ಸಿದ್ದರಾಮಯ್ಯ ನವರೆ.. ನಿಮ್ಮ ಗಾಂಧಿ ವಾದದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ತಿಳಿದುಕೊಳ್ಳೋಣಾ?

ಗಾಂಧಿ ಜಯಂತಿ ದಿವಸ ಗಾಂಧಿ ಅವರನ್ನು ಪ್ರಾಮಾಣಿಕವಾಗಿ ನೆನೆಯುವುದನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಬೇರೆಲ್ಲ ವಿಷಯಗಳು ಸುದ್ದಿಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದವು. ನಮ್ಮ ಸಿದ್ದರಾಮಯ್ಯನವರಂತೂ ತಾವು ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಎಲ್ಲ ೬.೩ ಕೋಟಿ ಜನರ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ ಅನ್ನೋದನ್ನು ಮರೆತು, ತಾವು ಕೇವಲ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಪರಿವಾರದ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ ಅನ್ನೋ ಹಾಗೆ ನಡೆದುಕೊಂಡರು.  ಅವರ ಕುಣಿತಕ್ಕೆ ತಾಳ ಹಾಕೋ ಹಾಗೆ, ಖರ್ಗೆ, ಮೊಯ್ಲಿ, ಪರಮೇಶ್ವರ ಮತ್ತಿತರು ಉಘೆ ಉಘೆ ಅಂದರು.

ಅಂದ ಹಾಗೆ ಆಗ ಬಾರದ ಅಚಾತುರ್ಯ ಆಗಿದ್ದಾದ್ರೂ ಏನು?

ಸಿದ್ದರಾಮಯ್ಯನವರಿಗಿಂಥ ೮ ವರ್ಷ ದೊಡ್ಡವರಾದ ಹಿರಿಯ ರಾಜಕಾರಣಿ ಶಂಕರ ಮೂರ್ತಿ ಅವರು, ಸಿದ್ದರಾಮಯ್ಯ ಅವರ ಅರ್ಧ ವಯಸ್ಸಿನ ವಾಗ್ಮಿ ಚಕ್ರವರ್ತಿ ಸೂಲಿಬೆಲೆ ಅವರನ್ನು ಗಾಂಧೀಜಿ ಅವರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಭಾಷಣ ಮಾಡೋಕೆ ಕರೆದ್ದಿದ್ದು. ಇದು ಯಾವ ಪಕ್ಷದ ಅಥವಾ ಸಿದ್ಧಾಂತದ ಸನ್ನಿವೇಶ ಅಗಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಇದು ಕೇವಲ ಮಹಾತ್ಮ ಗಾಂಧಿ ಅವರ ಆದರ್ಶದ ಬಗೆಗಿನ ಸಮಾರಂಭ. ಸಿದ್ದರಾಮಯ್ಯನವರಿಗೆ ಸಿಕ್ಕಾಪಟ್ಟೆ ಅಲರ್ಜಿ ಆಗಿದ ವಿಷಯ, ಈ ಇಬ್ಬರು ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಸ್ವಯಂಸೇವಕ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಯ ಜೊತೆ ಹೊಂದಿರುವ ಬಾಂಧವ್ಯ!

ನಾನು ಚಕ್ರವರ್ತಿ ಅವರನ್ನು ಬಹಳಷ್ಟು ಸಲ ಭೇಟಿ ಆಗಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಅವರ ವಾಕ್ ಚಾತುರ್ಯ ನೋಡಿ ಶಭಾಶ್ ಅಂದಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಅವರ ದೇಶ ಭಕ್ತಿಗೆ ಮೆಚ್ಚಿ ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ತಾಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಬರೆದಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಅವರಿಗೆ ನನ್ನಂತಹ ಲಕ್ಷಾಂತರ ಅಭಿಮಾನಿಗಳು ಇದ್ದಾರೆ. ಚಕ್ರವರ್ತಿ ಅವರು ಜಾಗೋ ಭಾರತ್ ಅಂಥಹ ೨೪ ಕಾರೆಟ್ ಚಿನ್ನದಂಥ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ಮಾಡಿ, ಹಳ್ಳಿ ಹಳ್ಳಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾರತದ ಮತ್ತು ಭಾರತೀಯ ಸೈನಿಕರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಹೆಮ್ಮೆಯ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ ಬಾರೋ ಹಾಗೆ ನೋಡಿ ಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಇಂಥಹ ಭಾರತ ಮಾತೆಯ ಹೆಮ್ಮೆಯ ಪುತ್ರನಿಗೆ ಏಕ ವಚನ ಉಪಯೋಗಿಸಿದ್ದು ಪರಮಾಶ್ಚರ್ಯ! ಹೋಗಲಿ ಬಿಡಿ.. ಶಂಕರ ಮೂರ್ತಿ ಮತ್ತು ಚಕ್ರವರ್ತಿ ಸೂಲಿಬೆಲೆ ಅವರಿಗೆ, ಸಮಾಜದಲ್ಲಿ ಅವರದ್ದೇ ಗೌರವ ಮತ್ತು ಸ್ಥಾನ ಇದೆ. ಅವರೇನು ಈ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿಯಿಂದ ಪ್ರಮಾಣಪತ್ರ ಪಡೆಯೋಕೆ ಹೋಗಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ.

ಇಷ್ಟಕ್ಕೂ ಬಹಳ ಜೋರಾಗಿ "ಗಾಂಧಿ ಪರ" ಕೂಗಾಡಿದ ಸಿದ್ದರಾಮಯ್ಯನವರು ಎಷ್ಟು ಮಟ್ಟಕ್ಕೆ ಗಾಂಧಿ ತತ್ತ್ವ ಮತ್ತು ಸಂದೇಶ ಖುದ್ದಾಗಿ ಪಾಲಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆಂದು ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ನೋಡೋಣ. ನವರಾತ್ರಿ ಸಮಯ ಆದದ್ದರಿಂದ ಒಂಭತ್ತು ಬಹಳ ಪ್ರಚಲಿತದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆ. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಒಂಭತ್ತು ವಿಷಯಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಗಮನ ಹರಿಸೋಣ.

೧) ಮೊದಲನೆಯದಾಗಿ, ಗಾಂಧಿ ಅವರು ಸಸ್ಯಾಹಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಬಹಳ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಪ್ರಾಮುಖ್ಯತೆ ಕೊಟ್ಟಿದ್ದರು. ಅಹಿಂಸೆ ಗಾಂಧಿ ಅವರ ಪರಮಧರ್ಮ ಆಗಿತ್ತು. ಪ್ರಾಣಿ ಹಿಂಸೆ ಮಾಡಬೇಡಿ ಅಂತ ಅವರು ಬೋಧನೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು.
ಆದರೆ ನೀವು ಸಿದ್ದರಾಮಯ್ಯ ಅವರೆ.. ಮೊದಲ ತಿಂಗಳಲ್ಲೇ, ಗೋ ಹತ್ಯೆ ನಿಷೇಧ ಕಾನೂನನ್ನು ತಿರಸ್ಕಾರ ಮಾಡಿ, ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾರಿ ಪ್ರಮಾಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಹಾಲು ಕೊಡದ ಹಸುಗಳು, ಕರುಗಳು, ಎಮ್ಮೆಗಳು, ಎತ್ತುಗಳು, ಕೋಣಗಳ ಮಾರಣಹೋಮ ಮಾಡಲು ಅನುಮತಿ ನೀಡಿದ್ದೀರಿ. ಇದು ನಿಮ್ಮ ಗಾಂಧೀವಾದವೋ?

೨) ಮಹಾತ್ಮ ಗಾಂಧಿಯವರ ಜೀವನ ಪರ್ಯಂತ ಅವರು ಜಾತಿ ಮತ್ತು ಮತಗಳ ನಡುವೆ ಸಂಘರ್ಷ ತಡೆಯುವದರ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದರು.
ಆದರೆ ನೀವು? ಬೇರೆಯವರನ್ನು ಕೋಮುವಾದಿ, ಜಾತಿವಾದಿ ಅಂತೆಲ್ಲ ಜರಿದು, ಖುದ್ದಾಗಿ ಬರೇ ಜಾತಿ ಮತ್ತು ಕೋಮು ಯೋಜನೆಗಳನ್ನೇ ತಂದು ಸಮಾಜವನ್ನು ಒಡೆಯುವ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನದಲ್ಲಿ ಇದ್ದೀರ. ಶಾದಿ ಭಾಗ್ಯ ಅಂತ ತಂದು ಮುಸಲ್ಮಾನರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಹಿಂದುಗಳಿಗೆ ತಾತ್ಸಾರ ಬಿತ್ತಿದ್ದೀರ. ಅಹಿಂದ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಪ್ರವಾಸ ಅಂತ ಬೇರೆ ಜಾತಿ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಅನ್ಯಾಯ ಮಾಡಿ, ಶಾಲೆಯಲ್ಲೇ ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಹಸಿ ಮನಸ್ಸನ್ನು ಜಾತಿ ವಿಷದಿಂದ ತುಂಬುತ್ತಿದ್ದೀರ. ನರ್ಸಿಂಗ್ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿನಿಯರ ಹಾಸ್ಟೆಲ್ ಅಂತ ಹೇಳಿ, "ಮೇಲ್ಜಾತಿ" ಹುಡುಗಿಯರನ್ನು ಹೊರಗಿಟ್ಟು ಅವರಿಗೆ ಅನ್ಯಾಯ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದೀರ. ಯಾರಾದರೂ ಇವುಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮಾತಾಡಿದರೆ, ಅವರನ್ನು ದಲಿತ ವಿರೋಧಿ, ಹಿಂದುಳಿದವರ ವಿರೋಧಿ, ಮುಸಲ್ಮಾನ ವಿರೋಧಿ ಅಂತ ಕೂಗಿ ಬಾಯಿ ಮುಚ್ಚುಸ್ತೀರ.  ಇವೆಲ್ಲ, ಗಾಂಧೀ ವಾದವೋ?

೩) ಗಾಂಧಿ ದೇಶದ ಸಂಪತ್ತನ್ನು ಲೂಟಿ ಹೊಡೆಯೋರ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ನಿಂತಿದ್ರು.
ನೀವು? ದೊಡ್ಡ ಭ್ರಷ್ಟಾಚಾರ ಆರೋಪ ಇರುವ ಸಂತೋಷ್ ಲಾಡ್ ಅವರನ್ನು ಮಂತ್ರಿ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದ್ರಿ. ನಂತರ ಬಹಳ ಜನರಿಂದ ಕಿವಿ ಹಿಂಡಿಸಿಕೊಂಡ ಮೇಲೆ ಅವರನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟು, ಅವರಿಗಿಂತ ಗುರುತರ ಆರೋಪ ಇರುವ ಶಿವ ಕುಮಾರ್  ಮತ್ತು ರೋಶನ್ ಬೇಗ್ ಅವರನ್ನು ಮಂತ್ರಿ ಮಾಡಿದ್ರಿ. ನಿಮ್ಮ ಮೇಲೆ ಖುದ್ದಾಗಿ ಅರ್ಕಾವತಿ de notification ಆರೋಪ ಇದ್ರೂ, ಅದನ್ನೆಲ್ಲ ನಿರ್ಲಕ್ಷ್ಯ ಮಾಡಿ, ಬೇರೆಯವರನ್ನು ಭ್ರಷ್ಟರೆಂದು ಕರೆಯುತ್ತೀರ. ಇದು ಗಾಂಧಿವಾದವೋ ?

೪) ಗಾಂಧಿ ಎಂಥ ಸನ್ನಿವೇಶದಲ್ಲೂ ಕೂಡ ಒಬ್ಬರ ಮೇಲೆ ಕೈ ಮಾಡದ ಅಹಿಂಸಾವಾದಿ.
ಆದರೆ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಸುತ್ತ ಇರೋ ಜನ? ಭೈರಥಿ ಅವರು ಪೋಲಿಸ್ ಮೇಲೆ ಹಲ್ಲೆ ಮಾಡಿದ್ರು ಅಂತ ನಾವು ಒದಿದ್ವಿ. ಅಭಯಚಂದ್ರ ಜೈನ್ ಅವರು ಆಟೋ ಚಾಲಕನ ಮೇಲೆ ಹಲ್ಲೆ ಮಾಡೋಕೆ ಹೋದರು ಅಂತ ಟಿವಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡಿದ್ವಿ. ಇದೇ ಜೈನ್ ಅವರು ಒಬ್ಬ ಕರಾವಳಿ ಪತ್ರಕರ್ತನಿಗೆ ಜೀವ ಬೆದರಿಕೆ ಹಾಕಿದರು ಅಂತ ಕೂಡ ಕೇಳಿದ್ವಿ. ವಿನಯ್ ಕುಲಕರ್ಣಿ ಅವರು ಒಬ್ಬ ವೈದ್ಯಾಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಸಿನಿಮಾ ರೀತಿ ಹೊಟ್ಟೆಗೆ ಪಂಚ್ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದನ್ನು ಟಿವಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡಿದ್ವಿ. ಇವರಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾರದ್ರಿಗೂ ನೀವು ಶಿಕ್ಷೆ ಕೊಟ್ಟರಾ? ಇದು ನಿಮ್ಮ ಗಾಂಧೀವಾದವೋ?

೫) ಮಹಾತ್ಮಾ ಗಾಂಧಿ ಅವರು ಭಗವದ್ ಗೀತೆ ಮತ್ತು ರಾಮಾಯಣದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಅಪಾರ ನಂಬಿಕೆ ಇಟ್ಟುಕೊಂಡವರು.
ಎಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಭಾಷಣಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲಾದರೂ ಕೃಷ್ಣ ಅಥವಾ ರಾಮನ ಆದರ್ಶದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಉಲ್ಲೇಖ ಇದೆಯೋ? ನಾವಂತೂ ಕಂಡಿಲ್ಲ. ಆದರೆ, ನೀವು ಜರಿಯುವ ಸಂಘ ಪರಿವಾರದ ಮೋದಿ ಅವರ ಭಾಷಣಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬೇಕಾದಷ್ಟು ಭಾರತೀಯ ನೀತಿ ಬೋಧನೆ ಕೇಳಿದ್ದೇವೆ!

೬) ಗಾಂಧಿ ಅವರು ಮಾತಿನ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಬಹಳ ಗಮನ ಕೊಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಅಪ್ಪಿ ತಪ್ಪಿಯು ಇನ್ನೊಬ್ಬರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಸುಳ್ಳು ಆಪಾದನೆಯಾಗಲಿ, ಕೀಳು ಟೀಕೆಗಳಾಗಲಿ ಮಾಡಿದವರಲ್ಲ.
ಆದರೆ ನೀವು? ೨೦೧೪ ನೇ ಚುನಾವಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ, ದೇಶದ ಸರ್ವೋಚ್ಚ ನ್ಯಾಯಾಲಯದ SITಯಿಂದ ಕ್ಲೀನ್ ಚಿಟ್ ಪಡೆದುಕೊಂಡ ನರೇಂದ್ರ ಮೋದಿ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ನರಹಂತಕ ಅಂತ ಅಪಪ್ರಚಾರ ಮಾಡಿ, ಚುನಾವಣಾ ಆಯೋಗದಿಂದ ಛೀಮಾರಿ ಹಾಕಿಸಿಕೊಂಡ ದೇಶದ ಏಕೈಕ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಮಂತ್ರಿ! ಅದು ನಿಮ್ಮ ಗಾಂಧೀ ವಾದವೋ?

೭) ಗಾಂಧಿ ಅವರು ಎಂದೆಂದೂ ಸಾರಾಯಿ ಮತ್ತು ಇತರ ಆಲ್ಕೋಹಾಲ್ನಿಂದ ದೂರ ಇದ್ದರು.
ಆದರೆ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಸುತ್ತ? ಕಾಶಪ್ಪನವರ್ ಅಂಥ ಕುಡಿತದ ಬಾರ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಪೋಲಿಸ್ ಮೇಲೆ ಹಲ್ಲೆ ಆರೋಪ ಇರುವ ಪಕ್ಷದ ಸದಸ್ಯರಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅವರ ಮೇಲೆ ಏನು ಕ್ರಮ ತೊಗೊಂಡಿದ್ದೀರ?
ನೀವು ನಿಮ್ಮ ಸರ್ಕಾರದಿಂದ ಕುಡಿತದ ಹಾವಳಿ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಮಾಡಲು ಏನು ಕ್ರಮ ತೆಗೆದು ಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದೀರ?

೮) ಗಾಂಧಿ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಸರ್ವಾಧಿಕಾರ ಬಹಳ ಅಸಹ್ಯ ಆಗುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಅವರು ಹಿಟ್ಲರ್ ಅವರಿಗೂ ಕೂಡ ಒಂದು ಪತ್ರ ಬರೆದಿದ್ದರು.
ನೀವು? ಪ್ರಮಾಣ ವಚನ ಸ್ವೀಕರಿಸಿದ ಮರು ನಿಮಿಷದಲ್ಲೇ, ಸಾವಿರಾರು ಕೋಟಿ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಹಣವನ್ನು ಜಾತಿ ಮತ್ತು ಕೋಮು ಆಧಾರಿತ ಸಾಲ ಮನ್ನಾಗೆ ಕೊಟ್ಟು ಬಿಟ್ಟರಲ್ಲ..  ಕ್ಯಾಬಿನೆಟ್ ಕೂಡ ಮಾಡುವ ಮುಂಚೆ ಒಬ್ಬರೇ, ಇಷ್ಟೊಂದು ದೊಡ್ಡ ನಿರ್ಣಯ ತೊಗೊಂಡು, ಬೇರೆಯವರನ್ನು ಸರ್ವಾಧಿಕಾರಿ ಅಂತ ಭಾಷಣಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಜರಿಯುತ್ತೀರಲ್ಲ.. ಅದು ಗಾಂಧಿ ವಾದವಾ?

೯) ಕೊನೆಯದಾಗಿ, ಗಾಂಧೀ ಅವರು ಸ್ತ್ರೀಯರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಗೌರವ ಇಟ್ಟುಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದ ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಮಾನವ. ಗಾಂಧೀ ಅವರು ನಿತ್ಯ ಪಠಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ "ವೈಷ್ಣವ ಜನತೋ" ಭಜನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೀಗೆ ಒಂದೆರಡು ಸಾಲುಗಲಿವೆ.

"ವಾಚ, ಕಾಛ್ ಮನ ನಿಶ್ಚಳ ರಾಖೆ" - ಅಂದರೆ, ಮಾತು, ಕೆಲಸ ಮತ್ತು ಯೋಚನೆ ಶುದ್ಧಿಯಾಗಿ ಇಟ್ಟುಕೋ.
"ಪರಸ್ತ್ರೀ ಜೇನೇ ಮಾತ್ ರೇ" - ಅಂದರೆ, ಪರಸ್ತ್ರೀಯನ್ನು ತಾಯಿ ಅಂತೆ ನೋಡು.

ಆದರೆ ನೀವು ಗಾಂಧಿ ಜಯಂತಿ ದಿವಸ ಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದ ಟೋಪಿ ನೆಹರು ಅವರದ್ದು. ಗಾಂಧಿ ಆ ಟೋಪಿ ಹಾಕಿದ್ದು ಬಹಳ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಅಥವಾ, ಇಲ್ಲವೇ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಅದೇ ನೆಹರು ಅವರು, ಮದುವೆ ಆಗಿ ಮಗಳಿದ್ದ ಗೃಹಿಣಿ ಎಡ್ವಿನಾ ಮೌಂಟ್ ಬಾಟ್ಟೆನ್ ಜೊತೆ ಹೇಗಿದ್ದರು ಅಂತ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಎಡ್ವಿನಾ ಅವರ ಮಗಳು ಹೇಳಿರುವದನ್ನು ಓದಿ. ನಿಮ್ಮ ಪರಮಾಪ್ತ ಸಿ ಎಂ ಇಬ್ರಾಹಿಂ ಅವರು ಇಂದಿರಾ ಗಾಂಧಿ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮಾಡಿರುವ ಭಾಷಣಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಗಮನ ಹರಿಸಿ. (ಈಶ್ವರಪ್ಪ ಸಹಾಯ ಮಾಡ ಬಹುದು). ಆಮೇಲೆ ಹೇಳಿ, ನಿಮ್ಮದು ಯಾವ ಸೀಮೆ ಗಾಂಧಿವಾದಾ?

ಮುಕ್ತಾಯ: ಒಂದು ಸಮಾಜ ಅಂದ್ರೆ, ಬೇಕಾದಷ್ಟು ತತ್ತ್ವ ಇಟ್ಟುಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಜನ ಇರುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಎಲ್ಲಾರೂ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಮೌಲ್ಯಗಳನ್ನೇ ಇಟ್ಟುಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಿಲ್ಲ. ಒಬ್ಬ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ ಆಗಿ, ನೀವು ಎಲ್ಲ ತರಹದ ಜನರನ್ನು ಪ್ರತಿನಿಧಿಸಿ. ನೀವು ಕೇವಲ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಪಕ್ಷದವರ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ ಅಲ್ಲ. ನಿಮ್ಮ ಪಕ್ಷದ ಬಹು ದೊಡ್ಡ ನಾಯಕ ನೆಹರು ಅವರು ಕೂಡ ತಮ್ಮ ಕೊನೆಗಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ RSS ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಪರಮದ್ವೇಷವನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟು, ಅವರನ್ನು ೧೯೬೩ ಗಣತಂತ್ರ ದಿನದ ಪೆರೇಡ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸುವಂತೆ ಆಮಂತ್ರಣ ನೀಡಿದ್ದರು ಅನ್ನೋದನ್ನ ಮರೆಯಬೇಡಿ!

ಕನಿಷ್ಠ ಪಕ್ಷ ನಿಮ್ಮ ೨೦೧೫ ಗಾಂಧಿ ಜಯಂತಿ ನಡವಳಿಕೆ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ ಹುದ್ದೆಗೆ ಘನತೆ ತರುವಂತೆ ಇರತ್ತೆ ಎಂದು ಹಾರೈಸೋಣ.

Images from: coastaldigest, mangaloremath.wordpress, corruptcongress.wikia and oppanna

Upakarma: A Harmless Hindu Festival

Yesterday was a day of threads for  Hindus.

It's the Purnima or full moon day in the month of Shravana for most Hindus. Hindus who are keeping the tradition of wearing a sacred thread of commitment (yajnopaveetam), wear a new one on this day. Now a days mostly Brahmins and Vaishyas follow this. The overall number is quite small compared to the total population of Hindus. And Hindus who are keeping the tradition of sisters tying a thread for commitment to the wrist of their brothers (or brother like other men), tie rakhi on this day. Yes, you can call this sacred thread day for these two reasons.

But as you can expect around any Hindu festival, "secularism" creeps in.
Dainik Bhaskar, a big Hindi newspaper started "Main Rakhi nahin baandhungi" campaign. It essentially was for a girl to say "I won't tie rakhi".. unless....

Their theme was to generate "respect for women", but as always, such campaigns are only targeting Hindu festivals. Just a week back imagine if they had started a campaign that "I won't celebrate Eid.. unless...".

Hindus went in full force on the social media against this campaign. Finally Dainik Bhaskar had to suck up and remove this from their website right in time for Rakhi morning.

And then came the day of Upakarma morning. Promptly, another prominent media house's Editor started attacking this Hindu festival on Twitter.

Of course, if you follow the responses, most tried to educate her, and a few tried to dare her attack other religions similarly. Not surprisingly, this Editor of a big Indian news paper started focus on only the favourite points all communists are taught to follow.

Her point 1: Women in Hinduism (particularly Brahmin women) are discriminated and are there only to "assist" a male in Hindu rituals.

Her point 2: Please don't attack Islam or others, irrespective of how discriminatory their practices might be. "Secularism" means, as Editors of big news papers we have guts only to attack Hindus on Hindu festival days. We don't dare to do any such preaching or "conduct discussion" on Islamic or Christian festival days.

Let me focus on the Upakarma part more here as most already convinced the anti Rakhi campaign to end before the festival itself.

First of all, is Hindu Dharma (not a religion per say) anti women?

The reality is that it is not. By and far, Hindu women have been accorded the best status that any religious society offered anywhere in the world. Hindu women have been queens, goddesses, have been revealed sacred verses, have authored plenty of bhakti movement songs/bhajans, have been dancing queens, have enjoyed supreme status when it comes to respect.

• Hindus (and some non-Hindu Bharatiyas) scream "Bharat Mata ki jai".. Not "Bharat pita ki jai"!
• Hindus worship Devi Lakshmi for wealth.. the most important aspect for livelihood. 
• Hindus worship Devi Saraswati for knowledge.. the most important aspect to start any livelihood.
• Hindus worship Devi Durga for strength.. the most important aspect for any survival or warfare. Female Durga is so powerful that she even steps over the dominant male Shiva's chest at her fiercest moment!
• Hindus teach their kids "Maatru Devo bhava" before Pitru, Acharya or Atithi..
• Hindus (yes those "evil" Brahmins in particular) chant Gayatri mantra as the most supreme mantra, dedicated to a female shakti. 
• Hindus often cite "Janani Janmabhumi cha, swargat api gariyasi" giving mother and mother land the greatest status, even above paradise (if it exists)!
• Hindus teach at a young age, "yatra naryastu pujyate, ramante tatra devatah", drilling the point that where women are well respected, only there the gods will enjoy (meaning reside). 
• While almost all religions of the world are for men, by men, to men, Hindu Vedas stand out tall as an exception (yes, the same Vedas chanted by "discriminatory" Brahmins today). Ghosha, Lopamudra, Maitreyi, Gargi and others made women proud by being a part of compilation of sacred Vedas! 

In fact, there are many women poojaris (priests) across India today. They are not in significant numbers, but they exist. I visit a Shani Mahatma temple in south Bengaluru, where the main poojari is a woman in her 50s. Just last year, a famous mainstream temple in Karnataka, the Kudroli Shree Gokarnanatheshwara temple, got two widows as the key poojaris! It didn't last long for other personal reasons from their side, but Hindus by and far welcomed and didn't have any demonstrations against widows becoming main priests of a very famous temple.

I have seen women funeral priests, woman marriage purohit, women conducting yajnas and much more.

So it's silly to come out in public to say that Hinduism is against women. I am focusing beyond the tweets of Malini P, as there are plenty of such women who relish the idea of bashing Hindu men and Hindu ideology itself. I am sure the same "intellectual" women would hide if we start asking to show some women Moulivis or women Bishops in India from other religions.

If you have to sum up in 2 lines, the core essence of Hindu philosophy of an "educated man", this one propagated by Swami Vivekananda, stands out.

It's not that Hindus don't have women beaters, rapists, eve teasers, murderers and much worse. But they are NOT justified by Hindus by any means, quoting some scripture. They in fact many would demand that such men should be punished the same way Rama punished Ravana, or Bhima punished Keechaka.  But hey.. it's possible to convince those with an open mind and not those brainwashed by communist ideology. You can only place the facts on the table and expect them to introspect some day.. yes some day! They live only in the topics such as Sati (which have ceased to exist since centuries), Sabarimala temple (which is one temple, with a unique reason), Sita's agni pariksha and a few other pet topics that they use to beat up Hindus, particularly on their festival days.

Are Hindu women not allowed to wear any sacred thread?

Quick answer is, Hindu women are very much wearing sacred threads. There's no restriction. Keeping in mind practical limitations, they wear different types of threads. Threads over the wrists, around the neck and around the ankle are common ones.

Now the longer answer:

Brahmins, Vaishyas and Kshatriyas mostly follow the sacred thread ceremony (that is worn around the torso from neck to waist). In some cases, many other castes, traditionally considered outside of these three, also follow. In Karnataka, Devanga, Goldsmith and dozens of other castes also follow this. But mostly Brahmins keep the thread throughout the year. The basic essence is that the sacred thread gives the right to perform vedic yajnas and other rituals. (Not merely wearing thread, but also knowing what they are performing). For those who were not doing Yajnas, this was not a part of custom. There were many yesterday who openly were showing their thread on social media. It's only 3 Rupees for a pair of threads, so in no way this is "elite" who prefer not to wear.

The basic idea is that the human body is sacred and the 3 strands represent Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara. By wearing the thread, one would remind about the divinity inside himself, and keep the body clean (physically, spiritually and otherwise). A man is expected to change the thread if there is "impurity" such as blood on the body, death in the family and many more. And there's always a yearly ceremony where as a group that community changes thread.

Since 20th century and 21st century customs don't have the main thread for women (they have other threads), a married man also wears his wife's part of the thread over himself. The second thread (with 3 strands) that he wears is for Grihasta ashrama. Every time he prays Gayatri or performs other pooja, the reward is automatically shared with his wife. Those who teach Vedas usually wear more sets, but that's more complicated. Just like festivals where women pray for their husbands, here the man not only conducts yajna (fire sacrifice) for himself and his wife, but also for his entire family and society.

For married women, mangala sutra is the main thread (now in the form of gold thread) in 20th and 21st century. Other threads like those tied on wrists are immensely popular for girls and most wear. For instance, Bheemana Amavasya in Karnataka (south Indian equivalent of Kadva Chauth) sees lakhs of girls wearing thread on their wrists after a vrata.

They are kept and disposed off as sacredly as a man would wear and dispose off old threads. So the contemporary tradition is that mangala sutra is the main thread for a woman, and Yajnopaveetam is the main thread for men. A married man has the second set of strands and a married woman has the mangal sutra. That way, society can identify the wedded aspect easily, in places where threads are made visible.

In some communities like Lingayats in Karnataka, women wear threads across their body (like cross bar) just like men or around the neck. There would be a Shiva Linga tied to the thread.

For Hindus, every thread over the body is sacred. There's nothing like one thread is more sacred than others.

What do Hindu men do in Upakarma? Is this ritual anti women? Is it against "lower" castes? 

That is termed in Sanskrit as Upa Karma (upa meaning near, and karma is duty). It's also known as Avani Attam in Tamil, Janivarada habba in Kannada, Gamha purnima in Odiya and so on. Usually a "dwija" or born again Hindu performs this.

The procedure differs from region to region, and from veda to veda. Here are some steps for the Yajurveda Upakarma.

1. Ganapati puja praying for obstacle removal. 
2. Invoking Gayatri for shakti into the sacred thread. 
3. Worshiping ancient Hindu sages who have guided us with knowledge all along. 
4. Wearing the thread. One for wife also in case of married men.
5. Rishi tarpana (offering prayers to the ancient rishis or sages who guided us). Kaanda Rishi tarpana is performed with the help of head priest or Brahma seat occupier.
6. Deva tarpana (offering prayers to all the gods who protect and guide us).
7. Pitru tarpana (offering prayers to the ancestors from both father and mother's side who enabled us to be living on this planet today).
8. Brahmacharis or bachelors perform a special agni karya or fire ritual.
9. Full fledged fire ritual and fire sacrifice called Upakarma Yajna (no, no blood involved. Not that kind of sacrifice). 
10. Among many other steps, the key is that prayashchittha (atonement) for all the mistakes and sins our families might have committed during the past year. 
11. Lastly, there is a long set of mantras or prayers for better rain, peace in the society, guidance to walk in the path of dharma, and much more. 

There is NOTHING in the Upakarma that preaches discrimination towards other castes (not present there) or gender bias. There is no cursing or preaching against "enemies" of a particular ideology. There is no sermon making people fear the "all powerful". There are a series of shanti mantras for betterment of everyone on the planet! There is in fact a particular phase where not just the current family, but also women like matamahi are paid tributes, going 3 generations up to women of the family.

The only catch here is that these fire rituals that involve vedic mantras, must be performed by only those who have been initiated into the rituals. The initiation called Brahma Upadesha is usually a step to make the boy or man aware of why's, what's and when's. Otherwise it won't make sense for the person participating. That's why mostly you will find Brahmin men today performing these on behalf of everyone in the society. If someone who has not been initiated wants to participate, there are 1000s of outlets in temples and mathas, where initiation can be obtained and they can join irrespective of their caste, creed or religion. The best part is, one does not even have to "convert" to Hinduism. Read this to get a glimpse of European and African origin Hindus who follow Hindu rituals. I have personally seen European origin men actively participating in Hindu fire rituals after wearing sacred threads, and even getting married in proper Vedic manner.

All they need is a vow for restrictions on food, and advice on puja and homa that a thread wearing person is expected to follow.

In fact, the most *hated* Hindutva man Veer Savarkar ("seculars" chide him as hindu supremacist), presided over a Yajnopaveetam ceremony for former Hindu untouchables (Dalits) in 1929 at Malwan. This was a historic step in correcting the course of Hinduism which had steered off due to mistakes by some Hindus.

The complete step by step  of what's performed in Upakarma is listed in this PDF.

In summary:

1. Hinduism has probably bestowed the best status for women among any traditional religions or similar setup. 
2. There's no restriction for women becoming priests or wearing sacred threads. In fact there are many festivals like Varamahalakshmi, which are specially for Hindu women, involving sacred thread. 
3. There's no restriction for women to perform Hindu rituals. Many are doing it actively. 
4. There's nothing against women being performed during the "male festival" Upakarma. Similarly there is nothng against men performed in "female fesivals" like Lakshmi pujas. 
5. As it is practiced today, Upakarma is essentially for "upper" caste males, but that does not make it against anyone else. Everyone is free to join them during 21st century, if they feel a need to perform Vedic rituals for self and for the society. Hindus have tried their best to remove the historic barriers.
6. There's absolutely nothing against any caste, religion or "non believers" being said or done during a Hindu festival like Upakarma. 

When will the self-styled "intellectual" Editors wake up to the reality?
And when will they develop "balance" to criticize ALL religions' festivals on the day of those festivals?

Images taken from: Facebook, Twitter, yensures.com, logbookwasilla.com, kheper.net, daijiworld.com, www.dw.de, kgbyoga.wordpress, anandsp1.wordpress and bharathgyanblog.wordpress, resurgencehinduism.blogspot, agniveerfan.wordpress. Thanks!

Let us blame BJP and RSS

After any terror attack in India, we can almost predict how the “seculars” (read as anyone not associated with BJP or Sangh ideology) react. Here are some examples to prove the point.

Terror attack 1: The 26/11 attack on India by Pakistani terrorists.

After the dastardly terror attack on Mumbai in 2008, which was nothing but a well planned and funded proxy war waged by Pakistan on Indian civilians through brainwashed Jihadi terrorists, Congress party's General Secretary Digvijaya Singh released a book. RSS ka Shadyantra, 26/11 (RSS conspiracy, 26/11). 

Digvijaya Singh, an ex CM of Madhya Pradesh, and the teacher of Rahul Gandhi, even went on to say that the Mumbai ATS chief Hemant Karkare had called him, hours before he was killed in the terror attacks, to tell him about threats he had received for probing Hindu extremists and their terror links.

Image: milligazette

No wonder investigators feel disheartened when the ruling Congress party's top leader openly misleads the nation this way. It was well established right from the start that the terrorists were Pakistanis. Indian and American courts clearly proved the facts in the coming days resulting in convictions and even the execution of Ajmal Kasab, the lone Pakistani Jihadi terrorist caught in the attack. 

So it was not RSS, but Pakistani Jihadi Terrorists who did it. 

But after legal worries, the book writer Aziz Burney apologized on the front page of his newspaper Rashtriya Sahara on Jan 29, 2011. 

But has Congress or Digvijaya Singh apologized for blatently misleading India? I don't recall any.. I am not surprised also. Here's why.

Terror attack 2: The April 2013 attack near BJP office in Bengaluru.

And how did Congress leaders and supporters react? See below.

 Karnataka MP from Congress, H Vishwanath added more nonsensical rhetoric with this.

Congress leader and Member of Parliament A H Vishwanath has alleged that Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is behind the bomb explosion in Malleshwaram near the BJP office in Bangalore. 

 Now Karnataka CM, then Opposition leader, Siddaramaiah also parroted a similar line.

Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah raised suspicions of BJP’s hand in a bomb blast, that occurred near BJP office in Bangalore on Wednesday.

Speaking to press persons on the sidelines of a party workers meet of Krishnaraja constituency, in Mysore, he said that there were chances of BJP colluding with anti-social elements to “plant a bomb” near its office, “for electoral gains”.

Here also, the orgasmic premature verdicts from Congress camp turned out to be totally false. The 2013 Bengaluru blast was linked by the probing police to Al Ummah, a banned Islamic terrorist organization from Tamil Nadu. Nearly 12 terrorists are arrested so far and all of them happened to be Jihadis, who have nothing to do with RSS or BJP.

The Bangalore police have identified the person who probably parked the bomb-laden motorcycle near the BJP office in the city on April 17 as Panna Ismail, a former member of the banned Tamil Nadu terror outfit, Al Ummah. He had jumped bail in mid-March in a terror case in Tamil Nadu. Sixteen people, including 11 policemen, were injured in the blast.

In the court documents filed by the police, Ismail, a resident of Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, has been named in the list of 12 persons accused of carrying out the blast. While documents say that Ismail and two other Tamil Nadu men, Bilal Mallick and Fakruddin, are at large, the police have shown the arrests of nine others. Both Mallick and Fakruddin are linked to Al Ummah.

So yet again, Congress supporters and top leaders got foot in the mouth. Worse, no apologies to India for misleading yet another terror attack.

Terror attack 3: The May 2013 terror attack on a Congress election convoy in Chhattisgarh.

This was more bizarre than the earlier ones. Here, within minutes, tweets and messages were floating on how BJP government failed, how Raman Singh the CM must be dismissed and so on. Lots of drama unfolded with Sonia Gandhi even rushing with lot of top leaders, issuing statements and then press giving lot of anti BJP sermons.

And after the initial high drama after this unfortunate incident, completely politicizing the terror attack to blame it on BJP, NIA found top Congress leaders hand-in-glove with terrorists.

The same Congress workers who were holding banners "Raman Singh Sharam Karo" (Shame on him), were no where to be seen when NIA confirmed Congress conspiracy behind Chhattisgarh naxal attack.

So yet another terror attack, this time by Communist Maoists, back fired on Congress after all the initial shouting against BJP. The attack was established by NIA as a handiwork of Communist Terrorists hand-in-glove with Congress top leaders of Chhattisgarh. Investigation is still going on.

Terror attack 4: The July 2013 attack on Gaya's Buddhist temple.
  
Even before the NIA investigators are in Patna, already the "secular" nonsense to blame BJP, Modi and Sangh started after this terror attack. See some selected ones (thanks to friend Ajit Gupta for pointers)

It's incredible how many of these "analysis" and "views" match with the Congress ring leader Digvijaya Singh's own RSS and BJP phobia.

He "warned" Nitish Kumar in particular and non-BJP ruled states in general, to be "careful".

If you have carefully observed so far, you won't be surprised if this Bodhgaya attack may also eventually turn out to be some Jihadi terrorist hand, and nothing to do with RSS or BJP. 

When will these shameful "seculars" grow up? That too on matters of significant national interest like terror attacks?

Godhra Train Burning : Yet Another Rewind

We saw Narendra Modi getting yet another relief today on the judiciary side when Supreme Court handed over further probe of a particular 2002 case to a trial court. The right of center folks on internet are celebrating this as yet another defeat for the long list of lies propagated by Teesta Setalvad and co. The left of center folks are either silent or having difficulty gulping the news that Supreme Court would not act against Narendra Modi. Even though a gazillion websites and videos talk about Narendra Modi's stellar development track record transforming Gujarat into a model growth story, there is one thing about 2002 which just doesn't go away when talking about him.

So let's dig into Godhra 2002, particularly the train burning incident, a bit more for clarity. We have heard enough about what happened after Godhra, but not much on this very important trigger. Let me provide plenty of links here, majority being reputed national level news papers from India. Once you read through the entire saga, including the links, I would let you draw the conclusion yourself.








Section 1: Godhra Town's history & pre-plan for a mass murder:

1. Godhra town had settled Sindhi Hindus who moved in from Pakistan & Ghanchi Muslims after partition. The relationship between Hindus and Muslims was apparently not that cordial right from the start, as Ghanchis were termed as very aggressive per some reading I did online.
2. Godhra town witnessed communal riots in 1947, 1952, 1959, 1961, 1965, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1980, 1983, 1989, 1990 and in 1992. Wasn't Congress party ruling all along?



Godhra Train Burning in Feb 2002. {Source: The Hindu}

3. Two Godhra petrol pump men, Ranjitsingh Patel & Prabhatsingh Patel said they sold 140 liters of petrol the previous evening to Muslim looking men. This was established in the court in 2010-11 period conclusively.

Section 2: Let's learn about the Congress party's M. Kalota:

1. Mehmud H Kalota, Salim A G Sheikh, Abdul R A M Ghantia, Farroukh Bhana and Haji Bilal, were the five Congress members/supporters at Godhra. Read More via a Rajeev Srinivasan writeup in Rediff portal: http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/25rajeev.htm
2. Read more on Kalota's link to Congress party in particular, from Rediff's 2002 writeup by Onkar Singh: http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/mar/12train3.htm
3. Mohammad Hussain Kalota, acquitted for 'lack of evidence' was an independent president of Godhra corporation. But worked for Congress minority cell for six years, so the political leaning & support was hard to hide.
4. The same Kalota had given an ad in a Gujarati paper on May 10, 2001, thanking Congress for getting him elected per another old news item.
5. Kalota was a district convener of minority cell of Congress. Salim Sheikh (absconding) was the youth Congress VP and Haji Bilal (Convict) was associated too.
6. Tablighi Jamaat, whose links Godhra Congress minority cell leader Kalota had, also had former Pakistan president Rafiq Tarar as its member. Being just a member is not the concern, but read on.
7. Kalota, who ran Congress minority cell at Godhra for 6 years, had past links to Tablighi Jamaat. Tablighi founded Harkat, a Jammu & Kashmir terror org (which claimed responsibility via an email for 2011 September 7th Delhi blasts too). So here we have the grand old party of India, whose main guy in Godhra town is linked to one of the worst human rights violating terror organization in Kashmir that is fighting India itself! So now we have Godhra conspiracy, linked to Tablighi, which in turn an incubator of outright terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir..<cry> . Read an elaborate writeup from 2002 by journalist Praveen Swami, exposing all the above mentioned details here: http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl1906/19060120.htm
8. The main accused in the Godhra genocide, Mohammed Hussain Kalota, has been a "Congressman and a protege of a sitting Congress legislator". Read more about that here in Indian Express:  http://www.expressindia.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=8349

Section 3: Haji Bilal, the first in death penalty list:

Haji Bilal {From TribuneIndia}

1. DeshGujarat portal lists the names of all 31 convicted for Godhra train burning, based on 21st Feb 2011 court verdict: http://deshgujarat.com/2011/02/22/godhra-verdict31-accused-guilty-63-acquitted-punishment-on-25-february/
2. Those who had poured petrol over coach S-6 are: Aiyub Pataliya, Irfan Kalandar, Mehboob Popa, Shaukat Patadiya and Siddik Vohra.:(
3. Their leader was Haji Bilal per the writeup. The real name of Haji Bilal, prime convict in Godhra train burning is Abdul Raheman Abdul Majid Suleja, a member of Godhra corporation under M. Kalota.
4. Haji Bilal was not arrested after Godhra train burning. He was missing, but arrested later. The second main planner Faruk Bhano may be in Pakistan per some other news items.
5. In 2008, two of the Godhra accused, possibly Haji's men, were hiding in Pakistan : Ibrahim Dhantiya and Salim alias Paanwala. More here: http://islamicterrorism.wordpress.com/2008/08/06/two-godhra-accused-in-pak-say-they-want-to-return-home/

Section 4: Terrorism/Riot links to Gujarat Congress:

Mahmood As'ad Madani of Jamait in front {From Milligazette}

1. Well before Godhra, Congress party had black sheep, who were actively hand in glove with terrorism in Gujarat. Read about how a former Congress Fisheries Minister of Gujarat Mohammad Surti and ten others were found guilty in 1993 Surat twin blast case by TADA court in 2008.
2. Apr 29, 2002, Mahmood Madani of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind sent a list of 25 Congress workers, including one MLA & one MP involved in post Godhra riots. Of course neither Sonia Gandhi, nor her loyal supporters ever talked about this.. for obvious reasons! Read more from Times of India: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2003-08-09/india/27201201_1_congress-leaders-congress-mlas-gujarat-youth-congress
3. From February 2011 verdict, it was clear that Godhra train burning also had Congress supporters involved. Gory details of train burning here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godhra_train_burning. To get a background of the same folks, read the May 2002 Godhra charge sheet featuring five apparent Congress party members/supporters like Bilal. The chargesheeted names prime accused Haji Bilal, a municipal corporator and Congress supporter. Bilal along with President of Godhra municipality Mohd Hussain Kalota were arrested in March. Others arrested include corporator Abdul Razak and Shiraj Abdul Jamesha. Read more here from 2002 Indian Express: http://www.expressindia.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=10692

Section 5: Episode of cover-up via media & sham commission:

Justice Banerjee {From Jagran}

1. All those fans of Tehelka's journalism, read this Godhra "Investigative" report - - "spontaneous mob fury".. Sick! Read more on the apparent paid coverup: http://www.tehelka.com/story_main35.asp?filename=Ne031107Godhra.asp
2. Should Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Lalu Yadav & Justice Banerjee be questioned further for apparently lying to the nation? Infact, it was not just a lie, but a lie of the century. Read more: Godhra was an accident: Banerjee panel: http://www.expressindia.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=63804 Can't believe how such an 'accident' resulted in death sentences to so many in the court in 2011!
3. Thankfully, the judiciary of India is still working outside the evil clutches of the manipulating politicians. Gujarat High Court categorically stated in October 2006, that Sonia Gandhi's government has committed an unconstitutional blunder & threw 'honest' Manmohan, Lalu & Sonia's efforts into dustbin. The Gujarat High Court termed the appointment of the high-level Justice UC Banerjee panel that probed the Godhra train carnage as “unconstitutional, illegal and void”. UPA's cover-up chapter closed. Read more from DNA: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_banerjees-findings-contrary-to-facts-gujarat-hc_1058373
   

Section 6: Post February 2011 Godhra court verdict:

Lalu Yadav {From Hindu}

1. "Godhra verdict exposed Lalu, UPA and a fake inquiry under a retired SC judge, that blamed victims themselves" - BJP : Read more: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article1480169.ece
2. "Can't comment on verdict" BUT "post Godhra was blot on democracy" - So Congress folks' involvement in Godhra train burning, a celebration of democracy?  Read more: http://www.sify.com/news/congress-declines-comment-on-godhra-verdict-news-national-lcwpkfehhdi.html
3. Just read the headline from Sonia Gandhi's birth country news paper which sums up: "India: 31 Muslims condemned for massacre of Hindus". That's how the world is viewing the real story. Read more: http://www.agi.it/english-version/wo...acre_of_hindus
4. Long back, on Oct 22, 2000, Sonia Gandhi had accused Sangh parivar of killing Mahatma Gandhi & partitioning India. What a baloney! Read more: http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2000/10/22/stories/02220007.htm. Nathuram Godse had left RSS in 1930s per RSS' accounts. Still we hear "RSS killed Gandhi in 1948". After the 2011 court verdict, it seems five 2002 train burners were Congress members/supporters. Will she or her party accept that Godhra train burning was a Congress party event, following the same logic?

I have drawn my conclusion well, and you can do so, after going over all the info provided in the dozens of links from mainstream media.

Lord Anantha Padmanabha and an interview with a Self Styled 'Secular'

The big news in India of course is the Anantha Padmanabha (Lord Vishnu) temple and it's stellar rise to the top of the richest temples in the world chart, in a matter of week to 10 days.

While walking in the park this morning, I did a fantasy interview with a self-styled 'secular' (watch the quotes).Have fun..


Me: Good morning.. Nice weather? Huh..
Self Styled 'Secular' (SSS): Brilliant weather. I love these cloudy mornings in Bengaluru. 

Me: Heard about that Kerala temple's secret chambers and immense wealth being counted right now?
SSS: Who doesn't? An incredible treasure find. Its already 1 lakh crore rupees and growing. I am excited about the prospects of helping so many poor people of the country. What an incredible waste it was lying in dark below the earth! 

Me:  Ho. ho... slow down buddy. Let me ask you if you have ever been to Thiruvananthapuram.
SSS:  Never



Me: OK.. I take that you have interest in Padmanabhaswamy's worship at least.. I mean Lord Vishnu, pilgrimages, sending or dropping in person the donations..
SSS:  Naa.. I don't have any such delusions. After all God is a manmade figment of imagination. I am a proud atheist. 

Me: Alright.. Everyone has their choice. Is it just you, or anyone in your family who still visits temples, donates money to the Lord or services?
SSS: My wife and her mother used to.. but after all the US trips, we have kind of decided to be modern. You know, away from all such medieval superstitions.


Me: Well... I respect your beliefs or the lack of it. But let's not get to who's superior and who's superstitious kind. So shall I take it that no one in your family ever donated anything to Anantha Padmanabhasway's temple?
SSS: You are damn right man.. Thank goodness! Their money always went to better social causes rather than those stupid hundi donations which someone will misuse anyway.


Me: So why this sudden interest in temple's wealth then?
SSS: Why? C'mon dude.. there's stinking amount of money which can be used for so many projects. Like building hospitals, national highways, sponsoring government projects etc. It would be silly to leave it lying there in the basement. 

Me: But...isn't there a government to take care of such projects?  Isn't that collecting income, excise, wealth and other taxes from people? Aren't there NGOs, for-profit businesses?
SSS: Yeah.. but we are poor country, so it doesn't hurt to have another 1 lakh crore to help with government projects. 

Me: Sir.. Do you even understand that there is a Travancore Royal family, which has preserved this secret wealth for 222 years? There is also a temple trust that is quite honest, which is very much capable of doing what they want with this money? After all it is Lord Vishnu's money.
SSS: C'mon... Cut that BS of Lord's money. It was people's wealth that got into temple. The kings collected taxes, exploited Dalits and minorities and hoarded their wealth in the temple. You know how it works..


Me: But Mr.. Before India became a republic, most wealth was in the hands of Hindu, Sikh & Muslim royal families or the Christian British. Don't you think, we need to look under present laws which gives 100% ownership of that wealth to the Padmanabhaswamy's temple?
SSS: *grudgingly*.. whatever.. But it's criminal to let it stay there.



Me: So what you want to do? Just burn the entire wealth in our generation itself?
SSS: Why not? If you don't mind me saying it.. we can even bail out the birth place of the Western civilization, Greece with over $22 billion wealth out there.. Ha ha... Just joking OK?


Me: But my question is.. why only Travancore temple's money?
SSS: Because that amount is huge.



Me: I can show you huge amounts in many other places too, which are not currently being used for your government hospital, national highway and other government projects, serving all citizen of the area.
SSS: Like what?



Me: Take for example Wakf properties of Muslims. Every major state/city has huge tracks of land passed on from medieval period. Why can't some of they be sold for building national highways?
SSS: Rubbish.. We are a secular country dude.


Me: OK.. how about Christian missionary money? Did you know that 10 out of the top 20 foreign money recipients in India are Christian organizations? That too after the government has data of only half or so or foreign remittances to religious organizations? My rough calculation shows that during each 8 to 10 year period, missionaries get the same money as the entire wealth of Lord Vishnu found in Kerala, accumulated over centuries. I haven't even accounted the 'black' portion or domestic collection.
SSS: But sir.. you are again talking like a communal. Laws of secular India let them use that money for services that they want to provide to the society. You are educated.. you must know how incredible Christians are in building schools and hospitals.


Me: Yeah.. but there is rampant conversion too using that money, in the guise of services.
SSS: Let's stop deviating. OK? It's none of our business what they do with their donations.


Me: Hmnn... So Wakf properties can't be sold to build national highways. Missionary money, which is huge, can't be accounted for government projects. But you want to calculate how many KM or national highways or how many hospitals can be built using Kerala temple's money? How 'secular'!
SSS: You are not understanding... Are you by chance an RSS member?


Me: No.. but why?
SSS: You seem to have this crazy notion of dipping into minorities' wealth. I just got that idea. It's a dangerous thing that usually Hindu fascists like VHP and RSS preach.


Me: Hindu fascists? Hmn.... By any chance you know how many tribal schools, medical services and natural calamity reconstruction projects those 'fascists' take? That too without ever converting anyone to their religion like the missionaries?
SSS: I have a serious doubt that you are a closet RSS guy.. We have been walking for 30 minutes now, and you are coming again and again to a turn where there' absolutely no interest in productively using Kerala's new found treasure.


Me: *laughing*.. don't worry about me being any 'closet' guy. I don't have to. In any case, do you know that the princess of Travencore royal family has made it very clear that what's being counted now is not any treasure, but the property of the temple in secret cellars? There's a huge difference.
SSS: Whatever... All I care is that it should be put to good use.


Me: Me too.. But there are a few things. One its is an inter-generational wealth. Our generation does not hold any kind of monopoly over that. Temples usually had such large amounts of wealth for tougher times like natural calamity. I guess you would agree that Ghazni, Ghori, Nader Shah etc. didn't come to India for summer vacations :)
SSS: Haha.. Good one. But I don't get this inter-generational thing. It's out there. Let's use it.


Me: What I meant is that we should leave it fully to the decision of the trust headed by the royal family of Travancore. They have preserved it very well for 222 years. They could use a part of it for trust's educational, medical, food and other projects. But it's their wealth. From when did we become moralisers in this country to tell others on what they should do with their wealth?
SSS: But its not anyone's personal wealth.


Me: Doesn't matter. It's Lord Vishnu's donations from public and royals. That's all matters. Just like how we don't tell missionaries, Wakf boards or even rich people like Ambani, what to do with their money, we shouldn't bother in Kerala temple's case. Even a 'secular' CM like Chandy isn't poking his nose, which is a great thing. Isn't it?
SSS: Huhhh... I have a feeling that you guys want to waste this once-in-a-century opportunity to uplift the downtrodden. Dude.. it's a golden opportunity!


Me: But just like how you wouldn't like anyone telling you to give, not donate voluntarily, to pave national highways, you shouldn't force someone too.
SSS: But it's a temple...


Me: Haha.. Someone wrote online yesterday. Temples and Lords are communal... but their wealth is secular! Man.. I am laughing hard that you are driving exactly at that logic!
SSS: Whatever...*rolling his eyes*. I guess we have walked enough. They will lock the park at the end of morning hours. Let me take a leave. Again.. think once more. So much can be done using that wealth lying idle at the basement!


Me: No thanks..It's not my money, nor my family's. Neither it's public money that citizen of the country have collective ownership of. So, I wouldn't lose sleep on what Padmanabhaswamy temple's trust does. They could just bury it back for 222 more years! It's their wish..
SSS: You guys... *grumbling*


Me: What? *smiling*
SSS: Nothing..Gotta go..


Me: Have a great day.
SSS: Yeah.. you too..


There we parted ways..And within hours, I am hearing that the wealth value has shot up much more than the Rs.1 lakh crore. I hope my self styled 'secular' or SSS friend is getting a good sleep at least tonight, not bothering about what Travancore temple trust will do with that 'idle' wealth :)