DailyPioneer-  Swapan Dasgupta

If the Congress had chosen to emulate the Samajwadi Party, the RJD and the Shiv Sena and declared itself against the very idea of an all-powerful Lokpal, it would have earned the grudging respect of many Indians.

Shashi Shekhar

Rediff

‘Let us start the debate in 2012 in favour of a directly elected executive with a civil society-based Electoral College as a check for a directly elected strong leader in the mould of a Narendra Modi which serves the national interest far more than an indirectly selected, weak but acceptable prime minister,’ argues Shashi Shekhar.

It may be odd to draft an ‘apolitical agenda’ for politics in 2012, but the manner in which politics conducted itself during 2011 gives us good reason to do so. During 2011 there was more agenda setting outside the government and political parties than from the inside.

The nebulous entity called ‘civil society’ asserted itself in a manner never seen before to break new ground in what has come to be described as the ‘pre-legislative’ consultation process.

If the UPA stood guilty of the original crime of having institutionalised this process through the ‘National Advisory Council’, the BJP and the rest of the Opposition stand guilty of having hopped on the ‘civil society’ bandwagon on the Lokpal issue.

‘Civil society’ activism is viewed by many as a potent vehicle for mobilising and polarising public opinion on policy debates that have in the past bypassed much of popular consciousness.

In reality, however, civil society is a micro-minority with a loud megaphone. Its nuisance value has assumed a proportion where it can no longer be ignored by government and political opposition alike. Its limitations are such that its agenda cannot really get ahead of the political realities of the day as has been evident from the Lokpal debate.

As we enter 2012 we are faced with a curious choice between a shallow political culture where political parties barely invest in enlightened policy making or citizen engagement and a disconnected civil society that barely understands how to navigate around political realities.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi made a very perceptive observation in his New Year blog post on the governance deficit and policy paralysis during 2011. Reflecting the same concern some on the other side of the political divide like former minister and the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor [ Images ] made a forceful argument calling for a directly elected executive.

On the political margins of this debate you have civil society activist Arvind Kejriwal calling for direct elections of a different kind where referenda on specific issues set the legislative agenda between the five year election cycle.

Between the fears over a strong and directly elected executive and the chaos and anarchy of direct democracy a common ground must be found that helps us overcome the governance deficit and the policy paralysis to help further an agenda for what Narendra Modi describes as the economic opportunity created by the crisis over Western capitalism.

Hence this ‘apolitical agenda’ for politics in 2012 hoping that debate begins in the earnest on remaking our democracy where navigating political realities no longer becomes an excuse for not delivering on governance or for persisting with paralysis on key reforms.

A Constitutional remaking of the executive to be elected directly with new Constitutional space for ‘civil society’ through an electoral college could be key elements of such an agenda.

There are many formulations already in the public domain for how the executive may be directly elected. Shashi Tharoor in his essay in Tehelka showed a preference for the French model over the American model. This columnist in another proposal has called for adding a single non-voting seat to every legislature with the entire state or country being the constituency that this non-voting seat represents.

No matter which method is employed towards getting us a directly elected prime minister or President as the case may be, it must take us in a direction away from fragmented legislatures and minority parties determining the government’s fate.

Fears over a directly elected executive are largely overblown. More than fearing a directly elected strong prime minister or President who may be recalled we must fear a weak prime minister who is susceptible to influence and control by proxy.

It is not just a weak Manmohan Singh [ Images ] vulnerable to proxy influence from 10 Janpath we must fear. In fact we must fear anyone deemed ‘acceptable’ for such acceptability comes with a price tag of vulnerability to blackmail by regional parties or remote control.

Only two BJP leaders in office have a track record of standing up to Nagpur — one from Delhi [ Images ], the other from Gandhinagar and L K Advani [ Images ] is neither of them.

Greater federalism could be one way to counter balance the fears of over a strong, central executive. However an effective check against excessive concentration of executive power in the states and the Centre could be an Electoral College where civil society finds transparent representation and a Constitutional role with accountability.

The Electoral College can be the vehicle by which the directly elected executive may be recalled should it transgress Constitutional boundaries mid-term. The Electoral College can also be the vehicle by which legislation of public interest can be introduced as an ordinance pending legislative approval.

The composition of the Electoral College and the mechanism by which its civil society members are selected or elected can be a matter of debate. Rather than have an unaccountable NAC or a maximalist Team Anna exercise disproportionate influence in an opaque, raucous manner it may be in our own enlightened self interest to harness civil society energy as a force of good through the Electoral College.

There is a real danger we may lose another decade to hung Parliaments, figurehead prime ministers and emotional blackmail by fasts unto death.

Let us start the debate in 2012 in favour of a directly elected executive with a civil society-based Electoral College as a check for a directly elected strong leader in the mould of a Narendra Modi with civil society as a check which serves the national interest far more than an indirectly selected, weak but acceptable prime minister vulnerable to pressure from regional parties and outside groups that may have propped him or her up.

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SundayGuardian.com

Ram Jethmalani

A  news report in the New Indian Express dated 30 November 2011 provides an unequivocal insight into the manner in which the CBI has been conducting itself in Gujarat related cases. I quote: “The Supreme Court on Tuesday rapped the CBI for making insinuations saying that the trial courts in Gujarat and its judges were biased and in favour of the state’s ex-Home Minister Amit Shah in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case. It is ‘complete nonsense’ and ‘contemptuous,’ the Bench remarked in the same breath. The CBI’s statement in the chargesheet that the accused in the case have ‘presence of their kith and kin in the subordinate judiciary in various capacities as prosecutors, magistrates as well as judges’ was termed as ‘highly irresponsible’ by a Bench comprising Justice Aftab Alam and Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai.” The Attorney General floundered in his reply when the Bench asked him whether he wanted the allegations retained or deleted, pleading that he was a late entrant to the case, and would make an application for deletion of the offending paragraphs from the petition.

The Bench was hearing a petition seeking shifting of the trial of the case outside Gujarat, and remarked, “At this stage when trial has not commenced, it is premature for the CBI to seek transfer of the case as there is no instance for the CBI to show that the witnesses are turning hostile or there has been tampering of the evidence.”

All one can say is that the UPA, all its investigating agencies and some of their media friends continue to be obsessively fixated with demonizing Gujarat and Modi. Time and time again, they get caught subverting procedures in flagrante delicto, retract temporarily, and then start again in an utterly remorseless manner, almost as if they have a nefarious mission to accomplish. A mission that has become a sordid article of faith with them, a credo they dare not desert, regardless of the credibility they lose or the illegalities they commit. Well, so long as the government is theirs, these self-styled crusaders come to no harm, at least not yet, and continue recklessly and shamelessly on their mission.

The most shocking revelation is Sanjeev Bhatt’s criminal offence of hacking the mail account of the Additional Advocate General and sharing the id and password with others.

This brigade has also become a haven for disgruntled sections of the bureaucracy, who believe that by becoming anti-Modi zealots, they might enter some paradise in the UPA government. They take their cue from the case of a Gujarat cadre IPS officer Kuldeep Sharma, who faced criminal charges and caught the fancy of the Central government on account of his anti-Modi utterances, and was appointed as DG-Bureau of Police Research and Development without the mandatory vigilance clearance from the state government. Another thoroughly insubordinate and undisciplined police officer, Sanjeev Bhatt thought it profitable in his frustration to join ranks with the Modi bashers. Perhaps he too dreamt of the paradise of Delhi, even as a Jamnagar custodial death case of the early 1990s presently dogs him in the Supreme Court. Apart from violating several All India Service Rules (detailed in my article of 2 November 2011) and not filing his property returns, he appears to be utterly careless too. A police officer’s most valuable professional assets are his weapon and his information, and any carelessness on either of them can cost him dearly, especially if the information he is careless about is conspiratorial and subversive. And this is exactly what Sanjeev Bhatt seems to have done. He handed over charge and his official computer leaving all his emails in an unprotected mode for all to read. The state government forwarded them to the SIT with a request to place them for consideration of the Amicus Curie and the Special Bench hearing the riot cases to see the real motive behind Bhatt’s prayer for transfer of the investigation of K.D. Panth’s complaint against Bhatt to the CBI.

What emerges from his emails is a sinister harvest of communication between him and the anti-Modi brigade, almost like a conspiracy against the Chief Minister and the state spearheaded by him, even while he is beneficiary of the constitutional protection that he as an IPS officer derives from Article 311 of the Constitution. The mails establish without doubt that Sanjeev Bhatt has violated every rule in the book, and behaves like a law unto himself, having the audacity to assume charge in Ahmedabad, while posted to Junagarh. He continuously leaks his correspondence with government, including an affidavit yet to be submitted to the Supreme Court, to the media and other fellow cohorts. They also reveal a continuous and determined campaign by him against the Gujarat government, virtually imploring the media to highlight his false affidavit, brazenly trying to mobilize the anti-Modi brigade and “pressure-groups” to use the “media card” and influence judicial proceedings before the Supreme Court and amicus curie, and instigating various activist organisations directly to pressurise the amicus curie with a flood of letters.

The mails provide conclusive evidence of Sanjeev Bhatt hobnobbing with the Opposition Congress party in a thoroughly illegal and almost seditious manner to concoct evidence against the Chief Minister regarding his claimed presence at the Chief Minister’s meeting on 27 February 2002. Top Congress leaders, such as, Arjunbhai Modhwadiya, Shaktisinh Gohil, Krishnakant Vakharia and Nasir Chhipa, are seen in constant touch with him and are giving him “packages” and “materials”, and are guiding him. Curiously, Bhatt almost seems to beg Shaktisinh Gohil to provide him with a BlackBerry, something he could well afford himself. Or is Blackberry a code for something else?

As the dots get connected, we see an ominous picture of a systematic and larger conspiracy, involving Sanjeev Bhatt, top leaders of the Congress in Gujarat and vested interest groups determined to concoct facts and create false evidence to keep the Godhra riot issue alive, almost ten years after the completion of judicial proceedings. Sanjeev Bhatt leaves no stone unturned, continuously contacting third parties and persuading them to swear affidavits to support the false stand taken by him in his affidavit in the Supreme Court, and send them to the Amicus Curie and the Supreme Court.

The most shocking revelation which gives a true snapshot of the character of this serving police officer is his criminal offence of hacking the mail account of the Additional Advocate General and sharing the id and password with others. He exchanged emails with journalist Rajdeep Sardesai requesting him, “Please make someone go through the mailbox of Tushar Mehta…If need be, I can sit with someone from your channel and point out the significance of certain mail exchanges.” The silver lining is that Sardesai, now a responsible journalist, seems to have given the offer short shrift. The same emails were shared with another journalist, Rajiv Pathak, whose response was identical in refusing to use the unauthorized details supplied by Bhatt, at which Bhatt gives some pious advice: “Please ensure that the password of TM mail account is neither changed nor shared with anyone else.” Rajiv Pathak very maturely replies, “Don’t worry sir, since it came from you, I have no right on changing or sharing it with anyone. Since my office is not willing to use this, this becomes entirely your property which I have no claim.” The journalist shows much greater ethics than the cop.  source   MORE RELATED ARTICLES BELOW:

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Kanchan Gupta

Pioneer

A  decade after 9/11 when Governments around the world are reassessing the heightened threat posed by radical Islamists and their jihad brigades to their national security, Mr Manmohan Singh, who notionally heads the morally decrepit and functionally paralysed Government of this wondrous land of ours, would rather, ostrich-like, bury his head in the gravel that paves the path to the Prime Minister’s Office in South Block and pretend, as Law Minister Salman Khurshid is fond of saying, all is well. It’s not difficult to spot the three idiots of the Congress regime which goes by the moniker of United Progressive Alliance. Others may have a different opinion of him, but I have always held that Salman Khurshid has a wry sense of humour.

Hence, it comes as no surprise that Mr Singh, while addressing the 66th session of the UN General Assembly on September 24, should have made a bland, meaningless, one-sentence reference to terrorism at paragraph 11 of his rambling, 50-paragraph-long speech whose text would reassure those who grew up in the 1960s on a steady diet of ‘internationalism’ that the lamp of their cause still flickers in some hearts and restore faith among chronic insomniacs that it is possible to have a good night’s sleep. “Terrorism continues to rear its ugly head and take a grievous toll of innocent lives,” Mr Singh droned from the dais, making it sound as no more than a customary mention, as is done by billion-dollar charlatans who gather at Davos every summer to hunger in Africa. At paragraph 36, Mr Singh added three more sentences on terrorism: “The fight against terrorism must be unrelenting. There cannot be selective approaches in dealing with terrorist groups or the infrastructure of terrorism. Terrorism has to be fought across all fronts.” He could well have been referring to the breakout of a strange disease in Timbucktoo.

And while Mr Singh held forth on the “need to address the issue of the deficit in global governance” (yawn), blithely glossing over the huge and ever-increasing deficit in India’s governance ever since he found himself being pole-vaulted into the PMO in the summer of 2004, the Prime Minister of Israel, the only democracy between India and the Maghreb, took it upon himself to say it as it is, bluntly telling the world that the real danger to our present and future emanates from radical Islamism. “A malignancy is now growing between East and West that threatens the peace of all. It seeks not to liberate, but to enslave, not to build, but to destroy. That malignancy is militant Islam… (applause)… Since 9/11, militant Islamists have slaughtered countless innocents — in London and Madrid, in Baghdad and Mumbai, in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, in every part of Israel. I believe that the greatest danger facing our world is that this fanaticism will arm itself with nuclear weapons. And this is precisely what Iran is trying to do.” Mr Benjamin Netanyahu is not known for being politically correct. But he knows that we live in a politically incorrect world.

A measure of just how politically incorrect is our world was provided by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Islamist President, Mr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose bilious rant at the General Assembly led to a walkout by all delegates barring those representing the Organisation of Islamic Conference. Further confirmation of the strange times we live in was provided by Mr Singh in his speech which marked a formal departure from India’s long-standing position on Palestine whose formulation was in keeping with the UN Security Council’s Resolution 242 of November 22, 1967, which was adopted following the Six-Day War in which David beat Goliath to pulp. The operative portion of Resolution 242 calls for the “Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every state in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognised boundaries free from threats or acts of force.”

Extrapolating from Resolution 242, India’s position on the demand for Palestinian statehood was restricted to reiterating support for a two-state solution based on the “sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of Israel and Palestine and their right to live side by side in peace within secure and recognised boundaries”. On occasion, there were minor deviations (especially when politicians spoke extempore without a prepared text) but broadly the thrust would remain the same. Mr Singh has now introduced, in his standard and sly manner, a new element to India’s position on a crucial issue without bothering about the need for public deliberation or parliamentary debate. In his address to the General Assembly he went out of the way to raise a contentious issue in whose resolution India has no perceivable role and which really is of no concern to us: “The Palestinian question still remains unresolved and a source of great instability and violence. India is steadfast in its support for the Palestinian people’s struggle for a sovereign, independent, viable and unitedstate of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, living within secure and recognisable borders side by side and at peace with Israel.”

That’s a bizarre proposition, not the least because reiterating support for East Jerusalem as the capital of a ‘united’ state of Palestine amounts to endorsing the belligerence of those who wish to see Israel “wiped off the map of the world”. A ‘united’ Palestine, as in a state with a single territorial identity, is a geographical and political impossibility; Palestine, as and when it gains statehood, will be no different from Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s “moth-eaten Pakistan” and in due course will collapse into two entities. That apart, Mr Singh calling for the inclusion of ‘East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine’ from no less a platform than the UN General Assembly may serve to excite the imagination of wannabe Islamists who dwell in sequestered mohallahs in Azamgarh and similar places across India and aspire to join the ranks of God’s Army, but it is not going to bring about any change on the ground.

The Green Line belongs to the past, as does the Ottoman Empire’s occupation of the House of David. Mr Singh is expected to be aware of basic historical facts, including the UN’s 1947 resolution declaring Jerusalem a “corpus separatum” which was accepted by Jews on the premise that Arabs, too, would accept it. But that resolution was rejected by the Palestinians and Arabs do not even concede the legitimacy of Israel.

There’s a postscript to the Prime Minister’s uncalled for ministration of a demand that is untenable and flies in the face of what he himself says, and ironically so, at one point in his speech: “Actions taken under the authority of the United Nations must respect the unity, territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of individual states.” That postscript is about Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq’s visit to New York, coinciding with that of Mr Singh. The Mirwaiz was at the UN to attend the OIC’s Kashmir Contact Group meeting where the demand for Kashmir’s ‘azadi’ was reiterated. The meeting was attended, among others, by Palestinians who unhesitatingly recorded their support for the OIC’s resolve to see Kashmir separated from India. Which only proves how inconsequential is Mr Singh’s gratuitous offer of ‘steadfast’ support for ‘united Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital’. But then, national interest was never a priority for our Prime Minister. Nor does the nation seem to care how its interest is being compromised, again and again, by him.          http://kanchangupta.blogspot.com

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India Realtime

- Ajit Mohan

Early in November, before more interesting controversies distracted them, Indian journalists were up in arms over a statement by the chairman of the Press Council of India, Justice Markandey Katju. The PCI chairman had the audacity to articulate his perspective on the state of India’s news media, holding that he had a “poor opinion” of it and expressing his assessment that “a majority of the media people are of very poor intellectual level,” with no “idea of economic theory or political science, philosophy or literature.” The Indian press, he argued, “was not working for the interest of the people.”

The outrage that followed was largely limited to the journalistic community. For most consumers of news in India, in print or on television, and for dispassionate observers, Mr. Katju’s assessment was an articulation of the most obvious reality. In fact, the PCI chairman did not need to set the bar as high as an evolved intellect and an acute understanding of economics, sciences and liberal arts for India’s news journalism to fail to clear the hurdle. Most newspapers and television channels struggle to meet the very rudimentary requirement of reporting news with the analytical depth that a subject deserves, without bias or deliberate distortions.

What is broken about the news media in India is self-evident on the front pages of the dailies in the mornings and on the nightly news on television in the evenings.

Fragments of news, a significant portion lazily strung together from press agency clippings, are what a careful newspaper reader can sift out between a series of full-page advertisements peddling products, and images of women (usually of non-Indian origin) in different states of undress (in their defense, savvy editors must be acutely aware now that many of their readers prefer to get their titillation from their English-language newspapers than from other sources.) If there is any original reporting at all, it is always a bit unclear if a government agency or a private company has sponsored the report, or whether it is just another unpaid favor that has been granted by the editor.

Frighteningly, the situation is even worse on television channels. Most news channels just do not do reporting anymore. What counts for reporting is usually a small snippet of a roving ‘journalist’ talking to a few randomly chosen individuals on the streets of Delhi and Mumbai for their take on the big controversy of the day. This then segues to what has become the preferred format of all channels: a panel of six to eight ‘experts’, usually spokesmen of major political parties mixed with out-of-work politicians, newspaper and magazine editors, and the day’s representation from the roving celebrity class of lobbyist-PR agent-commentators (whose reason to be on the panel is never quite clear), ranting at each other while struggling to have their screeching voices heard above the incessant screaming of the anchor. All this while the viewer struggles to keep up with the multiple, disjointed layers of scrolling headlines perennially sliding on the screen below the screamers.

So, it is broken in some very obvious ways. That news has become entertainment is part of the story. In itself, this need not be a crime. If journalists report and package news in a compelling manner that grabs an audience’s attention, that is no bad thing. That the news coverage from mainstream media is obsessively focused on just politics, Bollywood and cricket is also only part of the problem. To the extent that this is a genuine reflection of the audience’s preferences, there is a case to be made for the focus on these three areas. But it is harder to defend the plethora of stories that have blatant errors and distortions, sometimes even on the main features and headlines of the day.

News in India is also broken in ways that are not immediately apparent. For a start, there is just not enough investment made to explore a story fully. Very rarely do you see newspapers and television channels bring reporting and analytical depth to a story, unraveling the many plausible layers behind what is well-known and well documented. The fascinating story of a country with the diversity of India, which is seeing important transitions across its political, economic and social fronts, should be an exciting canvas to paint stories of multiple hues and colors. And yet, more often than not, the point of the news seems to be to reduce this extraordinary diversity to the most banal, or to a contest between extremes that can only be resolved through a shouting match on live television.

Equally troubling is the consistent presence of a single, dominant narrative in the mainstream media on almost any issue of importance. This is especially true on any subject that can be even remotely categorized under the broad umbrella of national security. From militancy in Kashmir to the Naxal insurgency in central and eastern India, from relations with Pakistan to the troubled Northeast, there is rarely a dissenting narrative to be found. Almost all the daily reporting tacitly accepts the government’s perspective. There is never any real effort to discover whether there are competing truths, whether there are stories that will cause Indians to examine these subjects with less certainty than what their government has been telling them to believe.

The dominance of a single narrative extends to other issues too. Anna Hazare is either leading a national revolution at one moment or leading a bunch of crooks the next. Tata Motors is building a revolutionary cheap car for the masses that should make every citizen proud, or Singur is a fight for the future of economic reforms. (A well researched Purdue University analysis showed how over a period of 18 months, the media accepted and amplified a narrative of the Tata Nano’s launch that was remarkably in sync with the company’s own communication.) The list goes on.

Above all, though, the objectivity of the Indian news media is now in question. The audio recordings of PR agent Niira Radia revealed last year showed a cozy relationship between the journalists and the subjects they are supposed to cover objectively. A television anchor was heard playing the role of an intermediary in negotiations between the UPA allies during the formation of the central government in 2009. Newspaper columnists were taking advice from PR agents on what to write in their columns. What the tapes revealed was a press that was fiercely independent on the surface, but looked like it really wanted to be influenced by the highest bidder. And, therefore, for every story that is covered, there always seems to be five other stories that are deliberately ignored.

In many ways, the crisis of the media in India reflects the broader crisis and angst that the news media is going through around the world, especially in the West. But the drivers could not be more different. The turbulence in the West is driven by a dramatically shrinking readership amongst newspapers and magazines. Mainstream news organizations in the West are threatened too by a new breed of media outlets that is ideologically extreme and filters every domestic and global event using the narrow lens of the fight between the left and the right.

Remarkably, neither is an issue in India. Almost alone in the world, India’s print, magazine and television news businesses are growing rapidly, in circulation as well as in advertising revenues, often in double digits. Between 2003 and 2009, as print circulation declined in most major countries, India added more than 25 million new readers. Advertising and circulation together is expected to grow at more than 10% annually for the next few years. Neither is ideological radicalization an issue in the Indian press. In fact, reflecting the rest of the polity, the domestic news media rarely possesses even a clear philosophy on economic development, politics or international relations.

Of course, none of this should take credit away from the journalists and reporters in India who still continue to do the old-fashioned shoe-leather reporting, toiling to get the facts and the stories right. And, in the midst of all the gloom, the magazine sector has seen much innovation as well as the occasional willingness to counter the mainstream narrative and to invest in digging out the real stories behind the screaming headlines. But more often than not, their work highlights what is starkly missing in newspapers and television channels (and unfortunately, their circulation dwarfs the readership and viewership of these newspapers and channels).

So, how did we get here? For a start, the crisis in Indian media does lend credence to the emerging wisdom around the world that objective and independent journalism can only thrive in a non-profit environment, perhaps with the benevolent support of wealthy trusts and individuals. Most major newspapers and television channels in the country are owned by for-profit corporations that understandably have an emphasis on the bottom-line. These organizations invariably have other business interests and relationships that may make objective journalism within their newspapers and channels difficult and inconvenient. Many media outlets are disproportionately reliant on their advertisers – a recent analyst report estimated that nearly 75% of print revenue in India comes from advertising – thus, the temptation always exists to pander to them, especially when these advertisers are the subjects of the reporting. The temptation must also exist to punish those advertisers who choose competing outlets.

This drift towards seeking easy ways to pander to audiences and advertisers is exacerbated by the culture of incestuous self-serving relationships. Enthralled by the prospect of not being subject anymore to the long speeches of the Information and Broadcasting ministers masquerading as news on Doordarshan, we made celebrities out of the new television anchors on private channels before they had even become genuine reporters. Many of these celebrities became a coveted part of the incestuous social circles of Delhi and Mumbai that brought the decision makers of the polity together, much before they had learned how to draw the lines adequately between their personal lives and their professional responsibilities. Many editors have overt and covert relationships with political parties and business leaders. These relationships, and the outcomes that they reveal on newspapers and magazines and television channels, highlight why outstanding journalists around the world have always believed in keeping a safe distance from the polity; in knowing when the party stops, and when the honest work begins.

Underlining the troubled situation is the absence of any kind of meaningful regulation. When the PCI chairman raised the issue of bringing electronic media under the Press Council as well, and giving “more teeth” to the council to call out errant behavior, in a way, for example, that the Bar Council currently does for lawyers, he was met with vicious opposition from editors who cited the need for absolute press freedom to play their special role as the society’s watchdog.

So, is there a path to renewal for journalism in India? Absolutely, and the answer partly lies in the staunch defense the editors made for the freedoms they have become used to. They are right that regulation is a slippery slope. While the temptation to regulate is high, the role of the press is a unique one in democracies and the freedom of the press – even a flawed news media – is absolutely essential to making sure that it stands a chance of playing the role of the custodian that it was always meant to.

One of the best chances for renewal lies not in limiting the freedom of the press but in expanding it, and particularly in rolling back the limits that are currently put on it through the structure of the anti-defamation laws in the country. There is no doubt that the threat of a libel suit — whether from a politician or a business leader — carries much weight in the coverage choices made by journalists and editors. India also hasn’t seen the proliferation of online sites like in the West that scrutinize the coverage of mainstream media and hold journalists accountable for their reporting.

The other response to the proliferation of mediocre journalism has to be more competition. Competition to the entrenched, for-profit, domestic media should come from two sources: foreign news organizations and a new non-profit public broadcaster.

Foreign news organizations have been locked out of the domestic news market. Limits exist on foreign ownership in local television channels, while foreign print organizations cannot tailor editions for a local audience. No rational argument exists any more for these controls. In a resurgent India where domestic firms have fiercely competed with foreign companies in markets at home and abroad, the only reason for these controls now is the protection of domestic media firms. And, it is time to break the status quo on this. There is no guarantee that foreign news organizations will practice a more elevated form of journalism (the outrageous behavior of the tabloids in the U.K. is still recentmemory.) But there is at least a chance that a fresh infusion of talent and methods from established news organizations, facing shrinking revenues in their own domestic markets, will shake up India’s cozy, incestuous media circle.

Perhaps these imports could also teach some of our celebrity anchors and editors the rudimentary lessons in reporting and objective journalism that they seem to have skipped on their way to stardom.

The game changer, though, would be the establishment of a new, non-profit public broadcaster with the mandate to pursue serious journalism without the distraction of an agenda set by advertisers and business partners. While the restructured Prasar Bharti could well have evolved to play that role, there is no evidence that it is sufficiently independent from the government’s influence to get there. Around the world, public broadcasting has always been a bulwark against the race to the bottom in journalistic standards. Whether the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and the National Public Radio (NPR) in the United States, or the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in the United Kingdom, these public broadcasters have played a valuable role in pursuing stories with an objectivity and integrity that sometimes have eluded the more mainstream news organizations. PBS, in fact, was explicitly created in 1970 to counter what was then seen as the dominance of three network television corporations in controlling news and entertainment in the U.S. All three organizations have done a stellar job of grooming reporters who have gone on to play leadership roles in private news corporations.

While their revenue models differ, a substantial portion of their financing comes from public donations, grants and contributions from local affiliates (in the case of PBS and NPR), and a national television license fee in the case of BBC. In other words, they are free to pursue independent journalism measured against standards set by independent leaders, none of who are reliant on advertisers or the government for their careers.

No pillar is more important in a democracy than the fourth estate. And no institution is weaker in India presently than its news media. There is a path to renewal, and it is one that involves more competition and more freedom of expression.

Is Hinduism Casteist?

Sw. AbhayaNanda

The Vedic society is often criticized by the modern intelligentsia for its apparently discriminating stand against a certain section of the society. The detractors claim that the Vedas directly support racist and feudal dominance by brandishing a certain group of people as ‘shudras’, or low born. India has witnessed social upheavals on this issue, and today caste system has become a sensitive subject with serious ramifications on the national political scene.

However the Vedas present a view contrary to the modern zealots’ interpretation, and is actually egalitarian in outlook, a point totally ignored by the critics.

Birth v/s qualification

Lord Krishna states in the Bhagavad Gita, the most authorized book for the Hindus, that a person’s position in the society is based on his qualifications and work, and not on birth (BG 4.13). Thus a person, although born in an apparently higher caste, has to qualify himself.

Similarly if a person born into a ‘lower’ caste displays qualities of a person of the ‘higher’ order, he shouldn’t be discouraged. We cannot assume that a child of doctor parents automatically qualifies himself/herself to be a doctor on the basis of birth in one such family. Similarly no one can claim to be a brahmana without qualifying himself by the necessary training.

The Chandogya Upanishad illustrates this point with the story of Satyakama, a young boy who approached a spiritual master for enlightenment. The guru enquired about his father and the boy said he was unaware of his father’s identity. He was then told to go and ask his mother. He soon returned and candidly confessed that his mother had known many men, and is herself unsure about his father’s identity. The spiritual master, being pleased with this honesty, declared to the boy, “You are a real brahmana“.

Need for social divisions

However a question arises on the need to have such a system in the first place, because this categorization threatens to alienate certain groups from the mainstream. Moreover a classless society assures freedom from these artificial barriers, and promises equal opportunity to all.

The Vedas declare that this kind of division exists in the society naturally. A balanced and healthy body has the brain, arms, belly and legs working in good condition. Similarly the symptom of a healthy social body is the peaceful coexistence of teachers and intelligentsia, the administrators, the business class and the laborers. The brahmanas in Vedic society refers to the ‘brain’ of society, i.e. they provide the intellectual capital and spiritual and moral direction. The Kshatriyas, or the administrators are compared to the arms and they have a crucial role to protect the citizens. The Vaishyas, or business class are compared to the belly, and the worker class or shudras are the legs which support the other three orders.

This division is natural in any society as different people adopt different occupations based on interest and inclinations.

To say the arms are needed but the legs are unimportant for the body is foolish. Likewise to condemn a certain occupational class within the same society is disastrous. Needless to say all the orders have to work with dignity of labor, mutual respect and in harmony with each other.

Cause of modern problems

The problems in the Vedic society arose primarily due to getting these basics wrong and rampant exploitation taking place on the basis of one’s birth in a particular caste.

In a human body, although all parts are important, the brain is undoubtedly most vital. Without the brain’s working, a physically perfect body is considered unproductive. Similarly for the society to run smoothly, the brahmana class has to be of impeccable character and integrity. With the corruption of this class, influenced by false pride and arrogance, the social order became chaotic.

Sadly today in India there are many smarta- brahmanas, or caste-conscious brahmanas who insist that one cannot be elevated to brahminical status unless he is born in a brahmana family. This brahmana by-birth conception is non-Vedic, and has justifiably agitated the other sections. Little surprise then, that the politicization of this issue and the resultant violence is eroding the social fabric.

The solution- Rising ‘above’ the caste system

Lord Krishna reveals in the Bhagavad Gita, the identity of each person as distinctly different from the body (BG 2.13). Presently the ‘soul’ or the real ‘I’ is covered by this body and identifying with this perishable body, we claim to belong to a particular caste, nationality, race etc.

Although this occupational division helps one to progress gradually by encouraging us to dovetail our propensities, Krishna extols the intelligent to transcend these temporary designations. He declares the highest religion is to render loving devotional service to God, and when we engage in our activities with a desire to serve and please Him, we immediately go beyond these petty classifications. When the society is trained to be God conscious, each member then performs his/her duty in a purified consciousness and considers himself as a servant of all others in the society.

Thus the Srimad Bhagavatam declares:

“O best among the twice-born, it is therefore concluded that the highest perfection one can achieve by discharging the duties prescribed for one’s own occupation according to caste divisions and orders of life is to please the Personality of Godhead.” (SB -1.2.13)

The Vedas thus declare that the perfection of this institutional framework is to cooperate jointly for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. Srila Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON writes, “This system exists not for artificial domination of one division over another. When the aim of life, i.e., realization of the Absolute Truth, is missed by too much attachment for sense gratification, this institution is utilized by selfish men to pose an artificial predominance over the weaker section. In the Kali-yuga, or the age of quarrel, this artificial predominance is already current, but the saner section of the people knows it well that the divisions of castes and orders of life are meant for smooth social intercourse and high-thinking self-realization and not for any other purpose.”

A Global revolution since mid 15th century

Five hundred years ago Lord Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who appeared in Navadwip, West Bengal (1486-1534), preached the dharma of Kali-yuga, namely chanting of the holy names of God. Widely distributing this message, he induced all to take shelter of God, irrespective of caste and religious barriers. Some of his closest associates were not even Hindus, yet by their unflinching faith in chanting the Holy Names of God, they proved to be more glorious than the ritualistic priests and brahmanas.

One of Lord Chaitanya’s closest associate was Haridas Thakur who had taken birth in a Muslim family and was a reject according to the conventional Hindu caste system. However Lord Chaitanya recognized him as the greatest devotee of Lord Krishna of that time (16th century).

Following this tradition, Srila Prabhupada also preached this message of Krishna consciousness in the Western countries. Starting from New York in 1966, he created a revolution by initiating Americans, Europeans and Africans as Vaishnava brahmanas and sannyasis. For all the criticism by the orthodox Hindus, it is these apparently ‘low born’ who have contributed to spreading the Vedic culture all over the world. Ironically the narrow minded champions of Hindu dharma on the other hand have done little to glorify the supreme Lord and His Holy Names.

Of course Srila Prabhupada clarified that this awarding of brahmana and sannyasa to individuals should not be done indiscriminately but rather by careful examination and training in highest standards of purity and God centered principles. Today many other ‘Hindu’ societies like Art of Living, Chinmaya mission, besides many others are demonstrating this principle through their world wide preaching of the real Vedic/Indian spirituality.

Also Read : INVADING  THE  SACRED

http://worldmonitor.wordpress.com/2007/08/13/invading-the-sacred/

Boloji.com

Tom Beal

It was quite astonishing to see on the flyer “Christian Yoga! This Thursday night..” I could feel the wheels spinning in my brain. “Christian Yoga”, I thought. Now while Christians can practice yoga, I am not aware of any Christian teachings about yoga. Yoga is not a Judeo/Christian word! It is not a part of the Roman Catholic teachings and certainly not a part of protestant teachings. It is not found within the King James Version of the bible. It is a Hindu word, or more correctly a Sanskrit word from the Vedic civilization. So how did we get “Christian Yoga”?

From this I could conclude that “Christian Yoga” could only indicate one of two possibilities:

1. Christianity is threatened by yoga and is attempting to take over this system that “invaded their turf” pertaining to spiritual teachings and techniques.
2. Christianity is subconsciously attempting to return to the spiritual roots of civilization-the Vedic civilization.

I thought to myself, “why would they want to take over yoga?” Could it be due to the decline of members within the Christian church within the last 60 years? Is this an extensive marketing plan cooked up in some New York marketing guru’s head? Is it an attempt to water down the teachings of yoga and import their own teachings into the system? Or is it that they cannot stand not to own everything spiritual?

I think the best reason might be that yoga, and eastern spirituality, offered answers to the spiritual questions that the spiritually hungry masses had. It offered a practical, rational, logical, and ruthful approach to spirituality. It did not contain any form of self-righteous condemnation, but offered love and acceptance to all. It did not prey upon victims with terms such as “Sin” and “eternal damnation”. But most importantly, it had answers! It offered a practical approach to cultivating a relationship with divinity. It offered a systematic approach and an abstract approach to meet the varying temperaments of the spirituality hungry.

The second possibility was that Christianity was itself looking for answers. A small book filled with judgment, inflexibility, and condemnation was no longer fulfilling the needs of the masses or the leaders of the church. Offering yoga classes allowed the Christian to secretly practice Hinduism without having to renounce their Christian tradition.

Possibly by embracing the technology of yoga and meditation, the Christian church could finally return to the idea of love and acceptance that it believed it was founded upon. It is ironic that one religion would need to look to another religion to teach them about love, peace, harmony, and forgiveness. If successful, it could embrace these ancient teachings and save itself from the fate it planted over the last few thousand years.

But possibly in their wisdom, the current fathers of the church realized that their time was coming to a close. So within America they must absorb yoga before they are absorbed by it. This is a common religious view that has appeared numerous times within world history. Then they would immediately move their resources to India. Taking over the country would allow them to own all the spirituality, and then ‘pick and chose’ which tasty spiritual treats they would share. After all they have 2000 years practice with this.

Indian being a loving, peaceful people, openly embraced their brothers from the west. They looked the other way as their temples were torn down. They accepted it as karma as their families were torn apart over differing religious beliefs. The Indians thought it was thoughtful of the missionaries to dress up just like swami’s, to be “just like them” and to share in their kindred spirit.

Modern day scholars from India frequently present the attitude of “let them have yoga, I am interested in protecting Hinduism.” I have heard this sentiment on numerous occasions, but the reality is that yoga is a part of Hinduism. Allowing one part to be taken from Hinduism opens a door for the distortion of the teachings. We must remember that the roots to modern day yoga comes from Vedic Yoga. The same Vedic Yoga that is the authority of Hinduism. Allowing one branch to be severed from the tree of knowledge will not necessarily kill that tree, but it can produce strain and have an unbalancing effect upon the tree.

Hinduism should reclaim its full heritage and not allow other groups to rename its sacred teachings under their banner, especially when they have no history of those teaching within their own system. If they wish to ‘borrow’ and say this comes from our brothers and sisters in Hinduism, then that is another thing. But frequently groups attempt to privatize the information and present themselves as the original authority. Hinduism should guard against its sacred traditions becoming distorted and taken away.

Scholars at universities should take the stand that yoga is part of Hinduism, though one is one required to be a Hindu to practice yoga. It is important to acknowledge the roots of the tradition; after all we are expected to give credit to the orginial sources within books and research papers, but yet Hindu scholars have ignored this fundamental western view when it comes to their own heritage.

Kanchan Gupta

Pioneer

Twenty years ago this past week, Hindus were forced to flee Kashmir Valley, their ancestral land, by Islamic fanatics baying for their blood. Not a finger was raised by the state in admonition nor did ‘civil society’ feel outraged. In these 20 years, India has forgotten that outrage, a grotesque assault on our idea of nationhood. So much so, nobody even talks of the Kashmiri Pandits, driven out of their home and hearth, virtually stripped of their identity and reduced to living as refugees in their own country, any more.

Our ‘secular’ media, obsessed as it is with pandering to the baser instincts of Muslim separatists, waxing eloquent about the many sorrows of India’s least of all minorities, arguing the case for rabid mullahs and demanding ‘greater autonomy’ for Jammu & Kashmir so that the Tricolour doesn’t fly there any more, has not thought it fit to take note of the 20th anniversary of the new age Exodus. Our politicians, who salivate for Muslim votes and are willing to go to any extent to appease ‘minority sentiments’ — including approving the automatic though absurd inclusion of Muslims in the list of BPL beneficiaries of the Indian state’s munificence in keeping with the Prime Minister’s ‘Muslims first’ policy — would rather pretend this particular event never happened.

Our judiciary, which endlessly agonises over terrorists and their molls being killed in Gujarat, has not thought it fit to set up a Special Investigation Team to identify the guilty men of 1990 and bring them to justice. It would seem Hindu pride, Hindu dignity and Hindu lives are irrelevant in this wondrous land of ours.

Tragically, Hindus have no sense of history: Those who have come of age in these 20 years, we can be sure, are ignorant of how the Kashmir Valley was cleansed of its Hindu population through a modern day genocide.

To forget, it is often said, is to forgive. But should we forgive those who committed this monstrous act of criminal misdeed? Should we forget that the Government of India has disowned the Hindus of Kashmir Valley? Should we rationalise the remorseless attitude of the Government of Jammu & Kashmir towards the plight of Kashmiri Pandits?

***

Srinagar, January 4, 1990. Aftab, a local Urdu newspaper, publishes a Press release issued by Hizb-ul Mujahideen, set up by the Jamaat-e-Islami in 1989 to wage jihad for Jammu & Kashmir’s secession from India and accession to Pakistan, asking all Hindus to pack up and leave. Another local paper, Al Safa, repeats this expulsion order.

In the following days, there is near chaos in the Kashmir Valley with Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and his National Conference Government abdicating all responsibilities. Masked men run amok, waving Kalashnikovs, shooting to kill and shouting anti-India slogans.

Reports of killing of Kashmiri Pandits begin to trickle in; there are explosions; inflammatory speeches are made from the pulpits of mosques, using public address systems meant for calling the faithful to prayers. A terrifying fear psychosis begins to take grip of Kashmiri Pandits.

Walls are plastered with posters and handbills, summarily ordering all Kashmiris to strictly follow the Islamic dress code, prohibiting the sale and consumption of alcoholic drinks and imposing a ban on video parlours and cinemas. The masked men with Kalashnikovs force people to re-set their watches and clocks to Pakistan Standard Time.

Shops, business establishments and homes of Kashmiri Pandits, the original inhabitants of the Kashmir Valley with a recorded cultural and civilisational history dating back 5,000 years, are marked out. Notices are pasted on doors of Pandit houses, peremptorily asking the occupants to leave Kashmir within 24 hours or face death and worse. Some are more lucid: “Be one with us, run, or die!”

* * *

Srinagar, January 19, 1990. Mr Jagmohan arrives to take charge as Governor. Mr Farooq Abdullah, whose Government has all but ceased to exist, resigns and goes into a sulk. Curfew is imposed as a first measure to restore some semblance of law and order. But it fails to have a deterrent effect.

Throughout the day, Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front and Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists use public address systems at mosques to exhort people to defy curfew and take to the streets. Masked men, firing from their Kalashnikovs, march up and down, terrorising cowering Pandits who, by then, have locked themselves in their homes.

As evening falls, the exhortations become louder and shriller. Three taped slogans are repeatedly played the whole night from mosques: ‘Kashmir mei agar rehna hai, Allah-o-Akbar kehna hai’ (If you want to stay in Kashmir, you have to say Allah-o-Akbar); ‘Yahan kya chalega, Nizam-e-Mustafa’ (What do we want here? Rule of Sharia’h); ‘Asi gachchi Pakistan, Batao roas te Batanev san’ (We want Pakistan along with Hindu women but without their men).

The Pandits have reason to be fearful. In the preceding months, 300 Hindu men and women, nearly all of them Kashmiri Pandits, had been slaughtered ever since the brutal murder of noted lawyer Pandit Tika Lal Taploo by the JKLF in Srinagar on September 14, 1989.

Soon after that, Justice NK Ganju of the Srinagar High Court was shot dead. Pandit Sarwanand Premi, 80-year-old poet, and his son were kidnapped, tortured, their eyes gouged out, and hanged to death. A Kashmiri Pandit nurse working at the Soura Medical College Hospital in Srinagar was gang-raped and then beaten to death. Another woman was abducted, raped and sliced into pieces at a saw mill.

In villages and towns across the valley, terrorist hit lists have been floating about. All the names are of Pandits. With no Government worth its name, the administration having collapsed, the police nowhere to be seen, despondency sets in. As the night of January 19, 1990, wears itself out, despondency gives way to desperation.

And tens of thousands of Kashmiri Pandits across the valley take a painful decision: To flee their homeland to save their lives. Thus takes place a 20th century Exodus.

* * *

After the Holocaust, Jews reflected on their persecution and resolved, ‘Never again.’ Yad Vashem is not only a moving memorial to the atrocities committed against Jews, it is also an archive that documents specific details, including names, addresses and photographs, so that future generations neither forget nor forgive their tormentors.

Twenty years after the persecution of Hindus began in Kashmir Valley, we don’t even know how many men, women and children were stripped of their rights; how many were raped, slaughtered and maimed; their names; and, what happened to those who survived. Barring those living in refugee camps in Jammu and Delhi, in the hope that some day they will be able to return to Kashmir Valley with their dignity and safety assured. Deep within they know, and the rest of us know, that is never going to happen.

And thereby hangs a tragic tale of callous Hindu indifference.

Related stories Below:

1) Stakeholders of Kashmir @ http://www.vijayvaani.com/FrmPublicDisplayArticle.aspx?id=1036

2) Francois Gautier on  History @ http://indiaview. wordpress.com/2008/01/25/ forgive-but-never-forget-–- history

Christian Sadhus and Sastris: shameless conversion games

28 August 2009

B R Haran

Conversion as Motive

It is an open secret that the foremost aim of the Church is to spread Christianity throughout the world and establish its rule. Yet an Indian government led by a ‘Hindu’ party welcomed Pope John Paul II as a State Guest and allowed him to give a clarion call for evangelization of India on this sacred Hindu Bhumi.

With the advent of Republican Party rule, the US government under George Bush allotted millions of dollars for this purpose through the Joshua Projects.

Simultaneously, with the advent of the Congress-led UPA government with Sonia Gandhi as Chairperson, conversions have become rampant, as evidenced by an alarming increase in the planting of churches across the country totally disproportionate to the population of Christians, and the brazen implementation of ‘inculturation’ techniques.

Conversion activities have increased manifold in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, the former ruled by the Congress and led by a Christian Chief Minister, and the later ruled by an atheist (read anti-Hindu) Dravidian-racist party.

The deficient growth of Hindu organizations and lack of public awareness of the danger of conversions has helped the growth of churches in these states.

 Christian missionaries, who were concentrating on the poor and downtrodden sections, have now started focusing on the upper echelons of society. The employees in media houses, workers in cinema and small-screen industries, and Hindus working in Christian institutions have become vulnerable to conversion attempts. Of late, special attention is being shown to the Brahmin community.

Planting a Church near an ancient Temple and focus on Brahmins

Thiruvanmiyur is a beautiful place in Chennai, on the East Coast Road leading up to the southern tip of Tamil Nadu. Thiruvanmiyur is historically significant as the place where  Vanmiki Maharishi (the Valmiki of Ramayana fame) did penance and worshipped Bhagwan Shiva; hence the name Thiruvanmikiyur (Thiru-Sri; Vanmiki, Oor-place), which later became Thiruvanmiyur. Shiva, worshipped by Valmiki, blesses the people from his magnificent and ancient Sri Marundeeswarar Temple. There is also a small temple for Maharishi Vanmiki opposite (slightly diagonal) to the Shiva Temple; both stand as testimonies to the ancient history of this sacred place.

Now, within hundred yards of the Shiva Temple, stands a huge ‘Advent Church’ which was started as a small prayer house just three years ago. On 5 August 2009, two digital banners, placed just above the compound wall of the Church, attracted the attention of passers by. They read, “Christian Brahmin Seva Samiti – First Year Anniversary” and announced, “Kathaakaalakshebam (Religious discourse) by Pujya Sri Bhagavathar Vedanayaga Saastrigal on Saturday 8 August evening by 5 pm – Entry free.”    

Though churches claim they don’t practice casteism, the reality is exactly the opposite, as evidenced by conflicts between various castes within Christianity in various places.

In fact, when evangelists convert gullible Hindus, especially Scheduled Castes, they always deceive them saying, “All are equal in the eyes of Jesus.” But once the conversion is over, the evangelists close their eyes and the converted group finds no change except in the god and the pattern of worship. Still, the “Christian-Brahmin” Samiti was a real shocker as Brahmins converting is a rare phenomenon.

Brahmins were, are and will always be a “Prize Catch” for Christian evangelists. For them, converting even a single Brahmin is a great achievement.

A converted Brahmin becomes a great asset, for with one Brahmin convert they would be able to easily convert a hundred non-Brahmins.

Of late, Christian missionaries have started targeting the Brahmin community, and in the last four or five years, they have been able to achieve some gains. 

Although the ‘Christian Brahmin Seva Samiti’ seems to be new, the man behind this dubious organization, ‘Sadhu Chellappaa’ is a notorious figure, whose modus operandi is distortion of Hindu scriptures to advance Christianity. Before going into the happenings in Thiruvanmiyur, it would be better to have a complete picture about this imposter who masquerades as a sadhu, wearing saffron robes.

Saffron-attired evangelist masquerading as Sadhu    

Born in a Hindu family and raised in and around a temple, Chellappaa claims to have complete knowledge of the Vedas, Upanishads, Ithihasas and Puranas. As the temple priests and other scholars could not clarify his doubts on some questions, one day (15 May 1967) he decided to commit suicide by jumping from a running train. As he was about to do so, he claims to have heard holy verses of the Bible; he got down at the next station and went straight to the Church, where he claims to have seen Jesus and received answers for all his doubts through divine blessing.

As per orders of Jesus, he became a Christian and travelled throughout the state converting thousands of Hindus to Christianity. He became a full time evangelist in 1974 and founded the Agni Ministries. Since 1982, he has been running a Tamil monthly magazine, “Agni,” for Tamil people worldwide. As per orders of Jesus, he has been planting new churches since 1995, and has so far planted 27 churches and appointed 27 pastors for effective harvests.  He has appointed four full-time evangelists and established a full fledged office with four faculty and other staff.

Sadhu Chellappaa has written over 28 books in Tamil and two in English. He claims his book “IS CHRISTIANITY A NECESSITY?” is always in demand and is likely to go into reprint for the fifth time. Another book, BIBLE AND BAGAVAT GITA, VARANASHRA DHARMA sells like hot cakes! He has travelled widely abroad, meeting evangelists and church leaders in pursuit of name and fame.

Chellappaa is believed to have met Dr. Billy Graham at the itinerant Evangelists Conference at Amsterdam in 1983; his life story appeared in “Challenge” magazine published by Campus Crusade, USA. But his ‘Sri Lankan connection’ is telling! A regular speaker at the Impetus Conference in Colombo for Third World Pastors and Evangelists, Sadhu is a close friend of Dr. Colton Wickramaratne, Senior Pastor of People’s Church, Colombo and his ministry has ‘saved’ numerous Buddhists and Hindus in Sri Lanka.

Most Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus who are scattered as refugees through out the world have been converted to Christianity through his ministries. Rev. Colin Dye, Senior Pastor of Kensington Temple, London, the largest church in England, interviewed Chellappaa and his story appeared in “The Edge,” a leading British Christian magazine, in its May 1996 issue.

(http://www.agniministries.org/ and http://www.agniministries.org/Testimony.aspx).

Sadhu Chellappa’s ‘Agni Ministries’ (AM) are governed by “Evangelical Action Team of India” (EATI), founded by him in 1980 in Coimbatore, with 20 persons in the Board of Directors; he is the ‘Managing Director’. EATI concentrates on conversion activities in the guise of services in Education and Health.

The main objective of EATI and AM is to Plant Churches and Harvest Souls, for which purpose they recruit Pastors and Evangelists and conduct training courses for them.

They teach distorted versions of Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh scriptures and other books relevant to those Indigenous religions and train recruits how to use those scriptures (by comparing with Christian concepts and Bible stories) for converting the gullible sections from those faiths.

They send trained recruits to set up ‘Prayer Cells’ to facilitate planting of new Churches in predominantly Hindu areas. The recruits also teach at Bible schools and colleges. EATI and AM have tie-ups with international missionaries, mainly for fund raising, which makes harvesting easier.

(http://www.agniministries.org/AboutUs.aspx  and

http://www.agniministries.org/EATI.aspx)

Sadhu Chellappaa audaciously claims, “Diwali, the festival of lights, is a Christian Festival; Animal Sacrifice is a Christian culture adopted by Hindus and Gayatri Mantra actually glorifies Jesus.

The Vedas, the ancient Indian sacred writings had anticipated the coming of Christ to take away the sins of man. They call Him Purusha Prajapati the creator God who would come as a man to offer himself as a sacrifice. Jesus Christ came to fulfill the Vedic quest of the Indian people, because the Vedhas are incomplete without Him, just as the Old Testament was fulfilled at the coming of the Messiah”. He waxes eloquent on ‘You Tube’ on “Hinduism came from Bible” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syBSPQvIqYs)

Thiruvanmiyur episode

 It is said Sadhu Chellappaa has a few Brahmin families in his kitty since the launching of this Christian Brahmin Seva Samiti. He uses the services of another convert Vedanayagam, who brazenly calls himself ‘Bhagavathar’ and ‘Sastrigal’ with a title of ‘Pujya Sri’. Both of them organize evangelical sessions in the guise of “Kathaakaalakshebam” and hoodwink gullible Hindus.

They focus on poor and lower middle class Brahmins, who are ignorant and have poor knowledge of their religious scriptures. Most have personal and financial problems, which make them vulnerable to the Chellappaas and Vedanayagams.

As the two were making preparations for a huge show on 8 August, the news spread and some concerned citizens called up senior police officials to ban the proposed event; there was absolutely no response. Details about the proposed event were sent to the only Brahmin MLA of the Dravidian Assembly, who took up the issue with higher authorities, but didn’t get the desired results, possibly because he neither belonged to the ruling coalition nor to the opposition ranks, having been recently dismissed by AIADMK. Other leaders of Hindu organizations were busy with bi-elections and Ganesh Chaturthi arrangements. The so-called Brahmin Association (TAMBRAS) was nowhere to be seen! 

It was left to a few individuals (some cadres of Hindu organizations and freelance writers, editors and journalists numbering around ten) who went to Thiruvanmiyur Police Station on 6 August and complained to the Inspector, who immediately got the banners removed and warned the Church not to host the event. The banners sprang up again on 8 August  morning, without the title ‘Christian Brahmin Seva Samiti’, which portion was covered with a cloth. A ‘panthal’ (shamiana) was set up at the entrance to the Church and two plantain trees and a bunch of fresh tender coconuts tied on both sides of the entrance to give the Church a typical Hindu look! 

Though the title was covered by a cloth, other terms such as ‘Pujya Sri’, ‘Bhagavathar’ and ‘Sastrigal’ were not removed from the banner; despite repeated phone calls and personal calls the local police didn’t take further actions and the “Kathaakaalakshebam” of “Vedanayagam Sastrigal” went as planned, with police protection! If the police thought they acted neutrally they were wrong; what happened in the church was a blatant violation of law. 

The organizers deserve stringent punishment  

How can a Christian evangelical session be named Kathaakaalakshebam (religious discourse)? How can evangelists call themselves Sadhus, Bhagavatars, Sastrigals and keep the title ‘Pujya Sri’? Claiming to be a casteless religion and a society sans caste discrimination, how could they start an organization exclusively for Brahmins? What have Brahmins to do with Christianity? From when is Christianity having a separate Brahmin sect? 

The Vedas, Upanishads, Ithihasas and Puranas are religious treasures of the Hindus. No other religionists have the right to touch them. Distorting and using them to market Jesus and Christianity is shameless and clearly establishes that there is nothing of value in Christianity since its god and bible need Hindu scriptures to succeed.

By thus misusing the Hindu scriptures, the Chellappaas, Vedanayagams and other imposters should be booked under Sections 153A, 295A, 298 and other sections of the IPC and punished. 

In Thiruvanmiyur Church, the so-called Sastrigal marketed the Christian god as “Purusha Prajapati” of the Rig Veda! Evangelists are like sales representatives and they cannot be allowed to use Hindu scriptures to sell their religion and god; one company’s sales rep cannot use other company’s merchandise to sell his product. This can only create conflict in society and law and order problems, with disastrous consequences. 

The subterfuge, also called inculturation, has grown to dangerous proportions. The deep slumber of Hindu organizations (social, cultural, religious, spiritual, et al) is disturbing and it is high time they woke up and put an end to this ugly business by the church and the missionaries.

Related Stories:

1) Inculturation @ http://indiaview.wordpress.com/2008/11/07/inculturation-fooling-hindus/

2) Shalokas on Mount? @ http://indiaview.wordpress.com/2008/05/04/slokas-on-the-mount/

3) What’s in Name @ http://indiasecular.wordpress.com/2007/08/22/what-is-in-name/

A “short” list of schemes, roads etc. for Nehru-Gandhi dynasty promotion with Tax Payers money!

Following is the list of Government schemes and projects; universities and educational institutions; ports and airports; National parks and sanctuaries; sports tournaments, trophies and stadia; hospitals and medical institutions; national scientific and research institutions; University chairs, scholarships and fellowships; festivals; roads and buildings named after three members of the Nehru Gandhi family, Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, which has been submitted to the Election Commission .

 This list includes most of the projects, schemes and institutions funded by the Union Government and the Governments in the States.

In a planned and systematic effort to gain unfair advantage over other political parties, the Congress party has named all major Government programmes, projects and institutions in the country after three members of the Nehru-Gandhi family – Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru - who are its icons, and disturbed the level playing field in the electoral arena.

Over the last 18 years, on a rough estimate, about 450 Central and State Government programmes, projects and national and State-level institutions involving public expenditure of hundreds of thousands of crores of rupees have been named after these three individuals.

Central
1 Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana;
2 Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission;
3 Rajiv Gandhi National Crèche Scheme for the Children of Working Mothers, Department of Women & Child Development;
4. Rajiv Gandhi Udyami Mitra Yojana;
5 Indira Awas Yojana
6 Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme;
7 Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission
8 Jawaharlal Nehru Rojgar Yojna
9.Rajiv Gandhi Shramik Kalyan Yojna;
10 Indira Gandhi Canal Project, Funded by World Bank
11.Rajiv Gandhi Shilpi Swasthya Bima Yojana

State schemes
1 Rajiv Gandhi Rehabilitation Package for Tsunami Affected Areas,
2.Rajiv Gandhi Social Security Scheme, Govt. of Puducherry
3Rajiv Ratna Awas Yojna;
4 Rajiv Gandhi Prathamik Shiksha Mission, Raigarh;
5 Rajiv Gandhi Shiksha Mission, Madhya Pradesh;
6 Rajiv Gandhi Mission on Food Security , Madhya Pradesh;
7. Rajiv Gandhi Mission on Community Health, Madhya Pradesh;
8 Rajiv Gandhi Rural Housing Corp.;
9 Rajiv Gandhi Tourism Development Mission, Rajasthan;
10 Rajiv Gandhi Computer Literacy Programme, Assam
11 Rajiv Gandhi Swavlamban Rojgar Yojana, Govt. of NCT of Delhi
12.Rajiv Gandhi Mobile Aids Counseling and Testing Services, Rajiv Gandhi Foundation
13.Rajiv Gandhi Vidyarthi Suraksha Yojana, Maharashtra;
14 Rajiv Gandhi Mission for Water Shed Management, M.P.;
15Rajiv Gandhi Food Security Mission for Tribal Areas, MP
16.Rajiv Gandhi Home for Handicapped, Pondicherry;
17 Rajiv Gandhi Breakfast Scheme, Pondicherry;
18 Rajiv Gandhi Akshay Urja Divas, Punjab;
19 Rajiv Gandhi Artisans Health & Life Insurance Scheme, Tamil Nadu;
20 Rajiv Gandhi Zopadpatti and Nivara Prakalpa, Mumbai;
21 Rajiv Arogya Sri programme, Gujrat State Govt. Scheme;
22 Rajiv Gandhi Abhyudaya Yojana, AP;
23 Rajiv Gandhi Computer Saksharta Mission, Jabalpur
24 Rajiv Gandhi Bridges and Roads Infrastructure Development Programme;
25 Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Niwara Prakalp, Maharashtra Govt
26Indira Gandhi Utkrishtha Chhattervritti Yojna , HP;
27 Indira Gandhi Women Protection Scheme, Maharashtra Gov;
28.Indira Gandhi Prathisthan, Housing and Urban Planning Department, UP Govt
29.Indira Kranthi Patham Scheme, Andhra Pradesh ;
30Indira Gandhi Nahar Pariyojana, State Govt. Scheme;
31 Indira Gandhi Vruddha Bhumiheen Shetmajoor Anudan Yojana, Govt. of Maharashtra
32.Indira Gandhi Nahar Project, Jaisalmer, Govt. of Rajasthan
33.Indira Gandhi Niradhar Yojna, Govt. of Maharashtra;
34 Indira Gandhi kuppam, State Govt. Welfare Scheme for Tsunami effected fishermen; 35 Indira Gandhi Drinking Water Scheme-2006, Haryana Govt.
36.Indira Gandhi Niradhar Old, Landless, Destitute women farm labour Scheme, Maharashtra Govt.
37.Indira Gandhi Women Protection Scheme , Maharashtra Govt.
38.Indira Gaon Ganga Yojana, Chattisgarh;
39 Indira Sahara Yojana , Chattisgarh;
40 Indira Soochna Shakti Yojana, Chattisgarh;
41 Indira Gandhi Balika Suraksha Yojana , HP;
42 Indira Gandhi Garibi Hatao Yojana (DPIP), MP;
43 Indira Gandhi super thermal power project , Haryana Govt.
44 Indira Gandhi Water Project, Haryana Govt.
45.Indira Gandhi Sagar Project, Bhandara District Gosikhurd Maharashtra;
46 Indira Jeevitha Bima Pathakam, AP Govt;
47 Indira Gandhi Priyadarshani Vivah Shagun Yojana, Haryana Govt;
48 Indira Mahila Yojana Scheme, Meghalaya Govt
49.Indira Gandhi Calf Rearing Scheme, Chhattisgarh Govt.
50.Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Vivah Shagun Yojana, Haryana Govt.
51.Indira Gandhi Calf Rearing Scheme;
52 Indira Gandhi Landless Agriculture Labour scheme, Maharashtra Govt.

Sports/Tournaments/ Trophies
1.Rajiv Gandhi Gold Cup Kabaddi Tournament;
2 Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Run;
3.Rajiv Gandhi Federation Cup boxing championship
4.Rajiv Gandhi International tournament (football)
5.NSCI – Rajiv Gandhi road races, New Delhi;
6. Rajiv Gandhi Boat Race, Kerala;
7Rajiv Gandhi International Artistic Gymnastic Tournament
8.Rajiv Gandhi Kabbadi Meet
9.Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Roller Skating Championshi;
10 Rajiv Gandhi memorial marathon race, New Delhi;
11Rajiv Gandhi International Judo Championship, Chandigarh
12.Rajeev Gandhi Memorial Trophy for the Best College, Calicut;
13 Rajiv Gandhi Rural Cricket Tournament, Initiated by Rahul Gandhi in Amethi
14.Rajiv Gandhi Gold Cup (U-21), football;
15 Rajiv Gandhi Trophy (football;
16. Rajiv Gandhi Award for Outstanding Sportspersons;
17 All Indira Rajiv Gandhi Basketball (Girls) Tournament, organized by Delhi State
18.All India Rajiv Gandhi Wrestling Gold Cup, organized by Delhi State
19.Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Jhopadpatti Football Tournament, Rajura;
20.Rajiv Gandhi International Invitation Gold Cup Football Tournament, Jamshedpur
21.Rajiv Gandhi Mini Olympics, Mumbai
22.Rajiv Gandhi Beachball Kabaddi Federation;
23 Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Trophy Prerana Foundation;
24 International Indira Gandhi Gold Cup Tournament;
25 25 Indira Gandhi International Hockey Tournament
26.Indira Gandhi Boat Race;
27.Jawaharlal Nehru International Gold Cup Football Tournamen;
28 Jawaharlal Nehru Hockey Tournament.

Stadiums
1.Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, Delhi ;
2.Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi ;
3.Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi ;
4. Rajiv Gandhi Sports Stadium, Bawana
5.Rajiv Gandhi National Football Academy, Haryana;
6.Rajiv Gandhi AC Stadium, Vishakhapatnam
7.Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Pondicherry;
8 Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Nahariagun, Itanagar;
9.Rajiv Gandhi Badminton Indoor Stadium, Cochin;
10.Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Kadavanthra, Ernak;
11.Rajiv Gandhi Sports Complex , Singhu
12.Rajib Gandhi Memorial Sports Complex, Guwahati ;
13.Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
14.Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Cochin;
15.Indira Gandhi Stadium, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh;
16.Indira Gandhi Stadium, Una, Himachal Pradesh;
17.Indira Priyadarshini Stadium, Vishakhapatnam;
18 Indira Gandhi Stadium, Deogarh, Rajasthan
19.Gandhi Stadium, Bolangir, Orissa

Airports/ Ports
1.Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, New Hyderabad, A.P.
2.Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal, Cochin
3.Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi
4..Indira Gandhi Dock, Mumbai
5.Jawaharlal Nehru Nava Sheva Port Trust, Mumbai

Universities/ Education Institutes
1.Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management, Shilong
2.Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Aeronautics, Ranchi, Jharkhand
3.Rajiv Gandhi Technical University, Gandhi Nagar, Bhopal, M.P.
4.Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law, Kharagpur, Kolkata;
5.Rajiv Gandhi Aviation Academy, Secundrabad ;
6 Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala, Punjab;
7 Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, Tamil Nadu;
8 Rajiv Gandhi Aviation Academy, Begumpet, Hyderabad, A.P;
9.Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam, Kerala;
10 Rajiv Gandhi College of Engineering Research & Technology, Chandrapur, Maharashtra are among the 98 institutions named after Rajiv, Indira and Jawaharlal Nehru.

Awards
1.Rajiv Gandhi Award for Outstanding Achievement
2.Rajiv Gandhi Shiromani Award
3.Rajiv Gandhi Shramik Awards, Delhi Labour Welfare Board
4.Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award
5.Rajiv Gandhi Manav Seva Award
6.Rajiv Gandhi Wildlife Conservation Award
7.Rajiv Gandhi National Award Scheme for Original Book Writing on Gyan Vigyan
8.Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award
9.Indira Gandhi Prize for National Integration;
10.Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award;
11.Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Awards, Ministry of Environment and Forests
12.Indira Gandhi Memorial National Award forBest Environmental & Ecological;
13 Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Purashkar;
14 Indira Gandhi NSS Award
15 Jawaharlal Nehru Prize” from 1998-99, to be given to organizations (preferably NGOs) for Popularization of Science;
16 Jawaharlal Nehru National Science Competition
17 Jawarharlal Nehru Student Award for research project of evolution of DNA are among the 51 named after the family members.

Scholarship / Fellowship
1.Rajiv Gandhi Scholarship Scheme for Students with Disabilities
2.Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Scheme for SC/ST Candidates,
3.Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Scheme for ST Candidates,
4 Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship, IGNOU;
5 Rajiv Gandhi Science Talent Research Fellows;
6.Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship, Ministry of Tribal Affairs;
7 Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Scheme for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes candidates given by UGC;
8Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship sponsored by the Commonwealth of Learning in association with IGNOU;
9 Rajiv Gandhi science talent research fellowship given by Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for advanced scientific research are among others named after the family members.

National Parks/Sanctuaries/ Museums
1.Rajiv Gandhi (Nagarhole) Wildlife Sanctury, Karnataka;
2.Rajiv Gandhi Wildlife Sanctury, Andhra Pradesh
3.Indira Gandhi National Park , Tamil Nadu;
4.Indira Gandhi Zoological Park , New Delh;
5 Indira Gandhi National Park, Anamalai Hills on Western Ghats
6.Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, Vishakhapatnam
7 Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS)
8.Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary, Pollachi;
9.Rajiv Gandhi Health Museum;
10.The Rajiv Gandhi Museum of Natural History
11.Indira Gandhi Memorial museum, New Delhi are parks and museums named after the family members.
12. Sanjay Gandhi National Park (Mumbai)

Hospitals/Medical Institutions
1.Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Science, Bangalore, Karnataka;
2 Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre, Delhi;
3 Rajiv Gandhi Home for Handicapped, Pondicherry;
4 Shri Rajiv Gandhi college of Dental Science & Hospital, Bangalore, Karnataka;
5. Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Bio Technology, Thiruvanthapuram, Kerala;
6 Rajiv Gandhi College of Nursing, Bangalore, Karnataka;
7 Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital, Raichur;
8 Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases, Bangalore, Karnataka;
9 Rajiv Gandhi Paramedical College, Jodhpur;
10.Rajiv Gandhi Medical College, Thane, Mumbai are among 39 medical institutions named after the family members.
Maharashtra

Institutions/ Chairs/ Festivals
1.Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development. (RGNIYD), Ministry of Youth and Sports;
2 Rajiv Gandhi National Ground Water Training & Research Institute, Faridabad, Haryana;
3.Rajiv Gandhi Food Security Mission in Tribal Areas
4.Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development;
5..Rajiv Gandhi Shiksha Mission, Chhattisgarh;
6.Rajiv Gandhi Chair Endowment established in 1998 to create a Chair of South Asian Economics
7 Rajiv Gandhi Project – A pilot to provide Education thru Massive Satellite Connectivity up grassroot Level are among 37 named after Rajiv, Indira and Nehru.Pondicherry

Roads/Buildings/ places
1.Rajiv Chowk, Delhi;
2 Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, Safdarjung, New Delhi;
3 Rajiv Gandhi Handicrafts Bhawan, New Delhi;
4 Rajiv Gandhi Park, Kalkaji, Delhi;
5 Indira Chowk, New Delhi;
6 Nehru Planetarium, New Delhi;
7 Nehru Yuvak Kendra, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi;
8 Nehru Nagar, New Delhi;
9 Nehru Place, New Delhi ;
10 Nehru Park, New Delhi Nehru House, BSZ Marg, New Delhi, are among 74 named after the family members.

And latest additionâ (courtesy of Sharad Pawar & CM Ashok Chavhan)  Rajiv Gandhi Bandra Worli Sea

Sources :

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/12096/government-schemes-projects-named-nehru.html

http://asuryaprakash.com/annexure1.html

http://www.hindujagruti.org/

*** India has a Nehru/Gandhi Dynasty…no Democracy. And what about Bhagat Singh, Neta Ji Subash Bose, Lala Lajpat Rai, Sardar Patel, Shyama Parasad Mukherji, Gokhale…don’t they deserve to be remembered ?