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http://zeenews.india.com/entertainment/bollywood/banning-vishwaroopam-against-idea-of-india-tarun-vijay_127216.htm
Last Updated: Friday, February 01, 2013, 14:06
Tags: Vishwaroopam, Tarun Vijay, Kamal Haasan, Ashis Nandy
New Delhi: The ban on Kamal Haasan`s film ‘Vishwaroopam’ and
the controversy over social analyst Ashis Nandy`s comments on caste and
corruption in Jaipur reflected the intolerance of Indian policy makers and went
against the "very grain of India", BJP MP Tarun Vijay has said.
"A silly ban on `Vishwaroopam` and the misinformed
controversy on Ashish Nandy`s opinion show how intolerant Indian policy makers
have become while the common people are tolerant, large-hearted, plural and
democratic," Tarun Vijay said in a statement.
"One may disagree with Ashish Nandy on any number of
issues, but his intellectual brilliance and integrity can`t be questioned.
Similarly, to ban `Vishwaroopam` on flimsy, almost non-existent reasons shows
an un-Indian attitude," the Rajya Sabha MP of the Bharatiya Janata Party
said.
Nandy`s comment on corruption and caste at the Jaipur
Literature Festival led to several FIRs being filed against him. On Friday, the
Supreme Court stepped in to stop the Rajasthan Police from arresting him.
"Vishwaroopam" was banned by the Tamil Nadu
government for scenes that some Muslim groups found objectionable.
Posing a question, "Is this the India we are proud
of", Tarun Vijay compared the ban on Kamal Haasan`s mega budget spy
thriller with the shooting of Mahatma Gandhi. Such bans, he said, show a
"Talibanistic attitude".
Sixty-five years on, "the person" who assassinated
Gandhi "still exists in the psyche of those who are intolerant to a
different voice, just because it`s different. However healthy, academic or
artistic it might be in its content".
In Tarun Vijay`s view, "to disagree and yet to be able
to live with respect can happen only in the land of those who gave the world a
unique concept of not just tolerating the different viewpoint but having a
honourable place for the dissenters.
"If there is any thing derogatory, insulting and
uncivil in a movie, please have the censor board cut it. But an innocent
expression of ideas and opinion can`t be a reason for persecution," he
said.
IANS
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Showing posts with label Tarun Vijay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tarun Vijay. Show all posts
Friday, February 1, 2013
Banning `Vishwaroopam` against idea of India: Tarun Vijay
Friday, February 3, 2012
Trashing India's honour
rediffNEWS.com
February 1, 2012
What kind of a nation have we become where the commanders of the country's armed forces and satellite mission are trashed without a whimper, asks Tarun Vijay.
Image: Army chief General V K Singh at an Indian Peace Keeping memorial in Colombo, Sri Lanka
Photographs: Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters
Image: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi
Photographs: B Mathur/ Reuters
Image: India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C-12 blasts off from Sriharikota near Chennai in 2009.
Photographs: Babu/ Reuters
Image: Former ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair with a miniature of India's first unmanned moon mission 'Chandrayaan-1'
Photographs: Babu/ Reuters
February 1, 2012
What kind of a nation have we become where the commanders of the country's armed forces and satellite mission are trashed without a whimper, asks Tarun Vijay.
Like Draupadi disrobed and appealing to the mighty warriors sitting silently in the Kaurav Durbar, veteran space scientist G Madhavan Nair issued a letter to the prime minister of an ancient civilisation, saying -- 'Please restore my honour.'
The chief of the army staff of this billion plus-strong nation, publicly asks -- 'Why is the government doing this to me? As if I am a Pakistani?'
What kind of a nation have we become where opposing an anti-national movie by a director who falsifies history, fuelling mistrust in the already divided Kashmir valley becomes a sacrilegious act; while the commanders of the nation's armed forces and satellite mission are trashed without a whimper?
Firstly, the United Progressive Alliance government compelled a highly decorated serving army chief to go to court to seek redress on a routine issue. This has happened despite his continuous pleas for the last two decades to correct his date of birth on the basis of impeccable proof.
Earlier, the government dropped an Indian Air Force officer from a China-bound delegation to accommodate Beijing's obstinate stand on Arunachal Pradesh.
Thus, the Raksha Mantralaya has failed in defending those who defend us all.
The chief of the army staff of this billion plus-strong nation, publicly asks -- 'Why is the government doing this to me? As if I am a Pakistani?'
What kind of a nation have we become where opposing an anti-national movie by a director who falsifies history, fuelling mistrust in the already divided Kashmir valley becomes a sacrilegious act; while the commanders of the nation's armed forces and satellite mission are trashed without a whimper?
Firstly, the United Progressive Alliance government compelled a highly decorated serving army chief to go to court to seek redress on a routine issue. This has happened despite his continuous pleas for the last two decades to correct his date of birth on the basis of impeccable proof.
Earlier, the government dropped an Indian Air Force officer from a China-bound delegation to accommodate Beijing's obstinate stand on Arunachal Pradesh.
Thus, the Raksha Mantralaya has failed in defending those who defend us all.
Is this the way a government should treat a highly decorated army chief?
When Vijay Kumar Singh was admitted to the National Defence Academy, his father Major Jagat Singh had sent the correct birth date, as mentioned on his Class XI mark sheet.
In all military records, formally maintained by the Indian Army's official record keeper, the Adjutant General's Branch, General V K Singh's date of birth is recorded as May 10, 1951.
His decorations, citations, promotion letters and autobiography, as is officially required by the army, all bear May 10, 1951 as his birth date.
Still, for years the correction that was required was not done due to the government's apathy and negligence. I have seen the papers and also the expert opinion of former Chief Justice of India R C Lahoti favouring General V K Singh.
Former army chief General Shankar Roychowdury has also supported General Singh. Yet the army chief is publicly admonished by the government through the charade of ordering the Adjutant General's office to have the date of birth 'tampered' with and record the wrong one in its place.
Is this the way a government should treat a highly decorated army chief? Is there a mysterious reason behind this episode? To accommodate a favourite, perhaps?
Or is there some manipulation by an arms dealers' cartel? The government is tying itself up in knots and more questions are being generated.
In all military records, formally maintained by the Indian Army's official record keeper, the Adjutant General's Branch, General V K Singh's date of birth is recorded as May 10, 1951.
His decorations, citations, promotion letters and autobiography, as is officially required by the army, all bear May 10, 1951 as his birth date.
Still, for years the correction that was required was not done due to the government's apathy and negligence. I have seen the papers and also the expert opinion of former Chief Justice of India R C Lahoti favouring General V K Singh.
Former army chief General Shankar Roychowdury has also supported General Singh. Yet the army chief is publicly admonished by the government through the charade of ordering the Adjutant General's office to have the date of birth 'tampered' with and record the wrong one in its place.
Is this the way a government should treat a highly decorated army chief? Is there a mysterious reason behind this episode? To accommodate a favourite, perhaps?
Or is there some manipulation by an arms dealers' cartel? The government is tying itself up in knots and more questions are being generated.
Image: Army chief General V K Singh at an Indian Peace Keeping memorial in Colombo, Sri Lanka
Photographs: Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters
This government has lost all sense of balance and grace to govern
Another unsavoury controversy involves senior scientists from the Indian Space Research Organisation, seriously damaging the reputation of one of the country's best and highly respected institutions.
While the humiliation of the army chief and the senior air force officer has dented the image of the armed forces and has lowered the morale of our soldiers, the ISRO controversy, blacklisting top scientists who have given their best in scientific achievements, is a clear signal that this government has lost all sense of balance and grace to govern.
It has failed to uphold the Constitutional principles of law, justice and fairness and has systematically ruined the institutions that have held aloft these basic foundations.
The nature of the agreement between Antrix, ISRO's commercial arm, and Devas Multimedia on S-band allocation remains shrouded in mystery. There is a strong speculation that the government is trying to hush up the matter by inventing some scapegoats and then carpeting it in the name of secrecy.
Nobody knows how the deal was arrived at, how was the valuation done. Almost exactly a year ago, on February 17, 2011, in a hurriedly called press conference Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily had announced the Cabinet Committee on Security's decision to annul the controversial deal between the Indian Space Research Organisation's commercial arm Antrix Corporation and Bangalore-based Devas Multimedia.
No reasons were given except that the government would not be able to provide the orbit slot in S-Band to Antrix for commercial purposes, including for its existing contractual obligations, in view of strategic requirements.
While the humiliation of the army chief and the senior air force officer has dented the image of the armed forces and has lowered the morale of our soldiers, the ISRO controversy, blacklisting top scientists who have given their best in scientific achievements, is a clear signal that this government has lost all sense of balance and grace to govern.
It has failed to uphold the Constitutional principles of law, justice and fairness and has systematically ruined the institutions that have held aloft these basic foundations.
The nature of the agreement between Antrix, ISRO's commercial arm, and Devas Multimedia on S-band allocation remains shrouded in mystery. There is a strong speculation that the government is trying to hush up the matter by inventing some scapegoats and then carpeting it in the name of secrecy.
Nobody knows how the deal was arrived at, how was the valuation done. Almost exactly a year ago, on February 17, 2011, in a hurriedly called press conference Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily had announced the Cabinet Committee on Security's decision to annul the controversial deal between the Indian Space Research Organisation's commercial arm Antrix Corporation and Bangalore-based Devas Multimedia.
No reasons were given except that the government would not be able to provide the orbit slot in S-Band to Antrix for commercial purposes, including for its existing contractual obligations, in view of strategic requirements.
Image: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi
Photographs: B Mathur/ Reuters
If the agreement was right, why was it hurriedly annulled?
As media reports revealed, under the deal Antrix was to provide 70 MHz of the scarce S-band space segment to Devas for its digital multimedia services.
This was to be done by leasing 90 per cent of the transponders in the satellites GSAT-6 and GSAT-6A that are proposed to be launched by ISRO.
Devas, in turn, was to pay Antrix a total of $300 million over 12 years. The agreement was signed on January 28, 2005. Consequently, the Department of Space got Cabinet approval for the building of GSAT-6 at a cost of Rs 269 crore (Rs 2.69 billion) and GSAT-6A at a cost of Rs 147 crore (Rs 1.47 billion) under the commission's delegated powers.
There were complaints about the manner in which the deal was entered into, and the way in which it was being operationalised. It was found that the Department of Space got the approvals for building the satellites without making any reference to the fact that they were to be utilised primarily for Devas' benefit.
If the agreement was right, why was it hurriedly annulled after the media and Opposition outcry?
If something went wrong, why were the details not revealed in spite of having formed several committees to probe the 'scam'?
In the Rajya Sabha, I asked the prime minister pointed questions regarding the deal and the answer given on August 4, 2011 by Minister of State, PMO, V Narayansamy on behalf of the PM, skirted the whole issue.
My question was:
There was a Parliament's Committee on Estimates to study Antrix-Devas deal chaired by Congress MP Francisco Sardinha.
What happened to it?
This was to be done by leasing 90 per cent of the transponders in the satellites GSAT-6 and GSAT-6A that are proposed to be launched by ISRO.
Devas, in turn, was to pay Antrix a total of $300 million over 12 years. The agreement was signed on January 28, 2005. Consequently, the Department of Space got Cabinet approval for the building of GSAT-6 at a cost of Rs 269 crore (Rs 2.69 billion) and GSAT-6A at a cost of Rs 147 crore (Rs 1.47 billion) under the commission's delegated powers.
There were complaints about the manner in which the deal was entered into, and the way in which it was being operationalised. It was found that the Department of Space got the approvals for building the satellites without making any reference to the fact that they were to be utilised primarily for Devas' benefit.
If the agreement was right, why was it hurriedly annulled after the media and Opposition outcry?
If something went wrong, why were the details not revealed in spite of having formed several committees to probe the 'scam'?
In the Rajya Sabha, I asked the prime minister pointed questions regarding the deal and the answer given on August 4, 2011 by Minister of State, PMO, V Narayansamy on behalf of the PM, skirted the whole issue.
My question was:
There was a Parliament's Committee on Estimates to study Antrix-Devas deal chaired by Congress MP Francisco Sardinha.
What happened to it?
Image: India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C-12 blasts off from Sriharikota near Chennai in 2009.
Photographs: Babu/ Reuters
We look like a rudderless 'Scamistan'
A high-powered committee headed by Planning Commission member B K Chaturvedi to review the controversial Antrix-Devas deal submitted its report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The prime minister asked Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrashekar to make recommendations on the follow-up action within 15 days after examining the report. What happened to it?
What were the recommendations and the outcome of it?
Then suddenly we saw the government blacklisting four eminent scientists. Is that a punishment?
Did the government find out that these scientists were the real scamsters? Could they have done what the government found was wrong, on their own, singlehandedly?
Has the government any answers to the issues raised by Madhavan Nair in his 'restore my honour' letter to the prime minister? Why did the government give signals to review its decision to blacklist the scientists?
Do we know who Madhavan Nair is? He is an internationally renowned technologist in the field of rocket systems who made multi-stage satellite launch vehicles a possibility, achieving self-reliance through swadeshi technologies.
As project director, he was responsible for the launch of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle used extensively for launching Indian remote sensing satellites.
He was director of ISRO's largest R&D Centre, the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, and helped develop India's Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle. As director of ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, he played a central role in the design and development of the crucial cryogenic engine for GSLV.
And this is the man being projected by this government as a key person in an ugly scandal. Why can't the government come out clean and with firm facts and transparent details?
The principle this government seems to be applying is -- all are bad except me and mine. And as a result of its confusion, India's image and its top professionals are being trashed, making us look like a rudderless 'Scamistan'.
Tarun Vijay is a Bharatiya Janata Party member of the Rajya Sabha. The views expressed here are his own.
The prime minister asked Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrashekar to make recommendations on the follow-up action within 15 days after examining the report. What happened to it?
What were the recommendations and the outcome of it?
Then suddenly we saw the government blacklisting four eminent scientists. Is that a punishment?
Did the government find out that these scientists were the real scamsters? Could they have done what the government found was wrong, on their own, singlehandedly?
Has the government any answers to the issues raised by Madhavan Nair in his 'restore my honour' letter to the prime minister? Why did the government give signals to review its decision to blacklist the scientists?
Do we know who Madhavan Nair is? He is an internationally renowned technologist in the field of rocket systems who made multi-stage satellite launch vehicles a possibility, achieving self-reliance through swadeshi technologies.
As project director, he was responsible for the launch of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle used extensively for launching Indian remote sensing satellites.
He was director of ISRO's largest R&D Centre, the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, and helped develop India's Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle. As director of ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, he played a central role in the design and development of the crucial cryogenic engine for GSLV.
And this is the man being projected by this government as a key person in an ugly scandal. Why can't the government come out clean and with firm facts and transparent details?
The principle this government seems to be applying is -- all are bad except me and mine. And as a result of its confusion, India's image and its top professionals are being trashed, making us look like a rudderless 'Scamistan'.
Tarun Vijay is a Bharatiya Janata Party member of the Rajya Sabha. The views expressed here are his own.
Image: Former ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair with a miniature of India's first unmanned moon mission 'Chandrayaan-1'
Photographs: Babu/ Reuters
Friday, January 20, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Press : Shri Tarun Vijay on Kashmiri Hindu exile's 22 years today
BJP.org
19 January, 2012
Press Statement Issued by Shri Tarun Vijay, MP, BJP National Spokesperson on Kashmiri Hindu exile's 22 years today
22 years before, on 19th January 1990, an entire segment of Indians was forced to leave their home and hearth in Kashmir valley by barbaric Islamic terrorists and secessionists. The only reason for the forced exile of the Kashmiri Hindus was their love and devotion for India, Tricolour and their Dharma. This is one of the most atrocious and barbaric ethnic cleansing occurred in the world, against Hindus, for the “crime” of being just what they were.
Pandit Tikka Lal Taploo, prominent advocate and senior functionary of the BJP became the very first victim when he was shot dead near Lalchowk in Srinagar on 14th September 1989.
Several Kashmiri Hindus community members continue to languish in temporary settlements across the Jammu city and adjoining areas. Till date the J&K Government has been inefficient in prosecution of any terrorist responsible for the killings of Hindus or destruction of temples across the Kashmir valley.
While the J&K Chief Minister has often spoken on twitter and in media about ‘rehabilitation’ of Hindus in Kashmir; not much is visible on ground. Hindus forced to stay in one-room camp settlements for all these two decades outside Jammu have been further sent to a little known place called Jagati after creation of a secluded township for them. The community has been forced into another state government backed migration in turn making their return to Kashmir impossible in the coming days.
Since the tenure of the current coalition Government in J&K began, it has been screaming about return of the ‘exiled’ Hindus on the pretext of a job package which forces them to stay in the valley under unsafe circumstances risking their the security of their family members. Contrary to the claims of the Chief Minister, the Home Ministry while responding to a question towards the end of 2011 informed the Rajya Sabha that there has been no return of Kashmiri Hindus back to Kashmir.
The honour of Tricolour and the Indian citizen in Kashmir is threatened because of the divisive government policies reflected in Article 370 of the Constitution. We are committed to remove article 370 when we BJP comes to power .
We would like to ask Congress, what are its plans to rehabilitate Kashmiri Hindus and why there is a deafening silence by Congress leadership on their plight and agony?
BJP demands the Government of India to come clear on the ‘rehabilitation’ policy adopted towards Kashmiri Hindus with free flow of Indian constitution and a sense of security. It also demands action against perpetrators of horrific killings of Hindus.
(O.P. KOHLI)
Headquarter Incharge
19 January, 2012
Press Statement Issued by Shri Tarun Vijay, MP, BJP National Spokesperson on Kashmiri Hindu exile's 22 years today
22 years before, on 19th January 1990, an entire segment of Indians was forced to leave their home and hearth in Kashmir valley by barbaric Islamic terrorists and secessionists. The only reason for the forced exile of the Kashmiri Hindus was their love and devotion for India, Tricolour and their Dharma. This is one of the most atrocious and barbaric ethnic cleansing occurred in the world, against Hindus, for the “crime” of being just what they were.Pandit Tikka Lal Taploo, prominent advocate and senior functionary of the BJP became the very first victim when he was shot dead near Lalchowk in Srinagar on 14th September 1989.
Several Kashmiri Hindus community members continue to languish in temporary settlements across the Jammu city and adjoining areas. Till date the J&K Government has been inefficient in prosecution of any terrorist responsible for the killings of Hindus or destruction of temples across the Kashmir valley.
While the J&K Chief Minister has often spoken on twitter and in media about ‘rehabilitation’ of Hindus in Kashmir; not much is visible on ground. Hindus forced to stay in one-room camp settlements for all these two decades outside Jammu have been further sent to a little known place called Jagati after creation of a secluded township for them. The community has been forced into another state government backed migration in turn making their return to Kashmir impossible in the coming days.
Since the tenure of the current coalition Government in J&K began, it has been screaming about return of the ‘exiled’ Hindus on the pretext of a job package which forces them to stay in the valley under unsafe circumstances risking their the security of their family members. Contrary to the claims of the Chief Minister, the Home Ministry while responding to a question towards the end of 2011 informed the Rajya Sabha that there has been no return of Kashmiri Hindus back to Kashmir.
The honour of Tricolour and the Indian citizen in Kashmir is threatened because of the divisive government policies reflected in Article 370 of the Constitution. We are committed to remove article 370 when we BJP comes to power .
We would like to ask Congress, what are its plans to rehabilitate Kashmiri Hindus and why there is a deafening silence by Congress leadership on their plight and agony?
BJP demands the Government of India to come clear on the ‘rehabilitation’ policy adopted towards Kashmiri Hindus with free flow of Indian constitution and a sense of security. It also demands action against perpetrators of horrific killings of Hindus.
(O.P. KOHLI)
Headquarter Incharge
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
The 'Cyclonic Hindoo monk' who changed our times
THE TIMES OF INDIA
12 January 2012
Tarun Vijay
12 January 2012
Tarun Vijay
Since morning I have been trying to browse newspapers and magazines and intermittently glancing the channel talk shows to find out if any one, yes, any one, tried to put Swami Vivekananda's 150th birth anniversary too on a corner of their attention-radar. In vain, sorry to say, the search proved to be.
It's Batla house, some fatwa, UP and the election commission. Or in a corner, small insignificantly blurred lines on Mamata didi declaring Vivekananda's birthday as a holiday. Yes, he was a sannyasi, who belonged to Bengal, he was a Bengali, hence let it be a Bangla affair.
How do we define an India and the Indians where intellectual bankruptcy overwhelms the pan-national architecture with caste and regional affiliations ?
Vivekananda defined India. The quintessential Indian spirit, the soul and the fabric that makes us all together identified as one people, one nation, and one culture, called Bharatvarsh, which is also called India.
He defied the scheming theories of a sham secularism describing us some kind of conglomeration of mixed people and hit hard at those who tried to put in an element of shame and ostrich like hesitation to give a clarion call in the name of Hindu Take pride in being a Hindu and announce from the rooftops, that yes, we are Hindus, the inheritors of the world's greatest reservoir of wisdom, truth and a way of life that guarantees pluralism and protection of the nature without hurting the other people with a different viewpoint or faith.
He was a Hindu monk, a great Sannyasi, ochre robed and with a smile on his face and a Lion's heart. He faced the most powerful resistance of his times in the form of Christian missionaries Like the foreign correspondents made use of the Jarawa video to show how naked are the Indians who dance naked for food, same ugly machinations were used by the proselytizers who sought dollars showing Hindus in the most ridiculously backward image. Women throwing their babies to the crocodile, a nation of snake charmers and headhunters, the illiterate and uncivilized pagans and heathens, being brought to the shelter of the shepherd, for the good of all, hence please give us your precious dollars.
Vivekananda revolted against their lies and utterly shameful falsehoods. You are not Christians, 'he shouted at them, go back to Christ'.
There is a conscious attempt to secularize Vivekananda in its most nauseating way. An attempt to present him like he never was. Well-planned methodically charted academic plot to de-Vivekanandise the real Sannyasi. To de-Hindu-ise a young warrior, who was called by the West - The Cyclonic Hindoo Monk of India.
The western missionaries tried to character assassinate him, even attempted to poison him. The blindly ritualistic opponents opposed him at his home turf. But the Master, the Thakur, Swami Ramakrishna Paramhansa's blessings saved him and he remained unscathed.
It is important to know why he thought that unless Hindus are reformed, taken out of the shadow of fossilized ritualistic Brahmins, who would never allow the real souls, the 'untouchables' and the disadvantaged sections, keep them shackled while announcing great schemes for them, Hindus would not rise to unshackle the other societies of the world.
Be a proud Hindu. he said, at the same time he was his harshest best on the ill conceived practices we followed, the way we behaved with our own blood, our own Hindu fraternity, whom we considered, illogically, as low caste and hence 'untouchables'. He wanted the Hindu-ness to be protected and enlivened with the lofty and universal ideas of the Upanishads and Vedas. His Swadesh Mantra is an electrifying message for the rejuvenation of the nation. It must find place at the entrance of not only Parliament, but at the entrance of every assembly in India and in every school. It says, "O India! With this mere echoing of others, with this base imitation of others, with this dependence on others, this slavish weakness, this vile detestable cruelty -- wouldst thou, with these provisions only, scale the highest pinnacle of civilisation and greatness? Wouldst thou attain, by means of thy disgraceful cowardice that freedom deserved only by the brave and the heroic?"
Further it exhorts all Indians: "Forget not that the lower classes, the ignorant, the poor, the illiterate, the cobbler, the sweeper, are thy flesh and blood, thy brothers.
"Thou brave one, be bold, take courage, be proud that thou art an Indian, and proudly proclaim, 'I am an Indian, every Indian is my brother.' Say, 'The ignorant Indian, the poor and destitute Indian, the Brahmin Indian, the Pariah Indian, is my brother.'
"Thou, too, clad with but a rag round thy loins proudly proclaim at the top of thy voice: 'The Indian is my brother, the Indian is my life, India's gods and goddesses are my God. India's society is the cradle of my infancy, the pleasure-garden of my youth, the sacred heaven, the Varanasi of my old age.'
"Say, brother; 'The soil of India is my highest heaven, the good of India is my good,' and repeat and pray day and night, 'O Thou Lord of Gauri, O Thou Mother of the Universe, vouchsafe manliness unto me! O Thou Mother of Strength, take away my weakness, take away my unmanliness, and make me a Man!'
Please do read it in full, it's too mesmerizing an exhortation, as powerful as Lincoln's Gettysburg speech.
He believed that religion is the main theme of India:
"Each nation, like each individual, has one theme in life, which is its centre, the principal note round which every note comes to form harmony....if one nation attempts to throw off its vitality, the direction which has become its own through the transmission of centuries, the nation dies....if one nation's political power is its vitality, as in England, artistic life is another and so on. In India religious life forms the centre, the keynote of the whole music of life."
(source: Glimpses of Indian Culture - By Dr. Giriraj Shah p. 27).
India was his greatest God. He said: "India alone was to be, of all lands, the land of toleration and of spirituality…in that distant time the sage arose and declared, ekam sad vipra bahudha vadanti (He who exists is one; the sages call him variously). This is one of the most memorable sentences that was ever uttered, one of the grandest truths that was ever discovered. And for us Hindus, this truth has been the very backbone of our national existence…our country has become the glorious land of religious toleration…The world is waiting for this grand idea of universal toleration..."
(source: Vivekanada's Complete Works III, 186ff).
And his unflinching faith in Hindu dharma was like Mount Kailas. He said: "To my mind, our religion is truer than any other religion, because it never conquered. Because it never shed blood, because its mouth always shed on all, words of blessing, of peace, words of love and sympathy. It is here and here alone that the ideals of toleration were first preached. And it is here and here alone that toleration and sympathy become practical; it is theoretical in every other country; it is here and here alone, that the Hindu builds mosques for the Mohammedans and churches for the Christians."
(Source: Secularization of India… By S. Balasundar - Hindu voice)
He never allowed or sanctioned the conversion of Hindus by Christian proselytizers. He used as strong words as he could to oppose the conversion of Hindus in these famous words: "We shall otherwise decrease in numbers. When the Mohammedans first came, we are said -- I think on the authority of Ferishta, the oldest Mohammedan historian -- to have been six hundred millions of Hindus. Now we are about two hundred millions. And then every man getting out of the Hindu pale is not only a man less, but an enemy the more. " Vivekananda
(Complete Works V, p233, interview given in "Prabuddha Bharat", April, 1899)
He put the ideal of Guru Govind Singh before every Indian to follow. He said: "Men can never be united unless there is a bond of common interest. You can never unite people merely by getting up meetings, societies, and lectures if their interests be not one and the same. Guru Govind made it understood everywhere that the men of his age, be they Hindus or Mussulmans, were living under a regime of profound injustice and oppression. He did not create any common interest; he only pointed it out to the masses. And so both Hindus and Mussulmans followed him. He was a great worshipper of Shakti. Yet, in Indian history, such an example is indeed very rare."
(Source: Volume 6 Page 513 of Complete Works chapter Conversations & Dialogues)
And pray, in these times when no two Hindus can stand each other, and every Hindu organization loves to work to mitigate the other, while the biggest challenge to the Hindu cause comes from the Hindu leaders themselves, he exhorted the Hindu in these words: "Mark me, then and then alone you are a Hindu when the very name sends through you a galvanic shock of strength. Then and then alone you are a Hindu when every man who bears the name, from any country, speaking our language or any other language, becomes at once the nearest and the dearest to you. Then and then alone you are a Hindu when the distress of anyone bearing that name comes to your heart and makes you feel as if your own son were in distress. Then and then alone you are a Hindu when you will be ready to bear everything for them, like the great example I have quoted at the beginning of this lecture, of your great Guru Govind Singh. Driven out from this country, fighting against its oppressors, after having shed his own blood for the defence of the Hindu religion, after having seen his children killed on the battlefield- ay, this example of the great Guru, left even by those for whose sake he was shedding his blood and the blood of his own nearest and dearest-he, the wounded lion, retired from the field calmly to die in the South, but not a word of curse escaped his lips against those who had ungratefully forsaken him! Mark me, every one of you will have to be a Govind Singh, if you want to do good to your country. You may see thousands of defects in your countrymen, but mark their Hindu blood. They are the first Gods you will have to worship even if they do everything to hurt you, even if everyone of them send out a curse to you, you send out to them words of love. If they drive you out, retire to die in silence like that mighty lion, Govind Singh. Such a man is worthy of the name of Hindu; such an ideal ought to be before us always. All our hatchets let us bury; send out this grand current of love all around".
He wanted a great, strong, happy and wealthy nation. And he stood for revolt than the meek submission before un-understandable murmurs of the outdated ideas.
That was Vivekananda. Immortal in his thoughts and inspiring in his wisdom.
It's Batla house, some fatwa, UP and the election commission. Or in a corner, small insignificantly blurred lines on Mamata didi declaring Vivekananda's birthday as a holiday. Yes, he was a sannyasi, who belonged to Bengal, he was a Bengali, hence let it be a Bangla affair.
How do we define an India and the Indians where intellectual bankruptcy overwhelms the pan-national architecture with caste and regional affiliations ?
Vivekananda defined India. The quintessential Indian spirit, the soul and the fabric that makes us all together identified as one people, one nation, and one culture, called Bharatvarsh, which is also called India.
He defied the scheming theories of a sham secularism describing us some kind of conglomeration of mixed people and hit hard at those who tried to put in an element of shame and ostrich like hesitation to give a clarion call in the name of Hindu Take pride in being a Hindu and announce from the rooftops, that yes, we are Hindus, the inheritors of the world's greatest reservoir of wisdom, truth and a way of life that guarantees pluralism and protection of the nature without hurting the other people with a different viewpoint or faith.
He was a Hindu monk, a great Sannyasi, ochre robed and with a smile on his face and a Lion's heart. He faced the most powerful resistance of his times in the form of Christian missionaries Like the foreign correspondents made use of the Jarawa video to show how naked are the Indians who dance naked for food, same ugly machinations were used by the proselytizers who sought dollars showing Hindus in the most ridiculously backward image. Women throwing their babies to the crocodile, a nation of snake charmers and headhunters, the illiterate and uncivilized pagans and heathens, being brought to the shelter of the shepherd, for the good of all, hence please give us your precious dollars.
Vivekananda revolted against their lies and utterly shameful falsehoods. You are not Christians, 'he shouted at them, go back to Christ'.
There is a conscious attempt to secularize Vivekananda in its most nauseating way. An attempt to present him like he never was. Well-planned methodically charted academic plot to de-Vivekanandise the real Sannyasi. To de-Hindu-ise a young warrior, who was called by the West - The Cyclonic Hindoo Monk of India.
The western missionaries tried to character assassinate him, even attempted to poison him. The blindly ritualistic opponents opposed him at his home turf. But the Master, the Thakur, Swami Ramakrishna Paramhansa's blessings saved him and he remained unscathed.
It is important to know why he thought that unless Hindus are reformed, taken out of the shadow of fossilized ritualistic Brahmins, who would never allow the real souls, the 'untouchables' and the disadvantaged sections, keep them shackled while announcing great schemes for them, Hindus would not rise to unshackle the other societies of the world.
Be a proud Hindu. he said, at the same time he was his harshest best on the ill conceived practices we followed, the way we behaved with our own blood, our own Hindu fraternity, whom we considered, illogically, as low caste and hence 'untouchables'. He wanted the Hindu-ness to be protected and enlivened with the lofty and universal ideas of the Upanishads and Vedas. His Swadesh Mantra is an electrifying message for the rejuvenation of the nation. It must find place at the entrance of not only Parliament, but at the entrance of every assembly in India and in every school. It says, "O India! With this mere echoing of others, with this base imitation of others, with this dependence on others, this slavish weakness, this vile detestable cruelty -- wouldst thou, with these provisions only, scale the highest pinnacle of civilisation and greatness? Wouldst thou attain, by means of thy disgraceful cowardice that freedom deserved only by the brave and the heroic?"
Further it exhorts all Indians: "Forget not that the lower classes, the ignorant, the poor, the illiterate, the cobbler, the sweeper, are thy flesh and blood, thy brothers.
"Thou brave one, be bold, take courage, be proud that thou art an Indian, and proudly proclaim, 'I am an Indian, every Indian is my brother.' Say, 'The ignorant Indian, the poor and destitute Indian, the Brahmin Indian, the Pariah Indian, is my brother.'
"Thou, too, clad with but a rag round thy loins proudly proclaim at the top of thy voice: 'The Indian is my brother, the Indian is my life, India's gods and goddesses are my God. India's society is the cradle of my infancy, the pleasure-garden of my youth, the sacred heaven, the Varanasi of my old age.'
"Say, brother; 'The soil of India is my highest heaven, the good of India is my good,' and repeat and pray day and night, 'O Thou Lord of Gauri, O Thou Mother of the Universe, vouchsafe manliness unto me! O Thou Mother of Strength, take away my weakness, take away my unmanliness, and make me a Man!'
Please do read it in full, it's too mesmerizing an exhortation, as powerful as Lincoln's Gettysburg speech.
He believed that religion is the main theme of India:
"Each nation, like each individual, has one theme in life, which is its centre, the principal note round which every note comes to form harmony....if one nation attempts to throw off its vitality, the direction which has become its own through the transmission of centuries, the nation dies....if one nation's political power is its vitality, as in England, artistic life is another and so on. In India religious life forms the centre, the keynote of the whole music of life."
(source: Glimpses of Indian Culture - By Dr. Giriraj Shah p. 27).
India was his greatest God. He said: "India alone was to be, of all lands, the land of toleration and of spirituality…in that distant time the sage arose and declared, ekam sad vipra bahudha vadanti (He who exists is one; the sages call him variously). This is one of the most memorable sentences that was ever uttered, one of the grandest truths that was ever discovered. And for us Hindus, this truth has been the very backbone of our national existence…our country has become the glorious land of religious toleration…The world is waiting for this grand idea of universal toleration..."
(source: Vivekanada's Complete Works III, 186ff).
And his unflinching faith in Hindu dharma was like Mount Kailas. He said: "To my mind, our religion is truer than any other religion, because it never conquered. Because it never shed blood, because its mouth always shed on all, words of blessing, of peace, words of love and sympathy. It is here and here alone that the ideals of toleration were first preached. And it is here and here alone that toleration and sympathy become practical; it is theoretical in every other country; it is here and here alone, that the Hindu builds mosques for the Mohammedans and churches for the Christians."
(Source: Secularization of India… By S. Balasundar - Hindu voice)
He never allowed or sanctioned the conversion of Hindus by Christian proselytizers. He used as strong words as he could to oppose the conversion of Hindus in these famous words: "We shall otherwise decrease in numbers. When the Mohammedans first came, we are said -- I think on the authority of Ferishta, the oldest Mohammedan historian -- to have been six hundred millions of Hindus. Now we are about two hundred millions. And then every man getting out of the Hindu pale is not only a man less, but an enemy the more. " Vivekananda
(Complete Works V, p233, interview given in "Prabuddha Bharat", April, 1899)
He put the ideal of Guru Govind Singh before every Indian to follow. He said: "Men can never be united unless there is a bond of common interest. You can never unite people merely by getting up meetings, societies, and lectures if their interests be not one and the same. Guru Govind made it understood everywhere that the men of his age, be they Hindus or Mussulmans, were living under a regime of profound injustice and oppression. He did not create any common interest; he only pointed it out to the masses. And so both Hindus and Mussulmans followed him. He was a great worshipper of Shakti. Yet, in Indian history, such an example is indeed very rare."
(Source: Volume 6 Page 513 of Complete Works chapter Conversations & Dialogues)
And pray, in these times when no two Hindus can stand each other, and every Hindu organization loves to work to mitigate the other, while the biggest challenge to the Hindu cause comes from the Hindu leaders themselves, he exhorted the Hindu in these words: "Mark me, then and then alone you are a Hindu when the very name sends through you a galvanic shock of strength. Then and then alone you are a Hindu when every man who bears the name, from any country, speaking our language or any other language, becomes at once the nearest and the dearest to you. Then and then alone you are a Hindu when the distress of anyone bearing that name comes to your heart and makes you feel as if your own son were in distress. Then and then alone you are a Hindu when you will be ready to bear everything for them, like the great example I have quoted at the beginning of this lecture, of your great Guru Govind Singh. Driven out from this country, fighting against its oppressors, after having shed his own blood for the defence of the Hindu religion, after having seen his children killed on the battlefield- ay, this example of the great Guru, left even by those for whose sake he was shedding his blood and the blood of his own nearest and dearest-he, the wounded lion, retired from the field calmly to die in the South, but not a word of curse escaped his lips against those who had ungratefully forsaken him! Mark me, every one of you will have to be a Govind Singh, if you want to do good to your country. You may see thousands of defects in your countrymen, but mark their Hindu blood. They are the first Gods you will have to worship even if they do everything to hurt you, even if everyone of them send out a curse to you, you send out to them words of love. If they drive you out, retire to die in silence like that mighty lion, Govind Singh. Such a man is worthy of the name of Hindu; such an ideal ought to be before us always. All our hatchets let us bury; send out this grand current of love all around".
He wanted a great, strong, happy and wealthy nation. And he stood for revolt than the meek submission before un-understandable murmurs of the outdated ideas.
That was Vivekananda. Immortal in his thoughts and inspiring in his wisdom.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Military team to China without Arunachal officer wrong: BJP
The Economic Times
9 JAN, 2012
9 JAN, 2012
NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Tarun Vijay Monday met Defence Minister A.K. Antony to convey his party's "concern and opposition" over the government sending a military delegation to China after "dropping" an officer from Arunachal Pradesh.
In a statement, Vijay said that Antony conveyed that he shares the concern of BJP on the issue, but the decision to send a smaller delegation was taken after discussing the matter with all stake holders.
Vijay, who is also BJP spokesperson, told Antony that the government had not sent the right message by sending a delegation to China without an officer from Arunachal Pradesh.
He said Beijing can cite it as a precedent and the move will have a negative impact on the youth of Arunachal keen to join defence forces.
The statement said the defence minister conveyed to the BJP that it was felt that a smaller delegation should be sent to continue talks with the neighbouring country while rejecting Chinese claims on Arunachal Pradesh.
Antony said the government was working towards manifold increase in India's military capabilities in Arunachal Pradesh and a fair share of the defence budget was being spent for the purpose.
The minister assured that the government will not allow any weakness in the country's defence preparedness in the eastern sector.
In a statement, Vijay said that Antony conveyed that he shares the concern of BJP on the issue, but the decision to send a smaller delegation was taken after discussing the matter with all stake holders.
Vijay, who is also BJP spokesperson, told Antony that the government had not sent the right message by sending a delegation to China without an officer from Arunachal Pradesh.
He said Beijing can cite it as a precedent and the move will have a negative impact on the youth of Arunachal keen to join defence forces.
The statement said the defence minister conveyed to the BJP that it was felt that a smaller delegation should be sent to continue talks with the neighbouring country while rejecting Chinese claims on Arunachal Pradesh.
Antony said the government was working towards manifold increase in India's military capabilities in Arunachal Pradesh and a fair share of the defence budget was being spent for the purpose.
The minister assured that the government will not allow any weakness in the country's defence preparedness in the eastern sector.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
BJP asks China to probe incident involving Indian diplomat S Balachandran
The Economic Times
4 January, 2012
4 January, 2012
NEW DELHI: The BJP today condemned the treatment meted out to Indian diplomat S Balachandran in China and demanded that authorities there conduct a thorough inquiry into the incident and ensure that it is not repeated as several Indian businessmen visit the neighbouring country.
"The Chinese Government must conduct a detailed enquiry into the deplorable incident and take appropriate action against those responsible for ensuring that the Indian diplomat was provided adequate security and other facilities while he was on duty," BJP spokesperson Tarun Vijay said.
He pointed out that though it was known that Balachandran is diabetic, he was not provided any food for six hours. Moreover, he was reportedly heckled while he was leaving.
"A lot of Chinese goods come to India and our traders go there often. They are provided documents only in Chinese without any interpreters, and not given appropriate legal assistance or food. In some instances family members were also reportedly harassed," Vijay alleged, demanding that such grievances be addressed.
He said 30 Indians are in Chinese jails and government should make efforts to free them.
"Such incidents do not contribute to the stated Chinese intention to strengthen bilateral ties particularly people-to-people ties and are completely contrary to the declared desire for friendship," Vijay said.
The BJP also demanded that India should increase its consulates in China from three to ten, insisting that even smaller countries like Indonesia and Malaysia have eight and six missions respectively.
Presence of Indian media in China should also be enhanced, he said.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Govt under Opp fire for ‘curbing DD autonomy’
FRIDAY, 09 DECEMBER 2011
The BJP and Left parties on Thursday attacked the Government for curbing the autonomy of Doordarshan and making it an ideological tool of the Government by granting more power in appointment of Chief Executive Officer of the Prasar Bharati.
Participating in the debate on the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Amendment Bill, BJP leader Tarun Vijay demanded that appointment of CEO should be on lines of Election Commissioner to ensure autonomy of the public broadcaster. He also accused the Prasar Bharati of having wide spread corruption, ideological untouchability and ignoring the development stories and instead focusing on “irrelevant” programmes. He said that IAS lobby was dictating the programme content instead of the talented artists working with Doordarshan.
A CPI(M) member criticised the withdrawal of recognition of unions and demanded that it should be immediately restored.
Participating in the debate on the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Amendment Bill, BJP leader Tarun Vijay demanded that appointment of CEO should be on lines of Election Commissioner to ensure autonomy of the public broadcaster. He also accused the Prasar Bharati of having wide spread corruption, ideological untouchability and ignoring the development stories and instead focusing on “irrelevant” programmes. He said that IAS lobby was dictating the programme content instead of the talented artists working with Doordarshan.
A CPI(M) member criticised the withdrawal of recognition of unions and demanded that it should be immediately restored.
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