Arabian Dreams

British rulers had a dream and they realized it through their East India Company. But the sun that never set in their British Raj had to finally set. In similar lines, most of the Arab nations have started dreaming about an empire of theirs where the sun will never set. And they have unleashed grandiose plans with the help of several companies trading in Oil & Gas to realize their dreams. Our dependence on these nations for our vital fuel needs has reached unbelievable levels that many economies are at the complete mercy of these Arabs. Ambition of Kings, Emirs and Sultans in the Arabian peninsula has also soared to unrealistic levels thanks to the unexpected levels of prosperity achieved in the last few decades. People from all over the world are flocking to the Middle East for making some quick buck and the very sight of first class Blacks, Whites and Browns waiting to take orders from even third rate Arabs have mesmerized many of them. An Arabian empire stretching from Europe in the West to Japan in the East has begun to look attainable for the Arab rulers, especially the Saudi Arabians.

Though the very concept of colonization has undergone vast changes since the decline of British Raj, the underlying attitude of colonizers remains the same. It is not for money alone that colonization is dreamt of, but for the pleasure of suzerainty over the entire world. And now there is the additional connotation of attaining religious superiority through evangelization or establishing a world-wide Ummah. But everything about colonization will boil down to ultimately two factors viz. mentality and money. The foremost requirement for subjugating others without any provocation and deriving pleasure out of their misery is the crux of colonization. Flush with funds and ambitious beyond their capabilities, Arabs are spearheading colonization in the West and East with an unseen frenzy. They have already identified two fool-proof weapons, which they think can rocket them into their desired orbit of supremacy over the entire world. The two deadly weapons are Jihadi Terrorism and Sharia-based Banking.

Jihadi Terrorism

Once it was purely physical manpower that determined colonial victories. Then it became the quantity of gun powder at your disposal. And now it is a combination of so many resources that can make or break any attempt to colonize. As the primary weapon of the new colonizers, Jihadi Terrorism fits the bill in all respects. It can get the best out of a warrior spearheading colonization and at the same time generate the worst fears in the victims. A substantial part of the non-Muslim world is non-violent and very vulnerable to physical assault. Hindu and Budhist nations of the world are overwhelmingly peace loving, and their hesitance for bloodshed has weakened them. The cultural importance of non-violence in these religions has made them very much vulnerable when they confront terrorists. Vulnerability of India and Indians whenever it comes under attack is the best proof for this. The recent slaughter in Mumbai showcased our vulnerability to the entire world. The simple fact that there is no bomb blast or terrorist attack anywhere in the Arabian peninsula completes our understanding of the Arab plot.

If not anything else, the prosperity generated from oil wealth have made the Arabs very clever. More than anyone else, the Arab rulers know that it is very difficult to get any Arab to become a Jihadi warrior to fight for the realization of their dreams. They have cleverly identified the poor and impoverished Muslim nations as the best bet for them. Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afganistan have been identified as the best choices for unlimited supply of Jihadi warriors. By clever invocation of religion they have succeeded in putting brothers against brothers in the South Asian subcontinent. It is very easy to make a Jihadi out of a Pakistani or an Afgan or a Bangladeshi by a few weeks of brain-washing and throwing a few petro-dollars. The role played by gun powder in the earlier stories of colonization is being played well by the poor and illiterate Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Afgans now. In addition, the Arabs have also roped in many of their co-religionists within US, Europe and India to provide the ground support for the onward march of Jihadi terrorists fighting for an Arabian empire.

Islamic Banking

If Jihadi Terrorism is the physical aspect of the ongoing campaign for an Arabian empire, Sharia-based Banking systems are its complementary soft weapon. Most of the Arab rulers are far richer than their own nations. The concept of Islamic Banking is a clever bye-product of their conspiracy to keep their riches unattached to their national wealth. The poor people in these Arab nations do not know that they will be left with nothing in the event of a regional catastrophe. The mushrooming Sovereign Wealth Funds, Charity Funds and Islamic variants of financial institutions are nothing but a camouflage to provide funding for colonization efforts of these rulers. When millions of common Arabs are still poor, it is difficult to justify diversion of national funds to fuel Jihadi Terrorism and these new type institutions provide the best option to hide them under a religious carpet.

Disparity of wealth is highest in the Arabian peninsula and ever since the advent of oil money it has become much more wider. Rich Arabs have grown more rich and the poor ones are fully at the mercy of their charity. And there are many surprises if we analyse details of the investments made by the top 100 richest Arabs, which includes many of their rulers in their individual capacity. Invariably a major part of their investment is outside their own countries, either in US or Europe or some other greener pastures. There can be many reasons for this. Many of them do not trust their own countries and wants to get the best returns for their money from outside investments (not Islamic Banks). And much more importantly it can be as part of a larger design to help with their colonization efforts. Custodians of holy places and dispensers of charity are the very same who are sponsoring terrorism and trying to make strategic investments all over the world.

Whatever be the current proclamations and postures of these Arab nations, we must not forget the fact the latest attempt to establish an ultra-puritan Islamic form of government viz. Taliban in Afganistan, was promoted, recognized and supported by only three other countries in the world. They were Saudi Arabia, UAE and Pakistan. Without an iota of doubt, it shows the clear intentions of the rulers in these nations to establish a new world order fully controlled by Arab Islamic forces. In other words, the attempt is only to create an Arabian empire under the rule of Saudi Arabia emperors by virtue of their position as custodians of the holy centres of Islam. But for their haste in attempting the 9/11 episode a bit prematurely, they would have cleared much more ground by now. The civilized world must thank God for getting a preview of the impending peril and do all it can to avoid such a catastrophe. It will be good for everyone to remember that Theocratic Monarchy, Kafir-Killing and Slavery will be the guiding principles of any such Arabian empire.

Indian USP

Current fears about a sudden global recession looks highly suspicious and only the next few months will prove whether it was all stage managed for the elections in USA. Ordinary Americans are so much insulated from anything other than money that only talks about an impending economic crisis could have influenced their choice in an election. Ordinary Americans are always bothered about their money and with expenditures far in excess of income, they are always vulnerable to the health of their finance providers who are thriving on speculative markets. It is quite possible that someone who wanted a change of guard at the White House could have triggered a false alarm in the Wall Street for a brief commotion.

But the on-going fear about impending global recession provides a credible opportunity for looking at the health of our own institutions and the options available to us to avoid such scenarios again. Each country has to develop its own USP (Unique Socio-economic Panacea) to ensure a glorious future. Sustainable development is the key word in today’s world and it is the secret of stability in all spheres. In India, we had always stressed on considering the dharma aspect of our actions. And it is this very same dharma that we call as sustainability in current parlance. The one and only way to test whether an individual’s or nation’s action or policy is contributing towards sustainability is to ascertain about its dharma. If it is dharmic it will, otherwise it will not. If all the aspects of governance by a government are dharmic then the country will be stable and its economy will not be vulnerable to man-made problems. We will have to fear only the vagaries of Nature.

For anyone looking for sustainable actions that would guarantee progress of India (or any nation), the first and foremost point to note is that social and economic aspects are inter-related and not divorceable. We cannot achieve economic stability without ensuring social justice. Until and unless all sections of the society are assured of their basic minimum requirements (economic, social and now security also) no nation can step into the next phase of accelerated development and progress. Sixty years after liberation from the British, India is still languishing in this pre-phase, waiting for a break. Religions are India’s forte and religions are India’s bane. India cannot progress any further until there is concerted action to make a truly secular polity emerge and sustainable economic policies are adopted. The minimum requirements for emergence of a truly secular and sustainable Indian nation are the following:-

Reservation benefits only on the basis of economic aspects

For the last sixty years we have been spending great amounts of money for the development of Adivasis and SC/ST sections of our population. There are improvements but it is limited to pockets within these target groups. The only reason for this unwanted result is cornering of benefits by those who have already availed them. If the basis of dispensing benefits under any reservation (which can be only for a specific caste or group or section) is purely based on economic criteria the results will be spread out and far more effective in very short time. Thus the basis of reservation can be anything as the government wants but the basis of dispensing benefits under the scheme must be only economic. The target must always be on the poorer sections in any target group.

Only public schools and no religious education till the age of 15

Catch them young is the key word for progress and development of a nation. In India more effort is made on making each child proud of their religion than about their nation. Religion, God and Spirituality makes no sense to any child anywhere in the world. It is wastage of our time and their time to lecture about spirituality to anyone below the age of 15. Instead of making efforts for development of their physique and human values, millions are spent on brain-washing them about the form, size and nature of God. All unwanted aspects of their religion get embedded into those tiny minds at a very young age. In contrast, we need only far less money to educate all of them in public schools where they will learn to be good humans first, good Indians next and good religious followers later on in their lives.

Common civil code for marriages and family planning

I am making this suggestion fully aware of the fact that there are very big objections to enforcement of a common civil code in India. But a simple common civil code covering only marriage and family planning is a must for an overpopulated nation like us to reach for progress. If the population is uncontrolled India can never achieve prosperity whatever be our GDP growth and other achievements. The denominator has to be controlled and a common law for marriage and family planning is the least that all Indians can agree upon to achieve zero-population growth soon.

No profit in retail banking sector

Friendly retail banks in the neighbourhood are the only financial institution we need for most of our transactions. This is true of 90% of Indians. The fact that most of these banks fall in the government sector is a great relief for India during any financial crisis. But an unwanted and unnecessary tendency that has been developing in the case of such vital institutions is the suicidal race for making profits year after year. Banks must concentrate on promoting savings and provide loans to all those who require. They must always operate on no-profit and no-loss basis. Efficiency of retail banks must be measured on how much savings they have promoted and how much loans they have disbursed and re-collected.

Complete ban on religious conversion

India is a democracy and will remains so for ever. Power in a democracy is purely based on numbers and no section of the society will like and allow deliberate and calculated attempts to alter the status. What the Church is attempting to do in India is exactly this. As the upper strata of the Christian society in India is developing and getting richer day by day the emphasis and efforts are going into development of their religion and not on spirituality. Those who have climbed above the prosperity line (like poverty line) are not recognizing their social responsibility towards those stranded below the poverty line. Instead the attempt is to increase the numbers and capture power.

If these five changes are introduced now, India will truly become a super power by 2020. They form the corner stones of an Indian USP. It will no longer be dependent on bail-out plans and adversely affected by melt-downs in foreign countries. The billion strong human resources can become the real asset for a nation and civilisation that has survived all forms of conquests and attacks. No financial or economic crisis can affect a nation of billion strong contended humans. In fact this is applicable for all nations in this world. What is standing between mankind and complete eradication of poverty & misery is human greed and the lone villain of religious overdose.

Saintific Harvest

The overzealous secular media in India is doing a great disservice to Christianity by harping on mythology that Christianity in India is two thousand years old. Even Vatican has not made such a claim because there is absolutely no historical evidence about it. Interesting fiction about Saint Thomas coming to Kerala and his interactions with the Kings and Namboothiris (Kerala Brahmins) are all very good stories to read. Even his escapades in Madras and martyred burial in Thomas Mount make very good bedtime stories for kids but lacks any sort of historical evidence. For those familiar with the terrain and social setup in Kerala in the heydays of Namboothiris, the stories about one Arab national challenging and changing their religion can be termed as nothing but preposterous. The story about Saint Thomas is nothing but a clever ploy of some Indian Christians to score over their cousins in Europe – a joke that has become serious.

The apex hierarchy of Christianity in Vatican knows this more than anyone else. The simple fact that only very few Indians opted for Christianity in the period preceding the colonial era of Portuguese, Dutch, French and the British, clearly shows lack of appeal of the new religion for the Indians. But the picture changed with the advent of Europeans and much more after India declared itself independent with a secular democratic constitution. Unlike those in the African continent, Indians had their own religions from time immemorial and the new religion of the Europeans never made any appeal to them. Aggressive marketing and coercing could make some impact when the rulers were White. But that too has changed and accelerated efforts are proving counter productive. Vatican has realized that time has come for a more systematic attempt to garner more souls. Hence the new trick of ‘saint’ific harvesting.

Hollow Hallows

Everything about the organized religion is alien to Indians. We worship Nature and see the element of God in everything. But if someone says that God is someone like us sitting in heaven and he made all of us, and that he is monitoring all our activities for reward and punishment, we can only laugh at them. If they still insist that we must join them in their prayers we will. For Indians who could think of millions of forms of God for ease in worship adding a couple of new forms is not a difficult exercise. But when these fanatic missionaries in their misguided enthusiasm for harvest try to slander other religions and other beliefs which are well above their understanding capabilities, there will be reactions and retributions. Those who complain about such natural reactions have only themselves to blame. They are only harvesting what they are sowing.

Increasing failure to attract more and more people by the methods adopted so far has pushed Vatican into the saintific mode now. One helpless Indian nun has already made it and a few more Indian Saints are on their way in the beatification pipeline. The whole exercise is funny and devoid of any logic and conviction. How do we classify someone who has been sick all her life, who did not do any sort of social service nor display any extra-ordinary qualities during her lifetime as a saint fifty years after her death? The argument of divine intervention to work out miracles after one’s physical existence got over is nothing but ridiculous to anyone with minimum intelligence. Within a herd of devout followers it is not impossible to produce proof for any miracle. But for outsiders especially rational Indians most of the newly manufactured saints will have only hollow hallows around their heads.

Evil Intentions

The whole exercise would have been appreciated by the truly secular Indians if the intentions are noble. Knowing Vatican with all its stated and hidden objectives the danger that lies ahead for India and Indians is obvious. The whole idea of creating saints out of Indians is to camouflage the harvest with Indian saints as bait. The poor and vulnerable can be easily cornered into the harvest net if there are local signs in the paths leading to the faith trap. In a democratic country with unlimited freedom the possibilities of coercing or luring people to change faith by denigrating their current one or by supplying milk powder and rice are getting very much difficult. The new episode of manufacturing saints is only an innovative idea for continuing with the old conversion game.

Millions and millions of dollars have been pumped into India for various methods of religious conversion so far. If the money received so far by the various service organizations are distributed among the poor in India, the country’s poverty line would have faded out by now. The evil intentions of the church becomes very evident when we realize the fact that poverty and misery have increased manifold in African continent where the missionaries had a free run for over a century by now. With their simple beliefs and simple needs, the people in that continent led far more happy and contented lives. The same thing happened in Latin America where locals led a far more contented life before another clever ideological ploy of the church namely Liberation Theology wrecked havoc. The liberators have become dictators and poverty has become much more rampant.

All said and done, the ultimate objective of the harvesters is crystal clear – unhindered proselytization and capture power. The mindset of Indians has always been democratic and India shall remain a democratic nation forever. In a democracy it is the number of people that matters. The sole objective of harvesting souls (including the latest version of saintific harvest) is only to get more numbers under the organized banner for the ultimate capture of power. The declared objectives of service to poor and salvation for the individuals are only face saving declarations to hide the real intentions. Once the number is significant enough we can see the next phase of the game in the form of insurgency in Nagaland and Mizoram, and finally sedition as in East Timor. India is very much in focus for intensive religious conversion and the return of White rulers for loot and plunder once again.

Tri-Polar World

Mishaps or diseases are the ways of Nature for extermination of individuals. And world wars provide the same vehicle for destruction of an existing world order. In the absence of diseases and accidents, there will be too many people around. And without world wars the much needed periodic assessment and correction required in the case of isms will be absent. The highly imaginative and resourceful among humans are always in search of newer ideologies for betterment of humanity. Various socio-economic and religious options available in front of us are nothing but intellectual efforts of such people aimed at providing systematic frameworks for happy and healthy lives. And those who come to believe in each of them make up the contesting platoons that culminate in world wars. Now it is more than 50 years since the previous world war. Time is ripe enough for the next one.

Several ideologies have blossomed and assimilated followers in the last 50 years. The walls that used to separate social, economic and religious ideologies are fast disappearing. Each one of these ideological genres has conquered their ways into one another. Liberation Theology, Islamic Banking, Talibanism etc., are nothing but attempts by religions to conquer and control all aspects of our lives. Very soon our freedom to opt for vastly different ideologies in different realms of our lives will be curtailed. This is much different from olden days when we had option to be a Hindu or Muslim or Christian and yet profess Capitalism or Communism or Socialism. Success or failure of such attempts in ideological monopoly will depend on the credibility and support for the poles that represent them. In the tripolar world that is fast emerging, we need to be very careful while making our choice. And each one of us needs to make our choice very clear to our governments before the battle lines are drawn for the Third World War.

Pole Right

In today’s world the right pole is clearly and firmly under the leadership of USA. Its legendary liberalism that was weakening its leadership qualities has fast disappeared after the mortal jolt on 9/11. America’s war on terrorism is nothing but an enduring statement about its intentions to lead the world from the very front in the path of freedom, democracy and capitalism. It has got most of Europe in its fold but one can never be sure about it when the time comes for a final choice. Europeans have always been a confused and wavering lot regarding ideologies and more so regarding religious ones. Nothing has grown in their soil and everything has come to them from their colonies in Asia and Africa. From being a prime stronghold of the most organized religion it is now reeling under the onslaught of its cousin religion with its might of oil wealth. Arab businessmen and playboys have conquered even the ruling palaces of Europe. It is worth noting that all the wealthy Arabs are more interested in their investments in Europe than in their own countries.

But USA has no choice after the trailer show on 9/11. Any compromise with its internal security and ideological position will take the country to its end. Given its advantageous position in technology and military strength, USA has legitimately inherited the leadership of all those who desire freedom, democracy and liberal thoughts in this world. The onus of such a leadership is much more than that of a single nation and its citizens. A vast majority of all those who are educated and emancipated (from religious bigotry) in the entire world are looking up to USA irrespective of their geography and current ideological moorings. If USA fails in its responsibility, all the wonderful shades of liberal democratic thoughts that are blossoming in the minds of all liberal human beings will be shattered for ever. And that will be a great blow to the entire mankind for all times to come.

Poles Left

The vast space left when USSR fell has now been taken by two pseudo-leftist powers namely Russian Federation and People’s Republic of China. Though Russian Federation has officially abandoned Communism, remnants of the utopian past are still active and waiting for a chance to attempt the failed experiment once again. Haunting illusions about a glorious past and the huge stockpile of nuclear facilities is once again pushing the weak federation into a polar leader. Arch US baiters like Chavez and Castro are propping up the diffident leaders of a fragile setup as world leaders for their own purposes. These misguided leaders of puny nations who are relatively free from terrorist attacks of religious militants are only weakening the fight of entire mankind for freedom of thought and liberty for existence. Their selfish misadventures will prove very costly for their own countries in the long run. The terrorists have already misunderstood these nations as their friends and safe havens for them. And once they settle in, the consequence may prove disastrous.

The new polar star on the left horizon is none other than China. It has been a steady growth and their current position is no doubt achieved through dedication and hard work. As a nation, China has several advantages and its leaders have utilized all such peculiarities to its fullest potential to reach where they are today. Be it the advantages of a single race, religion and language or the pseudo-label of communism or the lack of civil liberties or the low cost of production thanks to rampant use of cheap labour in the form of political prisoners, Chinese leadership who are ruling with an iron fist have achieved an enviable status for the nation in the fastest time in human history. But there is a genuine apprehension among the international community that the Chinese bubble will burst soon and it will cause much damage before it will.

In the tripolar world that is emerging, the choice for India is crystal clear. Democratic and secular can side only with the right pole. Unlike our wasted decades with USSR under the banner of non-alignment, India must take its legitimate position as a leader nation in the right block. Though Indians possess all potential to become world leaders, India as a nation can never achieve that position in its present form. We have much more enemies within us than in the world outside. A multi-religious country can never become a world leader with a democratic and secular form of government in its formative years. This is cent percent true if all the world religions with their worldwide hierarchies and cross border brotherhoods are present and that too in substantial numbers. While siding with the right pole, India would be best advised to insist on specific guarantees from its partners in US and Europe against any support for any form of religious conversion in India.

TOaOTi ADVAITA

There are religions and religions, and there are philosophies and philosophies connected with them. Invariably all religious philosophies are centered around the concept of Ishwar. But has any seen this Ishwar? How can we see or feel Ishwar? I am sure there are no convincing answers to all such ‘inconvenient’ questions. Billions and billions of human beings have lived here in this planet before us and probably billions will follow us. Many divine personalities belonging to different regions, races and religions have claimed to have seen or felt or realized Ishwar, but none of them could show Ishwar to another individual. It is said that Swami Vivekananda once challenged Sage Ramakrishna Paramahamsa to show him Ishwar and the Sage could go as far as giving him a feel. Experiences of those who claim to have seen Ishwar vastly differ and even those who claim to have felt Ishwar’s presence have much varied experiences. One thing is very clear – that Ishwar has no permanent form nor feel.

The extent of knowledge about Ishwar is so very confusing that it is very difficult for ordinary humans to comprehend it easily. Many individuals have used this situation very cleverly to their own advantage. I am afraid most of the architects and inventors of newer and newer methods or ways to understand Ishwar fall into this category. More than making ordinary people understand about the real meaning of Ishwar, they have used the opportunity to create cults and beliefs that could help them attain power, both political and material. If we analyse the advent of any of the new religions carefully, we can never miss the truth that a major factor is struggle for or against a powerful state or ruler. Those who wanted to sustain or attain power used an enlightened individual as proxy to achieve their ambitions. That is why we find many religions have fallen after some time. Only the most organized could succeed, but that too would fall because the intentions are not to help people but to control them.

Axiomatic Advaita

There are several funny and illogical suggestions that have come to stay among the brain washed followers of organized religions. One such is the concept of Ishwar as someone who has a particular form. Many say that Ishwar is a gigantic version of humans and resembles us. Many more keep telling their followers Ishwar is closely watching our deeds (all six billion of us!). And that Ishwar rewards and punishes each one of us on the judgment day according to our thoughts and deeds. Their flights of imagination include heaven and hell as incentives and threats for blindly following the dictates of religious leaders. One look at these ideologies is more than enough to recognize the real intent and realize that it is definitely not salvation for the individuals. It is greed and thirst for power all the way. And a majority of terrorists are generated from these types of beliefs due to such inherent faults.

In sharp contrast, the concept of Advaita is like an open source code with no ownership. It is part and parcel of Sanatana Dharma, which has no beginning, end or author. There is nothing hidden and nothing that questions the innate rationality of human beings. If Ishwar is the one who has created and owns this incomprehensible universe, how can it be so simple as to resemble us and to bother about us. It is even ridiculous to believe that it will give us messages, warnings, rewards and punishments. It is even more absurd to think of Ishwar as something or someone different from everything in this universe. Logically and rationally it has to be something that is part of us and present in everything. And that is precisely what the ancient seers of India could conceptualize so convincingly thousands of years ago. Adi Sankara popularized the concept of Advaita and Einstein’s ‘objective reality’ is nothing different. Advaita answers all the questions of any rational human being who is enjoying absolute and unlimited freedom of thought.

Advantage Advaita

There are several advantages associated with the wonderful ideology of Advaita. Many of the modern and ultra-modern social concepts can stand on their own foot only if we can make all people realize the extent of uniformity and commonality in our make-up. Advaita is a great eye-opener in this regard. In many respects it is the legitimate forerunner for all the leftist ideologies in this world. The utopian concept of Socialism can make sense only when there is equality, fraternity and liberty among people. And that is exactly what the realization of Advaita brings about in all of us. Everything is made up of the same entity (let us call it Brahmons -http://www.pseudodictionary.com/brahmons) and just that simple understanding is enough to bring in equality and fraternity among human beings.

Another great advantage is the extent of anti-globalisation that is embedded in Advaita. Very often we feel disturbed at the shameless display of hypocrisy and double-standards exhibited by organized religions when they are denouncing the current evils of globalization and liberalization. They are opposing globalization fully hiding the fact that they are doing all dirty things to globalize their own religions. By uninhibited induced and coerced religious conversion, they are attempting to bring everyone under their concept of a single faith. But Advaita stands for the opposite of all these. Each one of us is made up of elements of God and we have God within us. Now it is upto to each one of us to device our own methods for its realization. There is no coercion and inducement. Each individual enjoys complete liberty in their spiritual pursuits. In fact Advaita gives us the freedom to develop our own religion and modify it as we go along.

The on-going CERN experiments are expected to unravel the mysteries of our universe much more with the help of solid scientific evidences. But for followers of Santana Dharma the end result is crystal clear. When a part of Brahman (Ishwar) is present in everything (and nothing) in this universe, the final result of any exploration into the mysteries of our universe is obvious – we will end up seeing a part of Brahman itself. And if ever we can reach such an infinite level of magnification, we will only see a sea of Brahmons floating around everywhere. And such a collection of Brahmons (or Ishwarons) is what we call as Brahman. Then we will realize that The One and Only Truth is (TOaOTi) Advaita.

Full Stop Conversion

It is quite ironic that one of the most vocal opponents of religious conversion in India was none other than Mahatma Gandhi and yet we do not have any effective law or system to prevent the illogical and immoral process of religious conversion. Foreign and local missionaries are still having a good time in India harvesting souls to increase their numbers. Scores of old and new factions of Christianity are vying with one another in getting more numbers into their fold. All patriotic Indians were stunned when a few years ago the then Pope, who is also the Head of State of another sovereign nation like India, declared during his visit to this country that they will target Indian sub-continent in the 21st century for organized harvest of souls. There was no official protest for this blatant violation of India’s sovereignty from any of India’s leaders or officials.

The same status continues even today. When the so-called Hindu Nationalistic party was in power at the centre we expected enactment of laws to put a full stop to the evil of religious conversion. But nothing happened. Many of our leaders are conveniently forgetting that we the people of India voluntarily opted for secularism and democracy with universal franchise in 1947. So it is of utmost importance that demography is maintained at the same level at all times. Otherwise both secularism and democracy will fail in no time. Religious conversion will alter the power equations in a democratic setup and this will destroy the concept of secularism that we proudly advocate. We should remember that Indian secularism is not merely keeping religion divorced from the State but giving equal respects for all religions. And that can be practiced only if all religions are given a level playground.

Uneven Playground

In a democratic and secular setup of more than one billion people and dozens of religions and religious factions, if a few of them are converting people and others are not doing so, the end results are obvious. Organised religions and religious factions will soon start bargaining with the political parties for favours, most often undue and unreasonable. When it is not succeeding, they will start creating political parties of their own. Political parties are the only vehicle to political power in a democracy and the organized religions know this more than anyone else. The degeneration of a secular democracy to a theocratic monarchy is not very difficult and we have seen this happening many times in the past. The least that should be done to protect our secularism is to introduce very tough hurdles to organized conversion of peoples’ faith.

Architects of Indian constitution had a lot of foresight into the potential challenges to our secular democracy from the various religious organizations. The simple fact that the term ‘minorities’ is not defined in Indian constitution is proof enough for this. It can be (and should be) a variable based on different parameters and can vary from state to state. But now we have come to a sorry state where some of the organized communities have anointed themselves as minorities forever and everywhere. Their agenda is only to enjoy the special privileges that are supposedly there in the constitution. But whatever be the special privileges in the constitution, it is definitely not for unhindered conversion of people’s religion. Religion is a very personal affair and must remain so if it is to be a meaningful exploration to reach God.

Targeting Adivasis

One of the poorest and impoverished groups of people who have borne the brunt of organized religious conversion is the Adivasis of India. They too are descendents of the original inhabitants of our nation but they have been very reluctant and slow in adapting to change with the times. Like the tribes in Africa they have their own version of customs, rituals and even Gods. These highly unorganized sections of Indian society are easy prey for the organized predators like Christian missionaries and ultra-left Communists. Not used to the deceptiveness of modern men and their organized isms, the Adivasis are lured en masse’ into believing that there is only one God and one religion. Their inborn innocence is manipulated by modern techniques of the conversion machinery to believe that they have been in hell all the while and Christianity is the only way to God.

The standard answer from any Christian missionary when caught red handed indulging in organized religious conversion is that they are only spreading the ‘suvisesham’ – good news. But they should be spreading the news (good or bad) to only those who want to hear it. In India, especially among the Adivasis, they are forcing the unwanted news into unwilling ears. It is time for Vatican and the whole world to understand one thing. If evangelization was the answer to all our problems, the African continent would have already become a paradise on earth. The Pope himself had admitted that they had targeted African continent in previous centuries. But what is its present condition? From cradle of mankind it has become the cradle of poverty, bloodshed and AIDS. As the enlightened ones among say now – “When missionaries came, they had Bible and we had land, and now we have Bible and they have taken our land”.

Religions are playing an excessively dangerous role in the lives of humans now. The organized ones are more determined than ever in globalization of their own religions. Each of them wants to convert every human into their religion and capture power in this world. Though alleviation of misery and salvation of souls are the declared objective of all religions, the real target of organized ones is power. All that the clergy and agents of God require is enjoinment of their power over the lives of followers. The whole organizational setup is meant only for that purpose. In countries like India where plurality, inclusion, religious freedom and freedom from religions are the very basis of our culture, these organized religions are like cancer and ulcer in our society. In the tri-polar world that is emerging, India is best advised to align itself with the American block but with the sole condition that any encouragement for religious conversion in India would be absolute taboo.

BRILLIANT BINDRA

So finally it has happened. It took more than a century for one of the oldest civilizations and most populous nations in the world to achieve its first individual gold medal at the Olympic Games. Abhinav Bindra has done India proud like no one else before. And in victory he looked cool, composed and confident, representing more of ancient Bharat than modern India. Achievements of wrestler and boxer Kumars are nothing less, but an Olympic Gold Medal for an individual item is what has eluded India for so long. India has done far better in group games than in individual sports so far. India had taken Olympic Gold Medals in Hockey many times and we could do satisfactorily well in a couple of other games too. From its virtual monopoly in Hockey, Indians have now come down to a stage of failing to even qualify for participation. And India has always been an utter failure in athletics. One Milkha Singh and one P.T. Usha are no great achievements for a colossal human resource of 1.2 billion human beings.

Our brilliant Bindra has broken that jinx and has ushered in a new era for his fellow countrymen by his own efforts. If we can learn from Bindra’s story and recognize the several lapses we have in our system, India can target at least a dozen medals in the next Olympics. In individual items India has produced only a handful of world-class sportsmen. Personally I can think of only a few individuals like Prakash Padukone, Geeth Sethi and Viswananthan Anand who can claim to have gone up to the very top of the world. Then we had so many others who were promising and very hopeful at times. Milkha Singh, Usha, Yohannan, Rathore, Kumars etc., can only be counted in that category. Their greatness definitely lies in their tremendous fight against all odds in India to reach where they were with a setup like that of ours. But in the case of Abhinav Bindra we can set aside all reservations because he shall remain forever as the first individual Olympic Gold Medalist for India.

Non-Playing Captains

The simple fact that the 60 member Indian contingent to Beijing Olympics had only a half of them actually participating in sports and games speaks chapters about Indian Sports. And the striking truth that Indian nation was represented by a petty politician (and not the President or Prime Minister) speaks volumes about the present pathetic condition of our great nation. In all countries, especially democratic ones, there is politics in sports and games. In a way it is unavoidable because sports & games involve human beings and all are political creatures. But non-playing hardcore politicians taking control of the leadership of almost all sports bodies is something that is seen only in India. Their leadership is good but inevitably they bring in dirty political maneuvers and manipulations into the games. During their tenures, it is very common these days to see very promising players turning into very nasty politicians. Politics seeps into everything and destroys the players and ultimately the game. Indian Hockey is the best example for this degeneration syndrome.

The main attraction for hardcore politicians is the money lying at the disposal of sports bodies. It is often the reluctance and inefficiency of good sports managers to handle such huge amounts of money that paves the way for non-playing entities to come in. And once these non-playing entities have come into the body of any sports organization, it is almost impossible to get them out. There are good things they bring about in the conduct of games but very few in the game itself. It is high time we started insulating core bodies in each games & sports from the negative influences of these non-playing captains. Politicians must be welcome in sports organizing bodies but not in the basic sports bodies meant for promotion of the sport. Indian Hockey Federation, BCCI, Indian Olympic Committee etc,, are all suffering from the bad influence of Indian politicians. All the unprofessionalism and greediness of Indian politicians have started showing in the dirty demeanor of many coaches and players. This was very much evident in Beijing also.

Greedy Claims

Some of Indian coaches have jumped the gun and started claiming all glory for themselves. All the self-generated media publicity by the coach of Abhinav Bindra was preposterous and premature. He should have claimed glory for himself and arranged all celebrations only after Mr. Bindra had publically acknowledged the efforts of his coach. Otherwise he is only a paid coach who has done his job. Coaches are paid professionals who are retained for training all those who are assigned to them. Much before Mr. Bindra even mentioned about his coach, the sunny trainer has attended several celebrations and got a cash reward declared by Kerala Government (for reasons best known to them). Here the stark comparison with Mr. Nambiar who took yeoman efforts in coaching and perfecting a village girl like Ms. P.T. Usha to the topmost level is highly revealing. All those who are following the media these days knows fully well that it is Abhinav’s father who needs to be complimented and not his coach who is retained by Government of India for training. At this rate even domestic servants at Bindra’s residence can lay their claims for the Olympic Gold Medal just because they have cooked for Abhinav and washed him!!

Another breed of Indians who were making a lot of claims during their journey to Beijing are now sulking. There was our lady long jumper (who has never ever crossed the 7-metre mark in her life) making all tall claims. She even crossed all limits of professional decency when she ridiculed the brilliant efforts of her predecessor Ms. P.T. Usha in the past. By such arrogant deeds she has spoiled her name and all the goodwill we had for her. After all the hullaballoo and media propaganda by her cronies, she painted a very pitiable picture by failing to even qualify. If she has fouled deliberately (which is very much possible because she knew she cannot make it anyway), the entire money spent on training her must be recovered from her. She and her coach (who is her husband himself) have been spending quite a lot of public money under the guise of training abroad. She should have remembered that these days the Olympic God Medals for long jump goes to those who can cross the 7-metre mark and there are atleast half a dozen contestants who can do it. Also, she should remember that ‘manoramic’ media propaganda by her ‘own’ supporters and burning candlesticks by a few Kerala Congress politicians will not get her anywhere in athletics. One can leap high and long only if one is on firm grounds and not floating on air.

Abhinav’s victory could not have come at a better time. Indian sports’ biggest bane is the game of Cricket and Indian Cricket is in utter shambles now. This is the right time to discontinue undue encouragements for cancerous Cricket and start promotion of real sports and games that are useful for human body, mind and spirit. Managers of Indian Sports must pick up from the glory of Abhinav’s medal and start preparing for the next major international event. The best in each field who have already proved their mettle must take charge of managing the game. If we again leave it to the dirty politicians and cheeky coaches to prepare our candidates we will only end up with many more lotus-eating long jumpers. If we want more of highly focused modern day Arjuns like Abhinav Bindra, now is the time to act.

Mafia Malayalam

Most dictionaries define Mafia as a close-knit or influential group of people who work together and protect one another's interests or the interests of a particular group. Though such a definition gives a less sinister image, the real Mafias are much more complex and dangerous than that. Those who make up a Mafia are generally devoid of any scruples, morality and sense of justice. If Italy was the land that gave a glorified identity to the Mafia gangs, the newly emerging rich among middle class is making India a fertile ground for development of ‘Mafiadoms’. The diversity of India in anything and everything is providing the right conditions for the formation of numerous Mafia groups in every field of human activity. As always Kerala is once again leading the country.

The God’s Own Country, as the tourism sector would like Kerala to become, is a curious mix of religions, ideologies and communities. Hinduism was once the dominant faith in the state, but it has been systematically relegated to the background now. It was always an uneven playground for the majority faith. Most of the land in Kerala once belonged to temples and all temples came under the control of government when the new rulers dawned in 1947. Then it became an unequal competition between the highly handicapped majority community and the rejuvenated and pampered other communities. Religious conversions flourished and the levers of power shifted to the firm hands of others in no time. The huge influx of foreign money has altered everything in Kerala now. It is nothing but a complex conglomerate of numerous Mafias, NGOs, GOs, political parties and community organizations. A little more about the dominant Mafias may be useful to some.
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Land Mafia

The most formidable of Mafias in Kerala is the Land Mafia. Their reach is unbelievable and depth is unfathomable. There is no exaggeration at all when some recent researchers concluded that tons of money (literally) are being pumped into the real estate business in Kerala every month. So many factors have contributed to the sudden spurt in land deals and the advent of Mafia gangs. With the bank interests dropping daily, the nouveau rich were looking for a sink when so many new projects got announced in Kerala. Some of the projects may never come and most of the projects that may take off will never get finished within our lifetimes. All landed people are rich on paper, but nobody can sell their land so easily now. Large scale transactions are inevitably handled by the Mafias. Irrespective of ownership, a few people decide on who is going to sell, who is going to buy and at what price. Huge influx of ISI fake currency has also boosted the buying power of a select few. The Land Mafia in Kerala scaled new heights recently when they succeeded in selling government land to the government itself at very high prices!!

Education Mafia

Education sector in Kerala is another fertile ground for Mafia operations. The unique concept of aided schools in Kerala, where government money is spent for salary and School Owner appoints the teachers, provide a remarkably attractive scenario for the Mafias. The situation got all the more attractive when the new horde of self-financing professional colleges also arrived on the scene. It is very interesting to note that 90% of these new ‘milch cows’ belong to the so-called minority communities. Though illegal, crores and crores of rupees are collected every year by way of capitation fees and most of them in this business have recovered their investment many times over by now. But one thing is very clear – that pure merit forms only about 10% of the overall factor that decides one’s admission into any of these self-financing (sic) professional colleges. The truth that ‘divine’ clergy forms an integral part of this Education Mafia shows the depths of degeneration that Kerala has fallen into.

Tourism Mafia

Tourism sector has always been a favourite grazing ground for the moneyed Mafia with foreign connections. Logically and logistically the tourist resorts provide the correct coverage and investment opportunity for the Mafia. This also provides a safe passage for the organized harvesters to indulge in religious conversion activities masquerading as tourists. Vast areas of forest land are being encroached everyday by a Mafia operating in this field under the guise of promotion of eco-tourism for earning foreign exchange for the nation. They operate in close collaboration with the agriculturists of commercial crops – a special category created (by the Mafia) for escaping the provisions of all types of Land Reforms Acts. Acres and acres of forest land are first leased out from the government for cultivation of commercial crops like cardamom and then diverted into tourism sector by illegal construction of buildings. The futile attempts by the incumbent government to reclaim such lands have been sabotaged within no time. And no government could stand up to this Mafia when it comes to facing the courts in the case of Cardamom Hill Reserves.

Population Mafia

The clever in any democracy knows that it is ultimately numbers that matters most. Once you have the numbers, power is just the next election away. Organised communities know how to make most out of their numbers (and consequent power) because the very basis of their organized religion is path to power. Working together as a Mafia towards increasing their population and projecting an image of co-operation with the government in their family planning efforts are the favourite tools of such people. The famed ‘accidental’ third-child among well educated Catholics in Kerala is the best example for this. Grabbing land from the hapless Adivasis by arranging organized migration is another technique of the population Mafia to establish themselves. Of late, their friends in the Health department have even started arranging sterilization camps for the Adivasis, so as to make it much easier for these encroaching migrants to take over the entire lands.

Media Mafia

Most Keralites suffer from an overdose of petty politics and almost everyone is afflicted with prejudices based on pre-conceived notions. In this land of colored channels and newspapers, the worst affected is the mass media. It is almost impossible to find any media professional who is really independent. Almost all senior journalists are fellow travelers of some known political or religious groups. Each news channel and newspaper has an agenda (other than pursuing truth) to attain and they tend to work together or against as a Mafia. It is very easy to identify and predict the news report by each reporter just by looking at his name, employer, location and attire. The only option in front of those who are looking for independent news & views is to draw up their own conclusions after listening to a couple of news channels with their known prejudices and leanings.

Minority Mafia

This is a unique breed of Mafia developing in recent times in this unique land of Mafias. The aim and objective of this new Mafia is continuous spotlight on the special rights for minorities in Indian constitution, permeating these privileges into all relevant & irrelevant fields as much as possible, taking anticipatory action to perpetuate these privileges forever and most importantly, putting the majority community in constant apology and defensive mode by reminding them about the ‘atrocities’ and ‘pogroms’ they are alleged to have committed in the past. India’s peculiar brand of secularism comes very handy for this Mafia in their activities. All religions are equal in India but followers of some religions enjoy special privileges as minorities. What a brilliant way to promote organized religious conversion and destroy everything that is Indian!!

The net effect of these multitude of Mafias on our civil society are the drastic fall in values and highlighting of wrong role models for the growing generations. Heroes are those who could become rich in no time following none of the established routes of struggle & hard work in education, employment or business. Heroes are those who can harm the majority and national interests by canvassing for condemnation by foreign friends for baseless allegations by malicious propaganda. Heroes are those who can compromise on national interests and creep in back door into the corridors of power. Mafias are posing a big challenge to Indian nation and it is worth spending a few minutes on this during the ensuing anniversary of our liberation from the Whites.

SOCIAL SINO-SHOCKS

The recent earthquake in the Sichuan province of China has been very devastating. Thousands of people lost their lives and the terrain has been mauled beyond any recognition. Rivers have changed course and dams have burst. Chinese army is struggling with a war like situation in peaceful times with no conventional enemy in sight. In many places damaged dams are being exploded with ammunition for avoiding greater catastrophes. Thousands of people have been rendered homeless in a country that is considered one of the galloping nations in the global development race. Once again, natural warnings are addressed to those who tend to take Nature for granted while charting out fast track courses for development. And the more divorced one is from natural logic the more severe would be the punishment.

In the all pervading trauma that follows any earthquake there are so many subtle aftershocks that can miss our notice. The devastating earthquake has exposed many basic errors in the social development measures that Chinese had highlighted to the whole world as their own unique ones, impossible for any others to imitate. There is no doubt that China is a special country and they have tremendous advantages as a nation with predominantly one race, one language and one religion. Yet when it comes to translating developmental goals into action in terms of reforms in the society the straight jacket systems can develop chinks. Disciplined people too can come across totally unexpected obstacles while working towards goals set up by their masters. The earthquake scenario in China has thrown up many such situations and we should take note of them for avoiding the same mistakes.

Single Child

One of the sad and striking stories that have emerged from the earthquake scene is about the number of Chinese villages that will be ‘people-less’ after a few years. Several schools have been destroyed and with them the single child from most of the households. It is now too late for many of the couples to compensate for their losses. They are proud citizens who were earnestly participating in the fast track growth of their nation. But suddenly they are at crossroads with nothing to look forward to. Nobody will take care of them in their old age and all their sacrifices are in vain. They heeded to the dictates of a tough regime for accelerating national progress but now they themselves have no future. Raw logic of economics and development has ruined their lives forever. They do not have anything left in this life and many do not believe in rebirths either.

China’s single child policy has been lauded by many as something that only Chinese could decide and implement. Population control is a must for accelerating the progress of any country and it is all the more important for overloaded ones like China and India. Yet when an ‘over-democratic’ country like India attempted to implement their two-child family planning program it was cleverly sabotaged by the organized communities. External and internal agencies worked overtime to use it as an opportunity to cheat the majority and accelerate their own population growth. Enough is enough and now India must learn from catastrophe in their neighborhoods. India must say good-bye to its two-child norm and relieve the majority community from the state-induced inhibition towards larger families. The Indian majority must multiply at a higher rate for the betterment of India in every sense.

Ubiquitous Dams

Building dams anywhere and everywhere is an easy option for irrigating an ever increasing requirement of agricultural land. Unlike in India, where each dam-building project is preceded by reasonable & unreasonable objections and intimidating mass movements, it is a much easier exercise to construct dams wherever required in China which is disciplined and under a strict dictatorial regime. The umpteen number of small, medium and massive dams in every province of China is a proof of this. Environmental and ecological impact assessments are not an essential step in their decision making process. The one and only objective is development for the Chinese nation and for Chinese people. And now we know what happens when the natural terrain is mutilated without any consideration for the sake of development. The natural reaction can be much more devastating than any terrorist attack.

A damaged dam is a much greater threat to the nearby areas than any river in full flood. Chinese army is working in full steam to demolish such damaged dams in dozens. And each demolished dam will give rise to a whole lot of new problems. The flow of river will take newer paths that will call for more rehabilitation of affected people. Thus thousands of people have been rendered homeless by the careless logic of ubiquitous irrigation dams and the entire advantage has been wiped out by one earthquake. It is true that China could meet the food requirement of their massive population much easier than India, but the way they have chosen is now questionable. Natural flow of rivers cannot be hampered just for the sake of irrigating more and more lands for food.

The overall message is now loud and clear. Natural resources, natural patterns and natural logic cannot be tampered with merely for achieving material progress and development. Due consideration has to be given to everything that is related to a natural system or process while attempting to harness it for unintended purposes. Population growth and food production are just two of those natural processes that cannot be manipulated with limited objectives. Nature has its own ways to limit the population and provide food for them. Man-made governments must design their national objectives in line with the natural objectives. And not only the two objectives must match but also the government measures must be subservient to those of the all powerful Nature. No ‘undefinism’ (http://www.pseudodictionary.com/undefinism) can ever overtake the natural pace of development and progress. Any apparent acceleration will always get corrected and that too in very violent fashions. India’s planners must learn from the social aftershocks of Chinese earthquakes.

MYTH OF COMPASSIONATE GOD

Concept of God is the very basis of every religion but it differs vastly between religions. As an integral part of our journey towards salvation, the different religions have defined God to be of different type and kind. There must be a concept of God in every religion and without it, everything about its beliefs and rituals would be meaningless. In all religions God is omnipotent and omnipresent. The difference lies in its other features. In some religions it is feminine and in some others it is masculine. In some it resembles humans and in some others it is quite unlike. In some it is of a particular form and in some others it is formless. And more interestingly, and of more consequence, God has definite characteristics in some that contradicts completely with those in others.

In today’s world, if one is religious it means that one is a follower of an existing established religion. And to be irreligious means that one does not believe in any of the existing religions. But this is not correct. Each one of those who are termed as irreligious may still have their own versions about God, unless of course one is an atheist. An ideal atheist must be one like Bertrand Russell who did not see any reason to believe in any form of God at any stage in his adult life (at least he said so). In a way atheism must also be considered a religion just like zero being considered a number. Perhaps Indian is the only civilization in the whole world which also accommodates true atheism as one of the means to realize God i.e. about its non-existence.

Proactive God

In many of the organized religions of the world, the concept of God is a proactive one. This is very clear from the well known expressions in everyday use among its followers. Most Compassionate God and Most Merciful God obviously refer to someone like us but with unlimited compassion and mercy towards the followers. And that our actions are always under the surveillance of God. Our goodness is rewarded and wrongness punished. But the questionable feature lies in the possibility of compassion or mercy for those who look for it following their ill deeds. To err is human but to look for an escape without any punishment is also equally human. It is this unfairness of humans that is most effectively and efficiently (mis)used by the designers of organised religions. And most people fall for such attractive gimmicks even when it relates to God.

In organized religions, God is considered an ever vigilant and efficient monitoring agency. Any form of monitoring leads to control and it is this remote control that is believed to keep Man in the right path. But what can happen if the control mechanism accommodates failures and adjusts for mistakes? The system will ultimately fail. The analogy of God with a vigilant but accommodative control system is an apt one. An ideal control system should severely punish deviations and reward compliance. And it should never allow any compromise with detected deviations lest wrong models become possible and wrong precedents would get set. The whole mechanism would collapse one day under the weight of accumulated wrongness. Unfortunately this is what happens in the case of followers of such wrong concepts of God.

Reactive God

In sharp contrast to the concept of a proactive God is the one with reactive features. This clearly means that either a reward or a punishment follows each one of our actions. A reactive God is normally dormant and becomes active only when an action takes place. It does not act of its own initiative but will only react to our actions. The concept of a reactive God fits in well with those of an independent fate or destiny. Each and every object in this universe has a purpose and follows a course of action. In the case of the animate we call this course as fate or destiny which they are born with. A reactive God will not have much role in the current status of any being but will only monitor and control the incremental effect negatively or positively based on the value of their actions.

The most rational way to explain fate and destiny as something we are born with is the theory of rebirths. Fate and destiny of anything animate at any point of time is on account of its accumulated karma from its earlier lives and deeds so far in the current life. The clear advantage in this concept of a reactive God is its unambiguous positive encouragement for anything good and punishment for any wrongdoings. If we can easily get away with our misdeeds by fooling an omnipotent & omnipresent God by playing on its compassion, it may be better not to have any God at all. God must be an all knowing and powerful yet impartial judge for all our doings at each and every moment in our lives. Eye for an eye must form the basis of natural justice dispensed by God.

As a rational being I consider it the solemn duty of each human being to think his or her own way through the concepts of God available in front of us. The concept of a compassionate or merciful God looks abhorrent to me personally. If I knowingly make a mistake I must be prepared for its punishment too. Those who think that the most benevolent, most merciful and most compassionate God would pardon or lower the punishment just because they are smart enough to repent in time and offer a confession are too ridiculous and cruel. Such a God could not have sustained life for so long in this world of struggle and competition. A purely reactive form of God that is tough, fair and just is the best one that appeals to me. Sinning must never go unpunished and if it is possible to escape the consequences of sin, then there is no God at all.

American ‘GOOD’s

US-bashing is the favourite pastime of almost half the world population now. Irrespective of their nationality, there are no exceptions among Mullahs and Moulavis as to their opinion about who is responsible for the evils of this world. It is undoubtedly USA and George Bush. Leftists have always insisted on their inherited conviction that USA represents capitalism and hence the most evil nation in the world. Then we have the increasing varied collection of moralists and activists of innumerous shades who are dead against USA, each for their own reasons and most such reasons contradicting between themselves. It is easy to understand the growing dislike for George Bush but very difficult to comprehend the reasons for hating a country like United States of America. True that their military strategy on war-on-terror and Middle East policy have gone pathetically wrong, but is there nothing good about America?

It is quite enlightening when we try to study the kind of people who enjoy hating USA for their own reasons and sometimes for reasons they are unaware. Ask any Islamic activist about where his close relative went or would go for a brain surgery? Ask any hardcore Leftist about where his bright son or daughter is studying or would like to study? Ask any US-bashing intellectual about where he would like his brightest theories to be presented? And ask any confirmed US-basher about from where he collected the materials for making a case against America. The most probable answer to all these questions is USA. Our next question would be on the obvious contradiction – of desiring a country about which you are spitting venom? None of these US-bashers would have an answer. Most of them are making the simple mistake of identifying a nation with a leader. USA is definitely not the worst country in the world today. It is in fact one of the best and brightest. It is still the best bet for the entire world to prevent World War III. Let us see some of the undeniable ‘good’s about America.

Paradise for Merit

In the world today, there can be no contest about the most encouraging environment for the meritorious. USA presents the best option for those with merit in any field. Be it science or technology or social sciences the best facilities and peer group are available in USA. It has not developed in a short span but has taken decades of accumulative efforts in attracting talent and nurturing them. Freedom for unhindered thought, resources for unlimited research and generous recognition for achievements are some of the key factors that have taken USA to where it is now. India had very similar setup during the Vedic period and we are aware of what it can achieve. In any society where merit is recognized the overall achievement of the whole will be disproportionately higher. What Indians knew well Americans put into practice and that has taken USA to the very top. The only comfort for India is the good number of Indians that have taken part in this journey.

Equal Opportunity for Unequals

The concept of Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) is one of the best contributions of USA to the corporate world. It is a reflection of the sense of fairness and justice that prevails in American society that evolved the concept of EOE in a society of unequals. In sharp contrast, India is still struggling and getting more entangled in the reservation knots for addressing the same issue. We proudly categorise our reservation system as one of positive discrimination but in effect it is ending up as negative and degenerative. India has already earned the dubious distinction of the only country in the world where communities agitate to be counted as backward. Providing educational incentives to those who deserve it, followed by equal employment opportunity is the only plausible method for bringing about fairness and social justice. The sooner we realise and accept this axiom for social justice the better for our country too.

Firm Action for Results

Firm and resolute action befitting a world leader (often criticized as world policeman) is yet another goodness of USA. While many other oldies participate very vocally in passing resolutions at UN Security Council, USA is the only country that proceeds to implement the same with equal firmness. Unlike lip service, any action on the ground requires guts, involves expenditure and determination to act. All other big players like UK, Russia, France, China, Japan and even India have been found wanting when it comes to action. Each of them will have their own reason not to participate in any world action. But for the karmic intervention of USA many of the occasional rogue states and leaders would have made a mess of this world by now. We definitely need a world policeman and the best option that fulfils everyone’s interest is a democratic USA.

India missed a unique opportunity immediately after its liberation from British by not aligning with the United States of America wholeheartedly. USA and India of 40s’ were perfect natural partners in so many aspects. Both had democratic principles encrypted in the DNA of majority of their citizens. The noble intentions of creating a truly secular nation amidst multi-religious population provided India the vital need for such an alignment. Yet the short-sighted and ambitious romantic in Nehru drag India into a non-aligned ‘eunuch’ism. Our enemies gained from our mistake and our so-called big brother USSR which was built on an unnatural ism met its natural end prematurely. The rest is history. USA and India are so very different now. Yet we still have the common faith in democracy and have formidable common enemies. We should definitely be looking for co-operation wherever our national interests looks identical.

Living Charts

However long or short, the essence of our lives can be captured by a set of three progress curves plotted over a scale of time. The three parameters needed are Physical, Psychological and Spiritual, and the time scale spans over our lifetimes. For staunch believers in re-births, the time scale can be interrupted periodically, but only to start all over again except perhaps for the spiritual curve. All the aspects of an entity, animate or inanimate, can be categorized under one of the three basic parameters and its progress can be plotted over a lifetime (or repeated lifetimes). While we know for sure that Man undergoes physical, psychological and spiritual progress over a lifetime, we are not sure about the case of other animates and inanimate objects. Whatever be the tall claims of some religionists about the superiority of Man, human knowledge is awfully inconclusive about the inferiority of others. We cannot rule out a spiritual life for animals even though we may not have come across any saintly cats or dogs. But it is still a possibility wide open.

Physical

Our physical growth starts the moment we are conceived. But for a few whose growth gets stunted for various reasons the physical growth continues till full maturity is attained. While a normal human grows physically only till the age of 25 or 30, there are other animates that grow till death. Physical growth of inanimate objects is unpredictable; they may or may not grow and might arbitrarily undergo deterioration and growth during their lifetimes. Man grows bigger during the growing period and plateaus for some time. And those who are fortunate (or unfortunate) to live much longer undergo a steady decline too. It is not difficult for those who have seen very old people to conclude that we might even return to the size of young boys and girls if we can live beyond 120s and 140s. Size and strength of all our organs follow a similar pattern with regard to age. It is easy to plot our physical growth – a period of steady growth, a plateau and then a period of decline and deterioration. The curve can drop to zero at any time abruptly for no particular reason.

Psychological

Psychological growth refers to development of brain and mind. While physical development of brain can be covered under the physical parameter the intangible aspect is more important. It can be categorized along with the other equally important factor namely mind. We know for sure that the size of brain has nothing much to do with one’s intelligence. The simple fact that Einstein and Russell (in contemporary times) had smaller sized brains than most of us proves this point beyond any doubt. And another point to note is the clear disconnect between intelligence and mind. All intelligent creatures need not have imaginative minds. Mind is like paper on which we can write, brain our ability to write and intelligence the tool we write with. Better brains indicate better pens that can write better things. The psychological growth curve of most of us follows a steady upward slope throughout our lifetimes. It should be so unless of course there is a physical or psychological breakdown in between. Barring adverse medical conditions, older brains and older minds have always been found to be psychologically more vibrant and productive.

Spiritual

The spiritual aspect of anything is that which triggers its search for a meaning. There is an element of divinity at birth in each one of us and hence our spiritual curves always start at a non-zero positive value. But our real spiritual quest can start only after the physical and psychological curves have covered some ground. In simpler words, we start our search for a meaning in life only after adolescence. There are rare exceptions to this general rule like Sai Baba and Mata Amritanandamayi, but any spiritual curve for ordinary folks will have meaning only after the faculties for spiritual exploration are fully developed. Most of the Sunday classes and similar attempts to force children to learn about God are utterly useless. The spiritual curve takes off late but it can be believed to continue even after death. For life after life the same spiritual curve can continue until its soul owner realizes the ultimate truth in its entirety. Followers of different faiths can have different spiritual curves depending upon their beliefs about after life.

The attempt here to simplify a complex phenomenon as our lives to the limited contours of three curves may look ridiculous. But if you accept it for a moment and start putting together a picture for your own life till date the idea will definitely look more meaningful. Segregation of all aspects of our life under the three basic parameters and trying to plot a curve each for the progress of physical, psychological and spiritual self will certainly force us to take stock of our own lives. Such an interim review can open up our eyes and lead us to higher rates of evolution in the two vital aspects viz. psychological and spiritual. It is definitely worth a try.

Robotic ‘Trichur Pooram’

Global warming has started taking its toll in the least expected scenarios. The increasing cases of pachyderms going berserk and killing people during temple festivals (poorams) in Kerala is a direct result of increasing heat conditions. Among the most beautiful geographies in the world, Kerala is definitely one that is going to be most affected by this global phenomenon. Shape of land and its long coastline make it particularly vulnerable to the vagaries of nature. And when weather and geography of a place is affected for long, the cultural aspects must also undergo corresponding changes. A rigid attitude on the part of people against such natural challenges that are beyond human control can only lead to deterioration and destruction of society. People of Kerala (Malayalees) face the immediate prospects of a major adjustment in vital elements of their culture to withstand the impact of Global Warming.

Kerala is blessed with an abundance of forest and forest wealth including wild animals. In addition to the high density of human population, it is also home to a large population of domesticated animals. Perhaps no other state in India has so many of elephants domesticated for helping man in heavy works. The widespread usage of such domesticated elephants in temple festivals must have originated as a remunerative engagement for them during off-seasons when there is not much of work for these giants which are costly to maintain. But now it is difficult to imagine any festival in Kerala without the presence of at least a few decorated elephants. As one of the top ten tourist destinations in the world, Kerala is the land of backwaters, elephants and Ayurveda for all the tourists. But it is time to change. We can ignore the ghastly scenes of domesticated elephants tearing apart human beings like pieces of paper only at our own peril.

Elephant-less Poorams

Images of ‘Trichur Pooram’ with scores of decorated elephants amidst an ocean of humanity swinging to the tunes of dozens of drummers brings pride to the minds of each and every Malayalee. Aggressive marketing of the tourist potential of God’s Own Country has brought such images to every nook and corner of our world, and thousands of tourists flock to Kerala every year in time for this mega event. Time has come to disassociate the legendary ‘Trichur Pooram’ from the magnificent elephants. When temperatures are raising it is a great risk to parade such unmanageable creatures amidst tens of thousands of people. It is not only a direct threat for the humans, but also unpardonable atrocity against speechless animals. As the icon of Kerala festivals, Trichur Pooram provides the right choice to trigger a cultural reform which has become inevitable..

Live elephants must give way to their robotic look-alikes. The presence or not of live elephants does not affect the overall conduct of Trichur Pooram and all fans & well-wishers will soon get adjusted to such a change in keeping with the need of our times. It is not only the duty but a right of this grand festival in the cultural capital of Kerala (Trichur) to take the lead in such cultural reforms. Festivals must reflect the essence of our happiness and rituals the symbolism of our reverence to the all powerful Almighty. Sparing elephants the ordeal of standing still for hours together in hot sun (which is getting hotter every year) and taking positive steps for prevention of loss of precious human lives will only make Almighty happy. Descendents of Adi Sankara can feel proud in taking the lead again. Reforms indicate vitality and religious or cultural reforms are signs of liberal thought in action. During these times of rigid fundamentalism, it will only highlight the openness of Sanatana Dharma once again.

Temple Robotics

Every opportunity has multiple dimensions and it is up to the prudent to use it sensibly. Replacement of live elephants in temple festivals by their look-alikes will throw up a vast opportunity for development of robot elephants. Religious rituals which are often divorced from science and technology are seeking a direct help in this regard. Indian Robotics is getting a golden opportunity to bring Science & Technology for direct use in religious and cultural affairs. At least a portion of the vast amount of temple wealth can be diverted for development of technology in our own country. Our ancient rishis were not only good in theology but in science too. Thus it will be a return to our old glory if electronic & IT engineers can also become a part and parcel of our temples.

Robotics is one of the most wanted technologies in the present day world and it is indeed a God-sent opportunity if its development gets sponsored by the temples of Kerala. The usual exhibitions associated with Trichur Pooram can become the showcase of our developments in robotics every year. Mimicking of elephants can become a good short term objective for the competitors in this field and scope for further developments in the field of robotics are endless. Healthy competition is a component of all temple festivities and the same spirit in the field of ‘Temple Robotics’ (robotics for use in temples) will definitely place Sanatana Dharma in the forefront of modernity once again.

Animals are not integral to any current ritual that is part and parcel of Sanatana Dharma. In very olden times, there might have been animal sacrifices and related bloodshed, which were believed to be forms of sacrifice. But our rishis soon realized that proxy sacrifice is no sacrifice and true sacrifice lies in sacrificing one’s own comforts or life. Ishwar is equally present in everything, and killing or harming anything else, even symbolically for one’s own benefit is useless and counter-productive. Thus no elephants are must for any temple ritual or festival, and are to be avoided if it is a torture for them. Robotic elephants can easily take the place of these loveable animals and yet provide the same level of entertainment to our festivals. In any case, our festivals are our identity and they must go on.

Next Chanakya

It is rare in history that we come across situations when the personal agenda of one individual sets the course of an entire nation. In recorded history the case of Chanakya (Vishnugupta) and Indian nation is one such. It was the single point agenda in his life to overthrow the Nanda kings that eventually led him into the forefront of the fight against Romans. From a small desire to seek revenge for his own personal gratification, he went all the way upto uniting a great nation and initiating an entire Maurya dynasty of emperors. Chanakya’s determined contribution to the formation and development of India is a golden chapter in the history of our nation. His manipulative efforts in successfully uniting us against the Roman invasion far outweigh his intellectual and literary contributions in the form of Arthasastra and Neetisastra.

Emotional integration of all those who are living south of the Sindhu river has always been a reality and it continues to be so. It is one of the key reasons for the development of a way of living called Sanatana Dharma. As the name suggests our way of living would always exist irrespective of the existence or not of any particular nation or nations. But creating a geographical space for free and fearless practice and development of such a noble ideology is not a mean achievement. And that is what our first Chanakya achieved by identifying the young Chandragupta and anointing him as the emperor of a newly integrated nation. Their chemistry worked well and the concept of an Indian nation became a reality. Chanakya’s choice of a nation ruler by considering his merit and not birth is highly symbolic for all times. It is indeed one of the basic tenets of Sanatana Dharma.

Former Chanakyas

If it was deft maneuverings by the first Chanakya among warring chieftains of minor kingdoms that helped him consolidate India into a single nation, it was brilliant outpour of intellect by Adi Sankara that cemented the foundations of a Hindu India. He is undoubtedly our second Chanakya. The extra-ordinary efforts and intellectual achievements by a Keralite like Adi Sankara from ordinary background in a short span of lifetime remains unparalleled in human history even to this day. He not only traversed the geography of the entire nation but also conquered the minds of all its citizens by the shear brilliance of his arguments in favour of resurrecting an intrinsically rational and secular religion called Hinduism. Had our second Chanakya lived on for a full lifetime, the glory and status of Indian nation would have reached sky heights.

It is difficult to identify one single individual as our third Chanakya. After the yeoman efforts by the first two there was no acute necessity for further consolidation of the nation. Enemies of the nation were increasing all the time, but so too were the forces that realized and recognized the need for unity. All that was needed was providing guidance and leadership at disparate places and times for the nationalists. Swami Vivekananda, Sreenarayana Guru, Meerabhai, Dayananda Saraswati, Bharatiyar, Mahatma Gandhi etc., etc., provided all that was needed throughout the length and breadth of our nation as and when it was required. All such great souls collectively form the third Chanakya that integrated India into a modern and powerful one among the world nations.

Next Chanakya

In Bhagavat Gita, Lord Krishna had rightly indicated that Ishwar will incarnate in any form (including natural phenomena) he chooses whenever and wherever there is an absolute decline in dharma. Perhaps the advent of our first Chanakya during the days following the first Roman attack was one of those instances. What he could achieve and how the evil Romans were repulsed are part of our proud history. But the Roman attack is far from over. If it was Alexander who tried and got defeated then, the attack against Indian nation still continues in many forms. Silent terrorism in the form of aggressive religious conversion, attempted proxy rule by hijacking of democratic institutions and unholy alliances for power between opposing political parties who have irreconcilable ideologies are nothing but Roman attacks in 21st century. The need for an effective repulsive attack is becoming inevitable in India today.

The next Chanakya must be able to see through the real intentions of the enemies of Indian nation within and without. Since our liberation from the clutches of foreign invaders and their rule lasting about 800 years, the form, nature and strategy of our enemies have undergone paradigm changes. Many a time we do not realize who is plotting against us. We do not recognize who is our real enemy especially when they operate through their surrogates. Enemy of our enemy need not always be our friend. Both can be our enemies. And a helping hand can always be a camouflage for poisonous weapons aimed at the heart of our nation.

The foundations of Indian union are sound and solid, and it will take superhuman efforts to unshackle the bondage between Indians apparently divided over different languages, colour and religions, but with a single unifying culture. Yet we should never underestimate the enemy and the need for a new Chanakya to emerge from the billion strong Indian society is becoming extremely important. The new Chanakya must of a different mettle. His or her qualities, talents and skills are to be entirely different from the predecessors. Our enemies are much more evil, resourceful and capable of dividing us from within. And our Chanakya in 21st century will have to be equally good in defeating them in their own games. Let us wait for the fourth Chanakya with all our hope and prayers.

Maaya & Daiva

Maaya and Daiva are two unique Indian concepts that have not yet been fully appreciated by the world. Both offer brilliant explanations about mysteries that engross everything in this universe. While maaya demystifies the apparent reality that surrounds us, daiva helps us in living with an uncertain future. Indian philosophers had propounded these theories thousands of years ago, but ordinary Indians are still struggling to comprehend them. What should have been an integral and uncontroversial part of our curriculum is deliberately kept out just to satisfy the false (pseudo)secular credentials. And instead we force ourselves to study every other theory that has drifted into our landscape from alien lands. Most of us have even lost the natural inquisitiveness of normal human beings to understand what is one’s own.

Nature and future are two indispensable components in everyone’s life. Together they provide the environment and incentive to live on. Ancient seers of India had succeeded to a great extent in explaining the philosophical aspects of these concepts to the ordinary folks then. Daiva and Maaya are the key components of their explanations in this regard. Whatever we consider as real is indeed maaya and whatever is unknown with regard to the future are revered in the form of daiva. The interpretations of daiva as various forms of the unique God (Ishwar) and maaya as a notion that we perceive as real can be considered as the best available treatises that can explain anything to a modern rational man. If everyone can get a chance to learn about these vital irreligious aspects in India today, there will be much more vigor and vitality in our society instead of rivalry and hatred.

Unknown Nature

As infinitesimal part of this universe we are deeply immersed in the happenings around us and we live on with the belief that it is all for real. But we can easily understand that it is not so when we consider our experience while waking up from a dream. If it was a sweet one we feel sorry about being woken up and if it was horrible we feel thankful. Be it a dream or otherwise, it is our very same self that has experienced it. Similarly is the vast difference in our perception when we consider someone as a suspected terrorist and he finally turns out to be a pious and religious man. There are several more instances where this same nature of experience can be perceived for totally different realities. And then drugs, magic and special effects can also produce such similar experience on a human as compared to whatever we normally consider as real. So what is the sanctity of considering anything as real? A more logical perception is to take everything as unreal. And that was what our forefathers considered as maaya.

Our whole perception about this universe is only a maaya and each of us interprets it the way we want or understand. And there cannot be anything for real in a world where each and every one of us is enveloped in maaya. Adi Sankara was only stating the obvious when he propounded the theory of maaya. It is not difficult for any ordinary man to understand this but it will be extremely difficult to admit it so. The Western concept of ‘seeing is believing’ is an absurdity that has become a belief. The effect of maaya is so much that anyone who can develop the capability to dismiss the mundane problems as being part of maaya will be considered as insane and not wise. But even a convinced understanding of the truth about maaya in everyone’s mind can go a long way in raising the overall tolerance level in our society and nation. We can appreciate and tolerate each other much better if we have a common understanding about the unreality that surrounds us.

Unknown Future

More interesting than an unrealistic nature that surrounds us is the unknown future that awaits us. In many ways it is the uncertainty and anonymity about our future that drives us towards an omnipotent and omnipresent God. If there are ways to gain sure knowledge about future, almost all our temples, churches and mosques will be empty. Ancient seers of India propounded the concept of daiva precisely on this basis of uncertain future. As the Sanskrit term indicates Daiva means destiny or destination or simple future for every single entity in this universe. Howsoever significant or insignificant, all entities (animate or inanimate) have a specific purpose of being present in this universe. Being alive and evolved, humans indulge in the added task of seeking their destiny. The close relationship that exists in India between daiva (as destiny) and daiva (as a form of God) becomes relevant in this respect.

The basis of all religious beliefs is the fear or respect for the unknown. Each and every moment in our lives is pregnant with any number of possibilities, all of them uncertain. For a human being, it can be glory, luck, death, bankruptcy, defamation, starvation and what not. The priorities, importance and response to each of this can vary between individuals, depending upon his likings, age, status and background. Surrender and prayers being natural for any unsure individual in an uncertain environment, what is wrong in attributing separate forms of God for each of this unknown possibilities and worshipping with hope of getting the best? Such compartmentalization can provide better focus and intensity for the believers and their beliefs. In fact the glorious belief of a triumvirate of Brahma-Vishnu-Mahesh providing overall controls over Creation-Sustenance-Destruction in this universe provides the most comforting picture for all the rationally religious humans.

Contribution of India’s ancient seers to the commonwealth of human knowledge is virtually unparalleled and unrivalled. Maaya and daiva are just two of those that have not caught much attention of the philosophers outside India. As always it is left to those outside India to discover and develop the wisdom pearls of ancient India for the progress of mankind. While pseudo-secularism and lack of positive nationalism are preventing Indians from re-discovering their own glorious heritage, professionals abroad are grabbing and borrowing from the endless storehouse of Sanatana Dharma for development and progress of their own countries. As unlucky giants of virtue, Indians are in deep slumber, unable to recover from the damages inflicted by unworthy Brahmin and foreign rulers.

True Minorities of India

Though typical of the Western mindset of first knowingly committing sins for their own short term selfish ends followed by repentance after ages, the recent scenes from Australian parliament of their new Prime Minister apologizing to Australia’s indigenous population was a highly symbolic act. A similar apology is long overdue from the British to the Indian people for their atrocities and plunder during 200 years of loot, but is yet to happen. The Australian apology makes sense within India too. Adivasis - the descendents of original tribes of India who decided not to change their lifestyle with the times - are facing very high discrimination and neglect in a modern democratic India. The socio-economic status of Adivasis in India is pathetic and all other Indians are equally responsible for their horrific conditions. In every sense, Adivasis happen to be the minority community in our society and they alone should qualify to enjoy all protection as the minorities in a democratic secular country like India.

A recent news item about an Adivasi tribe settled in the forest suburbs of the capital city of Kerala, one of the most socially developed states in India, is enough to highlight the levels of misery they have fallen to. A visiting journalist noticed an incomprehensible reluctance among all house owners while stating their most difficult concerns. He was expecting lack of food or clothing or sanitation facilities in response. But to our greatest horror we can hear lack of burial ground as the answer. Due to lack of land, the dead are buried within the ramshackle houses and there are already a few such burials inside each house. Only those of us with no conscience at all can listen to such truthful statements without any pain inside. Some of them went on to say that as soon a member falls sick the whole family starts worrying about the lack of space in their overcrowded burial hut cum house. It is a shame that we are unable to find a solution to the land problem of these original owners of our entire land.

Nature’s Children

Adivasis, as their name suggests, are the confirmed descendents of the original dwellers of this land. While most of our forefathers moved out of the forests, the Adivasis stayed on thanks to their insatiable love for Mother Nature. They are Nature’s children and should have the first preference in any land distribution exercise. The case of Adivasis of India is not exactly like the aborigines of Australia. In Australia it was foreigners who deprived the aborigines of their land, while in India it is the rest of Indians who are doing so. Adivasis are reluctant and resistant to change and those who wield power are unwilling to protect them as the real minorities. Many a time they are patronized by the dominant communities only for their own selfish requirements. Adivasis are used as disposable instruments in the land grabbing game played out by the rival migrant communities in many parts of India.

Children have future only if the mother has one. When greedy men are hell bound to grab land at any cost, there is very little that can be done to the forest lands which mothers the Adivasis. And if the whole effort is in an organized manner by organized communities, Adivasis have very little chances of survival. There has been a steady decline in the population of Adivasis since our liberation from British in 1947. As far as Adivasis are concerned, the liberation has been meaningless because only the colour of rulers have changed. Greedy migrant invaders from within India are not only grabbing their lands but destroying their livelihood as well. There are enough reasons to believe that the organized migrant communities have long term agenda and some of them are playing the game at the behest of their international masters.

Nobody’s People

Reason for the present condition of Adivasis in our country is so very obvious. Those without a collective identity are nobodies in an ocean of one billion in contemporary India. Collective bargaining (and blackmailing) becomes the only method of getting what is legitimately due (and more than that) in an unfair system. Universal franchise in a democracy is meaningful only if all beneficiaries are minimum educated to utilise the systems. Each Adivasi in India has a theoretical vote, but most of them do not know how to use and utilize the system to get what is legitimately theirs. Regular political parties and politicians ignore them because they know for sure that Adivasis do not know how to utilize opportunities in a democracy. And it is decades before any crafty politician will rise from Adivasi ranks to demand their legitimate due.

If the current trend continues, days are not far when we have to struggle to find an Adivasi community in India. Just like forest lands and wild animals, Adivasis are also losing out to the clever manipulative skills of modern Indians. These communities are resolute in displacing Adivasis from their lands. One visit to the northern districts of Kerala is enough to learn about this. The migrants have captured everything and their symbols now dominate the landscape of geography, economics and politics of these erstwhile Adivasi areas. The loud voices of looters resonate in lawmaking chambers and not the feeble cries of the looted. The poor and innocent Adivasis have lost their lands to the peanut monies and liquor offered by the clever and manipulative migrants. All that they can expect now is an apology and that too after a few decades.

In a modern secular democratic country like India, the minority status must go to those communities that are socially and economically backward and are also less in numbers. Co-existence of secularism and religious minorities does not make any sense and logic. It is a contradiction in every sense of the term. All citizens are equal irrespective of religion, colour and race – that is the true essence of a socialist democracy. But in India today we find each and every religion and caste clamoring for ‘minority’ or ‘backward’ status. Our politics of short sightedness is encouraging such a tendency which is what keep India undeveloped and underdeveloped forever. Adivasis of India are the lone legitimate minority communities and drastic land reforms are long overdue for giving back their legitimate lands.