Sunday, August 26, 2012

Secularist vs Communal thought - Mumbai Riot 2012

Following two articles published in Indian Express presents an insight of so called "Secular" and "communal" mindset. The first article was jointly written by Javed Anand, general secretary, Muslims for Secular Democracy and Teesta Setalvad, secretary, Citizens for Justice and Peace on Aug 17, 2012. In response to above article, Madhu Trehan, Journalist/Director, News Laundry, wrote another article on Aug 22, 2012.

Teesta Shetalwad become famous after her "Anti-Modi" campaign in Post-Godhara riots in Gujarat that occurred in 2002. She has become a brand ambassador for "Secularism" in India. Let her views on recent Mumbai riots that originated from azad maidan speak for her.

"Ask all the questions, seek explanations, make comments on what the Mumbai police did or did not do before, during and after a Muslim mob behaved in despicable fashion — torching OB vans, attacking media persons and the police, molesting women constables, snatching arms from the police — in the backdrop of a rally at Azad Maidan last Saturday, to protest atrocities against Muslims in Assam and in Myanmar. (Police and the organisers agree that it was an armed group that suddenly surfaced outside the maidan and turned to violence.) But do allow for the possibility that responding in a most “un-police-like” fashion to extreme provocation, the city’s police commissioner, Arup Patnaik, may have opened a happy chapter in the otherwise unhappy Muslim-police relationship in the metropolis.
Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray is most unhappy that the police commissioner did not issue a blanket shoot-to-kill order. But the latter’s exemplary restraint is precisely what peace-loving Mumbaikars need to thank him for. Instead of repeating history, Patnaik has tried creating one.
Flashback to 1989. Even after the then Union government had issued a ban on The Satanic Verses, a few hundred Muslims instigated allegedly by one man took to the streets raising incendiary slogans, provoking the police. The cops gunned down 14 Muslims, to which the additional commissioner of police (law-and-order), S.M. Shingare, added the threat: “If they come for us, we’ll draw more blood.”
Fast forward to December 1992: in the immediate aftermath of the demolition of the Babri Masjid, under orders from the then police commissioner Bapat, well over 200 Muslims were gunned down in less than 72 hours. Bapat’s justification: a “shock treatment” was essential to control the mobs.
Add to these the conviction of over 80 per cent of the more than 123 accused in Mumbai’s March 1993 serial blasts in sharp contrast to the total impunity to the perpetrators of the January 1993 anti-Muslim violence, plus frequent complaints about alleged arbitrary arrests of Muslim youth in recent years, to get some sense of the highly strained, estranged community-cop relationship.
Senior journalists and social activists from Mumbai are aware that, given the absence of justice, the wounds of 1989 and 1992 are still festering. Thankfully, Patnaik, who was a deputy commissioner of police when Bombay burned (1992-93), has not forgotten either. It’s his act of remembering, and reminding, that prevented yet another bloodbath and ensured that the situation did not spin entirely out of control last Saturday.
It perhaps needed both courage and conviction on his part to march up to the dais in the midst of a highly volatile atmosphere and grab the mike to remind the charged gathering that neither police nor Muslims should forget what happened in 1992 and that both must do everything possible to prevent a repeat and reopen wounds. For the violent mob outside the maidan, the message meant nothing. But to the much larger assembly of Muslims gathered inside the maidan, it got home. As most of them dispersed peacefully from the other end of the maidan, it became easier for the police to deal with the murderous mob and to disperse them with the minimum use of force.
Those inclined to think this is too charitable an interpretation of the role of the police may wish to recall that whenever under attack, the police themselves tend to run riot. Every human life is precious and the tragic loss of two Muslim lives is not to be ignored. But nor must we forget that the mob was entirely responsible for the provocation and the overwhelming majority of those injured were policemen and policewomen, not to mention the unpardonable molestation of the latter. Peace was restored in about 30 minutes and mercifully the situation in the city is under control.
What if Patnaik had opted for the “shock treatment” precedent of his predecessors? For well over a week, MMS clips are being forwarded mobile to mobile, in Mumbai and elsewhere, with gory pictures of what’s being done to Muslims in Assam and Myanmar. Many of these pictures are obviously doctored, having nothing to do with Assam or Myanmar. But who cares? They are enough to inflame untutored minds, being told to see for themselves how Islam is under attack everywhere and to ask whether they will remain mute spectators. Imagine if pictures of Muslims being gunned down by the police in Mumbai were to get added to the MMS clips?
Mercifully, the Mumbai police have denied such an opportunity to those, whoever they might be, who seem to be working overtime to incite Muslims. As things stand today, the Mumbai police are the injured party, while the city’s Muslim leadership, such as it is, is compelled do all the explaining, apologising, forgiveness-seeking, appreciating the role of the police.
It must not be easy for Patnaik and the top rung of the Mumbai police to calm the nerves of those whom they lead. But the police commissioner’s remarkable restraint has opened up an opportunity to heal wounds, open a new chapter. It’s an opportunity Muslims must grab with both hands. Patnaik and his police having done their duty, it’s the duty of each one of us now to help identify those who seemed determined to set the city aflame last Saturday and to isolate parties like the Shiv Sena and the BJP who are all too eager to communalise the situation, whether in Mumbai or Assam."


This is how above article rebutted in an extremely communal (Anti-secular) manner by Ms. Madhu Trehan.

"Rarely has an article befuddled me as much as Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand’s article, ‘Making history, not repeating it’, in The Indian Express (August 17).
The first paragraph describes the violence in Azad Maidan: “...a Muslim mob behaved in despicable fashion — torching OB vans, attacking media persons and the police, molesting women constables, snatching arms from the police....” Then the authors laud Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik for not acting against the violent mob. The article continues, “But do allow for the possibility that responding in a most ‘un-police-like’ fashion to extreme provocation, the city’s police commissioner, Arup Patnaik, may have opened a happy chapter in the otherwise unhappy Muslim-police relationship in the metropolis.”
Let’s replace some of the words in the first paragraph with substitutes and see how it plays.
Replace “Muslim” with “Hindu”. Would the authors have written the first paragraph if the mobs were Hindus? Is the law to be adjusted according to the religion of the miscreant?
There is shocking footage of Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik ordering Deputy Commissioner of Police Ravindra Shisve to release a rioter who is being arrested. The video link has been blocked on YouTube but can be seen on Twitter links. This is how Twitter transforms from social media into political-info media.
The footage shows PC Arup Patnaik shouting at DCP Ravindra Shisve who holds a (should I say “alleged”?) goon (pleading for mercy) by the collar, “Tumhala koni hyala pakdayala sangitla (Who has told you to catch him?)” Patnaik then threatens to have the DCP suspended.
“You take directions from the commissioner. You are not SP of Sangli. You are DCP here. You will not fall out of line or you will be suspended, stupid,” Patnaik bellows.
Am I missing something because I am not a Mumbaiker? No, because there are questions raised in Mumbai’s Mid Day newspaper (August 16, 2012). Some of the questions: “Why did Commissioner of Police Arup Patnaik force a DCP to release an apprehended rioter from the spot? If speakers incited the protesters with hate speeches, why are they still roaming free?”
The Setalvad-Anand article then reads: “Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray is most unhappy that the police commissioner did not issue a blanket shoot-to-kill order. But the latter’s exemplary restraint is precisely what peace-loving Mumbaikars need to thank him for. Instead of repeating history, Patnaik has tried creating one.” Why is Bal Thackeray’s emotional temperature relevant in this? I really don’t care much about Bal Thackeray. A fact checker would ask: How did they gauge his emotional state? It is a mystery. The gloating over Bal Thackeray’s mental state stoops to the lowest denominator of one-upmanship.
The authors continue: “Thankfully, Patnaik, who was a deputy commissioner of police when Bombay burned (1992-93), has not forgotten either. It’s his act of remembering, and reminding, that prevented yet another bloodbath and ensured that the situation did not spin entirely out of control last Saturday.”
Every community is scarred by wounds that cannot be picked up selectively as a response justification. A fact checker would ask: How do the authors know that Patnaik’s mind “remembering and reminding” was his reason for asking his DCP to release a goon? A slight understanding of how India works would tell you that the order to do exactly that had come from political bosses.
More pearls: “As things stand today, the Mumbai police are the injured party, while the city’s Muslim leadership, such as it is, is compelled to do all the explaining, apologising, forgiveness-seeking, appreciating the role of the police.”
The authors seem to believe that there is a moral high ground in becoming the “injured party”, possibly from a habit of victim-self-righteous-politics. No security force should ever be reduced to an “injured party”. Their morale to protect our nation could hardly be triggered by the satisfaction — let them run riot, but hey, now THEY will have to explain, apologise and seek forgiveness! Is there any dot of understanding about how demoralising it was for the police force?
The authors conclude: “But the police commissioner’s remarkable restraint has opened up an opportunity to heal wounds, open a new chapter. It’s an opportunity Muslims must grab with both hands.”
“Muslims must grab with both hands”? They expect the same mobsters to be so moved to soft emotion that they will grab hands and sing Hum Honge Kamyaab some d-a-ay? A Bollywood screenwriter would say: Yeh realistic ending nahin hai! Badlo!
We have all read about the controversy magnet Teesta Setalvad. I believed she worked hard for what she believed in: getting justice for victims of violence in Gujarat 2002. But, with Teesta it was difficult to keep up with the spiralling versions of each issue. Even then, I gave her the benefit of a busybody do-gooder. Now this article puts a complete end to that assessment.What motivates social activists? Let’s play with humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow’s Humanistic Theory of Self-Actualisation (the “Hierarchy of Needs” theory and self-actualisation). First, it starts with the need to help others and it is altruistic. With a bit of success and acknowledgement of the good work he/she is doing, the activist becomes a hero. He/she gains followers and is surrounded by sycophants. Any challenging views are dismissed. The final stage takes place — the activist falls in love with himself/herself. Now this activist who started with altruistic reasons, has become a danger to society. The activist is so taken in by his/her Jungian Hero Archetype bordering on the Martyr Archetype, that anyone else’s opinion or perspective is held in contempt. Because the Archetype is so enthralled by his/her own sacrifices to the cause, to make them worthwhile, blind faith in one’s self is essential. If he/she admits he/she is wrong on any point, it means a lifetime of service has been wasted.
Gujarat 2002 upset and shook me up. Many Tweeters have sincerely tried to convince me that Narendra Modi was not responsible. I, sincerely, have not been convinced so far, since I have seen stories with evidence and footage that show the opposite. But an article like this one by Setalvad-Anand is enough to turn me into what is called an Internet Hindu. India cannot afford to have different rules of engagement based on people’s religion, caste or gender. I believe that is enshrined in our Constitution. Destroying the Constitution for a vote-bank is worse corruption than black money. An incendiary article by Setalvad-Anand can do as much damage as violence in Azad Maidan. To paraphrase Arun Shourie: This is bending over backwards." (This full article is available with full video on newslaundry)

Looking at the "Secularist Manifesto", it is not surprising that Secularism favors specific brand of communalism (Islamism in this case). This kind of "communalism" first attempts to find a reason to claim "victimhood" and commit violent acts. This kind of selective "Secularism" poses severe threat to multi-cultural fabric of India.
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Thursday, August 23, 2012

Vishwarath to vishwamitra

In good old times of DoorDarshan, we had some good TV serials. Inspiring, spiritual and cultural. I thank all team members who made this wonderful masterpiece "Vishamitra". Journey from a powerful king to great Brahman.








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Tweemergency 2012

India claims to be a vibrant democracy. Freedom of speech is essential constitutional right given in any democracy. In a newly achieved status of free market economy, free speech is becoming an scares commodity. The current environment of print and electronic media that rarely echo common Indian voice, social media like Facebook and Twitter has made deep inroads among people to communicate their views. 

Extremely critical of the print and electronic media that shapes general views of Indian citizens on government policies, the group of critics has been terms as "Hindu Right Wing"  by overwhelming "Left" leaning press. Main Stream news Media (MSM) is facing increasing threat as their "STAR" news presenters and debate organizers, and wrongly presented as journalists, are topic of the debate. As a "Self" regulated entity, satellite TV news network is doing its best to silence this new voice.

A certain section of MSM in India has become a mouth piece of government. The scam ridden government of UPA (United Progressive Alliance) led by Congress has made great record in defrauding Indian citizens by means of financial scams. Surprisingly MSM, a fourth pillar of democracy, is not critical enough. Is the government funding the MSM for not playing its rightful role?

Social media, on the other hand, is extremely critical of the scams and under-reporting of the same in MSM. It has caught government sleeping and some "STAR" journalists by surprise, threatening their credibility. In retaliation, shameless government (colluding with "STAR" journalists) has decided to block certain tweeter accounts. This is termed as "Tweemergency2012". The blocked tweeter handles include some well known journalists who also write in MSM.

Following is labeled as "AkhileshNama" - A series of self-explaining tweets during Tweemergency2012.


 There are various kinds of supporters, categorized as 






Update: UPA Government got so scared in Tweemergency that twitter handle @barbarindian appeared twice in their list.

Update: MSM played leading role in preparing the list of twitter handle?


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Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Religious bias in "Secular" Indian press

Twitter has become a natural balanced critic of sponsored news by advertisers. It presents an absolute ruthless assessment of news media by audience. By sponsored news, we mean paid advertisements as news, commonly known as "Paid News", for political/religious/cultural parties and/or special coverage of special events for getting attention. As Vinod Mehta says "Paid-for news is emerging as the single-most serious threat to our collective credibility". The story of media can be best described as


Twitter has been a troublesome area for those who do not like their criticism. Some of the eminent journalists are facing real threat to their credibility as the agenda of discussion in not restricted to their studio domain. Recently twitter trended a hashtag that speaks for this "Anti-communal" bias in "Secular" press of India.

Vinod sharma is a veteran "Secular" apologist and editor in Hindustan times.  This is how he reacts to queries from two people of different religious orientation.
This tweet says for itself.
This is an excellent example of anti-hindu bias or "Prejudice" towards Hindus in their own motherland by institutional media. The recent reports on the Pune blasts points fingers to Islamic outfit Indian Mujahideen.  
The general perception developing among Indians for corporate media in India is they purposefully coin terms provoking Hindu sentiments but give a cold shoulder to violent Muslim mobs. e.g. coverage of recent Mumbai violence.  
Furthermore, police actions during violent Muslim mobs is also strikingly different. Inaction of police against violent Muslim mobs leads to natural reaction from Hindu community to stand up for their own protection. It is alleged that Indian media reports those Hindus as terrorists.

One of the most prominent reason for friction between Hindus and other religious community is "Religious conversion". However, it has never been a subject for debate in the commercial media.
On an interesting note, Gujarat riots were discussed for nearly 10 years except train burning incidence and interviews of its victims . 
Media manipulation on debates has reached a new height by presenting a recorded interview of eminent Hindu preacher Sri Sri Ravishankar on a live show with other co-panelists.
It is different issue that host of the show later apologized on tweeter after lots of outrage in social media.

On most of the debates related to Gujarat riots, former Prime minister of India, Shri A B Vajpayee is quoted saying "N. Modi ko rajdharm nibhana chahiye". Very lately a full footage reveals Shri Vajpayee saying N. Modi indeed performed his duty during riots. English news media presented half statement of former prime minister of India to show that chief minister of Gujarat was responsible for the riots. 
A lawyer has filed complain against congress president Sonia Gandhi, one of the most powerful lady in the world, but this is not a matter of debate in any news channel.
 Lastly a load of tweets that overwhelmingly describe anti-hindu bias in the main stream media is given by nationalizer.
Is there any foreign hand behind this anti-hindu bias?
Is the objective of the media is the same as thought by some "Hindu chauvinists"?
Some tweeple will never show their eye hiding behind their black glasses. 
It is interesting to note that violence of Mumbai went unreported because media and police were the main victims during the rioting.  The agenda driven news media is dangerous for multicultural fabric of India. Hope new social media will play a role of vaccine to cure the disease of religio-political bias in the Indian press. Hope social media will help clean this "dynastic/appeasement" culture of electronic media.
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Thursday, August 16, 2012

A newly convert's Islamic confusion on Jihad.

Here a conversation between a christian convert to Islam and an Indian born in Pakistan, Punjabi by ethnicity and Canadian national by choice is recorded to demonstrate how new converts think of Jihad.



This is how it ended. 


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RSSPhobia - A new Phenomenon?

Whenever RSS (Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh) is invoked certain section of society can achieve a new low in characterization of its work. When RSS come to help frightened community of India from North-East, we have


Since accusation  has already been hurled by "secular", "RSS" has become a definite communal brand. Though RSS claims to be cultural organization, Hindu defensive approach reflected as


Inquiry in to the matter (role of RSS) in the exodus of the people is not required. It is presumed that RSS is an extremist organization through Nehruvian allegation of RSS hand in killing Gandhi. One critic of Indian secular media observes a clear bias against RSS. Anything RSS do is evil is the hidden massage.



whereas ANI reports

who is Nilim Dutta, "Executive Director, Strategic Research & Analysis Organisation"


The local press orientation can be judged from 

what exactly RSS do in this crisis. spread of food terrorism? 


A new twist in exodus of NE people from Bangalore.




Note: This post will be updated on regular basis. 
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Secularist communalism - A Phenomenon.

Dr. Ram Puniyani is an active member in a group of NGOs that collectively work for communal harmony in India. In order to achieve communal harmony, Dr. Puniyani sometimes deliberately or ignorantly distorts some historical facts. 

Recently Dr. Puniyani's article put some light  on Assam violence and role of state. He argues that "communal violence is a multilayered phenomenon". This phenomena initiates with general perception of minority (Muslims in present context) . i.e.
  1. "They are invaders"
  2. "more loyal to Pakistan"
  3. "beef-eaters" 
  4. "they convert by force, fraud, or allurement" 
  5. "they are infiltrators"
etc that, according to Dr. Puniyani, "many firmly believe these to be true".

It is true to an extent that Islam came to India with Arab traders. However, spread of Islam  did not occur until Muslims militarily invaded.  First in the list, of series of Islamic invasions, was  Mohammad-bin-Qasim. In his military campaign, whichever "towns he took, like Alor, Nirun, Debul and Multan, in them he established mosques, appointed Muslim governors, and propagated the Muhammadan religion" (from Chachnama, trs. in H.M. Elliot and J. Dowson, cited in Ch. 1, Indian Muslims who are they by K. S. Lal). Rest is a long history, described in great detail by Dr. K. S. Lal. Religious zeal, among Muslim rulers, might be deliberately kept hidden for various socio-political reasons by Marxist historians in India. Thus, general perception among Hindus, as Dr. Puniyani opines: "They are invaders", is a historical fact.

Beef eating is not new phenomenon among Muslims. Therefore they are natural "Beef eaters" in Hindu psyche. The cow, or animals in general, has been made "sacred" by Hindus to provide immunity from slaughter. Dr. Puniyani, quoting scholarly work of Dr. D N Jha, opines that "Wealth was equated with the ownership of the cattle" in the ancient India. If this is true, it is bizarre to argue that Hindus were killing/eating their own wealth (beef) and destroy it. Nevertheless, he vigorously argues that animal sacrifice was a normal practice in ancient India to please their gods.  The inference, that Hindu "gods such as Indra and Agni are described as having special preferences for different types of flesh", was derived from Brahminical literature called "Vedas". Early historians attributed "Vedas" to "Aryans", a nomadic tribe, for whom "animal sacrifice was a dominant feature till the emergence of settled agriculture".  Using modern genome techniques, it has been proven beyond doubt that "Aryans" as described in "Vedas" never existed. In fact, "Arya", a Sanskrit word meaning "Learned and well mannered person", was made out to be a racial term "Aryan". Therefore, misinterpretation of "Vedas" is plausible.

In a non-scholarly work of Internet age, learned #InternetHindu Agniveer argues that cruelty against animals is strictly prohibited in Vedas and related ancient literature. Ancient text on laws of Manu says: "Those who permit slaying of animals; those who bring animals for slaughter; those who slaughter; those who sell meat; those who purchase meat; those who prepare dish out of it; those who serve that meat and those who eat are all murderers" (Manusmriti 5.51, cited in "No beef in vedas" by Agniveer). It should be noted that Manusmriti is not written by "God". Hindu philosophers devised these rules to prosper in biodiversity and live with natural harmony. With such a strict rules of living, it is not surprising that orthodox (strict followers of Laws of Manu) Hindus do not touch/eat meat and liberal Hindus avoid eating meat even today. On the contrary, without quoting Manusmriti, Dr. Puniyani claims that even "Manusmriti did not prohibit the consumption of beef". 

Muslims have enormous affinity to their religion. This passion also is a reason among Muslims of India to love Pakistan. It is not hidden and Muslims feel proud that Islam is fastest growing religion. One of the factors is religious conversion by force or volunteerism. Forced conversion of non-muslim women Rinkle Kumari has recently surfaced in the media. However, it is claimed, by forcing the victim to declare, that the religious conversion is not forced. In Muslim majority society, it is practically impossible to deliver justice to other religious minorities as judiciary feels "a great deal of pressure" from armed personals supporting Islamic cause. The abductions of non-muslim women and forced marriage to her abductors, does not restrict with one case of Rinkel kumari. This is a slow and opportunistic but continuous phenomenon. Therefore, it is true in several cases that "they convert by force, fraud, or allurement". This kind of predatory conversion of women to Islam is termed "Love Jihad".

In Assam, there can not be apparent growth of Muslim population just by natural multiplication, argues Nath et al. Authors proposed a method to estimate undocumented migrants in the north-east region of India. The peer reviewed numerical study reveals "growth especially shows remarkable among religious groups of Muslims and among linguistic groups of Bengali speaking population". This disproportionate  growth of Muslims in Assam can not be explained without considering infiltration from Bangladesh, concludes the study. Therefore, there "are infiltrators", has some truth in it.

It is now understandable that Dr. Puniyani, allegedly described as "prejudice" of Hindus against Muslims, in reality, portrays his secularist communality favoring specif religious group ignoring others. In order to avoid communal tensions, Dr. Puniyani indirectly advises, Hindus should not protect their "wealth" (Cow) in their own homeland where Cow enjoyed protection for thousands of years.

How does this Secularist communalism work?

Very recently so called communal mass movement led by Baba Ramdev in Delhi and Secular mass movement organized by Raza Academy in Mumbai was observed. Volume of the gathering in these two mass movements can be seen from the following picture.
Source: @kiranks


The picture clearly shows the difference in two mass protests. Swami Ramdev's protest was entirely peaceful and no undesired incidences observed. The picture shows nation is standing behind Baba Ramdev against corruption.

On the other hand, agitated Muslim group (left) very soon turned violent and damaged public property. Proposed peaceful demonstration in Mumbai, against persecution of Muslims in Assam and Burma, appeared to be a well crafted method to destroy peace and tranquility of Mumbai. Needless to say secular press did not give importance to this senseless demonstrations in which 2 lives lost and several police officers injured. This wave of demonstration began after a muslim parliamentarian threatend the government inside parliament house of muslim retaliation against the state (see the pic below).

Source: @mediacrooks

How people reacted to this violence? Please have a quicktake.

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Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Why I talked the way I talked

These days Assam is burning. The main stream media is trying their best to brush aside the issue by terming either it is a communal issue or ethnic conflict. This conflict has historical roots. Unfortunately historical knowledge differs widely in India. In an interesting talk with editor of Asian Age I have learn  something that I never learned in my school.

So North East was historically never part of India until British rule. This made me curious when actually India came into existence. So next question


Naturally 140 characters are not sufficient to explain entire history that we learn in our schools. I discovered very lately (mainly during my civil services preparations) that history tutored during schooling in India is very shallow.

At least, gladly, 1947 was the first conservative guess for India to emerge on world map. In my attempt to obtain probable year of birth, I decided to put the question little differently


So the year India born changed from 1947 to 1950 when first constitution was adopted. But is it all? No. Constitution of India has been amended several times in the past. In short span of 1950 to 1976, constitution was amended 42 times. Interestingly, "Socialist" and "secular" words in the preamble of constitution were added in 1976 under 42nd amendment.



Therefore, India did not born until 1976. really?

Of course narrative of India differs from person to person. According to Sir Winston Churchill, greatest Briton ever, India "is merely a geographical expression. It is no more a single country than the Equator". Its appalling that  similar views exist even today in elite and extremely learned community of India. This poses an extremely serious question. What is the concept of India? Any answers?


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