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An explanation of Vedic caste system, Manu Smriti and role of women

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An explanation of Vedic caste system, Manu Smriti and role of women

In my previous article, the Valmiki Ramayana was explained in order to correct certain incorrect ideas and biased distortions usually spread among the masses. In this article, let us examine another topic that is favourite among the biased Leftists and ‘secularists’, the caste system.

The Vedic caste system is nothing like what we are following currently in our country. There are no dalits, MBCs, OBCs, nadars, chettiyars and other such appellations. The vedic caste system simply comprises of 4 Varnas – Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. The people who belong to these castes are not oppressed in the vedic philosophy – they are all vaidikas or followers of the Veda (including Shudras) as they have accepted their castes. The outcasts are the Chandalas and Mlecchas who are outside of the Vedic fold.

Before we begin to address this, let us understand that on what basis one belongs to a superior or inferior caste. Are upper caste people superior in looks, or intelligence, or strength as compared to lower caste people? The answer is no. There is no Shastra that says that shudras are lesser than brahmanas or others on the basis of looks or acumen or strength. So, the narrative that “caste system is racist/discriminatory” on this basis is nonsense.

The sole criterion for caste is vedAdhikAra. The Brahmanas and Kshatriyas are eligible to perform Vedic rituals. The Vaishya is barred from the Vedic rite called “Satra Yaga” and the Shudra is denied the eligibility for the Vedic rituals. Note that vedic eligibility alone – and not one’s looks, wealth or social standing – is the determinant of caste.

Why are the Shudras ineligible to learn the Veda? It is because of their Karmas acquired in previous births. Here, our opponents have a twofold objection – Is this not unfair to deny Vedic eligibility on the basis of deeds in past births we cannot remember? Is this not unfair to deny Vedic eligibility and thus the way to liberation for Shudras?

To that, we reply as follows. If it is asked as to whether it is unfair that we are being denied Vedic eligibility for an unseen cause like Karmas in a prior birth, it is replied that the very fact that one doesn’t remember his or her previous births is due to their own Karmas. Some Rishis like Jada Bharata who have performed austerities were seen to remember their previous births. Thus, it is in our hands to remember our own births and no-one else’s.

If it is asked as to whether it is unfair Shudras are denied a means to liberation, the answer is no. The Shudras can get liberation in this birth itself, and need not become Brahmanas to be liberated. This is possible by acquiring knowledge of Brahman from the Ithihasas and Puranas which are not barred for them. Thus, whatever knowledge is imparted by the Shruti, that knowledge is acquired via the Smriti by virtuous Shudras and hence they are not denied liberation.

Lastly, anyone can be born as a Shudra or a Brahmana in alternate births and hence, there is no motivation to discriminate when all Jivas inhering in a Shudra or Brahmana body are equal. The Shastras advice us to transcend differences of bodies and recognise that all individual selves are knowledge-bliss (jnAnAnandamaya svarUpa) by nature, hence it is not possible for them to discriminate on the basis of bodily differences. The individual self in a tree or plant is identical to that in a human body, so where is the question of discrimination on the basis of bodily features?

The basis for the castes is declared by Shri Krishna in the Gita as follows:

cātur-varṇyaṃ mayā sṛṣṭaṃ guṇa karma vibhāgaśaḥ (~Gita 4.13)

Meaning: In accordance with the gunas like sattva, etc (prevalent at birth) and the actions like self-control corresponding to the gunas, I created the four castes.

In other words, there is no discrimination on the basis of looks, wealth or anything else in the Vedic caste system. The idea is that Bhagavan has to ensure that certain living beings exhaust their papa karmas (sins) from previous births and attain liberation. So by giving them a Shudra birth, he denies them the eligibility to learn the Vedas, which he takes as an excuse to burn away their sins. At the same time, he does not deny them the knowledge to reach him via the medium of Purana-Ithihasa which conveys the same knowledge as the Veda. In this manner, a Shudra’s means to liberation is far easier than a Brahmana, and the insignificant excuse of “not being able to learn the Vedas” is used to completely destroy his sins!

Having said this, let us examine whether the Shastras say that Shudras are inherently evil as our opponents allege. They take up the manusmriti mainly where certain gory punishments are described for Shudras. But before that, let us see what the shastras have said regarding the nature of Shudras in other places.

Firstly, let us understand further the nature of a Shudra birth or a Brahmana birth with an analogy often provided by modern day Vedic scholars. Consider two planes. One plane is flying in turbulent weather and another plane is flying in fantastic weather conducive for flight. The weather signifies our births in a Shudra or Brahmana body. Turbulent weather is symbolic of a person being denied Vedic eligibility as a Shudra and fine weather is symbolic of us having Vedic eligibility as a Brahmana.

However, the pilot in the plane flying in turbulent weather (Shudra) is extremely skilled and steers the plane out of danger. Whereas, the pilot in the plane flying in fine weather (Brahmana) is very inept and crashes the plane despite the good weather. In this manner, a Shudra can be virtuous and attain liberation as seen in the case of Vidura, and a Brahmana can be evil and fall despite having Vedic eligibility like Ravana. Hence, there is again no discrimination to be seen here.

When it is said that the duty of a Shudra is to serve the higher castes, it is meant that he should serve people of those castes who are pious and free of anger, hatred, desire etc, and who have gained knowledge of Brahman. Using common sense, do not such people deserve worship and being waited upon? Everyone should serve them as they are self-realized. There is no point in serving Brahmanas like Ravana and it is certainly not incumbent on a Shudra to do so!

The idea of serving a devoted person of the higher caste who is free of anger, and helping him with small acts of service while he meditates on Brahman is a virtous path to liberation as we need the blessings of such people. It is not menial labour or oppression.

In addition, not only Shudras but even the members of the higher castes are required to serve people of all castes who are pious and virtuous. However, it is emphasized more for the Shudra because he does not have the additional means of learning the Vedas and performing Upasana by himself to attain liberation and hence, this path of serving men of knowledge is the main means for him to attain liberation, whereas, for other castes, it is just one among many means.

Here are the words of Shiva to Parvati on the status of a Shudra who has attained perfect knowledge:

karma bhiḥ śucibhir devi śuddhātmā vijitendriyaḥ  śūdro ‘pi dvijavat sevya iti brahmābravīt svayam svabhāvakarma ca śubhaṃ yatra śūdre ‘pi tiṣṭhati viśuddhaḥ sa dvijātir vai vijñeya iti me matiḥ na yonir nāpi saṃskāro na śrutaṃ na ca saṃnatiḥ kāraṇāni dvijatvasya vṛttam eva tu kāraṇam (~ Anushasana Parva, Mahabharata)

Meaning: Even a Shudra, O goddess, that has purified his mind by pure deeds (such as serving the Supreme Brahman, meditating on him and attending to devotees) and has conquered his senses, deserves to be waited upon and served with reverence as a Brahmana. This has been said by the Veda itself. When auspicious attributes and deeds are noticeable in even a Shudra, he should, according to my opinion, be held superior to a person of the three upper castes. Neither birth, nor the purificatory rites, nor learning of the Vedas, nor offspring, can be regarded as grounds for conferring upon one the status of a Brahmana. Verily, conduct is the only ground. All Brahmanas in this world are Brahmanas in consequence of conduct. A Shudra, if he is established on good conduct, is regarded as possessed of the status of a Brahmana.

While by birth he is a Shudra, not only he is given the same honor and respect as a Brahmana but, a jnani who is a Shudra is considered greater than the jnanis of the three upper castes because he (the Shudra) has attained perfect knowledge despite not having the tool of learning the Vedas, which the upper castes possess! This is the intent behind Mahadeva’s words.

If the intent of our shastras like manu smriti was to malign people based on caste, the words of Shiva would be empty, and that is never the case.Furthermore, our shastras all have a uniformity of thought and were not written by a bunch of imperfect people – hence, there are to be no contradictions.

Having explained that there is no discrimination based on caste other than the mere birth in such castes due to purva janma karmas, let us come to the explanation of the so-called violent verses in Manu Smriti against Shudras.

Firstly, one needs to understand that dharma as defined by our smritis is changeable depending on several factors. Our shastras are not concerned with petty injunctions on morality like other religions. This is because morals are strictly common sense. We do not need a religious book to know that killing others, punishing adultery by throwing stones at the women, etc is immoral. The shastras thus only talk about Adhyatma Vidya (science of self-knowledge) by assuming that the interested seeker already knows petty morals and is evolved enough to practice them. However, certain smritis like manu smriti do contain minor injunctions on even morals for each caste for the sake of being comprehensive in scope.

The smritis themselves state thus with respect to morals:

deśajātikulānāṃ ca ye dharmāstat pravartitāḥ |

tathaiva te pālanīyāḥ prajā prakṣubhyatesnyathā || (~Brihaspati Smriti)

Meaning: Desha dharma, kala dharma and jaati dharma are different at different places. These dharmas must be adhered to, and practised, as is. If done otherwise (imposing other dharma), there shall be great kshobha (deprivation).

yeṣu deśeṣu ye vedāḥ yeṣu deśeṣu ye dvijāḥ | yeṣu deśeṣu yat toyaṃ yā ca tatraiva mṛttikā ||yeṣu sthāneṣu yacchaucaṃ dharmācāraśca yādṛśaḥ | tatra tān nāvamanyeta dharmastatraiva tādṛśaḥ ||yasmin deśe pure grāme traividye nagarespi vā | yā yatra vihito dharmasthaṃ dharmaṃ na vicālayet || (~Devala Smriti)

Meaning: In every (different) place, whatever is the knowledge, whoever are the knowledgeable, whatever is the appropriate water and soil, whatever constitutes cleanliness, whatever constitutes the right practice – these must never be rejected. They alone are dharma in those places. Whatever is acceptable as dharma to the knowledgeable (of that place), those alone must be practised as dharma – be it a country, town or a village.

Thus, what constitutes virtue in one place may not necessarily be virtue in another. Hence, the morals prescribed in the Shastra need to be analysed to see if they are fit for practice in current situation. And hence it is only Adhyatma Vidya – Knowledge of the self – that is unchangeable, eternal and inflexible everywhere.

And the shastras are clear that Manu Smriti with all its gory punishments for Shudras is not even meant for this particular age (Kali Yuga):

kṛte tu mānavā dharmāḥ tretāyāṃ gautamāḥ smṛtāḥ |

dvāpare śaṅkhalikhitāḥ kalau pārāśarāḥ smṛtāḥ (~Parashara Smriti)

Meaning: In the Krita Yuga, it is manu Smriti that is applicable while gautama Smriti is the one for Treta Yuga. In the Dvapara Yuga, Shankhalikhita Smriti must be adhered to, while the Parashara Smriti is the book for Kali Yuga.

The Manu Smriti is intended for the Krita Yuga. This Yuga is described as consisting of people who are virtuous and perfect in every manner, who are devoted to self-knowledge. There is no sin or illness in this age. In the context of this age, considering there are no sinful persons, the punishments for Shudras prescribed by Manu are far harsher, for such a crime is unheard of in this Yuga and it is unlikely anyone transgresses laws to merit such punishments. Also, in this Yuga, all brahmanas are pious, free of anger and undesirable qualities and virtuous, whereas in the current age, this is not the case. Hence, Shudras being commanded to serve Brahmanas in the Krita yuga is justified considering how perfect the Brahmanas were in that age. And as mentioned by Shiva in the Mahabharata quoted earlelier, the pious Shudra is also worthy of worship.

Also, regarding the verses in Manu Smriti claiming molten lac should be poured into the ear or hammering nails into the tongue of a Shudra who learns the Vedas as follows:

If he (the Shudra) arrogantly teaches Brahmanas their duty, the king shall cause hot oil to be poured into his mouth and into his ears. (~Manu Smriti 8.272)

These verses  should not only be taken in context of Krita Yuga when transgressions are impossible (rendering these punishments unnecessary), but should also only be taken as metaphorical. The idea is, the sin accrued by transgressing the laws is very huge in the Krita Yuga, the age of virtue, and getting rid of this sin will be as strenuous as requiring hot oil to be poured into one’s ear. Meaning, “your sin is so great that it can only be exhausted by pouring hot oil into your ear” – This is the intent of such shlokas, to drive home the enormity of the sin and not to literally recommend such punishments even in the Krita Yuga. The ancient commentators have not taken such punishments literally either or noted any historical execution of such punishments.

The concept of arthavAda is well entrenched in the Vedantic philosophy. There is a Vedic statement “In svarga, the cows walk upside down” – Now, practically, cows do not walk upside down. This statement then, is an arthavAda to show that “svarga is such a wonderful place, it causes as much wonder as could be caused by potentially seeing impossible things like cows walking upside down”.

Similarly, “Pour hot oil into the ears of a shudra who learned the Vedas” is only understood as “learning of a Veda by a Shudra incurs so much sin that only suffering equivalent to the extent of pouring hot oil into his ears can expunge that sin”— the meaning is, such sin is not easily shaken off or expiated. It is arthavAda.

In contrast, the Parashara Smriti does not recommend any such punishments for Shudras. Because it is meant for the age of Kali when nobody follows Vedic principles anyway and even many brahmanas are sinful and not worthy of being offered reverence. Committing sins in a decadent age is not as heinous as the rarity of a sinful person in an age of virtue (Krita Yuga), the latter age being the age for following Manu Smriti.

There is a statement in Chandogya Upanishad that the sinful take birth as a dog, pig or chandala which is quoted by ignoramuses against Hinduism. The position of a chandala is one who eats dogs and has forsaken the Vedas (a Shudra is a follower of the Vedas by comparison) and so it certainly is a sinful birth. But again, if a Chandala exhibits pious behaviour, he is to be considered worshipful. This is highlighted in the Kaisika Mahatmyam of Varaha Purana where the greatness of a chandala devotee of Vishnu is described. Thus, there is no discrimination again.

Which now brings us to the status of women. The following Gita verse is often maligned by ignorant anti-hindu folk:

mam hi partha vyapasritya ye ‘pi syuh papa-yonayah striyo vaisyas tatha sudras te ‘pi yanti param gatim (~Gita 9.32)

Meaning: Women, Vaisyas and Shudras, and even those who are of sinful birth, can attain the supreme state by taking refuge in me (Krishna). How much more then the well-born Brahmanas and royal sages who are devoted to me!

The usage of “papa-yonayah” in no way demeans Shudras, Vaishyas or Women in looks, strength or intelligence. Bhagavan is referencing the fact that women and shudras are denied Vedic eligibility while vaishyas cannot perform the “satra yaga”. This is on account of their birth based on purva janma karmas referred to as “papa-yonayah”. “papa” does not mean wickedness, but simply the sanchita karmas which cause suffering and are still yet to be exhausted. However, he says that lack of Vedic eligibility does not exclude them from attaining knowledge of Brahman and surrendering to Krishna.

This way is also open for Brahmanas and Kshatriyas who also have Vedic eligibility and so they can do what the Shudras do, or follow the path of Upasana through the Veda. And since the Shudras do not have the option of Upasana, they are held in higher esteem if they acquire knowledge as compared to knowledgeable people from the other varnas. This was discussed earlier.

In the case of women, regardless of caste, the path of Upasana is barred for them, as they have to deal with issues like menstruation and pregnancy. Upasana requires meditation that is uninterrupted like the flow of oil. There cannot be a moment’s distraction or it will fail, much like how Arjuna was fixated on the eye of the bird he had to shoot. And it is impossible during menstruation and pregnancy when such distractions of mind and body are bound to occur. Thus, the verse in the Gita is not claiming women are inferior, but merely saying that such interruptions make the path of Upasana impossible for them.

That women are regarded highly is mentioned in the Gita itself, where Krishna cites certain qualities of women as his vibhuti:

kīrtiḥ śrīrvākca nārīṇāṃ smṛtirmedhā dhṛtiḥ kṣamā।। (~ Gita 10.34)

Meaning: Of women (i.e., of goddesses who are the powers of the Lord) I am prosperity (Sri); I am fame (Kirti); I am speech (Vak); I am memory (Smrti); I am intelligence (Medha); I am endurance (Dhrti); and I am forgiveness (Ksama).

The idea is, each manifestation of Lakshmi represents a particular trait and such traits when seen in women, are to be considered as the vibhUti of the Lord. Thus, women are known to possess such qualities by the grace of Lakshmi, which negates the idea that they are considered inferior to men in the Shastra. The inferiority is only on basis of vedic eligibility for valid reasons and even that is no longer the case when women attain the supreme knowledge. We have several women in the Vedas like Gargi, Maitreyi, etc who were well versed in the knowledge of Brahman.

The status of the Shudras and Women in Kali Yuga is mentioned by Shri Veda Vyasa in the Vishnu Purana as well:

dadṛśus te muniṃ tatra jāhnavīsalile dvija / vedavyāsaṃ mahābhāgam ardhasnātaṃ sutaṃ mama // snānāvasānaṃ te tasya pratīkṣanto maharṣayaḥ / tasthus taṭe mahānadyās taruṣaṇḍam upāśritāḥ // magno ‘tha jāhnavītoyād utthāyāha suto mama /vyāsaḥ sādhuḥ kaliḥ sādhur ity evaṃ śṛṇvatāṃ vacaḥ /teṣāṃ munīnāṃ bhūyaś ca mamajja sa nadījale // utthāya sādhu sādhv iti śūdra dhanyo ‘si cābravīt // nimagnaś ca samutthāya punaḥ prāha mahāmuniḥ /yoṣitaḥ sādhu dhanyās tās tābhyo dhanyataro ‘sti kaḥ // tataḥ snātvā yathānyāyam ācāntaṃ taṃ kṛtakriyam /upatasthur mahābhāgā munayas te sutaṃ mama //
(~Vishnu Purana 6.2.4-9)

Meaning: They (the rishis) found the illustrious Muni (Vyasa), my son, half immersed in the water of the Ganges; and awaiting the close of his ablutions, the sages remained on the banks of the sacred stream, under shelter of a grove of trees. As my son plunged down into the water, and again rose up from it, the Munis heard him exclaim, “Excellent, excellent, is the Kali age!” Again he dived, and again rising, said in their hearing, “Well done, well done Shudra; you are happy!” Again he sank down, and as he once more emerged they heard him say, “Well done, well done, women; they are happy! Who are more fortunate than they?” After this, my son finished his bathing, and the sages met him as he approached to welcome them.

The rishis were curious as to why Shri Veda Vyasa declared the Shudras and Women in particular to be fortunate and posed the question to him. Vyasa first explained that in Kali Yuga, the tiniest of efforts yields the same reward that is achieved by far more arduous efforts in the Krita Yuga. Then, he explained his statements on Shudras and Women as follows:

vratacaryopahāraiś ca grāhyo vedo dvijātibhiḥ /tataḥ svadharmasaṃprāptair yaṣṭavyaṃ vidhivad dhanaiḥ // vṛthā kathā vṛthā bhojyaṃ vṛthejyā ca dvijanmanām /patanāya tathā bhāvyaṃ tais tu saṃyamibhiḥ sadā // asamyakkaraṇe doṣas teṣāṃ sarveṣu vastuṣu /bhojyapeyādikaṃ caiṣāṃ necchāprāptikaraṃ dvijāḥ / (~Vishnu Purana 6.2.20-21)

Meaning: Formerly the Vedas were to be acquired by the brahmanas through the diligent observance of self-denial; and it was their duty to celebrate sacrifices conformably to the ritual. Then idle prayers, idle feasts, and fruitless ceremonies, were practised but to mislead the twice-born; for although observed by them devoutly, yet, in consequence of some irregularity in their celebration, sin was incurred in all their works, and what they ate, or what they drank, did not effect the fulfilment of their desires. In all their objects the twice-born enjoyed no independence, and they attained their respective abodes only with exceeding pain.

Vyasa is saying that the eligibility to learn the Veda is not a privilege as it seems for Brahmanas. There is a burden because one incorrect pronunciation or an act can render everything they have done fruitless and it is exceedingly difficult to attain liberation by Upasana. There are stories of brahmanas being born as rakshasas due to a misspelling of the mantras! So many Vedic karmas have to be performed, which results in painstaking labor. In contrast, what does the Shudra do? As below:

pāratantryaṃ samasteṣu teṣāṃ kāryeṣu vai tataḥ /jayanti te nijāṃl lokān kleśena mahatā dvijāḥ // dvijaśuśrūṣayaivaiṣa pākayajñādhikāravān /nijāñ jayati vai lokāñ śūdro dhanyataras tataḥ // (~Vishnu Purana 6.2.20-21)

Meaning: The Shudra, on the contrary, more fortunate than they, reaches the higher worlds by rendering them service, and performing merely the sacrifice of preparing food, in which no rules determine what may or may not be eaten, what may or may not be drunk. Therefore, most excellent sages, is the Shudra fortunate.

The idea is, the fruit of ascetic penances undertaken painfully by virtuous brahmanas, is attained by the Shudra, by merely serving such great people. It is not service to ALL brahmanas, or to wicked exploitative ones, but only an enlightened guru-sishya relationship. As mentioned earlier, there is no point in serving Ravana. Hence, the Shudra is more fortunate as he has attained maximum fruit by minimum effort, and is regarded as more worshipful than the other 3 castes due to achieving this without Vedic eligibility. The rishis aspire to be born as such virtuous Shudras in reality.

Next, Vyasa explains why women are fortunate:

svadharmasyāvirodhena narair labdhaṃ dhanaṃ sadā /pratipādyaṃ ca pātreṣu yaṣṭavyaṃ ca yathāvidhi // tasyārjane mahān kleśaḥ pālane ca dvijottamāḥ / tathāsadviniyogāya vijñeyaṃ gahanaṃ nṛṇām // ebhir anyais tathā kleśaiḥ puruṣo dvijasattamāḥ / nijāñ jayati vai lokān prājāpatyādikān kramāt // yoṣic chuśrūṣaṇaṃ bhartuḥ karmaṇā manasā girā / kurvatī samavāpnoti tatsālokyaṃ yato dvijāḥ // (~Vishnu Purana 6.2.26-28 //

Meaning: Riches are accumulated by men in modes not incompatible with their peculiar duties, and they are then to be bestowed upon the worthy, and expended in constant sacrifice. There is great trouble in their acquisition; great care in their preservation; great distress from the want of them; and great grief for their loss. Thus, eminent Brahmanas, through these and other sources of anxiety, men attain their allotted abodes of Brahma and the rest only by exceeding labour and suffering. This is not the case with women: a woman has only to honour her husband, in act, thought, and speech, to reach the same region to which he is elevated; and she thus accomplishes her object without any great exertion. This was the purport of my exclamation, ‘Well done!’

The woman has no Vedic eligibility, but if she serves her husband by assisting him with his Vedic karmas like agnihotra and taking care of his meals etc, then she attains the same abode as her husband! Thus she is fortunate, as it is the husband who toils and she merely assists him.

Note that “service to husband” does not mean tolerating wife beaters, or doing menial jobs. The husbands mentioned here are pious people who are free of material desire and anger, who adhere to the Vedas. Any wife would feel a desire to serve such a husband and take care of his daily needs, would they not? And neither does this service mean women are not allowed to work in the material world, or learn and impart knowledge of Brahman to others. The disqualification is only from performing vedic sacrifices, there is no claim that women are less intelligent or weaker.

Which brings us to the issue of the so-called “wife beating” verses in the Brihadaranyaka that have been misinterpreted by modern day anti-hindus. The following verse occurs in the Brihadaranyaka:

If she (the wife) does not willingly yield her body to him, he should buy her with presents. If she is still unyielding, he should strike her with a stick or with his hand and overcome her, repeating the following mantra: “With power and glory I take away your glory.” Thus she becomes discredited. (~Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 6.4.7)

Those who quote this are unaware of the context or the true interpretation. This is a description of the putramantha rite for progeny. Firstly, these rites are not conducive for salvation in the first place. The Gita describes the Vedas as “trigunya vishaya” (Gita 2.45) – the Vedas not only talk about the means for liberation, but also for petty aims like attaining wealth, getting rid of enemies etc. Why? Because the Vedas recognize that not all people want liberation. Some are incurably addicted to material pleasures and sinful acts. Hence, rather than leaving them to perish, the Veda prescribes how they can attain the forbidden fruits by performing certain rituals. This way, the adherence to Vedas while seeking these fruits could purify their minds and rid them of sins, and soon they will drop their interest in such fruits and aspire for the essence of Vedas which is the knowledge of Brahman. Thus, such rituals which involve animal sacrifices, defeating enemies etc is meant for the lower class of people and should not be practiced by the evolved ones – this is acknowledged in the shrutis and smritis. The mere prescription of such rituals does not imply a recommendation.

Let us take the example of one such instance in the Veda, which is the Syena Yaga meant for inflicting injuries on enemies. The purva mimamsa commentator Shabara explains the reason for its’ existence thus in his commentary to the Purva Mimamsa Sutras. Quoting the exercept:

ADHYAYA I, ADHIKARANA (3). 7

“As a matter of fact, the Veda indicates both what is moral and what is immoral.—” What is moral?” —That which is conducive to good, such as the Jyotistoma and other acts.—” What is immoral”—That which leads to evil (sin), such as the Syena, the Vajra, the Ian and other (malevolent) acts.— Thus the Sutra has used the term ‘artha’, what is conducive to good ‘, in order to preclude the possibility of the Immoral act (which is not conducive to good) being included under the term dharma.

Objection :—” Why should the immoral act be so called?”

Reply :—Because it involves inflicting of injury, and the inflicting of injury has been forbidden.

Objection :—” How then is it that an immoral act (in the shape of the Syena sacrifice, for instance) is enjoined as something that should be done ? “

The answer to this is that the Syena and other such  (malevolent) sacrifices are nowhere found to be spoken of as what should be done; they are indicated only in the form that ‘if a man desires to inflict injury upon another, the performance (of the Syena) would be the means for that purpose’. What the Vedic text says is only that ‘one desiring to inflict injury may perform the Syena’ (cf. Saclvirhaha-Brahman 8.  1-2),—not that one should inflict injury ‘. [The man is urged to undertake the performance of the Syena entirely by his desire to inflict injury, not by any Vedic text enjoining that act as what ought to be done.]

The idea is, the Veda enjoins meat eating and injuring others only because people desire to do such immoral acts. If these people do it by themselves, they are likely to incur sin and probably would continue in that track. They cannot be convinced to give up such acts. But if they follow the injunctions of the Vedas in committing atrocities, they will know that the Vedic injunctions are effective — this may instill a conviction in the Vedas in their minds and prompt them to explore the higher meanings of the Vedas that relate to the Supreme Brahman, and hence they could eventually be elevated to a peaceful disposition. So, the Vedas contain injunctions of acts to be performed for people of al dispositions, but the true injunction is to follow only that highest knowledge which is recommended by the Vedas themselves.

Now, coming to the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the idea is, there is a husband who is perfect in nature – kind, devoid of anger and attachment, devoted to Brahman and possessing virtuous qualities, who takes care of his wife very well. Such a person performs this putramantha rite and wants his wife to give him a son who will assist him with Veda karyas. When the husband is so righteous, is not the duty of the wife to accept his request which is noble on account of gaining merit by a son? It does not refer to some evil husband or just any ordinary man. The adhikari eligible for a putramantha rite itself is rare, so it doesn’t even recommend this ritual for all men in general.

In this Putramantha rite, the husband should be one who knows the meditation on the vital airs. He should have performed the rite as well. The wife should aves bathed for three nights. And if after all these conditions which not every random man can fulfill, and despite understanding the good intentions of the husband to have a son to propagate the Vedic lineage, the wife refuses to bear him one, he should still only try to persuade her with gifts.  If she is still adamant, the shruti says he should renounce her. It doesn’t say he should indulge in marital rape, but merely says she is no longer considered to share in his glory and be his wife. And even here, actual beating is not recommended. What is said is that if the wife refuses progeny for such a virtuous husband, he should strike her with a stick or hand gently — not beat her, but just tap her which is symbolic of renouncement. The actual punishment is the mantra which translates to “I take away your glory” which means her eligibility for higher worlds is taken away by the ascetic merit gained by the husband. There is no marital rape, wife beating or torture. The “beating” is part of the ritual to make the mantra effective.

The Putramantha rite lists a string of near-unattainable qualifications for a virtuous  husband to renounce his unwilling wife when she is not willing, and even the act of “beating” is nothing but a light tap symbolic of renouncement. It has absolutely no violence or rape as implied by commies who quote it.

A similar verse occurs in Manu Smriti for which Medhatithi, the commentator writes:

“What is enjoined here is the method of keeping the persons on the right path, and not actual beating; so that chastisement may be administered verbally; and in cases where the fault is serious, there may also be beating” (Here, the beating is not severe, but a tap on the back using a bamboo stick).

That this is the correct opinion is validated by the Sambhava Parva of the Mahabharata which is effusive in the praise of the wife. As this is a large section, I am not quoting the Sanskrit here for brevity, but giving a rough translation from the internet (note that the translation is not entirely accurate):

“She is a true wife who is skilful in household affairs. She is a true wife who has borne a son. She is a true wife whose heart is devoted to her lord. She is a true wife who knows none but her lord. The wife is a man’s half. The wife is the first of friends. The wife is the root of dharma, artha and kama. The wife is the root of moksha. They that have wives can perform dharma karyas (Vedic acts like agnihotra etc). They that have wives can lead domestic lives. They that have wives have the means to be cheerful. They that have wives can achieve good fortune. Sweet-speeched wives are friends on occasions of joy. They are as fathers on occasions of Vaidika karmas. They are mothers in sickness and woe. Even in the deep woods to a traveller a wife is his refreshment and solace. He that has a wife is trusted by all. A wife, therefore, is one’s most valuable possession…… Men scorched by mental grief, or suffering under bodily pain, feel as much refreshed in the companionship of their wives as a perspiring person in a cool bath. No man, even in anger, should ever do anything that is disagreeable to his wife, seeing that happiness, joy, and virtue,–everything depends on the wife. A wife is the sacred field in which the husband is born himself. Even Rishis cannot create creatures without women.” (~ Sambhava Parva, Mahabharata)

When the Mahabharata says a man must never do anything disagreeable to his wife, where is the question of beating wives?

Two points to note – the bearing of a son as opposed to a daughter is praised highly not because of sexism or other ideas, but because a son has Vedic eligibility. Secondly, by saying a wife is a possession of the husband, what is meant is that she exists solely for his sake as opposed to being considered as property. That must be evident from the effusive praise of the wife.

Thus, this rather lengthy article could help to show that there is zero discrimination of any sort in Sanatana Dharma towards anyone. Our shastras are not concerned with petty morals, sharia, adultery, or other such material things or morality. All injunctions, even those that outwardly seem worldly and on a material plane, are geared towards a realization of the self, and thus, they should be understood in that context.

Sources:

  • Sri Vishnu Cittiyam –  a commentary on Vishnu Purana by Shri Vishnu Citta
  • https://anandatirtha.wordpress.com/2017/06/05/dharma-according-to-desha-and-kala
  • Purva Mimamsa Sutras with the Commentary of Shabara
  • Sacred Texts.Com
  • Srimad Gita Saram by Shri U.Ve Thirukallam Narasimharaghavachariar
  • https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/manusmriti-with-the-commentary-of-medhatithi

Exposing the survey-scam of Thomson Reuters making India most dangerous nation for women

theangryindian
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Exposing the survey-scam of Thomson Reuters making India most dangerous nation for women

In the past couple of months, twitter has been rocked by quite a few surveys, conducted by random media houses. The most infamous being, the Thomson Reuters one:

India most dangerous nation for women: Poll

There have been many writers commenting on the said survey. I will however stick to the methodology of surveys, and how most media houses are increasingly fudging there and getting away with it. A case in point is again the same survey which had used a sample size of 550 respondents.

Thomson Reuters Foundation survey which ranked India most dangerous for women is based on just 550 respondents

The biases associated with sampling for surveys, is chapter 101 for most students of statistics. All we need to do is give a good look at the surveys floating around in Indian media to identify the bias. The three most common biases that most Indian media houses display in their multiple meaningless surveys are:

  1. Selection bias – This is most commonly associated with a small, not random enough, sample. A good sample, should ideally be representative of the population, which in the case of India, is diverse and resides across the various towns, cities and villages of our countries and not in air-conditioned studios. A survey conducted where the respondents are restricted to the Lutyens bungalow, can hardly be a fair representation of the country.
    The Thomson Reuters survey is a prime example of a selection bias. The sample selected was completely unrepresentative of the population as a whole. 550 people was too small a sample size to predict anything about a population as large as a 100 plus crores. Furthermore, the respondents of the survey were drawn from Europe, Africa and America, where the respondents had been fed with media images, stories that confirmed to a particular stereotype. Additionally, there was no attempt to gather responses from Indian villages, cities, towns the actual place where the most affected population resides.
  2. Observer bias – No matter how much the surveyor might try or not, sometimes the questions themselves are framed in such a way that the survey comes out with entirely predictable results. In other words, the questions are worded to reconfirm the biases of the surveyor. Again, another prime example of how questions are framed across media houses in India, specially the left-leaning ones, who pose their questions, solely with an attempt to fox ordinary residents into giving anti-government responses that suit their political agendas. Case in point the widespread surveys conducted in the wake of demonetization, which appeared to reaffirm the deep pain experienced by the left cabal politician, though the average man on the street however had a different experience. (Example: Indians faced ‘serious problems’ due to note ban: Survey)
  3. Survivorship bias- Where the respondent is ruled out probably because he did not survive, literally or metaphorically. History is rife with such examples where the respondent was excluded because they were not around to give the response. For instance, there are frequent surveys highlighting agrarian distress across countries of the world. Not many of these surveys, would actually have been conducted by getting responses from the farmers who were experiencing distress. In addition, again in the Indian context, there are some surveys that are trimmed post the receipt of response, where only the respondents with the right sort of responses are included in the survey.

Though these are not the only types of survey biases, they are the most prevalent ones in the Indian context. And given that we are now entering the election year, there are going to be more such, high decibel, cacophonous surveys that have been fixed in various ways.

As informed citizens, it would be in our interest to delve deeper into the survey methodology, fine print, before falling victim to it. So, the next time, a media house talks about a survey, let us ask them to divulge details of sample selection and survey methodology.

Liberals’ Kashmiriyat – Full of hypocrisy

HARISHANKAR NAGARAJAN
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Liberals’ Kashmiriyat – Full of hypocrisy

Nowadays it has become very fashionable for the liberals to invoke Kashmiriyat and will ask justice for Kashmiri Muslims in the name of humanity. Liberals will never straightly answer the question on terrorism being emancipated by the very same Kashmiri Muslims on attacking innocent people across Jammu and other various parts of the country. So I tried to understand the real perspective of Kashmiriyat, what it stands for, what it has achieved so far and whether it is being used as a tool for growing Islam.

Attributes of Kashmiriyat:

Cleansing Minorities:
Jammu and Kashmir is geographically a unique state of India. It faces very harsh climate conditions and shares border with Pakistan, making it very sensitive place and hence leading to more military across the state. Not just in India, be it any part of the world where any state shares borders with conflicting neighboring countries, has more military personnel. It is very important, too, as it ensures citizen’s security against any cross border terrorism. But the so called advocates of Kashmiriyat till now haven’t accepted even the presence of Military personnel to safeguard this country. This purely means that they don’t like the safety of people living all along this country. They feel insecure from non Muslims in present in the state. This same insecurity resulted into the cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits in the period of 1986 to 1990. None of these people supporting Kashmiriyat ever condemned this ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Kashmir.

Stoning Kafirs:
Stoning is an important aspect of Kashmiriyat. After the Friday prayer at Masjids; the next holy task is to throw stones at military personnel or on to minority community areas. This stoning ritual comes from the medieval era of Islamic tradition where the Muslims were allowed to stone people who belonged to other communities, called as Kafirs. In the 21st century this stoning ritual has been named as freedom of expression movement being carried out by youths of Kashmir to save Kashmiriyat. People who support Kashmiriyat completely stay silent and if not will condemn it for namesake with lack of intensity and time. The intensity shown to condemn Hindu practices has a different level. Because of horrifying stone pelting at military personnel, many people have lost the dear ones and many families have lost their fathers/sons. Still people who talk about Kashmiriyat will never speak about it or never give coverage to the sufferings faced by Military people.

Fearing to take responsibilities:
Jihad or Freedom movement is an Islamic practice where devout Islamic person has to wage a war against infidels who practice other culture and make sure that he/she gets converted to Islam by any means including creating havoc in the life of them by killing, abusing and raping their families. Kashmiri youths instead of living in 21st century they want to practice this Jihad so that all Indians one day will get converted to Islam. Instead of studying, working hard and supporting their families in eradicating poverty they choose this heinous route of Jihad. The youth of the current century across different countries faces a lot of physiological, social issues in spite of studying and working hard. They travel to foreign destinations without any support of families and friends, stay there in any adverse situations for decades to give financial support and and a comfortable life. There are millions of examples all across India where people irrespective of gender toils hard either in the country or in foreign lands across the world to support their families without expecting any benefits from Government or any other person. While these Kashmiri youths fear working hard and kill crores of people in the name of Jihad. They cover up their cowardice in the name of Kashmiriyat as studying, working hard and generating jobs for other people requires a lot of patience and attitude to face the difficulties of life.

As Lord Krishna says Warrior or Vairagi is not the one who fights only in war field, but also the one who faces all difficulties of life, navigates swiftly against them and come out in flying colors by defeating them.

Kashmiriyat produces only cowards who fears to live in this world and take responsibilities.

Drugs and Money:
The drugs was previously illegally shipped from Pakistan through Kashmir and Punjab border was rampantly used in Punjab. But nowadays it seems the drug trades has reached till Hyderabad. Kashmiri youths are rampantly participating in the drug peddling activities. There are various reports which says Kashmiri youths have helped Pakistani terrorist to attack military post for the exchange of money. This is high time the people who advocate for Kashmiriyat has to acknowledge and condemn these active support of Kashmiris to Kill our Military soldiers remember they also have families and they love and live both for country and families more than Kashmiri Youths.

Abusing and Harassing minorities and poor people:
There are so many instances apart from ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits, that people who advocate Kashmiriyat did not allow peaceful minorities from Sikh or Buddhist religion to follow their ideologies. Remember the incidents of Islamic invasion on African countries like Nigeria where young kids have been kidnapped and used as suicide bombers same is the modus of operandi here too. Few weeks back to Kashmiri Muslims harassed a young Sikh girl going to college and threatened her to convert or face consequences. None of the Kashmiriyat supporters asked for course correction. Still Hindus face innumerable difficulties in going to Amarnath Yatra. These peaceful Kashmiris are not even ready to sacrifice one inch of land for the welfare of Amaranth Yatris.

If you question them about these instances answer will be in same format. They are misguided youth who don’t have any employment opportunities. But the reality is not about lack of opportunities but the cowardice of Kashmiri youths to take up the opportunities and work hard so that they can contribute to the welfare of people.

With the black money from Pakistan, these Kashmiri youths are spoiled rich brats who want to show their power by taking up arms and kill innocent people.

Mindset of the Kashmiri youth has to change or else they have to remember, sun which was never set to fall in East India Company was disestablished after Indian rebellion of 1857. The tears of ordinary people who have been abused, killed and tortured by Middle East culture obviously will bring it down sooner or later.

If not Modi govt; no other govt can fulfill the dreams of Indians

S Ranganathan
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If not Modi govt; no other govt can fulfill the dreams of Indians

Indian politics sometimes look bizarre, funny, mystical or mythological. Today the entire opposition parties want to stop Modiji from coming back to power in 2019 than their party winning the election. Most of the opposition parties have lost their vision and value and they exist only by abusing and opposing Modiji. One of the reasons for their opposition and hatred for Modiji is due to the tireless efforts of Modiji to build New India where the syndicate of corrupts will have no place. Similarly the dynasty politics, politics of division and minority appeasement, politics of nepotism and misusing the public office for selfish gains also would disappear if Modiji comes to power again in 2019.

People are yawning for such change and that is why people are after Modiji. But for the opposition parties, it is their bread and butter and their existence that is being deeply hurt and that is why they congregate together and oppose Modiji.

It is like when a majestic tiger or lion comes to open in jungle; birds, squirrels, troop of monkeys and other herbivores animals will make huge noise and express restlessness to alert each other. Virtually birds, squirrels and arboreal monkeys will have no threat from the majestic tiger or lion but still they express their fear and restlessness.

Indian politics has almost become like a jungle. With reference to the leadership qualities and majestic stature, Modiji is indeed like lion or tiger. But interestingly most of the opposition parties have reduced to the level of squirrel engaged merely in chirruping. The opposition parties are simply distracting and promoting falsehood to derail the agenda of New India of Modiji. People of India must be vigilant and extra-cautious not to just fall into such propaganda of the opposition parties but also to educate every fellowmen they meet and interact not to get fooled by the mission of opposition parties i.e., fragment India.

The appearance of Modiji to Indian politics is exactly like the incarnation of Lord Krishna in Mahabharat war where Arjuna was in deep agony, confused as what to do in the battle field. Indians were like Arjuna during UPA 2, totally frustrated, hopeless, clueless, sad and depressed. They did not know what to do to save India. Modiji came as Lord Krishna, infused confidence among people of India, told them their power and might in democracy, encouraged them to vote and elect a good government headed by a leader of high integrity, commitment, vision and passion.

As like the strong resistance that was endured by Imperial rulers during non-cooperation movement, today Modiji is facing the continuous onslaught joint opposition against his mission to develop India and achieve Sab Ka Vikas.  Modiji is working hard to develop India and but the reckless opposition parties are working overtime to derail such mission because they want their family and dynasty to develop and not India.

To end corruption in Indian politics, the continuation of Modiji as Prime Minister of India must happen not only in 2019 but even beyond that. If India has to develop and prosper, Modi Raj must continue.  Every responsible citizen of India must therefore educate every fellow man to think of India first than dirty politics that is being relentlessly played by the opposition parties.

New India versus divide India is the theme of 2019 election and every Indian must play a crucial role to build New India where the entire world is attracted to invest in India due to its talents, skills and intelligence.

Sab Ka Vikas is possible only when the leader of our country is credible, decisive, honest and committed. Indian can always be proud of Modiji because he is not only honest but also honest in his mission i.e., New India and Sab Ka Vikas.

S Ranganathan

Why Rajasthan elections matter before 2019

Abhishek Jain
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Why Rajasthan elections matter before 2019

As 2019 approaches things will get more and more politicized with lok Sabha elections next year. 2019 Lok Sabha elections are probably one of the most import ones in our democratic history- maybe more than 2014, as it’s going to be a make or break election for India. But before 2019, there will be 4 state elections to be held in the end of 2018. Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram will go into elections and out of those 4 states first 3 states are governed by BJP and Mizoram has Congress government. It will test all major parties and will also provide insight as to which side voters are leaning towards.

Out of the 4 states going into elections one state in particular will be very crucial for both BJP and congress i.e., Rajasthan. Rajasthan is the largest state of India in terms of land area and has a history of switching parties after every election in the last 2 decades. If congress is able to win Rajasthan in 2018 they will gain the momentum they require for 2019 and BJP will have to give it’s all to ensure they retain this state. But why is Rajasthan so important compared to other 3 states? It is because in both Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh BJP has been in power for over 10 years and both CM’s have huge public support to win it this time as well. As for Mizoram, Congress is looking at defeat with BJP making inroads in all the North East states and gaining public support there.

So why state elections of Rajasthan hold so much importance is that in 2014 BJP won all 25 seats lok Sabha seats from Rajasthan and if Party can do well again in state elections it will have a good chance to win big again 2019 as every seat will count. Congress on the other hand looks like a house divided with 2 power centers emerging already with 2 main leaders Sachin Pilot son for former Central minister Rajesh Pilot and Former CM Ashok Gehlot tussling it out to be named as the main CM candidate from Congress. BJP needs to do well in those states where they have direct fight with congress with little to no local party presence to ensure that 3rd front or Mahagatbandhan doesn’t make a huge dent in its chances for 2019.

Winning here will not be easy for BJP due to the trend of people voting different party in every state election since 1990 and the current BJP government has a negative perception even though they have done good work in rural and as well as Urban areas of Rajasthan. Schemes like Bhamashah Yojana for direct benefit transfer, Mukhya Mantri Jal Swavalamban Abhiyan, Bhamashah health insurance scheme and Mukhya Manatri Rajshri Yojana for the girl child have helped the underprivileged and elevated lot of BPL families in the states but as the recently conducted survey by Dainik Bhaskar suggests that people of Rajasthan don’t want to see Vasundhara Raje as CM again.

It will be important for BJP and especially BJP President Amit Shah to ensure that this perception against CM doesn’t hamper party’s chances in these elections. Recent visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Jaipur to inaugurate 13 projects was a huge success and also a poll pitch by the party and with congress still not able to decide their CM candidate and their infighting may prove to be a winning factor for BJP.

If congress loses all the elections in 2018 then it will be very difficult for them to recover from this in 2019 general elections. BJP wants to ensure defeat of congress in all those seats where they have a direct fight. But in election year anything can happen and it’s will be hard to predict which party will come out in front. Prime minister is still the most popular face in politics across India and especially in Rajasthan so BJP will make use of to it’s maximum to gain the support of the people. Apart from development politics another factor which will decide the fate of the parties will be caste arithmetic, in Rajasthan people still vote on caste lines in rural areas and it will be an important factor this time as well. With Kirodi Lal Meena joining BJP this year Meena community votes will likely swing in favor of BJP an important caste in Rajasthan, Kirodi Lal Meena has influence on 60 to 70 MLA seats in Dausa region of the state. Other important castes like Gujjar’s and Rajputs also hold lot of political weightage.

It will be an interesting election this time with a lot on stake and i hope people of Rajasthan decide on important factors like development before voting and not on other issues like caste as we still have a long way to go in terms of development as we have an opportunity to become a growth powerhouse in coming years. As a Rajasthani i want to see my state progress and be counted as on of the most developed ones.

Here is why practice of Crime Confessions by the Church is highly condemnable crime under Section 108 of IPC

Krishna Baalu Iyer
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Here is why practice of Crime Confessions by the Church is highly condemnable crime under Section 108 of IPC

Before even the dust that was spattered from the horrific baby-selling scandal of Missionaries of Charity was settled, another heinous crime of ‘crime confessions’ in the Churches’ has tumbled several skeletons from the cupboards of the Churches in Kerala, recently. A recent plea put forth by the NCW (National Commission for Woman) to ban the ritual of ‘confessions’ before the Christian priests inside the Churches, has become the hot talk of the nation.

“The National Commission for Women (NCW) has recommended abolishing the practice of “confessions” in churches as it can lead to the blackmailing of women. A central agency also needs to do a proper investigation into the increasing incidents of rape and sexual assaults in churches of Kerala, NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma’ said.

‘The recommendation, based on an investigation conducted by the NCW into two sex scandals, one involving four priests of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and the second the Roman Catholic Bishop of Jalandhar Diocese, was made in a report which was submitted to Union home minister Rajnath Singh.

What she expressed was a plain truth. She has only reported the secretive affairs in the closed doors of Churches across India. Acts of sexual harassment, molestations, rapes, and nymphomania have been on the rise in the Churches across India in recent times. This is what even our Hon’ble CJI has recently expressed his concern with anguish.

It all began when 4 priests misused the ‘secret confessions’ of a married woman, a mother of two kids of the church by blackmailing her for more sexual favours. So, this has become ‘Sex for silence’ scandal. Out of 4 priests, now two of them were arrested and released on bail when their Anticipatory bail pleas were rejected. Another two Priests have reportedly approached the Supreme Court for relief. Also, one of the priests of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Father James Erthayil was caught red-handed in a sting as his voice got recorded by the accused. This has come out more of a shocking. In the Telephonic conversation, the Priest had with the woman, he was heard making all efforts to pacify the victim woman, by offering land, cash house etc to silence the victim.

The destiny is such, the same priests who called the victim woman earlier and sought sexual favours by blackmailing the victim with her earlier ‘confession’ given to the priest. The hapless meek victim succumbed to his threats and the scandal was going on. The scandal came to light accidentally when the victim’s husband chanced to peep into her email account, where he found hotel bills attached to the mail. A couple of audio recordings were being circulated on Social Media now.

What the man (the husband of the victim) has said to the media is like the truth from the horse mouth.

“Before our marriage, my wife was sexually abused by a priest and he continued to blackmail her even after that. She was upset and confessed her ordeal to another priest. He made sexual advancements and threatened he’ll reveal the confession details to me if she refused to cooperate. The priest also took pictures of them together and shared them with another priest who, in turn, threatened the pictures would be circulated if she failed to extend sexual favours to him as well. In due course, five to eight priests got involved with my wife,” the man said.

When this nasty scandal started engulfing the nation, predictably the much embarrassed ‘Minority Commission’ and Church authorities came out in defence of the Church and the Priests. Their audacity is so, they are now planning demonstrations against the NCW. As usual, our mainstream media (for whom such sex scandals in a Hindu Ashram would be a juicy affair) is putting their efforts to minimise the damage to the Church image. However the worry some aspect is the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology’ Alphons Kannanthanam defending the Confessions in the Churches. He further stated that the BJP Govt at the centre and the PM Modi would not intend to interfere in the Church practices. I wonder at first place how this particular Minister had to come forward to issue a statement on the issue? Just for the reason the Minister hails from Kerala and being a Christian, is he morally duty-bound to back up his community, Churches and defend its practices? Any statement on the issue should be issued by the PMO and concerned Ministry only. Alphons voluntary interference may put the Modi Government in embarrassment, as truly secular academics, columnists and myself may even dare to question this Government on its timid reaction to the whole issue when the same Government is vehemently taking a bold stand on ‘Triple Talaq’ and brought a legislation to end it?

I strongly support the NCW’s recommendations to abolish this un-constitutional ‘confession’ practice in the Churches, for the sake of ‘equality’. It is more puzzling, that those who are fighting for ‘gender equality’ before the Supreme Court, dragging the Hindus legitimate beliefs, are not only silent on the issue, but even supporting the Church, boldly.

One more aspect of these ‘confessions’ is, it’s questionable assent under our Constitution. Under section 108 of the Indian Penal Code, abetting is a crime and is punishable. ‘Abetting’ any crime is a punishable offence. The so-called ‘confession’ theatrics which are being passed in the Churches across India, is, in fact, running parallel to our Constitution under the very nose of the educated elites and liberals, under the apology of ‘religious’ beliefs and practices. It is not clear how many culprits who might have committed murders, rapes and robberies would have confessed before the priests and roaming scot-free, and furthermore encouraged to repeat such crimes time and again.

The government should act firmly keeping aside the fear of political backlash.

Fear among Muslims: How true?

vivekdugar
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Fear among Muslims: How true?

 

What do you feel when you see the two images above? Shock, disbelief, sense of negation? No. Why?

Such has been the consistency and perseverance of the forces behind this manufactured crisis of existence that truth has been hazed and we tend to accept something which we find non-existent in reality.

The apartment I live in had no Muslim occupant in the beginning. When a Muslim who was known to many owners bought a flat here and started living, nobody objected. But, earlier, one non-Muslim occupant had been forced to leave the apartment because he was getting involved in amoral activities.

The locality I had spent 20 years of my life before coming to my present home was resided by many Muslims, nobody bothered to count whether Muslims or non-Muslims were greater in number. Even during Babri Masjid riots, neither Non-Muslims nor Muslims of my locality felt threatened by each other.

In my acquaintances, there is a very rich family. Having several properties across the country, the family always has some or other contractor engaged in some work in some property, including their own residences. And most of these contractors are Muslims. I have never ever seen the family hesitating a bit before calling them for work and leaving their houses and homes open under their custody. Neither have I found these contractors and workers ever hesitating to go to even the native place of the family in other state.

I believe similar experiences would be shared by at least double the percentage which has been mentioned in the first image. And I believe even one-tenth of that percentage would not do anything which lead to situations mentioned in the second image. Yes, we Indians, Muslims and non-Muslims, have to have conviction in our ethos so as to defeat these fear-mongers.

Read how Ram Mandir opposition reflects the influence of Mahmud Ghaznavi

DeepakB
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Read how Ram Mandir opposition reflects the influence of Mahmud Ghaznavi

It baffles the mind on the opposition by some Islamic and anti-Hindu organizations in India to the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Historical facts and the Hindu’s strong faith in their religion has failed to convince them to accept the truth and willingly agree to the Ram temple being built.

To try to deduce what could be the reason for their stubborn opposition and illegitimate demand, maybe there’s a need to go back in history to understand the relation the Islamic invaders and rulers had with the Hindu temples and the native population of the country.

These are historical events that had been recorded by many Islamic historians whose works were then translated in English,most of them back in the early 1900s.

Let’s start with one of the early Islamic rulers – Mahmud of Ghazni.

Mahmud of Ghazni (Afghanistan)

Mahmud was born in AD 971 in Ghazni, eastern Afghanistan. Among his first attacks on India, on the order of Amir Sabuktagin (his father), Mahmud destroyed a temple on the bank of the River Sodra (Chenab). This was even before he became a ruler. He was called a Ghazi primarily because he fought against the non-muslims. He is said to have invaded Hindustan around 16 to 17 times, each time wreaking havoc and committing atrocities on the natives there.

He is known to have said, “Whenever I am at leisure from the affairs of my kingdom I will spend most of my time in going to Hindustan and wage a Holy War”. (Pg8-Tarikh-i-Sultan Mahmud-i-Ghaznavi)

In the year 1001 AD, in his war against Jaipal fought in current Peshawar, its recorded – “Sultan Mahmud behaved bravely and victory fell to him, so he become famous as a Ghazi; and he captured Jaipal with fifteen men, who were some his sons and some his relations, and he killed five thousand Hindus and brought back much plunder. And he took from the necks of those prisoners sixteen necklaces, and those necklaces are called in the Hindi language ‘Mala’ and people fixed the price of each necklace at one lac and eighty thousand gold mohurs.” (Pg9-Tarikh-i-Sultan Mahmud-i-Ghaznavi)

In the year 1008 AD, after winning the war against Anandpal (son of Jaipal), its noted, “To make firm his religion he determined (to wage) a holy war against the infidels of Nagarkot in Kangra (Kangra was given the name because of the ancient plastic surgeons who provided services to royals to improve their looks and soldiers who were injured during wars – now in Himachal), and to destroy their idol-houses and started. And at that time that fort was famous as the fort of Bhim, (and) when the Sultan reached, he ordered it to be besieged, and killed many people in the neighborhood. Seven lakhs of gold mohurs and eight hundred maunds (1 maund ~ 15kg at that time) of gold and silver vessels and two hundred maunds pure gold and two thousand maunds of virgin silver and twenty maunds of assorted jewels which had been collected there since the time of Bhim”. (Pg18-Tarikh-i-Sultan Mahmud-i-Ghaznavi) 

In a separate account of that raid its mentioned that he decamped with 1,400 lbs of gold and silver plate, 400 lbs of golden ingots, 4000 lbs of silver bullion, 40 lbs weight of pearls, corals, diamonds and rubies valued at 313,333 pounds sterling. (Pg595 – The Illustrated history of the British empire in India and the East – Dr. E.H.Nolan)

According to historical accounts by royalkangra- “After loading the booty on camels, the Sultan returned to Ghazni where he displayed his loot to the citizens of Ghazni. It is believed that he ordered the idol of Ambika Mata to be cut and made into weights to measure beef (cow-meat), the base of the idol was crushed and sprinkled on the path which leads to the Mecca-Madina. The gold canopy of the goddess was melted and turned into the Sultan’s bathing tub.” (www.royalkangra.com)

In the year 1011 AD, its noted by the historians– “a longing for holy war again was born (in his mind) and he started for Thanesar, which is one of the countries of Hindustan, because someone had said to him that Thanesar is, in the opinion of the Hindus, the comparison, in honor equal to Mecca the Great, and that in it there is an ancient idol-house in which the Hindus have made many idols, and the greatest among them (all) is called Jag-som, and this is the belief of the infidels that when the world was born that idol was born with it.” (Pg18-Tarikh-i-Sultan Mahmud-i-Ghaznavi)

[Thanesar – possibly coming from the word Sthanishwar – Place/abode of the lord, is situated in current Haryana. The Sthaneshwar Mahadev Temple, whose presiding deity is Lord Shiva, is believed to be place where the Pandavas with Krishna prayed to Lord Shiva and received his blessings for victory in the battle of Mahabharata.]

On coming to know of Mahmud’s intentions, when Anandpal pleaded with him not to destroy the temple, the Sultan answered- “In the religion of the Musalmans it is (laid down that this is) a meritorious act that anyone who may destroy the place of worship of the heathen he will reap great reward on the day of judgment, and my intention is to remove entirely idols from the cities of Hindustan. How then can I prevent myself from going to Thanesar”. (Pg21-Tarikh-i-Sultan Mahmud-i-Ghaznavi)

Before the kings could prepare to defend Thanesar, Mahmud reached it and its recorded, “.. he plundered it (Thanesar) at his ease, and broke all the idols and sent (the idol) Jag-som to Ghazni (with orders that) it should be placed in the road, so that everyone might pass over it and trample it under his feet ; and he found so great a treasure in the temples that it could not be counted.” (Pg21-Tarikh-i-Sultan Mahmud-i-Ghaznavi). After that, Mahmud dispatched a little less than two hundred thousand slave-girls and slaves from Hindustan and returned to Ghazni. It is said that that year they counted the city of Ghazni as one of the cities of Hindustan, because many slaves and slave-girls had fallen to each noble there. (Pg22-Tarikh-i-Sultan Mahmud-i-Ghaznavi)

In the year 1013 AD, while trying to defeat Anadpal’s son Trilochanapala in the Kashmir valley, the historians write– “Sultan plundered much wealth in that valley, and reconciled many people to (joining the) Musalman faith, then he returned to Ghazni”. (Pg26-Tarikh-i-Sultan Mahmud-i-Ghaznavi)

In the year 1018 AD, Mahmud marched toward Mathura. The historians write– “He reached his destination without anxiety and without interference, and plundered the city and burnt the idol-houses of the city and neighborhood, and broke the idols and much wealth came into his hands. And he was so astonished at the sight of those buildings (which he found there) that he sent a letter to the nobles and chiefs of Ghazni, and wrote this paragraph in it: ‘In this city there are a thousand buildings with foundations (as strong) as the sky and most of them are built of marble, and there are so many idol-houses in them that they are beyond counting; and if anyone should desire to build such buildings, then if he were to spend a lakh of gold mohurs on expert builders, he would (hardly) complete it in two hundred years.’” (Pg29-Tarikh-i-Sultan Mahmud-i-Ghaznavi)

It is said that – “he found amongst them five idols of pure gold, in the eye-sockets of which they put sapphires (and) all those sapphires were valued at fifty thousand dirams. There was another idol of gold in which they had inserted a plate of emeralds, which in weight was 400 miskals (1 miskal = 4.25g). When they had broken up that idol eight thousand three hundred miskals of gold were got from it, and of idols of silver, great and small, there were more than one hundred, (and) when they broke them all up they loaded a hundred camels with them. After this they set fire to all the buildings, (and) when twenty days had passed they marched from that place.” (Pg30-Tarikh-i-Sultan Mahmud-i-Ghaznavi)

In a similar rendition in history, its noted- “Among the lord’s idols in that temple, there were 5 made of red gold, each 5 yards high, fixed in air without support… In the city of Mathura, there were a thousand houses, to which idol temples were attached. The sultan gave orders that all temples should be burnt by naphtha and fire and leveled with the ground.” (Pg45;The history of India as told by its own historians)

On his way to Kanauj, Mahmud destroyed 7 forts on the banks of the Ganga and of all the gorgeous shrines, not a single was spared. Its noted – “The Sultan reached those forts and was taking a view of the (surrounding) countries (when) it chanced that his eye fell on an idol-house which, in the belief of the Hindus, was standing for four thousand years. In those forts and idol-houses everything that the Musalmans found they took possession of..” Utbi – Mahmud’s court historian narrated about that expedition– “The Sultan then opposed the fortresses of Kanûj; and he beheld seven castles, placed upon the margin of the water of the Ganges.

Nearly ten thousand temples were built in these forts, and these lying idolaters declared that the date of the commencement of those fabrics was two or three hundred thousand years, and from this confident belief derived pride and pretension. Their trust in them was continually recurring, under all circumstances, for they were desirous to deposit money therein, and in time of need made processions around them, humbly imploring aid. The greater number of the people had deserted their homes, from terror at the Sultan, but some remained. The Sultan in one day took all those fortresses and plundered them, and thence turned to the fortress of Manaj, called the Brahmin’s Castle. The Sultan levelled to the ground every fort.. and the inhabitants of them either accepted Islam or took up arms against him”. (Pg457 – The Kitab-i-Yamini by Al-Utbi)

The aftermath of the attack on Kanauj in 1018 AD, resulted in – “.. twenty thousand gold pieces and a thousand thousand rupees and fifty thousand slave, female and male, and three hundred and fifty elephants, and there was much other property.”  In that attack, its mentioned that the loot and prisoners (Hindus) were such great in number that the slave markets of Persia were glutted and a servant could be bought for a couple of shillings. (Pg25 – Medieval India under Mohammedan rule; Stanley Lane-Poole)

In the year 1021 AD, Mahmud again attacked the kingdoms of Kirat near Turkestan (which was part of Hindustan) and Nardin (Punjab). Under the threat of the sword he made the king of Kirat and his subjects accept Islam. In his attack on Nardin its mentioned – “The Sultan sent Hajib Ali, the son of Altaian Jazib to Nardin; He, when he got there, conquered that place and many slave-girls and slaves and (much) property came into his hands, and there was a great idol-house there, and when he destroyed it an engraved stone was found. in it which (showed that the idol) had been, in the belief of the Hindus, built for, 40,000 years.” (Pg35-Tarikh-i-Sultan Mahmud-i-Ghaznavi)

As noted by the Islamic historians in their accounts of Mahmud, the Somnath idol was thought to be from the time of lord Krishna and that it was 4,000 years old. According to the Brahmins, lord Krishna disappeared from earth from that place. “And in the temple of Somnath on nights or days when the moon or the sun is eclipsed more than two or three lakhs of people would assemble, and from distant countries people would bring offerings to it, and all the villages with which (various) rulers of Hindustan had endowed Somnath were said to be two thousand (in number.) And two thousand Brahmans used continually to worship Somnath, and every night they used to bathe it in fresh water from the Ganges… And in the treasury of Somnath so many small idols of gold and silver were found that people could not count them.” (Pg42-Tarikh-i-Sultan Mahmud-i-Ghaznavi)

That was the very significance of the Somnath temple. In the year 1024 AD, after coming to know of the importance of this temple, Mahmud led a war campaign to destroy it. In the war that followed its noted by historians that Mahmud’s army – “slew five thousand heretics… (he saw) in the fort an idol-house which had been built so long and broad, that it had fifty-six pillars and all were studded with jewels. And Somnath was an idol of stone five yards long, of which two yards were in the earth and three yards out..” In another version of that incident by Col. G.B. Malleson, its mentioned “Band after band of the defenders (Hindus) retreated in the temple of Somnath and with their hands clasped around their necks, wept and passionately entreated Mahmud to spare them. Then again they tried to put up a fight, till they were slain and but a few were left alive. These took to the seas in boats to make their escape, but the Musulmans over-took them and some were killed and some were drowned.” (Pg76; History of Afghanistan, From the Earliest Period to the Outbreak of the War of 1878 – George Bruce Malleson)

In another excerpt from Tarikh-i-Alfi its mentioned that as soon as Mahmud cast his eyes on the God’s idol he lifted his battle-axe with much anger and struck it with such force that that the idol broke into pieces. The fragments of it were ordered to be taken to Ghaznin and were cast down at the threshold/steps of Jami Masjid [to be walked on daily by people visiting there]. According to Ibn-Asir, by the time Mahmud completed the Somnath massacre the number of slain exceeded fifty thousand. (Pg471;The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period; Sir H. M. Elliot)

In another version by Stanley Lane-Poole (1907), according to records on Somnath attack by Mahmud– “Fifty thousand Hindus suffered (died) for their faith, and the sacred shrine was sacked to the joy of the true believers. The great stone (shiva-ling) was cast down, and its fragments carried off to grace the conquerors palace. The temple gates were set up at Ghazni, and a million pounds worth of treasure rewarded the iconoclast”. (Pg28 – Medieval India under Mohammedan rule; Stanley Lane-Poole)

According to the translation of ‘Tarikh-i-sultan Mahmud-i-Ghanznavi’ – ‘Mahmud struck it so in the face that he broke the face. After that he gave orders (and) took two pieces from it (and) sent them to Ghazni. One lie put in the doorway of the Friday mosque, and the other lie put in the palace of the King’s audience hall. For six hundred years those pieces (of the idol) lay there and people used to see them. And he separated two more pieces of Somnath and sent them to Mecca and Medina (so) that they might pave-them in the main roads that poor and great- might walk over them”. (Pg41-Tarikh-i-Sultan Mahmud-i-Ghaznavi)

An apt gist of Mahmud was again written by one of his historians – ‘When Sultan Mahmud ascended the throne of sovereignty, his illustrious deeds became manifest unto all mankind within the pale of Islam, when he converted so many thousands of idol-temples into masjids, and captured so many of the cities of Hindustan, and overthrew and subdued its Raes.’ (Pg81 – Tabaḳāt-i-Nāṣirī by Minhāj Sirāj Jūzjānī)

These are but some examples of Mahmud’s savagery on India and its native population where his aim was the annihilation of Hinduism, destruction of temples and murtis and imposing the Islamic way of life by the sword.

The question we should ask ourselves – Has that hateful and ignorant ideology been discarded in this modern world or do we still have institutions/individuals in India who conform to it, possibly because of which they oppose the legitimate demand of the Hindus for the construction of the Ram Mandir?

References:

Translation of the Tarikh-i-Sultan Mahmud-i-Ghaznavi

The illustrated history of the British empire in India and the East

The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians

The Kitab-i-Yamini

Medieval India under Mohammedan rule

History of Afghanistan: From the Earliest Period to the Outbreak of the War of 1878

Tabaḳāt-i-Nāṣirī

This statement of PM Modi on industrialists that no govt has dared to make so far, has the utmost pertinence

anujaggarwal
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This statement of PM Modi on industrialists that no govt has dared to make so far, has the utmost pertinence

The Prime Minister while speaking at the launch of various development projects in Lucknow on Sunday, made a noteworthy comment that should have been uttered by yester prime ministers long ago. He essentially claimed to be a politician not afraid of standing beside industrialists. He also asserted that they have an equal share in the growth and development of the country as compared to any farmer or a banker. A statement that is apparent and incontestable. Yet, it took about six decades for a prime minister to be able to make it albeit with still pending repercussions of opposition hoping to twist it.

This is because unfortunately for us, our nation developed with a misguided perception of ‘Original Sin’ for industrialists. The government convinced itself and then its people, to view industrialists with suspicion. It convinced the people to consider their profits as fruits of corruption, their wealth a result of colluded loot and their properties, an organised land-grab. Thereafter, in the garb of this manufactured perception, it became imperative to control this greedy capitalist class. In effect, the economy was burdened with price controls, quotas, licenses, permits, ceilings and restrictions. All this was done to ensure that the rich don’t get any richer and the poor gets his fair share of resources.

However, merely harbouring good intentions don’t culminate in better outcomes. The net result of this governmental strangulation of the market was that the people who had the means, ability and resources to wade through these restrictions were able to sail through. In return, they left a grotesque machinery, a kind of parallel economy, where the writ of bribes, kickbacks and payoffs ran large. It did put a strain on their business but not on their wealth. It ensured that no new person gets to be a part of this club with governmentally granted exclusivity. Occasionally, an Ambani managed to trick the system but for the most parts it was rigidly restricted and rejected any aspirants with good ideas.

This nation’s tallest industrialist bears a testimony to this; J.D.R Tata continuously and painstakingly tried to convince Pandit Nehru and Indira Gandhi to mend their economic follies but was throughout told to zip it. He was thoroughly rewarded for his pieces of advice by having his Air India, Air India International and insurance outfit nationalised by the government. Meanwhile, we lost valuable time and essentially went backwards. Taking the example of Tata again, it used to manufacture armoured vehicles before independence but thereafter defence was taken out of the private sector’s domain. The result is India is still one of the largest importers of defence hardware in the world and yet struggles to adequately equip the armed forces. The tendency to distrust, demonize and defame the industrial class has cost us decades of development.

The previous UPA government relapsed in this self-perpetuated tendency with the horror of retrospective taxation. There are visible signs of UPA submitting to it again with no reasonable economic thought ever being put forward by the Gandhi Scion. It is, therefore, refreshing to have a politician speaking for industrialist and not casting the habitual suspicion as with mindless ‘Suit-boot’ jibes. This aggressive defence of the industrial class could guide India’s economic destiny for the coming years.

Cutting through Jawahar Sircar’s recent bullshit about Gurupurnima

srini
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Cutting through Jawahar Sircar’s recent bullshit about Gurupurnima

(In reply to: Guru Purnima Has Its Roots in Buddhism and Jainism, Not Hinduism)

In the colonial vestiges of India, infested by the brown British, there is far too much bullshit to debunk on any given day. Considering the importance of the task, however, I’ll disband with long winded articles, and illustrate through a set of sentences, why they are precisely Bullshit. Bullshit, as in something which is intended to persuade without any regard for the truth; of course, considering its toxic effects, literal Bullshit is far more benign.

The current object of interest is a piece by the former CEO of Prasar Bharthi, whose Goebbelian skills, while being of great attainment, is nonetheless, by its very nature, not one that produces work that is worth any intellectual discussion. The blatant contradictions of the fluff piece is, illustrated in the conversation between Ram and Sir.

Ram: The author notes that ‘Gurukulas/ Pathashala were restricted to ‘Brahmans’, while mentioning right in the next line about how these ‘rules’ could be broken for ‘select Kshatriyas’. It is a mystery how ‘Brahmans’ could teach arms training; mysterious still is how the army was trained in arms.

Sir: Was there really an army, though?

Ram: The author claims that there must’ve been, for how else could Arya-dom spread. Surely, then, by the tales of the author himself, a society which didn’t restrict arms training should’ve easily won. Ekalavya, the Nishada king, was afterall better than Arjuna.

Sir: ‘Brahmans’ were probably like mages of Europe, who could command supernatural powers. They probably didn’t need an army.

Ram: Erm… Okay…. So Brahmans taught inferior methods of fighting, so that ‘Kshatriyas’ could protect them from asuras? Are you mad?

Sir: Stop oppressing me, you Hindutva fanatic.

Ram: Fine. The author, claims that the Bhakti movement was led by gurus of all castes, who then helped endear ‘non-Brahmanical’ Hinduism. How were these gurus trained? Through ethereal Vaishnavic power, pervading the Brahman?

Sir: May be they were trained by the Buddhists or the Jains?

Ram: … so they had a change of heart and became one with their ‘oppressors’? They did this when Buddhism and Jainism were in a dominant position?

Sir: Stop oppressing me, you long-nosed Brahmin.

Ram: Erm.. I’m a Kshatriya, dude.

Ram: The author’s claim that ‘Guru Purnima is not a Hindu’ practice, is premised on there not being a scriptural ‘mandate’. Surely then, by his own ‘criteria’ for origination, he must’ve produced ‘mandates’ in the Buddhist/Jaina traditions for such a practice. Yet, curiously, while describing practices in far off Korea, and Tibet, the author can’t be bothered with this crucial piece of ‘evidence’, in his own system of reasoning.

Sir: Erm… Yeah, like you Hindutva people understand logic.

Ram: Furthermore, if Indians mere magnanimous enough to equally revered Ustads, and Pundits, how could they discriminate so cruelly among st their own kind ?

Sir: No man, ‘Brahminism’ was really cruel. The influence of ‘Buddhism, Jainism and Islam’, must’ve rubbed off on it and made it less restrictive.

It must’ve been this way. ‘Brahminism’ was perpetrated by the all powerful priests, like the Jews and the Catholics in Europe.
Buddhism must’ve been the Lutheran revolt of India. It must’ve been this way. Surely.

Ram: So Bhakti movement is the counter reformation?

Sir: Bingo! I’m glad we see eye to eye.

Ram: We sure do.

(Postscript: This need for finding European history and theology in India has a long history, as noted by Prof. S N Balagangadhara. The endless theorizing, which break down completely, when seen as a whole, is a mere symptom of the sick state of the intellectual tradition in India.

Dharampal’s tome the ‘The Beautiful Tree’, uses data from British surveys from the early 19th century, to destroy this toxic shabda-jala, that governs our beliefs about India today. He notes how, in the heartland of Dravidian-oppression, the Madras presidency, where 50% of those enrolled in traditional schools were ‘Shoodra’, while Brahmins/Chettris made up only 20%. The educational system, that a battered and decaying India sustained in the 18th century, was notedly better than ones in England by British administrators, or likely indeed than the one that produces mere WASP clones today.

It’s a disgrace that eminent idiots such as our author above are the goats eating down our tax money. May the colony die! May the Beautiful tree spring forth again!)

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