Tuesday, April 28, 2009

A Reply to Jean Dreze's ramblings on BJP Manifesto on Times of India

Summary:
Jean Dreze has made several false and misleading statements in the article
‘Interpretation of Dreams’. Almost all her claims were wrong except the one
regarding Macaulay’s statement. The following essay is an answer to Jean Dreze
on the various misstatements made by her.

Essay:

The author has made several false as well as misleading statements in the article.
The author seems to think that ‘occasional famines’ translates into ‘economically
poor nation with hunger being common’. This is a very misleading statement. All we
need to do is to go through Fa-Hien’s as well as other such travelogues to know
that India was definitely a very rich nation. Just because there were a few famines
in a century, a nation will not be a poor nation. After all, famines were ‘exceptions’
and the normal condition was that there were bountiful crops and hunger cases
were very rare. Mahabharata and other Itihasa-Puranas do state about occasional
famines which are few and far in between. But they also categorically state that the
nation was otherwise very rich and state that people lived without the fear of hunger
and chronic poverty. The author as well as Romila Thapar seems to suffer from
selective blindness in that only famine-related passages appear visible to them. If
you consider a text to know about the economic situation in India, you must
consider the text completely but unfortunately, today’s ‘historians’ do not seem to
think so. The fact is that India was a wealthy nation and it is substantiated by both
the Indian and foreign sources.

The author seems to disbelieve the claim that plastic surgery was practiced in India
before 400 CE. I would advise Dreze as well as the readers to go through Sushruta
Samhita. Rhinoplasty was performed in India even in the 18th century when the art
was dying out. In fact, Joseph Carpue used the Indian rhinoplasty method to
perform the first rhinoplastic surgery in Britain in the early 19th century. The method
came to be known as “Carpue’s operation” (sic) in the western world.
Next, Dreze does not seem to give much importance to the testimonies of
Megasthenes. That is perfectly justified. But one cannot simply wish away his work.
After all, the very foundation of Indian historical eras is based on the identification of
Megasthenes’ Sandrocottus with Chandragupta Maurya. It is true that Megasthenes
wrote many fanciful stories but his testimonies in those cases have to be accepted
where we have local evidences pointing towards the same. If such rigorous
methods as prescribed by Dreze are applied to ancient ‘history’ texts, most
contemporary records prior to 1st century BCE have to be completely ignored which
is both impossible as well as foolish to do. Also, Dreze’s statement that Joshi has
not cited local sources makes me laugh. It is a case of ‘die if you do and die if you
don’t’. When local sources are cited, these ‘historians’ pooh-pooh the evidence.
When foreign/neutral sources are cited, they ask for local evidence. BJP’s
manifesto is not a paper on history. It is illogical to expect Joshi to cite each and
every source. In fact, his insistence on neutral sources seems to be a conscious
effort to overcome unnecessary scepticism but even then, people like Dreze
continue to make careless statements.

Similarly, Dreze does not seem to know about the state of mathematics in medieval
India which substantiates the claim that India was far advanced in knowledge due
to Bharatiya tradition. The Kerala school of Mathematics was far advanced than its
contemporary Europe. Many mathematical ‘discoveries’ of the 17th century Europe
were already known in India before the 16th century. This school came to an end
due to the Portuguese, Dutch and Islamic invasions of the 16th, 17th and 18th
centuries. One can see that the discoveries seem to stop with the 16th century
when peace in Hindu Kerala was disturbed by external forces. The book by Dr
Gopalakrishnan of IISH, ‘We Claim These Are Indian Discoveries’, lists the sources
for various such mathematical discoveries made in Kerala. Prof. Dreze will do well
to look at this book once as well as similar books published by IISH. The book
makes us wonder whether the European discoveries were not a case of
‘unacknowledged’ borrowings. After all, there was a huge European presence in the
subcontinent and the chances appear to be very large. Therefore, the claim made
about Indian knowledge is not completely wrong. The author seems to have been
carried away in a European mindset that the Indian nation was neither rich nor very
intelligent during the pre-British era. The mistake of the author in adopting this
stance is even more clearly proved in the statement about Indian literacy rate.

The author seems to think that Mahatma Gandhi was wrong in stating that India
became more illiterate under the British rule. I would ask the author as well as the
readers to read the book ‘The Beautiful Tree’ written by Sri Dharampal. Dharampal
has cited the British archives to conclusively prove that every village had a school
in the Madras as well as Bengal provinces and that India’s literacy rate was higher
than that of England during the early 19th century. What is more important is that he
has shown that these schools were open to all castes and students from every
community including the lowest castes who were allowed to learn at these places.
Jean Dreze has made a huge mistake by simply parroting European fantasies
rather than the ground realities. The truth is that in the first half of 19th century, India
was stripped of her village schools by the British administration and hence, it
contributed to an increase in illiteracy. In fact, the increase in the literacy gap
between the higher and lower castes was due to this British vandalism. The author
will do well to read the sources before stating ‘opinions’.

Finally, Prof. Dreze has got one issue right. Macaulay did not make any such
statement in the British Parliament. Sri Joshi seems to have been carried away by
its ubiquitous presence on the Internet. But this does not excuse Joshi’s act of
quoting this fabrication. Any person should be careful about the sources and verify
them before quoting them. Joshi has definitely made an error in this case. But then,
Prof. Dreze in haste to prove Joshi wrong seems to have forgotten the fact that it is
absolutely necessary to check the sources before stating ‘opinions’. Dreze has
made the same mistake as that of Joshi and that too, in a far huge manner.

I wonder whether we will ever get any ‘real historian’ outside these Habibs,
Thapars, Drezes etc. We need a historian who does not impose his/her beliefs on
the sources/evidences but actually cite the evidences and go with the inherent logic
conveyed by the same.

Ravilochanan G
(A student of MBA from Institute of Management, Nirma University, Ahmedabad)
21, Rupal Park Society, ESI Hospital Road, Near Gothri Road, Vadodara.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Jiziya imposed on Sikhs by Pakistani Taliban



Pakistan’s Sikh community in Orakzai Agency has been forced to pay Rs. 20 millions as Jiziya (religious poll tax on non-Muslims) by the Pakistani Taliban. They have been threatened that, unless they pay Jiziya, their lives and property will be forfeit and no security shall be provided to them.

This is exactly what Islam is. I had thought that such practices have been destroyed by the advent of the 21st century. Unfortunately, these Islamic mullahs seem to have never come out of the medieval ages. Reforms in religion are very important. Religion must be moulded to suit the society’s needs. The Muslim leaders do not believe so and whenever any one of them becomes ‘progressive’, the radicals bring him/her down and re-impose the Shariat.
The Sikh community in Pakistan has faced the reality of an ‘Islamic’ nation. While it is true that many Islamic nations have anti-minority policies, this is the first time that Jiziya has been imposed in a country claiming to be a democratic nation. The current Government of Pakistan has not raised its voice against this extremism which shows that they are partners in the crime or they simply do not care about the non-Muslims.

This episode is a warning bell to the entire world. If we do not heed to it, we may be forced to see a rule similar to that of Aurangzeb where jiziya on non-Muslims and destruction of temples will be the rule of the land.

May India wake up to this reality and protect herself so that such things do not occur in India’s Muslim majority areas. After all, similar incidents are already taking place in India. 

There is a municipality in Tamil Nadu called Melvishaaram and it is a Muslim majority locality. The municipality has a division called Raasathipuram which is populated by the Hindus. This ‘Hindu area’ is not provided with basic amenities like road, water etc by the municipality. The Muslims have openly stated that those people should convert to Islam if they wish to have access to basic amenities. A legal case has been filed by the Hindus of the area to demand the partition of the municipality so that the Hindu area becomes a separate Panchayat unit. Political parties in Tamil Nadu do not even speak about this issue for the ‘fear’ of losing ‘minority votes’.

Such situations will occur again and again until we, Hindus, wake up to the reality and stop such atrocious activities. We are being victimised in our own nation. When will we wake up?
May Goddess Bharati lead us to a peaceful future where we may live in pride and without fear.


Jiziya imposed on Sikhs by Pakistani Taliban


http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=HomePage&id=5f3598b0-86cc-47cc-845e-c4f0d2dfa283&Headline=Sikhs+in+Pakistan+pay+Rs+20+mn+to+Taliban

Pakistan’s Sikh community in Orakzai Agency has been forced to pay Rs. 20 millions as Jiziya (religious poll tax on non-Muslims) by the Pakistani Taliban. They have been threatened that, unless they pay Jiziya, their lives and property will be forfeit and no security shall be provided to them.

This is exactly what Islam is. I had thought that such practices have been destroyed by the advent of the 21st century. Unfortunately, these Islamic mullahs seem to have never come out of the medieval ages. Reforms in religion are very important. Religion must be moulded to suit the society’s needs. The Muslim leaders do not believe so and whenever any one of them becomes ‘progressive’, the radicals bring him/her down and re-impose the Shariat.
The Sikh community in Pakistan has faced the reality of an ‘Islamic’ nation. While it is true that many Islamic nations have anti-minority policies, this is the first time that Jiziya has been imposed in a country claiming to be a democratic nation. The current Government of Pakistan has not raised its voice against this extremism which shows that they are partners in the crime or they simply do not care about the non-Muslims.

This episode is a warning bell to the entire world. If we do not heed to it, we may be forced to see a rule similar to that of Aurangzeb where jiziya on non-Muslims and destruction of temples will be the rule of the land.

May India wake up to this reality and protect herself so that such things do not occur in India’s Muslim majority areas. After all, similar incidents are already taking place in India. 

There is a municipality in Tamil Nadu called Melvishaaram and it is a Muslim majority locality. The municipality has a division called Raasathipuram which is populated by the Hindus. This ‘Hindu area’ is not provided with basic amenities like road, water etc by the municipality. The Muslims have openly stated that those people should convert to Islam if they wish to have access to basic amenities. A legal case has been filed by the Hindus of the area to demand the partition of the municipality so that the Hindu area becomes a separate Panchayat unit. Political parties in Tamil Nadu do not even speak about this issue for the ‘fear’ of losing ‘minority votes’.

Such situations will occur again and again until we, Hindus, wake up to the reality and stop such atrocious activities. We are being victimised in our own nation. When will we wake up?
May Goddess Bharati lead us to a peaceful future where we may live in pride and without fear.


Sunday, March 15, 2009

Islamic Intolerance in India - Another Example

http://in.news.yahoo.com/139/20090314/808/tnl-procession-sparks-communal-violence.html

A Religious procession sparks communal violence in Nanded, Maharashtra.

A Hindu religious procession consisting of a deity and the devotees was attacked by the Muslims because it passed by a street where a mosque stood. Stones were pelted at the procession from inside the mosque. Note that the procession occurred on the street and that no one entered the mosque. The Muslims seem to believe that wherever a mosque stands, the entire street belongs to them. Can we apply the same rule to Hindu temples? Then almost no Muslim procession can ever occur in most streets of India. Why should we have this double standard?

The most deplorable issue in this case is that the mosque is only about 100 metres from the police station. They had no fear of police stopping them or taking stern action against them. This is because of the vote-bank politics in this country. Somehow, when Muslims indulges in communal violence and hurts or kills Hindus, the ‘secular’ parties do not view it as acts of ‘vulgar communalism’ or ‘intolerant Islam’. They seem to become blind towards these issues. Even when more than 100 people (mostly Hindus and Christians) were killed and thousands were driven out of their homes by the Muslim mobs in Assam, no one seemed to care about it. Even media does not give coverage to such inhuman brutalities.

Why do we see this effort to ‘whitewash’ all the acts of Islamic intolerance in this country? It is time to stop this annoying drama and face the truth. Let us make it clear that such intolerance does not have a place in our nation. This is not Pakistan. This is secular India with a Hindu character.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Save our Wildlife; Don't kill them

http://dailypioneer.com/161792/Jalpaiguri-villagers-lynch-leopard.html

- - Jalpaiguri villagers lynch leopard (The Pioneer, 10 March 2009)

In another unfortunate incident, the villagers of Jalpaiguri (in West Bengal) have clubbed and lynched in a brutal manner because they saw that as a ‘threat’. Meanwhile, the Meghalaya forest officials are ‘hunting’ for an elephant which went ‘berserk’ and killed four people. The wildlife of India is in a great danger of extinction. The way we are killing our endangered species, we might make all these animals extinct in a decade or so. The ‘justification’ given by the villagers and the government officials (who sometimes order the killing of ‘dangerous animals in human areas’) is that these wild animals enter ‘human inhabited areas’ and as such, these ‘dangers’ have to be executed.

But then aren’t we, humans, trespassing and occupying the areas inhabited by our brothers and sisters (wild animals) of forests? Shall we say that those species, which are threatened by our occupation, have the right to kill (or eliminate) us – ‘dangers to their environment and living conditions’? Shrinking forest cover and deforestation are the major reasons for these occasional ‘wild’ trespassers. Instead of taking measures to stop such things, the government is focussing on even more destroying the ‘natural wealth’ of the nation.

The situation in India right now is explained by the line ‘Throwing the baby out with the bath water’. Let the government and the people get their heads out of the sand and do something constructive to protect the wildlife. Else, I am afraid that our grandchildren will be shown only pictures and videos of the majestic lifestyle of tigers, leopards etc.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

‘Optimist Obama’ takes steps towards absolute destruction


Obama has decided to reach out to the ‘moderate’ elements of Taliban and ask them to ‘reconcile’ with the Afghan government. Can anything be more dangerous and ‘recklessly optimistic’ (that it borders on utter foolishness) than this?

Taliban calls for a ‘global Islamic empire’ in the 21st century. What does he Obama mean by ‘moderate Taliban’? Does he mean that if some ‘Mujahedeen’ are ready to remain satisfied with an ‘Islamic Asian Empire’, they can be called ‘moderates’? The timing of this call is also an invitation for utter disaster. Just now, Taliban has deepened its claws into Pakistan. Swat Valley has come under its control. The government and the army have capitulated to the Taliban extremists in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) in Pakistan. Obama’s call will be seen as a sign of ‘weakened’ USA. This is certainly not desirable for the humanity as it is another nail in the coffin of ‘freedom of thought and expression’ in the Afghan land. The Taliban extremists will be emboldened to increase their efforts for ‘world domination’ as they will see this capitulation of USA as a ‘gift of Allah’ for the Mujahedeen.

The Democrats of USA seem to have lost their brains regarding how to deal with Islamic extremism. Leaving behind half-baked cakes (unsolved problems) will not serve anyone’s purpose. In fact, such decisions will come to bite US’ arse in future. The threat of Taliban is more acute than that of even the erstwhile Nazi Germany. Nazism was restricted to Germany alone. Taliban is using conservative Islam as its ideological weapon. Muslims form about one-fifth of the world population. As such, if Taliban succeeds, we will be forced to deal with a billion ‘extremists’ (which is a very huge number compared to a few million Nazis). The problem with the politicians of both the West and the East is that they are unwilling to see the reality. They are afraid to accept the imminent huge danger. They seem to think that if they close their eyes to the problem, it will go away. Unfortunately, such childish wishes do not make any difference in this world.

Hamid Karzai, the Afghan President, has welcomed Obama’s call. Karzai is currently facing a huge problem from the popularity of the Taliban. He thinks that if the ‘moderates’ are brought to the side of the Afghan government; he will be able to exercise considerably more authority in the nation. But it seems that he has not considered the effect of having these ‘moderates’ working in the government. Afghanistan will see another Swat Valley sort of government. Is that what Karzai wants? I hope he has not stooped to such an extent that he will give up his ideals for the sake of power.

Any attempt for dialogue with the Islamic extremists will be seen as a sign of ‘enemy’s capitulation/weakness’ by the Jihadists. Obama will do well not to take this extremely ridiculous step in the name of ‘peace’. If goes through with this step, he will become nothing but a modern Chamberlain.


Reference:

Karzai welcomes Obama call to reach out to the Taliban - The Associated Press

url:http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hvWEqwq3CrRvaQCmt21MfoYhjZJQD96PRI0O1

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Bring Saudis to the 21st Century - Abuse of women is NOT pious


February 7, 2008
- Religious police in Saudi Arabia arrest mother for sitting with a man


(from 'The Times')



A lady has been arrested, strip searched and abused by the 'Mutaween' (religious police of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) because she sat with an 'unrelated' male (who happened to be her colleague) in a Starbucks coffee bar. The police called her a sinner and proclaimed that she will rot in hell for this sin.

Does it appear even a single bit sensible? What sort of police and courts are there in this country? Do they think that they are still living in the 7th century CE when Islam was invented by Muhammad? Where are the Human rights groups and the United Nations? Why are they allowing such practices to continue?

It is high time that such 'ultra conservatives' are brought kicking and crying into the 21st century. Neither the police nor religion has anything to do with a person's individual behavior. No one has the right to curtail the personal freedom of an individual. It is deplorable that the women of Saudi Arabia are forced to live in a medieval world. If we allow this to continue, it is a shame on the entire humanity.