Indian report raps politicians over Ayodhya mosque destruction
A government-backed inquiry has accused several of India’s top opposition politicians of having a role in the destruction of an ancient mosque in 1992 that triggered some of the country’s worst religious riots.
The report has sparked political protests from opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which finds itself in even more trouble as it struggles to emerge from internal feuding after an election defeat in May.
Hindu mobs demolished the 16-century Babri Mosque in the north Indian town of Ayodhya, claiming it stood on the birthplace of their god-king Rama. Riots between Hindus and Muslims left hundreds dead across India.
The report, 17 years in the making, says some of India’s best known BJP politicians — including former Prime Minister Aal Behari Vajpayee and current opposition leader Lal Krishna Advani — did little to stop the destruction despite knowing of plans to demolish it.
Here is our news story on the report and a Q&A explaining the background.
Caste and Race: Two sides of the same coin?
The attack in a Sikh temple in Vienna and the subsequent clashes in Punjab have brought renewed focus on the internationalisation of what many Indians see as a domestic problem.
In August 2001, I heard Martin Macwan, a human rights activist, talk about raising the issue of caste at international forums, specifically in the context of the U.N. race summit in Durban that year. The move was however opposed by the government.
Macwan spoke movingly about how fellow activists had been killed while agitating for their rights.
Nearly a decade later, the debate on how to tackle caste still rages.
Those who want to highlight the issue on international forums, like at the Durban Review Conference at Geneva last month, see no problem in linking it to race since racial discrimination is a widely prevalent practice that helps people understand other kinds of discrimination as well.
Media reports say the Indian government remains opposed to this.
Some experts and newspaper columnists say caste and racial discrimination are similar.
Mark:
I agree some of your points. Regarding your points I have some questions,
<>.
(1)What is “Hinduism”? Does Hinduism exist in India?
(2)According to you- ‘Caste is a Colonial Construction’, then what do you want to call groups/communities in the precolonial India?
Is caste behind the killing in Vienna and riots in Punjab?
Why did the murder of a preacher in a Sikh temple in Vienna spark riots in the faraway Indian state of Punjab, in which thousands took to the streets to torch cars, trains and battle security forces?
The root cause may lie in India’s caste system that Sikhism officially rejects, but that still grips swathes of India’s billion-plus people, including in Sikh-dominated Punjab state in northwestern India.
“Via Vienna, Sikh caste war returns, sets Punjab aflame” ran the headline of the Hindustan Times.
The preacher, Guru Sant Rama Nand, 57, was killed in a gurdwara in the Austrian capital in an attack by six men armed with knives and a gun.
He was from the Dera Sach Khand, a religious sect separate from mainstream Sikhism that has a large support base of Indian Dalits, or “untouchables”, and other lower castes.
The leader of Dera Sach Khand, Guru Sant Niranjan Das, 68, was wounded in the attack.
The thousands who went on the rampage in Punjab on Monday were mainly Dalits. Authorities have imposed a curfew in parts of the state, in which three protesters died on Monday in clashes with security forces.
No it is not caste but it is organised terror . Certain individuals do not want peace to prevail . A handful of them are taking law into their hands and trying to blemish Sikhism , the mots tolerant of Religions .Online Books On Sikh History
Varun Gandhi – politics of “hate” from politician of tomorrow?
The black sheep of India’s most powerful political dynasty or a young politician making his own way in that family’s most potent political rival?
Call him what you will, Varun Gandhi is grabbing headlines for all the wrong reasons in an episode that could embarrass his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party at the start of a general election campaign.
The great-grandson of India’s founding father, Jawaharlal Nehru, was allegedly caught out making inflammatory comments against Muslims at a recent rally.
Local TV news channels are daily replaying clips in which he is alleged to have said the hands of those who threatened Hindus should be cut off, and going on to make crude comparisons between a rival Muslim candidate and Osama bin Laden.
India’s election commission will now monitor every speech Gandhi makes in the run up to the polls. To add insult to injury, Gandhi has since been accused of dishing out money to voters in his Pilibhit constituency in Uttar Pradesh state.
But the man himself stood defiant and said video clips of his speech had been doctored for political gain.
“That is a conspiracy, that is not my voice, those are not my words,” he said, but refused to name the likely conspirators.
Dear Sir,
Can you kindly pass this message to Mr. Varun Gandhi? I don’t know how to do that. If any one of you can do that, it would be great. Thank You.
Peace.
Dear Varun Gandhi,
Congratulations for your winning.
Before sharing my ideas with you, I like to tell few words about myself. I am the person interested in spiritual life. I have lived as a monk for 14 years. This is background with which these lines were written.
Somehow, I do love you. I feel that you can definitely do something great for India. I don’t know why but I do feel that.
However, I want to make clear that your statement was definitely most dangerous one, had you made that (but you say it was not….).
Now you have won. Why don’t you take it as an opportunity to undo whatever you have been quoted as saying? Why don’t you take this as a great privilege to do immense good to people of your constituency, irrespective of Hindus, or Muslims, or Christians? Please do that and see what happens. I wish that the day will come within these five years that every people in your constituency will vote for you. Every one, irrespective of their religion should love you and appreciate you is my wish.
I never believe that by hurting each other by attacking each other we can have peace in this world. By doing so we will simply destroy each other. Hindus will attack Muslims, Muslims Hindus, so on and so forth. Then that will be the best way to end this world.
What I feel is that you have immense potential to bring the people of different religious community to together. Public who may read this may laugh at it. But I feel. I feel very strongly. I feel that what has happened in the beginning of your political career is a black spot, which can bring enormous good to you in the long run. Let the day come those who wanted to destroy your political career feel envy at you. Not only that let them too start loving you for your goodness.
It will be the most wonderful day in your life and in your political carrier, (in the long run in the history of India itself) if you start bringing together people of different religions who believe in peace and harmony of mutual existence, who believe that love is the way not the hatred.
I always wonder why there is not even a single person in any political party who don’t think of splitting the votes in the name of caste, religion etc? Why? Each party looks to be absolutely communal. We are so unbelievably selfish. We are ready to do anything to keep our carrier alive. As you say there is thirst for power. Unfortunately, we are ready to do anything for that!
I don’t say that you should not have thirst for power. On the other hand, I do agree with you when you said, if any politician says I am not interested in power, he is a liar. True, he is a great liar. If politician is not interested in power, he is no more politician!
But you can use that search for power to go immense good to society and people, and the world at large. I wish you, I wish most sincerely that the day will come when you will be remembered as one of the best person who has done immense good to all sections of society irrespective of religions.
With Love and Regards,
Peace.
Ps – Peace is my name.
Time to train India’s police in riot control
Time and time again, India’s police react to riots by using live ammunition and protesters are killed. Occasionally there is a public outcry, as there was after deaths in Kalinganagar and Nandigram, yet seldom can I remember officers being dismissed or prosecuted.In Rajasthan over the past few days, the police appear to have shot and killed more than 30 rioting Gujjars . True, their provocation may have been extreme — one policeman lynched, another police station attacked.
But was the death of so many, apparently unarmed, people really necessary?
A judicial inquiry has been ordered and I look forward to its conclusions.
In the meantime, I wonder if it is time the Indian government spent some time and some money in training its own police in how to quell unruly mobs without having to kill people.
Agreed that the police has never been able to understand the correct way with which they need to handle protests. They have shot and killed protesters without any regard for human life. Accountability is also low with officers who actually allow such acts to be perperated. Police needs to be trained and told do use just enough force to get the situation under control and not try to put the fear of gun into protesters.
But is the Police the only one to blame here. We Indians and Left parties in particular have made it an art to protest. Even though my sympathy is with Gujjars and their cause for OBS quota, the crores of losses is not something that makes me feel good either. Govt should enact tougher regualtions on people to how a protest needs to be organised. Burning public transportaions and dirupting train sevices is just eventually hurting all of us. Maybe we need to get the judge back who had made it illegal in calcutta for anyone to protest and hang up the traffic.(Forgot the judges name)
its an issue if evoked again will cause more damage than good. stalemate is the best option at the moment