Friends, It is time to stand up and call a spade a spade as Mr. Shankar does. Rohit.
===================================================== >Source: thThe Hindu >(http://www.hinduonnet.com/op/2002/05/07/stories/2002050700140200.htm) > >Saving Hinduism from the VHP > >Because of the vision of a number of remarkable men and women we >chose a Constitution based on two pillars: democracy and >secularism. This was not accidental: they realised that if we, a >pluralistic society, were ever to become a prosperous, >harmonious, modern nation these two pillars were essential. > > >THE WRITING has been on the wall for a quite a few years now. And >our more alert friends have been warning us of what was actually >happening. However, it was only this year after Gujarat that many >of us have finally realised that they had not been crying wolf. >The real goals of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Bajrang Dal and >their political servants, the Bharatiya Janata Party, can no >longer be denied or ignored. Bad enough poisioning the country >with their hate campaign; but now deliberately subverting the >state machinery to prolong the carnage in Gujarat, heartlessly >refusing timely aid to the victims and cold bloodedly calculating >the next political steps to further their evil designs. It is >often implied that the VHP, Bajrang Dal and the rest of that >criminal, not just lunatic, fringe represent the Hindus of this >country. I don't believe that they do. Nevertheless the fact is >that they and their actions have brought disrepute and shame to >Hindus and Hinduism. Although mos! >t of us can hardly be held responsible for what has happened, we >cannot now say that we are a tolerant people. Not only have we >displayed intolerance, we have denied the most basic >constitutional and human rights to our fellow citizens. > > >Planned in advance > > > >Some of my fellow Hindus may well argue that the violence in >Ahmedabad and elsewhere was a reaction to what happened in >Godhra. What happened in Godhra was unpardonable and it is >imperative that the culprits, most likely local Muslims, must be >brought to book. Their actions cannot be justified as retaliation >for the goondagiri committed by the VHP men at the previous >stations and on the train. Yet, it made no sense to kill, maim >and rape innocent Muslims elsewhere in the State as revenge for >what some Muslims did in Godhra. I believe that most Hindus would >agree. So why did the terrible things that happened happen? >Because it was planned. There are enough reports by independent >investigators to clearly indicate that it had all been planned >well in advance, just waiting for an opportunity. Godhra was that >opportunity. Within a few days, Muslims, their homes, their >businesses were selectively targeted by the rampaging mobs. And >the police took little or no action under the ord! >ers of the Modi Government. In fact, Narendra Modi and a police >chief implied that it was natural for their subordinates to >habour communal feelings under the circumstances. Is it possible >to see worse examples of dereliction of duty? > >So, this is their plan. They are not really interested in >building a temple in Ayodhya. Their interest is in fishing in >troubled waters and the Ayodhya site is very convenient since it >is disputed. The natural Muslim reluctance to part with what they >regard as their heritage is being used as a focus for militant >Hindu resentment. After all there are thousands of magnificent >temples all over the country that need care and maintenance but >do you see the VHP and Bajrang Dal doing anything? The point is >that that would get them no political mileage. Even if the >Ayodhya issue is settled, new Ayodhyas will be brought up and the >Gujarat experiment in genocide will be repeated until the >minorities are either driven out, or killed or reduced to a state >of utter helplessness. Is this what Hinduism is about? Should we >permit this criminal, immoral plan to be taken to its natural >conclusion? > >Even if we are not bothered about its moral implications, is the >VHP plan practical? The size of our minorities is greater than >that of most other nations, and they have nowhere to go. >Fomenting hatred will only breed more violence, lead to more >migration of the middle class, and to its further >marginalisation. > >It is very important at this critical stage in the history of our >country for us to be clear about what it means to us to be >Hindus, about what our relationship is to our fellow citizens of >other faiths and about what our country means to us. If we do >this honestly and clearly it will become obvious that the VHP, >Bajrang Dal fringe is out to destroy all that we stand for. To >start with the Hindu community, although sharing a common >philosophical basis and view of life, is made up of hundreds of >different sects with different forms of worships, food habits, >etc. Add to this the caste, linguistic and regional divisions and >we have a truly heterogeneous body that can prosper only if it is >tolerant, secular and democratic. In all honesty our relationship >to our Muslim fellow citizens has always been ambiguous. On the >one hand there are so many instances where the two communities >have lived harmoniously, even lovingly, together. We are proud of >the common, truly Hindustani cultur! >e that we have jointly evolved encompassing music, art, >literature and a marvellous cuisine. On the other hand we have >had a long history of mistrust, bigotry and blood letting on both >sides culminating in the violence of the Partition. This has >continued with the not infrequent commnal riots, our bad >relations with Pakistan, our bleeding in Kashmir and now with >Ayodhya, Godhra and Gujarat. > >Finally, what does it mean to us to be Indians? Again if we are >to be honest, we must admit that Independence, obtained by the >sacrifices of a whole generation, gave us the opportunity to once >again become a nation. And because of the vision of a number of >remarkable men and women we chose a Constitution based on two >pillars: democracy and secularism. This was not accidental: they >realised that if we, a pluralistic society, were ever to become a >prosperous, harmonious, modern nation these two pillars were >essential. Independence gave us the chance to put the notion of >India into practice: "Where the mind is without fear and the head >is held high; where knowledge is free; where the world has not >been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; where >words come out from the depth of truth... where the clear stream >of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of >dead habit... " > > >Immoral tools > > > >That vision is now being systematically and deliberately >destroyed by the VHP, Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena, BJP gang who claim >to represent the Hindus of this country. Their vision for our >country is one where our heads are bowed in shame and our minds >are in fear, where human knowledge is a prisoner of the past, >where the world is broken up into fragments by communal, casteist >and linguistic walls and where truth and reason are non-existent. >Let us have no illusions about what will happen. The immoral >tools that these people plan to use to eliminate the minorities >will then be used against us. The Law of Karma, which we all >believe in, guarantees this. We all know that most Germans either >supported the Nazis in their plans for the final solution or >passively acquiesced; the result was a war, the loss of millions >of lives and the destruction of Germany. > >We are now in a similar situation. If we now passively allow the >evil designs of this combine to carry out their programme in our >name, we will be guilty of evil ourselves. Tomorrow, once the >minorities are taken care of, it will be the turn of each and >everyone of us: the Tamils living in Mumbai, the Brahmins in >Chennai, the North Indians in the South and vice versa, the >Bengalis in Assam, to say nothing of the Scheduled Castes and >Tribes everywhere. We are all going to have to learn to live >peacefully with one another and make this great experiment of >India a success or we will all go down together acrimoniously, >betraying the great vision of the founding fathers of this >Republic. If we are going to succeed we have to put a stop right >now to the use of religion as a political weapon. > >This is the time to take the lead from the greatest Hindu of the >last millennium, Mahatma Gandhi. His whole life was a fight >against Hindu obscurantism, a fight for justice for the weakest >and the poorest and a fight for truth, peace and harmony. Let us >not make the sacrifices that he and thousands of others made go >in vain. Now is the time for all Hindus to say loudly and clearly >that the VHP, Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena and the BJP do not represent >us Hindus. Now is the time to stand up fearlessly and make clear >that we are not going to tolerate any violence being committed on >our Muslim and Christian brothers and sisters; that we will not >tolerate the noble vision of India to be destroyed by a gang of >criminals with political patronage who claim to represent us. We >can do this by talking to our friends, neighbours and colleagues >and convincing them that they have to act. Only the Hindus can >save Hinduism from the VHP, Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena, BJP combine >and in the process save! > the country. > > >P.N. SHANKAR >Copyright: 1995 - 2002 The Hindu _________________________________________________________ Click below to visit monsterindia.com and review jobs in India or Abroad http://monsterindia.rediff.com/jobs =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet =================================================================== For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
