Hinduism is a way of life: Origin and growth

Hinduism is a way of life: Origin and growth

(I have used the word shudra in this article to describe a caste in Hinduism. While Hinduism believed that they were low caste, I have no such belief. I use the word only to identify a set of people)

In the earlier posts we have seen that Hinduism is a complex phenomenon and that a majority of India’s “Hindu” tribal populations were not really Hindu till recently.

When we want to examine the origin and growth of Hinduism, specifically historical timelines, we again run into problems because it has no “founder “or prophet. So historian and scholars use the dates of creation of Hinduism’s sacred texts to arrive at the timelines. While there is considerable debate and disagreement among scholars on the exact dates, there is a wide consensus that many of the gods and rituals of present day Hinduism were in evidence by 1000 to 700 BC. There is also an agreement that the area initially covered by people of Hindu faith ranged from the west to present day Pakistan to east till the eastern edge of Bihar. But who were the people who founded Vedic Hinduism and where did they come from? And, during the early days of Hinduism were there people in India who did not follow Hinduism but some other religion.

Hinduism even as known today shares a lot of features with the Zoroastrian religion (which is the religion of Parsis in India). Names of gods, the importance of fire in rituals and even the caste system is common. In addition the principal language of Vedic Hinduism, Sanskrit, has many similarities with the classical language of Zoroastrianism, i.e. the Avestan. (see this interesting link http://www.ancientscripts.com/avestan.html)

Using these similarities , historians have generally agreed that the people who originally developed Vedic Hinduism were not the oldest inhabitants of India. Strong similarities with the ancient religions and languages of Iran and Central Asia compel us to the conclusion that the founders of Vedic Hinduism came from those regions and when the came they carried some of the initial ideas of Hinduism, including the caste system. These ideas were to later develop into Hinduism in India and Zoroastrianism in Iran.

The next logical question is therefore who lived in India BEFORE the Iranians / Central Asian came ? One obvious answer is the people of the Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC) but it is not a complete answer, because the IVC does not have any sites/ evidence to the east of Rajasthan or to the west of Sindh. It is entirely absent in present day UP, Bihar and Bengal, MP.

Another, less palatable but more probable part of the answer is that it was the ancestors of present day tribals who were the original inhabitants of India. The Vedic Hindus seemed to have done 2 things

• They forced the indigenous people/ tribals to move deeper into the jungles and hills where they remained for the next nearly 3000 years ..i.e. till now as we see in central India. As I have mentioned in an earlier post the tribals in Central India even today do not follow traditional Hinduism.
• Some tribals were “captured” and forced to become shudras in the Vedic Hinduism caste system

Taken together these two statements are very controversial and contentious , but I believe them to be true both from evidence as well as logic.

In the form of evidence we only have to observe the people of today in the shudra caste vs. the other castes. There is a distinct difference in the physiognomy. One set is noticeably darker skinned and has “tribal” facial features than the other. (To be noted I am not for or against a particular skin colour. I am not advocating that fairer skin is better than darker or vice versa).

On the logic side, consider this> The percentage of backward castes/ tribals in Hinduism today is more than 60 percent. Now look back 3000 years. A new religion, Hinduism, is coming in. Would anyone willingly join the religion as a shudra , the lowest strata ? So there is compelling logic to believe that the founders of Vedic Hinduism (often referred as Aryans) forced the indigenous people into joining Hinduism as shudras. While it may sound strange in the context of Hinduism, enslaving of vanquished local people has been seen time and again in history. Vedic Hinduism did more or less the same, except that instead of calling them slaves, they called them shudra.

An associated thought is that not ALL the local people were relegated to shudra status. Either initially or over a period of time some communities moved into other castes. The important point to note here is that it was not individuals who could break out of the caste system, though entire communities could.

Many Hindus today believe that the caste system was a division of labour and a person could move to a higher caste depending on his merit. This alas is not borne out by facts. Or one would have to assume that Indian/ Hindu society in the ancient times was so punitive that it condemned 60% of its people to the lowest strata.

A question will be asked..with its pernicious caste system, how did Hinduism spread so much in India? The answer is simple. It is like launching a new toothpaste in today’s market. The consumption will spread quickly if there is no / very little competition and if the promotional effort is strong. This happened with Hinduism 3000 years ago. There was no competing organized religion and Vedic Hindus were a more organized community with better resources than the local population.

In summary, what is important to note is

• The founders of Vedic Hinduism were not the original inhabitants of the Indo Gangetic plain.
• Vedic Hinduism forced the locals to jungles or captured them as shudras.
• Caste was always determined by birth and not merit.
• The claims made by many Hindus today that Hinduism is the only religion which has not converted people, are false. Hinduism has definitely converted people. The difference is that the people who were converted followed a religion or set of beliefs which did not have a name and about which very little is known today


Many people who read this might label me an anti-Hindu. Nothing is further from the truth. What i have attempted to do, is to answer for myself some of the uncomfortable questions regarding Hinduism using knowledge available in the public domain. Unfortunately, the truth can sometimes be bitter.

I would welcome any differing opinions /comments provided they are backed by logic and fact.

Hinduism: Its not a religion, it’s a way of life Part 2

Hinduism: Its not a religion, it’s a way of life Part 2

So as we have seen Hindusim is considerably more complex than the simple 3 God (Brahma , Vishnu, Mahesh) and 4 Caste system phenomenon that is often presented for public consumption. It has many layers and a limitless scope for discussion and change. The moral teachings come from a large number of sources (Vedas, Puranas , Ramayana etc) and not from a simplified source like the 10 commandments in Christianity. Again, the moral/ ethical teachings are presented through stories, most of which are about the life and times of gods, demi-gods and kings. This multiplicity of sources leads to some degree of contradiction. For instance, to quote the most famous example, Krishna exhorts Arjun to kill people who are his own relatives and kinsmen. While I am not suggesting that Krishna’s message was wrong (in the context he made it) , we do not see this kind “advice” in other religions.

Like other old religions, Hinduism also comes with ideas that do not sit well with the modern times. A major problem area is with the caste system . In traditional Hindu thinking prior to Independence, caste was immutable. But at the level of the Indian nation, we have managed to deal with it by giving , at least on paper, in the Constitution, equal rights / opportunity to all Indians and a special status to tribals and lower caste Hindus. At the individual and social level, we see many inter-caste marriages now, and pleasantly, many, though not all, are not opposed by families/ parents.

Women have been treated unfairly by most religions, and Hinduism is no exception. The Manu Smriti, which is the closest to what one can call Hindu Laws, do not give equal status to women (or to lower castes as well) . Here again the Constitution guarantees women equal rights and at the social level also there is an ever-growing acceptance for the equality of women. We see it in the growing presence of women in prominent positions in Politics, Business and Education and almost all spheres of actvity. Mamta Banerji, Mayawati, Jayalailta, Sheela Dikshit and Sushma Swaraj (to quote just a few names) would never have reached where they are, if India had clung to the old and strict ideas of Hindusim.

Interestingly, thus, the lack of a single difficult-to-challenge religious source actually makes Hinduism more open to change and so while Hinduism is a way of life, our own ways of life now help to re-define Hinduism. I am deeply satisfied and encouraged by this adaptive quality of Hindus and Hinduism.

… to be continued

Hinduism: Its not a religion, it’s a way of life

During discussions I occasionally hear this sentence “Hinduism is a way of life “ . It is often said with a sense of pride and to possibly assert that Hinduism is thus superior to religions. So what doe this mean ?

Now if we look at the major religions of the world, Islam, Buddhism , Christainty and Hinduism.. there are at least  couple of things that are unique about Hindusim. Hinduism, unlike the other 3 does not have a single , identified “founder” . In Islam there is Prophet Mohammed, in Chrisitanty there is Jesus and Buddhism has Gautam, but Hinduism does not have anyone similar. We have multiple names of Rishis and Gurus but no one or 2 or even 10 names that can claim to have “authored” Hindusim. Also while Islam has the Quran and Christianity the Bible as the chief and main source of their teachings and faith, Hindusim does not have an equivalent. Instead Hinduism (or more correctly Vedic or Sanatan Dharma) has over 50 texts consisting the Vedas , Puranas and Upanishads and these lay down what a Hindu should and should not do both in ritualistic and ethical terms. Hence the remark “A way of life”. In addition of course we also have the Mahabharat and Ramayana regarded as sacred texts , but again these are legends about good and evil and not really the equivalents of the Bible or Quran

Therefore the absence of a single book/ founder makes Hinduism  different from other religions, and hence the use of the phrase “a way of life” as compared to “religion”. Now whether it makes Hinduism a better or “superior” religion I leave to the readers to decide.

There also also some interesting things about Hinduism which are visible but not noticed by many people. Caste is a strong social driver in Hinduism and popular Hindu belief recognizes 4 castes. But his is mainly in urban communities. Move to rural areas and you come across prominent communities which do not fall within the 4 castes. These are essentially land –owning and farming communities , sometimes described by the word “peasantry”. For example in the north we have the Jats, Bishnois  Patels  and Yadavs and in the south there are the Gowdas, Reddy’s and Patils. These communities form a sizeable chunk of the population and are often economically and politically powerful. Interestingly they are all endogamous (traditionally marrying only within the community) thereby following the “caste system” without actually being a part of the well known 4 tier caste system.

The second interesting aspect of Hinduism in India is the place / status accorded to tribals (known in different parts of India as adivasi, janjati,  girijan, vanvasi, banjara/ vanjara, lambadi, gujar, gujjar ) The census records the number of tribals in India as 10 crores. More than 80% are classified Hindu by the census (in MP, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Himachal, Uttarakhand, Ladakh, Odisha, Andhra Padesh) most of the  remaining are Christian (mainly North Eastern states of Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal and  Mizoram) and few have no religious affiliation (Andaman/ Nicobar) . Now interestingly, when the Indian census records a person’s religion, if it is not Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Budhism, Jain or Jew, it is by default recorded as Hindu.  A bulk of the “Hindu” tribals are thus classified.

The question then arises,  are (or were) they really followers of Hinduism ? Till about 50 years back , most “Hindu” tribals did not worship Hindu gods such as Shiva, Ram or Krishna  or Ganesh. They had, in each region, their own gods. In many cases their gods were similar to animist gods. Animals (monkeys , cows, peacocks and cobra) and trees (Pipal, neem, Tulsi)  were, and are,  considered sacred. They did not believe in re-incarnation. Their marriage rituals did not align with Hindusim. For example the Santhals were polygamous and pre-marital sex was common. The contemporary traditional Hindu society itself did not define them in terms of the 4 castes. With the passage of time and spread of communications, many tribals (except in North East) have now started identifying loosely with traditional Hinduism. For sociologists this is an interesting example of cultural assimilation. Many others have converted to Christianity due to efforts or christian missionaries. The lack of a well-defined religion , and only a loose connection with traditional Hinduism made the conversion to Christianity  easier.

..to be continued

Modi or Rahul ? Neither !

Modi or Rahul ? Neither !

I am not a fan of Narendra Modi. Even if his dubious claims of development are true even 10% , he has to still answer for the post-Godhra riots in which 2000 muslims were killed. And now he has to answer for fake encounters as well. We cannot afford to have such leaders in India…or anywhere else for that matter.

When I express my opinions on Modi, I am immediately told by Modi sympathizers (read as ignorant BJP/ VHP/ RSS bigots ) about how Kasmiri Pandits were / are being killed and have been exiled from Kashmir to live in refuge camps. Stories about the corruption of the Nehru-Gandhi family, their “non-Indian” origin are also brought out. The latest is some  fantastic story on Sanjay Gandhi’s paternity.

I am often left wondering about the intellectual morbidity and hopelessness of the people who parade these arguments.. and I am sure some comments to this post will bring more. Some BJP idiot went to the extent of saying Amartya Sen had no right to say anything about Godhra/ Modi as he (Sen ) was neither Indian nor a Muslim. It is like saying that no non-German/ non Jew could logically criticize Hitler for the millions of Jews he killed.

My response is simple>

Just because I do not approve of Modi does not automatically make me a supporter of the Congress / Nehru Gandhi family. I am NOT their supporter. The congress and its ruling dynasty have also a lot to answer for, the topmost being humongous corruption and the killing of 3500 plus sikhs in Delhi. I am hoping a strong non-Congress government will soon punish those guilty.

Two wrongs do not make a right. We cannot hope to balance the deaths of Hindus with the deaths of Muslims… they were all Indians and they were all human beings .. and no one should have been killed.

I do not believe in the Modi or Rahul debate. It is NOT Modi vs Rahul for me . Neither is fit to be a PM. One for his communal sentiment and the other for his inexperience.

PS: extremely sad to see Manmohan again saying he thinks Rahul is fit to be PM. Manmohan has not only mis-managed the government , he is stooping to new lows in chamchagiri. Wonder how much he is being paid to make these starements.

A Sweeping statement

A sweeping statement

Recently (Aug 2013) in a protest against the division of Andhra Pradesh some home makers and employees took to sweeping roads a a mark of protest. (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-08-06/hyderabad/41131152_1_seemandhra-priests-samaikhyandhra) I don’t know if this form proof protest is unique to India, but I know it has been around in India for quite some time. In the 70’s and 80’s when unemployment among educated professionals (doctors, engineers) was high, this was reported frequently. Then as employment opportunities rose, it became less frequent and has surfaced only now after about 15 years.

Now my point is this: why is sweeping roads considered a form of protest? When I applied my mind it struck me hat that these were upper caste people trying to show the world that some problem had virtually degraded them to sweepers, who are traditionally lower caste in India. And what can be worse for an upper caste to be demoted in the caste hierarchy !!

But look at it from the point of someone who actually sweeps the roads for a living. How does it make her/him feel when they are used as an example of degradation ? Not very happy I am sure. Not only do they have a difficult life, here are upper caste people making an example of their misery.

Sweeping is also looked down in other cultures for sure, but I have not heard of it being used as a protest-symbol for degradation. I wish the people in India who use it as a protest would apply their minds and come up with some other form of protest.

Fair and Lovely !! Really ?

Fair and Lovely !! Really ? 
 
I just read a week back that the skin whitening cream market size in India is now Rs 5000 cr … and that’s an enormous waste.

Where do we Indians get this fascination for fair / white skin ? From our supposed Aryan links ? From The British raj ? I really do not know… but I am just not able to understand this fixation. While I do not dislike fair skin, I definitely prefer the “original” wheatish/ dusky shades. Remember Smita Patil ? and Rekha ?

Fair and Lovely and similar products are actually creating a division in society.. fair Vs not fair.. and through clever advertising suggesting that the use of their fairness products leads to enhanced confidence, success, etc. All this complete nonsense but the irony is that they depend on the ingrained attitudes to skin colour in India.

Now what is galling is some of the most respected corporate names are doing this. Reputed MNCs and Indian companies are milking gullible young women. And this is also happening in Africa, Latin America, China, Pakistan and South East Asia

And the last nail in the coffin is fairness creams for men. !! Come on guys ..Rama, Krishna and Shiva ..were all dark.

Just for the record, the active chemical in all skin whitening creams removes skin pigmentation by bleaching and peeling. The worst of the lot can leave behind burn marks and cause skin cancer..

Have you ever wondered ..Cont’d

Have you ever wondered ..Cont’d Have you ever wondered why human babies are born after 9 months of gestation.. Not 8 or 7 or 10 or 11 ?

Ok, so there are two opposing forces in nature that determine the gestation period (for all mammal species, not just humans) . The first is that the longer the baby is inside the mother the stronger it becomes and has a better chance of survival in the outside world . Remember premature babies are born at 7 months and can also survive with medical care. So technically a baby has a chance of outside survival at 7 months but spends an extra 2 months inside the womb to improve its chances of survival.

The restriction to the length of the gestation period (i.e. beyond 9 months) comes from the size of the birth canal / uterine/ vaginal opening. The baby is continuously growing in the womb. If the baby is too big at the time of birth , there will problems for it to come out.

So 9 months appears to be the optimum. The baby is big enough to survive and the birth will not be dangerous for the mother.

There is another very interesting fact about human birth. As the baby travels down the birth canal, the head twists 90 degrees. So the nose is pointing to the shoulder. This is not seen in any other mammal species. Human babies have very large heads in comparison to other species… because humans also have the largest brain. This twist of the head is necessary for the large head to pass through the birth canal.

Have you ever wondered why...

Have you ever wondered?

Why we feel drowsy / sleepy when the aircraft takes off. ? Well, over a period of time I noticed that for the few minutes immediately after take off, I doze off. Then I checked this with a number of other people. And most, but not all, said they have also had the same experience. Then I googled a bit and presto!! found the reason. Immediately after take-off, the aircraft goes into a steep climb. This causes the blood to temporarily partially drain out of the brain and move to the lower part of the body…and hence the short sleep. After a few minutes, as the aircraft reaches its normal flying height and levels off , the blood flows back to the brain waking us up. Pilots of fighter planes and astronauts go through the same experience, though in a more severe way. Short black-outs are common.

Why condoms are marketed in fruit flavors? Well it’s nothing to do with taste at all. So why the flavors? It is because condoms are made of natural rubber and natural rubber has a slightly unpleasant smell. In order to mask that unpleasant smell, condom manufactures use fruit flavors like banana and strawberry. So why not mango or papaya? Because Banana and strawberry have obvious sexual linkages which mango and papaya do not have.

Why after a sleep/ nap we feel refreshed only after washing the face. There are two reasons. First during sleep/ nap, blood circulation to outer surface of the body reduces. This causes the slight feeling of numbness in the face. While washing the face, we also massage the face and that restores circulation making us feel refreshed. Second, and this is more specific to full length sleep rather than a nap, the natural secretion of oil from facial skin blocks the skin pores, thus preventing the skin from “breathing”. Washing the face removes this film of oil and we feel refreshed.

Zandu Balm or Jhandu balm ?

Zandu Balm or Jhandu balm ?

Many of us have heard the Zandu Balm jingle on TV/ radio… Zandu Balm, Zandu Balm , peeda hari balm (peeda hari is pain relieving) . Till some years ago, whenever I heard this jingle, there would be a dissonance in my mind . The spelling of the product in English was Zandu whereas the jingle was pronouncing the word as Jhandu . For years I lived with this dissonance. Jhandu by the way is derived from Jhanda or flag.

Now Zandu is a Mumbai based company. So one day I mentioned this to a marathi colleague. To my surprise she found nothing wrong, no mis-match in it. On discussing with her, here is what I discovered.

It appears that in Maharashtra the English letter Z is pronounced as Jhed ( actually it is closer to Jhade as in Shade) and not as Zed elsewhere. I will repeat this in Devnagari script . In Hindi Z= ज़ेड (zed) . In Marathi Z= झेड ( jhade). SO quite obviously for a Mumbai company the English spelling of the product as Zandu was correct. So while Zandu might read as ज़ंडू to Hindi speaking people , it is झंडू (Jhandu) to Marathi speaking people.

Some of this confusion can also be seen in Gujarat which adjoins Maharashtra. There is a clan of Kshatriyas known as Jhala Rajputs ( in Hindi झाला ) . They live in Rajasthan and Gujarat. When they spell their name in English, the Rajasthan guys will write Jhala and the Gujarat guys will write Zala.

Purely random things

Purely random things

Below are 2 groups of vegetables/ spices etc. Can someone tell me what is common or different about the 2 groups ? Please leave your answers in comments

1. Potato, tomato, green chillies, cauliflower, cabbage, apple, onion, garlic
2. Sugarcane, karela/ bitter gourd, mango, pepper, banana,  ginger, tamarind, gooseberry/ amla.

When taking a flight do you feel drowsy for a few minutes just after take –off ? I do and so do a lot of people whom I have asked this . The reason is that shortly after take off , the plane makes a very rapid ascent. This drains the blood from the brain and towards the lower part of the body causing a very short period of  black-out or unconsciousness. As the plane levels off (usually 25 to 30 thousand feet) , normal blood flow resumes to the brain and we wake up. Fighter pilots and astronauts face the same problem but in a much more severe degree.

The english media in India refers to the BJP and its associated  groups (RSS , VHP etc) as Saffron parties. The reference to the colour is taken from the Hindutva cause and the   colour saffron which is considered to be the holy colour for Hindus. This is incorrect or at least inexact. The holy colour of Hinduism is known as “Bhagwa” (derived from Bhagwan) and is closer to brick red than saffron. If you see  pictures from the Kumbh Mela , you can see a lot of sadhus in this Bhagwa colour. Saffron is considered auspicious in hindusim but it is not the holy colour.

We have all heard of the Bhagwad Geeta. Ever wondered what this word Bhagwad means ? It’s made of 2 parts Bhag (from Bhagwan) and Vad ("said" . Vad is the Sanskrit root for the verb “to say” ).. So the literal translation of Bhagwad Geeta is the Song that the Lord (Krishna )  sang. In some English translations one can sometimes see the phrase “The Celestial Song” .

Cause and effect: No sneezing matter !

Cause and effect: No sneezing matter

I am one of nature’s logical types. I have a strong belief that anything that happens has a cause, a reason , a logic behind it. And sometimes it is funny.

As a part of my MBA I had to do a summer internship in a different city. I was staying in a hostel which was  a very old bungalow. It had a number of rooms, large and small and a huge drawing room. The doors were at least 7 feet high. It was a typical colonial/ Raj era bungalow, some of which still survive with the railways and the army.

 I shared my room with another MBA student from  a local school. Since he was a local , he had many friends and would return very late at night and go straight to bed. Now in those days there were no mosquito coils and repellants. Each bed was provided with a mosquito net.

After a few days, I noticed a peculiar routine with my room mate, Ramesh. He would come late, quickly change into night clothes and go to bed. The bed would creak a bit as he got in and lay down. After about a minute he would sneeze twice and then go off to sleep. This was an unfailing routine. Always 2 sneezes, not one or three. Always a minute or so after he got into bed. Needless to say, it was very intriguing.

So one weekend I set about trying to solve this mystery of the double sneeze and it did not take long. The mosquito net over Ramesh’s bed had acquired a lot of dust. As he got into bed , the bed got a little jolted and some of this fine dust rained down on Ramesh. This dust spray caused him to sneeze. Once he was already in bed no more jolting , no more dust spray and no more sneezing. That in any case was my deduction.

Now how does one confirm a deduction ? I this case I did it by the inverse route. I took out the mosquito net and dusted it thoroughly and I put it back. That night Ramesh came late as usual and immediately went to bed. But no sneezing !! Not even one. Voila !!

And the same thing happened on subsequent nights… no sneezing !! So after a week of the no-sneeze period I asked Ramesh if he had noticed that he had stopped sneezing. He had not noticed but when I asked him he agreed that he had indeed stopped. I then explained the cause-effect scenario to him.

The amazing Swiss

The amazing Swiss

I spent a few months in Geneva some years back. Among the lesser known facts about the Swiss and Switzerland.
The principal social concepts are cleanliness, neatness and order. Switzerland is squeaky clean ..much cleaner than neighboring Germany or France. Most of this adherence to cleanliness and order is self-regulated.
You will rarely find littering anywhere .. be it city or countryside. Residential areas follow strict waste segregation with as many as 5 categories of waste.. all wonderfully colour coded. In every office you will find a box where people drop used batteries (dry cells/ flashlight batteries). The Swiss claim that they re-cycle 70 % of batteries… and I utterly believe them.
The Swiss love their quietness. Windows in Swiss houses have “shutters” mostly in steel ..in addition to the normal glass windows. These are called “Store” in Switzerland and are like the rolling steel shutters we see for shops in India. Some may be hand cranked and some motorized. Come 10 pm , by some unwritten but inviolable law, millions of windows across all Swiss homes get Store-d. After that no loud music or talking. Most apartment complexes also advise you not to run the washing machine after 8 pm , in order to not disturb the neighbors. If you hear anyone talking loudly on the mobile phone, you can be sure it will NOT be a Swiss citizen.
Dogs: In keeping with the Swiss social concepts, dogs in Switzerland do not bark. They are trained to be non-barking . If you have a dog that barks and do not send it to an obedience school, the neighbors are most likely to complain to the civic authorities who will then fine you and force you to send the dog to an obedience school. Of course , in true Swiss fashion, an obedience school has to be certified by the government and the dog-trainers have to receive a diploma recognized by the government. Trains allow small dogs free and for half-fare for larger dogs.
Nuclear shelters: Swiss law requires that all residential building should have nuclear shelters. Buildings that did not have shelters when the law was passed are required to contribute to building community shelters. Typically the shelters are in the basement of houses and apartment complexes. In many cases the basement also has the apartment’s common washing machine and clothes drying lines (no where in Switzerland will you see laundry hung out to dry in public view.) Now here is the clincher. In the event of a nuclear attack , while the rest of the world will be getting fried, the Swiss will be walking around in clean, freshly laundered clothes !!
Neutrality.The principal of political neutrality , especially in case of wars , is enshrined in the Swiss constitution. It has served the Swiss well. They managed to stay out of the 2 world wars and also gained handsomely with lot of money (legal and illegal) flowing into Swiss banks. Switzerland is one of the very few countries which still requires 2 years of compulsory military service for all adult males above 18… and then one month every alternate year till the age of 40. The one months service is paid for by the employer. There s a joke going around. What is the standard issue weapon for the Swiss Army ..? The Swiss Knife !
For many years Switzerland did not join the Schengen scheme (an alliance of 20 plus European countries that allows free movement of people on a single visa) . Then in 2008 or so the Swiss joined Schengen. Ever since there have been complaints of rising crime rates across the country, especially theft and burglary. It has been attributed to the people coming in from east European countries like Poland and Romania. And the Swiss police have no experience in dealing with crimes. All they had been doing till 2008 was managing traffic !!

IPL 2013 and the Theatre of the Absurd

IPL and the Theatre of the Absurd

Mr Tawde of BJP in Mumbai has opposed the holding of matches in Pune and Mumbai. He says that since the state is currently facing the worst draught in 30 years, the use of water to maintain the pitch/ ground is wasteful.

He has a point, but coming from the MLA of a party whose President Mr Gadkari was recently exposed in a series of murky deals, some of them allegedly involving illegal exploitation of community water resources, it looks like a political stunt to get brownie points.

The Congress and NCP which are joint partners in the ruling coalition have predictably come with a response. They say that the grounds have to be anyway maintained (which is true) and that Mumbai and Pune have no water shortage, which is also true. But there is a problem here. Mumbai and Pune indeed have no water shortage.


What is not widely known however is that water for these 2 cities is piped in from dams built in surrounding areas. These dams have displaced tribals from their lands and they have yet to receive any rehabilitation support from the government. So the Pune and Mumbai aam aadmi showers at the expense of the tribals who have now become non aadmi s. (In a recent TV debate I saw Amartya Sen make this point. In India , the aam aadmi tag has been hijacked by the urban middle class from its rightful owners i.e. the poor in rual and urban areas.)

Please also remember, the NCP (through Mr Pawar) , has a huge stake in the IPL and he always has available the services of the pot-bellied Rajiv Shukla Congress Rajya Sabha MP.

Not to be outdone , the Sena (I don t know which one, Shiv Sena or MNS) has demanded than IPL should donate Rs 500 cr to Maharashtra for the draught. After all why should the Sena be left out when everyone is having a (cricket) ball !! I am sure this idea is receiving serious consideration from NCP. It has 2 advantages. The IPL can ask for (and will surely get) tax exemption and the money when allotted for irrigation can be pocketed by Congress/ NCP leaders. Even BJP might get a share considering the cordial relations between the heads of the 2 parties. Only the Sena will not directly receive any monetary compensation

Then there is the Srilankan player mess. People are saying don t mix politics with sports. Come on guys , be realistic. The successive heads of BCCI in the last 20 years have been all politicians& and the same for many other apex sports bodies ( remember Kalmadi ?). So how can one NOT mix politics with sports !!

The price of Indifference and an example from Karnataka.

The price of Indifference and an example from Karnataka.

Trashing politicians as corrupt and selfish is now a national past time for the Indian middle class. Not that our politicians are shining examples of honesty and competence. They are not. They are among the worst people you can ever think of.  But whining and complaining will not wish them away. But that’s what we do.. even result oriented  corporate go-getters become paralysed when it comes to doing something about politics.

Some of the best brains in India are trying to look for solutions, but no success so far… and no hope even remotely visible in the future. The way our political system has evolved it is now nearly impossible to get rid of the corrupt political class. Even a 100 well meaning Raul Gandhi’s and/ or  Narendra Modi’s will not be able to change the system. I may sound pessimistic, but if someone can tell me a way out I will be overjoyed and support that cause. The Lokpal Bill had some promise but when you ask a thief to pass the law , what can one expect !

So what  can one see happening for the next 25 to 30 years in India ?

• an annual GDP growth of 5% which will generate just enough surplus (which politicians will dole out ) to keep the poor from starvation and revolt.
• The BPL population, as currently defined ( income of Rs 30 approx per person per day) may shrink by 2 % per year.
• We will still be a “poor country” , nowhere near even middle income countries.
• this rate of growth will also provide huge monetary rewards to the political class and bureaucracy.
• Inflation in near double digits… the middle class / urban poor will get squeezed.
• Infrastructure improvement will move at a snails pace. Our large cities will become increasingly difficult and unsafe to live in.
• India will have the world’s third largest number of billionaires, most of them as a result of crony capitalism. If the “black money” billionaires are included (read politicians), we  may be second largest.

And all this will happen while we keep chanting “India is the World’s largest democracy.”

The only one thing that can upset the above scenario (it is a very low probability, but nevertheless good wishful thinking) is that the growing middle class may create a new , less corrupt political order. I give this event a probability of 5 % or less.

So clearly the  middle class will suffer a great deal. Now let us look inward. What have we actually done to change things. Have we encouraged our children to join politics ? No. Have we ourselves done it ? No. So, clearly ,  bad governance/ corrupt politicians  is the price we pay for indifference.

On the other hand look at the people who are in politics, an example form Karnataka. The Congress (and other parties too ) is distributing tickets for the upcoming assembly elections. . The crowd outside the Congress office is so large that the police has to be called in to control it. Ticket aspirants have hired people to shout slogans in their support. Existing  and aspiring MLAs who have been denied tickets are threatening to turn rebel. In short these people are very focused and very motivated. The rewards maybe uncertain but can often be huge, and that’s what drives these people.

What do you think of this ? STOP DE-HINDUISATION OF INDIA - BY J.G. ARORA

                               

I am copying a forward I received from someone. It seems to be from the RSS magazine. I am not the writer of this, nor do I agree with any of the thoughts presented. At this point I just want to say that not only has Arora got a sick mind, he has go his facts also wrong. Just sharing for comments.. my own response I will put in a separate post.

STOP DE-HINDUISATION OF INDIA -
BY J.G. ARORA
jgarora@gmail.com

Organiser, New Delhi: December 23, 2012

Though as per Mark Twain “India is the cradle of human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grandmother of tradition”,a unilateral war is being waged by anti-Hindu forces to wipe out Hindu religion and Hindu civilization the way other native religions and civilizations have been destroyed in the world.
Bharat Varsha, comprising the entire Indian sub-continent, used to be Hindu land with zero Muslim population till Muhammad bin Qasim’s Arab army attacked Sindh in 711. Despite the heroic defence of their motherland during repeated Muslim attacks over the centuries, Hindus lost Afghanistan in 987, and present day Pakistan and Bangladesh to Muslims in 1947.
But shockingly after 1947, Hindus are fast losing ground both in population percentage and in territory to anti-Hindu forces in truncated India, their Punya Bhumi (sacred land). In six decades since 1947, Hindus have lost more than what they had lost during twelve centuries of foreign invasions before 1947.
During 1989-90, Hindus faced genocide and eviction from Muslim majority Kashmir to become refugees in their own country. Moreover, because of massive infiltration from Pakistan and Bangladesh, Hindus are losing ground as mini-Pakistans and mini-Bangladeshs are being planted on Indian soil at several places.
Many Hindus apprehend that because of higher Muslim growth rate and Pak-Bangla infiltration, Hindus in India will be outnumbered by Muslims in a few decades, and face the misery undergone by Hindus in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh which too used to be Hindu lands.
Hindu heritage is being hammered and erased every day in secular India; and the Union government’s affidavit filed before the Supreme Court in September 2007 rejecting the existence of Bhagwan Ram and Ram Setu de-legitimized Hindu faith itself.
Though the said affidavit was withdrawn after protests, it conveyed a malicious message.
Main reasons for dismal Hindu plight, and its solution, are briefly narrated below.
Outlandish ‘secularism’
Logically in 1947, on India’s partition on religious basis and creation of Pakistan for Muslims as demanded by Muslims, truncated Bharat should have been declared a Hindu republic to re-assert its Hindu identity. However, an outlandish ‘secularism’ was foisted on Bharat where anything which is anti-Hindu, pro-Muslim, divisive, sectarian, and even anti-national is ‘secularism’.
Helped by this spurious secularism, with each passing day, India is being made more Islamic and more Christian and less Hindu.
Though a secular country cannot reward or punish its citizens on the basis of their religion, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asserted that “Muslims must have the first claim on national resources” at National Development Council’s meeting on December 9, 2006.
Though Constitutionally, all the citizens are equal before law, and though the terms ‘majority’ and ‘minority’ have not been defined in the Constitution, Central government and several State governments have provided for special scholarships and schemes, free-ships, incentives and loans for non-Hindus under the pretext of minority welfare.
In no other country in the world, majority community faces such blatant discrimination; and minority community gets such special privileges as in India.
Just a few examples of havoc brought by this phony secularism are given here:
Genocide and eviction of Hindus from Kashmir; countless Pak-Bangla terrorists and infiltrators planting mini-Pakistans and mini-Bangladeshs on Indian soil; global missionary organizations Christianizing India; government control over Hindu temples whereas no mosque or church is covered by such control; special privileges to non-Hindus under Article 30 of the Constitution; special rights to Muslim majority Jammu & Kashmir under Article 370; special benefits conferred upon non-Hindus by many State governments; de-Hinduisation of education and history, and banishment of Sanskrit from education; and provision of Haj subsidy though none of 57 Islamic countries gives any such subsidy are just a few perversities of secular India.
And all self-proclaimed ‘secular’ political parties keep on inventing schemes to safeguard minority community’s votes. Just to cite one example, after coming to power in 2011, West Bengal Chief Minister has announced a number of schemes for the exclusive benefit of Muslims. She has announced the setting up of a minority department in every district, a separate employment exchange for minorities, a new 'Haj House', a new campus of Aligarh Muslim University in West Bengal, and new Industrial Training Institutes and polytechnics for minorities.
Moreover, apart from announcing scholarships for minorities, she has declared a monthly honorarium of Rs. 2500 to each of about 30,000 Imams of West Bengal.
And similar pro-minority schemes have been launched in many other States.
It is no surprise that weird secularism being practised in India has produced Indian Mujahideen and SIMI which want to establish Muslim rule in India.
Conquering India by infiltration
Central and State governments, main stream media and major political parties are silent spectators when India is being grabbed and conquered bit by bit by Pak-Bangla infiltrators every day without weapons and without war.
Both Pakistan and Bangladesh (which used to be Hindu lands) have been declared as Islamic countries, and have driven out most of Hindus and Sikhs. However, most of Indian Muslims who had demanded Pakistan and exchange of population did not go to Pakistan. Rather, the present percentage of Muslim population in India is much higher than that in 1947.
Pakistan’s army which is anti-Hindu and anti-India actually rules Pakistan; and nurtures terrorism. In their bid to dismember and bleed India through “a thousand cuts”, Pakistan and Bangladesh have sent countless terrorists and crores of their nationals into India to plant more Pakistans and Bangladeshs on Indian soil.
Despite the Supreme Court’s judgements dated July 12, 2005 and December 5, 2006 to deport infiltrators, the government has done nothing in this regard though “demographic conquest” of any territory is the permanent conquest. Rather, Pak-Bangla nationals are infiltrating into India every day.
And instead of being deported, infiltrators have been given voting rights; and they enjoy a decisive role in a number of assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies.
NGOs and conversions
If Pak-Bangla combine wants to Islamise India through terrorists and infiltrators, missionaries want to Christianise India through unlimited foreign funds.
On 7th November, 1999 in New Delhi, Pope John Paul II gave a call to convert Asia to Christianity as follows:-
“Just as the first millennium saw the Cross firmly planted in the soil of Europe, and the second in that of America and Africa, so may the Third Christian Millennium witness a great harvest of faith on this vast and vital continent.”
Hindus in India and Nepal are special targets for this ‘harvest of faith’. And in 2006, Maoists, missionaries and Pakistan’s ISI have divested Nepal of its Hindu identity.
Having conquered North-East India, many global missionary organisations are sending huge funds to NGOs in India for converting Hindus to Christianity through fraud and allurement.
And Joshua Project is a war-like project to invade and Christianise India. All over India, Churches are being built even in remote villages to Christianise the local populations.
Most dangerous falsity
The most dangerous falsity propagated by many Hindu religious leaders is that all religions are the same and deserve same respect (sarva Dharma sam bhav). This absurd declaration betrays ignorance about Hinduism; and also about other religions. This falsehood strengthens anti-Hindus, and facilitates fraudulent conversion of Hindus. Those claiming all religions to be the same are either ignorant or hypocrites.
Besides, unilateral Hindu slogans like “vasudhaiv kutumbakam” (entire world is one family) and “ekam sat viprah bahudha vadanti” (‘truth’ is one but has many names) also suppress danger from anti-Hindu forces which are bent upon finishing Hinduism. As a result, de-Hinduised by ‘secular semantics’ and Macaulayan education, and ignorant of basic tenets of various religions, many Hindus are proclaiming that they respect all religions, and are being converted and married to Non-Hindus.
Moreover, internationally, India has been following the policy of unilateral magnanimity, instead of ‘reciprocity’.
Since no Hindu temple can be built anywhere in Saudi Arabia, there is no reason to allow Saudi Arabia to fund the building of mosques and Madrassas in India.
Way out
Fake secularism has brain-washed, intimidated and subjugated Hindus; displaced them from their roots, and made them self-alienated. Hindus’ hypnotic surrender before pseudo- secularism is leading to gradual liquidation of Hinduism and de-Hinduisation of India.
Fake secularism has made Hindus submissive and victims of discrimination. Hindus have to be liberated from this affliction; and transformed into a strong, united and formidable force.
Since bogus-secular India has been a disaster, it must be transformed into a genuinely-secular Hindu Bharat to give justice to all and to appease none; and to protect Hindu religion, Hindu heritage and Hindu identity of truncated India.
And there should be no apprehension, whatsoever, about Hindu Bharat. Since Hinduism is all-embracing, Hindu Bharat will give same rights to every citizen. In really secular Hindu Bharat, there would be one law and one nation; no distinction of majority and minority, and no discrimination against any community. It will also dismantle fake-secularism, and liberate the nation from Pak-Bangla terrorists and infiltrators.
Hindu Bharat will implement Uniform Civil Code as stipulated in Article 44 of Indian Constitution to make India a really secular and united country. Besides, since Article 370 has encouraged separatism and has resulted in genocide and eviction of Hindus from Kashmir, it would abolish Article 370 to bring Jammu and Kashmir’s complete integration with the rest of India.
And Hindu Bharat will remember M.A. Jinnah’s ‘Two Nations’ theory expounded in Lahore in 1940; and will prevent the creation of more Pakistans and Bangladeshs on Bharat’s soil.
All nationalist individuals and organizations should join hands to transform fake-secular India into a really secular Hindu Republic of Bharat by all peaceful, constitutional and lawful means.
No one can object to the concept of Hindu Bharat when all the 57 Muslim majority countries are declared as Islamic countries.
Sustained efforts to achieve the desired goal will certainly succeed as Atharva Veda proclaims, “Kritam may dakhshine haste, jayo may savya aahitah” (effort is in my right hand, and victory in my left).
Collected By:P.R.Malleswara Rao.

Dynasty and downfall !

Dynasty and downfall !

This comes after seeing the movie Agnipath.. the one with Hrithik Roshan.

History repeatedly tells us of the downfalls of dynasties. In the older times it was only the dynasties of kings that were in evidence. But nowadays we see political and business dynasties too. What is about them that makes them fail ? 

There is a lot of research , specially on business dynasties and one popular theory is that typically  it takes 3 generations for the rise and fall. The first generation creates it, the second sustains and the third helps it demise. Rather like Brahma , Vishnu and Mahesh. Some of the reasons recorded for the downfall are lack of professionalisation/ nepotism and  complacence.  Post independence we have seen many “reputed” business families go into oblivion. The DCM group, and Escorts group are well known examples.. but there are probably  many more. I saw an article sometime back which said it was the “curse of the sons” .. which meant that businesses had to be divided to keep the sons in good humour and thereby the companies lost significant advantages. The Birla family was cited as an example.  DCM and Escorts certainly fit this theory. As a counterpoint, the article noted, the TATAs had prospered because in the last 2 generations the head of the business did not have any children.

Indian business families, have not yet learnt to separate ownership from day-to-day control, something western business families have done.

Coming back to Agnipath.. it is a horrible movie. The story, if there is one, has so many flaws that it looks like a patchwork with millions of squabbling incidents. The performances, barring Rishi kapoor , are mediocre. The Amitabh Bachan version was much better.

So how is this connected to dynasties..? Because Bollywood is mainly a dynasty business. Unfortunately genes have a will of their own and oftentimes  the child of a good actor parents might not be able to repeat the performance. I have said elsewhere that Bollywood will continue to churn out mediocre stuff till we have Kapoors, Khannas and Malhotras running it. Add to it Khans too. In fact the only good hindi films I have seen in recent times have been by “outsiders” like Anurag Basu , Anurag Kashyap, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Dibakar Banerji,  etc.

Without making this too long, let me just point out that dynasties in politics might even be the downfall of our country if we allow them to rule us.