The Doll’s House

HP Boss your posts are always balanced. Is it possible that sometime in the future we may see you as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Alternatively can you still join the Army?

HP/158 - sensible post, appreciated.

You say: ````The other element that would change the situation on the ground would be spending some resources to help the Indian Muslim community in education and meaningful employment. I know some would object to that and would call it pandering to the minorities but the reality is that unless the majority community helps the minority community, integration of the minority into the mainstream would be well nigh impossible.

India is a poor country and expecting that it will spend the kind of resources that were spent in the US to uplift the minority black community, would be expecting too much. The Muslim community will have to accept some responsibility instead of crying wolf all the time. ````

. . . there is one reality in India, when something needs to be done, there is no shortage of funds.

Where those funds go, how they are spent, that is another reality.

But if we choose to look around in some parts of India, ``Muslim`` schools are doing as well if not better than ``Convent/Jesuit/Hindu/Public/Private/Government etcetc`` schools. I mean, ``Muslim-Anglo-Arabic Girls . . .`` has become a symbol for educational excellence in some parts of India, and female education as well as moving up is just beginning to show up in such places. Guess what, try to reach into the depths of figuring out how much such schools have to war against their own community, one reason they then survive is because interim period the demographics of student and faculty become representative of the geographical area and aspirations without religious overtones.

+++

. . . there is one more reality in India, and that is the AIMPLB (All India Muslim Personal law Board). What they say emphatically to all of us Indians is this, and this is from the latest issue of OUTLOOK . . . you think any Indian Government or person with a limited timeframe and resources to try to improve matters will take on these ``heed or perish`` types? Jannat for themselves and castigation for the women protesting triple talaq or demanding alimony?

http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20041004&fname=Cover+Story+%28F%29&sid=3


:-Heed Us, Or Perish
The AIMPLB is the true protector of the Shariat

KHALID RASHEED



It’s high time that those Muslims who call themselves ‘progressive’ and who continue to criticise the working and philosophy of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) go in for self-introspection. They should enquire whether their profession, beliefs and aims in life are in accordance with Islam. A Muslim who believes the Shariat is incompatible with today’s progressive world cannot be considered a true follower of the Prophet. To have complete faith in the Shariat is the basic requirement of Islam. By taking a strong and firm stand from time to time, the aimplb has proved itself to be the true protector of the Islamic Shariat.
For those who feel humiliated by the board, they would do well to remember that we take all decisions in compliance with the Quran, the Hadith (holy book containing sayings of Prophet Mohammed) and other Islamic laws. No one who calls himself a Muslim can go against the directives of the Almighty and no one can say that the board has ever gone against the commands of Allah. There are many misconceptions about the role of the AIMPLB. Its main aim is to protect the Shariat in India. We keep a vigil and ensure that whatever regulations and rules the government makes for Muslims is in accordance with Islamic laws. We also guide Indian Muslims according to the Quran and Hadith.

Our other objective is to unite the entire Muslim community. The board continuously makes efforts at bringing together the Sunnis, Shias, Deobandis, Barelvis and Agakhanis, among others. The main ulema from these different sects have been brought under this singular banner since the ’70s. This is the organisation in which all the Indian Muslims have unflinching faith. All decisions are taken only after reaching a consensus.

The board is aware of criticism from various quarters but its members stand by all the decisions taken so far. In the Shah Bano case, the judgements given by the high court were against Islamic law, as a result of which the sentiments of crores of Muslims were badly hurt. The board had only taken the initiative to persuade the Indian government at that time to pass a law in Parliament against the decision taken by the court.

As for those who believe that the Babri Masjid issue is beyond the board’s jurisdiction, I can only say that they remember that mosques and maulanas constitute a potent part of Islam. And anything which is a part of Islam automatically comes under the jurisdiction of the board. Ever since the board has taken up the Babri Masjid issue, confusion has lessened and no board member has ever given any provocative speeches on this religious issue. Regarding the recent furore over the issue of family planning, the board has made it clear that family planning is not permitted in Islam. The Shariat has been interpreted by the most well-read and authentic imams and ulema and we cannot go against their conclusions.

---

(The author is AIMPLB member and deputy imam, Idgah, Lucknow.)

+++

You tell me, HP? (tahmed32 and urstruly, please respond only if you want to have a serious debate . . .)

Anyone who has read the article in full will know that this is not merely a response to a TV show. There are portions about Islamic terrorism vs. Hindu fundamentalism, about Muslim mirror vs. Hindu mirror...I do not play into anybody`s hands, but I can see that talking about, oh, how she watches TV and reacts sounds so much more lively...and I did nto even talk about Dr. Zakaria`s TV interview...and why are some Pakistanis considered kosher when they comment on Indian issues and others not? Think about it.

Layman, sorry I missed your post…but too much water under the bridge now. Hope you and some others found some answers and some more questions… kewlfi:)…been there, done it, check the articles if you have the time/inclination.

#141 by veeresh:

[I thought that giving a religious spin to the Gudiya/Arif/Taufiq television episode was uncalled for. So I decided to do some investigations . . .
a) The other big story on that day which got buried in most cases had to do with flag-waving by the BJP. Think about it.]

I saw lots of flag-waving. Isn’t it interesting that even though the Congress is in power at the Centre we still get to see the BJP leaders more often on TV, at least the private channels?

[b) There have been more than enough television reports on ``Hindu`` issues. Please analyse the websites of the various television channels.]

I have responded to this elsewhere…they are not seen as Hindu issues, Hindus are not asked about what they think about it in their capacity as Hindus and no religious heads sit in on such discussions…it is a lame excuse made by some that this is because Islam decides on Personal Laws.

[c) One of the reasons that television crews could not play up the (similar) story on the Jagsir Singh/other soldier released was because the villagers simply got tired of the media and blocked access.]

How can you say this with such authority? And the media chickened out of the story and beat a hasty retreat back to their urban studios without the story?

[I tried re-writing your article without the religious spin, and you know what, maybe you should try it too, from a woman`s point of view, sans religion.]

As you know, this article was not only about the Gudiya case. Anyway, had I written it from the women’s POV, they would talk about male-bashing…
- - -
#150 by harimau:

Gudiya stuff in post to Sadna…

Zee is not owned by Murdoch, but by Subhash Chandra Goel.

[Re Star Hunt and the young Muslima wearing revealing clothes: Some thirty years ago, Zeenath Aman (the Bollywood actress) was referred to in a Tamil magazine as Zeenath Ammanam (Zeenath the Nude) presumably because of her attire! And for a thousand years, Hindu women observed the purdah in North India so that they could blend in with the ruling Muslim culture. So what is new?]

I have already written about it in my earlier post…

[If you are being woken up by some dhin-chik from some Hindu pandal, is that a year-round affair or something that happens during certain Hindu festivals such as Ganesh Chaturthi as opposed to my peace being disturbed by the call to morning prayers in the early morning throughout the year?]

You know I said this to highlight that this is the mainstream…I would not be thrilled with the idea of waking up to the azaan either.

I am sure you get your provisions from Muslim stores etc…but you can get a discount only from Om Medicals. So the subtle message here is that the Muslim is fleecing you and not willing to get co-opted (ok, just kidding). Btw, allopathic medicines are horrid; they make a fire-spouting dragon become “quiet like a mouse” :)

[However, this article did open my eyes in the many ways I have been subjecting my Muslim Driver to the Hindu mainstream. I realize that keeping a dog in our house is an imposition of non-Islamic practices on him. Do I now get rid of the Muslim Driver, the dog or, in a Solomonic decision (aaaargh! a Jewish approach!) both?]

Unless you treat your driver like a dog or (shall avoid the next logical bit!), then there is no real conflict. Of course you should see to it that the dog is trained to wag its tail everytime the driver is around (appeasement) and do not hurt religious sentiments of driver by placing doggie on his lap and dog’s sentiments by putting driver on him…you may keep both (Muslims are allowed four. Try beating that!).
- - -

#154 by nb:

[Farzana, why are you answering all the extremists and not the others?]

I was wondering when they would ‘co-opt’ you too :) Besides, I thought you’d find the answer somewhere…yes, it is Shaina; she has said her father is a Rajput, perhaps he is one from Rajasthan. I wrote this long letter in The Asian Age because she is contesting from my constituency. Problem is the Congress candidate is not one I care much about either, except he, a Muslim, is not using his secular credentials (married to a Punjabi)...in the assembly elections I look for quality of the candidates, not the party.

Re. Gudiya, I am responding to some points in Sadna’s post…

#126 by sadna:

[Farzana, I seem to remember you protested about how much I was imposing on you by expressing my opinion on an article, though it was an article you hadn`t written and weren`t commenting on at all.]

I wonder where then could I have protested? Would appreciate if you could direct me to it…and thanks for your post; I do not need Amnesty International. I do tend to fight my own battles.

[Hope you remember that Zee TV and Indian media also made a big deal of the bride who called off her wedding and called the police on her groom for his dowry demands. Did anyone complain about Zee making a spectacle of the Indian Hindu and his regressive marriage customs?]

I have said this before in an earlier post, and that is the whole point: these issues are seen as general Indian issues when a Hindu is involved and become a Muslim problem when Muslims are involved. This buffers a stereotype, no matter what you say. Isn’t that why my mode of dress etc get discussed here? The assumption is that this is what you must wear, eat, be like…

[Talking a LOT in public about a problem is a REQUIRED part of tackling the problem in a democracy, there is no other way.]

Agreed. But there is no uniform way of who must walk the talk, therefore your version and my version and several others are all equally important. Does excessive media coverage help the cause always? No. Someone asked whether Gudiya would have been able to decide otherwise had Zee TV not come into the picture. It is a pertinent point. I saw Gudiya clearly state that she would not give up her child…the Shariat may have come into play regarding the legality of the marriage, but not about her custodial rights. Had this been done outside of the media glare, it would have been possible for her to demand that and maybe with a little bit of discussion Arif could have been persuaded to divorce her. She has lived with her second husband for longer, but he is not a ‘hero’.

There is a report in The Asian Age today about a Hindu woman who has been inspired by the Gudiya case to return to her first husband…I would like to see if any TV channel conducts a panchayat to decide her fate. (If I can find it easily on the website I will post it.)

[Zee`s programming choice was however unelightened and horrendous but did Zee TV do the `forcing` in Gudiya`s case or did it only provide a window to a forcing process affecting women all over the country?]

Women all over the country are affected. The fact is that after she and the rest of the people involved were taken to the studios, all other news media were kept away from meeting them.

[The whole nation is complicit in this crime, but by your own argument that `Hindus shouldn`t dare interfere with Muslims`, only Indian Muslims can do anything about it. So what are Indian Muslims doing about it? Talk about that for a change. You might then understand the talk about lack of good Muslim leaders.]

I have said the rest should not relegate these into compartments of Muslim problems…and by that token use it time and again against the community. Some are doing things at the ground level, but not everyone can get involved in private matters. How many Indian Hindus can do something about dowry deaths etc? How many Hindu leaders can do anything about it? Some people do believe that people like Dr. Zakaria are good Muslim leaders. Why don’t they, with all their influence, come out and do something?

[As for exhorting Muslims to `join the mainstream`- why is that such a crime. When we are told that Muslims are doing worse than Hindus, in terms of education, income, employment, health, wanting Muslims to be part of the mainstream means wanting them to do as well or as badly as other Indians in these matters.]

I repeat: you cannot exhort 150 million people to join the mainstream because they are the mainstream. They may be ghettoised in some parts of the country, but so are other groups…no one asks them to become part of the mainstream. Re. all this talk about wanting them to enjoy the same education, health, employment opportunities, your voice is not the norm. And this is not the reason Muslims are told to join the mainstream.

Why is it that only people like Azim Premji and Sharukh Khan are considered mainstream…what about the women/men in the street who are going about their daily business and get hauled up as terrorists? (Here I hope you remember that in the Ishrat case I was the first to raise queries about her innocence, so I am not blind to what I see.)

[India ranks first in the world in polio cases, most of those cases occur among Muslim communities where despite WHO special attention and best efforts of health workers, religious leaders tell distrustful Muslim parents to refuse the polio vaccines.]

This is shameful. And I will not use the ‘you too have problems of this nature’ in this case. This is bad enough.

[What is Muslim female literacy, is it anywhere close to the national average for female literacy? Do Muslim females have more or less access to health care and schooling than non Muslim females? Do Muslim women have more or less reproductive rights than other Indian females? Do young Muslims have more or less access and assistance for higher education than other Indians? Do they have more or less access to employment once they get that education?]

Should we not blame poverty for it rather than just religion?

[And why do you and your Paki friends keep insisting that mainstreaming invariably means making adjustments in Muslim religious belief and practice? PM Manmohan Singh is a good example of being in the `mainstream`, from a farming family he rose to become head of RBI, Finance Minister and then Prime Minister of a nonSikh majority country- did he have to compromise his personal religious belief and practice anywhere for this? Is it so wrong to want many Muslim Manmohan Singhs in the `mainstream` ?]

See, this is where the problem starts – pigeonholing. “You and your Paki friends”. Pakistanis do not decide for us. As for Manmohan Singh, someone on this board has said that he will be talking about Khalistan soon…stereotypes never surprise. And there are many leaders in Parliament who are practising Muslims. Many have been used to get the Muslim vote, and they have played along…I said that being co-opted by the siyasatdars is easy, but dangerous. They will only look after their individual interests.

[It wouldn`t surprise me if your and Pakis` (il)logic is that India is a kafir-majority country, so for kafirs to want more Muslims to get into the `impure kafir mainstream` as PM and CM or RBI chiefs is an outrage and violation of Muslims` god-given right to hate kafirs and hold them at a distance.]

Now you are pushing it…if it is merely a case of ‘eent ka jawaab patthar se’, then in good ole whining tradition, I will sing, “ main tau choor-choor ho gayee, tujhse milney majboor ho gayee…:)

- - -
Have people stopped believing in something called irony? Why else would they not understand that I am throwing back their sentence at them to show them how silly they sounded to begin with….

harimou:
``Is this a case that justifies the Uniform Civil Code under which Gudiya would have been declared as still being married to Mohammad Arif (a person needs to be missing for 7 years before he is declared dead), her marriage to Taufiq would have been declared null and void, and she would still have recourse to civil courts for a divorce from Mohammad Arif if she wanted to stay with Taufiq, in which case she would not be eligible for alimony the minute she married Taufiq thus saving female Islamic souls from eternal damnation because the Sharia forbids alimony beyond 3 months after the divorce?``

Is there a UCC in India or are you referring to the Hindu code?
Murdock owns Star TV, not ZEE unless he has purchased ZEE as well.

Dear Farzana:
I have to ask you this: Do you really like being a fly in the soup? I have seen some of your Ilogs which show such a sweet and soft side of you, why can`t you do the same in your articles? I know that you are quite successful in awakening the communal beast in ``us`` (and I mean hindus including NRIs and not Indians) and expose our hypocrisies, but must you change your own personna to do that?
On one substantive note, I think that your complaint about issues of dowries, female infanticide being presented as Indian and not hindu issues is true but not valid (wrong english?). First of all, these issues do effect non-hindus as well though to a somewhat lesser degree. But more importantly, an issue that affects 85% of the population becomes a national issue almost by definition. However, when an issue affects only a segment of hindus, such as OBCs, dalits, bengalis, etc., it is shown as such and not referred to as an Indian issue.

..... i hate canadians,

............ it warms the cockles of my heart and tingles my toes to see the horrible hindoos tear into a poor hapless muslim woman with all the venom that we were told they are capable of ............. it is at times like this that i am actually glad to be a pathetic paki - we might not have democracy and bollywood and code coolies, but at least we can say whatever we want without being torn to pieces ......of course you can`t say anything against the prophet, his wives, concubines, friends and pet camel

............. inspite of the fact that i don`t know much obout india (and have no desire to either), i hate indians .......... don`t ask me why ............ it is like the other day my daughter said, ``like, i hate the canadians .....they are so, like, weird and anti-american``............ ``but what about steve yzerman ?``, i asked, hoping to save a young mind from bigotry and prejudice ...........``oh, but he is kinda like american``............``then, what about dave matthews?`` .............she rolled her eyes at my ignorance and said, ``he was born in south africa and moved to charlottesville, virginia where he was a bar tender and then he decided to ....``.........``okay, okay, i get the point!``.......... but i still like farzana who, to the best of my knowledge, is an indian .................


pssst : does anyone think she works for the isi

HP/Sadna

Overall, pretty good posts. One feels good on reading those posts.

Further to my previous post on Taj Mahal...It should not be forgotten that in promoting Taj Mahal, Indian film industry, played quite a big role.

Some people may be familiar with hotel Lake Palace in Udaipur. It is a beautiful building/palace but till it was actively promoted by hotel companies (and Indian govt too, but govt came into it much later), hardly anyone had known of its beauty or existence (Octopussy, James Bond movie was shot there and that also helped quite a bit).

Point remains, without state`s patronage and active promotion, a building may remain just a building. So don`t think that Taj Mahal brings money on its own.

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Plats8

Post#138

Quote:

``Is it because Farzana
is a Muslim daring to speak the truth (which you agree you cannot judge) ?``

I am not sure if writer is telling the truth or is is that the writer needs to read more and understand better, when one sees the following quote (I have taken this from Post#137 by Tenaliramanna).

Quote from Post#137 `` Who are you? Why must I join someone who sounds the way you do? Have I asked you to join me? If by ‘us’ you mean Indians, then I am not sure I want YOU to join us. And why not bring down the Taj Mahal too, it is said it was built on a destroyed temple? But everyone wants to showcase pretty stuff that brings in the money.)

Perhaps, it has not been known or realised that Taj Mahal in itself does not mean a thing. There are scores of other beautiful buildings in India. But, independent India consciously chose to accept, and promote Taj Mahal as its heritage. Without active promotion all the way by GOI, Taj Mahal too would have had been just one of the buildings only. And promotion did not happen just in one day it took years and various govts/orgs played their own role and created an environment and infrastructure too. So it is not that Taj Mahal brings money on its own Govt and other oganisations have spent lot of money and made lot of efforts in promoting it. It is also an open statement of independent India proudly having accepted its Islamic/muslim heritage too.

Above is not about whether Taj Mahal is beautiful or not but point is, without active promotion by GOI, it would have had been just another building.

Taj Mahal having been temple in the past is a theory only and there has not been dispute as such on its origins. Whereas the structure in Ayodhya, aka Babjri Masjid has been in active dispute for over 50 years. Why mix the two different buildings when they hardly have anything in common?

Pyramids of Egypt became Pyramids as various govts actively promoted them. On the other hand, since there hardly had been any promotion of Mohan jo daro/Harrappa ruins in Pakistan, inspite of so much interest and history lying there, it is taken just as another ruin/s.

If the person who wrote this trash is laughing at every one then we have to realize why she is glad she wrote this.

“The life-breath of the ogre of Hindu communalism lies in the heart of the parrot of Muslim communalism. Kill the parrot and the ogre will die.”

-Mr. Javed Akhtar

A muslim communalist thrives on the ogre of RSS communalism and I would expect my Indian friends to understand that this piece of trash only works on the stereotypes that it conjures about ALL hindus being Togadia followers just as Togadia would like every hindu to believe that every Indian muslim is a Pakistani at heart.

This trash makes sense only if we understand that it is directed at Togadia and Uma Bharti who hold most of the stated stereotypes. I am in complete agreement with Rafiq Zacharia and M.J.Akbar that most of the educated hindus are secular and the fact that they do not have a monolithic faith makes them very open to Islam. This trash is a conterpart of communal STEREOTYPING that Togadia spouts while accusing EVERY muslim of working on their secret jehads :

“You (Muslims) cannot harm the Hindu religion and culture by jihad (holy war) because Hindus have the tradition of wearing a garland of flowers, but the Hindu deity wears a garland of human heads,” he said.

This muslim communalist works on Togadia`s logic- If Togadia can talk about ``Hindu Rights`` why do we need to be apologetic about my communalism?
Even if it means that they would continue putting words in the mouth of those muslims who oppose communalists in order to discredit them?

These communalist need to look search their own hearts if they want to kill the ogre!

Dost-mittar #165 and other interactors - you are missing the point here with regard to Farzana Bibi`s fuzzy writings.

See she is there to rake in the moolah. Every article of hers which crosses the 100 interacts level increases the worth of her next published in some rag. That is the true meaning / reason for her logically piss-poor articles. They are there to inflame only.

See right now her MO on the lastest article. She was silent for a l ong time. let the interacts run to 100 or more. After this she started interacting and rasing the temp more with more fuzzy and furry replies. Ooops the itnereacts have crossed the 200 mark.

Oh yes this lady is a true operator. Her only Raison detre is to increase HER NET-WORTH is $$$$$$!


Just see the way the interacts increase.....165 for this piece is way too much. there is really very little there worth discussing. What is worth it has been done to death before on other sites and newspapers and magazines.

Anyway - i am sure she will increase the interacts t more than 200! And she has just increased the value of her next piece in The friday Times by a few more $$$$$$$

Ref Sudalaikkannu #94

[By this weird logic, should the southies expect the ``outsiders`` to adopt their local, animistic beliefs and give up their hindu beliefs?]

Worshipping movie actresses the size and shape of 6-ton boulders is NOT an animistic belief no matter how much you would like us to believe it is.

On the other hand, I think you need to continue worshipping The Goddess of Small Pox. In fact, you need to invent a Goddess of Leprosy, a Goddess of Polio, a Goddess of Diphtheria, etc., and build temples to them and not attempt to get your children immunized. That ought to clean up the gene pool of those wanting to feed at the public trough in a couple of generations.

[The average hindu if he is anything like what you say he is, sounds very stupid.]

Indeed, he has been. Instead of smacking your skull open with a thick rod, he has been humoring your stupid beliefs for over two thousand years. It is time you idiots thank the Aryan invaders for bringing civilization to you instead of trying to victimize them.

If the person who wrote this trash is laughing at every one then we have to realize why she is glad she wrote this.

“The life-breath of the ogre of Hindu communalism lies in the heart of the parrot of Muslim communalism. Kill the parrot and the ogre will die.”

-Mr. Javed Akhtar

A muslim communalist thrives on the ogre of RSS communalism and I would expect my Indian friends to understand that this piece of trash only works on the stereotypes that it conjures about ALL hindus being Togadia followers just as Togadia would like every hindu to believe that every Indian muslim is a Pakistani at heart.

This trash makes sense only if we understand that it is directed at Togadia and Uma Bharti who hold most of the stated stereotypes. I am in complete agreement with Rafiq Zacharia and M.J.Akbar that most of the educated hindus are secular and the fact that they do not have a monolithic faith makes them very open to Islam. This trash is a conterpart of communal STEREOTYPING that Togadia spouts while accusing EVERY muslim of working on their secret jehads :

“You (Muslims) cannot harm the Hindu religion and culture by jihad (holy war) because Hindus have the tradition of wearing a garland of flowers, but the Hindu deity wears a garland of human heads,” he said.

This muslim communalist works on Togadia`s logic- If Togadia can talk about ``Hindu Rights`` why do we need to be apologetic about my communalism?
Even if it means that they would continue putting words in the mouth of those muslims who oppose communalists in order to discredit them?

These communalist need to look search their own hearts if they want to kill the ogre!

Read the following piece from today`s TOI with an open mind, and you will begin to see how little separates liberalism from total paranoia in this country

---

In Modi`s Gujarat, Hitler is a textbook hero
HARIT MEHTA

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2004 05:11:36 AM ]

AHMEDABAD: Gandhi is not so great, but Hitler is. Welcome to high school education in Narendra Modi`s Gujarat, where authors of social studies textbooks published by the Gujarat State Board of School Textbooks have found faults with the freedom movement and glorified Fascism and Nazism.

While a Class VIII student is taught `negative aspects` of Gandhi`s non-cooperation movement, the Class X social studies textbook has chapters on `Hitler, the Supremo` and `Internal Achievements of Nazism`.

The Class X book presents a frighteningly uncritical picture of Fascism and Nazism. The strong national pride that both these phenomena generated, the efficiency in the bureaucracy and the administration and other `achievements` are detailed, but pogroms against Jews and atrocities against trade unionists, migrant labourers, and any section of people who did not fit into Mussolini or Hitler`s definition of rightful citizen don`t find any mention.`` They committed the gruesome and inhuman act of suffocating 60 lakh Jews in gas chambers`` is all the book, authored by a panel, mentions of the holocaust.

The section on `Ideology of Nazism` reads: ``Hitler lent dignity and prestige to the German government within a short time by establishing a strong administrative set up. He created the vast state of Greater Germany. He adopted the policy of opposition towards the Jewish people and advocated the supremacy of the German race. He adopted a new economic policy and brought prosperity to Germany.


He began efforts for the eradication of unemployment. He started constructing public buildings, providing irrigation facilities, building railways, roads and production of war materials. He made untiring efforts to make Germany self-reliant within one decade. Hitler discarded the Treaty of Versailles by calling it just `a piece of paper` and stopped paying the war penalty. He instilled the spirit of adventure in the common people``.

A few classes junior, students in Gandhi`s home state read that the Bapu really may have been overrated. In the chapter on `Gandhian Era and National Movement`, there`s a section sub-headlined `The Negative Aspect`.