Were Buddhists and Jains Persecuted in Ancient India? "Karma and Dharma borrowed from Buddhism and Jainism."

If I remember my vedanta right both these have been there in some pre-buddhist/jainist upanishads.
Its careless statements like this and the general tone of the piece that makes your intentions suspect. I dont doubt that there was some persecution of buddhists but ultimately brahmanism beacame dominant through intellectual means. I say brahmanism because hinduism as we know now is a later construct.
It is amusing to see how some people find hinduism so incomprehensible. Is it paganism? polytheism? monotheism? monism? agnostism? atheism? :)

From Kerala to Islamabad (A Journey of Nine Decades) The growth of Islamic extremism in Tamilnadu more or less coincided with Jayalalitha`s dalliance with hindutva forces. But its their growth in Kerala which has been surprising. The Muslim community in the state has been progressive and had an assured place in the mainstream society. Indian Union Muslim League was a secular platform for the community and there were several other institutions working towards the empowerment of Muslims. Whenever the right wing UDF has been in power the muslim league has enjoyed a disproportionate share of power. Most of the times the party used it positively to gain more education and rights for the community. Apart from this Kerala has remained out of bounds for the hindutva brigade who has always been shunned by the electorate. Though the RSS has a presence in some of the towns ,it has remained on the fringes. Despite all this Kerala has witnessed a spurt of growth in the activities of radical islamic groups. The dynamics of this phenomenon is to be explored.

From Kerala to Islamabad (A Journey of Nine Decades) #9
Tamilnadu has been peaceul on the whole but the extremist networks have made inroads in the state. 33 people were killed in a seies of bomb blasts in Coimbatore in February 1998. The blasts were planned to coincide with a BJP campaign rally and by some accounts targeted L K Adwani. The group responsible Al-Umma, was supported by groups across the border in Kerala. The JAyalalitha govt. which came to power after the 98 polls had claimed to have crushed all the terror cells in the state.But some people were arrested and explosives seized in Coimbatore after the recent Mumbai blasts establishing that the roots were deeper.
So while Kerala and Tamilnadu has been exempt from the communal politics until recently, things have taken a turn for the worse.

From Kerala to Islamabad (A Journey of Nine Decades) #9
Tamilnadu has been peaceul on the whole but the extremist networks have made inroads in the state. 33 people were killed in a seies of bomb blasts in Coimbatore in February 1998. The blasts were planned to coincide with a BJP campaign rally and by some accounts targeted L K Adwani. The group responsible Al-Umma, was supported by groups across the border in Kerala. The JAyalalitha govt. which came to power after the 98 polls had claimed to have crushed all the terror cells in the state.But some people were arrested and explosives seized in Coimbatore after the recent Mumbai blasts establishing that the roots were deeper.
So while Kerala and Tamilnadu has been exempt from the communal politics until recently, things have taken a turn for the worse.

From Kerala to Islamabad (A Journey of Nine Decades) #8 Harimau

A flm is being made in Malayalam on the plight of the Pakistani passport holders living under the threat of extradition. Titled `paradeshi`, its being directed by P.T Kunhi Mohammed, who has been elected to the Kerala legislative assembly twice with CPI(M) support .
http://www.thehindu.com/2006/06/07/stories/2006060705380200.htm

Ready for a Modern Pakistan? #418 rsridhar
Thanks for the links. In #408 I had mentioned the communist role in that scheme.

Jean Dreze, a Belgian economist, who is currently with the Delhi School of Economics, is the chief author of the scheme. The left and
right hands of N.Ram speak on the NREGS.

About P.Sainath
I dont think being a commie disqualifies the man from speaking on the subject. India has very few (pls check the link) journalists covering the rural problems and he is one of the most accomplished.
``So, capitalism must be combined with liberal socialism and schemes to benefit the poor. Unbridled capitalism is bad. ``
Couldnt agree more on that

Ready for a Modern Pakistan? Ranjit
``disbarring them from the democratic system``
Isnt that an oxymoron :)
I say leave it to the people

Ready for a Modern Pakistan? Re: # 407 ranjit
I am not in a denial about the communist `obscurantism`. But we should not miss the ideological battles within the communist parties. Just consider the case of CPI(M). In Bengal they are pro reforms and in Kerala the party is deeply divided over reforms with one group proposing the theory of the ``fourth world`` which the other group accuses to be against the very tenets of marxism. The central leadership is as rigid as Praksh Karat but it remains to be seen how long he would remain at the helm of affairs.
And to give commies their due, the employment guarantee programme would not have been put into the fast channel if it were not for their efforts.

Ready for a Modern Pakistan? Re: # 374 mohar
First of all Im no commie!! I have benefitted from the new economic policy and will be the last person to go against it. But what gets my goat is how complaints about the ill effects of free economy are treated dismissively. Its not as if the farmers of Wayanad had been poor all the time. They fared extremely well until recently when the new FTAs were implimented. There are similar dissenting voices arising from other parts of the country. May be you are familiar with the pani panchayaths of Orissa (http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mag/2002/09/22/stories/2002092200250100.htm).
No one is against wealth creation.Its xactly hte opposite.
I dont know if P SAinath is a commie but his facts speak for themselves.
(Not every leftist is a commie)

The Hard Business of Life The difference would be offering a perspective in which the dalit condition is represented warts and all. The gender issues are brought out. The narrative style with the ``filthy words`` rebels against the dominant ``brahmin`` aesthetics.
Atleast this is what I understood from an interview that I read.

The Hard Business of Life The latest autobiography to make waves down south is by Nalini Jameela, a sexworker.
Its called...well ...``Autobiography of a sex worker``.

Ready for a Modern Pakistan? #372 Manto
I Second it!

Ready for a Modern Pakistan? #355 GT
Exactly!!

#321 mohar11
With statistics you can prove anything. If you read P.Sainath`s articles a differnt picture will emerge. Vidarbha,Andhra,Wayanad ...
Of these Wayanad is where I come from. And let me assure you India is not shining out there.
I never claimed that the left will solve the problem.

Ready for a Modern Pakistan? #317 Godot
What I meant was that the premiss of the number of posts is not strong enough for a deductive inference

The Hard Business of Life #12
The madurai region is still a mad-house. I guess the dalits of Tamilnadu should form a front with Tamil brahmins.

Ready for a Modern Pakistan? #313
And ArjunM is a man of one liners. So Im not quite surprised by his no of posts