The Fool's Secularism

The word ‘routine’ is not a very adored term. It has often been substituted for anything that is ordinary or mundane. Routines are regular procedures and practices that are almost performed as second nature. If you look up the net there are even sites with help to get out of routines and make life more exciting. Take a look here or here for samples. If you’re bored with routines I hope they help. There’s even a ‘Brainy quotes’ page which is a collection of famous people ridiculing routines.

Reality is a bit different though. In reality routines form the backbone of our lives. Traffic rules are routine but imagine one fine day we said, dump those rules. You can imagine the chaos. Which shoe do you wear first? The left or the right? Check next time, you’ve probably been doing it all your life (wearing the left or right first) without the slightest thought to it. Most of us marvel at Army marches. We are amazed how their legs and arms move in such synchronised manner. To them, that’s routine. For us, it’s a wonder. They have been trained for it and they practice it every day. It is in that sense that Secularism is a routine. Being a backbone of our lives, secularism needs to be maintained and practiced. Soldiers don’t fight big battles with their marching skills. Do they? At best that routine organises them for the battle. In much similar fashion secularism by itself does not win any battles. But many of our fraudulent politicians have been selling this product (in a fake form). Take a look at some of the chief perpetrators of pseudo-secularism:

Remember, these are only some samples. The top row consists of the prime permanent criers of “Secularism is in danger” a la “Islam khatre me hai”. The bottom row consists of the Macaulay Family members who are the prime movers of this fakery in the media. A long time ago I wrote the post “Excessive secularism is as dangerous as religious fundamentalism”. In that I quoted the renowned Mark Tully: “Excessive secularism, which feeds the fire of people who like to present India as a country that does not respect its majority, is just as dangerous as religious fundamentalism”. This is the outcome of fake secularism practiced by all the parties that are now up in arms against Narendra Modi. One Congress member has gone as far as threatening to kill Modi and there has already been an attempt once in Patna.

Sharad Pawar who had met Modi recently in Ahmedabad was probably rebuffed and now he calls Modi “deranged”. This Pawar is the same guy who said “wipe ink, vote twice”. Mulayam Yadav says “We will not let BJP succeed in making Modi PM”. The churlish Nitish Kumar in an interview asked Arnab Goswami “how is Modi going to handle relations with Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka”? You know, as if the current govt is on a bed of roses with these countries and this is a prime concern for voters. But the Pak and BD reference is more to suck up to his Muslim voters and not out of any serious concern. Pawar in a rally added “country cannot be handed over to Modi”. What is that supposed to mean? Is the country some farmland to be scammed and given to Modi? The people and their votes will decide who will get what. But let’s look at the latest moron who wants to challenge Modi. Here’s a Johny-cum-lately called Rashid Alvi who wrote to his Bossini Sonia Gandhi:

If the pic is not legible you can read it here. Now, go through the letter very carefully. All that Alvi claims is that he wants to protect pluralism and secularism and STOP MODI. There is nothing on one single issue of Varanasi that he wants to represent. That’s the poison that these guys want people to drink: Fake Secularism. They call Modi all kinds of names which are then repeated like a box of parrots by Rajdeep, Sagarika, Arnab, Barkha and all the channels 24X7. The names they call don’t even have any relevance to anything Modi may have said or done which would have made some sense at least. The only objective of these so-called secularists is to somehow stop Modi by hook or crook. And the more they scream the more they endear Modi to the public. Is the media far behind. Here’s the Category5Moron who is permanently on a Muslim trip whenever there is an election involving Modi:

From the December 2012 elections of Gujarat to now, all that Sagarika has been doing is whipping up Muslim hatred for Modi. And these aren’t reflex responses by the Muslims she meets; she provokes them with questions spiteful of Modi. Secularism demands that people be seen as one nation under one roof. Politicians may act divisively but why should media morons act divisively? And when rapped for such illegitimate behaviour all that these fools can do is cry abuse. In the context of such fake secularism what Modi says resonates with people. He says whenever the Congress and its clones are asked any question they wear a “Burqa of secularism”. The Congress scams are unbelievable in terms of money and the sheer nonchalance with which the party protects its corrupt ones. A summary of its Himalayan corruption looks like this:

Perhaps the fear of Modi is that he will seriously set up SITs and fast-track courts to prosecute the corrupt filth. And this must be done if this country has to send a clear message of intolerance of corruption and the corrupt. Sonia Gandhi, who the media treats as if she is the new Mother Teresa, behaves like she has no taint on her from all these scams. Both Sonia and her “Balloon” son Rahul go around the country talking about corruption. With what face does the media let these two pass without a single question on their corruption and their giving tickets to corrupt members? Whenever the question comes up, like the Congress the media also points to only ONE member of BJP: BS Yedurappa. Whether Yedurappa is corrupt or not courts are yet to decide and in some cases he has been exonerated too. How the media finds equivalence has to be the biggest scam in India.

Secularism is a routine practice and not an issue on which any election should have ever been contested but the Sickulars and the corrupt media have brought it down to this level. I consider myself a secular person but except for the media discussions or election season it doesn’t cross my mind even once. People brush their teeth and have a bath every day. It makes them feel good, clean and freshened up. But that doesn’t guarantee them luck, job or food. Routine hygiene is a “maintenance” job for the body. Secularism is a maintenance job for a society. It need not get any premium. No one deserves to be rewarded for being secular; certainly not with a vote.

As an Amdavadi I know of the history of water problems in the city and state. Till 2005 or 2006 almost everyone in the city faced a water problem (especially those living outside the municipal limits). The bores would dry up and frequent drilling deeper would be done and so on. There were days when there was no water at all and people borrowed a couple of buckets from neighbouring societies which had some supply to get through the day. As it got worse, the only option was regular purchase from water-tankers. All that ended around 2005-06 when the Narmada waters flowed through the Sabarmati. There has never been a problem since then and most households have 24X7 water. Now nobody talks about water anymore. Nobody talks about good roads anymore; it has become part of routine life. No one ever knew when the autos had turned CNG. No one talks about it. No one talks of bus services. It has become routine. When basic facilities become routine then residents think of higher planes. Not having to struggle with these basic issues gives them the time to rise to other accomplishments. What the hell does all this have to do with secularism?   

It is in the absence of the very basic performance as a govt that many of the sickular political parties resort to the chest-beating of “secular, secular, secular”. Secularism is a prostituted word as Arun Shourie said and many people have been fooled with this nonsense for over four decades. In one of his books Bill Gates narrates an anecdote about MS Word software. I am quoting from memory and it is not the exact verbatim quote: “When we gave WORD, people said we want colours. We gave them colours. Then they said they wanted word-count. We gave them word-count. They said they wanted multiple languages; we gave them Chinese, Japanese and so on. They said they wanted spell-check. We gave them spell check. We can give people all the tools in Word they want but we simply can’t tell them how or what to write”.  

That’s right, one can be given all the tools in MSWord but the software can’t tell you what or how to write something. That is true for secularism too. Secularism is a tolerant way of living but it’s not a cure to disease, it’s not a cure to hunger. Secularism doesn’t eliminate backwardness or poverty. It cannot give anyone employment. The Congress and its clones have fooled the country long enough with their fake secularism as a solution to people’s problems. This is the fool’s secularism. Change is inevitable and no matter how much these parties and the media try to make the debate secularism vs communalism it is increasingly dawning upon people that this is a fake debate. Development and progress can be felt and seen. A country’s progress and power is driven by people’s aspirations not by the fool’s secularism. This election season people should listen to the real debates that will seek to meet their aspirations. I am not a big fan of the Shiv Sena but for once I have to agree with their hoarding.

PM's "Crisis Of Confidence" Speech At Iftar Party

On the evening of August 13 at an Iftar party hosted by Ram Vilas Paswan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressed the diners on the eve of our Independence Day. This is the full text of the speech to members of Congress and other secular parties who attended the dinner.

MMS: "Crisis of confidence"

Namaskar on the eve of the 66 th Independence day of this great country! This is a special night for me. Exactly eight years ago, in May 2005, I accepted my appointment as Prime Minister by Smt. Sonia Gandhi. I promised you a PM who is not isolated from the people, who feels your pain, and who shares your dreams and who draws his strength and his wisdom from you.

During the past eight years I've spoken to you on many occasions about national concerns, the energy crisis, reorganizing the government, our nation's economy, and issues of terrorism and especially black money. But over those years the subjects of the speeches, the talks, and the press conferences have become increasingly narrow, focused more and more on what the isolated world of Delhi thinks is important. Gradually, you've heard more and more about what the government thinks or what the government should be doing and less and less about our nation's hopes, our dreams, and our vision of the future.

Few days ago I had planned to speak to you about very important subjects – energy, terrorism, illegal immigration, black money, corruption, scams, quotas, unemployment, farmer suicides, rail accidents, airline crisis, Assam violence and Azad Maidan violence. For the fiftieth time, I had described the urgency of these problems and laid out a series of legislative recommendations to my High Command. But as I was preparing to speak, I began to ask myself the same question that I now know has been troubling many of you. Why have we not been able to get together as a nation to resolve any of these problems?

It's clear that the true problems of our Nation are much deeper -- deeper than kerosene lines or power shortages, deeper even than secularism or recession. And I realize more than ever that as PM I need your help. So I decided to reach out and listen to the voices of India. I invited to the PMO people from almost every segment of our society -- business and labour, teachers and preachers, governors, mayors, and private citizens, all represented by five eminent media personalities. And then I left 7RCR to listen to other Indians, men and women like you.

It has been an extraordinary five days, and I want to share with you what I've heard. First of all, I got a lot of personal advice. Let me quote a few of the typical comments that I wrote down.

This from the Kerala Governor: "Mr. PM, you are not leading this nation -- you're just managing the government. Some of your Cabinet members don't seem loyal. There is not enough discipline among your disciples. Don't talk to us about politics or the mechanics of government, but about an understanding of our common good. Mr.PM, we're in trouble. Talk to us about blood and sweat and tears. If you lead, Mr.PM we will follow."

Many people talked about themselves and about the condition of our nation.

This from a young woman in Panchkula: "I feel so far from government. I feel like ordinary people are excluded from political power”. And this from a young man from Chinchpokli: "Some of us have suffered from recession all our lives. Some people have wasted energy, but others haven't had anything to waste." And this from religious leader of the Church: "No material shortage can touch the important things like God's love for us or our love for one another."

And I like this one particularly from a woman who happens to be the mayor of a small oil rich Assam town: "The big-shots are not the only ones who are important. Remember, you can't sell anything on Dalal Street unless someone digs it up somewhere else first."

This kind of summarized a lot of other statements: "Mr. PM, we are confronted with a moral and a spiritual crisis."

Several of our discussions were on energy, and I have a notebook full of comments and advice. I'll read just a few. "We can't go on consuming 40% more energy than we produce. When we import oil we are also importing inflation plus unemployment. We've got to use what we have. The Middle East has only 5% of the world's energy, but Reliance has 24% of India’s oil." And this is one of the most vivid statements: "Our neck is stretched over the fence and Bangla Desh has a knife."

And the last that I'll read: "When we enter the moral equivalent of war, Mr. PM, don't issue us mobile phones."

These few days confirmed my belief in the decency and the strength and the wisdom of the Indian people, but it also bore out some of my long-standing concerns about our nation's underlying problems. After listening to the Indian people I have been reminded again that all the legislation in the world can't fix what's wrong with India. So, I want to speak to you first about a subject even more serious than energy or inflation. I want to talk to you right now about a fundamental threat to Indian democracy. I do not mean our political and civil liberties. They will endure. And I do not refer to the outward strength of India, a nation that is at peace this morning everywhere in the world, with unmatched economic power and military might.

The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. It is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our nation. The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of India. The confidence that we have always had as a people is not simply some romantic dream or a proverb in a dusty book that we read just on the 15th of August.

It is the idea which founded our nation and has guided our development as a people. Confidence in the future has supported everything else -- public institutions and private enterprise, our own families, and the very Constitution of India. Confidence has defined our course and has served as a link between generations. We've always believed in something called progress. We've always had a faith that the days of our children would be better than our own.

In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities, and our faith in Gandhi, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. But we've discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning. We've learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose.

The symptoms of this crisis of the Indian spirit are all around us. For the first time in the history of our country a majority of our people believe that the next two years of UPA will be worse than the past eight years. Two-thirds of our people do not even vote. The productivity of Indian workers is actually dropping, and the willingness of Indians to save for the future has fallen below that of all other people in the African world. As you know, there is a growing disrespect for government and for ministers and for schools, the news media, and other institutions. This is not a message of happiness or reassurance, but it is the truth and it is a warning.

We were sure that ours was a nation of the ballot, not the bullet, until the murders of Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Phoolan Devi. We were taught that our armies were always invincible and our causes were always just, only to suffer the agony of China. We respected the PMO as a place of honour until the shock of Coalgate.

We remember when the phrase "16 anna sach" was an expression of absolute dependability, until five years of inflation began to shrink our rupee and our savings. We believed that our nation's onions were limitless until 2008, when we had to face a growing dependence on Pakistani aid. The people are looking for honest answers, not easy answers; clear leadership, not false claims and evasiveness and politics as usual.

What you see too often in New Delhi and elsewhere around the country is a system of government that seems incapable of action. You see a Congress party twisted and pulled in every direction by hundreds of well-financed and powerful special interests. You see every extreme position defended to the last vote, almost to the last breath by one unyielding group or another. You often see a balanced and a fair approach that demands sacrifice, a little sacrifice from everyone, abandoned like an orphan without support and without friends.

Often you see paralysis and stagnation and drift. You don't like it, and neither do I. What can we do?  First of all, we must face the truth, and then we can change our course. We simply must have faith in each other, faith in our ability to govern ourselves, and faith in the future of this nation. Restoring that faith and that confidence to India is now the most important task we face. It is a true challenge of this generation of Indians.

We've got to stop crying and start sweating, stop talking and start walking, stop cursing and start praying. The strength we need will not come from 10 Janpath, but from every house in India. We ourselves are the same Indians who just this year won our best Olympic medal haul. In little more than seven years we've gone from a position of billion dollar reserves to one in which almost half the dollars we use comes from Dubai, at prices that are going through the roof.

What I have to say to you now about terrorism, illegal immigrants and energy is simple and vitally important.

Point one: I am today setting a clear goal for the terrorism policy of the India. Beginning this moment, this nation will never use more commandos for VIPs than we did in 1977 -- never. From now on, every new addition to our VIP security will be met by the VIPs themselves.

Point two: To ensure that we meet legal immigration targets, I will use my authority to set quotas. I'm announcing now that for 2012-13 and 2013-14, I will forbid the entry into this country of one single illegal immigrant more than my party’s goals allow.

Point three: To give us energy security, I am asking for the most massive peacetime commitment of funds and resources in our nation's history to develop India's own alternative sources of fuel -- from rocks, from water, from dead trees, from unconventional gas, from the moon.

Point four: To make absolutely certain that nothing stands in the way of achieving these goals, I will urge Congress to create a high-powered board which, like the Waqf Board, will have the responsibility and authority to cut through the red tape, the delays, and the endless roadblocks to completing key projects.

Our nation must be fair to the poorest among us, so we will increase aid to needy Indians to cope with rising energy prices. We often think of conservation only in terms of sacrifice. In fact, it is the most painless and immediate way of rebuilding our nation's strength. Every watt of power each one of us saves is a new form of production. It gives us more freedom, more confidence, that much more control over our own lives.

You know we can do it. We have the natural resources. We have more money in Swiss Banks alone than several Pakistans. We have more coal than any nation on Earth. We have the world's highest level of technology. We have the most skilled work force, with innovative genius, and I firmly believe that we have the national will to win this war.

I do not promise you that this struggle for freedom will be easy. I do not promise a quick way out of our nation's problems, when the truth is that the only way out is an all-out effort. What I do promise you is that I will lead our fight, and I will enforce fairness in our struggle, and I will ensure honesty. And above all, I will act and I will speak more often.

I will continue to travel this country, to hear the people of India. You can help me to develop a national agenda for the 2020s. I will listen and I will act. We will act together. These were the promises I made three years ago, and I intend to keep them. Little by little we can and we must rebuild our confidence. We can spend until we empty our treasuries, and we may summon all the wonders of science. But we can succeed only if we tap our greatest resources -- India's mines and spectrum, India's secular values, and India's confidence. I have seen the strength of India in the inexhaustible resources of our people. In the days to come, let us renew that strength in the struggle for a secure nation.

In closing, let me say this: I will do my best, but I will not do it alone. Let your voice be heard. Whenever you have a chance, say something good about our neighbours. With Soniaji’s help and for the sake of our nation, it is time for us to join hands in India. Let us commit ourselves together to a rebirth of the Indian spirit. Working together with our common faith we cannot fail.

Thank you and wish you a Happy Independence Day in advance.

Note: This is a work of fiction and imagination. The speech is rephrased/parodied from the 'Crisis of Confidence' speech by former US president Jimmy Carter which can be read here.

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RBI's Cruel Intentions

Take a look at the images of the two coins on the left. These were reportedly issued during the rule of the criminal East India Company. Surprising! Considering the British had only two motives; loot India and spread Christianity. If you have these coins, treasure them. You are unlikely to see Hindu figures Vishnu, Lakshmi or the young Krishna on coins ever again.  Oh, don’t forget to look at the third image of a currency note. It has an image of a famous Hindu temple from Thanjavur (TN). You may never see such images on currency notes again either. Our secular govts have and are still working very hard to bury Hindu culture.

Since those days Mahatma Gandhi has silently smiled on all our currency notes. Not a bad idea. Post-independence MKG did want the Congress to be dismantled, so fair to say he was above petty politics. He was on our coins first and then is on our currency notes. Only the Queen of England compares with such a place on all the currency notes and coins of UK. 

Currency note with Thanjavur Temple

Then came times when we were proud of our agriculture and our farmers. Ears of corn or maize and the progressive farmer with his tractor adorned our coins and currency notes. While PM Shastri did say “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan” I am not sure I have seen any symbol of our army or our soldiers on our coins or notes. I guess our soldiers have only one purpose mostly: Die! If they manage to survive a battle or war then most times life can get even more painful fighting for compensation and even normal pension. Never mind all that!

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has suddenly announced that ‘people from all walks of life’ want to see new figures on our currency notes. Umm… let’s see, they want figures like B.R. Ambedkar, Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Shivaji on our notes. Who are all these people from all walks? That’s a recent report in the EconomicTimes of June 17,2012. Alright, the demand for Ambedkar’s picture on currency notes is not new. It came from a relatively unknown NGO in 2010 as DNA reports.

The DNA report quotes: “Ambedkar was not only the leader of the downtrodden but was also the architect of modern India. And what better way to honour his contribution than to give him an esteemed place on the Indian currency,” said Saira Patel, general secretary of Mumbaikar Asanghatith Gharelu Kamgar Union, a NGO working with Dalits and Muslims in Andheri. Okay, Ambedkar has already been credited as “architect of the constitution” and slowly this has morphed into “architect of modern India” and in some poll by CNN-IBN he tops the votes as the ‘Greatest Indian’. Now, I can argue and debate all that but then I won’t be alive to write this post any further. So, let it be.

So we could say that NGO represents people from “all walks of life”, where Ambedkar is concerned, as RBI claims. I have no clue about the other “people from all walks of life” who want Shivaji, Nehru and IndiraG on our money. In the ET report RTI activist Manorajan Roy says: “Ironically , before the Mahatma , the Ashoka Pillar used to be the most dominant feature on our banknotes”. He tried to find out how and when the Mahatma took pride of place , but he drew a blank, with the RBI telling him there was no document that recorded the change . Silly Roy, how is he expecting the RBI to keep records of demands from “people from all walks of life”? That would be absurd, wouldn’t it?

In a time when the rupee is crashing, there’s economic sluggishness all around what inspires the RBI to think of images on our currency notes? I’m still wondering! 

Now, the images of all the coins and notes you saw were from prior to 2004. In case you forgot, 2004 is the year the Congress party came back to power under the UPA alliance. What have we had since then? Take a look at the images. The first one is that of the one rupee coin. And what does it have? That’s a cross from the Catholic Church, a religious symbol. Not bad, you could pay someone, drop it in a box at temples, mosques and churches and say “With blessings of the Lord”. Hmmm! After some protests by the so called Right wing communal fascists that symbol was scrapped. But that will remain in numismatic history forever. 

St. Alphonsa

Next, in 2009 we had the image of St.Alphonsa, the first of Indian to be canonized by the Catholic Church. I would say an honour that is fair. Still, a religious figure. I’m not sure millions of Indians even remotely know who St.Alphonsa is but it’s always nice to educate our unwashed masses on glorious religious figures under our ‘secular’ constitution. Oh, it doesn’t end there. Before that, we had the new 10 rupee coin where the Cross surfaced. I believe that is still in currency. What can I say! I am only reminded of Warden Norton from ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ telling illiterate Indians – “ I believe in two things – discipline and the Bible. Put your faith in the Lord, your Ass belongs to me”.

So what’s with RBI’s new intentions of Shivaji, Ambedkar, Nehru and IndiraG? First, the 2014 elections aren’t too far away. Shivaji won’t campaign and is universally respected in India, maybe more so in some places so I don’t think he’s gonna win too many votes. But hey, I am not sure about Ambedkar, Nehru and IndiraG. Our political parties have made these illustrious figures their political icons to divide the nation. There is no end to the number of streets, monuments, memorials, universities, airports and chawls named after these figures. Nehru and IndiraG, in particular, cannot be missed in India no matter where you go. Even buses in cities are under some JNURM scheme. The Congress would love to have them on our currency notes and coins. And there is Ambedkar. His legacy has largely been consumed by the BSP and to some extent the Congress. The election campaign can count his image on the currency notes as an important contribution and uplift of the lives of Dalits. Bingo!

In reality both Nehru and IndiraG are politically divisive figures, unlike MKG. Their contributions to India are doubtless. But there are certain issues that cannot be wished or wiped away. Nehru’s foreign and domestic policies and vision are mostly ground to dust. The taint of Emergency is a serious blot on the legacy of IndiraG. But symbols and symbolism are important, especially when elections are looming. Nominate Sachin Tendulkar to the RS, make him call on SoniaG, give him a house next to RahulG (which bombed, of course). Invite actor Aamir Khan, the new-born social reformer, to address parliament or give them suggestions. And put political figures used in election campaigns and to divide people on caste and religion on our currency notes.

Now, if MKG were alive he would ask RBI to burn all the notes bearing his image and put the farmer on the notes. Ummm… with a minor difference though! You see, our farmers are now known for the troubles they face and the exploitation at the hands of land grabbers and other politicians. Debts, suicides, lack of irrigation, droughts, poverty – you name it and you’ll find it in most farmer households. So I believe a pic, like the one I’ve put up, would truly be a symbol of this day and age in India. And what’s more? Each time you spend money it would remind you of the hapless farmer and his dire straits. I strongly recommend RBI use that image on our notes.

The other group that Shastriji ‘Jai’d’ has been  a long suffering one without proper due even in death or in serious injury. Politicians hardly inspire pride anymore. Nothing would do the nation proud in seeing a tribute being paid to the Amar Jawan in our currency notes. Neither the Kisan nor our soldiers are divisive forces. In fact they tend to unite people regardless of all their political and religious beliefs. We don’t need any more politicians on our currency notes. Figures that instil national pride would help.

But knowing how well many institutions have been destroyed under the current UPA govt. the RBI’s cruel intentions of politicising our currency may still succeed. This must be stopped. Of course, you have seen strong protests by our mainstream media against the designs of RBI, haven’t you? And you’ve seen all the TV news channels screaming against them, haven’t you? The only thing RBI hasn’t yet managed to say on our currency notes is “Vote for….”.
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Excessive Secularism As Dangerous As Religious Fundamentalism

The title of this post actually appeared in a news report. The statement is an important one but it will be buried in those corners where reality is usually buried. It is borrowed from Mark Tully, the British journalist who is as much Indian in spirit as any other. It is a statement he made at a launch function for his book ‘Non-stop India’ at Chennai on December 14. Here’s the full quote from The Hindu’s report: “Excessive secularism, which feeds the fire of people who like to present India as a country that does not respect its majority, is just as dangerous as religious fundamentalism, Mr. Tully said”. Why does it take a British journalist to state the obvious? The Indian mainstream media does not even want to touch or discuss this issue at all. More of this later.

Let me first pick on Ms.Cacofonix herself. In her latest article, “Our time starts now”, in the Hindustan Times (December 14), Sagarika Ghose laments the inability of the ruling class to adapt to a fast-changing world. She then asks if Indians are still afraid of change. The ruling class did change, didn’t it? They introduced the concept of secularism, twisted it, misused it, abused it, banked on it – all in the name of change and equality!

In an article concerning the recent FDI drama, Sagarika refers to Kancha Iliah as a Dalitbahujan scholar and quotes him. “Kancha Ilaiah once said that to radically change Indian society and attitudes, the Rig Vedic hymn, the Purusa-sukta, should be publicly re-written. This is the verse that says different castes were born from different body parts of Brahma. According to Ilaiah, only a complete excising of such a hymn would rid India of the evils of birth-based hierarchy”. She quotes him to argue that citizens should junk the past. Well, what exactly does the Rigveda have to do with any of this? Kancha Iliah is free to junk the Vedas and so is Sagarika Ghose. I wonder if Sagarika would endorse the deletion of many so-called hateful verses from the Koran and if that would be acceptable to muslims. This is how our so called secular media discusses modern day Indian society with spurious arguments trashing Hindu scriptures. Iliah’s argument may have been relevant to a discussion of caste system or discrimination but has little relevance to Sagarika’s core issue at hand. This is what Tully refers to as excessive secularism. This is nothing but mindless, unrelated and pointless trashing of scriptures of the Hindu culture even when it does not influence any public policy decisions.

In another post of mine about Shashi Tharoor’s idea of secularism I had mentioned that in India secularism means don’t offend muslims. There is another side to it too. The one that goes all out to please muslims, break or bend all laws and rules applicable to other citizens for the muslims, dole out excessive concessions to muslims for votes. This is what secularism has come to mean: Appease muslims at any and all costs to the nation’s fabric.

Yesterday, December 13, was the 10^th anniversary of the attack on the Indian Parliament. The politicians and media are still debating why Afzal Guru, the master-mind of the attack hasn’t been executed in accordance with the SC order. Is the answer so hard to find? Quite simply, the Congress party is unwilling to administer justice to a muslim perpetrator of mass murder. This will not happen anytime soon considering elections to Uttar Pradesh and a few more states are around the corner. Hmmm, that brings elections into focus. That also means another round of excessive secularism. Salman Khurshid has announced plans for a further reservation in Central govt jobs for muslims. This is followed by Rahul Gandhi’s assurance to muslim clerics that Madrasas will be kept out of RTE Act. This is being offered despite the fact that many madrasas are funded by the govt. And the media? They are busy just announcing this as grand election strategies instead of condemning such actions as politics of appeasement, vote-bank and a blot on secularism.

Rahul Gandhi - The Secularist

The consistent propaganda by the Congress, the leftists and the media has reached such levels that unless you are willing to dress up in muslim garb, wear a skull cap or join prayers in their dargahs you are not a confirmed secularist. Celebrity journalists are even past writing about this horrendous crime being committed by politicians by damaging the concept of equality of citizens under a democracy. Reservations as a policy is now half a century old and has produced very little progress among those whom it was intended for. And then media celebs like Sagarika Ghose talk about change and modernisation. People like Kancha Iliah talk about excising the Vedas. Take one look at Rahul Gandhi, a man-child who has nothing intelligent to say or no real programme to offer, but the media hangs on to his every word as if it were gospel. Has the culture of slavery to the dynasty in the media changed? No, not at all. They still crawl when asked to bend. Barkha Dutt frequently asks why muslims are being stereotyped. Haha! Take that for intelligence of a journalist! You sport a beard, sometimes without a moustache, a long flowing Kurta, wear a skull cap – sure, I could mistake you for a Christian priest. Then all the black or white burqas and veils, I could mistake them for Jain women, wouldn’t I? And when such media celebs find time they are busy brokering cabinet berths so when will they find time to talk about appeasement or secularism? That’s where a journalist from outside sees facts for what they are; the dangers of excessive secularism.

It took a Britisher, Richard Attenborough, to make a full length feature film about Gandhi. It took yet another Britisher, this time journalist Mark Tully, to point out the folly of excessive secularism. In the same report by The Hindu I quoted earlier, there is another observation that Tully makes that will be remain buried in a corner where truths are usually buried: “Noting that even at the bitter height of Partition, India did not slip into becoming a Hindu nation, Mr. Tully said Hinduism in fact had a lot to do with India's pluralism”.

Bidwai's Unadulterated Bullshit

By Ram Valmiki

There is a particular pattern in the way Hate Engineers spread their ill-conceived opinions and manufactured lies as real facts. They have mastered the art of pushing across their propaganda as “analysis” or “news reporting”. Be it in print media or in MSM, be it “sickular” activist champions of secularism or panelists, all of them spare no effort in misguiding the gullible audience/readers.

It is very important for us to understand the modus-operandi of these Hate Engineers so as to gauge the kind of damage they do to national interests. Since Narendra Modi is flavor of the season and every “sickular” worth their salt has been writing on his fast, I will attempt to breakdown the language of Hate Engineers by taking one recent article of Praful Bidwai as an example.  I would like to inform the readers that this is the same way how the Marxists/communist historians operate and misrepresent the historical events. Bidwai's rant is titled: 'Modi's nasty fast politics - Shifting the BJP rightwards'.

Praful Bidwai is supposed to be political analyst/commentator and “peace activist”. It is expected of him to provide just the analysis and not pass judgments. It is for his readers to draw the conclusions and his duty to provide unbiased analysis. But it is not surprising that so much like many other “sikculars”, he exhibits intellectual dishonesty.

“Through his contrived sadbhavana mission and outlandish three-day fast, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra 'Milosevic' Modi staged a grotesquely fraudulent act in ugly political theatre, which he hoped would catapult him to the apex of the Bharatiya Janata Party and make him the topmost contender as the prime ministerial nominee of the National Democratic Alliance”

The very first line in his lengthy article starts by asserting that Modi is Indian version of Milosevic.  This only shows how prejudiced Praful Bidwai is. Even before Praful starts analyzing the “fast”, he passes on judgment that Modi is as dangerous as Milosevic for the country.  Praful Bidwai seems to have great powers at mind reading. He seems to know what is on Modi’s mind.  Actually, it’s the fear of  Modi gaining national acceptance and may be even becoming the PM that forces the “sickulars” to try and derail something that does not exist. Its Modi Phobia. Internet is abuzz with the growing popularity of Modi at national level and he is no more limited to State of Gujarat as “sickulars” want us to believe. Modi is already national leader and a prospective PM candidate. That is hard to digest by Hate Engineers.

“Modi's shenanigans will certainly do nothing to make him acceptable to the Muslims, who suffered Independent India's worst state-organised butchery under him in 2002. The presence of skull-capped men and burqa-clad women at his fast means nothing.” The riot cases are in court. Supreme Court constituted SIT did not find any evidence against Modi. The case is back in trial court and Modi is not listed as accused. But that does not mean anything to the Hate Engineers. They go ahead and make such a bold statement as calling the riots as “sate-organized”. This is not allegation, not even accusation but blatant way of presenting manufactured lie as a FACT.  As in my previous post have stated, delinking Godhra with Gujarat riots would lead to wrong conclusions. It is well known that riots were started as a reaction to Godhra carnage. The local newspapers carried rumors and it ignited the suppressed anger. Does Praful Bidwai suggest here that Modi planned the train burning? It does not need great intelligence to imagine what the death toll would be if a state actually planned and decided to something as heinous as riots. This also undermines the Indian Judicial system.

For people who are not aware, Gujarat has had history of riots before 2002. Based on Praful Bidwai’s logic, we should blame all previous Congress governments for those riots. The intended suggestion of Praful Bidwai may be that the Muslims present at the fast are not real Muslims and it shows in the way he likes to term them just as “skull-capped men and burq-clad women”. Probably that’s why he sees no meaning it their presence. For Hate Engineers any Muslim not willing to accept “victimhood” bestowed upon them by “sickulars” are not real Muslims. Remember Vastanvi incident?

“Modi didn't express remorse at the violence or signal moderation. He came through as an arrogant, duplicitous and hubris-driven politician bent on further humiliating Muslims. His fast wasn't about sadbhavana (goodwill or harmony), but about hyping himself up as a politician” Modi was clear that his fast is about “Sadhbhavana”. It is Hate Engineers who linked it to riots. Why would Modi express remorse for something he has been saying he is not guilty of? Let the courts decide.  And I fail to understand how the hell it becomes humiliating to Muslims if he goes on fast? This is the way Hate Engineers try to create “victim” syndrome and suggest “humiliation” and “insult” to Muslims. This is naked way of poisoning the Muslim readers with perceived “insult”.  I guess only Hate Engieers saw the arrogance in Modi which does not surprise me anyways.

“ He even belittled his former mentor L K Advani by making him sit in a smaller chair than his own at the venue of the fast, thus symbolically challenging conservative notions of hierarchy.”

Filled by hate towards Modi, Praful Bidwai finds hidden meanings in travail things. Was not Modi the one who was undertaking the fast and is he not the CM of the state? Why should Advani be given bigger chair? Oh sorry! I understand Mr Praful Bidwai. May be it is difficult for you to accept challenge to “conservative notions of hierarchy” due to your loyalty to a dynastic political party.

“However, the Supreme Court by no means exonerated Modi or the Special Investigation Team's report which holds that there is no prosecutable evidence against him and 61 others named by Jafri. Although the court sent the case to a trial court in Gujarat, it directed it to examine that report, as well as the comments made on it by amicus curiae (friend of the court) Raju Ramachandran, and to give the petitioners a hearing.”

One should focus on the word “prosecutable”. Praful Bidwai suggests though Modi is guilty, as per his earlier assertions in the article, there are no “prosecutable” evidences. This is an attempt to present Modi in media and public as “Guilty” and also part acceptance that Modi may come out clean in courts. Hence an attempt to brush aside any Judicial clean chit in future as just lack of “prosecutable” evidences. We already know that former IPS officer is alleging that Gujarat government destroyed the evidences.

“Of course, how the court acts within Gujarat's vitiated political climate remains an open question, but it cannot simply bury the case or accept a closure report without hearing the petitioners, and summoning witnesses if necessary.” Here comes the expected. This is the attempt to cast doubts on fairness of Trial Court should the court verdict go against Hate Engineers expectations. This is also suggesting to the readers that justice is doubtful in the state of Gujarat. Well hate mongers' definition of justice is– Hang Modi.

“Meanwhile, Modi's credibility has been further damaged by the disclosure by dancer-activist Mallika Sarabhai, based on an affidavit filed by former top police official R B Sreekumar, that his government tried to scuttle her writ petition for prosecuting him for the violence by paying a Rs 10-lakh bribe to her lawyer. This showed that the Modi regime could stoop to the rock bottom to suppress efforts to bring the culprits of the 2002 communal violence to book.”

This is half-truth. Praful Bidwai posted his article on 23^rd Sep 2011. But long before that, the lawyers had called Mallika Sarabhai as liar and denied any bribe was offered or taken. It serves good for Praful Bidwai not to mention this fact as it would put question mark on the credibility of Sarabai. The fake petitions of Teesta Stelvad have dented her credibility but Praful Bidwai would not acknowledge the level his “Brigade Brothers/Sisters” would stoop to in their hate towards Modi.  Sarabhai had option to go to court and accuse her lawyers. What stops her from taking the path of Judicial Process?

“Modi hasn't overcome even an iota of the stigma he earned by presiding over the anti-Muslim pogrom of 2002. It is of course utterly shameful that he hasn't been criminally prosecuted, and worse, even politically punished, for his role in falsely communalising the Godhra train fire, and systematically organising and colluding in the ensuing violence.” Praful Bidwai finally expresses his frustration. All “sickulars” have their own definition of “Justice”. Anything that does not satisfy their definition is by default wrong. “Sickulars” way of thinking is “my way or highway”. If a muslim supports Modi, he is not a muslim. If a court does not make Modi accused, court’s ability for fair trial is doubtful. Modi does not lose the elections, people live in fear. They fail to accept that the very facts that Modi has been elected by a democratic process by the people of Gujrat is itself the evidence that people have accepted him and rejected the lies spread by Hate Engineers. The fact that court has no evidences to make Modi as accused is itself evidence that Hate Engineers stand defeated.

But they will present it a shame and instill doubts in Muslim readers that they have been denied Justice.  These “sickulars” are greatest threat to India. There cannot be any better example of selective propagation of views as stated in my previous post other than the way Praful Bidwai makes a statement  - falsely communalizing the Godhra train fire. Excuse me Mr Bidwai, it was not just any other train fire. It was not accident. It was preplanned gruesome murder of 57 kar sevaks that included women and children. I suggest you update yourself on the reports on Godhra carnage. Secondly, what do you mean by “falsely communalizing?”. If a crowd of hundreds of Muslims with previously stored petrol cans and weapons burning a train coach full of Hindu kar sevaks is not communal, what else is? These are the same sikculars who call genocide of Kashmiri pandits as freedom fight and not communal. 

“Arguably, had the secular opposition, including the Congress's Sonia Gandhi, the Communist parties' Harkrishan Singh Surjit, Jyoti Basu and A B Bardhan, and centrist leaders like Lalu Prasad, Mulayam Singh Yadav and others, insisted on its dismissal through a sustained agitation, the NDA might have had no choice but to impose President's Rule.” Now we know what definition of secularism Praful Bidwai follows. We call it in our language as just appeasement politics.“His presence has been poisonous, not just in Gujarat. No one has brought as much international disrepute to India. No other Indian chief minister has been denied a visa in numerous countries for complicity in gross human right violations.”

Praful Bidwai again indulges in half truths.. But would Praful Bidwai care to tell the readers how much lobbying the “sickulars” did? Would he please let the readers know how false stories were planted in western media? While we are at it, does Praful Bidwai know that recent report on Modi by USA think tank? They do not agree that Modi was poisonous to Gujarat.

“The BJP could soon find that Modi, with his insufferable arrogance, megalomania and obnoxious ultra-individualism, is more a liability than an asset both for itself and its allies. It stands warned

Mr Praful Bidwai, I would like to thank you for providing this article so that I could present the modus operandi of Hate Engineers to spread half-truths, ill-conceived opinions as facts. The time for all the “sickulars” and “Hate Engineers” to pack their bags and shut down their shops is nearing as more and more people are realizing the crooked ways they operate in. Before it’s too late and they lose any bit of credibility left, they should express remorse. They stand warned.