Friday, November 29, 2019

BJP's Maha Folly


Now that the dust has settled on the Maharashtra political ruckus and govt formation, we can look at events and history a bit more calmly. The Shiv Sena (SS) has formed a govt with Congress and NCP. I am not concerned with how long it will last. What this post is concerned with is the poor foresight and wisdom among BJP leaders in allying with the two-bit SS in the first place. It is not “Mahayuti” as they call it but “Mahamoronery” to say the least. The BJP doesn’t learn from history it seems. But before all that, there are also equal number of morons among the RW who still think SS was a Hindutva party that has changed stripes, that Bal Thackeray (BT) was a Hindutva icon and all that rubbish. Let’s get some understanding of history first.

The SS was formed in 1966 with the help of Congress and Bombay industrialists to combat Commie unions in Bombay. BT added another ingredient to it called “Aamchi Mumbai” and non-Marathis to get out. Therefore, the first assault by SS was on Commie union leaders and the non-Marathis (South Indians, Bengalis etc). Many non-Marathi families were violently attacked and driven out of Mumbai. Majority of these families were obviously Hindus. The culmination of this violent cult resulted in the murder of a Commie union leader and MLA Krishna Desai for which over a dozen SS men were convicted. BT was not charged or implicated in this. It is this cult of violence, fear-mongering that made BT a “force” in Mumbai and not any political ideology and the term “Hindutva” was hardly in the political lexicon back then. Politicians, Cops and other local entities developed a fear of BT for his “Disruptive” capabilities. Thus, whether in power or not, BT could influence political events and outcomes and politicians genuflected before him at Matoshree. He became “Sarkar” as the movie projected him.

It is only towards the late 1980s that BT understood that violence isn’t paying politically and his party got nowhere that he sobered it down and started becoming more of a “politician”. This sobering down took on a more “patriotic” flavour. Remember, in 1991 SS men dug up the Wankhede pitch to prevent a match with Pakistan which thrilled the Hindus. As the Hindutva movement, led by LK Advani started gaining ground, BT’s clothes also changed from white to “Saffron”. By mid-90s BJP started winning some elections here and there and for the first time the SS-BJP combined came to power in 1995 in Maha and Manohar Joshi became CM. By 1995 BJP also got its permanent footing in Gujarat and became a political force. Later on, AB Vajpayee would become PM and BJP kept rising as a national party while SS remained a local party Mumbai Municipality. This dwindled the dominance of SS vs BJP. Thus, from a dominant partner, SS had become a “sidekick” that had lesser influence on BJP. In time to come, Narendra Modi became a nationally popular force and that finally asserted BJP’s supremacy over SS in Maha politics, as in many other states.

By the 1990s, BT who was just known as “Bal Thackeray” came to be respectfully addressed as “Balasaheb” and continued to exert influence in Maha politics whether in power or not. He had such an enormous clout that that all political leaders genuflected at his feet. With his death in 2012, the SS had lost all that “phenomenal informal power”. The replacement kid, Udhav Thackeray (UT), had neither the charisma nor the intelligence or sharp wit of BT to be as dominant a force in politics as BT was. In addition, with time, BT had become the senior-most figure among all his peers, so that brought him some reverence too. It is not easy to fill the shoes of a giant like BT and that was the biggest problem of the “power hungry” UT. But even with the giant BT, SS never won a majority on its own in Maha. Thus, SS always remained on the side-line and their only way to power was with some alliance. But even before the death of BT, I had warned the BJP never to have a prepoll alliance with SS because the party neither had any ideology and all the Hindutva crap being credited to it is nothing but falsehood:
 
PM Modi understood this and did not ally with SS in 2014. The BJP won LS and Maharashtra on their own (although outside support was needed in Maha to form the govt). It is only after the results in 2014 that SS became a partner with BJP in the Maha govt. It would naturally hurt UT’s ego to realise that he is just a bit-player and does not possess the “Dadagiri” of BT. “Balasaheb” had open contempt and disdain for many of his alliance partners, including LK Advani. He was sharp-tongued and even said “those who bow before Sonia are Hijdas”. You can easily conclude what UT is if you go by that statement of BT. The other Thackeray, Raj, was reduced to a mere roadside-watcher in politics. What UT wanted was, the same power that BT had without contesting elections. He was more power-hungry than BT as his son AUT too is. These men haven’t built anything on their own, therefore, their lust is different. And then came the Palghar bypoll in May 2018. This is an event that most people are simply ignoring. It was the final insult to UT’s ego that turned him into a vengeful politician desperate for power at any and all cost:
 
Mentally, UT had already sworn revenge after the Palghar bypoll loss. He started publicly slamming PM Modi, even going to the extent of using “Chowkidar Chor” in a public meeting. UT also started hobnobbing with “Sickular” forces like Mamata Banerjee and their lovey-dovey exchanges were there for everyone to see (Except Devendra Fadnavis who was blind):
 
If not for his fear and knowledge that he would be slaughtered in Maha elections if he broke from BJP, UT would have also attended that spurious “Unity rally” of Mamata in Kolkata. The fallout of the Palghar bypoll fight was not missed by even the moronic media. Somehow, BJP and Fadnavis completely missed it altogether:
 
With all the actions, utterances and even the “Chowkidar Chor” reference, the BJP and Fadnavis simply failed to measure the motives of UT. He is not a BT who had any ideological compulsions later in life. UT simply wanted power, to seek revenge against Fadnavis and upstage the BJP as the major force in Maharashtra politics and sustain or rebuild the languishing influence of SS in the state’s politics. It is unfortunate that the BJP failed to recognise this freaky chameleon and still took on the SS as an ally after much protracted negotiations over seats. And if anyone was in doubt over the motives of UT in partnering BJP, the NCP MLA and leader Anil Deshmukh repeatedly alluded that post-elections, the NCP-Congress-SS would form the govt. In a speech and an interview, Deshmukh asserted this confidently. Hindsight, is a gift to all of us, but foresight should have been a gift with BJP with shrewd players like Amit Shah who were watching all this (Video 37 secs):
 
By the time Deshmukh made his speeches, it was too late to correct any mistakes. The withdrawal dates were over and elections were just a few days away. BJP’s fate was sealed even before the elections. I don’t think anyone is in doubt that UT and SS would have been in shambles had BJP gone it alone with the powerful magnetic pull of PM Modi with the voters. BJP didn’t lose the Maha election, they are victims of bad judgment and a bad partner. That is all there is to it. And post-results, Fadnavis lamented that UT was not even taking his calls. It is not because the post-election nonsense of 50:50 demand by UT or anything else was the reason. SS and UT had already made up their mind before elections to have their own CM and they knew it wouldn’t be possible with BJP:
That’s not all, after stepping down as CM for “80 hours”, Fadnavis made a statement that SS had surrendered “Hindutva at Sonia’s feet”. This is hypocrisy at its worst. In the five years that he was CM, Fadnavis had completely forgotten Hindutva and never uttered the word once. He was busy pleasing Muslims giving Minority scholarships and calling it “Sabka Saath”, he was allowing Kabrastans near Hindu temple, sporting Muslim gear at Bohra celebrations and his wife was doing Christmas Carols. Hindus were seriously short-changed by the Fadnavis-govt and ModiSarkar had better take that warning seriously or they will alienate more Hindus:
 

The map is only “indicative” and like the BJP BhajanMandlis one need not try to find excuses or dissect the reducing Saffron colour by some statistics of voting percentage or other factors. Simple fact is, if BJP could win a giant state like UP in 3 big elections without any partner, there was no reason to ally with the treacherous SS and UT. If that lesson is learned, then BJP will be back with a thumping victory again. The other lesson BJP has to learn, no amount of lipstick for “Sickularism” will get it anywhere. They cannot beat the Sickulars at their game – the only way they can win is with Hindutva as its core. That is the only thing that separates BJP from the motley crowd.



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Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Saving Hindu Temples - 4


Yesterday, the Parliament Houses celebrated “Constitution Day”. I consider it among the most ill-conceived, visionless document written in the history of India. It reflects utter lack of prudence and foresight. Instead of guaranteeing “Equality” of all citizens, communities and religions, the Indian Constitution could be molested and butchered enough to perpetuate “Constitutional Discrimination”. If that was not enough, the Congress with brute power for nearly 50 years butchered it over 100 times with amendments to perpetuate “Statutory Discrimination”. And the brunt of this “Statutory Discrimination” has been against Hindus. In contrast, the US Constitution has stood the test of time and has been amended only 27 times in over 200 years. The irony of “First Amendment” to the Constitution in the US and India couldn’t have been more viciously ironic. Here’s what the shortest of US amendments reads:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”.

Not only does the US First amendment bestow eternal freedom of speech, religion etc for its citizens, it PROHIBITS their Congress from making any law to curtail it. In contrast, the First amendment to the Indian Constitution is exactly the opposite: It CURTAILS Freedom of Speech. The amendment was made by none other than Nehru who couldn’t stomach any criticism and was made to overturn a SC judgement.

There is a frequent rant about lack of “Hindu unity” on social media. Swami Vivekananda recognised this fallacy over a century ago – that Hindus cannot be united by “religion”, Hindus are bound together as communities by social customs, traditions and practices. The devotion to “Ambaji Mata” is practiced in much of West and North but not so much in South. The dedication to “Murugan” or “Kartikeya” is not very common in the West or North as it is in the South. Whereas, the practice of pleasing Ganpati is universal among Hindus of all varieties. There is no ONE wedding ritual among Hindus unlike the Nikah or Padre solemnising a Christian wedding.

Muslims and Christians can be united by their religion or the Church of their denomination but not Hindus. And Hindus don’t violently agitate for their Rights – and that is the fundamental reason why govts are able to ride rough shod over them. Hindus will agitate for Mumbai, for Telangana, against corruption, against Reservations or even a 1 rupee increase in bus fare or canteen prices. But you will never hear a Hindu group agitating for their “Religious and Temple Rights”. And why not, the same stupid Constitution that was being celebrated provides that freedom that is stolen from Hindus:
 
In practice, though, the above freedom is allowed only to every religious group except Hindus. There are now many voices that are fighting a peaceful and legal battle to free Hindu temples from govt control. Govt control of Hindu temples is Unconstitutional and a CRIME against Hindus. This message must be repeatedly sent to all the govts, including the Centre. There is something else that Hindus do very well when it comes to other things. They form a sort of “association” or “union” for many utilities and services. I wonder if people are aware of the following associations:

Yes, there are associations of air and rail passengers. Specifically, there is a “union” of commuters of Mumbai rail services and you will find them on Twitter too (image on the left). But have you ever heard of a “Union of Devotees”? I haven’t heard of an “Association of Tirupati Devotees” or “Association of Madurai Meenakshi Devotees” etc. Whereas, the AIMPLB, Waqf or CSI (Churches of South India) are practically “Religious Unions” and nothing more. From Nehru to Indira to Sonia, Sickulars have wanted to run everything from making bread, to running hotels and to run Hindu temples and ONLY Hindu temples. The Hindus never objected to this for decades. They woke up only when they realised the inherent FRAUD against the Constitution and the loot of temple money. Therefore, the first solution to freeing temples is “Unionisation of Devotees”. There may not be one national union but there can be Tirupati Union, Sabarimala Union, Ram Mandir Union and so on.

What will these Unions do? If nothing else, they will at least acquire enough voice and impact to first stop appointment of non-Hindus to management of Hindu temples and Hindu events like the Kumbh. An anti-Hindu pervert like Azam Khan managing Kumbh is the height of Sickular stupidity. They can agitate and force govts to stop selling non-Hindu crap that the likes of AP govt sells on the Tirupati website or the Kerala Dewaswom promoting Arabic cultural studies:
The Muslims agitate violently even if something happens in Denmark or Palestine. The Christians agitate over a fictional movie or some stupid miracle being proved fake (like the Mumbai statue shedding tears turning out to be water leakage). But the Hindus, they don’t agitate on the streets even mildly for crimes against their temples right under their noses. Indian govts have repeatedly proved that ONLY violent street agitations are heard. JNU is just a recent example, that too for a fraudulent cause. Indian govts have NEVER responded to peaceful voices or petitions. Therefore, it is important that devotees of various temples organise themselves into Unions with a legal registration and identity. I am not recommending violent agitations but some agitation that is “visible” all over and provokes govts into action and response. The Sabarimala agitation did have some positive results – the SC is now scared to rule on the review petition because they know it will affect ALL religions.

The second solution is to challenge appointments of Muslims, Christians or any Non-Hindu to Temple Management Boards (as frequently done at Tirupati to unconstitutionally desecrate the shrine). The first image in this post on Article 26 clearly says that every “Religious Denomination” shall manage their own religious institutions and affairs. Non-Hindus DO NOT constitute a “religious denomination” of Hindus or “Devotees” and therefore, all such appointments are ILLEGAL and unconstitutional. A simple petition in SC to remove all such persons and cancel their appointments will not only work but will also set a precedent and a warning to all govts attempting to pollute Hindu temples with Non-Hindu managers. And it is not just the “Religious Denomination” part that should the be the management but SC has clearly ruled that the only “Devotees” should be managing their own temples and institutions:
The ruling above is with respect to the Nataraja temple in TN. The TN govt has repeatedly attempted taking over this temple but the brave Pujaris and the Trust have valiantly fought of the many attempts through legal action. The SC ruling isn’t limited to saying only “Devotees” should manage their religious institutions but goes a bit further in stating what another article quotes from a previous SC ruling:
 
The SC states: “No govt has the absolute Right to take over management of temple Trusts… certain fundamental rights of citizens which can neither be taken away nor abridged”. In short, even if a govt takes over a temple, it can be only for a short period for restoring order arising out of some dispute or trouble but has to be handed back to the Trust or a new Trust. That is the long and short of it and the Hindu Unions of Devotees with legal help should file petitions for all such temples which are cursed by govt control. Effectively, the courts have already ruled in favour of Hindus and it doesn’t take any major law or violent agitations to free temples from corrupt govts. All it takes is smart legal battles.

Hindus are known to fight for everything except for their religion. Muslims speak various languages – from TN to Gujarat, but they don’t ever disown Urdu as their unifying language. The Christians don’t fight against English. But Hindus from to Bengal to Maharashtra will constantly fight over their language. Hindus don’t vote en bloc as Muslims and Christians do. That is why every political party finds it easy to divide Hindus by language, caste, customs etc. Recently, two groups of Hindus even created a ruckus over which one should sing the prayer first (although some say it’s merely a traditional ritualistic fight):
All that being said, a Private Bill has been tabled in the Parliament by Satyapal Singh to free Hindu temples from govt control. He is a BJP member and I hope he is sincere and not seeking to play hero in LS. Private Bills are usually not accepted or passed by Indian govts. There was earlier a Private Bill seeking to declare Pak a terrorist state and that never went anywhere. Regardless of this and Hindus pinning any hopes on it, there are 3-4 simple steps that Hindus need to take to get “organised” and fight the battle to free temples from govts and non-Hindus by agitations and bombing the courts with petitions.

Series Concluded.



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