Myths and Dreams: Hindutva Nationalism and the Indian Diaspora

re: this article
I did not want to comment on this article. This is obviously written by a commie from West Bengal. These guys are pseudo-intellectual retards. I ask the author: pray tell us what is going on in Bengal in the name of communist ideology? What has this ideology done for the average Bengali? Did not the Bengalis take to this ideology with the same fervour which you are accusing the Hindutva elements of doing today? What is the difference?
It is only an ideology. If ideology is popular, it becomes a movement and then parties and politicians get interested because they now see a way of getting votes and getting elected. The question to ask would be: what has made hindutva a popular movement today?
Rich Gujaratis may want to project their so called ``cultural nationalism`` in the way they want but what harm are they doing? How are the Adivasis or the muslims being affected? There are umpteen number of christian missionary schools but that has not been pointed out by the author. She picks up some schools run by RSS or the Sangh parivar. Pray tell us how these schools are doing harm.
Following is the article from The Hindu:
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2003/08/22/stories/2003082201061000.htm

Excerpts:

``Mr. Inamdar has relied on the foolproof nature of the SSC Board results to convince his community that no examiner can deny a deserving Muslim student the marks due to him/her. The cycles gifted by the local Shiv Sena unit at special felicitation functions to toppers Zarine Ansari, Sadiqa Ansari, Bilal Mistry, Majida Roghangar and Wajeda are testimony to his belief.

Indeed, none of these students would have made it to the top had it not been for the contribution of Hindus. Mr. Inamdar makes it a point to declare that teachers from RSS-run schools have not only come whenever invited, as guest teachers for his special Merit List batch, but have also taught his students diligently. ``
Author may note that what looks like a hateful ideology may appeal to others. I personally find communism very distasteful but respect the wishes of Benagalees if they want to remain attached to this ideology.
Sridhar

``many people see the Kama Sutra as `sacred`.``
They Do???
Waah, god dammit why was I not raised in a more religious household? Yeh annyai hai Bhagwan.
Actually I thought the good guru had primarily written it as an exercise manual for courtesans of the day - well maybe religious to those who worship at that alter :-)

Unfortunately the problem with this board is that the rightist and the leftist are never going to agree leaving us ambidexterous people utterly frustrated.

Saminashah #88

{{ Provide the text that discredits Nussbaum.}}

Be careful what you ask for. You might get it …

Saminashah #56:

Posts an excerpt from an article by Martha Nussbaum, which begins:

{``...Here are the three example of the dillemmna I have mentioned (1. 1983, Mary Roy challenges the Travancore Christian Act, ``under which daughters inherit only one fourth the share of the son``; 2. 1947, The Hindu Code bill, 3. 1978, the Shah Bano case) no different in degree, since the religions in India control so much of the legal system. On the other hand is the claim that of religious free exercise; on the other, women`s claims to various fundamental rights-including religious non discrimination. In the first case, women won a clear victory-interestingly, involving a small, politically powerless religion. In the second, women made some strides, but the increasing power of Hindu fundamentalism now threatens their situation. In the third, women suffered a painful and prominent defeat…}

I have not yet had a chance to look at Nussbaum’s article and locate the context of the passage above. But the assertion that the three cases listed above are “no different in degree” is nonsensical on its face. Case 1 (Mary Roy successfully challenges Travancore Christian Act) and case 3 (Shah Bano case) are different not merely in outcome and degree but also in kind: case 3 (Shah Bano) clearly involved religious fundamentalism whereas case 1 absolutely did not.

The reason, briefly, is this. Until 1986, intestate inheritance for Mary Roy’s community (so-called ‘Syrian’ Christians of Kerala) was governed by the Travancore Christian Succession Act of 1916 (and, I believe, a similar Cochin inheritance act of around the same time). These acts were, in turn, framed from the customary personal and family law for Syrian Christians (based on the long-standing usual practice of that community), where the governing principles for the inheritance of landed property were patriarchy, virilocality and male ultimogeniture, and the principal vehicle for conferring a share of parental property on daughters was a (typically very sizable) dowry. The prior laws were not based on or justified by canon or ecclesiastical law. The question of ‘religious free exercise’ or ‘fundamentalism’ therefore does not arise in this case. I might also add that - while Syrian Christians might be notorious for schisms in their churches and consequent interminable legal battles over church authority and church property – they are as a group emphatically not susceptible to fundamentalism or in the thrall of their mullahs. Further, on such measures as female education, and higher education, they have historically been miles ahead of the Indian norm (or even the Indian middle-class norm). As to “small, politically powerless religion”, that might be so of Christianity in the all-India context; but Syrian Christians are the most prosperous community in Kerala and hardly without political power there.

If Nussbaum is unaware of all this, I have to conclude that she simply doesn’t know what she’s talking about.

The contrast with the Shah Bano case could not be more marked. In that case, Shah Bano’s husband divorced her using the triple talaq formula sanctioned by Islamic canon law, and returned her mehr in accordance with the same body of law. The Indian Supreme Court, while awarding Shah Bano maintenance, specifically cited the Quran (2:241-242) in attempting to legitimate its decision. The ensuing debate was notorious for the claim advanced by Muslim traditionalists that the shariat was divinely inspired/revealed legislation and that its provisions were binding on Muslim men and women for all time to come. It was on the grounds of
``Islam khatre mein hai” that riots were threatened. In other words, this was a textbook case of fundamentalism in its most straightforward definition.

Had Nussbaum chosen to refer to the absence, until recently, of any provision for divorce in Christian personal law, she might have had some marginal credibility in pushing the case for fundamentalism (or religion, more generally) controlling lawmaking for Christians. But her invocation of the Mary Roy case is frankly ludicrous.

And I haven’t even gotten started on Nussbaum’s invocation of Hindu fundamentalism (the only politically important fundamentalism, according to her – another ludicrous claim) as a vehicle for suppressing women.

stuka:

kent state`s aftermath comes immediately to mind...but after the course was corrected it dissipated...am probing for a consistent thrust...an approach or movement that can effectively speak and guard the centre against the excesses of the left/right fringe…

…digression:

…it is sad to see that Congress that could fill such a role has been gheraoed and hijacked by her majesty’s loyal forces…

...sometimes I wonder if the voters….those who are the real supporters of the middle moderate majority…why don’t they throw out her majesty and her cohorts?… wonder if Rajesh pilot and that other young fellow (forget his name) could have led a young turk movement to get rid of this dinosaur around the moderate’s neck…even priyanka (rumoured to be groomed) cannot help Congress…why cannot the supporters/voters see this through?

If you`re in Boston, please walk for CRY (Child Relief and You) on Sept 13th ... registration is here

http://64.6.235.83/walk/boston/

They support Children pure and simple ... no saffron strings

---

Angana, (though no one here seems to be getting a response and sorry in advance for the typos etc. that will surely follow as I type this in the box)

1. Are NRI ``Hindutva`` supporters a proportionately larger slice of the community than Indian ``Hindutva`` supporters ?

2. Are NRI ``Hindutva`` supporters qualitatively different in their idea of India than Indian ``Hindutva`` supporters?

3. Is there a way to track donations to IDRF vs CRY, ASHA for education etc. how do we know that support for IDRF is increasing compared to other charities ?

4. Are there any secular organizations with no ``spiritual`` strings that are working for the upliftment of tribals in India while preserving their unique culture ? You say ``Hinduisation is a ruinous process of colonisation`` - would you also fair to say ``Christianisation/Islamisation is a ruinous process of colonisation`` ?

5. Is it any use talking to NRIs who have chosen ``cultural genocide`` in the american melting pot for their future generations as a trade off for a better life about ``cultural genocide`` of tribals by anyone offering them a better quality of life ?

6. If the Tatas or someone gave money to fund ISKON to evangelise the good news about Krishna to trailer park dwellers in the American South baited with suble offers of a better life (perhaps in ``Ten Commandment`` Alabama) how would right wing Americans react ? Do NRI`s have a better idea of missionary agendas through their experience of the religious right in the US than Indians?

7. Doesn`t every kind of American that came from somewhere have an ugly face in Diaspora that is regarded with trepidation by the mother country ? American Greeks setting up ghastly large statues in Greece that appall the natives, midwestern Americans of european descent touring France, England that are regarded as bumpkins by Europeans. Europeans claiming Americans of European descent are more right wing, religious and conservative than secular Europeans themselves.

8. Should not the ultimate safegaurd against *criminal* misuse of funds given by NRI`s to IDRF be through Indian Laws in India that regulate how these funds are used?

9.How come the many initiatives to give back to India by NRI`s such as in the article below that do not have a ``Hindu Rashtra`` outlook, don`t find a mention in your article ?

(from Silicon India)
ON PHILANTHROPY

By Kalpana Mohan
From educational trusts to cleanup crews, Indians abroad are doing their part.

“It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which, if acted on, would save one-half the wars of the world.” -Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to French philosopher Destutt de Tracy in 1820
Last December, B. V. Jagadeesh made a splash in Bangalore’s newspapers, by announcing a donation of $1 million to improve educational standards in the 133 municipal corporation schools of Bangalore. A trust administered by a member of his family in Bangalore works with World Bank executives to examine the state of the facilities in city-run schools and to decide how best the funds can be utilized. “If every one of us here in the Silicon Valley who hails from India can go back to our country of birth and help the school that he or she studied in by motivating students, by providing library facilities and by setting up labs, we will help build a better India for the next generation,” says Jagadeesh, co-founder and chief technology officer of Exodus Communications.

Builders of Nations

The recent spate of educational philanthropy has Indian institutions ecstatic about the munificence of their alumni. The upper crust of Silicon Valley’s own Tatas, an erstwhile bourgeoisie, is spawning a community of even more generous indigenous Birlas. This glut of success brings to mind Oscar Wilde’s statement: “Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.”

Gita Piramal, an eminent business historian and journalist, discusses India’s most intrepid and innovative businessmen in her book titled Business Legends. The book quotes Nani Palkhivala speaking about the late Kasturbhai Lalbhai, one of India’s most renowned industrialists: “Kasturbhai was among the small band of men who could be called the builders of nations – not merely builders of business or builders of industries.”

The new builders of India are a passionate coterie of well-educated engineers who have broken free from the fetters of the technical straightjacket and thundered into the corporate boardrooms of America. Their staggering wealth will ensure the good life for many generations to come, not just in their own lives, but also in the lives of others.

A Foundation for the Future

“The basic problem in India is illiteracy. Once people are educated, they’ll pick the right leaders,” remarks Prabhu Goel. In 1994, Goel started the Foundation for Excellence (FFE) to help needy students in India. His objective was to enable a meaningful transformation in the lives of bright students who were unable to continue their education due to financial hardships.

The Foundation for Excellence is a non-profit organization formed solely to identify and promote bright, underprivileged students in India. Scholarship candidates are chosen based solely on merit and on need. Since its inception in 1994, the FFE has provided the educational expenses for ,2000 children, from the eighth grade on to college, using a volunteer network. Kanwal Rekhi, who recently joined the FFE as a key sponsor, pledged another $5 million to the $10 million fund. His contribution will ensure scholarships for approximately 15,000 needy students irrespective of religion, gender or caste. “I want to make a positive difference in the lives of others and I want to leave the professional environment in a better state than it was in when I came into it,” says Goel.

Some of the Valley moguls who are now plowing money back into their country of birth are vocal in their denunciation of the political and economic state of affairs in their native land. Rekhi’s tirades against the Indian bureaucracy creates ripples in the Indian media every few weeks: “Indians are first-rate people in a third-rate country. We are able to beat the best and brightest individually but we lose collectively.”

Rekhi believes that successful entrepreneurship in India should strive to improve its business economy, bring infrastructure into India’s villages and cause technology to be used by the under-privileged masses. He is mobilizing forces in the Silicon Valley and in India to pay back to the country in cash and kind. “We need not just a handful of entrepreneurs. We need thousands of them!” asserts Rekhi. His generous donation of $2 million to IIT Bombay in 1999 has resulted in a spontaneous combustion of philanthropy from every quarter into the IITs and other universities. “I felt that IITs had stagnated as institutes. They have not done well in post-graduate work and research,” says Rekhi who insists that he is a “retired” man who is doing just his “little” bit.

Rekhi is setting up a trust which will help the IITs garner $500 million from their alumni, located all across the United States. The idea is to establish a fund-raising trust which will work towards raising the level of IITs to make them comparable with world-class institutes like Harvard and Stanford.

Vinod Gupta, founder of Nebraska-based database American Business Information, started a new trend when he offered $2 million to his alma mater proposing to build a school of management patterned after the Sloan School of Management at MIT. Called the Vinod Gupta School of Management, IIT Kharagpur now has a business school which, according to Gupta, is an ideal extension, especially for engineering graduates with a few years of professional experience. Another Gupta is active in setting up a business school to open in 2001 in India, in conjunction with the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. The pioneer for this effort is Rajat Gupta, the managing director of McKinsey & Co. The Indian School of Business (ISB) will be based in Hyderabad and international donors will fund its $100 million campus.

Paying Their Dues in Cash and Kind

In May 1999, co-founder of Exodus Communications K.B. Chandrasekhar established a research center — the AU-KBC Center for Internet and Telecom Technologies — in the Anna University at Chennai. The center plans to strengthen India’s technological base in information technology, and also has announced their intention of building a research, development and training center in the area of Internet and telecom technologies within a few years.

Chandrasekhar has started another ambitious venture at the Anna University. He has set up a remote education center whose resources will be available to everyone. The first such course goes online in July 2000; the correspondence course of yesteryears assumes new dimensions with the effective use of Internet technology. “Can you imagine the phenomenal implications for the schools of the future?” he asks. His endeavors have piqued the interest of the private engineering colleges in the area.

On his end, Jagadeesh has set up entrepreneurial contests in several universities where students are expected to come up with an original idea and translate it into a business plan. “I want to bring business and real life awareness at the student level, especially in the engineering colleges in India,” he says, who laments that college education in India primarily focuses on theoretical aspects of a discipline rather than on real life scenarios.

The M. S. University in Baroda is undergoing a major overhaul these days. Two distinguished alumni from the University, Amit Shah and Ajay Shah, have just dumped $5 million into its coffers. This windfall will contribute to the “cyberification” of the MSU campus. Project Net-Circle Baroda will provide a fiber-optic cable network across the university, set up the departments of the university with access to the network and populate the computer center with equipment and facilities. In addition, the funds will provide exchange programs and course enrichment for the benefits of students and faculty members.

Ajay Shah, who co-founded SMART Modular Technologies, together with his wife Lata Krishnan, constantly try to find opportunities to contribute for causes that help children and education in India through organizations like ASHA. The couple is deeply involved in local issues related to education and, in 1999, their focus was to add value to the public school system in Fremont. A computer lab they built and equipped at the Irvington High School received rave reviews from the public.

Along with the benevolence by these brilliant TechnoLakshmis comes a certain attitude. Their motto is “You deliver, I’ll support you.” For every penny they give, they want to ensure that the funds get channeled in the right manner. Gururaj Deshpande of Sycamore Networks recently offered IIT Madras a $5 million grant every year for the next 20 years. The only catch was that the institution should come up with a business plan of how it proposed to make use of his gift!

Making Life Better for Everyone?

Are there are some entrepreneurs out there who will build India a better network (as in roads), better infrastructures (as in public toilets) and better monitors (as in leaders)? “It’s about education and economics,” comments Chandrasekhar. Along with Jagadeesh, he is involved in building 300 restrooms in the B.R. Hills area of Karnataka, which will be maintained by the tribal community for their use. He thinks contributing to the development of facilities such as these should be made possible for Indians in every income bracket. He is exploring the encouragement of mass participation by creating “packages” that allow for the payment of one facility or a thousand such facilities in the forgotten villages of India.

Truly, while wealth-creation strategies reward the wealthy, they also increase the rift between rich and poor. Although technological advancements may make things easier, it also eliminates a job, removing the ability for one employee to earn a rupee. “Somebody pays the price for the advancement of technology and it will surely get worse before it gets better,” predicts Ashish Gupta, the co-founder of Junglee. The fruits of today’s labor may not all be realized in our time. But we need a few to carry the torch for us and show us the way.

The managing director of Bangalore’s leading technology company, Infosys, was asked by the state’s chief minister to make the city more livable. Nandan Nilekani promptly put down Rs. 2 crore to set the process in motion. A poll conducted in Bangalore showed that 48 percent of the residents were willing to contribute either money or time for the good of the city. India’s cleanup crew, a veritable Who’s Who, has indeed just rolled up its sleeves to get to work. A sign denoting a cleanup area reads: site under construction.

Temporal:

``…yes they materialize at poll time and thrash bjp…they also woo yadav, mayawati and other unabashed vote chasers…but they are invisible and almost unheard of the rest of the times…"

My answers were very India specific but I would be interested to know if there has been, in the modern age, any example of a ``vocal`` middle ground?

bharatvaasi:
Please let us keep this board to India and Indian issues. In any case, why should you compare a self-proclaimed Islamic state with one that claims to be secular?

Stuka

thanks!…

…will urge you to reconsider the slot you selected for yourself…(unapologetic) rightist

…find it easier to assign the left and right to extremist on either side…the vast majority is in the middle…since this majority is so vast it has fringes…call them right of center or left of center …and it looks you are right of center ..but still right of center and not a rightist:)

…yes they materialize at poll time and thrash bjp…they also woo yadav, mayawati and other unabashed vote chasers…but they are invisible and almost unheard of the rest of the times…

… am no expert…remember…just a daylight-dreamer;)…but believe that a way must evolve to co-opt this vast majority middle into a more proactive stance…to use malcolm’s phrase…by any means necessary…or the alternative is vacating the ground to by default to the extremist forces…(this remedy applies to Pakistan too with appropriate name changes)

sammi and stuka

my queries were personal and not addressed to the missing author or her supporter/detractors…and personally neither of you is an extremist on either spectrum…this despite what the ‘other’ says about you:)

SR

…yaar chalees saal guzar ga’aye is I have a dream... taqrir ko…

…well spoken, as always…and yes…someday sanity will prevail…because of you and others like you…rahay naam baaqi insaniyat ka!

rgds,

t

SR # 95

Right on spot.

We need big hearts, compromise, laugh it out. View the big picture and look into the future. That is to the benefit of all - South Asia & the world.

We need not isten to all that is thrown at us by the entrenched burecracies on both sides and vested interests of the politicians/preachers.

We are supposedly the new enlightened generation and should fly out of the cage of the status quo.

How does an unapologetic person apologise?

Have you wondered?

Shaazzaaam.

SR

``All readers who believe that the greater good of the greatest number of people in South Asia will come with increased prosperity, and that prosperity requires peaceful co-existence as a pre-condition, should take initiatives of peace and harmony by first of all bringing into the fold of decency and tolerance all the card-carrying members of the Pak-Bharat Dushmeni Club who frequent this website with their blind hatred and vicious comments.``

Very well said. Who cares if you are Hindu or Muslim as long as you are making money, bringing up your kids well, have leisure time to go to the ball game or whatever leisurely pursuit you prefer.

``I am an apologetic rightist``

should read..I am an UNapologetic rightist.

Mishra Sahib,

Have you read Nussbaum`s essay? Besides the reference to the Kama Sutra, can you deny the other numerous examples she raises?

How does Nussaum differ from Bush appointed demogogues?

Her essay makes very restrained and clearly delineated points. In example, she carefully points out the differences between various religious interpretations. I would think her position that Hindu fanaticism being a agendaed ideology would appeal to you, as it has seem to be borne out in the activities of BJP and VHP groups.

Neither does she advocate action towards certain religious groups-I believe your friend Danny Pipes is just short of scandal based on his prof. bigotry...but given that scandal is par for the course in the Bush Admin, I`m not surprised.

I havent claimed to be a VHP expert-but unlike some of you, I`m doing the reading.

Temporal: Always a pleasure to answer your questions...

``...it is easy to blame left/right divide...understand this...but where is this middle india you speak of? ``

The Right and Left are more articulate simply because they are ideology driven. The middle, by virtue of lack of ideology, appears comparatively inarticulate. Also, when you delineate ``right and left`` it is better to define it. Ii am an apologetic rightist. But to me Rightist means the pursuit of material wealth in an environment with minimal government interference except in the maintenance of law and order. Middle class India, in that sense, is right leaning. There is also the extreme right that is communal, racist and bigoted in its thinking. That is a clear and present danger.

``...why is it not articulate and active?... ``

Iit may not be articulate but it is active. It is active when, inspite of Gujarati polarization, the BJP got thrashed in states where it showed bad governance. It is active when state Congress leaders do get elected, not on the basis of dynasties but in performance. It is active when the BJP comes to power only with a coalition of 14 OTHER PARTIES AND IS UNABLE TO ATTAIN ONE SINGLE COMMUNALLY POLARIZING OBJECTIVE. Gujarat is a reality that will shame us. But so was 1984 when a Congress government whipped up communal passions leading to the slaughter of innocents then romped home to a comfortable win. Why were no voices of saffornization raised then? Evil is the same, be it Narendra Modi or Rajeev Gandhi. The point is that middle India constitutes the majority; there are aberrations. God forbid, there may be more. But they will be less and less. In 1984, riots started in Delhi and spread to 6 other states. In 1992, riots started in UP and spread. But the riots in Gujarat remained isolated. I know it is obscene to look for bright spots when a pogrom takes place. But having observed three different cataclysms take place in three different times, I know that Iindia has reacted differently. Modi was used to win the Gujarat elections, not Hindutva but dirty politics was at play. Post elections, Modi has been completely marginalised by the same BJP. Why? Not conscience, not a changed view point but a realization that Gujarat may be polarized but the rest of India does not want an extreme right Hindu nationalist government. Recently Togadia was arrested in Rajasthan by a congress government. Not one protest happened. It was the inactivity of the Indian middle ground that demonstrated its perspective.

``...unless they speak up vociferously they will continue to be drowned by the voices of the divide... ``

The middle ground speaks at the ballot box. But you are right. They do need to speak vociferously. Problem in Iindia is that not a single party is untainted. Iif the BJP is tainted with Hhindu communalism, others are tainted with minority communalism. If this very same author, for example, had proteseted against Christian infiltration of tribal societies, she would have been taken seriously. For 40 years, Hindu groups protested against this and they were ridiculed by Marxist intellectuals. In fact material progress of the Adivasis was pointed out as a success of Christianity and a failure of Hindus to look after their own. Now the Hindu groups have copied Christian missionaries in methods and fingers are being pointed at them. It comes down to credibility.

``...here on chowk even why do the fringes of I/P appear more active?... ``

HAHA. That is too simplistic. Anyone can post anything here. Polarization leads to more expressive moods. That simple. I once had a Tamil acquantaince who talked about nuking Pakistan. When I was collecting money for Kargil, he refused to give a single dollar. Hot air is cheap. Chowk should not be considered the barometer of how people really feel. I have expressed myself in anger many times. It is the kindness of strangers that they recognize occasional bouts of anger for what they are, and don`t hold a comment made in haste against them.

``...is it possible at all to be vigorous and outspoken in defense of moderation and tolerance or is it a contradiction in terms? ``

Not a contradiction at all. But what is moderation? As I said before, if the author was to restrict her points to the Sangh parivar, how many Indians would have been so outraged. Do you notice how the outrage (for a change) is not so much about Muslims but about the Hindu versus Christian conversions? Why? It is the hypocricy that is getting people`s backs up. Today, in India, if Manmohan Singh or a Premji or the President of Iindia speak out for tolerance, Indians will listen and respectfully so. But if a Mulayam Yadav or HKL Bhagat speak of tolerance, politicians who built careers on communal and caste divisions, Indians will laugh at their faces, and rightfully so.

Temporal,

The problem is that the right often disguises itself as the ``voice of morality, sanity, tolerance,`` etc., while the policy they support effect the opposite on the plurality. In addition, when the right tries to allign themselves with ``middle class`` values, it behooves us to remember that these values often reside in the myths and fears of the status quo-fear of women, minorities, and losing privillege. All so they can stand on their countries throats and crow about `democracy`.

Bharat,

Whatever.

Saminasha #91

Very liberal, very educated, very beautiful, tenured professors with long titles can also be WRONG and BIASED. Are all facts ``red herrings``? I guess that seems to be the case in your writings.

I can find plenty of ugly statements about this or that religous tradition originating from some professor or the other. Bernard Lewis (very learned professor from Princeton!) or Richard Pipes (very educated and experienced policy professional!) come to mind. I have a feeling you would not be willing to accept all of their comments about Islam. Why? Are they not learned, beautiful, liberal and with looong professional titles???

There are 100`s of good practical articles on the rise of communalism in India written by Indians in India. My favorite is M. J. Akbar. I would suggest you read his book ``India: The Siege Within`` or his weekly columns. They attack ALL forms of communalism, not just specially selected ones. Another great commentator is Khushwant Singh. He has also articulated a powerful vision of India and strongly criticized ALL forms of communalism. For this he had to live with armed guards for 10 years during the Khalistan movement. Mark Tully (ex-BBC) has also written excellent books (``No full stops in India`` etc) and commentary. You may also notice that all of these gentleman are not, er, hindus.

Turning to the naturally fascist hindus, I find
Vir Sanghvi or the Hindusthan Times and Khare of the Hindu as good commentators.

I have previously asked you a factual question, which you have not answered. As you claim to be an expert in hindu extremism, I will ask it again: When was the VHP formed and why?

Let us see if you know even the A.B.C`s of the situation or whether you belong fully to the Angana camp of demagoguery and extremism...