An account regarding the destruction of our ancient temples and their revival is being put forward in an almost fascinating way by one of the greatest historians of our time Dr. Meenakshi Jain in her new book “The Flight of the Deities and the Rebirth of Temples”. The book is an unbiased narration of the events that took place in the medieval era particularly, in relation to the dismantling of our places of worship so creating horripilation on the skin of the readers when they come across accurate facts as to what happened to our glorious cultural legacy in the form of temples. Simultaneously it also makes the readers aware of the tremendous efforts that our ancestors did to maintain and preserve the sanctity of the idols present in these temples restricting these deities to be fallen in to the hands of Islamic marauders.
“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” George Orwell
The aforementioned quote suits very aptly to the state of affairs in our country where persistent efforts are being made to let our younger ones get uprooted from their identity by not telling them what is true. Thus Prof. Jain’s endeavour is in the direction of resuscitating the history that is lost into oblivion. She begins her chronicle with the description of the splendid sun temple in Multan, present day Pakistan. She tells in a very lucid way the sequence of events that took place as a result of the Islamic invasions and its aftermath and their impact on the prosperity of the temple. Here Meenakshi Jain very pertinently tears apart the theory that has been propelled generally by the Marxist historians that whatever loot and plunder by the Islamist that India has borne was due to their greed for their wealth thus obliterating the severe iconoclasm in the name of religion that was perpetrated at that time.
In this way, we see that this is a paradox of our history writing where under the impact of some particular ideology, the narratives are floated from time to time which very successfully conceal the true facts of history.
In this sense, Prof. Jain’s work has been exceptionally unprecedented which delineates the impeccable details of the temple desecration beginning from the northernmost tip i.e. Multan and finishing with the extreme South. While going through the interesting journey of reading the book, the readers comes across that Dr. Jain completely discounts an important bluff that our Marxist Historians generally does is that temple destruction did not only restrict to the Islamic invaders but it was even done by the Hindu Rulers with respect to the fellow Hindu Kings whom they had defeated. She tells that what the Muslim invaders did was Image Desecration and what the Hindu Kings did barring a few exceptions was the practice of Image Appropriation, in order to substantiate this she gives various examples viz. the idol of Kalinga Jina, Vatapi Ganesha etc. A new insight is provided by Prof. Jain in this context where she refers to a verse in the Purva Karana Agama which mandates upon the triumphant ruler to arrange for the worship of the deities from the vanquished kingdom.
Besides the account very eloquently tells the tale of the hiding of the idols under the ground or well or forests etc. to protect them from the savagery. Sometimes the idols could be successfully found later on at the same place where they were buried but many a times with the passage of time their relocation could not happen as the persons who originally hid them died and so the exact burial sites were no longer remembered by the people afterwards. Similar is the fascinating story of the loss and recovery of the Alagiyamanavalan image which was hidden in the forest by the temple servants who died in the process of protecting the image and when the head temple priest fails to find the image again consecrates fresh image and resumes worship but subsequently the story takes twist and the original image is reinstated . Prof. Jain’s book is the storehouse of such amazing stories.
The tale of the protection of the Madurai temple is a tale of courage and wisdom where the trustees of the temple made a kilikkundu for the Swami in the Garbhagriha ,raised earth mounds to block the entrance of the Garbhagriha and built a stone wall to defend the original lingam. A replica was put in the Ardhamandapam.
The book at last puts in detail the resurrection of the Deities in the various parts of South India viz. the Svetaranyesvara temple (Tanjore District), Sri Svarnamukhisvara temple, Bhimesvara Shiva Temple etc. The author also discusses in detail the trend of the theft of these sacred idols in the recent times particularly after independence where very revered or venerated idols have been stolen of which some have been found and some lost forever.
In this series of tale telling of desecration of the precious idols, one heartrending incident which occupies space in Jain’s account is the destruction of Lord Ganesha’s idol in the Bastar region of Chhatisgarh State by the Maoists though later reinstalled by the local villagers. This incident of the current times is the ultimate symbol of destruction and recreation of our holy and sacred places of worship that we have gone through in the course of our history for the last thousand years.
Therefore, due to the incorporation of all these accounts, this book holds a very significant place for all of us. In my view, the book can turn out to be a triggering point for bringing a new revival or renaissance of our ancient culture amongst our youngsters. The book needs to be a part of all the Indian households so that the new generation value and respect the sacrifices of their ancestors for the protection and sustenance of Dharma. Had it not been their vigorous and prudent decisions, we would have certainly faced the terminal decline of our culture and civilization. Kudos to the painstaking efforts of Prof.Jain who did a wonderful research to bring out these niceties in the quintessential manner.
Even some of the senior leaders of congress party from Tamil Nadu were reported to have warned the dynast that they would leave the congress party if seat for their son was not given. Many leaders in several states are liquidating congress and joining other parties on daily basis, but interestingly Aravind Kejriwal of AAP is so adamant and wants to align with congress party in Delhi.
DMK and APP are the only two political parties that have shown such great desperation to align with congress party. DMK may have some strong reasons to align with congress as it carries big bundle of scam allegations and to unwind all allegations, another partner who is equally corrupt is necessary and such party alone can sink and sail together with DMK.
If we analyse the genesis of AAP we can easily recognise the fact that over the last 4 years, AAP has done enough to ensure its political decomposition. AAP was started as an alternative force; a political force that came into existence, opposing corruption of the then congress government, converted the congress votes to itself and then made a massive victory. The greedy leader of AAP, Kejriwal started to commit one blunder after another to be in the limelight with the presumption that people would view him as an alternate force and the possible contender to Narendra Modi. The stupidity of Kejriwal prevented him from seeing the truth that PM Modi is an uncommon leader with incomparable character and quality, a leader rooted his philosophy in honesty, commitment, development, sab ka vikas, and national security. Kejriwal cannot match the iconic stature of PM Modi in this life time.
PM Modi is very humble but Kejriwal is so arrogant, PM Modi is generous but Kejriwal is greedy, PM Modi wants people to work and reform the nation but Kejriwal believes in blaming and public Dharnas, PM Modi believes in structural reforms but Kejriwal in making false allegations and malicious propaganda and then apologise to everyone to forgive him from defamation case.
AAP made congress worry a lot in the past as congress was the biggest loser of AAP’s growth in Delhi and in other parts of India. Congress lost most of its vote bank to AAP. But today the same AAP is gifting enormous happiness and celebration to congress party by begging and kneeling for an alliance with congress party.
The question people of Delhi are looking for an answer is why AAP wants to align with congress party instead, AAP merge with congress party. Merging with congress party would be the best option for AAP than aligning with congress party as both congress and AAP have lost political relevance in Indian politics. Once AAP merge with congress party, Kejriwal does not have to blame congress party or the dynast for not showing interest to align or any hard bargain over number of seats to be contested by each party.
Once AAP merge with congress party, certainly not only in Punjab and Haryana many, other states also the former AAP members can contest as congress candidates. Once Kejriwal’s term as Chief Minister of Delhi expires, he can join the club of the great dynast to spit lies, false allegations and negativity like the dynast and then can request for pardon when defamation case is filed.
No political party in Indian history has rose to glory and fallen from grace so fast like AAP. The forthcoming parliament election is god given opportunity to people of Delhi to elect PM Modi and remove congress and AAP from the political map of India.
There is a popular saying ‘beg, borrow or steal’ but win is the political ethos of AAP and congress party. They want power and nothing else. For power, anything both AAP and congress party are willing do. People of India must watch this political theatrics. What about governance, development, corruption and scam free administration, sab ka vikas, national security, all these things are only election season slogans for AAP and congress party.
Hope the wise Indians will defeat not only congress party but all those regional forces that are so divisive and destructive in nature.
The alliance partner of congress party in Tamil Nadu is DMK which is known for negative politics, politics of hatred, missionary of anti-God, anti-Hindu, anti-Brahmin propaganda. All the associates of congress party are largely engaged in negative politics and politics of hatred but the politics of PM Narendra Modi and BJP are development, sab ka vikas and national security. India needs a stable government, decisive Prime Minister- Modi and agenda of development, sab ka vikas and national security and not dynasty and corruption.
The year was 2069. Time for another general election. The scenario was almost similar to 2019 general elections for India’s oldest political party Indian National Congress. But their principle opposition has changed. Once their biggest opponents who almost wiped them out of the political map of India, the Bharatiya Janatha Party is struggling for existence. The president of the party, Joseph Vadra (Grand nephew of Rahul Gandhi, party president till 2023) had to quit yet another safe seat of family, Wayanad and contest from Nagaland one of the few seats in the country where a minority community, Christianity is still in majority. With 60% Christians and 1% Hindus this was one of the seats INC is expected to win (Note that the corresponding numbers were 89% and 6% respectively in 2019).
The ecosystem that INC had carefully nurtured in media and establishment was ruthlessly dismantled by the present government when they first came to power in 2044. All the intellectuals who supported the Congress party from generations, have either been jailed, exiled or executed. The Hindus who failed to consolidate behind BJP during their golden period are the worst hit community with almost 4-5 abductions of their minor girls from the Islamic majority youth and are forcefully converted. Police are helpless and can’t register a compliant since conversion of infidels is allowed under Sharia laws.
The economy is in doldrums. The inflation is at an all time high of 60%. 1 US dollar is costing 465 Indian rupees. To overcome this the Government has levied 96% as Jiziya tax on infidels. However as infidels don’t own any business and also with only 5% of total population the revenue generated through Jiziya is too less. The local Imams own most of the land and even faithful Muslims are fighting for basic needs. How did all this happen?
Emergence of Islamic Republic of India
BJP, had bet big on consolidation of votes of the then majority community, the Hindus. Hence when Hindus became minority in most Lok Sabha seats by 2039 elections the first casualty was BJP party. Their image of Hindu party meant that they were the first party to get annihilated when Hindus became minority in this country.
By 2044 the alliance of IUML and AIMIM formed the government and in next five years they expanded so much that they were able to change the Constitution of India. Today in 2069, the Islamic Republic of India is governed by Sharia Law. The likes of Tejdeep Sardesai, Brinda Dutt, Jayesh Kumar etc., the media honchos in the present day India, tried to create a narrative of oppressive majority community terrorizing a helpless minority community, a trick they learnt from their respective grandparents. However unlike their predecessors this narrative was actual truth. They however forgot that unlike their grandparents who lived in a secular democracy they are now living in Islamic republic. Hence they were all charged with Blasphemy. Few traditionally rich Journalists like Brinda Dutt managed to flee the country, now writes in foreign publications on the pathetic conditions of minorities in Islamic republic of India. However, unlike during 2020s there are no liberal echo Chambers in India to amplify the noise created by her.
In 2049 IUML and AIMIM merged to form a new political party Gazwa-E-Hind Majlis (GHM) after passing new Constitution for Islamic Republic of India based on Sharia law. They handed over rest of Kashmir to Pakistan. Since India was also declared an Islamic country and became a permanent member of OIC (Organization of Islamic Countries) Pakistan announced an MFN status to India which was promptly reciprocated by India as well. India has since then drastically pulled back significant forces from Western borders and has deployed them in internal areas to control the unrest created by minority Hindus demanding right to practice their religion.
With almost 90% Islamic majority the GHM’s manifesto promises unification of all 3 Islamic Countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and India into one Gazwa-E-Hind. Though they anticipate opposition from Bangladesh the combined military of India and Pakistan is said to be capable of defeating Bangladesh’s army and annex the country to Gazwa-E-Hind’s fold.
Every parent wants their children to be well mannered, cultured, kind, honest and truthful. Who else can be a better role model than our PM?
There was a whatsapp video going rounds where our PM after wiping did not throw the tissue. instead he put it in the pocket. That reflects his values. Who else is a better role model for your children? Recollect the state of railway stations and bus stands 5 years back. Were they this clean? No.
Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrate Diwali with the soldiers in the border area not with his own family. This shows his commitment and his love for fellow Indians. He is the best role model for your children in respecting forces and teach them values.
As parents whether Muslim, Hindu or any religion want their children to practice their religion and seek God’s and elders’ blessings. PM Modi being the Prime minister of this country he didn’t hesitate putting vibuthi on his forehead.
He is compassion for physically challenged people. Our PM has special named them Divyang. He encouraged them to participate in Olympics and he personally congratulated the winners. Who else can be a role model for your children for kindness and empathy?
As parents we don’t give much time to our children as we are busy in our work. India’s Prime minister take time to counsel the children in his @MannKiBaatt program to advice the children before and after the exams. His Pariksha pe charcha was very popular amongst youth. He spoke about how to deal with success and failures.Think about the future of our children. Ask them about the counselling our PM gives during exams in his #mannkibaat. It reduced their exam stress.
There is always a lot of Hindu-Muslims over the years. I think, since the advent of Islam, around 1000 years ago, two religions were always colliding with each other, despite plentiful of examples of communal harmony. When there are elections, polarisation is bound to happen. One section will vote for preferred candidate, another for other one.
I had bought Panipat, a novel written by Vishwas Patil. My main reason to buy this novel, apart from to know what really happened in 1761, is to know about Ibrahim Khan Gardi, a Maratha General, who fought against Ahmed Shah Durrani of Afghanistan, in historic third battle of Panipat. After the defeat of Marathas, he was brought in front of Durrani aka Abdali. Ibrahim Khan was given lots of offers to join Abdali’s forces, being a Muslim, he was to be given priority, good post etc, but this nationalist rejected everything and, in the end, got killed by Afghans.
I had read this story when I was in school in 7th or 8th standard, his name though forgotten, Ahmed Shah Abdali was marked in my mind. I feel, we are eulogizing wrong idols when we talk about Muslims. People talk about good deeds done by Khilji or Aurangzeb, to suit their narrative. They don’t want to remember Havildar Abdul Hamid, PVC, the brave soldier who single-handedly destroyed technologically advanced Patton tanks of Pakistan.
No one is completely bad, no one is all good. Good or bad behaviour is all about the degree. Aurangzeb was brutal, shrewd & clever ruler. What he did to his opponents, is unspeakable. Not only that, it was alleged that he killed Mirza Raja Jaisingh, who was in his service for many years and who sent Shivaji to Agra in 1666. But he had good qualities too. My father told me once that he used to sew the skull caps for his earning and did not exploited the royal treasure. There are many examples of Ravana or Kansa, which I have read.
Kauravas had goodness in them, but of a lesser degree than Pandavas. Pandavas have bad qualities too, as one knows. So, it all come to degrees. The rift between Hindu and Muslim can be lessen by just to ensure we follow proper examples. There was no need to run a campaign as it was last year by name #TalkToAMuslim. It was to support a movie Mulk. A poor tactic to market the film. Muslims are not hostile In India; they have tremendous freedom and rights than in any other country. Don’t believe me? Ask the Muhajirs of Pakistan or hear Nasiruddin Shah in Sarfarosh.
Campaigning like the above twitter trend, do more harm than good. Recently, a person said in Bank that his loan is not sanctioned as he was Muslim. I saw a Facebook memory of 2016, where I was termed as Bhakt and anti-Muslim by Muslim acquaintance. Why? Because I don’t like KKR of IPL, I don’t think SRK is a good actor, which snowballed in to my disliking Muslims as a whole and I am a danger to the society and country. Even yesterday, a Muslim commented that I was to be blamed for the number 1 rank of India in rapes, because I saw a video of Muslim girl dancing who alleged she was harassed because of being Muslim and took a stand against this so called ‘Harrassment’.
On the contrary, I have received great help from Muslims, not only in India but even when I was studying in UK. My friends were from Iran, Pakistan or British Muslim and I lived in the house of Bangladeshi Muslim, who helped me and relied on me many times. But I cannot like those, who name their port on Mohammad Bin Kasim, their missiles as Babar, Ghouri, Ghaznavi or Abdali, just because these massacred Hindus on massive scale. I hate even more those Hindus, who accept this, without murmur of objection. Liberals or seculars of today are, in my view, more rumour mongering & fake news peddler. These were the ones, who coined the term ‘Extreme-Nationalism’ or ‘Hyper-Nationalism’, both useless and baseless.
It’s all about following those people, and bringing them in the forefront, who are truly nationalists. Muslims are experts in the jobs they do, they earn an honest living and are simple. I speak of my personal experience. Hindus don’t hate Muslims; this is a fact. On the other hand, they like Muslims like Ibrahim Khan Gardi, Abdul Hamid or APJ Abdul Kalam, for instance. Instilling the fear of India becoming a ‘Hindu-Rashtra’ is idiotic as India was always a Hindu-Rashtra, it is known as Hindustan, isn’t it? If it wasn’t so, why there was a need of making a Pakistan?
Just for political points scoring or vote politics, this kind of things revolve around us. We just have to keep our priorities right, both Hindus and Muslims & continue living in harmony for betterment of society.
Shradh, it is a ceremony held in the honour and for the benefits of deceased family relatives. It is observed at fixed periods and on the occasions of celebrations and mourning. Every year, this Shradh ritual is performed on the death anniversary of a person during the Amavasya called pitru Paksha. It is a custom for the Hindu religion, also called as Mahalayapitru paksha, which begins at Purnima in the Ashwini month.
It is believed that Shradh during these days is highly auspicious since what we offer during these days reached the deceased people directly. It helps the deceased soul to rest in peace. Shradh can be performed on the day of Amavasya, the last day of the lunar month. Through Kashi Kshetra Purohit, the famous purohit service in Varanasiprovides purohit for shradha poojain Varanasi. You can get Purohit in Kashi for Pitrukaryas easily from our website. You can also get the best Tamil purohitor the best Telugu purohit in Varanasi.
The Matsya Purana describes the shradh as it is divided into three types. One type of shradh performed daily, another shradh performed periodically and another shradh performed with purpose (Kamya). In North and East India, the shardh, which is performed for deceased ancestors is called as Pitru Paksha Shardh, in Tamilnadu, it is called as Aadi Amavasai, KarikadakaVavu Bali in the state of Kerala and Amavasi rituals in other states or regions. The Pandits for Pitru Pooja in Varanasi help the deceased soul to attain moksha or salvation.
By studying the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, the pandits for shradhkaryas in Varanasitalk about the journey of the dead and the rituals dedicated to them for their safe journey towards their destination. In early days, the Indian scriptures explain the whole significance of shradh with Agni, Garuda, Matsya and Vayu Puranas guiding the purohits for shradhkaryas in Varanasi.
As per the Matsya Purana, Agni, Vasus (name of a significant class of Vedic gods) and Rudras, which is a title of a Vedic storm-god act as intermediaries during the occasion of Pitru Paksha Shradh. In these days the pandits for shradhkaryas in Varanasi do the rituals and offered foods to the ancestors who in turn bless those people, who are performing the rituals. This happens due to a boon provided by the Lord Yama, the god of death in the Hindu Mythology.
Pitru Paksha Shradh is offered to those ancestors whose death dates have been forgotten or for those people who have deaths like accidents or murder. The people who failed to perform barsi or the shradh annually (on the death date) can also do shradh by taking the help of Pandits for Shradhkaryas in Varanasiduring this pitru paksha.
The Pitras
The Purohits for Shradhkaryas in Varanasiexplained about the Shradh that the fortnight of shradh is the time span when the pitras (ancestors) from our current as well as previous lives can approach the planet earth and also their descendants. In this period the dead can be feed on energies of the living on earth.
The pitras or ancestors suffer from hunger, thirst, heat, cold, fatigue and also pain as punishment according to their earlier karmic activities. In search of relief from those pain, the ancestors are attracted to their descendants who are karmic debtors to them.
When Narendra Modi was chosen as PM candidate by BJP for 2014 election & addressed Shri Ram College, Delhi as one of the very first campaigns, he showcased how he transformed Gujarat in a decade. Development pitch an idea, he outlined created a sense of hope to Indians who were in an array of dismay, by the way, UPA 2 handled India on every aspect from 2004-14 with failures on economics, national security, development & internal security issues.
India was becoming a hub of corruption under the watch of Sonia, even Nawaz Sharif allegedly referred to Manmohan Singh as Dehati Aurat to a couple of Indo-Pak journalists in the US when Dr Singh was supposed to meet Sharif and that showed that Indian PM Dr Singh was just a joke even for such a weak country like Pakistan.
On 26th May 2014, when Modi took oath as 15th Prime Minister of India, he signalled as to how he is going to manage his international relations by calling all heads of SAARC including Mr Sharif; though Sharif was heavily criticized in Pakistan for flying to India to attend Modi’s swearing-in ceremony.
When Mr Modi went to parliament for the first time, he touched its stairs, like we do when we visit the temple, as a mark of respect, that showed that Mr Modi considers parliament as a temple, these indications showed the intent of the Man.
In the last 5 years of Modi as PM, India has moved from one extreme to other; from possibly most corrupt & spineless PMO to most hardworking & honest PMO; from fragile five economy to world’s highest growing economy; and Mr Modi has changed India’s international narratives, While Sharif called Dr Singh as Dehati Aurat; today Imran Khan cries that Modi ignores his call, India also is now a space superpower, something (ASAT) which ISRO & DRDO couldn’t test during Manmohan-Sonia govt, because they were unable to give a go-ahead for reasons best known to them.
Tavleen Singh in her book, India’s broken Tryst writes how Sonia Gandhi when went to Amethi for the first time with Rajiv when Indira G was PM, came and discussed about extreme poverty for a couple of days, she was either fascinated or shocked, and forgot it and surprisingly couldn’t do anything to change Amethi’s fortune even after she was de facto PM of India. She also writes how Sonia & Rajiv travelled to around 30 countries in first few months of Rajiv as PM, Sonia attended all important fashion shows and wore most expensive clothes, I am just referring to these incidents to make readers aware about Sonia’s thinking and mindset.
Rahul has inherited the same, he had spent a night at the 30-year-old Sunita’s house to show that the Congress identified itself with the Dalit cause. A few years later, she exposed Rahul as to how she was unable to reach her MP Rahul Gandhi when her house was set on fire by some criminals.
Lets us look at how India is transformed under Modi on some key parameters.
Schemes for Underprivileged Indians
Modi doesn’t believe in symbolism when he was offered to wear Muslims Cap, he refused to say that I respect your religion, but I will wear my faith. Modi believes in uplifting poor, Dalit & downtrodden people of the society. His key schemes like Swachh Bharat has ensured that today almost all houses of India have toilets, Ujjwala is able to deliver more than 9 crores free LPG to women & has thus given them smoke free kitchen; both these schemes are very basic in nature but has changed women’s lives and has improved on the health index as well.
One of his first initiative, Jan Dhan Yojna, Modi has been able to open bank accounts for entire India, 33 crores bank accounts to the people who had no access to banks, thus ensuring 99% Indians have banking access now; when in 2017, he announced Demonetization, this scheme made more sense. This scheme also benefitted govt in crores of rupees which otherwise were leaked during various benefits schemes. Banking to all has made DBT so easy & transparent, PM Kisan Yojna, a scheme where 12 crore farmers would be given 6000 per year, will also be another key beneficiary of Jan Dhan Yojna.
More than 18000 villages and more than 2.5 crores of homes were unelectrified; today there is 100% electrification; data like this speaks for itself, it also shows where Sonia led UPA lacked & all other previous governments too. All these schemes have impacted the most common men’s lives and changed it dramatically.
National Security
India has a dual issue of security: Internal and External, both are trying to break India. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh once said India’s biggest internal security challenge was Maoist violence. In 2009, the total number of Maoist incidents reported across the country was 2,258, the number of civilians killed 591 and security forces killed 317. The same year, 220 Maoists were also killed.
In comparison, 908 LWE incidents were reported across the country in 2017-18. While 75 security personnel and 188 civilians were killed, at least 136 Maoists were gunned down. Casualties among security forces have declined by 53-55%
One of the major initiatives of the government was clearing implementation of a Rs 25,060 crore umbrella scheme to modernize central and state police forces, this has helped in reducing Maoist incidents and empowering our security forces and hence thousands of Maoists have surrendered in last few years of Modi govt.
National security has seen a major boost in the way we respond to challenges. Two incidents which started the change were both at different horizons. First one was when Naga militants killed 18 soldiers in Manipur in June 2015. Modi gave the clearance to attack and a free hand to defence forces immediately, the surgical strike inside Myanmar was carried out by a crack team of about 70 commandos of the Indian Army who finished the operation within 40 minutes, leaving 38 Naga insurgents dead and seven injured in July 2015. India became the third country in the world after the US and Israel to cross into another country’s border to kill terrorists.
Peaceful resolution of the Doklam dispute has been Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s biggest geo-strategic win to date says Rajat Sethi. It further demonstrated the success of a quiet leadership – where cold and calculative moves beat chest-thumping rhetoric and where results speak for themselves. To convince China to agree to India’s demand would have been tough, Modi must have been done more than what our eyes can see internationally to build pressure on China.
How’s the Josh is currently Bharat’s tagline post-Uri. Surgical strike crossing LOC & destroying terror camps in Pakistan by no means seemed possible pre-Modi era, he made it look so easy and important part is that Pakistan had no chance to react. On 14th Feb 2019, when horrific incident in Pulwama happened and Modi promised in Rajasthan rally after few days that “Main Maa Bhavani Ka Saugandh Khata hu ki Badla lunga, We were sure something big will happen, Trump told US media that India is planning something big, we were just waiting before Balakot news came in. It reinforced our belief in Modi’s words when he says Talk & Terror can’t go together. It also showed how weak was Dr Singh as dummy PM & India under Sonia when same Air force who killed 250-300 terrorists inside Pakistan post-Pulwama, didn’t get clearance to go ahead & destroy terror camps post 26/11 in Mumbai which was even worse than Pulwama.
Economy
In UPA era, while corruption was its peak, in fact Manmohan Singh said I feel ashamed to come out in public due to massive corruption; Indian economy was termed in Fragile Five category by Morgan Stanley due to its instability & dependency on external forces in 2013; from fragile five to the world’s fastest-growing economy under Modi era.
Manmohan Singh on UPA Corruption
India has received massive foreign direct investment worth USD 239 billion in the last five years on account of a stable and predictable regulatory regime, growing economy and strong fundamentals. India is becoming an electronics manufacturing hub for electronics, from a mere 2 mobile manufacturing company to 120 mobile companies now. India has last week surpassed Britain to become the 5th largest economy in the world and the second largest in terms of purchasing power parity.
The more important fact is that Mr Modi has put India on the track for quick growth in the next decade due to various economic initiatives from Demonetization to Benami Act to Economic offender’s act to Bankruptcy code. Here is a leader who has not hesitated to take the strongest possible decisions in the interest of the nation.
Infrastructure Development
Speed and scale with which roads, ports and railways are being built is double or more of what UPA was able to do in 2013-14, but it just starts after UPA’s anti-development and blockage policy of infra projects. Multiple infrastructure projects have been launched and some are on the brink of implementation. Rs. 12,00,000 crore Sagarmala project of building more than 6 mega ports, Rs 50,800-crore Setu Bharatam project of renovating 1500 British era bridges, Rs 1198 crore project of building world’s highest bridge on Chenab and several others are key projects initiated under Modi government. Priyanka Gandhi taking riverways to go to Varanasi from Prayagraj is an example of how Gadkari has transformed inland waterways. We know that Pepsi started bringing its container from Kolkata to Varanasi through Ganga using inland waterways.
North East has seen first-time Railway connectivity and even Airports are reaching at the Indo-China border. Vande Mataram express which started between Delhi-Varanasi runs at the rate of 180 km/hr is completely made in India. Bullet train work is in progress and is expected to be finished by 2021.
We must vote Modi because several of infra projects which are in progress would help him complete and thus making India even more connected & accessible.
Foreign Policy
As Modi rightly put in an interview with CNN-IBN this week that our foreign relation is changed exactly 360 degrees now, previously only Russia was with India on disputes and terror issues, and rest of world with Pakistan; now only China is indirect with Pakistan and rest of the world including the Middle East with India.
critical evacuation exercise of not only 4,800 Indians but also 1,972 people from other countries in ‘Operation Rahat’ from Yemen was a massive win for Modi which was supported by Saudi King Salman.
Modi got the bilateral Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement signed with the United States in 2016 for facilitating logistical support, supplies and services between the United States and Indian militaries on a reimbursable basis and providing a framework to govern such exchanges & followed it up with the signing of Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) in 2018 to facilitate access to advanced defense systems and enable India to optimally utilize its existing U.S.-origin platforms.
Modi receiving highest civilian award both from Saudi Arabia & UAE, Seoul Peace Prize from South Korea, Champions of earth award for protection of Environment and marketing guru’s Philip Kotler Presidential Award is a reflection of Modi’s global image and diplomacy. Modi was able to add black money clause in his first ever G 20 summit. Today Israel, US, Russia, Germany, France, UK & other powerful countries are supporting Modi govt in all its global policies. Last month, At the UN, France lead a proposal to put Masood Azhar on the terrorist list supported by the US & UK. India’s passport power has increased across the globe and Modi has been a Rockstar PM globally. As per Forbes, he is the 9th most powerful global leader; he is the second most followed leader globally on Social media as well.
Modi Govt achievements in last 5 years
What we must vote Modi? Why Modi Again?
One of my friends while discussing about Modi, his campaigns & 2019, wrote to me that “”This is by far the best government, Modi should not be even campaigning… his losing or not getting majority will be comment on the maturity of voters and inability of so-called educated people to educate others” I wish India and voters would have evolved, but reality is it hasn’t.
While there are numerous transformations initiatives that Modi has been able to manage, most of his plan needs to continue to be able to achieve the optimal objective in changing India & its people; and hence we must vote for Modi to take India forward. We must also vote Modi because we cannot afford to go back to a regime that will teach our children patriotism of Aurangzeb & Tipu Sultan; that will loot houses of martyred army’s widow, that won’t be able to provide bulletproof jackets to our defence forces, that can’t build houses for poor, that will remove forces from Kashmir, which supports Tukde Tukde Gang, that will run country from the involvement of missionaries, that won’t respect our culture & civilization, that won’t allow us to follow our practices be it Jallikatu or Diwali they will ensure judiciary interferes & eventually we forget our practices, that will never ensure better living for us, that will tax us more, that will make our hand hang in shame due to corruption, that won’t scrap 370, that won’t help in revival of temples at Mathura, Kashi & Ayodhya.
We must Vote Modi because he is non-corrupt, he doesn’t have a son or daughter who is in line to rule us without any qualification, we must vote Modi because even though he is only on water during Navratri for nine days he still works for 18 hours, he travels internationally in the night so that he can utilize time for India, he doesn’t keep even his 95-year-old mother in PM house because he considers Bharat Mata as bigger than his own mother. Modi is the ONLY option for us if we want a better, vibrant & stronger India. Let’s take a pledge to vote for Modi again in 2019.
Recently many stalwarts of the party – Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Sumitra Mahajan – announced that they will not be contesting the 2019 general elections, thereby completing the first power transition generation-wise, at least officially.
The mainstream media used the opportunity to the maximum to show the news from different angles making sure that the BJP and especially Narendra Modi come off as “villains” every time. They portrayed Narendra Modi as some power hungry fanatic who does not have any respect for his Gurus and elders.The opposition parties also used this opportunity, mostly in bad taste, to attack BJP and Narendra Modi.
Whether in politics, or business or sports or any other social or professional organisation, there always comes a time when the older generation has to transfer power to the next generation. The only things that can be addressed are how that transfer would take place, how the inheritor would be decided and how do you treat the elders once you have the power but you cannot stop the inevitable. This process has been constant since the times of beginning of civilizations.
History from the world over is filled with different ways through which power has transferred through all these centuries. Sometimes bloody, sometimes vengeful, sometimes shameful, sometimes cheatful, and sometimes peaceful.
In Indian political history since Independence, we have seen the examples of different dynasts (since Indian politics is dominated by dynasties) – some wait till as late as 70 years of age for their father to relinquish power, some take matter in their own hands and take the power forcibly (shaming and humiliating the patriarch in the process), some fight over the heritage when their father is indisposed. Even in Congress, the matters have worsened every time when the power was to be transferred back to the family who are considered the actual owners of the heritage of the Grand Old party by today’s congressmen.
Since BJP is the only member based national party where power is not transferred within a single family, the process of transfer is more fluid. It is the party which decides when would the power be transferred and to whom. State after state, different leaders have come and served their states, and quietly left the arena once they were defeated or lost relevance or due to illness, death and other reasons.
On a central stage, different party presidents have come and gone, specially since they cannot serve for more than two terms, with no public drama or infighting but symbolically this would be the first time when none of the founding members or prominent early members would be contesting the elections, so this seems to be a generational change in the party which can be symbolically compared to the power transfer in other dynastic parties, though in real the power has been transferred long back.
It was inevitable at some point of time. So the question is how should a BJP member or supporter should see this? Has the party’s current leadership disrespected the elders by nudging them or coercing them to give up their seats? How else could this situation have been handled? Would the current leadership be as gracious as the previous one when their time comes to transfer power? These are the questions that must be occurring in every person’s mind related to BJP.
My perspective is that the current leadership has done everything within the boundaries of Hindu traditions and values. Hindu value system talks about the last stage of life called “Vanprasth”. This is the stage of life when the older generation should leave everything material and move to forests and live frugal lifestyle while working on their spiritual self. But the times have changed. Now you do not go to forests, nor do you relinquish any material possessions till the last day of your life. So we need to change the way we look at generational power transfer as well.
I would prefer the elders to relinquish their power as per their own volition but its not easy for every person to know when is the right time to move on from something that has been his/her whole life. So they should not be faulted if they do not choose to do so. Similarly, the next generation should not be seen in bad light if they nudge the elders without any disrespect to let them know that “its time”.
As long as the whole situation is handled gracefully and respectfully, one should not read too much into what media and opposition is trying to portray. One should remember, till few years ago, all these stalwarts – Lal Krishna Advani, Murali Manohar Joshi etc. – were communal and the face of “violent hindutva” for these journalists and opposition parties just like today Narendra Modi and Amit Shah are. They vied for the blood of all these people since the day they dared to talk about Hindus and Hindu culture. And now they are talking about the disrespect shown to them by their own party, their own family!
Bengaluru, April 8: Rahul Gandhi’s victory from a second safe seat in the minority-dominated Wayanad Lok Sabha seat of Kerala would not improve the prospects of Congress in southern parts of the country including Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, political analysts say.
“Rahul Gandhi winning Wayanad seat will not improve the prospects of Congress in southern parts of the country. Tamil Nadu is a hard nut to crack. It will take some for time for Congress to gain a toehold there. They are not present in Telanagana and Andhra. In Karnataka and Kerala, there will not be any improvement because they have been doing well,” political analyst Harish Ramaswamy said here.
Instead of opting for the second seat from Wayanad, Rahul should have contested from a state ruled by Congress, which would have sent a strong message in the BJP camp that he is ready to face their challenge from two seats, Ramaswamy said.
The fact that he has chosen to contest from Wayanad where the BJP does not have any presence has given a long rope for the saffron party to call Rahul a weak candidate, he said.
This decision has needlessly angered and provoked the communists in Kerala, who otherwise had good friendly relations, Ramaswamy added.
“It would have been better for Rahul to have contested from Hindi heartland, but having not done so, it has created perception that the Congress is not confident of winning even in Congress-ruled states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, where BJP is the main opposition party,” he said.
Another political analyst Sandeep Shastri said, historically, state-based politics of neighbouring states has had minor effect on each others border territories, Shastri said.
He, however, said the Congress would not tie up with suspcious outfits like SDPI in Waynad because it has been doing well and has support of minority community.
Dr Pravin Patil, another political analyst, said Rahul’s electoral trip to Wayanad is unlikely to stem the rot within Congress.
This move has played straight into BJP’s hands because of two reasons and will further hurt the Congress party’s chances in 2019, he said.
“Firstly, it has created doubts in the minds of voters in Amethi where BJP’s Smriti Irani is not only putting up a strong fight but also has nurtured the constituency for the last 5 years,” Patil said in his online portal, The Gaze.
In the normal course of this election, Rahul might have still won this seat with ease, but by now having picked up a second seat, he has given the fence-sitters of Amethi a big reason not to vote for him, he said.
Secondly, by choosing a minority dominated Wayanad, Rahul and Congress have unwittingly spurred a Hindu-Muslim undercurrent to this general election, Patil said.
“In the next 20 odd days, by whence Wayanad goes to polls, there will be virtually daily news stories and messages of how Congress has tied up with Muslim fundamentalist elements like SDPI and the Jamaat to get Rahul elected from Wayanad which will in turn agitate average Hindu voters across India,” he added.
Arun Jaitely wrote a blog a few days back saying that this elections would be a clash of ideologies and went on to describe the two choices India had. I agree with his assertion that “2019 is indeed a clash of ideologies”.
What are the ideologies that are trying their luck in the political arena? To put it simply the clash is between the views that on one side we have the view that “India was born in 1947” while on the other side we have the view that “India is a 5000 old civilization that got self-rule in 1947”.
Those who believe “India was born in 1947” are a mix of different ideologies and interests. We have the leftists who believe in “religion is afeem for the masses” and claim themselves secular while practicing hate for the majority religion and appeasement for the minority religion.
We also have the Socialists in this mix who believe in the teachings and ideas of Ram Manohar Lohia but love to live a lavish lifestyle with multiple Lamborginis, SUVs to choose from when they want to go in the midst of the public to deliver their message of socialism. Their idea of upliftment is to make hundreds of statues of themselves and their party symbols or to damage and take away anything of worth when forced to vacate their plushy Rajmahals.
Then we have the fundamentalists and “distortionists” who believe in radical ideas or false history. We have the parties which are more closer to ISIS in their ideology than the Indian ethos. We also have the parties which believe in mythical Indo-Dravadian divide.
And finally we have the Dynasts led by the big names of the Grand Old Party. They believe that it were they who freed India in 1947 and thus should be regarded as the First Family of India. Indians should be grateful for whatever crumbs these Kings and Queens throw towards them and bow down in their reverence every moment of the day. Indians should stop wasting time on Hindu Gods, Sufi Saints, Sikh Gurus, Buddhist and Jain Monks; and should accept that they are the only ones who are worth worshiping. In any case, they are the “bhagyavidhatas” of all Indians. No one can succeed, survive or even live without their graciousness.
On the other side, we have the ideology that “India is a 5000 year old civilization”. It says that India is not merely a piece of land as seen by the lot mentioned above but a culture that is custodian of the oldest surviving civilization of the world. India is our motherland rather than just being another sovereign country among hundred others. They consider everyone living in this spiritual land as Hindu/Indian first and any other identity later. The people are connected to each other through teachings, ideas and ancestors dating back to more than 5000 years.
It does not believe in special treatment of anyone based on their caste, religion or community but wants to empower everyone to achieve their aspirations and goals. It believes in speaking the truth, even if its uncomfortable, and taking on problems head on rather than to let it linger forever. The practitioners of this ideology have been branded “communal”, “Bhakts”, “saffron goons”, but they never deviated from their path or ideology.
Wearing the insults as a badge of honor, they kept raising their voice in a hostile environment waiting for a leader who will take their truth to the masses and make people see for who they actually are rather than what they have been portrayed as by the ecosystem that has been cultivated and nurtured since many decades. They were rewarded for their patience, hard work and dedication in 2014.
So these are two choices in front of India. One, who wants to serve their self-interest while fooling the people in the name of poverty; who regard India as a mere piece of land; who would not hesitate in taking support of anti-India forces if it helps their selfish, greedy, unquenchable thirst of power and money. And, on the other, who consider themselves custodian of this great ancient land of knowledge, the land of seekers. Who have proved in last 5 years that “power is not poison” if it is used as an instrument of social change.
We have seen the India one side has built in last 70 years. And we have also seen the glimpse of India that can be built going forward in these last 5 years.
