INDIAN INSTITUTE
FOR RESEARCH INTO TRUE HISTORY
NEWSLETTER NO.
60 OF 16 OCTOBER 2011
1. NEWS AND
CURRENT AFFAIRS
1.1
Osama Bin Laden
On 2 May 2011, American special forces killed the notorious
Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad, a garrison town 50 km (30 miles) northwest of
Islamabad, capital of Pakistan. Bin Laden is believed to have lived in the
large house for up to six years. Pakistani officials have denied knowing he was
there but have criticized the American raid ordered by President Barack Obama
as a violation of their
country's sovereignty. Some interesting questions -
* How could Osama bin Laden's presence go undetected for six years in a garrison town that is home to three regimental headquarters and a military academy?
* How could US helicopters carry out their raid underneath the noses of Pakistan?
> Americans carried out this attack because of their interests, not for Hindusthan.
We should be concerned at such lawlessness practised by America. They can carry out such killings in any other country. US President openly said, “We would do it again if required.”
It had some repercussions in Pakistan.
On 13 May a pair of suicide bombers attacked recruits
leaving a paramilitary training centre in Charsadda, north of Peshawar, killing
80 people in an especially deadly strike that the Pakistani Taliban claimed it
carried out to avenge the killing of Osama bin Laden (on 2 May). The blasts
were a reminder of the savagery of al-Qaida linked militants in Pakistan. They
occurred even as the country faces international suspicion that elements within
its security forces may have been harboring Bin Laden.
"We have done this to avenge the Abbottabad incident," Ahsanullah Ahsan,
a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, told The Associated Press in a phone
call.
The bombers blew themselves up at the main gate of the facility for the Frontier
Constabulary. Sixty-six of the dead were recruits, said police officer Liaqat
Ali Khan. The scene of the blast was littered with shards of glass mixed with
blood and human flesh. The explosions destroyed at least 10 vans the recruits
were
boarding to go home for a break at the end of a recent training session. Khan
said at least 80 people died in the attack, while around 120 were wounded.
How is it the military failed to protect its own recruits, 66 of whom were
among over 80 who died in two suicide bombings?
* Second incidence took place on 26 May. A suicide bomber killed 24 people. He set off explosives outside a police station in the northwestern town of Hangu a day after a similar attack destroyed a police station in the city of Peshawar.... Pakistani Taliban militants, allied with al Qaeda, claimed responsibility.
1.2 Centenary of Savarkar in Andaman – 4 July 2011
Veer Savarkar
entered the cellular jail in Andaman Island on 4 July 1911 to serve his 50
years of Transportation. Godbole had sent reminders of this event to all his
friends. We have to ask ourselves, “What are we doing today in his memory?”
Godbole is
in the process of revising Savarkar’s book My Transportation for Life.
It was written by Savarkar in 1927 in Marathi, banned by the British in 1934. After
Indian independence it was translated into English in 1949 and published. But
it has many faults. Moreover, extensive footnotes and explanations are needed
so that today’s generation can understand the events and greatness of Savarkar.
1.3 Karachi on the boil by Anita Joshua
On 20 August 2011 we received the following E Mail from Sanjeevan Nayyar
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article2370349.ece?homepage=true
…………. For well over a month now, Pakistan's largest city
and commercial capital (Karachi) has been on the boil, with 318 people
killed in July alone. And, 1,138 people killed in the first six months
of this year. …….. the brunt of what is described as “organised warfare” has been felt most in the poorer quarters of
the city. …. in this seemingly never-ending turf war among the Muttahida Qaumi
Movement (MQM), the Awami National Party (ANP) and the Pakistan People's Party
(PPP). Though there was a time when the MQM — representing the Urdu-speaking
populace which had migrated to Karachi and Hyderabad (Sindh) following
Partition — was identified with much of the violence, today nobody can quite
say who the biggest villain is, as all are equally culpable.
What is worse is the extent of the ethnic rivalry.
Increasingly, there are reports of one community barring people from the
other from being treated in hospitals, burying their dead or sending their
children to school in its areas. When violence peaks, such is the level of
ethnic profiling that an innocent bystander's attire could get him into
trouble, with the Urdu-speaker identified by his trousers and the Pashtun by
his salwar kameez.
While the Sindhi population halved from 14.32 per cent in
1951 to 7.22 in 1998, the Pushto-speakers have more than tripled from 3.39 to
11.42 per cent. And, this demographic shift is said to have got further
consolidated since 1998 with the usual migration that any city attracts,
compounded by the displacement of Pashtuns from the tribal areas
While politicians play out their games of survival in the
multiethnic city of 17 million people, the writ of the state is nowhere to be
seen. Its absence, says Ms Shaukat, works for everybody. “For rangers and
security agencies to continue to dominate the city; for mafias to continue to
maintain a presence in the city offering people protection from rival groups. This
may also explain the deep divisions among various ethnicities, communities and
followers of religious sects. We have a state that is not interested in
integration, and we have mafias whose interest lies in deepening the wedge
between various groups/ communities.”
Our comment – But we were always told by likes of Dr
Ambedkar that Islam is a wonderful religion and all Muslims are equal. So, why
the conflicts?
B Kisan sent us the following Mail on 20 August 2011
A young teen boy, indoctrinated in a Taliban-run
madrassah, detonated his bomb in the midst of Jama Masjid prayers,
killing 55 and injuring another 80 or more.
Such attacks are so commonplace and seemingly mundane that
they don't make top stories of the BBC News website nor even the top 10 read
stories. People just shrug their shoulders and repeat ad-infinitum the familiar
chorus that “he couldn't have been a Muslim” to do this. The bomber was
indeed a Muslim boy, apparently 15 years old, indoctrinated by Muslims
and it was precisely his Islamic indoctrination that programmed him to commit
this atrocity.
The Muslim worshippers blown to pieces in this
mosque-attack were apparently from a tribe working against the Taliban in the area. The
Kokikhel tribe has recently formed a “Lashkar” (Anti-Taliban militia) against
growing Islamic militancy in their area. The Taliban frequently attack the
tribal Lashkar, who are supported by government. So the Taliban used the Friday
prayer congregation in the biggest mosque in town as an opportunity to inflict
maximum casualties to members of a tribe that oppose them. The Taliban found
nothing in Islamic teachings to stop them from committing it. Didn't they think
that Islam is against Terror as apologists and the naive parrot day in day out,
in particular after the latest terrorist atrocity done precisely in the name of
Islam?
Of course not! The Taliban are learned scholars of Islam
trained in Madrassahs, which train students exclusively in the Quran, Hadiths
and Islamic Law. The very name Taliban means “students of Islamic learning”.
The Taliban know Islam well; that Islam counsels terror as
its modus operandi. Terrorising
enemies of Allah is commanded by the Quran (8:60):
Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your
power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into (the hearts
of) the enemies, of Allah and your enemies. And this modus operandi was
employed by the early Muslims under Muhammad’s command, and has continued to
bear fruits to this day – thanks to the fact that it is a command by Allah,
enshrined in his Quran, to remain in effect for all eternity.
"I have been made victorious with
terror" says the Prophet of Islam, and indeed he had. The
Taliban are following the dictates of the Quran to fight for establishing the dictatorship of Islamic
laws: And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there
prevail justice and faith in Allah altogether and everywhere. (8:39)
All law and rule not based on Sharia are considered “tumult
and oppression” by Islamic definition and fighting is commanded forever against
such governance, even against nominal Muslims who fail to completely implement
the Sharia. Such Muslims are cursed in the Quran as munafiqoon or hypocrites,
the so-called moderate Muslims who fail to fully implement Sharia or go for
Jihad against non-believers. The Quran asks Allah to "slay the
Munafiqoon", strange seeing as Allah is supposedly the author of the
Quran:
[Munafiqoon 63:4] And when you see them, their appearance
would please you; and when they speak, you would listen carefully to their
speech; like wooden blocks propped against the wall; they assume every cry to
be against them; they are the enemy, so beware of them; may Allah slay
them! Where are they reverting!
So the supremacist teachings of Islam do in fact inspire
the kind of terror that the Taliban perpetrate, and there is nothing strange
about atrocities, such as blowing up of Mosques, full of praying Muslims, who
are not fully submitting to Islamic Sharia and thus becoming munafiqoon in the
eyes of the fully devoted and indoctrinated Muslims (Taliban).
So, it’s easy to understand now why the Taliban can send an
indoctrinated 15-year-old boy to blow up a Jama Masjid.
As devout
Muslims continues to wreak havoc upon innocent people, it is high time for the
nominal (moderate) Muslims with civilized conscience, who have reservations /
doubts about Islam, to study Islamic texts carefully to understand what Islam
truly stands for and consider whether it is worth embracing it as their faith,
their guide to life.
Our
comment – the reason for blowing up is simple – they were NOT true Muslims and
Koran orders them to be killed. This has happened many times in past several
centuries. If only we open our eyes.
1.5 Long live Manmohan Singh - India resumes talks
with Pakistan despite proof of Pakistan army, ISI role in 26/11 attack on
Mumbai
Author: Sandeep Unnithan / Publication: India Today / Date: April 25, 2011
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/story/2611-mumbai-terror-attacks-india-resumes-talks-with-pak-despite-evidence-of-army-isi-involvement/1/135379.html
India is set to continue its talks with Pakistan despite mounting evidence of
the army-ISI establishment role in planning and assisting the 26/11 attacks. In
late May, defence
secretary Pradeep Kumar is to head a defence ministry delegation to Islamabad to discuss the
contentious issue of the Siachen glacier. Kumar's visit is the third phase of
secretary level talks between the two sides and a resumption of the composite
dialogue stalled by the 26/11 strike. Earlier talks involved the home and
foreign secretaries of both sides.
The latest revelation came from one of the 26/11 co-conspirators, Tahawwur
Hussain Rana. The Pakistani-Canadian, accused in the attacks that killed 168
people, told a US district court that he worked on behalf of Pakistan's Inter
Services Intelligence (ISI).
Rana sought immunity from prosecution by arguing that he was acting in the
interest of one state against another. The Illinois court rejected his plea
saying he had not acted at the behest of the US government. Rana's revelations
come at a time when India and Pakistan are repairing their relationship post
the terrorist attacks. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh broke the ice with his
counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani in Thimphu last April. The bonhomie turned into
cricket diplomacy through the India-Pakistan cricket semi-finals in Mohali last
month. This is despite Pakistan's strident inaction on tackling terrorism
emanating from its soil, a precursor to resuming the composite dialogue that
was stalled following the 26/11 attacks. Since then, Pakistan has not responded
to multiple dossiers submitted by India's home ministry nor handed over the
voice samples of LeT leaders Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, Zarar Shah and Abu al-Qama
(that would allow India to link them as the voices instigating the 26/11
suicide terrorists). India is exploring options of sending a letter
rogatory (a formal request from a court to a foreign court) naming the
Lashkar-e-Toiba. The letter rogatory is to be sent to the Pakistani
anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi's Adiala jail which is trying the seven
26/11 suspects, including Zakiur Rahman Lakhvi. The trial which began in 2009
has been marred by delays. "There is an international responsibility to
cooperate to bring the perpetrators to justice and Pakistan has a special
responsibility to do so transparently and urgently," US State Department
spokesman Mark Toner told media. Says G. Parthasarathy, former high
commissioner to Islamabad, "The Prime Minister seems to have a Pakistan
dialogue fixation and is prepared to ignore Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. This
surrender to Pakistan is a betrayal of all those who died in the Mumbai terror
attacks."
It is a conundrum that the security establishment has long wrestled with in a
decade of terrorist attacks in the Indian hinterland that began with the 2001
strike on Parliament. "If we talk to Pakistan, there are attacks, if we
don't talk to them, there are attacks. In both situations, they are able to
perpetrate violence," says an intelligence official. Security analysts say
that by talking to Pakistan, India is weakening its own case. "Pakistan is
culpable for the Mumbai terror attacks, we are culpable for letting Pakistan
off the hook," says Brahma Chellaney, professor of strategic studies at
the Centre for Policy Research.
More unpleasant revelations of the Pakistani establishment's involvement are
likely to emerge when Rana's trial begins in Illinois on May 16. Rana owned an
immigration business in Chicago. He has been charged on counts of providing
material support to foreign terrorist organizations like the LeT in connection
with the 26/11 attacks and a plot to attack the building of the Jyllands-Posten
newspaper that published cartoons of Prophet Mohammed in Denmark. The FBI's star
witness in this case is David Coleman Headley aka Daood Gilani, who is now
expected to testify against his former accomplice Rana.
Nothing that Rana told the Illinois district court could have come as a
surprise to Indian investigators. Last June, Headley told National
Investigation Agency (NIA) sleuths that the 26/11 attacks were possible only
with the "complete support" of the ISI. Headley's meticulous and
methodical hostile reconnaissance of the five targets was crucial to the success
of the 26/11 attacks. Speaking in the course of a 34-hour interrogation spread
over a week in New York last June, Headley revealed that every major Lashkar
operation was supervised by the ISI.
The money used by Headley for his reconnaissance mission in India-he set up an
office called First World Immigration Services in Mumbai-was provided by Major
Iqbal of the ISI. According to Headley, every important member of the LeT was
handled by one or more ISI member (he was handled by Major Iqbal and Major
Samir Ali). After 26/11, ISI head Lieutenant-General Shuja Pasha met Lakhvi to
understand the conspiracy. As part of
his undercover work, Headley entered Mumbai in 2006 and made a total of nine
trips to India and kept returning to Pakistan to meet senior LeT operatives.
Rana flew into Mumbai just five days before 26/11. Headley was finally arrested
by the FBI on October 3, 2009. Rana was arrested a fortnight later.
Our comments – what can we expect when every single Rupee note bears picture
of Gandhi? And yet we have many of our friends admiring Manmohan Singh’s
degrees and awards.
1.6 It is our folly to call them ‘Eminent Historians’
In October 2010, an article by Konerad Elst (of
Belgium) was in circulation. It was written after the Allahabad High Court
decision on Ayodhya. He criticises the position of left wing Historians like
Romilla Thaper and calls them ‘Eminent Historians’.
On Monday, 11 October, 2010, Godbole asked, “Why do you call them Eminent Historians? They are rogues. “
One person named Arjun replied –
I didn’t write the article but Koenraad Elst did. Eminent has become a dirty word in the Indian context since these 'eminent' historians were exposed in Arun Shouries book : 'Eminent Historians: Their Technology, Their Line, Their Fraud ' discusses the NCERT controversy in Indian politics and attacks Marxist historiography. Arun Shourie asserts that Marxist historians have controlled and misused important institutions like the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), the National Council of Educational Research Training (NCERT) and a large part of academia and the media. He criticizes well-known historians like Romila Thapar and Irfan Habib. Shourie argues that Marxist historians have white-washed the records of rulers like Mahmud of Ghazni and Aurangzeb. Shourie presents examples to further his argument of how many of these text books describe in great detail foreign personalities like Karl Marx or Stalin, while they often barely mention important figures of India or of the Indian states."
History of India" (1973) is according to Shourie much more objective and truthful than the history books written by the Indian Marxists.
* Godbole replied, “Your E Mail will be read all over the world. You could have simply said - left wing historians - that would be the proper description. You could even say - mentally bankrupt Indian Historians. We can even say – (so called) Historians. We are elevating those rogues by calling them Eminent Historians.”
Arjun wrote: “What I don’t get is how these 'eminent' historians like Romilla Thapars get away with their fraud but instead are given world recognition and honor for openly distorting history and creating and promoting fantasies of 'Hindutva Fascism.”
Our
comment – Dear! Oh dear!! Even after our contacts of 300 years with the British
we still do not know their mentality. They will honour likes of Romilla Thapar because
those historians cause maximum damage to the Hindu people.
1.7 Current Research. – Taj Mahal
In 1985, four firmans (orders) of Shahjahan to Raja Jaisingh were discovered in Bikaner (Rajasthan Govt Archives). Suddenly our opponents were euphoric and shouted that this proved Shahjahan built Taj Mahal.
Unfortunately they were not effectively silenced by P N Oak or his followers. Now, Godbole has done this. Very briefly the explanation is as follows --
Shahjahan returned to Agra on 1st Zi-il-Hijja 1041 A.H. i.e. 13 days later than the death anniversary of Mumtaz. And yet on arrival at Agra he celebrated that day with un-common enthusiasm. The reason being that under the pretext of burying Mumtaz he obtained fabulous palace of (late) Raja Mansingh, full of gold and silver. He looted all the gold and silver over next six years.
Yet he realized a serious blunder. He had sent coffin of Mumtaz with Prince Shah Shuja to Agra and got Raja Jaisingh to vacate Raja Mansingh’s palace. But Shah Shuja merely put the coffin in what is today known as the Cenotaph chamber. Underneath which lies a huge marble plinth 300 x 300 x 19 ft with large apartments. So, Shahjahan had to close the apartments for which he urgently needed marble. He came to Agra in June 1632. He issued first firman for marble on 20 September 1632 and another one on 3 February 1633.
July / August/ September / October are months of heavy rain in Agra. That explains everything. For full details please visit Dr Bedekar’s web-site www.satyashodh.com. In view of this revelation Godbole has modified the PowerPoint presentations on Taj Mahal CD.
1.8 Why do we always grumble?
During recent E Mail exchanges Godbole argued, “It's time we stopped moaning and looked at our failings.”
1.8.1
Taj Mahal
In 1980, two letters exposing the falsity of the Taj Legend were published by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in their monthly Journal. One by P N Oak and other one by me (Godbole).
I (Godbole) did send copies of these letters to Archaeological Survey of India and asked them to respond. Of course, they could not challenge our letters nor could they openly say that the Taj Legend was false. However, in 1982, they published a booklet entitled Taj Museum. In it they say, “Mumtaz died at Burhanpur and was buried there. After six months her body was exhumed and sent to Agra. On that site, till then stood late Raja Mansingh's Palace.” It is a clear cut confession that what we now call Taj Mahal is in fact Raja Mansingh's Palace.
And who are the authors? Ziauddin Ahmad Desai and Kaul.
Why did we fail to take advantage of this booklet? And oh yes, it was in the days of Indira Gandhi!!!
1.8.2 RSS and Indira’s Emergency
During the Emergency of Indira Gandhi, Government of India (GOI) published four booklets condemning the RSS and these were widely circulated by GOI all over the world. A friend of mine in London told me about it and sent me copies of the same. To my surprise, the RSS (HSS) chief in U.K. was unaware of these leaflets. When I told him about them he requested me copies.
“What will you do now?”
“Oh, we will keep in our library” - was the answer.
The chief would not even spread the word to all RSS workers throughout the world about vicious deeds of Indira Gandhi.
It is no secret that RSS was largely responsible for victory of Janata Government.
And yet RSS failed to produce booklets from Government of India praising them when Janata Government came to power. WHY BLAME OTHERS?
1.8.3
Savarkar
8 July 2010 marked centenary of Veer Savarkar's daring attempt of escape at the French port of Marseilles. Godbole had requested all his contacts to come to Marseilles and pay homage to Savarkar on that day. How many came from Sangha Parivar in Britain? Three. And even they did not tell Godbole that they were coming. BJP still has some 169 M. Ps in Indian Parliament. How many of them came? NONE. But Advani and Jaswant Singh praised Jinnah to the hilt. Moreover, at the same time, our beloved A B Bajpayee did remember to send a chaddar to Ajmer Dargah.
1.8.4
We must play the game of our enemies
It is well known that Muslims and Christians are using Hindu names to fool Hindus. Through E Mail one person commented – “Is it an exaggerated propaganda by the Christian Council as if they are saints and do not indulge in killings of innocents? Why should these Christians masquerade around in Hindu names as Madhu Chandra, Vidya Bhushan Rawat or Anil Chamadia?” (There are many others like P Chindabaram, Digvijay Singh)
Godbole wrote – “Why do we always blame Muslims and Christians? We can play the same game. Mohan Gupta can become Mohammed G, Anil Bhanot can be Ahmad B. The possibilities are endless.”
One man replied, “I will never assume Muslim or Christian name even if I was to die.”
Godbole replied, “Then you will die. We have to match the craftiness of our arch enemies, otherwise we cannot survive. Actor Dilip Kular is well known Muslim Yusuf.”
1.8.5
Taj Mahal and Freedom of information Act
During E Mail exchanges some had quoted examples of Hindu origins of Taj Mahal being discovered and the evidence hidden away. On Thursday 17/2/11,
S
Kumar wrote, “During Indira Gandhi's time, a vertical marble slab got loosened
while removing the slab for repairing, several idols of Hindu Gods and other
artifacts tumbled out. The matter was reported to PM by Director of
Archeology!! It was hushed up and PM instructed to put back these in the hollow
and fix the slab back in position!!
H K Bhargava wrote - Both JL Nehru and Indira Gandhi knew about the truth of
Tajmahal and its Hindu origins, but they made sure to hide the facts from
public. Knowing the Muslim backgrounds of both of them, we can understand their
reasons for hiding the truth from Public. Atal Behari Vajpayee should have
known this, but what was his reason for sleeping over it, is a mystery. Perhaps
he was advised by the "implants in his cabinet" that disclosing these
facts will have Muslim repercussions.
As expected, the next day our friend Gaurang Desai from America wrote - “Don't
expect everything to be done in one term with a coalition govt. We need to be
practical and pragmatic.”
Godbole commented, “Can we use freedom of information Act to get correspondence
between ASI and Nehru and Indira Gandhi?”
This was met with dead silence.
So, my friends, stop blaming others and improve our own behaviour.
As they say in Sanskrit - Atmai va hi atmano banduh / Atmevahi ripuratmnah.
We are our worst enemies.
PTI, April 5, 2011
LONDON:
Several Indian professionals will be adversely affected by Britain's new immigration rules that come into effect on Wednesday as part of the David Cameron government's efforts to reduce migration from non-European Union countries. The new immigration regime includes tighter rules for students, limits on skilled professionals and new restrictions on the settlement of migrants who are already in Britain.
The HSMP Forum, a campaign group espousing the cause of Indian and other non-EU migrants, on Tuesday said the new restrictions on migrants already in Britain will cause considerable problems for Indian and other non-EU professionals. Indian professionals already in Britain will face retrospective changes to their visa status from Wednesday, including a higher level of salary necessary for their continuing stay, and the stipulation that any application for settlement should be free of any convictions, including fines for driving offences imposed by a court.
Ravi Kumar Oruganti, an IT consultant who moved to Britain in 2007, was convicted for traffic offence in February 2011 and a court fine after he accidentally hit a lamppost. Although he was eligible for settlement (indefinite leave to remain), in a year's time, he would no longer be eligible under the new rules. He said, "According to the new rules, I will not qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain until 2016 because the unspent conviction falls within the criminality threshold. I am very much depressed by these new changes, which are being applied retrospectively. I strongly feel it is unfair to change the rules for existing migrants. It causes great misery and uncertainty to hard working people like me who contribute so much to the UK economy yet live in the constant fear of a last minute change."
The HSMP Forum wrote to immigration minister Damian Green earlier urging him for a rethink on the proposed changes. The Forum said the changes were announced even though the Government's own Migration Advisory Committee was reluctant to suggest retrospective changes for migrants already in the UK.
The Forum said that applying the rules retrospectively meant that many migrants coming from India and other non-EU countries will be deprived of their right to settlement even after fulfilling the rules under which they entered the country.
>> Strange enough, on the other hand, Britain has become a heaven of murderers because of the Human Rights legislation. Murderers confess to their crimes but say, “You can’t send me back to my country because I will he hanged and that is against my human rights.” Here is a recent case (British papers 26 September 2011)
Home Secretary Theresa May came under pressure today to ban a freed 21/7 terrorist from London. Siraj Yassin Abdullah Ali helped five would be bombers as they planned an attack in the capital two weeks after the 7/7 atrocities in 2005. The 35 year old was today at the centre of public fury after it emerged he has been released after serving half his nine-year sentence – but cannot be deported because it would breach his human rights. ….. Ali, originally from Eritrea cannot be returned there after a judge ruled he would face “inhuman treatment or punishment.”
Kamal Malhotra sent us following E Mail on 12 June 2010
http://www.expressindia.com/story_print.php?storyId=632455
Jammu Pilgrimage to Vaishnodevi and Amarnath shrines will be costlier from July this year. Jammu and Kashmir government today said Rs 2,000 would be charged as entry fee per vehicle carrying pilgrims to the cave shrines of Mata Vaishnodevi and Amarnath for a period of 3 days.
According to a notification issued by the government under Jammu and Kashnir Motor Vehicle Taxation Act, 1957, the vehicles carrying passengers to Mata Vaishnodevi Yatra would be charged Rs 2,000 at entry point for a period of 3 days and after that Rs 2,000 will be charged per day. Similarly, the vehicles carrying people for Amarnath Yatra will be charges Rs 2,000 at the entry point for a period of 7 days and after 7 days Rs 2,000 would be charged per day.
The forthcoming annual Amarnath yatra starts from July one this year.
Our comments – But we Hindus do not mind. There were
hardly any protests.
2. AROUND LONDON TOUR
OF PLACES ASSOCIATED WITH INDIAN FREEDOM FIGHTERS
2.1 Godbole
conducted four tours as below -
20 July 2011 / Ravi Gajendragadkar, his mother and Prof Moharir and his wife of New Delhi participated.
6 August 2011 / All of a sudden 19 people turned up. 11 of them aged around 30. The weather was nice. Works on London Underground caused some problems, but we managed the tour and completed it by 19:30 hrs
28 August 2011 (Sunday)
This was conducted at special request of Sarthak Shinde of Sheffield. Three students from Luton University also attended. There were 10 others making a total of 14. All aged around 30.
24 September 2011 (Saturday)
This was conducted at the request of Kiran Khamkar, an IT Engineer from Milton Keynes. 13 people attended. One came all the way from Ipswich. 10 of them being under age of 30.
2.2 Special London Tour – part II
After the tour of 28 August, Pratima Jaiswal, a student of Luton University said,
“Mr. Godbole, can you show us the places we could not visit?” This was agreed and on 5 September Godbole, Pratima Jaiswal and Bimal Vijay visited the following places –
No. 23 Aldridge
Villas, London W11
Sardar Vallabhabhai Patel lived here when he studied Law (1910-1913) and became a Barrister from Middle Temple.
Madanlal Dhingra once lived here. His landlady was Mrs Harris
* Tilak lived in a house on Talbot Road. That house no longer exits.
(Carry along Ledbury Road – left turn – Pembridge Villas – take bus to Notting Hill Gate station – toilets at exit number 3)
The Imperial College of Science and Technology (formerly the Imperial
Institute), Imperial Institute Road, London S.W 7
(Public toilets – Science Museum which is open 10:00 to 18:00 hrs. There are toilets in college as well)
This is the place where Dhingra shot Sir Curzon Wyllie in 1909.
Imperial College - In 1909, foundation stone was laid by King Edward VII, just seven days after assassination of Wyllie. This is what was called British stiff upper lip.
No. 10 Onslow Square, London S.W 7
This was the house of Sir Curzon Wyllie. Some one has purchased houses numbered 10 and 12 and removed number plates. Still house number 8 has a number plate.
St Paul’s Church, London S.W.7
Memorial service for Wyllie was held before his burial in Richmond Cemetery
Brixton Prison, London S.W.2
(Out of Brixton tube station – turn left – at the Bus stop enquire which bus will go to Brixton Prison)
Madanlal Dhingra (1909) and Savarkar (1910) were kept here.
Houses of British Parliament, London S.W.1
Looking at Big Ben turn right – Cannon Row – used to house a Police station.
When the High Court decided that Savarkar should be sent to Bombay to stand trial Police escorted him along the road in front of us – pier at Westminster - river Thames – boat to Tilbury – s.s Moria
Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which was the former India Office of
the Secretary of State for India. London S.W.1
You see the Cenotaph in the centre of Whitehall. This is the British memorial to the soldiers who died during World Wars I and II and other conflicts afterwards. There is a memorial nearby in black stone in appreciation of the contribution made by British women during Second World War. Turn left into King Charles St. The building on the right is Foreign and Commonwealth Office. This was the India Office till 1947. It is open to public once a year on a week-end in July.
After his arrest at London (Victoria) Savarkar was held in Police custody overnight and brought in front of the Magistrate next day.
See the Royal British Insignia still intact. Also observe the symbols of Indian civilization in various circular discs – like the Peacock, Rising Sun and Swastikas.
Above the three Lions we can see India in centre, Bharat (in Devanagri) on the right and Hindosta in Urdu on the left.
No 13 Well Walk, Hampstead, London N.W.3
(Hampstead station is 192 ft deep. Out of the station – turn left and
then first left – the alleyway is called Flask walk – walk along till you come
to Well Walk. Follow the road to number 13)
Hyndman, a Socialist sympathiser of Indian freedom struggle lived here
(1842-1921). There is a memorial plaque on the house. Hyndman, the son
of a wealthy businessman studied at Trinity College, Cambridge and obtained a
degree in 1861. In 1866 went to Italy to witness the war of liberation from
Austrians. He was correspondent for Pall Mall Gazette. In 1905 he inaugurated
65 Cromwell Avenue as India House (where Savarkar lived during 1906-09). He
also met Tilak during 1918-19. His paper Justice was banned by British
Rulers in India in 1910. They banned not only future issues but all past issues
as well!
Hyndman founded the Social Democratic Federation and the National
Socialist Party.
No 3 Vale of Health – London N.W.3
(Follow Well Walk – at T junction turn left – up the hill – first turning on the right is Vale of Health). This is where Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) lived in 1912. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913. There is a memorial plaque on the house.
All this took 10 hours. We had to catch a train at London St Pancras at 21:00 hrs.
2.3 Residence of Bhagini Nivedita (Margaret Noble)
Sangh Sandesh, in its issue of April – June 2011 pages 6 &7, carries news that some women Sangh workers in England went to former residence of Bhagini Nivedita. Fortunately, the owner was in the house and was pleased to know the history. But no address is given.
It is 21A Wimbledon High Street, London S.W. 19.
Nearest tube station is Wimbledon
3. BEHAVIOUR OF
CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS TODAY
3.1 The Christians
3.1.1 Vatican letter told Ireland's Catholic
bishops not to report child abuse
Associated Press in Dublin / The Guardian /Tuesday,
January 18, 2011
Policy to tell police about priest suspects
was vetoed, as lawyers say proof at last of cover-up by papacy
A copy of the 1997 letter from the Vatican
obtained by Irish broadcasters RTE and provided to AP, warning Ireland's
Catholic bishops not to report all suspected child-abuse cases to police. A letter to Ireland's Roman Catholic bishops
has been revealed by the broadcaster RTE that contradicts the Vatican's
frequent claim it has never instructed clergy to withhold evidence or suspicion
of child abuse from police.
The 1997 letter documents rejection of a
1996 Irish church initiative to help police identify paedophile priests. Signed by the late Archbishop
Luciano Storero, Pope John Paul II's envoy to Ireland, it instructs bishops
that their new policy of making the reporting of suspected crimes mandatory
"gives rise to serious reservations of both a moral and canonical
nature".
Storero wrote that canon law, whereby
allegations and punishments are handled within the church, "must be
meticulously followed"; any bishop who tried to go outside canon law would
face the "highly embarrassing" position of being overturned on appeal
in Rome.
A 2009 Irish state report found this
actually happened with Tony Walsh, one of Dublin's most notorious
paedophiles, who exploited his
role as an Elvis impersonator in a popular "All Priests Show" to get
closer to children. In 1993, Walsh was defrocked by a secret church court, but
successfully appealed to a Vatican court, and was reinstated in the priesthood
in 1994. He raped a boy in a pub restroom that year. Walsh since has received a
series of prison sentences, with a 12-year term imposed last month.
Investigators estimate he raped or molested more than 100 children.
Catholic officials in Ireland and the
Vatican declined requests from the Associated Press to comment on the letter,
marked "strictly confidential"; RTE said it had been given it by an
Irish bishop.
"The letter is of huge international
significance," said Colm O'Gorman, director of the Irish section of
Amnesty International. "It shows that the Vatican's intention is to
prevent reporting of abuse to criminal authorities. And if that instruction
applied here [in Ireland], it applied everywhere."
Joelle Casteix, a director of the US
advocacy group Survivors Network of those abused by priests, described it as
"the smoking gun we've been looking for." It was certain to be cited
by lawyers acting for victims seeking to pin responsibility directly on Rome,
not the dioceses.
To this day, the Vatican has not endorsed
any of the Irish church's three documents since 1996 on safeguarding children.
Irish taxpayers, rather than the church, have paid most of the Euro 1.5bn to
more than 14,000 abuse claimants dating back to the 1940s.
In a 2010 letter to Ireland condemning
paedophiles in the ranks, Pope
Benedict XVI faulted bishops for not following canon law and offered no
explicit endorsement of child-protection efforts by the Irish church or state.
He was widely criticised in Ireland.
O'Gorman (who was raped repeatedly by a
priest in the 1980s when an altar boy) said evidence is mounting that some
Irish bishops continued to follow the 1997 Vatican instructions. A state
investigation of Cloyne diocese is to come out soon, citing crimes concealed as
recently as 2008.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/18/vatican-irish-bishops-child-abuse
3.2 The Muslims
3.2.1 'Wear a headscarf or we will kill you': How the 'London Taliban' is
targeting women and gays in bid to impose Sharia law
Daily Mail / Sunday, April 17, 2011
Women who do not wear headscarves are being threatened with violence and even
death by Islamic extremists intent on imposing sharia law on parts of Britain,
it was claimed today. Other targets of the 'Talibanesque thugs', being
investigated by police in the Tower Hamlets area of London, include
homosexuals. Stickers have been
plastered on public walls stating: 'Gay free zone. Verily Allah is severe in
punishment'. Posters for H&M which feature women in bikinis and a racy
poster for a Bollywood film have been defaced. It is believed Muslim extremists
are behind a spate of attacks being investigated by police, according to the Sunday
Times.
How they want to see women: 'Talibanesque thugs' have been threatening women including
non-Muslims with violence for not wearing a headscarf. An Asian woman who
works in a pharmacy in east London was told to dress more modestly and wear a
veil or the shop would be boycotted. When she went to the media to talk about
the abuse she suffered, a man later entered the pharmacy and told her: 'If you
keep doing these things, we are going to kill you'.
The 31-year-old, who is not a practising Muslim, said she has since been told to take holiday by the pharmacy
owners and now fears she may lose her job. She said: 'Why should I wear a hijab
(headscarf) or burqa? I haven't done anything wrong.'
Ghaffar Hussain, of the anti-extremism think tank the Quilliam Foundation, told
The Sunday Times that the intimidation was the work of 'Talibanesque
thugs'.
He added: 'This minority think they have the right to impose their fringe
interpretation of Islam on others.'
Paul Rickett from the Met Police said: 'I am saddened that there are a small
minority of people who do not wish to respect the lifestyle choices of others'.
He added that there was nothing to indicate the incidents were linked.
Three men have been charged with religiously-aggravated criminal damage in
connection with some of the incidents, which have mirrored crude attempt at
censorship in Birmingham.
Borough Commander of Tower Hamlets, Paul Rickett said: 'I am saddened that
there are a small minority of people who do not wish to respect the lifestyle
choices of others. 'I would like to reassure the people of Tower Hamlets that
we are investigating these incidents. 'At this stage there is no information to
suggest any of the incidents are linked. Anyone found committing such criminal
acts will face criminal proceedings.
Anjem Choudary said Muslims
would speak out if they thought women who followed their faith were not
observing sharia law. 'We work closely with faith leaders in the community, the
Tower Hamlets interfaith forum, our partner agencies and the local community to
ensure that people feel safe in the borough.'
Khalid Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Perry Bar, said he had seen posters
vandalised in Birmingham but
was not aware of threats being made. He said: 'I have seen posters defaced in
Birmingham and it's just complete nonsense.
'If people choose to follow the religion they should be free to do so and we
don't want to go down the route that the French have done, but these people
have to accept other people. 'If it's about the freedom to do what you want,
others should have the freedom to do what they want to do. 'It's the actions of a very small minority,
and in Birmingham we have not seen people threaten women who are not wearing
the burqa - it someone were to do that the police should be informed.'
Firebrand Muslim cleric Anjem Choudary said that he was aware of individuals
who would speak up if they saw a Muslim woman without a headscarf, but insisted
they were only giving advice about their views of Islam. He said no threats
would be made and described the allegations of threats of death as 'completely ridiculous'.
He said: 'There are groups who propagate Islam, and if they see a Muslim woman
without a hijab they may say "sister, it's obligatory that you cover your
hair".
'It's an individual intervention to propagate Islam. For non-Muslims, they may
point out to them that women are being exploited in the West. 'It's about
telling people about the preference of covering up, but nobody's going to say
"you are going to be killed".'
Tower Hamlets has a reputation for being a centre of Islamic extremism in
London. Recently it was revealed Rich Dart, a middle class former BBC worker
had converted to Islam and was living in Bow, east London in a £300,000 flat
paid for by benefits. Despite being unemployed, Mr. Dart regularly attends
Muslim rallies in which he was recently heard to say: 'When the Taliban defeat
the allies we will establish Sharia law and take the fight to the enemy.'
Before Christmas posters appeared in the borough claiming the religious
festival was 'evil'.
The campaign's organiser was 27-year-old Abu Rumaysah, who once called for Sharia Law in Britain
at a press conference held by hate preacher leader Anjem Choudary, the leader
of banned militant group Islam4UK. Mr.
Rumaysah said: 'Christmas is a lie and as Muslims it is our duty to attack it.
'But our main attack is on the fruits of Christmas, things like alcohol abuse
and promiscuity that increase during Christmas and all the other evils these
lead to such as abortion, domestic violence and crime. 'We hope that out campaign will make people realise that Islam is the only way to avoid this
and convert.'
3.2.2 Muslim gang launched horrific
attack on religious studies teacher they did not want teaching girls. / By Daily Mail
Reporter / 24th May 2011
A gang of four Muslim men launched a
horrific attack on an RE teacher because they did not approve of him teaching religious
studies to Muslim girls, a court heard yesterday. Gary Smith, 28, was left with
facial scarring, both long and short-term memory loss, and now has no sense of
smell. He became depressed after his face was slashed and he suffered a brain
haemorrhage, fractured skull
and broken jaw following the attack.
The men were said to have attempted the
assault several times, ‘lying in wait’ for Mr. Smith before successfully
ambushing him on his way to work on July 12 last year. The gang was recorded
planning the attack by detectives who had bugged defendant Akmol Hussain’s car
over an unrelated matter. They were
taped saying they wanted to hit or kill the teacher just because he was the
head of religious studies at the Central Foundation School for Girls in Bow,
East London.
In one recording Hussain said: ‘He’s mocking
Islam and he’s putting doubts in people’s minds. How can somebody take a job to
teach Islam when they’re not even a Muslim themselves?’ Armed with an iron rod and brick, they
punched, kicked and attacked Mr. Smith, leaving him unconscious covered in
blood on the pavement in Burdett Road, Tower Hamlets, East London.
Mr. Smith was taken to hospital after he was
found by two passers-by, and only regained consciousness two days later. The
gang, made up of Simon Alam, 19, Azad Hussein, 27, of Bethnal Green, Sheikh Rashid, 27, of Shadwell and
Akmol Hussain, 26, of Wapping, fled the scene in a car and went on to boast
about their role in the assault. Alam said he hit Mr. Smith over the head with
a metal bar saying: 'I turned and hit him on his face with the rod and he went
flying and fell on his stomach.'
The teacher had been at the school for eight
years teaching faiths including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism
and Hinduism.
Sarah Whitehouse, prosecuting at Snaresbrook
Crown Court, said: 'He was subjected to a violent attack while he was on his
way to work. 'It was also a cowardly attack, carried out by a group of at least
four men, using weapons, on the single victim who would have had limited
opportunity to defend himself.'
Ms Whitehouse added: 'He was targeted as the
victim of this attack quite simply because of his position as head of religious
studies at the school. The defendants held strong religious beliefs and they
chose him because they did not approve of his teaching.'
Hussain's car had been bugged on an
'unrelated matter' and it was during that surveillance operation that some of
the gang members were recorded discussing the attack. He spoke about a pupil at
the school, calling her teacher a dog - an offensive name in Islam. He is then
heard saying 'this is the dog we want to' and then a word is said in Sylheti -
a language from Bangladesh - that means to hit, strike or kill. Two other
attempts, on July 8 and one on July 9 last year failed when Mr. Smith did not
take his usual route to work.
Akmol Hussain, 26, of Wapping, Azad Hussein, 27, of Bethnal Green, Sheikh Rashid, 27, of Shadwell and
Simon Alam, 19, of Whitechapel, all in East London, admitted GBH with intent. A fifth defendant,
Badruzzuha Uddin, 24, also of Shadwell, admitted assisting the thugs by hiding
blood-stained clothing.
The hearing was adjourned until Thursday.
4
Our wonderful but forgotten heritage
On 6 March 2011 Jyotishi sent us the following E Mail from America.
Hardwar Institute Tracks Power of Gayatri Yagna / By Archana Dongre
Hinduism Today /http://www.hinduismtoday.com - September, 1992
At the Los Angeles Press Club Dr. Pranav Pandya, director of the Brahmavarchas Research Institute in Shanti Kunj, Hardwar, India, announced that the "recitation of the Gayatri mantra combined with yagna (Vedic fire ceremony) performed according to precise Vedic rules can cure physical illnesses, mental disorders and also has beneficial corrective effects on the environment." Touring the US and Canada through June and July to promote the institute's findings, Dr. Pandya exclaimed, "We have scientific clinical data to back up this statement. During the past ten years, over 8,000 people have gained well being at the institute, as a result of sanjeevani sadhana, incorporating Gayatri, yagna and spiritual and dietary regimens.'
Pandya, 41, is an M.D. in internal medicine. In 1974 gave up a residency job at Ohio State University to stay in India and work under his guru Sri Ram Sharma Acharya, to combine spirituality and science for the welfare of the Indian public. Utilizing a sophisticated laboratory full of mechanical and electronic gear to assess the biochemical and physiological changes in humans as a result of the sanjeevani sadhana. According to Dr. Pandya, the Gayatri / yagna therapy is successfully used in disorders ranging from high blood pressure to cancer, and is remarkably effective in treating mental disorders.
Pandya, who prefers to work at a grass roots level, plans to release his data to the global scientific community in about a year, "after all my findings are in perfect order for their perusal," he said. He anticipates that yagnopathy will earn a respectable place alongside homeopathy, naturopathy and allopathy. The institute asserts that the combination of Gayatri recitation (creating a complex sound energy) and yagna rites (generating heat energy and atmospheric/gas changes, including the burning of specific medicinal herbs) is also useful in combating environmental pollution and in bacteria and agricultural pest management.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The Gayatri mantra has 24 syllables and when recited, those syllables address 24 different centers in the body. The mantra which occurs in the Rig Veda (3.623.10) reads as follows: Aum bhoor bhuvam swaha, tatsaviturvarenyam, bhargo devasya dheemahi, dhiyo yo nah prachodayat. That is sound therapy and the power of the sound vibrations have long been established by the scientists. The 24 syllables are bijamantras, and their ultrasonic wave patterns. They positively affect the subtle centers of the human body, and almost act like a password to human consciousness. The synergistic waves help open the door of the insight, and a spiritual treasure is unveiled. Thousands of Hindus who do not yet know the institute's findings have experienced very soothing and uplifting effects when they recipe the Gayatri mantra in their daily lives. Ideally, the mantra should be recited in the early morning sun and bharga is its new, golden luster. "If millions of people recite the Gayatri mantra at the same time, it can act as an invisible sound wave protection for those people, even in a nuclear holocaust," said Dr. Pandya.
Several scholars outside of India have understood the potent power of the sound vibrations of Gayatri. Arthur Koestler, the famous Hungarian author, had visited India and lived in Benaras in the 1950's. In an interview with Blitz periodical's B.K. Karanjia, as reported in the Navneet Hindi digest, he said, "The Gayatri mantra is like an antidote to the nuclear holocaust. It is a great resource and this powerful mantra can act as a great shelter to India. If millions of people recite the mantra at the same time, the collective consciousness can act as a septic guard for them." Scientific research has been done on the power of the Gayatri mantra in Japan and Japanese people are very receptive. In India, Mahayogi Aurobindo observed, "Very important work can be achieved with the power of Gayatri." Rabindranath Tagore had said, "It is the Gayatri mantra which has awakened India and which is so simple as can be chanted in one breath."
Etymologically, Yaskacharya's Nirukta explains the work Gayatri as the one that enlivens and protects the pranic energy. It is only fitting that such a prayer is addressed to the sun as an imploration to inspire and sharpen one's intellect.
YAGNOPATHY
If Gayatri mantra is the sound energy, the yagna is the heat energy. The Yajur Veda is a reservoir of precise formulas for (yajus = yagna formula) performing of several types of yagnas. In a yagna, specific types of medicinal herbs and woods are burned in specified amounts in a certain sequence. Precision is of importance here - even the size of the yagna kunda must be according to specifications. "Yagna is the scientific way of fumigating the medicinal herbs for the benefit of the individuals as well as the environment." Dr. Pandya explained. "When a medicine is inhaled, 80% to 90% of it is utilized by the body." When the mantras are recited along with the yagna, the sound energy and the light energy interact with one another to produce desirable effects. The right sounds must be uttered at the right points in the progress of the flames.
Yagna can help bring about a cure in mental disorders like depression, neurosis, psychosis, schizophrenia, depression, melancholia, etc. The stress and strain of modern life, degradation of social behavior, and fall in moral values all around are contributing to psychosomatic diseases. Yagna might offer a solution to this problem as well.
The following substances are fumigated in a yagna: wood (sandalwood, agar, tagar, deodar, mango, palash, bilva) cardoman, nutmeg, camphor, fruits and cereals (wheat, rice, barley, sesame seed) peas, sugar and honey, medicinal herbs like brahmi, shankhapushpi, nagkesar, somlata.
The temperature of yagna reaches between 250(C) to 600(C). Due to the steam volatilization of the odorous substances, other substances like thymol, eugenol, pinere, terpinelo are carried over to distances in the surroundings and the aroma can be smelled at a considerable distance. The vapors of yagna are antiseptic because the oxidation of hydrocarbons produce formic acid and acetic acid which are good disinfectants. The non-bacterial insects are either killed or driven away as they come in contact with volatile oils like camphor. Plants and vegetation become healthier because the harmful bacteria that can cause disease are killed.
BRAHMAVARCHAS RESEARCH INSTITUTE
This one of a kind institute, founded in 1979 near Hardwar in close proximity of the serne Himalayas, purports to establish the intercommunication of science with spirituality. Its aims are to present in a new scientific light, through laboratory and clinical experiments, the age old truths that India's ancient rishis had discovered intuitively through intense tapasya.
Contact: Shanti Kunj Hardwar, P.O. Shantikunj, Hardwar, 249411, India Or: Gayatri Pariwar-Yugnirman, 9560 Topanga Canyon Blvd. Suite 204, Chatsworth, CA 91311. Tel: (818) 407-8908
Sharma's SOUND Sadhana / In the late 1930's Pandit Sharma lived as a hermit in the Himalayas, reciting the Gayatri mantra 7,000 times a day, 365 days a year, for 24 years. He meditated on the dawning sun and ate only buttermilk and a handful of grains. Out of this continuum of Gayatri sound meditation he penetrated into the potency of the Gayatri's 24 syllables and its special amplifying relationship to the yagna ritual. He extensively studied the Vedas, and later translated the entire collection.
His catholic outlook for the Gayatri use by women was criticized, but he answered in his book, Gayatri, The Omnipotent Primordial Power: "The code of conduct in Hindu religion has equality of humans in all respects with unity and compassion as basic tenets. Hindu culture regards the female of human species as superior to its male counterpart. How could then the wise sages of India deprive women of super wisdom of practice of Gayatri? In ancient days, the rishikas (nuns) participated together with men in all religious and metaphysical rituals. Gayatri is symbolized by a female deity. Gayatri is accessible to each and every individual of the human species."
http://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=960
Hinduism Today / http://www.hinduismtoday.com