Friday, December 30, 2011

వీడ్కోలు, వేడికోలు
- సంపాదకీయం

సంవత్సరాలూ నెలలూ వారాలూ రోజులూ- వీటికి సూర్యచంద్రుల గతులతో సంబంధాలుంటే ఉండవచ్చును కానీ, మనుషులకు మాత్రం అవి కాలాన్ని ముక్కలు ముక్కలు చేసుకుని జీవించడానికి పనికివచ్చే కొలమానాలు. కష్టసుఖాల రంగులరాట్నంలో తమ వంతు మంచిరోజుల కోసం అందరూ ఎదురుచూస్తారు కానీ, అవి ఫలానా రోజున, ఫలానా ముహూర్తాన సిద్ధిస్తాయనుకోవడం విశ్వాసాలకు, ఆశావహదృష్టికి సంబంధించిన విషయం. సంవత్సరాది లేదా న్యూయియర్స్ డే - అది కూడా ఇరవైనాలుగు గంటల సాధారణ దినమే అయినప్పటికీ- రానున్న రోజుల్లో ఏమున్నదో అని భవిష్యత్తులోకి తొంగి చూడడానికి ఇది ఒక సందర్భం, రానున్నది మంచికాలమే అని ఆశపడడానికి అందరికీ అనుమతి దొరికే పర్వదినం.

2012- కొన్ని సంవత్సరాలుగా భయపెడుతున్న సంవత్సరం ఇది. అదేదో మేయన్ పంచాంగంలో, 2012 వరకే కాలజ్ఞానం రాశారు కాబట్టి, మరి కొన్ని భవిష్యత్‌పురాణాలలో ఉపద్రవం వస్తుందని సూచించారు కాబట్టి, ప్రపంచం అంతరిస్తుందని ఒక గగ్గోలు పుట్టింది. ప్రళయకాలం అంటే మనిషికి ఉన్న భయమూ కుతూహలమూ కలిసి అటువంటి ఊహలను నమ్మడానికో, పదేపదే చర్చించుకోవడానికో ఆస్కారం కల్పిస్తాయి. 1999 నాటికే యుగాంతం అవుతుందని గత శతాబ్దం చివరి దశాబ్దంలో ఒక జోస్యం ప్రచారమై కొంత చర్చకు, కొన్ని పుస్తకాలకు కారణమైంది.

ప్రళయం వచ్చేస్తుందంటే భయపడడానికి, నమ్మడానికి మనిషి ఎప్పుడూ సిద్ధంగానే ఉంటాడు. విశ్వానికి సంబంధించిన సృష్టి, గతి రహస్యాలు మనిషికి ఇంకా అవగాహనలోకి రాకపోవడం ఒక కారణమని అనుకోవచ్చు. పాపభారం పెరిగింది కాబట్టి, ప్రపంచం నాశనమై తీరుతుందన్న నమ్మకం కావచ్చు, ప్రళయం దిశగా లోకాన్ని ఆధునిక మానవుడి చర్యలే తీసుకువెడుతున్నాయన్న అవగాహనా కావచ్చు.

పోగాలం దగ్గరపడిందని తెలిసినప్పటికీ మనిషికి సత్యం బోధపడుతుందని చెప్పలేము. 2012 పేరుతో హాలీవుడ్ నుంచి ఒక సినిమా వచ్చింది. అందులో ప్రళయం నుంచి తప్పించుకోవడానికి రూపొందించుకున్న మహానౌకల్లో చోటు పొందడానికి వందకోట్ల డాలర్లకు ఒక టికెట్ చొప్పున అమ్ముకోవడానికి ప్రైవేటు రంగానికి అనుమతిస్తారు. సర్వనాశనం అయ్యే సమయంలో కూడా అమ్మకాలూ బేరాలూ ప్రైవేటురంగ భాగస్వామ్యమూ తప్పని పరిస్థితిలో మనుషుల ఊహలున్నాయి. మహాసముద్రాల అడుగునో, భూగోళగర్భంలోనో ఏవేవో సంచలనాలు జరిగి లోకం అంతరిస్తుందనుకోవడం సరే కానీ, ఓజోన్ పొరకు చిల్లులు పొడిచీ, లక్షలాది అణుబాంబులను మోహరించీ, కర్బనవాయువులతో గగనతలాన్ని కమ్మివేసి, పంటను నీటిని విషపూరితం చేసి ఆధునిక అభివృద్ధి తీసుకువస్తున్న ప్రళయం మాత్రం మనలను భయపెట్టడం లేదు. నోవానౌకల్లోకి టికెట్లు అమ్ముకునే బేరగాళ్ల వలెనే, పర్యావరణ సదస్సుల్లో కూడా అగ్రరాజ్యాలు ప్రపంచాన్ని నాశనం చేసే హక్కును నిలుపుకోవడం కోసం గీసిగీసి బేరమాడుతున్నాయి.

ప్రళయం వైపు పరుగులు తీయిస్తూనే మరోవైపు ప్రపంచాన్ని సురక్షితం చేస్తామని ప్రభువులు వాగ్దానాలు చేస్తున్నారు. పదేళ్ల పాటు లోకానికి ఏకైక ఖలనాయకుడిగా ప్రచారం చేసిన ఒసామా బిన్ లాడెన్ 2011లో హతమయ్యాడు. అయినా, ప్రపంచం మెరుగైన స్థలమేమీ కాలేకపోయింది. మానవరహిత విమానాలు తన-పర తేడా లేకుండా బాంబులు కురిపిస్తూనే ఉన్నాయి. ఇరాక్‌లో పనిముగిసిందని పెట్టేబేడా సర్దుకున్నాక కూడా బాంబులు పేలుతూనే ఉన్నాయి. గడాఫీని అవమానకరంగా మట్టుపెట్టి లిబియన్లకు మేలుచేశారో, చమురు ఖజానాను పెంచుకున్నారో తెలియదు. అరబ్ ప్రపంచంలో మల్లెల విప్లవాలు ఏ మౌలికమయిన మార్పులు తెచ్చాయో అర్థం కాదు. ఆర్థికమాంద్యంలో పీకలదాకా కూరుకుపోయిన అగ్రరాజ్యాలు, తమ ఆకలిని తీర్చడానికి దిక్కుదిక్కునా రెక్కలు చాస్తున్నా, స్టాక్‌సూచికలేమీ రెపరెపలాడడం లేదు. వందల వేల కోట్ల డాలర్ల సొమ్ము ఏ కంపెనీలు తిన్నాయో కానీ, వ్యాపారాలన్నీ కుదేలయివున్నాయి.

దేశదేశాల వనరులను కొల్లగొట్టడానికి సంస్కరణలను ఎగుమతిచేసిన ప్రపంచ ప్రభువులు, తమకు చేదోడుగా ఉంటారని దళారులనూ పెంచిపోషించారు. బడుగుదేశాల ఏలికలు, చక్రవర్తులకు కప్పం కడుతూనే సొంత లాభం కొండంత చూసుకుని బలిష్ఠులయ్యారు. ఆశ్రితులకు, అస్మదీయులకు కోట్లాది రూకల లాభాలను కట్టబెట్టే క్రమానికే అవినీతి అని మరోపేరు. మూలాల జోలికి వెళ్లకుండా అవినీతిని అరికట్టాలని అరిచిగీపెడుతున్న అన్నాహజారేలు ఏడాదంతా దీక్షలు చేసినా, సంవత్సరాంతాన పార్లమెంటరీ క్రీడ ముందు అపహాస్యం పాలయ్యారు. సొమ్ముచేసుకునే హక్కు కోసం ప్రజాప్రతినిధులు నిస్సంకోచంగా నిలబడ్డారు.

ప్రకటించి మరీ పెంచే పెట్రోధరలు, ఏ ప్రకటనా లేకుండా రోజుకురోజు పైమెట్టెక్కే నిత్యావసరాల ధరలు, నేరాలు, ప్రమాదాలు, ఆత్మహత్యలు- 2011 సంవత్సరం పరమ బీభత్సంగా సాగింది. పెద్ద పెద్ద తలకాయలే జైలువూచలు లెక్కపెట్టాయి నిజమే కానీ, అందరికీ తెలిసిన నేరస్థులు ఇంకా అధికార స్థానాల్లో కనిపిస్తూనే ఉన్నారు. తామే పెంచిపోషించిన భస్మాసురులను ఎదుర్కొనడం ఎలాగో తెలియక ఏలికలు సతమతమవుతున్నారు. తెలంగాణ విషయంలో మనసు విప్పకుండా, ఢిల్లీ నోరుకట్టడి చేసుకున్నది, ప్రజలకు చెలగాటం మాత్రం ఇంకో ఏడాదా రెండేళ్లా తెలియకుండా ఉన్నది.

ఎవరన్నా, ఏ ఒక్కరన్నా సుఖంగా ఉన్నారా 2011లో? ఎవరికన్నా ఏ ఒక్కరికన్నా ఆశలున్నాయా 2012 మీద? చెప్పలేము. 2011 చివరిరోజున నిలబడి వచ్చే సంవత్సరంలోకి తొంగిచూస్తే, అదీ ఇటువంటి సంవత్సరమే. మాంద్యం పోతుందా, ధరలు తగ్గుతాయా, భూములు తీసుకోవద్దని రైతులు రోడ్డెక్కే అవసరం పోతుందా, ఆత్మహత్యలు ఆగిపోతాయా, వాల్‌మార్ట్‌లు ఆగిపోతాయా, లోక్‌పాల్ ఆమోదం పొందుతుందా, తెలంగాణ పై నిర్ణయం జరుగుతుందా, రూపాయి బలపడుతుందా, వడ్డీరేట్లు తగ్గుతాయా, బంగారానికి నిలకడ వస్తుందా, పాకిస్థాన్ ప్రశాంతమవుతుందా, వర్షాలు పడతాయా, గిట్టుబాటు ధర దొరుకుతుందా... కనీసం రాహుల్‌గాంధీ ప్రధాని పదవికి చేరువ అవుతారా? చెప్పలేము.

అయినా సరే, 2012 అనూహ్యమైన అదృష్టాన్ని తీసుకురావాలని కోరుకుందాము. 2012 తరువాత కూడా ప్రపంచం కొనసాగాలని ఆశిద్దాము. ఈ ప్రపంచం ఇంతే అని నిరాశపడకుండా, నిష్క్రియలో పడిపోకుండా చేతనైన ప్రయత్నాలూ పోరాటాలూ చేస్తున్న ప్రజలు కొత్త సంవత్సరంలో ఏ కొన్ని విజయాలనైనా సాధిస్తారేమో వేచిచూద్దాము.

 

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Aryan Invasion — History or Politics?


By Dr. N.S. Rajaram
There is a great deal of confusion over the origins of the Aryan invasion theory and even the word Arya. It explains also the use and misuse of the word.

Aryans: race or culture?


Dr NS RajaramThe evidence of science now points to two basic conclusions: first, there was no Aryan invasion, and second, the Rigvedic people were already established in India no later than 4000 BCE. How are we then to account for the continued presence of the Aryan invasion version of history in history books and encyclopedias even today?
 
Some of the results - like Jha's decipherment of the Indus script - are relatively recent, and it is probably unrealistic to expect history books to reflect all the latest findings. But unfortunately, influential Indian historians and educators continue to resist all revisions and hold on to this racist creation - the Aryan invasion theory. Though there is now a tendency to treat the Aryan-Dravidian division as a linguistic phenomenon, its roots are decidedly racial and political, as we shall soon discover. 

Nazi Swastika
Speaking of the Aryan invasion theory, it would probably be an oversimplification to say: "Germans invented it, British used it," but not by much. The concept of the Aryans as a race and the associated idea of the 'Aryan nation' were very much a part of the ideology of German nationalism. For reasons known only to them, Indian educational authorities have continued to propagate this obsolete fiction that degrades and divides her people. They have allowed their political biases and career interests to take precedence over the education of children. They continue to propagate a version that has no scientific basis.

Nazi medal
Before getting to the role played by German nationalism, it is useful first to take a brief look at what the word Arya does mean. After Hitler and the Nazi atrocities, most people, especially Europeans, are understandably reluctant to be reminded of the word. But that was a European crime; Indians had no part in it. The real Aryans have lived in India for thousands of years without committing anything remotely resembling the Nazi horrors. So there is no need to be diffident in examining the origins of the European misuse of the word. In any event, history demands it.


Sanskrit Hindu Scripture
The first point to note is that the idea of the Aryans as foreigners who invaded India and destroyed the existing Harappan Civilization is a modern European invention; it receives no support whatsoever from Indian records - literary or archaeological. The same is true of the notion of the Aryans as a race; it finds no support in Indian literature or tradition. The word 'Arya' in Sanskrit means noble and never a race. In fact, the authoritative Sanskrit lexicon (c. 450 AD), the famous Amarakosa gives the following definition:

mahakula kulinarya sabhya sajjana sadhavah
An Arya is one who hails from a noble family, of gentle behavior and demeanor, good-natured and of righteous conduct

And the great epic Ramayana has a singularly eloquent expression describing Rama as:

arya sarva samascaiva sadaiva priyadarsanah
Arya, who worked for the equality of all and was dear to everyone.

The Rigveda also uses the word Arya something like thirty six times, but never to mean a race. The nearest to a definition that one can find in the Rigveda is probably:

praja arya jyotiragrah ... (Children of Arya are led by light)
RV, VII. 33.17

The word 'light' should be taken in the spiritual sense to mean enlightenment. The word Arya, according to those who originated the term, is to be used to describe those people who observed a code of conduct; people were Aryans or non-Aryans depending on whether or not they followed this code. This is made entirely clear in the Manudharma Shastra or the Manusmriti (X.43-45):

But in consequence of the omission of sacred rites, and of their not heeding the sages, the following people of the noble class [Arya Kshatriyas] have gradually sunk to the state of servants - the Paundrakas, Chodas, Dravidas, Kambojas, Yavanas, Shakhas, Paradhas, Pahlavas, Chinas, Kiratas and Daradas.


Two points about this list are worth noting: first, their fall from the Aryan fold had nothing to do with race, birth or nationality; it was due entirely to their failure to follow certain sacred rites. Second, the list includes people from all parts of India as well as a few neighboring countries like China and Persia (Pahlavas). Kambojas are from West Punjab, Yavanas from Afghanistan and beyond (not necessarily the Greeks) while Dravidas refers probably to people from the southwest of India and the South.

Thus, the modern notion of an Aryan-Dravidian racial divide is contradicted by ancient records. We have it on the authority of Manu that the Dravidians were also part of the Aryan fold. Interestingly, so were the Chinese. Race never had anything to do with it until the Europeans adopted the ancient word to give expression to their nationalistic and other aspirations.
Scientists have known this for quite some time. Julian Huxley, one of the leading biologists of the century, wrote as far back as 1939:

In 1848 the young German scholar Friedrich Max Muller (1823-1900) settled in Oxford, where he remained for the rest of his life. ... About 1853 he introduced into the English language the unlucky term Aryan as applied to a large group of languages. ...

Moreover, Max Muller threw another apple of discord. He introduced a proposition that is demonstrably false. He spoke not only of a definite Aryan language and its descendents, but also of a corresponding 'Aryan race'. The idea was rapidly taken up both in Germany and in England. It affected to some extent a certain number of the nationalistic and romantic writers, none of whom had any ethnological training. ...


In England and America the phrase 'Aryan race' has quite ceased to be used by writers with scientific knowledge, though it appears occasionally in political and propagandist literature. In Germany the idea of the 'Aryan' race found no more scientific support than in England. Nonetheless, it found able and very persistent literary advocates who made it very flattering to local vanity. It therefore spread, fostered by special conditions.

This should help settle the issue as far as its modern misuse is concerned. As far as ancient India is concerned, one may safely say that the word Arya denoted certain spiritual and humanistic values that defined her civilization. The entire Aryan civilization - the civilization of Vedic India - was driven and sustained by these values. The whole of ancient Indian literature: from the Vedas, the Brahmanas to the Puranas to the epics like the Mahabharata and the Ramayana can be seen as a record of the struggles of an ancient people to live up to the ideals defined by these values. Anyone regardless of birth, race or national origin could become Aryan by following this code of conduct. It was not something to be imposed upon others by the sword or by proselytization. 

Viewed in this light, the whole notion of any 'Aryan invasion' is an absurdity. It is like talking about an 'invasion of scientific thinking'.

Then there is also the fact that the concept of the Aryan race and the Aryan-Dravidian divide is a modern European invention that receives no support from any ancient source. To apply it to people who lived thousands of years ago is an exercise in anachronism if there ever was one.

The sum total of all this is that Indians have no reason to be defensive about the word Arya. It applies to everyone who has tried to live by the high ideals of an ancient culture regardless of race, language or nationality. It is a cultural designation of a people who created a great civilization. Anti-Semitism was an aberration of Christian European history, with its roots in the New Testament, of sayings like "He that is not with me is against me." If the Europeans (and their Indian disciples) fight shy of the word, it is their problem stemming from their history. Modern India has many things for which she has reason to be grateful to European knowledge, but this is definitely not one of them.

European currents: 'Aryan nation'

As Huxley makes clear in the passage cited earlier, the misuse of the word 'Aryan' was rooted in political propaganda aimed at appealing to local vanity. In order to understand the European misuse of the word Arya as a race, and the creation of the Aryan invasion idea, we need to go back to eighteenth and nineteenth century Europe, especially to Germany. The idea has its roots in European anti-Semitism. Recent research by scholars like Poliakov, Shaffer and others has shown that the idea of the invading Aryan race can be traced to the aspirations of eighteenth and nineteenth century Europeans to give themselves an identity that was free from the taint of Judaism. 

BibleDead Sea ScrollsThe Bible, as is well known, consists of two books: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament gives the traditional history of mankind. It is of course a Jewish creation. The New Testament is also of Jewish origin; recently discovered manuscripts known as the Dead Sea Scrolls show that Christianity, in fact, began as an extremist Jewish sect. But it was turned against the Judaism of its founding fathers by religious propagandists with political ambitions. In fact, anti-Semitism first makes its appearance in the New Testament, including in the Gospels. 
Nonetheless, without Judaism there would be no Christianity.

To free themselves from this Jewish heritage, the intellectuals of Christian Europe looked east, to Asia. And there they saw two ancient civilizations - India and China. To them the Indian Aryans were preferable as ancestors to the Chinese. As Shaffer has observed:

KantHerderMany scholars such as Kant and Herder began to draw analogies between the myths and philosophies of ancient India and the West. In their attempt to separate Western European culture from its Judaic heritage, many scholars were convinced that the origin of Western culture was to be found in India rather than in the ancient Near East.


Voltaire 
So they became Aryans. But it was not the whole human race that was given this Aryan ancestry, but only a white race that came down from the mountains of Asia, subsequently became Christian and colonized Europe. No less an intellectual than Voltaire claimed to be "convinced that everything has come down to us from the banks of the Ganges - astronomy, astrology, metempsychosis, etc." (But Voltaire was emphatically not intolerant; he was in fact a strong critic of the Church of his day.)

A modern student today can scarcely have an idea of the extraordinary influence of race theories in eighteenth and nineteenth century Europe. Many educated people really believed that human qualities could be predicted on the basis of measurements of physical characteristics like eye color, length of the nose and such. It went beyond prejudice, it was an article of faith amounting to an ideology. Here is an example of what passed for informed opinion on 'race science' by the well-known French savant Paul Topinard. Much of the debate centered on the relative merits of racial types called dolichocephalics and brachycephalics, though no one seemed to have a clear idea of what was which. Anyway, here is what Topinard wrote in 1893, which should give modern readers an idea of the level of scientific thinking prevailing in those days:

The Gauls, according to history, were a people formed of two elements: the leaders or conquerors, blond, tall dolichocephalic, leptroscopes, etc. But the mass of the people, were small, relatively brachycephalic chaemeophrosopes. The brachycephalics were always oppressed. They were the victims of dolicocephalics who carried them off from their fields. ... The blond people changed from warriors into merchants and industrial workers. The brachycephalics breathed again. Being naturally prolific, their numbers [of brachycephalics] increased while the dolichocephalics naturally diminished. ... Does the future not belong to them? [Sic: Belong to whom? - dolichocephalic leptroscopes, or brachycephalic chaemeophrosopes?]

This tongue-twisting passage may sound bizarre to a modern reader, but was considered an erudite piece of reasoning when it was written. In its influence and scientific unsoundness and dogmatism, 'race science' can only be compared in this century to Marxism, especially Marxist economics. Like Marxist theories, these race theories have also been fully discredited. The emergence of molecular genetics has shown these race theories to be completely false.

By creating this pseudo-science based on race, Europeans of the Age of Enlightenment sought to free themselves from their Jewish heritage. It is interesting to note that this very same theory - of the Aryan invasion and colonization of Europe - was later applied to India and became the Aryan invasion theory of India. In reality it was nothing more than a projection into the remote past of the contemporary European experience in colonizing parts of Asia and Africa. Substituting European for Aryan, and Asian or African for Dravidian will give us a description of any of the innumerable colonial campaigns in the eighteenth or nineteenth century. According to this theory, the Aryans were carbon copies of colonizing Europeans. Seen in this light the theory is not even especially original.

The greatest effect of these ideas was on the psyche of the German people. German nationalism was the most powerful political movement of nineteenth century Europe. The idea of the Aryan race was a significant aspect of the German nationalistic movement. We are now used to regarding Germany as a rich and powerful country, but the German people at the beginning of the nineteenth century were weak and divided. There was no German nation at the time; the map of Europe then was dotted with numerous petty German principalities and dukedoms that had always been at the mercy of the neighboring great powers - Austria and France. For more than two centuries, from the time of the Thirty Years War to the Napoleonic conquests, the great powers had marched their armies through these petty German states treating these people and their rulers with utter disdain. It was very much in the interests of the French to keep the German people divided, a tactic later applied to India by the British. Every German at the time believed that he and his rulers were no more than pawns in great power rivalries. This had built up deep resentments in the hearts and minds of the German people. This was to have serious consequences for history.

In this climate of alienation and impotence, it is not surprising that German intellectuals should have sought solace in the culture of an ancient exotic land like India. Some of us can recall a very similar sentiment among Americans during the era of Vietnam and the Cold War, with many of them taking an interest in eastern religions and philosophy. These German intellectuals also felt a kinship towards India as a subjugated people, like themselves. Some of the greatest German intellectuals of the era like Humbolt, Frederick and Wilhem Schlegel, Schopenhauer and many others were students of Indian literature and philosophy. 

Humboldt Friedrich Von Schlegel Wilhelm Von Schlegel Schopenhauer Hegel
Humboldt Friedrich Von Schlegel Wilhelm Von Schlegel Schopenhauer Hegel
Hegel, the greatest philosopher of the age and a 
major influence on German nationalism was fond of saying that in philosophy and literature, Germans were the pupils of Indian sages. Humbolt went so far as to declare in 1827: "The Bhagavadgita is perhaps the loftiest and the deepest thing that the world has to show." This was the climate in Germany when it was experiencing the rising tide of nationalism.

Whereas the German involvement in things Indian was emotional and romantic, the British interest was entirely practical, even though there were scholars like Jones and Colebrooke who were admirers of India and its literature. Well before the 1857 uprising it was recognized that British rule in India could not be sustained without a large number of Indian collaborators. 

Sir William Jones Colebrooke Macaulay
Sir William Jones Colebrooke Thomas Macaulay
Recognizing this reality, influential men like Thomas Babbington Macaulay, who was Chairman of the Education Board, sought to set up an educational system modeled along British lines that would also serve to undermine the Hindu tradition. While not a missionary himself, Macaulay came from a deeply religious family steeped in the Protestant Christian faith. His father was a Presbyterian minister and his mother a Quaker. He believed that the conversion of Hindus to Christianity held the answer to the problems of administering India. His idea was to create an English educated elite that would repudiate its tradition and become British collaborators. In 1836, while serving as chairman of the Education Board in India, he enthusiastically wrote his father:

"Our English schools are flourishing wonderfully. The effect of this education on the Hindus is prodigious. ...... It is my belief that if our plans of education are followed up, there will not be a single idolator among the respectable classes in Bengal thirty years hence. And this will be effected without any efforts to proselytize, without the smallest interference with religious liberty, by natural operation of knowledge and reflection. I heartily rejoice in the project."

Christian Preaching to HindusSo religious conversion and colonialism were to go hand in hand. As Arun Shourie has pointed out in his recent book Missionaries in India, European Christian missions were an appendage of the colonial government, with missionaries working hand in glove with the government. In a real sense, they cannot be called religious organizations at all but an unofficial arm of the Imperial Administration. (The same is true of many Catholic missions in Central American countries who were, and probably are, in the pay of the American CIA. This was admitted by a CIA director, testifying before the Congress.)

The key point here is Macaulay's belief that 'knowledge and reflection' on the part of the Hindus, especially the Brahmins, would cause them to give up their age-old belief in favor of Christianity. In effect, his idea was to turn the strength of Hindu intellectuals against them, by utilizing their commitment to scholarship in uprooting their own tradition. His plan was to educate the Hindus to become Christians and turn them into collaborators. He was being very naive no doubt, to think that his scheme could really succeed in converting India to Christianity. At the same time it is a measure of his seriousness that Macaulay persisted with the idea for fifteen years until he found the money and the right man for turning his utopian idea into reality.

In pursuit of this goal he needed someone who would translate and interpret Indian scriptures, especially the Vedas, in such a way that the newly educated Indian elite would see the differences between them and the Bible and choose the latter. Upon his return to England, after a good deal of effort he found a talented but impoverished young German Vedic scholar by the name of Friedrich Max Muller who was willing to undertake this arduous task. 

MacaulayMacaulay used his influence with the East India Company to find funds for Max Muller's translation of the Rigveda. Though an ardent German nationalist, Max Muller agreed for the sake of Christianity to work for the East India Company, which in reality meant the British Government of India. He also badly needed a major sponsor for his ambitious plans, which he felt he had at last found.

This was the genesis of his great enterprise, translating the Rigveda with Sayana's commentary and the editing of the fifty-volume Sacred Books of the East. There can be no doubt at all regarding Max Muller's commitment to the conversion of Indians to Christianity. Writing to his wife in 1866 he observed:

It [the Rigveda] is the root of their religion and to show them what the root is, I feel sure, is the only way of uprooting all that has sprung from it during the last three thousand years.

Two years later he also wrote the Duke of Argyle, then acting Secretary of State for India: "The ancient religion of India is doomed. And if Christianity does not take its place, whose fault will it be?" The facts therefore are clear: like Lawrence of Arabia in this century, Max Muller, though a scholar was an agent of the British government paid to advance its colonial interests. 

Adolph Hitler
But he remained an ardent German nationalist even while working in England. This helps explain why he used his position as a recognized Vedic and Sanskrit scholar to promote the idea of the 'Aryan race' and 'nation', both favorite slogans among German nationalists. Though he was later to repudiate it, it was Max Muller as much as anyone who popularized the notion of Arya as a race. This of course was to reach its culmination in the rise of Hitler and the horrors of Nazism in our own century. 

Although it would be unfair to blame Max Muller for the rise of Nazism, he, as an eminent scholar of the Vedas and Sanskrit, bears a heavy responsibility for the deliberate misuse of a term in response to the emotion of the moment. He was guilty of giving scriptural sanction to the worst prejudice of his or any age. Not everyone however was guilty of such abuse. Wilhem Schlegel, no less a German nationalist, or romantic, always used the word 'Arya' to mean honorable and never in a racial sense. Max Muller's misuse of the term may be pardonable in an ignoramus, but not in a scholar of his stature.

At the same time it should be pointed out that there is nothing to indicate that Max Muller was himself a racist. He was a decent and honorable man who had many Indian friends. He simply allowed himself to be carried away by the emotion of the moment, and the heady feeling of being regarded an Aryan sage by fellow German nationalists. To be always in the public eye was a lifelong weakness with the man. With the benefit of hindsight we can say that Max Muller saw the opportunity and made a 'bargain with the devil' to gain fame and fortune. It would be a serious error however to judge the man based on this one unseemly episode in a many-sided life. His contribution as editor and publisher of ancient works is great beyond dispute. He was a great man and we must be prepared to recognize it.

Much now is made of the fact that Max Muller later repudiated the racial aspects of this theory, claiming it to be a linguistic concept. But this again owed more to winds of change in European politics than to science or scholarship. Britain had been watching the progress of German nationalism with rising anxiety that burst into near hysteria in some circles when Prussia crushed France in the Franco-Prussian war in 1871. This led to German unification under the banner of Prussia. Suddenly Germany became the most populous and powerful country in Western Europe and the greatest threat to British ambitions. Belief was widespread among British Indian authorities that India and Sanskrit studies had made a major contribution to German unification. Sir Henry Maine, a former Vice Chancellor of Calcutta university and an advisor to the Viceroy echoed the sentiment of many Englishmen when he said: "A nation has been born out of Sanskrit."

This obviously was an exaggeration, but to the British still reeling from the effects of the 1857 revolt, the specter of German unification being repeated in India was very real. Max Muller though found himself in an extremely tight spot. Though a German by birth he was now comfortably established in England, in the middle of his lifework on the Vedas and the Sacred Books of the East. His youthful flirtation with German nationalism and this race theory could now cost him dear. German unification was followed in England by an outburst of British jingoism in which Bismarck and his policies were being daily denounced; Bismarck had become extremely unpopular in England for his expansionist policies. With his background as a German nationalist, the last thing Max Muller could afford was to be seen as advocating German ideology in Victorian England. He had no choice but to repudiate his former theories simply to survive in England. He reacted by hastily propounding a new 'linguistic theory.'

So in 1872, immediately following German unification, the culmination of the century long dream of German nationalists, Friedrich Max Muller marched into a university in German occupied France and dramatically denounced the German doctrine of the Arya race. And just as he had been an upholder of this race theory for the first twenty years of his career, he was to remain a staunch opponent of it for the remaining thirty years of his life. It is primarily in the second role that he is remembered today, except by those familiar with the whole history.

Let us now take a final look at this famous theory. It was first a theory of Europe created by Europeans to free themselves from the Jewish heritage of Christianity. This was to lead to Hitler and Nazism. This theory was later transferred to India and got mixed up with the study of Sanskrit and European languages. Europeans, now calling themselves Indo-Europeans became the invading Aryas and the natives became the Dravidians. The British hired Max Muller to use this theory to turn the Vedas into an inferior scripture, to help turn educated Hindus into Christian collaborators. Max Muller used his position as a Vedic scholar to boost German nationalism by giving scriptural sanction to the German idea of the Arya race. Following German unification under Bismarck, British public and politicians became scared and anti-German. At this Max Muller, worried about his position in England, got cold feet and wriggled out of his predicament by denouncing his own former racial theory and turned it into a linguistic theory. In all of this, one would like to know where was the science?

Aldous HuxleyAs Huxley pointed out long ago, there was never any scientific basis for the Arya race or their incursion. It was entirely a product - and tool - of propagandists and politicians. Giving it a linguistic twist was simply an afterthought, dictated by special circumstances and expediency.

Europeans EurocentricThe fact that Europeans should have concocted this scenario, which by repeated assertion became a belief system is not to be wondered at. They were trying to give themselves a cultural identity, entirely understandable in a people as deeply concerned about their history and origins as the modern Europeans. But how to account for the tenacious attachment to this fiction that is more propaganda than history on the part of 'establishment' Indian historians? It is not greatly to their credit that modern Indian historians - with rare exceptions - have failed to show the independence of mind necessary to subject this theory to a fresh examination and come up with a more realistic version of history. Probably they lack also the necessary scientific skills and have little choice beyond continuing along the same well-worn paths that don't demand much more than reiterating nineteenth century formulations.

It is not often that a people look to a land and culture far removed from them in space and time for their inspiration as the German nationalists did. This should make modern Indian historians examine the causes in Europe for this unusual phenomenon. It is one of the great failures of scholarship that they failed to do so.Jha Indus Script Decipherment
We no longer have to continue along this discredited path. Now thanks to the contributions of science — from the pioneering exploration of V.S. Wakankar and his discovery of the Vedic river Sarasvati to Jha's decipherment of the Indus script - we are finally allowed a glimpse into the ancient world of the Vedic Age. The AI theory and its creators and advocates are on their way to the dustbin of history.

Conclusion: historiography, not Indology is the answer

Karl MarxThe rise and fall of Indology closely parallels the growth and decline of European colonialism and the Euro-centric domination of Indian intellectual life. (Marxism is the most extreme of Euro-centric doctrines - a 'Christian heresy' as Bertrand Russell called it.) The greatest failure of Indology has been its inability to evolve an objective methodology for the study of the sources. Even after two hundred years of existence, there is no common body of knowledge that can serve as foundation, or technical tools that be used in addressing specific problems. All that Indologists have given us are theories and more theories, almost all of them borrowed from other disciplines. If one went to botany to borrow tree diagrams for the study of languages, another went to psychology to study sacrificial rituals, and a third - followed by a whole battalion - borrowed the idea of the class struggle from Marx to apply to Vedic society. Not one of them stopped to think whether it would not be better to try to study the ancients through the eyes of the ancients themselves. And yet ample materials exist to follow such a course.    

With the benefit of hindsight, even setting aside irrational biases due to politics and Biblical beliefs, we can now recognize that Indology has been guilty of two fundamental methodological errors. 

  • First, linguists have confused their theories - based on their own classifications and even whimsical assumptions - for fundamental laws of nature that reflect historical reality.
  • Secondly, archaeologists, at least a significant number of them, have subordinated their own interpretations to the historical, cultural, and even the chronological impositions of the linguists. (Remember the Biblical Creation in 4,004 BCE which gave this incursion in 1500 BCE!) This has resulted in a fundamental methodological error of confounding primary data from archaeology with modern impositions like the AI and other theories and even their dates.

This mixing of unlikes - further confounded by religious beliefs and political theories - is a primary source of the confusion that plagues the history and archaeology of ancient India. In their failure to investigate the sources, modern scholars - Indian scholars in particular - have much to answer for.

As an immediate consequence of this, the vast body of primary literature from the Vedic period has been completely divorced from Harappan archaeology under the dogmatic belief that the Vedas and Sanskrit came later. This has meant that this great literature and its creators have no archaeological or even geographical existence. In our view, the correct approach to breaking this deadlock is by a combination of likes - a study of primary data from archaeology alongside the primary literature from ancient periods. 

Sanskrit Vedic ScripturesMohenjo Daro Archaeology site

This means we must be wary of modern theories intruding upon ancient data and texts. The best course is to disregard them. They have outlived their usefulness if they had any.       

In the final analysis, Indology - like the Renaissance and the Romantic Movement - should be seen as part of European history. And Indologists - from Max Muller to his modern successors - have contributed no more to the study of ancient India than Herodotus. Their works tell us more about them than about India. It is time to make a new beginning. The decipherment of the Indus script - and the scientific methodology leading up to it - can herald this new beginning.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Russian court rejects petition for banning Gita

A Russian court on Wednesday rejected a petition, described by India [ Images ] as "patently absurd", which had sought a ban on a translated version of Bhagvad Gita, bringing cheers to followers here as well as those across the world.

"We have won the case. The judge has rejected the petition," Sadhu Priya Das of ISKCON, Moscow [ Images ], who is also Chairman of newly formed Hindu Council of Russia [ Images ], told PTI. 

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna [ Images ] welcomed the judgement and thanked the Russian government for its support. Prosecutors in the Siberian city of Tomsk had argued that the Russian translation of Bhagavad Gita As It Is promotes "social discord" and hatred towards non-believers.

The text is a combination of the Bhagvad Gita, one of Hinduism's holiest scriptures, and commentary by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, that is commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement, ISKCON. 

The prosecutors had asked the court to include the book on the Russian Federal List of Extremist Materials, which bans more than 1,000 texts including Adolf Hitler's [ Images ] Mein  Kampf and books distributed by the Jehovah's Witness and Scientology movements.

Reacting to the judgement that came at about 4:30 pm IST, ISKCON spokesman Brajendra Nandan Das told PTI in New Delhi [ Images ] that, "We are very happy".

ISKCON members have alleged that the Russian Orthodox Church was behind the court case as it wanted to limit their activities. 

The case had created a storm back in India and even the Parliamentary proceedings had been affected by it. Speaking in Parliament, Krishna had said the lawsuit was the work of "ignorant and misdirected or motivated individuals." He also called the complaint "patently absurd".
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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Indian National Congress and Terror attacks in India

Major terror attacks that occured during Congress governance

http://www.ekakizunj.com/Indian_National_Congress

Lal Bahadur Shastri 1964-1966

* 1966, April 20: A Tinsukia-Jalpaiguri passenger train blast in Lumding railroad station, Assam, India, kills 55 and injures 127. Which responsible for Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland tribesmen group.[citation needed]
* 1966, April 23: A bomb explode in Diphu railroad station, Mikir, Assam, India, which blame on NSCN tribesmen group. Kills 30 and injures 65.

Rajiv Gandhi 1984-1989

* 1985, June 22: Air India Flight 182 is blown up by a bomb put onboard the flight from Canada to India by unknown terrorists. All 329 people on board, most of them Canadian citizens, are killed. At the time, the deadliest terrorist attack ever, and still the deadliest act of terrorism in Canadian history. A second Air India flight from Canada was targeted on the same day, but the bomb exploded at Narita Airport, in the luggage outside the aircraft, killing two baggage handlers, bringing the total death toll of the act to 331.

* 1986, May 22: An automatic weapon bomb into Krishna Nagar shopping district erea, Amritsar, Punjab of India. Kills eleven, which blame on Sikh extremist group
* 1987, March 16: A bomb blast in Chennai-Tirchchirappalli of Rockfort Express, following plunged into a bridge, Ariyalur, Tamil Nadu, India, which kills 25 and injures 150. Tamil Nadu Liberation Army member of Pichai Pillai arrested by suspiction of bomb blast on March 21, 1987
* 1989, February 11: A bomb explode on a regular route bus in Bongaigaon, Assam, India, which responsible for Bodo tribe extremists, kills 20 and injures at least 20.

PV Narasimha Rao 1991-1996

* 1991, October 18: Two time bomb blast, when people watching a Hindu pagent of Ramila, Rudrapur, Uttar Pradesh, India, which blame on Sikh separatist militant. Killing at least 41 and injuring 140 people.
* 1993, March 12: Mumbai car bombings leave 257 dead with 1,400 others injured.
* 1993, March 17: A bomb blast in Calcutta killed at least 50 people. Two apartment blocks came crashing down when the blast rocked central Calcutta’s Bowbazar locality shortly after midnight.
* 1993, March 19: A bomb exploded in Calcutta’s Sealdah rail terminus, killing one person and wounding a dozen others
* 1995, January 26: Jammu: Three bombs exploding at a rally to celebrate the Indian national holiday killed seven and injured 52. The apparent target of the attack, the governor of Kashmir, K.V. Krishna Rao, escaped unharmed.
* 1995, July 20: Jammu: A bomb on a motor scooter exploded at a marketplace in Jammu, killing at least 17 and injuring 100 more. Harkat-ul-Ansar claimed responsibility for the bombing.
* 1995, July 26: Jammu: A bomb hidden in a motor scooter exploded near a Hindu temple and killed a Hindu pilgrim and injured another 42.
* 1995, August 31: Chandigarh: Dilawar Singh Babbar, a member of Babbar Khalsa, killed Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and 15 others in a suicide bombing. At least 30 more were injured in the attack.
* 1995, September 5: Srinagar: Two car bombs, exploding near two banks handling payrolls for Indian army and police units, killed 13 and injured 25.
* 1995, September 7: Srinagar: A parcel bomb delivered to the BBC office in Srinagar killed one journalist and injured two more.
* 1996, January 3: A bomb explode in Sadar Bazaar erea in New Delhi, India. Kills six and injures 31, which blame on Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front guerilla group.

Manmohan Singh 2004-present

* 2004, May 21: Kashmir. A bicycle bomb that was detonated at the Chadoura bridge killed three people and injured twenty-four. The bomb had been planted by suspected militants on a bicycle parked 20 feet from a border security pillbox. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but authorities are blaming Hizbul-Mujahedin.
* 2004, June 8: Assam: Twenty-three were injured when suspected United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) militants threw a grenade into a crowded cinema hall during a town screening of a Hindi movie. The police say that the attacks may be connected to a ULFA call for the banning of Hindi movies last year. The group opposes the state film industry and is believed to have been responsible for explosions at other cinemas in Assam.
* 2004, June 19: Assam: A time bomb planted by the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) exploded, injuring fourteen people, most of whom were day wage-earners. No further information is provided.
* 2004, June 23: Bijbehara. Nineteen people were injured when a grenade was hurled at a security picket at Bijbehara. The grenade missed its target and caused the large number of injuries.
* 2004, June 24: Assam. Five passengers on a minibus were killed when United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) militants triggered a time bomb. Fifteen others were injured in the blast.
* 2004, June 25: Kashmir. Militants shot and killed a dozen people when they opened fire at residential houses. Most of the victims were family members of the local village defense committee. Rebels have targeted security forces and their families in the past. Twelve people were also injured in the attack.
* 2004, July 2: Kashmir. Six police personnel were killed and five injured when militants detonated an improvised explosive device as a convoy was passing by. The convoy was escorting a member of Parliament.
* 2004, July 4: Kashmir. Two people were killed and thirty-nine injured when a bomb went off near a tourist reception center. The device was placed in a hand cart. No further information is available.
* 2004, July 16: Assam. United Liberation Forces of Assam (ULFA) militants lobbed a hand grenade at a police patrol in front of a civilian hospital, injuring seven people. Three of the injured were police officers.
* 2004, July 26: Kashmir. One person was killed and thirty-five injured when militants hurled a hand grenade inside of a hospital in Baramula. The injured were those who were hospitalized. The perpetrators probably attacked the hospital because a number of Border Security Forces had been admitted for earlier injuries
* 2004, August 26: Kashmir Two children were killed and their parents were injured in a grenade attack on their house in Gandoh. Militants were apparently aiming at the Central Reserve Police Force, when the rocket missed the target and landed on the family’s house.
* 2004, August 26: Assam Two blasts on bus transportation links killed five people and injured 43 in insurgent racked Assam province
* 2004, October 2:Assam In Assam militants exploded a bomb that killed thirteen people and injured twenty-three. The National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) is believed to be responsible for the attack. The intended target of the attack is unclear.
* 2004, October 2: Assam A second bomb blast occurred at the busy Hong Kong market, almost simultaneously with the railway blast in Assam. The bomb killed ten people and injured at least forty others. The two blasts are thought to have been coordinated.
* 2004, October 2: Assam Twelve people were killed and at least sixty others injured in a bomb blasts targeting a rail line in Assam. The first occurred at the Dimapur railway station, and resulted in the deaths of all twelve people. The platform was packed with people waiting to board a train to Assam’s Karbi district.
* 2004, October 3: The National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) bombed a market in Dhubri District, killing three and wounding twenty-five people. No further information is provided.
* 2004, October 24: Kashmir Unknown perpetrators detonated a bomb, attempting to kill Omar Abdullah, the leader of pro-India National Conference Party. The attack was carried out as Abdullah was attending a prayer ceremony for the former National Conference minister Safdar Ali Baig (killed by militants). The rebels’ bomb missed their target, but injured four others in the crowd. There were no fatalities.
* 2004, November 17: Kashmir One person was killed and four other injured when a funeral procession for two youths, Ranjit Kumar and Roshan Lal, was attacked by militants in Tund Nallah. The attackers threw a bomb at the procession and also sprayed the crowd with gunfire. The two dead youths being honored by the funeral had been gunned down by ultras earlier. The Prime Minister was also scheduled to visit the region the next day.
* 2004, December 13: Assam Two explosions occurred near the Assam Assembly building. The attacks were carried out by the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA). Two persons were killed and eight injured. Authorities believe that the group carried out these attacks to mark the completion of a year of the Bhutan operations that have “evicted the ULFA from the Himalayan kingdom
* 2004, December 15: Assam Four explosions in insurgent Assam province injured twelve civilians and police officers
* 2004, December 17: Assam The United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) carried out a grenade attack on a hotel in the Paltan Bazaar in Guwahati. There were eleven seriously injured and one person was killed. This is following several days of heightened violence and attacks by ULFA
* 2005, July 5: Terrorist attack on Ayodhya – Six terrorists belonging to Lashkar-e-Toiba storm the Ayodhya Ram Janmbhomi complex. Before the terrorists could reach the main disputed site, they were shot down by Indian security forces. One devotee and two policemen were injured.

* 2005, July 28: Jaunpur train bombing: 13 are killed when militants detonate a bomb on a commuter train.

* 2005, October 29: Multiple bomb blasts hit markets in Delhi, India, leaving at least 61 dead and more than 200 injured.

* 2005, December 28: Two or more unidentified gunmen open fire at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, killing a retired professor of mathematics and wounding four others.

* 2006, Bombings in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi kill 28 and injure more than 100.

* 2006, July 11: A series of explosions rock commuter trains in Mumbai, India, killing 209 and wounding another 714 civilians.

* 2006, ?: A bomb exploded in a Hindu temple near Imphal, killing five and injuring nearly 50 other.
* 2006, September 8: At least two bomb blasts target a Muslim cemetery in the western town of Malegaon. The blasts kill 37 people and leave 125 others wounded.

* 2006,November 20: A suspected terrorist bomb explodes on a train in India.

* 2007, February 19: Samjhauta Express, a train headed toward Lahore an hour after it leaves New Delhi; two bombs explode. See 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings.

* 2007, May 18: Attack on Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad. For details, see 18 May 2007 Mecca Masjid bombing.

* 2007, August 25: Hyderabad bombings. Twin bombings kill at least 44 and injure 54 in Hyderabad. Two bombs are diffused and 19 others are found unexploded. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, chief minister of Andhra Pradesh state, blames Islamic militants with ties to Pakistan or Bangladesh, saying that the extremists want to foment tension between India’s Hindus and Muslims. Both Bangladesh and Pakistan deny the accusations.

* 2007, October 14: A bomb explodes in the Shingar Cinema in Ludhiana, killing at least six people and wounding 20, police say.
* 2007, November 23: Uttar Pradesh serial blasts. Near-simultaneous blasts triggered by militants in court premises in Varanasi, Faizabad, and the state capital kill 15 people and injure more than 80.

* 2008, May 13: Jaipur. A simultaneous bomb blast at eight different sites, including a crowded shopping site and a Hanuman temple, a self-styled Indian Mujahideen, (a collaboration of LeT & SIMI) has claimed responsibility.

* 2008, June 4: Thane. A bomb exploded in the parking lot of an auditorium hosting a play that parodied the Mahabharat. Two men, ages 50 and 34, admitted guilt to the attack and others on February 20 and May 31. Although the men claimed membership in Hindutva groups, they stated that they acted alone without support

* 2008, July 25: Bangalore. A series of nine blasts kills 2 and injures 20 people.

* 2008, July 26: Ahmedabad. A series of seventeen blasts killing 49 and injuring 160 people.

* 2008, July 27: Godda, Jharkhand. At least six people were injured when a bomb exploded at a bus stand in Jharkhand’s Godda district.
* 2008, September 13: Delhi. A series of 5 bombs exploded in Delhi, killing 30 and injuring 90.

* 2008, September 27: South Delhi. Two weeks from the day of serial blasts killing 30, another bomb was detonated in a market in the Mehrauli district killing three and injuring 23.

* 2008, October 1: Agartala. Three bombs exploded in the insurgency-racked North-East India. Police said they suspected Muslim militant groups based in Bangladesh for the blasts in the Radhanagar and Gulbazar areas of Tripura’s capital.
* 2008, October 8: Guwahati. A bomb exploded near a crowd gathered for Durga Puja festivities. A police spokesman said the low-intensity blast took place near the Japorigog area at around 20:30.
* 2008, October 20: Chattisgarh: Naxalites allegedly killed Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in the Bijapur District following the announcement of two-phase Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh. The attack also left 12 personnel of CRPF and the Border Roads Organisation, who were carrying out road construction work in the area, injured. The attack took place at about 13:30 between Modukpal and Kongupalli in the district. According to reports, one of the attackers was also killed in the exchange of fire that followed.
* 2008, October 21: Imphal. A bomb was suspected to have been planted on a moped near the Manipur police commando complex at Minuthong in Imphal at 19:30. Police said none of the Manipur police commando personnel staying at the barrack complex were among the casualties. Unconfirmed reports, however, said a surrendered militant may be among the dead.
* 2008, October 22: Belpahari, West Bengal. Three members of a mobile medical team were killed in a blast triggered by Maoists. The Maoists, however, issued an apology for the killing of the health staff and stated that they were not the intended target. Two people have been arrested in connection with the blast though locals claimed that the duo were innocent of the charges.
* 2008, October 28: Gadchiroli. Four policemen, including a sub-inspector, were killed in an encounter with Naxalites in the Korepile forest in Aheri Taluka of Gadchiroli district. Five other policemen also received bullet injuries. The police party came under attack during routine patrolling

* 2008, October 30: Assam. A series of 13 blasts occurred in and around Guwahati

* 2008, October 31: Srinagar. Four security personnel were injured when militants hurled a grenade at a police station in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir. The blast, at about 11:20, landed inside the compound of the Baramulla police station, injuring two CRPF personnel and two policemen in the explosion. No militant outfit had claimed responsibility for the attack so far. This was the first attack on security forces in the Kashmir valley since the announcement of election schedule legislative assembly elections by Election Commission on October 19.
* 2008, October 31: Bastar, Chattisgarh. At least 17 policemen sustained minor injuries when Maoist guerrillas detonated a powerful land mine in front of their vehicle in the southern Bastar region of Chattisgarh. The incident took place on a highway in Narayanpur district, some 250 km south of the capital Raipur
* 2008, November 2: Salboni, West Midnapur district, West Bengal. A landmine blast targeted West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya. Six policemen travelling in the last car of a convoy escorting Indian steel minister, Ram Vilas Paswan, and the CM were wounded. Eight villagers were arrested for possible links with Maoist insurgents who triggered the blast. Seven police officials, including an Additional Superintendent of Police of the Purbo Medinipur district were issued show cause notices and asked to explain their role in the supervision of security along the stretch of road at Kalaichandi in Paschim Medinipur district after the CM’s convoy passed through.Bhattacharya specifically implicated the Sasadhar Mahato-led Lalgarhsquad of the Maoists.
* 2008, November 14: Kanker and Bastar, Chattisgarh. Three policemen were injured in a landmine blast triggered by rebels at Injeram in Konta constituency, close to the Andhra Pradesh border; while several low-intensity explosions ripped through Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region as the first phase of assembly elections began in 39 constituencies. There was a low electoral turnout following the murder of Trinath Thakur, the Dantewada block unit chief of the Congress, the previous night. Dantewada District Superintendent of Police Rahul Sharma said: “Rebels slit his throat and he died on the spot due to excessive bleeding.” Soon after voting started, gunbattles erupted between policemen and Maoist guerrillas in about 15 places in the Sukma, Kistaram, Konta, Bhairamgarh, Antagarh, Pakhanjoor, Bijarpur, Dantewada and Antagarh constituencies. Despite the presence of 65,000 policemen, including paramilitary forces, Maoist guerrillas managed to block roads leading to polling booths in over 50 places.

* 2008, November 14: In another attack in Bijapur in the same Bastar district a non-commissioned officer of the Indian Air Force was killed, while a Squadron Leader was injured when suspected naxalites fired at their helicopter, airlifting electronic voting machines and polling staff, as soon as it took off from Bijapur in South Bastar.Sergeant Mustafa Ali received a bullet in the head and died on-the-spot while the pilot, Squadron Leader T.K. Chaudhury, also received bullet injuries from light machine gun firing. A volley of bullets also hit the wings, while some hit the passengers inside. The crew then flew to Jagdalpur, district headquarters of Bastar where the casualties count then came to light.

Earlier in the day, a Central Reserve Police Force personnel was killed after being hit by a sniper bullet at Antagarh in Kanker district. Elsewhere in Chattisgarh there were 25 encounters between security service officials and naxalites, all of which were repulsed. Six polling booths were attacked but the security forces beat back the attackers. As many as 21 EVMs were also looted.

* 2008, November 26 – 29 :Mumbai. Armed terrorists opened fire at eight different sites in a coordinated attack. They wielded automatic weapons and attacked locations including a train station, hotels, restaurants, a police station, and a hospital. Some terrorists took hostages and high military grade explosives (RDX) were found near by; at least eight explosions were reported. [291][292] Pakistan’s agency ISI has been found involved in it. The attacks were carried out byPakistan backed terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba. The militants were trained by Pakistani intelligence agency Inter Services Intelligence(ISI). Pakistan has been in a state of denial regarding this and has failed to cooperate with the investigation and arrest key jihadi terrorist leaders supported by its army even after being handed over substantial evidence by India.

* 2008, December 2: Diphu, Assam. A bomb exploded on board a passenger train as it pulled into the Diphu station. According to police, the device was set to a timer and left in a bag on an overhead rack. Suspicion fell on the Karbi Longri National Liberation Front, who is said to be one of three insurgent groups active in the area and the only not to agree to a cease-fire.
* 2008, December 2: Assam. Police blame the Karbi Longri National Liberation Front for taking two migrant workers from their homes in the village of Dolamara and shooting them.
* 2009, January 1: Guwahati, India. A serial blast kills 5 civilians and injures 67 in the city of Guwahati. Police believe the United Liberation Front of Asom are responsible for the attacks.
* 2009, March 25: Tezpur, Assam, India. Militants in insurgent racked Assam province tossed a grenade into a busy marketplace in Tezpur, Assam injuring twelve people, two seriously.
* 2009, April 6: Assam Two bomb blasts kill 7 and injure 60 a day before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was expected to visit. Police accuse United Liberation Front of coordinating the attacks.
* 2009, May 15: Orissa A bomb placed for Indian security forces exploded when day laborers working a field disturbed the explosive device resulting in the explosion. Eight civilians were injured.

Indian National Congress Scams in India

Scams during Congress governance

http://www.ekakizunj.com/Indian_National_Congress

We will analyse the scams during tenure of various Congress Prime ministers
Jawaharlal Nehru 1947–1964

* LIC scam

The LIC funds were used to buy fictitious shares thereby causing loss of 1.2 crores. The Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari, in his testimony tried to distance himself from the LIC decision, implying that it may have been taken by the Finance Secretary, but Justice Chagla held that the Minister is constitutionally responsible for the action taken by his secretary and he disown his actions. Eventually, Krishanamachari had to resign. The Nehru government suffered considerable loss of prestige in the incident. It turned out that Mundhra’s manipulations were not restricted to LIC. The income tax department had curiously withdrawn certain notices pending against him having entered into "some understanding" about the payment of arrears

* Jeep scam

The jeep scandal in 1948 that began independent India's tryst with corruption. V.K. Krishna Menon, the then Indian high commissioner to UK, ignored norms to sign a Rs 80 lakh contract for the purchase of army jeeps

* Mudgal case

H.G. Mudgal, the CONGRESS MP who was forced to resign from the Provisional Parliament on September 24, 1951, for tabling questions for a remuneration obtained from an association of business persons. Mudgal was almost expelled from Parliament after he was found guilty by a Parliament Committee.

* Malaviya sirajuddin Oil scam

Minister of Mines and Fuel, K.D. Malaviya in Nehru Cabinet charged for his dubious involvement in the 1956 Sirajuddin affair.

* Partap Singh Kairon

CONGRESS Chief Minister of Punjab from 1956 to 1964. While he is credited for much of the developments the state achieved, the controversy about his corrupt actions in promoting the economic interests of his sons, relatives and cohorts forced him to resign after being indicted by the S.R Das Commission.

Lal Bahadur Shastri 1964-1966

* Orissa CONGRESS Chief Minister Biju Patnaik [1965] was forced to resign after the charges of corruption against him were investigated by HR Khanna Commission. He was indicted for awarding government contract to his privately held companies Kalinga Tube.

Indira Gandhi 1966-1977

* Nagarwala financial scam in 1971

* Maruti Scandal, 1974

Well before the company was set up, former prime minister Indira Gandhi's name came up in the first Maruti scandal, where her son Sanjay Gandhi was favoured with a licence to make passenger cars.

* Kuo Oil deal scam, 1976

The Indian Oil Corporation signed a Rs 2.2-crore oil contract with a non-existent firm in Hong Kong and a kickback was given. The petroleum and chemicals minister was directed to make the purchase.
[edit] Indira Gandhi 1980-1984

* Antulay trust scam Congress CM Maharashtra, A.R. Antulay, was collecting bribe for granting licensed cement and industrial alcohol. He resigned following adverse court verdict.. Antulay had garnered Rs 30 crore from businesses dependent on state resources like cement and kept the money in a private trust.

* Lakhubhai Pathak cheating scam, 1983

England-based NRI pickle king Lakhubhai Pathak, alleged that ‘godman’ Chandraswami and K N Aggarwal alias Mamaji, cheated him of $100,000 in 1983, promising they would get him a paper pulp supply contract. He accused P V Narsimha Rao, then minister in the Congress government.

* Churhat lottery scam [ Congress minister – Arjun singh]

Rajiv Gandhi 1984-1989

* Westland helicopter scam, 1986

The Prime Minister Rajiv gandhi forced the public sector Pawan Hans Corporation to buy 21 helicopters from a British company that was shutting down. A series of technical faults and crashes followed. The helicopters were eventually discarded as junk and lined up at an unused airport in Mumbai.

* HDW Submarine, 1987

The German submarine maker was blacklisted after allegations that commissions worth Rs 420 crore had been paid .

* Bofors scam, 1987

Involvement of family friend of Sonia Gandhi Ottrovio Quattrochi and allegations of kickbacks received by Rajiv Gandhi

* Rs.2500 crore -Airbus A-320 deal with France involving kickback

In the 1984 Airbus A-320 deal congress collected money. The CBI filed FIR charging senior officials of Civil aviation Ministry and IA with corruption in hasty negotiation to purchases amounting to Rs.2,500 crore. The case not yet solved.

PV Narasimha Rao 1991-1996

* Harshad Mehta security scam, 1992

Harshad Mehta allegedly gave Narasimha Rao Rs 1 crore as bribe

* Gold Star Steel and Alloys controversy, 1992

* JMM bribery case, 1993

In July 1993, when Narasimha Rao’s government was facing a no-confidence motion, it was alleged that his representative offered big money to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) members, and possibly a breakaway faction of the Janata Dal, to vote for him. In 2000, a special court convicted Rao and colleague, Buta Singh. The same Buta singh was made Bihar governor by MMS & Sonia Gandhi.

* Enron – Dabhol power project Maharashtra

Involved 1993-95 CONGRESS CM Sharad Pawar

* Sugar Import, 1994

As CONGRESS food minister, Kalpnath Rai presided over the import of sugar at a price higher than that of the market, causing a loss of Rs 650 crore to the exchequer. He resigned following the allegations.

* Urea scam, 1996

Advance payment of Rs.133 crore to a little known Turkish firm, Korsan Ltd., for import of urea which was never delivered.

* Congress minister Sukhram in 1996

Rs. 3.6 crores in cash concealed in bags and suitcases from his official residence. The cash was allegedly collected by him committing irregularities in awarding a telecom contract . He was convicted and sentenced to three years’ rigorous imprisonment by a Delhi court in 2002.

Manmohan Singh 2004- present

* Telgi stamp scam [ Maharashtra – congress/NCP govt]

* NREGA Corruption

Its complicated, see for yourself at [1]

* Oil for Food United Nations scam, 2005

Both former Foreign Minister Mr Natwar Singh and Sonia Gandhi led Congress party were named as beneficiaries in Iraqi Oil-For-Food programme corruption in Volker report . Pending investigation Mr Natwar Singh has resigned. But who was responsible for money being paid to Congress? Obviously its president – Sonia Gandhi

* Madhu Koda corruption [ congress supported his govt in Jharkhand] [2009]

* Mhada flats in Mumbai

Congress government constructed posh flats using public money and gave away flats to its members flouting rules.

* 2G scam

* Commonwealth games scam

* Adarsh society scam

* Antrix Devas scam

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Neera Yadav

Neera Yadav

http://www.ekakizunj.com/Neera_Yadav

Neera Yadav, originally from Vaira Phirozpur village, Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, India, is an officer of the Indian Administrative Service. She was part of the 1971 batch of service graduates. She was selected among the top three most corrupt IAS officers of Uttar Pradesh in a voting done by her own colleagues.

Cases of corruption

Yadav was accused of violating the rules to help a company named Flex Industries get an industrial plot in Noida in 1995 when she was the chairman of the Noida Development Authority. The chairman of Flex, Ashok Chaturvedi, was also sentenced to four years.Yadav was the chief of the Noida Development Authority seven years ago. The Noida Entrepreneurs' Association filed cases against her accusing her of manipulating out-of-turn allotments to bureaucrats, politicians, industrialists and family and friends.

Political affiliation

Neera Yadav is married to Mahendra Singh Yadav, an officer of the Indian Police Service who later resigned from the service to join the Bharatiya Janata Party.Post retirement, she joined the Bhartiya Janata Party in 2009 but resigned after media raised questions over the decision.

Conviction

She was appointed the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh by Mulayam Singh Yadav. Later she had to resign from the position after a decision by the Supreme Court of India, thus becoming the second IAS officer in succession after Akhand Pratap Singh to have done so

In December 2010 Yadav was sentenced to 4 years rigorous imprisonment after being convicted of misusing her official position to fraudulently allot land in NOIDA to Flex Industries, owned by industrialist Ashok Chaturvedi. She thus became the first IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh to have been convicted of corruption charge. But as on 13 Dec 2010 she received bail from Allahabad High court.

References

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/noida-land-scam-neera-yadav-gets-bail-72258

Visit http://www.ekakizunj.com/Neera_Yadav for updates on this person. View the most corrupt of India in www.ekakizunj.com. Join the fight against corruption and crime.

Akhand Pratap Singh

Akhand Pratap Singh


Akhand Pratap Singh is Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS officer who has been termed as the most corrupt officer in a poll conducted by IAS officers in Uttar Pradesh. He was appointed as the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh by Mulayam Singh Yadav. But he was forced to step down after a PIL was registered in Supreme court challenging his appointment. He was arrested by the CBI in 26 September 2007 in a disproportionate assets case

Wealth amassed

* In Lucknow, CBI unearthed four residential plots and another built-up house in Gomti Nagar that was completed in 2003 besides the known six houses and a floriculture farm.
* Another three-hectare plot in Bakshi-Ka-Talab area near his floriculture farm worth almost Rs 21 lakh also came up.
* Singh got a space booked in Eldeco Magnum Plaza in Lucknow in 2003 at a total advance payment of nearly Rs 38.5 lakh
* Singh owns two flats in Ansal Plaza, HUDCO Place, at Rs 67 lakh that he acquired on the same date of November 1, 2000.
* Plus, he owns four flats in a row in Orchid Square, Sushant Lok, in Gurgaon.
* Singh is owner of two shops (112/A-1, 112/A-2) in Ansal Trade Square, Vaishali, in Ghaziabad.
* Another property was found in Kalkaji while two plots were found in Singh’s name at Mehrauli village.
* This is in addition to two flats in Vasant Vihar and a farmhouse in Vasant Kunj.
* An agreement of Singh, dated September 1, 2004, with a company for construction of the building for an international fully-residential educational facility in Bhimtal in Nainital at Rs 3.25 crore. Rs 30 lakhs has already been paid to the company through cheques
* The empire in Nainital now stands: three farmhouses, a bungalow, a guesthouse and at least four huge plots. Four plots totalling nearly 50 acre have been detected in Bhirva village in Bahraich.
* Owns a fleet of at least 13 vehicles including a Skoda Activa, GM Opel Astra, an imported Isuzu car, two Telco Tata 407.
* CBI has recovered Rs 36.5 lakh in cash, another Rs 38 lakh in bank accounts, Rs 8.5 lakh in Indira Vikas Patras and shares/debentures besides Rs 17.5 lakh-worth jewellery belonging to Singh and his family.

Wealth in name of family


Documents indicating the personal net worth of Singh, his wife and two daughters at Rs 407.10 lakh as in December, 2004, have been found which were submitted for applying for a loan of Rs 13.63 crore from Allahabad Bank in Hazratganj, Lucknow.

Conviction
Nil

References

* http://www.indianexpress.com/oldStory/66960/
* http://sportschat.rediff.com/news/2007/sep/26up.htm

Visit www.ekakizunj.com/Akhand_Pratap_Singh for updates on this person. View the most corrupt of India in www.ekakizunj.com. Join the fight against corruption and crime.

Ekakizunj the lone warrior against corruption and crime

As i see it, our society makes no black mark on the corrupt. They take hefty bribes and enjoy lavish lifestyles. And most importantly, the guilty gets away with it. These people are visible and their acts invisible to general public and even their own family. This project is an expression of the guilt. The way we can start this crusade against corruption is to tell them we are keeping tab on them. Make their profiles and split open their ways of earning money for everyone to see. Their families, their friends, the society in which they live should know how they are earning the money.

Corruption in my opinion is equivalent to prostitution. Someone who sells themself for some money. People with no values and morals in life. The only difference is they don't contract any diseases in the act.

I have started a website http://www.ekakizunj.com in this fight against crime and corruption.The site is similar to wikipedia in that it uses the same mediawiki engine. The edits and information are moderated to add credibility. Exhort everyone to do their bit in this fight against corruption. Make a profile of the corrupt around you. Substantiate it with newspaper reports and your own evidence.

Become an Ekaki Zunj, the lone warrior

Jai Hind
___________________________________________________________________________________

Mullaperiyar Dam and Sabarimala: The religious roots of the Controversy


By Bharat Nair

Courtesy:http://indianrealist.wordpress.com

Mullaperiyar Dam is located in the state of Kerala in India. It derives its name from the portmanteau of two rivers, namely, Mullai Ar (Mullaiyar) and Periya Ar (Periyar). The dam was the result of a treaty (lease indenture) signed in 1886 for 999 years between the ruler of Travancore and the Secretary of State, Government of India, (then under British colonialist rule) representing Madras Presidency.

This masonry dam, built with lime and Surkhi by the British Army Engineering Corps, was commissioned in 1895. After Independence, Indian states were reorganised and their boundaries rationalised. The areas surrounding the Mullaperiyar Dam ( originally part of the State of Travancore) were merged with Kerala, while the state of Tamil Nadu received full rights to own and operate the dam as per the lease treaty. Tamil Nadu continued to use water from the dam. In 1970, both the governments decided to renew the treaty.

According to the website of Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India, the controversy about the dam began in 1979 when several news reports began appearing in Kerala press regarding its safety.  From then onwards, the Government of Kerala began to see this primarily as a safety issue while the Tamil Nadu government saw it as an attempt to violate the water-sharing treaty.

It is not the intent of this article to argue for or against a party in this dispute. In fact this is not about either the historical aspects of water sharing treaty between the states or the safety aspects of the dam.

It is a painful historic fact that in India, many a times, local issues and disputes have worsened due to its being hijacked by various disruptive forces, national or international. Whether this holds true in the case of Mullaperiyar dam needs to be checked thoroughly.

This article is an attempt to investigate the forces that lie behind this controversy.

Mullaperiyar Dam Controversy in the Media

It is interesting to note that in the news media, Mullaperiyar issues get highlighted only during certain months of the year. This trend looks more or less the same for the last one decade (2000-2009).



[Figures 1 & 2 give the ‘Google news search’ for the individual years from 2000-2009].



A quick look at these figures suggests that the number of news items appearing in the media on this controversy starts in October, peaks around December and then continues on until April.

The significance of this trend will look surprisingly familiar to a Malayali or a person from South India.  It is obvious that news items about the dam controversy appear only in the months that are significant for the Sabarimala pilgrimage of the Hindus. Is this a mere conincidence? Let’s see.

Sabarimala Pilgrimage:

The Sabarimala pilgrimage is one of the most ancient pilgrimages of India. The presiding deity of Sabarimala, Lord Ayyappan, is one of the most popular deities in South India. The temple is open for worship only during the days of Mandalapooja (around November 15 to December 26), Makaravilakku (January 15), Vishu (April 14), and the first five days of each Malayalam month.

Sabarimala pilgrimage finds mention in many historical records of foreign travellers as well as colonial administrators (though this fact is studiously avoided by both Western and Indian scholars).

‘Memoirs of Travancore’  written by William Henry Horsley in 1839 describes Sabarimala as “Chowrymully”:
“Among the other pagodas of celebrity that of Ayapen at Chowrymully attracts particular attention, vast numbers (and many even from the eastern coast) flocking to it at the period of festival in January, to present their vows and offerings, notwithstanding that it is situated in the wildest country possible.”

It is possible that some readers of this article will feel that this article is going to be just another conspiracy story with out any real substance. It may also be argued that this similarity in “news-trend” is most probably a result of either a natural or an accidental cause with no connection to Sabarimala issue.

But when one observes the recent over-earnestness of certain anti-Indian publications regarding the reporting of Mullaperiyar issues and  also the same yearly ritual of ‘hit pieces’ regarding Sabarimala coming around the same time of year, it would become clear to a sensible observer  that this cannot be a result of accidental or natural causes.  There is a hidden sense of purpose and deliberateness in these ‘hit pieces’ that most of the time these ‘news-stories’ come with highly misleading titles  and repetitive news  .

The first step in unravelling this mystery would be to develop some idea about the published ‘literature’ regarding Sabarimala by the modern scholars, esp. the Western Scholars. A few of the important such papers/ books will be discussed here in this context.

Only a few books have been published regarding Sabarimala so far in English by Indian / Western authors. Of the Indian authors, books written by K.R. Vaidyanathan “Pilgrimage to Sabari” Published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1978 and Radhika Sekar’s “The Sabarimalai pilgrimage and Ayyappan cultus” Published by Motilal Banarsidass, 1992 are the prominent ones. (Note: Radhika Sekar’s work was originally written for her Master’s thesis to University of Carleton and later published by MBD).

In the recent years quite a few foreign scholars have published research papers on Sabarimala. Amongst these, Remy Delage’s (a French geographer who have published a few papers in connection with “spatial dimensions” of Sabarimala Pilgrimage) and Filippo Ossello and Caroline Ossello‘s paper (‘Ayyappan Saranam’: Masculinity and Sabarimala Pilgrimage in Kerala) which deals with “gender aspects” of the pilgrimage are significant.

These works deserve greater attentions in this context as they are a pointer towards the western psyche regarding Sabarimala pilgrimage. As normal practice with Western scholarship, all these papers have irreverent comments/ descriptions of Lord Ayyappan such as “ambivalent diety” , “hyper-male diety”  and in a few places half-truths or plain lies . There are various remarkable things about these papers that can raise a few questions or doubts in the mind of a discerning reader.

“Mapping Out Social Change in South India” – A Geographic Information System and Its Applications (Chrtisophe Z Guilmoto, Remy Delage et al.)  is the result of a bigger project  “South Indian Fertility Project” (SIFP) funded by Institut Français de Pondichéry ( research centre of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Wellcome trust ( leading NGO of U.K)   etc. The objective  of this SIFP project is to “is to analyse the social and economic dimensions of demographic change through the study of spatial heterogeneity of fertility in South India”.

This paper  deserves to be read in full as its introduction to the subject, findings and the conclusion are relevant here. One also has to know why “mapping a religious pilgrimage” is a serious topic to be ‘researched’. Firstly Remy Delage in “Mapping Out Social Change in South India” asserts that “While in 1950s – 1960s, Sabarimala only attracted groups originating from Malabar Coast and the Tamil Districts neighbouring Kerala(Madurai, Virudhanagar etc), the pilgrimage today draws several million devotees coming mostly from the four corners of South India (Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh).”

Author/Authors do not cite any source for this nor is it clear as to how he reached his conclusion regarding the numbers and the geographical distribution of pilgrims of 50 – 60 period. However Remy Delage in a published paper titled “From Fieldwork to Research Theory on an Indian Pilgrimage”  (another paper on Sabarimala Pilgrimage) gives a number of “ten to fifty thousand persons”. Again, it is not clear as to how he has arrived at this figure. This particular paper can be considered as an important one for our purpose in another respect also as he gives out the “complete list” of primary and secondary references perused for his research. (Please note that the omission of one important primary source is very significant of which more, will be explained later).

“Mapping out Social Change in South India” primarily is an attempt at mapping the pilgrimage of Sabarimala. In this study, a definite interest is taken with respect to movement of pilgrims from the State of Tamil Nadu. A district wise break-up of Tamil Nadu pilgrims was done using a questionnaire survey during the pilgrimage. Using this limited data, GIS maps were created for visualising geographic origin of pilgrims from Tamil Nadu, for representing routes and major destination (holy places) liable to be visited by the Pilgrims en-route to Sabarimala.

Though throughout the paper, an attempt has been made to study the routes or visiting places of the pilgrims from Tamil Nadu, the conclusion that the author arrives at is totally ambiguous and unrelated. It would appear as if such a conclusion is given just to hide the real intentions. This is because, the maps, (even though data is taken from a non-representative sample) clearly indicate that, the neighbouring districts of Madurai, Coimbatore, Theni etc ‘produces’ the major portion of the Tamil Nadu Pilgrims to Sabarimala. This fact is a matter of common knowledge and does not require any Geographic Information System (GIS) to prove this. But the use of GIS, to map out the routes and the other holy places/temples frequented by pilgrims of Sabarimala is a novelty, the use of which would be highly beneficial for its intended readership.

Here, the second connection between Mullaperiyar & Sabarimala emerges.

As per Wikipedia, “The dam’s purpose was to divert the waters of the west-flowing Periyar River eastwards, …………….taking the water from the reservoir through a tunnel cut across the watershed and Western Ghats to the arid rain shadow regions of Theni, Madurai District, Sivaganga District and Ramanathapuram districts of Tamil Nadu”

This would mean that the areas served by Mullaperiyar dam are exactly the same areas from where, originates the ‘major portion’ of Tamil Sabarimala pilgrims.

Now it’s the time to ask ourselves some what if scenario questions and its effect on Sabarimala Pilgrimage:


a) What would happen if State of Kerala tries to forcefully ‘take over’ Mullaperiyar dam citing ‘safety’ reasons or tries unilaterally to build another dam in the place of Mullaperiyar?

b) What would happen if Mullaperiyar dam ‘breaks’ or is ‘made to break’?
The answer to the first question would be extreme resentment from State of Tamil Nadu which will lead to immediate economic blockade of the two passes which will lead to a state of mutual hostility. The result would be highly disastrous for Sabarimala Pilgrimage as well as for the unity of the nation. The answer to the second question would also be extreme hostile reaction from the State of Kerala towards the Tamils which would certainly affect Sabarimala Pilgrimage as well as the cultural unity amongst them. Thus it can be seen that in both cases, it’s a win-win scenario for those who want to disrupt the Pilgrimage.

The scarier part in this Issue is that, the same effects can happen even if there is a feeling that two mentioned scenarios are going to happen. i.e. Even a misunderstanding that the State of Kerala is attempting to change the treaty unilaterally or the feeling that the dam is extremely unsafe can produce the same result of disrupting the Sabarimala Pilgrimage. This has been happening for the last ten years. It can be seen that to till this day, this issue has been ‘kept alive’ (thanks to our ‘liberal political & Judicial system) by various means. The latest one in this regard is a ‘Hollywood movie” named “DAM 999”  which is going to get released soon.

The producer as well as the director of this movie, Sohan Roy is a Malayali Entrepreneur who owns a marine company based in UAE. The very name of the movie suggests that it is related to the Mullaperiyar Issue. It is still unknown how this subject is going to get treated in the movie or even how the movie is going to fare in the box office. But surely it looks like another attempt to take this issue to a ‘higher level’. The news that it is going to be released in 4 languages with the possible involvement of Celebrities like Aishwarya Rai, Celine Dione and other top level artists from Malayalam film Industry gives some hints about this.

But now a genuine question can be raised as to how and why Sabarimala is so important that such great efforts are being made to destroy it. Who are its enemies? What are their intentions? Have they attempted to destroy it previously? If so, why there are no historical records for it?

Sabarimala Temple Arson


In order to answer this, we need to historically revisit the 1950’s. It would be seen that in all currently available books/ websites/ periodicals there would be a single line mention of temple fire in Sabarimala, which forced the then administration to rebuild the temple.  Some very few websites mentions this as a handiwork of some ‘miscreants’. The entire matter has been so described in those books that even perceptive ‘hindutvavaadins’  began to assume this incident as ‘a forest fire’ intentionally / unintentionally initiated by members of a ‘rival’ community primarily for financial / land grab attempts.

It should also be noted that even our foreign scholars of this subject maintain their silence on this. Remy Delage in his paper titled “From Fieldwork to Research Theory on an Indian Pilgrimage” gives a full mention of the efforts of two devotees who tried to ‘promote’ Ayyapa in India, particularly after the ‘Temple fire’.  Yet he also ‘forgets’ or ‘choose not’ to mention this very important source. This is when he includes all government publications as well as record from 1906 to 2000’s.

What could be ‘so interesting’ in this report that all “our scholars” are conveniently forgetting it?? Why is it so difficult for researchers to locate this report??

It should not be so. As a matter of fact, there was an enquiry report titled “Sabarimala Temple Arson Case” which was later published by Government of Kerala in 1957.  This report (35 pages) is now available from a government owned website (Information & Public relations Department) (http://www.firstministry.kerala.gov.in/).

Sabarimala Temple Arson Case: Enquiry Report was the report of the investigation of the same case conducted by Shri. K. Kesava Menon, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Special Branch, C.I.D. (On Special Duty). This report is significant for multiple reasons. Firstly, this report completely unravels the players who are actually involved in this issue.

Secondly this report extensively covers the “sentiments” of a certain community and proves that the most important reason for this temple arson was religious fanaticism. Thirdly had this report been studied and lessons learnt, Hindus could have avoided the ignominy of the “Nilakkal Agitation episode”  This is because this enquiry report categorically narrates this strange episode in detail –

“There is another back ground, which if viewed with the facts and the incidents mentioned above, will lend support to the possibility of an organised plan to destroy the Sabarimala shrine. In the month of Makaram, according to Ouseph, he followed a party of muthalalies consisting of Karimbanal Kochukunhu muthalali, Jnellamitthath  Kuttiachan, Podimittom Verghese, Karipparambil Devassya, Vadakkepparambil thomman and Pottamkulam Thomas, who left Erumeli in a Jeep and went to Kalaketti from where they went to Kollamuzhi by walk and halted. They directed the coolies to go into the forests and hunt. Then the muthalalies and himself went to Nilakkal in search of a church which they believed to be existing at Nilakkal. Though a search was made, they did not find any remnants of a church, but they saw only remnants of two or three temples.

It is surprising that at this period of the history of Travancore these muthalalies are searching for a church on the route to Sabarimala. It may be that either they want to establish by some evidence the existence of a church there or to renovate it or they are in search of a suitable place for building a church. Anyway the desire for a church near the Sabarimala orthodox route seems to have been deeply rooted in their mind as otherwise there was no necessity for all these muthalalies to join on this business. This it can be seen that since some time, the Christians have begun to deel the increasing number of low caste Hindus visiting the Sabarimala temple in ecstasy and devotion, which in all probability they would have thought if not checked would inevitably result in a check to the growing process of conversion of low caste Hindus to Christianity.

Further, the existence of a church at Nilakkal and Pampakadavu would in the long run attract Christians to colonise the area and thereby they could exploit these fertile regions and improve their financial conditions.”

That these exact things happened after a period of 30 years during Nilakkal agitation which led to their success in building their church at Nilakkal proves the extreme short sightedness of the Hindus.

Some other Excerpts from the Enquiry report:

1) ……………… the marks of violence on the brass-plate door of the Sreekovil together with the marks on the idol, raise the irresistible conclusion that the forcible entry into the Sreekovil was for the purpose of breaking the idol and that the weapon that was used to cut the Sreekovil door was the same used to break the idol. At the scene of occurrence, there was an axe and it is definite that that axe was used to cut the Sreekovil door, as traces of brass were found on the sharp edge of the axe and hence it has to be said that the fire was not accidental. ( Page 2 of the report)

2) The temple and its surrounding buildings were built up of wood, copper, brass, which were not easily inflammable, but they have been completely burnt. This is evidence enough to show that great effort has been made to set fire to the temple and speaks a deliberate action. ( Page 2 of the report)

3) The possibility of fire around the forest area enveloping the temple and thus bringing about the destruction of the temple is also out of the question, as there were no signs of any such forest fire around the area, and there were ample indications of a deliberate setting fire of the temple at the scene. ( Page 2 of the report)

4) The temple and surrounding building as already mentioned having been built of mostly non-inflammable materials, could not be easily set fire to and on a modest calculation, the perpetrators could have worked at this at least for four to five hours continuously, as evidenced from the emptying of the ghee tins and utilising cloth and other materials to set fire to the temple. Further, there were signs of occupation of the temple premises by a party. They have made use of the provisions that were stored in the temple including coriander. These clearly show that great labour has been undertaken in committing this act. ( Page 3 of the report)

5) After having explained that theft was not the motive of the offenders, the next point for consideration is to find out what else is the motive and who could possible have that motive. From the examination of the scene of occurrence and attendant circumstances, it was possible to come to a conclusion that the offence was a deliberate one well conceived and executed. There was a touch of open vandalism and desecration was the only purpose. The breaking of the idol after forcibly entering into the Sreekovil by cutting open the door with an axe indicates ferocity. With this background, the whole point has to be viewed ( Page 3 of the report)

6) Offenders have to reach the temple through such routes and familiarity and knowledge of the surrounding forest area and routes are essential requisites for such an expedition. Though it will not be correct to state that there are no Hindus who are not acquainted with the place and route, it is reasonable to consider that Christians have got more familiarity and knowledge than the Hindus in this direction, as they and they alone occupy the places at the base of these hills and they are the only persons who hunt and poach in the vicinity of the temple day in and day out. In short, they have more facilities to commit this crime than any other community; and it is in evidence that they have hunted and poached in the vicinity during the relevant period.

The forest lands and the areas either at the beginning of these routes or lying along these routes are all cultivated not by the Hindus but by the Christians. The Hindus have not and cannot have so much of opportunities as the Christians. A Christian has absolutely no regard for a Hindu temple or idol. To him a Hindu idol is either a piece of stone or a block of metal. In short, he attached no sacredness for any Hindu idol or temple except that he may admire as a work of art. It is otherwise for a Hindu. ( Page 4 of the report)

7) This offence is not at all the work of a mad man as evidenced from the method or manner in which the temple was set fire to and idol broken. The Hindus have no influence over the area and any party of Hindus cannot get into forests without being noticed by Christians. ( Page 4 of the report)

8) A party of Hindu coolies who had gone to collect minor produce had satisfactorily explained their movements and a thorough verification was made. They had no hand in this. The Hindus have no purpose whatsoever by destroying this ancient sacred temple. It is from this temple that Hindus get a large income. It is this temple that brings unity among all classes of Hindus.  ( Page 4 of the report)

9) Further, if the Hindu Mandal wanted to dot it, they would have as well done this before the Kaviyur  reconversion or even before the Hindu Mandal Convention at Quilon. Finally, if the Hindus have done this, certainly information would have come out by this time regarding the perpetrators, because, psychologically at least one of the Hindus would have become terror-stricken and blurted out the details to somebody. It was because the offence has been committed other than by the Hindus, no information has so far come forth. This is borne by the fact that a Christian or a Muslim has absolutely no feeling for the destruction of Hindu idol or temple. This again is a point of Psychology.(  Page 5 of the report)

10) History has repeatedly shown that such sacrilegious acts in spite of the devotion of the Hindus towards such ancient temples and idols have been committed with a view to challenge the basic existence of the Hindu temples. This is not only due to the fanaticism in the wake of hatred but also due to a desire to put a stop to the influx of a large section of humanity into the folds of this ancient religion. This is one of the sacred temples which draw due to its sanctity thousands and thousands of devotees of all castes and creeds to offer their prayers to GOD AYYAPPA.

Long before the Father of the Nation preached temple entry for all untouchables, this ancient temple stood as a beacon light and guidance to the whole of India. For example, the low caste Pulaya and the high caste Brahmin rubbed shoulder to shoulder and offered prayers in this ancient temple. In the present day, in the wake of partition and communal tension among different communities, exhibiting the ugly signs of enmity against one another, this Makaravilakku stood in all its solidarity voicing forth the union of all Hindus into one fold and the fact stood as the foundation stone on which caste, creed and colour had to be shed away in the worship of the all-pervading God. (  Page 6 of the report)

11) Investigation having pointed out the hand of Christians on circumstantial evidence, the details of which I have given below, it is natural to believe that the above facts related to the motive are not inconsistent with the evidence gathered. I am emphasising this point to show that the case was investigated as an ordinary Arson case on other important circumstantial findings with a view to trace the offenders, in which the motive point was not taken into consideration to begin with, and after investigating this on the lines mentioned above, and having arrived at conclusions, the motive point came in naturally in the wake of investigation. (  Page 8 of the report)

Conclusions

1) Presently, Sabarimala temple reportedly gets better security coverage. Serious studies need to be made about Government’s view of threat perceptions to Sabarimala.

2) There were reports in the press regarding certain explosions on 27-12-2009 near Sabarimala which caused panic.  On 5th Jan 2010 PTI reported arrest of a LTTE  man at cumbum. This is a serious development to be considered. It is a widely known fact that a certain “Universal” religion was one of the sponsors for this terrorist organisation. The fact that most of these types are out of jobs now and sitting idle in T.N camps should be taken into consideration. Any attempts of LTTE to infiltrate to the either forests or the shelter camps for refugees near Kerala / T.N border needs to be monitored.

3) The protection of Mullaperiyar Dam needs to be strengthened. The fact that the adversaries can go to any length for their nefarious deeds is to be acknowledged.

4) Let us remember what H.G Wells says in his book ‘Crux Ansata’   “I think that it stands for everything most hostile to the mental emancipation and stimulation of mankind. It is the completest, most highly organized system of prejudices and antagonisms in existence. Everywhere in the world there are ignorance and prejudice, but the greatest complex of these, with the most extensive prestige and the most intimate entanglement with traditional institutions, is the[ XXX]. It presents many faces towards the world, but everywhere it is systematic in its fight against freedom.”

REFERENCES:

1. Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India

http://wrmin.nic.in/index3.asp?subsublinkid=739&langid=1&sslid=733

2. Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India

http://wrmin.nic.in/index3.asp?subsublinkid=739&langid=1&sslid=733


3. JOURNAL OF KERALA STUDIES, PUBLISHED BY UNIVERSITY OF KERALA, Vol. XXXI, March-Dec 2004, pp. 1-66 (William Henry Horsley’s Memoir of Travancore (1839): Earliest English Treatise on the History of Travancore
Achuthsankar S. Nair,  University of Kerala)

4. “Stop Pilgrimage promotion in Sabarimala: Study” (P.Venugopal) : The Hindu, Dec 26, 2001

5. From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 5, Issue 24, Dated June 21, 2008 publishing repetitive news regarding Sabarimala on 2nd January 2010

6. Remy Delage-  Pilgrimage and Environment in South India — A Research of Compatibility Between Conflicting Ideologies ; Mapping Out Social Change in South India — A Geographic Information System and Its Applications

7. Filippo Ossello and Caroline Ossello — ‘Ayyappan Saranam’: Masculinity and the Sabrimala Pilgrimage in Kerala,2003

8. Filippo Ossello and Caroline Ossello — Ayyappan Saranam’ – [“The resultant child,Ayyappan, product of two males, was born from Vishnu’s thigh. Shiva and Vishnu were ashamed” – This story of ‘shame’ is un heard of and most probably  a wilful lie]

9. http://www.ifpindia.org/South-India-Fertility-Project-SIFP.html

10. http://www.demographie.net/sifp/objectives.htm

11. See  http://www.saranamayyappa.org/ResearchArticles.htm

12. See- ceias.ehess.fr/docannexe.php?id=952

13. Mullaperiyar Dam. (2010, January 7). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 12:27, January 10, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mullaperiyar_Dam&oldid=336405035

14. Film Review,Oct 2009 –The Hindu http://www.thehindu.com/mp/2009/10/24/stories/2009102451611700.htm

15. Malayala Manorama Website (20-Dec-2009) http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/malayalamContentView.do?tabId=4&programId=1073752864&BV_ID=@@@&contentId=6320608&contentType=EDITORIAL&articleType=Malayalam%20News

16. Rajeev Srinivasan, Rediff http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/feb/28rajeev.htm -“The settlers are almost entirely Christian. In their enthusiasm, some Christians actually set fire to the Sabarimala temple in the 1950s: it was a nuisance to them in their attempts to grab the surrounding forest”

17.  Menon, K Kesava Sabarimala Temple Arson Case: Enquiry Report. Kerala — Trivandrum: The Govt.Press, 1957

18. Report can be downloaded from www.firstministry.kerala.gov.in/pdf/bills/Reports/tmple_arsn.pdf

19. For more details see http://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=279

20. Malayala Manorama http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/contentView.do?contentId=6442196&tabId=1&programId=1080132915&channelId=-1073865030&BV_ID=@@@

21. PTI http://www.ptinews.com/news/453575_Suspected-LTTE-militant-arrested

Source : http://haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx?PageID=11335&SKIN=B

కావలసింది సమాధులు కాదు, రచనలే!
- రంగనాయకమ్మ

శాశ్వతత్వం మీద, చిరకాలపు కీర్తి మీద ఏవగింపు ప్రకటించినవాడు చలం. సమాధి రక్షణ కోసం ఉద్యమం చలం భావాలకు అనుగుణమైనదేనా? -అని ప్రశ్నిస్తున్నారు రంగనాయకమ్మ

చలం సమాధి, రోడ్డు విస్తరణలో తొలగిపోయేలా వుంది కాబట్టి, చలం అనాధ అయిపోతాడా? కాబట్టి, ఆ సమాధిని రక్షించి, చలాన్ని సనాధుణ్ణి చెయ్యాలని ఉద్యమమా?

అసలు చలం మరణించిన తర్వాత ఏం జరిగిందంటే- ఆ దేహానికి దహనం అయితే, దూరంగా స్మశానంలోనే జరిగింది. తర్వాత, నర్తకి ఆ స్మశానం నించి కాస్త బూడిదని గిన్నెలో పెట్టి ఎత్తుకొచ్చింది.

చలంగారు వుండే ఇంటి ప్రహరీ గోడబైట, ఆ గోడకీ రోడ్డుకీ మధ్య దాదాపు 15 అడుగుల వెడల్పు స్థలం వుంటుంది. అందులో కాసిన్ని పూలమొక్కలూ, అక్కడక్కడా కూర్చోడానికి నాలుగు రాళ్ళూ ఉండేవి అప్పుడు. నర్తకి, స్మశానం నించి తెచ్చిన బూడిదలో కొంత భాగాన్ని, ఆ ఇంటి ముందు గోడ బైట వున్న మొక్కల్లో ఒకచోట పూడ్చి, మిగతా బూడిదని ఒక గిన్నెలో పోసి, ఇంట్లో ఒక చోట పెట్టింది. గోడబైట బూడిదని పూడ్చిన చోటే చలం సమాధి అని చిన్న అరుగు లాంటిది ఏదో తర్వాత కట్టారు. ఇప్పుడు, దాన్ని ఇంకా పెద్దది చేస్తే, అది చలం పట్ల భక్తి గౌరవాలు అవుతాయా?

'సాహితీ ప్రియులై'నా, 'అభిమానులై'నా, రచయితల గురించి పట్టించుకోవలసింది వారి బూడిదల్నీ, సమాధుల్నీ కాదు; వారి రచనల్ని. రచనల మీద శ్రద్ధ చూపితే అది చాలు. ఒక రచయితని గుర్తించడం అంటే, ఆ రచనల్లోని భావాల్ని గ్రహించి, వాటిలో పొరపాట్లు వుంటే వాటిని తిరస్కరించి; సరైన వాటిని స్వీకరించి, వాటిని ఆచరించడమే. ఆ రచనలు పాఠకులకు ఎప్పుడూ చవక ధరలతో అందుబాటులో వుంచే ప్రయత్నాలు జరగాలి.

సమాధుల ఉద్యమాలు మొదలెడితే, భూమి అంతా సమాధుల మయం ఐ తీరుతుంది. తెలుగులో, ఆధునిక కాలాన్నే తీసుకుంటే, వీరేశలింగం గారి నించి మొదలు పెడితే, ప్రఖ్యాతి గల కవులూ, కళాకారులూ, రచయితలూ, నటీనటులూ, జర్నలిస్టులూ, గాయకులూ, నాట్యకారులూ, చిత్రకారులూ, ప్రాంతాలవారీగా, కులాలవారీగా, మతాలవారీగా వేలవేలమంది వుంటారు. ప్రతీ మరణం వెనకా ఒక సమాధి కట్టడం తయారైతే, ఆ కట్టడాల సంఖ్య, ఒక నాటికన్నా ఒకనాటికి పెరిగిపోతూ ఉంటుంది.

పాత సమాధుల సరసన కొత్త సమాధులు ఏర్పడవలసి వుంటుంది. మరణించిన మనుషులు, భూమిని ఖాళీ చేసి తప్పుకుంటారు గానీ, వారి సమాధులు మాత్రం, ఇంకా బతకవలసిన వాళ్ళకి భూమిని నివాసయోగ్యం కాకుండా చేస్తాయి. భూమిని, వ్యవసాయానికీ, పరిశ్రమలకూ, నివాసాలకూ, తోటలకూ, మార్గాలకూ, పాఠశాలలకూ, ఆస్పత్రులకూ, బతకడానికి ఇంకా అవసరమైన వాటి కోసం ఉపయోగించాలి గానీ, సమాధులూ, కీర్తి కట్టడాలూ పెట్టుకుంటూపోతే, బతికి వున్న జనాలకు అడవులు తప్ప ఊళ్లు మిగలవు.

క్రమంగా సమాధులు అడవుల్ని కూడా ఆక్రమిస్తాయి. క్రమంగా ఏం జరుగుతుందంటే, అంతస్తుల్లోకే బూడిదని తీసుకుపోయి, అక్కడే అరుగులు కట్టి, సమాధుల అంతస్తుల నిర్మాణం జరుగుతుంది. కీర్తిని నిలబెట్టుకోవాలంటే, నూతన నూతన విధానాలు కనిపెట్టవలసిందే కదా? ఒక తప్పుని ఆపకపోతే, అది అనేక తప్పులకు దారి తీస్తూనే వుంటుంది. రచయితల్ని గుర్తించడం అయినా, గౌరవించడం అయినా, ఆ మనిషి సమాధిని చూశా?

సమాధులు వ్యక్తిపూజలకు పరాకాష్టలు. అది మార్క్స్ సమాధి అయినా. మార్క్సుని గుర్తించవలసింది, మార్క్స్ రచనల ద్వారానే గానీ, సమాధి ద్వారా కాదు. లెనిన్ దేహానికి ఖననంగానీ, దహనంగానీ లేకుండా దాన్ని గాజుపెట్టెలో దాచి ప్రదర్శనకు పెట్టారు. ఆ గడ్డకట్టిన దేహాన్ని ప్రదర్శించి, ఆ దేశం సోషలిజాన్ని వదలకుండా చెయ్యగలిగారా?

ఆ గాజు పెట్టె ప్రదర్శన ఏమాత్రమైనా ఉపయోగపడిందా? ఇక సమాధులా ఉపయోగపడేది?
జనన మరణాల సందర్భాల్లో ఏం జరగాలో, ప్రకృతి సహజంగా అవే జరగాలి. ఒక సామాన్య మానవుడి విషయంలో ఏం జరుగుతుందో ఏ ప్రత్యేకత గల వాళ్ళకైనా అదే జరగాలి. ప్రకృతి సహజ సూత్రాలకూ, సమానత్వ సూత్రాలకూ వ్యతిరేకమైన ఏ చర్యనీ ఎవరి విషయంలోనూ పాటించకూడదు.

చలం బూడిద గిన్నెని తన వెంట పెట్టుకు తిరిగిన నర్తకి, చలం రచనలు ఎన్ని చదివింది? - చదవలేదు. నాకు తెలుసు. కానీ, చలం వృద్ధాప్యంలో, ఆయనకి నర్తకి చెప్పలేనంత సేవ చేసింది. ఆ మమకారంతోనే ఆ బూడిదని పట్టుకు తిరిగింది. బూడిదని పాతిన సమాధి స్తలానికి వచ్చిపోతే, ఆ రచయితని గౌరవించినట్టా? ఎన్నాళ్లీ అజ్ఞానాలు! ఎన్నాళ్ళీ కపట గౌరవాలూ!

జనాలు ఎగబడి చూసే తాజ్‌మహల్ వంటి సమాధిని తీసిపారేసిన చలాన్ని, సమాధి కట్టి గౌరవిస్తారా?
చలం మాటలు కొన్ని చూడండి ('మ్యూజింగ్స్'నించీ): "పుస్తకాలు రాసి అవి శాశ్వతంగా ఉంటాయని కవులకి భ్రమ. 'గీతాంజలి' తెనిగించి సోమనాధ రావుగారు, తన పేరు మీదా, రవీంద్రనాధ్ పేరు మీదా శ్లేషవేసి, 'రవి సోములుండు దాకా!' అన్నారు. ఇప్పుడా తెలుగు పుస్తకం సంగతి తెలిసిన వాడే లేడు. సత్రాలు, తాజ్‌మహల్, అంకితాలు - యెన్ని వెర్రి ప్రయత్నాలు, పాపం!''

"పైపెచ్చు, ఈ పురాణ గాథలు తోడుపడ్డాయి. కీర్తిని శ్లాఘించి, శ్లాఘించి ఇంత తెలిసిన వేదాంతులు ఆ కీర్తిని, ముఖ్యంగా చచ్చిన తరువాత కీర్తిని, ఎందుకంత అవధిగా చూపారో అర్ధం కాదు. పోనీ బతికి వున్నప్పటి కీర్తి ఏదో ఉపయోగపడవచ్చు. మంచి నీళ్ళ బదులు ఎవరన్నా మజ్జిగ యివ్వవచ్చు. రైలు స్టేషనులోఎవరో గుర్తు పట్టి సామాన్లు రైలులో ఎక్కించి పెట్టవచ్చు. కాని చచ్చిన తరవాత ఆ కీర్తి కోసం ఈ పురాణ యోధుల చేత ఘాతుక కార్యాలు చేయించారు.''

"చచ్చిపోయిన వాళ్ళ జ్ఞాపకాలని ఆపాలని ఎన్ని ప్రయత్నాలు లోకంలో! గోరీల మీద రాతలు చూడండి. వెర్రి హృదయాలు.'' రచయితని గౌరవించడం అంటే, ఆయన భావాలకు వ్యతిరేకంగా నడవడమా? ఆ మనిషి లేచి రావడమే సాధ్యమైతే, ఆ సమాధిని కూలగొట్టడూ?