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On 27 Jul 10, newspapers reported- Cong MP loses seat over fake SC claim. Excerpts-
“The Kerala high court has disqualified AICC secretary Kodikunnil Suresh from the membership of Lok Sabha for producing a fake caste certificate.
Justice M Shashidharan Nambiar held that he was not qualified to contest the Mavelikara seat. The court found that there were conflicting statements made by Mr Suresh about his caste status. According to school records, the MP is a converted Christian and was not entitled to the benefit of being a Scheduled Caste member.
Mr Suresh told reporters in Delhi that his school certificate had mentioned his caste was SC and religion Christian. “This was a mistake committed by his parents,” he claimed and said that he had “rectified” it by making a gazette notification about his status as a member of the Scheduled Caste. (emphasis added)
The court found that Suresh had produced contradictory caste certificates from tehsildars of Kottarakara and Nedumangad. The court refused to accept a certificate dated October 25, 1979, that Suresh had embraced Hinduism as per Sudhi certificate by Kerala Hindu Mission. It said evidence has been established that the mission president had been issuing certificates after receiving donations and fees.
Conversion
Conversion to christianity or islam is supposed to liberate people from ‘evil caste system’- an alleged feature of ‘hinduism’.
With this premise, reservation policy of government is framed to alleviate ‘suffering’ of those reeling under the said caste system of ‘hinduism’.
‘Lower caste hindus’ are categorised ‘scheduled caste’ and given reservation benefit. Those who convert, get ‘liberated’ from ‘caste-ridden hinduism’; are not entitled for reservation benefit since they do not suffer ‘caste discrimination’ in their new religions.
Corruption
The news report reveal corruption of-
1. Mr Suresh, who contested seven times from reserved constituencies using fake caste certificates
2. Election Commission of India that allowed him to do so.
3. Congress party that nominated him as candidate seven times and made him AICC General Secretary.
4. People who knew this duplicity, yet chose not to expose it.
5. The Tehsildars who gave fake certificates.
6. The mission president of Kerala Hindu Mission who ‘converted’ Mr Suresh on paper.
Trending
Shri Bharat Nair, after reading Gazette Notifications issued by Kerala State Govt opines-
“Trivandrum and areas south of it are seeing a ‘new religious’ phenomenon. A lot of people are advertising in gazettes about their conversion to ‘Hindu religion’. Don’t be surprised to know that at least 75% of these type of persons belong to either Cheramar Christian or Sambava Christian.”
A few of those notifications from the gazette of 22 June 2010 (emphasis added)-
NOTIFICATION
It is hereby notified for the information of all concerned authorities and the public that I, Sarojam, J., Vayalinkara Puthen Veedu, Thembamuttam, Balaramapuram, Rassalpuram P. O., Neyyattinkara Taluk, Thiruvananthapuram District, Pin-695 501, holder of S. S. L. C. Book No. D 636312 with Register No. 460012 of 1987 March, have embraced Hinduism from Christian Cheramar Community as per Suddhi Certificate No. 21160/10 dated 10-5-2010 issued from Aryasamaj, Thiruvananthapuram with the same name. Hereafter I will be a member of Hindu Cheramar Community. This change will come into effect in all records related to me.
Balaramapuram,
1-6-2010. SAROJAM, J.
NOTIFICATION
It is hereby notified for the information of all concerned authorities and the public that I, Anjali, G., Athira Bhavan, House No. 508, Thazhaninna, Chavady, Pulluvila P. O., Neyyattinkara Taluk, Thiruvananthapuram District, Pin-695 526, holder of S.S.L.C. No. G 257915 with Register No.101783 of March 2007, have embraced Hinduism from Christian Sambavar Community as per Suddhi Certificate No. 115173 dated 4-6-2010 issued from Kerala Hindumission, Thiruvananthapuram with the same name. Hereafter I will be a member of Hindu Sambavar Community. This change will come into effect in all records related to me.
Pulluvila,
10-6-2010. ANJALI, G.
NOTIFICATION
It is hereby notified for the information of all concerned authorities and the public that I, Thomas Sevi, Kattuparambil Veedu, Kadasikadavu, Pampupara P. O., Udumbanchola Taluk, Anakkara Village, Idukki District, Pin-685 551, holder of S.S.L.C. No. C-366789 with Register No. 648119 of March 2002, also known as Kannan Sevi in the Ration Card No. 1630074195 issued by the Taluk Supply Officer, Udumbanchola, is one and the same person. I have embraced Hinduism from Christian Sambavar Community as per Suddhi Certificate No. 20790/09 dated 11-11-2009 issued from Aryasamaj, Thiruvananthapuram, with a new name Kannan, K. S. and will sign accordingly. Hereafter I will be a member of Hindu Sambavar Community. This change will come into effect in all records related to me.
Kadasikadavu,
21-5-2010. THOMAS SEVI.
NOTIFICATION
It is hereby notified for the information of all authorities concerned and the public that I, Bijumon, P. C., Biju Bhavan, Kainakary (East) P.O., Alappuzha District, holder of S. S. L. C. Book No. C. 205763 with Register No. 299661 of March 1991, have embraced Hinduism from Cheramar Christian Community with the same name as per the Sudhi Certificate No. 21151/10 dated 4-5-2010 issued from Arya Samaj, Thiruvananthapuram. Hereafter I will be a member of Hindu Cheramar Community. This change will come into effect in all records related to me.
Kainakary,
11-5-2010. BIJUMON, P. C.
NOTIFICATION
It is hereby notified for the information of all authorities concerned and the public that I, Jayanthi, K. K., Kottapurathu (H), Vadakara P. O., Velloor Village, Vaikom Taluk, Kottayam District, Pin-686 605, holder of S.S.L.C. No. 410852 with Register No. 467169 of March 1999 and in the Ration Card Number 1525063661 issued from Taluk Supply Office, Vaikom, have embraced Hinduism from Christian Cheramar Community as per Suddhi Certificate Ref. No. 21120/10 dated 8-4-2010 issued from the Aryasamaj, Thiruvananthapuram with the same name. Hereafter I will be a member of Hindu Cheramar Community. This change will come into effect in all records related to me.
Kottayam,
6-5-2010. JAYANTHI, K. K.
Notifications such as these are rampant in past gazettes available in the archives of Kerala Gazette website.
There are other notifications too, wherein christians, who are supposed to be caste-free, claim themselves to belong to specific lower caste such as Cheramar or Sambhavar. This appears to be a preparatory step towards converting to ‘hinduism’ and later gazette notifications as seen above. Sample-
NOTIFICATION
I, John Philip, Pariyarathil House, Kottoor P. O., Kaviyoor, Thiruvalla, Pathanamthitta District, Pin-689 582, do hereby notify for the information of all concerned authorities and the public that my minor son Jefin Philipson P. John whose Community is wrongly entered as Christian Pentacost in his S. S. L. C. No. H 362408 with Register No. 457630 of March 2008 is corrected as Christian Cheramar, vide Certificate No. B12/9449/08/K. Dis. dated 19-1-2010, issued by the Tahsildar, Taluk Office, Thiruvalla. This correction will come into effect in all records related to him.
Kottoor,
7-6-2010. JOHN PHILIP.
Modus Operandi
As seen in the Suresh episode, and gazette notifications, modus operandi is-
1. The supposedly “caste-free” christian claims to be Cheramar/ Sambhavar/ similar ‘lower caste’.
2. Obtain certificate of conversion to Hinduism from Arya Samaj or Kerala Hindu Mission.
3. Issue gazette notification claiming to belong to Cheramar/ Sambhavar/ Pulaya/ similar ‘scheduled caste’ hindu community.
4. Obtain caste certificate from tehsildar. Suresh got one tehsildar to certify him as Cheramar, and another to certify him as Pulaya.
5. Enjoy reservation benefit.
Caste- out of the bag
That supposedly caste-free christians claim to be ‘lower caste’, ‘convert’ to hinduism, re-affirm their status as lower caste through gazette notifications, exposes hollowness of allegation about ‘evil caste system’ of hindusim. It is revealed as due to contemporary political structure, though maliciously attributed to tradition by westerners and their desi sepoys in academe.
A similar trend is seen in the case of Gujjars in Rajasthan who claim status of scheduled tribe, which pits them against Meenas.
In Khandhmal, Orissa, christians who converted from Pana scheduled caste community seek status of scheduled tribe, depriving Kandhas, who are the real tribal community. In collusion with maoists, they killed Swami Lakshmananda who worked for upliftment of Kandhas.
That society remains largely unconcerned about these developments reveal depth of its depravity and indolence, caused by indoctrination through western education system and media.
Rise of the avaricious
People who convert to become christians when evangelical missionaries offer material benefits and then convert back to take advantage of government rules, are duplicitous. When such people gain positions of power, taking advantage of reservation policy, society is severely affected.
Conversion ?
Such incidents also point to the flimsiness of converting people to hindu fold. The large number of ‘conversions’ to hindu community ‘effected’ by Arya Samaj and Kerala Hindu Mission, evidenced in the gazette, betray the meaninglessness of the process, which is being taken advantage of by the greedy.
It also throws up the question- are conversions meaningful ?
Inconvertible
bharatiya samskriti view people as atman, unqualified, eternal, occupying temporary physical bodies. Can the ‘unqualified’, unquantifiable, be converted ?
Blogger Anuraag Sanghi identifies the reason for the rise of British Empire in India – the large number of indians recruited as sepoys.
“The constant warfare against Indian polity in India was essential for imperial English objectives. It was the large size of the Colonial Indian Army, consisting of Indian sepoys that was behind the might of the British Empire.”
Company sepoy’s pay was several times that of a specialist worker. These sepoys were not only paid better compared to the soldiers of native kings, the british also made timely payments. These factors led to many people joining up in the British Colonial Army.
Where did all that money come from ?
Sanghi identifies the source of British financial capital-
1. Piracy sanctioned by the British crown that brought wealth without having to produce it
2. Slavery that freed up money that would have otherwise had to be paid to workers
3. Monopolising the trade of shipping, gun powder, textiles etc.
4. Wealth looted from colonies
5. Indentured labour that sustained low production cost
‘Marginally Ethical People’
“To marginally ethical people, without recourse to loot, piracy and slavery under the Indic values system of shubh labh, ‘Desert Bloc’ ethics were an ‘attractive’ alternative. Economically affected by shrinkage in Indian exports due to slave raids and piracy, land grab by the colonial Indian State, some took the easy way of embracing English practices and values – giving the British Empire a leg up in India.”
“…employment and service with slave empires and kingdoms was equated with standard commerce.”
Today
Today, a large number of people are employed by what are called MNCs, that are mostly West based. Many Indians work abroad. Large number of families depend on money sent by people working abroad. In India itself, being employed by a foreign firm, or a firm working for foreign clients, is considered more respectworthy. The embracing of Western practices and values(or lack of it) have increased multi fold. The british created education system is one of the primary causative factor for this. The continuation with british created institutions for governance have further contributed to pervasiveness of western influence over society. Indian educational institutions are essentially producing skilled white collared labourers for western companies at cheap rates. This helps sustain the western progress today, as it once did the British Empire. Like in the colonial times, those who collaborate with the West today are given higher paying positions to serve them better, based on the riches gathered from (a) colonial era loot leftovers, (b) monopolising practices, (c) new markets and land resources captured through military and coercive means and (d) manipulating currencies.
Military means of Imperialism in the past being replaced by economic means today.
Some Tweets by Senthil Raja reflect the deleterious effects-
Whether known or unknown, we convey the message white collar job is superior and blue collar job is inferior.
In most cases, are we not justifying things based on personal gains ? Even the high salary we get is unjust…
… unjust in the sense, that it is creating extreme disparities in the society. Isn’t our salary based on Dollar rate ?
Corporates lobby government if dollar rates comes down, instead of realigning itself.. yet they speak of free market.
A software company serving indian clients is taxed, but tax free if its 100% export oriented.. what kind of logic it is?
Philanthropy is often projected as Social responsibility..
If I am not mistaken, I often feel, that we (IT professionals) do charity more out of guilt feeling..
I am saying this kind of offshore(outsource ?) model itself is unjust.. a small section of IT people, cornering large amount of resources
When you happen to travel by an auto or meet a common man, just ask him.. he will tell how insecure his life has become..
Escalated salary, escalated buying power.. escalated prices.. escalated demand.. escalated exploitation of resources..
The escalation of prices are so severe, that even an entry level IT guy finds it tought to meet expenses. What about poor?
A double bedroom house rent was 3000 5 years ago in Chennai.. now it is more than 6000.. even middle class cant survive
What’s the reason? because of high salary of few lakh people, that more than 1 crore people of Chennai suffering..
How did this high salary become possible.. because of high dollar rate.. where indigenous companies became severly disadvantaged
A software concern serving indian client could not compete with a software concern serving foreign clients, in giving salaries.
Finally, the revenue generated is actually collapsing our society and economy.. we will feel the consequence within few yrs
When a person accepts employment with another, that person subconsciously also accepts the ‘value system’ or lack thereof of the employer. The character of the person is then subconsciously transformed. The education system designed for the purpose of turning people into useful employees for empires also inculcates the ‘values’, or its lack, of the empire builders, which is then reinforced during employment. Such employees may later establish their own ‘value-less’ empires, as happened in India that went under the Congress Empire in 1947. Congress party was formed by britishers after the indian independence war of 1857, to pre-empt and subvert violent resistance against british rule. Later they culled that organisation of patriotic and nationalistic indians who had joined it, enlisted it in handling lower level administration prior to WWII, and then handed over power to these tutored employees, who have been managing the outpost of the empire with all the institutional structures established by the british intact, creating generations of indians, deracinated and useful employees for western empire.
The Worm turned
Meanwhile, Sanghi observes-
“It took nearly 200 years for the The Indian sepoy to decide that he was no longer willing to be a loyal soldier of the Company Bahadur. And the British Raj crumbled.”
The British Raj crumbled, but they had prepared for just this eventuality way back in 1885, when they formed the Congress Party. They transferred power to their tutored employees and ensured that this country will continue to serve their interests. It did, and have been doing that since then, often at a cost to its own interests- parts of Kashmir, Aksai Chin, were given away, Millions of Indians have been killed in violent incidents that continue unabated, Millions have starved to death, demographics is being changed by western cults of christianity, islam, communism and capitalism, yet the dynasty of tutored employees continue to serve western, and their own selfish interest, disinterested in taking effective action to protect the nation or its people.
“The day the worm turned, the British Raj ended. On February 18th 1946, the Indian Naval force, then the Royal Indian Navy raised the flag of independence. Colonial history calls it the Naval Ratings Mutiny – on February 18th 1946. Within 1 week, Britain decided to evacuate from India.”
In an economic sense such a decison means serving an alternate economic model. One that nurtures ethics and values. A system like the one that made Bharat the economic powerhouse of the world for millenniums prior to 1800 CE(Sanghi identifies it as based on the concept of shubh labh), yet was a part of the civilization that produced unparalleled fine arts, science, spiritual attainment and value system in society.
It requires re-discovering our traditional values and heritage, discarding the western value-less systems, re-building our systems and institutions rooted in sustainable values.
This requires courage, wisdom, conviction and strength. Do Indians have it in them ? They do, as do all beings.
Will Indians discover it ? Will the worm turn, this time to dislodge the foot on its back ?
Shri Senthil Raja commented in a previous blog–
“I think, we should not waste our time in explaining to those who say “Its individual wish to marry any one”.. …….
Instead of explaining things to them, which their closed mindset will never open up, we have to restrict ourselves in exposing their double standard, and moral hollowness…”
This blog is about what he refers to as “closed mindsets”, that may sometimes appear as “will never open up”.
When we plant a mango seed, it will grow up to produce mango fruit.
The seeds of thought that we plant in our mind grow up to produce their characteristic fruit.
If we plant propaganda material found in yellow rags masquerading as english language newspapers and TV news channels, our minds will produce fruits of that nature.
Take the case of the blogger here, who, having been schooled in a convent run by nuns, has apparently internalized the western colonialist propaganda of people of dark color being ignorant, less ‘developed’, lower in the ‘evolutionary’ ladder, which lie incidentally drives the skin-cream industry all over the world. So, when she blogs on the role of prejudices and narrow mindsets in shaping societal attitudes, she inadvertently reflects her internalized prejudices. Herself a colored person in western nomenclature, she portrays darker people as having narrower mindset and discriminatory attitude towards people of lighter shade in the exact pattern that colonialists used to caricature dark colored natives as ‘primitive’, ‘narrow minded’, ‘ignorant of world’ etc., and themselves, white people, being more ‘evolved’, ‘modern’ and ‘liberal’, whose burden it is to emancipate their darker brethren- which propaganda was then used to enslave, genocide, plunder and displace native people from Africa, America, Australia and Asia. She further displays western propensity to stifle criticisms and dissenting voices, by refusing to post a comment critical of that article, given below –
“Is it necessary to caricature blacks as evil … when it is they who have been plundered, enslaved, genocided and put in reservations by the whites…?
Indians traditionally respected black ‘krishna varna‘ more than white. eg., Sri Krishna, Sri Rama, Shiva bhagavan, Kali Ma, Draupadi, Arjuna, Krishna Dvaipayana (Vyasa) etc.
This article seems to follow the path of imperialists, that of demonizing people of color, caricaturing them as primitive, barbaric, childish, not evolved etc…
Disappointing, to put it mildly.
namaste“
Thus, the ideas and thoughts that we expose ourselves to, influences and shapes our thinking in subconscious ways- even in those cases when it is done with the purpose of countering those very ideas, as this blog reveals.
However, such displayed behavior does not necessarily mean that the people’s minds are closed. Poisonous trees growing in a field does not mean that the field is capable of producing fruits of that nature only.
It only means that some de-weeding is required, followed by planting of good seeds.
Still, planting of good seeds by itself does not guarantee that the harvest would be automatically good. Ravana’s mind was seeded with good thoughts by his father Vishravas, who taught him veda and shastra. Yet, the seeds of selfish aggrandizement inherent in Ravana outgrew and displaced those of the good thoughts planted by his father. A more recent example is that of Rajasekara a.k.a Nithyananda, who despite being exposed to veda shastras allowed selfish duplicitous thoughts to overtake sense of righteousness.
Due to samskara of our past, seeds of weed may be present in our minds, which germinate at times. Also, seeds of weed dispersed by wind may land from neighboring fields.
So the fields of our minds needs to be kept weed-free through constant vigilance, planted with healthy seeds after turning over the hardened crust of set prejudices, regularly irrigated by attention and insights and well exposed to rays of illuminating consciousness, in order to produce edible crop.
Our ancestors did so and produced the best of the crops as veda darshana shastra purana, which seeds are still with us. Do we prove to be true sons and daughters of the soil, worthy descendents of our ancestors, or bonded farmers who buy GM seeds from westerners, destroy ecology, perennially depending on westerners for future seeds of thought ?
Notes.
1. Certain fields have been planted with poisonous plants so heavily that the numerous seeds of poisonous weeds present in that soil make any decent cultivation very tough proposition. It may be advisable, in such cases, to leave the field barren for some period, regularly uprooting the germinating weeds, until the seeds present in the soil get depleted before planting new crops. For faster results it may be necessary to burn that soil with the fire of enquiry, or waterlog it by immersing it in deluge of knowledge, or upturn that soil, burying it so deep that the seeds cannot germinate, by undergoing life transforming experience.
2. Certain regions are not conducive to certain crops. While bharatam has very fertile fields that can grow most plant varieties, certain parts of the world are not so and it is almost futile to try and grow similar varieties of plants in those fields. Even if they are grown forcefully, with much effort, its produce won’t taste the same, though, limited success may be had in controlled environments using fabricated glasshouses.
3. It is also meaningful to remember that the seeds of thoughts- both good and bad, are originally not inherent to the soil, that these are introduced separately, which then grow up and produce their respective fruits; that the original nature of the soil is seedless, plant less, still, dormant, pervaded by rays of illuminating consciousness, moistened by insightful attention. That original nature, realized our ancestors, tat twam asi.
Madhu Kishwar wrote an article titled “A Question of Balance” regarding khap panchayat. Blogger Indyeah critiques it here . While this blog is an analysis of Indyeah’s article, it is actually the mindset that produces such articles that is attempted to be criticized here.
Quoting from Madhu Kishwar’s article- “No civilised society can sanction murder simply because some people claim a particular person brought them “dishonour”. Likewise, no civilised society can allow a small minority of self-appointed social reformers to decide arbitrarily which identities have sanctity and which must be banned out of existence through statist coercion“. Indyeah asks-
“When she(Madhu Kishwar) writes about NOT allowing a small minority of self appointed reformers to decide arbitrarily as to which identities should have sanctity , does she then also extend this reasoning to cover France’s burqa ban that she supports wholeheartedly? Why no emphasis by her on first finding a consensus among the Muslim society there? It was okay to have a small minority of self appointed reformers to decide on the burqa ban in France?”
The burkha is worn publicly in society and not just in muslim areas or just within muslim households, so it is a society matter. Banning it in France is the decision of that society. They have a right to decide how their society should be. Similarly khap also have a right to decide how their society or community should be. Madhu Kishwar is consistent on that point.
“Pull the Muslim women out of the medieval age she says or else they will be stuck there forever. Okay. One accepts she has a point there. (Though the word BAN is like this bone stuck in my throat). But why an about turn by her on the khap issue in India then? Why no calls for ‘pulling the community out of medieval age?”
A possible reason why the word ‘ban’ sticks in throat may be that in these times of political correctness bold actions and words are intimidatory to a PC, for whom words such as that are to be used only when the ‘minority’ community demands that it be used, to assuage its ‘hurt sentiments’ caused by some book or cartoon, not otherwise.
The blogger seems to have accepted that khaps are ‘medieval’, which means it is to be taken as ‘primitive’, ‘abhorrent’, and with an expiry date well in the past. In ‘modern’ ‘progressive’ society, to which that blogger belongs, it is the accepted norm that anything pasted with the label ‘medieval’ is to be condemned. She is following the general norm of this society- that of ‘calling a dog mad and killing it’. But in this blind attempt to label apples as oranges she misses the point that khap is a democratic system that works on consensus among its constituents, not something that claims legitimacy on the basis of what is claimed to be the ‘words of a god’ or prophet. It is a democratic system for governance at local level.
Wikipedia says about functioning of khap– “The Khap is a system of social administration and organization in the republics of Northwestern Indian states such as Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh since ancient times. Khap is a term for a social-political grouping and used in a geographical sense. Other parallel terms are Pal, Ganasangha, Janapada or republic. The concept of Khap is ancient; written references are found as far back as Rig Vedic times. … The Panchayat system is territorial and highly democratic. Every village has its own Panchayat. … All decisions are taken after open-hearing, full and voluntary expression of views and consensus vote. A number of villages grouped themselves into a Gohand, gohand actually means neighboring villages, a number of Gohands form a ‘Khap’“.
Steve Muhlberger, Associate Professor of History, Nipissing University writes about Democracy in Ancient India– “The experience of Ancient India with republicanism, if better known, would by itself make democracy seem less of a freakish development, and help dispel the common idea that the very concept of democracy is specifically “Western”.”
There is a major difference between respecting democratic traditions that foster self-sufficiency, as in the case of khap, and imposing dehumanising edicts claimed to be coming from ‘god’, as in the case of certain islamic injunctions. The blogger fails to discern this.
“A ban in France would have been fine HAD the Muslim population, specifically the Muslim WOMEN been asked . Had there been a poll. The democratic consensus that Ms Kishwar writes about here.”
The decision in France is taken by a democratically elected government. The blogger forgets that fact in her eagerness to bestow upon ‘muslim population’ the decisive rights on what society should accept.
This is also a pointer to the the mindset created in india by the ‘intellectuals’ and ‘academicians’. A mindset that wants muslims to have first claim on nation’s resources, unmindful that this was the policy of ‘medieval’ muslim marauders! The mindset that causes a PM to lose his sleep thinking about the plight of the family of one muslim suspected for ties to Glasgow bomber, the same PM apparently does not lose any sleep over the plight of the families of thousands of Indian soldiers and paramilitary being mudered in the hands of muslim terrorists in Kashmir.
This mindset is what Babar and Aurangazeb imposed, that muslims are superior, and the rest, inferior ‘dhimmis’, who should pay jizya. The ‘intellectuals’ of today apparently do not recognize their own such ‘medieval’ mindset!
“Seems like the kindergarten example of ‘If you wont agree to the rules, even I won’t’. ‘Other’ religious minorities show no inclination to be part of a consensus on UCC, writes Madhu Kishwar and therefore Ms Kishwar argues even Khaps should be allowed to have their own personal laws.”
While the blogger bestowed upon the ‘minority’ muslim population the right to decide how society should be, she refuses to extend to the majority even the privileges that are given to such ‘minorities’, lest it be ‘kindergartenish’. This is the convoluted conception of ‘equality’ in ‘modern’ times.
“If in future, as Madhu writes, Khap Panchayats will give freedom to any couple that wants to get married under the Special Marriage Act, then where is that freedom now? Why the demand for amendment in the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA) ? An individual would like to use the Special Marriage Act to get married to the person of his/her choice IF there are certain obstacles in the way . But to FIRST CREATE an obstacle(the proposed amendment) and THEN say that oh! you have the Special Marriage Act for your benefit??? Absurd in the extreme!”
The proposed amendment in Hindu Marriage Act is required to legitimize the existing, accepted, norm in Jat society of Haryana. Those who want to opt out of those norms are free to do so using Special Marriage Act. Only, they will then be opting to forgo ties with the community. The proposed amendment is necessary to protect the community from any future claims made by such people upon inheritance or relationship.
“After all, the whole issue is about choice. Two individuals want to get married to each other and the khap panchayats citing age old tradition don’t allow them to do so.”
Choice making is not the sole right of those two individuals. The people who remain in the community also have the right to choose whether they want people who violate their norms to remain in their midst.
“So the couple escapes(or tries to) and is killed before or after getting married. Depends on when the Khap panchayats catch hold of them. And it is named ‘Honour’ killing . Just exactly whose ‘honour’ it is, is yet to be determined.“
Khap is not limited to the people who did the murder, or the people who instigated that murder. There are numerous khaps all over Haryana, Rajasthan and UP. To use one off incident to tarnish the entire people is absolutely incorrect and unjustified.
This type of focusing on one incident committed by few individuals and to denounce the entire community for that incident is typical behaviour of ‘intellectuals’.
They deliberately refuse to see that ‘hindus’ are not limited to the people who pushed widows into a funeral pyre. They are not just the people who burned ‘dalits’. Not just the people who brought down a dilapidated structure built over a temple in Ayodhya, not just the people who were convicted for riots in Gujarat. Focusing on only these acts and to label ‘hindus’ accordingly is the proclivity of present day ‘intellectuals’ and ‘media personalities’. Interestingly they reverse the process when ‘minorities’ are involved, while they focus on the few bad apples among what they call ‘majority’ community, they overlook the overwhelmingly numerous bad apples of ‘minority’ community produced by a polluting theology. Then they ascribe terrorist acts by muslims and christians as ‘reaction againt the fascist oppression by hindus’.
This behaviour may be traced partly to the fear instilled in some sections of society by past tyrants like Aurangazeb and their present day successors who vociferously and sometimes physically assault critics, and partly due to the macaulayite indoctrination imposed by british, euphemistically called ‘education’, that indoctrinates people that they and their culture are worthless. So between the likes of Aurangazeb, Macaulay and their successors, the ‘intelligensia’ finds relief in self-flagellation and attempts to portray themselves as ‘modern’ and to condemn every practice of their ancient culture as ‘medieval’.
“So khap panchayats that don’t allow two individuals to get married now will ‘allow’ or ‘give the choice’ to their sons and daughters to do so in the future? After the amendment? Apparently Ms Kishwar thinks so. She seems to think that once the amendment is made, Khap Panchayats will undergo a change of heart and will agree like little kittens to any wish of their children to marry within gotra. And that they will lose their bloodthirsty tendency. If according to Ms Kishwar, Clan or family members of such rebels have the right to disown and disinherit such persons but cannot be given the right to hound them to death, then why are the clan members not already doing so ? They need an amendment to change their heart? But wait! The proposed amendment is EXACTLY what the khap Panchayats want so WHY would they become all docile AFTER their wish has been granted???”
The amendment, as said before, will protect the khap community and its properties from any lawful claims upon it with regard to inheritance or relationship by people who do not conform to its laws.
The mention of ‘docility’ indirectly points to the crux of the issue. It is the stand taken by khaps claiming the right to decide for themselves, the right to independent thought, the right to continue their traditions, that is troubling the blogger.
Those who have surrendered their rights to independent opinion to ‘intellectuals’ and media personalities feel agitated to see people they consider as ‘uneducated’ claiming that right. They want to teach their ‘inferiors’ a lesson in ‘modernity’. They feel insecure to find Madhu Kishwar championing such cause.
They want khap to be docile like they themselves are, to the overbearing self appointed ‘reformers’, who are in turn docile followers of their western overlords and paymasters.
Insinuating ‘bloodthirstiness’ on khap is similar to the way native americans were caricatured in that manner before exterminating them and grabbing their lands.
The last question in the quote above expresses their subconscious fear that khap may not become docile even in the future, and therefore need to be stifled, gagged, labelled and exterminated right now, in a pattern similar to how independent aspirations of native people were subjugated or subverted by colonialists in the past to prevent any possibility of rebellion or insubordination.
“There are many communities that are still outside that all important sphere called education and are still stuck in a medieval mindset. So are they to be allowed to do what they want?”
The ‘all important sphere of education’! The same that converted these people into coconuts (as defined by Richard Crasta in ‘Impressing the Whites’) and brown sahibas and sepoys, that which makes them members of the club of ‘modern’ and ‘progressives’! How can these people allow those who do not belong to this club to do what they want ? Only club members have decision making powers. Like in the ‘good’ old colonial days- (traditional)indians and dogs not allowed in the club.
“There are many communities that are holding on to certain questionable practices even now. If one extends Ms Kishwar’s arguments regarding ‘preservation of tradition’ vis a vis the khap panchayats to other ‘traditions’ of other communities as well then where will it lead us?”
Any practice that is not sanctioned by the high divas of modernity is of course ‘questionable’ and condemnable! Everybody should owe allegience to the god of ‘modernity’ that these people are believers of, all non-believers are denied right to existence like in those medieval times that these people ironically claims to condemn.
India, by reviving its valuable traditions would gain self-respect, be able to function on its own terms, having its own concepts, devolving power to local units, allowing diversity of thought and practices in democratic manner- like how it was before the marauders from west came here with their monotheistic mandrax. But if that happens, these ‘progressives’ and their god of ‘modernity’ would be rendered powerless. That agitates their minds.
“Where does one draw the line in giving communities the power to choose which traditions they want to keep and which ones they want to discard? Those youngsters who are dying for simply making a choice are also a part of this very same community right?”
Devolving power, giving independence of thought to others, is anathema to followers of monotheistic religions. It is this fear that motivates the blogger to think of drawing lines to keep others confined within.
Citing one example of ‘dying youngsters’ is a rehash of the tactic used by colonialists and missionaries to caricature natives as imbeciles, unable to think and act for themselves and needing the guidance from their ‘masters’, based on select incidents.
“HOW will these communities EVER come out of the old mindset? When will they advance on the path to progressive thinking? A vicious circle again? “
The plaintive cry apparently is- When will these communities join my club, and stop becoming a threat to my religion of ‘modernity’ and ‘progressiveness’ ?
“As a commentor writes in response to Ms Kishwar’s column, ‘For, the constitution not only lays down the framework of governance, but also expects the state to perform a pivotal role while facilitating Indian society’s forward movement towards meaningful social change'”
The man made document ‘Constitution’ is now being attempted to be used to justify depriving the rights of individual communities using state power, much in the same manner claims in bible were used to justify colonialism at one time.
‘And sometimes scattered young voices calling out for change and dying for it speak more loudly than that of a collective Khap Panchayat. But only to those who want to hear.’
Drama is a favorite of these ‘modernists’. They instictively slip into that mode. These people straining to hear the scattered voices of ‘dying youths’ are of course STONE DEAF to the cries of the majority. After all, they are indoctrinated to consider that only ‘minorities’ have rights!
“Madhu Kishwar’s arguments are shaky at best. If there is a more logical presentation of facts one might feel compelled to listen. Not so the case here.“
The arguments put forth by the blogger are shameful at best, being mere copies of western colonial propaganda, duplicitous and subversive otherwise.
The blogger’s critique of Madhu Kishwar comes across as more of an instinctive reponse rather than a studied one, for if she had cared to study khaps, she may realize that it is a democratic system, actually much more beneficial than the centralised government that we have now. Instead she seems to have merely followed the line laid out by ‘intelligensia’ and media.
What is instructive is the way this instinctive response of a person whose thinking is obviously moulded by english language newspapers and TV channels reveals uncanny resemblance to colonial ideas.
It reveals the depth to which colonial thought has penetrated ‘english speaking society’ of ‘modern progressives’, a society composed of ‘coconuts’, brown sahibas and other sepoys of western empire.
When will these people gain independence from their colonial mindsets ? Do they even seek it, or are they like the Uncle Toms and house niggers of yore, content in their present state, having internalised the indoctrinations of present day colonialists, blind to the shackles on their mind and intellect, programmed to come out with responses such as these whenever any serious issue comes up.
The ongoing debate on khap is also a part of the debate over centralized, homogenized, globalized society that ‘modern’ people attempts to create on the lines of monotheistic western thought as against the diversity respecting localized society that Indic culture fosters.
Elsewhere, on khap–
http://psenthilraja.wordpress.com/2010/06/13/khap-democracy-and-vote-democracy-a-comparison/
Gandhi: A True Sepoy
In the book “Gandhi: A True Mahatma ?“, author Agneya unravels the extent to which Gandhi was influenced by british indoctrination and christian propaganda. Gandhi stands revealed as a christian in all but name- christian in the sense of a person who has internalised the propaganda spread by church that ‘suffering’ and subservience to dogmas of New Testament is sole path to god’s blessings. He is also revealed as a person who is convinced about the superiority of the british and, by extension, as their being the rightful administrators over other people including Indians. Having internalised church propaganda and convinced about superiority of british, he ventured to spread these ideas among indians, surreptitiously, while taking the name of Sri Rama, Sri Krishna and in the pretext of being inspired by bhagavad gita, all of which are known to have powerful influence over indians. Gandhi is therefore revealed as a sepoy of the Western Empire, engaged in the act of converting his countrymen into subservient sepoys of empire like himself. Western Empire here refers to the aggrandizing empire building behaviour of the Romans that saw them conquering lands and enslaving people, which trait was displayed by the Church engaged in expanding and converting people into sheeps, by Islam plundering and enslaving people for the Caliphate, by various capitalists such as East India Companies and Hudson Bay Company looting other lands, paving way for colonialism, and by communists unleashing class war to usurp dictatorial power. This trait saw these people make use of any opportunity, be it religion, science, anthropology, history or linguistics, as tools for subjugating people, both physically and mentally. Their biggest victory is in converting other people into being their slaves, getting them to become a part of the empire, as a sepoy.
The usefulness of a sepoy is in his not being identified as a slave of the empire. Taking the name of Sri Rama, Sri Krishna and bhagavad gita helped Gandhi in maintaining the illusion of working in the interest of bharatiya samskriti. This then enabled him to play the role of spokesperson for India, thus furthering the interest of the empire.
The role played by Gandhi then provides lessons today regarding how subversion could be achieved intentionally or even subconsciously, how a person convinced that one particular path is the correct one- in Gandhi’s case, the path of suffering, assumedly shown by Jesus -then engages in converting people into becoming a part of the western empire.
How many such people are there nowadays, influenced by the western propaganda, sepoys of the empire themselves, perhaps unable to recognize themselves as such, yet enjoying the power and pelf provided by the empire, venture to become spokesperson or activist for the ‘native’, but inevitably foster the interest of the empire ?
Tools of the Empire
In the course of history, western empire has used many tools for aggrandizement, viz., Roman imperialism, Catholic Church and its many offshoots, Islam, Capitalism, Colonialism, Communism, Nazism, Fascism, Racism, Nationalism etc. Today the western empire uses ‘capitalism’ as its primary tool. This was the tool that was intrumental in bringing about colonialism through East India Company, Hudson Bay Company etc. It accords paramountcy to materials and provide unbridled avenue for expressing greed. The enormous damage that this tool wrecks on environment is unmatched. It also severely damages the mind of people, converting them into materialistic zombies, white collared and blue collared labourers, automations, who act on cues.
Modern Sepoys
Many of the present day sepoys of the empire view the other tools as detrimental to ‘humanity’ and capitalism as ‘harbringer of development and modernity’. These people are vociferous in their criticism of other tools, but are blind-sided to the enormous damage that capitalism wrecks on ‘humanity’. They are, like all converted people, unable to see alternatives beyond what they are indoctrinated. So they see as possible alternative only the other tools of the empire. When some of them recognize alternative in indigenous traditions, they are eager to make such alternatives part of the empire.
Even when they are seen as arguing against the empire, they are actually only working for the empire, to make space for the ‘others’- the indigenous group they belong to, in the empire, to consolidate the merger with the empire. Though, in their influenced state of mind some of them may not realise it is so, and some others merely try to convince themselves that such is the best course.
Possible examples of such behaviour- An eminent ‘hindu’, in his varied criticism of the west consistently fails to identify or prosecute ‘capitalism’. A ‘nationalist hindu’ feels disturbed upon seeing criticism of capitalistic ideas and ventures to put up straw man arguments. An internet hindu interested in India’s development considers ‘progress of civilization’ on western terms.
Mutiny
Sustainable future lie in not spreading the aggrandizing rapacious empire. It lies in seeing the true nature of this empire, the various tools that it uses to gain its ends, the way in which it develops or appropriates new tools as it comes up against opposition, its insatiable appetite and attachment to material objects. It lies in growing out of the indoctrinations inculturated by the empire, to view it critically and to prosecute it. It is also inevitably linked to realizing the true purpose of life and knowledge of self, the central objectives of bharatiya samskriti.
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