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Is there indeed ‘gender discrimination’ in Sabarimala?

Varun Maturkar
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Is there indeed ‘gender discrimination’ in Sabarimala?

On the Sabarimala judgement Chief Justice of India said: “Historically, women have been treated with inequality and that is why, many have fought for their rights.” He further stated, “Patriarchy in religion cannot be permitted to trump over the element of pure devotion borne out of faith and the freedom to practise and profess one’s religion.” Justice DY Chandrachud said in his judgement – “Among the fundamental duties of every citizen recognized by the Constitution is to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women.” After looking through various such arguments of Supreme Court judgement it seems the SC wants to imply that there is ‘gender discrimination’ in the Sabarimala Temple and temple wants to forbid women of ‘menstrual age’ citing their impurity. Women are restricted in the temple, not because of the dogma of menstruation taboo but for an exclusively different cause.

‘Gender discrimination’ or just ‘gender distinction’?

Travancore Devaswom Board (TTB) avows that Lord Ayyappa is ‘Naishtika Brahmachari’ (eternal celibate). According to rules particularized in Shastras, a Naishtika Brahmachari should be kept away from all potential women contact, specifically those of reproductive age. The deity Lord Ayyappa was spiritually fixed based on his eternal celibacy, so he should be protected from being provoked by women of reproductive age. TTB has specified that age bar of 10-50 doesn’t indicate that women of menstrual age are impure, but it implies, women of reproductive age shouldn’t be bought near the deity, citing the customs.

These arguments are definitely illogical and unscientific, but does any argument based on religion have a rational basis? Even Justice Indu Malhotra also agreed in her judgement that ‘religion and rationality can’t be mixed.’ Nonetheless, the points raised by TTB prove that the restriction of women in Sabarimala isn’t because of ‘discrimination’ as it is ‘just distinction’ based on traditional folkways.

Are such distinctions only for women?

People think that all such rules are made for women only, but such ‘distinctions’ aren’t only for them, as they also exist for men. 179 km from Sabarimala temple is Attukal Temple also known as Sabarimala of women, is a religious site where men are not permitted. The Pushkar temple of Lord Brahma also excludes married men and allows only ascetics and women devotees to enter the sanctorium. Men are strictly prohibited in Bhagwati Ma temple of Kanyakumari. The exact contrary to Sabarimala, Kamakhya Temple in Assam gives special status to women of reproductive age by allowing them and them only in the sanctorium!

In judgement CJI said ‘women have suffered historic injustice,’ will the CJI repeat the same after hearing rules of Attukal temple and Pushkar temple? These distinctions which are based on age-old traditions neither consider women as inferior in Sabarimala Temple nor considers men as inferior in Attukal Temple as seen by Supreme Court and some feminists.

Is it same as denial of Dalits in temple before 1936?

Before 1936, the constraint of Dalits in Sabarimala can be definitely stated as discrimination. That constraint was definitely repugnant as no rules of Naishtika Brahmacharya or any other sensible school of Hinduism indicate to deny entry to Dalits. Maharaja of Travancore positively enshrined verse 4.13 of Bhagavad Gita- चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं गुणकर्मविभागश: This verse explicitly says  the four varnas are based on behaviour and work of the person and not on his birth. Prohibition of Dalits from this temple was indeed a sort of discrimination and also a blot on our egalitarian Vedic culture, but the restriction of women in Sabarimala and men in Attukal is not discrimination and certainly not grave injustice as opined in SC judgement.

What western feminist thinking says?

Hindu culture which is extremely diverse and aberrant is often opposed by western feminist theories. CJI Dipak Mishra also quoted a noted western feminist thinker Susan B. Anthony to justify his judgement. Albeit, these western feminist thinkers assert- ‘sex’ is a naturally occurring distinction between male and female while ‘gender’ is created by societal oligarchs. The distinction between ‘sexes’ was acceptable for feminist activists while their struggle was against ‘gender discrimination.’ The restriction of women in Sabarimala and men in Attukal is based on a natural cause of ‘sex’ and not dictated by societal oligarchs. Even if we apply this so-called broad-minded feminist thinking, the restriction of women will be seen as ‘sex distinction’ and not ‘gender discrimination.’

Will gender discrimination endure in Kerala?

Apart from these arguments related to such age-old traditions, Kerala, the state in which Sabarimala is located can’t be seen as a place where gender discrimination will take place. If the literacy rate of women in India is 65.46% then figure of same in Kerala is 92.07%. If the sex ratio in India is 943 per 1000 males, the same for Kerala is 1058 per 1000 males.  The IMR rate is 10 per 1000 compared to the national figure of 34. Many researchers appreciate low Gender Disparity Ratio in schooling and college education in the coastal state after comparing with other states of India. Nair community in Kerala is known for matriarchy. Except in certain sectors like the state legislature, gender discrimination in Kerala is rather low. It will be too naïve to say that grave injustice will ever exist in such egalitarian society of Kerala only by denying women entry in Sabarimala.

Solution

As a citizen, I will abide by the judgement of the Supreme Court and will like to suggest Kerala CM and all the stakeholders of the Sabarimala issue take an alternative approach. They may apply Trimbakeshwar formula where both men and women are refused in the inner sanctum of the temple, as a new approach for equality. If maintaining eternal celibacy of Lord is paramount then both men and women can take blessings of Lord Ayyappa outside the sanctorium of the temple thus continuing this spiritual tradition by maintaining eternal celibacy of Lord.

Why Congress will be good but not good enough in MP

Obinew
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Why Congress will be good but not good enough in MP

Polling in the most crucial state of upcoming state elections, Madhya Pradesh will be held on 28th November and campaigning is in full swing from both main parties, The congress and the BJP. Shivraj Singh Chouhan is seeking a fourth term and facing resistance from a strongest looking  Congress of 15 years. But there are several reasons why Congress will improve its tally significantly but will fall short of magic figure of 116. Lets look at these reasons:-

  1. Personal image and charisma of Shivraj Singh Chouhan – Shivraj Singh calls himself “Kisan ka beta” when interacting with masses. When Digvijay government was booted out in 2003, it left the state with poor roads, poor electricity and water crises. ‘Sadak, Bijli and Pani’ was the main issue based on which MP was well known as a Bimaru state. The BJP government in past 15 years has worked very hard on improving the conditions of these basic issues. Development in roads and infrastructure is visible on ground. City Roads are much better, footpaths with interlocking tiles even in the big cities like Indore was unimaginable during Digvijay rule of 1993-2003.

All this changed after BJP took over the charge of the state and it has brought much positivity among public. Indore is named the most clean city of India 2 year in a row and no doubt why it has become the strongest bation of BJP in past 3 decades. (Sumitra Mahajan is an MP from here since 1989 defeating every opponent with bigger margins continuously) . Development in infrastructure has indeed happened in other major cities like Ujjain, Bhopal as well. Despite Congress’s heavily negative campaign and rhetoric, Shivraj Singh has an image of working man or active politician all over the state especially among youth, poor, women, farmers and business class.

2. Popularity of Shivraj among women voters – Shivraj Singh has initiated some schemes for women and girls which are very popular in women voters. Some of these schemes are “Ladli Lakshmi Yojna” and “Mukhyamantri Kanyaadan Yojna”. LLY is about positive change in social attitude towards birth of a girl child and MKY is about financial assistance to poor, needy, destitute families for marrying off their daughters. Some unfortunate rape cases have happened in MP recently and Congress jumped in quickly to defame the CM and entire state but if one look at the large crowds of young girls and women in Shivraj’s “Jan Aashirwad Yatra” then it is clearly visible that their negative campaign is falling flat against the popular CP whom the kids call “Mama”.

3. Confused Congress– The Congress party appears to be confused about how to carry the campaign forward. Anybody observing Congress campaign in MP can see their confusion, flip-flops and probably nervousness. First they tried to create the impression of Shivraj’s involvement in Vyapam but did not succeed. After that they suddenly put posters of “Shiv-Bhakt Rahul Gandhi” on the streets of Bhopal (that may have annoyed their core minority vote bank). Then Rahul Gandhi tried “Rafale scam” and “Modi Chor” rhetoric which also did not connect to the public on ground as Congress itself has not moved court on the matter yet.

Also, nobody took Rahul Gandhi seriously when he made statements like “Made in Chitrakoot”, “Made in Bhopal” and “Made in MP” etc. Congress also tried its hands in inciting farmers, SC/ST act protests and petrol price rise through Bharat Bandh but it stands little to gain from this as Shivraj took several steps to address farmers’ concerns immediately, Bharat Bandh was only partially successful since most of the people did not participate voluntarily and Upper caste voters are also very unlikely to turn to congress even if they are angry with Shivraj/BJP.

4. Factionalism in MP Congress– MP Congress is divided in several groups. prominent among them are Kamalnath group, Jyotiraditya Scindia group and Digvijay Singh group. Supporters of these leaders are lobbying heavily for tickets and infighting after ticket distribution is imminent. There are also sections of Kamalnath and Scindia supporters who want their leaders to be declared as CM candidate. Another smaller group is led by former MPCC president Arun Yadav whose supporters roughed up state incharge Deepak Babaria publicly. These cracks weaken the supposed power of a united congress.

5. Anti-Hindu image – MP is a state with 90% Hindu population and it was one of the first states which voted for BJP rule on the backdrop of Ram Rath Yatra of LK Advani in 1990 (Sunderlal Patwa was elected CM then). Apart from not working on development, another reason of Digvijay Singh’s unpopularity among voters of majority community is his policies and statements seen as minority appeasement and vote-bank politics. Digvijay Singh’s open and constant use of words like “Hindu Aatankwaad” and “bhagwa aatankwaad” made him the most hated politician of MP over the past decade. This is the reason why he is gagged by high command and is also missing from posters. Apart from disliking Digvijay Singh, the majority Hindu community of MP is also not happy with the Congress on national level after statements like “Hindu Pakistan” and “Hindu Taliban” were made by another leader Shashi Tharoor.

6. Modi-Factor – Narendra Modi is very popular in MP and he is yet to hit the campaign. Even if there is drop in BJP seats, slog-over campaigning by Modi will make sure it will sail through.

Conclusion – It is true that Congress is giving its best fight of 15 years in MP, but results are likely to be Gujarat-like. Congress improving its tally a lot and doing good but not good enough to unseat BJP from MP. Yet another “moral victory” for them is looking like a probable scenario at this point.

Final prediction and Numbers – Based on these factors, If Congress does a Gujarat like improvement and perform their best, then final tally for BJP looks like somewhere between 116-125.

Why the blood relatives of corruption and scams are wary over Ajit Doval

S Ranganathan
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Why the blood relatives of corruption and scams are wary over Ajit Doval

The National Security Advisor of the incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ajit Doval has proved himself to be a proud citizen of India first than a bureaucrat or National Security Advisor of PM.

Every Indian must follow his path and understand that the interest of the nation should be given utmost priority than causing instability in our country. Weak coalition is dangerous to our country is well known. India has gone backward several centuries mainly due to appeasement politics and coalition politics. In both situations, the dynastic parties were interested only in own political interest and not about the nation.

The NSA therefore showed his true statesmanship and explained clearly how the weak coalition can destabilize and destroy our country which is built brick by brick to prosperity by PM Modi. The fringe players are upset and wary over the statement of Shri Ajit Dowel because the fringe players cannot accommodate patriots and those who are committed to our nation in their team. The fringe players always want others should praise one family, the dynastic culture and engage in building syndicate of corruption. Therefore any statement with statesmanship is bound to annoy and angry them.

India is passing through a transformation phase from poverty stricken, weak, scam filled, dynasty culture dominated, nepotism centric India to highly developed, self-reliant, entrepreneur driven, skill based, corruption free, aspiring, young, vibrant India thanks to the tireless efforts of Narendra Modi. Once India awaken to new world of reality, aspiration, development and sab ka vikas, the dynastic parties will not have any job as well as will not have any scope for scams and looting India.

In the name of poverty and minority appeasement, all those blood relatives of corruption and nepotism were fooling the country and were continuously destabilizing the ethos of one India, one election, one tax.

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started to unite India, brought a single and strong correcting cord- development and sab ka vikas to unite the nation to build New India. The corrupt Netas never want Indians to wake up to new realities and instead want Indians to be a mere followers and sloganeers of their party. The family parties were actually building a ‘brand politics’ over their family but PM Modi has dismantled the concept of brand politics and installed development and sab ka vikas based politics.

Today the world is agog and appreciative of India and is predicted that India would soon become one of the super powers in the world. PM Modi has proven to be the visionary, decisive, committed Prime Minister ever India had in the recent times. India under his leadership has emerged as a leader country to define and design the world order and culture.

People of India should not destroy all such efforts of the Prime Minister Modi by handing over India either to the dynast or to the fringe elements. It would be like gifting a garland to monkey.

What Shri. Ajit Doval has said in the interest of our nation that weak coalition is dangerous and therefore people of India should be cautious and must be responsible deserve appreciation and not criticism.

Asking people to be responsible and cautious and requesting people to see how India has transformed under BJP Govt is the fundamental duty and responsibility of every citizen who love the country. What Shri Ajit Doval has done is appropriate and is much needed gesture from a true statesman.

People of India must read the message in the right perspective and must differentiate the leader who works for the development and sab ka vikas and those who work for own family and self-gratification.

Talks will not solve Kashmir problem

pulkitkaul
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Talks will not solve Kashmir problem

Kashmir problem began from the day it became Hindu minority. In 1947 it just had 15% Hindus which came down to 5% in 1981 and ultimately complete exodus took place.

One cannot term it as phenomenon of people’s aspirations and problem of insurgency. The problem further complicates when Western nations, who had History of blood and imperialism take high moral grounds and ask India to look for ‘humanitarian side’. Everyone knows how US crushed the rebellion of 7 Southern states when Lincoln was President and they were all Christian majority states. No one should force India when and why to talk with Pakistan and Hurriyat leaders on issue of Kashmir.

India had several rounds of talks with Pakistan and Kashmir separatist leaders since 1947. Still we were forced to face wars and after war time its again same old routine of talks!

Pakistani artists came to India did all their performances there was enough cultural exchanges too many literature festivals but nothing changed. Our political leadership should admit that talks and peace pigeons failed miserably.

Cry over AFSPA

In my view AFSPA in Kashmir is very weak and must be strengthened to 100 folds. Army does not come on its own will. It’s the power of Governor of state when he realizes that law and order situation has worsened beyond the solving limits of state police. In such a situation when army is called for, one cannot expect normal process of law and formalities.

Supreme Court ordered investigation against 97 killings in Manipur which were alleged as fake encounter by security forces. First of all incompetent judges of Apex court must not poke their nose in such an extra-ordinary circumstances. They refused to order investigations in cases of Kashmiri Hindus who were butchered by Jihadis in 1989-90.

Remember that Army has not taken control on its own wishes. US forces who bombarded Islamic state of Iraq on fake allegations of Chemical weapons must not lecture India on how to deal with Kashmir issue.

One cannot talk with those militants who are trained to shoot with AK-47. Security forces have already shown maximum possible restraint in dealing with AFSPA situation. Rock throwers blinded our security personnel with stones several times. One cannot ignore human rights of a person just because he is in uniform. The pain of CRPF and BSF jawans who fight with both naxals and Jihadis are often ignored. They are still lagging with respect to right amount of incentives and other benefits.

Men with uniform are not entitled to get any human rights.

Performance of present Government

It’s important to evaluate present Government with full honesty and unbiased attitude. No doubt that terrorist elimination grew multiple times if we compare from previous regimes. Nation appreciated surgical strikes on Pakistan occupied Kashmir. Major Gogoi got Government’s appreciation for his innovative way of dealing with insurgency. Prime Minister Modi raised issue of Baluchistan which was an excellent strategic move, too.

Remember how Major Gogoi gave a an apt lesson to the ‘Kashmiri Youht’?

Building of Chabahar and developing alternative trade tactics posed big challenge before Indian enemies.

Still Modi regime failed on many fronts. Indian Government still playing hide and seek with Hurriyat leaders. They get arrested for few days and then they are released. Medical visas to Pakistan citizens is another blunder by Indian Government. One must be honest in showing rivalry and must not help the enemy state at any cost.

Fear is creeping in minds of Jammu Hindus. The threat of another demographic change is looming over their mind. Kathua case conspiracy proved that Islamic regime can go to any extent to defame Hindus and then justify their violence. It’s not just fear of physical violence but tactics of exerting mental pressure, forcing Hindus to show principles of non-violence in favour of barbarians. Leftist student wings in New Delhi just shout slogans of breaking India and still they are stars of News channels.

Government is just doing lip service in Rohingya Muslims issue. It was clear after Independence that only persecuted Hindus will get shelter in India. The Independence Act clearly gave way to separate Islamic Pakistan and there is no legal obligation on India to bear blunder of Islamic refugees. Government failed to give louder and clearer message to apex court that you cannot hear the matter of Rohingya refugees. Why judiciary must decide matters of refugees and foreign policy? The Hindus in Jammu are frightened when they think about possible demographic change which could be injected with help of West Pakistan and Rohingya Muslim refugees. The protests of Hindus is growing louder while our media is still singing songs of- Islam Khatre mein hai.

After enjoying 10 years of Vice resident post he feels Muslims are in danger

Interlocutors: A failed idea of dealing with proble

Congress Govt in 2010 appointed group of interlocutors under the Chairmanship of Dileep Padgaonkar for the issue of Jammu and Kashmir.

As expected there was nothing concrete. Some of the recommendations by the group were not in tune with Indian sovereignty. The interlocutor reports said that returning to pre-1953 situation will create constitutional vacuum in Center-State relations. This statement looks absolute nonsense because we have an army to control the situation and local electoral leadership always indulges in soft separatism.

The committee even recommended to delete the word Temporary from Article 370 and replace it with the word Special. It also recommended to gradually reduce officers from All India Services from Jammu and Kashmir. A further devolution of powers to Panchayati Raj was also mentioned.

These recommendations must never get accepted. Indian Union must not surrender before the evil forces which wants sharia law in Kashmir. Such radical belief gets support of some super secular intellectuals who always looked other side of border with more favorable sight.  We had too many talks with these people but nothing changed.

Possible solution of Kashmir insurgency

I neither support war nor peaceful talk. Today’s era demands proxy-war and strategic moves.

First of all India must remove Article 370. India cannot bear an absolutely independent state within Indian state. It was a temporary provision and can be removed through president order. The observation of Supreme Court that it has gradually acquired permanent status is wrong and a classic example of Judicial overreach.

Kick out Rohingya Muslims. India is already providing resources to Bangladesh for care of Rohingya Muslims through Operation Insaniyat. Dump some more refugees at that place and get rid of menace. India can offer financial aid to develop Rakhine state of Myanmar but they have to keep their Rohingya Muslims with them.

It is necessary to invest more resources own Jammu region. We cannot continue to spend endlessly on Kashmir Muslims who are just busy in waving Pakistan flags.

Armed insurgency has to be treated with unmanned drone attacks. If Saudi Arabia can get Chairman Seat of UN Human Rights Council after bombarding Yemen with drones just on the ground that Houthi shia might become threat to Saudi Arabia’s National security then India must not shy away from using extra force. India already secured its oil reserves by placing order with US shale companies and started petroleum plants in Africa.

Invite few Uighur Muslims delegates from China. Let us have media debate and discussion about how China treats its Muslim citizens. Pakistan must get a loud and clear message. Will Pakistan continue to work with nation like China, who suppresses Muslims within its territory?

Last but not least, dams on Indus and its tributaries are crucial. Sawalkot dam must be built as fast as possible. World Bank already cleared Kishanganga hydropower project. We can stop Pakistan’s water within the limits of Indus Water treaty. There are many other tactics which cannot be elaborated within formal public discussions

Conclusion

India must learn from its Historical blunders. Amnesty given by Prithvi Raj Chauhan to Muhammad Ghori proved to be disastrous for India. Even Lord Ram and Krishna advocated battle beyond a certain points. More than 70 years of talks and peace efforts failed miserably. We cannot ruin our sovereignty on the name of Human Rights.

Much needed 5S in CBI- PM Modi has shown the will and way

S Ranganathan
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Much needed 5S in CBI- PM Modi has shown the will and way

Timely and the right intervention of Modi government to regain the credibility and reputation of CBI which had been tormented by the No.1 and No.2 officials of CBI has won the appreciation and support of people of India. Both the director and special director (No.1 and No.2) of CBI has brought their fight to the street alleging each other of collecting bribe to exonerate some high profile convicts.

The street fight between the two senior officials in CBI doesn’t appear like mere personal rivalry or is all about bribe alleged to have been received by either of them. It looks like CBI is a divided house with clear agenda and affiliation aimed to weaken, nullify and defeat the fight of India against corruption initiated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi has waged a war against corruption and poverty and wants to ensure that all corrupts in politics and government establishments are punished severely like the imprisonment of Lalu Prasad Yadav.

But it looks like some officials inside the CBI wants to derail the investigations against those in opposition parties especially in the congress party. More than the political parties, a separate lobby may be at the behest of those corrupt mafias are working overtime to derail the mission of PM Modi to remove corruption from India.

When the two most senior officials in CBI have started to fight in public accusing each other of corruption charges, the responsible government has to intervene and must do the needful to regain the confidence, credibility and reputation of CBI and other institutions. Therefore the government has to force the warring CBI officers to go on leave and has instituted an inquiry through CVC. This is a very right and correct step. The irresponsible opposition parties and many petty politicians are accusing the government for intervening in the affairs of CBI. The rants of opposition parties are not about the government intervention or forced leave of the warring officials, but are worried about the investigation which appears to have been delayed and weakened by them possibly with the help of some officials in CBI. The corrupt Netas are worried about the fair trial that might put an end to their carrier in politics.

When Modiji prepares for 5S in CBI, the lobbies have more reasons to worry than celebrate.  So the worried lobbies and political class are making noise and accusation. The opposition parties even have traveled to an extent to say that to derail the Rafale investigation only Modi has intervened in CBI. It looks like CBI has divided as two groups and one group is working for India like Modi and the other one appears to be working for the opposition parties to weaken the cases against them.

Politicians playing politics is well known. For the politicians their political gain alone matters and not the country or its people.  They want power, money and opportunity to loot the country. The saddest point is that how the officials of IPS and IAS rank can fall victim to the lobbies and can work against the interest of the nation?

Is it the salary paid by the politicians is much higher than the salary given to them by the government and hence they work for those politicians is the doubt people of India raise.

Indians must recognise the absolute truth that PM Modi is true and honest. He will not compromise any act against Bharat Mata and nor would he tolerates corruption. The recent fight between both the director and special director of CBI also raise doubt over the investigation of 2G as at the end the entire case had fallen like house of cards. It means hype and sensation alone appear in public space and the end the accused would be somehow exonerated by citing lack of conclusive evidence.

Who should collect conclusive evidences, the CBI? Imagine if some of the officials of CBI going to work for the accused, how they would investigate all such cases impartially and even if CBI investigates, it appears they will ensure no credible case is made so that the accused shall find an easy way to escape thanks to the same investigating agencies and this how people perceive.

By temptation also people should not support either the dynast or other fringe political parties as such an effort would be like we are destroying our own country.

There is merit in Sabarimala agitation

G Indira
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There is merit in Sabarimala agitation

The bunch of petitions filed in the Supreme Court by various Hindu agitating bodies against the entry of women aged between 10 to 50 years, were all shifted for hearing by the apex court to 13th November. It’s said that generally the S C never upturns or reverses its judgement in the case of review petitions. Barring the woman judge Indu Malhotra, all the other four judges approved the entry. In the case of Sabarimala, the dissent judgement was well-noted and applauded by all in the Hindu society. Indu Malhotra got kudos for her bold stance and for citing relevant Articles of the Constitution.

The egalitarian stand of gender equality and non-discrimination theory of the judgement was incomprehensible to many. For, in India, traditional ritualistic practices are specifically demarcated to men and women. In each case, exclusion is not treated as discrimination. Indian concept of gender equality is different from the European one, which, of late, they got through enlightenment after the world war II.

Social advantage of Sabarimala Yatra: Earlier, in South India Sabarimala temple was not that prominent. Only for the past 25 to 30 years, men from all southern states are thronging to it. Many prominent politicians, businessmen and cinema actors are also part of it. The presiding deity, Lord Ayyappa himself is a celibate and so the devotees have to follow certain rules for the entry. They have to take up the mandatory Deeksha of 41 days during which they have to change from their attire to habits.

The devotee of Ayyappa who would want to have a Darshan of the Lord on Makara Sankranti auspicious days that falls in the month of January every year, should daily get up on the Deeksha days early in the morning and should take bath with cold water, should neither drink nor smoke and be away from all luxurious accessories. He should walk bare foot, sleep on the floor and should also take bath in the evening with cold water before the prayer. Daily he has to pray in the morning and evening. Thus spend life in a structured orderly way without hurting or bearing ill-will against anyone on those days of penance. He should join with the other Ayyappa devotees to have prayer-meets and for part-taking food alongside. In this way, it becomes a collective casteless endeavor.

In the present day world men indulge in various vices like drinking and smoking. There’s at least a solace during those Deeksha days they may not do so. It’s the habit of many men from all castes to go to Sabarimala following all these austerity measures. Now their faith is rattled and shaken. How Can they walk on the narrow steps along with women devotees when a close contact with one’s own wife is forbidden on all those days? Can the same life be lead by women to visit Ayyappa shrine? How many Hindu women agitated on the streets for such a privilege? Why a petition by an unknown should shatter this tradition? All minority religions are protected by personal laws. Only Hindu religion is open to courts. Hence the ordeals.

Meddling with Hindu Religious Practice: Hinduism or Hindu religion is a sleeping giant. Hindus wherever they are, are mired in their religious ritualistic practices. Nowhere in the history of Bharat, any ruler meddled with them. India’s soul is its religion. Hindus are happy if they are allowed to worship the way they wanted to as per their tradition. The British didn’t touch the Hindu Religious Practices considering them as personal. Only the practice of sati was abolished by them as many Hindus felt it abominable. However, it should be admitted that the British let loose their Christian missionaries to carry out their work freely. The Moghuls interfered to a limited extent in converting Hindus.
The Hindu religion could live so long and sustain because of its practices/ traditions. From time to time, it allows changes by not being rigid. Again this flexibility/adaptability is unique to this religion. Each change needs a rationale behind it. In the case of Sabarimala, some non-descript person asked for a change in the age-old tradition. So is this digression. The entire culture of a reputed temple, without seeking the voice of the faithful, was disrupted by a baffling judgement.

The point that women are not allowed because of ‘menstruation and desecration’ has a limited value. Menstrual periods are given to women by none other than God himself. Attributing something foul to it, is unfair. They are not meant for discrimination purpose. They are for procreation. Women of all castes voluntarily abstain from all religious rituals in those days of uneasiness. They do that out of their own volition and also partly because the tradition ordains. Since, Ayyappa being a Naistika brahmachari this custom might have been put in place in that important, origional shrine. What is wrong in letting the practice go? Whether to allow women of all ages has to be decided by the Dewaswom Board. The Court should have directed them.

Ayodhya-temple in the North and Ayyappa-Sabarimala temple in the South have become causes for concern in the Hindu Society. Any issue should not be dragged unduly, till it loses its elasticity. No wonder, Hindus are aggrieved and are asking questions. These are the days a highest body like the United Nations is questioned for its decisions on correctness. International laws are violated by countries. International Court of Justice has not been able to convince the stubborn and adamant countries like China and N Korea. Indian public has immense faith in their judiciary. Takings that into cognizance, the apex court should review in depth, the petitions filed in the case of Sabarimala temple entry and impart justice.

My thoughts on core: An agenda for the man on the street

blackcat123
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My thoughts on core: An agenda for the man on the street

Most of you might have heard  the term Core right at some point in twitter. Some might be able to recall this enigmatic tweet.

My association with the core ideology started around 2 years back as I accidentally stumbled across it.

I have discussed core framework with many people I know personally. Someone had remarked “I have heard a lot about core and IOI a lot, but what are these?”. So, to start, this is core.

A Core Right agenda for a modern India

Analysis of Core Right Agenda

There is however one problem that is staring at our face: This is about laws and legalese. What can I, as a private person do?

Yes, you cannot go make a law by yourself. But there IS something you can do: Make institutions for your community.

In our culture, knowledge was transmitted orally for generations. Training was imparted by apprenticeship. These institutions – Gurukuls, etc – were in the hands of the community. But today we prefer formal education that is increasingly in the hands of those who are hostile to our civilization as a whole (Core 1). What can we do?

In modern India the prizes in the giant circus called elections is based on the numerical strength of each group. Strong groups are played against each other and are fooled while weak groups combine and get concessions. We Hindus need to turn this dynamic around. But it is not possible without a cohesive strategy. A cohesive strategy is not possible without planning. And thus, here we are. Here’s a list of what you can do about it.

  1. Meet with your community regularly: Have regular meeting where you can discuss the needs of the community. Register as a charitable organisation. Get people together and work together to improve your life. Create this institution and we have a vehicle for any activity that need to be done for the community.
  2. Create a library: Create a library with the best books available on skills with practical applications, things that can help someone land a job. This can be run from some community space or as a distributed library (Books kept in the hands of multiple private members and made available on demand on a shared basis). Books should include ones on local history. If there are no books about your locality make one with help from the older people in your community.
  3. Contribute to your community: If you are someone who has reached a good position help others who may be trying to reach the same position. These can be in the form of talks or townhall meetings. You can take career sessions for kids. Because you can be sure the “secular state” will not fund something like this for you.
  4. Reach out: Reach out to other communities. India is a huge country and has so many internal divisions. But strength lies in unity. Reach out to other communities and cooperate on anything that can be agreed on. Do not let political parties play on your divisions. Ask for institutional autonomy. Ask for the right to keep your traditions alive. And ask for it together.
  5. Do more: There is a lot of things that can be done. A scholarship in the name of a historical heroes for poor students, a self defense club for women, a meeting club for the older people, making a gathering space for hosting exhibitions, shows and celebrations. Have regular meetings. Keep the community alive.
  6. Discuss politics: In our country, politics is a taboo topic since it can incite a lot of hard feelings. But we need to confront things head on and ask how we want this to play out ? How do we get our institutional autonomy back? What laws do we need made?

Making institutions gives you enormous depth. It lets you preserve the culture and transmit knowledge to future generations making them proud citizens instead of the self- loathing people modern education is so prone to turn out. It also helps you counter attacks on your culture and traditions by being able to mount a spirited defense and to put our views across to a wider audience accurately and in a more concise fashion. Let each of us work for this together. Diwali is a signifies the victory of good over evil. This Diwali, let us arm ourselves so that we may triumph.

And keep fighting the discrimination against us.

Jai Hind.

Narendra Damodardas Modi-the man who brought down the citadel of corruption

Priya Vandana Jayarajan
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Narendra Damodardas Modi-the man who brought down the citadel of corruption

“Which is worse between political opportunism and corruption”? Corruption is cancer that has been eating into the vitals of our nation. I will choose political opportunism any day if it results in greater public good. It is not a sin because of the ever increasing role and importance of regional parties in Government formation. A combination of both however would be devastating for the country. UPA rule is a testimony of this fact as this combination was very much prevalent pre 2014. When the people rejected this combo by giving a historic mandate to the BJP under Narendra Modi, the Mahaghatbhandhan Club was formed by the losers to remain relevant in the political spectrum.

When Nitish Kumar decided to leave the MGB, everyone from the opposition to Media went into an overdrive, calling him an opportunist, communal etc. Nitish Kumar gave a befitting reply to all of them in his speech in the assembly before the trust vote. He lambasted them by saying that he didn’t need to learn secularism from those who use it to disguise their corruption and promote their dynasty. The MahaGhatBhandhan is in tatters now though. Most of the alliance partners have no faith in the Congress President to take on the BJP due to which top leaders of the party have been forced to issue statements that the PM candidate will be decided after the election results- a sign of extreme desperation or a calculated move perhaps.

We all know about the scams during the UPA era, the loot, the plunder. Every politician, every Ministry, bureaucracy, even the Media was compromised. The Radia-gate exposed the politician-media nexus and it severely dented the image of the Media, especially Lutyens Media. This very Media, fed by their masters in Delhi, ran a smear campaign against Mr. Modi for over a decade to somehow FIX him, but they could not succeed. THE CM BECAME THE PM. The major jolt to this Media was when the Govt as a policy, decided not to take along the Indian Media contingent on PM’s foreign trips. So they had to bear their own travel costs which was something they weren’t used to. The access they had to top Ministers like in UPA also diminished. From being power brokers, they were relegated to just what they were – journalists. The royal snub given by Mr. Modi is the reason why they are in a perpetual whining mode. Barkha Dutt had even expressed her frustration in an interview to Madhu Trehan and her columns in Washington Post are an extension of that.

We know what is happening in Kerala and West Bengal, the violence, brutal murders of BJP cadres, but there’s a deafening silence in the camp of the preachers of free speech and secularism. Their outrage comes with a “Conditions apply”. Don’t we know how and why and at who’s behest NYT, WP, BBC etc and International NGO’s are used to spread false and fake propaganda about our country! It’s done to defame the image of our Prime Minister because of his growing popularity amongst the world leaders and to discredit the great work he is doing back home. But these third rate deliberate attempts have fallen flat.

People of India have seen through the unctuous ways of the Congress, their fake secularism, fake promises, fake agendas. These are different times, unlike 2004, when India was actually shining under Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s leadership but Congress with a fresh face of Sonia Gandhi (head covered with pallu like mom in law) used the ‘India Shining’ slogan to their advantage. From 2004 to 2018, we have come a long way. Social media has also changed the rules of the political game, unlike the people of our generation, who were dependent on now the redundant newspapers. People’s aspirations are huge but realistic. They want real development, transparency, Govt accountability, corruption free country…a New India about which the Prime Minister has himself promised and doing everything to fulfill it.

न खाऊंगा न खाने दूंगा is not just a catchy slogan given by him, he means every word of it. Unfortunately, it is also the bane of all the problems that he is facing because as a nation we were so deeply entrenched in corruption. But nevertheless, steps are being taken. Govt has transferred 791 cases in June against all the high profile MPs/MLAs to 12 fast track courts which are going to be concluded within next 6 months. These fast track courts had been set up in 11 states for speedy trial of these cases. As @_NAN_DINI rightly said…it’s happening.

The Corrupt are nervous and feeling the heat. The CONs have further sunk in a hole along with their appeasement politics. All was fine for them till one tea seller smashed their Darbar to bits.

Watch history in making, the coming year. It is a privilege accorded to very few.

Indic way of living- Day by day

indiclife
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Indic way of living- Day by day

Recently I was privileged to read two unique autobiographies of spiritual masters- the Gurus in real sense. One was autobiography of Sri M and second was of Swami Sri Rajashri Muni. Both living legends, gracing the world through their infinite wisdom and energy to bring about a consciousness change/ shift in the society. Immediately after that, I was reading a spiritual travelogue by Sri Amrutlal Vegad, called “Parikrama Narmada Maiya Ni”- the circumvention of river Narmada.

The profound insights from these books made me think of how these legends live in present. Living one day at a time, literally. Not only the Gurus, but also the tribal communities, sages, monks and others have chose to live in that way. They do not worry about the future, they do not store wealth for future- they live 100% in the present. Perhaps, living every moment to its depth and maxims gives the true essence of life.

Living in a daily compartments has also been suggested in a classic book by Dale Carnegie on “How to stop worrying and start living”. This made me think of how would I live, if I had to live in a ‘a day tight compartment’, meaning living each day as if it compressed all crucial aspects of life in 24 hours. Well, a little soul searching, and it was not very difficult to figure it out, what an ideal day for me would be, considering all practical aspects.

I would divide a day into four major parts:
1) 4 AM to 9 AM- Sadhana: Which would include meditation, a brief time for writing, walk or run and Yoga. Essentially, it would be “My Time” for my spiritual practice- Sadhana, which would be source of energy and guidance for rest of my day. This would also include well being for my body and mind with exercises, yoga, pranayama, walk/run and little bit of writing.
2) 10 AM to 4PM- Karma: This time would be essentially devoted to earn the living and well being of my family, relatives and friends. Office work, income generation, meetings, networking etc
3) 4PM to 6PM- Gyan and Seva: Basically, in this period I would like to contribute my skills, knowledge, money, assets and influence for betterment of society. It can be either by volunteering to some cause like environment, children or spirituality, which are my favourites. Also working, playing with children (the unprivileged ones), or donating to some cause. My personal learning is also enhanced in this time by reading books and contemplating on socially relevant topics. So this time is basically for compassion, service and capacity building to connect with society and contribute to its well being.
4) 7PM to 10 PM- Utsav- The celebration: At the end of the day, life should be celebrated. The spiritual masters of Himalalyas- especially from ‘Nath’ tradition, lit the fire (bon fire) every evening and sit beside fire, meditating, talking and celebrating. They call it “Dhuni” (in Gujarati Dhuni Dhakhavavi). The tribals, after a hard labourous day, get together at night under the open sky to dance and sing on the beats of music, forgetting their worries and pains. Ultimately, you have to end your day on high note of satisfaction and celebrate the existence. And in the process, be grateful to the higher energies for your life experiences.

Harder you work in the day, more you accomplish in the day, more is the satisfaction and bigger is the celebration. So its rightly said, “work hard, play harder”. Thus before end of the day, before I go to sleep and transit into another day, I want to celebrate life.

In nut shell, the sequence of the day compartments would be:
Sadhana- Karm- Seva- Utsav
This way, ‘a day’ lived will be full of life, engaging, enriching, nurturing and celebrating the process called life.

Is fight within CBI counter product of Prime Minister’s uncompromising character towards corruption?

S Ranganathan
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Is fight within CBI counter product of Prime Minister’s uncompromising character towards corruption?

The allegation and counter allegation between the top two bosses in CBI although has reduced the reputation and dignity of the institution but it indeed also tells the story of how rotten is our system that can easily accommodate corruption and can exonerate the culprit.

As usual and as expected, the dynast and some opposition parties are accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the above holocaust in the highest investigating agency- CBI. Today many top institutions are fighting within and have started to dry their linen in open. We must understand why most of the institutions are so restless in the recent times whereas they remained as either caged parrot or obedient subordinates during UPA?

People of India must see the truth the way it is present than the canard story propagated by the dynast and other opposition parties.

Since independence members of only one family had ruled India for a long while. The dynasty has destroyed India just for the family to sustain in power. Therefore the status quo was unaltered, not questioned or un-changed.  Everybody in power circuit during the rotten governance in the past believed to have had remained good to each other and sadly none were either individually or collectively good to our country or to the problems faced by millions of poor and marginal people.

An open understanding between different corrupt forces, adjustments, and ‘give and take’ model of governance was practiced during the period of family rule. But as soon as Narendra Modi became the prime minister of India, he started to reform the country, scavenged the opportunity for scams and corruption in high places, question the status quo, asked for performance, innovation, commitment, result, future plans and road map for transforming the country. When PM Modi started to question, many top bureaucracy those who have every reason to worry started to rattle and paranoiac.    As a result they have started to fight with each other and exposing the other.

The above unrest is quite expected, natural and understandable. Every reformist leader in the society and the world has faced such revolt and agitation. The evil forces naturally would try to take advantage of all such situations to retain the same old culture and order so that corrupt practices and nepotism shall prevail and all the maestros of corruption and scams can happily rule India and can corrode and destroy the economy. Since the possibility for give and take benefit was available in the past, no one in any high office have had to revolt or fight with each other in the past or dry their under garment open.

Indians must understand the fight that we witness today in several premier institutions in India are nothing but clear signs and symptoms of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reform initiatives.

The disruptive initiatives are necessary sometime to reform the country. Indians should feel proud and dignified over all such symptoms because PM Modi is doing the right surgery for India.

PM Modi is the only political leader who has understood that maladministration, lackadaisical attitude in bureaucracy, corruption, nepotism between the corrupt politicians and some top bureaucracy is affecting the development of our country and achieve sab ka vikas.

Prime Minister is identifying, sorting and tagging all such negative and evil forces. When Modi mandated free and impartial investigation by all top investigating agencies, most of the corrupt Netas have started to feel that they have to remain in jail until death.  Most of the political parties therefore have more reasons to worry and therefore they abuse him.

Indians must recognize the fact that the Prime Minister has reformed, transformed and also had laid the foundation stone of New India. He also has done substantial work to achieve sab ka vikas, no doubt, much more to be done.

What we see today in our top bureaucracy and other institutions is quite natural, expected and much needed and are obviously due to their status quo being questioned by PM Modi.

India can remain stable, prosperous, developed and can achieve sab ka vikas only if BJP comes back to power with massive mandate in 2019 and not the dynast or other fringe players who wants to experiment with the destiny of India for own power thirst and self- gratification.

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