Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Hindu unity can trump Muslim vote bank







The Uttar Pradesh assembly election results have hit the secularist lobby where it hurts most. India’s largest and politically most important state has demonstrated once again that even if half the Hindus decide to vote as Hindus, they can easily trump the Muslim vote bank. Uttar Pradesh has the largest Muslim population in the country. Muslim votes make up more than 19 per cent of its electorate. In an assembly of 403 seats, 134 constituencies have been identified as those where Muslim votes can swing the result.

Naturally, the campaign in the elections saw a fierce tussle between the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party to garner Muslim votes en bloc. Most of the analyses and reports in the mainstream media typically purveyed speculation on which way the Muslim votes would swing - SP or BSP? Reading them, one got the impression that skull caps and burqas held the key to power in the most populous state. In stark contrast, the Bharatiya Janata Party did not field a single Muslim candidate. Its poll plank was inclusive development, epitomised in the catchy slogan sab ka sath, sab ka vikas.

The results were astounding: BJP and allies won 325 seats in an assembly of 403. The number of Muslims elected to the assembly dropped from 68 in 2012 to 23. This shows that Muslims cannot get elected in most places without Hindu support, although the secularists would have us believe the opposite. The BJP’s resounding victory even in Muslim dominated areas was sought to be explained by pointing out that the Muslim vote was divided between the SP and BSP, allowing the BJP to win easily. Another explanation offered was that Muslims voted for the BJP in large numbers, lured by the promise of all-round development. The Shia-Sunni cleavage and BJP’s progressive stand on triple talaq were also thrown in as part of the explanation.

On a closer look, however, both explanations appear to be erroneous. While individual votes cannot be traced, voting patterns in constituencies dominated by the community could give some indication about its preferences. Results in 59 constituencies with more than a quarter of Muslim voters show that the SP (29 per cent) and BSP (18 per cent) together polled 47 per cent of votes, almost unchanged from the 48 per cent they got in 2012 (SP 26 per cent and BSP 22 per cent), and higher than the 43 per cent they got in 2014 (SP 27 per cent and BSP 16 per cent). So, Muslim support for the two “secular” parties remained intact. The difference was made by the consolidation of the Hindu vote in favour of BJP, which managed to secure 39 per cent of the total votes, indicating a jump of 17 per cent from 2012, though a fall of 4 per cent from 2014.

Indeed, an analysis in Swarajya magazine yields an even more interesting insight. Hindu consolidation was stronger precisely in areas where Muslims formed a sizable chunk of the electorate. For instance, in Deoband which has 71 per cent Muslim voters, SP and BSP together secured 128,229 votes, whereas the BJP candidate polled 102,244. Muslim independents claimed other 11,000 votes.

The importance of this trend toward consolidation of Hindu votes cannot be overstated. Islam has distorted our democracy with its vote banks. No other democracy in the world has such a sizeable minority determined to vote tactically with the sole aim of thwarting the majority community. The care and concern of political parties for Muslim vote banks has led them to divisive and anti-national policies.

Now the wheel seems to have turned a full circle. Hindus are realising that they can capture the Indian state if only they stand together, even as Muslims are realising that they have been used by secularist parties to gain power. As this twin realisation sinks in, Hindus could not be taken for granted whereas Muslims could not be scared into voting in a particular way. All this is happening at a time when a very large part of the population cutting across all barriers is tired of identity politics and yearning for good governance and economic opportunities. This will bring about a much needed balance and sanity in our polity. A Ram Vilas Paswan, for instance, will no longer dare to campaign with an Osama bin Laden look-alike in tow.

Hindus facing increasing heat of Islamism and church machinations, as in West Bengal and Kerala, can take heart from the UP election results. All is not lost for them yet, if only they realise what is at stake and make the right choices.

The road to balance and sanity will not be smooth. Secularist parties, long used to garner votes by invoking identities and fear-mongering, will be loath to adapt to the new rules of the game. Muslims, feeling cheated by Hindu politicians, may fall for exclusively and overtly Muslim outfits floated by the likes of Owaisis and Ajmals. With that we may see a determined push towards greater polarisation in the coming years. However, Muslim outfits will risk marginalisation if they adopt aggressive anti-Hindu postures which will be supported neither by secularist parties fearing Hindu backlash nor by Muslims who are realising what it means for them.

As can only be expected, secularists may deny of demonise the Hindu assertion implicit in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. But the genie seems to be finally out of the bottle. Whatever the name given to them, what needs to be emphasised is that forces released by that election are benign and positive for the country, and our polity will not know rest till these forces finally prevail.

Quite a few Hindu nationalists are dissatisfied with Narendra Modi for neglecting Hindu issues such as freeing temples from government interference and Hindu educational institutions from discrimination. They should also give him the huge credit he has earned by breaking up the power and awe of the Muslim vote bank.


by Punarvasu Parekh on 19 Mar 2017  from Vijayaavani.com


World economy is anti-human: A Sri Lankan Buddhist perspective





Ayn Rand called her philosophy “Objectivism”, describing its essence as “the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute”.

When Vasco da Gama invaded the spice market of Calicut and killed the Arab, Sinhalese and Tamil merchants, the harmonious free market was destroyed and a policy of Might is Right was introduced to Asia. It persists even today, led by the IMF and World Bank, and the imperialistic wars in the world. The markets denoted in Gold, Silver etc., were quickly replaced by currencies that the majority of the world does not control. Even Jesus rejected the moneylenders who are today running the world. This was imposed by the colonialists and has become the neo-colonial agenda.

Thus a philosophy of linear assessment where money was the arbitrator of development and human achievement was imposed on the world. This contradicts the age-old philosophy of Asia which was assessed by a philosophy of cyclicity, making a holistic assessment of development and human achievements. This harmonious balance of assessment was the basis of sustainability learnt through evolution, which minimises the environmental and human costs in any project.

Driving force of this world economy: Creation of Monopoly money
-        The market system initialised and forced on the world by the IMF-World Bank with economic well-being assessed on GDP (Might is Right)
-        Greed and instant gratification propagated by the media that drives the markets
-        Creative destruction the philosophy behind markets
-        Money Democracy that cheats the people
The effect on the world economy is the dehumanisation of humanity and pollution of the three basic elements of the environment and making it inhospitable for humanity.

Creative Destruction is the philosophy of the present world economy led by money economics; it is a linear form of assessment. In its creative accounting the negatives are not taken into account; only how much money you have earned is assessed as economic activity or GDP. Large petroleum companies are mainly assessed on money earned, ignoring the vast number of people who suffer from respiratory disease, mental problems in the young due to lead-poisoning and cancer, etc.

Alan Greenspan best expresses the absurdity of this assessment. “In Vermont, the wonderful breeze rendered air conditioning unnecessary and therefore did not appear as economic activity”. Other things equal,” he concluded, “the standards of living are the same, but the GDP will be less in Vermont than it will be in the South.”

Thus the truth is manipulated to the final objective of earning money, and human suffering ignored as unimportant. In fact, habituation and mindlessness makes them ignorant of the risks they take as humans. Greed the final aim and driving force of the neo-colonialists.

The main thing holding us back from reality is the institutionalised view of our economy and society encapsulated in GDP. Unfortunately this institutionalised world impregnated our policies in Sri Lanka. We value what is visible - transacted economic activity - and downplay or ignore what is invisible. That affects public policy and even our thinking patterns in insidious ways. We tend to support anything that adds to economic activity, no matter what the adverse consequences, in environmental degradation or socially destructive working hours. We have come to see our economy as if it were an entity separate from the world in which we live; this turns what could be cooperative, altruistic Homo socialis into selfish, money-grubbing Homo economicus.

Banks and financial institutions are (still, mostly) macho, testosterone-fuelled environments where making the quick buck trumps almost every other consideration. Plenty of power but no responsibility. A company that buys a forest and cuts it down can, of course, repay its loans faster than one that plants a new tree for each one it destroys.

This was best expressed by our erudite Minister of Finance, Dr N M Perera, in the 1970s when questioned by a reporter who asked, “As a former student of the London School of Economics, what do you think is wrong with the world economy?” He promptly said,
“London School of economics”. These are the institutions that have brainwashed our elite who will never question the orders of the IMF and WB.

Cyclical Assessment

In cyclically assessed programmes, a sense of balance is inculcated to the project and there is a proper accounting system, the negatives being accounted. Thus changing numbers in a GDP does not necessarily change the world. The final effect is destruction of nature, the natural wealth the grand finale, the annihilation of humanity. This is against the majority Buddhist view in Sri Lanka (ignored by Macaulay-ite politicians) as expressed in the following view:

…Buddhists believe that humanity and nature are interdependent, contrary to the present western philosophy of the hubris that humanity rules nature and that it is in the power of humanity to destroy nature for her material ends, without paying a price. The poverty of that philosophy is now gradually dawning on humanity. The Buddhist ecological perspective is best expressed in the Noble Eightfold Path which is the Right View. This view is contained in the doctrine of Patticcasamuppada or Dependent Co-origination, where things exist interdependently, not in their own right. The Image of the jewelled net of Indra reflects it. This holistic model undermines the power of the self over others.

Human Development thus is greatly intertwined with nature and isolated, it can never grow in harmony. Urbanisation in that sense would never be healthy. Buddhism does not believe in absolutism, it believes in relativism and therefore expects humanity to act with a view to the ‘Welfare oftThe Many’. In other words, a Holistic approach to one’s actions.

Present world economy

The present world economy is a progression of colonialism that is geared to the enslavement of people and not to the liberation of the majority of people, mentally and physically. The whole world has been enmeshed in a devious plan to exploit and subjugate humanity by a small group of people who create the conditions through the IMF and WB. And if anyone challenges, like Gadhafi of Libya, then the full force of violence is let through.

1) The medium of exploitation seems to be the so-called international currencies, the monopoly money, thus ensuring that the beneficiaries are the creators of money. The fuel that runs this economy is money which is virtual, and has no means of proper assessment of its value. Forced globalization and open markets geared to sell the birth right of citizens  in the market by a corrupt group of politicians who are there for a short period of 5-6 years. The morality of this process has to be questioned. It is this immoral money that keeps the world economy ticking.

2) Secondly markets are encouraged to grow by a process of brain washing which encourages instant gratification, a form of addiction, not need. This process is uneconomic as the bought products are not one of need but of greed.

3) The Christian work ethic - Servants, be submissive to your masters, not only to those who      are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. The Africans have a saying, ‘when the white man came, he had the Bible and we had the land. Then he said let us close our eyes and pray. When we opened our eyes, he had the land and we had the Bible’.

4) Foreign development assistance, where countries borrow money and build infrastructure so that they can sell the citizens to cheap labour in an IMF-targeted scheme. In Sri Lanka, it is called Regaining Sri Lanka.

5) Inequitable distribution of wealth which makes the rich richer and the poor poorer, makes markets shrink, makes this economy unsustainable in the future but enslaves the majority by hate and entrapment because of need. This creates disharmony in society that is best epitomised by Donald Trump in the US.

Enslavement of mind and new technology

New technology without human emotion is destructive. The short termism led by globalisation has encouraged the rapid growth of the Internet and social media. This creates a communication system that lacks emotional interaction, creating self-centred humans that are the driving force of this economy.

Urbanisation and dehumanisation

Urbanisation and megacity development is the latest advice for Sri Lanka. The basis is increasing economic activity or GDP assessed by the international institutions. The increased restriction of space for humans creates insecurity. In New York, a study has confirmed increased violence in the home and destruction of family life. Violence has permeated society in ever-increasing forms from generation to generation, not forgetting the increased divorce rate and its effect on society and future generations. From an economic perspective, future job prospects and spending on health care, utilities etc. have been ignored.

Investment in major cities deprives the rural economies; people from rural areas have no option to enslavement in the Middle East and into prostitution in big cities. The growth of spas in Colombo, which are glorified brothels, is an indication of the deprived rural economy. This social disruption is a result of enslavement of the people by a class of rulers who have lost the basic human qualities of compassion and care of fellow human beings.

Destruction of the three basic elements

The three basic elements of the environment are the soil, water and air, which are essential for the sustenance of life and maintenance of bio-diversity. Water is the natural conveyor of nutrients, of the by-products of nature. Water accounts for 65% of the human body and is the conveyor of oxygen, nutrients and by-products. Water is the natural life giver. Today pollution from industrial waste, nuclear by-products, refined medicines, insecticides and weedicides, has converted it into a conveyor of death.

70% of human cancers are secondary to weedicides, insecticides and chemicals used in industry and can be prevented according to the American Cancer Association. The conveyor of these toxins is the life giver, water. American chemical companies are now charged for selling weedicides that are causing malignant lymphomas in the USA. Interestingly, these companies export these chemicals to the third world and promote Genetically Modified plants which need the chemicals to prevent the diseases these plants are subjected to in their new environment. Cancer villages in China are a product of rapid industrialisation. After the Fukushima disaster in Japan, the Pacific Sea was polluted by the heavy water (nuclear waste) that would carry to humans eating fish.

Growth of algae in streams and rivers when chemical fertilisers interfere with the eco-system. These algae deprive oxygen to the fish and other aquatic animals, and deprive humanity of a natural food. The flesh of fish, a staple diet of rural people, becomes a carrier of toxic products to humans, causing diseases such as cancers, kidney disease etc.

In Sri Lanka, deforestation of around 400 hectares of forests in 10 years, has had major effects on humanity. When ecosystems are disturbed, new diseases are introduced to human societies. An estimated 24 new diseases have been introduced. The human-elephant conflict is a well-known problem created in Sri Lanka

Trees block the flow of rainwater enough for it to be absorbed by the soil. Flowing rainwater can cause landslides and floods that are a recurrent problem in China that has industrialised and amalgamated its economy to the world economy too quickly. Trees also give shade that encourages actinomyces that prevent soil erosion and allows the soil to retain water and maintain porosity, which allows water to be absorbed.

Deforestation has allowed the weedicides and fertilisers to be directed through the Mahaweli scheme to the North central province where high levels of cadmium and heavy metals from fertilisers have affected 15% of the population with kidney disease. These are rural people, and till today, no effective measures have been taken to detoxify the soil.

Mahaweli Scheme was started by an ambitious group of politicians whose desire to earn commissions outweighed the need to assess the negatives of the scheme, which has failed to achieve its expectations. The country still imports fertiliser, as it is absolutely necessary for the tea industry, one of the main foreign exchange earners in Sri Lanka. All cash crops and mono-cultural plantations deplete the soil of nutrients and need fertilisers for its maintenance, compounding the effect on humanity. The heavy metals are now distributed to the rest of the country via sales of rice consumer.

Human health and disease: the new economic order triggers mental disease due to stress caused by living in a confined area and a work ethic that promotes enslavement. In Sri Lanka, the incidence of cancers has doubled from 2005 to 2014. Systemic diseases have increased, from Diabetes, Sleep Apnoea, Obesity, Hypertension etc., all of which are stress-related. There are new vector-controlled diseases such as dengue etc. Added to this is a new wave of antibiotic resistance due to industrial agriculture. All these create an extra cost on health care for the poor who cannot afford it. None of this suffering is reflected in the Lord of the Economy, the GDP.

Conclusion 

There is no doubt that the present world economy is inefficient. Productive work as expressed by the GDP and other statistical data are misleading, hiding the inefficiency of the system. What humans need is happiness and contentment, not enslavement. The great Indian philosopher, Rabindranath Tagore, in his lecture to the Japanese aptly said: Modernity is the freedom of the mind not the taste in the tongue

Modernisation is Imitation. What we are doing today is blindly following a defunct western philosophy that has been forced on our countries despite the destruction and destabilisation of the environment and never-ending proxy wars. Our rulers lack the wisdom that our ancestors firmly believed would establish a fair and just economy. It makes no sense to adopt an economy that increases human suffering but gives the illusion of human well-being, promoted by fraudulent statistics. The curse of Sri Lanka is that the rulers are far removed from the Buddhist Philosophy and too close Western Christian philosophy. 

The present article is
by Janaka Goonetilleke on 29 Mar 2017  , from vijayaavani.com


Thursday, March 23, 2017

Shri RamJanma Bhoomi Agitation: An expression of self-identity


Shri RamJanma Bhoomi Agitation is not a mere Hindu-Muslim conflict or a Temple-Mosque conflict, It is a conflict of National vs Anti national. A Rashtra is not a just a piece of land but an epitome of oneness of society inhabited on that land. These sentiments are derived out of that land’s culture, history and values.

Shri Ram is not just another character in the history but an idol of our cherished culture and values. He is an immortal living legend. He is the origin of our immortal culture which goes back in date thousands of years. There is a fascinating association, knowledge and faith among all caste, creeds, sexes, languages and regions about Shri Ram. Shri Ram symbolizes national unity. He is the spirit of our Rashtra.

Even architects of our constitution found it prudent to put the picture of Shri Ram, Mata Sita and Shri Laxman on board of Pushpak in the first draft of our constitution. Constituent assembly was manned by luminaries from diverse religions, yet there were no concerns on the depiction of this picture. The same draft also portrayed the images of Shri Krishna, Bhagwan Buddha and Bhagwan Mahavir. All of them are eternal souls of our land. Hence it is our constitutional obligation to protect the birth place of Shri Ram.

Statements by Dr. Rammanohar Lohiya

We all know Dr. Rammanohar Lohiya, a well-known proponent of socialist philosophy. He also stated that:

Rama, Krishna and Shiva are our idols. Rama integrated north-south whereas Krishna did the same for east-west. Masses view them as their adoring idols. Rama is the essence of austerity, Krishna is key to ungrudging life and Shiva is the epitome of uninhibited persona. Oh my motherland, bless me the wisdom of Shiva, heart of Krishna and the integrity of Rama.

It is our national duty to guard the birth places of all such revered idols. It is inevitable for the unity and integrity of our nation.

Reconstruction of Somnath Temple

Shri RamJanma Bhoomi Agitation is a matter of national pride and self-respect. To wipe out the bruises of insult is courage. That is why this agitation. A sense of self-respect imparts the nation the strength to stand on its feet and ability to resolve its problems. Post-independence, such movements have been exceptions only. One such exception was reconstruction of Somnath temple. Since 1026, this temple has been ravaged 21 times but it was reconstructed again and again. At last, Aurangzeb ordered to replace this temple by a mosque in 1706. After gaining independence, to regain our lost glory, the then home minister Sardar VallabhBhai Patel professed to reconstruct Somnath temple again. Mahatma Gandhi endorsed the idea. Pandit Nehru’s cabinet, which even included Maulana Azad, too gave its approval. Parliament also nodded for the same.

His Excellency, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, was the then president of India. On 11th May 1951, he established Shivlinga in Somnath temple. He did so irrespective of the objection by some secularists. He was absolutely convinced that this is a matter of self-respect and self-identity rather than anything else. In Somnath, he stated that Somnath is a sacred place for all Indians. Even if a place of faith is ruined, faith itself is infallible. Reconstruction of Somnath temple is a long held dream coming true. No amount of words are sufficient to express the joy of this dream coming true.

On 25th December 1947, Gandhi Ji made an important statement in Delhi’s Birla House. One Urdu newspaper claimed that if Somnath happens so will Gajani’s reappearance. Gandhi Ji responded by saying that Gajani’s behaviour was highly uncivilized. It is very unfortunate if Indian Muslims take pride in Gajani. Muslims should concede maleficence under Islamic rule. It will not be acceptable if Muslims speak the language of Gajani again.

Our sentiments in the context of Shri Ram JanamBhoomi are same as sentiments expressed by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Mahatma Gandhi and Sardr VallabhBhai Patel in the context Somnath temple.

Erasing the bruises of slavery

After gaining independence in 1947, all the idols of Queen Victoria and King George V were removed from all the parks and squares. Roads were renamed. Delhi’s Irwin hospital was renamed as Jaiprakash Narayan Hospital. Minto Bridge is now called Shivaji Bridge. Mumbai’s Vincent road became Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar Road. Victoria Terminus Railway station is now called Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. Because old nomenclature was the signature of our past slavery, they were done away with it. In the same way Babri Masjid is the signature of an insult bestowed upon us which can only be done away by erecting a Ram Temple at the same place.

Church of Poland

Half of Europe was under Islamic dominance for a long time. Islamic aggressors demolished many churches and erected mosques at the same place. Once the same European land gained independence, they took no time to demolish those mosques and re-erect churches. This was the way to get rid of all the manifestation of past humiliation. Poland was won over by Russia in 1815. As a mark of glory, Russia established a big church on a major square in Warsaw, the capital of Poland. Poland gained independence in 1918 after First World War. Again polish government replaced Russian made church with one of their own. Both Russia and Poland have Christianity as a vernacular religion, yet Russia chose to demolish a polish church, why? Self-respecting polish government responded by saying that Russian made church was signature of their triumph over Poland. Re-erecting a polish church was retaining the lost glory. This is called national pride. Taking cue from the very same sentiments, Kashi, Mathura and Ayodhya too must be liberated from past wounds.

Dream of Shivaji

When Aurangzeb destroyed Kashi Vishwanath Temple in 1669 and erected the mosque at the same place, Shivaji wrote a warning letter to Aurangzeb pledging to replenish all the Hindu places of worship including Kashi Vishwanath. Rejuvenation of such fallen places of worship used to be regular topic of discussion in Shivaji’s cabinet. Shivaji himself reconstructed many such temples. When he visited south India, he replenished 2 of today’s big temples in Tamilnadu. These 2 temples were ravaged by Mughals some years back. Even after Shivaji, the consequent Maratha regime continued this mission. Sacred places such as Trimbakeshwar, Sundar Narayan Temple at Nashik and MahaKaleshwar temple at Ujjain, which were demolished by Mughals, got replenished by Marathas.

When Maratha dominance increased in north, process of liberating pious places of worship got accelerated. In 1751 and 1759, Nawab of Awadh was provided help on the precondition of liberation of Ayodhya, Prayag and Kashi. There was a consistent Maratha pressure for the same. Unfortunately, before they could be liberated, Marathas got defeated in the battle of Panipat in 1761.



Muslims of India, Please be aware

How are we related to Babar? He was an unruly and barbaric aggressor. He was from Middle East Asia. He first conquered Afghanistan and then came to India. Babar was cremated in Afghanistan. In 1969, one delegation from India visited Afghanistan. Dr. VedPratap Vedic, an erudite in Afghanistan Policy and a philosopher, was part of this delegation. This delegation went on to visit the cemetery of Babar. Cemetery was rather in very bad shape. Indian delegation asked Afghan authorities reason for this bad state of cemetery. Afghan leader answered that what relation we have with Babar? He was an aggressor for us. He enslaved us. Because he was Muslim, we did not do any harm to his cemetery. But the day it would fall, we all Afghans would be very happy. This leader was nobody else but the then Afghan Prime Minister Shri. Babrak Karmal. These sentiments should be understood by Indian Muslims.

90% of Indonesian population is Muslim. It is a declared Islamic nation. Yet their most revered idol is Ram. Study of Ramayan is mandatory in their primary education. Then why not in India? Indonesia was a Hindu-Baudh dominated nation 700 years back. But still they are holding on to their values.

Iran is an Islamic nation, yet Rustam Sohrab is their national idol. Rustam Sohrab was a Parasi who existed 3000 years back. He was not a Muslim. Pyramid is national idol in Egypt. Pyramids date back to 3500 years when Islam did not exist. Shri Ram also existed thousands of years back when Islam was nowhere on the horizon. Indian Muslims were Hindus only 200-400-800 years back. Then why Indian Muslims have hesitation in adopting Shri Ram as their Idol and inspiration?

Many issues will be resolved if Indian Muslims draw their wisdom from Muslims of Iran and Egypt. India will retain its lost glory. India will be united never before.

National vs. Anti-National

Shri Ram is our Identity. He is the signature of our nationality. Babar, the aggressor, was our enemy. For Babar, Guru Nanak DevJi once said, only a procession of sinners can concede to Babar’s rule. Adulating Babar, the one who demolished temples, is anti-national. Are we worshippers of Ram or the inheritors of Babar? Everyone needs to ask this question to oneself.

Construction of Ram temple is a matter of nationalism. There can be no compromise on the same.

--
Posted By VSK Tamilnadu to Vishwa Samvad Kendra - Tamilnadu at 3/23/2017 01:56:00 PM

Monday, March 6, 2017

An academic colour revolution






An ambitious pilot project to trigger student unrest in university campuses across the country is now fairly discernible. Behind it are acolytes of the defused ‘new world order’ that was to climax in the victory of Hillary Clinton in November 2016. The writing on the wall showed that the world’s historical template was shifting from globalisation to nationalism – as witnessed in the election of Narendra Modi in May 2014 and Brexit in June 2016 – but that did not dim the celebratory crescendo in District Columbia until the neon lights proclaimed Donald Trump as victor. In India, this abrupt dénouement was lost in demonetisation.

Now, a fresh ‘new world order’ is being crafted across the globe (France is itching to quit the European Union and cause its demise), but the old entrenched elites have refused to accept the popular verdict. Universities are the last bastion of the sterile radicalism that does not seek a more just world for all, but covertly – and increasingly desperately – fights to uphold the exploitative order dominated by corporate elites that crush people’s movements like Occupy Wall Street and use leftists like Jill Stein to discredit the American election because it defeated Hillary Clinton.

A deep pattern of using or inventing incidents to fester unrest is visible at Hyderabad Central University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Jadavpur University, Delhi University and Jamia Millia Islamia. Unless treason (which is what calls to separate Jammu & Kashmir from India amount to) is equal to freedom of speech, we must understand that a corrosive anti-nationalism and anti-Hindu ethos is being fostered in campus after campus, with mentoring from professors in leading US universities.

American professors closely monitor their Indian protégés (which is what our West-looking varsity teachers are, even though they guzzle taxpayer money), but their moral indignation at events in India cut little ice with the citizenry. Far better be it for them to address problems in their own country, the most serious of which is the rise of white racism that shows no signs of abating. Wonder why Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom have nothing to say about this.

At Hyderabad Central University, student Rohith Vemula committed suicide after expressing despair with the extreme radical leftism that he had embraced with hope; but the very people he indicted whipped up a frenzy against the ruling party and the central government. His mother is now being groomed into an activist against the Bharatiya Janata Party and transported wherever her mentors need her.

Denigration of the nation and its civilisational ethos is par for the course. There is no shame at anti-national slogans (Bharat tere tukde honge); a beef festival is considered a lark; Hindu Gods are maligned as part of a new cultural ethic.

What happened at Ramjas College was unprecedented. Never in the history of Delhi University have teachers dared to instigate undergraduates to invite ‘guests’ such as Umar Khalid and Shehla Rashid, on any pretext. First, the two universities have never mixed their student activism. Second, Umar Khalid (son of Syed Qasim Ilyas, leader of the Students Islamic Movement of India until it was banned in 2001) is the person who planned the ‘cultural evening’ to commemorate Afzal Guru, mastermind behind the attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001. Student’s union president Shehla Rashid supported him, and the event erupted in controversy in 2016.

No sane teacher would consider such persons as desirable visitors; the principal must explain how the invitation was extended in the first place. That the teacher alleged to be behind the ruckus was roughed up cannot be the end of the matter; an inquiry must fix academic responsibility.

Some years ago, a Delhi University teacher was found hobnobbing with highly incendiary Kashmiri separatists; she has since retired on a handsome pension. Those who believe that agent provocateurs like Khalid and Rashid have right to freedom of expression must explain why a non-controversial RSS leader was not allowed to address students at a university in Madhya Pradesh. Clearly, campuses nationwide are being seeded with discontent.

Immediately after the Delhi University drama, the capital’s Jamia Millia Islamia disallowed BJP member Shazia Ilmi from speaking by abruptly changing the topic of the students’ meeting. Right or wrong, that is how university administration’s thwart what they consider undesirable. The Delhi University and the principal of Ramjas College were derelict in their duties and this forced the college students union and later the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) to intervene. To my mind, the worst aspect of the Jamia incident was unruly students jumping onto the stage and preventing the inaugural lamp from being lit. Perhaps the President of India should direct the universities to weed out radical teachers, and restore the academic environment by sharply curtailing political activism on the campuses.

Finally, a word on Gurmehar Kaur. First, Lady Shri Ram College (LSR) has shunned university politics by refusing to affiliate its student body with the DU students union (DUSU). So her jumping into the Ramjas episode with a poster taunting the ABVP was an act of political deliberation, as was that of the teachers who supported her when social media began to rip her apart.

Kaur, who was hobnobbing with radicals like Shabnam Hashmi, John Dayal, Kavitha Krishnan, and Aam Aadmi Party activist Ram Subramanian, cannot claim to be a babe in the woods. Her father, Capt. Mandeep Singh, died fighting terrorists in Kupwara, Jammu & Kashmir, in August 1999, but she denigrated his sacrifice by claiming that he died in the Kargil War that had ended in July, and used his martyrdom to promote her bogus political agenda.

Social media was unsparing. Cricketer Virender Sehwag, actor Randeep Hooda, Olympic medalist Deepa Malik and the Gold medalist Phogat sisters, Geeta and Babita, castigated her for belittling her father’s martyrdom; Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju wondered (rightly) who was polluting her mind (something her family should answer).

Unfortunately, Rajya Sabha MP Javed Akhtar, perceiving the Phogat sisters as vulnerable rustics, denounced them as uneducated, and was supported by other trolls. Again, social media came to the rescue, pointing out that the sisters had earned their respect – and medals – by dint of sheer hard-work. Meanwhile, feminists of the Lutyens Brigade shamed themselves with their silence. Something is truly rotten in the state of this nation.

with due respect to writer 

Ms Sandhya Jain   on 07 Mar 2017