Opinions from India

Men lose their minds speaking to pretty women

2009-09-06T23:45:00.001-07:00

Men lose their minds speaking to pretty women

Talking to an attractive woman really can make a man lose his mind, according to a new study.

Pat Hagan
Published: 10:28AM BST 03 Sep 2009

The research shows men who spend even a few minutes in the company of an attractive woman perform less well in tests designed to measure brain function than those who chat to someone they do not find attractive.

Researchers who carried out the study, published in the Journal of Experimental and Social Psychology, think the reason may be that men use up so much of their brain function or 'cognitive resources' trying to impress beautiful women, they have little left for other tasks.

The findings have implications for the performance of men who flirt with women in the workplace, or even exam results in mixed-sex schools.

Women, however, were not affected by chatting to a handsome man.

This may be simply because men are programmed by evolution to think more about mating opportunities.

Psychologists at Radboud University in The Netherlands carried out the study after one of them was so struck on impressing an attractive woman he had never met before, that he could not remember his address when she asked him where he lived.

Researchers said it was as if he was so keen to make an impression he 'temporarily absorbed most of his cognitive resources.'

To see if other men were affected in the same way, they recruited 40 male heterosexual students.

Each one performed a standard memory test where they had to observe a stream of letters and say, as fast as possible, if each one was the same as the one before last.

The volunteers then spent seven minutes chatting to male or female members of the research team before repeating the test.

The results showed men were slower and less accurate after trying to impress the women. The more they fancied them, the worse their score.

But when the task was repeated with a group of female volunteers, they did not get the same results. Memory scores stayed the same, whether they had chatted to a man or a woman.

In a report on their findings the researchers said: 'We conclude men's cognitive functioning may temporarily decline after an interaction with an attractive woman.'

Psychologist Dr George Fieldman, a member of the British Psychological Society, said the findings reflect the fact that men are programmed to think about ways to pass on their genes.

'When a man meets a pretty woman, he is what we call 'reproductively focused'.

'But a woman also looks for signs of other attributes, such as wealth, youth and kindness. Just the look of the man would be unlikely to have the same effect.'

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/6132718/Men-lose-their-minds-speaking-to-pretty-women.html

Kosovo was a war for values : David Clark

2009-04-16T22:37:00.001-07:00

Source: The Hindu (http://www.hinduonnet.com/2009/04/17/stories/2009041754770900.htm)

Kosovo was a war for values

David Clark

This conflict was not a dress rehearsal for Iraq. It was a case of western power used for a genuine humanitarian purpose.

Ten years after NATO jets went into action against Serbia, the Kosovo war remains as controversial as ever. Welcomed by many at the time as evidence of a humanitarian world order in the making, its legacy has been overtaken, subsumed and ultimately distorted by the debate about the war on terror. What Vaclav Havel called “the first war for values” is now more often described as a dangerous precedent. Even the veteran British MP, Clare Short, a forceful advocate of intervention in the Balkans, attributed Tony Blair’s foreign policy errors to the “taste for grandstanding” he acquired in Kosovo.

There are several reasons for this, the most important undoubtedly the effect of the Iraq war in sowing doubt about the legitimacy and efficacy of western military power. In departing from the principle of non-intervention and lacking a U.N. mandate, Kosovo is often regarded as the original sin that made Iraq possible. Even Russia’s invasion and recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia have been characterised as blowback from Kosovo’s declaration of independence a few months before.

Comparisons of this kind confuse more than they clarify. The war in Kosovo was a response to a humanitarian emergency, not a geopolitical power play. Even so, this point is still contested. Self-styled anti-imperialists, all too often apologists for the imperialism of any regime that opposes the west, have constructed an alternative history in which Slobodan Milosevic’s crimes are minimised or excused and a rapacious west portrayed as the instigator of violence. In this history, his efforts to reach a negotiated solution were sabotaged at the Rambouillet peace conference by Europe and the U.S.; and the deaths and refugee movements inside Kosovo were caused by NATO bombing. These critics talk as if the destruction of Bosnia was a figment of the imagination. The reality is that by the time of Rambouillet, western leaders had wised up to Milosevic’s game of rope-a-dope in which he negotiated peace in bad faith while continuing to unleash ethnic terror on the ground!

They had already endured eight years of it. In Kosovo, Serbian forces had killed 1,500 and driven 270,000 from their homes before NATO acted. The violence accelerated immediately before and after the start of the bombing campaign, but opponents deliberately invert cause and effect.

Awful reality

A survey by eminent statisticians in 2002 confirmed what refugees had always maintained — they were fleeing an organised programme of ethnic slaughter. An analysis of available data revealed a strong correlation between deaths and displacements, and Serbian military activity. There was no correlation with NATO or Kosovo Liberation Army actions. And the speed and extent of Serbia’s mobilisation was indicative of a preconceived plan, not a spontaneous reaction to NATO bombing.

About 850,000 people - half Kosovo’s Albanian population — were driven out of the country, many with their papers seized to prevent them returning. About 10,000 were murdered by Serbian forces. These atrocities may pass the legal test of genocide, but the reality was awful enough. The Serbian state carried out a crime against humanity - a ruthlessly executed plan to change the ethnic composition of Kosovo through expulsion and mass murder.

Had Milosevic completed his ethnic cleansing, the Balkans would be a very different place. A nationalist successor regime in Belgrade would be dedicated to preserving his victorious legacy and destabilising the region with unfulfilled dreams of a Greater Serbia. Hundreds of thousands of Kosovan Albanians would still be in refugee camps in Albania and Macedonia. The expulsion of the Kosovans would have joined Al-Qaeda’s rap sheet of “Crusader” crimes against Muslims, an accusation doubtless echoed by the same critics who condemn NATO for preventing it. Let’s not forget that Milosevic waged his war in the name of Orthodox Christian supremacy, or that Ariel Sharon, obsessed with the “Islamic threat” of a Greater Albania, was among his most vocal cheerleaders.

Kosovo also differed radically from the Iraq war in its intended effect on the international system. In the case of Kosovo, it was Russia that acted unilaterally in refusing to accept the balance of international opinion. Every member of NATO and EU country, and all Serbia’s neighbours, supported military action. Operations were conducted through the multilateral structures of NATO, with post-conflict authority handed to the UN. The governments carrying out this intervention knew it was a radical departure, but didn’t do it to undermine multilateralism or strengthen U.S. dominance. They wanted the international community to accept that the U.N.’s commitment to individual human rights should count for more than the sovereign rights of states and their rulers. They wanted to enforce international legal norms, not undermine them.

Aspects of NATO’s conduct can be criticised. The use of cluster munitions, careless and illegitimate targeting, and high-altitude bombing all resulted in unnecessary loss of life. The failure of NATO troops to prevent revenge attacks on Serb and Roma civilians dishonoured their humanitarian purpose. But it is bogus to compare these serious errors to state-sponsored ethnic cleansing.

A decade on, many problems remain. Reconciliation between ethnic communities has not been achieved; Serb enclaves are unwilling to cooperate with the Pristina government; and Serbia still refuses to face up to the loss of sovereignty over Kosovo. Yet independence has not led to the predicted upsurge of ethnic violence and extremism. The region’s countries are moving steadily, if awkwardly, towards a new kind of unity as EU members. This includes Serbia, whose democratic government has already handed over Radovan Karadzic to The Hague and is committed to meeting its international obligations. Ultra-nationalists are marginalised, and the region has the opportunity of a future free of violence and despair.

The war in Kosovo was ultimately a question of whether the fall of the Berlin Wall would mark a return to the ethnic barbarism and power politics of the pre-cold war era, or a better phase in European history. That legacy has not been honoured as it should have been. Nevertheless, Kosovo should be remembered as an example of western nations using their power, however imperfectly, to do something good and necessary. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2009

(David Clark served as Europe adviser at the U.K.’s Foreign Office, 1997-2001.)

Source: The Hindu (http://www.hinduonnet.com/2009/04/17/stories/2009041754770900.htm)

Lasantha Wickrematunge : "And Then They Came For Me "

2009-03-02T23:05:00.001-08:00

http://www.thesundayleader.lk/20090111/editorial-.htm

Editorial of "The Sunday Leader" Sri Lanka ; dt : 11.1.2009

And Then They Came For Me
Lasantha Wickrematunge

No other profession calls on its practitioners to lay down their lives
for their art save the armed forces and, in Sri Lanka, journalism. In
the course of the past few years, the independent media have
increasingly come under attack. Electronic and print-media
institutions have been burnt, bombed, sealed and coerced. Countless
journalists have been harassed, threatened and killed. It has been my
honour to belong to all those categories and now especially the last.

I have been in the business of journalism a good long time. Indeed,
2009 will be The Sunday Leader's 15th year. Many things have changed
in Sri Lanka during that time, and it does not need me to tell you
that the greater part of that change has been for the worse. We find
ourselves in the midst of a civil war ruthlessly prosecuted by
protagonists whose bloodlust knows no bounds. Terror, whether
perpetrated by terrorists or the state, has become the order of the
day. Indeed, murder has become the primary tool whereby the state
seeks to control the organs of liberty. Today it is the journalists,
tomorrow it will be the judges. For neither group have the risks ever
been higher or the stakes lower.

Why then do we do it? I often wonder that. After all, I too am a
husband, and the father of three wonderful children. I too have
responsibilities and obligations that transcend my profession, be it
the law or journalism. Is it worth the risk? Many people tell me it is
not. Friends tell me to revert to the bar, and goodness knows it
offers a better and safer livelihood. Others, including political
leaders on both sides, have at various times sought to induce me to
take to politics, going so far as to offer me ministries of my choice.
Diplomats, recognising the risk journalists face in Sri Lanka, have
offered me safe passage and the right of residence in their countries.
Whatever else I may have been stuck for, I have not been stuck for
choice.

But there is a calling that is yet above high office, fame, lucre and
security. It is the call of conscience.

The Sunday Leader has been a controversial newspaper because we say it
like we see it: whether it be a spade, a thief or a murderer, we call
it by that name. We do not hide behind euphemism. The investigative
articles we print are supported by documentary evidence thanks to the
public-spiritedness of citizens who at great risk to themselves pass
on this material to us. We have exposed scandal after scandal, and
never once in these 15 years has anyone proved us wrong or
successfully prosecuted us.

The free media serve as a mirror in which the public can see itself
sans mascara and styling gel. From us you learn the state of your
nation, and especially its management by the people you elected to
give your children a better future. Sometimes the image you see in
that mirror is not a pleasant one. But while you may grumble in the
privacy of your armchair, the journalists who hold the mirror up to
you do so publicly and at great risk to themselves. That is our
calling, and we do not shirk it.

Every newspaper has its angle, and we do not hide the fact that we
have ours. Our commitment is to see Sri Lanka as a transparent,
secular, liberal democracy. Think about those words, for they each has
profound meaning. Transparent because government must be openly
accountable to the people and never abuse their trust. Secular because
in a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society such as ours, secularism
offers the only common ground by which we might all be united. Liberal
because we recognise that all human beings are created different, and
we need to accept others for what they are and not what we would like
them to be. And democratic... well, if you need me to explain why that
is important, you'd best stop buying this paper.

The Sunday Leader has never sought safety by unquestioningly
articulating the majority view. Let's face it, that is the way to sell
newspapers. On the contrary, as our opinion pieces over the years
amply demonstrate, we often voice ideas that many people find
distasteful. For example, we have consistently espoused the view that
while separatist terrorism must be eradicated, it is more important to
address the root causes of terrorism, and urged government to view Sri
Lanka's ethnic strife in the context of history and not through the
telescope of terrorism. We have also agitated against state terrorism
in the so-called war against terror, and made no secret of our horror
that Sri Lanka is the only country in the world routinely to bomb its
own citizens. For these views we have been labelled traitors, and if
this be treachery, we wear that label proudly.

Many people suspect that The Sunday Leader has a political agenda: it
does not. If we appear more critical of the government than of the
opposition it is only because we believe that - pray excuse cricketing
argot - there is no point in bowling to the fielding side. Remember
that for the few years of our existence in which the UNP was in
office, we proved to be the biggest thorn in its flesh, exposing
excess and corruption wherever it occurred. Indeed, the steady stream
of embarrassing expos‚s we published may well have served to
precipitate the downfall of that government.

Neither should our distaste for the war be interpreted to mean that we
support the Tigers. The LTTE are among the most ruthless and
bloodthirsty organisations ever to have infested the planet. There is
no gainsaying that it must be eradicated. But to do so by violating
the rights of Tamil citizens, bombing and shooting them mercilessly,
is not only wrong but shames the Sinhalese, whose claim to be
custodians of the dhamma is forever called into question by this
savagery, much of which is unknown to the public because of
censorship.

What is more, a military occupation of the country's north and east
will require the Tamil people of those regions to live eternally as
second-class citizens, deprived of all self respect. Do not imagine
that you can placate them by showering "development" and
"reconstruction" on them in the post-war era. The wounds of war will
scar them forever, and you will also have an even more bitter and
hateful Diaspora to contend with. A problem amenable to a political
solution will thus become a festering wound that will yield strife for
all eternity. If I seem angry and frustrated, it is only because most
of my countrymen - and all of the government - cannot see this writing
so plainly on the wall.

It is well known that I was on two occasions brutally assaulted, while
on another my house was sprayed with machine-gun fire. Despite the
government's sanctimonious assurances, there was never a serious
police inquiry into the perpetrators of these attacks, and the
attackers were never apprehended. In all these cases, I have reason to
believe the attacks were inspired by the government. When finally I am
killed, it will be the government that kills me.

The irony in this is that, unknown to most of the public, Mahinda and
I have been friends for more than a quarter century. Indeed, I suspect
that I am one of the few people remaining who routinely addresses him
by his first name and uses the familiar Sinhala address oya when
talking to him. Although I do not attend the meetings he periodically
holds for newspaper editors, hardly a month passes when we do not
meet, privately or with a few close friends present, late at night at
President's House. There we swap yarns, discuss politics and joke
about the good old days. A few remarks to him would therefore be in
order here.

Mahinda, when you finally fought your way to the SLFP presidential
nomination in 2005, nowhere were you welcomed more warmly than in this
column. Indeed, we broke with a decade of tradition by referring to
you throughout by your first name. So well known were your commitments
to human rights and liberal values that we ushered you in like a
breath of fresh air. Then, through an act of folly, you got yourself
involved in the Helping Hambantota scandal. It was after a lot of
soul-searching that we broke the story, at the same time urging you to
return the money. By the time you did so several weeks later, a great
blow had been struck to your reputation. It is one you are still
trying to live down.

You have told me yourself that you were not greedy for the presidency.
You did not have to hanker after it: it fell into your lap. You have
told me that your sons are your greatest joy, and that you love
spending time with them, leaving your brothers to operate the
machinery of state. Now, it is clear to all who will see that that
machinery has operated so well that my sons and daughter do not
themselves have a father.

In the wake of my death I know you will make all the usual
sanctimonious noises and call upon the police to hold a swift and
thorough inquiry. But like all the inquiries you have ordered in the
past, nothing will come of this one, too. For truth be told, we both
know who will be behind my death, but dare not call his name. Not just
my life, but yours too, depends on it.

Sadly, for all the dreams you had for our country in your younger
days, in just three years you have reduced it to rubble. In the name
of patriotism you have trampled on human rights, nurtured unbridled
corruption and squandered public money like no other President before
you. Indeed, your conduct has been like a small child suddenly let
loose in a toyshop. That analogy is perhaps inapt because no child
could have caused so much blood to be spilled on this land as you
have, or trampled on the rights of its citizens as you do. Although
you are now so drunk with power that you cannot see it, you will come
to regret your sons having so rich an inheritance of blood. It can
only bring tragedy. As for me, it is with a clear conscience that I go
to meet my Maker. I wish, when your time finally comes, you could do
the same. I wish.

As for me, I have the satisfaction of knowing that I walked tall and
bowed to no man. And I have not travelled this journey alone. Fellow
journalists in other branches of the media walked with me: most of
them are now dead, imprisoned without trial or exiled in far-off
lands. Others walk in the shadow of death that your Presidency has
cast on the freedoms for which you once fought so hard. You will never
be allowed to forget that my death took place under your watch. As
anguished as I know you will be, I also know that you will have no
choice but to protect my killers: you will see to it that the guilty
one is never convicted. You have no choice. I feel sorry for you, and
Shiranthi will have a long time to spend on her knees when next she
goes for Confession for it is not just her owns sins which she must
confess, but those of her extended family that keeps you in office.

As for the readers of The Sunday Leader, what can I say but Thank You
for supporting our mission. We have espoused unpopular causes, stood
up for those too feeble to stand up for themselves, locked horns with
the high and mighty so swollen with power that they have forgotten
their roots, exposed corruption and the waste of your hard-earned tax
rupees, and made sure that whatever the propaganda of the day, you
were allowed to hear a contrary view. For this I - and my family -
have now paid the price that I have long known I will one day have to
pay. I am - and have always been - ready for that. I have done nothing
to prevent this outcome: no security, no precautions. I want my
murderer to know that I am not a coward like he is, hiding behind
human shields while condemning thousands of innocents to death. What
am I among so many? It has long been written that my life would be
taken, and by whom. All that remains to be written is when.

That The Sunday Leader will continue fighting the good fight, too, is
written. For I did not fight this fight alone. Many more of us have to
be - and will be - killed before The Leader is laid to rest. I hope my
assassination will be seen not as a defeat of freedom but an
inspiration for those who survive to step up their efforts. Indeed, I
hope that it will help galvanise forces that will usher in a new era
of human liberty in our beloved motherland. I also hope it will open
the eyes of your President to the fact that however many are
slaughtered in the name of patriotism, the human spirit will endure
and flourish. Not all the Rajapakses combined can kill that.

People often ask me why I take such risks and tell me it is a matter
of time before I am bumped off. Of course I know that: it is
inevitable. But if we do not speak out now, there will be no one left
to speak for those who cannot, whether they be ethnic minorities, the
disadvantaged or the persecuted. An example that has inspired me
throughout my career in journalism has been that of the German
theologian, Martin Niem"ller. In his youth he was an anti-Semite and
an admirer of Hitler. As Nazism took hold in Germany, however, he saw
Nazism for what it was: it was not just the Jews Hitler sought to
extirpate, it was just about anyone with an alternate point of view.
Niem"ller spoke out, and for his trouble was incarcerated in the
Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps from 1937 to 1945, and
very nearly executed. While incarcerated, Niem"ller wrote a poem that,
from the first time I read it in my teenage years, stuck hauntingly in
my mind:

First they came for the Jews

and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the Communists

and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists

and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for me

and there was no one left to speak out for me.

If you remember nothing else, remember this: The Leader is there for
you, be you Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim, low-caste, homosexual, dissident
or disabled. Its staff will fight on, unbowed and unafraid, with the
courage to which you have become accustomed. Do not take that
commitment for granted. Let there be no doubt that whatever
sacrifices we journalists make, they are not made for our own glory or
enrichment: they are made for you. Whether you deserve their sacrifice
is another matter. As for me, God knows I tried.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lasantha_Wickramatunge

Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you, If you are young at heart......

2008-11-12T04:41:00.001-08:00

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=TsP17tin1tQ&NR=1

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh2nf4kySv4

Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you
If youre young at heart
For its hard, you will find, to be narrow of mind
If youre young at heart

You can go to extremes with impossible schemes
You can laugh when your dreams fall apart at the seams
And life gets more exciting with each passing day
And love is either in your heart or on its way

Dont you know that its worth every treasure on earth
To be young at heart
For as rich as you are its much better by far
To be young at heart

And if you should survive to 105
Look at all youll derive out of being alive
Then here is the best part
You have a head start
If you are among the very young at heart

And if you should survive to 105
Look at all youll derive out of being alive
Then here is the best part
You have a head start
If you are among the very young at heart

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_at_Heart_(1953_song)

Paulo Coelho on 'Progresive Writers'

2008-11-07T22:48:00.001-08:00

Paulo Coelho on 'Progresive Writers'
(from the preface of 'Like the Flowing River')

a) A writer always wears glasses and never combs his hair. KAlf the
time he feels angry about everything and the other half he depressed.
He spends most of his life in bars, arguing with other dishevelled,
bespectacled writers. He says very 'deep' things. He always has
amazing ideas for the plot of his next novel, and hates the one he has
just published.

b) A writer has a duty and an obligation never to be understood by his
own generation ; convinced, as he is. that he has been born into an
age of mediocrity, he belives that being understood would mean loosing
his chance of ever being considered a genius. A writer revises and
rewrites eacj sentance many times. The voabulary if the average man is
made up of 3,000 words ; a real writer never uses any of these,
because there are another 1,89.000 in the dictonary, and he is not the
average man.

c) Only other writers can understand what a writer is trying to say.
Even so, he secretly hates all other wirters, because they are alwyas
jockeying for the same vacancies left by the history of literature
over the centuries. And so the writer and his peers compete for the
'most complicated book' : the one who wins will be the one who has
succeeded in being the most difficult to read.

d) A writer understands about things with alarming names, like
seminotics, epistomology, neoconcretism. When he wants to shock
someone, he says things like : 'Einstein is a fool', or 'Tostoy was
the clown of the bourgeoisie'. Everyone is scandalised, but they
neverthless go and tell other people that the theory of relativity is
bunk, and that Tolstoy was a defender of the Russian aristocracy.
e)When trying to seduce women, a writer says : 'I'm a writer', and
scribbles a poem on a napkin. It always works.

f) Given his vast culture, a writer can always get work as a literary
critic. In that role, he can show generosity by writing about his
freinds' books. Half of any such reviews are made up of quotations
from foreign authors and other half of analysis of sentances, alwyas
using expressions such as 'the epistemological cut', or 'an integrated
bi-dimensional vision of life'. Anyone reading the reviews will say
:'What a cultivated person', but he won't buy the book because he will
be afraid he might not know how to continue reading when the
epistemological cut appears.

g)When invited to say what he is reading at the moment, a writer
always mentions a book no one has ever heard of.

h)There is oonly one book that arouses the unanimous admiration of the
writer and his peers : Ulysess by James Joyce. No writer will ever
speak ill of this book, but when someone asks him about what it is all
about, he can't quite explain, making one doubt that he has actually
read it.

From the preface of 'Like the Flowing River'

some questions about Islamic interpretations

2007-10-23T22:44:00.001-07:00

Some questions about Islamic interpretations

There is lot of confusion and misundertandning about Islam. Most people are not able to differenctiate between Islamic concepts and 'Muslims'. Theory is different from those who call themselves followers of those concepts. Same with communism, Chrisitianity, Buddhism, etc.

Interepretations of Koran varies and many chauvinsits intrepret it to suit their agenda, esp regarding to women's rights, marriage laws, etc.

and liberation movements in Palenstine, Chechenya and Bosnia are confused with religious fanatisim. The media did not correctly portray the very pertinanet statement of Bin Laden after 9/11 : ".. the Amercians will know no peace until the Palestinians do..." He is not crazy to attack his onetime mentor,
during the Afgan war against USSR.

I have deep respect and regard for all religious concepts and literature. only i am weary of the interpretations by bigots.

some questions and points :

1.Sachar committe report about the real conditions of Indian Muslims is true enough. but they and their insular leaders are mainly responsible for their status. Family planning, importance of education, esp in English and local languages (not Arabic in Madarassas, which is as useful as learing only Sanskrit) are not stressed. dogmatic attitude has made the typical muslim household with more than 3 children ; with low incomes large families cannot be pulled out of the cycle of poverty and backwardness.

2.Women's rights, esp reg divocrce, property rights are not fair. Triple talak, etc. My question is if Muslims want to follow the Shariath law instead of a uniform civil code, then what about Criminal law ? if there is a criminal offence aginst or by a muslim, why not shariat be used (like in Saudi) ; public flogging and stoning to death, etc.
If they can accept IPC for criminal offences, then what prevents them accepting a uniform civil code ? i think it is the male chauvinsitic agenda of the insular leaders...

3. Haj subsidy : the govt spends some Rs.250 crores every year to subsidise Haj pilgrimage. It is highly 'unsecular' and foolish.
I remember reading that the muslim tradition asks only those who can afford to go on Haj. and this 250 crores p.a can be exclusively used to build and operate free hospitals and schools in muslim areas. it will be most useful.

K.R.Athiyaman
Chennai - 96
nellikkani.blogspot.com

தொலைவிலிருந்து பார்க்கும் போது, நீ என் நண்பனைப் போல் தோன்றுகிறாய்.....

2007-10-14T23:46:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5_YAj9lCQc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDSh5wUtXt4

எனக்கு மிகவும் பிடித்த ஒரு ஆங்கில பாட்டின் தமிழாக்கம் :

....தொலைவிலிருந்து பார்க்கும் போது நீ என் நண்பனைப் போல் தோன்றுகிறாய், ஆனால் நாம் யுத்த களத்தில் இருக்கிரோம்.

தொலைவிலிருந்து பார்க்கும் போது இந்த யுத்தம் எதற்க்கு என்று எனக்கு புரியவிலை..

FROM A DISTANCE

(Julie Gold)

From a distance the world looks blue and green
And the snow-capped mountains white
From a distance the ocean meets the stream
And the eagle takes to flight

From a distance there is harmony
And it echoes through the land
It's the voice of hope, it's the voice of peace
It's the voice of every man

From a distance we all have enough
And no one is in need
There are no guns, no bombs, no diseases
No hungry mouths to feed

From a distance we are instruments
Marching in a common band
Playing songs of home, playing songs of peace
They're the songs of every man
God is watching us, God is watching us
God is watching us from a distance

From a distance you look like my friend
Even though we are at war
From a distance I can't comprehend
What all this war is for

From a distance there is harmony
And it echoes through the land
It's the hope of hopes, it's the love of loves
It's the heart of every man

It's the hope of hopes, It's the love of loves
It's the song of every man

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_a_Distance

a treasured possesion

2007-10-06T04:39:00.001-07:00

To : Thriru Sujatha

Dear Sir,

"Enadu Ninavugal" by Kovai Ayyamuthu (1898-1975)
is a remarkable autobiography of a remarakble
personality. Freedom fighter, Gandhian, poet,
writer-director,entreupreuner and agriculturist,
whose career took many turns. Served in WW 1 in Iraq,
worked in Rangoon, became a mechant in Coimbatore ;
after hearing Gandhiji's call, joinned Congress
and established Kadar movement in Tirupur
and TN ; was collegue of EVR,C.S and Kamaraj and
Kalki Sadasivam in 1930s and 40s.(jailed in Vaikom
struggle).

And was a sisya of Rajaji till the end. Helped
establish the Gandhi Ashram near Tiruchengode in 1925.
Quaerelled with Gandhiji over an issue and resigned
from Khadi movement in 1942 and went on to become a
successful trader and businessman in Coimbatore ;
wrote and directed the film "Kanchan" in 1947 at
Coimbatore Central Studios (jupiter films) ; and
finally settled down as agriculturist near Pollachi
in 1950. N.Mahalingam was his sisya.Subsequently
joined Swatanta party under Rajaji.
Worked tirelessly till the end.

His book continues to inspire me and i treasure it.

Thanks & Regards
Athiyaman

____________________________________________________________________________________
Fussy? Opinionated? Impossible to please? Perfect. Join Yahoo!'s user panel and lay it on us. http://surveylink.yahoo.com/gmrs/yahoo_panel_invite.asp?a=7

God, dharma, human logic, astrology and life ; Maughum's Razor's Edge, etc

2007-08-09T03:09:00.001-07:00

To : Thiru Sujatha Rangarajan

Dear Sir,

Hindu concepts of transmigration of soul, rebirth
can be used to justify or rationalise the unfairness
of life on earth. God' dharma or ethics is
incomprehensible to our human logic. Good people
suffer needlessly while evil people flourish and die
peacefully. so it seems. In Astrology, the fifth house
denotes prevoius births or purva punya sthanam.
And our current life and events are based on tallying
the good/bad things we had done in prevoius births.

Only if we can understand or accept such logic can we
justify or rationalise life's contradictions and
unfairness.

Hope you must have read Razor's Edge by your favourite
author Somerset Maughaum, based on Ramanar and India.
It is his most important work. Pls re-read Larry's
experiences and inferences again. About Godliness
and human life and soul.

Also R.K.Narayan's auto-biography "My Days" and
semi-autobiographical novel "English Teacher" are
important books about tranmigration of soul. he says he
established contact with his late wife (who passed
away in 1939) ; and he is not unscientific.

Astrology, as in weekly predictions or sun-signs are
generalised and can be quite inaccurate. Only a
correct interpretation of horoscope can give accurate results
and analysis. The character of an individual, his
strenghts and weakness, biases , health, appearance
,etc can be predicted accurately in our Indian
methods. Pls try to meet Thiru.A.M.R of Kumudam
jodhidam for a discussion. Or you can enquire about
his merits and accomplishments with your contacts at
Kumudam office, etc. You may be in for a surprise.

I am from a DK background, but now an ametuer
astrologer ; and can understand many facets or life
and humans better now.

more later

Sincerely Yours
Athiyaman
Chennai

Vedic society and equality

2007-08-06T23:37:00.001-07:00

To
The Editor,
The Astrlogical Magazine,
Bangalore

Dear Sir / Madam,

Subject: Vedic society and equality

Time and again you have upheld the lofty character and the superiority of the
vedas. I am a Hindu and a beliver. I have a smattering knowledge about our religion -
mostly through the English translations.I am a Sudra, one who was declared unfit to
have the sacred knowledge and to learn sanskrit. I have a few questions ; I don't insist
on your reply. But please try to honestly answer these questions to yourself. Of course
this needs a bit of courage.

1. Do you believe in the equality of humans - not as some theoretical ideal as prescribed
in Manisha Panchaka but as a everyday fact of life - the absolute equality of humans
before God, that everyone is entitled to pray, to reach God, to read the sacred literature,
irrespective of their social status ?

2. Do you believe that salvation is possible to all - Hindus, Muslims, Christians & Jews ;
Brahmana, Vaishya, Kshatrya, Sudra and Panchama ? That birth and social status
doesn't disqualify anyone from reaching the supreme knowledge ?

3. What are the steps that you have taken to propagate the sacred knowledge found in the
Vedas ? Any Christian who can read, can read the Bible in his own mother tongue.Have
you ever tried to translate noble portions of Vedas into Kannada, to begin with ?

4. Do you believe that the sacredness of the Vedas would be lost in the translation ? The
medieval Church believed that only the Latin Bible was sacred - even though the Bible was
written originally in Hebrew - and it should not be translated. If you believe so, what are
the steps you have taken to spread Sanskrit among us the Indians so that we can learn
the Vedas as they are ?

5. Can you deny that for centuries this Sanskrit was not taught to Sudras and Panchamas,
even though foreigners like Alberuni (11th Century), William Jones (18th Century) and
Max Mueller were allowed to learn it ? Max Mueller was able to learn the Vedas, but not
the Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, Sudras or the Panchamas. Why ? Does it mean that Panchamas
and Sudras are inferior to Milechas ?

We were prevented from learning Sanskrit and the Vedas, and now you ask us to
appreciate their wisdom.This is like asking somebody to appreciate a painting he had
never seen, not even in photo, just because some scholar thinks it is the greatest painting
in the world.

The white races conquered the Americas,captured most of Asia, sold the Africans into
slavery,exploited them ruthlessly,exterminated the Red Indians and the Australian natives,
and impoverished India, China and numerous other countries.But even they acknowledged,
at least in theory,that all men are created equal.(Please remember Purusha Sukta).

6. If a Vedic dictum runs contrary to the spirit of our times, which shall prevail ?

7. It had been held that while the Srutis are eternal, Smritis are subject to the effects of
time. Hence, the smritis must be revised to suit the times. What steps have been taken
in this direction ?

8. What shall be the basis of our society in future - Chaturvarna -reformed and refined, or
equality as assured by our constitution ? Please do not obfuscate.

The Celebrated Manu had provided a very nice escape route from the inconvenient questions
of ignorant busybodies like me. He had ruled that a Sudra (me ! ) who presumes to teach a
Brahmin (need not say who ! ) should be "shown his place". Unfortunately these Whites
had overthrown the Sacred Order of our Society and started off thousands of Sudras like me.

Under the old system (the Sacred Varna) I 'd be eking out a miserable living as an
illiterate artisan and you would be content to call it my karma, and would not educate me.
The modern education had enabled me to stand up like a man, to earn a living suitable to my
intellectual capacity, not to feel inferior or superior to anybody and to seek the truth for myself
instead of depending on a priestly class.Now, which system, do you think will get my undying
loyalty and vociferous support ? Why ?

The Western society is plagued by many social evils - juvenile delinquency, single parents,
violence, high divorce rates and others. But let us not presume that we can show them the way -
with our untouchability, dowry deaths, caste violence, rigid caste system, and people who still
think all men are not equal and women are certainly inferior.

The West has nothing to teach us in religion and philosophy, but we have everything to learn
about liberty, equality and that doctrine totally alien to us, fraternity. Please do not quote -
" Vasudeva Kudumbakam". The Sudras and Panchamas were not family members of that
Kudumbakam, but helpless servants.

I am yet to see one Hindu religious head who upholds the equality of humans,says that the
smrithis must be revised, accepts that some excesses had happened under Chaturvarna, that
untouchablity is not suitable to our times and proclaims that everyone is entitled to study the
Vedas. When we are considered not even humans,why should someone care for our support ?
Only some miracle had prevented a wholesale exodus of Hindu masses to Islam and Christianity.
(May be the sudras felt that thir "Superiors" will follow them there also and continue to be the
"Superiors" ! This what happened to Budhism and led to its downfall). But that does not mean
that every Hindu is swallowing all the half baked theories of their "Superiors".

Unless and until the guardians of the old order really regret the mistakes of the past,accept that
equality shall be the basis of our future society and teach the sacred knowledge to all deserving
people, more and more Indians will repudiate the Vedas, on which the old order claimed it was
based. Let charity begin at home. May He lead us all to wisdom and enlightenment.

Om Tat Sat.

Palestine and US follies

2007-05-26T19:49:00.001-07:00

Dondu sir,

If Bin Laden wants to target Christianity, he would have attacked the Vatican first. He was
supported and sponsored by US during the cold war ; in Afhagnistan. (so was Saddam to contain Iran). Bin laden is neither
crazy nor a fool to turn aginst US for religious reasons. I had quoted his statement after 9/11.
US paid a dear price for its folly.
Germany will never be targeted by any terrorists because after learning a bitter lesson in WW 2, they have kept themselves aloof from all world affairs and remain low profile and neutral..

I too admire Israel for its acheivemnts and courage under adversity. and their economic miracle and ingenuity is great. they invented the drip irrigation and many innovative methods.
all this until 1990s.

now they are a powerful and arrogant bully who never learnt to make peace. Pls read about the peace movements within Isreal and the opinion of many Isrealis.
those 3 mossad chief's were realistic and pragmatic ; they never have any political ambitions.
and Sharon, the crafty politician who unleashed the current intifida to save his career is now in coma for over a year. karma vinay and ool vinai...he has the blood of thousands in his hands.

hopefully the recent debacle of attacking Lebnon and the conflict within PLA (hamas vs fatah) has made a unstable peace and makes the road map for peace a bit easy...

and US has a talent for creating a severe headache for itself and the world after spending a trillion dollars !!. Remember its Viatnam adventure. And Iraq (and esp arming Saddam in the 80s). They are somewhat crazy.

The only US (and NATO) action that
i wholeheartedly support was their
bombing of Serbia in 1999 to stop the Serbian genocide of mulims in
Bosnia. but for NATO bombing the
genocide would have continued.
US should have used the Bosnian
muslims it saved as a propoganda
weapon against 'Islamic' terrorits.

anbudan
Athiyaman

demillitarisation of Kashmir

2007-05-26T07:39:00.001-07:00

an excellent suggestion. must be implemented at the earliest.

reminds me of another thing: regarding how to control islamic terrorism, somebody suggested that the rulers of the middle east , pakistan, etc should not be allowed to send their children to settle or work in the western countries. then they will be forced to improve their countries for their children's sake at least!

even osama's niece is in europe! i am sure that the kashmiri elites of all hues have sent away their children to safety, as had done our LTTE chief!

i wish all the very best for the people who support these leaders and make their children's future unsafe.
-gopalan

Athiyaman Karur R wrote

Dear Sir,

Reduction of troops in Kashmir can begin with
the withdrawl of special forces of security for
former CM Mufti Mohamad Sayeed and his family.
May be then, he may change his stand.

Regards

K.R.Athiyaman

arguments thru emails

2007-05-26T07:35:00.001-07:00

Dear shantha,

I am fine and rains are wreaking havoc here.

We shall continue our debates thru mails
which is better than even face to face
arguments. Impersonal and unemotional...

one more : why did Dawood Ibrahim mastermind
Mumbai blasts at a great personal risk.
Hitherto he was a hardened criminal after
money and power ; but he was never an idealist
like the suicide bombers of Jihadists.
Ans : revenge for the pograms against
muslims in the aftermath of babri masjid
demolitions in jan 03.

Unless and until Palestine and Kashmir
issues are settled amicable and demcratically,
(also US should get out of middle east while
Isreal should pull back, make peace and
recognise Palestinian statehood), Islamic
'terrorism' will never end.

I agree that jihad elements are insular
and fanatics and do no belive or understand
democracy or secular ideals. But the monstor
has been created by US, Isreal and stubborn
Indian govt which holds on to Kashmir at
all costs.

during partition in 1947, Punjab and Bengal
were divided by a surgical operation. The
same logic should have applied to J n Kashmir.
the muslim majority Kashmir should have gone
to Pakistan (the K in Pakistan (acronymn)
stands for Kashmir) while we should have
retained Hindu majority Jammu. this
unfinished business of partition is still
haunting us and cost dear...

did you read Tavleen Singh's account about
Kashmir that i had sent ?

see you later.

Anbudan
Athiyaman

Gandhiji

2007-05-26T07:31:00.001-07:00

Dear Shiva,

I too is a Gandhi buff. Was fortunate
enough to visit Sabarmathi Ashram at
Ahamadabad in 1988. Spent some hours
there reliving the past...

And i couldn't control my tears when
i first visited Raj Ghat in Delhi in 1992.
Same at Birla Hosue at where i bought the
book "Gandhi" movie screeplay ; it is
a remarkable screeplay, better than the
film.

He was a great man but still had his
defects and blunders, esp in his personal
life. His fanatic belief is naturopathy
made him stop the rare Pencillin injection
for his very sick wife in 1944 at Pune
prison. the British had specially flown
in the medicine from war torn UK. But
without the injection Ba died and he
was forlorn with greif and guilt....
Also his experiments with his grand nieces
were unneccessary and unscientific...

I have a biography of him by Vincent
Sheean (Lead Kindly Light) and another
one by Louis Fisher, apart from
Sathya Sothanai.

And i am an ardent fan of Rajaji who was
a close friend, associate and sambandhi
of Gandhiji. I try to read all the works of
Rajaji. His "Sathyameva Jeyathe" collection
of 4 volumes from his journal Swarajya is
a must read for us. His vison and depth
are peerless ; he is easily the greatest
leader and visonary of our times. His
warnings about pseudo socialism and
'license, permit, quota' raj are
remarkable.

I treausre an autobiography of Kovai
Ayyamutu (1898-1977) who was a sisya of
Rajaji and Gandhiji. He was a freedom fighter,
established Khadar movement in Tirupur ;
was a writer, poet and movie director ;
an entreupreuner and agriculturist and
finally an active memeber of Swathanthra
Party. He was a collegue and friend of
EVR Periyar in Vaikam movement in 20s.
Served in army in Baghdad in 1918..
I re-read this book once in a while for
inspiration. Kamaraj, C.Subramaniam,
G.D.Naidu and EVR's activities and anecedotes
are there....

Hope you have read JJ Sila Kuripugal of
Nagarkovil SuRa.

Also i was a fan of Writer Sujatha and have
read almost all his works. Met him twice
and regulaly chat with him every saturady
thru ambalam.com. a versatile writer who
has been under rated.

ok. see you later.

anbudan
Athiyaman

Humour Trapped !!

2007-05-26T07:25:00.001-07:00

Humour Trapped !!

1. Our complainant, who was working as a wireless operator in Motor Transport Section of Mumbai Police, came to Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) and lodged a complaint that his in-charge Hawaldar was demanding money for showing favor in the matter of distribution of duties. A trap was laid at the quarters of the said hawaldar. He was sleeping in the room. He woke up, accepted the bribe of Rs. 500, kept the bribe, amount under his pillow and again went to sleep! The Hawaldar had to be woken up and told that this was a trap from the Anti - Corruption Bureau. He pleaded that he was sleeping and that he was not aware as to who had kept the said amount under his pillow. However, this was untrue as the entire transaction had taken place in presence of independent witnesses.

2. A complainant lodged a complaint with us against a Mukadam of M - Ward, BMC, Mumbai, of a bribe demand of Rs. 1500. A trap was laid at the office of the M - Ward, BMC. Some of the raiding party members went to the second floor along with the complainant and the witnesses, while the remaining raiding party were waiting in front of the office near a Pan shop. The Mukadam met the complainant and asked him to accompany him outside the BMC office. They came to the same pan shop where the remaining members of the raiding party were waiting! The Mukadam asked for a paper bag from the pan shop owner and after blowing into the bag, he asked our complainant to drop the bribe inside the bag in the presence of entire raiding party! Thereafter, he was trapped. ( Normally we find it very difficult to get the raiding party to witness the bribe taking, since the bribe taker takes precautions.) At that time, he was aged about 57 years and 11 months and was to retire in a month's time. The Mukadam was convicted by the Court.

3. A complainant telephoned to the ACB office and informed that one Rationing official was demanding Rs. 50 from him for not deleting the name of his deceased father from the Ration Card saying that " Mare Huain Aadmi ke Naam Pe Ration khate Ho, Tumhare Upar main Case kar Doonga " ( You are taking the Rations of a dead man. I will register a case against you. ) The complainant was asked to come to ACB for lodging his complaint, but he could not come, as the Rationing officer insisted on immediate payment of the bribe. Our complainant wisely made a photo copy of the Fifty Rupee note he was going to pay as bribe to the Rationing official. Complainant also had another work of change of his residential address for which the same Rationing Officer demanded another bribe of Rs. 200. The complainant came to ACB the next day and lodged his complaint. A trap was laid at the kandivli Rationing Office and the Rationing official was trapped while accepting Rs. 200. During his personal search, another Rs. 50 was found in his pant pocket and which was the same that had been accepted by him on the earlier day!

4. A complainant came to ACB for lodging a complaint of demand of bribe against a an official of the Municipal Corporation of Mumbai. The Addl. DCP, ACB asked one of the ACsP of the Bureau to record the complaint and lay a trap. The ACP told the Addl. DCP that he was busy in some other matter and had no time for a fresh case. Ultimately, the Addl. DCP entrusted this work to one of the Police Inspectors of the Bureau. A trap was laid at the BMC office and the BMC official was trapped while accepting a bribe of Rs. 4500. When the BMC official was detained, he immediately disclosed that his son - in law is an ACP and is serving with Anti - Corruption Bureau. We were surprised to learn that that he was the same ACP to whom this trap has been entrusted earlier!!

5. Our complainant who was a policeman attached to the Sakinaka Police Station came to ACB to logged a complaint against a Junior Engineer of BMC L - Ward, Kurla, who was demanding a bribe of Rs. 17000 for showing favor in not demolishing the complainant's home. A Brihan Mumbai Muncipal Corporation Engineer was demanding bribe from a Policeman - a custodian of Law! A trap was laid at BMC L - ward office and the Engineer and his assistant were trapped. The Engineer was later convicted in the Court of Law.

6. Our complainant had approached a clerk in Tahsildar Office, Mulund and submitted an application for obtaining copy of the Electoral Roll, for which the official fee was Re.1. The clerk, however, demanded Rs. 200. Our complainant tried bargaining to reduce the amount of bribe but the clerk insisted on getting Rs. 200. The complainant reluctantly agreed to pay Rs. 200. At the same time, a neighboring lady clerk also demanded Rs. 200 saying "Mera Kya " ( What about me ) as she would also be doing part of the work!! The complainant approached ACB and a trap was laid at the Tahsildar office, Mulund and both these clerks were trapped while accepting Rs. 200 each. The case ended in conviction in Court.

7. A complainant lodged a complaint with ACB against a Police Sub Inspector attached to Pydhonie Police Station regarding demand of bribe of Rs. 4000=00. The surprising modus operandi of accepting the bribe was that the Sub Inspector gave our complainant a credit slip of his Bank and instructed him to deposit Rs. 4000 in his account! The officer filled in the details in the credit slip and after duly signing the same, handed it over to the complainant! After the complainant deposited the said amount in the bank, the PSI was trapped. He was convicted by the Court.

8.A complainant came to ACB and lodged a complaint against a Judicial Clerk for demand of bribe of Rs. 100 for issuing him a copy of the Judgment Order. The trap was laid in the premises of the Court. At the time of the trap, the Court typist and peon were also present in the vicinity. The complainant was about to pay Rs. 100 ( 10 currency notes of Rs. 10 ) to the Judicial Clerk, when the typist and the peon intervened saying " Hamara Kya" ( What about us ) to the complainant, who then had to distribute the trap amount Rs. 50 to the Judicial Clerk, Rs. 30 to typist and Rs. 20 to the peon! After this trap, the Court's work came to a stand still as there was nobody to assist the Honorable Magistrate!

9. A complainant came to ACB and lodged a complaint against a Junior Security Officer attached to F - South Ward, BMC for demand of bribe of Rs. 1500=00. When the trap was laid at his office, the officer was not present in his cabin. On enquiry, it was learnt, that the said officer was busy in a meeting with the Ward officer, in which the topic for discussion was "Prevention of Corruption in BMC" !! The complainant gave an intimation through a BMC Security Guard about his arrival, where upon the Security Officer came out, leaving the meeting with permission, and accepted bribe from the complainant!! He was trapped.

10. A complainant who is a hotelier and builder came to the ACB office and lodged a complaint of demand of bribe of Rs. 40, 000 by a Senior Police Inspector. During Pre - trap panchanama, the said Senior Inspector telephoned our complainant and demanded not only Rs. 40,000 but also a flat!. The complainant requested the officer to reduce the bribe amount, whereupon Inspector said " Paise Ka Baat Telephone Par Pe kar ke Mujhe Mar Do Ge Kya" ( By talking of money on the telephone, will you trap me ? ) The conversation was duly recorded by ACB officials. A trap was laid at the Police Station. He was, however, not present in his office chamber. The complainant approached his orderly, who rang up the officer at his residence. The Inspector told his orderly on telephone " Paise Jast Aahet, Lafda Nako, Room Madhye Thevu Nako, Baju Chya Dukandara Kade Thev " ( The money is large. I do not want any hassle. Don't keep it in the room. Keep it with the shop keeper next door. ) Accordingly, complainant handed over the bribe of Rs. 40, 000 to his orderly, who then kept that amount in the neighboring shop. The Senior Police Inspector, his orderly and the shop keeper were arrested.

a treasured possesion

2007-05-26T07:24:00.001-07:00

To : Thriru Sujatha

Dear Sir,

"Enadu Ninavugal" by Kovai Ayyamuthu (1898-1975)
is a remarkable autobiography of a remarakble
personality. Freedom fighter, Gandhian, poet,
writer-director,entreupreuner and agriculturist,
whose career took many turns. Served in WW 1 in Iraq,
worked in Rangoon, became a mechant in Coimbatore ;
after hearing Gandhiji's call, joinned Congress
and established Kadar movement in Tirupur
and TN ; was collegue of EVR,C.S and Kamaraj and
Kalki Sadasivam in 1930s and 40s.(jailed in Vaikom
struggle).

And was a sisya of Rajaji till the end. Helped
establish the Gandhi Ashram near Tiruchengode in 1925.
Quaerelled with Gandhiji over an issue and resigned
from Khadi movement in 1942 and went on to become a
successful trader and businessman in Coimbatore ;
wrote and directed the film "Kanchan" in 1947 at
Coimbatore Central Studios (jupiter films) ; and
finally settled down as agriculturist near Pollachi
in 1950. N.Mahalingam was his sisya.Subsequently
joined Swatanta party under Rajaji.
Worked tirelessly till the end.

His book continues to inspire me and i treasure it.

Thanks & Regards
Athiyaman

Kamaraj, the 'kingmaker'

2007-05-26T07:22:00.001-07:00

To : Mr.Ramachandra Guha

Dear Sir,

With regards to your article in Hindu :

Kamaraj was no doubt a great and honest leader and
freedom fighter. But he was not as noble or inncoent
as generally viewed by the masses. He (and the
syndicate) wanted to hold the levers of power behind
the screens. But for his efforts, Indira Gandhi would
never have been accepted as PM by Congressmen.

After Shastri's death, Morarji Desai was the tallest
and ablest leader ; honest and independent ;
Kamaraj and the syndicate feared that if Morarji
became PM, then they cannot control him ; so he
proposed Indira (a new face and young women), whom he
wrongly belived, can be controlled and maipulated from
behind the screens. Unfortunately for him, Indira Gandhi
turned out to be different and was ungrateful to him and
outmaouvered him ; subsequently he died a dis-illusioned
and unhappy man in 1975.

Pls refer M.O.Mathai's "Reminesenses of Nehru age"
and "Crisis of Conscience" by Rajinder Puri for more
details.

And India had to pay a very dear price for the 17
years of dictatorial and populistic rule of Indira Gandhi,
who over centralised power and destroyed the inner
characters of many public institutions. and economy
and public morals were wrecked for ever.

Regards
Athiyman
Chennai

arguments with dondu sir about Palestine & Israel

2007-05-26T03:11:00.001-07:00

sir,

Israel was fighting for its survival until the 80s and
the end of the cold war in 1991 changed the equations.
Since the Oslo accords, Israel missed many excellent
oppurtunities to make lasting peace with Palestinians.

Isaeli politicians are like our own
communal and caste based politicians. they whip up
mass hysteria to up their careers. Netaynhu (spelling
!!) was one such guy. In 2000 he purposely visted a
controverisial area and mosque to stir up the current
infitida. His politcal career was ending and he played
a machiavillian role to re-surrect it. Pls re-read
about that.

Israeli people are as naive and gullible and
ill-informed like us. Three former Mossad chief's had
issued a joint statement some years ago, condmening
the actions of Israeli politicians in perpetuating the
violence. They argued that many actions of the state
will create further rift and create more Palestinian
anger.These there men must be knowing the
ground reality better than anyone..

US (because of the short-sighted lobbying by its
powerful Jewish lobby) blindly supported whatever
Israel did ; vetoed many UN resolutions which were
fair and correct. Bin Laden, who was sponsored by US
in the 80s turned against US mainly because of this.
Religious feelings (Islamic terrorism) is a misnomer.
after 9/11 he declared that US will know no peace
until the Palestinians do.

In my opinion, both US and Isarel acted foolishly and
arrogantly and US paid a very dear price for its
folly. I am not justifying bin laden,etc nor do i
support the Palestinian PLA blindly. But if a people
feel that injustice is meted out to them and they have
nothing to loose but thier lives,
then no one can stop suicde bombers
and rebellion.

Until and unless Israel and US understand this, there
will be no solution. and recently one Israli ex-mossad
man had asked the Palestinian leadership to bypass the
Israel govt and go to the Israeli people directly for
peace talks. Live and let live should be the motto ;
and the entire Arab world is now ready to recognise
Israel if it can recognise Palestine state.

We praise our Bhagath Singh, Vanjinathan and Subash
Bose. They were 'terrorists' in the eyes of the
British. So who is correct ? one man's terrorist is
another man's freedom fighter..

But Palestinian leadership is corrupt and divided. and
they do not seem to understand and accept the core
values of democracy...

When will all this end ?

athiyaman.blogspot.com

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a mail to Reader's Digest

2007-05-25T08:56:00.001-07:00

From: <RDEditorial_RDW@ReadersDigest.com>
Sent: Monday, August 21, 2000 11:30 PM
Subject: content

Dear K.R.Athiyaman:

Thank you for your interest in Reader's Digest World and
for your response to some of our past articles. We appreciate
your taking the time to share your feedback as one of our
longtime subscribers. Comments like yours -- and those
from other readers -- give us useful insights into subjects
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The Editors
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From
K.R.Athiyaman

To

The Editor,
Readers Digest

Dear Sir,

I am a long time reader and admirer of RD.Most of the
articles are objective, informative and unbiased.

Since your political views are right of center (I have no
objection to them), you have published a number of articles
justifying the American involvement in the Vietnam war.
It is not an unbiased or neutral viewpoint.Millions of Americans
(including Bill Clinton) had opposed the war vehemently.

There can be no justification (moral or ideological)
for the war.Questions about National sovereignty and
human right violations are not raised in your columns.
Just imagine if Mexico or Argentina had intervened
similarly in the American civil war of 1860s!
That after all these years, RD still tries in vain to
justify the sordid chapter in American history is ironical.
But I support American actions in Yugoslavia and and
I am not a communist.

While you publish articles about the private lives of
Mao Tse Tung,Castro and other left wing dictators,
no word about the personal affairs of John.F.Kennedy,
who was equally bad in his abuse of women.
It is not an objective or unbiased viewpoint.

Anyway if you can correct these flaws, RD will
be a truly great magazine.

I have enclosed an article about the havoc wrecked
in India in the name of socialism.

Thanking You,

With Regards,
K.R.Athiyaman.

MACAULAY'S MINUTE ON EDUCATION

2007-05-25T08:42:00.001-07:00

19. MACAULAY'S MINUTE ON EDUCATION, 2ND FEBRUARY, 1835

19. 1. LEGISLATIVE ACT NECESSARY TO CHANGE CURRENT PRACTICE?

MACAULAY'S MINUTE

As it seems to be the opinion of some of the gentlemen who compose the Committee of Public Instruction, that the course which they have hitherto pursued was strictly prescribed by the British Parliament in 1813, and as, if that opinion be correct, a legislative act will be necessary to warrant a change, I have thought it right to refrain from taking any part in the preparation of the adverse statements which now before us, and to reserve what I had to say on the subject till it should come before me as a member of the Council of India.

19. 2. THE CHARTER OF 1813 DOES NOT SPEAK ABOUT THE CHOICE OF LANGUAGES: THE DEFINITION OF LITERATURE

It does not appear to me that the Act of Parliament can, by any art of construction, be made to bear the meaning which has been assigned to it. It contains nothing about the particular languages or sciences which are to be studied. A sum is set apart 'for the revival and promotion of literature and the encouragement of thelearned natives of India, and for the introduction and promotion of a knolwdge of the sciences among the inhabitants of the British territories.' It is argued, or rather taken for granted, that by literature, the Parliament can have meant only Arabic and Sanscrit literature, that they never would have given the honorable appellation of 'a learned native' to a native who was familiar with the poetry of Milton, the Metaphysics of Locke, and the Physics of Newton; but that they meant to designate by that name only such persons as might have studied in the sacred books of the Hindoos all the uses of cusa-grass, and all the mysteries of absorption into the Deity. This does not appear to be a very satisfactory interpretation. To take a parallel case: suppose that the Pacha of Egypt, a country once superior in knowledge of the nations of Europe, but now sunk far below them, were to appropriate a sum for the purpose of 'reviving and promoting literature, and encouraging learned natives of Egypt,' would anybody infer that he meant the youth of his pachalic to give years to the study of hieroglyphics, to search into all the doctrines disguised under the fable of Osiris, and to ascertain with all possible accuracy the ritual with which cats and onions were anciently adored? Would he be justly charged with inconsistency, if, instead of employing his young subjects in deciphering obelisks, he were to order them to be instructed in the English and French languages, and in all the sciences to which those languages are the chief keys?

19. 3. MONETARY PROVISIONS ONLY? NO!

The words on which the supporters of the old system rely do not bear them out, and other words follow which seem to be quite decisive on the other side. This lac of rupees is set apart, not only for 'reviving literature in India,' the phrase on which their whole interpretation is founded, but also for 'the introduction and promotion of a knowledge of the sciences among the inhabitants of the British territories,' -words which are alone sufficient to authorize all the changes for which I contend.

If the Council agree in my construction, no legislative act will be necessary. If they differ from me, I will prepare a short Act rescinding that clause of the Charter of 1813, from which the difficulty arises.

19. 4. NO PLEDGE GIVEN ON SUPPORT TO INDIAN LANGUAGE EDUCATION

The argument which I have been considering, affects only the form of proceeding. But the admirers of the Oriental system of education have used another argument, which, if we admit it to be valid, is decisive against all change. They conceive that the public faith is pledged to the present system, and that to alter the appropriation of any of the funds which have hitherto been spent in encouraging the study of Arabic and Sanscrit, would be down-right spoliation. It is not easy to understand by what process of reasoning they can have arrived at this conclusion. The grants which are made from the public purse for the encouragement of literature differed in no respect from the grants which are made from the same purse for other objects of real or supposed utility. We found a sanatarium on a spot which we suppose to be healthy. Do we thereby pledge ourselves to keep a sanatarium there, if the result should not answer our expectation? We commence the erection of a pier. Is it a violation of the public faith to stop the works, if we afterwards see reason to believe that the building will be useless? The rights of property are undoubtedly sacred. But nothing endangers those rights so much as the practice, now unhappily too common, of attributing them to things which they do not belong. Those who impart to abuses the sanctity of property are in truth imparting to the institution of property the unpopularity and the fragility of abuses. If the Government has given to any person a formal assurance; nay, if the Government has excited in any person's mind a reasonable expectation that he shall receive a certain income as a teacher or a learner of Sanscrit or Arabic, I would respect that person's pecuniary interests-I would rather err on the side of liberality to individuals than suffer the public faith to be called in question. But to talk of a Government pledging itself to teach certain languages and certain sciences, though those languages may become useless, though those sciences may be exploded, seems to be quite unmeaning. There is not a single word in any public instructions, from which it can be inferred that the Indian Government ever intended to give any pledge on this subject, or ever considered the destination of these funds as unalterably fixed. But had it been otherwise, I should denied the competence of our predecessors to bind us by any pledge on such a subject. Suppose that a Government had in the last century enacted in the most solemn manner that all its subjects should, to the end of time, be inoculated for the small-pox: would that Government be bound to persist in the practice after Jenner's discovery? These promises of which nobody claims the performance, and from which nobody can grant a release; these vested rights, which vest in nobody; this property without proprietors; this robbery, which makes nobody poorer, may be comprehended by persons of higher faculties than mine. I consider this plea merely as a set form of words, regularly used both in England and in India, in defence of every abuse for which no other plea can be set up.

I hold this lac of rupees to be quite at the disposal of the Governor-General in Council, for the purpose of promoting learning in India , in any way which may be thought most advisable. I hold his Lordship to be quite as free to direct that it shall no longer be employed in encouraging Arabic and Sasnscrit, as he is to direct that the reward for killing tigers in Mysore shall be diminished, or that no more public money shall be expended on the chanting at the cathedral.

19. 5. WHAT IS THE MOST USEFUL WAY OF USING THE MONEY ALLOCATED FOR THE INTELLECTUAL IMPROVEMENT OF THE PEOPLE OF INDIA?

We now come to the gist of the matter. We have a fund to be employed as government shall direct for the intellectual improvement of the people of this country. The simple question is, what is the most useful way of employing it?

All parties seem to be agreed on one point, that the dialects commonly spoken among the natives of this part of India, contain neither literary nor scientific information, and are, moreover, so poor and rude that, until they are enriched from some other quarter, it will not be easy to translate any valuable work into them. It seems to be admitted on all sides, that the intellectual improvement of those classes of the people who have the means of pursuing higher studies can at present be effected only by means of some language not vernacular amongst them.

19. 6. WHAT THEN SHALL THAT LANGUAGE BE?

What then shall that language be? One-half of the Committee maintain that it shouldbe the English. The other half strongly recommend the Arabic and Sanscrit. The whole question seems to me to be, which language is the best worth knowing?

I have no knowledge of either Sanscrit or Arabic. -But I have done what I could to form a correct estimate of their value. I have read translations of the most celebrated Arabic and Sanscrit works. I have conversed both here and at home with men distinguished by their proficiency in the Eastern tongues. I am quite ready to take the Oriental learning at the valuation of the Orientalists themselves. I have never found one among them who could deny that a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia. The intrinsic superiority of the Western literature is, indeed, fully admitted by those members of the Committee who support the Oriental plan of education.

It will be hardly disputed, I suppose, that the department of literature in which the eastern writers with any Orientalist who ventured to maintain that the Arabic and Sanscrit poetry could be compared to that of the great European nations. But when we pass from works of imagination to works in which facts are recorded, and general principles investigated, the superiority of the Europeans becomes absolutely immeasurable. It is, I believe, no exaggeration to say, that all the historical information which has been collected from all the books written may be found in the most paltry abridgments used at preparatory schools in England. In every branch of physical or moral philosophy, the relative position of the two nations is nearly the same.

19. 7. INDIANS CANNOT BE EDUCATED BY MEANS OF THEIR MOTHER-TONGUE: ENGLISH IS THE LANGAUGE

How, then, stands the case? We have to educate a people who cannot at present be educated by means of their mother-tongue. We must teach them some foreign language. The claims of our own language it is hardly necessary to recapitulate. It stands pre-eminent even among the languages of the west. It abounds with works of imagination not inferior to the noblest which Greece has bequeathed to us; with models of every species of eloquence; with historical compositions, which, considered merely as narratives, have seldom been surpassed, and which, considered as vehicles of ethical and political instruction, have never been equaled; with just and lively representations of human life and human nature; with the most profound speculations on metaphysics, morals, government, jurisprudence, and trade; with full and correct information respecting every experimental science which tends topreserve the health, to increase the comfort, or to expand the intellect of man. Whoever knows that language has ready access to all the vast intellectual wealth, which all th wisest nations of the earth have created and hoarded int 4he course of ninety generations. It may be safely said, that the literature now extant in that language is of far greater value than all the literature which three hundred years ago was extant in all the languages of the world together. Nor is this all. In India, English is the language spoken by the ruling class. It is spoken by the higher class of natives at the seats of Government. It is like to become the language of commerce throughout the seas of the East. It is the language of two great European communities which are raising, the one in south of Africa, the other in Australasia; communities which are every year becoming more important, and more closely connected with our Indian empire. Whether we look at the intrinsic value of our literature, or at the particular situation of this country, we shall see the strongest reason to think that, of all foreign tongues, the English tongue is that which would be the most useful to our native subjects.

19. 8. DO WE ABDICATE OUR RESPONSIBILITY?

The question now before us is simply whether, when it is in our power to teach this language, we shall teach languages, by which, by universal confession, there are not books on any subject which deserve to be compared to our own; whether, when we can teach European science, we shall teach systems which, by universal confession, whenever they differ from those of Europe, differ for the worse; and whether, when we can patronise sound Philosophy and true History, we shall countenance, at the public expense, medical doctrines, which would disgrace an English farrier, --Astronomy, which would move laughter in girls at an English boarding school,--History, abounding with kings thirty feet high, and reigns thirty thousand years long,--and Geography, made up of seas of treacle and seas of butter.

19. 9. THE PRECEDENTS: EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE

We are not without experience to guide us. History furnishes several analogous cases, and they all teach the same lesson. There are in modern times, to go no further, two memorable instances of a great prejudices overthrown, --of knowledge diffused,--of taste purified,--of arts and sciences planted in countries which had =recently been ignorant and barbarous.

The first instance to which I refer, is the great revival of letters among the Western nations at the close of the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth century. At that time almost every thing that was worth reading was contained in the writings of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Had our ancestors acted as the Committee of Public Instruction has hitherto acted; had they neglected the language of Cicero and Tacitus; had they confined their attention to the old dialects of our own island; had they printed nothing and taught nothing at the universities but Chronicles in Anglo-Saxon, and Romances in Norman-French, would England have been what she now is? What the Greek and Latin were to the contemporaries of More and Ascham, our tongue is to the people of India. The literature of England is now more valuable than that of classical antiquity. I doubt whether the Sanscrit literature be as valuable than that of classical antiquity. I doubt whether the Sanscrit literature be as valuable as that of our Saxon and Norman progenitors. In some departments, --in History, for example, I am certain that it is much less so.

Another instance may be said to be still before our eyes. Within the last hundred and twenty years, a nation which had previously been in a state as a barbarous as that in which our ancestors were before the crusades, has gradually emerged from the ignorance in which it was sunk, and has taken its place among civilized communities. -I speak of Russia. There is now in that country a large educated class, abounding with persons fit to serve the state in the highest functions, and in no wise inferior to the most accomplished men who adorn the best circles of Paris and London. There is reason to hope that this vast empire, which in the time of our grandfathers was probably behind the Punjab, may, in the time of our grandchildren, be pressing close to on France and Britain in the career of improvement. And how was this change effected? Not by flattering national prejudices: not by feeding the mind of the young Muscovite with the old women's stories which his rude fathers had believed: not by filling his head with lying legends about St. Nicholas: not by encouraging him to study the great question, whether the world was or was not created on the 13th of September: not by calling 'a learned native,' when he has mastered all these points of knowledge: but by teaching him those foreign languages in which the greatest mass of information had been laid up, and thus putting all that information within his reach. The languages of Western Europe civilized Russia. I cannot doubt that they will do for the Hindoo what they have done for the Tartar.

19. 10. THE LEARNERS CANNOT PRESCRIBE WHAT THE TEACHERS SHOULD TEACH: INDIANS ACTUALLY DESIRE TO LEARN ENGLISH AND WESTERN SCIENCES

And what are the arguments against that course which seems to be alike recommended by theory and by experience? It is said that we ought to secure the co-operation of the native public, and that we can do this only by teaching Sanscrit and Arabic.

I can by no means admit that when a nation of high intellectual attainments undertakes to superintend the education of a nation comparatively ignorant, the learners are absolutely to prescribe the course which is to be taken by the teachers. It is not necessary, however, to say anything on this subject. For it is proved by unanswerable evidence that we are not at present securing the co-operation of the natives. It would be bad enough to consult their intellectual taste at the expense of their intellectual health. But we are consulting neither, -- we are withholding from them the learning for which they are craving, we are forcing on them the mock-learning which they nauseate.

This is proved by the fact that we are forced to pay our Arabic and Sanscrit students, while those who earn English are willing to pay us. All the declamations in the world about the love and reverence of the natives for their sacred dialects will never, in the mind of any impartial person, outweigh the undisputed fact, that we cannot find, in all our vast empire, a single student who will let us teach him those dialects unless we will pay him.

I have now before me the accounts of the Madrassa for one month, -- the month of December 1833. The Arabic students appear to have been seventy-seven in number. All receive stipends from the public. The whole amount paid to them is about 500 rupees a month. On the other side of the account stands the following item: Deduct amount realized from the out-students of English for the months of May, June and July last, 103 rupees.

19. 11. DO WE PAY PEOPLE TO LEARN WHAT THEY WANT TO LEARN?

I have been told that it is merely from want of local experience that I am surprised at these phenomena, and that it is not the fashion for students in India to study at their own charges. This only confirms me in my opinion. Nothing is more certain than that it never can in any part of the world be necessary to pay men for doing what they think pleasant and profitable. India is no exception to this rule. The people of India do not require to be paid for eating rice when they are hungry, or for wearing woolen cloth in the cold season. To come nearer to the case before us, the children who learn their letters and a little elementary Arithmetic from the village school-master are not paid by him. He is paid for teaching them. Why then is it necessary to pay people to learn Sanscrit and Arabic? Evidently because it is universally felt that the Sanscrit and Arabic are languages, the knowledge of which does not compensate for the trouble of acquiring them. On all such subjects the state of the market is the decisive test.

Other evidence is not wanting, if other evidence were required. A petition was presented last year to the Committee by several ex-students of the Sanscrit College. The petitioners stated that they had studied in the college ten or twelve years; that they had made themselves acquainted with Hindoo literature and science; that they had received certificates of proficiency: and what is the fruit of all this! 'Notwithstanding such testimonials,' they say, 'we have but little of bettering our condition without the kind of assistance of your Honorable Committee, the indifference with which we are generally looked upon by our countrymen leaving no hope of encouragement and assistance from them.' They therefore beg that they may be recommended to the Governor General for places under the Government, not places of high dignity or emolument, but such as may just enable them to exist. 'We want means,' they say, 'for a decent living, and for our progressive improvement, which, however, we cannot obtain without the assistance of Government, by whom we have been educated and maintained from childhood.' They conclude by representing, very pathetically, that they are sure that it was never the intention of government, after behaving so liberally to them during thei education, to abandon them to destitution and neglect.

19. 12. THE CONTEST BETWEEN TRUTH AND FALSEHOOD

I have been used to see petitions to Government for compensation. All these petitions, even the most unreasonable of them, proceeded on the supposition that some loss had been sustained-that some wrong had been inflicted. These are surely the first petitioners whoever demanded compensation for having been educated gratis, -- for having been supported by the public during twelve years, and then sent forth into the world well furnished with literature and science. They represent their education as an injury which gives them a claim on the Government for redress, as an injury for which the stipends paid to them during the infliction were a very inadequate compensation. And I doubt not that they are in the right. They have wasted the best years of life in learning what procures for them neither bread nor respect. Surely we might, with advantage, have saved the cost of making these persons useless and miserable; surely, men may be brought up to be burdens to the public and objects of contempt to their neighbours at a smaller charge to the state. But such is our policy. We do not even stand neuter in the contest between truth and falsehood. We are not content to leave the natives to the influence of their own hereditary prejudices. To the natural difficulties which obstruct the progress of sound science in the East, we add fresh difficulties of our own making. Bounties and premiums, such as ought not to be given even for the propagation of truth, we lavish on false taste and false philosophy.

19. 13. EXPENDITURE ON SANSCRIT AND ARABIC LEARNING IS DEAD LOSS

By acting thus we create the very evil which we fear. We are making that opposition which we do not find. What we spend on the Arabic and Sanscrit colleges is not merely a dead loss to the cause of truth; it is bounty-money paid to raise up champions of error. It goes to form a nest, not merely of helpless place-hunters, but of bigots prompted alike by passion and by interest to raise a cry against every useful scheme of education. If there should be by opposition among the natives to the change which I recommend, that opposition will be the effect of our own system. It will be headed by persons supported by our stipends and trained in our colleges. The longer we persevere in our present course, the more formidable will that opposition be. It will be every year reinforced by recruits whom we are paying. From the native society left to itself, we have no difficulties to apprehend; all the murmuring will come from that oriental interest which we have, by artificial means, called into being, and nursed into strength.

19. 14. THE REAL DESIRE OF INDIANS

There is yet another fact, which is alone sufficient to prove that the feeling of the native public, when left to itself, is not such as the supporters of the old system represent it to be. The Committee have thought fit to lay out above a lac of rupees in printing Arabic and Sanscrit books. Those books find not purchasers. It is very rarely that a single copy is disposed of. Twenty-three thousand volumes, most of them folios and quartos, fill the libraries, or rather the lumber-rooms, of this body. The Committee contrive to get rid of some portion of their vast stock of oriental literature by giving books away. But they cannot give so fast as they print. About twenty thousand rupees a year are spent in adding fresh masses of waste paper to a hoard which, I should, is already sufficiently ample. During the last three years, about sixty thousand rupees have been expended in this manner. The sale of Arabic and Sanscrit books, during those three years, has not yielded quite one thousand rupees. In the mean time the School-book Society is selling seven or eight thousand English volumes every year, and not only pays the expenses of printing, but realizes a profit of 20 per cent. on its outlay.

19. 15. THE INDIAN PENAL CODE WILL REPLACE SANSCRIT AND ARABIC TEXTS

The fact that the Hindoo law is to be learned chiefly from Sanscrit books, and the Mahometan law from Arabic books, has been much insisted on, but seems not to bear at all on the question. We are commanded by Parliament to ascertain and digest the laws of India. The assistance of a law Commission has been given to us for that purpose. As soon as the code is promulgated, the Shastras and the Hedaya will be useless to a Moonsief or Sudder Ameen. I hope and trust that before the boys who are now entering at the Madrassa and the Sanscrit college have completed their studies, this great work will be finished. It would be manifestly absurd to educate the rising generation with a view to a state of things which we mean to alter before they reach manhood.

19. 16. INDIA GOVERNMENT WILL BE TOLERANT AND NEUTRAL TO ALL RELIGIONS

But there is yet another argument which seems even more untenable. It is said that the Sanscrit and Arabic are the languages in which the sacred books of a hundred millions of people are written, and that they are, on that account, entitled to peculiar encouragement. Assuredly it is the duty of the British Government in India to be not only tolerant, but neutral on all religious questions. But to encourage the study of a literature admitted to be of small intrinsic value, only because that literature inculcates the most serious errors on the most important subjects, is a course hardly reconcileable with reason, with morality, or even with that very neutrality which ought, as we all agree, to be sacredly preserved. It is confessed that a language is barren of useful knowledge. We are to teach it because it is false History, false Astronomy, false Medicine, because we find them in company with a false religion. We abstain, and I trust shall always abstain, from giving any public encouragement to those who are engaged in the work of converting natives to Christianity. And while we act thus, can we reasonably and decently bribe men out of the revenues of the state to waste their youth in learning how they are to purify themselves after touching an ass, or what text of the Vedas they are to repeat to expiate the crime of killing a goat?

19. 17. INDIANS CAN ATTAIN EXCELLENCE IN ENGLISH

It is taken for granted by the advocates of Oriental learning, that no native of this country can possibly attain more than a mere smattering of English. They do not attempt to prove this; but they perpetually insinuate it. They designate the education which their opponents recommend as a mere spelling book education. They assume it as undeniable, that the question is between a profound knowledge of Hindoo and Arabian literature and science on the one side, and a superficial knowledge of the rudiments of English on the other. This is not merely an assumption, but an assumption contrary to all reason and experience. We know that foreigners of all nations do learn our language sufficiently to have access to all the most abstruse knowledge which it contains, sufficiently to relish even the more delicate graces of our most idiomatic writers. There are in this very town natives who are quite competent to discuss political or scientific questions with fluency and precision in the English language. I have heard the very question on which I am now writing discussed by native gentlemen with a liberality and an intelligence which would do credit to any member of the Committee of Public instruction. Indeed it is unusual to find, even in the literary circles of the continent, any foreigner who can express himself in English with so much facility and correctness as we find in many Hindoos. Nobody, I suppose, will contend that English is so difficult to a Hindoo as Greek to an Englishman. Yet an intelligent English youth, in a much smaller number of years than our unfortunate pupils pass at the Sanscrit college, becomes able to read, to enjoy, and even to imitate, not unhappily, the compositions of the best Greek Authors. Less than half the time which enables an English youth to read Herodotus and Sophocles, ought to enable a Hindoo to read Hume and Milton.

19. 18. TO SUM UP

To sum up what I have said, I think it clear that we are not fettered by the Act of parliament of 1813; that we are not fettered by any pledge expressed or implied; that we are free to employ our funds as we choose; that we ought to employ them in teaching what is best worth knowing; that English is better worth knowing than Sanscrit or Arabic; that the natives are desirous to be taught English, and are not desirous to be taught Sanscrit or Arabic; that neither as the languages of law, nor as the languages fo religion, have the Sanscrit and Arabic any peculiar claim to our engagement; that it is possible to make natives of this country thoroughly good English scholars, and that to this end our efforts ought to be directed. In one point I fully agree with the gentlemen to whose general views I am opposed. I feel with them, that it is impossible for us, with our limited means, to attempt to educate the body of the people. We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern; a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect. To that class we may leave it to refine the vernacular dialects of the country, to enrich those dialects with terms of science borrow2ed from the Western nomenclature, and to render them by degrees fit vehicles for conveying knowledge to the great mass of the population.

19. 19. I SHALL HONOR ALL EXISTING COMMITMENTS

I would strictly respect all existing interests. I would deal even generously with all individuals who have had fair reason to expect a pecuniary provision. But I would strike at the root of the bad system which has hitherto been fostered by us. I would at once stop the printing of Arabic and Sanscrit books, I would abolish the Madrassa and the Sanscrit college at Calcutta. Benares is the great seat of Brahmanical learning; Delhi, of Arabic learning. If we retain the Sanscrit college at Benares and the Mahometan college at Delhi, we do enough, and much more than enough in my opinion, for the Eastern languages. If the Benares and Delhi colleges should be retained, would at least recommend tht no stipends shall be given to any students who may hereafter repair thither, but that the people shall be left to make their own choice between the rival systems of education without being bribed by us to learn what they have no desire to know. The funds which would thus be placed at our disposal would enable us to give larger encouragement to the Hindoo college at Calcutta, and to establish in the principal cities throughout the Presidencies of Fort William and Agra schools in which the English language might be well and thoroughly taught.

19. 20. RELIEVE ME IF MY PROPOSAL IS NOT ACCEPTED

If the decision of his Lordship in Council should be such as I anticipate, I shall enter on the performance of my duties with the greatest zeal and alacrity. If, on the other hand, it be the opinion of the government that the present system ought to remain unchanged, I beg that I may be permitted to retire from the chair of the Committee. I feel that I could not be of the smallest use there-I feel, also, that I should be lending my countenance to what I firmly believe to be a mere delusion. I believe that the present system tends, not to accelerate the progress of truth, but to delay the natural death of expiring errors. I conceive that we have at present no right to the respectable name of a Board of Public Instruction. We are a Board for wasting public money, for printing books which are of less value than the paper on which they are printed was while it was blank; for giving artificial encouragement to absurd history, absurd metaphysics, absurd physics, absurd theology; for raising up a breed of scholars who find their scholarship an encumbrance and a blemish, who live on the public while they are receiving their education, and whose education is so utterly useless to them that when they have received it they must either starve of live on the public all the rest of their lives. Entertaining these opinions, I am naturally desirous to decline all share in the responsibility of a body, which, unless it alters its whole mode of proceeding, I must consider not merely as useless, but as positively noxious.

*** *** ***

Isai Gyani's wisdom, Malaysia's prospertry Vs India, etc

2007-05-25T08:37:00.001-07:00

Dear Charu,

I like Ilayaraja's music and compositions like "How
to name it ?", etc. Not all his songs are good and
many are memorable and will stand the test of time.
I wanted to write a long letter to him about his
financial mis-management and debts. One of my friend
maintains Tamil Mayyam website for Father Casper Raj
and he told me a lot about Ilayaraja.

Raja was continiously in debt for many years due to
the ostentanious life style of his family, massive
donations to temples ,etc. A gyani should be free from
hypocrisy, false prestige and debts. Alas, he is as
unwise as any normal cinemawallah. He could have sold
all his assets and cleared his debts and lived in
a flat, use a auto and still enjoy secure and decent
life. Should have controlled his family's spending
habits. I know an officer of his bank who told me
about Mrs.Raaja beging him to hold cheques to TNEB
bills and about bills owed to Nalli silks, etc.
He is under maaya even though he belives he is simple
and pious and humble. (he is a Taurus : 3rd May).
He fits my favourite kural : "Odiyum unarndum
pirarkkuraithum, thaan adangaa pedaiyin pedai ill."
suits many of us. And he abandoned Father Raj and
Tamil Mayyam with debts of Rs.60 lacs after
Thiruvasagam release. A genius and a vain fool, he is.
Yet i admire him for his music....

You had compared Malaysia's prosperity with India's
poverty. Yes, but in 1950, Malaysia, Singapore,
Taiwan, S.Korea,and Japan were much worser off than
India, due to devastation in World War 2. But after
independence, they did not have the benefit of
Nehruvian Socialism as India had, but followed
free market capitalism. Their economiies boomed and
poverty was reduced greatly while we did the opposite
and perpetuated poverty and hunger. more about this
later...

Economics is the basic issue as, everyone of us are
affected due to shrinking income, lack of cash and
decent livelihoods. And i apprecite your deep anguish
about the plight of the poor and helpless. the this
poverty and corruption are only symptoms and we have
to understand the casues. the kural "noi naadi, noi
mudal naadi..." can be invoke here. defict financing,
high tax regime, license, permit raj can only increase
poverty and corruption. and even worse is the
degradation of our moral and ethics due to ill effects
of socialism. Work ethics has eroded, esp in the
organised (and govt) sector, while oc mentality has
been perpetuated thru freebies. For e.g the govt loose
Rs.200 per cylinder of LPG gas, while consumers like
you and I can easily bear the real price. Rs.8000
crores per year is wasted on this alone while more
hosiptals, schools and roads could have been built
with this money. Haj susidy costs some 250 crores per
year which is neither secular nor wise. all this is
the tip of the iceberg. more later.

see you next friday.

Anbudan
Athiyaman

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India, that was Bharath

2007-05-25T04:29:00.001-07:00

A hypothetical question :

If there were no foreign or
alien invasions and empires
in India (incl Alexander)
and esp the Muslim and Bristish
invasions , would India be
a political union as formed
in 1947 ?

My view is that we would have
become a cluster of nations
like Africa or Europe with
a common culture and heritage
but no political union.

even in 1947, with mass movements
of Congress and awareness of
people, Sardar Patel had a very
tough time in integrating the
reluctunt and rebellioous Princes
and Maharajas with India (or Pak).
Nawab of Hyderabad and Junagedh ;
and Travancore Maharaja with
C.P.Ramasamy Iyer's help
declared independence.....

It is inconceivable that these
warring states (like Chola, Cheras)
would have willingly united to
form unified India.

the British Raj created some very
useful and fruitful institutions
as a side effect. English language,
common civil service, Railways,
Macaluay system of education and
independent judiciary ; and the
rudiments of paliament. We use
the Westminister model of parliamentary
democracy with universal adult
franchise.

the Bristish empire was bad and
exploitative no douubt. But it
gave us political unity like
never before....

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Kashmir: A View from India (by Tavleen Singh)

2007-05-25T00:42:00.001-07:00

Kashmir: A View from India
by Tavleen Singh

There was a sideshow at the Agra Summit that told its
own story about Kashmir. In the lobby of the Moghul
Sheraton Hotel journalists from both countries
gathered from dawn to dusk awaiting news from the
summiteers who met not just in another hotel but
behind doors so completely closed that even titbits of
news were hard to come by. With so much time on our
hands us waiting hacks devised ways to entertain
ourselves. Some invented gossip, others sought
solace in chilled beer while still others made efforts
to befriend the Pakistani journalists among us.
Talking to Pakistani journalists became the most
popular activity and there was bonhomie, friendship
and (with the help of chilled beer)general agreement
that peace between India and Pakistan was an idea
whose time had come. If the Berlin wall could come
down, if Israelis could talk to Palestinians, why
should there not be peace between our two countries so
linked by ties of culture, language and history. This
was the mood on day one of the summit when things
seemed to be going well between the summiteers.

Then, came day two and General Pervez Musharraf's
unforeseen decision to allow his breakfast with Indian
editors to be televised worldwide and suddenly it was
not just ennui that was dispelled in the Moghul
Hotel's lobby but bonhomie as well. Pakistanis
coalesced into tight huddles and the Indians into
theirs. Mistrust replaced bonhomie. 'Isn't that the
woman who was on Star TV yesterday being really
hawkish about Kashmir?'
'Yes, and that's that columnist from Karachi who was
invited because he sounded so reasonable in his
columns but on television he turned out to be just
another hawkish Paki'.

As if some evil creature had cast a powerful spell an
ugliness suddenly manifested itself. An us versus
them thing that bred suspicion and misgivings. When
Pakistani journalists were – or seemed to be – the
recipients of privileged leaks from inside the Summit
the Indian journalists whispered about how strangely
journalists behaved in countries without a free press.

When the Indian media seemed to have access to
privileged information from our Foreign Ministry
spokesman Pakistani journalists nearly attacked the
poor lady physically and by the end of the day the
atmosphere in the lobby of the Moghul was as fraught
as among the summiteers. We knew by then that
Musharraf's breakfast show had put the Indian Prime
Minister into a furious and unforgiving mood.

Even without this information, though, you could have
told that the summit had failed from the atmosphere in
the Moghul Hotel's self-consciously Moghul lobby. If
you were in a Pakistani huddle you would be blaming
India for the failed summit. How can there be
progress as long as India refuses to discuss Kashmir?
If you were in an Indian huddle you would be blaming
the failure on General Musharraf's obsession with what
he called the core issue and his puzzling decision to
make his thoughts on the subject public mid-summit.
Even those who thought he won the propaganda war by
doing precisely this were unimpressed with his views.
All he had done was restate the Pakistani position in
clear, plain-speaking terms but no Indian journalist I
talked to saw it this way. The journalists in Agra
were some of the finest in the sub-continent but were,
inadvertently, taking exactly the positions their
governments had.

It is, alas, always this way. Whether in Lahore's
elegant drawing rooms or in Karachi's crowded streets
I have found all talk of friendship and common
culture, all bonhomie, disappear the minute the K-word
creeps into a conversation. As an Indian journalist
who has spent many years covering Kashmir what also
never ceases to amaze me is the confused impressions
of history on which many Pakistanis – especially
ordinary people – base their passions. Over and over,
when I have talked to the man in the street I have
been told that Kashmir was part of Pakistan when India
was partitioned and was taken by force.

If I have tried to explain that Indian troops only
went into the Kashmir Valley after the Maharajah
acceded to India I have – at least in the streets of
Lahore and Karachi - come close to causing a riot.
How dared I tell such lies, it must be because I was
Indian that I talked like this and more along the same
lines. The question of conversation, leave alone
debate, never begins.

The truth is – as seen from India – that for a couple
of months between August 14, 1947 and the end of
October that year Kashmir was de facto an independent
country. Its Hindu prince disliked the idea of
allowing his beautiful kingdom to be absorbed into the
vast amorphousness of India and liked the idea of
Pakistan even less. The biggest political party in
his kingdom, Sheikh Abdullah's National Conference,
was totally against the Maharajah but shared some of
his ambiguity about where to be. Sheikh Abdullah was
happier with the idea of a secular, democratic India
than an Islamic, Punjabi-dominated Pakistan but was
unsure of whether the autonomy he believed was vital
to Kashmir would be allowed to remain.

So, Kashmir went to neither India nor Pakistan until
the so-called 'tribals' invaded from Pakistan.
Indians believe that the Pathan tribesmen included
Pakistani troops and had the full backing of the
Pakistani government. The average Pakistani sees what
happened as some sort of early version of the
intifada, a spontaneous uprising.

Unluckily, for Pakistan the Kashmiris did not see it
that way. The men who came from Pakistan looted,
raped and pillaged their way to Baramulla causing
hatred and revulsion among the local population. The
Maharajah remained immobile and dithering until he
heard that they were less than two hours from
Srinagar. Indians believe that it was at this point
that he asked the Indian government for military
support.

The Indian government pointed out that any military
support would be seen as an invasion unless the
Maharajah signed a document of accession. This he did
on October 27 (CHECK) before fleeing with his jewels
and minions to the safety of Jammu leaving his people
to face an uncertain future.

This is the first event in Kashmir's post-Partition
history and it is right from here that the problem
begins. It is hard to find Pakistanis, even the most
moderate, who believe that Maharajah Hari Singh signed
a document of accession before Indian troops moved
into the state. Those who concede that some kind of
document was signed believe that it was signed under
Indian pressure and therefore invalid. There is also
a peculiar pride in the UN resolutions that came soon
after as if it were somehow Pakistan who had taken the
matter to the United Nations.

The truth, as most Indians know, is that it was
Jawaharlal Nehru who foolishly decided to take the
matter to the UN thereby unintentionally
internationalising the Kashmir problem. He went with
the idea of having Pakistan punished for what he
believed everyone would see as its attempt to take
Kashmir by force. With the hindsight of history most
Indians believe Nehru made a mistake by going to the
UN and also believe that he would have held the
promised plebiscite if Pakistani troops had withdrawn
from what Pakistanis like to call azaad Kashmir. I
have never met a Pakistani who believes that India was
ever serious about holding a plebiscite, nor one who
believed that Nehru was sincere in his offer to hold
one.

Kashmiris believed him, though, and when it did not
happen and the political problems began they rallied
around the fact that he had offered them a plebiscite
that was never held. Indian officials when asked
about why it was never held point out that it could
only have taken place if Pakistani troops had
withdrawn from the territories they occupied in
Kashmir but, again, to the average Pakistani this is
just another Indian excuse.

The irony is that if Nehru had been courageous enough
to order the plebiscite immediately after Independence
Kashmir would almost certainly have voted for India
and there would have probably been no Kashmir problem.
Again, though, nobody is sure that there would have
been peace between India and Pakistan if there had
been no Kashmir problem and the reason is that the
average Indian totally mistrusts Pakistan and believes
that it is a country whose main objective is to break
India up and if it were not the Kashmir problem it
would have been some other excuse that would have been
used.

Unfortunately, the average Indian also believes that
the Kashmiri cannot be trusted. Indian government
propaganda with the national press being the willing
vehicle of it are the reason. In 1981 when I first
went up to do a political story on Kashmir – Farooq
Abdullah's installation as the Sheikh's heir – I was
shocked to find that there was not a single Muslim
journalist employed by the national press. If
Kashmiris were employed as correspondents of national
newspapers they were invariably Kashmiri Pandits.
But, since Srinagar was a beautiful, relatively
comfortable posting senior journalists from Delhi were
eager to go and usually ended up treating the
political sentiments of the average Kashmiri with
total disdain. So, most Indians to this day remain
only vaguely aware that Kashmir was denied fair
elections between 1953 and 1977, when under Prime
Minister Morarji Desai, a truly fair election was
held. Journalists from Delhi, who liked to joke about
the fact that they were India's 'viceroys', also went
out of their way to increase the average Indian's
dislike and distrust of the Kashmiri Muslim and of all
Kashmiri politicians.

In 1983 I was sent up by The Telegraph newspaper, of
which M.J. Akbar was Editor, to cover elections to the
state legislature. It was the first election after
Sheikh Abdullah's death and within days of arriving in
Srinagar it became evident to me that his National
Conference party had no chance of losing it because
ordinary Kashmiris felt they owed this one election to
the memory of the old Sheikh.

What also became evident, equally quickly, was that
this was not how the election was going to be reported
in the national press. I drove up from Jammu in the
company of an old Kashmir hand who told me that he had
spent many years in Srinagar as a Viceroy. We had
spent some time in Jammu covering Indira Gandhi's
campaign whose main characteristic had been to play
what we liked in those days to call the Hindu card.
She manipulated the sentiments of Jammu's large Hindu
population by making campaign speeches that hinted
darkly at the dangers of Muslims 'from across the
border' being allowed in by the hoard if Farooq
Abdullah came to power. It was the sort of patently
communal campaign that should have drawn the attention
of the national press and it surprised me that it had
not found its way onto front pages. My travelling
companion explained that this was because 'us Viceroys
like to highlight the communalism of the other side'.

In the next three weeks that I spent in the Kashmir
Valley I understood exactly what he meant. Delhi
newspapers were filled with stories of Farooq
Abdullah's 'communal campaign'. As one of the few
journalists who accompanied him on his travels – most
others preferred to drink chilled beer provided by the
Congress Party in Srinagar's Nedou's Hotel – I asked
colleagues when they had heard him make 'communal'
remarks. They said that he usually made these remarks
only in Kashmiri so I would naturally have missed
them. Farooq Abdullah was painted throughout the
election as an unashamed secessionist. The national
press also went out of its way to create the
completely untrue impression that the Congress Party
was in a neck-and-neck fight with the National
Conference. So successful were they in perpetrating
this lie that it was believed enough by Indira Gandhi
for her to be furious with Farooq's landslide victory,
so furious that the Congress Party immediately after
the election set about trying to topple Farooq's
government. Baseless charges of 'massive rigging'
were made, ironically, by the only party that had ever
till then rigged elections in Kashmir.

These charges were reported as credible by the
national newspapers so there was hardly any criticism
of Indira Gandhi when, barely a year after the
assembly election, she brought down Farooq Abdullah's
government. This, in my view, was the beginning of
the current Kashmir problem. The historic problem
died in the seventies when the Bangladesh war and the
execution of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto made the average
Kashmiri suddenly see Pakistan through new eyes.
During the 1983 assembly election I visited every
constituency in the Valley – other than Uri – and
everywhere I went I asked if plebiscite was still an
issue and everywhere the answer was, 'No, this
election is one in which we are participating as
Indians'.

If Indira Gandhi's hubris had not got the better of
her we would probably never had the uprising of 1989
that began the violence that has now resulted in a
death toll of more than 50,000. Till 1986, despite
the toppling of Farooq Abdullah's government, the
situation in Kashmir was retrievable. All that Rajiv
Gandhi, Prime Minister by then with the largest
mandate in Indian history, needed to have done was
order fresh elections. Farooq, still hugely popular,
would have won and the Congress Party which managed to
get nearly 25% of the vote in 1983 could have built
itself up to take on the National Conference at the
next election. Rajiv, sadly, made the most crucial
mistake of all: he insisted that the National
Conference fight the 1987 assembly election in
alliance with his Congress Party thereby causing both
Kashmir's centrist parties to commit political
suicide.

Farooq Abdullah's kowtowing to Rajiv after having been
called a terrorist by the Congress Party and after the
public humiliation of his government being dismissed
for no reason was seen by the average Kashmir as yet
another attempt to rub Kashmir's nose in the dirt.
Yet another reminder that India's only Muslim-majority
province would never be trusted. Inevitably, memories
of Kashmir's historical problem with India came back
to the surface and the old, secessionist forces
–dormant since Sheikh Abdullah's return as chief
minister – came back to haunt his son.

In a fair election these forces, which united to form
the Muslim United Front (MUF), would probably have won
no more than fifteen seats in the Kashmir Assembly.
But, Farooq panicked and although he continues to deny
that the 1987 assembly election was rigged the charges
have managed to stick and are ironically still made by
political leaders including Atal Behari Vajpayee.
Farooq, in his second term as chief minister was too
discredited to be able to hold Kashmir together and
within months of his taking over – although the
tourists still continued to come and Hindi movies
continued to be made – there were rumours of young men
having gone across the border to train as terrorists.

The Pakistan government was barely involved at this
stage, the violent uprising that began after the
Indian Home Minister's daughter was kidnapped in
December 1989 took Pakistan by surprise. But, the
average Indian does not see it this way. The Indian
press and most Indian politicians have encouraged the
belief that the Kashmir problem is entirely a creation
of Pakistan. After the violence began Farooq Abdullah
tried to prevent Jagmohan – hated for his role in
conniving to bring Farooq's earlier government down –
being sent up once more as Governor. When Delhi, now
ruled by a weak, amateurish government under
Vishwanath Pratap Singh, refused to listen Farooq
resigned. Kashmiri anger exploded into the streets in
the form of massive protests and these may have died
their own death –when Kashmiris realized that azaadi
was not going to come so easily – but Jagmohan, a
municipal official from Delhi with no political
sensitivity – decided to use the jackboot. Peaceful,
unarmed protesters were fired upon and so began a
process of alienation from India that had never
existed in the past.

Till the nineties if the Kashmiris had complaints
about India they were mainly to do with the denial of
basic political rights and the denial of the special
status Kashmir was promised in 1947.

There were, till the nineties, no 'martyrs graveyards'
filled with the graves of innocent men, women and
children killed in 'crossfire'. Ironically, in one of
them is buried Mirwaiz Maulvi Farooq, traditionally
one of Kashmir's most important religious leaders, who
was killed by a militant group but whose death is
blamed on the Indian government by most Kashmiris. So
discredited did the Indian government become in the
six months that Jagmohan was Governor in 1990 that it
was unable to convince ordinary Kashmiris of the truth
even when it was the truth.

It was in early 1990 that Pakistan began to involve
itself in fomenting violence in the Valley. As almost
its first move it set up a militant group called the
Hizb ul Mujahideen (HUM) to take on the JKLF (Jammu
Kashmir Liberation Front) which had started the
violence by kidnapping Home Minister Mufti Mohammed
Syed's daughter in December 1989. The JKLF was
inconvenient for Pakistan because of its determined
stand that the only solution to the Kashmir problem
was to give the state independence. The HUM was more
cooperative because, like the Jamaat-e-Islami whose
militant wing it is believed to be, it takes the view
that Kashmir should be merged with Pakistan.

Nearly all the militant groups that have come up since
have been creations of Pakistan with the clear
objective of establishing Pakistan's right over
Kashmir. And, since Pakistan is one of the only two
countries in the world – Israel being the other –
which was created in the name of religion it was
important to make Kashmiris aware that they were
Muslims and so should recognize their natural affinity
with Pakistan's Islamic republic.

In order to do this the nature of the militancy had to
be changed and by the mid-nineties the beginnings of
the change were became obvious. The militant groups,
increasingly filled with foreign recruits from
Afghanistan, Pakistan and other Muslim countries,
began to enforce their version of Islam. Bars,
cinemas, video libraries and beauty salons were
forcibly closed as being un-Islamic.

Liquor bottles were smashed in the streets, women
ordered to wear the burqa or risk having acid thrown
in their faces and in the mosques –where Kashmiri
women had always been allowed to worship – there were
now more rigid Islamic rules applied so that women
could no longer go. Shrines and dargahs at which both
Hindu and Muslim Kashmiris worshipped like Hazratbal
and Charar-e-Sharif also came under attack.
Charar-e-Sharif was burned down in a battle with the
Indian army and Hazratbal witnessed a siege for
several days when militants opened fire on Indian
troops from inside. Do the Kashmiris like this new
version of Islam? Groups like the JKLF and Kashmiri
leaders like Shabir Shah have tried to maintain the
secular character of their struggle for freedom but
have failed. They have spoken often about the tragedy
of Kashmiri Hindus being forced out of the state but
their appeals lack popular support. Ordinary Kashmiris
are so bitter about Indian repression that Islamist
militants –called guest mujahideen – are given support
that they would not normally have had. Since the
attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon on
September 11 there appears to be less support for the
idea of drawing Kashmir's freedom movement into some
kind of jehad for Islam but with the government of
Atal Behari Vajpayee seen as a Hindu government the
choice comes across as being between Hinduism and
Islam.

So, will Kashmir be allowed one day to make the choice
between India and Pakistan? Unlikely. No Indian
government could survive a single day if it even
considered the possibilities of a plebiscite under the
UN resolutions. Kashmir has never been an election
issue in India and south of Delhi there is little
interest in Kashmir – unless there is a war – but most
Indians are convinced that giving Kashmir up would be
a threat to India's security. Between keeping Kashmir
under control and fighting to keep the Siachen Glacier
the Indian government is believed to be spending more
than Rs 7 crores a day but nobody seems to mind
because this is seen as vital investment in the
country's security.

The average Indian does not trust Pakistan. After the
Kargil episode this mistrust has assumed huge
proportions. Indians believe that Atal Behari
Vajpayee made a genuine attempt at friendship by going
to Lahore on a bus in February 1999 and Pakistan's
response in Kargil, two months later, is widely seen
as evidence that Pakistan wants not peace with India
but its total destruction. Pakistanis I have met in
positions of high office – both Generals and
politicians – admit that they believe that if India
loses Kashmir it will be the beginning of some kind of
domino effect and that other states will also demand
secession. This is very far from being true because
the one thing that India has succeeded in achieving in
the past fifty years is a sense of national identity.
Pakistanis also seem to believe that it is the 'myth'
of Indian secularism that India seeks to protect by
hanging on to Kashmir but, again, this is not true
because secularism is no longer considered as
important to the average Indian as economic growth and
improved standards of living.

But, even Indian liberals admit that if India's
borders are redrawn once more in the name of Islam or
the 'unfinished agenda of Partition' it will become
extremely difficult for Indian Muslims outside the
Kashmir Valley. Unfortunately, since September 11, the
belief that all Muslims are basically fanatics has
increased among ordinary Hindus so there is little or
no sympathy for the Kashmiris. This makes it harder
for a government in Delhi to solve the domestic
aspects of the problem although it needs to be said
that the Vajpayee government has failed singularly to
even come up with a policy for Kashmir.

Changed international realities have made it easier
for them to evade the domestic side of the problem and
to blame the whole thing on cross-border terrorism.
Sadly, the government has the support of Indian public
opinion where this is concerned so there is
insufficient pressure on it to evolve a policy that
would seek to make internal peace in Kashmir.

Which brings us to the question of whether the
international aspects of the Kashmir problem would
once more fade into the background – as happened
between 1971 (Simla Agreement) and 1989 – if the
Kashmir Valley became once more a peaceful place where
tourists could flock and Hindi movies could once more
be made.

This is possible but what then would happen to
Pakistan's 'core issue' case? How can Pakistan now
withdraw from its position that the only solution to
the Kashmir problem is an international one that
involves redrawing boundaries? How can it sustain its
argument that the only thing preventing peace on the
sub-continent is the absence of a solution in Kashmir?
Through the nineties Pakistani leaders have used
Kashmir to whip up political support for themselves.
I saw how well they had succeeded during a trip to
Pakistan in the summer of 2001. Among the people I
interviewed in the streets of Lahore and Karachi were
unemployed workers who complained bitterly about
General Pervez Musharraf's economic policies. Workers
were being laid off, they said, and factories closed
to meet conditions set by the International Monetary
Fund. The general economic malaise in the country
bothered them, they said, because things seemed to be
getting worse by the day. They wanted friendship with
India because they felt that if there was peace
between the two countries they could cross the border
and find work in India if they could not find it in
Pakistan.

But, they added, they were prepared to die in the
fight for Kashmir. First, Kashmir has to be given to
Pakistan, they said, only then could there be peace.
When I pointed out that this might never happen they
were adamant that it would happen because they were
all prepared to join the jehad. Shopkeepers, small
businessmen and even villagers all said the same
thing. So, we have a situation in which public
opinion in India is almost unanimous that there can be
no more redrawing of our borders and public opinion in
Pakistan is almost unanimous that Kashmir has to come
to Pakistan.

This leaves the sub-continent's leaders very little
room for manoeuvre. No Indian leader can even
consider giving Kashmir away and no Pakistani leader
can give up the 'core issue'. Meanwhile, the people
of Kashmir continue to be caught between the guns of
India's security forces on one side and the guns of
the militants on the other. Their faith in azaadi has
waned as the years of violence have gone relentlessly
by as has their faith in the militant groups who began
the struggle for it. A whole generation of young
Kashmiris has grown up without remembering a time when
their lives were normal. Kashmir's political leaders,
whether Farooq Abdullah or those that constitute the
All Party Hurriyat Conference, seem unable to do much
in the face of the governments of India and Pakistan
taking it upon themselves to solve – or prevent
solution – of the problem.

So, where do we go from here? There appear to be two
roads to peace. The one favoured by India is peace
without redrawing borders. This is based on the
belief that if Pakistan stops cross-border terrorism
the movement for azaadi will die a natural death
because the average Kashmiri is weary of violence.
When the next election is held – and these days they
tend to be proper elections – then former militant
leaders like Yasin Malik of the JKLF and Shabir Shah
could contest and possibly defeat Farooq's National
Conference. We could then go back to politics as
usual as happened in Punjab and in Northeastern states
like Assam and Nagaland. This can only happen,
though, if Pakistan in view of its decision since
September 11 to joint the coalition against terrorism
decides to let Kashmir alone.

If it does not and the violence in the Valley
continues to remain beyond the control of the Indian
government then an international solution will have
to, at some point, be sought. There is a growing view
in India, though not in the government, that perhaps
international mediation could be the way forward since
Pakistan and India seem incapable of even speaking the
same language any more. Even if this happens there is
little likelihood of India agreeing to redraw its
borders.

The very most it could agree to would be a softer
border that would allow movement between the two
halves of Kashmir and, perhaps, greater autonomy to
the state in keeping with the original promise to give
it a special status. Even to give this much, though,
would require a strong government in Delhi and this
seems unlikely in the near future. If the coalition
led by the Bharatiya Janata Party is defeated in the
general election due in 2003 it will, in all
likelihood, be replaced by a coalition led by the
Congress Party. Since the Congress is currently led
by a leader of Italian birth this government would
have even less wiggle room than the present one
because it would have to prove its nationalistic
credentials at every step with Hindu nationalists
breathing down its neck.

Besides, since Agra, the general view in India is that
there can never be peace with Pakistan because
Pakistani leaders – whether in uniform or civvies –
cannot deliver it. Since the hunt for Osama bin Laden
began and the United States chose to forget its
earlier aversion to military dictators and take
General Musharraf on board as a valued ally there is a
certain loss of trust in the Americans as well. How
can you fight terrorism if you take the support of
countries that support terrorism is a question that is
widely asked with many Indians, even in positions of
power, concluding that the Americans are only
interested in fighting their own war against terrorism
not in the one India believes it is fighting in
Kashmir.

The militancy in Kashmir has of late taken a very ugly
turn with Hindu villagers and even priests being
targeted in Jammu. The attempt to blow up the
legislative assembly in Srinagar with a car bomb,
shortly after September 11, has added to the
impression that what India faces in the Kashmir Valley
is not a cry for azaadi based on genuine grievances
but an Islamic fundamentalist jehad. So, Osama bin
Laden's war on the West has added an unexpected new
dimension to the Kashmir problem.

There may, one day, be a solution in Kashmir that
satisfies India, Pakistan and ordinary Kashmiris but
right now not even the faintest glimmer of it is
visible on the horizon. We should not conclude from
this that we should just let things fester until there
is a glimmer of hope. It is vital that India and
Pakistan continue talking to each other, vital that we
start some kind of peace process if only because two
nuclear powers cannot afford to remain in a state of
permanent hostility, vital that the process that began
in Agra go forward even if we do not really even speak
the same language any more.

This article, published by permission of Ushba
International Publishers was selected from the
forthcoming volume The Agra Summit and Beyond.

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old posts

2007-05-25T00:23:00.000-07:00

1/30/2006 reg : creamy layer misusing reservation policy

1/30/2006 thiruvidandai temple

1/30/2006 yin-yang & siva-sakthi

1/30/2006a treasured possesion

1/30/2006 Panchaboohtagal - an interpretation

1/30/2006 child labour in 'prospersous India

'1/30/2006 Peter Drucker : tax evesion leads to cynicism

1/30/2006 God, dharma, human logic, astrology and life ;Maughum's Razor's Edge, etc

1/30/2006 To The Editor, Thuglak, Chennai

1/30/2006 Lord Rama & L.K.Advani

1/30/2006 reg your ambiguity on TN elections - 2001

1/30/2006 Brahminism : theory & practise

1/30/2006 To : The Editor, Thuglak, Chennai

1/30/2006 To The Editor, Readers Digest

1/30/2006 Vedic society and equality

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reg : creamy layer misusing reservation policy

From : K.R.Athiyaman, Chennai - 96

To : Thriru.Ki.Veeramani Ayya Avargal, Chennai

Anbulla Ayya,
The creamy layer (that is, those who are upper middle class andabove) among BC/SC/ST communities continue to enjoy thebenifits of reservation unashamedly.(i hail from such a family).We propose that economic criteria shouldalso be included as an additional qualification for being eligible for reservation benefits.Families whose annual income is above say,Rs.1,80,000/- and where the parents are welleducated may be deemed as FCs. And many schools,where annual fees are above Rs.60,000 may beclassified as FC schools.Reservation was meant to be a short termissue and never a permenent institution asit has become now. And there should be astanding committe consisting of eminentjurists, educationalists and honest peopleto perodically evaluate the effects/abuseof reservation benefits.The whole processshould a dynamic one, not a static one, whichis now a vote bank issue and nutured byvested interests. And there should be a maximum limit for resrvation (and not thepresent >70%), which should be graduallybrought down.And in promotion among govt staff onlyseniority, merit and efficency should bethe criteria. Only one generation of anyfamily must be eligible for the benefits.Subsequent generation must be deemed FCs.Unfair reservation benefits to numerouswell off students has created resentmentand heart burn among FCs and many fair minded people. The caste divisions has becomemore rigid and divisive (esp in govt offices).I am sure Thandai Periyar and Ambedhkar wouldendorse my above views if they are alive today.They were basicaly honest in all issues. DK should have functioned as a bridge betweenBCs and SCs (esp in rural areas) and establishedpeace committes for stopping caste clashes.The aliented SCs have formed many organisationsof their own to fight for their rights, insteadof joinning DK. Blaming brahmins alone for allthe ills of the society will not solve any thing.Thanks & RegardsK.R.AthiyamanChennai

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thiruvidandai temple

Dear Freind,

The film Mogamul does poor justise to the novel. It isimpossible to portray certain depth of emotions,feelings and writings in film. and moreover thecharacter Rajam (hero Babu's freind)by Vivek is not atall like the original Rajam who plays an importantpart. And Ranganna, the guru can only be described.I think reading Mogamul is very important for abudding writer like you. sujatha sir has written aboutMogamul (and he met Thi.Ja in Delhi) and JJ silakuripugal in his 'vivadangalam vimarsanagulam'.Yestersay i biked to Thriuvidanthai temple at ECR.It is somewhat near from my place (24 kms).Kumbabisekam was done in June and i had good darshanof Lord after many years. (moolavar sannidhi wasclosed for more than two years for renovation).sir has written about this besutiful temple in his'alwargal oru arimugam' ' hope you had visted thistemple. thirumagai alwar had sung about this temple.Pls see tiruvidanthaidiviyadesam.orgAnd my most favourtite temple is Ulagalandha Perumaltemple at Thirukovilur (near Thiruvannamalai); i am fortunate that my co-brother hails from thisplaceand i had spent may happy and contented hours sittingin front of the moolasthana. The bewithcing smile ofPerumal (he is in a standing pose,thiruvikaram kolam)is indescribable. and i am at my happiest bliss whilejust having dharshan of beutifully carved deity witha most enchanting smile you can ever know. And i readthat Prabandams were first sung by mudal alawrgal atthis temple. Pls try to visit this historic andbeautiful temple.and we spent a weekend in Jan roaming around all thetemples in Kancheepuram.ok.more laterAthiyman

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yin-yang & siva-sakthi

Dear Sir,

The booklet "Oru Vingana Parvayilirundhu" (1984) isimportant and lucidly written. I consider it as one ofyour best works.Only one matter has not been mentioned. Dual natureof particles (uncertainity principle) which tellsabout wave/matter state or nature of particles ;can be co-related to our Siva Sakthi (andardhanareeshwarar) ; matter becomes energy and viceversa ; sakthi (energy) becomes sivam (matter) ;and sivasakthi is the nature of universe. (..movie :Thiruvilayadal and the famous dual between sivam andsakthi)All things and actions in this universe are co-relatedin distance and time. Saravam Brahma mayam. For e.g awave in a beach is the net result of all forces andparameters of ocean and land ,wind and time.Astrological perspective too can be fit into thisview.The postions and movements of planets affect andcontrol life events.

Thanks & regards
Athiyaman

P.S : on a ligther vein Samuel Johnson about fornication act : "....the postion being ridiculous and pleasure momentary..."

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a treasured possesion

To : Thriru Sujatha

Dear Sir,

"Enadu Ninavugal" by Kovai Ayyamuthu (1898-1975) is a remarkable autobiography of a remarakble personality. Freedom fighter, Gandhian, poet, writer-director,entreupreuner and agriculturist,whose career took many turns. Served in WW 1 in Iraq,worked in Rangoon, became a mechant in Coimbatore ;after hearing Gandhiji's call, joinned Congress and established Kadar movement in Tirupurand TN ; was collegue of EVR,C.S and Kamaraj and Kalki Sadasivam in 1930s and 40s.(jailed in Vaikomstruggle).And was a sisya of Rajaji till the end. Helpedestablish the Gandhi Ashram near Tiruchengode in 1925.Quaerelled with Gandhiji over an issue and resignedfrom Khadi movement in 1942 and went on to become asuccessful trader and businessman in Coimbatore ;wrote and directed the film "Kanchan" in 1947 atCoimbatore Central Studios (jupiter films) ; andfinally settled down as agriculturist near Pollachi in 1950.N.Mahalingam was his sisya.Subsequently joined Swatanta party under Rajaji.Worked tirelessly till the end.His book continues to inspire me and i treasure it.

Thanks & Regards
Athiyaman

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Panchaboohtagal - an interpretation

To : Thiru Sujatha

Dear Sir,

Panchaboohtams can be compared to the different states of matter as :Nilam : solidsNeer : LiquidsKattru : gasAhayam : vacuum/space (or the fourth state of matter : plasma ?)Nerupu : heat energy or photons, etc which gets released or absorbed when matter converts from one state to another.

Thanks & regards
Athiyaman
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child labour in 'prospersous India'

Dear Sir,

Economic illiteracy is wide even among intellegensia.Govt prints about Rs.85,000 crores of legal tenderevery year to paartly balance the birgeonong deficts and an equal amonut is borrowed. Inflation is manilydue to this factor. (crude oil prices contribute tolesser extent).Children are sold/stolen into child labour, beggingand prostitution because the parents' effective incomefalls due to the depreciating ruppee. Govt of India(for that matter, most govts) depreciate their owncurrencies to spend on themselves and programs.And no amount of seminars or legal acts is going tostop child labour as this is an economic phenomenon.only when employment, and wages rise can this bestopped.while the total economy is improving over the decades,govt is nearly bankrupt due to socialism, etc.And govt borrowings are frightening. pls refer budgetfigures for internal debt trap.

Thanks & Regrds
Athiyaman
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Peter Drucker : tax evesion leads to cynicism

Dear Sir,

While chatting you had mentioned about the connectionbetween tax evasion and cynicism. The following is from P.Drucker's 'The New Realities " (pp69-70)'....once the govt take, esp if collected thru taxes,exceeds a certain percentage of gross national productor personal incomes - the fiqure seems to be around 35-40 percent or so - a silent but highly effective 'tax revolt' starts. People stop working ; what is thepointif the additional income is being taxed anyway ? Worse, people begin to cheat. A 'grey economy'develops.In the US there was almost no tax cheating before 1960...'...Attempts to stamp out or even to curtail the grayeconomy are ineffectual as long as tax rates remainhigh.In fact, while everyone loudly condemns the greayeconomy, most people not only participate in it but consider it morally justified and, in fact, 'clever'. But this undermines the moral cohesion of scoiety, Itproduces a dangerous political poison, cynicism.'Seventy years ago Schumpeter warned that inflationwould destroy free society. After WW 1 , theinflations in Europe, espescally in Germany amply bore out Schumpeter's warning...'

Regards
Athiyaman
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God, dharma, human logic, astrology and life ; Maughum's Razor's Edge, etc

To : Thiru Sujatha Rangarajan

Dear Sir,
Hindu concepts of transmigration of soul, rebirth can be used to justify or rationalise the unfairnessof life on earth. God' dharma or ethics isincomprehensible to our human logic. Good peoplesuffer needlessly while evil people flourish and diepeacefully. so it seems. In Astrology, the fifth housedenotes prevoius births or purva punya sthanam.And our current life and events are based on tallyingthe good/bad things we had done in prevoius births.Only if we can understand or accept such logic can wejustify or rationalise life's contradictions andunfairness.Hope you must have read Razor's Edge by your favouriteauthor Somerset Maughaum, based on Ramanar and India.It is his most important work. Pls re-read Larry'sexperiences and inferences again. About Godlinessand human life and soul.Also R.K.Narayan's auto-biography "My Days" andsemi-autobiographical novel "English Teacher" areimportantbooks about tranmigration of soul. he says heestablished contact with his late wife (who passed away in 1939) ; and he is not unscientific.Astrology, as in weekly predictions or sun-signs are generalised and can be quite inaccurate. Only acorrectinterpretation of horoscope can give accurate resultsand analysis. The character of an individual, his strenghts and weakness, biases , health, appearance,etc can be predicted accurately in our Indianmethods.Pls try to meet Thiru.A.M.R of Kumudamjodhidam for a discussion. Or you can enquire abouthismerits and accomplishments with your contacts atKumudam office, etc. You may be in for a surprise.I am from a DK background, but now an ametuerastrologer ; and can understand many facets or life and humans better now. more later

Sincerely Yours
Athiyaman
Chennai

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To The Editor,
Thuglak
Chennai

Sir,
I am a long time reader of Thuglak. I admire your courage and forthrightness.You have critisised the film "Bharathi" . I have sent a letter(inTamil) about it. No film will get pass mark from you. Films likeKaruthamma, Mahanadhi, Nmmavar, HeyRam were all rejectedby you as mediocre. Constructive criticism is not your style;only destructive criticisim. First of all you have no MORAL RIGHT to crititsise any film, as you had acted in many fifth rate masala films in the past. It is likea butcher preaching ahimsa. Regarding feminism and women in general you are a knownchauvinist and a cynic. I have only one point to make. I perceivethat in your whole life (with a upper middle class urban broughtupamong Madras brahmins ) you were not fortunate enough to meetor know any innocent, unassuming low caste village women.It is very difficult for you to understand the ethos and the depth ofculture and love among the rural, uneducated and innocent village folks. All you know is about arrogant,narrow minded and domineeringcynical women of upper middle class Madras and of course thewomen in filmworld and politics.I sugest, you discuss this view pointwith people like Bharathiraja, Writer Sujatha and Prabanjan.Your views are nothing but sweeping generalisations. Regarding Hindu philosophy, I have herewith enclosed a copy of myletter to The Astrological Magazine, which applies to your view point too.Theoretically Hindu religion is great ; but we are interested in pracaticalaspects.Equality of all men is alien to practical Hinduism. RSS whose idealogy was a catalyst to Mahatma Gandhi 's assasinationis supported by you.Their ideology is illogical and anachronist.I hope youhave read the book "WE" by its founder. There are truly honest and selflessmembers in RSS. I have many friends there. But they are all self righteouusand wallow in hatred. Though they do not espouse violence directly, theirpreachings induce violence indirectly. Do you think that those who bannedRSS in the past were idiots and not patriotic ? I support liberalisation and privatisation.Please arrange for a regualar coloumnexplaining the various aspects and the nedd for liberalisation.

Thanks & Regards,
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Lord Rama & L.K.Advani

To : Mr.Rajinder Puri,

Dear Sir,

I belive in karma and dharma. Advani has been punished partlyfor his past sins in using the Ram templefanatics of VHP, etc tofurther his political career since 1980s.VHP and Co are alteast sincere andconsistent in their fanatisism.They are genuine communalists and facisits, who do not belive indemocracy. but they are honest and forthright. neverdouble dealingnor political animals. But Advaniis a crafty and cynical politician,and a'pseudo-communalist'. VHP is right in being disillusioned withhim, who carefully used thieragenda (Ram temple) to whip up apopulist mass base and votes. And due topolitical expediancy, heabandoned Ram temple later. Advani, whose ratha yatra (whichdirectly resulted inthe murder of 1000s of innocents in 1990)would have become PM, but for the Jain hawala case. (thanksto your PIL) ; and now he stands discredited and powerlesswithin his own group. Lord Rama has done justice. And Advaniwill neverbe PM in India.

Om tat Sat.

Regards
Athiyaman
Chennai
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reg your ambiguity on TN elections - 2001

To : Thiru Cho,Editor, Thuglak, Chennai

Dear Sir,
I am a long-time reader of Thuglak. Although we differ invarious matters, we admire your forthrightness and honesty.In your view the DMK govt sponsors terrorist / separatistgroups in TN. There seems to nothing new in this matter.Tamil separatists and terrorists have been operating for the pasttwenty five years in TN. The govt seems to be doing its best incontaining these elements. Certainly their track record seemsto better than that of 1989 - 91 regime.Let me be frank. We were LTTE sympathisers until some ten yearsago. Lot of people in Karur helped the militants of various groupsduring 1983-90. We have stopped all our support for such groupsand realise that Eelam is not a viable alternative and only politicalsettlement within the framework of Sri Lankan constitution will givelasting peace and solve the ethnic problem. We do not approveof many terror tactics & fratricide activities. Still we do have a softcorner for them and admire their courage, idealism and sacrifice.We are apologists for such groups.It is roughly equal to the ambiguous stance taken by you regarding themilitant elements of the Sangh Parivar. While you disapprove of the illegaland violent actions of VHP, Bajarag Dal and Shiv Sena, ideologically yousupport them covertly.The case of DMK is exactly the same. DMK originated from DK andhas common ideology with such Tamil separatist groups. Some of myold friends who were associated with such fringe groups express theirbitterness and frustration that the DMK govt is ruthlessly framingand persecuting them. They perceive that the the DMK govt is alwaysworse in this matter than ADMK govts ! So much for your theories !All you can say about the Babri masjid demolition is that it isunfortunate and unnecessary ; that Ramar Temple problem isunwanted now that BJP is in power. You do not overtly condemnthe BJP and the Sangha Parivar for unleashing the communalfrenzy which resulted in the demolition ofthe Babri Masjid.Youtoo act as an apologist for these fanatics and maniacs. Accordingto you Advani is the best and most respectable politician in India.We have not forgotten his infamous ratha yatra in 1990 whichwas directly responsible for some 500 communal deaths.All you can say is that he undertook the yathra to unify andawake the Hindus. That his rabble-rousing journey with fanaticslike Uma Bharathi whipped us communal passions and resultedin the demolition in 1992, is never mentioned in your columns.According to our judgement, Advani is the most dangerous personwithin the Sangh parivar. He is directly responsible for thousandof deaths. He is worse than Godse. Please, we repeat, please, dosome soul-searching regarding your one-sided views in this matter.Try to be neutral, objective and fair in your assessment. Is thereany fundamental difference between the actions of Advani and peoplelike John Pandian, Dr.Krishnasamy, and Ramadass of TN. While youcondemn and disapprove of whipping up casteist and blatantly illegalactions of these TN politicians, you do not apply the same objectivityin assessing the Sangha Parivar. Caste is part and parcel of Hindureligion. Using caste or religion in politics or in public speeches(like Uma Bharathi's) is explicitly forbidden in our constitution.In our view we see no difference between Advani and Dr.Krishnasamy.Both are narrow minded, dishonest and cynical politicians whoarouse communal or casteist passions to further their politicalends. The end result of their actions always result in violence andmurder of innocent people.One man's hero is another man's terrorist. Nethaji, Bhagat SinghVanjinathan are our heroes while the British and their allies considerthem as terrorists. Especially Netaji is considered as a traitor anddisapproved because he allied with the Nazi Germany and imperialistJapanese, who inflicted inhuman massacres in Manchuria and otherparts of Asia during the second world war. Still we Indians revereNethaji and consider him a national hero. Lot of Tamils in TN andSri Lanka have similar respect and affection for the LTTE chief.So whose view is right ? Still we want the LTTE to give up violenceand initiate peace talks. Our consideration for LTTE is equal to yourconsideration for the RSS. Both are full of misguided idealists andboth organisations have caused plenty of harm and grief in the past.Please try to be fair in your judgement.The police action of DMK govt in Veerappan matter is equal toor better than that of ADMK regime. Lack of political will and jointcommand between TN and Karnataka police departments is themain reason for the delay in his capture. He switches betweenTN and Karnataka borders according to the intensity of theoperations. there is / was little co-ordination between the twotask forces, Ego clash between top police officers from both thestates was one of the main factors in the inefficiency of operations.Please explain to us how a change in TN govt will increase theefficiency.The ADMK is the most evil party in the history of TN. You shouldnot have advised Jayalitha in any matter. Suppose your advise orviews are useful somehow for her and she may forge a strategybased on your assessment of the current political alliances andmake a come back. Indirectly, your realistic views (not advise,but only your opinion, as you put it) can help her. All your piouswritings and moral uprightness will be under question if she makesa come back. TN will slide back into dark ages again. Whyare you so ambiguous. Do you want Jaylalitha back as CM or not ?Whom do you want us to vote ? Don't escape by saying that wehave no real choice since DMK is soft on terrorists. If you areconvinced of your views then openly advise us to vote for ADMK.Till date you have not given your advise (like in 1996) in your usualforthright style. Your are worse that Mooppanar in this matter.We fear you may have a hidden agenda.

Thanks & Regards
K.R.Athiyaman
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Brahminism : theory & practise

To : The Editor, Thuglak, Chennai

Dear Sir,
This is with reference to your column about Brahminism.Theory and practise are different. But all you have quoted istheoretical brahminism. The evils of caste hierarchy, untouchablity,sati, widows isolation were not opposed or criticised by the majorityof the brahmins.When Sharda act (banning Child marriage) was passed in the 40s,it was opposed bitterly by the Brahmin elite. Satyamoorthy, the congressleader opposed the Act banning Devadasi system in temples.Dr.Muthulaksmi, the first women doctor, silenced him by asking him ifhe was willing to send his family girls as Devadasis ; and then the actwas passed. Satyamoorth was great leader and a patriot but regardingquestions about orthodox Hindu practices, he was a Brahmin of his times.Va.Ve.Su Iyer, the freedom fighter practised untouchability in hisAshram at Cheranmadhevi. This enraged EVR Periyar and he subsequentlyleft Congress for good, feeling it was dominated by reactionary Brahmins.Please write the facts about the Brahmin leaders and elite who opposed thetemple entry movement at Vykam (1925) and at Madurai in the 30s.You are tabulating the patriotic deeds of Brahmin freedom fighters. Youstate only the partial truth. For every Brahmin freedom fighter, there wasa hundred Brahmin ICS officers,Magistrates, Police officers, etc whocollaborated with the British. But we don't want to rake up all that past.In fact, there were martyrs, freedom fighters. collaborationists , indifferentcareerists in every caste during the freedom struggle. But as most of thegovt. positions (especially the top ones) were occupied by the Brahmins,the percent of collaborationists is higher among them.Sir C.P.Ramasamy Iyer is now portrayed as great statesman and legalluminary by the present Brahmin historians and media. But he was a traitorof the first order. During his reign as the Dewan of Travancore, he ruthlesslysuppressed the Congress movement and crushed all civil liberties. Worse,he declared Travancore to be independent in 1947 and named a HighCommissioner to Pakistan. He was assaulted physically by the people of thestate and Travancore joined Indian Union. All these facts were suppressedand now there is even a road named after him in Chennai !We can quote thousands of such incidents and treachery from the colonialpast regarding Brahmins, but we feel, all that is irrelevant and unnecessary today.Instead of justifying the Orthodox Brahminstic theory, you can write about theevils perpetuated in the name of Hinduism like caste as per birth, widows plight,education, sati, untouchability. The present OBCs too practise untouchabilityand have casteist values ; but the Brahamin elite should shoulder the responsibilityfor having justified the social order in the name of Manu.Brahminism is understood by us, as such practises mentioned above and henceit was opposed bitterly by the D.K movement ; not the theoretical aspects whichyou quote cleverly. If only all the Brahmins have lived according to their Scripturesand followed the theoretical Brahminsm (which you write about) sincerely, then thiswhole controversy would not have been there.

Thanks & Regards
K.R.Athiyaman
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To : The Editor, Thuglak, Chennai

Dear Sir,

Congratulations on your excellent review of the film " Rytham". For the firsttime in the long history of Thuglak, a film has been praised and reviewdobjectively.Herewith I have enclosed a letter written by Sardar Patel to RSS chief. (Taken formthe RSS website)Regarding your coloumn on Brahminism : Theory and practise are two differentfactors. Theoritical Hindusim( or Brahminism) is really great: stresses equality,selflessness, love, simple life, etc. But practical Brahminism is totally different.Right form Buddha, Ram Mohan Roy, Vivekananda, Mahathma Gandhi,E.V.R Periyar and Ambedhkar were critical of practical Hindu Orthodoxpractises. If only the Hindus( especially Brahmins and other upper castes)had followed the code and ethics esposed in your trnslations of upanishadsand Gita, this whole controversy and bitterness would not have arisen.Please understand that, we, who were victims of caste opperssion cannot andwill not understand the theoritical aspects of Brahminism. Please explain thelaw according to Manusmrihi in your coloumns. What about the controversyabout Vyalar Ravi's son's wedding at Gurvayoor temple premises ? Brahminismin 21sr Century !Personnaly, I have many differences about the ways used to combat the inequalitiesin Hindu society. Reservation should be reviewed and the creamy layer( of OBCs)should be removed from the benefits. I will write later in detail about this.

Regards,
Athiyaman

A letter of Sardar Patel's of September 11, 1948, addressed to the RSS chief Golwalkar himself:

Aurangzeb Road
New Delhi
Date: 11th Sept. 1948

Brother Sri Golwalkar,
... You are very well aware of my views about the RSS. ... There can be no doubt that the RSS did service to the Hindu society. In the areas where there was need for help and organisation, the young men of the RSS protected women and children and strove much for their sake. No person of understanding could have a word of objection regarding that. But the objectionable part arose when they, burning with revenge, began attacking Mussalmans. Organising the Hindus and helping them is one thing but going in for revenge for its sufferings on innocent and helpless men, women and children is quite another thing. ...All their speeches were full of communal poison. It was not necessary to spread poison in order to enthus the Hindus and organise for their protection. As a final result of the poison, the country had to suffer the sacrifice of the invaluable life of Gandhiji. Even an iota of the sympathy of the Government or of the people no more remained for the RSS. In fact opposition grew. Opposition turned more severe when the RSS men expressed joy and distributed sweets after Gandhiji's death. Under these circumstances it becamed inevitable for the Government to take action against the RSS.

Yours
(Sd.) Vallabh Bhai Patel ---

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To
The Editor,Readers Digest

Dear Sir,

I am a long time reader and admirer of RD.Most of thearticles are objective, informative and unbiased.Since your political views are right of center (I have noobjection to them), you have published a number of articlesjustifying the American involvement in the Vietnam war.It is not an unbiased or neutral viewpoint.Millions of Americans(including Bill Clinton) had opposed the war vehemently.There can be no justification (moral or ideological for the war.Questions about National sovereignty and human right violationsare not raised in your columns. Just imagine if Mexico or Argentinahad intervened> similarly in the American civil war of 1860s! Thatafter all these years, RD still tries in vain to justify the sordid chapterin American history is ironical. But I support American actions inYugoslavia ; and I am not a communist.While you publish articles about the private lives of Mao Tse Tung,Castro and other left wing dictators, no word about the personal affairsof John.F.Kennedy, who was equally bad in his abuse of women. It isnot an objective or unbiased viewpoint. Anyway if you can correct these flaws, RD will be a truly great magazine.

Thanking You,
With Regards,
K.R.Athiyaman.
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Vedic society and equality

FromK.R.Athiyaman,36,Middle St., Pasupathip[alayam,Karur -639 004 Tamil Nadu
ToThe Editor,The Astrlogical Magazine,Bangalore

Dear Sir / Madam,

Time and again you have upheld the lofty character and the superiorityof the vedas. I am a Hindu and a beliver. I have a smattering knowledgeabout our religion - mostly through the English translations.I am aSudra, one who was declared unfit to have the sacred knowledge andto learn sanskrit. I have a few questions ; I don't insist on your reply.But please try to honestly answer these questions to yourself. Of coursethis needs a bit of courage.1. Do you believe in the equality of humans - not as some theoreticalideal as prescribed in Manisha Panchaka but as a everyday fact of life -the absolute equality of humans before God, that everyone is entitledto pray, to reach God, to read the sacred literature, irrespective of theirsocial status ?2. Do you believe that salvation is possible to all - Hindus, Muslims,Christians & Jews ; Brahmana, Vaishya, Kshatrya, Sudra and Panchama ?That birth and social status doesn't disqualify anyone from reaching thesupreme knowledge ?3. What are the steps that you have taken to propagate the sacredknowledge found in the Vedas ? Any Christian who can read, can readthe Bible in his own mother tongue.Have you ever tried to translatenoble portions of Vedas into Kannada, to begin with ?4. Do you believe that the sacredness of the Vedas would be lost in thetranslation ? The medieval Church believed that only the Latin Bible wassacred - even though the Bible was written originally in Hebrew - and itshould not be translated. If you believe so, what are the steps you havetaken to spread Sanskrit among us the Indians so that we can learn theVedas as they are ?5. Can you deny that for centuries this Sanskrit was not taught to Sudrasand Panchamas, even though foreigners like Alberuni (11th Century),William Jones (18th Century) and Max Mueller were allowed to learn it ?Max Mueller was able to learn the Vedas, but not the Kshatriyas, Vaisyas,Sudras or the Panchamas. Why ? Does it mean that Panchamas and Sudrasare inferior to Milechas ?We were prevented from learning Sanskrit and the Vedas, and now you askus to appreciate their wisdom.This is like asking somebody to appreciate apainting he had never seen, not even in photo, just because some scholarthinks it is the greatest painting in the world.The white races conquered the Americas,captured most of Asia, sold theAfricans into slavery,exploited them ruthlessly,exterminated the Red Indiansand the Australian natives, and impoverished India, China and numerousother countries.But even they acknowledged, at least in theory,that all menare created equal.(Please remember Purusha Sukta).6. If a Vedic dictum runs contrary to the spirit of our times, which shall prevail ?7. It had been held that while the Srutis are eternal, Smritis are subject to theeffects of time. Hence, the smritis must be revised to suit the times. What stepshave been taken in this direction ?8. What shall be the basis of our society in future - Chaturvarna -reformed andrefined, or equality as assured by our constitution ? Please do not obfuscate.The Celebrated Manu had provided a very nice escape route from the inconvenientquestions of ignorant busybodies like me. He had ruled that a Sudra (me ! ) whopresumes to teach a Brahmin (need not say who ! ) should be "shown his place".Unfortunately these Whites had overthrown the Sacred Order of our Society andstarted off thousands of Sudras like me. Under the old system (the Sacred Varna)I 'd be eking out a miserable living as an illiterate artisan and you would be contentto call it my karma, and would not educate me.The modern education had enabled me to stand up like a man, to earn a livingsuitable to my intellectual capacity, not to feel inferior or superior to anybodyand to seek the truth for myself instead of depending on a priestly class.Now,which system, do you think will get my undying loyalty and vociferous support ?Why ?The Western society is plagued by many social evils - juvenile delinquency, singleparents, violence, high divorce rates and others. But let us not presume that we canshow them the way - with our untouchability, dowry deaths, caste violence, rigidcaste system, and people who still think all men are not equal and women arecertainly inferior.The West has nothing to teach us in religion and philosophy, but we haveeverything to learn about liberty, equality and that doctrine totally alien to us,fraternity. Please do not quote - " Vasudeva Kudumbakam". The Sudras andPanchamas were not family members of that Kudumbakam, but helpless servants.I am yet to see one Hindu religious head who upholds the equality of humans,says that the smrithis must be revised, accepts that some excesses had happenedunder Chaturvarna, that untouchablity is not suitable to our times and proclaimsthat everyone is entitled to study the Vedas. When we are considered not evenhumans,why should someone care for our support ?Only some miracle had prevented a wholesale exodus of Hindu masses to Islamand Christianity. (May be the sudras felt that thir "Superiors" will follow themthere also and continue to be the "Superiors" ! This what happened to Budhismand led to its downfall). But that does not mean that every Hindu is swallowingall the half baked theories of their "Superiors".Unless and until the guardians of the old order really regret the mistakes of thepast,accept that equality shall be the basis of our future society and teach thesacred knowledge to all deserving people, more and more Indians will repudiatethe Vedas, on which the old order claimed it was based. Let charity begin athome.
May He lead us all to wisdom and enlightenment.

Om Tat Sat.

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