Minorityism Hurts Minority Interests

(Article written in 2008)

Shri Veeresh Malik, a resident of Delhi, filed an application dated 25.4.2006 before the PIO of National Commission for Minorities (NCM), Delhi, wherein he sought information. Not getting a reply from the PIO after the expiry of 30 days from the date of filing the application, the appellant filed a First Appeal before the First Appellate Authority on 03.06.2006. In response to this first Appeal the First Appellate Authority vide an email on 13.06.2006 replied that the NCM had no knowledge and no records regarding the information sought for. Hence their comments may be treated as ‘Nil’. The Appellant being dissatisfied with the reply of the first appellate authority moved a second appeal before the Central Information Commission.

The bench of Dr. O.P. Kejariwal heard the matter on 5^th December 2006.

Shri P. Sharma, Legal officer & PIO for the NCM, reiterated during the hearing that they have no idea about the information sought for and hence the reply may be treated as ‘Nil’.

And the information sought by Sri Veeresh Malik, for which the reply by the Commission was ‘Nil’, was just the meaning and definition of the word ‘Minority’.

So, what Minority are we talking about? There is a Minority Commission in this country that doesn’t know the meaning and definition of Minority.

For our politicians meanings and definitions hardly matter. For them what matter are votes. They divide our society into minority and majority; create ghettoes for them; because for them they are not humans; they are just votes. It is this ghettoisation that is harming our nation.

When the Prime Minister talks about the first right of the minorities over nation’s resources, he was not really promoting the interests of any segment of our citizens; he was only promoting the interests of his vote banks. He was not addressing the real issues of the communities either.

Similarly when Sachar Commission talks about the so-called backwardness of the Muslims, it doesn’t address their real concerns, for, its mandate is guided by its political masters.

A friend from Canada drew my attention to the Arab Development Reports being published by the UNDP every year since 2000 A.D. These reports, authored by a team led by the renowned Egyptian sociologist and statistician Mr Nader Fergany, showed that the Arab countries were lagging behind the rest of the world in terms of human development even though many of these countries had high levels of income and wealth. The decline in human development (social, economic and educational) indicators was glaringly evident even though some of these countries have some of the highest levels of Gross National Products (GNP) in the world and a complete absence of discriminatory policies from the political establishment as all the countries have Islam as the state religion.

My friend pointed out that the Sachar Commission has completely overlooked the significance of the findings of these reports. Mr Fergany expressed the core findings of the first report in a nutshell by stating that poverty was not merely a matter of income. He said that a person who is not free is poor, a woman who is not empowered is poor and a person who has no access to knowledge is poor.

What the Sachar Commission has totally ignored was factors like the role of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariah) Application Act of 1937 and its linkages with human developmental indicators of the Muslim Community since Indian independence; the role of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and its impact on the socio-economic and educational development of the Muslim Community in the past six decades; the role of organizations like the Deoband based Darul Uloom and the Tabligi Jamaat on the development of the Muslims in India etc.

It does not investigate the World Bank Report on Madrassas (Islamic schools) and their impact on human development. This study was undertaken during the years 2005/06. In stead the Sachar report tries to underplay the Madrassa issue by coming up with some figures that show that only a very little percentage of Muslim children go to these Madrassas.

Talking of figures, several of the Sachar report’s ‘findings’ were found to be more of a fiction than reality. Contrary to what that report sought to sell, it was found that the literacy rate among Muslims was higher than that of Hindus in several Indian states including the ones like Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. It goes to reinforce the fact that the Sachar report was actually tailor-made to suit the fraudulent secularist somersaults that the present dispensation at the Centre indulges in day in and day out.

That the UPA Government is blatant in its perverted Minority politics is clear from its latest decision on the Government holidays. It removed two Hindu holidays – including the most important festival Holi that is celebrated across the country with great gaiety – in a crass attempt equal the number of holidays for Hindu and Muslim festivals. Now both have 5 days each, and the UPA-brand secularism is protected.

Experience of the past 5 decades, and even the Sachar Commission report itself, establishes the fact that the politics of blatant minorityism have not really helped the Muslim community at all. Principal reason for this is that the real problems of the community that lie in its Shariat, Madrasa education etc have never been targeted. Instead the community has been ghettoised by projecting before it an imagined demon of majorityism. Even the Sachar Commission too followed the same pattern and dumped all the blame on the imagined ‘other’. It must be remembered that this brand of politics has left both minority and majority communities insecure and ghettoised.

The Muslim leadership must realise that the politics of minorityism have left them leaderless. ‘What Muslims needed was a forward-looking leader like Ata Turk Kemal Pasha; what they got was Mullah-type Osama bin Laden’ writes Kushwant Singh.

It is time Muslim intelligentsia realised the follies that its Mullah-led leadership is indulging in and took over the reins of the community into its hands. Traders of minority votes have not helped the community; they have in fact caused enormous damage to it; and in the process to the entire nation. Aggressive minority politics have resulted in the creation of a ghettoised majorityism and in the end, in this conflict of minority and majority, the losers have been the minority only.

The Muslim intelligentsia should now chart a new course for the community. Need of the hour is to shed all elements of separatism and emphasise on the factors that unify the nation. Opposition to singing of Vande Mataram or participating in the Surya Namaskar programme etc are indicative of the ghetto mentality of the leaders of the community. While the former was witnessed in the entire country, the later is being witnessed in Madhya Pradesh as the State is preparing to introduce Yoga in schools.

These occasions which are being converted into points of conflict by the clergy-led Muslim community should actually have been excellent opportunities for integration. After all doesn’t Koran insist that Jannat is right under the feet of the mother? Aren’t there any number of Ghazals that sing the glory of Madre Watan (motherland)?

Skewed logic doesn’t help the community. If good number of Muslims are not there in Government services, don’t blame it on ‘discrimination’. After all, Muslim boys have topped the Civil Services exams in this country several times. What is needed is more education and better education. There should be demands for more schools, but not reservations. If there are more Muslim prisoners in a particular State, don’t again try to put blame on the ‘discriminatory’ police and judiciary. Reform the community, for, statistics by themselves don’t mean anything. There can be more Brahmins in jails in a particular State than in some other State. But that doesn’t mean anything.

Unfortunately such frivolous logic is what is forwarded to prove that there is discrimination against the Muslims; and worse, it is systemic. Our politicians – traders of minorityism – thrive on such perverted logic only.

But then the community should also realise that all this politics of minorityism has resulted in the end in a non-RSS, non-Hindutwavadi Indian also conclude that the Muslims are isolationists. This feeling will go only when the community sheds its minority politics; not if it tries further them through Sachar recommendations etc.

Tackling Terrorism: Soft State or Absent State?

(Article written in 2009)

Have you seen the visuals of the aftermath of the Mumbai blasts? One feels ashamed at the sight of people – dead and injured - being carried on simple blankets and gunny sheets by ordinary citizens in a most rudimentary manner. Contrast it with similar visuals elsewhere in the world when such incidents happen. You will find blaring of eerie sirens from ambulances and police vehicles, stretchers, trained volunteers and doctors… every thing in a matter of minutes.

One can understand our unpreparedness if the incident had taken place at a remote place. It happens in Mumbai, the commercial capital of the country. It happens to that city which has been high on the target list of the dreaded Islamic terrorists, and don’t forget that every one in the governments and outside knew about it.

The BJP slammed the government to be a Soft State. A soft state may not act tough with the terrorists, but nevertheless it acts. Here is a State that doesn’t want to act. The Government is not just soft; it just doesn’t have the will at all.

‘We had some clues. I don’t need to disclose all those things to you’, said the Union Home Minister to the waiting pressmen outside the PMO on the fateful day. See what he had to add, ‘we knew some such thing was going to come, but didn’t have any idea as to the place and time’. So don’t blame us. The terrorists have not informed us in advance about the place and time of their strikes. Is that what he meant?

In fact the Home Minister was not telling the truth. The government had full information about the possible targets when the IB picked up one Lashkar terrorist in Srinagar a few months ago. He was supposed to have disclosed to the IB that there would be attacks on buses and trains in Mumbai and Delhi. The IB has supposedly forwarded the information to the Home Ministry. The Maharashtra Police now say that they did not have any information at all from the IB.

The government has enough intelligence inputs to act. It knew that the strikes would increase as Pakistan moves closer to elections as it suits the General there. Many experts like former R&AW official Mr. B. Raman have warned it about the changed discourse of Al Quida, which is now talking about the ‘Crusader-Jew-Hindu Nexus’. In fact experts say that the reason for choosing first class compartments as targets in stead of the normally crowded general compartments was not because they are less crowded but because the target group for the Islamic terrorists – the C-J-H - travels in that class. The government knew about the activities of SIMI, its links with organizations not only in Pakistan but also in Bangladesh and Nepal; and the fact that Nepal is fast becoming a hideout for terror outfits.

Yet we are totally unprepared. It is because our political class singularly lacks will power in tackling this Jehadi brand terrorism. In fact not a single leader is even prepared to call it Islamic terrorism whereas in the entire world it is recognized and tackled as one. Islamic terrorism, for that matter any form of terrorism, is a war on the civilized polities. It cannot be tackled as a mere Law & Order problem.

Several things need to be addressed to curb this menace.

War on terror calls for greater preparation. We need to equip our security agencies and intelligence networks with better training and infrastructure.

Failure of our intelligence agencies is monumental. The operation of the Mumbai magnitude in which 7 bombs were exploded in mere 11 minutes must have involved greater planning and preparation. The terrorists must have conducted even recces. But unfortunately our intelligence has failed to pick up the signals in time.

However, it is easy to blame intelligence agencies. We cannot overlook the fact that even the famed CIA and FBI had absolutely no clue about the 9/11 incident. But the case for modernizing our intelligence and Law & Order machinery is very strong today. Police in the country, especially in states like Maharashtra that are high on the terror agenda, is doing excellent job with minimal resources and training. They deserve rich compliments for averting at least 10-12 major strikes in the last one year. Yet a lot needs to be done towards their training and modernization.

The NDA deserves praise for its efforts in this direction. Under Sri Advani, the NDA government had sanctioned huge amounts for the modernization of the security establishment in the country keeping in view the growing terrorist challenge. However, the UPA government has allegedly curtailed that budget by a whopping Rs 1600 crores.

For the constituents in the UPA, fighting terrorism is not a national security concern; it is purely a political and electoral concern. That is why laws like POTA have been repealed. The security agencies are today totally helpless in the absence of effective instruments like stringent laws and better infrastructure.

Islamic terrorism is not merely something that is being imported from Pakistan. We should not ignore the fact that today there is a huge support mechanism available for Islamic terrorism to flourish in our country. In fact Mumbai blasts drive home another important reality, that the age of homegrown terrorism has arrived. Mushrooming Madrasas have become breeding grounds for terror infrastructure in India. Deobandi Tabligi Jammat is the most virulent and violent terrorist group that is gradually spreading its tentacles allover the country. Many present and erstwhile SIMI activists are the leaders in this movement. They need to be ruthlessly crushed.

But we have a government that wants to repeal the 2001 ban on SIMI. Is it not a fact that the UPA Government had sought the opinion of the States over the lifting of ban on SIMI? Can the Government disclose which states have supported that idea and which opposed it? There is a scramble for Muslim votes in Uttar Pradesh between Congress and Samajwadi Party. Mayavati is also chipping in. Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav has gone to the extent of declaring SIMI men as patriots. Lifting of ban and withdrawing of cases on the SIMI activists who are involved in various crimes including fomenting communal riots is under active consideration by the Uttar Pradesh government. President of the UP unit of SIMI who was the main accused in many crimes and went underground 5 years ago surfaced last month in Kanpur with a claim that the atmosphere is “conducive” for him to surface in UP, whatever it meant.

The Maharashtra Police is struggling to grapple with the serious situation. They used to be considered an elite and efficient force in the country at one time. Even till 5-6 years ago their professionalism used to be rated very high. But thanks to one Home Minister who became notorious for his underworld links and who used to literally auction police posts from constable to Commissioner of Police and make money, rot has set in about 6 years ago. Mumbai Police, for the first time, had to face the ignominy of arresting its one Police Commissioner days after his retirement in a non-bailable offence. Present Home Minister has the reputation as an honest and upright man. He should stem this rot and brace the force up to tackle these situations in a befitting manner.

What really affects the morale of our establishment is the public discourse on these issues. Our media immediately arrogates to itself the imagined responsibility of protecting secularism in the country and maintaining religious harmony etc. The whole discourse becomes Hindu-Muslim. Visuals are projected where Muslims are helping the victims as if that is any proof. Real issues are sought to be diverted by raising presumptuous and silly arguments like whether Shiv Sena is behind these incidents or whether Bhivandi is the provocation for it etc.

Actually these apologists for terrorist take their toll on the morale of the establishment. The police starts thinking more about providing security cover to mosques and madrasas than actually pursuing the criminals and punishing them. One of the very first statements to emanate from the Union Home Secretary was that there was no connection between Srinagar blasts and Mumbai blasts. One of the earliest statements to come out of the government was that it would not derail the peace process with Pakistan.

Whatever some progressive TV channels and Islamist apologist intellectuals say for the sake of their bread and butter, these incidents ARE a perpetrated by Islamic terrorists. They have their supporters allover India. This fact cannot be erased.

What the government should have done is to bluntly tell Pakistan that no further peace process until terrorism is completely stamped out. Mush-Bush alliance must be told by Bharat that it cannot be forced to sacrifice its own geo-security interests to protect the geo-strategic interests of that alliance.

Also one must learn lessons from the Gujarat police. Controversies over its alleged role during the Godhra and post-Godhra riots notwithstanding, the Gujarat police have displayed exemplary professionalism in tackling terrorism. Unlike the usual case they have not stopped at arresting a few perpetrators. Because they are merely pawns and their ringleaders and masterminds are always elsewhere. Gujarat police has, in the last couple of years, successfully neutralized and incarcerated these masterminds and cut off their supply routes. This has resulted in enduring peace and terror-free life in that state.

Sadly, the UPA Government lacks that courage. That is why it “urges Pakistan to take urgent steps to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism on the territory under its control”. The MEA Spokesperson “hopes that that the government of Pakistan joins hands with India to defeat the forces of terrorism”. A government that lacks backbone is a bane for the nation.

Foreign Policy with National Interest as the Touchstone – Key to National Security

(Article written in 2009)

It was a couple of days after the deadly Israeli attack on a Lebanese village Kfar Kana that killed scores of innocent children, on the 31^st of July 2006, that the Prime Minister of Israel chose to come out with a statement. And what a statement it was!

“There are no words of comfort that can mitigate the enormity of this tragedy” he declares, only to add “Still, I am looking you straight in the eye and telling you that the State of Israel will continue its military campaign in Lebanon. We will not hesitate, we will not apologize and we will not back off. If they continue to launch missiles into Israel from Kfar Kana, we will continue to bomb Kfar Kana. Today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.  Here, there and everywhere. The children of Kfar Kana could now be sleeping peacefully in their homes, unmolested, had the agents of the devil not taken over their land and turned the lives of our children into hell.”

“Every place from which a Katyusha is fired into the State of Israel will be a legitimate target for us to attack. This must be stated clearly and publicly, once and for all. You are welcome to judge us, to ostracize us, to boycott us and to vilify us. But to kill us? Absolutely not.” He has a point, doesn’t he?

And his final words to the world around him? “In a loud clear voice, looking you straight in the eye, I stand before you openly and I will not apologize. I will not capitulate. I will not whine.  This is a battle for our freedom. For our humanity. For the right to lead normal lives within our recognized, legitimate borders. It is also your battle. I pray and I believe that now you will understand that.  Because if you don't, you may regret it later, when it's too late.”

Alas! When can we hear such words of courage and conviction from our leaders? We are being battered day in and day out by the terror network operating from within and without. We are surrounded by countries that openly profess animosity towards us. And our response?

There were serial blasts in Mumbai last year. As many as 300 + innocent people were killed. Our Prime Minister was there to declare, very appropriately, that talks with Pakistan cannot continue in such situation when it continues to bleed India through such dastardly acts. But once back in Delhi entire tone and tenor changes. There is no alternative to talks, he declares.

Hundreds of our innocent countrymen get killed in Mumbai. Scores are murdered brutally in Assam by ULFA. Our Jawans get killed after brutal torture by the Bangladesh Rifles Jawans. Yet, ‘there is no alternative to talks’.

Tackling terrorism is uppermost in securing the security of any nation. That is why countries in the world are designing stringent laws to counter new age terrorism. After 9/11, America enhanced its Homeland Security system by introducing stringent laws like the Patriot Act. Britain has employed Secret Evidence Act to battle terrorism. Canada, France, China, and even Japan have promulgated new laws.

But Bharat is the only country in the world that has repealed the existing law – POTA. Today we have no effective laws to tackle terrorism. What is more! When the IB Chief asked for proper legislation to strengthening policing to tackle terrorism, the Government flatly denied it. Enough laws are there, it insisted.

On the contrary, our Prime Minister thought it prudent to advise the DGPs of various States to ‘go soft on Muslims’ while investigating in to cases relating to terrorism. That means the police have to first enquire about the religion of the terrorist before proceeding to investigate.

See the consequences! Terrorist-apologist media and politicians launched a campaign against the police during their investigations on the recent Mumbai blasts cases. The reason: ‘that the police is searching only the Muslim localities’. Enormous pressure was mounted on the police. As a result, while the police could do a commendable job in investigating 1993 riots and bringing the culprits to book, albeit belatedly, it is found wanting of late in tackling such incidents. No major terrorism incident could be investigated properly in the last couple of years. Police is the same. Then why this inefficiency? It is essentially because of the political intervention, the subtle and not so subtle.

We, as a government, have become Soft State’. How can then we protect national security interests? Talking about terrorism, see what the man who is the fountainhead of global terror network, Gen. Musharraf says.

“The terrorist has to be faced with full force…. He needs to be physically eliminated (Italics mine)” he wrote in his autobiography ‘In the Line of Fire’. The terrorist needs to be physically eliminated.

But see what our own Government says. “How do you want us to treat the boys and girls who are in forests and tribal areas, who do not get jobs, who do not, at times, get food, who do not have shelter, who do not have medical facilities? And if they become angry, and if they take arms in their hands and start Naxalite activities, what role should the Government play?”

This was Union Home Minister Sri Shivraj Patil to the Parliament in April 2005. “They are our children”, he declared. ‘Hum unke karta dharta hai’, he added. How can a Government that has terrorists as its Beta and Bhatija work effectively towards national security?

Do you know that one of the dreaded Naxal leaders arrested recently by the MP Police was found using his address as ‘S/o Shivraj Patil, Latur’?

Foreign policy is vital to national security. We have two schools of foreign policy in our country; that is what the experts say. One the Idealist School and the second the Pragmatist School. Unfortunately we are too much idealists and too little pragmatists. Idealism leads to emotions. Our approach becomes clichéd.

A visiting American dignitary narrated his experience with one of the top advisors to the Government in Delhi. They were discussing the question of Iran – India ties. Naturally the Americans are very concerned about the ties. So he asked our advisor as to what is the fall back thinking in India in case the talks with Iran fail. ‘Talks cannot be allowed to fail’, pat came reply.

We hear this line quite often in our country. Mumbai blasts take place. But ‘we have to ensure that they don’t derail the talks’ cautions our Prime Minister. ULFA kills scores in Assam. ‘There is no alternative to talks’ goes the rhetoric. If you kill two people in India, you will be sent to gallows. But you kill two hundred people; the governments will hold talks with you. Because ‘There is no alternative to dialogue’.

It is this idealism that guides us at every stage in our international relations. And we end up sacrificing vital national security interests. Take the case of Burma. We were opposed to the military rule there. We supported Aang San Su Kyi’s so-called democracy movement. China chipped in with support to the Military Junta and run over the entire country.

Today Tibet has been given up. What is worse we are preparing to hand over Arunachal too. ‘There is no harm in transferring unpopulated areas’ declared one CPI (M) leader. And our National Security Advisor went one step further to declare ‘Transfer of less populated areas can be considered’. Notice the shift from non-populated areas to less populated areas.

We have to do that because ‘Talks cannot be allowed to fail’.

And what do we get in return? Nepal got permission to open its embassy in Lhasa. Not we.

We are living in romanticism and negationism. We assume that Pakistan is doing every thing on its part to contain terrorism.

“We would not fully blame the (Pak) Government.  Because, even if they express their intention, probably, they have not been able to put it into practice effectively and not been able to curb the actual terrorist activities there. It is sometimes difficult also.  I am not shifting the blame to them” – says our Home Minister in the Parliament.

Chinese call the entire Arunachal Pradesh disputed. We are ready to talk it out. We forget that the Chinese press does not call that State Arunachal Pradesh, instead it calls it the Southern Tibet. Instead we compare it with Kashmir and say, with a little hawkishness, that if we can discuss Kashmir with Pakistan, why not Arunachal with China? Two wrongs make one right?

Even while talking about Pakistan, Musharraf knows what he wants when he says he wants to hold talks on Pakistan. But do we know what we want when we say we are ready to talk Kashmir with Pakistan? We don’t. It is Pakistan that sets the agenda. We just respond to it.

Foreign policy cannot run on emotions and romanticism. We have paid heavy price for it since Nehru era in terms of our national security.

We need leaders with vision. We need only one school, neither idealist, nor pragmatist, neither PMO school nor MEA school. We just want one school that holds India’s interests as the touchstone on which to frame and pursue our policies.

Just remember a few more words of the Prime Minister of Israel:

“Ladies and gentlemen, it's time you understood: the Jewish state will no longer be trampled upon. We will no longer allow anyone to exploit population centers in order to bomb our citizens. No one will be able to hide anymore behind women and children in order to kill our women and children. This anarchy is over. You can condemn us, you can boycott us, you can stop visiting us and, if necessary, we will stop visiting you.”

Kandhamal Raises the Big Question on Conversions Yet Again

(Article written in 2009)

For days, one TV Channel ran visuals of how the Christians have been targeted for violence in Orissa’s Kandhamal district. Several other so-called national channels too joined the chorus sufficient enough for Mombattiwalas (Candle-Light Activists) to plunge into the ring and declare that ‘entire Orissa’, if not ‘entire India’, is in the grip of violence unleashed against ‘innocent minorities’ by ‘Hindu nationalists’.

As a senior leader pointed out to me after a heated TV debate, we have created a funny nomenclature in our country: if you are a Hindu and defend your faith, you are a ‘Hindu Nationalist’ – a pejorative reminiscent of the Nazi Nationalism. But if you are a Hindu and use your lung power to loudly attack Hinduism and Hindus for crimes they have never committed, then you are a great ‘Secularist’. Both these stereotypes are a creation of our perverted political discourse. Thus every incident of the nature of the Kandhamal one will immediately be dragged into this Hindu Nationalist – Secularist arena and the endless blame-game continues.

We don’t realize that in the process we are not only destroying the image of our nation but actually perpetrating such violence by not looking dispassionately into the real reasons behind each and every single incident.

Violence in the name of religion in any form should be opposed by all. It is unfortunate that we had to end 2007 with one such violent situation in a district of Orissa. But we must not ignore the fact that Kandhamal is – for that matter many such incidents have been – a localized incident; not a phenomenon as the Candle-Lightwalas would want us to believe. It is neither pan-Orissa nor pan-Indian.

The trouble in Kandhamal started on December 23 when some Christians at Brahmanigoan village wanted to erect a Christmas gate in front of a Hindu place of worship. This was resented by the local Hindus who questioned the motive of the Christians in insisting on building a second gate near a Hindu place of worship while one gate was already erected at a place where it is done every year on the eve of Christmas. This led to the initial clashes. Since Christians were more in number in the said village the Hindus were at the receiving end.

As this news of clashes reached Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, a selfless Hindu seer – working for the socio-economic development of the local people for over four decades, he set out for Brahmanigoan on December 24. His car was attacked by a violent Christian mob in which the seer himself and two of his followers sustained serious injuries. Swamiji, 82 years old, has been relentlessly working for the uplift of the people in the district - more than 75% of whom are below the poverty line and illiterate - since 1967. He has opened schools and hostels, hospitals and temples to serve mainly the tribals and the down-trodden.

It was this attack that led to further clashes in the district as the seer is very highly respected and has innumerable supporters in the district. Four days of clashes resulted in both sides suffering in various ways – many houses were burnt, properties destroyed and physical attacks took place.

What made things worse in Kandhamal was the open collaboration between the Christian groups and Naxals. Among those arrested in connection with the burning of villages inhabited by Hindus (Brahmanigaon, Jhinjiriguda, Katingia, and Godapur) were 47 Maoists. 20 guns have been recovered by the security forces from them.

The Kandhamal violence is essentially a localized one, as many such incidents in the country have been. It is the local factors that play a predominant role. Animosities were brewing no doubt. But again the reasons were immediate. There has been a feud between the Kondh tribals and largely Christian Pana Scheduled Caste people. The Panas, under the leadership of the local Congress Rajya Sabha MP Mr. Radhakanta Naik who himself is said to be a convert, have been demanding inclusion of their caste in the Scheduled Tribe category as they too speak the same Kui language that the ST Kondhs speak. This argument was rejected by the State Government as well as by the courts. But the agitation in favour of the demand continues under the leadership of Mr. Naik fuelling resentment among the Kondhs who remained largely unaffected by conversion activity of the Christian Missionaries.

However, if there is any one aspect that is pan-Indian in all the incidents related to Hindu-Christian clashes it is religious conversions. Even in Kandhamal district one of the major factors fuelling tensions is the conversion campaign of the Evangelical groups. It is noteworthy that in a State like Orissa which enacted Anti-Conversion laws as back as in 1967 the Christian population in Kandhamal District alone has grown from 6% in 1970 to 27% in 2001.

The ‘aggression’ shown by the New Age Evangelical groups mostly in predominantly tribal areas in States like Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Gujarat etc has become a major contributor of religious strife. We can’t overlook the fact that in the entire country the Christmas was celebrated with a lot of gaiety with millions – a lot of Hindus included – thronging Churches everywhere. Hindus, at the core of their belief, are ‘Omnitheists’. For a Christian or a Muslim there is ‘One God’, but for a Hindu there is ‘Only God’. For him God is omnipresent, the entire creation is Divine manifestation only.

Religious conversion is an anti-thesis to this belief. There was a time when at the end of the British Raj the mainstream Missionaries in India had decided to focus more on humanitarian and developmental activity than conversions. Many still adhere to that concept confining themselves to running schools, hospitals etc and serving the humanity at the time of need.

However for the growing breed of ‘aggressive’ Evangelicals numbers are very important. ‘Harvesting souls’ is God’s work for them. Means don’t matter. In a very interesting article in Christian Science Monitor (April 1, 2005) Ajai Sahni, executive director of the Institute of Conflict Management in New Delhi and a renowned intellectual was quoted as saying "Aggressive and unprincipled missionary work that exploits the distress and ignorance of marginalized groups ... can constitute a catalyst to localized violence, particularly when they are brought into confrontation with other creeds”.

These ‘aggressive’ activities of their fellow Pastors and Fathers have aggrieved many Christian leaders too. This is what the Christian Science Monitor articles says on those activities:

After the tsunami, the US National Council of Churches issued a statement warning against the practice by "New Missionaries" of mixing evangelism and aid. "Often lacking sophistication about the lure of gifts and money, and wanting to be generous with their resources, they easily fall prey to the charge of using unethical means to evangelize. This creates a backlash," the February statement read.

"You get this guy out of Texas who has no idea of the local culture, he is out to win souls, and he comes with a lot of money," says Bob Alter, former Presbyterian pastor born and raised in the Indian mountain town of Mussoorie, and former superintendent of a missionary institution, the Woodstock School.

The problem with these newer churches, Mr. Alter says, is the tone of their message. "You have Baptists using the Diwali festival [the Hindu festival of lights], but they come to 'spread the light to those in darkness.' That is mighty offensive stuff, when you're out to tear down another religion."

It even quoted one Bishop Chacko, head of the Roman Catholic diocese in Meghnagar in Jhabua district in Madhya Pradesh who said "Even the older Protestant churches are unhappy with the evangelicals. It is said that they are irresponsible. Consequences don't matter to them. They put the fire and then they leave it to burn."

Whether it is Kandhamal in Orissa or Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh or Dangs in Gujarat, only pan-Indian question is the Evangelical activities of ‘aggressive conversion campaign’.

If we argue that conversion is a right then re-conversion too is a right. In this melee of conversions and re-conversions violence and strife will become the order of the day.

Let every religion enjoy complete Religious Freedom to preach, practice and propagate. But as our Apex Court categorically stated ‘Propagate’ does not and should not include ‘Conversion’. Let us put an end to the institutionalized activity of conversions by Church agents and instead allow citizens freedom of personal choice without fear or favour.

Samajik Samarasata (Social Harmony) – Sri Guruji (MS Golwalkar)

(This article was written in 2008 during the Birth Centenary Celebrations of the second Sarsanghachalak of the RSS PP Shri Guruji - MS Golwalkar)

Three famous ideals that inspired the French Revolution i.e. Liberty, Equality and Fraternity have subsequently found place in almost all the democratic constitutions of the world including ours. Liberty and Equality are the ideals that can be achieved through constitutional means. But for achieving Fraternity we need something more than constitutional means.

That is why Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the Architect of our Constitution had attached greater significance to this ideal of Fraternity.

“What does Fraternity mean?” he questioned, and went on to explain that “Fraternity means a sense of common brotherhood of all Indians – of Indians being one people. It is this principle that gives unity and solidarity to social life.” (B.R. Ambedkar and Human Rights)

Fraternity is not just an institutional reality like Liberty and Equality. It has an emotional quotient - a feeling of brotherhood and oneness. The national mind has to be trained through Samskaras to acquire this feeling.

Samata, Samaanta and Samarasata – These three words are quite common in our public parlance. Samata is equality in thoughts; Samaanta is equality in law; but Samarasata is equality of emotions and feelings. For achieving Samarasata – social harmony to put it simply – fraternity is the basic requirement.

Bharat from time immemorial has championed the idea of the quintessential oneness of the universe. World’s ancient-most literature – the Vedas – categorically reject the idea of inequality and insist upon oneness at the emotional level and equality at the mundane level.

Ajyesthaaso Akanisthaasa Yete

Sam Bhraataro Vaavrudhuh Soubhagaya

• Rigveda, Mandala-5, Sukta-60, Mantra-5

‘No one is superior or inferior; all are brothers; all should strive for the interest of all and progress collectively’.

Samaani va Aakootihi Samaanaa Hridayaanivah

Samaanamastu vo Mano Yathaa Vah Susahaasati

• Rigveda, Mandala-10, Sukta-191, Mantra-4

‘Let there be oneness in your resolutions, hearts and minds; let the determination to live with mutual cooperation be firm in you all’.

It is worthwhile to mention here that it was much later and very recently that the world had come up with the ideals of French Revolution or for that matter the first Article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) that exhorts:

‘All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.’

However, in its long journey of thousands of years that very nation which had offered such lofty ideals to the mankind landed itself in a state of decay and disintegration. Several social evils and weaknesses have crept into the body politic of this ancient nation. Over the years its diversity became its disunity; institutions came to represent its decay; and social evils like untouchability and caste discrimination became rampant.

There was never a scriptural sanction to social evils like untouchability and caste discrimination. In fact the history of the progress of our nation is also the history of countless social reformers, saints and savants who struggled against these social evils thus ensuring unity and longevity of our nation.

Adishankara’s Advaita to Gandhiji’s Ram Rajya and Ambedkar’s social movement; Ramanuja’s Visisthaadvaita to RSS’ Hindu Rashtra – countless reform movements have swept across this vast nation over the ages with the singular objective of preserving the unity and harmony. Buddha, Mahaveera, Basaveshwara, Kanakadasa, Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Narayana Guru, Dayananda Saraswati, Tilak, Gandhi, Ambedkar, Savarkar, Jyotiba Phule – endless is the list of greatmen who have sacrificed their lives in the pursuit of achieving the lofty ideal of social harmony.

The RSS is the continuation of that great tradition set in motion by the above-mentioned savants and social reformers. The founder of the RSS, Dr. Hedgewar was anguished by the utter disunity in the Hindu society and was inspired by the efforts of great social reformers. While starting the RSS he had only one vision – of a nation rising like one man symbolizing all that is good in its ancient wisdom and discarding everything that is alien to its core thought of universal oneness.

He did not preach much; but the institution of the RSS that he had created spoke volumes through its activity.

In 1934, when Gandhiji visited a 1500-strong Swayamsevaks camp at Wardha in Vidarbha, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the Swayamsevaks were not even aware of the castes of one another, not to speak of any idea of untouchability. Later, he invited Dr. Hedgewar to his Ashram and enquired about the RSS’ activities. The visit had left such a deep impression on Gandhiji’s mind that he referred to it full thirteen years later. In his address to the workers of Sangh in Bhangi Colony at Delhi on 16th September 1947, he said, “I visited the RSS camp years ago, when the founder Shri Hedgewar was alive. I was very much impressed by your discipline, the complete absence of untouchability and the rigorous simplicity. Since then the Sangh has grown. I am convinced that any organization which is inspired by the high ideal of service and self-sacrifice is bound to grow in strength.”

When Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar visited Sangh Shiksha Varga in Pune in 1939, he was also surprised to find the Swayamsevaks moving about in absolute equality. When Dr. Ambedkar asked Dr. Hedgewar whether there were any untouchables in the camp, the latter replied that there were neither touchables nor untouchables, but only Hindus. Recording his appreciation Dr. Ambedkar said: “I am surprised to find the Swayamsevaks moving about in absolute equality and brotherhood without even caring to know the caste of the others.”


Sri M.S. Golwalkar alias Guruji, who became the Sarsanghachalak of the RSS in 1940, was originally molded in the tradition of those great saints and sages.


“While the present day West has not been able to go beyond the motto of the ‘greatest good of the greatest number’, we have never tolerated the idea of a single human being, nay, even a single living organism living in misery. ‘Total good of all beings’ has always been our glorious ideal”, exhorted Sri Guruji. He worked relentlessly for 33 years with that as the mission and left an inerasable imprint on our national life.

It was under the stewardship of Sri Guruji that the Sangh work had expanded to include a large number of activities for the welfare of tribals and backward classes. Many organizations and activists were working among these sections striving for their upliftment. However Sri Guruji insisted that the reform is needed not just in the backwards and tribals alone, but in the so-called Savarnas as well.

Dr. Ambedkar, fully endorsing the views of Sri Guruji, had said that it is not enough if the activity of Dalit Uddhar is limited to the Dalits alone; it should come from within the so-called Savarna society also.

In a sense Sri Guruji made the ideal of Dalit Uddhar not a voluntary activity, but a natural and fundamental duty of the entire society. “It is our utmost important duty to serve the brothers who are neglected and we have to improve their life in various fields. We have to prepare plans for this” he told the Hindu society.

As mentioned above Samarasata is emotional oneness. In order for this to be achieved we need to remove the mental blocks in various sections of our society. Our society is divided in to various castes and sub-castes. Some castes are considered high and some others low. There is a misguided hierarchical caste structure still in vogue. It is creating great fissures in our society.

Several reformers have tried through several means to achieve harmony. Gandhiji gave the name Harijan to a group of so-called lower castes and tried to impress upon the rest of the society that they were the Men of Hari. Dr. Ambedkar wrote a book titled “Annihilation of Castes”. Socialists have tried to create ‘Caste-less Society’ through organizations like ‘Jaati-Paati Todak Mandal’. Each had their own experiences at the end.

Sri Guruji adopted a totally different approach. Instead of working on the differences in our society he emphasized on the fundamental unity of our nation. A major landmark in this direction was the starting of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in 1964. Awakening the age-old wisdom of fundamental oneness of the universe and ideal of universal love in the society is the best way to achieve Samarasata, according to Sri Guruji. He chose the VHP as the vehicle for achieving this transformation in the society.

The 1969 conclave of the VHP in Udupi was a major turning point in the history of the Hindu society in this regard. For the first time in recent history a large number of saints and savants from almost all traditions and denominations of the Hindu society had come together under one umbrella of the VHP. Sri Guruji had personally invited each one of them and supervised the whole conclave.

A historic resolution was passed by all the assembled Mahatmas unanimously that read: “It is now up to us to go to those neglected brethren of our society and strive our utmost to better their living conditions. We will have to work out plans by which their primary material needs and comforts could be fulfilled. We will have to open schools, hostels and training programmes to equip them to benefit from these schemes. Alongside this material amelioration, love and pride in Hindu Dharma and the spirit of identity with the entire Hindu society have to be rekindled in their minds through the channels of devotion to God. For that we have to give up notions of high and low and mingle with those brethren in a spirit of equality. We should freely mingle with them, eat with them and sing the songs of devotion with them.”

A momentous occasion in the Hindu history came when the Pejawar Mutt Swamy Pujya Vishweswar Teerthaji gave a clarion call from that dais: ‘Hindavah Sodaraah Sarve’ (All Hindus are brothers and sisters) and ‘Na Hinduh Patito Bhavet’ (A Hindu can never be fallen). He also gave a new Mantra to the Hindu society: ‘Mama Deeksha Hindu Raksha – Mama Mantrah Samanata’ (Protecting Hindu society is my mission and equality is my Mantra).

The RSS has tread the path set by the revered saints and covered a large space in achieving social harmony. There cannot be any revolutionary solutions to the disharmony that we witness in our society. Caste system, which has become the central reason for disharmony today, needs to be reformed. “Old order passeth yielding place to new lest one good custom corrupt the world,” said A.L. Tennyson in the Passing of Arthur. But this change can be achieved only through sustained and positive efforts and a deep commitment to the fundamental cultural unity of our society.

If today the RSS stands like a beacon of that unity in the otherwise strife-torn and disharmonious Hindu society it is because of the stewardship of great social reformers like Dr. Hedgewar and Sri Guruji only.

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My Interview for Newslaundry

http://www.newslaundry.com/2013/02/i-agree-with-ram-madhav/

NEEDED A DIFFERENT COUNTER-TERRORISM INFRASTRUCTURE

• RAM MADHAV

(Views expressed here are personal)

India probably doesn't need another Central Agency by name NCTC – National Counter Terrorism Center – a name borrowed from the Center that has been established in the US after 9/11. As it always happens Chidambaram, as Home Minister, became enamored of the idea of replicating it in India. It was Chidambaram who was responsible for the creation of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) with enormous powers. The powers of the NIA, in reality, supersede the powers of the State Police in cases relating to national security. Although supported by all State Governments the NIA Act is actually against the Federal spirit of our Constitution.

The NCTC that Shri Chidambaram had proposed was another central agency that was supposed to have powers to investigate, interrogate, arrest and even prosecute people. So far, all these matters have been deemed to be under the control of the State Governments, since the maintenance Law and Order is a State Subject under our Constitution. This principle was overruled by the Central Government through the NIA Act once already, under which even special NIA courts also have been established. Once again, through the NCTC, the Central Government wanted to override the principle of Federalism, which was opposed by several State governments.

Those who question the opposition of the States to NCTC on the ground that they had agreed to the NIA Act must understand that the Federalism concept is an unwritten understanding between the Central and State Governments. It is about the spirit of shared duties and powers between the Center and the States. States' feeling that their rights are being encroached upon by the Center through successive such Acts is a genuine one.

Having said that I would like to call for a different kind of NCTC for our country. That India needs a firmer counter-terrorism establishment is a unanimous opinion across the board. India is facing a multi-pronged terrorism challenge both from within and without. Pakistan, the epicenter of global terrorism, is likely to degenerate further into a failed State or a Military State. Both ways it is going to pursue its policy of 'Thousand Cuts' with India more vigorously. With the possibility of the return of Begum Khalida Zia's BNP to power in Bangladesh in the not-so-august company of the rabidly anti-India Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, our terrorism woes are likely to increase in the eastern front too. Bangladesh has been the springboard and safe haven for Jihadi groups like HuJI besides several insurgent groups active in our North East.

Added to this is the unfolding drama in the Pak-Af region. The Americans want to quit Afghanistan by middle of 2014. Afghanistan is certainly not Iraq. There are chances of the Taliban groups trying to capture power in Kabul. Already in the southern parts of the country, especially Kandahar and beyond, it is the writ of Taliban that runs. Pakistan is waiting in wings to take control of the country through its proxy, the Taliban. It will increase the threat to peace in J&K manifold. Besides it will also increase the threat of terror across the country.

A new phenomenon witnessed in the last more than a decade has been about the home grown terror. Unlike earlier, the terror groups, especially the radical Islamist, Jehadi groups have been able to create full-scale terror establishment within the country itself, limiting their dependence on external forces only to moral and logistics support. This home-grown terrorism, whether it is SIMI or Popular Front or Indian Mujahidin, has grown lethal in the last few years. They continue to get patronage from operatives based in Pakistan and Bangladesh, but their recruitment, planning and execution etc are locally managed.

Countless terror cells operate in the country today. For each cell busted, several new ones spring up. They receive patronage from politicians to businessmen to underworld to external agencies like the ISI. The recent Hyderabad blasts are an indication that these cells are still very active and capable of executing terror acts.

This is certainly not a good news for India. And the larger picture suggests that India has to deal with this menace for next several years to come. It is in this context that an agency dedicated to counter terrorism need to be envisaged.

Unfortunately in our country counter-terrorism is understood as an issue of policing and intelligence alone. Undoubtedly these two agencies play a crucial role in counter-terror operations. However effective counter-terror mechanism should involve various other stakeholders also. It should be essentially about equipping, strengthening and standing by various stakeholders in countering terror. This is where Chidambaram's NCTC falls woefully short. It limits itself to policing and justice delivery ignoring the fact that there are several other issues to address.

In any case even to handle those matters it is a futile exercise in a country of India's size to have a new national agency. We have seen the utter helplessness and uselessness of the NIA in the last 4 years. It is mainly because the NIA is seen by many police organisations in states as an outsider out to step on their toes.

What is needed in our country is a national agency for counter-terrorism dedicated to equipping and strengthening different institutions, agencies and public. Some of the major stakeholders in counter-terrorism are the police, intelligence, judiciary and media. Even the general public, including leaders of civil society who waste no time in extending support to terror and leaders of certain religious groups who advocate terror need to be brought on board. In countries like Israel, which face a daily threat of terror, ordinary citizens, including school children, are sensitized about terrorism. That is why in those countries one doesn't witness panic if a terror attack alarm goes off. People know how to respond in a calm and orderly manner.

Sensitization is the key to counter terror. Various stake holders in counter terror activities must be fully sensitized about terrorism and how to combat it. The case of Yasin Bhatkal is an eye-opener. The Kolkata Police had arrested him on fake currency charges, kept him in jail for several months and finally let him off not knowing he was the most dreaded IM operative. Kolkata Police probably didn't understand that drug rackets, fake currency rackets and illegal trafficking rackets are are linked to terrorism. This is what is called sensitizing.

We need a massive centralised set up that can be accessed by various stake holders for information and guidance on terror related matters. It should focus primarily on extensive research, documentation and preparation of dossiers on terrorism. It should run various training and sensitization programs for police, intelligence, immigration, judiciary, media, social leaders, youths etc.

Every officer of the rank of DSP and above should undergo periodic courses in this center so that whenever he gets posted in a particular geographical area that is infested with terror elements, his understanding of the issue helps him enormously. For example if an officer is posted in an area that has large SIMI presence he should not start learning about SIMI and its tactics after joining the duties there. Because there won't be any facility to teach him either.

There is a major need for sensitizing our judiciary. There is a tendency in the judiciary to look at uniformed forces as perpetual human rights violators. That is not true. But many police officers including senior IPS officers face humiliating situations in front of magistrates and judges. In ordinary cases this can be considered a professional hazard. But in cases relating to terrorism the judiciary needs to be properly sensitized so that there is correct appreciation of the issue. There is a need among our judiciary fraternity for better understanding of terrorism. Also the center, through its research and expertise, draft proper laws for counter-terror activity, lack of which is a major impediment in our country. The center should also implead itself in many cases relating to terror in favour of the State. Normally while the terrorists get a lot of support from human rights groups etc the police get none.

Training and sensitizing bureaucracy and political class is a major challenge. Because one of them believes firmly that they are master of everything from globalisation to gober gas; while the other knows only how to play politics with terror. The proposed center should design courses to sensitize these sections also as they are the ones who have the power of making policies. I knew of a state bureaucracy that refused to release funds sanctioned by central government for the specific purpose of benefitting personnel engaged in counter-terror operations in the state. This is essentially becasue of the bureaucrat who sits in a particular chair at that point in time doesn't understand what fighting terror is like.

Sensitizing media too is an important aspect. Use of words, phrases, images, visuals... everything needs to be different when it comes to terrorism. Media should understand that the battle against terrorism has to be fought at various levels including minds spaces where there is an important role that media can play. Propaganda is an important tool that terrorists use; hence it becomes an inevitable tool to be deployed in counter-terror operations also. The center can be a great help in developing effective propaganda. Cyber wars are increasingly becoming the forte of the terrorists. We need a powerful cyber army to tackle innumerable terror-sponsoring or supporting websites and other modules.

Technology plays a very important role in counter-terror operations. The center should be able to research, scout for and advise police and intelligence about how best they can deploy technology in their efforts. Globally the counter-terrorism technologies industry is booming today. But sadly our agencies are utterly ill-equipped. They don't even know what all is available for them to minimize damages and effectively go after the terrorists.

Civic leaders, human rights activists, even religious groups need to be specifically trained in order to improve their understanding of what constitutes terror. The center can plan to educate wider audience like university students, school-going children etc so that this sensitization spreads far and wide and next time God forbid when there is another terror threat there won't be stampede or chaos. Our doctors should know how to cope with terror incidents that not only cause physical injuries but also lead to mental trauma in a large section of the society. Immigration officials, customs officials, even postal services personnel... everybody should be trained and sensitized.

Such a center can engage and network with global counter-terror expertise and institutions and expose our personnel to their wisdom and experience.

In one sentence, we need an institutional set up that can train each and every stakeholder in counter-terror activity. Such a center, which can equip and strengthen various existing institutions, is the need of the hour... not another central agency, which will only end up in increasing turf war.

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