Monday, March 5, 2012

Are Muslims a Minority or a Separate Nation?

Excerpts from speeches by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Mohammed Ali Jinnah : Muslims are not a Minority. Muslims are a Separate Nation. Muslims and Hindus can not live together.
I. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (born October 17, 1817, died March 27, 1898)
In no country do Muslims living as a minority identify themselves with the country's nation. For example, in Sri Lanka, racially Indian, linguistically Tamilian, but religiously Muslim, they call themselves Muslims and have a party like Sri Lanka Muslim Congress. In India, there is an Indian Union Muslim League. In France, UK, Norway and the US, they like to be called Muslims first. In India for quite some time past, they are saying they are Muslim Indians, not Indian Muslims. This means they are first and last Muslims who happen to be in India. This question, whether Muslims are part of the nation, has been clearly spelt out by the most leading intellectuals and politicians of Muslim Indians. As early as in 1888, that is just 3 years after the Indian National Congress was founded, Sir Sayyed Ahmed Khan, the first tallest western educated Muslim of India, made a speech in Meerut on 16th March, 1888, asserting that Muslims are a separate nation. He advised the Muslims not to join the Indian National Congress. His speech was titled, "One Country Two Nations". Here are excerpts.
QUOTE
I think it expedient that I should first of all tell you the reason why I am about to address you on the subject of tonight's discourse. You know, gentlemen, that, from a long time, our friends, the Bengalis, have shown very warm feeling on political matters. Three years ago they founded a very big assembly, which holds its sittings in various places, and they have given it the name "National Congress." We and our nation gave no thought to the matter. And we should be very glad for our friends the Bengalis to be successful, if we were of the opinion that they had by their education and ability made such progress as rendered them fit for the claims they put forward. But although they are superior to us in education, yet we have never admitted that they have reached that level to which they lay claim to have attained. Nevertheless I have never, in any article, or in any speech, or even in conversation in any place, put difficulties or desired to put difficulties in the way of any of their undertakings. It has never been my wish to oppose any people or any nation who wish to make progress, and who have raised themselves up to that rank to which they wish to attain and for which they are qualified. But, my friends, the Bengalis have made a most unfair and unwarrantable interference with my nation, and therefore it is my duty to show clearly what this unwarrantable interference has been, and to protect my nation from the evils that may arise from it.
what I am about to say is not only useful for my own nation, but also for my Hindu brothers of these Provinces, who from some wrong notions have taken part in this Congress. At last they also will be sorry for it — although perhaps they will never have occasion to be sorry; for it is beyond the region of possibility that the proposals of the Congress should be carried out fully.
After this long preface, I wish to explain what method my nation — nay, rather the whole people of this country — ought to pursue in political matters. I will treat in regular sequence of the political questions of India, in order that you may have full opportunity of giving your attention to them. The first of all is this — In whose hands shall the administration and the Empire of India rest? Now, suppose that all English, and the whole English army, were to leave India, taking with them all their cannon and their splendid weapons and everything, then who would be rulers of India? Is it possible that under these circumstances, two nations — the Mahomedans and the Hindus — could sit on the same throne and remain equal in power? Most certainly not. It is necessary that one of them should conquer the other and thrust it down. To hope that both could remain equal is to desire the impossible and the inconceivable. At the same time, you must remember that although the number of Mahomedans is less than that of the Hindus, and although they contain far fewer people who have received a high English education, yet they must not be thought insignificant or weak. Probably they would be by themselves enough to maintain their own position. But suppose they were not. Then our Mussalman brothers, the Pathans, would come out as a swarm of locusts from their mountain valleys, and make rivers of blood to flow from their frontier in the north to the extreme end of Bengal. This thing — who, after the departure of the English, would be conquerors — would rest on the will of God. But until one nation had conquered the other and made it obedient, peace could not reign in the land. This conclusion is based on proofs so absolute that no one can deny it.
The aspirations of our friends, the Bengalis, have made such progress that they want to scale a height to which it is beyond their powers to attain. But if I am not in error, I believe that the Bengalis have never at any period held sway over a particle of land. They are altogether ignorant of the method by which a foreign race can maintain its rule over other races. Therefore, reflect on the doings of your ancestors, and be not unjust to the British Government to whom God has given the rule of India; and look honestly and see what is necessary for it to do, to maintain its empire and its hold on the country. You can appreciate these matters; but they cannot who have never held a country in their hands nor won a victory. Oh! my brother Musalmans! I again remind you that you have ruled nations, and have for centuries held different countries in your grasp. For seven hundred years in India, you have had Imperial sway. You know what it is to rule. Be not unjust to that nation which is ruling over you, and think also on this: how upright is her rule. Of such benevolence as the English Government shows to the foreign nations under her, there is no example in the history of the world.
we ought to unite with that nation with whom we can unite. No Mahomedan can say that the English are not "People of the Book." No Mahomedan can deny this: that God has said that no people of other religions can be friends of Mahomedans except the Christians. He who had read the Koran and believes it, he can know that our nation cannot expect friendship and affection from any other people. At this time, our nation is in a bad state as regards education and wealth, but God has given us the light of religion, and the Koran is present for our guidance, which has ordained them and us to be friends.
Now God has made them rulers over us. Therefore we should cultivate friendship with them, and should adopt that method by which their rule may remain permanent and firm in India, and may not pass into the hands of the Bengalis.
UNQUOTE
II. Mohammed Ali Jinnah (born December 25, 1876, died September 11, 1948)
Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who is identified as singularly responsible for the division of India and creation of the Islamic state of Pakistan, had in his famous March 1940 speech at Lahore to the Muslim League, when it adopted the Pakistan resolution, once again asserted that Muslims are a separate nation, separate from Hindus and other non–Muslims. Here are excepts from his speech.
QUOTE
Notwithstanding thousand years of close contact, nationalities, which are as divergent today as ever, cannot at any time be expected to transform themselves into one nation, merely by means of subjecting them to a democratic constitution and holding them forcibly together by unnatural and artificial methods of British Parliament statutes. What the unitary government of India for 150 years had failed to achieve cannot be realized by the imposition of a central federal government.
It is extremely difficult to appreciate why our Hindu friends fail to understand the real nature of Islam and Hinduism. They are not religions in the strict sense of the word, but are, in fact, different and distinct social orders and it is a dream that the Hindus and Muslims can ever evolve a common nationality, and this misconception of one Indian nation has gone far beyond the limits and is the cause of most of our troubles and will lead India to destruction if we fall to revise our notions in time. The Hindus and Muslims belong to two different religious philosophies, social customs, literature. They neither intermarry, nor interline together and indeed they belong to two different civilizations which are based mainly on conflicting ideas and conceptions. Their aspects on life and of life are different. It is quite clear that Hindus and Mussalmans derive their inspiration from different sources of history. They have different epics, different heroes and different episodes. Very often the hero of one is a foe of the other and likewise their victories and defeats overlap. To yoke together two such nations under a single state, one as a numerical minority and the other as a majority, must lead to growing discontent and final destruction of any fabric that may be so built up for the government of such a state.
History has presented to us many examples such as the Union of Great Britain and Ireland, Czechoslovakia and Poland. History has also shown to us many geographical tracts, much smaller than the subcontinent of India, which otherwise might have been called one country, but which have been divided into as many states as there are nations inhabiting them. The Bulkan peninsula comprises as many as seven or eight sovereign states. Likewise, the Portuguese and the Spanish stand divided in the Iberian Peninsula, Whereas under the plea of unity of India and one nation which does not exist, it is sought to pursue here the line of one central government when we know that the history of the last twelve hundred years has failed to achieve unity and has witnessed, during these ages, India always divided into Hindu India and Muslim India. The present artificial unity of India dates back only to the British conquest and is maintained by the British bayonet, but the termination of the British regime, which is implicit in the recent declaration of His Majesty's government, will be the herald of the entire break-up with worse disaster than has ever taken place during the last one thousand years under Muslims. Surely, that is not the legacy which Britain would bequeath to India after 150 years of her rule,nor would Hindu and Muslim India risk such a sure catastrophe.
Muslim India cannot accept any constitution which must necessarily result in a Hindu majority government. Hindus and Muslims brought together under a democratic system forced upon the minorities can only mean Hindu Raj. Democracy of the kind with which the Congress High Command is enamored would mean the complete destruction of what is most precious in Islam. We have had ample experience of the working of the provincial constitutions during the last two and a half years (1937-39) and any repetition of such a government must lead to civil war and raising of private armies as recommended by Mr. Gandhi to Hindus of Sukkur, when he said that they must defend themselves violently or non-violently, blow for blow, and if they could not, they must emigrate.
Mussalmans are not a minority as it is commonly known and understood.
Mussalmans are a nation according to any definition of a nation and they must have their homelands, their territory and their state.
UNQUOTE
Muslims, who agitated, rioted and voted for the division of the country and creation of Pakistan in the two decades 1930s & 1940s have continued to live in India. Similarly, the former Razakars and their progeny, who wanted to establish the Islamic state of Nizam, who took to arms to convert the Nizam Nawab's of Hyderabad territory into a sovereign independent Islamic state are also continuing to live in Hyderabad and Telengana. Now, all these are calling themselves minorities and in order to assert their separatism, they have demanded and have been granted by the vote-seeking and hunting "secular" parties, minority commissions, minority educational institutions, minority finance corporations, minority (majority) districts, minority Urdu universities and now reservation for minorities. Very soon, they will be asking for separate electorate as before 1947 and then autonomy for the Muslim districts (90 of them as planned by the UPA government) and ultimately secession from India like in Kashmir. The "secular" parties, are either innocently or criminally collaborating with this minority, whose ultimate goal is the restoration of the whole of this country to Muslim rule either by conquest or by demographic explosion.
Author: Excerpts from the speeches by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Mohammed Ali Jinnah
Source: Secularism Combat 2010 March
http://www.votebankpolitics.com/sc/sc2010/sc201003/muslim-nation-sc201003.html

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Ministry of Home Affairs: CPI (Maoist) has close fraternal ties with insurgent groups of Northeast


Source: News Bharati     

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Guwahati, February 25: The Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) has said that the CPI (Maoist) has close fraternal ties with many insurgent groups of the northeast India which will have serious implications on national security.

MHA document released as `FAQ on Maoists in India` said, “They (Maoists) are making incursions into Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, which will have serious long-term strategic implications,” Kangala Online repots.

In reply to a question whether the CPI (Maoist) has links with other terrorist organizations and foreign countries, the document said, “The CPI (Maoist) has close fraternal ties with many insurgent groups of the northeast, mainly the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Most of these outfits have links with external forces inimical to India”.

It further added, “The CPI (Maoist) has also frequently expressed its solidarity with J&K terrorist groups. These ties are part of their `Strategic United Front` against India,”

“The outfit has close links with foreign Maoist organizations in Philippines and Turkey and is also a member of the Coordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organizations of South Asia (CCOMPOSA), which includes Nepal Maoists,” document added.

The Home Ministry said, “Functionaries of front organizations provide intellectual veneer to the inherent violence in Maoist ideology. They sanitize the bloodletting and attempt to make the Maoist world-view palatable to urban audiences and the media.”

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The Communist Party of India (Maoist) is an Under Ground Political Party in India which aims to overthrow the government of India through people’s warmeans. It was founded on 21 September 2004, through the merger of the People's War, and the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC).
The party is regarded as a "left-wing extremist entity" and a terrorist outfit by the Indian government. Several of their members have been arrested under the now-defunct Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act. The group is officially banned by the state governments of Orissa, Chattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh, among others. The party has protested these bans. On 22 June 2009, the central home ministry, keeping in mind the growing unlawful activities by the group, banned it under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA)

The MHA added that the Maoists brainwash and indoctrinate young children and threaten poor Adivasi parents, who usually prefer to part with their girl child.

“This is the reason behind the presence of large number of women Maoists who are also pushed to engage themselves with the security forces,” MHA stated.

$img_titleOn Sunday last, Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi, after a meeting with Union home minister P Chidambaram here, said, “Pakistan`s ISI is trying to involve itself in the growing Maoist problem in the state”. However, the MHA document has not named any foreign forces inimical to the country.

The MHA, in its document, discussed the steps that an ordinary citizen can take against Left-wing extremism (LWE).

MHA has asked the people to condemn the violent and brutal atrocities of CPI (Maoist) and other LWE groups on innocent civilians, learn to recognize the Maoist front organizations, ideologues and sympathizers` propaganda of war against India, sensitize fellow countrymen on the dangers of their violent ideology and cherish and nurture the democratic way of life enshrined in the Constitution.

 http://en.newsbharati.com//Encyc/2012/2/25/Ministry-of-Home-Affairs--CPI-%28Maoist%29-has-close-fraternal-ties-with-insurgent-groups-of-Northeast.aspx?NB=&lang=1&m1=&m2=&p1=&p2=&p3=&p4=&NewsMode=int

Orissa: 3000 people of 658 families returns to Hinduism


Paravartan at Orissa-VHP-Feb-25-2012

Rourkela, Orissa (PTI):  The Vishwa Hindu Parishat, VHP on Friday claimed that over 3,000 people of 658 families from three states were reconverted to Hinduism at a function held in Sundargarh district.
People from Odisha and neighbouring Jharkhand and Chhattishgarh congregated at Sundargarh town where the function, described by the VHP as “home coming”, was held yesterday.


Several people, particularly poor and uneducated tribals and dalits had converted through allurement, international executive president of VHP Pravin Togadia said at the function demanding a strict law against conversion.

Dr Pravin Thogadia at paravartan at Orissa-VHP--Feb25-2012

Paravartan at Orissa--VHP-Feb25-2012

Source: http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/odisha-3000-reconverted-to-hinduism_760349.html

SECRECY, thy name SONIA GANDHI: Now its issue of hiding Income details, but why?


Source: News Bharati     

undefinedNew Delhi, February 24: A question of denial of information about Sonia Gandhi and Gandhi family has come up.

This history is being repeated as the Nation is asking a question that what does Sonia Gandhi have in her income tax returns that she doesn’t reveal. This question arises when Ms Gandhi flippantly showed a dust bin to a Right to Information application. Isn’t this a betrayal of Nation?

Given are some representative reactions about the secrecy that has maintained by not only Congress Party but also the otherwise hyper and over-smart media of India. The Rajdeeps, the Burkha’s The Thapars, the Roys, the Arnavs and who not, all had kept a fatal silence on the issue of Cong chief Sonia Gandhi’s surgery abroad which had triggered many unanswered questions in the minds of entire nation and also in the minds of much suppressed Congress workers who are crouching under the dynastic rule of the Gandhi Family.
  • Secrecy continues to shroud Sonia's illness (expressbuzz.com, 8 Aug 2011)
  • Dynastic secrecy protected by India’s tame media (independent.co.uk/, 3 Oct 2011)
  • Sonia goes under scalpel in US as secrecy surrounds her ailment (deccanherald.com, 4 Aug 2011)
  • The Hindu Article Questions Secrecy about Sonia Gandhi's Health (IndiaTV, 22 Sept 2011)
  • Dynasty wrapped in needless secrecy (The Pioneer, 7 Sept 2011)
  • Sonia Gandhi’s health can’t be a state secret, it’s not about privacy (Asian Window, 5 Aug 2011)
  • India's media accused of omertà over Sonia Gandhi's health (Guardian, UK, 22 Sept 2011)
  • The omertà on Sonia Gandhi's illness (The Hindu, 22 Sept 2011)

This issue has again jumped up when, V Gopalakrishnan, a Chennai-based RTI activist, filed an RTI application with the Income Tax Department seeking details of Sonia Gandhi’s tax returns from 2000-01 to 2010-11. The Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, New Delhi, who is also the chief public information officer (CPIO) wrote to Sonia Gandhi in January to seek her response to the request for release of information pertaining to her tax records.

Sonia Gandhi declined permission for the release of the information, saying that disclosure of such private information to a third party, even if ostensibly made under the guise of transparency in public life, amounted to unwarranted invasion in the privacy of the individual. She took support of Section 138 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 that the information that an assessee submits to the Income Tax department was confidential and private in nature and could not be disclosed.

The report notes that Sonia Gandhi also cited “security risk” as a consideration behind her reluctance to disclose the information – and added that there was “no public interest” involved in disclosing such information.

Importantly, on an earlier occasion, a similar application had been rejected even without seeking Sonia Gandhi’s response. The Times of India, which is following this issue, has reported that that this was the second time that the CPIO had rejected such a petition from Gopalakrishnan for information on Sonia Gandhi’s income tax returns. After Gopalakrishnan went in appeal, the appellate authority said that by not seeking out a response from Sonia Gandhi, the CPIO had ignored the possibility that she might be willing to disclose her personal income-tax information.
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There comes the question, when even the Prime Minister discloses his assets every year, why Sonia Gandhi, an MP is reluctant to disclose her income tax information. This clearly demonstrates Sonia Gandhi’s Italian bloodline and her Papal beliefs which inspire her to keep secrecy about herself and her acts.

In normal circumstances and in case of any politician, such details come under the realm of confidential information. But in a democracy the transparency of government is at the stake.
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In her article ‘The omertà on Sonia Gandhi's illnesses’ published in The Hindu, Nirupama Subramaniam states, “It is not surprising that the Congress should be secretive about its leader's health. What is surprising though is the news media's submission to the secrecy on an issue that is of public concern.” She further comments, “…the media are clearly not in the mood to extend their kid-glove treatment of Ms Gandhi's illness to some other politicians: it has been open season with BJP president Nitin Gadkari's health problems arising from his weight. Clearly, it's different strokes for different folks.”

Swapan Dasgupta has commented that to some extent, concern over Sonia’s health can never remain a matter concerning the Gandhi family alone. The personal well-being of someone who is the acknowledged ‘leader’ of the Government—one who rules but does not rule—is a matter of public concern in all democracies.

Swapan Dasgupta mentions in his article ‘Dynasty wrapped in needless secrecy’ published in The Pioneer expresses surprise saying that that when it comes to the ‘first family’, the media’s thirst for investigative journalism evaporates into handout journalism. He Says, “This is despite the fact that the country has been routinely misled on many occasions. When Sonia failed to be present in the opening sessions of Parliament, it was put out (by unnamed sources) that she was suffering from ‘viral fever’—an explanation that was believable in the context of the epidemic doing the rounds of Delhi. When, last year, she abruptly cancelled her meeting with the visiting British Prime Minister it was again put out that the family had to rush overseas because Sonia’s mother wasn’t keeping too well.

Dasgupta says that no one ever claimed ownership of these doubtful explanations of the Gandhi family’s movements. For year after year, even as fawning courtiers celebrated Rahul Gandhi’s birthday, the birthday boy never happened to be in the country. However, for the media the Congress General Secretary’s travel itinerary was never the subject of any inquiry. Even the Right to Information Act has failed to yield any information on the subjects—presumably because they have ‘security’ implications.
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In 2007, a stunning exposure on Sonia Gandhi’s secret billions in Swiss banks came, surprisingly, from Switzerland itself. In its issue of November 19, 1991, Schweizer Illustrierte, the most popular magazine of Switzerland, did an exposé of over a dozen politicians of the third world. The magazine included Rajiv Gandhi, who had stashed away their bribe monies in Swiss banks. Schweizer Illustrierte is not an ordinary magazine. It has a wide distribution of some 2,15,000 copies and has a readership of 9,17,000 — almost a sixth of Swiss adult population.

Citing the then newly opened KGB records, the magazine had reported, “Sonia Gandhi the widow of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was controlling secret account with 2.5 billion Swiss Francs (equal to $2.2 billion) in her minor son’s name’. The $2.2 billion account must have existed from before June 1988 when Rahul Gandhi attained majority. The loot in today’s rupee value equals almost Rs 10,000 crore.

undefinedSwiss banks invest and multiply the clients’ monies, not keep them buried. Had it been invested in safe long-term securities, the $.2.2 billion bribe would have multiplied to $9.41 billion (Rs 42,345 crore) by 2009. If it had been put in US stocks, it would have swelled to $12.97 billion (Rs 58,365 crore). If, as most likely, it were invested in long-term bonds and stocks as 50:50, it would have grown to $11.19 billion (Rs 50,355 crore).

Similarly the archives of the Russian spy outfit KGB, is far more serious. It says that the Gandhi family has accepted political pay-offs from the KGB — a clear case of disloyalty besides bribe. In her book The State Within a State: The KGB and its Hold on Russia-Past, Present, and Future, Yevgenia Albats, an acclaimed investigative journalist, says: “A letter signed by Victor Chebrikov, who replaced Andropov as the KGB head in 1982 noted: ‘the USSR KGB maintains contact with the son of the Premier Minister Rajiv Gandhi (of India). R Gandhi reports confidentially that a substantial portion of the funds obtained through this channel are used to support the party of R Gandhi’.” (p.223). Albats has also disclosed that, in December 2005, KGB chief Victor Chebrikov had asked for authorisation from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, “to make payments in US dollars to the family members of Rajiv Gandhi, namely Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Ms Paola Maino, mother of Sonia Gandhi.”

And even before Albats’ book came out the Russian media had leaked out the details of the pay-offs. Based on the leaks, on July 4, 1992, The Hindu had reported, “the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service admits the possibility that the KGB could have been involved in arranging profitable Soviet contract for the company controlled by Rajiv Gandhi family”.

All this shows that the ‘Secrecy saga’ about Sonia Maino-Gandhi is endless. The Gandhi family has been awarded an iron wall to keep their secrets intact which has a cloud of mystery around them by both Congress Party and Indian Media. This is definitely a betrayal of Aam Aadami, the common man of India is only a distant spectator who has no right even to ask about.

The Nation should realise that it is not a mere question of secrecy of any one ‘person’, but a string of sincerity, transparency, loyalty and more importantly national Security is involved in this.
Time to Think!


(Sources for Reference: The Independent.co.uk/, 3 Oct 2011, deccanherald.com, 4 Aug 2011, IndiaTV, 22 Sept 2011, The Pioneer, 7 Sept 2011, Asian Window, 5 Aug 2011, Guardian, UK, 22 Sept 2011, The Hindu, 22 Sept 2011, expressbuzz.com, 24 Feb 12, iretireearly.com, 7 Jan, swapan55.com, Schweizer Illustrierte 19 Nov 1991)


 http://en.newsbharati.com//Encyc/2012/2/24/SECRECY,-thy-name-SONIA-GANDHI--Now-its-issue-of-hiding-Income-details,-but-why-.aspx?NB=&lang=1&m1=&m2=&p1=&p2=&p3=&p4=&NewsMode=int

Bangladesh Govt failing to ensure Human Rights of Minority Hindus : Alleges JusticeMakers Bangladesh



Source: News Bharati     


undefinedChittagong (Bangladesh), February 27: Bangladesh government is failing to ensure protection for its citizen and Hindu community which is a ‘minority. This is alleged by ‘Justice Makers Bangladesh’, a human rights watchdog in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is a secular ‘People’s Republic’ but having a strong dominance of the Islamic fundamentalists since its inception.

Responding to the recent incident of vandalising and attempting to torch Hindu Loknath Temple in Hathazari near Chittagong, the ‘Justice Makers Bangladesh’ immediately came into action to reveal facts behind the incident.

undefinedThis incident of communal arson attack on Hindu religion minority community in Hathazari Upazila under Chittagong District was perpetrated on February 09 and 10, 2012. Elements like radical Islamic Jamaat E Islami's cadre were suspected to do this illegitimate act against Hindus.




undefinedAccording to the local people, on 9 February, Hindus in the area took out a procession to celebrate the founding anniversary of Loknath Sebasram. They used microphone and drums in the procession. When the procession was passing a mosque, Muslims in the mosque forbade them to drums. At stage, someone from mosque hurled a brick bat on the procession one. An altercation took place at once which turned into chase and counter-chase when someone from the procession responded by throwing a brick bat. Police organised a meeting between the two parties. A group of Muslims said that the meeting will be held in the mosque and the Hindus agreed. The meeting started in the evening. Requesting anonymity, several of those who attended the meeting told Media that a handful of miscreants vandalised a temple on the Loknath Sebasram premises when the meeting was underway. They also vandalised seven to eight cars of the temple's visitors.

Understanding the gravity and sensitivity of the issue, JusticeMakers Bangladesh (JMB) immediately formed a fact finding team of five members under the leadership of its Chief Executive Officer Adv. Shahanur Islam. The members of this team were, Adv. Mohammad Alamgir, Vice Chairman JMB, Ganesh Rajbonshee, fact finding officer of JMB. 
  
undefinedThe Fact Finding team conducted an investigation mission from February 23 to 25, 2012. During the time of investigation, the fact finding team visited the all spots of incident, talked with the victim of arson attacked as well as physical assault, talked with the eyewitness, local civil society people and local administration as well as collected the all information and documented it with video and still picture format. It was the JMB, which published live footage of the attack which is available on the Internet.  

The JMB team found tremendous horror in the minds of the victims of this violence. Though the victims of violence knew most of the perpetrators, they refused to mention their identity and disclose their name scaring for imagining future trouble.

The JMB fact finding team documented at least 13 temples, 6 minority Hindu homes and 6 business shops which were set fire to ashes, vandalized and looted the valuable properties and also physically assaulted Hindus.
undefined 
After this splendid on-the-spot investigation, JusticeMakers Bangladesh team candidly stated its observations. Leader of the JMB fact finding team told NewsBharati that, “The attack was preplanned and was patronized by some Islamic and non Islamic political parties trying to spread own created communal rumor of destruction of a local mosque.” The team also observed that the arson attacked, physical assault, looting and vandalizing activities have been perpetrated on the nose of local administration.  

As the Hindu violence victims informed the local administration to ensure their protection, the local administration primarily assured them to ensure their security, but unfortunately due to some ‘unknown’ reason it failed to protect the Hindu Community and restrain the attack.

JusticeMakers Bangladesh also observed that during the attack, the Police machinery remain idle, blind and did nothing to stop the vandalism. Moreover, though the police registered the five criminal cases with the Hathazari as well as arrested 21 perpetrators connecting the incident. But having no coordination, it has failed to arrest the main perpetrators.

undefinedJusticeMakers Bangladesh has said that it is gravely concerned over this incident of communal arson attack on minority Hindu community in Hathazari Upazila under Chittagong district and is demanding to bring the perpetrators before the Law. JMB also demands urgent and impartial judicial investigation by High court judge in this case to reveal main accused behind this attack on Minority community and rehabilitate the victim of violence earliest possible.


 http://en.newsbharati.com//Encyc/2012/2/27/Bangladesh-Govt-failing-to-ensure-Human-Rights-of-Minority-Hindus---Alleges-JusticeMakers-Bangladesh.aspx?NB=&lang=1&m1=&m2=&p1=&p2=&p3=&p4=&NewsMode=int

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Sonia: So secretive, still in public life!

Source: Organiser - Weekly    

Sonia: So secretive, still in public life!

$img_titleFirst it was her religion, then her relatives and then her illness and now her income tax returns. Sonia Gandhi has consistently refused to reveal details regarding these.

The latest first. According to a report in The Times of India, Sonia Gandhi refused to provide the details of her income-tax returns of the past ten years, demanded by V Gopalakrishnan, an RTI activist from Chennai. She claimed that this information, submitted to the IT office was confidential and disclosure of this would amount to “unwarranted invasion” of the individual’s privacy.  She even cited security reasons for not furnishing the details.

She had earlier refused to reveal her religion, claiming it was a personal matter and need not be made public. This, when the government routinely has this column in all the forms. Even in nursery school admissions, one has to mention the religion. Her educational qualifications (if any) too are closely guarded secrets.

When Sonia Gandhi “fell ill” and went abroad allegedly for treatment apparently on government expense, any information was denied to the public on the ground that we must respect her “privacy.” The media played along in such reverential obedience. If public money had been spent on her, it has to be accounted for and the citizens of the country have a right to know how much and why the money was spent; if the treatment she received abroad was not available in India etc.

Some time ago, a RTI had been raised demanding to know the foreign relatives who are staying with Sonia Gandhi in her official residence and their periods of stay in India. The issue was suppressed, taking the plea that it was a “private issue.”

Subramanyan Swami, who has constantly sought to bring to light the several instances of abuse of power by Sonia Gandhi has been rebuffed time and again by the courts and other agencies. On 23 February the CBI, before whom Swamy’s plea for investigating Sonia Gandhi’s role in Bofors scandal was pending, dismissed it saying that a closure report has been filed in the case and it cannot be reopened. The CBI also gave a clean chit to her saying “no connection whatsoever” was found between the case and Mrs Gandhi.

Not only she, but all her immediate relatives enjoy amnesty from law. The police did not carry any investigation worth its name into the cases of unnatural death of at least three family members of Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadhera. His brother, sister and father died untimely and unexplained. The matter was hushed up with even our blood-hound media maintaining silence.

All these things raise the valid question: Is Sonia Gandhi above the Indian law? (FOC)

 http://organiser.org//Encyc/2012/2/25/Sonia--So-secretive,-still-in-public-life!%EF%BB%BF.aspx?NB=&lang=4&m1=&m2=&p1=&p2=&p3=&p4=

Shaping the social mindset through visual media


By Rajan Khanna

Source: Organiser - Weekly    

$img_titleThe role of visual media in shaping the social mindset is becoming increasingly vital with every passing day. In order to take the inputs and to know about the future expansion programmes of the Zee network— the largest in India—I met its group chairman Shri Subhash Chandra Goel. In recent days, media has been abuzz with the stories of the scandals of various hues; from CWG to 2G and from Adarsh Housing Society to NRHM, the information about the above stated frauds wouldn’t have reached the public domain had the visual media not adopted a proactive approach in unearthing the scams.

My first question to Shri Subhash Chandra was about the support having been rendered to the anti-corruption movement of  Shri  Anna Hazare by the news channels. To my question that why all of sudden the media stopped covering the anti-corruption events of the team Anna, he replied, “The unscrupulous elements are present in every sphere of life and they don’t want the Anna  movement to succeed, may be their pressure tactics are making the media refrain from giving that much coverage to the said movement as much it was giving earlier. Besides, some kind of fissures are appearing in team Anna itself.”

Zee group had promoted ICL in India before the BCCI-controlled IPL came into picture; today, Indian cricket is in dire straits and many experts attribute the poor performance of  team India to the IPL version of the game promoted by the BCCI. When Shri  Chandra was queried about the recent dismal performances of the Indian cricket team, he said,  “Through ICL we wanted to create huge bench strength in the sport of cricket but our initiative was thwarted by the unimaginative governing body of the sport in India. Today, we can’t see many deserving youngsters around who can step into the shoes of ageing members of the team India.” On being asked how the media can play its role in promoting various other sports in the country so that we can hope to get some medals in the Olympics also, his reply was curt,  “Unless, the politicians stop meddling in the governing bodies of the sports, the overall scenario is not going to improve substantially.”

There are many spheres of life in which the media can play a very positive role; maintaining the cleanliness and aesthetics in  public places, is one of them. When questioned about the possibility of the media’s participation in  dissemination of messages of civic importance and producing and telecasting programmes in this respect, he affirmatively replied, “Yes, in this regard a lot can be done by the media and more efforts can be put which can result into cleaner and greener environment.”

Zee group has its presence in the field of education also; with quality education getting more and more expensive, his views were sought about affordable education for the underprivileged. His reply was analytical, “In order to give appropriate attention to all of them, you cannot have more than twenty five students in a particular class room and the exercise has its bearing on the cost factor, therefore, in private institutions it is going to be very difficult to manage without charging adequate fees. However, it is incumbent upon the government to provide good quality  education to those who cannot afford to study in private institutions.”

Media can play a very useful role in creating awareness about the social responsibilities and eradication of those superstitious practices which are ailing the society at large. Shri Subhash Chandra agreed that more programmes by the channels are required to highlight the said factor and the initiative is bound to have very positive effect on the viewers.
Today’s youth is getting disillusioned – because of rampant corruption prevailing in the country – and there is a great need of reinforcing the plummeting structure of the social values; the telecasting of the serials based on the lives of Maharana Pratap, Chhatrapati Shivaji, Swami Vivekananda and others can motivate the young generation to a larger extent. On the question of how Zee group can play its part in inculcating social values, Shri Chandra informed that they are going to start a separate public service broadcasting channel shortly. The information is quite heartening because the people will be reminded about the sacrifices having been made by our forefathers and the youth will be motivated to contribute in the progress of the nation and not get disheartened by the deeds of the unscrupulous politicians.

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