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How would you compare the top 3 religions: Christianity, Islam and Hinduism?

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Recently on Quora, I wrote an answer for ‘How would you compare the top 3 religions: Christianity, Islam and Hinduism?’. Which was upvoted by 1,900 peoples with about 18,100 views. So I thought to share the same here.

ISLAM

Islam is an Arabic word that means peace-acceptance-surrender-submission. Followers of Islam are called Muslims, Musalmans or Mohhmandans.

Muhmmad, also known as Rasul-Allah (messenger of God), was born in mecca around 570 C.E. He was very honest and kind man. He is a beloved figure in Islam. He was kind, humble,wise and charming. He got the vision of ‘Allah’ when he was around 40 years. He was terrified and feared by seeing the light of Allah . The night he got vision is celebrated as Night of Power.

Islam was first common stream with Jewish and Christian, but when the tribes of Madina rejected Muhammad as messenger of God, Muhammad received revelation from God to break away and found Islam as a separate religion. Turning point came when Muslims fought Meccans ( they were brutal to Muslims) whom were 3 times bigger than muslims army which Muslims won. Public believed that only because of Allah’s protection they won and then they converted themselves to Muslim. A large part of society converted themselves to Muslim which consisted of both poor and rich classes.

Qur’an- Qur’an is the source for knowledge for Muslims way of life, Muslims civil law. Qur’an is a material and philosophical guide for Muslims, which have to be followed by muslims. Book talks about science and society, origin of mankind, reason to make man and earth. Doomsday and it’s afterwards situation is written in this books. This book is also called wahy al-matluww (the recited revelation). The Quran was not sent down to the Prophet (pbuh) as a whole; it was sent down verse by verse and chapter by chapter to muhammad through angel Gabriel over a period of 23 years. Another book for muslims is Hadith- a historical book of muhammad’s life written by the close relatives of him. The Holy Quran is the last and final message of Almighty Allah, it can’t be re-written. Muhmmad is last prophet of Allah.

Islam believes in only one God. Worshipping of any other God is demonic and they will thrashed to Hell for it. Paganism is also considered a sin in Islam. There are various things which are Haram in Islam so there are many things which are Halal . Muslims have to follow these things very carefully. Islam says various other things like- ‘you should first see your neighbors, you have to help them’. To know more about forbidden acts visit Major Forbidden Acts – My Religion Islam

Positive Points

  • Deep commitment to social justice
  • Gender equality with exception
  • Justice for everyone
  • Zakat
  • Liberty over marriage
  • Peaceful

Negative Points

  • No flexibility
  • To get heaven you need to be a muslim
  • No direct connection to God
  • Hard on feminine
  • Too much forbidden acts
  • Nearly impossible to dodge Haram
  • Cruel punishment in Sharia law
  • Jijiya
  • Concept of Kuffur
  • Against idol worship
  • Excessively Radicalised

Christianity

Christianity, simply means a religion based on Jesus Christ and Christians are known as it’s followers.

Jesus Christ was born 4 B.C ago as Jew in today’s Israel which was known as Judea back then. Jesus being a ideal man, travelled villages and helped the peoples who were suffering from pain or diseases. He was well versed in Jews Scriptures. He challenged the Jews religious authorities, who had used faith for petty political/social gains. Many felt silent over his arguments, seeing which peoples started following Christ. Jesus taught them that God will save them through the Jesus. He predicted his crucifixion and his rise from the dead. Exactly happened with Jesus, Christians believed the same after which the religion started.

Bible- Christians says Bible the ‘word of god’ as the writers were inspired the God himself. Bible is a revelation by the God. In Bible there are stories, world from Christians prospective, Christians law and teaching of Jesus Christ. Christians took Bible as only true book and accepts it as it is. It guides Christians to live a peaceful and good life. Bible was long before Jesus birth, which is known as old testaments.

Everyone is born sinner in Christianity. Only god can free oneself. There is only God and Jesus is only son of God. God is external. To be a good Christian, one have to follow the 10 testaments without doubting the Christ as the son of God.

Positive Points

  • Love
  • Kindness
  • Social service – Sacrificing oneself for others
  • Commitments on Good deeds
  • It always calls for social justice

Negative Points

  • No respect for other faith
  • Rigidity
  • Hard on feminine
  • Sin concept
  • No respect for environment
  • Infidelity
  • Mythological science
  • Paganism is act of hell
  • Holding the Christianity tag is necessary to earn the salvation
  • Too much chaos within

Hinduism

Sanatana Dharma is the original name for Hinduism. Sanatana Dharma’s meaning cannot be described in one word. Generally people translate it as Eternal- Natural law. There is no word for its followers, as it was realised for Humans despite their castes, race or country you can call it’s followers Humans.

Since Santana Dharma was right from the creation of world, it’s origin is not known by anyone. It is the oldest active religion. It has no single founder. It was realised by Rishis by intense meditation (Dhyan yog). Then they passed their knowledge orally to Young generation by Guru-Shisya system. Sanatan dharma is only religion which wasn’t spread through war and sword. Indians mainly defeated others in debate by answering their question after which they choose Santana Dharma.

There is no single Dharm shastra. But Vedas are considered to be superior to others. Vedas means knowledge. Many verses of Vedas still amazes modern scientist. Vedas talks about science, spirituality, philosophy, Yoga, Ayurveda, Questions, Answers and finally about Dharma- Adharma. Ancient Indians discovered various things mainly by reading Vedas. Concept of Atoms-Distance of earth from Sun- Metallurgy- Maths- space science and various other things. Vedas are called Author less and shruti. There are also some other Hindu Shastra such as Mahabharat and Ramayan and Upanishad. They all constitute a grand narrative of Hindus way of Life. Sanatana Dharma says that there is only one God who have many forms. We are in God and God is in Us. Everyone is divine.

Positive Points

  • Very flexible
  • Non- violent
  • Divine Concept
  • Science and Dharma co-exist
  • Oneness
  • Promotes questioning
  • Acceptance of Nastika
  • Yoga and Ayurveda
  • Direct connection to God
  • No central Authorities
  • Pro-Environment
  • Liberal
  • I can’t mention all in the single post

Negative Points: Let me know when you find one.

Disclaimer: I’m a hindu and explanation of all the religions are based on Hindus Gaze. I’m not claiming to be unbiased writer, if you think I’m wrong feel free to comment.

Many people pointed out that castism and Manu smiriti are the negative Points of Hinduism. So I’m here to break their misconception.

Caste: Originally ‘Varna System’, is not given by birth. It just classify people by the nature of work they do. For example when a person teaches students it becomes teacher and when the same person get teachings by some other person, he becomes a student. I don’t care how this got screwed, and it’s not a fault of Dharma that it’s followers wrongly interpreted it for their own personal gains.

Manu- Smiriti: First of all, the most hated Shastra scores more than any other Scriptures on any humanitarian index, so please stop calling it brutal. And if there is something inhumane in it, it can be changed as manu smriti calls for change in it according to time.

Apastamba Dharmasutra: Well many people don’t know about it, this Dharma Shastra can be regarded as Hindus law. This Shastra is known for its ultra liberal (for Westerners and westernized peoples. It is normal for a Hindu) on women and Shudra.

Way of life or Religion: Yes Hinduism is not religion as ‘religion’ is a very narrow term to describe Hinduism. It is Dharma, Hindu Dhrma. There is no word matching ‘Dharma’ in English or in fact any other language.Hinduism is Hindus way of life so are Christians way of life or Muslims way of life.

Decline of anti-Modi protests

Naagesh Padmanaban
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Decline of anti-Modi protests

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi continues to make waves in world capitals with his charm offensive. In his recent and historic visit to Israel, the first in itself by an Indian Prime Minister, he was given an unprecedented welcome. Israel has officially designated him as a world leader and accorded appropriate diplomatic protocol. He has been treated on par with the United States President and the Pope. This is a great honor for India and to PM Modi. All these indicate the slow but sure rise of Modi on the world scene.

The rise of India in the eyes of the world is something every Indian should be proud of. But many have not forgotten that India and Indian leaders were never considered to ever significantly impact global affairs. PM Modi, in particular, only attracted scorn and street protests during state visits. He was and continues to be hounded by established global media houses with their acerbic op-eds.

But the recent state visits of PM Modi- particularly to meet President Trump and then to Israel have been remarkable for a different reason. Unlike his previous visits to UK or the US, this time around, there were only symbolic protests in Washington DC and none in Israel. The almost total absence of street protest seems too obvious to ignore. Even the Arab countries did not seem to mind his visit to Israel.

The growing popularity of Modi as a world leader is only partially responsible for the dwindling protests. The sheer number of people at his venues to meet him have been legendary – the Madison Square Garden event is still fresh in memory. The overwhelming support he is able to generate at every venue and the credibility it has spawned, seems to have had an impact on the anti-Modi protesters. But as mentioned, that is only part of the reasons. It is worthwhile to examine some of the other key reasons that have led to a decline in the protest against Modi.

India is an economic power house today. Many nations including the US and the European Union are keen to foster trade and economic ties with India like never before. The global economic scene is at best dismal. China is leading the large economies in one of the darkest recessions the world is likely to witness. The Arab nations, with oil prices tanking to lowest levels in recent memory, are not far behind in riding the misery train to recession. In this scenario, India chugging along at 7% GDP growth rate is a sure savior and the world seems to be eager to ally with India.

The Trump administration in the US is surely breaking away from the past and redefining international relations and is determined to create new diplomatic and trade alliances with friends and allies alike. The bedrock of the relationships is unadulterated economic and trade benefits for the US. President Trump is sincere in bringing home jobs for his people. In that context, India is seen as a unique player that could help re-ignite the US economy. It is fully plausible that for its purely selfish reasons the American administration has put a tight leash on the deep state and its notorious non-governmental organizations or NGOs that have been fronts for their agencies to create trouble for recalcitrant world leaders.

Pakistan based agencies that have been central to instigating and funding terror activities as well as protest against Modi have been effectively corralled. It is well known that Pakistani agencies use Hawala transactions to move funds for their sinister operations against India. Like Modi’s killer media strategy, the Indian intelligence agencies and diplomatic establishment deserve full credit for quietly working behind the scenes to identify and track these activities. India is reported to develop a comprehensive financial crimes’ database using state-of-art computer technologies like big data- similar to the one that the US has in place. Any illegal financial/Hawala transaction now runs the risk of being viewed as a potential terror funding transaction and could be shared worldwide. Even local politicians using Hawala transactions will now be on their radar.

The demonetization in December of last year has had a tremendous impact on Hawala transactions that fueled these protests. Not only has this killed the domestic Hawala industry, but also provided sophisticated tracking of these transactions originating from key financial centers like Dubai and Singapore. Unfortunately, the Indian media, in their eagerness to shame Modi, seem to have missed the real story. Instead, they are barking up the wrong tree, trying hard to prove why the demonetization was a big disaster and economic blow to India.

Further the sharing of this database with the US and other Western powers means that a Hawala transaction originating in Pakistan or Dubai with recipients in India or the US may automatically invite the simultaneous scrutiny of several intelligence agencies across the world. Data mining technologies now help agencies to locate problem zones and offending outlets in advance. This has been a big deterrent to Hawala operations and the funding for protests is one important collateral damage.

The increasing terror strikes in Europe, specially the UK, has also in a sense been a blessing since these countries are now eager to co-operate with India.

In the last two years India has successfully stitched up good diplomatic relations with Middle east and Arab nations, particularly Saudi Arabia and UAE. The new understanding provides for combating terrorism, regular sharing of intelligence and agreements to extradite prisoners and criminals who have specifically violated foreign exchange regulations. This diplomatic offensive has also brought down the funding for street protests elsewhere in the world.

Further, the political situation in the Middle East is fluid and the emergence of severe tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran has forced a change in their focus. This is evidenced by lack of even symbolic protests from the Arab world to Modi’s historic visit to Israel. With years of tanking oil prices, surplus petro-dollars seem to have vanished. This has greatly impacted the nefarious activities originating from Pakistan.

The anti-Modi protests have been orchestrated by several forces. For now, they seem to be at a disadvantage and are hence lying low. But the acerbic op-eds and distorted reporting by global media houses and their Indian cousins will continue as business as usual. On its part, India has to be vigilant and not let its guard down. There are vital lessons to be learnt in weaving together a diplomatic canvas, aided by technology, to combat illegal terror funding.

Sometimes, the collateral benefits are the drying up of street protests against an emerging world leader.

Bengali Intellectuals organise ‘NotInMyName’ protest against the blasphemous Facebook post by Hindu extremist

Manithan
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Bengali Intellectuals organise ‘NotInMyName’ protest against the blasphemous Facebook post by Hindu extremist

Kolkatta: A huge rally was organized here in the city by Bengali Intellectuals, condemning the blasphemous Facebook post, which had reportedly made the vehicles turn on its top by itself and shops undergoing self-combustion.

The protest seems to have been spontaneous without much pre-planning and protesters arrived in huge numbers. “The total count seems to be in lakhs. It is as if the whole of Bengal has descended onto the street”, said a jubilant protester calling himself as Banglongkong Ghosh. “We will not let this happen in our name. We cannot tolerate such offensive statements being spread into the secular fabric of cyberspace.”, said Sanjita Bose, working for the Telegraph. She raised the placard which read ‘Save the Facebook from Saffron. #NotInMyName’.

A section of Bengali Hindu feminists in their liberating attire protesting against the communal blasphemous Facebook post.

Not many present at the venue exactly know what the 17-year old Hindu wrote about Islam in his Facebook post, but all were unanimous in condemning him to Hell. “He should not be protected by the rabid fascist colonialist imperialist Hindutvaist BJPist Modi.”, shouted Dubdobdab Chatterjee, “I am a Hindu. I cannot let these vile Sanghis hijack my religion and comment about other religions on Facebook.”

A person next to Dubdobdab, Saleem said, “We cannot tolerate a Kafir commenting on our great religion. Islam is the only solution. Islam will be the only religion. Hinduism is a fake religion”, for which Dubdobdab bobbed his head in laughter and hugged Saleem. When we stood there on the spot trying to understand this complexity, Dubdobdab turned to us and shouted, “What?! Can’t my minority brother vent out his frustration against Hinduism? Forgot Akhlaq? Babri Masjid?”. He then pulled me back by my shirt while we turned back and howled in our ears, “2002..”

Nearly one lakh protesters signed a letter requesting the police to handover the 17-year old Hindu extremist to the peaceful group of people who happened to be near cars that overturned itself and shops that burnt themselves. “He spoke bad of a religion and he should be punished by that religion only”, said the person behind the signature campaign.

Meanwhile, West Bengal government has sent a strict warning to cars manufacturers like Tata and Hyundai, to manufacture cars that do not topple themselves and not self-combust whenever a peaceful group crosses by.

Why Kerala CM’s criticism of PM’s Israel visit is wrong

madhurajoshi99
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Why Kerala CM’s criticism of PM’s Israel visit is wrong

PM Modi completed his historic visit to Israel yesterday. The first ever visit by a Prime Minister of India in 70 years! The visit received mixed reactions. The most condemnable reaction is of CM of Kerela Mr. Pinrayi Vijayan. And I think each and every person of India who knows and is well aware of radical Islamic terrorism should condemn his statement with as harsh words as possible. Mr.CM in his Facebook post writes ‘Heart of Indians lies with Palestine’.

No! He is totally wrong. Heart of Indians lies with Israel and  not Palestine. There are some bigots and apologists of Islamofascism in our country like Mr. Pinrayi Vijayan who support Palestine for appeasement politics. But they are surely doing worst form of politics. If Mr. Pinarayi Vijayan supports Muslims of Palestine, he should also support Muslims of Balochistan and Yemen. Which I am sure he won’t. Israel is much respected by the masses of India.

Mr. Pinrayi  Vijayan has done lowest form of politics by calling a state which is our third largest defense partner as ‘Terrorist State’. Mr. CM has done the biggest blunder of politics by calling a state which has always supported us in all the wars as ‘Terrorist State’. Mr. CM has done a historic mistake by calling a state which first recognized Bangladesh as a separate country, a ‘Terrorist State’.

Israel has always been a silent friend of India by standing by us in all the winters and springs. Indians support the cause of Palestine but Israel holds a special place in our hearts and always will. Israel lies in heart of every patriotic Indian and not Palestine.

DALALS make Governors the Fall Guys

Ashish Shukla
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DALALS make Governors the Fall Guys

There is a new narrative by the DALALS (Devious Left and Lutyens Scribes). It’s not about the fresh round of communal violence against Hindus in West Bengal where the Mamta government is seen overtly as pro-Muslim. It’s not even about the Facebook post which was used as a handle to beat Hindus with. It’s about the constitutional propriety of Governors who are accused of acting at the Centre’s behest.

The usual suspects such as Indian Express (their edit today, see image), Rajdeep Sardesai and Sagarika Ghose have dumbed down the reprehensible Bengal violence to a debate about how BJP-appointed Governors are causing mischief. They have dragged down the Tripura and Puducherry Governors to connect dots and conclude that India’s democracy is in peril.

This is not as much ingenuity as the brazen, brash conviction that their echo chambers would drown out any voice of reason. That nobody would question them, like how come Governor Ram Nath Kovind earned so unabashed a praise from Modi-baiter Nitish Kumar in Bihar?

Said Nitish: “Kovind has discharged his duties in an unbiased manner as the Bihar Governor. He has worked as per the Constitution and upheld the dignity of the Governor’s post.”

This from a Chief Minister of a state which handed over a humiliating defeat to Modi in 2015 Bihar assembly elections, just a year after the BJP’s euphoric triumph in 2014 General Elections.

These DALALS have also swept under the carpet the unequivocal support which West Bengal Congress state chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has offered to Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi.

As per Chowdhury, he had no “valid reason” to demand Tripathi’s recall and said he had found the Governor to be a “thorough gentleman and affable person.” Yet, these inconvenient truths don’t suit the DALALS. That these voices of conscience have come from bitter Modi foes matter least to them.

A few questions, which hopefully would drill a hole through their echo chambers and if nothing else alert citizens about these devious forces at work, are thus;

(a) What’s the exact nature of this conversation between Tripathi-Mamta? And if the DALALS are not privy to this private telephonic talk, what makes them pitch for Mamta and not Tripathi?

(b) While accusing BJP Governors for undermining democratically elected state governments, what makes DALALS give clean chits to Mamta, Arvind Kejriwal or Akhilesh Yadav governments who are under scanner from investigating agencies of the land? What makes them believe these leaders are upholder of democratic traditions?

(c) Why these DALALS have no stance at all on this communal violence in West Bengal? Why they never call Mamta by name? Why this studious stand to avoid word “Mamta” all through their writings?

(d) Why no question has yet been asked to Mamta about her silence on the “Triple Talaq” issue? Come on you champions of feminist causes. Don’t show your menstrual cramps.

(d) With the known Jihadi presence in neighbouring Bangladesh, why these DALALS have not stopped to question the threat of Jihadis turning West Bengal as their base for further attacks on India’s sovereignty? Why this studious silence?

(e) Failing this, do they want a story similar to Kashmiri Pundits be repeated in Bengal? Have they paused and dreaded the consequence of such a migration? And its devastating effect on the India we know?

Instead of addressing these grave issues and questioning Mamta’s role through all this, these DALALS have trained their guns on Tripathi, an octogenarian without a whiff of controversy during his long career in public eye. An esteemed poet and writer, Tripathi’s commentary on The Representation of People Act, 1951 is still held in high regard.

The obfuscation by DALALS could have been comic if it was not this tragic. There could be no Ramchandra Guha or Pawan Verma invited on TV debates since the matter itself has been given a quite burial.

Shame.

Why women don’t like politics

vasudha
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Why women don’t like politics

Sounds like a quick sly comment or someone has seriously got it wrong. Politics is probably the singular distinction that can be patented to women with certainty; in our casual dialect known as ‘Bitching’ or ‘Gossiping’. I consider that to be our birth right and organic to womanhood. But the politics that I am talking about is the art and science of administration of government; or to be the big Uncle Sam of a country who practices statecraft, the inherent savoir-faire and takes decision on matters of state.

Even the most socially advanced countries such as the USA have just about 20% women in their parliaments; Lok Sabha has only 11%. I wonder why we are not there even though we have the right ingredients, mental faculty and the acumen to control masses. Here are some reasons.

We take everything personally

Politician are immune to criticism however genuine it may be, and exhibit the incredible strength of shamelessness that is necessary to defend their arrogance. On the other hand, women take all negative interpretation or analysis of their actions as a personal attack. In other words we are not thick-skinned pigs who can take filthy pointless blows on how we manage our homes. A woman selflessly nurtures her abode and if required can die or kill for it, like soldiers do for their country. Whereas, politicians rarely demonstrate any affection for the state; they rather enact a self-centred melodrama for personal benefits, and we have no appetite or caliber for the same.

We are not fake

If you can tell big lies, make tall promises, and don’t have an iota of intention to do your job, then definitely you are a politician. It is the ability to be unconscionable, read calibrated scripts full of deceit and feign emotions. Oh! And surprisingly we have enough dumb down citizens who believe them and greet with waving flags. Women can’t even fake an orgasm, forget bluffing the populace. It is impossible for them to live this dual personality because they are genuine and candid. Being truthful is their inherent character. She will be honest no matter how painful the truth is. We hate politics because truth rarely the objective.

We don’t have the greed for power

Politicians craves for power like a desperate nymphomaniacs running wild on the streets – can even rape to satisfy the lust and hunger. This greed to rule will always be inadequate as it guarantees him a place in history and offers means to accumulate illegitimate wealth. Past is replete with examples where they have even killed their parents and brothers to seize control. Whereas, women don’t exercise dominance, except on their husbands and boyfriends, so to say. In India, traditionally also they were never allowed to exploit authority and hence this intense desire to rule or to be in power is altogether missing. It is impossible for her to be so narcissistic and go on an egoistic rampage to grab power.

We hate history & the art of fooling around

To be a politician you must know history like the back of your hands. History and political science have always been our subject of choice, still we don’t know much about it, as it is boring enough to deprive you of an existence. Politicians don’t learn from history, rather it is used as a weapon to fool around. It helps to quote incidents in unnecessary inconsequential contexts, to beat a debates on national television. For example if someone asks you, “why did you demonetize overnight without preparation?”; as a politician you have all the liberty to say, “In 1975 emergency was also imposed overnight and our fundamental rights were abused”. If he cannot convince, he confuses and women know nothing about fooling and frustrating their audiences with absurd historical episodes.

Not our choice

If you really want to be a politician then you will have to escape your womanhood and put on the mask of chutzpah, malice and piggishness. Quote the most irreverent lexicon to make your pointless point and be ready to fake all emotions publicly. Learn the art of bewildering people and never do your job. Just see how quickly you will climb the stairs of political corridors. But as a women, one is gentle, forthright, benevolent and sensitive to own clan. It is impossible to bridge this huge gap of personality traits, and that’s why politics is not our preferred choice of things.

No wonder Queen Victoria once said, “I love peace and quiet, I hate politics and turmoil. We women are not made for governing, and if we are good women, we must dislike these masculine occupations”.

Making of a ‘New Bengal’ by Mamata in Modi’s New India

goonereol
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Making of a ‘New Bengal’ by Mamata in Modi’s New India

Mr. Narendra Modi after UP election result announced his new mission ‘New India’. Little did he know Bengal  CM Mamata Banerjee was way ahead of him & started building a ‘New Bengal’.

A Bengal which no one has seen till now & a Bengal where there is no place for ‘ Hindus’. Systematic way & process is being followed by the establishment in this ‘New Bengal’ to humiliate & torment Bengalis. The establishment not only includes ruling TMC party led by Mamata but opposition parties like CPM & Congress, the local media & the intellectuals & Bhadraloks of Bengal.

In this ‘New Bengal’ the Saree is now replaced by Burkha. The state festival in this ‘New  Bengal ‘ is not Durga Puja but Eid ul Fitar & Muharram. A ‘New Bengal’ where Bomb making is the new profession because it empowers & provides job opportunity for a community. So what if NIA had caught them red handed in Khagragar.

A ‘new Bengal’ where one community has special rights and grants to destroy & vandalize public property & torch police stations & vehicles. This is a new Bengal where IPC doesn’t apply. True justice is served only by following sharia. A ‘new Bengal’ where Goddess ‘Saraswati’ is no longer safe because some community is against idol worship. A New Bengal where students are thrashed by police because they want to celebrate Saraswati Puja in school.

On the other hand in this New Bengal police are thrashed by fanatics of a community because they have orders from top not to hurt minority feelings. A ‘new Bengal’ where statues of Kali & Durga are covered in black clothes so that communal harmony is maintained when a procession by a particular community is taken out. This is also a new Bengal where local news channels like ABP Ananda & the star anchor Suman De has time to discuss about Gau Rakshaks in Rajasthan & UP but doesn’t find time to do a single episode on Dhulagarh riots & Tehatta.

A new Bengal where intellectuals & Tollywood stars are worried about Ram Navami procession but is blind to Malda & Kaliachak riots. A new Bengal where intellectuals feel that Modi is muzzling the voice of minorities but don’t find strong enough reasons to protest against ban on Durga Puja in a village in Birbhum district where Hindus are minorities.

This is a New Bengal where demanding sharia law, grants to imams and vandalizing police stations is new normal. This is  New Bengal where one cares about UP but doesn’t have time to see the violence inflicted on Bengali Hindus. A New Bengal where #Notinmyname rallies are taken out but no one bothers about rise in Islamic fundamentalists. This a New Bengal where any riots inflicted by a particular community is termed as ‘Chut Put Ghatna’ or ‘Sajaano Ghotana’.

Welcome to my new Sonar Bangla (for that particular community).

That’s their duty- What the men in Olive Green say

vasudha
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That’s their duty- What the men in Olive Green say

The smart aleck in the Oxford Dictionary describes a Civilian as a person not in the armed services or the police force. The word finds its roots in the old French phrase “droit civilian or civil law”, which was refined in the early 19th century to quantify the non-combatant citizens, essentially people like you and me. We live the same desires and dreams- a respectable degree, a handsome pay cheque with onsite opportunity, big cars, MK bags, a partner earning in dollars etc etc. As Civilians, our Patriotic quotient is mostly limited to the India-Pak match, few movies and occasional forwards on Watsapp.

But then something happened. In search of a resonating partner, I landed up choosing a Fauji and he threatened my Civilian tag. Apparently his entire family was a Fauji- father in-law was retired Colonel, husband and brother in-law were Majors and my mother in-law was the honorary General of the house J. Still surprisingly, this rebranding did little to my Patriotic fervour as for the first five years of our marriage we were separated. My husband was posted in the border areas and I continued to enjoy my Civilian status in a cosmopolitan.

My impression about the Fauj was an overblown cinemascope, symbolised by ‘Sunny Paaji in Border’ and ‘Akshay Kumar in Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo’. Because of our separation, I never saw him or his friends do anything like that. I once asked him, “Tum log aise hi ladte ho?”, and he said, “Movies are emotional melodramas sold to make money. There is no war going on”.

The separation and the unreality of events in the movies made me dislike Fauj from the bottom of my heart. I was struggling alone in a hostile city and my husband wasn’t doing anything even remotely close to Sunny Deol.

Finally, things changed and we moved in together in a peace station. I gave up my ‘Activa’ and now I had the luxury of a chauffer husband driving the car. It was no longer a life off the suitcase in a PG and my things had a decent parking in the cupboards. For the first time in five years, I was starting to know what Fauj and Faujis do? Some episodes which mutated me from a Civilian to a Fauji and transformed my dislikes to likes were:

That Phone Call 

It was a weekend and we had just returned from a party. I had not even changed when he got a call from his brother who was then posted at the Line of Control (LOC). He spoke to him in a muffled tone for some 10 minutes and got back to hangering his dress. I asked him if everything was ok and he said, “Yes. Till now”.

“Till now? What do you mean?” I was distracted.

“Yaa.. Allz well. He is going for an operation,” his reply was stone cold and later he went off to sleep comfortably. I knew something was serious as I had seen it on his face. The whole night I surfed the internet to find out what he meant by an ‘Operation’. I realised Bhaiya (Brother in-law) was going to face the militants. I shook him hard and got him to his senses from the deep slumber.

“Listen! You call Bhaiya and tell him not to go. Tell him not to go for any operation and come back,” I ordered him like a Fauji.

“What! What operation? Soo jaao please”, he dropped back dead.

“Sunno.. I know he is going for some dangerous work. Please stop him. Why is he going there?” I again tried to persuade him to take the thing seriously.

“Ohh ho! Don’t worry. He is going because that’s his duty,” he said heartlessly and dozed off again.

2nd January 2016 : Pathankot Attack

He was keenly following the event on a news channel and I was in the kitchen. Suddenly I heard him shout, “WTF”. I saw him calling some friend and he slipped into a coma of silence after the call. The annoying news channel was relentlessly flashing – “Pathankot Attack : Lt Col Niranjan dead”.

“What happened”, I asked him.

“Nothing. My friend has died in the Pathankot attacks. We did a course together,” it was an effortless announcement.

“Kya! Who?” I had slipped a beat and a rainbow of stars just passed by.

“Ninja.. Arrey Niranjan,” he just said three words and started watching the news. I had no idea who was Ninja, but he was his friend. I was into tears but he was a emotionless deadpan.

Sobbingly, I asked him, “Why did he go there? Didn’t he know it was dangerous out there?”

He looked up, looked at my tears and said, “He bloody well knew, it was dangerous, but that’s his duty”.

29th November 2016 : Nagrota Attack

He was reading his Watsapp and once again I heard the familiar, “WTF”.

“Ab kya hua?” I knew it was some bad news. Those days every now and then we had attacks somewhere – Pathankot, Pampore, Uri, Baramulla, Handwara.

He was benumbed and said, “Akshay has died in Nagrota”.

I didn’t know him and asked, “Who is Akshay? Do you know him?”

“Major Aksahy. He had called me a few days back for some guidance to appear in an exam. He is martyred in Nagrota today,” he said silently, but soon regained his composure and moved on to read the other forwards on his Watsapp.

After a few days I read a blog by Akshay’s mother and learnt that he volunteered to go for the operation, even though he could have avoided. Another officer who died that day, Major Gosavi Kunal Mannadir, had also volunteered to lead the operation in spite of being off duty that time. That night I asked my husband, “Do you know both Major Akshay and Maj Gosavi volunteered to go for the operation, knowing that there was a lot of danger, and surprisingly both could have easily avoided it? Then why did they go?”

He just said three words, “That’s their duty”.

Deciphering “Duty”

For many nights I couldn’t sleep and kept wondering what this “Duty” was, and why these men intentionally treaded the perils of martyrdom, when they could have easily dodged it. Didn’t they have anyone waiting at home? Didn’t they wanna grow old with their soul mates and see their children grow? Didn’t they have parents waiting for their son?

The next few days I spent hours on the computer, reading about these heroes, and crying. While I was crying for those who could not make it, I was happy that many of them had made it.

As a Civilian I never had any emotions for the Country, definitely all of you may not be like me. Even ‘Shahrukh’s Swades’ could not sow the seeds of allegiance and nationalism in my heart. But now this casual Civilian in me was transformed into an ardent Fauji. I realised that these men were resolute Patriots for whom ‘Duty’ meant protecting the Nation, even if it was asking for the ultimate sacrifice. ‘Duty was a call from the mother land to repay the debt. The definition of their bravery comes from this ‘Duty’. Simply to say, it was their love for the Country.

It took me five years to realise I was married to a Patriot; realise that my in-laws were Patriots; realise that those Jawans who come to my house were Patriots; realise that all those who I met in parties, ate and danced with were Patriots; In fact all of them in the Uniforms were Patriots, but they never say it. They just do it because “That’s Their Duty.”

70 years passed and we are still slaves of British, mentally

madhurajoshi99
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70 years passed and we are still slaves of British, mentally

Seventy years ago the cynical rule of the British ended and it was the new dawn for India. Dawn of Independence. Dawn of Freedom. Struggle was hard and Goal was very far away. After 70 years India is now a major power in the world. Economic giant and fastest growing country. But still when we look through this years we must ask to ourselves are we really independent now?

In my opinion we aren’t! Still today to some extent or to much extent we are the mental slaves of the Brits. I have many reasons to say that. The long sinister British Rule has had so much impact on our culture and minds that we haven’t revived the essence of Indian civilization and culture. People still don’t recognize themselves as children of Mohenjodaro the oldest and greatest civilization of the world. Thomas Babington, first Baron Macaulay introduced western Culture and Education System in India. And taking into consideration the present system, he has surely succeeded. One of them was introduction of the English Language.

I surely have no doubt that English proficiency gives us edge over other countries while dealing with the western world. But my dissent is with English being used as a measure of someone’s intelligence and knowledge. India’s obsession with the British culture is evergreen and it continues to flourish.I have no objection on the love for this culture neither do I criticize it. My objection is to the stupid comparison of the two cultures and imposition of the British Culture by some or today may be many ‘Brown Sahibs’.

Moreover, the imposition of British oriented western principles is unjustified and wrong. Sanskrit, the mother of all languages originated in this land is forgotten and so are the epics and texts in this language. Till today formals mean suite, tie and shoes and not the Khadi. A person’s value and status is judged upon his clothes and his language. And if it is even slightly similar to the western style he is celebrated. India has seen a vast growth in almost every sector but still today we are mental slaves of Colonial rule with the spectacles of British Mindset and principles.

If I were a journalist (a response to Barkha Dutt)

Pankaj Vaidya
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If I were a journalist (a response to Barkha Dutt)

I just read an article from an eminent journalist and marvel at this journalist’s narrative setting skills.

I am busy with earning a living and do not have the luxury of time to write such narrative setting articles. I suppose you could call me – as our beloved journalists will – (that dreaded word) a common man, an aam aadmi, who cannot speak fluent English. I concede that my knowledge has suffered due to lack of good grasp of English vocabulary. So I am not best qualified to see life through the prism of any elite profession, leave alone that of a journalist. Yet, after reading the article, a question has been gnawing at me, nibbling away, bit by bit, at my conscience and sense of comfort: what if I were a journalist?

What would I feel to discover that though my voice is loud and clear, it now falls on deaf ears in the country’s political discourse because I no longer have credibility? Or, that in the most populous state of India, not a single party that I campaigned for could win meaningful number of seats? Would I be able to celebrate after seeing the photograph of a journalist son of a Goud Saraswat Brahamin middle order batsman, who used the mainstream media as a weapon get into a scuffle with ordinary people on Madison Square?

If I were journalist, how much helpless rage might I feel about news traders who soil the name of my profession and then leave me to carry the cross of condemning them, like I am somehow responsible for their monstrous acts?

What would I say to the family of the workers at the Taj Hotel in Mumbai who were killed in the terrorist attack, because of, at best careless, and at worst sinister live reporting by one of my fellow journalists? Or the soldier who died because a journalist gave the enemy his exact location?

How would I deal with the self-appointed custodians of my country’s values who get entangled in Radia tapes controversy- only to embarrass me and strengthen the common man who attacks my profession?

If I were a journalist, what might I feel to learn that the Prime Minister no longer takes me free of cost on his foreign trips?

If I were journalist, I would look back in dismay at the good old times when I could set the narrative and the social media was not there to catch my lies.

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