Creation of Hindu ’madrasas’

Mr. Rasheed Talib:
I do hope your paper gets exposure in the Indian media. Though I think you have consolidated the misplaced view of Islam by calling the revival of Hindu thought in modern education as ‘madrassa’, much as all resurgent regressive movements are referred to as ‘Talibanisation’. However, you need not worry too much about not being an expert on Hindutva, for it is not a religion or an ideology; it is a mere knee-jerk reaction.

‘Hindu madrassas’ have existed in subtle forms always – be it the cultural institutions where mythology is ingrained, or the tilt in school books where the villains are the outsiders even if they contributed considerably to our society. More aggressively, the RSS and Shiv Sena shakhas have been focused on promoting religious thought while overtly talking about karma.

I disagree when you say that India under the Hindutva hold will become a mirror image of Islamic Pakistan. Pakistan was created as an Islamic Republic, so on at least that one point it has no conflict within itself. A ‘secular’ India would get breathless trying to shove its version of Hindutva down so many throats. That is when someone gets the hang of what Hindutva really is.

Regards,
Farzana

Re:ferozek#15 and #47
I am approaching the education issue from a supply and demand concept. You are absolutely correct that in a modern economy, there is no demand for people with a half-baked distorted schooling in religion or mythology. Hence the lack of demand should eliminate the supply since these people will not be able to make a living and future generations will avoid such schooling. The only way such schooling can continue is if there is a strong financial support externally to keep it going, which is pretty rare in India. Non resident Indians cannot match Saudis in terms of funding such institutions in India.
On your other questions, I think the overall communal situation in India is indeed getting worse. There are two key reasons for that. The first reason is the rise of the BJP and the Saffron brigade. They have managed to steer the country towards increased religious bigotry and communalism, to the extent that secularism is rapidly becoming a dirty word in Indian politics.
The second reason is the continuous tensions with Pakistan coupled with the intense militancy in Kashmir over the past 12 years. The daily death toll of 10-12 people, the occasional massacares, attacks on temples, hijacking of planes, Kargil etc are exerting immense pressure on the secular fabric of India. Pakistan`s policy of bleeding India is certainly having an impact, which is essentially turning the entire population towards communalism and ironically benefiting the BJP in the elections. It is a well known fact that the Kargil war enabled BJP to consolidate its hold in New Delhi. The recent events in Gujarat including the reelection of Modi are an indication of how things are shaping up and it is not a pretty sight. Since Indo-Pak relations are not going to improve any time soon, things are going to get worse. The only hope is that if there is enough economic growth, the people will be too busy to get involved in communalism but then Gujarat is one of the most industrialized state in India.

Re:Ashok#39
The article that you posted is really fascinating. It is the first time I found someone analyzing hinduism`s weaknesses so candidly and logically.

Re: nasah # 46

Bravo! That was, by far, the best interact post on this thread! Bravo!

Re: Temporal # 50

Yes, I know! ;)

Re: Rsaxena # 49

Yes, bigotry is not institutionalized in the Indian constitution, but it is, rather efficiently, undermining it. Yes, you are right to say that incidents like Gujrat happen in every nation of the world, but does that condone act itself and justifies it? Murder happens every nation of the world, but does that make it right? Yes, you are absolutely correct to say that human beings are not perfect and being human beings, neither are the Indians perfect.

To quote you, ``...no minority burns a train of the majority and gets away with it...`` speaks volumes of a moral apartheid devoid of a political conscience, which justifies the acts of majoritrianism and condones intimidation. When you say that, you justify facism and facism always justifies itself in the name of justice.

Again, thank you for answering the reasons behind my questions and as you have proved by your own answers that the Indians are not perfect. Hence, when you claim a superority over Pakistanis and Pakistan, you are in fact preaching hypocricy and simply come across as being hypocritical.

Ciao

...romair, romair, romair, where art thou?...


``Pak protests against INS list, summons US ambassador

Pakistan has expressed ``disappointment`` at Washington`s decision to include its nationals in the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, which requires them to register with the US government.

US ambassador to Pakistan, Nancy Powell was summoned to meet Foreign Minister Khurshid Muhammad Kasuri and.

A foreign ministry spokesman said, ``The minister conveyed Pakistan`s deep sense of disappointment and concern over the inclusion of the country in the list prepared by the US Immigration and Naturalisation Service.``

Kasuri said that the new measures are ``excessive and unnecessary as far as Pakistani nationals are concerned,`` he added.

The inclusion has created ``unprecedented difficulties`` for those living in and visiting the US, he said.

The move brings over 100,000 US-based Pakistanis under direct monitoring by the police.

Early this month the US justice department had added Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to the list of countries, whose citizens are subject to additional scrutiny when they enter the US.

The list also includes Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. ``

The author`s description of the so-called Hindu madrasah is no different from what lakhs of middle-class Indian kids experience in the ubiquitous ``convent`` schools, what with compulsory recitations of Hail Mary`s every day--- I can`t remember this in any way diminshing the faith of some of those who went to school with me--- perhaps, like the convent schools, the RSS schools will also tone down the rhetoric over time when they find they have few if any takers..... let`s face it, which educated Hindu seriously believes Hanuman brunt Lanka with his tail and Ram was as uttam a purush as he`s made out to be?
Secondly--historically, it`s only Christianity and Islam which are the missionary religions. Taking the missionary route is something new in Hinduism and hopefully dies anatural death soon. After all, we are better than them :)
Nice article though. Well-written and cogent..... good to read.

I have only two short comments. I want to thank Sadna #10 for her very penetrating critique of my Hindu madrasas piece, and to thank to Layman #9 for pointing out my error about the date of the Babri masjid demolition: it was indeed 1992, 10 years ago, not 20 years as I erroneously wrote. Rasheed

re: 12-head #65

...that was weak...try again...

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re: 12-head #63

...next time banglas are hanging from trees when floods strike, there won`t be any indian helicopters to go bring them down....

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.......... all i can say is that the horrible hindoos are just as bad as us, if not worse .......... somehow this gives me a perverse sort of satisfaction ....... misery loves company and any time we can show that they are a little worse than us makes us feel better ........ they have bigger slums, they can`t feed their people, they have sewers running down the middle of their streets, they suffer from malnutrition, they are more miserable than us ......... that makes us happy .......... it makes me happy........ who gives a flip if we are headed to hell in a hand basket, as long as they are with us we are okay ..............

............ oh, i hate the hindoos sooooo much .............

[To successfully oppose RSS, we need a truly anti-caste, secular organization that aims to promote harmony between the various sections of Indian society by reconcilation and direct their efforts towards economic progress and prosperity.]

Given the fact that Savarkar envisaged a hindu rashtra inclusive of all the hindus, without the negative aspects of the casteism,how can you recommend opposition to the RSS which is following what has always been preached by Savarkar.

re: pankaj #59

...why waste your time explaining that to this idiot...remember, he`s the guy who said everyone should wear a paki-flag on his t-shirt to receive favorable treatment from americans post 9-11...the list of his gaffes is long...