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DMK Govt's police on the rampage!

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Why would some pseudo-secularists support those who hold the nation to ransom? The Muslims are saying: "Don't tear our vaneer, if you do we start pograms." These pseudo-secularists who hanker after these ransom mongers' votes think they could suppress the Hindus for ever. These chamchas would find themselves in the dustbin of history sooner rather than later.

Artistic freedom yes, but not with Aurangzeb - Kanchan Gupta, Daily Pioneer


Artistic freedom in increasingly 'secular' India has come to mean the right to denigrate Jesus Christ and Goddess Shakti, as was done by a callow student of the fine arts faculty of Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda last year. But permission to exhibit exquisite miniatures and firmans related to Aurangzeb has been denied, because 15 Muslims and a bogus nawab have demanded so.

French journalist Francois Gautier's Foundation Against Continuing Terrorism (FACT) has painstakingly -- and at great expense -- put together a collection of 40 miniatures and firmans that tell the story of Aurangzeb's rule. The exhibition is called Aurangzeb as he was according to Mughal records. "We have taken care to present all facets of Aurangzeb, including his piety," says Gautier.

The collection was first exhibited to critical acclaim at the Habitat Centre in New Delhi. It next travelled to Pune where one lakh people visited the show. It was equally well received in Bangalore where the popular Gallery G hosted the exhibition. FACT then decided to take the collection to Chennai where it was supposed to be exhibited at the Lalit Kala Akademi from March 3 to 9.

The exhibition was inaugurated by N Vittal, former Chief Vigilance Commissioner, and B Raman, security expert and former R&AW official, March 3 at 5 pm. Some 100 people attended the inauguration. Since March 4, a continuous stream of people came to see the exhibits.

On March 5, a group of 15 Muslims (Gautier says "they were no more than six") affiliated to the Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam, Manitha Neethi Paasarai and other Muslim organisations, entered the exhibition hall and confronted FACT volunteers who were present there. Raising their voice, they rubbished the show and alleged that it did not portray the right image of 'their' Aurangzeb.

"They threatened they wouldn't allow the show to go on, that they would send hundreds of protesters after Friday prayers from a nearby mosque," says Gautier. The organisers lodged a complaint with the local police station and the next day policemen were posted at Lalit Kala Akademi.

Meanwhile, RM Palaniappan, manager of Lalit Kala Akademi, rattled by the protest by 15 men, asked FACT to pack up and leave. He panicked after Assistant Commissioner of Police KN Murali visited the exhibition hall, had a cursory look at the miniatures and firmans (written in Persian and hence unintelligible to him), worked himself into a rage and shouted at the organisers, lacing his diatribe with expletives, before stomping off, threatening to return.

On March 6, Prince of Arcot Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali made a surprise visit to the exhibition at 3 pm. After spending some time looking at the miniatures and the firmans, he lashed out at FACT volunteers and accused them of "misrepresenting facts". He was particularly enraged by two miniatures -- the first depicted Aurangzeb's army destroying the Somnath temple and the second showed the destruction of the Kesava Rai temple in Mathura.

He insisted that the paintings amounted to "fabrication and distortion of history" and that Aurangzeb had never done anything to harm the Hindus. He demanded that the exhibition be immediately shut down and said he would take up the issue with "higher authorities" in the State Government. Later, the 'Prince of Arcot' issued a Press statement, claiming, "the exhibition seemed to dwell only on Aurangazeb's alleged misdeeds and not a word about his munificent contribution. The exhibition would only promote enmity between various groups."

By Thursday, March 7, "higher authorities" in Tamil Nadu Government had issued instructions to the police to shut down the exhibition. Murali, along with his men, stormed into the exhibition hall on Thursday evening and began taking down the paintings. "He was looking for the paintings showing the destruction of Somnath and Kesava Rai temples. He threw them to the floor," said a FACT volunteer.

The police say they acted after receiving "three complaints that the show would disturb communal harmony". They wanted the exhibition to be shut down immediately as the next day was Friday. The police also forcibly took into custody three FACT volunteers -- Saraswathi (65), D Vijayalakshmi (62) and Malathi (47) -- although women cannot be detained after sunset in police stations. They were not allowed to contact their families.

The hall has been sealed and FACT has no idea about the fate of the paintings and other exhibits, including the priceless firmans. "I am told some of the paintings have been damaged beyond repair. This is shocking, especially because what we have witnessed is vandalism by the police," says Gautier.



http://www.dailypioneer.com/columni...le_name=kanchan/kanchan162.txt&writer=kanchan
 
What 'other religions'?

Dear Sri Saab Ji,

A hilarious and a truthful piece of video. But it seems like the issue that is being discussed is with 'radical Islam' and not 'Islam'. I do not think anyone in this Forum 'champions' any other religion or religions.

We need to be careful about seperating the extremists of any religion from the core of any religion which are the silent majority. In India, especially, our religion coexited peacefully over centuries with others. It even gave sanctuary to some religions from abroad from persecution, as recently as a few years ago. India has all these religions representing our national identity. If we lose this, we will not be India as we know it.

Yes, we do have issues with some aspects of coercive conversions as well as some issues with what you call 'pseudo-secularism' (I term it as 'vote bank politics'). But, please let us not condemn other religions wholesale. It does not behoove us as Hindus.

Pranams,
KRS

Saab said:
Something for those who champion 'other' religions:

http://www.dotsub.com/films/moredemands/index.php?autostart=true&language_setting=en_1618
Click to expand...
 
Dear KRSji,

The secularism as you and I understand would be that the State steers clear of religions for religions are connected with the hearts and emotions and often are beyond the ken of intellectual logic.

It is based on the inexplicable 'miracle' for some or explainable 'karmaphala' for others yet they are humanly unforeseeable. Still these unforeseeables are natural for the very survival of all living beings and are seen on their ability to invoke their innate divine plea "BhavaanE kaappaathu". Why so? Because there is a certitude in it. So a conclusion can be drawn that what
is certain is illogical and what is logical is uncertain! This is of course a paradox. This is the reason that the State stay clear of religions.

Religions have varying degree of appeal in various religions of the world. The very fact that the religions have appeal on the populace brings forth the problem of containing them to a rule of law. The communist way to overcome this problem was to outlaw religion. That is containing a fundamental liberty of man. In doing so the Communists clashed with the 'certitude' and lost in Europe and are sure to lose in the rest of the world.

The Islamists and to a great extent the Christians have the opposite view in respect of the State. For them the State has to be an Islamic State or a Christian nation. All rules flow from that idea.

The secularism started out as an idea by George Holyoake in the middle of 19th century to forbid the king (State) from misusing the religion to his advantage. Any unbiased political observer would not escape the conclusion that only the kings of the pusuit of Abrahamic religions tended to misue the religion. All 'karma' based religions such as Hinduism and Buddism kept the kings away from such misuse.

India had a way of life based on Sanathana Dharma that was largely peaceful and prosperous. The princes fought among themselves as occassionally or as often only due to their avarice and nothing more and it never affected the way of life of the populace. This peaceful country was interrupted by the Islamist invasion. Hindus never minded as to who was the king who ruled as long as their way of life was not affected but the islamists disturbed their way of life by induliging in desturction of their heritage and foisting forceful conversion and discriminated on the basis of religion. It set off a thousand year war and is still continuing. The Christians invaders who replaced the Muslims were equally non-different from the Muslims for they belong to the same Abrahamic religion.

The division of India in 1947 was not to solve the thousand year conflict for it gave the Muslims a State of their own (it became two States now) and none for the Hindus. The inheritors of power from their colonial masters set out to adopt the Christian concept of secularism but did not really steer clear of religions. They let the Muslims to live by Sharia but not let the Hindus by their Dharma. They enacted reservations, right of Abrahamic religion to promote conversions, article 370 that created an island for Muslims within 'secular' India, promoted language based parochialism to divide and discriminate citizens and so on which are blatantly against secular concept of equality of all citizens and their right to move freely and non-interference in the religions. These appeasements together with the denigration of our heritage that was carried on for a thousand years was sought to be continued by the inheritors of power from the British masters.

Thus the conflict that the Hindus face cannot be brushed aside. It will keep erupting as often and more violently each time. The pseudo-secularists are part of the problem. Vote-bank politics is one aspect of their practice.

This is a background that should not be lost sight of. All Abrahamic religions tend to infiltrate into politics. They have brought forth the Hindukush, inquisition, Nazism, communism of Stalin, Mao and Polpot, Zionism, Wahabism and Bushism and so on all of which are pograms against humanity. Telling the truth is not condemning them but warning the populace.

Regards,
Saab
 
Dear Sri Saab Ji,

I have deleted the passages I have no comments about and only kept the relevant sentences with my response in 'blue'.

Saab said:
Dear KRSji,
The Islamists and to a great extent the Christians have the opposite view in respect of the State. For them the State has to be an Islamic State or a Christian nation. All rules flow from that idea.

Such generalizations defy actual history, especially for Christians. U.S., even though founded by 'deitists' of Christianity, clearly opted for a secular state. England, France, Germany, Italy and a host of European countries are founded on modern secular principles.

I agree that Islam with the exception of Turkey, while initially adopting secularism initially, saw such syatems morph in to socialism in Egypt and fascism in Iraq and Syria (based on Baath ideology) turning in to dictatorship. Malaysia started as an islamic state, but now you see the movement towards giving the minorities an equal share of the nation's opportunities with the last election.

Islam in particular is a long way to go. And this will happen with more modern education and knowledge. If one thinks that one can 'protect' one's religion from other religions today just by belittling their philosophy and culture, then I must say that such an approach will only bring unnecessary pain to everyone concerned. The answer is a constant dialog based on love, understanding what that religion is going through. There are more muslim victims in the jihad of radical islam.

The secularism started out as an idea by George Holyoake in the middle of 19th century to forbid the king (State) from misusing the religion to his advantage. Any unbiased political observer would not escape the conclusion that only the kings of the pusuit of Abrahamic religions tended to misue the religion. All 'karma' based religions such as Hinduism and Buddism kept the kings away from such misuse.

This is a broad statement and deserves scrutiny. Do you mean to say that there were no royalty who were either Hindu or Buddhists who did not use religion to gain advantage for themselves? How do you explain Buddhism spreading to other countries through war? How do you explain all the filthy riches of various Maharajas at the expense of their population who were kept in poverty?

India had a way of life based on Sanathana Dharma that was largely peaceful and prosperous. The princes fought among themselves as occassionally or as often only due to their avarice and nothing more and it never affected the way of life of the populace. This peaceful country was interrupted by the Islamist invasion. Hindus never minded as to who was the king who ruled as long as their way of life was not affected but the islamists disturbed their way of life by induliging in desturction of their heritage and foisting forceful conversion and discriminated on the basis of religion. It set off a thousand year war and is still continuing. The Christians invaders who replaced the Muslims were equally non-different from the Muslims for they belong to the same Abrahamic religion.

What has happened has happened. From dark ages came Rennaisance in a particular part of the world. The cultures of the past thought that pillaging and subjugating other people were okay. But as you can see that culture is changing with more knowledge about other cultures. There are still some folks in Christianity and Islam who believe in conversions and calling the non believers with names (we also have names for foreigners and even though we did not convert, we did look down upon non Hindus). Such a notion is hotly debated in Christianity and Islam is not there yet. While a religion has edicts to handle other minorities and religions, in the modern world, where democracy is perhaps the only valid way to govern, we do not give power to any religion to rule, including Hinduism.

The division of India in 1947 was not to solve the thousand year conflict for it gave the Muslims a State of their own (it became two States now) and none for the Hindus. The inheritors of power from their colonial masters set out to adopt the Christian concept of secularism but did not really steer clear of religions. They let the Muslims to live by Sharia but not let the Hindus by their Dharma. They enacted reservations, right of Abrahamic religion to promote conversions, article 370 that created an island for Muslims within 'secular' India, promoted language based parochialism to divide and discriminate citizens and so on which are blatantly against secular concept of equality of all citizens and their right to move freely and non-interference in the religions. These appeasements together with the denigration of our heritage that was carried on for a thousand years was sought to be continued by the inheritors of power from the British masters.

Irrespective of what the British did, who practiced divide and rule, it is a fact that Muslims that voted in 1945 elections clearly wanted a seperate country. And the Hindus overwhelmingly approved the then Congress policy of a secular state. I think this is because we as Hindus are inherently secular. That is our Dharma. This is why no 'Hindutva' advocating party has gained absolute majority. The question is, going forward how do we ameliorate the 'inequities' created by different personal laws between the communities. I think that this was the greatest mistake made, as it has acted as a wedge issue and divides communities. I also think that such seperate laws do little to foster the thinking of 'Indian first'.

Thus the conflict that the Hindus face cannot be brushed aside. It will keep erupting as often and more violently each time. The pseudo-secularists are part of the problem. Vote-bank politics is one aspect of their practice.

I do not think that this is a given. We can easily correct it if 80% of the population demands it. And the demand has to come for what Dr. Swamy terms as 'enlightened secularism'. It will surely happen. Just acting out in a sectarian way in a country where close to 200 million folks are minority, dispersed in every community is to ask for disaster, with no way to control the carnage when it happens. This is the path those who are preaching hatred against other religions are doing.

This is a background that should not be lost sight of. All Abrahamic religions tend to infiltrate into politics. They have brought forth the Hindukush, inquisition, Nazism, communism of Stalin, Mao and Polpot, Zionism, Wahabism and Bushism and so on all of which are pograms against humanity. Telling the truth is not condemning them but warning the populace.

I have no problem of any minority representation in any 'enlightened' secular government.

Again one can not eradicate brutality in this world. Brutality comes in various forms. (By the way I strongly take exception to your term 'Bushism'.) Zionism is very close to the concept of Hindutva.

Regards,
Saab
Click to expand...
 
Freedom gagged
Monday March 10 2008 08:46 IST FRANCOIS GAUTIER
http://newindpress.com/newspages.asp?page=m&Title=Main+Article&

ON the March 7, 2008, in Lalit Kala Academi, Chennai, Assistant Commissioner of Police K N Murali, took off the wall an exquisite miniature painting, which showed the destruction of the Somnath temple (which has been razed six times) and threw it on the ground, shattering it. Then his men started removing all the paintings from the wall, further damaging many of them. On that day, the morale and the reputation of the Tamil Nadu police must have sunk to a new low : of bowing down to their master’s wishes and those of a few fanatics, of forsaking moral decency and all the qualities that a police officer should embody.

The previous day the Nawab of Arcot visited the exhibition and lashed out at FACT volunteers accusing them of “misrepresenting facts.” He was particularly enraged by two miniatures — the first depicted Aurangzeb’s army destroying the Somnath temple and the second showed the destruction of the Kesava Rai temple in Mathura. We are told that he has direct access to the CM’s office and that orders to the police to clamp down on exhibition came down from there. Otherwise, Mr Murali would not have dared to go so far, so brazenly.

Soon, the nawab sent a group of goons, allegedly from TMMK (Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam) and MNP (Manitha Neethi Paasarai) to pick up arguments with the volunteers, most of them elderly women from decent family backgrounds.

They came back again on 7th afternoon when I was there, screaming on, top of their voices in Tamil and in English that this exhibition was absolutely false and that unless it was closed immediately they would come back in force the next day (Friday) to break it down. I tried to reason with them, that these were all documents from Government archives, that I could explain everything to them, that we could even debate on TV, but they shouted even louder and got more threatening. When all these arguments were going on the police did not bother to come up. (The hall is on the first floor.)

Then the goons closeted themselves with Mr Murali, two other officers and Mr Palaniappan, the secretary of the LKA, in his office and when I barged in, Mr Murali told me he was closing down the exhibition. I decided to rush to the Commissioner’s office in Egmore to plead for a stay order. But meanwhile Mr Murali swung into action: he terrorised the harmless ladies calling them “ stooges of a white dog,” threw two paintings on the ground and ordered his policemen to remove the rest. Then he arrested four volunteers (Mrs. Srarswathi, Mrs. Vijayalakshmi, Mrs. Malathi and Mr. B.R. Haran) and took them to the Thousand Lights police station. There ACP termed Mr. Francois as a “Foreign Terrorist” and threatened to book the volunteers "for helping and assisting him to incite communal violence in the otherwise peaceful Tamil Nadu.”

What was all the noise about? Lalit Kala Academi was showing an exhibition: “Aurangzeb as he was according to his own records.” This is an artistic exhibition on Aurangzeb, the great Mughal emperor using his own records and firmans (edicts), many of which are still preserved in Indian museums, such as the Bikaner archives.

Aurangzeb was truly a pious Muslim, copying the Koran himself, stitching Muslim skullcaps and enforcing strict laws, according to his own documents, which we were careful to show. How come Aurangzeb is such a hero with the Nawab of Arcot and his henchmen? Forget what he did to Hindus : reimposing the humiliating jiziya tax, forbidding them from riding horses, elephants or palanquins and ordering all temples destroyed (Among them the Krishna’s birth temple in Mathura, the rebuilt Somnath temple on the coast of Gujarat, the Vishnu temple replaced with the Alamgir mosque now overlooking Benares and the Treta-ka-Thakur temple in Ayodhya), he was also a monster to his own family, having his father poisoned, his two brothers killed, and imprisoning his own son.

This exhibition was sponsored by FACT, which I created in 2003, when I received at the hands of the Prime Minister in the Lok Sabha the Natchiketa Award of Excellence in Journalism. With the Prize money, my Indian wife Namrita and myself mounted an exhibition on the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits, four hundred thousand of them having become refugees in their own country.

This exhibition travelled around India and then in the world and was shown in Capitol Hill, Washington, in July 2005, leading to a bipartisan resolution on the Human Rights of the Kashmiri Pandits in the US Congress . Another exhibition on the persecution of Hindus, Christians and Buddhists in Bangladesh was inaugurated in Mumbai on November 18, 2006. We have also a huge show on Shivaji ‘a Hero for Modern, India’ in Mumbai on March 12 in Ravindra Natya Mandir.

A lot of historical research and artistic efforts have gone into the making of this exhibition. It is also an effort to help a dying craft, of the painters of Rajasthan, that of miniature painting. Each original painting, which portrays a historically documented incident in the times of Aurangzeb, has been done in the original Mughal style and is signed and dated. Professor V. S. Bhatnagar of the Rajasthan University, Jaipur, has contributed the historical research part.

We are hiring a lawyer to file a case on FACT’s behalf on five counts: 1) Assistant Commissioner of Police K N Murali, took two of the paintings, which showed the destruction of the Somnath temple and threw them on the ground. I hear six more paintings have been damaged and we have no news of the exhibition as it has been sealed. It costs 8 lakhs to do (all original miniature paintings not counting my time). 2) We paid Lalit Kala Academi a lot of money and they cancelled the show. 3) The police took in a police van three innocent ladies to the police station after 6 p.m. which is illegal. 4) The police totally sided with the goons, closeting themselves in the manager’s office for one hour. 5) Mr Murali threatened the ladies repeatedly that they were ‘terrorists.’ 6) Lastly, we will file a case against Lalit Kala Academi for damage to our paintings, infringement upon our freedom of expression and we will demand that they reopen the exhibition in their premises so that the people of Chennai may have the opportunity to make their own judgment about it.

This exhibition is not about raking up the past or “creating communal disharmony,” it is about Indian children, Hindus and Muslims alike knowing their own past and making sure it does not happen again. For Aurangzeb’s shadow and legacy is still very much present in India.

It was there in Kashmir when all the Hindus were forced by terror to leave their homeland; it is there when Indian Muslims help plant bombs in Mumbai trains, Varanasi, or Delhi; it was there in Chennai when a few Muslim rowdies hold at ransom an entire state and its political apparatus. This is why we had that exhibition.

François Gautier was political correspondent in South Asia for “Le Figaro” for eight years. He is now the editor in chief of Paris-based La Revue de l'Inde (lesbelleslettres.com)
 
Aurangazeb was an emperor of India - not a foreign country. As such his misdeeds should be open to be recorded as correct history.

This has nothing to 'hurt' the sentiments of muslims. This is a bogus claim.

This exhibition ran without any problems in New Delhi and Mumbai. So, it seems like the TN government as usual is playing politics.

The behaviour of the police is condemnable and I applaud the decision by Sri Gautier to take this to the courts, which is the right way of handling this.

Unfortunately the TN police have for some time become the Goondas for the ruling party.

Pranams,
KRS
 
I understand from Smt. Uma Krishnamoorthy that on 13 mar at 6 pm at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan there will be a meeting under the vigil banner.

topic: History and Cuture

pl come in large numbers.
 
Benevolent ‘bad’shahs!

http://www.newstodaynet.com/col.php?section=20&catid=30
By: T R Jawahar

Saturday, 15 March, 2008 , 02:49 PM​
. It is not often that you have ghosts of past Mughal emperors calling on you in succession. After Babar, who has been hanging around for quite some time now, sternly refusing to be exorcised, Akbar and Aurangazeb are currently in our midst, bestowing their munificence even posthumously. And we the subjects are asked to be not just grateful for our past masters’ grace but also grovel before their glories and greatness. This is the latest version of secularism on parade, duly upheld by a secular State.
Bharat’s hoary history actually belonged to the distant past and virtually ended with the Islamic incursions of the 9th century. Since then, for over thousand years, it has been one long unbroken story of ignominy and ignorance for an entire people and of enslavement and emasculation of an ancient civilisation by the worst form of aggressions.Of course, this could not have happened without certain inherent weaknesses within and again, even this period was not without its highpoints too. And of all the aggressors, the Mughals were a class apart in terms of intolerance and sheer barbarism. And Aurangazeb’s monstrosities marked the zenith.

. But we will go by protocol and hierarchy: So, to Akbar first. Romanticising Moghal rulers and scouting for virtues in them is not just a Bollywood pastime but an infectious infirmity deeply ingrained in the Indian masses too. And no one has benefitted from this see-no-evil attitude of Indians than Akbar. So Jodha’s Akbar was a 'doting' husband, we are told; sure, but he was so for scores for other women too. A New York Times review wants to know whatever happened to the other 199 wives! And we can bet even that is a very conservative estimate; Mughal records proudly claim that, ‘households’ apart, Akbar had a harem of 5000! It included those abducted and those offered as ransom. Is there anything even remotely romantic about the scenario? But we have an entire nation drooling over it. If indeed Hindu-Muslim unity had to be captured in a historic setting on celluloid, why not a story-line of a love affair between a soldier in Akbar’s army and a maid in Jodha’s palace? Rahman’s music would have still scored, H-M unity soared and secularism too been served! Why trouble history and distort Akbar's 'image' as well?
Again filmy fantasy and history textbooks portray Akbar as a benign, compassionate and tolerant monarch who yearned for peace. Listen to Akbar's boast, that I am poaching in public interest, from something I read somewhere: '...with the help of our blood thirsty sword we have erased the signs of infidelity from their minds and have destroyed temples in those places and also all over Hindustan'. Peace? Of the graveyard, indeed. If one counts Jallaludddin Akbar's mass massacres, it is a wonder that India has a population at all. This is not a Birbal joke but a brutal reality.
Of Shahjahan, the ultimate romantic for all seasons, less said the better. But we can say this: If all his Mumtaz Mahals were to be entitled to a Taj Mahal apiece, the planet would have run out marbles in the seventeenth century itself. Nothing wrong, per se, for polygamy and promiscuity are signs of all times, more so for the Mughals who had an extra passion for amassing not just wealth but wives too. But should we be so enamoured as to adore all those amorous Alampanahs as sterling symbols of such finer things as love and peace? We never thought secularism had a sensuous side to it.
But as we said, Aurangazeb’s reign tops the charts when the Mughals were at their marauding best. The recent exhibition in Chennai by a French journalist had sought to showcase this super Shahenshah 'as he was'. The pictures displayed were authentic, drawn from genuine Mughal records. The exhibition faced no problems elsewhere in India. But in rational TN some 'secular' Muslims found it wholly unfair on A' Zeb and raised a stink. The secular than thou State promptly descended on site with all its might and lo, the 'offending' exhibits and the exhibition itself, vanished in a jiffy! And not just the works of art, but the usually conspicuous and vocal apostles of artistic freedom too had disappeared. For, this was no secular art, to be defended zealously in prime time and print. Neither were the artists MF Husseins; the paintings themselves were not of disrobed Hindu deities that are covered under artistic license but naked truths about a tyrant that simply cannot be exposed to public scrutiny. What hypocrisy!
But even more apalling were the arguments put forth by the modern apologists of medieval A'zeb. What of the good deeds of A'zeb? Particularly his 'munificent contributions of lands and grants to Hindu temples'. Even if A'zeb had indeed done that, whose land were those in the first place? But really tales of such charity are long lasting lies, next only to Akbar’s fidelity. On the contrary, A'zeb was the most prolific destroyer of temples and Hindu idols among the whole horde. The Mughal literature is littered with brick-by-brick accounts of the looting and dismantling of hundreds of temples, carried out under his direct decrees. And in their place, rose Masjids. Again, A'zeb's s advocates claim that he had to destroy temples to flush out rebels a la Op Blue Star? Then why desecrate idols and worse, bury them under footsteps in Mosques, to be trampled upon for eternity? Now these are not communal concoctions but confessions of A' zeb and his contemporary cohorts themselves.
Should A'zeb be exhumed and exhibited now? A'zeb represents an ideology that is inimical to India. How many know that this foremost villain of our history is a hero in Pakistan? Or that he is the most favoured mascot of jihadis world over? Or that it is his glory days and his brand of ‘compassion’ that they all want to reinstate in infidel India? Well, that goal may be a bit over the top, but can we take chances, now that we have been formally introduced to A'zeb's fan club? Is it not a bit unnerving to see that the Aurangazeb aura still hangs and his legacy quite active right in our midst? Does forgiving and forgetting mean we must also forfeit our core sensitivities?
Digesting Aurangazeb is not as easy as swallowing a Lucknowi kebab. India can never be proud of its Mughal past. It cannot also approve of those who praise it. Never the twain shall meet!
 
Dear Sri Saab

I had no access to the internet for the past few weeks. I just saw this thread. I have the following views on this.

This is the only forum, as of now, exclusively for Tamil Brahmins. The aim and objective of this forum, as I understand, is to discuss "the ways and means of supporting the Tamil Brahmins as a whole and help in their upliftment", make a plan and put it to action. The objective is to do something "constructive" for the community. This platform therefore has to be used for this purpose, at least predominantly, if not exclusively. This platform should not be used for any other purpose.

We all know the incident in Arjuna's life. When Dronacharya, while teaching archery, asked his students as to what they saw - even as every other person told what they saw 'ranging from the tree to the bird'; Arjuna said he saw the bird's neck, just the target alone. That was the secret of his success.

We need to set our target and concentrate only on the target if we are to succeed. If we allow any distraction we will only be talking like every other politician who comes in the garb of a fellow communion or a social servant.

Even as we concentrate on the target, there will always be distractions; it is up to us to evade the distractions and if those distractions persist, shoe them away.

I perceive that the issues related to whole Hindu cause, Muslim fundamentalism, conversions, Iyer-Iyengar divisions, Sanskrit-Tamil row et al are distractions that come in the way of our target - that is - "constructive actions for the betterment of Tamil Brahmins" at least in this forum. If you take these issues up in other fora, they might be apt and relevant there. In the light of these, if the forum members like me deem fit, we will ourselves visit newstoday pages and read Sri Sundaram's articles. Please do not mistake me for pointing out that we should not get distracted by filling up the pages in this forum with his articles, which do not have the same objective of betterment of the cause of "Tamil Brahmins". I feel the need to say these as his articles do have a political agenda - it is his prerogative - but that may or may not suit the purpose of this forum. For this forum has to stay above all forms of politics if the objectives are to be achieved.

Moreover, my perception is that the "Tamil Brahmins" as part of this forum are a miniscule minority to carry the large responsibility of "Hindu Cause" and there are many out in the world doing this yeoman service. Let the "Tamil Brahmins" over here concentrate on the "cause of Tamil Brahmins" alone for which there is not much elsewhere in this world. Even this Sri V.Sundaram, a Tamil Brahmin, has been gifted by us to the Hindu Cause and therefore let us retain at least some for the exclusive cause of "Tamil Brahmins". Let us not wean away even the handful that we have and divert them for the "larger Hindu cause".

By the way, I see your call as under:

I understand from Smt. Uma Krishnamoorthy that on 13 mar at 6 pm at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan there will be a meeting under the vigil banner.

topic: History and Cuture

pl come in large numbers.
Click to expand...

Is this Mrs Uma Krishnamurthy, a member of this forum? In what context the clarion call is made to the Tamil Brahmins to assemble at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan? Has this meeting any direct relevance to the purpose of this forum? These are the questions that we need to ask ourselves before asking the members to assemble in large numbers.

You may kindly consider these aspects.
 
Dear Appaiahji,

Your story about Dronacharya and Arjuna is apt indeed!

Now Gauthier's exhibition of those paintings on Aurangazeb was actually organized mostly by very highly educated Tamil Brahmin women who are proud of their heritage and who naturally have the genuine outrage against the wanton destruction of lives and property and the sacrilege done to the Dharma and the places of worship of their forefathers by Aurangazeb. The Tamilnadu police who at the instigation of the Muslim minority have not only shut down the exhibition but also insulted and hauled those Brahmin ladies to the police station. I had posted the websites where the photos of these atrocities were posted. Hope you had a chance to view them.

The protest against this highhandedness of the police and appeasement of the DMK government was organised by the vigil group which again has a large percentage of Tamil Brahmins. I got a email about this meeting that has the mention of Smt. Uma Krishnamoorthy again another a well known Brahmin lady who I know organized similar protest meetings when Kanchi Acharyas were arrested by Jaya Lalitha government.

I posted the contents of the email here knowing full well that only about a dozen people read each posting and so the entreaty to attend in 'large numbers' was made more as info rather than invitation. I am sure that an army of one (or two if you too were present!) from the Tamil Brahmins.com might have attended!

Regards,
Saab
 
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Dear Sri Saab

I was out of Chennai for nearly two weeks during which time the events that you had referred had happened. You are correct that the three women who had been involved in this episode were well educated Brahmin ladies. But did you check on whether they had obtained the prior police permission that is required under law to hold such public exhibitions? My enquiries reveal that they had not. I do not know as to whether you know this fact or not. This had given a free hand to the Police to do what they did.

After seeing your post, I also checked on what happened at the said meeting convened by Vigil, an organisation that sprang from RSS. Sri Subramanian Swamy and Sri C.P.Radhakrishnan who had agreed to address the gathering cancelled at the last minute their participation and irked by this the organisers of the meeting had put up posters announcing the non-participation of Sri Swamy and Sri Radhakrishnan with sarcastic and caustic comments on them. The audience spoke on that day with the two announced speakers remaining absent due to politics and ill-health. It is possible that the so called Prince of Arcot had his way with these star speakers as well. This part of the event was not covered by any newspaper including "News to day".

That is why I advise exercise of restraint and not to jump to conclusions based entirely on news reports. Most often, the present day journalists "edit" the news so that their "political agenda" is served adequately.

These days all of us get one email or the other highlighting all these "atrocities" in various cities and the information about all the Hindu Cause sites is well on hand with most of us. I had heard that the Americans, when faced with intelligence of the Jews, spoiled younger Jews by making them addicted to pornographic sites. I am afraid that we must not let our Brahmin youngsters addicted to hatred against this or that religion or this or that ideology. If we allow that to happen, then that would more than serve the purpose of the very invaders of Hinduism that these Hindu Protectors are fighting. We will erase our own third generation. We are powerful even today because of our education and constructive path. That is our strength. We cannot afford to lose that, considering that we are numerically weak.

I am afraid that forwarded emails and the scores of web sites in this subject are taking our youngsters to such a point. Passing the information about these happenings and cautioning the society against the impending threat are needed. But spreading hatred is not needed and is to be shunned. If we make all our youngsters minds full of hatred, then they would take their next generation to a violent path. We need to brood over all these aspects and go forward.

It is in this context that I suggest the constructive path as against the confrontation path. It is up to the individuals to take the one that appeals to them.

Regards

Appaiah
 
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Dear Appaiahji,

வார்த்தைக்கு வ்யவஸ்தை இல்லேன்னு சொல்லுவா. வார்த்தை இல்லேன்னா தர்க்கமே இல்லே!

What do we understand from this?

Even in this very forum we have seen people arguing endlessly sticking to their guns for they are confident that words can serve them well!

At the end of the day, it is not the words that convinces rather one is convinced of his instinct for which words become mere affirmation!

Can the words negate one's instinct?

If it did then we would all be mute for nothing can negate our instinct. However words do serve as an impetus to action.

Now coming to the exhibition of the paintings from the Aurangazeb era, we have to understand that the intelligentia world over (to which we of the internet savvys belong!) is the connecting link between the past and the present. What is connected differs from place to place and time to time. Our many Puranas and the history books are nothing but the works of the intelligentia who are the connecting link. So please ignore the efficiency or the clumsiness with which the connections were attempted as in the case of the exhibition in question and its aftermath.

The point I am making is that there are sections who are pro-active to the role of the intelligentia as well as those of the opposite who deny the intellegentia their rightful role and cast them as the wasters of efforts and the casters of misdirection. However much these 'progressives' might denounce their detracters as 'conservatives' and ask people not to look back, their 'prudence' is against the law of nature and so they swim against the current only to be drifted and swept away by the power of the nature for no society can spring forth in disconnect.

I have no more info on the promoters of the 'exhibition' and I suppose they lost the wind to sail further. They may have to wait for another day and another place. However, it should be admitted that these Brahmin ladies did cause a ripple in the zombie world of Tamil Brahmins!

Regards,
Saab
 
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shall we not look at the future. and not the past?

we as a society, are still in a raw enough stage, to get ourselves incited over past wrongs. this is a big baggage, which we would be best avoiding, and further more passing on to the next generation.

hariharan1972 in another forum, has written a very sensible (as he always does) :) post re the irrelevance of past, and the futility of carrying on ancient grudges.

i very humbly request him to express the same sentiments here appropriately.

i am confident he will know who i am. :) :) :)
 
Dear Sri Saab

I quote you:

வார்த்தைக்கு வ்யவஸ்தை இல்லேன்னு சொல்லுவா. வார்த்தை இல்லேன்னா தர்க்கமே இல்லே!
Click to expand...

I am not interested either in tharkkam or Kutharkkam. I would stay away from both. The one who takes the constructive path will always avoid loss of time.
I have chosen mine. You are free to choose yours.

I would rather try to know who I am than trying to find out who the others are.

Regards

Appaiah
 
ஆத்ம விசாரம் அய்யே அதி சுலபம்!

--பகவான் ரமணா
 
பழமொழியை சரியாய் சொல்லணும்!

"அன்ன விசாரம் அதுவே ப்ரசாரம்
ஆத்ம விசாரம் அதுக்கெங்கே நேரம்."
 
Thanks for the clarification.

Mine is not a proverb- It 's the what I heard.

Anyway learnt the correct one - Thanks

Why no Devaram - today?
 
I posted the famous song of Doris Day 'Que sara sara'. Let me continue in the same vein. Perhaps it will occur to everyone that the great dictum 'BE YOURSELF' is quite meaningful and enable one to do his own dharma instead of borrowing from alien religions.

In Chapter one of Bhagavat Geetha, Arjuna does his vicharam on the aftermath of the war. And that brought us the divine gist of what Sanatana Dharma stands for from the mouth of Sri Bhagavan Himself.

Here is a story from Sitalakshmi's Classic Tales for Children.

The Legacy

Once upon a time, there was a very rich old man. He had only one son, Vijay. One day the old man fell sick and died, leaving everything he had to his son. Vijay now had to look after his father’s business and other financial matters. Soon he called his accountant and asked how much wealth he had inherited from his father. The accountant replied, “Sir, your father was a very rich and intelligent man. During his lifetime, he has accumulated lot of wealth. Even if your next three generations do not earn anything, they will be well provided for.”

Vijay should have been happy to hear this, but he was not. He was now worrying about his fourth generation. “What would they do without money?” The worry turned into a constant nagging thought for him day after day. He was unable to enjoy life. He could not even eat, drink or sleep well. All he did was worry about his fourth generation. This problem engulfed him in deep sorrow and soon he fell sick. Despite constant efforts of the doctors, he did not recover from his illness.

One of the servants had heard about a saint, who had come to a nearby village. The saint was adept at curing sick people. He had magic in his hands. The servant rushed to the saint, explained the situation to him, and requested him to visit his master and bless him. The saint agreed to do so and the next morning came to visit the sick lad. The saint talked to Vijay for a while and realized his problems. He then advised him not to worry about anything and left saying, “You will soon recover from your illness. But remember one thing, you must never eat before you feed at least two beggars everyday.”

Vijay agreed to follow this advice. Accordingly, he used to search for two beggars every day, bring them to his place and serve them food. Only after they had eaten, did he eat his lunch. Now it so happened that one day there was a festival in the neighboring village and all the beggars had gone there as they were being served free food. There were no beggars in the village. Vijay looked around for two beggars all day. However, he could find only one beggar by lunchtime. After serving the beggar a sumptuous meal, Vijay went out in search of another beggar. It was evening and there was still no trace of any beggar. Vijay was so hungry that he thought he would die of starvation. However, he was bent upon maintaining his avowal. Finally, late in the evening, he found a beggar. Vijay invited him to his place so that he could serve him a hearty meal.

However, the beggar told him, “Let me ask my wife, only then can I come with you.”

Vijay was surprised.

He could not understand why the hungry looking beggar needed his wife’s permission when food was readily available. Vijay was also very hungry. However, he was helpless so he requested the beggar to check with his wife and come back soon.

After a few minutes, the beggar returned. He told Vijay that usually they ate only one meal a day and they had already eaten that day’s meal. Therefore, he refused to accept Vijay’s hospitality. Vijay was shocked to hear this. He could not understand the beggar’s reaction and thought, “Here I am, offering him so wonderful a meal with sweets and even then he refuses to eat the food.” “My dear, whatever you may have, you can always eat it tomorrow, today you can eat sweets,” so saying Vijay pleaded with the beggar, unable to bear his own hunger any more.

The beggar denied his offer and said, “First of all, whatever we receive first, we always eat it. Another principle, we never store meals for the next day. We do not worry about tomorrow. We take things as they come.” As if he was awakened from a deep slumber, Vijay was hit with a bolt of lightening. He understood his folly of worrying about his fourth generation.
 
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