintained that Shastri had died of cardiac arrest but his family insisted he was poisoned.

The PMO has stated that it has a document on Shastri's death but has refused to divulge the details.

URL:

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/govt-should-clearmystery-about-shastri%5Cs-death-family/67423/on

Akal Takht bars gay marriages in gurdwaras

2009-07-09T14:47:00.007+05:30

Times of India, 9th July, 2009

Even as Amrit and Jeeta - possibly the first gay couple in India to marry after the Delhi High Court read down section 377 that penalizes sex between homosexuals —spent a day in marital bliss, an uncomfortable and angry Sikh clergy issued directions to all gurdwara management committees of the world to not solemnize such unions ‘‘as it is against Gurmat and has no place in Sikhism.’’

The censure came after a meeting at the Akal Takht secretariat on Wednesday of Sikh high priests, among them the jathedar of Akal Takht, Giani Gurbachan Singh, jathedar of Takht Damdama Sahib, Giani Balwant Singh Nandgarh, and Jathedar of Takht Kesgarh Sahib, Giani Tarlochan Singh.

“Gay marriages are not acceptable in Sikhism and have no place in Gurmat,” said Gurbachan Singh, adding that the five Sikh high priests have issued strict directions to all gurdwaras across the globe to abide by the diktat.

‘‘The heads of other religions and faiths also have a similar opinion on gay relations,’’ he said, finding brotherhood in the group of enraged Hindu, Christian and Muslim leaders who have condemned the court’s rethink on the anti-gay section of IPC.

Harnam Singh Khalsa, head of Damdami Taksal, too, echoed the anti-homosexual chorus, protesting India’s inclusion in the list of 150 countries, including South Africa, China, Nepal, Australia, Canada and Argentina, where homosexuality is legal. ‘‘Gay marriages,’’ he said, ‘‘are not acceptable and we strongly oppose it. We may even begin an agitation against such relations.’’

Going a step further, Sikh seminary Damdami Taksal has asked the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and the state government to take legal steps that would prevent gay marriages in the state ‘‘which would only lead to moral degradation in society.’’

URL:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Akal-Takht-bars-gay-marriages-in-gurdwaras/articleshow/4755390.cms

After Deoband, other Muslim leaders condemn homosexuality

2009-07-01T16:11:00.005+05:30

Times of India, 1st July, 2009

Amid government moves for a re-look at criminalising homosexuality, several Muslim leaders have said any attempt to legally permit unnatural sex is an attack on religious and moral values.

"Legalisation of homosexuality is an attack on Indian religious and moral values," over a dozen prominent Muslim religious leaders said in a statement.

The statement has been endorsed by Maulana Jalaluddin Omari, President of the Jamaat-e Islami Hind, Maulana Muhammad Salim Qasimi, Rector of Darul Uloom Waqf, Deoband, Maulana Mufti Mukarram Ahmad, Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Fatehpuri, among others.

"We are shocked to see reports in the media that the Union government is considering the repeal of Section 377 of the IPC, which means making homosexuality legal," the statement said on Tuesday.

It said that homosexuality is a sin and a social evil which will only lead to societal disintegration and break-up of the family.

Appealing to the government not to be influenced by the "decadent trends of the Western culture" and not to give in to the demands of a minuscule minority, the statement said the government should not test the patience of the silent vast majority of the country which abhors such behaviour.

A prominent body of Muslim community Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind had earlier hit out at the government's proposed move, saying the repeal of the section would create "sexual anarchy" in the society.

"The section should stay as its repealing would result in sexual anarchy in the society. Those opposing the section are influenced by Western culture. Those who argue for independence do not realise that independence should have its limits," Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind spokesperson Abdul Hameed Noamani said.

Leading Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband had earlier also opposed the Centre's move to repeal a controversial section, saying unnatural sex is against the tenets of Islam.

"Homosexuality is offence under Shariat Law and haram (prohibited) in Islam," Deputy Vice Chancellor of the Darul Uloom Deoband Maulana Abdul Khalik Madrasi has said.

The reaction came after reports that Centre was likely to convene a meeting soon to evolve a consensus on repealing a controversial section of the Indian Penal Code which criminalises homosexuality.

URL:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Muslim-leaders-join-Deoband-slam-gay-sex/articleshow/4723843.cms

Triple eclipse doesn't bode well for humanity

2009-06-23T17:10:00.005+05:30

DNA, 23rd June, 2009

If India is racked by tumults from its restful neighbours in the near future, blame it on the universe. This year, starting from July 7, the world will witness a rare celestial drama of a triple eclipse over a period of just one month. If history is any indication, this does not augur well for the world, say the authors of the book Will History Repeat Itself, brought out under the Bharat Gyan series. There could, however, also be positives to emerge like Kurukshetra's great lesson and the divine Gita message, say the authors.

July 7 will witness a lunar eclipse followed by a solar eclipse on July 22 and another lunar eclipse on August 6. Six more triple eclipses will occur over the next decade, point out DK Hari and Hema Hari, the authors. Basing their arguments on arche-historical-astronomical analysis, the authors say the three eclipses that occurred during the first recorded triple eclipse in 3067BC brought the Kuruskshetra war; the second in 3031BC submerged Krishna's Dwaraka and saw the internecine war of the Yadavas.

The Kuruskshetra war killed 47 lakh men and beasts in two weeks. And, it is believed that the war used nuclear-like weapons (even weapons so fearsome that they could kill a baby in the womb, while leaving the mother unharmed). The 20th Century eclipse series saw two world wars and the world's first and only nuclear attack. "It was a war of clans; of brothers -- India and Pakistan are like brothers. Could there be a parallel?" The authors wondered aloud at a media-briefing held in the city on Monday.

Triple eclipses are also linked to Biblical stories of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Pleading not to dismiss the celestial happenings as "exotic tales" Hari said the effect of the realignment of heavenly bodies are based on a scientific fact. "When the Earth is caught between the Sun and the Moon, a huge gravitational pull between the Sun and the planets affects the speed of the Earth's rotation. This, in turn, will affect the motion of tectonic plates that could fall out of sync with the Earth's rotational speed. Tremors are the result."

Commenting on the book, Art of Living founder, Sri Sri Ravishankar said man is powerless in the cosmic scheme of things, but his spirituality could save him from a cataclysmic impact. "The microcosm and macrocosm are interconnected. Nothing exists in isolation," he observed.

URL:

http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report_triple-eclipse-doesn-t-bode-well-for-humanity_1267660

Poison on the Platter - an eye-opening film on Genetically Modified (GM) Foods

2009-06-18T16:21:00.006+05:30

'Poison on the Platter', is an eye-opening film, made by Mahesh Bhatt and Ajay Kanchan, illustrating how all of our lives are gonna be (adversely) affected by genetically modified foods. It is no more a farmer’s issue alone, it’s a matter of the consumers’ right to food safety. You and I wouldn’t even be able to separate/choose a normal Brinjal from/over a GM one, if Bt Brinjal - a GM crop produced by the mighty agri-MNC Monsanto - is let through by our corrupt regulatory body. Let’s put up strong resistance, demanding a ban on GM food/crops for 5 years, until they are proven safe for human consumption by independent, long-term studies.

26/11 could not have happened sans local support: slain NSG commando’s father

2009-06-12T19:14:00.009+05:30

Times of India, 12th June, 2009

The kin of security personnel killed in Mumbai terror strikes on Friday suspected that gunmen who carried out the attacks could have had local support.

K Unnikrishnan, father of slain NSG commando Sandeep Unnikrishnan, and Kavita Karkare, wife of slain ATS chief Hemant Karkare, said there might have "sleeper groups" of terrorist oufits in the city.

"I can't believe that only ten people came and did so much damage in a city like Mumbai. There must have been support for them and there are sleeper groups which might have helped them," Unnikrishnan said at a function organised by Sahara India.

Kavita Karkare also criticised the security establishment for its shortcomings and said it was likely that there was an element of local support.

"There are many people supporting them (terrorists) and we should bring about a change," she said.

Karkare blamed the political establishment, state government, Intelligence machinery and Coast Guard for "lapses" which led to the attacks in which over 180 people were killed.

Sahara India pledged financial support to the next of kin of the 18 police and security forces personnel who were killed while taking on the terrorists in the city on November 26.

The wife of encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar, Smita, rued that society had already "forgotten" the lessons from the terror strikes.

URL:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2611-couldnt-have-happened-sans-local-support-Slain-commandos-kin/articleshow/4649535.cms

Ban on smoking on screen not practical: Ghulam Nabi Azad

2009-06-01T13:10:00.010+05:30

Times of India, 31st May, 2009

Toeing a different line from that of his predecessor on banning smoking and drinking on screen, health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today said such a restriction was not "practical" and filmmakers should first stop showing "objectionable things" such as murder and arson.

Azad said he did not agree with the view that people get influenced by such scenes on screen and imitate them in real life.

His predecessor Anbumani Ramadoss has earned the ire of filmstars for trying to impose a ban on smoking and drinking on screen.

"It is just entertainment. There are so many objectionable things which are shown on screen like murder, arson and so on...Then such things should be banned first...I think we should try to implement whatever we can," Azad told reporters when asked to comment on the issue.

"They are so many criminal acts shown on films. Film is entertainment which is also related to reality. These things happen in society. So, many of these things are shown in films and then you stop films also," he said.

According to Azad, imposing a ban on such things was "not practical.

"We cannot do anything which is not practical. Such things (banning smoking and drinking on screen) are very difficult. Cinema is part of entertainment and it is just to enjoy," he said.

URL:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Ban-on-smoking-on-screen-not-practical-Ghulam-Nabi-Azad/articleshow/4601310.cms

Shahrukh Khan

2009-05-17T18:54:00.012+05:30

With Health Minister Ramadoss losing the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Amitabh Bachchan & Shahrukh Khan can now peacefully inspire millions of young children into smoking.