INDIAN INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH INTO TRUE HISTORY
NEWSLETTER NO. 58 OF 16 FEBRUARY
2011
1. NEWS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS
1.1 Importance of writing in English
Shivaji is still in Marathi
(a) Babasaheb Purandare is a well known Maratha historian. He has devoted his entire life for research on Shivaji. 17th edition of his biography was published in 2010. What a pity that after 50 years it is still in Marathi! Godbole therefore wrote to Babasaheb that time has come get it translated into English for world wide publicity.
Late Purushottam Laxman Deshpande, popularly known as P.L. to Marathi people has written life sketches of some well known Marathas, including Purandare. In 1955/56 P.L. was working for All India Radio in New Delhi. He wanted some reading material for his train journey Pune – New Delhi. So, he purchased Purandare’s biography of Shivaji. He found the book so wonderful that once he started reading he could not stop. At New Delhi he started telling his non-Maratha colleagues about Shivaji’s adventures and realised that Shivaji is NOT known outside Maharashtra.
P.L was a multi talented person. He and his wife
Sunita gave large sums of money to many charities without asking for any
publicity. But P L never gave thought to getting some historians to translate
Purandare’s Shivaji into English.
Will the Marathas ever learn? If we look at
Bibliography of Purandare we appreciate that most of his references are in
Marathi and therefore the writer has got to know Marathi very well.
(b) Sir Yadunath Sarkar’s House of Shivaji
came out in 1927. His biased view and mistakes were exposed by Historian D V
Potdar and Veer Savarkar. But both wrote in Marathi. So, even today Sarkar’s
blunders remain unknown to outside world.
(c) In 1937, after his release from internment, Veer Savarkar was President of Maharashtra Literary Conference. In his speech he had stressed importance of English. He said, “There are valuable works on many subjects in Marathi, but even non Marathi people do not know about these. I therefore appeal ALL Marathas to come together and resolve to translate at least 4 to 5 selected works from Marathi into English.” Three generations have passed. Nothing has been done.
In the same speech Savarkar has appealed to Historian
Sardesai to write in English, a History of Marathas to dispel many
misconceptions about them. This was achieved in 1946. But the BJP-Shiva Sena
government of Maharashtra did not publish a new edition in 1990 for distribution
throughout the world.
(d) Historian Setu Madhavrao Pagdi, once Secretary to Government of Maharashtra also emphasised the same point. In 1964/65 he wrote an article,”Why there are so many misconceptions about the Marathas?” He said – “for a number of years such prejudiced and mischievous Historians have to be answered in English. We do have some Marathas who can write excellent English, but the tragedy is that History is not their subject.”
Today we can’t even locate Pagdi’s
article
(e) Babarao, elder brother of Veer Savarkar was
sentenced to Transportation for Life and confiscation of all possessions, in
June 1910. He suffered terribly in Andaman. But there was no systematic attempt
to portray his life till 1947. Second edition of his biography came out in 1979
and third edition in 2009. All in Marathi!! Non-Marathi people DO NOT know his
terrible sufferings for our freedom struggle. Even today, no one will write his
biography in English.
There are several other areas where we feel handicapped
(f) Dr Ambedkar’s intended speech at an annual
session of Jat Pat Todak Mandal of Lahore was prepared but NOT delivered. He
however published it in English in 1935. By now four editions have been
published. Savarkar’s reply to Ambedkar remained in Marathi and therefore
unknown to non-Marathi people.
(g) Just before he embraced Buddhism, Ambedkar had
viciously attacked Hindu beliefs. Savarkar reprimanded him and also severely
criticised his embracing Buddhism. Again, it is all in Marathi. None of
Savarkar’s followers want to translate his thoughts on these events in
English.
(h) Third battle of Panipat of 1761
On the 200th anniversary of above battle
two Historians Prof N R Phatak and Setu Madhavarao Pagdi had carried extensive
research and published a book entitled Panipatacha Sangram- part I. It
dispels many misconceptions. But again it is in Marathi!! None of Governments of
Maharashtra ever translated this wonderful book into English.
After writing all above, we received an E Mail saying that Savarkar’s works are now available on internet www.savarkarsmarak.com
But they are all in Marathi. So, Savarkar is still
restricted to Marathi readers!!
1.2_ Jana Gana Mana – the folly continues.
Despite our efforts, people still are under false
impression that Jana Gana Mana was composed by Ravindranath Tagore to
welcome King George V in 1911. We found the following article in an issue of
Aryasamaj of Birmingham. Our comments are given in italics in
brackets.
1.2.1 PAGES FROM HISTORY: VANDE MATARAM VS JANA-GANA-MANA
By Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy
It was a sunny day at Calcutta in 1875. Bankimchandra
Chatterjee (1838-1894) was tired of his busy life in Calcutta and left for his
native village Kantalapada by a train. After passing through some distance, the
greenery, rivers, scenic beauty of the forests, the rugged rocks, the blue sky
and the colourful land presented themselves in the form of the mother
eternal.
After some time in 1876, he wrote this as a poem and
automatically came out the words as if in revelation Vande-mataram, sujalam
suphalam malayaja sitalam etc. Thus a great song was born and it became not just
a song or a poem but a mantra which was on the lips of every Indian in those
days. It became a mantra par-excellence particularly for the freedom Fighters -
young and old and all parties. This beautiful poem was incorporated by
Bankim-chandra in his novel Ananda-matha in 1899. The meetings of the freedom
fighters started and ended with Vande-mataram. The people began to say
Vande-mataram to greet each other. Even when the freedom fighters were put on
the gallows, their last words were Vande-mataram. The Indian National Congress
accepted this as the national song and all their meetings began by chanting
Vande-mataram. Thus it became a unifying and inspiring force in the country. But
the British hated it.
Jana-gana-mana
Another distinguished poet Rabindranath Tagore (1861
-1941) composed Jana-gana-mana in 1911 (35 years after the birth of
Vande-mataram.) Before it was published in a newspaper it was sung in the
Congress session at Calcutta on 27-12-1911. Tagore himself translated this song
into English as 'morning star of India' in 1915. Though it was a beautiful song,
some people had reservations about it because it was written to welcome
Emperor George V who has been described as Bharata Bhagya Vidhata (person
responsible for the glory of Bharat).
Many felt that it was not a song that produced
devotion among the Hindus towards their mother-land. Further it referred to some
provinces and some rivers to the exclusion of Andhra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and
rivers like Krishna, Godavari, Kaveri etc. That it does not represent the entire
country but a truncated India was another criticism against it. (how about
national songs of other countries? Do they state all the areas covered? Does the
US anthem list all the states?) From these comments it was taken for granted
that the song Vande-mataram of thirty years' standing would automatically be
elevated to the status of the national anthem. But things changed suddenly
because of the opposition of the Muslim League to accept Vande-mataram as the
national anthem. They felt that this song represents Goddess Durga in whose
honour the song was composed and does not represent India as Hindus claimed.
Hence on religious grounds, they objected to this song.
Gandhiji
Gandhiji was a great admirer of this song
Vande-mataram. He felt that when Vande-mataram is sung. It applies to the entire
country and as a slogan it is better than Bharatmata Ki Jai. He said that even
when he had no knowledge of Bankimchandra or Ananda-matha, he used to get
inspiration from this song. He never felt that it was meant for a particular
section of the people. Gandhiji lamented that what was gold in the early period
is now treated as tin. He further stated that the song Vande-mataram will remain
as long as India remains. Jawaharlal Nehru had also praised this song to the
skies. Thus almost all the national leaders of the Congress of that period
heaped high praise on this song.
Opposition
But the Congress now laced a big dilemma (exactly
when?) as the Muslim League opposed this song and brought pressure on
Gandhiji and Nehru to reject Vande-mataram and accept Jana-gana-mana as the
national anthem. The British who had tasted the onslaughts of Vande-mataram
during the national movement for independence also advised Nehru and others to
reject Vande-mataram. Nehru and like- minded top brass of the Congress wanted a
pretext to sideline this song (why would British advise Nehru on National
song?). In the meantime, Rabindranath Tagore was awarded the
prestigious Nobel Prize and many people used this also as a reason to support
Jana-gana-mana. (But that was in 1913 when no one had heard the names of
Gandhi and Nehru) Nehru was highly diplomatic on this tricky issue. He said
that both are excellent songs authored by two great Bengali poets and patriots.
Hence it is difficult to make a decision in favour of any one (when did he
say this? We need to note that in 1946 the Muslim League had boycotted the
Constitution Assembly. So, there was no question of them opposing any song.
Moreover partition took place on 15 August 1947 Muslims had gone away!! So, why
was Vande Mataram side-lined?).
Slow 'tempo Pretext
Then some frivolous reason was given that Vande-mataram is of slow tempo and cannot be adjusted to orchestra with a large number of Indian and foreign musical instruments. Vande-mataram is a long song and takes about five minutes to sing and foreign delegates cannot stand for five minutes when this is played. (That is absolute rubbish. National songs are not written for western musical instruments or convenience of foreign delegates – and who gave this excuse? The author does not give a single name)
Against this is Jana-gana-mana which is of fast tempo
and is a short piece of a single minute and can easily be adjusted to foreign
and Indian orchestra. These silly reasons did not satisfy the critics. A
Maharastrian musician by name Krishna Rao adjusted Vande-mataram to orchestra
and it was certified by the Army Chief General Cariappa, foreign band
specialists and even HMV company. Even Nehru heard this and praised the
musician. Everyone thought that the battle was won in favour of
Vande-mataram.
Hidden Agenda
But there was a hidden agenda of the government. A
meeting was called to discuss this question on 24-1-1950 (Partition took
place on 15 August 1947. Muslim League had gone). The issue was never
discussed (why?). An announcement was made (by whom?) that the
song Jana-gana-mana has been accepted as the national anthem and Vande-mataram
which had played a historic role in the struggle for Indian freedom shall be
honoured equally with Jana-gana-mana and shall have equal status with it. There
was applause; but President Rajendra Babu and others were taken aback. Now this
is an academic issue of the past. (why?) Jana-gana-mana is our national
anthem and it is the duty of every citizen of this country and foreigners to
respect it when it is played, as per the norms. The national anthem is as sacred
as the country it represents. That is our duty also. (Indian constitution is
NOT sacrosanct. We can change it. Nehru got the Indian constitution changed so
that Beruvari in West Bengal could be transferred to Pakistan. We can do the
same to make Vande Mataram our national song. Why this cowardly advice of Arya
Samaj? Why don’t they have the courage to sing Vande Mataram in full instead of
Jana Gana Mana?)
Taken from Aryan Voice, Monthly bulletin
(February 2009) of Arya Samaj (Vedic mission) West Midlands. Erskine Street,
Nechells, Birmingham B7, 4SA
1.2.2 Amrit Manthan (in Marathi)
On 28 November our friend Saleel Kulkarni from Pune sent us an E Mail and asked us to visit } http://wp.me/pzBjo-yG for an article by Mandar Modak who has repeated the same old story. Godbole visited the site and asked the readers to visit our web-site www.satyashodh.com
The editor visited the site and has recommended the
readers to do the same.
1.3 Current research work
As stated in previous Newsletter, Godbole is now concentrating on Savarkar’s book My Transportation for Life. He has been going through page by page (this has to be done at least six times) and asking the question - “Does this make sense to an English reader? If not, what needs to be done?”
* Godbole has started a Glossary to explain various terms, events, names of persons and books and other details.
* A chronology has been added.
+ At several places dates or years have been added
The translator Prof Naik has used many English words that make it difficult to read. For example, fisticuffs, fructify, pis-aller, thraldom, woe, expostulated, skit, parlance and fiat. These are being replaced by words in common use.
Godbole is also comparing the English version with the original Marathi to ensure that as far as possible intentions of Savarkar are made known to the English reader. This is not an easy task.
_
1.4 Sad news
We heard in December 2010 that Rajiv Dixit, a
disciple of famous Yoga teacher Ramdevbaba in Hindusthan died of heart attack.
Dixit used to appear on Astha TV channel. When in London he participated in
Godbole’s Special London Tour. We very much regret this
loss.
1.5 Training for India jihad on in PoK (Pakistan occupied Kashmir)? What a surprise!!
On 7 November 2010 we received following E Mail from Gopal Ashtekar of Pune
Author: PTI / Publication: The Times of India / Date: November 7, 2010.
http://timesofindia.
LONDON / ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of students, including foreigners are being trained in militant camps in PoK to wage 'jihad' against India, but Pakistan on Saturday denied the report by the BBC as "baseless". After a lull, several militant outfits have now again raised their heads and increased their activities in and around Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), to wage 'jihad' against India, BBC Urdu Service has reported.
A 25-year-old engineering student from Lahore, fresh from a training stint in one of the camps told BBC from POK that "a large number of youths from Pakistani universities and abroad are undergoing training in PoK under supervision of a militant group to wage jihad against India."
"Around 20% youths in the camps are from Kashmir,"
claimed the Kashmiri student. –
1.6 US arrogance has not changed
1.6.1 Pull back troops from Pakistan border: US tells India
Times of India /March 19, 2009
New Delhi - According to government sources, the
United States has asked India to pull back troops along the Indo-Pakistan border
as a gesture of goodwill.
India in turn has told America that the country
hasn't moved more troops along the border, and that it was the neighbouring
country, Pakistan, that deployed more troops along the Line of Control (LoC),
and that America should ask Pakistan to pull back its
troops.
Earlier, defence sources said that Pakistan had
deployed several army brigades along Indo-Pakistan border in Jhelum-Chenab and
Chenab-Ravi corridors sparking concern in the Indian armed
forces.
The forces had been withdrawn from Pakistan's
troubled north-western tribal belt where they were battling Taliban to put
pressure on the US, which had been pressing Islamabad to act against terrorists
operating from its soil, and diverted to the border with India, they
said.
Pakistan had deployed several brigades (each
comprising 4,000 to 6,000 personnel), including 33 brigade, 27 brigade, 7
brigade, 28 brigade, 331 brigade, two battalions (with 1,000 personnel each) of
37 Punjab and 39 Punjab Rawalkote in Hajira, Mandol, Hajipeer, Uri, Bhimber,
Nikial, Kotli, Sailkote, Zafarwal, Neelam valley and other areas, sources
said.
"The deployment had been a surprising move. It is an
area of concern for us," they said adding that the Pakistani side has already
cleaned the bunkers along the borderline.
The sources said "several brigades involved in the war against Taliban in north-western tribal belt had been withdrawn and deployed along Jehlum-Chenab corridor in the past one week."
But we Indians don’t have guts to say – Mind your business!!
We will give explanations to
Americans
1.6.2 Obama: India, Pakistan’s enemy should be poverty.
On 5th April 2009 Jyotishi <jyotish2000@yahoo.com> wrote:
President Barack Obama says India and Pakistan's greatest enemy should be poverty, not each other.
He met with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the G-20 meeting in London And later told a news conference that he suggested it would "make sense" for the two nuclear-armed neighbors to have "a more effective dialogue."
Obama says they discussed the terrorism emanating from Pakistan, but focused more broadly on how the U.S. and India can cooperate on counterterrorism.
(Excerpt) Read more at:
http://www.kwqc. com/Global/ story.asp?
S=10119960
1.6.3 Obama’s visit to India
Gopal A sent us the following E Mail on 5 November 2010
Title: Nassom writes to US envoy with wish list
Author: PNS / Publication: The Pioneer/ Date: November 5, 2010.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/
PNS | New Delhi
Concerned over the rejection of an increasing number of Indian IT companies’ visa applications by the US, industry body Nasscom has written to the US ambassador in India Timothy Roemer. The development comes just hours ahead of the visit of US President Barack Obama to India, though it remains to be seen if the issue comes up for discussion. Nasscom president Som Mittal told PTI that the software industry body had raised the issue with the US administration, but declined to give details. Some honchos claim that there is greater aggression among immigration personnel at US airports towards Indians who arrive with valid business visas, with many professionals ending up even being deported.
Earlier this year, the US Government had hiked fee for the H1-B and L1 visas, under which skilled workers get temporary work permits. The hike would hit the bottom line of the $50-billion Indian IT industry that sends many highly skilled Indians to work there. Indian IT sector earns more than half of its annual revenues from overseas markets, particularly the US.
The visa fee hike was followed by the US State of Ohio banning outsourcing of Government IT projects, a step that further irked the Indian players. Both these moves coincide with a fragile recovery in the US economy, coupled with high unemployment levels. Obama has also suggested in the past that tax breaks for companies’ outsourcing work overseas could be ended. Minister of State for IT and Telecom Sachin Pilot said the Indian IT companies were “not a problem” and suggested that they be made a part of the solution. “They (Indian IT firms) are adding value. They are creating jobs for the local people, whether in the US or Europe,” he said. As per data available with Nasscom, the top six Indian IT firms have created about 40,000 jobs in the US market alone.
In another E Mail Gopal Ashtekar says -
Title: Wants jobs for our boys, Obama sets agenda
Author: S Rajagopalan - Washington /Publication: The Pioneer /
http://www.dailypioneer.com/
A day after the Democrats received a drubbing in the polls; US President Barack Obama made it clear on Thursday that the overriding focus of his upcoming visit to India and three other Asian nations would be on creating jobs for Americans by opening up overseas markets. “As I plan my trip to Asia, the whole focus is on how we are going to open up markets so that American businesses can prosper, and we can sell more goods and create more jobs here in the United States,”
Obama told a White House news conference. “And a whole bunch of corporate executives are going to be joining us so that I can help them open up those markets and allow them to sell their products,” he added. Jobs were the running theme of a reflective Obama’s hour-long interaction. An estimated 14.5 million Americans are without jobs, with unemployment running at 9.6 per cent. Noting that there has been a lot of strong interaction behind the scenes, Obama went on to say: “But I think setting the right tone publicly is going to be important and could end up making a difference at the margins in terms of how businesses make investment decisions.”
He said, “People are frustrated they’re deeply frustrated with the pace of our economic recovery and the opportunities that they hope for their children and grandchildren. They want jobs to come back faster, they want pay cheques to go further, and they want the ability to give their children the same chances and opportunities as they’ve had in life.”
On his India trip, Obama is looking specifically to
early conclusion of major business deals that would help the US expand its
exports and create jobs. Officials recently cited the example of India’s plan
to buy 126 multi-role combat aircraft. If the US’s Boeing or Lockheed Martin
manages to win the $10 billion contract in the face of stiff global
competition, America will get to generate 27,000 jobs to execute this deal
alone.
1.6.3 Obama’s visit to India
On 10 November 2010 Dileep Nath <dileepnath@gmail.com> wrote:
By and large, headlines in Pakistan regarding US President Barack Obama’s visit to India have been positive. The president was primed with advice on what to say in India. Hence, the good headlines: “Be a good neighbour, Obama tells India”; “Stronger Pakistan in India’s interest”; “Obama pushes India to talk to Pakistan”; “Stable Pakistan best for India”, etc.”.
What should help us overcome our paranoia are some of the things President Obama said. He said it is in India’s interest to have a stable Pakistan next door. If you don’t decide to wave that aside as a picayune gesture, it should address our not always honest plaint that India is destabilising Pakistan in collusion with all sorts of unlikely partners. President Obama also recommended normalisation of relations and an India-Pakistan dialogue that would resolve the outstanding issues between the two. It is unfair to pretend to feel angry that he did not say the word Kashmir. Not many heads of state visiting India say that.
Published in The Express Tribune, November
9th, 2010.
1.7 Financially bankrupt Britain advises India
We received following E Mail from Ashok
Chowgule on 3 May 2010
Rajiv Dogra -- The Pioneer May 3, 2010 http://www.dailypioneer.com/
Maldives and British Foreign Secretary David
Miliband's advice to India to settle its affairs with Pakistan through dialogue
is symptomatic of a larger malaise. Perhaps our goodness is now being mistaken
for weakness. But who is to tell this to our Prime Minister?
Pakistani establishment knows that India is powerless
to put any significant pressure on it. The decision to approach the
international interlocutors for help post-26/11 has yielded limited dividends.
Perhaps, researchers at some future date might come to the conclusion that by
going to the international chancelleries India has only succeeded in
re-hyphenating itself with Pakistan. Everyone, and everybody, now consider it
their fair preoccupation to advice India to settle its affairs with Pakistan
through a dialogue. Maldives pontificated thus from the pulpit of SAARC
Summit in Thimpu; casting aside the SAARC principle of not introducing bilateral
matters in that forum. This is symptomatic of a larger malaise; perhaps even
of the fact that our goodness risks being mistaken for weakness by our
interlocutors. Even worse, it may be interpreted as an open invitation to busy
bodies to proffer advice. There is a huge risk in letting that impression gain
ground, because when such pressures multiply then some give somewhere eventually
takes place, and you end up ceding something or the other. The mention by
Maldives should, therefore, be treated as a warning shot. Much more could follow
from others like it; especially from those who make interference in others'
affairs their professional leitmotif.
The NATO countries have many reasons to leave Afghanistan. The economic meltdown in the West and the voter fatigue with an un-winnable war, have led to this desire to quit Afghanistan with as much grace as they can muster. Thereafter, Mr Miliband wants the world to put all its eggs in the Pakistani basket. Thus, he maintains in his article; "Given the scale of the geopolitical challenges in this region - including the long-running tensions between India and Pakistan and the presence of Iran - it can seem that Afghanistan is fated to remain the victim of a zero-sum scramble for power among hostile neighbors. The logic of this position is that Afghanistan will never achieve peace until the region's most intractable problems are solved." His message is clear; the most intractable problem in his eyes can be nothing else except the Kashmir issue. It is also a point that Pakistan has been constantly pressing in Washington and London. Having thus advocated Pakistan's case on Kashmir, Mr Miliband goes on to sing its praises; "Pakistan" he informs us, "is a country of 170 million people. It is a nuclear power. Pakistan will act only according to its own sense of its national interest. That is natural."
_._,_.___
1.8 Our slavish mentality!!
1.8.1 Indian Penal Code – gift of the British
On 30 October 2010 we received an E Mail asking us to celebrate 150 years of the Indian Penal Code
Friends,
The Indian Penal Code has completed its 150 years of existence on 6th October 2010 and is thus celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. The robust Act, which is one of the rock-beds of criminal jurisprudence in our country, is also among the oldest surviving criminal laws in the world. It has its own admirers and opponents yet it has stood the test of time and still remains the most important criminal Act of the Nation.
The writer is a member of India Police
Service
1.8.2 Merry Christmas and Happy (Christian) New Year
There is a Hindu Society in Bedford, England. Every year its members celebrate New Year’s Eve.
Godbole asked, “Why is HINDU society celebrating eve of a Christian New Year?”
There was no satisfactory answer. One member said, “But there is no religious aspect to it.
It is just a get together.”
So, Godbole asked, “Then, why don’t you have a get together at the time of Makar Sankrant. 15 January is a Saturday.”
There was no answer.
* We received Christmas greetings from Hindu temple
of Scotland and VHP Manchester
* Balaji Temple in Aurora, Illinois in America
celebrated New Year’s Eve and 1st January 2011.
* However, Midland Marathi Mitra Mandal had organised first event on the occasion of
Makar Sankranti on 15th January 2010 at Birmingham. The programme was from 4PM to
9 PM including dinner. The organizer was - Sunil
Poshakwale / 0121- 420- 3932
* Maharashtra Mandal, London also celebrated Makar
Sankrant.
1.9 Medical effects of prayers.
For centuries Hindu Dharma had emphasized the importance of prayers to help patients.
Here is the proof – E Mail sent by Jyotishi of America
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Prayer Helps Heart Patients / By Brenda C. Coleman, AP Medical Writer
The Associated Press / Tuesday, October 26, 1999
Chicago (AP) - Heart patients who had someone praying over them without their knowledge suffered 10 percent fewer complications, according to new research published this week.
"It's potentially a natural explanation we don't understand yet. It's potentially a super- or other-than-natural mechanism," said William S. Harris, a heart researcher and lead author of the study. Harris and other researchers at the Mid America Heart Institute, the heart program of St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, Mo, studied 990 patients admitted during a year to the institute's coronary care unit. The patients were randomly divided into two groups. In one, patients were prayed for daily by community volunteers for four weeks; the other patients didn't have anyone assigned to pray for them. The patients, their families and their caregivers were not told they were in a study. The volunteers were told only the first names of the patients and asked to pray daily for their speedy recovery
After four weeks, the prayed-for patients had suffered about 10 percent fewer complications, ranging from chest pain to cardiac arrest, researchers reported in Monday's issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, published by the American Medical Association.
The findings suggest that prayer might be an effective addition to standard medical care, the researchers said.
An expert not involved in the work said the study and a similar one in 1988 in San Francisco that involved 393 heart patients had questionable methods.
Both studies tallied complications using their own scoring systems, which have not been proved medically valid, said the expert, Dr. Herbert Benson, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and president of the Mind/Body Medical Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
Benson said medical research has shown that people who believe in God or in prayer generally fare better than those who don't.
In an another E Mail by Jyotishi of America we find
Saturday, October 24, 2009 8:21 AM
People Who Are Prayed for Fare Better - By Jeanie Davis
Nov. 6, 2001 -- Here's more evidence that in medicine, as in all of life prayer seems to work in mysterious ways. In one recent study, women at an in-vitro fertilization clinic had higher pregnancy rates when total strangers were praying for them. Another study finds that people undergoing risky cardiovascular surgery have fewer complications when they are the focus of prayer groups. The fertilization study conducted at a hospital in Seoul, Korea found a doubling of the pregnancy rate among women who were prayed for, says Rogerio A. Lobo, MD, chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Columbia University School of Medicine in New York City. His study appears in the September issue of the Journal of Reproductive Health. "It's a highly-significant finding," Lobo tells WebMD.
The randomized study involved 199 women who were undergoing in-vitro fertility treatments at a hospital in Seoul, Korea, during 1998 and 1999. All women were selected for the study based on their similar age and fertility factors, Lobo tells Web MD. Half the women were randomly assigned to have one of several Christian prayer groups in the U.S., Canada, and Australia pray for them. A photograph of each patient was given to "her" prayer group. While one set of prayer groups prayed directly for the women, a second set of prayer groups prayed for the first set and a third group prayed for both groups. Neither the women nor their medical caregivers knew about the study -- or that anyone was praying for them. The women in the "prayed for" group became pregnant twice as often as the other women, he says.
The second study involves 150 patients -- all having serious heart problems, all scheduled for a procedure called angioplasty, in which doctors thread a catheter up into a clogged heart artery, open it up, and insert a little device called a stent to prop it open. Patients who were prayed for during their procedure had far fewer complications, reports lead author Mitchell W. Krucoff, MD, director of the Ischemia Monitoring Laboratory at Duke University Medical Center and the Durham Veterans Administration Medical Center in Durham, NC. His study appears in the current issue of the American Heart Journal.
Krucoff enrolled 150 patients who were going to have the stent procedure, and then randomly assigned them to receive one of five complementary therapies: guided imagery, stress relaxation, healing touch, or intercessory 'off site' prayer -- which meant they were prayed for by others, or to no complementary therapy. All the complementary therapies -- except off-site prayer -- were performed at the patient's bedside at least one hour before the cardiac procedures. Seven prayer groups of varying denominations around the world -- Buddhists, Catholics, Moravians, Jews, fundamentalist Christians, Baptists, and the Unity School of Christianity -- prayed for specific patients during their procedures. Each prayer group was assigned names, ages, and illnesses of specific patients they were to pray for. None of the patients, family members, or staff knew who was being prayed for. None of the patient-prayer group matchings were based on denomination.
"This was a very rigorously controlled study, just as we would look at any therapeutic -- a new cardiovascular drug, a new stent -- and see the results in terms of patients' outcomes," Krucoff tells Web MD. The goal was to determine which therapies warranted further study in a bigger trial. Those in the "prayed for" group had fewer complications than any of the patients, including those receiving other complementary therapies, he says. "Although it's not statistical proof, it's not certainty; it is suggestive -- to the point that we've already begun a phase II trial." He has already enrolled more than 300 people in a phase II study. Why did prayer produce the best outcome?
Both studies are "well-controlled," preliminary trials "providing more evidence that there's something to it all," says Blair Justice, PhD, professor of psychology and psycho-biologist (mind-body medicine) at the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston. Justice, who has followed prayer research for several decades, reviewed the reports for WebMD. "Research into prayer has been going on a lot longer than is reflected in mainstream journals," Justice tells WebMD. "Since the 1980s, there have been several well-controlled prospective studies, good evidence that this wasn't some product of a good imagination." Some of the studies conducted in Europe involved nonhuman organisms -- enzyme cells, bacteria, plants, animals --which could not be affected by other complicating factors, including faith. Groups were assigned to pray for their growth; then the prayers were reversed, and people were praying against growth. Each time, the plants responded according to the focus of the prayers. "There seems to be something to it," he says. While current technology does not allow researchers to understand the mechanism behind prayer -- what makes it work -- it's much like gravity and other natural phenomena that were considered mysterious forces by earlier cultures, Justice tells Web MD. "Keppler was accused of being insane when he said tides were due to the tug of lunar gravity, even Galileo considered it to be ravings of a lunatic -- until Marconi proved the theory," he says.
http://content.health.msn.com/
Another E Mail by Mukesh Varma, on the same subject -
Friday, August 06, 2010 7:58 AM
London, Aug 5 (ANI): The power of prayer really can help cure the sick, according to a new study.
A US team from Indiana University, led by religious
studies professor Candy Gunther Brown, examined the effects of prayer in
Mozambique and Brazil where spiritual healing for the blind and deaf is common.
In the African country, a woman named Maryam could not see a hand with two
raised fingers from a distance of one foot. But a healer put her hand on
Maryam's eyes, hugged her and prayed for a minute. She then held up five
fingers, which Maryam was able to count from the same distance, according to
researchers, reports the Daily Express. She went on to read the 20/125 line on
an eye chart - meaning she had 40 per cent sharpness of vision, if judged
against 20/20 or 100 per cent perfect vision. Other visually-impaired people
also showed improvement after prayers, the researchers claimed. The team also
reported that two deaf subjects showed a 50 decibel improvement in their hearing
after spiritual intervention. (ANI)
2. BEHAVIOUR OF CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS
TODAY
2.1 The Christians
2.1.1 Texas public schools required to teach Bible this year
On 14 August 2009 we received the following Mail from: Jyotishi of America
Whitehouse, TX (KLTV) - The school year is almost here, and if literature of the Bible is not already offered in your child's school, it will be this fall. Books are a common sight in classrooms around the nation, but the Bible is one book that is not. Come this fall, a Texas law says all public schools must offer information relating to the Bible in their curriculum. "By the end of the year, what they begin to realize is that it is pervasive. You can't get away from it. The kids came back and were like 'It's everywhere,'" said John Keeling, the social studies chair at Whitehouse High School. Whitehouse already offers a Bible elective. "The purpose of a course like this isn't even really to get kids to believe it, per se, it is just to appreciate the profound impact that it has had on our history and on our government."
The law actually passed in 2007, but this will be the first school year it is enforced because the bill says, "The provisions of this act pertaining to a school district do not take effect until the 2009-2010 school year." This has gained mixed reactions from East Texans.
"I think it is a good thing because a lot of kids don't have that experience, and they already want to take prayer out of school as it is, and you see where our kids are ending up!" said Tyler resident Laura Tucker. Tyler resident, Havis Tatum, disagrees with Tucker.
"I don't want anybody teaching their religious beliefs to my child unless they want to send their child to my house and let me teach them my religious views," said Tatum. "There is no difference."
School officials said schools have not enforced the
law because of confusion over the bill's wording and lack of state funding. For
now, each school district must find a way to fill the requirement before the
seats are filled with students. We would like to know what you think about this
story. Click here to leave your comments and read the contents of Texas House
Bill 1287. / http://www.kltv.com/global/
2.1.2 Missionary Hate Literature
Author: Rajendra Chadha / Publication: The Organiser
Look to yourself before you accuse others. Christian
missionaries of late are accusing Hindu social organisations of spreading hatred
against religious’ minorities. A shrill propaganda by secularists against these
Hindu organisations is also on to further confuse the public. They say that VHP
and its associates are distributing literature that promotes hatred against the
minorities in general and Christians in particular. But the truth is ‘exactly
the opposite. VHP has come out with certain booklets and pamphlets, which
increasingly prove how the activities of the Christian fundamentalists are aimed
at destabilising the Hindu society and also the state. Christian
fundamentalists’ literature is making rounds in the whole country, heaping abuse
on Hindu deities and mocking at the religious symbols and practices of the
Hindus.
Apart from “aggressive harvesting” efforts this
literary insinuation against Hindu religion is one of the major causes of
communal disturbance in the country. Take for instance, a book in Malayalam with
a title Haindava Suvishesheekaranam. It interprets the meaning of the sacred
Pancakshara mantra Om Namah Shivaya as “Let Evil Befall” (p. 113). The magazine
Indian Messenger (September 1998) calls the great Kumbha Mela, which attracts
millions of Hindu devotees, a superstitious deception. “The belief that the mud
of sins in human souls can be purified for ultimate liberation through Ganga,
Yamuna and Saraswati is superstitious. The Kumbha Mela represents this
superstitious deception,” it says. But strangely in a superstitious tone and
words it claims: “Liberation from sins can be attained only by the unpolluted
blood of Christ the virtuous.” Note not only the superstitions but also the
audacity of the suggestion. Shri Sai Baba, to these Christian fundamentalists,
is a satanic spirit and Mata Amritanandamayi a mentally retarded woman. To
quote: “The miracles said to have been performed by Sai Baba is mere magic.
Satanic spirit dwells in him. Mata Amritanandamayi is a mentally retarded woman.
She is half mad and what she does is stupidity”.
Again, the Haindava Suvishesheekaranam says: “No
Hindu gods and goddesses exist who have not surrendered to Christ. If Krishna,
Rama and Indra surrendered before Christ, what other evidence is necessary to
prove that he is the only true God” (p. 181-182).
This Christian fundamentalist propaganda literature
often describes Bharat as a “State of Devil”. Dr K.P. Yohannan in his book Anant
Prakash mein Jeevan Vyatheeth Karain writes: “Every time a Hindu is baptized and
converted to Christianity, there is a great disturbance in the State of Devil”
(p. 114). Hindu religious and community leaders have been termed as “devils” and
“satanic” powers by the same author.
Dr. Yohannan’s is not the solitary instance. In fact,
he is one of the many who project such views. Another statement in a book named
Samvaad: Kyon and Kaisai (Masibi Drishtikon Se) by Dr Benzami Khan are equally
inciting: “Moral values play a negligible role in Hindu religion” (p. 98). If
these literatures are to be believed, then all the good things and positive
aspects of Hinduism have come from Christianity because it is deeply influenced
by the preaching of Christ-be it the Bhakti movement or the stories of Krishna
or even that of Shiva! They claim abrasively that the stories of Krishna have
been taken from the story of Christ with minor changes! “In fact Christ became
Krishna in India,” says the book of Dr Benzamin (p. 71) Common Hindu traditions
are always ridiculed. For example application of bindi, tilak sindoor are jeered
at as devil eye and related to satanic spirits. “Even though tilak is considered
a symbol of Shiva by the Hindus, the use of these symbols is dangerous and gives
them an opportunity to come under the influence of satanic spirit. Thus girls
beware,” says the book published by Masihi Sahitya Sanstha (see Hindi
translation of. Sex, Love and Marriage by Zac. Poonen, p.102).
For obvious reasons, the missionaries have always
been trying to mislead people on the census data. But certain reports, which
they do for their internal consumption, are highly revealing and equally
disturbing. For example the Church Growth Centre reports that by the end of the
20th century the Christian population will increase 13 times as compared to that
at the beginning of the century. It further clarifies that the increase of the
non-Christian population would be only 4.6 times during the same period. “In
1900 there were 60 non-Christians for one Christian and by the end of the
century there will be only 20 non-Christian to every Christian. Christians’
estimated population in the year 2000 will be 50 million,” the report says.
According to the report entitled Trends and Issues in Evangelisation in India by
Augustine Kanjamala SVD, a CBCI Secretary: “In the North-East, conversions among
the tribals continue. During the last 30 years the Catholic population has
increased nine fold to nine lakhs. In Arunachal Pradesh about 10,000 people join
the Church per year, half of them into Catholic Church. In West India more than
45,000 Bhils have joined the Church (The Church In’ India: Its Missions
Tomorrow, p. 40). The same report reveals: “Amri, Kerbi tribal people in Assam
have totally declared to become Christians for the prosperity of the tribe.”
According to it every day 4,000 new Christians are added to the Church, and 35
new congregations are formed every week. One can very well imagine the
aggressive nature of the “harvesting plan”. In their “hate and insinuation”
literature, even Sikhs are not spared. A section of the Sikh community is often
compared to thieves and dacoits. (Page 180 of Uttar Bharat tatha Pakistan main
Masihi Dharma by Bishop Deendayal and published by Hindi Theological Literature
Committee, Jabalpur). To substantiate its point the author refers to
“historical instance” when Sikh soldiers allegedly attacked the enemy from
behind and indulged in looting. The missionary propaganda literature
has throughout indulged in spreading canards against the Hindu
society. It also twists and misrepresents the facts. For instance: “The old
Hindu political, economic and philosophical writings like Kautilya’s Artha
Sastra and Manu Samiti did not count the dalits and the tribes as human being.
The Vedas treated them as Chandals, Gita and Mahabharata showed them as wild
animals like monkeys and Rawanas.” This is what you read in Bishop Nirmal Minz’s
book Rise Up, My People, And Claim the Promise. He goes on to write: “In the
past they (tribes) have been treated as something less than human, according to
Hindu attitudes and understanding.” Finally, if these propagandists are to
be believed, the majority of the Hindus are slaves, untouchables, Poor, looters,
thieves and nonbelievers. A book Confusion called Conversion by Sunder Raj is
entirely devoted to malign the Hindu people. Now tell us who are the haters of
the other religionists?-- Reverend D’souza catholicunion@eml.cc
2.1.3 Christian nuns claim false rape in India to
defame Hinduism http://www.scribd.com/doc/
The Christian church of India is seen stooping so low in morality that they are willing to claim rape of the Christian nuns to defame the Hindus of India. These dastardly criminals are a threat to India and show their true Syrian nature of treachery and deceit. The first lot of these traitors arrived in India from Syria as refugees in the fourth century and then on they are working as fifth column community in India. From Kerala this missionary virus has spread to Orissa and what we read about rape of a nun was from the imagination of the Kerala Christian virus. How low these cretins can go to further the conversions was revealed in the fake rapes of the Christian nuns in Orissa. Rape of Sister Jacqueline Mary on 3 February, 1999 was a bogus story by Christian church and the Christian pastor misguided the media. The media headline later declared "Orissa nun raped in moving car,"
Next was "Orissa's second stain: nun raped," shouted
the Indian Express, "Nun gang raped by men in sari in Orissa," hollered The
Telegraph. The village "has become the rallying point of Christians of the
area," the papers proclaimed. “All these rape stories were based on the
statement of a Christian pastor. The statements to the press by the pastor of
the Church highlighted the role of some Hindu fundamentalist organizations.
Electronic media was not far behind. The rape was highlighted as an
anti-Christian attack. Newspapers quoted teachers of a Christian convent school
saying, "A communal conspiracy is suspected to be behind the rape." There indeed
was a conspiracy, and a communal one at that. The whole thing was a conspiracy
by the Christian church. The Christians in India have an agenda to paint Hindus
as communalists on the rampage. The Christians wanted to paint the RSS, BJP etc.
as organizations which are orchestrating a "pogrom".
Investigations revealed that what Sister Mary said in
the FIR was not true, and was a made up story reports Justice Wadhwa.
Investigations found that there was in fact no rape of Sister Mary B. B. Panda,
Director General of Police, stated that the 'rape of the nun' case was projected
and highlighted all over the world and was also projected as an attack on
Christians when in fact it was not true, and the case turned out to be false. It
is the duty of the Government to verify the virginity of this nun and publish a
report and then demand an apology from the Christians of
India.
The Hindus should file a PIL to demand compensation
from the Christian church for the defamation. The second incident occurred on 7
February, 1999. Two children, aged 10 and 19, were found murdered, a third had
sustained injuries. "This incident again attracted a great deal of publicity in
the media, including electronic media," writes Justice Wadhwa.
"Newspapers came up with the headings, 'Two
Christians killed, one injured in Orissa,' '2 tribal Christians done to death in
Kandhamal,' and 'Orissa hunts for Christians' killer'. Additional D. G. P. John
Nayak reportedly said that the communal angle to the attempted rape and murder
could not be ruled out...."
"A certain political party even blamed the State and
Central Governments," Justice Wadhwa recalls, "and stated that the inaction of
the State Government in the Manoharpur missionary killing incident (the killing
of Staines and his sons) and the alleged rape of the nun in Baripada encouraged
miscreants to commit yet another crime in Kandhamal." "In short," he concludes,”
as per various reports that appeared in the newspapers, the incident was taken
as an attack on the Christians. And what turned out to be the truth? "Ultimately
investigation revealed that the crime was committed by a relative of the victims
who was also a Christian," the Commission notes.
The third incident was in mid-March, 1999, Hindus --
a minority in the village -- were pictured as having sparked off Hindu-Christian
clashes in village Ranalai. Christians painted a large Cross on a hillock. Some
Hindus transfigured it into a Trishul. A peace committee consisting of
representatives from both communities decided that there would be neither a
Cross nor a Trishul. Next day, Hindus went and erased the sign. Christians
alleged that while returning, Hindus shouted slogans proclaiming victory.
Tension mounted. While trying to control the situation, a Circle Inspector of
the police was manhandled by Christians. He registered an FIR against three of
them. Houses of Christians were said to have been burned down. Cross-complaints
were filed by Hindus and Christians --each side accusing the other. The
Minorities Commission sent a team, and declared that the genesis of the trouble
lay in BJP men inflaming feelings of the local Hindus and instructing them to
convert the Cross into a Trishul. As for the incidents and tension, it came to
the conclusion it always does: the Hindus had created the
trouble.
Justice Wadhwa observes, "These findings are without
examining any person on oath or receiving evidence on affidavits." The
Minorities Commission had also stigmatized the State Government for inaction.
Justice Wadhwa writes, "When the members of the Minorities Commission visited
the village [within a fortnight of the supposed incidents], normalcy prevailed.
Cases had already been registered against members of both the groups...."
Justice Wadhwa shows that the Minorities Commission proceeded in a manner
that is in manifest violation of its own statute. And he quotes the account
that The Economic Times correspondent filed after visiting the village.
The 22 March, 1999 issue of the paper reported, Justice Wadhwa writes, "that
roots of the Ranalai village incident in Gajapati district of Orissa in which
houses of Christian families were burnt down by Hindu tribals of nearby villages
lie in the economic disparities prevailing between the two communities. The
report further said that tension had been building up since the night of
February 9, when 23 houses of Hindu families were burnt down by criminals
belonging to the Christian community of the nearby Jhami Gaon.... The report
further stated that 'The unfortunate incident was largely unreported and totally
ignored by national and international media'.
"The fourth incident occurred on 8 December,1998.
Tribals attacked the police station at Udaygiri, stormed the jail, dragged two
under trial prisoners out, and lynched them to death in front of the police
station. After that, they burnt houses belonging to members of a particular
caste, Pana. The incident too was projected as a Hindu-Christian encounter. It
was nothing of the kind. The tribals were being harassed by criminals who
happened to be from the Pana caste. The police had been doing nothing. One day
the criminals robbed tribals of all their cash as they were proceeding to seek
employment. That ignited the flash. But a Hindu-Christian clash it became! That
is one lesson, and Justice Wadhwa draws special attention to it: the press
should not rush to conclusions before it has investigated the facts. The facts
he has recorded urge that the caution be made specific: the press should be
particularly wary of going by allegations of
communalism-mongers.
2.2 The Muslims
2.2.1 Karachi bombing highlights growing extremist clout in Pak
E Mail received on 12 November 2010 through [media_monitor5]
Author: AP / Publication: The Pioneer /Date: November 12, 2010.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/
Islamist militants who attacked a police facility in the heart of Pakistan's largest city were attempting to free comrades they believed were detained there, a senior minister said. The coordinated assault late Thursday in Karachi, using a car bomb and guns far from Taliban and al-Qaida heartlands along the Afghan border, showed the ability of militants to strike back despite being hit by U.S. drone strikes and Pakistani army operations.
A gang of around six gunmen managed to penetrate a high-security area of Karachi that is home to the U.S Consulate, two luxury hotels and the offices of regional leaders. They opened fire on the offices of the Crime Investigation Department before detonating a huge car bomb that leveled the building and others nearby. The police offices housed a detention facility that was believed to be holding criminals.
The CID takes the lead in hunting down terrorists in
Karachi. Earlier this week, the agency arrested six members of
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an al-Qaida linked group blamed for several high profile
attacks in recent years. The suspects were presented before a court earlier
Thursday. "The terrorists were well prepared and they had come here to rescue
their associates. But under a strategy, we had not kept those men at this
building. So their plan failed," said Qaim Ali Shah, the chief minister of Sindh
province, of which Karachi is the capital. He did not say how he knew that the
gang were attempting a rescue and not simply attacking the building, the type of
strike that militants in Pakistan have often carried out in the past. He and
other officials have not said whether the attackers escaped or where killed in
the blast, which left a crater 10-feet (3-meter) wide in the floor. Islamist
militants are known to have found shelter among Karachi's 14 million people, and
their have been occasional attacks on Shiite Muslims, whom al-Qaida and the
Taliban believe to be infidels, as well a blast last month at a Sufi shrine. But
the city had largely escaped a wave of violence last year that saw many attacks
in Lahore, Peshawar and other cities.
2.1.2 Blast rocks Karachi; 18 killed, 130 hurt
E Mail received on 12 November 2010 from [media_monitor5]
Publication: The Times of India / Date: November 12, 2010.
KARACHI: At least 18 people were killed and 130 others injured on Thursday when a powerful car bomb destroyed the office of the CID, spearheading the drive against Taliban militants in Pakistan's financial capital near the Sindh chief minister's official residence. The blast occurred at around 8.20pm at the office of the crime investigation department (CID) located in the heart of Karachi at a short distance from the chief minister's residence and several five-star hotels. Police and rescue officials said the bomb exploded in the compound of the CID building after an unsuccessful attempt by some militants to break into the two-storey building that was reduced to rubbles by the blast, with nearby houses and offices also feeling the impact of the powerful explosion. State-run PTV reported that the CID office had been reduced to rubble by the explosion. Most of the dead and injured were police personnel and members of their families, who lived in residential quarters near the CID office. Geo News channel reported that the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had claimed responsibility for the attack. The TTP said their next target was the president's house in Islamabad. "Some 10 policemen have been killed in the attack," the Ary channel said.
The blast left a crater about 40 feet (12 metres) across and 12 feet (four metres) deep in front of the CID building. The explosion was so powerful that its impact was felt some kilometres away on the busy I.I. Chundrigar road with offices reporting broken windows and panes. _._,_
2.1.3 Teen bomber kills 27 soldiers in NW Pakistan
Author: AP / Publication: The Pioneer / Date: February 10, 2011.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/
A teen suicide bomber in a school uniform attacked soldiers during morning exercises at a Pakistani army training camp Thursday, killing 27 troops and wounding 40 others, police and the military said. The attack in the northwest town of Mardan showed that despite years of army operations against their hideouts along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, Taliban and al-Qaida-linked fighters retain the ability to strike back. It was one of the worst attacks on security forces in recent months. Senior police official Abdullah Khan said 27 soldiers died and around 40 were wounded, some critically. Khan said an examination of the body parts at the scene indicated the bomber was a teenage boy, which is a common finding in suicide bombings in Pakistan. Despite his apparent disguise, the bomber's ability to get his explosives into the facility undetected signaled a failure on the part of the military. Such army areas are usually heavily guarded, though an attack on the same training facility in 2006 killed 35 soldiers.
The U.S. has encouraged Pakistan to eliminate the Pakistani Taliban in the belief that the long-term stability of the nuclear-armed Muslim nation is critical to global security. Washington also wants Islamabad to take out militants who focus on fighting the U.S. and NATO in Afghanistan but who have bases on Pakistani soil, in particular in the North Waziristan tribal region. But Pakistan has yet to mount an offensive in that area. In North Waziristan on Thursday, the bullet-riddled bodies of two tribal police officials and a villager were discovered along an open road near the town of Mir Ali, a militant stronghold. A note attacked to the bodies accused them of acting as spies for the U.S., resident Asif Iqbal said.
Intelligence officials said the three men had been kidnapped in January. Their bodies showed signs of torture, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media. Militants have killed numerous North Waziristan residents after accusing them of spying. The killings are often linked to allegations that local residents are providing intelligence on militants that helps the U.S. launch missile strikes in the area._
2.1.4 Capt Saurabh Kalia's torture by Pak army still not 'war crime'
E Mail received from [media_monitor5] on 11 June 2010
Author: Anand Bodh / Publication: The Times of India / Date: June 9, 2010
On June 9, 1999, NK Kalia had received the body of his son - Captain Saurabh Kalia - with evidence of torture by the Pakistan Army. Eleven years later, 62-year-old Kalia is still fighting for justice - he wants the act to be declared a war crime by the UN.
However, numerous letters to the Centre have failed to move the government to pursue the matter with the world body. Five other soldiers were tortured and killed along with Capt Kalia. "I am ashamed of being an Indian. The country has spineless leaders," said Kalia.
"In order to declare a war crime, the ministry of defence needs to write to the ministry of external affairs, which then takes up the matter with the UN Human Rights Council. The council then refers the matter to the General Assembly, which can declare war crime. It then goes to the international court of justice. It is the ministry of external affairs that did not follow up the case with the UN," says Colonel (retd) SK Aggarwal, former judge advocate general (JAG) officer. Pakistan army had captured Captain Saurabh Kalia of 4 Jat Regiment and five other soldiers on May 15, 1999 from Kaksar area of Kargil sector. They were kept in captivity for over 22 days and subjected to unprecedented torture as evident from their bodies. The bodies were handed over to India on June 9, 1999.
Moved by the torture meted out to his son by Pakistan army, Kalia launched a struggle to declare the act a war crime. Kalia wrote series of letter to then Minister for External Affairs Jaswant Singh.
Our comment- Jaswant Singh is the same person who recently praised Jinnah to the hilt!! What do we expect from him?
2.1.5 Lift veil for voter ID, SC tells burqa-clad
women
On 22 January 2010 we received the following Mail from Gaurang Desai in America
Dhananjay Mahapatra , TNN / January 23, 2010
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has said that burqa-clad women cannot be issued voter identity cards, rejecting the argument that religion prohibits. Counsel for petitioner M Ajam Khan had contended that asking `purdah-nashin' women to lift their veil for being photographed would amount to sacrilege as their photographs would be seen by many men working as polling agents and electoral officials.
"It will hurt their religious sentiments and the Election Commission must not insist on `purdah-nashin' women to be photographed for inclusion of their name in the electoral rolls," said the counsel arguing before a Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice Deepak Verma.
The order comes at a time when a controversy triggered by the ban on full-length burqas has roiled France, attracting protests from clerics. The argument put forward on behalf of petitioners failed to impress the court. The Bench said: "If you have such strong religious sentiments, and do not want to be seen by members of public, then do not go to vote. You cannot go with burqa to vote. It will create complications in identification of voters."
Referring to the Madras High Court order upholding the EC's insistence for a photograph without veils, the Bench said that the elections have been conducted without staying the HC order and that those who do not comply with rules on voter identification not be allowed to vote.
Appearing for the EC, counsel Meenakshi Arora said though electoral rolls were being prepared as per the judgment of the HC, it would be better if the SC gave a verdict that would help reach a closure on the issue.
When the petitioners again insisted on protection of religious sentiments, the Bench said: "The photograph is for identification of a voter. If someone comes to vote in a burqa and the photograph was also taken with veil covering the face, how would anyone identify the voter?"
Explaining that right to vote was only a statutory right and not a fundamental right, the Bench said: "Right to contest an election is an extension of the right to vote. Can anyone contest an election saying photograph of her face be not taken? Can she be photographed in a burqa with a veil and yet contest an election?"
Though the Bench made its mind absolutely clear, it agreed to a detailed hearing on the issue at a later date.
The Madras High Court had in a 2006 verdict held that faith and practice were on two different planes, saying there was nothing wrong on the part of the EC to insist on a photograph of the face of a `purdah-nashin' woman for the purpose of preparing electoral rolls.__.___
2.1.6 Supreme Court upholds life term for man who killed woman over burqa
E Mail received from: [media_monitor5] on 2 September 2010
Author: Dhananjay Mahapatra
Publication: The Times of India/ Date: August 31, 2010
Taking a serious view of moral policing over enforcement of burqa turning brutal, the Supreme Court has upheld life term to a man who slashed a woman repeatedly resulting in her death.
The enforcement of burqa by force happened in Annu Nagar in Bhopal in December 1997. Zarina was sitting outside her house and was rolling beedis when the accused, Rafiq Khan, came and objected to her being without a burqa. He offered her money to buy one. She refused to take the money and asked him to mind his own business. This enraged Khan. He picked up a knife and slashed and stabbed her repeatedly in front of her minor daughter Farida. Zarina died of the injuries.
Challenging the conviction and life term before the apex court, Khan had pleaded that Farida was a minor and her testimony could not be relied upon. But a Bench comprising Justices H S Bedi and C K Prasad said the girl was 13 years old and understood what the accused was up to.
The next line of defence put up by Khan for a lenient sentence was that there was no previous enmity between him and the deceased and that it happened on the spur of the moment. Arguing for the state of Madhya Pradesh, Counsel Vibha Datta Makhija said it was a clear case of enforcing burqa code and the accused did not deserve any leniency. Agreeing with the counsel, the Bench said, "It appears that the appellant was doing a bit of moral policing and compelling her to wear a burqa and on her refusal to do so, had got infuriated and picked up a knife and caused 13 injuries with it."
On 4 November 2010 Michael Seamark reported for the Daily Mail
A judge was subjected to a tirade of abuse in his own courtroom yesterday as he jailed an Al Qaeda-inspired Muslim woman for attempting to assassinate an MP.
Islamist protesters harangued Mr Justice Cooke from the public gallery at the Old Bailey, shouting 'Allahu akbar' ('God is great'), 'British go to hell' and 'Curse the judge'.
Someone who wants the British to go to hell must not consider himself British.
The outbursts came as Roshonara Choudhry, 21, was sentenced to life imprisonment for stabbing former minister Stephen Timms. Choudhry smiled broadly as the judge told her: 'You said you ruined the rest of your life. You said it was worth it. You said you wanted to be a martyr.'
Outside, a second group demonstrated as the judge told the high-flying student - who stabbed the politician twice in the stomach as 'punishment' for voting for the Iraq invasion - that she must serve at least 15 years behind bars.
The chaotic scenes unfolded as Home Secretary Theresa
May dramatically revealed that the Al Qaeda gang behind last week's
'Lockerbie-style' cargo plane bomb plot are already working in the
UK.
2.1.8 Saudis Call to Demolish Birthplace of the Prophet and other Sacred Islamic Sites
Oct 31, 2010 / http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=
(AhlulBayt News Agency) - The Saudi Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice called to demolish seven sacred sites under the pretext that they are used as grave-worshipping (practices contrary to Wahabbi interpretation of Islam) which is discouraged in Saudi Arabia .
Most prominent Wahhabi clerics support this call alleging that the visit of graves and other holy shrines and sites, is a kind of atheism (Shirk).
The (CPVPV) calls to:
1- Demolish the Birthplace of the Prophet.
2- Demolish the grave of Amina bint Wahb, the Prophet's mother
2- Enclose the holy mountain Jabal Al Rahma, (the mountain of mercy), in the plain of Arafat outside Mecca. The pilgrims go to Mount Arafat for the culmination of the hajj, symbolizing the final judgment at the scene of Muhammad's last sermon 14 centuries ago.
3- Enclose Jabal-al-noor (the mountain of light) where the Prophet Muhammad received his first revelation from God on this mountain.
4- Put ban on entrance to the graveyard al-Mu'alla in Mecca which includes the grave of Sayyida Khadija bint Khuwailid, the wife of the Prophet Muhammad .
5- Put ban on entrance to the graveyard of Maimoona which includes the grave of (Maimoona), the last wife of the Prophet Muhammad .
6- Change the name of the Graveyard of Eve
7- Demolish the Mosque of bai'a in
Mecca.
Our Note – we welcome this
news.
2.1.9 Allah oh Akbar
Capitulating to Muslims in the West continues unchecked.
(1). Recently, Godbole went to see a friend in Royal Brompton Hospital, London. The menu for patients read – all lamb and chicken are Halal meat!!
So, even if there are no Muslims in the hospital, the
meat must be Halal – what a logic!
(2). In Bedford hospital you cannot go for a blood
test on Fridays – it is Muslim day of prayer.
(3) In Bedford Hospital (south wing) there is one prayer room for Muslims and another for Christians, but NOT for Hindus.